Desbreko

[quote name='Allamorph'][FONT=Arial]The reason the comment box on MyOtaku got fixed after the VV switch was because [COLOR="DarkRed"]Desbreko[/COLOR] saw the need for a better comment box (let's face it, it got hit pretty bad) and wrote the code for it himself, [I]then[/I] presented it to Adam.[/FONT][/QUOTE][color=#4B0082]Actually, I only coded the comment box design because I was bored. Adam had said about a month earlier on his myO page that if anyone sent him a better design, he'd use it, and not one person had contacted him about it. Everyone was whining in his comments about the old design getting scrapped (which was unavoidable because it was tied to the old version of theO, by the way), yet no one was willing to put in any effort to make it better. So I thought, "Hey, I could do that," and banged out the current design in a few hours.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]I also think a new poll would be best. It's pretty easy for interests to shift after a couple seasons. Inuyasha has a new TV series coming up next season, for example. I wouldn't be surprised if talk about that flares up again.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]Looks like it. They're listing a ton of region free DVDs which, as I mentioned in the Special A thread, are never legit.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]From the description on that page:[/color] [quote]Dialogue : Japanese Subtitle : English/Chinese/Off Region : All Region, Free Code Disc Type : DVD x 2[/quote][color=#4B0082]There are two big, red flags in there that point to it being a bootleg. The first is that it's region free – no legit retail DVDs are region free. Second, it's got Chinese subs. It's most likely a Chinese bootleg with a crappy Japanese --> Chinese --> English translation. Also, since the set is only two DVDs, twelve episodes have been crammed onto each disc. And that means the video/audio quality is absolutely horrible due to extremely high compression. Oh, and the official R2 DVDs have all been released in Japan by now. There's eight volumes with three episodes each. But I haven't heard anything about the series being licensed.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]Got a couple more from [b]Bakemonogatari[/b] and [b]Princess Lover![/b], respectively.[/color] [URL=http://img182.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mayoinotfirmlyattached.jpg][IMG]http://img182.imageshack.us/img182/4759/mayoinotfirmlyattached.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img442.imageshack.us/my.php?image=charlottelikeridingahor.jpg][IMG]http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/4985/charlottelikeridingahor.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[color=#4B0082]I fansub anime.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]I usually leave my computer running 24/7, but I also often have it doing stuff overnight. I use the late night/early morning hours when no one else is using the net connection to download large files, or set up video to encode while I sleep. It's actually harder for me to sleep at night without the background noise of my computer's fans, now.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]We do, or more specifically, SomeGuy does. His [url=http://www.theotaku.com/worlds/conventionist][u]Conventionist[/u][/url] world is the official theO world for convention news and stuff.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]Ugh, Knights of the Round. Sure it does a lot of damage but, it takes freakin' forever for the animation to happen. When chain casting it against Emerald WEAPON (W-Summon + Mime + Mime for six casts) I literally had time to put the controller down, walk into the kitchen, make a sandwich, eat said sandwich, and come back before I regained control of my party. That is just ridiculous. I think Bahamut ZERO looks way cooler, too.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]Don't eat corn on the cob while sitting in front of your computer. No matter how careful you are, you will spray bits of corn juice all over your monitor without even realizing it. Then it will be a pain to clean off later.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]I am lazy and will therefore simply link to the [url=http://www.theotaku.com/worlds/desbreko/view/103826/anime_i%27m_watching_this_season/][u]post on my world[/u][/url] that lists what I'm watching this season. [b]Hetalia[/b]'s second season will also be on there whenever it starts getting subs. By the way, [b]Kanamemo[/b] is freakin' hilarious and has turned into one of my favorites of the season. I recommend it if you like comedy and cuteness.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]I'm pretty sure the entirety of the internet is raging at KyoAni or whoever decided it would be a good idea to spend five-plus episodes on Endless Eight. Using two episodes on it would've been acceptable; three would've been pushing it; after that, rage. Someone better be getting fired over this.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]I bet [b]Shugo Chara!! Doki[/b] ep91 is responsible for some Kuukai x Nagihiko doujinshi.[/color] [center][URL=http://img34.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kuukaiandnagihikoitson.jpg][IMG]http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/127/kuukaiandnagihikoitson.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img12.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nagihikobegentle.jpg][IMG]http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/4567/nagihikobegentle.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img528.imageshack.us/my.php?image=amuwow.jpg][IMG]http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/5157/amuwow.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL][/center] [hr]100[/hr] [color=#4B0082][b]Bakemonogatari[/b] is hilarious and it also had this little gem in ep3.[/color] [center][URL=http://img263.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hitagilittlesisters.jpg][IMG]http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/926/hitagilittlesisters.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL][/center]

[color=#4B0082]Whenever the villain has thoroughly beaten down the hero but then lets him go for no reason at all instead of finishing him off. And then, of course, the hero comes back later to defeat the villain and save the day. That's actually been annoying me since before I started watching anime. The Final Fantasy games seem to love doing it.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]FFVII is a good game and worth playing if you like the standard Final Fantasy formula. It's just not as amazing as a lot of people make it out to be. One of my favorite things about FFVII, though, is the game's setting. Its world is very interesting to me, both in the landscape and mythology. A lot of RPG locations are very forgettable but places like the Nibelheim mountains, the Forgotten Capital, and Midgar stick in my mind.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]Also, FFVI's General Leo, anyone? :animecry: And yeah, I know the characters aren't identical, but the differences are so small that it hardly matters. You can pick any two characters to go along with Cloud and use the same exact strategies as with any other two characters to get through the game. (Again, with the exception of Aeris.) The differences in stats and limit breaks are almost entirely inconsequential if you use good materia combos. Even FFVI, which also features a lot of customization and overpowered magic combos through the magicite system, is far more varied. Characters have significantly different stats, their own unique abilities, [i]and[/i] you can affect how their stats increase when they level up. The thought occurs to me, however, that FFVII would be a lot better if the difficulty were ramped way up. If they made you actually [i]need[/i] all those overpowered materia combos just to survive, it would take a lot more thought and be a lot more fun even with the lack of character differentiation. Coming up with crazy-awesome materia combos is fun, but when nothing can even begin to put up a fight against them it makes the game dull.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]Er, just to clear this up, Apple didn't create the MP4 container format (which has been around for years now), though it was based on their QuickTime .mov format. They just started using the .m4a extension to differentiate MP4 files that are audio only. If a player supports AAC but doesn't recognize the .m4a extension you can just change it to .mp4 and it should work.[/color] [quote name='Roxie Faye'][color=#9933cc]Keeping everything in mp3 just makes life easier.[/color][/QUOTE][color=#4B0082]This is the kind of thinking that prevents newer and superior formats from gaining support. >_>; If no one uses them, support will be even slower to expand. I'm all for AAC completely replacing MP3.[/color] [quote name='Roxie Faye'][color=#9933cc]I would use winamp, but the extensive library function on it turns on the OCD in me, and I decided a long time ago, for the protection of my sanity, to just give up on organizing my music six ways sideways from Sunday by forgoing a library altogether.[/color][/QUOTE][color=#4B0082]Heh, I never even touch Winamp's library or playlist functions. I just sort my files into directories by artist and album. By the way, I think you can choose not to install the library functionality.[/color]

[quote name='John']AAC is Apple's proprietary format.[/quote][color=#4B0082]iTunes uses AAC but the format itself isn't proprietary. Anyone can go download an AAC encoder and use it, or even code one themself. Personally, I use Nero's since, from the bit of research I've done, it's supposedly the best free AAC encoder available.[/color] [quote name='John']And converting a file from one format to another [B]absolutely cannot[/B] increase fidelity; it can only keep it the same or decrease it.[/QUOTE][color=#4B0082]This is true. Converting from MP3 to AAC will only decrease the quality since both are lossy compression formats. Unless you have a good reason (such as a player not supporting a format), you should never re-encode a lossy format file. [hr]100[/hr] Anyway, browsing around Wikipedia can turn up a lot of useful information on this subject. Here's a good article to start with: [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_file_format][u]Audio file format[/u][/url]. It's also important to know the difference between [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lossless_data_compression#Audio][u]lossless compression[/u][/url] and [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lossy_data_compression#Audio][u]lossy compression[/u][/url] and those two articles will give you a list of formats in each type. From there you can read about specific formats in their own articles as well. Another inportant thing to know is that MP4 is not an audio or video format, it's simply a container format for storing data streams. You can find see the various alternate file extensions used for MP4 files (such as .m4a which is common for MP4 files that only contain audio) in the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-4_Part_14][u]MPEG-4 Part 14[/u][/url] article. Some extensions signify things like whether the file is protected with DRM, but if a player doesn't support a specific one you can freely change it to another. Most MP4 files use the AAC audio format but they're also capable of storing MP3 and other formats. To answer the questions simply... ? The most common lossy audio formats are MP3, AAC, WMA, and Vorbis and the most common lossless format is FLAC. MP3 has been around forever so nearly everything can play it. AAC is MP3's successor and technically superior but isn't as widely supported yet. WMA tends to be better than MP3 but about equal with AAC and is fairly widely supported. Vorbis, which usually comes in a .ogg container, is an open source audio format that tends to match or exceed AAC's quality but is even less widely supported ? pretty much nothing but computer software players support it. FLAC is open source and currently the most efficient lossless audio format but, again, good luck playing it on anything but a computer. ? You can convert from AAC (.m4a is the container format, not the audio format) to MP3 but not without loss of quality. This is true when converting from any lossy format to another lossy format. I'd recommend getting a new player if it doesn't even support AAC; there's a number of good ones out there. I use Winamp, myself. ? Unless you have a really good sound system and really good ears, you probably won't be able to tell the difference between MP3 and AAC at bitrates above 256 kbps. Likewise, you probably won't be able to tell the difference between a file encoded at 256 kbps and another encoded at 320 kbps or above. ? There isn't really a standard bitrate, it just depends on what sort of space vs. quality trade-off you want to make. True CD quality would be lossless FLAC but that's overkill for most things. To get files that are pretty much indistinguishable from the source, I'd recommend around 256 kbps. Using variable bitrate is also good, it can save a lot of space with no noticeable loss of quality.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]I think a lot of people who argue against this feature are missing one key point that tends to get skimmed over or, as in the case of the article linked in the first post, completely ignored. Unless things have changed from the [url=http://kotaku.com/5127251/nintendo-kind-code-patent-reveals-potential-paradigm-shift-in-design][u]original patent[/u][/url] that Nintendo filed, [b]you won't be able to save your progress if you let the game play past an area for you.[/b] So you can see how something is done and you can play parts after where you're stuck, but unless you do it yourself you still won't be able to progress on your own save file. Because of that, it's not all that different from looking up a walkthrough online. Personally, I find the argument that using such a feature cheapens the experience of the game and that it shouldn't exist to be a bit elitist. It's basically the same as saying easy difficulty levels shouldn't exist, or that people shouldn't be allowed to look up any help in walkthroughs, because it's not a challenge. I do agree with John that this shouldn't be used as a substitute for proper difficulty balancing, though. This feature should be something to help out people at the low end of the skill level, not an excuse to make stupidly difficult and frustrating areas.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]No. Now it is. I started watching [b]Hand Maid May[/b] last night...[/color] [URL=http://img241.imageshack.us/my.php?image=keioutofcontext.jpg][IMG]http://img241.imageshack.us/img241/4755/keioutofcontext.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img37.imageshack.us/my.php?image=keisecretelevator.jpg][IMG]http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/5552/keisecretelevator.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img193.imageshack.us/my.php?image=renaboobyprize.jpg][IMG]http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/8348/renaboobyprize.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img198.imageshack.us/my.php?image=keiseeyouradrenalin.jpg][IMG]http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/6189/keiseeyouradrenalin.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img5.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mayyellowflappinginthew.jpg][IMG]http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/8312/mayyellowflappinginthew.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img366.imageshack.us/my.php?image=kotarojamstuffintomay.jpg][IMG]http://img366.imageshack.us/img366/672/kotarojamstuffintomay.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[color=#4B0082]Now that the thread is revived, I have so very many shots to put up here.[/color] [b]Aa Megami-sama: Tatakau Tsubasa[/b] [URL=http://img212.imageshack.us/i/peorthonewingedangelux4.jpg/][IMG]http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/1384/peorthonewingedangelux4.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [b]Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka[/b] [URL=http://img114.imageshack.us/i/yuuhiwhatdoboyswantie7.jpg/][IMG]http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/3558/yuuhiwhatdoboyswantie7.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [b]Antique Bakery[/b] [URL=http://img83.imageshack.us/i/tachibanaedovirginla7.jpg/][IMG]http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/1408/tachibanaedovirginla7.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img371.imageshack.us/my.php?image=eijisbodysmellssogoodlm8.jpg][IMG]http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/1112/eijisbodysmellssogoodlm8.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [b]Aria[/b] [URL=http://img57.imageshack.us/my.php?image=akatsukimybrawnybro.jpg][IMG]http://img57.imageshack.us/img57/6653/akatsukimybrawnybro.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img8.imageshack.us/my.php?image=akarisparklyexperience.jpg][IMG]http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/2510/akarisparklyexperience.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [b]Eden of the East[/b] [URL=http://img6.imageshack.us/my.php?image=akiramyjohnny.jpg][IMG]http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/4431/akiramyjohnny.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [b]Escaflowne[/b] [URL=http://img3.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dilandaucheekisthrobbin.jpg][IMG]http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/9219/dilandaucheekisthrobbin.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [b]Hatsukoi Limited[/b] [URL=http://img114.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ayumitasteslikezaitsuku.jpg][IMG]http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/8836/ayumitasteslikezaitsuku.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img14.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gengoroubigbreastsarego.jpg][IMG]http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/5184/gengoroubigbreastsarego.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img254.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hiroyukibigbreasts.jpg][IMG]http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/3144/hiroyukibigbreasts.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img520.imageshack.us/my.php?image=etsupantssniffing.jpg][IMG]http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/1858/etsupantssniffing.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [b]Kemono no Souja Erin[/b] [URL=http://img17.imageshack.us/my.php?image=buttbite.jpg][IMG]http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/767/buttbite.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [b]Mahoraba ~Heartful Days~[/b] [URL=http://img187.imageshack.us/i/supercosmoattackvw3.jpg/][IMG]http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/1720/supercosmoattackvw3.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [b]Maria-sama ga Miteru 4th Season[/b] [URL=http://img510.imageshack.us/i/yoshinoharemtr7.jpg/][IMG]http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/4615/yoshinoharemtr7.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img83.imageshack.us/i/toukofabulousmaleui1.jpg/][IMG]http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/8789/toukofabulousmaleui1.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [b]Myself ; Yourself[/b] [URL=http://img66.imageshack.us/i/aoiptawillyoujz4.jpg/][IMG]http://img66.imageshack.us/img66/4159/aoiptawillyoujz4.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img74.imageshack.us/i/aoismotherdreamsinbreaspm0.jpg/][IMG]http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/3146/aoismotherdreamsinbreaspm0.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [b]Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru[/b] [URL=http://img503.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mariyafondledmecp9.jpg][IMG]http://img503.imageshack.us/img503/7953/mariyafondledmecp9.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [b]Shugo Chara![/b] [URL=http://img142.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nayutacattlemutilationdl1.jpg][IMG]http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/3615/nayutacattlemutilationdl1.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [b]Toradora[/b] [URL=http://img5.imageshack.us/my.php?image=taigamalesstamenfemales.jpg][IMG]http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/9374/taigamalesstamenfemales.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img10.imageshack.us/my.php?image=yuriplanningtomakeout.jpg][IMG]http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1098/yuriplanningtomakeout.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://img25.imageshack.us/my.php?image=taigashehassixboobs.jpg][IMG]http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/7893/taigashehassixboobs.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [b]Valkyria Chronicles[/b] [URL=http://img34.imageshack.us/my.php?image=jannsorough.jpg][IMG]http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/9591/jannsorough.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[color=#4B0082]The easiest way to see what they're like would just be to go into a thread with lots of replies and try them out. They're a bit odd. And they usually don't work quite how they're supposed to since a lot of people just click the quick reply button on a random post instead of the one they're actually replying to. What threaded mode does is only display one post at a time but it gives you a little post tree up above it that has links to the posts in the thread and shows which are replies to other posts. You can think of the different branches of replies in the list as being like threads in a forum. Hybrid mode is, as you'd expect, a hybrid between the default linear mode and threaded mode. It still uses the post tree up top for viewing different threads of posts but it also displays multiple posts at a time, sorted in linear order.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]I about crapped myself when I read "new Metroid" and "third person." Then I saw it was in 3D, which tempered my excitement, but I'm still stupidly excited to see more of it. Still waiting for a new 2D Metroid on the DS or WiiWare though.[/color]

[color=#4B0082]So nearly a year and a half after being announced, this is finally out in the US on WiiWare. The Des is happy. You can read [url=http://www.theotaku.com/worlds/desbreko/view/93886/the_crystals_shed_their_light_silently/][u]my initial impressions[/u][/url] on my world.[/color]

[quote name='Sabrina'][FONT="Tahoma"]I find it frustrating when I wake up too early and can't fall back asleep. o_O Makes me glad I'm on summer vacation. It's definitely much easier to find time for a short nap when you don't have lots of homework to be done. [/FONT][/QUOTE][color=#4B0082]This happened to me today. I only got about five and a half hours of sleep but apparently my body thinks that's plenty after being completely exhausted the day before. :animesigh[/color]