Matthew Skyrm’s .Plan in Japan

It makes me feel like an old man to say it — I am just not into the games that all the kids like these days. I want my old school Ken dragon punches with an 8-way/6-button digital joystick.

Which makes this news very cool indeed — according to an article on QJ.net, Capcom is bringing Super Street Fighter II Turbo to both the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live in HIGH DEFINITION. I have to admit, this may be what it takes for me to plunk down the cash for a PS3, though I am a little concerned that the only people I’d end up playing against would kick my ass and take the fun away…

T.Hawk “Before” and “After” from Capcom’s upcoming SSF2T HD

While my favorite is still SF2T (Hyper Fighting), SSF2T and I have a long history together…

I first played it in the arcades when it came out, then bought the nearly perfect arcade port (with CD audio) for the 3DO along with an extremely rare SNES->3DO controller adapter in order to use my very authentic arcade controller (which now has been converted to a PS2 controller for improved cross-platform compatibility). Some years later I ended up buying a Japanese sit-down Neo Geo MVS arcade cabinet that happened to have a working US CPS2 SSF2T JAMMA board in it.

Old School Arcade-style Fighting Stick with PS2 Guts Inside

Japanese “Candy” Neo Geo MVS Arcade Cabinet with SSF2T

While I mainly use Macs at home and work, I believe that Sony makes the best Windows personal computers. They are beautiful and innovative. IDG takes a brief look back at 10 years of VAIO.

According to my bro Takashi, Windows 95 was profoundly important in spurring personal computer adoption in Japan. So I’m really glad the article covered the importance of Windows 95 in Japan.

Many homes in Japan didn’t have a PC at the time. They relied instead on dedicated word processing machines that fell somewhere between electric typewriters and laptop computers. But the launch of Windows 95 helped expand the PC market in Japan, in part by offering an interface more friendly to Japanese users.

While they got the Vaio 505 for its thin and elegant design, the MPEG encoder card in the first desktops, and the inclusion of iLink (i.e. Firewire i.e. IEEE 1394) — they neglected to mention the first integration of a webcam into a notebook, the inclusion of a memory stick reader in most models, and other things now common in competitors’ models.

Sony VAIO PCG-C1VN PictureBook — Circa 2001

I got an iPhone and it is by far the best smart phone I’ve ever used (and I’ve used my share of Nokia N-series, Palm Treo, Windows Mobile, etc.) I’d say it is roughly 2-3 generations ahead of anything else out there with some unique Apple stuff that may not be duplicated for many years to come.

I don’t quite get why the Mac OS X integration is so abnormal. Synchronization only in iTunes? A checkbox for Y! Address Book synchronization in iTunes? No Bluetooth integration with Address Book? No way to use the iPhone as a modem to get on the EDGE network with your Mac?

iTunes with iPhone on the left. iSync with no iPhone on the right.

This preference is in iTunes and nowhere else. Certainly I understand this for Windows, but Mac?

Here’s Address Book. That handy Bluetooth button does exactly nothing with the iPhone.