Well all, I'll see you on the flipside.
This is the last Blogger.com blog I'm doing, as I'm moving to a WordPress blog on my own site.
This is also the only blogger only blog I have, as I have imported all the old ones from here to the new one for future viewer perusal.
Later, Blogger.
Saturday, 7 March 2009
Friday, 6 March 2009
Oklahoma! (More censorship_
As an atheist, a liberal, and someone against censorship, I think that fair and balanced viewpoints are important.
According to this site, however, Mr Thomsen, state representative for Oklahoma, has taken it upon himself to try and block Richard Dawkins from speaking at Oklahoma University.
I'll save myself repeating what I said to him, and just copy/paste the email:
Your opinions on this?
Even if you are not a fan of Richard Dawkins (hell, I know plenty atheists who aren't, never mind theists!) I would encourage you to contact Mr. Thomsen about this matter, especially if you are an Oklahoma resident.
As a final note, I would also like to say that the strength of the title of my last post was neutered by Blogger. It was intended to say "Censorship is bull[censored]" but I used < > tags (like "Bull < censored>") and It must have treated it as html tags, lol.
According to this site, however, Mr Thomsen, state representative for Oklahoma, has taken it upon himself to try and block Richard Dawkins from speaking at Oklahoma University.
I'll save myself repeating what I said to him, and just copy/paste the email:
From: "Michael Douglas"
Subject: Richard Dawkins
Date: Fri, March 6, 2009 5:31 pm
To: todd.thomsen@okhouse.gov
Hello Mr. Thomsen,
It has recently come to my attention that you intend to block Mr.
Richard Dawkins from speaking at Oklahoma University and I am shocked
that this could actually be considered.
Whenever it comes to speaking on a subject where one or both the sides
are so emphatic about their side, you need to make sure you have the
best speakers possible, and Dawkins is undeniably one of the best
speakers you could find to talk about Evolution and about Atheism. He
has done extensive research into both Atheism/Evolution and into
Theism/Creationism, and he is an eloquent, powerful speaker.
I'm afraid the only reason I can think of for you not wanting him to
speak is in case too many people see things his way after his visit, and
I can understand why you would want to avoid this, but that would be a
very bad example of censorship. Censorship should only be used in
certain extreme situations such as child pornography or extreme violence
depictions, not in a case of something where it should be up to an
individual to decide what he or she believes.
I look forward to any correspondence you may or may not send, and I have
encouraged a number of people at my University to also send some emails,
though they may not spend their time.
I strongly encourage you to listen to all correspondence your recieve on
this situation, and to look to any news stories online about it, such as
the one I heard about this from, so you can make the correct decision: a
balanced and fair one for everyone involved.
Thank you for your time,
Michael Douglas
Your opinions on this?
Even if you are not a fan of Richard Dawkins (hell, I know plenty atheists who aren't, never mind theists!) I would encourage you to contact Mr. Thomsen about this matter, especially if you are an Oklahoma resident.
As a final note, I would also like to say that the strength of the title of my last post was neutered by Blogger. It was intended to say "Censorship is bull[censored]" but I used < > tags (like "Bull < censored>") and It must have treated it as html tags, lol.
Censorship is Bull
I was using Stumbleupon, as I have been known to do (username: mehalld) and I found this site with a great video telling people about censorship online just now.
It's not just those mentioned either, as Australia is trying to implement a filtering service which would be the largest in the world, bar the Great Firewall of China, and New Zealand is trying to pass extreme "guilty upon accusation" legislation, Italy has blocked The Pirate Bay (though granted, they had another site up for Italians inside of something like an hour.)
Comcast has been in trouble for throttling the speeds of P2P users, and the stories of more ISPs throttling continues.
The Only good news I have heard recently for net neutrality is that Obama has appointed a net neutrality advocate to the FCC (though he needs approved first.)
People need to realise that if the highest level of net neutrality possible isn't maintained, then it is far too easy for even a liberal country like the UK, the US, or even Sweden to end up, 50, a hundred years down the line, with something that would make the Great Firewall look pitiful.
If a government can try to get away with suppressing information, they inevitably will, since it makes their jobs so much easier.
Gah, this was just supposed to be a quick blog, but I've ended up ranting on again, lol.
Just a quick reminder in case anyone actually reads this;
My Twitter Profile
My Identi.ca Profile
My Site
My Bebo Profile
My Myspace Profile
If you're looking for me on anything else (or are wanting my email address) drop a comment.
It's not just those mentioned either, as Australia is trying to implement a filtering service which would be the largest in the world, bar the Great Firewall of China, and New Zealand is trying to pass extreme "guilty upon accusation" legislation, Italy has blocked The Pirate Bay (though granted, they had another site up for Italians inside of something like an hour.)
Comcast has been in trouble for throttling the speeds of P2P users, and the stories of more ISPs throttling continues.
The Only good news I have heard recently for net neutrality is that Obama has appointed a net neutrality advocate to the FCC (though he needs approved first.)
People need to realise that if the highest level of net neutrality possible isn't maintained, then it is far too easy for even a liberal country like the UK, the US, or even Sweden to end up, 50, a hundred years down the line, with something that would make the Great Firewall look pitiful.
If a government can try to get away with suppressing information, they inevitably will, since it makes their jobs so much easier.
Gah, this was just supposed to be a quick blog, but I've ended up ranting on again, lol.
Just a quick reminder in case anyone actually reads this;
My Twitter Profile
My Identi.ca Profile
My Site
My Bebo Profile
My Myspace Profile
If you're looking for me on anything else (or are wanting my email address) drop a comment.
Monday, 2 March 2009
Sony, Sony, Sony.... *shakes head*
Sony has admitted that the PS3 is hard to code for. Not only this, but they designed it that way.
It's part of their plan for the PS3 to be a ten-year console.
A direct quote from the Official Playstation magazine by Kaz Hirai, the CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment says: "We don't provide the 'easy to program for' console that (developers) want, because 'easy to program for' means that anybody will be able to take advantage of pretty much what the hardware can do, so then the question is, what do you do for the rest of the nine-and-a-half years?"
The PS3 has been struggling behind the XBox 360 since before it even launched (something to the tune of 8 million less units sold) yet they insist on making things HARDER for developers to develop for? Sony seem to be doing everything they can to make the PS3 fail, and the more worrying this is that it isn't working. They did this with the PSP as well, but the damned things just won't die off.
Anyway, lets look at this from simple terms, in that there are two PS3 exclusive games you'd really want to own: Metal Gear Solid 4, and Little Big Planet.
First, MGS4. I think it was a HORRID decision by Hideo Kojima to have that game only on PS3. He didn't make a game, he made half a game and half a blu-ray movie, and that's why it's on the PS3: blu-ray discs, so more storage for all the FMV.
If you cut that game back to more gameplay, less footage, and better levels, you could easily have it on all three consoles yet, even with Solid Snake appearing originally on Nintendo consoles and making his return to them with Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Kojima didn't let Snake come full circle for his final outing, when it would have benefited everyone involved had he done so.
Now, Little Big Planet. Little Big Planet (LBP) seems to go against this Sony theory of "make it hard to use, and hard for anyone to get" in the most major way. (See: The Onion on Sony NSFW)
LBP has tons of user made maps, many of which are ridiculously involved and made with the same tools as were originally used to make the levels for the main game. Anyone can make a map and upload it to the web.
LBP is the main selling point for the PS3 right now, and it's the only lasing content they have right now, despite wanting to be able to have people using and buying PS3 games for the next 9 years. I see problems with this...
I will admit, I have been stung by Sony.I got, one Christmas, the Sony NWA-3000 20GB mp3 player, which was one of the first with an OLED display. It's the model where, if the screen is off, you can;t see there is a screen there, and it does look damn cool. Except for the part where it lasted under a year, yet I know 3 people who bought them almost a year later (around July, September and October for the three) and all there's still work fine, yet mine and another friend who got his at the same time as me both have non-working product.
I never bothered asking Sony for a refund/replacement etc, because the things were so shoddily made that I had caused accidental damage in daily use, which is obviously a way for them to escape their responsibilities under the warranty.
My only advice is this: Sony make everything hard for themselves, and their customers, and always give a good number of months after release before buying a Sony product (Sony Ericsson phones generally excluded from the rule thankfully) since there is a high likelihood it won't work for very long, and there will be little support since they will release a new version with half the battery life and twice the features you never use inside of a year.
On a brighter note, It's becoming more and more likely they WILL be pushing out USB3 onto their laptops faster than expected, though still not till February/March time 2010 (which, in Sony time, means they'll rush it out for the xmas release the year AFTER it's expected, so hopefully Novemeber 2010, when Asus will already have managed to get it affordable into a EEE series computer)
It's part of their plan for the PS3 to be a ten-year console.
A direct quote from the Official Playstation magazine by Kaz Hirai, the CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment says: "We don't provide the 'easy to program for' console that (developers) want, because 'easy to program for' means that anybody will be able to take advantage of pretty much what the hardware can do, so then the question is, what do you do for the rest of the nine-and-a-half years?"
The PS3 has been struggling behind the XBox 360 since before it even launched (something to the tune of 8 million less units sold) yet they insist on making things HARDER for developers to develop for? Sony seem to be doing everything they can to make the PS3 fail, and the more worrying this is that it isn't working. They did this with the PSP as well, but the damned things just won't die off.
Anyway, lets look at this from simple terms, in that there are two PS3 exclusive games you'd really want to own: Metal Gear Solid 4, and Little Big Planet.
First, MGS4. I think it was a HORRID decision by Hideo Kojima to have that game only on PS3. He didn't make a game, he made half a game and half a blu-ray movie, and that's why it's on the PS3: blu-ray discs, so more storage for all the FMV.
If you cut that game back to more gameplay, less footage, and better levels, you could easily have it on all three consoles yet, even with Solid Snake appearing originally on Nintendo consoles and making his return to them with Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Kojima didn't let Snake come full circle for his final outing, when it would have benefited everyone involved had he done so.
Now, Little Big Planet. Little Big Planet (LBP) seems to go against this Sony theory of "make it hard to use, and hard for anyone to get" in the most major way. (See: The Onion on Sony NSFW)
LBP has tons of user made maps, many of which are ridiculously involved and made with the same tools as were originally used to make the levels for the main game. Anyone can make a map and upload it to the web.
LBP is the main selling point for the PS3 right now, and it's the only lasing content they have right now, despite wanting to be able to have people using and buying PS3 games for the next 9 years. I see problems with this...
I will admit, I have been stung by Sony.I got, one Christmas, the Sony NWA-3000 20GB mp3 player, which was one of the first with an OLED display. It's the model where, if the screen is off, you can;t see there is a screen there, and it does look damn cool. Except for the part where it lasted under a year, yet I know 3 people who bought them almost a year later (around July, September and October for the three) and all there's still work fine, yet mine and another friend who got his at the same time as me both have non-working product.
I never bothered asking Sony for a refund/replacement etc, because the things were so shoddily made that I had caused accidental damage in daily use, which is obviously a way for them to escape their responsibilities under the warranty.
My only advice is this: Sony make everything hard for themselves, and their customers, and always give a good number of months after release before buying a Sony product (Sony Ericsson phones generally excluded from the rule thankfully) since there is a high likelihood it won't work for very long, and there will be little support since they will release a new version with half the battery life and twice the features you never use inside of a year.
On a brighter note, It's becoming more and more likely they WILL be pushing out USB3 onto their laptops faster than expected, though still not till February/March time 2010 (which, in Sony time, means they'll rush it out for the xmas release the year AFTER it's expected, so hopefully Novemeber 2010, when Asus will already have managed to get it affordable into a EEE series computer)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)