I'm pretty darn excited about XFree86's support for this. Should make configuration a lot simpler. I've never been able to get the color depth under X that I could get from Windows.
The Slayers OVAs are absolutely terrible. I couldn't agree with you more. Stay away from them.
Here are my personal recommendations:
Windaria - This is the single most depressing anime I have ever watched. It will have you screaming, "Why God why???" The characters in this flick make some of the dumbest decisions ever. If you're the sort of person who gets off on Hamlet or King Lear, check out this little anime.
Sailor Moon - I always feel like a whore when I recommend Sailor Moon. It's childish and more than a little stupid at times, but I think that's why I like it. By all means, check out the Doom Tree series or Sailor Moon R. The Sailor Moon dubs are some of the best dubs I've ever watched, but to get a better feel for the characters, you should probably get one of the subtitled editions.
Macross Plus (preferably the OVA) - This is the best anime I have ever seen. The characters are wonderful. The concept is brilliant. If you haven't watched this, go find a copy right now and watch it all the way through. I went out and bought the soundtrack just to get "Voices".
Neon Genesis Evagelion - Anyone who hasn't watched it needs too.
Vampire Hunter D - If you like Yoshitaka Amano's work, you will adore the artwork for this anime. It is beautiful and dark.
All-purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku - If you like Sailor Moon, this will be right up your alley. Personally I love it. In fact, just writing about it makes me want to fire up the VCR.
Wicked City - Pretty decent plotline and characters. Raises a lot of questions about how we deal with outsiders and our tendency to exile those we consider to be "other".
Some anime to Avoid:
Slayers OVA - As the previous poster mentioned, these are just terrible.
Final Fantasy OVA - I personally don't mind them, but every person I've shown them to can't stand watching them all the way through. They have very little to do with the Final Fantasy series of video games other than some vague references to characters from Final Fantasy 5. They would have looked better if they could have gotten Amano-san to do the artwork.;)
I have to agreee that Vampire Hunter D is one of the best. Most consider it to be a classic anime and an absolute must-watch. The character design is just beautiful. Very much like the Yoshitaka Amano Final Fantasy 6 style that a lot of you might remember. Also depending on who you talk to Vampire Hunter D might have been an inspiration for the Castlevania series of video games.
It used to be really rare, but you can find it almost everywhere now that it has been re-released.
I think the thing about Doom that kept me on the edge of my seat was the storyline. A sci-fi story that leads (literally) straight to Hell is just awesome.
Did anyone actually even pay attention to the storyline for Quake? Just wondering...
This news is sweet. I can't wait to see the results. I hope the infighting doesn't harm production though.
Jewish philosopher/theorist Emmanuel Levinas wrote that "[a]ll generous thought is threatened by its own Stalinism." There is a powerful truth here that could easily be applied to this situation.
Most movements start with a good idea. Communism/Socialism started with the idea that we should share our resources. Capitalism started with the idea that rewards should be based on merit and not family relations. Christianity started with the simple notion that love should be the guiding force in our daily relations. Likewise, open source started with the concept of free software--the idea that code should be free to all so that it can be improved with greater ease. We have to be really careful that open source doesn't turn into yet another misguided holy war or bloody revolution. (I'm speaking metaphorically here.)
The concept of free software isn't the same as free beer. We've all read that and heard that and wrote that. In some respects, Metallica's music is open source. A friend of mine has a book of guitar tablature released by Metallica (or at least their record company). Presuming I have the skill, I could sit in my basement all day playing "The Thing that Should Not Be" (in my opinion the best Metallica song). I could cover it in concert. The only thing I couldn't do is release it for profit (without a law suit).
The minute we start forcing people to be "open source" we are just as bad as Microsoft. We are just as bad as Stalin. We are just as bad as the Christian Knights who killed Muslims just because they couldn't agree on what God's name was. We are just as bad as those freaky people who sit outside of clinics shooting doctors who perform abortions.
Even the best ideas can turn into totalitarianism.
With regard to stock price, you are right. It wouldn't really matter to Bill Gates if MS' stock price dropped to $1.50 per share on Monday. He's got accountants diversifying his wealth, making sure that he won't go broke.
However, I don't think that means that this shouldn't be a media battle. (Not that I think you were insinuating that it shouldn't...I totally understand that you were just pointing out that stock value isn't going to do a thing in this case.) I think that MS is very sensitive to bad PR right now. A lot of people are considering jumping ship at good ole MS. They have had to step up their benefit package to protect their "intellectual capital" (fancy word for smart people who make their software). In that respect, stock price could become an issue here since a lot of the benefits being extended to employees are related to stock price of the company; but, by and large, the way we'll get Microsoft to drop this whole thing is to make the media pick it up as an issue.
Stop and think about the slamming MS has received in the press of late. They have been ruled against in a court of law. The parties in that case are still trying to figure out exactly what form of punishment is suitable. Microsoft's stock value has plunged, taking much of the NASDAQ with it. Every time an issue comes up, it seems like MS is on the shady end of it. They are really having to watch negative press right now.
We have to make the media believe that this is an issue. Maybe MS will drop the whole thing to save face. Let's let Andover fight on the legal front while we help wage the PR war.
How many people post here each day? How many of us are angry/uncomfortable about Microsoft's request? How many of us could take time out to e-mail MS and/or a press agency to express our displeasure? How many of us are considered "computer experts" in our workplace/classroom? How many people ask us for computer advice each day? We have a lot of influence here. We just have to be willing to use it.
You are 100% correct. PR is going to have to win this one. The legal battle would be long and protracted, and/. might lose. (After all, there was Microsoft intellectual property on the page, and they do have high-priced lawyers.) A battle in the press is the way to end this thing quickly and easily.
But the/. boys can't do it alone. We have to make the press understand that this is a real issue. We have to write in to the major (and minor) media outlets en masse so that they understand that this isn't just some new startup dot-com business who did something illegal. We have to make them understand that this is (1) an attempt to seal up free speech, (2) an attempt to abuse the copyright law, and (3) yet another attempt to maintain the application barrier to entry.
Make sure that you write in to the Department of Justice. They are keeping a close eye on MS, watching for more infringements so that they can use that as evidence for the penalty phase of the litagation. This looks like more shit for the pile.
I'm glad that Andover isn't rolling over on this thing, but you can't win a war with just generals. We have to go out there and let our voices be heard. We have to be the troops here.
I'm totally behind you guys. If there's anything that we as readers can do, just post it.
I think that we readers can certainly help by calling attention to this. I'm begging everyone to send e-mail to Microsoft, the press, and representation in Congress. While the folks at Andover are waging the war on the legal front, we can get a lot accomplished using our power as consumers. Let people know that you're angry. Don't just sit there and stew about it.
I sent a copy of this to billgates@microsoft.com and contact@microsoft.com after attempting to send a letter to the fellow who wrote Andover the nice "Dammit, stop!" letter. That guy sent me a little form letter telling me that his address was for copyright infringement. That caused me to send this:
I have been a long time supporter and consumer of Microsoft and Microsoft's products. I have for the most part been satisfied by the products you've delivered as a company. I am the MS Office guru for my office (the Registration/Information area of the Registrar's office at the University of Florida). I am an amateur Visual Basic developer, and I've even started learning the Win32 API so that I can code some small programs in C++. I have downloaded each new update to Internet Explorer with eager anticipation. I have even defended your freedom to innovate to numerous people.
However, the recent decision by the Microsoft legal department to harass Andover, the publisher of Slashdot.org didn't sit well with me at all. I understand that Microsoft has a responsibility to protect its copyrights and intellectual property, but I also believe that this request is a clear violation of the freedom of speech protected by the Bill of Rights to the US Constitution.
I have already e-mailed the legal department and got a form letter back which explained to me that I had the wrong address.
I have installed Red Hat Linux on my system because I simply cannot stomach dealing with a company who harrasses members of the media. I strongly urge you to cease your actions against Slashdot. There are a lot of users exactly like me who are giving you the benefit of the doubt but who are also getting very tired of watching your large corporation push smaller corporations around.
Please don't think that I'm angry at you personally. I would defend anyone's freedom of speech--even your own. Perhaps this whole thing looks a lot more sinister than it is, but right now it looks as though Microsoft is just upset that someone did something they didn't like. Would Microsoft have harrassed a site who had published sections of your code in order that they might praise it?
Please. Give me a reason not to execute the "rm -r/mnt/c/windows" command. I like so many of your products, but I just can't support a company that tries to bully public opinion by shutting up the voices of dissenters.
Thanks for the info. That's what I love about/. and open source folks...They're always willing to help.:) Open source isn't a coding philosophy. It's a way of life. Rusty fuzzcat@yahoo.com http://www.afn.org/~afn51445 root@MyComp root# rm -r/mnt/c/windows
The emotion behind this editorial was earth-shaking. I'm truly mad at Microsoft. And that's a pretty big deal. Let me explain a little about who I am.
I am a former MS whore. I loved the quality of Microsoft's products. I bought Office 97. I was a Visual Basic developer. I was a Win 9x/NT power user. I downloaded every update of IE that MS posted the minute they posted it.
Lately I moved away from that position. I even wrote an article on my webpage about the whole thing. (It's at http://www.afn.org/~afn51445/microsoft.html if any of you want to check it out and give me comments.)
I hated how Microsoft was bullying everyone. I hated how everytime I looked at their tactics I saw the pure rancor of Big Brother's face in some sort of Orwellian dream vision. I hated how Balmer had the gall to say that MS would never be broken up--even after his company has been ruled against by a court of law!
Whoever posted that First Contact quote from Captain Picard in that last MS article was right. The line must be drawn here. No more.
I just installed Red Hat Linux on my computer a few days ago because I just couldn't stand to let my machine be Windows only anymore. There have been some frustrations (if anyone knows how to get a Diamond Supra Express 336i PnP modem working, send me an e-mail), but I can already see a much more stable system than MS could produce. And more importantly, I feel better about myself. Finally, my software supports the freedom that I myself champion.
Having said all that though, I really don't know what we could do here. I honestly hope that/. doesn't back down here. I'd love to see them stand up, but I can't help but wonder whether they would win in court. I think that the important thing is for *us*, the/. readers and people who don't like to see people pushed around, to stand up now. Personally, I think we (the readers) should mount a massive e-mail campaign against MS. How many of us come here everyday? How many of us are upset by this? A bunch, I'd bet. Now imagine if MS suddenly has their little Outlook inboxes crammed full of insightful intelligent e-mails from consumers. Like any business who depends on profits, they will back down.
I'm going to send an e-mail right now. I'm begging everyone else to as well. This will only work if we all do it.
I tend to agree that the Windows-like API is kind of a bad thing. Every developer I've talked to is scared of the performance hit that would cause on the Dreamcast. I can't help but wonder if Bleem won't be a little slow on the DC.
It's a real bummer because I remember Sega touting how easy it would be to port games due to the Windows support.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm pretty darn excited about XFree86's support for this. Should make configuration a lot simpler. I've never been able to get the color depth under X that I could get from Windows.
rusty
I make it a point to "stroke my mouse" at least once per day. Keeps the pipes clean if you know what I mean.
The Slayers OVAs are absolutely terrible. I couldn't agree with you more. Stay away from them.
Here are my personal recommendations:
Some anime to Avoid:
I have to agreee that Vampire Hunter D is one of the best. Most consider it to be a classic anime and an absolute must-watch. The character design is just beautiful. Very much like the Yoshitaka Amano Final Fantasy 6 style that a lot of you might remember. Also depending on who you talk to Vampire Hunter D might have been an inspiration for the Castlevania series of video games.
It used to be really rare, but you can find it almost everywhere now that it has been re-released.
rusty
Code Ninja, Java Assassin, Linux Newbie
I think the thing about Doom that kept me on the edge of my seat was the storyline. A sci-fi story that leads (literally) straight to Hell is just awesome.
Did anyone actually even pay attention to the storyline for Quake? Just wondering...
This news is sweet. I can't wait to see the results. I hope the infighting doesn't harm production though.
rusty haskell,
/mnt/c/windows
Code Ninja, Java Assassin, Linux Newbie
fuzzcat@yahoo.com
Nine Finger Monarchy
[root@SavageGarden] root# rm -r
Jewish philosopher/theorist Emmanuel Levinas wrote that "[a]ll generous thought is threatened by its own Stalinism." There is a powerful truth here that could easily be applied to this situation.
Most movements start with a good idea. Communism/Socialism started with the idea that we should share our resources. Capitalism started with the idea that rewards should be based on merit and not family relations. Christianity started with the simple notion that love should be the guiding force in our daily relations. Likewise, open source started with the concept of free software--the idea that code should be free to all so that it can be improved with greater ease. We have to be really careful that open source doesn't turn into yet another misguided holy war or bloody revolution. (I'm speaking metaphorically here.)
The concept of free software isn't the same as free beer. We've all read that and heard that and wrote that. In some respects, Metallica's music is open source. A friend of mine has a book of guitar tablature released by Metallica (or at least their record company). Presuming I have the skill, I could sit in my basement all day playing "The Thing that Should Not Be" (in my opinion the best Metallica song). I could cover it in concert. The only thing I couldn't do is release it for profit (without a law suit).
The minute we start forcing people to be "open source" we are just as bad as Microsoft. We are just as bad as Stalin. We are just as bad as the Christian Knights who killed Muslims just because they couldn't agree on what God's name was. We are just as bad as those freaky people who sit outside of clinics shooting doctors who perform abortions.
Even the best ideas can turn into totalitarianism.
rusty
/mnt/c/windows
fuzzcat@gru.net
http://www.afn.org/~afn51445
root@SavageGarden root!# rm -r
It's rare for me to agree with someone totally. But I do right now. This is exactly what I've been saying in previous posts.
With regard to stock price, you are right. It wouldn't really matter to Bill Gates if MS' stock price dropped to $1.50 per share on Monday. He's got accountants diversifying his wealth, making sure that he won't go broke.
However, I don't think that means that this shouldn't be a media battle. (Not that I think you were insinuating that it shouldn't...I totally understand that you were just pointing out that stock value isn't going to do a thing in this case.) I think that MS is very sensitive to bad PR right now. A lot of people are considering jumping ship at good ole MS. They have had to step up their benefit package to protect their "intellectual capital" (fancy word for smart people who make their software). In that respect, stock price could become an issue here since a lot of the benefits being extended to employees are related to stock price of the company; but, by and large, the way we'll get Microsoft to drop this whole thing is to make the media pick it up as an issue.
Stop and think about the slamming MS has received in the press of late. They have been ruled against in a court of law. The parties in that case are still trying to figure out exactly what form of punishment is suitable. Microsoft's stock value has plunged, taking much of the NASDAQ with it. Every time an issue comes up, it seems like MS is on the shady end of it. They are really having to watch negative press right now.
We have to make the media believe that this is an issue. Maybe MS will drop the whole thing to save face. Let's let Andover fight on the legal front while we help wage the PR war.
How many people post here each day? How many of us are angry/uncomfortable about Microsoft's request? How many of us could take time out to e-mail MS and/or a press agency to express our displeasure? How many of us are considered "computer experts" in our workplace/classroom? How many people ask us for computer advice each day? We have a lot of influence here. We just have to be willing to use it.
You are 100% correct. PR is going to have to win this one. The legal battle would be long and protracted, and /. might lose. (After all, there was Microsoft intellectual property on the page, and they do have high-priced lawyers.) A battle in the press is the way to end this thing quickly and easily.
But the /. boys can't do it alone. We have to make the press understand that this is a real issue. We have to write in to the major (and minor) media outlets en masse so that they understand that this isn't just some new startup dot-com business who did something illegal. We have to make them understand that this is (1) an attempt to seal up free speech, (2) an attempt to abuse the copyright law, and (3) yet another attempt to maintain the application barrier to entry.
Make sure that you write in to the Department of Justice. They are keeping a close eye on MS, watching for more infringements so that they can use that as evidence for the penalty phase of the litagation. This looks like more shit for the pile.
I'm glad that Andover isn't rolling over on this thing, but you can't win a war with just generals. We have to go out there and let our voices be heard. We have to be the troops here.
You know, this is pretty convenient what with the Million Mom march this weekend and all...
I'm totally behind you guys. If there's anything that we as readers can do, just post it.
I think that we readers can certainly help by calling attention to this. I'm begging everyone to send e-mail to Microsoft, the press, and representation in Congress. While the folks at Andover are waging the war on the legal front, we can get a lot accomplished using our power as consumers. Let people know that you're angry. Don't just sit there and stew about it.
Here are some great places to start:
contact@microsoft.com
Reuter's News Agency
Associated Press
ZDNet
New York Times
Tech Section of MSNBC
Also find out who your representatives in Congress are and tell them what you think about Microsoft's bending of the law.
I sent a copy of this to billgates@microsoft.com and contact@microsoft.com after attempting to send a letter to the fellow who wrote Andover the nice "Dammit, stop!" letter. That guy sent me a little form letter telling me that his address was for copyright infringement. That caused me to send this:
I have been a long time supporter and consumer of Microsoft and Microsoft's products. I have for the most part been satisfied by the products you've delivered as a company. I am the MS Office guru for my office (the Registration/Information area of the Registrar's office at the University of Florida). I am an amateur Visual Basic developer, and I've even started learning the Win32 API so that I can code some small programs in C++. I have downloaded each new update to Internet Explorer with eager anticipation. I have even defended your freedom to innovate to numerous people.
However, the recent decision by the Microsoft legal department to harass Andover, the publisher of Slashdot.org didn't sit well with me at all. I understand that Microsoft has a responsibility to protect its copyrights and intellectual property, but I also believe that this request is a clear violation of the freedom of speech protected by the Bill of Rights to the US Constitution.
I have already e-mailed the legal department and got a form letter back which explained to me that I had the wrong address.
I have installed Red Hat Linux on my system because I simply cannot stomach dealing with a company who harrasses members of the media. I strongly urge you to cease your actions against Slashdot. There are a lot of users exactly like me who are giving you the benefit of the doubt but who are also getting very tired of watching your large corporation push smaller corporations around.
Please don't think that I'm angry at you personally. I would defend anyone's freedom of speech--even your own. Perhaps this whole thing looks a lot more sinister than it is, but right now it looks as though Microsoft is just upset that someone did something they didn't like. Would Microsoft have harrassed a site who had published sections of your code in order that they might praise it?
Please. Give me a reason not to execute the "rm -r /mnt/c/windows" command. I like so many of your products, but I just can't support a company that tries to bully public opinion by shutting up the voices of dissenters.
Thanks for the info. That's what I love about /. and open source folks...They're always willing to help. :) Open source isn't a coding philosophy. It's a way of life. Rusty fuzzcat@yahoo.com http://www.afn.org/~afn51445 root@MyComp root# rm -r /mnt/c/windows
The emotion behind this editorial was earth-shaking. I'm truly mad at Microsoft. And that's a pretty big deal. Let me explain a little about who I am.
/. doesn't back down here. I'd love to see them stand up, but I can't help but wonder whether they would win in court. I think that the important thing is for *us*, the /. readers and people who don't like to see people pushed around, to stand up now. Personally, I think we (the readers) should mount a massive e-mail campaign against MS. How many of us come here everyday? How many of us are upset by this? A bunch, I'd bet. Now imagine if MS suddenly has their little Outlook inboxes crammed full of insightful intelligent e-mails from consumers. Like any business who depends on profits, they will back down.
/mnt/c/windows
I am a former MS whore. I loved the quality of Microsoft's products. I bought Office 97. I was a Visual Basic developer. I was a Win 9x/NT power user. I downloaded every update of IE that MS posted the minute they posted it.
Lately I moved away from that position. I even wrote an article on my webpage about the whole thing. (It's at http://www.afn.org/~afn51445/microsoft.html if any of you want to check it out and give me comments.)
I hated how Microsoft was bullying everyone. I hated how everytime I looked at their tactics I saw the pure rancor of Big Brother's face in some sort of Orwellian dream vision. I hated how Balmer had the gall to say that MS would never be broken up--even after his company has been ruled against by a court of law!
Whoever posted that First Contact quote from Captain Picard in that last MS article was right. The line must be drawn here. No more.
I just installed Red Hat Linux on my computer a few days ago because I just couldn't stand to let my machine be Windows only anymore. There have been some frustrations (if anyone knows how to get a Diamond Supra Express 336i PnP modem working, send me an e-mail), but I can already see a much more stable system than MS could produce. And more importantly, I feel better about myself. Finally, my software supports the freedom that I myself champion.
Having said all that though, I really don't know what we could do here. I honestly hope that
I'm going to send an e-mail right now. I'm begging everyone else to as well. This will only work if we all do it.
Rusty
fuzzcat@yahoo.com
http://www.afn.org/~afn51445
root@MyComp root# rm -r
I tend to agree that the Windows-like API is kind of a bad thing. Every developer I've talked to is scared of the performance hit that would cause on the Dreamcast. I can't help but wonder if Bleem won't be a little slow on the DC.
It's a real bummer because I remember Sega touting how easy it would be to port games due to the Windows support.