You forget, this is the United Corporations of America! We'll tie you down with a Bass Pro Fishing Shop-branded rope and give you 30 lashes with a Wal-Mart branded whip. After it's all done, we'll just put some Neosporin on there, prop you up on an Ikea couch, and let you indulge in that wonderful cultural pasttime known as "watching television", where you will be informed of other great products and services!
That's what I was getting at, more or less...between pressure from the government and pressure from all the faceless people targeting wikileaks, it just wasn't a sound business decision.
I very rarely take the side of big business, but Amazon couldn't afford those kinds of problems. I have no idea why they agreed to host the servers in the first place (maybe they didn't think it would affect their end as much as it did?) but I completely understand why they decided to stop hosting them.
As I said in my OP, I support Wikileaks, but I place no fault on Amazon here. They just did what was necessary to mitigate any damage to their business. They didn't take an official stand one way or the other in their press release...it was quite "matter of fact" in tone.
In what way has Anonymous prevented their targets from talking? It's not like the only way Paypal or Mastercard have to communicate is through their website.
I don't know about that...Their intentions are sound (preserve freedom of speech), even if their methods are crude. Then again, if no one hates you, you're doing it wrong...so...yeah.
No offense, but that's fucking stupid. Why should Amazon risk compromising their servers just because one of their hosted sites has become a target? I fully support Wikileaks and their efforts, but you can't really put the blame on Amazon for dropping Wikileaks...Amazon is a business, and risking that business because of a single client would be a horrible idea.
(The only current game that I've played is Mass Effect 2 (Unreal engine) that actually uses 2 CPU's... still no games using 4)
Dragon Age. I've got a CPU monitor on my second monitor, and all four cores get pegged at 80%+ while playing Dragon Age. Also, I noticed a HUGE performance boost when I upgraded from an Athlon X2 6000+ to an Athlon II X4 635. I know the Athlon X2 -> Athlon II alone makes a big difference, but those two extra cores bumped my FPS in Dragon Age to the point where they never dip below 50 anymore (whereas before with the Athlon X2, they stayed around the 40 FPS area.)
The numbered series should have either been killed off long ago, or become what the offshoots are: explorations of genres with original stories, and attempts at not just different ideas, but NEW ideas.
Think back to the 4th, 5th, and 6th entries in the series. They all had intricate plots, with a huge number of characters and twists everywhere you looked...but they were still simple! Despite how much was crammed into each game, it was all laid out simply. The twists and turns were smooth, well-executed, and in many cases, completely unpredictable. Now, the storylines have to be as convoluted as possible, with a smaller cast than ever! I realize this sounds like me saying "bah humbug, it's too complicated to understand. Now get off my lawn!", but I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is that the pre-VII games had amazingly epic yet simple storylines, while everything post-VII has to be as spaghettied as possible. Complicated doesn't equal epic, folks...in this case, it equals a lack of original ideas.
Where can I go for science news thats not quite as intense as the journals themselves, but more in depth than the normal news outlets? Something that explains whats going on without having to create controversy to justify airtime but recognizes I have a Bachelors and a job and not a PhD?
I've always been rather partial to Science Daily. I find it invaluable for keeping up with the latest advancements and discoveries, presented in a way that is understandable yet not insulting to your intelligence.
Not at all...it's being surrounded by objects that pertain to what I'm doing that's important, not necessarily the objects themselves or their placement.
A laptop is all-inclusive, whereas a desktop PC has wires, monitors, a tower, etc. Seeing it butt-up against a wall that is also covered in objects that spark creativity and imagination play a role as well.
Again, it's these things being present, not the placement, that matters.
The Nook Color is supposed to be an extremely capable device once it's rooted. Considering the support the original Nook had (and continues to have) in the homebrew community, I have high hopes for the Nook Color.
Besides, isn't the point of buying an Android device being able to muck around with it? If you want an "out of the box" experience, you might as well go iDevice.
Example: The desk you see in this picture is where I write, typically while my wife is either watching or playing something on the TV. Pay attention to what is immedeatly within my vicinity when sitting there:
-Two walls -Two monitors -A large trackball (a Kensington Expert, to be precise) -My PC Tower -Posters, pictures, etc. -A desk
Seeing these things displayed in front of me, filling my field of vision, really help to put me where I need to be. Having the actual monitors (as opposed to a tablet's or notebook's screen), the big trackball, the full-size keyboard...I'm not really sure how to describe it exactly, but for some reason having all that around me makes writing MUCH easier. I find I get distracted if I'm trying to write on a netbook or a laptop.
I can't really explain it, it's just the way it feels to use a "PC" rather than an "app device" or a laptop.::shrug:: Wish I could give it more justice than that, but there it is.
Even if smartphones and such sell more than their larger counterparts, I still don't see it happening that quickly. There's still a lot to be said of the experience of using a "PC" rather than an "app device", regardless of the equal or disparate capabilities between them.
An example is writing...I'm not going to write on a bluetooh-keyboard-connected iPad for the same reason I wouldn't write on a netbook or a laptop; I need to feel centered, to feel like "OK body and mind, we're sitting down, and we're writing." I don't see being able to duplicate that feeling with an "app" device.
Currently, there's only one seeder (which, yes, is me!) There's a guy in Sweden and a gal in Ontario that occasionally seed it as well, but generally it's just me.
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You forget, this is the United Corporations of America! We'll tie you down with a Bass Pro Fishing Shop-branded rope and give you 30 lashes with a Wal-Mart branded whip. After it's all done, we'll just put some Neosporin on there, prop you up on an Ikea couch, and let you indulge in that wonderful cultural pasttime known as "watching television", where you will be informed of other great products and services!
How do you figure? It what way were Paypal or Mastercard prevented from saying what they had to say?
Are you implying that they only communicate through their websites?
That's what I was getting at, more or less...between pressure from the government and pressure from all the faceless people targeting wikileaks, it just wasn't a sound business decision.
I very rarely take the side of big business, but Amazon couldn't afford those kinds of problems. I have no idea why they agreed to host the servers in the first place (maybe they didn't think it would affect their end as much as it did?) but I completely understand why they decided to stop hosting them.
As I said in my OP, I support Wikileaks, but I place no fault on Amazon here. They just did what was necessary to mitigate any damage to their business. They didn't take an official stand one way or the other in their press release...it was quite "matter of fact" in tone.
In what way has Anonymous prevented their targets from talking? It's not like the only way Paypal or Mastercard have to communicate is through their website.
I don't know about that...Their intentions are sound (preserve freedom of speech), even if their methods are crude. Then again, if no one hates you, you're doing it wrong...so...yeah.
No offense, but that's fucking stupid. Why should Amazon risk compromising their servers just because one of their hosted sites has become a target? I fully support Wikileaks and their efforts, but you can't really put the blame on Amazon for dropping Wikileaks...Amazon is a business, and risking that business because of a single client would be a horrible idea.
(The only current game that I've played is Mass Effect 2 (Unreal engine) that actually uses 2 CPU's... still no games using 4)
Dragon Age. I've got a CPU monitor on my second monitor, and all four cores get pegged at 80%+ while playing Dragon Age. Also, I noticed a HUGE performance boost when I upgraded from an Athlon X2 6000+ to an Athlon II X4 635. I know the Athlon X2 -> Athlon II alone makes a big difference, but those two extra cores bumped my FPS in Dragon Age to the point where they never dip below 50 anymore (whereas before with the Athlon X2, they stayed around the 40 FPS area.)
The numbered series should have either been killed off long ago, or become what the offshoots are: explorations of genres with original stories, and attempts at not just different ideas, but NEW ideas.
Think back to the 4th, 5th, and 6th entries in the series. They all had intricate plots, with a huge number of characters and twists everywhere you looked...but they were still simple! Despite how much was crammed into each game, it was all laid out simply. The twists and turns were smooth, well-executed, and in many cases, completely unpredictable. Now, the storylines have to be as convoluted as possible, with a smaller cast than ever! I realize this sounds like me saying "bah humbug, it's too complicated to understand. Now get off my lawn!", but I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is that the pre-VII games had amazingly epic yet simple storylines, while everything post-VII has to be as spaghettied as possible. Complicated doesn't equal epic, folks...in this case, it equals a lack of original ideas.
Are you referring to the ones that shoot bees out of their mouth, or the ones with frikkin' laser beams attatched to their groins?
I'm still trying to figure out why more TV manufacturers don't include an actual DVI port on their products...
Agreed! I just wish I didn't have fifty billion PS/2 adapters in my desk drawers -_-;;
Note: I'm totally kidding. It's more like sixty billion.
Why not frikkin' lasers?
The same could be said of RIAA-funded talentless "musicians".
As it should be!
Apparently, Paypal has admitted to being coerced into smashing the cookie jar.
Where can I go for science news thats not quite as intense as the journals themselves, but more in depth than the normal news outlets? Something that explains whats going on without having to create controversy to justify airtime but recognizes I have a Bachelors and a job and not a PhD?
I've always been rather partial to Science Daily. I find it invaluable for keeping up with the latest advancements and discoveries, presented in a way that is understandable yet not insulting to your intelligence.
If you read what the detractors are saying, it sounds like they're whining. This happens with every single major scientific discovery.
Every. Single. One.
Could they be right? Of course they could be right. It wouldn't change the fact that they sound like five-year-olds.
If a scientist other than themselves didn't make the discovery, it's obvious the other guy's methods are flawed!
Scientists can be such whiny, arrogant assholes...whatever happened to science being done for science, rather than recognition?
Thanks!
Not at all...it's being surrounded by objects that pertain to what I'm doing that's important, not necessarily the objects themselves or their placement.
A laptop is all-inclusive, whereas a desktop PC has wires, monitors, a tower, etc. Seeing it butt-up against a wall that is also covered in objects that spark creativity and imagination play a role as well.
Again, it's these things being present, not the placement, that matters.
Besides, isn't mucking around with it the motivation behind buying an Android device?
Fixed...sorry about that folks. I'm fully aware that you can "muck around" with an iDevice, but the wording of my previous post seemed to ignore that.
The Nook Color is supposed to be an extremely capable device once it's rooted. Considering the support the original Nook had (and continues to have) in the homebrew community, I have high hopes for the Nook Color.
Besides, isn't the point of buying an Android device being able to muck around with it? If you want an "out of the box" experience, you might as well go iDevice.
I'm refering more to my surroundings.
Example: The desk you see in this picture is where I write, typically while my wife is either watching or playing something on the TV. Pay attention to what is immedeatly within my vicinity when sitting there:
-Two walls
-Two monitors
-A large trackball (a Kensington Expert, to be precise)
-My PC Tower
-Posters, pictures, etc.
-A desk
Seeing these things displayed in front of me, filling my field of vision, really help to put me where I need to be. Having the actual monitors (as opposed to a tablet's or notebook's screen), the big trackball, the full-size keyboard...I'm not really sure how to describe it exactly, but for some reason having all that around me makes writing MUCH easier. I find I get distracted if I'm trying to write on a netbook or a laptop.
I can't really explain it, it's just the way it feels to use a "PC" rather than an "app device" or a laptop. ::shrug:: Wish I could give it more justice than that, but there it is.
Even if smartphones and such sell more than their larger counterparts, I still don't see it happening that quickly. There's still a lot to be said of the experience of using a "PC" rather than an "app device", regardless of the equal or disparate capabilities between them.
An example is writing...I'm not going to write on a bluetooh-keyboard-connected iPad for the same reason I wouldn't write on a netbook or a laptop; I need to feel centered, to feel like "OK body and mind, we're sitting down, and we're writing." I don't see being able to duplicate that feeling with an "app" device.
Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out!
Currently, there's only one seeder (which, yes, is me!) There's a guy in Sweden and a gal in Ontario that occasionally seed it as well, but generally it's just me.
I'd like to point out that on the main page, the clock shown on the tablet is set to 4:20.