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It would be more interesting to find out what would happen if the key to the Sony standalone BluRay players was discovered.

They'd probably do what standalone DVD player vendors do - release a firmware update as a disc image that customers could download, burn, and insert into their standalone player. From there, it works much the same way as flashing a desktop computer's BIOS - the DVD player starts to load the disc, recognizes it as an update, and flashes its firmware. (For example, Pansonic has nearly two dozen updates like this available in the DVD Firmware section of their support site.)

From a quick check on the Sony support site, they've already released a disc-based firmware upgrade for their BDP-S1 BluRay Player, so this seems like the route Sony would use if they ever had to push out new keys.

In other words, NOT a PC-style MMORPG. Got it. Had to have all the content ahead of time, they could add new NPCs on the server, but new content had to be added by a new DVD.

It sounds like you're looking for someting like Planetside (http://planetside.station.sony.com/).
This for those who don't know is Sony's MMO FPS type game. While it has levels all players are equal in terms of health etc. Use of weapons requires a certification, what levelling does is increase the number of certification points. The result is that new players can jump right in, choose a couple of certifications and play that part as well as a more experienced player. What the experienced player gains is variety, for example you might beat him in a tank but he has the skill points to jump into a plane after that.

Can anyone tell me a Windows game Sony makes?

http://www.station.sony.com/

Check under PC games at Sony Online Entertainment.

Can anyone tell me a Windows game Sony makes?

Its DRM kept it from becoming anything more than a blip. They have a much cooler toy (though a bit pricey, and where's the digital in?) now. The minidisc serves a different purpose than the iPod. It can record in the real sense, but the DRM prevented you from making any real use out of it. They seemed to have lightened up a bit. Where can you plug the mixer into an iPod?

After playing SOE's PlanetSide for a while, I was driving through a parking lot one day and reflexively swerved to avoid driving over an oil stain (a dark spot on an otherwise mostly clean parking lot).

In Planetside, mines are not visible until you are close to them. If you are driving at full speed, you usually cannot stop fast enough to avoid them. The best you can do is to not drive right over them, which reduces the damage.

In the parking lot, I came around a row of cars and there was this dark spot that looked like a mine. It took me a while to stop laughing, and later that night my entire outfit was laughing at me when I told them about it.

Sony have what they call Station Access (http://station-access.station.sony.com/), for $24.99 a user gets a subscription to Vanguard, EQ1, EQ2, Matrix Online, SWG, Planetside and a few others. Sony do not need Vanguard to be a smash hit runaway success, what they need is for a supply of extra games added to the pass so that:
a) people buy the boxed game ("Hey I'm already paying for the pass so why not give Vanguard a go")
b) people subscribed to one Sony MMO pay the $10 extra for the pass to get the extra value (certainly when I was playing EQ2 heavily I found it worth the extra money for Planetside)
c) the stream of new games locks people in to Sony, you are effectively already paying for vanguard and as long as you keep that pass your old EQ1 character stays live in case you want to drop in and play again.

You'll find an example CCD distribution for Sony's ICX285AL CCD on page 8 of the PDF. By comparison, the human eye's response looks very different, with different receptors in each case picking up what is nominally the same colour.

You are correct, this would be horribly expensive. I think I may have mentioned that myself, in my original post. :) It would double the cost of the machines and quadruple the cost of ink. At least. It would also halve the effective throughput.

I'd have to go back and look some of them up. I haven't played in well over 1yr.

But I do remember a hunter bug or two that were left on the test server when a patch came out, because they hadn't had time to finish testing it, and it waited until the next patch.

Talk to the warlocks that have been around since launch, and they have had some fun times, as well.

"... most class-breaking bugs are fixed pretty regularly." Yeah, at the next patch.

I've got friends that still play on Argent Dawn, and they still get login queues.

Hey, I'm not saying WoW isn't a great game. I really enjoyed my 9 months there, and then got out when I was bored out of my skull trying to obtain gear. Since PvP in Wow was, to me, just a gank fest with little meaning (and a dumb "honor" system) I quit. But I don't think anyone else is dumb for playing it.

I'm a realist about games. If something is broke, I'll complain about it. If something works, I'll give credit. Heck, I play EQ2 now, and I played it some in the early days while I was still playing WoW. When EQ2 was launched, it was really poor, and I quit after 45 days. Now? I don't know that I would enjoy WoW compared to EQ2. And I probably won't find out, because I won't buy the WoW expansion. No biggie. That doesn't mean WoW sucks. It just means I'm happy where I am.

But WoW patching is NOT frequent. Not compared to other MMOs out there. See the EQ2 forums update page, where they indicate when patches have been done. http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/forums/show.m?f orum_id=330 And note that the last 3 hotfixes aren't listed on there. Some really small ones only show up on the Update Notes screen of the launcher.

Now compare that to this: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/underdev/imple mented/ They don't make it easy to see the mini patch stuff there, and the support forums are a nightmare (like all MMO ones are.) If I missed it, oh well!

I'm sorry, but Blizzard is not great at patching.

Well if any software house wishes to buy/get a license to play WMA and/or Microsoft PlaysforSure on Linux they can, Microsoft gives it to you.

And one of the conditions of such contract with Microsoft, is that you will support WMA & MP3 only. Few have managed to get better conditions out of Redmond. Most (e.g. Creative, Philips) are out of luck and stuck with MP3 or WMA. Some (e.g. iRiver) didn't bowed to M$ conditions at all (what allow them to support e.g. OGG).

In the end, M$ would try to cripple Linux experience (just like it tried with Win2k to "unsupport" e.g. AVIs) so that it can later brag about how wonderful Wind0ze is.

The problem is if you want to do the same with Apple DRM u just cant, period. [...] I love windows much as u do, but comparing what Apple is doing to anything else like PlayForSure ( for example ... ) is just plain stupid sorry ...

I'd rather have a clear "NO" from Apple, rather than fuzzy "YEAH" Microsoft is infamous for.

But their TVs are fine, and also use linux!

Of course the real problem with eReaders is the cost; even these "cheap" new Sony ones still cost around $450.

I loved Firefly. I liked Serenity. But I have serious doubts I'm going to be able to be interested in an MMORPG like this. I don't hate MMORPGs, in fact I love them (although I do define them as an online, multiplayer game where there is an evolving storyline). I originally played Armageddon and loved it. I have since tried the Matrix Online which supposedly had an evolving story and it was completely boring. Absolutely no enjoyment factor whatsoever (thankfully I tried it with a free account).

But that doesn't mean graphical MMORPGs must suck. One that is great will be Myst Online: Uru Live. I say that with such certainty because we already got a taste of the evolving storyline with the original beta in 2002 - 2004, a detailed account of which can be found here in an in-character manner. You can also find a film documentary in several parts here.

The big difference between Uru Live and the Matrix Online was that Uru realized you don't need to go around killing people. They also realised that when you first enter an area it can be very confusing and daunting, and so Cyan Worlds limits it by limiting what you can access at first both because areas aren't open to players, but also because areas need a puzzle to be solved before you can go to the next area. This was a problem I had with the Matrix Online as I was allowed to roam free as I liked in a very large area. Although the maps did help alleviate this, I found they actually did too much and took away the challenge in finding out what to do next and so the only challenge was killing people or stopping someone from getting killed. It became very repetitive, which is something Uru Live realises and avoids. Instead each puzzle is unique and there is no leveling so there is no repetitive gameplay (although there are things you can do more then once such as Ahyoheek).

However the big differences between Uru Live and Matrix Online was that the Matrix Online felt like it was completely empty of other players. I logged on and I saw no other players around. Perhaps I was simply in the wrong area. However Uru Live does away with that problem by having an introduction that explains where you can go if you want to play alone or where you can go if you want to find other players. It also has only a couple of places you can go to at the start one of which has players. The Uru Live beta has nowhere near the amount of players that Matrix Online does (it is after all a beta that has limitations on who can play) and yet it felt like it was the more heavily populated. I remember when I first logged onto Uru in 2003 I very quickly not only found another person, but I found a character being played by someone.

Unfortunately this MMORPG Firefly sounds more like Matrix Online then Myst Online: Uru Live.

I currently have a Thinkpad, but my previous laptop was a Sony Vaio. The electronics are still good, and are available through the numerous online part vendors.
http://servicesales.sel.sony.com/web/index.jsp
http://www.impactcomputers.com/

Many of the mechanical parts have broken over time. I had to replace the touchpad, keyboard. and screen hinges. You also shouldn't judge the quality of the laptop by the parts that broke on me. I was not delicate with this laptop, and this all happened after 6-7 years of use.

Check out Planetside...

Tragically, it's by SONY. Other than that though, it may be what you're looking for...

From last year http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/10/ 10/2235206.

Sony, a year ago, admitted that some digital cameras (not only Sony's digital cameras but all that had Sony's CCD) had a defect on theirs CCD http://www.css.ap.sony.com/consumer/template/ANDet ails.aspx?Id=45536.

More about the subject from last year http://www.imaging-resource.com/NEWS/1128958202.ht ml :)

I have a Cyber-Shot DSC-U30, and this year occurred the problem on CCD. Sony (Portugal) repaired the camera, I had to pay just the postal charges.

The evil bastards just hid their undocumented feature in the data section of their Audio CD.
Please, if I'm wrong, someone correct me and point fingers, and laugh at me...

I had heard ideas that it was going to be sorta massively multiplayer, kinda along the lines of what Planetside turned out to be (which is a lot of fun).

Unfortunately, I believe it was just talk; the only early gameplay videos I saw involved nothing larger than squad-based combat (~20, or less, players).

makes one hope, distantly, that Sony may be changing their ways...

PlayStation.com requires Javascript to be turned on in your browser.

Great start except I'm not 12 years old and I don't play games. If I'm going to drop this much to play with cell then I expect information to be availiable in a more sober manner. There's no reason Sony can't market the hardware appropriately. This is far more than a games platform.

The main competition to this sony reader seems to be the Iliad from I-Rex. I think it is a much nicer reader for a couple reasons.

It has a nice page turn interface, it has a proper paperback A5 sized screen, and runs linux. There has already been quite a bit of hacking on it. Can code your own readers for various formats etc.

The Sony Reader runs Linux too. The manual says it runs MonteVista® Linux® professional edition and gives a link for download of the GPL bits.

Ask me if I care.

I'm still in shock really. I was anticipating the PS3 for years, and then in just a few months, SONY destroyed any desire I have to do business with them ever again.

I don't know about you, but in my house Wii have already decided what Wii think of the PS3. They could have a mere dozenPS3 ready by november, and it wouldn't change a thing for me.

I discriminate against companies infected with DRM

And what about sites that sell malware as tangible goods, like anybody stocking Sony CDs?

Or companies that merely manufacture malware, for example first4internet, but don't actually host it on their site?

Sony already does that for their own titles

But to be honest, the way these games are designed I'd rather pay $15 a month to play one exclusively as opposed to paying $25 for access to one game I'll play a lot and five games I may never log into. I don't have the time and/or energy to devote to half a dozen MMOs.

http://psforums.station.sony.com/ps/board/message? board.id=psdiscussion&message.id=889211

You mean like this?

better link

http://planetside.station.sony.com/reserves/

it the fodder program. you can level up to br 6.

http://planetside.station.sony.com/news_archive.vm ?id=67028&section=News&month=current/

its good that it brings more players in, but it too easy to grief with. get weapons lock from being as ass, just create another account. they need to add a credit card check of something to limit the greifers.

Well more than 5-10. I have friends who have had 1080p-capable (display and input) for more than 6 months now. They have Sharp 45" direct-view TVs (45GXsomethingerother). These not only have native 1920x1080 resolution but accept 1080p (60fps) input. Each paid about $3400.

A coworker bought a Westinghouse 42" LVM-42w2 last weekend for $1500. It has 1920x1080 resolution and has 3 1080p (x60) digital inputs (plus a VGA input that will take 1920x1080x60fps too).

Sony also has announced (but not yet shipped) replacements for the Sony SXRDs you speak of. These accept 1080p and display it at full resolution. They are in the Bravia line now. http://www.sony.com/2006TV

I am writing this on a Dell 24" monitor for my computer that has 1920x1200 resolution and accepts full 60fps 1080p input. (I only paid $600 for it!) Mine (2405) doesn't do HDCP (unlike all the above), but the most revent one (2407) does.

There are many, many HDTVs now that can display 1080p at full resolution. People who keep repeating that there aren't 1080p displays available are just stuck in the past. It is true most people don't have a 1080p display, but there are plenty available now. Unless you are economizing, you'd do well to get one that does 1080p.

The Contrarian Troll. A sophisticated breed, Contrarian Trolls frequent boards whose predominant opinions are contrary to their own. A forum dominated by those who support firearms and knife rights, for example, will invariably be visited by Contrarian Trolls espousing their beliefs in the benefits of gun control. It is important to distinguish between dissenters and actual Contrarian Trolls, however; the Contrarian is not categorized as a troll because of his or her dissenting opinions, but due to the manner in which he or she behaves:

- Contrarian Warning Sign Number One: The most important indicator of a poster's Contrarian Troll status is his constant use of subtle and not-so-subtle insults, a technique intended to make people angry. Contrarians will resist the urge to be insulting at first, but as their post count increases, they become more and more abusive of those with whom they disagree. Most often they initiate the insults in the course of what has been a civil, if heated, debate to that point.

- Contrarian Warning Sign Number Two: Constant references to the forum membership as monolithic. "You guys are all just [descriptor]." "You're a lynch mob." "You all just want to ridicule anyone who disagrees with you."

- Contrarian Warning Sign Number Three: Intellectual dishonesty. This is only a mild indicator that is not limited to trolls, but Contrarians display it to a high degree. They will lie about things they've said, pull posts out of context in a manner that changes their meanings significantly, and generally ignore any points for which they have no ready answers.

- Contrarian Warning Sign Number Four: Accusing the accusers. When confronted with their trolling, trolls immediately respond that it is the accusers who are trolls (see Natural Predators below). Often the Contrarian will single out his most vocal opponent and claim that while he can respect his other opponents, this one in particular is beneath his notice.

- Contrarian Warning Sign Number Five: Attempts to condescend. Pursued by Troll Bashers (see Natural Predators below), the Contrarian will seek refuge in condescending remarks that repeatedly scorn his or her critics as beneath notice - all the while continuing to respond to them.

- Contrarian Warning Sign Number Six: One distinctive mark of Contrarian Trolls is that every thread in which they dissent quickly devolves into a debate about who is trolling whom. In the course of such a debate the Contrarian will display many of the other Warning Signs mentioned above.

http://mxoboards.station.sony.com/matrix/board/mes sage?board.id=offtopic&message.id=12985&view=by_da te_ascending&page=1%7C

For the most part I agree completely... especially since most Sony components are not nearly as good now as they were in the '90s.

There is an exception, though, and it's what keeps me from going totally Sony-free after the r00tk1t episode. Their S-Master Pro digital amplifiers in the higher-end ES receivers (I have the 5000ES, which was replaced by the linked model) are genuinely terrific when playing digital sources. Astonishing imaging, cool and light, and enough power. To my ears the S-Master Pros don't just compete with the big boys' "budget" stuff -- they compete with high-end products costing several times what they do.

Of course, that just means someone at Sony screwed up. I'm sure the next model will be the usual crap... better buy another 7100ES now, before they rectify the oversight. :p

Keep your eye out for the Sony Reader coming out this Spring sometime. Yeah, yeah, all the stuff about Sony ... but if it's as good as it sounds, it's something I could see myself getting.

Mind coming over to EQOA? We could use some people :-( Even Sony forgot this game exists.

Was it just me or did this article expertly side step Star Wars Galaxies?

I know that Sony Online Entertainment are the developers for SWG but I'm also interested in what the president of the licensing company has to say about that game. Actually, I'd like to see him interviewed in an "Ask Slashdot" much like John Smedley was a while back.

Among the questions I'd like to ask him would be:

How would you describe the decision making process that has gone into designing SWG?

Do you think that SWG is drawing nearer and nearer to a "true Star Wars Experience" or moving away from it? How? Give examples.

Do you expect to be a top five video game competitor with no MMORPG out and available? They seem to generate a lot of revenue compared to classic console games. EA has the Sims franchise while Microsoft generates Xbox Live monthly revenue.

What are your favorite and least favorite aspects of working with George Lucas?

--

I'm not sure why this article accents the fact that no more Star Wars movies are coming out. They've made quite a few off IV, V & VI--one would think they could make just as many off of I, II & III along with the coming TV series. And don't forget the expanded universe that the literature written would provide ... doesn't anyone else want to serve Admiral Thrawn as much as I do?

On the gold farming thing, I think the best way to handle it is to sanction it and not try to stop it. You'll waste a lot of time and effort trying to stop it, ruining the game experiences of the "cheaters" who just wanted to skip over some of the boring parts along the way, and you won't really stop it. By "criminalizing" it, you're exacerbating the problem that you created in the first place. It's better to noturinate into the wind, right?

If I go to Sony's web page, I see a ton of things that have little to do with gaming (directly) - Stereos, Walkmans, TVs, etc. How can these guys say that Sony is "Ailing"?

And that's just the hardware side of the business. Don't forget that as well as Sony Electronics there's Sony Music and Sony Pictures.

To quote from Sony Corporation Of America's website (not Sony Japan, not Sony Europe, etc.)

Revenue for last fiscal (ending March 31, 2005):

Sony Corporation: $67b
Music Group: $2.3b
Pictures Group: $6.9b
United States $18.4b

Microsoft, in contrast, had a total annual revenue for the period of $36.8b (roughly half if Sony's).

The article talks about $2b a year utterly bankrupting Sony (assuming they simply sell consoles at a loss and don't recoup from game licensing, accessories, additional HD TV sales, gaining ownership of next gen DVDs through market share, etc.)

I'm not quite sure how a loss that barely makes it in to the couple of percent range will cripple a company so badly that it gets bought up by one with half the total revenue and no interest in the majority of the larger company's business.

Microsoft is a software and very specific hardware firm. They would be incredibly badly served by trying to take over an electronics, movies and music giant that's a far bigger company than they are. They're doing very well with the controlled growth they have right now.

The only way it would make sense for Microsoft would be if they could take Sony Computer Entertainment and leave the rest of Sony. Sony, however, gains a huge amount beyond direct console sales. A bankrupt Sony would be forced to sell off pieces. An intact Sony would likely have no interest in destroying its future TVs (cell), its future DVD players (blu-ray), its movie business (also blu-ray) and its appeal to the massively profitable 18-35 demographic that spills over from gaming to those big TVs, car stereos, etc.

Since Sir Howard Stringer took over Sony, he's made some incredibly tough decisions to get Sony, as a whole, back on track - so much so that he's become a major persona non grata in his own home country of Wales where he made tough choices and cut a huge number of workers. Here is a man who's clearly willing to do what it takes to make Sony profitable and who, more than anyone else on earth, has very detailed figures on the costs of the PS3 - yet he's not chosen to sell off Sony Computer Entertainment.

So, overall, we have a company with double Microsoft's revenues, with areas Microsoft's just not interested in, making them far too big to buy out in the entirety (which the original article appears to have totally missed). Piece-by-piece, SCE might be affordable for Microsoft but that requires Sony wanting/needing to sell - something they've shown absolutely no signs of.

A large scale RTS, where some players act as officers (giving directions), and others act as grunts (and get to plaster "real" people), would be pretty cool.

This already exists: Planetside.
http://planetside.station.sony.com/

Probably not good enough for you.

• Moving from crafting-based economy to loot-drop economy
  
• No longer interested in "sandbox" play, switching to quest content
  
• If you don't fight, you don't belong in the game
  

Posted directly on their forums as well...
http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?b oard.id=Announcements&message.id=3058

SOE was pretty quick to address the rumors, canned response? I think so!

http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?b oard.id=Announcements&message.id=3058

This was not made by their game teams, so comparing this to their games is not relevant.

A more accurate comparison would be to look at something like EQ2 Players which tracks stats for players and guilds (both serverwide and worldwide). It keeps track of ranks, who's done what first, items, etc. It even provides templates and assets for, and hosts, guild websites and forums.

I think the weakness of the PS3 system is the freedom for individual games to host their own servers and set their own rules. One of XBLive's biggest strengths is the standardization, imo. You buy the game, you know what you're getting. With the PS3, that may not always be the case.

"Co-developed by Sony Online Entertainment, the company's MMORPG development arm, and GameSpy Networks, the PlayStation Network Platform will allow players to compete online even in its free iteration, unlike Xbox Live.

• An unlimited number of expansion packs you need to buy, each more expensive than the last.
• A development team that actually reads through customer suggestions so they can figure out what not to do. They then implement the opposite of what everyone on the forums wants. When the product fails, they'll blame the original concept creators.
• The death of your best NPC friend just because he was getting a little weird and creeping everyone out.

Well, Sony announced a 4k Digital Cinema Projector almost two years ago.

http://news.sel.sony.com/pressrelease/4864

The interesting thing is that EQ2 actually reviewed pretty well when it came out. The average rating over at gamerankings.com is 84%. It was completely overshadowed by the launch of World of Warcraft.
WoW gets a lot of stuff right and I love the game, but like anything else it gets old and you find yourself with nothing interesting to do.
After getting bored of WoW I started shopping for another MMO. I tried some free trials including Eve online and Star Wars Galaxies. One of the things that's nice about WoW's success is that almost all of the other MMOs are offering some sort of trial. It's easy to jump in and see if you like the system.
Much to my surprise I found I liked the EQ2 trial a lot. The trial covers the newbie tutorial zone and up to level 10 I think. While the map is the same for both good and evil sides, they have different quests so you can play through twice doing different things.
A few things I would note for someone thinking of starting EQ 2:

1. The game is tough on hardware. You may need to scale back some of the effects or choose a higher performance graphic setting. You need 1GB of RAM and more helps.
2. The art direction is generic fantasy compared to WoW. Don't expect the consistent stylization of Blizzard. Then again if you don't like the cartoony look you might appreciate this.
3. If you do start playing go to www.eqinterface.com and download the EQ2map addon. It's about the only UI mod you really need. It adds maps for some smaller zones that are mapless. It also adds NPC and mob markers to the maps to help you get around.
4. Read through the Things I wish I'd Known Earlier Guide.
5. Don't purchase the regular EQ2 game online. Purchase the boxed retail Kingdom of the Sky expansion. It's the best deal currently. Even though the KoS expansion is high level (55-70), if you own it you will start earning achievement points (sorta like talents in WoW) starting at level 20. The boxed retail is a full version of the game including the expansion and a month of play. It doesn't require a previous purchase of the game.

Quite a few of the low level players I've met on EQ2 are ex-WoW players. Some are player who left EQ2 to play WoW and have returned after burning out on WoW.
EQ2 isn't a perfect game - no MMO is but I'm enjoying myself exploring a new game.

I agree, in a way. This is why I find the Station Exchange somewhat offensive. What's Sony's solution to their poor game design that makes progress a slow, boring, repetitive grind? Have people to pay them more money to mitigate the unpleasant aspects of the game resulting from their design failures, of course. Maybe I'm just jealous that I haven't figured out a way to earn money from my deficiencies, though.

However, I don't think it's ever going to be possible to create a persistent world where the amount of time you put into the game isn't somehow significantly rewarded. What is needed is a way for players to feel as if they are always making steady progress, even if they only play a few hours per week, in 15-90 minute game sessions (oh, and these sessions should be fun), without quickly exhausting all of the game's content. Should it really matter if you never hit the level cap, or catch up to the high school kids, as long as it doesn't seem to take gross lengths of time to gain cool new skills and see interesting new areas?

Another approach would be a deemphasis on progression altogether, in favor of a setting that is more focused on providing "sandbox" styles of gameplay, or player vs. player activity, etc.

EVE Online - while I only played it shortly - appears to have one big part of the problem solved: Skills increase through automatic training that depends on only one factor: Real time passed. Whether you're online playing or offline sleeping/working/whatever doesn't matter. You gain x experience points per hour.

Which to me doesn't appear to do much beyond give those who have been playing the game longer (real time instead of play time) an insurmountable lead and exclusive access to certain abilities (or at least, exclusive access to a variety of abilities). Someone who opens a subscription today can never hope to achieve an avatar as skillful as someone who's been playing from day one, no matter how clever and skilled they might be as a player (correct me if I'm wrong here though, my EVE playtime was also very limited).

And there's still plenty of mind-numbing grinding to do in EVE if you want to progress, in the form of mining asteroids or whatever. Though EVE does support a thriving player driven economy from what I've seen, one that the enterprising, clever or devious player can take advantage of to get rich much more quickly than one could achieve merely from grinding asteroids or NPC pirates for ISK.

I do see EVE as a positive step in the right direction, because the players have a larger degree of control over the shape of the world, they can create their own challenges for themselves to keep the game interesting, without necessarily requiring the devs to release new content. Or at least, so it seems. Like I said, I haven't played the game a whole lot myself.

A good game should reward good playing, not more playing.

I agree, I would like to see more games that reward skill rather than playtime, but how to accomplish this? If it's a persistent world, then inevitably those who have more time to play not only spend more time honing their skills and are more likely to become a better player, but spend more time reaping the rewards of successful play, gaining mechanical advantages in the form of their avatar gaining more skill, better equipment, more privledges, etc.

The only way I can see to reward skill over time is to make it easy to lose progress you've made as a result of your failures. There are already games like this, but they are niche games, not massively popular ones like World of Warcraft.

Raph Koster put it this way, "... is there necessarily something wrong with giving people without significant skill (which is

To be fair to Sony...

Everquest 2
World of Warcraft
Everquest 2
Lineage 2
Everquest 2
A Tale in the Desert
Another Lineage 2, just because I like the art style.
Everquest 2
Asheron's Call 2
Everquest 2
Everquest 2
Final Fantasy XI Online
Everquest 2
Ragnarok Online

These are hand-picked images from a quick google images search. Hopefully that balances both ways. I'll let you all be the judge of the aesthetic quality of EQ2.

You'll also note that the imagery has gotten much more stylized as the series has progressed into the desert of flames expansion. I suspect this has been a touchy subject within Sony, which is why they had the strong reaction they did to the criticism.

Sony's web site claims that the Reader will support PDF as well as JPEG and MP3 (huh?):

http://products.sel.sony.com/pa/prs/reader_specs.h tml

On the other hand, a light-grey footnote on the Features page mumbles something about requiring conversion to Sony's proprietary BBeB (broadband electric book) format... Hopefully this won't be as painful as their "MP3" player was.

Use apache mod_rewrite to prevent sites you don't specify in your .htaccess to link your pictures (movies, etc..).

Example of a .htaccess I setup for a friends site to display a (bad NSFW) picture in place of all other pictures when linked from other sites. He had a huge problem with this, and the result was very funny.

Rewriteengine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://www.hostilism.com/.*$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://hostilism.com/.*$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://psforums.station.sony.com/.*$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{http_REFERER} !^http://a-z/|[A-Z]|[0-9]|\.)*hostilism\.com/.*$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{http_REFERER} !^http://a-z/|[A-Z]|[0-9]|\.)*dogsonacid\.com/.*$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{http_REFERER} !^http://a-z/|[A-Z]|[0-9]|\.)*crewcial\.org/.*$ [NC]
RewriteRule .*\.(jpg|jpeg|gif|bmp|png)$ http://www.gunny.org/s/gunnypoo2.jpg [R,L]