So we haven't posted since last week, but for good reasons. Right now, the MediaDefender thing continues to grow as well as Halo 3 being released. Right now, I'm working on a Halo 3 review. It should be done next week. My blog life will be cut short because I'm playing this game, which is pretty good so far. I didn't write a wrap up article, but sue me.
My next post will be about ReasyBoost, so get ready for it.
mSeliga
This is also a new feature piece I'd like to start. Anyway.
Remember when Han Solo said that he made the Kessel Run in less then twelve parsecs? I knew that a parsec was a measurement of distance, but never how far. First off, here is the question to figure the length of a parsec.
By definition a parsec is 360×60×60/2π Astronomical Units (AU). It is a measurement of distance based on apparent star motion as observed from a particular planet. Since the Galactic Standard "AU", would be based on Coruscant's orbit (368 days) it would equal 150,349,907,726 meters.
Got that? Ok, so after I did the math, I go this as the Galactic Standard Parsec.
31,011,894,586,294,500 meters
Cool eh? But is twelve parsecs?
372,142,735,035,534,000 meters
1,220,940,731,743,878,000 feet
231,238,774,951,492.03 miles
Two Hundred Thirty One Trillion, Two Hundred Thirty Right Billion, Seven Hundred Seventy Four Million, Nine Hundred Fifty One Thousand, Four Hundred Ninety Two, and Three Hundredths.
So......That's a pretty far distance. Just thought you might like to know.
mSeliga
The New York Times, one of the biggest newspapers in America, has now taken much of the pay areas of their site and have made them available for free. This is major news considering the cost of a paper version of the NYT. Hopefully more newspapers will go this route. Ads can pay for things friends. It's like Morgan Webb said, if there are ads, you should get it free.
mSeliga
That appears to be the case. LucasArts said a while back that they were working on a game for the Wii that would use it like a lightsaber (ala Zelda style). Well, they have announced that the game is The Force Unleashed. Now, I've heard this game is for the PS3, 360, PS2, DS, and PSP....but the Wii? I'll stick by it for now, but it seems like it may be to much. We'll see in Spring of '08.
mSeliga
We all knew that Apple can be lazy, and yes they were, but this was amazing. AS you know, the iPod Touch is just a rip of the iPhone OS, taking only the iPod functions and some other features. Basically, iPhone-Phone=iPod Touch. However, they got really lazy. I wish I had the picture on file, but many sites(including engadget) have it. Apparently, when your iPod Touch can't be used because it locks, it says iPhone. Uh......what? Apparently, they forgot to fix a couple of their strings. Its not that hard, but what ever.
And, if you care, Apple has chosen to go with O2 as the cell carrier in the UK for the iPhone.
mSeliga
Maybe. After all of this MediaDefender news started to break, I thought that a tech podcast might not be a bad idea. A weekly thing. I'm still thinking about, and I'm not sure yet. I have nothing to this Friday so I'll be doing a "test" one. I'll post up a link to it when its ready(Monday). I figure, record on Friday, release on Monday. Just a personal news flash.
mSeliga
In what may be the biggest leak on bitorrent of all time, MediaDefender is the center of the limelight. This news, which is about a week old, has started to hit its peak. In case you don't know what happened, here's the scoop. A site called MediaDefender is hell bent on protecting the insane copyright laws of the U.S. They unofficially protect and are backed by the RIAA and the MPAA. Hackers and pirates alike have had their sites set on MediaDefender for a long time. They started a site called MiiVi (offline) which hosted .torrent files that had spyware and rootkits that would attempt to find all pirated software. Of course, MediaDefender denied this.
Now, hackers have taken a large amount of emails, a phone call, and personal IP address from the company. In the emails, it has been found that they posted false torrents to "IP farm". So far, MediaDefender has made no official statement, but I'm sure it will be good when it breaks.
This is a developing story and it will explode over the next few weeks. I currently have a copy of the emails and the phone conversation. I'll be searching through for any saucy info that would concern you.
mSeliga
First off, let me say that this wrap up series is taking precedence over the regular blog, but I'll try and throw some real news in.
Halo 1
The first levels of the game deal with an attempt to reach Halo's control center to uncover its purpose. It is soon discovered that the Covenant have accidentally released something from an ancient containment facility on the ring, The Flood, a parasitic race which gets its name from the way it devastates potential hosts with sheer numbers. The Flood then sweep across Halo and devastate human and Covenant forces positioned on it. The release of the Flood prompts 343 Guilty Spark, an eccentric Artificial Intelligence who commands Halos containment forces, the Sentinels , to try to activate Halo's defense system, a pulse weapon that, when fired, would wipe out all life in the galaxy large enough to be hosts for the Flood. Technically, that installation only has a maximum effective radius of 25,000 light years, but the pulse would trigger other installations as well, effectively killing all life in the galaxy. This system is designed to stop the Flood from spreading through the universe if they escape confinement from Halo by the only way possible: starving the Flood of any life source large enough to sustain them.
Naturally, this would wipe out Humanity as well as the Covenant, and so the final levels of the game revolve around the Master Chief's attempts to destroy Halo before it fires.
The game leaves the story open to further developments, with the revelation that there are several Halo ring worlds in the galaxy, due to Halo being numbered "Installation 04" by 343 Guilty Spark, the Monitor of the installation. It is revealed in Halo 2 that there were seven (Bungie's favorite number) Halos before Installation 04's destruction.
Halo 2
The game begins shortly after the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. Before the game begins, we catch a small glimpse of the Covenant via a cutscene. For the first time, we learn a little bit about the society of the Covenant. A constrained and armorless Supreme Commander is being branded with the Mark of Shame. It is revealed that he is the former Supreme Commander of a Covenant fleet that destroyed Reach, as well as the one who failed to save Alpha Halo.
John-117 begins on Cairo Station, one of the three hundred space defense platforms orbiting Earth. Shortly after the Covenant arrive, a bomb is set on the station. After a while, Master Chief finds the bomb and uses it to destroy a Covenant assault-carrier. He and the Marines then set out to the city of New Mombasaas a sole surviving Covenant ship landed on Earth . While in the city, Master Chief destroys a Scarab. After the Scarab is destroyed, the Covenant ship makes a Slipspace jump which destroys the city, and the UNSC ship, In Amber Clad, with the Master Chief aboard, gets swept up in the warp field in a desperate attempt to follow it.
The Elite branded in the opening cutscene was supposed to be executed; however, rather than have him slain outright, the Prophets of Truth and Mercy made the decision to give him a chance to regain his lost honor and serve the Covenant again.
The Prophet's offered him the role of Arbiter, the highest honor for an Elite during a time of need. As Arbiter, he must conduct missions for the prophets that are hopeless and suicidal and die as a martyr for his race. This is part of the Great Journey, which is a religious series of events that the Covenant heavily believe in. In order to complete their "Great Journey", the Covenant must activate a Halo installation. It is assumed that the "Great Journey" is referring to a space age rapture that will kill all life in the galaxy, and there will be a "Judgement Day" where all will be judged and the ones without sin will go to a heaven of some sort.
As his first mission as Arbiter, the Elite must eradicate a group of Heretics who have separated themselves from Covenant society. They reside in a gas facility near the destroyed Alpha Halo. The Arbiter was to die during this mission, but he narrowly escaped death and defeated the heretic leader. This is the first time we witness conflict within the Covenant society as the heretics constantly tell the Arbiter he is a fool for believing in their Great Journey and the lie of the Prophets.
During this time, Master Chief, aboard the ship UNSC In Amber Clad, is transported to the vicinity of another Halo ring - the Delta Halo - perhaps many tens of thousands of light years from Earth, on which they land. This time, Cortana and Master Chief are well aware of the dangers of Halo. They quickly begin to search for a way to disable it before the Covenant are able to reach it. Master Chief discovers the existence of the Prophet of Regret, and must infiltrate his temple and kill him. Rather than aiding, the Prophet of Truth calls back the Phantoms and destroys the temple with an Energy Projector. Narrowly escaping, Master Chief is then captured by Gravemind.
The Arbiter remains alive and is sent by the Prophets to Delta Halo. The Arbiter is sent to lower the contamination shields surrounding the Library so the Covenant ships may approach. It is revealed to the Covenant that the Flood have been released, however, the Covenant still press forward. After completing his mission and retrieving the Index, Brute Chieftain Tartarus takes the Index from The Arbiter. The Arbiter objects, saying the Prophets will not stand for his actions, to which Tartarus laughs, informing him that the Prophets sent him to kill Arbiter. Tartarus then throws the Arbiter into the seemingly bottomless core of the Library.
In the next cutscene, the Arbiter is caught in a green vine-looking object. He is next to Master Chief who has just regained consciousness. A giant being known as Gravemind, a form of the Flood, holds the two. He comments on the differences between Humans and Elites and informs the Arbiter of the Prophets replacing Elites with Brutes as they don't feel Elites can protect them any longer. He tells of their killings and then reveals that he has reanimated the corpse of the Prophet of Regret as part of himself. He also has with him 2401 Penitent Tangent, the monitor for Delta Halo. 2401 and Regret argue about the truth behind The Great Journey, Regret saying it will bring salvation while 2401 disagrees with the Covenant's responsibility in handling Halo and the Flood. Gravemind comments that the Covenant will not find the salvation they are looking for. He then transports both Master Chief and The Arbiter to places where they will likely find the Prophet of Truth who has the Index, which Gravemind wants back. It is now that the Arbiter realizes the Elites have been betrayed, and finds it hard to believe.
Master Chief is transported to High Charity where he inputs Cortana into the Covenant network, separating himself from her. She discovers that the Covenant are in the middle of a civil war with the Prophets executing a genocide against Elites, feeling the Elites can not protect the Prophets. Brutes are put in their place and sent to wipe out the remaining Elites. As Master Chief travels through the holy planetoid, he encounters much conflict between Covenant, allowing for less resistance against himself, making it easier for him and Cortana to infiltrate the area. Their success leads to Prophets to promote this as a failing of the Elites rather than acknowledging their forces are scattered and unorganized.
When Master Chief reaches the other prophets (Truth and Mercy), he sees Sergeant Johnson and Miranda Keyes get captured and the Flood starts to attack. In the attack the Prophet of Mercy dies. After Master Chief gets close to the Forerunner ship, he tries to grab Cortana but can't because she does not want to risk a remote detonation of In Amber Clad so she stays on and becomes separated from the Master Chief and is left within a computer on High Charity.
The Arbiter is transported to a forest and finally realizes the truth in Gravemind's words after being attacked by a group of Brutes, who were once his allies. He rallies Elites and makes his way to the entrance of the structure. Once making his way through the cavern, he reunites with Rtas 'Vadumee, an Elite Commander. They combine forces with Sergeant Johnson and help get the Scarab to the middle structure to make an entrance for the Arbiter to get to Tartarus. He then makes his way to the center of the structure to stop Tartarus from activating the ring.
The Halos, we learn from 343 Guilty Spark, were built to prevent the Flood from spreading throughout the Galaxy, and that the Forerunners who built it were wiped out when they fired it as a "weapon of last resort" at some point in the remote past. In spite of this, the Brute leader Tartarus forces Miranda to activate the ring in preparation to fire, to bring about - in his eyes - the Great Journey. The player must fight Tartarus(and on higher levels other brutes) to retrieve the Index and stop the activation of Installation 05.
The Index is retrieved and the Installation cannot fire. 343 Guilty Spark reveals that although the Index was removed before Delta Halo had time to complete it's firing sequence, it sent signals to other Installations in the Galaxy, putting them on standby mode. Now, they can be activated remotely from the Ark (assumed to be either on Earth or the Forerunner Ship itself).
After that scene the camera moves to a picture of Master Chief apparently aboard the Forerunner ship. When asked why he is on the ship all he says is, "Sir, finishing this fight."
After the credits roll, a teaser for Halo 3 shows where the Flood has completely taken over High Charity with the Gravemind saying "Silence fills the empty grave now that I am gone, but my mind is not at rest, for questions linger on." The scene then changes to a stand in the council chambers of the Hierarch's the Gravemind then says "Now I shall ask, and you shall answer." It then changes to Cortana saying "Alright, shoot".
There is no novelization of this game yet. It is possible that a novelization that follows the canon laid down by the previous three novels might differ somewhat plot wise from the game, due to various differences between the game and the other novels.
So, as you can see, Halo 2 really was the game that started the story itself. With all of that and the Iris info, we can speculate that Halo 3 will be a huge conclusion(?) to this franchise.
mSeliga
So here is the roundup of the "Iris" viral marketing campaign. I'll admit that I did try and compound all the info myself, but it was very hard. Instead, HERE is a link to a good wiki by "thebruce". I'll be making a archive of all the videos and pictures and stuff soon.
UPDATE
Here is a .zip file of all related media I could find of the Iris campaign.
mSeliga
In case you haven't heard, a small game by the name of Halo 3 is coming out in a week and a half. yadda yadda yadda, so yes. Let me first say that when I first heard about the game my feeling was "meh". Since then, I've gone from "meh", to "OMFG", and "WTF". Today is a meh+10 day. Well, I'm going to brining together all of the viral marketing, news, features and what not here in the last week or so before the launch. So, the next post(will be up later) is gonna be on the viral campaign. Right now, here are some fun facts.
So, later today, I'll give you a break down of the viral marketing campaign and what it all means.
mSeliga
Sorry about the lack of posts this week. I'll be working on bringing some new posts up soon, now that school and all that jazz is back in order.
mSeliga
Well, it was a very interesting press conference. We learned about three new iPod's, as well as some new features for the iPhone.So, lets get started with the run down.
iPhone/iTunes
So, to start off the insanity, a new feature was announce for the iPhone through iTunes. People will now, as of tomorrow, have the ability to create ringtones for their iPhone without hacking. However, this is a catch. A) you have to use songs purchased through iTunes, B) you must pay a extra 99 cents, and C) it can only be 30 sec. long. The last part doesn't irk me to much, but a extra 99 cents! Plus they MUST be from the iTunes store? If you ask me that's complete B.S.
iPod Nano
The iPod Nano got the biggest change today. First off, Apple has decided that for the next generation of the iPod Nano, you can have videos, pictures, and the new cover flow feature, at the same resolution as the iPod Videos(320x240). And remember that "mock-up" we showed? That is actually what it looks like. The new Nano's will be available in 4GB and 8GB at $149 and $199 respectably. This sounds like a great refresh. Good for people who only need lit loads of music. So, here is some pictures.
^From the Apple Store^
iPod Classic
Steve made another interesting announcement. The former iPod Video's will now receive the brand "iPod Classic". Not much is being done here. One of the major things is that they will now have a 80GB and 160GB version at $249 and $349 respectably. They are thinner than the old ones. They feature the metal case like the Nano's and also feature the new cover flow feature. And here are pics of the refresh.
^From the Apple Store^
The Big Finale
Well, this is what we were all waiting for. A completely new iPod, unlike one seen before. The "iPod Touch"! The iPod Touch.....think of it as the iPhone, but with the just the iPod OS(Like I previously said). It does run a version of MAC OSX. You choose between videos, pictures, and music through the dock at the bottom. It has icons much like the iPhone. The apps it has are YouTube, Calendar, Safari, Contacts, Calculator, and Settings. You use this iPod the exact same way you use the iPod function of the iPhone. This iPod also comes with built in wifi, a browser, and a new feature which will also come to the iPhone....wireless iTunes Store. Which means, I can go to any wifi hotspot and download a song on my iPod/iPhone. Also, Apple has teamed with Starbucks to give iPod Touch/iPhone users free access to the iTunes store in Starbucks. It will come in a 8GB and 16GB versions at $299 and $399. And with out further ado, the new iPod Touch!
^From the Apple Store^
So, I'll express my final reactions tomorrow. For now, you can see the press conference your self with Steve demoing these new products HERE.
mSeliga
Microsoft came up with a alternative to XML, OOXML. The main idea of OOXML is to streamline compatibility in offices that use different file formats and OOXML's are more secure(says Microsoft). However, after sending it to a standards committee to announce it as a standard for XML use, it has seen many bumps. At the moment, it looks like it will fall on deaf ears until they can appease our friends overseas.
mSeliga
Last week in Sweden, if you were running Vista, your Internet would have shut down. Why? Apparently, the Swedish ISP's use Linux based servers which don't play to well with Vista. Not sure if at the moment the issue is fixed, but I'm sure Microsoft will be careful about updates to Vista that might bring down the net.
mSeliga
I'm sure you already know about the Apple event that will happen on September 5th. Although I won't be there, I will post a follow up to highlight all the cool things that happened. As it will occur during school, I'll try and get a post out ASAP.
mSeliga
So I went out and saw the remake of John Carpenter's Halloween by Rob Zombie. Right from the get go, you can tell this is a completely rehashed movie. It starts off with a young(12 yrs.?) Michael Myers. He has a freaky clown mask that he likes to wear. You can tell his family is messed up. His dad is a drunk, crippled, perverted dude(Thinks his own daughter is hot). He yells at everybody and calls Michael a pussy.
Then some stuff happens, and Michael goes and kills a bully from school with a branch. Then we go forward, his sister won't take him trick or treating. He gets duck tape, kills dad, kills sister's boyfriend, feels up sister, kills sister....now comes the boring part.
All up to this point, it was pretty cool, and I thought we would fast forward to his induction into the mental institution, then to his escape. Oh I was wrong. Get ready for about 40mins of talking.
So, after the 40mins of him slowly losing his mind, he escapes. Kills everybody in the hospital. Then he murders his way to his young sister...yadda yadda, you know the rest. And, there is no room for a sequel, he was shoot in the face with a magnum.
So, over all, the movie was great. Not as bloody as I would expect given the director(Zombie), but still a awesome flick. The only grip factor is that the 40min of the mental hospital could have been shortened for more thrills.
So, I give this a 4/5. Defiantly go se it.
mSeliga
We recently found this picture which people seem to be saying is the Next-Gen iPod Nano. I'm sure I buy it, but it still does bring possibilities of what it could eventually be.
^From Digg^
mSeliga
If you are planning on taking a vacation anytime soon and want to take your laptop for some Wi-Fi/uber fast Internet time, think again. This map shows a good representation of where the Internet is restricted and regulated. No, the USA is not the worst.
mSeliga
