I think Sony's solution, which is to require all PS3 games to be on Blu-ray, is brilliant. It's basic scales of production - the more you make the cheaper and better it becomes. Sure, most people won't spend thirty dollars for a movie, but they'll pay sixty for a game. So the PS3 game market makes the Blu-ray transition financially possible. For now, people who have the luxury to blow money on high dollar games and movies will bring the price down for everyone else. As you pointed out, it's already happening.
Microsoft's 360 advertisements always remind me of Ray Bradbury and make me feel guilty for playing video games. I watched the Natal video and when they were doing the interactive game show all I could think about was Fahrenheit 451.
If the Wii is a "watered-down" game experience, what is a non-watered down game experience? If anything, one would think that Nintendo's competitors are guilty of watering down gaming with multimedia - half of the console's functions have nothing to do with games and then the games are often like movies themselves (you're watering down gaming Kojima!:P). The only conclusion I can really make about this is that the question must have been designed to prove that yes, stupid questions do in fact exist. If anyone has a monopoly on the "game experience" it's Nintendo, not some dweeby video game version of the critic (it stinks!). I'm not even a big fan of the Wii, but I've never understood being ultra-critical of another's recreation, especially when it's something as base as video game console x vs. y. Is Pepsi a watered down Coca-Cola?
Many a comedian have made that same argument but it's fundamentally fallacious and you know it. Your premise (politicians are all evil bastards) and conclusion (political affiliation is a fashion statement) don't match up. Politicians have a lot of power to do things which affect our everyday life. Considering that the two parties vehemently disagree on so many issues, despite how morally decrepit they may both be, the outcomes of those decisions are important. Even if the choice is between a Turd Sandwich and a Giant Douche, it still matters (fuck you South Park:P ).
Nintendo bundled the light gun with the NES but, despite years of relevancy, it never became as ubiquitous as the Wii, 360, or PS3's standard controllers. Needless to say, lightguns did better in the arcade than the living room. Bundling this glorified EyeToy with every 360 may increase developer support, but will people actually use it? These systems aren't new, by now people who want that type of gameplay own a Wii and those who prefer more traditional video games own a 360 or PS3. I think MS is wasting developers by having them work on something which may be somewhat popular rather than something extremely popular with their base (Lionhead. . ). Kinda like Sony and the PSP. I'm no fan of Microsoft, so I think their vain attempt to take a piece of Nintendo's market is great.
"Bing" - it just sounds like a group of guys tried to analyze the appeal of the name "Google" utilize the same formula for their own name. The name Google never particularly appealed to me, neither did their logo, but their service functioned better than the competitors. Copying an existing business model in every way and attempting to use marketing to gain the upper hand is just fucked up. I wish I could say that it didn't work, that quality and originality are important to consumers, but, well, it's worked for them so far. I really like how Google's handled them so far, so perhaps they keep ahead.
I've always found this view of capitalism to be disheartening because it applies the same definition to "competition" it's given in respect to war or sport, where a single victor emerges. Discouraging entrepreneurs from acting because they will never be "#1!" is ridiculous when a profitable business model can be be established as #2,3,4, and so on. Competition in the free marketing is an ongoing economy which would ultimately collapse should one force conquer all others and that competition cease. It's this confusion between winning and success which has led to many of America's economic woes.
Ever played a game of monopoly where everyone had just enough to stay in the game and no one would strike a deal because the board was divided so evenly? Usually when a game gets to this point people give up on it, because the economy won over the people trying to dick it over for the sake of their obsessive acquisitiveness.
Seems like everyone defending Craig's List has very weak arguments (hrmm. . wonder why. ..) Anyway quick retort: a cell phone conversation is private and protected by the fourth amendment of the U.S. constitution while an advertisement on Craig's List is public and in this case solicits illegal commodities/services.
And believe it or not, the success of a police department isn't gauged by how many arrests they make. Of course they would have an endless supply of prostitutes to arrest if they allowed CL to continue business as usual, but the goal of the police is to prevent crime. Considering your argument, we need more criminals so police can be more successful. How that ties into serving and protecting is beyond me.
This type of idealism sounds good but is completely impractical for the most pragmatic of reasons. First: the drug analogy is stupid. You should have said pot because anyone who would argue for the legalization of cocaine is either ignorant or stupid. I'm going to explain because I'm assuming you're ignorant. If cocaine were ever cheap enough so that its users no longer needed to commit crimes to get their fix, then they would do so much of it they would physically and mentally deteriorate to the point of being a burden on society. Paternalistic drug laws are necessary (but, yeah, weed should be legal).
Now prostitution is a different issue but we'll stick with the analogy. Cocaine addiction is something developed through cocaine use. Once one becomes addicted they will always be addicted even if they stop usage. We cannot allow cocaine to be legal because if this large-scale public addiction were not kept in check then society would be worse for wear. Compare this to sexual desire, an addiction all are born with and which motivates, torments, and tempts us all at some point. Like cocaine this addiction may be the root of many evil acts (rape, deceit, malice toward sexual competitors) but unlike cocaine it also motivates many to do fundamental good (achieve something which will impress another, concern for personal hygiene/desirability, a general altruism derived from relationships). Keep in mind that many engage in social relations only because of their libido. What I'm saying is that there is virtue in sexual monogamy and a grave immorality about prostitution. You see anti-prostitution laws as unnecessary regulation but I see them as vital to maintaining society in its current form and preventing the rest of America from degrading into Nevada, where neither education nor morality are respected.
I don't like that argument because it implies that authorities should realize the futility of their work and give up. Craig's List created a market for prostitution where there wasn't previously one and amending this issue was necessary. Even if other facets of the internet such as MySpace or E-bay pick up where CL left off, I can't imagine it would be a seamless business transition. Let's face it, this will cut down on prostitution. Perhaps even more important, this will reduce the likelihood of one becoming a victim of a crime related to such advertised services.
Police - both local officials and federal agencies - are in a continuous whack-a-mole game and they always will be. But unlike whack-a-mole it doesn't get more difficult with each level, rather its difficulty is variable to the success of the previous level. Basically, authorities can get all existential and become complacent like you suggest, but the whack-a-mole difficulty in this instance would exponentially increase until returning to a manageable game of whack-a-mole becomes an impossibility.
All I heard was "my muscle car has more horsepower than your Lamborghini." My Lamborghini will smoke your muscle car on the track. It's not "OS X and iLife" it's OS X and Apple's professional applications. Alienwares don't offer anything I can't get elsewhere (for cheaper), Apple offers the tools I need for my recording studio. When Pro Tools catches up to Logic let me know, but right now they're getting lapped.
Ahhh, the "PCs are cheaper" refrain, the last bastion of the Borg cynic.
This is Slashdot, everyone here should be smart enough not to buy an Alienware in the first place. Pay twice as much for your computer for a cheap plastic alien decal? Please. Alienwares aren't like Macs where the premium can be justified (I need to run Logic Studio!), you have to be a dumbass to buy an Alienware. So I really don't feel sorry for this guy, odds are that if he didn't get ripped off in the auction, it was stolen. I think it's great when companies that make nothing but junk screw over their consumers in even more obvious ways, hopefully that was less people will buy their crap.
I think we should just give free copies of SC 2 to every North Korean citizen along with a computer capable of running it. If it catches on like it SC 1 did in S. Korea, then the whole country would lose all ambitions outside of professional Starcraft. Give Kim Jong-Il a copy.
A telecommunication company is a telecommunication company. It doesn't matter if they are Sprint, At&t, Verizon, T-Mobile, or anyone else. They all have crappy service an high rates (this is America after all). But At&t has the iPhone. They are the friend of my friend. . .
All the telecommunications companies have formerly dissatisfied customers like yourself who strongly support their opposition, but that doesn't make you sound any less like a Verizon advertisement. "Crappy service and high rates" is what all of these companies accuse each other of and it's true. The false implication is that there's an American telecommunications company which doesn't provide crappy service and high rates.
My Linux box runs more/better games than any PC, it's called a PS3. Go to Gamestop and look at the PC section (which looks like a WoW section, but it's really for all PC games) and then look at the PS3 section. Then consider that WoW plays on Mac. Crysis was the last PC-exclusive triple-A title and it was released a couple years ago and it flopped. People always get bad karma for saying this, but it's now official: PC gaming is dead. There are two major players left, Blizzard and Popcap, and they both play on Mac. Buy a PS3, buy a Wii - but don't let Microsoft delude you into believing you must be their slave to game any longer. It's no different than all the fucks who say "I hate Wal-mart and everything they do to the economy, but where else can I grocery shop while I get my tires changed?" Who cares if the answer is nowhere? MAKE SACRIFICES FOR YOUR IDEALS. Disliking Wal-Mart and Microsoft doesn't make you a better person, boycotting them does.
No, you're wrong. That's like saying that the war in Iraq was a good thing because it concentrated terrorists in one spot. It created more terrorism just like Craigslist has created more prostitution. Before a girl had to hit rock bottom before becoming a whore (literally). Now they can do it behind their husband's back.
I think you really misunderstand the purpose of law enforcement. It's not a business where "the more prostitutes we put in jail the better." It's a service where the less prostitutes which exist the better. If they're arresting whores left and right they don't pat themselves on the back because it means they've failed to keep the crime in check.
I don't know but I tried it and it works. I think it's because my probes spread more evenly and stopped trying to go to the same patches, thus slowing one of them down. As of last night (when I first read this article) I started sending every other probe to the far sided min patches and my early game $ situation was much better. (note: it worked on Lost Temple and Python - it seemed to slow me down on BGH and have no effect on Hunters). Anyway, I'm sure you can find the course material for his class, it's likely you'll find an explanation there if you're curious.
Um, all anti-depressants are a rip off. Sure, they can numb your mind like morphine numbs a wound - but that doesn't fix the wound. It just makes it hurt less so the doctor can fix it. Only problem is psychologists don't know how to fix depression, they just know how to numb it. Like a wound which is only offered a pain-killer, it gets worse over time while you don't even realize it because you've been numbed.
Good cures for depression: friendships, laughter, love, religion, meditation, and music. The problem is that doctors don't make money off those cures so they will never suggest them. That's why I believe in socialized medicine - the free market seeks profitability in health care (penis enlargement drugs and antidepressants) rather than providing real solutions. We ingest far too many chemicals because they are patentable and our doctor won't tell us about the solution that may grow in our backyard, require a simple diet change, or any other cure which they don't turn a profit from.
That's not what my libertarian friend who's never left the country said! He told me that all Europeans receive terrible health care - for example, they have to wait ten months for a check-up and if you go to the emergency room shot you have to wait in line for hours. And it's such a financial burden on the state that the European countries are facing ginormous deficits which they will never be able to pay back. Not to mention the fact that they're miserable because they're socialists.
I tried to explain to him that everyone in Europe seemed happier - and much healthier - than us here in the States every time I went there, but he said I didn't know what I was talking about.
(btw, Europeans don't need superior healthcare to be healthier than Americans, they have superior diets)
I completely disagree. RE:5 isn't trying to be Gears of War or Halo or Call of Duty - it's not trying to be the game everyone loves. It's the best game in the developers' minds, and I'm happy with that. "Good control scheme" in your mind is boring same old same old to me. I loved RE4 and I've played the RE5 demo several times. I agree that before RE4 the games were near unplayable, but RE4 and RE5 are really good at what they do. Just because it doesn't appeal to you doesn't mean it sucks.
BTW, try to move and shoot in real life and see if you can actually hit a target. This isn't Halo where you are a space marine that can jump and steadily aim and fire your gun midair.
"People with kids don't play X-Box live." - false premise (they do)
"People with kids certainly don't check user profiles." - false premise (it is certainly not certain)
"She was either doing something obscene, or that's not why she was banned." - if taken literally the second conjunct contradicts the first, but I understand what you mean and it's a conclusion which has nothing to do with your two false premises. So no, you don't know anything is bullshit.
Personally, I could care less about what really happened, but your lack of fundamental reasoning really irked me.
"There's no WAY they'd ban a girl." - Please, what are you, 13?
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I think Sony's solution, which is to require all PS3 games to be on Blu-ray, is brilliant. It's basic scales of production - the more you make the cheaper and better it becomes. Sure, most people won't spend thirty dollars for a movie, but they'll pay sixty for a game. So the PS3 game market makes the Blu-ray transition financially possible. For now, people who have the luxury to blow money on high dollar games and movies will bring the price down for everyone else. As you pointed out, it's already happening.
"When did Apple ever release "me too!" products to jump into temporarily hot markets?"
The Pippin. Okay, it was the nineties, didn't count.
Microsoft's 360 advertisements always remind me of Ray Bradbury and make me feel guilty for playing video games. I watched the Natal video and when they were doing the interactive game show all I could think about was Fahrenheit 451.
If the Wii is a "watered-down" game experience, what is a non-watered down game experience? If anything, one would think that Nintendo's competitors are guilty of watering down gaming with multimedia - half of the console's functions have nothing to do with games and then the games are often like movies themselves (you're watering down gaming Kojima! :P). The only conclusion I can really make about this is that the question must have been designed to prove that yes, stupid questions do in fact exist. If anyone has a monopoly on the "game experience" it's Nintendo, not some dweeby video game version of the critic (it stinks!). I'm not even a big fan of the Wii, but I've never understood being ultra-critical of another's recreation, especially when it's something as base as video game console x vs. y. Is Pepsi a watered down Coca-Cola?
How can Microsoft create a good open source search engine when they can't make a quality closed source engine?
Bullshit.
Many a comedian have made that same argument but it's fundamentally fallacious and you know it. Your premise (politicians are all evil bastards) and conclusion (political affiliation is a fashion statement) don't match up. Politicians have a lot of power to do things which affect our everyday life. Considering that the two parties vehemently disagree on so many issues, despite how morally decrepit they may both be, the outcomes of those decisions are important. Even if the choice is between a Turd Sandwich and a Giant Douche, it still matters (fuck you South Park :P ).
Nintendo bundled the light gun with the NES but, despite years of relevancy, it never became as ubiquitous as the Wii, 360, or PS3's standard controllers. Needless to say, lightguns did better in the arcade than the living room. Bundling this glorified EyeToy with every 360 may increase developer support, but will people actually use it? These systems aren't new, by now people who want that type of gameplay own a Wii and those who prefer more traditional video games own a 360 or PS3. I think MS is wasting developers by having them work on something which may be somewhat popular rather than something extremely popular with their base (Lionhead. . ). Kinda like Sony and the PSP. I'm no fan of Microsoft, so I think their vain attempt to take a piece of Nintendo's market is great.
"Bing" - it just sounds like a group of guys tried to analyze the appeal of the name "Google" utilize the same formula for their own name. The name Google never particularly appealed to me, neither did their logo, but their service functioned better than the competitors. Copying an existing business model in every way and attempting to use marketing to gain the upper hand is just fucked up. I wish I could say that it didn't work, that quality and originality are important to consumers, but, well, it's worked for them so far. I really like how Google's handled them so far, so perhaps they keep ahead.
I've always found this view of capitalism to be disheartening because it applies the same definition to "competition" it's given in respect to war or sport, where a single victor emerges. Discouraging entrepreneurs from acting because they will never be "#1!" is ridiculous when a profitable business model can be be established as #2,3,4, and so on. Competition in the free marketing is an ongoing economy which would ultimately collapse should one force conquer all others and that competition cease. It's this confusion between winning and success which has led to many of America's economic woes.
Ever played a game of monopoly where everyone had just enough to stay in the game and no one would strike a deal because the board was divided so evenly? Usually when a game gets to this point people give up on it, because the economy won over the people trying to dick it over for the sake of their obsessive acquisitiveness.
Seems like everyone defending Craig's List has very weak arguments (hrmm. . wonder why. . .) Anyway quick retort: a cell phone conversation is private and protected by the fourth amendment of the U.S. constitution while an advertisement on Craig's List is public and in this case solicits illegal commodities/services.
And believe it or not, the success of a police department isn't gauged by how many arrests they make. Of course they would have an endless supply of prostitutes to arrest if they allowed CL to continue business as usual, but the goal of the police is to prevent crime. Considering your argument, we need more criminals so police can be more successful. How that ties into serving and protecting is beyond me.
This type of idealism sounds good but is completely impractical for the most pragmatic of reasons. First: the drug analogy is stupid. You should have said pot because anyone who would argue for the legalization of cocaine is either ignorant or stupid. I'm going to explain because I'm assuming you're ignorant. If cocaine were ever cheap enough so that its users no longer needed to commit crimes to get their fix, then they would do so much of it they would physically and mentally deteriorate to the point of being a burden on society. Paternalistic drug laws are necessary (but, yeah, weed should be legal).
Now prostitution is a different issue but we'll stick with the analogy. Cocaine addiction is something developed through cocaine use. Once one becomes addicted they will always be addicted even if they stop usage. We cannot allow cocaine to be legal because if this large-scale public addiction were not kept in check then society would be worse for wear. Compare this to sexual desire, an addiction all are born with and which motivates, torments, and tempts us all at some point. Like cocaine this addiction may be the root of many evil acts (rape, deceit, malice toward sexual competitors) but unlike cocaine it also motivates many to do fundamental good (achieve something which will impress another, concern for personal hygiene/desirability, a general altruism derived from relationships). Keep in mind that many engage in social relations only because of their libido. What I'm saying is that there is virtue in sexual monogamy and a grave immorality about prostitution. You see anti-prostitution laws as unnecessary regulation but I see them as vital to maintaining society in its current form and preventing the rest of America from degrading into Nevada, where neither education nor morality are respected.
I don't like that argument because it implies that authorities should realize the futility of their work and give up. Craig's List created a market for prostitution where there wasn't previously one and amending this issue was necessary. Even if other facets of the internet such as MySpace or E-bay pick up where CL left off, I can't imagine it would be a seamless business transition. Let's face it, this will cut down on prostitution. Perhaps even more important, this will reduce the likelihood of one becoming a victim of a crime related to such advertised services.
Police - both local officials and federal agencies - are in a continuous whack-a-mole game and they always will be. But unlike whack-a-mole it doesn't get more difficult with each level, rather its difficulty is variable to the success of the previous level. Basically, authorities can get all existential and become complacent like you suggest, but the whack-a-mole difficulty in this instance would exponentially increase until returning to a manageable game of whack-a-mole becomes an impossibility.
All I heard was "my muscle car has more horsepower than your Lamborghini." My Lamborghini will smoke your muscle car on the track. It's not "OS X and iLife" it's OS X and Apple's professional applications. Alienwares don't offer anything I can't get elsewhere (for cheaper), Apple offers the tools I need for my recording studio. When Pro Tools catches up to Logic let me know, but right now they're getting lapped.
Ahhh, the "PCs are cheaper" refrain, the last bastion of the Borg cynic.
This is Slashdot, everyone here should be smart enough not to buy an Alienware in the first place. Pay twice as much for your computer for a cheap plastic alien decal? Please. Alienwares aren't like Macs where the premium can be justified (I need to run Logic Studio!), you have to be a dumbass to buy an Alienware. So I really don't feel sorry for this guy, odds are that if he didn't get ripped off in the auction, it was stolen. I think it's great when companies that make nothing but junk screw over their consumers in even more obvious ways, hopefully that was less people will buy their crap.
I think we should just give free copies of SC 2 to every North Korean citizen along with a computer capable of running it. If it catches on like it SC 1 did in S. Korea, then the whole country would lose all ambitions outside of professional Starcraft. Give Kim Jong-Il a copy.
A telecommunication company is a telecommunication company. It doesn't matter if they are Sprint, At&t, Verizon, T-Mobile, or anyone else. They all have crappy service an high rates (this is America after all). But At&t has the iPhone. They are the friend of my friend. . .
All the telecommunications companies have formerly dissatisfied customers like yourself who strongly support their opposition, but that doesn't make you sound any less like a Verizon advertisement. "Crappy service and high rates" is what all of these companies accuse each other of and it's true. The false implication is that there's an American telecommunications company which doesn't provide crappy service and high rates.
My Linux box runs more/better games than any PC, it's called a PS3. Go to Gamestop and look at the PC section (which looks like a WoW section, but it's really for all PC games) and then look at the PS3 section. Then consider that WoW plays on Mac. Crysis was the last PC-exclusive triple-A title and it was released a couple years ago and it flopped. People always get bad karma for saying this, but it's now official: PC gaming is dead. There are two major players left, Blizzard and Popcap, and they both play on Mac. Buy a PS3, buy a Wii - but don't let Microsoft delude you into believing you must be their slave to game any longer. It's no different than all the fucks who say "I hate Wal-mart and everything they do to the economy, but where else can I grocery shop while I get my tires changed?" Who cares if the answer is nowhere? MAKE SACRIFICES FOR YOUR IDEALS. Disliking Wal-Mart and Microsoft doesn't make you a better person, boycotting them does.
yeah, I could elaborate, but that about sums it up. nt
and they carry bigger guns and dress like bad guys in an action movie. That was my impression. Gendarmerie hang out in French airports.
No, you're wrong. That's like saying that the war in Iraq was a good thing because it concentrated terrorists in one spot. It created more terrorism just like Craigslist has created more prostitution. Before a girl had to hit rock bottom before becoming a whore (literally). Now they can do it behind their husband's back.
I think you really misunderstand the purpose of law enforcement. It's not a business where "the more prostitutes we put in jail the better." It's a service where the less prostitutes which exist the better. If they're arresting whores left and right they don't pat themselves on the back because it means they've failed to keep the crime in check.
I don't know but I tried it and it works. I think it's because my probes spread more evenly and stopped trying to go to the same patches, thus slowing one of them down. As of last night (when I first read this article) I started sending every other probe to the far sided min patches and my early game $ situation was much better. (note: it worked on Lost Temple and Python - it seemed to slow me down on BGH and have no effect on Hunters). Anyway, I'm sure you can find the course material for his class, it's likely you'll find an explanation there if you're curious.
Um, all anti-depressants are a rip off. Sure, they can numb your mind like morphine numbs a wound - but that doesn't fix the wound. It just makes it hurt less so the doctor can fix it. Only problem is psychologists don't know how to fix depression, they just know how to numb it. Like a wound which is only offered a pain-killer, it gets worse over time while you don't even realize it because you've been numbed.
Good cures for depression: friendships, laughter, love, religion, meditation, and music. The problem is that doctors don't make money off those cures so they will never suggest them. That's why I believe in socialized medicine - the free market seeks profitability in health care (penis enlargement drugs and antidepressants) rather than providing real solutions. We ingest far too many chemicals because they are patentable and our doctor won't tell us about the solution that may grow in our backyard, require a simple diet change, or any other cure which they don't turn a profit from.
That's not what my libertarian friend who's never left the country said! He told me that all Europeans receive terrible health care - for example, they have to wait ten months for a check-up and if you go to the emergency room shot you have to wait in line for hours. And it's such a financial burden on the state that the European countries are facing ginormous deficits which they will never be able to pay back. Not to mention the fact that they're miserable because they're socialists.
I tried to explain to him that everyone in Europe seemed happier - and much healthier - than us here in the States every time I went there, but he said I didn't know what I was talking about.
(btw, Europeans don't need superior healthcare to be healthier than Americans, they have superior diets)
I completely disagree. RE:5 isn't trying to be Gears of War or Halo or Call of Duty - it's not trying to be the game everyone loves. It's the best game in the developers' minds, and I'm happy with that. "Good control scheme" in your mind is boring same old same old to me. I loved RE4 and I've played the RE5 demo several times. I agree that before RE4 the games were near unplayable, but RE4 and RE5 are really good at what they do. Just because it doesn't appeal to you doesn't mean it sucks.
BTW, try to move and shoot in real life and see if you can actually hit a target. This isn't Halo where you are a space marine that can jump and steadily aim and fire your gun midair.
Wow, you didn't make a single logical argument.
"People with kids don't play X-Box live." - false premise (they do)
"People with kids certainly don't check user profiles." - false premise (it is certainly not certain)
"She was either doing something obscene, or that's not why she was banned." - if taken literally the second conjunct contradicts the first, but I understand what you mean and it's a conclusion which has nothing to do with your two false premises. So no, you don't know anything is bullshit.
Personally, I could care less about what really happened, but your lack of fundamental reasoning really irked me.
"There's no WAY they'd ban a girl." - Please, what are you, 13?