You know what might be great? Get the f-ing US version to actually be able to play an online match without cheats/hacks/lag.

THAT might make all the people who loved the first gears consider even buying the third one. I can tell you right now, I will be waiting to see what the lag situation is like. I honestly can't understand how on a franchise that is so huge and makes you so much money, as well as being a system seller for MS how you can't manage to get a set of dedicated servers or something.

Jeez. Gears 2 is crap all because of the online shit.

Well,

Since it's movies, you probably aren't looking for wholly uncolored sound.

I could suggest a few Grados, or Senns, I love my 175 dollar Senns, but they don't do surround etc.

I have a friend who loves the Pioneers others have mentioned and they are wireless...

If you don't mind wired, you can get the Astro a40 set with amp and VERY durable headset for 250. I've had it for a few months now and I use it all the time for my late night movie watching and my gaming sessions.

It has tons of inputs, including optical and coax, and you can set a mix channel if you want to have your iphone or a mic plugged in just in case. It uses dolby headphone for it's surround decoding and I feel it's imaging is pretty on for the price.

The amp works with any headphone and it's all very high quality. I have a HUGE head and I seem to break all the bands/connection points on headphones all the time, these are made from a very flexible ABS with metal connections and joints at all the critical points. They show now signs of wear several months down the line.

Great set up with both the headset and the amp near your price.

I also agree with most of eatingpie's post.

cheers,
holto

Look,

regardless of what you like or dislike (I'm on my third iPhone and have had every single iPod since the 1st gen) This is a nice move from Microsoft. I'm not usually a fan and the old zune was dismal. This thing is gorgeous. I make no attempts and predicting how good the UI will react,etc, but this is finally a sexy device from Microsoft. The OLED screen alone is bloody beautiful.

that being said the #1 main reason that there will not be an iPod killer in the near future is not because people buy blindly. I propose it's quite the opposite in fact.

when I walk through any big box electronics store there is a made for iPod sticker on nearly any kinda of periphery gadget you could want. Speakers, receivers, some tvs, cars stereos, etc. Something like 75 percent of automakers are building iPhone/iPod integration right into their cars now. you can't deny that this is an overwhelming factor. I can buy most any other entertainment gadget and know that it will work with my player. even my xBox!

I am seriously thinking of getting one of these though. I think it's looking to be a really nice product. I've rarely felt compared to buy another product besides my iPods/iPhones until now.

The sad thing is as an artist and designer I've wanted an apple tablet for several years now with Wacom sensitivity but I don't think this is it since it's most likely a consumer/media level device and the main gist I'm sure will be multitouch.

I'm cool with that so long as it offers something new or interesting, but it's just not a product I need/want at the moment.

I really can't see an "inbetween" macbook/iPhone that would be 800 bucks since that would essentially be a netbook. If they bring something new to the game, however it could be interesting.

Otherwise why not go buy an HP or Dell mini9/10 and hack it for OS X if you REALLY need an Apple netbook. Way cheaper.

That, though, is the very reason that I hesitate to think it's a netbook type product. I mean, I know they are selling like mad, but the very reason they are selling like mad is BECAUSE they are 300 bucks. I don't think apple would make that dumb a mistake.

We'll see I guess. I don't need to spend anymore money anyway. Just built a new gaming PC.

Jesus, one day I'll learn teh internetz.

paragraphs 2&3 would=wouldn't

sorry, especially since it changes the entire outcome of the post. Ha.

Oh, and one more thing. I'd be perfectly content with 8% of anything that had me holding 30 billion dollars in cash and making hand over fist in the worst economy in decades.

Go ask the rest of the tech community how they are doing.

Sorry, would=wouldn't in paragraphs 1 & 2. Doh.

@Bob

Did you just enter the year 2009? The ONLY computers that have been selling well are the cheapest ones, ie:netbooks.

Manufacturers would hold productions completely for a product that is still selling well. Perhaps a little slower than under ideal conditions, but well nonetheless.

Regardless of how fashionable it is to hate on everything Apple does, to say that it would make sense to hold off offering new versions of a product that will possibly be directly competing with one of the best marketers/computer designers in the world wouldn't be a bad decision especially with the rumored device only a few months away.

You can argue the semantics of price all day, but what you can't argue is the fact that when Apple launches their take on an existing market, the majority of the time it ends up with them owning that segment or at least taking a very large percentage of it.

The only true flop of a product I can think of since jobs has been back has been the cube (possibly the appleTV), and the reality was that people just weren't ready for it yet. Hence, the mini.

Again, maybe Apple isn't for you. Don't buy it. Other people obviously enjoy the experience they are having with their Apple products. If they don't they either take it back or bitch and whine so incessantly about it that it's heard the world over on every message board and blog. Apple is consistently rated high in customer service, high in product quality and I think the sales of their latest entries to market speak for themselves.

Apple has 30 billion in the bank and is an american company that on some levels is doing great things in the tech industry/retail in one of the worst economies in our lifetime. There has to be some part of that that even the haters see as positive.

The only thing that could make me happier is if they'd quick dicking around with the app store and give me f-ing bluray already. But so far my trusty PC is doing a fine job serving up my bluray goodness and letting me mess with .net here and there.

That and bring their assembly and production into the US. I'd pay more, not a ton, but I'd definitely pay a few hundred more per computer and probably 50 more per iPhone if I new it was giving US workers jobs.

ummm... they ARE out of DRM. for the music at least. I would LOVE to see them do the same for video, but i don't think that's in their power at the moment.

Also, apple was fine with no DRM, and when the store first launched they even fought the labels on it. The labels gave DRM free rights to everyone else (amazon, etc) first trying to break apple down. Didn't work and now we have DRM free finally. I have no problem with my music saying I purchased it somewhere in the file. As long as I can play it on all my devices.

You know, I used to not give a shite about the whole multitasking thing, but as it becomes more of a staple of how I'm running business and my life in general, it's definitely becoming clear that we need that feature.

Other than that, I'm pretty damn happy with my 3g. I will eventually upgrade when there is multitasking, videochat and over 32gigs. A 64 gigger would be awesome.

Camera and video aren't quite as important although I'd like for them to be at least decent for when I don't have my 780is for photos and hd video.

you're right. the chinese do completely ignore the climate crisis. we should too.

we should also revoke your right to protest, criticize your gov't, take away your right to fair trial, free speech, bear arms, etc.

that's the most 8th grade moronic comment i've seen in a bit.

the US became great by leading the way not falling in with the lot. if we're gonna talk the talk we need to walk the walk.

i was blessed with a daughter a year ago this week. i'd love for her to have clean air to breathe and still be able to see a polar bear here and there. oh yeah, and not be under water.

and what part of this article says it will do the american people harm? i would imagine the part about it being 2015 before it's viable would also contribute to the tech being cheaper as well. i would also thing that GE is simply saying people will have the option of a zero footprint home by that year based on technologies they are working on.