Microsoft's take on XBox Live's wealth of dipshits

Kotaku and gaygamer have been running a story that started with this youtube clip:


Now Major Nelson of Microsoft responded with this:

I just watched (listened) to the video you posted on your site. Needless to say, it was disappointing to see how some Xbox LIVE members behave. As you know, that is not the type of behavior we support. With over 8-million members, it's unfortunate that some members decide to act like this. I want to point out a few things that ALL Xbox Live members can do to ensure a enjoyable experience:
1) Play online only with friends.
2) Turn off voice from non-friends. This is a system level setting that work across all games, and as you can imagine, will only allow you to hear what your friends will say. You can find details on how to set it up here http://www.xbox.com/en-US/support/familysettings/live/xbox360/familysettings-communications.htm
I also want to let your readers know that if they EVER encounter behavior like that in any game, they should use the in dash feedback system to file a complaint:
3) File a complaint. Using the dashboard complaint system, file a communications complaint. We DO act on complaints, so I highly encourage people file complaints where appropriate. Details on how to file a complaint here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/908640?sd=xbox
Also, I'd be happy to play with you and some of your readers sometime as well.



This is why when I play online I turn of voice chat unless I'm with friends, cuz frankly a large majority of gamers are just freaking stupid.

Full Story on Kotaku and gaygamer

Angel Season 6 (SPOILERS)

So last week Angel began its Season 6 comic book outing. As I am currently loving Buffy Season 8 and being a huge fan of Angel and especially the direction it went in season 5 (aside from killing off Cordy) I was eager to pick up the first issue. As soon as I reached the last page I turned right back to the start.

Was it because I loved this book more than any other comic in recent memory? Uhh no. I hated it, I hated it so much that I wanted to reread it to make sure I wasn't missing something.

I was missing the characters I cared about, hell I was even sad Spike didn't show up. What i got was Wesley who sure was killed in the series finale and Gunn who apparently is a vampire now. See when Dawn showed up in Buffy Season 8 as a giant you just accepted it and saw how perfectly that fit in with the new format. Angel having a pet dragon just made me...disappointed.

Dare I even mention that LA in the series is a post apocalyptic demon-run city. I'm thinking that might have been mentioned in Buffy, you know a throwaway line even "Wow sure sucks to be in LA, let's move to Ireland."

Yes I'll pick up issue 2, but I don't know how much of a chance I'm going to give this. IDW has a habit of releasing their books at 3.99 and I'm not wasting that kind of money on the rape and beating of a beloved franchise.

This makes me weep for the Doctor Who series coming in January.

A Rose For Doctor Who

Stop the freakin presses! Billie Piper is returning to Doctor Who for three episodes in the upcoming 4th series of the show! BBC has the full story here!

I can't wait to see Martha's take on Rose's return and I sure hope it occurs after Martha returns from her Torchwood guest stint! I'm most interested to see the interaction between these two more so than Rose's reunion with The Doctor.

Fantastic!

Well that about sums me up...

A friend of mine sent me this pic which she says perfectly describes my "look" the sad part is...it really really does. Thank you internet for defining me!

Pray With Your Cell Phone

Found this article in the St Louis Post-Dispatch. This is one way to mix technology with religion:

Creve Coeur-based CIS Communications has put forth a proposal to conceal a cell phone tower for U.S. Cellular inside a 95-foot cross to be built on land owned by the Way of Faith Christian Center. Church members have agreed to lease space on church property as long as the tower is designed as a simple Christian icon instead of a metal tangle of bars and wires. (Full Article)

You'll get better reception than God!

Stop Googling Me!

So I learned recently that my current place of employment doesn't rely on references anymore when you apply for a job. Instead they hop on the net and check google, facebook, and myspace so get all the dirt on you they can find. So now I have to worry that my online identity doesn't reveal anything I might be embarrassed about? Sure you can block your facebook and myspace profiles but what can you do about google? I've read that there are some companies that charge you to clean up your identity but if you seriously have something floating out there that you have to pay to remove then maybe you should re-evaluate some of your life choices.

Knowing that my myspace and facebook profiles are pretty secure and have no pictures of me celebrating drunken nights of sin (really, who posts that shit?) I decided to type my name into google. I apparently have nothing to worry about. Googling my name brings up 4 results, one of which is a digg profile, 2 letters I wrote to a gaming website and my 1up profile. Not exactly scandal worthy.

But what if it were, what if my name yielded some dark secret I longed to hide? Can I ask for the freedom the internet provides but also ask for it to respect my privacy. I can find images of celebrities in...less than holy positions so why should I ask to be out of the public eye. Everything that is posted on the internet regarding me is a consequence of a choice I made, and like in the real world you have to live with those choices. The internet used to be about being anonymous and now it is all about being known. Google doesn't tarnish your reputation, you do that on your own.