Rock On!

Guitar Hero - Who hasn't heard/played this game? And now, there's a portable version out on the Nintendo DS. But being a handheld, there is no gibson for you to jam as you play. Instead, there is a new dongle to attach to your DS. Afraid that your jam sessions will be ruined by this foreign "instrument"? Not to worry, here is the How-To Guide for this handheld version. Enjoy and ROCK ON!

How On Earth...

So I ordered a comic from Amazon.com about 2 months ago. Since it was a pre-order, the book finally was shipped last week. The estimated arrival date was May 22 but man, was there some shipping cock up or what...
They were 5 days and 2,000 miles off target...
I seriously hope that that's a typo on the shipping info. I will call them tomorrow and try to hash this thing out...

Avast me Mateys!

Atari founder Nolan Bushnell recently suggested that the latest approach to combat PC piracy is to use A Trusted Platform Module (TMP) chip. Basically, the TMP chip is a chip on the motherboard of the computer that is supposed to check and confirm the legitimacy of any PC software installed on the computer. If the software is legit, the chip allows it's usage. If the software is pirated not, the chip is supposed to prevent it's activation.

I'm not a computer expert so I cannot comment on how technically sound this method of DRM is, but I think that using borderline draconian methods to protect their IP is not the right way for companies.

The image of a typical pirate is someone who is young and has relatively low (no) purchasing power, like high school kids. I believe most pirates are not really interested in purchasing the actual product. It's more of "since I can get it for free, I'll try it" kind of attitude. Thus, such anti-piracy measures aren't really helping companies increase their revenues. People who can't pirate the game aren't necessarily going to want to play it regardless. And then the real users are the ones who have to suffer the indignity (& inconvenience) of the anti-piracy procedures.

I think as most people grow up and see an increase in purchasing power, they will stop pirating goods as they are in a better position to buy what they want. Thus companies should spend their efforts in making (& marketing) a product that these users will buy. They can include freebies (vouchers/posters/etc) with purchases, allow legit users to have exclusive interaction with the programmers, etc. These are things that cannot be downloaded nor digitized for free sharing. That should be the way to go I think.

Piracy should not be condoned, but heavy-handedness is not going to win people over to the big companies' side. I hope that corporations realize the futility of forcing people to do what they (i.e. corporations) want.

P.S. Ninjas are cooler.

LCD Hunting?

Then here are some things to look out for (straight from the Pro's mouth)

1. Backlight leaking. When it's all dark, the edges glow.
2. Uneven backlight lighting - If you have say a monotone blue wallpaper, the blue on top looks different than the blue below. This is less obvious on small monitors but 24'' and above is pretty obvious.
3. Color (observe the Americanized English) gamut. Most LCD on the market now uses panel that produces only 78% of the color spectrum. The new ones which most manufacturers are transitioning to are >92%. Makes hell of a difference. Make sure you don't get something that manufacturers are trying to dump.
4.Warranty. Worry less about dead pixels these days. The backlight usually dies first.

There you have it. Things to ponder when you next hunt for the 32" FragFest Baby to allow you to game and chat with the gf/mom/random hot chick at the same time.

I'd never

Thought that I would see the word "tits" on the headline from a respectable news website.



If you're interested in finding out more, you can click here.

If you ever...

Wanted to see a white boy (Stephen Colber[t]) do a DDR throwdown with an Asian (Rain), here's your chance. Although in the spirit of the Colbert Report, it's really more of a comedy, it's still a chance to see Stephen's (not so cool) moves.

Some back story.


The actual challenge.


Enjoy.

Also, because I had to, hear is how Team Fortress 2 applies to relationships. In the wise words of ICE.

Some Last Thoughts...

Before my operation tomorrow. I'm going for an arthroscopic exam to remove any floating bits of meniscus in the knee and to determine if my ACL is still ok.

It's kinda worrying to know that walking on gravel could lead to such an injury. I might have to consider a career change if the doctor determines that I have a weak ACL again... I can't risk the hazard to my knee like that. Which would suck since I like my company and my job... Sigh.

Oh well, at least some old friends will be coming around soon. That's really awesome. Hopefully my leg will be better and I won't need crutches to show them around. It's a good time to visit the US, the dollar is so weak (1.3!! OMG). My purchasing power just keeps falling...

In something completely off-topic, but completely relevant to the nature of the blog, guess what occupation this lady had before this pic became public?

She''s definitely an inspiration for an American Pie movie. And she was also the mayor of a small town in Oregon. I'd vote for her. Haha.

Ok, I'll post again after my op. Just to show I'm alive.