But you could use the key to unencrypt the content and make it available online in unencrypted form and it'd be difficult, if not impossible, to figure out which key was broken. So long as you distributed the unlocked content in an untracable manner there is nothing they could really do to you.
How many of us here have major bandwidth at our disposal that'd be willing to accept unlocked content and redistribute it long enough for it to make it into the hands of enough people to be impossible to stop the distribution of? I certainly would. Hell, I'd do it and make a business out of it by making people buy a legal copy from me and throw in the unlocked copy for free. That'd make the lawsuits against me more interesting. Make these companies challenge someone that isn't a defenseless college kid or an outright criminal and they'll have more to bite into.
I agree. If we can make these companies attack enough consumers they'll make consumers recognize the problem and side against them. The legal and economic footing these companies stand on can be shook if the public notices.
I think that the battle against MP3's and file trading is already getting to shakey ground for these companies which is why they're trying to back off but I don't think we should let them back out. Better to step up the challenge and get these companies caught in a war they can't possibly win.
As it is almost everybody I know is impressed I can copy their DVDs for them. This lets them make back-ups, remove annoying restrictions, etc. Nobody I've ever talked to was happy about how hard it is to use or copy DVDs. Get someone that tries buying a DVD that isn't available where they live and when they try to play it finds out it's region blocked and they are nothing short of pissed. I think that is where this whole thing is moving.
You don't think they key is worth millions of dollars? I think there is enough value to be had there for a rich pirate company or something to spend the money.
I'd be just as happy to go through all the possible keys and get them revoked.. that'd help my cause of pissing off consumers to get them to rally against DRM. Can you say class action?
It'd be good to at least make some sort of stink over it so that consumers know what is being done to them. Sales guys are just going to make it sound like a good thing and nobody else will mention it.
I think recent studies have been showing TV replaced by the PC/Internet combo as the primary way American's spend their free time. People are watching less tv. Partly because the Internet is cool but also partly because tv has gotten really lame. There is nothing worth watching on even if you have 400 channels.
I haven't studied AACS but I'd expect that like any scheme it's only as strong as it's weakest link and in this case that probably means getting the keys involved which may be tricky but not impossible and will likely not take to long given the incentive.
I for one refuse to buy any crap that I know is licensing or using this technology. If I see your product supports it then I just will not buy it. Not your graphic card, your monitor, your OS, your software, your HD movie, or any of it. I, as a consumer that spends a lot of money on gadgets and media, do not want DRM.
Even more dangerous - if pushed I'll produce my own technology and content that is high quality and DRM proof. I think there is a market for it and I have the skills and connections. Want to make us geeks your competition?
All such things come in cycles as systems evolve. Fully centralized had problems that fully uncentralized helped with but fully uncentralized had it's own set of problems. Right now we're sort of the pendulum swinging back and forth in a shrinking arc trying to home in on the correct in-between position.
I think the right position is probably to store our apps and data, in encrypted form, on shared servers and access them, with caching, from our local machines. There is no decent reasons to have to install a program on every machine we use. The idea is just silly outside of the OS. There is no reason to store files where we can't get to them from any computer with a Net connection.
We don't need one centralized computer but client-server based computing is a great idea.
That was an option too. I have an old 1Ghz Windows boxen sitting in storage. I was thinking of just dumping some RAM and a nice video card in it. For the same price as a Mac Mini I could make it a pretty nice gaming rig and always upgrade the CPU later. Not as nice looking but doable.
Mostly I just want to create content. In the olden days I used to run MOOs and was one of the better and more imaginative programmers for the systems. Maybe I could have some fun with Second Life too. I enjoy programming more than game play so it might appeal to me more than things like Everquest. It appears to be free to try too which I like.
Japan I remember having gigabit DSL available in some places. I believe I remember seeing it mentioned in Korea too. Hardly third world there but it's definately true that third world countries are adopting technology faster than we are and often do have better access than we do.
I'm against govt paying for the Net (or anything) but unless things have changed a lot most of the telco system in the US is govt subsidized already so it sucks that it is slow and shitty and that we're letting these companies become rich off of it. Recent laws making it illegal to set-up coops and such for creating better access are what really annoys me.
You're comparing the richest nation in the world to others that are not even close and worrying about if we're comparing apples to apples? The fact that it's an issue at all that they might have better bandwidth than us is a disgrace. If we want to keep our lead as the richest and most powerful country in the world we need to keep on top of our lead in technology and science. Education is probably the most vital thing we need to be concerned with but slipping behind in technology is a bad thing too. Someone in Japan sitting on gigabit dsl is going to create the next big wave of innovation while we're not even able to use their new tools let alone create them. With gigabit speeds you could do some amazing things that just aren't possible for Internet users in the US.
I probably get thousands of bits of spam in my email daily (I get a crapola of email) but I see maybe one or two (at most - usually stuff I have a hard time classifying myself - quasi-spam) that make it past my filters. I probably get about the same number of snail mail spams a day that make it to my mail box but they are much more annoying as real mail tends to get lost in them. It sucks to miss getting a check because it got stuck inside some stupid bundle of ads.
I'm looking for a used one with 1GB RAM so that sounds great. Thanks for the info. Know a better spot than eBay to find a used one? I haven't actually bought a Mac in years although I have used them quite a bit.
You could give it a theme though without making it less realistic. That's the whole point. Most online RPG's are BORING AS HELL because they give you stupid little tasks to do and the game isn't much fun if you're not doing those tasks and the tasks themselves are usually more repetitive and frustrating than fun. You should be able to have open ended, basically pointless, fun. Get in fights, pillage, kill, steal, etc or if you enjoy it more form a citizen police force and go around catching people pillaging and kill them. Making it open ended and flexible is the key to it being fun. Let real people create quests for each other in order to move through the games society. Someone could become a mob boss of sorts and then send out minions to hassle rival gangs or newbies or whatever. It doesn't matter if you use guns, swords, magic, or whatever combination to act out these behaviors.
Anyone know for sure if Second Life runs on a Mac Mini? I was thinking of getting one to use just for that purpose but it appears it probably won't run Second Life. Such things aren't always as they seem from reading the requirements though. Any first hand experience?
If you're succesful at it then you most likely will have skills needed other places in the game or software industries. If not how is it any different than any other job skill. Jobs, especially high tech jobs, come and go. From each you learn some skills that help you adapt to a new job. How many of us were making good money ten years ago doing web development compared to how many of us still can. It's still possible to do but is much more work and takes a lot more skills and adaptability.
GTA, IMO, is one of the best games ever. Not just for it's content but for it's gameplay. It is open ended in ways other games only wish they could be. I'd love to see Take Two team up with someone like Square to product a really open ended RPG style game that has a Final Fantasy feel and GTA's attitude. Something for us big kids. I think GTA itself is destined to become a great online game. City of Villians wants to be but doesn't have what it takes but I think GTA could do it because it's already open ended and fun. They just have to make it multiplayer which doesn't seem to much of a stretch for the game. You don't need to be the hero in GTA so the stories work better for the masses than in a game like Final Fantasy online. Gang wars, lone gunmen, etc could all be a lot of fun.
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So why not just block them phoning home? Or better yet, filter their calls. That's been somewhat effective with sats.
But you could use the key to unencrypt the content and make it available online in unencrypted form and it'd be difficult, if not impossible, to figure out which key was broken. So long as you distributed the unlocked content in an untracable manner there is nothing they could really do to you.
How many of us here have major bandwidth at our disposal that'd be willing to accept unlocked content and redistribute it long enough for it to make it into the hands of enough people to be impossible to stop the distribution of? I certainly would. Hell, I'd do it and make a business out of it by making people buy a legal copy from me and throw in the unlocked copy for free. That'd make the lawsuits against me more interesting. Make these companies challenge someone that isn't a defenseless college kid or an outright criminal and they'll have more to bite into.
I agree. If we can make these companies attack enough consumers they'll make consumers recognize the problem and side against them. The legal and economic footing these companies stand on can be shook if the public notices.
I think that the battle against MP3's and file trading is already getting to shakey ground for these companies which is why they're trying to back off but I don't think we should let them back out. Better to step up the challenge and get these companies caught in a war they can't possibly win.
As it is almost everybody I know is impressed I can copy their DVDs for them. This lets them make back-ups, remove annoying restrictions, etc. Nobody I've ever talked to was happy about how hard it is to use or copy DVDs. Get someone that tries buying a DVD that isn't available where they live and when they try to play it finds out it's region blocked and they are nothing short of pissed. I think that is where this whole thing is moving.
You don't think they key is worth millions of dollars? I think there is enough value to be had there for a rich pirate company or something to spend the money.
I'd be just as happy to go through all the possible keys and get them revoked.. that'd help my cause of pissing off consumers to get them to rally against DRM. Can you say class action?
It'd be good to at least make some sort of stink over it so that consumers know what is being done to them. Sales guys are just going to make it sound like a good thing and nobody else will mention it.
I'll see that as a possibility sometime about a decade after they finally stop making VHS tapes. :)
I'll bitch and refuse to buy until there is an effective crack available.
I think recent studies have been showing TV replaced by the PC/Internet combo as the primary way American's spend their free time. People are watching less tv. Partly because the Internet is cool but also partly because tv has gotten really lame. There is nothing worth watching on even if you have 400 channels.
I haven't studied AACS but I'd expect that like any scheme it's only as strong as it's weakest link and in this case that probably means getting the keys involved which may be tricky but not impossible and will likely not take to long given the incentive.
I for one refuse to buy any crap that I know is licensing or using this technology. If I see your product supports it then I just will not buy it. Not your graphic card, your monitor, your OS, your software, your HD movie, or any of it. I, as a consumer that spends a lot of money on gadgets and media, do not want DRM.
Even more dangerous - if pushed I'll produce my own technology and content that is high quality and DRM proof. I think there is a market for it and I have the skills and connections. Want to make us geeks your competition?
All such things come in cycles as systems evolve. Fully centralized had problems that fully uncentralized helped with but fully uncentralized had it's own set of problems. Right now we're sort of the pendulum swinging back and forth in a shrinking arc trying to home in on the correct in-between position.
I think the right position is probably to store our apps and data, in encrypted form, on shared servers and access them, with caching, from our local machines. There is no decent reasons to have to install a program on every machine we use. The idea is just silly outside of the OS. There is no reason to store files where we can't get to them from any computer with a Net connection.
We don't need one centralized computer but client-server based computing is a great idea.
It seems to have a lot more in common with the social MUDs of lore than with Everquest or WoW.
I have the needed quality of hardware and it's running Linux and will never run Vista. Sorry Bill, I don't need your DRM nightmare.
Looking at something like Yahoo DSL for different countries can be informative. A bit simplified approach but some data.
That was an option too. I have an old 1Ghz Windows boxen sitting in storage. I was thinking of just dumping some RAM and a nice video card in it. For the same price as a Mac Mini I could make it a pretty nice gaming rig and always upgrade the CPU later. Not as nice looking but doable.
Mostly I just want to create content. In the olden days I used to run MOOs and was one of the better and more imaginative programmers for the systems. Maybe I could have some fun with Second Life too. I enjoy programming more than game play so it might appeal to me more than things like Everquest. It appears to be free to try too which I like.
That too. Still it lets you run around and do quite a lot without any real goal. More so than say Quake.
Japan I remember having gigabit DSL available in some places. I believe I remember seeing it mentioned in Korea too. Hardly third world there but it's definately true that third world countries are adopting technology faster than we are and often do have better access than we do.
I'm against govt paying for the Net (or anything) but unless things have changed a lot most of the telco system in the US is govt subsidized already so it sucks that it is slow and shitty and that we're letting these companies become rich off of it. Recent laws making it illegal to set-up coops and such for creating better access are what really annoys me.
You're comparing the richest nation in the world to others that are not even close and worrying about if we're comparing apples to apples? The fact that it's an issue at all that they might have better bandwidth than us is a disgrace. If we want to keep our lead as the richest and most powerful country in the world we need to keep on top of our lead in technology and science. Education is probably the most vital thing we need to be concerned with but slipping behind in technology is a bad thing too. Someone in Japan sitting on gigabit dsl is going to create the next big wave of innovation while we're not even able to use their new tools let alone create them. With gigabit speeds you could do some amazing things that just aren't possible for Internet users in the US.
I probably get thousands of bits of spam in my email daily (I get a crapola of email) but I see maybe one or two (at most - usually stuff I have a hard time classifying myself - quasi-spam) that make it past my filters. I probably get about the same number of snail mail spams a day that make it to my mail box but they are much more annoying as real mail tends to get lost in them. It sucks to miss getting a check because it got stuck inside some stupid bundle of ads.
Sounds good. Do they have an English site by chance? Is that for a dedicated server? What kind of speed do they offer?
I'm looking for a used one with 1GB RAM so that sounds great. Thanks for the info. Know a better spot than eBay to find a used one? I haven't actually bought a Mac in years although I have used them quite a bit.
You could give it a theme though without making it less realistic. That's the whole point. Most online RPG's are BORING AS HELL because they give you stupid little tasks to do and the game isn't much fun if you're not doing those tasks and the tasks themselves are usually more repetitive and frustrating than fun. You should be able to have open ended, basically pointless, fun. Get in fights, pillage, kill, steal, etc or if you enjoy it more form a citizen police force and go around catching people pillaging and kill them. Making it open ended and flexible is the key to it being fun. Let real people create quests for each other in order to move through the games society. Someone could become a mob boss of sorts and then send out minions to hassle rival gangs or newbies or whatever. It doesn't matter if you use guns, swords, magic, or whatever combination to act out these behaviors.
Anyone know for sure if Second Life runs on a Mac Mini? I was thinking of getting one to use just for that purpose but it appears it probably won't run Second Life. Such things aren't always as they seem from reading the requirements though. Any first hand experience?
If you're succesful at it then you most likely will have skills needed other places in the game or software industries. If not how is it any different than any other job skill. Jobs, especially high tech jobs, come and go. From each you learn some skills that help you adapt to a new job. How many of us were making good money ten years ago doing web development compared to how many of us still can. It's still possible to do but is much more work and takes a lot more skills and adaptability.
GTA, IMO, is one of the best games ever. Not just for it's content but for it's gameplay. It is open ended in ways other games only wish they could be. I'd love to see Take Two team up with someone like Square to product a really open ended RPG style game that has a Final Fantasy feel and GTA's attitude. Something for us big kids. I think GTA itself is destined to become a great online game. City of Villians wants to be but doesn't have what it takes but I think GTA could do it because it's already open ended and fun. They just have to make it multiplayer which doesn't seem to much of a stretch for the game. You don't need to be the hero in GTA so the stories work better for the masses than in a game like Final Fantasy online. Gang wars, lone gunmen, etc could all be a lot of fun.