Kuma\War developer sentenced to death in Iran for espionage, propaganda, being a CIA spy>> 04:56 PM - Jacob Vandy VanDerWerf ( 8 comments ) Gamasutra reports that Amir Mizra Hekmati, an American-born, ex-Marine game developer of Iranian descent was detained and charged with espionage when he visited the country, an offense that carries the penalty of death. Apparently, his work on the Kuma\War series of authentic warfare games qualified him as a CIA spy working to spread pro-U.S. propaganda within Iran. Kuma\War often depicts topical, reality-based scenarios from the Middle East, most recently with missions like "The Death of Osama Bin Laden" and "Fall of Sirte: Gaddafi's Last Stand."
They say Hekmati has confessed to his crime of "Corrupt on Earth and Mohareb (waging war on God)" with statements in a Tehran newspaper and on Iranian state television explaining the connection between U.S. intelligence and Kuma Reality Games [studio], but we all know how truthful a man can be when he has a machete on his neck and/or AK-47 at his back... The official response from the White House of course denies these allegations and demands his release, as well as decries the Iranian regime for their history of falsely-accusing innocent Americans and holding them as a bargaining chip in political negotiations.
For the Church of Kopimism, information is holy and copying is a sacrament. Information holds a value, in itself and in what it contains, and the value multiplies through copying. Therefore, copying is central for the organisation and its members.
Being recognized by the state of Sweden is a large step for all of kopimi. Hopefully, this is one step towards the day when we can live out our faith without fear of persecution, says Isak Gerson, spiritual leader of the Church of Kopimism.
The Church of Kopimism is a religious organisation with roots from 2010. The organisation formalizes a community that’s been well spread for a long time already. The community of kopimi requires no formal membership. You just have to feel a calling to worship what is the holiest of the holiest, information and copy. To do this, we organize kopyactings – religious services – where the kopimists share information with eachother through copying and remix.
Copy and seed.
Wednesday December 07, 2011
Serious Sam 3 DRM is an unbeatable scorpion enemy>> 03:07 PM - Jacob Vandy VanDerWerf ( 5 comments ) The latest in the long line of creative anti-piracy measures in games, Croteam allows you to play a cracked version of Serious Sam 3: BFE, but with one caveat: you will have to contend with a fast, deadly, and invincible mini-scorpion hounding you throughout the campaign. Scary!
Tuesday December 06, 2011
Playing Skyrim PC with Kinect gestures/voice (video)>> 02:55 PM - Jacob Vandy VanDerWerf ( 13 comments ) It looks to be a bit cumbersome right now (especially navigating the inventory by voice), but replacing the Favorites menu with voice commands to switch items and spells, not to mention performing actions with your arms and actually shouting, could be pretty awesome!
DICE release huuuge Battlefield 3 open beta statistics>> 12:35 PM - Jacob Vandy VanDerWerf ( 2 comments ) Click to see it bigger and read all the witty comparisons that put these numbers into perspective (sort of). 8+ million playing the beta is impressive, though; I wonder how many of those people will turn around and buy the game. EA must be hoping "lots."
Simply fill out this short survey. If you choose to enter your name and email, you'll be entered in a prize drawing. Unfortunately, there are no sections where you can type your own comments, but at least they're taking feedback!
And now you know. It's also worth noting the refreshing, straightforward manner in which the rest of the EULA was written. You can view most of it here.
Running out of ways to bide your time in anticipation of Diablo III? Well, you're in luck! Read about the various skills available for each class in Blizzard's upcoming action-RPG and create different character builds to share with your friends. If you're into that sort of thing.
You might be asking yourself why the couple didn't bolt for the hospital at the first sign of labor, but Chaz says they initially thought it could have been false labor. So they waited it out to see if the contractions continued, which they did. Chaz says they "...stayed for the rest of the demo because she is a trooper and LOVES Skyrim."
Named after everybody's favorite civil liberty-crushing legislation, the Patriot Act (extended by President Obama for another 4 years, BTW), this handy iPhone app "encourages active citizen participation in the War on Terror and in protecting their families and surrounding communities."
That's right, all you have to do is press the Suspicious Activity or Whistle Blower button to submit a report directly to the FBI! Then just sit back and relax while they go about investigating and/or apprehending that bald, burly man with tattoos you saw loitering outside the grocery store or the Muslim family who moved in down the street that mostly keeps to themselves. You're a patriot!
Tuesday July 12, 2011
How many of your Steam games have you not played?>> 02:51 PM - Jacob Vandy VanDerWerf ( 29 comments ) We've all felt at least a little guilty for buying too many games on Steam, especially in the wake of one of their epic sale events. Well, now you can really wallow in self-pity because this handy-dandy script will tell you what percentage of games in your Steam library you have never even launched once, as well as play time counts and other fun stats. Just fill in your Steam user name or account ID number at the end of the URL:
First, you might receive a warning letter for copyright infringement, like they have been doing for years now. In the past, however, that's where it would stop unless the content owner decided to take legal action. If this new deal comes to fruition however, repeat offenders may be subject to more severe reprimand.
Participating ISPs might elect to throttle your connection speed or even limit your access to the web. Potentially, your go-to torrent site or other favorite destinations will be blocked off to you, leaving only a short list of approved/popular/safe places for you to visit online until your behavior improves. A virtual time-out, of sorts.
In serious cases, you might even be required to attend "pirate school" if you want to keep your internet service. Similar to traffic school for bad drivers, you would be forced to learn more about the laws you're breaking if you want to continue cruising down the information super-highway.
Forces in the U.S. government have been at work in helping this arrangement move forward, with President Obama himself encouraging both sides to come to an agreement. There is also legislation trying to pass through Congress that would make it illegal to stream copyrighted works over the internet -- such a law might send you to jail for watching videos on YouTube faster than you could spin around in your office chair.
