PC Gaming

We discuss a new free browser based game, Lord of Ultima.

Jeff gives us his thoughts on Magic the Gathering for PC.

Technical Corner

DogHouse Systems new product line the Prism series! We review the back history on the product line and some future product features.

We answer an email from Jeff regarding SSD drives.

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We welcome your feedback, comments, and suggestions! If you would like to submit a question for a future podcast you can leave a message for us at 214-705-3788 . Try and keep your message under a minute so we can play it back on the next show. We can also be reached by email: podcast@doghousesystems.com

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PC Gaming

Clark Petri reviews “World of Goo”

Congratulations to Chuck Stanley for being the winner of the Dirt 2 Contest!  We also spend some time talking about the game and we look forward to the upcoming race which will include Chuck, John, Keith, Sina, Jeff, and Scott Johnson!

Technical Corner

We go over a great 3 part question from one of our listeners in this extended Technical Corner.

Under the Hood

The winner of the “Name the Segment Contest” is announced.  Grats to Brandon for the winning entry of “Under the Hood”  Brandon wins 2,000 J!NX gold and Left 4 Dead 2.  We also have a runner up, Daniel for “Voiding your Warranty with Cornelius”.  Daniel wins a copy of Left 4 Dead 2!

In this segment, Jeff discusses lapping your CPU.
The forums have been updated and the layout should be much easier to navigate.  Special thanks to Jeff on helping us revamp the forum and we encourage everyone to check it out and be a part of the growing community!

We are getting closer to announcing the Armor TL giveaway.  Stay tuned!
Contact Information

We welcome your feedback, comments, and suggestions! If you would like to submit a question for a future podcast you can leave a message for us at 214-705-3788 . Try and keep your message under a minute so we can play it back on the next show. We can also be reached by email: podcast@doghousesystems.com

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Technical Corner

We go over a few questions from our listeners. Here is one regarding some PC utlity tools:

First, love the cast. Keep up the good work. Second, the TcpAckFrequency trick also works on XP. Third, I would love a list of apps and/or hardware you guys use for testing/benchmarking/troubleshooting. You have referred to a few in a couple different episodes, but it would be really nice to have a list.”

Tool links:

Prime95: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Others/Home-Education/Prime95.shtml

Memtest86: http://www.memtest.org/

Sandra: http://www.sisoftware.net/

Iometer: http://www.iometer.org/

3DMark 06 and 3DMark Vantage: http://www.futuremark.com/

Furmark: http://www.ozone3d.net/

GPU-Z: http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/

PC Gaming

We discuss some titles that were recently launched including the new Command and Conquer and Dragon Age Expansion.

Contests

Congrats to Zeke the Squirrel on winning the iPad Contest, here is his entry:

The iPad has some potential I think, but there are also a few things they really left out. First I’ll start with what they did right:

• Size: The size is perfect. It’s large enough that reading it like a book would be comfortable, but not so large it would be too difficult to take on the go.
• Power: With a 1ghz processor, it’s a formidable mobile device. Not just that, they’ve also managed to keep it running for 10 hours (on wi-fi) which is plenty of time if you just need to keep busy on a trip or connected while away. 3G battery life will no doubt be a bit shorter, but the fact that you have 3G on what is essentially a netbook is great.
• Backwards Compatibility: The fact that you can use most, if not all, of the apps that you’ve already got for your iPhone or iPod Touch makes getting one much more appealing to those who already own Apple products. Plus it means that you’ll have tons of additional apps at launch.
• Price: Apple is known for it’s pricey computers. I certainly would have expected this thing to run upwards of $800. The fact that I can get one for almost the same as what I paid to get an iPod Touch at launch is a huge plus in my book. Are there cheaper e-readers and netbooks? Sure there are, but having both rolled into one, plus the app store makes this device worth the extra few bucks.

While there are certainly a few things the iPad has going for it, there are also some things that Apple could have done better.

• The name! iTablet. iSlate. Those are just a couple of names that had been thrown around before the reveal. iPad just isn’t all that appealing to me at least.
• The Network: Being AT&T exclusive is the only thing that’s kept me from getting an iPhone so far. Maybe Apple hasn’t noticed, but there are plenty of other mobile providers that offer high speed data plans, many of which have better coverage (at least in most places) than AT&T.
• The Interface: While it works great for the iPhone and iPod Touch, I think they could have gone with something a little closer to OSX on this one. They’ve got so much more screen to play with, but still only 4 icons on the ‘dock’? At least you can customize the background this time. Also, I guarantee one of the first jailbreak themes will be Star Trek based, because who doesn’t like the LCARS interface?
• USB?: USB sounds like a no-brainer to me, but I guess Apple thought otherwise. Sure, you can get the 30pin-USB adapter for connecting to a digital camera (and perhaps some other devices), but why not just integrate it? I suppose this may help with power management, as well as keeping the size down. Obviously running an external hard drive of of the iPad would eat some battery.
• Camera: Or should I say lack-of. Some people thought there may even be two cameras in this, one facing the user, and one on the back. I’m a bit surprised there isn’t at least one of those on here. Both cameras I could understand as being a little excessive, but either one would open up a world of possible uses for the iPad. It’s certainly a little big to be holding up and snapping pictures all the time, but the user-facing camera would have been great for apps like Skype.

The iPad is something I’d love to get my hands on and play with, but there’s no way you’ll catch me standing in line on launch to get one. Just my thoughts…

“Zeke”
C.J. Aube
“Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes.”

The “Name the overclock Segment” and the “Dirt 2″ contest winners will be announced next episode. Don’t miss out on the chance to race the DHS podcast crew, Cornelious, and Scott Johnson from the Instance Podcast in Dirt 2.

Contact Information

We welcome your feedback, comments, and suggestions! If you would like to submit a question for a future podcast you can leave a message for us at 214-705-3788 . Try and keep your message under a minute so we can play it back on the next show. We can also be reached by email: podcast@doghousesystems.com

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Technical Corner

We go over two questions from listeners in this extended Technical Corner.

Contests

We have 3 active contests going now!

- iPad Thumbs Up or Down Contest. We are going to announce a winner for the iPad contest in episode 19. You still have time to enter this contest. Email us at podcast@doghousesystems.com with iPad in the subject line. We want to hear why you are (or aren’t) excited about the upcoming iPad. We will pick a winning entry and they will get 2,000 J!NX gold!

- Dirt 2 Contest. As we discuss in the PC Gaming segment, we are giving away a free copy of Dirt 2 to a lucky winner! All you need to do is email us at podcast@doghousesystems.com with Dirt 2 in the subject line. We will pick a random winner in episode 20. The winner will have a chance to take on John, Sina, Keith, and Scott in a best of 5 race!

- Name the New Segment Contest. Cornelious is joining us each week to discuss overclocking PCs. We would like your input on what we should name this new segment! Email us your entry with “Overclocking” in the subject line. The winner will get 2,000 J!NX gold AND Left 4 Dead 2! We will announce the winner in episode 20.

Contact Information

We welcome your feedback, comments, and suggestions! If you would like to submit a question for a future podcast you can leave a message for us at 214-705-3788 . Try and keep your message under a minute so we can play it back on the next show. We can also be reached by email: podcast@doghousesystems.com

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PC Gaming

Scott Johnson joins us in PC Gaming and we review Torchlight.  Scott give a Part 1 review of Mass Effect 2.  John and Sina have played Dirt 2 and they go over the new DirectX 11 title.

Technical Corner

Keith answers a question from a listener that a question about possible power supply issues.

Overclocking

We are excited to introduce Cornelious to The DogHouse!  He is going to be discussing overclocking to our listeners in the upcoming weeks.  We encourage anyone with questions to email or voicemail us with your overclocking questions!

Contests

We have 3 active contests going now!

- iPad Thumbs Up or Down Contest.  We are going to announce a winner for the iPad contest in episode 19.  You still have time to enter this contest.  Email us at podcast@doghousesystems.com with iPad in the subject line.  We want to hear why you are (or aren’t) excited about the upcoming iPad.  We will pick a winning entry and they will get 2,000 J!NX gold!

- Dirt 2 Contest.  As we discuss in the PC Gaming segment, we are giving away a free copy of Dirt 2 to a lucky winner!  All you need to do is email us at podcast@doghousesystems.com with Dirt 2 in the subject line.  We will pick a random winner in episode 20.  The winner will have a chance to take on John, Sina, Keith, and Scott in a best of 5 race!

- Name the New Segment Contest.  Cornelious is joining us each week to discuss overclocking PCs.  We would like your input on what we should name this new segment!  Email us your entry with “Overclocking” in the subject line.  The winner will get 2,000 J!NX gold AND Left 4 Dead 2!  We will announce the winner in episode 20.

Contact Information

We welcome your feedback, comments, and suggestions! If you would like to submit a question for a future podcast you can leave a message for us at 214-705-3788 . Try and keep your message under a minute so we can play it back on the next show. We can also be reached by email: podcast@doghousesystems.com

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Tech and Gadget News

iPad Discussion with a contest included. We’d love to get your take on the upcoming iPad.Thumbs up or down and explain why.Email your entry to podcast@doghousesystems.com and use iPad in the subject line. A winning entry will be chosen and will be awarded 2,000 J!NX gold to be spent at www.jinx.com

PC Gaming

Keith is a happy camper…why? 3 words: Star Trek Online.

Technical Corner

Keith and John answer a few customer question’s.

ULTIMATE GIVEAWAY!

John and Keith begin to talk about an upcoming giveaway / contest for a brand new custom Core i7 Armor TL!

Contact Information

We welcome your feedback, comments, and suggestions! If you would like to submit a question for a future podcast you can leave a message for us at 214-705-3788 . Try and keep your message under a minute so we can play it back on the next show. We can also be reached by email: podcast@doghousesystems.com

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Tech and Gadget News

Keith discusses his new Droid and all the cool features!

PC Gaming

Star Trek Online Release Date

Modern Warfare 2 Review

Torchlight Preview

Dibalo 3 release information…or lack thereof

Technical Corner

We review some emails from our listeners

Contact Information

We welcome your feedback, comments, and suggestions! If you would like to submit a question for a future podcast you can leave a message for us at 214-705-3788 . Try and keep your message under a minute so we can play it back on the next show. We can also be reached by email: podcast@doghousesystems.com

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PC Gaming

Tonight we changed things up a bit.  We will be recording the podcast once a month with the regulars (Keith, Sina, and John).  In between podcasts, John will be recording with Scott Johnson, of MyExtraLife.com and The Instance podcast.  Thanks to Scott for doing this and we are excited about where this will take The DogHouse podcast.  The format will be a little different as we will be focusing more on the gaming side of things.

In our first podcast together, we had Mike of the World of Warcast podcast and Nicole Spagnola of Ladies of Leet podcast join us to discuss Aion.  We had a blast recording this segment and we hope you will enjoy it!

Contact Information

We welcome your feedback, comments, and suggestions! If you would like to submit a question for a future podcast you can leave a message for us at 214-705-3788 . Try and keep your message under a minute so we can play it back on the next show. We can also be reached by email: podcast@doghousesystems.com

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Tech and Gadget News

6 axis wireless headset from Creative coming soon!

Ostendo 2880 x 900 curved display

Intel releases Core i5

PC Gaming

Star Trek Online

Star Wars: The Old Republic

iRacing

Technical Corner

Sean, from Canada, follows up with us in his quest to install Windows 7.

Steve, from Mississippi, has a video card question for us.

Thomas, from Independence MO, has asks about advantages of purchasing a custom gaming PC.

Contest Winner: The Perfect MMO

We had a difficult time picking a winner for this one, but Wade’s email really stood out.  We discussed his email on the podcast and we wanted to post his entry as well:

Great Podcast, I’ve enjoyed all the shows, I heard about it from The Instance.

Im not sure if this contest is still going on. I’ve played EQ, EQ2, Star Wars Galaxies, WoW, Eve, LoTR, Heroes, Guild Wars, and War Hammer Online.

I’d Love to see something like the Mining and Resource Gathering in SWG Combined with the EQ level of Questing and the PvP Of Warhammer.

I think this could all be done in a Wheel of Time World. Two Major Factions sort of a good vs. evil, with conflicts within each faction as well.

The Evil Faction Would be made up of all the different races that serve Shai’tan (The Dark One) There’s lots to choose from. The Good Faction would be all of the different human races. In the Book, the Blight which is the land that the evil faction controls is in the northern part of world, and the Humans the southern part of the world.

The PvP part could be made of Zones that change depending on who controls them. For Example if the humans control a section then plants and animals slowly increase in the area and thus the resources and benefits change, If the Trollocs control the zone Plant life dies and animals mutate and the resources and benefits change. And there would be no time resets on the zones, and the changes would take weeks and months to happen. And move slowly across the zone not the entire zone at a time. As far as the two factions are concerned, we all know that allies don’t always get along. Id like to see a little PvP between friends, Maybe a City quest (see below) triggers a small  border conflict which may change the borders a little and destroy the landscape for a couple of months or something. If players participate in the battle than they build reputation which affects them long term in a good and bad way. Maybe a vender in the neighboring city raises his prices while a certain enemy faction develops a fear of you giving you a plus of some sort while you fight them.

The resources could be gathered and refined like in WoW which is based on random findings, but to make it a little different add Guild resources. For instance Your Guild could buy land and build Farms, Mills, Mining Post, Tannery…. Where everyone in the guild receives a portion of the resource gathered. However like in SWG you have to maintain it or it will break and stop producing.

Id like to see Neutral NPCs that react to how you treat them. For instance if a city guard asks you a random question ” Hey there, what brings you to Caemlyn?” and you ignore him then he sounds an alarm and gives chase and you get arrested and fined or something along those lines. And if you respond then nothing happens to you, however he turns to another guard and says something that’s useful to one of your quest or maybe triggers a new quest of some sort.

As far as Quest go I don’t believe you can have to many. Each zone should have both Simple and Complex, Group and Solo. There should also be Faction/City quest that require large groups (25+) Where maybe you invade another city or zone.

Combat would and should be more than just killing. Like above maybe a system where as you complete battle achievements your reputation precedes you so to speak and you gain benefits that boost your ability vs. certain enemies.

I know this is allot but I’ve given this some thought over the years.

Thanks,

Wade

Contact Information

We welcome your feedback, comments, and suggestions! If you would like to submit a question for a future podcast you can leave a message for us at 214-705-3788 . Try and keep your message under a minute so we can play it back on the next show. We can also be reached by email: podcast@doghousesystems.com

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        (The DogHouse Crew: Keith, Sina, Matthew, and John)

This podcast is a quick recap of the last couple of weeks.  We were way overdue on getting out another episode of The DogHouse, so we discuss our experience at QuakeCon and BlizzCon.  Matthew joins us at the end of the podcast to give his perspective of BlizzCon as well.  We will resume our regular show starting next week!

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