Technology isn't just stagnating, it's going backwards

     It was the first of May, 2025, and the console industry was shaken with an unprecedented announcement: Microsoft’s five year old Xbox Series X and S would be getting a price increase.

    The shock and backlash from the market was immediate. It wasn’t just that this flew in the face of console market tradition, it’s that it flew in the face of historic technology trends. The famous Moore’s Law might not have held as much merit as it once did, but the expectation was still there: Technology would always get cheaper to produce over time. Consumers were long accustomed to getting the same performance and capabilities for less money, or better performance and capabilities for the same money as years went on. Suddenly, this bedrock of the tech industry was starting to show cracks.

 

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Ribbon Driver Headphones

I started a journey last year when I decided to buy an AMT, or Air Motion Transformer headphone (again). After enjoying it so much, I toyed with the idea of buying other unique driver headphones. Maybe... starting a collection focused mainly on different driver technologies, and trying to obtain one of every kind..? It's not like there are tons of them, so it should be pretty doable, right?

Enter the RAAL CA-1a — my first ribbon driver headphone.

How Not to Quit YouTube

Last year I wrote about content creator burn-out, which was a deeply introspective piece about my own journey with making videos for my YouTube channel. And in what is perhaps an interesting coincidence, over the past several months some very high profile channels have announced their closure. Perhaps my thoughts were just echoing an overarching cultural malaise that myself and millions of others were simultaneously experiencing. Or maybe my hobbyist experience has nothing in common with the experience of those living the life of a career YouTuber pressed under the weight of turning videos into food on the table.

But my expression on the topic tapered off into a somewhat dour, depressed tone. That's no longer how I feel now.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Review

Hi there. Lifelong Turtle fan here. It took me a while but I finally got around to seeing the newest film based on the morphed adolescent terrapins, directed by Jeff Rowe (The Mitchells vs the Machines) and Kyle Spears (storyboard artist for The Mitchells vs the Machines), and written and produced by Seth Rogan. It's an animated movie, the second ever after 2007's TMNT.

I have thoughts about it, so let's talk.

Burn-out vs The YouTube Content Creator

When I started this blog, I had a lot of problems in my life and writing about my hobbies gave me something of an outlet. It may not have addressed my core issues, but it gave me a needed distraction and some relief from the depression and anxiety those issues brought. It was also an exercise, as I enjoyed writing and I saw it as a way to hone my skill, albeit in a vacuum largely devoid of feedback. But I am my own worst critic, and so in obsessing over the things I had written, I was generating my own feedback loop. If nothing else, I could grow my skill at expressing the feelings I was trying to convey.

When one of my hobbies turned into a YouTube channel, that became all I could do. I didn't have the time or the energy to devote to blog posts, and any other hobbies that didn't involve just simple collecting tended to go by the wayside. Without even the remotest idea of what I was doing, I naïvely set out to develop and conquer a new skill: Video production.

Air Motion Transformer (AMT) Headphones

I love headphones. I love technology. So it stands to reason I like headphone technology. In fact I've written about it here on a couple occasions. So when a "new" innovation in the field springs up, I tend to take notice. It was just such an innovation that motivated me to peck out those original writings some thirteen years ago.

Back then I was quite bullish on the concept of planar magnetic technology. Here was something that promised to deliver much of the speed and resolution of electrostatic drivers, but with the ability to be plugged into any conventional headphone amp. And they were being made by a couple guys futzing around in a garage, producing headphones that rivaled the best multi-million dollar technology from the market's biggest players. It was almost like getting to witness Jobs and Wozniak stamping the first fruit logo on a home computer. And yeah, to me and many others, the writing was on the wall.

I'm less bullish on AMT technology, though. AMT, or Air Motion Transformer transducers, are closer in DNA to planars than dynamics or anything else. Essentially it's like an accordion. You have a folded diaphragm that squeezes and expands to move air. OK it's not really an accordion — an accordion is basically a bellows that squeezes air through reeds. AMT produces sounds through the folds themselves via extremely fast movement. One manufacturer reckons four times faster movement than planars or dynamics. (We'll get to them in a bit.) And like those technologies, you can plug it into an ordinary headphone amp.

Sounds promising so far, right?

Building a Windows XP PC, And Reliving A Golden Era

For me, Windows XP is where I really got my start in PC gaming. Growing up with computers, I had always dabbled in PC gaming — trying to get games to run on the school computers, or using one at friends' and relatives' houses, putting a game or two on the family computer — but I didn't actually get my own gaming PC until XP was well on the scene. And it's then that I really began learning about them, building and tinkering my machine until I could get a good framerate out of the game I wanted to play. It was a magical time.

Top 10 Most Infamous Graphics Cards of All Time

The world of GPUs has always been a cutthroat one, and while no GPU designer ever intends to release a flop, there are instances under the high pressure environment of this market where mistakes are inevitable. A GPU maker has to survive by timely launches of competitive graphics solutions, straining to anticipate their rival’s intentions and often stretched for time against ever-present problems. It’s a complex undertaking, where design takes place four or five years before it will be powering whatever crop of demanding games currently hold our attention, having to understand what the capabilities of manufacturing will be at the time, and the state of software standards like Microsoft’s DirectX. Then when launch time comes, you have to be ready with enough chips hitting close enough to performance goals, and feature-complete drivers that are polished and ready to spit out images error-free.

Perceptions Changed After Rewatching MCU

In the lead up to Civil War, I took up the task of rewatching everything that's happened so far in this crazy awesome universe. Supercut trailers made by fans that show scenes throughout the series as they pertain to Captain America 3 are really cool, and really illuminate the meticulous planning behind the camera to put this whole symphony together. But that wasn't enough -- I had to watch every movie over again.

Many of the MCU films I've already seen multiple times. As someone that doesn't get out to the theaters as often as I'd like, and certainly not to bear the expense on movies I've seen before, for me at least it's a big deal to say The Avengers and Captain America: The Winter Soldier were watched more than once on the big screen. The pair are the best comic book films ever made (so far), and each one cannot be seen too many times. They are truly the pinnacle of what we can do in the genre right now.

Reassessing the Prequels

It's funny, because in the world of films, just saying "the Prequels" will probably tell you all you need to know about what a person's talking about. And it immediately conjures up feelings about them, ones that are most often deeply seeded over a very long gestation period, more than ten years now since the release of the third film in the trilogy. Every opinion has been rendered, and I'm not about to open new ground by rendering my own, but I thought now was a good time to voice them in a cavernous void where few if any eyes will ever see them.

The Return of Ghost Roaster, Eons in the Making

In the world of Skylanders, many characters exhibit a wackiness and creativity that isn't matched by a lot of other game franchises. Their uniqueness is part of what makes them memorable, but few characters have made such an indelible mark as Ghost Roaster. To look at, he's certainly cool enough, with his spiky skull head and long pointy teeth, his cartoony over-the-top lapels, and chain mace tail. That's all well and ghould, but it's how he plays that makes him the total package, and why so many have fallen in love with the character.

Skylanders SuperChargers Pt. 2

SuperChargers marks what may be the biggest change to gameplay in the Skylanders series. Vehicles are what's hot, and with that opens up a whole expanse of new gameplay that's obviously very different from what fans are accustomed to. And it's this difference that has some of those fans up in arms. A turn off for veterans, and a possible avenue to a bright new future that revitalizes the Skylanders franchise. There's a lot to talk about, so let's get started.

Skylanders SuperChargers Pt. 1

The last game, Trap Team, sold undeniably well. The game featured 57 characters, 55 trap crystals, and 8 magic and adventure items, not including special editions and variants. The game commanded a massive portion of retail shelves, and an even bigger portion of the toys-to-life market despite heavy competition from Disney. Looking back, it's obvious Trap Team simply offered more than not only its competition, but every past Skylanders game to date as well. But was it perhaps too much?

What I want from Skylanders 5, and more

In my last rambling, I let loose some steam on the state of things in the toys-to-life market. The subject is one of increasing passion for me, as not long ago I was unexpectedly sucked into a Portal of Power and wound up with about 50 Skylander figurines, not including those of my girlfriend's. I've yet to recover, but that doesn't seem to cause me any distress. The series is a fantastic co-op experience, though local only and limited to just a pair of players. As her and I were already enthusiastic about toy collecting, the match was easily made. Others like us have come to know something about this genre of plastic baubles that outsiders just don't understand: There's something intangibly captivating about putting a toy on a pedestal and watching it animate on the screen before you.

image credit: Thelostlighthouse.com

Four Years Later, and Skylanders Still Hasn't Been Matched

Seriously, why is that? It shouldn't be hard to figure out. Create a toy with an NFC chip, make a game around it using a standard adventure formula, save relevant data on said toy and try not to make decisions that screw people over. On the surface, it doesn't seem that difficult. It may be that Skylanders makes it look easy, but in all honesty the series isn't doing anything special.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens will bring about the End Of The World -- And it's all that little droid's fault

By now, if you give five shits about Star Wars (and I'd hope so if you're reading this) then you've already seen the latest teaser trailer for Episode VII. If not, what the fuck? There's more epic and awesome in that little trailer than an evening on the lake with Zack Snyder and Michael Bay dueling in samurai gear on C4-powered jet skis. And it's not causing a stir because it's full of action and amazing-looking set pieces. It's making fans old and new foam in the pants because it's a new Star Wars, and it doesn't look like goofy melodramatic shit.

Disney's Golden Age: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

And now for something entirely different! As much as technology and gaming consume a vast breadth of my attention, I have other interests as well. One of them is animation, and starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, I'm going to talk about Disney films of the golden era, spanning a ten-part series ending with Sleeping Beauty. This was inspired by a fellow blogger who calls his page "The Norman Nerd", in which he recounts Disney films during their renaissance period in the 90s. I thought that was a fun idea so I figured I'd give it a try, only this time covering their nascent years and early rise to pop culture stardom.

There's some caveats, though, as I'm going to be skipping much of their musical works such as Saludos Amigos, with the exception of Fantasia. This is equal parts because I'm less familiar with those films, and also because they don't fit the typical Disney cannon.

Let's Really Talk About The Next Generation

What can you say about the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3? It's been a long and illustrious career for both of them, hasn't it? At release, they were powerful systems, and provided a level of graphics and gameplay that has left many people with few complaints. Part of this longevity is owed to the developers who have continually pushed the chips inside past their limits. They've done the impossible at times, porting games that are considered cutting-edge on the PC, and doing so with a surprising amount of their aesthetic intact.

The Last Vita Rambling This Year

Last time I rambled on the Vita, I focused on the problems it faced in a diverse market. I pointed out some things that could be done to improve the situation. I even pointed out some silver-lining in the Vita's upcoming releases, with the biggest being Assassin's Creed III: Liberation. There are others, of course, but what the Vita needs the most is a boost for this holiday season.

Thanks to aggressively-priced bundles, it did get a boost. It sold about 160,000 units during Black Friday, the most active period of the year for gift buying. This is a huge boost for a system that can only manage 50k in an average month. From a microscopic viewpoint, this is really good news. From an industry-wide perspective, this is pretty bad.

Wii U First Impressions

My friend got up early on November 18, Sunday morning so he could pick up a Wii U from GameStop the moment they opened their doors at launch. It's funny, because he didn't even pick up the Wii at launch, or the DS, but every other N-brand console and handheld where he's been old enough to buy on the day of release, he's been there. Naturally, I tagged along.

Now I've made it no secret that the Wii U hasn't generated much excitement out of me. It's hard for me to get jazzed about a system that, essentially, will just offer a resolution bump for games very similar to ones Nintendo released on the Wii. At least, that's been my attitude before I've had a chance to see one in person. But how have my beliefs changed now that it's finally out and I've had a chance to actually play with it?