Of Interest

Musings About The Internet

stargrace April 7, 2011 5 Comments

There have been a number of large internet debates here in Canada over the last little while. There is the discussion going on currently about having user caps (as low as 25 gigs a month) and charging $2+ every gig over the cap. There are also continuous debates over throttling, and the monopoly that Rogers has over the market (although it does share that market with Bell Canada). The latest news bit is about how Rogers is throttling World of Warcraft players because WoW uses peer-to-peer to transfer game files. Rogers has throttled peer-to-peer for as long as I can remember, and that was one major reason why I stopped using their service. As not only a gamer, but a gamer writing about games it was next-to impossible for me to download a game (especially a free to play game) in time for an article because I would be throttled every inch of the way. I very literally could not do my job using Rogers internet service. I have since switched, and while my service is actually slower the fact that I’m not throttled is a blessing.

For a country that is considered to be ‘free’ in many aspects (healthcare, etc) we sure do have a lot of issues when it comes to technology. Every time I see a commercial for AT&T High Speed Internet my stomach does flip flops – the prices are noticeably lower for the services provided compared to what I see up here. Jealous? Of course I am – a little bit.

These days just about everything is on the internet, not just my video games. I subscribe and pay to use Netflix to stream tv shows and movies – and they actually had to lower their video quality in order to cater to Canadians who have low internet usage caps put in place by their ISP. It would seem that Netflix is afraid of losing customers who may worry about the rate that their data transfers. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t we be increasing the quality and performance (at a lower cost) of internet usage instead?

I truly love where I live and appreciate the comforts that we’re given on a daily basis, but I hate to see that we’re falling so far behind the curve in this matter.

In other news! My bard has completed her 1.5 epic and it looks amazing. I also spent a little time in Rift last night, participating in the world wide event that has taken over. My cleric is still hanging out at level 21, but it was nice to peek in and see how the server was doing population wise. I hope everyone else has a delightful Thursday (this is my Friday, woohoo for three day weekends) and happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

Please Don’t Force me to Give up my Job #CRTC #meterednet

stargrace February 1, 2011 11 Comments

If you haven’t heard, Canada is switching to a metered billing plan for internet usage – a bill passed to make this ridiculous thing legal. What this means basically is that we (users of the internet in Canada) will have an incredibly low cap on internet – right now it’s being spoken of as 25 gigs a month. For every gig OVER this 25 gigs a month, we will be charged extra. The number right now, is $2 a gig.

That’s the jist of it. If you want specifics, please take a look at my friend David’s in depth post. It’s a fantastic read. You can also find more information here, and here.

My job requires me to download multiple games every single month in order to write about them. I also work from home, so I use my home internet. That does not include any internet I use for regular things like downloading movies, ipod apps, netflix, youtube, game play and game patching. That doesn’t include the multiple purchases from steam, etc. There is, quite frankly, NO WAY I will be able to afford to do my job with this cap in effect. I simpley can not afford to pay $2 extra for every gig I go over the cap, I don’t make enough money.

PLEASE speak up about this fellow Canadians. Contact your local government officials, sign the petitions going around and get involved. This is NOT ok to implement, the internet is supposed to becoming EASIER to access, not only for the rich who can afford it.

Please help out by spreading this news around to your fellow Canadians who may not be aware of these changes.

Another great post here by Darren from Common Sense Gamer – check it out.

Merry Christmas to You all (Literally)

stargrace December 20, 2010 4 Comments

In November there was NaNoWriMo, and my attempt at raising a little money for their charity, the office of letters and light. In December, I run the 2010 Gamers Secret Santa, which soared after some twitter / facebook and forum promotions by some incredible people (Cheesy, you know I’m looking at you). Last year I ran the 2009 Gamers Secret Santa and although only a small handful of people participated that year, it was more than enough to entice me to run it again. I really hope everyone has had fun with it this year.

The point of that introduction is simply to say thank you. Through my work and my hobbies I have met some incredibly awesome people and this time of year as well as all year around I need to remind myself just how lucky I am.This list isn’t going to cover everyone, but I hope to name off those who have made this year especially amazing.

Tipa, who runs WestKarana – she is an incredibly strong woman who has inspired me on so many levels. I owe her more than she will ever realize, and if you don’t read her blog posts – you most certainly should!

Kasul, who runs Shattered, although he doesn’t write nearly as often as he should he has been an enormous help and a fantastic friend this year.

Blue Kae from his blog appropriately named. He made such a fantastic attempt at NaNoWriMo this year, and I really admired it. He has also continued on with the writing, and that’s something I think more people need to make time to do. Things they enjoy, even when time is slim.

Scopique. From Levelcapped. When I feel like I am the only one playing games I actually enjoy, and not ranting and raving about the latest bug, Scopique lets me know that there are others out there in the same boat. Some times it’s great just to know we’re not alone.

Petter, from Don’t Fear the Mutant. Another one of those “wow they need to write MOAR” bloggers, but when he does write, we all love reading it. It’s nice to know he appreciates gamers for their good and bad points, and he’s a fantastic listener.

Those are the main 5 from the community who have helped me out this year, but the list of those I’ve come to deeply appreciate runs a lot longer. There’s Hudson, though we don’t always see eye to eye I love reading his in depth articles. MMO Gamer Chick, who always has a great perspective on things, Pasmith who lets us all know about the latest gadgets and gizmos out there. Rebecca, who writes for A girl IRL – fellow Sims enthusiast, Jeremy Stratton, who writes for Massively, Ardwulf, who I have known for a long time now and just started co-hosting some EVE podcasts. How exciting! Leala who just finished creating an incredible Marshcraft diorama and is involved in so many gaming communities I wouldn’t know where to begin listing them. Arkenor who reminded me how FUN games are with his incredible Minecraft videos. Beau, who is always incredibly honest with his thoughts about gaming communities. ScaryBooster who is just .. insane. In the best way possible. Gavin from Flex Your Geek – who also writes from time to time for Nomadic Gamer, and is now a brand new writer for PC Gamer. There’s Ysharros, who is the most elusive blogger I’ve ever seen – but when she does write, oh boy you’d better read it. Ethic from Kill Ten Rats, who I have been reading for almost as long as I’ve been gaming. Sypster, who I watched start out writing for Biobreak and then grow to include writing for Massively. Werit, who is probably the most devoted gamer I’ve ever known, and I’ve known a lot of them. Krystalle, who I finally got to “see” in game for the first time ever in EVE. Talk about a star moment! Gordon, who is a fantastic writer for We Fly Spitfires. Victor, who reminds me of my younger brothers. It’s just a joy to read his work. Of course I can’t forget Dusty_Monk, who is the president of Windstorm Studios, and proves to us time and time again that developers are gamers too.

Then there are the others I know, not through their writing per say but from their influence on my gaming none the less. There’s Squeecha, who I know always enjoys a good cheese. Naylie, who has been fantastic at keeping Vanguard together this year. Domino, who I adore simply because of all the crafting goodies added to EQ2. ShutterCal for their amazing calendar project that has grown SO much over the last year. Kiara, who has been a fantastic friend. Findpurpose, who listens to even the most boring of my rants.There’s Pennie, who patiently looked at every single one of my decorated houses in EQ2, and Shadowgeist who gamed with me and kept me company no matter where I ended up.

Since this is a game related post, I’ve tried to keep the list restricted to those who have influenced me in some gamer aspect, but there are of course always those I love who are not involved in gaming what so ever. I love, and appreciate every single person I am lucky enough to have in my life, and I really hope that this next year is just as amazing as the last. Thank you all so very, very much.