I believe there are a few hoaxes in the list. One I found was the "Tourist Guy" in September 2001 - yes, I'm morbid and went to check on 9/11 first to see if the horrible manufactured picture of the smoke from the Towers that looked like a demon face was there... that thing gave me nightmares for months.
This discussion has been going on for ages. We all know that spam costs money. Realistically, however, I think there is very little that can be done about it, given the amount of freedom we all have. Everything that would impede spammers would also infringe upon the liberties of the general net-using citizen.
So what to do? Report the spammers to the originating ISP and hope they'll have to find a new home.
Note: I agree with the person who suggested the new icon for spam articles. Three vikings singing "spam" would be appropriate.
... to read the legalese in these User Agreements carefully. I don't know about anyone else, but I often just click "I agree" to avoid having to read through 20 pages of badly written pseudo-English that mostly looks like it's an extremely verbose version of a copyright symbol.
I'm getting slightly nervous here... what have I agreed to so far?! Call my lawyer!
If people start over-clocking these babies, we'll need good ventilation. Can you imagine the discussions? "Dude, my motherboard melted all over my hard drive."
Or recylcing plants... Green for bottles, blue for cans, yellow for disposed circuitry.
Being opposed to cloning stems from the same feeling as an Amish being opposed to medical technology. As with al technology, it can be used positively or negatively, but being opposed to it altogether is absurd. This is a young science with huge potential.
Are there any reports that the price of the Dreamcast + accessories will go down now its successor has been announced? May also be likely because they seem to be in overproduction. Any news?
* This is a bit absurd, no? Napster allowed users to share files without paying the record companies. Now they will charge users for sharing files without paying the record companies.
* $10 for a (theoretically) unlimited amount of files is a good deal, but there has to be a cut for the recording . If not, the only thing that's changed is that we can call it "paid piracy".
* I can't see Lars Ulrich from Metallica get any happier over this.
* If they're going to start charging for their services, they'd better start working on some decent customer service. With the thousands of users on Napster, somebody is bound to have questions and expect answers. If you pay for something and it doesn't work, you deserve an answer.
* I imagine much higher activity on the mp3 channels on IRC...
Re:Quest for the Frontier
on
The Challenger
·
· Score: 1
If you read back, you'll see I didn't make any judgement about the conquest of the Western frontier. I was just making an analogy and trying to make the point that exploration will always be a risk for the explorers.
For the record, I'm not American myself and I agree with what you are saying. The conquest of the West came dangerously close to genocide on the part of the settlers. But that wasn't the point I was trying to make in this context.
Did it kill the space program? I don't believe so. There are still shuttle flights on a regular basis. Why?
The quest for the Frontier has always been an American trend. The first settlers crossed the ocean, then started heading west from the East Coast, constantly pushing the frontier west. Now the new frontier is space.
As always, when a frontier is challenged, there are casualties. Weather, adverse conditions, indigenous people, ingrown toe-nails, and in this case, the failure of technology. In the end, these are all sacrifices in the name of progress and discovery.
I remember when it happened, and I was stunned and speechless. But as in all explorations, there will be sacrifices. We can only thank them and remember.
With just 2 items. I was 10 at the time.
Item 1. A stamp. Yes, I collected stamps when I was a kid. Some collectable stamps are pretty big. I sent an oversize stamp (about as big as a postcard), wrote the address on the back and stuck a little stamp to the upper right corner. It arrived as well.
Item 2. A matchbox. I couldn't fit the address on the thing so I wrote "LOOK INSIDE" on one end and put the stamp on the other. Inside I put a note with the address. It actually arrived but the mailman had a talk with my parents.
Item 2. A stamp. Yes, I collected stamps when I was a kid. Some collectable stamps are pretty big. I sent an oversize stamp (about as big as a postcard), wrote the address on the back and stuck a little stamp to the upper right corner. It arrived as well.
First of all, I don't believe there is anything wrong with auctioning a character or item from games like Everquest. It's a free country. If someone wants to pay for it, and it doesn't hurt anyone, go ahead and sell it.
But... Does it hurt someone? As a former EQ player, I know first-hand how irritating it was to try and get a certain item, but be unable to do so because it's being "camped" - basically some powerful characters waiting around to grab the item, not allowing other players to get it.
I believe that online rpg's like Everquest get hurt the most by some of their players. There's always some people who ruin the experience for others by being obnoxious in some way. The true role-players would not wait around at a spawn site to grab a bunch of items... and they would probably not auction them off either.
So here's my mixed feelings --- there's nothing wrong with auctioning off these items, but from personal experience, the people doing this are usually the ones who hurt the game experience the most.
Ultimately this will probably be influenced by the type of computer game one is playing.
Personal experience: I've learned a lot from certain games. When I was a freshman, I had only very vague notions of economic principles. The original Railroad Tycoon and SimCity on my rusty 486 made me familiar with some basic concepts, like bonds etc. I can't say playing Doom did anything for me (except give me motion sickness). Similarly, the original Civilization was very informative in terms of history. (BTW, thank you to the person who posted the FreeCiv link!)
Apart from knowledge gathering, I'm sure games also help with things like abstract thinking, reactive speed, visual imagination, strategy in general,... It can be a work-out for your brain. Everyone who plays chess will know how your sharpness deteriorates if you don't play for a while, much like your body condition disappears when you stop working out. It's a platitude, but the brain is a muscle.
Slashdot Mirror
I believe there are a few hoaxes in the list. One I found was the "Tourist Guy" in September 2001 - yes, I'm morbid and went to check on 9/11 first to see if the horrible manufactured picture of the smoke from the Towers that looked like a demon face was there... that thing gave me nightmares for months.
Anyway, the answer is yes.
This discussion has been going on for ages. We all know that spam costs money. Realistically, however, I think there is very little that can be done about it, given the amount of freedom we all have. Everything that would impede spammers would also infringe upon the liberties of the general net-using citizen.
So what to do? Report the spammers to the originating ISP and hope they'll have to find a new home.
Note: I agree with the person who suggested the new icon for spam articles. Three vikings singing "spam" would be appropriate.
... to read the legalese in these User Agreements carefully. I don't know about anyone else, but I often just click "I agree" to avoid having to read through 20 pages of badly written pseudo-English that mostly looks like it's an extremely verbose version of a copyright symbol.
... what have I agreed to so far?! Call my lawyer!
I'm getting slightly nervous here
If people start over-clocking these babies, we'll need good ventilation. Can you imagine the discussions? "Dude, my motherboard melted all over my hard drive." ... Green for bottles, blue for cans, yellow for disposed circuitry.
Or recylcing plants
Being opposed to cloning stems from the same feeling as an Amish being opposed to medical technology. As with al technology, it can be used positively or negatively, but being opposed to it altogether is absurd. This is a young science with huge potential.
Are there any reports that the price of the Dreamcast + accessories will go down now its successor has been announced? May also be likely because they seem to be in overproduction. Any news?
* This is a bit absurd, no? Napster allowed users to share files without paying the record companies. Now they will charge users for sharing files without paying the record companies.
* $10 for a (theoretically) unlimited amount of files is a good deal, but there has to be a cut for the recording . If not, the only thing that's changed is that we can call it "paid piracy".
* I can't see Lars Ulrich from Metallica get any happier over this.
* If they're going to start charging for their services, they'd better start working on some decent customer service. With the thousands of users on Napster, somebody is bound to have questions and expect answers. If you pay for something and it doesn't work, you deserve an answer.
* I imagine much higher activity on the mp3 channels on IRC...
If you read back, you'll see I didn't make any judgement about the conquest of the Western frontier. I was just making an analogy and trying to make the point that exploration will always be a risk for the explorers.
For the record, I'm not American myself and I agree with what you are saying. The conquest of the West came dangerously close to genocide on the part of the settlers. But that wasn't the point I was trying to make in this context.
Did it kill the space program? I don't believe so. There are still shuttle flights on a regular basis. Why?
The quest for the Frontier has always been an American trend. The first settlers crossed the ocean, then started heading west from the East Coast, constantly pushing the frontier west. Now the new frontier is space.
As always, when a frontier is challenged, there are casualties. Weather, adverse conditions, indigenous people, ingrown toe-nails, and in this case, the failure of technology. In the end, these are all sacrifices in the name of progress and discovery.
I remember when it happened, and I was stunned and speechless. But as in all explorations, there will be sacrifices. We can only thank them and remember.
With just 2 items. I was 10 at the time. Item 1. A stamp. Yes, I collected stamps when I was a kid. Some collectable stamps are pretty big. I sent an oversize stamp (about as big as a postcard), wrote the address on the back and stuck a little stamp to the upper right corner. It arrived as well. Item 2. A matchbox. I couldn't fit the address on the thing so I wrote "LOOK INSIDE" on one end and put the stamp on the other. Inside I put a note with the address. It actually arrived but the mailman had a talk with my parents. Item 2. A stamp. Yes, I collected stamps when I was a kid. Some collectable stamps are pretty big. I sent an oversize stamp (about as big as a postcard), wrote the address on the back and stuck a little stamp to the upper right corner. It arrived as well.
First of all, I don't believe there is anything wrong with auctioning a character or item from games like Everquest. It's a free country. If someone wants to pay for it, and it doesn't hurt anyone, go ahead and sell it. But ... Does it hurt someone? As a former EQ player, I know first-hand how irritating it was to try and get a certain item, but be unable to do so because it's being "camped" - basically some powerful characters waiting around to grab the item, not allowing other players to get it.
I believe that online rpg's like Everquest get hurt the most by some of their players. There's always some people who ruin the experience for others by being obnoxious in some way. The true role-players would not wait around at a spawn site to grab a bunch of items ... and they would probably not auction them off either.
So here's my mixed feelings --- there's nothing wrong with auctioning off these items, but from personal experience, the people doing this are usually the ones who hurt the game experience the most.
Ultimately this will probably be influenced by the type of computer game one is playing. Personal experience: I've learned a lot from certain games. When I was a freshman, I had only very vague notions of economic principles. The original Railroad Tycoon and SimCity on my rusty 486 made me familiar with some basic concepts, like bonds etc. I can't say playing Doom did anything for me (except give me motion sickness). Similarly, the original Civilization was very informative in terms of history. (BTW, thank you to the person who posted the FreeCiv link!) Apart from knowledge gathering, I'm sure games also help with things like abstract thinking, reactive speed, visual imagination, strategy in general, ... It can be a work-out for your brain. Everyone who plays chess will know how your sharpness deteriorates if you don't play for a while, much like your body condition disappears when you stop working out. It's a platitude, but the brain is a muscle.