Everyone is always bitching about how many patches and bugs are in games, and now we've got someone who actually wants to build a great game and the SAME people are bitching.
What the crap?! Why is this now modded troll? It was +5 interesting a day ago. You don't agree with me... fine. But that's not what troll means... F$#%$&!!
Oh yeah, I don't disagree with you there. "Nintendo" definitely was equivalent to video games, for the most part.
But were the games TRULY hard core back then? I suppose something like Sim City came a little close, but comparing Sim City to WoW shows just how hard core things were back then.
Video games have gotten much more hard core over the years, I don't think that's even debatable.
Nintendo was never geared to truly "hard core" players. Sure, you had the occasional games, like Zelda which required a fair bit of tinkering, but truly hard core? Nope, I don't think so.
Sorry dude, this stuff has been around since the '30s. A financial event called the Great Depression ushered in these rules. If you spend 30 seconds on Google you can verify what I'm saying. And a man named Joseph Kennedy advised the government on their implementation (because he was the best at marketing to unsophisticated investors).
Why do you think you're not bombarded with offers to invest in hair brained ideas every day? If there were no securities laws, these would be more common than credit card offers.
I'm sorry, but I must respectfully point out that you are wrong.
This is the VERY DEFINITION of a blue sky violation.
This is what the SEC has to say:
most states laws typically require companies making small offerings to register their offerings before they can be sold in a particular state. This quote is found under the heading "blue sky laws" and can be found here http://www.sec.gov/answers/bluesky.htm
Also, how much he took from the investors is irrelevant. However, you are correct about the million dollar comment, in a sense. Like you said, securities laws are meant to protect unsophisticated investors from crackpots who are good at marketing. To "protect" the public, a heavily regulated and monitored system is set up whereby marketing for new ventures can only be done to high net worth or high income people.
This means if YOU (and your spouse) have a net worth of $1M OR an income of $300,000/year, you are a target, err, I mean a prospect of these types of deals. If a business owner or securities dealer is marketing to people who do not meet these requirements (and are not friends, family, business associates, etc), they have an appointment with big d*ck Bubba in the jail they will eventually live in. This is why the.COMers targeted doctors for the Internet IPOs back in the late '90s... Doctors make a ton of money, but don't necessarily have a brain when it comes to investing.
It is very unfortunate that this company was taken this direction (if the charges are true), because these securities laws are put in place not only to protect the "unsophisticated investor", but to keep up the public trust in investments.
If we had more of these types of failures, the public would be wary of investing in space elevators even when they are feasible. (And I think Clarke got it right; we should have about 4 of them in 3001, materials technology and political acceptance just isn't there yet and probably won't be for a long time).
Yes. On any interview he's been in with Charlie Rose, or public speeches on poverty, he strikes me as almost statesman like. The random banter that is typical of these conversations is his weak point.
setting a price point on what is an ESSENTIAL medication of $1.59 per pill when the same company already sells the same product to another country at $0.65 per pill is disgusting Nonsense. You're assuming the per capita GDP in Thaliand and Brazil is the same. It's not. Brazil is one of the largest economies in the world, they are lobbying for veto power in the UN and are heavily influencing Latin American and world politics.
Per person, we in the US pay much more to develop the world's cheap drugs because we respect things like a company's right to set their own prices and make a profit, Europe pays a bit less and the rest of the world pays a very small fraction of what we do. Perhaps this is imperfect, but it is probably the fairest way to do things.
If Brazil gleefully wields as much economic and political power as they do, should they not bear the corresponding cost instead of comparing themselves to little Thailand?
I don't know about nickel metal hydride batteries specifically, but I do know that the game gear came with an optional rechargable battery pack that had a few hours of battery life. I was actually pretty happy with it as a kid.
I've still got it laying around somewhere, and I'd bet it still can hold a bit of charge.
Game gear was definitely the best of all portable systems back in the day.
You know, I agree with you.
I have stated this at work (I'm in the IT field as well), and people have told me I'm nuts. But I agree that this is the direction we are heading.
I think there will always be jobs in some kind of information management, but code slinging will be a thing of the past... one of these days (unfortunately for those of us who enjoy the logic of coding).
IMO job evolution has three different phases: specialization, commoditization, and automation/obsolescence. This is very clearly seen in the garment industry, steel industry, and many other jobs. If one takes a look at the IT industry, I'd argue you see a similar pattern: specialization occurred when we split from pure engineering in the early days of computing, commoditization is taking root now in the form of outsourcing, and automation/obsolescence is around the bend... somewhere. Maybe it'll take 50+ years, but it's coming.
Sure, people still work in the garment and steel industry, but it's at a higher and more abstract level. But it's not all bad, because if history is any indication, those of us that survive the transition are in for a pay raise and higher quality of life.
It's not about "shunning" someone as if they were stigmatized for something they couldn't control (race, gender, etc), but it is about choosing someone who has demonstrated abilities that work in your company.
It's about choosing someone that had the foresight to go to a "real" university and get well rounded academic knowledge.
I think that's a hell of an idea. There are a few problems, but probably a workable solution.
Email addresses as nothing but soft links??? Sounds like a workable solution!
I'm not a lawyer, but I believe the answer is no. You can file as many crappy lawsuits as you'd like.
And if these gaming companies would like to recover their legal expenses, I believe they can sue him for returning these fees, but courts are typically pretty gun shy about awarding these types of verdicts unless there are very egregious circumstances (which, despite OUR opinions, this probably is not) because it could serve as a deterrent to others for bringing legitimate cases before courts -- for fear of losing and having to pay others' legal bills.
You know, as well as having times when I know we can do better, there are times when I'm just ecstatic to be living in a democracy, and of being a US citizen.
This is a time I love living in a democracy. We have an ENTIRE SYSTEM setup to relegate these nut balls to the trash heap. Sure... we'll listen to your crappy argument, your faulty logic, and your desire to control others. Sure you can file your petitions, make your legal movements and show your "evidence".
But at the end of the day, Mr. Jack Thompson... you are a tard -- pure and simple.
Add the wonderful concept of democracy to the nearly instantaneous transmission of data via the Internet, and guys like this get nowhere... they illustrate their lack of logic, respect, and composure in plain view for all to see. This guy wants to be McCarthy, but he can't even manage a Jerry Faldwell.
I love the US (and democracy in general), I'm going to go bake some apple pie!
Not to be a nitpicker (but hey, what else is/. about?), but I believe the line-item veto was actually ratified by Congress but struck down by the courts as being unconstitutional... and the courts are right because the constitution never mentions a line-item veto, no matter how much us moderns think it makes sense.
Sweet Jesus, I thought web 2.0 was a useless enough term... now it's being described as post-modern.
What's next? Pics of Linus Torvalds in technicolor ala Andy Warhol? Maybe we could enter into a deconstructionist movement and port the entire 'net over to run on an Altair 8800?
Yeah, honestly when I'm looking at resumes, certifications count a little, but not for much. Anyone can get a cert, and doesn't really show anything like a degree. A degree shows you can follow through and do something you don't like for 4 years... which really helps when you'll be doing something you don't like (i.e. working for the man) for a lot longer than that.
I look for graduation above certification...
But above that, I look for experience. Those that find it difficult to get a job outside of college are not facing a bad job market, they're starting at the bottom of a long climb up the wall of experience... and we've all been there.
However, above all else, I personally (and this is just me) look for good attitude and intelligence. Anyone can be trained or taught anything, as long as they're willing to learn and do what it takes to learn. Getting a good blend of old hand experience combined with raw intellect and drive is the key to successful projects. But you can have the best blend of experience, the most educated and certified people in the world, and if everyone thinks they're too good to work with anyone else, the project will fail.
If you want advice (for whatever it's worth), keep up your reading, get certification as long as someone else is paying:-), go to University of Phoenix (get them to pay for that too), and above all else show a positive attitude.
(Disclaimer: I'm not a manager [thank god], but I have done my fair share of interviews over the years)
Look, I'm an IT worker at a financial institution. Financial institutions, by and large, are fairly large outsourcers of IT labor.
And I think you guys need to quit your crying. Just because our salaries are not growing by 25% a year, it seems as though you think the sky is falling. If you've looked around the job market recently, and you're a halfway talented IT person, I'd say it hasn't been better since '99-'00.
Also, it should be worth noting that skilled IT labor wages will eventually reach a parity across the world (though the US will probably still be higher), since it is such a specialized skill set and has ever growing demand from employers. Like previous posters have alluded to, wages in India are skyrocketing, and in about a decade or so, chances are they'll reach similar levels to the US... unless they suck. Then they'll be cheaper, just like suck companies in the US.
Globalization puts the most efficient workers on the task, lets the owners make money, and the consumers get cheap goods. When the workers get too expensive, they find other workers. If you think you are entitled to your job, I'd suggest you are making a big mistake.
For those of you that complain about the low working standards, I happen to agree with that somewhat, but I do think you're ignoring the fact that these jobs are actually RAISING living standards in most cases. I personally believe the best action to take in this case is to require some type of training for employers that choose to employ ultra low-skilled and ultra low-paid workers, so they have a way to improve their lot in life. But I think that by suggesting you take people's jobs away because they are being "taken advantage of" you are being intellectually dishonest with yourself - to the detriment of those unskilled workers.
If you want to blame this outsourcing on something, I'd suggest you look at the crappy "education" system we have in the States.
Slashdot Mirror
Holy crap! Thanks for the vid. Man, that was hard to watch towards the end. I almost felt sorry for her...
Oh it passed... she's still a bitch.
I just Googled tubgirl for the first time... OMFG. Thanks... for... that.
I'm going to vomit now.
Everyone is always bitching about how many patches and bugs are in games, and now we've got someone who actually wants to build a great game and the SAME people are bitching.
Um... hypocrisy anyone?
What the crap?! Why is this now modded troll? It was +5 interesting a day ago. You don't agree with me... fine. But that's not what troll means... F$#%$&!!
Oh yeah, I don't disagree with you there. "Nintendo" definitely was equivalent to video games, for the most part.
But were the games TRULY hard core back then? I suppose something like Sim City came a little close, but comparing Sim City to WoW shows just how hard core things were back then.
Video games have gotten much more hard core over the years, I don't think that's even debatable.
Nintendo was never geared to truly "hard core" players. Sure, you had the occasional games, like Zelda which required a fair bit of tinkering, but truly hard core? Nope, I don't think so.
I'm sticking with Q-DOS. I'm waiting to see if this "hard disk" feature of IBM is going to pan out.
So this is what Spore 2 will look like.
I knew it!
Wow, I DID notice your post because of your bolded sig! Quick, get rid of it before everyone else finds out.
Sorry dude, this stuff has been around since the '30s. A financial event called the Great Depression ushered in these rules. If you spend 30 seconds on Google you can verify what I'm saying. And a man named Joseph Kennedy advised the government on their implementation (because he was the best at marketing to unsophisticated investors).
Why do you think you're not bombarded with offers to invest in hair brained ideas every day? If there were no securities laws, these would be more common than credit card offers.
This is the VERY DEFINITION of a blue sky violation.
This is what the SEC has to say: most states laws typically require companies making small offerings to register their offerings before they can be sold in a particular state. This quote is found under the heading "blue sky laws" and can be found here http://www.sec.gov/answers/bluesky.htm
Also, how much he took from the investors is irrelevant. However, you are correct about the million dollar comment, in a sense. Like you said, securities laws are meant to protect unsophisticated investors from crackpots who are good at marketing. To "protect" the public, a heavily regulated and monitored system is set up whereby marketing for new ventures can only be done to high net worth or high income people.
This means if YOU (and your spouse) have a net worth of $1M OR an income of $300,000
It is very unfortunate that this company was taken this direction (if the charges are true), because these securities laws are put in place not only to protect the "unsophisticated investor", but to keep up the public trust in investments.
If we had more of these types of failures, the public would be wary of investing in space elevators even when they are feasible. (And I think Clarke got it right; we should have about 4 of them in 3001, materials technology and political acceptance just isn't there yet and probably won't be for a long time).
Yes. On any interview he's been in with Charlie Rose, or public speeches on poverty, he strikes me as almost statesman like. The random banter that is typical of these conversations is his weak point.
He is a geek after all.
Per person, we in the US pay much more to develop the world's cheap drugs because we respect things like a company's right to set their own prices and make a profit, Europe pays a bit less and the rest of the world pays a very small fraction of what we do. Perhaps this is imperfect, but it is probably the fairest way to do things.
If Brazil gleefully wields as much economic and political power as they do, should they not bear the corresponding cost instead of comparing themselves to little Thailand?
They tried this, it was called the Soviet Union. Look into it.
I don't know about nickel metal hydride batteries specifically, but I do know that the game gear came with an optional rechargable battery pack that had a few hours of battery life. I was actually pretty happy with it as a kid. I've still got it laying around somewhere, and I'd bet it still can hold a bit of charge. Game gear was definitely the best of all portable systems back in the day.
You know, I agree with you. I have stated this at work (I'm in the IT field as well), and people have told me I'm nuts. But I agree that this is the direction we are heading. I think there will always be jobs in some kind of information management, but code slinging will be a thing of the past... one of these days (unfortunately for those of us who enjoy the logic of coding). IMO job evolution has three different phases: specialization, commoditization, and automation/obsolescence. This is very clearly seen in the garment industry, steel industry, and many other jobs. If one takes a look at the IT industry, I'd argue you see a similar pattern: specialization occurred when we split from pure engineering in the early days of computing, commoditization is taking root now in the form of outsourcing, and automation/obsolescence is around the bend... somewhere. Maybe it'll take 50+ years, but it's coming. Sure, people still work in the garment and steel industry, but it's at a higher and more abstract level. But it's not all bad, because if history is any indication, those of us that survive the transition are in for a pay raise and higher quality of life.
It's not about "shunning" someone as if they were stigmatized for something they couldn't control (race, gender, etc), but it is about choosing someone who has demonstrated abilities that work in your company. It's about choosing someone that had the foresight to go to a "real" university and get well rounded academic knowledge.
OMG, the Metaverse is going to core dump and we're all going to be taken over by a bunch of religious zombies... Save us, Uncle Enzo!
I think that's a hell of an idea. There are a few problems, but probably a workable solution. Email addresses as nothing but soft links??? Sounds like a workable solution!
I'm not a lawyer, but I believe the answer is no. You can file as many crappy lawsuits as you'd like.
And if these gaming companies would like to recover their legal expenses, I believe they can sue him for returning these fees, but courts are typically pretty gun shy about awarding these types of verdicts unless there are very egregious circumstances (which, despite OUR opinions, this probably is not) because it could serve as a deterrent to others for bringing legitimate cases before courts -- for fear of losing and having to pay others' legal bills.
You know, as well as having times when I know we can do better, there are times when I'm just ecstatic to be living in a democracy, and of being a US citizen.
This is a time I love living in a democracy. We have an ENTIRE SYSTEM setup to relegate these nut balls to the trash heap. Sure... we'll listen to your crappy argument, your faulty logic, and your desire to control others. Sure you can file your petitions, make your legal movements and show your "evidence".
But at the end of the day, Mr. Jack Thompson... you are a tard -- pure and simple.
Add the wonderful concept of democracy to the nearly instantaneous transmission of data via the Internet, and guys like this get nowhere... they illustrate their lack of logic, respect, and composure in plain view for all to see. This guy wants to be McCarthy, but he can't even manage a Jerry Faldwell.
I love the US (and democracy in general), I'm going to go bake some apple pie!
Not to be a nitpicker (but hey, what else is /. about?), but I believe the line-item veto was actually ratified by Congress but struck down by the courts as being unconstitutional... and the courts are right because the constitution never mentions a line-item veto, no matter how much us moderns think it makes sense.
Sweet Jesus, I thought web 2.0 was a useless enough term... now it's being described as post-modern. What's next? Pics of Linus Torvalds in technicolor ala Andy Warhol? Maybe we could enter into a deconstructionist movement and port the entire 'net over to run on an Altair 8800?
Yeah, honestly when I'm looking at resumes, certifications count a little, but not for much. Anyone can get a cert, and doesn't really show anything like a degree. A degree shows you can follow through and do something you don't like for 4 years... which really helps when you'll be doing something you don't like (i.e. working for the man) for a lot longer than that.
:-), go to University of Phoenix (get them to pay for that too), and above all else show a positive attitude.
I look for graduation above certification...
But above that, I look for experience. Those that find it difficult to get a job outside of college are not facing a bad job market, they're starting at the bottom of a long climb up the wall of experience... and we've all been there.
However, above all else, I personally (and this is just me) look for good attitude and intelligence. Anyone can be trained or taught anything, as long as they're willing to learn and do what it takes to learn. Getting a good blend of old hand experience combined with raw intellect and drive is the key to successful projects. But you can have the best blend of experience, the most educated and certified people in the world, and if everyone thinks they're too good to work with anyone else, the project will fail.
If you want advice (for whatever it's worth), keep up your reading, get certification as long as someone else is paying
(Disclaimer: I'm not a manager [thank god], but I have done my fair share of interviews over the years)
Look, I'm an IT worker at a financial institution. Financial institutions, by and large, are fairly large outsourcers of IT labor. And I think you guys need to quit your crying. Just because our salaries are not growing by 25% a year, it seems as though you think the sky is falling. If you've looked around the job market recently, and you're a halfway talented IT person, I'd say it hasn't been better since '99-'00. Also, it should be worth noting that skilled IT labor wages will eventually reach a parity across the world (though the US will probably still be higher), since it is such a specialized skill set and has ever growing demand from employers. Like previous posters have alluded to, wages in India are skyrocketing, and in about a decade or so, chances are they'll reach similar levels to the US... unless they suck. Then they'll be cheaper, just like suck companies in the US. Globalization puts the most efficient workers on the task, lets the owners make money, and the consumers get cheap goods. When the workers get too expensive, they find other workers. If you think you are entitled to your job, I'd suggest you are making a big mistake. For those of you that complain about the low working standards, I happen to agree with that somewhat, but I do think you're ignoring the fact that these jobs are actually RAISING living standards in most cases. I personally believe the best action to take in this case is to require some type of training for employers that choose to employ ultra low-skilled and ultra low-paid workers, so they have a way to improve their lot in life. But I think that by suggesting you take people's jobs away because they are being "taken advantage of" you are being intellectually dishonest with yourself - to the detriment of those unskilled workers. If you want to blame this outsourcing on something, I'd suggest you look at the crappy "education" system we have in the States.