Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Google Talk is here!!!

Well the rumours were going around for a few weeks now, and it seems they were well founded. I've downloaded it and sent an invite to some friends. This maybe the start of the long distance revolution!!! See this article for details.

Seems Skype would make a great addition to Google's growing acquisition portfolio. Calling the world... Hello?

Here's the link!

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Clearing asteroid fields of pirates for mining!

That's what I did tonight in EVE. Which should increase my security rating and eventually get me back above 0.0. Dragonmorph was online and so was Took. Met a newbie, Basinet, nice fellow who needed small help with a few (3) nasty rats. Me and my boyz (Wasp Drones) gave him a bit of help.

Then I mined a bit (see picture) and called it a night. I haven't seen Lugus and Muntchak in a long time. A few months I would say. Should email them and get the latest. I'm thinking of starting to recruit new members for Sorbion Inc. (my corp in EVE), cause as of now, I alone!!! Lost 5 members at the start of the summer!

Will do so after we get back from New York City.

New issue of the Escapist

Issue 7 of the Escapist is out.
A great read as usual.
Get it here!

Monday, August 22, 2005

Super Size EVE, the 1st issue of EON

Woohoo, I just bought myself a birthday gift!!!

As most of you know I play EVE online, an online virtual world (often called an MMORPG: Massivelly Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game). Well CCP, the developers and publishers behind this gem, announced that they would offer a print magazine for EVE, called EON.

It will ship out on October of this year, on my birthday! The first issue will have a ton of stuff any worthy citizen of New Eden will want to have. So I've just subscribed and will receive 4 issues in the next year. Can't wait to get it!

EVE Online is addictive in a seductive and lethal way... more, I want more!! =)

Google Desktop 2.0 Beta

Version 2.0 of Google's desktop search tool. And though I was using Copernic's search tool for the last few months, I still was impressed their first iteration.

I'll try it for a few days and see if I want to keep using it.

Download it here.

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Byebye you Caldari scum bags!

A bit of hunting down Caldari terrorists is always a lot of fun, well it is anyways in EVE. Early Sunday mornings is always a good time to immerse oneself back in New Eden; it's real quiet in the apartment, Stephanie is asleep and the coffee is freshly brewed. Hmmmm!

This morning I did a bit of rat hunting, mining and a couple of missions. All in a days work, and just in time to go house hunting (RL this time, and no one gets hurt!)

Ciao!

Friday, August 05, 2005

Just like Rock n' Roll

The Economist.com has a great article on the whole "video games are bad for our youths" debate. And for once we have an article which treats this political issue in a statistical and social science fashion.

In the end, it becomes a generational gap between the 'have played games' camp, and the 'haven't played games so they must be bad for you' camp.

A must read for anyone interested in this debate.

I myself, can't wait to sit down with my kids (when I have some) and play a good game, be it video, board, rpg or tag football. Knowing your kids is knowing what they enjoy. And that includes video games.

Thursday, August 04, 2005

Serenity, the 2nd trailer

Wow, I remember watching a few shows of Firefly and really being blown away. The story is gripping, the acting is great, the characters are believable, and the episodes were just dam good to watch. Just too bad the series got canceled. Maybe that will change once the movie "Serenity" comes out!

Until then, here's the 2nd trailer, and in case you missed the 1st one. And finally, here's the movie site.

Which reminds me, I still don't know when Battlestar Galactica will start playing again on SPACE. I've checked the TV schedule for the next 2 week-ends and its still not showing. Until then, I've marked my calendar for Serenity. Just before my birthday!

September 30th, will be sweet!

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

I miss EVE!!

I haven't played EVE Online for a descent amount of time (more than just for skill training) since Stéphanie and I got back from Italy. I've maybe played an hour here or there, but nothing long enough to get anything rewarding done.

And though I enjoy very much our busy social agenda, I still would like to get a few hours soon so I can get my fix. =) Last night I went to a Toastmasters as a guest, tonight we're going to La Ronde with some friends (been a darn long time since I've been there!), but my Thursday night seems free.

It'll be fun to get back to Eve.

On that note, have a great day, enjoy your summer and play hard!

Monday, August 01, 2005

Welcome to the "Death Star"

Ok, I wont lie, I'm a geek at heart. There, I've said it! I'm guilty as charged and proud to be one. I may not be a full blown geek, but part of me is, and from time to time it comes to the surface. If you're like me then, you'll love this article over at IEEE Spectrum Online (if there ever was a geeks magazine, this is it): Engineering EverQuest.

Though the first part of the article is a bit simplistic, once you get to the half mark, that's where the good stuff is. If you've wondered what sort of hardware and facilities are behind EverQuest (and most probably other MMORPGs) than you'll want to read this one.

Some of the interesting stuff:
  • More than 9 million gigabytes of EverQuest data have been downloaded from Sony's servers in the past six years
  • There are 13 data centers in Japan, South Korea, the Netherlands, and on both coasts of the United States
  • More than 1500 servers around the world run EverQuest
Now if we could get the same info from the guys at Blizzard, that would really be interesting.