Yet a game like eg Torchlight which is hardly state of the art graphics wise got a ton of praise.
Parent did not say "state of the art" graphics, he (or she) said "brilliant" graphics. There is a difference - brilliant graphics need not be extremely hard on the GFX card or take enormous amounts of effort and budget to produce - one artist with a great visual style can do a lot for the graphical appeal of a game.
As in music, why should the goal be something as ridiculously unattainable as a "top ten hit" if you can make a decent living for yourself for far less?
I use the system mentioned in the article, and I've never noticed the log-in random challenge to have any recognizable number, nor do I recall any communication from my bank (Dexia) that this is so. If this is actually the case, it wasn't made clear to users.
Potentially even more worrying is that this system is now also being applied to online payments using my Dexia VISA card, which is more vulnerable still because it originates at the merchant's site, and isn't always so easy to verify.
no usually what happens is the artist gets a lump sum and then royalties on top for each sale. the lump sum buys their rights for cents on the dollar in the hope their work will make it big.
on their own there's a high certainty of failure for a new starter.
No. What happens is the artist gets a large "lump sum", but that sum is actually an open "loan" in the small print of the contract, and the label can just keep making shit up to add to the "loan". The artist gets a small amount of royalties while most of the income goes to the label. However, the artist has to pay back the loan out of their royalties (small print!). So basically, the label passes the checkout twice: they get most of the profit from sales, AND they recoup the lump sum loan from artists. Only if the artist sells a LOT of records do they start earning a little real money, and even at that time the label is still making more money than the artists.
The FTC's recommendation is unusual and surprising and I'd expect it to be ignored or fail if challenged in court.
It's going to be a pretty interesting storm if this fails if challenged in court, because it creates a semi-legal avenue for personal information harvesting, bypassing just about all privacy laws (barring perhaps things like HIPAA).
In slashdot terms:
1. Set up facebook-like site with really good privacy rules.
2. Let site grow with lots of safe personal details
Then there's the fact that the sheet music is a byproduct of the process of making music. To make the "easy piano" version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" takes extra work, but the full version of the guitar part was already written for the song. By the same token, do you think Elton John never would have produced sheet music for "Candle in the Wind" if he didn't want to sell the sheet music? He would have made it either way.
I am a musician, and I believe you are wrong. Just because a part is recorded doesn't mean it's written, available as easy-to-read sheet music, that the artist has any inclination to do so, or that the artist can even read/write music.
Sheet music is in no way an expected by-product of much of modern music. In fact, practically none of my musician-friends ever produce anything like sheet-music for their stuff. I did once, for a popular song, and it's actually pretty dull and long-winded work, like documenting code after you've written it.
The parent already proposed the disease is incurable. What real shot are you talking about?
If the disease is really incurable then there is no shot, by definition; not even some pipe dream stem cell treatment. If it is curable, a potential cure with at least some clinical information that it may have a positive effect is better than an unproven, unregulated, dangerous treatment. The existing regulations allow for this: clinical trials.
I don't think we should pull the rug out from under them
You are not pulling the rug out from under them; there is currently no rug (in stem cell therapy). That's the tragedy. Stem cell clinics are trying to convince people there is a rug, just for monetary gain, and these people are desperate for there to be an actual rug, but there is none.
If you truly need a totally unfounded "rug", there's always homeopathy, religion, and a host of other esoteric "treatments". In the extreme, you could have a clinic that advocates generously donating to charity followed by euthanasia because you will then reincarnate into a healthy body for a full and healthy life.
At some point, stem cell treatment will be effective
That is currently wishful thinking. At some point, stem cell treatment MAY be effective. To get to that point, where it has proven effectiveness and the side-effects are known, research will have to follow the perfectly sound and safe current regulations.
I work for a company that needs to get FDA approval for its products. It's not easy, it's a lengthy process, and often painful, but it got there for a reason. These "stem cell clinics" are just about the poster child of why it's needed.
Slashdot Mirror
Give us a break - reading the whole post is nearly as inconceivable as RTFA. You gotta say it all in the first line.
Yet a game like eg Torchlight which is hardly state of the art graphics wise got a ton of praise.
Parent did not say "state of the art" graphics, he (or she) said "brilliant" graphics. There is a difference - brilliant graphics need not be extremely hard on the GFX card or take enormous amounts of effort and budget to produce - one artist with a great visual style can do a lot for the graphical appeal of a game.
As in music, why should the goal be something as ridiculously unattainable as a "top ten hit" if you can make a decent living for yourself for far less?
Yeah, but they only use torture on the bad guys, so it's okay.
Only on /. could I get modded *insightful* for that comment.
I can't let you do that, Dave.
Sorry man, wrong car firmware.
Untrue.
How many times have you had sex with a living female human being this week?
Thought so.
Sorry man, that doesn't fly. Females are a figment of the imagination too.
WARNING: Don't attempt to drive your 5-ton high center-of-mass SUV like it's a Porsche GT4.
Dammit, it said "IN-flammable" - how was I to know?
That's okay, I have all the good stuff on my D drive.
I would have thought the answer was 42.
We demand rigidly defined areas of doubt and uncertainty!
Or maybe it will try to land on Japan.
... 2183 was going to be the year of Linux on the Desktop...
Yeah, but why NOT Sweden, it has some lovely lakes?
Potentially even more worrying is that this system is now also being applied to online payments using my Dexia VISA card, which is more vulnerable still because it originates at the merchant's site, and isn't always so easy to verify.
no usually what happens is the artist gets a lump sum and then royalties on top for each sale. the lump sum buys their rights for cents on the dollar in the hope their work will make it big.
on their own there's a high certainty of failure for a new starter.
No. What happens is the artist gets a large "lump sum", but that sum is actually an open "loan" in the small print of the contract, and the label can just keep making shit up to add to the "loan". The artist gets a small amount of royalties while most of the income goes to the label. However, the artist has to pay back the loan out of their royalties (small print!). So basically, the label passes the checkout twice: they get most of the profit from sales, AND they recoup the lump sum loan from artists. Only if the artist sells a LOT of records do they start earning a little real money, and even at that time the label is still making more money than the artists.
You have to keep killing the zombies. They just get up again after some time.
The FTC's recommendation is unusual and surprising and I'd expect it to be ignored or fail if challenged in court.
It's going to be a pretty interesting storm if this fails if challenged in court, because it creates a semi-legal avenue for personal information harvesting, bypassing just about all privacy laws (barring perhaps things like HIPAA).
In slashdot terms:
Reverse Polish Hungarian? *head hurts*
Females, sets of cones...
4 of them?
Steve Jobs was quoted as saying "If you suffer any adverse effects from holding the Apple, you're just holding it wrong.".
Then there's the fact that the sheet music is a byproduct of the process of making music. To make the "easy piano" version of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" takes extra work, but the full version of the guitar part was already written for the song. By the same token, do you think Elton John never would have produced sheet music for "Candle in the Wind" if he didn't want to sell the sheet music? He would have made it either way.
I am a musician, and I believe you are wrong. Just because a part is recorded doesn't mean it's written, available as easy-to-read sheet music, that the artist has any inclination to do so, or that the artist can even read/write music.
Sheet music is in no way an expected by-product of much of modern music. In fact, practically none of my musician-friends ever produce anything like sheet-music for their stuff. I did once, for a popular song, and it's actually pretty dull and long-winded work, like documenting code after you've written it.
The parent already proposed the disease is incurable. What real shot are you talking about?
If the disease is really incurable then there is no shot, by definition; not even some pipe dream stem cell treatment. If it is curable, a potential cure with at least some clinical information that it may have a positive effect is better than an unproven, unregulated, dangerous treatment. The existing regulations allow for this: clinical trials.
I don't think we should pull the rug out from under them
You are not pulling the rug out from under them; there is currently no rug (in stem cell therapy). That's the tragedy. Stem cell clinics are trying to convince people there is a rug, just for monetary gain, and these people are desperate for there to be an actual rug, but there is none.
If you truly need a totally unfounded "rug", there's always homeopathy, religion, and a host of other esoteric "treatments". In the extreme, you could have a clinic that advocates generously donating to charity followed by euthanasia because you will then reincarnate into a healthy body for a full and healthy life.
At some point, stem cell treatment will be effective
That is currently wishful thinking. At some point, stem cell treatment MAY be effective. To get to that point, where it has proven effectiveness and the side-effects are known, research will have to follow the perfectly sound and safe current regulations.
Saying that stem cell research needs special treatment is nonsense. It could be the next penicillin, but it might as well be the next thalidomide, or akin to some of the historical uses of radium in things like food and toothpaste..
I work for a company that needs to get FDA approval for its products. It's not easy, it's a lengthy process, and often painful, but it got there for a reason. These "stem cell clinics" are just about the poster child of why it's needed.