I Love Mondays - 07/23/2012

@Icaria said:

Still don't understand why a gaming site has a fuck-tonne of Macs and barely any Windows PCs.

Very simple. They are web-content generators. Macs are great for that. They don't cover a ton of PC games at a time (or if they do, it's Patrick doing Indies that he could launch from Boot Camp), they play it on the PC that has the capture kit attached, or at home to prep for the quick look. They have a certain amount of hardware they were able to bring over from Whiskey, a budget from CBSi for new stuff, and additional gaming PCs weren't on the top of the list. Question answered?

I wish they would cover Pokemon Conquest and La-Mulana :(

Tips for Giantbomb

• Keep having BradLovesMondays on ILM
• Stop doing crossover stuff with Gamespot unless its basically Gamecop (Giancarlo) or JustinC.
• Get more Matt Rorie

===================

PROFIT?!?

@Icaria said:

Still don't understand why a gaming site has a fuck-tonne of Macs and barely any Windows PCs.

Very simple. They are web-content generators. Macs are great for that. They don't cover a ton of PC games at a time (or if they do, it's Patrick doing Indies that he could launch from Boot Camp), they play it on the PC that has the capture kit attached, or at home to prep for the quick look. They have a certain amount of hardware they were able to bring over from Whiskey, a budget from CBSi for new stuff, and additional gaming PCs weren't on the top of the list. Question answered?

I still think Brad and Vinny playing thru REmake on the GameCube or Wii would be great to watch, and not take up that much time.

I'd like to see more DayZ videos by Vinny and Drew.

Its fucking disgraceful that they havent done a QL of this yet:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wFy1OtnAxM&feature=g-u-u

WHAT AM I PAYING A SUBSCRIPTION FOR

(watch til the end by the way.)

@Oddy4000 said:

@Icaria said:

Still don't understand why a gaming site has a fuck-tonne of Macs and barely any Windows PCs.

Very simple. They are web-content generators. Macs are great for that.

The video featured Brad web-browsing and using Steam. I'm pretty sure you can do that without the need for dual-booting and KVMs. Moreover, the Vegas and Adobe suites run just fine on Windows, which runs the gamut of producing just about any 'web-content' imaginable. I'm also pretty sure Windows is quite capable of being networked, set up with web server software and can interface with the TriCaster (hell, the TriCaster uses Windows). While I can understand an aversion to working within Windows day-to-day, it's not as if OSX provides many solutions to those shortcomings.

I'm by no means a Windows fan, I bloody hate dealing with it but it is an awfully odd choice. It's as absurd as Giant Bomb being set up with 15 OUYAs because they happened to be the guys' personal favourtes, with them scrambling to find and hook-up a 360 the moment they actually needed to check out a game.

PATRIIIIICK !! :(

Still cant find the gamespot podcast on its front page.

MATT BABY!

Please fix the blinds on the windows dammit. I need them to be straight and even.....0_o

This video won't play for me in any browser with zero plugins/addons. I just get a black screen. Anyone else having this problem?

:'(

There is an alarming lack of excitement for Darksiders II content in these comments. I want that game so bad, and it's 3 weeks out, but I don't want to ruin anything if they do a QL EX!

@PaidReviewsonGB said:

This video won't play for me in any browser with zero plugins/addons. I just get a black screen. Anyone else having this problem?

Yes, me.

Ugh... disabling Adblock fixed it. Even though there's no adds...

Anyway, who else feels like GB is throwing away clicks by not doing Steam Sale specific content?

It's over now, but why didn't they pick out a few games on sale (that they hadn't already QL'ed) and do some sort of mixed up Quick Look every few days or so? Vinny and Dave could have made that work... Just random content related to whatever was heavily discounted at the time.

@Icaria said:

@Oddy4000 said:

@Icaria said:

Still don't understand why a gaming site has a fuck-tonne of Macs and barely any Windows PCs.

Very simple. They are web-content generators. Macs are great for that.

The video featured Brad web-browsing and using Steam. I'm pretty sure you can do that without the need for dual-booting and KVMs. Moreover, the Vegas and Adobe suites run just fine on Windows, which runs the gamut of producing just about any 'web-content' imaginable. I'm also pretty sure Windows is quite capable of being networked, set up with web server software and can interface with the TriCaster (hell, the TriCaster uses Windows). While I can understand an aversion to working within Windows day-to-day, it's not as if OSX provides many solutions to those shortcomings.

I'm by no means a Windows fan, I bloody hate dealing with it but it is an awfully odd choice. It's as absurd as Giant Bomb being set up with 15 OUYAs because they happened to be the guys' personal favourtes, with them scrambling to find and hook-up a 360 the moment they actually needed to check out a game.

I don't get it either, but it's not just GB. It's all the major American gaming sites. Where the primary focus is on consoles, the phones and computers tend to be of the Apple variety. I think that sucks because I'd prefer them to focus more on PC gaming, but I expect to be in the clear minority there. Both Apple and consoles seem more dominant in the US than they are here.

@dropabombonit: yea that would be pretty funny, I definitely second that shit!

Nothing coming out, no trade shows, no interest in Guild Wars beta coverage (that went to PSO2), no interest in retrospectives. Man, the GB crew better be cooking on something awesome with all this time on their hands.

Am I the only one who saw brad type his password in?

Also a Day-Z TNT would just get trolled by hackers. :(

Sooo... I thought MDK2 HD came out like a year ago?...

@tamriilin said:

Sooo... I thought MDK2 HD came out like a year ago?...

On WiiWare and Beamdog. Sadly Beamdog doesn't have the eyes that Steam does.

TNT: Neverdead Endurancerun

I think I maybe to stupid for Sin of Solar Empire. Got throught the tutorials with more than a bit of head scratching.

@rramo010 said:

@MatthewTheBeast said:

How about some Mount&Blade Warband: Napoleonic Wars up in this?... Yeah, whatever.

If only....*sigh

We need Dave to start playing Mount and Blade games again, cause no one else will.

Heh, it's already a tad too late I believe. Quite unfortunate that the release of Napoleonic Wars was around the time when Dave was busy as hell and still is to this date.

@Icaria said:

@Oddy4000 said:

@Icaria said:

Still don't understand why a gaming site has a fuck-tonne of Macs and barely any Windows PCs.

Very simple. They are web-content generators. Macs are great for that.

The video featured Brad web-browsing and using Steam. I'm pretty sure you can do that without the need for dual-booting and KVMs. Moreover, the Vegas and Adobe suites run just fine on Windows, which runs the gamut of producing just about any 'web-content' imaginable. I'm also pretty sure Windows is quite capable of being networked, set up with web server software and can interface with the TriCaster (hell, the TriCaster uses Windows). While I can understand an aversion to working within Windows day-to-day, it's not as if OSX provides many solutions to those shortcomings.

I'm by no means a Windows fan, I bloody hate dealing with it but it is an awfully odd choice. It's as absurd as Giant Bomb being set up with 15 OUYAs because they happened to be the guys' personal favourtes, with them scrambling to find and hook-up a 360 the moment they actually needed to check out a game.

You "bloody hate" dealing with Windows but don't understand why some people may fall on the other side of the fence as you? K. You say "I can understand an aversion of using Windows day-to-day"... That's exactly what is shown in this video, so I'm not sure what your argument is? That they shouldn't prefer using Macs to PCs for their non-gaming related computing needs? Are you going to dictate their soft drink choices while you're at it?

I don't think Giant Bomb is suffering from a lack of PC coverage as a result of this. They'd cover the same PC games they're covering now - Only the ones they're interested in, or they feel their audience would be interested in. The only reason there's as much PC coverage as there is right now is because of the console summer doldrums. As soon as console releases pick up, PC games will fall to the wayside, and that has nothing to do with what hardware they use at their desks.

@mnzy said:

@Oddy4000 said:

@Icaria said:

Still don't understand why a gaming site has a fuck-tonne of Macs and barely any Windows PCs.

Very simple. They are web-content generators. Macs are great for that. They don't cover a ton of PC games at a time (or if they do, it's Patrick doing Indies that he could launch from Boot Camp), they play it on the PC that has the capture kit attached, or at home to prep for the quick look. They have a certain amount of hardware they were able to bring over from Whiskey, a budget from CBSi for new stuff, and additional gaming PCs weren't on the top of the list. Question answered?

Please explain how they can do their journalist work better on a Mac. A windows machine for the price of any of those macs could run current games really well and do the same work. Great that you have their back, though, really.

In talking about the Windows 8 Tablet Preview event, Will and Norm from Tested commented on the irony that the journalists in the crowd were using Macbook Airs to take notes during the press conference. You should have run in and told them they were all fools, FOOLS!!!! Maybe ask a journalist why journalists prefer Macs, because not understanding the reasoning does not mean that there isn't one, whether you personally agree with it or not.

Are you suggesting that I "have Apple's back"? Not really - As a video editor, they've made sure that I have no interest in supporting their garbage software going forward, and I have never personally spent a penny on Mac hardware other than my iPhone 3GS that I bought 2.5 years ago and still use today. I do use a Macbook Pro and a Mac Tower for work, and they work just fine. What I don't understand is why anyone would care that GB uses Macs to write their stories. It's inconsequential. It has nothing to do with their coverage.

@Oddy4000 said:

@Icaria said:

@Oddy4000 said:

@Icaria said:

Still don't understand why a gaming site has a fuck-tonne of Macs and barely any Windows PCs.

Very simple. They are web-content generators. Macs are great for that.

The video featured Brad web-browsing and using Steam. I'm pretty sure you can do that without the need for dual-booting and KVMs. Moreover, the Vegas and Adobe suites run just fine on Windows, which runs the gamut of producing just about any 'web-content' imaginable. I'm also pretty sure Windows is quite capable of being networked, set up with web server software and can interface with the TriCaster (hell, the TriCaster uses Windows). While I can understand an aversion to working within Windows day-to-day, it's not as if OSX provides many solutions to those shortcomings.

I'm by no means a Windows fan, I bloody hate dealing with it but it is an awfully odd choice. It's as absurd as Giant Bomb being set up with 15 OUYAs because they happened to be the guys' personal favourtes, with them scrambling to find and hook-up a 360 the moment they actually needed to check out a game.

You "bloody hate" dealing with Windows but don't understand why some people may fall on the other side of the fence as you? K. You say "I can understand an aversion of using Windows day-to-day"... That's exactly what is shown in this video, so I'm not sure what your argument is? That they shouldn't prefer using Macs to PCs for their non-gaming related computing needs? Are you going to dictate their soft drink choices while you're at it?

I don't think Giant Bomb is suffering from a lack of PC coverage as a result of this. They'd cover the same PC games they're covering now - Only the ones they're interested in, or they feel their audience would be interested in. The only reason there's as much PC coverage as there is right now is because of the console summer doldrums. As soon as console releases pick up, PC games will fall to the wayside, and that has nothing to do with what hardware they use at their desks.

"You "bloody hate" dealing with Windows but don't understand why some people may fall on the other side of the fence as you?"

The other side being...? Both Windows and OSX are god-awful, mediocre environments for getting stuff done. Rudimentary windowing; broken focus models; still-born attempts to organise and present applications and files; a tendency to treat the user like an idiot; enough legacy cruft and inconsistency to drive you up the wall; a mind-bending, half-realised drag-and-drop fetish pervading both environments; entirely unintelligible filesystem layouts, etc. Now, both are chasing touch-driven hardware and making using either OS on the desktop an even more wanting affair. About the only edge OSX has over Windows is the security argument, which grows ever more tenuous with each passing year. About the only edge Windows has over OSX is the software support argument, which is exceedingly relevant given these circumstances.

The only argument you've put forward is that (to paraphrase) 'Macs are great for generating web-content'. Of course, you haven't gone so far as to say that Windows PCs aren't and I doubt many people would have the balls to say that either, rendering the point rather moot.

"That they shouldn't prefer using Macs to PCs for their non-gaming related computing needs? Are you going to dictate their soft drink choices while you're at it?"

If CBSi had bought a soft drink-related site and someone put in an order for a dozen espresso machines, I dare say someone would be given pause. Of course, I don't work for CBSi so it's not my problem, no one has to justify shit to me. I'm just some schmuck on the net making an observation.

"I don't think Giant Bomb is suffering from a lack of PC coverage as a result of this."

Nor do I. Although, I recall not long after the move that the guys were at a loss for a Windows PC. Also, the fact that it's still noteworthy when they do set up a Windows system certainly indicates a need. You've also admitted that PC gaming is one of the premiere formats covered by this site, which begs the question as to why everyone doesn't have a Windows PC on the desks, next to their 360s and Macs (the latter category being about as relevant to gaming as the Wii at this point).

@Icaria said:

@Oddy4000 said:

@Icaria said:

@Oddy4000 said:

@Icaria said:

Still don't understand why a gaming site has a fuck-tonne of Macs and barely any Windows PCs.

"I don't think Giant Bomb is suffering from a lack of PC coverage as a result of this."

Nor do I. Although, I recall not long after the move that the guys were at a loss for a Windows PC. Also, the fact that it's still noteworthy when they do set up a Windows system certainly indicates a need. You've also admitted that PC gaming is one of the premiere formats covered by this site, which begs the question as to why everyone doesn't have a Windows PC on the desks, next to their 360s and Macs (the latter category being about as relevant to gaming as the Wii at this point).

This is all that ultimately matters, right? Whether their coverage suffers. If you listen to the crew's recounting of their transition between buildings, it's obvious that the logistical nightmare meant any number of things could have gone wrong or been impacted negatively, and I think their lack of a tricaster was significantly more painful to them than their lack of a coverage-capable gaming PC for the week that it was an actual issue. So that one outlier of an example aside, there isn't really anything worth complaining about regarding GB's coverage of PC games. If there's a lack of coverage going forward into the Post-Madden console release blitz, it will be because of a lack of manpower, not a lack of gaming PCs.

It's obvious they prefer using Macs for their day-to-day tasks, otherwise they would take the more cost-effective route you described. The only other scenario is that CBSi mandated Mac use, in which case I think Jeff would make smart-ass comments about it just on principle. So if they prefer the Apple OS, and their PC gaming coverage continues to consume as much time as they deem to be necessary, then that's apparently enough reason for them to make that decision to use Macs as their shared productivity hardware platform.

Why did they bother having those old arcade cabinets in their old office? They could have just had one MAME machine, saved space, had a ton more options of games to play whatever they wanted in an ecosystem that has a much larger support base than what's left to support their old machines. It would have been much more practical, but it wasn't their preference. I'm not sure, after we both agree their coverage is unaffected, how something like this is any different.

My perception of the situation is that whoever made the decision to buy Macs instead of PCs believed that the productivity increase as a result of that decision outweighs any convenience factor of being able to play PC games directly at their desk, with the knowledge that they all have PC gaming rigs at home to contribute to their coverage. You may disagree with the principle, but if you're looking for more of an answer than that you may be out of luck.

I love Mondays that mention Matt Rorie.