Malik
(5/2/11)
I'm back from my overly
long hiatus. Well, I'm almost back. My goal when I vanished a couple
weeks ago was to first find a new web host. After some issues with a
certain company that owns a couple dozen hosting companies but keeps
the info on the down low (let's just say this company is not one I
wanted to use), I came across WebHostingHub and I think all of that
is settled. Officially, it should be settled in the next 24 hours
when my domain is officially transferred away from my old company. I
will not get into details, since we live in a lawsuit trigger-happy
type of society, but I'll just say that my old company was not my
idea of good. In fact, my old company was nothing short of miserable
to work with due to a horrible customer support system that cannot
seem to agree with itself when it comes to TOS violations and
refuses to offer clear help in such cases. Anyway, I had a minor TOS
issue due to my old forums, which will probably never return to
Geek-Asylum, and even deleting the SQL files associated with them
didn't solve the TOS issue (which my old host said could be solved
by deleting the offending SQL...go figure).
I have to say
WebHostingHub has been nothing short of amazing so far, and a fair
bit cheaper on the price point than my old host ever was. Beyond
that, WebHostingHub has some really amazing customer support (when
they say to expect a reply in the next day for a support ticket, it
turned into a reply and a course of action in about 2
minutes...that's what I call good support).
I also aimed to have a
new layout and web design in place when I returned. Well,
financially, that must wait. I need a new HTML program, and those
cost money. FrontPage was nice, and it does it's job, but I need to
enter the modern age. That will come in the next couple of months,
but will wait for now. There is just too much to talk about that I
need to get out there before it's all old news.
Ok, to keep things on
track, but short...Project Cafe. Yes, the next Wii is on it's way,
according to Nintendo, and we'll see some major info around this
summer when it's officially revealed. Until then, it all seems to be
speculation. I mean I've seen, without any solid proof to back it
up, news of how Cafe will have a better processor than the PS3, more
memory than anything out there, a Blu-Ray drive, touch screens in
all controllers (that will definitely suck when you aim to pick up
enough controllers for four player actions...the price...), HD
visuals, and some are talking about 3D capability. All I can say is
that this doesn't sound like Nintendo. I mean this will be expensive
and it sounds more focused on technology than being accessible and
friendly to families.
However, my main thought
is that this is not the console for me. I mean it sounds cool, but
didn't the N64 sound cool before launch? Didn't the Gamecube sound
cool before launch? Didn't the Wii sound cool before launch? This
does too. But, didn't the N64, GCN, and Wii all suffer from the same
damned problem? I'm talking about this simple question; what have
you been playing on your Wii? It's a current generation console and
I have not touched that thing since Final Fantasy IV: The After
Years came along. I should play Epic Mickey (Velveta got me it for
Christmas...but I've been so behind on games due to the Steam
holiday sales), but that would be one single game after a year and a
half of not touching the Wii. I may have spent more money on the 360
(~$650 without tax due to a non-red ring death of my first console)
or PS3 ($400 for the Drake's Fortune 120GB Bundle), but they were
far more worth the price. Without counting added functions (I use
the 360 for Netflix nearly every day), and just looking at games,
the Wii is still not looking like a good cost for the lack of
entertainment I've gotten from it.
In the end, I can name
all of the games I enjoyed on the Wii without much effort. Super
Mario Galaxy 1&2, Zelda: Twilight Princess, FFIV: The After Years,
Wii Sports, Wario Ware, and...that's it. Now if I name the games I
just couldn't enjoy due to being lame games, or due to the motion
control screwing things up, then I just wouldn't know where to
start. The opposite is true for the 360 and PS3. I can't name all of
the games I've enjoyed because there are just too many.
So, while I'd love to
remain with a console from Nintendo for future Zelda and Mario
stuff, I just cannot explain the justification for that purchase. We
live in a bad economy, and I don't see it getting much better in the
next year or two (when I'd expect to see Cafe released), so that
type of purchase needs to be well justified. That's a lot of money,
and with the rumors having a chance of being real, this could be an
expensive system with expensive controllers (remember, Nintendo
always sells a console at a price to make a profit or at least break
even). Sorry, but unless Nintendo does something huge soon to redeem
themselves, I cannot afford a fourth lame duck console from them in
a row. Maybe if a friend picks one up, I'll happily play it, but I
don't see the Cafe coming into my home anytime in the future.
Nintendo may make some good first party titles (although a few on
the Wii were absolute crap compared to how the first party stuff
seemed on the GCN and N64), but unless third party support is real
for once, Cafe is looking like a true successor to the Wii...a dust
magnet that doesn't do a damned thing in my home except sit there
taking up space.
Malik |
Malik
(5/6/11)
I not doing the postings
as often as I was hoping, now that I'm back. I think my brain has
just been getting too much of a work out each day this week to even
consider trying to put words to virtual paper. However, I can now
say the entire site changes, at least on the technical level, are
done and Geek-Asylum is now officially with a solid and professional
new host and the domain has finished transferring along with the
server space. Now I just need to bring the site design into the last
half decade and all will be good with this long overdue reboot.
I've been meaning
to talk about the Sony PSN issue for a while but only now have the
time and mental energy to get to it.
First off, I have
to say the obvious; I hate hackers and what they stand for. I mean
they are a standard part of our current world, without a doubt.
However, it's a part of the world in which we live that we can all
happily do without. They come up in any electronic service at one
time or another. It can be minor, like the Anonymous denial of
service attacks or larger data theft jobs. No matter what, it will
always exist and will always remain a part of our lives. Ever since
the digital world became a part of the common every day life they
have existed.
First a quick side
note, or not, since Anonymous is now being implicated in some ways
by Sony (Sony has implied that the Anonymous attack led to a
security hole that made the data theft possible...is that true? Who
knows for sure...). Anonymous really does piss me off. While I can
understand the philosophy they live by, I cannot see how the ends or
the means do anything constructive. They remind me of a child who
just learned a swear word. The child will use it in many ways, to
look and sound "cool", to anger authoritative figures, or just for
the pure rush of adrenaline of doing something "wrong". However,
that kid is doing nothing that will make progress in the world by
uttering this forbidden word.
That seems to be
how Anonymous works. They know, as a group, that a denial of service
attack is in their abilities. It's not hard to pull off with a large
enough group. However, what does it do? When Sony was hit, it cost
Sony almost nothing, except a minor PR hit. Actually, the PR hit is
easily navigated by just pointing out how a group that has become so
ubiquitous with annoying the digital world (Anonymous) caused it. As
for the service going down...Sony has the know how to overcome that
consequence pretty quickly. A day later and all will be back to
normal. It really serves no purpose for a major company to be hit
with a denial of service attack in the long run. The end result is
useless. As for the means or the method, it's a bunch of people
being jerks and trying to exert their authority on others...in the
name of allowing freedom in most instances. So, in the name of
people being able to have freedom to mod or hack the PS3, or (with
Amazon/WikiLeaks in the last year) to leak potentially confidential
data to the world, Anonymous is forcing their will on others. It's
like telling people to "live free and be happy...or I will force you
to!" It's an absolute contradiction.
Most of all, Sony
takes a minor PR hit and an almost negligible fiscal hit for a sort
term denial of service attack. On the other hand, the common people,
who Anonymous seem to claim they represent in their ideals, are now
forced to not play a round of an online game when they want. The
people are not allowed to pick up that new add-on for a game that
they really wanted. The people all take a minor hit to their
freedoms (like the freedom to play a game to relax when their want
to) by the millions. This ultimate impact is far worse in scale than
what Sony feels. In the name of the people, the people are hit the
worst. It's like a teacher punishing an entire class for one
student's actions in the name of helping all the students learn
better.
If Anonymous wants
to punish and force their "justice" on those they hold to be evil
and immoral, then they shouldn't hit the rest of us in the process.
I don't use PSN much, but I do occasionally download some game
content or demos. Well, I've been now without that ability for a
while due to their "justice" being enforced on me. I might add, I
actually have no problem with the release of the Playstation 3
encryption key for game lockout data (the entire thing that brought
about the Anonymous attack was Sony fighting against this
information release). So, I ask Anonymous, since I can only speak
for myself and not the millions of other PSN users; what did I do
wrong to bring about your vengeance on me? Also, another question;
Anonymous, did you ever realize that your actions could bring larger
problems like the data theft? I mean you can say if I drive over the
speed limit, then I face the consequence of a speeding ticket...but
there can be more severe consequences beyond that, like causing an
accident, hitting a child that didn't look both ways, causing a road
rage problem...everything can go beyond the short term and if you
cannot let yourself think out the possibilities, then you have no
right to inflict "justice" on the wrong-doers of the world.
As for the data
theft...I think it's obvious how I, or any sane person, feels about
this. It's bullshit, plain and simple. I mean we are all facing an
unknown on what actual data is gone (Sony does think PSN related CC
numbers were taken...unless they can be certain, then I don't feel
reassured...and Sony Online people are looking at CC number theft)
and what may come from this. However, while it's easy to blame the
known parties, I cannot blame Sony. This type of crap happens, and
even if they could have protected the data better, I imagine their
security is more than us average geeks keep implying it is. They
didn't just leave the info in a box by the dumpster behind their
offices, like many web comics have implied in the last couple of
weeks. They could have stronger security, but then again...isn't it
nice how we, in hind sight, can be so damned "smart" when Sony,
without hind sight, was so "stupid" with security? Then again, if we
were all so "smart" then why the hell do any of us use debit or
credit cards and not PSN cards or disposable credit cards for our
purchases online? I guess maybe we are not nearly as "smart" as we
think in the eyes of someone using their hind sight.
As for the
universal thought that went on until Sony announced a month of free
PSN Plus for all; what do I think Sony owes us for this loss of
data? Not a damned thing. We don't pay Sony to guard our personal
data. In many cases, we don't pay Sony for online services at all.
PSN is free, and only PSN Plus users have a right to complain about
compensation (as well as Sony Online customers who pay to play MMOs).
They are all being taken care of with service additions to make up
for lost paid time. Sony could do a lot of things to make the PR hit
less severe, but they have given more than they ever needed to by
giving a month of PSN Plus. Sony doesn't owe the average (non-paying
PSN user) a game, money, or anything beyond letting us know about
the compromised personal data. That they did...although it would
have been nicer to know sooner, but even that is not an issue.
While many like to
think of their PSN account and their PS3 as some family member or a
pet or something, it's all Sony. The thing about Sony is that they
want to make money as a business and they have a careful path to go
down that goes between having good income and good PR to ensure more
income. In the end, they could do some things better, but that's
hind sight again. If we all get time machines and can travel back to
warn Sony, then our hind sight will pay off. If not, then we all
need to just learn whatever lessons apply to ourselves and stop the
bitching and moaning like spoiled children who just learned a new
swear. Yes, in responding to all of this, the people of Anonymous
seem to have made on accomplishment; they turned us all, on average,
into spoiled children.
Of course, the one
lesson I've learned, beyond how much I continue to dislike Anonymous
and their forced methods to impose freedom, is that it doesn't
matter as much as we all seem to think it does. I had plenty of
other things to keep me occupied while PSN was wonky, and this just,
in the end, doesn't really matter.
Malik |