This post is going to be a rant. So, if you don’t like rants, you’re better off listening to a good song. To sum it up, I was previously using Windows as my primary operating system for work and home. I was doing design and Flash on Leopard but it was not my primary desktop OS. However my recent experiences have forced me to quit windows altogether and shift to Snow Leopard as my primary platform for work and home use.

It was some days ago that I was working on a little script and I had to leave my computer on for about an hour while connected to the Internet. I was using Windows 7 Ultimate with firewall on and ESET’s NOD32 in complete control. When I got back from a friend, to my surprise, Windows was unresponsive. I had no option but to shutdown manually. Upon the next boot, NOD32 started telling me that there were suspicious files in my temp folder and soon after that a virus signature started popping up in every exe file on my computer. It was not limited to the running processes but EVERY executable on my 3 hard disks. NOD32 was working but it was unable to catch up to the virus’ activity. Soon the virus had killed off windows’ services and important executable files. NOD32 was unable to clean the virus and so it deleted every file it scanned the virus with. And so the disaster struck. It was after so many years that I encountered a virus but it totally ruined my workplace.

The question does not lie where I ask that:

- I had a perfectly good Virus System running
- I wasn’t downloading any malware or something that could have executed the virus
- I left my browser open with a perfectly safe site, which probably could have executed an XSS script that led to virus downloading. Although, I had noscript enabled.
- Or that I am a n00b who does not understand how to avoid virus activity.

The question lies where I ask Microsoft that the last time THIS virus attacked me was on Windows 98. The exact same virus that ruined my computer 10 years ago was still able to execute itself on Windows 7 Ultimate. I mean WTF!!! This tells so much about Microsoft. They haven’t done the least bit to change their operating system’s core security. This also tells you that Windows hasn’t changed the slightest bit over 10 years. A recent report suggested that Windows 7 is prone to 80% of the viruses in the wild.

Windows 7 is being admired to have gotten a lot of stuff right but it is experiences like the one above that tell you how a company has only re-branded it’s product through overhauling the UI. The introduction of Microsoft Security Essentials is perhaps the step that Microsoft should have taken years ago. Anyway, this may be good news for the future versions of Windows.

Whatever the case, I have moved my entire workplace and home setup to Snow Leopard and I am liking it. Hey kitty, kitty…woh!! sharp teeth.

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a long time. I’m an old gamer since the days of the Arcade and Atari. I’ve seen games become into what they are today. There used to be a time when I was never concerned about what the game says or if the game carries any political, religious or educational value. But that has changed. I can tell you that games have the least to do with politics, so we can leave that aside. The games used to be educational and that number has decreased to such an extent that I have to put down 6 out of every 10 games that come out in a season. The FPS genre is mostly a waste but I am not going to start a rant about that here.

This brings me to my point. Games should have the least to do with religion. I’m not advocating the use of Cultures or anything else. Russians, Africans, Americans, Italians, Afghanis, Israelis and cultures and phenomena from all over the world have been taken into the gaming worlds. The use of history and facts is good. But I stand against the use of religions in gaming. Not many game developers dare to mess around with religious cults. That is mostly because they are either going to destroy their market or get bad reviews for it. It was once that Microsoft Game Studios did something similar when Koranic verses could be heard in a Fighter game called Kakuto Chojin for the Xbox. Sony recalled LittleBigPlanet from the shelves when a song that had Koranic Verses in it was highly criticized. Now, Capcom has been meddling with this sensitive subject for a long time.

When Resident Evil 5 first debuted, people and organizations criticized Capcom for depicting the poverty and killing of Black people or specifically African people. I wasn’t against it mostly because games have used other cultures equally to depict their stories and the stories are fictional or either based on historical facts, which people or cultures do not have issues with being used in games. So, let’s come to the point. Capcom rolled out Zack and Wiki a long time ago for the Wii. The game had a debut trailer in which a group of characters used the Islamic phrase “Allah o Akbar” and performed a ritualistic dance. The trailer was not taken lightly and Capcom was bombarded with criticism from Islamic faith and organizations. There was also a court filing against Capcom from Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). The filed case asked Capcom to remove the Islamic phrase from the game. Capcom quickly recognized the severity of the issue and removed the phrase from the release version of the game and issued a press release with their response. If you haven’t seen the video, you can watch it below:

So, that’s a case of Capcom messing around that people are aware of. I searched around the internet for a long time and could not find a single result where people noticed that Capcom has been depicting Islamic artifacts in its “Devil May Cry” Series. What’s more infuriating is the fact that the artifacts used are of grave importance and respect in the Muslim faith. First, it’s Devil may Cry 3. Linked below is a video from Devil may Cry 3, where Virgil, Dante’s brother, enters the Demon’s domain through a door. Hint: At the end of the video. 2:17-2:19.

Vergil entering the Demon Gate

The texture used to make that door is taken from the Entrance of the Holy Kabah. Also called the Baba’ e Kabah. The use of the texture is completely outrageous. The concept of the game revolves around Demons and Evil Powers. The depiction of demons or evil people entering it justifies the fact that someone at Capcom is messing around. I wouldn’t call them names but it is obvious that the use is taken into account with knowledge of the importance of that artifact.

Here’s another evidence why I call it “someone” acting fishy at Capcom. The next image is from “Devil May Cry 4“, which was recently released to every major platform in the market. The concept of the game revolves around demons like I said earlier and this time they have a so called “prophet” or “holiness” in the game. Linked below is an image taken from the game where “his holiness” is lying on a bed and awakens as a “Demon” or an evil power. The video was large, so I did not link it. However, once can view the video in Mission 5 named “Return of the King”. Click the image to get a larger version.

Notice the texture on the bed. That seems like Arabic writing. I agree that it’s been blurred a bit to lower the chances of it being noticed but if you look closely enough, you’ll notice the glyphs easily.

Now, being a Muslim myself, I condemn Capcom’s act and protest against the use of Islamic artifacts in such defamed manners. Capcom is a very old Game development company and I am a fan but this is not acceptable at all. I do not hold the whole company responsible for the act but some individuals who are actively passing these ideas into their Video Games. I’d appreciate it if the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) take notice of these acts and caution Capcom with the use of these artifacts in their games and in the future.