Anonymous Slob Nerd. writes "The Guardian has a good review of something close to all of our hearts. We are all nerds now discusses how the popularity of the internet, video gaming, comic-book movies (Spider-Man, Hulk), the sci-fi epics (The Matrix, Star Wars) and the wizard fantasy (Harry Potter), not to mention The Lord of the Rings has made nerds, and nerdish behaviour, cool."

Slashback is back from a Thanksgiving hiatus with a bigger-than-usual collection of updates, corrections and followups to previous Slashdot stories, including pretty maps of the Internet, spammers' OS choices, stupidity in the wild, and more. Read on for the details.

Klytus writes "As seen at GamingReport.com: 'A disturbance in the force seems set to take hold next summer, as news of Wizards of the Coast's plans to release their Star Wars Collectible Miniatures Game has surfaced. To debut August of 2004, the first set is to include prepainted figures from the classic era of The Star Wars Saga (episodes IV, V, VI).' Now I have to make room amongst my SW action figures..." There's more info and some packaging shots on a messageboard thread at the Creation Matrix gaming site.

dipfan writes "Newsweek has a first review of the third instalment of LOTR - and gives it two thumbs up: "Judging from a recent Newsweek screening in New Zealand, The Return Of The King is a sure contender for best picture. More than that, it could be the first franchise ever that didn't, at the end of the day, let audiences down--either because of laziness, pretension, greed or other phantom menaces. This is an especially poignant possibility at a time when we can all still smell the smoke from the wreckage of The Matrix." Fingers crossed. There's also an entertaining piece on LOTR gaffes with comments from Peter Jackson (such as 'Well, it's too late to fire anyone,' and 'We didn't think Elijah looked very good with pus')."

rjjm writes "Interesting little logistics piece in Wired about the technology WETA used for for The Return of the King." Ya know, now that the Matrix hype vanished into nowhere, I'm glad the LotR hype is gearing up. I think this one will earn it.

An anonymous reader writes "According to Eweek, Bill Gates' keynote speech at this year's Comdex showed Microsoft's 'focus on security, spam and [the] tablet PC', including a new version of its Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server, an extension of the SmartScreen Technology for spam prevention, and the next version of the Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition operating system. But the showstopper was a filmed spoof of The Matrix (screencaps available here), with Gates and Steve Ballmer as Morpheus and Neo respectively, and including a jab at Linux."

Thanks to EntDepot.com for their roundtable discussing the shiniest, best, and most under-rated Dreamcast games, as Sega's defunct console starts approaching cult status. The article starts: "It seems as though Sega has been all but forgotten as the system innovator that it was. As cliched as it sounds, the Dreamcast was years ahead of its time", and some of the now-inexpensive recommended DC titles include Mars Matrix ("a simple top-down, vertical shooter that we have all grown to love and cherish"), Samba De Amigo ("Get a pair of third-party maracas, [and] come to terms with the fact that you'll soon be flailing your arms around like a jackass"), and the less easily purchasable Propeller Arena ("the best game AM2 never released.")

Chembro writes "Looks as though Ubi Soft is making a Matrix MMORPG. Everything is still pretty sketchy now that Revolutions has "ended" the series, but so far it seems pretty interesting. I wonder when the game will be placed (i.e. before Revolutions or after) but this could be the way the Wachowski brothers keep the universe going and how it will end. Pretty cool if you ask me."

Slappy White writes "For six months, Matrix message boards were aflame with speculation, theories, predictions and outright psychotic guessing about Revolutions. Now the film is here, and this article has a humorous roundup of some of the popular theories, both those that were close and others that were, shall we say, a little off the mark." I still haven't seen this film, so I'll refrain from passing judgment, but I'm ever so happy the matrix-within-a-matrix theories were unfounded. Update: 11/09 02:38 GMT by CN : Some folks who've never seen the Twilight Zone or even the Simpsons' Treehouse of Horrors thought that was a spoiler. If you're one of those people, I'm very sorry.

Thanks to GameSpy for their feature discussing the large array of new MMORPGs due in 2004, as they suggest: "We're in the middle of an MMORPG gold rush, with companies hurtling headlong into the battle for your time, and more importantly, your monthly fee. The big question is whether there will be enough players to go around." Featured games include Everquest II (it's argued: "EverQuest players are a natural target audience that can't be ignored, but Sony obviously doesn't want players canceling their accounts to migrate to the sequel"), The Matrix Online ("When The Matrix Online actually goes online, how many people will still care?"), and World Of Warcraft ("Blizzard has never been known for innovation. Will this ultimately come across as just another MMO?")

CrazyMFW writes "'The Helix Loaded', a feature length spoof of the Matrix, has been unveiled to coincide with the general release of The Matrix Revolutions. At LA screenings of the third matrix installment, customers are being handed CD-ROMS shaped like a Red Pill or a Blue Pill. The CD-ROM includes a teaser trailer as a quicktime movie, and directs users to the web site for The Helix. The teaser trailers can also be downloaded from the site. No release date is mentioned for the film, but it does promise several further teaser installments at 2 week intervals - so we should learn more in the next couple of months. From the brief clips it looks like they've done a good job imitating the Matrix CGI on a low-budget."

pvt_medic writes "MSNBC is reporting that there soon will be a Miss Digital World Competition. "'MISS DIGITAL WORLD' is the first beauty contest for the likes of videogame heroine Lara Croft and computer-cloned actresses from the "Matrix" films and new beauties tweaked to perfection with 3D graphics." The website for the competition is still under construction at MissDigitalWorld.Com"

shelleymonster writes "The Matrix Revolutions was released worldwide at 9 AM EST today. With a running time of 2 hr. 9 min., I'm expecting the /. reviews to start pouring in around 11:30. Since critics are saying things like, "Matrix finale could put you back in a coma," and, "The final episode is a slam-bang, dreary mess," I'm curious to hear some real fans' reactions." Many readers have pointed to the BBC's review; they were not amused. Were you? Update: 11/05 17:17 GMT by T : Read on for one reader's (spoiler-free) first impression.

Thanks to 1UP for their 'Cinemascope' feature interviewing notable videogame designers about their favorite movies. Many favorites have relatively little direct connection to the subject's videogame work, but Viewtiful Joe's Hideki Kamiya chooses (TV series) Kamen Rider, and the piece elaborates: "Both Kamen Rider and Viewtiful Joe are about normal guys who become masked superheroes, right down to using the phrase 'Henshin!' (Japanese for 'transform'") to power up." Warren Spector also points out: "Everyone thinks Deus Ex was influenced by The Matrix, but it really wasn't. Other than throwing in a cheat that textured the world with a bunch of scrolling green text, a la The Matrix, we were so far along in development on Deus Ex by the time we saw The Matrix there wasn't time for us to have been influenced even if we'd wanted to steal stuff!"

Thanks to GameSpy for their article discussing the realities of building MMOG world based on existing licenses. They point out: "The rush is on. Star Wars Galaxies, released this past summer, was only the beginning. Middle-Earth Online is gearing up to bring The Lord of the Rings to life... The Matrix Online, still secretive, is a real noodle bender: A virtual reality based on living life inside a virtual reality?" But, as Will Wright points out: "Books and movies are by definition very linear properties, as seen from a single protagonist's point of view. That's very hard to put into an online world." The article concludes: "Most agree that great licensed games have to be based on a sense of place, as opposed to character."

dr.matrix writes "Read in Heise (German) how Tholos Systems wants to create a huge outdoor 360 degree video conference between all european capitals, starting with London and Vienna." Pretty impressive technology, but the purpose is still a bit unclear.

lperdue writes "One of the big problems with making robots more in tune with their environment is the lack of a "skin" with many, many embedded sensors --like we have as humans. Now, New Scientist is reporting that electrical engineers Sigurd Wagner and Stephanie Lacour from Princeton University have developed g a prototype using corrugated gold foil in an elastic matrix that could do the job."

Irvu writes "According to The Register Georgia has pulled out of the Justice Department's Multi-State Terrorism Information Exchange project (aka "Florida's TIA"). This project has been covered on (Slashdot and on Google News). The story has a choice quote from the Governor of Georgia on his withdrawal from the program: 'The criminal, prison, and sexual predator information previously submitted will remain part of the database. This information is relevant to the crime fighting purpose of the pilot project, but personal information of law-abiding citizens is not.'"

captain igor writes "IMAX.com is reporting that Matrix Revolutions is going to be released at select IMAX theatres on November 5th, with a wider range of theatres picking the movie up shortly thereafter. (Link includes list of IMAX theatres that will premier the movie.)" We mentioned earlier this year that the Matrix sequels would be Imax-sized.

sdirector writes "'Warner Bros. has announced that in a whoa-worthy bit of synchronicity The Matrix Revolutions, the concluding chapter in the Wachowski brothers' hit sci-fi trilogy, will be released simultaneously in nearly 70 countries.'"