Read it and Wii-p...

Sorry, very bad pun but fitting of the following funny article...

The Wii is a Plastic Box of Death

And the winner is?

Why do we seem to need to compare systems in such a hostile way?

It always seems to be the same... Atari Vs Commodore, Sega Vs Nintendo, Microsoft Vs Just about everything on the planet.

It's actually the last one that I find a particular pain at the moment, particularly in relation to Windows Vs Mac.

I'm certainly not a fan of Bill and his chums but neither am I likely to deny the fact that Windows serves a purpose... as does Mac OS... as does Linux... as does every other operating system. Every Mac site I've seen insists on making a big show about how Macs are SO much better than PCs... how the hardware is 'better', the software 'more stable' etc... (you've all seen them so I won't list them all). And the number of students that come into my office suggesting that Apple is the way to go is just ridiculous.

Ask them what they like about Macs though and the answer is almost always the same... they look good.

Yup... ok... for the most part I'll give you that (though the minimalist white plastic look is getting a bit old). What else? Anything?

Don't get me wrong, I like Macs, and they have more going for them than just their looks. But... they're not better. Neither are they worse... just different.

It's about choosing the right 'tool' for the job.

Macs are a safe bet if you stick to the specific tasks/software available for them (which is quite a vast selection) but they are more expensive (no matter what the Mac users try to justify) and they no longer have the exclusive edge that they used to in terms of software for desktop publishing, music and graphics work. Just recently I had a Mac setup on my desk next to my main PC... £1000 of Mac with a very nice 17" widescreen TFT... unfortunately my £500 PC (including the 19" widescreen TFT) is the more useful by far for what I do.

The trick to PCs is their flexibility. We run well in excess of 170 different applications and Windows happily takes them on. If a piece of hardware goes wrong? We just whip it out and throw something else in... even if it is completely different from what it had before. Sure, this has the potential to give you some instability if you don't take the time to uninstall the previous drivers... but it'll still work! They may not look as 'nice' as a Mac (though they are rarely as ugly these days as the beige blocks that Mac users like to use as examples of a typical PC) and, due to their popularity, they are always going to suffer from attack from the virus writers (if you're looking to cause anarchy, which are you going to choose... the widespread popular to be unpopular Microsoft or the 'I'm your friend' little-guy Apple?).

As an ex-Unix, Novell and Real/32 (amongst others) administrator I've worked with a lot of different set ups. And I've used all of them in different scenarios (the recording for my band was done on a Mac using Pro Tools). I'd never dream of using anything other than Unix for a ultra-secure and stable commercial engineering system; and if I was building a media centre designed to go in the lounge, I'd be a little foolish to over look using something like a Mac mini... but for my day to day tasks? No question about it... PC all the way, I need the flexibility (and the games)!

My Point? Be happy and secure with what you've got. If you feel the need to justify what you've got or who you are by putting others down then you've probably got some issues you need to work on (and not many friends).

Guarding Vans... again!

It's no good... I gave in.

And now SOE have decided to raise the cost of Station Access, it's a good idea (cause I'd be paying for it anyway).

I bought Vanguard...

I know, I know... anyone who played on beta (or heard me complain about it) will be saying "Why?!?" but the truth of the matter is... it's actually quite good.

Well... it's better than it was on beta anyway. There are still a lot of rough edges and bugs, but you can see the potential, understand why they have created it. And when it's working as it should... it will be great!

So far I have yet to see a player's house or boat... but I'm sure it won't be too long (I know there are some out there from the Vanguard forums). I've already got my first horse at level 10 and it makes a fantastic difference because the world is HUGE. This obviously has it's pros and cons. It's great that there is so much space and so many places to go... but it's a pain that it can take (what seems like) forever to get there. Despite original claims that there would be no instant travel facility, they have caved-in to public opinion and now added this to several main areas (so I'm told).

The combat is pretty standard for this sort of MMO with the addition of special attacks and counter-attacks (which flash up when they are available). This makes it immediately accessible to anyone who's played an MMO before but also adds a little extra. And it's quite impressive to watch some of the more martial-arts based combat; my main character is a bladed-staff wielding Dark-Elf Disciple who seems to spend a lot of time spinning the staff around his head in a threatening manner that would give even the most hardened Health and Safety Inspector a heart-attack.

The crafting, on the other hand, is quite unusual in that it is turn-based and requires a little planning and thought to be able to successful product of any real quality. Each item, whether it's refining some raw material or creating a final product, go through four main phases. Each phase requires you to take several steps to increase the quality and/or progress of the crafting. Each of these steps will cost action points of which you only get a certain number (2000 to be precise) for each crafting session. Depending on the difficulty of the item you are crafting you'll find that you'll get a few 'complications' along the way that can change the effectiveness, quality or progress of your crafting... it can get quite complex and, for the first time crafter, seem quite daunting. Personally I've grown to like it... it's not quite as 'laid back' as the EQ2 twitch-crafting and far more involving that the casual instant-crafting of something like WoW.

All in all, it's a strange beast. Most of the people I'm spoken to have got some thing to complain about but, at the same time, something they REALLY like about it... and they're enjoying it.

Personally I like the fact that it's like EQ1... I don't necessarily like having everything handed to me on a plate like some of the 'current generation' MMOs. I was a little disappointed to see some really quite unforgiving reviews being given. PC Zone in particular gave it just 45 and from what they had written, it sounded like they'd only been playing the beta. On top of that, the general comments gave away the fact that they are quite obviously big fans of WoW and I couldn't help feeling that it was clouding their judgement unfairly (read it for yourself and by all means tell me I'm wrong). Perhaps some people have forgotten that these games are supposed to be RPGs... that's Role Playing Games. Not PvP perfect 'build' raid-a-thons. WoW is popular... and that's very different from being the best. I've got a WoW account (check out my character from the link on the right of my page) but because I wasn't really interested in the race to the end game, it proved quite boring. The graphics are cartoon-like and blocky, the mechanics all a bit 'Fisher Price' and the community is spoilt by childish 'duel me cause I'm 10+ levels higher than you' idiots (a bit like most non-clan Counter-Strike Source servers). But then I've said this all before...

There is a need for a decent MMORPG at the moment... something that really gets people excited. This isn't it... but it fills a hole.

We'll see what comes of the other new contenders this year... we may even see a return for one of the original heroes of MMORPGs, Ultima Online, as it hits it's 10th anniversary and a promise of something special.

At the end of the day, there's a lot going on and, in my opinion, it can only lead to bigger and better things...

Today's Hero - Dave "Shiny" Perry

All I can say is "Thank you Dave" for being the 'official' voice of reason when yet another pointless 'study' into why people do bad things pointed the finger at gaming!

This time it was into why drivers aged 16 to 24 drive fast (you can read the story here -> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6410061.stm )

It couldn't possibly be anything to do with their inexperience with driving and thinking they own the road; or that their favorite music just came on the stereo; or that they are just showing off... or just simply because they can.

Perhaps if they were taught the harsh realities of the road, they might think twice. The school I work in recently sent pupils along to a scheme run by the local emergency services where they simulated (in a very realistic fashion) the carnage caused by a road accident. The effect was impressive and the students that were there will remember it for some time... but attendance wasn't compulsory!

Getting your own car and license gives you freedom, social acceptability and power. You can go anywhere; do anything; and if you don't truly understand the consequences of your actions... you'll keep going until you do (speaking from my own experiences).

It's not everyone that does it and, if it was me conducting the survey, I'd be looking into why some of them don't drive fast or dangerously! If you can work that out, it wouldn't matter what outside influences you thought were affecting drivers.

For the record, unofficially of course, I probably drove too fast and dangerously for my first few years of driving... and until recently, I was never really a fan of driving games.

Dave Perry, I salute you.