Agreed, I only got a PS2 this year when the price dropped dramatically, and there's still some good games being released - God of War II springs straight to mind. Big back catalog of games, lots of second hand games floating about everywhere, decent sized 3rd party hardware market...yeah, good time to buy.
Next up: I upgrade from VHS to DVD, just in time for Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD v2.0!;)
They could stop complaining and get back to developing web-based apps that crap over anything MS has to offer (I'm thinking search engine, image search, webmail etc). Not to go Web 2.0 on anyone, but why do they care about the desktop? No advertising dollars there (yet).
I'm fairly sure that selling unauthorised copies of CDs/DVDs would cross the boundary into criminal.
Personally, selling is where I'd draw the line. Swapping, sharing, whatever, but profiting from pirating is a different kettle of fish. I would guess that the majority of file sharers would hold similar views, and whilst I'm sure that some will disagree and bring up some interesting/spurious analogies to counter that view, I will preempt by saying that not selling downloaded/ripped stuff is the difference between downloading and not stealing a car/handbag etc.
Honestly, could this get any nerdier? A massively multiplayer game based on playing with Lego for god's sake? I assume a Star Wars theme will be included somehow
You want nerdier? I'll see your Star Wars, and raise you a Firefly. Lego Mal shoots first!
And the article summary is as bad:
as it tears apart some of the most common arguments in favor of file sharing
I wasn't aware that self-serving bollocks could be used to tear apart arguments. The article was about as convincing as the 'you wouldn't steal a car' ads. And there is a big difference between trading files online and selling counterfeits.
Yep, civil plaintiffs just have to demonstrate that 'on the balance of probability' they are correct. If it was a criminal suit (something the RIAA doesn't do) they'd have to prove everything 'beyond reasonable doubt'. As it's a civil case, the RIAA doesn't have to necessarily be right, just to be able to argue their side better.
Most of the victims just roll over because they can't afford to pay a lawyer
On the other hand, the odds are that they have pinpointed a fair few people who have downloaded music. I really dislike their tactics (suing customers? Great idea!) and we do like to bring up the 'suing grandmothers/10 year olds/dead people' thing here on/. but it's fair to presume that with the amount of file trading going on, quite a few people that they sue are actually guilty.
Does the punishment fit the crime? I wouldn't say so, and their machine gun-like attitude to lawsuits is nauseating. But still, they wouldn't be doing this if people weren't downloading.
The answer? Portable HDDs and sharing them around your with your friends:)
Re:Same with the ipods back when they hit 1 mil.
on
A Million Zunes Sold
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· Score: 1
Please note that I am NOT saying the Zune is a bad product
I think it's actually a better MS product than many they produce. (Disclaimer: don't own a Zune, don't own an iPod. Happy with my Creative Zen) The thing about the Zune is the potential it had, and the way that MS completely ruined anything that made it good. Case in point - wireless sharing. Sounded like a good idea before the Zune was released, and was barely more than useless when it came out.
What might have made the Zune more palatable and sold a few more units would be if people were able to fiddle with the software on it, a la the PSP - some homebrew allowing the wireless capacity to actually be used would probably have geeks everywhere buying one, if only to swap files with almost no chance of detection. Mind you, MS would probably issue a firmware update immediately to disable homebrew...and sales:)
I remember back in `98 or thereabouts there was one of those free dial-up ISPs around...free unlimited net access, with an adbar at the top of your screen. Crap by today's standards, but one thing they did do was have a limited number of customers, which they took from a list of people who wanted to join, at irregular intervals when their service was able to cope.
I dare say that something like that could work for broadband ISPs now...keep the subscriber numbers at a manageable level and charge an appropriate price for guaranteed access. If nothing else, the geeks would keep them in business;)
Yeah, very few temporary taxes get repealed once they're enacted, the same way that laws enacted for a period of time tend to remain in force after that period has ended;)
Personally, it's not even something I'd bother with. What a lot of people forget is that a hell of a lot of films aren't really worth watching in HD. Whilst big things like Lord of the Rings, The Matrix or Star Wars would look great on a big screen in Blu-Ray or HD-DVD, there's a hell of a lot of movies worth watching (Clerks, American Werewolf, Animal House etc) which would give nothing in a hi-def format, and may well look worse than regular DVD. In most cases, regular DVDs would provide pretty much the same experience at a much better price.
Personally, one reason I would look seriously at next gen formats would be if they provided entire TV shows on one or two discs. Same quality, possibly even same price, but hell of a space saver. But I doubt that will happen soon:)
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It's also possible that they implanted Furon DNA in our genes thousands of years ago ;)
Stupidest thing I ever heard. Everyone knows that it's four elephants
Agreed, I only got a PS2 this year when the price dropped dramatically, and there's still some good games being released - God of War II springs straight to mind. Big back catalog of games, lots of second hand games floating about everywhere, decent sized 3rd party hardware market...yeah, good time to buy.
;)
Next up: I upgrade from VHS to DVD, just in time for Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD v2.0!
If they take the pics down, would they fall under the DMCA Safe Harbour? ;)
Anyone watching the watchmen? Sounds like NAMBLA just found their dream job
They could stop complaining and get back to developing web-based apps that crap over anything MS has to offer (I'm thinking search engine, image search, webmail etc). Not to go Web 2.0 on anyone, but why do they care about the desktop? No advertising dollars there (yet).
Or else be really good at tic-tac-toe =)
Agreed. Would you say that this is step 5 or step 8?
I also gather they're planning to spraypaint the blog's URL all over town. The kids dig reading their blogs and interwebs when they have cred, man ;)
I'm fairly sure that selling unauthorised copies of CDs/DVDs would cross the boundary into criminal.
Personally, selling is where I'd draw the line. Swapping, sharing, whatever, but profiting from pirating is a different kettle of fish. I would guess that the majority of file sharers would hold similar views, and whilst I'm sure that some will disagree and bring up some interesting/spurious analogies to counter that view, I will preempt by saying that not selling downloaded/ripped stuff is the difference between downloading and not stealing a car/handbag etc.
You want nerdier? I'll see your Star Wars, and raise you a Firefly. Lego Mal shoots first!
I wasn't aware that self-serving bollocks could be used to tear apart arguments. The article was about as convincing as the 'you wouldn't steal a car' ads. And there is a big difference between trading files online and selling counterfeits.
Yep, civil plaintiffs just have to demonstrate that 'on the balance of probability' they are correct. If it was a criminal suit (something the RIAA doesn't do) they'd have to prove everything 'beyond reasonable doubt'. As it's a civil case, the RIAA doesn't have to necessarily be right, just to be able to argue their side better.
On the other hand, the odds are that they have pinpointed a fair few people who have downloaded music. I really dislike their tactics (suing customers? Great idea!) and we do like to bring up the 'suing grandmothers/10 year olds/dead people' thing here on
Does the punishment fit the crime? I wouldn't say so, and their machine gun-like attitude to lawsuits is nauseating. But still, they wouldn't be doing this if people weren't downloading.
The answer? Portable HDDs and sharing them around your with your friends
If the movie gets dull, you can watch some pr0n?
I think it's actually a better MS product than many they produce. (Disclaimer: don't own a Zune, don't own an iPod. Happy with my Creative Zen) The thing about the Zune is the potential it had, and the way that MS completely ruined anything that made it good. Case in point - wireless sharing. Sounded like a good idea before the Zune was released, and was barely more than useless when it came out.
What might have made the Zune more palatable and sold a few more units would be if people were able to fiddle with the software on it, a la the PSP - some homebrew allowing the wireless capacity to actually be used would probably have geeks everywhere buying one, if only to swap files with almost no chance of detection. Mind you, MS would probably issue a firmware update immediately to disable homebrew...and sales
I remember back in `98 or thereabouts there was one of those free dial-up ISPs around...free unlimited net access, with an adbar at the top of your screen. Crap by today's standards, but one thing they did do was have a limited number of customers, which they took from a list of people who wanted to join, at irregular intervals when their service was able to cope.
;)
I dare say that something like that could work for broadband ISPs now...keep the subscriber numbers at a manageable level and charge an appropriate price for guaranteed access. If nothing else, the geeks would keep them in business
Personally, I think that Lego Star Wars has much more possibility for an entertaining SW series, and the chance of decent acting are far greater ;)
Not to mention...it's not exactly new news either.
Personally, I'm surprised they haven't started suing the iGoatse...which almost makes me wish I had an iPod ;)
Or buy over the phone & tip some kid $5 to pick them up from the register during their busy time. Quick, easy & you won't be on any security footage.
Yeah, very few temporary taxes get repealed once they're enacted, the same way that laws enacted for a period of time tend to remain in force after that period has ended ;)
You got that right. I have one, but you have to be careful. I overclocked it and ended up losing six weeks ;)
Personally, it's not even something I'd bother with. What a lot of people forget is that a hell of a lot of films aren't really worth watching in HD. Whilst big things like Lord of the Rings, The Matrix or Star Wars would look great on a big screen in Blu-Ray or HD-DVD, there's a hell of a lot of movies worth watching (Clerks, American Werewolf, Animal House etc) which would give nothing in a hi-def format, and may well look worse than regular DVD. In most cases, regular DVDs would provide pretty much the same experience at a much better price.
:)
Personally, one reason I would look seriously at next gen formats would be if they provided entire TV shows on one or two discs. Same quality, possibly even same price, but hell of a space saver. But I doubt that will happen soon