It's not just computer gaming that people are developing on their own. I was part of a small board gaming group that informally meets at RIT.
While we primarily focus on playing euro-based board games, we've test played quite a few games that individuals have come up with. We play, think about what happened, then come up with suggestions on how the game can be better.
True, sometimes the games are knock-offs of others with little twists (We had a game called Feregi that was based on the German bidding game Kohle, Kie$ & Knete), but more often, the games were true originals.
It takes some thought to make a game. it takes a lot of thought to make a good game.
My opposition to it comes from the fact that in many places it's getting harder and harder to get government ID, and that government ID is required to vote.
In Rochester, NY for example, they closed the only downtown DMV office that was left. Now, people in the city have to drive (or try to take public transportation) out to the DMV's in the suburbs. Sure, they set up a "mobile DMV office" that goes to various locations there, but it's been highly ineffective. According to the Democrat and Chronicle, the downtown location used to service 370 transactions/day. The mobile location serves an average of 63 per day in the scant 5 hours it is open.
Thankfully, the state is stepping in and reversing it's earlier decision and will open a new downtown DMV branch, but still, I worry about the impact that the requirements will have on voter turnout. It might be "not worth it" for a large number of eligible voters.
One other thing that's going on right now is that a New York based environmentalist group has started the NY Energy Challenge. Basically, they're challenging people to pledge to consume less energy by replacing incandescent bulbs with compact flourescent bulbs, air dry dishes in dishwashers, replacing inefficient appliances with more efficient models, or by installing renewable energy systems in their homes.
The primary goal is to show that New York doesn't need the 2,000Mw of energy that is generated by Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant.
While those people have their own reasons for energy conservation and people may agree or disagree with it, the overall goal of reducing our dependency on using non-renewable power sources is a very good one.
I mean, heck, even here in the US where everyone tends to freak out about privacy concerns you need to both register to vote, and have some sort of ID (driver's license or voter registration card) on you to vote.
Until the "Help America [Not] Vote Act" was passed, ID wasn't reqired in some places. In New York, for example, all you had to do was show up at the polls, and sign the voter roll.
Your signature was checked by at least 2 independent checkers against the signature on file and you could vote based on whether the signatures matched. If there was a discrepancy or question, you voted on a paper-based provisional ballot and your eligibility would be determined by the county board of elections later on.
It's so easy to stick that on a post card. It also saves the band the hassles of having to go out and get a merchant account to accept credit cards. Sure, they take a cut of the sale to cover costs, but it's not too bad.
there can't be more than one distributor bringing the same music to the same store so we have to be the exclusive distributor of your digital music to these services (only) during the contract
There's a $35 fee to set up a CD with CDBaby to begin with, and if you want this, there's $40 more to process, store, and then send to any digital music provider that they sign up with in the future.
If dhovis figures are correct, from straight up downloads through iTunes, an artist will have to sell 128 tracks to break even on the fees ($75/$0.59). Once they do that, however, everything they sell is pure gravy. Since they're all indie artists, there's no recouping left to be done (though they'll probably have a few expenses of their own to pay.)
although if that were the only reason, the samples would be automatically destroyed at the end of the servicemember's contract.
If michael had bothered to read the second link, he would have seen this:
Once you complete your full service obligation, you also can request destruction of your DNA record.
Complete with where you can get the form and instructions. If he's in the military, then he's farked. If he was out of th emilitary though, it's his own damn problem.
And, if you checked your facts, you would remember that The Register is in Britain. And there, a million is the term we have for billion. And then they would be correct.
It's called anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.) $cientology was forced to pay a record $500,000 fine because of their continued legal badgering. (On top of a $2.5 million judgement that arose from a case filed in 1980 and dragged out for the better part of 22 years)
Oh, don't worry about re-investing in growth. Since Bush as pushed through the dividend tax cut, companies are saving up their money and will shell it out to their investors in 2004 (when the 0% tax on dividends goes into effect).
If a company isn't willing to spend it's money investing in itself, why should I?
Now, if they catch me downloading music off the 'Net that is ILLEGAL and come into my computer and find other music then I would assume it's my responsibility to prove myself innocent.
Who should give a private corporation the right to tresspass into your computer and take away your right of being innocent until proven guilty?
Yes, your original CD might have been consumed in a fire or stepped upon, but that is very unlikely all things considered,
Thankfully, in America, we have the standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt." for criminal acts. Unfortunatley, we have laws like the DMCA which have taken the courts out of upholding laws and have given copyright owners free reign over enforcement.
Second, when you share music, its no different than sharing your car, your TV, or anything else you physically own.
When you share your car or your TV, you no longer have posession of the car or TV. Unlike audio, when you send a file to someone, you still have the original and are not denied the ability to use it.
Well, to some essence. While doing research into reduced emission vehicles (Honda Insight, Honda Civic Hybrid, Prius, Toyota Prius, etc...), many areas allow hybrid/electric/alternate fuel vehicles to use carpool/HOV lanes without having a second passenger.
A simple google search shows that California, Georgia, Hawaii, Colorado, Arizona, Maryland, and Virginia allow them to, some do not allow hybrid vehichles to use their HOV lanes (only the SULEV and Zero Emission Vehicles).
A good article from the Associated Press shows that people are more than willing to consider paying a little extra for a vehicle that is allowed to use the HOV lanes. The fact that there's an added fuel efficiency is just a side note to people.
Give people a big enough carrot, and they'll bite. Sure, the cars are more expensive, but when you start combining federal clean air tax credit along with state tax credits and incentives, people will buy the cars.
They are taking note, but the only "legislation" they're proposing is being paid for by the Direct Marketing Association.
According to Spamhaus.org, all the proposed legislation basically legitimizes "opt-out" instead of requiring "opt-in" like the Europeans do.
All todays spammers applaud [Billy] Tauzin's [(R-LA), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce] "Reduction in Distribution of Spam Act", as does the Direct Marketing Association. It's what spammers have always dreamed of. They would no longer need to hide their identities to thwart disconnection, on the contrary, once spamming is legal they would be able to sue any Internet Service Providers who disconnect them for 'spamming legally'. All of todays spammers will instantly increase their volumes ten-fold flooding the Internet in 'legal' spams, "ADV: Grow your Penis", "ADV: Want Some Viagra?", "ADV: Wanna spy of your Wife?", etc. With the "Reduction in Distribution of Spam Act" we'll wish for the 'little' spam problem we had today when spam was only 50% of all email on the Internet.
Slashdot Mirror
And then Xerox gives up the technology, somebody else picks it up and makes a bundle.
Let's see... Mouse, GUI, Ethernet, Palm Graffiti, WYSIWYG word processors, and more
It's not just computer gaming that people are developing on their own. I was part of a small board gaming group that informally meets at RIT.
While we primarily focus on playing euro-based board games, we've test played quite a few games that individuals have come up with. We play, think about what happened, then come up with suggestions on how the game can be better.
True, sometimes the games are knock-offs of others with little twists (We had a game called Feregi that was based on the German bidding game Kohle, Kie$ & Knete), but more often, the games were true originals.
It takes some thought to make a game. it takes a lot of thought to make a good game.
My opposition to it comes from the fact that in many places it's getting harder and harder to get government ID, and that government ID is required to vote.
In Rochester, NY for example, they closed the only downtown DMV office that was left. Now, people in the city have to drive (or try to take public transportation) out to the DMV's in the suburbs. Sure, they set up a "mobile DMV office" that goes to various locations there, but it's been highly ineffective. According to the Democrat and Chronicle, the downtown location used to service 370 transactions/day. The mobile location serves an average of 63 per day in the scant 5 hours it is open.
Thankfully, the state is stepping in and reversing it's earlier decision and will open a new downtown DMV branch, but still, I worry about the impact that the requirements will have on voter turnout. It might be "not worth it" for a large number of eligible voters.
Try here. They have all sorts of goodies on their website. Guides to energy efficient housing, appliances, calculators, and links to other resources.
One other thing that's going on right now is that a New York based environmentalist group has started the NY Energy Challenge. Basically, they're challenging people to pledge to consume less energy by replacing incandescent bulbs with compact flourescent bulbs, air dry dishes in dishwashers, replacing inefficient appliances with more efficient models, or by installing renewable energy systems in their homes.
The primary goal is to show that New York doesn't need the 2,000Mw of energy that is generated by Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant.
While those people have their own reasons for energy conservation and people may agree or disagree with it, the overall goal of reducing our dependency on using non-renewable power sources is a very good one.
I mean, heck, even here in the US where everyone tends to freak out about privacy concerns you need to both register to vote, and have some sort of ID (driver's license or voter registration card) on you to vote.
Until the "Help America [Not] Vote Act" was passed, ID wasn't reqired in some places. In New York, for example, all you had to do was show up at the polls, and sign the voter roll.
Your signature was checked by at least 2 independent checkers against the signature on file and you could vote based on whether the signatures matched. If there was a discrepancy or question, you voted on a paper-based provisional ballot and your eligibility would be determined by the county board of elections later on.
It's a great site. Artists get a url like this:
http://www.cdbaby.com/marthastrouble.
It's so easy to stick that on a post card. It also saves the band the hassles of having to go out and get a merchant account to accept credit cards. Sure, they take a cut of the sale to cover costs, but it's not too bad.
Yeah, they do have to "sign a contract".
From the link:
there can't be more than one distributor bringing the same music to the same store so we have to be the exclusive distributor of your digital music to these services (only) during the contract
There's a $35 fee to set up a CD with CDBaby to begin with, and if you want this, there's $40 more to process, store, and then send to any digital music provider that they sign up with in the future.
If dhovis figures are correct, from straight up downloads through iTunes, an artist will have to sell 128 tracks to break even on the fees ($75/$0.59). Once they do that, however, everything they sell is pure gravy. Since they're all indie artists, there's no recouping left to be done (though they'll probably have a few expenses of their own to pay.)
Yeah, but waht if it's a girl to begin with?
What do you mean by the word "is"?
Or Shakespeare.
"When shall we three meet again, in thunder, lightning, or rain?"
Becomes
Wsw3ma-itlor
You have capital letter, number, and punctuation symbol.
Time for a new password? Flip to another passage.
although if that were the only reason, the samples would be automatically destroyed at the end of the servicemember's contract.
If michael had bothered to read the second link, he would have seen this:
Once you complete your full service obligation, you also can request destruction of your DNA record.
Complete with where you can get the form and instructions. If he's in the military, then he's farked. If he was out of th emilitary though, it's his own damn problem.
And, if you checked your facts, you would remember that The Register is in Britain. And there, a million is the term we have for billion. And then they would be correct.
And you can find a translation guide here.
It's called anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.) $cientology was forced to pay a record $500,000 fine because of their continued legal badgering. (On top of a $2.5 million judgement that arose from a case filed in 1980 and dragged out for the better part of 22 years)
Yeah, but with IP over Sheep Carriers, your "denial of service" is called "Emeril LaGasse with a shotgun".
Oh, don't worry about re-investing in growth. Since Bush as pushed through the dividend tax cut, companies are saving up their money and will shell it out to their investors in 2004 (when the 0% tax on dividends goes into effect).
If a company isn't willing to spend it's money investing in itself, why should I?
And for a donation of $1,000,000 or more, Asa Dotzler will personally come to your house and rearrange your stuffed animals.
I was equating share with "lend" or "borrow".
Now, if they catch me downloading music off the 'Net that is ILLEGAL and come into my computer and find other music then I would assume it's my responsibility to prove myself innocent.
Who should give a private corporation the right to tresspass into your computer and take away your right of being innocent until proven guilty?
Yes, your original CD might have been consumed in a fire or stepped upon, but that is very unlikely all things considered,
Thankfully, in America, we have the standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt." for criminal acts. Unfortunatley, we have laws like the DMCA which have taken the courts out of upholding laws and have given copyright owners free reign over enforcement.
Second, when you share music, its no different than sharing your car, your TV, or anything else you physically own.
When you share your car or your TV, you no longer have posession of the car or TV. Unlike audio, when you send a file to someone, you still have the original and are not denied the ability to use it.
You could live on the outskirts of a small city and get nearly no reception on a cell phone. That would be enough to convince you to get a land line.
*ring* *ring*
Me: "Hey mom!"
Mom: "Hello?"
Me: "Hi!"
Mom: "Hello?"
Me: "Can you hear me?"
Mom: *click*
Well, to some essence. While doing research into reduced emission vehicles (Honda Insight, Honda Civic Hybrid, Prius, Toyota Prius, etc...), many areas allow hybrid/electric/alternate fuel vehicles to use carpool/HOV lanes without having a second passenger.
A simple google search shows that California, Georgia, Hawaii, Colorado, Arizona, Maryland, and Virginia allow them to, some do not allow hybrid vehichles to use their HOV lanes (only the SULEV and Zero Emission Vehicles).
A good article from the Associated Press shows that people are more than willing to consider paying a little extra for a vehicle that is allowed to use the HOV lanes. The fact that there's an added fuel efficiency is just a side note to people.
Give people a big enough carrot, and they'll bite. Sure, the cars are more expensive, but when you start combining federal clean air tax credit along with state tax credits and incentives, people will buy the cars.
They are taking note, but the only "legislation" they're proposing is being paid for by the Direct Marketing Association.
According to Spamhaus.org, all the proposed legislation basically legitimizes "opt-out" instead of requiring "opt-in" like the Europeans do.
All todays spammers applaud [Billy] Tauzin's [(R-LA), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce] "Reduction in Distribution of Spam Act", as does the Direct Marketing Association. It's what spammers have always dreamed of. They would no longer need to hide their identities to thwart disconnection, on the contrary, once spamming is legal they would be able to sue any Internet Service Providers who disconnect them for 'spamming legally'. All of todays spammers will instantly increase their volumes ten-fold flooding the Internet in 'legal' spams, "ADV: Grow your Penis", "ADV: Want Some Viagra?", "ADV: Wanna spy of your Wife?", etc. With the "Reduction in Distribution of Spam Act" we'll wish for the 'little' spam problem we had today when spam was only 50% of all email on the Internet.
And laws. Many states have limits on how long you're allowed to idle a diesel engine.