DRM: Can there ever be a compromise?
Digital Rights Management (DRM) is a thorn in the side of every PC gamer. The measures put in place by game developers to protect their product from piracy range anywhere from slightly annoying (requiring the game disc to be in the disc drive) to the outright absurd (requiring continuous online access). But don’t the game creators need a way to protect their bottom line? After all, retails stores use lots of methods like sensors, cameras, security guards, receipt checking to protect their inventory. So why shouldn’t game developers implement their own methods? They should. But they’re doing it wrong.
The developers believe they are protecting their assets but they’re completely ignoring the issue that DRM punishes their paying customers rather than preventing piracy. They are rigid in their thinking that they can completely eliminate piracy altogether instead of being flexible and coming up with a solution that minimizes theft but isn’t a huge hassle for consumers. Read more…
Week in Review: Gaming News
All I have to say is a lot of stuff happened last week in the gaming world. I had so many news stories to choose from, that I didn’t know where to start. I picked a few I was interested in, a few I thought were silly or fun and a few that seem important for all gamers out there. Hopefully there’s at least one thing worth getting you in the gaming mood.
But first, a moment of silence. Voice actor Robert Culp died last week at the age of 79. He voiced character of Dr. Breen in Valve’s Half-Life 2.
As far as everything else that’s been going on, take a peek peek after the break. Read more…
Leveling: Not Just for Gaming Anymore
Gaining experience to level up is one of my favorite things about playing RPGs. Seeing my progress and knowing I’m that much closer to equipping that really awesome armor I looted is very rewarding and motivating. Now imagine if that concept wasn’t just virtual reality, but reality. As the gamer and social networking generation enters the “real world”, it might be time for educators and employers to rethink ways of motivating their students and employees.
Netflix Phases Out Friend Feature, Makes This Netflixer Sad
Netflix’s Vice President of Product Management, Todd Yellin, clarified that with the new changes to the Movie Display Page they will be phasing out the Friends Feature. He stated that the Friends feature was used by less than 2% of Netflix subscribers and the move is to free up resources “to support and maintain the things that benefit all Netflix members as the service evolves – more devices for streaming and better encoding, for example.”
I’ve always felt the Netflix Friend feature was a buried gem in the Netflix interface. I enjoyed seeing what my friends were watching and found it interesting to see who I was most compatible with movie-wise. So, needless to say, I’m sad to see this feature go. But I think the reason the feature was little-used was because it wasn’t very user-friendly.
Week in Review: Gaming News
March 19, 2010 – Lots of interesting topics in the gaming world this week. I’d like to point out a few that will make you wish you were at home caressing your Xbox controller instead of being stuck at work.
- Streaming Video Games!? Love streaming your favorite movies and television shows on Netflix and Hulu? Starting on June 17th, OnLive will launch their own Netflix-like service for video games, bringing games directly to your PC, Mac or TV. The company promises to deliver the latest content, like Mass Effect 2 and Assassin’s Creed 2. The service will cost $14.95 a month, but the first 25,000 gamers to pre-register will get 3 months free.
Is that the only interesting gaming news from this week? Of course it isn’t. There was also iPhone action, Microsoft drama, dragons, war, and signs of a change in royal power.
“Move” Over Nintendo, Sony’s Making Its Own Motion Controller
March 12, 2010 - At this year’s Games Developer Conference, Sony announced its version of the motion controller – The PlayStation Move. It looks like a strange flashlight, but this new device is intended to put the PlayStation in competition with Nintendo’s Wii. The good news is the addition of this controller into the market won’t require gamers to purchase a new console.
The bad news, however, might be precision. The Wii Remote was developed along with the console whereas PlayStation Move will be peripheral to the current PlayStation 3. But as GeekSix’s Josh pointed out, “once the controller playing field is leveled, the clear advantage could go to Sony, as their console supports a more robust online network, vastly superior graphics and high-end hardware.”
Gas Powered Games Founder Loves Valve’s Newly-Announced Mac Support
March 11, 2010 – Just days after Valve announced their upcoming Mac support for their Steam service, game companies are already excited about the prospects. In an article, The Escapist asked Gas Powered Games founder Chris Taylor “what he thought of Valve’s announcement that they will be supporting Macs. Taylor’s short answer: ‘I love it.’”
Everything you ever wanted to know about power supplies but were afraid to ask…
March 10, 2010 – I had a frustrating experience last week with my computer. I wanted to play Mass Effect. Yes, the first Mass Effect (Hey, I have to play that before I can play the second one, right?). I popped in the cd, installed the game, and began diving into Commander Shepard’s world. Just as I was getting past all the tutorial rigamarole and into the meat of the game, my computer shut off on its own. I didn’t get a blue screen of death or an error; everything just turned off. I figured it was a one-time thing and turned my computer back on, started playing again and within 15 minutes, BAM, off again. ”Okay,” I thought to myself, “This is not a one-time thing.”
The first issue I think of when I’m taxing both my CPU and my GPU is an overheating issue. I fire up SpeedFan to monitor CPU and GPU temps and start playing the game again. I can barely pay attention to the game because I keep peeking at my second monitor to see what the readings are. Of course, my computer shuts down again after a few minutes of game play, but the readings for the CPU never rose above 45 °C and my GPU stayed between 70 – 80 °C the whole time. Clearly, this was not an overheating issue.
Learn from Jennifer and Protect Your WiFi and Yourself
March 2, 2010 – Recently, a woman named Jennifer called into Leo Laporte’s Tech Guy radio show complaining that her wireless access point she’d been using for over a year had been missing for the last three weeks. Laporte tried gently to explain to her that she’d basically been stealing the access from a neighbor, but Jennifer didn’t seem to understand why this was a problem. After all, she says, “It was a Linksys in my neighborhood.” Laporte then explained to her how exposed her information can be and how dangerous that is, recommending she change all her unencrypted passwords as soon as possible.
How can the rest of us internet users learn from Jennifer? Well, there are several ways you can protect yourself as both a user of WiFi and an owner of WiFi.
