May 1 - 15, 2001

Monday 14 May 2001

Well, after over an hour trolling the net, all I could find was this article over at the DoD website. It appears that the latest patch, ver 1.3, will be released sometime next week! The mod makers cite some annoying little bugs for the set back, but claim they will have them fixed by the next patch. Also at the site they are already talking of DoD ver 2.0 being released! Check it out.

And I'm afraid that that is the news for today!

Sunday 13 May 2001

It is with much sadness that I report this. Douglas Adams, famed satirist and author of the hugely successful "Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy" series of books, died suddenly yesterday at his California home, aged 49, of a heart attack. It is such a shame that one so talented died so young! We will always remember that the answer to the meaning of life is 42! So Long and Thanks For All The Fish!. You can read the full story here.

I was just reading an article about the latest incarnation of the Microsoft "heaven in an OS!". Although many features will be incredibly useful, even to the average home user, the differences between the Home and Pro versions is extensive. As a result, I would advise caution before purchasing. PArticularly if you have an older system or run Windows 95. You should check out the article over at Lycos Computers for an in depth preview of what is to come! It may save you some money and frustration in the long run!

If you are chasing better performance from your nVidia based graphics card and like to try out the latest drivers and stuff, then check out the latest leaked release of the detonator driver series. You can pick them up from The-Ctrl-Alt-Del. Remember...try them at your own risk!

Do you abuse your dog?? Is it really a man's best friend?? In a dog mark? court case in Ohio, USA, a dog has sued for emotional distress cause it didn't see an invisible fence!. You would have to be barking mad to let this happen! Check the full story out here.

For all you Star Trek fans out there, the new series has been named and the actor who will play the captain has also been named. The new series will be "Star Trek: Enterprise" and will star Scot Bakula (of Quantum Leap fame) as the veritable Captain. Check out the full story here.

Tribes 2 players will be relived to hear that all the patch problems have been fixed and everything is working, so just log in and let the auto update work it's magic!

Well that is all for today!

Saturday 12 May 2001

I'm back again! Presentation for Uni went well today and that now means that I can devote some more time to the site and the development of a shiny new one (or two). After this all I have to do is write the thing up and do the statistical work! Yippeeee!

If you are interested in the AD&D games (now or previously, come on I know you played them once!) check out this story on the history of PC RPGs released under this license. Ah....those were the days...286 computer, early VGA monitor and card, playing on a 13" monitor with a game that had as much colour capacity as al of the 16 colours would allow! That brings back memories! I spent days playing "Pools of Radiance" through! The story line was good and immersive. Well let's face it, if it didn't have a plot and a good story line then it really had very little to offer! Anyway, slip on over to Computer Games Online and take some time out to reminisce.

Well, that is all for today. Don't forget to wish your Mum all the best for Mother's Day tomorrow!

Friday 4 May 2001

I have just received word that the makers of that incredible flop- Starship Titanic - are at it again! They have announced that they are remaking the old text based classic Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy. I wonder if it will be as painful as the last version of the game, with only those who had watched the series and read all the books so often they knew them backwards, being able to complete the game? Anyway, I will probably look at the game as I am unashamedly an addict of the series. I just love Zaphod Beeblebrox and pan-galactic-gargle-blasters!

For those Tribes 2 addicts and other casual players, there is a new patch available for download. I have lost count of how many patches have been released, but am thankful for them just the same! So log on and update! <Later edit...>There could be several problems with this patch so be careful. Sierra has released word that they may be releasing a backwards patch to correct the problems before the next patch is released.

There are concerns over the open source nature of the new MAC OS 10 operating system. It seems that security pundits believe that the the openness of the source code will mean that hackers will now target up to now relatively safe platform! Check out Wired News for the full details!

In other news WinAmp have released a new version of their MP3 player bringing it up to version 2.75. I have no idea what improvements this version has over the previous point release, but what the heck, it's free so race on over to their site or you can pick up a copy from 3DFiles.

I you have followed the news on the Hacker War between the US and China then you may be interested that the Chinese hackers have called of their attacks claiming that they hacked into over 1000 US sites. All that work and no one knew! Anyway you can check the full story out here!

Again the unscrupulous snake oil sales people from marketing are on the rampage. This time they have been accused of releasing a worm which has as it's payload a porn marketing plan. This has been dubbed "viral marketing" and could be a greater threat to the Internet than spam mail! Check out the story at Wired News.

On a more personal note, I have decided to trial three separate web page designs. So, over the next couple of weeks I will probably be posting different versions of the site created in pure HTML, Frontpage and Dreamweaver. I ask very nicely if you could provide feedback as I have limited resources to trial the site on different platforms and in different browsers. I may like the look of it but you may not, and I need to know that. So please let me know what you think when I put the new look pages up! Thanks.

Thursday 10 May 2001

Due to the fact that I am writing quite a lot each day at the moment, I am going to archive this page on a weekly basis to try to cut down the size and increase page loading speeds. I hope it makes your experience here better. As far as the new site design and layout? Well it is coming along, but slowly. Uni work again! Add to that, the young girl (my niece) that we are looking after, just broke her ankle and spent a couple of days in hospital after it was pinned, that and report cards have been released for their schools! Much other work has to be done!

Anyway, on with the show!

Yes today is the day that all the Front Line Forcers' race off and have a picnic with their modems and network buddies! Where do they go, do I hear you ask? Well, first they go here to get the upgrade , and then.... shhhhh! It's a secret, but stay away from the woods! There have been many new enhancements to the mod and it should play more smoothly with a redesign of the points system and new game type - defense only. If you haven't got it yet, get it! I've got it and it looks gooood!

Apparently the entire world is becoming addicted to online games! At least that is what this article over at Euro Gamer claims. They say that by 2005, more than 95 million gamers will be addicted to online games and that the numbers will increase rapidly after that! Wow! But being a psychologist (at least one in training) I don't put a lot of faith in their claims. Hey feel free to make up your own mind by checking the article out!

Tim from Tim's News.com has found the solution to our gaming magazine dilemma! He has finally located a magazine worthy of the Australian gamer! That magazine is atomic - Maximum Powered Computing. This magazine is headed by the great Ben Mansill, of PCPowerplay fame. PCPowerplay was a great mag until he left, now it just sux! SO congratulations Tim on finding this new gaming and computer resource for us, and thank you Ben for coming back!

For those of you out there who are into mindless impossible First Person Shooters, check out Serious Sam. I have played it and it is damn near impossible to finish! But on that note, the people form Gamers Press have released a detailed walkthrough of the entire game. It is full of tips and tricks to ensure the maximum success and bounty for the game. Check it out here.

Well it looks like it is final! Microsoft have announced the release date for their next OS incarnation Windows XP. It is slated to be released on 25 October 2001 amid the biggest marketing hype in history! Hot on the heals of W2K, XP is supposed to be the next best thing for gamers, corporate users and home users alike. It is being released in two flavours, Home and Professional. Although I hope that it is all that it claims to be, I personally will probably wait for a while and see what sort of problems people have with it before committing my hard earned dollars to the Microsoft cause! Only time will tell how well it is accepted, but there will be very many corporate users who are only just migrating across to Windows 2000 based systems who will not upgrade so soon after the last release! Could this be too soon?

Well guy's and gal's, stock up on those blank CD's while you can! Prices are expected to rise by up to 350% in the near future. Causes are being put down to a temporary glut and the need for royalty payments. It may soon be that CD-R's will be more expensive than CD-RW media! Now that is a strange turn of events! Write once versus write 1000 times, hmmm.........I wonder whatI'll buy? You can read the full story at PCWorld.com.

News for Tribes 2 fans... The team from Dynamix (what's left of them!) are now working exclusively on improving performance and frame rates. The next patch should be released within the 2 weeks and users should see significant improvements in frame rates and playability! You'll see it here when it is released.

Well that does the news for today! Enjoy!

Wednesday 9 May 2001

If you are using Windows 2000 and burn CD's, then stay away from Adaptec's Easy CD Creator Version 5.0! There are numerous reports of the program causing W2K to crash or not re-boot after installation. At present the only effective solution to the problems is re-format and re-install everything! THere are also persistent complaints that updates to earlier versions of the program have been causing problems on W2K systems as well. The developers, Roxio, are working to fix the problem but at this stage there is no date for a patch release. You can find out more by checking out the Wired News Article.

In late breaking news.........Roxio have released a patch for their problem! You can get more information and download the patch from here!

The FIGJAM Clan site has been updated! Tim from Tim's News has launched the new site as of today. The site features a new Clan Logo, Member Profile Pages, and a FIGJAM news section. Although the site is still under construction, it should be fully functional by the end of the day! Here is the new Clan Logo:-

Still waiting for that massively multiplayer online war game? Well the wait is almost over! Cornered Rat's World War 11 Online is just around the corner. Having finished a restricted beta test stage, the game is going through some final development before being released. Excited? I know I am! (there goes my study time!!!) Check out the preview of the game so far at GameSpot. Between this and Operation Flashpoint, and Tribes 2, I won't get anything done and the wife will be rather upset!

The guy's developing the Front Line Force mod for HalfLife have announced plans to release version 1.3 of the mod. You can check out the new details and expected release date at their website.

Well that just about does it on the news front! Enjoy your day!

Monday 7 May 2001

Well after my rather long post of yesterday I thought I'd simply treat you with some short news and updates! Now on with the show!

First off the rank is an new preview of the much anticipated cold war shooter Operation Flashpoint! eUniverse Games have posted an in depth preview on their web site. Boy I can't wait for it to be released! The FIGJAM Clan have already posted a team and are actively recruiting. Clan FIGJAM needs YOU!

Diablo II players will be pleased to know that there is a new version of the Cold Fusion Mod for the game. Cold Fusion version 2.5 has been released and is available for download from Tactics Central. More rumors of a Diablo movie have been crossing my desktop lately! The latest rumor is that they have approached several actors with a script. Stay tuned for more developments!

I just read a news snippet in an e-mail from Gamecopy World that suggests that the next big copyright case could be against those people who provide the keys for playing musical ring tones on your mobile phone. Yes, they are really scraping at the bottom of the barrel now. Where will this lunacy end?

In a strange turn of events, despite the fact that it is struggling to avoid the steamroller of the recording industry, Napster has released a new version of it's controversial file swapping software! It brings it up to version 2 beta 10 and you can download it from here.

Also a new version Opera, a web browsing program has been released. This program is free and has greater functionality that IE. Go grab it from their web site here.

And that concludes the news for today!

Sunday 6 May 2001

I wonder how many of my readers actually use an operating system other than one designed by Microsoft? I also wonder how many are totally dissatisfied with the closed source ideals of the behemoth software companies and all that it brings and implies? I know that I am rather annoyed by the slow patching process of most major game designing companies. The trade off between profit and product often causes the end user much despair and frustration.

So what is the solution? Well the Open Source Software companies would proffer their philosophy to the gods of consumerism as a sacrifice. Touting freedom and community, and also programmers working together to provide effective solutions to software problems, the open source programers can provide timely solutions to nasty software faults. But does this equal security and stability?

In a recent public statement at New York University, Microsoft's Senior Vice-President, Craig Mundie, again blasts the open source community as the root of all that is evil software and corporate ideologies. Now while I do not agree with his philosophical position, nor do I agree with any of the current rampant capitalist approaches to business, I can see his point. Now if everyone was developing programs along the same lines with core code available to competitors, then how would the companies make money? Simple, by developing specific solutions for business and private use.

Now this would be a radical change in the current business paradigms. It would require a total re-think of all that is corporate. I personally believe that will never happen because the power differential is just too great and the corporate sharks are too firmly entrenched is power!

Never the less, there are alternatives out there. Open Source is one of them, but not if the corporate giants like Microsoft have their way. You can read the article on Mundie's speech over at Wired News and see what you think! There must be some merit in the open source program as Argentina is intending to use it to combat rampant piracy in Government circles. Check it out here.

It appears that the "cyberwar" between the Chinese and the US hackers is turning out to be more of a political storm over emphasised by the media, than a real war. It seems that very little has actually been done by either side! So is it a war or just rhetoric? Check out Wired News for the answer!

In another strange Wired News article, scientists are claiming that designer pigs will run much cleaner than ordinary pigs! Check the article out to read about the "ground breaking"?? genetic research being conducted, here.

More on the cloning and genetic experiment debate! Scientists have developed a method of "fixing" genetic abnormalities by the introduction of healthy donor DNA. The scientific community is concerned about the ethical results! Read more about it here!

In other news closer to my current occupation, a Professor at Virginia University has developed a program that enables him to catch students who copy term papers and assignments! Apparently over 100 students are under investigation! Why don't they just change the topics each year??? for the full story, go here.

Ever wondered why all first person shooters have a "capture the flag" gameplay type? No? Regardless, you should check out the slightly humorous article on the historical? origins of the time honored CTF game! Fargo over at GameSpy has excelled himself with this tasty morsel!

Having trouble with Black & White? Then check out the bugs available for exploitation in this page at Cheating Planet. I don't think this is really cheating, as it takes advantage of some possible holes in the code, rather than actually using god mode or the like. But make your own mind up and use them if you wish!

Saturday, 5 May, was the ninth anniversary of the amazing first, First Person Shooter, Wolfinstein 3D. This game launched a thousand companies and caused many sleepless nights and lost production! Congratulations guys, you did a great job! Happy Anniversary!

A new version of NVMax 2.0 (build 2048) has been released. This little program allows for the customized tweaking of most nVidia based cards. I know you want it.........Now go get it from here!

There is a new version of Zone Labs free firewall program, ZoneAlarm available for download from the Zone Labs site. This personal firewall is quite good and I trust that it has ironed out some of the problems with Internet Connection Sharing and Windows 2000 that it had in past releases. I used to use it until I created my ICS home network, and I found it to be an excellent product back then! I now use another product, but only because of ICS. If they've fixed the problems with that, then I'm back! Go get it, particularly if you only have one computer!

And now for something completely different. It would seem that the producers of television in America have forgotten the sometimes controversial but always humorous mode of social discourse that was presented by the veritable cartoon era. Most of the time the cartoons were making decidedly political and social comment on the then closet minded American culture. And now they are banned for that very same political comment. But get this, it is being banned not because it is too forward thinking, but because it may offend someone! How pathetic!

The veritable Bugs Bunny has has his wings finally clipped due to the extreme right wing views of the Time Warner television producers. Afraid of adverse comment by people who have grown up with the cartoons as a staple diet, the producers have removed several classics from the lineup favourite Bugs Bunny cartoons scheduled to air in June for June Bugs' Week. Now why don't they ban some of the incredibly racist and xenophobic cartoons that are in mass production today? Because they bring in money from the children's market!

Now satire was the only real form of anti-establishment propaganda allowed during the era that brought you such triumphs in freedom and compassion as the McCarthy Trials, and the Vietnam War and the Cold War!! So what is so wrong with our (meaning American) history that it needs to be hidden from the public? What is wrong with letting the people decide? Would that actually be too close to the democratic ideals that are enshrined in their constitution? America, the saviour of the world has a dark and tainted past! Big deal!! Why should that stop people enjoying the crazy antics of such a lovely wascally wabbit? And what does the future hold for Looney Tunes? Will all cartoons which feature the beloved Elmer Fudd (speech impediment, dumb and all) be removed from circulation because he speaks funny and we really shouldn't make fun of the less fortunate? I doubt it! I believe that this narrow mindedness cannot survive for long in this climate.......

Yedebledebledeblede "dats all folks!!!!

You can check out the article that inspired all this madness above, here at Yahoo News. Enjoy your weekend!

Friday 4 May 2001

I am presently trying a few new colour schemes for the site. Please let me know what you think of them. Also you will have noticed that the text has changed a bit along with the links. I would really appreciate some feedback on how the colours look to you! Please let me know what you think!

I know this is a bit old in the tooth now, but I'm catching up Ok! For the Tribes 2 fans amongst us (and despite my earlier ravings, I am one of them!), you can now download the patches from FilePlanet. This should save some precious time as you race to play your favourite game!

For those of you who follow the game industry and the news it generates. Or even if you just have a link or two on your own site to make money. Then you will be stunned and amazed to find that one of the stalwarts of the gaming news industry for the past 18 Months, has closed it's virtual doors and will never publish again. Yes, Daily Radar is no more. If you want to find out their reasons for closing down then go to their site and see their top 10 reasons. You can find them here.

Infogrames have announced the development of B-17 Gunner: Air War Over Germany. This game puts you in charge of all the guns in the awesome B17 Bomber whilst flying over Germany during WW2. Concept sounds good, but I wonder how they are going to beat the boredom thing if all you do is shoot the guns? And can you actually win the war from the tail gunner's position? The game is being developed by Sunstorm Interactive, so check their site out for more information.

There is a new version of Gamespy Arcade out. This version, 1.07d, should fix some more of the problems that have been plaguing the software. If you use it, log on and update now!

This week Microsoft announced that it has developed the ducks nuts of watermarking software for media files. It also states that this technology may be incorporated into future versions of the Windows operating system, so that it would be impossible to play the file if it was obtained illegally! Wow! They have actually found a way to drive users to LINUX! Cool! Check the full story out here at Wired News.

Fans of the click-fest Diablo series of games may be pleased to learn that there is a new novel being released. The book is called Diablo: Legacy of Blood. It is written by Richard A. Knaak and can be purchased directly from the Blizzard store. Could this mean that the rumours of a movie are true? Could be just around the corner!

Do you follow the international news? Do you remember the spy plane that was shot down over China a little while ago? Well, it appears that there are a few more things going on over the incident than merely the negotiation for the return of the plane! Wired News have run several stories over the past few days of the new war between Chinese and US hackers! Check their site out for the details.

Black & White gamers don't despair, the much awaited patch is still under development and should be released to the eager masses within 2 weeks! Lionhead Studios announced today that the patch has been completed and is now in testing. It will include fixes for constipation, dancing to MP3's and remembering good music, and will lift the creature curse on the dreaded level 5!

For all you gamers who have read the classic tales from J.R.R.Tolkein, good news is at hand. Sierra and WXP haxe signed a license deal which will allow them to publish games from the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit stories. Check out the article over at GameSpy Daily.

Well that about catches me up on the news front for a while, feel free to check out the rest of the site while you are here.

Thursday 3 May 2001

Oops, my last date was a little out! Sorry! I guess I was thinking about other things when I posted it!

Well, I think that I am now back in business, as far as my computer is concerned, though there are just a few more things to sort out. I am going to develop a new look for the site over the next couple of weeks, so there should be a few minor changes happening, but nothing out of the ordinary, and it certainly won't interrupt the news flow!

The FIGJAM Clan now has 13 members and is an official clan for Tribes 2, HalfLife and it's Mods, Operation Flashpoint, Black & White, and several other games! If you play online games (not just the ones above) then join the clan and have some fun with us! Just click on the link above to join! The clan has a newsletter now and a new logo will be making its debut in a couple of days.

Monday 19 February 2001

There is much trouble in paradise! I may not be able to update the page for a couple of days due to strange problems occurring with my home system! At this point I am backing up for a complete rebuild of the system. YUK!! I hate doing that! I should learn to keep a full copy of the system safe and sound where I can just simply restore it to a pristine state, copy all my data across, and then start again from there instead of from scratch! I'm so dumb at times!

So hopefully I'll be back up and running sometime tomorrow or the next day at the latest! Lucky there is not that much happening around the scene at present! Wish me luck!