Nice scenario, but not quite accurate. Just because the file system would be database-type, does not mean that SQL Server is going to be built in. For a good example of how Microsoft currently handles low-end storage utilizing SQL Server technology, look at MSDE (MS Data Engine), included with Visual Studio and also available as a free download. It's a scaled-down version, and certainly does not have all the querying or tools of SQL Srv. But the storage mechanism is similar. Likewise here, SQL Server would probably utilize the system, but Windows would not come bundled with it in any sense. Therefore, a statement that Windows will compete with Oracle out of the box is not supported by facts.
I think you have to admit that FAT needs a heck of a lot more defragmentation than NTFS. So while you're right, they're not quite all the way there yet, significant strides have been made. FAT really needed almost a weekly defrag with heavy usage. NTFS I estimate is more like monthly, if not more.
I don't think it's imperative for the administrator to have the power by default to completely break an OS. Sure it's good to have that option and power, but I like the OS not letting me do something really stupid because I'm tired or distracted. For every "denied" message you get as an admin, chances are you can give yourself access to do this.
An example is SYSVOL on Win 2000 - by default, you should not have to modify the Active Directory by hand or see its file structure, you should use the tools that are built-in. But if you really want to, take ownership of the directory and give yourself rights - now you can do any sort of damage you wish.
I agree with you that the case should be won in favor of Bnetd, and have never stated otherwise. My original points were contesting your "all reverse engineering is legal" point, which you made and is false, as well as "how can Blizzard possibly not benefit from this." Of course, I lost karma over it, so clearly arguing or pointing out problems with a post modded Insightful is not something that should be done on Slashdot. I will note this in the future.
Hemos is one of the people that runs this site. Why is it wrong for him to express his opinion about what he'd like to buy or not? This site never claims to objective or impartial, or a hardware review site. The fact that the "article" in question is little more than a press release is too bad, but again, not his fault.
"I'm afraid Holy Water would short it out so someone please help me," wrote the XP user.
This is too funny. Along with all the stories we always get bashing Microsoft, this one is great just by being unintentional. One can imagine the poor hapless user typing away, when all of a sudden "Kill Yourself" appears on the screen.
I think when you talk about how much you hate your boss by your computer, Office should automatically compose a hatemail and send it on your behalf. Even better, you can now do this yourself and claim XP accidentally did it for you!
Maybe they catch you because you're incorporated in Seattle and report income on your sale of Widget(R) and deposit money into your account there? Of course you could potentially hide that as well, but obviously the government eventually finds out. If you read the article, it's clear that companies already tried to avoid this matter by manufacturing out of state. But if you're in Seattle and this law is passed, your highly foolproof scheme isn't going to work for long. Urine-test or not.
I'm guessing it's because the server is not licensed by the makers of the game, who is currently suing its makers. If your server in case 8 (Quake 3) was running a pirated copy, you'd be liable as a provider. Similarly in case 5, you might be allowing illegal copies to play on your server.
Two quick points - first of all, I think the case will resolve in Bnetd's favor, and have contributed funds to them as I pointed in another post. Secondly, Quake3 connects to the master id network to validate its key, as does Battle.Net, validating keys, after which the users can play. So it's not correct for you to compare the two, as eliminating the legitimacy check from this battle.net implementation would create a completely separate environment from the official Blizzard network, unlike Quake3.
Do you people NOT understand that reverse engineering is legal, and completely allowed
Were you asleep when DMCA got passed somehow? As pointed out in the argument summary and many posts on here, this law made reverse engineering very illegal in most cases, and this law has been tested in courts. Please don't talk down to "us people" when you don't understand the legal grounds on which Blizzard is making their argument.
How the heck can it be bad to offer people MORE ways to play a game you're selling?!?
Yes, Blizzard is very stupid. When 10 of my buddies and I use our warez'ed ISO copies to setup our own Battle.Net implementation with our keygen'ed keys, I definitely see how Blizzard makes MORE money.
This keygen works for single player potentially, but does not help on BNet, where the key has to be valid in the system, and not just valid based on an algorithm, and has to be not used by another user.
As for your last statement about cd keys keeping people honest, this may be true, but no company has an obligation to make it especially easy for pirates to use its programs. Playability on Battle.net is something that Blizzard sees as a key selling point, and it does not have to release its cd key validation if it doesn't want to dilute this selling point.
A payment has been sent to bnetd-defense@bnetd.org. You will receive an email receipt for this transaction shortly. For details on your transaction, please contact bnetd-defense@bnetd.org.
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Rather than just talk about it, I have put my money where my mouth is on this issue, by donating to the cause. I encourage everyone else to do the same at this link.
how long will it be before someone builds a remote reader that can pull info just by walking within a few feet of one?
Tell me, my good sir, how is that remote credit card reader working out, the one that can read credit card numbers from wallets from many feet away? And just the other day, someone stole my driver's license information from that magnetric strip, just from having a magnetic strip scanner... in their pocket! Moderated as insightful, nice.
There are many potential concerns about privacy and security, but not remote readers - let's stay out of science fiction and in the real world.
As I was reading through the posts, I was getting more and more angry at all the blame being put on the employees for the same reason that you were. Thank you for taking the time to write this, it's terribly callous to say "they were idiots." Every anti-MS story gets everyone out in droves to support Linux, but when a company that tried to legitimize gaming on Linux failed b/c next to noone would buy the games (downloading for free was of course no problem), they are branded morons. It was a good effort, and I'm sorry the employees got screwed, but let's take a look and examine what each of us could have done to prevent this failure.
You're absolutely right. I was struggling to figure out why a completely innocent post of mine was modded as Overrated, where there were no other moderations on it whatsoever. I mean, how can something be overrated if it has never been rated? But you make a good point about moderation, now I understand why.
You also forgot the strong MCSP (MS Certified Solution Provider) program, which is their 3rd party service option for many clients who may not want to the cost of MCS, or use the 2 together. Microsoft has done an effective job in outsourcing their services to many other strong companies, with MCS usually just serving an advisory fashion.
Unix admins use SSH while Windows admins drive? If only there was a secure way to get into MS servers to administer them remotely. Hmm, VNC, Citrix, and MS's own Terminal services seem to fit that bill.
Frankly, Windows just requires more support. Been there done that.
You've served as a support technician for a large Linux desktop installation? I kind of doubt it. From the kind of users I work with, they're a lot more proficient in Windows and MS Office than Star Office. I would estimate that a lot more support calls would get generated from people not knowing how to use Linux software than those that don't know how to use Windows (which is of course still a huge number).
VB code usually is a mangled mess of sphagetti (sp?) code, procedural and pseudo-object code. Been there seen that.
You've seem to have been in a lot of places and done a lot of things. But from where I've been, it's the programmer and the project manager who affect the final outcome and reusability of code, language has little to do with it. Just b/c there are a lot of VB programmers who don't understand n-tier or creating libraries, does not make the language bad. And with VB.NET, there is now full inheritance.
How did you miss that tall head and those floppy ears? Check out the trailers again, he's next to Queen Amidala in one of the shots, making all of us cringe.
The trailer tonight will definitely not show him, according to sources.
If you simply can't wait for the trailer tonight, you can read the shot by shot description on Dark Horizons. I haven't read anything about this movie so as to not spoil it, but I figure it's ok to read the description of the trailer we are all going to see tonight anyway.
If you don't want to limit yourself to this way of thinking, it is best to avoid using the term ``intellectual property'' in your words and thoughts.
Interesting read, but I kind of have a problem with that statement. Let's see, I'm not limiting myself in my thinking by... trying not to use a word in my thoughts? Not doing something means less choice, not more.
By "we", I'm going just going to assume you mean you. Thanks for talking for all of us. That's why we're reading this article and talking about it, because "we" don't care. OSX has its time and place, and this author makes an excellent case as to why he switched. I didn't know many things about it that he pointed out, and was interested because our backgrounds seem similar. Please troll elsewhere now.
Sure, let's mention a game with incredible graphics, fun weapons, and cool bullet-time effects. Most cliched last year would have to be maybe.. hmm.. Return to Castle Wolfenstein, perhaps? Besides having a synonym of "retread" and "rehash" right there in the title, the models just look incredibly blocky. Compare something simple, like Max Payne furniture and RtCW's - Payne's looks real, while the latter looks like slapped together rectangular shapes. Oh, I'm also happy that RtCW finally got the idea of having multiple weapons assigned to the same key/category - that was innovative when Half-Life did that in 1998. Out of all the games last year, you can find much better targets to pick on than Max Payne.
I like their installers as well, except what's the point? Everything animates and takes forever - I'd rather pick a directory, minimize it, and browse the web anyway while it installs. Although nice, it just seems silly - a normal InstallShield or new MSI-style installer would work just as well.
Well if you were a Japanese company trying to launch your new hamburger, apple pie, and monster truck conglomerate in the States, I bet you'd spend a pretty penny on advertising too:)
Well, considering Microsoft is actually launching their online service this summer, and every single one of their consoles will be able to use it without the need for peripherals, I would say that they are the closest in terms of having their own network. So, the customer base for any company that releases that first truly great network game for a console (arguably PSO may have already done this) includes every Xbox owner, not just those willing to buy additional products and the game all just to play a single game.
Slashdot Mirror
Nice scenario, but not quite accurate. Just because the file system would be database-type, does not mean that SQL Server is going to be built in. For a good example of how Microsoft currently handles low-end storage utilizing SQL Server technology, look at MSDE (MS Data Engine), included with Visual Studio and also available as a free download. It's a scaled-down version, and certainly does not have all the querying or tools of SQL Srv. But the storage mechanism is similar. Likewise here, SQL Server would probably utilize the system, but Windows would not come bundled with it in any sense. Therefore, a statement that Windows will compete with Oracle out of the box is not supported by facts.
I think you have to admit that FAT needs a heck of a lot more defragmentation than NTFS. So while you're right, they're not quite all the way there yet, significant strides have been made. FAT really needed almost a weekly defrag with heavy usage. NTFS I estimate is more like monthly, if not more.
I don't think it's imperative for the administrator to have the power by default to completely break an OS. Sure it's good to have that option and power, but I like the OS not letting me do something really stupid because I'm tired or distracted. For every "denied" message you get as an admin, chances are you can give yourself access to do this.
An example is SYSVOL on Win 2000 - by default, you should not have to modify the Active Directory by hand or see its file structure, you should use the tools that are built-in. But if you really want to, take ownership of the directory and give yourself rights - now you can do any sort of damage you wish.
I agree with you that the case should be won in favor of Bnetd, and have never stated otherwise. My original points were contesting your "all reverse engineering is legal" point, which you made and is false, as well as "how can Blizzard possibly not benefit from this." Of course, I lost karma over it, so clearly arguing or pointing out problems with a post modded Insightful is not something that should be done on Slashdot. I will note this in the future.
Hemos is one of the people that runs this site. Why is it wrong for him to express his opinion about what he'd like to buy or not? This site never claims to objective or impartial, or a hardware review site. The fact that the "article" in question is little more than a press release is too bad, but again, not his fault.
Of course this is suggested enough times to be covered in the faq:
Slashdot should cache pages to prevent the Slashdot Effect!
"I'm afraid Holy Water would short it out so someone please help me," wrote the XP user.
This is too funny. Along with all the stories we always get bashing Microsoft, this one is great just by being unintentional. One can imagine the poor hapless user typing away, when all of a sudden "Kill Yourself" appears on the screen.
I think when you talk about how much you hate your boss by your computer, Office should automatically compose a hatemail and send it on your behalf. Even better, you can now do this yourself and claim XP accidentally did it for you!
Maybe they catch you because you're incorporated in Seattle and report income on your sale of Widget(R) and deposit money into your account there? Of course you could potentially hide that as well, but obviously the government eventually finds out. If you read the article, it's clear that companies already tried to avoid this matter by manufacturing out of state. But if you're in Seattle and this law is passed, your highly foolproof scheme isn't going to work for long. Urine-test or not.
I'm guessing it's because the server is not licensed by the makers of the game, who is currently suing its makers. If your server in case 8 (Quake 3) was running a pirated copy, you'd be liable as a provider. Similarly in case 5, you might be allowing illegal copies to play on your server.
Two quick points - first of all, I think the case will resolve in Bnetd's favor, and have contributed funds to them as I pointed in another post. Secondly, Quake3 connects to the master id network to validate its key, as does Battle.Net, validating keys, after which the users can play. So it's not correct for you to compare the two, as eliminating the legitimacy check from this battle.net implementation would create a completely separate environment from the official Blizzard network, unlike Quake3.
Do you people NOT understand that reverse engineering is legal, and completely allowed
Were you asleep when DMCA got passed somehow? As pointed out in the argument summary and many posts on here, this law made reverse engineering very illegal in most cases, and this law has been tested in courts. Please don't talk down to "us people" when you don't understand the legal grounds on which Blizzard is making their argument.
How the heck can it be bad to offer people MORE ways to play a game you're selling?!?
Yes, Blizzard is very stupid. When 10 of my buddies and I use our warez'ed ISO copies to setup our own Battle.Net implementation with our keygen'ed keys, I definitely see how Blizzard makes MORE money.
This keygen works for single player potentially, but does not help on BNet, where the key has to be valid in the system, and not just valid based on an algorithm, and has to be not used by another user.
As for your last statement about cd keys keeping people honest, this may be true, but no company has an obligation to make it especially easy for pirates to use its programs. Playability on Battle.net is something that Blizzard sees as a key selling point, and it does not have to release its cd key validation if it doesn't want to dilute this selling point.
Payment Information
A payment has been sent to bnetd-defense@bnetd.org.
You will receive an email receipt for this transaction shortly.
For details on your transaction, please contact bnetd-defense@bnetd.org.
Item Name: Bnetd Project Defense Fund
Item Number: Defense Fund
Rather than just talk about it, I have put my money where my mouth is on this issue, by donating to the cause. I encourage everyone else to do the same at this link.
how long will it be before someone builds a remote reader that can pull info just by walking within a few feet of one?
... in their pocket! Moderated as insightful, nice.
Tell me, my good sir, how is that remote credit card reader working out, the one that can read credit card numbers from wallets from many feet away? And just the other day, someone stole my driver's license information from that magnetric strip, just from having a magnetic strip scanner
There are many potential concerns about privacy and security, but not remote readers - let's stay out of science fiction and in the real world.
As I was reading through the posts, I was getting more and more angry at all the blame being put on the employees for the same reason that you were. Thank you for taking the time to write this, it's terribly callous to say "they were idiots." Every anti-MS story gets everyone out in droves to support Linux, but when a company that tried to legitimize gaming on Linux failed b/c next to noone would buy the games (downloading for free was of course no problem), they are branded morons. It was a good effort, and I'm sorry the employees got screwed, but let's take a look and examine what each of us could have done to prevent this failure.
You're absolutely right. I was struggling to figure out why a completely innocent post of mine was modded as Overrated, where there were no other moderations on it whatsoever. I mean, how can something be overrated if it has never been rated? But you make a good point about moderation, now I understand why.
You also forgot the strong MCSP (MS Certified Solution Provider) program, which is their 3rd party service option for many clients who may not want to the cost of MCS, or use the 2 together. Microsoft has done an effective job in outsourcing their services to many other strong companies, with MCS usually just serving an advisory fashion.
Unix admins use SSH while Windows admins drive? If only there was a secure way to get into MS servers to administer them remotely. Hmm, VNC, Citrix, and MS's own Terminal services seem to fit that bill.
Frankly, Windows just requires more support. Been there done that.
You've served as a support technician for a large Linux desktop installation? I kind of doubt it. From the kind of users I work with, they're a lot more proficient in Windows and MS Office than Star Office. I would estimate that a lot more support calls would get generated from people not knowing how to use Linux software than those that don't know how to use Windows (which is of course still a huge number).
VB code usually is a mangled mess of sphagetti (sp?) code, procedural and pseudo-object code. Been there seen that.
You've seem to have been in a lot of places and done a lot of things. But from where I've been, it's the programmer and the project manager who affect the final outcome and reusability of code, language has little to do with it. Just b/c there are a lot of VB programmers who don't understand n-tier or creating libraries, does not make the language bad. And with VB.NET, there is now full inheritance.
How did you miss that tall head and those floppy ears? Check out the trailers again, he's next to Queen Amidala in one of the shots, making all of us cringe.
The trailer tonight will definitely not show him, according to sources.
If you simply can't wait for the trailer tonight, you can read the shot by shot description on Dark Horizons. I haven't read anything about this movie so as to not spoil it, but I figure it's ok to read the description of the trailer we are all going to see tonight anyway.
From this link:
... trying not to use a word in my thoughts? Not doing something means less choice, not more.
If you don't want to limit yourself to this way of thinking, it is best to avoid using the term ``intellectual property'' in your words and thoughts.
Interesting read, but I kind of have a problem with that statement. Let's see, I'm not limiting myself in my thinking by
Frankly, we don't care.
By "we", I'm going just going to assume you mean you. Thanks for talking for all of us. That's why we're reading this article and talking about it, because "we" don't care. OSX has its time and place, and this author makes an excellent case as to why he switched. I didn't know many things about it that he pointed out, and was interested because our backgrounds seem similar. Please troll elsewhere now.
Sure, let's mention a game with incredible graphics, fun weapons, and cool bullet-time effects. Most cliched last year would have to be maybe .. hmm .. Return to Castle Wolfenstein, perhaps? Besides having a synonym of "retread" and "rehash" right there in the title, the models just look incredibly blocky. Compare something simple, like Max Payne furniture and RtCW's - Payne's looks real, while the latter looks like slapped together rectangular shapes. Oh, I'm also happy that RtCW finally got the idea of having multiple weapons assigned to the same key/category - that was innovative when Half-Life did that in 1998. Out of all the games last year, you can find much better targets to pick on than Max Payne.
I like their installers as well, except what's the point? Everything animates and takes forever - I'd rather pick a directory, minimize it, and browse the web anyway while it installs. Although nice, it just seems silly - a normal InstallShield or new MSI-style installer would work just as well.
Well if you were a Japanese company trying to launch your new hamburger, apple pie, and monster truck conglomerate in the States, I bet you'd spend a pretty penny on advertising too :)
Well, considering Microsoft is actually launching their online service this summer, and every single one of their consoles will be able to use it without the need for peripherals, I would say that they are the closest in terms of having their own network. So, the customer base for any company that releases that first truly great network game for a console (arguably PSO may have already done this) includes every Xbox owner, not just those willing to buy additional products and the game all just to play a single game.