Andy Wood

Microsoft reserves 20% of your available bandwidth for its own purposes (suspect for updates and interrogating your machine etc..) Here’s how to get it back:

Click Start–>Run–>type “gpedit.msc” without the “

This opens the group policy editor. Then go to:

Local Computer Policy–>Computer Configuration–>Administrative Templates–>Network–>QOS Packet Scheduler–>Limit Reservable Bandwidth

Double click on Limit Reservable bandwidth. It will say it is not configured, but the truth is under the ‘Explain’ tab :

“By default, the Packet Scheduler limits the system to 20 percent of the bandwidth of a connection, but you can use this setting to override the default.”

The creator of the web comic w00tness has begun a highly stylized and urban influenced graphic short story series. He sets his story against the backdrop of World of Warcraft settings and themes. Clever. You can check out Sheason v Tuera: 1′ now.

Click on the above image to see the current story.

Those crazy kids are back – older and wiser? We shall see, Harry Potter is having dreams and he worries that the killer of his parents, Voldemort, may be ready to return finish what he started 13 years ago.  His friend Hermione is going to be quite the heart breaker as beautiful enchantress with fair amount of male attention.

This year, the trio’s fourth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, there is to be a “Tri Wizard Tournament,” in which champion wizards, one representing each of three different schools, compete against each other for victory.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire contains good qualities and not-so-good ones, although the former greatly outnumber the latter.  This is the best of the quartet of Harry Potter features, but it is not without flaws.  This movie is more action-oriented than its predecessors with a dark side as well which include several exciting sequences. (battle dragons, etc.)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was a dark, stylish motion picture. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is not as stylish, but much darker.  Unlike the previous installment, this movie focuses primarily on the students, allowing many of the adults little more than walk-on cameos.

It would seem that Kloves was walking a tightrope. Certain irrelevancies were retained in order to keep readers happy and not to grumble so much.

The movie occasionally drags, (so make sure that you are in the mood for a Potter movie) but it’s not so “out there” for those that haven’t read the book to get bored, but before watching this movie, you had best glimpse the other HP flicks as installment is not a solo act.

Despite a worldwide opening of almost $200 million and a domestic take of at least $120 million for X-Men: The Last Stand, Marvel spokesman Avi Arad insists they will stick to the announced plans and end the franchise with the third film. Arad says Marvel and their studio friends plan to focus on the already planned spin-off films Wolverine and Magneto, and have no plans for an X4: “The first reaction, which we should discard, is here comes ‘X-Men 4. We’re working on Wolverine, which is definitely a continuation, and we have a very interesting script about a young Magneto.”

There you have it folks, straight from the horse’s mouth. Do you believe him? The box office take for X3 thus far certainly makes it seem like the studio would not want to let the title franchise die — it’s been a real money winner for them thus far. But we’ve heard nothing recently from anyone in power suggesting they are even thinking of a sequel, so perhaps they are really going to stick to their guns and go with the spin-offs only. Stay tuned to Cinematical, we’ll be on the beat for you and we’ll let you know when something new develops. Thanks Cinematical

Do you care to know the size of every current and next gen console out there? Some are for many reasons from space in thier entertainment units to planning case mods. Just check out how big a 360 to a PS3 is? This is important data and must not be overseen.

Called “Recluses’ Strike Force Challenge Contest”, this is your chance to get a free-year of CoV for you and 7 team members:

Well put your villainy where your mouth is and try your hand at the City of Villains(TM) Recluses’ Strike Force Challenge! The winners will be the first team to successfully complete the entire Lord Recluse Strike Force on the Test Server and complete the entry process which allows us to verify completion of the Strike Force.

This Challenge is not for the weak – in fact, we expect no team will even be able to complete the Lord Recluse Strike Force before the deadline. How sure are we? We are so sure that if you are a member of the first team to complete the Strike Force before the deadline we will give you a one year paid subscription to City of Villains. That’s right – each person on the winning team will get a full-year paid subscription to the most fiendish MMO on the planet.

No team will complete it at all, eh? I think the power of evil is being underestimated. Then again, if it is anything like the Respec trial when it first came out, ya I can see it being failed consistently. I hated that mission, “Hey! Let’s make gimped characters have to join up with other gimps to defeat wave after wave of enemies until all the heroes are dead.” Ya, loads of fun. Thanks WarCry

Have you ever wordered just how this battle would unfold? Well, now you can..

Superhero Re-enactment? If you know about the Secret Wars series from Marvel back in the eighties, you’ll enjoy this. And if you don’t, then yes, you will see grown men dressed up in the park and playing.

The movie watching continues and I am loving it too.

While I wait for a replacement set for the SG-1 season box set that I got that had a bad disk. I thought I would pop in a ‘monster’ movie and shake things up a little.

The question is , buy or Netflix? This is the second DVD release of this movie, and from my perspective, this is how it should have been released the first time.

It has all of the extras that the first incarnation did, but they have tipped the hat in our favor slightly by the adding 3 cool items.

1.) New production gallery that’s filled with lots of behind-the-scenes photos.
2.) The Best of Godzilla Fight Scenes. This is a bit of a rip if you ask me. I was expecting some assembled footage of perhaps the ‘best’ lizard brawls that this dude has had. Instead we basically get a ten-minute long commercial for the rest of the Godzilla DVD’s that are available.
3.) Oh but wait, just what any Godzilla fan would want, three episodes from Godzilla: The Animated Series.

If you’ve never got this movie yet, then this is the time as Amazon has this little gem for only $17.99

Mutants are among us – and they’re going to high school! The Xavier Institute is home to a number of children with “special abilities” – kids like laser-eyed Cyclops, teleporting blue-devil Nightcrawler, deadly-to-the-touch Rogue and telekinetic Jean Grey.

They all go to nearby Bayville High School – using their real names, of course, since the world hasn’t yet learned that the next step in human evolution is likely to show up at the next prom. These “X-Men” are mentored by Charles Xavier (himself a powerful telepath) or Professor Xavier and other grown-ups like Wolverine and Beast.

X-Men Evolution Enemies Unveiled	X-Men Evolution Mystique’s Revenge

The kids at the Xavier Institute have it relatively easy; however there is always someone that wants to pick a fight and that would be known other than the members of the Brotherhood which include the massive Blob, Toad (who hops like his namesake and spits gooey mucus) and Quicksilver.

This is a great animated representation of the X-Men, they introduce other mutants through out the series. Those that are sticklers for the lore of X-Men might not appreciate it as there are some subtle differences.