likesthequiet

Just for any new people popping by (HELLO!) I need to say that:

This Journal (like many others) is Friends Only.



Comment and be added!

Picture from http://touched.touched-by-darkness.org/, found googling for "Dark Angel Max Logan" and was hosted on http://www.fanpop.com/spots/dark-angel/images/850387/title/max-logan-wallpaper.

Hopefully that's sourced enough! :D

I know that Dave at Blogography has complained about this many times, and I hope he will continue to do so, but digital download prices are sometimes just WEIRD!

The logic Dave has used and that I agree with is that, once the companies involved have put the infrastructure in place to support a digital download shop, that infrastructure should stay with, hopefully, minimal maintenance. Now I know Sony has proved that you do need a security budget and that even a multi-national corporation can make mistakes, but I think the theory holds.

When you compare the hoops you need to jump through for a distributor to get products into the hands of customers all over the world using retail (duplication plants, shipping and transport, HUGE fuel costs, retail cut of profits etc. etc.) surely using your OWN download service will, in the long-term, save a big company money?

I've had this brought home to me tonight as I've been experimenting with EA's new Origin download service.

It looks all nice and shiny, was quick to download and simple to install. I've browsed and I can see myself buying items from this snazzy service IF EA gets it's prices sorted.

What do I mean? Well, just check the image below:

You've got Amazon retail price on the left (for a physical, boxed copy) and EA's Download service on the right....


( Read more... )

See what I mean???

For anyone who is surfing with images off or whatever, Amazon UK are charging £8.99 for a NEW copy of Mass Effect 2 on DVD. EA are charging £19.99 for a digital download copy (and leaving back-up costs to the user should the user want to do so). That's £11 or, if my maths are right, 222% more than Amazon.

Now I know EA has got to re-coup its costs for launching Origin but Origin isn't completely new, EA has had a download store of sorts from it's website for a while, it's just the client software that's new. Still...you'd think it's cheaper for them to ship a game to me digitally (just 1s and 0s at the end of the day) than to send it hundreds if not thousands of miles around the world on a boat, have it stored in a warehouse, have the retailer take their cut and for me to get it that way?

Don't get me wrong, I'm VERY glad Amazon (and bricks and mortar) retail still exists and hope that they continue to do so. Indeed, with distributors charging prices like this in their proprietary download stores, I fear what will happen for the consumer if the retail market shrinks too much....

From thefridayfive:

Cooking Ingredients

1. What is your favorite condiment?


I'm not a big condiment fan (no, REALLY) so I'd have to say Malt Vinegar. Purely because it goes so well with chip-shop chips! :D Imagine these, steaming, with the smell of vinegar coming off them.... YUM!








2. What is your favorite spice?


Good question. Again, I don't cook with spices too often, so I'd say something like Paprika, or Chili.


3. What is your favorite cooking oil? (Canola oil, sesame oil, butter, etc)


Your bog-standard olive oil.


4. What is your favorite starchy food? (Bread, rice, potatoes, noodles, etc)


I'm going through a rice-phase at the moment. It's filling and, when mixed with something meaty and a sauce, keeps well enough for me to take to work and devour with a spoon! :D


5. What is your favorite flavor for candy?


Grr, at Americanisms! I'm assuming 'candy' means 'sweets'. In which case, I LOVE Strawberry flavoured sweets. Off the top of my head I'd have to stay my favourite strawberry sweet would the the Strawberry Creme Quality Streets. As they are YUM!

There you go, enjoy! :D

From: thefridayfive

The name of...

1. The 30th song in your playlist:
   Hmmm.....I don't really have a play-list that LONG, so I'll just load up Itunes and see what's there. After Shuffling 30 times, I ended up on Sheryl Crow: Always On Your Side.
2. A city that starts with C in your state/province/etc:
   Hmmmmm...not that many cities in Yorkshire start with a C. Best I can do is Catterick. It's got an RAF base and everything, but it's not a city
3. Your boss' (or favorite teacher's) name:
   Boss's name is Paul
4. The second book on your bookshelf:
   I don't have much room on my bookshelf for books, the space is taken up with DVDs. I have a book pile by my bed of books I want to read. Currently the second book there is: Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre".
5. Your 7th LJ friend: 7th in What way? I'll go by the drop down list on Semagic. Hmm 7th ffrom the top is one who doesn't seem to update so much, gerriparker.