Apparently they don't apply to casinos in other states... And to their credit, I hadn't seen anything to indicate that this was an issue in Vegas. As for caps, I am not against them, but then again, if there is a cap in place, maybe the machines should be programmed not to exceed them (if they aren't already).
After pissing all over the message boards about how unjust this action was, I investigated further. To my dismay, it turns out that this is a popular practice among casinos. Apparently one of the problems with going to digital slots is that ANYTIME there is a huge win that the casino doesn't want to pay out on, they cop this "it was a glitch" excuse! I was given the impression that this is happening EVERYWHERE!!! I think it is time that we implement some sort of law or gaming regulation that states that if someone wins that they are ENTITLED TO THE FULL SUM DISPLAYED on the screen! The only exception would be that if the casino can prove that the win was "artificially" created/induced by the player via some "device" designed specifically to fuddle the machine. The penalty for not paying out the sum within 24 hours would be that the casino would be immediately CLOSED and their gaming license REVOKED for a full calendar year, or until the full sum was paid to the player! If you can't stand to lose, don't play the game....The same should apply to the casinos!
So what, teams of top-notch lawyers cost lots and lots of money! Enough law suits (even ones they win) and they may look at the cost/benefit of continuing to abuse their customers in a whole new light!
-Oz
If this guy has any balls, he'll take it to court! The only reason crap like this happens at all is that we the consumers have failed time and time again to stand up and face these assholes! So what if you fail, at least the case gets the attention it deserves, and reduces the likelihood that the corporations will act with such impunity in the future!
I said "informative" not scary. There is evidence of changes in the environment. There is evidence that it may have been caused/influenced/accelerated by human industrial processes. There are boatloads of evidence indicating that our leaders have "conspired" with business leaders to retain the ability to do what they do, (and how they have done it since the dawn of the industrial revolution) no matter how much "scientific" evidence has been presented to indicate how damaging they may be to the health of biological organisms, and/or the environment. If recognizing these facts makes me a "nut", then SO BE IT!
However, I don't believe allowing some polluters to continue to pollute at their current rates because they have bought "carbon credits" from lesser developed countries will do anything to improve the environment.
Yesterday I watched Jesse Ventura's conspiracy show on Youtube. The subject matter was HAARP. The scientist that Ventura's people interviewed described the exact same events as being effects that can be induced by use of the HAARP array. Got to wonder now how much of what else was said of it could possibly be true!
Why dumbasses fall for all that "your work done here doesn't belong to you" bs, I will never know. Unless you expressly give ownership of your copyrighted works over to your employer via contract or other legally-binding paperwork, if it is your "original work" IT IS YOUR IP!!! As it is "your" IP, they have no right over it's use (unless you've entered into a service contract or licensing agreement previous to it's creation), or distribution! However in the case of GPL libs and such, I believe that even "YOU" are not legally capable of re-distributing it (unless you've credited the "creator" with contribution ($$$) or attribution (some note in your code attributing the material's creation to it's "real" creator) , so your employer's claim of ownership of the GPL'd sections is faulty and moot.
I talked to a lawyer about the constitutionality of this law. He told me specifically that A) Arizona didn't write a whole lot of new law here, and that it was pretty much a clone of our federal immigration law (meaning it's meant to re-affirm law already established by the fed, and simply gives Arizona direct jurisdiction over application of the law). and B) The constitutionality is determinant by the application. If you get pulled over for say a broken tail-light, or expired registration, and the cop asks you for your license and registration, he is within the law. If you don't have ID or registration, he can arrest you for that alone. If in addition to no ID or registration, you are found to be an illegal alien, you can now be deported, no breach of the 4th Amendment there. Now, if they just start breaking down doors at 3 am in search of illegals, then they have clearly gone too far, and a federal court case would surely (and rightly) ensue.
Actually I think Arizona is getting ahead of the curve on this one. It's something they shouldn't have needed to do, but with 3 to 5 MILLION Mexicans invading our country every year, it's a move whose time has come. If despite murders, thefts, rapes, drug smuggling, and other crimes committed by illegals isn't enough to get the fed to get off it's ass, then the states are left with no choice but to get proactive and take up the mantle of protector of their citizens. We have been incredibly generous (despite whatever issues illegals may have individually with Americans) to people from all over the planet seeking a better life here. Now that we are having trouble employing enough of us to keep our economy afloat, it is time for us to say NO MORE.
I think maybe it's a "family values" thing? Not too sure though. It seems strange to me that Republicans (who btw are against federal regulation of the derivatives market) are being painted as being against internet gambling. The only justifications I can see would be the potential for personal information being stolen, and the inevitable gathering and dissemination of one's gambling habits by private and federal interests. While this does already occur, I think the potential for abuse may be too risky for many legislators.
No my point was that playing the game (pirate copy or otherwise) made me want to buy the games I did. Sure there are some leechy douches out there, but for the most part, I believe that the fact you could freely copy and share motivated a great number of sales for games like Quake, Q2, Unreal, UT...etc. The dial-up thing was an element of my specific experience.
Remember Doom? How about Quake, Quake 2, and Unreal Tournament? If you've been playing computer-based FPS games for over a decade like I have, you KNOW these games. Why? Is it because they were so freaking wonderful that EVERYONE had to play them? No.... In my mind the popularity of these games was rooted in the fact that they were (for their time) kick-ass games, but primarily their popularity lie in the fact that you could install them on as many computers as you'd like. With one legit (or otherwise) copy you could start up a LAN party and frag the night away. Then long after the Dew and pizza was gone, you'd swear on your Redeemer that next time you'd kick the crap out of that 12 year old (who incidentally LIVES on UT) who gleefully pwn'd you for the majority of the night. But how? You didn't have a high-speed internet connection with which to dl the game, and despite his age, the pre-pubescent pwn-pro has nuts enough to tell you to "buy your own damn copy!" You already KNOW that you like the game, and your thirst for vengence is just enough to get you to cough up $29.99.
The above mentioned process made millions of game sales possible. Not DRM, not other anti-piracy policy or provision, just the ability to entertain 10 plus nerds on a single copy. Despite whatever other goals game developers may have, selling copies is the ultimate goal. That being said, things like DRM, and excessive prices (which would be much less without having to pay DRM developers) dissuade gamers like me. Oh well as long as nubes are dumb enough to buy games they have to pay for monthly, or have the digital equivalent of the great wall of China protecting against their copying their games, game makers will keep on plodding along.
Funny, I was thinking the same thing about cell phones service providers the other day. As high up as our internet-capable/email retrieving/you-tube-streaming/IMing/network-interfacing/video-capturing/picture-taking phones usually are on our lists of "survival gear", the associated $69.99 (minimum) price-tag may lower them below a $19.99 a month "broadband account", and a $17.99 a month land-line. I'd love to see what would happen to At&t, Sprint, Verizon..etc. if there were to be a mass migration away from cell phones. With the economy being as it is, I would think that such an exodus is not entirely outside of the realm of possibilities.
It has been PROVEN that only "law-abiding citizens" disarm themselves in "gun-free"zones, while armed criminals flock to them due to the easy pickings. What a shocker there eh?
Actually given that we are talking about Chicago, I'd say it was more likely that the cops didn't want this because they were afraid it would catch them killing those who protest to being extorted for "protection money".
I can foresee Obama declaring all electoral candidates facing off against democrats as being "terrorists", thus necessitating the immediate take-down of any site that supports them.
Lovelock should study economics before he gets all bent about political ideology. The fact is that the economics of "rape or be raped" and "If I don't kill it, someone else will" have WAY MORE to do with how we treat our global ecology than what type of government we have in place.
The only way out is to elect Independents. Otherwise, the dems have fumbled the ball, and it will get picked up by a Republican majority. Independents, democrats, and republicans did not vote out the republican majority because they did such a wonderful job with it during bu$h, they did it because the democrats said," The Congress, Senate, and the White House have ignored your wishes too long. Put us in office, and we will straighten it all out". Unfortunately Americans fell for it again, and so we are where we are now.....
Slashdot Mirror
Apparently they don't apply to casinos in other states... And to their credit, I hadn't seen anything to indicate that this was an issue in Vegas. As for caps, I am not against them, but then again, if there is a cap in place, maybe the machines should be programmed not to exceed them (if they aren't already).
-Oz
After pissing all over the message boards about how unjust this action was, I investigated further. To my dismay, it turns out that this is a popular practice among casinos. Apparently one of the problems with going to digital slots is that ANYTIME there is a huge win that the casino doesn't want to pay out on, they cop this "it was a glitch" excuse! I was given the impression that this is happening EVERYWHERE!!! I think it is time that we implement some sort of law or gaming regulation that states that if someone wins that they are ENTITLED TO THE FULL SUM DISPLAYED on the screen! The only exception would be that if the casino can prove that the win was "artificially" created/induced by the player via some "device" designed specifically to fuddle the machine. The penalty for not paying out the sum within 24 hours would be that the casino would be immediately CLOSED and their gaming license REVOKED for a full calendar year, or until the full sum was paid to the player! If you can't stand to lose, don't play the game....The same should apply to the casinos!
-Oz
So what, teams of top-notch lawyers cost lots and lots of money! Enough law suits (even ones they win) and they may look at the cost/benefit of continuing to abuse their customers in a whole new light! -Oz
If this guy has any balls, he'll take it to court! The only reason crap like this happens at all is that we the consumers have failed time and time again to stand up and face these assholes! So what if you fail, at least the case gets the attention it deserves, and reduces the likelihood that the corporations will act with such impunity in the future!
-Oz
I said "informative" not scary. There is evidence of changes in the environment. There is evidence that it may have been caused/influenced/accelerated by human industrial processes. There are boatloads of evidence indicating that our leaders have "conspired" with business leaders to retain the ability to do what they do, (and how they have done it since the dawn of the industrial revolution) no matter how much "scientific" evidence has been presented to indicate how damaging they may be to the health of biological organisms, and/or the environment. If recognizing these facts makes me a "nut", then SO BE IT! However, I don't believe allowing some polluters to continue to pollute at their current rates because they have bought "carbon credits" from lesser developed countries will do anything to improve the environment.
-Oz
I must be some paranoid freak or something because I would have modded this as "informative" rather than "funny".
-Oz
Yesterday I watched Jesse Ventura's conspiracy show on Youtube. The subject matter was HAARP. The scientist that Ventura's people interviewed described the exact same events as being effects that can be induced by use of the HAARP array. Got to wonder now how much of what else was said of it could possibly be true!
-Oz
Why dumbasses fall for all that "your work done here doesn't belong to you" bs, I will never know. Unless you expressly give ownership of your copyrighted works over to your employer via contract or other legally-binding paperwork, if it is your "original work" IT IS YOUR IP!!! As it is "your" IP, they have no right over it's use (unless you've entered into a service contract or licensing agreement previous to it's creation), or distribution! However in the case of GPL libs and such, I believe that even "YOU" are not legally capable of re-distributing it (unless you've credited the "creator" with contribution ($$$) or attribution (some note in your code attributing the material's creation to it's "real" creator) , so your employer's claim of ownership of the GPL'd sections is faulty and moot.
-Oz
I talked to a lawyer about the constitutionality of this law. He told me specifically that A) Arizona didn't write a whole lot of new law here, and that it was pretty much a clone of our federal immigration law (meaning it's meant to re-affirm law already established by the fed, and simply gives Arizona direct jurisdiction over application of the law). and B) The constitutionality is determinant by the application. If you get pulled over for say a broken tail-light, or expired registration, and the cop asks you for your license and registration, he is within the law. If you don't have ID or registration, he can arrest you for that alone. If in addition to no ID or registration, you are found to be an illegal alien, you can now be deported, no breach of the 4th Amendment there. Now, if they just start breaking down doors at 3 am in search of illegals, then they have clearly gone too far, and a federal court case would surely (and rightly) ensue.
-Oz
Actually I think Arizona is getting ahead of the curve on this one. It's something they shouldn't have needed to do, but with 3 to 5 MILLION Mexicans invading our country every year, it's a move whose time has come. If despite murders, thefts, rapes, drug smuggling, and other crimes committed by illegals isn't enough to get the fed to get off it's ass, then the states are left with no choice but to get proactive and take up the mantle of protector of their citizens. We have been incredibly generous (despite whatever issues illegals may have individually with Americans) to people from all over the planet seeking a better life here. Now that we are having trouble employing enough of us to keep our economy afloat, it is time for us to say NO MORE.
-Oz
good! Maybe people will get a little more responsible about carrying ID.
-Oz
I think maybe it's a "family values" thing? Not too sure though. It seems strange to me that Republicans (who btw are against federal regulation of the derivatives market) are being painted as being against internet gambling. The only justifications I can see would be the potential for personal information being stolen, and the inevitable gathering and dissemination of one's gambling habits by private and federal interests. While this does already occur, I think the potential for abuse may be too risky for many legislators.
-Oz
Yup, now you'll be able to lose your ass from the comfort of your own home! As long as the state gets it's cut, it's all good.
-Oz
I am sure the number of people who share my disdain for Apple's bringing Jobs back just jumped 10 fold!
-Oz
No my point was that playing the game (pirate copy or otherwise) made me want to buy the games I did. Sure there are some leechy douches out there, but for the most part, I believe that the fact you could freely copy and share motivated a great number of sales for games like Quake, Q2, Unreal, UT...etc. The dial-up thing was an element of my specific experience.
-Oz
The above mentioned process made millions of game sales possible. Not DRM, not other anti-piracy policy or provision, just the ability to entertain 10 plus nerds on a single copy. Despite whatever other goals game developers may have, selling copies is the ultimate goal. That being said, things like DRM, and excessive prices (which would be much less without having to pay DRM developers) dissuade gamers like me. Oh well as long as nubes are dumb enough to buy games they have to pay for monthly, or have the digital equivalent of the great wall of China protecting against their copying their games, game makers will keep on plodding along.
-Oz
Funny, I was thinking the same thing about cell phones service providers the other day. As high up as our internet-capable/email retrieving/you-tube-streaming/IMing/network-interfacing/video-capturing/picture-taking phones usually are on our lists of "survival gear", the associated $69.99 (minimum) price-tag may lower them below a $19.99 a month "broadband account", and a $17.99 a month land-line. I'd love to see what would happen to At&t, Sprint, Verizon..etc. if there were to be a mass migration away from cell phones. With the economy being as it is, I would think that such an exodus is not entirely outside of the realm of possibilities.
-Oz
So in other words, a GUI interface with no real root access? If so, why is everyone trying to steal root from their users?
-Oz
It has been PROVEN that only "law-abiding citizens" disarm themselves in "gun-free"zones, while armed criminals flock to them due to the easy pickings. What a shocker there eh?
-Oz
Actually given that we are talking about Chicago, I'd say it was more likely that the cops didn't want this because they were afraid it would catch them killing those who protest to being extorted for "protection money".
-Oz
I voted for Ron Paul, Every day I see something else he was right about. If only Americans weren't so damn stupid!
-Oz
I can foresee Obama declaring all electoral candidates facing off against democrats as being "terrorists", thus necessitating the immediate take-down of any site that supports them.
-Oz
Lovelock should study economics before he gets all bent about political ideology. The fact is that the economics of "rape or be raped" and "If I don't kill it, someone else will" have WAY MORE to do with how we treat our global ecology than what type of government we have in place.
-Oz
No matter what we do, it will...and most of us won't like how Gaia resolves the issue.
-Oz
The only way out is to elect Independents. Otherwise, the dems have fumbled the ball, and it will get picked up by a Republican majority. Independents, democrats, and republicans did not vote out the republican majority because they did such a wonderful job with it during bu$h, they did it because the democrats said," The Congress, Senate, and the White House have ignored your wishes too long. Put us in office, and we will straighten it all out". Unfortunately Americans fell for it again, and so we are where we are now.....
-Oz