Adrian M

Nobody's boycotting anything. But when given the choice, one should try to purchase items made in their own country (or state for that matter...I still remember those "Buy Vermont First" commercials).

That isn't true. You'll see things 'Designed by Apple in California' often closely followed by 'Assembled in China' True, a fair amount of their computers are made in US (I'd have to take the base off my emac to check) but my iPod here is made in China, as are all of its accessories. And that iPod was imported from US as well. I know that. That's why it sort of surprised me to see that the eMac in particular was assembled in the US. Specifically after seeing that some of the iMacs proudly proclaimed that they were manufactured in Mexico and whatnot. The iPods and portables are made in foreign countries for certain.

Nah. Not true at all.

wait, the eMac is made in the US????!!! Yep! Check the box! Designed in California (as all Apple products are) AND made in the USA as well!

I'm glad I'm not the only one that feels this way.

why would it matter where it's made? Perhaps he does not wish to support Sony if the systems are manufactured in third world countries by employees toiling away in sweatshops similar to those used by Nike. I get customers asking stuff like that all the time. I had one the other day tell me he didn't really feel like supporting something made in China. Or I get Japanese customers come in to look at a Sony made MD MP3 player. In a thick Japanese accent in as little English as possible they ask, "Is this made in Japan?" So I look at the back. Find out that all the parts are made in other countries, but not one piece is made in Japan... Sony.. Um.. okay. Or old couples come in to look at TV's and wanna know where they're made and if they're "Made in America". No, sorry. The companies we carried who made their TV's in the US we don't carry anymore because they sucked. Sorry. No more Haier, no more Curtis Mathis.. Nothing wrong with being patriotic when it comes to purchasing goods. I myself often go out of my way to ensure that whatever I buy is made (or at least assembled) in the US. In some cases, it's nearly impossible (like TV's these days) But, there are those times when you think something is definitely made overseas (or in some area like Mexico) but it turns out to be made right here in the United States...case in point, my Apple eMac and Mitsubishi Eclipse.

why would it matter where it's made? Perhaps he does not wish to support Sony if the systems are manufactured in third world countries by employees toiling away in sweatshops similar to those used by Nike.

Scrubbing Bubbles to clean game systems? I suppose you could if you had to, but why? That's seriously the most retarded thing I've ever heard. All purpose cleaners or even a simply water/alcohol mixture will do the job just fine.

Speaking of which, I need to remember to check my box/system sometime for the lot number...

Oh right....and how could I forget to mention Bionic Commando? . Oh! How could I have forgotten that one! BC is one of my all-time favorite NES games and yes, the NES adaptation was one of the few cases where deviation from the coin-op proved to work out for the better. It's odd...when I think of my favorite NES memories, I always seem to be reminded of the true classics like Bionic Commando, Contra, and Star Soldier. For some reason, the fruity Mario games (while decent) rarely stick out.

If no local offers materialize, maybe we can work something out.

Not a problem.

Well, I checked my parts box and found 4 older Happ Leaf Switch buttons (all white in color). They look something like this: Leaf Switch buttons are the older style that older 1980's era games used before Happ swtiched to the more modern cherry switch design. The 4 I have were salvaged from some old coin-op and have a little bit of leftover solder on them (easy to remove, but convenient for quick wire connection). You can find more parts and info at this website: www.therealbobroberts.com This guy is top notch...he supplied me with a bunch of parts for my Supergun RGB-to-NTSC convertor project.

How much longer for the Homestar Runner RPG?

2, but because I have limited space, I need some certain ones. They are here and here (the latter being type "B") If you happen to have any of those that you could spare, let me know. I'd appreciate it much Ah...so you're after the shallow mount version of the arcade pushbutton. Let me double check my parts box tonight. For certain, I know I don't have the "type B" square button you're after.

No way! Double Dragon had that added in one-on-one fighting mode that kicked ass back then. Playing as Abobo was awesome and a worthy addition Perhaps, but the reality is that the regular mode (which we all bought the game for in the first place) was a pale imitation of the coin-op. Changed stages, weapons that disappeared right out of your hands, a "level-up" move system, the cave maze (WTF??) and lack of 2p mode disappointed all who were hoping and praying for a faithful conversion. Double Dragon 2 continued this trend, although we were used to this practice by then.

Normally, I'm a purist when it comes to home conversions of coin-ops. That said, I absolutely detested the radically different ports that found their way to the NES back in the 80's. Double Dragon, Strider, Section Z (among others)...all ruined with needless changes. But, I'd have to say that I did enjoy the Atari 2600 version of Wizard of Wor more than the arcade original. Control seems tighter and the game plays remarkably well despite the flickering graphics. Also, the silly robotic voice is gone which is a huge plus for me!

Dear god, if you can ship this to the New England area, I will gladly take it off your hands! Quote me a price!!

I have a few spare Happ arcade pushbuttons (w/ the necessary cherry microswitches) from my completed Supergun project. How many do you need?

Jamma boards and connectors can be flakey at times. From my experience, here's what I suggest you try before doing. 1. Disconnect the Jamma connector and check the pins (and the board's jamma edge) to be sure they're clean. 2. Reconnect the Jamma connector to the board. (since you were able to use the other board fine, I think this is all you need to do). If it works, then good. If not, do the following: 3. Check your voltages to ensure the power supply is outputting a satisfactory range for that particular board. Make adjustments if necessary. In general, most Jamma boards need a clean and consistent 5v draw. Also, check to ensure the wires on the powersupply are connected properly. 4. Reseat the roms If it still doesn't work, I'd suggest trying a few more boards to isolate if it isn't just the Batman board. You may want to inspect all the wires in your Jamma loom in the event that a few are frayed which can cause shorting.

Twin Cobra was one of my fave arcade shooters back in the late 80's and I was one of the few people who actually bought the Genesis version the day it launched. As far as conversions go, the Genesis version is pretty good. I'd say 80 to 85% accurate in regards to gameplay. My biggest gripe was with the audio...the tinny arcade soundtrack was changed ever so slightly. Also, there was a bit of flicker not present in the coin-op version. To better understand my points, consider the Genesis conversion of RAIDEN which also had similar changes and compromises made. But given the era and the nature of the hardware, these points were easily overlooked and many of us were happy to have a game this close to the coin-op original. Toaplan shooters were great, and compared to the conversions of Truxton and Fireshark (also good I might add) that we got, the Genesis edition of Twin Cobra holds up well. The PC Engine version is fun and mostly accurate as well, but the graphics and audio are even less refined though still impressive.

Don't know. But I'll check my box and system later today.

If you're truly into VLM (I really don't see the appeal, but whatever) the Samsung N2000 has it's pros and cons. Mainly, it's higher res than the effects on the N501 which have that smeary Tempest 3000 blur-o-vision effect turn on. The N501 has some sort of "beat detection" and user controlled effects, but again, unless you're hard core into these lightsynths, the majority won't care.

The total US releases came to 7 games. 1 extra was released for the Korean market, but never here.

Maybe they changed it at some point? I remember there was a hugely disproportionate one there. Bigger than Hercules. Or maybe I just remember it as a 9 year old kid. Dunno. I always remember it as being the Hercules machine. The last time I was Canobie was back in 1996. Perhaps it has changed since then.