A lot of people think Apple overcharges for their Mac computers. For today's post, I'm going to lay the costs out bare by building my own PC based Mac Pro clone to see how much it really would cost and how much the "Apple Tax" really is. One report I read claimed that Apple overcharges over $1600 for this system. Let's look at just the facts miss. We'll build a Mac Pro with the cheapest comparable parts, not the cheapest outright as that can skew results. Prices all from Newegg.com, unless otherwise stated. Prices in US dollars.

We'll look at the base model Mac Pro that comes with a single 2.66ghz "Nahalem" quad core Xeon processor, 3gb DDR3 1066, a 640gb 7200rpm SATA hard drive, a Radeon HD 4870 512mb, 18x DVD drive, Bluetooth mouse and keyboard, no Wifi, and OS X Snow Leopard 64-bit. The Mac Pro costs $2,719 with this setup.

The Mac Pro PC

Motherboard: $299.99
Apple uses an ATX style server motherboard for their Pros based on Intel's X58 chipset. The Pro has a board with four PCIe slots and requires Firewire connectivity. I found just one that fit this requirement. The Asus P6T WS Pro. It only has two PCIe 16x slots but has five expansion slots total, and supports Firewire.

Processor: $999.99
The Mac Pro base model uses a single Intel Xeon X5550 clocked at 2.66ghz. This CPU has four cores based on the "Nahalem" architecture, similar to the prosumer i7 processors.

RAM: $101.97 ($33.99 per stick)
The base Mac Pro uses three 1gb sticks of server DDR3 1066 in a triple channel configuration, which must support ECC. I went with three Crucial 1gb sticks since there are no 3gb triple channel server kits available.

Graphics: $179.99
The base model comes with an nVidia Geforce GT120. These cards aren't available to consumers so I upgraded it to an ATI Radeon HD 4870 512mb. The additional cost is included with the price of the Mac Pro I listed above. VisionTek still makes these cards with 512mb.

Hard Drive: $59.99
The Pro comes with a surprisingly small HDD, at only 640mb. It's a standard SATAII 7200rpm desktop drive. I went with Western Digital's Caviar Green drive, to make Al Gore happy.

DVD drive: $29.99
The Mac Pro comes with an 18x DVD multi burner, presumably with a SATA interface. No 18x drives were listed on Newegg so I went with a 20x drive from MSI. The difference is fairly negligible.

Case: $259.99
Finding a case to match the Mac Pro is hard. The closest I could find to that Mac Pro look is the Lian Li V1000Z. It's a full tower ATX case that has the same number of hard drive slots, etc. Full anodized aluminum. It's black but close enough. There used to be a silver version available. From FrozenCPU as Newegg no longer sells it.

Power Supply: $99.99
The Mac Pro is rumoured to have a 1kw power supply. It looks to be modular (removable cables) too based on pictures. I went with the ePower EP1000-SC 1000w PSU.

Keyboard and Mouse: $149.99
The Mac pro comes with a wireless mouse stock but I added a wireless keyboard as well for good measure. Both run on Bluetooth. The only one that seemed to fit the bill was Logitech's pricey MX 5550 Revolution gaming keyboard and mouse. A little more robust than Apple's but this is plastic and conventional instead of brushed aluminum and multi-touch mouse, so it evens out.

Operating System: $174.99
Apple really offers a bargain with OS X is seems. To get it's drive encryption features and other pro functions, we had to go with Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit single license OEM. Windows of course now comes with programs similar to iLife, so those don't need to be added separately.

Total: $2,362.88

So the price difference between a Mac Pro and a similarly configured PC is $356.12. I'll add $150 in to cover warranty, shipping, and assembly costs, bringing the Apple tax down to about $206.12.

So there definitely is an Apple Tax, but it's not as much as some people are claiming.

Late this year, but here we are with our annual gaming buyers guide. What should you pick up for your gamer? Let's take a look at the contenders.

TV Top Console

Best Budget System: Xbox 360 Arcade
As it stands, the Wii is still grossly overpriced and gimmicky. The 360 has taken the supreme crown for the best family friendly and best budget systems. With it's wide array of XBLA games, low cost titles, the best online experience, and excellent graphics, picking one of these up for $199 is an excellent choice.

Best Console Overall: PS3
The PS3 has had a vary good year. Now at $299, the price is a little more palatable. With it, you get an excellent gaming system that boasts the highest number of top rated games on any system. To top it off, it also makes the best media centre out of all the consoles with it's Blu-ray functionality being top notch. The PS3 is still an excellent value.

Systems to Avoid: PS2, Wii
The Playstation 2 is still going strong but it's dated now. Only get it if you can't afford anything better. The Wii is just too expensive and gimmicky. Most people say that their Wiis get the least amount of play after the initial novelty wears off. It also has the weakest game library.


Portables

Best Budget System: Sony PSP-3000
The oblong brother to the Go still stands as packing the best value out of all other portables. It plays movies, games, music, and surfs the web. Plus you can buy full games online over Wifi as well as use disc based games. The base system is just $170 for all that. $199 gets you great combo packs with two games and a 1gb memory stick. It also has a large library of good low cost games such as Patapon, LocoRoco, WipEout, and others.

Best Overall: Nintendo DSi
The improved DS is one of the most family friendly systems and will get lots of use from both kids and adults alike. It doesn't have the best graphics but it has a vary strong lineup of games, great online connectivity, plays music, and has a built in camera. A good choice for anyone on your list, especially if they're not a gamer. The system is $180. For a more budget friendly option, the DS Lite is still a good choice. It trades the camera, music, and downloadable games for Gameboy Advance compatibility. It's much cheaper at about $120.

Systems to Avoid: PSP Go
The Go is overpriced and poorly developed. People who already own an older PSP will not want this. It doesn't support older disc based games and Sony has not done a good job stocking the library on their online store. Some report it not being vary ergonomic. Spend your $250 on something else.


PC Gaming

Best Budget Graphics: TIE: ATI Radeon HD 5770 / nVidia Geforce GTX 260
These two upper mid range card pack a lot of punch. One supports the latest DirectX 11 series graphics, the other is DX10 but slightly faster. Both come at a comfortable price point of $190.

Best Graphics Overall: Radeon HD 5870
If you have deep pockets and you're feeling in a giving mood, this is the fastest single GPU graphics card money can buy. It also supports DirectX 11, which comes with Windows 7. It's expensive, setting you back $450.

A Note on PC Parts: Gift certificates to big computer stores like NewEgg are an excellent choice as it will allow your gamer to pick their own parts. Especially given how each PC is different. You wouldn't want to accidentally buy an Intel CPU for someone who has an AMD system, or vice versa.

Sales results out of Japan for the last week of November show some interesting findings in the portable front. The original oblong PSP is outselling the new PSP Go by a factor of 10-1. The Go only managed to push 3,800 units nation wide versus 38,800 for the original. It's not particularly terrible but it's at the bottom of the list for portable sales. Especially given the brand power Sony holds in the Land of the Rising Sun.

The supersized DSi LL by contrast has had a vary good launch, selling 67,200 units, a factor of 2-1 over the original DSi.

Source: Joystiq

Video encoding is a common task these days. We all want to export our DVDs to different formats so we can watch them on a variety of devices we have around the house. Or maybe you need something converted to a format Final Cut can read for editing your home movies. Here are four excellent free video encoders you should definitely take a look at.

Handbreak (Windows, Mac OS X, Linux)
Encodes video as H.264 and MKV formats. Vary easy to use but contains a few powerful features. It supports multi-core processors and the Mac version is full 64-bit, promising a 10% boost in performance. Handbreak comes with a number of presets for devices such as Apple TV, PS3, and Xbox 360 making it the ideal, light weight choice for encoding files for your media devices.

Dr. DivX (Windows, Mac OS X)
A free DivX encoder that is produced in house by DivX Labs, it acts as a counterpart to the payware DivX encoder. Not as easy to use as the paid version but it's quite a powerful piece of software. It will convert any video you have to the popular DivX format which can be played back on numerous devices such as PS3, Xbox 360, and many DVD players. DivX isn't as good as H.264 but it encodes faster.

Super (Windows)
It's not user friendly but Super is an extremely powerful encoder. It's a must have for anybody doing video editing, namely because it's one of the few (if not the only) free converters that will encode anything you throw at it to DV and MPEG 2. It's also blazing fast compared to a lot of other programs out there thanks to it's excellent multi-core support. Too bad it's only for Windows.

Red Kawa PSP Video 9 (Windows, Mac OS X)
A light weight encoder tailored specifically to encode videos to PSP and PS3 formats. It's a bit on the slow side but it's dead stupid easy to use. If you're encoding files for mobile devices, this is the one to get. Check out the other Red Kawa device specific encoders too.

Several people on the official Playstation forums said they received a letter from Nyko over the Frontman wireless guitar issues. Nyko has finally posted a statement on their website acknowledging there is a problem.

"The latest firmware update of the PlayStation 3 (Version 3.10) is not compatible with the FrontMan for PS3. We are currently researching any possible solutions to fix this problem."

Not really an encouraging statement but obviously the problem lies with Sony as the guitars worked fine before the update. I can't imagine they're in too much of a rush to fix third party controllers though. For those who don't know, the problem lies with the PS3 not interfacing with the controller. The FrontMan shows a red controller 1 connection LED but does not respond when buttons or pressed, nor does it show up in the PS3's menus.

Soon the PSP Go will be little more than an expensive plastic brick to UMD owners. A source told CVG that Logitech plans to release a UMD drive addon for the solid-state console. Not a lot is known about the device at this time. Gizmodo figures it presumably plugs into the MSPD card slot. The download-only PSP Go had been heavily criticized for not being backwards compatible with UMD based games.

I'm doing up some favourites lists since I'm far too busy to post anything serious. My PSP is sorely getting neglected so I thought I'd give it some love with today's top ten. Remember, these are games I have played so forgive me if I leave out popular ones such as Final Fantasy and Grand Theft Auto.

10. Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
The Lombax and robot duo's first and so far only portable title, if you don't count spinoff "Secret Agent Clank." This game managed to shrink down everything that was great about the console versions into this pocket sized adventure. Great dialogue, colourful worlds, and of course tons of great weapons. You get to go inside Clank and fight a megalomaniac toddler. What more could you ask for? However, the bad camera in this game keeps it from being closer to the top of the list.

9. Jeanne d'Arc
The Japanese seem to have a fetish for the French. Obviously they don't share the disdain for the land of cheese, wine, and abruptness that the rest of the world does. Jeanne d'Arc takes a uniquely Japanese otaku twist on the story of Joan of Arc. An Oracle from above gives her an ammulet with the power to turn back the evil invading army and restore freedom to her people. Jeanne d'Arc is a classic turn based JRPG rivalled only by the Disgaea series on the PSP. This style of RPG isn't always accessible to everyone (as say Pokemon is), but these PSP titles are great even for us westerners to pickup and play.

8. WipEout Pulse
Fast, Furious, and Frustrating. Everything we love about the WipEout series. Probably one of the hardest racing tiles out there. Running at a glorious 60fps with colourful tracks and fast paced combat action, this and it's sister title Pure are probably one of the only racing games worth getting on the PSP. To top it off, it actually supports decent multiplayer.

7. Daxter
Out of all the Jak games I've played, this one is my favourite. The console versions can be frustrating at times. I still can't get past the time limited driving part in Jak II. (don't laugh, I'm not the only one) Daxter just pulls everything great about those games and gives it a unique twist. Taking place as a prequel to Jak II, the otsel has to get a job in order to spring his partner from prison. Daxter becomes a bug exterminator, killing powerful dark eco insects that are plaguing the city. It's a wacky premise that just fits so great with the character, plus it's still one of the best looking games on the platform.

6. Sega Genesis Collection
This compilation probably gets the most play out of my entire PSP collection. A ton of classic Sega Genesis games including Sonic the Hedgehogs 1 & 2. Not really much to say other than it's classic gaming at it's finest, without the bulky, battery hungry Nomad. Makes me wish Nintendo would release a Best of SNES/NES collection for the DS. Then I'd be set.

5. Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception
Probably the standard for console based modern air combat tiles, Ace Combat was beautifully moulded to the PSP. It stands as the platform's definitive flight simulation title. Perfect natural controls, thrilling combat, great music and cutscenes, plus it looks great too. If only Il-2 PSP had lived up to this.

4. Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?
An unforgiving 2D platformer. Really takes you back to the NES days doesn't it? The penguin like bumbling Prinny, all 1000 of them, have been charged with getting back the ingredients for overlord Etna's ultra dessert. Dood, this game is hard. Three hits and you explode. You'll need that entire army. Prinny really brings back what was long considered a dead genre. It's the kind of game that tiles like Ninja Gaiden and TMNT on the NES set the groundwork for. They were hard but they were always fun. Never frustrating like so many newer games. Prinny is a perfect revival. I left the other Disgaea games off the list namely because I haven't played them yet. I just picked up Dark Hero Days though.

3. LocoRoco
Speaking of 2D graphics, here's another masterpiece created by Sony's Japan Studio. Litte adorable gel balls trying to escape from the evil moja force. You play as the planet trying to bounce and tilt their way to safety. This puzzle-platformer is loads of fun and has great music. I would say it's even better than Patapon.

2. LittleBigPlanet
Not much to say about this title except that the charm of LBP and Sackboy has been perfectly ported to the PSP.

1. God of War: Chains of Olympus
Kratos, the God of War, stands as the killer app for the platform. Chains of Olympus is just as bloody and challenging as it's console brothers. It's topped off with probably the best graphics on the platform. This is probably as close to the console experience you can get on a portable. Sadly, the head ripping and beating your enemies to death with their own severed arms was left out of this game.

Reports are coming out that the latest PS3 firmware breaks functionality with some third party guitar controllers. Namely the Nyko Wireless Frontman. The system fails to recognize the guitar if it is synced as controller one (red LED). Previously, the guitar would always automatically sync as controller two (blue LED), but will no longer do so. I have this controller and have confirmed this to be a real issue. The official PS3 forums has a lengthy thread on the issues including some complicated workarounds.

One fix, posted by "CashOD" suggests the following solution.

Start your wireless controller as C1.

Start a seond wireless controller as C2.

Enter Rockband.

Sync the Nyko with guitar. (should go to red).

Flip the switch from GH to RB and back To GH.

Allow the guitar to sync automatically (don't press the PS button)

It may take a couple of times to get the contoller on orange.

Sony has reportedly been less than helpful, suggesting that people send in their systems and pay them $149 to fix the issue if they're out of warranty. The Frontman controllers did work prior to the update, as mine did, so this is obviously a firmware issue. It's rather shameful for them to suggest you pay them to fix a software problem they caused.

No official announcement from Sony of Nyko has been made yet.

Yesterday a Microsoft exec admitted that many of the ideas used in Windows 7 had been borrowed for Mac OS X. Looks like it's not only the look and feel of Apple's OS that they borrowed. I ordered Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit yesterday and I was quite amazed by how fast it arrived. Direct Canada certainly has fast service and I love how they don't charge PST to non-BC residents. Still, there was one problem with my order. If you read my Snow Leopard article, you know where this is going.



I was greeted by the courier with this. Another massive box with Blu-ray case for scale. Pre-opened by me of course. Did Direct Canada screw up my order? Apple didn't the last time so I wasn't holding my breath. So what's in the box?



A whole lotta paper. What a heart breaker; I guess the song remains the same. Ok, enough with the Led Zeppelin puns.



Taking the massive ball out, I discovered the Windows 7 DVD case at the bottom.



There you have it, the box and it's entire contents out on display. The DVD of course is currently in my computer.

I think I'd rate this as a point worse than the one Apple sent me. All fairness to them, Snow Leopard does come in a wimpy paper sleeve while this one comes in a durable hard plastic DVD case. Either way, a padded envelope would have sufficed. The post office does charge extra for oversized boxes. Surely sending this must be costing them a fortune in shipping. No wonder it was $10.

If you are buying a retail copy of Windows 7, it might be a good idea just to get the downloadable version and burn it to a DVD.

It's been over a year since I wrote about how to get free HDTV in the Toronto area using a digital antenna. This was before the Americans shut off all high power analogue stations last June. Canada is still poised to switch to ATSC in August 31st, 2011. So how is the HD switch progressing in Canada? We've seen a little movement in the past year but the process is still vary slow.

Perhaps the biggest announcement comes from the CBC. My inside sources tell me that the network will be switching to full HD in the next couple of months. Currently, most of its newer programming is already high def, but news and live studio programs (ie. The Hour, Steven & Chris) are not. The shows are currently broadcast in 16:9 SD video. The network is moving away from the tape based DVCPRO format to Sony's XDCAM, which use the blu-ray based Professional Disc. Broadcasts will be 100% server based instead of using tape. This makes editing less time consuming. The process has been slow due to the high cost of the equipment. A single portable XDCAM is upwards of $24,000.

With the CBC moving their news and studio shows to full HD within the next couple of months, this leaves Global as the sole network to broadcast in 4:3 SD video. CTV Toronto made a switch to full HD earlier this year, while CITY Toronto has been in full HD for some time now.

Canadian specialty stations have been particularly slow on joining the HD bandwagon. Movie networks remain the leaders. TMN and MPIX have been HD for some time now. Astral Media debuted HBO Canada in HD a few months back.

Showcase is currently the only Canadian non-sports specialty channel that broadcasts regularly in HD. Discovery HD still has a fairly limited programming repertoire. It airs the same nature shows it always did and really serves as more of a tech demo for high definition than anything else. Popular shows such as Mythbusters and Dirty Jobs are shot in high def in the US but are not aired on Discovery Canada's HD channel. Channels such as The Comedy Network have applied to the CRTC to begin broadcasting in HD. However, there has been no word on when, or if, these will be rolled out. American specialty networks such as A&E, TLC, HDNET, and National Geographic regularly broadcast in HD. Vary few Canadian specialty networks have shown interest in the switch.

Sports channels, being the primary draw to high definition, are leading the pack. The Golf Channel recently debuted it's HD version, which it airs regular HD content identical to the SD version.

Some signs are pointing to movement. Bell TV is currently in the process of reorganizing its high definition channels. Previously, they had a block of 100 available stations in the 800-900 range for high def content. They are currently moving this to the channel 1000+ with more than 500 spaces reserved. This suggests that Bell plans to start offering full time shifting in HD soon. Currently only Toronto and Vancouver stations are available. It also indicates that Bell expects the specialty networks to be making the switch in the near future. Bell still does not offer HD versions of Hamilton based CHCH, and Toronto based multicultural channels OMNI 1 & 2. These are available on OTA antenna and through some cable providers. Cable, however, has been much slower at rolling out HD content and still carries analogue broadcasts.

So, it looks like things haven't really changed in the HD world but signs are pointing to a shakeup. Stay tuned....