Sounds very interesting. I wish him the best of luck in getting this done. I think I read something about him a couple of years ago, though I could be wrong.
I have to admit, considering applications of this, such as parachuting from a Space Shuttle, IIS, etc, it does make you wonder why something like this has not been undertaken by any government agency.
Actually this would be like you stealing from 7-11 and then them not allowing you to shop there (or any other 7-11) until you pay for your merchandise or return what you took.
Overall, I think this is a good thing, if people get threatening leters, take down the falsely identified material, and then fight your case. Personally, this is 100 Times better than them taking down Gnutella and the like.
I agree this is dumb. I mean, what makes this even dumber is the fact that we are talking about a SMALL user base vs a LARGE user base. Anytime your sample size gets bigger, it will go more toward the norm than a smaller sample size. Mac users represent about 10% of the computer users out and about right now, that means that if we polled 100 people on brains, only 10 would be Mac users, and compared with the other 90, it would be very easy for them to be "smarter" than the other 90, because their sample size is so small. Maybe the 3 smartest people are in the group of 90, but they will be averaged out by dumber people in that group as well too. As long as the 10 average out to "above average" then they will probably come out on top.
This completely ignores the arguements about more money/more education and who published the report. Take it with a grain of salt.
You need to get out more. And becareful, you see that hot, bright yellow disk in the sky? We call it the sun. Don't look at it and don't stay out in it too long.
When the mainstream manufacturers start making these - THEN get ready for a drop in price, until then...
Hell yea, the DivX group are an important demographic. I mean, this is going to sell MILLIONS of X-Boxes. I mean remember this Get Ready For Divx On Xbox and this Divx - The Real Xbox Killer App. All this talk of MAME etc are lame, this is what it is all about (yea right).
I agree Mozilla is the/.er's dream - the public hardly knows about it. Heck, I would venture to say that there is a HUGE group that doesn't even know about Netscape anymore. Look at Opera, which is a very sound browser in it's own right - it's user base is extremely limited, and it has been out for a good number of years.
Trust me, I want to see someone make a run at M$ crap, BUT I don't see it happening. Not without an act of God.
Hell, where I see the problem is that it could go so far as to HURT the sales of Cable broadband connections, in which case they will probably have to go back to the flat rate system again.
Again, well put, but I think that if Creepy Kid offers them a modded Xbox for $250 and promises to supply them with films, games and 6-hour CDs of the lastest music, all at $3 a piece, most people are going to say, "Creepy Kid, you've got yourself a sale!".
Priacy is never going to reach the mainstream they way you are predicting. The general populace will deal with Blockbuster or Hollywood Video, but won't even touch the situation you just described.
Hell, I would go so far as to say that if any "Creepy Kids" tried to establish a system like this, he would end up in jail LONG before he could even sell 50 such kits. Most Joe P Consumers are law abiding citizens, and I would venture to say that at least 1 will alert the cops to a setup like this if he heard it. If he approached 300 people, maybe would sell 50 units, but end up in jail from 1 calling the cops, not good odds.
This is my beef: you're talking about blatant, illegal (duh) piracy of games and movies.
We're not condoning it, we're predicting how the consumer technology and content landscape is going to change over the next couple of years. We're also trying to guess what Microsoft's long-term strategy is because it sure as Hell isn't what they say it is.
This is where lose me in the whole aregument. For two reasons:
1- As this guy pointed out, M$ is not about to say that piracy is ok on their system. If they allow a system like DivX to go on their system, they are condoning it, and the MPAA and other probably won't be to happy about that 2- (if I am reading between the lines right) You are making the assumption that anyone with high speed access is going to go out and get an XBox so they can DL movies in DivX format and watch them, and for me - and I would venture to say MOST people - that isn't the case. IMHO, the only people who this would be the case are the current movie pirates now. I don't see something like this making mainstream and getting Joe P Consumer to go out and buy an XBox to get into movie piracy.
I guess that I am agreeing with Geeks In Training (and the AC who called this Overhyped) - I just don't see how something niche like this will really make a HUGE dent on 2 Million + units sold. Plus will this make a huge impact on sales of XBoxes compared to PS2s? Again, because this is a niche thing, I don't see that.
Or rather, imagine if a tag on the underside of the bed read "You agree to the agreement on our website just by laying on this bed." And courts upheld it because of some obscure twist of logic.
Hey, if you read that on your bed and You STILL lay on it BEFORE checking out what is on their website - that you your own fault. Because you were forewarened about this.
We are not talking brain surgury here people - we are talking about instances where you are told - Read this and agree to it: YES or NO. By clicking you are agreeing to the said text, WHETHER YOU READ IT OR NOT.
Now I agree, they can't ask absurd things (like if our software is installed on your computer, we can come and take possession of it any time we want), but if they dictate how their software is used, then it probably will hold up (like this case).
But the fact of the matter is that you are agreeing to give up said rights. Like they pointed out you have a EULA, which spells out how you can and can't use the software in question. Maybe we don't agree with how this is written, but SOMEONE has to agree with this when the software is installed on the computer.
And it isn't like you are totally bound by this. If you purchased the softwared, decided that you didn't agree to the EULA, then you can return it. End of story.
It is not like this is totally out there - these agreements popup BEFORE the software installs and they blatently say - IF YOU AGREE TO THIS CLICK HERE!!! What is so hard to understand about that?
I thought that what he did (bouncing around) was kind of cool. But I thought his HEE-YAA, was really annoying, and very overboard. Oh well, I have been the first to defend Lucas doing his thing, and this is just another example, BUT this is one thing I did not like.
What your kidding right? That doesn't work. I mean, realize that Matrix is a GREAT movie, yet only came out about 3 or 4 years ago. Sorry you have to include them, but realize that some movies will be rated higher because they are new. IMHO, anything this year should be dropped and move in stuff from the bottom. That would add the next movies...
21 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) 7.8/10 (2467 votes) 22 Terminator, The (1984) 7.8/10 (29576 votes) 23 Twelve Monkeys (1995) 7.8/10 (33520 votes) 24 Fail-Safe (1964) 7.8/10 (1732 votes) 25 Lost Horizon (1937) 7.8/10 (983 votes) 26 Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) 7.7/10 (14451 votes) 27 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) 7.7/10 (22851 votes) 28 Planet of the Apes (1968) 7.7/10 (9553 votes) 29 Cité des enfants perdus, La (1995) 7.7/10 (5882 votes) 30 Truman Show, The (1998) 7.7/10 (35475 votes)
You figure out what to drop and what to slid into those end slots before 20.
Wow - you made me realize something I hadn't thought of - I am now 28 and find myself going BACK to school after 5 years in the job market. I dropped out of school to start working in IT and became a Network Admin. However the 5 years got me "fat" on the money and I really find myself having trouble going back to the "school lifestyle" It is a tough transition. I am making it work.
Another thing you hit is that interpersonal skills problem. My office mate had NO college and went into his IT job straight out of high school - he was/is one of the WORST people to deal with. I hated listening to his immature, whiney, ranting. I knew that most of it was due to the fact that he never learned how to deal with other people, which is something that you learn in college.*
RonB
* though I have to wonder about this. Now being in college there is a guy in my CS classes who goes by the nickname BINKY, which alone raises a HUGE white flag. But along with that, he just acts weird. He went shoeless for about 3 weeks as a "statement." And then near the end of this semester he took a hand puppet with him to class. What the...?!?!?!
I think you need to follow your heart. Do what you want to do. However, let me talk about my experience.
I decided to drop out of college after getting a decent job as a system support tech. It eventually lead to a good network administration job. However, I the down turn of the market resulted in me being out of a job. The problem I ran into was that although I had a great deal of experience there were people that had experience AND degrees that ultimately became more desirable because of the degree. Thus I never found a job. I am now a bartender.
I am not trying to say you should go to college, but even though most people will tell you that college takes a long time and what you learn can be self taught MUCH faster - realize that the paper you get from them carries a lot of weight.
Oh yea, as a small end to my story - I am now back in school and headed into my 3rd semester trying to make up for lost time.
But that is not the point. Fact is that they destroyed his credibility with these questions. Excellent work. I have a bit more faith that the DOJ actually has some brains about going after M$ this time.
But really - what does this mean? The layperson out and about won't hear about this. They are not informed about this and regardless of what happenes, short of M$ being broken up - people won't stop using their products. I like all of this news, but the masses just don't hear about these things (they don't read slashodot).
I like how the/. blurb said - Now you don't even have to be online to have your number stolen. You never did. Anyone who knew anything about credit card security said that your card was more secure during internet transactions that using it out and about in the real world. This is just another case of that.
I love how people want to make it seem that these are all new ways of credit card fraud. Fact is that it was out there long before technology, and as long as CCs are used, it will be around for a while.
So what if he says only certain things are allowed in his contest. That is his prerogative.
You seem to forget 1 thing - this is a series of movies that Lucas made for YOUR entertainment. So what if they were so good they spawned off this whole pseudo-culture that we see today. These movies were made for your enjoyment, and Lucas has no obligation to make them or more importantly make them to YOUR specifications.
Look, I like the whole Star Wars franchise, but I also realize that if Lucas screws it up, so be it, his loss, not mine (there are a hell of a lot better movies out to see than Eps 1-3).
Slashdot Mirror
What a joke, not only are they pushing it, they have annoying ads. I think that THIS comic sums it up really well.
RonB
Sounds very interesting. I wish him the best of luck in getting this done. I think I read something about him a couple of years ago, though I could be wrong.
I have to admit, considering applications of this, such as parachuting from a Space Shuttle, IIS, etc, it does make you wonder why something like this has not been undertaken by any government agency.
RonB
Actually this would be like you stealing from 7-11 and then them not allowing you to shop there (or any other 7-11) until you pay for your merchandise or return what you took.
Overall, I think this is a good thing, if people get threatening leters, take down the falsely identified material, and then fight your case. Personally, this is 100 Times better than them taking down Gnutella and the like.
RonB
I agree this is dumb. I mean, what makes this even dumber is the fact that we are talking about a SMALL user base vs a LARGE user base. Anytime your sample size gets bigger, it will go more toward the norm than a smaller sample size. Mac users represent about 10% of the computer users out and about right now, that means that if we polled 100 people on brains, only 10 would be Mac users, and compared with the other 90, it would be very easy for them to be "smarter" than the other 90, because their sample size is so small. Maybe the 3 smartest people are in the group of 90, but they will be averaged out by dumber people in that group as well too. As long as the 10 average out to "above average" then they will probably come out on top.
This completely ignores the arguements about more money/more education and who published the report. Take it with a grain of salt.
RonB
Hell, I probably would have died in his situation, I would have refused to answer the "OUT OF AREA" call.
RonB
You need to get out more. And becareful, you see that hot, bright yellow disk in the sky? We call it the sun. Don't look at it and don't stay out in it too long.
When the mainstream manufacturers start making these - THEN get ready for a drop in price, until then...
RonB
Hell yea, the DivX group are an important demographic. I mean, this is going to sell MILLIONS of X-Boxes. I mean remember this Get Ready For Divx On Xbox and this Divx - The Real Xbox Killer App.
All this talk of MAME etc are lame, this is what it is all about (yea right).
RonB
I agree Mozilla is the /.er's dream - the public hardly knows about it. Heck, I would venture to say that there is a HUGE group that doesn't even know about Netscape anymore. Look at Opera, which is a very sound browser in it's own right - it's user base is extremely limited, and it has been out for a good number of years.
Trust me, I want to see someone make a run at M$ crap, BUT I don't see it happening. Not without an act of God.
RonB
No, you seem to forget:
Steve Balmer "Give it up for ME!!!!!!"
RonB
Probably - but it won't totally curb it.
Hell, where I see the problem is that it could go so far as to HURT the sales of Cable broadband connections, in which case they will probably have to go back to the flat rate system again.
RonB
Hell, I would go so far as to say that if any "Creepy Kids" tried to establish a system like this, he would end up in jail LONG before he could even sell 50 such kits. Most Joe P Consumers are law abiding citizens, and I would venture to say that at least 1 will alert the cops to a setup like this if he heard it. If he approached 300 people, maybe would sell 50 units, but end up in jail from 1 calling the cops, not good odds.
RonB
1- As this guy pointed out, M$ is not about to say that piracy is ok on their system. If they allow a system like DivX to go on their system, they are condoning it, and the MPAA and other probably won't be to happy about that
2- (if I am reading between the lines right) You are making the assumption that anyone with high speed access is going to go out and get an XBox so they can DL movies in DivX format and watch them, and for me - and I would venture to say MOST people - that isn't the case. IMHO, the only people who this would be the case are the current movie pirates now. I don't see something like this making mainstream and getting Joe P Consumer to go out and buy an XBox to get into movie piracy.
I guess that I am agreeing with Geeks In Training (and the AC who called this Overhyped) - I just don't see how something niche like this will really make a HUGE dent on 2 Million + units sold. Plus will this make a huge impact on sales of XBoxes compared to PS2s? Again, because this is a niche thing, I don't see that.
RonB
We are not talking brain surgury here people - we are talking about instances where you are told - Read this and agree to it: YES or NO. By clicking you are agreeing to the said text, WHETHER YOU READ IT OR NOT.
Now I agree, they can't ask absurd things (like if our software is installed on your computer, we can come and take possession of it any time we want), but if they dictate how their software is used, then it probably will hold up (like this case).
RonB
But the fact of the matter is that you are agreeing to give up said rights. Like they pointed out you have a EULA, which spells out how you can and can't use the software in question. Maybe we don't agree with how this is written, but SOMEONE has to agree with this when the software is installed on the computer.
And it isn't like you are totally bound by this. If you purchased the softwared, decided that you didn't agree to the EULA, then you can return it. End of story.
It is not like this is totally out there - these agreements popup BEFORE the software installs and they blatently say - IF YOU AGREE TO THIS CLICK HERE!!! What is so hard to understand about that?
RonB
I thought that what he did (bouncing around) was kind of cool. But I thought his HEE-YAA, was really annoying, and very overboard. Oh well, I have been the first to defend Lucas doing his thing, and this is just another example, BUT this is one thing I did not like.
RonB
I was very surprised that they only had the 15 monitors when they first came out, these are VERY welcome improvements
RonB
More importantly - this is just movies guys, NOT religion. Well maybe to some of you it is a religion, but not everyone.
RonB
Can't keep his web site up and running and expects to be able to launch a rocket into space?!?!? Yea right.
RonB
What your kidding right? That doesn't work. I mean, realize that Matrix is a GREAT movie, yet only came out about 3 or 4 years ago. Sorry you have to include them, but realize that some movies will be rated higher because they are new. IMHO, anything this year should be dropped and move in stuff from the bottom. That would add the next movies...
21 Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) 7.8/10 (2467 votes)
22 Terminator, The (1984) 7.8/10 (29576 votes)
23 Twelve Monkeys (1995) 7.8/10 (33520 votes)
24 Fail-Safe (1964) 7.8/10 (1732 votes)
25 Lost Horizon (1937) 7.8/10 (983 votes)
26 Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) 7.7/10 (14451 votes)
27 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) 7.7/10 (22851 votes)
28 Planet of the Apes (1968) 7.7/10 (9553 votes)
29 Cité des enfants perdus, La (1995) 7.7/10 (5882 votes)
30 Truman Show, The (1998) 7.7/10 (35475 votes)
You figure out what to drop and what to slid into those end slots before 20.
RonB
Wow - you made me realize something I hadn't thought of - I am now 28 and find myself going BACK to school after 5 years in the job market. I dropped out of school to start working in IT and became a Network Admin. However the 5 years got me "fat" on the money and I really find myself having trouble going back to the "school lifestyle" It is a tough transition. I am making it work.
Another thing you hit is that interpersonal skills problem. My office mate had NO college and went into his IT job straight out of high school - he was/is one of the WORST people to deal with. I hated listening to his immature, whiney, ranting. I knew that most of it was due to the fact that he never learned how to deal with other people, which is something that you learn in college.*
RonB
* though I have to wonder about this. Now being in college there is a guy in my CS classes who goes by the nickname BINKY, which alone raises a HUGE white flag. But along with that, he just acts weird. He went shoeless for about 3 weeks as a "statement." And then near the end of this semester he took a hand puppet with him to class. What the...?!?!?!
I think you need to follow your heart. Do what you want to do. However, let me talk about my experience.
I decided to drop out of college after getting a decent job as a system support tech. It eventually lead to a good network administration job. However, I the down turn of the market resulted in me being out of a job. The problem I ran into was that although I had a great deal of experience there were people that had experience AND degrees that ultimately became more desirable because of the degree. Thus I never found a job. I am now a bartender.
I am not trying to say you should go to college, but even though most people will tell you that college takes a long time and what you learn can be self taught MUCH faster - realize that the paper you get from them carries a lot of weight.
Oh yea, as a small end to my story - I am now back in school and headed into my 3rd semester trying to make up for lost time.
RonB
(Age 28)
But that is not the point. Fact is that they destroyed his credibility with these questions. Excellent work. I have a bit more faith that the DOJ actually has some brains about going after M$ this time.
But really - what does this mean? The layperson out and about won't hear about this. They are not informed about this and regardless of what happenes, short of M$ being broken up - people won't stop using their products. I like all of this news, but the masses just don't hear about these things (they don't read slashodot).
RonB
I like how the /. blurb said - Now you don't even have to be online to have your number stolen. You never did. Anyone who knew anything about credit card security said that your card was more secure during internet transactions that using it out and about in the real world. This is just another case of that.
I love how people want to make it seem that these are all new ways of credit card fraud. Fact is that it was out there long before technology, and as long as CCs are used, it will be around for a while.
RonB
Will they pay me if I record their channel and JUST watch the comercials? It sounds like a sound arguement.
RonB
So what if he says only certain things are allowed in his contest. That is his prerogative.
You seem to forget 1 thing - this is a series of movies that Lucas made for YOUR entertainment. So what if they were so good they spawned off this whole pseudo-culture that we see today. These movies were made for your enjoyment, and Lucas has no obligation to make them or more importantly make them to YOUR specifications.
Look, I like the whole Star Wars franchise, but I also realize that if Lucas screws it up, so be it, his loss, not mine (there are a hell of a lot better movies out to see than Eps 1-3).
RonB