Honestly… anything can be made into a game these days. Even breakfast.

Of cos, this video is just a parody of the countless accessories the game console companies are coming up with nowadays. The Wii platform is really good for such expansions – first there was the tennis racket, the all star rock band set, then the yoga mat, and who knows what may be invented next?

Given the rampant piracy, it is indeed hard to make a living out of selling game wares, and it is no surprise that companies often make more money out of selling the complementary parts than the main console itself. I used to work at a printing company, and we all know how cheaply you can get a printer nowadays. However, that is just the beginning. And I hope that you do realise how expensive your cartridges can go up to (unless you are going for the cheaper way out, using SEPOM or other ‘copy’ colors).

In addition, companies such as Sony and Apple are already heading in such a direction. PlayStation3 is a very obvious example – BluRay discs are definitely not playable on any other console. Memory Sticks are only meant for Sony electronics (have you seen Canon or Konica cameras using Memory Sticks?). And in the Microsoft vs Apple warfare, each company is clearly creating their little island – if you want to use a Mac OS, you had better get a hard disk that is Mac-compatible, or an iPod that can synchronize with your Mac. It is a good thing that USB ports are still universal, or there may never be a common ground for file transfers between the 2 different platforms (unless you count the internet).

There is a reason why stores like IKEA sells you cheap hotdogs – you might think that everything else is cheap, too. However, when you conveniently pick up a load of all the other items you think should be value for money, it will already be too late. This is how many stores draw customers in with a below-the-cost item as a bait. Ultimately, the company that can get the customer to even purchase one of their many products win, because you will soon find yourself referring to your existing products when you make new purchases. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t want to buy from the online Nokia music store only to find that the WMV extensions doesn’t work on your iPod!

If you haven’t heard of it, the opportunity to download unlimited music LEGALLY is here.

Get a Nokia handphone that has the service ‘Comes With Music‘ (CWM) enabled and you will be entitled to a database of over 3 million songs.

The service lasts for a year from the day you subscribe to it, and you get to keep all the songs you downloaded permanently, except that it can only be played on 1 PC and 1 phone (yes, you can’t send it to all your friends!) since it has DRM (digital rights management. Seems reasonable since downloading and unlicensed distribution is spiraling out of control. 

And did I mention that it is NOT Mac/iPod compatible? It makes sense because it can only be on a PC and on Nokia phones. Nokia doesn’t produce iPod. So even if they do make it compatible, you can’t transfer it to an iPod anyway. I’m not sure if they are trying to get people to use their phones more as an MP3 player though. I sure don’t listen to my music on phones often… or PC (if use a PC I would rather stream music).

However, the downside is that you cannot renew your subscription, and if you want to continue the service, the only way is to get a new mobile phone. Seriously, this doesn’t really bother me that much because youngsters nowadays change phones like they change clothes. Technology always evolves and who knows, maybe you’ll even get another phone before one year is up (and you know you can ‘upgrade’ your contract every 12months). The only thing is CWM-enabled phone comes at a $100-$200 premium over a non-CWM phone. A normal N85 costs $828, while a N85 CWM costs $958. 

And you thought you were really getting the music for free.

Perhaps Nokia can produce solely CWM models and non-CWM models, instead of having the same phone with or without CWM. That way when we buy a CWM model we would never realise that we are paying $100-$200 extra (that is if you stop reading this article and other related articles now). By incorporating free music into the phone set, at least we don’t feel the subscription pressure – we can download whenever we feel like it. (Don’t you feel forced to download if you do a monthly based subscription? It’s called Singaporean kiasuism)

I looked at the models that Nokia is offering and I must say I am pretty impressed. Nokia’s designs have improved over the years, and even without the CWM service, I would be quite tempted to get their Xpressmusic 5800. Hence CWM is definitely a bonus for me.

Free music certainly fits us. It’s just like the way we chow at buffets. Nokia had better take extra precaution maintaining their website because you can never underestimate the power of downloaders.

I really understand why people put 5 mins advertisement break for every 15/30 min of TV dramas. I also understand the repeated reminder to tune in to FMXX.X and why the DJ talks a lot and why there’s also a radio advert after like 2 or 3 songs.

Usually for the 1-hour TV shows, it’s enough time for me to 1) brush my teeth; 2) prepare stuff for the next day and 3) toilet break. I remember there was this time the TV station tried to make it irregular by putting 1 random advert abruptly in the middle of the show, and people thought it’s gonna last for 5 mins, so they would go off and do their thing. And when they come back to realise 5mins of the show has already passed, it was already too late. it’s probably introduced to condition people back to believing all the advertisements will be this short, so that they will sit through the entire 5 mins thinking the show will start in another minute, but apparently it didn’t go that well. As far as I know, it’s not happening these days (correct me if I’m wrong though, I don’t watch that much TV)

But anyway… the point of this post is: why do they have to do the same to online streaming as well!??!?!

We thought we could be rid of those irritating advertisements if we stream a video online… or that we can continuously listen to our favourite music without interruptions of the DJ’s long stories… but it seems that those days are gone. Streaming for free is taxing on the webmaster – both hosting-wise and maintenance-wise. And we have all become desensitised to the banners around the video. The only spot that the audience is focused on is – you guessed it – the movie itself.

So hey, why don’t we put advertisements on the video instead? We could have one every 10 mins (and an Anime is only 20 minutes long minus the opening and ending song). It could be related to the Anime, or an advertisement of the Anime itself! (which, in my opinion, is really kind of stupid, but it happens) And so I was watching Macross Frontier and a 5 seconds long advertisement on Macross Frontier itself pops up. It was short, but still disruptive. And the worst thing is you can’t really do much during this 5 seconds – if you try to skip this tiny part you might even miss your show and end up wasting more time by rewinding back. (This I’ll admit, they have really calculated well)

At first I thought that it may have defeated the purpose of watching a video online – because it is suppose to load videos WITHOUT advertisements for you. But on second thoughts, this was actually not the purpose in the first place. People wanted to watch free videos, overseas videos, first-hand or limited videos that are not shown on local channels. And we all know the legal issues surrounding downloads, and hence the streaming technology. However, now that streaming is not so illegal, it’s time to make some money from it – or help the video industry. Especially if it’s hosted on a .com or .net site, you’ll definitely need some basic financial backing.

And as much as I hate to say it I guess it does really work. But I don’t suppose people will continue coming back to the site unless the site is really good (has all the shows you want, loads fast, good quality), because for me, I definitely cannot be bothered to look for an alternative site unless they put really bad advertisements inside (like maybe try to advertise a scrub or Kleenex out of nowhere). And here’s something good for the video industry – It will probably prompt more buyers to get the original video instead of watching it online, that is, if you can’t stand your show being interrupted for more than 5 seconds.

But if you’re poor like me, online streaming is still the best way out. You just need to grit your teeth for 5 seconds and it will soon be over. xD