deepb - Slashdot User

Comment Zonk = FoxNews (Score 0) 474

by deepb on Wednesday December 13, 2006 @01:05AM (#17219362) Attached to: Arctic Ice May Melt By 2040

Up until a couple weeks ago, I would visit Slashdot at least 4-5 times per day. I read almost every article, participated in moderation, meta-moderation, etc. Truth be told, I've never cared much for Zonk, but once he started posting anti-PS3 "stories" (i.e., hearsay, blog entries) almost exclusively - which BTW weren't even based on user submissions - I deleted my Slashdot bookmark and moved on.

I have no desire to visit a site where:

Zonk is involved in any way.
The managing editors see nothing wrong with the level of bias shown in Zonk's article selection.

I don't watch FoxNews because I'm not interested in only hearing one side of every story. Now I don't read Slashdot for that very same reason. That, my friends, is fucking sad.

note: the only reason I noticed this article is because it's linked from antislash.

Steam Should Be a Seperate Company? 73

Posted by Zonk on Wednesday November 29, 2006 @02:27PM from the accepting-applications-via-pneumatic-tube dept.

simoniker writes "As part of a larger in-depth interview over at Gamasutra, 3D Realms' Scott Miller has called for Valve's Steam digital distribution service to spin off as a separate company, suggesting: 'I would rather there emerge a leader in the market that isn't associated with a game company.' He further adds: 'I'm not a big fan of using Steam, because I'm not a fan of a strong competitor of ours having access to our download stats and revenue totals. I'd rather keep that private. Not only that, but we're lining their pockets as well.'"

Sony Console the Worst Launch Ever 193

Posted by Zonk on Monday November 27, 2006 @02:25PM from the no-not-that-one dept.

No, not that one. 1up set out to see if the PlayStation 3 had the worst launch of any modern gaming console, and found that another Sony console held that title. The original PlayStation's launch was pretty dreadful, with Warhawk's average of 89.4 being fairly low for most launch title leaders. The worst launch lineup of the 'next-gen' systems is actually the Wii, which has averaged only a 71.3 over its 20 launch titles. The PS3 is next up, with 73.4, and the 360 has the overall best of the three consoles, having scored an average of 77.3 over its 18 titles last year. From the article: "Averages are just that, though, and don't tell you much about the best games that accompanied the launches. And the best of the batch wasn't a surprise, but it wasn't a Nintendo game either. Soul Caliber for the Dreamcast, with an average of 96.4 just barely squeaks out the win over the Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess for Wii. At the other end of the spectrum, both Wii and PS3 share the worst stinkers with Happy Feet for Wii coming in at a 45 and Gundam: Crossfire at the very bottom with its 34.8."

GameStop Short PS3s For Launch Day 134

Posted by Zonk on Monday November 13, 2006 @05:32PM from the so-close dept.

GameSpot reports that GameStop will have too few units for preorders on launch day. Employees are being "asked" to wait until the second shipment of consoles to purchase units, to ensure customers can receive what they paid (and waited in the cold) for. From the article: "For launch day, preorders will be filled in the order they were received, and those who had a preorder but are denied a system on day one will receive something for their troubles. GameStop will give those unfortunate customers (as well as unfortunate employees) a free used game or DVD valued at $19.99 or less when they eventually wind up purchasing the system. Those who reserved a system won't need to wait long to find out if they can expect a system on launch day. Starting tomorrow, customers who preordered a PS3 will be contacted personally by phone and updated on the status of their reservation, the rep said."

Information Technology and Voting 128

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday November 07, 2006 @03:20PM from the matter-of-trust dept.

ChelleChelle writes, "In an interview in ACM Queue, Douglas W. Jones and Peter G. Neumann attempt to answer the question: Does technology help or hinder election integrity?" From the article: "Work in this area is as politically loaded as work on evolution or stem cells. Merely claiming that research into election integrity is needed is seen by many politicians as challenging the legitimacy of their elections... One of the problems in public discussions of voting-system integrity is that the different participants tend to point to different threats. Election-system vendors and election officials generally focus on effective defense against outside attackers, usually characterized as hackers. Meanwhile, many public interest groups have focused on the possibility of election officials corrupting the results."

Sony Warns of PS3 Scams 135

Posted by Zonk on Wednesday November 01, 2006 @05:14PM from the don't-take-any-wooden-consoles dept.

GameDaily reports that Sony is warning of scams based around their PlayStation 3 console. The company has apparently noticed enough scamming web-based offers that it felt the need to warn consumers. From the article: "It's become increasingly common with new console launches for some consumers to buy up whole batches of a system, only to sell them immediately on sites like eBay for major profits. Beyond that, however, there are certain even more seedy individuals out there who unfortunately will do anything they can to scam you out of your money completely. They know that some consumers get desperate when it comes to purchasing a newly launched console and they'll do anything they can to exploit that."

Want To Know About the New Apple MacBook Pro? 310

Posted by kdawson on Saturday October 28, 2006 @09:20PM from the timely-benchmarks dept.

An anonymous reader writes to tell us about an extremely helpful user who is answering questions from all comers about the new MacBook Pro. "A few days ago, a user by the name 'bcavanau' posted on the macrumors.com forums that he had just picked up a new MacBook Pro. Forum members started asking him about features, specifications, and benchmarks. He was happy to oblige, posting responses to everyone's questions. Eventually the forum thread got out of hand, and he set up a website devoted to answering the questions. If you have a question that hasn't already been answered, email him at the address on the site. He is responding daily and sometimes within minutes. This guy is dedicated. Thanks 'bcavanau', you get two thumbs up." The link to the site is cached via the Coral Content Distribution Network.

Jack Thompson To Face Contempt Charge 239

Posted by Zonk on Monday October 23, 2006 @02:32PM from the hahahahahahahah dept.

Gamasutra has the story (by way of the currently-down GamePolitics) that Jack Thompson could be facing a contempt charge over his antics during the Bully fiasco. From the article: "According to the report, the contempt of court request could find Thompson facing jail time, though it is more likely that 'fines, judicial admonishment or censure' would result from this most recent turn of events. The report also notes that attorneys representing the Philadelphia law firm Blank-Rome have filed a 'Petition for Order to Show Cause,' which requires Thompson to illustrate to a judge why he should not be held in contempt."

PS3 Has No Achievements, Replaceable Controllers 98

Posted by Zonk on Friday October 20, 2006 @04:49PM from the quite-friendly-of-them dept.

So, there is bad news and good news. The bad news is, despite the popularity of the Gamerscore and Achivements on Xbox Live, the PS3 won't offer that. Despite earlier rumours on the subject, developers will have to pick and choose if they want to have a system like that. Sony says first party titles will offer 'entitlements' ... but none of the launch titles will have it. There is good news for PS3 fans, though, as Sony says it will replace controllers if the batteries wear out. The lithium batteries the company is shipping the controllers with should last 'for many years'.

SGI Arises From the Ashes 195

Posted by CowboyNeal on Thursday October 19, 2006 @06:28PM from the back-in-the-saddle dept.

eldavojohn writes "Six months ago, Slashdot reported on SGI's filing of Chapter Eleven Bankruptcy. I wondered why Slashdot kept the Silicon Graphics category with them now defunct. But Chapter Eleven means a reorganization — not liquidation. And, surprisingly, SGI has dusted itself off and stood back up. What did they dust off? About $150 million worth of spending a year. Will this reorganization put them back as a player in the graphics game? Maybe but as the article notes, they have some stiff competition that offer comparable services for less money. Is this a phoenix story or the final death throes of the company?" To be honest, no one here suspected a thing. We just keep the old topics around so it's still possible to find old stories related to them. Sometimes (like now!) they even still come in handy.

Visa Cuts Off AllOfMp3.com 394

Posted by CmdrTaco on Thursday October 19, 2006 @09:17AM from the ends-with-a-whimper dept.

denebian devil writes "On the heals of allofmp3.com's press conference trying to clean up its image, Visa has suspended its credit card service to allofmp3.com. From the article "[Allofmp3 is] no longer permitted to accept Visa cards," said Simon Barker, a Visa International spokesman. "The action we've taken is in line with legislation passed in Russia and international copyright law." Almost simultaneously, allofmp3.com has announced that it is shifting over to an ad-supported model. For those who don't want to (or can't) buy allofmp3's DRM-free music, they are providing DRM-laden music that can be played only within a restricted player provided by the website."

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