東西 | dongxi

As long as there is piracy, DRM won’t be far behind, trying to clamp down on illegal practices. The gaming industry has had its own share of piracy/DRM issues. Spore, released by EA, was the subject of much hatred when its DRM policy was announced to the public. Using SecuROM, the number of installations was limited per copy and authentication was required (originally on a frequent 10 day basis). After a huge public outcry, leading to 1 (out of 5) star ratings on Amazon and a huge surge in illegal bittorrenting, EA eased some of their policies. Still, DRM trucked on, most recently by Ubisoft, which required games such as Assassins Creed 2 to require a constant internet connection for authentication purposes. Though believed to be the work of hackers, Ubisoft’s servers suffered an outage, blocking out players who had bought the game. The victims were consumers who bought legitimate copies of the game, who then were unable to access the game and play.

Now, Capcom is following in the footsteps with their own DRM policy for their newest PSN release, Final Fight: Double Impact. Requiring a constant connection on the Playstation Network to play, the game now requires the account the game was purchased with to play. This step, as Capcom explains, is an attempt to curb the practice of game sharing, where users may pool PSN purchases on one account, but shared across up to five Playstation 3 devices.

One father, as described on IGN, discovered this when he tried booting the game up his children’s account, only to blocked from accessing the game. The PS3 allows for several user accounts within the same machine, so that various members in a household can customize their PS3 experience, keep separate gaming files/saves. Unfortunately, it looks like this is now translating to a requirement of separate game purchases for each account. So even though a PS3 can play the game disc regardless of the account (although perhaps one should start watching out for that as well!), PSN purchases, at least with Capcom will be limited per “user.”

While there’s no dispute that illegal practices should be addressed and handled, these attempts against piracy and illegal sharing, which are implemented in such a wide-netted way, will end up hurting and punishing legitimate consumers. In a fight like this, no one wins.

Mega Man stands as one of the defining games for the Nintendo era. In fact, the recent releases of Mega Man 9 and 10 were magically brought back to the 80s, with the graphic and music styles of the earlier games. Mega Man 7 and 8, the two beautiful stepsisters of the series, stick out as the few games produced not for the Nintendo system (instead for the SNES, Playstation, and Saturn).

With the work of some passionate fans, you can enjoy these two games in all their 8-bit glory. While Mega Man 7 was actually redone a while back, number 8 was just released. While not official games, they are meticulously done to replicate the original game, but in 8-bit. Anyways, hit the links below to download and enjoy!

Mega Man 7
Mega Man 8

The tech blogs were abuzz this weekend with the rumors of a possible 4th-gen iPhone left at a bar at Redwood City.  Well, Gizmodo and Engadget (among several other blogs) are starting to stand behind it.  Looks like someone at Cupertino’s gonna get in A TON of trouble.

Check out the Engadget article for details to strong evidence that this thing is legit.  In the meantime, based on this model, this should be what we’re expecting from the next iPhone:

• front facing camera
• larger back camera with flash
• thinner but heavier than the current 3gs
• larger battery (16% larger)
• split buttons for volume control
• micro-SIM instead of standard SIM
• second mic (for noise cancellation)
• a slightly smaller but higher res display screen
• a flatter, more-square, and metallic-buttoned build to the phone

The phone supposedly ran iPhone OS 4.0 but was disabled remotely before Gizmodo was able to see it.

For more detailed info, check out the articles on Engadget and Gizmodo.

There’s also a short video from Gizmodo (below).

Additional Links
Engadget: iPhone 4G Proof
MacRumors
All Things Digital

First Impressions
One of its most noticeable points (and one of its great detriment) is its weight. The iPad is not a light device, even at one and a half pounds. While laptops and netbooks easily outweigh the iPad, the former can easily be rested on any surface; the iPad, unless docked (requiring additional peripheral support and purchase) requires both hands. The design, while smooth in feel, makes for an uncomfortable experience. Typing (for me) forced me to use only thumbs while the rest of my fingers (and arms) kept it up. Within a few minutes of typing (and some light gaming), my hands and arms already started to feel sore. It’s hard to picture using the device for an extended period of time.

Web Surfing
Surfing the web was a breeze. Already comfortable with Safari on the iPhone, it was no trouble browsing with the iPad. Several websites seemed to already adapt to Apple, with sites such as CNET refreshing their video content under HTML5, which is viewable with the iPhone/iPad, as opposed to flash. Still, it wasn’t before long before hitting the flash issue; whether it be the New York Times video or Hulu. Of course, as the web continues to adapt before Apple, this issue is more likely to fade away in the coming months, as more sites transition over. I did hear from Jason Howell of CNET today that there currently is still no ability for HTML5 to stream live shows (which I often watch).

Gaming
Gaming was perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the iPad. I’ve become a pretty serious gamer on my iPod Touch, spending my fair share on games, including Madden 2010, Street Fighter IV, Command & Conquer: Red Alert, and GTA: Chinatown Wars. The iPad-specific games, such as Plants vs Zombies was incredible to look at. The crisp graphics and responsive screen made the game a pleasure to play. After holding up the iPad for a while, however, the weight did become an issue. Trying out the racing game felt a bit funny as well, gripping the iPad as a steering wheel, tilting left and right to guide my car. It was fun at first, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s any different than the Wii. I’m still excited for other games like Civilization and SimCity, which being slower paced, should be able to take full advantage of the device.

After trying the iPad-games, I went on to try iPhone games. The graphics obviously weren’t as crisp, though it was more noticeable on certain games over others. The biggest issue, however, came to games that used a virtual joystick. With the larger screen, the joystick became incredibly difficult to use, with button stretched out far (as opposed to the smaller iPhone) while trying to balance to device (not to fall). Games for the iPad will need to be rethought and recreated to be seriously considered. Most outrageous, however, are the prices for games and apps, which at this point, can be several times the price of the iPhone equivalent. Even if I did buy an iPad, I’d most certainly avoid purchasing any apps to make a point to publishers.

Final Thoughts
While I walked into the store with a very realistic expectation to fall in love with (and buy) the iPad, I found myself leaving with more reservation. Don’t mistake me, the iPad is an extremely beautiful device; it was extremely easy to use. I definitely want one, but I think I’ll hold on (the best I can), at least until the next iteration. To truly warrant $500+, there definitely needs to be more functionality (dictionary, highlighting, notes in iBooks), compatibility with MOST of the web (including flash/videos), cheaper apps, and sure, I’d still like a front facing camera for portable chat-rouletting.