Y'know, I have some thoughts on the XBox 360 launch, but they don't really fit the themes of the "Day Before Launch 360 Impressions", "Hardcore Offer Mixed Verdict At Xbox 360 Zero Hour", or "Prepping For The 360" posts on the Games page.
Any chance we could get another XBox 360 launch thread to go over some of the finer points? Specifically, something pertaining to the possible effects of getting various soft cheeses jammed in the controller ports?
The AI in SWB 1 was so bad they might as well have stuck 'em on rails. How substantially has the AI in SWB 2 improved? For example, do bots still dash for vehicles and fly in circles for the duration of the match? Will they still hop obligingly into your line of fire without so much as a batted eyelash? Will they wait patiently in your crosshairs as you unload on them with your sniper rifle?
If they've fixed the AI, SWB2 might be worth checking out. If not, then there's really no compelling reason to grab it beyond the fact that it's Star Wars...
How can you be surprised by the success of the video iPod when there are enough people out there willing to pay money to change how their telephone sounds when it rings that it has become a $300 million-a-year business?
In the world of wasting yer money on stupid, ephemeral stuff for digital gizmos, video on iPod doesn't even make it to the semifinals; at least you get to watch a 40-minute, commercial-free TV show for your cash.
Be surprised that we're so happy to part with our money for valueless things, perhaps--but don't be surprised that the iPod video is successful at this game...
Actually, I lived in Minneapolis for several years during this period, so yes, I am fairly aware of Mr. Coleman's record. Furthermore, seeing as he actually did get elected, I'll contend that the fair state of Minnesota isn't nearly as blue as everyone assumes it is. It's still home to those wonderfully old-school, hardcore DFLers, but '04 showed us just how purple the state is on balance. Hell, all you need to do is get out of The Cities to some of the suburbs and you'll start to see strong pockets of Republican support. Take away Hennepin, Ramsey, and the North Shore and you've got yourself a heavily Republican state.
I'm also aware that part of the reason he switched parties was that he wasn't faring that well against other DFL candidates--so he took his name ID and switched to the Republican party. This was a pretty damn shrewd move for him, as it was apparent by that point that the RNC was rising fast--and that if he switched sides, not only would he be grabbing the tail of that comet, he'd also find himself at the forefront of Minnesota's (then fairly weak) Republican Party. So, instead of being a second-stringer for the Democrats, he became the front man for the Republicans--and reaped the benefits of the GOP's massive surge in 2000.
Sure, maybe he changed his mind. There is certainly no way I could be absolutely positive that my hunches are factual. But "maybe" is the favorite defense of the implausible, the battle-cry of the duplicitous--and frankly, I find it far, far more believeable that Coleman is a self-serving opportunist than he is a passionate believer in his various causes...
Norm Coleman is, and always has been, a political windsock. His overriding concern is gaining and retaining elected office; he doesn't really hold to any core value beyond what he percieves is his ticket to office. Consider that he was a dyed-in-the-wool DFLer (Minnesota Democrat) until 1997--just in time to join the rising Republican majority.
That you omit certain key facts about Coleman's victory over Mondale--namely, that Mondale came out of retirement to enter the race mere days before the election after Paul Wellstone died in an airplane crash--speaks volumes in and of itself. Coleman's victory was seated in complex, confused circumstances; to ignore this fact is to lie by glaring omission. (Consider, too, his vocal pique at the fact that speakers at Wellstone's funeral--a man who defined modern hardcore liberalism--had the temerity to express their political views in the course of their eulogies. Classy.)
The one thing you can count on Norm Coleman to do is to ally himself with whomever he thinks will be holding the strongest hand. It's a great political strategy, and you're right--it'll probably help his political ascendency...but make no mistake about it; Coleman is the textbook definition of a facile politician. He'll slip right off the RNC's radar the minute it becomes apparent that the Democrats have the upper hand again--whether that's in one year or twenty.
I dunno...Mike and Jerry are both really great guys, but they're both self-admittedly awkward in a variety of social situations.
Thompson is very, very comfortable with the camera; Mike and Jerry, probably less so. Probably best for them to stick to their preferred media: the written/drawn word...
...while we're on the subject, a good replacement for Microsoft Access would be nice, too. FSM knows it can be a real ornery beast at times, but I have yet to see a better desktop ODBC client than Access for your typical data-savvy end user.
Seriously--where else do you turn for a nice, straightforward database interface that doesn't assume some degree of SQL ability on the part of the user?
Let's get something straight. The pending doom of American science has very little to do with our political climate.
I don't think you're giving the political climate due consideration. While its effects are largely intangible, there's a creeping contempt for science that's gaining ground at all levels of government. What does your typical individual going to think about the value of science in general when a person no less than the president himself routinely and blithely disregards solid scientific findings in favor of ideological beliefs?
We are watching a slow and painful relegation of science to the role of munitions manufacturer for various political interests. When was the last time you heard a major political figure say, "You know, I always thought that X was the case, but recent studies have led me to believe otherwise"?
Remember, too, that school administrations and school boards are political institutions and have become increasingly politicized over the years.
Why is Activision asking for credit card numbers to access product pages that promote 'M' rated games when the ESRB and every other publisher only use the required 'age gate'?
It's pretty obvious why they're doing this--this is classic Cover Your Ass.
Sure, nobody has sued a game publisher over the good ol' fashioned trust system yet--but Activision really doesn't relish the thought of being that lucky test case. Hence, they've decided to close this particular avenue of litigation.
A better question would be to ask whether or not Activision is overreacting to the percieved threat of a lawsuit.
Ico is easily one of the most touching, moving games I've ever played. You grew attached to your characters in an instant, and virtually everything--from the arc of the story itself right down to simply jumping across a broken bridge--could evoke an emotional response.
For those of you who have played: consider what you were feeling the moment you realized just what the shadows were, and what you had to do to progress to the final battle. Have you ever played a game that could create such empathy for your "foes"?
For those of you who haven't played--you really should pick up a copy. It's an excellent game, and it's cheap.
pssst, some people just download them off this thing called P2P. It is free, no copy protection and near universal mp3 format. shhhhhhh
Heck, if you're gonna break the law to get your music, why not just steal a copy of the CD from the record store? You get a top-quality version with all the trimmings, and you'll face a much gentler punishment if you're caught doing it.
You forget one particular thing. When you buy a CD, you're not only paying for the music on it, but the cost of that shiney jewel case, the insert, and the actual cost to ship it to the location where you bought it.
Therefore getting a copy digitally that does not require somoene to insert, package, wrap, and deliver. Take into account that and the actual cost of the material that is printed, wrapped, burned, and glued, and you'll realize that you're argument is flawed.
How is my argument flawed? I haven't argued for one second about what a downloaded song should cost. All I've done is list some very good reasons it's better to buy music from iTMS than it is to buy a CD in a store.
Or, to put it this way:
I want a copy of SuperWidget.
Option A, "SuperWidget Professional Suite And Tools CD", has fixed production/distribution costs of $27.50, costs me $30, gets me SuperWidget and a bunch of stuff I don't particularly need, comes in an embossed commemorative-edition cardboard box, and requires that I drive down to the store to get it.
Option B, "SuperWidget Download", has fixed production/distribution costs of $1.50, costs me $10, gets me SuperWidget and SuperWidget only, and is something I can acquire in three minutes by way of an online shop.
By your logic, I'm a fool to get the $10 downloadable version, since WidgetCo is making a substantially higher profit off the download version with no additional costs. I'd be better off paying extra money and spending more time and energy to get a bunch of stuff I don't want, because WidgetCo makes a much more reasonable profit if I buy the CD version.
Like I said in my OP, I don't want the shiny jewel case, CD, glossy booklet, plastic wrap, and Fancy Unopenable Security Casing Of Painful Finger Slicing. Why should I care what they cost?
Music used to be about... music.
Music still is about music. Nobody is stopping you from sitting down at a piano and creating as much music as your fingers can handle. There's no law against singing in the shower, and there are any number of musical groups for you to join or listen to in any given community. Music is still perfectly free, and will continue to be perfectly free so long as people can sing and play instruments. Now, the recording industry is and has always been about making money off the consumer; if you're looking to get your hands on a commercial recording, you can expect a hearty reaming from the record labels. Don't conflate the two, though. Just because water is free doesn't mean you shouldn't be expected to pay for it if you want it filtered and sealed in a plastic bottle...
Yes, you are missing something. Several somethings, in fact.
Many people see a benefit in being able to just push a button and have their music right freakin' now. They don't particularly relish the idea of getting up, driving down to the mega mart or strip mall, digging through the racks in the hopes that the album they want is there, waiting in line to pay, and driving back home just to get a stupid song. Why jump through hoops when you can get it now for the same price?
What if all you want is one song? Heck, what if all you want is five songs off a single ten-track CD? Is it still of great value to you if you're spending twice as much for something you're only half interested in?
Many people don't give a rat's ass about album art, four-color glossy lyrics inserts, a video of the band brushing their teeth before bed, special offers from RecordClubInternational and all that. Many people don't even care about having the physical CD; in fact, many people would rather just not have another piece of plastic cluttering up their space. If all you want is music, there isn't much value in yet another jewelcase loaded with features you'll never use.
Finally, CDs aren't exactly portable formats anymore--go take a look at some of the caveats listed along the bottom of the CDs at the store, especially pertaining to playing audio CDs on a computer, especially pertaining to non-Windows computers. At least with iTMS, you can burn your music onto a completely unprotected audio CD. Yes, this is suboptimal for the gold-plated audiojack crowd, but it works just fine for those of us who are listening on car stereos, $30 earbuds and computer speakers.
iTMS ain't perfect, but to be perfectly frank, it's miles ahead of pretty much any other mass distribution model out there today, CDs included. For the typical music listener, there's little reason to get a CD instead of getting a song off iTMS.
Are you kidding me? I got a replacement NJ driver's license two week ago; the out-of-pocket cost to me was $11. Are there really people with so little money that they can't afford to spend a Hamilton once every 4 years to affirm basic rights of citizenship?
It isn't just the cost; Georgia's scheme is seriously flawed in a number of ways. For example, there is currently no place in the city of Atlanta to get one of these cards. They have plans for opening one location in the near future. All told, there are roughly 150 (if memory serves) locations in the entire state where you can get these cards.
Let's say you're 68 years old and you live forty miles from the nearest ID registration area. You have no car, and you're living on a fixed income. There is no mass transit in your area, and to hire a cab would cost you three weeks' worth of "disposable" income. What do you do?
Let's say you're a twenty-two year old mother of two; your husband is stationed overseas. You're lucky to have time to brush your teeth in the morning, let alone spend seven hours of buses and queueing to get this ID card you'd only ever use to vote. Is it really worth sacrificing one rare day of vacation in the pursuit of a voter ID card rather than in the company of your kids?
The reality of life for millions upon millions of people in our country is that something that is so seemingly trivial to you or I is actually a fairly significant task. It just so happens that the folks who have the most trouble with this kind of thing tend to be poor, old, overworked and non-white.
I'm all for pulling ones' self up by the bootstraps, but you gotta have the boots in the first place. Go visit at our inner cities. Go visit our rural backwaters. Go speak to these Americans, and witness first hand just how hard life can be for your fellow countrymen. There exist people who, through no fault of their own, simply cannot afford to spend the time or money necessary to jump through hoops that you or I consider mere inconveniences.
they'll start feeding it to Chinese factory workers so they can increase tat output by 100%.
...so wait, are you saying that Chinese factory workers would turn out twice as many tattoos, or that the tattoos of Chinese factory workers would be twice as productive as before?
As best I can tell, he used a bot to cheat at a game. The only remotely 'clever' thing about it is that he turned around and sold the lucre for real money--not exactly something that requires a "Eureka!" moment, that.
It strikes me as being almost as clever as slapping a digital clock on the front of an otherwise clock-less small appliance.
Slashdot Mirror
What if it turns out that sentient but really, really stupid machines are a greater threat to humankind?
Time to call James Cameron. I can see it now: "Terminator 4: Whoops, Wrong Button"!
Any chance we could get another XBox 360 launch thread to go over some of the finer points? Specifically, something pertaining to the possible effects of getting various soft cheeses jammed in the controller ports?
Seeing as TiVo hasn't even bothered to make TiVo Desktop compatible with Tiger yet, I'll take this report with a grain of salt.
If they've fixed the AI, SWB2 might be worth checking out. If not, then there's really no compelling reason to grab it beyond the fact that it's Star Wars...
In the world of wasting yer money on stupid, ephemeral stuff for digital gizmos, video on iPod doesn't even make it to the semifinals; at least you get to watch a 40-minute, commercial-free TV show for your cash.
Be surprised that we're so happy to part with our money for valueless things, perhaps--but don't be surprised that the iPod video is successful at this game...
"...and we're releasing it next month."
Sure, maybe he changed his mind. There is certainly no way I could be absolutely positive that my hunches are factual. But "maybe" is the favorite defense of the implausible, the battle-cry of the duplicitous--and frankly, I find it far, far more believeable that Coleman is a self-serving opportunist than he is a passionate believer in his various causes...
That you omit certain key facts about Coleman's victory over Mondale--namely, that Mondale came out of retirement to enter the race mere days before the election after Paul Wellstone died in an airplane crash--speaks volumes in and of itself. Coleman's victory was seated in complex, confused circumstances; to ignore this fact is to lie by glaring omission. (Consider, too, his vocal pique at the fact that speakers at Wellstone's funeral--a man who defined modern hardcore liberalism--had the temerity to express their political views in the course of their eulogies. Classy.)
The one thing you can count on Norm Coleman to do is to ally himself with whomever he thinks will be holding the strongest hand. It's a great political strategy, and you're right--it'll probably help his political ascendency...but make no mistake about it; Coleman is the textbook definition of a facile politician. He'll slip right off the RNC's radar the minute it becomes apparent that the Democrats have the upper hand again--whether that's in one year or twenty.
Thompson is very, very comfortable with the camera; Mike and Jerry, probably less so. Probably best for them to stick to their preferred media: the written/drawn word...
Seriously--where else do you turn for a nice, straightforward database interface that doesn't assume some degree of SQL ability on the part of the user?
I don't think you're giving the political climate due consideration. While its effects are largely intangible, there's a creeping contempt for science that's gaining ground at all levels of government. What does your typical individual going to think about the value of science in general when a person no less than the president himself routinely and blithely disregards solid scientific findings in favor of ideological beliefs?
We are watching a slow and painful relegation of science to the role of munitions manufacturer for various political interests. When was the last time you heard a major political figure say, "You know, I always thought that X was the case, but recent studies have led me to believe otherwise"?
Remember, too, that school administrations and school boards are political institutions and have become increasingly politicized over the years.
It's pretty obvious why they're doing this--this is classic Cover Your Ass.
Sure, nobody has sued a game publisher over the good ol' fashioned trust system yet--but Activision really doesn't relish the thought of being that lucky test case. Hence, they've decided to close this particular avenue of litigation.
A better question would be to ask whether or not Activision is overreacting to the percieved threat of a lawsuit.
Heh. I'm living in Charm City nowadays.
Who or what is your muse? When and how did that first big 'spark' click in your brain for games like Pirates! and Civilization?
Thank you,
Tom Darby
(P.S. If you feel that you simply can't answer this question properly in plain text, I'd be more than happy to drive on up to Firaxis...)
[OBVIOUS] Slashdot chasing Fark's tail for choice bits 'o news. Your dog wants CowboyNeal.
For those of you who have played: consider what you were feeling the moment you realized just what the shadows were, and what you had to do to progress to the final battle. Have you ever played a game that could create such empathy for your "foes"?
For those of you who haven't played--you really should pick up a copy. It's an excellent game, and it's cheap.
I take it you'd rather get sued by an industry juggernaut for 6 figures per infraction than be tackled by a security guard...
Heck, if you're gonna break the law to get your music, why not just steal a copy of the CD from the record store? You get a top-quality version with all the trimmings, and you'll face a much gentler punishment if you're caught doing it.
Therefore getting a copy digitally that does not require somoene to insert, package, wrap, and deliver. Take into account that and the actual cost of the material that is printed, wrapped, burned, and glued, and you'll realize that you're argument is flawed.
How is my argument flawed? I haven't argued for one second about what a downloaded song should cost. All I've done is list some very good reasons it's better to buy music from iTMS than it is to buy a CD in a store.
Or, to put it this way:
I want a copy of SuperWidget.
Option A, "SuperWidget Professional Suite And Tools CD", has fixed production/distribution costs of $27.50, costs me $30, gets me SuperWidget and a bunch of stuff I don't particularly need, comes in an embossed commemorative-edition cardboard box, and requires that I drive down to the store to get it.
Option B, "SuperWidget Download", has fixed production/distribution costs of $1.50, costs me $10, gets me SuperWidget and SuperWidget only, and is something I can acquire in three minutes by way of an online shop.
By your logic, I'm a fool to get the $10 downloadable version, since WidgetCo is making a substantially higher profit off the download version with no additional costs. I'd be better off paying extra money and spending more time and energy to get a bunch of stuff I don't want, because WidgetCo makes a much more reasonable profit if I buy the CD version.
Like I said in my OP, I don't want the shiny jewel case, CD, glossy booklet, plastic wrap, and Fancy Unopenable Security Casing Of Painful Finger Slicing. Why should I care what they cost?
Music used to be about ... music.
Music still is about music. Nobody is stopping you from sitting down at a piano and creating as much music as your fingers can handle. There's no law against singing in the shower, and there are any number of musical groups for you to join or listen to in any given community. Music is still perfectly free, and will continue to be perfectly free so long as people can sing and play instruments. Now, the recording industry is and has always been about making money off the consumer; if you're looking to get your hands on a commercial recording, you can expect a hearty reaming from the record labels. Don't conflate the two, though. Just because water is free doesn't mean you shouldn't be expected to pay for it if you want it filtered and sealed in a plastic bottle...
Many people see a benefit in being able to just push a button and have their music right freakin' now. They don't particularly relish the idea of getting up, driving down to the mega mart or strip mall, digging through the racks in the hopes that the album they want is there, waiting in line to pay, and driving back home just to get a stupid song. Why jump through hoops when you can get it now for the same price?
What if all you want is one song? Heck, what if all you want is five songs off a single ten-track CD? Is it still of great value to you if you're spending twice as much for something you're only half interested in?
Many people don't give a rat's ass about album art, four-color glossy lyrics inserts, a video of the band brushing their teeth before bed, special offers from RecordClubInternational and all that. Many people don't even care about having the physical CD; in fact, many people would rather just not have another piece of plastic cluttering up their space. If all you want is music, there isn't much value in yet another jewelcase loaded with features you'll never use.
Finally, CDs aren't exactly portable formats anymore--go take a look at some of the caveats listed along the bottom of the CDs at the store, especially pertaining to playing audio CDs on a computer, especially pertaining to non-Windows computers. At least with iTMS, you can burn your music onto a completely unprotected audio CD. Yes, this is suboptimal for the gold-plated audiojack crowd, but it works just fine for those of us who are listening on car stereos, $30 earbuds and computer speakers.
iTMS ain't perfect, but to be perfectly frank, it's miles ahead of pretty much any other mass distribution model out there today, CDs included. For the typical music listener, there's little reason to get a CD instead of getting a song off iTMS.
It isn't just the cost; Georgia's scheme is seriously flawed in a number of ways. For example, there is currently no place in the city of Atlanta to get one of these cards. They have plans for opening one location in the near future. All told, there are roughly 150 (if memory serves) locations in the entire state where you can get these cards.
Let's say you're 68 years old and you live forty miles from the nearest ID registration area. You have no car, and you're living on a fixed income. There is no mass transit in your area, and to hire a cab would cost you three weeks' worth of "disposable" income. What do you do?
Let's say you're a twenty-two year old mother of two; your husband is stationed overseas. You're lucky to have time to brush your teeth in the morning, let alone spend seven hours of buses and queueing to get this ID card you'd only ever use to vote. Is it really worth sacrificing one rare day of vacation in the pursuit of a voter ID card rather than in the company of your kids?
The reality of life for millions upon millions of people in our country is that something that is so seemingly trivial to you or I is actually a fairly significant task. It just so happens that the folks who have the most trouble with this kind of thing tend to be poor, old, overworked and non-white.
I'm all for pulling ones' self up by the bootstraps, but you gotta have the boots in the first place. Go visit at our inner cities. Go visit our rural backwaters. Go speak to these Americans, and witness first hand just how hard life can be for your fellow countrymen. There exist people who, through no fault of their own, simply cannot afford to spend the time or money necessary to jump through hoops that you or I consider mere inconveniences.
Georgia's scheme is disenfranchisement coated in a thin layer of identity verification. Why else would a ten-year ID card ($35) cost significantly more than a five-year card ($20)? Shouldn't it cost the state less if they only need to process a voter once every 10 years rather than twice?
Here
How, exactly?
As best I can tell, he used a bot to cheat at a game. The only remotely 'clever' thing about it is that he turned around and sold the lucre for real money--not exactly something that requires a "Eureka!" moment, that.
It strikes me as being almost as clever as slapping a digital clock on the front of an otherwise clock-less small appliance.