A few musings
EDIT: the magazine I was looking for is apparently “Classic Puzzles and Brainteasers”. The publisher is Jacklin Enterprises UK, PO Box 77, Jarrow, NE32 3YJ. Customer service dept: Phone: 0870 920 1133. You can subscribe by phoning that number, or order back copies from your newsagent or WH Smith (so why isn’t it on their web site then?).
Games get treated fairly on TV
Apparently. I have last nights episode of Child of Our Time recorded as I was out celebrating Debbies birthday. But according to this Guardian blog entry it had a section devoted to the effects video games are having on children. That would certainly make a refreshing change after the supposedly abominable investigations on shows such as Richard and Judy which were incredibly ill-informed and show children playing 18 rated games infornt of their parents. Would they let them watch 18 rated films? Well don’t let them play GTA and Manhunt then you idiots.
New magazine arrives
I’d never heard of Games International until I stumbled on their website while looking for a completely unrelated magazine. I subscribed and issues 17 and 18 duly arrived yesterday. At first glance it looks like a pretty decent board game magazine. The sort that, if I was that way inclined, I might like to write up an article or two for. And the first thing I noticed was an ad for Days of Wonder stating that you could play online (for $1 or €1 a month). The magazine I was looking for was a partworks magazine about traditional puzzles or something. issue 1 came with a tower of hanoi puzzle. Most people think I dreamt the whole thing but i’m sure i saw adverts for it over the festive season.
IBM does good (not that I work there any more)
IBM are announcing the release of 500 of its patents to the open source community. It will still hold the patents but is letting people use them for free. I am yet to see a full list of what is being “given away” but its a step in the right direction. In stark contrast Bill Gates recently called anyone fighting for copyright reform a communist.
Speaking of not working there any more
I might as well write up this link since everyone else has jumped on the band wagon. Waterstones fired the guy for comments made on his blog. Now I think it was handled all wrong but what was he thinking, no really. Its not as if there isn’t a precedent. That case even spawned a word for it: dooced.
More blogs
Look. Here is another local blogger, flux. I wonder if he’s related to a fellow blogger, Amber, who also used the name fluxxette, but who now seems to have vanished from the Internet.