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Well geographically and culturally Turkey is not really Europe - but okay lets count them as Europe but what about Israel? I mean last year Russia with Serebro second place winners (TaTu 2003, 3rd place) - yeah those girls might look hot but the song is not really associated with great talent... Yeah forgot about Greece - the exception in my statistic last year. I don't say that it is a problem if a country from the Balkan wins. As mentioned Serbia would have won without those votes anyway - but what about the rest. What about all the great songs which don't even make it to the final show because of a corrupted political voting galore. I just want that the BEST songs get their fair share of attention and not the nationality where it comes from. All I am saying is that the voting system is still flawed and I am not the only one who doesn't like that thus a lot of countries wanted a change and I am sure the rules will be adapted even more because the song contest costs a lot of money.

So the obvious connection between massive points from ex-members of the Warsaw pact for each other is just because their songs are better and not because of different reasons? There are a lot of statistics about this topic and I don't believe that last year the balkan won the places 1-16 just because of their superior performance and songwriting skills. If it is really about talent a rule change won't be a problem. Can't understand why some people don't see the OBVIOUS. This is not about being a sore loser because country X only got Y points - this contest is not about music only but has to much political influence. Also don't get me started why Turkey, Israel, ... participate in a EUROvision song contest...

Uhm yeah because Songcontest is all about great and talented musicians not about political influence, cheap pop music and pretty people...

Without watching Balkan wins .... They need to adjust that system. Points from a country sharing a direct border with your country should be only worth half. Otherwise UK, Germany, Spain and France will no longer support that show with millions (that is also the reason why they are always qualified). Pirates are always great...

Dunno if I fully understand what you want but why not start simple and "make" your own webserver. You need a simple computer, Apache or IIS and you are done. I know you don't actually have to do that but when you try it out it might be easier to see where the possible loopholes are. Forgot to change the default password, allow remote access, every directory is accessible, outdated software, spyware, DoS attacks - there are plenty of mistakes you can make and this is just the server itself. Websites can also be dangerous with all that ActiveX stuff, scripts, faulty browsers. Addons like php, asp and similar can increase security problems if they are not really maintained that good.

Don't mention the words safe and overclocking together Overclocking is always dangerous because you stress hardware beyond its tested capability. Yes Intel often sells CPU1 with 2GHz and CPU2 with 3GHz and both are from the same branch - but that does not gurantee success at all. More/less voltage for a electronic device is dangerous and seriously hurts the components if you are in bad luck. Even if it works - the increased power amount, lack in cooling, ... silent but deadly killer. Don't know much about Dell ... maybe they offer there components already at their limits that might be a reason why overclocking a Dell machine is a bad idea.

CBS bought Gamespot and Co. - I guess this will make shares of CBS rise quite a bit. Generally for long term trading it is best to invest in fonds and other traditional companies. Weapons, energy, oil normally rise. If you want to make quick money you have to follow anouncements of new patents, products and stuff and then be quick. If a pharma company is close to get new medicine out you can get a lot of money but also lose a lot when the government doesn't allow that sort of drug.

Well a transition is already in place. A lot of game developers and publishers try to reach out to a new customer. Spending money on advertising is a good step forward after all a few years ago I did not see game ads in TV or other big media events. It takes a lot of time to make games accepted - our society gets older not younger and video games are pretty new compared to movies, books and stuff. So be patient and I am sure in a couple of years games will be something like going to a movie for the majority of people.

I just tried with Firefox 3 Beta 5. I click on the Wii picture and a blue check mark appears - then I click continue and get a prompt to enter my serial number.

Austrian law is strict against money crimes and a lot less strict when it comes to people. I do really hope that a decent judge punishes this guy to the very extent possible by our laws. The problem is he is 73 - I am sure there will be a "medical" issue with him and he can spend the prison sentence at home or something. Sometimes I really wonder if death penalty is that bad...

I really hope so - but don't expect sky rocketing sales for the first few months. The Wii user base is big but until the majority accepts that new form of content it will take a while I guess.

WiiWare is the first step for a rather small development studio to show their skills and ideas to the general public with much less risk. Furthermore if a game is successfull a publisher might release the sequel on a DVD. I think it is a really great opportunity for small to middle size developers - especially because they can attract customers and publishers. I really hope it turns out well for people who tried to achieve something special. Also I think small games are a new game area (I still prefer big, epic RPGs and stuff)

Yeah well but Sony just has TVs, Movies (are there any good studios left they don't own hehe) if their console fails. Nintendo only has a cash reserve. I am not saying Nintendo should fund the development of third party games - but secure better deals with them. MS paid a fortune for extra GTA4 content - which attracts customers resulting in more sold consoles and after that also games. Also there is/was a Nintendo development fund set up by Yamauchi - what happend to that? Nintendo should buy the rights to promising games not just buy them - that is what MS and Sony do and it works.

@Hellfire: Define winning? Obviously Nintendo is great at making money - they did that with the Gamecube too because unlike Sony and MS which have big money piles (now Nintendo too) they did not cover up their hardware but sold it with no loss of money. The main problem is that third party support on the 360 and PS3 are way better than on the Wii. Especially high class IPs are nowhere to see on the Wii - and that is not only because of the inferior hardware when it comes to graphics. The Wii has as you mentioned a quite revolutionary new way of playing games but the majority of developers don't think that their prime franchises are for the Wii instead they make smaller less stunning projects to cash in on the enormous user base. So what is the big gain of motion controlls and stuff if no third party developer really wants to invest in something epic and great. A Nintendo console gets a certain amount of AAA Nintendo titles - between those you need third parties to fill in. With quality and effort. So don't misunderstand me I am happy with the Wiimote, VC + WiiWare (prices are a bit high for my taste) and Animal Crossing, Galaxy, Mario Kart, ... but I really would like to spend some money on quality third party games aswell and Nintendo has to take a lead and help, fund, whatever developers.

I own about 15 Wii games but I am a hardcore gamer - those low numbers are because the casual gamer is happy with Wii Sports for a long time. Playing only a few times a week the game doesn't wear off as fast. In my case I could need a good game every month or even often in holidays or when I have more time. I still believe that not only the initial success was due to a lower price but will be even more important in the next XMAS season. Only selling consoles is not enough to be successfull - games are still more important.

With all those sales and piles of money Nintendo should really start subsidize the Wii a lot more. Even casuals notice that a Wii costs 60€ more than a 360 - and they go for the cheaper alternative not the more innovative one. So if Nintendo should like to continue with awsome sales they better lower the price of the Wii to 149€ AND take the bitter pill in losing some money on the console.

Hijacked. I am sorry I stop it.

As I said before all aspects (quality, release date and price) come into consideration. Just because I can get the PS2 version of Scarface a week earlier doesn't mean I will get it for the PS2. I am talking abount months and longer - Scarface was released on the PC a long time ago and months later I can buy nearly the same version (but censored) for the same price on the Wii. It is partially Nintendos fault - they can decide which games they accept and there used to be a Seal of Quality - not quantity like nowadays. Every successfull console has those but on the other said they also have a lot of good third party games which the Wii clearly has not at the moment. Nintendo knows that but don't care they make a fortune with DS and Wii consoles because they don't support the hardware with money like Sony or MS do - so they don't really have to care about that. The Wii right now is overpriced and the attach rate is not as good as on 360 or PS3 even though they don't sell millions of consoles each day. Why? Because casual gamers are happy with Wii Sports and a few other games. But continue like that and you don't sell much games because gamers will switch to get a broader variety again. Nintendo makes more money than every and you tell me they can't do anything about high quality third party games? How about investing money ... oh wait why should they - casual gamers are happy so why change anything. It is Gamecube all over again only that Nintendo is now more successfull - but as a so called hardcore gamer I don't see any advantage for me...

Scarface, Godfather: Earlier on PC, cheaper on PC, better looking on every system except PS2... that is a fact not a troll post. The problem is that often developers make a game and then port it after a while for the Wii - game is still good but a lot of people already own it and unless it is a lot cheaper the majority won't buy it again. Keyboard and mouse still own the Wiimote in every shooting game so far. I really try to buy a lot of third party Wii games and I do have a lot of them but often the Wii version is inferior when it comes to graphics, release and such stuff... Because developers don't really support the Wii - they make money with its popularity. Why else is nearly every port for Wii based on the PS2 version? This is partly Nintendos fault because as long as they earn money they seem only to care about the quality of their games. MS and Sony don't have such great and appealing first party games like Nintendo does but they have a pretty strong third party team supporting them with new IPs and those developers also invest in the consoles. 50 million for one PS3 game is no problem for Ubisoft and for the Wii they make 500 100.000$ Wii games. That is something Nintendo could change but they don't want to. So I buy Wii first party titles, a few third party Wii games and the rest I spend on the quality games on other systems.

As long as one point fits I am happy - Wii games normally don't fullfill any of the above things mentioned.

I really liked Godfather and Scarface but I already played them on the PC - if both would have been earlier games on the Wii I would got them for the Wii. My problem is if I like a game I buy: - the superior version - the cheaper version - the version which arrives earlier Those qualities don't fit very often on mature Wii games. Maybe an unfair comparsion but as a consumer with a limited budget who wants to play a lot of games I have to carefully select.

I am mostly fine ... some minor drawbacks related to my studies ;-) btw. I solved. In the end it was easier than I thought. Now I am all over Riccati differential equations - so be prepared everyone!

Yeah a fun game is a fun game wether it has mature content or not but a lot of developers don't even consider the Wii for mature games. This tendency is starting to annoy me a bit and Nintendo is not really working against that image. Reaching out to casual gamers is a good think to expand the market but to be honest I don't see any good in it for me. Sony and MS do a lot for their core fans - getting exclusive deals and selling consoles for a lower price. Nintendo does nothing for me except the few first party games I really like. Average review scores of Wii games would be pretty bad with out Nintendo games in it.

That is the problem - if party A promises not to go to war and gets elected but then changes her mind nobody can do anything except to hope they stop or vote different at the next election. Then the next problem comes into mind. Party A said they don't support a war but has not enough votes and partners with Party B which only helps if Party A starts to support a war. This goes on and on and as a citizen you lose the interest in elections, don't go to vote because after all it does not really make a difference. Politicians get a lot of money and do whatever they like. But if someone joins the army because he wants to it was his own decision which should respected by everyone even if the person joined because of (depending on the viewpoint) wrong motives.

I personally swear on SE phones. Right now I have a W810i - phone is good, music player is just right for my taste, battery runs pretty long, you get 512MB card and ear jacks with it. Camera is quite good but it has no real flash - I think. My girlfriend has the K770i - 3.2 mega pixel camera, real flash light and so on. Depending on the money you want to spend get a high-end SE phone.