I call bullshit. The wikipedia article cites a source for the RAM numbers that doesn't even mention RAM in terms of megabytes, mebibytes or any other measuring system. There has been no official release of specs and this 92MB number seems to have been pulled out of someones imagination/arse.
You make a compelling argument, and I guess the Steam activation does impose some restrictions that a "normal" game wouldn't - though games without any form of DRM are rarer and rarer these days. In this case I'll fall back to my original argument that the perceived disadvantages of Steam are massively outweighed by the advantages. I do agree that Steam's inability to allow transfers of games to other people probably violates First Sale Rights (not that we have that in Britain anyway but the principle still applies). However, I can't get too moraly outraged by this since my OCD prevents me from ever selling any game, film or music CD I buy. I'm a collector and that basically precludes me from anything but mild intellectual interest in that side of the debate.
Like I've said in other stories, DRM is (in the eyes of publishers) necessary and Valve have at least made theirs less obtrusive than most. Yes, I know that being kicked in the balls isn't brilliant, but when it's that or be shot in the face I'll take the ball-kicking please. At least Valve give me a beer and some pretzels with my ball-kicking.
How is buying a game on a DVD different from buying one on a DVD that you then activate on Steam? Both have a EULA that tell syou you're licencing the software instead of buying it. EULAs are legal bullshit and contradict a whole host of other consumer protection laws. Buying a non-Steam game with a licence agreement is just as eroding to "Fair Use" (did you mean something else there? Like Right of First Sale? I get your point regardless) as buying one that requires Steam activation.
Arguing about the terminology is missing the point. A lot. Yes we all know that Copyright Infringment != Theft and that Piracy == (Sailing ships && Cannons && Cutlasses). The morality and legality of piracy/copyright infringement are the points that should be discussed.
I always find it funny that this is the main argument for Anti-Steam folks. Yes, in this hypothetical future where Valve go out of business (not that there's signs of that since they seem to have a pretty solid business going) it's possible that they won't follow through on their promise. If that happens it'll suck, but I just don't see it happening in the sort of timescales where I'll still care. People like me are obviously willing to take that risk as the advantages offered are pretty damn sweet. Don't assume we're all idiots who haven't thought about your hypotetical proclamations of doom in the future. We just don't care, and are busy enjoying Steam for what it offers us as customers and gamers.
World knowledge failure. It's not a legal requirement to carry one in Britain. So my analogy holds with certain pre-requisites. Also, stop being pedantic and accept that it's just an analogy. If it was completely congruous to the situation in question it woudn't be an analogy. Same deal with a shortcut, if it was easy it's just be the way. Bonus points to me for the Road trip reference.
Well hello there Mr. Obnoxious American. Now, as you may or (more likely) may not be aware, the English language was invented right here in little old Britain. We spell it tyre. You're entitled to mispell it as tire if you like, but every time you do we Brits have a quiet chuckle to ourselves, roll our eyes at our backwards cousins across the Pond and carry on in our usual dignified manner.
My bet is he will lose.
Sony will find some loophole, the judge will allow it because the removal of this function affects a very small part of the userbase.
Car analogy time. My car comes with a spare tyre in the boot (trunk for you Yanks). Now most people will never have to use this. Most people are lucky enough to buy, use and then sell a car without ever having a flat or blowout. Now, if the car manufacturer decides during a scheduled service that they're going to remove the tyre from my boot (and the boots of everyone else that comes in for a service) then it will only affect a small part of their userbase, but it doesn't matter. The car was sold and marketed as having a spare tyre, and they can't just take that away.
Just a quick reminder to anyone thinking of condeming these people here on Slashdot - are you at work right now, reading Slashdot? Is that what you're paid for? The article reeks of sensationalism just because these people happened to be viewing porn instead of reading news, flicking through a book, watching YouTube, or a thousand and one other things that people do every day at work instead of actually working.
You seem to have detected an insult in my post. Apparently my humour was too subtle for you. Don't worry, I've been misunderstood by more intelligent people who have no real sentence parsing ability. Just like you.
Back on topic, care to explain what you you mean by "Non-contextual"?
I strongly encourage you to read this post. Since you posted before him I'll refrain from tagging on a random insult and/or derogatory remark about your intelligence.
Totally agee. I posted something related to this a while back basically saying that DRM has a massively negative image (and at the minute rightly so). The very acronym "DRM" makes people think of all the bad ones. DRM can offer advantages to the users, and if it's done well (like Steam) then it can even start to raise the reputation of DRM schemes. I don't pirate games, I (hugely) dislike the concept and execution of DRM schemes like UbiSoft and Sony employ, yet Steam still manages to impress me by offering all the things you mention.
You're assuming that all DRM is created equal. That simply isn't the case. Steam is DRM, yes, but unlike most DRM schemes it provides advantages that help balance the negative points. UbiSoft's DRM is just out-and-out negative. They claim that centrally stored save games are an advantage to the customer, but that doesn't even relate to their DRM scheme.
If they get rid of that horrific looking necklace and use camera based person tracking the whole thing would be a lot more feasible. You can't honestly tell me that having to walk around your house with an IR emitter (guessing that's what it is based on the WiiMote) round your neck is a great prospect?
Today it's more like "Why would the kid's parents pay $100 for that device..." to which the answer is, unfortunately, "because it's easier than telling him no and disciplining him when he throws a fit".
OK, but what about a software concept? Can someone still patent "A method for preventing unauthorised access to files and system features through the use of a personal identification and verification system", as long as they don't have a single piece of software for this idea?
That imaginary patent was about password protection in case anyone missed it...
The GP didn't think it through very well. If it was easy and cheaper for the EU to be eating only EU beef then we'd be doing it already. Taxing the hell out of an import that you need is a great example of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
I agree that XNA has its flaws, but when you consider them - the ones listed in the wikipedia article anyway - they're actually not that major. Sure, no synthesised speech is a bit of a kick in the nether-regions to a developer, no argument. But the "no non-platform languages" is negated by the lack of speech anyway. If you did walk into an elven village and they were all (text) talking in Elven you'd be fairly lost anyway. My main point is that at least indie developers have the opportunity to develop games for the 360, which if I've understood correctly is a lot more than they can do for the Wii or PS3, and furthermore that some pretty successful games have appeared on the LIVE Arcade that were developed using XNA.
I didn't claim anything except that XNA waws free and that it was a game development toolkit. Sure it's probably not perfect but its a great way for small developers and students (the people you mentioned) to cut their teeth on game development. Better a free but flawed toolkit than no toolkit at all?
Hmmm, I think you're probably right. Sometimes I direct criticism toward our current government where it's not due, which is silly really as there's so many valid reasons to criticise them.
Slashdot Mirror
I call bullshit. The wikipedia article cites a source for the RAM numbers that doesn't even mention RAM in terms of megabytes, mebibytes or any other measuring system. There has been no official release of specs and this 92MB number seems to have been pulled out of someones imagination/arse.
You make a compelling argument, and I guess the Steam activation does impose some restrictions that a "normal" game wouldn't - though games without any form of DRM are rarer and rarer these days. In this case I'll fall back to my original argument that the perceived disadvantages of Steam are massively outweighed by the advantages. I do agree that Steam's inability to allow transfers of games to other people probably violates First Sale Rights (not that we have that in Britain anyway but the principle still applies). However, I can't get too moraly outraged by this since my OCD prevents me from ever selling any game, film or music CD I buy. I'm a collector and that basically precludes me from anything but mild intellectual interest in that side of the debate.
Like I've said in other stories, DRM is (in the eyes of publishers) necessary and Valve have at least made theirs less obtrusive than most. Yes, I know that being kicked in the balls isn't brilliant, but when it's that or be shot in the face I'll take the ball-kicking please. At least Valve give me a beer and some pretzels with my ball-kicking.
How is buying a game on a DVD different from buying one on a DVD that you then activate on Steam? Both have a EULA that tell syou you're licencing the software instead of buying it. EULAs are legal bullshit and contradict a whole host of other consumer protection laws. Buying a non-Steam game with a licence agreement is just as eroding to "Fair Use" (did you mean something else there? Like Right of First Sale? I get your point regardless) as buying one that requires Steam activation.
Arguing about the terminology is missing the point. A lot. Yes we all know that Copyright Infringment != Theft and that Piracy == (Sailing ships && Cannons && Cutlasses). The morality and legality of piracy/copyright infringement are the points that should be discussed.
I always find it funny that this is the main argument for Anti-Steam folks. Yes, in this hypothetical future where Valve go out of business (not that there's signs of that since they seem to have a pretty solid business going) it's possible that they won't follow through on their promise. If that happens it'll suck, but I just don't see it happening in the sort of timescales where I'll still care. People like me are obviously willing to take that risk as the advantages offered are pretty damn sweet. Don't assume we're all idiots who haven't thought about your hypotetical proclamations of doom in the future. We just don't care, and are busy enjoying Steam for what it offers us as customers and gamers.
World knowledge failure. It's not a legal requirement to carry one in Britain. So my analogy holds with certain pre-requisites. Also, stop being pedantic and accept that it's just an analogy. If it was completely congruous to the situation in question it woudn't be an analogy. Same deal with a shortcut, if it was easy it's just be the way. Bonus points to me for the Road trip reference.
Well hello there Mr. Obnoxious American. Now, as you may or (more likely) may not be aware, the English language was invented right here in little old Britain. We spell it tyre. You're entitled to mispell it as tire if you like, but every time you do we Brits have a quiet chuckle to ourselves, roll our eyes at our backwards cousins across the Pond and carry on in our usual dignified manner.
My bet is he will lose. Sony will find some loophole, the judge will allow it because the removal of this function affects a very small part of the userbase.
Car analogy time. My car comes with a spare tyre in the boot (trunk for you Yanks). Now most people will never have to use this. Most people are lucky enough to buy, use and then sell a car without ever having a flat or blowout. Now, if the car manufacturer decides during a scheduled service that they're going to remove the tyre from my boot (and the boots of everyone else that comes in for a service) then it will only affect a small part of their userbase, but it doesn't matter. The car was sold and marketed as having a spare tyre, and they can't just take that away.
Sony are refusing to reimburse retailers if they give refunds.
Just a quick reminder to anyone thinking of condeming these people here on Slashdot - are you at work right now, reading Slashdot? Is that what you're paid for? The article reeks of sensationalism just because these people happened to be viewing porn instead of reading news, flicking through a book, watching YouTube, or a thousand and one other things that people do every day at work instead of actually working.
You seem to have detected an insult in my post. Apparently my humour was too subtle for you. Don't worry, I've been misunderstood by more intelligent people who have no real sentence parsing ability. Just like you.
Back on topic, care to explain what you you mean by "Non-contextual"?
I strongly encourage you to read this post. Since you posted before him I'll refrain from tagging on a random insult and/or derogatory remark about your intelligence.
Totally agee. I posted something related to this a while back basically saying that DRM has a massively negative image (and at the minute rightly so). The very acronym "DRM" makes people think of all the bad ones. DRM can offer advantages to the users, and if it's done well (like Steam) then it can even start to raise the reputation of DRM schemes. I don't pirate games, I (hugely) dislike the concept and execution of DRM schemes like UbiSoft and Sony employ, yet Steam still manages to impress me by offering all the things you mention.
You're assuming that all DRM is created equal. That simply isn't the case. Steam is DRM, yes, but unlike most DRM schemes it provides advantages that help balance the negative points. UbiSoft's DRM is just out-and-out negative. They claim that centrally stored save games are an advantage to the customer, but that doesn't even relate to their DRM scheme.
If they get rid of that horrific looking necklace and use camera based person tracking the whole thing would be a lot more feasible. You can't honestly tell me that having to walk around your house with an IR emitter (guessing that's what it is based on the WiiMote) round your neck is a great prospect?
Today it's more like "Why would the kid's parents pay $100 for that device..." to which the answer is, unfortunately, "because it's easier than telling him no and disciplining him when he throws a fit".
a computer program is not a patentable invention
OK, but what about a software concept? Can someone still patent "A method for preventing unauthorised access to files and system features through the use of a personal identification and verification system", as long as they don't have a single piece of software for this idea?
That imaginary patent was about password protection in case anyone missed it...
I assume you meant: "That's not a firewall...this is a firewall."
Present the digitus impudicus.
You hit the nail on the head. If Canada don't comply we'll set Harry Potter and his school chums on you...
The GP didn't think it through very well. If it was easy and cheaper for the EU to be eating only EU beef then we'd be doing it already. Taxing the hell out of an import that you need is a great example of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
How ironic that you're modded Troll and he's modded Insightful, when clearly it should be the other way around...
No need for apologies.
I agree that XNA has its flaws, but when you consider them - the ones listed in the wikipedia article anyway - they're actually not that major. Sure, no synthesised speech is a bit of a kick in the nether-regions to a developer, no argument. But the "no non-platform languages" is negated by the lack of speech anyway. If you did walk into an elven village and they were all (text) talking in Elven you'd be fairly lost anyway. My main point is that at least indie developers have the opportunity to develop games for the 360, which if I've understood correctly is a lot more than they can do for the Wii or PS3, and furthermore that some pretty successful games have appeared on the LIVE Arcade that were developed using XNA.
I didn't claim anything except that XNA waws free and that it was a game development toolkit. Sure it's probably not perfect but its a great way for small developers and students (the people you mentioned) to cut their teeth on game development. Better a free but flawed toolkit than no toolkit at all?
Isn't Microsoft's XNA Toolkit freely available? Is this the sort of devkit you're referring to?
Hmmm, I think you're probably right. Sometimes I direct criticism toward our current government where it's not due, which is silly really as there's so many valid reasons to criticise them.