Age of the Geek

It's A Strange New World

     Well this is an unusual problem. Too many things to write about this week. Time for some bite-sized commentary on each topic.

Windows 10?

     Microsoft has announced that the successor to Windows 8 will be… Windows 10.

     Why? Well, nobody knows.

     There are many theories abound. Some have suggested that there's a technical issue involving legacy code from Windows 95 and Windows 98 that would make "Windows 9" annoyingly complicated for its developers. Others wonder if it's because reception to Windows 8 was so bad that Microsoft don't want their next operating system to be so closely associated with it.

     Some claim that Microsoft is trying to break the Windows curse.

     Much like Star Trek movies, every other version of Microsoft Windows has been a disaster for quite some time. People loved Windows 98, but hated Windows ME. They loved Windows XP, but hated Windows Vista. They loved Windows 7, but hated Windows 8.

     Perhaps there is a curse. Perhaps Steve Jobs, jealous of their ability to resize windows by grabbing anywhere on the frame, used his dark magic to create suffering for PC users. In that case, messing with the numbering might cause the evil demon responsible for the Metro design to get confused and end the curse forever, no longer sure which version of Windows it's supposed to ruin.

     If that's true than good for Microsoft.

     On the other hand, it's also possible that the "curse" is the result of Microsoft having no idea what people want from their operating systems, causing them to release a terrible product, only to turn around and release the same product again minus everything people didn't like about it.

     Which is exactly what happened with Windows Vista and Windows 7. And judging from the fact that the very first thing Microsoft says about Windows 10 is that it's bringing back the Start Menu, is what's happening here as well.

     In that case, changing the numbering won't help anything, but at least odds are good that Windows 10 won't be terrible.

Tetris: The Movie

     If you thought that Hollywood hit the bottom of the barrel when they made the "Battleship" movie, you were mistaken. This week it was announced that Threshold Entertainment will be developing a movie based on "Tetris."

     Yes. That "Tetris."

     Falling blocks, Russian backgrounds, and catchy music "Tetris."

     Threshold Chairman Larry Kasanoff wants to turn the beloved video game into an "epic sci-fi story."

     And I will see this movie.

     I will absolutely see this movie, if only to witness the storytelling alchemy required to conjure a plot out of falling blocks.

     I mean, even "Battleship" has a tiny sliver of a narrative to draw inspiration from, even if the movie whittled it down to "ships shooting at things." What can you possibly make out of "Tetris?"

RIP: Saturday Morning Cartoons

     It's the end of an era.

     Last Saturday, for the first time in half a century, there was no Saturday morning cartoon block to be found anywhere on network television.

     The tradition of Saturday Morning Cartoons has been in decline for years. Once upon a time, Saturday mornings were the only place for new cartoons to broadcast. Today, cable channels have freed them from that limited timeslot. "Star Wars: Rebels," premiered last week, not on Saturday morning, but on Friday night primetime.

     My childhood was defined by the cartoons on CBS, ABC, and Fox, but all three networks have long since abandoned the practice. Up until last week, the CW's "Vortexx" block was the last man standing, airing re-runs of "Justice League Unlimited," "Spectacular Spider-Man," and Dragon Ball Z Kai," among some newer shows I don't recognize.

     Of course the loss of the Saturday Morning Cartoon block is really a forbearer to the ultimate end of programming blocks in general. The idea of watching television on somebody else's schedule is rapidly becoming as outdated a concept as the home phone or the printed encyclopedia.

     I may lament the loss of such a beloved childhood tradition, but in the end we're all in a better place now.

     Travis Fischer is a news writer for Mid-America Publishing and had to go uphill, both ways, in the snow, to watch Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles when he was growing up.