If I have to give up my college career to play CS professionally I won't play.
First let us put things in perspective here. As far as I know, very few sports have been lucrative for athletes in the beginning. Did people playe soccer 100 years ago to make money? No, since there was no money in soccer then, people played for the fun of it, for love of their sport and, probably, for fame and glory. How many of todays professional athletes make enough money to earn a living? Many of them have 'real' jobs on the side to make ends meet. Of course, this depends on the sport in question.
Second, having to give something up to do the other is a common thing, often referred to as making a commitment. Many people give up their promising careers in athletics, soccer, etc. to follow a more 'standard' route to earning your living. Some of them go for it, deciding they will pursue their dreams of getting to the olympics or something similar. If they succeed, good for them, if they don't, well , good luck to them.
It is not unlikely that one day, there will be money in playing CS professionally, or any other computer based game. But it will take time and no amount of whining is going to make it happen faster, only hard work and inventive ideas on how to bring CS out to a wider audience.
It's all about the fact that you now have the possibility to buy most of the games you want.
It just isn't that exiting anymore when you don't have to decide whether to buy QuakeIII or Unreal Tournament2003. You buy them both, and get the short end of the stick, because you don't have the time to play both, or find it hard to decide which one to play at any particular moment. A problem which increases in size the more games you buy.
For us with families, the time spent playing games gets ever shorter, which is why we put higher demands on the games we play. Which in turn leads to the conclusion that all of a sudden, games are no longer that good, because you cannot find the time to really get into more than a few games per season.
I buy fewer games nowadays, but instead I really try to play through them. This pays off most of the time.
I've been using the DWL-810+ for some time now, streaming my DVD movies using Relax over to my Xbox in the living room. Although a bit pricey, the device enables me to connect any hardware with an ethernet interface to my wireless gateway. It is a great setup with the server stashed away in the closet serving up all movies and MP3s to the xbox, wireless.
The fault lies at the patent office, accepting and granting a patent for something that is obviously just a 'shade' or 'facet' of another idea, namely auctions. Legally, eBay is currently at fault, since they are in fact infringing on his patent. He does not need to act on his 'idea', just patent it. Morally, ah..go figure.
A patent is, first of all, not even a constitutional right. The constitution says that congress may provide inventors with certain rights to their invention. This lead Jefferson et. al to set up the first patent board some 200 years ago. Now, for a patent to be granted, the invention it describes must be:
The useful property is questionable, but the nonobvious is very interesting, see nonobvius
A quote from this link:
It was never the object of patent laws to grant a monopoly for every trifling device, every shadow of a shade of an
idea, which would naturally and spontaneously occur to any skilled mechanic or operator in the ordinary progress of
manufactures. Such an indiscriminate creation of exclusive privileges tends rather to obstruct than to stimulate
invention.
And that kind of sums it up...
Another purpose of the patent idea, combined with licensing, was to open up trade secrets. Let the rest of the world know how we do it, so that all may benefit. But, if you want to use it, you need to license it.
Again, a good idea spoiled by insane capitalism.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a genuine capitalist, but it is scary to see what happens when capitalism goes berserk.
Exactly. Just because the guy is from M$ doesn't mean he is totally incompetent.
What you have here is a 'real world example'. This is how it works. The good guys don't get to rule, the nice guys don't get the hot chicks. You can bitch about it all you want, but that won't make a difference. Patience and hard work usually gets you where you want, but not always.
I'm amazed by the sheer length and value in this thread of discussion. It is also reassuring that there are people who find it rewarding to discuss these issues. Maybe there is hope for mankind afterall...
Slashdot Mirror
Two opinions put forth in the article:
If I don't get paid I won't play.
If I have to give up my college career to play CS professionally I won't play.
First let us put things in perspective here. As far as I know, very few sports have been lucrative for athletes in the beginning. Did people playe soccer 100 years ago to make money? No, since there was no money in soccer then, people played for the fun of it, for love of their sport and, probably, for fame and glory. How many of todays professional athletes make enough money to earn a living? Many of them have 'real' jobs on the side to make ends meet. Of course, this depends on the sport in question.
Second, having to give something up to do the other is a common thing, often referred to as making a commitment. Many people give up their promising careers in athletics, soccer, etc. to follow a more 'standard' route to earning your living. Some of them go for it, deciding they will pursue their dreams of getting to the olympics or something similar. If they succeed, good for them, if they don't, well , good luck to them.
It is not unlikely that one day, there will be money in playing CS professionally, or any other computer based game. But it will take time and no amount of whining is going to make it happen faster, only hard work and inventive ideas on how to bring CS out to a wider audience.
It's all about the fact that you now have the possibility to buy most of the games you want.
It just isn't that exiting anymore when you don't have to decide whether to buy QuakeIII or Unreal Tournament2003. You buy them both, and get the short end of the stick, because you don't have the time to play both, or find it hard to decide which one to play at any particular moment. A problem which increases in size the more games you buy.
For us with families, the time spent playing games gets ever shorter, which is why we put higher demands on the games we play. Which in turn leads to the conclusion that all of a sudden, games are no longer that good, because you cannot find the time to really get into more than a few games per season.
I buy fewer games nowadays, but instead I really try to play through them. This pays off most of the time.
I've been using the DWL-810+ for some time now, streaming my DVD movies using Relax over to my Xbox in the living room.
Although a bit pricey, the device enables me to connect any hardware with an ethernet interface to my wireless gateway.
It is a great setup with the server stashed away in the closet serving up all movies and MP3s to the xbox, wireless.
May I suggest a smaller box, perhaps?
get an afterburner...
The fault lies at the patent office, accepting and granting a patent for something that is obviously just a 'shade' or 'facet' of another idea, namely auctions.
Legally, eBay is currently at fault, since they are in fact infringing on his patent. He does not need to act on his 'idea', just patent it.
Morally, ah..go figure.
A patent is, first of all, not even a constitutional right. The constitution says that congress may provide inventors with certain rights to their invention. This lead Jefferson et. al to set up the first patent board some 200 years ago.
Now, for a patent to be granted, the invention it describes must be:
New
Useful
Nonobvious
For a good definition of new, see new
The useful property is questionable, but the nonobvious is very interesting, see nonobvius
A quote from this link:
It was never the object of patent laws to grant a monopoly for every trifling device, every shadow of a shade of an
idea, which would naturally and spontaneously occur to any skilled mechanic or operator in the ordinary progress of
manufactures. Such an indiscriminate creation of exclusive privileges tends rather to obstruct than to stimulate
invention.
And that kind of sums it up...
Another purpose of the patent idea, combined with licensing, was to open up trade secrets. Let the rest of the world know how we do it, so that all may benefit. But, if you want to use it, you need to license it.
Again, a good idea spoiled by insane capitalism.
Don't get me wrong, I'm a genuine capitalist, but it is scary to see what happens when capitalism goes berserk.
Actually it is short for 'Sequentielles M Getriebe". Which by all means, is just that.
Glass is an amorphous material which does not flow in room temperature. So. There.
Exactly. Just because the guy is from M$ doesn't mean he is totally incompetent.
What you have here is a 'real world example'. This is how it works. The good guys don't get to rule, the nice guys don't get the hot chicks. You can bitch about it all you want, but that won't make a difference. Patience and hard work usually gets you where you want, but not always.
your piss ain't good enough!
I'm amazed by the sheer length and value in this thread of discussion. It is also reassuring that there are people who find it rewarding to discuss these issues. Maybe there is hope for mankind afterall...
N O T H I N G justifies an act of this sort. Tens of thousands of people are likely to die.
have not ever, will not ever use it...
Context dependent evaluation of variables, could be really interesting to debug...