While I agree if it is proven to work that they pharmaceutical companies would be hard pressed to keep it out of the hands of the public, I can assure you that they won't make it easy.
Beyond that, if they are working to patent their findings, there are only two reasons: They don't want some company stealing it and making billions while they don't get "official" credit, or they want to have more leverage in selling the research to the highest bidder.
In either case, it still comes down to money.
you quite obviously do not work in the healthcare industry. I know that this study was done by an academy, but still...trust me. The healthcare industry does not give a shit about health. It is money, plain and simple. If this were NOT the case, all healthcare companies and pharmeceutical companies would be registered non-profit.
I've worked in the healthcare industry for years. Trust me when I tell you that they are about money first, second, and third.
...but the chances of the healthcare industry letting this fly if it is real are slim to none. Think about it. Chemotherapy is a multi-BILLION dollar a year buisness. WHy do you think there have been no major cures in the past...what, 30-40 years?
Because the money isn't in the cure. The money is in the treatment.
Ever play Doom RPG? Fantastic. Granted the original doom was much simpler than halo, but still...using a similar interface, they could make halo quite interesting
Good luck with your cancer/aids research. it will be a VERY long time before the healthcare industry decides to put something very profitable into the ground.
The chemotherapy buisness ALONE is a multi-billion dollar a year buisness. Ditto with AIDS treatment.
The Healthcare industry is no different than any other industry...they exist to make money. If they existed soley for the bettermant of mankind, they would all be registered non-profit. There is a saying, although the name of the person who originally said it escapes me at the moment: "The money is in the treatment, not in the cure."
If you can't use the promise of the eventual outcome in a situation to get it started, what CAN you use?
That's exactly my point. We are being too short sighted. We could have something functioning within 20 years, something efficient within 50. Look at how far we have come in the last 50 years...hell, the last 20 years.
With the proper funding and minds, 50 years from now we could be far far along.
that's exactly what is required. Sacrifice an entire generation. Hell, make it my generation I don't care. Sacrifice a generation. Pour all of our money and efforts into getting off this insignificant rock for a full 50 years, and I assure you that at the end of those 50 years, we as a SPECIES will be on the right track. Gotta break a few eggs to make an omlette, as they say.
grats on realizing the same thing Nasa scientists realized 10 years ago;-) (no that is not a flame)
Imagine it. A production facility on the moon. Imgaine how easy it would be to launch probes out into space. Hell, you could even make reusable rockets to get them moving, detatch, turn around then fly back and land on the moon via some form of braking system.
Imagine how much further something could travel with the same fuel in it that it would have on Earth...it would take a much less amount of fuel to break the moon's pull, and if timed and executed properly you could even use the moon as a gravitational slingshot, much like how they use it for return trips to earth.
We have long had the technology to build a base on the moon. Do you know how much easier and cheaper launching exploration vehicles, both manned and unmanned from the moon would be rather than from earth? I know the DISTANCE isn't that big of a change, but the GRAVITY is a massive change, it would take exponentially less energy (read: fuel) to launch from the moon...Not to mention the observatories and labs that could be set up...after all, what better place to research low-gravity technology than in *gasp* LOW GRAVITY
The probelm is funding. The feds don't want to put any money into space. If we took the budget we have put into the Iraq war 8 years ago, a moon base would already be under construction and ready to be completed in 5-10 years. Like I said, the technology has been around. The FUNDING has not.
I know why people nowadays don't care. Alot of people feel we won't do anything of great percieved importance in our lifetime as of right now, but hey you gotta start the advancement of the race some time. Why not now? When else in history have we had the opportunity to? We have the technology, the money is in circulation, and we have the motivation (survival).
Why the hell are we being so stupid as to throw away such an opportunity?
in response to your last point, I feel the same way about just about every other MP3 player I have EVER used...in fact, the carbon and the karma are the only two that I actually LIKE.
But this article wasn't about ALL mp3 players. It focused on iPods. I felt it to be quite stupid express my dislike for any other player. However, I would call most players shit incarnate. You, good sir, sound like a hairy mass living under a bridge.
lol, yeah I know, a lot of double speak in that. What I meant by saying that I'm not anti-apple or iPod is that I won't say to someone "oh you were stupid, you should have gotten this instead." Nor will I tell someone to NOT buy an iPod if they plan to. I would make sure they know what else is around, but if they still want an iPod, be it because of the accersories, the image, or whatever other reason...well that's fine, I won't stop them.
Unlike OSS people that say that windows is for morons, I would never tell someone they are a moron for buying an iPod. Perfect example: I own a 2004 RSX Type-S Aspec. I know that for the price I paid for this care (~$31,000) I could have bought a 350Z. I know that I could have bought a car that drives faster and is more luxorious and has more recognition for the same money, but it did not have the same APPEAL to me. I wanted the RSX in that configuration, regardless of what else was out there.
My car analogy and people that blindly flock to buy or ask for an iPod are ALMOST the same; the difference is, most of them are unaware of what they are saying that they DON'T want.
1. They can be damned fun. 2. They continually make my brain keep working, continually trying out new tactics. 3. Many a LAN party are included in my top 10 favorite memories of my entire life. 4. There are parts of the gaming community that are fantastic and allow for great friendships to come about. 5. They provide a fun alternative to the daily grind (much like drugs) 6. They have the ABILITY to be educational 7. They provide a safe place for the dark desires that dwell within all of us to be satiated. Afterall, would you rather someone be killing people on screen, or people on the street?
As far as fulfilling some psychological need, I wouldn't put myself in that group...however, I don't dispute it either; I know many people who are anti-social, have anxiety, are overly shy, have aspergers, or various other things that prevent them from interacting properly face to face. Put them behind a WoW toon though, and suddenly they become open and talkative and friendly.
Video games to me are a fantastic form of entertainment. They are similar to reading, the difference being instead of working your imagination, they work your reasoning and reaction. They require you to part with "daily reality", however, and embrace a different world. This is most definately not a bad thing when used in moderation.
Last but not least, it serves for a way for me and my fiance to bond...granted, there are many lonely gamers out there, but for geeks and nerds who are lucky enough to have a spouse who is just as geeky and nerdy...well, playing video games with a spouse who not only wants to but EXPECTS to brings about some amazingly fun times.
I don't understand the hub bub over iPods...I've used all forms of them from various people that I know...sure, the screen looks nice, but the interface is ATROCIOUS...not to mention the scroller is more like an infected nipple...finicky and ugly. The whole thing just looks like some candy-coated toy. Putting sugar on shit does not make it taste good.
No, for me my Rio Carbon (for work and general runnin around) and my Rio Karma (for my home network and my car) are still both pumping strong. The carbon uses a standard mini-USB cable and requires no software to put music on...it can also be used as a portable hard drive right outta the box. And lasts at LEAST 15 hours if not 20 hours on a single charge (25 if you keep the bass output and volume down)
The Karma comes with a docking station that allows it to be hookied up via your standard ethernet cable. In addition to the connection on the bottom for the dock, it too has a mini-usb connection. Granted, the Karma requires software to load music onto it, but that software also allows you to stream music to the web for free...
BOTH players can play a multitude of file formats, contain no DRM restrictions, and can be found for less than the cost of an iPod nano....
I dunno, I suppose I just don't see the purpose of buying an iPod. Sure, neither my Carbon or Karma can play video, but then again if I am in one place long enough to WATCH something, I would have a portable dvd player, or laptop, or home theater at hand...or I could just buy a PSP, which has MANY more uses if my needs require something more than JUST audio... It seems to me more like marketing superspeak more than anything else when it comes to people deciding to get an iPod; or maybe they just don't know what else is out there, who knows.
It is all a matter of opinion of course, and I don't look DOWN on people that own iPods...I feel sorry for them. Sure, they have all kinds of fun accessories or whatever, but still: they are buying a restrictive, overpriced, underprotected electronic device in which more money is spent in marketing than is spent on research.
I'm not anti-apple, nor am I even anti-iPod...I just think iPod's, while a marketing department's dream come true, are shit incarnate.
...primarily because I know that there will be ads online no matter WHAT I do...Adblock is a great firefox plugin, but still...ads are everywhere. If I am going to be forced to have them on the pages that I frequently view (like my hotmail account) I would MUCH rather that they be pertinant to my interests. I don't care about Botox, but an advert for a sale on an nvidia 8800...see, that I wouldn't mind
Hello all, I decided to finally write this down in response to some people asking me why I enjoy immeasurably violent video games and movies. This explanation is written using the game "Manhunt" as it's primary example, mainly because of it's subject matter (which can best be described as a "snuff video game"). PLEASE read it in it's entirety before responding, it's easy to think i'm making an uninformed point without reading the whole thing; I explain EVERY viewpoint I express.
Think about this, folks.
This "game" is not about sneakin' around, trying to see what the biggest mess you can make is. It's about much more than that. This game is in direct relation to the JTHM (Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vasquez, for the uninitiated...) in all of us, the little black beast that we keep to ourselves.
Ever say "I wish he were dead", or "he makes me so angry I want to kill him"? Of course you have. Everyone has. This game is the digital manifestation of those thoughts. It's not about suffocating some guy, or creating the pink mist... This game does one thing and one thing only: it asks you a question. A very simple question to state, and frankly a very simple question to answer:
Is your black beast fictional or real?
Do you have a little playground for the demon inside of you, someplace it can go and harmlessly let out it's frustrations and rage? Or are you so jaded and blind that you cannot discern the difference between reality and fantasy?
Frankly, if you enjoy this game (along with ANY violent video game or movie, regardless of it's subject or presentation) you are not sick. You are normal. You are provided an outlet for the most primal emotions that you, as a human, have. Your most carnal instincts. If you don't like this game because the graphics suck, or the control is wonky, fine. BUT. If you despise this game because you say it's "too violent" and "unneccessary", and "too realistic", and whatever else, guess what: YOU are the sick one. That's not to say that you can't see it as being gross, or that you don't like it because you supposidly don't like violence (then why do you slow down to look at car accidents, hmm?) What it means is that if you say that violent things such as this push sane and "normal" people into being murderers in real life...well, I'm sorry, but you are wrong.
The first step anyone takes to becomming a murderer in real life is not being able to tell the difference between reality and fantasy. Manhunt is fantasy. Does that mean something similar has not happend/could not happen? No. But your experience and memories of it happening are. It's a video game. It is designed to be a playground for your little black beast.
If you take it as being anything more serious than that...well, turn yourself in now.
You have to allow the little monster to come out every now and then and release it's frustrations. If you don't, you risk becomming a quivering mass of nervous and dangerous flesh. What better place to do this than in a simulated environment with simulated violence where the only things harmed are your eyes for staring at the screen?
True, the trouble with Dyno's is that they all measure differently....in some dyno-comparisons I have seen on various websites using the same car, as much as 10%
Now can we PLEASE start getting wheel horsepower ratings at stock? I don't care if my engine is making 300 if the wheels are only seeing 220 (yes I know they would be seeing more than 220, it was just an example)
The Rio Karma came with a dock that also had an Ethernet port on it so you could stream music to any computer in your house, or even over a WAN since each dock had a MAC address and an IP address. In addition, it's software allows you to stream music on the web for free.
I got it!!! Let's spend 200 dollars on a DRM infested piece of shit (i.e. Ipod Nano) that scratches when I look at it!
Or, we can buy a Rio Carbon that requires no software to put music on, can be used as an external hard drive, uses a standard mini-usb cable, is cheaper...etc.
Just because a ferrari can drive fast and look good doing it does not mean it will tow my friend's car out of the snow or allow me to take my new 50" plasma screen home. My pickup truck, however, will.
Slashdot Mirror
"The GPs point (chemo is a multi billion dollar business) is quite valid here"
I made that point, numbnuts.
While I agree if it is proven to work that they pharmaceutical companies would be hard pressed to keep it out of the hands of the public, I can assure you that they won't make it easy. Beyond that, if they are working to patent their findings, there are only two reasons: They don't want some company stealing it and making billions while they don't get "official" credit, or they want to have more leverage in selling the research to the highest bidder. In either case, it still comes down to money.
you quite obviously do not work in the healthcare industry. I know that this study was done by an academy, but still...trust me. The healthcare industry does not give a shit about health. It is money, plain and simple. If this were NOT the case, all healthcare companies and pharmeceutical companies would be registered non-profit.
I've worked in the healthcare industry for years. Trust me when I tell you that they are about money first, second, and third.
...but the chances of the healthcare industry letting this fly if it is real are slim to none. Think about it. Chemotherapy is a multi-BILLION dollar a year buisness. WHy do you think there have been no major cures in the past...what, 30-40 years?
Because the money isn't in the cure. The money is in the treatment.
Ever play Doom RPG? Fantastic. Granted the original doom was much simpler than halo, but still...using a similar interface, they could make halo quite interesting
Good luck with your cancer/aids research. it will be a VERY long time before the healthcare industry decides to put something very profitable into the ground.
The chemotherapy buisness ALONE is a multi-billion dollar a year buisness. Ditto with AIDS treatment.
The Healthcare industry is no different than any other industry...they exist to make money. If they existed soley for the bettermant of mankind, they would all be registered non-profit. There is a saying, although the name of the person who originally said it escapes me at the moment: "The money is in the treatment, not in the cure."
If you can't use the promise of the eventual outcome in a situation to get it started, what CAN you use?
That's exactly my point. We are being too short sighted. We could have something functioning within 20 years, something efficient within 50. Look at how far we have come in the last 50 years...hell, the last 20 years.
With the proper funding and minds, 50 years from now we could be far far along.
that's exactly what is required. Sacrifice an entire generation. Hell, make it my generation I don't care. Sacrifice a generation. Pour all of our money and efforts into getting off this insignificant rock for a full 50 years, and I assure you that at the end of those 50 years, we as a SPECIES will be on the right track. Gotta break a few eggs to make an omlette, as they say.
grats on realizing the same thing Nasa scientists realized 10 years ago;-) (no that is not a flame)
Imagine it. A production facility on the moon. Imgaine how easy it would be to launch probes out into space. Hell, you could even make reusable rockets to get them moving, detatch, turn around then fly back and land on the moon via some form of braking system.
Imagine how much further something could travel with the same fuel in it that it would have on Earth...it would take a much less amount of fuel to break the moon's pull, and if timed and executed properly you could even use the moon as a gravitational slingshot, much like how they use it for return trips to earth.
We have long had the technology to build a base on the moon. Do you know how much easier and cheaper launching exploration vehicles, both manned and unmanned from the moon would be rather than from earth? I know the DISTANCE isn't that big of a change, but the GRAVITY is a massive change, it would take exponentially less energy (read: fuel) to launch from the moon...Not to mention the observatories and labs that could be set up...after all, what better place to research low-gravity technology than in *gasp* LOW GRAVITY
The probelm is funding. The feds don't want to put any money into space. If we took the budget we have put into the Iraq war 8 years ago, a moon base would already be under construction and ready to be completed in 5-10 years. Like I said, the technology has been around. The FUNDING has not.
I know why people nowadays don't care. Alot of people feel we won't do anything of great percieved importance in our lifetime as of right now, but hey you gotta start the advancement of the race some time. Why not now? When else in history have we had the opportunity to? We have the technology, the money is in circulation, and we have the motivation (survival).
Why the hell are we being so stupid as to throw away such an opportunity?
I would have a dark desire for having sex with an AIDS carrier if I myself were one.
in response to your last point, I feel the same way about just about every other MP3 player I have EVER used...in fact, the carbon and the karma are the only two that I actually LIKE.
But this article wasn't about ALL mp3 players. It focused on iPods. I felt it to be quite stupid express my dislike for any other player. However, I would call most players shit incarnate. You, good sir, sound like a hairy mass living under a bridge.
lol, yeah I know, a lot of double speak in that. What I meant by saying that I'm not anti-apple or iPod is that I won't say to someone "oh you were stupid, you should have gotten this instead." Nor will I tell someone to NOT buy an iPod if they plan to. I would make sure they know what else is around, but if they still want an iPod, be it because of the accersories, the image, or whatever other reason...well that's fine, I won't stop them.
Unlike OSS people that say that windows is for morons, I would never tell someone they are a moron for buying an iPod. Perfect example: I own a 2004 RSX Type-S Aspec. I know that for the price I paid for this care (~$31,000) I could have bought a 350Z. I know that I could have bought a car that drives faster and is more luxorious and has more recognition for the same money, but it did not have the same APPEAL to me. I wanted the RSX in that configuration, regardless of what else was out there.
My car analogy and people that blindly flock to buy or ask for an iPod are ALMOST the same; the difference is, most of them are unaware of what they are saying that they DON'T want.
...well, for a few reasons I suppose.
1. They can be damned fun.
2. They continually make my brain keep working, continually trying out new tactics.
3. Many a LAN party are included in my top 10 favorite memories of my entire life.
4. There are parts of the gaming community that are fantastic and allow for great friendships to come about.
5. They provide a fun alternative to the daily grind (much like drugs)
6. They have the ABILITY to be educational
7. They provide a safe place for the dark desires that dwell within all of us to be satiated. Afterall, would you rather someone be killing people on screen, or people on the street?
As far as fulfilling some psychological need, I wouldn't put myself in that group...however, I don't dispute it either; I know many people who are anti-social, have anxiety, are overly shy, have aspergers, or various other things that prevent them from interacting properly face to face. Put them behind a WoW toon though, and suddenly they become open and talkative and friendly.
Video games to me are a fantastic form of entertainment. They are similar to reading, the difference being instead of working your imagination, they work your reasoning and reaction. They require you to part with "daily reality", however, and embrace a different world. This is most definately not a bad thing when used in moderation.
Last but not least, it serves for a way for me and my fiance to bond...granted, there are many lonely gamers out there, but for geeks and nerds who are lucky enough to have a spouse who is just as geeky and nerdy...well, playing video games with a spouse who not only wants to but EXPECTS to brings about some amazingly fun times.
I don't understand the hub bub over iPods...I've used all forms of them from various people that I know...sure, the screen looks nice, but the interface is ATROCIOUS...not to mention the scroller is more like an infected nipple...finicky and ugly. The whole thing just looks like some candy-coated toy. Putting sugar on shit does not make it taste good.
No, for me my Rio Carbon (for work and general runnin around) and my Rio Karma (for my home network and my car) are still both pumping strong. The carbon uses a standard mini-USB cable and requires no software to put music on...it can also be used as a portable hard drive right outta the box. And lasts at LEAST 15 hours if not 20 hours on a single charge (25 if you keep the bass output and volume down)
The Karma comes with a docking station that allows it to be hookied up via your standard ethernet cable. In addition to the connection on the bottom for the dock, it too has a mini-usb connection. Granted, the Karma requires software to load music onto it, but that software also allows you to stream music to the web for free...
BOTH players can play a multitude of file formats, contain no DRM restrictions, and can be found for less than the cost of an iPod nano....
I dunno, I suppose I just don't see the purpose of buying an iPod. Sure, neither my Carbon or Karma can play video, but then again if I am in one place long enough to WATCH something, I would have a portable dvd player, or laptop, or home theater at hand...or I could just buy a PSP, which has MANY more uses if my needs require something more than JUST audio... It seems to me more like marketing superspeak more than anything else when it comes to people deciding to get an iPod; or maybe they just don't know what else is out there, who knows.
It is all a matter of opinion of course, and I don't look DOWN on people that own iPods...I feel sorry for them. Sure, they have all kinds of fun accessories or whatever, but still: they are buying a restrictive, overpriced, underprotected electronic device in which more money is spent in marketing than is spent on research.
I'm not anti-apple, nor am I even anti-iPod...I just think iPod's, while a marketing department's dream come true, are shit incarnate.
...primarily because I know that there will be ads online no matter WHAT I do...Adblock is a great firefox plugin, but still...ads are everywhere. If I am going to be forced to have them on the pages that I frequently view (like my hotmail account) I would MUCH rather that they be pertinant to my interests. I don't care about Botox, but an advert for a sale on an nvidia 8800...see, that I wouldn't mind
Hello all, I decided to finally write this down in response to some people asking me why I enjoy immeasurably violent video games and movies. This explanation is written using the game "Manhunt" as it's primary example, mainly because of it's subject matter (which can best be described as a "snuff video game"). PLEASE read it in it's entirety before responding, it's easy to think i'm making an uninformed point without reading the whole thing; I explain EVERY viewpoint I express.
Think about this, folks.
This "game" is not about sneakin' around, trying to see what the biggest mess you can make is. It's about much more than that. This game is in direct relation to the JTHM (Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vasquez, for the uninitiated...) in all of us, the little black beast that we keep to ourselves.
Ever say "I wish he were dead", or "he makes me so angry I want to kill him"? Of course you have. Everyone has. This game is the digital manifestation of those thoughts. It's not about suffocating some guy, or creating the pink mist... This game does one thing and one thing only: it asks you a question. A very simple question to state, and frankly a very simple question to answer:
Is your black beast fictional or real?
Do you have a little playground for the demon inside of you, someplace it can go and harmlessly let out it's frustrations and rage? Or are you so jaded and blind that you cannot discern the difference between reality and fantasy?
Frankly, if you enjoy this game (along with ANY violent video game or movie, regardless of it's subject or presentation) you are not sick. You are normal. You are provided an outlet for the most primal emotions that you, as a human, have. Your most carnal instincts. If you don't like this game because the graphics suck, or the control is wonky, fine. BUT. If you despise this game because you say it's "too violent" and "unneccessary", and "too realistic", and whatever else, guess what: YOU are the sick one. That's not to say that you can't see it as being gross, or that you don't like it because you supposidly don't like violence (then why do you slow down to look at car accidents, hmm?) What it means is that if you say that violent things such as this push sane and "normal" people into being murderers in real life...well, I'm sorry, but you are wrong.
The first step anyone takes to becomming a murderer in real life is not being able to tell the difference between reality and fantasy. Manhunt is fantasy. Does that mean something similar has not happend/could not happen? No. But your experience and memories of it happening are. It's a video game. It is designed to be a playground for your little black beast.
If you take it as being anything more serious than that...well, turn yourself in now.
You have to allow the little monster to come out every now and then and release it's frustrations. If you don't, you risk becomming a quivering mass of nervous and dangerous flesh. What better place to do this than in a simulated environment with simulated violence where the only things harmed are your eyes for staring at the screen?
True, the trouble with Dyno's is that they all measure differently....in some dyno-comparisons I have seen on various websites using the same car, as much as 10%
Now can we PLEASE start getting wheel horsepower ratings at stock? I don't care if my engine is making 300 if the wheels are only seeing 220 (yes I know they would be seeing more than 220, it was just an example)
Well, it can keep your beer cold...you would be suprised what you can buy nowadays that runs off a powered USB port...
The Rio Karma came with a dock that also had an Ethernet port on it so you could stream music to any computer in your house, or even over a WAN since each dock had a MAC address and an IP address. In addition, it's software allows you to stream music on the web for free.
I got it!!! Let's spend 200 dollars on a DRM infested piece of shit (i.e. Ipod Nano) that scratches when I look at it!
Or, we can buy a Rio Carbon that requires no software to put music on, can be used as an external hard drive, uses a standard mini-usb cable, is cheaper...etc.
Just because a ferrari can drive fast and look good doing it does not mean it will tow my friend's car out of the snow or allow me to take my new 50" plasma screen home. My pickup truck, however, will.
"Love, Sexxxx, and...GOD. So, would her royal highness care to change her password?"
Which means any time you have sex, you are fucking a relative...wait, isn't incest a sin?
Read my reply to another post for your answer. Also, see the first reply to your post by another slashdotter, they hit the nail on the head.