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Warcraft III Gone Gold
0x00 writes "Shacknews seems to be the first to report that Warcraft III has gone gold. The press release is here. Blizzard have announced that the game will be available July 3rd around the world - just in time for my mid-year University break (great timing!)." Update: 06/13 15:16 GMT by M : Please consider the fact that Blizzard is suing people who write software to interoperate with theirs when deciding whether you want to purchase this game.
Right. I'm not going to buy it, and I'm not going to play it, partly because I don't want to, but mostly because I don't have a machine that can play it. Are we clear on that? I am not going to give Blizzard $55.
But given Blizzard's treatement of bnetd, I'm damn well going to download a warez rip of the information that comprises it (which to my Linux machines look like a bunch of gibberish). Because that will reduce Blizzard's bank balance by $55, right? I mean, it does actually remove money from their account and puts it in, er, /dev/null, doesn't it? Because making unauthorised copies costs money, right? Maybe if enough of us do this (be sure to delete the information then download it again and again) we can leave Blizzard owing several billion dollars to... err... wait... isn't there a flaw in this argument?
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Let me preface that not all Linux or OSS users are total nitwits. I'm talking here of the OSS people who evangelize and generally annoy us along with similar zealots in the Macintosh and Windows camps when it comes to boycotts and pissy attitudes to the businesses that dare cater to "lesser" operating systems (in terms of market share).
If one thing never seems to get through a zealot's head, it's this: Never piss off the people you protest if you want something from them.
Case in point: Mac OS X is essentially BSD, and these users will be able to play the new game at the same time as Windows users. Further: Blizzard knows code, and could easily adapt the Mac OS X for a Linux port. They have proven this with the Diablo II game, of which a Mac version was in stores less than 4 weeks after the Windows version, and even created a version of Diablo II that works natively in Mac OS X. Other companies that love to port, such as Aspyr, could possibly be convinced to license other company's code for porting to Linux as well.
However, certain factions, namely the Linux zealots eager to boycott and bitch and try to steal intellectual property and server code and processes they DON'T OWN are rocking the damn boat for the majority of Linux/non-Windows/non-Mac people who wouldn't mind a Blizzard game.
Don't get me wrong. Protesting is OK. Comments are OK. Being a whiny bastard only annoys those who can help you--namely the people who write the software. I've personally watched the news where some whiny Mac idiot almost singlehandedly fucked us all in the Mac world when trying to gain support or software by writing a libelous, fact-lacking, and generally pin-headed letter that only Pat Robertson would appreciate.
Keep your principles and write nice letters of request for Blizzard. Battle.net is still free for those who buy the software. Battle.net would get stronger for Linux users if the shills would shut the fuck up so that the calm, pleasant requests for support can be heard.
Blizzard CAN write a Linux version of all their products. If you don't want it, OK. But don't do an Al-Queda for the Linux gaming industry by protesting and threatening and screwing around with other's toys (like the bnetd guys are) so much that your actions sabotage a chance at a positive action.
Vos teneo officium eram periculosus ut vos recipero is.
You mean people who posses unauthorised copies of the game. "Piracy" has to do with armed theft of tangable goods (often involving murder, rape, and other nasty business).
Shut the fuck up! I'm so sick of people's dumbass comments and semantics. As I'm sure you're aware, in practice, language evolves and some words gain new meaning. Does whether or not we should call illegally copying software "piracy" matter?
It has nothing whatsoever to do with sharing fun or useful software with your friends
Sharing? How about next time you park in the parking lot, someone "shares" your car and takes it to the local chop shop to "share" the parts with others. Or someone sticks you up on the street, takes out your wallet and forces you to "share" your money with him. Copying software illegally is THEFT, whether or not that person would have gone out and paid for a copy on his own accord.
There is nothing morally wrong with this activity in and of itself, only the economic argument that some unpaid copies might have been paid copies otherwise.
Oh, sure. I suppose it depends on your morals, but as far as I know, theft is morally wrong to most people. Just because you aren't physically taking software off the shelf of a store, or taking dollar bills out of a company's bank, doesn't make it less of a theft, and definitely doesn't make it morally right. Give me a break!
Mark