A Great Accessory for Dads: the Ergo carrier

Thousand of young Australian couples have put off having babies. When we went to parenting class, the typical age profile for first time parents was more like between 30 to 40 years old. There must be a thousand reasons but I can tell you about one: young dads just don't want to give up videogames. How can you play God of War or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare when you got both hands tied up carrying baby?

Well that's why they created baby carriers! In my case, we have an Ergo baby carrier that allows me to play NBA 2K11 even though baby needs to be carried. Great for multi tasking 'ey? :)

(thanks for @ajayjorge for this wonderful tip)

The PlayTV is Superb!

I bought a PlayTV bundled with my PS3 console last month. Aside from the great joy that I get from playing NBA 2k11, the PlayTV has been the real clincher. We love it very much because we can finally catch all these shows we've been missing (we don't have cable). Sony hit a home run with this product because along with the kick-ass gaming experience, you've also got a great entertainment system to go with it.

You don't need a Tivo anymore as it allows you to record shows even when the unit is switched off. It's got a great interface for searching for shows that you like. It comes with an EPG (electronic programming guide) where you can set your favorite channels and pick out which programs you want to record.

It's easy to check which programs have been scheduled and even has a short description of what the program is about (see picture below). Plus an indicator of how much memory is left in your HDD storage.

We actually use the PlayTV much more that any other software on the PS3. For young husbands out there, it will help you win over your wife to finally let you buy that PS3 console you've always wanted.

Somethings to watch out for: Video performance may suffer if you choose to play a game at the same time when PlayTV is recording. Performance issues come about when you have too many programs in your library. Try to have some discipline by not allowing your shows to gather some cobwebs.

NBA 2K11 : Head and Shoulders Above the Competition

I wasn't a part of the PS2 generation. During my pursuit of a higher education, I had opted not to get a console in those years. I decided that I would just play games on my PC where I discovered Civilization II, III, and IV (which by the way are all excellent!).

NBA 2k11 was too hard to ignore though. Friends were posting about it and saw some videos on Facebook. The graphics really intrigued me and there were a lot of feedback on how good the gameplay was.

Four weeks ago, my wife gave me the go-ahead to get a PS3. And I can definitely say that this game was worth it. I got it on sale at EB Games here in Australia and I am really happy. The gameplay is much better than NBA Live! 08 by EA Sports (which I played on the PC) especially the action underneath the basket. In 2k11, the players have fluid movements... while in NBA Live, the players were stiff such that after a while you just got bored.

I also love the Game highlights during halftime and at the end because it feels very much like the NBA TV coverages in real life. The atmosphere during gameplay is also very lively and does a good job of capturing the feel of a real NBA stadium.

Overall, this is a solid buy and will provide hundreds of hours of entertainment for hardocre basketball fans. Good job by 2K Sports!