I'm pretty sure the article mentions the _per-processor_ cost, rather than comparing single-processor systems only. Which of course is still incredibly high on a mainframe.
Oh, I hate people like that. I had one seller admit to me in email one time that he charges outrageous shipping because eBay does not take a cut of that money, so it's additional income for him. I ended up not bidding on his item, because I found out in advance, but if I had bid, I would've forwarded the info to eBay and see what they said.
I bet that's what this guy is doing as well - if he doesn't make it reasonable, threaten to complain to eBay that he's bypassing their charges, which is against their terms of use. Good luck with getting this resolved.
This sounds like a very useful script. Perhaps you could share it? This sounds like additional functionality eBay should make more easily accessible to help bidders protect themselves, as you have in this case.
I don't know, a lot of people just bid on crazy stuff, never really expecting to pay. Hence you have the human kidney, slave labor, pay-me-to-beat-you-up, empty box, "absolutely nothing" auctions. Also in your case, was this really a scam - maybe someone with lots of money really really wanted your trash?:)
In all my years on eBay, I have never seen any seller offer or even seriously think about sending the goods before they have the money. What you're saying here is not realistic for online transactions. Unless you use escrow, someone has to send first, and chances are much higher for a person to get an item and then never pay.
Credit cards aside, try to go into any store and get them to give you items with a promise to pay later. It just doesn't work that way. The buyer wants the item, that's why they're buying it - so they have to be willing to part with the funds first.
These people were defrauded. I don't think it's very appropriate to "applaud his patience and cunning." If a murderer stalks his victim, and strikes at just the right moment, do you give him credit for such great planning?
Well, you can't leave feedback unless you are either the winner or seller (although you could several years ago). So his high feedback in this case cannot possibly be from secondary selling, although it's very possible that he did do that, since those users could not leave it.
I know what I do when I receive such solicitation offers from people - since I know it violates eBay's terms of use, I either do not reply or send it on to eBay SafeHarbor and let them get in trouble for it, depending on how fishy the offer looks. Especially when it's "I noticed you bid on this, I have something like this, would you be interested..."
Of course they do. Shill bidding and having other people you know bid on items is something very common, and has been even before Ebay. Ebay clearly prohibits it, and afaik, has a pretty good system for detecting when different accounts have a suspicious amount of cross-bidding or winning of auctions.
As such, I don't think this is the case here, I'm sure the previous legigimate business that this seller conducted was with real other buyers. You don't get your rating this high on fake accounts without getting caught, it's just not doable.
Hi, I'm b0r0din and I'm flamebait. Even though I tell scientists what they should be doing, I'm clearly not one, because the majority of them know how to spell. Yes, even the word masturbate.
I hope I'm not being redundant, but I did not see anyone else link to further clarifications from Miguel, free from any editing done by The Register. The link is mentioned briefly at the end of the article.
If you're a reasonable and logical person like I hope to be, you reserve judgement until you hear all sides of the case. So, instead of declaring that MS == Evil, perhaps there are reasons why someone who is clearly is an Open Source fan likes.NET Framework.
I realize his post is long, so if you're not going to read it, I see his key points as being:
1) Increased productivity for Gnome/Mono development. 2) Language independence, allowing programmers to continue to use their favorite coding. 3) Better portability for open-source applications.
"My experience so far has been positive, and I have first hand experience on the productivity benefits that these technologies bring to the table. For instance, our C# compiler is written in C#. A beautiful piece of code."
Hands on experience! I think that unless you have had this with this technology, you may not be qualified to judge this decision path. Let's give this a chance, and try to be both passionate and reasonable in creating Windows alternatives.
It's nice of you to stick it out and wait for Joe's Trucking and Plumbing to be allowed to make Xbox controllers without paying licensing, while we enjoy playing Halo, Dead or Alive 3, Jet Set Radio Future, and Wreckless.
"Gosh, I'd definitely get this console, if only companies that don't care about me could make cheap accessories without giving anything back to the console manufacturer that makes it possible."
I love it when everyone pretends they're a business major. Because you know, Microsoft is stupid and didn't realize they would make more money if they listened to you.
Microsoft does not incur loss on sales of all hardware. The console itself they may take a loss on, but that does not include peripherals and accessories. If MadCatz can sell Xbox controllers for $30 and make money, don't you think MS is making money on their extra controller for $40, with their better manufacturing processes? Of course they are.
So "no valid reasons", let's summarize: 1) Region locking is acceptable business practice with most internal media companies.
2) Every console manufacturer ever has charged licensing fees from 3rd parties. Everyone on this thread who is blaming MS and saying they're trying to get a "lock" on Xbox hardware. Stop and realize how ridiculous you're sounding - it's a Microsoft console, they can control whatever they want, just like Nintendo and Sony do.
3) Cheap companies make cheap products, and as bad as it sounds, licensing is one way to control that your image will not get diluted from faulty accessories. Otherwise you could buy your memory cards at $1 stores that would fry your system.
If you look, the current market has plenty of 3rd party accessories for Xbox already, with plenty more to come. Driving wheels, controllers, and probably light guns soon, all reasonably priced. Let's not rush to bash MS (too late here) when they're following in the footsteps of other consoles, and creating a great product.
Agreed, I love the logo and the look. Of course, Slashdot overall could use a visual overhaul, not just a replacement of few graphics. But it's a good step.
Well, quite a few people already complain about their fee structure, especially sellers, so I doubt they will be raising those fees anytime soon. As a buyer, I know I would not use them if there fees associated with transfer of money. If there were, it's easier for me to login to online banking, and issue a check, which almost everyone takes, especially with high feedback.
I don't believe, however, that their business model will change significantly. After all, they're still doing the $5 referral, which they would not keep if they were trying to save money. I think shareholders bought stock expecting the company to operate as it has in the past, successfully, without expecting drastic changes. Therefore, I think your fears of them upsetting users, credit card companies, and everyone else are unfounded - this would make shareholders unhappy as well.
So basically you're interpreting the fact that Microsoft did a better job with manufacturing and distribution to mean that their console is inferior. I think that's really good logic - Sony made less units initially (with many problems leading to recalls, I might add), so b/c it was hard to buy one, it must be better. Right. Go read the Wired article about the mfg of the Xbox to get a better insight as to why there are plenty of units available to those who want them.
I know what you're saying, and of course there are other ways around it. But it's not the same, if you think about it. Let me give you an example in Project Gotham racing. Here I have a couple great tracks, and they start exactly when the race starts. You can even make them into user radio, and DJs in the game that are located in the city that you're racing will talk over the beginning and end of the track. It's random and synched to the game. I really found myself enjoying this feature, and I can't be the only one.
Hard drives are not that expensive, so I'm not buying that part of your argument, and there'll be a ton more uses for it. I stand by my argument.
Re:Green Screen of Death
on
XBox Released
·
· Score: 1
You're wrong. I put in a burned cd into the system yesterday, and the message it returns states exactly what it should. The old development green screen Xbox shot has nothing to do with the released final system.
Unless my eyes deceive me, the "bitching and moaning about how much MS sucks" is already in full effect, way ahead of your schedule. I find great irony in the fact that the same people that say "anything Microsoft makes is evil and stupid and will crash" are the same people that see no problem with hacking it and putting Linux on it. So it's ok to support MS by buying their product, as long as I throw away all their hard work on OS and games, and use it to.. umm.. surf for porn.
Having used mine for a day, I think it's a great console, which is exactly what it's designed to be. Perhaps if some of the zealots could relax for a second, they could have some fun with it as well.
I'm glad you think a hard drive is a dumb idea. That's sort of (the opposite of) what I was thinking when I ripped a bunch of audio tracks onto it yesterday, and was playing them instead of the game soundtrack, completely enhancing my gameplay. Oh, and it's horrible that I don't have to buy memory cards as well, or worry about running out of space for saved games. The hard drive is a feature that other consoles will soon regret not having.
Please mod this up, I think this is the funniest comment I have read yet on this thread.
Of course the reason public perception of copyright theft will persist as it currently stands is the amount of propaganda money RIAA, MPAA, and other industry organizations have. Let's face it, as much as we'd like to think that our views on copyright are the majority, this is only a small fishtank of public opinion. Joe and Jill Public do not understand the difference between shoplifting and copying music anymore that they understand how a hacker is different from a cracker. Nor will that change anytime soon.
This issue has existed in our community ever since pirated software, when SPA was our evil entity to detest. Things haven't changed, and despite the profileration of CDRWs out there on mainstream PCs, I'm just not sure they will. I think the prices will stay high, the music industry will continue wanting to rip us off, and we'll keep fighting back. Not that that's a bad thing, we have done well so far. Thanks to the author of this program, the latest in great coding being used for the good of the community.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm pretty sure the article mentions the _per-processor_ cost, rather than comparing single-processor systems only. Which of course is still incredibly high on a mainframe.
Or the fact that there was never an estate auction, or that he double and triple sold items. Yeah, heart attack, coma, suuuuure...
Oh, I hate people like that. I had one seller admit to me in email one time that he charges outrageous shipping because eBay does not take a cut of that money, so it's additional income for him. I ended up not bidding on his item, because I found out in advance, but if I had bid, I would've forwarded the info to eBay and see what they said.
I bet that's what this guy is doing as well - if he doesn't make it reasonable, threaten to complain to eBay that he's bypassing their charges, which is against their terms of use. Good luck with getting this resolved.
This sounds like a very useful script. Perhaps you could share it? This sounds like additional functionality eBay should make more easily accessible to help bidders protect themselves, as you have in this case.
I don't know, a lot of people just bid on crazy stuff, never really expecting to pay. Hence you have the human kidney, slave labor, pay-me-to-beat-you-up, empty box, "absolutely nothing" auctions. Also in your case, was this really a scam - maybe someone with lots of money really really wanted your trash? :)
In all my years on eBay, I have never seen any seller offer or even seriously think about sending the goods before they have the money. What you're saying here is not realistic for online transactions. Unless you use escrow, someone has to send first, and chances are much higher for a person to get an item and then never pay.
Credit cards aside, try to go into any store and get them to give you items with a promise to pay later. It just doesn't work that way. The buyer wants the item, that's why they're buying it - so they have to be willing to part with the funds first.
These people were defrauded. I don't think it's very appropriate to "applaud his patience and cunning." If a murderer stalks his victim, and strikes at just the right moment, do you give him credit for such great planning?
Well, you can't leave feedback unless you are either the winner or seller (although you could several years ago). So his high feedback in this case cannot possibly be from secondary selling, although it's very possible that he did do that, since those users could not leave it.
..."
I know what I do when I receive such solicitation offers from people - since I know it violates eBay's terms of use, I either do not reply or send it on to eBay SafeHarbor and let them get in trouble for it, depending on how fishy the offer looks. Especially when it's "I noticed you bid on this, I have something like this, would you be interested
Of course they do. Shill bidding and having other people you know bid on items is something very common, and has been even before Ebay. Ebay clearly prohibits it, and afaik, has a pretty good system for detecting when different accounts have a suspicious amount of cross-bidding or winning of auctions.
As such, I don't think this is the case here, I'm sure the previous legigimate business that this seller conducted was with real other buyers. You don't get your rating this high on fake accounts without getting caught, it's just not doable.
Hi, I'm b0r0din and I'm flamebait. Even though I tell scientists what they should be doing, I'm clearly not one, because the majority of them know how to spell. Yes, even the word masturbate.
I hope I'm not being redundant, but I did not see anyone else link to further clarifications from Miguel, free from any editing done by The Register. The link is mentioned briefly at the end of the article.
- February/msg00031.html
.NET Framework.
http://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnome-hackers/2002
If you're a reasonable and logical person like I hope to be, you reserve judgement until you hear all sides of the case. So, instead of declaring that MS == Evil, perhaps there are reasons why someone who is clearly is an Open Source fan likes
I realize his post is long, so if you're not going to read it, I see his key points as being:
1) Increased productivity for Gnome/Mono development.
2) Language independence, allowing programmers to continue to use their favorite coding.
3) Better portability for open-source applications.
"My experience so far has been positive, and I have first hand experience on the productivity benefits that these technologies bring to the table. For instance, our C# compiler is written in C#. A beautiful piece of code."
Hands on experience! I think that unless you have had this with this technology, you may not be qualified to judge this decision path. Let's give this a chance, and try to be both passionate and reasonable in creating Windows alternatives.
It's nice of you to stick it out and wait for Joe's Trucking and Plumbing to be allowed to make Xbox controllers without paying licensing, while we enjoy playing Halo, Dead or Alive 3, Jet Set Radio Future, and Wreckless.
"Gosh, I'd definitely get this console, if only companies that don't care about me could make cheap accessories without giving anything back to the console manufacturer that makes it possible."
I love it when everyone pretends they're a business major. Because you know, Microsoft is stupid and didn't realize they would make more money if they listened to you.
Microsoft does not incur loss on sales of all hardware. The console itself they may take a loss on, but that does not include peripherals and accessories. If MadCatz can sell Xbox controllers for $30 and make money, don't you think MS is making money on their extra controller for $40, with their better manufacturing processes? Of course they are.
So "no valid reasons", let's summarize:
1) Region locking is acceptable business practice with most internal media companies.
2) Every console manufacturer ever has charged licensing fees from 3rd parties. Everyone on this thread who is blaming MS and saying they're trying to get a "lock" on Xbox hardware. Stop and realize how ridiculous you're sounding - it's a Microsoft console, they can control whatever they want, just like Nintendo and Sony do.
3) Cheap companies make cheap products, and as bad as it sounds, licensing is one way to control that your image will not get diluted from faulty accessories. Otherwise you could buy your memory cards at $1 stores that would fry your system.
If you look, the current market has plenty of 3rd party accessories for Xbox already, with plenty more to come. Driving wheels, controllers, and probably light guns soon, all reasonably priced. Let's not rush to bash MS (too late here) when they're following in the footsteps of other consoles, and creating a great product.
Illegal? What do you mean, my company requires them! I've been taking many in preparation for this "drug test" they say is coming up soon.
:)
Would mssux.slashdot.org just map back to the normal Slashdot front page? Because, let's face it, it might as well.
Agreed, I love the logo and the look. Of course, Slashdot overall could use a visual overhaul, not just a replacement of few graphics. But it's a good step.
Well, quite a few people already complain about their fee structure, especially sellers, so I doubt they will be raising those fees anytime soon. As a buyer, I know I would not use them if there fees associated with transfer of money. If there were, it's easier for me to login to online banking, and issue a check, which almost everyone takes, especially with high feedback.
I don't believe, however, that their business model will change significantly. After all, they're still doing the $5 referral, which they would not keep if they were trying to save money. I think shareholders bought stock expecting the company to operate as it has in the past, successfully, without expecting drastic changes. Therefore, I think your fears of them upsetting users, credit card companies, and everyone else are unfounded - this would make shareholders unhappy as well.
Cmdr Dorko - how adorable. Let's all call him that from now on :)
I think we're all redundant here, but Congratulations.
This better not interfere with Slashdot, however, so please keep all romantic interludes to slow news days!
So basically you're interpreting the fact that Microsoft did a better job with manufacturing and distribution to mean that their console is inferior. I think that's really good logic - Sony made less units initially (with many problems leading to recalls, I might add), so b/c it was hard to buy one, it must be better. Right. Go read the Wired article about the mfg of the Xbox to get a better insight as to why there are plenty of units available to those who want them.
I know what you're saying, and of course there are other ways around it. But it's not the same, if you think about it. Let me give you an example in Project Gotham racing. Here I have a couple great tracks, and they start exactly when the race starts. You can even make them into user radio, and DJs in the game that are located in the city that you're racing will talk over the beginning and end of the track. It's random and synched to the game. I really found myself enjoying this feature, and I can't be the only one.
Hard drives are not that expensive, so I'm not buying that part of your argument, and there'll be a ton more uses for it. I stand by my argument.
You're wrong. I put in a burned cd into the system yesterday, and the message it returns states exactly what it should. The old development green screen Xbox shot has nothing to do with the released final system.
Unless my eyes deceive me, the "bitching and moaning about how much MS sucks" is already in full effect, way ahead of your schedule. I find great irony in the fact that the same people that say "anything Microsoft makes is evil and stupid and will crash" are the same people that see no problem with hacking it and putting Linux on it. So it's ok to support MS by buying their product, as long as I throw away all their hard work on OS and games, and use it to .. umm .. surf for porn.
Having used mine for a day, I think it's a great console, which is exactly what it's designed to be. Perhaps if some of the zealots could relax for a second, they could have some fun with it as well.
I'm glad you think a hard drive is a dumb idea. That's sort of (the opposite of) what I was thinking when I ripped a bunch of audio tracks onto it yesterday, and was playing them instead of the game soundtrack, completely enhancing my gameplay. Oh, and it's horrible that I don't have to buy memory cards as well, or worry about running out of space for saved games. The hard drive is a feature that other consoles will soon regret not having.
Please mod this up, I think this is the funniest comment I have read yet on this thread.
Of course the reason public perception of copyright theft will persist as it currently stands is the amount of propaganda money RIAA, MPAA, and other industry organizations have. Let's face it, as much as we'd like to think that our views on copyright are the majority, this is only a small fishtank of public opinion. Joe and Jill Public do not understand the difference between shoplifting and copying music anymore that they understand how a hacker is different from a cracker. Nor will that change anytime soon.
This issue has existed in our community ever since pirated software, when SPA was our evil entity to detest. Things haven't changed, and despite the profileration of CDRWs out there on mainstream PCs, I'm just not sure they will. I think the prices will stay high, the music industry will continue wanting to rip us off, and we'll keep fighting back. Not that that's a bad thing, we have done well so far. Thanks to the author of this program, the latest in great coding being used for the good of the community.