redfish

@hansh0tfirst I've played all of the Ultima games; Ultima VIII had its annoyances such as the Super Mario jumping, but it was still better than most games out there in terms of atmosphere and story, and the climbing and jumping was a good idea poorly implemented. The game was also less finished than they wanted it, they had to cut some stuff to meet the deadlines as well as to fit it on a CD.

Most of the sound in this video is familiar, it feels like its recycled from past hits in the last 20 years. I bet if I took the time to look I think I'd find songs that would perfectly sync to parts of it.

So she stitches together these popular sounds with a politically popular idea that people are born how they are obviously drawn from debates about sexuality, and tops it off with a dumb self-indulgent narrative that portrays the side of good as having 'no judgment', something we've heard over and over since the 60s.

It doesn't seem creative to me at all. Fashionable, yes. Creative, no.

The whole idea of 'white privilege' is stupid to begin with. Not every white person is privileged, and not every minority is out of privilege. If you're trying to get a job in academia its easier if you're a black liberal than if you're a white conservative.

Minority characters are underrepresented in film because with stories, you generally have to come up with an excuse to write a minority character into a plot, since most people will want to watch films about them. That's why most minority characters are tokens, or there are films or shows specifically created by and marketed towards minorities, like by Spike Lee, Tyler Perry, or on UPN. Its not white privilege its just a fact about the entertainment industry.

The decision here isn't 'reverse racism', its just stupid political correctness.

Ebert is talking about the use for serious films, not entertainment (theme park ride) films. In that respect, I'd agree with him. Saying 3D vs 2D is the same as color vs. black and white is like saying adding smell to movies, released through vents or whatever, would add to the art. Or how about classical paintings done in 3D where you have to bring 3D glasses to the gallery. Or little buttons on books every 10 pages that play a musical score having to do with the drama you're reading. Its just extraneous to the medium, and so is tacky.

Something like the Courier would be the ideal tablet device for casual use and on-the-go needs.

I think the point of this prototype from Microsoft IS to be a large phone, thats the intention. It has video calling and you stand it up on a table. It's the type of device you would sit in your kitchen and use in place of a traditional land-line phone.

I'm not sure I'd want this, but from my perspective, a lot more thought has gone into this than the iPad.

All I have to say is that this is like the difference between the Zune software and the Media Player software. It looks a lot prettier and is more friendly to use, but its also a lot less function-oriented. You have to wait through page transitions, and it can take several swipes to get to the function you want... I just wish we could have the best of both worlds.

This reminds me of Windows Neptune concepts done in the early design stages of Windows XP , http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/ac_preview.asp .

Essentially, Microsoft was working on creating a 'consumer OS' where everything would be run through what they called 'Activity Centers'

give it to me baby

I think ideally widgets / gadgets should try to be what the Apple Menu Desk Accessories once were... small utility applications that you may want to open at any moment and have stay on top of the screen for convenience. I was disappointed when Microsoft removed the calculator gadget in the RTM of Vista.

Here's your stinking comment.