So I’m finally getting a post in…and what else would I be taking about but WoW. I can’t believe how much I’ve enjoyed this game.  I’m closing in on level 69 and loving the new features that the new 3.0.2 patch has brought. If you’ve taken a hiatus from WoW, I suggest you take a look at the new patch. There is an absolute laundry list of updates, but I’ll give you a brief rundown.

• New talents: talent trees have been redone and new ones have been added (this is for the upcoming expansion’s level 80 cap). All of your talent points will be refunded so you can respec.
• Achievements: just like on xbox 360. Tons of achievements…750!
• A built-in calendar: now you can easily keep track of your guilds events as well as world events.
• Stormwind Harbor: Stormwind now has a harbor that will allow you to travel to the new continent Northrend in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion.

There are a ton of updates I didn’t mention, but these are some of the big ones. It almost feels like a brand new game to me, since I respec my arms warrior to fury. This patch is available to everyone playing WoW, but be sure to look into the expansion in mid November. I absolutely can’t wait!

This is going to one heck of an expansion

but I figured it’s time to start it up again. Going back to college definitely will put my attention in other places. Although I completely doubt people are looking at this (the blog is really just a place for me to build a portfolio of writing reviews and such), stayed tuned for some good stuff. And a quick World of Warcraft update, my 25 Dwarf warrior mentioned in the previous post is now up to 65!

So I’ve been playing WoW for about a week, and I can’t get enough of it. This is really my first serious time with the game. In the past, I’ve done a couple of trials but could not get into it. I’m normally into shooters and sports games, but this has been an awesome change of pace. I finally understand why 10 million+ people play this game. Many people are turned off by the monthly fee, which I admit is one the things that made me uninterested originally. Considering all factors now, the game is totally worth it. The sheer dollars/per hour spent in the game by far surpass my time spent with $60 PS3 and 360 games.

If you haven’t given WoW a chance, you are really missing out. Download the game and do the 10-day trial, you’ve got nothing to lose. Now excuse me, I gotta continue leveling my level 24 Dwarf Warrior!

and all I have to say is wow. This movie is definitely not being over hyped. It’s breaking records left and right and for good reason. I’m not going to review this movie since it probably won’t do it justice. However I would definitely give it an A+. Before this I thought Iron Man was the best comic book movie, but now we have a new champ. Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker is absolutely incredible. It is truly sad that that his career has come to an abrupt end. I honestly think this was the first movie I saw with Ledger, and I was very impressed. Alright enough of my thoughts, go see the movie…as if you weren’t going to anyway!

If you don't see this movie, you are making a huge mistake

Big, beautiful, and full of features

There are a few things that come to mind when you’re in the market for a new monitor: size, features, and price. After only a week of use, I can already say that Gateway’s XHD3000 monitor delivers very well in all three of these areas.

The first thing you’ll notice about the XHD3000 is that it’s huge. It is a 30 inch monitor with a native resolution of 2560 x 1600. My previous monitor was Dell’s 24 inch 2407WFP, and the XHD totally dwarfs it. I’m currently using this monitor with my Macbook pro at native resolution, and the screen real estate is absolutely fantastic. I can have several applications viewable (and usable) at the same time.

Since the XHD3000 is in an exclusive group of 30 inch monitors with the likes of Dell, HP, Samsung, and Apple, what does Gateway bring to the table that the others don’t? Unlike any other consumer monitor on the market, the Gateway XHD3000 features the Silicon Optix Realta HQV video processor. In a nutshell, this processor upscales any non-native signal to the native resolution of the display. In even simpler terms, it make lower-res content look better. This gives a huge advantage to PC gamers that don’t have a $600 graphics card needed to run games on a 30 inch display. Instead of running games at higher resolutions, you will be able crank down the resolution to a playable level, and the HQV processor will take care of upscaling the picture. I’ve have tried out games like Team Fortress 2 and Call of Duty 4 running at about 1280 x 800, and they look excellent scaled to 2560 x 1600. The XHD3000 also boasts a bevy of inputs. It supports DVI, VGA, HDMI, Component, and Composite video. Other features include  a surprisingly good sounding speaker bar, an infrared remote, and a touch sensitive side control panel.

Gateway’s XHD3000 has a load of features at a very reasonable price (it fluctuates between $1500 and $1700). There are, however, a couple of issues. After the monitor is turned on or awaken from sleep mode, the monitor will blackout for a second or two within 5 minutes. I’ve heard about this from the reviews on Newegg, and it is a widespread issue. That being said, it has yet to hinder my experience whatsoever. Another problem I had was that it would not properly accept the signal from an xbox 360 using the VGA cable. Fortunately I was able to use the component cable and still had excellent results. Minor hitches aside, the Gateway XHD3000 is an excellent monitor that brings tons of great features for a fair price.

Pros:

• Great Picture Quality
• HQV Processor improves the quality of non-native res sources
• Loads of inputs (enough for a PC, xbox 360, PS3, Wii, with a VGA input to spare!)
• Included speaker bar sounds great and saves desk space

Cons:

• Screen blacks out within a couple of minutes of turning the display on (or waking it up)
• Issues with VGA input for xbox 360
• Some of the touch controls on panel could be more sensitive

Bottom Line: If you’re in the market for a 30 inch monitor, or a monitor with tons of inputs, this is the monitor to own. Highly Recommended.

Grade: A-

Alright, so this is just another blog that probably no one will see. But really, this blog is more for me to create a portfolio of my thoughts and ideas about technology, gaming, movies, and perhaps music. If anyone does see this, enjoy!