General Discussion

Holy mother of god. Gabe Newell is rolling in sandwiches right now. I just saw figures for 2011 for what Steam delivered to PC gamers. One number stands out to me. "Meanwhile Steam doubled the amount of data it delivered in content in 2011 vs 2010, serving over 780 Petabytes of data to gamers around the world" SEVEN HUNDRED AND EIGHTY MOTHEREFFING PETABYTES!!!!! I think I'll just leave this graphic here for a bit to let that sink in.

There’s more than one way to stick it to The Man. There’s civil disobedience, subversive propaganda, political art, outright violent revolt--each possessing its own degree of difficulty and consequence. In a decidedly 21st-century twist, team of German hackers bent on fighting the powers that be has chosen a rather ambitious means of taking the power back: building a hacker-owned and -operated space program, complete with a constellation of communications satellites beaming uncensored Internet to users on the ground. The Hackerspace Global Grid was borne out of a call to action at the Chaos Communication Congress in Berlin, where hackers of all stripes gather to mull the …

The maker of Twinkies and Wonder Bread, is filing for Chapter 11 backruptcy protection for the second time in recent years, the Wall Street Journal reports. Those familiar with the company blamed the skyrocketing costs of flour, sugar and other key baking ingredients as well as snowballing debt. Read on http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/hostess-files-bankruptcy-twinkie-maker-financial-woes-include-high-cost-ingredients-debt-article-1.1003893

That title should get him in here. Happy Birthday Dat! We appreciate all you have done for the site!

In the next week, the US congress will return to Washington for a bit of work. The first item on the agenda is to debate and pass the Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA. SOPA is intended to give media owners the tools to act against those who infringe their copyright in all forms of media, be it audio, video or text. Be it the movie industry, the music industry, the publishing industry, and yes, the games industry. But the legislation is awful, and it affects gamers worldwide. Under SOPA, e-sports is under threat. Game streaming is under threat. In-game voice chat is under threat. In-game text chat could be turned off. Gaming forums are under threat. And the gaming media (us…

I decided to check that everything on Lamar's official campaign website was copyright-cleared and on the level. Lamar is using several stock images on his site, two of which I tracked back to the same photographic agency. I contacted the agency to make sure he was paying to use them, but was told that it's very difficult for them to actually check to see if someone has permission to use their images. (Great news, copyright violators!) However, seeing as they're both from the same agency and are unwatermarked, it seems fairly likely that he is the only person on the entire internet who is actually paying to use a stock image (and he'd be an idiot not to). So I took a look …

The Transportation Security Administration made more than $400,000 in 2010 from all the coins, bills and foreign currency travelers left behind at airport checkpoints. Sometimes people forget the money and sometimes foreign travelers returning home simply feel they don’t need to take the U.S. change back with them, David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association, told USA Today. The TSA collected $409,085.56 in 2010; $376,480.39 in dollar coins, quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies as well as foreign currency worth $32,605.17, USA Today reported. Read on http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2012/01/12/tsa-makes-400000-off-loose-change-sfo-one-of-the-worst/?tsp=1

http://sopastrike.com/ http://money.cnn.com...PIPA_postponed/ http://www.pcworld.c...pa_on_hold.html --- List of sites that will blackout on January 18: Reddit - Source Cheezburger Sites - Source Wikipedia - Source Mojang - Source Major League Gaming - Source Boing Boing - Source

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/115265-U-S-Congress-Shelves-SOPA

Looks like a console to me with a hefty price tag. http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-x51/pd?ref=gigya

Eight key members associated with Megaupload have been charged with criminal copyright infringement, conspiring to commit money laundering and engaging in a racketeering conspiracy. Four arrests took place in Aucklund, New Zealand this morning, and included Megaupload's director Kim Schmitz, otherwise known as Kim Dotcom. The accused can face up to 20 years in prison for racketeering, five years for conspiring to commit copyright infringment, 20 years for laundering, and five years on each substantive charge of copyright infringement. Over 20 search warrants have been issued by the Department of Justice as a result of highly coordinated actions by the FBI with help from …

So after a good year or however long it has been of not having an avatar and avoiding them i finally have one had some one spent all my microsoft points and made an avatar. on the plus side i got a free month and my pints back. wonder if i ask them to take it away if they would lol

Reinforcing the fact that Chris Dodd really does not get what's happening, and showing just how disgustingly corrupt the MPAA relationship is with politicians, Chris Dodd went on Fox News to explicitly threaten politicians who accept MPAA campaign donations that they'd better pass Hollywood's favorite legislation... or else: "Those who count on quote 'Hollywood' for support need to understand that this industry is watching very carefully who's going to stand up for them when their job is at stake. Don't ask me to write a check for you when you think your job is at risk and then don't pay any attention to me when my job is at stake," This certainly follows what many people…

Happy BIRTHDAY!!!!

A bill introduced in the Oklahoma Legislature has some folks scratching their heads, as it prohibits "the manufacture or sale of food or products which use aborted human fetuses." Since the bill was introduced late last week by State Sen. Ralph Shortey, a Republican from Oklahoma City, corners of the Internet have been buzzing with the news, as people try to figure out two things: 1) is this real; and 2) is there any reason the bill might be needed? News of the bill was first reported by the AP and The Daily O'Collegian, a student newspaper at Oklahoma State University. It sparked a lively debate in the O'Collegian's readers' comments section, which is connected to Facebo…

Hey guys, TheDr GForce here. I know I posted something about 2 months ago saying I would be posting stuff soon, and I got swamped with life once again. This time though, I am back. I have my own computer now and will be spending more time posting awesome fan fictions. I also just started a youtube channel for gamers, if you are a gamer, then please check out my channel. If you have a youtube account, It would make me a happy little dood if you subscribed to my channel. link to youtube channel -- https://www.youtube.com/user/HelpfulMrWalkthrough/featured

So I don't usually buy stock. I'm not rich and I don't have a lot to invest. Back when Netflix had it's IPO (Initial Public Offering) on the stock market I really encouraged my father to purchase stock in the company. I think the shares were around $40? He balked at it and didn't do anything, and then a few years later used to complain when I showed him stocks were over $250. Aaaaand then came the big crash back in October. Stocks got back down to around $62 and selling due to the poor outlook, losing customers and increased pricing structure (not the mention the Qwikster debacle). I told him to buy again. I knew Netflix was about to expand to EU markets and with t…

But, here's the thing: as many of us have been saying for quite some time, the "best ideas" have nothing to do with legislation, because legislation is tackling the wrong problem. No amount of legislation or enforcement stops piracy. That's been shown over and over again. What does help deal with infringement is offering a better service that gives consumers more of what they want in a reasonable and convenient manner. And thus, I can't recommend enough Nat Torkington's brilliant response to "the President's challenge" above by likening it to this old joke:Heavy rains start and a neighbour pulls up in his truck. "Hey Bob, I'm leaving for high ground. Want a lift?" Bob say…

Hi guys, Ive been AFK from this site for too long, and I forgot how to add images to my signature. Can someone help me please? :3

This will be in the news tomorrow. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/therevolutionwillbestreamed www.ustream.tv/occupyoakland

HB 2696 seeks to charge 1% tax on all games sold in state rated Teen, Mature, and Adults-Only; money collected would go toward Sooner State's obesity and bullying prevention funds. "A gentleman shot a police officer and stole his car," Fourkiller said. "He had been playing Grand Theft Auto. Not everybody is going to react the same, but I believe after hours and hours of watching the screen, playing the video game, being that person and taking on that role, people get desensitized." That same gentleman probably grew up watching The Three Stooges and Looney Tunes, too. So? Are we going to tax kid's shows now, too? Politicians need to keep their greedy, corrupted hands off o…

http://youtu.be/98PaP4z9Fc4 Hey there gamercide! Once again GForce here, and I have a request. The old youtube channel I posted, I will no longer be using. I will be using this new channel I made called ShirleyNetwork. I think it sounds better than HelpfulMrWalkthrough, and I thought it was cool because my name is Alex Shirley, thus ShirleyNetwork was born. So please, if you have a youtube account, please subscribe to me. If you subscribe to me, I will return the favor and subscribe to you. VERY IMPORTANT!! I am looking for a gaming partner, someone who is funny, and loves everything about video games. You will have to have an Xbox 360 with Xbox live, and you have to have…

First the bad news: After having a tooth problem I went to the dentist Wednesday and was told I need a root canal. ****.... The Good News: After 4 years, switched majors and too many struggles/problems to list, I interviewed for a job today and I'm 99.99% sure I'll be getting a big boy job this summer! Time to celebrate! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlLp2hsZdW4