According to an employee of DIVX inc that is behind the Stage 6 service is that they will be closing its doors on February 28th 2008.
The reasons stated in this employee's post for this decision to be made was based on cost, time consumption and resources.
Could this be the true reason why it is closing down or was it again down to corporate pressure from the entertainment industry.
Since the announcement on the Stage 6 site, user comments are being left with a mixture of positive and negative responses.
Some of the responses that are left are with interesting ideas like a pay service could be used or sell Stage 6 to Google or Microsoft.
Check the latest information about Stage 6 closure on the site below.
http://www.stage6.com/
IKAJ
Monday, 25 February 2008
Ikariam (Browser Game)
http://ikariam.org/index.php
Ikariam is a browser game that is played in real time and is similar to Travian with better graphics.
Set during the times of ballista ships to people worshiping gods, players start with a single colony on an island populated by other player colonies, Two random resources and a god statue.
My First impressions of the game was like o how nice the graphics are and similar to the Settlers game series with being user friendly.
I have been playing Ikariam for a week now and I am still enjoying it with plenty still to explore and do.
Ikariam is a browser game that is played in real time and is similar to Travian with better graphics.
Set during the times of ballista ships to people worshiping gods, players start with a single colony on an island populated by other player colonies, Two random resources and a god statue.
My First impressions of the game was like o how nice the graphics are and similar to the Settlers game series with being user friendly.
I have been playing Ikariam for a week now and I am still enjoying it with plenty still to explore and do.
I will not give too much away about this game has that be spoiling the fun, only way to see if you like it is to try Ikariam your self even if your a Travian fan or not.
Enjoy the screenies :).
Enjoy the screenies :).
IKAJ
Midnight News 25th February 2008
Phorm - Why O Why?
Boys and girls what will Virgin Media, BT and Talk Talk bring you for this coming easter season and it will not be an easter egg.
There is a good chance that Phorm will be added to your net service but what is Phorm some of you's might be asking?.
Phorm is a technology company in partnership with the above ISP's to help deliver a safe browsing advertising experience when we the users use the net to browse a page.
By using both Webwise and Open Internet Exchange (OIX) features to help deliver relevant adverts to user interests by gathering our everyday browsing surfing style, how they do this remains to be seen.
An example of this feature is when a user is browsing the net for holiday destinations it replaces the recent ads with the chosen destination Ones of hotel accomodations etc.
Phorm claims that no personal data is stored nor is the users IP is logged so user anonymous is guaranteed or is it?.
If we check out the muppet UK government of the Labour party recently they lost thousands of peoples personal data on disks, can we realy trust this data to be secure? and do we have a choice?.
Phorm claims that on the Webwise site there is an option to opt out of this service and installing a cookie onto your PC.
(more junk for the grinder:)).
There is good sides and bad sides to Phorm with partnerships of certain ISP's to deliver a service regarding advertising to user interests, let us get real it is for Virgin, BT and Talk Talk interests.
I wonder on how much ching ching they will receive from the companies the adverts relate to when we browse a page and will we see any of it with deductions on monthly subscriptions prices?.
I let you's make up your own decision if this Phorm is a good idea or is it a money making scheme by visiting the following links: -
Phorm Site (Noob Design) - http://www.phorm.com/
Webwise Site - http://www.webwise.com/index.html
links relating to discussions and anti Phorm FTW: -
BadPhorm (anti Phorm site with some interesting info) - http://www.badphorm.co.uk/page.php?2
Techdirt (cool IT gathering info site) - http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080218/024203278.shtml
............................................................................
Since there was no update last week there was something that realy got me mad that was on the news not so long ago.
The green paper proposal from the muppet UK labour party and Kermit Gordon Brown to clamp down on piracy and the method used.
He wanted ISP's to monitor their customers data packet streams and see if any illegal content or not is being streamed, well for starters this can be an invasion of privacy on users net usage.
Recently some ISP's said it is not their job to do the Labour party's dirty work and I can not blame them.
I do not agree with piracy nor do I agree with the RIAA and MPPA trying to kill file sharing and missing out on an opportunity that would benefit both artist, company and customer.
The RIAA, MPPA and companies moan about poor sales on CD's, DVD and cinema ticket's, well wake up, smell the air by making the products cheaper and adapting to online format sales by working with peer to peer legit companies or embracing online formats.
With Gordon Brown, what I see is that he went with a top of the mind approach like he has been doing recently and not seeing the bigger picture, instead he wants us to go back to the era of clay.
If Gordon Brown stops listening to corporate pressure and work with the people has his party was elected to do then Gordon Brown would not be such a noob....full stop.
I will admit I am strongly against the green paper proposal and phorm has the net shoud remain with some of its freedom like today instead of being turned into a big brother cybernet.
My advice to Brown is work with the people and wake up to the cyber age instead of the victorian time smoking pipes.
IKAJ
Monday, 11 February 2008
Midnight News 11th February 2008
Virgin Media Free Net Upgrade For 4MB Customers
Thats right folks VM will be doing a free upgrade for their existing customers who are in receipt of the broadband L package (4mb).
The new upgrade will increase from 4mb to a new 10mb free of charge for UK customers only.
Below is a link on VM schedule on getting around for this upgrade.
http://allyours.virginmedia.com/html/existingcustomers/faster/schedule.html
Gratz to VM on doing this move now make the bill a bit cheaper and VM be on my Xmas List :).
IKAJ
Exteel (F2P Anime Type Shooter)
http://eu.plaync.com/eu/games/overview/exteel
Exteel is a free to play third person mech shooter game with the option of using melee or ranged attack weapons during the battle.
All you need is to do is sign up for a free PlayNC account and your ready to download the game, after installation the game size is 1 GB.
Once the game is up and running you go through a tutorial session on how to control your mech to using the various weapon types.
These tutorial sessions are optional to do but it is recommended because you get cash and experience has a reward on completion.
With the tutorial complete, next thing to do is to check out the hanger and store to buy or equip weapons/gear for your mech.
The weapons types that can be used in Exteel range from Pistols, Rifiles, Siege weapons to melee weapons of swords and shields.
In the lobby there are Four battle types that can be played in Exteel that are Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Territorial Match and Last Stand with each battle type having its own advantages or disvantages depending on the players taste of play.
The controls uses the WASD for movement with the R key to change between the Two weapon types, left/right mouse buttons to shoot.
Space key for jumping and by double clicking on the key movement buttons will enable hover mode for flying or dodging bullets.
Graphics in Exteel are very well done in map design textures and effects with city and arena type themes, the sound is standard like most games but nothing special.
The performance while running Exteel will vary from user to user depending on the system spec they are running and net connection.
My own experience on performance varied from map to map has +/-, your own experience might be different with comparison to mine.
Gameplay for Exteel is simple, frag or capture map area's like most shooters out there but what makes this game good is a choice to swap weapon during battles and hover flying your mech around.
Rewards and experience is given out with a detailed report on how the battle went after the battle is complete.
Overall Exteel is a free mech shooter with a hint of Anime feel to it, some players might experience performance issues while some will have a sweet enjoyable experience when playing Exteel.
There is an option to purchase NCcoins to buy better ingame stuff for your mech but this is optional and not realy needed.
The Only true way to find out if this game is your cup of tea is to give this game a try, you might like it :).
Exteel is a free to play third person mech shooter game with the option of using melee or ranged attack weapons during the battle.
All you need is to do is sign up for a free PlayNC account and your ready to download the game, after installation the game size is 1 GB.
Once the game is up and running you go through a tutorial session on how to control your mech to using the various weapon types.
These tutorial sessions are optional to do but it is recommended because you get cash and experience has a reward on completion.
With the tutorial complete, next thing to do is to check out the hanger and store to buy or equip weapons/gear for your mech.
The weapons types that can be used in Exteel range from Pistols, Rifiles, Siege weapons to melee weapons of swords and shields.
In the lobby there are Four battle types that can be played in Exteel that are Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Territorial Match and Last Stand with each battle type having its own advantages or disvantages depending on the players taste of play.
The controls uses the WASD for movement with the R key to change between the Two weapon types, left/right mouse buttons to shoot.
Space key for jumping and by double clicking on the key movement buttons will enable hover mode for flying or dodging bullets.
Graphics in Exteel are very well done in map design textures and effects with city and arena type themes, the sound is standard like most games but nothing special.
The performance while running Exteel will vary from user to user depending on the system spec they are running and net connection.
My own experience on performance varied from map to map has +/-, your own experience might be different with comparison to mine.
Gameplay for Exteel is simple, frag or capture map area's like most shooters out there but what makes this game good is a choice to swap weapon during battles and hover flying your mech around.
Rewards and experience is given out with a detailed report on how the battle went after the battle is complete.
Overall Exteel is a free mech shooter with a hint of Anime feel to it, some players might experience performance issues while some will have a sweet enjoyable experience when playing Exteel.
There is an option to purchase NCcoins to buy better ingame stuff for your mech but this is optional and not realy needed.
The Only true way to find out if this game is your cup of tea is to give this game a try, you might like it :).
IKAJ
Pick N Mix Sites For 11th February 2008
Lets start this entry with some content/site listings found on the net.
The First entry for the pick n mix is: -
Rathergood
The Rathergood.com site is a mixture of humour and entertainment in the format of flash movies, kittens and crabs.
Rathergood does contain some adult content so minors or the easily offended be warned, still if your open minded like rest of us then you will enjoy what these peeps have done with content and design.
The sites creator Joel and crew also has a band called 7 Seconds Of Love if you like Ska type bands (more info on their Rathergood site).
The Second entry for the pick n mix is: -
Hurra Torpedo
Hurra Torpedo is a Norwegian band that has performed since the early/mid 90's by using house hold kitchen appliances like cookers, spin dryers and washing machines.
Below you will see Two You Tube links of covers songs that are quite catchy tunes performed by Hurra Torpedo.
First link is titled Total Eclipse of the Heart was orginal performed by Bonnie Tyler in the mid 1980's.
Second link is titled All The Things she Said was orginal performed by Russian group Tatu in the early 2000's.
The final entry for the pick n mix is: -
Fileinfo
Lets say you get a file sent to you by e-mail with a unknown file extention you never seen before, then check out Fileinfo.net with detailed information and descriptions on file extentions.
The site is easy to navigate with a left menu of various categories and the results presented in a table format with links for further information on a file extention.
IKAJ
The First entry for the pick n mix is: -
Rathergood
The Rathergood.com site is a mixture of humour and entertainment in the format of flash movies, kittens and crabs.
Rathergood does contain some adult content so minors or the easily offended be warned, still if your open minded like rest of us then you will enjoy what these peeps have done with content and design.
The sites creator Joel and crew also has a band called 7 Seconds Of Love if you like Ska type bands (more info on their Rathergood site).
The Second entry for the pick n mix is: -
Hurra Torpedo
Hurra Torpedo is a Norwegian band that has performed since the early/mid 90's by using house hold kitchen appliances like cookers, spin dryers and washing machines.
Below you will see Two You Tube links of covers songs that are quite catchy tunes performed by Hurra Torpedo.
First link is titled Total Eclipse of the Heart was orginal performed by Bonnie Tyler in the mid 1980's.
Second link is titled All The Things she Said was orginal performed by Russian group Tatu in the early 2000's.
The final entry for the pick n mix is: -
Fileinfo
Lets say you get a file sent to you by e-mail with a unknown file extention you never seen before, then check out Fileinfo.net with detailed information and descriptions on file extentions.
The site is easy to navigate with a left menu of various categories and the results presented in a table format with links for further information on a file extention.
IKAJ
Monday, 4 February 2008
Renaissance Kingdoms (Browser Game)
http://www.renaissancekingdoms.com/
Renaissance Kingdoms or RK for short is a browser/forum type game set in the 1400's that can be played with roleplay or not.
Has the player you can decide what country in Europe you would like to start in with remembering that the native language might be spoken in the forums or site of your chosen starting choice.
I chose England has my starting location and yes there is players from Italy to Canada who play in England too what is quite cool :).
I read in the RK forums that if you choose England then you can only travel to Scotland but if you start on the mainland of Europe then you travel all the way to Turkey.
The game can be played in its browser site environment where you can use the options to help you in your game everyday life and use the forum for information/role play like in the top right image above.
Has you can see Two travelers from another town in England popped into Bath during their travels and I had the honor to speak to One of them in the tavern on the RK site what was pleasant.
The forum goes the next step that involves a bit more depth to the scene and to the imagination.
In RK you can travel from One Town to another that will take days to arrive there with a good chance of being robbed along the way unless your in a party of other players or the local forces.
Has for getting money, the player starts off with 50 pounds and can work in the church or mines so they can advanced to level 1 with being fed each day by purchasing food.
The player will need to advanced to level 1 by accumulating 5 reputation points + 90 pounds, Onced reached level 1 the player can have their own field to look after.
The field at the start is used for corn growing and has time progresses an additional field can be purchased with choice of different use from growing cows to veggies.
The town and duchy has many buildings that the player can explore with options and information that will help the player make decisions on their characters everyday game life.
Each town is player ran based with each player having a role to play with that sence of community for survival, enjoyment and involvement experience when playing RK.
The player in time will gain reputation points and stats by eating certain types of foods or gaining reputation points from other players in taverns or on the RK forum.
Gaining a level needs the player to meet an requirement on a number of reputation points needed depending on level trying to achieve.
The higher the level the player achieves the more options are open for the player to choose from on the path for their character to take.
What I do like about RK is the tavern feature has it is like a chat room with the exception of timezones players logging on.
Overall RK is a role playing game or not with loads of involvement if the player chooses to take part in from politics to military type life or the player can log on just Five minutes a day and do what they need to do to.
There is so much to RK that I have not fully explored it all and I still log on each day to do what I need to do for my character.
In RK you need to check on your character daily so they can be fed etc, still there is an option to stay in the church (like a Sanctuary) if you know your not going to log on for a number of days.
I say check out the site and their forums if your want to find out more information about RK.
You never know I might see you in a tavern One day on there :).
IKAJ
Renaissance Kingdoms or RK for short is a browser/forum type game set in the 1400's that can be played with roleplay or not.
Has the player you can decide what country in Europe you would like to start in with remembering that the native language might be spoken in the forums or site of your chosen starting choice.
I chose England has my starting location and yes there is players from Italy to Canada who play in England too what is quite cool :).
I read in the RK forums that if you choose England then you can only travel to Scotland but if you start on the mainland of Europe then you travel all the way to Turkey.
The game can be played in its browser site environment where you can use the options to help you in your game everyday life and use the forum for information/role play like in the top right image above.
Has you can see Two travelers from another town in England popped into Bath during their travels and I had the honor to speak to One of them in the tavern on the RK site what was pleasant.
The forum goes the next step that involves a bit more depth to the scene and to the imagination.
In RK you can travel from One Town to another that will take days to arrive there with a good chance of being robbed along the way unless your in a party of other players or the local forces.
Has for getting money, the player starts off with 50 pounds and can work in the church or mines so they can advanced to level 1 with being fed each day by purchasing food.
The player will need to advanced to level 1 by accumulating 5 reputation points + 90 pounds, Onced reached level 1 the player can have their own field to look after.
The field at the start is used for corn growing and has time progresses an additional field can be purchased with choice of different use from growing cows to veggies.
The town and duchy has many buildings that the player can explore with options and information that will help the player make decisions on their characters everyday game life.
Each town is player ran based with each player having a role to play with that sence of community for survival, enjoyment and involvement experience when playing RK.
The player in time will gain reputation points and stats by eating certain types of foods or gaining reputation points from other players in taverns or on the RK forum.
Gaining a level needs the player to meet an requirement on a number of reputation points needed depending on level trying to achieve.
The higher the level the player achieves the more options are open for the player to choose from on the path for their character to take.
What I do like about RK is the tavern feature has it is like a chat room with the exception of timezones players logging on.
Overall RK is a role playing game or not with loads of involvement if the player chooses to take part in from politics to military type life or the player can log on just Five minutes a day and do what they need to do to.
There is so much to RK that I have not fully explored it all and I still log on each day to do what I need to do for my character.
In RK you need to check on your character daily so they can be fed etc, still there is an option to stay in the church (like a Sanctuary) if you know your not going to log on for a number of days.
I say check out the site and their forums if your want to find out more information about RK.
You never know I might see you in a tavern One day on there :).
IKAJ
Holy Wars (Browser Game)
http://www.holy-war.net/
This is One of my favorite broweser games that I have been playing since early December 2007 and has been quite enjoyable..
Lets start by imagining the time of the Crusades where Knights and Warriors in the thousands from Muslim, Christian and Pagan faiths fight each other for honor, glory and conquest.
This is the main theme that Holy Wars is based on with features to level up your character, buy equipment and fight for the Holy Land.
You start by choosing what faith you wanna play for, (Crusaders/Christians) (Paigans/Non Believers) (Saracen/Muslim) I chose crusaders has I wanted to play has a knight.
Next choose a name for your character and your ready to play.
For about 1 week only you will have a premium package added to your account for no charge at all.
The premium will give the player a chance of plundering for upto 2 hours a day instead of the usual 1 hour to uploading an avatar.
After the week is up and you decide not to continue with the premium, you will loose your avatar then be given a default One.
You will start Holy Wars with low stats and equipment where you will have to gain experience to advanced to the next level.
To gain experience and gold is to take part in battles, attacking players and plunder with possible outcomes of success or failure.
Once you had ago with plundering and fighting foe's, the experience and gold will soon grow for you to spend the gold on upgrading stats to buying equipement for your character.
The equipment that you can buy for your character are armors, weapons, horse mounts and healing potions to heal after battle.
Each player is also given a residence that can be upgraded at a cost for healing and defence benefits if attacked or healing after battles.
There is a city feature where the player can take part in the arena, become a mercenary, buy/sell goods and work for a such amount of gold per hour depending on level.
Holy Wars also has a nice tavern feature that the player can try a game of dice against One to Three NPC's and a chance to win or loose some gold depending on pure luck :).
I avoid the tavern somtimes has this is a great way to loose money realy quick, I might suggest try plundering for 10 minutes at a time to gain experience and gold.
What game like Holy Wars be without battles and yes battles are included in this game from order battles to the Holy war its self.
Whats is the difference of the Two you could say?
The order battles is a type of clan battle by joining a clan or taking part of the battle either a mercenary or volunteer.
The order battles are daily so check the roster on the next battle you would like to participate and be in the camp before the battle starts.
The Holy war battle occurs every One to Two weeks with attacking and defending of city's in the European and Middle East districts.
Like the order battle arrive in camp before the battle starts, equip your character and wait until the result of the battle comes in.
The result tells the player who had won a round and how much gold/experience was gained etc.
Overall Holy Wars is not a grinding game nor is it time conuming like Travian but given the chance can give the player enjoyment with or without being a premium customer.
The graphics of the game is standard on what you would normally expect to see in traditional type browser games that leaves to the imagination of how the fight could of took place.
I say give this game ago if you like Kingdom of Heaven film or a fan of medieval type themes.
IKAJ
This is One of my favorite broweser games that I have been playing since early December 2007 and has been quite enjoyable..
Lets start by imagining the time of the Crusades where Knights and Warriors in the thousands from Muslim, Christian and Pagan faiths fight each other for honor, glory and conquest.
This is the main theme that Holy Wars is based on with features to level up your character, buy equipment and fight for the Holy Land.
You start by choosing what faith you wanna play for, (Crusaders/Christians) (Paigans/Non Believers) (Saracen/Muslim) I chose crusaders has I wanted to play has a knight.
Next choose a name for your character and your ready to play.
For about 1 week only you will have a premium package added to your account for no charge at all.
The premium will give the player a chance of plundering for upto 2 hours a day instead of the usual 1 hour to uploading an avatar.
After the week is up and you decide not to continue with the premium, you will loose your avatar then be given a default One.
You will start Holy Wars with low stats and equipment where you will have to gain experience to advanced to the next level.
To gain experience and gold is to take part in battles, attacking players and plunder with possible outcomes of success or failure.
Once you had ago with plundering and fighting foe's, the experience and gold will soon grow for you to spend the gold on upgrading stats to buying equipement for your character.
The equipment that you can buy for your character are armors, weapons, horse mounts and healing potions to heal after battle.
Each player is also given a residence that can be upgraded at a cost for healing and defence benefits if attacked or healing after battles.
There is a city feature where the player can take part in the arena, become a mercenary, buy/sell goods and work for a such amount of gold per hour depending on level.
Holy Wars also has a nice tavern feature that the player can try a game of dice against One to Three NPC's and a chance to win or loose some gold depending on pure luck :).
I avoid the tavern somtimes has this is a great way to loose money realy quick, I might suggest try plundering for 10 minutes at a time to gain experience and gold.
What game like Holy Wars be without battles and yes battles are included in this game from order battles to the Holy war its self.
Whats is the difference of the Two you could say?
The order battles is a type of clan battle by joining a clan or taking part of the battle either a mercenary or volunteer.
The order battles are daily so check the roster on the next battle you would like to participate and be in the camp before the battle starts.
The Holy war battle occurs every One to Two weeks with attacking and defending of city's in the European and Middle East districts.
Like the order battle arrive in camp before the battle starts, equip your character and wait until the result of the battle comes in.
The result tells the player who had won a round and how much gold/experience was gained etc.
Overall Holy Wars is not a grinding game nor is it time conuming like Travian but given the chance can give the player enjoyment with or without being a premium customer.
The graphics of the game is standard on what you would normally expect to see in traditional type browser games that leaves to the imagination of how the fight could of took place.
I say give this game ago if you like Kingdom of Heaven film or a fan of medieval type themes.
IKAJ
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