How many games these days really do offer co-op gaming? I mean, so far I haven't seen a SINGLE game in years that offers the ability for you to play through the story mode with a friend/spouse/etc. No, they're all just rehashes of CTF or deathmatch, and those are stuffed in every single god damn game, regardless of whether it makes sense or not. But why, oh, why no co-op, ever?
Some of us aren't interested in competitive gaming against random *sshats, instead some of us wish to be able to share the story campaing with a close person. There's plenty of games that actually would offer huge amounts of fun if there was co-op included. A great, deep and insightful story is all the more worth it if you can share the tale with someone, but you don't always even need that; I remember back in the days when Unreal 1 was still new. The story was nothing too fancy or epic, it was mostly just a straight-forward FPS game. But when you set the difficulty level up a notch and joined in a co-op game it felt like a totally new experience compared to single-player. I think we eventually played it through something like 5 or 6 times, simply because it was fun every time.
Or am I just the odd one in the bunch again for wishing for good ol' co-op mode in games?
I've preferred to use Gnome over recent years as I just found KDE to be not right - couldn't get on with it. With the way both are now going, I can see myself having to switch again. Given my recent hunting round, I really hope that the Enlightenment crew actually get their shit together and get a stable, solid release that can be used as it is simple, clean, easy to use, easy to configure and add gadgets to.
I've had the opposite: KDE has not been able to get on with me! I've tried KDE4 every now and then, always with the intention of giving it some slack and trying to find out if I could like it, but.. well, every single god damn time there's always been something that has made me ditch it. Like for example the panel keeps crashing, or KWM keeps on crashing, or things do not respond to anything, and so on. I mean, I must be really unlucky or something but for me KDE4 has always been really, really unstable. That is already enough to drive me away.
Well, it doesn't really matter now. I don't have Linux on my desktop anymore at all, I've just grown frustrated with having to fix an issue here or there every day and I simply don't want that hassle anymore.
[quote]Even today I find myself at times unmoved when everyone around me is responding to another's strong feelings. I've certainly changed since I started socializing much more, but you could say my empathy development was delayed.[/quote]
I personally have no issue with such and my empathy development hasn't been delayed either. I find it very easy to relate to someone else's feelings, no matter if I've been in a similar situation or not. I just wonder if my gender has something to do with this or not. It could potentially have some relation to it, but I have no idea to how big degree.
Maybe it's boys (and girls for that matter) that spend all their time playing video games (violent or not) and no time socializing. The lack of social interaction would hinder the development of empathy. How are you supposed to empathize, with "that which has no life?" (Oblig. southpark quote)
I've always been introverted, very shy and I try to avoid any social interaction (except over virtual medias), I've never had more than 2-3 friends and I've always spent a lot of my time in front of the computer, usually playing violent games. Yet I am a very empathetic person (yes, pathetic too, but that's another matter) and everyone who knows me does attest to that. I like violent games and I often watch violent movies, too, yet I have trouble even killing insects not to mention doing anything aggressive towards any more intelligent life. I absolutely hate all kinds of aggressivenes and violence from the bottom of my heart in the real world, it's fun only when it's very clearly virtual.
So even that theory doesn't really hold water. Or I am the odd one in the bunch.
Services like Spotify already exist and are hugely popular in the UK meaning BT will have to go the extra mile to convince users they have a service worth using."
Let's hope they don't simply find it easier to degrade the quality of competing services. I get nervous (and cynical) when my ISP wants to sell me anything other than a pipe for bits.
Indeed. But given how good Spotify actually is already -- what with all kinds of info on artists and bands, absolutely humongous library of music, great sound quality, really low price even for the premium account etc. -- BT will have a really, really hard time going to be able to actually come up with anything Spotify doesn't already do. Which obviously leaves the choice of "accidental" connection issues with Spotify servers, lost packets and so on pretty much the only way for BT to drive their own service at home.
Suing Spotify is also a likely route, but since Spotify is fully legal service the only point in suing them would be the effort of trying to smear their public image. "If you can't do better than your competitor then smear them instead" is a popular method all over the world. Then again, Streisand effect might backfire.
You ain't the only one there. I personally much prefer using an external application to handle PDF files, mostly because browser-built-in PDF viewers are simply not as good: either they lack features, they're not as fast as external viewers, they're crashy, or if they happen to sport all the same features as an external viewer then it's a helluva mess with all the browser toolbars and buttons in addition to all the PDF controls. Ugh.
Format shifting is illegal in the UK. Fixing this, and adding explicit fair use provisions, are both things that David Cameron has proposed. Whether they'll actually be done is another matter. It's quite ludicrous that, as it stands, we have a law that pretty much everyone in the UK has violated.
That is... incredibly stupid. Atleast here in Finland you are legally allowed to make 2 backup copies of anything you have bought, and you are allowed to even break copy-protection schemes in order to do that as long as you don't give your backups to other people. These kinds of devices like the one in the article are quite popular and I can definitely see why. So far no one has been stupid enough to try to pull those "ripping your legally owned CDs is illegal" stunts here, and they sure wouldn't hold up in court.
I just feel it's so restrictive and inherently screwed up the way something like this is disallowed in the U.S. and the UK. It simply doesn't make common sense. Common sense says that you should be allowed to back up stuff you've paid for, simple as that.
Hmh. Well. This again proves that Finland is the best place on Earth to live;3
"third-party vendor Kroger uses to manage its customer "... why the hell are they using a third-party anything to manage THEIR customer data?
Oh, oh, I know! Because they don't care about their customers data, and want the option to sue + put the blame on someone if something goes wrong.
Ignorant comment.
Why do people outsource things to others when they can do it themselves? Like for example, why do people hire a company to fix their cars? Indeed: because the company has all the tools and expertise already, you'd have to first train yourself and then get all the necessary tools in order to do it. It's exactly the same with companies: if someone else can do the same job better, easier and cheaper than if you did it yourself then obviously it makes more sense to get the someone else to do it.
I personally love F/OSS, both as a movement and as software, but even I acknowledge that F/OSS way is simply non-sustainable for most companies. You said it quite well, but allow me to say it differently: you need to be constantly pushing out features and upgrades in order to stay afloat, and the more popular your software gets the more there will be competing projects with eventually more developers than you can afford to hire for your own team, and that's when your income plummets.
Red Hat for example is ages old and when they began their work it simply wasn't as easy as it is now for people from all parts of the world to download stuff and collaborate. But now if you get in the business and release your first, single product out in the open it'll most likely be picked up by atleast some people the same instant. Ie. Red Hat had the luxury of really good timing to get in the business and nowadays they are big enough to be able to sustain themselves; a small newcomer simply doesn't have the financial status or market weight to get themselves moving and sustain it nowadays if they plan to go F/OSS route.
I still feel like "The manuals contained information on how SCEA is located in California? The manuals were never opened." isn't that different from shouting "NANANANANANANANACANTHEARYOUNANANANANANA" while you have your fingers in your ears, as far as a defense goes...
Don't get me wrong, I hope he wins this. I just don't know that it's quite the "slam" the submitter thinks it is...
Sony claims he would have known where SCEA is located and that he is dealing with SCEA. But that is ONLY mentioned in the manual, nowhere else: not on the PS3 itself, not on the box, not in firmware.. And if he never read the manual there simply is no reason to expect him to have known about SCEA in the first place. Hell, I too own a PS3 and I had never even heard of SCEA before this whole thing started.
That's the whole point: no one can prove in any way or form that he should logically have known of the existence of SCEA, let alone where it is located, and that's why it is such a slam-dunk for defence.
If you wish to nitpick, then sure, let's do so: it depends on your viewpoint. For example from the viewpoint of large, international corporations it is indeed verily a need: they _need_ to please their share-holders, they _need_ to be able to protect themselves against other companies who are hoarding lawyers and just waiting for a time to strike, they _need_ a sizeable set of lawyers from many different fields of expertise in order to actually be able to do all that and so on. One could also argue that they feel they need lawyers as they feel pressure to go on the offensive and sue other companies.
From the standpoint of a regular consumer it can be seen as demand instead. A regular consumer doesn't 'need' a lawyer generally and can feel like all the power-play those aforementioned companies do could be done without lawyers and as such it isn't really a justifiable 'need' for lawyers, it is just a wish for them.
Indeed, it can be seen from several viewpoints, and most likely there are many more than just the two mentioned here.
Sometimes I feel I should just go ahead and start studying law simply because there seems to be ever-increasing need for lawyers. I mean, I would NEVER run out of work!
Well, if it helps her you can tell her she can talk to me about these things and how she feels. I know I am a complete stranger, but sometimes it's even easier to talk to someone you know you'll never meet face to face and who you don't know in any way or form. Atleast I've been around these circles for several years, with transsexual friends and all that, and I am almost the same age too.
So, I dunno, it's up to her if she just wants to open up to some random person on the Internet, I'm just offering a hand here. My e-mail should be visible in my profile.
The Bible isn't meant to be the sole rule of faith
Yet it is posed as such. Especially when something is questioned you get the response: "It says so in the bible and because bible is always true then it is so."
(plus sticking a reproductive organ into a digestive tract is just disgusting for so many reasons).
Really? I quite happen to enjoy being on the receiving side.
You probably cannot eliminate the urges, but if one actually wants to, and tries, they can repress those urges. It is similar to, an albeit much simpler impulse, to see some kind of food that looks tasty, but realize that you don't need it and it is better that you don't eat it. The impulse is there, but you can control the impulse, but again, only if you want to. Second, I don't see how not expressing your inner desires makes you a liar. If someone is OCD, does trying not to let it control them make them a liar?
Trying to pose to your companion and outer society as anything you aren't is akin to lying, so yeah, I do agree that it also applies to the actually horrible human traits like murderous tendencies or paedophilia.
" It's a fact, and at the age of 28 I do quite think I know myself well enough to know that it's not just something anyone can change."
I know people who didn't swing the other way until way into their 40s... you'd be surprised sexuality can change, though usually in the direction of bi-sexual and finding it unbearable to live with the other sex.
It could happen, I am not claiming otherwise, I am however saying that you can _force_ the change. If it comes with time then it comes with time, but there isn't really anything you can do to force it one way or the other. At most you can encourage suppressed tastes, but even then the result will not be guaranteed and it'll likely swing from side to side for a while before settling down.
the Bible also has nothing against lesbians, only gay males...
I know, though atleast here many churches and religious fanatics also preach that lesbianity is equally bad and sinful. Ie. even people believing in the same religion don't know what really is right and what is wrong. Yet they still feel they have the right to shove their views on others whether they want it or not.
I have a girlfriend who's in the middle of exactly that debate with herself right now, because her parents are vehemently religious, and she's trans. I'm really worried for how it's going to turn out for her, and I sincerely hope she can get the hell out of her parents' house and into a safe place soon.
This is probably the wrong place to discuss this as there are bound to come some nasty remarks later on, but I just thought to mention that I can understand what she's going through. I have two friends who happen to be FtM transsexuals and one of them happens to be from a very religious family so I have seen quite a lot and been there all the way from the start. Hopefully your girlfriend has the strength to go through the whole process and be herself.
If the on-iDevice microphone hears you mention Justin Bieber's ass it shows you a pair of tits?
Showing tits to a homosexual man would not get any reaction, or maybe disgust. Ie. it wouldn't work.
As an aside, I don't understand anyways how one could "cure" homosexuality. It's like saying you can cure someone from listening to metal, or from liking steaks. Atleast I know I can somehow just suddenly decide and stop being interested in other girls, no matter how hard I'd try. It's a fact, and at the age of 28 I do quite think I know myself well enough to know that it's not just something anyone can change.
And doesn't the bible anyways tell one must not lie? Isn't it also a form of lying to know that you're homosexual deep inside but try to pose as a heterosexual person, both to yourself and possible partners and outside society? Ergo, wouldn't it be against the bible, too? It's something that has always bothered me. Then again, bible has lots of things that get contradicted by the very same book they're in..
I suppose they mean 'permanent' in the sense that is it doesn't wear off by itself, you need to actively scrub it off to remove it. That is indeed quite a good definition of permanent in the sense that you most likely consider for example house paint permanent, but it too comes off if you actively scrub it long enough.
That was a good question actually. I just recently obtained my driver's license and a car so this is something I too should probably learn. Since you've gotten already several nice responces I'm just gonna thank you for posing the question in the first place:)
Do you feel that, for some reason, if configuration options are present, that you absolutely MUST go through them all?
I don't like clutter, simple as that. The few apps I've tried present you with a dozen toolbars, a menubar with gazillion menu entries, 3 tabs and atleast 3 different content boxes, so it is distracting.
I could also mention how I just installed KDE4 again two days ago just to give it another try, but as soon as I logged in and tried to move the panel to top of the screen the whole thing crashed on me.. I simply left it at that:/
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How many games these days really do offer co-op gaming? I mean, so far I haven't seen a SINGLE game in years that offers the ability for you to play through the story mode with a friend/spouse/etc. No, they're all just rehashes of CTF or deathmatch, and those are stuffed in every single god damn game, regardless of whether it makes sense or not. But why, oh, why no co-op, ever?
Some of us aren't interested in competitive gaming against random *sshats, instead some of us wish to be able to share the story campaing with a close person. There's plenty of games that actually would offer huge amounts of fun if there was co-op included. A great, deep and insightful story is all the more worth it if you can share the tale with someone, but you don't always even need that; I remember back in the days when Unreal 1 was still new. The story was nothing too fancy or epic, it was mostly just a straight-forward FPS game. But when you set the difficulty level up a notch and joined in a co-op game it felt like a totally new experience compared to single-player. I think we eventually played it through something like 5 or 6 times, simply because it was fun every time.
Or am I just the odd one in the bunch again for wishing for good ol' co-op mode in games?
I've preferred to use Gnome over recent years as I just found KDE to be not right - couldn't get on with it. With the way both are now going, I can see myself having to switch again. Given my recent hunting round, I really hope that the Enlightenment crew actually get their shit together and get a stable, solid release that can be used as it is simple, clean, easy to use, easy to configure and add gadgets to.
I've had the opposite: KDE has not been able to get on with me! I've tried KDE4 every now and then, always with the intention of giving it some slack and trying to find out if I could like it, but.. well, every single god damn time there's always been something that has made me ditch it. Like for example the panel keeps crashing, or KWM keeps on crashing, or things do not respond to anything, and so on. I mean, I must be really unlucky or something but for me KDE4 has always been really, really unstable. That is already enough to drive me away.
Well, it doesn't really matter now. I don't have Linux on my desktop anymore at all, I've just grown frustrated with having to fix an issue here or there every day and I simply don't want that hassle anymore.
[quote]Even today I find myself at times unmoved when everyone around me is responding to another's strong feelings. I've certainly changed since I started socializing much more, but you could say my empathy development was delayed.[/quote]
I personally have no issue with such and my empathy development hasn't been delayed either. I find it very easy to relate to someone else's feelings, no matter if I've been in a similar situation or not. I just wonder if my gender has something to do with this or not. It could potentially have some relation to it, but I have no idea to how big degree.
Maybe it's boys (and girls for that matter) that spend all their time playing video games (violent or not) and no time socializing. The lack of social interaction would hinder the development of empathy. How are you supposed to empathize, with "that which has no life?" (Oblig. southpark quote)
I've always been introverted, very shy and I try to avoid any social interaction (except over virtual medias), I've never had more than 2-3 friends and I've always spent a lot of my time in front of the computer, usually playing violent games. Yet I am a very empathetic person (yes, pathetic too, but that's another matter) and everyone who knows me does attest to that. I like violent games and I often watch violent movies, too, yet I have trouble even killing insects not to mention doing anything aggressive towards any more intelligent life. I absolutely hate all kinds of aggressivenes and violence from the bottom of my heart in the real world, it's fun only when it's very clearly virtual.
So even that theory doesn't really hold water. Or I am the odd one in the bunch.
Let's hope they don't simply find it easier to degrade the quality of competing services. I get nervous (and cynical) when my ISP wants to sell me anything other than a pipe for bits.
Indeed. But given how good Spotify actually is already -- what with all kinds of info on artists and bands, absolutely humongous library of music, great sound quality, really low price even for the premium account etc. -- BT will have a really, really hard time going to be able to actually come up with anything Spotify doesn't already do. Which obviously leaves the choice of "accidental" connection issues with Spotify servers, lost packets and so on pretty much the only way for BT to drive their own service at home.
Suing Spotify is also a likely route, but since Spotify is fully legal service the only point in suing them would be the effort of trying to smear their public image. "If you can't do better than your competitor then smear them instead" is a popular method all over the world. Then again, Streisand effect might backfire.
Yes. I'd rather have an external app.
You ain't the only one there. I personally much prefer using an external application to handle PDF files, mostly because browser-built-in PDF viewers are simply not as good: either they lack features, they're not as fast as external viewers, they're crashy, or if they happen to sport all the same features as an external viewer then it's a helluva mess with all the browser toolbars and buttons in addition to all the PDF controls. Ugh.
Format shifting is illegal in the UK. Fixing this, and adding explicit fair use provisions, are both things that David Cameron has proposed. Whether they'll actually be done is another matter. It's quite ludicrous that, as it stands, we have a law that pretty much everyone in the UK has violated.
That is... incredibly stupid. Atleast here in Finland you are legally allowed to make 2 backup copies of anything you have bought, and you are allowed to even break copy-protection schemes in order to do that as long as you don't give your backups to other people. These kinds of devices like the one in the article are quite popular and I can definitely see why. So far no one has been stupid enough to try to pull those "ripping your legally owned CDs is illegal" stunts here, and they sure wouldn't hold up in court.
I just feel it's so restrictive and inherently screwed up the way something like this is disallowed in the U.S. and the UK. It simply doesn't make common sense. Common sense says that you should be allowed to back up stuff you've paid for, simple as that.
Hmh. Well. This again proves that Finland is the best place on Earth to live ;3
"third-party vendor Kroger uses to manage its customer "... why the hell are they using a third-party anything to manage THEIR customer data?
Oh, oh, I know! Because they don't care about their customers data, and want the option to sue + put the blame on someone if something goes wrong.
Ignorant comment.
Why do people outsource things to others when they can do it themselves? Like for example, why do people hire a company to fix their cars? Indeed: because the company has all the tools and expertise already, you'd have to first train yourself and then get all the necessary tools in order to do it. It's exactly the same with companies: if someone else can do the same job better, easier and cheaper than if you did it yourself then obviously it makes more sense to get the someone else to do it.
The punishment for the leak should be that Kroger has to abandon any attempts to collect or store information about their customers.
They're a grocery store. They don't need that info.
Why should they be forced to do that? It's not Kroger's fault in the first place, it's Epsilon who made the mistake.
I personally love F/OSS, both as a movement and as software, but even I acknowledge that F/OSS way is simply non-sustainable for most companies. You said it quite well, but allow me to say it differently: you need to be constantly pushing out features and upgrades in order to stay afloat, and the more popular your software gets the more there will be competing projects with eventually more developers than you can afford to hire for your own team, and that's when your income plummets.
Red Hat for example is ages old and when they began their work it simply wasn't as easy as it is now for people from all parts of the world to download stuff and collaborate. But now if you get in the business and release your first, single product out in the open it'll most likely be picked up by atleast some people the same instant. Ie. Red Hat had the luxury of really good timing to get in the business and nowadays they are big enough to be able to sustain themselves; a small newcomer simply doesn't have the financial status or market weight to get themselves moving and sustain it nowadays if they plan to go F/OSS route.
I still feel like "The manuals contained information on how SCEA is located in California? The manuals were never opened." isn't that different from shouting "NANANANANANANANACANTHEARYOUNANANANANANA" while you have your fingers in your ears, as far as a defense goes...
Don't get me wrong, I hope he wins this. I just don't know that it's quite the "slam" the submitter thinks it is...
Sony claims he would have known where SCEA is located and that he is dealing with SCEA. But that is ONLY mentioned in the manual, nowhere else: not on the PS3 itself, not on the box, not in firmware.. And if he never read the manual there simply is no reason to expect him to have known about SCEA in the first place. Hell, I too own a PS3 and I had never even heard of SCEA before this whole thing started.
That's the whole point: no one can prove in any way or form that he should logically have known of the existence of SCEA, let alone where it is located, and that's why it is such a slam-dunk for defence.
Don't worry, Sony has most likely already drafted up a proposal for confiscating his fingers too, preferably with something very dull and painful.
Duke WAS awesome. He has developed some... character issues over the last ten years, though.
http://thepunchlineismachismo.com/archives/275
demand != need
If you wish to nitpick, then sure, let's do so: it depends on your viewpoint. For example from the viewpoint of large, international corporations it is indeed verily a need: they _need_ to please their share-holders, they _need_ to be able to protect themselves against other companies who are hoarding lawyers and just waiting for a time to strike, they _need_ a sizeable set of lawyers from many different fields of expertise in order to actually be able to do all that and so on. One could also argue that they feel they need lawyers as they feel pressure to go on the offensive and sue other companies.
From the standpoint of a regular consumer it can be seen as demand instead. A regular consumer doesn't 'need' a lawyer generally and can feel like all the power-play those aforementioned companies do could be done without lawyers and as such it isn't really a justifiable 'need' for lawyers, it is just a wish for them.
Indeed, it can be seen from several viewpoints, and most likely there are many more than just the two mentioned here.
Sometimes I feel I should just go ahead and start studying law simply because there seems to be ever-increasing need for lawyers. I mean, I would NEVER run out of work!
Well, if it helps her you can tell her she can talk to me about these things and how she feels. I know I am a complete stranger, but sometimes it's even easier to talk to someone you know you'll never meet face to face and who you don't know in any way or form. Atleast I've been around these circles for several years, with transsexual friends and all that, and I am almost the same age too.
So, I dunno, it's up to her if she just wants to open up to some random person on the Internet, I'm just offering a hand here. My e-mail should be visible in my profile.
There are a lot of apparent contractions
Indeed, there are usually LOTS of contractions when men have sex..... ;)
The Bible isn't meant to be the sole rule of faith
Yet it is posed as such. Especially when something is questioned you get the response: "It says so in the bible and because bible is always true then it is so."
(plus sticking a reproductive organ into a digestive tract is just disgusting for so many reasons).
Really? I quite happen to enjoy being on the receiving side.
You probably cannot eliminate the urges, but if one actually wants to, and tries, they can repress those urges. It is similar to, an albeit much simpler impulse, to see some kind of food that looks tasty, but realize that you don't need it and it is better that you don't eat it. The impulse is there, but you can control the impulse, but again, only if you want to.
Second, I don't see how not expressing your inner desires makes you a liar. If someone is OCD, does trying not to let it control them make them a liar?
Trying to pose to your companion and outer society as anything you aren't is akin to lying, so yeah, I do agree that it also applies to the actually horrible human traits like murderous tendencies or paedophilia.
" It's a fact, and at the age of 28 I do quite think I know myself well enough to know that it's not just something anyone can change."
I know people who didn't swing the other way until way into their 40s... you'd be surprised sexuality can change, though usually in the direction of bi-sexual and finding it unbearable to live with the other sex.
It could happen, I am not claiming otherwise, I am however saying that you can _force_ the change. If it comes with time then it comes with time, but there isn't really anything you can do to force it one way or the other. At most you can encourage suppressed tastes, but even then the result will not be guaranteed and it'll likely swing from side to side for a while before settling down.
the Bible also has nothing against lesbians, only gay males...
I know, though atleast here many churches and religious fanatics also preach that lesbianity is equally bad and sinful. Ie. even people believing in the same religion don't know what really is right and what is wrong. Yet they still feel they have the right to shove their views on others whether they want it or not.
I have a girlfriend who's in the middle of exactly that debate with herself right now, because her parents are vehemently religious, and she's trans. I'm really worried for how it's going to turn out for her, and I sincerely hope she can get the hell out of her parents' house and into a safe place soon.
This is probably the wrong place to discuss this as there are bound to come some nasty remarks later on, but I just thought to mention that I can understand what she's going through. I have two friends who happen to be FtM transsexuals and one of them happens to be from a very religious family so I have seen quite a lot and been there all the way from the start. Hopefully your girlfriend has the strength to go through the whole process and be herself.
If the on-iDevice microphone hears you mention Justin Bieber's ass it shows you a pair of tits?
Showing tits to a homosexual man would not get any reaction, or maybe disgust. Ie. it wouldn't work.
As an aside, I don't understand anyways how one could "cure" homosexuality. It's like saying you can cure someone from listening to metal, or from liking steaks. Atleast I know I can somehow just suddenly decide and stop being interested in other girls, no matter how hard I'd try. It's a fact, and at the age of 28 I do quite think I know myself well enough to know that it's not just something anyone can change.
And doesn't the bible anyways tell one must not lie? Isn't it also a form of lying to know that you're homosexual deep inside but try to pose as a heterosexual person, both to yourself and possible partners and outside society? Ergo, wouldn't it be against the bible, too? It's something that has always bothered me. Then again, bible has lots of things that get contradicted by the very same book they're in..
I suppose they mean 'permanent' in the sense that is it doesn't wear off by itself, you need to actively scrub it off to remove it. That is indeed quite a good definition of permanent in the sense that you most likely consider for example house paint permanent, but it too comes off if you actively scrub it long enough.
That was a good question actually. I just recently obtained my driver's license and a car so this is something I too should probably learn. Since you've gotten already several nice responces I'm just gonna thank you for posing the question in the first place :)
Do you feel that, for some reason, if configuration options are present, that you absolutely MUST go through them all?
I don't like clutter, simple as that. The few apps I've tried present you with a dozen toolbars, a menubar with gazillion menu entries, 3 tabs and atleast 3 different content boxes, so it is distracting.
I could also mention how I just installed KDE4 again two days ago just to give it another try, but as soon as I logged in and tried to move the panel to top of the screen the whole thing crashed on me.. I simply left it at that :/