Adam Licht

Well, here's my holiday.

My car needed new tires, so I got my parents to pitch in together to get a decent set on Black Friday.

Two weeks later, approximately 4:30am, a firefighter knocks on my door and tells me my car is on fire. The car, and the associated tires, are a total loss.

I spend a week and a half car shopping, and finally buy something. The next day, I'm on the way to the mall and get into an accident. Total damage to the other guy's car: $0. Total damage to my car: $4141.

So, my Christmas present from both parents went literally up in smoke. My new car was wrecked in less than 24 hours and is in the shop until January 5th. And because it's Christmas and I just bought the friggin car, I'm not gonna have enough cash on hand to pay my entire deductible.

Did I mention my aunt is in the hospital and we were on funeral watch for about a week?

So, here's hoping for one tiny sliver of holiday luck to begin to undo the damage the last three weeks have done to my psyche and my bank account.

Hey! No one speaks ill of Manning on my internets!

The Colts are just efficient. In the same way a shark is. A nearly perfect predator.

Honestly, this game was boring to watch. I don't want to play it again. Well, unless it lets me replay the 4th quarter so I can take Dwight Freeney out so he doesn't get hurt and we win the Super Bowl.

Honestly, I'd rather have taken the SB game.

I think it depends entirely on what the Big Ten is willing to offer, and whether or not teams like Texas want to play in the SEC.

Let's be honest: the SEC is the best conference in the country for college football. If you're Texas, do you really want to add a level of difficulty to your chase for a national title every year by playing in that kind of cutthroat area? Playing Florida, Alabama, LSU, etc. every year isn't exactly a cakewalk. Maybe they'd prefer the Big Ten, where you have Ohio State and whoever's the decent team of the week.

I work in IS Security and Compliance. Our Security manager had this to say:

"OSX is like an unlocked barn in the middle of nowhere. Windows is like an apartment with a deadbolt and bars on the windows in the worst neighborhood in town. Linux is like a survivalist bunker in the middle of the desert. Ultimately, none of them are great places to live, but if you actually have to get something done, the worst neighborhood in town is a heck of a lot closer to the stuff you need than either other option."

BioWare's Cerberus Network. Put something standard on the disc, or nothing, whatever. Release the game. Tie patches, DLC, etc. to a working, legit network key. Also, allow users that have bought the game secondhand to register and get content as well. It's unintrusive, somewhat optional, and provides a lasting source of revenue, long term. It wouldn't surprise me if they kept releasing content for Mass Effect 2 all the way to Mass Effect 3.

Think about it this way: since Mass Effect 2 was released, including things coming up, we'll have gotten two new characters, a host of new guns, a new drivable vehicle, and some outfits. The majority of it is free. How's that for a value added proposition?

Here's the thing: comparing a touchscreen keyboard to something like RIM's traditional QWERTY's or even the slideouts on the Android handsets is always a losing proposition. They're not just as good. I mean, my Tour wipes the floor with my iPod Touch (functional stand-in for an iPhone). It's not even close. That being said, the Storm2 falls somewhere in the middle. Not quite as responsive, accurate, and fast as a physical BlackBerry, but I'd take it over any other touchscreen solution on the market.

As for the browser, the line for saying it sucks forms back there. Yes, it sucks. Anyone that's ever used a BlackBerry knows it sucks. That being said, RIM acknowledges that it sucks and they're working on a WebKit browser (slated for 2010).

For an enterprise-class device (which the iPhone and Android handsets definitely aren't), the Storm2 is a pretty darn good phone. As a consumer smartphone, it's got some ground to cover, but does some things much better than it's competition.

Because the Wii is more social-centric than, say, the Xbox360 or PS3, you've gotta start by making it multiplayer compatible out of the box. Something aimed at the people that heard how much fun it is, but aren't interesting in "investing" in a platform.

$200 (Family):
Wii Console/Sensor Bar/Cables
2 x Wii Remote
2 x Wii Nunchuck
Wii Sports

Then you have the people that like a few games, or want something for parties or whatever.

$250 (Casual):
Wii Console/Sensor Bar/Cables
2 x Wii Remote
2 x Wii Nunchuck
Wii Sports
2 x Wii MotionPlus
Wii Sports Resort

Finally, you have a package for the people that will buy anything that has "Nintendo" stamped on it, and give them an opportunity to be brand ambassadors by showing off everything the console can do.

$300 (Gamer):
Wii Console/Sensor Bar/Cables (including Component for 480p)
2 x Wii Remote
2 x Wii Nunchuck
Wii Sports
2 x Wii MotionPlus
Wii Sports Resort
8GB Memory Card
Wii Points Card

It doesn't matter if Duke Nukem Forever is the worst game ever made. It could be literally a steaming pile of crap in a box, and people would STILL buy it. They'd buy it at Steel Battalion prices. Why? Because it's transcended just being a video game, and is now a cultural icon. It's become this phenomenon that is more than just a game. You want it, just to say "Yeah, I played Duke Nukem Forever." Even it's awful, and the reviews, should they ever arrive, will go "We waited 12 years for THIS?!?", people will still buy it and play it.

So, if Take Two wants it done, then let them have it. I'd rather have a good finished game, than a spectacular vaporware joke.

The technology behind the screen is called TruePress. Most likely it's some new kind of haptic feedback mechanism.

SurePress wasn't a bad idea. And it's not a bad technology. The Storm gets a bad rap because the early units weren't that great. Running the newest OS and on the latest hardware revision, it's not a bad phone, and really not bad for a touchscreen phone. It's as good a product as the first generation iPhone. Storm 2 will be even better.

Superman's weakness has always been three things: kryptonite, the people he loves, and humanity in general. Lex always goes after Supes, but he ultimately fails because he's Superman and can fly and has freeze breath and heat vision and is nigh invulnerable.

The best way to do a Superman reboot is to introduce a villain that's willing and able to go after Lois, Ma and Pa Kent, basically everyone that Superman holds dear, and is willing to destroy Metropolis to bring Superman low.

I think the best way to continue the series is to introduce Brainiac, who would temporarily ally himself with Lex, who gets double crossed and has to go to Superman for help. Lex helps Superman build a Kryptonian battlesuit to go head to head with Brainiac, but secretly builds his own as well. After Supes is done with Brainiac, he discovers that Lex has kidnapped Lois and the Kents, and is holding them and Metropolis hostage. Lex will release them, but only if Superman leaves Earth forever. Superman's suit is banged up, so he's not sure he can take Lex in a fight, but he tries anyway. Lex and Supes fight, Supes wins, but barely, and the movie ends with Doomsday streaking toward Earth, an exhausted Superman looking up toward the heavens as he flies overhead, and he flies up and away.