Why the hell is parent currently moderated as Troll?
What he's saying is totally right.
StarDock are _not_ "anti-DRM". They never claimed to be. They believe in the need for DRM, but they don't subscribe to the current trend of having to donate blood every time you try to start your own game.
Two truths:
1. If you buy the mentioned games in a store (ie, physical medium), you can install it on as many computers as you like. You never need to go online to activate. They'll never stop working. There's *no* DRM.
HOWEVER:
2. If you buy it online, or activate it online in order to patch it, the installation locks to your current hardware. You can install on several computers, but you cannot *move* an install from one set of hardware to another. That's plain old DRM.
These are not secrets. Mail SD and they will happily confirm it.
What SD are trying to do is to offer incentives to buy the titles. Easy access to patches, especially when SD are dilligent in providing more than just bug fixes, is of value to people. To get it though, you have to prove you own the game.
I'm with you on this one. The difference in js performance is so blatantly obvious anybody claiming it's not there might just as well claim the sun is fiction. The days I tested Chrome it felt as if I'd done a major computer upgrade whenever I tested a js heavy site.
Unfortunately, it doesn't really matter. Until another browser supports and has available as many extensions as FF does, they're not an option for me.
I'm not a chemist so the actual process related to a charge cycle that causes batteries of various chemistries to degrade is beyond me. Fact remains, they do degrade, and you claimed otherwise. That the mechanics of it vary between different chemistries is irrelevant. Use causes wear beyond what shelf storage does. That's the point you've been trying very hard to combat, and now concede.
As for changing your premise... Could you get more predictable? I included the temperature angle for that very reason, and you latched on with both hands. Shame on you.
As far as not doing full charge cycles on Li-ion, you are partially correct. As the link you yourself provided states, every once in a while you should completely drain and fully charge a Li-ion. It doesn't make a difference to the longevity of the battery, but it does recalibrate the fuel gauge of the given device. The batteries nowadays are fancy enough to prevent deep-discharge so there's no risk involved (as long as you don't then store it fully discharged).
Yes, when storing a Li-ion battery, the amount of degradation is linked to amount of charge it's stored with, as well as temperature. This is well established. This degradation occurs even if you do not use the battery at all.
If you, on the other hand, use the battery, degradation from discharge/charge cycles are added to that. Even if ignoring the wealth of information about this on the net, some of which I've quoted and you continue to ignore, the fact that high temperature deteriorates the battery and them getting warm when you dis-/charge them should be enough to set you straight.
If Li-ions showed exactly the same amount of degradation when heavily used as when stored, it would have been listed under "advantages", not "disadvantages".
You can continue repeating yourself until you turn blue, it won't make it true. Li-ions have a high rate of deterioration when simply stored, but that doesn't mean they do not also wear from use. They do.
That paragraph does not state the wear is identical whether you use a battery or not. It tells you not to stock up on Li-ion batteries, because its maximum charge level will degrade over time _even when not used_. That's what they mean by the "regardless of whether it was charged or number of charge cycles" bit. Not that the degradation is identical regardless of use or lack thereof. The very same wiki article lists "Cycle durability" in the summary (top right).
You're only digging your hole deeper here. Not only do you clearly not have a clue, you even paste text without comprehending it first. And, of course, you avoid responding to the other party's evidence. I see Apple still hasn't changed their information.
For the record, I wouldn't have been this hard on you if you hadn't started out like an asshat in your first post.
Before you endeavor to lecture someone, you should be pretty sure about your facts. You should also not put words into the mouth of the other party (I did not claim Li-ion batteries have charge memory).
Since you didn't bother backing your claims up with anything, I am tempted to just say "come back when you know what you're talking about". But since others might take your word for it, I guess I should at least offer one supporting source for my claim.
Apple seems appropriate, since their devices were the topic here. So here's a quote from www.apple.com/batteries: "Each time you complete a charge cycle, it diminishes battery capacity"
I guess you need to call and educate them in the error of their ways. You should also edit out all the "Cycle durability" listings on Li-ion and Li-ion polymer batteries from Wikipedia and everywhere else it occurs on the net.
Nobody said they check and/or confiscate all laptops. The issue arises if and when they decide to pick on you. Because they _do_ pick on some, and they _do_ seize laptops. You just need to be unlucky enough for them to decide to do it to you.
Apart from that, I totally agree the risk of theft is much greater (assuming you're an ethnic westerner, otherwise the risk of seizure skyrockets) and a cause for encryption in itself.
There are a number of good reasons to bring a laptop on vacation, not just as extended storage. I bring a netbook with me so I can call home at local charges using the same IP phone service my home phone is connected to, for example.
Also it is sometimes convenient to be able to process the RAWs while still on the same continent as the location, in case I missed so badly on exposure the image can't be rescued.
A few dozen others have already chimed in, but I can't help myself.
Do _not_ fully encrypt the laptop. If you do catch the customs people's eye, you'll end up having to give them the passphrase or let them keep the laptop.
I suspect hidden encrypted OS is overkill in your case. The simplest is to create a truecrypt container file and put your pictures into that. Name it something plausible and if they poke at it shrug and guess the file's been corrupted somehow.
One step up the paranoia ladder from that is to create a container with a hidden portion. In the unlikely event they dig around enough to find the Truecrypt container file in the first place, you can just give them the passphrase to the outer layer where you've put some files for show and they'll never know there's a second passphrase unlocking the other part of it.
Or just upload your pictures to your service of choice and delete them from your laptop before you travel.
How depressing it is that it's the "land of the free" you need to take these precautions with nowadays.
Beats me. I bought my only iPod without realizing the insane cost of battery replacement. When the battery failed after less than a year of low use, I spent a few bucks more than the battery replacement would have cost me and bought something non-Apple (twice the storage, three times the battery life, if I remember correctly). I have stayed away from Apple products ever since.
While there are stories of those with batteries that seem to last forever, the general feeling I get is that Apple keep marginalizing their battery capacity to shrink their products. Less capacity equals more frequent recharging which means they run out of cycles that much sooner.
Almost three years ago, our dishwasher (which was only a year old at the time) stopped working.
One year old and you didn't get a free repair or replacement? I recently had most of the innards of my tumble dryer swapped out free of charge when it failed. That thing was almost four years old.
Or you were you just looking for an excuse to use a hammer.:P
I can only cite that every title I've bought on SDC/Impulse has activation. Just as every title I've bought via Steam.
I'm not about to buy every single title available on both services to make sure there are no exceptions. The point has already been made. They both employ similar DRM by linking what you download to your online account with them, and any given download to the computer you download on (forget about moving your Steam or Impulse backup to a different computer unless you can get it online for activation).
While on the topic, the only time I have ever experienced "you have run out of activations, contact customer support", has been when trying to install Windowblinds via SDC.
I guess you didn't notice many (most?) Impulse titles includes activation/hardware lock-in (as in you cannot move the files to a different computer unless you have Impulse there to log on and activate).
Valid point. I did scratch my chin over that one for a few seconds. Then clicked "learn more" and discovered I already had accounts with at least four of the listed sites. I just picked one and that was it.
A fixed width site? You have got to be kidding me. We are developers with 30" monitors.
Speak for yourself. Where I work I just went from a single 19" to..... a single 22". I'm not joking.
As far as the look is concerned, I have to admit I didn't spend a second of my time there earlier today noticing the aesthetics. I was occupied studying the system surrounding the questions and answers. That is the point of the site, after all.
Whether it'll become what Joel wishes it to be will be up to the community and future tweaking of the site. Personally, I think it stands a chance.
Because it would probably lead to higher sales and show the world they have been complete idiots for a very long time.
The Brad Wardell interview from a bit back lays it out nicely. Removing DRM gave higher sales. Allowing the return of games for full refund gave higher sales.
Stardock claims to be DRM free, but they still activate the games and they prevent copying of the game files without installation and activation with this semi transparent DRM. If you are missing the sig.bin binary signature file of your installation or it doesn't match your current PC's signature, the game will not run until it is re-activated.
Their games are DRM free if you buy them in a store (and don't go online to patch it). If you buy it online through SDC/Impulse it has Steam-like DRM as you describe.
Except that you can't. I don't know where you got that quote from but it wasn't me. If you copy the game to another computer, you need to create a new license key for it before it will run.
This only applies if you bought it online. If you bought it in a store there's zero DRM. Copy the DVD and install it wherever you like.
However, you have to prove you own the game via serial number if you wish to go online and update it. I don't believe there's a (supported) way to backup a patched installation. It becomes like Steam, in other words.
Is that DRM? In my opinion: Yes, if the game is unplayable without patches. No, if the game is perfectly playable out of the box.
For once I find myself happy a game has DRM. I was going to buy Spore, until I heard of the DRM. Once that information became available it was off my to-buy list and I forgot about it.
Then a few days ago I am informed there's a cracked version available. I decide to see if it lived up to the hype and install it. Three hours later, I delete it out of boredom.
If it hadn't been for DRM, that would've been money out the window. There can be but one conclusion. DRM really is there for my benefit.
Almost as great as the one during the last global cooling panic, where suggestions were made to cover the ice caps with black soot to make them absorb sunlight and melt.
Proof positive that global climatologists are never ever wrong.
This must be an ISP issue, not the infrastructure as a whole. Heck, I'm fetching most of my packets across an ocean, and most pages still load virtually instantly.
I can't answer that I'm afraid. I just don't know. I do know they have the technology and knowhow, but not whether that price quote included using the expensive machinery.
Slashdot Mirror
Why the hell is parent currently moderated as Troll?
What he's saying is totally right.
StarDock are _not_ "anti-DRM". They never claimed to be. They believe in the need for DRM, but they don't subscribe to the current trend of having to donate blood every time you try to start your own game.
Two truths:
1. If you buy the mentioned games in a store (ie, physical medium), you can install it on as many computers as you like. You never need to go online to activate. They'll never stop working. There's *no* DRM.
HOWEVER:
2. If you buy it online, or activate it online in order to patch it, the installation locks to your current hardware. You can install on several computers, but you cannot *move* an install from one set of hardware to another. That's plain old DRM.
These are not secrets. Mail SD and they will happily confirm it.
What SD are trying to do is to offer incentives to buy the titles. Easy access to patches, especially when SD are dilligent in providing more than just bug fixes, is of value to people. To get it though, you have to prove you own the game.
You're only off on the cost by a factor of 12 or so. It's $5711 a year.
I'm with you on this one. The difference in js performance is so blatantly obvious anybody claiming it's not there might just as well claim the sun is fiction. The days I tested Chrome it felt as if I'd done a major computer upgrade whenever I tested a js heavy site.
Unfortunately, it doesn't really matter. Until another browser supports and has available as many extensions as FF does, they're not an option for me.
I get it now. You're one of those people that pop up in online cartoons every now and then.
Found an example
EOD
I'm not a chemist so the actual process related to a charge cycle that causes batteries of various chemistries to degrade is beyond me. Fact remains, they do degrade, and you claimed otherwise. That the mechanics of it vary between different chemistries is irrelevant. Use causes wear beyond what shelf storage does. That's the point you've been trying very hard to combat, and now concede.
As for changing your premise... Could you get more predictable? I included the temperature angle for that very reason, and you latched on with both hands. Shame on you.
As far as not doing full charge cycles on Li-ion, you are partially correct. As the link you yourself provided states, every once in a while you should completely drain and fully charge a Li-ion. It doesn't make a difference to the longevity of the battery, but it does recalibrate the fuel gauge of the given device. The batteries nowadays are fancy enough to prevent deep-discharge so there's no risk involved (as long as you don't then store it fully discharged).
I assume we're done now?
Yes, when storing a Li-ion battery, the amount of degradation is linked to amount of charge it's stored with, as well as temperature. This is well established. This degradation occurs even if you do not use the battery at all.
If you, on the other hand, use the battery, degradation from discharge/charge cycles are added to that. Even if ignoring the wealth of information about this on the net, some of which I've quoted and you continue to ignore, the fact that high temperature deteriorates the battery and them getting warm when you dis-/charge them should be enough to set you straight.
If Li-ions showed exactly the same amount of degradation when heavily used as when stored, it would have been listed under "advantages", not "disadvantages".
You can continue repeating yourself until you turn blue, it won't make it true. Li-ions have a high rate of deterioration when simply stored, but that doesn't mean they do not also wear from use. They do.
Reading comprehension 101.
That paragraph does not state the wear is identical whether you use a battery or not. It tells you not to stock up on Li-ion batteries, because its maximum charge level will degrade over time _even when not used_. That's what they mean by the "regardless of whether it was charged or number of charge cycles" bit. Not that the degradation is identical regardless of use or lack thereof. The very same wiki article lists "Cycle durability" in the summary (top right).
You're only digging your hole deeper here. Not only do you clearly not have a clue, you even paste text without comprehending it first. And, of course, you avoid responding to the other party's evidence. I see Apple still hasn't changed their information.
For the record, I wouldn't have been this hard on you if you hadn't started out like an asshat in your first post.
Before you endeavor to lecture someone, you should be pretty sure about your facts. You should also not put words into the mouth of the other party (I did not claim Li-ion batteries have charge memory).
Since you didn't bother backing your claims up with anything, I am tempted to just say "come back when you know what you're talking about". But since others might take your word for it, I guess I should at least offer one supporting source for my claim.
Apple seems appropriate, since their devices were the topic here. So here's a quote from www.apple.com/batteries: "Each time you complete a charge cycle, it diminishes battery capacity"
I guess you need to call and educate them in the error of their ways. You should also edit out all the "Cycle durability" listings on Li-ion and Li-ion polymer batteries from Wikipedia and everywhere else it occurs on the net.
Consider yourself rebutted.
Nobody said they check and/or confiscate all laptops. The issue arises if and when they decide to pick on you. Because they _do_ pick on some, and they _do_ seize laptops. You just need to be unlucky enough for them to decide to do it to you.
Apart from that, I totally agree the risk of theft is much greater (assuming you're an ethnic westerner, otherwise the risk of seizure skyrockets) and a cause for encryption in itself.
I've shot more than that in a weekend.
There are a number of good reasons to bring a laptop on vacation, not just as extended storage. I bring a netbook with me so I can call home at local charges using the same IP phone service my home phone is connected to, for example.
Also it is sometimes convenient to be able to process the RAWs while still on the same continent as the location, in case I missed so badly on exposure the image can't be rescued.
A few dozen others have already chimed in, but I can't help myself.
Do _not_ fully encrypt the laptop. If you do catch the customs people's eye, you'll end up having to give them the passphrase or let them keep the laptop.
I suspect hidden encrypted OS is overkill in your case. The simplest is to create a truecrypt container file and put your pictures into that. Name it something plausible and if they poke at it shrug and guess the file's been corrupted somehow.
One step up the paranoia ladder from that is to create a container with a hidden portion. In the unlikely event they dig around enough to find the Truecrypt container file in the first place, you can just give them the passphrase to the outer layer where you've put some files for show and they'll never know there's a second passphrase unlocking the other part of it.
Or just upload your pictures to your service of choice and delete them from your laptop before you travel.
How depressing it is that it's the "land of the free" you need to take these precautions with nowadays.
Beats me. I bought my only iPod without realizing the insane cost of battery replacement. When the battery failed after less than a year of low use, I spent a few bucks more than the battery replacement would have cost me and bought something non-Apple (twice the storage, three times the battery life, if I remember correctly). I have stayed away from Apple products ever since.
While there are stories of those with batteries that seem to last forever, the general feeling I get is that Apple keep marginalizing their battery capacity to shrink their products. Less capacity equals more frequent recharging which means they run out of cycles that much sooner.
Almost three years ago, our dishwasher (which was only a year old at the time) stopped working.
One year old and you didn't get a free repair or replacement? I recently had most of the innards of my tumble dryer swapped out free of charge when it failed. That thing was almost four years old.
Or you were you just looking for an excuse to use a hammer. :P
Look, offering valid points is fine. But neither of the above applies to Steam. Its offline mode works just fine.
I can only cite that every title I've bought on SDC/Impulse has activation. Just as every title I've bought via Steam.
I'm not about to buy every single title available on both services to make sure there are no exceptions. The point has already been made. They both employ similar DRM by linking what you download to your online account with them, and any given download to the computer you download on (forget about moving your Steam or Impulse backup to a different computer unless you can get it online for activation).
While on the topic, the only time I have ever experienced "you have run out of activations, contact customer support", has been when trying to install Windowblinds via SDC.
I guess you didn't notice many (most?) Impulse titles includes activation/hardware lock-in (as in you cannot move the files to a different computer unless you have Impulse there to log on and activate).
In other words, pretty much like Steam.
Valid point. I did scratch my chin over that one for a few seconds. Then clicked "learn more" and discovered I already had accounts with at least four of the listed sites. I just picked one and that was it.
A fixed width site? You have got to be kidding me. We are developers with 30" monitors.
Speak for yourself. Where I work I just went from a single 19" to ..... a single 22". I'm not joking.
As far as the look is concerned, I have to admit I didn't spend a second of my time there earlier today noticing the aesthetics. I was occupied studying the system surrounding the questions and answers. That is the point of the site, after all.
Whether it'll become what Joel wishes it to be will be up to the community and future tweaking of the site. Personally, I think it stands a chance.
Why can't they use NO DRM, and see how that goes?
Because it would probably lead to higher sales and show the world they have been complete idiots for a very long time.
The Brad Wardell interview from a bit back lays it out nicely. Removing DRM gave higher sales. Allowing the return of games for full refund gave higher sales.
Stardock claims to be DRM free, but they still activate the games and they prevent copying of the game files without installation and activation with this semi transparent DRM. If you are missing the sig.bin binary signature file of your installation or it doesn't match your current PC's signature, the game will not run until it is re-activated.
Their games are DRM free if you buy them in a store (and don't go online to patch it). If you buy it online through SDC/Impulse it has Steam-like DRM as you describe.
Except that you can't. I don't know where you got that quote from but it wasn't me. If you copy the game to another computer, you need to create a new license key for it before it will run.
This only applies if you bought it online. If you bought it in a store there's zero DRM. Copy the DVD and install it wherever you like.
However, you have to prove you own the game via serial number if you wish to go online and update it. I don't believe there's a (supported) way to backup a patched installation. It becomes like Steam, in other words.
Is that DRM? In my opinion: Yes, if the game is unplayable without patches. No, if the game is perfectly playable out of the box.
For once I find myself happy a game has DRM. I was going to buy Spore, until I heard of the DRM. Once that information became available it was off my to-buy list and I forgot about it.
Then a few days ago I am informed there's a cracked version available. I decide to see if it lived up to the hype and install it. Three hours later, I delete it out of boredom.
If it hadn't been for DRM, that would've been money out the window. There can be but one conclusion. DRM really is there for my benefit.
Almost as great as the one during the last global cooling panic, where suggestions were made to cover the ice caps with black soot to make them absorb sunlight and melt.
Proof positive that global climatologists are never ever wrong.
This must be an ISP issue, not the infrastructure as a whole. Heck, I'm fetching most of my packets across an ocean, and most pages still load virtually instantly.
I can't answer that I'm afraid. I just don't know. I do know they have the technology and knowhow, but not whether that price quote included using the expensive machinery.