NineToez.net

First, I apologize for not mentioning this earlier since the timing now seems bandwagon-ish, however I’ll admit I never imagined the awareness against SOPA would have grown this large. If you’re anything like me, you use the internet daily for entertainment and convenience, so I’m sure you have heard of SOPA and/or PIPA by now. I’m aware there are still those that use the internet daily in some capacity, yet have not heard of SOPA or PIPA, or just unaware of what they are or even how they feel about it.

Today, some of my favorite sites have gone dark in protest against SOPA such as Wikipedia & reddit however while SOPA might have its own demons and is almost dead before it hits the legislation floor, it is an election year and lobbyists can potentially revive it if they chose to. Don’t bank on this just going away while it seems to be down just yet, remember what’s at stake here in the grander scope of things; money. Mammoth entertainment firms in film and music stand to lose billions if SOPA and PIPA pass.

While to you and I, the internet consumerists, the fundamental of this bill is appalling, but remember who is actually voting on our behalf at the House of Representatives; old men and women that are severely out of touch with technology and don’t understand how it works or how it is, just who is their lobbyist and have they received their portion of the money lately to vote for or against something.

Do something, now. I have.

Paul Christoforo

If you don’t know this name by now, invest the 10 or so minutes to read through a post from yesterday’s Penny Arcade. This is a true, modern story of an alleged “David v. Goliath” of sorts. Goliath in this case isn’t a super massive corporation, but a grown man that claims to be the president of a social media public relations firm in an email exchange of words when a consumer was simply trying to get a straight answer as to the whereabouts of his order.

Couple of things I want to mention because this entire ordeal has been brought up in many, many other forms of media including websites, blogs, web magazines, twitter, Facebook, etc. First, Ocean Marketing (or Ocean Stratagy or Ocean Deep Sea… and yes folks, that’s how he spelled it) is a public relations firm hired by the inventor of this device known as the Avenger Controller, so the angst of this “movement” should be solely directed at Paul, not Avenger. While I’m not sure how Paul got this contract since he clearly can’t spell nor compose simple sentences with proper punctuation, and for a man that’s 38 years old, married, and father of a little son, that’s pretty sad.

I know everyone wants to succeed and be a baller, but this is a clear case of a man who has taken his opportunity and squandered it with his own lack of intelligence. How ever he made his fistful of dollars previously, I’m fairly confident that his next opportunity won’t be so willing to hire him on that quickly if they just simply Googled his name from here on out.

He’s now officially a meme and has been parodied on YouTube, mostly for his lack of professionalism, gross misspellings, blatant self promotion, and negligent attention to customer service.  When Dave, his customer, writes in to gather information, he addresses him as Dan at one point. His lengthy and rather pointless banter about knowing industry executives, like they’ll come to his rescue, should Dave pursue any legal or anti-promotional or defamatory campaigns, just sound like Paul was trying to bully his way around a scenario he truly felt he was in control of originally.

Moral of the story, kids? Karma is a mother fucker and treat others with the respect you would wish in return.

Additional reading:

• Know Your Meme
• Nates Network
• Kotaku

Unless you’ve been hibernating the last few days, you may have heard by now of the latest gripe from interweb citizens; YouTube has changed, and it sucks. Anytime something is drastically changed, we tend to get all soap opera drama queens and rebel. Change is how anything evolves, including you. What, you still think Ricky Schroder is hawt or play with Legos?

YouTube is quickly replacing traditional media that we’ve grown accustomed to as television. With TV, we must sit and watch what content it displays. You just have to pay attention during those hours when they’re aired, or record them to a DVR for consumption when you’re ready to watch. What if you want to watch a specific documentary right after you’re done reading this, what do you do? There’s Netflix, however there’s a subscription cost. Then there’s YouTube that hosts millions of videos ranging from how-tos to outright feature films and just about anything imaginable in between.

Mind you, the content on YouTube hasn’t changed, however the format in which our PC browsers display videos, suggestions, channel activity, etc. has changed. Change is good. Change means that growth was recognized. Change is inevitable. So if you’re one of the many bitching that the new YouTube sucks, too bad. I dig it and it’s easier to navigate to find information not to mention eye pleasing. Don’t worry, in a few months, you’ll get acclimated to it and forget all about how you hate the new YouTube… until it’s changed again later.

BF3 vs. MW3: Which Is Better?

Every time I see this anywhere online, I can’t help but chuckle. I actually made a video on this, however I know that it’s easier to click an unlike button on YouTube than to actually compose a written response, stating your intelligent argument, so I decided to make it a blog post here instead so for those of you that find this, you’ll be forced to actually write something than just click a button.

First, the gaming community has always been split on just about every topic imaginable; “PC gaming is superior to consoles”. “The Xbox 360 is better than the PS3″. “This game rules while your game sucks”, and blah, blah, blah. It’s some of the oldest trolling for years and it’s truly a boring one. If I were one of the PC elitists that went on every YouTube video, dogging all of the console FPS game play videos, am I really getting anyone to agree with me and converting people to ditch their consoles for a PC? No. Why bother then? It’s what trolls do; they have nothing better to do than to stir up shit and piss people off for the sake of their entertainment.

What further cracks me up is another argument over technical specifications, mostly from teens that have never written a single line of netcode before, about FPS aka “frames per second” or multiplayer capacity for example. I have never talked about separating conjoined twins and the ramifications of their physical and psychological effects of such a procedure. Why? Because I’m not a fucking medical surgeon for starters, and I have no place in discussing such things so I won’t. There is a reason why games aren’t 1,500 FPS and/or can’t support 40 squad mates in an online match of 180 vs. 180. If you don’t know or understand, then simply accept it for what it is because you don’t (and quite possibly won’t) understand the mechanics developers undergo to create the games that we enjoy today.

All this leads up to the topic at hand; which game is better. I mean, seriously? Is this really a valid question?  This is a question that is best answered by the person asking the question; you. What’s better; iPhone or Android? Hamburger or pizza? Ass or titties? Point is, game publishers and developers are doing their job to create a hype and buzz through marketing and sell you on their product. Whether you play on PC, console, or a mobile device, who do you think is going to win this epic battle? The game publishers and developers in the end because they sold you a product.

To summarize, buy and play what you enjoy. If you aren’t sure, then rent the game in question or play the demo prior to purchasing it. Ever notice that professional reviews don’t always stack up to your expectations? It’s the same as your best friend or family member praising a restaurant and when you decide to try it, you’re disappointed. Haven’t you bought a highly anticipated game on day one before, then later wishing you never removed the plastic wrapper (I’m looking at you, Duke Nukem) to return it? Only you can decide which is better; choose wisely.

iOS 5

This has got to be Apple’s biggest shining moment, and it’s sad that Mr. Jobs won’t be seeing it from this world. Today, Apple has launched iOS 5 software to be downloaded and installed on millions of iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches, and just the software alone can revolutionize an industry if not the world. Pretty bold statement, eh? Well, look closer inside.

Sure, everyone takes from anyone and Apple is no different. Speaking specifically on their new Notification Center which has long been on other phones, most notably Android handhelds, however it’s now here and stock on iOS 5. Jailbreakers could have had this feature for some time and it was about time Apple finally made it into their official build. iMessage will change the service providers since users of iOS 5 can send SMS & MMS for FREE amongst one another, anywhere in the world! Free iCloud access for anyone with an Apple ID and iOS 5 device now allows you to sync and backup to a cloud with the capability to stream certain files to other iOS 5 devices that you own. You can also restore and activate a new device simply by logging into your iCloud account. Again, free with 5 GB of storage. Don’t confuse this with Dropbox and the ability to store ANY file you desire. You will be able to stream your purchased iTunes media files from the cloud to again any logged in device. Later in the month when iTunes Match arrives, you’ll be able to listen to your entire library while on the go with any iOS 5 device.

Gotta mention Wireless Sync which is just all kinds of awesome since you can literally sync multiple iOS 5 devices all at the same time while at home and all using the same WiFi network. Just brilliant, however it was a paid feature as a Cydia app if you jailbroke, however it’s now included. Wireless capabilities don’t just stop there, so now you can actually activate a brand new iOS 5 device without ever connecting it to a computer. This was possible before and another welcomed addition. Even future iOS 5 updates can be done OTA or “over the air” since only the delta update will be downloaded instead of the entire file, which is humongous.

I’m aware haters will always hate, so fans of other devices or members of the “I hate anything Apple” camp that just gotta go online and graffiti their comments on every available website will definitely be fist pumping with “Apple copied this” or “Apple still doesn’t have that” will be out, circling like vultures waiting to pounce. It’s ok; we all had to wear diapers before we could troll the internet while on the toilet.

For details on iOS 5, what’s covered and/or included, consult your local Apple retailer or visit apple.com.