In the 80's, the Japanese industry/government complex declared a massive project to completely redefine and *own* operating systems and application software.
Since at the time, they had finished doing just that with consumer electronics industry and were well on the way to doing just that to the automotive industry, most CS types were justifably concerned.
Well, the rest of the story is that it didn't happen. Not even a whimper of it got over to the western world.
"This is rather as if you imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, 'This is an interesting world I find myself in--an interesting hole I find myself in--fits me rather neatly, doesn't it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!' This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually, the puddle gets smaller and smaller, it's still frantically hanging on to the notion that everything's going to be alright, because this world was meant to have him in it, was built to have him in it; so the moment he disappears catches him rather by surprise."
Don't forget, there are those who want to solve this problem by making e-mail as expensive (well, maybe not exactly as expensive, but you get the idea) as phone calls...
Enter the Matrix, like every movie-franchise video game adaptation, sucked.
"Every" movie game adaptation? "Spider-Man: The Movie" did pretty well, and is, IMO, a really fun game. Never before or since have I really had the feeling in such a game that I was controlling a true super-hero.
Why is it, just because apple does something, that it becomes ok? Each song is about a buck, each song on a CD is about a buck. This service has no cost savings to the consumer. At least with a CD if I get sick of it I can sell it for a few bucks.
The appeal is that I can buy two good songs off of an otherwise crappy CD for $2, rather than being forced to buy the whole CD for $12+.
What possible advantage is there to this crippleware?
It's not so bad. Burn the AAC files to a CD, and rip them into MP3. Voila. (As for sound quality, I've done this and have zero complaints.)
Sigh, it's really sad that you have to look a gift horse in the mouth. Free music to listen too is not not even good enough for you? You have to demand the right to rip it off too?
Why is it "ripping it off?" Do you consider what Disney did when it made such movies as Snow White and Beauty and the Beast "ripping off?" The public domain is important. Perhaps you should be asking yourself why you find it so important to maintain control over your creations for all eternity...
Why the hell shouldn't something that *I* created, exist for my lifetime as *MY* personal property and then pass on to my heirs or go to my grave with me if I want?
A better question: why should it?
Copyright is a right that's granted to us by our government, not an innate, God-given right. Copyright is a gift to creators. It will expire eventually; that's the price you pay for the gift, as well as the benefit society receives for the granting of the gift.
As others have said, if you want to refuse that gift because the price is too high, that's your right. Just keep your creation to yourself.
It's the same situation as the fellow who's program unset the true type embedded bits [slashdot.org] and a generic hex editor. The first tool has one purpose, to twiddle embedding bits. The second tool has lots of commercially significant purposes many unrelated to any kind of circumvention.
Depends on how you look at it. You could also say that the pen has one purpose: to mark things with ink. The question in the former case is, what are the various uses of twiddling those embedded bits?
I keep hearing about how the lack of desktop standardization concerning Gnome and KDE is such a problem, and I have to say that I really don't understand how. You don't NEED Gnome to run an app that was written using the GTK+ toolkit, nor do you need KDE to run a Qt app. Why can't developers like Microsoft or whoever just pick a toolkit and use it?
I don't think engineers are to blame, here. I don't think simple idiocy is to blame, either; I suspect that most people who can't seem to program their VCRs are every bit as intelligent as you and me.
I think apathy is to blame.
I think people simply don't try. They poke at their VCR remote for a couple of minutes, then throw up their hands and shout, "It's beyond me!" Seriously - how many times have you tried to solve a problem like this - I mean, REALLY tried, as in, for more than a few minutes, and with some structure to your problem-solving, as opposed to just blundering around - and been totally unable to get anywhere? Probably not very many. I think if these people would get out their manual and sit down and really give it a try, they'd be surprised at how easy it is to set that VCR clock.
Of course, if the problem is that your software doesn't work because it's buggy, it doesn't really matter how hard you try to solve it (unless it's open source).:)
Yeah, games-turned-movies usually suck, but the Final Fantasy series is kind of a different case; it's open-ended. One game has nothing to do with another in the series. I get the feeling the only thing this movie will have in common with the Final Fantasy series is its name and the people who worked on it. It has the potential to be really, really good.
At any rate, I'm looking forward to seeing the new Wing Commander movie this year, too.:)
Anyone else find it amusing that it seems that there are more "ordinary" people pretending to be Microsoft employees in their posts here than vice-versa?
Slashdot Mirror
In the 80's, the Japanese industry/government complex declared a massive project to completely redefine and *own* operating systems and application software.
Since at the time, they had finished doing just that with consumer electronics industry and were well on the way to doing just that to the automotive industry, most CS types were justifably concerned.
Well, the rest of the story is that it didn't happen. Not even a whimper of it got over to the western world.
Nope. That honor instead belongs to India.
-W
Yep. Just like Unisys just wanted its LZW patents to be respected. Remember how happy people were about that?
-W
Obligatory Douglas Adams quote:
"This is rather as if you imagine a puddle waking up one morning and thinking, 'This is an interesting world I find myself in--an interesting hole I find myself in--fits me rather neatly, doesn't it? In fact it fits me staggeringly well, must have been made to have me in it!' This is such a powerful idea that as the sun rises in the sky and the air heats up and as, gradually, the puddle gets smaller and smaller, it's still frantically hanging on to the notion that everything's going to be alright, because this world was meant to have him in it, was built to have him in it; so the moment he disappears catches him rather by surprise."
-W
I would have guessed Dragon Warrior (Dragon Quest in Japan). Fairy Water.
-W
-W
I dunno...I remember having a hard time with that class. Granted, it was over three years ago...
Anyway, I've got a good programming job now, so I can blissfully block out such painful memories.
What, you can afford Photoshop, but can't find a lousy $70 for Panther? Golly, your copy of Photoshop isn't ILLEGAL, is it?
:)
Don't mind me. Just giving you a hard time.
-W
Enter the Matrix, like every movie-franchise video game adaptation, sucked.
"Every" movie game adaptation? "Spider-Man: The Movie" did pretty well, and is, IMO, a really fun game. Never before or since have I really had the feeling in such a game that I was controlling a true super-hero.
The appeal is that I can buy two good songs off of an otherwise crappy CD for $2, rather than being forced to buy the whole CD for $12+.
What possible advantage is there to this crippleware?
It's not so bad. Burn the AAC files to a CD, and rip them into MP3. Voila. (As for sound quality, I've done this and have zero complaints.)
-W
No, you stupid fuck, but modding it IS something you should be able to do. Fuck, you people can be stupid.
They left out Caleb from Blood. I liked that game even more than Duke Nukem 3D.
"Whooah! Oh...it's just me..."
-Caleb, after looking in the mirror
How about Cloudscape?
I know this is an old message, but as a recent Mac convert, I feel the need to point out that Mac fanaticism is not a cause, but an effect... :)
This would totally shambone GPLed software creators. Just thought I'd point that out.
A better question: why should it?
Copyright is a right that's granted to us by our government, not an innate, God-given right. Copyright is a gift to creators. It will expire eventually; that's the price you pay for the gift, as well as the benefit society receives for the granting of the gift.
As others have said, if you want to refuse that gift because the price is too high, that's your right. Just keep your creation to yourself.
That's what VIII's item refinement system was for.
Tricksy, they are. Tricksy and FALSE!
Have you tried to KREBF your REZROV account?
Or maybe you BLORBed your AIMFIZ account, to protect it from spam...
Somebody stop me...
-Will
Depends on how you look at it. You could also say that the pen has one purpose: to mark things with ink. The question in the former case is, what are the various uses of twiddling those embedded bits?
I keep hearing about how the lack of desktop standardization concerning Gnome and KDE is such a problem, and I have to say that I really don't understand how. You don't NEED Gnome to run an app that was written using the GTK+ toolkit, nor do you need KDE to run a Qt app. Why can't developers like Microsoft or whoever just pick a toolkit and use it?
-Will
I don't think engineers are to blame, here. I don't think simple idiocy is to blame, either; I suspect that most people who can't seem to program their VCRs are every bit as intelligent as you and me.
:)
I think apathy is to blame.
I think people simply don't try. They poke at their VCR remote for a couple of minutes, then throw up their hands and shout, "It's beyond me!" Seriously - how many times have you tried to solve a problem like this - I mean, REALLY tried, as in, for more than a few minutes, and with some structure to your problem-solving, as opposed to just blundering around - and been totally unable to get anywhere? Probably not very many. I think if these people would get out their manual and sit down and really give it a try, they'd be surprised at how easy it is to set that VCR clock.
Of course, if the problem is that your software doesn't work because it's buggy, it doesn't really matter how hard you try to solve it (unless it's open source).
-Will
Er...where does it say that this is a "Linux page?"
Still, I do agree that "Your operating system sucks" is a poor way to sell Linux.
Yeah, games-turned-movies usually suck, but the Final Fantasy series is kind of a different case; it's open-ended. One game has nothing to do with another in the series. I get the feeling the only thing this movie will have in common with the Final Fantasy series is its name and the people who worked on it. It has the potential to be really, really good.
:)
At any rate, I'm looking forward to seeing the new Wing Commander movie this year, too.
Anyone else find it amusing that it seems that there are more "ordinary" people pretending to be Microsoft employees in their posts here than vice-versa?