______Wing Of Tears______

Saturday, May 1, 2010

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Interesting cat picture...

Belle mangaka Xià Dá, suddenly projected to idol status after photographs of her came to the attention of online otaku, has made it clear she is unhappy that people might judge her by her looks and not the quality of her manga

She is less than delighted with the huge fuss made over her loli looks (she is 28) – “I’d rather people not make a fuss over my looks,” she says.

As a proud and professional mangaka, she seems aghast at the prospect of becoming a mere pin-up for the onanistic attentions of otaku admirers: “My readers have been with me for 5 years. It’s got nothing to do with the fuss online.”

She is of course correct – her translated manga is now serialised in Ultra Jump, and it seems few had any idea what she looked like until very recently

She is also said to be a complete otaku with no interest in anything apart from manga – she spends most of her time drawing manga, eats meals at her computer and reports discomfort at camera flashes thanks to her degraded eyesight.

A lawsuit has been filed against Sony for its removal of the “Other OS” feature in a recent PS3 firmware patch.

The class action lawsuit, of course filed by an American, alleges Sony advertised the Other OS capability as “an important PS3 feature,” and quotes Sony marketing hype as evidence of this.

The plaintiff claims he bought his PS3 in 2007 largely as a result of this Other OS functionality, and that the recent 3.21 firmware disables this functionality, constituting “breach of contract,” “breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing,” “unjust enrichment,” and violations of California consumer protection laws.

The scope of the suit is broad – all US PS3 owners who bought their units between 2006 and 2010 and did not resell their consoles – and damages sought are predictably huge: all “unjustly retained” profits and a full or partial refund for all buyers affected.

The only indication so far of how much is sought is the “in excess of $5,000,000″ stated in court documents.

The lawsuit probably hinges on whether courts accept that Sony’s firmware update is a voluntary process with no impact on previously released consoles (and one which is covered by the EULA users must agree to), as Sony is likely to insist, or whether Sony has indeed established “a vast and sticky web of restrictions” which “downgrade” users sticking with older firmware, as the lawsuit claims.

The consequences of the suit could be significant (not least for Sony’s already weak financial position) – on the one hand consumers are rightly dubious of companies unilaterally withdrawing advertised functionality after product release, and on the other hand manufacturers providing online services on computer-like devices are likely to consider rules preventing them from removing functionality a potentially huge liability.

Japan has issued an arrest warrant for the leader of eco-terrorist group Sea Shepherd, Paul Watson, and is planning to have Interpol issue an international arrest warrant in pursuit of his extradition.

As the individual responsible for planning and ordering attacks on Japan’s “scientific” whaling operations, the Japanese Coast Guard has issued an arrest warrant for the group’s leader 59-year-old Canadian leader, consisting of a variety of charges including assault and interference with official duties.

They plan to issue an international arrest warrant through Interpol, which could lead to his extradition to Japan.

Meanwhile the captain of the Ady Gil, Peter Bethune, is already in police custody in Japan after boarding a whaling vessel and has been charged with 5 counts of assault.

Barring political interference, conviction seems likely and jail possible.

Bethune apparently admitted to police that he had planned the attacks with the group’s leader, giving police much of the evidence they needed to press charges. Video evidence of Watson being present at the scene of the crimes also exists.

Japanese police generally do not press charges until they are sure of a conviction, so whether Sea Shepherd’s leader ends up languishing in a Japanese jail may now only depend on how willing other countries are to honour any extradition request.

At the very least, as a wanted fugitive he may need to be very careful about his future travel arrangements

I'm tired. i wanna sleep. no other posts until mye is over....

Teared On|3:42 AM|