My thoughts on SOPA
SOPA will never be passed, simply because of its ostentatiousness. We have not killed it, be we are on the road to. But its always nice to know that the internet will ALWAYS be a place for free speech. Whilst SOPA didn’t aim to diminish freedom of speech, I guarantee it would have been the case. Places like Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, G+, they’d all be suspended. Hell maybe my blog could be suspended without a valid reason.
A wise woman once said “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate, Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure” so for the internet to no longer be this place of free speech, would probably mean the death of us. Companies, inventions, ideas would all be put to halt. SOPA is not entirely this, but its the beginning, and we’ve managed to overcome this fear.
The only good thing we can take from this is knowledge for the future. That nobody can ever take away our freedom of speech.
Senna’s McLaren he won with at Donnington 1993. This race is my “What is Ayrton Senna” in a nutshell. First lap, from fifth, to first. AUTOSPORT happened to have that very car at the Racing Car show yesterday. More info on my coverage of the AUTOSPORT Racing Car Show later today over at http://f1weekends.com
Can Apple Innovate Education?
Apple are holding a ‘Education Event’ on 19th Jan and are reported to be focusing on iBooks and the iPad’s role in education. And where else have Apple decided to have this event? It is of corse, the big apple! [Oh the irony]. Whilst this event may not sound very interesting, it actually is. Why? because if you think about it, Apple can do a lot with their iBooks concept, specifically in the education sector.
I’m thinking they’ll announce something along the lines of more text books for people other than college students like secondary schools, but instead of them being just books, they should be interactive. Think about it like this, if you buy a magazine in the newsstand lets say Wired, you get extra content in the form of a video, whether it be an interview or a trailer for a movie review. I’d like that in the text books. Better yet, I would love the ability to do activities and have it Gamecentre enabled, so then there is that competitiveness there with my friends.
Thats what I’d like to see anyway, whether it happens is another story. We’ll be covering the entire event over at iDizle.com and over at my Twitter account. What would you like to see announced?
Steve Jobs By Walter Isaacson Book Review
I reported on this book a year before it was due to be released, the announcement had been made and I was super excited for it because I knew it would be told by not only Steve, but people who worked or was close friends with him. For me, this book offered a great insight into Steve Jobs as a person, he was capable of soo much compassion, but equally would ignore the majority of people that stood against his dream, causing them to be super pissed.
For the majority of the book though, I read it as inspiration. The product making and legacy side that is, not the weed smoking/LSD taking side. There are a lot of pretty good stories that otherwise would not be told publicly about Steve, as well as a lot of public stories that uncover the answers to serious questions. Steve does also reference making a TV in the book as well, saying that he’s “Finally cracked it.”
I’d love to say this is the complete story of how Steve Jobs, effectively ruled the world wit his humanly like products, but its not. Whilst its a great insight, its certainly part one of what could have a future release, maybe ‘Steve Jobs By Walter Isaacson 1.5’ ?
Despite that, I recommend this book for anyone who is an Apple Fanboy.
Mercedes SLS AMG
I love this car, mainly because of its mechanics, but also because of the 1957 Mercedes-Benz 300SL style design to it. With 563bhp, I’m sorry Audi, but Mercedes have finally won me over. In my lifetime I hope to own one of these, regardless of the age it maybe when I finally get round to purchasing one.
My New Year Resulutions For 2012
Last years list -
New Year Resolutions for 2011
1) Write a Book ✔ [Pitstop]
2) Design, Make an iPhone/iPad app ✗
3) Drink More Types of Tea’s ✔ [So far I have tried and loved Mint, Black, White]
4) Start a podcast that is “Different” ✗
5) Put project trigue into action ✔ [f1weekends.com]
6) Go see a live Diggnation ✗
7) Improve my web activity ✔
8) Post more videos to You Tube ✔
9) Try different food ✔
10) See more F1 Races live ✔ [Silverstone]
This Years List
1) Put Project Pixel into action
2) Read Oxford Dictionary
3) Try more types of tea
4) Learn C++
5) Do more graphic design
6) Go see more bands live
7) Read more
8) Start a podcast that is “different”
9) Improve F1 content
10) Expand my You Tube channel
Those are my new year resolutions, what are yours?
Top 10 Video Games of 2011
Last year I made my top 10 video games of 2010 list, and it included greats like Red Dead Redemption, F1 2010, Fallout New Vegas etc…. and this year in video games has been the same. So here are my top 10 for 2011 -
1) Skyrim - This game is amazing, Bethesda have really done this game well. Stunning visuals, concepts, FP/3rd Person RPG that shines all the time. The story is awesome as well, and it has that Fallout esk quest style to it that draws me into the story. Very good game, and I would recommend it to anyone.
2) F1 2011 - Now this is a sequel, so much more has been packed into this game from the details of the front wing and rear wing flexing, to the lifelike handling that allows you to distinguish one car from another. This game is a must for any F1 fan, and quite frankly I love it!
3) Gears of War 3 - Gears of War 3 is probably the best one ever made out of the series, the graphics are soo defined, the multiplayer is polished and the campaign is just epic. I’ve loved the Gears of War franchise ever since I saw it being played and I have to say this game really does beat MW3 for online because of the skill required to play it properly. Well done epic for making this game so unique and just plain awesome!
4) MW3 - The Call of Duty series has reached yet another peak with this game, the campaign is very good and easy to complete on the harder-Veteran setting, and the multiplayer is just fun I mean, I’ve played a lot of multiplayer of this game and it way more fun than Black Ops. The only thing I want now is new and older maps like Terminal and Favelas to return.
5) Battlefield 3 - Its graphics are stunningly visual which is what makes this game so nice to play. The campaign is also another winner like MW3’s, but the online is so much more different. Its actually a team game, which is what I like about it, you have to work as a team to play it properly and effectively, kind of like Skyrim I guess but with more people. I definitely recommend this game.
6) Saints Row 3 - From running around with a dildo on a stick and hitting people with it, to running up to people and grabbing their heads to slam them into the pavement, this game is funny and a good laugh about with friends especially on Co-Op. The vehicles, the dialogue, even the animations you can to randomly to people like fake jerk off infront of them or flip them off whilst simultaneously saying “Fuck You” to an old lady in a hummer make this game very funny. A must if you want to just have a laugh.
7) LA Noire - This game is really fun, I love the idea of playing as a detective and solving crimes in a GTA like world. The storyline is compelling, the gameplay is very good and the facial recognition technology really does help you decided whether or not they are lying or telling the truth. The landmarks from Hollywood in the 1940s also make the game stand out because of its real life aspect. In our review we gave it a 8/10.
8) DiRT 3 - One of my favourite rally games out, way better than WRC 2 if only because its amazing graphics and handling that is accurate for every car in the game is just epic. The Gymkhana mode is also a very nice in game mode as well, which allows you to compete in championships online, as well as just mess about around battersey power plant, or as the game calls it, hooning about.
9) Batman Arkham City - I loved Arkham Asylum and this is a very good sequel, very well done, the graphics are amazing, and the online co-op makes this game even better! What makes this game good is also the fact that utilises the Unreal 3 engine which is whats used in Gears of War 3, so the graphics were always going to be very defined in the first place. Best superhero game ever!
10) Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition - They say hero’s never die, in this case, Halo will live on as the game that redefined an entire category of gaming. Now, 343 Industries have decided to remake this epic classic and allow users to play in the newer-rebooted graphics as well as the older-Xbox 1st gen graphics. I have to say, they’ve done a great job with not only the campaign, but also the multiplayer maps. A must for any Halo fan!
So thats it, my top ten video games for 2011. What are yours? Is it any of the above? Or Another?
Looking Forward
Although it might not be new year just yet, I’ve decided to take some time out and discuss my 2011 with you all. I came across a post that someone had re-blogged in my Tumblr feed the other day, and it said “Its December 31st 2011, the clock hits 12:00am. All of a sudden its 2011 again, and you have the chance to redo everything. Would you?” and my answer would be no.
I’ve probably had one of the best years of my life. I’ve learned so much these past 12 months, from the people that inspire me to ultimately realising that the only person that can fuck up my life is me. 2011 has also been a sad year as well at times, but I managed to always be optimistic about these situations, and not look backwards.
For 2012 I’m doing just that, except I will learn more and change what I base my beliefs on and what the people that influence me believe. I also want my readers to take this into 2012, a quote from the late visionary himself, Steve Jobs “Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
Rory :)
Why Apple are awesome at what they do. Merry Christmas!
Walking Etiqutte, the Do’s and Don’ts of walking.
