April Fool's Joke? I hope so - GBAtemp.net acquired by CNET Networks

If true, this sucks. - Marc

OK, I'm thinking that I got pranked for about 30 minutes.

Dear members, GBAtemp is now over five years old and is continuously growing in both size and popularity in ways we would never have expected in the past. As you can imagine, keeping such a popular website running smoothly and without hiccups is both an expensive and tedious task.

Up until now the sites hosting has been funded by the staff and more recently our affiliates whom we thank very much. Unfortunately we have reached a point in our GBAtemp's life where it's impossible to keep the site running by ourselves; we don't have the time or funds to keep this community online 24/7 -- a huge task for such a small group of staff members who have day jobs to attend to.

You may have heard rumours in the past few weeks or months that GBAtemp was considering an offer from an interested party. These rumours are true. Today we become an official CNET Networks channel partner and the site becomes full property of GameSpot.

As you may have noticed, we have recently been experiencing a lot of down-time, this is completely due to the transferral of the site to a CNET Networks owned server and this move is nearing completion.

This is no reason to be alarmed; the community here at GBAtemp you know and love will remain, the site will remain basically the same but a few small changes here and there will need to be made to fall in line with CNET Networks partner site policies.

Please understand that this move is the best move to insure we keep GBAtemp alive. We are simply not able to keep on maintaining a site of this size by ourselves, nor fund it, so with help from our good new friends at CNET Networks and GameSpot a large weight has been lifted from our shoulders.

You will notice a few new staff members have joined the site today; Ryan, Adam, Liam, Peter and Ian. Please welcome them aboard. I'm certain they'll do a great job and have already moderated forums very well at both CNET and GameSpot.

Now I'd like to fill you in on a small few changes that must be made in order for us to continue, some aren't ideal but we will soon be making more new changes that should please everyone.

- Adverts on the portal - This helps us to fund the site. Adverts will NOT be placed inside threads, as to keep the community happy -- discussion will go uninterrupted.

- 'Testing Area' to close - By request of CNET Networks we are unfortunately having to close the 'Testing Area' sub-forum. This is out of our hands.

- Censoring - Profanities will be censored out in discussion to make the forum more family-friendly. Posts will be more heavily moderated in order to insure no illegal discussion takes place.

- Latest ROM Information and News under discussion with CNET Networks - We are trying our best to keep GBA, Nintendo DS and Wii "scene" release information on the site, we are currently under negotiation with CNET Networks and will let you know its fate as soon as we do.

Some changes will take immediate effect, others will be gradual, and more will be made in the future. As has always been the case with GBAtemp, we are always striving to be the best Nintendo console related discussion forums and will stop at nothing to insure that continues to be the case.

So to wrap up, GBAtemp is now the property of CNET Networks, Inc and their partner site; GameSpot. Big changes are underway with more to come in the future.

Thanks for your co-operation and loyalty,
Thanks from all the GBAtemp Staff - new & old,

Signed,
- The GBAtemp Forum team,
- CNET Networks, Inc.

Sorry, been busy, I'll get around to posting again soon.

22

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Tracy McGrady, alone on the midcourt "R," leaned over, hands on knees, unable to muster or simply unwilling to expend the energy needed to move any longer.

So he stood motionless as the Toyota Center crowd rose around him in roaring salute.

He and the Rockets had been pushed hard, tested as they rarely have been in their winning streak, before surging through the fourth quarter to an 89-80 win over the Charlotte Bobcats that took the Rockets winning streak to 21 games, the second-longest in NBA history.

By the time they left the floor with their 14th consecutive home win, they were headed to Sunday’s showdown with the Lakers tied with Los Angeles for first place in the Western Conference.

The latest win was one of the most difficult.

From McGrady needing to carry the Rockets offense with 30 points to rookie Mike Harris providing a vital lift off the bench to Dikembe Mutombo slamming the door with two blocked shots in the last minute, the Rockets needed all they could find to outlast Charlotte.

Luis Scola added 13 points with Shane Battier and Harris, less than a week into a 10-day contract, each getting 12 points.

Continuum More Casual

Former Stargate SG-1 star Ben Browder told SCI FI Wire that Stargate: Continuum, the second of two straight-to-DVD spinoff movies, will be accessible to the casual fan. In that it differs from the first film, Stargate: The Ark of Truth, which wraps up the Ori storyline of SG-1 and ties up the series' various bits of mythology.

"I think Ark of Truth is more tied to the last couple years of the series," Browder said in an interview. "Continuum is more stand-alone. That's probably the most concise way of saying it."

Few details have been released about Continuum, though cast and crew are known to have flown to the arctic for some location shooting.

By contrast, Ark of Truth deals with much of the SG-1 storylines, and writer/director Robert C. Cooper wanted to satisfy the fans, Browder said.

"They were thinking of the fans when they did Ark of Truth, it's so dense with the mythology of the show, and it's wrapping up storylines," Browder said. "The producers of Stargate are very appreciative of their audience, and they're aware of the audience. And Cooper's been with the show from the very beginning. He probably ... knows the audience quite well."

Can a newcomer drop into Stargate late? "Look, you can drop into the third season of something without knowing all the backstory and go, 'Wow, this is really interesting. I like this,'" Browder said. " And, yeah, look, Ark is riddled with Stargate mythology, and there's no question about that. I would imagine a reasonably intelligent, discerning audience member would be able to follow the story, though."

If not, look for Continuum, which is expected to be released in July. Ark of Truth is in stores now.

SF&F TV Shows On The Bubble

The Hollywood Reporter has handicapped the SF&F TV shows currently "on the bubble" for renewal or cancellation.

For starters, the trade paper was confident that Fox would renew Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, in part because the finale's ratings performance last week was solid and because a fourth Terminator movie comes out in 2009, offering promotional opportunities.

NBC's Knight Rider, meanwhile, performed well for NBC as a two-hour movie, and sources told the trade paper that the network is in talks with a show runner, suggesting that a regular series order is likely.

As for CBS' vampire drama Moonlight, the trade paper reported that CBS is playing wait-and-see. The network will watch to see if fans return once the show comes back from its strike-induced hiatus.

CBS' Jericho has only two episodes left in its short second season, and the network is expected to make a decision quickly so that producers can use one of two endings: A series finale or a season-ending cliffhanger. CBS notes that the show gains from DVR viewership and online viewing, but after its performance the past two weeks, most doubt that the show will get another reprieve.

The CW's Reaper has reportedly lost its way creatively after a strong pilot, leaving its future in doubt.

Effing Liberals

Congress endorses higher taxes in budget proposals

WASHINGTON — Democrats in both House and Senate pressed ahead with budget plans that would saddle millions of Americans with higher tax bills in three years by allowing some or all of President Bush's reductions to die after he leaves office.

All three major presidential candidates interrupted their campaigns to cast votes on the budget plan, which is nonbinding but highlights the difficult choices on taxes and spending facing the next president and Congress. Binding votes on the expiring Bush tax cuts will be left to his successor and the Congress that's elected in November.

The candidates also wanted a chance to vote for a one-year ban on pork-barrel projects, though that late-night Senate effort seemed doomed to defeat. The practice of inserting "earmarked" spending into legislation is seen as a birthright by lawmakers in both parties — and a right under the power of the purse awarded to Congress by the Founding Fathers.

As for the $3 trillion federal budget plans, the House version would provide generous increases to domestic programs but bring the government's ledger back into the black by letting all of Bush's tax cuts expire at the end of 2010 as scheduled. That five-year plan passed the House on a 212-207 vote, with Republicans unanimously opposing it over what they argued was $683 billion in tax increases.

In the Senate, John McCain of Arizona, the Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting, voted to extend the full roster of tax cuts, which he opposed seven years ago as being tilted in favor of the wealthy. Democratic rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois both voted against them.

Clinton and Obama did vote for $340 billion in tax cuts over five years for middle- and higher-income taxpayers, investors and people inheriting businesses and big estates.

But they joined with Democrats and a couple of maverick Republicans in rejecting, 52-47, an additional $376 billion in extensions of income tax rate cuts, more generous estate tax cuts and relief from the alternative minimum tax.

Republicans hope to use the votes as fodder for the heated presidential campaign and for congressional races. Lawmakers in both parties also were put on record for when the tax cuts actually expire in three years.

Said Republican Rep. Jim McCrery of Louisiana, "Democrats are quietly but very assuredly paving the way for a massive, economy-choking, tax increase."

Democrats said the plans would reverse years of deficits that have piled up during Bush's tenure. They said he squandered trillions of dollars in projected surpluses that were projected when he took office.

'American Idol': Chris Sligh on Top 12 Week

Hulu

Hulu's ambitious and never-ending mission is to help you find and enjoy the world's premium content when, where and how you want it. We hope to provide you with the web's most comprehensive selection from more than 50 content providers including FOX, NBC, MGM, Sony Pictures Television, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, and more to deliver premium programming across all genres and formats, television shows, feature films, and clips. Watch full-length episodes of current primetime TV shows such as The Simpsons and The Office the morning after they air, classics like Miami Vice and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and clips from Saturday Night Live, Nip/Tuck, and others. Hulu also offers full-length feature films like The Usual Suspects, Ice Age, Three Amigos!, and The Big Lebowski as well as clips from films such as Napoleon Dynamite, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Devil Wears Prada and many more. Hulu is free and ad-supported — available anytime in the U.S.

I think you probably want to check this one out!!

HOW SWEET IT IS

Rockets win 20th straight game

It wasn't easy, but the Rockets won their 20th straight game, becoming only the third team in NBA history to reach that level.

I'm loving it!