For the uninformed:
That was when Blitzchung, in his post-tournament win interview, uttered a brief sentence in support of Hong Kong (and implicitly in support of human rights). Blizzard responded by revoking his prize money, banning him from tournaments, and terminating the interviewers who happened to be on camera with him at the time.
This action took place late at night (well outside of US business hours) and was accompanied by a letter that some analysts pointed out had peculiar phrasing patterns that one might expect from native-Chinese speakers writing in English. The excuse given was a tournament rule prohibiting any act that “brings you into public disrepute, offends a portion or group of the public, or otherwise damages Blizzard image.”
To answer your question: No.
At the subsequent BlizzCon, Blizzard president Allen Brack gave a speech in which he “apologized” for the vague act of failing to live up to the high standards they set for themselves. He didn’t mention Blitzchung at all. This was a typical, predictable, corporate non-apology, allowing them to say “I’m sorry” for something other than the harm they inflicted or the position they took. Neither Brack nor Blizzard apologized for the actions taken against Blitzchung and the interview hosts. The punishments were not reversed. (I think Blizzard eventually responded to massive public pressure by somewhat reducing the duration of Blitzchung’s ban, but never lifted it entirely, awarded his prize money, or restored the interview hosts’ contracts.)
A few years later, Activision Blizzard was bought by Microsoft. Bobby Kotick, the CEO at the time of the Blitzchung decision, is no longer there. We don’t know who else participated, so we don’t know if they are are still making decisions at Blizzard.
This site does detailed reviews, including measurements, photos, and comparisons:
https://www.rtings.com/monitor
https://www.rtings.com/review-pipeline/monitor
https://www.rtings.com/vote/monitor
This one is good for digging up details about specific models, such as what panel is used or where it was made, also with comparisons:
https://www.displayspecifications.com/
Simon over at TFTCentral used to do the best monitor reviews. Sadly, he quietly replaced his site with an OLED-focused blog a few years ago, perhaps because catering to gamers with disposable income makes more money. Nevertheless, he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to displays, his tech articles are still good (if you can find them on the new site), and he might still review IPS models once in a while:
For me, IPS beats OLED, because:
- OLED suffers from burn-in after enough years pass. Some vocal gamers on Reddit don’t seem to care about this, arguing that you’ll throw away the monitor before the burn-in becomes a problem. I think this is irresponsible (unnecessary environmental damage), and wasteful (I keep using my tools until they die).
- A good IPS panel will have only mild glow at off-angles. It’s visible around the corners if I’m playing very dark games in a very dark room and sitting close to the screen, but even then, it’s never bothersome, since I don’t spend much time staring at the corners of the screen.
- In addition to gaming, I spend lots of time reading text. IPS is generally great for this. OLED panels vary in this area, in some cases even using weird subpixel layouts (e.g. BGR) that defeat font rendering systems like ClearType, making the text anything but sharp. Eye strain sucks.
I haven’t been following display news in the past year or so, but when I was, LG.Display’s “IPS Black” panels were on their way to market with a promise of higher contrast ratios than traditional IPS. I think Dell or HP were going to use them. By now, more of their kind might exist.
When I was last shopping for a 27" gaming/productivity display, I narrowed it down to the Asus ROG Strix XG27AQMR, Dell G2724D, and Acer Predator XB273U V3bmiiprx. That was roughly a year ago. I don’t know if those models are still on the market, or if better ones are available now.
I often sit at a desk all day and all evening. I find that these things help:
- Good chair. Height adjusted for my keyboard/mouse height. Upright back. Lumbar support. Comfortable-but-supportive seat.
- Good posture (when I remember to pay attention to it).
- Split, tented keyboard. Mechanical switches that don’t require too much pressure.
- Good display. IPS panel. Light anti-glare surface. Backlight that actually dims the light source, either without pulse-width modulation, or with PWM at such high frequency that it cannot induce flicker fatigue. Brightness turned down much lower than the default. Calibrated at that brightness setting, optionally to a slightly warm color temperature.
- Muted room lighting. Nothing behind me bright enough to reflect much on the screen.
- Comfortable clothes.
- Cup of water. Regular trips to the kitchen to keep it filled.
- Frequent short breaks. Start the laundry. Get a snack. Look at objects outside. Wash a dish. Bring in the mail. Make the bed.
- Exercise. At least 10 minutes daily; preferably 30 minutes or more. Stretches. Squats. Rhythm games that require full-body movement.
I’ve had good experiences with Brother laser printers. The price tag is higher than an inkjet printer’s, but the cost over time is far less, and they keep working.
(FWIW, mine have all been black & white. I can’t vouch for color laser printers.)