No doubt about the free magazine subscriptions. I was pretty happy about getting free subscriptions to SysAdmin, Infoworld, Wired, and a few others at first. Now a week doesn't pass where I don't get at least 1 free subscription offer.
Yeah, sure, I could get paid for subscribing to some magazine but that doesn't mean I'll have the time or the interest (there are some *really* bad "technology" magazines out there) to bother reading them.
Sure, it can do graphics, weapons, realistic sounds, etc., but no simulator can really account for the weirdness of humans and other various calamaties. Things like
Stupidity- Where some guy accidentally sets up a claymore pointing at his platoon.
Fear- Where someone in the platoon decides, "Screw this! This isn't worth dying for.", and bails out or hides in the woods.
Insanity- Where someone in the platoon goes bonkers and decides to start killing his own people or wants to extract revenge on a certain platoon member or officer.
SNAFU- Equipment failure.
Equipment competence-Just because you can control a simulated piece of equipment doesn't mean that you can handle the real thing (i.e. recoil)
You can be pretty fearless when all you have to do is poke a "Play Again?" button if something goes wrong.
One of the reasons I mention equipment is that we've got one guy who can polish the floor with our butts in Quake. We all went to play paintball (a 1st for everyone), and Quake-boy ended up getting drenched with about 3 coats. And he's in pretty good physical shape too.
I think it should come down to ethics which are becoming less common in this world. Some consideration for the person(s) who created a piece of software with the intention of keeping it Free (source available) is needed. If someone doesn't like the GPL, then let them start from scratch instead of bitching about the GPL. Sooner or later, they're going to have to deal with the GPL as GPL'ed SW gets more widely used and the proprietary model gets more out-dated.
You could add secret stuff to original GPL'ed source code, but, in a sense, that is stealing since you're building upon someone else's efforts which that person was nice enough to openly share. Without that original GPL'ed program, the company wouldn't have anything to add their secret stuff to in the first place.
(climbing on soapbox) I'd liken adding to GPL'ed SW and selling it without making the source code available pretty much like if I went into your backyard, nicked the tomatoes that you had grown and toiled over for a long time, then I cleaned them off and sold them on the corner. It's just wrong.
Time to go put Redhat boxes in front of Windows boxes at CompUSA.:)
Good to see someone else doing that. I try to do my part by going to the book stores and putting Linux manuals & magazines in front of the MS magazines.:)
The GPL, he continued, "breaks that cycle--that is, it makes it impossible for a commercial company to use any of that work or build on any of that work.
WTF!?! The GPL does not say that a commercial company can't build on any GPL'ed work. It just says that if a company builds on a piece of GPL'ed work that they can't be jerks and hoard the source code. If anyone builds on a GPL'ed program and doesn't make the source code available, that's just plain stealing.
This latest bum-rush of MS-FUD makes me wonder if they're having problems making.NET work for Linux without violating the GPL
We have a lot of students & recent grads where I work, and all of them have Java listed as a language. I checked around with some friends about the curriculum(sp?) of the local colleges where most of our hires came from and found that every one of them use Java as an intro programming language.
Of course MSN is going to be the busiest web-site. It's the default opening page for IE, and most users don't know how to, or just won't be bothered enough to change it.
I couldn't find the story, but didn't Bank of America sue this one guy for his "translator" webpage which pulled up a webpage and translated it into jive, redneck, swedish chef, etc.? Technically, what MS is trying to do is pretty much the same thing.
This sounds more like some sort of wanky marketing ploy to get more dosh. It will end up costing the company more money in the end. After all, in order to keep track of how much each user downloads is going to require...
Programs to keep track of downloads, extra billing, qouta stops, etc.
Servers to hold and process this grand amount of information
Media to keep back-ups and archives for (I'd guess) around 5 years in case of any law suits regarding billing.
The aim, according to Blokman co-founder and chief executive Vadim V Veshchezerov, is to "transform [the] Sony PlayStation and Sony PlayStation2 into a low-priced desktop computer".
Just watch some wanker give me DDoS attack right in the middle of $GAME_NAME_HERE.:)
Re:Will everyone just chill. Isn't this just silly
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Mundie Responds
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Amen to that. Just consider that GNU/Linux has advanced more in just 3 years than Windows has in 15 years.
There's a lotta room for foobar here.
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The DNA Bomb
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Whilst this sounds pretty scary, but I'm sure that a GM bomb is not going to be as hardy outside of a sterile laboratory. Yeah, sure, you can create some formula that will off the president with a handshake. What if, say, car exhaust, pollen, or whatever else may be in said environment causes the GM bomb not only to be ineffective, but also lart the person carrying out the deed?
I'm not saying that a GM bomb isn't going to be possible, but there's lots of ways things might not go as planned.
I was wondering how many other companies out there are actually training their non-IT employees on how to be aware of, and perhaps even counteract these types of issues?
They're aware of the issues here. And the non-IT staff counteract as follows.... Phone:RING!!!
Me:What? Yes, I know you can't get your mail, the mail server's down.
Phone: blah,blah...
Me:It'll be up when it's back up, now go away.
Everytime an employee gets fired/quits, I have to delete their account & archive their old mail.I keep their account active for a month to forward to whoever replaces them and discover that they're on the gap mailing list, contest lists, pr0n list, etc. and their e-mail addresses have been passed around more than a water bong at 4:20.
Oh, and it's an added treat knowing that probably half of the media we use for those mail archives probably contain spam. No one ever seems to mention that added expense that spam causes.
Re:Available for free (last I checked)
on
Telecosm
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· Score: 1
Yep! It's free alright. Just prepare to be telemarketed by generation d.:)
I think this has the potential to open a pretty strange can of worms. You just *know* that mega-corps are going to be more blatent about their power when they start paying off^W^Wlobbying politicians to start going after "rouge" nations that might dick with their profit potential.
Somehow the idea of networked play for the Sony PS2 over the AOL network is a little frightening.
True. I can just imagine playing quake on AOL. You're in the middle of trying to frag someone and an advert pops up asking if you'd like a pre-approved Visa.
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah, sure, I could get paid for subscribing to some magazine but that doesn't mean I'll have the time or the interest (there are some *really* bad "technology" magazines out there) to bother reading them.
Stupidity- Where some guy accidentally sets up a claymore pointing at his platoon.
Fear- Where someone in the platoon decides, "Screw this! This isn't worth dying for.", and bails out or hides in the woods.
Insanity- Where someone in the platoon goes bonkers and decides to start killing his own people or wants to extract revenge on a certain platoon member or officer.
SNAFU- Equipment failure.
Equipment competence-Just because you can control a simulated piece of equipment doesn't mean that you can handle the real thing (i.e. recoil)
You can be pretty fearless when all you have to do is poke a "Play Again?" button if something goes wrong.
One of the reasons I mention equipment is that we've got one guy who can polish the floor with our butts in Quake. We all went to play paintball (a 1st for everyone), and Quake-boy ended up getting drenched with about 3 coats. And he's in pretty good physical shape too.
I think it should come down to ethics which are becoming less common in this world. Some consideration for the person(s) who created a piece of software with the intention of keeping it Free (source available) is needed. If someone doesn't like the GPL, then let them start from scratch instead of bitching about the GPL. Sooner or later, they're going to have to deal with the GPL as GPL'ed SW gets more widely used and the proprietary model gets more out-dated.
once again, just MHO. :)
(climbing on soapbox) I'd liken adding to GPL'ed SW and selling it without making the source code available pretty much like if I went into your backyard, nicked the tomatoes that you had grown and toiled over for a long time, then I cleaned them off and sold them on the corner. It's just wrong.
but, this is just MHO.
Good to see someone else doing that. I try to do my part by going to the book stores and putting Linux manuals & magazines in front of the MS magazines. :)
WTF!?! The GPL does not say that a commercial company can't build on any GPL'ed work. It just says that if a company builds on a piece of GPL'ed work that they can't be jerks and hoard the source code. If anyone builds on a GPL'ed program and doesn't make the source code available, that's just plain stealing.
This latest bum-rush of MS-FUD makes me wonder if they're having problems making .NET work for Linux without violating the GPL
Now all I need is to hook it up to a wireless net-connection that runs on potatoes. ;-)
Hey, if you're going to be an asshole about something that blatantly obvious, don't post anonymously. Freakin' Karma Kowards.
We have a lot of students & recent grads where I work, and all of them have Java listed as a language. I checked around with some friends about the curriculum(sp?) of the local colleges where most of our hires came from and found that every one of them use Java as an intro programming language.
Of course MSN is going to be the busiest web-site. It's the default opening page for IE, and most users don't know how to, or just won't be bothered enough to change it.
Set free the landsharks and let the lawsuits fly.
Programs to keep track of downloads, extra billing, qouta stops, etc.
Servers to hold and process this grand amount of information
Media to keep back-ups and archives for (I'd guess) around 5 years in case of any law suits regarding billing.
And some poor sod to admin it.
Maybe the best way to think about his articles is to cheer for the opposite of what he's saying.
Just crank up your stereo. :)
Just watch some wanker give me DDoS attack right in the middle of $GAME_NAME_HERE. :)
Nah, just encrypted. :)
Amen to that. Just consider that GNU/Linux has advanced more in just 3 years than Windows has in 15 years.
I'm not saying that a GM bomb isn't going to be possible, but there's lots of ways things might not go as planned.
They're holding back payments because they're trying to save Gary Coleman. Once Mr. Coleman's debt is handled, it'll be business as usual.
They're aware of the issues here. And the non-IT staff counteract as follows....
Phone:RING!!!
Me:What? Yes, I know you can't get your mail, the mail server's down.
Phone: blah,blah...
Me:It'll be up when it's back up, now go away.
lather, rinse, repeat 100X
Everytime an employee gets fired/quits, I have to delete their account & archive their old mail.I keep their account active for a month to forward to whoever replaces them and discover that they're on the gap mailing list, contest lists, pr0n list, etc. and their e-mail addresses have been passed around more than a water bong at 4:20.
Oh, and it's an added treat knowing that probably half of the media we use for those mail archives probably contain spam. No one ever seems to mention that added expense that spam causes.
Yep! It's free alright. Just prepare to be telemarketed by generation d. :)
I think this has the potential to open a pretty strange can of worms. You just *know* that mega-corps are going to be more blatent about their power when they start paying off^W^Wlobbying politicians to start going after "rouge" nations that might dick with their profit potential.
True. I can just imagine playing quake on AOL. You're in the middle of trying to frag someone and an advert pops up asking if you'd like a pre-approved Visa.