I'd be very curious as to how much hand finishing is required on these firearms. While the 1911 is a simple design and commonly produced the difference between a weapon cranked out with CNC and finished by an assembly line gunsmith is notably different than the same parts finished by an accomplished smith who understands the finer points of the firearm.
I'd also point out that 2,000 rounds is no testament to durability, rather it's just barely out of what most 1911 enthusiasts consider the break-in period.
You choose to purchase a vehicle. You choose to ride a motorcycle.
In both examples you are making a choice, and choosing to comply with laws passed around those activities. If for example I do not believe in utilizing vehicles, I am not forced to purchase seat belts and helmets.
I personally choose to use the medical facilities available, and as such I choose to have insurance. If I didn't choose to use the facilities, forcing me to purchase insurance is a clear violation of my rights.
Other posters have mentioned water... only if you choose to own property within city limits, etc...
What you're missing is that Glider wasn't used for the handicapped, it was used to totally automate gameplay and level from 1 to 70 while farming loot.
The running joke in my guild was that the UI mod (BOT) I wrote was for my crippled friend who could only press one button over and over... the fact that the one button was hooked to a logic trap that played the game for me is what was cheating.
Glider doesn't even require a button press now and then, you start it, and off you go, for as long as you stay connected, running the script.
TFA Miss-Quotes the blizzard press release. Blizzard says they have 9 million subscribers and posts a metric how it's measured, TFA states that they have 9 million gamers - and that is quite inaccurate.
I would point out that the UI modding is the ONLY place that WoW is truly revolutionary... everything else has been done in some form or another... Blizzard just did it without the parts that sucked from other MMO's...
The more I think about it, the more I think there was an XML based UI modding system for EQ as well... so maybe blizzard didn't revolutionize anything, they just polished the stone wheel, added some steel belts and a shiney rim.
World of Warcraft's Subscriber Definition World of Warcraft subscribers include individuals who have paid a subscription fee or have an active prepaid card to play World of Warcraft, as well as those who have purchased the game and are within their free month of access. Internet Game Room players who have accessed the game over the last thirty days are also counted as subscribers. The above definition excludes all players under free promotional subscriptions, expired or cancelled subscriptions, and expired prepaid cards. Subscribers in licensees' territories are defined along the same rules.
I would wager that this number is highly inflated...
Personally, I own and maintain 3 accounts and my girlfriend has her own as well, so 2 players, 4 accounts... If you take a look at my guild of 50+ active members you will find an impressive roster of well over 200 characters many of which are on seperate accounts. I know I have at least 15 players with more than one account, and our biggest account holder is sitting around 8.
Take a look at Dual Boxing and evaluate how many multi-account users there are out there... Many claim (and have video proof) of 5, 10, and even 50 boxes running at a time... with one of the contributors to the community boasting over 200 wow accounts on one server...
I figure that without even counting farmers, we have made a significant notch in the 9 million number...
What I find amusing is that you think most computer users have a "Choice" in which OS they run... my shop runs Windows XP, that means all 250 of my supported users run Windows XP, they don't get to choose.
Unfortunately I can also say without a doubt that wireless connectivity is so convoluted that the average user would fall for this. Explaining to Joe Salesman to view wireless networks and trying to explain to him the different types of authentication he may run into while traveling from Iowa to Texas (I found 4 in my one way trip) is just horrible.
The first thing I do to any machine purchased from an OEM is nuke the site from orbit. They install so much crap the brand spanking new machine you bought runs about as well as a 5 year old box thats setup properly.
I railed the guy up one side and down the other about good customer service. They make some tasks in the game so damn tedious yet necessary for greater success... so I have taken to coding while I do the tedious tasks. (Right click, pick plant, wait 25 minutes... repeat).
I have been reported for botting twice that I know of... not on the botted priest though.
On my main rogue.
Both times I was at the keyboard and working away on custom UI mods to make other aspects of the game easier, and one of the two times the Customer Service Rep gave me a reasonable treatment. The other instance the Game Master simply moved my avatar without any interaction...
I wrote a bot for my priest, leveled her from 1 to 60th using nothing outside the blizzard UI besides a keystroke generator (Can use AutoIT, but I used my Nostromo's macro to press End over and over and over...)
This bot not only leveled my priest for me, but I often turned her loose on Pick Up Groups in dungeons as she leveled. Completely automated to spit out random chinese phrases when asked questions with specific key words in them... she did a fine job as a healer so people just ignored the language barrier...
To take it a step farther, I released her in the Battlegrounds and in a period of 10 days went from zero faction to max-exhalted in Alterac Valley... once a player handed the leadership of the raid over to her and gave her final strategy on how to lead our team to victory... I laughed as I watched him tell that he had to leave for work and didn't want to see us lose...
Another notch up, I have utilized this bot in end game content with 39 other players and she holds her own... I set out to write a script to make leveling easier... I ended up automating a priest. I never wanted her to be "the best", simply "average"... and with that goal in mind I managed quite well.
How have I avoided being banned? I wrote the bot myself, and I've never published it.
Ok, just to put things in perspective, this guy's been playing for a year and claims to be in a top guild... he may be in one of the top guilds, but seriously...
I've run a guild since day 0 of retail, played since Beta, and have been in the MMO scene as a guild leader since UO hit the shelves in the mid 90's...
That said, some of what the guy is saying is true, but I guarantee that those players letting a game destroy their lives would be doing the same destructive actions with another vice if the game wasn't there. One of our best players was a serious pot-head, and after we got him focus'd on raiding, he's cleaned up and turned that around. Yea, one vice for another, but at least WOW isn't going to kill the guy!
The first piece of software I ever pirated was "Smooth Talker" for my Apple II GS, and I paid more in long distance fees than I would have for the retail software...
Since then I have found morals... I aspire to make my living writing code, I've been doing a fine job of it, and because of that I have a hard time with the concept of piracy. On the other hand, I hate throwing money down a sinkhole of suckage.
So until the game industry writes games that are going to run stable and smooth on my PC, I'm going to "free trial" the software when I can. If the game is worth playing, I'll buy it. If it's trash, I'll throw it in the bin in short order, and the only thing thats "Lost" to them is the revenue they never should have gotten from me for creating a crappy game.
Note: In 99% of the cases I buy software it's not because it's the best graphics, smoothest gameplay, etc... it is because the game runs well, doesn't crash, doesn't require 24 driver updates to hardware that you don't even know you have, doesn't take a genius to install, etc.
Meanwhile, I think server maintainance is over, so I'll be logging back into WoW soon;).
My first day out of training as a contractor for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage... I was hunched over my computer in a cube "row" that I later refered to as the Cubical Ghetto... and an e-mail came out announcing that lunch was here for all Full Time Permanent employees...
It of course was sent to the entire group, because it would be too much work to maintain a seperate list of full time employees and contract employees...
Anyhow, a veteran contractor sitting behind me fired off an e-mail using the worst button ever... "reply to all"... it read "And for anyone who would like to donate to the 'Feed a Contractor Fund' please see me."
Within 10 minutes he was terminated and escorted out of the building...
The first thing you have to know when doing contract work - you are disposable.
My question would be how much of an impact is your boycot having?
Did you fly regularly before? If so, how are you now traveling?
Keep in mind the guy who flies twice a year isn't going to impact the airlines. The guy who flies twice a week will. But hows he going to suppliment his travel?
Of course they want to keep the piracy at bay, however this doesn't hurt the pirates... they have the ability to crack, hack, and bypass to achieve their means. This simply hurts the fair use by non-techno-geeks.
When a leet overclock involves a few bios changes instead of an actual hardware mod...
I recall a friend buying a 555 timer and doing a bit of creative soldering on his Amiga 500 to double the clockspeed from 7.5 to 15mhz... (At least I think those numbers are right, it HAS been a few years since the mid 80's...)
I grew up learning about PC's from an old school geek, showed me how to properly solder, how to read resisters, and all that jazz... now you look at a guy coming out of school ready to "repair" computers... it's a lot like restocking a soda machine anymore... insert product in slot. Ok, all done.
Slashdot Mirror
What is an 'ashtray'?
There are two types of shooters in the world... those that 2,000 rounds will last a lifetime, and those that 2,000 rounds is a slow month.
I'd be very curious as to how much hand finishing is required on these firearms. While the 1911 is a simple design and commonly produced the difference between a weapon cranked out with CNC and finished by an assembly line gunsmith is notably different than the same parts finished by an accomplished smith who understands the finer points of the firearm.
I'd also point out that 2,000 rounds is no testament to durability, rather it's just barely out of what most 1911 enthusiasts consider the break-in period.
You choose to purchase a vehicle.
You choose to ride a motorcycle.
In both examples you are making a choice, and choosing to comply with laws passed around those activities. If for example I do not believe in utilizing vehicles, I am not forced to purchase seat belts and helmets.
I personally choose to use the medical facilities available, and as such I choose to have insurance. If I didn't choose to use the facilities, forcing me to purchase insurance is a clear violation of my rights.
Other posters have mentioned water... only if you choose to own property within city limits, etc...
That's scooting right along!
What you're missing is that Glider wasn't used for the handicapped, it was used to totally automate gameplay and level from 1 to 70 while farming loot.
The running joke in my guild was that the UI mod (BOT) I wrote was for my crippled friend who could only press one button over and over... the fact that the one button was hooked to a logic trap that played the game for me is what was cheating.
Glider doesn't even require a button press now and then, you start it, and off you go, for as long as you stay connected, running the script.
He Can download a current copy of windows from Bittorrent...
Is it because I'm using Firefox?
TFA Miss-Quotes the blizzard press release. Blizzard says they have 9 million subscribers and posts a metric how it's measured, TFA states that they have 9 million gamers - and that is quite inaccurate.
I would point out that the UI modding is the ONLY place that WoW is truly revolutionary... everything else has been done in some form or another... Blizzard just did it without the parts that sucked from other MMO's...
The more I think about it, the more I think there was an XML based UI modding system for EQ as well... so maybe blizzard didn't revolutionize anything, they just polished the stone wheel, added some steel belts and a shiney rim.
For those who want the source of their metric.
I would wager that this number is highly inflated...
Personally, I own and maintain 3 accounts and my girlfriend has her own as well, so 2 players, 4 accounts... If you take a look at my guild of 50+ active members you will find an impressive roster of well over 200 characters many of which are on seperate accounts. I know I have at least 15 players with more than one account, and our biggest account holder is sitting around 8.
Take a look at Dual Boxing and evaluate how many multi-account users there are out there... Many claim (and have video proof) of 5, 10, and even 50 boxes running at a time... with one of the contributors to the community boasting over 200 wow accounts on one server...
I figure that without even counting farmers, we have made a significant notch in the 9 million number...
This book is ALL I've heard about from my girlfriend and her fellow harry potter nuts for months... it needs no extra hype!
-- In Des Moines --
What I find amusing is that you think most computer users have a "Choice" in which OS they run... my shop runs Windows XP, that means all 250 of my supported users run Windows XP, they don't get to choose.
Unfortunately I can also say without a doubt that wireless connectivity is so convoluted that the average user would fall for this. Explaining to Joe Salesman to view wireless networks and trying to explain to him the different types of authentication he may run into while traveling from Iowa to Texas (I found 4 in my one way trip) is just horrible.
The first thing I do to any machine purchased from an OEM is nuke the site from orbit. They install so much crap the brand spanking new machine you bought runs about as well as a 5 year old box thats setup properly.
I railed the guy up one side and down the other about good customer service. They make some tasks in the game so damn tedious yet necessary for greater success... so I have taken to coding while I do the tedious tasks. (Right click, pick plant, wait 25 minutes... repeat).
Oh, and as an aside...
I have been reported for botting twice that I know of... not on the botted priest though.
On my main rogue.
Both times I was at the keyboard and working away on custom UI mods to make other aspects of the game easier, and one of the two times the Customer Service Rep gave me a reasonable treatment. The other instance the Game Master simply moved my avatar without any interaction...
I wrote a bot for my priest, leveled her from 1 to 60th using nothing outside the blizzard UI besides a keystroke generator (Can use AutoIT, but I used my Nostromo's macro to press End over and over and over...)
This bot not only leveled my priest for me, but I often turned her loose on Pick Up Groups in dungeons as she leveled. Completely automated to spit out random chinese phrases when asked questions with specific key words in them... she did a fine job as a healer so people just ignored the language barrier...
To take it a step farther, I released her in the Battlegrounds and in a period of 10 days went from zero faction to max-exhalted in Alterac Valley... once a player handed the leadership of the raid over to her and gave her final strategy on how to lead our team to victory... I laughed as I watched him tell that he had to leave for work and didn't want to see us lose...
Another notch up, I have utilized this bot in end game content with 39 other players and she holds her own... I set out to write a script to make leveling easier... I ended up automating a priest. I never wanted her to be "the best", simply "average"... and with that goal in mind I managed quite well.
How have I avoided being banned? I wrote the bot myself, and I've never published it.
Ok, just to put things in perspective, this guy's been playing for a year and claims to be in a top guild... he may be in one of the top guilds, but seriously...
I've run a guild since day 0 of retail, played since Beta, and have been in the MMO scene as a guild leader since UO hit the shelves in the mid 90's...
That said, some of what the guy is saying is true, but I guarantee that those players letting a game destroy their lives would be doing the same destructive actions with another vice if the game wasn't there. One of our best players was a serious pot-head, and after we got him focus'd on raiding, he's cleaned up and turned that around. Yea, one vice for another, but at least WOW isn't going to kill the guy!
The first piece of software I ever pirated was "Smooth Talker" for my Apple II GS, and I paid more in long distance fees than I would have for the retail software...
;).
Since then I have found morals... I aspire to make my living writing code, I've been doing a fine job of it, and because of that I have a hard time with the concept of piracy. On the other hand, I hate throwing money down a sinkhole of suckage.
So until the game industry writes games that are going to run stable and smooth on my PC, I'm going to "free trial" the software when I can. If the game is worth playing, I'll buy it. If it's trash, I'll throw it in the bin in short order, and the only thing thats "Lost" to them is the revenue they never should have gotten from me for creating a crappy game.
Note: In 99% of the cases I buy software it's not because it's the best graphics, smoothest gameplay, etc... it is because the game runs well, doesn't crash, doesn't require 24 driver updates to hardware that you don't even know you have, doesn't take a genius to install, etc.
Meanwhile, I think server maintainance is over, so I'll be logging back into WoW soon
My first day out of training as a contractor for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage ... I was hunched over my computer in a cube "row" that I later refered to as the Cubical Ghetto... and an e-mail came out announcing that lunch was here for all Full Time Permanent employees...
It of course was sent to the entire group, because it would be too much work to maintain a seperate list of full time employees and contract employees...
Anyhow, a veteran contractor sitting behind me fired off an e-mail using the worst button ever... "reply to all"... it read "And for anyone who would like to donate to the 'Feed a Contractor Fund' please see me."
Within 10 minutes he was terminated and escorted out of the building...
The first thing you have to know when doing contract work - you are disposable.
My question would be how much of an impact is your boycot having?
Did you fly regularly before? If so, how are you now traveling?
Keep in mind the guy who flies twice a year isn't going to impact the airlines. The guy who flies twice a week will. But hows he going to suppliment his travel?
That the average purchaser of an IPod has more disposable income than your average CheapAss player?
Seriously, I don't download/steal music, but I've got disposable income... I used to pirate my ass off in my younger years when $20 was a big deal.
Of course they want to keep the piracy at bay, however this doesn't hurt the pirates... they have the ability to crack, hack, and bypass to achieve their means. This simply hurts the fair use by non-techno-geeks.
When a leet overclock involves a few bios changes instead of an actual hardware mod...
I recall a friend buying a 555 timer and doing a bit of creative soldering on his Amiga 500 to double the clockspeed from 7.5 to 15mhz... (At least I think those numbers are right, it HAS been a few years since the mid 80's...)
I grew up learning about PC's from an old school geek, showed me how to properly solder, how to read resisters, and all that jazz... now you look at a guy coming out of school ready to "repair" computers... it's a lot like restocking a soda machine anymore... insert product in slot. Ok, all done.