Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Nerd News: Blizzard lays off 600 employees

Story on Ars, see also this from Blizzard http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/4081816711

According to the Wall Street Journal, Blizzard "had about 7,300 employees at the end of last year."

600 of 7,300 is 8.2% which seems like a pretty large reduction to me.

What this means for Esports & Blizzard's products in particular isn't clear yet, Blizzard is saying that not many of the reductions came from production people and that they plan to "continuing to develop, iterate, and polish Blizzard DOTA, Diablo III, StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm, World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria."

I wonder though, they did cancel Blizzcon for this year already, and now this, when according to BBC & other reports US economy is growing, though slowly.

Maybe Esports & Gaming are not sharing in that?

ASUS ROG Winter 2012: Polt vs Bling

ASUS ROG Assembly 2012

A Bo3, Polt vs BlinG, cast by Totalbiscuit & Apollo

Game 2  ||  Game 3

IPL4 Online Qualifier: PuMa vs Alicia

IPL4 Online Qualifier, a Bo3, from the Ro8 EG PuMa vs SlayerS Alicia from IGNProLeague, cast by HD & Painuser.

Game 2   ||   Game 3


Tuesday, February 28, 2012

LXG Open Gold & Below is live now

There are tournaments in Starcraft 2 for players at all levels, Team LXG has been hosting Open Tournaments for below Masters for many months now.



CastersNanMan & Zee

Streamhttp://www.twitch.tv/therealnanman

ASUS ROG 2012 - Group Stage - Polt vs Bling

This series is one I missed, and I really want to see it, glad that Totalbiscuit has it up now on his channel http://www.youtube.com/user/TotalBiscuit

Game 2  ||  Game 3

If your looking for replays from the event see this link.



ASUS ROG Winter Assembly 2012 Replays are out!!!!

Yes!!! Winter Assembly 2012 Replays are out!!

ASUS_ROG_Winter_2012_StarCraft2_Replaypack.zip

To see other replays on my Starcraft 2 Blog click replays, you can also find that link and others in the Label Cloud at left side of Blog. 


You may also be interested in the playlist I have on my Blog from various pro players.

ChanmanV's Pro Corner: Destiny vs Goswser Bo7

Ep 25 ChanmanV Pro Corner - QxG.Destiny vs col.Goswser - Bo7

ChanmanV's Pro Corner is a bi-weekly SC2 show where we bring on very popular and up-and-coming progamers to create a collaborative atmosphere of learning how to become a better SC2 player. The show formats will vary depending on how many guests we have on each show.

Show time: Every week Monday and Thursday 8pm Pacific Standard Time (Times may vary depending on guests)

Show stream: http://twitchtv.com/chanmanv

TL Thread:  http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=292091
Note AFAIK the correct youtube link is http://www.youtube.com/user/ChanmanV not the link in the thread.

VOD's (Twitch):
His Show is worth checking out if your looking to improve your game, but it isn't a shout cast type of program.

    Cliff's Esport Corner now in Korean, German, French, etc.

    I have added a Google Translate Widget for my Starcraft 2 Blog to the left side of the Blog, below the Clocks & above the Label Cloud.

    I hope that helps my all my Korean, EU, & other followers who are not native English speakers, if there are problems with it, let me know in comments section below or on twitter

    GL HF,

    Cliff

    Babytoss interviews WhiteRa

    In original Czech:  http://www.playzone.cz/clanky/white-ra-chci-ochutnat-slavne-ceske-pivo

    In English via Google Translate:  http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=cs&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.playzone.cz%2Fclanky%2Fwhite-ra-chci-ochutnat-slavne-ceske-pivo

    Nerd News: Pwnium: rewards for exploits

    Get paid for Google Chrome exploits ^_^

    Full information from Google's Security Team blog at link here.

    They are paying out up to $1 million in rewards, in either $60k, $40k, or $20k amounts if I understand correctly.

    Have fun hackers.

    The Executives: The Business of Gaming

    I will be following this closely!


    Complexity Gaming and Team Dignitas, in conjunction with Sound Blaster, are presenting "The Executives: The Business of Gaming"

    Hosts/Casters:  Jason Lake, Michael O`Dell

    From compLexityINSIDER:
    ""The Executives: The Business of Gaming" is a show hosted by Jason Lake of Complexity Gaming and Michael O'Dell of Dignitas Gaming. The live show discusses the business angles of recent news events and interviews the corporate people who directly impact eSports and gaming in general."


    The show airs at 1 PM EST on www.twitch.tv/compLexity






    From TL thread http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=316205

    The Executives' goal is to educate the next generation of business leaders and facilitate an open discussion about the opportunities and challenges facing the eSports business today.

    The debut episode is this Wednesday at 1 PM EST[local]. You can tune in at www.twitch.tv/compLexity.

    Guest Lineup: (subject to change)

    Episode 1: Sponsorships 101 - Ryan Schlieper, Product Marketing Manager, Creative SoundBlaster
    Episode 2: eSports Business 101 - Craig "Torbull" Levine of ESEA, ESS and previously of Team 3D
    Episode 3: Team Management - Victor "Nazgul" Goossens, co-Founder, Team Liquid
    Episode 4: The Business of Being TotalBiscuit - John "TotalBiscuit" Bain, CynicalBrit.com
    Episode 5: League Management - David Ting, Head of IGN eSports / IGN Proleague

    Contacts:

    Jason "1" Lake, Founder & CEO, Complexity Gaming. @coL_Lake
    Michael "Odee" O`Dell, Founder & Managing Director, Team Dignitas. @dignitasODEE
    Patrick "Chobopeon" O`Neill, eSports journalist and news anchor. @chobopeon
    Simon "Sympatico" Abitbol, Stream Producer. @SympaticoTV

    Monday, February 27, 2012

    Destiny vs Drezi Showmatch VOD

    Destiny vs drezi showmatch

    VOD link (from Twitch): http://www.twitch.tv/krudertv/b/309865699

    For more about this showmatch that happened 2/26/2012 see below:

    Stream http://www.twitch.tv/krudertv

    Casters:  Kruder & Laughing Man


    Icelandic player Drezi won a spot in a local tournament to compete against well known pro player, in this second showmatch in the series (followed by GEGTchrobbus vs WhiteRa) we got QxGDestiny to agree to a 100$ showmatch, second place gets 50$.

    This will be a best of 9 series.

    I will be commentating with friends from the local community. Language is English.

    Site: http://twitch.tv/krudertv

    Thread: Destiny vs Icelander

    Sunday, February 26, 2012

    Nerd News: Internet Service the Way it Should Be!

    "While some other cities can also brag about gigabit access, in this Sonoma County town it costs only $79.99 a month."

    If that doesn't grab your attention I don't know what will, see the rest of the story at Ars.

    Nerd News: TotalBiscuit to sponsor BlinG

    Full story at http://www.team-dignitas.net/articles/news/Team-Dignitas/977/TotalBiscuit-to-sponsor-BlinG/


    Totalbiscuit continues to impress me with his decisions about Starcraft 2 and money, I am a big fan of his Shoutcraft Invitationals, and now this!

    Truly impressive to me, TB makes money from SC2, but unlike some, he really has a strong drive to return money to the community, investing in the growth of the Starcraft 2.

    Well done Sir!

    Congrats to BlinG.

    Maybe BlinG will become the next WhiteRa at this rate, lining up sponsors like this, and being the best Protoss in his country!

    Destiny vs Drezi Showmatch

    [Edited to Add:  VOD link (from Twitch): http://www.twitch.tv/krudertv/b/309865699 ]

    When:  Sun 20:00 CET/Sun 14:00 EST/Sun 11:00 PST

    Stream http://www.twitch.tv/krudertv

    Casters:  Kruder & Laughing Man

    Icelandic player Drezi won a spot in a local tournament to compete against well known pro player, in this second showmatch in the series (followed by GEGTchrobbus vs WhiteRa) we got QxGDestiny to agree to a 100$ showmatch, second place gets 50$.

    This will be a best of 9 series.

    I will be commentating with friends from the local community. Language is English.

    Site: http://twitch.tv/krudertv

    Thread: Destiny vs Icelander

    Playhem EU Daily: Ostojiy vs HwangSin

    GoSu Ostojiy vs GoSu HwangSin cast by Lyrlian from PlayhemTV

    This is Game 1 in the Grand finals from Playhem EU Daily, January 4th, with lots of funny banter between these HwangSin & Ostojiy, they are teammates for the 3 people that didn't realize that ^_^


    Game 2  ||  Game 3 pt 1  ||  Game 3 pt 2

    <333 HwangSin


    Polt vs Snute

    Uploaded 2/24/2012 : TSL.Polt (T) v GL.Snute (Z) on  Tal'Darim Altar cast by Ipp from RageQuitTV.

    I am sure after ASUS ROG Assembly Winter 2012, a lot of people will be looking for Polt Replays, one of the reasons why Ipp is one of my favorite VOD casters, is that he always includes the replay that he casts, see link below, on his youtube VOD's.  If you like him please follow him on Twitter or youtube!

    Replay: http://drop.sc/119109

    For more replays on my Blog just click replays, you can also find that link in the Label Cloud on left side of the Blog.  For more stuff from Ipp click Ipp, which is in Label Cloud as well.


    Minigun Player Profile from Red Bull LAN

    This is from a few months back, but I just stumbled across it, and I am a big Minigun fan, so I figured I would share it, in case other people had missed it.

    Minigun's stream is http://www.twitch.tv/colminigun

    MLG Winter Arena 2012: SaSe vs San

    Sase vs San, a PvP, in Game 1 from the Losers Bracket of MLG's Winter Arena 2012, cast by djWheat & JP McDaniel.       Game 2  ||  Game 3

    I have been a fan of SaSe's ever since I first saw him do some totally sick DT/Warp Prism Micro, I hear he had some really great games in this MLG, I haven't watched the games yet myself, that way I can't accidentally let slip any spoilers!  ^_^

    Boyo vs Destiny Bo3

    Quantic Destiny vs eP Boyo cast by burgbackGame 2  ||  Game 3

    This is a ZvP game, Boyo is part of Clan eP, he is a top NA GM Protoss.  I have been a fan of Boyo for some time now, and glad to seem him get better well known!

    Destiny of course has been part of Quantic Gaming for a while now, which really seems to have been a good move for Destiny.  He seems to have had more and better practice opportunities with Quantic, he was in Korea for a while, and came very close to beating Violet in The Rundown a few weeks ago.




    Saturday, February 25, 2012

    ASUS ROG Assembly Winter 2012 VOD's yes Replays not yet

    Eidted:  2-25-2012 Yes!!! Winter Assembly 2012 Replays are out!!

    ASUS_ROG_Winter_2012_StarCraft2_Replaypack.zip


    To see other replays on my Starcraft 2 Blog click replays, you can also find that link and others in the Label Cloud at left side of Blog. 


    No replays yet that I can find, but here are links to all the VOD from the 2012 ASUS ROG Winter Assembly:

    http://www.twitch.tv/setttv/videos

    http://www.twitch.tv/setttv2/videos

    ASUS ROG Tournament ASSEMBLY Winter 2012 Finals: Stephano vs Polt, who will win?

    I am rooting for Stephano, I have been a fan of his for some time now, though I was really looking forward to the series between Elfi and Stephano.

    And that was a good series, Elfi took the second game off of Stephano in the whole tournament so far, we will soon see if Polt can do better.

    I have no idea if Polt or Stephano will win, I am sure it will be an awesome series though.

    I am really looking forward to seeing how Stephano deals with Polt's 2 Rax openings, I think that will be one of the deciding factors of the series.

    I think early pressure that doesn't let up, or some really unusual timing attacks are the only things likely to be successful vs Stephano.

    That is what Elfi did, more or less, was a 2 base timing with heavy Sentry with a few Immortals, and Stalker reinforcement.

    And once he started the pressure he didn't let up.

    For links & etc for this event see ASUS ROG Tournament ASSEMBLY Winter 2012

    Check out compLexity's pictures from Winter Arena 2012

    They have 4 pages of pictures up, check it out, pictures of Catz, Drewbie, & more http://www.complexitygaming.com/gallery/85/page/1/

    ASUS ROG Tournament ASSEMBLY Winter 2012: Game 1 Stephano vs Real

    [for links & etc for this event see ASUS ROG Tournament ASSEMBLY Winter 2012]

    A very entertaining game 1 between Stephano and Real, 2 base all in Mothership rush with recall.

    Real cleared path from his main to Stephano's main with Phoenix, so that Stephano couldn't see it coming, but Stephano seems to make 1 spore per base pretty standard vs Protoss.

    And Real didn't execute the recall in the most ideal location, I think it would have been a lot stronger with 1 or 2 more warp prisms to spread Stephano's army in addition to recall threat.

    Perhaps ideally a strong Warp Prism attack on the north side of the map with recall on on side or the other of the main/natural ramp to control both the ramp between and the ramp out of the Natural.

    Though the other problem Real had, was he was doing a 2 base play that was slow, by the time the attack landed Stephano was on 4 bases.

    Still it was a very entertaining game, the coolist game of 2012 so far IMO.

    Friday, February 24, 2012

    IPL FXO oGs TAC2

    Watching IPL FXO vs oGs http://www.twitch.tv/ignproleague cast by CatsPajamas & Doa.

    Some really good games so far, then to bed so I can get up for Day 2 of ASUS ROG Tournament ASSEMBLY

    PSA: Facebook, Your Data, the Government, & More

    Forbes, just released an online story about Facebook's Chief Security Officer, I recommend everyone that uses social media to read the story, it reveals a lot of information about how Facebook handles Data Privacy and related topics like cyber crime.

    [If this leaves you looking for more you can read Computerworld's "Facebook settles FTC privacy complaints" and PC World's "Facebook Commits to Changes Following Critical Irish Audit" details of the Irish audit: Report of Data Protection Audit of Facebook Ireland.  But this Blog post is about the Forbes article.]

    You will probably find some things that surprise you, like how many people working at Facebook just deal with law enforcement requests for information.

    Or the Security Bug Bounty, where you can make money as an  Ethical or White Hat Hacker.

    One thing I learned that maybe I heard, but if so it didn't stay in my memory, was that Facebook partnered with Sophos to take down some Russian cyber criminals.

    I follow the Sophos Naked Security Blog, one of the best IT Security blogs out there.

    I usually run into a few people every month in the Starcraft 2 community, that are surprised that I am not on Facebook at all, usually they are not aware of these issues.

    When I read the Forbes article, I felt that they provided a very good overview of Data Privacy as it pertains to Facebook.

    Thought there was a slight, but clear bias for Facebook in the Forbes article (ie they are painted as "good guys" and no mention is made of the Irish Audit, I think Forbes has done a much better job of explaining the Data Privacy risks of Facebook,  than I have ever done.

    So I encourage everyone to read it, and please note:  I am NOT saying you should not use Facebook, I am saying that you should do so with a clear idea of what that means for anything and everything you put on Facebook.

    Forewarned is Forearmed 

    You may also find Nerd News: Post SOPA, EU vs USA Internet Freedom & Rights worth reading.

    Sheth Awesomeness vs EG in IPL TAC2

    After seeing TLO's valiant struggle vs Polt I felt the need to watch some Zerg domination, for the 2 Zerg or Sheth fans out there that haven't heard of these games I will avoid spoilers, except to say you will enjoy these games from the IPL!

    From IGNProLeague, cast by CatsPajamas & Doa

    Game 2 || Game 3 || Game 4 || Game 5


    Thursday, February 23, 2012

    Destiny is streaming some practice

    http://www.own3d.tv/live/153518/Destiny

    Haven't had the chance to see Destiny practice in some time.

    Good luck to Boyo tonight on The Rundown

    Good Luck Boyo!

    Boyo is part of Clan eP, for more information on Boyo start here http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=264150


    The Rundown is a weekly 8 player invitational cup with top players from as many different teams and countries as possible. The Rundown is about facilitating the rising stars in SC2 and bring exposure to those teams and players that may not have 10,000 twitter followers. The Rundown is different. It is not just a competition of top skill but also a show with an 'edge' to it.

    When:  Thursdays at 7:30 pm EST

    Where: http://www.twitch.tv/cybersportsnetwork

    CastersGwin & this weeks guest caster NerdSwagger

    Brackets: http://cyber-sports.net/brackets/19272

    ASUS ROG Tournament ASSEMBLY Winter 2012

    Edited to add:  No replays yet that I can find, but here are links to all the VOD from the 2012 ASUS ROB Winter Assembly:

    http://www.twitch.tv/setttv/videos

    http://www.twitch.tv/setttv2/videos  

    *****

    When:  2/24/2012 - 2/25/2012

    Schedulehttp://www.assembly.org/winter12/schedule


    Mobile friendly schedulehttp://m.assembly.org/

    Match Schedulehttp://tournaments.peliliiga.fi/winter12/matches

    Groups & Resultshttp://tournaments.peliliiga.fi/winter12/tournaments/asus-rog-starcraft-ii-tournament/groups

    Bracketshttp://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Assembly_Winter_2012#Bracket

    Casters:  Totalbiscuit, Apollo, Mr. Bitter, Khaldor

    Streams:



    Tournament details
    • Players: 32 players selected among the applicants [See here for all players]
    • Prize pool: $20,000.00 USD
    • Format: Group play + single elimination bracket
    • Where: Helsinki, Finland -- ASSEMBLY Winter 2012
    More information:

    Wednesday, February 22, 2012

    Learning Starcraft 2: PvP, Heavy Phoenix Army vs Balanced Army

    This very interesting game:  aiRXujhan vs MysticFiendcast by Duckvillelol, shows a very heavy Phoenix play by aiRXujhan vs a more balanced unit comp from MysticFiendcast.

    This game doesn't go the way I would have expected at all, I would like to see Protoss try Phoenix heavy openings like this vs Terran some more.  I think there is a lot of untapped potential there.

    Boyo streaming Playhem

    Gogogogogo Boyo!

    http://www.twitch.tv/boyostarcraft

    WhiteRa vs Devil

    And interesting Protoss vs Zerg game cast by Ipp from RageQuitTV.

    I liked Devil's response to the FFE from WhiteRa, I have been looking at various Zerg responses to FFE this last week, see also Fast Ling Drops vs FFE.

    One of the reasons I follow Ipp, is because he always seems to include link to the replay of the games he casts!  I really appreciate that!!

    Replayhttp://drop.sc/116514

    To see other replays on my Blog click replays, you can also find that Label in the Label Cloud at left side of my Blog.

    CSN's The Rundown #12

    The Rundown is a weekly 8 player invitational cup with top players from as many different teams and countries as possible. The Rundown is about facilitating the rising stars in SC2 and bring exposure to those teams and players that may not have 10,000 twitter followers. The Rundown is different. It is not just a competition of top skill but also a show with an 'edge' to it.

    When:  Thursdays at 7:30 pm EST [Pregame Show, this week, starts at 5:00 pm at 7:00 pm EST like normal]

    Where: http://www.twitch.tv/cybersportsnetwork

    CastersGwin & this weeks guest caster NerdSwagger

    Brackets: http://cyber-sports.net/brackets/19272

    Players (already Registered):
    • aurora77
    • Boyo
    • EnDerr
    • GG.DeMoN
    • GoSuSTX
    • NMxHose
    • Sleep


    CSN also had some comments (link fixed) on MLG's PPV & memberships:

    As always, the Rundown is FREE to watch and we honor the MLG Gold and Silver Memberships. If you currently have either of the MLG memberships, you are welcome to join the chat live and for free on stream. Silver members must chat in 'slow mode' for the first 30 minutes, while Gold Members may use all of the Twitch features

    Brackets from all the previous Rundowns:
    1. December 07, 2011 Rundown #1 Bracket
    2. December 14, 2011 Rundown #2 Bracket
    3. December 21, 2011 Rundown #3 Bracket
    4. December 29, 2011 Rundown #4 Bracket
    5. January 05, 2012 Rundown #5 Bracket
    6. January 12, 2012 Rundown #6 Bracket
    7. January 19, 2012 Rundown #7 Bracket
    8. January 26,2012 Rundown #8 Bracket
    9. February 2, 2012 Rundown #9 Bracket
    10. February 9, 2012 Rundown #10 Bracket
    11. February 16, 2012 Rundown #11 Bracket

    Nerd News: ACTA being referred to the European Court of Justice (will review impact on Rights & Freedoms)

    Full story at http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/12/128
    "As you are no doubt aware, within the EU institutional process, the European Commission has already passed ACTA to national governments for ratification. The Council has adopted ACTA unanimously in December and authorised Member States to sign it. The Commission has also passed on ACTA to the European Parliament for debate and a future vote.
    That said, I believe the European Commission has a responsibility to provide our parliamentary representatives and the public at large with the most detailed and accurate information available. So, a referral will allow for Europe’s top court to independently clarify the legality of this agreement."

    If you read the full story, it sounds, at least to me, like more of a political move, to get some of the pressure from the public shifted to another part of the governments.

    But I confess my knowledge of EU government & politics is far from detailed.

    I would welcome comments from any readers that have more expertise or experience.

    Starcraft 2 Thoughts: ZvP, Fast Ling Drops vs FFE

    I have told Zerg for some time now that ling drops are very strong, and work with all kinds of other choices.

    I recently found this great thread by TangSC, http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=294983, about Fast Ling Drops vs Protoss doing FFE or Nexus first.

    This guide is very well thought out, he also provides a 75 minute stream that covers this Build in great detail http://www.twitch.tv/tangsc/b/302592802, there are a couple of minutes when he shows the first game where his video card is straining/blinking until he changes settings, you can just skip ahead to 7:35 on the Twitch timer or 5:25 on the SC2 game Clock, rest of stream is fine.

    TangSC also provides a replay, note he covers a lot of games in the 75 minute stream linked above, replay at http://drop.sc/75173.

    He also provides detailed written notes in the stream, all in all this is an excellent guide!

    I am adding this to the standard material that I provide to Zerg I coach.

    More lessons & Guides from TangSC at http://www.twitch.tv/tangsc/videos

    You should follow TangSC, I am after seeing this guide!

    You can find full contact information & Coaching rates from TangSC on his TwitchTV channel http://www.twitch.tv/tangsc

    Edited to add further thoughts:  I really like how this build seems safe vs most things in the early game, and cause your dropping early you don't really have to worry about over producing lings.

    You also get really complete scouting information!

    Tuesday, February 21, 2012

    Thundertoss streaming some practice

    http://www.twitch.tv/thundertoss

    As I have said before and I will certainly say again, I always learn something from watching Thundertoss!

    Starcraft 2 Thoughts: Patch 1.4.3 is now live for Starcraft 2

    Full details on SC2 Patch 1.4.3 at http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/4487503/Patch_143_Now_Live-2_21_2012#blog

    I don't think Protoss needed the Buff to Phoenix, but this is will make Phoenix harass of mineral lines a LOT stronger.

    I don't know if this buff will matter much for Protoss vs Zerg, but it can make a big differencefor Protoss vs Terran! 

    Though I am not sure anyone will use it for that, cause you can't get it early, but this will really strengthen Protoss Air vs Terran Air, since only real counter Terran has to Carriers is Vikings, and this will make it easier for Phoenix to neutralize Viking threat to Carriers.

    May helps defend vs Terran 1-1-1 builds as well, since Phoenix will out range Marines now!


    Phoenix are tough, even pre buff they coul harass mineral lines even vs 2-3 Turrets, since they have enough shields to last while they 3 shot SCV's with their bonus to light damage.

    The range upgrade will let them position even better, since they will have range 6 attack vs Range 7 of Turrets.

    This may also lead to Terran getting autosec tracking upgrade to get the +1 Range upgrade to Turrets, as well as PF.

    Another very nice thing about this upgrade is that with this upgrade Phoenix will have same range as Voidrays!!!!

    Which means Phoenix + Voidrays will work much better together, since Phoenix get bonus damage to light and Voidrays get bonus damage to Armored.

    Kings of Tin on Liquidpedia, VOD links, timeline, & more

    I am a big fan of Kings of Tin, recently twelfthdoc finished a major revision of the Kings of Tin listing on Liquidpedia.

    The liquidpedia entry also has links to VOD's of the specific episodes, so if you want to see all the episodes that had Catz on you can easily find them now.

    Thanks to djWheat, Wacksteven, and all the guests that make Kings of Tin so much fun

    Kings of Tin Sponsors:
    SteelSeries - http://www.steelseries.com
    Bigfoot Networks - http://www.bigfootnetworks.com/
    GUNNAR Optiks - http://www.gunnars.com/age




    Good job Doc!  Thanks!

    Legion Team League LXG vs NeS

    Caster: NanMan.

    When:  7:00 pm EST

    Streamhttp://www.twitch.tv/therealnanman

    TL Thread http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=296723


    Starcraft 2 Skills: Yin/Yang or push/pull Strategy

    TSL Polt vs Monchi on Bel'Shir Beach, cast by Crota.

    This is a beautiful little game.  Toss uses a DT opening that has a lot of flexibility.  I think of this as forcing an opponent down a path that you want them on, or as Yin/Yang.  Yin/Yang because your pushing in one direction, and if enemy pushes back, you just start pulling, either way you take them off balance.

    This game has very tight, or close timing, the push by Terran is barely held.  But that is the strongest way to defend in early stages of the game, if you barely hold it, that means your not wasting any resources on defense that didn't need to be spent on defense!!!

    This game shows how difficult DT really are for Terran in the early stages of the game, if Terran doesn't have detection it is GG.

    But every Scan is worth ~270 minerals, every Turret is worth 100 minerals.  So every Turret forced out of Terran after he realizes DT is one less Marauder or Medivac he can make!  This also means with a tight build the gas he planned to use for Marauder or Medivac is wasted, because it can't be spent.

    And if Terran does build those Turrets, then he has to deal with a big ball of lightning!  As this games shows.

    Starcraft 2 Thoughts: Simple, Direct Attack vs enemy that doesn't Scout

    This game:  TSL Polt vs Monchi, a TvP, cast by Crota, shows how effect a simple direct attack can be vs an unprepared opponent.

    My thoughts below the VOD, for more on Scouting see Learning Starcraft 2: Scouting vs Terran




    The other day I was talking to a GM Zerg friend of mine about how I felt that even many pro players were lazy about scouting, that they tended to assume way to much about what the other person was doing or not doing.

    He agreed with me instantly.

    I think this game is a good example of this, Terran does an initial Scout, but doesn't learn anything from it at all really.

    Not even the second gas timing, then he doesn't even bother to take control of a Xel Naga Tower.

    Now Protoss opened with a very greedy build, which mean Toss took some risk, he would have probably lost to early aggression.

    But note at about the 8:55 mark, right before Toss does last warp in prior to attacking, he had enough minerals he could have taken a 3rd and still had a 10 food advantage.

    Ask yourself what did Terran know about Toss right before that push? Well he knew Toss had two bases, and where they were, nothing else.

    Kinda hard to prepare for something when you don't have any idea what your enemy is doing.

    Kinda like a Zombie or Horror movie were somebody walks outside or into a basement, where it is dark, without even looking or turning on a light at first.

    Monday, February 20, 2012

    Playhem Showmatch replays VileIllusion vs ItsGosu HwangSin

    http://gosu.ws/8h9na

    To see other replays here click on replays, you can also click on the label in the Label Cloud at left side of the blog or bookmark it.

    PSA: Strong Passwords, prevent your Gaming Accounts from being Hacked.

    Several friends of mine have had their gaming accounts hacked.

    I have had my credit card info stolen, still don't know how or where it happened.

    I was reminded of this topic, recently when JP McDaniel @itmeJP was hacked:
    "Well shit. My XBL account got hacked and they bought $500 worth of points. That's annoying was just talking about this too, le sigh"

    So I have been doing some more research on the topic.

    I found this interesting site for strong passwords https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm
    they also have information and freeware.

    I am not a computer geek or IT Security expert, though I did check their site on McAfee, and it shows as green, with one Red download, the freeware "Leaktest", which I don't know if Leaktest is really malware or that is just the way McAfee classified it.

    PSA: SOPA, ACTA, & Secret Treaties about Copyrights

    Go read this, from Ars, "ACTA is part of a multi-decade, worldwide copyright campaign."

    If your not sure you should take the time, consider this snippet from that article,
    "Ars Technica recently talked to Michael Geist, a legal scholar at the University of Ottawa, about this effort. He told us that rather than making their arguments at the World Intellectual Property Organization, where they would be subject to serious public scrutiny, the US and other supporters of more restrictive copyright law have increasingly focused on pushing their agenda in alternative venues, such as pending trade deals, where negotiations are secret and critics are excluded."

    This really disturbs me, seriously, why do things like this in secret, unless you have dishonest, discriminatory, or perhaps even malicious, motives?

    I can't think of any other reason for negoatiations on Copyrights, and the related laws and agreements, to be held in secret.

    Can you?

    We need to let the politicians know we don't support this type of behavior, anymore than we did SOPA, or ACTA!

    Though it is hard to protest about things that are secret isn't it?

    Ret vs Violet, with Violet offracing as Protoss!

    This is an interesting game between LiquidRet & Empire Violet, with Violet playing as Protoss, his offrace.

    This game is cast by if your interested in The Rundown event he mentions, that Violet has won several times, click The Rundown to see all my posts on it. 

    IIRC Violet has won every one of The Rundowns he has played in, you can find VOD's of The Rundown at CSN's Youtube Channel

    TargA vs Stephano VOD

    SEACast: TargA vs Stephano, mirror matchup, cast by

    This game from TargA's replay pack: http://www.sc2sea.com/showthread.php?t=3519
    so we know there is at least one Stephano replay in there!   ^_^

    To see other replay packs, click on replays, you can also find that Label in the Label cloud at left side of Blog.

    Streaming Tips & Tricks: "Auto Scene Change" for XSplit

    I have heard Thundertoss and others mention auto switch for XSplit, this is the one I know about, for full information see TL thread http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=269995

    [Edited to add:  djWheat likes it http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=269995#13]

    But it will automatically switch overlay for you on and off, unless you disable it.

    I was reminded of this today while watching TLO stream, he forgot to drop the overlay he uses between games for one game T_T

    To see other Blog posts about streaming click Streaming: Tips Tricks, you can also click that label in the label cloud at left side of Blog, or any label you are interested in at bottom left of every post.

    You can even bookmark the labels and check them from time to time for new info, if you don't want to subscribe to the whole blog via RSS or email at bottom of every Blog page.

    Sunday, February 19, 2012

    Playhem Showmatch: vileIllusion vs GoSuHwangSin!

    Playhem's showmatch series brings Illusion vs HwangSin

    This is a Best of 7

    I am a big HwangSin fan, while one of my best SC2 buddies is a big vileIllusion fan, should have bet him a pizza on the game ^_^

    When: 10:00 KST/02:00 CET/Sun 20:00 EST/Sun 17:00 PST

    Prizes:
    • 1st place - $100
    • 2nd place - $50

    Stream

    Starcraft 2 Skills: Prism Micro

    This is a master level TvP game, featuring SoVAesir(T) vs DaySixLXG(P) cast by NanMan from Team LXG.

    DaySix has some impressive Prism micro with his Colossus, that starts around 15:40 and continues through the rest of the game, on and off as needed.

    I am a proponent of Prism play, especially with the Speed upgrade, and I think it is something that even lower level players can use effectively with some practice.  They won't be as fast as a GM, but then neither will their opponents.

    This game from DaySix reminds me of Sickness' Immortal micro, DaySix is a good player, but Sickness is a GM Protoss that has some really sick Prism Immortal Micro.

    I am a fan of Sickness, just click on his name to see list of all my posts on him, you can also find that list by clicking on his name in the label cloud on left side of my Blog.



    Nerd News: Programming with Tweet length code

    I saw this story today on I Programmer, about coding Tetris using only 140 characters.

    There is a whole site, called 140byt.es dedicated to Tweet sized Java script.

    This strikes me as elegant, with challenges and personal rewards similar to Haiku.

    Nightend vs Judge

    Interesting game from ForceSC2strategy, shows that just because your ahead, doesn't mean your going to win.

    I was wrong about who was going to win this game at least twice, which was nice, means there is more to figure out.


    Learning Starcraft 2: Scouting vs Terran

    A very good VLog by Ipp, part of RageQuitTV, about Scouting vs Terran in Starcraft 2, some very good pointers!

    Thank you Ipp! 

    Saturday, February 18, 2012

    IPL Fight Club 11: Thorzain vs Hero!

    I am watching Hero vs Thorzain, epic game 1 Nuke and more Nukes, over 45 minutes and still going on first game!!!

    Streamhttp://www.twitch.tv/ignproleague


    When:  02:00 CET/Sat 20:00 EST/Sat 17:00 PST

    Nerd News: CompLexity adds coL.Killer To Starcraft 2 Roster

    Full story http://www.complexitygaming.com/news/3389/

    CompLexity is adding coL.Killer's, to other new players, coL.NaDa and coL.Heart, that they have already added this year.

    Looking forward to watching compLexity's performance this year, I admit I am a fanbou of compLexity.

    PSA: BrailleTouch: Mobile Texting for the Visually Impaired

    I saw this story on Ars, about "Mobile Texting for the Visually Impaired" you can read the paper (pdf) by Brian Frey, Caleb Southern, Mario Romero, from Georgia Institute of Technology link here.

    Contact information for the authors of the paper:
    • School of Interactive Computing
      801 Atlantic Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332-0280
      {bfrey6, csouthern8, mario}@gatech.edu

    I think this not only has communication applications for Visually Impaired, but that it also has potential for Visually Impaired people to game!  Or even work, but gaming is more important than work! ^_^

    I know there have been some controllers made for consoles that are more user friendly to people with some disabilities.

    I know there are many people with disabilities or health issues that are into gaming, including some pros in Starcraft 2.



    ONOG $500 Showmatch: Sheth vs Grubby

    One Nation Of Gamers, is hosting a $500 Bo7 Showmatch between Liquid Sheth and Twitch Tv’s Grubby

    When: Monday February 20, 2012 at 7:00 pm EST

    Stream http://www.twitch.tv/onenationofgamers

    Casters:  Mr. Bitter

    More informationONOG

    Friday, February 17, 2012

    Kiwikaki vs Vibe

    Kiwikaki vs Vibe cast by Husky.




    Sickness vs Shuttle

    dtGSickness (aka NextSickness) vs NSHS_Shuttle cast by Duckvillelol

    Sickness showing some sick Prism & Sentry play.

    Losira vs Naama on Shakuras Plateau, from Korean Ladder 2/16/12

    IM.Losira vs eSahara.Naama cast by Ipp from RageQuitTV

    Replay of this game here:  http://drop.sc/113191

    To see other replays I have blogged click replay label, you can also find this label and others in Label Cloud at left of Blog, or at bottom left of every post.

    coLMinigun vs Meowzor

    Minigun vs Meowzor, from http://www.youtube.com/user/remembertomorrow0

    Thundertoss Top 200 KOTH (King of the Hill)

    Thundertoss' weekly Top 200 King of the Hill continues, showing the top players duking it out in a King of the Hill format.


    When:  (Sat) 03:30 CET/Fri 21:30 EST/18:30 PST

    Stream: http://ascendtv.com (alternate if problems with main) http://www.twitch.tv/thundertoss

    CastersAscend & Thundertoss

    Replays:  http://top200koth.blogspot.com/ (See Replay Packs on left side of that page)

    Format:  Top 200 Players (Grandmaster priority, top Masters permitted)

    Prizes:

    • $20 for each 5 wins.
    • $10 for dethroning a 5+ win player.
    • $10 for "Match of the Night"

    Players: join the chat channel "top200koth" on the NA server, and send a message to Thundertoss.


    Thread: Top 200 KOTH (with prize $$!)

    Thursday, February 16, 2012

    Nerd News: Sad News, Reign Disbanding.

    Full story here at TL http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=312667

    I am really bummed by this, big fan of Kiwikaki, as well as Slush, Asxlav, Artist, etc.

    Wish all the players of RGN the best going forward.

    PSA: XSS bug in Adobe Flash controlled users' Web accounts

    Full story at Ars, but this is the part that got my attention:
    Most XSS vulnerabilities are the result of coding errors on a specific website. A universal XSS, by contrast, stems from bugs present in browsers or plugins and can be exploited as they access multiple sites. Besides its zero-day status as a vulnerability—meaning it was fixed only after it was under attack—the Flash bug is noteworthy because it affects software that is installed on a majority of the world's computers. What's more, universal XSS vulnerabilities typically give an attacker the ability to run custom-written JavaScript in a victim's browser that can steal authentication cookies used to log into private accounts and take similar actions, such as send spam or messages to all addresses contained in an address book.



    Security bulletin from Adobe https://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb12-03.html, "Adobe categorizes these as critical updates and recommends users update their installations to the newest versions."


    So you might want to make sure your up to date, if you don't do that automatically. 

    Personally I like to manually check upgrades on a weekly basis, more to make sure I think about security.  It helps me make thinking about security risks a habit.

    PSA: Twitter "Find Friends" on cell phones, copies email addresses and phone numbers to their servers!

    Full story here at LA Times, also picked up by Naked Security Blog here, and though those stories are focusing on the iPhone, the LA Times article states "mobile users" not just iPhones.

    The Register's article, specifically mentions "iOS and Android clients."


    The LA Times story originally said that Twitter was storing names from address book as well as email and phone numbers, which is what Twitter told them originally, but they have an update/correction at the end of their story, stating that Twitter now says that it is just email and phone numbers.


    Makes me feel a bit more strongly that we should have a Digital Bill of Rights, here in the USA.

    Watching Ep. 22 ChanmanV's Pro Corner - WhiteRa and mTwDimaga - Best of 7

    Wasn't sure I was going to get to see this live, just saw end of game 3, now WhiteRa is up 2-1 in this Bo7!

    Gogogogo WhiteRA

    When:  Thu 19:00 CET/Thu 13:00 EST/Thu 10:00 PST

    Stream http://www.twitch.tv/chanmanv

    TL Thread: ChanmanV's Pro Corner

    Wednesday, February 15, 2012

    Startale vs TSL today on IPL Team Arena Challenge 2

    TSL vs StarTale is a Winners Round 2 (Ro8) match for IPL Team Arena Challenge 2!

    This is a $20,000, 16-team, double-elimination tournament with each match played in a best of 9 All-Kill format!

    Stream: http://www.ign.com/ipl

    When:  Thur 02:00 CET/Wed 20:00 EST/Wed 17:00 PST


    TL Thread: [IPL] TAC2: TSL vs StarTale WR2 (Day 15)

    Nerd News: Post SOPA, EU vs USA Internet Freedom & Rights?

    A Computer/Net Security blog I follow, Naked Security, has a very good article out, "Who has better privacy laws: USA or European Union?"

    This articel from Naked Security seems to have been motivated in part by PCWorld's article "Protect Our Data! A Digital Consumer Bill of Rights"

    Both of those article are worth reading, I feel at worst I have an average understanding of these issues, I am a full time Esports Blogger after all, and I put a lot of effort into staying informed on this & related topics.

    I still learned some things I was not fully aware of, specifically, the Naked Security article clearly states that "In the US, the Data Protection picture is more fragmented."

    Which is something I knew, but had never really thought of before, the United States of America are called "United States" in part because each state actually can have completely different laws in many areas of law.

    That is part of the complexity of the issue in the USA, but at the Federal level there is also more than one department involved, and each department has different concerns, not to mention the different departments are influenced by different PAC's, lobbyists, and Politicians.

    I don't know enough currently to make any strong statements, except that I think everyone that works or plays on the internet should strive to know and understand as much as they can on these topics.

    Hero vs Virus

    Liquid Hero vs Startale Virus cast by RageQuitTV

    A very good game, the players are both very good and evenly matched. 

    I especially liked the early Warp Prism play by Hero.

    Nerd Gear: GPU AMD 7750 & 7770 Review

    See AnandTech Review for full details:
    "The 7770 will be a fully enabled Cape Verde with all 10 CUs (640 SPs) enabled, running at 1GHz for the core clock and 4.5GHz for the memory clock, with a PowerTune limit of 100W and an AMD defined typical board power of 80W. The 7750 meanwhile has 2 disabled CUs, giving it 512 SPs and 32 texture units, while the ROP count is unchanged at 16. The core clock will be 800MHz while the memory clock is the same as the 7770 at 4.5GHz, with a PowerTune limit of 75W and a typical board power of 55W. Both cards have a sub-10W idle TDP, while long-idle is sub-3W."
    "Compared to the 7750, the 7770 has 25% more CUs and a 25% core clock advantage, giving it a massive 56% shader and texture performance advantage over the 7750. With the 5700 series this gap was only 35%, and most of that was a result of core clock differences. The fact that the memory bandwidth is the same between the 7770 and 7750 equalizes things somewhat, but it’s still a huge difference for two cards that are in the same family."

    Price of the 7770 is $159 and the price of the 7750 is $109

    See also Engadget, that provides following additional links, including Anandtech I mention above; AnandTech, HotHardware, PC Perspective, TechSpot, Tech Report.

    I also found CRN's article interesting, if short, I will have to start following their site regularly. 


    WhiteRa Streaming

    Go WhiteRa!

    http://www.twitch.tv/whitera

    SC2 Season 6 Map: Korhal Compound

    From Apollo, <333 for these walk throughs Apollo!

    See Apollo's introduction to Cloud Kingdom as well.

    Tuesday, February 14, 2012

    QXC vs Puma

    Puma vs QXC cast by Husky

    Reaper on Reaper action.


    Nerd Love Song for Valentines Day

    This is from http://www.youtube.com/HuskyStarcraft thought it made a good Starcraft 2 Valentines  post, you can buy it at iTunes http://bit.ly/scvlovesong

    Shoutout to Joofro92 for suggesting this VOD.



    Esports Future: "The People Who Manage Professional Athletes’ Moves"

    This article from the Business Insider made me wonder if Esports already has some professional Athlete Relocators?  People that help Pros move from one location to another.

    I know a few Pros in Starcraft 2 have moved from one country to another already, and as Esports grow, there will be more of that as time goes on.

    I think the translators in Korea end up helping foregners that move to Korea currently.

    I am not sure if there is a specific person that helps Koreans that move to the EU or USA?  I would suspect again that translators would end up doing a lot of the work.

    Just a suggestion to people looking to work in Esports, SC2 in particular, that being fluent in Korean or another foreign language might be more useful than Gosu gaming skills.  If only because you would probably have far less competition.

    SEACL - Week 5 - xG vs SPR

    CasterBenji 

    Streamwww.twitch.tv/benjisc2

    When:  11:00 CET/05:00 EST/02:00 PST


    The Premier Team League for the SEA servers, with all of the best players participating for their share of the $750 prize pool. Notable names include:

    mOOnGLaDe - WCG 2011, IEM Cologne, Blizzcon 2011, GSL WC, NASL Season 1 and 2
    tgun - GSTL Season 1, MLG
    Targa - IEM Kiev, NASL Season 3
    PiG - IEM Guangzhau
    iaguz - IEM Guangzhau
    JazBas - Blizzcon 2011
    RedArchon - Blizzcon 2010
    Rossi - PPSL



    Site: http://www.sc2sea.com/showthread.php?t=3413

    Thread: [SEA]$750 Team League Begins!

    Nerd News: MLG Winter PPV FAQ

    See this link for full information http://pro.majorleaguegaming.com/competitions/29#event_87_arena_ppv_faq

    The Pass costs $20 and "The broadcast will air live– Friday, 2/24 – 5:30pm – midnight ET, Saturday, 2/25 – 1:30pm – 10:00pm ET, Sunday, 2/26 – 1:30pm-8pm ET".

    About VOD's MLG is saying:

     VOD will go up immediately following each match, right on the page
     VOD will be released for free for those who didn’t purchase an Arena pass one week after the end of the competition

     Feel free to post questions or comments.

    Patch 1.4.3 Situation Report from PsyStarcraft

    I already posted a little about the up coming Patch 1.4.3 for Starcraft 2, here are PsyStarcraft's thoughts about it.

    CSN's The Rundown #11

    When:  Thursdays at 7:30 pm EST

    Where: http://www.twitch.tv/cybersportsnetwork

    Bracketshttp://cyber-sports.net/brackets/19270

    Players (already Registered):
    • Sleep
    • ClashMoOk
    • dtGrow
    • ender
    • JonnyRecco
    • TheMista


    The Rundown is a weekly 8 player invitational cup with top players from as many different teams and countries as possible. The Rundown is about facilitating the rising stars in SC2 and bring exposure to those teams and players that may not have 10,000 twitter followers. The Rundown is different. It is not just a competition of top skill but also a show with an 'edge' to it. Join us this Thursday for Rundown #11!


    More Informationhttp://cyber-sports.net/event/rundown-11

    Showmatch: WhiteRa vs Stephano Bo7 in March

    Edited to add:  Schedule info http://sxsw.com/node/10126


    WhiteRa vs Stephano Showmatch:  Saturday, March 10 from 5:00 to 8.30 PM CST

    Streamhttp://www.twitch.tv/ignproleague

    ******

    Who:  Tt.WhiteRa vs. Millenium.Stephano

    What:    Bo9 Showmatch for $5,000


    Where: South by Southwest convention

    When:  March 9th and 10th, 2012!

    Admissions is free for those attending and there will be a stream as usual on http://www.ign.com/ipl


    SC2 Season 6 Map: Cloud Kingdom

    A walkthrough of the new map Cloud Kingdom by Apollo



    Monday, February 13, 2012

    Blizzard News: SC2 Risk & WoW Monopoly

    More information, including some pictures, at http://us.battle.net/sc2/en/blog/4452529, short version is they will have a World of Warcraft themed Monopoly game, and a Starcraft 2 themed Risk game out this summer.

    I think they would make a nice birthday or Christmas presents for gamers.

    League of Legends with Seltzer and TorcH

    Seltzer and Torch streaming LoL on the CSN stream http://www.twitch.tv/cybersportsnetwork

    Korean News: South Korea will be doing Quiz Shows in 20 Countries on Kpop and other pop culture

    From Yonhap News, South Korea will be doing Quiz shows in various countries to promote "K-pop bands such as Super Junior and Girls' Generation," and other South Korean pop culture.

    What an opportunity for Starcraft 2 Nerds! 

    Who outside of Korea would have a better chance at these quiz shows?

    This will probably make more Korean Pop culture accessible outside of Korea.

    I will post updates on this as I find more information.

    Grubby Replay Pack

    From Grubby's TL thread here http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=311112 , a bunch or Grubby Replays
    PvT - Still Alive
    PvT - What's the weather like?
    PvZ - Standard 5 Base Carriers
    PvP - New Tal'Darim Altar Metagame
    PvT - Solid A Way of Dealing With 1:1:1
    PvZ - Constant Action

    Duckvillelol is Streaming!

    Checkout Duck at http://www.twitch.tv/duckvillelol

    Friday, February 10, 2012

    Drewbie Streaming!!!!!!

    Welcome back Bro!  <333

    http://www.twitch.tv/coldrewbie

    TLO vs Satini

    Liquid TLO vs eSahara Satini cast by c0mmissar1

    My commnet below the VOD, Spoiler Alert.




    Following is a spoiler, don't read past here if you don't want to know what happened.

    Starcraft 2 Thoughts:  I have thought for a long time that Roach & Baneling, with Corrupter support; into Roach/Bane/Ultra with Corrupter support was really strong.

    6 Corrupters will two shot Medivacs, and Roaches are a little faster than Ultras/Banes (Ultras & Banes with speed are same speed as each other), so Roaches take tank shots, letting the Banes hit!

    Additionally, Banelings and Ultras almost perfectly compliment each other, Banelings do 35 Damage to light +4 per Attack upgrade, Ultralisks do 35 damage per attack to armored + 4 per Attack upgrade.



    Starting at 28:18 you will see big fight with 6 Ultras and 22 Banes, plus some lings.  Now the Tanks were caught unsieged, but even if they were sieged, as long as the Ultras or lings led that attack, the Banes would still hit!

    You can see what a Ultra/BAneling unit comp does in a hurry to a Terran ground Army at just past 28:18 in the VOD above.

    There was also some very nice maneuvering by TLO!

    Gaming Jobs: Team Dignitas Hiring

    Team Dignitas has some job openings, click on the link for more information:
    Available positions in Team Dignitas:
    - Bloggers:  (Update) this position is now limited to writing guides that can help other players understand / improve their game.
    - Interviewers: We are looking to produce more team and community interviews, so we will definitely need some help here.
    - Movie Editors: Are you an experienced and motivated moviemaker who is available to edit replays or any other sort of ingame footage for one of our squads? Then go ahead and apply.

    To see other jobs listed here on my Starcraft 2 Blog, click on Gaming Jobs and Job Opening labels, those labels are at the bottom left of Posts and in the Label Cloud on left side of the Blog.

    Thundertoss Top 200 KOTH (King of the Hill)

    Thundertoss' weekly Top 200 King of the Hill continues, showing the top players duking it out in a King of the Hill format.

    When:  (Sat) 03:30 CET/Fri 21:30 EST/18:30 PST

    Stream: http://ascendtv.com (alternate if problems with main) http://www.twitch.tv/thundertoss

    CastersAscend & Thundertoss

    Replays:  http://top200koth.blogspot.com/ (See Replay Packs on left side of that page)

    Format:  Top 200 Players (Grandmaster priority, top Masters permitted)

    Prizes:

    • $20 for each 5 wins.
    • $10 for dethroning a 5+ win player.
    • $10 for "Match of the Night"

    Players: join the chat channel "top200koth" on the NA server, and send a message to Thundertoss.


    Thread: Top 200 KOTH (with prize $$!)

    TonightAll music tonight is from the http://gamemusicbundle.com
    Tweet your favorite moments tonight to http://twitter.com/ascendsc2 for your chance to win a gift code for the $10+ package.

    Thursday, February 9, 2012

    The Legion Team Week 3 LXG vs PMS|H20 streaming live now!

    The Legion Team Week 3: LXG vs PMS|H20

    Stream http://www.twitch.tv/therealnanman

    Caster: NanMan.

    TL Thread http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=296723

    CSN's The Rundown #10 with Catz, Destiny, Proxy Hatches and more!

    Cyber Sports Network's The Rundown #10


    Streamhttp://www.twitch.tv/cybersportsnetwork

    When:  Fri 01:00 CET/Thur 19:00 EST/Thur 16:00 PST

    Bracketshttp://cyber-sports.net/brackets/19095
      

    8 Player, single elimination, Invite only bracket for top M and GM players. The Rundown is held every Thursday, starting at 7:00 PM EST with player interviews and pre-event show.

    Confirmed players for Rundown #10:
    dde
    Gimix
    TheMista
    Masa
    catZ
    puCK
    Deranging
    dtGrow


    CatZ has returned to the Rundown hoping to use his 'Burrito' power to take the Championship! CatZ, who has been a supporter of CSN from the start and will join the Rundown this week to do his part to help grow true competition in the SC2 community. Joining catZ will be the familiar face of NGRdde, who has also done much to support CSN and SC2. Team NMx adds their best player, 14 year old Masa to the lineup and DTGrow and TheMista will also make a return. Team Last Resort submits a new player, Deranging and puCK is back from Convergence. Gimix has been added in place of viOLet (who is owning the Sao Palo IEM event!). With no viOLet this week.. a new Champion will be crowned. It also means that because next week's Rundown is already full.. we will have 2 new winners in a row! Don't worry.. viOLet is back for Rundown #12!

    HwangSin is streaming!

    The happiest Toss on the net!

    http://www.twitch.tv/hwangsin

    GoGo HwangSin

    PSA: Tweeting can land you in Jail!

    Full Story at Ars:
    In 2010, South Yorkshire police showed up at the workplace of 26-year old Paul Chambers and arrested him. His crime: posting a frustrated joke to Twitter after his girlfriend's flight was delayed due to snow at the local airport.
    “Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed," he wrote. "You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!!”

    I am posting this as a PSA, because I am a moderator on some Chats, and have had to deal with some people that don't seem to believe that what they say or post can have serious, negative, consequences.

    They think they can say whatever they want with no consequences.

    I am hoping this story might at least make a few people think a bit more, before they say/tweet/post something that could be taken the wrong, criminal or malicious, way.

    Bay Area LAN - BATLL IX

    Where
    • Eudemonia - Berkeley
    • www.eudemonia.net
    • 2154 University Ave
    • Berkeley, CA 94704
    • (510)883-0814

    When:  Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 12:45 PM ~ 11:00 PM (PST I assume)

    Cost:  You’ll need $16 for the LAN (computer all-day pass) and about $10 for dinner.

    Prizes:  Bigfoot Networks Killer 2100 Gaming Card and a high-five

    More information on TL:  http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=302447

    Gaming Jobs: Telltale Games has some openings

    Listings and more information at http://www.telltalegames.com/company/jobs/

    To see other Jobs listed here click on Gaming Jobs and Job Opening labels, those labels are at the bottom left of Posts and in the Label Cloud on left side of the Blog.

    Intel Extreme Masters: Sao Paulo Day 2

    Day two of group play at the Intel Extreme Masters will feature Violet, Ret, Fenix, and more, and will be casted by Rotterdam, Mr. Bitter, and special guest Rob Simpson.

    Tune in to all of the action to see who joins the day one winners in the semi-finals for IEM: Brazil.

    Site: http://tv.esl.eu
    Stream: http://de.twitch.tv/esltv_event  OR  TaKeTV
    When: 14:00 CET/08:00 EST/05:00 PST

    DC LAN Grandfinals: vGAlkresh vs LgNAvilo

    DC LAN # 7  Grandfinals:  Avilo vs Alkfreshcast by NanMan

    Game 2   &   Game 3

    Alkresh:  http://visionarygaming.com/      Avilo: http://lgn.the-legion.net/



    Leenock vs Naama

    FXO.Leenock vs eShara.Naama cast by RageQuitTV

    Replayhttp://drop.sc/100446
      
    To see other replays I have blogged click replays (also at bottom left of this post or in label cloud at left of Blog).

    Wednesday, February 8, 2012

    Nerd Gear: Magnetic HDD recording data with heat!

    From the ENGINEER: "Magnetic recording method could speed up hard drive",
    York physicist Thomas Ostler said: ‘Instead of using a magnetic field to record information on a magnetic medium, we harnessed much stronger internal forces and recorded information using only heat.
    ‘This revolutionary method allows the recording of terabytes — thousands of gigabytes — of information per second, hundreds of times faster than present hard-drive technology. As there is no need for a magnetic field, there is also less energy consumption.’

    Recording TERABYTES per SECOND!!!!!!!!!

    I am going to just sit here and think about this for a bit, this seems stunning to me.

    A Better Alternative Than SOPA

    The Ars article "TuneCore: first iTunes Match royalties are "magic money" out of "thin air"" is well worth reading.


    It seems similar to me to the PLR (Public Lending Right payments) that authors get for books in public libraries. See PLR's link here for more information.

    You might also find this post on Cliff's Ebook Review Corner, my book review blog, about Jerry Pournell's thoughts on Ebooks interesting.

    Pournell has been writing fiction and non fiction for a long time!  He has had several NYT Bestsellers, and used to have a regular column in Byte Magazine.

    Much of the research I do, is looking for how things have been done in different times and places, lot of times you can find that a brilliant idea you have, has been thought of before, and even implemented.

    So you can look at that, and see if that idea will really work or not.  Or sometimes, you will be able to spot things that could be done better, when you start, that would not be practical to change once you were in the middle.

    Like kayaking a rive, you might decide to portage around a really bad spot, if you knew it was there ahead of time, but can be way to late to do more than your best to survive it, if you see it just a few meters away, while your in the river!

    I think software, book, movie, & etc publishers could learn a lot looking around to see how things actually can and do work.

    WhiteRa vs MarineKing Showmatch

    WhiteRa vs MarineKing Showmatch cast by Husky

    Fun Series, Battlecruisers even ^_^

    Game 2    Game 3    Game 4   Game 5


    MSI Pro Cup Semi Finals Stephano vs Thorzain

    A great series, with plenty of friendly banter between Stephano & Thorzain.

    Stephano vs Thorzain in the MSI Pro Cup Semi  Finals

    BO3

    Cast by Darnoc, in association with TGN.

    Game 2    Game 3  

    Tuesday, February 7, 2012

    LXG Open Bronze-Gold #3 live now!

    Hosted by LXG, Cast by TheRealNanman

    Stream:  http://www.twitch.tv/therealnanman

    Nerd News: From Slashdot; Delayed Outrage Over A Censored Site; What's a Better Way To Spread News?

    A must read Article from Slashdot, here is a snippet:
    This is a tale of censorship. From about December 7th until February 3rd, Arizona State University was blocking all users of its network from accessing the Change.org website, where users can create petitions and circulate them for other users to sign. (The lame excuse offered by the university was that a student had created a petition and was using the change.org site to "spam" other ASU accounts; of course, even if that had been the real reason, it would have easily been possible for ASU to block mail from the change.org servers, without blocking all students from accessing the website.) On February 3rd, after a furor of sudden media attention, the block was lifted.


    A related article http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-levy/arizona-state-censors-cha_b_1253155.html

    I don't remember seeing anything about this when it happened, and I am a pretty hardcore News Junkie.