Pondělí listopad 03, 2008

My First Business Trip

I spent my last weekend on the Polish OpenSolaris Conference 2008 in Szczecin, Poland, which was my first official business trip ever. I enjoyed it, particularly because our presentation about Translation of OpenSolaris went well and the demo of our Community Translation Interface (CTI) worked fine.

But the trip would be a bit boring if I weren't accompanied by my colleagues. Lukas, our Entertainment Secretary, did a fantastic job of finding out the places with the highest concentration of young Polish girls historical monuments. The Saturday night was full of nice surprises: the Polish youth speaks English, recommends good restaurants and organizes free Saturday night live music events. We weren't far from singing karaoke during the event, which appeared to be some youth festival.

On the way back to Prague we stopped at Police, ~20 km north of Szczecin, to see the former synthetic fuel factory operated during the Nazi times by the prisoners of the German concentration camp Pölitz. The remains of the factory, which survived the bombing of Allied armies, reminded us of the despair felt by millions of WW II victims. Although the place is now all covered by grass, the tall factory walls, the railway station and the ruins of the barb wire fence are still there and I realized that anybody who survived cannot erase the horrible lively image of the place from their memories.

Want more?

• Translation of OpenSolaris slides in PDF
• My photos from Szczecin
• Photos from Polish OpenSolaris Conference by osconfszc08

— XI 03 2008, 04:17:15 odp. CET Permalink

Sobota říjen 18, 2008

WoW. Gorgeous Game and Smart Business Model.

World of Warcraft (WoW), one of the most popular multi-player on-line role playing games (MMORPG), was on my radar for a long time, but I somehow waited until it was too much for my curiosity to resist and I had to find out how it looks like.

Bloodelves. A wallpaper from World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade.

It was the 10-day free trial advertisement which caught my eye as I knew the on-line game is accessible on a pre-paid basis only. You can subscribe to unlimited access to the game world for around €14.99/month. Yes, it's not a small amount. And it's actually a very good business, as you can't overcome the protection as it's possible with off-line games released on CD/DVD. You simply must pay in order to pay. Moreover, you pay even if you don't play, because Blizzard, the French company that's behind WoW and many other bestselling games such as the off-line Warcraft or Diablo, charges you for a monthly subscription and won't reimburse you if you don't play during the period. This is a much better business model than the off-line games which I'm sure will get old-fashioned soon.

But hold on and give it a chance. I did. And totally fell in love with the game. It's the most beautiful on-line game I have ever seen (I haven't played Oblivion or Diablo III, though). The gameplay is very well balanced, as the game world is very complex but the game interface is very easy to use and it's so simple to start playing. I didn't need to read a handful of instructions to be able to play.

You know how it ended with me. I first started playing with a Male Night Elf Hunter in a normal realm and then tried a Female Human Warlock in a role playing realm. When my trial ended I couldn't wait to pay for upgrading my account to a full access. It's such a addictive entertainment. :-)

I love the game and you will love it too. Just try it out! It's free!*

^{* For a 10-days limited access trial. ;-)}

— X 18 2008, 03:25:34 dop. CEST Permalink

Středa červen 27, 2007

Sun is Making Computer Games

— VI 27 2007, 04:12:03 odp. CEST Permalink

Sobota srpen 12, 2006

I Won in Monte Carlo

Now I can say: "Veni, vidi, vici."

After returning from the five day (too short!) holiday from Côte d'Azur in southern France, I am still full of happiness and joy remembering the night spent in Casino Monte Carlo, Monaco. It was a delightful experience, mostly because I have seen for the first time how the rich people of Monte Carlo, France and Italy spend their time in the evening.

To retain my memory on the Casino entertainment I exchanged €50 and played hard not to lose it in a minute. I chose rulette (actually there was no other option, see below) and I was lucky, and eventually more than doubled the bet to leave the Casino with €125 in my pocket. I have more than anything else wanted to go down the red carpet with just a little bit more cash than I had when I first entered, and yes, it was a nice feeling. But even if I would have lost, I would say the visit was worth the €10 ticket.

The Casino is a luxurious place in every meaning of this word, including the smell of expensive cigars and ladies in black leather corsets. I would give you a picture to illustrate the unique atmosphere, but cameras are forbidden in the game room.

And here is a short list of things to remember before you visit the Casino for the first time:

Me and Veronica in front of the Casino Monte Carlo

• prepare €10 in cash per person
• prepare at least €50 in cash to exchange for credit if you want to play
• the minimum credit is €5, but higher bank notes are preferred
• you can exchange any €5 credit back for cash
• you don't need to wear a suit, waistcoat nor a tie, but luxury dress is preferred (anything which looks expensive is okay)
• mobile phones and cameras are forbidden in the game room (GSM signal is interrupted)
• French or Italian language is required to speak with the croupier
• prepare to play roulette only if you don't have much cash (minimum bet for Black Jack is €25, but usually only €500 or €200 Black Jack desks are open)
• there is a restaurant and a bar near the game room (water is €4.5, fresh juice €7)

And if you don't want to play in the Casino, the streets of Monte Carlo are full of luxury shops such as YvesSaintLaurent, Cartier, LVMH and many many others. Okay, there is a beautiful sea view as well... ;-)

— VIII 12 2006, 04:09:11 dop. CEST Permalink

Středa březen 15, 2006

So Who Won the Oscars?

Most of you probably didn't notice that the 78th Annual Academy Awards show was being held at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles and broadcasted all over the world just a week ago on Sunday, March 5, 2006.

It's most likely because the Oscars are a popular show no more. The number of people watching the Oscars is going down year by year. But for movie fans like me it is still an important event not to miss. I use the list of Oscar winners to guide myself in selecting the movie to watch in the cinema. But I don't resist on seeing all the winning movies, I watch only my favourite genres.

And for some actresses like Lindsay Lohan, the winning of an Oscar is a very motivating imagination.

Here is a short list of movies that won the most important Oscars:

• Crash (best movie)
• Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman for best actor in leading role)
• Walk the Line (Reese Witherspoon for best acress in leading role)
• Syriana (George Clooney for best actor in supporting role)
• The Constant Gardener (Rachel Weisz for best acress in supporting role)
• Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee for best director)

See the full list of Oscar winners on IMDb.

I have already seen some of the Oscar winners. And I must say that I liked most of them (esp. Crash and Memoirs of a Geisha). However, I didn't like the new King Kong as most of the critics. I found the movie nothing but retro and most of the time simply unbelievable.

And if you are willing to see Good Night, and Good Luck just because it stars George Clooney as both an actor and a director, please double-check that it is the genre you like. It is all in black and white, it is all shot interior and it is mainly just a speech of Edward R. Murrow. I was disappointed by seeing very few dramatic scenes in the movie, so it is more of a boring history lesson than a thriller. But for the journalism history enthusiasts it might be appealing.

— III 15 2006, 04:32:26 dop. CET Permalink

Pátek únor 17, 2006

Karima Adebibe is New Lara Croft

Karima Adebibe is the new Lara Croft
(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

A new sequel to the famous 3D action computer game is comming along with a presentation of the Lara Croft model. Karima Adebibe comes after Nell McAndrew, Rhona Mitra and Angelina Jolie as the new face of Lara Croft to help Eidos promote Tomb Raider: Legend.

The 20-year old Londoner is supposed to complete a CIA's Special Activities Staff (SAS) training, perhaps to give her appearance more appealing look. According to Karima, Lara Croft is an "independent and ambitious female version of Indiana Jones."

After she was selected by Eidos from the pool of thousands of hopeful candidates willing to represent the Tomb Raider star, Karima said she planned to "grasp this incredible opportunity with both hand."

Matt Gorman from Eidos described Karima as "the 7th and most important Lara Croft yet," adding: "Karima has all the assets needed to accurately portray the world's favourite female action hero."

Tomb Raider: Legend is being sold on both PC and major game consoles.

UPDATE: Check out Tomb Raider Chronicles for more information, pictures, wallpapers etc.

UPDATE 2: See the interview with the new Lara Croft on the FHM's Web TV channel.

— II 17 2006, 08:52:59 odp. CET Permalink

Neděle únor 27, 2005

No Oscar to the Hands of a Bestseller?

Have you already seen the nominations?

Most likely, you haven't seen any of the five Best Picture nominees. Forbes.com author Penelope Patsuris thinks so just because none of them ranked anywhere in the top 20 best selling movies of 2004, and so do I. THE AVIATOR of Miramax makes best score of the nominees and ranks 24th in the chart, followed by RAY (#36), SIDEWAYS (#47), MILLION DOLLAR BABY (#50th), and FINDING NEVERLAND (#68).

I'd bet on SIDEWAYS (won 6 Independent Spirit Awards, also as Best Feature) or THE AVIATOR (11 Oscar nominations and public poll winner). Let's see tonight!

P.S.: Check out a 31 days of Oscar flash website of TCM (Turner Classic Movies) – it goes through 31 characters of past Oscar winners or nominees in a really nice flash animation.

— II 27 2005, 04:45:16 odp. CET Permalink Comments [0]

Million Dollar Baby Takes Its Name Serious

A Clint Eastwood film MILLION DOLLAR BABY is the Best Motion Picture Academy Award winner. I was wrong with my bet but I am happy. It was the only movie of the five Best Picture nominees I was willing to see in the cinema. I expect it to gross high since it was released recently and still has enough time to reach a wide audience.

— II 27 2005, 05:51:46 dop. CET Permalink Comments [0]

Čtvrtek únor 24, 2005

US Freedom of Speech Is No More

Yesterday's Oscar broadcast was not live.

Actually, it was 5 seconds delayed. The US television network ABC has imposed the delay following criticism of Janet Jackson's live Super Bowl appearance. The broadcasting company is afraid what might come after Janet Jackson's breast exposure. Even though the delay was not commanded by US government, the delay is treated as a kind of censorship. Frank Pierson, the Oscar president, has attacked the five-second delay and is worried what can come in subsequent years.

— II 24 2005, 02:53:10 dop. CET Permalink Comments [1]