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Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Top Stories from the last 24 hours
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How to Pick the Perfect Laptop
April 24th, 2012Top StoryHow to Pick the Perfect LaptopBy Whitson Gordon
We'll be focusing mostly on non-Mac hardware today, since laptop shopping is much more difficult when you're choosing between hundreds of models rather than four. However, if you're looking for a Mac, many of these considerations do still apply—just not all of them. However, even you Windows users should consider a Mac in your buying decisions, since you can easily run Windows on a Mac's killer hardware and get the best of both worlds. If you're looking for a bit more choice, though, you'll need to do a bit more research. A Two-Pronged Approach
Form FactorLaptops come in all shapes and sizes, but you can usually narrow it down to about four form factors:
Most people right now are making the decision between a midsize laptop and an ultrabook, and it's a tough decision. Midsize laptops are going to offer you a ton of choices, so you may be able to find the perfect laptop there, and for quite a bit cheaper than a comparable ultrabook. That said, we're pretty stoked about ultrabooks around here, as they're virtually weightless and more than powerful enough for most people. If you're willing to plop down the extra cash and ditch the DVD drive (which you could always replace with an external one), they're worth a look. Build Quality and Durability
Pay special attention to the trackpad and keyboard, since those are the things you'll need to use the most. How does the trackpad feel? Do your fingers glide over it easily, or is the mouse hard to move? Does it have a dedicated scroll bar, or is it multitouch-capable? Is the keyboard big enough to comfortably type on? Are there any keys in non-standard places that would make typing awkward for your (think of the backspace, shift, enter, and control keys here). Again, try it for yourself and read reviews to see how they hold up over time. You want a computer that will last you for years into the future, not one that you'll have to hold together with duct tape as soon as the warranty runs out. Tech Specs
Whether you have specialized needs or not, though, pay close attention to the hard drive (which, again, should be upgradable in many laptops—read reviews to find out). Make sure you get one big enough to hold all your data, or, if you're gunning for speed, make sure the laptop has a solid state drive. It'll cost you a bit more, but as we've said many times before, it's one of the best speed upgrades you can possibly make to a machine. Battery Life
USB and Other Ports
Other ConsiderationsHere are a few of the other less involved but equally important things you might want to look for: Screen Quality: Check both the screen's resolution (higher is better) and its quality; it should be easy to see the difference when compared with the screen on a cheap laptop. Colors should be vibrant, and the monitor should have a wide variety of brightness settings that you can tweak from the keyboard. Heat Production: Laptops can get very hot, especially if you're using them (improperly) on your lap. This is going to be something you can only really read in reviews, but keep an eye out for laptops that overheat even when they're used properly on a desk. Make sure that the laptop has rubber feet on the bottom that gives heat room to escape when set on a flat surface, and that it has good fan placement and airflow to keep everything running at a safe temperature. A Webcam: If you plan on video chatting with friends and family, make sure your laptop comes with a built-in webcam. Most should, but not all will, and this is an easy component to forget. A Lock: If you plan on locking your laptop to your desk (say, if you're going to college, where such things are likely to be stolen), check and make sure your laptop has a hole for a desk lock. Upgradability: Most laptops aren't going to be very upgradable. You can usually replace the RAM and maybe the hard drive, but other than that, don't plan on changing any of the hardware. Double check how upgradable a given computer is, though, and whether you void the warranty by doing so. Also check how easy it is to open for things like cleaning the fan, which can often be a herculean task on laptops. Warranty: Lastly, check out the manufacturer's warranty. Make sure it's at least a year long (90 days really isn't enough), and know exactly what it covers. If you're particularly accident prone and the extended warranty covers accidental breakage, you might want to get it, but generally, we're not in favor of extended warranties. However, you should still check if the manufacturer has one—the better warranty a product has, the more confident they are in its quality, which is good for you. That's a lot to think about at once, but even you veterans have probably forgotten one or two of the above considerations when buying a laptop because there's just so much to remember. So, whether you're a laptop expert or you're completely technology challenged, take this list with you on your next shopping trip to make sure you get everything you want. With enough research, you should easily be able to find the perfect laptop for you. Got any other laptop shopping tips? Share them with us in the comments.  |
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Mass Effect 3's Multiplayer Got Me To Trade My Cynicism for Addiction
April 24th, 2012Top StoryMass Effect 3's Multiplayer Got Me To Trade My Cynicism for AddictionBy Kate Cox I spend a lot of time with the quarian lately; she's become my favorite. Though if I'm being strictly honest, she's actually the third quarian. The first two long since reached the limits of their potential with me, and are now off fighting some other battles elsewhere in the galaxy. It's the Mass Effect 3 multiplayer mode that's gotten me hooked. I've been spending hours and half-hours here and there with it many weeknights and nearly every weekend since the game launched, and for me, that's a first. I originally came to Mass Effect because I loved the stories of the people who made up the living, breathing soul of the Milky Way. But those stories, those companions and enemies and larger-than-life heroes, are completely absent from the multiplayer experience that of late I find myself so addicted to. So what gives? It's not that I've never played an online multiplayer game before; it's that I haven't generally enjoyed one enough to keep coming back to it when I didn't have to. And in all honesty, I didn't expect to enjoy it with Mass Effect 3. I resented (and still resent) the implicit requirement that I go online and work my way through a number of 20-minute bouts mowing down mooks in order to complete Commander Shepard's single-player story to my satisfaction. When I played through ME3 with my imported Shepard, I played for character and for story. I lingered fondly over the Normandy and the Citadel, seeking out every conversation I could with the NPCs I liked best. I only sought out multiplayer adventures when there was only one mission remaining in my journal, the ultimate point of no return for the game. I worked my way through enough matches to get my Galactic Readiness up to 75%, and then bailed, running back to finish the single-player story before my number could deteriorate. I was done. Multiplayer was just an inconvenient add-on, not for me. Having finished ME3 twice, I set it aside, assuming I was finished until more DLC inevitably arrived. Only... I missed it. I found myself going back. First, by offering to jump into MP matches with friends who hadn't yet finished the single-player game, and who wanted help getting their readiness higher. But there weren't that many of those friends whose schedules meshed with mine. So I went into a few random-matching public lobbies. And then a few more. And then just one more, because it's getting late, but, well, okay, this is a good group, one more round before bed can't really hurt... Six weeks after starting, I've decided that I really love playing Firebase Hydra, with Firebase Dagger as a close second. Firebase Ghost and Giant aren't bad either, but I groan aloud every time I get thrown into Firebase Reactor. I hate that freaking map. The "key enemy personnel" and "enable / disable four devices" wave types are my favorite, but I cringe whenever the team has to band together and defend a computer that inevitably gets placed in an absolutely terrible defensive position, with little to no cover. Having to stand in the open for three waves out of ten made for one particularly excruciating round.
I don't often play games just for the sake of building a particular player skill. I enjoy games with narrative arcs, games where you gain more weapons and powers as you level up, games where over time you earn a bag of tricks that you can deploy at will. But Mass Effect 3's multiplayer has drawn me in, and has me actively working to get better at it and to take on harder challenges. BioWare's Mass Effect team said outright at PAX East that they hoped continued multiplayer content would keep discs in drives and players engaging with the game, and I have to admit that on me, at least, it's working. What helped me warm up to it was a sense of safety and comfort. After playing Shepard as an Infiltrator through three single-player games (and playing those games more than once each), I knew how to handle the character type. I knew, from my single-player experience, how Cerberus operated and how reapers were likely to attack. I felt that I had enough knowledge, going in, not to embarrass myself so badly that I couldn't continue. And so I had the confidence to learn more. Does the multiplayer add significantly to the true core experience of the Mass Effect arc? Not really. While it's clever to get a bit of insight into the "offscreen" battles being waged elsewhere while Shepard takes the starring role, the premise wears thin quickly. The multiplayer maps show up in the single-player game as N7 missions, and there are only so many times that Admiral Hackett can command you to take down four conveniently-appearing high-ranking enemy personnel before the pretense wears off. But it's got me invested in the universe in a whole new way. It's made me willing to play pretend, to go along with the story I'm being told. It's made me want to take down reapers, to keep that Readiness at 100%, and to be sure that I'm not the weakest link in the chain. It's made me want to join in on weekend bonus missions and to earn the virtual credits that pay for new virtual guns (one of which, someday, must eventually be a better sniper rifle. Please, game?). And more importantly, it's made me willing to give a fair shake to multiplayer modes on my single-player games going forward. Kotaku boss Stephen Totilo just found tremendous value in the upcoming Max Payne 3's multiplayer mode. Single-player games I love, like Assassin's Creed and Uncharted, have been trying to entice me online for a while now. Perhaps I've finally learned to listen. I'll get right on that. After just one more round...  |
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Chuck Colson: Watergate Conspirator and God's Own Ratfucker
April 24th, 2012Top StoryChuck Colson: Watergate Conspirator and God's Own RatfuckerBy Mobutu Sese Seko
The exact wording of the quote has been disputed through the years, but the spirit behind it is unmistakable—one of the most depressing sentiments ever uttered in the English language. Colson didn't say it out of naiveté; he knew exactly what he was getting with Dick. His declaration was like someone pledging to trample an infant into the grave for a York Peppermint Patty, even if one knew ahead of time they were made of ash and roofing nails and tasted like "boiled AIDS." That was Colson, a public thug for forty years, who changed a black burglar's turtleneck for preacher's robes. That said, there's almost something quaint about Colson in retrospect. His rumpled shirts and blue blazers set him apart from the modern conservative's gray power suit and blue-or-red tie ensemble. If anything, he looked like a northwestern academic, a lived-in thinker type—like George Will, if he were a human being. Even his crimes have started to seem quaint. There is, of course, Watergate, which has no peer in history, but for which he shouldered little blame compared to E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy, who planned and executed the burglary. Colson's arranging a break-in to Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office to smear the Pentagon Papers' source as dangerously unstable is almost the sort of thing one can slough off today, as we watch the New York Times, Think Progress' Alyssa Rosenberg and Democratic pundit Joy Reid, who have labeled Wikileaks source Bradley Manning as someone with "delusions of grandeur," emotionally disturbed and possibly conflicted about being gay, and a personally troubled anarchist. Unlike Ellsberg, Manning hasn't even allegedly leaked top secret information. But who cares? The world doesn't need Chuck Colson's talents when the liberal commentariat will do his job for him. As for the plot to firebomb the Brookings Institution, by all means, sir, the key is under the mat. Then there's the matter of his post-Watergate evangelizing career, which thankfully few people failed to notice as a conversion to the status of God's Own Ratfucker. His anti-gay, anti-liberal rhetoric—and unscientific and ahistorical demonization and smears—never veered from the toxic and odious, but one could hear it lustily reaffirmed by almost every GOP primary candidate this season. His Manhattan Declaration, that devout Christians should reject laws at odds with the Bible, is merely the most prominent articulation of unconstitutional Dominionist hogwash. Further, this kind of personal rejection of the rule of law is overwhelmed by a current GOP climate where it's been translated into a war on birth control for women, while public officials muse unapologetically about secession and nullification. Even his Prison Fellowship crusade to convert convicts to Christianity in a war against the spread of Islam in prisons now reads like a faint call to arms compared to the actions of Norway's Christian-nationalist terrorist Anders Breivik, who, as author Jeff Sharlet points out, was inspired by the same concerns. Breivik—who was also whipped up into a paranoiac nativist fervor by clowns like Pamela Gellar and Robert Spencer—merely took right-wing rhetoric about the existential threat of Islam and the inability to negotiate with or persuade an unreasoning, murderous cultural army and provided its natural conclusion: When they understand only force and desire only to destroy, exterminate the brutes. Breivik himself neatly predicted how the American right-wing would inevitably have to embrace some of his conclusions which, unsurprisingly, Pat Buchanan obligingly did. Colson left a snowball on a hill, and there were no shortage of people willing to help push it down. So if the passage of time and the accelerating nastiness of contemporary events have rendered him more of a hateful dirty-tricks curio, try to look on the bright side. Pause, for just a moment, and cherish the legacy Colson offers us. Unlike, say,
unlike those ghouls, Chuck Colson committed crimes against the American conscience and in service to what then proved to be the most secretive and imperial presidency in history—and we sent his ass to prison for it. When he was still presidential special counsel, Colson used to keep a framed picture on his wall, reading, "When you've got them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow." Well, in a stranger time in this republic, congressmen and federal judges still youthfully smitten by the rule of law took Chuck's balls and were about to nail them to the fucking wall when the weasel pled guilty. Keep the memory alive; the courage of our contemporaries won't remind us of it any time soon. "Mobutu Sese Seko" is founder of the blog Et tu, Mr. Destructo?  | From Our SponsorTop Stories
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