Important Update!

...at least, that's what Microsoft tell me!

Today (just a moment ago in fact) I was informed by my laptop that Windows needed to install an important update. I don't tend to check these very carefully when they come through, mainly because I have more interesting ways to spend my time, but also because Microsoft are in the habit of subtly hiding away the real reason for an update. In the past they have released 'critical' updates that turn out to be no more than their 'Genuine Advantage Tool' (AKA anti-piracy tool). Now I've got no real issue with this to be fair, as I own legitimate copies of Windows... but I don't like the idea of Microsoft digging round my PC just because they feel like it... especially when they're not very forthcoming about it.

In the past, the Genuine Advantage Tool was fairly easy to spot. It has a distinctive name and required you to sign an extra EULA to allow Microsoft free reign to your life. Today, it would appear that it is simply know as "Update for Windows Vista (KB940510)" and is there to protect me from dodgy hardware and software merchants palming off illegal copies of Vista.

So why the step backwards? Why, when they got burnt before with XP Service Pack 1, are they once again 'telling' illegal users to turn off the automatic updates... putting themselves and everyone else at risk again?

I'll be honest and say I don't know. It could be that they feel that Windows Vista is now stable enough to not be a threat (unlikely) but more likely that they just haven't shifted enough units yet and they're starting(?!) to look bad. Of course, the easy solution to that would be to give people a reason to upgrade to Vista... not try and bully people in that direction.

The message I'm trying to get across in this post? Simple... try judging things from our perspective Mr Gates! This update is neither important or relevant... spend more time fixing your software please!

eBad?

Hmmm... having the 360 seems to have caused a bit of a chain reaction.

Not content with buying more games than I have time to play on my PC, I'm now doing the same for the 360. This hasn't been helped by my frequent visits to eBay in an attempt to pick up a few bargains...


So far this week I have managed to get both Crackdown and Kane and Lynch... and I've not completed Mass Effect yet or really played much of Saint Row!

...or Guitar Hero II and III

...or Skate (although I have already clocked up quite a lot of time :P)

...or Burnout Paradise

...or Air Combat 6

...or any of the other games I've got!

Is that wrong? Does it actually matter? Do I really care? Probably not if I'm honest... I'll just play whatever I'm in the mood for :D

At the moment, that seems to be quite a lot of Crackdown and Skate. Both quite casual games that I can drop in, blast away for a bit and then just save and quit. As today is the last day of the current half-term, my attention span is reasonably short and I'm not really in the mood for gripping stories or involving combat... point, click, boom... suits me just fine.

I have, however, discovered a slight problem with a lot of these games... multi-player is only possible through Xbox Live. So K can't really join in the fun... she either has to sit and watch me play or I have to sit and watch her play. More often than not, one of us just ends up going in the other room to use their PC... maybe it's time to move the TV into the other room... or get another TV and 360 :P

Mass Infected...

So... birthday has long since passed, and an enjoyable one it was.

As per usual I got spoilt rotten with a video camera (from K), Burnout Paradise and Skate (from Connell and Anna) and then Mass Effect and Saint Row (from my folks). My birthday was definitely a time for Xbox 360 games (in the same way that Christmas was PC games heaven).

Out of the games from Connell and Anna, I was surprised to find that I've been spending far more time playing Skate than I have Burnout Paradise! Not that I dislike Burnout Paradise, it rocks, just that I really like Skate. I've never really been a fan of skateboarding games in the past, but after playing the demo of Skate I was hooked... it's just so easy to do incredibly cool (and superbly stupid) tricks and stunts.

That said, I think I've spent rather too much (show)time smashing my car at high speed in Burnout Paradise... the slo-mo crashes are just fantastic!

Unfortunately for both those games, however, was the arrival of Mass Effect. While they got a lot of play time before it arrived... Mass Effect is pretty much the only game I'm playing on my 360 at the moment. I could go on for pages and pages about how good the graphics are, the story, the side missions and the characters... but there are hundreds of websites that have already covered all that (and more) and have done it more justice than I would...

As if that wasn't enough, we also had a LANFix session on Saturday (the 2nd). Unlike the last few sessions we've had, this was purely a Counter-Strike Source session. With myself, Die Master, Grizzly, Bones, Viper, Hollywod and Beserker on-site and Toca joining us remotely from his island fortress, an enjoyable time was had by all (and most of it caught on my new camera). The statistics speak for themselves of course *flex* (good to know I've still got 'the skillz').

An (un)fortunate extra from the LAN session was the re-introduction of EVE Online into my life. Having successfully got my MMO habit down to just two again (EQ2 and LotRO), Bones managed to convince me to get back into EVE and see what's changed... if only I didn't have to work for a living eh?!?

Sorry guildies... I'm still here really... just a little distracted ;)