The reason they don't do this anymore is probably because they're scared they'll lose sales. Seriously. Most games are derivative these days (can anyone remember the last truly inventive, original game?), and a demo would amply highlight the "more of the same" mentality.
No, you're wrong, and you're a grotesquely ugly freak. Do your research. Id Software can be thanked for bastardising the term the worst. That is NOT shareware in it's true sense. If you're so confident, then fine, name *2* titles released BEFORE 1990 that were sold as "shareware" where you got your mythical 1/3rd free.
The bottomline is that it does not matter whether the publisher calls the game or program shareware or not. It is by default shareware, till I decide to convert it to payware or freeware. It just goes to show how the shareware philosophy is no longer on the fringes but it is the mainstream.
This is a very good point
The term "shareware" has been bastardised over the last decade. Back when the concept first arose, SHAREWARE was software you could share with your friends and, if you felt it warranted it, you sent the author a donation. There was nothing crippled, there was nothing missing. You could freely copy it, and the developer might make a few bucks.
This new usage of the word now means nothing more than game demos put out by developers who can't/won't get their games on the store shelves.
In short, it AIN'T SHAREWARE, not by the correct definition.
Ah yes, all the shenanigans of talking to the sysop and gaining his trust in a desperate hope that his board had a hidden w4r3z section and he'd let you at it:)
He's right though in a way. ADHD is just a catchall term used by the medical profession because "I have no fucking idea" sounds bad when a Doctor says it.
Try brainwave entrainment. BWGEN is a program that allegedly works. I'm using it right this second, the headache cure preset, and it seems to be working.
Erm... Do some research you AC fucktard. The few select releases that the RIAA has gone to LENGTHS to protect have suffered abysmal, WAY below average sales (Celine Dion, Madonna, Natalie Imbruglia etc... I think I'm seeing a trend here!) in comparison to releases they didn't touch.
I notice Hatch has also conveniently skipped this little biddy piece in a certain piece of paper US people put so much stock in that says "INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY".
Sounds like RIAA, MPAA etc... just became judge, jury and executioner.
You're also forgetting that we have NO idea exactly what DRM is going to be in future systems. Could very well be inbuilt to kill the system. Chain would go:
Download copyrighted material -> System realises -> Locks entirely while it belts seven bells of hell out of your hard drive rendering is useless.
Just one possible scenario (won't give them anymore ideas:))
Erm... Remember the CIH virus that nuked your CMOS, and in many cases the outcome was requiring a new motherboard? You can backup all you like. Without your MOBO you ain't goin' nowhere...
"I'm interested," Hatch interrupted. He said damaging someone's computer "may be the only way you can teach somebody about copyrights."
So, what we're claiming here is that some 14 year old having his computer remotely destroyed because he's downloading the latest Britney Spears track is SOMEHOW teaching him to respect other peoples copyrights? Or, of course, it's teaching that WANTON DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY is a fair punishment for downloading a track he wouldn't have bought anyway. (How many studies do these assclowns have to read before they get that "File sharing = Greater sales"?)
I don't know about anybody else, but if *MY* $2000 computer was destroyed because I wilfully pirated the next Eminem single, then fine, the MPAA et al owe me $2000 worth of product.
Honestly, this is getting insane. (Getting?!) If EVERYONE out there simply STOPPED BUYING DVD's, CD's etc... for A WEEK. Just a SINGLE WEEK! We can show these wankers where the true power lies. You can buy all the senators you want, but without US, the consumers you are wilfully planning to FUCK OVER, you're all unemployed.
Incidentally, how are they going to verify the location of the individual? Despite the US governments wishes, only a small part of the planet is under their direct control and, ergo, their laws. Dubious legality of destruction not withstanding, they sure as hell have NO rights to destroy someones system in Sweden or wherever.
Plus, one would HOPE you get a warning before they nuke your system.
This is ridiculous. Wilful destruction of property is AGAINST THE LAW! Let's look at this another way. He's effectively saying that if you download copyrighted material, someone can be sent by the company that owns it to break both your legs.
Given the sheer number of fakes on P2P software, you could download something claiming to be the new Metallica album, and find it to be an MP3 of someone saying "YOU DOPEY FUCK" a million times. But as far as the record company is concerned, "Oh, he downloaded Metallica's album, nuke him!" and you're left with a pile of smouldering rubble.
I think I speak for all of us when I say that everyone at SCO who is involved with this nonsense, the world would be better off if they just upped and left the planet (voluntarily or by force, not picky).
I say let this thing go to court, then SCO will have to prove it, which they can't, because it's all lies. That'll be fun:)
I had this debate with my wife after posting this:) I still don't buy the "programming is problem solving" paradigm, at least not how most people use it.
And I'm not sure what you're trying to say with then you've read aloud the Doom binary in Japanese. From a brain perspective, the exact same parts of the brain that are stimulated while learning Japanese are those that are stimulated learning, for example, Java (like I am currently.) You have to learn the appropriate syntax etc... Japanese is the second hardest language on Earth to learn (I think Mandarin is the first).
So, while programming can be USED to solve problems, in itself, the language is not problem solving (unless you want to pedantic and count the actual learning of syntax and structure.)
I have a two year old son who is already interested in computers. I plan on making sure he's exposed to the techie side, both hardware and software. I already have a computer and monitor here I'm going to give him when he gets a bit older. It's an old 486/DX100 with 20 megs of ram, currently has DOS and Debian on it.
Of course, to introduce them to programming there is another possible idea. Run an OLDER system in an emulator. I spent a lot of time with Spectrum Basic on the old Sinclair Spectrum. If you don't want to go back that far, you could get WinUAE and have them tinker with Amiga Basic (which was pretty cool.)
As for the free VB, that's an awesome idea. They could even release an earlier version of VB stripped down (so no fancy OCX stuff etc...), chuck in a couple of ebooks etc... It would be in MS's interests to do that. Indoctrinate them young and they'll stick with it in a lot of cases.
The more I think about it, the more surprised I am MS hasn't done this!
Erm... No it's not. How is programming "Doom" problem solving? If you mean the actual programming itself, then no, it's not problem solving either. It's no different than learning a foreign language. Nobody calls learning Japanese problem solving, so why in the hell is learning C/C++/Java/Whatever problem solving? I see this a lot, and it's simply not true.
For your kids you could always invest in Blitz Basic. It's relatively simple, and can produce some great stuff quickly. (Anyone who had an Amiga may remember the game "Skidmarkz". That was written in Blitz.) And yes, it's available for the PC.
I notice a lack of specs mentioned... The poster gives the stats on his system, but neglects to tell us what it's running. The runs at that speed on probably a P400 with a low end graphics card (Voodoo 2 or 3 say), so, given todays systems, this isn't exactly something to wet your pants over now is it.
Let's seem them port Quake 3 and have it playable at that resolution and framerate, then I'll be impressed.
The AC modded as a troll has a point though. I was at a site today, won't pimp the URL (suffice to say it's a Golf related website). Anyway, I ALWAYS surf with Java off, but a friend said to check the site out, so off I go to discover no menus... I assume it's Java so witch Java on. I wait for about 20 seconds (this is on DSL) and see the craplet loading and it loads... A menu which, in a couple of places, could have been done in Javascript, and the rest with plain images and HTML. Quite possibly the worst abuse of Java I've seen.
It seems a lot of web designers need to consider the credo "Just because I can, doesn't mean I should."
Slashdot Mirror
Or you can shell out $10 on a magazine with the demo on the cover. (Like that's any better of a deal.)
Notice how magazines these days, when it comes to demos, put "*250* MEG DEMO!" as if size is somehow an indicator as to whether it'll suck ass.
I remember the days when you got about 20 demos on a CD... *sigh*
Of course, would help if the dopey fucks who did the demos actually removed unneeded stuff like the damn intros etc...
The reason they don't do this anymore is probably because they're scared they'll lose sales. Seriously. Most games are derivative these days (can anyone remember the last truly inventive, original game?), and a demo would amply highlight the "more of the same" mentality.
No, you're wrong, and you're a grotesquely ugly freak. Do your research. Id Software can be
thanked for bastardising the term the worst. That is NOT shareware in it's true sense. If you're so confident, then fine, name *2* titles released BEFORE 1990 that were sold as "shareware" where you got your mythical 1/3rd free.
You don't know what you're talking about.
Yep, seen it. Excellent show. My main endearing memory of it is of the old guy shooting up heroin, saying it's fine "because it's pure".
See, this is the perfect way to get rid of Senator Hatch and his "I'm going to destroy your PC" brigade.
The bottomline is that it does not matter whether the publisher calls the game or program shareware or not. It is by default shareware, till I decide to convert it to payware or freeware. It just goes to show how the shareware philosophy is no longer on the fringes but it is the mainstream.
This is a very good point
The term "shareware" has been bastardised over the last decade. Back when the concept first arose, SHAREWARE was software you could share with your friends and, if you felt it warranted it, you sent the author a donation. There was nothing crippled, there was nothing missing. You could freely copy it, and the developer might make a few bucks.
This new usage of the word now means nothing more than game demos put out by developers who can't/won't get their games on the store shelves.
In short, it AIN'T SHAREWARE, not by the correct definition.
Ah yes, all the shenanigans of talking to the sysop and gaining his trust in a desperate hope that his board had a hidden w4r3z section and he'd let you at it:)
He's right though in a way. ADHD is just a catchall term used by the medical profession because "I have no fucking idea" sounds bad when a Doctor says it.
Try brainwave entrainment. BWGEN is a program that allegedly works. I'm using it right this second, the headache cure preset, and it seems to be working.
Not bought a CD since 1999.
Getting over my DVD craving now too. Not bought a new DVD since December.
Erm... Do some research you AC fucktard. The few select releases that the RIAA has gone to LENGTHS to protect have suffered abysmal, WAY below average sales (Celine Dion, Madonna, Natalie Imbruglia etc... I think I'm seeing a trend here!) in comparison to releases they didn't touch.
I notice Hatch has also conveniently skipped this little biddy piece in a certain piece of paper US people put so much stock in that says "INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY".
Sounds like RIAA, MPAA etc... just became judge, jury and executioner.
You're also forgetting that we have NO idea exactly what DRM is going to be in future systems. Could very well be inbuilt to kill the system. Chain would go:
Download copyrighted material -> System realises -> Locks entirely while it belts seven bells of hell out of your hard drive rendering is useless.
Just one possible scenario (won't give them anymore ideas:))
Erm... Remember the CIH virus that nuked your CMOS, and in many cases the outcome was requiring a new motherboard? You can backup all you like. Without your MOBO you ain't goin' nowhere...
A quote from our buddy Hatch from the article.
"I'm interested," Hatch interrupted. He said damaging someone's computer "may be the only way you can teach somebody about copyrights."
So, what we're claiming here is that some 14 year old having his computer remotely destroyed because he's downloading the latest Britney Spears track is SOMEHOW teaching him to respect other peoples copyrights? Or, of course, it's teaching that WANTON DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY is a fair punishment for downloading a track he wouldn't have bought anyway. (How many studies do these assclowns have to read before they get that "File sharing = Greater sales"?)
I don't know about anybody else, but if *MY* $2000 computer was destroyed because I wilfully pirated the next Eminem single, then fine, the MPAA et al owe me $2000 worth of product.
Honestly, this is getting insane. (Getting?!) If EVERYONE out there simply STOPPED BUYING DVD's, CD's etc... for A WEEK. Just a SINGLE WEEK! We can show these wankers where the true power lies. You can buy all the senators you want, but without US, the consumers you are wilfully planning to FUCK OVER, you're all unemployed.
Incidentally, how are they going to verify the location of the individual? Despite the US governments wishes, only a small part of the planet is under their direct control and, ergo, their laws. Dubious legality of destruction not withstanding, they sure as hell have NO rights to destroy someones system in Sweden or wherever.
Plus, one would HOPE you get a warning before they nuke your system.
Wonder if Dell is behind this plan?;)
hehehe
This is ridiculous. Wilful destruction of property is AGAINST THE LAW! Let's look at this another way. He's effectively saying that if you download copyrighted material, someone can be sent by the company that owns it to break both your legs.
Given the sheer number of fakes on P2P software, you could download something claiming to be the new Metallica album, and find it to be an MP3 of someone saying "YOU DOPEY FUCK" a million times. But as far as the record company is concerned, "Oh, he downloaded Metallica's album, nuke him!" and you're left with a pile of smouldering rubble.
Hatch is a cunt.
Someone HAS to get these buggers into court to prove their specious claims.
SCO are going to destroy *nix.
Has anyone checked their roots to see if they're related to Microsoft at all?
I think I speak for all of us when I say that everyone at SCO who is involved with this nonsense, the world would be better off if they just upped and left the planet (voluntarily or by force, not picky).
I say let this thing go to court, then SCO will have to prove it, which they can't, because it's all lies. That'll be fun:)
I had this debate with my wife after posting this:) I still don't buy the "programming is problem solving" paradigm, at least not how most people use it.
And I'm not sure what you're trying to say with then you've read aloud the Doom binary in Japanese. From a brain perspective, the exact same parts of the brain that are stimulated while learning Japanese are those that are stimulated learning, for example, Java (like I am currently.) You have to learn the appropriate syntax etc... Japanese is the second hardest language on Earth to learn (I think Mandarin is the first).
So, while programming can be USED to solve problems, in itself, the language is not problem solving (unless you want to pedantic and count the actual learning of syntax and structure.)
I have a two year old son who is already interested in computers. I plan on making sure he's exposed to the techie side, both hardware and software. I already have a computer and monitor here I'm going to give him when he gets a bit older. It's an old 486/DX100 with 20 megs of ram, currently has DOS and Debian on it.
Of course, to introduce them to programming there is another possible idea. Run an OLDER system in an emulator. I spent a lot of time with Spectrum Basic on the old Sinclair Spectrum. If you don't want to go back that far, you could get WinUAE and have them tinker with Amiga Basic (which was pretty cool.)
As for the free VB, that's an awesome idea. They could even release an earlier version of VB stripped down (so no fancy OCX stuff etc...), chuck in a couple of ebooks etc... It would be in MS's interests to do that. Indoctrinate them young and they'll stick with it in a lot of cases.
The more I think about it, the more surprised I am MS hasn't done this!
Programming is about Problem Solving
Erm... No it's not. How is programming "Doom" problem solving? If you mean the actual programming itself, then no, it's not problem solving either. It's no different than learning a foreign language. Nobody calls learning Japanese problem solving, so why in the hell is learning C/C++/Java/Whatever problem solving? I see this a lot, and it's simply not true.
Or you could just grab Codewarrior from P2P and use that:)
For your kids you could always invest in Blitz Basic. It's relatively simple, and can produce some great stuff quickly. (Anyone who had an Amiga may remember the game "Skidmarkz". That was written in Blitz.) And yes, it's available for the PC.
I notice a lack of specs mentioned... The poster gives the stats on his system, but neglects to tell us what it's running. The runs at that speed on probably a P400 with a low end graphics card (Voodoo 2 or 3 say), so, given todays systems, this isn't exactly something to wet your pants over now is it.
Let's seem them port Quake 3 and have it playable at that resolution and framerate, then I'll be impressed.
The AC modded as a troll has a point though. I was at a site today, won't pimp the URL (suffice to say it's a Golf related website). Anyway, I ALWAYS surf with Java off, but a friend said to check the site out, so off I go to discover no menus... I assume it's Java so witch Java on. I wait for about 20 seconds (this is on DSL) and see the craplet loading and it loads... A menu which, in a couple of places, could have been done in Javascript, and the rest with plain images and HTML. Quite possibly the worst abuse of Java I've seen.
It seems a lot of web designers need to consider the credo "Just because I can, doesn't mean I should."