Out of the 800 some subpoenas filed. Someone in that ever growing group is bound to have enough money or know someone famous that will assist and help them stand up for themselves. Unfortunately most of the people are probably high school or college kids or people just trying to get by in life. If I were in the group and forced to settle, part of the settlement agreement would have to be that I'm allowed to talk about what happened to me in public. Embarrass the hell out of the RIAA. Go on as many talk shows and radio shows as possible. If they can't fight them in the courts then use the media.
Technically torrents aren't illegal. There is nothing wrong with the small torrent file. The RIAA doesn't own that. That is all these sites are offering up. I think the only thing they could get them on is naming the files copywrited names but still even that is thin.
So I wonder how many years that old guy who injured 55 and killed 9 people including a 3 year old is going to get? If its less than 5 years maybe I'll just start running people over with my car instead of downloading music. They are going to get me somehow, might as well make it worth their time.
What gives the RIAA the right to scan my stuff anyways? They are not welcome and yet they can get past my firewall and see what I'm sharing. I think having security in Kazaa to not allow certain people in is a good thing. Change it to be able to block by IP or name or whatever. It just so happens that they currently don't want the RIAA in.
Thats the ugliest thing I've ever seen. Special edition hardware usually looks pretty sweet, but I wouldn't want one of those (well except to sell it on ebay to all the suckers).
"Nintendo should start making online games for the PC. They're quality game makers and they need to crawl out from under the console-only rock."
A console game is great for consoles but falls flat on the PC. The same thing going the other way. They are 2 totally different environments with different crowds. Its always been that way and I don't see that changing.
"Imagine a game as chaotic and infinitely fun as Super Smash Brothers or Goldeneye 007 in a MMO scene and tell me that wouldn't be badass."
Those are really good games but stuff like that just doesn't last in the online world. It may be fun for the first few weeks online but then it gets boring. That might just be me though. They haven't found something that really grabs peoples interests yet. Something that will really keep the money coming in.
"They want a good fighting game. Something quick and dirty to pass the time between the erratic work/college shifts."
The big problem with that is time. The people who DO have the time to sitdown and put together a group of people to play an online game is very very small compared to the people who play solo. Its a niche market.
Online gaming needs to be:
1. Easy. Easy to setup, easy to login, easy to use. 2. Fast. No lag. No downtime. It just needs to work. 3. No cheaters. Big problem. This one will probably never be solved. 4. Cross platform. Everyone is trying to do their own thing and noones console will talk with the other consoles for online gaming. Imagine being able to play a game with players using all the major consoles as well as PC to play together. I used to play doom on my mac against those using windows just fine in the 'old days' so why can't different consoles talk to eachother?
The console public really is not ready for online gaming. Online gaming in general is a really neat sounding idea, but its just not what its cracked up to be. No one wants to pay 40-50 for the game then also have to pay a monthly fee to play online on top of their internet costs.
The analyst is wrong. Game consoles are NOT home entertainment devices, they are game consoles. Everyone who has tried to make them more than that have failed in the extras. PS2 dvd player isn't very good. XBox DVD player you had to pay extra to get the remove and abilities. No one is going to want to surf the web on their game console.
So from everything you've listed it sounds like you are basically saying you can live with the exploits because they make you more powerful instead of playing fair.
A cheat is a cheat, whether its an exploit of a bug or a hack doesn't matter.
"Every fast board I see has integrated sound and other crap."
You can turn off the integrated stuff via the bios. I'm looking at one that has gigabit ethernet and will be using that. I'm going to disable the onboard sound though. Usually mb makers make one board with video and one board without because most people don't want onboard video.
"You might have been able to do it, but you also might have just fed into the MS myth of "everybody pirates our stuff"."
Or you can believe the slashdot myth that all things microsoft are crap and evil. We all believe what we want, some people though are so blinded they believe the wrong things.
I got my xp pro full version for $49 from microsoft. It was available to anyone that wanted it, you just needed to know where to look. Or you can get an OEM disk for cheap, just buy a keyboard or a cheap HD with it to qualify.
No benchmark is relevent, they are all just marketing tools to sell more systems. They are all rigged to support one side or the other. Buy what you want because you want it, not because some software somewhere spits out a number thats higher than some other number.
I was recently at one of the libraries at Florida State and all the computers setup up front with internet access had mozilla setup as their default web browser.
Bah. The last really good star wars based game was tie fighter. Jedi Knight 2 was entertaining but not as good as tie fighter as far as universe tie in.
Ever since then (including the movies) its been "milk the franchise for as much money as possible forgetting about quality products".
Another very important question, probably the most important question is how much. My guess is in the 3k range.
I also wonder who their supplier of serial ata hard drives is and where their serial ata controller sits on the mb (pci bus? on the chipset?).
I would love one but only if it were 1500 or less for the 2ghz model seeing as how I can build a 2.8ghz hyperthreading p4 computer with a gig of dual channel ddr (and all the matching specs except with only firewire 400) for about 1500.
What other possible uses does this device have though besides copy carts and dumping roms onto blank carts? In which both are illegal. You don't need to backup your game carts. I don't know anyone since the days of atari that had a video game cart just spontaneously go bad on them.
"It's possible that the relatively low incomes that the working and middle classes in USA have, have lead to Minidisc players being too expensive for most people and their kids."
Its not about money. They weren't marketed here. It was all about the CD. You had to be aware of other technology to even know that the minidisc existed. Prerecorded discs were nonexistant also compared to shelf space given to cd's. I have a home deck and a portable and its great. I don't even have a cd player hooked up anymore. I use my digital out of my dvd player to record any new cd onto minidisc and also rip the cd into mp3 on my pc. Then put the cd away.
"Wouldn't a top-loading system continue to cause problems with this for you? At best your console would have to be on top of the stack or on it's own shelf with easy access to the top of the unit."
Yeah, thats the downside. But we all know they won't make a console look like other hometheater stuff. I know with the gamecube i need to make sure I've got clearance above it, but as far as ease of use and reliability I still think top loading works better. No motors, no electric buttons, just a purely mechanical switch and a spring.
"So, don't make customers pay for things some don't want/use/need, but make sure the DVD player's a good one and doesn't require anything else to play DVDs"
I think more people will want to use it to play dvd's than going online or for multiple tv's or want wireless controllers. I have my own dvd player and won't ever use a console to play dvd's, but the added cost of being able to play dvd's can't be anything since games already will use that ability to some extent. Its already there so why force someone to buy a remote to access it when it can just as easily be controlled from the controller. If they want something better then buy the remote.
I wouldn't buy it if it had wireless controllers. That is an extra purchase, don't make people pay for it to get the console. Just have the controllers have extra long cables. I'd also say ditch the 2 tv-outputs. If you want, build it into the hardware and make a different cable that people have to buy that takes advantage of it. Again, don't make people pay for something that very few people ever do. I don't like tray loading players for game systems. Too easy to knock into it or break it. Top loading is the best and probably is the best use of space since the top door doesn't need to be very thick or take up much plastic. But with a drawer you have that entire drawer mechanism that you have to build around. Make it look like the rest of my home theater stuff. Right now I have a separate shelf for the game systems because they don't go with anything else that I have and don't fit nicely on the shelves because of their odd sizes and shapes. If you are going to support dvd playing, make it a progressive dvd player and make it work out of the box. No more nickle and dimeing the customer to buy a remote in order to play dvd's.
I don't care about online console play, as much as the game companies think it will, it'll never take off.
Slashdot Mirror
Out of the 800 some subpoenas filed. Someone in that ever growing group is bound to have enough money or know someone famous that will assist and help them stand up for themselves. Unfortunately most of the people are probably high school or college kids or people just trying to get by in life. If I were in the group and forced to settle, part of the settlement agreement would have to be that I'm allowed to talk about what happened to me in public. Embarrass the hell out of the RIAA. Go on as many talk shows and radio shows as possible. If they can't fight them in the courts then use the media.
But I guess eating, putting on makeup, searching through cd's, reading the paper, and disciplining your kids while driving are all ok. Right?
Technically torrents aren't illegal. There is nothing wrong with the small torrent file. The RIAA doesn't own that. That is all these sites are offering up. I think the only thing they could get them on is naming the files copywrited names but still even that is thin.
So I wonder how many years that old guy who injured 55 and killed 9 people including a 3 year old is going to get? If its less than 5 years maybe I'll just start running people over with my car instead of downloading music. They are going to get me somehow, might as well make it worth their time.
What gives the RIAA the right to scan my stuff anyways? They are not welcome and yet they can get past my firewall and see what I'm sharing. I think having security in Kazaa to not allow certain people in is a good thing. Change it to be able to block by IP or name or whatever. It just so happens that they currently don't want the RIAA in.
Thats the ugliest thing I've ever seen. Special edition hardware usually looks pretty sweet, but I wouldn't want one of those (well except to sell it on ebay to all the suckers).
I was just saying to a friend Monday, wondering when the first story was going to come out blaming video games or movies...I was 2 days early.
it doesn't cost you or I anything to get snail-mail. It just shows up. But it costs us money to get spam. We are paying for that internet connection.
"Nintendo should start making online games for the PC. They're quality game makers and they need to crawl out from under the console-only rock."
A console game is great for consoles but falls flat on the PC. The same thing going the other way. They are 2 totally different environments with different crowds. Its always been that way and I don't see that changing.
"Imagine a game as chaotic and infinitely fun as Super Smash Brothers or Goldeneye 007 in a MMO scene and tell me that wouldn't be badass."
Those are really good games but stuff like that just doesn't last in the online world. It may be fun for the first few weeks online but then it gets boring. That might just be me though. They haven't found something that really grabs peoples interests yet. Something that will really keep the money coming in.
"They want a good fighting game. Something quick and dirty to pass the time between the erratic work/college shifts."
The big problem with that is time. The people who DO have the time to sitdown and put together a group of people to play an online game is very very small compared to the people who play solo. Its a niche market.
Online gaming needs to be:
1. Easy. Easy to setup, easy to login, easy to use.
2. Fast. No lag. No downtime. It just needs to work.
3. No cheaters. Big problem. This one will probably never be solved.
4. Cross platform. Everyone is trying to do their own thing and noones console will talk with the other consoles for online gaming. Imagine being able to play a game with players using all the major consoles as well as PC to play together. I used to play doom on my mac against those using windows just fine in the 'old days' so why can't different consoles talk to eachother?
The console public really is not ready for online gaming. Online gaming in general is a really neat sounding idea, but its just not what its cracked up to be. No one wants to pay 40-50 for the game then also have to pay a monthly fee to play online on top of their internet costs.
The analyst is wrong. Game consoles are NOT home entertainment devices, they are game consoles. Everyone who has tried to make them more than that have failed in the extras. PS2 dvd player isn't very good. XBox DVD player you had to pay extra to get the remove and abilities. No one is going to want to surf the web on their game console.
So from everything you've listed it sounds like you are basically saying you can live with the exploits because they make you more powerful instead of playing fair.
A cheat is a cheat, whether its an exploit of a bug or a hack doesn't matter.
"Every fast board I see has integrated sound and other crap."
You can turn off the integrated stuff via the bios. I'm looking at one that has gigabit ethernet and will be using that. I'm going to disable the onboard sound though. Usually mb makers make one board with video and one board without because most people don't want onboard video.
"You might have been able to do it, but you also might have just fed into the MS myth of "everybody pirates our stuff"."
Or you can believe the slashdot myth that all things microsoft are crap and evil. We all believe what we want, some people though are so blinded they believe the wrong things.
I got my xp pro full version for $49 from microsoft. It was available to anyone that wanted it, you just needed to know where to look. Or you can get an OEM disk for cheap, just buy a keyboard or a cheap HD with it to qualify.
Can I get an OEM MacOSX cd?
Probably but it won't run half life 2, because its not being ported to the mac (last I heard) :)
No benchmark is relevent, they are all just marketing tools to sell more systems. They are all rigged to support one side or the other. Buy what you want because you want it, not because some software somewhere spits out a number thats higher than some other number.
I was recently at one of the libraries at Florida State and all the computers setup up front with internet access had mozilla setup as their default web browser.
Bah. The last really good star wars based game was tie fighter. Jedi Knight 2 was entertaining but not as good as tie fighter as far as universe tie in.
Ever since then (including the movies) its been "milk the franchise for as much money as possible forgetting about quality products".
it gets to a certain point though where speed really doesn't matter anymore. people love benchmarks, but there are other things to consider.
i'm just saying the hardware doesn't matter much anymore, its more about what you can run on it.
Another very important question, probably the most important question is how much. My guess is in the 3k range.
I also wonder who their supplier of serial ata hard drives is and where their serial ata controller sits on the mb (pci bus? on the chipset?).
I would love one but only if it were 1500 or less for the 2ghz model seeing as how I can build a 2.8ghz hyperthreading p4 computer with a gig of dual channel ddr (and all the matching specs except with only firewire 400) for about 1500.
What other possible uses does this device have though besides copy carts and dumping roms onto blank carts? In which both are illegal. You don't need to backup your game carts. I don't know anyone since the days of atari that had a video game cart just spontaneously go bad on them.
Mario Allstars was an awesome compilation cart and I would buy it again to play it on my SP. But I'll definitely be there to buy this mario!
"It's possible that the relatively low incomes that the working and middle classes in USA have, have lead to Minidisc players being too expensive for most people and their kids."
Its not about money. They weren't marketed here. It was all about the CD. You had to be aware of other technology to even know that the minidisc existed. Prerecorded discs were nonexistant also compared to shelf space given to cd's. I have a home deck and a portable and its great. I don't even have a cd player hooked up anymore. I use my digital out of my dvd player to record any new cd onto minidisc and also rip the cd into mp3 on my pc. Then put the cd away.
"Wouldn't a top-loading system continue to cause problems with this for you? At best your console would have to be on top of the stack or on it's own shelf with easy access to the top of the unit."
Yeah, thats the downside. But we all know they won't make a console look like other hometheater stuff. I know with the gamecube i need to make sure I've got clearance above it, but as far as ease of use and reliability I still think top loading works better. No motors, no electric buttons, just a purely mechanical switch and a spring.
"So, don't make customers pay for things some don't want/use/need, but make sure the DVD player's a good one and doesn't require anything else to play DVDs"
I think more people will want to use it to play dvd's than going online or for multiple tv's or want wireless controllers. I have my own dvd player and won't ever use a console to play dvd's, but the added cost of being able to play dvd's can't be anything since games already will use that ability to some extent. Its already there so why force someone to buy a remote to access it when it can just as easily be controlled from the controller. If they want something better then buy the remote.
I wouldn't buy it if it had wireless controllers. That is an extra purchase, don't make people pay for it to get the console. Just have the controllers have extra long cables. I'd also say ditch the 2 tv-outputs. If you want, build it into the hardware and make a different cable that people have to buy that takes advantage of it. Again, don't make people pay for something that very few people ever do. I don't like tray loading players for game systems. Too easy to knock into it or break it. Top loading is the best and probably is the best use of space since the top door doesn't need to be very thick or take up much plastic. But with a drawer you have that entire drawer mechanism that you have to build around. Make it look like the rest of my home theater stuff. Right now I have a separate shelf for the game systems because they don't go with anything else that I have and don't fit nicely on the shelves because of their odd sizes and shapes. If you are going to support dvd playing, make it a progressive dvd player and make it work out of the box. No more nickle and dimeing the customer to buy a remote in order to play dvd's.
I don't care about online console play, as much as the game companies think it will, it'll never take off.