I have yet to understand why most slashdotters, a group of above-average intelligence, can be so stubborn and mule-headed about political issues.
Microsoft is not off the hook. The DoJ merely came to the conclusion that a breakup of MS would solve NOTHING. Do any of you really think that would have made a difference, or did you just see it as a way to stick it to Big Bad Bill?
This whole tying-the-browser-to-the-OS thing was BS from the get-go. No one was stopping anybody from downloading and installing Netscape or any other browser. I actually thought it was rather USEFUL that a browser was preinstalled so that I could go out and download Netscape!
Regarding the political stuff, don't get any happy thoughts about Clinton starting this suit to protect the consumer. As if he cared about the consumers - the same ones he screwed by enthusiastically signing the DMCA? This whole thing was class warfare from the get-go. The bottom 50% loves it when the guy at the top at the food chain gets pie in his face, don't they? So Slick Willie bolsters his poll numbers by going after MS for some trumped-up crap and gets full cooperation from their competitors, of course. Just try to be honest with yourselves here.
Look, sure MS is evil. XP is full evidence that they're evil. So don't upgrade. You know what happens to products that screw the user? They don't sell. Look at DIVX. That sure didn't go far. XP is the OS equivalent of DIVX, from what I've read so far. Let the market do its thing.
Actually, that's the primary reason Solitaire and Minesweeper were included with Windows. Between the two games, you use all primary mouse functions - single click, click and drag, right click, double click, click with both mouse buttons at once.
I have often used these games for mouse training with great success.
Programmers have proved for years that they can get their games to 'cheat'. Many of them substitute 'cheating' for difficulty levels rather than improving the game AI.
Who's going to trust these guys NOT to cheat? At least in a real casino you can WATCH them pull your card off the deck. Would you play blackjack where the dealer was behind a screen and handed you a card from behind there? Of course not. Same thing here.
I'm all for the concept of e-gambling, but there would need to be some SERIOUS assurances that everything was on the up-and-up. I'm thinking open-source casino software.
Here's a piece of advice to everyone else that thought Episode 1 was a piece of overcooked dog feces. Don't go see Episode 2.
Lucas will, without a doubt, make Episode 2 very similar to 1. It will more than likely continue to focus on the marketing and kiddie aspects of things. If you object to the way Episode 1 was handled, don't see 2.
By giving Lucas another $8 for 2, you are saying to him "I liked 1 so much I went to see 2". Remember, your letters and websites and jokes saying how annoying Jar Jar was don't mean anything to George. Only your dollars count, and he doesn't care whether people see Episode 2 because they really want to or out of morbid curiosity. He gets the $8 either way.
There were two things worthwhile about going to see the film.
1) Final Fantasy Trailer (whoo hoo!)
2) Tom Baker...for all you Dr. Who fans out there
The rest of the movie was just garbage. Speaking as a D&D player, it didn't even stick to their rules. Elves not needing to cast spells? Pixie dust as universal spell component? WhatEVER.
Like many of us here, I too would be thrilled beyond words to be able to cast my vote online. Unfortunately, the odds that the US is going to be able to do so on a national level are slim, given today's social climate. Attempts to do so have been continually stifled by people like Jesse Jackson, claiming that giving people the ability to vote online is racist (since it is mostly whites who have access to the Internet).
Also don't forget the current situation in Florida - where the Democrats have repeatedly stated that HUMANS are more accurate in counting the ballots than machines. Online voting? Not any time soon, not without some social changes first.
This is just another example of how the current copyright laws are twisted beyond their original intent by greedy associations of copyright holders. I echo the often-put-forth proposal limiting ALL copyrights - music, film, and software - to 8-10 years. This stuff has made all the money it's going to at that point, and greedy companies trying to make money of creative work that was done 30 years ago are going to have to ADD SOME VALUE to get people to buy it again.
And don't forget to add the ISDA to the list of Evil Greedy Copyright-Abusing B*st*rds. Just for those keeping score, the list should also have the RIAA and the MPAA on it.
I read the above article, and would like to raise a few points.
Firstly, if I understand correctly, the author or someone he is quoting is questioning the physics behind Donkey Kong. The very concept that there should be actual physics behind every piece of gameplay is ludicrous - think about fantasy and sci-fi games, for one thing. Or Pac-man!
Secondly, I have long griped about the decline of gameplay in recent years. Sure, you have all these fancy new games with their fancy high-framerate multi-texeled whatevers, but does it make the GAME any good? What I see is a lot of rehashed ideas, worn-out puzzles and games so simple a half-dead carrot could beat them.
It sounds like the video game industry is realizing what the movie industry found out years ago - smart doesn't sell. If you want to sell copies, sell to the lowest common denominator. The only reason for "strategy guides" and hint books these days is to point out the "secret areas" in games and the stuff the developers hid! Think about all the games there are now - especially of this new "3-d adventure" variety - that it is impossible to lose the game. How more dumbed-down does it need to get?!
Gnumeric is an Open Source (GPL'd) spreadsheet program. Just because the first spreadsheet program (VisiCalc, you wouldn't recall it. It ran on the Apple II) was closed source and commercial software doesn't mean that the Open Source community isn't going to produce an Open Source implementation of the same functionality.
That's just because the company that released it didn't bother to patent spreadsheets.
I for one find it poetic justice that Microsoft is using this sort of delay tactic against the Clinton administration. After all, that's the same tactic they used to squirm out of all sorts of legal wrongdoing. Delay until no one cares and then say "let's just move on, mmkay?"
It is true that many companies (or, more truly, recruitment companies) are asking for unreasonable qualifications. I was flipping through the paper last week and saw an ad for a Java developer. The catch? You had to have 10+ years experience in Java development.
From the MPAA Response: As at least two initial round submitters have pointed out, many pirates and distributors of pirate software products have actively disseminated misleading statements about this provision in order to give their operations a false air of legitimacy, see Interactive Digital Software Association at 5-6; SIIA at 3-4.
This is their entire argument for throwing out 117(b), the portion of the law which permits you to make a backup, archival copy of your software. They are saying that since pirates are trying to hide behind it, well, throw it out.
Is it me or is that like saying we should get rid of the fifth amendment because of all the people who claim the rights afforded to them by that amendment but are then convicted anyway? There's no logic there. They aren't challenging the meat of 117(b), they're just saying that since pirates CLAIM it as protection even though it isn't, get rid of it anyway.
The IDSA goes one step further and claims that since computers are more reliable now (bwahahaha), we don't really need the ability to make an archival copy. More reliable? Hellooooooo?
Don't forget it has to be an MPAA approved MOVIE also. CSS is licensed to DVD makers as well as player makers. Private citizens who don't want to shell out five figures for the "licensing" for CSS can't make their own movie DVDs either.
I wonder if they sent this letter out to Disney for the links on Infoseek to DeCSS. It's still accessible from their search engine. I checked. Oh, wait, Disney is one of the people complaining? Sounds like they have some issues.
I particularly love the bit where they're looking for the names and addresses of people posting the code. "Tell us where they live." Organizations have been sending out threatening letters to shut down websites for ages. We can't stop them from doing it any more than they can stop people from posting DeCSS.
They're saying the Xbox will spell the end of PC games? Not so long as there is a market for games with complicated user interfaces...such as those requiring typing. Could you imagine trying to play a game like that with only 10 buttons?
I can't even play Mechwarrior 3 with only the 10 buttons on my joystick.
Sure, console games have some advantages. They're faster and smoother and don't crash. And the only ones who can write them are the big companies and software developers. Anyone ever hear of an open-source or shareware Playstation game? I didn't think so. Beware!
Pretty much all anime has to be censored down to fit the more sensitive American types. Even shows designed for the little ones need to be further censored for American kids. Watch subtitled DBZ and you'll see what I mean.
Regarding Tenchi in Tokyo. Yes, the animation style is quite different. Yes, they changed continuity again. Some of the episodes are actually quite funny though. I busted a gut when I saw Ryo-Ohki transform into the mechacabbit. And the song for the ending credits is hilarious - but you'll probably have to get the DVDs to see it; I doubt CN will play it as it was never dubbed into English.
And since no one else has said it yet: directed to those who complain every time an anime subject comes up on/. , go to your preferences and turn off anime news. Please.
Oh. Linking to DeCSS is illegal now? Good. Let Kaplan go after Disney now, they own Infoseek which links to DeCSS sites. Let him go after AOL and Yahoo and Microsoft and every other search engine out there. That's what they do - they link. That's the whole point.
I downloaded DeCSS from a site I found on Infoseek.
"...will take whatever steps it needs...will not lose that revenue stream, no matter what...take agressive steps..."
Am I alone in thinking he's talking about more than "firewalling" here? If I were the Napster guys I'd get some personal security. And for the central servers as well. Odds are the RIAA knows where they are housed.
Voting should be difficult. Yes, voter apathy is a problem, but so is uninformed voting. IMHO, if a person doesn't care enough to pay attention to the issues and learn where the candidates actually stand on things, I would rather they not vote.
How can technology improve democracy? Through its affect on the media, mostly. Most people don't care about politics because they lack a proper understanding of it - they are spoon-fed 30-second sound bites by the new$ media and base their votes on that.
Want to see people become more interested in politics? Think about this: Napster has 20 million users. If they all voted for one presidential candidate, that candidate would get a huge boost, typically enough to swing the election. Just something to think about.
I don't expect this will curtail mp3.com's activities in terms of allowing garage bands and private, non-contracted groups a place to share their music with others and have it heard. This is simply related to the myMP3.com service...which i'm SURE they knew was going to prompt a lawsuit when they set it up.
Had they set it up so that you actually had to transfer the MP3 files to them yourself, there would not have been a lawsuit. Other companies are utilizing that sort of thing now - including Nullsoft, a division of AOL/Time Warner. The problem is that they brought this one on themselves by using a system which sounds good in theory but is a lawsuit magnet in reality.
Lest anyone forget, the RIAA's ultimate goal is to eliminate the MP3 format entirely. Remember, they sued Diamond to keep the Rio off the market - a device which simply plays MP3 files. They will ultimately be unsuccessful...but IMHO the MyMP3 service was set up with the full expectation that they would be sued over it.
I'm going to take a moment to rip on Myst. Please ignore the following rant if you actually enjoyed it.
[rant] Myst was a substandard puzzle game. It was not an "adventure", nor was it challenging. It involved putting slight twists on old puzzles in much the same way as 11th Hour and Shivers did. However, anyone who has played Myst through that I have talked to has had one major gripe about it. The ending. I mean, there wasn't one. "Oh, good job, go wander around for a while." My buddy wandered around that map for 3 days waiting for something else to happen. Where's the payoff? The credits? Something to say, Hey, you're done, turn me off? [/rant]
Whew, that's better. I need some more caffeine. You want a hard game? Play Sierra's Manhunter series. They're way out of print but boy, were they tough.
"How come no one out there is working feverishly on a new micropayment system, since none of the others were ever adopted? "
Very simple. Consumers don't want a micropayment system. We proved it by rejecting the original DIVX system. I don't want a car stereo with wireless internet access that charges me a nickel every time it plays a song. Nor do I want my computer to work that way.
The major copyright holders have been trying to move us to a "pay-per-view" world for some time now. This model is consumer-hostile in the extreme and we should all be fighting tooth and nail against it.
On the other side of the spectrum, you have the everything-is-free model preferred by many. This is equally bad - with no incentive to perform, most artists simply won't. This applies not only to music, but to movies as well. The system is nearly robust enough now to support widespread digital distribution of DVD-quality video.
The solution? I believe the solution lies in the "heavenly library" that the author speaks of. If, for a reasonable monthly fee, you had *instant* access to a full library of every song ever recorded, every movie ever made, every episode of every TV show ever broadcast...few would bother with the hassles involved in piracy.
This is a serious issue. I personally want to see some position statements from the US Presidential candidates on this sort of thing.
The DIVX codec was referred to extensively throughout the case. I would anticipate that its primary effect has been in scaring the collective trousers off the folks at the MPAA, worried that people can now burn DVD movies down to CD-R's.
Not that it isn't a legitimate concern, mind you. It just doesn't address the underlying constitutional concerns with the DMCA.
What we really need here is a piece of legislation or supreme court ruling that actually spells out what is fair use and what isn't, and protects individuals exercising fair use.
Slashdot Mirror
I have yet to understand why most slashdotters, a group of above-average intelligence, can be so stubborn and mule-headed about political issues.
Microsoft is not off the hook. The DoJ merely came to the conclusion that a breakup of MS would solve NOTHING. Do any of you really think that would have made a difference, or did you just see it as a way to stick it to Big Bad Bill?
This whole tying-the-browser-to-the-OS thing was BS from the get-go. No one was stopping anybody from downloading and installing Netscape or any other browser. I actually thought it was rather USEFUL that a browser was preinstalled so that I could go out and download Netscape!
Regarding the political stuff, don't get any happy thoughts about Clinton starting this suit to protect the consumer. As if he cared about the consumers - the same ones he screwed by enthusiastically signing the DMCA? This whole thing was class warfare from the get-go. The bottom 50% loves it when the guy at the top at the food chain gets pie in his face, don't they? So Slick Willie bolsters his poll numbers by going after MS for some trumped-up crap and gets full cooperation from their competitors, of course. Just try to be honest with yourselves here.
Look, sure MS is evil. XP is full evidence that they're evil. So don't upgrade. You know what happens to products that screw the user? They don't sell. Look at DIVX. That sure didn't go far. XP is the OS equivalent of DIVX, from what I've read so far. Let the market do its thing.
Actually, that's the primary reason Solitaire and Minesweeper were included with Windows. Between the two games, you use all primary mouse functions - single click, click and drag, right click, double click, click with both mouse buttons at once. I have often used these games for mouse training with great success.
Programmers have proved for years that they can get their games to 'cheat'. Many of them substitute 'cheating' for difficulty levels rather than improving the game AI. Who's going to trust these guys NOT to cheat? At least in a real casino you can WATCH them pull your card off the deck. Would you play blackjack where the dealer was behind a screen and handed you a card from behind there? Of course not. Same thing here. I'm all for the concept of e-gambling, but there would need to be some SERIOUS assurances that everything was on the up-and-up. I'm thinking open-source casino software.
I still have to stifle giggles during insurance briefings when they get to that bit.
Lucas will, without a doubt, make Episode 2 very similar to 1. It will more than likely continue to focus on the marketing and kiddie aspects of things. If you object to the way Episode 1 was handled, don't see 2.
By giving Lucas another $8 for 2, you are saying to him "I liked 1 so much I went to see 2". Remember, your letters and websites and jokes saying how annoying Jar Jar was don't mean anything to George. Only your dollars count, and he doesn't care whether people see Episode 2 because they really want to or out of morbid curiosity. He gets the $8 either way.
1) Final Fantasy Trailer (whoo hoo!)
2) Tom Baker...for all you Dr. Who fans out there
The rest of the movie was just garbage. Speaking as a D&D player, it didn't even stick to their rules. Elves not needing to cast spells? Pixie dust as universal spell component? WhatEVER.
Also don't forget the current situation in Florida - where the Democrats have repeatedly stated that HUMANS are more accurate in counting the ballots than machines. Online voting? Not any time soon, not without some social changes first.
And don't forget to add the ISDA to the list of Evil Greedy Copyright-Abusing B*st*rds. Just for those keeping score, the list should also have the RIAA and the MPAA on it.
At www.gamingdepot.com, actually. I love that game. Don't forget MOSLO, or some of them are kinda tricky.
Firstly, if I understand correctly, the author or someone he is quoting is questioning the physics behind Donkey Kong. The very concept that there should be actual physics behind every piece of gameplay is ludicrous - think about fantasy and sci-fi games, for one thing. Or Pac-man!
Secondly, I have long griped about the decline of gameplay in recent years. Sure, you have all these fancy new games with their fancy high-framerate multi-texeled whatevers, but does it make the GAME any good? What I see is a lot of rehashed ideas, worn-out puzzles and games so simple a half-dead carrot could beat them.
It sounds like the video game industry is realizing what the movie industry found out years ago - smart doesn't sell. If you want to sell copies, sell to the lowest common denominator. The only reason for "strategy guides" and hint books these days is to point out the "secret areas" in games and the stuff the developers hid! Think about all the games there are now - especially of this new "3-d adventure" variety - that it is impossible to lose the game. How more dumbed-down does it need to get?!
Long live Infocom!
That's just because the company that released it didn't bother to patent spreadsheets.
Heeellllooooo? Is anyone home?
This is their entire argument for throwing out 117(b), the portion of the law which permits you to make a backup, archival copy of your software. They are saying that since pirates are trying to hide behind it, well, throw it out.
Is it me or is that like saying we should get rid of the fifth amendment because of all the people who claim the rights afforded to them by that amendment but are then convicted anyway? There's no logic there. They aren't challenging the meat of 117(b), they're just saying that since pirates CLAIM it as protection even though it isn't, get rid of it anyway.
The IDSA goes one step further and claims that since computers are more reliable now (bwahahaha), we don't really need the ability to make an archival copy. More reliable? Hellooooooo?
I particularly love the bit where they're looking for the names and addresses of people posting the code. "Tell us where they live." Organizations have been sending out threatening letters to shut down websites for ages. We can't stop them from doing it any more than they can stop people from posting DeCSS.
Sure, console games have some advantages. They're faster and smoother and don't crash. And the only ones who can write them are the big companies and software developers. Anyone ever hear of an open-source or shareware Playstation game? I didn't think so. Beware!
Regarding Tenchi in Tokyo. Yes, the animation style is quite different. Yes, they changed continuity again. Some of the episodes are actually quite funny though. I busted a gut when I saw Ryo-Ohki transform into the mechacabbit. And the song for the ending credits is hilarious - but you'll probably have to get the DVDs to see it; I doubt CN will play it as it was never dubbed into English.
And since no one else has said it yet: directed to those who complain every time an anime subject comes up on /. , go to your preferences and turn off anime news. Please.
I downloaded DeCSS from a site I found on Infoseek.
Am I alone in thinking he's talking about more than "firewalling" here? If I were the Napster guys I'd get some personal security. And for the central servers as well. Odds are the RIAA knows where they are housed.
How can technology improve democracy? Through its affect on the media, mostly. Most people don't care about politics because they lack a proper understanding of it - they are spoon-fed 30-second sound bites by the new$ media and base their votes on that.
Want to see people become more interested in politics? Think about this: Napster has 20 million users. If they all voted for one presidential candidate, that candidate would get a huge boost, typically enough to swing the election. Just something to think about.
Had they set it up so that you actually had to transfer the MP3 files to them yourself, there would not have been a lawsuit. Other companies are utilizing that sort of thing now - including Nullsoft, a division of AOL/Time Warner. The problem is that they brought this one on themselves by using a system which sounds good in theory but is a lawsuit magnet in reality.
Lest anyone forget, the RIAA's ultimate goal is to eliminate the MP3 format entirely. Remember, they sued Diamond to keep the Rio off the market - a device which simply plays MP3 files. They will ultimately be unsuccessful...but IMHO the MyMP3 service was set up with the full expectation that they would be sued over it.
[rant] Myst was a substandard puzzle game. It was not an "adventure", nor was it challenging. It involved putting slight twists on old puzzles in much the same way as 11th Hour and Shivers did. However, anyone who has played Myst through that I have talked to has had one major gripe about it. The ending. I mean, there wasn't one. "Oh, good job, go wander around for a while." My buddy wandered around that map for 3 days waiting for something else to happen. Where's the payoff? The credits? Something to say, Hey, you're done, turn me off? [/rant]
Whew, that's better. I need some more caffeine. You want a hard game? Play Sierra's Manhunter series. They're way out of print but boy, were they tough.
Very simple. Consumers don't want a micropayment system. We proved it by rejecting the original DIVX system. I don't want a car stereo with wireless internet access that charges me a nickel every time it plays a song. Nor do I want my computer to work that way.
The major copyright holders have been trying to move us to a "pay-per-view" world for some time now. This model is consumer-hostile in the extreme and we should all be fighting tooth and nail against it.
On the other side of the spectrum, you have the everything-is-free model preferred by many. This is equally bad - with no incentive to perform, most artists simply won't. This applies not only to music, but to movies as well. The system is nearly robust enough now to support widespread digital distribution of DVD-quality video.
The solution? I believe the solution lies in the "heavenly library" that the author speaks of. If, for a reasonable monthly fee, you had *instant* access to a full library of every song ever recorded, every movie ever made, every episode of every TV show ever broadcast...few would bother with the hassles involved in piracy.
This is a serious issue. I personally want to see some position statements from the US Presidential candidates on this sort of thing.
The DIVX codec was referred to extensively throughout the case. I would anticipate that its primary effect has been in scaring the collective trousers off the folks at the MPAA, worried that people can now burn DVD movies down to CD-R's. Not that it isn't a legitimate concern, mind you. It just doesn't address the underlying constitutional concerns with the DMCA. What we really need here is a piece of legislation or supreme court ruling that actually spells out what is fair use and what isn't, and protects individuals exercising fair use.