Geek News Roundup for 01/24/10, Part 2 -- Roundup of Tears

The music industry in Canada, the one in the United States, and even the one in Great Britain just love to cry about those pirates who download music illegally and cost them practically the entire world's supply of money, if you believe what they say.  Musicians have been joining both sides of the debate ever since Metallica decided that Napster was the work of the devil.  Now, one of the stars of Radiohead has joined the fray.  Ed O'Brien figures that even those who download music illegally still spend money on concerts and merchandise, so it actually works out better for the artists than if they'd spent money on CDs, only a fraction of which would go to the artist.  Whether this is true or not is up to the fans to decide, I guess.  The RIAA doesn't seem to care, though.  After a recent court ruling in their favour, the RIAA appealed, presumably because they want more money.  Although why they would then offer an even lesser amount is perplexing.

Yesterday I mentioned Microsoft's unexpected honesty regarding the sales of their Xbox 360 video game console.  Well, AT&T was also brutally honest about their service, saying that their own service in places like San Fran and the Big Apple does tend to be on the sucky side.  It makes me wonder if this is some bold new marketing plan they've come up with, and if so, when the TV spots are going to show up.  But speaking of the Xbox 360, if I had one that got stolen, I wish I had a crutch I could use to chase the thief with.

Apple is probably feeling a lot like Sisyphus right now.  The new iPad device that they're trying to bring to market next month?  Another company already owns the name and has released a similar product nearly a decade ago.  Fujitsu is claiming that they own the patent for it, despite it lapsing last year.  And if that's not bad enough, a maker of women's lingerie also markets a product called the iPad.  This is the best I can come up with, though.  The product in question is hard to find.

I've never really had any love for Ubisoft, but they've never done anything to make me mad at them, other than attempt to ruin a classic gaming series with poor translations and crummy releases.  Well, now they've done it.  If not for the fact that I'd rather play games than mobilize armies, I'd be organizing an anti-Ubisoft angry mob and storming their Quebec offices right now.  What did they do now?  Well, they're trying to steal people's personal data from them by introducing a new DRM system that requires you to do everything except sign your firstborn to them in blood.  If you want to play their games, you have to let them know you're playing them, and allow them to hold onto your save data.  Also, you're not allowed to play their games now unless you're connected to the Internet so that they can spy on your computer.  I can't believe I've been writing for this blog for over a year without saying what I'm about to say: Fuck you, Ubisoft.

Nickelback thinks everyone wants to be a rock star.  Earlier this month, a group of wives got together and revealed that not everyone wants to be at Rockstar.  In fact, speculation has risen that such drama is going to delay some upcoming games.  Whether it's true or not, I deserve to be shot for this.  In fact, the whole roundup reads more like an editorial column than a news column this week, so I'll conclude with this: students ain't being gooder in skul no mor.  Except for this one.

Now that I'm done, I'm going to go back to gaming with my big brain.