I'm not entirely clear what new conclusions these people have reached. I was under the impression that there was always some question about the Wow Signal for exactly the reasons mentioned.
I was always under the impression that the Nintendo Seal of Quality was pure BS. Back when I was a kid, I suggested to one of my friends (an avid reader of Nintendo Power) that he buy Afterburner for his NES. (Yes, there was a NES Afterburner cartridge, as far as I can remember:). At any rate, he says to me something to the point of, "But it doesn't have the Nintendo Seal of Quality."
Well of course it doesn't. Sega made it, and at the time, they were Nintendo's biggest competition. I had no doubts about the quality of Afterburner as a game, at least in comparison to every other NES title out there at the time. It seems to me that the Seal of Quality was mainly just a way to keep unlicensed cartridges from selling. Go figure.
...just heavily edited. I'm guessing a lot more was said than what was printed, and they just trimmed it down to the parts that were +5 Funny and +5 Insightful. The full transcript is probably twenty times that length -- and it wouldn't be interesting for anyone to read.
Gloom, Doom, and Reality
on
Trusted Computing
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
Wow, that's quite a scary picture. And while it's admittedly possible that things could turn that way, I'll go out on a limb and say that it's fairly unlikely.
Take Digital Rights Management, for instance. People put up with it for a little while, until they try to listen to their songs on something other than their own computer -- then they suddenly realize that DRM in fact sucks donkey ass.
Buying a Palladium-enabled computer will be like buying a car with a top speed of 65 miles per hour. The fact is, everyone bends the law a little bit from time to time... and a reasonable police officer won't pull you over for doing 68 in a 65. It's just not that big of a deal. Likewise, if someone (God forbid!) decides to install the same copy of Word on two different computers in their house, it's not likely that the FBI will come knocking on their door for a license violation.
When Joe User runs into stupid problems like "Error! This computer sucks and therefore refuses to play this music file" or "Error! This computer sucks and refuses to allow you to install this program", he'll start getting pissy. He'll tell his friends not to buy any of these "trusted" computers, and pretty soon, everyone's buying computers and software that don't have this sort of crap built in.
This of course won't stop big companies and big government from trying to restrict things, but the chance that they'll succeed is actually fairly small. I don't see DRM ever completely dissappearing from the radar, but I'm gussing that it'll remain what it is right now -- an annoyance.
Whatever happened to that list of candidates that SETI@HOME found? Have those been thoroughly investigated yet? If not, when are they planning to do so? I remember hearing that they were going to have a look at them, but I don't recall when that was going to be.
Contact your senators and representatives, at the very least by email, instead of harassing the judge who made the decision (no matter what your opinion of him). The directories are here:
I tried it, yes. It was, as FF games go, mediocre in my opinion (well above average, but not my favorite FF game). That said, I'm curious what you think I think is wrong with it.:)
I don't like FF7 much myself (I prefer 6, 8, and 10), but that doesn't mean it deserved every drop of hype it received. Yes, it lacked a certain amount of polish; but that was largely because at the time it was probably the most ambitious game ever made. In fact, I would go so far as to say that later FF games were slightly less ambitious, if perhaps more polished.
Rough edges aside, though, it certainly wasn't overrated.
...have you tried telling them to put you on their "do not call" list? If they call you again after that, call the police and report them for harassing you over the telephone. If they continue to call you, the police should be able to trace the number.
If they sue her, then they'll have the PR nightmare of suing a poor 12-year-old girl living with a single mom.
If they drop the case, then all of the other people they're suing will (quite publicly) ask: "How come it's okay if a 12-year-old does it, but not if I do?" Because really, if it's unjust to do it to a 12-year-old girl, it's unjust to do it to anyone. Little girls just catch the public eye more because they're sympathetic characters.
It's a lose-lose situation for the RIAA. I love it.:)
More interestingly, is how are they going to deal with someone browsing a website anonymously, and then loggin into their account, and seeing a different price?
That's easy.
They list the highest (non-discounted) price they could possibly charge for the item, and then tell you that you may receive a discount if you join their site and log in. In this manner, not only can they target you with personal prices, but they can also encourge you to give them your personal information to become a "member." For them, it's a win-win.
It's no laughing matter. Making XI an MMORPG was the single worst thing they could have possibly done. The FF series has always been about RPG and RPG alone. Throwing in the psudo RPG qualities that come with MMORPG makes us true FF fans skip number 11 when we count FF games.
Some might argue that MMORPGs offer a stronger RPG element than offline RPGs, because your interactions with other people aren't planned in advance. Mind you, this viewpoint is contingent upon the people around you not being mindless idiots, which is impossible when you're dealing with the General Public.
I've always been quite fond of the FF games -- linearity and all -- because the stories are fun and immersive, and you can interact with them enough that it gives the illusion of being in control of your own destiny (even though you're ultimately just following the game's script). Is it any more of a Role-Playing Game in the traditional sense? Probably not, but it makes for an enjoyable experience no matter what you call it.
I'm just glad to see that the entire series hasn't gone permanently online. That would make me very sad.
If they lose money on every XBox purchased, then obviously they're trying to make money back on games. Hence, if you buy an XBox and no games, then MS has *less* money than it would have if you had not bought the XBox at all -- and you have a really cheap computer.
Selling in volume doesn't work if you're losing money on every sale. That right there is simple economics.:)
Every time you buy an XBox, Microsoft loses money. They make it back on game licenses. So if you buy one, stick Linux on it, and don't buy any games, you're actually doing them (Microsoft) a disservice, as well as getting a PC at below wholesale price.
Of course, this requires a certain amount of restraint in not purchasing games.:)
Maybe "IP Blocking" isn't something that hides your IP address, but rather keeps the RIAA from coming after you by preventing you from distributing someone else's Intellectual Property.:)
Apologies to all the parents reading this, but life with children just strikes me as very bleak and sad. The thought of my entire life revolving around kids makes me cringe.
I need my creative outlets. I need my rest. I just don't see any benefit to having kids and giving up the next 18 to 20 years of my life to take care of them -- years that could frankly be spent on much more interesting pursuits.
What's the deal with the PS3's supposed ability to have "massive computing power" by connecting up with other PS3s over the internet? They make it sound like somehow that will allow it to have better graphics at somesuch -- where, in reality, the latency would be so high compared to the 15 ms required to output 60fps video that it would be useless. How do they plan on using all of that computing power to make games more fun to play? Or are they just going to sell it out to big companies as the largest parallel computing platform in the world?
In FF3/6, I renamed my characters to less obnoxious, not-all-caps versions of their names. Reading about LOCKE and CELES and TERRA really got on my nerves.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm not entirely clear what new conclusions these people have reached. I was under the impression that there was always some question about the Wow Signal for exactly the reasons mentioned.
I was always under the impression that the Nintendo Seal of Quality was pure BS. Back when I was a kid, I suggested to one of my friends (an avid reader of Nintendo Power) that he buy Afterburner for his NES. (Yes, there was a NES Afterburner cartridge, as far as I can remember :). At any rate, he says to me something to the point of, "But it doesn't have the Nintendo Seal of Quality."
Well of course it doesn't. Sega made it, and at the time, they were Nintendo's biggest competition. I had no doubts about the quality of Afterburner as a game, at least in comparison to every other NES title out there at the time. It seems to me that the Seal of Quality was mainly just a way to keep unlicensed cartridges from selling. Go figure.
...just heavily edited. I'm guessing a lot more was said than what was printed, and they just trimmed it down to the parts that were +5 Funny and +5 Insightful. The full transcript is probably twenty times that length -- and it wouldn't be interesting for anyone to read.
Wow, that's quite a scary picture. And while it's admittedly possible that things could turn that way, I'll go out on a limb and say that it's fairly unlikely.
... and a reasonable police officer won't pull you over for doing 68 in a 65. It's just not that big of a deal. Likewise, if someone (God forbid!) decides to install the same copy of Word on two different computers in their house, it's not likely that the FBI will come knocking on their door for a license violation.
Take Digital Rights Management, for instance. People put up with it for a little while, until they try to listen to their songs on something other than their own computer -- then they suddenly realize that DRM in fact sucks donkey ass.
Buying a Palladium-enabled computer will be like buying a car with a top speed of 65 miles per hour. The fact is, everyone bends the law a little bit from time to time
When Joe User runs into stupid problems like "Error! This computer sucks and therefore refuses to play this music file" or "Error! This computer sucks and refuses to allow you to install this program", he'll start getting pissy. He'll tell his friends not to buy any of these "trusted" computers, and pretty soon, everyone's buying computers and software that don't have this sort of crap built in.
This of course won't stop big companies and big government from trying to restrict things, but the chance that they'll succeed is actually fairly small. I don't see DRM ever completely dissappearing from the radar, but I'm gussing that it'll remain what it is right now -- an annoyance.
Whatever happened to that list of candidates that SETI@HOME found? Have those been thoroughly investigated yet? If not, when are they planning to do so? I remember hearing that they were going to have a look at them, but I don't recall when that was going to be.
I'm not much of an audiophile myself, but if this means getting that cool THX splash screen like in the movies, I'm all for it.
There's always Cinelerra.
It's not quite Premiere, but it's reasonably close for most run-of-the-mill video editing. Too bad the interface is hideous.
Contact your senators and representatives, at the very least by email, instead of harassing the judge who made the decision (no matter what your opinion of him). The directories are here:
House of Representatives
Senate
I tried it, yes. It was, as FF games go, mediocre in my opinion (well above average, but not my favorite FF game). That said, I'm curious what you think I think is wrong with it. :)
I don't like FF7 much myself (I prefer 6, 8, and 10), but that doesn't mean it deserved every drop of hype it received. Yes, it lacked a certain amount of polish; but that was largely because at the time it was probably the most ambitious game ever made. In fact, I would go so far as to say that later FF games were slightly less ambitious, if perhaps more polished.
Rough edges aside, though, it certainly wasn't overrated.
...have you tried telling them to put you on their "do not call" list? If they call you again after that, call the police and report them for harassing you over the telephone. If they continue to call you, the police should be able to trace the number.
Touche. :)
Nanothermometer Withstands Heat
But more importantly, does it measure heat?
If they sue her, then they'll have the PR nightmare of suing a poor 12-year-old girl living with a single mom.
:)
If they drop the case, then all of the other people they're suing will (quite publicly) ask: "How come it's okay if a 12-year-old does it, but not if I do?" Because really, if it's unjust to do it to a 12-year-old girl, it's unjust to do it to anyone. Little girls just catch the public eye more because they're sympathetic characters.
It's a lose-lose situation for the RIAA. I love it.
Love,
Your daughter
Karma: Excellent (Mostly due to me being a filthy whore)
You might want to consider deleting your daughter's Slashdot account.
Generally, they name these observatories after famous deceased astronomers. I'm betting they'll call this one the Sagan Telescope, or somesuch.
Here's a thought:
Work out the budget for the program, then instead use that money to feed and house them.
More interestingly, is how are they going to deal with someone browsing a website anonymously, and then loggin into their account, and seeing a different price?
That's easy.
They list the highest (non-discounted) price they could possibly charge for the item, and then tell you that you may receive a discount if you join their site and log in. In this manner, not only can they target you with personal prices, but they can also encourge you to give them your personal information to become a "member." For them, it's a win-win.
It's no laughing matter. Making XI an MMORPG was the single worst thing they could have possibly done. The FF series has always been about RPG and RPG alone. Throwing in the psudo RPG qualities that come with MMORPG makes us true FF fans skip number 11 when we count FF games.
Some might argue that MMORPGs offer a stronger RPG element than offline RPGs, because your interactions with other people aren't planned in advance. Mind you, this viewpoint is contingent upon the people around you not being mindless idiots, which is impossible when you're dealing with the General Public.
I've always been quite fond of the FF games -- linearity and all -- because the stories are fun and immersive, and you can interact with them enough that it gives the illusion of being in control of your own destiny (even though you're ultimately just following the game's script). Is it any more of a Role-Playing Game in the traditional sense? Probably not, but it makes for an enjoyable experience no matter what you call it.
I'm just glad to see that the entire series hasn't gone permanently online. That would make me very sad.
If they lose money on every XBox purchased, then obviously they're trying to make money back on games. Hence, if you buy an XBox and no games, then MS has *less* money than it would have if you had not bought the XBox at all -- and you have a really cheap computer.
:)
Selling in volume doesn't work if you're losing money on every sale. That right there is simple economics.
...God kills a kitten.
:)
Er, no, that's not it.
Every time you buy an XBox, Microsoft loses money. They make it back on game licenses. So if you buy one, stick Linux on it, and don't buy any games, you're actually doing them (Microsoft) a disservice, as well as getting a PC at below wholesale price.
Of course, this requires a certain amount of restraint in not purchasing games.
Maybe "IP Blocking" isn't something that hides your IP address, but rather keeps the RIAA from coming after you by preventing you from distributing someone else's Intellectual Property. :)
Apologies to all the parents reading this, but life with children just strikes me as very bleak and sad. The thought of my entire life revolving around kids makes me cringe.
I need my creative outlets. I need my rest. I just don't see any benefit to having kids and giving up the next 18 to 20 years of my life to take care of them -- years that could frankly be spent on much more interesting pursuits.
What's the deal with the PS3's supposed ability to have "massive computing power" by connecting up with other PS3s over the internet? They make it sound like somehow that will allow it to have better graphics at somesuch -- where, in reality, the latency would be so high compared to the 15 ms required to output 60fps video that it would be useless. How do they plan on using all of that computing power to make games more fun to play? Or are they just going to sell it out to big companies as the largest parallel computing platform in the world?
In FF3/6, I renamed my characters to less obnoxious, not-all-caps versions of their names. Reading about LOCKE and CELES and TERRA really got on my nerves.