Cyberdevil 2013-10-01 10:29:26

Why would you want two PSPs though? The AW series is a Nintendo exclusive. ;)

Anyway, good luck with that. You still have some other computer to use though right?

Cyberdevil 2013-10-01 11:47:49

Advanced Wars, man! The greatest series of strategy games to ever hit a console! As the Nintendo fan that I am/Sony fan that I am not (mostly because of their idiotic attempts at halting piracy, like including spyware in some of their MP3 players) I just have to say something... I do get that you were referring to the price. ;)

Well that sucks. Heaps of sympathy. I managed to get my hands on a custom-built computer for around $200 last year, 8-core 3,2Ghx processor, 2GB graphics, 8GB RAM (32 Max)... pretty powerful stuff! Shopping for computers second hand is a bit of a gamble, but you can really reduce costs if you're lucky/careful. This worked out perfect.

Cyberdevil 2013-10-02 05:34:59

Definitely; let me know if you do; what you think. I have all gpit handheld versions so far: been playing AW DS for almost 200 hours - still nowhere near completion. The last two are pretty extensive if you want to get to 100%. :)

Well I meant I managed to buy a computer that was already patched up, a custom-built one. I don't know much about hardware otherwise, though since I bought this one I find myself a bit more interested in what's under the hood than I used to. Also had to mount a CD/DVD drive myself, but that turned out to be a piece of cake.

Cyberdevil 2013-10-03 04:05:32

Haha, the AW series was the main reason I bought a DS. :) That and Pokemon. Of course I was then already hooked on the GBA prequels so it wasn't too strange... emulating handheld games on a stationary just isn't the same experience, but great for all exotic games that cannot be attained. :P

Remember where you heard it first! :D I don't know how it is where you live, but here there are plenty of people who make a living building gaming rigs and then selling them through auctions/second hand. Most go for a price that earns them profit though, finding ones people sell with the intention of getting rid of rather than earning money's not as easy.

@daethdrain ???

Cyberdevil 2013-10-03 11:14:20

Ah, didn't know things were expensive in Malaysia. I'd have thought it was the other way around over there. You do have cheap food though, right?

Cyberdevil 2013-10-03 11:53:18

Is there a lot of pirated computer hardware going around though? Or just the video games?

Cyberdevil 2013-10-04 03:50:08

Why no PS3? Impossible to pirate; just too expensive? Btw, can you get reliable pirated games for consoles, or do most of them just break overtime? I have a few pirated cartridges where the save feature disappeared after a while. Even here, if you buy Pokemon games second hand there's a good chance they're not official and thus often don't work.

Cyberdevil 2013-10-04 04:18:24

Ah OK. It's going to be tough with all the preventive measures they're throwing into the next generation of consoles too. Wish they'd stop complicating things, great games will still get sales.

How cheap is dirt cheap?

Cyberdevil 2013-10-04 05:31:21

How much do the official games cost over there, as a comparison? It sounds pretty cheap to me, compared to around $50 for a brand new game, or around $10 on bargain. I've pretty much stopped buying any new games though, most are second-hand finds, another big portion parts of a grand GOG collection gathered during their weekend sales (where games usually go for around $2-3, so that's similar).

Cyberdevil 2013-10-04 11:34:19

Sounds about the same for newer games then, but no bargains? And nothing for older consoles either huh, that's interesting. We have all kinds over here, and as far as I know no company has any monopoly either. I guess Swedes play a lot of games!

Which consoles do you have btw?

Cyberdevil 2013-10-04 12:01:37

Hehe, no working consoles at all?? Well, that sucks, I shouldn't be laughing. Inversed Midas Touch would make you a great farmer no? ;)

I still have the first three consoles I ever bought/received, fully working, one from a friend, the other from a teacher (my parents have never been much for videogames): an old PSX (not the slim version) and a black N64 with a taped cable that a dog appears to have chewed on... and an original GameBoy that I traded for a golden Moltres! Since then I've bought one more PSX/N64 as backup, which is btw completely unnecessary considering I rarely ever play anymore... but I'm the kind who likes to do unnecessary stuff like that. Had a PS2 once, which I sold, then bought a couple of years later to play some games I'd missed (GTA Stories), then bought that computer I spoke of earlier with enough power to emulate PS2 games... so I sold both those PS2 consoles again. :/

Also have a GC, and as for handheld: Nintendo GB, GBC, GBA (x4), GBA SP, DS aaand... a GB Micro, I think it's called, most of which were bought second-hand. Nothing's broken so far, but I did actually buy a PS2 that was broken... with a good computer though, I don't feel a need for any more consoles, will probably just save the ones I do own for all eternity.

Cyberdevil 2013-10-04 12:45:43

Ah. Weird. The broken PS2 I bought had a problem with the laser so it could only read a select few games... could it be something like that?

I haven't counted them before but.. it's 14 total. Unless you count the computer (actually I have a few old computers too). I sold the PS2s (all four). Still... yeah, now that you mention it, that is a lot!!

Haha, that'd be the way. I use SEK though (Swedish kronor), which is at a higher rate than the USD right now so I'm saving a lot of money getting my webhosting overseas. :) As for videogames/consoles though, they're pretty cheap here. All the ones I've mentioned should be findable for less than $20 a piece, apart from the Nintendo DS. There's so much going around that's probably the reason the prices are low... on old consoles that is. I'm on a pretty tight budget so anything new is outside my reach anyway. Been looking around for a cheap 3DS but it'll probably take a year or two before prices drop on those.

:)

Cyberdevil 2013-10-05 09:06:01

Hmm, any particular current situation you're wondering about? :P Life's pretty good over here, overall, but it's going for the worse IMO. The government's become a bit lazy throughout the good times, no longer doing a particularly good job at enforcing laws or maintaining their finances... wasting money on pointless things like changing traffic sign design, acting like elections are a game every time they come around, just ignoring all the real issues (like our excessive immigration - giving hundreds of new people citizenship every week, giving them all free dental care, free housing, free phone calls abroad and 'allowance' every month - it just isn't sustainable in the long run), selling out government-owned companies, mounting down the military and welcoming NATA instead (which is really pissing off Russia, but they don't seem to realize this)... but not to dive into all the problems that are piling up, we do have relatively cheap healthcare, good food (plenty of fish and wild berries too if you're not in the big city), good architecture, plenty of work if you're not too picky... plenty of wilderness too. Also, over 200,000 lakes, though you might say some of them classify more as puddles.

We speak Swedish, we learn decent English (I've been to international schools though, thus my humble proficiency with it), and as for culture eh... anything specific? I guess we do have traditional holiday's, and plenty of red/white wooden houses, but I can't think of anything really mentionable...

Cyberdevil 2013-10-05 10:36:48

Ah, well the Swedish majority is still Christian, but plenty of people with other religions have moved in; plenty of Muslims too. Tolerance is high for different religions, but not always the way they're enacted (if you practice your religion in the way you live, or at home, then it doesn't bother anyone - but trying to implement religious laws as laws of society for example is something a lot of Muslims especially are trying to do, and that doesn't ring well). There's for example a real Mosque being built in Stockholm that's stirring up a lot of commotion, because it really doesn't combine well with our own architecture; tradition, and it's letting immigrants form a small society of their own instead of adapting to their new country and uniting with the population (they're demanding instead of appreciating, craving a society that adapts to them). They were recently given permission to make a public broadcast every morning, but Christian churches have never had public broadcasts here so it's stirring a bit of illwill (people don't like the noise either). It's like it's all going back to the middle ages, to the religious wars we had back then. But this is all about immigration, I'm not trying to scare you away or anything just elaborating on how our tolerance is. It's not like there's a war going on... yet. :P

Some people want globalization; all kinds of different cultures, but personally I'm one of those who would like to keep it the way it is, which is probably due to my parents views getting passed on, since they've had some bad experiences with other cultures. Since my dad worked at Ericsson we've lived abroad for most of my childhood, and they lived abroad way before that. I lived in Saudia Arabia for a while; had a great time; had some Muslim friends I got along with. But my parents have some bad experiences from Muslim countries like Tunisia and Oman. The local population often threw stones at the house, dumped dead sheep just outside the walls; just weren't very welcoming or accepting, even though we've always attempted to fit in in the places we've lived. So of course that's left a bad taste.

(characters are running out, so I'll keep typing on a second comment)

Cyberdevil 2013-10-05 10:43:15

Another problem in society here is the racism taboo, plenty of immigrants are using racism as a cue to get grants and damages, so it's like people are scared of saying anything; being deemed a racist. You can't speak openly, which is creating even more distrust, which is really going to make things worse in the future. I'm all about freedom of religion though (in the family we're a combination of Atheist/Buddhist/Christian), it's just an integration problem. Too many new people; no effort at making them adapt; gaps forming between people. Maybe you won't notice that as a tourist though, it's just a growing problem it might be good to be aware of. Man that turned into a ton of text... hope you get something out of it?

Oh man, the language... that's a difficult question. I grew up on Swedish you know. :) I know the language is a bit difficult to learn for native English speakers, some people I've spoken with just can't get that rolling rrrrrrr sound we use, amongst other things. But it's probably not more complex than say Spanish or other European languages (Norwegian and Danish are similar). If you want to try the language, a quick Google for 'learn Swedish' will get you plenty of examples... there's even some info on studying in Sweden, huh... looks like it's pretty popular!

The universities (I assume that's what you're thinking of?) offer English (AKA International) alternatives on a lot of courses, and you can speak English with pretty much all younger generations. I don't know how it'd be on campus though. Apart from a course on Japanese Culture everything I've read has taken place at home, from a distance, by the computer.

I'd be happy to show you around a bit if you decide to study here, but I can't promise I'll be much of a guide! We live a bit outside Stockholm, and have been moving around a lot earlier (as I mentioned) so we're not that at home here, JSYK. There is however a good public transportation net here, with both subways and a mixture of train/subway (called Pendeltåg) that stretches a bit outside the inner city (we live at the next to last station on one of those lines, in Bro), as well as busses. Most people don't drive to work/school/etc.

(oh man, characters running out again!)

Cyberdevil 2013-10-05 11:01:27

Public transportation is a bit expensive though. You have a card that you can load with a select sum of money or a special subscription for a month/half a year/ a year/etc that lets you travel without limitations. One month costs around $80, three months costs around $230, a single trip back and forth into the city from where we live costs $10. They do have special prices for students, though, if you're studying full-time... but it's not a huge discount.

As for food, well we have both classical Swedish dishes (a lot of potatoes, meatballs, diced root vegetables, dumplings, soups, fish, etc) and a mixture of international food, rice, pasta, pizza, kebab, fish, meat, vegetarian meals... it's a real mesh. We don't eat out.. at all really, nowadays, but you can buy pretty much any type of food in the city. There are grocery stores with all common ingredients, and special shops for Asian food... maybe Arabic too, I'm not sure. I'm a pescatarian btw (a vegetarian with an exception for sea food) so we eat plenty of fish at home (we probably have different types of fish meals here than you do, not that much fried, mostly gratins, cooked or whole... in the summer we fish our own but that's not possible here in the South), and plenty of vegetable dishes. I have no idea what you eat in Malaysia though, probably a lot of vegetables that we don't get here; maybe a lot of fried food? Btw, food is probably a bit expensive here compared to Malaysia. I don't really know what to compare, but for starters: 2kg bag potatoes $2, cornflakes $3, fish sticks $3, 1kg salmon $12, 1L milk $1,5, 1L yoghurt $2... well yeah, this seems pointless, let me know if you want any specific comparison. :P

Hope that answered some of your wonders?

Cyberdevil 2013-10-05 12:05:53

Yeah, I know about the broadcast being a part of your daily prayer(s). It was heard wide and far when I lived in Saudi, but over there it was a part of the culture so that was OK, we didn't mind. :) Imagine people coming to your country requesting that you stop the broadcasts though? Same thing, other way around.

Yeah, honestly though, a lot of Islam countries seem to be stuck in the past, with zero tolerance for other ethnicities or religions... from what I see on the news at least. There was this one incident when some Danish newspaper took in a caricature of the prophet Muhammad (hope I'm spelling that right), some Arabic countries got wind of it, and since then the author's had several attempted murders on his neck; Muslims were threatening to wage war on Denmark. People have been parodying Christ a long time but there's no ensuing war, it's just a joke. :/

Fun fact btw, when we moved to Saudi all of our items were 'censored', any images of women without clothes blacked out (like, in medicine books) and Israel was blacked out in our Atlas. Makes me wonder, how do your maps look? I'm not sure how big Islam is in Malaysia.

Haha, hey man, you can share your honest opinions! I won't take offense (and I hope you don't either when I rant like this). It is the actions of a few that make us all judgmental about everyone else. all Muslims I know seem like great people though!

Oh, you don't have that rolling r either? What language could Malaysian be compared to, is it Arabic in nature? Or more like Thai maybe? I've heard plenty of that in movies...

There's still plenty of traffic congestion in the middle of the city, but definitely not as much as in.. say the US. We don't have traffic jams, just occasionally slow traffic. Also, this is all in the South of Sweden. Up North, the local traffic's very limited (but cheaper); most people need cars to get around. From our summerplace it's 25km to the grocery store, and dirt roads half the way.

Yupp, I'm using USD, based upon SEK, so... now that I think about it the prices probably aren't exact considering the exchange value's are different between SEK - USD and SEK - MYR.

I know rite! It's crazy because a lot of people are pissed about the prizes, and vandalize local traffic stations/equipment to show it... and then the prices go up. :P What a world huh. They provide a good service though, (chars running out da

Cyberdevil 2013-10-05 12:06:42

but I'd rather they'd cut down on luxury (we have padded seats on subways, for example) and just let us travel at a reasonable price instead. The price is the main reason I'm not much in the city. Back when I went to highschool the school provided travel passes so it was never a problem then (university doesn't btw). It was cheaper too, back then, though...

No problem man, now that I've posted all this info... I bet you can find some links and judge for yourself. ;)

Cyberdevil 2013-10-05 13:47:47

Ah, OK, good to hear your views about it. I didn't know there'd never been an image of the Prophet (hope it's not considered blasphemy or something to spell that with a lowercase letter btw?), but still, this kind of reaction to the actions taken by people who aren't Muslim makes Islam seem like a very hostile religion, not willing to understand that people are different; have different faiths; don't necessarily live by the same book.

It must be pretty big then! Interesting. I'm wondering, would acknowledging the existence of Israel be a crime where you live?

The limit's just 2500 I think, wish it was 10000! :)

Cyberdevil 2013-10-06 07:38:26

Good knowing!