Epix
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Clear as mud: Samsung i907 "Epix" is AT&T's version of the i780
Okay, bear with us here, because the road to this device is a winding one, to say the least: first, there was the Samsung i780 that launched in Europe. It was informally and unofficially branded the BlackJack III, thanks to its obvious resemblance to Samsung's own BlackJack series that has been a stalwart of AT&T's 3G lineup since its early days. More recently, we caught wind of an i907 that would be launching on AT&T's airwaves in the next few weeks; thanks to the model number's proximity to that of the i900 Omnia, it didn't take long for rumors to spread that it'd be an AT&T-branded version of the i900 -- but a counter-rumor claimed that it would actually take the form of the good ol' i780. A training pamphlet now circulating seems to have sealed the deal that this will, in fact, be a tweaked i780, which means we can expect Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, a full QWERTY keyboard, optical mouse, and HSDPA. What's more, the "Mirage" name we'd heard seems to have been tossed out for the way (way) cooler "Epix." Still no word on an exact release date or price, but considering the hefty specs we're expecting and the smartphone label, we're not exactly counting on a free-on-contract deal here.
Viacom, Paramount, Lionsgate & MGM team up for new premium channel in '09
Hope you like your movies served fresh on-demand, as Viacom, Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM have just announced plans for a new "premium" channel launching fall 2009. Other than having access to Paramount and Paramount Vintage titles released to theaters on or after January 1, 2008, and MGM, United Artist and Lionsgate flicks released after January 1, 2009, the service plans a "robust" VOD component. According to Variety, the big loser here is Showtime, which loses access to several theaters it's depended on for content, and also faces competition for shows like Weeds and Dexter. We're sure no premium movie channel would launch in this day and age without an HD offering, so tell your provider to keep a slot open for this latest addition.
Suffering Through Child's Play in WoW
I've been trying to find a way to put this, because it's really just a rant, but Dekeon from Dunemaul does a pretty good job over on the forums. He's 35, and he's noticed something that I have, too: there are lots of children under 15 playing WoW.Now, I'll leave it up to you to decide whether that's a good thing or a bad thing. Personally, I think it's a terrible thing. All of those pet peeves, all that noob/jerk talk from earlier, mages who AOE without regard for aggro or strategy, and players who duck out of instances five minutes in because "sry my mom makin dinner"-- I realize not all of these things are the fault of kids playing, but I think that a lot of them are. Let's just say that if Blizzard could charge me $30 a month to play on a server where everyone was somehow guaranteed to be over the age of 18 (I'm 26, for the record), I'd take that deal in a hot second.Now I know, too, that there are ways around it. I play Horde, mostly. I've found a few good guilds for my characters, places where pretty much everyone playing is more mature and can put together a sentence without using the letter "u" as a pronoun. And I know that not all kids play the game like it's a nonstop loot grab/bragging contest-- I'd imagine there are at least a few 14-year-olds out there who really are interested in working together and relaxing on a run through Scholo instead of worrying about what "epix" will drop or winning the DPS meter. But by and large the experiences I've had grouping with people who turn out to be under 18 have not been, let's just say, my favorite parts of the game.Unfortunately, there's not really a solution, short of the aforementioned age-specific server that's probably not technically possible anyway (kids would still sneak on-- I would if I was still one). I guess I'll just have to continue to be a geezer, sitting there wistfully trying to understand the deeper mechanics of crowd control and aggro management while the kids in my group fight over what their highest crit has ever been. As Neth jokes in the thread (Neth, if you're reading this, rock on for the Neal Stephenson and HHGTTG love!), someday we'll all have to have our own gaming retirement community. Finally, those little whippersnappers will leave us alone.
