Merovingian

What sounds more plausible:Maths, physics, geology, biology - all are quantifiable and well established in our society. We take what actual, physical evidence we have (fossil record, genetics, geology etc.) and work on theories which again, are based on scientific / quantifiable evidence. Evolution is very much at the centre of everything and is driving us onwards all the time. There is no belief or faith, nor any assumptions that this is life and it was made for us. I personally feel it is just ignorant to think that we're the centre of the universe. Like I said, 500 years ago, when we had little understanding of science, the prospect of an omnipotent god what had all the answers to our questions would have been welcomed by many. Now we have a higher understanding of ourselves and science, we can throw away the simple notions of creationism and embrace the universe as it really is. orGod, angels, devil etc - are really in control of this planet (and the universe - which we are the centre of) and that 4000 thousand years ago (forgetting the dinosaurs - they're just a trick by god) he created the earth in 7 days (1,000,000 + species). He's omnipotent and infallible and all knowing of everything. If we live by his old, outdated rules, we go to his magical place called heaven. There, we live for eternity in peace and harmony. If we're bad, we go to hell and meet the devil, who will punish us for an eternity in hell fire. Don't worry though, god still loves us (Oh yeah, there was some guy called Jesus also - but that is another story).I know which is just a good story and which is real. Will people, 1000's of years in the future find a Harry Potter book and start believing in that too? I can't tell the difference if I'm completely honest.

What scientific explanations? If science could prove god, wouldn't we all believe in it? That's why I'm an atheist!!! There is no scientific explanations! lol

So, what does everyone think about googles' new web browser idea? https://www.google.com/googlebooks/chrome/ http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ Will anyone be getting the beta when it's released? Here is what one of my friends thinks of the project (from another forum). He has a BSc & MSc in computer science and information security (we're old uni mates). He usually knows his stuff when it comes to things like this. He is also a BIG apple fan!

Whenever I hear of this game I always think of this review: http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ I love his 'troll' style of reviewing and as long as you don't take him too seriously, it's great fun to watch.

Iron Man, for the non-geeks out there, is said summer Superhero from the 60s and from the same company (Marvel Comics) that gave us Spiderman, The X-Men and The Hulk. And since he’s the new hero on the block, the film takes the traditional formula to get its message across; Introduce the hero, his life, have him suffer some kind of disaster/trauma leading to gaining powers, decides to fight crime, fights crime, saves the girl & then gets outed to the rest of the world. So, by applying the above formula, I can tell you that the story is about millionaire, playboy, alcoholic Tony Stark (played by millionaire, playboy, alcoholic Robert Downey Jr.) who’s basically a cross between Hugh Hefner and Bill Gates. Mr Stark is the proud owner a rather large weapons company and whilst in the Middle East (originally Vietnam, but obviously given a 00s update) demoing some next generation missiles to the US Army, is involved and seriously injured in what appears to be a kidnapping. Now with a gun to his head, he is forced to build weapons for his captors. He uses this chance to escape and does so by building a suit of armour which gives him extra strength, firepower and flight. Upon his return to the US, he decides that his life of warmongering must come to an end (with some amusing comedy moments trying to rebuild the suit) and in a nod towards truth, justice (and the American… no, that doesn’t work. Um, Canadian way?), rebuilds his power suit to rid the world of war. But its never that easy! Simply put, I loved this film!!! Actor/Director Jon Favreau (with the help of the "Children of Men" writing team) originally wanted to cast an unknown for the role of Stark, however Downey Jr. pulls off the role as if he were Stark in real life. And based on all the tabloid reports about his private life over the last few years, its no surprise. He delivers the action when needed but uses his comedy background very well to show he's still the rich *bottom* we love to hate (Like Simon Cowell only less of a "see you next tuesday"). Supporting cast also includes the usual love interest/damsel in distress, here played by the lovely Mrs Chris Martin: AKA Gwyneth Paltrow. She plays Starks loyal PA, Virginia "Pepper" Potts and when not busy picking up his dry-cleaning is wooing him from a distance. Paltrow and Downey Jr’s on screen chemistry isn’t exactly on fire as has been other hero flicks but this film (unlike the others) does not need to revolve around the usual love story and instead goes for a “will the/won’t they” approach reminding us that Favreau wants you to fix on the man in the iron suit and not what’s going on around him. A rather odd looking Jeff Bridges also makes up a good chunk of the film as Obadiah Stane. Fans of the comics will recognise the name of the character straight away however unlike the comics, Favreau slightly re-invents the character for everyone else and keeps the fans guessing a while longer… a smart move which still keeps the fanboys on his side. We finally have a mix of supporting cast members who serve to make Stark’s character more likeable and human from best friend Lt. Colonel "Rhodey" Rhodes: (Oscar nominated Terrence Howard) to the traditional scumbag terrorist (Faran Tahir). Oh and don’t forget to play the usual game of “Where’s Stan?”. As always Stan “The Man” Lee makes his 2 second cameo much to the delight of the audience. So, time for the pros and cons. Pro, it’s a great action film for all the family. Con, it’s a great action film for all the family. Its an unfortunate problem but its greatest strength is also its weakness. From the comics POV, the character of Stark is far more complex, dark and seriously flawed than Fraveau is able to communicate in this first outing. In a perfect world, he could have made a gritty “Casino Royale” showing as much of Starks inner demons after years of selling death. They are hinted at with his womanising and drinking but for Marvel to catch that younger $ide of the audience, $ome thing$ had to be left out of the cut to make $ure they got their me$$age acro$$. But with that small i$$ue aside (sorry, I’ll stop that), its still a great movie with superb action pieces and eye candy to ensure you have a great night out. In the superhero scale of movies (where Catwoman is a 1, Spidy III is a 5 and Batman Begins is a 9.5), we have ourselves a solid 8 out of 10. But be warned, this is a superhero flick for superhero fans. Unlike some hero films that have a much younger “OC” cast for young moviegoers to woo over, this one does not. Don’t get me wrong, Paltrow is nice to look at and Downey Jr is no beast, however he’s no Hugh Jackman either. This is pure hero, boys with toys action the way it should be! You will walk out of that cinema either wanting Starks life or his suit… however one word of warning, don’t walk out too soon, as I did. Whilst writing this, I consulted the web only to discover that there is a fanboy treat and huge cameo following the end credits, so stick around true belivers!! Cheers, Mero (Rich)

Are you at uni? If yes (or you have a mate at uni) get them to log on through the campus internet and buy it that way. You'll save money by using the student discount.

I'm actually using my mac right now! I'm starting to really hate my Windows XP boot as it's just so buggy and poor at connecting to my router. I'm currently dual booting with XP and openSUSE 11. and to be honest, I'm really starting to like Linux more and XP less. As for Mac v.s. Windows, I think Apple will really start to take the market as they're becoming more stylist, popular and able to run Windows apps (due to intel chip).

I have to agree with the rest and say get Counter Strike. It's a great game with loads of mods and maps as well as dedicated servers. It's simply the best at what it does.

Being a boring sunday afternoon her in England I thought I'd write a review of this film! I made a huge effort not to see anything about this film. or as little as was possible. other than the first trailer online i haven't watched any trailers. i've muted the tv and looked away when the ads have come on. i've not read any of the millions of articles about it on the web. i've obviously seen the headlines, but i've tried as hard as possible to avoid reading anything that might reveal anything about the film. and i've done pretty well. feel free to stop now if you haven't seen the film but are planning to do so. i will probably have spoilers in here. The film opens with the 6 minutes or so that were available online a while back. the bank robbery that introduces the joker. and it didn't matter that i'd seen it before because it was still awesome. the rest of the introductory period of the film is dealt with pretty well, with harvey dent being established and reminding everyone who everyone is (they don't even mess about too much with the whole casting change from katie holmes to maggie gyllenhaal) as well as throwing in a few clues to the plot. there is a little exposition that threatens to distract from the pace, but nolan pulls it back in time. Once it all gets going though, its pretty ****ing impressive. the set pieces are brilliant. and the fact that nolan sticks the stars in the places you normally don't let stars go really does add to things. even the stuff that seems a little on the edge of believability is convincing. my imagination was possibly stretched a little far towards the end with one phone related plot device that i wasn't really sold on. the one of appearance earlier on was acceptable, the reappearance was just starting to creep over the line. but luckily they don't allow it to be around for too long and they cover it pretty nicely with action. Bale is the same batman (and bruce wayne) as before. and there are echoes of the burton batman movies in some of his characters issues. in fact, there are aspects of the burton stories throughout the film, but where burton went with dark comedy, nolan has just gone with dark. there are even echos the script, but only fleetingly. Harvey dent is more prominant as himself than as his alter ego, completely unlike tommy lee jones incarnation. i haven't decided if this is a good thing or not yet. but he's well played as both the legal hero and the outlaw. and gyllenhaal plays a far more convincing love interest than holmes ever managed. but then her character has been given a far meatier role. and nolan's vision of two face is simply amazing. The standout performance, and i almost wanted to not agree with everyone else on this, is heath ledger. his joker is terrifying. his insane is immense. and you miss him every time he's not on the screen. and while the campaign for a posthumous oscar for him seems a little trite, if ever a performance in a comic book film deserved the nod this is it. the real demonstration of the quality of his performance is that despite all the press about heath ledger in the last 8 months, you still think of him as the joker throughout the entire movie. Ok now that was too long! I hope I didn't bore the pants off you!

I've always had trouble with this feature. I just try to remember what was said last and read the bottom of the page.

Jesus... I wish I knew about that! I hate doing that tutorial!!! Every time...GAAAA! I once made my beast eat Sabel the creature trainer as I was so annoyed!

I've had problems with my CD/DVD drive for ages now. That too was due to a OS software update which caused conflicts with my drive. As for Nero... I've never got it to work! lol

I just got the tracks and watched the video (posted below). Very cool / interesting if you're a fan. They have a slightly different sound in this track. They have a guitar solo and a different rhythm as well. Over the years I've certainly felt like they've matured and improved since they started. I've recently been listening to Stone Sour (and have become quite fond of them). I'm really enjoying the album! http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ Anyone else here a fan? Have an opinion on their stuff?

I might have a play in a few weeks time. I'm currently messing with linux and thus don't have much time for it. I'm also trying to sell my house! When I've sorted out windows (I need to do a new install to clear out all the rubbish) I'll replace my saved files and continue with the game! If I kept playing, I'd never sell my house and probably upset my partner!

On a similar subject, I was talking on a forum yesterday about suse 11. and about acquiring a DVD of the OS. One of the admins sent me a pm and said he would send me the DVD with all the packages & OS! What a nice chap! Those linux people are very nice!

I'm actually dual-booting my PC with openSUSE 11.0 KDE 4 now! I haven't set up the internet connection just yet so I'll still using XP to do that stuff. When I've figured out how to install my wireless card, I'll stick with it all the time to learn more. Wish me luck! .... and if anyone wants to guide me or point me in the right direction on how to do that then please be my guest! (Texas instruments 802.11g wireless card) This might help: http://www.tuxmagazine.com/node/1000167

I've been reading all about kUbuntu & openSUSE today and I'll be going into town tomorrow to get a couple of distros from some magazines. I'll give both kUbuntu & openSUSE a go with a partition (25gb ok?). With regards to installing things, I'll just have to throw myself in and learn! I'm interested in looking into SPSS and biodiversity apps to install and learn about.

I am from London. Where you based at?

Having been bored today, I tried using VirtualBox to run openSUSE from within XP. I have to say, it's pretty good. It seems to have many features as well as software already built in. My only fear is that I know little to nothing about installing anything in Linux e.g. Flash.

I've tried that flash page but was unable to find the right one. After searching again I did find this page. It has what I need but not in an XP version. It turns out that when an update of SP2 was released, it changed my DVD drivers. Now, I can't seem to find a replacement for the Windows version (dated 2001). The 'roll back driver' will not work either. My device is a CW-8572 (Matshita DVD / CD-RW) Current driver is: 5.1.2535.0 (Microsoft 01/07/2001) I would like to buy a new drive but I want to try to fix the problem.

I often talk on another forum (my old uni one) and there are a couple of guys who heavily discuss this all the time. I'll post a few links to some of their suggestions. http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ http://gizmodo.com/5014419/samsung-instinct-review-best-sprint-or-samsung-phone-ever http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/ Sorry about the messy links. It's getting late here (UK) so I can't be bothered to make them all neat and tidy. Hope this helps!

I'll look into OpenSUSE as it looks quite friendly. The the only problem is... my CDRW isn't working too well!!! I have Nero 8 as well as a couple of other ISO burners but my drive just fails every time. The problem is to do with the drivers for my drive. If it's worth it (and you're up to the challenge) I'll post more about it on another section. Shame as I'd be up for giving it a go.

I've always really wanted to try linux but I've never had a good opportunity to really get into it (uni etc.) I was quite interested in Gentoo as it had a pretty nice looking GUI. When trying to install, it was far too difficult for me. When I have the time (and my friend who has a MSc & BSc in computing) I'll get him over to help and explain it more. Maybe I should try the Gentoo liveCD?

I've never played multipayer in Black & White. That's something I should look into perhaps? Maybe when you have got established, we could have a game together and you could show me the ropes for playing online? Anyway, I'm sorry if I have now just ruined your work flow now for bringing up the game