Fast National ratings for Friday, March 12, 2010The season finale of "Numb3rs" led CBS to a ratings win Friday night, holding off NBC, which saw "Who Do You Think You Are?" improve some in its second week and got better-than-average viewership for "Dateline."CBS drew 8.25 million viewers and a 5.1 rating/9 share for the night, narrowly beating NBC's 7.75 million and 5.1/9. ABC (4.9 million, 3.3/6) came in third. FOX (3.6 million, 2.2/4) took fourth, while The CW averaged 1.6 million viewers and a 1.1/2.The adults 18-49 race was close as well: CBS led the demo with a 1.8, just ahead of NBC's 1.7. ABC and FOX tied for third at 1.4, and The CW drew a 0.6.Friday hour by hour:8 p.m.CBS:"Ghost Whisperer" (7.85 million viewers, 4.9/9 households)NBC:"Who Do You Think You Are?" (7.15 million, 4.5/8)ABC:"Supernanny" (4.9 million, 3.2/6)FOX:"House" rerun (3.1 million, 2.0/4)The CW:"America's Next Top Model" rerun (1.7 million, 1.2/2)18-49 leader:"Ghost Whisperer" (1.9)9 p.m.CBS:"Medium" (8.15 million, 5.1/9)NBC:"Dateline" (7.8 million, 5.2/9)ABC:"Supernanny" (4.18 million, 2.8/5)FOX: "Kitchen Nightmares" (4.16 million, 2.5/4)The CW:"America's Next Top Model" rerun (1.8 million, 1.3/2)/"High Society" rerun (1.1  million, 0.7/1)18-49 leader:"Medium" (1.8)10 p.m.CBS:"Numb3rs" season finale (8.7 million, 5.4/10)NBC:"Dateline" (8.3 million, 5.5/10)ABC:"20/20" (5.6 million, 3.8/7)18-49 leader:"Numb3rs" and "Dateline" tied at 1.8Ratings information includes live and same-day DVR viewing. All numbers are preliminary and subject to change. Source: The Nielsen Company.More ratings at Zap2it: Daily, weekly and cablePhoto credit: CBS

Robert Pattinson and Matt Damon are no match for Johnny Depp at the box office!

It's been a long week and we could use a laugh. We've already started worrying about taxes and pre-ordering iPads, among other stresses. To sum it all up, here are some illustrations from a cartoon maestro called Lunchbreath. More »

Call it the calm before the storm. Democrats in Washington are going through one of those "It's quiet out there... too quiet..." cliché moments, as everyone holds their breath in anticipation of the beginning of the end of the health reform debate in Congress.

What everyone's waiting on is for Congress to leap into action. But, in a surprising twist, this time it might actually happen.

OK, that was a cheap shot, I freely admit. What we're really all waiting for is the Congressional Budget Office (C.B.O.) to "score" (put budget numbers on) Nancy Pelosi's reconciliation bill. Nobody knows exactly when this will happen (they're an independent agency, after all), but it will be the starting gun on the sprint to the finish.

There are three procedural hurdles left to be crossed. The first vote will be in the House, on the bill the Senate passed last Christmas Eve. This bill cannot be changed, or else it would have to go through the Senate again -- which is now impossible, due to Democrats no longer having the 60 votes to pass it (thanks, Massachusetts).

The second hurdle is also a House vote, on the "sidecar" bill which will fix some of the problems with the Senate bill. This is the bill the C.B.O. is looking at currently, and will then be posted online for the required 72 hours, while it winds its way through the committee process. Hopefully around next Friday (just my estimate, which I base on nothing concrete, merely gut feeling), the bill will hit the floor of the House and squeak out a majority.

Then this bill moves over to the Senate, which will be a death-match cage fight. The Senate only needs 50 votes to pass the bill (with Joe Biden present), because it will use budget reconciliation rules. Republicans will be throwing everything including the kitchen sink into this fight, in an effort to kill the bill. If Harry Reid is smart, he will schedule this floor fight right before the Senate's planned Easter break. Nothing like the threat of reduced vacation time to motivate senators!

Then President Obama signs the bills (actually, he will sign the Senate Christmas Eve bill earlier in the process) and the issue is forever finished, and health reform happiness reigns o'er the land for all.

Well, no. Not really. I hate to be the bearer of bad news to an exhausted audience, but health reform is going to become an issue where the fighting just goes on and on for years to come. Sorry to break it to you, but there it is. Republicans are going to attempt repealing everything, and are going to campaign on this very issue. Some Democrats are going to keep pushing single-payer and the public option (and abortion restrictions, for that matter) as separate bills. And then in less than a decade, Medicare is going to need fixing again, only this time the whole debate will be around containing costs, to save the system from bankruptcy.

But this week has been relatively calm, so I don't want to rain too much on the parade before it gets going. The big fight that took place this week, which got the attention of the Left (but not many others) was the final nail in the public option's coffin.

Pressure had been mounting to add the public option to the reconciliation bill, led by a Progressive Change Campaign Committee website (whipcongress.com) that tracked which Democrats had signed onto a letter (or made a public statement in support of the idea) promising to vote for the public option via reconciliation. A few weeks ago, a handful of senators had signed on. This number kept growing, until it finally hit 41 senators who had voiced support for the idea. While getting 41 Democratic senators on board the effort is impressive, 41 is not 50. And time's running out.

This seemed to bear out what the conventional wisdom had been saying -- there just aren't enough votes to pass the public option through the Senate -- even with reconciliation.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin seemed to confuse the issue, by people reading too much into his remarks. Durbin was basically passing the buck to Nancy Pelosi, and saying (in essence) that the Senate would have to pass the House's bill with no amendments at all -- even good ones, as a matter of procedure. He said if the House bill had a public option in it, he'd whip Democrats to vote for it as is. If it didn't contain a public option, he'd whip for Democrats to vote for it as is. This was misread by many into some sort of support or opposition to the public option, which it wasn't.

Today, Nancy Pelosi did her best to whack the ball out of her court, but in doing so admitted that the bill she had sent to the C.B.O. had no public option in it. Meaning it just isn't going to happen in this legislation. Both the House and Senate are walking a tightrope, trying to corral votes within the caucus, and the public option was deemed a bridge too far (OK, maybe that tightrope/bridge metaphor kind of went crashing into the corral below, but you get my meaning, I hope).

Prosaically, that's where I think we are. The other side is girding their loins, the cavalry is mounting up to come charging over the hill, and a grand battle is guaranteed for everyone's bemusement. America is actually pretty sick of this battle already, and Democrats (especially in the House) need to finish it sooner rather than later, so they have at least something to show their constituents for the enormous effort this has all taken, in the hopes of getting re-elected this fall.

But, for now, it's quiet out there... this calm will likely last this weekend, and the storm will likely break early next week.

 

There were some minorly impressive things which happened this week, but not a lot that rose to the level of winning a MIDOTW award. Senator Chris Dodd made some news by stating that the time for attempting bipartisanship on financial reform is now over, and he will now proceed to write his own bill which he'll unveil Monday. This may be excellent news, and then again, it may just be a feint designed to win him a little favor with Democrats pushing for strong Wall Street reform, and the creation of a strong and independent consumer finance regulator. The proof will be in the pudding, so while we'll be watching for what, exactly, is in Dodd's bill. We have been disappointed by Dodd in the past, so we're going to wait until we see the bill before we consider handing Dodd an award for it.

David Obey, who chairs the powerful Appropriations Committee over in the House, also made some news with his political gambit of banning some earmarks. I wrote about this for the past two days, so if you're interested, check it out. The Republicans upped the ante yesterday, and so far, no word from Obey about whether he'll match their pledge to ban all earmarks (and not just ones to for-profit corporations). Obey should one-up the Republicans at this point by offering a permanent ban on the practice of earmarking, and deride their one-year pledge as meaningless election-year sloganeering. It's certainly worth a try. But Obey did not immediately raise the stakes in such a fashion, after the all-too-predictable Republican response. Until he does so, he has lost the political momentum he was trying to achieve with the gimmick, and so narrowly misses out on a MIDOTW.

Representative Alan Grayson gets a special "Roll With The Punches" award this week, for bouncing back from the news of the public option's demise, and immediately pushing a separate House bill (H.R. 4789 -- "The Public Option Act") which would go even farther. The bill is only four pages long, and would allow anyone to buy into Medicare at cost, if they wanted to. It wouldn't impact the budget at all, because "at cost" means revenue-neutral. It's a simple concept -- "Medicare for all" -- in a simple bill (again, four pages). Grayson explains the bill in detail himself in his article, and he encourages everyone to visit his website (www.wewantmedicare.com) to show your support for the idea. He's already got 50 cosponsors in the House, so we'll see where this idea goes in the future. But for being so quick off the mark with a standalone public option bill, Grayson certainly deserves acknowledgement this week.

But the real winner of the Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week was the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, who managed to get 41 Democratic senators to sign on to their pledge to vote for a public option through reconciliation. Although they weren't completely successful, at this point getting 41 Democratic senators to agree that the sky is blue is a worthy achievement, much less getting them to sign a pledge to vote for anything. Outside groups try to pressure Congress all the time to get what they want, but most of them fall far short of making any sort of impact while doing so. PCCC's effort was one of the most impressive of these efforts ever seen, and they deserve to be spotlighted for their impact. Their effort grew slowly, from just a handful of senators who had signed their letter, until it stalled at 41. Technically, their award should read "of the past few weeks" rather than just "of the week," for their persistence. By pulling together this whipcount -- and by forcing Democrats to pledge their support for a public option -- PCCC has done an impressive job of outsider advocacy, much more impressive than most. For this, the PCCC is awarded the Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week.

[Congratulate the Progressive Change Campaign Committee on their website, to let them know you appreciate their efforts.]

 

For the second week in a row, ex-Representative Eric Massa walks away with the prize in the Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week category. After Massa's self-immolation on (of all places) the Glenn Beck show, nobody else even comes close.

This hourlong cringefest was so bad that Beck himself apologized for wasting America's time at the end of it. In a turnabout of their usual roles, the mainstream media (outside the Beltway) quickly got tired of the story, but the inside-the-Beltway crowd (normally sneering at salacious "news" and scandals as "unserious") just couldn't get enough. "Naked Rahm Emanuel! Tickle parties! Living with male staffers! Groping! Being forced out! Or not! Whatever! Give us more!" ...screamed the normally staid political chattering class.

The "money quote" that Massa will be long remembered for happened on Beck's show, and for this quote alone Massa wins this week's MDDOTW award:

"Now they're saying I groped a male staffer. Yeah, I did. Not only did I grope him, I tickled him until he couldn't breathe and then four guys jumped on top of me -- my 50th birthday -- it was 'kill the old guy'."

Um, OK. Don't really think I can add to that at all. Eric Massa's second Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week award will be in the mail soon, as we deemed it impossible to schedule a time for him to pick it up in person. Ahem. Sorry, but it's a rather ticklish situation.

[No current public contact address for Eric Massa is available, sorry.]

 

Volume 115 (3/12/10)

We're taking the talking points in a new direction this week, which hopefully won't have to be repeated too often. Normally, I provide this snippets of spin for Democrats everywhere to use, especially those holding office who are about to be interviewed this weekend.

This week, instead, I am providing talking points from The People to those Democratic officeholders. Because while we've all spent a year having lots of political fun with health reform, there are a few other things which require some attention. Coincidentally, passing this stuff will dramatically improve any chances Democrats may have for being re-elected this year. Because the voters sent you Congressfolks there to get some stuff done. Now, you did managed to get a few things done last year, before sinking into the morass of health reform, but seeing as how we may be close to dragging ourselves out of that swamp one way or another, it's time to review what else is bubbling away on the back legislative burners.

And, in doing so, the Voice of The People (or, if you're some sort of ay-LEET-ist, "Vox Populi") is going to say the same exact thing for each and every one of these talking points. It is what we're all saying currently over health reform: "Get it done!"

However, we must also give a nod to Larry the Cable Guy here, and put it even more forcefully (and less ay-LEET-ist, of course) by phrasing it: "Git 'er done!" Just to give credit where it is due.

Here are seven issues waiting for some congressional action. Democrats waking up from the daze of health reform might just consider passing a few of these (or else they won't have such decisions to make very much longer).

 

   Jobs

This one is kind of obvious. The House and the Senate have both acted on jobs bills, but they haven't combined the bills yet in conference committee. Because there are unemployment benefits and other calendar-dependent issues contained within, this one already has a ticking clock, so it'll likely be first out of the gate. Hopefully, this will set a fast pace for other bills to follow. Democrats desperately need to show that they're doing something on the jobs issue. They've made progress already, so the only thing left to do is...

"Git 'er done!"

 

   Wall Street reform

Dodd's action next week will be crucial on this issue, which is why we'll be watching him closely. Nancy Pelosi actually did a good job of framing this the other day, in insisting on calling it "Wall Street reform." So, Democrats, for once, please use this wonderful term that everyone can understand and get behind, instead of some more dry technical language to describe what you're trying to do. This is a wildly popular effort, and forcing Republicans to vote on the side of Wall Street banks, and against changing the rules that almost destroyed our economy will be a vote-getter for Democrats in the fall. It's really a win-win proposition. So nothing should stand in the way, and Democrats should immediately...

"Git 'er done!"

 

   Comprehensive immigration reform

Some Democrats may want to shy away from this one (in an election year), but it would actually benefit the Democrats if tackled correctly. Republicans can almost always be counted on to "cross the line" in terms of language during any debate on immigration, for starters. And Democrats need to follow through on the promises they've been making to Latinos for a while now on the issue. Latinos have been voting in record numbers for Democrats, but this could change if they don't see any legislative action as a result of their support. While Latino voters may not switch and vote Republican if they become disappointed in Democrats, they may decide to stay home and not vote. And there's already too many Democratic voters who will do so this year, so we don't need to add more. Instead, tackling immigration would actually provide some enthusiasm out there in the Democratic electorate. So, Democrats, don't be scared, just...

"Git 'er done!"

 

   Energy reform

This one may not succeed this year, but that doesn't mean it isn't worth trying. If pitched correctly -- "let's stop sending all of America's money to countries that don't like us, and kick the foreign oil habit!" -- this could be a potent issue for Democrats. Progress has been made on the issue, but not nearly enough. "We can do nothing, and sit around and wait until gasoline is ten bucks a gallon, or we can start planning for that day right now!" would probably work as well. While the issue may get watered down from the sweeping plan of marching into a green future in order to accommodate incrementalist compromises which may have to be made along the way; again, this doesn't mean it's not worth attempting. So, (everyone, all together)...

"Git 'er done!"

 

   Allow gays to serve

It's time. The Pentagon isn't exactly thrilled about the concept, but they are what I would call resigned to it. It is time to overturn "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and let patriotic Americans serve their country in the military without discrimination. Some version of this will likely come up for a vote in the military budget this year. Coupled with President Obama telling the Pentagon to come up with a plan to implement the new policy by the end of the year, Congress needs to give the Pentagon and the president the leeway to throw this policy on the scrapheap of history. In other words, stop stalling, and...

"Git 'er done!"

 

   Close Gitmo

Another place the president's hands are tied in dealing with the military is the subject of Guantanamo Bay. The prison at "Gitmo" is seen around the world as a Bush-era legacy which harms America's image. Obama promised to close it by now. Congress has pushed back. Democrats need to give the president the leeway to close Gitmo and transfer the prisoners to a secure location elsewhere, by not tying his hands in the military budget. Gitmo needs to close. And Congress has to allow it.

"Git 'er done!"

 

   Kill the Bush tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy

This is an enormous issue that few people have even noticed at this point. The Bush tax cuts were passed in 2001, by reconciliation. This means that they are not "permanent" but rather sunset (or "disappear") after ten years. That ten years is almost up, meaning Congress has to figure out what to do about this situation this year. This is going to be a huge battle in Congress this year, unless they all decide "...eh, it's an election year, we'll punt it to next year." But Democrats should be out there making the following case: "Don't like the deficit? Don't like our national debt? Then remove all Bush tax cuts for anyone making over a million bucks a year. That'll solve a healthy chunk of the deficit right there." Congress doesn't even have to actively do anything on the issue, other than saving the few middle-class tax cuts in the package. If they do nothing, then the Bush tax cuts will automatically expire next year. So the law Bush signed will "raise taxes." Democrats need to make this case, and (once and for all)...

"Git 'er done!"

 

Chris Weigant blogs at:

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant

Full archives of FTP columns: FridayTalkingPoints.com

All-time award winners leaderboard, by rank

 

(AP) - Fog shrouds a riverboat docked on the Ohio River, Friday, March 12, 2010, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

Filed under: web 2.0, Browsers

Whatever happened to being different? Once upon a time, difference was revered. Heck, I still think people, deep down, admire difference. It takes guts and balls and nerve to stand out from the crowd, to stand up for the ideas and paradigms that are important to us. Being truly different -- doing something that no one has done before -- pushes boundaries. I'm not talking about wearing eyeliner because the other kids are doing it; I'm talking about innovation. That's the very definition of 'risk'. Turning up to work in a short skirt is risky. Investing your money in a new venture is risky. Working on something without the promise of an immediate gain (financial or otherwise), is risk incarnate. But despite the chance of failure, and the associated loss of face or funds, we still take risks -- why? Individuals and corporations invest millions of man hours and billions of dollars into innovation every year. In many cases they risk everything for one big pay-off. Often that pay-off never comes. Start-ups and garden-shed inventors come and go with nary a ripple made in the global market. But does that stop the next generation from risking their chips on a single throw of the die? No. Human nature dictates that we get up and try again -- unless you're a web browser developer, of course. In that case you're one of those kids that reads magazines to find out this month's eyeliner trend. The major browsers are hopping over each other to be the cool kid in school, while the science lab goes unoccupied and innovation all but ceases. In 2009, between the five big browsers -- Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera -- we saw a grand total of three new, never-before-seen features: Chrome Frame (pretty cool, and a great way to free those poor sods that are locked into IE6); HTML 5 support (as we've seen since the start of 2010, this is going to be a big thing this year); and... wait, that's it. There is no third. In 2009 we saw two new innovations in browser technology.

Continue reading Firefox Friday: the homogenization of browsers and the death of innovation

Firefox Friday: the homogenization of browsers and the death of innovation originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I thought today was a special day. I was happy expecting something new today. It appeared I was free - a very rare feeling. I kept on feeling happy until I discovered that I have an assignment due in 1 hour. CRAP! SH*T HAPPENS :smile:

There will be no News podcast today.

As I told you last week, we're going to be looking at the drama surrounding the dual release ofFinal Fantasy XIII. Rather than focus on all the score whining, we'll just be looking at the console battles between the 360 and PS3 fanboys. Like I promised, it's ridiculous. There's a lot more back and forth arguing on this topic, so expect a lot of long comment strings and replies.

Ready?

To start with, let's address the people who just hateFinal Fantasy.

only japanese retards like this retared anime piece of shit

There are comment threads full of that, but they all basically want to same thing. Just be aware that any Japanese game is a stupid anime game.

Moving onto the console wars, we start with a few of accusations that the 360 ruinedFinal Fantasy XIII.

The xbox ruined this game. xbox holds the development back of games. The xbox is limited in its power. The ps3 can do more. Just look at uncharted 2/ mlb 10 the show/ gow III/ mgs4/ killzone 2

Obviously the Playstation is superior, right?

this game clearly proves how lacking the XBROKE actually is in comparison to the PS3. They had to dumb down the great FF to make it fit on 3 lame dvds. OR, 1 almost full Blu-ray disc. All intelligent RPG fans know by now we should be getting a 2 Blu-ray disc game... but that would mean 6 to 7 dvds and developers won't do that. So they had to dumb it down to make it remotely port-able to XBROKE despite my love for this game thus far, it should be even greater FUCK XBROKE. Throw it away, get PS3

As you probably noticed, whileFinal Fantasy XIII is still getting good reviews, it's not getting the 10s everyone was expecting. This has lead to people saying the reviews are biased and only based off the inferior 360 version.

Fanboy 1:360 fanboys, they rate the game and give a review for th 360 version, when clearly FF is made for a ps3 console, its 1 disk, more effort is put in it and it includes beta access to 14, holy fuk if u have both consoles get it for the ps3, and if u dont have a ps3 sell ure fkin 360 and get a ps3 and get this game( only if rue a fan) i personally will get it for the ps3 simply for the beta access, 1 disk and its possible the graphics wil be betetr because or the power of the ps3 .Fanboy 2:u cant play dis game on the 3shittee, it suks. WAS MDE FOR PS3, PLY ON PS3 NOT 3SHITTEEFanboy 3:I'd rather have the 3SHITEE than the Penis Sucker 3Fanboy 4:Graphics are better on the 360 version actually, all multiplatform games are, look at the side by side screen shots, 360 wins 9 times out of 10. And if it was better on ps3 they would have given it a better score on ps3 like the did with bayonetta.Fanboy 5:oh my god you are clearly an xbot it looks better on ps3 let me tell you why as clearly as i can first it was made on ps3 then ported to the 360 second on ps3 its 1 disk on 360 its i think 3 or 4 and fyi games look better on 360 because they are made on 360 then ported to ps3 get your facts straight you dumbshit

This, of course, riled up the 360 fanboys. They began justifying their purchases, and, of course, it quickly degenerated into back and forth arguing.

Fanboy 1:No I have both actually, and I bought it for my 360 because games always run smoother on it, i only use my ps3 for exclusives. Who gives a shit if its 3 discs, I havent heard a single person apart from ps3 owners mention it. A hard drive install elimates discs anyway.Fanboy 2:The 360 version cut scenes are not in HDFanboy 3:Yes, the 360 cutscenes ARE in HD. I've got my copy in my XBOX as I type this.Fanboy 4:nope 576p GOOGLE IT!Fanboy 5:the game is in 720p on PS3, if you TV says 1080p its properly your awesome sony TV up scaling the gameFanboy 6:your a fuckin xbot how can the game be better on 360 is it was made on ps3 then ported eto 360 i cant stress this enough games look worse on the system they are ported to and you clearly dont have a ps3 becuz that whole installing games to your hard drive BS is no longer necessary that was only on the first games the ps3 released not anymore and if you reply again saying random BS about how ff13 is better on 360 you are clearly an xbot in denial and i will be forced to own youFanboy 7:I said the number of discs for the 360 version is pointless because 360 owners dont care about that, especially when you can just install it. It doesnt look worse on 360, it looks the fucking same, its just not 720p. I said I bought it for my 360 because I prefere gaming on my 360, it has a fuck load of features i cant live without which is why i only play exclusives on my ps3. I can proved you a pic of my 360 beside my ps3 if you want, ill even throw in a wii and a dreamcast if you want.Fanboy 6:it doesnt look the fucking same its PORTED PORTED PORTED understand you mother fuckin xbot it looks better on ps3 fact just look at the mother fuckin resolution diptard ps3 resolution 720p 360 resolution 567p ya standard def looks exactly the same as high def right theres no difference whatsoever if that were true then why the fuck would they make high def tv's and standard daf tv's and a picture wht dont you show me a real picture dumbassFanboy 8: ps3 sux

As you can see, arguments about graphics and number of discs are the most popular topics. I enjoy this argument because a guy announces he likes buying inferior games.

Fanboy 1:Yeah because this game totally suck on 360 and looks nothing like the ps3 version, oh wait it does. Whats that, virtually all multiplatform games look and play better on 360? Yes that does sound like its limited it power alright, how ever does it keep pace and even exceed the most in most cases with its lack of power.Fanboy 2:cut scenes not in hd for 360 version lolFanboy 3:I believe that is because it was a last minute port.Fanboy 4:it was i am pissed that square enix added this to the 360 list of games. ps3 lovers are mad because u never know this game could have gotten a 10 or atleast a 9.5 with better colors and texturesFanboy 1: Could not care less, I only use my ps3 for exclusives, everything multiplatform gets bought for my 360, regardless of how inferior it is, I can't stand gaming on a ps3. I have yet to meet someone other than a ps3 owner who cares the game is sub-HD and has 3 discs. Since when did that become a problem. look i really dont give a shit about ps3 being better than 360 im just arguing with a dumbass cuz he cant understand that sometimes games look better on the different systems and is in fucking denial im just trying to prove a point here

Here's a brief interlude where people argue about irrelevant review scores!

Fanboy 1:360 is so shitty thats y they always get the shitty versions of games such as this and dragon age originsFanboy 2: thats funny since xbox 360 games score higher and are more popular, toolFanboy 3: Score higher? Its a great console but ive never seen one 360 game achieving a score of 10. No offense but after 2007, ps3 games have been outstanding. The only game from xbox that got over a 9 is Halo 3. (Mass Effect 2 doesnt count since its for PC)Fanboy 4:Gears of Wars 1 and 2 received a score of 10, Forza received a 10, Bioshock received a 10(it shouldn't matter if it was on a PC it is used on a Microsoft OS),Dead Rising.Fanboy 5:he first gears was an ok game with a solid story, but bad online, and the second gears sucked ass.

I've noticed in the last few months creativity has really dropped among the fanboys. Penis Sucker 3? Little Shit Planet? Come on guys, step it up.

Fanboy 1:ps3 version is btter. Theps3 version has better resolution than the 360 also it is in 1 disk LOL! 360 suck my dick. but i wont lie 360 is a fucken beast system. I have 2 360's 1 ps3. 360 is just perfect because lal ur friends have it and play on live. ps3 is good because i hardly play games so its free online when i want and its not only a gaming system but a home entertainment system.Fanboy 2:only good game on ps3 is the " little SH*T Planet". Lol ps3 is just a crappy console.

My life would be a lot better if this kid actually did shoot himself in the head.

Fanboy 1: fan boys they forgot to say that xbox 360 version is not as good as ps3... But when bayonetta was bad on ps3 they went on and made a big deal about how it was more horrible on ps3 version...Much of fucking fan boys..Fanboy 2: even so, they can help themselves to give all the awards to ps3 exclusives at the end of the year, ps3 superiority is undeniable! =) is'nt it?Fanboy 3: The console sales say otherwise.Fanboy 2:oh yeah dont go there're according to you Wii is better than both, im not looking for an argument, there's no argument, PS3 is better, period. and for how much does it cost to have a superior Gaming PC compared to a ps3 or 360, console gaming is still better, in titles as well, console gaming is still better. really, there is no point in favor of the 360 that can make it look better than the ps3, plus, i have both so i have the personal experience too.Fanboy 4:lol get a nice hd tv and everythin will look about the sameFanboy 2:ohh my god you know wat im tired of you dumbassas IT DOESNT RUN SMOOTHER IT WAS MADE ON PS3 THEN PORTED TO 360 PORTED TO 360 PORTED TO 360 PORTED TO 360 UNDERSTAND YOU STUPID DUMBASS PORTED!!!! PORTED!!! DAMNIT RETARD UNDERSTAND GOD I FEEL LIKE SHOOTING MYSELF IN THE HEAD WITH ALL YOUR DUMSHIT COMMENTS ITS DONE DONT BOTHER REPLYING I DONT FEEL LIKE WASTING MY TIME WITH YOU NIMRODS

And finally, I want to end with the hands down most ridiculous comment I saw regardingFinal Fantasy. There's nothing else I can say.

Whoever own the playstation3 version will become a rapist! U will become a rapist!

Guess that makes me a rapist.

It’s Apple iPad day, and every early adopter worth their salt is pre-ordering one of the soon to be ubiquitous little devices and counting the days until they get their hands on it on April 3. You’ve been waiting on this thing since December 2008, after all.

We know you’ve already bought two for yourselves, the limit, because that’s how TechCrunch readers roll. We know this because we’ve told our advertisers that every single one of our 9.2 million monthly readers is a high disposable income influencer in technology and media that just loves to try out new things that they see advertised on TechCrunch. And since those advertisers believe us, we have the means to buy an extra iPad and give it to you. Even though you’ll then have three of them. Because you, dear reader, are a high disposable income influencer.

Anyhow back to the iPad. This isn’ the 3G version, which comes later in April. This is the 16GB Wifi iPad, a $499 retail device, that we’ll give away to one lucky reader chosen at random who comments below or retweets this post. Just fan the TechCrunch Facebook page and then do one of two things: either retweet this post, and make sure to include the #crunch hashtag, or leave a comment below telling us why this device must be yours. The contest ends at noon California time on Saturday. Please only tweet the message once, anyone tweeting repeatedly will be disqualified. We’ll pick a winner tomorrow afternoon and contact you for more details. Anyone in the world is eligible, as long as you can receive delivered packages (our Nexus One winner lives in Romania). And we’ll throw in a TechCrunch tshirt.

CrunchBase InformationiPadInformation provided by CrunchBase

Rumors say the new OS will get the ability to multitask; an updated interface with widgets in addition to apps; speed improvements; and more. What else should Apple include?

Last week Apple announced that it would begin taking pre-orders for the iPad on March 12, 2010 - tomorrow - but it didn’t specify exactly when on the 12th. The devil is, as they say, in the details and the precise time the iPad ges on sale is a huge detail to the cult of Mac. Myself included.

Apple has confirmed (via TUAW) that its first tablet computer will be able to be pre-ordered at 5:30 am PT/ 8:30 am ET:

Customers can pre-order online at apple.com at 5:30am Pacific time on Friday, March 12.

I was kind of hoping that the iPad would go on sale at midnight ET so that I could place my order tonight and be done with it. However an iPad with my Friday morning paper sounds just as good. Just not to my morning paper.

See you in line.

Want an iPad? Now's your chance to place an order, starting at 5:30 a.m. Cupertino Time.

PC World - The world is one step closer to holding the Apple iPad in its shaking hands: consumers can pre-order iPads on the Apple Website starting tomorrow, Friday, March 12, at 5:30 a.m. PST.

Pre-oders for the iPad start at 5.30 AM PST on Friday March 12, Apple PR told TUAW. That’s 8.30 AM for East Coasters. Better set your alarm clocks. All models of the iPad will be available for pre-order, but only the Wi-Fi model will ship on April 3. The 3G model won’t be available until late April.

If you just can't wait to buy an iPad, or rather, can't wait to reserve your slot to buy an iPad, you may be getting up early tomorrow: Pre-orders start at 8:30am EST Friday. That's 5:30am, Pacific. More »

If you just can't wait to buy an iPad, or rather, can't wait to reserve your slot to buy an iPad, you may be getting up early tomorrow: Pre-orders start at 8:30am EST Friday. That's 5:30am, Pacific. More »

AP - Cavaliers star LeBron James is tired of watching basketball and ready to start playing again.

Apologies for anyone expecting a more regular display. I haven’t been around much on Fridays of late.

Here’s a shot of one of our native long-horn beetles:

As always, clicking the image will bring up a larger version.

Tags: Friday Photo

The Canadian Press - WINGHAM, Ont. - Thousands of police officers are expected to pay tribute to slain provincial police Const. Vu Pham at his funeral on Friday.