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The Daily Grind: Are you ashamed of being a gamer?
This past week, blogger Tobold dusted off the issue of gamer pride -- and more specifically, gamer shame. While we have strong affection for our beloved hobby, gaming has a stigma that's yet to completely wear off, even though our ranks swell every month. It's a frustrating double standard when friends openly chat about sports, movies and TV, and yet give you an odd look when you gush about your favorite game. While I'm not shy about being a gamer, I don't exactly go about broadcasting it, either. For one thing, a lot of people still associate video games with either mindless violence or childish play. For another, it's simply hard to explain the attraction of games to those who have limited or zero experience with them. As a result of this stigma, there's a temptation to keep your gaming persona on the down-low, or "DL" as kids a decade ago put it. Do you hide your identity as a gamer from friends, loved ones and co-workers? Are you cautious about bringing it up in conversation until you know you're among like minds?
[1.Local]: Readers dig into this week's stories
[1.Local] serves up a smattering of reader comments from the past week, from the sublime to the ridiculous.Nostalgia threads are among our reader favorites, so quite a few commenters this week chimed in on what Old World instances they'd most like to see made heroic (if such a thing were ever to happen). Readers chimed in on not one but two posts examining whether players should be embarrassed (or even ashamed) of their WoW playing. We chatted about whether or not the story behind WoW really matters and about cool things to do while we're fishing. This was also a week about preparations. We discussed shaping up smaller guilds for 10-man raiding in Wrath, and we talked about gearing up for PvP from scratch in the face of Season 4's debut. And finally, we had a rather hilarious take on hunter strategy – fuzzy logic, or no?Be sure to dive into the comments area of each thread (not this one!) and add your own thoughts – unlike your mama, we like us some hot, fresh backtalk.
Cable providers shun HDTV at 2007 Cable Show
The constant struggle for cable companies to crank out more HD channels with an increasingly limited amount of bandwidth rolled right on through the 2007 Cable Show conference in Las Vegas, as a keen attendee noticed a stark absence of HDTV boasting at an expo that would seemingly showcase the format. Mark Kersey noticed that cable providers at the show set up "absolutely zero breakout sessions devoted to cable HD," and moreover, "virtually none of the high-powered panelists in the general sessions even uttered the word HDTV." His perception was that providers seemed "ashamed" of their offerings in comparison to FiOS and satellite, but considering all the flack the dishes have taken for crippling their HD feeds and making grandiose promises that we've yet to see realized, it's not like the other guys are really showing anyone up. Of course, cable has also been scolded a time or two about subpar HD quality, but the reality is that breakthroughs such as OCAP and channel bonding were able to steal the show due to the newsworthy nature of, say, hitting 150Mbps over copper. That said, we're certainly looking forward to the day when cable (or any other medium, actually) goes out of its way to put hordes of HD offerings up on a pedestal.
