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User: etherlad

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  1. White Wolf gone too on EVE Online Targeted By LulzSec · · Score: 1

    Since CCP Games is the owner of White Wolf Publishing (makers of RPGs like Vampire), a number of White Wolf's sites have gone down as well.

    Main site: http://www.white-wolf.com/
    Open development/info site for the 20th anniversary of Vampire: http://www.vampirethemasquerade.com/
    Site for the annual World of Darkness fan convention: http://www.thegrandmasquerade.com/

  2. Re:The Eternal Battle on New Wii Menu Update Targets Homebrew Again · · Score: 1

    marcan, long-time fan. Been running Homebrew since December-ish 2008, and having installed it on my dad's system, he loves it too. Keep up the excellent work!

  3. Hamilton, 43 15' 0" N / 79 50' 0" W on 5.5 Earthquake Hits Canada; Felt in US Midwest, New England · · Score: 1

    Felt it here. Stuff rattled like a truck was going by, only without the rumble associated with an actual truck. Also, it persisted for far too long.

    My first earthquake!

  4. Re:I still use ICQ on Russian Company Buys ICQ · · Score: 1

    Trillian Astra: http://trillian.im/

    -Stays connected
    -Supports file transfer
    -Communicates with AIM from ICQ
    -No ads
    -Multiple options for what happens with new chat windows (show on desktop, show minimized, hide and notify via systray, with an additional "always show on top" toggle)

    All ICQ-specific features: http://www.trillian.im/learn/tour-features.html#ICQ

  5. Very popular on Russian Company Buys ICQ · · Score: 1

    Also widely popular among spammers.

    I still have my ICQ account (seven-digit UIN starting with 1, woo) but pretty much the only traffic it gets anymore is spammers trying to add me and trying to send me IMs. Trillian fortunately blocks the latter for me.

  6. Re:Meh. on Nostalgic Elation — the Super Mario Crossover · · Score: 1

    Not quite the same, but we've got Super Mario War Wii for Wii Homebrew, which lets you select dozens of different sprites. They all do the same thing, though.

    http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Super_Mario_War_Wii

  7. Re:Random Levels on IEEE Introduces Mario Level-Generation Competition · · Score: 1

    1997, Blizzard - Diablo, Diablo: Hellfire
    2000, Blizzard - Diablo II

  8. Re:Pity on Is Mozilla Ubiquity Dead? · · Score: 1

    I had no problem with the 0.5 release, but I also prefer an up-to-date Firefox over Ubiquity, so I downgraded.

    Thanks again!

  9. Re:Pity on Is Mozilla Ubiquity Dead? · · Score: 1

    Huh. At one point they made 1.9 (I believe) as a transitional release to 0.5, which had a different, mostly incompatible, command structure.

    So they've updated 1.9 to be compatible with FF 3.6, but the latest release I have, 0.5.4, remains incompatible.

    Odd decision, but if it works, it works. Thanks for the heads-up.

  10. Pity on Is Mozilla Ubiquity Dead? · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Damn shame. I used it all the time to create tinyurls, to translate text on the fly, and so on. It was a handy little utility, and I was excited with the direction they wanted to go it.

    It'd be nice if they could even just do a version update so I could use it with Firefox 3.6.

  11. I think the more alarming statistic is that 75% of Enterprises have suffered Klingon attacks.

  12. I used to work for Hamilton Health Sciences... on Open Source Could Have Saved Ontario Hundreds of Millions · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ... so I'm getting a real kick out of these replies.

    Seriously, back in 2002 I was working at HHS, of which McMaster is a part. The pilot project I was on was looking for a solution to push out to relevant departments all over southern Ontario. It was a mess of completely unrelated databases and paper files. I remember looking at Oscar as a possible solution, and I was ooing and aaahing over it. Don't remember the details now, but it was really elegant and did everything it was supposed to be doing. I can only imagine what it looks like now, eight years later. I recommended it heartily to my superiors. Don't know what they did with it, if anything, once my contract ran out.

    Good on ya, Mac!

  13. Re:Biased source on Blizzard Answers Your Questions and More · · Score: 2, Informative

    Well, to be fair, the Warcraft RPG was a licensed D&D product, and published under the d20 license. It was one of the few third-party games to actually bear the D&D logo.

    The World of Warcraft RPG, conversely, was published under the OGL. I never picked them up, so I can't speak as to what was or wasn't updated between editions.

  14. Re:Summary doesn't make it clear... on Arizona Judge Tells Sheriff "Reveal Password Or Face Contempt" · · Score: 1

    Here we have at Tucker what is called the "hoe squad" and it is what it sounds like.

    No... No it isn't.

  15. Favourites over time on Why Video Games Are Having a Harder Time With Humor · · Score: 1

    I've always enjoyed Sierra's Space Quest series. No other game series I can think of had "taste" and "smell" as valid commands. "This rough area tastes strangely like blood. Oh, that is blood. You've shredded your tongue. Your mother should've warned you about licking strange areas." Gary Owens was a great narrator.

    For a more subtle brand of humour, Sierra's Quest for Glory series was great. The subject matter was often serious, but the developers threw in plenty of awful puns and simply bizarre non-sequiturs which really added to the world.

    After that, I don't think I played anything genuinely funny for years until the Sam & Max episodes from Telltale. Their Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People had its moments, and I really enjoyed Episode 1 of PA's On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness (haven't played #2 yet).

  16. Re:What does "good graphics" mean? on What's the Importance of Graphics In Video Games? · · Score: 1

    I absolutely adore Wind Waker. I played the hell out of that game. I'd love to see more games done in the same style (well sure, Phantom Hourglass. But still).

  17. Re:Too late on RIAA Seeks Web Removal of Courtroom Audio · · Score: 1

    If it works for CSI, it'll work for me!

    No wait, Visual Basic GUIs are only good for tracing IP addresses.

  18. Re:Write about what you know on Hawking Says Humans Have Entered a New Stage of Evolution · · Score: 1

    This is a pure ad-hominem attack. You show absolutely no understanding of the message, you don't even mention it with one single word, but you feel you can bash the messenger.

    That word: I do not think it means what you think it means.

    How is calling him a very smart man, whom I respect, bashing the messenger? All I'm doing is saying he's not the best person to be delivering this particular message.

    The interesting fact is, Hawkings has not even taken on genetics itself (of which he is no expert), he states taht human evolution is determined by more than just genes, as we are a species that leaves behind us more information than just what is stored in our genes. So he wasn't even talking from the podium of a geneticist; his was a larger-picture stance looking at humankind as more than just an animal species.

    Let me repeat what one of my friends -- a molecular biologist -- said in response to the question "Haven't humans somehow halted or artificially altered the course of evolution?"

    Simply put? No, we haven't. This is a common misconception and you'll even see some biologists uttering it but it couldn't be further from the truth. Have we changed our fitness landscape with modern medicine and all that? Certainly. But there is still natural selection going on, we have just managed to alter those selective constraints. One could actually argue that because of modern medicine we now have more raw material for evolution in the human population. Genetic variants that would have been lethal 50 years ago (killed you before you reproduced) may not be now, this allows humans, as a population, to explore deeper "fitness valleys". Compensatory mutations may then turn these negative traits into net positives down the road, we really can't predict anything about the path evolution will take.

    So no, all we have done is altered what is important and visible to natural selection through our ingenuity and shifted the emphasis of natural selection, not removed it from the picture.

    Does that show sufficient understanding of the message for you?

  19. Write about what you know on Hawking Says Humans Have Entered a New Stage of Evolution · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Sir Stephen Hawking is a very smart man, and I have the utmost respect for him.

    However, he should stick to the areas of his expertise and let biologists talk about evolution, because that's their area of expertise.

    I wouldn't expect anyone to take Dr. Richard Dawkins' thoughts on quantum mechanics as definitive, and this is no different.

  20. Re:Let's not be cynical on AT&T's Bad Math Strikes MythBusters' Savage · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Yes. I agree, and so does Adam.

    "I agree with everyone: it shouldn't just work for me. The data carriers MUST stop thinking in kilobytes and start thinking in customers."

  21. SCI on Old Sierra Games Playable In Browser Through Open Source Game Engine · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Great that AGI games are getting some support, but what about SCI? There are far more of them, and they were (IMO) far better. Why are there no real SCI emulators out there?

  22. Stupidity on No More D&D PDFs, Wizards of the Coast Sues 8 File Sharers · · Score: 1

    Sheer stupidity.

    You know TSR's old Planescape books? I bought about a half-dozen of them at $5 a pop. By removing the ability to get legal PDFs, they're pretty much removing any legal way to get access to these books at all. Many of them are so far out of print and in demand that they go for at least $80 on eBay.

    Many people agree that this is just a first step before WotC opens up their own PDF store, using "piracy" as a good catchall excuse.

    What's the response been with other companies?

    Steve Jackson says: "BTW, to prevent people from sharing their books, SJG will no longer print books. All rules will be whispered to authorized customers."

    White Wolf says: Get rid of PDFs? "'Quite the opposite,' says Eddy Webb, the Alternative Publishing Developer for White Wolf. 'I believe this is a growing market with potential we haven't yet had a chance to fully explore, both as publishers and as fans of role-playing games.' Eddy remarked that he has dozens of upcoming PDF-exclusive products on his schedule in addition to continuing to provide PDF versions of upcoming products, and that White Wolf is still actively looking into returning to the print-on-demand arena.

    "To celebrate White Wolfâ(TM)s continuing devotion to PDF products and reward their growing, loyal fan base, the company is offering a free download of the Exalted Second Edition rulebook as well as a one-time 10% discount on the purchase of any White Wolf PDF titles through DriveThruRPG.com and RPGNow.com from 1 Am Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. Simply enter the coupon code 'wwlovesyou' to receive the discount."

    See? That's a smart way to do business.

  23. Re:STOP ROBOT NUDITY NOW! on Robot Love Goes Bad · · Score: 1

    Robot CP?
    What, like Locutus? I love Captain Picard!

  24. On the Infinium PC on Phantom OS, the 21st Century OS? · · Score: 1

    Is this the OS that the Phantom console is coming with?

    I can't wait to play Duke Nukem Forever!

  25. Re:Bug on YouTube Coming To the PS3 and Wii · · Score: 1

    Then it's a bug in my system. I get told every time that I only have Flash 7, and need to upgrade. But WiiOpera can't upgrade.

    If it's embedded, it's fine, but surfing YouTube itself is useless.