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CCP Games title EVE Online is run on one of the largest clustered super computers on the planet, with 5,000 star systems and several million unique objects in play at any one time. Their server system is so robust that they schedule a one hour down time every day to run backups, and the system can handle up to 25,000 players (and sometimes more) without collapsing.

Because of the gigantic size of the database that players interact with, EVE Online doesn't lend itself to private server play, and there are no EVE Online private servers.

In large part, the lack of EVE Online private servers is a good for the overall play of the game. Much of the appeal of playing EVE Online is the sheer number of players working simultaneously on the universe. Because EVE Online runs on a single cluster, there's never a choice, like in World of Warcraft, or City of Heroes, to decide which server you're going to be on - based on the server your friends are on. You're either on the Tranquility server (if you use the English language interface) or the Serenity server (if you're using the Chinese language interface), and there are usually ten thousand or more players on simultaneously to interact with. There is a third server run by CCP, the test server, called Singularity, and they recommend that everyone set up an account there to test things and provide input into the next development of the game.

By contrast for Worlds of Warcraft, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of private servers out there, that will let anywhere from a hundred to maybe a thousand players log in simultaneously. For WoW, this is an opportunity to "grind in private"; if you tried doing that on EVE Online, you'd have a hard time hooking up with other players at all, due to the massive size of the database to explore.

In a real sense, private servers for MMOs are a dangerous thing for the companies that produce the games. Those games are expensive to write, expensive to maintain, require paid staff to keep on top of things, and require an ongoing development budget and marketing plan. The subscription model you pay is what keeps the game being developed; setting up "hacked" MMO private servers simply hastens the day when the company publishing the MMO can't sustain the operation any longer, and has to shut things down.

Fortunately for CCP, an EVE Online private server is a really difficult thing to set up for a home user; most people don't have home based clusters of high end computers, each with 16 gigs of RAM, to try and make it happen.

Derek Smithson has written articles on EVE Online ships and the EVE Online free trial which is available, as well as a number of EVE Online guides.

AP - Julianne Hough is feeling fine after being hospitalized with stomach trouble following her "Dancing With the Stars" performance.

A wide collection of free online playable games means that you never have to be bored again. From mystery games to solitaire, from word games to puzzles, from games that you can play by yourself to games where you interact with others, it's all on the internet and you don't even need to install it on your computer.

Try the suspense of a thrilling mystery game when you take your coffee break, just sign in to your email address, pick up the details of your next murder case and enter the game in search of clues. You get to investigate the crime scene, make a list of possible suspects, and interrogate witnesses. The next time you are online you simply pick up where you left off. If your investigation reaches a dead end, you can simply consult the other players that are online in hope that they might lead you to another clue. At the end of your investigation you get to expose the bad guy and bring tranquility to your virtual community once again.

If murders, clues and investigations are a bit too much for your relaxation time try some other popular free online playable games like the virtual versions of well known TV shows Deal or no Deal and American Idol. You can impress critical judges, win over the audience and get the recording deal of your dreams with just a few clicks of the mouse and some nerves of steel.

If these free online playable games involve too much tension you can simply switch to a nice game of online crossword puzzle or a game of online bowling. The rules of online crossword puzzle are the same as the rules of the real game, the current word is colored in yellow, the current letter is cyan and whenever you enter a wrong letter it becomes red. You move to a word by clicking on any of its letters and you use the backspace key to erase the letter you were working with.

A nice game of online bowling can also provide you with hours of fun on a rainy afternoon. A game with good graphics will make you feel like your in a real bowling alley, and now that the two player mode is available with most online bowling games you can enjoy some friendly competition with your friends any time of the day or night.

Cartoon resources:
Transformers Beast Wars cartoons
Karate Kommandos games
Re-Animated cartoon series

Reuters - Troubled insurer American International Group Inc will freeze payments to a former CEO and officers of the unit that was the main source of its financial problems, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday.

Video game rental is the single best way to try video games before you buy. Just like movie rentals, video games are available to rent from many or most movie rental companies, along with some game stores and online as well. The big problem with renting form a local store, though, is that they rarely have a good selection, and it can be very expensive.

Online video game rental is the ultimate in convenience and cost savings. Video game rental means you don't have to buy a game for $30 or more, but you can try games before buying to make sure it's a game you want to keep.

As a parent, online video game rental was a godsend. Our gamer at home was about 6 years old at the time we bought the GameCube. We had no idea about content of games or which games were any good, video game rental was a great way to go. I wanted to make sure I could view games before I let my son play them. I wanted to make sure they weren't to violent, or moronic, or frightening.

It turned out to be a great decision! They had an incredible selection of games, we had so many to choose from. We also saved money over the local store because we paid no late fees or shipping; we were able to just send back the games that were really bad. But best of all, we earned credits toward buying, and if we found a game we liked, we just keep it and they send us the box and inserts, with free shipping. One game we bought retails for $50, but we "kept" it for $27 with credits and discounts - a really great deal all around! With another game, he played and completed all levels in just 3 days - definitely not one we'd have been happy to buy.

Now my son has a Nintendo DS in additional to the GameCube, and we're thinking of getting the Nintendo Wii. Our service has all the games for every platform - it's easy to put them in our "queue" and when we return one, the next one is sent out.

Online video game rental has been a wonderful service for us, and it can be a great deal if you want to try out games before buying and see if they're worth keeping. Many online video rental companies offer a free trial - it's worth it to see if it is right for you.

Sue Calhoun writes video game reviews for GameCube Games Review. don't waste money on video games you won't play after a week or two! Get a FREE trial now for video game rental at http://wii.my-sale-site.com .

AP - Gov. Sarah Palin charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business.

One of many mysterious ring-shaped super structures that were collectively called Haloes and gave the series its name, Installation 04 played a prominent role in the first edition of the opening part of the video game series.

They were created by the strange race of celestial beings, the Forerunners. The Covenant, the villainous alien alliance that plays the major antagonistic role in the game, reverentially describes it as a sacred ring or a holy ring. Installation 04, along with its sister Haloes was created with a specific purpose in mind; they were safety measures against the parasitic life form, the Flood who were engaged in a galactic fight against the Forerunners.

To maintain the ring, the Forerunners had created an A.I who went by the name 343 Guilty Spark. The ring had a climate very similar to that of the Earth with hurricanes and sea storms plaguing it. There had also been traces of a curious warm rain in the structure.

The celestial structure orbited the gaseous planet called Threshold. The Installation had been activated once previously, killing all the Flood and Forerunners in the vicinity. Since that time up to the period portrayed in the first game, Guilty Spark and his Sentinels had safely monitored the installation.

At the start of Halo: Combat Evolved, the Covenant had discovered the site of the structure and reached it after the Battle of Reach against the humans. Meanwhile human forces arrived in the Halo soon after in a battle cruiser and a fierce battle ensued.

The number of survivors from this gory encounter was few; Master-Chief, the human super soldier destroyed the Halo at the end of this encounter in a desperate effort to prevent its activation; an event that would have led to the extinction of sentient life in the galaxy. A huge cornucopia of debris lies where the Installation formerly was, strangely some parts of it still remain habitable probably because of the advanced technology that the Forerunners used to build it.

To know more, do Visit: Halo3 Secrets and Halo Skull Locations

Joe, a reporter, has been traveling around the world for more than a decade now and has extensive experience in many fields. Now he has a blog along with other article writers. To know more about him, do visit: Content Writer's Blog

AP - A U.S.-led coalition airstrike mistakenly hit an Afghan army checkpoint Wednesday, killing nine soldiers and wounding three, Afghan officials said.