I have owned just about every Nintendo console since the Super Nintendo.  I bought each one when they came out because they were fun.  But, now that I am older and have less time to game, I don’t just buy every console for the sake of owning one.  They really have to be fun.  In the age of Kinect, that is becoming harder and harder.  My Wii is now collecting dust somewhere, and I totally skipped the PlayStation without regret.  So, I approached the Wii U with a lot of trepidation.  And, right now it looks like it is going to be the first Nintendo console I am going to pass on in a long time.  It just does not look fun anymore.  Demos such as this chase demo show off the new type of game play that the console will enable, a hide-and-seek of sorts. But, it really does not look too exciting past the initial gimmick.

So, how do they fix this?  Well, the easiest way would be to copy the Kinect.  But, I don’t think this is viable because of the legal issues.  So, if I was running Nintendo I would run with their current concept, but supplement that weird controller with smartphone apps.  Allow any touch platform (iPhone, iPad, Android, Win Phone 7, Win 8 tablet) to act as a controller for the device.  In addition, allow these platforms to download games from the device and play them anywhere.  Make your whole library available.  Think onlive for Nintendo games enabled by this new console.  That alone would make the platform a success.

Right now, their current strategy seems a little limited and honestly pretty boring.  But if they would embrace other major platforms, I think it could be compelling enough to compete in the world of Kinect.

The third stop in the tour was Pickle’s. Located between a Bread Co., a Jimmy John’s, and a Subway in the Central West End, you would think that Pickle’s would have an uphill climb.  But, I think they are up to the challenge. I had the classic Cuban. I thought it was a pretty apt selection as it proudly features pickles as a main ingredient. The presentation (as seen above) was really nice and the sandwich was delicious. I think the best part was the pickles. I am a huge fan of pickles, and they were definitely top notch.

Next time I go, I will definitely have to check out the Reuben. Pictured below is Nick’s selection. Trevor said that this should have been the go-to selection.  After looking at the picture below, I would have to agree.

Since we will probably see the UI for Windows 8 in the next couple months, I figured now was a good time to speculate on what it is going to look like.  If you have read my blog in the past, you know I wasn’t too far off in my description off the next generation task bar.  So, hopefully, I will be on point for this as well.

So far we don’t know a whole lot about Windows 8.  We do know that the primary direction for Windows 8 is to marry the touch based UI with a point and click UI.  This is so the company can finally compete in the tablet space.  There seems to be three prevailing theories for developing an OS for a tablet (1) scale up a mobile OS (iOS), (2) develop a completely new tablet-oriented OS (Android 3), or (3) modify a desktop OS.  So far #3 has not worked at all.  But, I think we will see if this is a viable strategy with Window 8.  Personally, I think it will be viable.  But, it is all based on execution.

So, what is Windows 8 going to look like?  I actually think we have seen a lot of what it is going to look like.  I think it is going to be heavily metro inspired.  So, the UI will look like a combination of what we have seen with WP7, Zune, IE9 beta, the new Xbox Dashboard, and the original metro interface Windows Media Center.  What does this mean?  There will be a lot more white-space, larger fonts, subtle animations, and a lot more movement.  I think the most telling look at Windows 8 is seen in a video of the Flickr Windows 7 app.  The great thing about the UI is that it is built for touch.  So, I think it will make tablet-lovers happy.  The big question mark is getting this thing to run well across all the new platforms they promised.  I would guess this is going to take a large effort in improving the overall performance of Windows so that it runs smoothly across ARM and x86.

I do have a lot of questions around the core of the OS, specifically the taskbar and windowing systems.  The current functionality of the taskbar is stellar.  We might see a few tweak here-and-there, but I think that it is here to stay.  I am less sure about the windows.  I think with tablets, there is much less importance on the ability to size your window.  So, we might see some tweaks in the window management UI.  Another big question is the overall look of the taskbar and windows.  With Windows 7, there is a high reliance on transparency.  But, this doesn’t seem to jive with the metro style.  It will be interesting to see if they marry the two, or if they simply ditch transparency altogether.  I am personally hoping that they get rid of most of the transparency and really only show it when needed (for instance, when using Aero peek).

Anyways, those are my thoughts on what Windows 8 will look like right now.  What are your thoughts?

The second stop on the Tour was the much hyped Blues City Deli. We had another good turnout. We had all the regulars minus Nick and Nickie who had to (gasp) work; and, we also had a couple new faces: Eric, Courtney, and Courtney’s co-worker uh…. (damn! memory). Because Nickie couldn’t make it, I ordered two sandwiches: the Redbird (pictured above) and the Chicken Shack Ranch. I was going to go with the Redbird for me and the Shack for Nickie, but based on a brilliant suggestion by Eric, I ate half of each. Man-oh-man did Blues City live up to the hype. I am moving the Redbird to one of my favorite sandwiches of all time, and the Shack would definitely hit the top 15. The meat was good, the cheese was delicious, and the sauce was amazing. I am a big sauce fan, so the Finger Lickin’ and Drippin’ menu was right up my alley.

As an added bonus, here is a picture of Brian’s #1 ‘Valenza Special’ Muffeletta. I am going to have to go back for this one.

Next stop on the tour is Mom’s Deli. Although, we mind need to audible if it is too cold due to the lack of outdoor seating. Oh, and of note, Mom’s is cash only.

…or why the current selection of tablets suck.  Tablets are getting a whole lot of hype right now.  But, I have no plans on buying one in the near future.  The problem with tablets is three-fold.  First the current generation of tablet operating systems suck.  You pretty much have to choose between a giant smart phone (iPad and Android 3.0) or an OS that is not really built for touch.    As smart as a smartphone is, it still does not compare with my laptop.  And, as awesome as it sounds to have a full OS on a tablet, you really need to have a good touch experience to make it work.  The second problem is that if you actually create content (via typing), tablets are horrible.  Sure, when you want to hit up Engadget, a tablet works fine, but when you want to bang out some code, everything breaks down.  If I am spending $500, I would expect to use the machine for more than surfing the internet and playing Fruit Ninja.  And, that leads to the final reason, I will not be buying a tablet this year, they are too expensive.  Not to sound too much like Mike over at American Pickers, but I am pulling the trigger at $200.  For me, these devices are way too expensive for what amounts to a leisure device.

With all that said, I can really only think of one good reason to have a tablet.  And, that is for travelers.  Laptops and netbooks suck on planes.  If I was flying around a bunch (not via Flight Control), I would pull the trigger.

The inaugural leg of le Tour de Sandwich was fittingly at LeGrand’s.  LeGrand’s is a throw-back deli in beautiful South City that features a number of delicious, St. Louis inspired sandwiches including the St. Louis Hills Club, the Edmonds, Jimmy’s Meatball, the Stan the Man, and more.  I chose the LeGrand’s Slam, a delicious combination of Pastrami, Peperoni, Corned Beef, Hot Pepper Cheese, Cheddar, and Onion.  It tastes as good as it sounds. As it is just a stones throw away from my house, I will definitely be back.

The next stop on le tour is Blues City Deli.  I am really looking forward to this one because I have not been there yet.

Tablets - Obviously the big winner of CES is Android 3.0.  Microsoft really did not show up unless you have really deep pockets.  I guess they are content waiting until Windows 8.  I think this is a huge mistake, as Android 3.0 and iPad 2 will be killing it next year.  I do think that if Windows 8 enables experiences anywhere on the lines of this Flickr demo, than the future is bright.  But, as always, Redmond is a bit slow in getting there.  I am still waiting for non-contract devices at $199.  As a programmer, I really can’t justify throwing out $500.  I already have one device that I cannot type on.

Phones - While I thought it was really cool to see dual core phones and a bunch of 4G phones, I was overall disappointed with what was released at CES.  Android 3.0 made such a huge splash that seeing phones with an older version of Android and muddled with third-party UIs was a bit disheartening.  Plus, there was not much WP7 news.  Yes, we are getting copy-and-paste, performance upgrades, and a deluge of games, but I was really hoping on some firm dates and a bit more news regarding the rumored Mango release.

Surface 2.0 - I thought that the Surface 2.0 was the coolest technology demo of CES so far.  The possibilities for a screen that can read paper and interact with objects is almost endless.  For consumers, it looks like we are still a ways off.

Media Hubs - I thought it was funny earlier in the week when the rumor was going around that Microsoft might compete with Apple and Google in the media hub category.  Don’t be fooled, this isn’t much of a competition. The 360 is dominating this category.  I think Microsoft did the right thing at CES by touting upcoming media capabilities of the 360.

Kinect - The Kinect was by far the best technology introduction of 2010.  And, it looks like they are going to keep innovating in 2011.  I think the Avatar addition is pretty cool.  I am not quite sure if I would use it, but I could definitely see it appealing to a younger demographic.  I would have liked to see some more information at CES about new games coming to the Kinect, but I guess that will have to wait.  Now, just to buy a Kinect.  I still think I will need a bit more square footage first.

Of course, Nickie did all the decorating.  I think it turned out awesome!

I propose a simple metric to determine the relative awesomeness of your home or man cave with respect to the awesomeness of another.  I call this ratio the TV-to-Square-Foot ratio (or TSFR).  For instance, if your home is 1000 sq. ft. and you have a 40 inch TV, then your TSFR is 0.04.  Ratios are proportional.  So, a TSFR of 0.04 is exactly half as awesome as a ratio of 0.08.  With that said, if you have a single room that has a higher TSFR than your point of comparison but has a lower overall TSFR, then other merits such as ambiance, availability of palliatives, available viewing angles, and relative comfort should also be taken in to consideration.

I am still keeping it simple.  But, I added some new fonts via Google’s wonderful font directory.