Seems that the "it only does everything" slogan has greater scope than I initially thought - if "breaking encryption" was advertised explicitly, I may have picked one up...
Actually, my first star trek reference thought was to a different episode of TNG, where Data and his Soong-created "mother" played a duet together, twice. Data noted that his mother/android, in two performances, played the exact same notes in the exact same way, something no human could accomplish. Because of this, he was able to deduce that she was, in fact, not human. Seems a lot more relevant./// Impressive. I'll be REALLY impressed, however, when they're able to write algorithms complex enough to allow the robot to "improvise", a la jazz.
I love it when qualitiative terms are applied to quantitative data.
Out of 100% of searches made, there'll be A% for porn, B% for music, C% for movies... and D% for "sensitive financial information?" What was that number? "A surprising amount." (Skimmed the article too).
What number were you expecting? 0%? 0.001%? 1%?
I'd like to know a) exactly what the numbers are, b) what constitutes a search for "sensitive financial information". Searching for a credit report on someone is a lot different than searching for how much money some celebrity makes.
Financial information is more important data. All those numbers take up lots of tube space. Soon we'll have all those tubes clogged up with dollars and cents* unless we can cut off the P2P box from trying to get this data!
*Dollars and cents are number figures, not actual coins. Please don't go digging around and cutting open the tubes for money.
I didn't know that was actually a documented effect. I grew up on those falling blocks.
I think the author goes a bit far to say "Downhill since Pong", although I tend to agree with the idea. I'm not going to solidify that mindset until I can land my hands on a Wii, but let's take this in a different direction for a moment.
Mario. Sonic. Link. Iconic characters in the video game world. I think Mario's 26 years old now. And he's made appearances in many, many games. The more a game contains recycled material in terms of character, story, etc. (die hard fans excluded), the more that the game will need to step up in other directions in order to define that as a truly excellent game. Usually this would take the form of improved and newly innovated gameplay concepts, increased replayability, things like that. Improved graphics is a factor in this, to a point. Now, icons like that don't come across much anymore, mainly because gaming companies milk the success of one character for all they're worth.
Let's just use Mario as an example, since I was pretty much an exclusive Nintendo kid growing up. Super Mario Bros. at the time was a fun new exciting concept. Goombas, koopas, Bowser, saving a princess, all cool stuff! Fun game. Then, Super Mario World came out on the SNES. More goombas... same villain... same quest... The game needed new elements to make it playable. New levels, sure, but also the inclusion of capes, Yoshi, better graphics. Then Super Mario 64. Same quest! A much revised gameplay.
Which Mario game was most exciting for you? Was it your first? Was it the one with your favorite style of gameplay? Was it the one with the best graphics? If the last one was the case, then every new game would be the best one. Given the choice between crappy gameplay/good graphics, and good gameplay/crappy graphics, which would you choose? How about good gameplay/great graphics vs great gameplay/good graphics? The line just got a bit more blurry. As the parent states, there's a lot of older games that have gone the wayside. Lack of memorable characters and story, lack of innovation, lack of replayability.
And I'll acknowledge that there are the graphics junkies out there, people with hardware to drool over just so they can cram more onto the screen, bigger explosions and all that. And that's the beauty of gaming: everyone has different tastes and different demands. I believe that gameplay sells games. I am not always correct, but I am correct in saying that gameplay always sells games to me, personally. Other people will have graphics as this requirement, others a good story. There's a market for each one, and the most successful games combine innovation in all areas - graphics, gameplay, story, character. True greats are few and far between (I'll cite Ocarina of time as an example).
As long as we have diverse tastes, we'll have diverse games.
Actually, multiple personality disorder is a form of schizophrenia. So, people who say that those with multiple personality disorder have schizophrenia, they're not wrong, just inexact.
No, no, no, no, no! Good Lord, NO!
Please. Nothing against you, but every time I hear the words "MPD" and "Schizophrenia" in the same sentence, I cringe. Disclaimer: IANAP (I am not a psychiatrist).
Please take the time to read at least enough to see the differences between the two. It's a common misconception, but it IS a misconception. The two are in separate categories under the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria (DID being 300.14, Schizophrenia being 295.x, there are different types). "MPD" (Dissociative Identity Disorder) is NOT schizophrenia, nor a form of it. They are distinct.
Back on topic...
You'd think that they'd find some poor hacker kid with a bunch of their ripped merchandise on his drive and blackmail him or her into doing their bidding, and then hold a lawsuit / charges over their head unless they comply. They save 15K less the cost of the generic white van and black-clothed goons to pick him up.
Does it say anywhere on the box, "WARNING: This game includes in-game advertising and requires live monitoring of computer information?"
Or are there massive amounts of consumers that are going to be shocked to discover that their game requires adware?
There's a big difference between "Hey, we warned you" and "Turn around and grab your ankles".
Second question: Anyone know how much this kind of live uploading of advertisements would affect online performance?
Putting the Ctrl+Alt+Del function on a single key? With the average intelligence of today's computer user? I sure as hell wouldn't want to be that tech support guy.
Tech: "What seems to be the problem?"
User: "Every time I hit the Ctrl button, my computer restarts!"
Tech: "*sigh* Is there anything else on the button?"
User: "Yeah, it says CtrlAl-"
Tech: "Look... just... just don't hit that button. There should be another button that says Ctr- hold on I'm getting another call. *switch* This is tech support, what seems to be the problem?"
User2: "Every time I hit the Ctrl button, my computer restarts!"
Tech: *click* *BANG* *dialtone*
User2: "Hello? Hello?"
Hey, on the plus side, maybe we can remap the key to open up the browser and display the comic. One way to make mornings 4 days a week easier.
If they didn't get hit around so much, they'd have that sort of brain capacity. Doesn't help that for every brain cell they generate, they lose 100 each time they get sacked.
Slashdot Mirror
Seems that the "it only does everything" slogan has greater scope than I initially thought - if "breaking encryption" was advertised explicitly, I may have picked one up...
Isn't this like counselling a drug addict while he's high? And then also getting high themselves?
This website keeps a comprehensive list of tech support horror stories. I come back to this site every couple of months when I need a good laugh.
Actually, my first star trek reference thought was to a different episode of TNG, where Data and his Soong-created "mother" played a duet together, twice. Data noted that his mother/android, in two performances, played the exact same notes in the exact same way, something no human could accomplish. Because of this, he was able to deduce that she was, in fact, not human. Seems a lot more relevant. /// Impressive. I'll be REALLY impressed, however, when they're able to write algorithms complex enough to allow the robot to "improvise", a la jazz.
I love it when qualitiative terms are applied to quantitative data. Out of 100% of searches made, there'll be A% for porn, B% for music, C% for movies... and D% for "sensitive financial information?" What was that number? "A surprising amount." (Skimmed the article too). What number were you expecting? 0%? 0.001%? 1%? I'd like to know a) exactly what the numbers are, b) what constitutes a search for "sensitive financial information". Searching for a credit report on someone is a lot different than searching for how much money some celebrity makes.
Financial information is more important data. All those numbers take up lots of tube space. Soon we'll have all those tubes clogged up with dollars and cents* unless we can cut off the P2P box from trying to get this data! *Dollars and cents are number figures, not actual coins. Please don't go digging around and cutting open the tubes for money.
I didn't know that was actually a documented effect. I grew up on those falling blocks.
I think the author goes a bit far to say "Downhill since Pong", although I tend to agree with the idea. I'm not going to solidify that mindset until I can land my hands on a Wii, but let's take this in a different direction for a moment.
Mario. Sonic. Link. Iconic characters in the video game world. I think Mario's 26 years old now. And he's made appearances in many, many games. The more a game contains recycled material in terms of character, story, etc. (die hard fans excluded), the more that the game will need to step up in other directions in order to define that as a truly excellent game. Usually this would take the form of improved and newly innovated gameplay concepts, increased replayability, things like that. Improved graphics is a factor in this, to a point. Now, icons like that don't come across much anymore, mainly because gaming companies milk the success of one character for all they're worth.
Let's just use Mario as an example, since I was pretty much an exclusive Nintendo kid growing up. Super Mario Bros. at the time was a fun new exciting concept. Goombas, koopas, Bowser, saving a princess, all cool stuff! Fun game. Then, Super Mario World came out on the SNES. More goombas... same villain... same quest... The game needed new elements to make it playable. New levels, sure, but also the inclusion of capes, Yoshi, better graphics. Then Super Mario 64. Same quest! A much revised gameplay.
Which Mario game was most exciting for you? Was it your first? Was it the one with your favorite style of gameplay? Was it the one with the best graphics? If the last one was the case, then every new game would be the best one. Given the choice between crappy gameplay/good graphics, and good gameplay/crappy graphics, which would you choose? How about good gameplay/great graphics vs great gameplay/good graphics? The line just got a bit more blurry. As the parent states, there's a lot of older games that have gone the wayside. Lack of memorable characters and story, lack of innovation, lack of replayability.
And I'll acknowledge that there are the graphics junkies out there, people with hardware to drool over just so they can cram more onto the screen, bigger explosions and all that. And that's the beauty of gaming: everyone has different tastes and different demands. I believe that gameplay sells games. I am not always correct, but I am correct in saying that gameplay always sells games to me, personally. Other people will have graphics as this requirement, others a good story. There's a market for each one, and the most successful games combine innovation in all areas - graphics, gameplay, story, character. True greats are few and far between (I'll cite Ocarina of time as an example).
As long as we have diverse tastes, we'll have diverse games.
One last note: Interesting list to look at: List of Games selling over 1 million copies.
Actually, multiple personality disorder is a form of schizophrenia. So, people who say that those with multiple personality disorder have schizophrenia, they're not wrong, just inexact.
No, no, no, no, no! Good Lord, NO!
Please. Nothing against you, but every time I hear the words "MPD" and "Schizophrenia" in the same sentence, I cringe. Disclaimer: IANAP (I am not a psychiatrist).
Understanding Dissociative Disorders (Multiple Personality Disorder is an outdated term.)
DID's Wiki Page
Diagnostic Information for Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia's Wiki Page
Please take the time to read at least enough to see the differences between the two. It's a common misconception, but it IS a misconception. The two are in separate categories under the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria (DID being 300.14, Schizophrenia being 295.x, there are different types). "MPD" (Dissociative Identity Disorder) is NOT schizophrenia, nor a form of it. They are distinct.
Back on topic... You'd think that they'd find some poor hacker kid with a bunch of their ripped merchandise on his drive and blackmail him or her into doing their bidding, and then hold a lawsuit / charges over their head unless they comply. They save 15K less the cost of the generic white van and black-clothed goons to pick him up.
Does it say anywhere on the box, "WARNING: This game includes in-game advertising and requires live monitoring of computer information?" Or are there massive amounts of consumers that are going to be shocked to discover that their game requires adware? There's a big difference between "Hey, we warned you" and "Turn around and grab your ankles".
Second question: Anyone know how much this kind of live uploading of advertisements would affect online performance?
Finally, a little sensitivity for those of us with DID [wikipedia.org]
In Soviet Russia, votes observe YOU!
So that's how we get all those weird-ass creatures at the bottom of the sea.
*ba-da-crash*
Stop giving them ideas. Last thing we want is the FBI busting into random houses and detaining people for terrorism for having smoke detectors.
As someone with a life threatening allergy... keep up the good work, everyone! Less instruments of death out there.
Tech: "What seems to be the problem?"
User: "Every time I hit the Ctrl button, my computer restarts!"
Tech: "*sigh* Is there anything else on the button?"
User: "Yeah, it says CtrlAl-"
Tech: "Look... just... just don't hit that button. There should be another button that says Ctr- hold on I'm getting another call. *switch* This is tech support, what seems to be the problem?"
User2: "Every time I hit the Ctrl button, my computer restarts!"
Tech: *click* *BANG* *dialtone*
User2: "Hello? Hello?"
Hey, on the plus side, maybe we can remap the key to open up the browser and display the comic. One way to make mornings 4 days a week easier.
If they didn't get hit around so much, they'd have that sort of brain capacity. Doesn't help that for every brain cell they generate, they lose 100 each time they get sacked.
Taken from http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jack_Thompson_(attorn ey)
Sweet, sweet justice.