D3Logger

facebook or myspace

2010-11-18T17:48:00.000-05:00

I choose Facebook because you can find your friends more easily. Plus Myspace has too many adds and its easier to get a virus on it. Facebook also loads faster and can is easier to communicate on.

Others say:

Most people who are active on social networking sites have a profile on both MySpace and Facebook. However, despite being on both sites, each user almost always has a preference for one site over the other. That's due to the fact that there are some significant differences between the twonetworking sites and the people who are most active on them. Neither one is necessarily better than the other but any one individual might consider one "better" in comparison because of the different uses for each of the sites. Here's a closer look at those differences:

User Demographic:

There's been an interesting shift in who uses the sites. MySpace began with a big preference for teenagers whereas Facebook was designed specifically for college students. (When it first started, you even needed a college email address to sign up with Facebook.) As the two sites have grown up, their users have changed. These days, teens may be on either site. And college studentsturn up on both of them as well.

Where the real differences lie now is in the professionals who are networking on the sites. Facebook has a number of different professionals who are on the site for networking and job hunting. Head hunters hang around to find people who might be right for certain jobs. If you're a career professional in the computer or business fields,Facebook is more your game. That's not to say that there aren't professionals on MySpace. However, they tend to be involved in more creative careers. Musicians, comedians and fashion designers are easy to find on MySpace.

Applications:

Facebook has MySpace beat hands down for the number of applications that you can use on the site. In fact, new applications are being designed on a regular basis for Facebook, many of which assist with the professional networking that takes place on the site. If you're interested in the cutting edge ways that you can communicate with people (such as using Click-to-Call widgets to contact Facebookfriends via voice communication) then Facebook is your place. If all of thoseapplications are too confusing for you, you might want to stick with MySpace.

Creativity

Despite the fact that there are plenty of applications for Facebook, the types of designs that you can have on your own profile page are somewhat limited. Most Facebook pages look basically the same at a first glance. In contrast, it's possible to really alter your MySpace profile so that it looks completely unique. People who want to show off their creative tendencies are likely to find that MySpace makes that a little bit easier to do.

Groups

Both MySpace and Facebook offer users the opportunity to create and join groups on the site. This can be a way to keep everyone from an old group (such as a college sorority) together on the site. It can also be a way to meet new people with the same interests as you. There are a range of different groups on each of the sites so which site you like better might depend on the ease with which you find a group on the site that you're most active on.

In general, many people say that they prefer the MySpace groups. This is due to the fact that the groups are very easy to find on the site. There is a page available which shows which groups there are under different categories. It also shows how many members are active in those groups. On the other hand, Facebook will tell you which groups were recently joined by your friends so you can get some hintsas to which groups you might like because of that feature. In this category, it really depends on your own interests and your preference between the appearance of the group layout on MySpace as compared to Facebook.

Spam

Spam doesn't seem to be a problem on Facebook whereas it can be quite a headache on MySpace. People hack MySpace profiles and send viruses to their friends on the site. MySpace users check their messages and find beautiful sexy girls there who want them to "come check out pics on this others site" (a site that is adult-only and needs to be paid for). If you don't want to deal with spam, Facebook is currently the place for you.

In the news

Despite the problems with spam, MySpace doesn't get too much negative news attention. The one area that it does get bad media is in the risk that it poses to the underage users on the site. (We've all heard the story of the teenage girl who met a boy on MySpace and met in public only to find out it was really an old man who wanted to do her harm.) However, this can happen on any social networking site. Most users of MySpace don't find this to be a problem assuming that they use common sense on the site.

In contrast, Facebook has recently gotten some negative publicity from users. There was a debacle recently in which advertising on the site changed and users were unhappy with the way that it happened. Some people were finding that their shopping preferences were being shown to their online friends, an issue which made them feel that their privacy was violated. As a result, many people who once really supported Facebook started moving over to sites such as MySpace.

Summary

Ultimately, which social networking site you prefer really depends on what you like in a site. In addition to MySpace and Facebook, there are numerous other socialnetworking sites that you can use to meet new people and to stay in touch with old friends. Each of these serves its own niche group (for example, there is Linked In for professionals). What is important to remember is that the popularity of each of these sites is going to wax and wane over time. If you're just looking to get on the latest trend, you'll have to flitter from site to site. But if you want to really develop connections on the sites, find the one that has an interface you're most comfortable with using and start getting to know people there!

D3 Items New

2010-11-12T16:21:00.000-05:00

More Leeway with Set Items?

Set items functioned more as a precarious past time than battle armaments in Diablo II, often only assembled in full in the end-game or after the point at which they would be any use to a player. These and other issues have troubled the folks behind Diablo III for some time, especially since they still have every intention of including them in the newest game in the franchise. For some time, we have been very much in the dark as to how the team actually intends on addressing the complex issue:

Official Blizzard Quote:

Jay Wilson: We understand the problems with item sets. We want to solve them. Set items are under work now, if we cant’ find a way to solve the problem it won’t be in the game. But we’ve got a couple of ideas on the table and we think it’ll work out.

With Diablo III's development nearing 2011, Bashiok posted one of the ways that the team is trying to get around some of the drawbacks of set items as faced in prior games and their own experience with Diablo III:

Official Blizzard Quote:

It's looking more and more likely that set items will simply be something you chase in the end-game. And realistically that's really where they simply work the best.

We have a few ideas still that could allow them to be available while leveling, but each of them have sticking points that would require their own solutions. One is expanding sets out so that it isn't just one item in each slot, but a group of items all separated by level requirement. So there could be, say, five pairs of pants that all work as part of the set and are each better than the last. While leveling you could be wearing the first pair of pants and then find a new and better pair that still work to benefit your set bonus. That isn't without its problems though.

We of course like and intend to keep partial set bonuses, by the way.

Anyway, sets are actually in the game right now in very limited forms, there's a bit of design left on them yet, but as I said they work very well at end-game and that's where we're leaning toward them appearing.

With any luck, we won't be completing Sigon's Complete Steel in Nightmare mode this time around, and the nearly impossible to find sets won't be useless in Hell. But will tuning set items to work in the end-game only replace the old conundrum of mass Runeword abuse in Diablo II? As is just about everything concerning the third installment, we wait on the question of balance. Hopefully they implement a better item game play not the same ol same ol lightning, fire, ice, and poison.

D3 has patent?!

2010-11-04T11:27:00.000-04:00

News that the new DIABLO 3 has been filed for a patent!! :O what does this mean for upcomming D3 players/fans! this means that blizzard usually issues a patent, then the new game comes out within 4 months or so as we saw with Burning Crusade!!! :O :O :O Stay tunned to find out the rest!!
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DIABLO3 IS AMONG US!!!!

Bill Gates with the Education

2010-10-11T10:05:00.000-04:00

Bill Gates talks education tech:

Bill Gates has been taking online classes for years. Now, he thinks it's time to make sure a whole lot more students do the same.

Today, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is announcing a new multiyear grant program that will give millions of dollars to those with novel ideas on how to use technology, and in particular online courses, to improve education. The Next Generation Learning Challenges are aimed at both funding new ideas and getting various groups to partner and expand on some of the good ideas that are being tried out, but only at small scale.

Bill Gates, seen here on a college speaking tour earlier this year, is pushing for technology to take a bigger role in transforming our education system.

But with all of the problems facing education, can technology really make that big of an impact?

Gates seems to think so.

"What's surprising is given how the Internet has changed how we buy airline tickets and books and how we look up things, is that formal education hasn't changed hardly at all," Gates said. "The technology sector deserves its blame--it could be doing more here. But now is the time."

Online classes can be a big part of the solution, particularly at the college level, Gates said. But it's not enough to just put classes online. Schools have to adopt them as part of their degree programs if they are going to appeal to people other than self-learners like Gates himself.

"If you watch those videos, nobody is going to give you a test and a degree," Gates said. "It just sits out there for the self-motivated learner who is not focused on a degree. That's too small of a group to have a huge impact."

For a long time now, Gates has been talking about ways that community colleges could reform themselves by using a combination of recorded lectures from top professors combined with locally held discussion sections and labs.

In a telephone interview last week, Gates talked about the new grant program, the opportunities of technology, as well as what he sees as the problems that tech alone can't solve.

Here's an edited transcript of our conversation:

Q: We know that technology can really help people buy things or discover things, but to what extent can we use it to help teachers teach better?
Bill Gates: There's many aspects here. One is that you can simply take the people who give the best lectures and record those lectures and make them available. Instead of asking, in music, hundreds or thousands of people to go and sing, you record the people who are very good. The very best are what people get.

This set of grants--the $20 million being announced [today] are postsecondary. We'll have another round that is K-12 focused next year. In our K-12 work, we are doing quite a bit of work where you videotape teachers and not only assess good practice but then make those videos available so people can look at, OK, here's where you made the concept interesting, here's where you calmed down the classroom, here's where you got the kid who was not paying attention...We're doing a lot with video. That's over in our "measuring effective teaching" set of grants.

They are using this panoramic camera that sits in the classroom and not only captures the teacher, but because it's panoramic, it captures the students as well. You can see whether they are paying attention. The analysis of those video clips is very interesting and it's far less disruptive to have that camera sitting there, because everyone just learns to ignore it, than having a bunch of adults coming in and out at various points in time.

This came up I remember during your college tour and we were talking in that session with the folks at MIT. You talked about how one of the things that was missing was the scale element.

What we are talking about here is putting interactive stuff and video online and getting a bunch of colleges to work together, measure the quality, and get to critical mass. That's this round of grants.

Gates: A big missing part right now is, that U.S. education is--you have got to pass certain courses, and if you pass certain courses, then you get a degree and the degree is a key thing for getting a job.

If you just have a bunch of material online, that might help you learn statistics. It's really not that attractive if it doesn't help you pass a course that leads to a degree. Getting the great lectures and the great interactive stuff so they are part of official curriculum in these universities and then measuring which ones are doing it well--there's a lot of things that are holding it back. The MIT Opencourseware stuff, if you watch those videos, nobody is going to give you a test and a degree. It just sits out there for the self-motivated learner who is not focused on a degree. That's too small of a group to have a huge impact.

Are there other kinds of ideas that aren't in the realm of what the foundation is already doing that you hope these grants will spur? Are there areas where there haven't been enough investments?
Gates: One of them is this new learning techniques category. One of the beauties of RFPs (requests for proposals) is you get a lot of ideas or meet with people you may not have seen.

There's all sorts of teaching things: like using game paradigms, like how you do measurement. There's one category where you don't have to collaborate with anybody. You just have to show us something that's new and different and we'll give you a grant. We'll see some neat things, we'll fund some neat things, but we're willing to have a fairly low success rate on that.

There's also grants in here that are really to take what is being done and bring a bunch of institutions together to really get behind it and get it being used by 40 times as many students as it is being used by today. Once you get it being used more, then you measure it more, you get more feedback, you can afford to put more into it. None of this online stuff is really at critical mass. The people who do videos are kind of separate from the people that do the online interactive testing part. You'd think you'd want to bring those together.

Where is our education system headed if we don't add more technology to the mix?
Gates: Well, It's less acceptable, it's not adding the capacity (we need).

At least once you get postsecondary, technology is one of the few things that can really change that. When you say K-12, there's a lot that can be done in teacher personnel--helping teachers learn more, be more effective, and all that. That, in the K-12, may be even more important--assuming it can happen--than the technology piece. The technology piece is [still very important].

When you get into postsecondary some of those personnel things are interesting--measuring who is doing well and rewarding them--but these technology pieces are probably the thing that will bring the most change, that is, raise the average quality and improve the accessibility. You have a lot of very motivated students that if the right tools were online and you could reduce the amount of time they need to go into the college, and reduce some of the costs, they would love to see a great lecture online and test their knowledge online and then, for only a modest piece, sit with other students and talk through problems.

You could really shift the cost structure and how the time is spent if the technology piece is very high quality and directly connected to passing the course and getting the degree and that leads to getting the job that you want.

One of the criticisms that is sometimes leveled at the Gates Foundation is an overreliance on technology. I'm curious what you think the limits are of the role that improved technology can play, particularly in K-12 education.
Gates: Every time I turn on my lamp or turn on my car, I think I am "overusing" technology. I haven't been plowing the field and growing any crops. We live in a society that has some dependence on technology.

"If somebody has another idea of how we can provide incredible postsecondary education that is not dependent at all on technology, we are very open-minded and we do a lot of grants. I think technology should be part of the mix. Of course, that's our background."

--Bill Gates

What's surprising is given how the Internet has changed how we buy airline tickets and books and how we look up things, is that formal education hasn't changed hardly at all. The technology sector deserves its blame--it could be doing more here. But now is the time [because of] the cost of the devices, the pervasiveness of the Internet, now is the time.

The people who are going to apply for these grants, they have all been doing interesting stuff. The grant will let them do a little bit more and it will encourage them to come together as a group. The money will help them do more measurement. We think the timing on this is really great and this will be very catalytic.

If somebody has another idea of how we can provide incredible postsecondary education that is not dependent at all on technology, we are very open-minded and we do a lot of grants. I think technology should be part of the mix. Of course, that's our background.

What do you see as the role of computers and tablets in K-12? We heard a lot several years back about one-on-one computing, and it seems like we hear less about that these days. I don't know if that is the economy and local funding issues or if there is a new way of thinking.
Gates: Like a lot of things in K-12, because you don't have strong measurement, identifying which things make a real difference--it's not as well-known as you like. There are some great laptop schools where things have gone well, and as laptop costs come down, you'll be hearing more about tablet-type devices, Netbooks, iPads in the classroom.

But it's the material that shows up on those devices that really counts. That's where the foundation is focused. We'll have another RFP early next year that is more focused on K-12 online material.

There's the idea of the hybrid. You've got to have effective teachers. The effective teacher is the most important thing. And yet how do you leverage their time so that kids are watching and trying things out (online), either out of school hours or when the teacher is with a small group of students?

Those hybrid models are really just beginning to emerge and be measured. Unless you get some really great content, the idea of just having the tool alone probably just has modest benefit. If you get the content right and widely available, then it has a much, much bigger impact.

There's nothing that has emerged yet where all the schools are using a common set of content, and the amount of budget that K-12 school systems have for online stuff is pretty modest. We really need a nudge to get things moved in the right direction.

You just got back from China. Did you see things being done there or elsewhere internationally in terms of educational technology that you think might be worth pursuing in the U.S.?
Gates: Well, the focus on results in Asian education systems and the willingness to go to school a lot of days and long hours and the focus on science and math and nonfiction reading that they have there is a bit daunting. There is some good online stuff starting to happen in those countries. This is not a dimension where they have solved it and have an answer.

The online technology piece is not why the Asian systems are getting better results at this stage. It's more classic school day, teacher personnel systems...some cultural elements where they are very strong.

If we don't adopt technology, that's another thing that they could get out in front on, because like the U.S., they are experimenting. They have a standard curriculum. One thing that favors innovation is if you have a countrywide curriculum, because then everything gets measured against that. That's why this thing we are doing called the Common Core to get the U.S. to have a common curriculum at least in math and reading and writing, we think is so important. States are saying they are going to do it, but it is at the early stages. The real test of whether they are serious about it and getting it rolled out, that's over the next four or five years. That would give us what India and China have, which is a nationwide curriculum that everything is measured against.

Read more in on comming articles ;D your friend d3logger!

Obama has Had it!?!?

2010-10-11T09:55:00.000-04:00

Obama Scales Back Campaign Finance Criticism After Claims Decried as 'Baseless'

Published October 11, 2010

President Obama on Sunday scaled back his claim that Republicans are taking foreign money for their campaigns, using slightly more ambiguous language at a rally in Philadelphia after GOP strategists warned Democrats against telling "baseless" lies to win votes.

Democrats had been directing their criticism at the Chamber of Commerce and other GOP-supporting groups. But after the latest Democratic National Committee ad outright claimed "it appears they're even taking secret foreign money to influence our elections," White Housesenior adviser David Axelrod acknowledged that "no one knows" where the money is coming from.

Obama, speaking at a Philadelphia rally Sunday, hammered the campaign finance theme but left open the question of whether anybody is violating U.S. law by using foreign money.

"There's no question the other side sees a chance to get back in the driver's seat," Obama said. "They are being helped along this year by special interest groups that are spending unlimited amounts of money on attack ads ... just attacking people without ever disclosing who's behind all these attack ads. You don't know. It could be the oil industry. It could be the insurance industry. It could even be foreign-owned corporations. You don't know because they don't have to disclose."

The president had left less wiggle room during a rally in Maryland Thursday, when he referenced the Chamber of Commerce, saying it was paying for ads against Democrats while taking money from "foreign corporations."

Then Obama twice mentioned GOP strategist Karl Rove by name at an Illinois rally, saying "two groups funded and advised by Karl Rove have outspent the Democratic Party 2 to1 in an attempt to beat" Democratic Senate nominee Alexi Giannoulias. "So groups that receive foreign money are spending huge sums to influence American elections, and they won't tell you where the money for their ads come from," Obama said.

Then the Democratic National Committee rolled out the new ad accusing Rove, former Republican National CommitteeChairman Ed Gillespie and the Chamber of Commerce of "stealing our democracy."

The ad accused them of "spending millions from secret donors to elect Republicans to do their bidding in Congress."

The accusations drew a sharp rebuke from Rove, a Fox News contributor.

"Have these people no shame? Does the president of the United States have such little regard for the office that he holds that he goes out there and makes these kind of baseless charges against his political enemies?" Rove said on "Fox News Sunday." "This is just beyond the pale. How dare the president do this."

Rove and Gillespie helped found the political group American Crossroads; Rove also helped found Crossroads GPS.

But Rove said those groups raise money legally, that it's "inaccurate" to say he's personally writing out checks to the groups and that American Crossroads reports its donors. In a heated retort, Rove said Sunday that the DNC ad effectively accused them all of a criminal violation of U.S. law -- only without proof.

"They have not one shred of evidence to back up that baseless lie. This is a desperate and I think disturbing trend by the president of the United States to tar his political adversaries with some kind of, you know, enemies list unrestrained by any facts or evidence whatsoever," Rove said.

The Chamber of Commerce accusation apparently stemmed from a report last week by the Center for American Progress-affiliated Think Progress. The report claimed the Chamber was generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in foreign money every year and questioned whether those funds were going toward its multimillion-dollar political operations.

But the Chamber adamantly denies this, saying foreign money is separated from its U.S. political activity. The Chamber said in a statement Sunday that the DNC ad is "ridiculous and false." Rove also said the White House cannot back up its accusation.

Asked about the charge, Axelrod put the onus on groups like the Chamber of Commerce to prove foreign money is not influencing the election.

"No one knows where the money's coming from," he said on CBS' "Face the Nation." "Why not simply disclose where this money is from and then all these questions will be answered?"

But Gillespie said the idea that the White House could lob charges and then leave it up to the accused to refute them is an "unbelievable mentality."

"David Axelrod is either woefully uninformed or willfully deceptive and dishonest," Gillespie said.

He said Obama was basing his original charge off a report from a group, the Center for American Progress, "that does not disclose its donors."

"This is the kind of abuse of power in a lot of ways ... that most Americans are rejecting," Gillespie said.

2010 News of the World!

2010-10-08T13:43:00.000-04:00

Slovakia 3-2 Italy

Report:

Reigning champions Italy were sensationally knocked out of the World Cup by a Slovakia side that clinched a place in the last 16 with victory in a match of incredible drama and tension.

In arguably the best game of the tournament so far, Robert Vittek scored a goal in each half to seemingly end the Azzurri's hopes of defending the trophy they won in Germany four years ago.

But Antonio Di Natale pulled it back to 2-1 with nine minutes remaining, leaving the Italians needing to score again to claim the point that would have seen them scrape through from Group F.

And they thought it had come through substitute Fabio Quagliarella, only for the offside flag to agonisingly deny them.

Italy's hopes of advancing were then seemingly extinguished once and for all when Slovakia substitute Kamil Kopunek exploited defensive hesitation, running onto a throw-in before lifting the ball brilliantly beyond advancing goalkeeper Federico Marchetti with one minute of normal time remaining.

Even then, there was time for Quagliarella to score with a superb injury-time strike and Simone Pepe to scuff a far-post volley as Italy staged a last-ditch attempt to remain in the finals in South Africa.

The win sees Slovakia claim second place behind group winners Paraguay - and ensures the campaign is already a resounding success for coach Vladimir Weiss and his team.

But the 2010 World Cup will be remembered as a disaster for opposite number Marcelo Lippi as his team finish bottom of their group having failed to qualify from the opening stage of the competition for the first time since 1974. Lippi, who guided them to glory in 2006, sees his second spell as coach end in dramatic defeat.

Italy drew with Paraguay and New Zealand before losing to Slovakia, who are ranked 34th in the world, and could have no complaints about the result at Ellis Park after their opponents approached the game with more craft and invention.

The Azzurri conceded just twice in their triumphant campaign four years ago but their central defensive pairing of veteran Fabio Cannavaro and Giorgio Chiellini were opened up numerous times.

Napoli's Marek Hamsik should really have scored for Slovakia after six minutes when he found himself completely unmarked 16 yards from goal, only to mis-cue his volley.

However, there was much to admire in the precision of Slovakia's opening goal after Daniele De Rossi's awful pass gifted possession to Juraj Kucka.

Sparta Prague forward Kucka quickly assessed the situation before playing a superb disguised pass to Vittek, whose accurate low strike from the edge of the area eluded Marchetti.

Italy striker Vincenzo Iaquinta fired wide from a tight angle in reply, while Riccardo Montolivo thrashed a shot over the crossbar in the final attack of a very frustrating opening half for his side.

It could have been an even worse first 45 minutes for the Azzurri as skipper Cannavaro, playing what turned out to be his final game for his country, was perhaps fortunate to escape a booking for a lunge on Hamsik minutes after he had received a caution.

Italy coach Marcello Lippi had seen enough and brought on Christian Maggio and Quagliarella for Domenicio Criscito and Gennaro Gattuso at the break.

And after only 10 minutes of the second half, he played his final card by introducing AC Milan playmaker Andrea Pirlo, so important in 2006, but unable to play any part in their first two matches because of a calf injury.

Italy were effectively playing with a front four, although Pepe and Quagliarella dropped back from their wide positions when Slovakia were in possession.

The tactical switch undoubtedly opened up the game and shortly after Martin Skrtel's sensational, if slightly fortunate, goal-line clearance after a firm strike from Quagliarella, Slovakia doubled their lead.

Chiellini headed a corner clear but as he looked around to adjust his position the alert Vittek made a near-post run that allowed him to steal a march on the Italian and convert Hamsik's low cross.

The contest was by now an end-to-end encounter, and it became heated with some ugly scenes following Di Natale's close-range goal.

Slovakia keeper Jan Mucha tussled with Quagliarella as they both tried to retrieve the ball from the back of the net and after Kucka came to his team-mate's defence, both the Italian and Mucha ended up on the floor.

The goal gave Italy renewed hope but they could not pull themselves level in a thrilling finish which ended with the final whistle which prompted mass celebrations among the Slovakia players.

09:00

Rejuvenated? Through to the last 16 with that charmingly heroic, Indiana Jones-style win over Slovenia - but ultimately by the skin of their teeth - England are. Without doubt. So how much optimism is coursing through your veins on this morning after the night before...

09:05

Steven Gerrard can often look like he's just been given a parking ticket. So how thrilling it was to see him with a genuine smile plastered across his face after captaining England, and playing with real class, into the knockout stages. The reaction of his manager Fabio Capello after the matchperhaps said even more. Is he from San Canzian d'Isonzo or South Shields?

09:19

Germany. Yes, it's Germany up next for England. No, I'm not kidding. The legendary Franz Beckenbauer - a World Cup winner as both player and coach for Germany - has already had his say on Sunday's match in Bloemfontein. "A game like this should be a semi-final, not a last-16 game," he told Bild newspaper. "Stupidly, the English have slipped up a little by finishing second in their group."

09:25

"Wayne Rooney can explode any time." That's the verdict - in terms of talent not temperament - of Germany's cardigan-wearing coach Joachim Loew, who insists his evolving young side will face a tough job against England. Rooney I can tell you, who was substituted after twisting his ankle, is absolutely fine this morning. He's undergoing light training in the gym with the rest of the squad who took to that bumpy field in Port Elizabeth last night.

09:42

Some housekeeping folks: the United States, for whom a tearful Landon Donovan grabbed a dramatic last-minute winner against Algeria to top England's group, face Ghana for a place in the quarter finals. What a winner from Germany's young gun Mesut Ozil against Ghana, can I point out. He's now drawing comparisons with Argentine genius Lionel Messi in some quarters. Bit early for that kind of talk though, no?

09:58

Are you already eyeing an England versus Argentina quarter final then? Think the defending champions Italy are about to get knocked out today [more on that soon]? Do get in touch people. Text me on 0793... Only joking. It's 81111 (if you're in the UK) or +44 7786200666 (if you're 'worldwide'). Orjoin the debate on 606. And I was wondering. What's the atmosphere like in your office/classroom/field/lorry/lecture theatre/chemistry lab this morning?

10:03

Over in Port Elizabeth, England fans are soaking up the warm afterglow of victory. And in the right fashion. Police officials there had riot squad officers on stand-by for the match against Slovenia. But happily, they had a lazy evening. The city's police commander Colonel Vishnu Naidoo said: "There were no arrests and, except for the fact that there was much revelry, there were few problems to report."

WORLD CUP HAVE YOUR SAY

Ghana fan Hornsby: "England would have been a perfect match for us. They've not really proved themselves. They would have been more manageable than the USA - they keep going to the end, and yesterday their goal came out of nothing. I don't think the Ghanaians are ready for that."

Twitter

rob_cantarero: "I genuinely think that England can beat Germany. Their win over Australia flattered them: they are NOT that brilliant."

SMS

Charlotte, 'trying to revise', in Leominster: "You could hear a pin drop in our common room its sooooo quiet. Except there is an annoying person sat next to me talking about JUGGLING! Who cares about that! if you are going to talk, talk about football!"

10:25

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is on BBC Radio 5 live. Thinks England will go with the same starting XI on Sunday. And he's confident [also, spot him paraphrasing Shania Twain]: "I don’t think this is one of the great Germany teams. I like Ozil but other areas of the team don’t impress me much. I feared we'd have more problems with Ghana."

10:38

Ah, yes. Kick off is at 1500 BST on Sunday. Without coming over all pushy salesman, it is likely that England will come to a bit of a standstill when its footballers line up to face Germany. Fixtures in other sports are already being switched to accommodate the match. Castleford and Bradford have agreed to bring their Super League clash forward by four hours to 1130 BST.

10:55

How are the German camp feeling ahead of the England match then, a contest so rich in history that Simon Schama's probably knocking up a quick documentary on it as we speak? Here's team manager Oliver Bierhoff: "Perhaps it is an advantage not to be the absolute favourite against England." And their captain Philipp Lahm: "The duel against England is of course a classic. The anticipation ahead of it is huge. We are looking ahead with confidence. But we know that we have to do some things better."

SMS

Hash from Kuwait: "I think England could stumble all the way to the final, exactly like France did in 2006. Every team needs a bit of luck to win the World Cup."

11:03

Lazarus-like return for Ledley King? Maybe. He's returned to the training ground this morning, raising hopes he may recover from a groin strain in time to be considered for the match against Germany. As ever though, he didn't do any contact work and was restricted to an individual session.

11:09

Heartbreak! Imagine a power cut scuppering your chances of seeing the key moment of yesterday's match. And, as you sit there staring wantonly at a dead screen, getting a text from a mate in Swindon telling you that Jermain Defoe has ruthlessly put England 1-0 up. Well. That's what happened toDec [of Ant and Dec fame], and hundreds of others in west London.

Twitter

BBC sports news correspondent Dan Roan: "Just been chatting to Sir Trevor Brooking at England training. 'This is what you dream of. Just wish I was playing on Sunday', he whispers..."

11:27

Always a good giggle (and insightful to boot), BBC Radio 5 live's Danny Baker jokes that he's already been ticking off the England-Germany cliches on a checklist he carries with him. He also points out, a little more seriously: "England are not yet good enough to go home. It doesn't take Colombo or Miss Marple to spot the pattern - we start disappointingly, get worse, then gradually get better as the wheels on the locomotive really start turning - until we play brilliantly. Then we go home."

11:36

Anyone thinking of a last-minute dash to take in the action in South Africa? A friend told me that online agencies are selling tickets for the Germany match for between £160 and £380. Someone also said economy class flight to Bloemfontein, heading out Saturday, are about £500. This is just word of mouth though. Get in touch if you've got any wacky travel plans mapped out...

SMS

Anonymous [asking to be anonymous!]: "Just started my new job as a Spanish teacher. Official word from on high was to not show the game... so my new boss and I turned the sound off and commentated in Spanish! !Gooool de Defoe! !Gol gol gol! Kids loved it."

11:46

Quick breaking news line for you: Otto Rehhagel has quit as Greece coach. He, of course, led them to that remarkable tournament win at Euro 2004. But they were both unwatchable and ineffective as they crashed out of this World Cup at the first hurdle.

SMS

Douglas from Tynemouth: "Due to be on safari in Botswana on Sunday with the family. Might see if I can persuade the driver to take the 'scenic route' and head a little further south."

SMS

Clare in Chislehurst: "As a Kiwi living in London I'm unable to concentrate on any work this morning! Completely over excited and hopelessly optimistic..."

11:59

There's an ocean of reaction to England's shimmy towards the knockout stages to swim in. But once you resurface, let's not forget that defending champions Italy could get knocked out of the World Cup today. They must beat Slovakia at 1500 BST to guarantee a place in the quarter-finals. Should they fail, New Zealand - who held the Azzurri to a stunning 1-1 draw on Sunday - could deny them with a win against Paraguay. In short,all to play for in Group F.

12:13

Trouble brewing in Italy? Gazzetta dello Sport poll had 69 per cent of readers suggesting their captain Fabio Cannavaro should be dropped. There's a nice description of the state of play in the Telegraph today: "Like some venerable Neapolitan monument, Cannavaro is still standing, still radiating an aura - but Italy finds it painful, sad and not a little alarming to see that the edifice is crumbling." Do his woes reflect a wider crisis for Marcello Lippi's side...

BBC Sport's Dan Walker

On Twitter: "I don't know if Fabio is on Twitter, but if he is... do you think he should go with Carragher or Upson?"

12:34

Lots of talk on 606 that the Italians could again struggle for creativity if AC Milan's playmaker-from-deep Andrea Pirlo is missing once more through injury. Well, he's on bench for the holders crucial final Group E game against Slovakia. He can certainly ping a pass that lad. "We need to be better in attack," admits boss Lippi. "Pirlo will be among the substitutes.”

12:48

Back on the England front. Capello's iron discipline was rumoured to be strangling the camp as tensions near-erupted after the Algeria shambles. But then: “They drank beer before the Slovenia match," reveals the Italian. "And I saw the team play with the spirit that we [had] lost in the games we played before." Those watching England (and playing for?!!!) against Germany take note... Bloemfontein is dry on a Sunday.

12:58

Do you remember that 'Lowest Header in the World' feature with which Skinner and Baddiel tickled us in that hazy post-1996 Fantasy Football era?Here's John Terry's must-watch entry as he attempts to block Slovenian shots at any price. Questionable socks. Total commitment.

SMS

Harry in SE21: "Mum's a Kiwi, Dad's Italian.. diplomatic draw at the weekend was good for relations at home, but I'm hoping for two big wins today for the Blues and Whites. Three teams in the next round please, I don't like work anyway."

SMS

Tommy from Runcorn: "Why oh why do the English media report what Franz Beckenbauer has to say. 'Kick and rush' last week and 'stupid' this morning. Still, at least Capello doesn't have to do a team talk now. Just pin the reports to the wall."

13:15

Can I indulge you for a moment? Spain's progression to the last 16 hinges on what will be a nervous final Group H match against Chile tomorrow evening. But the European champions might be able to puncture the pressure with an outrageous slice of skill like this, from Juan Mata in the warm-up for their 2-0 win over Honduras. 'Megs...

BBC Sport's Paul Fletcher

On Twitter: "I'm hearing that Carlos Tevez has got Lionel Messi feeling the Oasis vibe. I wonder if he knows they have split up?"

13:33

England's match-winner against Slovenia, Jermain Defoe, is speaking to the media right now: "It would have been nice to play Ghana to be honest. [But] it's important not to think about the history or previous matches over the years. We just need to be confident. It's important to approach the Germany match like any other game. The lads are buzzing after the performance yesteday. The spirit is great."

13:39

More Defoe for you (who has just admitted England have been practising penalties every day): "In a massive tournament it's normal to start off a little tense. We were more relaxed yesterday. The work rate and the team shape was spot on. We're a great side, we showed that yesterday. But we aren't looking beyond the next game. Our huddle after the Slovenia match was spontaneous. Everyone was screaming. It was a great moment. Capello is a winner."

13:53

Right, Defoe's done his press duties now. Nothing ground-breaking but he spoke with real pride and did admit that some players would have prefered to play Ghana next, rather than Germany. We move on. Manish Bhasin and the rest of the BBC's Football Focus team are reviewing the all the action from South Africa, which you can follow right here. Motty and 'Arry are there too!

SMS

Anonymous 'on a train to work in New York': "The England team is like the Indian cricket team of a few years back - a bunch of individual superstars unable to play as a cohesive unit."

BBC Sport's James Pearce

On Twitter: "S Africans always so cheery. 'Welcome to my office' says the cleaner, with big smile on face, as I walk into toilets at Jo'burg airport."

SMS

Short on skill, big on guts. Come on boys lets have another big performance. Brent. Kiwi in london

14:00

Right, that's it from me Chris Whyatt. Italy, Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zealand. It's over to you. Oh, and Jonathan Stevenson in Johannesburg...

14:07

Lone furrow = ploughed. Well done Chris Whyatt. Now then you, this World Cup is starting to take shape, isn’t it? By tonight, we will know 12 of the 16 teams that will take part in the next round of the tournament. But, dear friends, will Italy be one of them? From Johannesburg, you’re with Jonathan Stevenson. I trust you’ve enjoyed your day this far?

14:10 Slovakia v Italy line-ups:

Slovakia: 1-Jan Mucha; 2-Peter Pekarik, 3-Martin Skrtel, 16-Jan Durica, 5-Radoslav Zabavnik, 6-Zdeno Strba, 15-Miroslav Stoch, 17-Marek Hamsik, 11-Robert Vittek, 19-Juraj Kucka, 18-Erik Jendrisek.Italy: 12-Federico Marchetti; 19-Gianluca Zambrotta, 5-Fabio Cannavaro, 4-Giorgio Chiellini, 3-Domenico Criscito, 22-Riccardo Montolivo, 6-Daniele De Rossi, 8-Gennaro Gattuso, 9-Vincenzo Iaquinta, 7-Simone Pepe, 10-Antonio Di Natale.Referee: Howard Webb (England)

14:11 Paraguay v New Zealand line-ups:

Paraguay: 1-Justo Villar; 4-Denis Caniza, 5-Julio Cesar Caceres, 14-Paulo Da Silva, 3-Claudio Morel, 13-Enrique Vera, 15-Victor Caceres, 16-Cristian Riveros, 9-Roque Santa Cruz, 18-Nelson Valdez, 7-Oscar Cardozo.New Zealand: 1-Mark Paston; 4-Winston Reid, 6-Ryan Nelsen, 5-Ivan Vicelich, 19-Tommy Smith, 3-Tony Lochhead, 11-Leo Bertos, 7-Simon Elliot, 10-Chris Killen, 14-Rory Fallon, 9-Shane Smeltz.Referee: Yuichi Nishimura (Japan)

BBC Sport's Paul Fletcher at Ellis Park

"Quite a few people already in their seats here as expectancy builds to what could be a dramatic afternoon. Then again, Italy might just start to click and register the victory that would guarantee qualification. They make two changes, with Gennaro Gattuso and Antonio Di Natale in for Claudio Marchisio and Alberto Gilardino."

14:16 More Slovakia v Italy team news:

Slovakia coach Vladimir Weiss makes four changes for a game his side have to win, replacing son Vladimir, Jan Kozak, Stanislav Sestak and Kornel Salata with Jan Durica, Miroslav Stoch, Juraj Kucka and Erik Jendrisek. Italy, by the way, have midfield schemer Andrea Pirlo available as a substitute for the first time following a calf injury.

14:19 Paraguay v New Zealand team news:

Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino, perhaps mindful his side need only draw against New Zealand to secure their progress into the last 16, makes three changes for his side's crunch match in Polokwane, drafting in defenders Denis Caniza and Julio Cesar Caceres along with striker Oscar Cardozo. New Zealand boss Rikki Herbert, meanwhile, sticks with the starting XI that held defending champions Italy to a 1-1 draw on Sunday in the hope they can go one better and earn the win that will see them as shock qualifiers for the second round.

14:22

You gonna be shy all your life, or you gonna drop me a little line? I've bared my footballing soul to you, it's time for you to do likewise. Text me on 81111 (UK) and +44 7786200666, whack me a Tweet @Stevo_football, and enter the wonderfully frank world of 606 too. Pronto.

BBC Sport's Paul Fletcher at Ellis Park

"First out of the tunnel for Italy ahead of their warm-up? You got it, the mad one himself Gennaro Gattuso, sprinting across the turf like a pitbull in pursuit of someone who would really rather be anywhere else."

14:28

I’ll be honest - I’m absolutely buzzing. In a five-minute spell that I hope none of you ever, ever see, earlier I did a live segment on Brazilian breakfast television, talking about ‘Sitting with the Samba Boys’ in their game against Ivory Coast on Sunday. I have newfound admiration for anyone who has been on the telly ever before. My word it's hot in them there studios.

SMS

Bobby D, Ilkley: "Come on Smeltzy, keep alive the opportunity for mentions of the mighty Halifax Town."

Twitter

From ColinBoucher: "Times like these is why football is great. Who would have thought NZ and Italy would be level on points going into last game?"

14:36 CONTRIBUTOR

The great Garth Crooks is sitting just behind me, so I asked him, for you our loyal readers, whether we can expect Italy to exit the World Cup today. "Italy? No chance. They do what they have to do," said the Tottenham legend. So there you have it.

606

From deep: "Uruguay, South Korea, Ghana or the US will be in the semi-finals of the World Cup. That is awesome."

Twitter

Fifa president Sepp Blatter: "At the game Bill Clinton told me ‘football connects people’. I couldn't agree more, it's what the World Cup's about."

Italy coach Marcello Lippi:

"We haven't been tormented by this wait, the confidence is there. We haven't done that well so far and we must do better. But we don't want this to be our last game. My lads have a great spirit and we just have to improve, especially in attack."

Slovakia coach Vladimir Weiss:

"Every match is a joy because it's a possibility to make us visible at the World Cup. We said before that we are not just here for a trip and we still have a hope to progress. But we are playing against the holders of the title, so it will be a difficult match. We want to be bold but rational because our opponents are the reigning champions."

SMS

Jason, Akl, NZ: "Half of NZ is awake for the 2am kick-off here. The other half live in London! Go the All-Whites! Already have done so much to make us proud."

Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino:

"New Zealand have a different style to that of Italy but they also create other types of complications. We have a lot of respect for their physicality as they know how to exploit this. I can't imagine any coach who is not aware of this. I don't think it is going to be easy in any way."

New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert:

"We are going to go through the wringer. I can only say the heart will be on the sleeve and the performance will be as much as we can possibly give. If it is good enough to take us through - fantastic. If not then we will still be proud. The players are relaxed but confident."

BBC Sport's Paul Fletcher at Ellis Park

"Who would have thought that this would be a game with so much at stake? Italy have not gone out at the group stage since 1974, apparently."

14:55

Shhhh at the back please. Say it loud and sing it proud for the national anthems: Il Canto degli Italiani, Nad Tatrou sa blyska, Paraguayos, República o Muerte and God Defend New Zealand.

14:58

Anthems done and we're moments away from kick-off in the Group F double header. Where's ya money? Not incidentally, as it stands at kick-off, Italy and New Zealand will be drawing lots. As will be the case if the two teams get the same result in drawing today.

15:00 KICK-OFF Slovakia v Italy

Under way at Ellis Park as the holders take on Slovakia.

15:00 KICK-OFF Paraguay v New Zealand

And a few moments later they are under way in Polokwane as Paraguay take on New Zealand.

606

From Hypernovae: "Despite having reservations about their creativity, I can't see anything other than a slim Italian victory today. As the old saying goes, form is temporary but class is permanent, and I think Italy's pedigree will see them through... just."

15:03 Slovakia v Italy

First sight of goal for Italy striker Vincenzo Iaquinta, but he slices wide from an angle on the left of the box after being played in by Antonio Di Natale.

15:06 Slovakia v Italy

You know when Ahn Jung-Hwan scored against Italy in 2002 and his Perugia club president told him he never wanted him to play for them again? Well Napoli's Marek Hamsik almost scored against the country he plays in, only for the midfielder to volley wide from 16 yards. Probably should have hit the target.

15:08 Paraguay v New Zealand

Paraguay are having lots of the early possession in front of what looks nothing like a full house in Polokwane, but no real chances as of yet.

15:10 YELLOW CARD Paraguay v New Zealand

Paraguay's Victor Caceres treads on the ankle of New Zealand's Rory Fallon and he picks up his second booking of the World Cup, meaning he would miss a potential last-16 tie should his team make it.

Twitter

From yedaw1: "Get the ball in the box and Rory Fallon will do the rest. New Zealand getting through is what the World Cup is all about."

15:14 Slovakia v Italy

Erik Jendrisek wins a header against Giorgio Chiellini, but the Slovakian lands heavily on his side and gets up a bit groggily. Italy aren't offering much right now, if I'm honest. Marek Hamsik's cross from the left is cut out by Federico Marchetti with Robert Vittek waiting to pounce.

15:16 YELLOW CARD Slovakia v Italy

Slovakia's Zdenko Strba goes in a little late and a little naughtily on Rino Gattuso and he catches the midfielder, picking up a booking that would rule him out of a potential last-16 clash in the process.

SMS

From Doug: "Got married in Sardinia to a local girl Saturday - watched my Kiwi boys give Italy the fright of their lives Sunday with all her friends and family. Still here and still married, but who knows what will happen if we dump them out today...! Come on the All-Whites!"

BBC Radio 5 live's Pat Nevin in Polokwane:

"Paraguay are finding it very difficult to get behind NZ. Every time they attack, they are confronted by a black wall. Paraguay are going down at every opportunity. They know NZ are a physical side and they are trying to play on that."

15:20 Paraguay v New Zealand

Paraguay go close to breaking the deadlock when captain Denis Caniza slices a 20-yard shot narrowly wide after great work by Roque Santa Cruz.

BBC Radio 5 live's David Pleat at Ellis Park:

"Slovakia have to be careful giving away free-kicks as these deep balls into the box will eventually find Iaquinta and we've already seen him link up well with Di Natale."

15:24 GOAL Slovakia 1-0 Italy

I was just about to say Slovakia do look dangerous... they've only gone and taken the lead, haven't they? Daniele De Rossi gives the ball away and Marek Hamsik slips a little pass in for Robert Vittek on the edge of the Italian box, the striker sliding a shot into the corner past Federico Marchetti's despairing dive.

GROUP F AS IT STANDS:

ITALY ARE OUT OF THE WORLD CUP. Slovakia and Paraguay are going through.

BBC Radio 5 live's David Pleat at Ellis Park:

"It was an awful mistake by Italy, giving the ball away. It was switched to Vittek and he hit a beautifully placed shot. Not even sure Buffon would have saved that. What an opportunity now for Slovakia."

BBC Radio 5 live's Pat Nevin in Polokwane:

"The Italy situation suits Paraguay perfectly well. The dynamic of this game may well change. Paraguay can relax but New Zealand need to go for the win."

15:29 Paraguay v New Zealand

Paraguay's Denis Caniza clearly fancies himself from long range, but this dipping 30-yarder doesn't come down quickly enough and flicks the top of the netting.

15:31 YELLOW CARD Slovakia v Italy

Fabio Cannavaro smiles as he walks away having picked up a booking - he knew it was coming, the veteran, after barging into Juraj Kucka. Italy are struggling badly.

15:32 Slovakia v Italy

However, it's not panic stations yet for the Azzurri. Our friends at Infostrada Sports tell us Italy are unbeaten in the last five World Cup matches in which they conceded the first goal. They came back from 1-0 down against Nigeria in 1994 (2-1), Mexico in 2002 (1-1), France in 2006 (1-1), Paraguay in 2010 (1-1) and New Zealand in 2010 (1-1).

BBC Sport's Paul Fletcher at Ellis Park

"Interesting. It all went a little quiet after Slovakia scored but they had definitely created the better openings. Sun setting here, but is it on Italy's World Cup?"

15:34 Slovakia v Italy

Maybe Fabio Cannavaro liked Zinedine Zidane's style, getting sent off in his last appearance for his country at the 2006 World Cup, because he's got a smiliar death wish today. Another reckless tackle concedes a free-kick and plenty of refs at the tournament would have shown him a second yellow there. Not Howard Webb, luckily for the Neapolitan.

15:37 Paraguay v New Zealand

There's nothing happening at Polokwane. Paraguay have more of the ball, but they are playing at a snail's pace. How long do New Zealand leave it before having a proper go?

606

From Moon: "SLOVENSKOOOOOOOOOO. The residents of Plave Vozokany will be dancing in the streets.... the TV commentators are loving this."

15:40 YELLOW CARD Slovakia v Italy

Fabio Cannavaro isn't laughing now - he's just been fouled by Robert Vittek and Vittek picks up a yellow as Cannavaro gets back to his feet, grimacing. A cross into the Slovakia box is then headed inches over his own crossbar by Martin Skrtel. Bit too close for comfort for the Liverpool defender.

15:43 Slovakia v Italy

Zdenko Strba writhes around on the floor at Ellis Park and no wonder - he is caught accidentally by Rino Gattuso's follow-through and he has a huge gash on his left knee, with blood pouring out of it. Nasty business.

15:44 Slovakia v Italy

Slovakia's Zdenko Strba gets his knee wrapped up and he wants to come back on, denying Kamil Kopunek his first World Cup appearance in the process. That's hard, that is.

15:45 INJURY TIME Slovakia v Italy

We're into three minutes of injury time at Ellis Park, which is exactly what it will feel like to Zdenko Strba, I'd have thought.

15:46 HALF-TIME Paraguay 0-0 New Zealand

Neither side has even had so much as a meaningful effort on goal in Polokwane. Utterly dismal.

15:48 Slovakia v Italy

My word it was almost 2-0. Robert Vittek holds the ball up and lays it off 25 yards out to Juraj Kucka and he hits a sizzling right-foot volley that flashes inches wide of Federico Marchetti's left-hand post.

15:48 HALF-TIME Slovakia 1-0 Italy

You know if they had gone in 2-0 to the good, Italy wouldn't have had much to complain about. The holders have been abysmal and right now they're heading out of the World Cup.

BBC Radio 5 live's Pat Nevin in Polokwane:

"It's just a question of when NZ decide to let go of the reins and have a go at it. They need to get more crosses into the box. Paraguay are not offering a huge amount going forward."

BBC Sport's Paul Fletcher at Ellis Park

"I would say that Italy can have few real complaints with the scoreline. They haven't exactly kept it tight at the back and have shown us little going forward. A busy half-time for Zdenko Strba, I suspect."

15:54

Fans of unprecedented things (and I include myself, certainly) might be interested in Infostrada's chat that never before have the two finalists from the previous tournament (Italy and France) been knocked out in the group stage at the following World Cup. This includes years in which the runner-up did not qualify.

BBC Radio 5 live's David Pleat at Ellis Park:

"It's a sluggish Italian effort, they are lacking any creativity. Slovakia are on the front foot and Vittek deservedly put them in front. Italy have had efforts at goal but more in hope than certainty. The world champions have been very disappointing."

15:58

You know I almost forgot to say it. Happy birthday Lionel Messi, 23 today. I wonder what his nearest and dearest got the kid who has it all?

16:03 SUBSTITUTION Slovakia 1-0 Italy

Double change at the break for the desperate Italians as Rino Gattuso and Domenico Criscito are taken off and Christian Magio and Fabio Quagliarella come on.

16:03 Paraguay 0-0 New Zealand

Back under way in Polokwane too between Paraguay and New Zealand. Ricki Herbert's men need to score otherwise they are heading home. How late do they leave the Charge of the (All-)White Brigade?

16:06 Slovakia v Italy

Vincenzo Iaquinta's foot is high and he accidentally boots Martin Skrtel in the head. Skrtel's OK, but after Fabio Cannavaro had gifted Slovakia possession, Italy have not made a good start to the second half.

16:06 Paraguay v New Zealand

Chance for New Zealand, their first one of the afternoon. Tony Lochhead's cross from the left is half-cleared to just outside the Paraguay half and Simon Elliott hits a right-foot drive that flies a couple of feet wide.

16:08 Slovakia v Italy

Better from Italy. Simone Pepe curls in a cross from the right and Vincenzo Iaquinta gets up well to glance a header wide of the far post.

Twitter

From siddharth248: "Italy have never finished last in a World Cup group stage... I see that happening today, Italy to finish last. Bye bye Italy."

BBC Radio 5 live's David Pleat at Ellis Park:

"Italy's approach play never got into the high, wide positions in the first half. They need someone to make a clever pass, to slide a player through."

16:13 Slovakia v Italy

Andrea Pirlo is about to come on for Italy. A nation's hopes...

16:14 SUBSTITUTION Slovakia v Italy

Great chance for Antonio Di Natale on the right of the area for Italy, but he cannot hook his leg around the shot and it whistles plenty wide. Meanwhile, 2006 great Andrea Pirlo comes on for Riccardo Montolivo.

16:15 Paraguay v New Zealand

Woeful. Oscar Cardozo smacks a 30-yard left-foot free-kick high and not very handsome in Polokwane, in keeping with one of the most dismal matches of this World Cup so far.

16:16 YELLOW CARD Paraguay v New Zealand

New Zealand's monumental captain Ryan Nelsen is booked and if they make it through to the last 16, he would not feature.

606

From eirebilly: "This Italian performance has been dire. It looks more likely that Slovakia will get a second goal than an Italian equaliser."

16:20 Paraguay v New Zealand

Closest Paraguay have come as Denis Caniza curls over a cross and Cristian Riveros heads goalwards, forcing a fine save from Mark Paston. Some pinball ensues, but the All-Whites survive.

BBC Sport's Paul Fletcher at Ellis Park

"The fact that Marcello Lippi has played all his cards so early tells you everything you need to know about the desperation of Italy's situation."

16:22

In amongst today's drama, Infostrada have unearthed the kind of fact that makes you just want to stand back and applaud. Apparently, in the World Cup's 80-year history, the most penalties have been awarded on 24 June (13 in total). 11 June follows with 12 awarded penalties.

BBC Radio 5 live's Pat Nevin in Polokwane:

"I think Paraguay can sense that the New Zealand players are running out of steam. There is a real tiredness in their team now. Roque Santa Cruz has done nothing. I'm amazed he's still on the field."

16:25 Slovakia v Italy

Damn it, where's that 'booted off the line' graphic when you need it? Drama at Ellis Park as Simone Pepe crosses from the right and after Jam Mucha can only flap, Fabio Quagliarella's right-foot volley is hacked off his own line by Martin Skrtel. It was so, so close to being in. Brilliant defending.

GROUP F AS IT STANDS:

Paraguay will top Group F with five points and will be joined in the last 16 by runners-up Slovakia on four points. New Zealand will miss out but will finish unbeaten with three draws - and defending champions and four-time World Cup winners Italy will be out, bottom of the group on two points.

16:27 Slovakia v Italy

The more men Italy throw forward, the most vulnerable they leave themselves. Slovakia break and Miroslav Stoch cuts in from the inside left channel, only to fire wastefully wide from the edge of the box. At 2-0, Italy would have been gone.

BBC Radio 5 live's David Pleat at Ellis Park:

"I think the officials made a brilliant decision and we shall have to wait and see. No doubt the Italian journalists will say it was over the line but we all get a bit patriotic at these times."

16:30 Slovakia v Italy

Remember - Italy only need to score once and if it stays 0-0 in the other game, they will go through to the last 16. Less than 20 minutes left for them to find what would be a very golden goal.

16:31 GOAL Slovakia 2-0 Italy

They're gone. A corner from the right isn't cleared and after Marek Hamsik puts it back into the mixer, Robert Vittek shows good awareness to get across Giorgio Chiellini and stab in at the near post. The holders are exiting the World Cup at the group stage. Astonishing.

16:33 Paraguay v New Zealand

Mark Paston makes another good save, low down to his left, to keep out Edgar Benitez's low drive from just inside the New Zealand area.

BBC Radio 5 live's David Pleat at Ellis Park:

"It has not been a smash and grab by Slovakia - it has been a controlled display. The Slovakians are smiling and the Italians are all over the place. Vittek has taken his goals brilliantly - he was too quick for Chillieni."

SMS

Adam, Norwich: "What is it with Howard Webb officiating upsets in this tournament? First Spain's defeat and now this. Get him signed up for Argentina v Mexico!"

16:38 Slovakia v Italy

I did mean holders and not hosts, of course I did. Meanwhile, it's worth emphasising how much of a shock this is. Infostrada tell us that Italy’s last World Cup defeat by a two-goal margin was a 2-0 loss against France in 1986.

16:38 GOAL Slovakia 2-1 Italy

They've got about 10 minutes to save their World Cup dream. Fabio Quagliarella shows quick feet to jink into the Slovakia area and after a one-two with Vincenzo Iaquinta his shot is brilliantly saved by Jan Mucha, only for Antonio Di Natale to poke in the rebound. They are one goal away from staying in the tournament.

16:41 YELLOW CARD Slovakia v Italy

Howard Webb brandishes his yellow card a couple of times after an unsightly incident in the Slovakia net after Fabio Quagliarella tried to get the ball back. It looks a bit like Juraj Kucka might have struck Quagliarella, but only Jan Mucha and the Italian are booked.

16:42 OFFSIDE Slovakia v Italy

Unbelievable. This is drama of a remarkable kind. A cross comes in from the left and Fabio Quagliarella sticks it in the onion bag - only for the assistant to raise his flag and break the hearts of a nation. For now...

16:44 Slovakia v Italy

Italy are bombing forward at every opportunity. If only they could have played like this in the previous 260 minutes in South Africa. Remember this: Italy got through the group stages in 1982 with three draws - and went on to win it.

BBC Radio 5 live's David Pleat at Ellis Park:

"There was playacting by Mucha and further playacting by the Italian sub Quagliarella. Howard Webb got in and did his best to sort it out. The bottom line is can Italy restore some pride?"

16:45 Paraguay v New Zealand

It's still goalless in Polokwane, incidentally. Well, I mean it's not incidental, but you know what I mean.

16:46 GOAL Slovakia 3-1 Italy

Now the holders are out. Slovakia take a quick, sharp throw from the right and Italy just are not quick enough to react. Sub Kamil Kopunek latches on to the ball and with Federico Marchetti slow to leave his line, the Slovakian coolly lifts it over him and into the net. My giddy aunt.

16:48 INJURY TIME Slovakia v Italy

Into four minutes of injury time, but it won't be enough for the holders Italy.

16:48 INJURY TIME Paraguay v New Zealand

Three minutes of injury time in Polokwane.

16:49 GOAL Slovakia 3-2 Italy

That's a magnificent goal, will you lot stop writing them off so hastily? The ball breaks to Fabio Quagliarella on the edge of the Slovakia box and he gets his pitching wedge out, sending a glorious chip over Jan Mucha and into the net. Stunning. But is there time...

16:51 FULL-TIME Paraguay 0-0 New Zealand

Paraguay are through to the last 16. Now, who's gonna join them...

16:52 Slovakia v Italy

There's been an injury, a sub... there's a little bit of time left, you know...

16:53 Slovakia v Italy

They had the chance, too. They had the chance to make it 3-3 and qualify. Gigi Buffon is off the bench with his hands on his head after a long throw is flicked on and, at the back post, Simone Pepe gets his volley all wrong from six yards and screws the ball wide. Agony. Just agony. And that's just me. And I'm not Italian. Agony.

16:54 FULL-TIME Slovakia 3-2 Italy

Marcello Lippi heads off down the tunnel and some Italians are in tears on the pitch. The World Cup holders, Italy, have gone. The Slovakians are jubilant.

16:54

HOLDERS ITALY ARE OUT OF THE WORLD CUP

16:57 GROUP F AS IT FINISHED:

Paraguay top Group F on five points and they go through with Slovakia in second on four points. I can't believe I'm writing this, but New Zealand are third on three points and Italy bottom with a paltry two. Why am I shaking?

BBC Radio 5 live's Pat Nevin in Polokwane:

"Paraguay have done well but I don't think they work as a unit up front. To get much further in the competition you need 13, 14, 15 guys who work their socks off the entire game. But they can celebrate tonight because they are through."

Twitter

From OptaJoe: "This is the first time that Italy have conceded three goals in a World Cup game since 1970 when they lost 1-4 to Brazil."

BBC Radio 5 live's David Pleat at Ellis Park:

"Quite incredible - Lippi drifted off down the tunnel and didn’t shake hands with Vladimir Weiss, Slovakia's manager. It was a deserved victory in terms of overall play. Not only were they brave, but they were better and they imposed their will on the Italians. This was a remarkable afternoon. It was a wonderful win over the world champions. Maybe the Italians will want an English manager now."

SMS

Declan from Belfast: "Wow... Just wow."

17:10

Here's more chat for you, World Cup chat lovers: Group F winners Paraguay will play the second-placed team in Group E on Tuesday at 1500 BST in Pretoria, while Slovakia's dream run will continue on Monday at 1500 BST with a game against the winners of Group E (probably Netherlands) in Durban.

Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino:

"We played very badly in the first half and we played better in the second half. I'm pleased with the qualification but not with the way we played. We had a lot of problems in an area where we didn't expect, and that was in attack."

606

From SleepingSpurs: "Lippi has been useless in this tournament, useless. He plays Iaquinta and Di Natale, who have been two of the worst Italian strikers I've ever seen in my life, and leaves Pazzini and Quagliarella on the bench and Cassano out completely."

Twitter

From legerrid: "Both champions and runners-up finishing bottom of their group... surely the first time ever. Insane."

Italian journalist Gabriele Marcotti:

"Expectations were low, about as low as they can be for defending world champions. The first 45 mins today were just so abject I think everyone will agree it's time to tear up the script and start over. It wasn’t a discipline problem, it was an ability problem and a performance problem."

BBC Radio 5 live's David Pleat at Ellis Park:

"Lippi had to gamble towards the end but they were really, really poor and some of their forward play was insipid beyond belief. They were well-beaten. There can be no excuses whatsoever for Italy. They had top players on the field earning a lot of money and they were woeful."

SMS

Ian, Moscow, Russia: "The World Cup is really alive now!"

17:30

Ian my son, you are not wrong. My hands are sweating, my heart is racing and I feel like I'm nine years old watching Italia '90 all over again. Sam Lyon will be your genial host tonight for the climax to Group E, so join him in a little while. Final thought from me: apparently, Marcello Lippi didn't stick around to shake his opposite number's hand at the end. Why are these people so unbearably ungracious? Kids, always lose as you would win.

GG on their part

Diablo 3 movies!

2010-10-08T10:30:00.001-04:00

Coming Soon!

2010-10-01T13:28:00.005-04:00

News:A whole new section of news is coming your way!
**Warcraft 3
-Game play and vid's for noobs to help own at WC3
-Map downloads
-**Secrets about maps!**
Starcraft 2
  -Zerg, Protoss, Terran unit displays
   -Strategies against units for noobs
   -Common started builds for noobs

World of Warcraft:
-Character types and builds
  -Farming locations
   -PvP Builds
   -Gold strat's and A/H (action house)

Just so all you D3 fans out their are thinking this blog is switching concepts FEAR NOT! as this blog will always be D3 HEAVY for all the craving D3 soon to be player's out there :) Comment where neccessary and leave any questions you wish to ask, ASK AWAY!
Regards: D3Logger

New D3 Class? What do you think?

2010-09-30T22:57:00.002-04:00

Well it's my first time ever trying to "guess" at the fifth class, but I do know how many of these are out there. Ranging from deranged killer clown (Sweet Tooth?) to more serious Rogue/Ranger classes. I fall into the category of more serious guesses. Also, I discovered how bad I am at coming up with "clever" names for skill trees. So here it is!(Quoted for highlight)

Class Discussion

Diablo 3 5th Class

Scout

Tree 1 - The Bow tree (Some catchy name as it covers both bows and Nature based magics)
**The Scout has spent his/her entire life perfecting the art of killing from afar or not killing at all. A master of both his/her bow and the use of natural magics to enhance his/her chosen weapon.

Tree 2 - Traps (Not unlike the assassin's but following the nature based theme. Also "Traps" is boring... catchy name please)
**The Scout is trained in the use of traps for both evading pursuers, Ambushing key enemies and debilitating would-be combatants.

Tree 3 - The evasion/stealthy tree (Again catchy name needed. Follows the nature theme and gives a possible druid-like element)
**The Scout has also learned a various number of survival skills. Most of which come from the study of various animal life.

Resource - Again... need some catchy name.
** Starts out at a max amount. The maximum amount increase based on character level. The resource is regenerated via killing an enemy or using certain abilities from Tree 1 or Tree 3.

Basically I think this would make an interesting class. If no one likes the Nature theme change it to a mage-like theme and it should work the same lol.

What do you guys think?

Diablo Clone!

2010-09-30T22:55:00.002-04:00

Uber Diablo (Diablo II)

Uber Diablo or Diablo Clone is a monster that spawns only on Hell difficulty ladder games on Battle.net when a certain number of Stone of Jordan rings are sold to merchants. A notification is displayed on-screen whenever a Stone of Jordan is sold, indicating the number that have been sold. Once a certain number of these rings are sold, the whole screen shakes and the words "Diablo Walks the Earth" appear on the screen. This message means that Uber Diablo has spawned. He will spawn at the first Super Unique monster you encounter. So you can basically choose the location to fight Uber Diablo by selecting which Super Unique you want him to replace. He is similar in appearance to Hell level Diablo and is a formidable challenge. When killed, Uber Diablo drops the only unique small charm in the game, the Annihilus. It is recommended to have high lightning and fire resistance and physical damage reduction before taking on Uber Diablo.

How Uber Diablo Spawns

As mentioned, Uber Diablo spawns when a certain number of Stones of Jordan have been sold to merchants. This was originally intended to combat the rampant duping of SoJ's and, though it is now a somewhat antiquated problem, this is still the system used to spawn him.

When a game is created in Diablo II, it is randomly created on a server or IP Address, which range from .30 to .180, for a total of 150 possible servers. Each server keeps track of the number of SoJ's sold, and Uber Diablo will walk when a certain number have been sold. The exact number is unclear, but it is generally believed to range from 75-150. There are several methods to track which servers are close to spawning Uber Diablo, the easiest of which is likely to join the chat channel Op DClone. The most difficult part of camping an Uber Diablo spawn is landing a game in the correct server. To determine which server your game is on, make sure you are in the game, tab out to your desktop, and click the Start button on your Windows taskbar. Choose (or type in) Run and type in cmd. This will open a command prompt, into which you type:

netstat –n | find "4000"

This will cause a line of numbers to appear. Your server number is the number that appears directly before :4000 at the end of the line. Now all that's left to do is repeat this process until you create a game in the appropriate server. It should be noted that servers are realm specific, so an Uber Diablo spawn on server .45 on USWest will not necessarily correlate to a spawn on .45 on USEast
Stats

Uber Diablo
Demon

Difficulty

Health

Resistances

Drain Effectiveness

Locations (Monster Level)

Phy

Psn

Hell

642,700

15%

Spawns Randomly (110)

D3 Level(60) cap is this true?

2010-09-30T22:50:00.001-04:00

We've been working with a level cap that's quite a bit different. It was something I had alluded to a while back but I think it's probably worth discussing sooner rather than later.
So, we're working with a lower level cap for a myriad of reasons but really the main point that they're more or less all linked to is that we came to the conclusion that a cap of 99 exists for the sake of itself. Meaning that it's a really high number despite all sorts of good things like meaningful player/skill/power pacing, item distribution, balance, etc. It's sort of this long term goal that really didn't matter, almost an Achievement without the flashy graphics or *bwong* sound. You didn't need to reach 99 to do anything, in almost all ways the game stopped somewhere in the 80's (for a lot of people a lot lower), but by stretching the player out over an additional 20 or so levels to 99 it created all sorts of issues we were having problems justifying forcing the game in to. So we're working with a level cap of 60 at the moment.

This is the point where some of you scream "60!? That's like original World of Warcraft!" And then the rest of you /facepalm and say "60!? Couldn't you pick any other number? Now everyone is going to compare it to World of Warcraft!"

The 60 level cap we're working with came from a lot of time and thinking about our content and how we want the experience to feel at every level. It so happens that it works for us really well.
Of course it all comes down to an XP curve. We could, for instance, say the level cap in Diablo III is 60 and then pace that curve and gain out over what we estimate it took someone to reach 99 in Diablo II. Of course we wouldn't do that but it should help illustrate that the time from 1-60 in Diablo II does not equal the amount of time it will take to reach 60 in Diablo III. 60 levels versus 99 levels doesn't mean less content or less powerful characters, etc. These aren't uniform levels of power that move from game to game. And in fact we are pushing a longer game that Diablo II and I'd argue our characters feel way more powerful. Ok, that out of the way, moving on!

The leveling experience is always going to stop somewhere because the real game is the item hunt. So, instead of letting it drag out to a less meaningful 80 or so levels like most people saw in Diablo II, we have 60 levels of awesome; at every level you'll get a meaningful and noticeable increase in power. It has a ton of other benefits and fixes a lot of problems a higher cap causes, but I'll take pause.

Bashiok pointed out some very good reasons for this level cap. Most importantly, that this number really is arbitrary. Whether it is sixty or ninety-nine, the actual game and content will be no different. If anything, it just makes gaining each level that much more rewarding. This could also be beneficial for helping with end game content with the natural flow of then end of the game getting your character to max level. Bashiok further commented that the leveling increment would be around level thirty through the first difficulty, level fifty by the end ofthe second and sixty after the hardest difficulty. With this idea, is it possible that the whole game is developed enough to be playable since they know how the flow of leveling will work out over the course of the game?. It will also be interesting to see how this new level cap will work with the new skill system they have in place. Will we only get sixty skill points or will skills not directly level with character level. While this news leave a lot unanswered, it is nice to get another concrete fact about the game.

D3 Boss Fight

2010-09-30T22:30:00.001-04:00

Crazy Graphics In D3 :D

Diablo 3 Character Released

2010-09-30T20:40:00.000-04:00

Wizard

Owing to my lack of tolerance for those who would use magic towards their own nefarious ends, many have assumed that I am averse to the practice of the magical arts on a philosophical level. Nothing could be farther from the truth. My quarrel is with those sorcerers who dismiss the ancient traditions and teachings – teachings that have been honed over millennia in order to preserve respect for authority and the rule of law.

Recently the youth of Caldeum have fallen prey to the overblown stories of just such a delinquent wizard. That is correct: I used the uncouth term wizard, not sorcerer. It seems that even the title of a civilized magic wielder is too restrictive for this young upstart. Through my contacts at the Yshari Sanctum of the mage clans, I am one of the few who actually know the truth behind the rumours now sweeping our streets regarding this hellion who flaunts her magic irresponsibly.

This wizard was sent here to spend her formative years under the tutelage of the best mages in the world. Well, it seems they neglected to teach our wizard manners on her native island of Xiansai, for she was a rude and uncooperative student from the very beginning. Originally under the guidance of the Zann Esu mage clan, she was eventually handed over to the Vizjerei in the hopes that their strict and unbending discipline would break her anarchic spirit. Yet even the esteemed Vizjerei instructors were unable to rein her in. She was continually being caught seeking out dangerous and forbidden magic's, heedless of the consequences to herself or anyone around her.

Although there is no truth to the tales that she actually ventured into the infamous Bitter Depths below the Sanctum, she was caught in the Ancient Repositories, where the most dangerous incantations are housed for the safety of the public. When confronted by the great Vizjerei mage Valthek and demanded to account for herself, she brazenly attacked him rather than face the punishment merited by her acts. Exaggerated stories of the battle are already being inflated to mythic proportions by the more rebellious of our city's youth, but suffice it to say that she did not actually best Yshari's most powerful mage in single, honourable combat. The details of the encounter remain unclear, as Valthek has yet to regain consciousness, but it has been verified by reliable sources that she relied on trickery and deceit to bring the great man low. I have also been assured that the extensive property damage was chiefly the result of Valthek's magical prowess, not the upstart wizard's. As to where she is now, no one rightly knows, for she fled the city immediately after the encounter.

It is not my goal to alarm, but I find this situation disturbing. We now have a rebellious wizard, young and inexperienced, wandering the world, dabbling in powerful magic's she does not understand. Those wiser than you or I determined long ago that certain schools of magic were too dangerous and forbade their practice. It is those magic's that this wizard seems determined to explore – magic's centred on manipulating the primal forces from which reality is constructed. Imagine, a headstrong nineteen-year-old youth, able to warp time itself to her will! The thought is truly terrifying. It is my honest hope that this self-styled wizard chooses never to return to Caldeum.

Skill - Disintegrate

Disintegrate

Disintegrate is a very powerful skill for a wizard as it can kill enemies from a distance and can kill lots of enemies very quickly without you being touched. This attack will be very good on bosses especially. As they run towards you, you’ll be causing them lots of damage. All this attack does is make your enemies’ body disintegrate slowly and eventually they are reduced to a pile of bones.

Posted by: Madman

Skill - Electrocute

Electrocute

This attack is a chain attack and goes from one enemy to the other till they are all dead. The electricity goes around electrocuting enemies till they are dead. This attack is very useful if you are dealing with large groups of enemies in one place. As you advance your skill, the electrocute time will increase causing more damage.

Posted by: Te-

Skill - Teleport

Teleport

This attack is also from Diablo 2. The Sorceress can use it to move around quicker, as well as helping avoid the need to open doors. Teleport will be a well used ability for the wizard allowing for a quick escape route when you’re in trouble or to gain some distance ready for a long ranged ability.

Posted by: Umadbro

Skill - Magic Missile

Magic Missile

This attack will be very effective especially when used with another attack such as Slow Time. With this combo you’ll be able to slow you enemies’ attacks at the same time shooting your missiles at normal speed. The Magic Missiles are a dark ball which gets shot at your enemy and can be used in rapid succession. The ability alone will cause many players to use the Wizard.

Posted by: Vajownerer

Skill - Slow Time

Slow Time

This is a great ability. It slows your enemies’ attacks or missiles down within your bubble of protection. This gives you the time to avoid the attack and counter-attack your enemy. All the time, you are able to move about in normal speed, very handy.

Barbarian

In my journey to catalogue the various denizens, civilizations, and fauna of our world, I have travelled far and wide, but never before have I been struck with such dismay as when standing upon the ramparts of the ancient fortress of Bastion's Keep. I came to see firsthand the barbarians, those near-legendary, immense, relentless, dual-wielding furies of combat dwelling upon their sacred Mount Arreat.

Instead, I stand here looking at a mountain that has been torn asunder by some extraordinary force. The sight, I must confess, is incomprehensible. Yet what I see before me cannot be denied.

What truly happened here?
Where are those majestic warriors of old?

Though they were once misunderstood as simple, bloodthirsty invaders, the long and noble history of these proud people is now rightly acknowledged. And therein lies the greater tragedy here, for those of us familiar with the nobility of the barbarians remember too what they call their "vigil", the concept that lay at the very heart of their culture. The barbarians consider it their sworn duty to protect Mount Arreat and the mysterious object within. They believe that if they fail to uphold their duty to the great mount, or are not given a proper burial upon its slopes, they will be denied a true warrior's death, and their spirits shall roam the land without honour for all eternity.

If there are any barbarians left alive, they must truly be without hope. Perhaps this is the genesis of the rumours of monstrous things reported to resemble the barbarians in size and ferocity, but that are in reality nothing more than unreasoning, inhuman beasts. Could the destruction of not only their home but also their very beliefs have actually brought this magnificent race so low?

Skill - Cleave

Cleave

Cleave is a very quick attack and is very good it because of its speed. Although it's a very simple attack, it can be deadly to all that stands it its way. This attack is one of the best attacks for a barbarian because it can take out a lot of enemies at once. You can identify the attack by its slash of red light. This attack will be the most commonly used for a barbarian because it can wipe out enemies very easily and its speed.

Posted by: Umadbro

Skill - Ground Stomp

Ground Stomp

Ground stomp is also a very effective and useful attack because it also quick but also allows you to jump right into the middle of the fight and knock your enemies flying causing them a great deal of damage or even killing them outright. This attack will then give you time to think about next attack to kill them off.

Posted by: Te-

Skill - Leap

Leap

The Leap is quite a good attack because you can jump from place to place slamming down and killing nearby enemies. This attack can be very handy if you are battling a group of enemies who are grouped together because you will be able to kill large quantities at a time, this will make your game more fun to play when you know you can kill lots of enemies at once. This attack can be use as a chain attack when you jump from place to place whilst the rest of your party finishes them off.

Posted by: Tyownerer

Skill - Seismic Slam

Seismic Slam

You would normally use this attack after a Leap when most of your enemies have been killed and you just want to finish them off. This attack can also be used on bosses because as it will get the bosses attention whilst the rest of your party heal and at the same time dealing out a mass of damage. This attack will also be good because it can be done from a distance then as the enemy is coming you can quickly use another attack.

Posted by: Jewmaican

Skill - Whirlwind

Whirlwind

As we all know, the Whirlwind was around in Diablo 2. Whirlwind was probably one of the best attacks the barbican could have in diablo 2 and would have been surly missed

D3 Characters

2010-09-30T20:39:00.000-04:00

Witch Doctor

Most believe the fearsome witch doctor of the umbaru race a legend, but I have seen one in battle with my own eyes. And it was difficult to believe, even then. He dispatched his opponent with terrifying precision, assaulting his victim's mind and body with elixirs and powders that evoked fires, explosions, and poisonous spirits. As if these assaults were not enough, the witch doctor also had at his command the ability to summon undead creatures from the netherworld to rend the flesh from his enemy's body.

I came upon this rare display as I ventured deep into the interior of the dense Torajan jungles that cover the southern tip of the great eastern continent, in the vast area known as the Teganze, with the goal of seeking out the tribes that reside there. This area is extremely secluded, and heretofore unseen by foreign eyes. I was fortunate to befriend the witch doctor I saw in battle, and, through him, his tribe: the Tribe of the Five Hills.

The culture of the umbaru of the lower Teganze is fascinating and perplexing to those hailing from more civilized walks of life. For instance, the Tribe of the Five Hills frequently engages in tribal warfare with both the Clan of the Seven Stones and the Tribe of the Clouded Valley, but these are matters of ritual and not of conquest. I had heard tales that these wars are waged in order that the victors may replenish their supply of raw materials for the human sacrifices that their civilization revolves around, and when I timidly asked my hosts more about this topic, I must admit their laughter made me fear for my safety. However, through stumbled attempts at communication of such complex topics as what constitutes heroism and honour in their society, I gathered that only those taken in battle are considered worthy of the ritual sacrifice, much to my relief.

Upon further discussions with my hosts, I discovered that these tribes define themselves by their belief in the Mbwiru Eikura, which roughly translates to "The Unformed Land" (this is an imprecise translation, as this concept is completely foreign to our culture and language). This belief holds that the true, sacred reality is veiled behind the physical one we normally experience. Their vitally important public ceremonies are centred upon sacrifices to the life force that flows from their gods, who inhabit the Unformed Land, into this lesser physical realm.

The witch doctors are finely attuned to this Unformed Land and are able to train their minds to perceive this reality through a combination of rituals and the use of selected roots and herbs found in the jungles. They call the state in which they interact with this other world the Ghost Trance.

Alongside the primacy of the belief in the life force and the Unformed Land, the second most sacred belief of the tribes is their philosophy of self-sacrifice and non-individuality, of suppressing one's self-interest for the good of the tribe. This idea, so foreign to our culture, struck me as something I wished to delve into much more deeply.

Unfortunately, there was intense social upheaval among the tribes due to an incident involving their most current war (inasmuch as I could discern in the ensuing bedlam), and the charged atmosphere warranted my quick departure before I could ask anything further of my hosts.

Skill - Firebomb

Firebomb

The witch doctors firebomb is a deadly, rapid fire attack which can be used frequently. Each time you fire and it hits the ground, it explodes, so that anything around it will be arbitrated. The firebomb is the witch doctors most commonly used weapon as it’s easy to use and quick to fire. One of its great advantages is that it can be used at long and short ranged. A good all-round weapon that also looks really cool!

Posted by: Madman

Skill - Horrify

Horrify

Horrify is one of the best attacks a witch doctor can have, it’s one of the simplest as well. It’s very easy to use and quite effective. It gives you time to prepare for the battle as it scares your enemies away giving you time to get an attack ready. Its also a must have for the witch doctor as when you’re in a group and a swarm of enemies attack you will scare them away giving you and your team mates time to heal and get ready.

Posted by: Brotha

Skill - Locust Swarm

Locust Swarm

Locust swarm is a very effective attack to have as it will remain effective until all the attackers have been killed. If you also use it on your minions it will stay with the minions and not hurt them. It’s also very helpful after the use of the Horrify attack because once the enemy has been scared away you can use locust swarm to kill them off while they are running away.

Posted by: Legomancer

Skill - Mass Confusion

Mass Confusion

Mass Confusion is a very good attack but only when you have more than 3 enemies. The idea of the Mass Confusion attack is to slow your attacker’s ability to co-ordinate their attack and confuses them into attacking each other instead of you! Typically lasting for about 8 seconds and works best on groups of enemies of 6 or more, it can get you out of some tight spots. I recommend this attack, but if there are 5 or less attackers, you might be better off using Locust Swarm instead.

Posted by: Te-

Skill - Soul Harvest

Soul Harvest

This ability is very handy to help boost your health. Each time you kill an enemy, some of that creature’s energy will enter into you, boosting your health. In party mode, you will also gain small amounts of energy from every kill within the group.

Weekly Updates from D3 Development: Witch Doctor Gear Revealed

As we near Blizzcon 2010 this October, Blizzard is committed to upping the hype for Diablo's biggest Blizzcon yet! Twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday, to shed away those mid-week blues, Twitter and Facebook will be highlighting in-game gear:

he first being a quick look at a set of Witch Doctor equipment:

It's good to finally see content again, and this plethora of images is only the icing on the cake. Keep up-to-date on all of these developments as we reach Blizzcon here at DiabloFans, and get instant on-site updates off the official Diablo Twitter by checking out our Twitter feed here

(Also, I think it's really amazing how tribal he actually looks. Nothing too outlandishly

Character Limits and Muling in Diablo 3

There’s been a long discussion about how accounts and character creation will be handled in Diablo III. How many characters will we be allowed to create per account? The question is one more directly answered, even if it’s nothing yet conclusive. Blizzard tweeted about the team’s thoughts on the number of characters we’ll be able to create for online play earlier Tuesday:

This would easily solve the issue of creating multiple accounts to create the amount of characters we want to have – especially if the number is closer to fifty than ten. We also heard rumors of a shared stash to prevent the well known and annoying mule games. All that with Bashiok's blessing on the official forums.

Diablo III confirmed to allow only one account to each CD key through Battle.net "2.0," and drop games hopefully a thing of the past, one wonders how item storage will work for characters, and possibly accounts.unrealistic ftw).

Diablo 3 Release New Characters

2010-09-30T20:04:00.000-04:00

y: D3S Admin

New Characters

Over the past few weeks Blizzard have been steadily releasing further

information and images of the new characters in Diablo 3. We have been

working hard to give you all the information you need the moment its

released.

The latest to be released is the new Male Wizard. Dressed in a fine

red satin outfit and awesome plate armour he is definitely going to be

a popular choice of character.

Check out all the characters, their skills and abilities, and images of each

male and female version in our characters section.

A New Evil Descends Over The World Of Sanctuary

Twenty years have passed since we first saw the demonic lords, Diablo, Mephisto, and Baal, try to take over the World of Sanctuary. Bent on a violent and murderous rampage taking humans to the brink of survival. For those who battled these Evils, the pain and memory of these events fades very slowly.

Now Deckard Cain returns to the ruins of Tristram Cathedral. He's searching for clues to defeat a new evil. Fallen from the heavens is a fiery harbinger of evil, hitting the ground at the exact same spot where Diablo once entered the World of Sanctuary. The fire from the heavens awakens all the ancient evils, and calls the heroes of the World of Sanctuary to once again defend the mortal world against the increasing powers of these Evil Burning Hells.

Diablo 3 Sanctuary Map

Make sure you know your way around the world, you don't want to get lost! Learn about each area in detail in our section dedicated to the D3 Santcuary, our speciality.

Blizzard have released a New Monk Trailer

New Diablo 3 Monk Trailer Video
Have you seen the new Monk in action? Blizzard have just
released a new trailer video which we are confident you will
love. Check out our Diablo 3 monk page to watch this
new movie clip.The trailer is just over 60mb in size and
will take a few seconds to begin playing

The last weeks of autumn had settled upon Ivgorod, and the first breath of winter had crept into the air. As night fell and the sun dipped below the horizon, I was all too grateful to take refuge in a tavern. As I entered, I noted a certain tension in the room. Despite the hour, it was not busy, with only scattered, small groups huddled at the tables around the edges of the room. The benches at the centre of the room were empty except for one man.

The man seemed ignorant of the cold. He was dressed like a beggar, wearing little more than an orange sheet wound around his body, leaving half of his chest exposed. A garland of large wooden beads hung around his thick neck. His head was completely shaved, with the exception of a wild bushy beard. Then, recognition struck me: upon his forehead he had a tattoo of two red dots, one larger than the other. As any informed student of the peoples and cultures of this world must also realize, this man was one of the monks of Ivgorod, the secretive and reclusive holy warriors of the country.

I had heard countless fantastic stories about the monks, tales that were surely the beneficiary of significant embellishment. The monks’ skin, the accounts said, was as hard as iron, impenetrable by the blade of any sword or by the point of any arrow, and their fists could break stone as easily as you or I would snap a twig. Though the unassuming man before me seemed miles away from what I had heard and read of the monks, I approached cautiously, sliding down onto the bench across from him, eager to take his measure. He beckoned me forward with a small wave of his hand.

"Ah, a soul brave enough to sit with me. Come, friend."

Food was placed before me, but I had little hunger for it, focusing instead on recording the details of the monk's life. He told me of his belief in the existence of a thousand and one gods, gods he believed could be found in all things: the fire in the hearth, the water in the river and the air that we breathed. Pretty enough for a story, perhaps. But any reasoned individual must surely, as I did, scoff at such a view of the world as little more than superstition. He went on to describe his intense mental and physical training, his unending quest to hone his mind and body into an instrument of divine justice. Though I do wonder for what need his thousand gods would require a mortal man to implement their will. When I asked him why he did not carry a sword or, indeed, any weapon at all, he simply replied, "My body is my weapon." Then raising his hand and tapping his forehead, he added, "As is my mind."

Most unexpectedly, I would be treated to a display of this mastery.

A group of men approached our table, knocking my book to the floor and shoving me out of the way, producing knives and other weapons as they advanced. They were focused only on the solitary figure of the monk seated across from me. I scrabbled beneath the table, having an inkling of what was to come. I watched as at some unseen signal, they attacked.

Without rising from his seat, the monk met the first man's lunging slash, grabbing his wrist and tossing him carelessly over his shoulder, throwing him into a table with a loud crash. The suddenness of the monk's attack momentarily stunned the men, and as they stood there, he rose.

That was when chaos broke out.

The monk was a fluid mass of restrained energy, meeting every attack with hardly a moment's distress. He fought with hands and feet in a way I had never seen before. In my days, I have witnessed my share of drunken bar brawls, but this was something else altogether. The sound of bones crunching with each of his strikes mixed with something I could not quite believe: the monk was laughing as he fought. One by one, he dispatched his foes until only one remained.

Woman Monk

That one picked up a chair and hurled it toward the monk. The monk swung his arm forward and struck the incoming projectile, meeting the solid oak of the chair with his closed fist. The wood broke apart, splinters filling the air as the shattered pieces of the stool fell harmlessly to the ground around him.

"You don't fool me, demon," the monk spat. He pulled his arms back to his sides, then extended his hands before him and began to chant. A nimbus of white light appeared around his head, growing larger and more intense until it completely encompassed the monk’s body. He roared, and the light blew outward. As it washed over the other man, his skin peeled away, revealing a red-skinned demon beneath and threw the creature through the front doors of the tavern.

The monk hurtled forward, but his individual movements were too fast for my eyes to track. It seemed as though there were seven of him raining blows upon the demon from every side. Staggered, the demon stumbled. The monk grabbed the demon by the neck, grinning as he pulled his free arm back, crackling energy glowing on his open hand. He shoved his palm forward, and when it struck the demon, its body exploded: muscle, skin and bones tore apart, and the smell of burning flesh filled the air.

I would not have believed it if I had not seen it with my own two eyes. It seems the stories of these peerless warriors might not have been as exaggerated as I first thought.

pSkill - Crippling Wave

Crippling Wave

In this attack, the Monk waves his staff to make a blue wave which then travels and deals damage to your enemies. Most monks will use this attack because of its speed and damage ability. This attack is ideal for one enemy at a time, but can be affective on up to 3 enemies at a time. This attack would be very good against bosses or other “hard” enemies’.

Posted by: Madman

Skill - Impenetrable Defence

Impenetrable Defence

This attack is simply the best for any Monk. Any attack directed at you will be returned to the attacker and protects you from damage. All Monks will want this attack for this sole reason. This attack is basically a bubble and then the monk uses his staff to throw the attack back to the enemy doing the damage to them instead. Many people will be Monks because of this one attack.

Posted by: tyownerer

Skill - Exploding Palm

Exploding Palm

Spinning around, this attack causes a great deal of damage to your enemies. This attack can be used in quick succession and is very effective against large groups. Bosses and other strong enemies’ will feel the effect of this ability.

Posted by: Legomancer

Skill - Seven Sided Strike

Seven Sided Strike

Set this attack in motion, and a series of strikes will fly in and hit your enemies from multiple directions causing a great deal of damage. When coupled with an Exploding Palm you’ll easily kill off large groups of attackers very easily.

Posted by: Te-

Skill - Way of the Hundred Fists

Way of the Hundred Fists

This attack uses a lot of manor, but can be used in quick succession and caused a lot of damage. This attack is a 3 stage attack and is most effective against large, closely grouped together attackes