Not entirely disagreeing, but how sure are you that plants are not capable of suffering? I forgive you that as it's an easy abstraction to make...can't talk, can't cry, can't convey feelings to us in a way we understand...easy to turn a blind eye.
But do you actually _know_ this as fact?
On another slant, even if you're right, I guarantee you that suffering is caused by the destruction of forests, with no doubt whatsoever. Even if no tree or plant itself suffers. Everything else in that environment most certainly does.
Good points, and I do have to admit that vanilla oblivion has some serious drawbacks in the areas you mentioned.
However, as Obscuro's Oblivion Overhaul shows, the game could have been made open ended without being 'weird' about it. I admit that when I'm thinking of Oblivion, I'm always thinking of the game with OOO installed...which isn't fair as at this point, the bulk of people that have played Oblivion have no idea what this is as it isn't available on consoles, only on PC. Vanilla Oblivion while good, is seriously limited by these odd design decisions, whereas OOO plays like a true open ended RPG should. It's the closest I've ever seen a game come to a truly immersive RPG experience.
I really believe that if they hadn't nerfed the leveling the way they did, and they'd rather released something closer to OOO, it would simply be THE rpg to compare to in every way.
But since they didn't, I hope that no one ever releases another rpg that has the same or similar nerf factors designed into it. It really does leave a bad taste in the mouth to say the least.
My first experience with Oblivion was...not good really. It was so incredibly awesome, and then you get farther in the game and it's all ?wtf?...wasn't till almost a year later that I tried OOO and gave it another chance. Here's hoping Fallout3 doesn't include any 'features' that kill the sense of immersion so critical to a good rpg.
While I haven't the faintest why they threw Oblivion in there, they did NOT say 'If it's even half _like_ Oblivion'...they said 'If it's even half _as_good_as_ Oblivion'...big difference.
But you know that already I'm sure, just chose to ignore it so you could bitch about something;)
Hint: When tearing down stupid statements, stick to the stupid parts...there's no need to invent your own:)
Never underestimate the persistence of the pre-pubescent teen that has the ability to amuse themselves. Think 'fart sniffing' of the digital age.
Yes, it's sad really. And nothing can be done to make them stop or go away. Respond, and you reinforce their immaturity. Don't respond and you reinforce their immaturity. Ignore and they'll try harder. Confront and they'll try harder still.
They're really just cries for 'mommy' after all. Poor lost souls;)
Bunny hoppers are the easiest of targets. They endlessly define a curve of the same magnitude. Total predictability. If you can't figure out how to take down bunny hoppers...really now, try another game, and I'd suggest not a shooter.
Flamebait? I think the mods are the ones smoking the stuff, sheesh. Someone revoke that moderators privileges, total abuse there.
Poster was actually completely on topic...though obviously too stoned to remember to provide any reasonable details. Maybe they'll fill in the blanks when they come down;)
No, you used 'if' so you could have some lame way of backing out of your subsequent diatribe. You don't ask someone if they are something, and then continue on with chastising them before even knowing the answer, which is what you did. You WANTED me to be an american so you could chastise me...if that were not the case, you would not have done so.
'If' was merely conditional to your wanting to have some way of weaseling out of being a dick, but as you are fully aware, changed nothing about what you fully intended to direct at myself.
That's the point, no one was even criticizing China, rather, merely commenting on what they are actually doing. And no one was lauding the US.
This thread didn't start out as a 'China vs US' bashfest, it was turned into one. THAT is what irked me.
BTW, my comment on the age of China was a response to what someone else was trying to insinuate. And you presume WAY too much. What makes you assume I'm american or am waving the flag of the righteous and free or whatever you seem to think?
Sheesh. People need to stop reading into things that simply are not there to be read in the first place.
Very interesting that this whole branch has been modded the way it has. The original post was not condemning China, it was merely indicating the way things are. No one said the US was any better in their own right.
And yet unless you outright bash the US, you get modded into oblivion.
Interesting.
And I'm no american, and have very little love for the politics and position of the US within the world.
Interesting.
Sure would be nice if the world was as black and white as/. moderators appear to think it is.
My SO just bought me a nice little tea infuser yesterday, came in a nice little package, nice little ceramic bowl as well, nicely painted even.
$3.99 CDN.
Normal price, not marked down at all.
That thing simply can NOT be made for that low a price, period. Can't be done. Let alone make a profit. Shit, I couldn't ship it to the other side of the world for that price.
Made in P.R.C.
I took it back and paid ~20 for one made closer to home. NOT because I wouldn't want my money going to China mind you, but because I don't believe in selling out our futures to benefit ourselves in the short term.
Given that we live in a capitalist society, we have the power to change these things, WAY more than any politicians do that is for certain.
There was nothing in that post that took a decidedly pro-american stance. The poster could easily be from any country in the free world.
The fact is that china puts a lot of energy into it's relationship with the US, and vice versa.
What China is doing, rather, what was presented as what China is doing, has no bearing on how good or evil the US is. There was no insinuation of what you suggest whatsoever.
Rather, I hear a massive anti-us stance in _your_ post.
And as someone else mentioned, China is orders of magnitude older than the US. Learn some history and politics before you start flinging excrement around, you're showing yourself for the monkey that you are inside. Use that brain of yours and elevate yourself above. Your post was WAY more guilty of doing exactly what you have accused the gp's post of doing.
That would be the problem. Of COURSE it's completely screwed up beyond comprehension, and yet, there it is. The court isn't listening to discussion on the validity of the patent itself even!!! The case is about enforcing this blatant steaming pile of a load of hooey they allowed to be patented!
This shit keeps up, and before you know it we'll be required to pay some stupid company every time we use a butter knife to spread jam on a slice of bread. What? Too obvious? Yeah, NO SHIT!!!
Patents are a good idea, but the system has been rendered so completely and utterly fubar that I really truly do not think it is even remotely salvageable.
The fact that this can even be patented is frankly asinine.
If it's not truly original, if it's just stacking a bunch of existing lego pieces together in another configuration, if it's blatantly obvious, then No Fucking Patent!
What I don't understand is why the court system doesn't get this, why it continues to foster this situation by allowing this crap to go on.
It's a fucking BUTTON.
It's NO different when it comes right down to it to walking into a store and buying something from the clerk.
INVENT something and I'll fully support your right to capitalize and prosper from it. Re-package the fucking wheel again, and try to gain the same protection, and you should have your head forcibly rammed as far up your ass as it will go, and then a bit more just to be sure.
No, you're right, never happened, total bullshit, no one would ever dream of doing such a thing.
I was not advocating that as being a 'Good Thing' as you inferred for whatever reason. But your viewpoint is naive and delusional at best. For some reason you chose to ignore my qualification of the morality involved...there is no argument there, taking out medics is Not Cool by any stretch of the imagination. But are you really suggesting that this never happens? Whatever helps you sleep at night.
Lets re-frame that in another example mmkay? Would you suggest that pedophiles don't exist because everyone knows better and no one would ever actually do such a thing? I certainly hope not, because if so, you're not doing anyone any favors whatsoever.
So anyways, what I was getting at which you completely ignored, is that using bots to replace medics would remove the possibility of medics being shot...whether you think that would actually happen or not.
In WWII it was commonplace for medics to ditch their emblems so that they wouldn't be such a high profile target.
There is no chivalry in modern warfare.
Think about it: Injured soldier on field, medic coming to rescue. Hmm, let him perform the rescue: Enemy has 2 soldiers. Shoot the medic: Enemy down 2 soldiers, and maybe they'll send another.
Um, forgive me, but how is the iPhone going to replace your MacBook? You use your MacBook as a phone? Or you mean you actually drag your laptop on the off chance that you'll run across wireless right at the moment you have an urge to look up some minutia online that couldn't wait until later?
Not trying to detract from your own personal scenario, just pointing out that the way you present that implies that you believe the iPhone is an actual laptop replacement, which is to put it bluntly, simply asinine.
I don't get this '5 button presses to call from phonebook' thing...that's whack. It takes me two, and it simply can't get any less than that. Just as fast as using voice dialing or speed dialing. (W850)
Phone Book Dialing: 'Down' opens phone book and selects first entry. 'Enter' calls. Voice Dialing: Click voice dial button...wait...say name. Speed dial: Hold appropriate speed dial button for a couple seconds.
All take about the same amount of time. Two require setup steps that are beyond a lot of users. (Though also very easy)
If I bought a phone that required 5 key presses to get into the phone book, I'd take it back. That's simply pathetic.
Um...just because they're icons on the screen (that change, move etc depending on context...not necessarily a 'useability' feature btw) doesn't mean it doesn't have buttons. FYI, those ARE the buttons.
At least you qualified that with the term 'potential'.
Number of buttons != useability, or lack thereof.
Blackberries have WAY more buttons, but if you're into using text features, that increases useability, not decreases.
IPod's have WAY less buttons, but if you're into just hitting play/stop, that increases useability.
Valid arguments, just want to counter the specific example of the W850, most other convergence phones and you'd have made a good point. The W850 however has an excellent UI. It would be hard NOT to figure out how to use the walkman or camera features, each has obvious dedicated buttons for this. It Just Works. I've had 3 friends/family members go out and get this phone after playing with mine for a couple of minutes because of the convergence features and the immediately obvious ease of use of these features.
Granted though, just about every other convergence phone I've tried is a useless brick hiding a checklist of 'features'. Times they are a changing though.
Playstation was never a 'vanity toy'. This is one of the worst and most contrived comparisons I've seen on/. I'm sure you realize that that is saying a lot.
Rather, the two are more like the antithesis of each other.
One is 'Ooh Look...Shiney!' The other is 'Ooh Look...Techy!'
And what was really being said, which you've really just managed to lay more credence to, is that 'Ooh Look...Shiney!' sells, and sells a lot, whereas 'Ooh Look...Techy!' is much more fickle.
Slashdot Mirror
Not entirely disagreeing, but how sure are you that plants are not capable of suffering?
I forgive you that as it's an easy abstraction to make...can't talk, can't cry, can't convey feelings to us in a way we understand...easy to turn a blind eye.
But do you actually _know_ this as fact?
On another slant, even if you're right, I guarantee you that suffering is caused by the destruction of forests, with no doubt whatsoever. Even if no tree or plant itself suffers. Everything else in that environment most certainly does.
It's a fair comparison IMHO.
Good points, and I do have to admit that vanilla oblivion has some serious drawbacks in the areas you mentioned.
However, as Obscuro's Oblivion Overhaul shows, the game could have been made open ended without being 'weird' about it. I admit that when I'm thinking of Oblivion, I'm always thinking of the game with OOO installed...which isn't fair as at this point, the bulk of people that have played Oblivion have no idea what this is as it isn't available on consoles, only on PC. Vanilla Oblivion while good, is seriously limited by these odd design decisions, whereas OOO plays like a true open ended RPG should. It's the closest I've ever seen a game come to a truly immersive RPG experience.
I really believe that if they hadn't nerfed the leveling the way they did, and they'd rather released something closer to OOO, it would simply be THE rpg to compare to in every way.
But since they didn't, I hope that no one ever releases another rpg that has the same or similar nerf factors designed into it. It really does leave a bad taste in the mouth to say the least.
My first experience with Oblivion was...not good really. It was so incredibly awesome, and then you get farther in the game and it's all ?wtf?...wasn't till almost a year later that I tried OOO and gave it another chance. Here's hoping Fallout3 doesn't include any 'features' that kill the sense of immersion so critical to a good rpg.
While I haven't the faintest why they threw Oblivion in there, they did NOT say 'If it's even half _like_ Oblivion'...they said 'If it's even half _as_good_as_ Oblivion'...big difference.
;)
:)
But you know that already I'm sure, just chose to ignore it so you could bitch about something
Hint: When tearing down stupid statements, stick to the stupid parts...there's no need to invent your own
Never underestimate the persistence of the pre-pubescent teen that has the ability to amuse themselves. Think 'fart sniffing' of the digital age.
;)
Yes, it's sad really. And nothing can be done to make them stop or go away. Respond, and you reinforce their immaturity. Don't respond and you reinforce their immaturity. Ignore and they'll try harder. Confront and they'll try harder still.
They're really just cries for 'mommy' after all. Poor lost souls
_whoosh_
Seriously, do you really think that I don't know that? Turn your sarcasm detector on would you?
Informative no less...bloody freaking obvious more like it.
No doubt.
Bunny hoppers are the easiest of targets. They endlessly define a curve of the same magnitude. Total predictability. If you can't figure out how to take down bunny hoppers...really now, try another game, and I'd suggest not a shooter.
Flamebait? I think the mods are the ones smoking the stuff, sheesh. Someone revoke that moderators privileges, total abuse there.
;)
Poster was actually completely on topic...though obviously too stoned to remember to provide any reasonable details. Maybe they'll fill in the blanks when they come down
Links:
http://www.hempplastic.com/
http://www.treehugger.com/
http://www.hempmuseum.org/
Just for starters.
No, you used 'if' so you could have some lame way of backing out of your subsequent diatribe. You don't ask someone if they are something, and then continue on with chastising them before even knowing the answer, which is what you did. You WANTED me to be an american so you could chastise me...if that were not the case, you would not have done so.
'If' was merely conditional to your wanting to have some way of weaseling out of being a dick, but as you are fully aware, changed nothing about what you fully intended to direct at myself.
That's the point, no one was even criticizing China, rather, merely commenting on what they are actually doing. And no one was lauding the US.
This thread didn't start out as a 'China vs US' bashfest, it was turned into one. THAT is what irked me.
BTW, my comment on the age of China was a response to what someone else was trying to insinuate. And you presume WAY too much. What makes you assume I'm american or am waving the flag of the righteous and free or whatever you seem to think?
Sheesh. People need to stop reading into things that simply are not there to be read in the first place.
Very interesting that this whole branch has been modded the way it has.
/. moderators appear to think it is.
The original post was not condemning China, it was merely indicating the way things are. No one said the US was any better in their own right.
And yet unless you outright bash the US, you get modded into oblivion.
Interesting.
And I'm no american, and have very little love for the politics and position of the US within the world.
Interesting.
Sure would be nice if the world was as black and white as
Plainly, things are FUBAR. Irreparably IMHO.
Actually, to be fair, not made a lot closer to home physically.
Ten Thousand Villages
I know that by buying through ten thousand villages, that the people that actually made this item got paid for the work they put into it.
My SO just bought me a nice little tea infuser yesterday, came in a nice little package, nice little ceramic bowl as well, nicely painted even.
$3.99 CDN.
Normal price, not marked down at all.
That thing simply can NOT be made for that low a price, period. Can't be done. Let alone make a profit. Shit, I couldn't ship it to the other side of the world for that price.
Made in P.R.C.
I took it back and paid ~20 for one made closer to home. NOT because I wouldn't want my money going to China mind you, but because I don't believe in selling out our futures to benefit ourselves in the short term.
Given that we live in a capitalist society, we have the power to change these things, WAY more than any politicians do that is for certain.
Don't bitch about it, DO something about it.
There was nothing in that post that took a decidedly pro-american stance. The poster could easily be from any country in the free world.
The fact is that china puts a lot of energy into it's relationship with the US, and vice versa.
What China is doing, rather, what was presented as what China is doing, has no bearing on how good or evil the US is. There was no insinuation of what you suggest whatsoever.
Rather, I hear a massive anti-us stance in _your_ post.
And as someone else mentioned, China is orders of magnitude older than the US. Learn some history and politics before you start flinging excrement around, you're showing yourself for the monkey that you are inside. Use that brain of yours and elevate yourself above. Your post was WAY more guilty of doing exactly what you have accused the gp's post of doing.
That would be the problem. Of COURSE it's completely screwed up beyond comprehension, and yet, there it is. The court isn't listening to discussion on the validity of the patent itself even!!! The case is about enforcing this blatant steaming pile of a load of hooey they allowed to be patented!
This shit keeps up, and before you know it we'll be required to pay some stupid company every time we use a butter knife to spread jam on a slice of bread. What? Too obvious? Yeah, NO SHIT!!!
Patents are a good idea, but the system has been rendered so completely and utterly fubar that I really truly do not think it is even remotely salvageable.
How about simple rules for obviousness?
The fact that this can even be patented is frankly asinine.
If it's not truly original, if it's just stacking a bunch of existing lego pieces together in another configuration, if it's blatantly obvious, then No Fucking Patent!
What I don't understand is why the court system doesn't get this, why it continues to foster this situation by allowing this crap to go on.
It's a fucking BUTTON.
It's NO different when it comes right down to it to walking into a store and buying something from the clerk.
INVENT something and I'll fully support your right to capitalize and prosper from it. Re-package the fucking wheel again, and try to gain the same protection, and you should have your head forcibly rammed as far up your ass as it will go, and then a bit more just to be sure.
No, you're right, never happened, total bullshit, no one would ever dream of doing such a thing.
I was not advocating that as being a 'Good Thing' as you inferred for whatever reason. But your viewpoint is naive and delusional at best. For some reason you chose to ignore my qualification of the morality involved...there is no argument there, taking out medics is Not Cool by any stretch of the imagination. But are you really suggesting that this never happens? Whatever helps you sleep at night.
Lets re-frame that in another example mmkay? Would you suggest that pedophiles don't exist because everyone knows better and no one would ever actually do such a thing? I certainly hope not, because if so, you're not doing anyone any favors whatsoever.
So anyways, what I was getting at which you completely ignored, is that using bots to replace medics would remove the possibility of medics being shot...whether you think that would actually happen or not.
Or...it'll be worse.
From what I can tell, you'll have to select the 'phone' icon first...THEN you have to dig through contacts.
Just speculation of course as I don't have one here in my hands to try it with.
In WWII it was commonplace for medics to ditch their emblems so that they wouldn't be such a high profile target.
There is no chivalry in modern warfare.
Think about it: Injured soldier on field, medic coming to rescue. Hmm, let him perform the rescue: Enemy has 2 soldiers. Shoot the medic: Enemy down 2 soldiers, and maybe they'll send another.
It's morally deplorable, but so is war.
No, he wasn't Canadian either actually.
Um, forgive me, but how is the iPhone going to replace your MacBook? You use your MacBook as a phone? Or you mean you actually drag your laptop on the off chance that you'll run across wireless right at the moment you have an urge to look up some minutia online that couldn't wait until later?
Not trying to detract from your own personal scenario, just pointing out that the way you present that implies that you believe the iPhone is an actual laptop replacement, which is to put it bluntly, simply asinine.
I don't get this '5 button presses to call from phonebook' thing...that's whack. It takes me two, and it simply can't get any less than that. Just as fast as using voice dialing or speed dialing. (W850)
Phone Book Dialing: 'Down' opens phone book and selects first entry. 'Enter' calls.
Voice Dialing: Click voice dial button...wait...say name.
Speed dial: Hold appropriate speed dial button for a couple seconds.
All take about the same amount of time. Two require setup steps that are beyond a lot of users. (Though also very easy)
If I bought a phone that required 5 key presses to get into the phone book, I'd take it back. That's simply pathetic.
Um...just because they're icons on the screen (that change, move etc depending on context...not necessarily a 'useability' feature btw) doesn't mean it doesn't have buttons. FYI, those ARE the buttons.
At least you qualified that with the term 'potential'.
Number of buttons != useability, or lack thereof.
Blackberries have WAY more buttons, but if you're into using text features, that increases useability, not decreases.
IPod's have WAY less buttons, but if you're into just hitting play/stop, that increases useability.
Right tool for the job and all that.
Valid arguments, just want to counter the specific example of the W850, most other convergence phones and you'd have made a good point. The W850 however has an excellent UI. It would be hard NOT to figure out how to use the walkman or camera features, each has obvious dedicated buttons for this. It Just Works. I've had 3 friends/family members go out and get this phone after playing with mine for a couple of minutes because of the convergence features and the immediately obvious ease of use of these features.
Granted though, just about every other convergence phone I've tried is a useless brick hiding a checklist of 'features'. Times they are a changing though.
Playstation was never a 'vanity toy'. This is one of the worst and most contrived comparisons I've seen on /. I'm sure you realize that that is saying a lot.
Rather, the two are more like the antithesis of each other.
One is 'Ooh Look...Shiney!'
The other is 'Ooh Look...Techy!'
And what was really being said, which you've really just managed to lay more credence to, is that 'Ooh Look...Shiney!' sells, and sells a lot, whereas 'Ooh Look...Techy!' is much more fickle.