The Nintendo Wii is certainly showing us that these days fit is it! But the real money is in old video games, so it seems.

A recent auction on eBay saw a rare NES game, Bandai’s Stadium Events, sell for over $41,000, and included free shipping!  Still sealed in shrinkwrap with its original price tag of $29.99 on it, this positively ancient fitness game certainly wracked up the bids.  But the question is, why?

Bandai Stadium Events for NES sells for $41,300 on eBay.

Stadium Events was a lackluster original Nintendo Entertainment System game from Bandai, released in 1986, and based on the use of the Family Fun Fitness Mat (later bought by NES from Bandai and rebranded the Power Pad) in which players literally stomped and hopped around on a big mat on the floor instead of just using a handheld controller.  It was a fad that really didn’t catch on.  And Stadium Events was a game that didn’t really impress even amongst those who enjoyed that fad.  A veritable micro-niche within a disinterested market, Stadium Events was often relegated to the bargain bin if it could be found in any store at all.

But, Stadium Events hit an even harder time.  When Nintendo bought the Family Fun Fitness Mat from Bandai and resold it under the name Power Pad, in the US all of Bandai’s old mats and games for it were recalled (and presumably destroyed) by Nintendo to be replaced by their own rebranded versions.  Making one of the crappiest games ever one of the rarest games ever.

And that, apparently, is why a mint-condition copy of the American release of Stadium Events seems to be worth $41,300 to someone.  There was not a mint copy to be had.  Until now.

Those of you who adhere to Apple computers for their perceived higher code of ethics may be in for a surprise, Apple is as bad as everyone else.  Just recently their annual audit for adherence to their code of conduct uncovered the use of child labor, non-certified vendors disposing of hazardous waste, falsified records, and even the payment of excessive “recruitment” fees.  It’s a bad Apple indeed.

Bad Apple - Child labor, hazardous waste, falsified records, etc.

The good news is that this was Apple’s own annual audit.  They caught all of these misdeeds of their own accord, and are taking immediate corrective actions.

But it just goes to show, everyone’s doing it.

Microsoft has announced its intent to end its support for those versions of Windows which users have not upgraded to their latest service packs.  Specifically, Windows Vista without any service packs will no longer have support after April 13th, 2010.  Windows XP with only Service Pack 2 (WinXP SP2) will likewise have its service terminated on the 13th of July, 2010.  As will any version of Windows 2000 (Win2K).  Also on the 13th of July, Microsoft is moving Windows Server 2003 from mainstream support to extended support, meaning that only the security updates will remain free and everything else will cost money to get help from Microsoft.

“Microsoft believes it is important that all customers take action prior to the end of support date, not only so that they know their options and can prepare, but also to ensure their environments are as secure as possible.”

Obviously, in most cases anyway, simply installing the latest service pack will allow you to continue to enjoy support from Microsoft.  It’s easy.  It’s free.  You really should do it.  For more information from Microsoft on how to upgrade to your latest service pack, look here.

There’s a small flurry of hubbub going around in the iPhone/iPad community.  It would seem that in the latest iPhone SDK was found evidence that the iPad will one day have video conferencing built in.  Almost.  Maybe.  Well … it might have.

The evidence comes in two parts.  The first part is a variable in the code specifically for handling if a device has a front camera, you know, to take pictures of you the user as you look at the screen.  This hasFrontCamera variable seems to indicate some kind of video-phone option since, well, why else would it be there?

But why would anyone think that it would be for the iPad instead of the much more likely iPhone?  The devil is in the details graphics.  Also in the iPhone SDK was a graphic for two buttons, to reject or accept an incoming video conference call.  The thing is, the graphic is too wide for use on an iPhone.  Which pretty much just leaves the iPad.

So does that mean that Apple is actually bringing video conferencing to the iPad in the future?

No.

It doesn’t.

Since we know full well that even Apple didn’t seem to know what, exactly, it was doing with its iPad for a rather long time, it’s much more likely that this evidence uncovered from the iPhone SDK is not evidence of a future, but simple remnants of a confused past.  It’d make far more sense for the iPad to be a video phone if it were firstly a phone.  Further, all evidence so far points to a pretty lackluster performance capability of the iPad, which also doesn’t speak well to something as sophisticated as video conferencing.

Frankly, based on the evidence, I’d sooner believe that Apple is just working on a new iPhone with a larger screen resolution than I’d believe that the iPad might do anything interesting.  And honestly, I don’t even believe that will happen any time soon.

But to each their own.  You can certainly dream all that you like.  It won’t make it true, but you can dream it all the same.

Those of you who may remember the Adobe Download Manager ActiveX vulnerability that potentially opens up your computer to risk of having any old software package installed and not just those from Adobe, you’re in for a pleasant surprise.  Adobe fixed it.  Already!

In what can only be described as blazing speed, Adobe has fixed the security flaw in their Adobe Download Manager.  That was like less than a week!  This is how computer security should be handled.

If only Microsoft could be so swift.