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Back into the Myst

While being thoroughly underwhelmed by my Second Life experience, or at least my half-assed method of doing it on the cheap, I’m getting ready to take the virtual plunge once again. Hopefully with a better looking avatar.
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While being thoroughly underwhelmed by my Second Life experience, or at least my half-assed method of doing it on the cheap, I’m getting ready to take the virtual plunge once again. Hopefully with a better looking avatar.

Last week the good people at Turner Broadcasting and Cyan Worlds at last went live with Myst Online: Uru Live, which promises all the same kind of beauty, mystery and puzzle-driven action of the Myst games.

(Full disclosure: I never owned the first Myst, but played it on a friend’s computer and never made it to the finish. I attempted the first sequel after hours at a previous job, but gave up when I realized I didn’t have the time to give the game the focus it needs. Still, I had to admit that the games were pretty cool.)

The new Myst game will be free at first, although like Second Life you’ll need to cough up a few bucks after a certain point — once you’re hooked that is.

This is going to be huge — some say bigger than Second Life — as it crosses virtually all virtual boundaries. It’s easy to use and the format will appeal to young and old, men and women alike. Also, it’s non-violent, it’s intellectually challenging, and it appears at this point to be endless — the creators have promised that there will always be new adventures and new puzzles to solve. If previous Myst games are any indication, the game should also be beautiful to look at, and perfectly scored with mysterious, trance-inducing music. It will also be well written. While it’s rare that the writing in a video game stands out — Resident Evil 4, God of War, and Fable are among the rare exceptions — Myst has always been a little like a combination mystery-fantasy-sci-fi novel brought to life.

The online version will work much like the PC game, essentially with you using your keyboard to navigate and your mouse to interact with things. The real challenge will be the puzzles, and finding the patterns in your discoveries that let you progress through this virtual world.

The PC version is ready for download, and the Mac version will be out in a few weeks at www.gametap.com/home/myst/ .

Canada a piracy paradise

When it comes to protecting digital copyright, Canada’s official response has been a lot more laid back than most countries’. One judge even went as far as to compare the swapping of digital music and files to the act of photocopying pages out of a book in the library, showing a relative lack of understanding about the seriousness of the issue.

Movie, software and music piracy is valued over $13 billion, which if anything is a massively understated total.

Some of the biggest offenders are countries like China, Russia and Belize, but according to the International Intellectual Property Alliance, Canada is just as bad (if not worse) with a lack of laws, a lack of resources to enforce those laws and a laissez-faire attitude about digital piracy in general. If the IIPA reports is correct, we should all be wearing eye patches.

Here’s the thing — unless we start to take copyright seriously, Canada could be black-listed by IIPA partners. That could result in trade actions through agencies like the World Trade Organization and NAFTA, leading to sanctions, fines and tariffs. If that happens we could end up paying more for CDs, DVDs, software and other media as companies attempt to recoup money lost to piracy. I don’t think any of us would want that, although it might have to happen to drive changes.

“The disturbing thing is that the Canadian government doesn’t seem to take this very seriously,” said Steve Matalitz, legal counsel for the IIPA.

Apparently Industry Canada is working on a plan to bump up copyright protection and enforcement, but in the meantime we have earned the reputation as being a massive bootlegger of movies, and in the production of mod chips that allow consoles to play games and DVDs that have been copied and stripped of Digital Rights Management (DRM). Canadians also steal music, steal software, and do all the things that drive the IIPA crazy.

Most people I talk to about this issue don’t even think they’re doing anything really wrong, always quick to point out the profits made by Bill Gates and Metallica and the fact that there are far worse crimes we could be prosecuting. True. But a law is a law, whether it’s a bylaw against backyard burning or a federal law against murder, and all have to be enforced. And if we don’t enforce copyright laws, it will be the law-abiding consumers out there who pay — at the cash register, that is.

Website of the Week

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is making good on its promise to make most of its courses available online, with literally hundreds of courses to choose from in topics as diverse as electrical engineering and computer science to the history of music. Whether you’re just looking for a diversion or are hoping to learn something new, check out the list of courses at http://ocw.mit.edu .