I hate to say it, but they already have a "Made for iPhone" program where there are special chips the iDevices are looking for, and if they don't find it they will complain the accessory may not work properly:
Last I heard it never went past fear mongering but was still annoying. I can't remember if there was a way to disable it or not but I'm sure if so it was on by default.
3.5 mm refers to the size of the metal connector going into the socket, not the diameter of the connector. You're likely thinking of the diameter and not the length.
That said, both are likely a concern for Apple who like to squeeze things down to the smallest micron possible then brag about it. The whole reason they are trying to get rid of SIM cards is they don't like the amount of space it takes up. Reduced functionality, be damned... It looks prettier this way....
I hate to say it, but this kind of thing happening with our strategic forces is hardly new. There is a book by a hardened anti-nuclear weapon activist named Eric Schloss that goes into a lot of similar incidences over the years. He's obviously got an anti-nuclear agenda so read the book with a grain of salt, but the stories he talks about are true and verifiable.
One such gem: At one point in time, we had a default signal that got broadcast out to all of the strategic warning centers to make sure the emergency alert systems were functioning normally. The test message was the exact same message that got sent out in event of a real nuclear emergency, with one difference. The "test" Message said the equivalent of the following:
000 Nuclear Weapons have been launched at us.
Unfortunately, due to a faulty computer chip on the sending end, one of these 0's computer errored and became a 2. Instead of the regular "test" message that was periodically sent saying "000 Nuclear weapons have been launched at us", a fault with a $.40c chip turned a 0 into a 2 and made it say this:
"200 Nuclear weapons have been launched at us."
Once the error was discovered and the cause of the fault detected, the "test" message was promptly changed afterwards.
This is one example of hundreds of similar incidences, some far more concerning then others, and most of them we don't hear about until decades after the fact. Who knows how many more are out there that have yet to be declassified.
The whole point was to avoid the ISP's crappy, overloaded servers to begin with. If the DNS server doesn't respond with an NXDOMAIN for a non existent domain, it's not worth talking to.
You asked how it became the "breadbasket of the nation". It became that way because they used the tons of son and the river from the irrigation canals to turn it into one of the most agriculaturally productive areas in the world.
Clueless fucking retard. Open your eyes and get a damn clue. Offtopic my ass. It was completely on topic. How about you open your fucking eyes and start paying attention you fucking moron?
PBS has a great documentary on this as part of "Building the Hoover Dam". They have the full documentary posted on their website at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americ...
Here's a couple of really good excerpts:
Narrator: The Colorado was a river unlike any otherâ" dark and red with mud and silt from carving out the planetâ(TM)s most magnificent canyons. It ran wild until 1901, when Western farmers set out to tame it. Their plan was to water the desert. Developers dug a canal system that brought the River into lower California, and turned parched soil into a vast agricultural paradise they called the Imperial Valley. For four bountiful years, farmers thought they were living a miracle. Then, without warning, the river struck back. In 1905 the Colorado tore open the canal and flooded the valley, creating an inland sea across 150 square miles. Over the next two decades, floods would wipe out thousands of farmers. Millions of dollars were lost.
(later on, talking about the need for a dam to control the flow of water:)
W.P. Whitsett, Chairman, Metropolitan Water District (archival): We here in Southern California, weâ(TM)re building a great empire. If we are to survive and to grow, we must have the water that will enable us to maintain our mastery over the desert.
Wouldn't be the first time the US government has made a deal with Britain, Australia or one of the other Five Eyes for these kinds of arrangements.
Hey, Britain.. we can't do this to our people according to our law, and you can't do it to your own people, but there's no law saying we can't do it to each other and then turn over the results, wink wink.
If one engine fails, the fuel cross feeds from that fuel tank into the other engines. I could be wrong, but I do not believe each fuel tank automatically includes more fuel to burn that particular engine for longer just in a case another engine fails. That would be an awful lot of redundant weight for very little benefit. Being able to cross feed the fuel from a broken engine's tank into the others would make far more sense then constantly launching with a bunch of dead weight that is not going to be used. Yes, the xfeed gear needed to transfer fuel from one tank to the other is also extra weight, but it's not like launching with a bunch of heavy fuel that isn't going to be used.
Anyone who still trusted the NSA before the Snowden revelations just wasn't paying attention to begin with. The stories about room 641A in San Francisco told me pretty much everything I needed to know. This is just one of many similar rooms across the country. They are sitting on major backbones, T'ing everything off to special carnivore / aka DCS-1000 (whatever the latest variant is) rack(s) that save whatever they tell it to, or pass it along somewhere else. It's unlikely they are saving all due to the sheer amount of data but I'd be insanely surprised if the vast, vast majority aren't saved at least for a short time while some kind of rudementary analysis is done.
What kind of analysis could be done on that volume of data? It's not hard to picture when you think about it. Think SpamAssassin scores. Encrypted anything gets a bonus, data from a "known source" gets a major bonus, data from a mandated target is an immediate +1000 to cross any threshold that is set. Key words, in the right amounts etc etc can all be programmed in to tell the system what to save for further analysis. Headers are tracked, countires of origins, time of day, prior call history (caller +2 data everyone made such a big deal about a while back) -- all of this is metadata that some kind of SpamAssassin clone program can take into account in order to decide whether to score the data as "interesting" (aka spam normally) or ignore it and let it expire after a few days and disappear off the drives to make room for something else. This is all technology we had in place 20 years ago that was unclassified even then. Does anyone really have any doubts on what is being done today?
ADSL is very dependent on your local loop length. Higher loop to CO or micro-CO, lower achievable speeds. 8M ADSL was supported on people with something like 5000 feet of copper to the DSLAM (CO), which is damn near impossible for most people who don't live practically next door to one (that 5000 feet of copper doesn't go so far when it starts all the twists and turns needed to make it to each house or unit). There are newer standards now that will tolerate longer loops, but as far as many DSL companies are concerned "why change what isn't broken. The current standard is fine for our customers, because they can't get anything else anyway."
Mods, please mod the parent up. Orbiter is a 100% free realistic simulator that is every geek's dream. It strives for realistic physics (in most cases, there are still some bugs); and includes lots of space vehicles including the Shuttle (which is damn near impossible to launch and achieve a stable orbit on manual control, just like you'd expect). Very entertaining simulator. It has a very extensive selection of mods (http://orbithangar.com is one of the more popular places to find them).
My friend has modded his version so much that he's built and launched his own Space Station. He has some of the vehicles timed so well that he can launch from Cape Canaveral, and within 26 minutes match the ISS's orbital specs and dock with it. Each time he plays the game he's reloading his prior state and launching new cargo and expanding the station.
Aside from the Shuttle there are also lots of next generation vehicles including orbiters with SCRAM engines to help achieve orbit and other items as well. There's also a recent mod to add all of the future and planned SpaceX vehicles as well.
When I first started playing, I was familiar with some math but knew hardly anything about orbital mechanics. Playing the game at first was fun --- there's nothing quite like launching the space shuttle straight up, then turning off the shuttle engines and watching the thing do backflips at 10K off the ground -- but once you start wanting to achieve something useful, like a dock with the ISS you've really got to start to understand what is going on in order to get where you're going.
Comments like this are why Slashdot needs a system where if enough mods spent a point on a +5, it will eventually become a +6 and stand out even more. Say 10 extra votes? 50? instead of the usual 1? Make it mean something. This can't be modded up enough.
BTW, Mac OS has responded to control clicks as a right click on one button mice for 15 or more years. Also, pretty much any 2 button USB mouse that is connected gets recognized for what it is, and the right mouse button works just like you'd expect it to.
Ubisoft is the company known for the worst DRM in the world. I've had so many of their games become virtually unplayable due to the DRM. I refuse to buy any of their games any more, period. They can blame piracy all they want, but the fact is, I know a lot of people that are now intentionally boycotting their products.
In order to "recover" from their image, they kept touting this game or that game that are shipped DRM free -- frankly, we don't care. We've been screwed by you guys far, far too often to trust anything you release. It doesn't matter to me that they come out with an occasional DRM free game. The company's ethos is corrupt, and frankly, I don't have any intention of buying anything from them in the future.
P.S. My list of games on Steam is over 140 *paid* titles. I buy lots and lots of games. Just nothing from UBIsoft any more. *NOTHING*.
Personally I have no intention at all of buying this game. I bought the first game without realizing what i was getting in for. There are a thousand things about SC2 that piss me off and make me wish I'd never purchased it. No offline multiplayer, no true LAN games, no more spawn copies, having to type in my fucking name and password each time I want to play a single player game, buying the same game full price 3 times just to get all 3 races, an awful in game map management system, awful online play, and a company that stopped caring about their players a long time ago make this
Blizzard dropped the ball with Starcraft 2. They've become nothing but money-grubbing corporate monsters, and I strongly encourage everyone to avoid their games like the proverbial plague.
P.S. I LOVE the starcraft series. I *still* play Starcraft 1 constantly. I prefer version 1 (on 640x480 graphics) to Starcraft 2 on a monitor that runs 1920x1080 by default; the graphics are poor, but it's still a thousand times more fun then anything I've gotten out of Starcraft 2. Sc2 is awful, awful, awful compared to Starcraft 1, and not worth the money. Go pick up 6 indy games for the same price that Blizzard wants to charge for this DRM fest. Or 18 games for the price blizzard wants to charge for all 3 "chapters" of their 1 mediocre game.
I mean, seriously. $180 by the time I am done for Starcraft 2? Get fucking real.
It's amazing what you can do when you've got an object in space that you can set up with minimal overhead. I mean, hey, its not like those big expensive spy satellites have a limited fuel or anything. Sure, Libya had always been kind of a nuisance, but I assume there weren't that many spy satellites within range before. One of the features of this thing was that it had oversized engines for what it was, meaning it could make drastic orbit changes at short notice. Anyone know how long its been in this orbit over Libya?
It's been speculated (more assumption...) that the X-37B could be a test platform for new surveillance equipment. Could be they have some new cameras with some awesome resolution to test out. Might be some kind of new sensors, or maybe some kind of a mirror or laser communication relay, to bounce a signal for someone covert down in Tripoli. For all we know, it could be some crazy new concept we won't hear about for another 20 years.
Anyone know if its orbit brings it within close proximity of any other satellites? Some people have said it could be used to interfere with the satellites from other countries. Maybe, its secretly plotting to activate SkyNet in conjunction with another satellite that recently went up and we have no idea what its doing..
Or, for all we know, its just a camera, the same one they've been using on the other spy satellites for years. Just one that has lots of fuel, and thus, lots of orbit changes before coming down to be refueled and given newer tech cameras.
The world may never know. Or may already know, and just not know it.
Yes, because its ok if they only screw us a little now. They're the government, they won't make it even worse over time. We can trust them, right? They're really looking out for our interests, and not the paid lobby groups pushing useless scanner machines and constantly whispering nice shit in their ears to get their own laws passed, right? They won't pass CALEA, then PATRIOT under our noses, right? Won't insist that legal, private, law abiding citizens hand over their encryption keys to the government "just in case" right?
Hitler only wanted to kill a FEW jews at first, right? He only wanted to take over a FEW countries at first? So, this isn't as bad as nazism, and that makes it ok?
It's time we all stood up and stopped this bullshit before it gets any worse. Just like Germany should have done.
"Those who would give up a little liberty to obtain a little security deserve neither liberty nor security." - Thomas Jefferson
It had been a long standing belief of this country for over 200 years.
Until 9/11.
These bullshit, asinine security rules have negatively affected my life far, far more then any terrorist act ever has.
To summarize: 330 soldiers coming back from Afghanistan were flying back to the US. They were carrying (all unloaded) M4 assault rifles, some carrying M9 pistols, and some carrying M-240B machine guns. After flying part of the way back and dropping off 100 soldiers, the TSA decide the rest need to deplane and all need to go through screening again. They find a pair of nail clippers on a soldier, and confiscate them, saying they are a potential weapon.
The soldiers continue on with their unloaded guns and fly on to their destination.
Now really, are the TSA so moronic, that they don't understand the ASSAULT RIFLES could be used as a bludgeon weapon far more effectively then a pair of toenail clippers? I mean, come on, these guys just got back from fighting in the terrorist's safe haven. About the last thing they're going to do is to help the psycho idiots, and yet they confiscate their toenail clippers, and let them continue on with the rifles?
"Watch my Dad! He's about to do a really cool trick!" "Tag my dad! He's it!" "Flag my dad! He committed a football penalty, holding." "Push my dad! He's about to get hit by that train." There are lots of things that could fit in your example that aren't "indecent."
Just because your mind is in the gutter, doesn't mean the next person's mind is. This is exactly the reason why one group of idiots should not be responsible for managing what the rest of us say. You don't really know what the person may have intended. You just think you do.
I was playing a game on Steam last night and got a Steam ad for this game. I don't have them turned off because once in a while they show good games, sometimes for $4.95, others full price at $49.95+ or whatever, but I have no problems paying for good games. Started looking through the screenshots and got more interested; I've never played any of the Settlers series before but 7 looked pretty good. Then I saw the publisher was Ubisoft... instinctively I started scanning for what kind of DRM was being included. Couldn't find anything, surprisingly enough. Nothing in the right hand columns about SecuROM or the others. But, it didn't seem right to me, so I googled it. Low and behold, "Permanent internet connection required." I went back and rescanned the Steam listing again, and sure enough it was listed. Wasn't in any small print or anything, it was just the middle section below the description; someplace I wasn't expecting it before.
As soon as I found that out, the game instantly became unplayable to me. Yes, I have an internet connection 99% of the time. No, I don't want to be kept from playing a game that I ****ing PAID FOR when my internet, or your DRM servers are down. End of story. Not the first time I've been kept from purchasing games; and it won't be the last.
I have a special message for you, Ubisoft, and anyone else willing to implement these DRM schemes. I hope you son of a *****es either get a clue or go out of business before you kill the rest of PC gaming. You're the ones keeping me from purchasing games right now, not the availability of some virus infested warez version. I'm your paying customer, the one who keeps you in business, and you're losing me. I'm not against DRM in general, I pay for lots of games via Steam and there's DRM in there. But having offline playability for up to two weeks at a time says one hell of a lot about a company who actually gives a **** about their customers. Especially ones that add features (unlimited download and install on any # of computers) vs 3 activations, ever. Please get a clue.
While I can certainly understand the need to deprecate older software and hardware, there are lots of times MS has been famous for claiming the need to do such things, when the sole purpose is to force people to give them more money.
Case in point: one you already mentioned; DX10. Microsoft claimed there was no way to get DX10 working on XP, and everyone *had* to upgrade to Vista to get it. Several games came out (Microsoft Flight Simulator X was a good example....) that required DX10 for advanced graphics and features, and Microsoft claimed there was no way to get them available in Windows XP.
However, it wasn't long before people bypassed the installer's OS checks, and got DX10 running on Windows XP. The end result? Flight Simulator had all of the extra graphics options that were "impossible" on Windows XP. First hit on Google ATM for "DX10 on Windows XP" gave me this page which does a good job of summing it up and giving graphic examples.
There's a reason we all stopped taking what Microsoft says at face value a long time ago.
I was worried about just such a thing due to the number of games I've purchased from Steam. The list is up to 71 now, with some including some expensive new games. I was worried about losing access to them some day, and so I emailed Steam's support department. This is what I got back:
Subject: RE: End of life for steam authentication servers? - [4131-****-****] [********]
From: Steam Support Date: 11/3/2009 2:12 PM
========= Please enter your reply ABOVE this line =========
Hello,
A staff member has replied to your question:
Hello *********, Thank you for contacting Steam Support. In the unlikely event of the discontinuation of the Steam network, measures are in place to ensure that all users still have access to their Steam games. If you have any further questions, please let us know - we will be happy to assist you.
It is up to each person on whether or not to believe them, but it was enough for me. "Measures" doesn't seem very specific to me, but I just assumed it was some kind of a software patch that permanently turns offline mode on. I've purchased something like 25 games since then... Their xmas deals racked up quite a few extra dents in my bank account, but they had a lot of $5 deals too. They aren't perfect. Most games can be redownloaded an unlimited number of times, but some of the newer ones are limited on # of installs or still have DRM, but at least Steam warns you about the DRM ahead of time.
BTW, Attention UBisoft: Its very unlikely I will ever buy one of your games again after the DRM systems you've been implementing lately. Yes, Steam wants an internet connection, BUT IT WORKS IN OFFLINE MODE TOO FOR UP TO LIKE 2 WEEKS AT A TIME AS WELL with most games, except, ahem, YOURS. Kick me out of my game if my net connection goes down? Ubisoft, that's bull***, and you've lost me as customer for a long time. I'm obviously not one of the pirates you're so worried about, yet you won't be getting any of my money either. NICE JOB YOU MORONS.
Slashdot Mirror
iMac:~ haize$ which sh /bin /sh
iMac:~ haize$
Please get a clue before you keep running your mouth.
I hate to say it, but they already have a "Made for iPhone" program where there are special chips the iDevices are looking for, and if they don't find it they will complain the accessory may not work properly:
http://www.iphonehacks.com/201...
Last I heard it never went past fear mongering but was still annoying. I can't remember if there was a way to disable it or not but I'm sure if so it was on by default.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
3.5 mm refers to the size of the metal connector going into the socket, not the diameter of the connector. You're likely thinking of the diameter and not the length.
That said, both are likely a concern for Apple who like to squeeze things down to the smallest micron possible then brag about it. The whole reason they are trying to get rid of SIM cards is they don't like the amount of space it takes up. Reduced functionality, be damned... It looks prettier this way....
I hate to say it, but this kind of thing happening with our strategic forces is hardly new. There is a book by a hardened anti-nuclear weapon activist named Eric Schloss that goes into a lot of similar incidences over the years. He's obviously got an anti-nuclear agenda so read the book with a grain of salt, but the stories he talks about are true and verifiable.
One such gem: At one point in time, we had a default signal that got broadcast out to all of the strategic warning centers to make sure the emergency alert systems were functioning normally. The test message was the exact same message that got sent out in event of a real nuclear emergency, with one difference. The "test" Message said the equivalent of the following:
000 Nuclear Weapons have been launched at us.
Unfortunately, due to a faulty computer chip on the sending end, one of these 0's computer errored and became a 2. Instead of the regular "test" message that was periodically sent saying "000 Nuclear weapons have been launched at us", a fault with a $.40c chip turned a 0 into a 2 and made it say this:
"200 Nuclear weapons have been launched at us."
Once the error was discovered and the cause of the fault detected, the "test" message was promptly changed afterwards.
This is one example of hundreds of similar incidences, some far more concerning then others, and most of them we don't hear about until decades after the fact. Who knows how many more are out there that have yet to be declassified.
The whole point was to avoid the ISP's crappy, overloaded servers to begin with. If the DNS server doesn't respond with an NXDOMAIN for a non existent domain, it's not worth talking to.
Ever again.
You asked how it became the "breadbasket of the nation". It became that way because they used the tons of son and the river from the irrigation canals to turn it into one of the most agriculaturally productive areas in the world.
Clueless fucking retard. Open your eyes and get a damn clue. Offtopic my ass. It was completely on topic. How about you open your fucking eyes and start paying attention you fucking moron?
PBS has a great documentary on this as part of "Building the Hoover Dam". They have the full documentary posted on their website at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americ...
Here's a couple of really good excerpts:
Narrator: The Colorado was a river unlike any otherâ" dark and red with mud and silt from carving out the planetâ(TM)s most magnificent canyons. It ran wild until 1901, when Western farmers set out to tame it. Their plan was to water the desert. Developers dug a canal system that brought the River into lower California, and turned parched soil into a vast agricultural paradise they called the Imperial Valley. For four bountiful years, farmers thought they were living a miracle. Then, without warning, the river struck back. In 1905 the Colorado tore open the canal and flooded the valley, creating an inland sea across 150 square miles. Over the next two decades, floods would wipe out thousands of farmers. Millions of dollars were lost.
(later on, talking about the need for a dam to control the flow of water:)
W.P. Whitsett, Chairman, Metropolitan Water District (archival): We here in Southern California, weâ(TM)re building a great empire. If we are to survive and to grow, we must have the water that will enable us to maintain our mastery over the desert.
Wouldn't be the first time the US government has made a deal with Britain, Australia or one of the other Five Eyes for these kinds of arrangements.
Hey, Britain.. we can't do this to our people according to our law, and you can't do it to your own people, but there's no law saying we can't do it to each other and then turn over the results, wink wink.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F...
If one engine fails, the fuel cross feeds from that fuel tank into the other engines. I could be wrong, but I do not believe each fuel tank automatically includes more fuel to burn that particular engine for longer just in a case another engine fails. That would be an awful lot of redundant weight for very little benefit. Being able to cross feed the fuel from a broken engine's tank into the others would make far more sense then constantly launching with a bunch of dead weight that is not going to be used. Yes, the xfeed gear needed to transfer fuel from one tank to the other is also extra weight, but it's not like launching with a bunch of heavy fuel that isn't going to be used.
Anyone who still trusted the NSA before the Snowden revelations just wasn't paying attention to begin with. The stories about room 641A in San Francisco told me pretty much everything I needed to know. This is just one of many similar rooms across the country. They are sitting on major backbones, T'ing everything off to special carnivore / aka DCS-1000 (whatever the latest variant is) rack(s) that save whatever they tell it to, or pass it along somewhere else. It's unlikely they are saving all due to the sheer amount of data but I'd be insanely surprised if the vast, vast majority aren't saved at least for a short time while some kind of rudementary analysis is done.
What kind of analysis could be done on that volume of data? It's not hard to picture when you think about it. Think SpamAssassin scores. Encrypted anything gets a bonus, data from a "known source" gets a major bonus, data from a mandated target is an immediate +1000 to cross any threshold that is set. Key words, in the right amounts etc etc can all be programmed in to tell the system what to save for further analysis. Headers are tracked, countires of origins, time of day, prior call history (caller +2 data everyone made such a big deal about a while back) -- all of this is metadata that some kind of SpamAssassin clone program can take into account in order to decide whether to score the data as "interesting" (aka spam normally) or ignore it and let it expire after a few days and disappear off the drives to make room for something else. This is all technology we had in place 20 years ago that was unclassified even then. Does anyone really have any doubts on what is being done today?
Just saying...
ADSL is very dependent on your local loop length. Higher loop to CO or micro-CO, lower achievable speeds. 8M ADSL was supported on people with something like 5000 feet of copper to the DSLAM (CO), which is damn near impossible for most people who don't live practically next door to one (that 5000 feet of copper doesn't go so far when it starts all the twists and turns needed to make it to each house or unit). There are newer standards now that will tolerate longer loops, but as far as many DSL companies are concerned "why change what isn't broken. The current standard is fine for our customers, because they can't get anything else anyway."
Minecraft isn't anywhere near as simple as you think it is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB684ym3QY4
Mods, please mod the parent up. Orbiter is a 100% free realistic simulator that is every geek's dream. It strives for realistic physics (in most cases, there are still some bugs); and includes lots of space vehicles including the Shuttle (which is damn near impossible to launch and achieve a stable orbit on manual control, just like you'd expect). Very entertaining simulator. It has a very extensive selection of mods (http://orbithangar.com is one of the more popular places to find them).
My friend has modded his version so much that he's built and launched his own Space Station. He has some of the vehicles timed so well that he can launch from Cape Canaveral, and within 26 minutes match the ISS's orbital specs and dock with it. Each time he plays the game he's reloading his prior state and launching new cargo and expanding the station.
Aside from the Shuttle there are also lots of next generation vehicles including orbiters with SCRAM engines to help achieve orbit and other items as well. There's also a recent mod to add all of the future and planned SpaceX vehicles as well.
When I first started playing, I was familiar with some math but knew hardly anything about orbital mechanics. Playing the game at first was fun --- there's nothing quite like launching the space shuttle straight up, then turning off the shuttle engines and watching the thing do backflips at 10K off the ground -- but once you start wanting to achieve something useful, like a dock with the ISS you've really got to start to understand what is going on in order to get where you're going.
Comments like this are why Slashdot needs a system where if enough mods spent a point on a +5, it will eventually become a +6 and stand out even more. Say 10 extra votes? 50? instead of the usual 1? Make it mean something. This can't be modded up enough.
They don't sell them any more, but: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Mighty_Mouse
BTW, Mac OS has responded to control clicks as a right click on one button mice for 15 or more years. Also, pretty much any 2 button USB mouse that is connected gets recognized for what it is, and the right mouse button works just like you'd expect it to.
News flash. Act like a troll, and you get treated like a troll.
Funny how that works, isn't it?
Ubisoft is the company known for the worst DRM in the world. I've had so many of their games become virtually unplayable due to the DRM. I refuse to buy any of their games any more, period. They can blame piracy all they want, but the fact is, I know a lot of people that are now intentionally boycotting their products.
In order to "recover" from their image, they kept touting this game or that game that are shipped DRM free -- frankly, we don't care. We've been screwed by you guys far, far too often to trust anything you release. It doesn't matter to me that they come out with an occasional DRM free game. The company's ethos is corrupt, and frankly, I don't have any intention of buying anything from them in the future.
P.S. My list of games on Steam is over 140 *paid* titles. I buy lots and lots of games. Just nothing from UBIsoft any more. *NOTHING*.
Personally I have no intention at all of buying this game. I bought the first game without realizing what i was getting in for. There are a thousand things about SC2 that piss me off and make me wish I'd never purchased it. No offline multiplayer, no true LAN games, no more spawn copies, having to type in my fucking name and password each time I want to play a single player game, buying the same game full price 3 times just to get all 3 races, an awful in game map management system, awful online play, and a company that stopped caring about their players a long time ago make this
Blizzard dropped the ball with Starcraft 2. They've become nothing but money-grubbing corporate monsters, and I strongly encourage everyone to avoid their games like the proverbial plague.
P.S. I LOVE the starcraft series. I *still* play Starcraft 1 constantly. I prefer version 1 (on 640x480 graphics) to Starcraft 2 on a monitor that runs 1920x1080 by default; the graphics are poor, but it's still a thousand times more fun then anything I've gotten out of Starcraft 2. Sc2 is awful, awful, awful compared to Starcraft 1, and not worth the money. Go pick up 6 indy games for the same price that Blizzard wants to charge for this DRM fest. Or 18 games for the price blizzard wants to charge for all 3 "chapters" of their 1 mediocre game.
I mean, seriously. $180 by the time I am done for Starcraft 2? Get fucking real.
It's amazing what you can do when you've got an object in space that you can set up with minimal overhead. I mean, hey, its not like those big expensive spy satellites have a limited fuel or anything. Sure, Libya had always been kind of a nuisance, but I assume there weren't that many spy satellites within range before. One of the features of this thing was that it had oversized engines for what it was, meaning it could make drastic orbit changes at short notice. Anyone know how long its been in this orbit over Libya?
It's been speculated (more assumption...) that the X-37B could be a test platform for new surveillance equipment. Could be they have some new cameras with some awesome resolution to test out. Might be some kind of new sensors, or maybe some kind of a mirror or laser communication relay, to bounce a signal for someone covert down in Tripoli. For all we know, it could be some crazy new concept we won't hear about for another 20 years.
Anyone know if its orbit brings it within close proximity of any other satellites? Some people have said it could be used to interfere with the satellites from other countries. Maybe, its secretly plotting to activate SkyNet in conjunction with another satellite that recently went up and we have no idea what its doing..
Or, for all we know, its just a camera, the same one they've been using on the other spy satellites for years. Just one that has lots of fuel, and thus, lots of orbit changes before coming down to be refueled and given newer tech cameras.
The world may never know. Or may already know, and just not know it.
Yes, because its ok if they only screw us a little now. They're the government, they won't make it even worse over time. We can trust them, right? They're really looking out for our interests, and not the paid lobby groups pushing useless scanner machines and constantly whispering nice shit in their ears to get their own laws passed, right? They won't pass CALEA, then PATRIOT under our noses, right? Won't insist that legal, private, law abiding citizens hand over their encryption keys to the government "just in case" right?
Hitler only wanted to kill a FEW jews at first, right? He only wanted to take over a FEW countries at first? So, this isn't as bad as nazism, and that makes it ok?
It's time we all stood up and stopped this bullshit before it gets any worse. Just like Germany should have done.
"Those who would give up a little liberty to obtain a little security deserve neither liberty nor security." - Thomas Jefferson
It had been a long standing belief of this country for over 200 years.
Until 9/11.
These bullshit, asinine security rules have negatively affected my life far, far more then any terrorist act ever has.
I haven't seen this story posted yet, and it's far too good to pass up.
http://www.redstate.com/erick/2010/11/18/another-tsa-outrage/
To summarize: 330 soldiers coming back from Afghanistan were flying back to the US. They were carrying (all unloaded) M4 assault rifles, some carrying M9 pistols, and some carrying M-240B machine guns. After flying part of the way back and dropping off 100 soldiers, the TSA decide the rest need to deplane and all need to go through screening again. They find a pair of nail clippers on a soldier, and confiscate them, saying they are a potential weapon.
The soldiers continue on with their unloaded guns and fly on to their destination.
Now really, are the TSA so moronic, that they don't understand the ASSAULT RIFLES could be used as a bludgeon weapon far more effectively then a pair of toenail clippers? I mean, come on, these guys just got back from fighting in the terrorist's safe haven. About the last thing they're going to do is to help the psycho idiots, and yet they confiscate their toenail clippers, and let them continue on with the rifles?
Really?
No, REALLY?
"Watch my Dad! He's about to do a really cool trick!" "Tag my dad! He's it!" "Flag my dad! He committed a football penalty, holding." "Push my dad! He's about to get hit by that train." There are lots of things that could fit in your example that aren't "indecent."
Just because your mind is in the gutter, doesn't mean the next person's mind is. This is exactly the reason why one group of idiots should not be responsible for managing what the rest of us say. You don't really know what the person may have intended. You just think you do.
I was playing a game on Steam last night and got a Steam ad for this game. I don't have them turned off because once in a while they show good games, sometimes for $4.95, others full price at $49.95+ or whatever, but I have no problems paying for good games. Started looking through the screenshots and got more interested; I've never played any of the Settlers series before but 7 looked pretty good. Then I saw the publisher was Ubisoft... instinctively I started scanning for what kind of DRM was being included. Couldn't find anything, surprisingly enough. Nothing in the right hand columns about SecuROM or the others. But, it didn't seem right to me, so I googled it. Low and behold, "Permanent internet connection required." I went back and rescanned the Steam listing again, and sure enough it was listed. Wasn't in any small print or anything, it was just the middle section below the description; someplace I wasn't expecting it before.
As soon as I found that out, the game instantly became unplayable to me. Yes, I have an internet connection 99% of the time. No, I don't want to be kept from playing a game that I ****ing PAID FOR when my internet, or your DRM servers are down. End of story. Not the first time I've been kept from purchasing games; and it won't be the last.
I have a special message for you, Ubisoft, and anyone else willing to implement these DRM schemes. I hope you son of a *****es either get a clue or go out of business before you kill the rest of PC gaming. You're the ones keeping me from purchasing games right now, not the availability of some virus infested warez version. I'm your paying customer, the one who keeps you in business, and you're losing me. I'm not against DRM in general, I pay for lots of games via Steam and there's DRM in there. But having offline playability for up to two weeks at a time says one hell of a lot about a company who actually gives a **** about their customers. Especially ones that add features (unlimited download and install on any # of computers) vs 3 activations, ever. Please get a clue.
While I can certainly understand the need to deprecate older software and hardware, there are lots of times MS has been famous for claiming the need to do such things, when the sole purpose is to force people to give them more money.
Case in point: one you already mentioned; DX10. Microsoft claimed there was no way to get DX10 working on XP, and everyone *had* to upgrade to Vista to get it. Several games came out (Microsoft Flight Simulator X was a good example....) that required DX10 for advanced graphics and features, and Microsoft claimed there was no way to get them available in Windows XP.
However, it wasn't long before people bypassed the installer's OS checks, and got DX10 running on Windows XP. The end result? Flight Simulator had all of the extra graphics options that were "impossible" on Windows XP. First hit on Google ATM for "DX10 on Windows XP" gave me this page which does a good job of summing it up and giving graphic examples.
There's a reason we all stopped taking what Microsoft says at face value a long time ago.
I was worried about just such a thing due to the number of games I've purchased from Steam. The list is up to 71 now, with some including some expensive new games. I was worried about losing access to them some day, and so I emailed Steam's support department. This is what I got back:
Subject: RE: End of life for steam authentication servers? - [4131-****-****] [********]
From: Steam Support
Date: 11/3/2009 2:12 PM
========= Please enter your reply ABOVE this line =========
Hello,
A staff member has replied to your question:
Hello *********, Thank you for contacting Steam Support. In the unlikely event of the discontinuation of the Steam network, measures are in place to ensure that all users still have access to their Steam games. If you have any further questions, please let us know - we will be happy to assist you.
Anytime you wish you can view your question online:
https://support.steampowered.com/view.php?ticketref=****-****-****
It is up to each person on whether or not to believe them, but it was enough for me. "Measures" doesn't seem very specific to me, but I just assumed it was some kind of a software patch that permanently turns offline mode on. I've purchased something like 25 games since then... Their xmas deals racked up quite a few extra dents in my bank account, but they had a lot of $5 deals too. They aren't perfect. Most games can be redownloaded an unlimited number of times, but some of the newer ones are limited on # of installs or still have DRM, but at least Steam warns you about the DRM ahead of time.
BTW, Attention UBisoft: Its very unlikely I will ever buy one of your games again after the DRM systems you've been implementing lately. Yes, Steam wants an internet connection, BUT IT WORKS IN OFFLINE MODE TOO FOR UP TO LIKE 2 WEEKS AT A TIME AS WELL with most games, except, ahem, YOURS. Kick me out of my game if my net connection goes down? Ubisoft, that's bull***, and you've lost me as customer for a long time. I'm obviously not one of the pirates you're so worried about, yet you won't be getting any of my money either. NICE JOB YOU MORONS.