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The Gathering 2012 to bring world's fastest internet to Norway, leave Swedish laundry out to dry
Dreamhack's record breaking 120Gbps connection was fast enough to replace a certain household appliance, but next to what's Norway's cooking up it looks almost antiquated. The Gathering, Norway's annual week-long LAN party, plans to set a new world record for the "fastest internet access in the universe" with a 200Gbps connection. "No way we would let the Swedes keep the lead on this," says Gathering head of information Simon Eriksen Valvik, "we didn't just raise the bar a little, we moved it a story up." The connection is reportedly faster than the combined bandwidth of Thailand, and will be capable of downloading 5,120 songs a second. Don't bee too envious though, the ludicrously quick network is only temporary. Representatives from Altibox, the Norwegian network that's partnering with The Gathering to break the record, say that Norway simply doesn't have the capacity to support these kinds of speeds on a day to day basis. The gap is being filled with foreign internet capacity, piped in by Level 3. Tickets for the event are already sold out, so speed freaks desperate for the fastest internet in the universe will just have to settle for the fastest internet in the neighborhood. At least until next year.
Google employee creates the ultimate LAN party house, lives la vita local
You don't see many software engineers over on Cribs, but if you did, then Google employee Kenton Varda would probably be first in line. Some people buy fancy cars and hot tubs, Kenton created the ultimate LAN party room. Getting your crew round for a marathon Counter-Strike session might be a barrel, but tangled cables and weeding out connection problems are not, or at least Kenton clearly doesn't think so. No more cable spaghetti for him though, thanks to a permanent installation that includes machines, monitors, many feet of HDMI and USB leads, rack mounts and networking equipment for up to 12 gaming chums. Spread over two rooms, with six stations in each -- ideal for team games -- bespoke cabinets were made to keep it easy on the eye. Anyone wanting to take on a similar project can expect to put a $40,000 dent in their wallet, or a little more, depending on the size of your LAN.
Visualized: Sweden's Dreamhack in pictures
What does a legion of Swedish LAN party-goers and a 120Gbps internet connection look like? Something like this. Dreamhack, officially (according to the Guinness Book of Records) the world's largest LAN party, offered up all sorts of gaming thrills along the lines of StarCraft II and Counter-Strike to the 12,000 attendees. It looks like the air was thick with excitement, perspiration -- and hopefully a little air freshener.
Commodore 64 users create perfect nerdstorm
There's nerd and then there's Commodore 64 nerd. Bring them together in a Commodore 64 LAN party and you've got a nerdstorm of mythical proportions. The world's first Commodore 64 LAN party was held in nerdistan Cincinnati last weekend. It consisted of eight C64s with Ethernet cartridges playing NetRacer off a central, Java-based server. So Geeksta it hurts.
Dust-Off announces "Keyboard Quiver"
We can't say we've often felt the need to whip out a full-size keyboard on a second's notice, but Dust-Off seems to think there's enough folks clamoring to do just that, and it's hoping they'll find its new "Keyboard Quiver" to their liking. Apparently designed specifically with "active gamers" in mind, the Keyboard Quiver measures 21x12x6 inches, and boasts enough room for a mouse, cellphone, headphones, and other gear in addition to your keyboard, with plenty of padding provided to keep everything in tip-top shape for your next LAN party or impromptu gaming showdown. You'll still have to make do with your current carrying gear for a little while longer though, as the Quiver won't be available until sometime this October, when it'll set you back $70.
LAN parties meet drug parties
The appropriately named TwitchGuru has kicked off a series of articles on the intersection of drug culture and gaming culture with an insider's look at a drug-fueled LAN party. Author Aaron Mckenna spent 48 hours stone-cold sober in a house full of gamers high on "marijuana, cocaine, mushrooms, acid, Ritalin, Adderall, Ephedrine," and more.Whether the gaming or the drugs was the party's real focus is up for the debate, but the drugs are definitely the focus of the article. Scenes of cocaine lines done off of a PlayStation 2 case, couples humping in the middle of the hallway, and four people stuffed awkwardly into a bathtub are recounted in full detail.Given the number of young men who enjoy games and the equally high number that enjoy illegal drugs, the combination of the two into a weekend-long bacchanal seems inevitable. Still, we can only imagine how this report will be interpreted by the people who believe that video game use leads to drug use.[Thanks Patrick]
360 goes portable, LAN party in a box
360 Fanboy reader, Vince, has sent us word of his newest creation, the Ackibox (short for Acrobatic Box). The Ackibox is an all in one solution for toting your 360 around. With space for controllers and its own flat panel monitor, the 360 gamer on the go will always have a 360 at a moment's notice. Vince describes his inspiration:"Being an avid gamer, I often found myself at a friend's house, enjoying some gaming action. But there were certain annoying things about the experience, and it wasn't bad attitudes, cold pizza, or stinky feet. It was that I often found myself playing on 1/2 or 1/4 of the screen and using someone else's profile on someone else's console. I'm all for sharing, but not having the full, single-console, single-television experience can really reduce the fun (literally). Many times the difficulties of setting up and transporting the right number of consoles and televisions was the obstacle to everyone having the full experience. It often took us over an hour just to get everything setup before we could really begin playing."While it may not be the most attractive solution -- it is a prototype after all -- the Ackibox's practicality cannot be denied. Any enterprising companies out there care to turn Vince's dream into a mass-produced reality?
Everlan
Jonesing for that rare murloc pet? Wish there was some kind of LAN based competition to compete in for WoW? Guess what... There is!Everlan is a LANparty in Denver CO that hosts 500-600 gamers and they are being sponsored by Blizzard. They have a whole slew of WoW competition lined up for party goers, including scavenger hunts, leveling races, and other in-game competitions. Makes me wish I lived in Denver :P.Kudos to these guys, I know it was a challange to throw a 120 person party, so I tip my hat to them for their 500-600 gamers!
