Smokie

New keyboard is okay. It doesn't type as much like a MacBook keyboard as it looks (which is weird, I can't explain it), and it takes some getting used to if you're coming over from using a PC keyboard a lot. But, if you're a proficient typer and you don't need much "feedback" on your keystrokes, this thing is golden (and blazing fast). However, for the standard typer, I would say there's a bit of a learning curve as well as some getting used to the "feel" of the keys. Overall I would say it's a positive upgrade - old iMac keyboard was a bit clunky in my opinion (and the keys would stick.. so I guess they went from one extreme to the other). Two things: 1) You don't ACTUALLY believe that millions of people have purchased the iMac SOLELY for its form factor? Yes that's a perk but that's far from the main draw. The computer is simply a good value for Mac users and crossovers. 2) You can upgrade after you buy. For this model, they made the entire back plate removable by unscrewing one screw. Easy access to whatever you want to upgrade. The only valid contention against "upgradeability" is the cost - but Data Management Systems and Kingston sell considerably cheaper Mac-compatible hardware than Apple itself. As for the cords quip - forget the aesthetics; I assure you that installing new peripherals and changing wiring components is considerably more difficult on my desktop PC than the iMac because everything gets tangled. Perhaps my cord arrangements are not as skilfully orchestrated as yours, but I find this to be a matter of convenience.

I don't think he needs the Extended edition lol :P

I'm fast becoming a fanboy :XD:

Just bought one :D. They are amazing. PS: If you want superb performance, I would strongly recommend upgrading the RAM. I upped mine a little bit from 1 GB to 2 GB of RAM, and it flies through Final Cut Pro renders like it's nothing :shock: Good buy, good buy. 10/10. iLife '08 is AMAZING by the way :)

I guess it really depends on what you're going to use it for. I would get iLife '08 - Apple did an amazing job with it. Also, get Leopard (the next version of Mac OS X) when it comes out in October. Final Cut Pro and Photoshop are good, but do you know how to use them? You have a MacBook Pro so you have a lot of potential to do whatever you want with it, but again, what do YOU want to do with it?

You know, reading this, I realized something: When I started playing this game, it was just that, a game (that Andrew, Paul, and Ian were working hard to just make better). No stupid random events, no tedious mining motions. Sure there were useless items, and sure there was a boatload of clicking, but it was fundamentally an entertainment experience. Now it's a business first, a game second. Jagex will devise an infinite number of ways to divert your attention so as to lengthen your membership and turn a profit. Personally I think horses would be a fantastic addition to RuneScape. And if there are dragon swords, daggers, battleaxes, dragon woodcutting axes, dragon armor -- why shouldn't there be a dragon pickaxe? I'm sorry is logic a fallacy? :roll: Lol great post. I think I may have finally done the necessary introspection to finally lay my RuneScape days to rest. \

Yeah, it is automatic each month. As for your other question, what country are you in? That may have something to do with it (or not, because 7.95 is the monthly fee for PayByCash I believe... that's strange... they may have mis-billed you - contact them I say!)

http://www.phpbbhacks.com/download/5288 Word of caution: Haven't tried this myself, but I think the website is fairly reliable. Is that what you're looking for? Not sure how you want it particularly implemented, but it's worth a shot I guess :)

Yeah, this amount will get added to your monthly phone bill. Hope that helps :)

I think it might be a Java issue. Here's what you can do: First, go to RuneScape.com. Then, click "Start a new subscription". Then click "Pay by Debit or Credit card". Then choose your card type (you know the drill), and when you get to this screen: click on the link that's boxed in red: Then enter your username and password on the new page that comes up. Let me know how it goes :)

In my opinion it would be the rocks in the Tree Gnome Stronghold (the ones you get to through the cave - the one where you start the Eyes of Glouphrie quest). None of the clay mines are particularly close to a bank, so you're not really going to see a massive advantage one way or another. But, yeah, I'd say Tree Gnome Stronghold. :|

There might be some third party program/hack that I'm not aware of that might be able to do this, but here's something you can do that's built into Windows (assuming you're using Windows): Let's say you have Windows Media Player open and you're watching a movie. You also have RS open in a web browser or the client or whatever. Go to the taskbar (the bar adjacent to the start button), and click on the web browser task icon (or whatever they're called), and then hold down Control, and right-click the Media Player task icon, then click 'Tile Vertically' (or Horizontally if you prefer). I know this is a little confusing to understand, so I've included some pictures: Right, so when you have one window open, Control+Right-Click on the other window's icon you want open at the same time, and then you should see this menu. Left-click on Tile Vertically/Horizontally, and you'll get... This: The above image is a representation of the effect you'd receive. The image cut very sloppily for some reason (my image editing program is acting a little strange recently), but you'd be able to see more of the movie screen and whatnot. Is this what you're looking for? Let me know if you have any questions :)

Well the situation leads me to one of two conclusions: a) The strength of your friendship is in great question if a game - and that too a horribly petty aspect of that game (it's not like you stole his party hat) - can draw you apart :-k or B) Your friend is acting a little immature and if he's not going to get over this, then he's probably not much of a friend at all. As for a solution: Have you talked to him personally? Or just over RS/internet/phone? Once school starts you'll probably have to confront him face to face, and it's going to be a lot harder for him to ignore what you have to say. Plan out some well-reasoned arguments and think about how to deliver them effectively. What he wants to hear from you is some kind of concession - that you SHOULD have mined him essence. Assuming that you weren't rude in saying no, I would suggest telling him that you are more than willing to help him out in other parts of the game, like quests he hasn't finished that you have, and things of that nature. However, you should delicately point out that mining essence is a tedious task that you don't gain a whole lot from. Make it clear (but again, delicately) that it's slightly unfair of him to ask you to do it for him, since it takes away from your playing time and enjoyment. And really, essence? You've got be joking. Anyone with a pickaxe could do that... He'll be slightly enraged by this argument, and he'll be rallying himself to a retort and a further complication of the situation. Before he can do that, mollify him by telling him that he's a really good friend and you'd hate to ruin things over this small scuffle. Bringing up some sort of inside joke or catchphrase you/your group of friends uses, if you can work it in, might help also. Good luck :). Dealing with people is the probably the single largest challenge in most people's lives (the malnourished and the diseased aside :(), so even if you don't manage to repair your friendship, you'll be wiser for it.

Yep. :)

Wayyyy back in the day when Bluerose13x had just got 99 smithing (the first to do so), the coal market exploded. I forget how much it sold for, but it was quite a sum as I remember having nearly 400k at one point (which in those days was crazy good - green party hat was 200k in those days for perspective). I was a level 12 with 62 mining all said and done lol. Then that market subsided and I quit for some months. 50-60ish combat I thieved a lot of natures - they sold for 400 gp each at one point, as I recall. Somehow I always managed to squander my money ... :-k

Yes, yes, wrong forum and all. Here's your answer, though: http://www.tip.it/runescape/index.php?rs2quest_id=21 :P Then use the map pieces on each other and talk to Ned if you're ready to go to Crandor to fight the dragon.

Generally I stand about 15 feet away from my TV when I play - the construction of my basement (no obstructions in the way, either) and the dimensions of my television are best suited to that distance. Although when playing Mario Party 8 at a friend's house I tend to get excited and move a little too close to the sensor :P (but it only deteriorates in quality once you're within 2.5 feet or so, in my experience). That's what I think may be the case. Excite Truck completely misses my movements sometimes, and the Wii Sports/Wii Play games... well, let's not mention those. -.-

Final Fantasy VII - any time the Sephiroth theme music came on :shock:. Young kid, dark, suddenly cold basement, scary music in what passed for surround sound in those days, engrossing (yet horrifying) cutscenes of Sephiroth killing, psychotically raving, and executing master plans of world domination. Enough to scare the (fine I'll just say 'cabbage') cabbage out of me.

As far as I've heard - FFXIII is for PS3 exclusively. The game that's in development for Wii is not KH3 (I don't think they're even talking about that yet, at least not publicly), it's some continuation of the Final Fantasy Chronicles DS series. I agree with the technology advantage argument - the next Kingdom Hearts would be interesting with the Wiimote, but I ultimately think Square Enix will default to Sony because it will take a lot more disk than the Wii can offer to effectively produce the next game in the Kingdom Hearts series. On the Wii it'd be Kingdom Hearts 2 with a stick you can wave around that vaguely resembles the motions on screen of the Key Blade. (By the way - has anyone else noticed how inaccurate the Wiimote is for some games? It's great for some, and I won't deny it's fun no matter what, but wow the motion sensing is abysmal sometimes -- or that might just be my Wiimotes :()

No kidding. One of my friends got violent on me. I became [angry] and I let him drive anyway (some guilt trips followed). He got pulled over by the cops later (he was swerving), blood alcohol of .18 :wall:. He's a pretty heavy drinker so he didn't pass out, but he was bedridden the next day. Another random, morbid thought: It's always shocking to show up to school/work and find out that two of your classmates/coworkers are dead in an alcohol-related accident. By the way - how do you say 'Worcestershire'? As a product of the American public education system, I am quite unable to pronounce many British proper names. One of my high school English teachers said it once, but the particular pronunciation escapes my memory.

This is logical. If everyone who railed on bots took this much precaution (in establishing the sort of "three-point checklist" that you have), then we'd have few bots and even fewer false accusations of botting. All I'm saying is that you can't ascribe one standard (usually not responding to speech) to a user and then scream that they're a bot (which all too many die-hard bot-haters do). You seem to take a reasonable approach, though, which I agree with. To emphasize again, you just have to be clear that you are doing enough to be sure that it's a bot for most people to rally around your cause.

Er, I'm having trouble discerning your condemnation of terrorists and the entire Islamic institution. When you said, "I hope Allah is comforting", it's hard for me to tell whether you're mocking Islam's belief that "Allah is merciful" or extremists' misinterpretation of the religion (probably the latter, let's leave it at that). As for him bursting into flames and chanting the name of Allah - it's a belief in religions like Islam and Hinduism (maybe Judaism and Christianity as well- I'm not familiar with those faiths) that you should focus your energies on God as you die in order to better prepare your soul for the afterlife. Elderly Hindus on their deathbeds often chant the name of Ram (a major Hindu deity). My knowledge of the Qu'ran is far from complete, but I believe there is a corresponding belief. Maybe this is a cultural element that's lost in translation? I dunno. There's a great danger in associating a single group with an entire people - after all, if I associated all Christians with the imperialist missionaries who single-handedly destroyed islands and islands of indigenous (well not exactly indigenous, but for all intents and purposes) American populations, I should be led to believe that Christianity is an abhorrent religion of ruthless, inhumane, profiteering monsters. I find that it's easier to accuse others of being over-sensitive and obsessed with political correctness when it's not my demographic that's being insulted...

Let's assume we have a difference of opinion on the other points. This last one is new, so I'll address it. The inclusion of Blu-Ray is a launch pad for the future of home entertainment, which I think you also agree with. Your contention is that nobody buys a video game system for a Blu-Ray player... But I would have to say that almost everyone outside of the core gaming market (which is what, 11-20?) DOES buy a system on those premises. Given that the PS3 is one of, if not the cheapest Blu-Ray players out there, it's a good sell for anyone who's interested in next-gen entertainment at the very least. DVDs took a while to catch on, too. First ones were released in what, 95? Didn't gain predominant-format status until 99-2000ish. Anyway, Sony has a vested interest in pushing the Blu-Ray format, also: their studio is Blu-Ray exclusively. Yes they have a lot of other subdivisions and products, but their trouble areas now are primarily televisions and gaming. I am of the opinion that they will do what it takes because they KNOW what it takes to sell a great product. In all honesty, they should have released a PS3 standalone unit first, then done a Microsoft and added a Blu-Ray attachment later, once a) Blu-Ray players were cheaper and B) the format wars were more decided.

?? :? That wasn't a jab at Islam was it? There's no evidence that these guys were acting in the name of god. There are terrorists with purely political agendas, also... In any case, not providing him treatment would be inhumane. If they want to play dirty, then we'll fight them, but we don't have to do it without honor - otherwise we're no better than they are. Agreed - police don't run across a suspected terrorist every day. The more we can detain and interrogate, the merrier!

It's a question of relativity. The PlayStation was 150% more expensive than the N64. The PlayStation 3 is around 140% more expensive than the XBox with the HD drive. Obviously the Wii is significant, but I think many people will not hesitate to buy both (Wii first, PS3 some years later when price drops). And, at the time, I'm not sure if you're old enough to remember, but $299 was a LOT of money. Somewhat true on the price issue - PlayStation dropped its price for the first time a year and a half after the initial release. PS3 still has some time . The thing you're wrong about, though, is that PS3 prices won't come down. They will, man, especially as Blu-Ray drive prices go down. But the thing you don't realize is that in gaming cycles, the cost of components continue to go down dramatically as mass production becomes possible. Good news for XBox I suppose (being out a year early)? PlayStation's launch titles that were REALLY successful were what? Ridge Racer and Twisted Metal? Sure those two are better than PS3's launch titles, but at the same time, PS3 has the technological advantage and '08 is going to be huge for games. They're not going to deliver as convincing a victory as did the PS1 and 2. The exclusive titles thing is troublesome - maybe the biggest question surrounding PS3's viability - but did I mention that Sony has tons and tons of cash? And they spend tons and tons of cash? You're right. It's not going to be a smashing PS3 owns all victory. But hey, I think they'll take what they get for this generation. It's a transition phase from video games -> home entertainment. You've gotta believe that Sony has some long-term vision in this, they're not so stupid in their business strategy (you know they have highly trained executives with absurd business acumen, right?) that any and every Tip.It forum user can point out their incompetence. :)