Nachimir

I'm getting excited about GTA IV, and I never get excited about games, films, books, etc. I still enjoy half an hour in San Andreas now and then. I wonder if this panned out as a good source of content or a load of crap.

I've not tried it, but will do later this year: Rosetta Stone It's not a game or "fun" as such, but I've heard high praise for it because of the technique it uses to teach. Rather than translating languages into each other, it presents images with the equivalent words in the language you're trying to learn. You learn the language like a child would, which seems to be what human brains are optimised for. Pictures make things easier to retain, since long term memory works much more efficiently with image based rather than verbal data (A lot of the techniques used for memory feats, like memory palaces, are based on translating information into images for easy recall - knowing this is why I want to try Rosetta). A friend who tried it with Mandarin said it was very good, but redundant for him since his employer were paying him to take four hours of Chinese classes a day

Happy Birthday Wrestle I am regifting this excellent video of a redneck santa suckling a skinny elf

I'm not sure if you're addressing me or ThunderPeel (My "Meh" was a review of his review of the latest ZP ). I'm not saying the present ones are in any way bad, just that if they were monthly or bi-weekly, they'd each be a much bigger deal, and likely even better from Ben having more time to ruminate on them.

I find it quite funny that the 4chan kids have actually laid claim to the name Fox News sensationalised them under.

You're right. While they're entertaining now, they'd be a real treat if they were monthly.

They pretty much always make me laugh, he's a good writer, and one of a few who actually treat games as a cultural thing. ^ meh

I think the advertising engine has simply made a permanent association between you Thrik, and the words "bummed in the gob"

Obama FTW. I give him my internet vote. There should be something like the compass to make every decision for me

I'd heard this was a competent Tomb Raider-ish game and wasn't that bothered, but with a character like Mal Reynolds it seems a lot more compelling.

That's harsh, but well written I enjoyed Gears of War - possibly because I played coop with a very big guy who is absolutely terrified of the larger enemies in it, and as a result jumps up and down screaming like a little girl whenever things go a bit pear shaped. Even when I wasn't playing with the added entertainment value of a big wuss, coop was an okay experience. As my boss puts it, GoW is largely a very pretty version of space invaders, but it is fun.

Hmm, ok. I've been using an XP Corporate SP2 install that doesn't have the nagging. I've seen a little of Vista on a housemate's laptop. I'm pretty amused that the visible approach to security seems to be a prompt basically asking "Are you sure? Yes? Well okay then." rather than asking for a password. Also, my housemate is pretty severely dyslexic. Changing a lot of icons into text with patronising sentences underneath is a terrible, terrible decision, even for non-dyslexic usability. Even though the guy has coped with it okay for the past seven months, Vista is driving him up the wall and he's longing to go back to XP.

I tend not to forget that I need to restart at some point... a ten minute nag seems like a really bad idea. I've never seen that, is it a Vista thing?

This is too choppy on a Macbook, but excellent find Wrestle

Dan is on the money. I am not screwing my face up at you Joanna, just the idea of a birthday and a parallel afterbirthday

I am actually mildly delighted with this discovery Rodi, especially because it's impossible not to see now, yet I've never noticed it before To anyone displeased with it, may I suggest not shooting the messenger?

It's all about business at the front, party at the back. :O I can't look away!

Read Foucault's Pendulum, by Umberto Eco. It's a great book.

Happy Birthday Baby T! Aren't they just? Here's a picture of one playing Mass Effect: http://flickr.com/photos/tobybarnes/2180761262/

Yes, it shows you (some) sites of interest where you land, and allows you to set markers. There are also some hidden things, like minerals to prospect, that will only show up on the HUD scanner, but just as you describe, they're

You are obviously the best person evar.

I got to play this for a few minutes while Indiecade was in my town a few months ago. It is excellent, and rewires your brain in a similar way to Portal

There's a later chance to get some nookie if you keep chatting to your crew members on the Normandy between missions.

The doors could also be inconsistent, in that most open automatically when you're near them, but the occasional one needs you to press a button and wait. I suspect most of them, along with the slow lift in the Normandy, are workarounds for areas where the texture pop-in was particularly bad.