I don't think Communism has much to do with it. America develops it's own standards even when others are readily available. GSM vs TDMA comes to mind (though I am not well versed on the history there). More likely this is an economy that is planning for the day when it is the largest economy in the world, and if the rest of the world wants to trade/interoperate with it, well, they'll just have to pay the patent/license fees to China instead.
Not only that, but it's in Verant/Sony's financial interests to make the game enjoyable and addictive. Since it's on a subscription-based model, they need people to *want* to continue to play, so that THEY can to continue to make money.
How is this any different from the cigarette companies putting more addictive chemicals in their product. It was in their financial interests to make the product addictive, they need people to *want* to smoke, so they can continue to make money.
While I agree that Sony is not at fault for this man's death, companies that intentionally make products that are addictive have a responsibilty to warn their customers accordingly.
Maybe someone can shed some light on this for me. Most opponents to stem cell research state that the 4-5 cells are human life and should not be destroyed. So, they are frozen in fertility clinics waiting to be implanted or destroyed. Since the opponents don't want them destroyed, they remain frozen. Well, what kind of life is that? Frozen in a block of ice? Doesn't sould like a very good life to me. So tell me that it is not really a bad existence because there is no conscience and the cells do not "know" they are frozen... but then if that's the case, what's wrong with distruction in the first place?
This might be slightly off topic, but since we are disscussing time, has anyone heard theory about the quantization of time? My thoughts:
Assume that space is quantized, and that there is an upper speed limit to the universe (light?). Then the smallest amount of time possible is the time it takes light to travel the smallest distance possible in space. Any believers?
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I don't think Communism has much to do with it. America develops it's own standards even when others are readily available. GSM vs TDMA comes to mind (though I am not well versed on the history there). More likely this is an economy that is planning for the day when it is the largest economy in the world, and if the rest of the world wants to trade/interoperate with it, well, they'll just have to pay the patent/license fees to China instead.
I guess by your logic Bruce Perens has no room to complain about the DMCA, since he works for HP.
Not only that, but it's in Verant/Sony's financial interests to make the game enjoyable and addictive. Since it's on a subscription-based model, they need people to *want* to continue to play, so that THEY can to continue to make money.
How is this any different from the cigarette companies putting more addictive chemicals in their product. It was in their financial interests to make the product addictive, they need people to *want* to smoke, so they can continue to make money.
While I agree that Sony is not at fault for this man's death, companies that intentionally make products that are addictive have a responsibilty to warn their customers accordingly.
Maybe someone can shed some light on this for me. Most opponents to stem cell research state that the 4-5 cells are human life and should not be destroyed. So, they are frozen in fertility clinics waiting to be implanted or destroyed. Since the opponents don't want them destroyed, they remain frozen. Well, what kind of life is that? Frozen in a block of ice? Doesn't sould like a very good life to me. So tell me that it is not really a bad existence because there is no conscience and the cells do not "know" they are frozen... but then if that's the case, what's wrong with distruction in the first place?
This might be slightly off topic, but since we are disscussing time, has anyone heard theory about the quantization of time? My thoughts:
Assume that space is quantized, and that there is an upper speed limit to the universe (light?). Then the smallest amount of time possible is the time it takes light to travel the smallest distance possible in space. Any believers?