All the "protective software/systems" in the world won't protect users from their own stupidity. Yes, trust that e-mail from your bank asking for your SSN and password! You're running Windows Defender, so you're perfectly safe!
Good article, although I found the interviews more interesting (since there was less editorial and more of a peek into the minds of such IF pioneers as Meretzky and Lebling).
Some comments about the article itself:
Zork is not obsolete; merely under appreciated. Underappreciated? Perhaps by the newer generation of gamers. Practically everyone from my generation knows what Zork is. Heck, the author even contradicts himself in later statements:
It's quite likely that no computer game in history has ever inspired as much prose as Zork... and
To say that Zork is an influential adventure game is like saying the Iliad is an influential poem... If it's under appreciated, how can it inspire more prose than any other game in history? How can it be called influential? Make up your mind.
Perhaps Zork is not the past of gaming, but its future. As someone who's played nearly every Infocom game out there, I'd be happy if that company or any of its authors made a comeback; however, it's quite unlikely, and IF will be a niche market for the forseeable future (I'm happy to be part of that niche). I doubt that many people are going to sit still long enough to read a lot of verbose text, even if the parser is as intelligent and as witty as HAL or Deep Thought.
So, you're proposing that you type with both hands? Even using one hand to type while holding on to that iPhone would prove to be difficult; there's always the chance you'll drop it, and then you might be looking at $500 (at least) down the drain.
Most people who text use their thumbs. Especially in Asia--one-hand texting is quite common.
Yeah, I'm cautiously optimistic about Stardust. I know they've added stuff that's not in the book, but the linked review seems to think it worked out quite well.
Oh, and Interworld?!? Crappy title--I keep reading it as "teh Interwebs" instead, which is not a good thing. I'm confident though that the story is better than the title.
This was a a pretty creepy commercial--it reminded me of a cemetery, with Zunes as headstones.
Everything's quiet...and then it turns into Night of the Living Dead.
Except it's not phishing when the URL reads: http://www.apple.com/hotnews, and when you get to said URL via a link on www.apple.com.
Seriously, though, why try proving it fake? So Leopard is delayed. It's not the end of the world.
is merely a hack of Apple's site. You do realize what you're saying, don't you? That Apple's site got hacked? Wouldn't that be even more embarrassing than Leopard being delayed?
I don't know if "Spayware" was a typo on your part but it seems oddly appropriate, given your "hard drives turning off" statement. Of course, "Neuterware" would've been more appropriate, but what can you do?
I used to play RPGs on the PC and the PS2 back when I didn't have kids; now, I play mostly casual games (like Bookworm Adventures) a lot of which I discover through Jay Bibby's site. I can play these games whenever I have free time, leave them and then play them again without any save games necessary. The cost (mostly free; a couple of demos) is pretty attractive as well.
I have two-year old twins, so when I'm on the PC they insist on sitting on my lap, mashing the keyboard and moving the mouse around. Try playing an RPG or an FPS with all that going on; I tried doing that once (Baldur's Gate 2, I think) and they wound up erasing a couple of my saved games. Much teeth-gnashing there, but I couldn't blame the kids--it's all on me.
It's a nice bonding experience with them, though, so now I just click on the Disney Channel site and let them have a go. Either that or I fire up Bookworm Adventures--they like the toon-ish graphics. I'm hoping they pick up some new words as well.
You sound like Karl Malone now..."Karl Malone is going to retire because Karl Malone is tired." Seriously, talking in the third person?
Also, it's nearly impossible to figure out whether it's a Daniel Eran posting or not. A lot of your "legit" comments sound exactly like those "fake" comments--insulting and condescending. Like this one in response to VGPowerlord below:
"So go roll in Digg and leave the bits of the web that are not yet as stupid alone."
I thought that those sites were actually Apple "enthusiast" sites, and they were running on Linux? This site confirms it; the article was in 2004, though, and those sites might be on Apple servers now.
Hey, I think I've seen that billboard. It's right next to a railroad track, right? I thought it was weird placement too at first, but then I realized that a commuter train passes by several times every day, so it gets a lot of eyeballs.
Slashdot Mirror
Where're my mod points when I need them? +1 Funny.
All the "protective software/systems" in the world won't protect users from their own stupidity. Yes, trust that e-mail from your bank asking for your SSN and password! You're running Windows Defender, so you're perfectly safe!
Some comments about the article itself: Zork is not obsolete; merely under appreciated. Underappreciated? Perhaps by the newer generation of gamers. Practically everyone from my generation knows what Zork is. Heck, the author even contradicts himself in later statements: It's quite likely that no computer game in history has ever inspired as much prose as Zork... and To say that Zork is an influential adventure game is like saying the Iliad is an influential poem... If it's under appreciated, how can it inspire more prose than any other game in history? How can it be called influential? Make up your mind. Perhaps Zork is not the past of gaming, but its future. As someone who's played nearly every Infocom game out there, I'd be happy if that company or any of its authors made a comeback; however, it's quite unlikely, and IF will be a niche market for the forseeable future (I'm happy to be part of that niche). I doubt that many people are going to sit still long enough to read a lot of verbose text, even if the parser is as intelligent and as witty as HAL or Deep Thought.
Most people who text use their thumbs. Especially in Asia--one-hand texting is quite common.
And this guy has an interesting rebuttal, one which Gruber acknowledged.
Yeah, I'm cautiously optimistic about Stardust. I know they've added stuff that's not in the book, but the linked review seems to think it worked out quite well. Oh, and Interworld?!? Crappy title--I keep reading it as "teh Interwebs" instead, which is not a good thing. I'm confident though that the story is better than the title.
This was a a pretty creepy commercial--it reminded me of a cemetery, with Zunes as headstones. Everything's quiet...and then it turns into Night of the Living Dead.
Except it's not phishing when the URL reads: http://www.apple.com/hotnews, and when you get to said URL via a link on www.apple.com. Seriously, though, why try proving it fake? So Leopard is delayed. It's not the end of the world.
I don't know if "Spayware" was a typo on your part but it seems oddly appropriate, given your "hard drives turning off" statement. Of course, "Neuterware" would've been more appropriate, but what can you do?
I have two-year old twins, so when I'm on the PC they insist on sitting on my lap, mashing the keyboard and moving the mouse around. Try playing an RPG or an FPS with all that going on; I tried doing that once (Baldur's Gate 2, I think) and they wound up erasing a couple of my saved games. Much teeth-gnashing there, but I couldn't blame the kids--it's all on me.
It's a nice bonding experience with them, though, so now I just click on the Disney Channel site and let them have a go. Either that or I fire up Bookworm Adventures--they like the toon-ish graphics. I'm hoping they pick up some new words as well.
You sound like Karl Malone now..."Karl Malone is going to retire because Karl Malone is tired." Seriously, talking in the third person?
Also, it's nearly impossible to figure out whether it's a Daniel Eran posting or not. A lot of your "legit" comments sound exactly like those "fake" comments--insulting and condescending. Like this one in response to VGPowerlord below:
"So go roll in Digg and leave the bits of the web that are not yet as stupid alone."
I thought that those sites were actually Apple "enthusiast" sites, and they were running on Linux? This site confirms it; the article was in 2004, though, and those sites might be on Apple servers now.
...except TFA (from money.cnn.com) doesn't say "iFanboy" anywhere. The article itself is unbiased, if you cared to read it.
Pretty savvy marketing, I would think.