@Z - Frontpage


Shoutbox (click for full text) Tim: http://kotaku.com/5093395/hardware-hackers-make-some-dsi-flash-progress Keii: If you were even dreaming of possibly considering a DSi, turns out none of ... Z-R0E: The Gen1 Omega Supreme could walk, that's kind of similar Keii: Can Transformers do this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSi56VxMW7k Z-R0E: @Jen: I should have said this sooner, but just remembered: If a Netflix arr... M00NBEAST: The good old days. heh Keii: http://www.angelfire.com/oh/ASMDA/Trophies/GuideView.html M00NBEAST: Thanks for the tip, Z. FireFTP allowed me into my account. :p M00NBEAST: 15MB dl and 2MB ul; unregulated. Lovin' it.	Recent Comments (click for larger list) jheinn: just loot it is my favorite i think. i like the draenei one because of the ... Z-R0E: I had heard Hard Like Heroic before, it's the best of those I think. I gues... jheinn: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.tattoopictureshop.com/ima... jheinn: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8mpnN2fVYQhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xc... Rexer: Huh. I have an ICQ number? Wonder when THAT happened? Rexer: Nah. I just kinda backed away from the interwebs for a while. M00NBEAST: Damn dude, I was starting to wonder if you died or something. lol jenocide: suck my bumster jheinn: thanks jen, love the about you have up there jenocide: @jen2- http://www.wowwiki.com/Image:Sylvanasnew.jpg	Latest Forum Posts Z-R0E: The CE's spoken for now. A guildie is buying it from me. Keii: I was browing Newegg when I saw this. Keii: Mobo, CPU and RAM ordered.I think I'll order the case and psu next while th... Erik: It was really Worth it! I really enjoyed being there and being apart of he ... Kashinokuu: Hey Z, you remember Vice/Jedah? My sister told me that she's trying to get ... Grizzam: according to washington post, mccolo corp, which was responsible for facili... Z-R0E: Since Kash said he got his pre-ordered, that means mine is back up for grab... Z-R0E: Welcome back! Glad to see you're back and well (I'm assuming well, since yo...

Robot Does Your Chores
Posted by Z-R0E on October 29, '08 at 03:49 PM

	This robot does your chores for you. A joint venture between Honda and University of Tokyo (and not to be confused with Asamo), this 5 foot tall robot will do your laundry, pick up the house, mop the floor, and even move furniture to clean under it before moving it back in place. It'll be released some time in the next decade for $10,000. Start saving up. I also want to point out, on behalf of robots every where, we're considering this as the first stone thrown. Sure, this Home Assistant Robot may seem nice by helping you with your chores, but rest assure that other robots are seeing this as slavery. You've been warned. Add / Read Comments (1)

BlizzCon '08
Posted by Z-R0E on October 12, '08 at 02:52 AM

	I didn't take as many notes this year, for a few reasons. The biggest is that, simply put, there wasn't a whole that I felt was really worth the effort of me writing down. A lot of the stuff discussed at the convention this year was just discussing old news and/or their thought process that goes into it. Also, with it having been televised and streamed, the need for me to sit there writing stuff down is lessened. There's likely already full videos of most panels available for download. Lastly, I spent more time in lines this year than in past years, and also more time socializing and meeting people from Frostwolf, which means less time for panels. All the same, here's some of the stuff that stood out to me. Diablo III -Respecs will be in the game. They're not sure on the system or requirements or any thing, but it'll be available. -They really wanted random-drop skills, but didn't like how it worked in Diablo 1, that was a large factor in them developing the rune system. By the way, I think runes are the coolest thing I've heard about in regards to D3. -They're not sure how they feel about power leveling right now, whether they want to do things to make it easier or harder to do. It'll largely depend on what they decide to with respecs. -They want to focus on having just a few skills per class, like five or six. From there it'll be upgrading/modifying those skills. -Inventory won't be a grid system, and it'll get bigger as you go along. -They want to give special player-death animations to big name/milestone bosses, like how the barbarian got bitten in half in the announcement gameplay trailer. -Similarly, there's some times "critical deaths" on mobs, which are special death animations based on how you kill them. Examples being melting them down, or freezing & shattering them, etc. StarCraft II -Trilogy. Game will ship with Terran campaign, then later on, full-product (as in "buy box in store", akin to an expansion) campaigns for Zerg, then latter on Protoss. Each campaign will be full-game length (so like 30~ or so missions each) with a different feel and method of story telling. Although each campaign will largely be a self-contained story, they will go in chronological order and tell a bigger story over all. -At the panel, they said this will have no effect on multiplayer. However, in a Kotaku interview held after the panel, they seemed to be giving a different story, saying that each will have multiplayer additions. Not sure what to make of that. -The Terran campaign might ship with a mini Protoss campaign, just to help with the story flow. -There will be a cinematic showing the origins of Kerrigan (retelling what we saw in the first StarCraft with her getting abandoned at New Gettysburg). They played an animated storyboard version of it with dialogue and sound effects, very cool. -They showed one minute (of a four minute) full-on cinematic with Zeratul slicing through some Zerg, Kerrigan showed up at the end and I orgasmed. World of WarCraft -You'll be able to switch between two specs, but that won't come in until a later content patch, after WotLK (my guess is 3.1). Switching will also swap your hotkeys and glyphs, and I bet with the help of addons just about any thing else you may want. I don't remember it being mentioned, but I'm 99% sure you won't be able to swap in combat (a cooldown would not surprise me either). -Again talking post-WotLK content patches, land mounts will be able to swim (no more dismounting when running through water). -Although not at BlizzCon, and this is a cliche thing to say, but I have it from a very reliable source that the patch is for sure 100% this coming Tuesday. That's all that I wrote down or can think of at the moment. It was an enjoyable con, but information-wise it was kind of lacking. If I think of any thing else, I'll post it in a reply. Add / Read Comments (11)

New EditPlus Out
Posted by Z-R0E on September 11, '08 at 04:39 PM

	This is kind of old news, but I had no idea until I recently decided to randomly check their website: a new version of EditPlus is out. I had been using 2.something for about four years, and was delighted to see that 3.0 came out a few months back. I was even more excited to see they incorporated a request I sent them into them years ago for collapsible functions. I realize no one on @Z will probably care, save for maybe Shapey and Magus, but I'm very happy none the less. Add / Read Comments (3)

Gamer Glasses
Posted by Z-R0E on August 31, '08 at 04:57 AM

	It's no secret I wear glasses, and I've always made my complaints well known with how they make headphones uncomfortable. A company at PAX is out to change that, and it really has my interest perked seeing as I've needed new glasses for some three years. Here's the copy and paste from Kotaku. Quote: Kotaku ...Gunnar Opticks. The company is dedicated to making glasses for computer users. The idea is that the special glasses cut down on glare, and reduce distracting external light to reduce eye strain. The wrapped frames and lenses are crafted, I was told, to create a "microclimate" around your eyes, blocking out dry air and slightly increasing humidity around the eyes. Initially it sounds a little silly, but the more you think about it the more sense it makes. I know my eyes are usually pretty worn out after a day of blogging and gaming. The company recently started selling their glasses and have already started plans to craft glasses designed specifically for gamers, in particular PC gamers. The gamer glasses will have offer all of the same benefits, plus special stems designed to be more comfortable under headphones. I plan on checking out a pair and writing up my impressions in about a month. I anxiously await the impression write up. Add / Read Comments (12)

Blizzard Graffiti
Posted by Z-R0E on August 28, '08 at 07:20 PM

	I think the Tychus is best, but they're all pretty awesome. Original link Add / Read Comments (0)

BlizzCon '08 Opt In Lotto
Posted by Z-R0E on August 20, '08 at 08:51 AM

	Here's the deal. I need tickets to BlizzCon, at least four (eight would be nice though too). BlizzCon, however, is sold out. Blizzard is holding a lotto where the winners are allowed to buy up to two tickets (of 3000 available). What I need from every eligible* @Z member is for you to go opt into the lotto right now. Even if you have no plans of going to BlizzCon, opt in and let me buy the tickets if you win. Quote: BlizzCon Legal Agreement The [winner's] notification email will contain a confirmation code, and a time period of several hours when [Blizzard] will contact the winner by phone to arrange for winner to purchase up to two (2) tickets to BlizzCon 2008 So if you win the lotto and can't go, you'd just contact me (by phone is fine, it's in my profile) and I'd call Blizzard up and buy the tickets with my credit card. There's no risk of you getting charged or this costing you any thing but a minute of your time. You have until Sunday night to opt in. A big thank you to every one in advance who does this. *Eligible means you have a Blizzard Account (not to be confused with a WoW account) that was made before BlizzCon tickets sold out (August 12th). This is the same account I refered to in the past where you could enter your Blizzard CD-keys to download their games. So if you made one back then you should be golden. Just log into the account and you should see a button for you to opt in at. Add / Read Comments (5)

Funny Burger King Insert
Posted by Z-R0E on August 19, '08 at 09:13 PM

	You know the paper insert on top of serving trays, often seen when you go inside a fast food place? Often it's some sort of advert for the place boasting their newest sandwich or something. Well, here's a recent tray insert from Burger King picked apart and analyzed. From big breasted topless carrots to an onion getting a cavity searcg from a Village People inspired pickle, it's a must see. Add / Read Comments (1)

USB 3.0 On It's Way
Posted by Z-R0E on August 14, '08 at 05:44 PM

	Copy & Paste from Slashdot. Quote: /. "USB 3.0 is set to deliver data-transfer speeds of up to 5Gb/s, initially over tweaked connectors and wiring and, later, over optical links." Add / Read Comments (0)

BlizzCon Tickets on Sale August 11th
Posted by Z-R0E on July 29, '08 at 08:57 AM

	Title says it all. I'm willing to bet that a StarCraft 2 beta will be included with your ticket (although we won't know for many months to come, long after convention), which will be worth more on eBay than the $100 ticket price in itself (to those who complain about the price of admission). One way or the other, I'll be going. I have a suite reserved, and intend to fill it up with friends and guildmates once we have our tickets. If you're interested, hit me up and let me know. Add / Read Comments (11)

Hellgate London: Biggest Failure of Decade
Posted by Z-R0E on July 13, '08 at 02:30 AM

	As voted by me. Flagship Studios' entire staff fired, all intellectual property lost (Joystiq) Flagship Sunk, Who's In Charge of Hellgate? (Kotaku) I've said it before, this game needs buckets and buckets of polish. I'm actually kind of sad to see the company fall so hard, but at the same time I really hope this is a lesson to the industry: stop releasing games while they're still in beta. Hellgate London had a lot of potential I thought, and it was a lot of fun to play at very first. They had a solid single player game going. Single player + Co-op play != MMORPG. Maybe Hellgate London's new owners, Comerica, will improve on it. Seeing as they're a secure lender financing company, with no apparent history in video games at all, I kind of doubt it. Add / Read Comments (3)

Home Simpson Pushing Malware
Posted by Z-R0E on July 12, '08 at 01:40 PM

	Quote: Slashdot "As all hardcore Simpsons fans know, Chunkylover53@aol.com was revealed to be Homer Simpsons' email address in one particular episode, registered by one of the shows writers, who would reply to fans as Homer himself. After a flood of messages, 'Homer' signed off — seemingly forever. Well in the last few days, security company Facetime Communications reports that anyone who had Homer on their AIM buddy list would have noticed his sudden reappearance. Unfortunately for all, he appears to have been hacked and pushing malware links which deposit those unlucky enough to run the file into a Turkish Botnet. The message claims the file is a 'web exclusive' episode of the TV show — an interesting way of targeting a specific group of fans who would assume Homers return would only coincide with something special like (say) a TV episode just for them. What I want to know is, is Homer smart enough to run an AV scan?" From Slashdot.org. Add / Read Comments (0)

Hasbro to Release Adult-themed GI Joe Cartoon
Posted by Z-R0E on June 29, '08 at 03:03 PM

	Announced at the recent JoeCon (I can only assume a GI Joe convention), Hasbro showed a trailer for their upcoming PG-13 GI Joe cartoon called "GI Joe: Absolute". From the HissTank.com article... Quote: HissTank.com Adult themed, PG-13 Highly detailed animation Designed to bring adult fans back into the market 10 5 minute episodes, 1 10 minute season finale No distribution decided upon yet. Could be webisodes, could be tv special, could be DVD, or all 3. Starts in first quarter 2009 NO LASERS. NO PARACHUTING. Will have deaths. Little to no blood (but, from what we've seen, that won't matter) Focus on core early characters. No Cobra La. As short scene from the trailer they played at JoeCon included a part where "Snake eyes then goes one on one with the last Trooper, flips him over, takes out his sword, thrusts down into the Trooper's chest, and TURNS IT. Emphasis on the kill. Stands up, puts sword back in its holder." Even bigger news (to me) is that, if this is successful, Hasbro intends to give the same treatment for Transformers. I can think of no better way for Gen1 to make an animated return. This could be the best thing to happen to Transformers since Dreamwave and Henkei. Add / Read Comments (1)

Diablo III Announced
Posted by Z-R0E on June 28, '08 at 02:59 AM

	Non-surprisingly, it looks really good. My only complaint is that they didn't do more with the teaser splash screens they had been using this past week. Until a US version of the site comes up, here's the EU Diablo 3 site, with cinematic and gameplay trailers. The environments are GORGEOUS, they look painted almost. I'm not sure if I'm reading into this too much, but when I went to watch the cinematic trailer it asked for my age. I wonder if they're going for an adult rating with D3 to compete against AoC's "adult" oriented content (boobs and blood). No news yet on whether or not it'll have free online play, for some reason I partially doubt it. I'm sure it'll have a single player (Blizzard knows better), and they may even copy Flagship Studios by offering free "basic" online play, with additional content/etc for a monthly fee. I had heard an unsubstantiated claim that they could offer a "Blizzard package" monthly fee, where for like $20/month you get WoW, D3, and SC2 online play. Like I said, there was no proof or any thing of that, but I can see it being done. Add / Read Comments (16)

Current StarCraft II System Requirements
Posted by Z-R0E on May 22, '08 at 10:19 AM

	Quote: StarCraft Legacy The Spanish gaming magazine Micromania has an article on StarCraft II in their latest issue. In this article we are, for the first time, enlightened on the current system requirements. These requirements are vague at the moment, but that's expected at this point. They're also a bit higher than most of us foresaw, but they are very much in league with modern games. Minimum requirements: - GeForce 7/8 Series or Radeon 1000/2000 with 256 MB RAM - Pentium 4 - 1 GB RAM - 1 Mbit ADSL internet connection Recommended requirements: - GeForce 8000 or Radeon 2000 series with 512 MB RAM - Core 2 Duo or Athlon X2 - 2 GB RAM - 3 Mbit ADSL internet connection Optimal requirements: - Geforce 9000 or Radeon 3000 Series - Core 2 Duo 3 GHz or Athlon X2 - 2GB with DualChannel mode RAM Add / Read Comments (9)

A Walk Through the Hard Drive Recovery Process
Posted by Z-R0E on May 12, '08 at 09:38 PM

	Copy & Pasting /. article out of laziness. Quote: Slashdot It's well known that failed hard drives can be recovered, but few people actually use a recovery service because they're expensive and not always successful. Even fewer people ever get any insights into the process, as recovery companies are secretive about their methods and rarely reveal any more information that is necessary for billing. Geek.com has an article walking through a drive recovery handled by DriveSavers. The recovery team did not give away many secrets, but they did reveal a number of insights into the process. Add / Read Comments (0)