Hey! If it wasn't for MS security I wouldn't have a job!
Quite bluntly, the whole IT security owes MS big time. If they didn't get people used to crappy security, people would actually be outraged now about all the security holes in various hard- and software. But since people are used to it, companies get away with it and I get paid well to plug those holes.
Yes, professional e-sports is a thing, and yes, endorsements by the stars is valuable to prospective sponsors, but I doubt that this is ever going to become as big as current pro-sports like football or (outside the US) the real kind of football that you actually play with your feet. I don't doubt that you can attract a few thousands to a couple ten thousand people to come to some global event, and you will find a million or ten to watch it if broadcast world wide, but that's basically your potential market. You also can't do that on a weekly base like the various sports events now without saturating the market very quickly.
Yes, there is a market. But I doubt that it will ever become any bigger than for other niche games like chess or curling. There are also fans of either, but neither has any kind of mass appeal.
So what you have here is 36 million viewers for the top gaming events and 30k people attending physically. Compare the former to some YouTube videos of some YouTube "stars" and the latter to the average E3 (or BlizzCon) attendance number and you'll see that this is pretty much what I was talking about: People who are not only interested in a certain activity but are most likely actively participating in it and only because of this interested in watching those that are good at it.
There isn't much room for increasing those numbers unless playing computer games in a competitive multiplayer environment becomes the favorite pastime of a sizable portion of the population.
Thanks for the offer, and I hope you have more luck than I did.
Asus Xonar Essence STX (works as stereo sound card, but no Dolby or other features the card supports) Mad Catz R.A.T. 7 Gaming Maus (buttons don't work, and the alleged fix fixes nothing) Sharkoon Shark Zone K30 Gaming-Tastatur (works as a normal keyboard, but with none of the extra buttons and it's a gamble whether the Windows-Keys are on or off) Trackir 5 Pro (didn't spend much time on it but so far I couldn't get it to work) Thrustmaster Hotas Warthog Joystick (programming software does not work in Wine/Linux and the throttle doesn't work properly) Saitek Pro Flight Rudder Pedals (Brake function (X/Z axis, IIRC) doesn't work)
And let's face it, playing computer games is no spectator sport. Of course you will have a few people who would watch because they're interested in the game itself, the same way you have a handful of people wanting to watch chess, people who are playing themselves and want to watch people who can play well, maybe learn a thing or two or just watch how the "pros" are doing it, but there is simply no mass appeal like with football, soccer or basketball, where people who are not playing themselves are interested in watching, even if they don't really know all the rules and wouldn't even dream of playing themselves.
So far I cannot identify a single computer game where this was the case. Any "professional" computer gaming only attracts other players as spectators, but it has never really gained any traction outside of gamer circles.
And I'm sure you have a driver for my Asus sound card (that will make it work in 7.1 instead of just stereo), for my gaming keyboard, a way to make the mouse work (it doesn't in Mint for some odd reason, even the alleged fix doesn't make it work, and I'd already be happy if at least the main buttons worked, I don't even insist in all the other ones), to get TrackIR to work properly, as well as the Thrustmaster Warthog (I'm willing to configure it in Windows if you refuse to create programming software for Linux for it (no, doesn't work in Wine), but I would at least want to USE it).
And when you're done with that, find me some Linux drivers for all the hilariously incompatible hardware Asus stuffed into its G752 laptop.
You see, the problem isn't software. It's hardware. Yes, Linux works fine with "normal" hardware. It even has drivers for the most esoteric raidcontroller in the world. But when it comes to gaming hardware, we're still running into very basic problems.
You know what's funny? That there will almost certainly be someone who is willing and able to develop a tool to get rid of it. Maybe for a price, but people are willing and able to pay that price for their privacy.
MS could have had that money. And far more easily than whoever will develop that anti-spy tool.
And it's free for anyone wanting to take it because I'm, to be honest, too lazy to carry it out.
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At least nobody anyone gives a shit about. Germans simply used YouTube proxies and came from Finland, Austria, Russia or if everything fails Malaysia and watched whatever they wanted to watch.
It was business as usual. Artificial blockages were treated like bugs and routed around. As far as most of Germany was concerned, this was a non-issue.
And as long as they find people who buy it regardless, they will continue doing it. Maybe their target audience really doesn't want one, or at the very least doesn't care about having one, so it's sensible not to include one. I, for one, wouldn't need one. But then again, I need something more useful than a MacBook in general, so I'm not the target audience either.
But there seems to be some kind of customer that obviously doesn't care about SD-Cards slots. Or at least Apple hopes there is.
Find a news story about any of the recent black involved shootings. Look at the names.
OK, let's see. I'll take the easy way out and simply crib from a page that lists a bunch of people who have been shot by the police. Before anyone asks, it's the result of a Google search and the first page that had a decent number of names. The complete list can be found here.
Keith Childress Bettie Jones Kevin Mathews Leroy Browning Roy Nelson Miguel Espinal (Hey that's... no, wait, that's Mexican. Does it count? On a scale of black to white, is Mexican black enough?) Nathaniel Pickett Tiara Thomas (ok, that one is, right?) Cornelius Brown Chandra Weaver Jamar Clark (Hey, that name is so black it can play basketball by itself!) Richard Perkins Stephen Tooson Michael Lee Marshall Alonzo Smith Yvens Seide (that one is at least odd, but black? Sounds more like French... ok, let's be honest, I wouldn't wanna drive Frenchies either, so it counts) Anthony Ashford Lamontez Jones (Hey, another hit) Rayshaun Cole (Is that black? At least it's an odd name, let's count it) Paterson Brown Christopher Kimble Junior Prosper (Is that even a name? It counts!) Keith McLeod Wayne Wheeler India Kager (Now that's one name that sure counts! Navy Vet or not) Tyree Crawford (Hey, hey, we at least found ONE that fits the stereotype!) James Carney Felix Kumi
And so on. So are there "black" names? Probably. But they sure are outnumbered by names that I would stereotypically expect from white people. Felix. Keith. James. Michael.
So you can maybe point out how I should have known from the name alone that these people are black?
Actually, I would already do it if I had the chance. But try to find anything domestic made. Clothing? Hardly possible. Electronics? Absolutely impossible. Like George Carlin once said when he went on stage flying a Chinese flag. "I fly this flag proudly, because this flag, unlike any US flag I could find, was made in the U.S.A."
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Is that like the "better" sound audiophiles can hear?
Hey! If it wasn't for MS security I wouldn't have a job!
Quite bluntly, the whole IT security owes MS big time. If they didn't get people used to crappy security, people would actually be outraged now about all the security holes in various hard- and software. But since people are used to it, companies get away with it and I get paid well to plug those holes.
At least once MS is at the leading edge of development: Outsourcing C-Level Management to India.
Yes playing video games is a huge market. Watching video games not so much.
Yes, professional e-sports is a thing, and yes, endorsements by the stars is valuable to prospective sponsors, but I doubt that this is ever going to become as big as current pro-sports like football or (outside the US) the real kind of football that you actually play with your feet. I don't doubt that you can attract a few thousands to a couple ten thousand people to come to some global event, and you will find a million or ten to watch it if broadcast world wide, but that's basically your potential market. You also can't do that on a weekly base like the various sports events now without saturating the market very quickly.
Yes, there is a market. But I doubt that it will ever become any bigger than for other niche games like chess or curling. There are also fans of either, but neither has any kind of mass appeal.
So what you have here is 36 million viewers for the top gaming events and 30k people attending physically. Compare the former to some YouTube videos of some YouTube "stars" and the latter to the average E3 (or BlizzCon) attendance number and you'll see that this is pretty much what I was talking about: People who are not only interested in a certain activity but are most likely actively participating in it and only because of this interested in watching those that are good at it.
There isn't much room for increasing those numbers unless playing computer games in a competitive multiplayer environment becomes the favorite pastime of a sizable portion of the population.
Well, it's the only thing he does regret. There's plenty more he should. And probably would if he was smart.
If my business was selling snakeoil, I'd be calling medicine cancer, too.
Thanks for the offer, and I hope you have more luck than I did.
Asus Xonar Essence STX (works as stereo sound card, but no Dolby or other features the card supports)
Mad Catz R.A.T. 7 Gaming Maus (buttons don't work, and the alleged fix fixes nothing)
Sharkoon Shark Zone K30 Gaming-Tastatur (works as a normal keyboard, but with none of the extra buttons and it's a gamble whether the Windows-Keys are on or off)
Trackir 5 Pro (didn't spend much time on it but so far I couldn't get it to work)
Thrustmaster Hotas Warthog Joystick (programming software does not work in Wine/Linux and the throttle doesn't work properly)
Saitek Pro Flight Rudder Pedals (Brake function (X/Z axis, IIRC) doesn't work)
Good luck.
And let's face it, playing computer games is no spectator sport. Of course you will have a few people who would watch because they're interested in the game itself, the same way you have a handful of people wanting to watch chess, people who are playing themselves and want to watch people who can play well, maybe learn a thing or two or just watch how the "pros" are doing it, but there is simply no mass appeal like with football, soccer or basketball, where people who are not playing themselves are interested in watching, even if they don't really know all the rules and wouldn't even dream of playing themselves.
So far I cannot identify a single computer game where this was the case. Any "professional" computer gaming only attracts other players as spectators, but it has never really gained any traction outside of gamer circles.
And I'm sure you have a driver for my Asus sound card (that will make it work in 7.1 instead of just stereo), for my gaming keyboard, a way to make the mouse work (it doesn't in Mint for some odd reason, even the alleged fix doesn't make it work, and I'd already be happy if at least the main buttons worked, I don't even insist in all the other ones), to get TrackIR to work properly, as well as the Thrustmaster Warthog (I'm willing to configure it in Windows if you refuse to create programming software for Linux for it (no, doesn't work in Wine), but I would at least want to USE it).
And when you're done with that, find me some Linux drivers for all the hilariously incompatible hardware Asus stuffed into its G752 laptop.
You see, the problem isn't software. It's hardware. Yes, Linux works fine with "normal" hardware. It even has drivers for the most esoteric raidcontroller in the world. But when it comes to gaming hardware, we're still running into very basic problems.
You know what's funny? That there will almost certainly be someone who is willing and able to develop a tool to get rid of it. Maybe for a price, but people are willing and able to pay that price for their privacy.
MS could have had that money. And far more easily than whoever will develop that anti-spy tool.
Old joke:
Two planets meet:
"Hey, you look bad, what's the trouble?"
"Homo sapiens"
"Oh, don't worry, it will pass"
Again my question, why is it the dumbest people that usually feel entitled to invent new words?
You don't have Facebook? Even better! Join now and we'll make you the profile insurances, employers, probation officers and mothers-in-law dream of!
Do have Facbook? No problem either. Just create a real profile and let us handle your "official you"!
And it's free for anyone wanting to take it because I'm, to be honest, too lazy to carry it out.
Facebook optimizer.
Like SEO, just for Facebook profiles. Want to pay less for your insurance? Be attractive to recruiters? Appear law abiding to law enforcement? Visit pimp my profile for the latest informations and our low, low prices!
At least nobody anyone gives a shit about. Germans simply used YouTube proxies and came from Finland, Austria, Russia or if everything fails Malaysia and watched whatever they wanted to watch.
It was business as usual. Artificial blockages were treated like bugs and routed around. As far as most of Germany was concerned, this was a non-issue.
And as long as they find people who buy it regardless, they will continue doing it. Maybe their target audience really doesn't want one, or at the very least doesn't care about having one, so it's sensible not to include one. I, for one, wouldn't need one. But then again, I need something more useful than a MacBook in general, so I'm not the target audience either.
But there seems to be some kind of customer that obviously doesn't care about SD-Cards slots. Or at least Apple hopes there is.
But it will be the styliest ever.
Yes, styliest. That's a word. And I've been using it for much longer than it has been cool!
But that's the only way we can make the phone so thin that you need an inch-thick cover to keep it from crumbling like tinfoil!
It worked for restaurants for a while, so why not try it with electronics?
There are also more two-parent white household than white trailer trash, is that not newsworthy?
If you have a list of armed ones, post it. It's not that important to me to go on a Google hunt.
Find a news story about any of the recent black involved shootings. Look at the names.
OK, let's see. I'll take the easy way out and simply crib from a page that lists a bunch of people who have been shot by the police. Before anyone asks, it's the result of a Google search and the first page that had a decent number of names. The complete list can be found here.
Keith Childress ... no, wait, that's Mexican. Does it count? On a scale of black to white, is Mexican black enough?)
Bettie Jones
Kevin Mathews
Leroy Browning
Roy Nelson
Miguel Espinal (Hey that's
Nathaniel Pickett
Tiara Thomas (ok, that one is, right?)
Cornelius Brown
Chandra Weaver
Jamar Clark (Hey, that name is so black it can play basketball by itself!)
Richard Perkins
Stephen Tooson
Michael Lee Marshall
Alonzo Smith
Yvens Seide (that one is at least odd, but black? Sounds more like French... ok, let's be honest, I wouldn't wanna drive Frenchies either, so it counts)
Anthony Ashford
Lamontez Jones (Hey, another hit)
Rayshaun Cole (Is that black? At least it's an odd name, let's count it)
Paterson Brown
Christopher Kimble
Junior Prosper (Is that even a name? It counts!)
Keith McLeod
Wayne Wheeler
India Kager (Now that's one name that sure counts! Navy Vet or not)
Tyree Crawford (Hey, hey, we at least found ONE that fits the stereotype!)
James Carney
Felix Kumi
And so on. So are there "black" names? Probably. But they sure are outnumbered by names that I would stereotypically expect from white people. Felix. Keith. James. Michael.
So you can maybe point out how I should have known from the name alone that these people are black?
Actually, I would already do it if I had the chance. But try to find anything domestic made. Clothing? Hardly possible. Electronics? Absolutely impossible. Like George Carlin once said when he went on stage flying a Chinese flag. "I fly this flag proudly, because this flag, unlike any US flag I could find, was made in the U.S.A."