Your point echoes the one I make with people and family on this issue! I try to explain to people how these content cartels are slowly taking away the ability or incentive of individuals to create.
There's something else though, about out-of-print media and software. If I buy a car, I don't expect Honda to replace it when it gets damaged or worn. When I buy a CD or DVD, I should have that same expectation. But I didn't buy it, it's licensed. So, if it isn't mine, and I can't do with it as I please, then what do I get in return?
I agree fully that there should be some mechanism for replacing old or lost media. They ignored P2P, they lost, and now they want to go all "sour grapes" and ban P2P for any reason.
They're like a bunch of spoiled brats who lost the stickball game and are whining as they leave with the equipment...
GTRacer
- Suddenly, all those dystopian stories don't seem so far-fetched
Generally speaking, my "pre-sig" is used as a flippant, witty, or droll remark on my post. I do try to keep it relevant.
Now, as for wrestling and talk shows (and targeted advertising), can you not find good and bad in each? Not to mention my hypothetical generalisation was a direct response to theDotinTheCom's. P.S., you got the temporal order of my statements reversed;)
GTRacer
- Hey, at least somebody reads these things!
Don't knock anime until you've tried it. If you really don't like it, fine. But there's quite a bit of diversity lurking beneath the surface for those who try. The only difference between a live-action drama and an animated one is in the medium. You still have acting, writing, plot development, music/score, etc.
I can't speak on wuxia and kung-fu/chop-socky films, but I'm sure there's more than meets the eye there, too.
While we're on the subject, I could just as easily say that American audiences want nothing more than wrestling and rigged talk shows!
GTRacer
- Everything has a good side. Everything has a bad side.
Maybe where you live but here they've integrated. It's so bad hat if you have anything OUT they call to confirm! That really sucks when I go store-hopping to find the games I want when my mates come over for a weekend of binge-gaming...
Wait, wait, wait... I don't know the hard numbers (do you?) but I'd be amazed if they had to take a hit from their cash reserves if Win* sold for $25 a pop.
How much, per copy, can it really cost when they sell a hojillion of these things a year? Sure they have really high dev and support costs, but surely they must be selling Windows far above actual cost.
This reasoning of mine of course excludes income from other lines and assumes no net loss incurred for reducing the retail/OEM price of the OSes. No profit, maybe, but no losses either...
I'm 30, married with 2 kids and I've been a gamer since about 1980. I remember with much love the time I spent from, say, 1983 to 1986 on my C64 and Atari 130XE. I had a bunk bed and the computer was on the bottom bunk, closed in with a Transformers blanket.
I came home from school at 3:30, got on-line (at 1200 baud) and stayed on until midnight. I took some breaks for friends and food, but this was my life as a junior higher with a computer.
Now, I have a good-paying (for this market) job involving a little programming, web design and report/data analysis. I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for the 2600, NES, or C64... Of course, now I don't get 7 hours a day to play, but I do get about 2.
Yes, increased your online wealth by stealing from the artist.?
I think he's pointing out something blindingly obvious about the human condition - I bet 90% of the people trading MP3s don't give it a second thought. They probably feel all l337. Doesn't make it right, but it explains the motivations of 90% of music-sharers.
Those motivations are what these companies and industry groups (Sony, RIAA, MPAA, TWAT...) need to understand.
I don't agree with smashing IP law and having a free-for-all, but the obvious non-understaning of what makes netizens tick is what makes me so angry when these stupid IP lawsuits get thrown about like so much Cheez-Wiz.
Face it, content creators, it's a new paradigm out there. Adjust, destroy, or be destroyed...
If, by GT3 you mean Gran Turismo, then wait patiently for about a year and a half...
GT4 has been officially announced and will be network-ready (it replaces the GTN expansion) and will ship in Japan mid-2003 and will probably be in North American hands a few months later.
GT4 is said to include variable weather and time as well as new tracks from China and somewhere I can't recall at the moment. All this I got from my latest PSM2 maazine.
Well, I'm not one, but "what I've heard" is Furries are those who like to imagine sentient animals with anthropomorphic characteristics.
IOW, smart cats, dogs, bears, etc. that take on human roles. In some cases, the "species" mix and in others, the animals hve replaced humans. Ever played Star Fox? Kinda like that...
And, much like tentacle pr0n, there's a subgenre of furry-on-furry and furry-on-human sex...Interesting...
I used to just ignore banner ads, but then I installed OmniWeb...
If you do use OmniWeb, please buy it...
Y'know, there's a sad irony here. Websites that use ads are like shareware. You don't have to pay (or click), but you're encouraged to support it in some way.
Now you come along and tell people how to get around paying for the one but encourage payment for the other? That's rich, dude!
Sure there are a lot of websites worth something, just as there are many dead-tree mags I'd love to subscribe to, but my monthly sub budget is pretty small. So I have to choose based on quality and value. Same logic with pay sites - Salon for some, / for others.
GTRacer
- I use a filtering proxy, but more for tracker-blocking...yeah...
Uhh... you mean squaring any processors other than 1 right?
But I thought processors were rectangular to avoid installation boo-boos. Imagine the support calls when users can't figure out which side of a squared proc is which!
GTRacer
- "Dogbert's Help Desk - How may I not help you?"
...the dog will run around a bit then get tired and stop.
Or if you're lucky the dog (read abusive monopoly for the metaphorically-challenged) will do something stupid like take a rabid bite out of a kid (buy or poison smaller, weaker co's). And then it will be plain for all to see that uncontrollable dogs (abusive monopolies) must be dealt with.
See: NOA v. Zophar's Domain, Sony v. Mod-Chips, USCS v. Lik-Sang, Rolled-up Newspaper v. Stupid Dog...
GTRacer
- If it's called the DMCA, could we cryosleep for 998 more years and do an end run?
I was getting all set to buy a Messiah modchip for my PS2 for my birthday. I have over 50 PSX games I'd like to back up. Also, my kids have begun playing my old PSX and I'd like them to use backups instead of original media.
There's also the question of purchasing legit imports, but I won't go there.
Now, thanks to Sony suing Channel Technologies (as well as the maker of the Neo4 chip), I can't get a modchip that will meet my needs without resoring to swap tricks or GameShark hacks.
I'm sure as hell not going to open my PS2 for anything less.
I can see the lesser need for backups on a cart-based system. But there's still the dev side. I know homebrewers probably make up less than 5 percent of Zophar's market, but still. The FAL doesn't force anyone to trade ROMs.
GTRacer
- Anyone have a Messiah-chipped PS2 for sale?
OK, I'll bite...Six feet, four inches? Or are these Troy inches?;)
GTRacer
- must...sleep...now...
Re:Good for some, nightmare for others
on
Peek-a-Boo(ty)
·
· Score: 2
Been there, done that!
Previous gig had Cetus Stormwindows and LANovation LAN Escort set up. They were fond of randomly disabling basic Windows functions like Find and Help.
In short order, I found a way to de-Escort my machine and soon found a pair of network stiffs poring over my machine looking for evidence. What was funny was that our division was under a separate charter and budget and technically, as long as I didn't do anything to the corporate net, my PC should have been mine to modify at will...
Oh well, I quit after all their bullshit and have been much happier since!
Are you trolling or have you never used a mem-card-based console before?
Interact's DexDrive...Interact's SharkPort...Blaze's Data XChanger thingy...Rocket's Cheat Factory...All these will allow you to exchange mem-card saves. Something you could do on any console if you have physical posession of both cards. But for the times you don't, these devices put a PC link in between and allow distant users to exchange info.
Yeah, but unless I've missed a press release somewhere, Sony doesn't have any force feedback/haptic peripherals for the PSX or PS2. They helped with Logitech's GT Force/Driving Force wheels, but as mentioned above, Logitech is an Immersion licensee.
There are haptic devices for the Sony consoles, but I don't think any of them are made or endorsed by Sony except Logitech's.
And MS does make some damn fine input devices...Haptic or otherwise!
GTRacer
- If I play with my MS 'balls all day, who goes blind - me or the PC?
Nope, it's more like a mutual fund or similar financial instrument. There may be thousands of dollars of shares in it, but until I cash out or receive dividends I pay nothing in taxes.
Virtual items are the same way - you can argue relative worth all day long but until somebody forks over the dough, it's not real (or taxable).
I figure that as a sysadmin, my job is to serve users...
Well, yes, it is. Mine too. But that's not the allure. Where I work now, there are only a handful of people I have to support. The user/luser ration is pretty user-heavy.
BUT...at a previous posting, I worked with a lrger group with a lower average "computer IQ". There's only so much you can take before revenge fantasies pop to mind, and from there, jail.
BOFH is a release, much the way a quality FPS is a release. Only a brave few will actually emulate the BOFH. The rest will take solace in the fact that somewhere, some luser just got some more free disk space;)
P.S. Where you work, does your HR insist on some level of computer experience before hiring? We just hired a data-entry person who had NEVER used a PC on her 55+ years on the planet: "Press the Tab key to enter your password." "The what key? Enter?" Aaargh!
GTRacer
- Glad to have moved on from support to analysis!
Slashdot Mirror
There's something else though, about out-of-print media and software. If I buy a car, I don't expect Honda to replace it when it gets damaged or worn. When I buy a CD or DVD, I should have that same expectation. But I didn't buy it, it's licensed. So, if it isn't mine, and I can't do with it as I please, then what do I get in return?
I agree fully that there should be some mechanism for replacing old or lost media. They ignored P2P, they lost, and now they want to go all "sour grapes" and ban P2P for any reason.
They're like a bunch of spoiled brats who lost the stickball game and are whining as they leave with the equipment...
GTRacer
- Suddenly, all those dystopian stories don't seem so far-fetched
Now, as for wrestling and talk shows (and targeted advertising), can you not find good and bad in each? Not to mention my hypothetical generalisation was a direct response to theDotinTheCom's. P.S., you got the temporal order of my statements reversed ;)
GTRacer
- Hey, at least somebody reads these things!
Don't knock anime until you've tried it. If you really don't like it, fine. But there's quite a bit of diversity lurking beneath the surface for those who try. The only difference between a live-action drama and an animated one is in the medium. You still have acting, writing, plot development, music/score, etc.
I can't speak on wuxia and kung-fu/chop-socky films, but I'm sure there's more than meets the eye there, too.
While we're on the subject, I could just as easily say that American audiences want nothing more than wrestling and rigged talk shows!
GTRacer
- Everything has a good side. Everything has a bad side.
GTRacer
-- Fist Prost - Gone in (less than) 60 seconds...
Fist?
GTRacer
Could it be?
How much, per copy, can it really cost when they sell a hojillion of these things a year? Sure they have really high dev and support costs, but surely they must be selling Windows far above actual cost.
This reasoning of mine of course excludes income from other lines and assumes no net loss incurred for reducing the retail/OEM price of the OSes. No profit, maybe, but no losses either...
GTRacer
- Still kinda want an Xbox
I'm 30, married with 2 kids and I've been a gamer since about 1980. I remember with much love the time I spent from, say, 1983 to 1986 on my C64 and Atari 130XE. I had a bunk bed and the computer was on the bottom bunk, closed in with a Transformers blanket.
I came home from school at 3:30, got on-line (at 1200 baud) and stayed on until midnight. I took some breaks for friends and food, but this was my life as a junior higher with a computer.
Now, I have a good-paying (for this market) job involving a little programming, web design and report/data analysis. I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for the 2600, NES, or C64... Of course, now I don't get 7 hours a day to play, but I do get about 2.
GTRacer
- The family that games together...
I think he's pointing out something blindingly obvious about the human condition - I bet 90% of the people trading MP3s don't give it a second thought. They probably feel all l337. Doesn't make it right, but it explains the motivations of 90% of music-sharers.
Those motivations are what these companies and industry groups (Sony, RIAA, MPAA, TWAT...) need to understand.
I don't agree with smashing IP law and having a free-for-all, but the obvious non-understaning of what makes netizens tick is what makes me so angry when these stupid IP lawsuits get thrown about like so much Cheez-Wiz.
Face it, content creators, it's a new paradigm out there. Adjust, destroy, or be destroyed...
GTRacer /. needs is a "Nani Naze /." page...
- What
If you meant, on console, *did* Nintendo beat Sony's Dual Analog stick? I can't remember; I got both at about the same time...
GTRacer
- Doesn't change the fact that the N64 stick sucks...
GT4 has been officially announced and will be network-ready (it replaces the GTN expansion) and will ship in Japan mid-2003 and will probably be in North American hands a few months later.
GT4 is said to include variable weather and time as well as new tracks from China and somewhere I can't recall at the moment. All this I got from my latest PSM2 maazine.
There's also going to be a PC GT as well.
GTRacer
- Time to subscribe to broadband, no?
IOW, smart cats, dogs, bears, etc. that take on human roles. In some cases, the "species" mix and in others, the animals hve replaced humans. Ever played Star Fox? Kinda like that...
And, much like tentacle pr0n, there's a subgenre of furry-on-furry and furry-on-human sex...Interesting...
GTRacer
- Would be a felinoid (probably)
If you do use OmniWeb, please buy it...
Y'know, there's a sad irony here. Websites that use ads are like shareware. You don't have to pay (or click), but you're encouraged to support it in some way.
Now you come along and tell people how to get around paying for the one but encourage payment for the other? That's rich, dude!
Sure there are a lot of websites worth something, just as there are many dead-tree mags I'd love to subscribe to, but my monthly sub budget is pretty small. So I have to choose based on quality and value. Same logic with pay sites - Salon for some, / for others.
GTRacer
- I use a filtering proxy, but more for tracker-blocking...yeah...
But I thought processors were rectangular to avoid installation boo-boos. Imagine the support calls when users can't figure out which side of a squared proc is which!
GTRacer
- "Dogbert's Help Desk - How may I not help you?"
Or if you're lucky the dog (read abusive monopoly for the metaphorically-challenged) will do something stupid like take a rabid bite out of a kid (buy or poison smaller, weaker co's). And then it will be plain for all to see that uncontrollable dogs (abusive monopolies) must be dealt with.
See: NOA v. Zophar's Domain, Sony v. Mod-Chips, USCS v. Lik-Sang, Rolled-up Newspaper v. Stupid Dog...
GTRacer
- If it's called the DMCA, could we cryosleep for 998 more years and do an end run?
I was getting all set to buy a Messiah modchip for my PS2 for my birthday. I have over 50 PSX games I'd like to back up. Also, my kids have begun playing my old PSX and I'd like them to use backups instead of original media.
There's also the question of purchasing legit imports, but I won't go there.
Now, thanks to Sony suing Channel Technologies (as well as the maker of the Neo4 chip), I can't get a modchip that will meet my needs without resoring to swap tricks or GameShark hacks. I'm sure as hell not going to open my PS2 for anything less.
I can see the lesser need for backups on a cart-based system. But there's still the dev side. I know homebrewers probably make up less than 5 percent of Zophar's market, but still. The FAL doesn't force anyone to trade ROMs.
GTRacer
- Anyone have a Messiah-chipped PS2 for sale?
OK, I'll bite...Six feet, four inches? Or are these Troy inches? ;)
GTRacer
- must...sleep...now...
Previous gig had Cetus Stormwindows and LANovation LAN Escort set up. They were fond of randomly disabling basic Windows functions like Find and Help.
In short order, I found a way to de-Escort my machine and soon found a pair of network stiffs poring over my machine looking for evidence. What was funny was that our division was under a separate charter and budget and technically, as long as I didn't do anything to the corporate net, my PC should have been mine to modify at will...
Oh well, I quit after all their bullshit and have been much happier since!
GTRacer
- Bring it on, NetNazis!
Even in 1990 when I got my first PC clone, it was yellow text time!
GTRacer
- I need an Apple ][ video cable...
GTRacer
- I've found that Voyager is actually better in late-night re-runs...
GTRacer
- "I'll only shoot him once, OK, Mom?"
Could that same guy be behind the scenes?
GTRacer :CueCat but never installed CRQ...
- Has a
Interact's DexDrive...Interact's SharkPort...Blaze's Data XChanger thingy...Rocket's Cheat Factory...All these will allow you to exchange mem-card saves. Something you could do on any console if you have physical posession of both cards. But for the times you don't, these devices put a PC link in between and allow distant users to exchange info.
GTRacer
Copy controls suck. Territory lockouts suck.
There are haptic devices for the Sony consoles, but I don't think any of them are made or endorsed by Sony except Logitech's.
And MS does make some damn fine input devices...Haptic or otherwise!
GTRacer
- If I play with my MS 'balls all day, who goes blind - me or the PC?
Virtual items are the same way - you can argue relative worth all day long but until somebody forks over the dough, it's not real (or taxable).
And yes, I'm aware IMHBT. IMHL. IWHAND.
GTRacer
- I am not a tax professional
Well, yes, it is. Mine too. But that's not the allure. Where I work now, there are only a handful of people I have to support. The user/luser ration is pretty user-heavy.
BUT...at a previous posting, I worked with a lrger group with a lower average "computer IQ". There's only so much you can take before revenge fantasies pop to mind, and from there, jail.
BOFH is a release, much the way a quality FPS is a release. Only a brave few will actually emulate the BOFH. The rest will take solace in the fact that somewhere, some luser just got some more free disk space ;)
P.S. Where you work, does your HR insist on some level of computer experience before hiring? We just hired a data-entry person who had NEVER used a PC on her 55+ years on the planet: "Press the Tab key to enter your password." "The what key? Enter?" Aaargh!
GTRacer
- Glad to have moved on from support to analysis!