ArsGeek

How EA and Spore are causing piracy, the DasmX86Dll issues, removing SecuRom and some great DRM free alternatives

Speaking of SecuRom - I'm not quite sure why software companies continue to insist that DRM of this type (or any type) is worth it.  I wonder how much money EA stuck into this?  The game was available on the torrents before it's official launch and yet here's EA and far to many other companies shoveling money down the DRM hole. And it's doubly a problem because of their refusal to see this as an issue.  If the game sells well, EA says "See! DRM isn't that big a deal, people don't care and we're still selling games."  If the game's sales are hurt by DRM they fall back on "Pirates are killing our bottom line!"  Seriously?  Games will get pirated, sure.  But you're much more likely to sell copies if they're not crippled in the first place by software that does nothing to stop the pirates and everything to annoy legitimate users.

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Now you have to pay to help debug modern games – Call Of Duty: World At War I’m lookin’ at you!

This is a disturbing trend I've been noticing, most recently with Call of Duty: World At War.  You have to now put up money for a game you may not want, just to help the game developers debug their beta release.

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Introducing the ArsGeek Boutique

Just a quick note to let you all know that I've just opened the ArsGeek Boutique.  It's a handy little store in which I'll be highlighting the games I'm currently playing (or drooling over) the electronics I love so much, the books I'm reading and the DVDs I'm watching.

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Designing the Singularity: Intel receives the Overreaching Statement Award.

"We're making steady progress toward Ray Kurtzweil's singularity," says Justin Rattner, CTO of Intel. THE Singularity, that's what he's talking about.  You know, the point where machine intelligence jogs past human intelligence and brings us to a new era where combined computer cognition is the equivalent of a minor deity.

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Avatars United. Where your MMO selves go to hang out

Just about all of us have played MMOs or been involved in some sort of virtual world like Second Life.  You play in these worlds for a year or two, meet some interesting people, upgrade your system and then wander off to the newest and shiniest MMO to come out.  What about those friends you've left behind though?  How will they find you in your latest incarnation?  If of course, you want to be found. If you do want to be found, you're going to want to go check out Avatars United.

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