This week's release of Fedora 9 makes carrying a full-fledged Linux desktop around on a USB drive a three-click affair. Even better, you don't need Linux installed to create it, you can leave the data on your thumb drive untouched, and any files you create or settings you tweak remain in place the next time you boot up.

Asus is to embed a lightweight, instant-on version of Linux called "Splashtop" into all its motherboards, following good feedback from customers.

Looking for new reading material? A new book is out examining WoW, and is available from Amazon for the nice price of $19.77 (not bad for a book coming from an academic press!). I'm personally really fond of edited volumes, and this one sounds pretty interesting — both in the contents and background of the research. Scott Rettberg, one of the contributors, explains:

Hilde G. Corneliussen and Jill Walker Rettberg ... edited this volume, which is the first book-length anthology to carefully read the culture of the world’s most popular massively multiplayer online game. The anthology is the product of a unique collaboration. The volume’s contributors all played the game together for a year in a guild of academics known as “The Truants” before writing their chapters, each of which examines the game from a different theoretical/analytical bent. There are thirteen chapters in the book.

According to the publishing blurb, they're cutting a pretty wide swath here:

The contributors examine the ways that gameworlds reflect the real world—exploring such topics as World of Warcraft as a "capitalist fairytale" and the game's construction of gender; the cohesiveness of the gameworld in terms of geography, mythology, narrative, and the treatment of death as a temporary state; aspects of play, including "deviant strategies" perhaps not in line with the intentions of the designers; and character—both players' identification with their characters and the game's culture of naming characters. The varied perspectives of the contributors—who come from such fields as game studies, textual analysis, gender studies, and postcolonial studies—reflect the breadth and vitality of current interest in MMOGs

I'm currently up to my neck in reading on Japanese imperialism, but this is definitely on my list of to-dos this summer.

Digital Culture, Play, and Identity: A World of Warcraft Reader [GrandTextAuto]

We've mentioned the Russian RTS Stalin vs. Martians, which is set in Siberia circa 1942 and features the Red Army versus ... martians. Kieron Gillen has posted a funny interview with Alexander Shcherbakov, the lead creator, over at Rock, Paper, Shotgun, which features tantalizing hints at future projects (A game featuring Lenin? A winter add-on pack for Stalin vs. Martians?), as well as some generally gaming related chatter:

Still I open up the reviews section in the gaming magazine, check the latest releases and most of the time feel that I just don't understand who's buying all this crap. Make me say "Wow!" or go to hell. Perhaps I'm just tired of gaming. Strange enough, but most of my favorite titles are not katamaris and patapons. It's more like, Civilizations, Street Fighters, one or two odd Game Gear titles like Defenders of Oasis, Tetris (I had to say that for patriotic reasons) and Shenmue. Actually, Shenmue is my weak spot, I speak about "original concepts", but deep inside my heart I want to make a couple of Shenmue clones. And I will. The story will be unique though. You know, I'll run a random word generator and get something like: Lenin, vampires, steam robots. Sounds good enough.

Worth a read through — Shenmue meets Lenin, I can't wait.

RPS Vs. Russians: The Stalin Vs. Martians Interview [Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

So Bash ducked back in to give you the first Gears of War 2 gameplay footage from 1Up/GameVideos.com last night (apparently there was some international video-leaking and embargo-breaking intrigue; we had no part in it). This morning we'll update you with GameVideos' overnight post of two more videos: A CliffyB-free gameplay version (above). And an analysis (after the jump) of the first video, pointing out and freezing cool details that might have got lost in the action. They also analyze Cliffy, but not too closely.

"Gears of War 2" is due for release in November on Xbox 360 only.

Wow. "You can now pick up enemies when they're downed and use them as a meat shield." But can you upgrade your meat shields?

Gears of War 2: "Assault Gameplay" and "Assault Analysis" [GameVideos.com]

Game With a Brain put up this render of Scorpion yesterday, didn't say where they got it from but it might be an in-game pose. Pretty nice uniform update, with the bone mask and all; but his tunic looks sorta like one of those beaded massagers cab drivers sit on. I kid, Mr. Scorpion, I kid.

So someone already did Dress Like Niko, can anyone tell me how much this business-caz ensemble goes for? I think I could pull off that look.

And remember children, bone masks are OK. Skull bongs are not.

Image of the Day: Scorpion Gets a Spiffy New Look [Game With a Brain]

Good morning class. Your cool substitute teacher Owen is here to let you goof off and get away with shit that Mr. Crecente doesn't allow. For the next two days anyway. Just so long as you keep your spitwads and paper airplanes away from me.

So, uh, here's your reading list. Komrade Kayce, please pass these out to the rest of the class. Thank you. Be prepared to discuss the nature of symbolism, specifically themes regarding coping with death, in "My PlayStation 2.5". Now, let me pour a mug from this thermos that is absolutely nothing but coffee and don't you little bastards dare suggest otherwise or spread rumors.

On another note, does anyone have any useful or economical suggestions for doing console video-game footage captures onto a Macintosh (with no RCA video board input)? I've tried the Pinnacle "Dazzle" video transfer for Mac. It's a piece of shit. Can't even get a signal. This question is germane to something Adam Barenblat and I hope to deliver next weekend.

My PlayStation 2.5
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Call of Duty 5 Already Playable
echochrome Review: Poppin', Lockin' and Thinkin'
Gran Turismo: 50 Million Served
Rumor: Microsoft May Debut New Xbox 360 Motion Controller Next Week
Battle of the Bands Review: Musical Smackdown
Wii Nintendo Channel Video Walkthrough
Analyst: Record GTA Sales Change Nothing For EA's "80/20" Take-Two Bid
A 70-year-old's Take on GTA IV
Sony PlayStation Day London '08 Roundup
Boom Blox Review: Explosive Casual Play
Target: Terror Review: 90s Arcade Action
Spongebob Savior: Will Kid-Friendly Licenses Save THQ?
The Only Mother's Day GTA Ad You'll Ever See (I Hope)
What's Worse: RRoD or GTA IV Lockup?
Capcom's Sushi Muse?

Microsoft is launching a programme to promote the use of its Windows OS in ultra low-cost PCs but only tose with limited hardware capabilities. In its effort to undermine Linux it is condemning people to machines with poorer functionality and performance than the open source alternative

Filed under: Laptops

While Microsoft has seen it fit to keep XP around as its "relatively non-bloated OS" alternative to the Linux that has dominated this new category of "ultra low-cost PCs" (ULPCs), they're certainly not giving away the farm. Microsoft doesn't want this version of XP Home creeping into mainstream laptops and desktops, where it might compete with Vista sales and high-margin machines from PC manufacturers. To that end, Microsoft is setting the limits for ULPCs at 10.2-inch screens, 80GB of storage, 1GB of RAM, 1GHz processors (with some exceptions) and no touchscreens. The upshot is that licenses for XP will go for $26 in developing nations and $32 elsewhere. Too bad the XP faithful among us will need to try a bit harder to wrangle XP onto new machines of theirs that don't fit these narrow specifications.

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