I've noticed an extreme spike in my torrent bandwidth. Is everyone putting in a last ditch effort to get what they want before they can't anymore?

I'm sticking with XP. I've had a chance to try Vista, and I really hated it. It reminded me too much of a Mac. Flashy graphics make for slow processors. Also, I have 1GB RAM on my lappy, which means that I could just barely run Vista. No thanks, I'll stick to running XP comfortably. There is plenty of product support and compatibility, and it gets the job done for me. As far as people downloading the new windows over BitTorrent, don't they realize that you have to have a genuine copy to get the updates? Or is there a crack out already?

This isn't a problem with the games themselves, just the users who are playing the games. There have to be very strict punishments for people who are caught abusing the trust of the community. Good rule of thumb: If it's not in the game, don't click it. This applies to clan sites, FAQ's, Walkthroughs, all of it. Just don't do it unless you can be certain that it's a reputable site you're going to.

Oh, and I suppose poor people shouldn't be the only ones to die of dehydration either... that's why next month's conference will be held in the Mojave desert.

...Not to mention the fantasy and/or historical situations that many games are set in. It's really hard to get to 1944 Japan, or post-apocalyptic Washington D.C. in RL. I use my games as an escape from reality, much like a book, or booze.

Shenanigans of the highest order. This study is bunk.

This is a very expensive undertaking. To archive all of the photos and videos alone would require massive disk space. Add to that the filtering of silly comments that are completely off-topic and you have one heck of a job. I'm glad someone's doing it, but does it have to be that detailed? we have far more data in our age than any other time in history.

It really is kind of creepy how close they've come to actual life-like robotics... but my question is, how life-like should a robot really be? I mean, are we going to be replacing friends with these guys, or are they meant to serve us? Don't get me wrong, I have a great respect for these scientists, I just wonder how these sorts of real robots will fare on the market.

what's even worse is when the little guys on there start singing into their headsets. it's like they don't know anyone is listening. i don't care if they want to play, but it's really annoying to have to mute every last one.

Perhaps I should clarify. I've never had to use unemployment myself, because I have been a contributing member of the work force since I was 12 years old. I've lived out of a car, had a few crummy apartments (one flooded), but I've somehow always been able to find a job. There are jobs out there, and the unemployed need only look to the local papers to find some work. The problem I have is when people decide that since they've had a certain job in the past, they need to have an equal or better job or they won't work. Sometimes, that means you have to give some of the decadent things you may have been able to afford before, but can no longer justify paying for. I had a roommate that lost his job as a landscaper, but he would not sell any of his things. I had to toss him out because he wouldn't pay rent, but he paid rent-a-center right on time (thanks to his mother... ugh) for the entertainment system in his room. It's disgusting to see how much we waste while living beyond our own means.

Seriously? People are too lazy to go to the unemployment office? Why am I paying taxes again?

We Earthlings must consume everything we can see, until we cannot see any longer.

Those things are dangerous. Many gamers, accustomed to sitting still, have been injured by the Wii. Now the PC world will be hurt by this onslaught of moving controllers.

Not entirely sure how, they probably wouldn't say anyway. The most likely explanation is that they want to monitor usage to control piracy, and monitor emails and documents for signs of terrorism. You can learn a lot about someone if you have access to what they google.

Seriously, breastfeeding should be considered nudity. I understand that sometimes it has to be done because the little worm won't shut it, but it doesn't have to be accepted as a part of everyday life. Most people carry a bottle when they're in public, and I really don't want to see my high school classmates nursing their kids because they tagged somebody in a photo. I think we should put the social stigma back on this issue. (possibly flamebait, but wtf.)