PostDesk /

dex.petroff — Tue, 12 Mar 0:03:46 +0100

Excellente!

dex.petroff — Mon, 11 Mar 23:28:05 +0100

Finally, an article that challenges the reader to go dig a little deeper

ivorbiggon — Fri, 01 Mar 22:40:39 +0100

Same position here. MacBook Pro with a fault and they don\’t want to know. As in your story they acknowledged the Sales of Goods Act but decided the problem was inherent even though they evidence they gave didn\’t actually add up. I\’ve said this but they\’ve not responded to this. The store are now dragging [...]

Comparisim — Sun, 13 Jan 16:47:50 +0100

The keyborads takes a little getting use to but when you get the hang of them they are great. I use the half Qwerty layout. The only issue is that some times they can get a little unresponsive.

Comparisim — Sun, 13 Jan 16:42:54 +0100

Nokia\’s existence is really depending on the Lumia range. Nokia have now relased four different Lumia phones. I dont think they are exactly prospering but they are at least holding their own. Unfortunately HTC have come out with the 8X windows phone which kind of takes away Nokia\’s USP. I really hope okia stay in [...]

Comparisim — Sun, 13 Jan 16:31:18 +0100

Vodafone and three have done the same thing as orange. There was outrage because they were increasing prices on fixed price contracts. These big companies think they can do what they want and evidently they can.

Comparisim — Sun, 13 Jan 16:20:29 +0100

Nice read. Just one problem – you talked about 10 and 15 megapixel film cameras – As far as I am aware film cameras don\’t have megapixles. \”Megapixel\” is a term which actually means \’ Million Pixels\”. How can a film camera have a million pixels when \’pixels\’ themselves relate only to digital picture. Film [...]

Comparisim — Sun, 13 Jan 16:05:03 +0100

A nice article Chris. I\’d be interested in attending some time. You can\’t go wrong for just £5. what sort of attendee numbers are you getting currently?

Comparisim — Sun, 13 Jan 15:24:56 +0100

Great to see someone young with such an entrepreneurial can-do attitude! It’s people like you who end up the Sir Alan Sugars of this country.

Comparisim — Sun, 13 Jan 15:16:46 +0100

iPads and tablets are a must have these days. Everyone wants a tablet. If they don’t already have one it\’s probably because of the high price. Now with the HP Touchpad at £99 and the 7\” Galaxy tab at £159 tablets are becoming more accessible. Of course, as with all technology, the products are a [...]

fion.mccormack — Fri, 09 Nov 11:47:30 +0100

5 years is certainly a long time within the fast moving world of tech. we have seen myspace and Bebo networks all but vanish. However I think facebook will not go anywhere because so far it has evolved to meet demands and keep with the times and there is no solid reason why Facebook\’s evolution [...]

matthewslight — Fri, 09 Nov 11:14:46 +0100

Thanks. Which points are insightful? M

arlie.magnussen — Fri, 09 Nov 11:07:18 +0100

Very insightful read. Some very interesting points that I wasnt aware of.

lolakinkslover — Tue, 23 Oct 0:36:37 +0100

Mr. Prince has the entrepreneurial juice in spades. CloudFlare has enabled my startup streaming music site http://www.fuhshnizzle.com that runs on the Amazon cloud to do three things that I could not achieve prior to discovering CloudFlare. 1. CDN Costs: CloudFlare is flat rate and Amazon CloudFront is not. CloudFlare is Easy. CloudFront is tedious. 2. [...]

joseph.vazquez.737 — Mon, 17 Sep 21:06:44 +0100

I’m playing Skyrim right now. I’ve also never played any of the Elder Scroll games. I’m a Halo and Call of Duty kinda guy. But wow, this game is as repetitive as a fuckin broken record. I mean the Dark Brotherhood missions consist of you fast traveling back and forth between targets and Nazir or [...]

Crescentsi — Wed, 12 Sep 21:19:09 +0100

I\’m surprised to find there are no responses to this topical essay. Class size obviously matters. Anybody who claims otherwise is merely spinning a yarn! Briefly, because I fear there may be no responses to my reply, it should be said that it is no good scapegoating teachers for low educational standards, or for problem [...]

Crescentsi — Wed, 05 Sep 21:11:40 +0100

\”Civilized West\”- An interesting idea! \”The UK should embrace the gay community…\” Absolutely! However, for me as for others, gay marriage isn\’t about equality or discrimination (already existing civil-partnerships) it\’s about a miscomprehension of marriage as being just about love/sexual relationships and an unwillingness to acknowledge that there is something fundamentally different and special about [...]

iain.taylor.3766 — Wed, 05 Sep 2:41:02 +0100

It amazes me that there is even a debate on gay marriage in the year 2012, especially in the \”civilized\” West. Civil partnerships are a clear example of a separate but equal policy, a dated definition of a same sex couple who wish to express their love for one and other. The UK should embrace [...]

iain.taylor.3766 — Tue, 04 Sep 19:10:40 +0100

I am pretty convinced that if apple were to launch a gaming consol then nintendo would be the hardest hit, i agree with alex king that it would most likely only result in flooding the market. Microsoft and Sony have their die hard fans, you only have to ask an xbox or PS3 user their [...]

Crescentsi — Mon, 03 Sep 17:25:27 +0100

Briefly; I thought it was worth mentioning (as mentioned above) the long tradition of intellectuals and smoking. Perhaps nicotine aids concentration? It is also worth considering the history of smoking and its place in cultures, eg; the pipe of peace and the pressures on women to smoke to try to reduce eating by reducing hunger [...]

Crescentsi — Mon, 03 Sep 17:17:45 +0100

It\’s a very good point. The truth is that there is nothing wrong with smoking, as long as an adult can make this decision for himself. The health risks are there, but everything we do involves an element of risk. Take driving for example; driving in British cities or on motorways is very dangerous these [...]

Crescentsi — Sun, 26 Aug 1:56:38 +0100

The \”shallow\” arguments are those that are for gay marriage. Indeed, they are hypereal. Gay marriage is a simulacrum. Cardinal O\’Brien is (commonsensically) correct and, evidently still retains a comprehension of reality or \”realness\” in stating that gay marriage undermines heterosexual marriages.

jyoti.awasthi.946 — Mon, 30 Jul 11:27:18 +0100

Great article….!!!Nice to know about new things with helping concept. I am almost brand new to blogging and really like your post, it is really on target! Thanks for all of your time & work. Hope you always write this blog. Thank you, The given information is very effective. I’ll keep update with the same.

kevwolfman.withe — Tue, 24 Jul 1:05:26 +0100

Great Interview, shame he left Crash Bandicoot as the Crash games of late have been awful, much like recent Sonic games. I may actually look out for that book and give it a try

lawrence.finn1 — Sun, 22 Jul 13:20:12 +0100

I suspect that protesters wear the mask for the same reasons that V wore it. It makes facial recognition difficult. I also suspect that many of the people who instigated its use read the comic, understood that the message of the comic was that we are all, harboring our own V, our own personal god, [...]

hand.held.3 — Sat, 14 Jul 7:29:12 +0100

your site is veru informative thank you bus ticketing machine http://handheldforbillingdevices.blogspot.in/ https://twitter.com/#!/ElitePalm Elite Palm™ http://www.facebook.com/hand.held.3 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Elite-Palm-It-Solutions-PVT-LTD/300469306713237 Elite palm IT solutions Pvt. Ltd is ISO 9001:2008 certified organization. We deals in It services, Security products and Hand Held Devises. Our Product Range Include Hand Held Devises , daily collection machines , Micro Finance Spot Billing [...]

benjamin.mckaywilde — Sat, 07 Jul 2:50:10 +0100

couldn\’t agree more with this review! Why does EVERY game these days have to have a cover system? I\’m perfectly capable of taking cover myself, and all cover mechanics offers is less control. You get stuck like a magnet and you have to take cover at a precise angle, exposing your flank. Games without cover [...]

loudanielpedro — Thu, 05 Jul 8:03:40 +0100

Companies must really listen to what their consumers has to say. Good customer service is all about finding ways on how to get feedback from their customers. Customer service reps should also be oriented in terms of good service. Just in case, if you\’re looking to hire outsourced customer support reps to handle your customer [...]

dinpy — Wed, 27 Jun 0:18:30 +0100

I feel for you, and wish someone as dedicated as you had been my real dad. For every decent guy like you, there\’s another guy who couldn\’t care less, or doesn\’t make the effort and I commend you for keeping up your efforts, even though they were natural, instinctively based and sadly in vain for [...]

jamesrwhite — Tue, 26 Jun 22:57:00 +0100

Pretty much my thoughts exactly, I always opt for self service when I can. Except when I have *lots* of stuff for some reason, in that case I\’ll always go to a till.

RebeccaMarieWalker — Tue, 26 Jun 18:56:19 +0100

Hi Glenn, I just wanted to say that I really admire all that you have done and continue to do about seeing your children and wanting to maintain contact with them and be part of their lives, the justice system does seem to be very unfair towards fathers and its those fathers who want to [...]

AlanTryth — Wed, 20 Jun 21:47:04 +0100

You know what? I\’m glad to see Isaac taking a more aggressive approach. Poor bugger\’s been through hell; it\’s about time the tables turn and we get to send the damn Necromorphs running for a change. It\’s time to quit cowering and slinking and GO GET YOU SOME! WOLVERINES!

AlanTryth — Wed, 20 Jun 21:31:15 +0100

Pro-tip; if you\’re arguing against trollish behavior, it helps your position if you don\’t come across as a bigger troll yourself.

Dave.Birney — Wed, 20 Jun 14:32:00 +0100

it really bores the hell out of me just standing at the checkouts while somebody else scans all my stuff, and then if there is a bagger there as well then its more standing around while they bag your stuff, i much rather go to a self service checkout and do all that stuff myself, [...]

hauntedquiche — Wed, 20 Jun 10:40:48 +0100

I really like the self-service tills. I tend to buy food in small batches, so it\’s very useful to no longer get stuck behind somebody who seems to be stocking up for WW3. (I\’m sure they are also very happy to no longer get stuck behind people like me, pushing through a couple of tins [...]

Tom.Puddy — Tue, 19 Jun 12:09:53 +0100

Speaking from first hand experience, it is true that some customers get abusive because of frustration with the things. Myself and colleagues have been there – the customer can\’t work the machine, gets frustrated, and throws a tantrum. The result is somewhere between Veruca Salt and The Incredible Hulk. It is in no way a [...]

danny.bluestone — Mon, 18 Jun 21:56:36 +0100

While the article is well written there are some serious holes (in this article) about Facebook\’s business model. What is lacking here is basic tech/UX knowledge regarding how Facebook\’s core product works and is delivered and the value that it brings to its users. It is a social network that adapts to any device via [...]

mattsweencroon — Mon, 18 Jun 12:18:44 +0100

Isn\’t this more of an \’app versus web\’ debate than a \’mobile versus laptop\’ debate? I mean, Jackson seems to mock Zuckerberg for saying the iPad isn\’t a mobile device, but really, he\’s right. If the iPad was primarily used as a mobile device, then the 3g versions would outsell the wifi versions, but they [...]

johnhamelink — Fri, 15 Jun 18:57:51 +0100

To me this article didn\’t hold very much water at all. While John didn\’t outright say it, I think I detect a bit of the old \”I didn\’t have a when I was their age, why should they have one?\”. The fact is, the world changes, people change, society changes, so lets [...]

jamierumbelow — Fri, 15 Jun 13:18:43 +0100

I left school at sixteen to follow my entrepreneurial, businessy programming dreams. I really thought I had it all sussed out. The moment I hit the real world, away from my parents, comfort and the security of having an unmovable roof above my head and an unlimited supply of food on my table, things got [...]

tim.morris.790693 — Thu, 14 Jun 15:58:51 +0100

So… ignorance is your defence? You build up a business that relies on Google rankings to function and complain when Google change the rules of the game. That’s fair play, except when you then admit to not paying attention to how your business was playing the game. You had links on child-porn sites for chrissakes! [...]

georgiev.georgio — Tue, 12 Jun 13:58:03 +0100

Media loves talking about the decline of Facebook but what they don\’t realize is that the company is holding all of our \”digital memories\” for the past years. No other company will come, dig into my \”college year memories\” and just transfer them to their service ( I tried it with Google+ and it just [...]

jhoover — Tue, 12 Jun 13:28:53 +0100

Oooooh, Liam works in the games industry. Sounds like another elitist twat to me.

martin.bryant — Tue, 12 Jun 12:06:40 +0100

Facebook doesn\’t have mobile in its DNA? Really? Read this (from October last year) and see if you\’re still saying that: http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/22/bret-taylor-facebook-mobile/ Facebook has a problem with mobile *revenue* right now, and its mobile user experience could be a bit more focused, but if/when Facebook\’s downfall arrives, it\’s highly unlikely that this will be the [...]

jamesrwhite — Tue, 12 Jun 11:23:53 +0100

Some good points there. I think many people get too wrapped up in what the latest trend is. Just because you aren’t *it* doesn’t mean you can’t succeed, there are always niches to fill. I’m not saying that Facebook will become a niche but I personally can’t see them becoming irrelevant in 5 years. In [...]

colinhayhurst — Mon, 11 Jun 23:59:53 +0100

This makes me laugh. Mr Jackson says \”We think of Google and Facebook as Web gorillas. They’ll be around forever. Yet, with the rate that the tech world is moving these days, there are good reasons to think both might be gone completely in 5 – 8 years. Not bankrupt gone, but MySpace gone. And [...]

benjamin.wohl — Mon, 11 Jun 22:56:07 +0100

i was explaining the gist of this article to a few student the other day, facebook dosen\’t work on mobile devices, and its business plan dosen\’t translate to the mobile platform. I was shocked by the zuckerberg quote – to call an ipad a computer would be a bit like saying that the ipod was [...]

themightykai — Mon, 11 Jun 22:13:04 +0100

Brilliant article, Facebook like many sites will have it’s day eventually but I think if they keep innovating which arguably they have they can keep up with the trends. I for one do not use FB on my mobile I think their software is clunky and slow. But it would be interesting to see, its [...]

christianowens — Sat, 09 Jun 22:35:13 +0100

Whoever has posted that above, isn\’t me. This is my account (verified + connected with my Facebook).

ameliaclarke — Thu, 07 Jun 16:46:13 +0100

Given the opportunities that your example received – as well as the impression he gave – it\’s hard to defend someone or their culture. The only point I feel I could possibly bring up is that from personal experience with travellers, not every one of them reiterates the impression that some of them project? Your [...]

ameliaclarke — Thu, 07 Jun 16:33:55 +0100

I found this really interesting to read actually because it displays that not all traveller children deserve the bad reputation that hangs over them because of their label, as your sixth former proves. Obviously there are always going to be some who deserve the reputation they have, but from my experience in education, there are [...]

ameliaclarke — Thu, 07 Jun 16:27:12 +0100

The only problem is that the idea that \’there must have been somewhere they\’ve been to that they thought was nice enough to spend the rest of their lives at\’ is a settled person\’s view. It\’s my understanding that they travel for the freedom of travelling, not because they\’re trying to find their ideal place [...]

TheTechBox — Thu, 07 Jun 14:15:24 +0100

On the point of education, the education system is a little messed up here (UK). I’m 16 this month and I have just finished school (mostly), the school never really talked much about options other than sixth form. For them it was School > Sixth form > Uni which was not the route I wanted [...]

CaptainObvious — Thu, 07 Jun 10:27:40 +0100

While I\’m cynical, I\’m not so cynical that inspectors would deliberately pervert their own system to make something separate (academies) look better.rnrnSo the real cynical view would be – in the face of a tougher inspection regime, is ofsted trying to inflate its grades to make it look like it is having a greater effect [...]

highschooler — Thu, 07 Jun 10:26:05 +0100

Talk about conspiracy theories! Do you really think ofsted can/would do this sort of thing? The lead inspectors I\’ve met over the years had far too much integrity to follow instructions from the government regarding the grading of academies.rnrnAlso, remember that that there are two types of academy – the crap underperforming schools that were [...]

rosievoice — Thu, 07 Jun 10:24:57 +0100

No shit, Sherlock!

Tom.Puddy — Wed, 06 Jun 11:51:34 +0100

Firstly, I\’ve got absolutely no problem with being called sceptical. If you\’re going around saying that you don\’t believe what other people are stating, then you\’re a sceptic. It\’s also much nicer than being compared to a Holocaust denier, to which I would take serious offence. rnI\’ll point out however that your PR\’s off. While [...]

katiekitten — Wed, 06 Jun 11:02:51 +0100

I have taught travellers in 3 out of the 5 schools I worked in. Unfortunately all 3 experiences were of horrendously abusive behaviour, physical violence towards other students, and at least 50% non attendance.rnrnOne boy had a teaching assistant with him for 50% of the time, paid for by the councils \’traveller unit\’. The best [...]

Eva_Smith — Wed, 06 Jun 10:50:39 +0100

We have a decent sized contingent of traveller children in my school. There are maybe 4 or 5 different families, with as many as 5 siblings in the school at the same time, and all seem to be related to each other somehow.rnrnI teach 6 of them in total. In year 8, I teach two [...]

modelmaker — Wed, 06 Jun 10:46:57 +0100

My expectation is that you will never be able to accept the traveller community unless you make an attempt to understand why they either prefer the lifestyle or feel they have no alternative.rnrnMost of us end up living a lifestyle similar to that we were brought up in. We might do a bit better than [...]

paulasselin — Sun, 03 Jun 19:32:00 +0100

Well seing how the Diamond Jubilee went, I’d say Britain is one of the most patriotic country in the world…

nickcooper — Sun, 03 Jun 17:18:51 +0100

Interesting and well-written article – I mostly agree with the points made, though must say I come to a different conclusion from what I infer to be a slightly \”sceptical\” (apologies!) one on your part.rnrnThe major problem is that if the \”scientific consensus\” [i.e. that human activity is the main cause of global warming, and [...]

3mm4l0u1s3 — Fri, 01 Jun 22:16:39 +0100

The plus side to shouting in Phoenix Wright was that it actually achieved something. Unlike shouting at a PC game…

Adam McCartney — Fri, 01 Jun 22:14:28 +0100

In fairness, speaking of the Professor Layton types, i was always a fan of Phoenix Wright, though they did require long spells at the DS so you didn\’t lose your place.rnAnd you looked like an idiot shouting OBJECTION!!! in public. While not necessary to shout it, i like to be committed to my games.

ameliaclarke — Fri, 01 Jun 21:00:32 +0100

Thanks for your comment; it\’s really refreshing to read an opinion that isn\’t completely clouded by prejudice. rnrnI completely agree with you. I think that the culture faces a very uncertain future in terms of trying to stay as true to their tradition as possible. As you mentioned, set sites and series of sites would [...]

3mm4l0u1s3 — Fri, 01 Jun 20:51:02 +0100

I take your point on the FPS/sports games. I suppose the gender stereotypes remain, even in this enlightened age. I agree that there are gender-neutral games, my personal favourite being the Professor Layton series. But there are definitely not enough of these kinds of games.

Adam McCartney — Fri, 01 Jun 20:42:38 +0100

True on the handheld games front, but as someone who doesn\’t commute in a way that allows me to play them (motorbike) i suppose they didn\’t factor into my list. I agree though, the DS is an epic time waster in general. I was addicted to playing Pokemon on the bus when i was at [...]

Adam McCartney — Fri, 01 Jun 20:35:54 +0100

i mentioned Dead Space and its pant shitting scariness in a different article previously, and i think co-op may well kill that atmosphere. However, having someone to cuddle when it gets too much could help me through it.

Alan.Mail — Thu, 31 May 12:53:11 +0100

the series just died

Lawrence Serewicz — Wed, 30 May 21:47:13 +0100

Thanks for an interesting and undrestanding topic that you treated sympathetically.rnrnThe travellers face a difficult and uncertain future because the efforts that are made to help them and accomodate them will ultimately assimilate them into mainstream culture. For example, offering them set sites (very good idea to avoid angering local residents) starts to cut down [...]

Lawrence Serewicz — Wed, 30 May 19:41:48 +0100

I think that the courts may be too late for some firms or it may be insufficient. You would have to engage an 18th century practice to stop a 21st century issue. There are laws in place or being considered for these issues, but how effective they are remains to be seen in the face [...]

Tom.Puddy — Wed, 30 May 15:54:56 +0100

Surely the answer lies in libel? If a statement is an act of false defamation then certainly they should be able to have a comment removed, but fair comment and free speech ought to be pretty much untouchable apart from by the host and author. For an employer it\’s different however, an employee trying to [...]

tondilorenzo — Fri, 25 May 12:03:58 +0100

David, a State in which public decision is made according to cultural/religious views of the majority is a State that violates minorities\’ freedoms and cannot bear the name of democracy.

SidianMSJones — Thu, 24 May 21:05:57 +0100

I like this. I feel like this site could be a pretty good platform to publicize my ideas on religion and its future with Open Source Religion. You might expect some articles from me in late June or July.

emmajones — Wed, 23 May 13:50:45 +0100

Thanks so much for you comment! Looking forward to that email!

vicki.higham — Wed, 23 May 13:25:38 +0100

Hey Emma I just wanted to comment and show my support for what you\\\’ve achieved. I too launched my own business at a young age, although under very different circumstances ( I was too poorly to work for anyone else) but I completely understand the barriers young people can face in business. That said, there [...]

emmajones — Wed, 23 May 11:36:52 +0100

Thanks for the comment Tom. I would just like to say that I didn\’t call myself an entrepreneur and would never call myself one as I am far from it at the moment. I agree with you about what makes you special is running a successful business and also understand you point about school A [...]

emmajones — Wed, 23 May 11:32:42 +0100

Thanks for the comment Chris. I would just like to begin by saying that I didn\’t call my self an entrepreneur and wouldn\’t as I know that I am far from being one yet. I used To Kill a Mocking Bird and Quadratic equations as examples of how I feel that the current school system [...]

MiBz0r — Wed, 23 May 10:54:40 +0100

I think the name E-sports suits quite fine, I speak to people who have no connection with computers and they still understand what E-sports means and very few say that they don\’t see how its a sport. I have now attended 10 Iseries and several other smaller LANs, don\’t see myself stopping any time soon.

thomas.mote — Wed, 23 May 8:27:36 +0100

The last point I want to touch on is school and the education system in the UK; I’m currently in year 11 and sitting my GCSEs. I am still undecided whether I want to go onto higher education and sit A-levels or go out into the world of work.’ My first comment would be DO [...]

Tom.Puddy — Wed, 23 May 0:22:28 +0100

\”When a man thinks, there is a spot of fire alive in his mind – and it is proper that he should have the burning point of a cigarette as his one expression.” – Ayn Rand

williamtildesley — Tue, 22 May 22:51:24 +0100

Chris, Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed reading your article, and agree with most of the points you raise, by definition isn\’t she an entrepreneur? As far as I\’m aware all an entrepreneur is, is someone who runs a business and takes some (even if it\’s a small amount) financial risk. In the tech circle, which I [...]

williamtildesley — Tue, 22 May 22:42:12 +0100

Christian, Whilst you tried to bring up some interesting points you failed to deliver because of your quite frankly rude behaviour. Maybe you ought to grow up a little and consider the consequences of publicly attacking someone before you do so again. Just a thought.

chrisleydon — Tue, 22 May 22:25:17 +0100

\”spending five hours a day in a classroom learning quadratic equations or reading ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’ for the nth time really isn’t going to enhance or help my future career.\” Wow, I\’m genuinely shocked by that statement. \”To Kill a Mockingbird\” is one of the most important pieces in English literature, it tells [...]

chrisleydon — Tue, 22 May 22:09:32 +0100

Christian, we\’ve been over this kiddo: – http://postdesk.com/young-entrepreneurs-uk-career-choice Go back to school, kid. Although this entire post does appear to be a rehash of the one above. ^

emmajones — Tue, 22 May 17:52:45 +0100

I didn\’t write the bit ”At 16, Emma Jones is one of the UK’s youngest entrepreneurs.” As for the bit about the London riots. I was using them as an example to try and make the point that there are lots of young people out there doing good but the focus seems to be on [...]

the_dream — Tue, 22 May 17:45:02 +0100

Hi Emma, I\’ve read your article and whilst nicely written, you seem to be quite arrogant in places, as exhibited below. \”Incidents like the London riots only show a small percentage of young peoples actions\” – That is democracy dear. \”At 16, Emma Jones is one of the UK’s youngest entrepreneurs.\” You have no right [...]

TED209 — Fri, 18 May 15:50:16 +0100

@brandonmorles, I used to be a CD buyer. iPods came along and I ripped my CDs to my iPod, eschewing downloads because I’d rather “own” music. Then something changed for me. I realised that the thing you own is just worthless plastic. You never own the music on the CD. And I calculated my wife [...]

brandonmoreles — Mon, 14 May 16:36:28 +0100

@neil.boothman, for those of us who are \’attached to owning things\’ thats not really what its about. Its about keeping control over the media you pay for. This isn\’t like clutching your betamax until death, its a matter of prioritizing the form that lets you keep control over the exapansion of methods of consumption and [...]

Phoolf — Mon, 14 May 16:35:21 +0100

People like you.

Tom.Puddy — Sun, 13 May 2:02:32 +0100

You\’re basing this on what?

Tom.Puddy — Sun, 13 May 2:02:05 +0100

Hear hear!

Phoolf — Sat, 12 May 17:06:02 +0100

I hope so, patriotism is just fluffed up ignorance.

eastlondonmandem — Sat, 12 May 17:04:46 +0100

Great a article and absolutely spot on. Let\’s start by having St. Georges day a designated bank holiday, that would get the ball rolling and give us an outlet to officially proclaim our patriotism which I think would go a long way to making us patriotic again.

Tom.Puddy — Sat, 12 May 13:28:01 +0100

Cheers, really appreciated. I think that you\’re wrong about how different the terms patriotism and national pride are. To feel devotion or to support your country is indeed patriotism, but it stems from the pride you feel in you country. Patriotism is more than the act of giving your country you support and it has [...]

DavidRickard — Sat, 12 May 7:12:57 +0100

Different social function, cultural significance, internal / relational characteristics and set of mutual responsibilities, religious significance (for many), etc. Not just about one relationship.

Joe Anthony — Fri, 11 May 23:51:29 +0100

@DavidRickard Well, yes, I believe that gay marriage is the same as straight marriage… why wouldn\’t it be?

DavidRickard — Fri, 11 May 23:44:38 +0100

We may or may not agree that gay couples have an equal right to get married, if marriage is defined as a human and legal right rather than, say, a calling or duty. But is gay marriage the same as straight marriage?

ee_jay — Fri, 11 May 14:19:43 +0100

And therein lies the problem. For some reason, certain people don’t seem able to distinguish between patriotism (a love of one’s country) and nationalism (seeing one’s country as superior to another). Patriots don’t want uncriticical acceptance and glorification of the state – in fact it seems to be socialists, the defenders against the ‘evils’ of [...]

ali_421 — Thu, 10 May 23:24:29 +0100

\”Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.\” – Samuel Johnson \”In Dr. Johnson’s famous dictionary patriotism is defined as the last resort of a scoundrel. With all due respect to an enlightened but inferior lexicographer, I beg to submit that it is the first.” – Ambrose Bierce

DogBotherer — Thu, 10 May 21:31:48 +0100

The problem with patriots is they never content themselves with loving the British countryside or admiring our people and our achievements, they always want to dictate an adherence to an unblinking unthinking uncritical acceptance, even a glorification, of our State. Fuck that shit. The historical truth is clear for anyone with eyes to see and [...]

williamtildesley — Thu, 10 May 20:08:22 +0100

Interesting article, but I feel patriotism and the lack of it in England is a non-issue. Patriotism simply means a devotion to one\’s country, and is entirely different to having a sense of pride in common heritage and cultural history. A great first article! Whilst we may not agree on certain issues I\’m always interested [...]

neil.boothman — Wed, 09 May 18:15:52 +0100

I would extend this notion to all forms of media not just music, I can easily foresee the consumer habits towards television and film will transition into an a-la-carte on demand rental market or something similar to what Netflix and LOVEFiLM are offering already. Personally speaking, owning entertainment media doesn\’t make sense, I think of [...]

alexanderking — Wed, 09 May 12:57:48 +0100

Something is guaranteed to happen, we just don\’t know what. Recently the government and news networks are streaming, what the police are doing, all the training exercises etc, and well… it\’s not exactly sensible is it?…

Jack Holmes — Wed, 09 May 1:24:12 +0100

I could well be wrong here, but I get the impression TechCrunch, and other news websites run a certain number of stories just to rake in ad money. It wouldn\’t surprise me if the reason why there are so many \”iPhone 5 Rumour\” posts is purely because they bring in the traffic, which then click [...]

Mariel Hurd — Sat, 05 May 20:58:47 +0100

Well I don\’t know about you, but as a card-carrying queer the first thing I do of a morning is chip away the foundations of English culture. Before I take out the muesli, even. Then I put on my Doc Martens and go kitten-stomping.

brandonmoreles — Fri, 04 May 20:19:38 +0100

The false sense of \’Always-on\’ is what most worrysome about this. The average user has no idea that there are as many points of failure as there are when relying on services like these instead of actually owning music. Internet service, content licensing litigation, the very structure of the internet itself. There\’s never ever anything [...]

Reply To: Would gay marriage really ‘shame the UK’? Here’s why you should think twice if you oppose it

Joe Anthony — Thu, 03 May 15:45:03 +0100

Hi Ray, Many thanks for your comment on my piece. I freely admit that it is one-sided. It was never my intention to present a piece which examined the pros and cons etc of gay marriage, but an article which took down the ludicrous arguments most often and prominently presented by gay marriage opponents. I [...]

Joe_Anthony — Thu, 03 May 15:40:48 +0100

RaymondoBoss — Wed, 02 May 22:38:30 +0100

This narrative is one sided – but right. It is one sided – but a damn sight more balanced than the anti gay polemics that have been put about by the intolerants. Love between two people is a hell of a lot holier than marriage, for a kick off, in my humble opinion. Sure it’s [...]

Charlie Elise Duff — Mon, 30 Apr 11:05:04 +0100

Sure- but some people don\’t fit into the school system so they should try doing something outside like this. And you don\’t have to have parents \’in the business\’ to be an entrepreneur. You do, however need to be pretty outgoing and ballsy to network on your own. There are plenty of very privileged kids [...]

Charlie Elise Duff — Mon, 30 Apr 10:58:57 +0100

I\’m also a little confused by what you have said. IT came across as – and please, correct me if I\’ve got the wrong idea – that you feel she wouldn\’t have this job if she wasn\’t 14, and that her company is providing it somehow out of sympathy or to create a prodigy or [...]

johnhamelink — Sun, 29 Apr 12:18:44 +0100

The Metal Gear franchise is, without a doubt, my favourite gaming franchise ever. The game is not designed to be \”exclusive\”, but it is equally not designed to be the same as every other game on the planet. What makes the Metal Gear franchise different to, for example, Splinter Cell? I think the answer to [...]

corissapoley — Sat, 28 Apr 14:00:23 +0100

I agree that the concept of communication is being redefined, but I do think there is some value in returning to the definition of the word. I feel that we should view communication as a constantly shifting concept, yes. However, I think we should still focus more on the \”what\” we are communicating rather than [...]

azzams — Sat, 28 Apr 6:03:22 +0100

This should make people think: Nancy Lublin: Texting that saves lives http://www.ted.com/talks/nancy_lublin_texting_that_saves_lives.html

Fri, 27 Apr 15:00:21 +0100

not bad, yourself?

azzams — Fri, 27 Apr 14:51:56 +0100

The concept of communication is being redefined. Skype have a vested interest to target and to some extent belittle other communication models i.e. twitter. But journalist who are using twitter to find real stories happening now across the globe whereby a basic internet connection is accessible and 140 characters can speak volumes in the middle [...]

azzams — Fri, 27 Apr 14:43:55 +0100

So open coffee have different networks around the country. I believe traction can be acquired by connecting the audiences of these meet ups. I agree something more central to UK is needed but can only gain traction if there is sufficient enough contribution from the start up community. The contribution to hacker is because many [...]

azzams — Fri, 27 Apr 14:33:36 +0100

Great write up and insight. Cloud flare has an excellent user interface that has been well thought through.

dcroissant — Fri, 27 Apr 8:44:11 +0100

Fantastic – more of this please – people just need to get going and involved in startups – there is so much support out there and success spurs others on. Being young = less baggage – no problem. Lack of money? if you have the desire and the drive, it will happen. Bery best of [...]

ashley — Fri, 27 Apr 8:15:01 +0100

hey- perhaps we can help you support your tech business @nexters.co.uk ? keen for non London social tech entrepreneurs. Ashley@thebigsociety.co.uk

Mariel Hurd — Fri, 27 Apr 4:05:18 +0100

Yes, while ‘just fucking do it’ is a great sentiment it doesn’t take a lot of factors into account. For example, teenagers from abusive or financialy unstable backgrounds not only have a lot of practical obstacles in their way, but will also often lack the confidence and sense of security to try it – it’s [...]

Fri, 27 Apr 1:46:36 +0100

Hey there

Fri, 27 Apr 1:42:56 +0100

Hey!

cassionetta — Fri, 27 Apr 1:17:58 +0100

I really find her enthusiasm great, I have been similiar a few years ago. Nevertheless she’s a little ignorant considering other students’ problems. Some really have or want to learn for school as they don’t really fit in the system. For some 250 km are too expensive to travel. And some are not able to [...]

fiftyleaves — Thu, 26 Apr 21:09:51 +0100

Oh definitely simon, you’re absolutely right that theres nothing better than “close-quaters” co-workers. However, in the absence of this, its widely accepted to use Skype as a communication means with partners, sometimes investors, and potential clients.

fiftyleaves — Thu, 26 Apr 21:06:23 +0100

Apologies if I wasnt clear there – what I meant is I left with the impression you had project groups or other organisations aimed at getting youths to start business who have assisted you or guided you. This is what I assume by most of these tech startup meetings – its quite common these days, [...]

Cec Plascott — Thu, 26 Apr 19:45:47 +0100

I’m not completely sure what you mean when you say: “I am inclined to think this isnt one girl on a mission, but a project lead by real industry proffessionals taking time out to support those young individuals in progressing in the business environment from a young age.” However I agree with the fact that [...]

simon — Thu, 26 Apr 19:28:17 +0100

In reply to Colin’s comment about Skype – I was speaking to a VC and Angel Investor the other week and they said they have serious concerns over investing in companies that operate over Skype or have a long distance separating team members. It’s very easy to fall out and for communication to drop off [...]

simon — Thu, 26 Apr 19:12:02 +0100

I knew a few female gamers when I played Counter Strike: Source competitively a couple of years back and their treatment in game is confusing to say the least – they’re either harassed with love or abused. Great post, it’s brilliant to read an in-depth interview with a ‘girl gamer’.

fiftyleaves — Thu, 26 Apr 18:13:13 +0100

One word for the tech startup dreamers: “Skype” A lot of major companies use it now, and bridges the gap which in the past would red-tape your idea from reaching outside your local area.

fiftyleaves — Thu, 26 Apr 18:11:16 +0100

Knowing a similar environment this young lady is taking part in, I can sympathise with a lot of the points she is raising – the clear one that strikes truth with me is knowing other young startups claiming to be what they’re not. The only gripe I have with this whole article, or perhaps the [...]

adamwadsworth — Thu, 26 Apr 17:17:38 +0100

I don’t think that Mass Effect 2 was overrated, my opinion is that it is a perfectly crafted masterpiece worthy of the praise that it has recieved. I just feel a real connection to my shepherd from all the decisions i had made from ME1 that had an impact on my gameplay in ME2. I [...]

Cec Plascott — Thu, 26 Apr 17:13:52 +0100

I do agree that a lot of people want to meet in London, which is quite hard to get to, but I think it’s worth it. There’s a lot going on in London.

adamwadsworth — Thu, 26 Apr 16:53:10 +0100

I live in the north as well and i think that it puts me as a disadvantage, whenever i successfully get in contact with someone or a company and ask them to meet me to see my ideas they always want to do so in London with which i currently am not easily able to [...]

Cec Plascott — Thu, 26 Apr 16:33:47 +0100

The travel can be a problem but I love it, so it’s worth it. What’s great is I’m starting to find out more and more about closer events, people, and startups.

creative70 — Thu, 26 Apr 14:36:16 +0100

This is a great article and a wonderful example of teens doing something productive and positive away from all the negative headlines that most teens seem to generate nowadays. Cec, I wish you well, no doubt you will be a future star and I don’t believe your location in the North will stop you achieving [...]

joseangel_yanez — Wed, 25 Apr 23:41:33 +0100

I want a daughter just like that.

Mariel Hurd — Wed, 25 Apr 22:12:41 +0100

Out of curiosity, how does the start-up scene’s focus on London effect things? Since for a lot of start-ups money is pretty tight, do travel costs – conferences, community events, etc. – become a significant burden?

johnarudkin — Wed, 25 Apr 21:30:44 +0100

Surprisingly, I’m also working on a start-up, and I really like your article. It is like a rallying call to other young people. Keep up the great work. John

johnhamelink — Wed, 25 Apr 21:16:54 +0100

Brilliant article Cec, I can identify with people complaining about being up in the north and “out of the way”, however things are really beginning to change. Initiatives such as Rookie Oven, Tech Meetup, Startup Digest have made being part of startup culture much easier in Scotland, as well as the awesome entrepreneurial spark incubator [...]

Cec Plascott — Wed, 25 Apr 21:10:38 +0100

Thank you!

J13enj — Wed, 25 Apr 21:07:14 +0100

A young entrepreneur to be proud of. This is an inspirational story…I want to wish the team all the best. I have, stumbled, digg, etc….this story.

cloudfrag — Wed, 25 Apr 18:39:30 +0100

This is a great interview, thanks for posting. I think the multiplayer game server industry is ripe for disruption at the moment – like Chris says, people don’t want to have to be a part-time sysadmin just to play games with their friends. Furthermore, most of the game server hosts are still stuck in the [...]

crjfb — Wed, 25 Apr 18:35:06 +0100

Its true, young people are the future. Myself only 18 have worked on small startup projects and given assistance to them, when networking I feel people do not take you seriously as your young.

jackfranklin — Wed, 25 Apr 18:03:27 +0100

Hey Rhys, Thanks for commenting I completely agree with your point about jQuery. jQuery has given us the DOM that browsers should have, in effect. Personally I find the ‘plain’ JavaScript way of traversal a pain, however querySelectorAll and similar are slowly doing away with the old, forced & slightly hacky ways of traversing. Wherever [...]

Cec Plascott — Wed, 25 Apr 17:46:28 +0100

Woah, thanks Stacey, the support is really appreciated! Good luck with your startup, you’re awesome!

staceyferreira — Wed, 25 Apr 17:42:56 +0100

Thanks for this article Cec! It’s truly inspirational. As a 19 year old female in tech working on a startup, it’s great to see younger teens starting even earlier! You’re such an inspiration to all of us in the scene and even people who aren’t. Keep up the amazing work and as another female teen [...]

Cec Plascott — Wed, 25 Apr 17:08:54 +0100

Aha, thank you Rob!

rhysbrettbowen — Wed, 25 Apr 17:08:51 +0100

You mention JQuery a bit there. JQuery is good for a step from copy/paste to writing their own scripts but using jquery can lead to similar problems when you start to look at more jquery plugins and use them – it’s akin to copy/paste. Besides most modern browsers now support query selectors and as long [...]

Cec Plascott — Wed, 25 Apr 17:08:43 +0100

That guy is great!

Cec Plascott — Wed, 25 Apr 17:08:25 +0100

You’re right, my parents are a very active part of my life (as most parents are with 14 year olds). I owe a lot to them but at the end of the day when it comes to the running of Propelly they are in no way involved.

Cec Plascott — Wed, 25 Apr 17:06:25 +0100

I agree that people may have no reason to listen to me, at least not yet. Hopefully however I’ve proved that you shouldn’t let anything stop you from at least from starting.

Cec Plascott — Wed, 25 Apr 17:04:37 +0100

I think the thing to remember is that it’s not impossible for you to jump on a train to London. For a day (a very long day), weekend, or week. Whatever time you have to meet interesting, talented, likeminded people is valuable and thanks to Skype/Twitter/Facebook you can further develop those relationships online back in [...]

Cec Plascott — Wed, 25 Apr 17:02:36 +0100

Thanks William! Good luck to you too!

Cec Plascott — Wed, 25 Apr 17:02:05 +0100

Hey, thanks! I do wonder what it\’s like working with a younger founder, and how it must feel when the focus is as you said placed on him and not your idea. Then again the team is just as important, if not more important, as the idea so I guess you can see it in [...]

robgolbeck — Wed, 25 Apr 15:44:02 +0100

Great article – gives me hope for the future. I wish I had this kind of thinking when I was 14!

blainelight — Wed, 25 Apr 15:41:17 +0100

Thanks Cec and Charlie! It’s inspirational to read about those who don’t make excuses. 14 years old is pretty good, but have you heard about the 9-year old entrepreneur who made his own arcade? Check out http://www.cainesarcade.com for an inspirational video. I also wrote a blog post about how people make excuses in their life, [...]

paulasselin — Wed, 25 Apr 15:32:20 +0100

Great post, thank you.

Charlie Elise Duff — Wed, 25 Apr 14:09:12 +0100

I think Michael raises good points, I’m afraid. I don’t think every article has to be balanced but this was like a personal attack. No wonder the guy is on the defensive with people writing like this! I think I know how he feels; but I try to pause to reflect rather than shooting off [...]

Charlie Elise Duff — Wed, 25 Apr 13:34:38 +0100

I think she made that pretty clear in the article. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with starting young while being ‘kept’ by your parents. It gives you a great start with fewer overheads (as she pointed out). I doubt they are doing her work for her!

jamesengland — Wed, 25 Apr 12:33:27 +0100

Ah, “the” start-up scene, AKA “everything that’s wrong with London-centric UK”. I hope Propelly takes off and reminds the tech-luvvies that there IS a world outside London. It might stretches as far as Scotland, if you squint hard enough and don’t listen to fat Alec too much.

peroni — Wed, 25 Apr 12:28:03 +0100

I wonder how much of a role her parents play in her life. Not to denigrate her achievements but a 14 year old is (typically) still dependent on their parents/guardians.

cup — Wed, 25 Apr 12:26:20 +0100

Good for her. Young, female and coming from a tricky geographical location that’s relatively distanced from the start-up scene must be incredibly tough. Unfortunately for her, she’s going to really struggle to have people heed her good advice for quite some time as it’s experience and success that dictates the value of your advice.

jonnyrowntree — Wed, 25 Apr 12:22:28 +0100

As I live further North than Cec, I find it is especially hard to obtain those vital connections that may help your business or startup as these are mainly found in London and in the States. I think the JFDI philosophy is the rule of thumb to any business, project or even idea you find [...]

Charlie Elise Duff — Wed, 25 Apr 11:54:02 +0100

I wanted to rteply to my own article here to ask if anyone has seen much of the ‘Cover the Night’ Kony2012. I’ve only seen two handmade posters near Drury Lane in London, despite cycling around the city all week. Anyone spotted any others?

Charlie Elise Duff — Wed, 25 Apr 11:49:43 +0100

Yes! Very similar to the child labour campaigns. Even the most vocal of those did not advocate a boycott of child labour products as it was known that many child labourers are poverty-stricken and may turn to other, more risky forms of employment, so the focus was on poverty reduction and improving conditions. I suppose [...]

Charlie Elise Duff — Wed, 25 Apr 11:46:38 +0100

True – it is easier to focus on a single issue – look at Occupy for example. Here I am with a degree in International Relations, a political mind and a history of activism and yet I have no clue what they are doing, what they think they are achieving and why they are currently [...]

Charlie Elise Duff — Wed, 25 Apr 11:37:48 +0100

Your comment brings to mind the theory of Just War – I guess you are saying it is never justified, in today’s economic and political climate?

williamtildesley — Wed, 25 Apr 11:36:02 +0100

What a truly inspiring article. Well done Cec and here’s wishing you the best of luck for your future.

Charlie Elise Duff — Wed, 25 Apr 11:34:24 +0100

This is super-awesome. I work for a start-up with a young founder (yes, not 14, but he’s been working on the idea since university) and I totally agree with you about the media coverage. Often it has been focused on him, on his age, whereas it should be all about the ‘trying to change the [...]

Mariel Hurd — Tue, 24 Apr 15:39:47 +0100

The title and the subtitle DO both say that this is a piece about consoles but as I already said: writers do not have any control over that, and those were added long after the piece was written. There is a reason the start of the article specifies that only one of us is a [...]

jonginn — Tue, 24 Apr 15:11:06 +0100

Well, it’s confusing as you expressly state you’re examining console gaming, and of a recent timeframe. It’s in the title and at the start of the piece. You mention you don’t look at Thief because it’s on PC and 14 years old, but you look at the tabletop game Warhammer 40,000 which is 25 years [...]

Mariel Hurd — Tue, 24 Apr 14:48:10 +0100

Sorry, the piece was actually intended to be about gaming in general. The date limits were set to the latest console generation in order to stop me – our PC and tabletop player – from delving all the way back into the 80s. At one point the title reflected this far more, but writers don’t [...]

jonginn — Tue, 24 Apr 13:49:44 +0100

I’m also confused as to why you have a blatant spoiler for the ending of LA Noire in a screenshot. And LA Noire isn’t even mentioned in the article.

jonginn — Tue, 24 Apr 13:34:44 +0100

I’m completely at a loss to why there’s a section complaining about Warhammer 40k, a tabletop game, in an article discussing console games. Erm?

Rediculam — Mon, 23 Apr 23:31:17 +0100

How refreshing; opinions I can get behind. Thoroughly enjoyed reading this, thank you!

hubertnealjr — Mon, 23 Apr 22:42:22 +0100

I had a lot of thoughts as I read this article. I won’t question the relevancy of the subject matter because if the author put this much time into a piece, it’s at the very least important to them. Something baffled me, however, and it led me to this question: What company truly values their [...]

Mon, 23 Apr 18:15:56 +0100

Test Response

hauntedquiche — Mon, 23 Apr 17:52:41 +0100

Very interesting interview. I’ve seen a few mentions about how there are disreputable esports organisations essentially refusing to pay out and I certainly agree that some people need to be taken to court over it. Hopefully if somehow legal consequences come back to one of these organisations, it will make others a lot more wary [...]

hauntedquiche — Mon, 23 Apr 16:04:07 +0100

Well, I was browsing through the archives and came across your article. I’ll be honest, I’m not entirely sure what the problem is here… is it that people regularly complain about Facebook and Twitter emails? ‘Cos I’ve never really come across that particular rant. Vague grumbling maybe, but that’s not so much anger at a [...]

3mm4l0u1s3 — Mon, 23 Apr 14:40:32 +0100

Great list, but why no handheld games? Surely they are the Kings of “games-when-you-have-no-time”? Perfect for a long commute on bus/train, can bring them anywhere… etc FPS and sports games are ultimately designed with the male ego in mind, so the fact that *most* men enjoy them, and aren’t bothered with Cooking XYZ or Look [...]

alexanderking — Wed, 18 Apr 17:51:03 +0100

Good in-depth interview, myself has been in the game server provider market, it’s a touch market, especially if you host your own hardware, however if you host of someone else’s it’s not too much of a hassle. Some newer companies have started doing this which have given new game servers companies a bad name of [...]

jamesrwhite — Mon, 16 Apr 10:58:24 +0100

I completely agree. As a current or graduate student you’re also much less likely to have family commitments which might sway you into picking a higher paid job that you might not necessarily enjoy as much.

Jack Holmes — Mon, 16 Apr 10:43:23 +0100

James you make some very valid points and joining a startup is always a bigger risk than the security you’d gain from a more established company. As a full-time student it’s much easier to take that risk than after you’ve graduated due to financial stability. I’d also stress the importance of genuinely liking the people [...]

jamesrwhite — Mon, 16 Apr 10:31:02 +0100

I guess there’s always a risk involved in working for a startup but is that not what the attraction is in the first place, excitement through the uncertainty of it all?

jamesmd — Mon, 16 Apr 8:18:52 +0100

I went from an internship at an internet software startup to a job there after I finished uni. And, I’m not sure if I did the right thing. I studied marketing. I worked outside of university on my own internet things, making money through affiliate sites. I learned HTML, CSS and I’m a WordPress, Photoshop, [...]

eram — Fri, 13 Apr 12:29:57 +0100

The issue of Child Soldiers is not new and in most probability will remain with us for a long while. This article has raised some very painful points, very similar to those found in debates on child labour. For those who think there are easy answers out there, WAKE UP, for truth hurts. There are [...]

VMinu — Fri, 13 Apr 11:53:24 +0100

I do agree that it is a diffused problem. Invisible children obviously tugged a lot of heartstrings, which is where its success lies. It’s easier for the general public to hate one man rather than try to understand the complex economic and political situation in an unstable, war-torn country,no? I guess despite all their short-comings, [...]

ramonbez — Fri, 13 Apr 9:42:45 +0100

It’s pretty obvious that wars like what Invisible Children is proposing don’t solve any problem, they just make it worse (http://www.quora.com/Iraq/Is-Iraq-a-safer-place-now-compared-to-what-it-was-like-during-Saddam-Husseins-regime). But that debate is pointless in practice because solving these issues is NEVER the aim of such actions, they’re just excuses to invade countries for other reasons. And since there are no economic reasons [...]

alexormandy — Thu, 12 Apr 9:50:33 +0100

How on earth is giving someone your name “handing out my personal information to strangers”? I’m pretty sure the barista didn’t say “That is £2.95 please, what’s your sort code and pin number” If your offended that someone asks your name I hate to think what your like talking to strangers at parties.

tom.foremski — Wed, 11 Apr 19:04:20 +0100

Nice interview but you could have pressed him a little further on some of the answers such as the coming disruption, and on the difference between journalism and blogging, he replies, “Loads” and you leave it at that!

Mariel Hurd — Wed, 11 Apr 13:56:39 +0100

Another quick test of something…

Mariel Hurd — Wed, 11 Apr 1:16:59 +0100

Hey, Jackalope. Comments are being screwy for me, so I’m using your article as a testing ground.

johnpauldickie — Tue, 10 Apr 21:35:41 +0100

Fantastic interview Sam. Covered all areas.

kieranjallen — Tue, 10 Apr 19:26:34 +0100

awesome interview!

Adam McCartney — Tue, 10 Apr 15:30:11 +0100

I agree with Fifa 12 as well, never played GoW. Tried to get into the first one, but just couldn’t and subsequently sort of abandoned the series. Does appear that we’re living up the stereotype of men only playing Sports & FPS games though (which the exception of portal & kinect titles on the list [...]

richardaskew — Tue, 10 Apr 14:34:03 +0100

I agree with F1 2011. Great game for a busy 32 year old with a young family like me. Can pick it up and put it down no problem. I also think FIFA 2012 is good fof this purpose. For a shoot-em-up, the Gears of War trilogy is great. Good fun but does not take [...]

johnmmorksy — Tue, 10 Apr 14:00:20 +0100

This is amazing

jamesrwhite — Sat, 07 Apr 23:29:29 +0100

While this can be a bit tricky to set up from what I’ve seen so far it’s definitely going to be worth it in the long run

Adam McCartney — Wed, 04 Apr 22:34:11 +0100

i loved that map, has been years since i played counter strike though. PC Gaming sort of fell out of favour as my machine fell behind more modern specs. Epic map though. I know i’m always harping on about it, but i’m really interested to see what the community comes up with when the next [...]

Adam McCartney — Wed, 04 Apr 22:23:48 +0100

Single player games are far from dead. Sometimes you just want to be left alone and immersed in the experience of the game, this is pretty difficult with text on screen or chatter coming through your headset. Also, some awesome games just wouldn’t work with more than one player, two at most. Can you imagine [...]

Adam McCartney — Wed, 04 Apr 22:15:58 +0100

Same here mate, quite a few times

timothy — Wed, 04 Apr 13:35:33 +0100

De_dust was a great map, however, the pictures you have at the start of the article are actually de_dust2 – another classic.

Reply To: A look at the support available to entrepreneurs: Which schemes are a waste of money and which are the real deal?

MrkParsons — Wed, 04 Apr 3:11:58 +0100

I think it is right that both the government and the private sector should be available to help entrepreneurs, but in two very different ways. The government should create an environment in which entrepreneurs are helped by giving them tax breaks and reducing red tape – both of these measures would help every single entrepreneur [...]

jeffmiles — Mon, 02 Apr 6:28:49 +0100

It’s interesting to see how simply playing around when you’re a child can develop into an official map for an actual game!

charlesstrebor — Fri, 30 Mar 9:34:48 +0100

It is the artist that is fine, not the art. {test}

chrismcandrew — Thu, 29 Mar 12:05:29 +0100

I’ve twice now, typed out a comment, it appeared with a post number without any of the content I had written. I give up.

chrismcandrew — Thu, 29 Mar 11:51:45 +0100

(Posted before: hasn’t appeared, but I’ll be damned if I’m typing that all out again.) Great interview. Couple months back I played through Crash Bandicoot, right to the end, its still addictive. The music was probably the most memorable thing I associate with Crash games… Goes to show if you create a cult game, you’ll [...]

Lucas McCartney — Wed, 28 Mar 16:51:53 +0100

You are correct Kelly, the Lib Dems are a long standing political group and in recent local elections they have out preformed counter-parts but it will be interesting to see if they will survive politically and face another century of political exclusion! I’m looking forward to seeing how they will perform in the next election [...]

chrismcandrew — Tue, 27 Mar 11:54:24 +0100

The majority of my ‘eureka’ moments happen in the wee-hours of the morning, when I can’t sleep, staring into the dark. If there is time for a long shower yeah, sometimes the mind wanders!

jaredhilliers — Mon, 26 Mar 23:53:53 +0100

Alot of people seem to think Apple can rule the world, they have their shiney white finger in alot of pies, surely they’re now at the peak of their existence. You can only fly so high before you fall, gradually I think they’ll wind back from how big they are now, you know that whole [...]

jaredhilliers — Mon, 26 Mar 23:47:13 +0100

First world problem =) I agree that western RPG’s are the more dominant force for now, you only have to look at sales figures across the board, Dark Souls is a good example of how JRPG’s are changing.

jaredhilliers — Mon, 26 Mar 23:33:58 +0100

In other news, the author asks a valid question about the state of video game characters. https://p.twimg.com/AicHM4_CQAMjAFU.jpg:large

jaredhilliers — Mon, 26 Mar 23:30:18 +0100

Lol highlight of the comments reel, yes it’s a reel, because it’s full of bloopers. “Also, this author is clearly a bitchy cunt with no sense of direction”

jaredhilliers — Mon, 26 Mar 22:46:26 +0100

Just like above, less than a year later and this article is pretty much, wrong. The PSVITA is at more risk

dominicwhite — Mon, 26 Mar 21:13:58 +0100

Best Rayman game I believe that should say. Get 3 others of you around with controllers and tell me you aren’t having fun by playing the game. Especially the latter levels.

martinbryant — Mon, 26 Mar 19:10:20 +0100

The value of abandoned social networks is a really interesting point here, even if much of the information will be out of date.

martinbryant — Mon, 26 Mar 19:07:04 +0100

It’s just a trend – the tide will turn the other way again in time. Of course, it would help if Square Enix would make a Final Fantasy game with a truly engaging plot – something they haven’t done in a good few years.

chrisacky — Mon, 26 Mar 17:45:38 +0100

I had no idea that dust was a community mod’ed/made map. I always thought it was Valves creation.

adisanicholson — Mon, 26 Mar 17:15:53 +0100

If children are old enough to go outside by themselves, they are old enough to have smartphones.

adisanicholson — Mon, 26 Mar 16:08:15 +0100

I don’t think that the BBC actually cares if you watch their tv shows on YouTube, as most of them aren’t aired abroad, sold on DVD, or even streamable online using iPlayer abroad from the UK. Their public charter prohibits them from letting international users use BBC iPlayer, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t [...]

mikemurrie — Mon, 26 Mar 15:57:39 +0100

Played this map numerous times and thoroughly enjoyed it every time. Not once did I think it was made by Joe Bloggs from the UK though, that came as a surprise but great work! Good article and very easy to read and just about right in length.

SonnyUrban — Mon, 26 Mar 15:25:09 +0100

Very interesting article!

meredithhadfield — Mon, 26 Mar 15:12:47 +0100

I think that it is just inevitable change, but from the other side it is a bit unnerving to look on at!

johnpauldickie — Sun, 25 Mar 16:45:46 +0100

It’s only in the past 4 years that the North East has seen transport infrastructure improvements, mostly on the Tyne and Wear Metro from part privatisation which saw DB Regio take over operations and maintenance in 2010. Bus and train services have seen some improvement but nothing much compared to London and the South East.

johnpauldickie — Sun, 25 Mar 13:46:35 +0100

It’s interesting to see what\’s in the open source intelligence space but also how it is nearly a legal “alternative” to phone hacking and the associated activities for journalists. When I first saw and used Duedil, I didn’t realise how powerful and in depth it was and how it can be used to go back [...]

dawnstobbart — Fri, 23 Mar 19:58:04 +0100

I DO have some of my best ideas in the shower – or the middle of the night!! My mind can wander in the shower, without the pressures of life, just for a couple of minutes. Bliss!!!

Reply To: Apple is working on a games console – Microsoft has a chance to compete, but are Sony and Nintendo finished?

alexanderking — Thu, 22 Mar 13:35:10 +0100

I think apple will flood the market if they then decide to create a games console, i mean… there are enough companies already trying to make it in the console market, and then for another big player to come and sit down and try and make its bed, i think it will just be disastrous. [...]

Reply To: Alex King of FragRadio eSports gaming radio station shares exciting developments, tells us what makes his team special

alexanderking — Thu, 22 Mar 13:31:26 +0100

It’s great to see all your feedback guys, thanks for the support, hopefully in a couple of years time ( maybe nearer ) postdesk will have a catch up with us

jaredhilliers — Thu, 22 Mar 12:55:40 +0100

I’d hope they have a future, otherwise i’ll stop playing! Although I can see the appeal of online multiplayer, probably because I played MMO’s for awhile. If you take an MMO player away from their vice, get them to play a single player campaign, watch them squirm without the feeling of being “connected”. They’ll have [...]

Reply To: Why the Nintendo 3DS will be a failure, and how it is fundamentally flawed

glennlesanto — Thu, 22 Mar 5:17:24 +0100

Hello, this is a test.

7205

sioned — Thu, 08 Mar 21:41:23 +0100

I smoke and my do-gooder school friends judge me. Doesn’t matter that they cut themselves and openly gloat about it. Doesn’t matter that I’m getting better grades, despite my smoking. I suffer from crippling anxiety and its the only relief I have. I don’t smoke around them and I’m always sure to blow up the [...]

6886

nick — Wed, 07 Mar 13:34:21 +0100

Less than one year later and it’s selling double the DS did in the same time frame. You want some ketchup with those words?

7528

dawn — Mon, 05 Mar 8:29:28 +0100

I read all the reviews about this game having such a brilliant narrative and thoughts would have a go at it…I’m still waiting! The scenery is stunning, the characters are wonderfully photorealistic, but the story? I think Bethesda picked up a ream of fantasy novels and mashed them up. It’s sad, because this game could [...]

7593

williamtildesley — Thu, 01 Mar 14:37:31 +0100

Care to expand on why you feel that way?

7597

burt — Thu, 01 Mar 13:46:40 +0100

Agree on the physical prowess aspect of sports, and the idea that simplicity will always win out in sports — just look at the ‘world’s sport’ – soccer/football. However, I’d argue racing requires similar qualities as a gamer has. Perhaps on top of the inherent complexity of these games, there’s also the sense of danger [...]

7592

tom — Thu, 01 Mar 8:20:43 +0100

First of all thanks Hmm still a poor system though, MS/Sony actively watch for abusive Gamertags so I dont think its really acceptable especially considering their target market imo. To be fair with Nintendo, they announced this week that they are looking to provide more video content on the Wii U, I wonder if its [...]

7596

mrcorrector — Thu, 01 Mar 3:20:21 +0100

Yup. People play sports games because they like the sport. It’s a bit backwards to expect them to watch e-sports because they like the games and you have some pretty stiff competition with the real sports themselves.

7595

solomute — Thu, 01 Mar 3:19:46 +0100

Because what’s exciting about physical sports is displays of physical prowess. A sports video game replaces a lifetime of practice at hand-eye coordination with pressing the A-button at the right time. You’re removing everything that is exciting about the original sport and not replacing it with anything equally compelling. Also, there’s no real reason anybody [...]

7594

adan1els — Wed, 29 Feb 22:30:33 +0100

How many times have you been playing a game where your computer teammates dont do exactly what you tell them to? Or you could be standing in the exact spot the pass is traveling through, however due to a calculation you have no control over(pass intercept isnt high enough) the ball goes right through your [...]

7591

tanto — Wed, 29 Feb 22:04:03 +0100

ridiculous shit

7469

james — Wed, 29 Feb 21:54:32 +0100

To focus back on the article itself… North Korea has agreed to stop its uranium enrichment, as well as agreeing to foreign aid to be given to its people. A NK political stunt? Or a real turning point?

7583

Lawrence Serewicz — Wed, 29 Feb 21:26:07 +0100

Dear N4MU Thanks for the comments. I agree on the issues regarding crediting work, which I do on my personal sites. The Postdesk offers a great platform and I am glad to be able to participate. As they have cleared up the issue about copyright, I will focus on your substantive points. Yes, copyright, in [...]

7468

james — Wed, 29 Feb 21:08:33 +0100

Thanks for your response. I stand by my original comment. I am very well educated and understand what racism is (both generic and non generic). The article wouldn’t have been published if it was racist anyway. As someone who is strongly against any form of racism, I would challenge anyone with such views. I apologise [...]

7590

Jack Bromley — Wed, 29 Feb 19:32:51 +0100

Just a heads up: “Nintendo’s online devices where you are given a twelve digit code for each game you use” Nintendo have stopped using that system now. Whilst it’s still active on the Wii and DS, it’s not on the 3DS or on the upcoming WiiU. For those two systems, it uses a single twelve [...]

7582

Sam England — Wed, 29 Feb 16:28:59 +0100

I’d also like to thank you for your participation in this discussion – you’ve certainly raised a number of important issues that should not be overlooked. I’d also like to thank you for your valuable feedback. If you have any further feedback about PostDesk, or about long-form discussion online – please do get in touch. [...]

7581

williamtildesley — Wed, 29 Feb 14:38:07 +0100

Firstly, let me thank you for your valuable input into this discussion. The crediting of images, when required, is overseen by an editor. Sometimes we can overlook this until someone brings it to our attention. When we launch our main site, there will be a more rigid photo credit system so that the source and [...]

7580

n4mu — Wed, 29 Feb 12:27:29 +0100

Thanks for explaining the process which you use to write articles. I must admit that I am used to illustrating my articles using my own choice of images, I either chose from an image bank from which I know the website owner has paid rights to access or I use images which allow me to [...]

7486

Sam England — Wed, 29 Feb 2:14:04 +0100

Hi Dom, Thank you for the comment. As the post above mentions – it’s our nationally facing blog at postdesk.com/blog which receives over 90,000 unique visitors a month. We have, over the past few weeks ran a number of pieces which received extremely wide exposure (interviews with notable people, exclusive feature pieces, opinion pieces) which [...]

7467

williamtildesley — Wed, 29 Feb 2:00:48 +0100

Shego, Apologies but the commenting system is very limited with the launch blog. Once PostDesk.com is launched you’ll see a vastly improved commenting system. You can sign up for an invite in the sidebar of this blog. Thanks, William

7579

postdeskteam — Wed, 29 Feb 1:49:02 +0100

For the record – we can confirm that permission to use this map was granted from the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg. (European Commission Joint Research Centre) – a ‘Travel time to major cities: A global map of Accessibility‘.

7578

Lawrence Serewicz — Tue, 28 Feb 22:08:51 +0100

Dear N4MU, I wrote the article and responded to the questions. I have no control over the website or the presentation of the work on the website. This is like complaining about the playboy centerfold for the content of the magazine. They are the content. The person you need to direct your questions to is [...]

7492

hauntedquiche — Tue, 28 Feb 21:43:59 +0100

Wow. That’s, ummm… expensive. I haven’t seen much of handheld games but they never really struck me as something which could sell at that price. I mean don’t get me wrong, some of them look really fun but not £30 worth of fun.

7491

Jack Bromley — Tue, 28 Feb 21:07:15 +0100

Unfortunately, that is the case with handheld game prices now. Most 3DS titles release at £30, and whilst most third-party ones will drop to about £25 after a few days (which is still relatively expensive) all of the first-party ones will stay at that price for months to come. The Vita isn’t as bad, surprisingly. [...]

7577

n4mu — Tue, 28 Feb 16:58:31 +0100

Lawrence Serewicz, you have replied to “The Problem With Copyright” without responding to what he/she actually said: “Yet you have not credited the original image creators, nor I presume paid them for the rights to reuse.” I think that a good honest discussion with people who don’t share your views can be interesting and even [...]

7576

Lawrence Serewicz — Tue, 28 Feb 8:07:39 +0100

Thank you, the Problem with Copyright for your comment. When someone praises my work in their opening sentence, I know I am in for a rough ride for the rest of the post. Alas, you have misplaced the focus. I I am the author rather than the publisher. I am not the website owner. As [...]

7466

shego — Tue, 28 Feb 4:49:40 +0100

1) Apparently I can’t reply to your reply? Seems to be a bug in the setup. 2) So, to sum up your response: Not Racist: Making sweeping statements about what all North Koreans do, say, and think. Racist: Pointing out that James Sims is white. Haha. Shit. Hell no, I don’t want to explain what [...]

7575

Lawrence Serewicz — Mon, 27 Feb 22:07:07 +0100

N4MU Thanks for the email. I am not sure the established are behind the legislation. I think, the politicians are reacting to issues. It is worth remembering that the negotiation for ACTA started back in 2006. They, in turn, were an outgrowth of earlier set of negotiations, agreements, and treaties. Along the way, as I [...]

7574

n4mu — Mon, 27 Feb 11:28:45 +0100

Very nice comment by The Problem With Copyright. Indeed Lawrence has many photos to illustrate his article, I would like to know how those images are licensed as it is not mentioned. I have seen every photo here somewhere else and I am certain that the are either not royalty free or they are CC [...]

7573

theproblemwithcopyright — Mon, 27 Feb 5:08:04 +0100

In your excellent and well prepared article you have used an image. http://postdesk.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/global-trade-map.png This is a cutdown version of the image at: http://bioval.jrc.ec.europa.eu/products/gam/images/large/access-map.png Yet you have not credited the original image creators, nor I presume paid them for the rights to reuse. Your commercial intersts are indirect and relate to sales of your books and [...]

7572

n4mu — Sun, 26 Feb 23:46:11 +0100

It is the well established that are mainly behind SOPA/PIPA/ACTA and other such laws. Not the others, though there are some misinformed supporters. You have ZERO to gain from any anti piracy law if you want to start a career selling books but don’t have an agency with money that takes you under their wing. [...]

7571

Lawrence Serewicz — Sun, 26 Feb 22:12:34 +0100

N4MU, Thanks for the post. Yes, there arebusiness models out there that do work for established artists. All of those artists are established. They already have media, management, and marketing teams that promote their work or want to promote their work. To use them, is to miss the point. What about the other 99% who [...]

7570

n4mu — Sun, 26 Feb 21:11:51 +0100

Lawrence, You ask for a business model for “knowledge workers”, one thing that seems to work is when content creators don’t exaggerate. For example: - Radiohead: They released their stuff on a “pay what you want” basis. It worked and they made more money than they needed. - Louis CK: Asked 5$ to download his [...]

7490

hauntedquiche — Sun, 26 Feb 16:02:43 +0100

It’s been ages since I owned a handheld console and even then it was practically antique (gameboy, 5 years after fashionable :p ) but… are these kind of prices for handheld games common? I always thought of handheld consoles as something to pass time during a journey and for that, well, £30 seems pretty steep. [...]

7589

kellymarieblundell — Sat, 25 Feb 21:30:10 +0100

I’m continually fascinated by just how bad Labour’s PR is at the moment. The only way Ken Livingstone got in the news was by making homophobic comments. It’s a far cry from the days of Alistair Campbell.

7548

Lawrence Serewicz — Sat, 25 Feb 21:07:33 +0100

Thanks for the comment. I think you are right that the Amish have a religion that helps them avoid the technological dilemma of privacy. One wonders, though, if we can survive with such technological austerity. Moreover, have we become used to our privacy being used for economic gain that we are less likely to resist? [...]

7569

Lawrence Serewicz — Sat, 25 Feb 19:32:04 +0100

The structure of the internet is not the problem so much as the politics or rather the political economy of the internet. How people make money, how people protect their value, and how people can conduct business with, through, and from the internet are the questions that need to be answers. How do you protect [...]

7036

caseyoppenheim — Sat, 25 Feb 17:20:23 +0100

Over the last year there has been a huge swell in the amount of people adopting online privacy tools and its expected to explode this year. There are a bunch of articles like this super mainstream one. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2011-12-29/internet-privacy/52274608/1 The times are changing — people don’t want all this online tracking.

7568

Lawrence Serewicz — Sat, 25 Feb 14:24:24 +0100

Greyfade, Thanks for your comment. If the problem does not exist, why do people believe it does? If the legislation is not needed, why are politicians being asked for it and why are they doing it? My experience with politicians is that they do not (usually) go looking for difficult problems or work beyond their [...]

7567

Lawrence Serewicz — Sat, 25 Feb 14:17:48 +0100

Axure, Thanks for the comment. I am not sure how I am misleading people by directing them to the US ACTA page. You are confusing two processes: The Wikileaks and opposition to ACTA. ACTA was publicly announced, as part of the US trade negotiating process Super 301. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_301_Report There were calls for public consultation on [...]

7566

Lawrence Serewicz — Sat, 25 Feb 12:19:09 +0100

Fronk, thank you for the comment. I agree the economics need to be determined and the best business model has not emerged…..yet. So, what would you suggest would be in place to protect the small start ups? If the slow moving companies are protecting their economic and business advantage, what will protect the advantage of [...]

7565

Lawrence Serewicz — Sat, 25 Feb 11:47:41 +0100

Thanks for the comment. I would recommend that you check out the links to the actual negotiating process. These treaties have been in progress for years, with a well publicized negotiating process. Like any treaty, there are elements that are done in private. However, this does not make them secret. The participants report the findings [...]

7564

Lawrence Serewicz — Sat, 25 Feb 11:39:08 +0100

What makes copyright obsolete? I am not sure that a greater ability to make copies or transmit the works makes it obsolete. It may be harder to enforce, but it does not make it obsolete. In many ways, copyright is related to trademark or simply ensuring that fake and dangerous goods are not sold. Moreover, [...]

7563

Lawrence Serewicz — Sat, 25 Feb 11:31:44 +0100

Thanks for the post. The question of value is a difficult one to determine. You may find value in your statements, and others may find them valuable, but that does not mean that they will pay for them. The intrinsic worth of a statement does not always reflect what people will pay for them. Like [...]

7546

matthew — Sat, 25 Feb 10:09:53 +0100

Good points in most aspects. I think there’s more of a personal hatred you have for Skyrim as it may not have lived up to your expectations. There are things that I think could have improved. People act like there is still as cival war going on even though I had ended it long ago. [...]

7527

Mariel Hurd — Sat, 25 Feb 3:05:30 +0100

If RPGs aren’t your style, then holy shit I wouldn’t blame you for being put off for life by Skyrim. It has many of the genre’s worst excesses with very few of its positives. The environment really does have a Flintstones kinda feel to it, and the basic backdrop they’ve chosen was nowhere near interesting [...]

7545

Mariel Hurd — Sat, 25 Feb 2:55:49 +0100

You’re certainly right in that applying my imagination would have saved this game. I would’ve imagined that a racist city which oppressed Dunmer and accused them of being in cahorts with the Altmer, might mistreat actual Altmer. I would’ve imagined a civil war that didn’t have two defined leaders who divvied up territory like they [...]

7544

Mariel Hurd — Sat, 25 Feb 2:47:00 +0100

Could you please explain to me what Skyrim’s narrative style is? Because as far as I know there is no style which includes basic storytelling flaws. (Unreliable narrator maybe? But that doesn’t apply here, as the issues are with how plot elements fail to lead on from or interact with each other. Or how ideological [...]

7543

Mariel Hurd — Sat, 25 Feb 2:40:38 +0100

This is going to sound incredibly sarcastic, but I’m glad you enjoyed Skyrim. It was pretty lacking as an RPG, but as a hack-and-slash it did have its strengths and I hope you owned the fuck out of every dragon in it.

7542

Mariel Hurd — Sat, 25 Feb 2:34:03 +0100

‘the breadth of the game got away from Bethesda’ is a perfect description of what happened with Skyrim. They had some real gems in there to work with, and if they’d taken less of their ideas but focused on them more it might have made all the difference. (Or they might have just have put [...]

7541

Mariel Hurd — Sat, 25 Feb 2:26:47 +0100

Yeah, for all their faults, Bethesda are admirably supportive of their modding community and it produces some incredible work – the Oblivion full conversion mod ‘Nehrim’ being one of the most obvious examples. I hadn’t thought as much as I should have about what will be made for Skyrim, but you’ve reminded me how important [...]

7485

dom — Sat, 25 Feb 2:03:05 +0100

Whilst I applaud your willingness to include our communities and their population – I’ve got to ask where you get your 90,000 UV figure from. Connect Cumbria has been doing much the same for nearly three years – and we can only conjour 22,000. Are we doing something wrong? Would you like to enlighten us? [...]

7562

etherael — Sat, 25 Feb 1:51:22 +0100

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2011/06/30/child-por… There does seem to be some evidence to indicate that this is actually the case. However I don’t think it should even be granted that just because a a digital item has the potential to be abhorrent to human sensibilities, this is adequate justification for the policing of all digital content. Even assuming child [...]

7561

danbc — Sat, 25 Feb 1:49:14 +0100

“We see stuff that we don’t like. Some of it is stuff that you wouldn’t like. Some of it is stuff that paid lobbyists are telling us not to like. We don’t understand the Internet, nor international law, and we want to do something about this stuff that we don’t like. Some of that stuff [...]

7560

etherael — Sat, 25 Feb 1:48:41 +0100

I don’t understand this “the internet needs to be tamed” perspective that people approaching from this angle always come from. How does this make any sense at all? Is there something actually, demonstrably wrong with the current anarchic structure of internet governance? Or is the answer to that simply “We don’t have powers we would [...]

7448

paulasselin — Fri, 24 Feb 22:52:10 +0100

Good review, thanks.

7559

Lawrence Serewicz — Fri, 24 Feb 21:17:38 +0100

You are right that the changes to intellectual property rights will change the Industry but is that the best way? To be sure the industry is adapting But will this not require legislation to adjudicate if industry cannot reolve it? At the same time the industry has comparative advantages tlike quality and techniques That need [...]

7540

lisa — Fri, 24 Feb 20:39:56 +0100

I think the issue here is not with the game but your lack of imagination. The writing is done in a way to make the game open so you can choose quests or which side of the war to be on. The game does not tell you win side to pick because you are expected [...]

7558

Lawrence Serewicz — Fri, 24 Feb 19:01:20 +0100

In response to Tomp, Tomp, You make a good point about art, yet the artists are usually some of the most vociferous in defending their product. I agree there is a philosophical beauty to the argument of art for art’s sake. Yet, the leisure (as the Ancient greeks understood it) to produce that art was [...]

7557

Lawrence Serewicz — Fri, 24 Feb 18:56:11 +0100

Tomp, You make a good point about art, yet the artists are usually some of the most vociferous in defending their product. I agree there is a philosophical beauty to the argument of art for art’s sake. Yet, the leisure (as the Ancient greeks understood it) to produce that art was (at least until quite [...]

7588

tom — Fri, 24 Feb 16:53:41 +0100

Labour needs to radically rethink how it gets its message out, as currently they look like fools, even if the policy are good.

7556

greyfade — Fri, 24 Feb 16:06:29 +0100

The problem with this article is that it misses the biggest point in all of these protests: Yes, it’s laudable that legislators and negotiators are trying to “solve a problem,” but what they, their supporters, and this article so clearly miss is that this “problem” *doesn’t exist.* Or, at least, it doesn’t exist in the [...]

7587

kellymarieblundell — Fri, 24 Feb 15:59:37 +0100

I would agree to a certain extent, the Lib Dems are being pilloried. But I don’t think the Conservatives are doing too well either. Rather than the Lib Dems being wiped out in the next election, I would currently say that the election will be hung again. In local politics the areas held by the [...]

7555

axure — Fri, 24 Feb 15:27:33 +0100

Well, let’s start with one clear example, where the author is misleading the readers: He claims, that ACTA was not secret, which is a lie. ACTA was secret from its conception in 2006, till February 2010, when pressure from some EU countries resulted in the release of the document. In fact, at one point the [...]

7539

captfuzzypants — Fri, 24 Feb 15:19:33 +0100

Yea but the story sucked. It had great quantity but the quality wasn’t all that great. I want to care about the characters and the world. Skyrim could not get me to care about anyone or anything in the game.

7586

tom — Fri, 24 Feb 15:19:05 +0100

Interesting piece, but even taking the points in your diplomatic reply the LDs are in trouble in my opinion. They have been and will continue to be pilloried for everything that the Conservatives do that is against what people perceive to be left values.

7538

archangelmike — Fri, 24 Feb 15:18:44 +0100

Meh… don’t bother with the article. Whiny author who misses the whole point of the game and it’s narrative styling. I would ask the author to suggest any two open world RPG’s that does story and design – within an open world setting, BETTER than Skyrim. Specifically addressing the points of meta narrative consequences, as [...]

7554

fronk — Fri, 24 Feb 15:12:28 +0100

I fully agree with Tomp. I’d also like to add my highly personal perspective. The way I see it, it seems like companies that can move fast, or just starting up can easily adapt to this fast paced change in how/where/why consumers put their money these days. And it seems that large slow moving companies/corporations [...]

7553

rsanchez1 — Fri, 24 Feb 15:10:49 +0100

The problem is that it’s not the people asking for this. That’s why people are protesting SOPA/PIPA/ACTA. That’s why people in several European countries took to the streets protesting their government’s involvement in ACTA. Even worse, ACTA was drafted in secret, away from the people the agreement is going to affect. When the special interests [...]

7552

Fri, 24 Feb 15:09:02 +0100

Copyright is needless and long obsolete. People will pay for what deserves to be paid for. Only thing that might need intervention are scams to make money off of other people’s creations.

7551

janhhansen — Fri, 24 Feb 15:00:33 +0100

“We talk of freedom, artistic expression, and creativity, but at the end of the day, someone has to get paid.” While you may have been paid for your article, no one is paying me for posting this comment and yet it may eventually be discovered and read by someone else, who may want to respond. [...]

7585

kellymarieblundell — Fri, 24 Feb 14:38:05 +0100

Actually, we are far more consistent than the other two parties. We have held the policy of increasing the minimum tax threshold to £10,000 and this is being implemented. We have maintained the policy of being anti-nuclear weapons, we have always advocated legalisation of illegal drugs, and we have consistently adhered to a pluralist agenda. [...]

7550

kuroyume — Fri, 24 Feb 14:01:01 +0100

We do provide an alternative to this legislation: stop protecting an obsolete industry and have them change to provide better services at better prices. I’ll stop pirating TV shows when there is something like Steam to get them: cheap, convinient and timely.

7549

tomp — Fri, 24 Feb 13:39:41 +0100

The author makes a big rhetorical/logical fallacy: (s)he describes the “problem” that the internet has without ever explaining what exactly the problem is (its existence is just implied). The issue is exactly the oposite. There is no problem with the internet, but the industries, that see internet as a potential new source of (parasitic) revenue, [...]

7547

defconoi — Fri, 24 Feb 12:55:56 +0100

being amish is freedom, they dont pay taxes or rely on our technology at all, they dont use monsanta seeds either maybe we need to create a religion like the amish here in the us, kinda like: http://kopimistsamfundet.se/english/ but a religion of privacy, copying, security, etc. We need to create a privacy god, copy cod, [...]

7537

blurtex33 — Fri, 24 Feb 1:48:52 +0100

I disagree. Skyrim is amazing (unless you are playing on a PC of course).

7536

tom — Thu, 23 Feb 22:58:46 +0100

Well this is unfair; I had great fun wandering around the vast majority of the Skyrim realm whilst slack-jawed at its unbelievable graphics and combat.Yes there are some quests which make you ponder whether the last 30 minutes of your life were wasted or if the Hide Shield of Waning Frost was worth the 20 [...]

7535

Jack Bromley — Thu, 23 Feb 20:21:31 +0100

Paradox, much? I see that you’re criticising an article when you’re – I’m guessing – a ‘game reviewer’ (Videogame Journalist) yourself, and thus, could not produce an article of this depth and detail. In the end, videogames are judged almost entirely on opinion, and any videogame journalist you approach likely doesn’t have the experience to [...]

7584

libertarian — Thu, 23 Feb 20:18:49 +0100

The Liberal Democrats are finished, they will not exist as a parliamentary party after the next election. They have no principles and no policies that are consistent. They are opportunists trying to pick the crumbs from the the other 2 parties. Politics and democracy in the UK is in a disgraceful mess

7534

matt — Thu, 23 Feb 16:36:56 +0100

I love game reviewers that try to tarnish a great game, I seriously doubt you could even create a game like pong never mind Skyrim. It does get to me when someone insults another hard work and they KNOW they are no where near talented enough to do the same. Any one can play a [...]

7533

benirvine — Thu, 23 Feb 11:45:05 +0100

Just wanted to say I enjoyed this article, you seem to have clarified my general feeling of unease with the game into a coherent argument! All your points are spot on, its a shame that the breadth of the game got away from Bethesda. Anyway thanks for a good read.

7532

david — Thu, 23 Feb 11:01:25 +0100

Christ fucking sake you take the living fun out of this game and curb stomp the shit out of it, also your writing is a drag to read

7531

anonymous — Thu, 23 Feb 8:02:30 +0100

I found myself conceding to most of the points you brought up, despite my original love for the game. I imagine that the warm fuzzies I got from playing it were attainable because, while my senses were satisfied with the aesthetics, my imagination filled in the many gaps in the writing. What redeems Bethesda a [...]

7530

Mariel Hurd — Thu, 23 Feb 7:49:44 +0100

There are arrow traps which you can set off, yes. The lighted areas also have a spell effect on the floor, which will continuously hurt you while you’re stood on it. It makes a sizzling noise, and I think it’s probably a lightning spell.

7529

anonymous — Wed, 22 Feb 23:19:26 +0100

I love how, in Pilgrim’s Path, you said “the light burns you.” Clearly, you weren’t paying any attention because it’s not the light that burns you; the path has strategically-placed traps which you’ve set off and you’re being ‘burned’ by poison arrows. Makes me question what else you missed during your ‘playthrough’ and criticized as [...]

7526

adam — Wed, 22 Feb 9:52:19 +0100

I had a go at Skyrim, despite it not being my usual kind of game (i’m more of a shoot-y, drive-y kinda guy). Put several hours into it but i still don’t like it. It looks absolutely stunning but dear god it is repetitive. Sure, i spent a lot of time wandering about looking at…well, [...]

7384

amber — Tue, 21 Feb 21:28:11 +0100

When you were their age the phone you had will have been up to date with the times, so I don’t see the issue when really, they’ve got the exact same: a current phone. Bit hypocritical isn’t it?

7035

caseyoppenheim — Tue, 21 Feb 17:58:23 +0100

There are great free privacy services, including all the Disconnect products. But, there are also numerous companies successfully charging money for privacy tools. As tracking technologies become more sophisticated privacy tools have to keep up, and keeping pace with billion dollar companies can be tough without revenue. Pay for privacy tools and free tools can [...]

7525

Lawrence Serewicz — Sat, 18 Feb 20:38:35 +0100

Joe, Thanks for the response; I think mine may have been done too quickly for the seriousness of the topic. I wanted to clarify some points in your post and others that related to my comment. First, as far as the law of Parliament runs (which is throughout the UK) the Church of England is [...]

7524

Joe Anthony — Sat, 18 Feb 15:10:12 +0100

ixid, thank you for your reply. A democratically-elected Upper House CAN work if properly constituted. See my reply to Frankster for more details.

7523

Joe Anthony — Sat, 18 Feb 15:08:38 +0100

An interesting and passionate reply there, Frankster. Thank you for contributing. But let me explain why I disagree. The role of the Upper House should be to revise and approve, with some scope for amendment. A PR system, for instance, for the new upper House (let’s call it the Senate for argument’s sake) would enable [...]

7522

Joe Anthony — Sat, 18 Feb 15:00:12 +0100

Thank you for your comment, Captain. The head of state in the UK is indeed unelected but does next to nothing. As someone with little effective power bound by constitutional precedent, who would almost certainly bring about their downfall if they dismissed a government willy-nilly, the constitutional monarch doesn’t bother me. I really don’t see [...]

7521

Joe Anthony — Sat, 18 Feb 14:39:40 +0100

Hi Lawrence, Many thanks for your comment but I have to challenge you on a few things. Firstly, the UK IS a democratic system. To suggest otherwise is just plain silly. The Members of Parliament are elected directly by the people, as are local councillors, county councillors, mayors in an increasing number of towns and [...]

7068

vendettamaskcom — Sat, 18 Feb 11:19:52 +0100

buy your mask now http://bit.ly/x2b3C1

7508

Sophie Harrison — Fri, 17 Feb 20:05:56 +0100

I think to use the term “Philistinism” takes what I’m saying to the extreme. This isn’t an attack on the shows themselves, nor the people who watch them, more a question of whether they play a part in altering people’s behaviour. I can happily say that I don’t consider myself unique for having these views [...]

7520

davidb — Fri, 17 Feb 9:21:41 +0100

‘The UK has an established religion. The Church of England is the official religion of the country.’ Simply wrong. The CoE is the official religion of England, but not the UK. A variation of the West Lothian Question. It is an absurdity, and one to be done away with as soon as possible. David B

7519

ixid — Fri, 17 Feb 0:36:13 +0100

I don’t like it that there are Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords. On the other hand a democratic House of Lords would be a disaster, we have a political chamber already. The House of Lords is a chamber of review. By removing the Lords Spiritual you’d open the way for the wholesale destruction [...]

7518

frankster — Fri, 17 Feb 0:35:47 +0100

while I agree that hereditary peers and bishops and so on are anti-democratic, I also strongly believe that an elected house of lords would be a disaster (as either lords matches commons majority in which case they rubber stamp everything and there is no democracy, or lords doesn’t match commons majority in which case nothing [...]

7517

captinmidnight — Thu, 16 Feb 18:22:45 +0100

I have said this elsewhere on this subject, we have hundreds of unelected Lords, even more MPs who were elected because they were party members, not because any of the voters knew anything about them. We have an unelected head of state and another unelected head of government heading a shaky coalition no one voted [...]

7465

james — Thu, 16 Feb 12:44:27 +0100

Interesting response, Shego. I struggle to see where the racist jokes are, the article focusses on the plight of these oppressed citizens, and highlighting the suffering of these citizens. The attacks I make are towards the uncaring government, which isn’t racist. At no point does the article focus on the race of a person, but [...]

7506

widgetas — Thu, 16 Feb 2:10:09 +0100

Shit me. That’s a good message to start with: “Ignore the nay-sayers” (those who will criticise immediately) but feck me, they go too far.

7515

mantonization — Thu, 16 Feb 2:07:53 +0100

Can’t we do both? I wasn’t aware that one you were in the EU clubhouse the door was locked behind you and you were forbidden from going outside.

7516

Lawrence Serewicz — Thu, 16 Feb 0:52:41 +0100

Joe, The piece is interesting and it is sure to attract attention, but how strong is it? The UK has an established religion. The Church of England is the official religion of the country. Yes, it may not be democratic, but the UK is not a democratic system, it is a constitutional monarchy. Parliament may [...]

7514

manicminer — Thu, 16 Feb 0:20:05 +0100

Of course we should, emerging markets is where it’s at and has been since 2008. Most successful UK businesses already know this…

7513

stronimo — Thu, 16 Feb 0:19:38 +0100

The Brits have been doing exactly that for at least 400 years, now.

7502

rthrtylr — Wed, 15 Feb 23:23:57 +0100

Yeah, actually if you look back at the sort of time “Know Your Limits” was satirising, stupid was all the more endemic, but those stupid attitudes were far more acceptable, therefore not seen as being stupid. But look how many people then thought that Africans were a lesser species of man. These days stupid people [...]

7489

matthewslight — Wed, 15 Feb 23:16:42 +0100

It’s called Hackful Europe for a number of reasons: * To provide better focus to a European community * It’s built in London through a European collaboration * As founders we understand the European startup and hacking scene * We want to provide features specific to Europe (language tools, European events calendar for example)

7498

Henry Moulton — Wed, 15 Feb 18:17:36 +0100

The only inherent flaw is that as Jonny writes above “James, Nick and Tom were really good at promoting what they did and how they got there” I think that Ted did exactly the same thing, and that it was nothing to do with his “penis size” as you put it. But great article, you [...]

7497

johnhamelink — Wed, 15 Feb 17:38:34 +0100

Not bad Leydon, not bad. I think you’re sentiment reigns true, and I 100% agree with you on FOWA, but I think you may have missed the point a little of Silicon Milk-roundabout: The reason why the place is teeming with recruiters is simply because the place is equally teeming with people looking for jobs [...]

7496

jonnyrowntree — Wed, 15 Feb 13:52:50 +0100

Hi Chris, Great post! I considered Tomorrow’s Web Meetup to be one of the best small, non-commercial events we would see in 2012. I think other event organisers should take a note out of your book as to how it was promoted and to overall running of the meetup. As I watched the videos from [...]

7495

johnbehringer — Wed, 15 Feb 13:35:23 +0100

Needs to happen but I wait with baited breath.

7494

tombainsscott — Wed, 15 Feb 13:34:33 +0100

There are regions beyond London and the South East? My map just says “Here be dragons”

7493

dilencia — Wed, 15 Feb 13:33:31 +0100

You can joke about it but I see it as akin to social inequality. Just as it’s been shown that the more equal society is the happier, healthier and better off everyone is, they are arguing that the more equal all areas are in terms of infrastructure and investment then the better off the entire [...]

7280

raheela — Mon, 13 Feb 17:16:09 +0100

I paid for a apple iphone 4 at an orange store on the 25/4/2011. I have a 2 year contract which runs out on 24/4/2013. In november 2011 my phone stopped working. I had been out and it had been heavily raining to the point where i was soaked through and my iphone 4 was [...]

7464

shego — Sat, 11 Feb 17:28:23 +0100

White dude makes a series of racist jokes, parrots other people’s poor reporting, calls it provocative journalism. And wonders why Westerners are hated! Yawn.

7231

missodonovan — Sat, 11 Feb 13:04:06 +0100

in the film supergirl meets catwoman i like it if Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow to play the heros undercover dedectives who solves crimes also starring Sharon Gless and Tyne Daley to play Cagney and Lacey and Celebrity enermys such as Superboy and Batman as Nick Carter and Zac Efron

7488

fergus — Fri, 10 Feb 15:43:08 +0100

I don’t see why calling it hackful europe makes it exclusive to european users. The name is fitting considering their intentions to provide a europe-focused alternative. I think it’s precisely because we exist in a global market that it helps to make these distinctions: it allows each community to retain their focus on their specific [...]

7487

colinhayhurst — Thu, 09 Feb 20:19:56 +0100

Interesting but why call it (Hackful) Europe? Let the community that uses it define it. Otherwise it will always be seen as a European side show to Hacker News, Reddit etc. Is it intentional to put off non-Europeans? We are in a global market, are we not?

7338

guilty — Tue, 07 Feb 6:01:23 +0100

You lost everyone at “The Metal Gear franchise has been a series that never really caught my interest.” Article writing fail.

7484

unknownerror — Fri, 03 Feb 20:23:45 +0100

A marvellous interview, with some really insightful questions and answers. Perhaps Jonathan Ross should step aside and give his timeslot to a more deserving person *Winks*.

7483

guest — Fri, 03 Feb 14:07:47 +0100

Nice interview, Naughty really put all his passion in the games. Btw, the secret crash 1 levelis stormy ascent, slippery climb is the one that it’s still on the disk, playable normally

7482

srathem — Fri, 03 Feb 8:38:20 +0100

What a well written and interesting article, having recently downloaded all the crash games on ps+ i had forgotten just how well put together they were. As a massive uncharted fan it is nice to see just how ND was put together and the creative influence behind crash. Well done and i look forward to [...]

7441

yes2hs2 — Thu, 02 Feb 21:21:09 +0100

Uhm, you might want to read what the author said: “To respond to the issue of subjectivity. I made it quite clear that I’m being subjective. This is not an objective report – this is an opinion piece. I am a rail enthusiast so I am openly bias to rail travel”

7481

guy — Thu, 02 Feb 20:27:44 +0100

Great interview Zoë! Andy Gavin – the gaming (and it would seem literary) world would be a much duller place without his valuable input

7480

adam — Thu, 02 Feb 20:02:28 +0100

Such a cool interview, really enjoyed hearing some stories about the early naughty dog days. Some nice questions thrown in there! I’ve always been a big fan of Crash and more recently the Uncharted franchise of games, so it was very interesting to hear how it all came together in the start. Another cool article [...]

7479

jimmy — Thu, 02 Feb 18:31:45 +0100

Fantastic interview! Very enjoyable! I wish he returns someday with a new Crash! Top game! Congrats Zozo!!!

7279

rebecca — Thu, 02 Feb 15:56:50 +0100

I was in exactly the same situation and when I asked in store was told my faulty phone could be replaced for 119. A great offer I repied but I didnt break the phone therefore why should I pay the same as someone who dropped the phone and smashed it? After speaking to a manager [...]

7478

mishidude — Thu, 02 Feb 1:09:57 +0100

Nice to know he’s a fantasy nut lol. Great interview, Zoe! Keep ‘em coming!

7477

008jamesjon — Thu, 02 Feb 0:31:42 +0100

While i was reading this interview i literally had pure nostalgia! Started to rmbr days as a kid playing wit Crash, spinning ard to get cherry’s/apples outta boxes, hell i cld even hear d background music at one stage! Any interview/article tht can give sum1 a blast frm d past like tht must b amazing! [...]

7476

adeeb — Thu, 02 Feb 0:00:25 +0100

Nice read, I always thought Crash Bandicoot played like a 3D Donkey Kong Country. I also believe he’s right to say the series is the most played games on the PS1. Awesome article, Naughty Dog really have been great over the years.

7475

jimbo — Wed, 01 Feb 23:23:22 +0100

I loved the Naughty Dog Crash games as a kid (and Insomniac) and always wondered who ran the company. His first novel looks good too, the elements of real esoterica and mysticism are a good touch. I’m glad to see he’s still around. Great interview!

7474

lloydjones — Wed, 01 Feb 23:16:30 +0100

Really ace interview! very very interesting makes me want to play the games again now! hehe

7473

jaws75 — Wed, 01 Feb 22:44:33 +0100

A very interesting read. Good set of questions that give you an in-depth knowledge and understanding into the creation of an iconic games character. Another great piece by Zoë. Looking forward to your next piece.

7472

atiqulhussain — Wed, 01 Feb 22:25:58 +0100

A well constructed interview Zoë well done! This reminded me of why I fell in love with the PlayStation back in the 90s where games such as Crash, Tekken, Gran Turismo, Final Fantasy VIII amongst several others! Thank you!

7471

ste — Wed, 01 Feb 22:19:23 +0100

I enjoyed reading this interview. As someone who grew up playing crash and other games out around that time I found it interesting what the man behind the games had to say. I thought the questions where well planned and gave A.G freedom to answer honestly and in detail. I feel you could go on [...]

7470

ddb — Wed, 01 Feb 22:14:35 +0100

Class game!

7334

gtd — Tue, 31 Jan 5:42:13 +0100

NORDS ARE SUPPOSE TO BE BEEFCAKES DERP.

6540

adam — Sun, 29 Jan 16:42:07 +0100

I use to advocate Tumblr to all my friends and family because of their simplicity. I use to blog from Blogger and transitioned to Tumblr quite some time ago. My experiences were great with Tumblr up until this month when Tumblr literally made my head explode. I am a student, and I am an entrepreneur. [...]

7463

james — Fri, 27 Jan 17:59:34 +0100

I assure you, HauntedQuiche, all of the facts were fully researched and investigated. The facts presented are the most accurate available. Unfortunately, because of the low levels of official information leaving the country, some facts are bound to include a degree of error which cannot be helped. I’m glad you found the jokes painful, as [...]

7462

hauntedquiche — Fri, 27 Jan 15:48:15 +0100

Whilst I normally enjoy PostDesk’s political articles this one really was very shoddy. It certainly doesn’t help that there are a number of factual inaccuracies within the article. The jokes in particular seemed very badly thought out. Not only were they painfully unfunny and considering the subject, rather out-of-place, but they also seemed targetted at [...]

7394

james — Thu, 26 Jan 21:55:28 +0100

One thing that really concerns me about Diane Abbott is her continuing string of racist remarks. Last year she called Clegg and Cameron “two posh white boys.” Why not just say “two posh boys”? There have been a string of other racial slurs, but she gets away with it every time. Whether what she said [...]

7461

zalon — Wed, 25 Jan 21:40:20 +0100

Very nice article… Now, I’m not from the UK so I don’t know much about the UKeSA, except for reading about it when it first launched and later burned. However, one of the the biggest issues with getting a governing body in eSports is that the scene is so fragmented, it’s like professional boxing, with [...]

7178

kieranvalente — Wed, 25 Jan 15:07:35 +0100

he’s not a peado harry he’s just very disturbed!!!

7177

harrydavis — Wed, 25 Jan 15:05:21 +0100

that is a bit wierd that you kjow what lesson i have you peado!!!!

7176

kieranvalente — Wed, 25 Jan 15:04:41 +0100

orite barry this is amazing!!! love it!!! lol

7175

jackwilson — Wed, 25 Jan 15:03:52 +0100

hi harry having a good time in business?

7174

harrydavis — Wed, 25 Jan 15:00:57 +0100

this is amaizing

7460

alexanderking — Wed, 25 Jan 0:45:02 +0100

Really great read, i have gone to several iSeries events now hosted with multiplay. They are hugely great, i hope to see postdesk there in future events!

7459

happyvlane — Wed, 25 Jan 0:31:24 +0100

A governing body needs to exist in order to help eSports grow. There is simply no way around that and it has been proven to work.

7458

felixjmorgan — Wed, 25 Jan 0:30:48 +0100

UKeSA was never going to be successful. It was poorly thought through, lacked any real power or support, and didn’t have the right people behind it.

7457

skyride — Wed, 25 Jan 0:30:16 +0100

UKeSA was a joke. Giving it even a single second of attention at this point is more than it deserves.

7456

clbull — Wed, 25 Jan 0:29:32 +0100

South Korea’s KeSPA or Korean eSports Players Association is a competitive gaming association formed by the South Korean government. From the beginning, their goal was to regulate: Player conditions Broadcasting rights across television networks within South Korea. Player contracts, and the process of trading players. The organisation of tournaments Investigating matters of fraud and match [...]

7440

brittlebono — Mon, 23 Jan 16:33:32 +0100

You have an opening gambit of: ‘Opposers to HS2 just don’t understand railways’ Then go on to say: ‘I’d like to think …that this will turn out to be a well balanced and well informed argument’ Yes, by your opening paragraph it is obvious that you have a laser focus on balance and open mindedness. [...]

7367

Lawrence Serewicz — Sun, 22 Jan 13:49:34 +0100

Grey, Thanks for the comment. i was not suggesting it was new, thus the reference to the Roman era, rather I was suggesting what was new was the way that the digital age was turning it into work. By that I meant, the sex industry on a global scale has not existed. Yes, prostitution has [...]

7452

johnhobson — Sun, 22 Jan 10:19:00 +0100

An excellent article that covers a lot of my own views. There has been a very vociferous CS lobby led by people who remember the 1980′s through a ‘golden age’ hue who honestly believe that they learnt all about computer programming in School. They didn’t. Thatcher only provided ONE computer per School. In reality families [...]

6979

io — Thu, 19 Jan 14:54:27 +0100

There is a problem with the perception (or faux perception) of the mainstream media over this issue. Was it perhaps that Starkey just managed to use the words ‘Black’ and ‘Crime’ too close together in his argument for the liking of the liberal hegemony that control’s everything we see on TV news? Maybe his argument [...]

7451

kellymarieblundell — Wed, 18 Jan 20:53:49 +0100

It’s a very interesting article, and Michael Gove’s pronouncements that ICT is “boring” certainly wound me up (who is he to make subjective and irrelevant comments about education?). However, one point caught my eye; “the overriding theme of ICT [is] of ‘soft’ skills like presentation and office productivity packages.” While I appreciate the digital natives [...]

7447

raza — Wed, 18 Jan 15:06:43 +0100

Very,very nice review indeed made some really decent points. :3 Good job Zoe!

7446

rionmaiden — Wed, 18 Jan 14:50:48 +0100

good review Zoe, thanks for sharing with us

7450

nazkarim — Wed, 18 Jan 11:30:48 +0100

Great article Tom I completely agree there is a greater need to teach people how to use computers rather than how to reprogram them. ICT/Computer Science is a field that changes more frequently than most computing professionals can keep up with. I can’t see how a valid curriculum can be established for any length of [...]

7445

mx — Wed, 18 Jan 10:59:08 +0100

played part 1 and thought it was an okay-approach to a 0815-shooter with many gfx-issues like tearing all the time. played part 2 and thought it was a little bit more polished gfx-wise. but – sigh – the very same game. i asked myself why i paid the full price. played part 3 (after about [...]

7444

008jamesjon — Wed, 18 Jan 10:27:08 +0100

Great review! Gd read, straight to d point, n more importantly… It mks me feel like im missing out, cuz i hv an Xbox!

7443

mishidude — Wed, 18 Jan 7:28:38 +0100

Nice review, Zoë! Agreed with everything you said. Yes, everything. Lol. As for myself, I love this game. It’s just flat out awesome. The story was very very good, from beginning to end (although Uncharted 2′s story is still better imo lol). The new characters were okay, nothing special or anything, although I wish they [...]

7442

adam — Tue, 17 Jan 23:42:15 +0100

Great review! Couldn’t agree with Zoë more, she makes some great points and an overall good review of Uncharted 3

7449

jamespadolsey — Tue, 17 Jan 22:49:46 +0100

I remember being tasked with creating an Excel spreadsheet project for my A-level coursework. I got to work and quickly realised that the challenging part of this task was going to be writing it up. Making the spreadsheet was the easy and fun part. I loved it. I slipped in some VisualBasic too to jazz [...]

7455

dlm — Tue, 17 Jan 18:39:47 +0100

I think there’s a disparity in attention. There are plenty of ‘tangible’ startups out there, but they don’t scale well. Meanwhile, startup media outlets focus on services hitting hundreds of thousands of customers and getting millions in VC. They don’t care too much about John’s small B&M business that just got a $50,000 bank loan. [...]

7454

taumeson — Tue, 17 Jan 17:10:31 +0100

In my opinion, “yes”, but I haven’t the slightest idea how to do so. I’m in technology, so I can start (and have started) a technological business. But I often think how “real” businesses have brick and mortar and employ blue collar people and I haven’t the slightest idea which niche I could possibly find [...]

7453

steve — Tue, 17 Jan 17:01:11 +0100

The problem is that physical business require a lot of initial capital. I would love to do something in retail (in fact, my ideas notebook has a section dedicated to this kind of thing), but the virtual world has very little overheads and provides a good “failing ground”, and it’s very easy to (and I [...]

7069

justinscott — Mon, 16 Jan 13:51:02 +0100

Dear All, Happy new year. I have a new comic book coming out on FEB 14th 2012 & I was wondering if I could get a presentation desk at your show? If yes, please tell how much it well cost & for how many days? Kind Regards Justin M Scott Kind regards, Justin Michael Scott [...]

7363

gareth — Sun, 15 Jan 1:16:57 +0100

good read, followed fragradio from the start I can assure you its came a long way since Alex took over. All the best mate!

7366

grey — Sun, 15 Jan 0:38:10 +0100

“These combine to reveal a disturbing trend of turning the human person into a commodity.” Oh, wow. Sex trafficking and slavery are TURNING human people into commodities? Since when were they ever NOT? No, seriously, point me out one good span of human history where we haven’t bought and sold each other, lived off slave [...]

7393

grey — Sun, 15 Jan 0:30:13 +0100

Whenever a person of color in a public position dares to bring up the fact that the last several centuries of human history were centuries of white supremacy, and that’s why racism and racial oppression exist in institutionalized form today, that PoC is inevitably jumped on for ‘racism’ or, most ludicrously, ‘reverse racism’. I’m not [...]

7413

tonipop — Sat, 14 Jan 4:56:56 +0100

Grey, sorry. not greg. Jack Bromley, i guess Skyrim ended up a blockbuster because it simply is a very good game, and not just for all the marketing that was poured into it. So yea, it earned its title in all fairness. I didn’t say all blockbusters are good games.

7412

tonipop — Sat, 14 Jan 4:53:23 +0100

Greg, by “It is perfectly capable of becoming the game every player wants to play. ” i meant that it gives you more freedom play-style wise than any other rpg i know. i dont need to perform a survey on gamers to see that it is a very rich game.

7439

damien — Sat, 14 Jan 3:48:55 +0100

I read this with interest from Australia and can’t believe how similar the debate is to that of the NBN (National Broadband Network) in Australia. For those who’ve never heard about it, most I imagine given your geography, the NBN is Australias biggest infrastructure project, aiming to eventually provide fibre-to-the-home broadband across Australia. The NBN [...]

7411

Jack Bromley — Fri, 13 Jan 18:49:40 +0100

Are you for serious? As the famous saying goes: ‘quality, not quantity’. Having a large amount of choice / ‘guns’ isn’t always for the better. In fact, it can be fairly detrimental. See the Call of Duty series, with a smorgasbord of weapons, but most, if not all, of the games have launched with severe [...]

7383

grey — Fri, 13 Jan 6:26:02 +0100

“As I walk around my local town, I see children aged roughly between 9 and 14 using BlackBerrys and iPhones but why are they using them? They don’t need to use the email function, the web browsing function or the apps that can be downloaded from the various application stores for smartphones.” Well… did you [...]

7410

grey — Fri, 13 Jan 6:04:02 +0100

Final Fantasy 8 had a minor-incentive version of this, where your in-game salary was based upon whether you followed the main storyline faithfully and in a timely fashion. If you went and dicked around on sidequests your commander paid you less.

7409

grey — Fri, 13 Jan 6:00:23 +0100

“It is perfectly capable of becoming the game every player wants to play. ” That’s a highly audacious statement to make about the entire gaming public. Have you checked in with everyone about that?

7438

grey — Fri, 13 Jan 5:46:43 +0100

“I’m no economist, but…” = “I’m not being paid to run a cost/benefit analysis with highly selective data in order to churn out the results desired by my sponsors, but…” I submit this is not something for which a preemptive apology is necessary.

7392

grey — Fri, 13 Jan 5:07:31 +0100

PS, in retrospect ‘shamelessly contrived time-travel’ is another reason Chrono Trigger will never get old for me, ever.

7391

grey — Fri, 13 Jan 5:05:48 +0100

This happens quite a lot in my consumption of fanfiction – though poor writing on a really basic level is usually an instant deal-breaker, if the story hits just the right sweet spots I will plow through substantial amounts of broken prose or even bad spelling. My narrative kinks for fanfic include crossovers between shows [...]

7437

robt — Fri, 13 Jan 0:10:02 +0100

I think people need to get a grip, at £1.5 billion a year (assuming its all public money) it’s a little more than the £1.3 billion spent on free pension bus passes. Small fry compared to the NHS and Welfare budgets, the latter in particular do little to generate more money for the Treasury. This [...]

7436

peterjordan — Thu, 12 Jan 22:20:46 +0100

Technological advances such as video conferencing have not so far reduced demand for travel.

7408

Mariel Hurd — Thu, 12 Jan 19:38:13 +0100

Done well (and with a genre/story which suited it), that could be an incredibly fun game to play. I don’t know if tabletop RPGs are your thing, but GMing a game would be a really good way to test it out and sort out rail-roading issues, etc.

7407

lightofdarkness — Thu, 12 Jan 18:00:22 +0100

Not really, they just need to come up with a better system for narrative delivery. Make it seem more important to do the main quest than any other. I’ve often toyed with the idea of having the main quest on a timer based event system. Once you start the main quest (of course, the game [...]

7406

geddesmond — Thu, 12 Jan 17:59:54 +0100

Is this the same website that said shooters should have only 8 guns. If it is then WTF do yous want gaming to go back 10 years or something. Not only should players be given choice but they should be given way more choice

7333

Mariel Hurd — Thu, 12 Jan 15:43:09 +0100

Your first comment claimed that I thought hypermasculine characters were completely modern, but your evidence is from my reply to you, not the actual article – and you still had to cherry pick, as the full quote is ‘increasingly ubiquitous in video gaming’, which implies nothing about literature, mythology or folklore. Furthermore, I said in [...]

7332

Mariel Hurd — Thu, 12 Jan 15:01:03 +0100

My full title is Sir Bitch of Cunt Mountain.

7331

Mariel Hurd — Thu, 12 Jan 15:00:02 +0100

Please don’t repost an entire comment just to add a one-sentence insult, as it clutters up the comments section. Why we gotta fight, baby, and so soon after Christmas?

7435

markparsons — Thu, 12 Jan 12:21:10 +0100

I’m no big fan of large public expenditure and I completely agree that the economic outlook for this country is grim, however the cost argument doesn’t work for me. In the scheme of things, £34bn over the time it’ll take to complete HS2 isn’t a lot of money, to put it into context, this country [...]

7434

jason — Thu, 12 Jan 9:34:51 +0100

The discussions after the article have covered most points, so only want to add my two pennies worth. £34bn for a project that will never pay off as our railways haven’t been profitable is outrageous. I don’t want to scare people but take a look at the public finances, the debt we are in, and [...]

7433

julia — Thu, 12 Jan 8:48:50 +0100

Exactly the same arguments were put forward against the Victoria Line in the 1960s – it wouldn’t pay its way, it wasn’t necessary, and so on. Can we imagine London without its ability to shift a thousand people every couple of minutes now?

7432

charlesm — Thu, 12 Jan 1:17:42 +0100

Germany is many times larger than the UK so it’s invaluable. I don’t see how shaving a few minutes off a journey will be of much benefit to us in our small nation.. Consider where we were technology wise 20 years ago – consider where we’ll be in another 20 years. Meetings can already be [...]

7362

hazz — Wed, 11 Jan 21:56:09 +0100

Good read. FragRadio have come so far, especially since Alex has taken over. They are a great partner of ours at Clan of Doom!

7431

Sam England — Wed, 11 Jan 19:40:57 +0100

Crucial error corrected, Nick. Thanks for noticing. I have to agree with you there with the point you made about domestic flights – and it’s a point I overlooked when I wrote up this piece this morning.

7405

Jack Bromley — Wed, 11 Jan 18:39:33 +0100

“i cannot imagine how you would think that a blockbuster like Skyrim could be lacking in terms of gameplay and interactivity” — Oh, just you wait until you see our review! Also, just because a game is a blockbuster, and is extensively marketed doesn’t equate to it being a great game. See Duke Nukem: Forever. [...]

7330

kurt — Wed, 11 Jan 18:36:43 +0100

I think your ability to play semantics isn’t quite as graceful as you think it is. “Becoming increasing ubiquitous” implies modernity, because they are increasing in modern times. As for confusing “heroic” and “hypermasculine”, every legendary myth I posted was both heroic and hypermasuline. Paul Bunyan was a giant to chopped down entire forests with [...]

7404

Jack Bromley — Wed, 11 Jan 18:35:59 +0100

I shall address each of your points rather orderly: 1) See above response to Bob. 2) You could easily turn that comment around to JRPGs. That style has probably been around ever pre-80s. 3) No they don’t, Dragon Age isn’t slightly turn based 4) XCOM isn’t an RPG, it’s an RTS. Research genres. Any Western [...]

7329

professors — Wed, 11 Jan 18:30:51 +0100

The main problem I see with her article is that the thesis has promise, but her supporting arguments are absurd. Yes, we have seen games recently move from a fat plumber, to a grizzled detective, to hyper-muscled killing machines… but her main complaint is that she finds lots of muscles unattractive. You could make the [...]

7430

Sam England — Wed, 11 Jan 18:28:20 +0100

It’s not about the speed; it’s about capacity, and future-proofing too. With passenger numbers increasing 10% each year, our victorian railway network is bursting at the seams. Without significant infrastructure works like platform lengthening, re-signalling (whilst the line is in use – to avoid extensive closures) capacity increases wouldn’t be possible. HS2 is the only [...]

7403

tonipop — Wed, 11 Jan 18:27:23 +0100

Also, i cannot imagine how you would think that a blockbuster like Skyrim could be lacking in terms of gameplay and interactivity, or that it is focused on fighting and sacrificing immersion or the narrative. It is perfectly capable of becoming the game every player wants to play. The PC is supposedly reflecting the mentality [...]

7328

killergremlin — Wed, 11 Jan 18:26:14 +0100

Was this article poorly written and very incoherent or am I crazy? Also, this author is clearly a bitchy cunt with no sense of direction. There is no clear thesis, she is a rambling loon, and her links are to Amazon. Thanks for including a hyperlink to the Amazon sales page of Max Payne, you [...]

7429

jasonc — Wed, 11 Jan 18:17:20 +0100

I’m all for anything that will improve our infrastructure here in the UK, after living in Germany for some time, it is clear to see the benefits of high speed rail. What does piss me off about this is that it won’t be ready until 2034, I’ll be 50 before we see a high speed [...]

7428

bdcoll — Wed, 11 Jan 18:16:16 +0100

3 truths that are overlooked really. We need some form of high speed rail link between the North and the South. We should have built this as the primary rail link between London and Edinburgh, and perhaps even Cardiff as well. Whilst we do need to improve our basic rail infastructure, we would need to [...]

7427

snoron — Wed, 11 Jan 18:15:29 +0100

I already happily pay 5x more by train instead of a coach for a 2hr instead of 4-5hr journey. So yeah, if I could get to London in an hour instead of 2 hours at double the cost, I’d generally take it. It also makes going to London and coming back on the same day [...]

7426

sternslovchild — Wed, 11 Jan 18:14:53 +0100

It’s not just the trains, it’ll be quicker by road as there will be less lorries on the road.

7402

tonipop — Wed, 11 Jan 18:13:49 +0100

lol, so according to this logic, if in real life you can only see the world from a first person perspective all the time, why should you care about what you look like, right? You’re not asked to do anything in Skyrim, you are given the option to do it, should you wish it. if [...]

7425

onearmjack — Wed, 11 Jan 18:13:26 +0100

How much extra would you be prepared to pay for the time saving? Would double the cost of standard trains be worth the 1 hour saving to London?

7401

Jack Bromley — Wed, 11 Jan 18:13:22 +0100

I would argue that Western RPGs are the more dominant force in the market. You have to consider all aspects. There are 20+ Japanese JRPG developers, yes, but there are (definitely) more that two, ‘decent’ major Western RPG developers. But how many of those Japanese developers have global appeal? A handful, and that’s it. Many [...]

7424

snoron — Wed, 11 Jan 18:12:51 +0100

Yeah, not well argued at all, very subjective points. Also, it’s worth noting on that last point – while what he argued is really irrelevant, don’t take these planes and motorways too much for granted. Flights and cars are likely to increase in cost substantially over the next decade or two. Rail will at a [...]

7423

onearmjack — Wed, 11 Jan 18:12:08 +0100

That’s a terribly written and argued piece. I’ll ignore that it says the Beeching axe fell in the 1980s… On the economic case he argues that railways are never profitable. That completely missed the point. It’s not whether the line itself is profitable it’s whether the economic benefits outweigh the cost of building it. In [...]

7422

Sam England — Wed, 11 Jan 18:11:34 +0100

Dominic – I agree with you completely. It would be excellent, as Ed Cox suggested his comment (which I quoted above) to see inter-Northern links come first. The reality is, we live in a politically and economically London-centric Britain, and we cannot deny this. Over time, I think Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester will become more [...]

7421

williamtildesley — Wed, 11 Jan 18:04:06 +0100

Ayath, that’s rather short sighted view and it’s hardly a novelty. Businesses can’t survive if our national infrastructure isn’t up to scratch, including rail. People should be thinking long term instead of being so self-centered.

7420

ayath — Wed, 11 Jan 17:36:07 +0100

When we are in the middle of the biggest peace time deficit this country has ever seen. do we really need to be spending so much money on a rail route? With all the welfare reforms and cuts that this government is bringing in, its already isolating a lot of families/businesses and households. Surely a [...]

7419

dominic — Wed, 11 Jan 17:33:50 +0100

Thanks for this article as I have been trying to better understand the reasons for building this link – I’m still left uncertain though… I didn’t realise until I read this that this scheme improved the northern inter-city connections – from what I heard on the radio it was touted mostly as a Liverpool -> [...]

7390

Mariel Hurd — Wed, 11 Jan 17:15:19 +0100

I hadn’t considered writing on that angle, but it’s a really good one. One of the big problems with Narrative Kinks is how easy it is to cater to your own when you’re writing, and it’s not until you see the looks of horror and disdain that you realise you’ve let it all hang out. [...]

7418

nicholasnewman — Wed, 11 Jan 17:13:28 +0100

Strangely, the government’s proposals to construct High Speed Two has been met by a storm of opposition, largely by a group of people who fear for their way of life will be threatened. Yet, the long-term advantages of such a proposal are self-evident. The line will greatly improve capacity on the road and rail networks [...]

7400

passingby — Wed, 11 Jan 16:21:26 +0100

well pretty simple mass effect 3 will get more sales than any of the other games you mentioned. just because japan still make loads of rpg’s it doesnt mean they seel aswell as western rpg’s and i think the point is which ones get played more by the general population of the world and i [...]

7267

Jack Bromley — Wed, 11 Jan 16:05:34 +0100

Then you clearly haven’t played about three quarters of the series.

7389

audioworm — Wed, 11 Jan 15:40:54 +0100

Really enjoyed this, I’d always noticed my preferences but reflecting on them they seem rather stupid. Damn lizard brain. If you were to write more on the matter, have you considered looking at how one would write something that scratches enough of these kicks while still providing for those without them and not scaring off [...]

7399

timsmother — Wed, 11 Jan 14:36:11 +0100

Bravely default is turn based, ff 13-2 is turn based, type zero is turn based ( in a way) to even insinuate that companies are abandoning turn base which can be faster than action, is ridiculous. Way to take squares comments out of context

7398

theateam — Wed, 11 Jan 14:29:04 +0100

I think you’re overreacting. You’ve taken a normative position on something that is market dictated. YOU think that story is an important part of the art form, but what you think doesn’t matter unless you can quantify why it is important. The best proxy to quantify it is money. Let’s imagine two fictitious mashup titles [...]

7397

stealth — Wed, 11 Jan 14:24:18 +0100

Tim, I need to educate you since you no nothing about rpgs. “western RPGs replaced JRPGs as the dominant force in the genre.” Not even close. What was the highest selling rpg and highest rated this year? Let me give you a hint. It was a japanese rpg. What comes out every month? A new [...]

7396

bob — Wed, 11 Jan 14:18:46 +0100

“especially since western RPGs replaced JRPGs as the dominant force in the genre.” LOL not even close. Japanese rpgs are the dominant force in the genre considering theres only 2 halfway decent western rpg makers and about 20+ japanese ones.

7395

vaizardnosekai — Wed, 11 Jan 14:01:14 +0100

I agree with you, nowadays games in general have lost something, something like they’re essence, what made me/us play hours and have fun while we did it. Most new generation games focus to much in graphics and music/voices, the storys and gameplays have been suffering cause of that. I recently found myself playing Final Fantasy [...]

7019

anon — Wed, 11 Jan 13:45:27 +0100

This is just plain stupid.

7417

williamtildesley — Wed, 11 Jan 13:32:28 +0100

Surely if HS2 stopped at every railway station it wouldn’t be ‘high speed’? HS2 will alleviate routes like Manchester to Newcastle of through trains increasing capacity for direct services.

7416

neil — Wed, 11 Jan 13:28:14 +0100

While I’m in favour of new rail infastructure, and agree that we need this, I can’t believe this is the best solution. I far preferred the 2M group’s High Speed north proposal It’s very London centric. There seems to be no consideration that someone might want to travel from Manchester to Newcastle, for example, both [...]

7415

nickcooper — Wed, 11 Jan 13:10:31 +0100

Totally with you, as ever, Sam. Improving WCML, or something similar, will just prove costly and disruptive – as it always does. This is our best way of slowing the London-centric attitude in the UK – and although you state the environmental effect is less significant, it will hopefully reduce the ridiculous scourge on the [...]

7414

steve — Wed, 11 Jan 12:47:32 +0100

We’ve argued about rail travel on Twitter before, but I’m firmly in the camp supporting HS2. Obviously I still believe the cost of rail travel is prohibitive (especially on those who still own a car, and will continue to do so), and that a reduction in cost would increase off-peak usage, but an engineering project [...]

7388

Mariel Hurd — Wed, 11 Jan 12:34:14 +0100

You’re entirely right about the article not dipping into the subject thoroughly. Originally there was some stuff that went into more detail – common Narrative Kinks in games, whether a very narrow category of Narrative Kinks are being catered to in games, etc – but there just wasn’t the space to do them justice, so [...]

7387

stevesan — Tue, 10 Jan 23:23:37 +0100

I guess it’s good for all of us to recognise that we are not totally rational in what we like. Sometimes, we just like shit due to pure arbitrary personal preference.

7386

edgeofdreams — Tue, 10 Jan 23:22:49 +0100

I really like this idea of Narrative Kinks – it just makes sense to me. That said, the article itself wasn’t that great. The author gave a few examples but didn’t seem to really explore the idea that much.

7385

thundahcaxzd — Tue, 10 Jan 22:44:44 +0100

i think i have a narrative kink for dinosaur-riding italian plumbers rescuing princesses from evil turtle wizards. luckily I’ve never had a problem scratching that itch.

7204

happyliza — Tue, 10 Jan 14:19:45 +0100

Have much scientific data pro smoking for certain gene types. Plus there is no record anywhere of anyone dying from second hand cigarette smoke despite how much the media says so. Amazing research can be found by doing a search on Sign of The Times – sott.net Just a little taster for starters albeit no [...]

7266

jamiesquare — Mon, 09 Jan 21:17:56 +0100

Worst Rayman game I have ever played – by far.

7265

jamie — Mon, 09 Jan 21:17:16 +0100

Worst Rayman game I have ever played – by far.

7361

bogbrushakalez — Mon, 09 Jan 18:37:03 +0100

great article and you guys do a great job keep it up lads and keep on rocking in the free world wish you guys all the best for the future

7360

leesqueek — Mon, 09 Jan 18:23:02 +0100

Very Fantastic article here alex. I wish FragRadio all the best in the furture. And keep all the hard work coming guys/girls.

7327

Mariel Hurd — Mon, 09 Jan 10:56:34 +0100

Except that, as I pointed out in my last response to you, my sole issue isn’t with ‘bulging biceps’ (although poor visual design is important to me). In fact, I addressed writing style multiple times but you’re consistently ignoring that. I’m sure levelling at your strawman is great exercise, but it isn’t much of an [...]

7359

dyan — Mon, 09 Jan 10:43:44 +0100

Fantastic article, well done guys, its a shame you always have one or two people that have to put you down, their only jealous, you all work very hard, you should be very proud of yourselves and what you have achieved.

7358

deadlychimpakasean — Mon, 09 Jan 9:17:58 +0100

Hi there from 1000fraggers.com Fantastic service you provide to 1000fraggers and we have had your radio station on the site for quite some time now. We wish nothing but the best for FragRadio for now and in the future! Have a Great year! Thanks Chimp @ 1000fraggers.com – social networking site for gamers.

7357

unam3d — Sun, 08 Jan 23:48:27 +0100

Don’t listen to that idiot. I’d be lost without listening to some FragRadio whilst playing Counter Strike. Keep up the great work.

7356

jonnywanderer — Sun, 08 Jan 23:04:01 +0100

This is a fantastic article, great read. You guys are a awesome team and i hope you get alot bigger this year! nice 1 Alex n Andy

7355

andydigi — Sun, 08 Jan 23:00:02 +0100

Oh look! A pathetic flamer who uses a false name how original! The term epic springs to mind as in Epic Fail! Nice to see the childish antics still persist. The fact you have to hide behind a false identity is laughable in it’s self. Now it’s the new year so your could make a [...]

7354

weednation12 — Sun, 08 Jan 22:57:06 +0100

I love when player can hear music on there servers, this plugin just help us get it for free. And i want to be a part of it, that is why i will ask to be a DJ on there radio. There job is done 100% and one of the lives most impotant rules are [...]

7353

johnsmith — Sun, 08 Jan 22:31:35 +0100

hahahaha, I can’t help but laugh as I read this. Please tell me you’re joking? Please, it’s actually sad how much of this isn’t true… Really Frag.Radio is just clutching straws here… “We’ve acquired GamerFM further expanding our portfolio of team members.” By the way, two people is exactly expanding for your information. Excuse me [...]

7352

gabbymiller — Sun, 08 Jan 22:22:57 +0100

Alex, this is hugely fantastic for you and your team. You guys are so awesome! Keep up the good work, and see you at future events!

7351

danhardman — Sun, 08 Jan 22:18:42 +0100

Nice one Alex, gotta say I do love listening to Frag Radio Keep it up!

7326

Mariel Hurd — Fri, 06 Jan 12:59:21 +0100

I fully agree that finding heavy musculature unattractive is not a sound basis for criticism, so it’s fortunate I never made that argument. I would, however, be very interested in reading your response to my actual theories. Of course hypermasculine characters existed in fiction long before video games, which is why it is again lucky [...]

7382

marial — Thu, 05 Jan 12:22:31 +0100

I’m a 27-year-old Canadian and only just purchased my first laptop less than a year ago, and my first cellphone (“dumbphone”) 3 months ago. I went through six years of university mechanical engineering studies without any of these devices, and got by just beautifully. I personally have no need for a smartphone — I can [...]

7325

professors — Wed, 04 Jan 18:32:29 +0100

Oh, and let’s not forget the giant monkey wrench that was 9/11. Who knows how that affected the psyche of male youth. They’ll be examining that impact for years.

7324

professors — Wed, 04 Jan 18:23:02 +0100

The main problem I see with this article is that the thesis has promise, but her supporting arguments are absurd. Yes, we have seen games recently move from a fat plumber, to a grizzled detective, to hyper-muscled killing machines… but the main complaint is that the author finds lots of muscles unattractive. You could make [...]

7121

alecwaters — Sat, 31 Dec 16:13:03 +0100

As a teacher in a high-performing selective school the question of ‘programming’ is raised a lot. I agree with a lot of the comments in the press recently and raised by many people (including this article). I feel that I could certainly incorporate more computer science in the curriculum and make it more rigorous for [...]

7120

primaryschoolictbysandrafine — Sat, 31 Dec 10:32:12 +0100

I am a primary school teacher with responsibility for ICT and we expect our children to come out at Year 6 with proficiency in basic IT – turning on/off and finding their way around a desktop, laptop, whatever version of Windows may be running; saving and finding their work on a large network; using a [...]

7119

williamjohnson — Sat, 31 Dec 0:33:08 +0100

I completed my IT GCSE in 3 days. All I basically had to do was make a table in word and link a few excel cells together. It was far too easy. After leaving school I taught myself (using everyone’s friend Google) small amounts of HTML, worked out how to operate windows 7 and the [...]

7118

louisekidney — Fri, 30 Dec 23:26:06 +0100

Hi Jodie “Build a website because you are enabling a community to discuss issues around the world in your geography lesson – not because you are building a web page because it says so in the ICT curriculum.” This is a really really good point. Tech is embedded everywhere in our daily lives, from pin [...]

7381

samhutchings — Fri, 30 Dec 22:34:54 +0100

Google? Wikipedia? Find my Friends? Google Latitude? Google Goggles? Navigation? iMessage? BBM? GTalk? Google+? Facebook? Twitter? Reminders? Weather? Calendar? I can see just a few reasons there for a young person to have a smartphone. They are necessary tools for many people, and useful tools for everyone else; and this is the case for young, [...]

7380

johnpauldickie — Fri, 30 Dec 22:21:17 +0100

Great points from both Michael and Sam. Surprised Which are recommending smartphones in their “Top five mobile phones for children” post but that’s just my opinion.

7117

jodiecollins — Fri, 30 Dec 22:15:44 +0100

As a primary teacher specialising in ICT it is a frustrating world. I know plenty of teachers who, like me, work hard to embed ICT skills across the curriculum for children from the second they enter the school aged 3. We work tirelessly to create exciting, innovative lessons where we can build on the skills [...]

7379

Sam England — Fri, 30 Dec 21:53:46 +0100

You are looking at it from the point of view of someone who is witnessing children grow up with smartphones that just 2-3 years ago were not accessible to you. What about 20 years ago when it was unheard of for a teenager to have a mobile phone at all, and they were limited to [...]

7378

michaelmokrysz — Fri, 30 Dec 21:07:31 +0100

Young people don’t need technology. In a similar vein, neither does anyone. Humanity got along just fine without the wheel. The point is that it’s a nice to have that improves our lives and what we are capable of.

7343

speedonthis — Fri, 30 Dec 18:08:05 +0100

Make BBM cross-platform….it just might work. I hope they have some big plans up their sleeve that they can fire off in rapid succession because the thought of having to switch to another device is a bit unsettling. No phone feels as premium as a BlackBerry to me, none of them run the way I [...]

7377

chrisleydon — Fri, 30 Dec 18:02:19 +0100

The irony with the final question “Do you think under-19s should be allowed smartphones?” is that the author of this post, John-Paul Dickie is a 16 year old and consequently, by definition of his own post, shouldn’t have a smart phone. What on earth is this backwards thinking from someone who claims to be progressive [...]

7376

williamjohnson — Fri, 30 Dec 16:44:03 +0100

Technology is becoming more a brand rather than a functional tool. My 14 year old brother wants an iPhone. Why? Because his mate have one. He doesn’t know the difference between an iPhone, a Blackberry or an android run device, except for the name and look. All he’s bothered about is the image of having [...]

7342

daniel — Fri, 30 Dec 16:30:07 +0100

RIM generates no revenue from BBM. RIM makes money by selling phones and enterprise services for those phones. How does making it easier to leave the platform help RIM in the short or long-term?

7375

steve — Fri, 30 Dec 15:45:34 +0100

Wait – the question posed at the bottom is “under-19s”?! You can join the army at 16 for heavens sake, why the heck should you stop people from owning a smartphone at that age? Kids have been bullied without technology for years, kids have been sexually active under 16 without technology for years. The cyber [...]

7350

jesussavesatwalmart — Fri, 30 Dec 15:19:00 +0100

This is a horrible, horrible article. It is not universal information, certainly not applying to anyone in the US. It advocates taking on debt because “you’ll barely feel the debt”. I agree with the thesis of the article, but it was not supported at all within the article itself. With the exception of introducing me [...]

7349

tom — Fri, 30 Dec 13:37:35 +0100

Chris, in 3 years of university, you’ve still not managed to learn the definition of plagiarism?

7374

kira — Fri, 30 Dec 12:32:29 +0100

I am disgusted when I see this happening. I had a basic cellphone at 16 and it was for emergencies. Smart phones are expensive, as well as iPad and other ‘fashion’ technology pieces. They make that child a target, any one could hurt that child and obtain this £500 computer they are carrying around. The [...]

7373

johnpauldickie — Fri, 30 Dec 9:04:37 +0100

I believe that iPod Touches are a separate thing. They are cheaper, only use WiFi and still allow use of the great educational apps. Many schools now use them to give to children to further enhance their learning. iOS has great parental controls built into the OS. Personally, I don’t see a problem with a [...]

7372

johnpauldickie — Fri, 30 Dec 8:52:11 +0100

As I said in our Twitter conversation, I expect some just give the child a phone and that’s the only part they play. Parental guidance should play a bigger part in the whole having a mobile thing, not just smartphones.

7371

cb — Fri, 30 Dec 3:28:35 +0100

Your argument could be used to ask “should teenagers be allowed to have iPod touch devices” – as they are essentially the same, minus the cellular calls, they can even do iMessage now. Would/do you take issue with that?

7365

Lawrence Serewicz — Fri, 30 Dec 0:00:09 +0100

Thanks for a detailed and direct response. While I am a man, my view is based upon the human person. I agree that women endure the most of this commodification, but it affects men and women. Men, rather young boys, are trafficked as well. Moreover, the focus is upon how the human person, both male [...]

7337

joshmiller — Thu, 29 Dec 23:28:33 +0100

I agree with both Phil and Sklorbit, the author of this article was obviously not in a position to write a piece like this.

7370

tom — Thu, 29 Dec 23:22:22 +0100

When I was between smartphones my nokia dumbphone could update and receive messages from facebook, twitter and a whole host of SMS services. Thats before you get to the problem of sexting, to a logical extreme any device capable of display ASCII can be used to view pornography. The real issue is parental guidance, if [...]

7369

johnpauldickie — Thu, 29 Dec 23:12:24 +0100

It’s still costly on prepay as most require always on Internet for them to actually work which adds more to the cost. Also, as you said in our Twitter conversation, parental controls are available on any platform but you have to get 3rd party applications to do that on Android and BlackBerry whereas on iOS, [...]

7368

tom — Thu, 29 Dec 22:28:40 +0100

Following on from our twitter conversation I have no issue giving my (imaginary child) a smartphone because: It will be prepay it will have parental controls regardless of platform And the simple fact that it is now fairly hard to get a non smartphone, by the time I and do have kids (and they are [...]

7336

sklorbit — Thu, 29 Dec 21:40:57 +0100

Totally agree with Phil. Just because the author chooses not to invest his time into the series and gets bored when play the series finale, doesnt mean the games are “degrading.” (MGS4 – 94 metacritic… degrading really?) Fans of the series like it because of how it plays, they obviously will be disappointed when they [...]

7335

phil — Thu, 29 Dec 20:23:54 +0100

Degrading franchise? The metacritic score for MGS4 is in the 90′s. Sure, this game will be good for players who hate stealth and strategy, but it will not appeal to the fans of the series. Complaining about MGS4 not welcoming new players is like complaining that you read The Lord of the Rings: The Return [...]

7364

kellymarieblundell — Thu, 29 Dec 19:59:21 +0100

Working on the basis that this is an essay on the human body as a commodity by a male, I can only applaud your courage in tackling a subject that most male bloggers shy away from. That’s not to choose to alienate you buy your agenda, but simply to observe that viewpoint from which you [...]

7348

arman — Thu, 29 Dec 19:08:22 +0100

The part that really irritated me was “Most ‘good’ career paths require at least a degree to even step foot in the door, even if the whole point of an entrepreneur is to make something for themselves.” Bollocks.

7347

Henry Moulton — Thu, 29 Dec 0:01:08 +0100

A sound argument. I usually use the ‘hours’ argument. If I get into my university of choice for next year I will only have 18-24 hours of academic work per week. If I choose to start a business I will still have plenty of hours left to focus on it. If it becomes successful, I [...]

7346

cameronrawson — Wed, 28 Dec 18:52:36 +0100

You can’t copyright a view, opinion or idea – and I think many hold the exact same views that we hold (see the examples of people above who have started their own business from student loans above). You are not the only person who is of the opinion that university is a good idea for [...]

7345

cameronrawson — Wed, 28 Dec 18:45:39 +0100

There are two sides to every debate. If I didn’t argue this side, I’d argue the other, but I don’t. You’ll find the arguments, opinions and quotes in this are what I personally believe. Unfortunately for you, not everyone reads your blog, Chris. Though it’s clear we share the same side of the debate. Which [...]

7344

chrisleydon — Wed, 28 Dec 18:32:52 +0100

Well this is an argument that I’ve made countless times, including at a conference that Cameron was attending and heard me speak about this very issue at just a few weeks ago. I find it intriguing to find many of my own arguments, opinions and quotes in this post. Isn’t plagiarism discouraged at University? Apparently [...]

7044

mallthus — Wed, 28 Dec 18:24:24 +0100

I’m finding all of this especially frustrating. Being in the US, my access to UK magazines is fraught under normal circumstances. When I buy a UK title at a local bookseller or newsagent in the US, my price is usually between US$9 and US$15. Given the logistics of getting the title to me and the [...]

7285

garethpoole — Tue, 27 Dec 17:31:30 +0100

Seoul. Incredible city.

7341

williamtildesley — Thu, 22 Dec 14:37:42 +0100

So does Apple, Microsoft and every other blue chip company loose credibility just because they hired an evangelist to do a job? No, I think not.

7340

george — Wed, 21 Dec 18:44:43 +0100

Don’t hire leydon, let the super users push the brand. Once you hire someone you lose credibility. If apple paid fanboys they’d be worthless.

7339

kush — Wed, 21 Dec 16:11:41 +0100

Chris, I so saw this coming last night. But you are right. It would make sense to have “evangelists”, or “super-users” or whatever else you want to call them…

7323

Mariel Hurd — Wed, 21 Dec 14:50:53 +0100

With the brains over brawn characters, I wouldn’t be surprised if the designers often are trying to make an average-looking bloke, but that their sense of what IS average has been distorted by years of exposure to Manly McBullets.

7322

mattcd42 — Tue, 20 Dec 20:51:05 +0100

You bring up some interesting points here. Of course there are a number of games that are outside of this argument (Mario and the like) however there are a lot of games that I think this is something that should be looked at. There are a number of characters that use brains over brawn, and [...]

7301

cj — Mon, 19 Dec 11:49:49 +0100

Leah is a moron and is infringing upon the copyright of irc.grove.bz #grove.

7264

kieran — Sun, 18 Dec 18:04:01 +0100

Thank god my 24 month contract runs out in march! I rang orange to complain and cancel contract, the rude man, who basically told me to shut up, said i couldnt! I can understand a price increase for new customers but not loyal ones who signed a contract for the price they believed would continue [...]

7321

professorneighton — Sun, 18 Dec 14:08:30 +0100

Oh, those slider bars would be perfect. Well, unless bust size for females didn’t scale the same way as everything else when using the fat slider… now that would give me something to rage about. Besides that, again, away with the damned breast-cups. Painful, potentially lethal, AND ugly. In the most general sense, I would [...]

7320

Mariel Hurd — Sat, 17 Dec 22:10:20 +0100

Let’s make a deal: I get a new hobby and you learn how to scroll past shit you’re not interested in. Shake on it?

7319

Mariel Hurd — Sat, 17 Dec 22:08:34 +0100

Yeah, if we were all hanging out in Big Guys Are Bad Guys era I’d be whinging my tits off about it. I want to live in the world with those slider bars. The only problem I have with Skyrim’s body-type options are that even the skinny guys aren’t all that skinny, and the bulkiest [...]

7318

Mariel Hurd — Sat, 17 Dec 22:00:24 +0100

God, don’t get me started on armour with breast-cups – it’d weaken the metal AND be hideously uncomfortable. Seriously, it’d be like having a codpiece that loving wrapped your testicles in two little metal bags. The exaggerated level of gender-normativity in many games is bizarre. It’s almost insecure; our men must be Men and our [...]

7317

Mariel Hurd — Sat, 17 Dec 21:52:22 +0100

Dude, I am now picturing unused pixels milling around the designers feet, tugging at their trouser hems and whining that they want to go to Disneyland.

7316

gametrender — Sat, 17 Dec 21:40:07 +0100

Stylistic designs while always an overt concern of videogame artists are sometimes shackled to the constraints of the technology. Whilst I agree that the woman are often depicted as waif like (albeit with enormous boobies!) the fact the men , particularly in the case of Skyrim, are beefed up can be linked to the amount [...]

7315

Mariel Hurd — Sat, 17 Dec 21:39:56 +0100

I just went with pictures of Nords because I picked a race and rolled with it, and Skyrim’s all about the Nords, baby. Just wished they’d not had seperate settings for the male and female sliders, so we could get some properly skinny guys and shitkicker girls.

7314

vidurrskjoldrbrot — Sat, 17 Dec 21:39:25 +0100

Personally, I’m glad for the shift from the david and goliath stereotype. Granted I don’t like max payne’s sudden transformation to bruce willis from, what was it, die hard 2? lol but I’m happy. I’ve always been big. I was large for my age and suffered a lot of abuse for it in school, and [...]

7313

Mariel Hurd — Sat, 17 Dec 21:34:59 +0100

Not gonna lie, I just couldn’t resist taking a shot at some of GW’s artistic mistakes. I LOVE GW’s stylisation – and when it comes to Marines, Thousand Sons have a lovely colour scheme – but there are points where they spectacularly miss the mark. In that picture, if you try to visualise Marneus Calgar’s [...]

7312

schlanz — Sat, 17 Dec 19:46:03 +0100

My God. There is literally NOTHING left to complain about in video games. Get a new hobby for heavens sake.

7311

dakidog — Sat, 17 Dec 19:45:20 +0100

None of those pictures are overly muscular…have you taken the time to look at the real world? Men have muscles even those buff fat ones, even the skinny nothing but bone guys have abs. His arm isn’t even buff or near steroid level…it’s more toned or ripped like he has a high repetition of low [...]

7310

professorneighton — Sat, 17 Dec 18:36:45 +0100

Very interesting article. In general, I’m in agreement. I’ve always preferred my characters – male or female – to be on the compact and wiry side, especially since my playstyle is generally somewhere between the Mage and Thief spheres or their equivalents. Now that I think about it, that might be a subconscious reason why [...]

7309

drew — Sat, 17 Dec 18:25:54 +0100

They’re NORDS…. Nordic people are supposed to be beefcake! lol The funny thing is seeing bulky Elves… the Orcs make sense… but yeah BEEFCAKE!!

7308

antichrist666 — Sat, 17 Dec 17:57:35 +0100

Your an idiot. I work out myself and I am eaily more muscluer then at least skyrim characters maybe not on full bullkness but still I’ve seen plenty of men at the gym that blow those characters out of the water. I don’t know maybe your jelous that your to lazy to work out and [...]

7307

ed — Sat, 17 Dec 16:47:57 +0100

Interesting read. I agree with all of it except for the commentary on GamesWorkshop. I understand what you were tryingto say, but that universe has been around for over 20 years and has always been an extremely stylized world of over-the-top violence. The space marine pictured isn’t even human, they are intended to be disproportionate [...]

7158

jens — Sat, 17 Dec 15:53:22 +0100

Since games are just that, games ( as in a game that you agree with your co-players to play, with rules you both agree on) I’d much rather say “ok, we are done playing then” than sit through a game with a nitpicker. It’s simply not that important to me. Or…. atleast I try to [...]

7291

steve — Fri, 16 Dec 18:48:44 +0100

I hate the term “Young Entrepreneur”. It implies some kind of distinction between them and “old” entrepreneurs. If you want to play with the big dogs, you should be given no leeway because of your age – you’re still dealing with people’s money, user information and the reputations of the companies working with you. “I [...]

7306

Mariel Hurd — Thu, 15 Dec 20:43:04 +0100

Dude, I have to live with you. Do you have to be an ass here as well? (Also, I claim deliberate joke.)

7305

hauntedquiche — Thu, 15 Dec 19:52:24 +0100

“Just want to tell the writer she’s an idot/brilliant/made a typo?” …’Idot’ should be ‘idiot’. Nice job typo-ing it, hero.

7263

martin — Wed, 14 Dec 11:45:46 +0100

There is an interesting discussion going on else where about the legalities of this and how valid Clause 4.3 is particularly :- “4.3.1 we have increased the Charges by an amount equal to or less than the percentage increase in the All Items Index of Retail Prices published by the Central Statistical Office in the [...]

7304

tom — Wed, 14 Dec 1:10:02 +0100

Definitely, this is a starter piece, Microsoft does seem to be taking a different line but some may argue that is because of their limited IP. Beyond Halo and Gears of War what marquee titles can they bring to the mobile market? I like my 360 but Microsofts approach to the mobile market has to [...]

7300

devon — Wed, 14 Dec 1:08:29 +0100

This is kind of silly if you ask me. Convore had it’s “cool” effect that lasted a whole month. If you visit it now you will find either 0 users online or 1 user online. A hosted IRC chat server combined with a failing group chat is not a good idea. There is nothing wrong [...]

7303

andrewbrackinandrewbrackin — Tue, 13 Dec 14:56:44 +0100

Also the new iPhone App of course that seems to be doing very well in the store.

7302

chrisleydon — Tue, 13 Dec 14:51:19 +0100

The title’s a little misleading seeing as there’s no mention of Microsoft, at all, in this piece. Microsoft’s focus on the mobile market lay with the built in integration of XBOX Live into Windows Phone 7, a very different attack to both Sony & Nintendo’s business model of building dedicated pieces of kit and selling [...]

7129

httptwittercomrakehellobi — Mon, 12 Dec 12:10:56 +0100

Great interview and thanks for posting the views of one of the occupiers.

7273

williamtildesley — Fri, 09 Dec 21:43:36 +0100

Steven, thank you so much for your kind words. I’ve passed them on to our designers and developers who I’m sure will be just as thankful. If you have any suggestions or feedback We’d love to hear them.

7278

mar10funsterhotmailcom — Fri, 09 Dec 17:56:54 +0100

Hi, I visited the Apple store in Glasgow today. My iphone developed a fault 29 days within warranty. I was given a new replacement handset however the new one comes with only a 90 day warranty. Whilst this is a good service what concerns me is that my first phone shouldn’t be breaking within 1 [...]

7290

alexanderking — Fri, 09 Dec 1:57:13 +0100

I have seen some many “young” people who have started up business and have had recognition and then have either, one just had too little time on their hands or two have school commitments and have closed down the company. I find this highly disrespectful as the more ” dedicated ” young people who run [...]

7262

michael — Thu, 08 Dec 19:58:21 +0100

It makes a mockery of signing up to a contract. I have been a loyal customer for almost 20 years and will be walking away from my contract asap as a matter of principle to go to Vodafone (even if it is more expensive). What’s more, no one has even bothered acknowledging my letter of [...]

7128

bluudz — Thu, 08 Dec 10:14:58 +0100

Really liked it. Nicely said.

7272

stevenvanderwerf — Thu, 08 Dec 2:44:53 +0100

No comments to make on the feature, which is fine. Just wanted to say, this site is beautiful. Well done.

7284

neal — Wed, 07 Dec 20:42:07 +0100

Amsterdam (sin city) because there’s no other city like it in the world. The people are nice, the coffeeshops don’t sell coffee and whatever you’re into you’re bound to find something you like. Whether you want to rent a bike and cycle everywhere, visit the Heineken experience, do some sightseeing or just smoke – you [...]

7203

neal — Wed, 07 Dec 20:06:49 +0100

What’s smoking?

7261

anon — Wed, 07 Dec 17:27:27 +0100

I feel cheated that somebody can ask for additional money on a product that was sold ages ago. Surely a shop wouldn’t run after you asking to pay 4% more on a pair of shoes you are wearing or a coffee you are drinking? Disgraceful. It seems that the big providers are not keen to [...]

7289

jon — Wed, 07 Dec 14:33:09 +0100

Daily mail is utter bullshit. Too many people read the daily mail and get influenced on unjust shitty journalism. ‘Poles taking all our jobs’ – nope just too many lazy buggers who are reading the dailymail who dont work and someone needs to keep our hospitals running. ‘Millionaire kid’ – maybe in revenue but after [...]

7299

Mariel Hurd — Wed, 07 Dec 9:08:28 +0100

Now that there is a well-reasoned, fact-based argument.

7298

ubisoftarefrench — Wed, 07 Dec 7:54:03 +0100

Ubisoft are French. The French are greedy tight bastards.

7271

georgia — Wed, 07 Dec 2:43:31 +0100

You might be interested in (if you haven’t heard of it already) the font ‘dyslexie’, it’s specifically designed for people with dyslexia. http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2011/06/30/dyslexie-a-typeface-for-dyslexics/

7288

chrisleydon — Wed, 07 Dec 1:03:36 +0100

These kids have to go to the press in the first place though. What’s your opinion on going to the press with lies and building an entire career on that, with no real substance?

7287

chrisleydon — Tue, 06 Dec 19:16:53 +0100

Exactly, you’ve hit the nail on the head! Glad you enjoyed the article!

7286

Cec Plascott — Tue, 06 Dec 19:09:21 +0100

I agree with this post, too many undeserving “teen entrepreneurs” receive coverage, and praise, for something not that significant. More light needs to be shone on people like Sean, and Louis, who are doing really awesome things. Oh, and just because we’re young, doesn’t mean we need praise for every little thing we do. If [...]

7270

dongheonkim — Tue, 06 Dec 16:57:20 +0100

You realise you come across as a complete arse? People make mistakes, so what! Get over yourself.

7269

jamieknights — Tue, 06 Dec 16:20:17 +0100

I would just like to take this moment to thank Vincent for his font. I have dyslexia and recommended to use Comic Sans as my system font because it is plain and evenly spaced. It is also recommended by the British Dyslexia Association. Thank you for the work you put into Comic Sans Vincent.

7268

apedant — Tue, 06 Dec 13:00:23 +0100

Q. Where should the apostrophes be in this sentence: “A great font is one that fit’s it’s purpose.” A. Absent.

7297

cliffjones — Tue, 06 Dec 8:15:04 +0100

The point is the BBC paid for the production of this content and needs to recoup the cost somehow. International distribution on YouTube is not in it’s business model and it’s irresponsible for a mass media broadcaster like AOL to interfere with that. Would it be right to embed its F1 coverage, for which it [...]

7296

grantbell — Tue, 06 Dec 0:27:51 +0100

Supposedly.

7295

rohnbalracd — Tue, 06 Dec 0:24:02 +0100

Aren’t you dead?

7293

petercooper — Mon, 05 Dec 22:53:10 +0100

Bear in mind we only need a license for streaming it *live* as it is shown on TV. Playing back later is OK without one. That said, almost everyone has a license anyway. I’m a BBC license payer, though, and I don’t care about it from that point of view. I know the BBC will [...]

7294

williamtildesley — Mon, 05 Dec 22:51:18 +0100

Just an FYI. Anyone in the UK can watch programmes on the iPlayer even if they don’t have a TV Licence. http://iplayerhelp.external.bbc.co.uk/help/playing_tv_progs/tvlicence However you do require one if you want to live stream any of the BBC channels from the iPlayer website. I am not however defending what TechCrunch/AOL have done. I think it is [...]

7292

grantbell — Mon, 05 Dec 22:46:42 +0100

TechCrunch’s title is total link bait. It used to be “Watch The BBC’s Entire Hour-Long Facebook Special On YouTube” – The BBC issued a copyright claim, the original video was taken down and the Editor-in-Chief at TechCrunch then edits the original post, finds a NEW copy of the copyrighted video and embeds it… not before [...]

7283

tom — Mon, 05 Dec 14:09:20 +0100

If I were you I would travel light and take a ‘dumbphone’ and a smartphone rather than a macbook air, less stuff to carry and less risk. If you have a decent amount of money saved then the asia route is a great idea, Hong Kong/China is great but flights can be pricy. If not [...]

7277

bill — Mon, 05 Dec 1:12:08 +0100

All I see here is someone who is angry at themselves but instead would rather blame the company who made their device. Details about AppleCare and 1-Year Warranties are plastered all over apple.com/uk and any user of Apple would be aware of this almost instantly. While you say you purchased the phone with a 2 [...]

7276

darran — Mon, 05 Dec 0:01:02 +0100

In all my years of mobile use – as a Vodafone, T-Mobile (1-2-1) and 3 customer, I’ve never had a moment’s problem with getting replacements if a phone has genuinely failed (which fortunately hasn’t been often). Nokia + operator has kept me going with a working phone just fine. Even in the odd instance where [...]

7275

ollynewport — Sun, 04 Dec 19:13:52 +0100

My 17″ MacBook Pro and iPod Classic are now out of warranty so it makes me increasingly nervous about the future of my products. If I own a laptop I would expect it to last at least four to five years, especially when I’ve paid over £2k. My MBP’s had a few issues with the [...]

7274

samhutchings — Sun, 04 Dec 17:05:27 +0100

Whilst you have a warranty with Apple, your contract of sale (and therefore the right to complain within 6 years if it can be proven faulty at the time of purchase) is with the retailer. Was Apple the retailer of the device to you, or did you get it from a network? Having worked in [...]

7173

hauntedquiche — Sun, 04 Dec 2:31:57 +0100

@David McVay “Also, the part about the “tried and tested checkpoint system” was ridiculous. I have played many of games, and I have never found this system ‘tried’. If you make a mistake you then go, “okay, I know what I did wrong, I won’t do that again”. How stupid do you have to be [...]

7237

dennislit — Sun, 04 Dec 1:52:17 +0100

It’s not on the market, it’s still sort of in a weird beta state, you can get it on the official swype website (or in the case of a few phones, it comes pre-installed).

7236

david — Sun, 04 Dec 0:37:13 +0100

Well, if keyboard is the issue, and you can live with a smaller screen, HTC Chacha has one of the best keyboards I’ve ever used, out-performing Blackberries and whatnots… There’s also other possibilities out there. http://www.techshout.com/features/2011/03/android-phone-with-keyboard/ I’ve tried the Xperia Mini Pro has a sliding keyboard, not as good but quite usable, actually… (not to [...]

7235

hardyhenneberg — Sat, 03 Dec 23:39:16 +0100

I also had problems with the very small keys, switching between numbers and letters and between portrait and landscape was annoying, and it was difficult to find the special keys. So I made a keyboard, for those of us whose thumbs has not been trained through writing thousands of SMS’es, and who don’t want to [...]

7282

louise — Sat, 03 Dec 23:07:13 +0100

Trondheim in Norway is gorgeous city. It was the Nation’s first capital. Also for buying plane tickets you should have a look at YC funded http://www.hipmunk.com/ Louise x

7281

williamtildesley — Sat, 03 Dec 22:48:50 +0100

Tim Ferriss (of Four Hour Work Week fame) has an excellent guide to purchasing round-the-world tickets here: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2010/10/08/round-the-world-plane-ticket/. And he’s got plenty of other travel advice on his blog too, so defiantly check that out. As to where on earth to go have you considered Ireland? Yes I know it’s not out of the way [...]

7241

meneerr — Sat, 03 Dec 3:42:43 +0100

If you add all the piracy statistics together the gaming industry has lost more money than all GDP of all nations combined. I bought Beyond Good and Evil once, on Steam. It didn’t properly work on newer PC’s, because newer PC’s have chips set have multiple cores. Well, I found a workaround, eventually. Where did [...]

7202

jackmehoff — Fri, 02 Dec 20:29:43 +0100

I am so tired of the “you force me to breath your smoke”. I drive an electric bike, and I bet almost everyone of the people that continue to use the 2nd hand smoke drivel have no idea how much *MORE TOXIC FUMES* they spit out every minute. I could try to smoke 10 packs [...]

7260

lisa — Fri, 02 Dec 14:35:49 +0100

I think it is an absolute joke!, I know its only £1.40 but its the principal. I never got told when I purchased the phone that they could put our supposedly fixed contracts up when ever they feel like it! And to make matters worse I have been on the phone trying to get through [...]

7259

dday — Fri, 02 Dec 1:52:00 +0100

Why would they let you cancel over the Blackberry issue that was Blackberrys servers not Oranges network and effected all networks you whinging crank!!!!!!!!!!!!

7258

honestjohn — Thu, 01 Dec 20:56:03 +0100

Follow us on Facebook – we are urging all Orange Customers to complain to OFCOM in the hope that they will intervene and ultimately investigate and cancel the price increase – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Say-NO-to-Orange-Price-Rise-434-from-January-8th-2012/283582938349584

7240

Mariel Hurd — Thu, 01 Dec 1:06:06 +0100

The thing is, DRM wouldn’t have made much of a difference to piracy. It would’ve been cracked within a week regardless, and the game still sold over a million copies. There’s also the fact that most developers don’t release estimated piracy numbers on individual games. Whether an estimation of 4.5 million (possibly inaccurate in either [...]

7239

billy — Thu, 01 Dec 0:40:29 +0100

“GOG are trucking along nicely with their free ‘n easy, ‘download it three times or three hundred’ policy, and The Witcher 2 isn’t hurting from being sold there.” Except for, you know, the fact that their game was (allegedly) pirated 4.5 million times.

7238

fireent — Wed, 30 Nov 18:10:12 +0100

Yes, since they keep doing the draconian Ubisoft “thing” I haven’t and am not buying any of their games no matter the quality. They need to change their entire paradigm regarding the PC to win me back.

7257

nobelhobler — Wed, 30 Nov 17:23:56 +0100

Thats bloody great – its no to bad if you have one mobile with orange and only paying the minimum contract. Me I have six of the crap things all on dolphin 35. Thats £35 per month per phone. Thats another bloody load on my already suffering business. Orange already make a stupid amount of [...]

7256

draksyl — Wed, 30 Nov 17:23:11 +0100

I left Orange a few years ago when they hiked up the price of broadband – and they tried to charge a disconnection fee when I refused to accept the price hike. However, the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts (UTCC) regulations mean that if a company has standard contracts that the customer cannot influence, and [...]

7255

gedt — Wed, 30 Nov 17:22:18 +0100

I placed a call with Orange to find out if I could walk away from these guys without penalty but, I’m told, it wiould cost me £186 pounds to walk away or I could wait until my contract expires (early July) – Given its about £1.50-ish per month hike, I’m going to wait ’til July [...]

7254

sugerbear — Wed, 30 Nov 17:21:48 +0100

Unfortunately you only have the option of Vodafone or O2 if you dont choose Orange (or 3 if you can trust the service to deliver a signal). I think you can see a pattern here, pretty much every kind of large monopolistic business model always comes down to about 3-4 big players who never really [...]

7253

anon — Wed, 30 Nov 17:21:18 +0100

I work for a network who doesn’t have this clause. I suspect a sharp increase in new customers very soon. Thanks Orange, for consistently showing the world what bumblefucks you are!

7252

technohead95 — Wed, 30 Nov 17:20:43 +0100

Why does Orange need to increase the price for those already in a contract? People signed up for a contract for 12, 18 or 24 months with the intention that the price they signed up was what they keep paying. If Orange want to increase the price, then they should apply it to those signing [...]

7251

anon — Wed, 30 Nov 17:20:15 +0100

“Unfair terms & Conditions” come to mind, even if buried in the small print, which no one reads. There are many court rulings on this in the past. Else its a blanket licence to fleece ! Bastards all.

7250

adamw — Wed, 30 Nov 17:19:37 +0100

“Orange insists that this rule does not apply because the increase was catered for within existing contract Ts&Cs.” I’m pretty sure that they cannot opt out of Ofcom regulations with their T&C’s, and that the Ofcom requirement takes precedence. If their T&C’s had said that they could increase prices up to 10x RPI per year [...]

7249

dotdavid — Wed, 30 Nov 17:19:05 +0100

Some might say it’s only a quid or whatever, but I think it’s unfair that Orange can unilaterally change the terms of a contract with you yet you can’t do the same without expensive penalties. What’s wrong with raising the price for new customers but keeping existing ones at the same price for the term [...]

7248

louise — Wed, 30 Nov 17:18:29 +0100

My price plan is also due to go up and on a £40 a month tariff this equates to around £1.40… surely not worth getting in a tizz over? Unfortunately, inflation is a fact of life in the society that we live in and from the research that I have conducted, Orange could have enforced [...]

7230

Charlie Elise Duff — Wed, 30 Nov 15:54:15 +0100

BOOM BOOM! Very good Stephen. Thanks for the comment!

7229

Charlie Elise Duff — Wed, 30 Nov 15:53:40 +0100

Thanks for dropping by! I’m Gen Y Rob. I agree we may generalise with rose-tinted spec but I always think it’s funny when I hear people complaining that they ‘haven’t had a raise all year’ as if it’s their due, or looking shocked that inflation has gone but but their pay packet hasn’t – who [...]

7228

stephenodonnell — Wed, 30 Nov 14:55:22 +0100

I only ever watched Friends when I was “on a break”.

7227

robjones — Wed, 30 Nov 12:25:52 +0100

Nice post Charlie and although a chunk older than you ‘Friends’ was also a defining TV show for my lot too. I remember sitting around halls of residence during my first year at University and someone saying there was a new American sitcom starting on Channel 4 and was anyone coming to Alex’s room (he [...]

7201

peterrayner — Tue, 29 Nov 15:12:57 +0100

The trouble with all these “my rights” and “my freedom” arguments is that they work for just about everything. Substitute drinking, obesity, sexual pleasures, driving, going on holiday or whatever and you can build the same case. The fact is our human activities leave a footprint and it is currently socially acceptable to attack one [...]

7247

lindah — Tue, 29 Nov 11:40:59 +0100

I am absolutely livid about this. I use a Blackberry so wasn’t able to cancel after all the outage a few weeks ago, and I’m tied in with Orange for at least another 12 months. I notice Orange profits are still in excess of £300 million….! I will be cancelling as soon as I have [...]

7246

mark — Tue, 29 Nov 4:10:49 +0100

I am Leaving orange after this gonna cancell my direct debit and they can go fuck them selfs

7245

tina — Mon, 28 Nov 23:56:32 +0100

whats the big fuss! I received the text, calmly rang orange and five minutes later they agree to take 10% off my bill from January. They are increasing charges because they believe that the increase in revenue will more than cover the loss of business and they are probably right…..

7234

carlosestas — Mon, 28 Nov 17:52:42 +0100

If you want wider buttons – try Big Buttons Keyboard Deluxe.

7244

ryanmauger — Mon, 28 Nov 17:40:02 +0100

I can tell you exactly why some people have not yet received the sms…. they are close(r) to their upgrade dates, and Orange wants to draw them in before pissing them off. This is a disgusting practice, which should be outright banned. A contract with a minimum term should be void the moment they implement [...]

7243

james — Mon, 28 Nov 17:17:52 +0100

I have spoken with Ofcom and Orange Mobile Executive Office this lunchtime. In my phone call with them, Ofcom were clear that Section 9.6 of the Telecoms Act 2003 is applicable to all charges and that a service provider must give the option to terminate. These are the customer’s rights in law, regardless of what [...]

7242

williamtildesley — Mon, 28 Nov 16:49:53 +0100

I’m in a 24 month contract with Orange soon to end and this along with other issues I’ve had with them has made my decision for me. I will not be renewing my contract with Orange. During my research I came across the MVNO (Mobile virtual network operator) Giffgaff who use the o2 network. They [...]

7233

tom — Mon, 28 Nov 9:13:24 +0100

Helen, No mainly as I couldnt find it on the Android Marketplace, its recently been bought out by someone afaik. Tom

7232

helen — Sun, 27 Nov 21:24:30 +0100

So you didn’t try Swype?

7200

tom — Sat, 26 Nov 12:19:00 +0100

Lots of valid points, but honestly I struggled to get past how you tear into the girl for daring to comment on what is a totally avoidable habit that kill thousands and costs millions: “Like I actually gave a crap about what she said. Like I really believed that her view was of paramount importance [...]

7226

sara — Fri, 25 Nov 0:07:52 +0100

Hi, I’m from Graduate Film Services and can confirm permission was granted for use of this still image.

7225

Lucas McCartney — Thu, 24 Nov 23:53:53 +0100

Hi Chris, we will sort that out ASAP. Also, interesting article but all degrees no matter how silly do teach students valuable insight into essay writing, analytic thinking and rationale. I have to say that most people tend to do a degree out of interest – knowledge for knowledge sake. From your perspective I think [...]

7224

chrisleydon — Thu, 24 Nov 23:31:06 +0100

Been there, written this post before, got the t-shirt: http://blog.chrisleydon.com/2011/01/30/tuition-fees-david-beckham-studies/ Additionally, thanks for reaching out for permission to use my illegally taken screengrab of a live video stream belonging to Coventry University, dick. Perhaps you ought to spruce up on Copyright and publishing laws.

7172

davidmcvay — Thu, 24 Nov 19:22:06 +0100

Firstly, I would like to start off and say this piece of writting is of extremly poor quality and was even more boring to read. I have read many articles on PostDesk and this is my far the worst. Secondly, I have never played a game and my finger “slips” and I cast the wrong [...]

7223

paul — Thu, 24 Nov 18:48:40 +0100

All degree courses should teach you how to think as well as give you a basic grounding in the relevant knowledge of the area you study. Most degrees have a 10 year or so knowledge shelf life at the most -some a lot less in a fast moving discipline. It is important when studying an [...]

7222

hex — Thu, 24 Nov 18:07:06 +0100

I think you missed the point of CS degree. It’s not about teaching you a, or even a set of, programming languages, there are books for that. Any university that’s worth attending will be teaching problem solving with a computer. Programmers should be language agnostic. Moreover there are some subjects, Sciences, Engineering and Maths among [...]

7221

jamierumbelow — Thu, 24 Nov 17:15:37 +0100

Thanks for the good word on the article, it’s much appreciated. My major point, if I were to give a ‘tl;dr’ would be ‘Universities need to stop trying to prepare people for industry and instead give them important life skills, the sorts you get through the study of the humanities. Non-intellectuals should study courses that [...]

7220

hauntedquiche — Thu, 24 Nov 15:03:45 +0100

My first thought concerning the lack of practical knowledge in courses was that it didn’t seem to apply to my own experience in my Archaeology degree, but it was then I remembered that my course had been a little more unusual in that it required students to spend time on an actual dig in order [...]

7219

jedfitch — Thu, 24 Nov 10:45:57 +0100

Well written piece but you haven’t really said a whole lot here, especially in regard to actually ‘fixing’ higher education. I agree with you in the aspect regarding CS courses, but I think much of learning “old” coding languages is more to do with appreciating the structure as well as the history of them. Do [...]

7218

Mariel Hurd — Wed, 23 Nov 23:42:16 +0100

Thanks for letting me know!

7217

adric — Wed, 23 Nov 20:19:07 +0100

Good review! I enjoyed your dialogue and you caught the most powerful aspects of Project Zomboid’s gameplay. I added a link to your review in the articles section of pzguides.com!

7216

marcambasnajones — Tue, 22 Nov 12:05:31 +0100

This does seem like a bit of a witch hunt (event if it wasn’t the intention). Techcrunch, Techhub, The Europas etc have all been good for tech start-ups providing not just a platform and community but also practical support and press recognition. They should be applauded for that. Unfortunately there seems to be another agenda [...]

7165

barbilox — Tue, 22 Nov 11:25:44 +0100

still a bit glitchy, and why am i still being spawned on top of granades or next to cars that are about to blow up?

7215

marco — Mon, 21 Nov 12:04:49 +0100

Dear me, it’s hardly the Oscars. Every industry has these “awards” events – advertising is particularly bad – where everyone and his dog gets nominated, so the company concerned will happily buy a bundle of pricey tickets for their employees. The “public voting” exercise is more about RTing and mailing people as a crude but [...]

7214

anon — Mon, 21 Nov 11:17:23 +0100

It’s a telling comment above that “every one of us” has an association with TechCrunch UK or TechHub. At the root of this debate seems to be the absurdity that TechHub / TechCrunch *is* the UK tech startup scene, and vice versa. Much of the chat about tech start-ups seems to revolve around a small [...]

7213

alicianavarro — Sun, 20 Nov 21:42:40 +0100

I have to jump in here, because some of what is being said doesn’t make sense. The European startup scene is active and growing, but it also isn’t huge. On top of this, any successful – or aspiring to be successful – entrepreneur knows that forming relationships with others in your community is a valuable [...]

7212

mikebutcher — Sun, 20 Nov 12:16:47 +0100

I forgot to add: The writer of this article attended The Europas for free under a Press Pass. He also did not contact me at all prior to writing the article, which, in legal terms makes this “malicious libel” (look it up). However, I won’t be taking this further as I am not that kind [...]

7171

gamerdude — Sun, 20 Nov 2:47:23 +0100

I know why the 3D releases bombed, they added too much crap that threw off the charm, it wasn’t the 3D gameplay that wrecked it. The same elements and everything in this release could just as easily be made 3D and not wreck the gameplay quality, just don’t add those damn rabbids and keep the [...]

7170

Jack Bromley — Sun, 20 Nov 2:22:00 +0100

2D platformers were a hit in the 80s, but don’t you think it’s about time they made a return? Rayman Origins is the perfect game to kick that off. In my opinion, Rayman 2 was awful. Simply being in a full 3D world completely detracted from the original game’s charm. 2D, sharp, smooth animations make [...]

7211

anon — Sat, 19 Nov 22:07:32 +0100

I didn’t bother to attend the “Mike Butcher show” as several others in the start-up community have coined it. Whilst I do know, like and admire several of the companies that have been nominated and have won, credibility of the awards is clearly in question! I respect Mike and Milo both for their work, but [...]

7169

nikm1991 — Sat, 19 Nov 20:19:04 +0100

Personally, I hope Origins fails. Side-scrollers were alright…in the 80′s. The release of Rayman 2 was awesome, an interactive 3D world that blew side-scrollers out of the water, and a load more fun than the original Rayman. 3D was the right direction to go for Rayman, it actually upped the playability significantly, and now if [...]

7199

chrisleydon — Sat, 19 Nov 17:03:57 +0100

The crowded picture of the “John Snow” pub has been used out of context. The pub pictured is the infamous John Snow pub in Soho that asked a gay male couple to leave, earlier this year. The scene pictured is from the protest that took place outside of it. These people aren’t smoking, they’re boycotting [...]

7210

giles — Sat, 19 Nov 11:46:27 +0100

+1 for this post. I was there and I thought the same things. It’sthe Mike Butcher show, which frankly is embarrassing

7209

matthew — Sat, 19 Nov 11:23:17 +0100

Whilst I agree with Milo’s comments on the content, clearly the writer has an agenda here, I’m still a little confused on how the Europas work and Techcrunch Europe’s editorial policy. Mike still needs to clarify how the awards are exactly judged. It’s led to believe that it’s on a public vote so what are [...]

7208

miloyiannopoulos — Sat, 19 Nov 10:01:46 +0100

This website is quickly making a name for itself as a trollish irritant whose writers have pretensions to investigative journalism but who clearly don’t know the first thing about either their subject matter or libel law. I have in the past been harassed by them and had practically everyone I know contacted in pursuit of [...]

7207

matthewslight — Sat, 19 Nov 8:18:20 +0100

Mike, thank you very much for commenting. I have tidied up the post and for clarity have included your comments in line on the article.

7206

mikebutcher — Sat, 19 Nov 0:39:58 +0100

A few points: 1. “Arriving on his Harley Davidson clad in leather jacket.” The Harley was not mine, the jacket was. 2. The sound system in the venue was supposed to be up to the job – alas we couldn’t stop about 450 people chatting at the same time. Hence the keynote presentation where winners [...]

7157

Mariel Hurd — Fri, 18 Nov 14:36:59 +0100

And then the soul-crushing horror of having to pack up your figures or begin a new game sets in. Good gamers have had their lives ruined by the PTSD from these tragic incidents.

7156

posterboy — Fri, 18 Nov 13:47:27 +0100

When your character’s life is on the line, or prestige, yes it’s fucking important to nitpick and bitch at other people. If you people don’t think it’s so serious, then YOU can be the one to die or lose a battle.

7155

kilogex — Fri, 18 Nov 5:20:23 +0100

Completely agree here. Nothing creates a black hole of un-fun when a person feels the need to turn a friendly game (remember that word, game?) into an overcharged competition. This seems to be something not limited to gaming tables – Just look at any highschool sporting event now a-days. People are way too stuck on [...]

7168

Mariel Hurd — Fri, 18 Nov 0:48:00 +0100

This isn’t actually an article saying ‘this is how you should be writing a fantasy world’, it’s advice to writers who are trying to make a gender-equal one. If that’s not what they’re aiming for, it doesn’t apply to them. How-To rather than What-To. On the matter of tits and misogyny being a marketing necessity: [...]

7150

Mariel Hurd — Fri, 18 Nov 0:33:24 +0100

That makes sense. Out of curiosity, is marketing a common weak point in indie teams? I’d imagine it’s a hard-to-find (but inconveniently essential) skill. Little too busy to play through your demo right now, but I passed the link to my flatmate because he loves diplomacy/economy based strategy games. He says he’ll add a review [...]

7149

Mariel Hurd — Fri, 18 Nov 0:23:29 +0100

I think a lot of indie gamers want more than they’re getting, they’re just not always talking in public/findable places. Which is a damn shame, because they have a lot of interesting stuff to say. The habit of seeing a product do well and trying to imitate it is pretty common to most creative industries [...]

7198

stephenlewis — Thu, 17 Nov 15:34:32 +0100

Jamie, This debate is taking over my day. Despite Sabrina’s encouragement, and your perfectly reasoned response, I have to admit to a serious flaw in my argument which never occurred to me previously. Namely, it is not my right to decide what the NHS spends money on. My rights in a democratic society occur much [...]

7197

jamierumbelow — Thu, 17 Nov 15:11:28 +0100

A very fair and considered response, Stephen, and your point is extremely valid. Indeed, why should the state support somebody who has made the conscious choice, in the face of evidence advising them against it, to start or continue smoking? I feel that ultimately, most, if not all of the day-to-day problems the NHS face [...]

7196

sabrina — Thu, 17 Nov 15:11:09 +0100

I wish there was a non-religious equivalent to the word amen for this post! “I agree” isn’t good enough.

7195

stephenlewis — Thu, 17 Nov 14:53:02 +0100

Interesting post Jamie. My opinions echo those of many of the other non-smokers here: namely that your right to smoke only becomes an issue when it infringes upon my rights. Not my views or opinions, my rights. This is one of main reasons I have no time for people opposing gay marriage (for example) on [...]

7194

rob — Thu, 17 Nov 14:49:12 +0100

That’s it, I’m moving to Japan. On the downside, you have to learn Japanese. But how hard can that be, right? If millions of Japanese babies can do it, then so can I. The smoking ban has gone a long way to protect the rights of non-smokers, and it’s the responsibility of pub/club owners to [...]

7193

maxwell — Thu, 17 Nov 14:43:26 +0100

Surely we should ban alcohol, as it’s responsible for far more deaths per annum than smoking? It also has second-hand health effects which are just as severe as those from smoking, such as violent injury, sometimes resulting in death. Personally, I believe that the Japanese have absolutely nailed it, with their smoking ban. They’ve banned [...]

7192

sabrina — Thu, 17 Nov 14:33:15 +0100

Replying to myself as there’s no button to reply to you directly. Actually, I think there is all the reason in the world to look down on you for “a choice.” This choice: a) damages your health, and the health of those around you b) puts your nearest and dearest in the unenviable position of [...]

7191

matthewslight — Thu, 17 Nov 14:24:52 +0100

As a diner in a restaurant I detest smoking. I also shudder when young parents smoke around their children. As an artisan with a penchant for the quirky I am partial to the odd cigar in the comfort of my own company – but never inside my own home.

6991

jacksmith — Thu, 17 Nov 14:14:50 +0100

Can you post a bigger version of the enclosed screenshot? UI looks awesome.

7190

philsturgeon — Thu, 17 Nov 14:14:27 +0100

That is clearly a massive over-exaggeration. If I was stood in your face blowing smoke directly into your mouth for a few months you might get a few problems, but until then all you are doing is complaining about things that have no effect on you. I smoke and have done for a while. Just [...]

7189

rob — Thu, 17 Nov 14:12:39 +0100

@Luke That was kind of my point. It’s so easy to make quick uninformed judgments of people, that it’s often best just to keep it to yourself. And even if Jamie hadn’t considered the effects on his health before talking to her, she certainly wouldn’t be the person to finally convince him to quit. Arguing [...]

7188

dan — Thu, 17 Nov 13:54:50 +0100

Your smoking forces me to breathe in carcinogens. You could give me cancer and other smoking related diseases, as a result you could kill me, you could kill my unborn child’s father, and my partner’s fiancé. I have no choice in the matter. You, on the other hand choose to smoke and thus you choose [...]

7187

jamierumbelow — Thu, 17 Nov 13:53:17 +0100

I’m incredibly sorry to hear that Mark, and, of course, that is a tragedy. I still maintain that smoking is ultimately a choice, and even though nicotine is incredibly addictive, many people have voluntarily quit in the past and many people will continue to do so. Life is all about the choices we make, and [...]

7186

jamierumbelow — Thu, 17 Nov 13:47:33 +0100

Three days ago the Environmental Audit Committee published a report on air quality that highlighted the damage of the air that we breathe in cities. This stated that more damage is done than passive smoking. I’m sorry, but unless I’m standing right next to you, blowing smoke into your face, your argument isn’t reasonable. I [...]

7185

mark — Thu, 17 Nov 13:34:41 +0100

Why am I offended? Because I lost my otherwise healthy father, who made such a choice at a young age, to emphysema, long after it stopped being his choice and started being the addiction’s. One might say that your “basic human right” to make choices also comes with a responsibility to learn from those before [...]

7184

lukejones — Thu, 17 Nov 13:34:20 +0100

I have the right to judge you as a smoker as soon as you smoke anywhere in public. Your smoking doesn’t just affect your health, passive smoking effects the health of other people too. It’s a well-known fact that it causes cancer, amongst other things, which, in the UK, costs the tax-payers money! All because [...]

7183

jamierumbelow — Thu, 17 Nov 13:31:52 +0100

@Rob, thank you for your balanced and reasonable view. I’m sorry that you’ve been subjected to ignorant smokers in the past, and much like everything else in life, there are some people who will ruin a perfectly acceptable scenario. I believe myself to be a responsible smoker. I dispose of my butts properly, I only [...]

7182

jamierumbelow — Thu, 17 Nov 13:28:12 +0100

@Sabrina, I appreciate your view, and you certainly make a good point. But my argument isn’t “smoking into somebody else’s face should be allowed!”. I, for one, am for the smoking ban. Why should non-smokers be subjected to a smokey room? Instead, they should have the choice to go outside and join their smoking friends [...]

7181

peterrayner — Thu, 17 Nov 13:09:48 +0100

Hmm so “young people” are not all mindless, middle-class conforming cretins or shallow street wandering hoodies. Perhaps I should be less patronising.

7180

rob — Thu, 17 Nov 13:06:49 +0100

Firstly, I agree with your view on the ignorant checkout girl. I’m sure there are topics you could lecture her on in return. For example, if she worked a little harder in school, she wouldn’t be stuck working as a checkout girl at the age of 22. The only issue I have with smokers (and [...]

7179

sabrina — Thu, 17 Nov 12:58:15 +0100

We all have the right to judge you because that smoke infringes on our health and our senses. That’s all that’s really needed to counter this self-important ‘I’m so bohemian and informed’ rubbish. No one cares you’ve thought the decision through and tried to justify it by comparison to other unthealthy habits – until you [...]

7148

jess — Thu, 17 Nov 6:11:05 +0100

This was a good read. I really am glad that the audience wants indie games to be more than a “Har har that was kinda fun.” I really think that indie developers should do what their triple A company counterparts can’t do: Make games that are risky to publish! Publishers want money, they look at [...]

6990

karlao — Thu, 17 Nov 2:06:50 +0100

Hello, my name is Karla and I’m 14 years old. I came across this website and was instantly interested in becoming a writer for PostDesk. Yes, it may seem as though I am too young, but I really love writing and would appreciate it if you could provide me with more information. Such as, is [...]

7167

gabh — Wed, 16 Nov 12:07:14 +0100

It is a really valid point, wutevs, that game makers don’t want to alienate their audience. But I do reckon that there is a bit of the old conservatism with a small-C going on behind pandering to the status quo: stretching the analogy until it creaks but it’s a the same logic that said ‘small [...]

7147

cutandreil — Wed, 16 Nov 8:15:37 +0100

There is two probelms : - big indy team need money, so they make game that may sell well. => less original games - small indy team : they lack of talented people. With only two or three people, the team is weak in one of the core domain (programmation or graphism, or sound design [...]

7154

gregwebster — Wed, 16 Nov 2:30:08 +0100

I’ll disagree with you here Marshall, because I think Games Workshop has always been pretty clear that their games are about the hobby, not the tournaments.

7153

marshalllamm — Wed, 16 Nov 1:49:51 +0100

I think one of the biggest catalysts of competitive nature so prevalent in the tabletop gaming culture, is the fact that two of the largest companies in the gaming industry – Games Workshop and Wizards of the Coast – have built their games around tournament play.

7166

wutevs — Wed, 16 Nov 0:16:56 +0100

I understand your point of view, but there’s something you are missing which is the main reason that game designers “don’t” and “shouldn’t” try to make their games as gender neutral as you suggest. Profits. It is the core reason and driving purpose for those that spend months, even years designing these games, and their [...]

6885

thejman765 — Mon, 14 Nov 23:51:01 +0100

Can Nintendo continue to rely on game characters that are now over twenty years old, and are arguably already declining in popularity? Sorry, just laughed uncontrollably at this. Seriously, every time a new zelda, mario, or pokemon game is announced, people go nuts. The only redeeming word in tgat statement, is the inclusion of the [...]

7164

ho — Mon, 14 Nov 22:44:20 +0100

I think u forgot those fkn damned awful UAV’s on Assault, they should have kept them to Support only, that’s why MW3 is campers paradise, also everybody using anti-detection stuff makes Missiles and other stuff pretty much useless cause there is no way to target ppl.

7163

nitrous828 — Mon, 14 Nov 11:41:57 +0100

Sweet… I just hope they fix up the multiplayer with updates/patches! Great job Zoe! Thanks!

7162

Sun, 13 Nov 15:10:42 +0100

Great read, well written article actually! I have an alternative point of view though. First off, I want to point out that I don’t own the game myself, I’ve only seen the game being played through at a friend’s house, so take what I say with a grain of salt here. I could by all [...]

7161

adam — Sat, 12 Nov 19:32:02 +0100

Great review, couldn’t agree more. Having been a follower of the Call Of Duty franchise since Finest Hour, the Campaign mode goes from strength to strength, and Modern Warfare 3 is no exception. Unfortunately, the Multiplayer hasn’t changed at all. Once again, great review, and it’s also good to hear from a female gamer.

7160

potts2k8 — Sat, 12 Nov 14:39:27 +0100

I think the multiplayer is great… I’m not the best player in the world and found it frustrating that I had to stick to killstreaks under the 10 kill mark to ensure any rewards (which meant I missed out on some of the more hardcore/impressive killstreaks)… With the point streak system I feel comfortable going [...]

7159

guy — Sat, 12 Nov 13:23:29 +0100

Excellent review, concise and informative without giving anything away. It’s certainly ensured I’ll be buying the game – for the campaign.

7138

axelstone — Thu, 10 Nov 3:05:31 +0100

Good article, George. Resident Evil or Biohazard is my favorite franchise too. It ushered help usher in a new generation of gaming in 3D and kick start a revolution and evolution of thousands of games! It also made the original PlayStation as one of the greatest gaming console ever made. Resident Evil was a work [...]

7122

tanareklaw — Wed, 09 Nov 23:11:26 +0100

I’m so sad to have missed it D: any way to hear it?

7152

Jack Bromley — Wed, 09 Nov 18:53:11 +0100

Brilliant interview. Trying to break into the industry myself, interviews like this really inspire me, and especially hearing Alex’s backstory, it’s something I can actually relate to (not the modelling though!). And although you mention that you should look to yourself as a role model, I’m pretty sure someone wouldn’t go wrong looking up to [...]

7151

elle — Wed, 09 Nov 18:26:09 +0100

What a great interview, some really insightful responses. Well presented too. I particularly like what Alex has to say about girl gamers… so true!

7116

louise — Tue, 08 Nov 16:19:46 +0100

@tony – I think for ICT to be embedded into the curriculum in the same way that mathematics is, there would need to be an acknowledgement from somewhere that like arithmetic, a skill used in every day life, so are some of the skills in ICT. I have friends whose children have email accounts at [...]

7115

tonydouglas — Mon, 07 Nov 21:32:08 +0100

Hi Ben I can see why it would appear as two ideological positions. From my own point of view, I suspect it might actually be turning into one ! I have a gradually growing conviction that we are achieving great things *despite* the tools available rather than *because* of them. And I think that the [...]

7114

benosteen — Mon, 07 Nov 0:46:55 +0100

@Tony and @Steve You are defending your own viewpoints as if the other was coming from an idealogical opposite point of view: from general fundamentals to specifics, from proper progression of ideas to ‘skip to the interesting parts’. I think that we can all agree that without making the fundamentals of computer theory interesting, we [...]

7113

tonydouglas — Sat, 05 Nov 17:32:07 +0100

Hi Steve, I seem to remember a quote from the Jesuits along the lines of, “Give me the child at seven and I will show you the man”. Good habits start young. If we rush off into teaching kids whatever the current fads are, they’ll be stuck with habits and idioms of those fads until [...]

7112

steve — Sat, 05 Nov 12:18:41 +0100

@Tony – some very fair points you make. Yes, learning a discipline can be boring, but my point was that it would have been *very* easy for them to make it more interesting. An extremely basic example, instead of a square on a squiggly line to represent an undamped spring, it could have easily been [...]

7146

steve — Sat, 05 Nov 10:05:28 +0100

But Andrew, I feel as though I’ve gotten £89 worth of value out of it in the past two months, anything else from now on is just free living. The articles at the time of the firesale all made it sound like people would give up on the device within a few weeks – from [...]

7111

tonydouglas — Sat, 05 Nov 2:10:58 +0100

@Steve – lots of points to respond to in there… “I then did Mechanical Engineering at university, which was one of the most infuriatingly dull things I’ve ever done. Engineering is (for the most part) inherently interesting, but actually *learning* it is something else. It’s “rip your eyes out of your skull” difficult, and the [...]

7145

andrewbrackinandrewbrackin — Sat, 05 Nov 2:02:35 +0100

I don’t think two months is enough time to tell but if it ran Android it’d definitely be worth it at under £100. Nothing more.

7144

callum — Fri, 04 Nov 18:28:04 +0100

I don’t know whether you’re slating me personally, but as I did say in the article I don’t call myself an entrepreuner; just wanted to clear that up. I disagree with Chris; a lot of our speakers aren’t from middle or upper class backgrounds with significant financial direction from their parents and I fear that [...]

7127

redwolf — Fri, 04 Nov 18:18:22 +0100

Very good article! Unfortunately its another result of the shift in focus, much like the movie industry. Both were once a blend of creativity mixed with production costs. Now, with production costs in the millions and timetables set in years, creativity is considered affordable only when built upon existing concepts. Take Bioshock for instance; not [...]

7126

Jack Bromley — Fri, 04 Nov 16:56:08 +0100

@Guest @David Exactly. UMvC3 is one of the most innovative titles I’ve ever seen. There’s plenty of features aside from the characters that make it so unique and vastly different. As David mentioned, its Heroes & Heralds mode brings card-gaming elements into a fighting game, something no other can compare to.

7110

steve — Fri, 04 Nov 11:08:23 +0100

I posted the majority of this comment on another post on the matter, but feel it sits just as well here The UK education system has more wide-ranging issues than inspiring the next generation of computer scientists. When I was at school in the early 00′s, students (in the top sets) would literally set fire [...]

7076

ax — Fri, 04 Nov 10:00:27 +0100

There are so many typos and grammatical errors in this article that it’s difficult to even get through, let alone point out all the reasoning flaws existing.

7125

david — Fri, 04 Nov 2:45:31 +0100

@ the first poster “Lol, UMvC3 isn’t creative. New characters/stages to smash each others face with is just like new guns/maps to shoot each other in an fps title. Assassins creed is introducing new weapons and levels (essentially the same as UMvC3, except far more vast), and a new story-line (which requires a ton more [...]

7124

alex — Fri, 04 Nov 0:44:04 +0100

Not that you don’t make a valid point, but every game you mentioned is a sequel. How different could they possibly be?

7143

alicialawson — Fri, 04 Nov 0:30:51 +0100

I have to agree with @Chris; there are way to many of these kids calling themselves young entrepreneurs and trumpeting on Twitter about their embarrassing fake companies or sometimes even borderline scams. It’s time to call them out and separate the wheat from the chaff. There are so many young people out there doing it [...]

7142

chrisleydon — Thu, 03 Nov 22:59:56 +0100

It’s a little sad that Callum avoided the question about privileged young entrepreneurs with no real successes and relying on parental finance; a few of them are speaking at his conference. No doubt the guy wants to keep everyone happy and not cause any scenes or arguments, it’s a pity because it could be a [...]

7141

callum — Thu, 03 Nov 22:51:54 +0100

I have to pay my due to Henry, a co-organiser, as well!

7140

Cec Plascott — Thu, 03 Nov 20:14:36 +0100

Great interview! Really looking forward to the conference, and meeting so many cool people. Callum’s done really well with everything, especially getting Microsoft on board.

7139

andrewbrackinandrewbrackin — Thu, 03 Nov 20:04:04 +0100

Summed up my views on this subject perfectly Callum. Very proud to be speaking at this event, It’s not trying to be anything that It’s not and warps past the pretentious nature of previous events of this type. I think it’ll be the attendees not the speakers that will make this event, I’m very excited [...]

7123

guest — Thu, 03 Nov 11:09:15 +0100

Lol, UMvC3 isn’t creative. New characters/stages to smash each others face with is just like new guns/maps to shoot each other in an fps title. Assassins creed is introducing new weapons and levels (essentially the same as UMvC3, except far more vast), and a new story-line (which requires a ton more creativity then UMvC3). Now [...]

7137

Charlie Elise Duff — Thu, 03 Nov 10:17:50 +0100

We met a lot of very smart people at #SMR on Sunday and had a great time – and actually, I personally did meet quite a few people who were exactly the type of grads banks want but they had already decided to work for a start up. I think the image has changed and [...]

7136

michaelraibin — Wed, 02 Nov 22:55:21 +0100

Silicon Milkroundabout is an incredible concept and is most certainly becoming an increasingly recognised event. Whilst the banks are firing, startups are hiring ! Keep it niche, not corporate.

6997

Lawrence Serewicz — Wed, 02 Nov 22:49:52 +0100

I wonder if this is just adding to the problem by using abstract language. While I do not want to get into a discussin of semiotics, I do want to consider whether we are capturing ideas with such abstract language. What is agency, what is structure? We begin by assuming we know what they are [...]

7132

louise — Wed, 02 Nov 18:08:09 +0100

@scribe – I think self definition almost does defeat. I too would love to know what prompted the resurrection of the term. I genuinely don’t remember it being in common parlance after year 2000 but I could be wrong. @james – I made this point on Twitter I think but I will make it here [...]

7135

petesmith — Wed, 02 Nov 18:05:46 +0100

i had great fun doing this interview — we were all on a real high at the end of the event, and sam asked some great questions silicon milkroundabout goes from strength to strength!

7134

xedarius — Wed, 02 Nov 16:43:42 +0100

I was there on Sunday and I have never been to anything like it before. It was so well organised, fantastic companies working on some brilliant projects. Big thanks to SK guys.

7133

petenixey — Wed, 02 Nov 16:43:26 +0100

Kudos to Pete, Ian, Michelle and the rest of the team. It is incredible to see how much change has happened in the last four years in London and impressive to see how deep YC is into it. I wondered round and saw James from WebMynd, Hiroki from GroupPay, Devin onto his new company Lyst [...]

7131

jamescollins — Wed, 02 Nov 15:21:08 +0100

It’s amazing how Apathetic that people remain after all these years of constantly growing cybercrime threats. We need all sectors to step up to the plate and get involved in considering options, not just roll over and play dead. @jamescollinss

7130

scribe — Wed, 02 Nov 13:50:06 +0100

Interesting read – the hashtag was hard to ignore on Twitter, but other than that I must admit I didn’t take too much interest. Taking the word “cyber” as a jumping-off point is definitely fascinating in itself. Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet-related_prefixes) traces it back to ancient Greek, and it seems to relate to “the control of complex [...]

7016

redstar365 — Tue, 01 Nov 19:36:33 +0100

this article has a load of good points. i can see the 3DS sales not being able to add up to the Vita. But after time I’m sure the 3DS will catch up with the vita due to the 3ds’ extensive list of games. The thing about past PSP consoles is that the games on [...]

7109

louise — Tue, 01 Nov 18:11:29 +0100

@luke – I understand. But from the post beneath yours I feel that there is frustration being expressed at the lack of alternative outlet anywhere for those who enter year 11 with comprehensive understandings of binary or code. There needs to be a parallel framework – there used to be a ‘gifted’ student stream to [...]

7108

Henry Moulton — Tue, 01 Nov 15:08:11 +0100

Very good post. I’m 17 and I dropped out of ICT GCSE because it was the lamest course that I could have ever taken. The coursework assignment was to make a timetable rota for staff at a cinema. It was dull to say the least. I’m actually the co-organiser of a conference in London in [...]

7107

lukejones — Tue, 01 Nov 12:40:39 +0100

I think what we need to remember is that this is only GCSE level IT – something most of these people forget. The GCSE courses are relatively short, with very little time to teach students so they’re not going to be very in depth and, to be fair to schools, it does teach kids how to [...]

7106

louise — Tue, 01 Nov 7:52:25 +0100

@adrianshort – agree. I’d still argue setting a secure password is a life skill though, not a ‘you should only know this if you’re vaguely interested in IT’ skill. @harryharold posted a link to a different syllabus on Twitter which looked a little more like what you’re talking about – apparently the school offering it [...]

7105

st84photo — Tue, 01 Nov 1:19:28 +0100

Excellent post

7063

tonydouglas — Mon, 31 Oct 23:49:13 +0100

Interesting comment from @Jack about the identity side of things; a bit like when your favourite underground/indie band goes “commercial” and suddenly everyone’s a “fan”..! I should say I’ve not paid much attention to games since the days of the Amiga, when (as far as I was concerned) the prices went up, the presentation (graphics, [...]

7104

tonydouglas — Mon, 31 Oct 21:25:15 +0100

Back again, to be the crusty old moaner in the corner First, some replies to replies. @Nathaniel – I apologise if I wasn’t clear enough; I didn’t mean the current courses concentrate on programming. I meant that there is an idea around that teaching programming is somehow worthwhile, important and valuable. Sadly, in the grander [...]

7103

adrianshort — Mon, 31 Oct 20:09:32 +0100

Everyone needs to learn to use basic office applications and general computer literacy. I’ve got no idea which course would be best for them. IT, business, whatever. What’s needed beyond this is a creative computing course. Something that combines elements of computer science, maths, physics, art and design. It should be assessed 100% on portfolio [...]

7067

yunocorrect — Mon, 31 Oct 18:10:28 +0100

Bork: The blogger is absolutely correct in his use of grammar. Y U NO BE RELEVANT IN YOUR TROLLING?

7102

louise — Mon, 31 Oct 8:35:13 +0100

@emma – Thank you lady. You were the inspiration for this article in posting an email from someone saying they’d found a GCSE too secretarial. I’m not sure if links work on here but the post is: Lazy Layabout Teens

7075

samhutchings — Sun, 30 Oct 23:31:08 +0100

Storage takes up a lot of space on your phone, and so it helps keep the cost and size down. Also, Windows Phone 7 is all about cloud services: SkyDrive, Windows Live, Zune Pass, etc, etc. The idea is, you should stream everything to the device rather than store it locally, and with everything backed [...]

7101

samhutchings — Sun, 30 Oct 23:24:42 +0100

As someone who has experience the IT syllabus from all angles: As a student learning it at GCSE, and IT Technician supporting teachers and students as they learn it, and even having taught a lesson to students at that level; I can say this about IT in the UK’s curriculum: It gives you almost no [...]

7100

emmamulqueeny — Sun, 30 Oct 17:13:16 +0100

Ther eis quite a lot of action around this topic. A wiki here http://codingforkids.org/wiki/Main_Page with lots of good links and information, an e-petition http://mulqueeny.wordpress.com/2011/09/15/teach-our-kids-to-code-e-petition/ We are losing our coding kids to the rest of the world, those who have taught themselves see no reason to reinvest back in their own economy when they have had [...]

7074

nathanielhiggins — Sun, 30 Oct 13:16:26 +0100

Really?! Why shove out a brand new “smartphone” with less disk capacity then my iPod?!

7099

nathanielhiggins — Sun, 30 Oct 13:12:48 +0100

@haydoni Actually, to be fair, ICT was a Necessary evil for me in Year 7, as the computers in my primary school were severely lacking. For crying out loud, you were lucky if you managed to get permission to go on the internet!!

7098

louise — Sun, 30 Oct 9:33:55 +0100

@haydoni – Instead of the situation at the moment where everyone is being exhorted to store data in ‘the cloud’ with no comprehension of what is and isn’t appropriate data to be stored there. I am guessing the IT GCSE’s from all providersare not mentioning IAAS at all. And that’s dangerous.

7097

haydoni — Sat, 29 Oct 23:40:04 +0100

@Jack You definitely do not need an ICT GCSE to go into business, or even to take business studies at A-level. I’m led to believe that forty years ago many schools taught “secretary skills”, which included such things as touch typing on typewriters. The ICT GCSE has replaced this in all but name. Computer Science [...]

7073

samhutchings — Sat, 29 Oct 18:46:44 +0100

I deem my research to be using mobile devices everyday, as part of my job. I have used, fixed, and experienced all of the mobile operating systems and manufacturers. I have seen what Nokia can do, and can’t when it comes to software. I have experienced Windows Mobile, and then been relieved when Windows Phone [...]

7096

cougar — Sat, 29 Oct 14:23:04 +0100

As someone who sat the very first GCSEs back in the late 80s, I can add that it seems not much has changed. Back then, the GCSE “Computer Studies” syllabus was basic to say the least. Nathaniel’s comments are very similar to my own experiences; I spent a lot of time playing games of course, [...]

7095

louise — Sat, 29 Oct 13:49:55 +0100

Reading all these comments brings me to another conclusion. If we are teaching ‘sheep’ where is ‘thinking outside the box’ taught? It seems to me coding a bunch of off curriculum stuff is a flag that someone has the qualities this government has acknowledged we need, not only in the private sector but the public [...]

7094

barry — Sat, 29 Oct 13:33:36 +0100

@Nathanial – you wrote “when I put weeks worth of code into a full ajax portfolio, my teacher didnt care” and that’s the whole crux of the problem IMHO. If the student doesn’t ‘fit the mould’ of the narrow coursework created then they are effectively classed as troublemakers, certainly not encouraged to think out of [...]

7093

Jack Bromley — Sat, 29 Oct 12:38:50 +0100

@Nathaniel I may have studied under a different exam board to you then, my course didn’t even mention a website, ours was all based around databases and spreadsheets. People who want to work in business *need* to take IT / ICT though, since many schools don’t offer a solely business course, and IT is the [...]

7092

nathanielhiggins — Sat, 29 Oct 11:16:07 +0100

I agree, IT needs to be merged with business, and offer a completely separate computing course at GCSE. @Tony You’ve got it completely wrong, and as a student currently studying this course, I can say, without a doubt, programming has not come into it once, not even in the slightest. @Jack as @Sam said, making [...]

7091

louise — Sat, 29 Oct 9:43:15 +0100

@nathaniel – apologies for not replying last night, I couldn’t see your comment. I suspect in the future you will be one of the parents whose child, should things stay the same, will not be sitting the IT GCSE. Which is a shame, you’ve obviously got a tonne of passion and talent in ‘IT’ but [...]

7090

beth — Sat, 29 Oct 0:46:32 +0100

Having completed my GCSE in ICT last year i can safely say it was one of the most boring things I’ve ever done, it was boring because i could do everything and learnt nothing. There were people in my class, however, who could barely turn a computer on, this is why i think ICT (and [...]

7072

johnhamelink — Sat, 29 Oct 0:45:42 +0100

Not a very good article. I think the author is missing the point here – Nokia were building an OS called Meebo. It was going to be fully open source, and looked _amazing_. As soon as the new CEO – who just-so-happens to be ex-microsoft – saunters in, suddenly they can all their Meebo and [...]

7089

Jack Bromley — Sat, 29 Oct 0:40:25 +0100

@Nathaniel Props to you for taking up coding at such a young age, it’ll certainly give you a head start if you choose to do computing at A Level. Even if you keep it as a hobby it’ll remain useful. Your teacher should atleast show some praise towards you, an entire ajax portfolio certainly deserves [...]

7088

Jack Bromley — Sat, 29 Oct 0:38:01 +0100

@Sam GCSE students aren’t taught to make a basic website anyway, but you say that ‘full computing’ is not being taught at GCSE level ICT, but does it really need to be? People who take the ICT course at GCSE level are likely expecting something more exciting and indepth than spreadsheets, but what they are [...]

7087

louise — Sat, 29 Oct 0:28:12 +0100

@Sam – I agree with the sense of fun and enjoyment – very much. I remember vividly a science lesson (I only did Single Award, whole separate world of pain) where someone strung a piece of string down a field and shot a rocket along it. I hated Science but I never forgot that lesson. [...]

7086

samhutchings — Sat, 29 Oct 0:25:27 +0100

There has been a change towards merging IT and Business Studies into one subject, as evidenced in some schools. The issues lies in the IT being taught in schools being applied IT, instead of the full computing, etc, that our country is starting to lack. Whilst some of the stuff taught in IT is valid, [...]

7085

nathanielhiggins — Sat, 29 Oct 0:22:29 +0100

Hi there. I’m a 14 year old studying the exact course you just mentioned. I’m also a young coder. I can vouch that there is very little support for someone of my age who knows more about a computer then how to make a pretty spreadsheet. Infact, when I put weeks worth of code into [...]

7084

tonydouglas — Sat, 29 Oct 0:21:17 +0100

The thing that depresses me most is the focus on “programming” and “coding”. IT is about programming the same way accountancy is about arithmetic. What’s really needed is to get the next generation a proper understanding of *data*. What it is, what it’s not, what you can and can’t do with it. To misuse a [...]

7083

Jack Bromley — Sat, 29 Oct 0:09:34 +0100

(It does need serious revamping or atleast updating however.)

7066

ank — Sat, 29 Oct 0:06:35 +0100

+1 for Bork. Bugs me to no end.

7082

Jack Bromley — Sat, 29 Oct 0:05:55 +0100

Whilst I agree on the most part, the IT GCSE is still relevant. Although it doesn’t teach students about ‘modern’ technology, it does teach them in the field of databases, spreadsheets, and businesses. The subject is important in that respect, and will surely help students get into business sections of many industries. Perhaps ‘Business Studies’ [...]

7081

samhutchings — Fri, 28 Oct 23:36:16 +0100

The UK’s idea of IT teaching is beyond a joke. Students are taught one platform, normally Windows, whilst the other’s are ignored. (Most students don’t know Linux exists, or how a Mac works, let alone how to use them in real life.) The world of IT has changed, but the way it has taught, and [...]

7080

thepsychogamer — Fri, 28 Oct 23:25:55 +0100

Most of what you described that made AC “redefine” the open world genra has been done for years in the Yakuza series.

7079

Jack Bromley — Fri, 28 Oct 18:57:10 +0100

@B Dick I couldn’t disagree more. Arkham City’s gameplay never gets repetitive, especially now being able to work all of Batman’s gadgets into combos, as well as a ton of special combos unlockable via upgrades. You really can be sneaky and stealthy, it’s rare for you to enter a building straight through the front door. [...]

7078

dave — Fri, 28 Oct 17:46:39 +0100

Don’t be ridiculous. Have you not heard of level design and arkham city’s level design is second to none. Being able to smash into buildings anywhere would totally ruin the game. I’m glad you don’t make games.

7077

bdick — Fri, 28 Oct 17:15:13 +0100

yeah, it does open world right. but it doesnt do gameplay right. if you break it down into a sum of part6s its got very shallow gameplay, and its very repetitive. your meant to be able to sneak about and be steathly, but you can only enter a building threw the front doors!?! c’mon thats [...]

7062

alicegirlreturnmailru — Fri, 28 Oct 14:52:06 +0100

A very like you game Alice Madness Returns I whont a dress Alice a rebet i whont be Alice((

7065

theinternet — Thu, 27 Oct 18:32:57 +0100

Mr Lloyd is completely correct. Also, Bork is a pedantic fuckwit.

7064

bork — Thu, 27 Oct 16:00:24 +0100

it’s = it is its is posessive.

7071

keithandrew — Thu, 27 Oct 0:54:01 +0100

As much as I can tell, the reason you think this phones will flop is because…well, there are already other phones on the market running Windows Phone. Riiight. That’s a bit daft. Particularly poor start for the new PostDesk on the tech front here. Lazy, and ultimately disappointing.

7070

jonnyrowntree — Thu, 27 Oct 0:23:49 +0100

What I find great about Nokia and these types of phones is that; 1) they are a consumer brand that dominated the phone market before Apple, HTC & Samsung came along. 2) they make their phones based on their target audience. They know that young & older people want a basic mobile phone, maybe a [...]

7034

maramirza — Wed, 26 Oct 7:10:58 +0100

Privacy is a right. What is next, paying for freedom?

7061

Jack Bromley — Tue, 25 Oct 3:01:56 +0100

@Anonevent I apologise for that, the art screenshot has now been changed to Wong’s ‘Snail Fight’ art. However I can’t seem to find a more recent photo of the team. Thank you for pointing that out

7060

anonevent — Tue, 25 Oct 2:38:39 +0100

That group photo is from almost 4 years ago, and the art you’ve marked as Ken Wong’s was actually drawn by Luis Melo. Whether this article is in service of “controversy” or no. I think you should consider doing your research properly.

7059

Jack Bromley — Tue, 25 Oct 0:33:51 +0100

@Anon That’s a little too harsh don’t you think? Personally, I quite liked the minigames, they offered another new take on Wonderland as well as offering a short break from the standard gameplay. They did actually add to the story, captaining the Mock Turtle’s ship added quite a lot to the story, as well as [...]

7058

anonymous — Tue, 25 Oct 0:09:16 +0100

You can’t dodge that bullet, American. A: MR really is a dismally repetitive flop because of your hasty production, and not because some imaginary length issues. Remember the mini games you scattered all over the game? Uninspired little time wasters that were neither fun, nor meaningful for the story. Remember how the gameplay was based [...]

7057

Jack Bromley — Tue, 25 Oct 0:08:06 +0100

@Kat Yes, you’re mostly right. These crappy games do bring new people into the industry, the kind of games that brought me in were ‘party’ games, and I suppose they are respectable in that sense. However like I used in my example, it does a disservice in the quality side of things, they don’t really [...]

7056

kat — Mon, 24 Oct 23:53:19 +0100

“You’re right in saying Wii ‘shovelware’ is no better, because it really isn’t. But the example of mobile gaming seemed more appropriate when speaking about a company which does develop mobile games, and not Wii ‘shovelware’.” I have to disagree. I think that the popularity mobile games and wii games and those yukky sports games [...]

7055

Jack Bromley — Mon, 24 Oct 23:51:58 +0100

@onewayout Well, even though MW is loved by so many, it is still are generic. I am a big fan of the series, and know that I will be buying the game on release, but you cannot deny that they are generic. However, although it is, it is probably the best and highest quality generic [...]

7054

onewayout — Mon, 24 Oct 23:47:13 +0100

The fact that you called Battlefield and Modern Warfare ‘generic’.

7053

Jack Bromley — Mon, 24 Oct 23:28:35 +0100

@Kat Actually, I did leave room for re-response; I personally emailed American after he asked “Why??” (it would be rude not to) with my response. The same response which I placed as a note there, I planned on updating the interview with his re-response should he have got back to me. As I said when [...]

7052

Jack Bromley — Mon, 24 Oct 23:25:06 +0100

@Gordon I see where you’re coming from, and maybe I was a little to harsh on mobile gaming. However I have always had strong opinions on that matter. You’re right in saying Wii ‘shovelware’ is no better, because it really isn’t. But the example of mobile gaming seemed more appropriate when speaking about a company [...]

7051

Jack Bromley — Mon, 24 Oct 23:22:33 +0100

@V. Well, provoking more controversial responses makes for a more interesting read. We have to play the ‘Devil’s Advocate’ if you like, an interview with just “What did you think of this? Why did you do that?” questions wouldn’t be as indepth or interesting by any means. As our homepage says, we aim to be [...]

7050

kat — Mon, 24 Oct 23:18:04 +0100

The interviewer asked blatantly combative questions while adding his own .02 after American had answered with no room for a re-response. Starting the interview with “what’s your biggest disappointment?” is pretty rough. “It seems as though Spicy Horse have recently been focusing mainly on developing mobile games. I think that mobile gaming is a great [...]

7049

mikesmullin — Mon, 24 Oct 23:14:32 +0100

i really admire American McGee. i bought the first Alice pc game because i was so intrigued by the concept art and the storyline. but when i got to the actual gaming i was disappointed by the quake engine. now that they built it on the unreal engine i can tell they were able to [...]

7048

gordon — Mon, 24 Oct 23:12:04 +0100

The whole spiel on mobile games doing a disservice to games in general seemed massively biased to me at least. In some ways I agree with you, but it’s not the whole story. There are some real gems out there. Ever played the Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP? Also, the flood of casual games does [...]

7047

Mon, 24 Oct 23:01:56 +0100

I have to agree. The barrage of notations along with a clear “this is my belief, what’s yours?”, ruined the interview for me.

7046

Jack Bromley — Mon, 24 Oct 22:09:19 +0100

What are you specifically referring to? The questions I asked, the notes I added, or the fact that I called Battlefield and Modern Warfare ‘generic’ and ‘uninspired’?

7045

onewayout — Mon, 24 Oct 21:42:03 +0100

Blech. This interview would have been better if the interviewer didn’t so plainly view it as an opportunity to get his own biases into a discussion on the coattails of someone more well-known.

7033

snowspider — Mon, 24 Oct 10:54:05 +0100

I would like the privacy, but I would also like to know what harm there is in Google knowiny I was interested in buying knickers yesterday and and an exhausr pipe today? I’m positive I don’t want to be paying for these searches. Facebook, on the other hand…I don’t need them telling everyone I know [...]

7043

kevin — Sat, 22 Oct 22:22:26 +0100

I really wish they would stop calling them free. They are NOT free! If they are not specific app’s for the magazine then they should have the price of the issue in the store on the front page. Yes Apple take 30% but considering all the work is already done for the print version, but [...]

7042

andrewbrackinandrewbrackin — Fri, 21 Oct 13:51:27 +0100

I want more of these publications available on iPhone. it’s not hard to do and will bring them a lot more users. I have an iPad but a lot of the time mine isn’t on me.

7039

ollyneville — Thu, 20 Oct 17:55:06 +0100

These are jut my views on how Labour can win, if Labour wants to look internally to find policies fine, but my view is that they can’t win with the policies they had in 2010 and they can’t win with the policies they are talking about now Parties change all the time, in 83 Labour [...]

7038

ollyneville — Thu, 20 Oct 17:43:29 +0100

Labour hasn’t always supported the EU, remember Foot’s pledge to pull out? But Fundmentally Labour should support a Referendum as they claim to support the principles of Democracy, a prescendent has been set on this issue, and the public should be asked. Many many Labour Members want a referendum, ineed UKIPs core support as shown [...]

7037

timrogers — Thu, 20 Oct 15:58:08 +0100

So essentially, you’ve just written an article explaining the policies of UKIP? This isn’t about Labour at all – even from an objective point of view, you can’t suggest policies like this for a party that is fundamentally going to be opposed to them. A policy which a party makes is naturally going to be [...]

7041

barrycarlyon — Wed, 19 Oct 22:53:14 +0100

I think the price inflation is down to the fact that Apple takes 30% of any Newsstand Subscription/in App purchase, which is probably the reason. If Apple drop the slice amount then I think subscription prices will drop. There are some good Newsstand publishers out there. The Guardian do a good job with the Guardian [...]

7040

david — Wed, 19 Oct 21:53:18 +0100

Good article, it would be prudent for these publishers to understand the print offering and the digital offering are two different products. In fact, the fact that digital magazines will eventually merge with their websites and not their print mags should give a better idea as to how this will all end. For those who [...]

7032

nelson — Tue, 18 Oct 21:15:47 +0100

I worked with Brian at Google, like and respect him quite a bit. He’s an intense and opinionated guy. My impression (not verified) is he quit Google in part to be able to write tools to disrupt their user tracking. Facebook Disconnect is getting a lot of press right now, but the broader Disconnect is [...]

7031

xquzyphyr — Tue, 18 Oct 21:14:41 +0100

“We’re in the beginnings of the pay for privacy era” The internet’s (hopefully growing) open source community and its devotion to finding tools to protect privacy and open exchange of public information–for free–remains one of the few things I’m solidly optimistic about and why I find this statement absurd on its face. He may as [...]

7030

brandonblatcher — Tue, 18 Oct 21:13:56 +0100

‘People will pay for tools to protect privacy’ Information wants to be free.

7029

manchester — Tue, 18 Oct 19:27:16 +0100

Very well written article. I think there’s quite a bit of social stigma associated with being someone that cares about your privacy, which is what keeps people from doing something about this, while still agreeing in troves that it is a problem when asked directly (and perhaps anonymously).

7028

quin — Tue, 18 Oct 17:27:07 +0100

I’ve gotten so despondent about the lack of privacy on the internet, that I’ve seriously contemplated seeing how deep of a false identity I could create. And if I could have it so that Google, Amazon, Facebook, and all the others would consider it a totally separate and unique entity from me. The only thing [...]

7027

entropicamericana — Tue, 18 Oct 17:23:54 +0100

No they won’t. They don’t even use the free tools available to protect privacy.

7026

huronbob — Tue, 18 Oct 17:23:11 +0100

“We’re in the beginnings of the pay for privacy era” There is something so illogical about this concept…. Let me lay out the steps: 1. Privacy 2. Log-in to facebook/google/favorite porn site 3. No privacy 4. Pay for plug-in 5. Privacy Folks, there’s a much simpler solution to this.

7024

conojito — Sun, 16 Oct 17:12:01 +0100

It’s bothersome that unsubstantiated “research” can be reported without any measure of fact-checking, but when you get unelected loons with clear agendas like Reg Bailey starting to create government policy, then the whole thing takes on a much more sinister turn. The Fox affair is showing how the Cameron government is hiding a deep, rich [...]

7023

fairportal — Sat, 15 Oct 14:12:19 +0100

Re : “the conclusion seems to be that greater sexual freedom in society makes women (and almost certainly children) safer from sexual violence.”…. …..not really – the evidence for that statement is no stronger than the other assertions you point out earlier are unproven.

7025

jonnylav — Fri, 14 Oct 19:29:37 +0100

Good article. Mr. Fox couldn’t have stayed in the position considering the sheer magnitude of press clippings. The media furore surrounding all of this would likely have continued to get worse in the next week, so it is an excercise of trying to put out fires. Clearly the P.M. pushed Fox overboard before he started [...]

7022

immlass — Fri, 14 Oct 17:22:55 +0100

So a brief google doesn’t turn up anything about this guy other than stuff related to the report mentioned in the article. Out of curiosity, who is this guy other than the head of the Christian Mothers Union? What’s his expertise? Where does he come from? Is he another Mary Whitehouse or does he have [...]

7021

abiezer — Fri, 14 Oct 16:12:26 +0100

Of course, with a cabinet containing figures like Fox* and Osborne, it’s not surprising Cameron had to look elsewhere for moral guidance. *Offer valid for limited period only As to the substance of the complaint, I take the points made about the whole tenor of the exercise, but do think there’s a leap being made [...]

7020

abiezer — Fri, 14 Oct 16:11:37 +0100

The Mother’s Union used to be a staid body like a slightly more stuffy version of the Women’s Institute as I recall. Did more radical/evangelicals stage a coup or am I remembering wrong?

7018

Thu, 13 Oct 5:43:31 +0100

Nice Interview but she was never a “Frag Doll” She was a “Frag Doll Cadette” http://www.fragdolls.com/index.php/cadettes

7017

andrewbrackinandrewbrackin — Tue, 11 Oct 4:37:09 +0100

Great interview, interesting story indeed. Liking how Postdesk is shaping up to be.

7005

cinquecentonero — Mon, 10 Oct 3:16:28 +0100

Hey Fancynuts, your logic is flawed. Mr Capulong states in the interview that he carries a lot of other EDC stuff in his back pack along with his basic EDC . Did you even read the interview? He is the one carrying the 80 lb backpack not me. My comments are based on the overriding [...]

7004

nutntoofancy — Sat, 08 Oct 13:49:26 +0100

Hey, Nero. Mr. Capulong said that to carry OVERLY tactical or survivalist gear that does NOT see use isn’t helpful. That’s his opinion, and I don’t see how it’s narrow minded or judgmental. It’s just his considered opinion. He also said he doesn’t mean disrespect to the survivalist end of the EDC spectrum, but that [...]

7003

cinquecentonero — Fri, 07 Oct 3:20:14 +0100

Your tone makes you sound like an EDC snob. Your idea of EDC implements is so narrow minded and judgmental that you have turned a universal idea into a myopic commentary on a handful of tools you deem appropriate for EDC.

7002

sgtfathead — Thu, 06 Oct 21:56:05 +0100

I have EDC’d my entire life, from a small boy with a notebook and a pencil, to the young Boy Scout with Swiss Army Knife, survival/first aid kit in a battered Sucret’s tin, to the Marine with the compass, fixed blade and folding knife, survival and first aid kits, para cord, etc. to the man [...]

7015

danielstride — Thu, 06 Oct 20:37:54 +0100

A great post, with good points for debate with respect to Apples future. I do not think its disrespectful to Steve Jobs in anyway. I feel that for those who do not know his background, this piece has informed them of his impact to millions across the world. Daniel.

7014

boyligtenberg — Thu, 06 Oct 12:49:38 +0100

Great story, great read and a good point!

7013

ditados — Thu, 06 Oct 12:24:36 +0100

This reads like misinformed linkbait. Just the right amount of empathy to get you to the naysaying, and then ignorance of what Tim Cook did for the company in the last 14 years.

7012

johnhamelink — Thu, 06 Oct 12:13:04 +0100

The only person I can think of who could be seen as a “face for apple” is Steve Wozniak. He hasn’t even worked at Apple properly since 1987, if my memory serves me, which doesn’t bode well. Here’s hoping they have a Rabbit up their sleeve.

7011

Sam England — Thu, 06 Oct 11:59:08 +0100

I shouldn’t think we’ll see changes in the next couple of years really other than in the the manner of PR/presentation (as we already have with Tim Cooks frankly lackluster performance) – Steve will have had oversight of everything coming out in the next 2 years or so but obviously not the final polish – [...]

7010

duncan — Thu, 06 Oct 10:49:28 +0100

I think Apple’s done a good job pushing several people with key roles at the company to the fore. Certainly enough for people wanting to have some sort of personal attachment to a multinational corporation to attach themselves to.

7001

steve — Thu, 06 Oct 7:02:15 +0100

Many of us have been EDCers since childhood without having a name or specialized community. My grandfather wore a watch, carried a wallet, handkerchief, keys, and a pocket knife. My father did as well. When I was in college and got a summer job working at a Boy Scout camp, we had an orientation meeting [...]

7000

nightskyuap — Thu, 06 Oct 1:52:51 +0100

I’ve been EDCing for a few years and I make it a point to visit Bernard’s site each and every day. I do it to learn about new gear and to see how others practice their EDC philosophy. EDC as a phenomenon is increasing in popularity and that will inevitably cause it to morph and [...]

6999

frank — Thu, 06 Oct 1:48:43 +0100

Great interview. On the gun comment. It has been proven that crime goes down when gun ownership goes up. Look at the statistics in the US. Even given the bad economy gun ownership is up and crime is at the lowest it has been for many years. There are accidents with everything. If we really [...]

6998

johndoe — Wed, 05 Oct 18:43:08 +0100

Some excellent responses from Bernard there – really insightful.

7009

bananaoomarang — Tue, 04 Oct 21:27:40 +0100

No doubt I’ll be writing up further/much deeper reactions at http://awevation.com, but here’s my 2 cents. The event wasn’t magical. Tim Cook doesn’t have an ounce of Steve Jobs magic, Jobs was special, one of a kind. We know that. We’re not going to see the same kind of energy at these events any more. [...]

7008

helen — Tue, 04 Oct 20:42:10 +0100

As a user of Android I have to admit disappointment with the current Voice Search App, it doesn’t seem to appreciate a good Preston accent Therefore I’m very interested to see how Siri copes with any accents that aren’t American. I’ve not met a voice control application that isn’t a pain in the arse!

7007

matthewslight — Tue, 04 Oct 20:12:42 +0100

As a further update to this it appears that Apple have also pulled the original Siri App from the Appstore – effectively forcing people to buy a 4S to get Siri. http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/04/the-original-siri-app-gets-pulled-from-the-app-store-servers-killed/

7006

matthewslight — Tue, 04 Oct 19:40:26 +0100

The investors on Wall Street find the iPhone 4S underwhelming. If I could access the Apple website (which is down at time of writing) I could comment further. http://www.cultofmac.com/120564/wall-street-hates-the-iphone-4s-aapl-stock-dips/

6995

Lucas McCartney — Thu, 29 Sep 19:12:59 +0100

I would have to agree with Colin on this one. Despite many claims that the attacks on 9/11 were set up by the government is utter non-sense. I know – like Colin – Engineers who have emulated tests on the attacks and while some questions (minor ones) do remain unanswered. The vast majority of information [...]

6996

weswilliams — Sun, 25 Sep 15:57:54 +0100

Great piece. There were so many groups and individuals covering the show and Eurogamer’s support for us is something they should be very proud of. Long may it continue! http://www.mediapulp.co.uk

6994

colinhayhurst — Sun, 11 Sep 12:54:58 +0100

I stopped reading this article when I read: “The three WTC buildings were clearly brought down by controlled demolition” A flippant answer would be: What a load of tosh. More significantly, we and others ran simulations of the building collapse using detailed mechanical models based on fundamental physics. The characteristics of the collapse matched very [...]

6980

jaytaylor — Sat, 10 Sep 0:21:25 +0100

These guys are great – I always put the radio on in the Spawnpoint servers.

6868

keithlawrence — Thu, 08 Sep 1:13:48 +0100

Firstly, I am a Jamaican. Secondly, I am also black. Thirdly, never before have I heard such bigoted comments from someone who is described as educated. Is this the kind of academic Britain produces? It’s no wonder Britain is the pathetic state it is. Does Mr. Starkey and all those whites who have agreed with [...]

6539

lenetta — Fri, 02 Sep 1:52:09 +0100

he should care instead of being an asshole about. tumblr’s email support sucks, I don’t know why people claim they reply back fast, because they don’t and there’s just too many things wrong with that stupid site…

6988

jules — Fri, 26 Aug 14:56:51 +0100

Mate you need to chill out. People like shiny things, especially those that are 75% off. You have said you have an iPad (which I presume you paid £400+ for) so why begrudge those who want something slightly inferior for much less money?

6987

jaytaylor — Thu, 25 Aug 21:51:01 +0100

I agree with Sid. Consumers really don’t care that there are faults with the HP TouchPad, given the product is being sold at a rediculously cheap price they’ll buy in regardless. People want the best technology avalible for the cheapest price – that’s the way it goes.

6978

jayjay — Thu, 25 Aug 3:25:46 +0100

Yeah yeah, just up there! It’s not US and THEM. Just US. Tariq Jahan set the most humbling of examples here, despite losing a son to the violence. He repeatedly called for calm and asked people to examine themselves over allocating blame. A stark contrast . Hardcore punnage there I realise!

6993

markrobson — Thu, 25 Aug 2:09:38 +0100

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Unfortunately for the poor man if he’s stepping down it means only one thing, he’s dying.

6992

ruthjohnson — Thu, 25 Aug 1:55:56 +0100

Exactly! I wouldn’t mind if they had something ‘new’ to say about it but all they’re doing is regurgitating the press release.

6977

alanturnbull — Wed, 24 Aug 22:53:11 +0100

Anna, this is yet another amazing piece. Keep it up!

6989

johnharkes — Wed, 24 Aug 22:24:20 +0100

What an excellently written article which sums up my feels exactly. Shame on the councils.

6986

sid — Wed, 24 Aug 21:27:50 +0100

Ridiculous… no offence but it’s simpler than so much text… At £89 quid the device is a steal… useless device? obsolete? at £400 I just can’t afford it and if I could I would probably go for the better iPad… Consumerism? lol I call it affordabilism… Just like everything my friend, if it has the [...]

6976

katharinebirbalsingh — Wed, 24 Aug 17:36:29 +0100

Spot on. Love the Dizzee Rascal analysis. Unfortunately, Graham Barker doesn’t understand it isn’t about sticking the knife into Starkey. As I keep saying, I like Starkey! It is about understanding what racism is. And Starkey, like it or not, has provided the perfect platform for us to analyse it.

6975

jayjay — Wed, 24 Aug 15:20:46 +0100

Brilliant rebuttle, beautifully delivered. I love Dizzee Rascal, it’s that winning smile I think. After reading this, I’m a little in love with Anna Hedge.

6985

alex — Wed, 24 Aug 12:22:41 +0100

Like I said on Twitter, people would buy just about anything as long as it’s on “firesale” – no matter how useless or crappy the product is – because they just have the feeling that they made a “good” deal. Sure 99€ is not that much for a product that will “work” more or less…but [...]

6974

dragon83uk — Wed, 24 Aug 11:04:17 +0100

Exactly! In fact I’ve been trying to explain the whole “us” and “them” problem to a few friends in the wake of these riots. David Starky has proven himself for what he is, a bigot and a fool.

6973

alan — Wed, 24 Aug 9:00:40 +0100

“Why keep sticking the knife into poor old David Starkey when all he did was make a few off-the-cuff remarks on TV?” It’s cause he’s a racist cunt.

6972

kimlonginotto — Wed, 24 Aug 8:53:33 +0100

wonderful article. Thanks a lot. Love the Dizzy R video too

6984

johnhamelink — Wed, 24 Aug 8:34:53 +0100

I honestly think you’re missing the point. 1] Most people don’t care about support when they buy a device (despite the fact there will be support). 2] Most people see things like tablets as “nice to haves”, and when a sale happens they rush at the chance to get something at a price that’s more [...]

6983

barrycarlyon — Wed, 24 Aug 8:23:22 +0100

From what I understand there is a way to get your own linux distro on it. So I was pondering getting my hands on a few and build a webserver farm. One for files one for mysql one for serving sort of thing. So that would be the only reason I would grab one. Its [...]

6982

jmiahman — Tue, 23 Aug 21:50:07 +0100

For the 100th time. WebOS is still supported, you still get a year warantee with the touchpad. They (HP) are planning on pushing OTA updates for both the Veer and TouchPad. So basically think of it as a phone after a year or two your phone get’s crappy and it’s time for a new one. [...]

6981

noname — Tue, 23 Aug 19:10:33 +0100

You didn’t mention the childish, bratty tantrums being thrown by people who didn’t manage to get a touchpad. Something is very wrong.

6971

grahambarker — Tue, 23 Aug 15:39:15 +0100

Why keep sticking the knife into poor old David Starkey when all he did was make a few off-the-cuff remarks on TV? It’s ridiculous and misses the main point by a mile. If all your energy and ‘analysis’ went instead into lambasting the looters and arsonists (and, in Birmingham, murderers), maybe we’d have fewer of [...]

6970

mo — Tue, 23 Aug 14:05:10 +0100

This is brilliant and has been tweeted. I was appalled by him on newsnight and even more appalled when educated, urbane black friends professed not to see why he was being called a racist. One posted the Chris Rock sequence where he talks of the difference between “black people and n*****s” ; I suppose as [...]

6969

davidradlett — Tue, 23 Aug 13:43:15 +0100

An incisive and informed analysis. Very useful.

6968

dominicnewbould — Tue, 23 Aug 8:10:29 +0100

Starkey is indeed racist, for all the reasons advanced above. But, most important, he is damned by his own words. Every time he identifies people and groups according to skin colour, he is being racist, and he is attributing behaviours and motives to individuals on the basis of pigment that are simply untrue. I haven’t [...]

6867

sohail — Mon, 22 Aug 17:46:41 +0100

Chris is bang on the money here! Let’s get this right. talking crassly, insensitively and ignorantly about admittedly delicate matters of race does not (and should not) automatically make you a racist. Let’s have a grown up debate about this beyond pious lectures. And while you’re at it, read my post at:http://postdesk.com/blog/david-starkey-racist-or-just-plain-stupid

6967

laverite — Mon, 22 Aug 17:21:40 +0100

I totally agree with this.starkey is a racist plain and simple.i also believe he is a coward to boot because he didnt spell out the racist violence that often accompanied enoch powell tirades in the 1970s. He is what i would call an old style racist.what is more important is that he felt could say [...]

6866

bobcrew — Mon, 22 Aug 11:06:29 +0100

Read David Starkey He Black at crewbob.blogspot.com

6865

anonamerican — Sun, 21 Aug 20:38:17 +0100

There are several questions I’d like to ask David Starkey. 1. How he explains the behaviour of white people in Britain before “black culture” (his words, not mine) arrived here. Think of the people in Catherine Cookson novels — this is not unlike some of the things my white neighbour experienced living in a back [...]

6864

andy — Sat, 20 Aug 10:21:21 +0100

Whilst he appears ignorant at face value-blaming “black culture” which is stupid (and equating violence and a lack of education with skin colour)-what he obviously is getting at is gang culture and all the other panelists and many who are posting here know it. The racist part is ignorantly labelling it. The others are worse [...]

6863

lacquercartier — Sat, 20 Aug 8:35:22 +0100

David starkey didn’t do any rioting, so find proper reasons. And quit the personal attacks – they make you look simple.

6862

chris — Sat, 20 Aug 7:48:25 +0100

I agree that Starkey got it wrong. However I grow tired of the predictable response of the liberal left to brand any who depart from the party line as “racist”. It has become the modern equivalent of branding someone a “witch”. The Left should stop treating their own views as self evidently correct and all [...]

6861

laura — Sat, 20 Aug 2:19:58 +0100

Paul, I agree with you about education but one can’t say Starkey isn’t educated. Maybe it’s lack of applicable education that is the problem? Anonymous English Teacher, I did indeed seek out the youtube clip where ‘eight police officiers savagely beat a 16 year old girl with batons’ (allegedly). It doesn’t exactly reinforce your argument. [...]

6860

kam — Sat, 20 Aug 0:29:31 +0100

David Starkey is most definitely *not* a racist. What we should be addressing is the nation of lilly livered liberals who can not take a dose of truth. These people can not distinguish between statement of fact or opinion and racism. It seems that nowadays, all you need to mention is the word black and [...]

6859

lao — Sat, 20 Aug 0:10:00 +0100

Dave Starkey is clearly a racist trying to justify his racism with turns of words and his academic pedigree. Mark, why can’t one say that “the Blacks are becoming White”? Is such hooliganism behaviour that we observed throughout England somehow particular to Blacks or “Black Culture”? Isn’t there a “particular form” or “particular type” of [...]

6966

alyaskarmani — Fri, 19 Aug 23:29:43 +0100

The Chinese Basketball team recently whoped the asses of an American team; they gave them a serious beating (obviously we don’t condone violence) but maybe they were angry about the credit down rating of the US or maybe they been watching too many gangstaaaa videos and rap videos; maybe the Chinese have also become Black- [...]

6858

ken — Fri, 19 Aug 22:39:52 +0100

To the author of this article: David Starkey was NOT asked “what caused the riots?”, and he did not attempt to answer that question! He was asked “Do you think this has been a profound cultural shift?”. LISTEN TO THE FUCKING QUESTION! He says that the underclass youth of the UK (which is composed of [...]

6857

paul — Fri, 19 Aug 13:35:47 +0100

To the (far too) many defenders of Starkey out there, if you fail to see the inherent bigotry in his words and attitudes, I really think that you need to examine your own personal politics, rather than just try to legitimise them. Like those who try to understand why so many behaved in the way [...]

6856

angelique — Fri, 19 Aug 12:58:04 +0100

David Starkey is most certainly a racist using the fact he’s a historian as a facade.

6855

johntatlock — Fri, 19 Aug 12:49:16 +0100

Off topic, this, but Anonymous English Teacher above has appalling grammar. No wonder the young people are confused.

6854

annahedge — Thu, 18 Aug 21:07:02 +0100

Hi. Thank you all for taking the time to comment. Every comment has given me reason to think… Mark: The part you’re missing out of your definition of ‘racism’ is the belief that the inherent biological/cultural difference posited, make one race superior to another. In associating ‘black culture’ with criminality and violence, and appropriating David [...]

6853

jonathan — Thu, 18 Aug 20:57:00 +0100

Annonymous English teacher writes “In essence, Starkey is referencing the modern riots to the 1980′s and getting his references muddled; unsurprising, but hardly shocking. However, when he states “whites have become black”, he’s actually correct:” Actually he is wrong. 1. It is extremely arrogant and foolish for an old white person to assume he knows [...]

6852

robin — Thu, 18 Aug 10:03:55 +0100

I think the most important point here is that Starkey is not qualified to talk about teenagers living in deprived inner-city areas. I can’t imagine how Starkey could possibly know anything about youth culture, unless that youth is Edward VI. I saw a good post by one of the Guardian writers who grew up in [...]

6851

anonymousenglishteacher — Thu, 18 Aug 3:49:05 +0100

Oh, and btw. Google “Flash Mob Rob”. It is a meme that has been used in America since April 2011, and is a deliberate attempt to raise hell. Want to know who created the American meme? Guess what – Government. Muppets.

6850

avery — Thu, 18 Aug 1:47:44 +0100

I don’t see how any of what you wrote proves that he is racist or that his views are judging anything besides culture, which is indeed associated with ethnicity.

6849

anonymousenglishteacher — Wed, 17 Aug 22:13:31 +0100

Some comments on this rather poor attempt at a hatchet job: 1) David Starkey was chosen for because he recently was part of a television project to teach inner city kids. See http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/2011/mar/02/tv-review-jamies-dream-school . He garnered a lot of criticism for his behaviour there, however, this is one of the reasons he was chosen; he [...]

6848

jameskelly — Wed, 17 Aug 21:33:31 +0100

Hell Yeah! David Starkey is racists using his cultural-elitism to cover his tracks.

6847

dominicnewbould — Wed, 17 Aug 16:58:02 +0100

You are right to wonder why Starkey was invited to appear on BBC Newsnight and – I believe – right again that it was probably because his extreme views would kick up a debate. Sadly, all that happened was that Starkey was given air time to broadcast his racist blethering. The other participants in the [...]

6846

mark — Wed, 17 Aug 16:05:32 +0100

David Starkey clearly isn’t a racist. Racism is the belief that inherent biological differences between races determine cultural and individual behaviour and achievement. In saying that David Lammy could only be identified as being black by sight, and that many white people have adopted a subculture that is traditionally black (but to which most black [...]

6511

xaheenazad — Sun, 14 Aug 23:45:18 +0100

Its Good and full of humor!

6965

neilfox — Mon, 08 Aug 2:42:31 +0100

Here is an online memorial to Amy – feel free to light a virtual candle or send virtual flowers: http://memorialmatters.com/memorials.php?page=AmyWinehouse

6510

allourblogs — Mon, 01 Aug 18:08:53 +0100

Hey, please read my thoughts about Amy Winehouse and some of the other great artists who have died at too young an age. I share some thoughts on the media’s use of death to make more money and publicity. Please leave your comments: http://allourblogsblogs.blogspot.com/2011/08/modern-day-gladiators.html

6884

nintendork — Tue, 26 Jul 18:25:32 +0100

Nooo please do not even bring up the Virtual Boy…. Such terrible memories… I doubt this will be Nintendo’s last stand though. We all thought the same about a lot of other consoles and their manufacturers. Nintendo will find a way to stay in the game as it always does, and hopefully it does not [...]

6964

mikemcgrail — Mon, 25 Jul 10:58:54 +0100

Mashable in ‘taking content from elsewhere and rehashing it’ shocker! – so much of their content takes this shape. If they didn’t tend to get the exclusives on big news on the networks etc I wouldn’t even bother looking at it. Attaching a feeble tech spin on the Winehouse story really takes the biscuit.

6963

stuartpturner — Mon, 25 Jul 9:51:04 +0100

Paul Clarke makes a good point; anyone who reads Mashable regularly must have noticed a significant broadening of the editorial boundaries and personally I have noticed an increase in volume / decrease in quality. This really came home to me when I liked their Facebook page, only to suddenly see nothing but updates from Mashable [...]

6962

andrewburnett — Mon, 25 Jul 9:09:17 +0100

Mashable is about as genuine as Cashmore’s accent. That’s all.

6509

jasperrijkeboer — Mon, 25 Jul 7:11:40 +0100

David Larson makes Mashable sound like a Rupert Murodoch outlet, are they for sale?

6961

samjohnston — Sun, 24 Jul 21:53:22 +0100

FWIW my conclusion (http://twitter.com/#!/samj/status/94823205331673088) was: “Sorry @Mashable but a tech blog using Norway & Amy Winehouse deaths as #linkbait is unforgivably inappropriate.”

6960

mikeontv — Sun, 24 Jul 18:47:31 +0100

I agree that the ‘tech spin’ Mashable puts on anything trending is transparently pathetic but the evolution of a popular publication to cover any and all news is understandable. Last year Mashable separate into (almost) a dozen different categories that (along with color changes) divided the ‘social media’ blog into sections like a newspaper. Why [...]

6959

paulclarke — Sun, 24 Jul 14:13:28 +0100

I don’t see how this post differs substantially from those it seeks to criticise. At what stage does “reporting how others viewed the reporting of something that shouldn’t have been reported in that way” become something that should be reported? This post also appears to have no identified author. Is that intentional?

6491

thewave — Tue, 19 Jul 13:13:58 +0100

Quite frankly, I’m very happy with my 3ds. I think its an opportunity to make Nintendos handheld more mature. They say the technology is revolutionary because it is. The 3d effects are amazing and I’m sure they’ll be copied along the line (just look at the Wii’s “gimicky” motion controls).Plus, numerous people have predicted that [...]

6883

joshuabelcher — Sun, 17 Jul 5:36:23 +0100

Who gives a crap about apple? Apple sucks, “ALOT.” On the other hand Nintendo is awesome! I am biased against Apple and I am a Nintendo FANBOY! Trust me, its jergoff idiots like you that “think” your soo damn smart that TRY to ruin a cool gaming console. All your futile lame ass attempt has [...]

6888

devonitzpa — Thu, 07 Jul 5:00:22 +0100

@ Helen Barclay. I rarely post on blogs, but that was some serious ass kicking with a helping dose of smug and a pinch of wit. I would like to buy you a beer for that.

6958

kevinmartin — Sun, 19 Jun 14:17:58 +0100

The funny thing is. I was reading an article on http://lifehacker.com on LulzSec having a database of leaked information and telling users to check if they had any of it. I went onto the LulzSec website and went through each of the databases they have of information and came across the X-Factor USA list. Despite [...]

6882

reality — Fri, 17 Jun 3:30:50 +0100

97, 000 3DS sold for the ENTIRE MONTH in US!! 3DS sales flop!!

6538

brittneyj — Thu, 21 Apr 1:47:58 +0100

This is so far from article worthy. One and a half thousand words from someone who seems to have a nasty vendetta against David Karp, for no apparent reason whatsoever except that the site he created has issues sometime. Are you going to write about Mark Zuckerberg next because he won’t make a dislike button? [...]

6957

petec — Wed, 06 Apr 22:35:32 +0100

So what action should be taken beyond complaining? Normally I’d write to my MP, but an endorsement from a politician doesn’t quite qualify (unless they accepted payment).

6956

joshrathers — Wed, 06 Apr 20:20:30 +0100

Nice to see Jessica’s now been removed from the website during the latest updates.

6955

nicholaslovell — Wed, 06 Apr 19:32:36 +0100

Goodness me, you need a copy editor. I think you could make your points very well by cutting about 90% of the words (and more people would read them). More to the point, I think you might be missing the point of Startup Britain. Frankly, I agree with you that Startup Britain’s £1,500 offer is [...]

6943

johnj3 — Wed, 06 Apr 15:28:50 +0100

What seems to me to be the problem is that the business startups have to spend to save, and many of them don’t have the money in the first place. I would rather see proper free initiatives like a free training website that I use – http://www.freetrainingdirect.com . The site provides free training and resources [...]

6954

alanp — Wed, 06 Apr 0:15:31 +0100

Nice research piece. Key here is to judge it by its actions, as you say. My underlying concern is that the whole shebang is a play to withdraw real support under a blizzard of PR-Spin Initiatives. That the people behind this “do well by doing good” adds salt to the wound

6953

danieltenner — Tue, 05 Apr 21:13:27 +0100

It’s back now. It was put “under moderation” earlier. See the screenshot I posted in my previous post.

6508

jamietaylor — Tue, 05 Apr 15:41:59 +0100

Daniel, what are you talking about I can see your comment quite clearly.

6942

peterwognum — Tue, 05 Apr 14:40:29 +0100

What amazes me most is that anyone might be in the slightest bit surprised that the whole initiative is just a cheap scam… it’s not as if we haven’t had any precednts over the past couple of decades. If you want to succeed, the last place to look to for support is government, especially not [...]

6952

danieltenner — Tue, 05 Apr 13:41:03 +0100

I see, so you guys hide the comments that disagree with you? That’s great blogging integrity, well done. (note: It was not “under moderation” right after I posted it) https://skitch.com/swombat/r2qi9/moderation

6507

roszie — Tue, 05 Apr 13:14:46 +0100

If I “need something and don’t know where to get it” I and millions like me GOOGLE IT. All this Start-up scheme seems to demonstrate is how consultants can sell an idea…

6506

juan — Tue, 05 Apr 13:13:27 +0100

Biggest pile of shit I’ve seen in years..I need “real” people giving me real advice on how to go on and set up my own business. In the meantime I’ll sort my own shit out..I wonder who really benefits from this “brilliant” idea..

6505

annabel — Tue, 05 Apr 13:12:19 +0100

I have been wanting to start a business and spent some time looking at this site. I found there was virtually nothing of use here. I was looking for concrete advice, particularly around sources of funding, but also around networking opportunities, support and advice. I found the site badly designed and the content poor. The [...]

6504

tombisley — Tue, 05 Apr 13:11:13 +0100

I am starting up my own business after months on the dole. The Job Centre has been of absolutely no use to me and so I turned to this initiative hoping it would give the advice and most importantly FUNDING that I need. Nothing could have been further from the truth, frankly I felt insulted [...]

6951

danieltenner — Tue, 05 Apr 11:59:15 +0100

Reposted from my Hacker News comment at: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2410544 Wow, you guys don’t stop. Geesh. I thoroughly condemn these ceaseless attacks on StartupBritain and other government initiatives by people who really don’t seem to have anything better to do with their time (call it an ad hominem if you want). You would have torn down Mother [...]

6950

cathcourt — Tue, 05 Apr 11:34:47 +0100

Congratulations on an excellent, in-depth report (as ever!). Slebby stuff does get the attention though, and the many good guys who are stretching tiny little budgets across the UK to support start-ups will never attain the dizzy heights of SUB. BTW, my moles tell me that there was an AWFUL lot of effort by the [...]

6503

jamietaylor — Tue, 05 Apr 0:24:10 +0100

All of those so called founders involved are clearly wannabe politicians, none of them are real entrepreneurs they just make a tonne of money by ripping people off with consultancy and advisory work. They all know each other and we know they meet regularly at the private members clubs in London where they can brown [...]

6949

robhill — Mon, 04 Apr 23:23:24 +0100

It stinks all right. And none of them have any accreditation as advisers to startups. They all know each other, from the Dragons, to Smarta to businesszone, to Emma Jones, whose background incidentally is public sector, and Doug Richard who a direct adviser to Mark Prisk and recommended that the Government went down this route [...]

6948

lisablackler — Mon, 04 Apr 17:06:31 +0100

What a fantastic piece of research and writing. As a marketing practitioner, it is obvious that StartUp Britain really didn’t think things through at all. Anyone with any common sense could have predicted the backlash that is happening now. You don’t go for big publicity if you haven’t crossed all the T’s and dotted all [...]

6947

tweetsbyskeet — Mon, 04 Apr 16:18:00 +0100

In my original blog post about this I made it known that I felt at the heart of this was a small group of greedy ppl trying to tap in to struggling startups. Their attempts are disgraceful. Anyone holding “The Queens Award for Enterprise” should have it removed. Keep reporting the news, clearly the Press [...]

6946

lingvalentine — Mon, 04 Apr 16:11:31 +0100

It is so disappointing to read all this, though I agree with most of it. The lack of effort and care in putting this “initiative” (although is is very hollow and is more just PR) together is obvious. More and more, I get the idea this will all fizzle out and will simply have been [...]

6945

scotthider — Mon, 04 Apr 15:37:22 +0100

Wow, another great blog, balanced in its opinions and with lots of research, Great work. Boy there are going to be some unhappy Start Up Britain partners out there when they read this. Oh btw I noticed that Doug Richard is also a co owner of Bright Word Publishing the company behind the business Kit [...]

6944

timmeehan — Mon, 04 Apr 15:16:14 +0100

Great stuff. Quality AND quantity in one post! Keep it up.

6502

johnemerson — Mon, 04 Apr 14:13:06 +0100

Wow, you guys just don’t stop. Great follow up and even more eye raising than your last post.

6941

heybro — Fri, 01 Apr 1:53:37 +0100

Hey, tone down the dashes – please?

6940

deeedwards — Thu, 31 Mar 19:43:09 +0100

I am one of the mentors signed up for Startup Business, it may well be that there have been more hours mentoring available in Liverpool as mentioned by someone above but who is that mentoring by? All the people signed up to be mentors I know have a track record of starting and running and [...]

6501

chris — Thu, 31 Mar 19:31:55 +0100

Funny how the only people complaining about 99designs are the designers who are being undercut by a service that business owners seem to love… Reminds me of the music labels complaining about the Internet, Travel Agents complaining about expedia or stock brokers whining about etrade. You can’t turn back the clock on progress, innovation or [...]

6939

avronolshewsky — Thu, 31 Mar 9:09:53 +0100

I agree, this initiative is disappointing in terms of the real value it offers small start-up businesses. In fact, as you mentioned it is a page of links to other sites, most of which one has to pay for and are themselves probably not that useful to most small businesses. Maybe one way to respond [...]

6938

bdtj1815 — Wed, 30 Mar 23:25:13 +0100

“One Tomohawk missle – over 100 of which have just been fired at Libya at a cost of £2 million each could have formed a nice start up fund” Actually they cost less than £1 million each and everyone fired has done more good than this article. I am very happy to support a Government [...]

6937

jb — Wed, 30 Mar 12:44:08 +0100

Just two for starters: you’ve completely understood what ‘government backed’ means, and brought taxpayer’s money into it. A tomahawk missile does absolutely not cost four million pounds.

6936

jb — Wed, 30 Mar 12:42:02 +0100

There are so many things wrong with this article, however well intentioned.

6935

sarahparris — Wed, 30 Mar 11:42:49 +0100

StartUp Britain letdown Britain Studio Parris Wakefield is a small independent graphic design studio who specialise identity design and implementation. Like many designers, we are appalled that the British government is not promoting the wealth of design talent this country has to offer and that they are offering no real support to SMEs with StartUp [...]

6934

alessandrobennetti — Wed, 30 Mar 7:25:33 +0100

To make Start Up Britain work, we need interest free loans re-payable over 2 years and possibly up to £5k. The vouchers would then be a secondary help to overcome other issues. BUT, MONEY IS THE KEY!

6500

alex — Wed, 30 Mar 5:23:55 +0100

This s**t makes me so angry!!!! Cameron you’re a posing imbecile. I like the dictionary definition of imbecile sums you up nicely: im·be·cile (mb-sl, -sl) n. 1. A stupid or silly person; a dolt. 2. A person whose mental acumen is well below par. 3. A person of moderate to severe mental retardation having a [...]

6933

rachelelnaugh — Wed, 30 Mar 3:07:23 +0100

What a disaster. If you want to StartUp in business all you need to do is go to the Business Start Up show at Excel in May details at http://www.bstartup.com/ Yet this brilliant market leading show – now established over 10 years – is not even mentioned on StartUpBritain. Clearly they don’t use SevenHills for [...]

6932

zulfi — Wed, 30 Mar 0:01:40 +0100

Nothing short of disgraceful and patronizing.

6499

rickschmick — Tue, 29 Mar 22:10:58 +0100

The launch of the site was attended by the PM, Chancellor and Business Secretary, and promoted by government department press offices. Likewise, it is being linked to by goverment department websites. Nice free publicity. Except it’s not free, is it? It may not be ‘tax-payer supported’ but it was certainly tax-payer promoted.

6931

mark — Tue, 29 Mar 21:56:57 +0100

shock, horror – microsoft is not a charity you stupid burke

6930

matmorrison — Tue, 29 Mar 18:26:01 +0100

This may be endorsed by the government, but I don’t see how it’s *backed* by the government. Your language implies that this is tax-payer supported, and it isn’t. Either you didn’t do your research, or you’re lying to make a point. IMHO. YMMV.

6498

shehatanation — Tue, 29 Mar 17:13:51 +0100

I really dont understand the irony of “entrepreneurs” moaning about the government not giving them money to finance their businesses. I thought entrepreneurship was all about managing with whatever available. Stop moaning, the government IS NOT going to give funding and shouldnt. There are already banks and investors doing that if you are good enough. [...]

6929

gerard — Tue, 29 Mar 17:08:46 +0100

Noble aim, poorly executed and actually the wrong strategy for growth! I’ve blogged about it here http://www.yourbusinessyourfuture.co.uk/startup-britain-the-wrong-strategy-badly-implemented/

6928

chris — Tue, 29 Mar 14:28:07 +0100

I completely understand Jess I am a Startup looking to help Start-Up business’s. I feel the doors will be closed for SME’s to promote services on the website and the only parties to benefit will be the corporations! I hope to get a response from the email I sent StartUp Britain but I’m not holding [...]

6927

jess — Tue, 29 Mar 14:07:40 +0100

At first I seriously thought (perhaps rather naively) that StartUp Britain was going to be great and really help new businesses in Britain. I was at the launch of StartUp Britain yesterday as I was asked there with a handful of other start ups to exhibit to the attendees some of the “Best of British” [...]

6926

chris — Tue, 29 Mar 14:05:32 +0100

I have been trying to contact Start-up Britain to offer exclusive discounts(exclusive and generous discounts) but they have not responded to any of my emails! Can I ask if anyone knows of the contact details for StartUpBritain.org i.e telephone numbers or an email to which somebody might reply!!!!! I have looked and can’t find anything, [...]

6925

ianrutter — Tue, 29 Mar 13:53:50 +0100

My practical suggestion for Start Up Britain. Ignore the rhetoric and marketing ploys. Help each other and share skills and expertise: http://argentrammedia.blogspot.com/2011/03/practical-suggestion-for-start-up.html

6497

alittlebitofannie — Tue, 29 Mar 12:34:23 +0100

I actually had to stop reading half way through because its made me so god damn angry. Cameron’s big arrogant face is there for all to see. Does he think we are complete idiots?! I was sitting on the fence about the coalition but this has well and truly made up my mind. I can’t [...]

6924

paulg — Tue, 29 Mar 12:27:21 +0100

When I had a start up in the online space in the late 90′s it was all about two things – cash and contacts. I am sure that has not changed. Contacts you have to work at gathering. And cash back then was for bandwidth, workspace, computers. Discounts such as those mentioned in the article, [...]

6923

festivalkidz — Tue, 29 Mar 12:14:51 +0100

Very well-researched and logically thought out arguments here. I hate offers that are not real offers (standard discounts available everywhere) and offers pretending to be support when really they are commercial tactics for luring you in to a further purchase. If public money is being used for this campaign then we should receive real benefits [...]

6922

aaronjames — Tue, 29 Mar 11:40:45 +0100

The phrase ‘tory-led’ government/coalition is a helpful way to spot Labour fluff.

6921

jonfoster — Tue, 29 Mar 11:40:08 +0100

Totally agree with this post. I just can’t see that the site is serving any real purpose beyond advertising. My blog about it is here: http://jonnyblogs.com/why-startup-britain-is-rubbish

6493

helenbarclay — Tue, 29 Mar 11:38:55 +0100

A serious article, Hazel? Where it discusses that we may get good ideas in the shower if we get in with a friend? Some people really need to lighten up. I wonder if Hazel took a shower to think about and explore the avenues of her complaint. Nice article. Maybe in the future you could [...]

6920

nigedo — Tue, 29 Mar 11:23:51 +0100

I have just passed through a Labour created scheme, piloted in Sheffield, operated by Action 4 Employment which provided £3000 direct financial support to a handful of individuals going from unemployed to self employment. In addition we received advice and training in setting up a sole trader business. Without this support it would have been [...]

6919

paulinerandall — Tue, 29 Mar 11:18:27 +0100

Like many others, I’ve found the Startup Britain website very disappointing. I’ve been in business for just over two years and I can honestly say that nothing there would have been of much use when I started (or now). Links to social media sites don’t help you work out how to use them effectively. This [...]

6918

loulouk — Tue, 29 Mar 11:15:31 +0100

He’d have been better off starting a series of ‘startup camps’ around the country for people actually running start ups to share info with those who want to. Cheaper, better use of endorsement, actual action, ticks big society box, it’d actually have helped me.

6917

mjray — Tue, 29 Mar 10:41:22 +0100

Business Link has been awful in my experience: incorrect advice, dropped enquiries, and so on. I know I’m not alone: the co-operative group (linked with most of co-op shops in the UK) have set up a brilliant alternative called the co-operative enterprise hub. Really, we’re being double-taxed, as it’s providing services which BLink claim to [...]

6916

jamiefairbairn — Tue, 29 Mar 10:39:09 +0100

Big on theory – short on substance. I’ve blogged about it here http://www.searchblogger.co.uk/2011/03/startup-britain-launch/

6496

sarah — Tue, 29 Mar 10:31:25 +0100

I myself am working to start up a new business so when I saw Start Up Britain trending on twitter I thought “fantastic, this might be a great resource!” What an utter disappointment – I need advice on constructing an effective business plan, not a discount on glasses! I have honestly found better help, advise [...]

6495

nickstone — Tue, 29 Mar 10:21:48 +0100

As a designer, I found the link to “that US site” particularly annoying, what the hell are you playing at, Speaking as an old hand, there’s plenty of start-up designers (we get CVs from 5 to 10 a week) struggling out there who’d love to have a crack at designing a whole identity for a [...]

6915

helendearnley — Tue, 29 Mar 10:16:25 +0100

As a fine artist and illustrator, I set up an SME in 2009 for artists with European funding via Enterprise Inc at the University of Lincoln. It’s known as Lincoln Artist’s Network. We need further investment to develop new projects to carry our ideas forward, but instead the Orwellian government want to cut arts funding [...]

6914

tweetsbyskeet — Tue, 29 Mar 10:10:57 +0100

You have my sentiment. Feel free to read my little piece #StartupBritainOMFG http://bit.ly/fxpelg

6913

garethcoxon — Tue, 29 Mar 10:10:49 +0100

It’s disgraceful and extremely disappointing to see StartUp’BRITAIN’ supporting a US based design site that uses designers from all over the world in a largely unpaid competition format. Rather than supporting British designers! Other than that the content seems unimaginative and it seems like many large corps offering / advertising very small discounts to startups, [...]

6912

tomworth — Tue, 29 Mar 9:54:45 +0100

Shocking that you can’t add in your own business to the link – just highlights how much of a joke this is…. Rajeeb Dey – what a joke – made any money with Enternships yet? Stange how his site gets such prominence on this… Oli Barrett – a bigger joke – never made any money [...]

6911

cathcourt — Tue, 29 Mar 9:45:36 +0100

Sloppy, sleazy, sleb-backed stuff, that’s SUB. And with 20% off glasses, there’s something for the disadvantaged too! Wonder who gets the Amazon commission? And 1000 free hours of mentoring – I’ve seen more mentoring hours volunteered in Liverpool in the past month than this effort… One big message is that the slebs obviously have Chris [...]

6910

dominicconrad — Tue, 29 Mar 9:19:14 +0100

Surely they should have hosted this at a .com domain as opposed to a .org …and linking to 99designs.com for a logo! A knife to the heart of any Graphic Designer in the UK.

6909

mike — Tue, 29 Mar 9:18:23 +0100

I never saw anythink about this yesterday, then picked up lots on twitter. Your piece and its links do a really good job of letting me know the truth behind startupbritian. Thanks for putting it together. Loved the piece and your detail. It’s not a site I am likely to be using.

6908

suelawson — Tue, 29 Mar 9:17:36 +0100

You can get £1500 worth of free quality business information from my local public library service – Keynote and Mintel reports, BRAD, company searches, company credit checks, patent clinics, intellectual property advice, free access to subscription services like online start up encyclopedia COBRA, and free start up ecommerce courses, access to industry magazines, loads of [...]

6907

simonhix — Tue, 29 Mar 9:16:12 +0100

Very interesting article, and I wanted to just let any entrepreneurs out there know that we have been running a completely free show for anyone starting a business, for over 10 years. In fact in May it will be our 25th show, and it’s the biggest small business show in the UK. As far as [...]

6906

georgeforsyth — Tue, 29 Mar 9:10:53 +0100

I’ve been in internet marketing for 11 years now and recognised some of the offers on startupbritain immediately. This is the sort of site I threw together 10 years ago, but never claimed it was a public service and never spent any serious money on developing as it just wouldn’t be worth it. I hope [...]

6905

selinajackson — Tue, 29 Mar 9:00:06 +0100

Something needs to be done, that is clear. The Government can assist, not by offering fake discounts, but by encouraging local authorities, schools, NHS, to engage small business (they’re not always the most expensive). This doesn’t cost money, but brings real benefits..

6904

phil — Tue, 29 Mar 8:42:49 +0100

A lecture from Mike Butcher on journalistic probity? LOL of the week!

6903

adam — Tue, 29 Mar 8:33:23 +0100

Oh, what a great article! That’s a great description of the many things that are wrong with Startup Britain. There is, however, one other thing I’ve spotted which I find rather fishy. On the website, they claim that Startup Britain are a non-for-profit company. Now, I don’t know whether their claim to be not-for-profit is [...]

6902

timacheson — Tue, 29 Mar 8:28:31 +0100

To clarify my point about broadband infrastructure being the major limiting factor: http://www.timacheson.com/Blog/2011/feb/uk_internet_infrastructure

6901

timacheson — Tue, 29 Mar 8:19:38 +0100

I welcome this initiative, but it doesn’t go far enough. It’s useful to have it all in one place on the website, I make mi criticism of that. If the government addresses the issue of rural broadband, perhaps half of the UK won’t be excluded.

6887

hazeledmunds — Tue, 29 Mar 8:16:33 +0100

Did you HAVE to include the photograph to make your point? I think not. This kind of gratuitous eroticism is neither needed nor wanted in a serious article.

6900

alessandrobennetti — Tue, 29 Mar 8:08:15 +0100

I have been trying to get my business going for the last 5 months and every where I turn to to ask for a small business loan, I am turned down because of my bad credit history created by the last government. I lost everything in the recession, my job, my house, my car and [...]

6899

paullancaster — Tue, 29 Mar 6:42:10 +0100

Our stats show there’s no shortage of people wanting to start a business in the UK today. We have 15,000-20,000 new ones coming to our website www.shell-livewire.org every month.

6898

craigcockburn — Tue, 29 Mar 6:22:14 +0100

I have a startup. All I need is solid cash to fund development. Startup Britain is of no use. I even @mentioned some of the big VCs behind it on twitter asking them to put their money where their mouth is and come up with some funding. No response. It was reported that fear was [...]

6897

rebeccacaroe — Tue, 29 Mar 2:16:53 +0100

Take a read of Broadstuff’s suggestions about positive things the Government COULD do. http://broadstuff.com/archives/2467-How-Broadsight-could-double-the-UK-Governments-StartupBritain-offering-to-3000.html The best thing he does is make positive suggestions not negative ones – and let’s face it, this Government re-launched the Big Society – they can re-launch startupbritain too once it’s been properly formulated to offer real help to startups. I’d [...]

6896

mrmalcolm — Tue, 29 Mar 0:51:09 +0100

That this pathetic facile con could be a flagship shows just how utterly niave and unprepared for technology the Government is. Unless of course they are not so utterly stupid as to think this has any use for small business at all in which case they are fobbing us off while they make of with [...]

6895

chris — Tue, 29 Mar 0:28:24 +0100

I’ve literally just launched a startup (ecommerce) business in the UK, so I guess I’m exactly the target audience? I clicked around in the ‘advice’ section without really noticing that it was just links to other sites, not genuine advice from experts. And then when I got to those other sites, I got lots of [...]

6894

james — Tue, 29 Mar 0:11:32 +0100

My word, it’s like some sort of taxpayer funded AOL CD!

6893

mikebutcher — Mon, 28 Mar 23:49:43 +0100

That TechCrunch appeared on StartupBritain’s site today was *total* news to us, frankly. But thanks for asking us and checking first if we had a comment. Oh. You didn’t.

6494

ebsnare — Mon, 28 Mar 23:43:37 +0100

Excellent article, thank you. I’ve used Business Link to help with the ‘first steps’ of investigating and planning a new business, and both on a national and local level they’ve been really helpful. StartUpBritain feels just as is described by many: a spammy, link-filled site that offers little to no real advice. Although Business Link [...]

6892

paulmaher — Mon, 28 Mar 23:03:30 +0100

1) Business Links were self-serving bureacrap that needs to go away. They should get jobs 2) Agree the offers are worse than worthless. Just cheap adverts for the vendors. 3) Despite 1 and 2, this is better than nothing and we all need something.

6891

markparsons — Mon, 28 Mar 22:38:17 +0100

When I first looked into the scheme I was less than enthusiastic, but then I thought about it from the point of view of your average want-to-be entrepreneur and it appeared differently. Basically this is all about giving people incentives to go out there and do something they may not have otherwise done. If you [...]

6890

alexgreene — Mon, 28 Mar 22:26:40 +0100

I was drawn to this article by its appearance on Hacker News. I hope you don’t mind if I link to it and spread the word about it. It needs to be read by as wide an audience as possible.

6889

paullancaster — Mon, 28 Mar 21:59:44 +0100

An indepth and well thought out article. Probably the best I’ve read so far about StartUp Britain. Thanks for writing!

6490

guy — Sun, 27 Mar 16:25:10 +0100

The 3DS gives a whole new wdge to the potable gaming world. it is not gonna be a failure.You just seem like a major apple fan who has written a very biased article without getting your facts write. The iphone and itouch can never compare to the pure gaming experience that a DS would give!

6881

jennytablina — Fri, 04 Mar 13:34:51 +0100

I’m sorry, I REALLY don’t see the 3DS being a failure, not even that on a level with the Virtual Boy. Theres pretty clear reasons WHY the Virtual Boy failed, the technology needed to make the product design work wasn’t available or financially viable. Red LED’s coupled with a clunky headset, but everyone honestly thought [...]

6492

jamietaylor — Fri, 18 Feb 16:03:39 +0100

I agree completely. I’ve been an iPhone user for a while and now I use none of the apps, the only time I do is when I’m procrastinating. Not just with games, but just procrastinating on applications which make themselves out to be useful productivity apps. There is no app on the iPhone which I [...]

6880

andydaniel — Thu, 17 Feb 15:41:59 +0100

I really couldn’t be bothered to get past 2/3rds of this long and not well written article. This isn’t a debate, this is a potshot at an event (not necessarily the device) that the write obviously has preconceptions of. I attended a 3DS preview event and my details are here: http://allaboutgames.co.uk/articles/3DS+Impressions/36/ Sure the event was [...]

6879

jamesbralant — Tue, 15 Feb 17:42:07 +0100

This isn’t the best article I have ever read, I’m not gunna lie. My thoughts on the event were absolutely different and also unbiased. Wanna read a semi-decent write-up of the event? Check this out - http://www.gameon.co.uk/game/article/my-nintendo-3ds-experience

6878

herp — Fri, 11 Feb 6:41:41 +0100

still your dumb

6488

andrew — Thu, 10 Feb 23:27:07 +0100

Interesting article, but I would agree it seems slightly biased. I’d advise anyone to do their own research wherever possible. We live in an information age where anyone can access “information” instantly, and just as quickly pass it on without researching its validity. I have been using Tumblr for a few months now and I [...]

6877

dan — Thu, 10 Feb 21:40:40 +0100

Jay Taylor, where is the proof that Nintendo does not care about the titles on the 3ds? Nintendo has made some of the greatest games of the past decade, and have some of the largest franchises to use whenever they need to (zelda, metroid, mario, pokemon). The fact that they are entering into new territory [...]

6876

gina — Thu, 10 Feb 21:01:31 +0100

It’s children and casual gamers that help make the most profit, fanboys or not it does not change the fact that Ninteno make amazing games and systems. This article is terrible and who ever wrote it seems to have judged the 3DS as a failure because of some crappy event (which probably have nothing to [...]

6489

fred — Thu, 10 Feb 19:14:13 +0100

Was this article written by the most ignorant journalist in the world? Touch screen games, most of which are completely disposable (at 99 cents a piece), have no lasting appeal. The majority of the titles on iOS systems are little more than 15 minute distractions while we wait for the bus. The demographic of the [...]

6875

dan — Thu, 10 Feb 17:46:19 +0100

It’s not going to fail and you know that. I’m not even sure what the purpose of this debate is, but I hope people don’t take the bait and take this argument you put forth too seriously. And spending 1/2 of your article talking about an event that is completely irrelevant to how the 3ds [...]

6874

danny — Thu, 10 Feb 16:48:22 +0100

Is this for real lol? I give it 4 years and Apple, Sony and many more will follow suit with the kind of 3D technology Nintendo are using, they are bound to copy, implement it, rinse and repeat. It’s the same with playstation Move with regards to the Wii. and as for Apple apps? they [...]

6873

elgato — Thu, 10 Feb 16:28:37 +0100

wow how much did you get paid? Your “logic” is so messed up. First of all, the N64 ended in last place, and so did the gamecube. The Virtual Boy failed really hard. Nintendo hadn’t had that big of a success back then, yet they “survived” quite nicely. With the huge success from the DS [...]

6872

christopher — Thu, 10 Feb 16:28:31 +0100

What a load of bollocks. You sound like an Apple fanboy. I have an iPhone and have plenty of apps on there, the best being Angry Birds and cut the rope, I can tell you now that after a few months I’m already bored. When it comes to great games that have a lasting appeal [...]

6871

gman — Thu, 10 Feb 16:01:09 +0100

This is one of the worst articles I’ve ever read regarding the 3DS. I’m guessing you’re an apple fan? It doesn’t sound like you know what you’re talking about at all when it comes to the gaming industry.

6870

emily — Thu, 10 Feb 12:19:02 +0100

I went to the event in London , it sounded the same and to be honest I thought it was a bit crap. Most people I know haven’t touched their DS in quite a while and I think the iPhone is fast catching up as a games platform – it will be interesting to see [...]

6869

christianharkes — Thu, 10 Feb 12:17:16 +0100

The 3DS certainly wasn’t what I expected… very disappointing and like you say I’m worried for Nintendo. What happened to the Nintendo phone anyway?

6537

rachatdecredit — Sat, 05 Feb 9:47:13 +0100

I seldom leave comments on blog, but I have been to this post which was recommended by my friend, lots of valuable details, thanks again.

6536

dean — Wed, 02 Feb 3:07:43 +0100

I can write a few thousand words about how shabbily I’ve been treated – though I drive enough traffic to tumblr to be listed in their top 50 blogs, they had blocked my fixed IP and I was labeled a “hacker” by the “support team.” I received one response from Mr Karp where he laid [...]

6535

forwardslash — Tue, 01 Feb 19:29:36 +0100

>he e-mailed them privately with his concerns I don’t think that tracking down and e-mailing the entire tumblr team is exactly ‘private’

6534

dan — Fri, 28 Jan 23:48:34 +0100

I’ve already ditched Tumblr for Posterous some time ago, and this sorry affair has made my decision a good one.

6533

frankmalloch — Fri, 28 Jan 23:10:04 +0100

Karp is a petty little man who’s obviously way over his head. There’s no excuse (and no strategic reason) for treating a customer like this, regardless of the circumstances. I can understand one sending an inappropriate email as a knee-jerk reaction, out of anger. It wouldn’t make it right, but everyone can be caught at [...]

6532

bbonifield — Fri, 28 Jan 21:56:05 +0100

Seems to me that William’s email was pretty nonconstructive. You reap what you sow.

6531

postdeskeditorialteam — Fri, 28 Jan 21:16:33 +0100

@ColtonB You’ve taken that slightly out of context… “…possibly in reference to his use of a private jet (though we’re not sure it is a private jet) – but on a more serious note, others have more justified, nonetheless equally vocal opinions…” …was the context which it was in – no fabrication of facts there.

6530

coltonb — Fri, 28 Jan 21:05:01 +0100

Private jet? (eg: http://www.davidslog.com/2728834211) I’d bet that’s a US Air jet, especially given the Star Alliance logo there by the door. nice fabrication of “facts” to grind an axe…

6529

liam — Fri, 28 Jan 20:50:35 +0100

That picture of the “private jet”? It says US Airways on the side. It seems you left out the email at first because the valediction is rather rude. Had he closed with “Sincerely” then the email might come off as constructive but as it is, it is snide and smug and really seems to make [...]

6528

nigedo — Fri, 28 Jan 20:41:29 +0100

Is David too young for so much responsibility? His lack of maturity and experience appears evident. This is a side effect of the Web’s success; young and bright people being plunged into coping with the pressures of big business. Innovators don’t necessarily make good business people and real business skills can take years to develop.

6527

postdeskeditorialteam — Fri, 28 Jan 19:42:45 +0100

@Christen T The question is now “does he care” – It’s clear he doesn’t. The question is should he care – and if he doesn’t will this lead to the demise of Tumblr…

6526

subcreation — Fri, 28 Jan 19:18:41 +0100

Karp’s email may not be a shining work of customer service, but neither is William’s a thoughtful note of constructive critique. This posts strikes me as a lot of drama over nothing. Perhaps Tumblr needs to staff up to deal with the downtime without burning the midnight oil so much, but the current level of [...]

6525

toniromero — Fri, 28 Jan 17:28:22 +0100

I don’t think it matters to people if he’s a douche. Most of his users are young, they can care less. It’s a simple, awesome blogging platform, I’m sure folks would leave and throw away their ‘journal’ entries :p

6524

aris — Fri, 28 Jan 16:46:36 +0100

Wow. Reading the HN comment thread and the comments by JohnMaloney provide quite a bit of context. Another reason why this article on postdesk seems like a shameless grab for attention and traffic. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves. While everyone can agree that Mr. Karp ought to have handled this better, William is [...]

6523

aris — Fri, 28 Jan 16:39:00 +0100

The editorial team here should disclose any conflicts they have on this topic if such conflicts exist. As a former journalist, I can tell you that this story seems absurdly one-sided and would never fit the objectivity criteria for any reputable publication. Certainly blogs don’t have to adhere to any such standards, but why hasn’t [...]

6522

jed — Fri, 28 Jan 16:31:05 +0100

per http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2152203 “One very important point that William fails to mention about his email to us – he spent the time to track down every Tumblr employees email and sent it to the entire team. It was way over-the-top, and yes, discouraging to the team.”

6521

christen — Fri, 28 Jan 16:19:08 +0100

This is article-worthy? Go to any community and you will find some disgruntled users who will be willing to send their grips to anyone to get attention. Go to any startup and you will find, cash-flow friendly or not, limited resources that have to be prioritized. Please try to write about meaningful things. Does so-and-so [...]

6487

joel — Fri, 28 Jan 15:50:36 +0100

I work for a large multinational software company whose clients manage billions of dollars of goods. I don’t get paid an all-star Electronic Arts type salary. Those days are over for a lot of developers. I’m responding as a software developer tired of users giving developers shit when us developers are working hard already. Whether [...]

6520

bob — Fri, 28 Jan 15:47:25 +0100

I had a tumblr account, and couldn’t stand the constant downtime. I went through all of my articles and copy/pasted them to my MobileMe site. I liked a lot about the service, but in the end it came to the one thing the Internet is all about… Accessibility of information!

6486

eric — Fri, 28 Jan 15:43:06 +0100

With all due respect, Mr. Harkes , it’s already an internet wasteland of hipsters and ex-4channers.

6519

alexpopescu — Fri, 28 Jan 15:40:47 +0100

Any ideas to what platform is William migrating to? I’ve been thinking about this for the last couple of months, so I’d really appreciate if those migrating could share their decisions.

6485

eric — Fri, 28 Jan 15:39:48 +0100

I’ve never used Tumblr and I don’t plan to start anytime soon. That said, the people who are addicted to it like crack cocaine aren’t going to go anywhere else. The people who dabble aren’t the people Tumblr is looking to keep anyway. I work for an IT company, and I can relate to the [...]

6518

johnmahoney — Fri, 28 Jan 15:14:26 +0100

Such a petty, petty article. Grow west my friend, grow west! John Momsky

6517

anon — Fri, 28 Jan 15:13:15 +0100

Tumblr. What is that, again?

6516

michael — Fri, 28 Jan 14:44:04 +0100

“A knee-jerk response like this which is immediately defensive clearly shows that Karp has something to hide.” Wow – you know how to jump to a sweeping conclusion. How does an angry email “clearly show” that he has something to hide? Thats quite a leap of logic!? My immediate conclusion is that Karp is tired [...]

6515

jared — Fri, 28 Jan 14:34:25 +0100

Is that photo of him for real? It looks like he spends all day with some sort of clothing and photography assistant. I agree that the downtime is excessive and surprising of a company with $40mm raised. #1 priority should be hiring the right people or outside firm to help scale services. This isn’t a [...]

6514

johnharkes — Thu, 27 Jan 16:25:16 +0100

Without a shadow of doubt, it will go the way of MySpace (or possibly Piczo) – It’s already a very niche audience that uses it. It’s vulnerable, and if one speaks up, like sheep, all will follow. Tumblr will be an internet wasteland of porn and ex-4chan users.

6513

grammarian — Thu, 27 Jan 15:26:53 +0100

Good points

6484

jamietaylor — Thu, 27 Jan 13:38:34 +0100

I just think Karp is an idiot and his fame will be short lived.

6512

postdeskeditorialteam — Thu, 27 Jan 13:32:49 +0100

Feel free to comment below on any issues raised – and most importantly let us know your predictions