April fools has become a huge holiday on the internet, especially in tech industries. I just thought I would share some of my favorites with y'all, read em quick as they usually disappear after today.
Blizzard Entertainment
By far the most elaborate April fools jokes I've seen on the internet, they come with artwork, write-ups, screenshots, and even videos of newly announced features in the game. You start shaking your head and wondering what they're thinking until you realize it's April 1st. This years entries included a Pimp my Mount feature for World of Warcraft, a PVP danceoff mode for World of Warcraft, a new class for Diablo 3, the Archivist (think Librarian on a rampage), and a new unit for Starcraft 2, a massive robot made from... your whole base. Madness.
Google
Google always comes out with a new technology on April 1st and they're usually pretty good. This year they developed an AI called CADIE and used it's technology for Gmail autopilot.
Gamespy
Gamespy had an editorial about how the PC will never be a decent platform for RTS games, mocking the futile efforts of those who keep trying to make an RTS for a console. I may explore this topic in another post, because RTS on a console is something I never understood.
Fileplanet
Fileplanet, a free file distributor which I believe also powers Direct2drive, a site that lets you buy a game license online and download it that day, saving time and money. They have a new program for planting a tree for each gigabyte that is downloaded from their site.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Everything's amazing and no one is happy.
On the topic of technology, here's a fantastic clip from the Conan O'brien Show.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Gloria's Little Italy
So we were down on Center St. the other day and decided to try a new restaurant that was there, Gloria's Little Italy. It's right across the street from Los Hermanos, at the corner of Center and University (in Provo). After eating there, I would highly recommend it to everyone. The food was fantastic, and the prices were excellent. Pasta with sauce, a salad, and a drink for just $8.00! I had some pasta with an oil, garlic, and peppers sauce, and it was delicious. Haven't seen any ads for them yet, so I thought I would start some word of mouth. Next time your down there, stop by for some great Italian food!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Great Quotes of Failed Predictions
One of my professors showed us a video the other day that was a commercial for Linux. It had a ton of quotes from people about technology and stuff, and I love quotes like these so I thought I would post them up.
The telephone has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication.
-Western Union [1876]
Everything that can be invented has been invented.
-US Patent Commissioner [1899]
(Interestingly enough, our teacher informed us that the US patent office actually shut down for a while at that time)
The phonograph has no commercial value at all
-Thomas Edison [1880]
The radio craze will die out in time.
-Thomas Edison [1922]
The automobile has practically reached the limit of its development.
-Scientific American [1909]
Man will not fly for fifty years.
-Orville Wright [1901]
A rocket will never leave the Earth's atmosphere.
-New York Times [1936]
There is a world market for maybe 5 computers.
-IBM's Thomas Watson [1943]
640k ought to be enough for anybody.
-Bill Gates [1981]
Friday, February 27, 2009
Is socializing in a video game real socializing?
Here's an interesting article about a World of Warcraft social life. Guess when people say MMO players don't have a social life, they forget that they play with other REAL PEOPLE, not robots. If chatting (text and voice) doesn't count as social, I suppose when you call your friend on the phone or text them, you're not being social, you must actually be in the same room. Curious, I'd better turn off that phone, it's getting in the way of my social life!
Defending Video Games
First of all, you gotta know this about me. I'm a proud defender of video games as a valid form of entertainment and even art. Now, as with any new form of entertainment, it has had its share of opposition and criticism. People insist on showing studies of how video games make a child grow up into a violent and terrible person. I thought I turned out ok... Funny that the studies about how children who play video games have better motor skill development and higher IQs never made it to their desks. Oh well.
In the end, studies show what they want to show. Any scientist out to prove something will prove it if they want it bad enough. So maybe those scientists who found higher IQs in the kids who played video games were gamers themselves, who knows? Either way, it's a pattern of society. Something new comes along, and it's a fantastic opportunity to blame all of our problems on an inanimate object.
That's right. We love to blame our problems on inanimate objects, because it takes the responsibility off our shoulders. Video games only increase your tendencies for violence if you're exposed to violence as something normal before your mind has defined what is right or wrong, which begs a question. Why are children in their developmental stages allowed to play violent video games at all? There are PLENTY of other types of video games. Who is letting these children play those games? Oops, didn't mean to single you guys out. Right. Parents.
Now I'm not saying everything is the parent's fault, but for crying out loud, of course exposing children to violence in their formative years will increase their tendency toward violence, but that has nothing to do with the video game, it is their perception of reality. If their parents leave a 4 year old playing a mature rated game hour after hour so they don't have to take care of them, then that's the child's world. That violence starts to become their reality, and they see it as something normal, because they don't know any better. This is not the fault of the video game. Watching your parents fight all of the time has the same effect, why are all of the parents trying to discredit video games instead of going to marriage counseling? Again, it's easier to blame the inanimate object.
So in the end, video games are no more evil than books or television. Luckily for me, when I was younger, violent video games didn't exist, so my parents had no need to monitor the games I was playing. By the time violent video games emerged, I knew the difference between what was right and wrong, what was real and unreal. I started playing violent video games but it didn't matter, because the definition of acceptable and unacceptable was already formed in my mind. Parents have a much tougher task now should their children choose video games as a hobby, but no tougher than monitoring the TV shows or movies their children watch. It's common sense. Just as children can watch harmless movies or read harmless books, there's no problem with playing video games as long as they don't play anything above their maturity level. If you doubt the fact that "harmless" video games exists, I ask that you lookup the Nintendo Wii. You wanna talk family friendly, look no further.
No problem. Start them off on the Wii, and they can grow into other games as you and they desire. As far as what you'll allow in your home, that's another issue, but it applies to every kind of media, not just this one. Now I'm not a fan of outrageous violence or sexual content in video games, but I don't like those same things in books or movies either. Video games are just as much for adults as they are for children. No one brings law suits against Hollywood for putting violence and sex in their movies, but they do it to the video game industry. I think we should realize that it is the artist's right to put what they want in their art. So we need to stop pointing at the video games as a media and start worrying about what corner of that media our children experience, just like with other forms of accepted entertainment.
In the end, studies show what they want to show. Any scientist out to prove something will prove it if they want it bad enough. So maybe those scientists who found higher IQs in the kids who played video games were gamers themselves, who knows? Either way, it's a pattern of society. Something new comes along, and it's a fantastic opportunity to blame all of our problems on an inanimate object.
That's right. We love to blame our problems on inanimate objects, because it takes the responsibility off our shoulders. Video games only increase your tendencies for violence if you're exposed to violence as something normal before your mind has defined what is right or wrong, which begs a question. Why are children in their developmental stages allowed to play violent video games at all? There are PLENTY of other types of video games. Who is letting these children play those games? Oops, didn't mean to single you guys out. Right. Parents.
Now I'm not saying everything is the parent's fault, but for crying out loud, of course exposing children to violence in their formative years will increase their tendency toward violence, but that has nothing to do with the video game, it is their perception of reality. If their parents leave a 4 year old playing a mature rated game hour after hour so they don't have to take care of them, then that's the child's world. That violence starts to become their reality, and they see it as something normal, because they don't know any better. This is not the fault of the video game. Watching your parents fight all of the time has the same effect, why are all of the parents trying to discredit video games instead of going to marriage counseling? Again, it's easier to blame the inanimate object.
So in the end, video games are no more evil than books or television. Luckily for me, when I was younger, violent video games didn't exist, so my parents had no need to monitor the games I was playing. By the time violent video games emerged, I knew the difference between what was right and wrong, what was real and unreal. I started playing violent video games but it didn't matter, because the definition of acceptable and unacceptable was already formed in my mind. Parents have a much tougher task now should their children choose video games as a hobby, but no tougher than monitoring the TV shows or movies their children watch. It's common sense. Just as children can watch harmless movies or read harmless books, there's no problem with playing video games as long as they don't play anything above their maturity level. If you doubt the fact that "harmless" video games exists, I ask that you lookup the Nintendo Wii. You wanna talk family friendly, look no further.
No problem. Start them off on the Wii, and they can grow into other games as you and they desire. As far as what you'll allow in your home, that's another issue, but it applies to every kind of media, not just this one. Now I'm not a fan of outrageous violence or sexual content in video games, but I don't like those same things in books or movies either. Video games are just as much for adults as they are for children. No one brings law suits against Hollywood for putting violence and sex in their movies, but they do it to the video game industry. I think we should realize that it is the artist's right to put what they want in their art. So we need to stop pointing at the video games as a media and start worrying about what corner of that media our children experience, just like with other forms of accepted entertainment.
Welcome
Welcome to the Nerdy Side of Life! I'm pretty excited about starting my own blog, and all the random stuff I get to write on here. I'll be linking to interesting articles, news, and other things as I go along. Particularly to do with games or other software I'm watching right now. At the moment, that list is fairly small. I like to focus on things I'm pretty sure will be awesome. First up is Windows 7, of which I have the beta, and am really enjoying. Next would be the two games I'm keeping my eye on. Starcraft II, which had to be the most anticipated game of all time (the original is a professional sport in Korea), and The Sims 3, which aims to improve on the "dollhouse" creation tools from the first one and add some elements to make it feel more like you're playing a game when watching your sims' lives.
I'm also considering bringing back the old Random Picture of the Week that I used to E-mail out every week. We'll see how I can keep up, perhaps it will have to just be "The Random Picture", no time constraint. So whether you're here for the nerd news, or for some interesting articles and commentary, or to take a look at some random pictures, welcome, friend, to the Nerdy Side of Life.
I'm also considering bringing back the old Random Picture of the Week that I used to E-mail out every week. We'll see how I can keep up, perhaps it will have to just be "The Random Picture", no time constraint. So whether you're here for the nerd news, or for some interesting articles and commentary, or to take a look at some random pictures, welcome, friend, to the Nerdy Side of Life.
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