The Future. December 2, 2007
Posted by adrenjarvi in Philosophy.Tags: Future, ImagineCup, JBJ, Microsoft, Music, Philosophy, SBJ, Tech, Zune
add a comment
This is technically my 100th post. I decided I was going to look into the future, and touch on some interesting things that I think will change the way we live. This is a very Steven B. Johnson post, but that is probably because I (finally) sat down and read “Emergence” all the way through.
Lets start.
MUSIC
Lets face it, folks. Music is essentially done- as a corporation. The proliferation of… “Piracy” allows for essentially any music to be downloaded for free.
But there is another fact: People will pay for music. Lets look at the recent Radiohead experiment- where radiohead released their new album , “In Rainbows”, on a pay-what-you-want digital download scheme. At first, this seems like a moronic and truly irresponsible move. How can they make money for giving something away for free? Well, apparently a lot. The cost of the album is only in pre-production; actual recording of content and such. There is no cost for the production of the album as it is digital (maybe peanuts for hosting, webdesign, etc). Now, lets say you are a radiohead fan. Maybe you pay 12 dollars for it. Now here I am, someone who is only loosely affiliated with radiohead. I don’t want to put down any money for it, so I download it. and there are a whole slew of people who paid in-between (the rumored average was 5 dollars). Now, if Radiohead released their new album in a physical form, I would have paid what I paid the first time; Nothing. Here, I got to hear their music, and I’ll tell you, I liked what I saw. So I marched my (virtual) ass back to the website (here) and promptly gave them 5 dollars. That 5 will most likely get a lot less chopped up then the ‘physical 12′, and hopefully the majority will go to the artists. Shocking, I know.
Radiohead’s management ( in a move which undercuts the spirit of this post) said it was only to bolster sales for the real physical album. This doesn’t make sense. But what Radiohead did does; lets imagine a future where physical records are obsolete (save for vinyl, which in a totally odd discordian context is making a comeback). Now, where as the label of yesteryear was a device required to spread music, now we have internet radio shows. The vastness of social networking sites allows users to post music, that music gets shared and viewed. People interested can download at the artists site. This means that big-name artists are famous because, steady your breath: People listen to them.
Brave new world.
Games
In a similar move, they are going to go independent. Big-name studios are not going anywhere, but I envision an open platform coming; Something like an XNA portable. Microsoft announces a portable platform with a big screen, Custom OS, and the use of “XCards” as a proprietary Cartridge system.
Quick note on this; I have noticed that we, as a people, constantly move from circles to squares to circles when it comes to our media. Giant spools of video , move to VHS, move to DVD, move to HDD recording. Music is even more dramatic: Records, Cassettes, Discs, Mp3’s. Meh, whetever. I am weird.
Anyway, this platform uses a proprietary system (integrated with windows) to let users build games in a similar way that their XNA system does now. Users can both build and test games on this platform (slide out qwerty?) and then send them in for certification to Microsoft. Add some brief media functions, an internet browser, an Xbox Originals integration…. you have an interesting evolution.
Me
Really, why else are you here?
I think my little evolution might be over with for now. For those close to me, ever since something happened, I have been on this odd maturity tip. I feel different, and my lifestyles have changed somewhat to address these. Well, this is premature, but I am going to make these creeds now before new years, and do my damndest to stick by them.
I want a game, be it chalkboard warrior or otherwise, under my name before I become a junior.
I need CCSU to recognize my whims, for better or worse.
I will make an impassioned speech in front of a group of individuals, and they will cheer. This will be important.
I will travel.
I will record some ‘rhymes’.
I will go to the imagine cup.
Lofty, yes. But by posting it here, I get to keep all you bastards on my case .
-F9
See, this is what I mean. August 20, 2007
Posted by adrenjarvi in Family.Tags: , dad, Future, Humor
add a comment
Why do I want to be a father, eventually? Check out this exchange last night at 12:45.
I come home after hanging out with some friends. As is customary, I just slightly open the door, find out if everyone is home, say good night and all. My father has just rearranged the room so the bed is on the other side, away from the door. Check the script;
Me: Goodnight, dad. Everyone home?
Dad: Yeah.
Me: Alright, I’ll lock the door.
Dad:(brief silence). Y’know, I heard you come in, I was going to stand on the other side of the door and scare you.
Me: . . . .
Dad: . . . .
Me: Love you, Good night.
-F9
The Coming Of Many Balls July 26, 2007
Posted by adrenjarvi in Games.Tags: Future, pokemon, sad, stratedgy
add a comment
There seems to be an odd resurgence in Pokemania as of late- a sort of nostalgia-fueled second-coming of the Poke’mpire. I have found some reasons to stay away from it as of late, but as the summer continues, the small white rectangle moves me to play. I, like others, have found myself aching when moving through logic; the quintessential possessed man who, for a brief moment, realized what torments have been told through his flesh. For instance, consider these terrible thoughts:
-Gastrodon, being both a Water ( sea) and and Ground ( slug) type pokemon, has a unique advantage, similar to Gabe’s Rotom. It is normally vunerable to electric types, but the grounding allows it to basically not give two shits about it. Combined with the fact that the attack “Muddy Water” has my Giant Pink Slug hurling a wave of brown liquid at the opponent basically solidifies his badass status: “I am going to shit on you.”
-The PokeRus Virus, for which I have just obtained on purpose….. actually, that alone is pretty bad.
-Not having a ghost on my team is nigh- Infuriating, for what shall I use to defeat the elite 4?
I can imagine a dystopian future, where my friends – after not seeing me for months- open my door, the oak creaking slowly. The room is covered in cobwebs, where they spot the dim light in the corner. My fingers are slowly tracing the buttons on the screen, my team of enslaved rodents and dragons at the ready. My friends wish to speak, but their voices are as dry as the room that I once called home.
“All of them.” My worn voice breaks the silence. My neck lifts, creaking, as the door before it.
A single tear escapes my dirty, bearded face.
“I Have to Catch Them All.”
-A F K
