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Why the Apple Newton Failed - written by Larry Tesler, Newton Development lead for two years.

CyberCrime on TechTV covered this issue and legally there are no legal remedies yet. Their story was on voyeur cams and such like people taking pictures up a dress. (http://www.g4tv.com/techtvvault/features/25256/Vo yeurism_Spreads_Outside_the_Dressing_Room_pg2.html )

It is perfectly legal for someone to photograph up a woman's dress and post it and even charge money for it. The fact the women are fully clothed and in public protect the voyuer in this case.

And even though some states laws have changed since the report, she posed, she consented.

G4's E3 coverage has been pretty good. Nice, somewhat fluffy, coverage of the new 3 yesterday was quite good. They don't dive too deeply into the hardware, and tend to get caught up on the little details, but better than nothing. Personally, I'm waiting for the end of the sea of fps and mondo destruction time wasters... it's got a f*cking teraflop, use it for benefit.

Nope. Articles I have read over the years, such as this or this, tell me that Ellison hates Gates.

Perhaps I should have posted the links above in my original comment.

PDF Usability Crimes
http://www.g4tv.com/screensavers/features/45796/PD F_Usability_Crimes.html

"I hate PDF..."
http://wired-vig.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,64 346,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1

PDFs suck, people!
http://www.garethjmsaunders.co.uk/pc/computer/pdf- suckweb.txt

WHY PDFS SUCK
http://jessey.net/archive/2005/02/16/pdfs-suck/

I guess I'm really not to surprised that so many people can't or won't get the whole "PDF" issue. PDFs are not web pages, plain and simple. The use of PDFs for other than for their intended purpose is, yes, less than professional. Of course, I never expected to see so many adobe fan boys here at /., either.

Oh, and of course, the fact that it's a proprietary file format is just so totally irrelevant ... sure.

As well, what happened to your sense of humor? Perhaps that cubicle is really starting to get to you?

#The first time the rebels went to an army town and took out a couple dozen military family homes the army would crumble faster than you can imagine. Collateral damage is supposed to be for the enemy, not for the soliders families.

# The first time the soliders bank accounts went into overdraw because payroll is disrupted and/or checks bounce the ranks would be decimated. Both from financial constraints and from morale issues.

# The first time a unit is actually ordered and purposefully told to attack a rioting/rebellious crowd. Nothing kills morale more than taking out the people you are sworn to protect - not by accident, or lack of training, but by explicit command. All the laws and procedures setup now would be chucked out the window in a full style reveloutionary counter-action. Picking sides will halve, or quarter, the ranks.

If I could find the programmer who wrote this, I'd throw a copy of Bill Gate's "The Road Ahead" at them. Let's see - forums that you can barely read and you can't search. Good one guys. Makes me wish for the return of the dream team that came up with Microsoft Bob.
http://www.g4tv.com/techtvvault/features/27528/Rem embering_Microsoft_Bob.html

There was a two-part segment on the Screen Savers with Patrick Norton and Kevin Rose covering methods of data destruction, including software, grinding, acid, thermite...

Watch it here

There was a two-part segment on the Screen Savers with Patrick Norton and Kevin Rose covering methods of data destruction, including software, grinding, acid, thermite...

Watch it here

See http://www.g4tv.com/unscrewed/features/45707/Dark_ Tip_Destroy_All_Data.html
have a few pieces of s/w and h/w mentioned there. use the floppy method on a standalone machine to plug your disk into and wipe it. try Darik's Boot and Nuke method: http://dban.sourceforge.net/

You are, of course, forgetting the aweful effects of the super-concentrated Blipvert commercials! 1 second of Blipvert was enough to cause a man's head to explode! Imagine that power harnessed toward stomping around on people in a bad-ass metallic 'mech!

This is why Circuit Sh*tty is a place I only go every couple of months when I'm looking for $5 video game closeout deals or when their competition is not available. Yes, still, after all these years.

In many cases, [police]

turned a valuable crime-fighting tool into a personal search engine for home addresses, for driving records and for criminal files of love interests, colleagues, bosses or rivals.
. . . .
Part-time Memphis police officer Scott Woods.... [used the database] to find out personal information about a woman he met on the Internet....
. . . .
Woods later told the woman he had followed her home the night before, according to police records. He called her by her middle name, which she had not told him. He described her height and weight. And he went on to call her at home and work up to three times a day, according to police and sheriff's records.

But there are laws in place to prevent these abuses.

[Orange County, Florida, Sheriff Kevin] Beary was so upset by [a critical Letter to the Editor] that he had his staff look up [the letter writer's] address using driver's license records and fired off a letter to her.

"I never in any way sent that letter to you with the intent of intimidating you. Please know that I am confident I was within the purview of the Florida Public Records Law when I obtained your mailing address. I sincerely regret the fact that my letter upset you," Beary wrote.

Violators of the driver's privacy act can be sued in U.S. District Court for damages of at least $2,500, punitive damages, attorney's fees and all other relief the court determines to be appropriate.

But sheriff's officials said that it was legal to look up Gawronski's address on the driver's database. Sheriff's spokesman Jim Solomons said responding to a resident's concern is well within Beary's official duties.

Ok, so maybe those laws have loopholes. But all he did was send her an intimidating letter. Cops would never use databases to do worse.

Prosecutor's Office Uses Database to Smear Prosecutor's Political Opponent,
Police Lieutenant Charged With Abusing Database to Influence Elections
Cop Uses Database to Find Woman's Unlisted Phone Number -- Gives It to Woman's Ex

A few bad apples. The databases wouldn't be used to frame political opponents.

[A U.S. Federal Court jury]

concluded that the FBI and the Police had framed the two activists in an effort to stifle Earth First! and stop participation in 'Redwood Summer', a planned campaign of non-violent direct action against the destruction of old-growth forest.

But we all know that those Earth Firsters are, essentially, terrorists. Why should terrorists be protected by laws? The FBI doesn't frame peaceful protesters!

More ominously,

the FBI suggested that "legal" efforts to deal with [Martin Luther] King [Jr.] might not be enough. "It may be unrealistic," the memorandum went on, to limit ourselves as we have been doing to legalistic proofs or definitely conclusive evidence that would stand up in testimony in court or before Congressional Committees...
. . . .
[FBI officials] agreed to use "all available investigative techniques" to develop information for use "to discredit" King. Proposals discussed included using ministers, "disgruntled" acquaintances, "aggress

a day in the life of lemarr

Video shot before the robot was finsihed, but still has some good stuff, like the death of the mentioned first robot. http://www.g4tv.com/techtvvault/features/45548/It_ Swims_With_Sharks.html

http://www.g4tv.com/screensavers/features/44543/Da rk_Tip_Build_an_Xshok_Controller.html/

"Personally, I don't have a problem with the security thing. It's just for the police, and I personally don't have anything to hide from them."

Presumably you're not a pretty girl, then. Thanks to Safety Cap (253500) for this story of a on-duty cop copying nudie pics for his off-duty enjoyment.

But that's only one cop. Click for the Top 10 List of Police Database Abuses.

It includes such charming cop activities as "Prosecutor's Office Uses Database to Smear Prosecutor's Political Opponent", "Police Lieutenant Charged With Abusing Database to Influence Elections", and "Cop Uses Database to Find Woman's Unlisted Phone Number -- Gives It to Woman's Ex"

But that's just local cops you say? We can trust the FBI, you say? Well, Martin Luther King couldn't.

And the FBI even tried to get the Mafia to silence Dick Gregory when he spoke against narcotic trafficking. And framed environmental activists. Not to mention COINTELPRPO, or the FBI helping Chicago police murder Fred Hampton in cold blood.

But that's all in the past you say? Well, if two years ago is "the past".

But you have nothing to hide, so I guess you're safe.

Tell that to "[m]ost of the 110,000 persons removed for reasons of 'national security' [who] were school-age children, infants and young adults not yet of voting age" forced by the U.S government to move to:
* Manzanar War Relocation Center
* Tule Lake War Relocation Center
* Heart Mountain War Relocation Center
* Minidoka War Relocation Center
* Topaz War Relocation Center
* Poston War Relocation Center
* Gila River War Relocation Center
* Granada War Relocation Center
* Rohwer War Relocation Center
* and Jerome War Relocation Center

You, know, mostly I let the links speak for themselves. I'm going to deviate from that this time, and I'll get modded down for it, but sometimes you just have to say it.

You don't deserve to vote. You don't deserve the nation created by Jefferson and Madison and Washington. You don't deserve to inherit the legacy of the brave men and women who sacrificed their lives to make America (more or less) free.

YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE AN AMERICAN.

It's one thing if you realize that government is always a threat to liberty, and weighing the alternatives, reluctantly decide to cede more power to the government.

But you aren't doing that. With the whole frigging internet at your finger-tips -- much more than Thomas Jefferson ever had -- you can't even be bothered to type into Google "police surveillance abuse" and read the fucking history of your own fucking country.

Instead, you just blithely assume that since what you're doing isn't illegal yet that since you're not on a watch-list yet that the color your skin or your accent or your politics aren't "suspicious" yet, you can sit back fat and happy without giving thought to how this might affect others or even -- governments and laws do change -- yourself in the future.

And yet you get to go into a voting booth and pull the lever because of people who did know better and who made the hard choices and who often die

"If the FBI or Secret Service come gatecrashing, you're already screwed,"

Anyways, its too bad that you were driven off by your uni's situation. My former institution went through its growing pains while i was attending. They started with 6xT1 and switched to a full T3.

At some point they blocked bittorrent's port:6969. My gut feeling is that I and a few other students helped shape this policy.

Since, as you said, 'contacting someone reasonable' wouldn't work in my situation, I did the next best thing and used torrents/trackers that called upon alternative ports :O). Having access to that rediculous type of bandwidth has spoiled me.

Back to the point, my suggestion was aimed at prepping for Plan B (which means he was DLing warez/porn/movies etc). Plan B being the "wasn't me" defense. That way he can install a virus scanner and not relinquish the moral high ground even if they do have the server logs.

Is it just me or are soap boxes much smaller these days? I wonder how big they used to be back in the day.

"If the FBI or Secret Service come gatecrashing, you're already screwed,"

Anyways, its too bad that you were driven off by your uni's situation. My former institution went through its growing pains while i was attending. They started with 6xT1 and switched to a full T3.

At some point they blocked bittorrent's port:6969. My gut feeling is that I and a few other students helped shape this policy.

Since, as you said, 'contacting someone reasonable' wouldn't work in my situation, I did the next best thing and used torrents/trackers that called upon alternative ports :O). Having access to that rediculous type of bandwidth has spoiled me.

Back to the point, my suggestion was aimed at prepping for Plan B (which means he was DLing warez/porn/movies etc). Plan B being the "wasn't me" defense. That way he can install a virus scanner and not relinquish the moral high ground even if they do have the server logs.

Is it just me or are soap boxes much smaller these days? I wonder how big they used to be back in the day.

http://www.g4tv.com/mediaplayer/index.aspx?video_k ey=9032
The guy who plays Dr. Kleiner is pretty weird.

Very weird.

"Count on getting a little less than three hours of 3D game playtime from one charge."

http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/features/51343/Sony_PSP_ vs_Nintendo_DS.html/

No way is USB2 going to satisfy my need for throughput

You know, such blanket statements are quite silly.

Ah, the taunting drivel from an Anonymous Coward. And what is the technical competence of this coward? Why, he looks at manufacturer spec sheets, and concludes my position on firewire/USB2 is silly.

I, on the other hand, defer to the demonstrated reality:

From these results we see that Firewire trounced USB2 in two ways. The first was that data was read almost twice as fast as USB2. Writing data occurred at similar speeds using both Firewire and USB2. The second advantage appeared from the CPU utilization. On both computers, Firewire used a significantly less amount of the CPU than USB2 when transferring data. According to these benchmarks, Firewire appears to be the better choice for an external hard drive.

Don't be confused by the rated speeds you see emblazoned across USB 2.0 and FireWire product boxes. Despite USB 2.0's 80 Kbps speed advantage over FireWire, our testing showed that the additional overhead of USB 2.0 made it slower than FireWire. For high-bandwidth devices such as external hard drives, the difference was as high as 70 percent.

And just to make the point screamingly clear, what I said was that I found firewire performance less than satisfying, thus USB2 wasn't going to be otherwise.

(And those ATA specs sure look disingenuous. I'll have to rip that one apart later...)

http://www.g4tv.com/freshgear/features/39129/USB_2 0_Versus_FireWire_pg3.html

http://www.barefeats.com/usb2.html"

http://www20.tomshardware.com/storage/20040402/fir ewire800-06.html

Those last two include FireWire 800 (1394b) and 400 (1394a)

http://www.g4tv.com/freshgear/features/39129/USB_2 0_Versus_FireWire_pg3.html

Despite the speed advantage USB 2.0 offers over the old v1.1 standard, FireWire remains the performance king of plug-and-play connections.

http://www.firewire-1394.com/firewire-vs-usb.htm

Performance Comparison - FireWire vs. USB 2.0

Read and write tests to the same IDE hard drive connected using FireWire and then USB 2.0 show:

Read Test:
5000 files (300 MB total) FireWire was 33% faster than USB 2.0
160 files (650MB total) FireWire was 70% faster than USB 2.0

Write Test:
5000 files (300 MB total) FireWire was 16% faster than USB 2.0
160 files (650MB total) FireWire was 48% faster than USB 2.0

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,844061,00.asp

Though USB 2.0 is rated at a higher throughput speed, FireWire delivered faster performance on external hard drives when connected to a desktop.

http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:www.macopinio n.com/columns/macskeptic/02/02/08/

And there's more, which can be found via Google.

Actually... People have fried eggs on a P4. And since many other chips can run even hotter, it's probably been done more than once.

Someone better call G4, aka the channel that replaced TechTV

Actually, G4 is keeping a fair amount of the TechTV content. They say that "The G4 programming day will showcase many existing G4 and TechTV series such as G4's ICONS; PULSE; JUDGMENT DAY; PLAYERS, and CHEAT! as well as TechTV's ANIME UNLEASHED; X-PLAY; SCREEN SAVERS; FRESH GEAR; and ROBOT WARS. G4 will also premiere new original programming which will be announced at a later date." Notable by it's omission is Call For Help. (Leo isn't going to move to LA). An interesting side note is the fact that Chris Pirillo is down in LA already. It is conceivable that G4 is considering him for the "new original programming" in a show similar to Call For Help. Personally, I think this would be a good move for G4. In fact, there is a petition to get Chris back on TV. Use the slashdot effect for a valid reason - slashsign the petition.

Expect some hosts to be offered their jobs in the new location.

As for off-camera people, well, gee, sorry if I don't care if it's a different cameraman.

From the FAQ:

Q: How does the merger expand G4's subscriber growth?
A: The merged network will be available to 44 million cable and satellite customers, representing every major MSO and satellite provider (28 million cable and 16 million satellite). G4, launched in April, 2002, is currently available in 15 million homes in 47 of the nation's top 50 television markets.

Q: What MSO's and satellite companies will carry the combined network?
A: Comcast; Time Warner; Mediacom; Insight; Cablevision; Charter; Adelphia; Cox; Cable One; Dish; and DirecTV.

Q: Who will be the network's chief executive?
A: Charles Hirschhorn, currently founder and CEO of G4, will oversee the merged network as CEO.

Q: Will the two services run independently of each other or be immediately combined?
A: The two channels will merge into one network. In the meantime, both G4 and TechTV will continue to air as independent channels, pending customary regulatory approvals underway.

Q: Where will the network be headquartered?
A: The merged network will be headquartered in Los Angeles.

Programming:

Q: What will a typical programming day look like?
A: The merged network will be the nation's premier 24/7 television network all about video games, technology and the gamer lifestyle. The G4 programming day will showcase many existing G4 and TechTV series such as G4's ICONS; PULSE; JUDGMENT DAY; PLAYERS, and CHEAT! as well as TechTV's ANIME UNLEASHED; X-PLAY; SCREEN SAVERS; FRESH GEAR; and ROBOT WARS. G4 will also premiere new original programming which will be announced at a later date.

Q: How many hours of original programming will the merged network produce?
A: After the networks merge, G4 will air more than 20 series and 800 episodes per year. New programs continue to be in development.

TechTV will likely be merged with G4, a gaming channel. The new channel will have a little bit of both channels' content but will be more slanted towards gaming. Comcast bought TechTV a while back and has probably been planning this for a while.

Direct from the G4 press release, it looks like the only TechTV originals surviving are Anime Unleashed, X-Play, The Screen Savers, Fresh Gear, and Robot Wars. It doesn't say specifically if those are the only TechTV shows to continue or if any of the old staff will keep their position.
As long as Adam Sessler doesn't come back I won't complain too much.

G4TV is (from there site) "The only TV network dedicated to video games and the millions that play them."

So, they're really good at tossing a ball around. Okay...

What's your point? Skill is skill. There are professional chess players and professional Scrabble players and proffesional sword swallowers. The only difference is whether there are enough people willing to watch it on TV and buy tickets and buy merchandise. Bowling somehow managed to get on TV. So Counter-Strike isn't out of the question. Actually, G4TV already has a show airing video game matches.

A link for those of you not familiar with the G4 channel.

G4TV's PORTAL was the best Machinima ever. It still plays, but since it only made it to 3 seasons, its not well known. Not to mention it was so...controversial.

It was all MMORPG-based Machinima. The first episodes were kinda bad, unfocused, but Dave really got his act together after episode 5 or 6.

Anyways, check it out! Hopefully his new show will be just as good... PORTAL

Q: What will a typical programming day look like?

A: The merged network will be the nation's premier 24/7 television network all about video games, technology and the gamer lifestyle. The G4 programming day will showcase many existing G4 and TechTV series such as G4's ICONS; PULSE; JUDGMENT DAY; PLAYERS, and CHEAT! as well as TechTV's ANIME UNLEASHED; X-PLAY; SCREEN SAVERS; FRESH GEAR; and ROBOT WARS.G4 will also premiere new original programming which will be announced at a later date.

If you read the FAQ that Blackwulf posted you will notice that the programing is not yet determined, but AnimeUnleashed is mentioned so it definatly is not being ignored. The last half of Last Exile has not (as far as Im aware at this point) had a US Release, so untill it has you wont see it broadcast. This is a good anime and if you are a fan I do suggest you purchase the DVD's. Anime had a fairly big boom in the last 2 years in the US which happens every so often, then when it dies down we start seeing less being imported and have to rely on FanSub. So please support anime! You should also consider visiting The Anime Network to find out if this station is available to you, and if not fill out the request form.

G4 has posted a FAQ on the merger.

You need only to look at the about page for G4TV to understand what video game press is geared towards. The only missing word is male, but being that obvious would get them into a lot of trouble. Watch the channel and you will know that the word 'male' is implied. Had they include both genders, you wouldn't have shows that feature titles such as graphic adventures which have a higher gender mix than other titles.

Right now the industry is approching a crossroads. Had I have time to be detailed, I would make certain paralles with electrionic gaming and early history of the film industry where the market wasn't realized until after the Hollywood monoploies were broken. Since this is a /. post, I don't feel I need to be too detailed.

What I will say is the industry is at a point for easy money makers, similar to the 30's and 40's for film that the B-film was made for. Churn them out, get high returns with low investment. You can make a very sucessful title that for a general audience that will make mad-money (IE: The Sims, Myst, Flight Simulator), but these titles appear to be hard to make sucessful. So, we get tons of product that fits in the easy market: 12 to 34 male.

Mind you, in the US we don't pay TV tax, so if we just watch a show every now and then, there's really little harm done.

However ads don't really bug me, since I pretty much only watch Food TV and G4TV, and quite enjoy their ads...

They have one.

Here are some responses to some of the posts here:

I would probably nominate Portal as the worst show on TV, on any channel in existence. Anyone have a worse one?

I'd say Portal is an aquired taste - some people are fanatical fanboys of it, and some don't get it. There is a lot of good humor in it, it makes fun of itself and of the MMORPG game genre. If nothing else, it's unique and creative and there is nothing like it out there. Isn't that what people ask for when they say how bad modern TV is?

Excuse my ignorance, but does G4 play trailers? If not, they should, and they should do it "en masse". Rather than downloading these big motha trailers off the net, I'd much rather see em on my television, at television quality. Trailer after trailer... that's what they should air.

One of our shows, Cinematech is only trailers and game footage. Since this show doesn't have hosts, it's all about the editing of the footage - and the editor that works on this show is really talented.

There just isn't enough programming on the channel though to keep me interested. You can only watch the same Pringles commercial(are they their only sponsor?) over and over and over again

You must have watched the channel when we just launched. We had a very limited inventory of episodes to air from, and only a few sponsors have signed up. Things have changed significantly since then.

Besides, the information provided on the shows is borderline useless. If I wanted to know how to beat a certain game, I would think that it is just easier to look it up on the internet instead of waiting until 7:30 to see it on the tv.

Some of the shows are targetted more at the casual gamer, or even the wanna-be casual gamer. Being online over-exposes you to the hard-core gamer, but joe six-pack sitting at home playing Madden 2004 on his PS2 never heard of Slashdot or the Gamespys and the IGNs for that matter. And the proof for that is that our show CHEAT is one of the most popular shows, even though you can easily get cheats online.

Here are some responses to some of the posts here:

I would probably nominate Portal as the worst show on TV, on any channel in existence. Anyone have a worse one?

I'd say Portal is an aquired taste - some people are fanatical fanboys of it, and some don't get it. There is a lot of good humor in it, it makes fun of itself and of the MMORPG game genre. If nothing else, it's unique and creative and there is nothing like it out there. Isn't that what people ask for when they say how bad modern TV is?

Excuse my ignorance, but does G4 play trailers? If not, they should, and they should do it "en masse". Rather than downloading these big motha trailers off the net, I'd much rather see em on my television, at television quality. Trailer after trailer... that's what they should air.

One of our shows, Cinematech is only trailers and game footage. Since this show doesn't have hosts, it's all about the editing of the footage - and the editor that works on this show is really talented.

There just isn't enough programming on the channel though to keep me interested. You can only watch the same Pringles commercial(are they their only sponsor?) over and over and over again

You must have watched the channel when we just launched. We had a very limited inventory of episodes to air from, and only a few sponsors have signed up. Things have changed significantly since then.

Besides, the information provided on the shows is borderline useless. If I wanted to know how to beat a certain game, I would think that it is just easier to look it up on the internet instead of waiting until 7:30 to see it on the tv.

Some of the shows are targetted more at the casual gamer, or even the wanna-be casual gamer. Being online over-exposes you to the hard-core gamer, but joe six-pack sitting at home playing Madden 2004 on his PS2 never heard of Slashdot or the Gamespys and the IGNs for that matter. And the proof for that is that our show CHEAT is one of the most popular shows, even though you can easily get cheats online.

Nintendo.

I DO own Taiko no-Tatsujin, and I recently ran it at Anime Weekend Atlanta this past weekend...And it was a HUGE BIG SUCCESS with everyone there. And they weren't just Anime fans that are used to the Japanese culture. It's just a FUN game to play. EVERYONE asked me how they could get it for themselves...Unfortunately it's not seeing a stateside release anytime soon...

...Or is it?

Namco also ran the home version of Taiko no-Tatsujin at the G-Phoria awards (Yes, I know the awards sucked on TV, but there is a point here) to "gauge interest" of the American audience towards a game like it. And it was a hit there as well.

THEN I hear about Donkey Konga not long after G-Phoria.

But, nobody would buy a game based on traditional Japanese Taiko drumming. HOWEVER, they WOULD buy a game base on bongo drumming if it had the right marketing power behind it.

Enter Donkey Kong and Nintendo. If ANY COMPANY can get an innovative game to sell here in the US, it's Nintendo. Hopefully, they WILL release Donkey Konga in the US and let it open the doors for other rhythm games to enter the market so I don't have to always import the suckers.

If you have any musical ability at all and have never played a good rhythm game like Taiko no-Tatsujin, Beatmania IIDX, or even the US released Guitaroo-Man, you're missing out. You don't NEED to have musical ability to enjoy it or be good at it. I hope Donkey Konga gives the exposure the genre needs...Realize that the rhythm game genre pretty much stands next to the fighting game genre in Japanese arcades and that's why there's still arcades on every block in Tokyo.

JJ is a software agent which uses facial expressions to visualize the emotional content of network traffic. JJ is implemented as a Carnivore Client, an open-source format for network surveillance applications.

Others such as Wil Wheaton [emphasis mine], James Doohan, seem to have tremendous problems making it work in a post-trek acting environment.

Bah! Wil Wheaton is doing just fine, thank-you-very-much, bantering with Travis Oates on the G4 show, Arena.

What? You don't receive the G4 channel? Yell shrilly at your cable provider until they carry it.

Schwab

Others such as Wil Wheaton [emphasis mine], James Doohan, seem to have tremendous problems making it work in a post-trek acting environment.

Bah! Wil Wheaton is doing just fine, thank-you-very-much, bantering with Travis Oates on the G4 show, Arena.

What? You don't receive the G4 channel? Yell shrilly at your cable provider until they carry it.

Schwab

My HS AP English teacher...

Whenever the conversation turns to HS English teachers, I think back to 9th grade, and my evil HS English teacher, Mrs. Lee.

She told me at the beginning of the year that I would most likely fail her class, "because you're an actor, Wil, and actors are usually stupid."

I was aghast, because I'd always gotten extremely good grades in English and Creative Writing.

She made good on her word, though. She would often take points off of my papers because of my "style," which she said was "terrible."

It was galling to me that an English teacher could apply her own subjective judgement to something like "style," and use it as an excuse to give me bad grades. I vowed to someday exact my revenge by becoming a successful writer.

Right now, I write for a TV show, my website, and I'm working on two books, both fictional, one semi-autobiographical. When they are published, I will dedicate them to Mrs. Lee.

Obviously part of the sponsorship includes ads on TV, but it also includes changing one of the show titles from "Cheat" to "Cheat Pringles Gamers Guide", and changing the actual set of the show to include Pringles "stuff". The show home page [g4tv.com] on our web site (for this show) is also part of it.

You get exposure even if you fast forward the commercials.