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Twitter:  @South_Geek

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From the things she wrote about her parents, I can see how he could be hurt and disappointed.  Watching the video, you can see that he is upset, having to stop a few times to compose himself.  The anger and hurt was bleeding through the video, and rightfully so.

The comments are in the millions about this video.  Some applauding Tommy and some threatening his life.  The question of his parenting skills has come up.  His home has been investigated by Child Services.  Of course, they found nothing wrong with the environment that he is raising his daughter in.  His firearms are stored properly according to North Carolina law, specifically when there are underage children in the house.

Tommy’s actions should teach his daughter a lesson, but even a further lesson that some may have missed and sometimes we all miss.  For one, this should teach her to be responsible for her actions.  When we make decisions in our lives, whether they are personal decisions or work related decisions, we must always be responsible for those decisions.  She decided to post harmful and disparaging remarks about her parents, in a medium that basically EVERYONE can see.  Whether she honestly realized that her parents weren’t going to find out, or she secretly hoped they would, we’ll never really know.  What she does know now, however, is that she must be responsible for her actions.

Secondly, the proliferation of social media, the ability to post information online and allow anyone to see it, or the ability to post information online and hope that only certain people will see it – there  is another lesson she should have learned after this – technology can bite you in the ass.  Before social networks, she could have complained to her friends, maybe the friends would say something to their parents and the word may have eventually made it to her parents.  But the impact would have been significantly reduced by this method.  It possibly could have resulted in shorter grounding time and no destruction of property.  But we’re in a 24/7 connected world now, and your persona online says a lot about you.  And as with real life, you must take responsibility for your actions in the online world.

I am one of those that applaud what Tommy did.  Sometimes, especially in today’s society, you have to take drastic measures to get someone’s attention.  Popping a few rounds into a laptop, subsequently destroying the laptop, is a small price to pay for demonstrating to his daughter that you are responsible for your actions.  It’s called Personal Responsibility.  I’m sure this isn’t over between them.  The amount of attention this has garnered for Tommy and his family is making life difficult for them, I’m sure.  Which should prove to his daughter, one more time, that even her dad must take responsibility for his actions.

More to the point, the purpose of his post is to expand upon Microsoft’s requirement for Windows 8 Logo certification by which they state that a Windows key button is a requirement on all Windows 8 hardware to be certified for the Windows 8 logo.  In short, no Windows key no Windows 8 logo.  And it’s a hardware button, comparable to the home key on Apple’s iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch devices.

Paul makes a statement that most of us that complain about the Windows 8 Metro interface and Start Button are missing the point, namely that the primary interface is no longer the desktop in Windows 8.  The Metro Interface, or the Start Screen, is the new primary focus of Windows 8.  I don’t disagree with what he states as fact, but I disagree that this SHOULD BE fact.  If I wanted a screen with nothing but icons to point to and run programs, I already have that with my iPhone or iPad.  I don’t need or want this on my desktop computer.

He finishes up his article stating that the Start button was removed because it’s superfluous now and he’s not sure why it’s such a big deal.  The reason it’s a big deal is because the interface is not a common sense interface on a DESKTOP computer.  Yes, on a tablet, this kicks ass – much as the same style of interface works well on the iPad and even the iPhone.  The new Windows phone software uses the panel styled Metro interface very well also.

But it is NOT common sense to replace a productive tool for the sake of keeping up with the competition and going one step further by putting it on devices that it has no business being on.

Previously it was stated that Diablo 3 would be released in early 2012 but as Blizzard normally says and does, it will release when it’s ready.

Other news from the call:

• 1 million users signed up for the World of Warcraftannual pass (that’s a commitment of $1,495,000 per month or $17,940,000 for the year in guaranteed money based on $14.95 per users per month – could be different is some users paid for 6 months or a year at once)
• Blizzard is happy with how the subscriber numbers held up in their most competitive quarter ever (10.2 million now)
• Patch 4.3 has been met with a positive response
• A March press event for the upcoming beta of Mists of Pandaria is scheduled

Our email:  southgeekme@gmail.com

Twitter:  @South_Geek

Show us some love on iTunes by rating this and previous shows:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/southgeek/id453542536

Youtube (for our uncut/unedited versions):  www.youtube.com/southgeekme

Stitcher Radio:  http://stitcher.com/listen.php?fid=21002

Yes you can still hit your Start key on your keyboard or use the CTRL-ESC shortcut to get the menu to pop up, but how long will it be before the concept of a Start Menu is a thing of the past on Windows?

This is a mock-up of what the desktop looks like without the Orb.

Mock up of Windows 8 without the Start Orb. Originally seen on the Supersite for Windows

Well, that’s where the greatness of this demo ends for me.  The demo seems to be mentally challenged as it doesn’t frickin’ work correctly!

Here’s the video of my attempt to play the demo.  Enjoy the blacked out spots where I would *think* there should be some video and/or movement.  But no, nothing there.  Ok, maybe it was part of the cinema.  Nope, once you get the actual game play, I still can’t see a damned thing!

I wanted to like this game!  But if your demo sucks, how can I buy it??

The majority of the show pundits are my good friends, along with my son (who joined us several episodes ago) and a former business associate.  They are all or have been involved in technology in one form or another.  And yes, they are all very opinionated – which is what you need to make a quality discussion show of any type.  For future episodes, special guest pundits is something we’re hoping we can achieve.

But R&R isn’t the end of what we’re up to.  SouthGeek is just one part of the overall Anairo Media endeavor.  Tifton Talks, which actually predates SouthGeek and Anairo Media, has its own podcast – Tifton Talks This Week.  TTtW’s focus is more local, with the idea to cover the news that concerns Tifton and the surrounding areas.  That doesn’t mean we don’t talk about national news in the podcast, but that area is being focused on in a new podcast that will be launched soon*.

We firmly believe that media’s home, the content that we all want and need to consume, will be in the hands of the masses and not of the corporate executive.  Never in the history of man have we had the tools and the pathways to achieve the levels of information dissemination that we have today.  The Internet has opened it up for all that wish to share**.

When I decided that I wanted to launch this venture, I already had a handle (arrogance aside, I was sure I knew what I needed to do) on how to make this work.  After a few episodes of Tifton Talks (not the TTtW as it was called something else at the time), I started to do some research.  I knew about Leo Laporte and the TWiT network, but I knew I couldn’t achieve his level of success out of the gate.  He’s admitted that he had an advantage because of his years in radio and television and that followed him to podcasting.  But I found Cliff Ravenscraft and his podcast – The PodcastAnswerMan.

That dude rocks and his story is awesome.  He started podcasting 6 years ago and even started doing it full time a couple of years into it.  And it all started with a podcast about a television show that he and his wife really enjoyed.  Since then he has created this entire community, something that I hope to emulate with Anairo Media.  His success story, along with others, continues to drive us.

Ultimately, we do what we do for the enjoyment of others and ourselves.  I’ve always been told that if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, then you should be doing something else.  Philosophically that’s correct.  Realistically that’s hard – especially when you’re responsible for the welfare of four other people.  From time to time I get down because I’m not quite sure if we’re accomplishing both goals.  I know I enjoy doing this, but I’m not sure if others are enjoying what we’re doing.

So, I post this to let you all know that there are real people with real hopes and dreams behind all of this and we all hope that you’ve enjoyed the shows we’ve created so far.  If you have comments, we certainly welcome and appreciate them.  Keep coming back for more – we’re not done, not by a long shot.

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*Wiseguys and Renegades podcast is on the horizon – launch date not yet established

**If bills like SOPA and PIPA don’t screw it up for us all