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Tech Requests For 2009
Welcome to my third annual tech wishlist! In 2007, I wished for more eye candy and visual sweetness in my interfaces (most often my OS), a new free, independent music site and a dream phone similar to the iPhone just days before its January 9th announcement [link]. In 2008, I desired massive improvements to mobile devices and an all-in-one, Apple woes, a new Quake (still waiting!), the dissipation of the Duke Nukem vapor, Knights of the Old Republic MMO confirmation (got it! The Old Republic!), an improvement to Amazon Unbox (still waiting...), what I called the Vista Millenium Effect (hello, Windows 7), municipal wifi, and a great year for gaming [link]. What do I want this year? V. Wish: A sub-$200, >2GHz Netbook running Ubuntu with superb WiFi, ~2GiB of DDR-SDRAM, and excellent battery life should find its way into my lap. IV. Prediction: Microsoft Windows 7 will prove to be to Windows Vista what Windows XP was to Windows ME. The detractors will balk and the fanboys will drink the kool-aid; but the objective minded moderates will approve. III. Wish: Scalable game design should take hold. You shouldn't need to be running a liquid-nitrogen cooled, $8000 custom rig to play the latest and greatest games. In fact, games should be able to run cleanly on a current $300 budget machine, but scale up to look breath-taking on those high end $10K beasts. I would also like to see an end to SecuROM. II. Prediction: Star Wars: The Old Republic will take a respectable piece of the MMORPG marketshare from World of Warcraft and pull some good numbers. Also, I will enjoy the game immensely. ...and the number one wish for 2009? I. The RIAA and MPAA will be exposed and collectively charged under RICO laws when a disgruntled SafeNet (nee MediaSentry) discloses to the public and press all sorts of dirt and bile. A torrent (pun fully intended) of federal indictments will rain down upon the bastards and the people will rejoice. This is not too likely; but a man can dream, can't he? Chrome Comes To Conquer Google's new web browser Chrome has sent a ripple through the web browser waters. It adapts all of the most notable aspects of a Google project: simple, functional design, effective marketing, and the inclination to collect your data (re: OmniBox]. Additionally, Google plans to add a plug-in functionality to Chrome, pitting it directly against Mozilla Firefox. Google provides 80% of the funding for the Mozilla Foundation. They do this purchase the right to be the default search engine in Firefox; a contract which, curiously, expires today [source]. Did they, quite strategically, release the beta Chrome with just enough time to get this buzz going before they mortally wound their main competitor by shutting off such an immense amount of funding? Or, perhaps this, with the recent aggressive push to make a deal with major PC manufacturers to make Chrome the default browser on new PCs [link], gives Google the right type of negotiating edge to drastically decrease how much they pay for that top spot search right. This move also kicks Internet Explorer (IE), the big dog in the house, in the teeth. IE's large market share is mostly due to its inclusion as that default web browser on nearly all new PCs. Google has, with its beta release, created an immense buzz about Chrome. Reviews, rants and raves about the browser created a firestorm of free word-of-mouth marketing within days of its release. It took Mozilla ages to get this kind of attention. These elements have put Google in a very strategic position to push its web browser to the top. Will the other browsers come back with competitive defenses? This type of event certainly forces competitive innovation and keeps the industry really moving. I am a Firefox user. As long as it is around and updated, I will likely remain so. My browsing experience will have to really be revolutionized to change this fact. Still, Chrome is a decent and solid browser with a speedy little engine. It's good to see some new competition out there. Who knows; perhaps Opera will come out of left field with some immensely innovative Chrome-killer. If one thing is certain in this field, it is uncertainty. Google's Chrome page Mozilla's Firefox page Microsoft's Internet Explorer page Enslaved - Vertebrae  Enslaved are perhaps one of the most legendary Viking Black Metal bands to hail from the great frozen north of Norway. On this offering to the nine worlds, Enslaved consists of: Ivar Bjørnson (guitar, keyboard), Grutle Kjellson (bass, vocals), Arve Isdal (guitar), Cato Bekkevold (drums), and Herbrand Larsen (keyboard, vocals). They appear to be making a progressive turn in their songwriting. How does this fare for Vertebrae?The opening of Clouds was different that what the likes of Frost (1994) and Isa (2004) (my two favorite Enslaved pieces) primes me for. However, they seemed to be able to make it work. It had its weak points; but overall, it succeeded. The rest of the album really reaches fir and grasps the part of me that leaves me truly enslaved (pun intended) to their sound. You can feel the icy waves around the Arctic Circle in its crystalline purity -- sometimes violently crashing around you; sometimes flowing to a smooth current. Much of this album reminds me of why I am a fan. Despite my swooning, there were moments I could not even force myself to like. Every now and then, a song would turn into what I can only liken to American post-grunge. I cannot stand American post-grunge. These parts would have been easily fixed by using more full, deep, operatic "viking" vocals. Despite this drawback, I very much enjoyed Vertebrae. I give this mighty release three and a half stars.   Enslaved's website Enslaved's MySpace profile Labels: cd review, music, Skot Behemoth - Ezkaton  Behemoth is widely known in the metal genre as being an unrelenting force of brutality and darkness. Hailing from Poland, Behemoth are an utterly vicious torrent of aggression to be reckoned with. On their new ep, Ezkaton, Behemoth is: Adam "Nergal" Darski (vocals, guitars, synth), Patryk Dominik "Seth" Sztyber (guitars), Tomasz "Orion" Wroblewski (bass), and Zbigniew Robert "Inferno" Promiński (drums). Like their last ep, Slaves Shall Serve, Ezkaton is comprised of 2 original studio tracks, 2 covers and concluded with live tracks. While last time they chose to cover Fields of Nephilim and Danzig, this time out they're covering Master's Hammer and The Ramones. (There is also a Misfits cover on the limited edition box set edition's 7" picture disc vinyl.) As their in-between album ep's go, this is a formula that works for them. Now, how did it turn out this time around? This is not Behemoth at their best. Chant For Ezkaton 2000 e.v lightly rips open the offering, whetting my tongue for Qadosh to get me moving. Jama Pekel (jam a pickle!) moves at a good pace but I cannot keep from laughing. The live tracks are what they are. On a whole, it seems their pace and hostility has waned some with this ep. It could be a bit heavier. It is not quite the frontal assault we've grown to crave. Behemoth set a standard and need to either meet it or excel beyond. I have a hard time using the word brutal and this ep in the same sentence. I can only hope they get some of their vital aggression back before they write and record the next one. I can only afford Ezkaton two and a half stars. They can do better. Behemoth's website Behemoth's MySpace profile Behemoth's YouTube channel Labels: cd review, music, Skot What Goes Down, Must Come Up Okay, it seems like we're back up now. We had some technical difficulties due to a configuration change we were not made aware of by the server administrator(s). As you may have noticed, the first two CD reviews are up and the forums are open. We've got some features coming soon and the transition from blog to webZine is moving at full speed. Keep your eyes on this space for more mayhem and deviance. Labels: news Cradle of Filth - Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder  Cradle of Filth are a melodic black metal band from England. On this release, they are: Dani Filth (vocals), Paul Allender (guitars), Charles Hedger (guitars), Dave Pybus (bass), Martin &0138;karoupka (drums), Rosie Smith (keyboards), Mark Newby-Robson (keyboards), Sarah Jezebel Deva (backing and female operatic vocals), and once more featuring the guest narratives of the legendary Douglas Bradley of Hellraiser fame. Cradle of Filth return from the lighter and more accessible sound they embraced with Thornography and Nymphetamine to their more traditional, black metal influenced sound in Godspeed..., much to the delight of their core fan base.The Blood This is a concept album about fifteenth century serial killer Gilles de Rais [Wikipedia article]. We all remember the last time they did a concept album about a famous, historical nutter, right? Cruelty And The Beast was an epic masterpiece! They were thinking right in going with that formula again. Godspeed...is indeed masterful. It is Cradle of Filth true to form once more. The guitars get good and fast when they need to and carry truly dark melodies throughout. I will likely learn a couple of these to warm up with. Dani gives a better vocal performance than he has for a couple of albums, but what caught my ears the most was an increase in Sarah's involvement. This is something fans have been asking for for some time. The Piss While I am indeed gushing over their return from more pop-inclined realms, this release still has a few down sides. Dani Filth still is not hitting the ear-piercing highs like he used to. I'm not one to beg for a screeching cat fight, but it is his signature. There has been some speculation that this is the result of Roadrunner Records influence. It sure seems in line with RR's behavior in the past. They seem quite partial to bringing mainstream moderation upon once extreme acts. Douglas Bradley's narratives are always good, but these are not up to his usual par. Perhaps it is in acting as de Rais, different from previous 'voices' he has been, but they seem more to the cheese than his past performances with Cradle of Filth. Finally, while all of the above I've said about the guitars hold true, there is still too much Maiden and not enough black metal in the riffs. Oh, Gian Pyres, how we miss ye. The Judgement This is a step back in the right direction. Cradle of Filth should not and never be a Hot Topic-friendly, emo-pop accessible band. They should be bitingly violent while cruelly beautiful. They should not be the beloved of 13 year old, neo-mullet wearing mall-goths. The music should not be MTV-friendly. This album is a drop of hope that Cradle of Filth can resist the influence of Roadrunner Records and stay true to who they've always been. Godspeed On The Devil's Thunder belongs with the elder releases in regular playing rotation. While it is not Dusk..., or any of the Gian-era releases for that matter, it is exceptionally better than their recent offerings. I give it a nice four and a half stars. Cradle of Filth website Cradle of Filth MySpace profile Labels: cd review, music, Skot |
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