That told me all I needed to know and I cancelled my Netflix subscription.
Do you mind sharing what you decided to do instead? At the moment, I'm a heavy renter but I don't copy any DVDs and I think I'm getting screwed. I keep increasing my subscription limits but now it seems that's just sending money into a hole since it's apparently not going to turn "unlimited" into unlimited.
My problem is that Blockbuster, et al. doesn't have the titles I tend to rent. I have a friend that subscribes to Greencine and they doesn't deliver in any reasonable period of time to be a satisfactory primary service Lately, I find myself frequently renting television titles. Blockbuster doesn't have Bablyon 5, for example.
Linux and Windows are manifestations of different computing cultures and, dirty tricks aside, I don't see either cleansing the other from the face of the Earth. It should be that way; diversity is important for data to evolve.
That's not to say that Windows and Linux can't be responsible for their own destruction, or that one can't outlast the other.
Cause every programmer at one point or another wants to make video games. Don't like your job? Leave... there are 500 people that want to be in your place, anyway!
while there's some truth to this, it's a cynical oversimplification. consider the following:
the game industry attracts many undisciplined employees. while they can be very passionate, they can also be very unmotivated at times. this bipolar work ethic contributes to a number of problems in the industry, including the one the article addresses.
it seems to me that game studios can only operate in two modes. the "when it's done" mode and the "deathmarch" mode, depending upon how much success they've enjoyed. business models have adapted to work around or exploit this (easy, short-term fix) rather than change this (difficult, long-term fix) and have caused the entire industry to suffer.
cutting-edge game development always challenges the programmer's ability to manage complexity. when the programmer fails to accomplish this, longer work hours are inevitable when the schedule cannot corrected accordingly for business reasons.
game developers are in a particularly difficult position where they need to be free and creative like music artists but also require the discipline that a highly techincal engineering position requires. it's a difficult balance to maintain and i'm not sure of how many even try.
i don't believe the industry is going to change anytime soon but i do believe that there are opportunities to rise above mediocracy for those that seek wisdom in how they pursue their career.
Note: The advertising clause in the license appearing on BSD Unix files was officially rescinded by the Director of the Office of Technology Licensing of the University of California on July 22 1999. He states that clause 3 is "hereby deleted in its entirety."
I remmeber years ago having a conversation with an IT manager at IBM. We were talking about the inability of computer programmers to make their code foolproof. His point was that we don't see problems like this with proprietary hardware. When was the last time someone crashed their Super Nintendo?
The Super Nintendo used a 3Mhz Motorola 65816, the same processor used in an Apple IIgs. I can't find it's transistor count on the web, but it could not have had less than 5000 (the 6502) nor could it have had more then 68,000 (the 68k). Compare this to a modern AMD Athlon 3000+, which has about 54.3 million transistors. The Super Nintendo might be less likely to crash than a PC because there are at least 54 million fewer things to break.
Also, his claim that you don't find similar problems in modern hardware is incorrect. Just search Google for "intel errata" to see what I mean.
I bought my Gamecube last week and a copy of Metroid Prime. Ironically, it runs on an IBM PowerPC chip (the IBM branding is right on the box) and it's crashed twice since I've owned it. (I <3 my Gamecube regardless).
Industry professionals that produce glib, ignorant assertions such as this one might be part of the problem.:D
Although it certainly is a contributing factor, I don't agree that the current state of the game industry is the sole product of greedy corporate interests.
Of all the other game developers I've met, I can't count more than a couple that really cared about anything but "innovation." The cause to innovate is admittedly sexy, but coding is also about managing changes, reliability, stability, managing risk, managing time, managing bugs, and plain common sense. While most game programmers claim they care about these things, the reality is that few people actually give a fuck.
To believe that this additude doesn't have a tremendous impact upon the industry as a whole is terribly immature and I don't feel any pity for anyone but the customer. In my opinion, when we (game developers) grow up as professionals and develop the skills needed to manage risk in our implementations, we will have more power to be innovative.
They're in the movie business to make money, anything their customers use for free is a threat, anything they use for free is more money.
i disagree. i don't believe that movie studios see linux as a threat. they obviously prefer to use linux over other alternatives, making them linux users themselves (ironic, huh?).
i think it's more useful to see them as linux users that consider their current inability to control how linux is used as a threat.
Microsoft believes many of its efforts to market its products against Linux and open source are backfiring
The way I see it, the greatest strength of free software is that the people involved have not traditionally been greedy in their pursuits. Conversely, greed is Microsoft's achilles heel. Even if stroking the egos of those involved in open software is unintentional, the movement will most likely fail if the community acquires a lust for something other than making high-quality software available to all, without discrimination.
That being said, I ask why we care (within reason) about what Microsoft says about Linux, be it good or bad?
it is likely that this group was instrumental in obtaining official support for nvidia cards in freebsd. the page isn't updated often but there is a petition and some history of the effort.
i never considered petitions to corporations to be effective. i'm happy to be wrong.
Do you really think Microsoft can declare war on it's customers and come out on top? History has repeatedly shown that when an affluent company starts focusing on defending itself from its customers it looses them in time. I think we are all just being impatient; some justice isn't dramatic or swift. This applies to the RIAA, the MPAA, and anyone else that treats customers like livestock.
By definition, the US government is not interested in a free market, they're interested in corpoprate protectionism.
You can't just blame the govenrnment because the government is just a reflection of who we are as a nation. If you see the government as a bunch of corporate whores, it's probably because we're a nation of corporate whores.
Well I apologize for not reaching back to games like Miner2049er or Mr. Robot
Thanks! Apology accepted. I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to my comment too.:)
I learned to program on a Commodore Pet in 3rd Grade.
I remember those. Okay, so you're not a poser.;)
However, the fact is that the FPS genre - especially under the guise of Doom and Half-Life have shown more and more where the future of development may be heading.
I do love the FPS genre, particularly games such as Thief and System Shock 2 where multiplayer isn't the focus (crutch) of gameplay. Unfortunately, choosing a game today is more and more like ordering from Starbucks. I'd like an double platform RTS with twist of RPG.
I lost interest in this article quickly. As a game developer that typed in and played his first computer game on a TRS-80 (I was five), I'm really disappointed to discover that games didn't really exist before Castle Wolfenstein 3D.
Contrary to the author's claims, modern gamers and programmers are not as sophisticated as they once were. I have yet to play a good FPS that has the depth that Infocom's Wishbringer had. I have yet to meet a game developer in today's industry that knows what lex and yacc is.
I've loved the games all my life, but now that I'm a developer, I can't help but feel mournful for what the state of the industry and where it will never arrive.
> so much for M$'s claim of language independence > for the CLR... hehehehe
It was a faulty claim from the start...
I can't see how.NET can claim language-independence if it mandates an OO programming model. All of things about alternate languages that interest me happen to be those things that break the.NET language paradigm!
Unless the Mormons do it; after what they did for the Salt Lake Valley, there's no doubt that they could terraform a parking structure in a decade!
Maybe with the right kind of religious persecution we could have another habitable planet in no time!:D
All music and video recording media is taxed in the U.S., including blank audio and video tapes. Think about it: That's why it cost's $6 to $10 for 3 lousy Type II cassettes-- a technology that is decades old. I guess CD-ROMS haven't been taxed bacause they've been viewed as a "computer product."
I gave up on remembering all of my passwords. So I generate a different (random) password for every account I have and store them all in an encrypted database on my Palm Pilot. Works great, and if someone gets my TV Guide profile password, I don't have to fear for my online banking accounts.
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My problem is that Blockbuster, et al. doesn't have the titles I tend to rent. I have a friend that subscribes to Greencine and they doesn't deliver in any reasonable period of time to be a satisfactory primary service Lately, I find myself frequently renting television titles. Blockbuster doesn't have Bablyon 5, for example.
Linux and Windows are manifestations of different computing cultures and, dirty tricks aside, I don't see either cleansing the other from the face of the Earth. It should be that way; diversity is important for data to evolve.
That's not to say that Windows and Linux can't be responsible for their own destruction, or that one can't outlast the other.
while there's some truth to this, it's a cynical oversimplification. consider the following:
i don't believe the industry is going to change anytime soon but i do believe that there are opportunities to rise above mediocracy for those that seek wisdom in how they pursue their career.
Note: The advertising clause in the license appearing on BSD Unix files was officially rescinded by the Director of the Office of Technology Licensing of the University of California on July 22 1999. He states that clause 3 is "hereby deleted in its entirety."
BSD code cannot be illegally copied.
Yeah, I was suprised. My guess is that it's a bug in MP but I'll check the disc when I get home tonight. Thanks!
The Super Nintendo used a 3Mhz Motorola 65816, the same processor used in an Apple IIgs. I can't find it's transistor count on the web, but it could not have had less than 5000 (the 6502) nor could it have had more then 68,000 (the 68k). Compare this to a modern AMD Athlon 3000+, which has about 54.3 million transistors. The Super Nintendo might be less likely to crash than a PC because there are at least 54 million fewer things to break.
Also, his claim that you don't find similar problems in modern hardware is incorrect. Just search Google for "intel errata" to see what I mean.
I bought my Gamecube last week and a copy of Metroid Prime. Ironically, it runs on an IBM PowerPC chip (the IBM branding is right on the box) and it's crashed twice since I've owned it. (I <3 my Gamecube regardless).
Industry professionals that produce glib, ignorant assertions such as this one might be part of the problem. :D
Of all the other game developers I've met, I can't count more than a couple that really cared about anything but "innovation." The cause to innovate is admittedly sexy, but coding is also about managing changes, reliability, stability, managing risk, managing time, managing bugs, and plain common sense. While most game programmers claim they care about these things, the reality is that few people actually give a fuck.
To believe that this additude doesn't have a tremendous impact upon the industry as a whole is terribly immature and I don't feel any pity for anyone but the customer. In my opinion, when we (game developers) grow up as professionals and develop the skills needed to manage risk in our implementations, we will have more power to be innovative.
How about a subcutaneous solution? I've found limbs to be much more difficult to lose than car keys.
what about a suppository shape? that way, you always have at least one pocket to stuff it in.
They're in the movie business to make money, anything their customers use for free is a threat, anything they use for free is more money.
i disagree. i don't believe that movie studios see linux as a threat. they obviously prefer to use linux over other alternatives, making them linux users themselves (ironic, huh?).
i think it's more useful to see them as linux users that consider their current inability to control how linux is used as a threat.
Microsoft believes many of its efforts to market its products against Linux and open source are backfiring
The way I see it, the greatest strength of free software is that the people involved have not traditionally been greedy in their pursuits. Conversely, greed is Microsoft's achilles heel. Even if stroking the egos of those involved in open software is unintentional, the movement will most likely fail if the community acquires a lust for something other than making high-quality software available to all, without discrimination.
That being said, I ask why we care (within reason) about what Microsoft says about Linux, be it good or bad?
i never considered petitions to corporations to be effective. i'm happy to be wrong.
Mulder and Scully first encountered the black cancer in a moon rock!
Do you really think Microsoft can declare war on it's customers and come out on top? History has repeatedly shown that when an affluent company starts focusing on defending itself from its customers it looses them in time. I think we are all just being impatient; some justice isn't dramatic or swift. This applies to the RIAA, the MPAA, and anyone else that treats customers like livestock.
By definition, the US government is not interested in a free market, they're interested in corpoprate protectionism.
You can't just blame the govenrnment because the government is just a reflection of who we are as a nation. If you see the government as a bunch of corporate whores, it's probably because we're a nation of corporate whores.
Thanks! Apology accepted. I really appreciate you taking the time to respond to my comment too. :)
I learned to program on a Commodore Pet in 3rd Grade.
I remember those. Okay, so you're not a poser. ;)
However, the fact is that the FPS genre - especially under the guise of Doom and Half-Life have shown more and more where the future of development may be heading.
I do love the FPS genre, particularly games such as Thief and System Shock 2 where multiplayer isn't the focus (crutch) of gameplay. Unfortunately, choosing a game today is more and more like ordering from Starbucks. I'd like an double platform RTS with twist of RPG.
Contrary to the author's claims, modern gamers and programmers are not as sophisticated as they once were. I have yet to play a good FPS that has the depth that Infocom's Wishbringer had. I have yet to meet a game developer in today's industry that knows what lex and yacc is.
I've loved the games all my life, but now that I'm a developer, I can't help but feel mournful for what the state of the industry and where it will never arrive.
It's not an anagram of godSatan, godBaalzebub, or godLucifer either.
> so much for M$'s claim of language independence
.NET can claim language-independence if it mandates an OO programming model. All of things about alternate languages that interest me happen to be those things that break the .NET language paradigm!
> for the CLR... hehehehe
It was a faulty claim from the start...
I can't see how
Unless the Mormons do it; after what they did for the Salt Lake Valley, there's no doubt that they could terraform a parking structure in a decade! Maybe with the right kind of religious persecution we could have another habitable planet in no time! :D
All music and video recording media is taxed in the U.S., including blank audio and video tapes. Think about it: That's why it cost's $6 to $10 for 3 lousy Type II cassettes-- a technology that is decades old. I guess CD-ROMS haven't been taxed bacause they've been viewed as a "computer product."
I gave up on remembering all of my passwords. So I generate a different (random) password for every account I have and store them all in an encrypted database on my Palm Pilot. Works great, and if someone gets my TV Guide profile password, I don't have to fear for my online banking accounts.
Works great for me...