And we all thought that corporate run govt and law inforcement was the stuff of science fiction. Its nice to know that copying madonna's new cd is more of a crime than agravated assault. Based on current federal sentencing guidelines this will rank "copyright violation" somewhere between violent rape and child molesting. Whats the lesson to be learned in this? I guess if your just dying for the latest cd's your better off robbing a music store you will do less time.
I played many MUDS back in their day but everytime i have felt nostalgic over the past few years and started into one all I ran into were scripted bots. I have a friend that MUDS 24/7 at majormud, he is mudding right now while he is at work at burger king. Never understood the appeal of having a script play a game for you but I would suspect that 95% of the MUD users out there are scripted while the other 5% are newbies or nostalgia seekers pondering why the other characters wont talk to them.
Gametap will prevent abandonware from being freed
on
Abandoned Games
·
· Score: 1
Gametap has been vigorously snapping up many games concidered "abandonware" from arcade classics to pc games that are just a few years old. Last I checked their business model was a $19 subscription service. I checked them out when it first started and found my "nostalgia" moods were to few and far between to justify the cost.
That said, I would love to see old Amiga games like Nuclear War, Shadow of the Beast 1&2 and Killing Game Show available to play again. Being able to play without having to resort to UAE would be a bonus as well.
Blu-Ray not only uses AACS which is the same DRM as HD-DVD but also has added proprietary managed content restrictions which Fox asked for. HD-DVD refused to add them which is why no Fox hd-dvd's are being produced and why blu-ray has been so delayed.
Keita Takahashi has never developed anything outside of PS2 and PSP titles so why is this a surprise? Whats next, an interview where Bungie declares it lack of desire to port halo to the ps3?
As for the controller, I believe Nintendo's goal isnt to focus on the controller but to make the controller something you dont have to think about. I really think they have the right idea and if its done well, it will revolutionize the game industry. Imagine an interface that has virtually no learning curve. People that have never gamed before will be attracted to it after learning its as easy as using a remote control. As a bonus, educators and parents groups will praise it because it not only encourages but requires physical activity. I really think the hardcore gaming community is really underestimating what Nintendo is bringing to the table.
I used to go to the theatre about 2-3 times a month. In the past 3 years I have gone 4 times total. I have seen Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and was talked into Aliens Vs Predator. Usually I just wait for the DVD. My kids always wanted to go but a matinee showing of Harry Potter ended up being around $75 for Tickets, Drinks, Popcorn, etc. I explained how expensive it was to the kids and told them that for the same price they could go and pick out 4-5 movies on DVD and watch them whenever they want. Now I havent been asked to go to the movies in almost a year.
The affordable entertainment thing is a bunch of crap, an hour and a half of movie, 20 minutes of commercials, cel phones, obnoxious teenagers, sticky floors, a projectionist who doesnt care if the movie is out of focus until the crowd gets rowdy...no thanks.
As for digital projectors, who really cares? I have an older flat screen tv in the family room and an HD one in the living room. HD is nice but is largely over-rated, with the exception of some nature shows which look really nice in HD (though not $2000 nice), its really just a waste of money.
If it's done properly spamming wouldnt be useful. Its likely that the songs titles and tags would be standardized so sharing would be mostly anonymous. If its not an authorized share it simply wouldnt be sharable. I can see it being kind of like people with solar panels selling electricity back to the electric company, if you generate more than you use, you get compensated.
Commecial P2P to me never made sense, I was supposed to pay for the song then give my bandwidth so others could pay someone else for the same song. At least they are trying, and now I know if I share there is something I am getting back.
Everyone seems to forget the mid 90's when this upstart video company developed a chip called the NV1 it was sold as the Edge3d card here in the states. In comparison with the voodoo it was total crap but the company kept plugging away and now Nvidia is a household name. This new video company could help aleviate the stranglehold that Nvidia and Ati have on the market and could mean more reasonable prices for all. I dont know about you but I still feel weird paying more for my video card than my processor and motherboard.
The real reasons ebooks are having a hard time getting noticed are drm and pricing.
MS has jacked up DRM to the point that its nearly impossible to use an ebook if you arent willing to pirate it. Many book publishers havent figured out that if an ebook has 0 portability (another drm issue) or is only useful for a certain amount of time..its value is far less than that of even its paperback equivalent. Even $10 for a half meg text file is way too much IMHO. Amazon, Baen and Peanut have the right idea with many books priced at only 2-3 dollars. Even fictionwise is at least semi-reasonable but B&N has never seemed to get the idea.
As for convenience, e-books are much better suited to the palm or pocketpc than full size computers. I believe that in many instances e-book reading on a portable device is better than reading on paper. Note taking, highlighting and reviewing are much easier not to mention most devices remember where you left off if you have a tendancy to fall asleep reading.
There is a market for e-books, but much like the RIAA and the record companies, the publishers and sellers just have to get over the old model of doing business and accept the reality of the new market.
One thing I would like to see happen is maybe having publishers inlude a mini cd or secure url for an official digital version with the hardback editions. The costs would be minimal and it may do alot to generate awareness, they could even keep their DRM intact.
Ok lemme get this straight for $18.00 a month I get to listen to sub par streaming radio and get roughly one cd's worth of music...what a bargain:(
Of course when it goes down in flames they will blame it all on piracy and claim they offered an practical alternative.
revenue models are skewed
on
Sim-Dud?
·
· Score: 1
Back when I was kid you had to get your phone from the phone company..you paid for the phone and then a monthly charge for local and long distance service. The revenue model on the new MMORPG's and the like are aimilar and are the primary reason I refuse to play them. Why should I pay 50 dollars for something that is useless unless I pay them a monthly fee on top of the cost of the game? A better model would be either to work the cost of hosting and maintenance into the initial price of the game or make the software free and charge the monthly fee. I have no problem with companies trying to make money...but there is big difference in profiting from customers and screwing them.
There is a rather large catalog of them at http://www.3dmagic.com/ I just found the place but they look to have a great selection of Field-sequential 3D videos.
What about an Enders based MMORPG? Or Dune, Robotech....there are hundreds if not thousands of universes that a fan of that particular genre would concider ultimate. I like Star Wars but not enough to pay every month to pretend to be a vapor farmer.
Actually according to LucasArts the PS2 port is being done by sony...but the PC and XBox versions are being done in house....oddly enough it doesnt mention intercompatablilty though.
Here is a nice update with info on an online chat with the Dev team happening next week.
MS patients, seniors as well as those with vertigo related problems could really have an improved lifestyle if this works out. Come to think of it, this technology once it advances could be good as safety equipment for construction workers, bridge builders etc.
wow! can we borrow your time travel machine or find out what planet your on?...here on earth Zelda for the Gamecube doesnt even ship for another 5 months.
And this totally closed proprietary system is different from sony and nintendo's offering??? How? As the recent Lik-Sang saga or the complete elimination of Bung shows (Lik-Sang's was searheaded by sony..contrary to slashdot opinion, and bung was shutdown by Nintendo) none of the console manufacturers want you to mess with their stuff...so save the melodrama for a real argument.
Ya know whats really sad folks dont bother to mention that the first year sony launched the ps2 (2000) it had 3rd quarter losses of 36.7 billion yen ($342.9 million) and no one paniced. Actually Sony's game divison had a 13.2 billion yen loss ($114.6 million) for 2001 as well and no one freaked out. MS seems onpar with the competition, and actually did better overall so far in their first year of launch.
Out of your ps2 list the only one I concidered a must buy would be Final Fantasy assuming the next installment isnt the flaming pile of crap the last one was. GTA 3.5 err Vice City is just a rehash like most of the shovelware that Sony peddles. Not that there is anything wrong with sequels but if you take out all the do-overs sonys lineup drops conciderably. As for Jak and Daxter im sure it will be quality like most of the Crash games...but I think Dr Muto has it beat for originality and fun.
What you also fail to mention is the fact that based on bungies financials at the time the chances were good that without the MS buyout Halo probably would have not existed at all. BTW Battlefield 1942 has been announced for the XBox as well. Of course its up in the air if xbox live will be supported concidering its a Digital Illusions game but is published by EA who seems to be in a pissing contest with MS over their games on xbox live.
Slashdot Mirror
And we all thought that corporate run govt and law inforcement was the stuff of science fiction. Its nice to know that copying madonna's new cd is more of a crime than agravated assault. Based on current federal sentencing guidelines this will rank "copyright violation" somewhere between violent rape and child molesting. Whats the lesson to be learned in this? I guess if your just dying for the latest cd's your better off robbing a music store you will do less time.
You are in an open field west of a big white house with a boarded front door.
There is a small mailbox here.
> _
When I was a kid it was fun to type in curse words just to see what repsonse it would get.
I played many MUDS back in their day but everytime i have felt nostalgic over the past few years and started into one all I ran into were scripted bots. I have a friend that MUDS 24/7 at majormud, he is mudding right now while he is at work at burger king. Never understood the appeal of having a script play a game for you but I would suspect that 95% of the MUD users out there are scripted while the other 5% are newbies or nostalgia seekers pondering why the other characters wont talk to them.
Gametap has been vigorously snapping up many games concidered "abandonware" from arcade classics to pc games that are just a few years old. Last I checked their business model was a $19 subscription service. I checked them out when it first started and found my "nostalgia" moods were to few and far between to justify the cost.
That said, I would love to see old Amiga games like Nuclear War, Shadow of the Beast 1&2 and Killing Game Show available to play again. Being able to play without having to resort to UAE would be a bonus as well.
Blu-Ray not only uses AACS which is the same DRM as HD-DVD but also has added proprietary managed content restrictions which Fox asked for. HD-DVD refused to add them which is why no Fox hd-dvd's are being produced and why blu-ray has been so delayed.
Keita Takahashi has never developed anything outside of PS2 and PSP titles so why is this a surprise? Whats next, an interview where Bungie declares it lack of desire to port halo to the ps3?
As for the controller, I believe Nintendo's goal isnt to focus on the controller but to make the controller something you dont have to think about. I really think they have the right idea and if its done well, it will revolutionize the game industry. Imagine an interface that has virtually no learning curve. People that have never gamed before will be attracted to it after learning its as easy as using a remote control. As a bonus, educators and parents groups will praise it because it not only encourages but requires physical activity. I really think the hardcore gaming community is really underestimating what Nintendo is bringing to the table.
I used to go to the theatre about 2-3 times a month. In the past 3 years I have gone 4 times total. I have seen Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and was talked into Aliens Vs Predator. Usually I just wait for the DVD. My kids always wanted to go but a matinee showing of Harry Potter ended up being around $75 for Tickets, Drinks, Popcorn, etc. I explained how expensive it was to the kids and told them that for the same price they could go and pick out 4-5 movies on DVD and watch them whenever they want. Now I havent been asked to go to the movies in almost a year.
The affordable entertainment thing is a bunch of crap, an hour and a half of movie, 20 minutes of commercials, cel phones, obnoxious teenagers, sticky floors, a projectionist who doesnt care if the movie is out of focus until the crowd gets rowdy...no thanks.
As for digital projectors, who really cares? I have an older flat screen tv in the family room and an HD one in the living room. HD is nice but is largely over-rated, with the exception of some nature shows which look really nice in HD (though not $2000 nice), its really just a waste of money.
If it's done properly spamming wouldnt be useful. Its likely that the songs titles and tags would be standardized so sharing would be mostly anonymous. If its not an authorized share it simply wouldnt be sharable. I can see it being kind of like people with solar panels selling electricity back to the electric company, if you generate more than you use, you get compensated.
Commecial P2P to me never made sense, I was supposed to pay for the song then give my bandwidth so others could pay someone else for the same song. At least they are trying, and now I know if I share there is something I am getting back.
Everyone seems to forget the mid 90's when this upstart video company developed a chip called the NV1 it was sold as the Edge3d card here in the states. In comparison with the voodoo it was total crap but the company kept plugging away and now Nvidia is a household name. This new video company could help aleviate the stranglehold that Nvidia and Ati have on the market and could mean more reasonable prices for all. I dont know about you but I still feel weird paying more for my video card than my processor and motherboard.
The real reasons ebooks are having a hard time getting noticed are drm and pricing.
MS has jacked up DRM to the point that its nearly impossible to use an ebook if you arent willing to pirate it. Many book publishers havent figured out that if an ebook has 0 portability (another drm issue) or is only useful for a certain amount of time..its value is far less than that of even its paperback equivalent. Even $10 for a half meg text file is way too much IMHO. Amazon, Baen and Peanut have the right idea with many books priced at only 2-3 dollars. Even fictionwise is at least semi-reasonable but B&N has never seemed to get the idea.
As for convenience, e-books are much better suited to the palm or pocketpc than full size computers. I believe that in many instances e-book reading on a portable device is better than reading on paper. Note taking, highlighting and reviewing are much easier not to mention most devices remember where you left off if you have a tendancy to fall asleep reading.
There is a market for e-books, but much like the RIAA and the record companies, the publishers and sellers just have to get over the old model of doing business and accept the reality of the new market.
One thing I would like to see happen is maybe having publishers inlude a mini cd or secure url for an official digital version with the hardback editions. The costs would be minimal and it may do alot to generate awareness, they could even keep their DRM intact.
They are open...about as open as Rambus was...each manufacturer has to pay a royalty.
Has anyone bothered to patent the process of making patents...
Ok lemme get this straight for $18.00 a month I get to listen to sub par streaming radio and get roughly one cd's worth of music...what a bargain :(
Of course when it goes down in flames they will blame it all on piracy and claim they offered an practical alternative.
Back when I was kid you had to get your phone from the phone company..you paid for the phone and then a monthly charge for local and long distance service. The revenue model on the new MMORPG's and the like are aimilar and are the primary reason I refuse to play them. Why should I pay 50 dollars for something that is useless unless I pay them a monthly fee on top of the cost of the game? A better model would be either to work the cost of hosting and maintenance into the initial price of the game or make the software free and charge the monthly fee. I have no problem with companies trying to make money...but there is big difference in profiting from customers and screwing them.
There is a rather large catalog of them at http://www.3dmagic.com/
I just found the place but they look to have a great selection of Field-sequential 3D videos.
What about an Enders based MMORPG? Or Dune, Robotech....there are hundreds if not thousands of universes that a fan of that particular genre would concider ultimate. I like Star Wars but not enough to pay every month to pretend to be a vapor farmer.
Actually according to LucasArts the PS2 port is being done by sony...but the PC and XBox versions are being done in house....oddly enough it doesnt mention intercompatablilty though.
Here is a nice update with info on an online chat with the Dev team happening next week.
http://www.lucasarts.com/products/galaxies/
Here is a snippet regarding the nationwide on network plans, im only including the top 5 in each category.
Low-end Plans
Carrier/Price/Any Min/Price Per Min
AT&T Wireless $40/1,000/4 cents
T-Mobile $40/1,000/4 cents
Cingular GSM $40/500/8 cents
Verizon $40/400/10 cents
Sprint PCS $40/400/10 cents
Mid-range Plans
Sprint PCS $85/2,000/4.3 cents
AT&T Wireless $75/1,200/6.3 cents
Verizon $80/1,200/6.7 cents
Cingular GSM $70/1,000/7 cents
T-Mobile $60/800/7.5 cents
High-end Plans
AT&T Wireless $100/Unlmtd/N/A
T-Mobile $100/5,000/2 cents
Sprint PCS $100/2,500/4 cents
Verizon $105/1,500/7 cents
Cingular GSM $100/1,350/7.4 cents
BTW this is from RCR magazine this month. And yes I work in the industry.
MS patients, seniors as well as those with vertigo related problems could really have an improved lifestyle if this works out. Come to think of it, this technology once it advances could be good as safety equipment for construction workers, bridge builders etc.
wow! can we borrow your time travel machine or find out what planet your on?...here on earth Zelda for the Gamecube doesnt even ship for another 5 months.
And this totally closed proprietary system is different from sony and nintendo's offering??? How? As the recent Lik-Sang saga or the complete elimination of Bung shows (Lik-Sang's was searheaded by sony..contrary to slashdot opinion, and bung was shutdown by Nintendo) none of the console manufacturers want you to mess with their stuff...so save the melodrama for a real argument.
Ya know whats really sad folks dont bother to mention that the first year sony launched the ps2 (2000) it had 3rd quarter losses of 36.7 billion yen ($342.9 million) and no one paniced. Actually Sony's game divison had a 13.2 billion yen loss ($114.6 million) for 2001 as well and no one freaked out. MS seems onpar with the competition, and actually did better overall so far in their first year of launch.
Out of your ps2 list the only one I concidered a must buy would be Final Fantasy assuming the next installment isnt the flaming pile of crap the last one was. GTA 3.5 err Vice City is just a rehash like most of the shovelware that Sony peddles. Not that there is anything wrong with sequels but if you take out all the do-overs sonys lineup drops conciderably. As for Jak and Daxter im sure it will be quality like most of the Crash games...but I think Dr Muto has it beat for originality and fun.
What you also fail to mention is the fact that based on bungies financials at the time the chances were good that without the MS buyout Halo probably would have not existed at all. BTW Battlefield 1942 has been announced for the XBox as well. Of course its up in the air if xbox live will be supported concidering its a Digital Illusions game but is published by EA who seems to be in a pissing contest with MS over their games on xbox live.