Perhaps fire should be fought with fire in this case. People like to complain about Microsoft and their monopoly and all this other stuff, but then they pussyfoot around and avoid angering the sleeping beast. Imagine Apple and Real discontinuing their Windows support and focusing on Linux and MacOS only. Strike deals with popular websites to use Quicktime and Realmedia exclusively and alter the codecs slightly to prevent the currently available Windows products from using the media. Advertise to the public "use Windows if you want, but here's the grocery list of common things you'll want to do and won't be able to". Create new breakthrough technologies and patent them *ducks*, and give free license for anyone but Microsoft to use those technologies in their products.
Imagine common applications like Acrobat, Quicktime, Realplayer, Photoshop, Flash, etc..only being available on non-Windows platforms. Microsoft's been pulling devious stuff like this for years and we've been letting them. We should learn from Microsoft that devious works, and devious can be their undoing. Unfortunately, Apple has lost it's energy, the OSS world is too busy bickering amongst themselves and criticizing the rest of the world, and everyone else fears Microsoft's wrath should they use their own tactics against them.
As if it's not bad enough that people can't currently put their cellphones down for 10 seconds, now they're going to have TV on them too? The fact that there is demand for TV on cellphones is a sad commentary indeed. I'm admittedly a geek, I have diplomas and certs. in computers, I play Magic The Gathering, Star Wars RPG, AD&D, and a million other nerdy things. However, I watch virtually NO TV. It's funny how geeks on Slashdot, who would normally be thought of as shut-ins and so forth by the mainstream, are the ones that see problems with excessive television and it's increasing availability. Do you want to be sharing the roads with people who not only have a phone glued to their ear, but 500 channels of mind-f*cking TV distracting them as well?
Well, it wasn't so much a jab at Vin Diesel himself, I considered writing "The Rock" too. I was referring to the sorts of action movies those kind of guys end up starring in where in the first 10 minutes you can go "ok, that guy's gonna get killed, those things are gonna get blown up, he's gonna score with that girl, etc.."
It's like the Austin Powers/James Bond "elaborate, easily escapable trap involving sharks", except it runs throughout the entire movie.
I didn't even bother watching this year's VGA on SpikeTV. I was turned off enough by last year's offensive boobfest. Here's a couple tips for SpikeTV I would have based on the premiere event of 2003:
1. David Spade is not funny. Having him constantly poke fun at gamers for being "nerds", "geeks", "never getting laid" and so forth on a VIDEO GAME AWARDS SHOW is incredibly stupid and alienates much of the audience.
2. Funkmaster Flex as the announcer for ANY event is not a good idea. Here is someone who's never heard of the expression "indoor voice".
3. Awarding "Game of the Year" in the first half hour of the show with absolutely no build-up makes a farce of the entire concept of an interesting awards show.
4. There are games out there, popular ones, that DON'T involve CGI boobs and football. Perhaps some of those games deserve credit as well?
Imagine the Oscars with Funkmaster Flex announcing and David Spade hosting, all the while insulting and charactarizing movie stars as drug-addled, spouse-beating perverts. Imagine Vin Diesel cookie-cutter action movie X receiving 90% of the oscars. It's absolutely ridiculous, and I decided last year (after turning my TV off halfway through the awards show) that I would never watch ANY awards show on SpikeTV again.
"Yeah Bob, look at how fast my Rogers cable downloads the latest streaming news videos from the Interne--what? I've been cut off!? Well I'm just gonna have to call those jerks and give them a piece of my mind on my Rogers/AT&T phone...what? no service?! BAH! Screw it Bob, let's just go watch some Rogers cable TV instead.."
Slashdot Mirror
Personally, I've decided to start wearing pants when I leave the house. I've been getting a lot of complaints.
Perhaps fire should be fought with fire in this case. People like to complain about Microsoft and their monopoly and all this other stuff, but then they pussyfoot around and avoid angering the sleeping beast. Imagine Apple and Real discontinuing their Windows support and focusing on Linux and MacOS only. Strike deals with popular websites to use Quicktime and Realmedia exclusively and alter the codecs slightly to prevent the currently available Windows products from using the media. Advertise to the public "use Windows if you want, but here's the grocery list of common things you'll want to do and won't be able to". Create new breakthrough technologies and patent them *ducks*, and give free license for anyone but Microsoft to use those technologies in their products.
Imagine common applications like Acrobat, Quicktime, Realplayer, Photoshop, Flash, etc..only being available on non-Windows platforms. Microsoft's been pulling devious stuff like this for years and we've been letting them. We should learn from Microsoft that devious works, and devious can be their undoing. Unfortunately, Apple has lost it's energy, the OSS world is too busy bickering amongst themselves and criticizing the rest of the world, and everyone else fears Microsoft's wrath should they use their own tactics against them.
As if it's not bad enough that people can't currently put their cellphones down for 10 seconds, now they're going to have TV on them too? The fact that there is demand for TV on cellphones is a sad commentary indeed. I'm admittedly a geek, I have diplomas and certs. in computers, I play Magic The Gathering, Star Wars RPG, AD&D, and a million other nerdy things. However, I watch virtually NO TV. It's funny how geeks on Slashdot, who would normally be thought of as shut-ins and so forth by the mainstream, are the ones that see problems with excessive television and it's increasing availability. Do you want to be sharing the roads with people who not only have a phone glued to their ear, but 500 channels of mind-f*cking TV distracting them as well?
Warning: Remote Procedure Call (RPC) Service terminated unexpectedly. Car restarting in 59...58...57...
Well, it wasn't so much a jab at Vin Diesel himself, I considered writing "The Rock" too. I was referring to the sorts of action movies those kind of guys end up starring in where in the first 10 minutes you can go "ok, that guy's gonna get killed, those things are gonna get blown up, he's gonna score with that girl, etc.."
It's like the Austin Powers/James Bond "elaborate, easily escapable trap involving sharks", except it runs throughout the entire movie.
1. David Spade is not funny. Having him constantly poke fun at gamers for being "nerds", "geeks", "never getting laid" and so forth on a VIDEO GAME AWARDS SHOW is incredibly stupid and alienates much of the audience.
2. Funkmaster Flex as the announcer for ANY event is not a good idea. Here is someone who's never heard of the expression "indoor voice".
3. Awarding "Game of the Year" in the first half hour of the show with absolutely no build-up makes a farce of the entire concept of an interesting awards show.
4. There are games out there, popular ones, that DON'T involve CGI boobs and football. Perhaps some of those games deserve credit as well? Imagine the Oscars with Funkmaster Flex announcing and David Spade hosting, all the while insulting and charactarizing movie stars as drug-addled, spouse-beating perverts. Imagine Vin Diesel cookie-cutter action movie X receiving 90% of the oscars. It's absolutely ridiculous, and I decided last year (after turning my TV off halfway through the awards show) that I would never watch ANY awards show on SpikeTV again.
...and don't forget to tune into the Mattel-Mars Bar Quick-Energy Chocobot Hour, weekdays at 4!
"Yeah Bob, look at how fast my Rogers cable downloads the latest streaming news videos from the Interne--what? I've been cut off!? Well I'm just gonna have to call those jerks and give them a piece of my mind on my Rogers/AT&T phone...what? no service?! BAH! Screw it Bob, let's just go watch some Rogers cable TV instead.."