A Socialist Free Market

I have been an NVIDIA fan since my first GeForce 2 card way, way back in the day. I have never had any problems with their hardware, their driver support has been phenomenal, and they always seem to outperform ATI just enough to make them worth it.

Then I read this.

Apparently, NVIDIA has actually created a documented strong-arm policy called the UMAP. This policy dictates the advertised prices that retailers and etailers can show on their sites for video cards that have the same model of NVIDIA's GPU. As a result, you can no longer go to sites like Newegg and easily compare prices between different companies versions of those cards, such as the 8800GTX. You have to either click on the item itself or actually add it to your cart before you see what the real price of the card is. If the question you are asking yourself is "how can they do this", the answer is simple. NVIDIA is the 800 pound gorilla of the graphics processor market. According to the above article, Newegg refused to change their site until NVIDIA told them that they would no longer be allowed to receive cards with their GPU's on them if they didn't. NVIDIA can apparently control where the manufacturers send video cards with their GPU on it and as a result, Newegg has a new advertising policy for NVIDIA cards.

NVIDIA is claiming that the purpose of the UMAP is to create an even selling market between the different video card manufacturers by forcing all of their advertised prices for the same GPU to be either the same or not displayed at all. While that may very well be true, I absolutely cannot fathom how they could think that this will not destroy their sales. ATI must be having a field day right now. I don't know of anyone, except the most fanatical, diehard NVIDIA loyalist, who would not immediately choose another brand for the simple fact that they are easier to compare prices on now, let alone choosing someone else because of NVIDIA's sales practices.

Had I known about this a month ago, I would have bought an ATI card instead of an 8800GT, regardless of the performance difference or driver support. Even if NVIDIA rescinds the UMAP (which is apparently a possibility according to the article linked above), the damage has already been done. I will not give anymore of my money to a company who cannot differentiate between the ability to flex their muscle and whether or not they should.

(For any of you NVIDIA execs reading this who need a clue, the answer is you shouldn't.)

Regularly Scheduled Monthly Update

Well, I'm a daddy. My wife's had a bun in the oven for about 4 months now and things have been rather nuts, so I'm going to take a few moments to journal out whats been going on.

Gaming
All MMO's have stopped. In fact, we got rid of the internet at home again because it was proving too much a distraction for the both of us. We now have plenty of time for each other, which we spend doing other things. At least we're trying.
I have, however, finally been able to get one of these. I've ordered a bunch of games that I haven't played yet due to not having the graphics chutzpa needed for me to really enjoy them. The games that I already had are really enjoying the face lift and look absolutely beautiful. Oblivion is still only running at around 25 FPS , but that probably has something to do with all of the massive community graphics upgrades I've downloaded for it and that I run it with everything maxed out, except AA. It is quite beautiful. UT3 also looks jaw-dropping. I showed it to a couple of friends and they want to go upgrade just from watching me play for a few minutes. I'm looking forward to Crysis, Hellgate London and Quake Wars: Enemy Territory, all of which should be coming in the mail any day now. I picked them up off e-bay, along with 3 other game for around $60. Yay for the interwebs.

Friends and Family
I'm really, really jealous of this guy and the friend I mentioned above about UT3. They both have one of these with this game and I'm pouting all over the place because I can't play with them. Someone call the whaaaambulance. My beautiful bride, however, is quite content with me not having one, seeing as how she's mildly worried that I would be lost to her forever. Whether or not that is true is irrelevant. She's pregnant and I love her. No PS3.
Speaking of pregnant, wow. How do I put this while maintaining the privilege of sleeping in my own bed...my wife has become...focused...on...herself and taking care of her and the baby. This tends to leave other things...at a temporarily lower proirity. Like feeding the animals. Or telling me she needs me to take her to work more than 5 minutes before she needs to be there. I've had to adjust quite simply because I'm a stubborn pain in the neck and don't like changes to my schedule. I've actually become quite good at kissing my wife and saying 'Yes dear' while turning red in the face. This is, of course, no fault of hers.
We still don't know whether we are having a boy or a girl, but I'll honestly be happy either way. I can screw up one just as good as the other.

Work
Don't get me started. Seriously. I have friends who read this blog that I work with and I'll get fired if I say what I really want to say. Normally that wouldn't deter me, but having a kid on the way tends to make one stop and think of someone other than themselves (to an extent). I can say, however, that I am actively looking for another job.

Baby
In case you hadn't heard, my wife is having a baby. I'm not scared of this. Most people, when asked about having their first child, say they are terrified. It's usually due to a fear of making mistakes and messing up their kid. I have no such delusions. I know that I will mess up my kids in some way, therefore, no fear. In fact, I'm kind of looking forward to it. I know that much of who I am today came from not being perfect. I don't learn from success. I learn from my mistakes. The great thing about having a kid is that when I make them, I can learn to correct them and teach them how not to make the same ones. The real trick is allowing God to break my heart so I can be vulnerable with them. That's the part that worries me a little.

Wife
I love her. More and more everyday. The only reason that I am a little worried (as opposed to really concerned) about whether or not I can really give God access to my heart is because of this very thing. If he wasn't already changing it, I would not be improving as a husband.

Role-Playing Game
I swear, I really want to keep doing this. Really! Don't give up hope!


And that's about it. We have our next ultrasound coming up in a few weeks and those games should be getting here soon. I may actually have more content to post before next month.