I find this portion extremely problematic:

As much as I agree that US internet is overpriced and slow, this article is misleading. I've lived in Tokyo with Flets DSL, and an HD movie in 7 seconds? No way. Unless they're using some random short youtube clip. But if that's the case, the language of the article is extremely misleading: It makes you think people…

Yeah, this is because the thumbnails are sent by google.com, which can't be blocked because of all the legitimate uses. I'd bet it blocks full sized images, which are fed from the host site's server.

Isn't ハローワーク the government's job placement service for the unemployed? So she's saying "No money? I'll teach you a magic spell.... Un-em-ploy-ment!"

I always say, get the cheap-o knife block, because you need a set of steak knives and a bread knife and stuff, but then get one decent chef's knife (with a real edge, not serrated) and a sharpener, and use that for everything.

The big one, I think, is that in space momentum is preserved. You don't have drag pushing back against acceleration like you do with aircraft, so all acceleration becomes velocity. So there's no top speed in space: assuming a magical future power source, you can just keep accelerating, no matter how weak your engines…

This looks like a whole family cosplaying together. Amazing!

Halo 1 is what drew me in, and I think it's a little better, but Halo 2 is where the series needed to go then. You can do the "lone ship crashed on an alien world, isolated soldier fighting for survival" thing once. After that the story needs to go back home, to show where characters come from and what they're…

Halo has, for lack of a better word, a dance. There's a specific rhythm, a unique cadence to Halo's combat encounters missing from a lot of games. The combat arena in Halo is a dance floor, and the short range of your assault rifle is an invitation to get up there and dance your heart out.

You know, one of the things that puzzles me about gamers is that we tend to behave as if our hobby is shrinking, even through it's growing (albeit with some bumps). When a company or industry or... university budget or whatever is continually shrinking and all attempts at intervention have failed, there is a tendency…

Yeah, Unreal was one of my first gaming experiences that had actual atmosphere and plot. It will always have a soft spot in my heart. I just wish they would release a single-player sequel worthy of it. Or do an "HD" remake.

Yes! I remember gawking at it, not believing in-game graphics could actually look that amazing! I swam up to it because I figured something so amazing must be there for a reason, there must be something hidden behind it or something. But it was just scenery!

I want to put in a good word for silent mice. I have one by Nexus that I love, and it's only a little more expensive than some of the ones here. It keeps the tactile response of button clicking, without the loud clicking noise most mouse have. Great for late night gaming sessions that won't wake up spouses or…

I think Portal 2's bossfight fits your criteria (SPOILERS!!). The first part is a challenge, and you have to use all the portaling skills you've learned throughout the game, so it feels like the culmination of the last several hours of gameplay, but at the same time it's not so hard that you can't do it in one life.…

I'm not talking about knowing knowing what game you want to buy, opening up Steam and buying it. That's easy, and not even Steam's gross design and cluttered UI can stand in your way. I'm talking about those days where you fire up your PC, have $10 to spend and want to check out what's new or interesting.

Whaaat?? This is where I live, and I totally missed it! Shouldn't have taken the bus instead of the monorail. Damn.

The real news here is that people still release physical CDs.

Which is not to say that EA is doing everything right: doing things wrong will certainly exacerbate the situation.

Except for the damn Chuo line.

This isn't just EA, this is a problem that plagues all acquisitions in the service industry: most of the value of a software company is in its people. You acquire some IP with the company, true, but unlike in acquisitions in other sectors you don't get real estate, a factory, industrial machinery, a working assembly…