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Alright, so I’m blabbing with my buddy @iceman1010 while playing a multi-player session of Red Dead Redemption and he’s telling me that his local game files on his PS3 were corrupted and he lost all of his game saves, both single and multi-player, meaning he literally had to start the game all over. Got me thinking about getting a little more serious about backing up, which could help prevent such a catastrophe since I enjoy certain games and would be devastated if I lost MONTHS of game saves, trophies, and achievements.

When you have as much data on your PS3 as I do, you’ll need media that exceeds 20GB alone in order to back it all up. If you can find a 32GB USB thumb drive, then you’re not going to get much from this article as this is more for the more traditional 80GB and higher USB external drives that have become cheaper in cost and just as portable nowadays. The problem is the PlayStation supports the FAT32 file format which hardly any newer OSs support and Windows won’t allow formatting a drive to FAT32 that is larger than 32GB as an old rule of thumb.

First off, a back up utility is already in the PS3 OS. Just like any other PC or mobile device, it’s always a good idea to backup your data in the event of data loss or corruption. Hard drives will fail; that’s a guarantee, it’s just a matter of when. If something were to happen, I could at least restore so I wouldn’t have lost everything. Next up, a decent media to back up to, however keep in mind the PlayStation will require FAT32 to read/write so figure at the least the 32GB thumb drive option, but you might find it more cost effective with a USB external to be used with other PC’s. Need a new one? Below is the one I just got along with the cables you’ll need:

As for the instructions for formatting your new external storage device, this is the best information I found, especially since most of us have either Vista or Windows 7 and FAT32 is mostly an expired technology no one uses much anymore. Click here for info.

Gaming is for geeks, dorks, nerds, or otherwise unsocial. Gaming desensitizes today’s youth to sex, drugs, and violence. Heard these before? Yeah, it’s been said. The way I see it, I game because it’s entertaining. Period. It’s a another way to lose an hour or two from reality. “Shooting at pixels” doesn’t make me wanna go out and rob a bank, steal a car, maim an innocent, or drink & drive; it’s escapism and detachment from the real world outside.

A fellow co-worker had asked if I was married and replied back I never was. I’m no longer a teen dealing with social issues, sitting in front of a TV all day; I am an adult with a full time job. I’m not out in the streets defacing public property, spending $200 at a bar for drinks potentially driving home drunk, gambling my life savings away, or just otherwise doing anything else that would be harmful to myself or anyone else within my public domain; I’m just home safe playing games, not hurting anyone.

Next time you see “those crazy people” at Comic Con or another fan based convention, just remember there are drug dealers on street corners, prostitutes working seedy motels, somebody drinking their liver away, or some other harmful activity to society that could also be construed as “entertainment”. Before you point a finger, take a good, long, hard look at yourself because even life is just a game.

Come home late after a very long day (and week if you’re really interested) to see a plain white, bubble wrap package in the mail waiting for me. Inside was a black iPhone 4 bumper that I had ordered the day Apple opened up the program for a free case to be shipped out to you. The pic in this post was taken with my iPhone 4.

While this was meant to address the issues surrounding reception, AKA “antennagate”, this bumper (can’t be called a case since it doesn’t actually cover the phone, just the surrounding sides), it really has more function from keeping the phone from sliding around on smooth surfaces which I found to be a plus. The quality of the bumper is great; very OEM like feel as if it was really meant to be a part of the phone at the original design. It features integrated buttons that “snap” and respond just as if it really wasn’t a bumper at all and was just part of the phone. That 2mm lip on both the front and back are constructed of rubber so it gives just enough space to prevent any scratches from the glass surfaces in daily use. It gives a little resistance so it doesn’t feel as if it’ll slip from your hands or pocket.

As for the real reason as to why these are even available, adding a barrier between your hand and the tri-antennas to prevent a user from grounding and attenuation, that’s a matter that’ll really be seen with time and use. Within the one day that I’ve had and used it, it appears that there’s still a little attenuation, but not like before so problem still not 100% solved, but a little better at least.

Overall, it does the job its designed for and adds just a wee bit of bulk to the phone if you place it in your shirt pocked like I usually do. All in all, good effort Apple to address antenna gate, however we really know that a future firmware update will have to take care of the proximity sensor problem as well as the attenuation situation. Thanks, Mr. Jobs, for my free case and saving me $30.

So the U.S. Federal Government decided yesterday that jailbreaking your shiny new iPhone is longer a bad thing. iPhone prohibition is over, eh? Well, power to the consumer for this “win”, however there’s still a sour with anything sweet.

First, you’ll still void your warranty with Apple & will pay through the nose if you need support. If you’re under contract with AT&T, you’ll be penalized.

Don’t get it twisted, I’m for freedom of choice and this is a step forward, but it runs your battery down with all of the processes & memory requirements for the sake of the cool stuff you can do with it. In the end, it’s not all that. If you don’t use every app Cydia offers, you can benefit if you have service by T-Mobile & save money using their wireless service.

I actually am ok with AT&T ironically, but the service is lacking where I work & need it most. It is a hassle when you’re on a business call & it drops… again and again. I have jailbroke before and while it was cool, it was also mega slow too. Not a fair trade for me so I’ll stick with stock. Of course, your miles may vary with your use should you choose, but I do like that you now don’t have to cowl in fear when you need help at the Genius Bar.

Steve Jobs is such a gangsta. Gotta love a salesman. He knowingly puts out a product to market that engineers warned him may have a design flaw, yet approves it anyway likely to met the droves of fanbois (sadly, I raise my hand) and investors, not to mention the annual releasing of an updated iPhone every June/July which has now become customary and didn’t want to disappoint the masses.

Ok, so I get free shit, but does that mean that anything was actually fixed? No. Far from. “Take this $30 gift and keep your mouth shut” should have been the basis of this announcement today. It’s a $1 made-in-China-plastic-and-rubber-ring which was an easy and cost effective cop out for Apple. Kinda reminds me of when I got my hair cut as a kid and getting a sucker at the end just to take my mind off of the shitty haircut I just got and the grief I’d have to endure when I returned to school on Monday morning. Gee, thanks.