Be afraid, be very afraid.

We’re headed for the SGC in Dallas tomorrow. For you n00bs out there, that’s the ScrewAttack Gaming Convention. This will quite possibly be the largest gaming conventions to hit Texas or anywhere else for that matter. And of course, where would we rather be?  Keira Knightley’s pool excluded, of course.

As I write this little tidbit of information, the Reckon Crew has made it back home safely from our “prep” meeting. If you guessed that this meeting involved mass quantities of alcohol, you would be correct. However, the meeting also covered some key points about the event and what we plan on doing once we get there.

So, let’s think about what there is to do at the SGC tomorrow… Want to hear what the (arguably) father of the modern gaming has to say? Well, Nolan Bushnell will be on hand to give the keynote address as well as sign your old copy of Centipede. Want to see how you stack up against other gamers in the world in regards to how quickly you can get the dust out of an old NES cartridge and get it fired up and ready to play? There’s an event for that. Want to find out exactly how good your passenger seat directions are? Compete in the partners’ Pac-Man competition where the person playing wears a blindfold while you tell them which way to go.

This is definitely the event to beat. There will be a multitude of tabletop RPGs to play, video games to try out, competitions to compete in, as well as a who’s who guest list of the gaming world. The aforementioned Nolan Bushnell will be on hand and if you ever wanted to ask Jack Thompson (ya know, the lawyer from Florida who thinks all versions of GTA are the gateway drug to murder?) just why his hair looks the way it does, now’s your chance.

Parties galore, celebrity gamers, cosplay contests, dogs and cats living together, MASS HYSTERIA!!! It will all be there if you’re one of the fortunate who will be attending the SGC. If you are, make sure to look for the Reckon Crew for some goodies. We’ll be out in force with the schwag and if we like you enough (or if you buy us a drink), we’ll be sure to give you some.

Gritskrieg - End of Line

No, not that Bing...

If you haven’t been paying attention or live deep underground, you may not know that Microsoft has a new search engine called Bing. You also may not know that Microsoft’s entry into the search engine fray is actually as an underdog, unusual territory for the software giant.

However, recent numbers show that Bing is gaining a market share of Web searches. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a large share but when you consider how many people use search engines, any positive change in a market share of millions is a step in the right direction.

Data from Dublin based StatCounter shows that Microsoft’s Bing took 8.23 percent of U.S. web searches in June, up from the 7.81 percent market share Microsoft controlled prior to Bing’s rollout. Google, on the other hand, dropped from 78.72 percent prior to Bing’s launch to 78.48 percent. Yahoo also showed an increase from 10.99 to 11.04 percent.

While these numbers might not mean much to you and I, it does mean that Microsoft may be making some headway in the market. Good news for the giant considering they are currently losing money on their new search engine. If the trend continues, the gamble may just pay off for Microsoft in the long run.

Other data research firms are expected to release figure in mid-July which should either confirm or disprove the apparent trend.

Who would have thought Microsoft would ever be a David to anyone else’s Goliath?

 [Source]

Gritskrieg - End of Line

Never to late to swtich teams now!

Soon all of you World of Warcraft players will be able to choose to play for the ‘other side’ if you get tired of looking at orcs, trolls and undead (oh my). Today Blizzard Entertainment announced that they will be offering a faction swtich (for a fee of course) in your account section of your WoW account. Considering that this will give you more room to try out more areas of the game, or possibly your guild just hates you, or maybe your girlfriend ran off with your main tank…I’m sure it will be a tool that will be well utilized.

From Blizzard’ page:

“We wanted to give everyone a very early heads-up that, in response to player requests, we’re developing a new service for World of Warcraft that will allow players to change their faction from Alliance to Horde or Horde to Alliance. There’s still much work to do and many details to iron out, but the basic idea is that players will be able to use the service to transform an existing character into a roughly equivalent character of the opposing faction on the same realm. Players who ended up creating and leveling up characters on the opposite factions from their friends have been asking for this type of functionality for some time, and we’re pleased to be getting closer to being able to deliver it.

As with all of the features and services we offer, we intend to incorporate the faction-change service in a way that won’t disrupt the gameplay experience on the realms, and there will be some rules involved with when and how the service can be used.”

[Source]

-Crutchboy Out

(Reuters) - China has delayed indefinitely a much-criticized plan to force manufacturers to bundle Internet filtering software with personal computers sold in the country, in an abrupt retreat hours before the policy was due to start.

The climbdown was reported late on Tuesday by the official Xinhua news agency, which said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology would “delay the mandatory installation of the controversial ‘Green Dam-Youth Escort’ filtering software on new computers.”

The “Green Dam” plan, which officials said was to stamp out Internet pornography banned in China, was to start on Wednesday, but had been assailed by critics of censorship, industry groups and Washington officials as politically intrusive, technically ineffective and commercially unfair.

No new date was given and the plan may drift into oblivion.

At a time when China’s ruling Communist Party appears increasingly sure of its powers to master the economy, society and the Internet, the retreat was a vivid reminder that this sprawling government can stumble on its own ambitions.

“They never expected the backlash would be so vehement,” said Wang Junxiu, an Internet entrepreneur in Beijing who has objected to Green Dam and other forms of censorship.

“This will just peter out now and the government will hope it will be soon forgotten, I’d say.”

The Ministry accepted the criticisms of computer companies, but left open the possibility of the censorship scheme returning in some form. And there can be no doubt that the ruling Communist Party remains wary of the Internet, which now has some 300 million users across China.

“Some businesses pointed out the heavy amount of work, time pressures and lack of preparation,” an unnamed Ministry official said in a statement on its website (www.miit.gov.cn).

The official rejected claims that the plan threatened free speech, violated international trade rules or was chosen without proper tender processes.

“The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will further solicit opinions from all sides, improve the plan, upgrade methods and carry out related tasks,” said the official.

But critics are likely to see the vague backdown, giving no fresh date for a launch, as a way for the government to escape quickly from the domestic and international controversy that erupted after the plan was revealed earlier this month, giving manufacturers little time to prepare.

“I would say we would welcome this,” said Susan Stevenson, a spokeswoman for the United States’ embassy in Beijing.

(Yahoo!) - We’ve heard reports of so-called pico projectors coming as a direct complement for mobile phones for more than a year now, first in demos at CES 2008, and later in the form of the Optoma Pico Project Projector. Meanwhile, a non-projector company may be first to actually market a pico projector as a bona-fide mobile accessory: PhoneSuit, the iPhone accessory company generally known for protective cases, Bluetooth headsets, and battery packs, has announced the PhoneSuit MiLi Pro — a handheld video projector for use with the iPod Touch and iPhone line.

Due out in September 2009, the PhoneSuit MiLi Pro has been optimized for pairing with an iPhone. The device can display images at a 640-by-480 resolution wherever you wish to project an image. This is perfect if you’re tired of having your friends huddle around your iPhone to catch up on the latest stupid YouTube video.

The MiLi Pro’s recommended display size ranges from five to 40 inches (though the company says it can go all the way up to 70 inches), and it comes with an adjustable focus wheel to make sure your image is as crisp as possible. The $99 PhoneSuit MiLi Power Pack powers the MiLi Pro, so you won’t have to worry about sapping the iPhone’s limited battery life. The Power Pack drives the MiLi Pro’s liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCoS) LED projector with a brightness rating of 10 lumens. Phonesuit says it takes about three hours to recharge fully via provided USB cables, and it will come with an extra battery pack. MiLi Pro pricing will be announced upon its release.

Sadly, the MiLi Pro is compatible with only the iPhone and iPod Touch lines, so iPod Classic faithful (like me) are left out of this one. The MiLi Pro does accept VGA and RCA inputs in addition to the standard iPod dock connectors, though, so you’ll be able to use it for any of your compatible computers, DVD players, or game consoles. It’s also got built-in speakers in case you don’t feel like toting yours around.