Dick was right: we can remember it for you wholesale

In case you were wondering, ign put out a pretty good video review of Halo 3. Some scathing remarks for the campaign mode, but nothing but kudos for the multiplayer.

This review got me thinking...it seems like the trend with games these days is to develop a big sandbox environment so you can play online with folks from Uruguay, Minneapolis, Alsace-Lorraine, Manhattan, and Hayward...or just with your buddies on the block and spend six hours hacking away at each other.

Taking the evolution of games and considering the trend manifesting in other social vectors, like the online environments like MySpace and Facebook, and the plethora of gadgets that have come out that serve to blur the lines between offline and online culture, it could be argued that people are placing more value on their virtual selves, and thus their virtual relationships. There's actually talk of Microsoft buying a minority stake in Facebook...for $300-500 million dollars. The company is currently valued at $10,000,000,000.

Not to be a complete Luddite, as I can see the argument that some of these are new and useful artifacts of our culture's exploration into virtual reality. It's puberty all over again. We're awkwardly moving through a period where some people are "blossoming" sooner than others, and some are acclimatizing faster to the changes than others. However, unlike most things in human history, I think we'll not see this increasing trend of integrated technology dissipating. Rather, we'll see other aspects of our lives and communities ramp up to become part of the evolving new hegemony. Those that don't make the leap will become legacy artifacts.

On the other hand, regardless of how tech-integrated one might feel, or how many gadgets one might have, or no matter how many nanobots you have stimulating your neural pathways so you can totally kick ass on your ACT/SAT/GMAT/GRE test, or how many friends you have associated with your MySpace account, at our core humans are social creatures that require flesh-based face to face interactions. It will always be this way...unless of course a dominant trait surfaces: one that favors encoding genetic material into binary code and developing virtual offspring. Heck, some folks at Calvin College recently built a super computer for under $1,256. With distributed computing we'll each be able map the entire genome index of all earthly life by next summer!

I'll put my faith in humanity and conclude that we'll shuffle in the right direction: a balance of silicon and flesh. Unless, of course, the next iteration of the Windows OS requires a cybernetic implants so a recurring process can run to determine that you're running a 'genuine' copy.

More on Halo 3: Cnet has some great recent coverage of all things Halo.

Top 10 Favorite websites and associated user profiles

CNet.com (via Crave UK) has an awesome piece on the Top 10 Favorite websites. It provides info on several areas: "What's the Story?", "Did You Know?", "What [this website] Says About You".

My favorite part is the "What Twitter Says About You":

The average Twitter user is likely to have low self-esteem and feel insecure. They counter these feelings by reaching out to everyone they know, and creating situations where they can be the centre of attention. Twitter users are probably a danger to themselves and to society.

But these are gems as well:

MySpace
The users find salvation in badly animated GIFs, music that auto-plays their voices and taking 'sexy' camera phone profile portraits in front of dirty mirrors -- all common modes of expression. The number of friends in a user's list is a self-esteem barometer. Anyone will do, but their top five friends usually consist of anyone who's shunned pop culture, is partial to facial piercings and is in a grunge rock band.

Facebook
Most Facebookers have mastered the skill of anonymous stalking. They're loathe to admit it, but they'll happily waste hours peering into the lives of people they hardly know, assimilating every last piece of personal information they can -- particularly if their victim is good looking.
To them, Facebook is the equivalent of breaking into somebody's home while they're away, reading their diary, trying on their underwear and (through the Facebook wall) scrawling graffiti everywhere.

Even if you don't know what any of these sites are, you've probably heard of them. And if you're looking for a nice little summary of each, it's not a bad resource.

Now you can finally buy your friends

Someone recently sold their myspace account on ebay. She (according to the picture) had over 100,000 friends. There were all these other great perks about the account (no domain profile registered, early account, etc.) and someone bought it for over $2,000.

I just missed winning the bid, and I'm so sad. As a result of my myspace participation I've scored so many virtual hot dates and landed so many virtual job interviews, and made some awesome virtual friends with people who didn't just want me because I have wonderfully juicy healthy organs that could be sold for a hearty profit on the black market.

If I could've won that stupid bid, I would've been set in my virtual world. I'd never need to leave the house. Sassypants27 and bigmikedogrules95 would've kept me informed on everything. I totally heart those guys.

Actually, in retrospect, I think if I would've won the bidding, I would've given the account to that guy I see when I walk to the train from work. He stands on a corner and just watches people go by. He looks all rugged and lonely, and I think he'd really have benefited from all those friends more than me. They could've given him a virtual home, virtual clean clothes, and virtual food.

Well, I can't do anything about it now. Guess I'll just see if ebay will let me bid on that guy's Blackness.