I can't help but think this is more the doing of an ISP (probably Comcast or another cable company). Many ISPs cough up subscriber information prior to filing of lawsuits - especially the cable ISPs, which makes it easy for the RIAA to name a defendant in a lawsuit without having to go through due dilligence and taking the standardized john-doe legal action to identify the perpetrator's identity.
It's my contention that some ISPs don't protect their customer's right to privacy. Telcos have more ethics than cable companies in this respect, so you're more likely to be handed over to the authorities if you're using broadband cable.
I hadn't logged in to SWG in many months. I let my house and factories rot after I got frustrated because I'd worked so hard to craft unique and high quality items, and couldn't sell any of them, and many times there were bugs with the vending systems that made matters worse. On top of that, I was generally frustrated with the design of the skill point system. It's all too easy to max-out points and then have nowhere to go, and this can be especially bad if you're pursuing a dicipline that isn't in high demand. All that work for nothing.
I recently logged back into the game to check things out. It was a ghost town. No wonder they're scrambling to fix things. Based on the absence of players in game, I'd say SWG is hemmoraging revenue at this point. They need to do something fast to keep the game from sliding into the void.
I always felt that SWG had potential, but the implementation of this universe is profoundly flawed. This MMORPG suffers from many of the same ailments the worst MMORPGs have, specifically an advancement system that becomes redundant and boring very quickly, high end gameplay that becomes tedious and time-consuming to organize if it's even remotely interesting, a market system which is terminally broken, and a universe that is so heavily based on preset corporate or mythological constructs that exploration isn't as exciting because you know what to expect, and last but by no means least, a tremendous disparity between new and veteran players that serves to intimidate new players and frustrate old ones.
During the 8 years of the Reagan administration, can you recall a single time when NPR praised Ronald Reagan for his decisions or policies? (despite his overwhelming re-election in 1984).
I sure hope NPR didn't praise Reagan. That would be editorial, not news. Maybe you haven't heard of the concept, but it used to be popular many years ago... media reported information, and it was the PEOPLE who decided whether those involved were worthy of praise.
When we got rid of the The Fairness Doctrine in 1987, we sent a clear message to the world that the United States was not interested in free speech for everyone.
In a perfect world, we'd all know then what we know now, but realistically, making mistakes and adapting to changing conditions are what gives us the most valuable insight and experience. I kind of feel that articles like this serve little purpose beyond mental masturbation.
Rather than ask yourself what you could have known then that you know now, you might ask yourself, what lessons did it take too long for you to learn? What are you involved in right now, that your own experience tells you is a bad situation that must be changed, and why the hell aren't you doing something about it? Those who live in the past ignore their future.
As I type this, I'm looking over at my new Athlon 64 3500+ system I've been building. Unfortunately, the darn thing was shipped without a CPU heatsink so while I've got the new system put together, I am waiting for the heatsink to be delivered before I can try it out. It seems 939 parts are pretty scarce around here.
I'll be very interested in responses here because I don't have a video capture card installed and am looking into it.
My system is an MSI K8N Neo2, 1GB DDR400, GEForce 6800GT 256MB, 2x300GB Seagate SATA Barricuda drives, 1 Sony DVD drive, 1 Sony dual-layer DVD+/- burner.
I too would like to run dual boot. The last time I set up a PC this way, I installed Windows second and it wiped out my partitioning that Unix set up.
If I want to do dual boot with XP and Linux (or better yet FreeBSD), what should I install first?
It only really has value to a few select portals that have market share. Everybody else gets screwed. The pay-per-click model also compensates for advertisers' lack of innovation or foresight. If their ad message sucks, they don't pay, yet they consume prime real estate that could be better served by a more thoughtful advertiser unwilling to merely randomy throw money around in impractical bid amounts. So with this model, web sites lose revenue because of an advertiser's incompetence.
It will be a better day when all pay-per-click advertising disappears. It doesn't serve anyone well.
Actually, this is a brilliant idea... because there are many people who haven't moved to EQ2 from EQ. They don't want to go through the trouble of having to build up another character, so if for the same price you have access to both EQ and EQ2, it's more of an impulsive decision to buy the software knowing you don't have to pay any more monthly fees. A pretty clever way for Sony to encourage more people to play EQ2 and their other games.
Having multiple EQ and SWG accounts, and not playing much anymore, I was considering cancelling things. Now if I can fold these accounts into a single subscription, that would be great. The problem I have is how easy will Sony make this? If I have an EQ and a SWG account, do you honestly think that as long as they're getting paid two separate monthly fees, they're going to make subscribers aware they can save money by folding this into a Station Pass account? I doubt it. If anyone has details, let us know.
Totally not true. The truth is very few entities are actively trying to catch spammers. If you think that spammers can't be caught, simply set up an un-patched PC on a broadband connection and within 24 hours, the PC will be zombied. Worried about jurisdiction? You will have so many sources compromising your PC, you can pick and choose which ones are easiest to pursue.
If there is a reason spammers are hard to catch this is because the authorities do not pursue the cases. Most Attorney Generals avoid these types of cyber crime... it's not that they can't find these people, they just prioritize this stuff much lower than, say, someone who sells bongs on a web page.
2. Civil action is effective against spammers
This is BS. If these people had money, they wouldn't be spamming. It's a myth that most spammers make a lot of money... maybe by their own standards they do, but that doesn't say much. If spammers were really making lots of money, they'd be a lot easier to target. They don't. Spamming is like network marketing: it's filled with lots of lowlifes who make quick bursts of money, mostly through hoodwinking others to pay them, and then move around rapidly before they get caught.
Show me a spammer and I'll show you: a) a guy that has no money, b) a guy that has declared bankruptcy several times and plans to again, c) a pathological criminal who moves from one get-rich-quick scheme to another. These guys laugh at civil lawsuits.
Every once in awhile there may be a high-profile guy who seems to have some money, but they are the rare exception to the rule.
Almost all spammers break criminal laws in virtually every jurisdiction. The fact that groups are pursuing civil action is a testimonial to how totally apathetic the authorities are to pursue criminal charges. They can find these people; they can bring them up on criminal charges. What you need to do is contact your local Federal Attorney Generals and demand they start doing this. A zombie'd PC is a felonious crime, and these people CAN be tracked.. it's not difficult at all. Yes, some may route through Asia or other countries, but there are plenty that can be made example of before anyone has to begin to pull logs from foreign areas.
Re:Arbitration proposed last year.
on
New Attacks on Spam
·
· Score: 2, Funny
I proposed arbitration of disputes between spammers and anti-spammers last year in a spam related Usenet group.
I propose a steel-cage-death-match style of arbitration.
You notice that when the Americans cover the story, they conveniently leave out the names of the companies involved?
---
NO ORDINARY CASE OF IDENTITY THEFT The Largest in U.S. History
10/18/04
Uncovering Identity Theft graphicIt began with a crooked "insider" who had access to a nearly unending supply of personal consumer information.
It ended up the largest case of identity theft ever investigated and prosecuted in the U.S.--with 30,000 victims across the U.S. and Canada and millions of dollars in losses.
It's also a cautionary tale for you--the consumer.
First, the crime. The "insider" was Philip Cummings, a help desk employee with a Long Island, NY, company that provided special software to its client companies--like banks and other financial institutions--allowing them to download consumer credit reports from the three major commercial credit reporting agencies.
Cummings had access to his clients' codes and passwords, which meant he could download virtually all the consumer credit reports he wanted. And he did, after being approached by a ring of Nigerian nationals who offered to pay for copies. Even after leaving the company, Cummings continued using his inside knowledge to download and sell credit reports to this identity theft ring for another two years.
The damage. Considerable. Thousands of personal savings accounts were looted. Fake charges were racked up on credit cards. Addresses on bank accounts were changed so that new credit, check, and ATM cards were mailed directly to the thieves.
How the case was solved. Federal authorities--the FBI, with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Secret Service--were called in to investigate when a major credit company discovered that thousands of credit reports had been downloaded without permission. Soon other companies were reporting the same thing. A review of the victim companies' 1-800 phone records led investigators to the Long Island company that employed Philip Cummings...and ultimately, to Cummings himself and his partners in crime. Last month, Cummings pled guilty in the massive scheme. Trials for his co-defendants are upcoming.
What you should know about identity theft. The FBI is committed to preventing it... and investigating cases that do occur, in concert with our partners. And private sector companies--like the ones victimized in this case--are working to install better safeguards to protect consumer information.
When I first read the headline I thought, "Finally some cooperation between the US and China over spamming, phishing and other IP-based dubious activities."
I should have known this was all about protecting the interests of a few large corporations and not having anything to do with making the world safer for everyone.
I respect the right of companies to protect their intellectual property. What disgusts me is the unnaturally high priority these issues have over more important problems which have less to do with corporate profit, but directly affect more people.
Wow... Cringely predicted that spam will increase and software companies would abandon support for old products. Genius. Amazing! How does he do it?
Microsoft's entry into the anti-virus and anti-spyware businesses will be a disaster for users.
Captain obvious strikes again, but I don't know if I'd characterize whatever happens as a disaster. It'll probably actually end up being good in the end as more systems will have homogenous protection in place, but there will be an inherent conflict-of-interest between these products and MS's obsessive approach towards wanting to have their hooks into everything running, so yes, it will be a mess, but you don't need Apple employee #23 who left the company in its early days without taking stock to figure that one out, or any of the other obvious predictions.
People criticize the pseudo-xenophobic, anti-social nerd culture, but honestly, have you looked around at what's going on "outside?" I don't blame a lot of these guys for getting lost in the glow of a screen.
I have subcontractors I work with. Some of them are brilliant coders and designers, but putting them in the boardroom would create a scene. OTOH, if I had these guys brush their hair and teeth more often and they discovered GURLS, their productivity would likely be exponentially reduced. They might have a more normal social experience, but they'd also likely sacrifice the uniqueness that their antisocial position has manifested that resulted in superior coding and design.
I contend that the ultra-passionate are the ones that really create quantum change in our society, and often this is at the cost of pandering to many other socially-appropriate conventions. I'm not sure whether it's best to try to become more socially acceptable or work to dispell the notion that if you don't look or act "normal" you have no chance for advancement?
Then again, I concede that how we treat ourselves is a reflection of how we treat others. I would have less faith in the code produced by a morbidly obsese programmer who obviously has no personal self control, than someone who wasn't as personally self-destructive and negligent, because you can bet their habits bleed into their work as well.
PLATO ruled! It was so ahead of its time. I was a programmer for the network for several years and that's how I really incubated my interest in computers and programming.
Most of the people you cite are dead, and of those that aren't, they're not doing much these days, and probably got screwed over on publishing rights by labels and are therefore obligated to try to find any way to make money from their original work. I wouldn't consider your examples to be that relevant to my argument. I don't have any great motivation to hold up some grandchild of a rocker who has been whining about not getting what "they're due" as an example of the injustice of piracy and the need for DRM.
I think all the artists you cite are great, and maybe you don't know there are just as many great artists like those that can't get any attention because the industry is locked down under the control of a few mega-corporations. The point being, there are alternatives and people need to be aware of them.
That is just flat out wrong. Advertising and consumer culture is much more pervasive now than in the past, but products in the past have been dangerous or worthless at least at the rate they are now.
You're obviously much younger than I if you believe that.
In fact, in the 80s there was a prominent software company that ran a promotion, "Find a bug, win a bug" - giving away VWs to anyone who could find a legitimate bug in their product. In the early days of computing, there was a much higher quality and stability to products.
I think Dell or Gateway had something like this going a few years back. You could trade your computer in for a more powerful one. Obviously it didn't pan out because they dropped the scheme.
Most software these days is pseudo-subscription based. Some are more obvious about it, such as the Norton products which give you X amount of virus definition file updates before they try to mafia-squeeze money from you. Others are more insideous like Quickbooks charging their customers an arm and a leg for a stupid 10k annual tax table.. which I consider to be almost criminal.
Other companies like Oracle, don't actually sell their software. You purchase a "support plan" which includes the software. All the companies are constantly devising ways to leverage their mediocre products to get more money from consumers.
It used to be when a publisher released a product, it was bug-free and of good quality. Nowadays, and this doesn't apply specifically to games -- the same can be said for movies, music and all other "software", you're taking your chances when you purchase something. At least half the products on the market aren't worthy and are just fluff, and the other half are un-original and derivative. And products don't stand on their own any more... they're part of a larger franchised marketing and merchandising plan designed to squeeze as much money from you as possible.
The most notable examples are the hoards of terminally-boring FPS games... Wow, it's just like the last 20 games except now you can sit in a turret or your shots damage texture maps.. oooh. Suckers. The same thing with movies... the people out there who fell for the Matrix Trilogy-of-taking-money-from-suckers. Stop being sheep. Stop buying this crap. Stop the cycle of mediocre content that is 100% marketing-driven with no substance.
This is why I don't buy or play console games. If I buy a computer game, it will be a year or more after it's already been out and the hype has dissipated to the point where its value shines through. I'm not going to be these corporations' little consumer monkey, and I urge others to do the same.
to call attention to Internet sites that don't distribute DRM-enabled music; to artists and bands that offer their work freely online, and other entities that produce great music, video and other artistic content that aren't mercinary about controlling it and the lives of their fans.
Personally, most of the content that people want to restrict rights to sucks so bad, it's no big loss if they clamp down. I keep hoping that the more the record companies try to curtail the distribution of their crappy content, the more attention will be made to indy bands who make much better music and can't get any airplay.
Every time one of these stories runs, there should be a URL Role Call of great sites featuring artists who aren't interested in propping up the obsolete music distribution mafia.
Slashdot Mirror
Is there an option in Firefox to simply disable IDN?
I can't help but think this is more the doing of an ISP (probably Comcast or another cable company). Many ISPs cough up subscriber information prior to filing of lawsuits - especially the cable ISPs, which makes it easy for the RIAA to name a defendant in a lawsuit without having to go through due dilligence and taking the standardized john-doe legal action to identify the perpetrator's identity.
It's my contention that some ISPs don't protect their customer's right to privacy. Telcos have more ethics than cable companies in this respect, so you're more likely to be handed over to the authorities if you're using broadband cable.
I hadn't logged in to SWG in many months. I let my house and factories rot after I got frustrated because I'd worked so hard to craft unique and high quality items, and couldn't sell any of them, and many times there were bugs with the vending systems that made matters worse. On top of that, I was generally frustrated with the design of the skill point system. It's all too easy to max-out points and then have nowhere to go, and this can be especially bad if you're pursuing a dicipline that isn't in high demand. All that work for nothing.
I recently logged back into the game to check things out. It was a ghost town. No wonder they're scrambling to fix things. Based on the absence of players in game, I'd say SWG is hemmoraging revenue at this point. They need to do something fast to keep the game from sliding into the void.
I always felt that SWG had potential, but the implementation of this universe is profoundly flawed. This MMORPG suffers from many of the same ailments the worst MMORPGs have, specifically an advancement system that becomes redundant and boring very quickly, high end gameplay that becomes tedious and time-consuming to organize if it's even remotely interesting, a market system which is terminally broken, and a universe that is so heavily based on preset corporate or mythological constructs that exploration isn't as exciting because you know what to expect, and last but by no means least, a tremendous disparity between new and veteran players that serves to intimidate new players and frustrate old ones.
During the 8 years of the Reagan administration, can you recall a single time when NPR praised Ronald Reagan for his decisions or policies? (despite his overwhelming re-election in 1984).
I sure hope NPR didn't praise Reagan. That would be editorial, not news. Maybe you haven't heard of the concept, but it used to be popular many years ago... media reported information, and it was the PEOPLE who decided whether those involved were worthy of praise.
When we got rid of the The Fairness Doctrine in 1987, we sent a clear message to the world that the United States was not interested in free speech for everyone.
In a perfect world, we'd all know then what we know now, but realistically, making mistakes and adapting to changing conditions are what gives us the most valuable insight and experience. I kind of feel that articles like this serve little purpose beyond mental masturbation.
Rather than ask yourself what you could have known then that you know now, you might ask yourself, what lessons did it take too long for you to learn? What are you involved in right now, that your own experience tells you is a bad situation that must be changed, and why the hell aren't you doing something about it? Those who live in the past ignore their future.
As I type this, I'm looking over at my new Athlon 64 3500+ system I've been building. Unfortunately, the darn thing was shipped without a CPU heatsink so while I've got the new system put together, I am waiting for the heatsink to be delivered before I can try it out. It seems 939 parts are pretty scarce around here.
I'll be very interested in responses here because I don't have a video capture card installed and am looking into it.
My system is an MSI K8N Neo2, 1GB DDR400, GEForce 6800GT 256MB, 2x300GB Seagate SATA Barricuda drives, 1 Sony DVD drive, 1 Sony dual-layer DVD+/- burner.
I too would like to run dual boot. The last time I set up a PC this way, I installed Windows second and it wiped out my partitioning that Unix set up.
If I want to do dual boot with XP and Linux (or better yet FreeBSD), what should I install first?
Does participating in adsense improve your web site's ranking in Google's search engine?
I've never liked the pay-per-click model.
It only really has value to a few select portals that have market share. Everybody else gets screwed. The pay-per-click model also compensates for advertisers' lack of innovation or foresight. If their ad message sucks, they don't pay, yet they consume prime real estate that could be better served by a more thoughtful advertiser unwilling to merely randomy throw money around in impractical bid amounts. So with this model, web sites lose revenue because of an advertiser's incompetence.
It will be a better day when all pay-per-click advertising disappears. It doesn't serve anyone well.
Actually, this is a brilliant idea... because there are many people who haven't moved to EQ2 from EQ. They don't want to go through the trouble of having to build up another character, so if for the same price you have access to both EQ and EQ2, it's more of an impulsive decision to buy the software knowing you don't have to pay any more monthly fees. A pretty clever way for Sony to encourage more people to play EQ2 and their other games.
Having multiple EQ and SWG accounts, and not playing much anymore, I was considering cancelling things. Now if I can fold these accounts into a single subscription, that would be great. The problem I have is how easy will Sony make this? If I have an EQ and a SWG account, do you honestly think that as long as they're getting paid two separate monthly fees, they're going to make subscribers aware they can save money by folding this into a Station Pass account? I doubt it. If anyone has details, let us know.
1. It's hard to catch spammers
Totally not true. The truth is very few entities are actively trying to catch spammers. If you think that spammers can't be caught, simply set up an un-patched PC on a broadband connection and within 24 hours, the PC will be zombied. Worried about jurisdiction? You will have so many sources compromising your PC, you can pick and choose which ones are easiest to pursue.
If there is a reason spammers are hard to catch this is because the authorities do not pursue the cases. Most Attorney Generals avoid these types of cyber crime... it's not that they can't find these people, they just prioritize this stuff much lower than, say, someone who sells bongs on a web page.
2. Civil action is effective against spammers
This is BS. If these people had money, they wouldn't be spamming. It's a myth that most spammers make a lot of money... maybe by their own standards they do, but that doesn't say much. If spammers were really making lots of money, they'd be a lot easier to target. They don't. Spamming is like network marketing: it's filled with lots of lowlifes who make quick bursts of money, mostly through hoodwinking others to pay them, and then move around rapidly before they get caught.
Show me a spammer and I'll show you: a) a guy that has no money, b) a guy that has declared bankruptcy several times and plans to again, c) a pathological criminal who moves from one get-rich-quick scheme to another. These guys laugh at civil lawsuits.
Every once in awhile there may be a high-profile guy who seems to have some money, but they are the rare exception to the rule.
Almost all spammers break criminal laws in virtually every jurisdiction. The fact that groups are pursuing civil action is a testimonial to how totally apathetic the authorities are to pursue criminal charges. They can find these people; they can bring them up on criminal charges. What you need to do is contact your local Federal Attorney Generals and demand they start doing this. A zombie'd PC is a felonious crime, and these people CAN be tracked.. it's not difficult at all. Yes, some may route through Asia or other countries, but there are plenty that can be made example of before anyone has to begin to pull logs from foreign areas.
I proposed arbitration of disputes between spammers and anti-spammers last year in a spam related Usenet group.
I propose a steel-cage-death-match style of arbitration.
If you're distributing Daredevil you deserve to be arrested, piracy or not.
You notice that when the Americans cover the story, they conveniently leave out the names of the companies involved?
... and investigating cases that do occur, in concert with our partners. And private sector companies--like the ones victimized in this case--are working to install better safeguards to protect consumer information.
---
NO ORDINARY CASE OF IDENTITY THEFT
The Largest in U.S. History
10/18/04
Uncovering Identity Theft graphicIt began with a crooked "insider" who had access to a nearly unending supply of personal consumer information.
It ended up the largest case of identity theft ever investigated and prosecuted in the U.S.--with 30,000 victims across the U.S. and Canada and millions of dollars in losses.
It's also a cautionary tale for you--the consumer.
First, the crime. The "insider" was Philip Cummings, a help desk employee with a Long Island, NY, company that provided special software to its client companies--like banks and other financial institutions--allowing them to download consumer credit reports from the three major commercial credit reporting agencies.
Cummings had access to his clients' codes and passwords, which meant he could download virtually all the consumer credit reports he wanted. And he did, after being approached by a ring of Nigerian nationals who offered to pay for copies. Even after leaving the company, Cummings continued using his inside knowledge to download and sell credit reports to this identity theft ring for another two years.
The damage. Considerable. Thousands of personal savings accounts were looted. Fake charges were racked up on credit cards. Addresses on bank accounts were changed so that new credit, check, and ATM cards were mailed directly to the thieves.
How the case was solved. Federal authorities--the FBI, with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Secret Service--were called in to investigate when a major credit company discovered that thousands of credit reports had been downloaded without permission. Soon other companies were reporting the same thing. A review of the victim companies' 1-800 phone records led investigators to the Long Island company that employed Philip Cummings...and ultimately, to Cummings himself and his partners in crime. Last month, Cummings pled guilty in the massive scheme. Trials for his co-defendants are upcoming.
What you should know about identity theft. The FBI is committed to preventing it
When I first read the headline I thought, "Finally some cooperation between the US and China over spamming, phishing and other IP-based dubious activities."
I should have known this was all about protecting the interests of a few large corporations and not having anything to do with making the world safer for everyone.
I respect the right of companies to protect their intellectual property. What disgusts me is the unnaturally high priority these issues have over more important problems which have less to do with corporate profit, but directly affect more people.
Wow... Cringely predicted that spam will increase and software companies would abandon support for old products. Genius. Amazing! How does he do it?
Microsoft's entry into the anti-virus and anti-spyware businesses will be a disaster for users.
Captain obvious strikes again, but I don't know if I'd characterize whatever happens as a disaster. It'll probably actually end up being good in the end as more systems will have homogenous protection in place, but there will be an inherent conflict-of-interest between these products and MS's obsessive approach towards wanting to have their hooks into everything running, so yes, it will be a mess, but you don't need Apple employee #23 who left the company in its early days without taking stock to figure that one out, or any of the other obvious predictions.
People criticize the pseudo-xenophobic, anti-social nerd culture, but honestly, have you looked around at what's going on "outside?" I don't blame a lot of these guys for getting lost in the glow of a screen.
I have subcontractors I work with. Some of them are brilliant coders and designers, but putting them in the boardroom would create a scene. OTOH, if I had these guys brush their hair and teeth more often and they discovered GURLS, their productivity would likely be exponentially reduced. They might have a more normal social experience, but they'd also likely sacrifice the uniqueness that their antisocial position has manifested that resulted in superior coding and design.
I contend that the ultra-passionate are the ones that really create quantum change in our society, and often this is at the cost of pandering to many other socially-appropriate conventions. I'm not sure whether it's best to try to become more socially acceptable or work to dispell the notion that if you don't look or act "normal" you have no chance for advancement?
Then again, I concede that how we treat ourselves is a reflection of how we treat others. I would have less faith in the code produced by a morbidly obsese programmer who obviously has no personal self control, than someone who wasn't as personally self-destructive and negligent, because you can bet their habits bleed into their work as well.
PLATO ruled! It was so ahead of its time. I was a programmer for the network for several years and that's how I really incubated my interest in computers and programming.
Most of the people you cite are dead, and of those that aren't, they're not doing much these days, and probably got screwed over on publishing rights by labels and are therefore obligated to try to find any way to make money from their original work. I wouldn't consider your examples to be that relevant to my argument. I don't have any great motivation to hold up some grandchild of a rocker who has been whining about not getting what "they're due" as an example of the injustice of piracy and the need for DRM.
I think all the artists you cite are great, and maybe you don't know there are just as many great artists like those that can't get any attention because the industry is locked down under the control of a few mega-corporations. The point being, there are alternatives and people need to be aware of them.
That is just flat out wrong. Advertising and consumer culture is much more pervasive now than in the past, but products in the past have been dangerous or worthless at least at the rate they are now.
You're obviously much younger than I if you believe that.
In fact, in the 80s there was a prominent software company that ran a promotion, "Find a bug, win a bug" - giving away VWs to anyone who could find a legitimate bug in their product. In the early days of computing, there was a much higher quality and stability to products.
I think Dell or Gateway had something like this going a few years back. You could trade your computer in for a more powerful one. Obviously it didn't pan out because they dropped the scheme.
Most software these days is pseudo-subscription based. Some are more obvious about it, such as the Norton products which give you X amount of virus definition file updates before they try to mafia-squeeze money from you. Others are more insideous like Quickbooks charging their customers an arm and a leg for a stupid 10k annual tax table.. which I consider to be almost criminal.
Other companies like Oracle, don't actually sell their software. You purchase a "support plan" which includes the software. All the companies are constantly devising ways to leverage their mediocre products to get more money from consumers.
It used to be when a publisher released a product, it was bug-free and of good quality. Nowadays, and this doesn't apply specifically to games -- the same can be said for movies, music and all other "software", you're taking your chances when you purchase something. At least half the products on the market aren't worthy and are just fluff, and the other half are un-original and derivative. And products don't stand on their own any more... they're part of a larger franchised marketing and merchandising plan designed to squeeze as much money from you as possible.
The most notable examples are the hoards of terminally-boring FPS games... Wow, it's just like the last 20 games except now you can sit in a turret or your shots damage texture maps.. oooh. Suckers. The same thing with movies... the people out there who fell for the Matrix Trilogy-of-taking-money-from-suckers. Stop being sheep. Stop buying this crap. Stop the cycle of mediocre content that is 100% marketing-driven with no substance.
This is why I don't buy or play console games. If I buy a computer game, it will be a year or more after it's already been out and the hype has dissipated to the point where its value shines through. I'm not going to be these corporations' little consumer monkey, and I urge others to do the same.
to call attention to Internet sites that don't distribute DRM-enabled music; to artists and bands that offer their work freely online, and other entities that produce great music, video and other artistic content that aren't mercinary about controlling it and the lives of their fans.
Personally, most of the content that people want to restrict rights to sucks so bad, it's no big loss if they clamp down. I keep hoping that the more the record companies try to curtail the distribution of their crappy content, the more attention will be made to indy bands who make much better music and can't get any airplay.
Every time one of these stories runs, there should be a URL Role Call of great sites featuring artists who aren't interested in propping up the obsolete music distribution mafia.
We cannot switch to IPv6 until we've figured out a way to stop spam, or else things will get exponentially worse. This is a prerequisite.