Yah well, they may call the newer XBox 360's -' XBox 360's' but they aren't the same and the games being made now aren't the same either - I have an older XBox 360 and it flat out won't play the newer games.
Umm... what? I would really like to know what games your XBox 360 won't play, because I have an original Arcade (replacement for the Core system) as well as a newer but still discontinued Pro (just 2 years old) and both of them play every game I've tried recently without issue. Not to flame you or anything, but you really should cite not only what model/revision of 360 you have as well as what games it will not play, and what it does instead of playing them.
"Soldiers can't be charged with conduct unbecoming for bad behavior unless they are in uniform, so why should it be different?"
Absolutely, 100% wrong. They can. The fact that the individual works for a public service and not a private corporation is actually worse for their case, not better for it.
Correct. I work for a police organization and there are a great many things I simply cannot do in my private life (that could become public knowledge) that I could do while being employed by a private organization. With government/police/paramilitary organizations (and especially the one I work for) perception is everything, and you can get in serious shit for even small things if the perception of the thing gets out of proportion.
What I do on my own time no longer can only be considered as to what could be embarrassing to me, but also the organization I work for. It's unfortunate, but I've come to live with it (and it's not like I go out of my way to do stupid shit, particularly being a family man with teenage kids now).
Note as well that the headline of this writeup appears to be misleading. I read the article and nowhere does it say the German government is actually warning AGAINST using Firefox, they are simply warning the public of a security issue in the browser.
Specifically, the article states that the government is also warning people against switching browsers "willy nilly" every time a security hole is found because you never know what you'll be getting into. They're saying to be cautious if you're using Firefox and patch your browser with the security patch as soon as it's available.
Nor are you restricted to using an iPhone as your cellular/handheld device.
You got an iPhone knowing that Apple has sole control over what you can and cannot put on it from their app store (jailbroken iPhones notwithstanding) so the onus is on you as a consumer at that point. There are numerous other choices to pick from with respect to cellular/wireless devices; just because you picked the one most locked down doesn't mean it's suddenly Apple's fault that you can't get apps that they don't approve of.
This is pretty much similar to Blockbuster "censoring" porn in their video rental stores.
You can get porn from other video rental stores, but it's Blockbuster's decision to not provide it from their stores. How does this infringe upon your rights at all? Don't like their stance on what they choose to carry in their own store? Don't provide them with your business. It's as simple as that.
If someone like Ubisoft does it, and it's just one more reason for people not to buy their crap, and they go under, maybe it will make other companies think twice before trying similar stupidity. Maybe.
No, it will just cause a failed Ubisoft and other game companies to scream "Pirates!" all the louder. What other reason could there possibly be for declining sales of the PC versions of their games? Certainly not the horrific methods they use to combat piracy causing problems for legitimate users... oh no.
Regardless of the reason for them potentially going under, namely their own stupidity, they will never cede that point. From here onward, the bogeyman will always be piracy.
However, as stated above, when you "redeem" your purchased Microsoft points on XBL to download something, if that download fails for whatever reason you can always start it again later.
If your internet connection goes down halfway through a download and doesn't come up until two days later, you can always go back to the XBL Marketplace, locate what you were downloading, and choose the option to download it again. WITHOUT paying more MS points for it. I really don't think MS can be held accountable for this, nor should they be.
While I enjoy kicking MS a bit as much as the next/.'er, this seems spurious at best. On top of that, how many people use XBL to download game addons/demos/videos/etc without any problems whatsoever? I highly doubt that poor download connections over XBL would be the fault of Microsoft in this case. I realize this is only anecdotal, but honestly some of the best download rates I've gotten are either from MS websites or over XBL (torrents notwithstanding).
The same can be said for any recreational activity, not just D&D.
Gambling, alcohol, video games, even sports. All of them can either be used in moderation with no detrimental effects to whomever is participating (and even be cathartic), or can be taken to extremes and take over your life. I could have taken your post and replaced every reference to D&D related activities with either WoW or slot machine references and the context would be exactly the same.
The problem isn't with the activity in question, it's with the person participating. Sorry to break it to you.
Just saying "I won't play" doesn't change it, what matters is that you don't pay.
This is what gets me in just about every MMO that has balancing issues and players feel that their class is somehow disadvantaged compared to everyone else. I'm glad to hear that at least you try to stick to your principles, but for every person who actually cancels a subscription due to a game moving in a direction they don't agree with, there are at least 1000 others that will continue paying.
Typically their mantra is "If you don't fix class X then I will stop playing my class X and play my class Y instead." How does that possibly enact any change when your subscription is still being paid and the game developers are still receiving your money? It doesn't.
I'll play but I won't like it seems to be a fairly common sentiment among gamers, and anyone who decided, for instance, to boycott MW2 for whatever reason and actually stuck to their guns is in the minority.
Much like you, I remember the developers of games as well.
I remember Origin Systems, Westwood Studios, and Mythic Entertainment (granted, still around but "rebranded" to EAMythic). I also remember the publisher that effectively destroyed them and the works that they created; Electronic fucking Arts. Granted, Mythic is not yet destroyed but their latest flagship product, Warhammer Online, didn't truly start sinking until the merger with EA. Take into account the gutting of the studio with last years Q4 layoffs and it's doubtful WAR will recover without some serious TLC.
Let's see how EA handles Bioware now that they've been assimilated. Time will tell of EA forces them to push Old Republic out the door too fast without it being finished thereby guaranteeing MMO failure, or if they actually learned from the mistakes they heaped upon WAR and let Bioware just do their job.
I remember watching a roast of Jerry Stiller (Ben Stillers dad, the obnoxious loud father of George Costanza on Seinfeld) and Jason Alexander was MC'ing the deal. When asked where Michael Richards and Julia Louis-Dreyfus were and why they weren't there for the roast, Jason's only reply was (and I paraphrase):
They're resting. Their shoulders are sore after holding Jerry Seinfeld up for so many years.
While I really enjoyed Seinfeld as a show, I can't say that I found Jerry Seinfeld himself all that funny. It really was the writing/ideas (no doubt mostly from Larry David) and his supporting cast that gave the show most of its humour.
And this is something that SoE at least did right. While EQ and EQ2 all have multiple servers per game, same as WoW has, you can easily communicate across servers by appending the server name to the character name when you send a/tell. As well, you can create player-channels cross-server in similar fashion.
In fact, you can even communicate cross-game between EQ and EQ2 by appending the game name in front of the server name. While it's not as easy as EVE, since EVE is one server total, it's still better than nothing. Never mind the fact that their latest game launcher includes a sort of IM client that allows you to talk with friends in-game without being in-game yourself (even includes voice chat for guilds). I really can't believe other multi-server MMO's haven't implemented something like EQ/EQ2's cross-server messaging.
Giving me relevant results is the ONLY thing I care about with a search engine. Bing didn't do as well as Google - end of story. If it had done as well as Google, I still wouldn't have cared - it'd have to provide better results for me to even care.
I agree completely. I didn't fully understand the relevance/popularity difference between Google and Bing until I went to Bing and searched just my last name. It gives plenty of results about a uranium mine that begins with a similar name, but nothing on pages 1 to 3 go to my website at all. Search for the first and last name combined of either myself or my wife, and nothing on the first or second pages link to our website either.
With Google, if you search my last name, my website is the third result on the first page since I would assume my family website is pretty relevant to my last name (it used to be first).
Now, I'm not particularly vain and I don't feel desperate to have my website show up right off the hop in all search engines, but it just sort of shows that Bing doesn't necessarily provide the most relevant results, just whatever happens to be most popular (which my website really isn't).
The fact is that when some people panic they freeze up and are unable to do anything else.
You're probably exactly right here. I consider myself a fairly intelligent driver (perhaps I get a bit too aggressive/angry towards people who drive like morons) that keeps a clear head and drives safely. However, trying a dirtbike for the first time this summer, I wound up getting into a very embarrassing accident simply because I was unfamiliar and obviously not completely comfortable.
I hopped on and, not realizing how touchy it was, pulled a bit on the accelerator handle while keeping my left hand over the brake just in case. However, the bike took off and I sort of got knocked off a bit. Despite having my left hand over the brake ready to pull on it, I wound up pulling harder on the accelerator instead, running myself and the bike into a chain link fence, then throwing myself over the bike. Nothing broken or bruised but my ego, but still... it's easy for even intelligent drivers to make idiotic mistakes like this when they're not fully comfortable with their situation.
Slashdot Mirror
Yah well, they may call the newer XBox 360's -' XBox 360's' but they aren't the same and the games being made now aren't the same either - I have an older XBox 360 and it flat out won't play the newer games.
Umm... what? I would really like to know what games your XBox 360 won't play, because I have an original Arcade (replacement for the Core system) as well as a newer but still discontinued Pro (just 2 years old) and both of them play every game I've tried recently without issue. Not to flame you or anything, but you really should cite not only what model/revision of 360 you have as well as what games it will not play, and what it does instead of playing them.
~jaraxle
Did they not let her listen to the radio at a reasonable volume?
~jaraxle
"Soldiers can't be charged with conduct unbecoming for bad behavior unless they are in uniform, so why should it be different?"
Absolutely, 100% wrong. They can. The fact that the individual works for a public service and not a private corporation is actually worse for their case, not better for it.
Correct. I work for a police organization and there are a great many things I simply cannot do in my private life (that could become public knowledge) that I could do while being employed by a private organization. With government/police/paramilitary organizations (and especially the one I work for) perception is everything, and you can get in serious shit for even small things if the perception of the thing gets out of proportion.
What I do on my own time no longer can only be considered as to what could be embarrassing to me, but also the organization I work for. It's unfortunate, but I've come to live with it (and it's not like I go out of my way to do stupid shit, particularly being a family man with teenage kids now).
~jaraxle
Uhm ... and what is a reasonable punishment as an honest user? It is a kick in the balls?
Yes, yes it is.
~jaraxle
Note as well that the headline of this writeup appears to be misleading. I read the article and nowhere does it say the German government is actually warning AGAINST using Firefox, they are simply warning the public of a security issue in the browser.
Specifically, the article states that the government is also warning people against switching browsers "willy nilly" every time a security hole is found because you never know what you'll be getting into. They're saying to be cautious if you're using Firefox and patch your browser with the security patch as soon as it's available.
Very responsible indeed on their part.
~jaraxle
Nor are you restricted to using an iPhone as your cellular/handheld device.
You got an iPhone knowing that Apple has sole control over what you can and cannot put on it from their app store (jailbroken iPhones notwithstanding) so the onus is on you as a consumer at that point. There are numerous other choices to pick from with respect to cellular/wireless devices; just because you picked the one most locked down doesn't mean it's suddenly Apple's fault that you can't get apps that they don't approve of.
~jaraxle
This is pretty much similar to Blockbuster "censoring" porn in their video rental stores.
You can get porn from other video rental stores, but it's Blockbuster's decision to not provide it from their stores. How does this infringe upon your rights at all? Don't like their stance on what they choose to carry in their own store? Don't provide them with your business. It's as simple as that.
~jaraxle
I must have one hell of an exciting life then!
~jaraxle
He actually meant only 6 pages of worthwhile content. The other 5 pages worth are nothing but ads.
Isn't that how it's done these days?
~jaraxle
Since when is a 5 digit UID considered low? :)
~jaraxle
If someone like Ubisoft does it, and it's just one more reason for people not to buy their crap, and they go under, maybe it will make other companies think twice before trying similar stupidity. Maybe.
No, it will just cause a failed Ubisoft and other game companies to scream "Pirates!" all the louder. What other reason could there possibly be for declining sales of the PC versions of their games? Certainly not the horrific methods they use to combat piracy causing problems for legitimate users... oh no.
Regardless of the reason for them potentially going under, namely their own stupidity, they will never cede that point. From here onward, the bogeyman will always be piracy.
~jaraxle
However, as stated above, when you "redeem" your purchased Microsoft points on XBL to download something, if that download fails for whatever reason you can always start it again later.
If your internet connection goes down halfway through a download and doesn't come up until two days later, you can always go back to the XBL Marketplace, locate what you were downloading, and choose the option to download it again. WITHOUT paying more MS points for it. I really don't think MS can be held accountable for this, nor should they be.
While I enjoy kicking MS a bit as much as the next /.'er, this seems spurious at best. On top of that, how many people use XBL to download game addons/demos/videos/etc without any problems whatsoever? I highly doubt that poor download connections over XBL would be the fault of Microsoft in this case. I realize this is only anecdotal, but honestly some of the best download rates I've gotten are either from MS websites or over XBL (torrents notwithstanding).
~jaraxle
Old habits die hard.
~jaraxle
The same can be said for any recreational activity, not just D&D.
Gambling, alcohol, video games, even sports. All of them can either be used in moderation with no detrimental effects to whomever is participating (and even be cathartic), or can be taken to extremes and take over your life. I could have taken your post and replaced every reference to D&D related activities with either WoW or slot machine references and the context would be exactly the same.
The problem isn't with the activity in question, it's with the person participating. Sorry to break it to you.
~jaraxle
Get off my lawn, you damn kids!
~jaraxle
Just saying "I won't play" doesn't change it, what matters is that you don't pay.
This is what gets me in just about every MMO that has balancing issues and players feel that their class is somehow disadvantaged compared to everyone else. I'm glad to hear that at least you try to stick to your principles, but for every person who actually cancels a subscription due to a game moving in a direction they don't agree with, there are at least 1000 others that will continue paying.
Typically their mantra is "If you don't fix class X then I will stop playing my class X and play my class Y instead." How does that possibly enact any change when your subscription is still being paid and the game developers are still receiving your money? It doesn't.
I'll play but I won't like it seems to be a fairly common sentiment among gamers, and anyone who decided, for instance, to boycott MW2 for whatever reason and actually stuck to their guns is in the minority.
~jaraxle
Much like you, I remember the developers of games as well.
I remember Origin Systems, Westwood Studios, and Mythic Entertainment (granted, still around but "rebranded" to EAMythic). I also remember the publisher that effectively destroyed them and the works that they created; Electronic fucking Arts. Granted, Mythic is not yet destroyed but their latest flagship product, Warhammer Online, didn't truly start sinking until the merger with EA. Take into account the gutting of the studio with last years Q4 layoffs and it's doubtful WAR will recover without some serious TLC.
Let's see how EA handles Bioware now that they've been assimilated. Time will tell of EA forces them to push Old Republic out the door too fast without it being finished thereby guaranteeing MMO failure, or if they actually learned from the mistakes they heaped upon WAR and let Bioware just do their job.
~jaraxle
I remember watching a roast of Jerry Stiller (Ben Stillers dad, the obnoxious loud father of George Costanza on Seinfeld) and Jason Alexander was MC'ing the deal. When asked where Michael Richards and Julia Louis-Dreyfus were and why they weren't there for the roast, Jason's only reply was (and I paraphrase):
They're resting. Their shoulders are sore after holding Jerry Seinfeld up for so many years.
While I really enjoyed Seinfeld as a show, I can't say that I found Jerry Seinfeld himself all that funny. It really was the writing/ideas (no doubt mostly from Larry David) and his supporting cast that gave the show most of its humour.
~jaraxle
Oh my god, you use Usenet?
~jaraxle
And this is something that SoE at least did right. While EQ and EQ2 all have multiple servers per game, same as WoW has, you can easily communicate across servers by appending the server name to the character name when you send a /tell. As well, you can create player-channels cross-server in similar fashion.
In fact, you can even communicate cross-game between EQ and EQ2 by appending the game name in front of the server name. While it's not as easy as EVE, since EVE is one server total, it's still better than nothing. Never mind the fact that their latest game launcher includes a sort of IM client that allows you to talk with friends in-game without being in-game yourself (even includes voice chat for guilds). I really can't believe other multi-server MMO's haven't implemented something like EQ/EQ2's cross-server messaging.
~jaraxle
Oblig. Penny Arcade
~jaraxle
Giving me relevant results is the ONLY thing I care about with a search engine. Bing didn't do as well as Google - end of story. If it had done as well as Google, I still wouldn't have cared - it'd have to provide better results for me to even care.
I agree completely. I didn't fully understand the relevance/popularity difference between Google and Bing until I went to Bing and searched just my last name. It gives plenty of results about a uranium mine that begins with a similar name, but nothing on pages 1 to 3 go to my website at all. Search for the first and last name combined of either myself or my wife, and nothing on the first or second pages link to our website either.
With Google, if you search my last name, my website is the third result on the first page since I would assume my family website is pretty relevant to my last name (it used to be first).
Now, I'm not particularly vain and I don't feel desperate to have my website show up right off the hop in all search engines, but it just sort of shows that Bing doesn't necessarily provide the most relevant results, just whatever happens to be most popular (which my website really isn't).
~jaraxle
Another bit of clarification:
- Nerfs are done by developers to the game itself, typically in patches or hotfixes
- Debuffs are in-game abilities used by NPCs or PCs
I don't think there's an accepted opposite term for nerf other than just "made more powerful."
Technically, "buff" is used as the opposite of "nerf" as well as "debuff".
ie. The developers nerfed the Wizard spell "Fireball" by reducing its damage by 30%, but compensated by buffing the Wizard spell "Blast Wave" by 20%.
~jaraxle
The fact is that when some people panic they freeze up and are unable to do anything else.
You're probably exactly right here. I consider myself a fairly intelligent driver (perhaps I get a bit too aggressive/angry towards people who drive like morons) that keeps a clear head and drives safely. However, trying a dirtbike for the first time this summer, I wound up getting into a very embarrassing accident simply because I was unfamiliar and obviously not completely comfortable.
I hopped on and, not realizing how touchy it was, pulled a bit on the accelerator handle while keeping my left hand over the brake just in case. However, the bike took off and I sort of got knocked off a bit. Despite having my left hand over the brake ready to pull on it, I wound up pulling harder on the accelerator instead, running myself and the bike into a chain link fence, then throwing myself over the bike. Nothing broken or bruised but my ego, but still... it's easy for even intelligent drivers to make idiotic mistakes like this when they're not fully comfortable with their situation.
~jaraxle
I'd rather come nude than in a business suit.
I would too. If anything, Clinton and Lewinsky taught me that it's more difficult than you'd think to get those stains out...
~jaraxle