I can say this: I just built a new gaming rig and it was _very_ nice to just be able to install steam, login, and then tell it to reinstall all of my games on the new box while I went to bed. No more CD shuffle for my Steam games.
As for those who'd argue about the pricing: no one forces you to buy the games via Steam. I usually just wait for the games I want to go on sale at a local store and them upload them to Steam afterwards. I got the entire Orange box for $25 over Black Friday.
Light! I've read through the series at least three times and I'll tell you that spurious claims that Jordan used filler text make me want to yank my braid. If I wasn't so busy smoothing my skirts and schooling my face to a perfect example of Aes Sedai serenity, I'd be veiling up like a black-eyed Aiel.
Next they're going to be suggesting that the Else Grinwell sub-plot doesn't have a bearing on the final battle. Sheesh.
I agree with apodyopsis, you're never really out of the game until it's over. Nearly every single one of our games goes down to the wire, even for someone who gets jacked with an early set back. The trick is that you've got to be flexible in your strategies. You've got multiple avenues to build up points: growing out, growing up, longest road, biggest army, and development cards. You've got to keep working the avenues that are available and not the ones you wished you had.
I'm assuming your playing the basic game though. If we're talking about the expansions, then yes, I'd agree it's very easy to get shutout early in the game. The Knights expansion, for example, is not really very well balanced.
I would argue that you're not talking about "real" board gaming unless you've got to start by punching out hundreds of tiny card board counters and your rulebook, in it's most basic version, is a two inch think ring binder.
San Juan, the card game version, is actually more playable than Puerto Rico but it still keeps the same flavor/feel.
Also fun in the card game category is the two-player Catan Card game version of Settlers. It's a different experience than the board game but still a lot of fun.
Also try Blokus. It's a family friendly board game that scales well for all ages.
"corporations which have been tried and convicted for criminal behavior don't enjoy the same freedom of action as those who have not."
You've managed to gloss over anti-trust's largest problem: defining criminal behavior. Actions that are perfectly legal below a certain threshold (size, market share, popularity) run the risk of being arbitrarily declared illegal after the fact.
Actually, I think you're on to a interesting idea. What if it became cheaper to move electricity around by truck (electrically powered of course) instead of high tension power lines?
1) Strap explosives to MBA 2) Add a time-delay detonator triggered by the words: synergy, right-sizing, or consultant 3) Send MBA to a "conference" hosted by your enemy 4) ??? 5) Profit!
So here's my problem with these pricing plans: they're basically unchanged from the commercial available plans available for any mobile phone.
That's a problem because in the US the service plans include a premium to recover the carrier's cost of subsidizing the handsets. (Which is also the ostensible reason there's an early termination fee.)
Only there's no subsidy on the iPhone. So our monthly plan rates should be lower, right?
Fortunately for AT&T no one seems to have noticed...
No, you're not wrong. Or to put it more succinctly: you're right.
If you've got an enterprise server (as France most certainly would have), then your communications are encrypted from the device through to your server by either 3DES or AES. Each device has a unique key (with periodic rotation) and, of course, the server has the device keys. RIM's network (in theory) doesn't. There's nothing to stop RIM from back-dooring the server or the device, but at least in theory you're secured end-to-end over the network.
The US gov't goes a step further and uses proximity based smart cards for improved physical device security but even in the absence of that measure, out of the box you've got plenty of server-side enforceable security policies you can apply to the device.
Bullet proof? No. Vulnerable to MITM network sniffing? Not very.
"Whatsoever therefore is consequent to a time of war, where every man is enemy to every man, the same consequent to the time wherein men live without other security than what their own strength and their own invention shall furnish them withal. In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."
--Thomas Hobbes
"I think that where MD really fell down was that Sony hadn't quite realized that people were ready to start treating their music as a digital resource that could be manipulated by computer."
I disagree. I think the real reason MD failed is because everyone had just converted all of their old tapes to CD's. No one wanted to pay to replace their music _again_ just to move to the questionable benefits of MD.
"Having non-combat skills as main attributes was suicide..."
So totally not true. I always play on the hardest difficulty setting now and I rarely put any skill I plan on using very much as major attribute.
I've played through the main quest and the Mages and Thieves guild quest lines with a character who did not ever once use offensive magic or wield a weapon herself. She did _no_ offensive damage herself to anyone/anything and did not loot corpses/chests/etc.
I played another character most of the way through the main quest with _zero_ people and creatures killed (as recorded on the stats screen). I got bored before I could finish, but it is possible to finish the main quest with zero kills to your name (although very very difficult).
I'm running a custom assassin right now with marksman and alchemy as minor skills and it's pretty easy to take on most anything I encounter. With a high enough sneak skill you can even use hand-to-hand on many creatures successfully if you can take them one at a time.
In short, you can do an awful lot with non-traditional characters in Oblivion. Hard core combat skills are not a requirement for success.
Yep this is _exactly_ what caused us to dump SBC, I mean at&t. Our metered service line was in theory only $7 per month, but after we got finished being held over the barrel for taxes, surcharges, and regulatory fees we were paying more than $20 per month. THEN they wanted to raise our rates!
We had already been Vonage customers for years and that was the straw that broke the camel's back. We showed at&t the door and had our security company move us over to our Vonage line. Weekly tests work well, everything's on battery backup, and the line's setup to take over during a security event. Best of all we are now a 100% at&t free household.
I think it's funny that/.'ers generally consider GWB to be an idiot UNLESS he's talking about Global Warming. Now he's an authority to reference in support of GW. Hmm GWB... GW... look even the first two letters are the same. There's another link!
Your argument relies on the assumption that price is the only discriminating factor. This is clearly false. Two examples: bottled water and Starbucks coffee. (My point being that these are two products that you'd assume couldn't command a price premium and yet still do.)
In the real world there are supplier contracts, relationships, reputations, switching costs, and personal preferences, just to name a few, which all affect purchasing decisions.
As other posters have already indicated dumping requires a significant war chest. On top of that proving the other guy's actual "cost" of production is often difficult. When you hear accusations of someone dumping, in my experience you can freely translate that to: "I don't know how to make it that cheaply, therefore they must be cheating!"
In general, my opinion is that our (US) anti-trust laws are poorly conceived and even more poorly (and unevenly) implemented. While in theory anti-trust is supposed to be about protecting consumers, in reality anti-trust is more often leveraged by companies to protect themselves with little or no real benefit to the consumer.
Slashdot Mirror
"atheists simply see it as nonsensical or irrational to believe in invisible beings that nobody can see, without any sort of evidence."
/. atheists and our /. global warming deniers! *ducks*
So I guess there's a perfect overlap then between our
(This is fun, I should post Flamebait more often!)
Catholics don't generally believe in Biblical inerrancy, although there are other Christian religions that do.
I can say this: I just built a new gaming rig and it was _very_ nice to just be able to install steam, login, and then tell it to reinstall all of my games on the new box while I went to bed. No more CD shuffle for my Steam games.
As for those who'd argue about the pricing: no one forces you to buy the games via Steam. I usually just wait for the games I want to go on sale at a local store and them upload them to Steam afterwards. I got the entire Orange box for $25 over Black Friday.
You, for one, should welcome your nefarious moderating overlords. On /., I moderate you!
"Jordan rarely used "filler prose" as you claim."
Light! I've read through the series at least three times and I'll tell you that spurious claims that Jordan used filler text make me want to yank my braid. If I wasn't so busy smoothing my skirts and schooling my face to a perfect example of Aes Sedai serenity, I'd be veiling up like a black-eyed Aiel.
Next they're going to be suggesting that the Else Grinwell sub-plot doesn't have a bearing on the final battle. Sheesh.
I agree with apodyopsis, you're never really out of the game until it's over. Nearly every single one of our games goes down to the wire, even for someone who gets jacked with an early set back. The trick is that you've got to be flexible in your strategies. You've got multiple avenues to build up points: growing out, growing up, longest road, biggest army, and development cards. You've got to keep working the avenues that are available and not the ones you wished you had.
I'm assuming your playing the basic game though. If we're talking about the expansions, then yes, I'd agree it's very easy to get shutout early in the game. The Knights expansion, for example, is not really very well balanced.
I would argue that you're not talking about "real" board gaming unless you've got to start by punching out hundreds of tiny card board counters and your rulebook, in it's most basic version, is a two inch think ring binder.
San Juan, the card game version, is actually more playable than Puerto Rico but it still keeps the same flavor/feel.
Also fun in the card game category is the two-player Catan Card game version of Settlers. It's a different experience than the board game but still a lot of fun.
Also try Blokus. It's a family friendly board game that scales well for all ages.
"corporations which have been tried and convicted for criminal behavior don't enjoy the same freedom of action as those who have not."
You've managed to gloss over anti-trust's largest problem: defining criminal behavior. Actions that are perfectly legal below a certain threshold (size, market share, popularity) run the risk of being arbitrarily declared illegal after the fact.
Two words for you here: Grudge Monster.
"The purpose of the game is to argue about the rules, not 'play' them."
No, I think you're confusing this with Spellfire, the CCG for rules lawyers. It is based on (A)D&D, so perhaps that's where the confusion started.
Actually, I think you're on to a interesting idea. What if it became cheaper to move electricity around by truck (electrically powered of course) instead of high tension power lines?
Death by Snoo Snoo!
"A country of MBAs does not a military make."
1) Strap explosives to MBA
2) Add a time-delay detonator triggered by the words: synergy, right-sizing, or consultant
3) Send MBA to a "conference" hosted by your enemy
4) ???
5) Profit!
I think what you're looking for is: "Mode Access Ready."
So here's my problem with these pricing plans: they're basically unchanged from the commercial available plans available for any mobile phone.
That's a problem because in the US the service plans include a premium to recover the carrier's cost of subsidizing the handsets. (Which is also the ostensible reason there's an early termination fee.)
Only there's no subsidy on the iPhone. So our monthly plan rates should be lower, right?
Fortunately for AT&T no one seems to have noticed...
No, you're not wrong. Or to put it more succinctly: you're right.
If you've got an enterprise server (as France most certainly would have), then your communications are encrypted from the device through to your server by either 3DES or AES. Each device has a unique key (with periodic rotation) and, of course, the server has the device keys. RIM's network (in theory) doesn't. There's nothing to stop RIM from back-dooring the server or the device, but at least in theory you're secured end-to-end over the network.
The US gov't goes a step further and uses proximity based smart cards for improved physical device security but even in the absence of that measure, out of the box you've got plenty of server-side enforceable security policies you can apply to the device.
Bullet proof? No. Vulnerable to MITM network sniffing? Not very.
Yes, but it's still 3DES or AES encrypted.
Remember: it's your duty to hunt down rotten commie mutants. The computer is your friend. Don't forget your happy pills!
"Whatsoever therefore is consequent to a time of war, where every man is enemy to every man, the same consequent to the time wherein men live without other security than what their own strength and their own invention shall furnish them withal. In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain: and consequently no culture of the earth; no navigation, nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea; no commodious building; no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force; no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time; no arts; no letters; no society; and which is worst of all, continual fear, and danger of violent death; and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." --Thomas Hobbes
"I think that where MD really fell down was that Sony hadn't quite realized that people were ready to start treating their music as a digital resource that could be manipulated by computer."
I disagree. I think the real reason MD failed is because everyone had just converted all of their old tapes to CD's. No one wanted to pay to replace their music _again_ just to move to the questionable benefits of MD.
"Having non-combat skills as main attributes was suicide..."
So totally not true. I always play on the hardest difficulty setting now and I rarely put any skill I plan on using very much as major attribute.
I've played through the main quest and the Mages and Thieves guild quest lines with a character who did not ever once use offensive magic or wield a weapon herself. She did _no_ offensive damage herself to anyone/anything and did not loot corpses/chests/etc.
I played another character most of the way through the main quest with _zero_ people and creatures killed (as recorded on the stats screen). I got bored before I could finish, but it is possible to finish the main quest with zero kills to your name (although very very difficult).
I'm running a custom assassin right now with marksman and alchemy as minor skills and it's pretty easy to take on most anything I encounter. With a high enough sneak skill you can even use hand-to-hand on many creatures successfully if you can take them one at a time.
In short, you can do an awful lot with non-traditional characters in Oblivion. Hard core combat skills are not a requirement for success.
Yep this is _exactly_ what caused us to dump SBC, I mean at&t. Our metered service line was in theory only $7 per month, but after we got finished being held over the barrel for taxes, surcharges, and regulatory fees we were paying more than $20 per month. THEN they wanted to raise our rates!
We had already been Vonage customers for years and that was the straw that broke the camel's back. We showed at&t the door and had our security company move us over to our Vonage line. Weekly tests work well, everything's on battery backup, and the line's setup to take over during a security event. Best of all we are now a 100% at&t free household.
No Al Gore invented the Internet, remember?
/.'ers generally consider GWB to be an idiot UNLESS he's talking about Global Warming. Now he's an authority to reference in support of GW. Hmm GWB... GW... look even the first two letters are the same. There's another link!
I think it's funny that
Your argument relies on the assumption that price is the only discriminating factor. This is clearly false. Two examples: bottled water and Starbucks coffee. (My point being that these are two products that you'd assume couldn't command a price premium and yet still do.)
In the real world there are supplier contracts, relationships, reputations, switching costs, and personal preferences, just to name a few, which all affect purchasing decisions.
As other posters have already indicated dumping requires a significant war chest. On top of that proving the other guy's actual "cost" of production is often difficult. When you hear accusations of someone dumping, in my experience you can freely translate that to: "I don't know how to make it that cheaply, therefore they must be cheating!"
In general, my opinion is that our (US) anti-trust laws are poorly conceived and even more poorly (and unevenly) implemented. While in theory anti-trust is supposed to be about protecting consumers, in reality anti-trust is more often leveraged by companies to protect themselves with little or no real benefit to the consumer.