Pay For This Service To Pay For Other Things

So I recently read that a magazine is to sell coverdisc content via Live. So we pay for a subscription to XBox Live to pay for a demo of a game they are then hoping that we buy. I guess it is a result in the magazine offering something in exchange for an exclusive demo from a publisher (be that cheaper advertising or such) and they are looking to recoup that expense. But really; Microsoft are just happy to let this happen, to charge for the demo for games for an online distributed medium? It's interesting as Penny Arcade were saying a while back:

After downloading something like six demos last week, to go to the store and buy them was a bizarre anachronism.

I wonder what Tycho thinks of now paying for a demo on Live! instead? Now I know that you don't have to pay for Live! to get downloadable content but the fact that we pay for the service in the first place would imply that you get some value for money rather than paying for things that are a way of tempting you into a purchase. It will be interesting if publishers feel that this puts them off signing exclusive deals (after all if the main purpose of your demo is to sell a game and people get annoyed at the fact the demo is been charged for will that negatively impact game sales). I expect that, post exclusive, the demo would be made available for free from the publisher. Furthermore I wonder whether Microsoft will frown on the Official XBox Magazine doing things like this?

2 Years In

I started this post a while back and, at first it focused on Southport June but I'll try and expand it a bit now since I realised I've been dancing for two years now and though I'd be a bit reflective on that.

I enjoyed Southport, a lot. Though I strangely was enjoying it as much for the social aspect as for the dancing. Don't get me wrong the dancing was great but I just felt I didn't do that much of it. I'm not sure why. Maybe I fancied being relaxed a bit as well and that lead to me talking more and generally sitting out rather than being on the dance floor all the time. There were some great moments though during the weekend; I forget how high the quality of dancer is at Southport. How most people there have a great sense of connection and musicality. I had some lovely dances with some lovely dancers and it's one of the few places I still get that high from.

I guess an annual review of my dancing makes me wonder how much I've come on from last year or whether my dancing has levelled out. Perhaps because of less of a drive to expand. I still want to learn new things but, at the same time, don't really want my dancing to become something I think about (while doing it) as at the moment its very automatic and that makes it feel better. I think that not learning as much also gives me the feeling that my dancing is stagnating a bit; maybe that's less the case for women who I dance with since they don't dance with me exclusively for the whole night but it certainly can feel that way for me. Possibly that has been a factor in doing more following and partner swapping (in my dancing) during MJ. My West Coast Swing has come on a little though not really in moves or such (where my knowledge of WCS moves isn't great) but more in technique.

I haven't really managed to get much Tango done. Indeed most of my experience is in the half-breed Jango. Still I'm hoping to actually attend lessons in a more committed way in the future. I love watching Tango and hope to learn it more myself.

I did enter into a competition as part of a team cabaret thing. It was quite hard work and a little stressful (like midway through the performance when the music cut out) but it was an interesting experience and definitely different from freestyle dancing. I don't know that I'd do it again (once might well have been enough).

Anyway this post seems to be taking a slightly negative tone. What's that about? I love dancing. I have improved and I hope that through the course of the next year I can continue to do so learning new things and maybe taking up different styles. I've met some new lovely people this year and continue to enjoy the company of people I met the year before. So for all that I've danced with Thanks, you've continued to make me love dancing and all the socialisation and fun that surrounds it.