That is how a bot will beat out the regular player. Asheron's Call is the prime example. The game is rife with bots because the game's designer and owner, Turbine, condones them. They gave permission to use combat bots IN WRITING on a public forum.
This has caused a wholesale change in the balance of the game. Players have been known to run multiple accounts of bots all producing characters with capabilities beyond those of normal players. Worse through the use of third party tools they know when an +Admin is around and therefor are alerted for whatever test the +Admin deems.
Turbine sold their integrity the day they publically stated they would allow combat macros. As such the power level of a certain group of players went beyond what could be coded for. To make matters worse they created an expansion that practically caters to bots. This includes showing off the characters true level. The worst was providing in game rewards for experience points, points that the bots generate without the need of players. Those abilities can be used to the advantage of the bot owner when they then decide to actually participate in the game.
Bots are lame and anyone caught using them should be banned from the games they are in. I would go as far as banning all accounts on the same CC as well as mailing address. The last because it really brings home the fact that cheating is not tolerated. Any company that willingly allows bots should be ashamed and run out of the industry.
I am more concerned with seeing an end to the duopoly of Windows and Mac for the consumer desktop. While some may not apply the term I think it fits. We really need a third major player for the desktop to get things moving again. Right now Apple and Microsoft are not moving forward, we are still bound to single processor solutions that are mouse and keyboard driven. We have been there for nearly 20 years now!
Compare the situation to Cable. Since the 80s we have been stuck with a monopoly for delivery of video service. Along came satellite, which while it has made inroads to the tune of nearly 25% of viewers it still hasn't changed the way we use the medium. Now the Bells are coming and with plans of interactive TV. Yes the cable companies are also looking towards this but it took a third major competitor to get the other two out of their comfortable duopoly.
It is going to take a third and major competitor to Microsoft and Apple to get the medium to move forward. Linux has been the poster boy for many years and yet nothing really truly has occured with it. Bluntly put, the Linux front is too disorganized to compete with the two entrenched systems and worse isn't changing the paradigm of what desktop computer is.
I don't see Solaris doing much either but I figure that with enough prodding perhaps Ms or Apple will do something other than make prettier desktops. Hell its like the space program, resting on its laurels until people become bored by it.
Arthur C. Clarke's last book of the series covered the issue of artificial meat. The premise was that an animal borne sickness like "Mad Cow" spread too animals making meat products too dangerous to eat. (I believe he is a vegetarian). He used a repulsive term to describe the "barbaric" idea of eating animals, corpse-food? While the idea of disease spreading enough fear to drive mankind to other solutions is interesting the whole of the novel came off as a giant preaching session.
It isn't as if raising cattle, pigs, and chickens is more efficient than raising soybeans. The issue has always been taste and texture. Usuallly they can get close on one and miss the other. Hopefully they get it perfected before we don't have a choice
Read the foxtel privacy agreement. It is an opt-out type system which is made worse as you must write them to even find out who they are giving your personal information to.
You must opt out of their direct-marketing and their "related business partners".
They are not only obtaining the right to feed you 30 second commercials they are obtaining the right to pass off your information to any company they deem to designate as "partner" or otherwise.
This is probably a never ending chain as each of their "partners" has their own privacy policies which could open you to even more unrelated companies.
I wouldn't be surprised if your information ends up on a spam list because of "partner" associations.
New trucks have for some time had their bumpers lowered so that the impact zone will be more survivable for non-SUVs.
I think the part that offends me the most is your view that their family size is not warranted? Should we just invoke an enviro-fascist state and invoke rules stating how many kids you can have, what you can drive, how much you can drive, how much you can use your homes AC, what foodstuffs you can buy, or where you can live?
It is vindictive hate mongers like you that are far worse for society than someone driving a suburban. Your post is only insightful as/. is packet to the gills with jealous little losers. People who are so bound up in class envy that they turn it into vile hatred of anyone who obviously doesn't live like they do.
If your so damned worried about Mr. Suburban then I suggest you move close to where you work so you don't have to see them on the road. After all you want to do your part to protect the environment and have a safer existance, right?
Your the type who will rail on this guy one moment and then rail on someone else who happens to meet the solutions for the first. In other words, no one elses actions are ever going to be good enough for you unless they have less that you.
Whatever, just get off your "I'm the center of the fucking universe" soapbox and join the real world.
Karma to BURN.... damn this place isn't full of insightful ideas, it is full of selfish inane ideas.
Apple isn't going to take on Microsoft. First Apple knows better than to waste their time trying to make an OS that supports every damn accessory; card or plugged in; as that only invites frustration on the consumer level.
I believe it is more likely Apple was fully expecting this to happen and have already "written it off". There won't be enough geeks pirating it to matter and they don't have to support anyone who does. If anything it may help them because more people will become familar with how it looks and feel. By that I mean some of these basement dwellers will show it off to coworkers and relatives - bragging that they did it but at the same time spreading the Apple kool-aid without realizing it.
Two markets Apple has to get into. 1. Corporate. How many years has it taken AMD to do it, and they are only trying to sell a product that runs everything their competitor already does!
2. Games. That is going to be the hard sell. The big item in most retail stores are lots of junk software for web related stuff and then GAMES. Lots and lots of games. All of which require "Windows XP". How will Apple convince developers to write for their platform?
No, I don't see Apple competeing with Microsoft. The "Duopoloy" of Apple and Microsoft will continue on the desktop for some time. Just because they run on similar hardware doesn't mean they will compete or want to compete.
We did an informal survey at the office. Most of us don't expect any changes to our driving habits until near $5 a gallon.
Very much like all those people saying that smoking would drop like a rock at $2 a pack, then $3 a pack, and so on.
People adjust. What will drop off isn't the driving but the luxury expenditures. Maybe one less latte per week, the smaller bouquet of roses for the wive, more beer and less mixed drinks, or buying hamburgers for the weekend cook out.
My current car is 21 +/- in city. I didn't even blink at its mileage when I bought it simply because it still is a non-issue. If I want to save a few bucks I will ride my motorcycle (40mpg) on occasion.
We have already in our past had over $3 gas if you adjust for inflation, what made it worse was the rest of the economy was out of control.
"Aside from that, I really don't think Apple cares about the gaming market segment, i.e., teenaged-or-twenty-something males." ----
and what areas of BB or CC are the largest? The games section. Microsoft realized that games were a major selling point. They even went out and made it easier to write games for the platform; Direct-X.
Apple should care, it is one of the reasons they are in such a distant second place.
That market segment is expanding. I disagree on the sucky part as well, for many of us we don't experience problems with Windows or any other OS we use.
They can use a desktop until then. I would not set a grade requirement on when to buy them a laptop but a "responsibility" requirement. For the most part a desktop will suffice.
If your student loses their cell phones, can't drive a car within the confines of the law, or cannot maintain good study habits then save your money. If they have the aspirations and act on them within their capabilities then by all means get them a laptop if it truly benefits them at the time.
Your missing the point. For many collecting these items, usually in game currency, is tedious.
Read any of the many message boards these games spawn? I do. One thing I note is the number of hours some people put in to obtain items or in game wealth. To me and others the idea of sitting in one spot all day long isn't playing the game or enjoying it, it is tedium. It is something that a macro would be good at. If that is your definition of enjoying a game, repeating something for a long long time, then we have very different views.
Well I will disagree. There are many people out there whose time I consider more valuable than mine. Be they doctors, scientist, and others there are always people whom we will decide that their time is more valuable than ours. At the same time there are those whose time we consider less valuable than ours. It is about the capability to contribute to society as well as willingness to do so. It also is about the fact that not all value should be assigned monetary equivalents.
If you don't think there are people's whose time is more valuable than your own then you are either selfish or clueless. Life isn't fair and we are not all equally capable.
Buying gold in some online games is to avoid the drudgery of farming it. Most games will let you collect lots of gold/tokens/credit provided you are willing to farm it. By farming I mean repeating something till the cows come home. This isn't what I consider to be "playing" the game. A macro can do it and usually does. People who do it manually are no better than machines and do you really want to pay to be a machine?
Now for a lot of players they don't have the time to do that, be it family or work concerns. So they look at it from the perspective of maximizing their online time. That means removing an element that while it imparts a needed resource it would take too much of their available time to enjoy the game.
As in my previous post I see no difference in buying a virtual item from paying someone to wash my car, mow my lawn, or any other similar job. All are easily accomplished by myself *IF* I were to want to expend the time.
I think the payback NASA has made for the environment outweighs any real impact that they may have negatively made with their programs.
If you took the derivatives of all we have learned and developed from the space race I would say overall the planet is much better for it. Space flight requires all sorts of inventiveness and efficiency. These techniques and ideas spin off eventually into the consumer world to benefit everyone.
One comment that almost always pops up is that deragatory line "Some people have more money than sense". This is nothing more than jealousy. Virtual or not they are paying for effort and not necessarily the item they are receiving. What is done is weighing the cost of their play time versus what they would have to spend to have someone do it for them. Considering the prices on many things in the virtual world this is still a great deal.
People pay others to wash their cars, mow their lawns, and do other simple work for them everyday. Why? For some it is because they are lazy, but for most it is because their time is worth more than the money paid out and that is the key to the whole argument.
On the legality side, I am beginning to think we are going to see someone eventually go to court and beat one of the game companies. Even if that doesn't happen for a long time these companies have already proven they cannot win versus the resourcefulness of the sellers using the internet. All they can do is hit the dumb ones and make a few big hits but I would susepct 99% of the trading goes unimpeded.
See there are these wonderful countries out there that don't have qualms about squashing anyone including their own people. They have a propesity to sponsor violence versus other parts of the world.
So while it may be great to spout off against the capitalist society we live in please realize that there are many leaders who see that success as a threat to their control. Hence they will not balk at finding a way to strike out.
Space based weaponry has been here for years. The issue at hand is, can we afford NOT to put something in place. I say we cannot. Russia and America have a gentleman's understanding of each other. We both bluster and such but know exactly there would be no winner. So they are not the real problem, it is a country like China, who will find a way to take Taiwan down regardless of the legality of it, that will make for space based weaponry so they can prevent other countries from acting once they decide to exercise their regional power. Throw in a North Korea who may want to buy themselves out of their hole by threatening anyone who can give them what they need and you now have reasons beyond merely keeping the "military/industrial" complexes running.
Your statement is best viewed as sarcasm as any intelligent person who see it as absurdity or just plain ignorance.
Software doesn't need to be Open Source on Linux
on
Linux Feels Growing Pains
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
Perhaps that is one obstacle that needs to be overcome, the perception that for software to suceed on Linux that it be open sourced. The first key benefit of Linux is security and integrity. The lowered cost of ownership one gets by not having to license the OS is quick to follow as an important part.
If we wait for the applications businesses want to appear as Open Source we may just as well forget using Linux in the first place. Not every company can see making money from meer support of a product, many need the initial sales and licensing. Sure someone might one day replicate product X, but how many companies are going to wait?
Example, Gothic Power by Christopher Fields. I don't believe you can buy this anywhere but people have ripped it from various trailers. (variations were in FOTR and T3 trailers)
I am pretty sure other trailer music never intended for distribution is locatable with this service.
The spam system I use is the challenge/response type. You get told you can ask for access to my mailbox and I can decide to allow it.
As for other automated systems like Postini, which we use at work it all comes down to the content. A lot of time configuration errors will creep in as well like the time all mail a guy named Dick H... was being deleted without notice! You can guess why.
PostIni has actually blocked some political mail to me and I can give you a few hints.
Certain political emails contain verbage that gets labeled as porn or hate speech. That second category is so broad and abused that companies will throw about anything that might hint of insensitivity under it just to keep themseleves safe.
The second category they got caught by? Money. There is a $$$ category that attempts to weed out money requests and the like.
Do I care one way or another? No, I particulary did not like how the government excluded the rules of spam from acting on elected officials and I really couldn't care less about any unsolicited spam from either aisle.
Do not attempt to put guilt upon the good breeders out there. It is not their fault for the huge numbers of homeless animals and they should not have their legitimate activities curtailed.
The good breeders promote their breeds by ensuring only the good representatives of the breed are bred. They usually sell their dogs in two classes, show and pet. Show class dogs are show no signs of defect, injury, or disease. They are splendid examples of their breed and will help to keep the breed useful and defect free. Pet quality dogs are usually those whom the breeder to be healthy animals yet not posses the best qualities representative of the breed. They are sold on the condition that they are to be spayed or neutured. Their registration actually prevents unscrupulous buyers from registering litters produced by them.
The good effect of cloning is that by advancements in the procedures it may be possible to eliminate some defects that show up in various types of animals thereby improving the breeds.
I am all for control of the pet population but it is just as selfish to condemn all breeders and sellers as it is to ignore the problem out there. Quite a few states PERMIT puppy-mills (Misourri is one). I am all for shutting down those places and the businesses that use them.
Too many console games, (where is Starflight?)
on
IGN's Top 100 Games
·
· Score: 1
Too many console games on the list and two versions of Tetris?
PC classics missing StarFlight by Binary Systems, has anyone equaled what they did on two 360k floppies?
Empire, the only pure strategy game and one of the oldest
No MMORPG titles made it though I think either UO or EQ deserve to be on the list because they helped establish their genres. I think that a key to making the top 100 list is how the game has either never been equaled, set new standards or established them, or is still played.
Slashdot Mirror
That is how a bot will beat out the regular player. Asheron's Call is the prime example. The game is rife with bots because the game's designer and owner, Turbine, condones them. They gave permission to use combat bots IN WRITING on a public forum.
This has caused a wholesale change in the balance of the game. Players have been known to run multiple accounts of bots all producing characters with capabilities beyond those of normal players. Worse through the use of third party tools they know when an +Admin is around and therefor are alerted for whatever test the +Admin deems.
Turbine sold their integrity the day they publically stated they would allow combat macros. As such the power level of a certain group of players went beyond what could be coded for. To make matters worse they created an expansion that practically caters to bots. This includes showing off the characters true level. The worst was providing in game rewards for experience points, points that the bots generate without the need of players. Those abilities can be used to the advantage of the bot owner when they then decide to actually participate in the game.
Bots are lame and anyone caught using them should be banned from the games they are in. I would go as far as banning all accounts on the same CC as well as mailing address. The last because it really brings home the fact that cheating is not tolerated. Any company that willingly allows bots should be ashamed and run out of the industry.
I am more concerned with seeing an end to the duopoly of Windows and Mac for the consumer desktop. While some may not apply the term I think it fits. We really need a third major player for the desktop to get things moving again. Right now Apple and Microsoft are not moving forward, we are still bound to single processor solutions that are mouse and keyboard driven. We have been there for nearly 20 years now!
Compare the situation to Cable. Since the 80s we have been stuck with a monopoly for delivery of video service. Along came satellite, which while it has made inroads to the tune of nearly 25% of viewers it still hasn't changed the way we use the medium. Now the Bells are coming and with plans of interactive TV. Yes the cable companies are also looking towards this but it took a third major competitor to get the other two out of their comfortable duopoly.
It is going to take a third and major competitor to Microsoft and Apple to get the medium to move forward. Linux has been the poster boy for many years and yet nothing really truly has occured with it. Bluntly put, the Linux front is too disorganized to compete with the two entrenched systems and worse isn't changing the paradigm of what desktop computer is.
I don't see Solaris doing much either but I figure that with enough prodding perhaps Ms or Apple will do something other than make prettier desktops. Hell its like the space program, resting on its laurels until people become bored by it.
Arthur C. Clarke's last book of the series covered the issue of artificial meat. The premise was that an animal borne sickness like "Mad Cow" spread too animals making meat products too dangerous to eat. (I believe he is a vegetarian). He used a repulsive term to describe the "barbaric" idea of eating animals, corpse-food? While the idea of disease spreading enough fear to drive mankind to other solutions is interesting the whole of the novel came off as a giant preaching session.
It isn't as if raising cattle, pigs, and chickens is more efficient than raising soybeans. The issue has always been taste and texture. Usuallly they can get close on one and miss the other. Hopefully they get it perfected before we don't have a choice
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaceflight_records#T otal_time_in_space_-_top_50_space_travelers
Read the foxtel privacy agreement. It is an opt-out type system which is made worse as you must write them to even find out who they are giving your personal information to.
You must opt out of their direct-marketing and their "related business partners".
They are not only obtaining the right to feed you 30 second commercials they are obtaining the right to pass off your information to any company they deem to designate as "partner" or otherwise.
This is probably a never ending chain as each of their "partners" has their own privacy policies which could open you to even more unrelated companies.
I wouldn't be surprised if your information ends up on a spam list because of "partner" associations.
Two words
No thankyou.
http://www.foxtel.com.au/Privacy.htm
then lead by example and get rid of your vehicle. Purchase items only produced locally.
Your polluting the air I breathe as well. After all why do people need computers at home that suck up electricity and such?
One persons selfish ideals are anothers excesses.
have you looked in the mirror?
/. is packet to the gills with jealous little losers. People who are so bound up in class envy that they turn it into vile hatred of anyone who obviously doesn't live like they do.
I see hatred, class envy, and general jealousy.
New trucks have for some time had their bumpers lowered so that the impact zone will be more survivable for non-SUVs.
I think the part that offends me the most is your view that their family size is not warranted? Should we just invoke an enviro-fascist state and invoke rules stating how many kids you can have, what you can drive, how much you can drive, how much you can use your homes AC, what foodstuffs you can buy, or where you can live?
It is vindictive hate mongers like you that are far worse for society than someone driving a suburban. Your post is only insightful as
If your so damned worried about Mr. Suburban then I suggest you move close to where you work so you don't have to see them on the road. After all you want to do your part to protect the environment and have a safer existance, right?
Your the type who will rail on this guy one moment and then rail on someone else who happens to meet the solutions for the first. In other words, no one elses actions are ever going to be good enough for you unless they have less that you.
Whatever, just get off your "I'm the center of the fucking universe" soapbox and join the real world.
Karma to BURN.... damn this place isn't full of insightful ideas, it is full of selfish inane ideas.
Apple isn't going to take on Microsoft. First Apple knows better than to waste their time trying to make an OS that supports every damn accessory; card or plugged in; as that only invites frustration on the consumer level.
I believe it is more likely Apple was fully expecting this to happen and have already "written it off". There won't be enough geeks pirating it to matter and they don't have to support anyone who does. If anything it may help them because more people will become familar with how it looks and feel. By that I mean some of these basement dwellers will show it off to coworkers and relatives - bragging that they did it but at the same time spreading the Apple kool-aid without realizing it.
Two markets Apple has to get into.
1. Corporate. How many years has it taken AMD to do it, and they are only trying to sell a product that runs everything their competitor already does!
2. Games. That is going to be the hard sell. The big item in most retail stores are lots of junk software for web related stuff and then GAMES. Lots and lots of games. All of which require "Windows XP". How will Apple convince developers to write for their platform?
No, I don't see Apple competeing with Microsoft. The "Duopoloy" of Apple and Microsoft will continue on the desktop for some time. Just because they run on similar hardware doesn't mean they will compete or want to compete.
We did an informal survey at the office. Most of us don't expect any changes to our driving habits until near $5 a gallon.
Very much like all those people saying that smoking would drop like a rock at $2 a pack, then $3 a pack, and so on.
People adjust. What will drop off isn't the driving but the luxury expenditures. Maybe one less latte per week, the smaller bouquet of roses for the wive, more beer and less mixed drinks, or buying hamburgers for the weekend cook out.
My current car is 21 +/- in city. I didn't even blink at its mileage when I bought it simply because it still is a non-issue. If I want to save a few bucks I will ride my motorcycle (40mpg) on occasion.
We have already in our past had over $3 gas if you adjust for inflation, what made it worse was the rest of the economy was out of control.
"Aside from that, I really don't think Apple cares about the gaming market segment, i.e., teenaged-or-twenty-something males."
----
and what areas of BB or CC are the largest? The games section. Microsoft realized that games were a major selling point. They even went out and made it easier to write games for the platform; Direct-X.
Apple should care, it is one of the reasons they are in such a distant second place.
That market segment is expanding. I disagree on the sucky part as well, for many of us we don't experience problems with Windows or any other OS we use.
Hopefully you now understand the argument.
http://politics.slashdot.org/
There isn't anything more politically correct or slanted than that. Probably the worst thing to happen to Slashdot since they were bought.
They can use a desktop until then. I would not set a grade requirement on when to buy them a laptop but a "responsibility" requirement. For the most part a desktop will suffice.
If your student loses their cell phones, can't drive a car within the confines of the law, or cannot maintain good study habits then save your money. If they have the aspirations and act on them within their capabilities then by all means get them a laptop if it truly benefits them at the time.
Your missing the point. For many collecting these items, usually in game currency, is tedious.
Read any of the many message boards these games spawn? I do. One thing I note is the number of hours some people put in to obtain items or in game wealth. To me and others the idea of sitting in one spot all day long isn't playing the game or enjoying it, it is tedium. It is something that a macro would be good at. If that is your definition of enjoying a game, repeating something for a long long time, then we have very different views.
Well I will disagree. There are many people out there whose time I consider more valuable than mine. Be they doctors, scientist, and others there are always people whom we will decide that their time is more valuable than ours. At the same time there are those whose time we consider less valuable than ours. It is about the capability to contribute to society as well as willingness to do so. It also is about the fact that not all value should be assigned monetary equivalents.
If you don't think there are people's whose time is more valuable than your own then you are either selfish or clueless. Life isn't fair and we are not all equally capable.
Buying gold in some online games is to avoid the drudgery of farming it. Most games will let you collect lots of gold/tokens/credit provided you are willing to farm it. By farming I mean repeating something till the cows come home. This isn't what I consider to be "playing" the game. A macro can do it and usually does. People who do it manually are no better than machines and do you really want to pay to be a machine?
Now for a lot of players they don't have the time to do that, be it family or work concerns. So they look at it from the perspective of maximizing their online time. That means removing an element that while it imparts a needed resource it would take too much of their available time to enjoy the game.
As in my previous post I see no difference in buying a virtual item from paying someone to wash my car, mow my lawn, or any other similar job. All are easily accomplished by myself *IF* I were to want to expend the time.
I think the payback NASA has made for the environment outweighs any real impact that they may have negatively made with their programs.
If you took the derivatives of all we have learned and developed from the space race I would say overall the planet is much better for it. Space flight requires all sorts of inventiveness and efficiency. These techniques and ideas spin off eventually into the consumer world to benefit everyone.
One comment that almost always pops up is that deragatory line "Some people have more money than sense". This is nothing more than jealousy. Virtual or not they are paying for effort and not necessarily the item they are receiving. What is done is weighing the cost of their play time versus what they would have to spend to have someone do it for them. Considering the prices on many things in the virtual world this is still a great deal.
People pay others to wash their cars, mow their lawns, and do other simple work for them everyday. Why? For some it is because they are lazy, but for most it is because their time is worth more than the money paid out and that is the key to the whole argument.
On the legality side, I am beginning to think we are going to see someone eventually go to court and beat one of the game companies. Even if that doesn't happen for a long time these companies have already proven they cannot win versus the resourcefulness of the sellers using the internet. All they can do is hit the dumb ones and make a few big hits but I would susepct 99% of the trading goes unimpeded.
It is ignorant.
See there are these wonderful countries out there that don't have qualms about squashing anyone including their own people. They have a propesity to sponsor violence versus other parts of the world.
So while it may be great to spout off against the capitalist society we live in please realize that there are many leaders who see that success as a threat to their control. Hence they will not balk at finding a way to strike out.
Space based weaponry has been here for years. The issue at hand is, can we afford NOT to put something in place. I say we cannot. Russia and America have a gentleman's understanding of each other. We both bluster and such but know exactly there would be no winner. So they are not the real problem, it is a country like China, who will find a way to take Taiwan down regardless of the legality of it, that will make for space based weaponry so they can prevent other countries from acting once they decide to exercise their regional power. Throw in a North Korea who may want to buy themselves out of their hole by threatening anyone who can give them what they need and you now have reasons beyond merely keeping the "military/industrial" complexes running.
Your statement is best viewed as sarcasm as any intelligent person who see it as absurdity or just plain ignorance.
Perhaps that is one obstacle that needs to be overcome, the perception that for software to suceed on Linux that it be open sourced. The first key benefit of Linux is security and integrity. The lowered cost of ownership one gets by not having to license the OS is quick to follow as an important part.
If we wait for the applications businesses want to appear as Open Source we may just as well forget using Linux in the first place. Not every company can see making money from meer support of a product, many need the initial sales and licensing. Sure someone might one day replicate product X, but how many companies are going to wait?
NASA did some testing with a P3 Orion to study the effect.
C 87-0035-001.html
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/P-3/HTML/E
Example, Gothic Power by Christopher Fields. I don't believe you can buy this anywhere but people have ripped it from various trailers. (variations were in FOTR and T3 trailers)
I am pretty sure other trailer music never intended for distribution is locatable with this service.
The spam system I use is the challenge/response type. You get told you can ask for access to my mailbox and I can decide to allow it.
As for other automated systems like Postini, which we use at work it all comes down to the content. A lot of time configuration errors will creep in as well like the time all mail a guy named Dick H... was being deleted without notice! You can guess why.
PostIni has actually blocked some political mail to me and I can give you a few hints.
Certain political emails contain verbage that gets labeled as porn or hate speech. That second category is so broad and abused that companies will throw about anything that might hint of insensitivity under it just to keep themseleves safe.
The second category they got caught by? Money. There is a $$$ category that attempts to weed out money requests and the like.
Do I care one way or another? No, I particulary did not like how the government excluded the rules of spam from acting on elected officials and I really couldn't care less about any unsolicited spam from either aisle.
Do not attempt to put guilt upon the good breeders out there. It is not their fault for the huge numbers of homeless animals and they should not have their legitimate activities curtailed.
The good breeders promote their breeds by ensuring only the good representatives of the breed are bred. They usually sell their dogs in two classes, show and pet. Show class dogs are show no signs of defect, injury, or disease. They are splendid examples of their breed and will help to keep the breed useful and defect free. Pet quality dogs are usually those whom the breeder to be healthy animals yet not posses the best qualities representative of the breed. They are sold on the condition that they are to be spayed or neutured. Their registration actually prevents unscrupulous buyers from registering litters produced by them.
The good effect of cloning is that by advancements in the procedures it may be possible to eliminate some defects that show up in various types of animals thereby improving the breeds.
I am all for control of the pet population but it is just as selfish to condemn all breeders and sellers as it is to ignore the problem out there. Quite a few states PERMIT puppy-mills (Misourri is one). I am all for shutting down those places and the businesses that use them.
Too many console games on the list and two versions of Tetris?
PC classics missing
StarFlight by Binary Systems, has anyone equaled what they did on two 360k floppies?
Empire, the only pure strategy game and one of the oldest
No MMORPG titles made it though I think either UO or EQ deserve to be on the list because they helped establish their genres. I think that a key to making the top 100 list is how the game has either never been equaled, set new standards or established them, or is still played.
Still way to many console games.
What do you see as Linux's primary contribution to the industry?