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User: Ambiguous+Puzuma

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  1. Re:The Risk of playing Microtransaction-based game on Why Do You Want To Kill My Pet? Zynga Shuts Down PetVille, 10 Others · · Score: 1

    Even more improbably, the mac-only Al'Kabor server for Everquest is still going, despite bringing in no direct revenue--it became free-to-play without the microtransactions last year. More or less frozen in time in 2002, it has had little support other than the heroic maintenance efforts of one Sony developer. Yet the lights are still on (with no promises but no public plans to shut it down), and there is a small but loyal player community.

    Everquest still turns a profit, to my knowledge. EQMac seems to be a rare case of Sony choosing customer goodwill over the bottom line?

  2. Re:And that will also mark on GNOME 3.8 To Scrap Fallback Mode · · Score: 1

    Grr...meant "Informative", cursor moved to "Funny" just as I released the mouse button. I've been satisfied with MATE, having been introduced to it by Linux Mint.

  3. Re:First my beloved Viper fighter, now this on Feds Ban 'Buckyballs' Magnets · · Score: 1

    Or K&J Magnetics, which (as you might guess from the name) just sells magnets. They provide detailed product specs along with explanations of the terms used.

  4. Re:stopped using it? on Why Microsoft Killed the Windows Start Button · · Score: 1

    Pinning is a little bit different from Quick Launch, and is new to either Vista or 7. A pinned program icon resides in the task area of the taskbar, and when clicked, expands in place to form its taskbar entry once launched. This is handy for programs that I want at most one instance of at any given time (such as an email client). I also keep a Quick Launch toolbar where clicking on an icon simply starts a new copy of the program, better for programs I may want to run multiple copies of (such as a terminal window).
    One downside of a pinned program is that there is no good way to customize the amount of space it uses. Even registry tweaks are of limited use. Pinned-but-not-running programs take up much more horizontal space than I'd like. Quick Launch icons are much more compact.
    Neither is a replacement for the Start menu, which is good for the "long tail" of programs and configuration/administrative tasks--ones that individually I seldom use, but collectively have a frequent need for.

  5. Re:Legal Response on Microsoft Blocks FSF Donation Website As a 'Gambling Site' · · Score: 1

    Yet I wouldn't be surprised if the FSF saw a small increase in donations due to this story bringing the FSF to the front of people's minds. How many readers here are thinking right now, "Oh yeah, I haven't donated to the FSF in a while, maybe I should go do that"?

  6. Re:As an older male sys admin on The Ugly Underbelly of Coder Culture · · Score: 1

    Take my experiences for what they're worth, but almost everyone on the team I am part of--roughly evenly split between men and women--uses language that is not polite in mixed company, in mixed company. This includes development, QA, operations, customer support, management, and just about everyone else from middle management on down. We embrace what might be described as "delightfully inappropriate" behavior and other assorted silliness internally, as an outlet that helps keep morale and team spirit high. We're mature enough to know where the boundaries are; we just limit professionalism to where it actually matters: customer interaction and the quality of our work.
    (We're in the US, and have been around for about 30 years.)

  7. Re:It’s not just about movies. on Proposed Video Copy Protection Scheme For HTML5 Raises W3C Ire · · Score: 2

    Then how do you explain, for example, Xera? (I don't follow Spanish music generally, but I discovered Xera by accident and happen to like them. For the curious, in a hyphenated word they could be described as "electro-folk".)
    Since their primary language is Asturian rather than Spanish, I would be surprised if they had much of a following in Latin America. And even if they do, most of them probably haven't contributed monetarily, as the two albums they've released so far have been under a Creative Commons license. (Note the "download album" links right on their website...)
    Yet they're busy working on a third album, performing concerts and participating in Spanish music festivals. Maybe music festivals in Spain pay their acts well? Or maybe the members of Xera all have day jobs and do this mainly for the love of music. The bottom line is that they're producing "high quality studio albums" despite any issues with lax IP laws.

  8. Re:Oversupply *and* higher wages? on IT Salaries Edge Up Back To 2008 Levels · · Score: 1

    It makes sense that companies would want to pay top dollar for stellar software developers, given that (I would assert that) the variance in developer quality is generally greater than the variance in developer pay. Presumably this extends to other positions and fields too.

    It's all about bang for the buck, and if you can get someone three times as productive as an average developer (for some reasonable definition of "productive" and "average") by paying that person two average developers' salaries, it's the logical path to take, setting aside potential pitfalls such as putting all your eggs in one basket.
    Not to mention this point: "The real trouble with using a lot of mediocre programmers instead of a couple of good ones is that no matter how long they work, they never produce something as good as what the great programmers can produce."
    http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/HighNotes.html

  9. Re:Waiting for MS to underbid on Schools In Portugal Moving To OSS · · Score: 1

    The Fonz has jumped the shark more recently too...

  10. Re:theodp on IBM Chief: All CEOs Reluctant To Invest In R&D · · Score: 1

    My dad worked for IBM on the sales and management side for over 30 years.
    He told me on several occasions in the 80's and 90's how important it was that IBM was investing in fundamental research, even if the research didn't have an obvious, immediate application. They could afford to throw a lot of things at the wall and see what sticks, and things that did stick could become part of products IBM could introduce and/or license technology to (at their option, whichever is more profitable) some 10 to 20 years later.

    Of course this was a lot easier to say in the 90's when the economy was healthier. It's good to see that this line of thinking hasn't been abandoned.

  11. Re:Simply on All Star Trek TV Coming To Netflix · · Score: 3, Informative

    No ST cartoon.

    True, but you can already watch that here. Brief ads, but no Netflix subscription needed.

  12. Re:Which others? on Australia Bans New Mortal Kombat · · Score: 1

    This list may be biased toward Nintendo franchises, since that's what I have the most experience with. Or maybe Nintendo is just well known for having sequels/spinoffs to their Famicom/NES games.

    Pac-Man: 1980 Pac-Man (arcade), 2010 Pac-Man Party (Wii)/Pac-Man Champion Edition DX (XBLA/PSN)
    Donkey Kong: 1981 Donkey Kong (arcade), 2010 Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)
    Mario: 1983 Mario Bros. (arcade)--origin in Donkey Kong series, 2010 Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii)
    Bomberman: 1985 Bomberman (Famicom), 2010 Bomberman Live: Battlefest (PSN/XBLA/WiiWare)
    Castlevania: 1986 Castlevania (Famicom), 2010 Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (PS3/XBox 360)
    Dragon Quest: 1986 Dragon Quest (Famicom), 2009 Dragon Quest IX (DS)
    Metroid: 1986 Metroid (Famicom), 2010 Metroid: Other M (Wii)
    Zelda: 1986 Legend of Zelda (Famicom), 2009 Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS)
    Final Fantasy: 1987 Final Fantasy (Famicom), 2010 Final Fantasy XIV (PS3)
    Mega Man: 1987 Mega Man (Famicom), 2010 Mega Man 10 (PSN/XBLA/WiiWare)
    Street Fighter: 1987 Street Fighter (arcade), 2010 Super Street Fighter IV (PS3/XBox 360/arcade)
    Ninja Gaiden: 1988 Ninja Gaiden (Famicom), 2009 Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 (PS3)

    Mortal Kombat was released in 1992.

  13. Re:Worse is on Court Says California Stores Can't Ask Customers For ZIP Codes · · Score: 1

    By saying that you're actually claiming to live at the General Electric world headquarters. As far as I can tell no residence in Schenectady has a 12345 zip code.

  14. Re:Don't worry big media, the fix is in on Obama Nominates RIAA Lawyer For Solicitor General · · Score: 2

    Palin has on multiple occasions demonstrated that she has a profound misunderstanding of the First Amendment. I can respect someone I disagree with, but I can't respect someone who would swear to uphold the Constitution (had she been elected Vice President) yet gets such a critical part of it so fundamentally wrong.

    http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2008/10/31/palin/index.html

    If [the media] convince enough voters that that is negative campaigning, for me to call Barack Obama out on his associations, then I don't know what the future of our country would be in terms of First Amendment rights and our ability to ask questions without fear of attacks by the mainstream media.

    http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2009/05/14/palin-backs-miss-calif-blasts-liberal-onslaught/

    I applaud Donald Trump for standing with Carrie during this time. And I respect Carrie for standing strong and staying true to herself, and for not letting those who disagree with her deny her protection under the nation's First Amendment Rights,

    https://twitter.com/sarahpalinusa/status/21534515854

    Dr.Laura:don't retreat...reload! (Steps aside bc her 1st Amend.rights ceased 2exist thx 2activists trying 2silence"isn't American,not fair")

  15. Re:Don't worry big media, the fix is in on Obama Nominates RIAA Lawyer For Solicitor General · · Score: 2

    You think Natalie Portman (and all those other ditzy celebrities) and most of the Kennedy himbos and bimbos actually EARNED their way into the Ivy League?

    With many celebrities you'd have a point, but Natalie Portman? You're picking on one of the few celebrities who has an Erdos number.

  16. Re:Who gets the 1GB plan? on Microsoft Explains Windows Phone 7 'Phantom Data' · · Score: 1

    She was probably referring to the LG enV2 (VX9100) and LG enV3 (VX9200). I use the enV2 with Verizon, and do not have a data plan, but would be required to get a data plan if I got a subsidized enV3 from Verizon. (I believe they don't offer enV2s anymore.)

  17. Re:why stop at addresses and phone numbers? on Facebook Opens Up Home Addresses and Phone Numbers · · Score: 1

    Why is this modded funny? (Score: 4, Funny)

    Holy self-fulfilling prophecy, Batman!

  18. Re:He could always... on Patriot Act Up For Renewal, Nobody Notices · · Score: 1

    None of those folks are progressive. Those folks were right of center the whole time. Name one very left person in the congress, by that I mean one who would support a real health care bill, one with at least a public option. Not the one they passed that was practically written by newt gingrich.

    Would you consider HR 676, the United States National Health Care Act, a "real health care bill"?

    SEC. 101. ELIGIBILITY AND REGISTRATION.

                (a) In General- All individuals residing in the United States (including any territory of the United States) are covered under the USNHI Program entitling them to a universal, best quality standard of care. Each such individual shall receive a card with a unique number in the mail. An individual's social security number shall not be used for purposes of registration under this section.

    Cosponsors in addition to John Conyers Jr. can be found here.

  19. Re:Ministry of Truth? on The Continued Censorship of Huckleberry Finn · · Score: 1

    if we're revamping Finn for "modern audiences", then why aren't we doing the same for Shakespeare (where kids are told that you have to study it in the original text or it loses meaning).

    Oh, but we are, in a few different ways. Consider:
    West Side Story
    All Shook Up
    The Bomb-itty of Errors
    The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)
    Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead

    I've seen productions of Shakespeare plays that retained Shakespeare's original dialogue (for the most part) but through props, costumes, accents and mannerisms--and the occasional dance number--placed the story in an entirely new setting and context.

  20. Re:Split screen? on Split Screen Co-op Is Dying · · Score: 1

    I'm ignoring the background band view, which is cosmetic and irrelevant to gameplay. Just because screen regions don't have borders doesn't mean the screen isn't split.

    I'm talking about how a two person game (without vocals) has the screen effectively divided into two halves: one player's note track is on the left side and the other player's note track is on the right side. Three players? The screen is divided vertically into three sections. A singer is added? The top quarter of the screen is set aside for the singer.

    Contrast this with, say, New Super Mario Bros. (or as the original poster mentioned, Contra) where the playing area is the entire screen for all players.

  21. Re:Split screen? on Split Screen Co-op Is Dying · · Score: 1

    Wouldn't Rock Band and similar games technically qualify as split screen co-op anyway? The screen is divided into note tracks, one for each player, and the players are usually cooperating for a collective band score rather than competing against each other.

  22. Re:"Looks something like this"? on Google Asks Users To Complain Against Facebook · · Score: 1

    Try a cached version of the link instead.

  23. Re:Bad headline on Pirated Software Could Bring Down Predator Drones · · Score: 1

    a former bat boy for the Boston Red Sox

    Darn, and I was hoping to see Bat Boy slugging it out with the Predator's henchmen in their 45 degrees shifted lair, with lot of comic pop-ups saying, "Pow!", "Whack!" and "Sock!"

    Batman Involved in Predator Takedown?

  24. Re:If you want comfort on Gaming Mouse Changes Shape For a Custom Fit · · Score: 1

    Is that a touchpad on a mouse?!
    ("Yo dawg, I heard you like pointing devices...")

  25. Re:Lethal Weapon VII on Man Gets 12-Year Jail Sentence For Planting Child Porn On Enemy's Computer · · Score: 1

    Probability of recovering from being murdered: 0%
    Probability of recovering from emotional issues: >0%.

    Probability of murdering someone else because you were murdered: 0% (though >0% chance of someone else murdering in revenge)
    Probability of sexually abusing someone else because you were sexually abused: >0%.

    Assessing the damage indirectly attributable to an action is not always simple.