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Comment We had several different ones, including EB (Score 2) 288

My family had a computer for years (the first was a 286 around 1987) and about 1992 bought a fancy new 486 from Gateway. It was an even bigger day when Dad got us a 4X CD-ROM drive to replace the 1X that the computer came with. About the time we switched to Windows 95, Dad bought a copy of Encarta. Over the next few years, one or two more versions were purchased. We also got a copy of Encyclopaedia Britannica (don't ask me when) and one of something made by Grolier before the acquistion by Scholastic. My parents weren't against large volumes of printed references (they own a condensed OED) but Dad saw the potential of the CD format (DVD as well) right away. The fact that Encarta was much cheaper was a bonus.

Comment Bring Back Old-School Duke Nukem (Score 1) 462

I found that I enjoyed the old platforming side-scrollers more than Duke3D. How about getting rid of the FPS idea and making a 3D platformer instead? It can keep the humor and tone of Duke3D, but make it play like Ratchet and Clank. I'd be far more interested in that than DNF, which I have no interest in purchasing at all.

Comment Why Should I Want A Smartphone? (Score 1) 303

I've never really understood why I should get a smartphone. Sure, there are times it'd be nice to have the Internet capabilities, but I hate using a smartphone as, get this, a phone. I've got a 6-year old simple phone that just does that, making phone calls for the small amount I use my cell phone for. The plan is still dirt cheap for virtually unlimited calling. I don't use SMS of any kind, so why do I want any of that bundled in? The only thing I want a smartphone for is mobile internet. But no carriers seem to want to just sell me a data plan, even if I come to them with an unlocked phone they can support. And now that even more caps are going into place, my desire to spend multiple hundreds of dollars on a phone and a plan drops even more.

Comment Re:SVHS vs. VHS again (Score 1) 1162

It's partially a failure of connectivity on my part. The PS3 is hooked up through HDMI, but the TV then feeds the audio out through an optical connection through a Toslink-only switchbox into the receiver's single Toslink connection. The DVR hooks up the same way. This works fine when doing anything other than watching a Blu-Ray. I can't pass HDMI through the receiver as it only has a single Toslink and a single coax input.

Comment Re:SVHS vs. VHS again (Score 1) 1162

For me, while I have a HDTV (32" 720p, definitely not the latest and greatest) and a Blu-Ray player (okay, it's a PS3), I have only bought two Blu-Ray discs. What has been stopping me--besides the fact that I buy very little physical media these days--is that my audio equipment doesn't work well with most Blu-Ray discs. I have a simple, but effective, 5.1 setup that works quite well for DVDs, video games, and anything broadcast or streamed in 5.1 as it has AC-3, DTS, and linear PCM support. But it doesn't support Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD, and it seemed like the only support I got for Dolby Digital was 2.0, as if the audio wasn't passing through correctly. I don't want to spend more money on a new surround system, especially when the TV I currently have doesn't really make Blu-Ray worth it.

Comment Re:Culprit ? (Score 1) 376

I really enjoyed the movie. However, I didn't even know about it until I saw the director on the Colbert Report, when I decided I wanted to see it. I wound up seeing it as a double-feature with Inglorious Basterds at a drive-in. The Hurt Locker was premiered back in 2008 and didn't get wide release until the last weekend of July 2009. I think I saw them both the weekend Inglorious Basterds released, at which point The Hurt Locker had been premiered almost a year earlier. Seriously, why sit so long on a movie for release?
Australia

Aussie Attorney General Says Gamers Are Scarier Than Biker Gangs 409

Sasayaki writes "South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson claims, in an interview with Good Game, that gamers were more of a threat to his family than biker gangs. This is the man who has been the biggest opponent to Australia receiving an R18+ rating for video games and who has the power to veto any such law introducing it."
Games

The Struggle For Private Game Servers 125

A story at the BBC takes a look at the use of private game servers for games that tend not to allow them. While most gamers are happy to let companies like Blizzard and NCSoft administer the servers that host their MMORPGs, others want different rules, a cheaper way to play, or the technical challenge of setting up their own. A South African player called Hendrick put up his own WoW server because the game "wasn't available in the country at the time." A 21-year-old Swede created a server called Epilogue, which "had strict codes of conduct and rules, as well as a high degree of customized content (such as new currency, methods of earning experience, the ability to construct buildings and hire non-player characters, plus 'permanent' player death) unavailable in the retail version of the game." The game companies make an effort to quash these servers when they can, though it's frequently more trouble that it's worth. An NCSoft representative referenced the "growing menace" of IP theft, and a Blizzard spokesperson said,"We also have a responsibility to our players to ensure the integrity and reliability of their World of Warcraft gaming experience and that responsibility compels us to protect our rights."

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