Pause Cafe Blog English

Who you gonna call ? Ghostbusters the Game Trailer

Decaf — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:42:01 +0000

Ghostbusters was a great movie, and i also remember Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, those films were top notch. Time passed. But hey, at least we got video games right ?

Here comes Ghostbusters the game, with proton packs etc.. So far, the game looks very enjoyable, but i cant really say anything before testing the Wii version and zap those ectoplasms.

So in case you missed Ghostbusters the game trailer, here it is :

More info at Kotaku

Wonder who sung the Ghostbusters theme ? It was Ray Parker Jr.

Radiohead : House of cards LEGO version

Decaf — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:34:06 +0000

Really, who hasn’t heard of Radiohead latest kickass 3D video, House of Cards ? Ok, many people. But those WHO DID… actually got to play around with the 3D spatial data, as it was released open source by the band. You could also play the interactive video on this page at Google Code. Good times.

Now, someone actually took the oportunity to make something of those 3D dots, namely, use the coordinates to put legos on the screen instead of pixels. Lego, music, 3D, Radiohead.. This is just full of win.

Yup, this took quite a long time :

Watch Radiohead’s video House of Card in LEGO :

Congratulations, be sure to chek his page out at http://ianmackinnon.co.uk/

House of cards the original video :

LEGOtastic

Ain’t that great : The laptop napkin

Decaf — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:26:11 +0000

Pretty self explanatory. Well, it’s just a concept, & we owe it to the folks of alleinwohner (The bachelor).

Keep em coming guys, any great idea that’s also cheap as a paper napkin is a.. well.. a great idea that’s also cheap (as a paper napkin).

Review : Microsoft Razer Reclusa (Keyboard)

Decaf — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:33:58 +0000

So i got acquainted with the Reclusa, both in game and at work. But was it really worth a shot at merging Razer and Microsoft’s efforts ?

I really dig keyboards, prolly ‘cause they destroyed several of my hands back in the days. Nowadays I stick with my Confort Curve 2000 and a custom gel wrist rester.

This must be why I was thrilled to test this brand new baby coming from “Proville”, Gameland country.

Razer did fine with their line of mice : Great sensors, nice design and many “pro” features such as glowing lights. However, i find them a tad bit small. They also started making keyboards, so Microsoft decided to team up with them after the Habu mouse. Enters the “Reclusa”.

Because you can pretty much find good optical sensors anywhere, building a strong mouse requires implementing such profeatures, and that’s just what Logitech and Microsoft started doing.

The Reclusa expresses the same concept : A very nice keyboard with Microsoft values (that is, very strong) and Razer tweaks.

I can’t say the Reclusa spells revolution but it does ehance your everyday keyboard (you wont find no curves in the actual typing area) and add ‘those’ features.

Along the usual keys you’ll find plenty of customizable ones, as well as a DVD eject button, and a couple dial jogs : Again, plenty.

The config tools makes custom profiles easy and you can even ajust the response delay in millisecs or make macros.

The right Jog typically is used for sound volume and you can pretty much decide what to do with the other.

There are External curves but the key area remains squareSpeaking of custom keys, theyre pretty close to the rest of the keyboard so be prepared for unhappy slipping once in a while until you’re getting used to it (we’re talking pinky reeducation here).

Overall quality

The backlighting is pretty faint in a good way, so it will make your room definitely cooler but wont kill your eyes.

One of the best features is definitely its strong grip on the desk. The Reclusa Is a heavy machine and chances are it wont ever slip. Kudos for that one. The wrist rester Is also pretty cool with some leather thingy fabric covering it.

It also has a couple USB I/O as well as gold on its plug. The keys are soft but not mellow, the plastic is good but that retro keyboard feel I do rebuke. The keys are pretty high which contradicts the confort feel of other MS keyboards but remains true to gaming’s tradition : You cant really mess with the keyboard’s layout once it becomes an instrument of sharp precision. Ironically it was Microsoft who sold me to that whole ergonomics hype. Hey, whatever works for you.

Overall, they did an amazing job but could you really expect less from Razer And Microsoft ?

The game experience is pretty rewarding : Night playing becomes a marvel (thanx to the glowing light). Be prepared for night of the Mosquitos tho, ill just leave it at that.

Classy looking but top notch, it bears no resemblance with Logitech’s G15 and is aimed at a slightly more casual public, at least thats my wild guess here.

Plus’es :

Prestigious features

Quite heavy

Everything but flashy looking (bar the lights)

2 Bonus USB ports

Nice wrist rester

Minuses :

Left custom keys are awfully close to the rest of the keyboard (particularly hazardous in First person shooters). You get used to it pretty fast tho.

Why the lateral custom keys (theres plenty of unused space on top) ?

The big fat glossy curve on top is a real dust trap.

Couple pics with lights on :

Backlighting’s pretty sweet

Conclusion :

This gaming keyboard remains pretty casual despite its Razer name. However it is one of the best out there, even compared to my ergonomic babies. I grew a fondness for it pretty fast. Maybe you will too, you fast ‘n furious glowing neon light loving you !

Review : Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 7000

Decaf — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:27:41 +0000

Hey ! Heres a recap of the review I originally made for the WLM 7000 :

The latest arrival from Microsofts hardware central relies on several axioms: Design is good, performance ? mucho, ergonomy is the new hip and design is really good again.

The brand new Wireless 7000 family (Mouse and Keyboard) proves just that. Enters the mouse (yey).

The box :

Main aspect :

Wireless Laser 6000’s brand new sister, the « 7k » as i like to call it, is also packed with a top notch laser sensor and 2,4 ghz wireless. This black ensemble with little (Vista’s)aero touches (translucid or chrome) looks pretty neat, so let’s start examining the item.

Back view

In addition to the usual 3 buttons (the middle one being the mousewheel), the WL7000 possesses 2 lateral buttons, you can hardly notice em as they blend with the nice curves. The mousewheel offers four directions so you can also have a blast with horizontal scrolling. Theres also a green LED for battery checking purposes.

It comes with one rechargeable cell and its recharge dock. The 2,4 ghz wireless transmission is powered by a small USB key. The distance is reasonable so you can even use it from your couch (which we all do).

Let’s use it :

Theres no denying the guys from MS hardware did a great job with its curves : My hand rested comfy on the WLM 7000. The grip is also pretty good, seems to defy stickiness and the clicks feel natural.
If the handling is at its best when the mouse is flat on the desk (without some wrist rester gel mousepad, that is), the mouse itself doesn’t feel really big ( despite its somehow bloated appearance).

Actually, it’s even lighter than I thought. I got big hands so I like my mice with some weight inside. Not a catastrophy though, I just had to adjust from my MX.

The drivers and software are anything but original but you do get an auto FLIP3D assign (Only works in Vista).

Conclusion :

I can’t say the WLD 7000 is Progamer oriented, but you could also use it for games. Its polyvalence makes up for its lack of weight or cool blue neon lights. While awesome at work, there’s almost nothing you won’t be able to accomplish with it. Overall the best part is its ergonomy with an excellent grip as well as its very silent wheel.

Hey there !

Decaf — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:23:11 +0000

Howdy ho!

So i decided to add a new chapter to my blog, this time in english, cus the international audience is forever growing, think i read that somewhere.

Anyhow, heres what you’ll find here : mostly staple articles translated from french, especially when i make a video showcasing an item i just reviewed. Other than that ? The usual gibbering mumbojumbo you can expect from a “It’s about nothing” blog.

ENJOY.