I'm not watching that Battlebots show again until they change it so those !@#$!@#$'in [i]annoying[/i] announcers have to give commentary while dodging killer robots. Or hey, I'm not picky; while [i]not[/i] dodging aforementioned killer robots, if they should so decide. ---
"They've got their radical factions, like the Ruby Ridge or Waco types," who want to share all content for free, said Judith Platt, a spokeswoman for the Association of American Publishers.
Comparing librarians to terrorists? Lemme guess - Mrs. Platt missed a few lectures in Public Relations school. ---
Um, is it a bad sign when Penny Arcade scoops Slashdot?
Juz kiddin', folks. But seriously, this whole mess is inexcusable. I mean, I can almost kinda sorta understand (if not excuse) single-player games that are pushed out the door by half-wit marketeers. After all, basic economics deem that there is a point where you'll sell less copies if you wait (say, past the holiday season) and fix everything than if you release a piece of crap immediately. For someone with no real love or respect for the video game industry, it's almost a no-brainer, issues with customer trust and sales of future games aside.
However, this is an online game! And a pay-for-play one at that! They knew they'd have to deal with these customers day in and day out for months, and that these poor souls would be especially angry since they're charging over time. They knew the financial success of the title hung from the continued good graces of monthly billed gamers. Did nobody sit the top brass down and discuss the whole plan with them? Somewhere, somehow, someone who sincerely needed the "hard, cold bitch-slap of truth" was neglected.
Ah, well, live and learn. On the bright side, really makes Diablo's launch look good, no? ^_^
One last side note: Take that "something awful" site with a grain of salt; IIRC, they only give bad reviews. ---
Sony Computer Entertainment has officially confirmed the release of its hard disk drive for the PlayStation 2 later this month in Japan. The add-on peripheral will serve as a data cache, for faster loading, for more than 20 games, including Final Fantasy X, Jade Cocoon 2, Capcom vs. SNK 2, and Guitar Freaks 4th Mix and DrumMania 3rd Mix, among others. The utility disk for the hard drive will also include the latest CD drivers, with new features such as programmed and shuffled play, and DVD player driver 2.10. The unit, which also includes an Ethernet network adapter, will serve an additional purpose in the future, working in unison with the company's broadband network.
As previously reported, the pricing for the external drive is set at 19,000 yen (US$153), while the internal one will retail for 18,000 yen (US$145) in Japan. The company is currently taking preorders for the first 10,000 units (7,500 external and 2,500 internal) through its online store, PlayStation.com.
I saw no mention of an included adapter in the IGN article. Would be very interesting, if true... Might actually come close to warranting that price tag. ---
"Are these sorts of actions justifiable? If one of the companies developing bio-engineered plants/animals messes up, the consequences to the rest of the world could be extreme and it's doubtful the company would be in any position to make restitution. Is it right to destroy property in an effort to prevent this sort of gambling with our quality of life? Is that the most productive way to deal with bio-engineering risks?"
OK, so I'm offtopic, but your ideas are made much less powerful by poor grammar. It's hard to agree or disagree when, English major that I am, I can't stop wincing. ---
Y'know what? I think that's healthy. Now, bear with me a second, that sounds weird, but think about it: what better way to be disabused of a fuzzy grip on reality than a good real-world beating?
IMHO, the danger in excessive online gaming is abandonment of the real world, and a decrease in the clarity of boundaries between that and the online environment. That's what results in stuff like that infamous (fabled?) group of D&D'ers performing satanic rights and killing cats and such. As is, what we have here are juveniles responding to a breach of protocol in their peer group with non-fatal violence, something you'll find in every single high school across the world.
In short,
Good - kicking a PK'ers ass in the bathroom.
Bad - Screaming "I am l33t h4x0r!" and trying to cast spells at aforementioned PK'er
And hey, at least it gets 'em away from the computer a while. The fresh air will do 'em good. ^_^ ---
A coupla weeks after getting my PS2 (word to the wise: Even in California, it's fucking COLD outside Wal-Mart at 3am) I ordered a Freedom Shock 2 wireless controller. How they could consider a product so entirely unusable fit for general market consumption is beyond me. Buttons would not work, or work at random, every 15 seconds or so. More annoying yet, the controller's "programmable" feature (really just allowed you to assign one button to the function of another) meant that buttons would entirely stop working every few minutes, and would be unfixable without removing and replacing the batteries. Sad, really, since the controller itself wasn't that bad.
The explanation amongst my friends was that, since the controller worked via radio signals, Britney Spears and NSync were kicking my ass. So I burned the controller. And the box. And a nearby tree, just to be safe.
Anyway, good to see a better technology on the horizon. ---
Aren't copyright laws loosened with regards to educational material? I seem to remember being able to use copyrighted images for a web report in one of my classes, provided I give photo credits and not charge anything. Is that simply a moral issue, or would pretty much anything downloaded for the sole purpose of educating others / yourself be legit?
And before it even starts, I'm NOT talking about "illegal Metallica MP3s playing in the background helps me study!":-P ---
Having learned of the new vehicle, the American government has entered into a plan to purchase trash from an undisclosed Middle Eastern nation, at a current average rate of 2 dollars per gallon of refuse. President Bush, on an unrelated note, has declared war on several Russian landfill sites, stating that, "We, the American people, must protect our vital energy resources." ---
I'd read that at one point that they were going to have two versions of the game: a black box and a white box. The white box would be $5 more, which went to charity.
Loved the idea, but I've heard nothing about it since. Anyone able to confirm or deny this plan of action? ---
On reading the title of this story, my first thought was that they just stuck the eyepiece of one into the lens of the other. Kinda like Bart did with the megaphones in that one episode. Was wondering why they didn't try this before when it hit me that it was probably a bit more complicated.
College hasn't healed a genetically predetermined boneheadedness, it seems. ^_^ ---
I'm not nearly as impressed by the high-temperature ability of this conductor as I am by the fact that it can "beckon." That's gotta be pretty cool. I bet the technician who first noticed the behavior sh-t himself... ---
Somewhere, in a bunker deep within Area 51, a team of scientists is already working on a tiny little gun to stick on this thing. Ah, well, it's a sure way to get funding. ---
Whoah, I'm so confused! Do I side on the point of pointless, belligerent legislation, or on the side of the Satan-spawned megacorp Microsoft? Is there some legal way they can _both_ lose?
Hear that sound? That's the heads of thousands of Slashdot regulars exploding.
Oh, yeah, I used one of these iButton things (not knowing the actual product name) when I used to be a member at our local LaserQuest. The place was a laser combat thing, kinda like paintball but with a smaller arena, more game options, and no mess or welts. An almost identical arena-type laser thingy was Q-Zar, but that one sucked way more.
Anyway, we used the device to log in automatically. We'd go to the counter, pay our money, and plug it into a small metal plate for a couple of seconds. When not playing, we could plug it into a panel on the wall, and a screen would light up with past game statistics: wins/losses/hits/awards/etc.
It was pretty cool, but with only 200k, I don't know how secure it could have been. It did have one plus on this USB model: by not actually "plugging in" to the module (just press it briefly in a little socket) it avoided any wear-and-tear on the plug. Unfortunately, as it was lightweight metal, it bounced against my other keys and got lots of little dents. Dunno if it made it not work; I didn't go back often.
Just thought I'd relate my experiences and concerns about my use of a similar product. ---
Slashdot Mirror
I'm not watching that Battlebots show again until they change it so those !@#$!@#$'in [i]annoying[/i] announcers have to give commentary while dodging killer robots. Or hey, I'm not picky; while [i]not[/i] dodging aforementioned killer robots, if they should so decide.
---
Slashdot needs to split the "Funny" mod-comment into "laughing with you" and "laughing at you."
---
---
Juz kiddin', folks. But seriously, this whole mess is inexcusable. I mean, I can almost kinda sorta understand (if not excuse) single-player games that are pushed out the door by half-wit marketeers. After all, basic economics deem that there is a point where you'll sell less copies if you wait (say, past the holiday season) and fix everything than if you release a piece of crap immediately. For someone with no real love or respect for the video game industry, it's almost a no-brainer, issues with customer trust and sales of future games aside.
However, this is an online game! And a pay-for-play one at that! They knew they'd have to deal with these customers day in and day out for months, and that these poor souls would be especially angry since they're charging over time. They knew the financial success of the title hung from the continued good graces of monthly billed gamers. Did nobody sit the top brass down and discuss the whole plan with them? Somewhere, somehow, someone who sincerely needed the "hard, cold bitch-slap of truth" was neglected.
Ah, well, live and learn. On the bright side, really makes Diablo's launch look good, no? ^_^
One last side note: Take that "something awful" site with a grain of salt; IIRC, they only give bad reviews.
---
---
Hmmm... No.
Anything else I can help clear up?
---
The ultimate spy team: Bond and Boo!
---
...after all, we already know there's life on Mar's moons, Phobos and Deimos.
---
http://www.unm.edu/~caps/Online/run-on.html
A period now and then would do wonders.
OK, so I'm offtopic, but your ideas are made much less powerful by poor grammar. It's hard to agree or disagree when, English major that I am, I can't stop wincing.
---
Y'know what? I think that's healthy. Now, bear with me a second, that sounds weird, but think about it: what better way to be disabused of a fuzzy grip on reality than a good real-world beating?
IMHO, the danger in excessive online gaming is abandonment of the real world, and a decrease in the clarity of boundaries between that and the online environment. That's what results in stuff like that infamous (fabled?) group of D&D'ers performing satanic rights and killing cats and such. As is, what we have here are juveniles responding to a breach of protocol in their peer group with non-fatal violence, something you'll find in every single high school across the world.
In short,
Good - kicking a PK'ers ass in the bathroom.
Bad - Screaming "I am l33t h4x0r!" and trying to cast spells at aforementioned PK'er
And hey, at least it gets 'em away from the computer a while. The fresh air will do 'em good. ^_^
---
A coupla weeks after getting my PS2 (word to the wise: Even in California, it's fucking COLD outside Wal-Mart at 3am) I ordered a Freedom Shock 2 wireless controller. How they could consider a product so entirely unusable fit for general market consumption is beyond me. Buttons would not work, or work at random, every 15 seconds or so. More annoying yet, the controller's "programmable" feature (really just allowed you to assign one button to the function of another) meant that buttons would entirely stop working every few minutes, and would be unfixable without removing and replacing the batteries. Sad, really, since the controller itself wasn't that bad.
The explanation amongst my friends was that, since the controller worked via radio signals, Britney Spears and NSync were kicking my ass. So I burned the controller. And the box. And a nearby tree, just to be safe.
Anyway, good to see a better technology on the horizon.
---
Now, all you need are four little turret guns...
---
Aren't copyright laws loosened with regards to educational material? I seem to remember being able to use copyrighted images for a web report in one of my classes, provided I give photo credits and not charge anything. Is that simply a moral issue, or would pretty much anything downloaded for the sole purpose of educating others / yourself be legit?
:-P
And before it even starts, I'm NOT talking about "illegal Metallica MP3s playing in the background helps me study!"
---
Having learned of the new vehicle, the American government has entered into a plan to purchase trash from an undisclosed Middle Eastern nation, at a current average rate of 2 dollars per gallon of refuse. President Bush, on an unrelated note, has declared war on several Russian landfill sites, stating that, "We, the American people, must protect our vital energy resources."
---
Oddly enough, the robotic pilot demanded 3 quarts of alcohol for... "fuel" before it would make the flight.
---
Is it just me, or does the little "Einstein" picture next to this article look angry?
---
I'd read that at one point that they were going to have two versions of the game: a black box and a white box. The white box would be $5 more, which went to charity.
Loved the idea, but I've heard nothing about it since. Anyone able to confirm or deny this plan of action?
---
On reading the title of this story, my first thought was that they just stuck the eyepiece of one into the lens of the other. Kinda like Bart did with the megaphones in that one episode. Was wondering why they didn't try this before when it hit me that it was probably a bit more complicated.
College hasn't healed a genetically predetermined boneheadedness, it seems. ^_^
---
I'm not nearly as impressed by the high-temperature ability of this conductor as I am by the fact that it can "beckon." That's gotta be pretty cool. I bet the technician who first noticed the behavior sh-t himself...
---
Somewhere, in a bunker deep within Area 51, a team of scientists is already working on a tiny little gun to stick on this thing. Ah, well, it's a sure way to get funding.
---
...I hate pop-quizzes.
---
Whoah, I'm so confused! Do I side on the point of pointless, belligerent legislation, or on the side of the Satan-spawned megacorp Microsoft? Is there some legal way they can _both_ lose?
Hear that sound? That's the heads of thousands of Slashdot regulars exploding.
;-)
---
Y'know, of all the possible definitions for the word "bug," this was the last one I was expecting when I opened this article. ^_^
---
Oh, yeah, I used one of these iButton things (not knowing the actual product name) when I used to be a member at our local LaserQuest. The place was a laser combat thing, kinda like paintball but with a smaller arena, more game options, and no mess or welts. An almost identical arena-type laser thingy was Q-Zar, but that one sucked way more.
Anyway, we used the device to log in automatically. We'd go to the counter, pay our money, and plug it into a small metal plate for a couple of seconds. When not playing, we could plug it into a panel on the wall, and a screen would light up with past game statistics: wins/losses/hits/awards/etc.
It was pretty cool, but with only 200k, I don't know how secure it could have been. It did have one plus on this USB model: by not actually "plugging in" to the module (just press it briefly in a little socket) it avoided any wear-and-tear on the plug. Unfortunately, as it was lightweight metal, it bounced against my other keys and got lots of little dents. Dunno if it made it not work; I didn't go back often.
Just thought I'd relate my experiences and concerns about my use of a similar product.
---
These people have obviously never seen my grandfather try to program a computer.
Of course, neither have I... He won't go near the things.
---