First Springfield Anime & Manga Enthusiasts meeting a success

Huzzah!

Last night was the first meeting of the Springfield Anime & Manga Enthusiasts at The Library Center and, in my opinion, was a great success. We had 8 area residents in attendance, watched the first episode of Toradora and episode 19 of the first Lupin III television series, and had a fun time discussing anime and manga.

Our next official meeting is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 9, but some of those attending the meeting last night expressed an interest in putting together an October event as well. (SAME meetings are scheduled for the second Monday of each month; Columbus Day falls on the second Monday of October and The Library Center will be closed that day.) Those wanting to post suggestions for an October meeting should reply to this SAME forums thread. Forum registration is free and required to post.

Thanks to those who attended last night’s meeting and the library staff that helped make it happen. I look forward to seeing you all at the November meeting (and possibly in October as well)!

Aion “open” beta keys available only via pre-order or paid Fileplanet subscription

UPDATE 9/8/2009: Aion open beta keys are now available to all North American Fileplanet users, including those with free accounts.

NCSoft’s misleadingly-titled “open beta” for Aion is not open at all. It requires either a pre-order (which costs money), a Fileplanet subscription (which costs money), or a closed beta key (and if you already have a closed beta key, this article isn’t relevant to your interests).

I discovered this only after downloading the 9+GB (gigabyte) “open” beta client via BitTorrent and installing the client on my computer. Learn from my mistake: Do not download the Aion open beta unless you already have an open beta key. Avoid wasting bandwidth on NCSoft’s false advertisement/bait and switch, skip this beta, and wait for a trial. Better yet, play an online role-playing game by a company with scruples.