Quote of the Day

"What is a friend? I will tell you. It is a person with whom you dare to be yourself. Your soul can be naked with him. He seems to ask of you to put on nothing, only to be what you are. He does not want you to be better or worse. When you are with him, you feel as a prisoner feels who has been declared innocent. You do not have to be on your guard. You can say what you think, so long as it is genuinely you. He understands those contradictions in your nature that lead others to misjudge you. With him you breathe freely. You can avow your little vanities and envies and hates and vicious sparks, your meannesses and absurdities and, in opening them up to him, they are lost, dissolved on the white ocean of his loyality. He understands. You do not have to be careful. You can abuse him, neglect him, tolerate him. Best of all, you can keep still with him. It makes no matter. He likes you. He is like fire that purges to the bone. He understands. You can weep with him, sin with him, laugh with him, pray with him. Through it all - and underneath - he sees, knows and loves you.
A friend? What is a friend?
Just one, I repeat, with whom you dare to be yourself."
-C. Raymond Beran

Some Interesting Reads

This article, by BBC NEWS, describes why happy images trigger sadness in depressed people.

Here is a script of the recent argument between Alec Baldwin and Sean Hannity. It ended with Baldwin abruptly cutting short a two hour interview and walking out.

It is rumored that Dell is now planning to produce a 27 inch flat panel LCD monitor. Nothing is official yet.

Online Gamer Punished With Virtual Crucifixion.

For the geeks:

An explanation of why AMD processors that run at different speeds than Intel processors are more efficient.

Then again, a true geek most likely knew that so I guess it's for the rest of us.

-Kyle

Positive News In The Media

These days the media is always filled with news that is bleak and melancholy. In his blog, Andrew Sullivan has a nice little excerpt on some good, upbeat news. It is a nice change because the news is usually filled with gloomy news such as the reporting on the War in Iraq. Finally, a piece of news that is worthy and does justice.

Check out his excerpt here.

Atheists The Most Distrusted Minority

Research shows that Atheists are the most distrusted minority in American society.

I think that is a pretty accurate conclusion. It would make sense because the majority of people in America have a religion. Atheists would be opposing the majority of Americans, whether it be Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, or etc. On the other hand, a lot of religions can agree on some basic concepts such as the belief that there is a greater being. I would think that theoretically Atheists wouldn't be able to agree with any religion on anything.

Here is an excerpt from the research article referred to above:

"Edgell also argues that today’s atheists play the role that Catholics, Jews and communists have played in the past—they offer a symbolic moral boundary to membership in American society. “It seems most Americans believe that diversity is fine, as long as every one shares a common ‘core’ of values that make them trustworthy—and in America, that ‘core’ has historically been religious,” says Edgell. Many of the study’s respondents associated atheism with an array of moral indiscretions ranging from criminal behavior to rampant materialism and cultural elitism."

Alienware Officially Owns by Dell

It is now official. In a buyout, Dell has acquired Alienware.

Only time will tell whether or not this transaction will be good or bad for the future success of Alienware. Personally, I've never owned an Alienware, but have envied people who do. The slick design of the case alone makes them so appealing that you forgot about the hefty price tag that accompanies them. From what I've heard, they used to be overpriced so hopefully this new transaction can help undo that problem. Dell has always been known for cheap computers. We can only dream...




-Kyle

Today's Quote

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around" -Leo F. Buscalgia

MPAA, RIAA, and Piracy

I'm not exactly sure how to accurately and vividly describe my feelings on the issue of piracy. One thing I do know is that I don't believe that sharing music over P2P networks is illegal. In my opinion, it should be legalized or the RIAA should at least stop bringing lawsuits against people. The movie industry, on the other hand, is a different story. I know the intent behind illegally downloading music and movies is the same, but, in my opinion, the circumstances are different. I don't think it affects the music industry the same as the movie industry. Therefore, I think music should be legal to download, but movies should at least require a fee of some sort.

I found an article that is about dead on with how I feel on the issue:

Legal Piracy

I'll close with my prediction that, unless something changes, what we now consider to be media piracy will one day become legal. Between the MPAA and RIAA I've never seen a bigger disconnect between what they are supposedly trying to do and what they are actually doing. In their efforts to combat piracy they are showcasing how power can be misused. The result is a growing world trend to legalize piracy to protect children and parents.

The latest instance of this is the emergence of an apparently legal high quality piracy site in Sweden called "The Pirate Bay," which is becoming the only place to find movies you can't even buy in stores. Top titles include "Inside Man," "Fearless," "Ultraviolet," and "Failure to Launch." A political party is forming in Sweden around this concept. France seems well on the way to legalizing this behavior as well.

Companies and organizations often forget that as one age group transitions out of leadership positions and the next generation transitions in, rules change. Kids currently view downloading tunes and movies as a privilege they would like to continue. In addition, an ageing group of boomers wants to be able to watch movies at home and not feel threatened for doing so. Sometimes you can hold onto something so tight you kill it and that, to me, appears to be what is happening here.

Unless the industry can find a way to reward and encourage legal behavior while enabling the things their customers want to do, they will lose what they were trying to protect and the only people they'll be able to legitimately blame is themselves.

Xbox Live and Epic Records Striking a Deal

Xbox Live and Epic Records came to an agreement that will, for one year, allow Xbox Live users to download music and high-definition video from Epic Artists. There is a variety of genres with Epic artists. A few artists that are signed with Epic Records include ACDC, Shakira, The Fray, Judas Priest, and Howie Day.

More on the deal between Epic and Microsoft here.

What's the RIAA going to do about this one? They can't stop us from downloading music legally. I think this will be the start of a trend, which could provide more free music in the future.

Microsoft seems to be making all the right decisions regarding gaming. Sony and Nintendo need to start following their lead if they want any share in the console market. In my opinion, the biggest advantage Microsoft has is that they're staying one step ahead of competitors. For example, Microsoft released the Xbox 360 a year ahead of it's competitors. This has allowed them to divert time and resources towards other services and products such as Xbox Live. Furthermore, Xbox Live has been out for over a year now and Sony has yet to come out with an online service. They are so far ahead it will be near impossible for competitors to catch up.

Microsoft continues to reign supreme, unfortunately. I think a little competition would do the console market well, but Sony seems to think that this Blu-Ray technology is more important. Let's hope they're right.

-Kyle

Lawsuits, RIAA, and Ilegal File Sharing

I found a great blog that is following the progress of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

I'm in support of the people in most of these cases, but I don't have anything more than a general knowledge of this issue. Regardless, I think it's ludicrous for the RIAA to bring so many lawsuits against individuals. That's probably because I don't see anything wrong with file sharing for music.

The only reason this became an issue was because of whiney, spoiled music artists, such as Metallica . I would bet that artists make a small portion of their profits on record sales. I would assume the large portion of their profits would come from playing concerts and contract agreements.

Although I think people should be able to share music freely, I'm not so sure about movies. Movie's main profits come from people paying to see the content. Without people purchasing movies or going to the theatres, they wouldn't have a profit. On the contrary, music artists can easily make money in ways other than record sales.

The RIAA is a joke. They need to disband and have their employees get real, honorable jobs. Enough putting innocent people behind bars and into bankruptcy. Stop the RIAA!

-Kyle

PS3 Release Date Moved Back

Ken Kutaragi, president and chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., Sony's video games division, speaks during the "PlayStation Business Briefing 2006" in Tokyo Wednesday, March 15, 2006. Sony will put off the release of its much awaited PlayStation 3 console until November from its planned spring debut because of delays in finalizing its next-generation optical disc technology.

I think this delay will hurt Sony's profits on the new console.

In my opinion, they'll lose profit because of a decreased interest with the average consumer as compared to the "hardcore" gamer. The "hardcore" gamer would have more patience and willpower to wait the additional six months. Gaming is their hobby and they're willing to put the extra resources, time and money, into it. Not only is the PS3 being released a year after the Xbox 360's debut, but it will also cost more.

On the contrary, the average consumer probably wants the item now and wants it cheap. I would assume that Sony's main customer base would be the average consumer, who has less patience. Therefore, it's my belief this delay will hurt their profits. The average consumer will probably buy the 360 because of this delay, if they haven't already. Plus, Xbox has a large fan base from their online play with Xbox Live. Most hardcore gamers I've talked to dislike the Xbox Live play because it's too full of average consumers, which include rude, loudmouth pubescent children.

Read more about the anticipated release of the PlayStation 3 here.