This month (on page 82) we knock
Pioneer’s fi rst-gen Blu-ray drive for
not being able to read or write to CDs.
The drive also doesn’t include any
movie-watching software, and it costs
$1,000. It’s not a good introduction to
the much-anticipated Blu-ray format.
That’s all about to change, howev-
er, as Sony has announced its Blu-ray
contender—the BWU100A. Though
it costs a cool $750, it has everything
you could want in a Blu-ray drive. It
can read and write to every single
format ever conceived, including DVD,
CDs, and even the obsolete DVD-RAM
format. It also supports double-layer
50GB Blu-ray discs—a feature not
found on the Pioneer drive. Perhaps
most importantly, it includes Blu-ray-capable Cyberlink movie-watching
software. It’s still crippled by DRM, but
that’s next-gen optical for you.Sony Delivers the
Blu-ray Goods
It’s still pricey, but Sony’s entry into the HD optical market bodes
well for the format10 MAXIMUMPC october 2005
quick start THE BEGINNING OF THE MAGAZINE, WHERE ARTICLES ARE SMALL
W
hat happens in Vegas... rarely ever results
in a gruesome death. At least that’s the mes-
sage Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman wants
to get across. As if he doesn’t have enough of a
problem with the television show CSI piling up a
huge weekly body count in his fair city, now he has
to contend with Ubisoft’s upcoming tactical shooter
Rainbow Six Vegas, in which terrorists launch
attacks on the city.
The Mayor hadn’t seen the game (or even its
trailer) when he offered these thoughts to the Las
Vegas Review-Journal: “[The game] could be harm-
ful economically, and it may be something that’s
not entitled to free speech [protection]. It’s based
on a false premise. I will ask... whether or not we
can stop it.”
Not surprisingly, the first issue he mentions
is economics. In other words, this is all about
money. In Mayor Goodman’s world, when money
and free speech clash, the First Amendment can
grab its ankles. Vegas has spent millions cultivat-
ing an image as a place where people can wallow
in sin without consequences, while at the same
time attempting to sell itself as a sort of desert
Disneyland and family destination. All this is in
a city built and permeated by organized crime.
That’s an astounding PR stunt to pull off, and it
didn’t come cheap.
Even more laughable is the Mayor’s notion
that an attack by terrorists on America’s number
one symbol of sinful behavior and carnal excess is
somehow “based on a false premise.” I’d say it’s
based on simple probability.
Certainly, the game’s trailer is shocking in all the
right ways for gamers and all the wrong ways for
civic leaders. With masked gunmen firing into casi-
nos, bullets zipping by slot machines and roulette
wheels, terrorists taking people hostage, helicopters
disgorging special ops teams in the middle of the
strip, and the imposition of martial law, it’s the kind
of scenario that gives law enforcement personnel
the night sweats.
It’s also the kind of image Mayor Goodman
doesn’t want associated with his city. Whether he’ll
get his way or whether he’s left shouting “Do you
know who I am? I’m Moe Greene!” into an empty
courtroom remains to be seen.Sony’s upcoming Blu-ray drive is
pricey, but supports every next-gen
feature available.If you want to add a fan and
some noise to your fanless, silent
Reserator, the ZM-RF1 is the
perfect product for you. And did
we mention it’s ugly, too?Zalman ZM-RF
T
he Zalman ZM-RF1 sits on top of the
normally passive Reserator water-
cooler and pushes air down over the fi ns
using an adjustable-speed 14cm fan. It
adds a little bit of cooling and a lot of
noise. During testing, the cooling-hat
dropped temps a whopping 2 C when the
fan was turned up all the way. Big whoop,
we say. $35, http://www.zalmanusa.comViva
Las Vegas
GAME THEORY
THOMAS
MCDONALDTom McDonald has covered video and computer games for 16
years. He lives in the New Jersey Pine Barrens.&
DIS