I switched to Netvibes a few years ago, when Google added the unremoveable sidebar (which was added at the behest of gadget developers, apparently the only users of iGoogle that matter). It has served me pretty well, though I still miss having a Google search bar with full functionality.
During OIF I, I made the grievous error of saying that #4, Country Captain Chicken, wasn't that terrible. After a few days of my coworkers selflessly saving the #4 for me while they got first pick on a new box, I quickly recanted.
Your interpretation of the statistics does not appear to take proportionality into account. If Job A has 6 fatalities and 100 workers while Job B has 3 fatalities and 10 workers, Job B is more dangerous since the odds of death are higher on a per worker basis.
Shacknews reports that StarCraft II will support non-free user-made maps and mods. Depending on how this is implemented, mapmakers may find their works offered for free via other distribution channels. As some iPhone app writers have discovered, it's also possible to be undercut by a free cloned or superficially changed version of their map. How does Blizzard intend to enforce author rights?
So let me get this straight -- you want to discourage, not copying, but loaning?
The parent was talking about casual copying. If a game did not implement CD checks, then it could be loaned out, installed, then returned--no copying required. I think it's fairly obvious why game devs prefer users buying their products instead of borrowing them from a friend.
But if anything, this opens up new markets -- game rentals, and used games. And it does drive up the value of a game, if you know it can be re-sold.
Used game sales aren't good for the original developer. If a game is bought for $50, then resold four times for $10-30 each time, how much does the original developer make? $50. Epic Games has voiced their opinion on the issue, and has taken measures to discourage the practice (unlocks/DLC).
The supposed purpose of DRM is to "keep honest people honest", by preventing things like actual copyright infringement. But your comment does tend to indicate the true purpose of DRM -- to prevent people from doing perfectly honest things (like lending) that you'd rather be able to charge for.
I don't disagree with your statement that DRM can have ulterior reasons. However, lending is not always honest. With a book, possession directly implies access. If I loan out a book, I can't read it until it's returned. Software is different; It's dishonest to loan out my copy of Office 2007 to my friends to install, if can still use it.
If you're already forcing them to be online, why do you need to limit the number of saves? Just don't allow more than one person to be online at once.
The point of limiting saves is to create a finite resource, which discourages sharing. Users wouldn't have to continuously be online--only if they want to save their game. Is it an inconvenience to users? Yes. But it is somewhat compensated by the "resume anywhere" feature, while "one user at any time" is only a stick.
And hey, I can lend games on Steam. I just have to lend the whole account at a time, and if I lend my account credentials, I risk losing the account. That's really all the incentive I need -- to limit the number of saves on top of that really serves no purpose, other than to save you disk space.
You may not reveal, share or otherwise allow others to use your password or Account.
The solution I recommended is better. With Steam, loaning is an all-or-nothing proposition. You can't play one game while a concurrent user plays another, even if you legitimately own both. This is not an issue if a game+saves is tied to a key instead of an account.
Is there really that much of a difference between handing my buddy a CD in a jewel case vs handing him a CD in a jewel case that has the key printed on it? I don't believe keys matter for casual loaning of single player games, which is what The Sims 3 is. Their best strategy is to discourage loaning, which has been a side-effect of hand-held console cartridges for some time. Carts have a finite amount of space for save game slots, and as a result you don't want to loan your cartridge to someone careless who will overwrite your "hard work" with their own progress. This could be implemented in a similar fashion by moving storing saves online, and limiting the amount of slots available. The customer loses some flexibility by being unable to save locally, but benefits by not losing progress when reinstalling, or transitioning between different computers.
I was under the (mistaken) impression that filtering had to be done by the reader; that wouldn't have been an option for me since I use iGoogle. Yahoo Pipes looks like it will fit the bill. Thanks.
You can keep idle off the mainpage, but as long as idle feature articles contaminate the main RSS feed, people will be unwillingly reminded of its existence.
In 802.11b/g operate on the 2.4000-2.4835 GHz band (so saith wikipedia). That gives you 83.5 MHz of total bandwidth, for a theoretical maximum allowed data rate of 41.75 MBit/sec, or roughly 4 MByte/sec. It doesn't take too many torrents or video streams to suck up 4 MByte/sec (and that's the theoretical maximum, actual performance usually caps at at about half the theoretical max!).
I don't have the technical expertise to adequately explain modulation, but your understanding of throughput calculation is severely lacking. Standard 802.11g is able to offer 54Mbps (theoretical) in only 20 MHz of bandwidth.
SERO has been replaced with Everything Plus. The baseline package is now $60, instead of $30. For double the cost, you now get GPS, Music, and TV provided your phone supports it. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.
Parent is correct; been doing this in XP for years with C:\windows\system32\sethc.exe (StickyKeys).
The article wouldn't have been newsworthy if it had merely said "Vista just as vulnerable, nothing new." Especially since the old tricks are often the first things tried with the new OS.
I came to post this, but was beaten.
Except with phone-as-modem plans, you may not use a phone (including a Bluetooth phone) on a plan with unlimited Vision/Power Vision as a modem in connection with a computer, PDA, or similar device. We reserve the right to deny or terminate service without notice for any misuse. SERO does have unlimited data plans, but they start at $50.
And since most of the time I'm at a place where there's a WiFi network, it makes sense for me to use VoIP rather than a regular phone line. As someone who hates cell phones, I used a softphone (reaching back to an Asterisk server) on my laptop for a few months. Anytime I used WiFi outside my house (campus network or coffee-shop style coverage) I had nothing but problems: garbled communication, one side of the conversation not hearing anything, etc. Almost completely unusable--you know service is bad when it makes cell phone quality look fantastic in comparison.
Anyway, Grand Central may be a replacement for a land-line phone, but I think Andrew is being a bit optimistic about the adequacy of using it as a "mobile" phone.
I think that the problem with your solution is that it'll be too difficult to monetize the output (MMOs instead profit from their userbase, not their efforts), which spammers have already accomplished.
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Couriers have figured out that the best way of dealing with a Shockwatch is to rip the filament off the box.
How to make military-grade network gear:
1. Get network equipment.
2. Slap it in a ruggedized box.
3. Slap an extra 0 or two on the invoice.
That said, I wouldn't mind having some PacStar gear around for the next disaster.
I switched to Netvibes a few years ago, when Google added the unremoveable sidebar (which was added at the behest of gadget developers, apparently the only users of iGoogle that matter). It has served me pretty well, though I still miss having a Google search bar with full functionality.
Wiping your nose does not cure a cold. It never has, and it never will.
Do not give specious reasoning a free pass because you agree with its conclusion.
During OIF I, I made the grievous error of saying that #4, Country Captain Chicken, wasn't that terrible. After a few days of my coworkers selflessly saving the #4 for me while they got first pick on a new box, I quickly recanted.
Old Man Murray made a compelling argument explaining the decline of adventure games:
http://www.oldmanmurray.com/features/77.html
Your alluded-to attribution is incorrect. That quote comes from an essay by Rabbi Lapin:
http://www.aapsonline.org/brochures/lapin.htm
Your interpretation of the statistics does not appear to take proportionality into account.
If Job A has 6 fatalities and 100 workers while Job B has 3 fatalities and 10 workers, Job B is more dangerous since the odds of death are higher on a per worker basis.
Yahoo Pipes works acceptably for this task.
Example: http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.info?_id=VsavzdaC3RGH9sTVrLQIDg
Most of Asia are already using IPv6.
Yes, fractions of a percent, just like the US who "has its head in the sand."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv6_deployment
Shacknews reports that StarCraft II will support non-free user-made maps and mods. Depending on how this is implemented, mapmakers may find their works offered for free via other distribution channels. As some iPhone app writers have discovered, it's also possible to be undercut by a free cloned or superficially changed version of their map. How does Blizzard intend to enforce author rights?
I've found Hamachi to be a good way to integrate LAN/WAN players.
So let me get this straight -- you want to discourage, not copying, but loaning?
The parent was talking about casual copying. If a game did not implement CD checks, then it could be loaned out, installed, then returned--no copying required. I think it's fairly obvious why game devs prefer users buying their products instead of borrowing them from a friend.
But if anything, this opens up new markets -- game rentals, and used games. And it does drive up the value of a game, if you know it can be re-sold.
Used game sales aren't good for the original developer. If a game is bought for $50, then resold four times for $10-30 each time, how much does the original developer make? $50. Epic Games has voiced their opinion on the issue, and has taken measures to discourage the practice (unlocks/DLC).
The supposed purpose of DRM is to "keep honest people honest", by preventing things like actual copyright infringement. But your comment does tend to indicate the true purpose of DRM -- to prevent people from doing perfectly honest things (like lending) that you'd rather be able to charge for.
I don't disagree with your statement that DRM can have ulterior reasons. However, lending is not always honest. With a book, possession directly implies access. If I loan out a book, I can't read it until it's returned. Software is different; It's dishonest to loan out my copy of Office 2007 to my friends to install, if can still use it.
If you're already forcing them to be online, why do you need to limit the number of saves? Just don't allow more than one person to be online at once.
The point of limiting saves is to create a finite resource, which discourages sharing. Users wouldn't have to continuously be online--only if they want to save their game. Is it an inconvenience to users? Yes. But it is somewhat compensated by the "resume anywhere" feature, while "one user at any time" is only a stick.
And hey, I can lend games on Steam. I just have to lend the whole account at a time, and if I lend my account credentials, I risk losing the account. That's really all the incentive I need -- to limit the number of saves on top of that really serves no purpose, other than to save you disk space.
Actually, that's against the Steam EULA:
The solution I recommended is better. With Steam, loaning is an all-or-nothing proposition. You can't play one game while a concurrent user plays another, even if you legitimately own both. This is not an issue if a game+saves is tied to a key instead of an account.
Is there really that much of a difference between handing my buddy a CD in a jewel case vs handing him a CD in a jewel case that has the key printed on it?
I don't believe keys matter for casual loaning of single player games, which is what The Sims 3 is. Their best strategy is to discourage loaning, which has been a side-effect of hand-held console cartridges for some time. Carts have a finite amount of space for save game slots, and as a result you don't want to loan your cartridge to someone careless who will overwrite your "hard work" with their own progress. This could be implemented in a similar fashion by moving storing saves online, and limiting the amount of slots available. The customer loses some flexibility by being unable to save locally, but benefits by not losing progress when reinstalling, or transitioning between different computers.
I was under the (mistaken) impression that filtering had to be done by the reader; that wouldn't have been an option for me since I use iGoogle. Yahoo Pipes looks like it will fit the bill. Thanks.
You can keep idle off the mainpage, but as long as idle feature articles contaminate the main RSS feed, people will be unwillingly reminded of its existence.
In 802.11b/g operate on the 2.4000-2.4835 GHz band (so saith wikipedia). That gives you 83.5 MHz of total bandwidth, for a theoretical maximum allowed data rate of 41.75 MBit/sec, or roughly 4 MByte/sec. It doesn't take too many torrents or video streams to suck up 4 MByte/sec (and that's the theoretical maximum, actual performance usually caps at at about half the theoretical max!).
I don't have the technical expertise to adequately explain modulation, but your understanding of throughput calculation is severely lacking. Standard 802.11g is able to offer 54Mbps (theoretical) in only 20 MHz of bandwidth.
SERO has been replaced with Everything Plus. The baseline package is now $60, instead of $30. For double the cost, you now get GPS, Music, and TV provided your phone supports it.
Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.
The influx of "If I was from Control" posts is CDMA_Demo's effort to single-handedly kickstart a new meme:
http://slashdot.org/~CDMA_Demo
Parent is correct; been doing this in XP for years with C:\windows\system32\sethc.exe (StickyKeys).
The article wouldn't have been newsworthy if it had merely said "Vista just as vulnerable, nothing new." Especially since the old tricks are often the first things tried with the new OS.
I have that plan too (SERO F&F 500). You're not supposed to tether. The $50 quote was for a "true" data plan.
You are correct; to be clear as to what I was referring to, I should have said Grand Central+Gizmo5 (what the author was describing in the summary).
Anyway, Grand Central may be a replacement for a land-line phone, but I think Andrew is being a bit optimistic about the adequacy of using it as a "mobile" phone.
There are already instances of humans working on difficult (for computers) problems; unfortunately, it's people solving CAPTCHAs for free porn. :(
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/01/28/1344207&mode=thread&tid=111&tid=126&tid=172&tid=95
I think that the problem with your solution is that it'll be too difficult to monetize the output (MMOs instead profit from their userbase, not their efforts), which spammers have already accomplished.