And yet it is done, and profitably so. Sony's PlayStation 3 is expensive precisely because it uses new chips and optical drives whose manufacturing processes have yet to be refined. Moore's law has made the old silicon parts in a PS2 dirt-cheap; meanwhile, videogame studios continue to churn out games for it, making it an entertainment bargain.

Windows XP, meanwhile, has been relentlessly tested by consumers, businesses, and hackers; it is now reasonably bug-proof, reasonably easy to use, and ubiquitous. Windows Vista, by contrast, is slow, unpredictable, and uncertainly secure. (Microsoft claims Vista is safer, but any security expert will tell you that security holes only reveal themselves over time.) Microsoft perhaps recognizes this, since it's continuing to sell Windows XP in some poorer countries.

So far, Sony and Microsoft are focusing their selling of the old in developing markets. But why not sell the old stuff everywhere, instead of forcing the likes of Dell to jump through hoops to offer it to willing customers? That's exactly what Nintendo has done with the Wii. Essentially a repackaged GameCube with a motion-sensitive controller, the Wii has eviscerated Sony's overexpensive PlayStation 3. It's a classic triumph of the old.

The chief lesson Silicon Valley has taken from Moore's law is that new technology will always be better. Hence the relentless pursuit of the new. But Moore equally tells us that old technology will always be cheaper. Someone's going to figure out how to sell the old stuff at a profit. Why not have it be you?

GameStop will sell the Wii rain checks for $249.99 on Thursday and Friday. A GameStop shift supervisor tells Consumerist that this kind of preorder counts in the store's net sales. GameStop's annual reports are mum on how the company actually accounts for preorders. The program will certainly lift the company's cash flow well in advance of when GameStop actually has to make good on its holiday promises. Ho ho ho!

sparkly-crap mobile circuit-board garbage gizmo mass-produced by machines that stole jobs from nonunionized workers who stole jobs from the natives. I want a Nintendo Wii.
biosphere-destroying violent imagery consumer electronics death monster truly represents the future of technology Wii DJ Bluetooth just another thing with built-in obsolescence consigning it to an unknowable half-life as indigestible silicon shards. It sucks when great future innovations are doomed to become garbage. Donating to cool charities and supporting local artists is something you should be doing all year. capitalist juggernaut. Annalee Newitz is a surly media nerd.

It's a sensible game plan. Apple has proven too tough a target. So now, Greenpeace has started tracking a few more companies. Highly notable companies with staunch defenders who will give the nonprofit some attention by ranting and raving about its charges, but who will be, hopefully, less defensive than Apple's Web warriors. Hence, Microsoft and Nintendo are now the worst polluters in the eyes of Greenpeace. Fanboys vs. environmental fanatics: We look forward to this deeply cynical battle. May the most outlandish argument win.

• Apple doesn't make computers, it makes appliances. Nintendo doesn't make gaming systems, it makes toys.
• It'd be the Brangelina of technology — they're both so goddamn sexy, everyone fantasizes about them getting it on.
• In fact, the celebrity tryst aura (as explained on the Beeb show, Coupling: If enough people fantasize about two celebrities having sex, they'll be drawn to each other) makes iNintendo a certainty.
• Pixar's already an old toy — that's why Steve was willing to share it. Nintendo's new and shiny again!

But it's also not true:

• What happens when two beauties mesh? Hermaphrodite happens.
• Think it's annoying when every damn commuter is playing an iPod? Now switch those out for Nintendo DS thumbcandy. Mayhem.
• No, actually it has to be true. Steve Jobs needs to buy designer-and-surrogate-son Jonathan Ive a reverse Father's Day present.

Crave Talk: Is Nintendo the apple of Apple's eye? [CNET, illo stolen from there too]

Well, 2 days have passed, and the ex is on the fuck-it path. Everyone is either happy or depressed beyond belief. This includes Macrovision. The nefarious ConFonz spent all night shmoozing with yogourt in tow. The most exciting part of the evening? The Brits hate Edge because it's so up it's own asshole. Funny, though, they couldn't name any better mag!

So, how do you piss off Macrovision? Ask about playing DVD'S under Linux. Boy, it was a great discussion until Linus' ubiquitous operating sysytem was mentioned. Then it was all, " have you talked to our PR
people? Have fun, and good night."

So, Turner has deep pockets. GameTap will prevail, despite what Carless and Scheffield say. Give it one year and one Xbox contract later, and the service will be right behind WoW s the most popular subscription-based service.

CMP lost China. Ouch. China is now competing on uneven grounf.

Sony is still a 3-year-old girl in a small box purchased by a multi-millionaire ass-rapist. Goodbye. We shall not cross pathes again.

IBM thought that it was endrunning around Intel with its console plays, but in the end, it's all gonna come crashing down. DVD is enough. Cry cry cry me a fucking river, third parties.

You'll all be on your knees at the alter of Nintendo soon enough.