If you don't like the DRM, patching over it after purchase won't encourage change in DRM policies. I'd like to encourage people to at least wait a few months (even a year) to buy the game if they don't like the DRM, that way hopefully EA has more evidence that their bottom line is hurting a lot because of their draconian measures.
I'll post reviews if it lets me, and refer to the Amazon comments. Please add your reviews too; once a few get put there, more of Amazon's flash mob will hopefully contribute too.
Last I read you only get your game checked when you go online for content- there is no 10-day checkup anymore. I don't know if it requires you to connect to the internet upon install, but otherwise the DRM isn't that bad. I see nothing wrong with it verifying when I decide I want to connect online, assuming it doesn't take up my time. I will make sure I go over the official DRM terms before I buy the game, though.
When the 10 day checkup and 3-install limit were possibilities, I was with you on not buying the game despite being interested.
Maybe it is different in Canada, but you can get out of a contract if the provider creates a materially adverse change in the contract, such as this. Maybe it varies whether you have a texting plan, but I would be surprised if most people really can't get out of their contracts.
Those of you who read http://consumerist.com/ know this already. If you search "cellphone contract" you can find out a lot about your rights with regard to your cellphone provider.
I'm going back to FF2 until I can start typing 'slashdot' and the main page is actually the first suggestion at all times again.
If they want to let you use some hotkey or clickable button to switch to 'awesomebar mode' I'm fine with that, but 90%+ of the time I just want url's to come up. They're being like M$, putting a 'convenience' in that actively works against you, and making it absurdly difficult to get rid of it..
My fantasy is to independently get myself to Mars and do research, develop technology, etc. without all the bureaucracy, IP issues and utter stupidity you have to deal with on Earth to get anything done in science. While I'd love to detail all my super-cool ideas of technologies I'd make, the point is that you know its a sad time when geek space-faring fantasies rule out NASA.
In high school we had a really good physics teacher who put a lot of effort in his job, and I am sure deserved a lot more than what he got paid. There was also a physics teacher who was bad enough that her students usually had to ask those of us with the good teacher to explain things. Not only was this due to poor teaching, but also due to occasional poor instruction (for example, she would teach students to sometimes use the left hand rule instead of right hand rule for electrons... correct but bad idea), and sometimes even gave incorrect instruction. This teacher was bad enough that when we made fun of her or criticized her, the good physics professor would tell us to stop only to be polite, and never really defended his colleague, occasionally even laughing with us. Due to tenure, of course, this teacher could only be given fewer classes of students to confuse, rather than be fired.
If these things go into mass production, there will be a robot social disbalance, which is why I'm applying for a grant to build the first Robot Bully. "Making the bad times just a little bit worse!"
Personally, if I were interested in buying an e-book, I would be intending to read the book once, and be done with it. If I want to read a book again later,I may as well buy a paper copy of it. Assuming people generally agree on this consumer model, why not make e-books 1 year rentals, or something along those lines?
Since I assume most e-book consumers intend to be one-time users (this is my general perception), reselling would be high, and the digital nature means copies aren't readily destroyed, so basically books would rapidly stop selling new copies. Book sellers would not like this, so if they rent the book, there would be no way to have resell rights (lending rights may be a question, but that is a smaller issue), and prices could drop a little since publishers can get money from the paper edition still if the e-book customer decides to get a permanent copy. While those who want to keep their digital books would be unhappy, there needs to be enough room for companies to be profitable and not be under bombardment from everyone.
Maybe it isn't the most efficient solution, but it's an idea to consider.
Actually, no one may know what information was intended to be censored- there are enough companies, governments and individuals who would have motive to take the site down that the culprit has a certain level of anonymity amongst the crowd of them. For once censorship may not have the typical backfire we're used to.
Isn't it every few months that we see a "there may be more ___ in the universe than we previously thought" article (and Earth-like planets fill that blank every third article)? I say there are more scientists reusing previous work than we previously thought.
I grew up on Super Mario 3, Zelda, Bubble Bobble- all great for hand-eye coordination, and Battleship- great for strategy and analytical thinking. I started playing when I was 3... other than getting to play Doom 2 at my cousin's house sometimes (I'm not a violent person, but I don't think it did me any good), I think video games were an overall positive influence. Of course, back then we had to turn off the console after a while because it tended to freeze up when it heated up too much, so limiting play time was simpler.
I think a child can play video games as soon as the parents are ready to supervise and make sure it doesn't become the only thing they do.
Clearly the article is right that she couldn't have had a criminal record, as that should get her found immediately. Perhaps she didn't have the pristine life the article tries to paint, but chances are any dirt on her is nothing more than that which a free citizen might have on them. She clearly doesn't deserve to go back to prison; the proactive idea is supposed to be to reform inmates and get them to be able to go back to society, and she has demonstrated that she is a good citizen. After so many years, it wouldn't hurt to let her stay where she is. The only reason I can see for bringing her back is to set an example so inmates know there is no freedom from justice, by whatever definition. If her case is needed as an example, the database mustn't be doing much, as there should be enough examples that a one-time and one-time-only criminal doesn't have to be one. I just hope if she had to be the scapegoat to make the database look good, they put her right back out on parole and let her off easy.
Personally, I would come up with, essentially, a scribble with multiple lines, curves, and dots. I wouldn't need to see the image of it, so even if someone watches me draw, there would be little chance that they could imitate it. Same idea as avoiding words for passwords. This would be better to use for corporate or financial security; I don't see this as being practical for accounts and devices that don't have sensitive information or potential for major abuse.
Firewalkers don't burn their feet because they are in contact with the heat for only a short period of time. This bomb didn't do apocalyptic damage because it only lasted for a brief amount of time. If the explosion held its peak for a minute, there would likely be issues produced that alter life as we know it, but it was a short enough burst that the energy was able to dissipate over a large area without issue.
I know you want to use the US nuke stockpile issue more for arguments sake, but I hope no one here believes that argument. The US government is far more likely to be held accountable than just about any other government in the world. Knowing that, I feel the US should have the largest nuke stockpile by far. Not that I think we should use them, but because then I know the largest quantity of nukes in the world is in the safest hands it can be in. As long as we have the bigger stick, those who think the size of the stick matters will be held in check. To anyone who thinks it to be smarter to destroy our nukes: would you be fine if China, or maybe North Korea, has the largest nuclear stockpile in the world, or rather let it remain the US' title?
If you have students who have internet widely available to them (perhaps a minority have to use the school or library), online assignments can be a useful tool. My AP physics class in high school had half of the homework online. We had message boards to discuss problems, which the teacher would take part in, and people would use instant messaging and email additionally to communicate. It was encouraged to work together, and I learned physics really well by teaching some of my classmates, and most of the class learned really well because of this peer-teaching (I was not the only one teaching my classmates). As much as it is important for a teacher to lead the students in learning, the students can sometimes get across to each other better, so be sure to use that. My teacher put multiple choice conceptual questions up on the projector for the class to talk through, and had us do a lot of group work and discussion. He mostly only lectured when introducing a topic and when going over derivation of equations. I suppose what I am saying is that technology should only be used a lot if it is what students use a lot themselves.
As a mass of consumers, we don't have the lobbying funds that big corporate does to get their interests across. We need an alternative means to lobby. Now if we could get identity thieves to prey upon congressmen...
Well its not that the CD is obsolete, its that the business model is obsolete. If the music industry would push to find more musicians who will put 70 minutes of good music on a CD and not just 10 minutes across two songs and an hour of crap songs, people will buy the CD's more, especially if its cheaper than buying all the songs individually online. I still buy CD's because I found groups that will fill the disk with stuff I like to listen to, and most of these groups are very successful because of it.
Slashdot Mirror
If you don't like the DRM, patching over it after purchase won't encourage change in DRM policies. I'd like to encourage people to at least wait a few months (even a year) to buy the game if they don't like the DRM, that way hopefully EA has more evidence that their bottom line is hurting a lot because of their draconian measures.
I'll post reviews if it lets me, and refer to the Amazon comments. Please add your reviews too; once a few get put there, more of Amazon's flash mob will hopefully contribute too.
Last I read you only get your game checked when you go online for content- there is no 10-day checkup anymore. I don't know if it requires you to connect to the internet upon install, but otherwise the DRM isn't that bad. I see nothing wrong with it verifying when I decide I want to connect online, assuming it doesn't take up my time. I will make sure I go over the official DRM terms before I buy the game, though.
When the 10 day checkup and 3-install limit were possibilities, I was with you on not buying the game despite being interested.
Maybe it is different in Canada, but you can get out of a contract if the provider creates a materially adverse change in the contract, such as this. Maybe it varies whether you have a texting plan, but I would be surprised if most people really can't get out of their contracts. Those of you who read http://consumerist.com/ know this already. If you search "cellphone contract" you can find out a lot about your rights with regard to your cellphone provider.
vacuum tubes were depleting our reserves of vacuum
That sucks!
I'm going back to FF2 until I can start typing 'slashdot' and the main page is actually the first suggestion at all times again. If they want to let you use some hotkey or clickable button to switch to 'awesomebar mode' I'm fine with that, but 90%+ of the time I just want url's to come up. They're being like M$, putting a 'convenience' in that actively works against you, and making it absurdly difficult to get rid of it..
My fantasy is to independently get myself to Mars and do research, develop technology, etc. without all the bureaucracy, IP issues and utter stupidity you have to deal with on Earth to get anything done in science. While I'd love to detail all my super-cool ideas of technologies I'd make, the point is that you know its a sad time when geek space-faring fantasies rule out NASA.
In high school we had a really good physics teacher who put a lot of effort in his job, and I am sure deserved a lot more than what he got paid. There was also a physics teacher who was bad enough that her students usually had to ask those of us with the good teacher to explain things. Not only was this due to poor teaching, but also due to occasional poor instruction (for example, she would teach students to sometimes use the left hand rule instead of right hand rule for electrons... correct but bad idea), and sometimes even gave incorrect instruction. This teacher was bad enough that when we made fun of her or criticized her, the good physics professor would tell us to stop only to be polite, and never really defended his colleague, occasionally even laughing with us. Due to tenure, of course, this teacher could only be given fewer classes of students to confuse, rather than be fired.
If these things go into mass production, there will be a robot social disbalance, which is why I'm applying for a grant to build the first Robot Bully. "Making the bad times just a little bit worse!"
Personally, if I were interested in buying an e-book, I would be intending to read the book once, and be done with it. If I want to read a book again later,I may as well buy a paper copy of it. Assuming people generally agree on this consumer model, why not make e-books 1 year rentals, or something along those lines?
Since I assume most e-book consumers intend to be one-time users (this is my general perception), reselling would be high, and the digital nature means copies aren't readily destroyed, so basically books would rapidly stop selling new copies. Book sellers would not like this, so if they rent the book, there would be no way to have resell rights (lending rights may be a question, but that is a smaller issue), and prices could drop a little since publishers can get money from the paper edition still if the e-book customer decides to get a permanent copy. While those who want to keep their digital books would be unhappy, there needs to be enough room for companies to be profitable and not be under bombardment from everyone.
Maybe it isn't the most efficient solution, but it's an idea to consider.
Actually, no one may know what information was intended to be censored- there are enough companies, governments and individuals who would have motive to take the site down that the culprit has a certain level of anonymity amongst the crowd of them. For once censorship may not have the typical backfire we're used to.
Isn't it every few months that we see a "there may be more ___ in the universe than we previously thought" article (and Earth-like planets fill that blank every third article)? I say there are more scientists reusing previous work than we previously thought.
I grew up on Super Mario 3, Zelda, Bubble Bobble- all great for hand-eye coordination, and Battleship- great for strategy and analytical thinking. I started playing when I was 3... other than getting to play Doom 2 at my cousin's house sometimes (I'm not a violent person, but I don't think it did me any good), I think video games were an overall positive influence. Of course, back then we had to turn off the console after a while because it tended to freeze up when it heated up too much, so limiting play time was simpler. I think a child can play video games as soon as the parents are ready to supervise and make sure it doesn't become the only thing they do.
He can beat connect four in three moves.
Clearly the article is right that she couldn't have had a criminal record, as that should get her found immediately. Perhaps she didn't have the pristine life the article tries to paint, but chances are any dirt on her is nothing more than that which a free citizen might have on them. She clearly doesn't deserve to go back to prison; the proactive idea is supposed to be to reform inmates and get them to be able to go back to society, and she has demonstrated that she is a good citizen. After so many years, it wouldn't hurt to let her stay where she is. The only reason I can see for bringing her back is to set an example so inmates know there is no freedom from justice, by whatever definition. If her case is needed as an example, the database mustn't be doing much, as there should be enough examples that a one-time and one-time-only criminal doesn't have to be one. I just hope if she had to be the scapegoat to make the database look good, they put her right back out on parole and let her off easy.
Personally, I would come up with, essentially, a scribble with multiple lines, curves, and dots. I wouldn't need to see the image of it, so even if someone watches me draw, there would be little chance that they could imitate it. Same idea as avoiding words for passwords. This would be better to use for corporate or financial security; I don't see this as being practical for accounts and devices that don't have sensitive information or potential for major abuse.
Firewalkers don't burn their feet because they are in contact with the heat for only a short period of time. This bomb didn't do apocalyptic damage because it only lasted for a brief amount of time. If the explosion held its peak for a minute, there would likely be issues produced that alter life as we know it, but it was a short enough burst that the energy was able to dissipate over a large area without issue.
It should be hosted by Bill Nye.
There's an error in the OP, the place is called Canadia (cuh-nay-dee-uh). Jeez.
Just turn off disasters.
I know you want to use the US nuke stockpile issue more for arguments sake, but I hope no one here believes that argument. The US government is far more likely to be held accountable than just about any other government in the world. Knowing that, I feel the US should have the largest nuke stockpile by far. Not that I think we should use them, but because then I know the largest quantity of nukes in the world is in the safest hands it can be in. As long as we have the bigger stick, those who think the size of the stick matters will be held in check. To anyone who thinks it to be smarter to destroy our nukes: would you be fine if China, or maybe North Korea, has the largest nuclear stockpile in the world, or rather let it remain the US' title?
If you have students who have internet widely available to them (perhaps a minority have to use the school or library), online assignments can be a useful tool. My AP physics class in high school had half of the homework online. We had message boards to discuss problems, which the teacher would take part in, and people would use instant messaging and email additionally to communicate. It was encouraged to work together, and I learned physics really well by teaching some of my classmates, and most of the class learned really well because of this peer-teaching (I was not the only one teaching my classmates). As much as it is important for a teacher to lead the students in learning, the students can sometimes get across to each other better, so be sure to use that.
My teacher put multiple choice conceptual questions up on the projector for the class to talk through, and had us do a lot of group work and discussion. He mostly only lectured when introducing a topic and when going over derivation of equations. I suppose what I am saying is that technology should only be used a lot if it is what students use a lot themselves.
As a mass of consumers, we don't have the lobbying funds that big corporate does to get their interests across. We need an alternative means to lobby. Now if we could get identity thieves to prey upon congressmen...
Well its not that the CD is obsolete, its that the business model is obsolete. If the music industry would push to find more musicians who will put 70 minutes of good music on a CD and not just 10 minutes across two songs and an hour of crap songs, people will buy the CD's more, especially if its cheaper than buying all the songs individually online. I still buy CD's because I found groups that will fill the disk with stuff I like to listen to, and most of these groups are very successful because of it.