Ah, slashdot, the place where people will jump in and start talking about their experience with a glossy screen in a dark room after a submitter says glossy screen doesn't work for them because of sunshine.
shut down a bunch of blogs full of possibly useful information!
now we know what all those TS policy makers are paid for.
Uhm...what? Policy makers had nothing to do with the shutdown. It was a voluntary action by the host.
What are you talking about? It was the hosting company that shut down their entire server and its 75000 blogs without anything being said to the actual owner. Yeah, US so much better than China.
The question is, if you have no idea what Ubuntu is, then why did you choose it?
That is the exact point here. Dell is telling customers which OS they should choose so they are capable to make the choice. Personally I'm a little bit surprised they didn't note the games, but casual people buying a computer don't necessarily know that they need Windows for their apps to work. Dell is just helping these casual users.
Irons with labels that tell you to remove your clothes before attempting to iron them are being truthful, too - but anyone who need a label to tell them that is probably too stupid to be allowed to get near an iron.
There's a difference, because doing that can seriously harm you. Not knowing the difference between Windows and Ubuntu is only an inconvenience for the user when their stuff doesn't work. It's also an inconvenience that will get them angry at the company that sold the computer for them, and don't you think it would be better for the company to inform their customers what they are buying and what they should buy based on their needs and expectations?
It quite much comes down to that. It would be stupid and bad service not to tell that to users, especially those who like things just to work and want to play games too. Imagine if someone sold you a product that you don't know much about but only how you want it to work, and it wouldn't. Most users would feel the same way when they thought that all their programs and games would work.
Its sole purpose is for people to look at it and then self-abuse themselves into a climax.
Self-abuse? Why be so serious about having a little bit of fun with yourself? You only life once and you might just as well enjoy some beautiful ladies (or men, if you're a woman) and do what obviously is fun and feels good.
You know, women do it too. What about phone sex? That's two people, but you just do it to pleasure yourself and not to have babies. Would you call that self-abuse too?
it's just a choice not to sell it through a corporate channel with a brand to maintain.
And that is the exact problem. US people, especially religious ones think there's some problem with nudity. This usually tends to be the older ones, most in their 20's don't have this problem. What exactly is it that makes nudity so bad?
Microsoft will be enforcing content restrictions on Windows Phone 7 applications, by preventing users from sideloading applications as they previously had done with Windows Mobile. This results in all applications having to pass through the Windows Phone Marketplace where content restrictions apply.[34][35] Users are free to sync whatever content they want to their phone or view any website from the web browser.
Microsoft said that applications containing pornography will be prevented from being installed on Windows Phone 7, as well as applications containing images that fit the definition of "sexually suggestive". Violence and all nudity will be censored from apps. Suggestions or depictions of prostitution, sexual fetishes, or basically anything that "a reasonable person would consider to be adult or borderline adult content" will be forbidden from Windows Phone 7 apps.
Microsoft elaborated that it would disallow apps containing "images that reveal nipples, genitals, buttocks, or pubic hair".
When will the US understand that sex is not bad, evil or something that should be banned from adults? Of course, the games with violence and killing will be allowed, but no, not such unharmful and natural thing like nudity or sex.
I'm actually in the same position. I am able to do all of my work online and my workplace doesn't have a problem with me traveling at the same time. It is really great when you can move to life in a different country for a few months and see various different places and people. It's amazing how much it relies stress too, so it's a win-win for both me and the company.
But if I went sailing around the world, how do you get everything else too? Food, drinks, health and hygiene stuff, what about getting sex and what do you do if you need emergency help?
However, it would be great way to start a day by waking up in the morning and take a swim in the sea in middle of nowhere.
Hello folks, I have addressed the originality (or alleged lack thereof) of the remix contest in another message here.
I chose XONG because it's a small and relatively simple game, so it would be easier to get started remixing. There is a review of Xong here: http://playthisthing.com/xong
And, folks, the game includes a thorough HELP screen on the F1 key, and an interactive in-game tutorial. So if the videos seem inscrutable, try reading the instructions.
I make no claim to the engine or game being the greatest ever, but I hope the contest will be fun and get people possibly involved with creative commons licensed art, or free software, or lisp game dev. Who knows?
While I do really appreciate your effort and ideas, theres a few things you should look at first.
1) The game looks like from the 80's. It doesn't make a good impression and is hard to get people involved. Hell, some of the games I coded at 12-13 year old had a lot better graphics and ideas (no offense to you, just good old critical comment if you want it!)
2) Are there any tools to help change the game? There is and have been already immersive modding community out there. You have to provide similar tools, just being "open source" doesn't really do much.
As a person working in the games industry, and who has coded since 8 years old and working in freeware/shareware, indie, and commercial industry, I really think you need more to accomplish your goals.
What makes you think the Chinese cant? Just because it's not on slashdot? They usually have their own sites because of language differences too. News also got around before the internet too, don't underestimate how much people can talk using normal means - especially in the Asian countries (where I have lived many times), where even little gossip goes around the really quickly. Just because you cant read about it on the usual news sites doesn't mean people don't know.
Who said US doesn't pull stunts like China? I think I've heard so many times on slashdot.
US is just as bad. It's just for different interests (protecting the money and cash flow of huge corporations versus ensuring that the people in the country don't start bloody revolts).
Twist it how you want to, but the fact remains that both countries act like assholes and US is in the same level.
Actually, what I've now read on Apple users forums even they are furious. They expected a real fix and they get what, a rubber band you put around the phone? That looks so slick and awesome.
To keep this whole discussion honest, yes it is. A registration code is a form of digital rights management. While more recent forms have been much more controversial, type in the wrong code and see if you get to play the game.
No, you can freely copy the game as long as you have the code. It doesn't limit the amount of copies nor does it encrypt the executable or CD/DVD like DRM does.
It will make the life harder for pirates. Every little push helps. Personally I enjoy the easiness that Steam offers.
Not really. The pirates get off on the challenge of cracking this stuff, and prestige in the community is directly linked to difficulty of the crack and time taken to crack it. This kind of stuff will just get them off even more.
What pirates are you talking about? Crackers, sure. But most people, the usual pirates, just want free stuff. When it's enough hard and complicated, they just buy the product. The casual users anyway, and that is what matters most to the game developers.
This is akin to sending an unencrypted, sensitive file over the internet in little pieces... Security by obscurity doesn't increase security at all. It, generally, just makes things more obscure and difficult to follow. This is something that a true hacker would have no problem spending the time to figure out, and would probably, ENJOY doing.
And in turn here in the real adult life people have better things to do than mess around with all kinds of tricks, spend time on it and then think if it really works. Note, I have been on both sides, but then I grew up. Now I enjoy just buying the product with a click of a button, see theres extra value in the product when you actually own it, and I also understand that people making these games wouldn't be making them if everyone were stealing from them like you.
Valve has released DLC's and patched TF2 for the last 3-4 years, since it's release. They have added content and maps and tweaked the gameplay. Blizzard has done the same with WoW, as have almost every other game company on the planet in the form of patches. Do you also bitch at them for releasing an "unfinished" game just because they add content later on?
It seems to be working for Ubisoft. There still aren't a good cracked version of the newest Silent Hunter. The one you see on torrent sites only contain the tutorial. This is almost half an year later now.
Maybe I'm naieve or not understanding, but what will stop the pirates from unlocking/breaking/pirating the downloadable content? Aren't you just moving DRM from the front end to the back end?
It will make the life harder for pirates. Every little push helps. Personally I enjoy the easiness that Steam offers.
Or could it be that US is using this as an excuse to take even more control over the Internet?
This is nothing new. I remember reading about such things in the 90's. US is good with propaganda, including entertainment and everything. Just see cold war.
Worded quite differently, no? This published summary accuses the Chinese and Taiwanese government about it, while the other one just says they had concerns about their good relationships in the community.
I mean seriously, the addons give access to everything you do in the browser. A lot of people here on slashdot know not to run random executables from the Internet, but do nothing to check if their browser addons are secure and not malware.
This is why I love that Opera comes build-in with all the features you need and a lot more. Not only are they made using the same quality standards and conventions, there is no way some rogue developer could hide password stealing code in them.
Slashdot Mirror
Ah, slashdot, the place where people will jump in and start talking about their experience with a glossy screen in a dark room after a submitter says glossy screen doesn't work for them because of sunshine.
shut down a bunch of blogs full of possibly useful information!
now we know what all those TS policy makers are paid for.
Uhm...what? Policy makers had nothing to do with the shutdown. It was a voluntary action by the host.
What are you talking about? It was the hosting company that shut down their entire server and its 75000 blogs without anything being said to the actual owner. Yeah, US so much better than China.
The question is, if you have no idea what Ubuntu is, then why did you choose it?
That is the exact point here. Dell is telling customers which OS they should choose so they are capable to make the choice. Personally I'm a little bit surprised they didn't note the games, but casual people buying a computer don't necessarily know that they need Windows for their apps to work. Dell is just helping these casual users.
Irons with labels that tell you to remove your clothes before attempting to iron them are being truthful, too - but anyone who need a label to tell them that is probably too stupid to be allowed to get near an iron.
There's a difference, because doing that can seriously harm you. Not knowing the difference between Windows and Ubuntu is only an inconvenience for the user when their stuff doesn't work. It's also an inconvenience that will get them angry at the company that sold the computer for them, and don't you think it would be better for the company to inform their customers what they are buying and what they should buy based on their needs and expectations?
I call that good customer service.
It quite much comes down to that. It would be stupid and bad service not to tell that to users, especially those who like things just to work and want to play games too. Imagine if someone sold you a product that you don't know much about but only how you want it to work, and it wouldn't. Most users would feel the same way when they thought that all their programs and games would work.
Its sole purpose is for people to look at it and then self-abuse themselves into a climax.
Self-abuse? Why be so serious about having a little bit of fun with yourself? You only life once and you might just as well enjoy some beautiful ladies (or men, if you're a woman) and do what obviously is fun and feels good.
You know, women do it too. What about phone sex? That's two people, but you just do it to pleasure yourself and not to have babies. Would you call that self-abuse too?
it's just a choice not to sell it through a corporate channel with a brand to maintain.
And that is the exact problem. US people, especially religious ones think there's some problem with nudity. This usually tends to be the older ones, most in their 20's don't have this problem. What exactly is it that makes nudity so bad?
Microsoft will be enforcing content restrictions on Windows Phone 7 applications, by preventing users from sideloading applications as they previously had done with Windows Mobile. This results in all applications having to pass through the Windows Phone Marketplace where content restrictions apply.[34][35] Users are free to sync whatever content they want to their phone or view any website from the web browser.
Microsoft said that applications containing pornography will be prevented from being installed on Windows Phone 7, as well as applications containing images that fit the definition of "sexually suggestive". Violence and all nudity will be censored from apps. Suggestions or depictions of prostitution, sexual fetishes, or basically anything that "a reasonable person would consider to be adult or borderline adult content" will be forbidden from Windows Phone 7 apps.
Microsoft elaborated that it would disallow apps containing "images that reveal nipples, genitals, buttocks, or pubic hair".
When will the US understand that sex is not bad, evil or something that should be banned from adults? Of course, the games with violence and killing will be allowed, but no, not such unharmful and natural thing like nudity or sex.
I'm actually in the same position. I am able to do all of my work online and my workplace doesn't have a problem with me traveling at the same time. It is really great when you can move to life in a different country for a few months and see various different places and people. It's amazing how much it relies stress too, so it's a win-win for both me and the company.
But if I went sailing around the world, how do you get everything else too? Food, drinks, health and hygiene stuff, what about getting sex and what do you do if you need emergency help?
However, it would be great way to start a day by waking up in the morning and take a swim in the sea in middle of nowhere.
Hello folks, I have addressed the originality (or alleged lack thereof) of the remix contest in another message here.
I chose XONG because it's a small and relatively simple game, so it would be easier to get started remixing. There is a review of Xong here: http://playthisthing.com/xong
And, folks, the game includes a thorough HELP screen on the F1 key, and an interactive in-game tutorial. So if the videos seem inscrutable, try reading the instructions.
I make no claim to the engine or game being the greatest ever, but I hope the contest will be fun and get people possibly involved with creative commons licensed art, or free software, or lisp game dev. Who knows?
While I do really appreciate your effort and ideas, theres a few things you should look at first.
1) The game looks like from the 80's. It doesn't make a good impression and is hard to get people involved. Hell, some of the games I coded at 12-13 year old had a lot better graphics and ideas (no offense to you, just good old critical comment if you want it!)
2) Are there any tools to help change the game? There is and have been already immersive modding community out there. You have to provide similar tools, just being "open source" doesn't really do much.
As a person working in the games industry, and who has coded since 8 years old and working in freeware/shareware, indie, and commercial industry, I really think you need more to accomplish your goals.
But comparing what happens to a relatively small group of people
You actually said it there. In China bad things only happen to really small group of people. Just like you seem to indicate about US.
What makes you think the Chinese cant? Just because it's not on slashdot? They usually have their own sites because of language differences too. News also got around before the internet too, don't underestimate how much people can talk using normal means - especially in the Asian countries (where I have lived many times), where even little gossip goes around the really quickly. Just because you cant read about it on the usual news sites doesn't mean people don't know.
Who said US doesn't pull stunts like China? I think I've heard so many times on slashdot.
US is just as bad. It's just for different interests (protecting the money and cash flow of huge corporations versus ensuring that the people in the country don't start bloody revolts).
Twist it how you want to, but the fact remains that both countries act like assholes and US is in the same level.
Actually, what I've now read on Apple users forums even they are furious. They expected a real fix and they get what, a rubber band you put around the phone? That looks so slick and awesome.
Well, Steve Jobs conclusion was this:
So we've worked the last 22 days on this trying to solve the problem. And we think we've gotten to the heart of the problem.
So the heart of the problem is, smartphones have issues
Epic.
To keep this whole discussion honest, yes it is. A registration code is a form of digital rights management. While more recent forms have been much more controversial, type in the wrong code and see if you get to play the game.
No, you can freely copy the game as long as you have the code. It doesn't limit the amount of copies nor does it encrypt the executable or CD/DVD like DRM does.
It will make the life harder for pirates. Every little push helps. Personally I enjoy the easiness that Steam offers.
Not really. The pirates get off on the challenge of cracking this stuff, and prestige in the community is directly linked to difficulty of the crack and time taken to crack it. This kind of stuff will just get them off even more.
What pirates are you talking about? Crackers, sure. But most people, the usual pirates, just want free stuff. When it's enough hard and complicated, they just buy the product. The casual users anyway, and that is what matters most to the game developers.
This is akin to sending an unencrypted, sensitive file over the internet in little pieces... Security by obscurity doesn't increase security at all. It, generally, just makes things more obscure and difficult to follow. This is something that a true hacker would have no problem spending the time to figure out, and would probably, ENJOY doing.
And in turn here in the real adult life people have better things to do than mess around with all kinds of tricks, spend time on it and then think if it really works. Note, I have been on both sides, but then I grew up. Now I enjoy just buying the product with a click of a button, see theres extra value in the product when you actually own it, and I also understand that people making these games wouldn't be making them if everyone were stealing from them like you.
Valve has released DLC's and patched TF2 for the last 3-4 years, since it's release. They have added content and maps and tweaked the gameplay. Blizzard has done the same with WoW, as have almost every other game company on the planet in the form of patches. Do you also bitch at them for releasing an "unfinished" game just because they add content later on?
It seems to be working for Ubisoft. There still aren't a good cracked version of the newest Silent Hunter. The one you see on torrent sites only contain the tutorial. This is almost half an year later now.
Maybe I'm naieve or not understanding, but what will stop the pirates from unlocking/breaking/pirating the downloadable content? Aren't you just moving DRM from the front end to the back end?
It will make the life harder for pirates. Every little push helps. Personally I enjoy the easiness that Steam offers.
Registration codes != DRM
China is directing the single largest, most intensive foreign intelligence gathering effort since the Cold War against the United States....
http://www.securityweek.com/chinas-cyber-threat-growing
Or could it be that US is using this as an excuse to take even more control over the Internet?
This is nothing new. I remember reading about such things in the 90's. US is good with propaganda, including entertainment and everything. Just see cold war.
Let's compare the two different stories that were going to be posted as authors duped.
Screenshot
Worded quite differently, no? This published summary accuses the Chinese and Taiwanese government about it, while the other one just says they had concerns about their good relationships in the community.
I mean seriously, the addons give access to everything you do in the browser. A lot of people here on slashdot know not to run random executables from the Internet, but do nothing to check if their browser addons are secure and not malware.
This is why I love that Opera comes build-in with all the features you need and a lot more. Not only are they made using the same quality standards and conventions, there is no way some rogue developer could hide password stealing code in them.