From my hey-day of Starcraft, my guild and I decided that given any 1v1 random map in SC other than Big Game Hunters, rushing/expanding/teching all become lumped together, and anybody who actually knew how to play would be quite capable of pulling off all three at the same time. You expand because there are finite resources, but you need units just in case the other side rushes, but you also need to tech otherwise you'll never make it to late game.
With 2v2 and 3v3 the dynamics change, but the teams generally split it so that you also have all three aspects going at the same time.
BGH destroys all of this by granting unlimited resources. Without the need to expand, rushing and teching become the only strategies, and simplifies the game by a lot.
On "respect" in the game, there are some basic acts of respect... an SCV rush would be the uttermost act of disrespect. Towering comes close but can be countered.
From what I've played, Korean internet pub players really tend to be one trick ponies (zerg rush!!!). University life is where the most innovative strategies come from, just a few guys playing half drunk in their dorm rooms. I've seen players that use everything from recall for blitzkreig strikes and pullouts, to plain jane Goliath/Siege Tank combos that actually made life difficult for experienced opponents.
Just my two cents... makes me want to install SC all over again. WC3 is good but simply fails to capture the same magic...
Actually, if anything, I think Europeans and the Japanese are painfully aware of one key element that Americans seem to be ignorant of: Service. Plane rides CAN be wonderful (ever fly JAL? Almost as good as riding on the Shinkansen), but American airlines just refuse to raise the service bar.
There's a very good reason for the fall of the NYC subway system: Robert Moses. I won't delve into the details, but suffice to say he did more to damage the system than any public sentiment ever could.
Also witness how the automobile companies shut down public transportation in the US, by buying out the public transpfortation companies and tearing up the tracks to promote automobiles.
The MTA does not help matters. For the role the subway system plays in NYC, there is really no need for it to be run by a state agency which also siphons off the subway fares to pay for state infrastructure. The subway system was most successful when it was run merely as a city utility by city agencies (albeit competing agencies, but at least the money was kept within city boundaries). It all went downhill with the formation of the MTA.
On the whole though, it would just seem that railroads (and by extension subways) aren't the "American Way". I've taken to extolling the virtues of rail travel to my friends, but Amtrak is not the most helpful of marketing partners. US metropolis development outside of NYC (or the NE seaboard) don't help matters. In short: NE cities are very much more European than "American".
In the meantime, I travel to Japan every now and then and get my rail travel fix there;-)
I love Sci-Fi, unfortunately I also live in a country where "sci-fi doesn't sell", and therefore suffers from lack of distributers. So in the world according to the MPAA:
-I can't catch on TV, since no distributers are willing to sign it. -I can't catch it on DVD, since there are no localized releases. -I can't import it on DVD, since to do so would require me getting a multi-region DVD player, which is illegal according to the MPAA. (I could also buy a Region 1 DVD player, but it would also be illegal, since I'm viewing content not meant for my region). -I can't download it, due to some wacky reasoning that a non-existent local distributer is going to lose out on profits.
As great as most people think the Smart City Coupe is, personally I like the A-Class better. Compact enough to park almost anywhere, enough horsepower to feel like you're driving a car, and sturdy enough to take a few hits.
Unfortunately, also another car that won't be seen in the states...
If you don't usually lock your door and come back from class one day to find it locked, thinking about coming back later. Nothing quite like unlocking the door and opening it just in time for my roommate's date to scream "oh god!!!" straight into the hallway...
I started back in Beta 4, back when real men were left-handed and took one shot kills from the AWP and said "good shot" instead of screaming "j00 h4x0r!!" Back then, CS was a college phenomenon.
There was ghosting, wall hacks, etc.. but all was good. Cheating wasn't so bad that I couldn't replace the models with dual 1911s or replacing the knife with the guitar.
The CS forums were civilized and informative. Lord Head-Shot (LHS) was a walking encyclopedia of arms and armament, and the whole forum had a good laugh when LHS ended his account at 1911 posts: his favourite gun.
Then the kids got into the game. And more kids got into the game. And more... CS is STILL popular because it's extremely easy to get into. Launch CS, find server, join, and you're on your way to frag heaven. Do well, and you even get bigger and better guns. There's a very visible sense of accomplishment there.
Flash forward four years, and compare to Americas Army. There's a three hour training course required before you can play. Not to mention scoring 36/40 on the shooting range to qualify as sniper. You start out with all the same rifles (unless you're an AR or Grenadier). You don't get anything from winning other than praise from you teammates.
Not a lot of other games use the CS model of cash reward. BF1942, UT2004, all use either weapon classes that you choose from, or use weapon spawn points. Hence, less of a rewarding experience.
All thse memories of old skool CS... maybe I outta dig out HL and download CS Classic to get that lovin' feelin' back again.
whoa... I never thought any company in their right mind would do a localization of any games with Satoshi Urishihara's character designs. I loved Langrisser back in the day... much to look forward to, providing they actually plan to finish up all the translations and release the game... they'll definately get $90 off me, if nothing more than to show my support.
Now if only somebody could bring over Super Robot Wars...
http://www.sharp.co.jp/sc/eihon/hcvj2c/index.htm l
I have no idea if this is even available outside of Asia, but just think of it as a laptop, only smaller, acts more like a PDA (touchscreen, stylus, runs soley on battery power), and runs on Windows CE.
I used the Telios 7000 (built in camera even) for quite a few years, carrying it around for meetings and short trips that didn't warrant a full blown laptop. Built-in modem (newer models might have built-in NICs), keyboard is godsent for meeting notes, and it even doubles as an MP3 and movie player. Outside of Asia it drew quite a few stares...
The only downside I can think of is that plugging in CF cards sucked the battery dry in a matter of hours... and I would have appreciated some sort of peripheral to read and write certain media like CDs or floppies , other that, it was a dream.
Problem: Not produced anymore. In fact, I think the entire Telios line is kaput... pity.
But coinciding with Gmail's announcement a while ago, Yahoo! suddenly stopped counting emails in the Bulk and Trash folders to your quota. I find myself suddenly with over 60% of my mailbox empty.
Economic policy takes time to put into effect, and thus is usually thought out quite a few years in advance. When you're thinking economic policy, you don't plan for NOW, you plan for what happens a few years from now, and impliment policy accordingly.
Therefore, while Greenspan may have planned during the Clinton years, by the time the policy was put into effect Bush was in the White House. Unfortunately, the policies Bush favours tend to 1) Counteract Greenspan's policies and 2) Are quick and dirty fixes rather than long term policies.
Which is why the common advice given to travellers is: Never, ever, stop to give money to beggars.
I got mobbed once in Yunan making the short, 15 feet trip from the restaurant exit to my ride, just cause somebody in my group gave an old lady some coins.
A lot of discussion here seems to be focused on the K-12 level... personally, I think this could all be redeemed if so-called "Higher Education" was still in place.
Unfortunately, today's universities and colleges seem to be more places of vocational training, rather than places to actually learn and be educated. Students go into college, and pick classes they think will best help them find a job, learn the skills they need. Quite frankly, I'm appalled by recent movements to abolish general requirement classes altogether, simply because they "waste time" and should be replaced by something "useful." Neither are students encouraged to explore. Individual department requirements for graduation are getting heavier and heavier, some coming to a point where grabbing a double-major in a four year span is almost impossible. My class was the last in my school's Economics department to graduate with almost no required knowledge of econometrics, and the basic requirements for that would take 16 credits. While I personally have been told that I don't measure up to what employers seek in an economics major ("No knowledge of econometrics? What were you doing with a policy concentration? Sorry, you're not quite what we're looking for."), in those 16 credits I've learned the entire grand history of the Roman Empire, complete with an impromptu Latin lesson, the origins and far reaching effects of myths in the world culture, and a fascinating look at juvenile psychology. I don't consider myself less fortunate in terms of job placement, since most of my friends with Comp-Sci or Finance majors spent almost as much time as I did trying to find employment (half a year).
I don't know if I'm just unique among my group of friends, but I was actually sad to graduate. Almost all the others I know couldn't wait to graduate and get away from books and papers forever. Does that say something about how high education has become in our modern society? After all, how can we expect a society to advance in the areas of pure science when the student interests are focused on "usefull stuff" that "helps me find a job"?
People around here seem to be under the impression that the US is the only country with dumb, soft, and purely incapable kids.
I've had my share of living in Asian countries, and I can tell you, if anything, there's a general regard that anybody born after the 70s is dumb, soft and basically incapable of doing anything.
This situation is merely more prevalent in the US due to the less stringent cultural and social structures. An Asian student who just graduated will work to the death, because Asian culture instructs one to obey authorities. In the US, a student will most likely rebel just to "stick it to the man".
Also, consider that the Asian countries are roughly one step behind the US in terms of socioeconomic development, expect the yet-to-be-born generation as problematic as the current up-and-comers in the states.
Hold on here... "Grim Fandango is largely heralded as the greatest adventure game of all time..." among fans who actually know it existed.
Grim Fandango sales were weak, very weak, partly due to insufficient marketing, and partly due to dying interest in the adventure genre. While piracy may have been an issue, wanna know what people around me were peddling? StarCraft, Half-Life, Railroad Tycoon 2... all big-name games. Grim Fandango barely registered as a blip. Almost all the computer gamers that I know have either 1) Never even heard of Grim Fandango or 2) Pull out their treasured legit 2-CD set and rant about how great it was. In the meantime, Half-Life was pirated halfway around the world and back. Mind you, for HL this was back in the day when WON allowed for multiple instances of one CD-key to run, and CS was just catching on.
S&M 2 and Full Throttle were canned because Lucasarts today is a company that won't take the risk to sell anything without the words "Star Wars" on it.
I can understand cancelling adventure games... while it's sad news, adventure game simply aren't being made anymore. To be the only company still investing in it could be 1) Disasterous if the game doesn't sell. 2) Awesome if the game sells well. Lucasarts adventure games, while drawing hardcore fans, were never their main source of income. Call it lack of marketing plus being risk averse.
What I can't understand is why they don't develope the X-Wing/TIE Fighter series more. They made Lucasarts lots back in their day, and gamers dating back from the 90s have been screaming for more. Plus it ties into the Star Wars franchise...
Any idea if X-Wing Alliance sold well? Or is Lawerence Holland just tired of the Star Wars scene in general?
From what I've been reading... the trunk of the Cadillac in question is getting awfully crowded. Would there not be more space if we simply all exited the trunk and stuffed the illegal-use modders in there?
I do hope that the entire review was done tongue in cheek... cause there's absolutely nothing in the Princess Maker series that should categorize it as a hentai game. There are no porn images, no sex, nothing that would indicate you can screw your daughter. Granted in the end you could get a result in which she marries you, but that would only show that you as a father was a bit possessive. There's also the matter of you being her ward, she being a daughter given to you from heaven... but that's another matter entirely.
Granted the entire aspect of a daughter raising sim would totally alienate the western audience, but if you look past the surface, it's a very strategic game. Your goal is to raise a daughter, easy. But how you raise her affects what she becomes in life. If she spends all her days in the bar, she becomes a barsmaid or hooker. If she's always off chasing monsters, she becomes a martial arts monster or a bounty hunter. If you're REALLY good, she becomes the Queen. For a game in which you have to keep track of 30+ stats, it's actually amazingly easy to get into.
Of course then, while PM2 is considered one of the most famous classics in the asian countries, it's labeled as "disturbing" in the western countries and would never sell well.
Now if only I could figure out why Romance of the Three Kingdoms also suffers the same problem... there's gotta be more to the US game market than GTA and shooters, right?
I think it's not a problem of having a lot of ways to do things in Linux, there are a lot of ways to do things in Windows too. Not getting into a duscussion of what's the "predominant" software package, there are at least 4 3D modelling programs, 4 2D graphics programs, 3 office suites, 4-5 web browsers...
The problem with Linux is that's there's no standard, right down to the desktop layout. As a casual user that understands enough to assemble and install windows on his own, I don't want to have to understand what apt-get, dependencies, kernel compilation, and X-window are. I want to know that I can pick up ONE distribution and know that it will work, anything I install will work without me worrying, and whenever I go to another Linux computer I will be able to operate THAT computer too. In other words, yes, like Windows (dousing myself with gasoline here...). But unlike the Windows world, I will be able to choose another program with the comfort that there's an entire community supporting it, that it won't die off when a corporation goes bankrupt. My closest analogy would be how the Blender community has managed to push Blender along with NaN gone.
I remember back in the day when Symantec used dongles to activate Pccillin... I also remember how it was strange that nobody ever seemed to actually have a dongle.
Actually, the USA has been tested, the Korean War, AKA the Forgotten War. It should have been named the Chinese War, since the Chinese sent the PLA across the Yalu River when the North Koreans were defeated. It's amazing that they pushed the USA and the UN halfway out of the Korean peninsula before the USA could stop them.
Interesting note since we're talking about nukes: MacArthur had intended to use tactical nukes on the PLA. Truman reined him in and replaced MacArthur.
Slashdot Mirror
From my hey-day of Starcraft, my guild and I decided that given any 1v1 random map in SC other than Big Game Hunters, rushing/expanding/teching all become lumped together, and anybody who actually knew how to play would be quite capable of pulling off all three at the same time. You expand because there are finite resources, but you need units just in case the other side rushes, but you also need to tech otherwise you'll never make it to late game.
With 2v2 and 3v3 the dynamics change, but the teams generally split it so that you also have all three aspects going at the same time.
BGH destroys all of this by granting unlimited resources. Without the need to expand, rushing and teching become the only strategies, and simplifies the game by a lot.
On "respect" in the game, there are some basic acts of respect... an SCV rush would be the uttermost act of disrespect. Towering comes close but can be countered.
From what I've played, Korean internet pub players really tend to be one trick ponies (zerg rush!!!). University life is where the most innovative strategies come from, just a few guys playing half drunk in their dorm rooms. I've seen players that use everything from recall for blitzkreig strikes and pullouts, to plain jane Goliath/Siege Tank combos that actually made life difficult for experienced opponents.
Just my two cents... makes me want to install SC all over again. WC3 is good but simply fails to capture the same magic...
Actually, if anything, I think Europeans and the Japanese are painfully aware of one key element that Americans seem to be ignorant of: Service. Plane rides CAN be wonderful (ever fly JAL? Almost as good as riding on the Shinkansen), but American airlines just refuse to raise the service bar.
There's a very good reason for the fall of the NYC subway system: Robert Moses. I won't delve into the details, but suffice to say he did more to damage the system than any public sentiment ever could.
;-)
Also witness how the automobile companies shut down public transportation in the US, by buying out the public transpfortation companies and tearing up the tracks to promote automobiles.
The MTA does not help matters. For the role the subway system plays in NYC, there is really no need for it to be run by a state agency which also siphons off the subway fares to pay for state infrastructure. The subway system was most successful when it was run merely as a city utility by city agencies (albeit competing agencies, but at least the money was kept within city boundaries). It all went downhill with the formation of the MTA.
On the whole though, it would just seem that railroads (and by extension subways) aren't the "American Way". I've taken to extolling the virtues of rail travel to my friends, but Amtrak is not the most helpful of marketing partners. US metropolis development outside of NYC (or the NE seaboard) don't help matters. In short: NE cities are very much more European than "American".
In the meantime, I travel to Japan every now and then and get my rail travel fix there
I love Sci-Fi, unfortunately I also live in a country where "sci-fi doesn't sell", and therefore suffers from lack of distributers. So in the world according to the MPAA:
-I can't catch on TV, since no distributers are willing to sign it.
-I can't catch it on DVD, since there are no localized releases.
-I can't import it on DVD, since to do so would require me getting a multi-region DVD player, which is illegal according to the MPAA. (I could also buy a Region 1 DVD player, but it would also be illegal, since I'm viewing content not meant for my region).
-I can't download it, due to some wacky reasoning that a non-existent local distributer is going to lose out on profits.
So what's a man to do?
For all those interested in more school rivalries and pranks, get a copy of:
If at All Possible, Involve a Cow: The Book of College Pranks
by Neil Steinberg
Very fun reading.
As great as most people think the Smart City Coupe is, personally I like the A-Class better. Compact enough to park almost anywhere, enough horsepower to feel like you're driving a car, and sturdy enough to take a few hits.
Unfortunately, also another car that won't be seen in the states...
If you don't usually lock your door and come back from class one day to find it locked, thinking about coming back later. Nothing quite like unlocking the door and opening it just in time for my roommate's date to scream "oh god!!!" straight into the hallway...
I started back in Beta 4, back when real men were left-handed and took one shot kills from the AWP and said "good shot" instead of screaming "j00 h4x0r!!" Back then, CS was a college phenomenon.
There was ghosting, wall hacks, etc.. but all was good. Cheating wasn't so bad that I couldn't replace the models with dual 1911s or replacing the knife with the guitar.
The CS forums were civilized and informative. Lord Head-Shot (LHS) was a walking encyclopedia of arms and armament, and the whole forum had a good laugh when LHS ended his account at 1911 posts: his favourite gun.
Then the kids got into the game. And more kids got into the game. And more... CS is STILL popular because it's extremely easy to get into. Launch CS, find server, join, and you're on your way to frag heaven. Do well, and you even get bigger and better guns. There's a very visible sense of accomplishment there.
Flash forward four years, and compare to Americas Army. There's a three hour training course required before you can play. Not to mention scoring 36/40 on the shooting range to qualify as sniper. You start out with all the same rifles (unless you're an AR or Grenadier). You don't get anything from winning other than praise from you teammates.
Not a lot of other games use the CS model of cash reward. BF1942, UT2004, all use either weapon classes that you choose from, or use weapon spawn points. Hence, less of a rewarding experience.
All thse memories of old skool CS... maybe I outta dig out HL and download CS Classic to get that lovin' feelin' back again.
whoa... I never thought any company in their right mind would do a localization of any games with Satoshi Urishihara's character designs. I loved Langrisser back in the day... much to look forward to, providing they actually plan to finish up all the translations and release the game... they'll definately get $90 off me, if nothing more than to show my support.
Now if only somebody could bring over Super Robot Wars...
Sharp Telios. Link here:
m l
http://www.sharp.co.jp/sc/eihon/hcvj2c/index.ht
I have no idea if this is even available outside of Asia, but just think of it as a laptop, only smaller, acts more like a PDA (touchscreen, stylus, runs soley on battery power), and runs on Windows CE.
I used the Telios 7000 (built in camera even) for quite a few years, carrying it around for meetings and short trips that didn't warrant a full blown laptop. Built-in modem (newer models might have built-in NICs), keyboard is godsent for meeting notes, and it even doubles as an MP3 and movie player. Outside of Asia it drew quite a few stares...
The only downside I can think of is that plugging in CF cards sucked the battery dry in a matter of hours... and I would have appreciated some sort of peripheral to read and write certain media like CDs or floppies , other that, it was a dream.
Problem: Not produced anymore. In fact, I think the entire Telios line is kaput... pity.
I don't know if anybody noticed this...
But coinciding with Gmail's announcement a while ago, Yahoo! suddenly stopped counting emails in the Bulk and Trash folders to your quota. I find myself suddenly with over 60% of my mailbox empty.
Any news on Hotmail's quota?
Economic policy takes time to put into effect, and thus is usually thought out quite a few years in advance. When you're thinking economic policy, you don't plan for NOW, you plan for what happens a few years from now, and impliment policy accordingly.
Therefore, while Greenspan may have planned during the Clinton years, by the time the policy was put into effect Bush was in the White House. Unfortunately, the policies Bush favours tend to 1) Counteract Greenspan's policies and 2) Are quick and dirty fixes rather than long term policies.
Which is why the common advice given to travellers is: Never, ever, stop to give money to beggars.
I got mobbed once in Yunan making the short, 15 feet trip from the restaurant exit to my ride, just cause somebody in my group gave an old lady some coins.
A lot of discussion here seems to be focused on the K-12 level... personally, I think this could all be redeemed if so-called "Higher Education" was still in place.
Unfortunately, today's universities and colleges seem to be more places of vocational training, rather than places to actually learn and be educated. Students go into college, and pick classes they think will best help them find a job, learn the skills they need. Quite frankly, I'm appalled by recent movements to abolish general requirement classes altogether, simply because they "waste time" and should be replaced by something "useful." Neither are students encouraged to explore. Individual department requirements for graduation are getting heavier and heavier, some coming to a point where grabbing a double-major in a four year span is almost impossible. My class was the last in my school's Economics department to graduate with almost no required knowledge of econometrics, and the basic requirements for that would take 16 credits. While I personally have been told that I don't measure up to what employers seek in an economics major ("No knowledge of econometrics? What were you doing with a policy concentration? Sorry, you're not quite what we're looking for."), in those 16 credits I've learned the entire grand history of the Roman Empire, complete with an impromptu Latin lesson, the origins and far reaching effects of myths in the world culture, and a fascinating look at juvenile psychology. I don't consider myself less fortunate in terms of job placement, since most of my friends with Comp-Sci or Finance majors spent almost as much time as I did trying to find employment (half a year).
I don't know if I'm just unique among my group of friends, but I was actually sad to graduate. Almost all the others I know couldn't wait to graduate and get away from books and papers forever. Does that say something about how high education has become in our modern society? After all, how can we expect a society to advance in the areas of pure science when the student interests are focused on "usefull stuff" that "helps me find a job"?
People around here seem to be under the impression that the US is the only country with dumb, soft, and purely incapable kids.
I've had my share of living in Asian countries, and I can tell you, if anything, there's a general regard that anybody born after the 70s is dumb, soft and basically incapable of doing anything.
This situation is merely more prevalent in the US due to the less stringent cultural and social structures. An Asian student who just graduated will work to the death, because Asian culture instructs one to obey authorities. In the US, a student will most likely rebel just to "stick it to the man".
Also, consider that the Asian countries are roughly one step behind the US in terms of socioeconomic development, expect the yet-to-be-born generation as problematic as the current up-and-comers in the states.
Hold on here... "Grim Fandango is largely heralded as the greatest adventure game of all time..." among fans who actually know it existed.
Grim Fandango sales were weak, very weak, partly due to insufficient marketing, and partly due to dying interest in the adventure genre. While piracy may have been an issue, wanna know what people around me were peddling? StarCraft, Half-Life, Railroad Tycoon 2... all big-name games. Grim Fandango barely registered as a blip. Almost all the computer gamers that I know have either 1) Never even heard of Grim Fandango or 2) Pull out their treasured legit 2-CD set and rant about how great it was. In the meantime, Half-Life was pirated halfway around the world and back. Mind you, for HL this was back in the day when WON allowed for multiple instances of one CD-key to run, and CS was just catching on.
S&M 2 and Full Throttle were canned because Lucasarts today is a company that won't take the risk to sell anything without the words "Star Wars" on it.
I can understand cancelling adventure games... while it's sad news, adventure game simply aren't being made anymore. To be the only company still investing in it could be 1) Disasterous if the game doesn't sell. 2) Awesome if the game sells well. Lucasarts adventure games, while drawing hardcore fans, were never their main source of income. Call it lack of marketing plus being risk averse.
What I can't understand is why they don't develope the X-Wing/TIE Fighter series more. They made Lucasarts lots back in their day, and gamers dating back from the 90s have been screaming for more. Plus it ties into the Star Wars franchise...
Any idea if X-Wing Alliance sold well? Or is Lawerence Holland just tired of the Star Wars scene in general?
I thought James Cameron was doing a life action Gunm film?
From what I've been reading... the trunk of the Cadillac in question is getting awfully crowded. Would there not be more space if we simply all exited the trunk and stuffed the illegal-use modders in there?
ahem... got your characters reversed here...
PRC ---> Simplified
HK/Taiwan ---> Traditional
The two are interchangeable to a certain extent, but most people each of the respective regions can't read the other character form.
I do hope that the entire review was done tongue in cheek... cause there's absolutely nothing in the Princess Maker series that should categorize it as a hentai game. There are no porn images, no sex, nothing that would indicate you can screw your daughter. Granted in the end you could get a result in which she marries you, but that would only show that you as a father was a bit possessive. There's also the matter of you being her ward, she being a daughter given to you from heaven... but that's another matter entirely.
Granted the entire aspect of a daughter raising sim would totally alienate the western audience, but if you look past the surface, it's a very strategic game. Your goal is to raise a daughter, easy. But how you raise her affects what she becomes in life. If she spends all her days in the bar, she becomes a barsmaid or hooker. If she's always off chasing monsters, she becomes a martial arts monster or a bounty hunter. If you're REALLY good, she becomes the Queen. For a game in which you have to keep track of 30+ stats, it's actually amazingly easy to get into.
Of course then, while PM2 is considered one of the most famous classics in the asian countries, it's labeled as "disturbing" in the western countries and would never sell well.
Now if only I could figure out why Romance of the Three Kingdoms also suffers the same problem... there's gotta be more to the US game market than GTA and shooters, right?
So... what happens when I have a non-standard piece of hardware that doesn't have drivers already compiled into the kernel?
I think it's not a problem of having a lot of ways to do things in Linux, there are a lot of ways to do things in Windows too. Not getting into a duscussion of what's the "predominant" software package, there are at least 4 3D modelling programs, 4 2D graphics programs, 3 office suites, 4-5 web browsers...
The problem with Linux is that's there's no standard, right down to the desktop layout. As a casual user that understands enough to assemble and install windows on his own, I don't want to have to understand what apt-get, dependencies, kernel compilation, and X-window are. I want to know that I can pick up ONE distribution and know that it will work, anything I install will work without me worrying, and whenever I go to another Linux computer I will be able to operate THAT computer too. In other words, yes, like Windows (dousing myself with gasoline here...). But unlike the Windows world, I will be able to choose another program with the comfort that there's an entire community supporting it, that it won't die off when a corporation goes bankrupt. My closest analogy would be how the Blender community has managed to push Blender along with NaN gone.
Now... why is all this so hard to ask for?
I remember back in the day when Symantec used dongles to activate Pccillin... I also remember how it was strange that nobody ever seemed to actually have a dongle.
Now this? Man, this is the 80s all over again...
Actually, the USA has been tested, the Korean War, AKA the Forgotten War. It should have been named the Chinese War, since the Chinese sent the PLA across the Yalu River when the North Koreans were defeated. It's amazing that they pushed the USA and the UN halfway out of the Korean peninsula before the USA could stop them.
Interesting note since we're talking about nukes: MacArthur had intended to use tactical nukes on the PLA. Truman reined him in and replaced MacArthur.