Apparently everyone is wrong. The internet is not a series of tubes. It is a series of windows. Copying a file illegally is apparently identical to breaking a window and stealing physical property. According to US Vice President Joe Biden.

Hey, it least he didn’t call proponents of copyright reform radical extremists, then blatantly lie about it, as Canada’s heritage minister did (and oh yes, he did call them radical extremists, as the end of the linked article points out, it’s on tape).

No no, our VP simply chose to blatantly lie about the damage and impact of file sharing, trying to make it sound like something dangerous and violent–evil, really, when in fact it’s something that is mostly harmless (“Downloads have an effect on sales that is statistically indistinguishable from zero.”) and largely blown out of proportion–the actions of both sides, file sharers and the RIAA, are more misguided than anything else.

Perhaps more on this later, I’ve got a rant brewing, but whether it gets posted or not only time will tell.

Till then,

Lark

I am. Really. I know it’s hard to believe, but bear with me.

I’m a pretty self-important consumer.

Let’s look at gaming. I own a PS3. I want to purchase an Xbox 360 soon, I wouldn’t mind owning a Wii, but I like PC gaming best. I can play PC games anywhere I have a computer. I can use nearly any input I want–Xbox controller, PS3 controller, keyboard and mouse, classic gamepad, joystick, etc.

For a while it was enough for me to say that if a game wasn’t coming out for PC, I wouldn’t buy it. In truth, there are enough good games out on PC to keep me occupied for years. Eventually games like Uncharted 2 came along to make me finally buy a console (the PS3 being a Blu-Ray player I could stream files to from my PC helped make that decision, too).

I still have a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I was considering not buying Red Dead Redemption because it came out for 360 and PS3 but not PC. I probably will buy it soon, but why isn’t it out for PC? I’m sure it will be in a few months, just like GTA4 was, but it’s still a letdown.

A couple of interesting things have been announced recently. Two separate announcements, both pretty cool. Steam is coming out for the Mac, and Crysis 2 is coming out in Q4 2010.

These things in and of themselves aren’t big deals, and in fact have been known or at least suspected for some time. The news riding along is what holds the greatness.

So I just downloaded and played the Just Cause 2 demo on PC via Steam. I’ve got some thoughts. You can read them if you’d like.

Valve has made a handful of legendary games. They have an awesome digital distribution system, with DRM that people actually seem to like (compared to it’s alternatives). They have a great reputation, mostly from making great games but also because they have do things like regularly updating Team Fortress 2 with new items and weapons (and bots!!!) at no added cost.

But that’s not why I’m jealous of Valve at this particular moment. I’m jealous because all Valve has to do is post an update like this for Portal:

Changed radio transmission frequency to comply with federal and state spectrum management regulations

And they get a response like this. 64 pages of posts in 4 hours. Posts full of people scouring Portal for clues of how to use the radios recently scattered across the game, as well as trying to decipher the beeps they emit (morse code, some are thinking).

I, as most regular readers of this site know, really enjoyed Uncharted 2. I’ve read a handful reviews by people who didn’t like the game, and most of their complaints I can understand, even if I don’t quite agree with them. These complaints range from: the game took to long to get going, it’s difficult sometimes to know what to do or where to jump, and then you have people that were rubbed wrong by the games action-movie style and story. I can understand all these complaints. One complaint, however, constantly rubs me the wrong way, and that is that Uncharted 2 isn’t innovative.

So what?

So not only did I just get a Nokia N900 that, to be fair, I have been saving up to buy for a while. Play time with this phone probably won’t be over for a few more weeks.

Not only am I really busy with work, meaning the grindstone now has the shape of my nose worn into it.

Not only that, I just bought Mass Effect 2. I know, I know. I don’t know why.

Guess who has an N900? I’ll give you a clue, it’s me.

So even though I was a bit worried in previous posts, I eventually got enough info that led me to just mellow out and wait for the damned packages to arrive.

I have to say, I was mentally going over my history of tech, and it seems like every time I’ve wanted a device this bad the experience of actually receiving the device has usually been marred

Does anybody remember my post on Batman Arkham Asylum? About it’s DRM? About it’s requirement to have a ‘Games for Windows Live’ account in order to save games? Well I still haven’t played it. I’m instead playing Bioshock until I stop being mad at Eidos/Rocksteady for making me install bloatware and register with Microsoft before allowing me to save my progress in the game.

Part of the reason I’ve been playing Bioshock is so I can be finish it in time to play the sequel, Bioshock 2 when it comes out in February.

Then I saw this.

The tech specs for Bioshock 2 are out…To save the game or play online, you need to be logged into Games for Window Live. This still applies on Steam – so SecuRom and Games For Windows Live are needed in addition to the Steam client. Hmm.

Just wanted to throw out a quick clarification to my last angry post about Batman: Arkham Asylum (which I purchased on Steam) requiring a Games for Windows Live account in order to save my progress in the game.

There is ‘Games for Windows,’ a certification and branding that requires the following (from Wikipedia):