...this seems like asking whether hammer makers are responsible for murders-by-hammer.
That's a poor analogy. A hammer is a multipurpose tool, which can be used to hammer in a nail, pry out a nail, bang wooden frames into place, and crush the skulls of murder victims.
A better analogy would be handguns. A handgun is an inefficient hunting weapon. Its only true purpose is ending human life. Others have often made the argument that it has a purpose in self-defense (deterrance). I won't bring my personal beliefs into the discussion. But making rootkit and exploit publishers liable is like suing Glock every time someone is murdered with one of their handguns.
Of course, just try explaining the worthlessness of security by obscurity to a non hacker/computer techie. I've tried; they just don't f-ing get it. =( Which means lawyers and politicians surely won't.
Everyone who uses "Big Brother" to describe some minor step towards authoritarianism in our modern governments. You twits are crying wolf, don't you see? By the time they actually get around to forcing implants of reward/punishment chips in everyone's skulls, no one will have any interest any longer in your cries of "Big Brother! Big Brother!" It's not a solution, and people who haven't read 1984 don't care anyways (and the # of people who've read that terrifying prophesy is dwindling). Schools nowadays actively discourage reading of books like 1984 and Brave New World, because it produces moody, thoughtful children instead of happy, dumb, contented children.
But my main point is, save the 1984-esque terms for when there's something that is truly monstrous, AND which there is a good chance that public sentiment could stop. THEN, if the use of the terms wasn't diluted by overuse, their use might actually attract some attention.
Why does Michael seem to think a clunky translator built by humans could ever understand an alien?!
* we don't have ANY alien vocabulary to build on
* Unlike with humans, we can't base understanding on some basic thing that aliens are certain to understand the same way we do. SETI are off their rockers. It's true that their mathematical symbols are the best chance, but when they were showed to a roomful of scientists with specialties in that area, not one of the poor bastards could read it.
* Finally, alien languages will not only have different sounds (if they're even verbal - consider aliens that communicate by scent, telepathically, or by gesture), but they are also likely to have a completely different grammar, with verb tenses and complexities completely new to us.
To sum up, no earthling translator built now has a hope in hell of figuring out what an alien is saying. I think Michael was just being weirdo. However, it might be possible, AFTER we meet some aliens, to design a translator. If, that is, our initial inability to communicate does not put us immediately at war.
In many societies throughout history, the chosen response to a wounded soldier would be the exoskeleton telling other soldiers "this unit is wounded, leave it!" or perhaps giving the wearer a lethal injection as soon as he becomes incapacitated. Not solely for mercy, probably just to keep him from being captured.
Recent so-called "science fiction" movies have done nothing to live up to their namesakes.
A.I. - Ho hum, Asimov's Frankenstein complex is in full force. Despite nearly every robotics (a word Asimov coined), despite every robotics major ANYwhere having read his robot novels, somehow they forgot the laws of robotics. D'OH!!
Bicentennial Man - They changed the plot, the assholes. Dr. Asimov is rolling in his grave. His basically optimistic vision of the future of humans and robots was twisted into a bleak and pessimistic one, and Andrew's final decisions on becoming truly human were glossed over. Pathetic.
Lost In Space - I only saw this out of the hopes it might be campy and funny, like the original, ridiculously silly TV show from the 60's. Instead, they tried to make a serious movie out of it! Result: close to 2 hours of excruciating agony in the theater. Ugh.
Starship Troopers - Almost nothing remains true to the Grand Master's plotline. The characters are switched around, one even has a sex change from the book to the story so (s)he can be a love interest. The original POINT of the book, to be R.A.H.'s dissertation on war and government, is completely ignored in favor of changing it into gore-splattering CGI fest. An utter disappointment, in every conceivable way.
(SIGH). Need I even go on about how badly the last two Star Trek movies sucked? Hollywood seems to have totally forgotten that Sci Fi can be a medium of serious insight into human nature and interesting, mind-expanding stories. Apparently all they think it's good for these days is what they call "escapism", and flashy space battles. Bah. I feel justified in speaking for most old-school Sci Fi fans in saying, we are UNimpressed.
-Kasreyn
Hell yeah! I feel BETRAYED.
on
Review: A.I.
·
· Score: 2
Am I the only one amused by the fact that this was the term used in Orwell's 1984 for the incinerator-slots in the Ministry of Truth? Or was that intentional on the part of the article author? =P
Just kind of ironic since I'm actually rereading that at the moment.
...fields that capture energy of ribcage expansion and contraction due to breathing. After all, when you're sitting, you're still breathing. When you're sleeping, you're still breathing! So the mechanism would be able to generate power off a physical activity you never stop doing.
(apologies to Frank Herbert for blatantly ripping this idea off the stillsuits in Dune)
And opt-out is a joke. I've opted out of countless things, but I still get a hundred+ spams a day. Thank god for mail filters.
Hey Rob, try deleting them unopened if you want to really avoid spam.
Or whether he can multiply and divide properly:
I think spammers should pay a penny per k to both me and my ISP. A 5k spam would cost a dime. Still less then a stamp, but it'd make me a few hundred bucks a month for my time, bandwidth, and hardware costs.
$300 (a few = three in standard english). $300 at $0.01 per k comes out to about 30 Mb. Rob gets 30 Mb of Spam a month? Wow, those opt out emails sure helped!
Somehow I'm doubting he has $300 of bandwidth and hardware costs per month due to Spam.
...because it gives companies their first ammendment right to contact you.
And finally, we see that Kumannduhr Tawko sttil duz not kno how too speel. That's "amendment".
Anyway, I'm done being a/. Nazi for today. Tune in next week kiddies, same bat time, same bat channel!
-Kasreyn
P.S., disclaimer. I actually think CmdrTaco's ok, I'm just being an insulting prick for the hell of it.
...deliberately harmful "advice" there which will hose your Windows box. I suspect the site is either a cruel prank or a sarcastic joke, but it's certainly not clear to any poor Windows luser who stumbles by that they shouldn't ACTUALLY delete win386.swp (THE SWAP FILE).
The only "tips" on that page are for clearing temp internet files and other stuff that's only slightly beyond the average AOL luser. Nothing actually worth reading (that is, nothing I didn't discover a month after I started using Windows).
So cheating in multiplayer computer games is the new Scourge of the Internet? Do you have any IDEA how pompous and stupid that is? The only people more ridiculous than people who need to cheat to "win" at a computer game, which is nothing more than manipulating bits on a computer in a predictable way, are the people who think those clowns are anything other than amusing.
I know what I speak of. For years, Diablo on Battle.net has been rife with cheaters. In fact, approximately 95% of people in public games of Diablo are cheating (I shit you not, and that's a kind estimate; it's more like 99%!). What sort of people are these? These aren't "dangerous hackers". They're stupid 13 year old punks who think that turning on godmode in a trainer someone else wrote means that they're "better" than other players. All it is, is adolescents showing their immaturity. To say cheating at computer games is a terrible problem is massively overrating the importance of it.
Ummm... since when does an ultraconservative think he somehow "represents" us ALL? Where does he GET OFF acting like he's God? What will he do about the Hun and other offshore porn sites not within U.S. jurisdiction? Putting operators of "obscene" sites IN JAIL?! W. T. F.?! "Obscene" is now an offense punishable by IMPRISONMENT? Umm...
"We're sorry citizen, but wearing that shirt critising your government is Obscene. You are under arrest."
"We're sorry citizen, but those George Orwell books have been determined to be Obscene by the Party. You'll have to come with me."
"We're sorry citizen, but YOU have been deemed obscene. Your skin is not white, your eyes are not blue, and your hair is not blonde. Please follow me to the vaporization chamber."
Where the HELL are we going with this? When will america wake up to the power hungry, wannabe-DICTATORS in charge?
-Kasreyn
P.S. Yes, this is a very alarmist and off the wall post. Check your browser - you're at Slashdot! Whoops! Looks like you don't need to flame me for it.;-)
I agree with all you've said, but the saddest part is there's no real difference between being "led" (oppressed) by politicians or by corporations. Let's compare:
Politicians get in office by lying and being false/deceptive to voters.
Corporations gain power by lying and seeming nice, and people vote for them with their wallets.
Politicians have greater power the more money they have. The only way a politician can rule is if he has money.
Corporations, ditto.
Politicians make laws to protect their own power and profits at the direct expense of others.
Corporations, ditto.
Politicians generally fail to represent the constituents that put them into office (Read Mah Lips, No New Taxes!)
Corporations are put into power by "constituents" who vote for them with their wallets, but then those corporations invariably turn on them when there's profit to be made in backstabbing.
The fact that things are going to get worse is the same under either system. All we're doing (have done), is exchange one set of tyrants for another.
What is there worth WATCHING on TV? Survivor and other vicarious perversion shows? Give me a break. All the good cartoons were cancelled years ago and I've seen enougb looney tunes reruns to last me 10 lifetimes. TV News is more biased and less objective than slashdot, which is regularly laughed at by its readers for its bias and subjectivity. And I'm not much of a fan of sitcoms and game shows.
What's left? Well... I guess The Simpsons. Oh well, I can do without. So what reason, again, IS there to watch TV...?
Just like when Worldspy sold out to Juno and I logged on one day, expecting my nice speedy reliable Worldspy connection, and instead got a message on how Juno would provide a quality service. Well, I tried Juno, and it sucked like a gaping belly wound.
When businesses merge, as a general rule, service and quality of goods simply go down. It's funny how every damn time they tell you the opposite. This makes just about every company that has a merger a liar.
Hmmm... did I see the words pretensions, ignorant, and pompous?
Man, I don't even need to post. Need I even mention my respect for the Village Voice is at an all time low now that I realize they keep self-assured prigs like this on staff? There is no more sure way for a critic to make an ass of himself than by "wittily" mocking something he doesn't GET.
Yeah, I'm sure all those 9 to 5 laborers, politicians, and nuclear engineers who love Tolkien are just "geeks". What a dumbfuck.
Anyone who's played D2 public has had the experience of the incomprehensible, infuriating "gosu" korean PK whirlybarb. It gets to the point where you begin to think the entire korean race are nothing but faceless goons out to kill you and shout "KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE" whilst doing so (that is an actual quote).
(sigh)
It's not just some silly "well they're so repressed in their daily life!". I'M repressed in my daily life, and so are many others like me, and we don't make massive NUISANCES out of ourselves online. The thing is, they have a CULTURE in which it's seen as acceptable to be a total prick online. That's the only real difference.
AOL + China is like Stupid + Evil. I really, really pity the poor guys and gals who are going to use this service. I have no doubt AOL will whore its filtering technology to help China oppress its people (the same way AOL oppresses OUR people). And it's clear China is willing to whore its anti-American stance for money. Ah, what a wonderful world.
If you were right more often I wouldn't have voted against you, Dubya. =P
-Kasreyn
P.S. That's "Chineseians". You need to study up more on the proper names for foreign peoples.
Everything does. Making a blanket statement like, "computers make kids smarter" is foolish and absurd, especially when there are so many kinds and ways of using computers.
What is the computer used for? Is it just your standard Win98 box with AOL, Half-Life Counterstrike, Cable modem for pr0n, and mp3 players? In that case, no - it's just another TV set.
Is it instead used for programming, for research and learning, or for writing or composition? In that case, then yes - it helps children expand their minds.
The beauty of computers is that they can do both of these things - they can be an entertainment outlet, a link to the outside world, a research tool, and more. But you can't say PC's in the home make kids "smarter" (that is to say, more inquisitive and willing to learn), unless that is how they are *used*.
Yes, I know what the fsckin' site is. I've been reading the LL since before it was called that.
The very reason I didn't put the LL link up MYSELF is because I didn't want to be responsible for my friends getting slashdotted, you witless fuck. I mean, honestly, where is your brain?
Diabloii.net has nothing on another site which is a far more preeminent location for D2 information and knowledge. However, I'm very wary of unleashing the slashdot effect on it.
Note: All of the D2x testing discoveries I'm about to reveal were made by an excellent (and I do mean badass AWESOME) D2 player who goes by "Sirian". This guy is not only trustworthy (at least to my mind), due to his many months of accurately reporting D2 bugs, but also took a hardcore Firebolt only sorceress to Countess (defeated Nightmare diff). He's currently a beta tester for D2X. I'm not trying to take credit for his discoveries. I just want them to be aired without his server getting slammed by the slashdot effect. (and no, for those wondering, I am not him)
D2X is good in some ways, but it has some MAJOR, SERIOUS BUGS. Major and most serious bug: You can KILL ANY MONSTER IN THE GAME IN ONE SHOT. Yep. The Paladin's Conviction aura has been changed in how it reduces monster resists (ie., it's a lot stronger), and it has the ability to reduce resists by, like, -300%. The sort of damage a Blizzard does to enemies who are reduced that far is something you have to see to believe. But most importantly, Static Field can now kill. With that sort of resistance penalty to the monsters, SF's damage scales up to 100%. Zap, dead. He killed any non boss monster with one shot of Conviction/SF. Diablo took like 3 SF hits. This needs to be fixed pronto.
Also:
Duriel is now immune to cold. Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig mistake, Blizzard. I agree with Sirian, fix this NOW. This is going to SCREW OVER many character types trying to face the big bug. With immunity to cold he can not now be chilled, except by (I've heard) Holy Freeze. This means not even fastest run will let you avoid his charge.
Finally, many spells have been changed, though Sirian mostly plays (and tested) Sorceresses. Hydra has been pumped amazingly despite the new timer. Meteor is weaker but still usable, however, Hydra is going to be the undisputed king of the fire tree.
Again, I really would link to those sites, but those guys are my friends and they don't deserve their servers (self hosting) getting crushed under the weight of goatse.cx trolls. I guess that means no one will believe what I've said without any proof. Oh, well.
I just wanted to dispel the illusion that D2X is all sweetness and light. It is a MUCH different, and in some ways harder, though extremely buggy at the moment, game. Anyone interested in preordering it should keep an eye on these bugs as they decide whether to buy. Blizzard in the past has gotten away regularly with shipping seriously buggy games (coughDiabloOnecough), and then refuses to patch or fix them unless you just hound them.
He was 33 (his coming of age) at the long expected party. But it several years later before he left on the quest. I believe it was 9 years later, but I'm not exactly certain. That would make him at least 42.
Plus the most popular book ever is, of course, the Bible. Ask any publisher. The Bible has mass market appeal. The LOTR does not. LOTR has quite a few million sold. The Bible has well over 2 billion sold. As for mass market, I mean something that the majority (ie the lowest common denominator) will enjoy. The whole concept of mass market is to cater to the lowest common denominator - you'll have the largest posible market that way. Not that I want a LOTR movie that caters to the lowest common denominator. But any offering that aims higher will lose market appeal in direct correlation to how much higher it aims. Any faithful representation of the LOTR on the big screen, I feel will have a fairly small audience.
It's not going to work out well. The Tolkien fans will all be miffed over some story change. And of the non Tolkien fans, maybe 70% will just be confused and not get it. This is assuming a faithful rendering, of course. If they dumb it down and cast Tom Hanks as Aragorn and Britney Spears as Arwen then I think it will have tons of fans.
Slashdot Mirror
From the original article:
...this seems like asking whether hammer makers are responsible for murders-by-hammer.
That's a poor analogy. A hammer is a multipurpose tool, which can be used to hammer in a nail, pry out a nail, bang wooden frames into place, and crush the skulls of murder victims.
A better analogy would be handguns. A handgun is an inefficient hunting weapon. Its only true purpose is ending human life. Others have often made the argument that it has a purpose in self-defense (deterrance). I won't bring my personal beliefs into the discussion. But making rootkit and exploit publishers liable is like suing Glock every time someone is murdered with one of their handguns.
Of course, just try explaining the worthlessness of security by obscurity to a non hacker/computer techie. I've tried; they just don't f-ing get it. =( Which means lawyers and politicians surely won't.
-Kasreyn
Everyone who uses "Big Brother" to describe some minor step towards authoritarianism in our modern governments. You twits are crying wolf, don't you see? By the time they actually get around to forcing implants of reward/punishment chips in everyone's skulls, no one will have any interest any longer in your cries of "Big Brother! Big Brother!" It's not a solution, and people who haven't read 1984 don't care anyways (and the # of people who've read that terrifying prophesy is dwindling). Schools nowadays actively discourage reading of books like 1984 and Brave New World, because it produces moody, thoughtful children instead of happy, dumb, contented children.
But my main point is, save the 1984-esque terms for when there's something that is truly monstrous, AND which there is a good chance that public sentiment could stop. THEN, if the use of the terms wasn't diluted by overuse, their use might actually attract some attention.
-Kasreyn
really learn Hemos to concisely speak needs to more.
-nyersaK
Why does Michael seem to think a clunky translator built by humans could ever understand an alien?!
* we don't have ANY alien vocabulary to build on
* Unlike with humans, we can't base understanding on some basic thing that aliens are certain to understand the same way we do. SETI are off their rockers. It's true that their mathematical symbols are the best chance, but when they were showed to a roomful of scientists with specialties in that area, not one of the poor bastards could read it.
* Finally, alien languages will not only have different sounds (if they're even verbal - consider aliens that communicate by scent, telepathically, or by gesture), but they are also likely to have a completely different grammar, with verb tenses and complexities completely new to us.
To sum up, no earthling translator built now has a hope in hell of figuring out what an alien is saying. I think Michael was just being weirdo. However, it might be possible, AFTER we meet some aliens, to design a translator. If, that is, our initial inability to communicate does not put us immediately at war.
-Kasreyn
Only in a humane *society*.
In many societies throughout history, the chosen response to a wounded soldier would be the exoskeleton telling other soldiers "this unit is wounded, leave it!" or perhaps giving the wearer a lethal injection as soon as he becomes incapacitated. Not solely for mercy, probably just to keep him from being captured.
-Kasreyn
...as Satirewire shows us, this is far superior, morally, to being a dot-com CEO. =P
-Kasreyn
..."Legend of the POWER RANGERS"!!!
;-)
Today's disgusting, worthless trash TV is tomorrow's disgusting, worthless nostalgia TV.
-Kasreyn
Recent so-called "science fiction" movies have done nothing to live up to their namesakes.
A.I. - Ho hum, Asimov's Frankenstein complex is in full force. Despite nearly every robotics (a word Asimov coined), despite every robotics major ANYwhere having read his robot novels, somehow they forgot the laws of robotics. D'OH!!
Bicentennial Man - They changed the plot, the assholes. Dr. Asimov is rolling in his grave. His basically optimistic vision of the future of humans and robots was twisted into a bleak and pessimistic one, and Andrew's final decisions on becoming truly human were glossed over. Pathetic.
Lost In Space - I only saw this out of the hopes it might be campy and funny, like the original, ridiculously silly TV show from the 60's. Instead, they tried to make a serious movie out of it! Result: close to 2 hours of excruciating agony in the theater. Ugh.
Starship Troopers - Almost nothing remains true to the Grand Master's plotline. The characters are switched around, one even has a sex change from the book to the story so (s)he can be a love interest. The original POINT of the book, to be R.A.H.'s dissertation on war and government, is completely ignored in favor of changing it into gore-splattering CGI fest. An utter disappointment, in every conceivable way.
(SIGH). Need I even go on about how badly the last two Star Trek movies sucked? Hollywood seems to have totally forgotten that Sci Fi can be a medium of serious insight into human nature and interesting, mind-expanding stories. Apparently all they think it's good for these days is what they call "escapism", and flashy space battles. Bah. I feel justified in speaking for most old-school Sci Fi fans in saying, we are UNimpressed.
-Kasreyn
nt = no text!
Am I the only one amused by the fact that this was the term used in Orwell's 1984 for the incinerator-slots in the Ministry of Truth? Or was that intentional on the part of the article author? =P
Just kind of ironic since I'm actually rereading that at the moment.
-Kasreyn
...fields that capture energy of ribcage expansion and contraction due to breathing. After all, when you're sitting, you're still breathing. When you're sleeping, you're still breathing! So the mechanism would be able to generate power off a physical activity you never stop doing.
(apologies to Frank Herbert for blatantly ripping this idea off the stillsuits in Dune)
-Kasreyn
But it's still doubtful if he can think,
...because it gives companies their first ammendment right to contact you.
/. Nazi for today. Tune in next week kiddies, same bat time, same bat channel!
And opt-out is a joke. I've opted out of countless things, but I still get a hundred+ spams a day. Thank god for mail filters.
Hey Rob, try deleting them unopened if you want to really avoid spam.
Or whether he can multiply and divide properly:
I think spammers should pay a penny per k to both me and my ISP. A 5k spam would cost a dime. Still less then a stamp, but it'd make me a few hundred bucks a month for my time, bandwidth, and hardware costs.
$300 (a few = three in standard english). $300 at $0.01 per k comes out to about 30 Mb. Rob gets 30 Mb of Spam a month? Wow, those opt out emails sure helped!
Somehow I'm doubting he has $300 of bandwidth and hardware costs per month due to Spam.
And finally, we see that Kumannduhr Tawko sttil duz not kno how too speel. That's "amendment".
Anyway, I'm done being a
-Kasreyn
P.S., disclaimer. I actually think CmdrTaco's ok, I'm just being an insulting prick for the hell of it.
...deliberately harmful "advice" there which will hose your Windows box. I suspect the site is either a cruel prank or a sarcastic joke, but it's certainly not clear to any poor Windows luser who stumbles by that they shouldn't ACTUALLY delete win386.swp (THE SWAP FILE).
The only "tips" on that page are for clearing temp internet files and other stuff that's only slightly beyond the average AOL luser. Nothing actually worth reading (that is, nothing I didn't discover a month after I started using Windows).
-Kasreyn
So cheating in multiplayer computer games is the new Scourge of the Internet? Do you have any IDEA how pompous and stupid that is? The only people more ridiculous than people who need to cheat to "win" at a computer game, which is nothing more than manipulating bits on a computer in a predictable way, are the people who think those clowns are anything other than amusing.
I know what I speak of. For years, Diablo on Battle.net has been rife with cheaters. In fact, approximately 95% of people in public games of Diablo are cheating (I shit you not, and that's a kind estimate; it's more like 99%!). What sort of people are these? These aren't "dangerous hackers". They're stupid 13 year old punks who think that turning on godmode in a trainer someone else wrote means that they're "better" than other players. All it is, is adolescents showing their immaturity. To say cheating at computer games is a terrible problem is massively overrating the importance of it.
-Kasreyn
Ummm... since when does an ultraconservative think he somehow "represents" us ALL? Where does he GET OFF acting like he's God? What will he do about the Hun and other offshore porn sites not within U.S. jurisdiction? Putting operators of "obscene" sites IN JAIL?! W. T. F.?! "Obscene" is now an offense punishable by IMPRISONMENT? Umm...
;-)
"We're sorry citizen, but wearing that shirt critising your government is Obscene. You are under arrest."
"We're sorry citizen, but those George Orwell books have been determined to be Obscene by the Party. You'll have to come with me."
"We're sorry citizen, but YOU have been deemed obscene. Your skin is not white, your eyes are not blue, and your hair is not blonde. Please follow me to the vaporization chamber."
Where the HELL are we going with this? When will america wake up to the power hungry, wannabe-DICTATORS in charge?
-Kasreyn
P.S. Yes, this is a very alarmist and off the wall post. Check your browser - you're at Slashdot! Whoops! Looks like you don't need to flame me for it.
I agree with all you've said, but the saddest part is there's no real difference between being "led" (oppressed) by politicians or by corporations. Let's compare:
Politicians get in office by lying and being false/deceptive to voters.
Corporations gain power by lying and seeming nice, and people vote for them with their wallets.
Politicians have greater power the more money they have. The only way a politician can rule is if he has money.
Corporations, ditto.
Politicians make laws to protect their own power and profits at the direct expense of others.
Corporations, ditto.
Politicians generally fail to represent the constituents that put them into office (Read Mah Lips, No New Taxes!)
Corporations are put into power by "constituents" who vote for them with their wallets, but then those corporations invariably turn on them when there's profit to be made in backstabbing.
The fact that things are going to get worse is the same under either system. All we're doing (have done), is exchange one set of tyrants for another.
-Kasreyn
What is there worth WATCHING on TV? Survivor and other vicarious perversion shows? Give me a break. All the good cartoons were cancelled years ago and I've seen enougb looney tunes reruns to last me 10 lifetimes. TV News is more biased and less objective than slashdot, which is regularly laughed at by its readers for its bias and subjectivity. And I'm not much of a fan of sitcoms and game shows.
What's left? Well... I guess The Simpsons. Oh well, I can do without. So what reason, again, IS there to watch TV...?
-Kasreyn
Just like when Worldspy sold out to Juno and I logged on one day, expecting my nice speedy reliable Worldspy connection, and instead got a message on how Juno would provide a quality service. Well, I tried Juno, and it sucked like a gaping belly wound.
When businesses merge, as a general rule, service and quality of goods simply go down. It's funny how every damn time they tell you the opposite. This makes just about every company that has a merger a liar.
-Kasreyn
Hmmm... did I see the words pretensions, ignorant, and pompous?
Man, I don't even need to post. Need I even mention my respect for the Village Voice is at an all time low now that I realize they keep self-assured prigs like this on staff? There is no more sure way for a critic to make an ass of himself than by "wittily" mocking something he doesn't GET.
Yeah, I'm sure all those 9 to 5 laborers, politicians, and nuclear engineers who love Tolkien are just "geeks". What a dumbfuck.
-Kasreyn
Anyone who's played D2 public has had the experience of the incomprehensible, infuriating "gosu" korean PK whirlybarb. It gets to the point where you begin to think the entire korean race are nothing but faceless goons out to kill you and shout "KEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKEKE" whilst doing so (that is an actual quote).
(sigh)
It's not just some silly "well they're so repressed in their daily life!". I'M repressed in my daily life, and so are many others like me, and we don't make massive NUISANCES out of ourselves online. The thing is, they have a CULTURE in which it's seen as acceptable to be a total prick online. That's the only real difference.
-Kasreyn
AOL + China is like Stupid + Evil. I really, really pity the poor guys and gals who are going to use this service. I have no doubt AOL will whore its filtering technology to help China oppress its people (the same way AOL oppresses OUR people). And it's clear China is willing to whore its anti-American stance for money. Ah, what a wonderful world.
If you were right more often I wouldn't have voted against you, Dubya. =P
-Kasreyn
P.S. That's "Chineseians". You need to study up more on the proper names for foreign peoples.
Everything does. Making a blanket statement like, "computers make kids smarter" is foolish and absurd, especially when there are so many kinds and ways of using computers.
What is the computer used for? Is it just your standard Win98 box with AOL, Half-Life Counterstrike, Cable modem for pr0n, and mp3 players? In that case, no - it's just another TV set.
Is it instead used for programming, for research and learning, or for writing or composition? In that case, then yes - it helps children expand their minds.
The beauty of computers is that they can do both of these things - they can be an entertainment outlet, a link to the outside world, a research tool, and more. But you can't say PC's in the home make kids "smarter" (that is to say, more inquisitive and willing to learn), unless that is how they are *used*.
-Kasreyn
Yes, I know what the fsckin' site is. I've been reading the LL since before it was called that.
The very reason I didn't put the LL link up MYSELF is because I didn't want to be responsible for my friends getting slashdotted, you witless fuck. I mean, honestly, where is your brain?
-Kasreyn
Diabloii.net has nothing on another site which is a far more preeminent location for D2 information and knowledge. However, I'm very wary of unleashing the slashdot effect on it.
Note: All of the D2x testing discoveries I'm about to reveal were made by an excellent (and I do mean badass AWESOME) D2 player who goes by "Sirian". This guy is not only trustworthy (at least to my mind), due to his many months of accurately reporting D2 bugs, but also took a hardcore Firebolt only sorceress to Countess (defeated Nightmare diff). He's currently a beta tester for D2X. I'm not trying to take credit for his discoveries. I just want them to be aired without his server getting slammed by the slashdot effect. (and no, for those wondering, I am not him)
D2X is good in some ways, but it has some MAJOR, SERIOUS BUGS. Major and most serious bug: You can KILL ANY MONSTER IN THE GAME IN ONE SHOT. Yep. The Paladin's Conviction aura has been changed in how it reduces monster resists (ie., it's a lot stronger), and it has the ability to reduce resists by, like, -300%. The sort of damage a Blizzard does to enemies who are reduced that far is something you have to see to believe. But most importantly, Static Field can now kill. With that sort of resistance penalty to the monsters, SF's damage scales up to 100%. Zap, dead. He killed any non boss monster with one shot of Conviction/SF. Diablo took like 3 SF hits. This needs to be fixed pronto.
Also:
Duriel is now immune to cold. Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig mistake, Blizzard. I agree with Sirian, fix this NOW. This is going to SCREW OVER many character types trying to face the big bug. With immunity to cold he can not now be chilled, except by (I've heard) Holy Freeze. This means not even fastest run will let you avoid his charge.
Finally, many spells have been changed, though Sirian mostly plays (and tested) Sorceresses. Hydra has been pumped amazingly despite the new timer. Meteor is weaker but still usable, however, Hydra is going to be the undisputed king of the fire tree.
Again, I really would link to those sites, but those guys are my friends and they don't deserve their servers (self hosting) getting crushed under the weight of goatse.cx trolls. I guess that means no one will believe what I've said without any proof. Oh, well.
I just wanted to dispel the illusion that D2X is all sweetness and light. It is a MUCH different, and in some ways harder, though extremely buggy at the moment, game. Anyone interested in preordering it should keep an eye on these bugs as they decide whether to buy. Blizzard in the past has gotten away regularly with shipping seriously buggy games (coughDiabloOnecough), and then refuses to patch or fix them unless you just hound them.
-Kasreyn
He was 33 (his coming of age) at the long expected party. But it several years later before he left on the quest. I believe it was 9 years later, but I'm not exactly certain. That would make him at least 42.
Plus the most popular book ever is, of course, the Bible. Ask any publisher. The Bible has mass market appeal. The LOTR does not. LOTR has quite a few million sold. The Bible has well over 2 billion sold. As for mass market, I mean something that the majority (ie the lowest common denominator) will enjoy. The whole concept of mass market is to cater to the lowest common denominator - you'll have the largest posible market that way. Not that I want a LOTR movie that caters to the lowest common denominator. But any offering that aims higher will lose market appeal in direct correlation to how much higher it aims. Any faithful representation of the LOTR on the big screen, I feel will have a fairly small audience.
It's not going to work out well. The Tolkien fans will all be miffed over some story change. And of the non Tolkien fans, maybe 70% will just be confused and not get it. This is assuming a faithful rendering, of course. If they dumb it down and cast Tom Hanks as Aragorn and Britney Spears as Arwen then I think it will have tons of fans.
-Kasreyn