I will be on the Mashed Buttons Gamecast (Podcast) tonight at 7PM EST, 4PM PST. It's a podcast dedicated to video games and the gaming community. Check it out:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mashedbuttons-gamecast

Tags: podcast, mashedbuttons

Earlier today I went and got the link for the manual download of the iPhone 2.0 firmware and so far it's pretty nice, got a few apps installed and they're working pretty well. AIM is nice, and even though its from AOL, there are no ads like in the Windows versions, although I hope someone creates a 3rd party app that also incorporates Google Talk into it.

My main complaint with it is the lack of background processes. I enjoy talking to people through AIM and it'd be nice if I stayed online when I closed the app and even when i turn off the screen, so if someone IMs me, it notifies me as say an SMS message or an e-mail would, but alas it doesn't. Oh well, it is definitely a step in the right direction for Apple.

One nice little feature is the ability to easily create screenshots...

Update: From what I've been seeing, I'm glad I did this all last night, people seem to be having problems upgrading or for the new 3G customers, even ACTIVATING their new iPhones.

Tags: apple, iphone

While I initially debated upgrading my iPhone to the 3G model, I have since decided that it's just not worth it, for several reasons.

First, the new iPhone plans from AT&T now suck in comparison to the first gen iPhone plans. The voice plans remain the same from what I can see, but the data plan is now $10 more and does not include the 200 text messages like the old one did, so in order to get the "same plan" for the 3G iPhone, you'll be paying $15 extra a month. It may not seem like that much, but over the course of your 2 year contract, it adds up and even cancels out the cheaper price for the phone itself.

A second reason is that despite what others want to say, the battery life on the 3G model is noticeably worse than that with the original. The 3G drains the battery faster than does the EDGE network. Walt Mossberg has already reviewed it and said he barely got 4.5 hours out of it.

A third one is features. The 3G really only adds 2 new features. The first of course is the 3G network, and the 2nd is GPS. Yes the 3G network is faster than the EDGE network, but speed isn't everything. And GPS, on a phone, I could take it or leave it, especially since I would really only see it as useful for maybe driving, but i already have a car GPS system. Keep in mind that all the other features like the app store, etc are part of the 2.0 firmware which still will work just fine on the original models.

So while the 3G iPhone doesn't suck by any means, in fact it looks great, especially for someone who doesn't have an iPhone to begin with, for someone like me however; the new iPhone 3G doesn't pack enough of a punch to make me toss my current iPhone for the new model. Maybe in the future with newer iPhone models, but for now, I will be sticking with my current iPhone.

Tags: opinion, iphone, apple

So I just realized that some jerk-off stole 2 of my girlfriend's plants that were sitting on my porch for sunlight. OK...what asshole steals plants? What the fuck are you going to do with them? sell them? It's just sweet basil and parsley! News flash...They ain't worth much, so its not like you can freakin' resell them for much...if anything.

My girlfriend was proud of them, which is what causes me to be pissed off the most...that whatever douchebag decided it'd be fun to steal plants has in turn made my girlfriend upset, which means that I'm upset.

So to you Mr or Mrs Plant Thief...FUCK YOU!

Tags: rant, stupid, assholes

Many people already know my opinion on the current state of copyright laws here in America...they suck, they're outdated, and they cater too much to the copyright holders many times shafting the consumer like you would not believe. The latest item to piss me off was the recent decision by some technologically-impaired judge to order Google to release all logs from YouTube to Viacom. This is complete and utter bullshit. Viacom is currently suing Google over copyright violations on YouTube and initially wanted the source code of YouTube...are you freakin' kidding me? Source code, with the exception of open source, is the bread and butter of any software company...its often what gets the company their money. Fortunately the judge was no so tech-retarded to actually allow the source code to be given to Viacom, but in the meantime, something almost just as bad, if not maybe even worse came of it. All the logs from YouTube including what IP addresses/users watched, uploaded, etc. has been ordered to be given to Viacom from Google. The consumers...us...our activities will now be given to Viacom for them to look over. This could have some pretty big implications. Now I realize that while we all like to believe that on the internet we are anonymous, this is definitely by far, not the case, but for some half-witted judge to say that ALL users, EVERYONE, innocent or not to be given over for what may very well become a witch-hunt is in my opinion crossing way over the line. And this is what bugs me as it happens time and time again, judges, who are clueless about computers and technology, who probably know about as much about computers as my great-grandmother are benched for cases that are so technologically involved, you really do need someone who is familiar enough with technology to be able to properly preside over these cases...it's like me trying to run for President of the United States...I'm simply not qualified. And because of their ineptitude, which to be fair is not really their fault, bad decisions are made and poor precedents are set.

Now I do see where Viacom is coming from, they want to protect their copyrights which is understandable, but the methods they are using to do so, take it too far.

The RIAA and MPAA have long said that piracy has impacted their profits, but they convieniently leave out some details. Lets look at a music CD. Someone goes out and pirates it. The RIAA would say it lost a sale, and lost money because of that one person pirating it. But who's to say that that same person would've actually gone out and bought the CD had downloading it not been an option? With the prices of music CD's nowadays, it wouldn't be suprising to see people become very picky about what CD's would be good enough to buy if piracy were not an option. And if they wouldn't have bought the CD under normal circumstances, did the RIAA really lose a sale?

This brings me to my final point, piracy of anything, while I don't condone, can also help all industries I think, and here's how. Say that same person just pirated that CD and ended up having a little party. During that party, he/she plays that CD. Other people then start liking the CD as well and want to know what band it is...what just happened? I don't know about you, but I call that advertising. Other party guests who may never have heard of the band, the CD, or the song, have now heard it and may very well start to like it, enough to go out and buy the CD. So while the RIAA "lost" 1 sale, it may have gained several more. Now yes, these guests could just ask for a burned copy of it, but it still gets the band's name out there which I'm sure is what the RIAA wants, even though they will probably never admit to it.

And YouTube fits this perfectly, especially for someone like me who rarely even watches TV. Clips from TV shows, music videos, movie trailers, even if not uploaded officially, still get the content out there for people to see and essentially advertising for the copyright holder. Obviously if a full TV show episode or movie is uploaded, that would cross the line, but a 30 second clip, or a trailer for a movie? give me a break. It may be your [Viacom's] copyright, but it still gives you publicity. Oh yeah...and this whole suing Google/YouTube...Well Viacom, its also gives you a lot of publicity...only its not the good kind of publicity, its the bad kind, the kind that will make me and I'm sure many others despise you and avoid you when possible, and maybe even when not possible.

In the meantime, these two videos go back a little ways, back during the writer's strike, but they're a good way to leave off...

Tags: google, youtube, viacom, copyrights