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Friday 29 June 2001 Well today is a very special day for two reasons. The first is that I finally managed to move into the digital age and have got ADSL connected to the trusty home computer system! Wow it is really fast compared to modem speeds! I think it will help me with my research now (that is the real reason I got it!). The second reason is that I finally cracked the 2000 mark in SETI@home. Thanks to my Mum and Dad who have helped me along a bit over the last 2 weeks so I could do it before the end of this month! And while I'm thanking people, thanks to Blue from Blue's News for posting a link to my Operation Flashpoint review. It was greatly appreciated. Go there if you want up to date game news and gossip! He has my business! Well after spending all day struggling with this ADSL installation, I am quite tired so I shall go and rest up for a hard days surfing in the morning - If the wife allows it!
Thursday 28 June 2001
Well it seems I have had some luck posting my Operation Flashpoint Review round the traps. Thanks to Tim from Tim's News for helping me send word of it around to some of the big sites! Much appreciated! While we are on the subject of Operation Flashpoint, the guys over at the Aussie site Operation Flashpoint.net have an excellent, in-depth tutorial for the mission editor. If you follow this guide and plan your missions before you build them, then you will make some excellent missions for all to share. This is probably going to be one of the most endearing parts of this game! Imagine all the different battles that can be fought! Limitless fun! Ever heard of a virus being called "art" by sane people? Neither had I till I read this story! Check it out, you'll shake your head at it just like I did! Go find it here. There is a new Tribes 2 beta patch available at the Official Tribes 2 Central Downloads. This one is not supported by Sierra but adds a slew of game improvements and fixes. Go download it! Just found this article over at the atomicMPC site. It deals with the sparkling new anti-road rage whizbang doodads the US military are planning to include in their "Light Tactical Vehicles" such a s Hum Vee's and such! Go read the article and then go check out the source. Those guys over at atomic always make me chuckle!
Wednesday 27 June 2001
Finally completed the Operation Flashpoint Review, go check it out if you are interested in the genre. I can fully recommend the game to anyone, and in fact I bought the first copy from my local software store this morning! The Australian fan site for the game, Operation Flashpoint Network have posted an english translation of some of the future plans for the game, including the proposed patch tree. Even though it is not "official" the game just looks like it is going to get better and better! Check it out! And, while you are there, check out the planned expansion/mod/campaign, called Operation Vietnam. Models and such are already looking very good and polished. Should be a great addition to the game! Gamespy have released a two part piece on writing game review (I should probably read it, lol). If you are interested in writing game reviews for pleasure or profit, then check out the articles here (part 1) and here (part 2). If anyone is interested in writing game reviews, give it a go and if it its alright I may be able to post it on this site for you, so you can get a start! It would help me and you! But enough of that! Go read them and see what it is all about. There's alot more to it than you think! It seems as if the end is coming for Microsoft as we know it! After months of deliberation, the Supreme Court looks ready to hand down it's findings in the MS Antitrust case! Although I will believe it when I see it, it should be quite interesting to find out what really has been going on all these years. Reminds me of a movie where the evil company would go to any lengths to obtain market advantage and the head of the company bore a strange resemblance to...........(watch it! It is a great movie - Antitrust!) RED NOSE DAYI was just browsing the Official Black & White site, and found out that EA have promised to release the official patch by the end of the week. There are also some new maps available for download, and a list of proposed release dates for more great Black & White stuff, like MP3 players and soccer and stuff! Go check it out! Well that's it for today. Just a short one so you can go out and buy Operation Flashpoint and find out what we have all been raving about!
Tuesday 26 June 2001
Later that same day....................... I have added a rather risqué radio broadcast from New Zealand! This show airs each morning and involves sex, partners, and wonderful trips! What some people will do for a holiday! Check it out here! I have also added my Operation Flashpoint review to the Review section. Thanks to Tim from Tim's News and Doran from Viper Downloads and the rest of the FIGJAM Clan for the information and screen shots. Don't forget to check out the review! The game is outstanding! There is a new update for the PC optimization program PC Accelerator 6000 SE 4.7. This program will help you tweak the hell out of your PC/internet connection/3DFX performance! You can download a copy from Tweak Files. Valve has released information about two upcoming Half-Life patches that are due for release in the next few weeks. If you remember I announced that ver 1.1.0.7 was going to be released soon a few days ago. Here is the update:
Good news for all you Mac Gamers out there! The port of the great game Black & White is still moving along nicely and should be ready for release sometime before Christmas this year! About time too I say! Here is a story that will annoy the crap out of you! It seems that the technology crash of the past year has led to a glut of bandwidth going unused! And Telstra have the nerve to cap their "Freedom Unlimited" accounts! So the story is from the US, just thought I'd get another poke in! But if it is happening there then it is probably happening here as well. Check the story out here! In a short post, it is possible that Lara Croft from Tomb Raider could be a lesbian! Angelina Jolie told a German magazine that she hopes the girls in the audience think she is as hot as the boys do! This makes some interesting role reversals doesn't it? Check out the story here! I don't really know what to say about this story! Would someone please make this lady happy? Go on you can do it! I can imagine what sort of e-mails she will get! In another dig at the Telstra Broadband usage cap, it seems that internet advertising is cheap and effective! But in Australia, some 80,000 Telstra Broadband subscribers, will be turning off the Ads in order to save blowing their measly bandwidth limit! They can do this by downloading FREE Ad-Blocking software from here. If you haven't done so already, then do it now! Then complain to the Telstra Web Advertising Arm at Send Mail to Me!Telstra@BMCMedia.Com, and inform all the advertising companies that you have switched them off because of Telstra's Cap! Well that's all for today! Enjoy and keep complaining to Telstra about their unfair and un-business-like trade practices! Go get them! Good Morning! Just a quick update for the morning and I promise I will give you more of the same this afternoon! If you ever wanted to find an American "spook", where would you go? Washington? Pine Gap, Australia? Russia? No, you'd go to San Angelo, Texas! It appears that this town is chock full of would be, has beens, and are, "spooks". Apparently the mayor of the small town "understands the security industry"! THis is all due to the location of Goodfellow Air Force Base! Want more? then sneak over to Wired News and have a peek! Of course no one will confirm or deny the existence of the spy training establishment. Some US students are taking to send President Bush mirrors with white powder residue on them in protest to the national funding laws. It seems that students who refuse to answer any questions about previous drug use or convictions are excluded from the funding. Now Bush failed to answer the questions about his cocaine use, so their angle is if the President doesn't have to answer then why should they? Sniff out the story here! And finally, if you are interested in Oriental philosophies and web design, then have a look at this article about "Web Shui". It is an interesting concept and one that I think I will have to look at further. Just to make your visits here a little more spiritual!
Monday 25 June 2001
Well it's a very slow day news wise so I'll throw in a few bits and pieces I have found round the traps. Here is one article that I recently found over at PCWorld. This one deals with some of those hidden features of the Windows operating systems. You know, those features that we really wished were there, but can't find? Anyway follow this link and you may discover something that you didn't know about a Windows operating system near you! For all those people who love designing maps and mods and such things, here is the perfect site for that new and wonderful FPS Operation Flashpoint. This site is designed to assist all the map makers for the game with tutorials and such. Once you have designed the map you can then promote it through this site as well! Mods and maps make the Cold War world go 'round! Check it out here! I found this little gem on case modding over at atomicMPC. It deals with the relatively simple concept of cooling computers by installing a "blowhole". What is that, I hear you ask? Well you will just have to check this article out to get the lowdown! Well it would appear that the computing world has slowed down somewhat at present. There is no real news so to speak and I'll just have to go off and write my Operation Flashpoint Review! Catch you all tomorrow!
Sunday 24 June 2001
Operation Flashpoint is incredible. The game really lives up to the pre release hype! Something which is not often achieved by a game. The single player missions are well story lined and play smoothly. I have absolutely no problems (other than being a gumby) with the interface and the graphics engine runs smoothly on my P3 GeForce system! When this game becomes available in the stores here in Australia, GO BUY IT! You won't regret the purchase and it will give you something else to do! Thumbs up, 5/5, brilliant! Review to come shortly. Planet Half-Life have released a Blue Shift walk through for the latest instalment in the series. Although this game has not yet been released here in Oz, the reports are that the game is great and sufficiently different from the first two that there is no boredom. You get to interact with Gordon Freeman and several of the other main characters from the original and the sequel. This one should be worth buying if you liked the original! You can catch the walk through here. GameSpy have released an article providing winning tips and tricks for defeating the God nemesis in that great strategy game Black & White. Check it out if you are having any problems, or just want to find some ways of doing the more tedious tasks a bit easier. With the patch now released, this game has some new life. Check out the strategy guide here. In another typical attack on the freedom of the internet, the wowser element of the great US are now trying to use all their clout to shut down the forums on Yahoo! At least the ones that relate to sex! What is it with these people? Do they assume that we are so stupid that we only have to know that the pictures and stories are out there, and then have no FREE will? Do we then just run around stupidly until we get to see these things? No! We do not! Why can't they leave things well enough alone. We don't tell them that they can't have sex in the missionary position anymore do we? Do we interfere when they shove an antiquated belief system down their children's throats? Once again, No! We let them lead their lives the way they want to, and I feel that they should return the complement, and let us live our own lives! Now don't get me wrong, I am firmly in favour of banning all kiddie porn and violent porn, but, why should consenting adults have such a hang up about the human body and the perfectly natural act of sex, that they think it is disgusting. If you don't like it, don't look at it! Simple! Anyway you can read the article that sparked this little tirade here. Sometimes some ad campaigns just turn around and bite you on the bum! Apples, "Think Differently" campaign has led the Church of Satan to use Apple Macs for their "work". They also advertised the fact on their website, complete with the churches founder and High Priest, the church and the apple logo and slogan! Satan in Hebrew allegedly means "one who opposes" and could be used in any description of free thinking people. It would appear that Apple is not quite as universal as it would like to think! The images were pulled from the site due to the small Church group not being able to afford a lengthy and very expensive court battle. Just another case of the big people pushing the little people around! You can read the full story here! Some news for the Black & White gamers, the "Official" patch is due for release on the 2nd of July this year (he he). Very few problems have been reported with the developers patch, so if you are wanting to update now, grab the developers patch from FilePlanet, other wise just hope that EA actually release it this time! The results are in, and the Sexiest Geek Alive is Ellen Spertus, a 32 year old computer professor at Mills College in Oakland, California. To check out all the goss on the title rush over at Wired News. Well that's it for this weekend. I hope you all had a good one and are relaxed and ready to return to the grind in the morning. Ciao for Now!
Saturday 23 June 2001
Well a copy of Operation Flashpoint has been discovered and the FIGJAM Clan are setting about tearing it apart and seeing how well the whole thing goes. In a couple of days I will post a review of this awesome game. Initial reports are that the game is everything that it was expected to be from the demo, and then some! In another strange twist of technology and connectivity it would appear that condemned criminals can now protest their innocence online via their own dot.coms. As everyone in prison is innocent ("that bitch just asked to be raped, beaten and then brutally murdered") this should become a really profitable industry. I wonder if they design the sites themselves or if they get professionals to do it? If it was me I'd get the best marketing agent the Public's money could afford, just to make me look like an angel! Now while I realize that not all criminals are 100% guilty of the crime they get canned for, the death sentence is not handed out lightly. In the situations where it is justified, and I recognize that opinions differ in this regard, there is no chance that the offender will ever be able to return to mainstream society without re offending (unless they are 80 years old!). IMHO all people, including politicians and criminals, should be held responsible for the consequences of their actions, and despite what the determinists say, we make decisions about our actions. They may not always be good ones, but we make them! If you want to read more about this new phenomenon check out the Wired News article. Another strange natural fact from the obscure treasure troves of the CNN archives. THis one is particularly relevant to Australia. It seems that mobile phones are so well adopted by us Ozzies that our native birds are mimicking the ring tones in order to attract a mate. I really don't know why they don't just pick up the phone and ask each other out for a date! Anyway, you can find more out about this here! Planet Hardware have posted a good tweak guide for CounterStrike. If you are having trouble with the game go check it out! Well it looks like the console version of HALO is going to suck big time! The game has been turned into an arcade game. There is no word on any changes to the proposed gameplay on the PC, but the way things are going, the same fate will probably ensue! Oh well, another promising game design and concept bites the dust! PlanetHardware have posted a tweaking guide for the Athlon processor range. This processor seems to really be giving it to Intel at present, and the next generation of chips are coming out now. I will even make the move for the first time with my next upgrade. Anyway check the guide out here. It looks like the good ol' Microsoft is set to push it's big nose into another arena - the online music Biz. Their subscription service does not look any better than the others but it is behind the scenes that MS hopes to take over the competition with. Check out the full story here. On a movie note, the epic trilogy "The Lord Of The Rings" is set to be released for viewing soon, and it is strongly rumoured that the very first screening of the first episode will be shown to New Zealand movie goers.Finally they are screening the movie first in the country in which it was filmed! Wonders will never cease! Well, the results are in, the votes have been counted, the audience hushes, and the winner of the Sexiest Geek Alive Competition is...................... In order to find out just who won the coveted title, dash on over to the official web site and register your vote for geeks everywhere! Well it is very sad that Bill Gates lost so much of his net worth in the past year. But, he still remains at the top of the world's filthiest rich list! Must be hard to take! For more info check out this Atomic MPC article. Just a quick update for the moment. Nothing much on the books at present but I will update a bit later in the day. The major post for today is the addition of a new article in the comments section. This one looks at those dreaded phone hotlines and such with an interesting twist - a Psychiatric Hotline! One for all the madness in the world. Check it out here! Back with more later.
Friday 22 June 2001
Well I have finally finished wading through all the email and articles that accumulated while I was away and should now be back on deck fully! I have added a rather tounge-in-cheek article on the New York High School Math system. If you want a bit of a laugh then go check it out in the comments section. Although this may be old news, Gangsters 2 has been released and is out on the shelves right now! This game places you in the role of a vengeance seeking mobster who has to build up his forces and influence in order to destroy the man that killed your father. Sounds intriguing and hopefully I shall find someone who has played it to give you a review of the game! In an interesting article on IPO's, Wired News have uncovered a new trend - Investor Suits! It seems that investors are now launching class action suits against the startups and the investment bankers. Click on the link to find out more! Netscape may no longer be considered a browser company! It seems that AOL-Time Warner are refocusing the direction of the Netscape Company into an internet media hub! To find out more about the future of Netscape, check out this WIred News Article. Rumour has it that there may be another game made into a movie! It would seem that Warner Bothers and Maxis/EA are negotiating a deal for turning the game into a movie. Rumour and speculation at the moment but I will endeavour to keep you posted on this. On the rumour movie front, another game that may make it's way onto the silver screen is Diablo. These rumours are getting stronger with locations being sought in Australia and South America. Details are very sketchy at present and I will keep you posted on this! Maybe it will be a success! It appears that Independence War 2 (IWar2) has gone gold! I will give you a shipping date as soon as I find out one! The next Half-Life update, ver 1.1.0.7, is expected to bring us in game voice chat! This should make the online experience that much more friendly and organized! The patch is expected by the end of this month! For all those mad keen golfers out there, Microsoft has announced the release of their new patch for Links 2001. You can pick up the ver 1.21 patch from FilePlanet. The latest Diablo 2 patch, ver 1.08, is available from 3DFiles.
Wednesday 20 June 2001
Well I'm back now. I apologize for not posting anything earlier (I got back on Monday!), but I have been rather busy with catching up on all the news I missed while I was gone! I won't go into any real detail on the news from the last couple of weeks, but I will mention some of the major news items. The rest is back to business! The Telstra Broadband "Freedom Unlimited" usage cap debate has been raging for the past few weeks. There has been no real developments yet but stay tuned and I'll keep you posted. As I move from dial-up to ADSL (with Telstra cause there are no others in my area!) I am becoming acutely aware of the restrictions being imposed, and also of the unrealistic projections of usage rates from the Telstra camp! The whole issue arose because of 5% of the users misusing the bandwidth! There is provision for Telstra to ban those abusers from the network, but they decided to screw the public again and impose a cap on the other 95% of users! Sometimes they astound me in their stupidity! On a slightly more conspiracy related note, Optus (the strongest competitor) announced 1 week prior to the notification of the cap, that they would not be extending their existing broadband infrastructure for quite a while. That left Telstra as the only show around for the majority of Australians! Cap and charge exorbitant rates for excess usage, then watch as the profits roll in! To think that the Australian people still own over 50% of the company! Gamespy have put up an excellent Tribes 2 game guide and strategy package! It has helped me become a reasonable player though I still need much more practice! You can check the guide out here. WWII Online has been released and people are having some difficulties with connections. From what I've read, the game is great and still has a lot of room left for improvement. If you want to find out what all the fuss is about this massive online war game, then check out the review by GamesDomain. The first "unofficial" patch for Black & White is available from FilePlanet. This patch is a "beta developers edition" and as such is not supported by EA. The real patch is still in EA's rigorous quality control process and is expected to be released sometime soon! (Trust me! Would I lie to you???) OperationFlashpoint.com have released a preview of the new game outlining what is different or changed from the demo. It sounds like I'll be forking out my hard earned dollars for this one! There goes my uni time again! Click the link to see what is happening with the game! There is a new patch for Quake III released. This brings the official version number to 1.29F beta. You can download it from here (direct link). The Tomb Raider Movie has been released and has been getting quite poor reviews. Despite this, it has managed to top the box office earnings for the week with $48.5 million, more even than the Pokemon Movie! If you want to put yourself through some intense disappointment just to see the beautiful Angelina Jolie, then go see it! Happy Birthday to the Half-Life Mod - CounterStrike! This mod has it's birthday today and is 2 years old. Good on you guys for lasting this long and improving so much on the original design! This fan made mod has changed the face of gaming, and congratulations to Valve for supporting the mod community! Now all we have to do is stop the cheaters and the world will be great! Well that just about updates the site with the gaming news for a while. Tomorrow I will try to catch up on all the other happenings in the world around us and in the IT sector! Enjoy! |