Doesn't it just come down to like, the food chain?
To save myself having to read up on this for 20 minutes...
Red Fish are a delicacy in a certain country. Red Fish typically eat Blue Fish. Blue Fish typically eat Green Fish. Green Fish typically eat kelp.
The solution would then be: grow kelp to feed the Green Fish. Once a population of Green Fish is going, feed Green Fish to Blue Fish. Once a population of Blue Fish is going, feed Blue Fish to Red Fish. Once Red Fish population starts growing, sell off the excess as you've reached the "top" of this little microcosm of the overall food chain.
The damn eels gotta eat something. Whatever they eat - you go down the chain far enough and the food has to be something we can grow or produce without having to fish. I really do believe that it all can be farmed. (This opinion might be due to my several-years-long crippling RTS addiction).
As it stands, under American Copyright Law (and many other places), the "rules of a game" as it were can not be copyrighted (or trademarked, obviously). This is why you can have a blatant Tetris clone on your cell phone, but it can't be called Tetris (as that would be a violation of trademark).
So long as the code is 100% yours (and/or is all code that is from scratch), all of the art assets (textures, models, music, etc.) are created from scratch, and you don't use any copyrighted material (character names, game name (obviously), and perhaps even the "distinctive appearance" of a character) you'll have no legal problems. Well, you might get sued, but any competent judge would throw the case out as in this situation they'd have no legal standing.
Is there really such a thing as "empty space", though?
Even if there were spaces where there was literally nothing down to the sub-sub-sub-subatomic level, you would still narrow it down to "Gravitons are around here somewhere".
Agreed. It's especially annoying for me as I'm the sort who opens a half-dozen or so/. stories from the RSS feed, so I have six of these videos going off.
By the way, if you want to block the source of the vid in an adblocker, hosts file, etc., the link is:
The Autobahn isn't as well-constructed as the US Interstate system. Our interstates are probably the best highways in the world.
As a New Jersey resident who regularly travels on I-95, I extend my sincerest condolences to the rest of the world. If we have the best roads in the world, I shudder to think what everyone else has to deal with!
With the insane amount of laws most industrialized nations have on the books, everyone is a criminal. They like it that way. They'll always have something to hold over your head to get you to cooperate.
Take an afternoon, head to your local library, and just read up on your local laws - city, town, county, whatever the smallest area of government you can narrow it down to. Good luck figuring that stuff out, much less following every single one without breaking any.
Steam doesn't trivially revoke one's subscription, and while their customer service hasn't been stellar I've found that it's been up to par.
I've practically been exclusively using Steam for my purchases and gameplay for over 4 years and I haven't had any problems. Why? I used a credit card with my name on it to associate my name to the account with a paper trail, I have a strong password, and I don't use any hacks or the like that probably have keyloggers and other nefarious software within.
If something on the scale of iTunes (or hell, even a third of the size of iTunes) collapsed and created a huge DRM clusterfuck, that would probably be the turning point.
If you buy a song on iTunes, delete it/lose it, and then want to redownload it from iTunes, are you able to? No.
I download a game from Steam (technically, I "subscribe" to that game - wording to get around the right of resale), and I reformat/delete it/lose it etc., I can always grab it again at no charge pretty much as many times as I need to.
iTunes treats purchases like physical items and Steam treats purchases as licenses.
The subscription/license on a per-item basis of digital purchases is probably the best for the consumer IMO. If you buy a song, $0.99 is ridiculous for the data itself. If it were $0.99 for a license to own a copy of that song, it would seem wholly less ridiculous.
I can redownload games on Steam if I have to, so I use Steam. (The DRM is also unobtrusive.) I can't redownload songs on iTunes without paying for them, so I don't use iTunes. Simple as that.
Doing it the "license" way would also render P2P and the like null and void. If I purchased a hard copy of the White Album (for the fifth time) and downloaded some lossless digital files, I'm considered a pirate. Hell, if I rip the files from the CD and put it on my cell phone I'm considered a pirate. You just can't win the way things are nowadays. No wonder people pirate. I get my ass taken to court for downloading the White Album? Whoops, I already purchased it and are therefore entitled to download it.
Sadly, I imagine it will be some time before the market and/or the law gets more in line with sanity.
The day that the *AAs either get their heads out of their collective asses or collapse under their own weight is the day that the music industry will be better for (almost) everyone: artists, producers, composers, songwriters, and most importantly customers. Sure, corporate lawyers and *AA management will get the shaft, but they deserve at least that for their nigh-criminal business tactics of that last 100 years.
Oh my, you're absolutely right! Clearly I should have realized that made absolutely no sense whatsoever. From this day forward I shall entirely refrain from making sarcastic and/or humorous posts as you have enlightened me to my wrongs.
The problem is that they can just change some wording. It would go from patenting the code to patenting the "Method and Apparatus" of the code, its execution, etc.
Well back then, if a leader treated their subjects like shit he typically got deposed (or decapitated). Nowadays very few people in comfortable, first-world countries have the balls to do something like that no matter how necessary it is.
Slashdot Mirror
Doesn't it just come down to like, the food chain?
To save myself having to read up on this for 20 minutes...
Red Fish are a delicacy in a certain country. Red Fish typically eat Blue Fish. Blue Fish typically eat Green Fish. Green Fish typically eat kelp.
The solution would then be: grow kelp to feed the Green Fish. Once a population of Green Fish is going, feed Green Fish to Blue Fish. Once a population of Blue Fish is going, feed Blue Fish to Red Fish. Once Red Fish population starts growing, sell off the excess as you've reached the "top" of this little microcosm of the overall food chain.
The damn eels gotta eat something. Whatever they eat - you go down the chain far enough and the food has to be something we can grow or produce without having to fish. I really do believe that it all can be farmed. (This opinion might be due to my several-years-long crippling RTS addiction).
Oh yeah? Well, my UID is bigger than both of yours combined. What have you got to say about that?!
Check and mate, sirs.
As it stands, under American Copyright Law (and many other places), the "rules of a game" as it were can not be copyrighted (or trademarked, obviously). This is why you can have a blatant Tetris clone on your cell phone, but it can't be called Tetris (as that would be a violation of trademark).
So long as the code is 100% yours (and/or is all code that is from scratch), all of the art assets (textures, models, music, etc.) are created from scratch, and you don't use any copyrighted material (character names, game name (obviously), and perhaps even the "distinctive appearance" of a character) you'll have no legal problems. Well, you might get sued, but any competent judge would throw the case out as in this situation they'd have no legal standing.
As an avid Tetris player, I must inquire when it is that one is given the "competitive level hardcore pro" title in Tetris?
If you could beat this guy , I'd say you have a fair chance.
I imagine the tens of millions of people playing MMOs, 4X, RTS, and FPS games would disagree with you.
Indeed, all they need is a photograph or some video of the culprit and they've got him!
Is there really such a thing as "empty space", though?
Even if there were spaces where there was literally nothing down to the sub-sub-sub-subatomic level, you would still narrow it down to "Gravitons are around here somewhere".
Agreed. It's especially annoying for me as I'm the sort who opens a half-dozen or so /. stories from the RSS feed, so I have six of these videos going off.
By the way, if you want to block the source of the vid in an adblocker, hosts file, etc., the link is:
http://s.fsdn.com/aprilfools/flowplayer-3.1.5.swf
Here, it'd would probably be "Moobs or GTFO"...
The Autobahn isn't as well-constructed as the US Interstate system. Our interstates are probably the best highways in the world.
As a New Jersey resident who regularly travels on I-95, I extend my sincerest condolences to the rest of the world. If we have the best roads in the world, I shudder to think what everyone else has to deal with!
The Germans had a good 50 years to repeal those laws. I think America gets a pass after that long.
If we can detect all particles except gravitons, then we can detect gravitons.
See that empty space between all them thar part'cles over yonder? There be gravitons!"
I'm sure 100 years from now, not being in a stasis unit will be considered the luxury class.
"If they're in cold storage, we don't have to feed them, provide restrooms, or have entertainment on hand!"
With the insane amount of laws most industrialized nations have on the books, everyone is a criminal. They like it that way. They'll always have something to hold over your head to get you to cooperate.
Take an afternoon, head to your local library, and just read up on your local laws - city, town, county, whatever the smallest area of government you can narrow it down to. Good luck figuring that stuff out, much less following every single one without breaking any.
Steam doesn't trivially revoke one's subscription, and while their customer service hasn't been stellar I've found that it's been up to par.
I've practically been exclusively using Steam for my purchases and gameplay for over 4 years and I haven't had any problems. Why? I used a credit card with my name on it to associate my name to the account with a paper trail, I have a strong password, and I don't use any hacks or the like that probably have keyloggers and other nefarious software within.
DAVE: "I'd like another bag of airline peanuts, please."
FLIGHTBOT 9000: "I'm afraid I can't do that, Dave."
Or a complete bore.
Behold, the man! The gladiator! The greatest champion to ever fight in this Colosseum! HOMOEROTICUS!
The day that the likes of Miley Cyrus and Fifty Cent songs are considered "valuable data" is the day I'm up a clock tower with a high-powered rifle.
"There's Cary Sherman!" *blam*
"There's Cary Sherman!" *blam*
Couldn't the science community just not update the firmware?
If a firmware removes/disables/breaks a feature you don't like, you don't install the firmware.
If something on the scale of iTunes (or hell, even a third of the size of iTunes) collapsed and created a huge DRM clusterfuck, that would probably be the turning point.
If you buy a song on iTunes, delete it/lose it, and then want to redownload it from iTunes, are you able to? No.
I download a game from Steam (technically, I "subscribe" to that game - wording to get around the right of resale), and I reformat/delete it/lose it etc., I can always grab it again at no charge pretty much as many times as I need to.
iTunes treats purchases like physical items and Steam treats purchases as licenses.
The subscription/license on a per-item basis of digital purchases is probably the best for the consumer IMO. If you buy a song, $0.99 is ridiculous for the data itself. If it were $0.99 for a license to own a copy of that song, it would seem wholly less ridiculous.
I can redownload games on Steam if I have to, so I use Steam. (The DRM is also unobtrusive.) I can't redownload songs on iTunes without paying for them, so I don't use iTunes. Simple as that.
Doing it the "license" way would also render P2P and the like null and void. If I purchased a hard copy of the White Album (for the fifth time) and downloaded some lossless digital files, I'm considered a pirate. Hell, if I rip the files from the CD and put it on my cell phone I'm considered a pirate. You just can't win the way things are nowadays. No wonder people pirate. I get my ass taken to court for downloading the White Album? Whoops, I already purchased it and are therefore entitled to download it.
Sadly, I imagine it will be some time before the market and/or the law gets more in line with sanity.
The day that the *AAs either get their heads out of their collective asses or collapse under their own weight is the day that the music industry will be better for (almost) everyone: artists, producers, composers, songwriters, and most importantly customers. Sure, corporate lawyers and *AA management will get the shaft, but they deserve at least that for their nigh-criminal business tactics of that last 100 years.
Oh my, you're absolutely right! Clearly I should have realized that made absolutely no sense whatsoever. From this day forward I shall entirely refrain from making sarcastic and/or humorous posts as you have enlightened me to my wrongs.
...aw shit, did it again.
Just like the rules of a game can't be patented?
The problem is that they can just change some wording. It would go from patenting the code to patenting the "Method and Apparatus" of the code, its execution, etc.
Well back then, if a leader treated their subjects like shit he typically got deposed (or decapitated). Nowadays very few people in comfortable, first-world countries have the balls to do something like that no matter how necessary it is.