Individual Eleven – The World's Cyberbrain

First of all, my most sincere apologies for not keeping this blog updated. For the past few months, I have been busy trying to obtain my Microsoft MCSE certification and recently succeeded! Home study really is something that requires a lot of time, dedication and discipline. Sleepless nights, cram sessions and Mountain Dew; this was my life for awhile. And it seems I just can’t get enough of it, as I am now going to get my MCITP Enterprise Administrator in Windows Server 2008. Yes I know, I’m addicted to exams.

So what’s been going on in the world of game and tech etc. during this time? What I should have done was do a post for each of these but here is a very condensed version! In no particular order…

Starcraft 2 – Beta
I did a post about this on the Girlygeekdom blog, but to summarise… it is smokingly hot and I’m not talking about the summer heartwave we are getting in the UK. It is due to be released on 23rd July. I’ll try not to disappear when this arrives, and also promise to step outside once in awhile.

Apple iPad
Great for some, mediocre for others. Your lifestyle dictates whether this is a good match for you or not. Personally speaking, there isn’t much room for this slab in my life. I need a full OS, I need power, I need an open platform and I need to run existing applications I currently have. Also regardless of what Steve Jobs said in his keynote speech, this for me is not going to replace a netbook. And it’s too damn heavy.

E3
I personally prefer the Tokyo Game Show than E3, but this year I think the event has been very interesting. Microsoft announces Kinetic, Sony with their 3Dness, and Nintendo with their new 3DS portable console. Out of the three industry heavyweights, Nintendo outshines the rest. I’m buying the 3DS without a doubt; Kingdom Hearts, Zelda, Kirby, Final Fantasy, Kid Icarus the list goes on. And NO 3D GLASSES REQUIRED!

Sci-Fi London
A great event every year, I couldn’t go to the entire event because of fencing commitments. However, I did go to the Anime All-Nighter; 10 hours of anime movies back to back starting at midnight (with the odd RedBull/toilet break inbetween). I absolutely loved it, it’s like a pub lock-in but in a cinema. The best anime was Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Bladeworks. I cannot tell you the sheer awesomeness of seeing this on the big screen; if you love Rin, Lancer et al then you must watch this. Unfortunately for some, it was the last anime shown that morning and the majority of the audience were fast asleep. I made sure I was completely awake for it.

iPhone 4
To grip or not to grip, that is the question. Either way, I am getting the HTC Desire running Android in a few weeks. At least people who are experiencing death grip woes get a free bumper case, offer valid until 30th September.

World Cup 2010
The tech angle for this is that I will never, ever, forgive ITV for their “transmission error”: showing a Hyundai ad JUST AS GERRARD SCORES THE FIRST GOAL FOR ENGLAND. Insert rage sentence here.

IT Crowd – Series 4
Our beloved geek series is back on Channel 4. Join Moss, Roy and Jen as they embark on more ridiculous IT shenanigans with utmost hilarity. Street Countdown!

My birthday
I got insanely drunk and played LAN games; apparently I can headshot quite well while inebriated. Everything else is a blur; I think we spent an hour trying to blow up the airbed at 4am. I highly recommend Danzka vodka with Mountain Dew.

Final Fantasy XIII
I completed it! You either love it or hate it, I personally liked it a lot. The battle system is to die for, yes the game is mostly on rails but the game does get going after awhile. There are some insanely difficuly bosses to beat, namely Proud Clad and Gigantuar if you find him on Gran Pulse. I’m just happy that I saw the ending after clocking in around 70 hours of gameplay. Also, I hate Barthandelus.

And finally…

Inception
I saw this movie when it was released on Friday. I have sat here for awhile thinking of how to review it and in summary, I just can’t. It’s such an amazing experience, that any words uttered on this page would not do it enough justice. Not to mention it’s rather difficult to describe, my mind was blown. If you think Memento was a mind masher, try this on for size… only Nolan can produce something like this on the big screen and succeed. A plot peppered full of twists and turns, stunts galore, and a great protagonist supported by a wonderful cast; these are the makings of a movie that will pull you in. I also love the music score by Hans Zimmer, it fits in with the film sequences perfectly.

Moto Entertainment, Gadgets, Games Inception, Sci-Fi London, Starcraft 2

Before the 2nd reading in the House of Commons for the Digital Economy Bill, I emailed my local MP, Maria Miller, for her viewpoints on the situation. I had almost given up hope on receiving an official response but I have received a reply today. I have strong objections on how this piece of important legislation was pushed through the “wash-up” process before the dissolution of Parliament.

I and many others looked on in horror as events unfolded during the live broadcast in the House of Commons. To paraphrase, creativity is more important than freedom, was one of the alarming arguments proposed to promote the bill.

Here is the response in full:

Thank you for your recent correspondence concerning the Digital
Economy Bill. I share your concern about the way this piece of
legislation has been handled by the Government. Since the Dissolution
of Parliament, there are no longer any MPs, but I can continue with
casework/correspondence.

The Bill contained important provisions regarding the regulatory
environment for the digital and creative industries. It is completely
unacceptable that the Government failed to allocate the sufficient
time in the House of Commons for proper legislative scrutiny. It is
wrong to push through these issues and because of this I did not
support the Bill and I abstained from the vote.

The reason that I did not vote against the Bill is that a number of
the measures within it have great merit – particularly tackling online
copyright infringement. This is an extremely serious issue that costs
the creative industries hundreds of millions of pounds each year. I
want to make sure that Britain has the most favourable intellectual
property framework in the world for innovators, digital content
creators and high tech businesses.

Also, the measures in the Bill designed to tackle illegal peer to peer
file sharing set up a proportionate regime that would, only following
public consultation, repeated warnings and due process, lead to people
having their internet connection temporarily suspended. It will not,
as many have suggested, lead to people being disconnected without an
appeal. Even if people are disconnected they will be able to sign up
to another ISP immediately without penalty.

However, the Government should not push through such significant
issues without proper debate – the handling of this Bill means that
the debate on copyright is not over and my Party will seek to revisit
options for a balanced solution as part of a broader update of
copyright following the General Election.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to contact me.

With best wishes,
Maria Miller, Parliamentary Candidate

Moto Miscellaneous #DEBill, Digital Economy Bill, Maria Miller MP

I, amongst hoards of other people, are currently playing Final Fantasy XIII. After 9 hours of gameplay, I decided to get a few things off my chest.

I don’t like how you can’t change your characters. In fact the freedom of team customisation that is akin to say FF 7 or 8 is almost completely removed. Why Squeenix why? I tell you why, because they replaced this with something called the Paradigm Shift. You will soon realise just how important this function is, and how you cannot progress through the game without it. One time, during a 2 minute battle I must have switched Paradigms about 8 times; each Paradigm in the deck comprises of different tactical stances and roles for each team member. Your team works cohesively and dynamically depending on the situation. I like it, in fact after awhile I started to like it a lot. But walking into the next battle with full health is a bit weird, and I think takes away some of the real mechanics from the game. The left shoulder becomes a bit overused though. My index finger is testament to that.

The graphics are gorgeous, it’s so lush and lovely I just want to jump right in there. But everything seems to be on rails, rather like the old fashioned gun-toting Time Crisis. It does take the fun out of exploring, I am hoping that later on it will open up a bit more. I presume it will be, as you can catch a Chocobo to help you travel around. I encountered my first summon on Monday, or Eidolans. Shiva is a sister pair, which transforms into a rather awesome bike. It’s cooler than Fenrir for God sake. The game really picks up at this point, as the earlier chapters are too easy and slightly boring. Mainly they are used for tutorial purposes, which in a way is good. It would be too overwhelming to introduce so many new features in one go, so that was probably a good idea.

This game is gargantuan no doubt about it, I will write something more substantial once I complete it. Whenever that may be!

Moto Entertainment, Games Final Fantasy 13, Final Fantasy XIII

Since its 2am, I can officially say its Chinese New Year (which also just happens to fall on Valentine’s Day for 2010). Personally, I think Chinese New Year is a more special occasion than Valentine’s Day; the commercialism for days like V Day and Christmas does go a bit too far sometimes.

Anyway, this year is the year of the Tiger, for people born on the following:

• 1902
• 1914
• 1926
• 1938
• 1950
• 1962
• 1974
• 1986
• 1998

According to the story, the Tiger came 3rd in the race. A small factoid… The number 3 is considered a lucky number in Chinese beliefs; 3 in Chinese also sounds like the word “life or alive”. However, the number 4 is considered unlucky as the same pronounciation for this also means “death”. Maybe 2010 is your lucky year! Don’t forget to give someone you love a Red Envelope of money.

May 2010 bring you good fortune and prosperity!

*RAWR*

Moto Miscellaneous Chinese New Year, Kung Hei Fat Choi, Year of the Tiger