anti-bandwidth-neutrality (Link not really the same anymore) cartoon I found advertised on Schlock Mercenary today. It seems to offer much the same view I came up with (independently) several weeks ago and clarifies stuff I didn’t even touch on. Like the separate queues for Low-latency loss-tolerant connections (streaming video, phone, etc) and for high reliability low latency (medical communications.) I believe it would also allow queues for latency tolerant high-bandwidth loss-sensitive connections like downloads.

MS has really been on the warpath against the PS3, both in public and from the shadows. The latest has been this particular bit of FUD that restates many of the same things that MS has been saying all along and Sony has been disputing all along. Sony isn’t entirely innocent of firing back though. The PSM magazine had this bit of FUD in it as well: ….particularly when it comes to ease of development for the system: how it compares to PS2, and more importantly, Xbox 360.

Greenhouse studyThe interesting parts are below:Well, I heard that carbon dioxide is bad – it’s pollution, isn’t it?There seem to be a few things that your informant forgot to tell you – like carbon dioxide being an essential trace gas that underpins the bulk of the global food web. Estimates vary, but somewhere around 15% seems to be the common number cited for the increase in global food crop yields due to aerial fertilization with increased carbon dioxide since 1950.

Or at least another rumor log on the fire. FF7 (Dead Link)

Nintendo’s comments (Link dead) say that their Gameboy console has sold 120 million worldwide and that it was the top selling console of all time. I’m kind of curious as to which of their consoles are rolled into this fact. Where do you draw the line on what is the same console or not? If you go strictly by the formfactor and generation, there’s no way that any one of the gameboy line has produced 120mil on their own.

I was first intrigued when I read the headline of this article: New policy lets students skip class, still pass. (link dead) I’ve long been an advocate of a class structure that would allow students to progress at their own pace, and to be graded not on Busyhomework* and Attendance, but rather on final exams and meaningful projects. I was quite disappointed when I realized that it wasn’t the result of this that they were able to pass, but because of people gaming a system that had so lowered the bar that they couldn’t fail.

(link is dead) “You have to have Sony everything. That’s not always going to be the best choice for people, simple as that. The iPod is creaming them in the music business at the moment, and I think that’s a classic example of where, if you lock yourself into one hardware company, you’re limiting your decisions.”I don’t think I have to tell anyone familiar with Microsoft’s tactics how amusing this is.

Firstly… Yay! Secondly, if you haven’t seen Venture brothers you really should try and catch an episode or two, or even buy the DVD. If you have seen it and like it, you should definitely consider the DVD. :) I’m probably going to pick up my copy tomorrow if I can find one in town.

According to the headline, OH NO THE WORLD IS GETTING WARMER AND THAT’S CAUSING POISON IVY TO GET WORSE! PANIC! When you actually read the article you find out that increased levels of CO2 are causing Poison Ivy, along with most other plants that use CO2, to grow faster and be stronger. This is kind of a natural balancing mechanism really. Plants not only use less water, but use more CO2 and grow larger when there’s an excess of CO2.

Wii’s Retro Controller is using the traditional PS1-3 dualshock control layout! I wonder how well it will work without the little handles, but at least it’s a step up from the Xbox and Gamecube’s offset analog sticks. Those things annoy the crud out of me.The more traditional button layout (from the SNES) is also a welcomed change from the gamecube.I hope the DPad is based on the Gameboy Advance and not the squishy unstable mess that was the Gamecube’s Dpad.