Since I keep quoting from it, figured I'd post the dang thing. Always good to read what you are discussing.;)
USER AGREEMENT AND SOFTWARE LICENSE
THIS END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT ("EULA") DESCRIBES THE TERMS BY WHICH MYTHIC ENTERTAINMENT, INC. ("MYTHIC") OFFERS YOU ACCESS TO AN ACCOUNT (THE "ACCOUNT") TO PLAY THE DARK AGE OF CAMELOT(tm) ONLINE ROLE PLAYING GAME (THE "GAME"). BY PRESSING THE "I ACCEPT" BUTTON, YOU ACCEPT THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS BELOW. BY PRESSING THE "DECLINE" BUTTON, YOU DECLINE OUR OFFER, IN WHICH CASE YOU SHOULD CONTACT YOUR RETAILER REGARDING ITS RETURN POLICY FOR THE DARK AGE OF CAMELOT(tm) CD-ROM. In the event you choose not to accept the EULA or by technical means can bypass/disable the "I ACCEPT BUTTON" by installing, copying, downloading, accessing or otherwise using the GAME, you agree to be bound by the terms of this EULA. You choose to accept this EULA every time you enter or re-enter the GAME. If you do not agree to the terms of this EULA, do not install or use the GAME; you may, however, return it to your place of purchase for a refund consistent with your retailer's policy on returned software. If you have any questions regarding these terms and conditions, please contact customer service at support@mythicentertainment.com.
A COPY OF THIS EULA CAN BE FOUND ON THIS DISK UNDER THE DOCUMENTS NAME "DARK AGE OF CAMELOT(tm) USER AGREEMENT.TXT" SHOULD YOU WISH TO CONSULT IT IN THE FUTURE.
1. GRANT OF LICENSE
* This EULA permits you to use one copy of the specified version of the GAME on any single computer or game platform. You may also store or install a copy of the GAME on a storage device, such as a network server, used only to install or run the GAME on your other computers over an internal network; however, you must acquire and dedicate a license for each separate computer on or from which the GAME is installed, used, accessed, displayed or run. A license for the GAME may not be shared or used concurrently on different computers.
* To play the Game, you must (a) purchase the Dark Age of Camelot(tm) game CD-ROM (the "CD-ROM"), which includes software required for the Game (the "Software"), (b) have a fully paid Account, and (c) have an Internet connection (which we do not provide) to access your Account. In addition to any fees described herein, you are responsible for paying all applicable taxes (including those we are not required to collect) and for all hardware, software, service and other costs you incur to access your Account. Neither this Agreement nor your Account entitles you to any subsequent releases of the Software, nor to any expansion packs or similar ancillary products. You understand that we may update or otherwise enhance the Software at any time and in doing so incur no obligation to furnish such updates to you pursuant to this Agreement.
* Subject to the terms of this Agreement, we hereby grant to you a non-exclusive license to use the Software solely in connection with playing the Game via an authorized and fully-paid Account. You may not copy (except to make one necessary back-up copy), distribute, rent, lease, loan, modify or create derivative works, adapt, translate, perform, display, sublicense or transfer the Software. You may not copy any of the written materials accompanying the CD-ROM. You may not reverse engineer, disassemble or decompile or otherwise reverse engineer or attempt to reverse engineer or derive source code from, all or any portion of the Software or anything incorporated therein or permit any third party to do so except to the extent that this restriction is expressly prohibited by applicable law. The Software may contain license management software that restricts your use of the Software. If the Software is an update, any transfer must include the update and all prior revisions.
2. Other Rights and Limitations
* This EULA does not grant you any rights in connection with any trademarks or service marks of Mythic.
We may amend this Agreement at any time in our sole discretion. Amendments shall be communicated to you either a) at the time you log into your Account; b) through a conspicuous post on our website. Such amendments shall be effective upon entering or re-entering the Game. If any such revision of this Agreement is unacceptable to you, you my terminate your membership as per Section 13.
* We and our suppliers shall retain ownership of all intellectual property rights relating to or residing in the CD-ROM, the Software and the Game. The Software is a commercial item.
* You acknowledge and agree that all characters created, and items acquired and developed as a result of game play are part of the Software and Game and are the sole property of Mythic. You acknowledge that: (i) the Software and the Service permit access to Content that is protected by copyrights, trademarks, and other proprietary rights owned by Mythic as covered in Section 3 below.
* You acknowledge that: (i) the Software and the Service contain graphics, sound effects, music, animation-style video and text (collectively, "Content"), and (ii) Content may be provided under license by independent content providers, including text contributions from other Members. These independent content providers, including other Members, are referred to in this Agreement as "Content Providers". You, and any user of your Account, must evaluate, and bear the risk associated with, the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any Content. Mythic does not pre-screen Content as a matter of policy, but Mythic has the right, but not the responsibility, to remove Content at any time which it deems to be harmful, offensive, or otherwise in violation of this Agreement.
3. Copyright
This Game is owned by Mythic Entertainment and is protected by the United States copyright laws and international treaty provisions. Mythic retains all rights not expressly granted. Therefore, you must treat the Game like any other copyrighted material (for example, a movie or book) except that you may make either (a) make one copy of the Game solely for backup or archival purposes, or (b) transfer the Game to a single hard disk provided you keep the original solely for backup or archival purposes. You may not copy the written materials accompanying the Game in whole or in part without the express written permission of Mythic.
4. Account Information
* Accounts are available only to adults or, in their discretion, their minor child. If you are a minor, your parent(s) or guardian(s) must complete the registration process, in which case they will take full responsibility for all obligations under this Agreement.
*
* BY CLICKING THE "I ACCEPT" BUTTON AND PROVIDIN US WITH A CREDIT CARD NUMBER, YOU REPRESENT THAT YOU ARE AN ADULT AND ARE EITHER ACCEPTING THIS AGREEMENT ON BEHALF OF YOURSELF OR YOUR CHILD. You may not transfer or share your Account with anyone, except that if you are a parent or guardian, you may permit one child to use the Account instead of you (in which case you may not use that Account). You are liable for all activities conducted through the Account, and parents or guardians are liable for the activities of their child. Corporations and other entities are not eligible to procure Accounts.
* Upon registration, you must select a password. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and are responsible for any damage, harm, lost or deleted characters, etc. resulting from your disclosure or allowing the disclosure of any password or from use by any person of your password to gain access to your Account.
* You may not disclose your password to any third party. We never ask you for your password by telephone or email, and you should not disclose it this way if someone asks you to do so. There may be an additional charge to reissue lost passwords. Although we may offer a feature that allows you to "save" or "remember" your password on your hard drive, please note that third parties may be able to access your computer and thus your Account.
* To obtain an Account, you will be required to choose both a login name and a player name. While you are encouraged to use a pseudonym, especially if you are a minor, you may not pick a name that violates anyone's trademarks, publicity rights or other proprietary rights. Acceptance of a pseudonym by the gaming system does not constitute a finding by Mythic that your chosen pseudonym does not violate any third party's trademarks, publicity rights or other proprietary rights, and you as the user are responsible for any liability in the choosing of a pseudonym. Mythic retains the right to reject any pseudonym it concludes, in its sole discretion, is indecent, obscene, or otherwise violates standards of good taste.
* As part of your Account, you can upload content to our servers in various forms, such as in the selections you make for the Game and in chat rooms and similar user-to-user areas (collectively, your "Content"). Your Content shall not: (a) infringe any third party intellectual property, other proprietary or publicity/privacy rights; (b) violate any law or regulation; (c) be defamatory, obscene, child pornographic or harmful to minors; or (d) contain any viruses, trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancelbots or other computer programming routines that are intended to damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or personal information. We may take any action with respect to your Content if we believe it may create liability for us or may cause us to lose (in whole or in part) the services of our ISPs or other suppliers. You hereby grant to us a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sublicenseable (through multiple tiers) right to exercise all intellectual property rights, in any media now known or not currently known, associated with your Content.
5. Fees
* We describe our fees and billing procedures at support.darkageofcamelot.com, which you must read prior to opening an account on-line. Those procedures are incorporated by reference. All fees are stated in U.S. Dollars. All fees are prepaid and non-refundable. Upon your acceptance of these terms, we will automatically charge your credit card the Account fee plus any applicable taxes we are required to collect, and you authorize us to do so. Thereafter, on the applicable anniversary, we will charge your credit card the then-current renewal rate plus any applicable taxes we are required to collect, and you authorize us to do so. If we are unable to process your credit card at a renewal period, your Account may be immediately terminated.
* Mythic may change its fees and billing methods at any time effective thirty days after notice of these changes are given through (a) the patching system (described below) or (b) our Web Site. You are responsible for reviewing the billing section of the Web Site to obtain timely notice of such changes. If any such change is unacceptable to you, you may terminate your membership as per Section 9. Your continued use of the Game thirty days after the first of (a) or (b) above, constitutes acceptance of the change.
6. Changes, Updates to the Game
Mythic may occasionally find it necessary to make changes to, or reset or change certain parameters of the Game in order to bring it back into balance or to correct any design errors, flaws or issues within the Game. These changes or resets may affect characters under your control and may cause you setbacks within the game world. In no event will any of these changes obligate Mythic to make any adjustments, refunds, reimbursements, etc. to either the Player's Account or to any or all of the Player's Characters within the game.
7. Patching the Game
For the purposes of updating/patching or otherwise modifying the Game, you hereby grant Mythic permission to (a) the extraction of hardware system profile data; (b) upload information from the Game's file directory; (c) download Game files to your computer and any data related to operation of the Game from any computer that logs on to the Service using your Account.
8. Hacks, Modifications and/or Changes to the Game
You may not use any third party software to modify the Game to change Game play. You may not use our intellectual property rights contained in the Game or the Software to create or provide any other means through which the Game may be played by others, as through server emulators. You may not take any action which imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure.
9. Selling of Items
You may not sell or auction any Game characters, items, coin or copyrighted material.
The selling of items, coins or any copyrighted part of the Game's player character whether through online auctions (for example Ebay), newsgroup or postings on message board is in violation of this EULA as well as Mythic's Player Code of Conduct. In addition to violating our agreement, selling items and/or coin violates our legal rights and may constitute misappropriation, and/or tortuous interference with our business and tarnishes the goodwill in the Dark Age of Camelot(tm) name.
10. Privacy.
You understand that you have no expectation of privacy regarding the communications you make in the Game or in Chat Rooms, and that Mythic representatives may monitor all communications made by or received from you. You understand that you should never provide any private information to any other player in the Game, and will not hold Mythic responsible for the consequences of any such disclosure by you. Further, you understand that in playing the Game, you may encounter and converse with people who are rude, offensive, belligerent, and who may use indecent, obscene, and/or threatening or harassing language. You are free to report any instances of such behavior to Mythic, and we will take such measures as Mythic, in its sole business judgement, determines are reasonable when such behavior violates either the EULA or the Player's Code of Conduct. HOWEVER, MYTHIC DOES NOT WARRANT THAT YOU WILL BE FREE FROM THE BEHAVIOR OF OTHERS YOU MAY DEEM INSULTING, DEMEANING, OFFENSIVE, THREATENING OR HARASSING WHILE YOU PLAY THIS GAME. IN THE EVENT THAT MYTHIC CHOOSES NOT TO TAKE ANY ACTION, TAKES AN ACTION WITH WHICH YOU DO NOT AGREE OR IS UNABLE TO TAKE ANY ACTION FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER, IN NO EVENT SHALL WE, OUR PARENT, OUR AFFILIATES OR OUR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (HOWEVER ARISING, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) AND/OR EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR ACCOUNT, OUR GAME OR YOUR TIME SPENT PLAYING THE GAME. OUR LIABILITY TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTIES IS LIMITED TO $100.
11. Parental Guidance.
The Game has been given a "TEEN" rating, which means that parents may find it inappropriate for use by persons under the age of 13. While Mythic may choose to monitor and take action upon inappropriate gameplay, chat or links to the Game, it is possible that at any time there may be language or other material accessible on or through the Service that may be inappropriate for children or offensive to some users of any age. While Mythic has established Rules of Conduct for players accessing the Service, Mythic cannot ensure that other players will not provide Content or access to Content that parents or guardians may find inappropriate or that any user may find objectionable. Mythic does not as a matter of policy pre-screen the content of the materials or communications transmitted by each player. Mythic will abide by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA"), in that it will not collect any information about children beyond that necessary to establish and account and log into the game, which you as a parent agree to as part of this EULA, and Mythic will not disseminate any such information to any third party unless compelled pursuant to paragraph 12 below.
12. Disclosure of Information
We cannot ensure that your communications within the game and other personally identifiable information will not be disclosed to third parties. For example, we may be forced to disclose information to the government or third parties under certain circumstances, or third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications. Additionally, we can (and you authorize us to) disclose any information about you to private entities, law enforcement or other government officials as we, in our sole discretion, believe necessary or appropriate to investigate or resolve possible problems or inquiries. Furthermore, if you request any technical support, you consent to our remote accessing and review of the computer you load the Software onto for purposes of support and debugging. You agree that we may communicate with you via email and any similar technology for any purpose relating to the Game, the Software and any services or software which may in the future be provided by us or on our behalf. You may choose to visit our web site at www.mythicentertainment.com if the site offers services such as a Game theme chat room or other services of interest to you. You are subject to the terms and conditions, privacy customs and policies of Mythic while participating in any interactions on the site.
13. Termination
* Either you or Mythic may terminate your Account, for any reason, without further obligation to the other. Further, Mythic reserves the right to terminate the Game at any time without further obligation to you.
* As way of example, Mythic may terminate this Agreement (including your Software license and your Account) immediately and/or terminate or temporarily suspend your access to the Game, without notice if Mythic believes, in its sole discretion, that your conduct (including but not limited to gameplay, chat or any other player activity) is unacceptable and/or inappropriate or for conduct which Mythic believes (a) breaches the terms and conditions of this Agreement, (b) repeatedly infringes any third party intellectual property rights; (c) in violation of the spirit of the Game; (d) is harmful to Mythic or other users of the Game (e) lying, misleading or otherwise providing false information to Mythic personnel; (f) is violation of any of the policies/guidelines as set forth in the player rules of conduct, which are posted at www.mythicentertainment.com/rulesofconduct. Mythic may also terminate your account if we are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us, Mythic reserves the right to deny access to any individual as a player of the Game. or if we are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us, A copy of these rules, as they existed at the time this CD-ROM was published is contained on this disk in a document entitled "rulesofconduct.txt". All of the Sections of this Agreement survive termination of this Agreement.
* Members whose Accounts have been terminated by Mythic may not access the Game in any manner or any reason, including through any other Account, without the express written permission of Mythic. Active Members may not knowingly allow former Members whose Accounts have been terminated to use the active Member's Accounts.
* Your only right and remedy with respect to any dissatisfaction with the Game is to terminate this Agreement, including, without limitation, any dissatisfaction with (i) any terms and conditions of this Agreement, or any policy or practice of Mythic in operating the Game, (ii) content available in the Game, or any change therein, or (iii) the amount or type of fees or billing methods, or any change thereof.
* IF EITHER PARTY TERMINATES THIS AGREEMENT, THE ACCOUNT WILL BE CLOSED AND MYTHIC WILL NOT REFUND THE BALANCE OF ANY PREPAID PERIOD. WE MAY ALSO TERMINATE THIS AGREEMENT IF WE DECIDE, IN OUR SOLE DISCRETION, TO DISCONTINUE OFFERING THE GAME, IN WHICH CASE WE MAY PROVIDE YOU, BUT ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO DO SO, WITH A PRORATED REFUND OF ANY PREPAID AMOUNTS. ANY PART OF THE ACCOUNT, CHARACTERS OR DATA STORED THEREON WILL BE LOST AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TRANSFER OR ASSIGN THEM TO ANY OTHER ACCOUNTS. IN THE EVENT THAT THE ACCOUNT IS TERMINATED, MYTHIC RESERVES THE RIGHT TO TERMINATE ANY AND ALL OTHER ACCOUNTS THAT SHARE THE MEMBER NAME, PHONE NUMBER, EMAIL ADDRESS, INTERNET PROTOCOL ADDRESS OR CREDIT CARD NUMBER WITH THE TERMINATED ACCOUNT
Limited Warranty
WE PROVIDE THE CD-ROM, THE SOFTWARE, THE ACCOUNT, THE GAME AND ALL OTHER SERVICES "AS IS." WE AND OUR SUPPLIERS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NONINFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
You acknowledge that because of the complexity of computer technology, Mythic cannot and does not warrant that this product's operation will be uninterrupted and error-free. Without limiting the foregoing, we do not ensure continuous, error-free, secure or virus-free operation of the CD-ROM, the Software, the Game or your Account. Some states do not allow the disclaimer of implied warranties, so the foregoing disclaimer may not apply to you. We do not warrant that the enclosed product or documentations will satisfy the requirements of your computer systems or that the enclosed product or documentations are without defect or error. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other legal rights which vary from state to state.
We are not liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting from any causes beyond our reasonable control. Further, we cannot and do not promise or ensure that you will be able to access your Account whenever you want, and there may be extended periods of time when you cannot access your Account.
IN NO EVENT SHALL WE, OUR PARENT, OUR AFFILIATES OR OUR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES (HOWEVER ARISING, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR ACCOUNT, THE GAME, THE CD-ROM OR THIS AGREEMENT. YOUR REMEDY IS LIMITED TO A REPLACEMENT DISK IN THE EVENT THAT THIS DISK MALFUNCTIONS. Some states do not allow the foregoing limitations of liability, so they may not apply to you.
The warranty and remedies set forth herein are exclusive and in lieu of all others, oral or written, express or implied. No distributor, agent or employee of Mythic is authorized to make any modifications or addition to this warranty.
You shall comply with all applicable laws regarding your use of the Software, your access to your Account and your playing of the Game. Without limiting the foregoing, you may not download, use or otherwise export or re-export the Software except in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
Your use of the Game, your access to your Account and your entering into the Game constitutes your agreement to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Mythic and its affiliated companies, employees, contractors, officers and directors from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorney's fees arising our of your use or misuse of the Game, your access to your Account and your playing the Game, including a third party's use or misuse of your account and/or password.
This Agreement is governed in all respects by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia as such laws are applied to agreements entered into and to be performed entirely within Virginia between Virginia residents, including the provisions of the Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act ("UCITA") as adopted by the Commonwealth of Virginia (Code of VA, 59.1-501.1, et seq. The UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is expressly disclaimed. Any dispute arising out of this Agreement shall be subject to binding arbitration under the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") Commercial Arbitration Rules with Expedited
Procedures in effect on the date hereof. If any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be struck and the remaining provisions shall be enforced. Our failure to act with respect to a breach by you or others does not waive our right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches. You may not assign or transfer this Agreement or your rights hereunder, and any attempt to the contrary is void. This Agreement sets forth the entire understanding and agreement between us and you with respect to the subject matter hereof. Except as provided above, this Agreement may not be amended except in a writing signed by both parties.
All services hereunder are offered by Mythic Entertainment, Inc., 3919 Old Lee Highway Suite 82A, Fairfax, VA 22030. You can reach us during the hours of 9am EST to 5pm EST by calling (703) 934-0169 or by emailing support@mythicentertainment.com. Current rates for using the Game may be obtained from support.darkageofcamelot.com, and such rates are subject to change at any time and without prior notice. If you are a California resident, you may have this same information emailed to you by sending a letter to the foregoing address with your email address and a request for this information.
Well, dunno about Asheron's Call, but the DAoC and Everquest EULAs both have provisions that the account is usable by only one person. Here's more on that from DAoC's EULA:
"BY CLICKING THE "I ACCEPT" BUTTON AND PROVIDIN US WITH A CREDIT CARD NUMBER, YOU REPRESENT THAT YOU ARE AN ADULT AND ARE EITHER ACCEPTING THIS AGREEMENT ON BEHALF OF YOURSELF OR YOUR CHILD. You may not transfer or share your Account with anyone, except that if you are a parent or guardian, you may permit one child to use the Account instead of you (in which case you may not use that Account). You are liable for all activities conducted through the Account, and parents or guardians are liable for the activities of their child. Corporations and other entities are not eligible to procure Accounts."
Unlike other EULA's, MMORPGs repeat their EULA's every time a user connects to play the game. In Dark Age of Camelot, the EULA pops up when you log in, and to continue, you have to accept the EULA.
Typically, anyone playing MMORPGs sees the EULA enough and is given the chance to NOT play the game if they disagree with the terms.
Contrast this with the typical software package that makes you agree to the EULA without actually seeing it in most cases, and even before you install the software on your computer.
Everquest has similar provisions (as will Neverwinter Nights, I would assume).
Here is the important passage from DAoC:
* You acknowledge and agree that all characters created, and items acquired and developed as a result of game play are part of the Software and Game and are the sole property of Mythic. You acknowledge that: (i) the Software and the Service permit access to Content that is protected by copyrights, trademarks, and other proprietary rights owned by Mythic as covered in Section 3 below.
There was always some fancy -- and basically useless -- technology that my clients just had to have
I know the feeling: my wife was intrigued with Toshiba's CPad for some reason: it's rather useless, but I guess she can show someone the cool background she's assigned to the touchpad.
The problem is that the person isn't looking to find a laptop that can run anything: they are looking for a laptop with great specs. I don't think that's the way to buy a laptop.
When my wife and I decided to buy a laptop, we sat down and discussed what we wanted to do with it. After that, the specs wrote themselves, and we could move on to finding compatible machines.
For example, she wanted to run Evercrack. I wanted screen real estate for work application. So a 3D accelerator, 512M RAM, and 1600x1200 display were part of the specs.
Did I eventually want to run Linux on it? If so, then maybe a laptop with no proprietary hardware (as it turns out, I don't want to run Linux on it, though, at least not for a while).
Finally, after determining what we wanted to do with the laptop, we spec shopped for the machine, using C-Net, USENET, vendor sites.
In the end, we narrowed it down to the high-end Vaio and high-end Toshiba. Both had comparable specs, the Vaio was slower, with larger screen size (same resolution, though) and a slightly better 3D card (mobile radeon 7500).
We went with the Toshiba, though: GeForce4Go (but the video card can be swapped out, apparently, which was a big plus), SD/Smart Media readers built in (for digital photography and swapping files to my Zaurus), Firewire. So we got a machine with great specs, but that does what we need it to do (plus more).
Of course, the Everquest thing should have tipped me off. I think I've used the laptop once since we've gotten it. Silly wife.;)
* Give Frodo a incurable disease; * Have Gandalf take a shot to the head and be mentally impaired for the next two movies; * Arwen's role in Two Towers should be to sleep with some Orc played by Billy Bob Thorton; * Sam gets Rain Man autism; * Strider overcomes his disabilities and is able to kill Orcs using only his left foot;
Eh. I played the Beta for a few hours, but was unimpressed: the game plays like a real-time version of Heroes of Might and Magic. Like most Blizzard games, it is fun, but not terribly revolutionary (and only minorly evolutionary).
I'm sure the game will sell well, but it just isn't that interesting to me after hundreds of variations on the RTS genre.
Seeing the sets at Circuit City, Best Buy and the like is a waste of time: they usually don;t have hi-def signals going into the sets, and the viewing environment is not all that great.
In terms of HBO HD vs. Standard, much depends on what you are watching: for example, watch Red Planet in HD vs. Red Planet Standard and you will definitely see the difference (unless the TV is really messed up).
In many cases, though, the transfer of a movie may look like crap, even in HD. The demo channels of Dish and DirectTV, though, always look spectacular. I'd suggest looking at those (again, assuming a good viewing environment).
CBS' primetime line up is also pretty good to watch.
The problem with HDTV is that consumers are not adequately informing themselves on the pros and cons and many of the dealers don't know enough to seel the product.
I was in Sears the other day and heard a young couple watching a HDTV (which was displaying some cartoon) remark "Well, it certainly doesn't do anything for cartoons." Well, duh.:)
Salespeople are even worse. When I was buying my HDTV (a horror story in itself) I would visit the chain stores to see what they had. At Best Buy, the salesperson attempted to sell me a Toshiba over a Panasonic because the Toshiba had twice the resolution. Not really. The salesperson was comparing the pixel resolution of the Toshiba to the vertical line resolution of the Panasonic.
If the dealers can sell the things correctly, and the consumers can't buy the things correctly, then all you'll get is a bunch of idiot consumers complaining about how crappy their HDTV looks with theit low-res digital cable plugged into it.
On the other hand, you'll get well-informed consumers who know what they want, bought what the wanted, and are extremely happy with HDTV. In fact, I'll probably be buying another one soon for another room in the house.;)
Seems like the topic of VR/3D methods of information presentaion come up regularly. In Web land years back, we had people enamored of VRML: they wanted to use it as the primary navigation on an important site, and we pretty much nixed the idea as being too expensive, non-intuitive, and annoying to the user.
The major problem is that the computer is a 2D display device, so whenever moving to a 3D representaion, you are really getting a 2D representation of a 3D represenation of information, with only 2D tools to use to get at that info (i.e. mouse, keyboard).
I tried to use a 3D file manager for about a week, once, and found it unintuitive, silly, and a general pain to try to use. Why? Because I don;t want to wander through virtual galleries of items before finding the one I want: I've got a memory/filing system that makes it easier for the 2D computer system I use.
Unless the peripherals and OSes become 3D oriented, I don;t really see that changing. The desktop metaphor works for the type of information we store on our computers.
Slashdot Mirror
Let's see, the Sharp Zaurus has NetHack, Chess, various Solitaire games, Scrabble, Bomberman, Hearts and Go. With FreeCiv being ported.
:)
The future is now.
Yes, but when that power station explodes, and you and I are stuck on the moon with Barbara Bain and Martin Landau, I'm coming after you.
Since I keep quoting from it, figured I'd post the dang thing. Always good to read what you are discussing. ;)
USER AGREEMENT AND SOFTWARE LICENSE
THIS END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT ("EULA") DESCRIBES THE TERMS BY WHICH MYTHIC ENTERTAINMENT, INC. ("MYTHIC") OFFERS YOU ACCESS TO AN ACCOUNT (THE "ACCOUNT") TO PLAY THE DARK AGE OF CAMELOT(tm) ONLINE ROLE PLAYING GAME (THE "GAME"). BY PRESSING THE "I ACCEPT" BUTTON, YOU ACCEPT THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS BELOW. BY PRESSING THE "DECLINE" BUTTON, YOU DECLINE OUR OFFER, IN WHICH CASE YOU SHOULD CONTACT YOUR RETAILER REGARDING ITS RETURN POLICY FOR THE DARK AGE OF CAMELOT(tm) CD-ROM. In the event you choose not to accept the EULA or by technical means can bypass/disable the "I ACCEPT BUTTON" by installing, copying, downloading, accessing or otherwise using the GAME, you agree to be bound by the terms of this EULA. You choose to accept this EULA every time you enter or re-enter the GAME. If you do not agree to the terms of this EULA, do not install or use the GAME; you may, however, return it to your place of purchase for a refund consistent with your retailer's policy on returned software. If you have any questions regarding these terms and conditions, please contact customer service at support@mythicentertainment.com.
A COPY OF THIS EULA CAN BE FOUND ON THIS DISK UNDER THE DOCUMENTS NAME "DARK AGE OF CAMELOT(tm) USER AGREEMENT.TXT" SHOULD YOU WISH TO CONSULT IT IN THE FUTURE.
1. GRANT OF LICENSE
* This EULA permits you to use one copy of the specified version of the GAME on any single computer or game platform. You may also store or install a copy of the GAME on a storage device, such as a network server, used only to install or run the GAME on your other computers over an internal network; however, you must acquire and dedicate a license for each separate computer on or from which the GAME is installed, used, accessed, displayed or run. A license for the GAME may not be shared or used concurrently on different computers.
* To play the Game, you must (a) purchase the Dark Age of Camelot(tm) game CD-ROM (the "CD-ROM"), which includes software required for the Game (the "Software"), (b) have a fully paid Account, and (c) have an Internet connection (which we do not provide) to access your Account. In addition to any fees described herein, you are responsible for paying all applicable taxes (including those we are not required to collect) and for all hardware, software, service and other costs you incur to access your Account. Neither this Agreement nor your Account entitles you to any subsequent releases of the Software, nor to any expansion packs or similar ancillary products. You understand that we may update or otherwise enhance the Software at any time and in doing so incur no obligation to furnish such updates to you pursuant to this Agreement.
* Subject to the terms of this Agreement, we hereby grant to you a non-exclusive license to use the Software solely in connection with playing the Game via an authorized and fully-paid Account. You may not copy (except to make one necessary back-up copy), distribute, rent, lease, loan, modify or create derivative works, adapt, translate, perform, display, sublicense or transfer the Software. You may not copy any of the written materials accompanying the CD-ROM. You may not reverse engineer, disassemble or decompile or otherwise reverse engineer or attempt to reverse engineer or derive source code from, all or any portion of the Software or anything incorporated therein or permit any third party to do so except to the extent that this restriction is expressly prohibited by applicable law. The Software may contain license management software that restricts your use of the Software. If the Software is an update, any transfer must include the update and all prior revisions.
2. Other Rights and Limitations
* This EULA does not grant you any rights in connection with any trademarks or service marks of Mythic.
We may amend this Agreement at any time in our sole discretion. Amendments shall be communicated to you either a) at the time you log into your Account; b) through a conspicuous post on our website. Such amendments shall be effective upon entering or re-entering the Game. If any such revision of this Agreement is unacceptable to you, you my terminate your membership as per Section 13.
* We and our suppliers shall retain ownership of all intellectual property rights relating to or residing in the CD-ROM, the Software and the Game. The Software is a commercial item.
* You acknowledge and agree that all characters created, and items acquired and developed as a result of game play are part of the Software and Game and are the sole property of Mythic. You acknowledge that: (i) the Software and the Service permit access to Content that is protected by copyrights, trademarks, and other proprietary rights owned by Mythic as covered in Section 3 below.
* You acknowledge that: (i) the Software and the Service contain graphics, sound effects, music, animation-style video and text (collectively, "Content"), and (ii) Content may be provided under license by independent content providers, including text contributions from other Members. These independent content providers, including other Members, are referred to in this Agreement as "Content Providers". You, and any user of your Account, must evaluate, and bear the risk associated with, the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any Content. Mythic does not pre-screen Content as a matter of policy, but Mythic has the right, but not the responsibility, to remove Content at any time which it deems to be harmful, offensive, or otherwise in violation of this Agreement.
3. Copyright
This Game is owned by Mythic Entertainment and is protected by the United States copyright laws and international treaty provisions. Mythic retains all rights not expressly granted. Therefore, you must treat the Game like any other copyrighted material (for example, a movie or book) except that you may make either (a) make one copy of the Game solely for backup or archival purposes, or (b) transfer the Game to a single hard disk provided you keep the original solely for backup or archival purposes. You may not copy the written materials accompanying the Game in whole or in part without the express written permission of Mythic.
4. Account Information
* Accounts are available only to adults or, in their discretion, their minor child. If you are a minor, your parent(s) or guardian(s) must complete the registration process, in which case they will take full responsibility for all obligations under this Agreement.
*
* BY CLICKING THE "I ACCEPT" BUTTON AND PROVIDIN US WITH A CREDIT CARD NUMBER, YOU REPRESENT THAT YOU ARE AN ADULT AND ARE EITHER ACCEPTING THIS AGREEMENT ON BEHALF OF YOURSELF OR YOUR CHILD. You may not transfer or share your Account with anyone, except that if you are a parent or guardian, you may permit one child to use the Account instead of you (in which case you may not use that Account). You are liable for all activities conducted through the Account, and parents or guardians are liable for the activities of their child. Corporations and other entities are not eligible to procure Accounts.
* Upon registration, you must select a password. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and are responsible for any damage, harm, lost or deleted characters, etc. resulting from your disclosure or allowing the disclosure of any password or from use by any person of your password to gain access to your Account.
* You may not disclose your password to any third party. We never ask you for your password by telephone or email, and you should not disclose it this way if someone asks you to do so. There may be an additional charge to reissue lost passwords. Although we may offer a feature that allows you to "save" or "remember" your password on your hard drive, please note that third parties may be able to access your computer and thus your Account.
* To obtain an Account, you will be required to choose both a login name and a player name. While you are encouraged to use a pseudonym, especially if you are a minor, you may not pick a name that violates anyone's trademarks, publicity rights or other proprietary rights. Acceptance of a pseudonym by the gaming system does not constitute a finding by Mythic that your chosen pseudonym does not violate any third party's trademarks, publicity rights or other proprietary rights, and you as the user are responsible for any liability in the choosing of a pseudonym. Mythic retains the right to reject any pseudonym it concludes, in its sole discretion, is indecent, obscene, or otherwise violates standards of good taste.
* As part of your Account, you can upload content to our servers in various forms, such as in the selections you make for the Game and in chat rooms and similar user-to-user areas (collectively, your "Content"). Your Content shall not: (a) infringe any third party intellectual property, other proprietary or publicity/privacy rights; (b) violate any law or regulation; (c) be defamatory, obscene, child pornographic or harmful to minors; or (d) contain any viruses, trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancelbots or other computer programming routines that are intended to damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or personal information. We may take any action with respect to your Content if we believe it may create liability for us or may cause us to lose (in whole or in part) the services of our ISPs or other suppliers. You hereby grant to us a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sublicenseable (through multiple tiers) right to exercise all intellectual property rights, in any media now known or not currently known, associated with your Content.
5. Fees
* We describe our fees and billing procedures at support.darkageofcamelot.com, which you must read prior to opening an account on-line. Those procedures are incorporated by reference. All fees are stated in U.S. Dollars. All fees are prepaid and non-refundable. Upon your acceptance of these terms, we will automatically charge your credit card the Account fee plus any applicable taxes we are required to collect, and you authorize us to do so. Thereafter, on the applicable anniversary, we will charge your credit card the then-current renewal rate plus any applicable taxes we are required to collect, and you authorize us to do so. If we are unable to process your credit card at a renewal period, your Account may be immediately terminated.
* Mythic may change its fees and billing methods at any time effective thirty days after notice of these changes are given through (a) the patching system (described below) or (b) our Web Site. You are responsible for reviewing the billing section of the Web Site to obtain timely notice of such changes. If any such change is unacceptable to you, you may terminate your membership as per Section 9. Your continued use of the Game thirty days after the first of (a) or (b) above, constitutes acceptance of the change.
6. Changes, Updates to the Game
Mythic may occasionally find it necessary to make changes to, or reset or change certain parameters of the Game in order to bring it back into balance or to correct any design errors, flaws or issues within the Game. These changes or resets may affect characters under your control and may cause you setbacks within the game world. In no event will any of these changes obligate Mythic to make any adjustments, refunds, reimbursements, etc. to either the Player's Account or to any or all of the Player's Characters within the game.
7. Patching the Game
For the purposes of updating/patching or otherwise modifying the Game, you hereby grant Mythic permission to (a) the extraction of hardware system profile data; (b) upload information from the Game's file directory; (c) download Game files to your computer and any data related to operation of the Game from any computer that logs on to the Service using your Account.
8. Hacks, Modifications and/or Changes to the Game
You may not use any third party software to modify the Game to change Game play. You may not use our intellectual property rights contained in the Game or the Software to create or provide any other means through which the Game may be played by others, as through server emulators. You may not take any action which imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure.
9. Selling of Items
You may not sell or auction any Game characters, items, coin or copyrighted material.
The selling of items, coins or any copyrighted part of the Game's player character whether through online auctions (for example Ebay), newsgroup or postings on message board is in violation of this EULA as well as Mythic's Player Code of Conduct. In addition to violating our agreement, selling items and/or coin violates our legal rights and may constitute misappropriation, and/or tortuous interference with our business and tarnishes the goodwill in the Dark Age of Camelot(tm) name.
10. Privacy.
You understand that you have no expectation of privacy regarding the communications you make in the Game or in Chat Rooms, and that Mythic representatives may monitor all communications made by or received from you. You understand that you should never provide any private information to any other player in the Game, and will not hold Mythic responsible for the consequences of any such disclosure by you. Further, you understand that in playing the Game, you may encounter and converse with people who are rude, offensive, belligerent, and who may use indecent, obscene, and/or threatening or harassing language. You are free to report any instances of such behavior to Mythic, and we will take such measures as Mythic, in its sole business judgement, determines are reasonable when such behavior violates either the EULA or the Player's Code of Conduct. HOWEVER, MYTHIC DOES NOT WARRANT THAT YOU WILL BE FREE FROM THE BEHAVIOR OF OTHERS YOU MAY DEEM INSULTING, DEMEANING, OFFENSIVE, THREATENING OR HARASSING WHILE YOU PLAY THIS GAME. IN THE EVENT THAT MYTHIC CHOOSES NOT TO TAKE ANY ACTION, TAKES AN ACTION WITH WHICH YOU DO NOT AGREE OR IS UNABLE TO TAKE ANY ACTION FOR ANY REASON WHATSOEVER, IN NO EVENT SHALL WE, OUR PARENT, OUR AFFILIATES OR OUR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (HOWEVER ARISING, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) AND/OR EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR ACCOUNT, OUR GAME OR YOUR TIME SPENT PLAYING THE GAME. OUR LIABILITY TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTIES IS LIMITED TO $100.
11. Parental Guidance.
The Game has been given a "TEEN" rating, which means that parents may find it inappropriate for use by persons under the age of 13. While Mythic may choose to monitor and take action upon inappropriate gameplay, chat or links to the Game, it is possible that at any time there may be language or other material accessible on or through the Service that may be inappropriate for children or offensive to some users of any age. While Mythic has established Rules of Conduct for players accessing the Service, Mythic cannot ensure that other players will not provide Content or access to Content that parents or guardians may find inappropriate or that any user may find objectionable. Mythic does not as a matter of policy pre-screen the content of the materials or communications transmitted by each player. Mythic will abide by the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA"), in that it will not collect any information about children beyond that necessary to establish and account and log into the game, which you as a parent agree to as part of this EULA, and Mythic will not disseminate any such information to any third party unless compelled pursuant to paragraph 12 below.
12. Disclosure of Information
We cannot ensure that your communications within the game and other personally identifiable information will not be disclosed to third parties. For example, we may be forced to disclose information to the government or third parties under certain circumstances, or third parties may unlawfully intercept or access transmissions or private communications. Additionally, we can (and you authorize us to) disclose any information about you to private entities, law enforcement or other government officials as we, in our sole discretion, believe necessary or appropriate to investigate or resolve possible problems or inquiries. Furthermore, if you request any technical support, you consent to our remote accessing and review of the computer you load the Software onto for purposes of support and debugging. You agree that we may communicate with you via email and any similar technology for any purpose relating to the Game, the Software and any services or software which may in the future be provided by us or on our behalf. You may choose to visit our web site at www.mythicentertainment.com if the site offers services such as a Game theme chat room or other services of interest to you. You are subject to the terms and conditions, privacy customs and policies of Mythic while participating in any interactions on the site.
13. Termination
* Either you or Mythic may terminate your Account, for any reason, without further obligation to the other. Further, Mythic reserves the right to terminate the Game at any time without further obligation to you.
* As way of example, Mythic may terminate this Agreement (including your Software license and your Account) immediately and/or terminate or temporarily suspend your access to the Game, without notice if Mythic believes, in its sole discretion, that your conduct (including but not limited to gameplay, chat or any other player activity) is unacceptable and/or inappropriate or for conduct which Mythic believes (a) breaches the terms and conditions of this Agreement, (b) repeatedly infringes any third party intellectual property rights; (c) in violation of the spirit of the Game; (d) is harmful to Mythic or other users of the Game (e) lying, misleading or otherwise providing false information to Mythic personnel; (f) is violation of any of the policies/guidelines as set forth in the player rules of conduct, which are posted at www.mythicentertainment.com/rulesofconduct. Mythic may also terminate your account if we are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us, Mythic reserves the right to deny access to any individual as a player of the Game. or if we are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us, A copy of these rules, as they existed at the time this CD-ROM was published is contained on this disk in a document entitled "rulesofconduct.txt". All of the Sections of this Agreement survive termination of this Agreement.
* Members whose Accounts have been terminated by Mythic may not access the Game in any manner or any reason, including through any other Account, without the express written permission of Mythic. Active Members may not knowingly allow former Members whose Accounts have been terminated to use the active Member's Accounts.
* Your only right and remedy with respect to any dissatisfaction with the Game is to terminate this Agreement, including, without limitation, any dissatisfaction with (i) any terms and conditions of this Agreement, or any policy or practice of Mythic in operating the Game, (ii) content available in the Game, or any change therein, or (iii) the amount or type of fees or billing methods, or any change thereof.
* IF EITHER PARTY TERMINATES THIS AGREEMENT, THE ACCOUNT WILL BE CLOSED AND MYTHIC WILL NOT REFUND THE BALANCE OF ANY PREPAID PERIOD. WE MAY ALSO TERMINATE THIS AGREEMENT IF WE DECIDE, IN OUR SOLE DISCRETION, TO DISCONTINUE OFFERING THE GAME, IN WHICH CASE WE MAY PROVIDE YOU, BUT ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO DO SO, WITH A PRORATED REFUND OF ANY PREPAID AMOUNTS. ANY PART OF THE ACCOUNT, CHARACTERS OR DATA STORED THEREON WILL BE LOST AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TRANSFER OR ASSIGN THEM TO ANY OTHER ACCOUNTS. IN THE EVENT THAT THE ACCOUNT IS TERMINATED, MYTHIC RESERVES THE RIGHT TO TERMINATE ANY AND ALL OTHER ACCOUNTS THAT SHARE THE MEMBER NAME, PHONE NUMBER, EMAIL ADDRESS, INTERNET PROTOCOL ADDRESS OR CREDIT CARD NUMBER WITH THE TERMINATED ACCOUNT
Limited Warranty
WE PROVIDE THE CD-ROM, THE SOFTWARE, THE ACCOUNT, THE GAME AND ALL OTHER SERVICES "AS IS." WE AND OUR SUPPLIERS EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NONINFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
You acknowledge that because of the complexity of computer technology, Mythic cannot and does not warrant that this product's operation will be uninterrupted and error-free. Without limiting the foregoing, we do not ensure continuous, error-free, secure or virus-free operation of the CD-ROM, the Software, the Game or your Account. Some states do not allow the disclaimer of implied warranties, so the foregoing disclaimer may not apply to you. We do not warrant that the enclosed product or documentations will satisfy the requirements of your computer systems or that the enclosed product or documentations are without defect or error. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other legal rights which vary from state to state.
We are not liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting from any causes beyond our reasonable control. Further, we cannot and do not promise or ensure that you will be able to access your Account whenever you want, and there may be extended periods of time when you cannot access your Account.
IN NO EVENT SHALL WE, OUR PARENT, OUR AFFILIATES OR OUR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES (HOWEVER ARISING, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR ACCOUNT, THE GAME, THE CD-ROM OR THIS AGREEMENT. YOUR REMEDY IS LIMITED TO A REPLACEMENT DISK IN THE EVENT THAT THIS DISK MALFUNCTIONS. Some states do not allow the foregoing limitations of liability, so they may not apply to you.
The warranty and remedies set forth herein are exclusive and in lieu of all others, oral or written, express or implied. No distributor, agent or employee of Mythic is authorized to make any modifications or addition to this warranty.
You shall comply with all applicable laws regarding your use of the Software, your access to your Account and your playing of the Game. Without limiting the foregoing, you may not download, use or otherwise export or re-export the Software except in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.
Your use of the Game, your access to your Account and your entering into the Game constitutes your agreement to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Mythic and its affiliated companies, employees, contractors, officers and directors from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorney's fees arising our of your use or misuse of the Game, your access to your Account and your playing the Game, including a third party's use or misuse of your account and/or password.
This Agreement is governed in all respects by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia as such laws are applied to agreements entered into and to be performed entirely within Virginia between Virginia residents, including the provisions of the Uniform Computer Information Transaction Act ("UCITA") as adopted by the Commonwealth of Virginia (Code of VA, 59.1-501.1, et seq. The UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is expressly disclaimed. Any dispute arising out of this Agreement shall be subject to binding arbitration under the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") Commercial Arbitration Rules with Expedited
Procedures in effect on the date hereof. If any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be struck and the remaining provisions shall be enforced. Our failure to act with respect to a breach by you or others does not waive our right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches. You may not assign or transfer this Agreement or your rights hereunder, and any attempt to the contrary is void. This Agreement sets forth the entire understanding and agreement between us and you with respect to the subject matter hereof. Except as provided above, this Agreement may not be amended except in a writing signed by both parties.
All services hereunder are offered by Mythic Entertainment, Inc., 3919 Old Lee Highway Suite 82A, Fairfax, VA 22030. You can reach us during the hours of 9am EST to 5pm EST by calling (703) 934-0169 or by emailing support@mythicentertainment.com. Current rates for using the Game may be obtained from support.darkageofcamelot.com, and such rates are subject to change at any time and without prior notice. If you are a California resident, you may have this same information emailed to you by sending a letter to the foregoing address with your email address and a request for this information.
Well, dunno about Asheron's Call, but the DAoC and Everquest EULAs both have provisions that the account is usable by only one person. Here's more on that from DAoC's EULA:
"BY CLICKING THE "I ACCEPT" BUTTON AND PROVIDIN US WITH A CREDIT CARD NUMBER, YOU REPRESENT THAT YOU ARE AN ADULT AND ARE EITHER ACCEPTING THIS AGREEMENT ON BEHALF OF YOURSELF OR YOUR CHILD. You may not transfer or share your Account with anyone, except that if you are a parent or guardian, you may permit one child to use the Account instead of you (in which case you may not use that Account). You are liable for all activities conducted through the Account, and parents or guardians are liable for the activities of their child. Corporations and other entities are not eligible to procure Accounts."
Unlike other EULA's, MMORPGs repeat their EULA's every time a user connects to play the game. In Dark Age of Camelot, the EULA pops up when you log in, and to continue, you have to accept the EULA.
Typically, anyone playing MMORPGs sees the EULA enough and is given the chance to NOT play the game if they disagree with the terms.
Contrast this with the typical software package that makes you agree to the EULA without actually seeing it in most cases, and even before you install the software on your computer.
Everquest has similar provisions (as will Neverwinter Nights, I would assume).
Here is the important passage from DAoC:
* You acknowledge and agree that all characters created, and items acquired and developed as a result of game play are part of the Software and Game and are the sole property of Mythic. You acknowledge that: (i) the Software and the Service permit access to Content that is protected by copyrights, trademarks, and other proprietary rights owned by Mythic as covered in Section 3 below.
That the awards ceremony was held last weekend and everyone knows who the winners are already? Heck, even CNN has the winners.
As with anything else, it's the journey that matters, not the destination.
"The bad: Incompatible with some sites built for Internet Explorer"
Uh. Well. Duh.
Almost half- goes to lawyers the rest get split up between everyone who claims.
So what do I get if I'm a lawyer who also used AOL 5.0? I mean, besides being the butt of lawyer AND AOL jokes?
The Toshiba 5105-s607. Runs about $2500 USD. Not too much chance of a price break yet, since they are still somewhat new.
1. The display is bright: a little too bright at times. Works well in the outside shade, but not terribly well in any direct sunlight.
2. Don't have it hooked up to an external monitor, but you should expect slightly worse performance than a Geforce 4 MX.
3/4. We haven't tried either of those.
I know the feeling: my wife was intrigued with Toshiba's CPad for some reason: it's rather useless, but I guess she can show someone the cool background she's assigned to the touchpad.
The problem is that the person isn't looking to find a laptop that can run anything: they are looking for a laptop with great specs. I don't think that's the way to buy a laptop.
;)
When my wife and I decided to buy a laptop, we sat down and discussed what we wanted to do with it. After that, the specs wrote themselves, and we could move on to finding compatible machines.
For example, she wanted to run Evercrack. I wanted screen real estate for work application. So a 3D accelerator, 512M RAM, and 1600x1200 display were part of the specs.
Did I eventually want to run Linux on it? If so, then maybe a laptop with no proprietary hardware (as it turns out, I don't want to run Linux on it, though, at least not for a while).
Finally, after determining what we wanted to do with the laptop, we spec shopped for the machine, using C-Net, USENET, vendor sites.
In the end, we narrowed it down to the high-end Vaio and high-end Toshiba. Both had comparable specs, the Vaio was slower, with larger screen size (same resolution, though) and a slightly better 3D card (mobile radeon 7500).
We went with the Toshiba, though: GeForce4Go (but the video card can be swapped out, apparently, which was a big plus), SD/Smart Media readers built in (for digital photography and swapping files to my Zaurus), Firewire. So we got a machine with great specs, but that does what we need it to do (plus more).
Of course, the Everquest thing should have tipped me off. I think I've used the laptop once since we've gotten it. Silly wife.
From the article:
The proposal, he argued, could lead to the fragmentation of Windows and "would set the computer industry back almost 20 years."
Hasn't Windows already done that?
* Give Frodo a incurable disease;
* Have Gandalf take a shot to the head and be mentally impaired for the next two movies;
* Arwen's role in Two Towers should be to sleep with some Orc played by Billy Bob Thorton;
* Sam gets Rain Man autism;
* Strider overcomes his disabilities and is able to kill Orcs using only his left foot;
Eh. I played the Beta for a few hours, but was unimpressed: the game plays like a real-time version of Heroes of Might and Magic. Like most Blizzard games, it is fun, but not terribly revolutionary (and only minorly evolutionary).
I'm sure the game will sell well, but it just isn't that interesting to me after hundreds of variations on the RTS genre.
I want something new and interesting.
... when the nuclear war comes, I'll still be able to get Star Trek newsgroups and porn. The Internet will live on.
Seeing the sets at Circuit City, Best Buy and the like is a waste of time: they usually don;t have hi-def signals going into the sets, and the viewing environment is not all that great.
In terms of HBO HD vs. Standard, much depends on what you are watching: for example, watch Red Planet in HD vs. Red Planet Standard and you will definitely see the difference (unless the TV is really messed up).
In many cases, though, the transfer of a movie may look like crap, even in HD. The demo channels of Dish and DirectTV, though, always look spectacular. I'd suggest looking at those (again, assuming a good viewing environment).
CBS' primetime line up is also pretty good to watch.
The problem with HDTV is that consumers are not adequately informing themselves on the pros and cons and many of the dealers don't know enough to seel the product.
:)
;)
I was in Sears the other day and heard a young couple watching a HDTV (which was displaying some cartoon) remark "Well, it certainly doesn't do anything for cartoons." Well, duh.
Salespeople are even worse. When I was buying my HDTV (a horror story in itself) I would visit the chain stores to see what they had. At Best Buy, the salesperson attempted to sell me a Toshiba over a Panasonic because the Toshiba had twice the resolution. Not really. The salesperson was comparing the pixel resolution of the Toshiba to the vertical line resolution of the Panasonic.
If the dealers can sell the things correctly, and the consumers can't buy the things correctly, then all you'll get is a bunch of idiot consumers complaining about how crappy their HDTV looks with theit low-res digital cable plugged into it.
On the other hand, you'll get well-informed consumers who know what they want, bought what the wanted, and are extremely happy with HDTV. In fact, I'll probably be buying another one soon for another room in the house.
Huh? The content feaction would be the artists who actually create the stuff. These companies are just the Distribution Faction.
>For example, you couldn't ask it to record "Mission to Mars" whenever it comes on next.
;)
Some would actually call that a feature, considering the movie.
Seems like the topic of VR/3D methods of information presentaion come up regularly. In Web land years back, we had people enamored of VRML: they wanted to use it as the primary navigation on an important site, and we pretty much nixed the idea as being too expensive, non-intuitive, and annoying to the user.
The major problem is that the computer is a 2D display device, so whenever moving to a 3D representaion, you are really getting a 2D representation of a 3D represenation of information, with only 2D tools to use to get at that info (i.e. mouse, keyboard).
I tried to use a 3D file manager for about a week, once, and found it unintuitive, silly, and a general pain to try to use. Why? Because I don;t want to wander through virtual galleries of items before finding the one I want: I've got a memory/filing system that makes it easier for the 2D computer system I use.
Unless the peripherals and OSes become 3D oriented, I don;t really see that changing. The desktop metaphor works for the type of information we store on our computers.