U.S. and the Internet

I was just reading an interesting story that I found quite disturbing. This story says that the European Union is going to challenge the United States for control of the internet. When the Department of Commerce's operating agreement expires on September 30th the EU does not want the U.S. to retain control of the internet. They say that it is unfair that one country controls such a vital means of communication. I believe that the U.S. should retain control for several reasons, the most important being national security. Thanks to the internet the U.S. and many other countries are susceptible to attack through the internet. Hackers and foreign powers have already started to exploit the weaknesses in the infrastructure within the U.S. the last thing we should do is open the back door. Since the United States Department of Defense's DARPA program created the internet they should maintain control of it. The U.S. have been generous landlords and have imposed no restrictions that really change the day to day operations on the internet. It is no longer a military project bit I firmly believe that they should maintain control.

Daft Punk

Check out this cool little sound board from Daft Punk. It mimics their sounds from the song Better, Faster, Stronger. It is also heard in Kanye West's own song. Pretty cool little promotion I think it was put up by Daft Punk's fan club. Here is the link

World of Betas

When a new product is introduced there is always a period of uncertainty for whether it will be adopted or fall by the wayside. This is especially true for technology products. What if you could run a trial for your product? What if you could work out the kinks with your customers before you put the put the product on the market. Welcome to the world of betas.

A beta is a either a closed or open, or both, trial run of the game gaming companies do when they are trying a product out before releasing it. This of course comes after an Alpha testing stage. Which is a closed internal test of the game that uses predetermined testers. These kinds of tests allow companies to work out the kinks in their products and have accurate feedback from the testers. The Alpha version of the game is the raw first copy of a game and the Alpha testers have a great deal of impact on how the game ends up. Through their feedback the game is tailored and fixed into what the finished product will most likely look like.

The Beta test comes after the Alpha. Now the game is mostly done but they need more trials on potential customers. They want data from customer feedback but also technical feedback from these users. This helps fix glitches and errors that might have been overlooked by the Alpha testers. The Beta test allows for a wider trial then the Alpha. Beta tests usually incorporate non industry gamers who might have accounts at places like fileplanet.com or gamespot.com. These gamers are given keys which allow them to access the game and play it before it comes out. They give necessary feedback and get an awesome experience for free and before it comes out officially.

The beta tests usually can go through two phases. First the Beta version of a game will be closed at first. You will need a key as previously stated. Keys can be given out at random to people who sign up or through specific sites or contests. The closed Beta allow the developer to control who is in the Beta. They can pick and choose people or groups that will fit their purposes. It could be for hardware reasons or the fact that a group brings a certain number of players with them. After most of the trial is done through closed beta they can open the game up to open beta. They give out keys for free and let anyone log on and play the game. This is basically a free trial of the game just before it is released.

If the game is good the result of an open beta usually is a pre-invested player base ready to buy the game as soon as it comes out. Betas are usually used for Massively Multiplayer Online games. Here is a link to the Wiki definition of an MMO detailing how cool these virtual worlds can be. Betas are what gamers drool over. They (we) apply tirelessly to these games trying to get in early, get a competitive edge, and to see what games are good. If the game is good after the beta they have a predetermined player base of highly tech savvy people who will be ready to spread the word as soon as the game releases. If this isn't win win for the developers I don't know what is. Free marketing, customer feedback, and it is all free.

I recently got myself a key to the Battlefield Heroes closed Beta through my account on Gamespot.com where I review games. I can't wait to log on and see how the game is going. I am bound by a confidentiality agreement but it should be fun.