I stopped updating here awhile ago, unfortunately, as I was having oodles of fun, but it was too much work running that many stories in one day, crappy photoshops and all. I’ve started a personal blog up at 16bithero.com; it used to be a webcomic for about a month and a half, but that failed. Woo!

-BigDaddy

This isn’t exactly news, but it needs to be stated again…  Vista… sucks.  Pure. Plain. Simple.  That’s all there is to it.  I hated Vista from the day it came out, then they released SP1 which leveled the gaming benchmarks to XP standards, so I figured, in my infinite naivete “well, I guess I’ll try it out.”  So I did.  At first it wasn’t bad, it was basically XP with a few more bells and whistles.  Then things started to go wrong.  I’ve been using the damn OS for only a month and already I’m so frustrated with its errors that I’m downgrading back to XP.  First the UAC system stopped working correctly and my programs wouldn’t run in “Admin” mode despite being asked to do so or flat out turning UAC off.  I AM THE F&&**ING ADMIN, DON’T ASK ME IF I WANT IT TO RUN IN ADMIN MODE.  IF I DIDN’T, I WOULDN’T MAKE MYSELF THE F&&**ING ADMIN. >_<

Next, the loadup times kept creeping up steadily.  First it was only 20-30 seconds, not bad, then it would be 45-60secs and now, only 1 month after use, its up to almost 5 min before the the OS is usable.  I have disabled all but the most basic services for startup and scanned for all manner of evil files in an attempt to curb this trend all to no avail.

The next fun thing Vista started doing was freezing whenever asked to transfer a file larger than 100mb.  Didn’t matter if it was inter- or intra-hard drive or onto a flash device.  It would always fail and freeze requiring explorer.exe to be destroyed.  That was essentially the last straw for me.  I could bare with the other idiosyncrasies of Vista but not being able to move files among HDs is extremely important in my daily computer use. So, this is my last post from the Vista machine, it is going to be formatted in the next 5 minutes back to the much more useful, but still largely broken, XP.  This does not exactly make me estatic over the prospect of Windows 7 in a year.  =_=

Sigh.

-Apoc

Soo, after seeing the hubbub about the GPhone and such, I have to say I’m sorely disappointed.  Honestly, you would think that something backed by Google of all companies would have managed something better than an OS that looks like…. well, Win98.  Not even second edition!  WIN 98 VANILLA!

I suppose the reason I’m so disappointed is that I’m a huge gadget/video games/tech freak.  I get super excited about new tech, I always love to see the new bench’s for the latest processors and video cards, and I’ve hacked every bit of tech hardware I have; you can probably see where I’m going with this.

It’s just a shame that the GPhone couldn’t be an iPhone killer; I had the original iPhone and now I have the 3G, and from it’s interface to it’s amazing features (made amazing, I’m sad to say, by jailbreaking and not wholly through it’s own doing) just captivated the market in terms of what a handset could do and how sexy it could look doing it. Honestly, Google should have structured it’s overall strategy with a winning handset design (dont even get me started on how the GPhone looks like it was made by IBM in the 90s) and an interface that trumped the iPhone’s; instead, they’re releasing a device that looks like it was the forerunner to the iPhone.

I am, however, impressed with their marketplace. Having it be an open development space where you could practically write whatever programs you wanted to without fear of the rejection police ( I’m looking at you, Apple) is going to be fantastic for pushing the platform past the iPhone in the long run, but they have to get a foothold first.  Granted, the iPhone has the hacker backed jailbreak in it’s corner, and as much as Apple hates it, it’s the only way the iPhone can compete with what will inevitably come out on the GPhone.  Oh, and DRM free MP3s through Amazon, yessir!

Unfortunately, I don’t think the Gphone will do too well; Google has its name behind it, which will move units, and having an open developmental field will bring apps to the GPhone that the iPhone could never dream of (of course, jailbreakless).  But on the surface, speaking in terms of physical design and the OS’s confusing interface (why does every different section you go to look like an entirely uncohesive theme?), they have started poorly.  If you’re going to take on something like the iPhone, you need to surpass it on ALL counts, not on a few.

And come on! No headphone jack? No syncing?! Mini USB jack?!  Welcome to the future! Oh wait, there it went, past you..

Follow this Linky! to Gizmodo, they’ve done a couple of articles on the GPhone and current perceptions, take a look at the polls for yourself.

Bah.

-BD

The new project codenamed “Reach Around” reduces the user interface to one button while all applications now load on startup guaranteeing 30min boot times!  Seriously though, Windows 7 has now been slated for a January 2010 release and now incorporates the all amazing “automatic game update check feature.”  WOW OMGBBQWTF!!111oneoneone Talk about revolutionary =_=.

On a separate but somewhat related note, GTA4 for the PC will require players to use Games for Windows Live in order to play multiplayer.  Amazing, just when you thought Microsoft couldn’t control your computer experience anymore, they find new ways of bending you over.

-Apoc

Ohhhh hell yes!  I’ve been waiting to re-get mah duke on since playing the original Duke 3D on teh old PC.  The deathmatch was always super fun, and this week couldn’t possibly get any better.  Oh wait, is Mega Man 9 coming out this week?  Shazam!  Classic gaming makes a comeback!

-BD

Linky!

Apparently, Activision has begun to target individual “pirates” of their…now here’s the kicker… console games.  Everyone knows piracy is rampant on PC’s, mainly the fault of publishers themselves (lookin’ at you EA), but fewer are aware of the ease of piracy for console gaming as well.  Granted, console pirating takes an initial buy-in fee because of Mod Chips and DVD-DL’s but that hasn’t deterred very many from going through with it.  Now Activision has targeted some of these console “pirates” and slapped them with tens of thousands, and in some cases hundreds of thousands, of dollars in lawsuits claiming “damages for each infringement of each copyrighted videogame.”  The folks over at GamePolitics are currently watching this as it develops and if you want good coverage head on over there.

What really astounds me is the audacity of Activision to pull the same stunt that the record companies pulled a few years back when they went after individual music downloaders, typically grandmothers and tweens.  Real smooth Activision, just wait for the PR blowback on this one to explode and rake in the negative press.  The other thing that astounds me is that, in all but one case, the defendants are without legal council and are having to settle out of court for tens of thousands of dollars.  Wow, a multinational corporation suing people who can’t afford lawyers, classy.  The other really fishy thing that everyone needs to keep their eye on is that Activision hasn’t released how they have targeted the individuals they have.  At the moment it just seems like a completely random assortment of titles and instances, though CoD3 seems to feature prominently.  Here is a run down of the cases so far uncovered:

Shawn Guse of Federal Way, Washington. Guse, unrepresented by counsel, agreed to pay Activision $100,000 (CoD 3 Wii, CoD 3 Xbox 360) to settle the case. Read the Guse settlement.

Chris Hyman of Abbeville, South Carolina. Hyman, also unrepresented, agreed to pay Activision $25,000 to settle the case. (CoD3 Wii, Tony Hawk’s Project 8, Xbox 360). Read the Hyman settlement.

George Laflin of New Jersey. Laflin, apparently the only defendant who had an attorney, agreed to pay Activision $100,000 (CoD 3 Xbox 360). Read the Laflin settlement.

Maryanne Leach of Northome, Minnesota. Leach, with no attorney, agreed to pay Activision $1,000. Read the Leach settlement.

Kenneth Madden of York, South Carolina agreed to pay Activision $100,000 (CoD 3 Wii, Cod 2 The Big Red One PS2, Tony Hawk’s Project 8, Xbox 360). He too was unrepresented. Read the Madden settlement.

James R. Strickland, aka Ryan Strickland of New York State; case is still active (CoD3 Xbox 360). Read the Strickland complaint.

It is unknown whether the copyright violations occurred in the course of file sharing, or whether there was some more complex mechanism afoot. Activision’s court filings do not specify the manner in which their copyrights were violated, or how they came to learn of the violations.

$100,000 for one game!! And it wasn’t even a good one!! If Activision wants, they can head over to GameStop and sue their asses for reselling millions of copies of CoD3 for 10 bucks at no profit to Activison.  These cases all seem to include games that are actually quite old so that tells me that it took Activision some time to get these cases together.  Activision was quickly approaching the list of douchebaggery, but now, they have officially reached elite level of Douchbaggery alongside EA and LucasArts.

-Apoc

Why herro there gamer type peoples!  Yes, you heard it right, Nvidia is trying to blow all of our minds through the use of 3D glasses.  That’s right, 3….D… They’re now using all 3 dimensions in an effort to bring us the best gaming experience out there.  Oh, Nvidia… 1988 called, they want their technology back =_=.  Every time some tech company comes out with a more “immersive” gaming experience they invariably tag their products with the appellates “virtual reality,” “3D,” or my personal fav “immersive stereoscopic experience.”  I love Nvidia, other than their retarded GPU naming schemes I think they make a decent enough product, but attempting to re-invent the gamer experience inevitably crashes and burns every time.

Hey Nvidia, if you really want to blow my mind and give consumers a better gaming experience, why don’t you throw the resources invested in 3D glasses at creating your own CPU!  AMD is already starting to integrate their CPU and GPUs (about damn time IMHO) so don’t fall too far behind that one Nvidia!

-Apoc

Though you don’t need to read this post to find that out, do you?  Just a nice trip down Amazon lane will tell you what everyone already knows: EVERYONE HATES INVASIVE DRM.  Didn’t we play this SecuROM game awhile ago with Bioshock?  Was anyone happy?  And the sad part is, for the upcoming Command & Conquer 3, SR will be in full swing.  EA is not going to back down on the tech, and eventually everyone will start complaining less and less about it.

I see a future, and it is dim; people won’t own the games they paid for and content will be on a rent-only basis at buy prices.

Well, it’s okay, everyone else can buy Spore and whatever shit EA packages along with it.  All I know is that in my travels to Best Buy, Target, and a couple other retailers over the past few days, the game seems to not have left shelves.

One of my friends asked me about Spore yesterday, telling me they were having problems running it. My response? RETURN THAT SHIT.

Update – 09/12-08 – More EA Assholed-ness

According to ggmania.com, if you want more than 1 Spore account, you need to buy more copies of the game!

EA’s DRM spyware on the long-awaited game Spore turns out to have an added side-effect: if you live in a household with multiple players, you all have to share the same account. The game’s manual says otherwise, but after repeated queries on the EA forum, a company spokesperson confirmed this. That’s right – if you’re in a household with several potential Spore players, and you want each of them to have their own account, you will have to buy multiple copies of the game!

Woooooooooww. Good going EA, let the douchery continue!

-BD

I was kinda sad to hear about this, but Michael Phelps was recently given a box of lies: the new Call of Duty: World at War game. He will, apparently, need to wait for the game like everyone else. Apparently, you still get shafted when you’ve won 8 gold medals in one olypics, shattered all kinds of records, and become an American hero. Oh well, life’s tough like that, and no one will see his tears as they dissolve into the swimming pool of his life.

Though, then again, the game ISN’T being developed by Infinity Ward, the geniuses behind COD4; so maybe not so much of a loss after all?

-BD

Anyone else excited about the prospect of being able to recreate bubble bobble? I KNOW!

-BD