Perth, Anime and Jesus?
So we went to the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre yesterday to drop in on the last day of Wai-con.
Before that since it was a Sunday we went to church service with our family friends who are kind enough to host us (props to them) here in Perth, the church was Sunset Coast Church.
It was a very eye opening experience to say the least, my old view of the classic preacher in church was blown out of the water in fact when we rocked up to service it was like entering some sort of rock concert with performers on a large stage and singing evangelistic music.
The service was pretty standard affair with awesome musical interludes in-between: Church news, explanation of scripture, prayer and passing around the donation buckets the general stuff you'd expect from going to church.
The musical interludes I have to admit were of extremely high quality and the whole operation was damn slick complete with charismatic preacher.
Anyway after service it was Wai-con time dispite having to take serveral detours, and parking 5 minutes short of the convention center we eventually made our way to the venue.
Lake George Morning Panorama

I took this a few weeks ago and posted it on Deviant Art a week ago.
Woke up early and headed down to Lake George and ended up with this panorama.
Posted here is the higher res version as Deviant Art has a size limit.
Note: If you're on a slow connection the file is a 22mb file
Left 4 Dead 2 Censored Version VS Uncensored
So with the release of the Left 4 Dead 2 demo for those who pre-ordered released what ended up being censored in the Australia version?
You be the judge.
Australian Censored Version
Uncensored Version
They have basicly removed pretty much all traces of gibbing, blood splatter on the screen when you kill a zombie up close, the melee weapons don't get blood on them, they removed a riot police infected, and finally the bodies disappear before they even hit the ground (which if I'm not mistaken did not happen in the original Left 4 Dead).
Also for those interested it is possible for the gamers of South Australia to possibly vote Michael Atkinson out of office to which he issued a challenge several months back.
Left 4 Dead 2 Unedited Version Final Verdict: BANNED
The Classification Review Board (the Review Board), after reviewing Left 4 Dead 2 has come to the conclusion that it could not accomodate Left 4 Dead 2 within the MA 15+ bracket and has classified Left 4 Dead 2 as RC (Refused Classification).
This was due to same issues that arose when the game was originally rejected for classification - the depiction of dismemberment and 'graphic' violence pertained within the game.
Apparently though the modified version that is classified as MA15+ will only be sold in Australia so we won't be getting the unedited and ungimped version.
Check out the media release here for more information about the rejection of the unedited version.
Yay, for outdated classification laws diluting another highly anticipated game.
Windows 7 Released in Australia
You heard it right Windows 7 is now available from your closest retailer in Australia.
For once Australia gets something early thanks to our position on the International Date Line.
Unfortunately the prices are fairly steep compared to the rest of the world.
| Product | AU | US (AU) | UK (AU) | ||
| Windows 7 | |||||
| Upgrade | |||||
| Home premium | $199 | $119.99 | ($129) | £79.99 | ($141) |
| Professional | $399 | $199.99 | ($216) | £189.99 | ($336) |
| Ultimate | $429 | $219.99 | ($236) | £199.99 | ($354) |
| Standalone | |||||
| Home premium | $299 | $199.99 | ($216) | £149.99 | ($265) |
| Professional | $449 | $299.99 | ($322) | £219.99 | ($389) |
| Ultimate | $469 | $319.99 | ($345) | £229.99 | ($407) |
The above table (source) shows that we pay a fair amount more for our software than our counterparts in other parts of the world, in some cases it is claimed that we pay five times more for our software.
Personally I think it's because our market in general is smaller than the likes of the US or the UK meaning overall less units will be shipped so retailers have to make up losses somehow, though having worked in the field of computer retailing I've seen my fair share of dodgy pricings.
Anyway, good to see Windows 7 being rolled out and thus far I'm pretty happy to part with my hard earned cash for this release of Windows.



