Agreed, I have no problem reading a book on my PDA. I don't worry about "batteries" or the likes, I just read on it. It doesn't make it any less of an experience - the words are the same, just a different medium. It's kind of amusing seeing people react this way to new mediums on a "news for nerds" website... very very amusing.
However, back on topic, DST doesn't make any difference really, the hottest part of the day here in Australia during summer is often between 1700 & 2000 - and yes, it stays hot ALL NIGHT. I remember one new years it was 45 degrees (celcius for all those backward people) all night. So really, DST is saving or losing nothing. It's really a moot point.
I really hate it when economist cook up bullshit figures to support their funding grants. I'm all for more daylight hours at night. Gives you time to go to the beach after work, do stuff in the garden, you know - life stuff... waiiit, I forgot slashdot... I'll shut up now.
I concur, the Zone is REAL and it does work. Some of my best K/D ratios in FPSs, best times on tracks, best PvP sessions in MMOs, hell even best scores on guitar hero come from this meditative state.
It's almost like a drug when you find it, you really get a sense of oneness and detachment at the same time. I have read quite a few theories on how it works, none seem to explain it fully - just trust in the Zone and you will ALWAYS be on top.
Yeh, because it's so hard to hijack another student's computer and utilise it as a proxy... imagine the litigation that would follow for expelling students for downloading when they are innocent. I think it would cost the universities a lot more than $1.2m...
There are plenty of games that are masterpieces, two that I hold in very high regard are American McGee's Alice and Black & White (I & II). Both are amazing concepts with a depth that gives the player insight.
To say a masterpiece enlightens is a bit over the top, it can inspire insight, but not enlighten the user. To set one's standards so high would rule both Bach & Shakespeare out of any sort of "master of the trade" status.
Apart from the fact whirlpool is a troll platform more than a consumer watchdog now. You raise an issue on the forums and fanboys troll you to no end.
Either way, it's a shit site for fighting back. The only avenue of dispute is, AND ALWAYS WILL BE, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman. I have, over the past 12 months, lodged a total of 3 complaints with the TIO. 2 of them didn't even make it to Level 1 complaint before the ISP changed their policy/dropped charges. The 3rd case is currently at Level 3, which is the final level before the case is refered to the Austrlian Communications & Media Authority. Once it reaches them, fines & possible revoking of communications lisence/trading rights can ensue.
All my complaints on whirlpool.net.au have done is serve to fuel trolling, not serve to be an open forum where you can stage a consumer "fight back". So yes, stop smoking crack and get with the real world, Australia has VERY strict laws with regards to communication - it's just ISPs & Telcos decide to try and blindside customers with illegitimate T&Cs.
I usually don't post to this kind of crap, but seriously, take a look at yourself. From what I've read up and down the thread you are a just another business owner who spends their time looking at how good they are. You come across not like a biased person, but like a dictator.
I have worked for people like you, and I hated every moment.
Try running high end ATi cards in linux... pain in the arse. Once they sort that shit out I'll be fully migrated. Unfortunately Eve doesn't like ATi drivers, nor does any of the other DX based games when it comes to linux.
If you have a newer nVidia card you're fine though... makes me wish I was an nVidia fanboy...
Remember, keep your head under the covers until the reds are dead... I mean, seriously, come on. The "democractic" process in Asia is more blatant than the one in the US.
I don't really see it as political stunt, Google is a company... simple. Evil or not, they want the best deal. It seems Intel are doing fine in Vietnam actually, they've sunk quite a heafty payload into the economy there and the plant is doing well.
Either wake up and see what is passing the old "power blocks" by, or be scared of the reds taking everything from you... your choice.
I haven't lived in Africa, but I have lived in under-developed nations a large portion of my life. To be honest, you hit the nail on the head, and it's not just limited to Africa. The problem with aid agencies is that they are just as corrupt, if not more, than the governments they are trying to protect the citizens from.
Aid agencies need to be a lot stricter on their staff members and have stiffer penalties for any transgressions - you know, like a bit of gaol time in a dingy cell rather than painting them as a Martyr like the "Chad Children Thieves".
After watching my father work for the last 20 years in under-developed nations (there is no such thing as this "third world" you fools speak of), attitudes like this are why people are forced to work in basically interment camps. They do not have what they've not had for so long, they do this because they need to earn MORE MONEY NOW due to rising costs in faltering economies.
This is not the "global economy" this is global exploitation.
The whole globalisation thing is imperialism, it is racism, it is exploitation. Just because you've stuck a new name on an old idea does not mean it makes things better, I would challenge ANYONE to go to these workers who we exploit in under-developed nations and say "what we're doing is GOOD for you and GOOD for your country".
We had a massive incident here in Australia where a plane came down in the bush, noone for 100's of kms. The pilot had both analog and digital mobiles. The unfortunate thing was that he had no digital coverage and the closest analog tower had been shut down. Pilot & passangers all died from exposure and it came out that if the analog tower was active they could have made a call to get help.
The digital tower had actually taken the spot of the analog tower. This gave us another few years of analog and a dodgy attempt to get the same range as analog out of digital (Telstra call it Next-G, but it's just 3.5g with a massive boosting system). The solution definately doesn't work, not when techs in the bush call me saying "I used to be able to call anyone from within the server room here, now I can't... *dropout* et *dropout*... *click*".
Personally I think IBM should have thought twice... it's really a pseudonym for a world that our current technology can't come to grips with. Bringing the whole Snowcrash equation into things does scare me to.
Then again, if they have cracked it, I want a go...
I've long since said that Black & White is a lot more morally questionable than games like GTA for instance.
My reasons are this:
1. You are able to play "good" or "evil" roles, there's the whole task and reward for both "good" and "evil". In GTA if you do "evil" things the cops are on your arse, therefor negative reinforcement.
2. You are encouraged to hurt/hinder people as much as you are encouraged to save/help people. In GTA, you are encouraged to finish the mission and deterred from doing out and out "evil".
3. Your beast ends up being as powerful no matter if you are "good" or "evil", the only way to finish GTA is to do things by the book - kill baddies, help goodies - without doing so you don't get the good guns, armour, or even progress.
I know this isn't an exhaustive list of why Black & White is more morally questionable than violent games, but it is merely a demonstration that if you want to attack games for emotional & moral implications it's not always the most violent.
I suppose you could say that games like Nintendogs are emotionally questionable due to the fact you can always reset it, unlike if you have a real dog. To me, a gamer who understands the games they play will, like any enjoyer of fine art, music, novels, etc, ensure that their experience is based on the artistic merits (visual, audio, plot, etc) rather than seeing the game as a factual example of what life is/should be.
valid point dude... I gave up on IRC about 7 years ago, was just too infurating to have to sit there and read 12 year old profess to know all the secrets of the universe.
While I do feel for the monkies still using it, searchable databases of chats have been around for ages. I ran my own chatlog bots (good old eggies). I even used to run them in channels I was banned in - the idiots running the channels had no idea how to distinguish an eggdrop bot from a human, even when I stuck chatty mods on it.
Really this is mountains out of molehills - if you are that concerned about your privacy, don't use IRC.
actually, it's no loss for the makers of Futurama. They even aknowledge the fact it will be pirated - to be honest, without it being downloadable (pirated or not) Futurama would have nowhere near the fanbase.
I personally know of at least 10 people who would never have seen futurama if I haddn't given them copies or reccomended they download it. Because of Fox's retarded attitude towards Futurama when it was being aired for the first time, it seems that most people remembered it as "that show that the dude who did The Simpsons made... gotta love the robot" and that's pretty much it. Without being given copies to watch they would never have become fans.
I downloaded it, sure, I also downloaded, then bought, all 4 previous seasons. I have every intention of buying it when it comes out here in Australia, but we're usually behind the US and the UK, so I don't see us getting it until 2009.
Actually, it's the other way around, "Service Pack" is just another bullshit name for "Pack of Patches". Apple don't do "hotfixes" as Microsoft do, they do minor releases (ie 10.4.x to 10.4.y).
Personally, I'm more comfortable with a little longer release cycle for minor releases than a REALLY long release cycle for service packs. Hotfixes do nothing short of fuck machines - anything from making apps fall over, to out and out security flaws.
I think paying for a full point release, and paying a damn sight less than an MS release, isn't a bad strategy.
$150 ever couple of years for an OS that, even on it's worst day, works better than anything MS has to offer is much better than $500+ to upgrade your machine that will almost definately require another $3000 in hardware to run it at any decent speed.
PS nutcase AC, your statement makes no sense. Defragging a drive to be partitioned will not ensure data integrity. Like me trying to explain this to you, it's a futile effort with no measurable gains.
The Zune will never be #2 so long as iRiver exist. I know a lot of people who would never buy an iPod, nor would they even dream of buying a Zune. iRiver is generally what they go for, or some cheap korean/chinese iPod knock-off.
The Zune is and always will be a failure due to the way Microsoft treats digital media (audio/video).
To be honest, the best thing MS has done in a LONG time is the Xbox/Xbox360. Having just been to the E-Games show here in Melbourne I can attest to the poor quality of the PS3 vs 360. The 360 shits all over the PS3 when it comes to quality of graphics, even though it shoud be the reverse according to hardware specs.
This game of catch up, which was NEVER done on the Xbox, is not how you gain a place in the top 5 producers of a product. While I am massively anti-MS when it comes to their software, but I give kudos where it's due and MS hardware has mostly been pretty good.
Slashdot Mirror
you seem to want to talk about my country... do tell me more.
makes me scared... will have the "EA Touch(TM)" just like everything they buy *shudders*.
Agreed, I have no problem reading a book on my PDA. I don't worry about "batteries" or the likes, I just read on it. It doesn't make it any less of an experience - the words are the same, just a different medium. It's kind of amusing seeing people react this way to new mediums on a "news for nerds" website... very very amusing.
Agreed - EVERYTHING in moderation.
However, back on topic, DST doesn't make any difference really, the hottest part of the day here in Australia during summer is often between 1700 & 2000 - and yes, it stays hot ALL NIGHT. I remember one new years it was 45 degrees (celcius for all those backward people) all night. So really, DST is saving or losing nothing. It's really a moot point.
I really hate it when economist cook up bullshit figures to support their funding grants. I'm all for more daylight hours at night. Gives you time to go to the beach after work, do stuff in the garden, you know - life stuff... waiiit, I forgot slashdot... I'll shut up now.
I concur, the Zone is REAL and it does work. Some of my best K/D ratios in FPSs, best times on tracks, best PvP sessions in MMOs, hell even best scores on guitar hero come from this meditative state.
It's almost like a drug when you find it, you really get a sense of oneness and detachment at the same time. I have read quite a few theories on how it works, none seem to explain it fully - just trust in the Zone and you will ALWAYS be on top.
I so wish I had mod points... pure genius.
Yeh, because it's so hard to hijack another student's computer and utilise it as a proxy... imagine the litigation that would follow for expelling students for downloading when they are innocent. I think it would cost the universities a lot more than $1.2m...
If I were you I wouldn't admit that on slashdot...
There are plenty of games that are masterpieces, two that I hold in very high regard are American McGee's Alice and Black & White (I & II). Both are amazing concepts with a depth that gives the player insight.
To say a masterpiece enlightens is a bit over the top, it can inspire insight, but not enlighten the user. To set one's standards so high would rule both Bach & Shakespeare out of any sort of "master of the trade" status.
Apart from the fact whirlpool is a troll platform more than a consumer watchdog now. You raise an issue on the forums and fanboys troll you to no end.
Either way, it's a shit site for fighting back. The only avenue of dispute is, AND ALWAYS WILL BE, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman. I have, over the past 12 months, lodged a total of 3 complaints with the TIO. 2 of them didn't even make it to Level 1 complaint before the ISP changed their policy/dropped charges. The 3rd case is currently at Level 3, which is the final level before the case is refered to the Austrlian Communications & Media Authority. Once it reaches them, fines & possible revoking of communications lisence/trading rights can ensue.
All my complaints on whirlpool.net.au have done is serve to fuel trolling, not serve to be an open forum where you can stage a consumer "fight back". So yes, stop smoking crack and get with the real world, Australia has VERY strict laws with regards to communication - it's just ISPs & Telcos decide to try and blindside customers with illegitimate T&Cs.
I usually don't post to this kind of crap, but seriously, take a look at yourself. From what I've read up and down the thread you are a just another business owner who spends their time looking at how good they are. You come across not like a biased person, but like a dictator.
I have worked for people like you, and I hated every moment.
Try running high end ATi cards in linux... pain in the arse. Once they sort that shit out I'll be fully migrated. Unfortunately Eve doesn't like ATi drivers, nor does any of the other DX based games when it comes to linux.
If you have a newer nVidia card you're fine though... makes me wish I was an nVidia fanboy...
Remember, keep your head under the covers until the reds are dead... I mean, seriously, come on. The "democractic" process in Asia is more blatant than the one in the US.
I don't really see it as political stunt, Google is a company... simple. Evil or not, they want the best deal. It seems Intel are doing fine in Vietnam actually, they've sunk quite a heafty payload into the economy there and the plant is doing well.
Either wake up and see what is passing the old "power blocks" by, or be scared of the reds taking everything from you... your choice.
Now I know where that term comes from... it's not crashing computers, it's M$'s ulterior motive - to take over the world!
"it's Pinky, Pinky and the brain brain brain brain brain brain brain brain brain brain brain brain"
I haven't lived in Africa, but I have lived in under-developed nations a large portion of my life. To be honest, you hit the nail on the head, and it's not just limited to Africa. The problem with aid agencies is that they are just as corrupt, if not more, than the governments they are trying to protect the citizens from.
Aid agencies need to be a lot stricter on their staff members and have stiffer penalties for any transgressions - you know, like a bit of gaol time in a dingy cell rather than painting them as a Martyr like the "Chad Children Thieves".
You sir are an idiot.
After watching my father work for the last 20 years in under-developed nations (there is no such thing as this "third world" you fools speak of), attitudes like this are why people are forced to work in basically interment camps. They do not have what they've not had for so long, they do this because they need to earn MORE MONEY NOW due to rising costs in faltering economies.
This is not the "global economy" this is global exploitation.
The whole globalisation thing is imperialism, it is racism, it is exploitation. Just because you've stuck a new name on an old idea does not mean it makes things better, I would challenge ANYONE to go to these workers who we exploit in under-developed nations and say "what we're doing is GOOD for you and GOOD for your country".
We had a massive incident here in Australia where a plane came down in the bush, noone for 100's of kms. The pilot had both analog and digital mobiles. The unfortunate thing was that he had no digital coverage and the closest analog tower had been shut down. Pilot & passangers all died from exposure and it came out that if the analog tower was active they could have made a call to get help.
The digital tower had actually taken the spot of the analog tower. This gave us another few years of analog and a dodgy attempt to get the same range as analog out of digital (Telstra call it Next-G, but it's just 3.5g with a massive boosting system). The solution definately doesn't work, not when techs in the bush call me saying "I used to be able to call anyone from within the server room here, now I can't... *dropout* et *dropout*... *click*".
Personally I think IBM should have thought twice... it's really a pseudonym for a world that our current technology can't come to grips with. Bringing the whole Snowcrash equation into things does scare me to.
Then again, if they have cracked it, I want a go...
I've long since said that Black & White is a lot more morally questionable than games like GTA for instance.
My reasons are this:
1. You are able to play "good" or "evil" roles, there's the whole task and reward for both "good" and "evil". In GTA if you do "evil" things the cops are on your arse, therefor negative reinforcement.
2. You are encouraged to hurt/hinder people as much as you are encouraged to save/help people. In GTA, you are encouraged to finish the mission and deterred from doing out and out "evil".
3. Your beast ends up being as powerful no matter if you are "good" or "evil", the only way to finish GTA is to do things by the book - kill baddies, help goodies - without doing so you don't get the good guns, armour, or even progress.
I know this isn't an exhaustive list of why Black & White is more morally questionable than violent games, but it is merely a demonstration that if you want to attack games for emotional & moral implications it's not always the most violent.
I suppose you could say that games like Nintendogs are emotionally questionable due to the fact you can always reset it, unlike if you have a real dog. To me, a gamer who understands the games they play will, like any enjoyer of fine art, music, novels, etc, ensure that their experience is based on the artistic merits (visual, audio, plot, etc) rather than seeing the game as a factual example of what life is/should be.
valid point dude... I gave up on IRC about 7 years ago, was just too infurating to have to sit there and read 12 year old profess to know all the secrets of the universe.
While I do feel for the monkies still using it, searchable databases of chats have been around for ages. I ran my own chatlog bots (good old eggies). I even used to run them in channels I was banned in - the idiots running the channels had no idea how to distinguish an eggdrop bot from a human, even when I stuck chatty mods on it.
Really this is mountains out of molehills - if you are that concerned about your privacy, don't use IRC.
actually, it's no loss for the makers of Futurama. They even aknowledge the fact it will be pirated - to be honest, without it being downloadable (pirated or not) Futurama would have nowhere near the fanbase.
I personally know of at least 10 people who would never have seen futurama if I haddn't given them copies or reccomended they download it. Because of Fox's retarded attitude towards Futurama when it was being aired for the first time, it seems that most people remembered it as "that show that the dude who did The Simpsons made... gotta love the robot" and that's pretty much it. Without being given copies to watch they would never have become fans.
I downloaded it, sure, I also downloaded, then bought, all 4 previous seasons. I have every intention of buying it when it comes out here in Australia, but we're usually behind the US and the UK, so I don't see us getting it until 2009.
Actually, it's the other way around, "Service Pack" is just another bullshit name for "Pack of Patches". Apple don't do "hotfixes" as Microsoft do, they do minor releases (ie 10.4.x to 10.4.y).
Personally, I'm more comfortable with a little longer release cycle for minor releases than a REALLY long release cycle for service packs. Hotfixes do nothing short of fuck machines - anything from making apps fall over, to out and out security flaws.
I think paying for a full point release, and paying a damn sight less than an MS release, isn't a bad strategy.
$150 ever couple of years for an OS that, even on it's worst day, works better than anything MS has to offer is much better than $500+ to upgrade your machine that will almost definately require another $3000 in hardware to run it at any decent speed.
Amen to that.
PS nutcase AC, your statement makes no sense. Defragging a drive to be partitioned will not ensure data integrity. Like me trying to explain this to you, it's a futile effort with no measurable gains.
The Zune will never be #2 so long as iRiver exist. I know a lot of people who would never buy an iPod, nor would they even dream of buying a Zune. iRiver is generally what they go for, or some cheap korean/chinese iPod knock-off.
The Zune is and always will be a failure due to the way Microsoft treats digital media (audio/video).
To be honest, the best thing MS has done in a LONG time is the Xbox/Xbox360. Having just been to the E-Games show here in Melbourne I can attest to the poor quality of the PS3 vs 360. The 360 shits all over the PS3 when it comes to quality of graphics, even though it shoud be the reverse according to hardware specs.
This game of catch up, which was NEVER done on the Xbox, is not how you gain a place in the top 5 producers of a product. While I am massively anti-MS when it comes to their software, but I give kudos where it's due and MS hardware has mostly been pretty good.
If you want lightweight - ratpoison is about as lightweight as you can get.