iTop

[12:22pm] (person): Waiter just came by and was totally impressed with my setup here
[12:22pm] (person): iPad 2 and keyboard dock. He says he'll have to go get one, now
[12:22pm] pocketroid: aka a laptop
[12:23pm] (otherperson): lol, (person)... that happens to me all the time when I'm out with my iPad 2 and keyboard

From a fantasy community IRC channel.

In 2012, there are two major screens in all homes: the computer monitor, and the television set.

Once upon a time, a large source of entertainment was the radio. A group of persons, or a single people, would sit around a radio and enjoy the programmes. Then TVs came out and served the same function, but they still kept their radio around. Stored media formats came out since radio - records, music cassettes, VHS, etc, and there were indvidual devices to play those, all of which now connected to the TV. Then computers came out and served all of these functions at once, and it all fits on a single desk, in one machine. On this machine, the computer, one may even listen to that very first thing: the radio.

Computers can do all things TVs used to do. TVs require an obtuse amount of wires and add-ons. That's why they still have 'entertainment centers' - furniture designed specifically to organize the mess of Blu-ray/DVD/VHS players, CD/cassette/radio players, cable/satellite box, and any number of video game consoles. But glance over at your computer, and it serves all of those functions in the space of about 3 breadboxes or less. At some point in the future, TVs will simply be a another monitor connected to your computer. 

Television is still popular because the population at large is used to the media consumption model which was modeled around the television - buy DVDs to watch movies/shows, pay for cable/satellite to watch varied pre-recorded programming, buy set-spec computerlike consoles to play video games. But again, all of this is now on the internet. The old radio-like television model is doomed to die, and will give way to the new era of the internet.

But it's still okay to connect a television-like monitor to your computer and have the TV function as usual. So rest assured, you can still sit on your couch and enjoy whichever moving pictures you desire while eating your processed corn products and drinking your high fructose corn syrup.

Quantality

There is this interesting dynamic of one-shot/few entry franchises, in stark contrast to yearly-game franchises. Both are obviously loved by each's fans.

Really Big Review Remix

Through my internet vagabondage, I often see people discussing game reviews for big titles. As for myself, I've never seen reviews as a personal attack on a franchise I enjoy, as everyone seems to think they are. If I happen to find myself choosing to read a review(s) (not too often), I'm doing it so I may learn what the game is like, and whether or not it's worth it for me. I extract the necessary information from the review in order to form an idea of what the game will be like. Any opinion stated in the article I will consider, but take with a grain of salt, and certainly won't take it personally. People who bicker about game reviews are missing the point of the whole thing, especially when, in a lonely bout of social desperation, they hastily blurt out "Did you hear? GaemSiteX gave PopularFranchiseX a 7.5! How dare they!". At that point they're just advertising GameSiteX for free, for GameSiteX, and thusly GameSiteX gets tons of traffic, and therefore money. The whole review numbering/rating system is also a sham - numbers don't really matter when there are so many aspects of a single game. If you want to know what a game is like, you're not going to buy a game just because it's a "10" - you'll read several reviews, research, and watch videos. Reviews themselves have now become a source of hollow entertainment rather than enlightenment.
But on the sunny side the gaming globe,

Recently I heard about this Steam game called Really Big Sky. I don't normally pay attention to Steam or PC games, but this one is exceptionally pretty, and the music is lovely - you can download the soundtrack for free here. At first it reminded me simultaneously of BIT.TRIP because of the 'retro' font, and Rez - both because of the dark background and great music. I have yet to play Child of Eden.

Some VG, Science, and Politricks links after the break.

The Almost Daily Pocketroid News

"But if modern games are pieces of art, then they’re quickly evolving into realism. If looking like a photograph is the standard for what is highly esteemed, then it’s no different from some lady praising a wall calendar from some bank."
-Shigesato Itoi

Touch Your Tamagotchi of Today

In 1997, I bought and became obsessed with Tamagotchi. They became so popular that schools were confiscating and banning them. Soon after, the Digimon virtual pet was released (only later did the anime come out, which ended up feeling a lot different). Digimon replaced my Tamagotchi and I was hooked for a few years - I even kept detailed journals of everything I did so I could understand how the monsters grew. Well at the end of this year, Sega Toys and Activision are releasing something similar for DS, titled Wappy Dog. Except you don't just take care of a virtual pet - there's a physical counterpart to the pet. It's not as exciting as a Digimon, but it's still a very unique DS accessory (other cool ones being the DS keyboard from Battle & Get! Pokémon Typing DS, or the Paddle Controller with Arkanoid DS). I think the physical/virtual pet DS game is an idea that has huge potential. I hope other companies run with the idea and release something awesome, perhaps for 3DS. You could even use the AR technology to spruce up the experience around your physical virtual pet. Perhaps changing it's form, or adding accessories to it. Maybe it could have AR card symbols as part of the hardware, or even a screen that changes the AR trigger image. 

Our World in 2011

Powers greater than ourselves are controlling our lives, in the most real, part of your life, right now, serious way.

DNA is being patented, packaged and sold. The food we eat is heavily modified at a genetic level and controlled. The weather above your head is being controlled. The thoughts in your head are being charted, listed, and learned from in real time thanks to sites like Facebook and Twitter. Thusly the media is fully controlled according to your trends - not to mention your locations, doings, and communications are being monitored and charted any time you use a computer, cell phone, or credit card. And plenty more. People are even servants to dangerous legal vices like alcohol, drugs, and sex.

Every aspect of our lives are being monitored and orchestrated. All world citizens today - of any country or profession - are only cogs in a corporate, capitalist, materialistic, oligarchical system. Drones which will die as a statistic to be laughed at and learned from by far-future humans who have evolved beyond our current dark age. We are living in "Nineteen Eighty-Four". What is the lone cog to do at present?

I live in hope of a beautiful white future I will never see. A future where humans have transcended petty social issues. A future where humans control all of space and time like legos. Where near-immortality is a thrilling prospect. A future where racism and religion are as ancient as the first apes having territorial disputes. The advancement of science, interuniverse relations, and all kinds of art are the hot topics of social subject trends. For me, it embarassing to be part of this current world. Where boobs, tweets, beers, pop music and media remakes are dominant social forces, and the masses could care less science, space, art, or government.

Food, Inc.
What in the World Are They Spraying?