Has anyone thought of checking the site to see what description they have for the game. I did and here it is:
Eon of Tears, a biblical-fantasy RPG, is based on the premise that there is a Bible Code that gives a special power to those who can harness it. The main objective is to learn how to decode it and understand its power. After going through different periods of time, from the very Creation to the End of Times, learning the true meaning of the Bible and facing all kinds of creatures, you have the ultimate choice of using that power to help save the world or destroy it.
In EoT, players will accomplish several quests in order to accumulate special powers and wisdom. The game will offer a chance to learn and reflect on life, death, and destiny. Eon of Tears is aimed at a mature audience, offering a mix of Survival Horror through its gameplay and traditional RPGs with its actions.
Looking at that, the game sounds like it might well be a damn good romp. If they don't fall into the dumb it down trap and look to make something that's visually impressive, has coherent controls and isn't too preachy or boring in terms of story they might have gold. For a moment, upon looking at that description, I had a slight flash of Eternal Darkness(which I loved), though similarities are minor.
And to answer a previous questioner, it seems that you will be able to be evil and win the game, so to speak. Personally, I'd like to see an end game cinematic for general world destruction. Might they actually play out the events that lead up to the biblical end of days? If so that could get delightfully graphic.;)
I don't know about anyone else, but being assigned to clean Microsoft's code sounds like one of the worst jobs imaginable. Not just from the sheer size, but attempting to find all of those little loopholes amid a mish-mash of cross integration without sacrificing functionality and speed? I hope they're well paid.
But it is illegal to hack company property(MMORPG servers) and disrupt a company's business. This could put some serious hurt on sales and memebership on their servers.
This could be bad. Connectix makes Virtual PC, a program that allows Mac Users to use Windows programs without having to buy hardware and get locked in.
Would Microsoft do anything to make that particular program dissapear? Let's just say that this does not make me comfortable. Regardless of any spin MS might try to put forward.
Chuckles aside, I don't really feel comfortable with the idea of an automated house. Concerns about Microsoft and having their software running my home aside(I would never buy a Microsoft house), the prospect of having thigns adjusted when someone enters is potentially annoying. What if lights turn on or off or adjust level of illumination while you're doing something. What if someone prefers to have metal blasting when they come in and you happen to be next to the speakers when they open the door.
Sure, small problems but there is more. One of the common themes in science fiction is the one where human technology has risen in scope and scale, reducing the need of people to work or move. It should be obvious, by comparing the different strata of technology across the world, that the ease created by technology creates a general laziness within a population. As nice as conveniences could be, I can only see many of them creating more sloth and laziness amongst the population.
Not to mention the prospect of a wired, net active house being co-opted by hackers. Don't be so naive as to think that security would be so seriously improved as to make hacking impossible. Technology increases on all fronts. I wouldn't relish the prospect of hackers gaining control of environmental functions and other parts of a wired in house. Imagine the water periodically going frosty as you shower. Chilling thought, eh?
I will admit that some things, such as biometric access and a little digital notepad on the door are interesting and much more useful than harmful. But everything has a point of excess, where too much of a good thing sours it. We should be careful about having too much tech.
I don't believe Microsoft is being greatly harmed by this. There is no way to truly damage so large a company in any quick or irrevocable way.
However, I do think that this is a good thing. Microsoft has always done business how it wants to without regard for competitors or allies so much as they were stepping stones to greater profit margins and superior dominance.
I will be both amused and relived if OSS's success forces Microsoft to reevaluate its obviously predatory practices. I might even(loosely) suggest this is much like the situation with RIAA. Software is changing when it comes to how some things are done. Microsoft must either adapt properly or miss the boat.
If they miss the boat, no great loss. Greater competition can only aid technological development and further thrust down Microsoft's prices.
Really, I think the evil thing has been overused in all cases. I'm starting to get a bit sick of it myself.
This is a simple matter of Apple enforcing their license agreements. Microsoft does that too, yes, but by and large they spin their license agreements toward the insane when it comes to both deflecting liability and shoring up their rights to things that shouldn't be theirs.
That is why most people don't call Apple evil over this. Overall I'm inclined to agree with some other posters. Apple is in enough potential hot water with continuing to support MP3 fully as well as making it so easy to rip and burn CDs as well as burn DVDs. To have even a quasi-swapping service that they haven't run past their lawyers for loop holing is just plain mad.
Rumors are of them making an official version. You'd better believe they'll do their best to have it made legal before release.
I don't know too much about Asian pirating, save that it happens. What I do know is that I won't dishonor the makers of the LotR trilogy by skimping on big screen viewing or DVD purchase.
I bought he special edition DvD, eager to take a look at the documentaries on it. After spending several hours watching them all with rapt attention, it became clear to me that this movie was no mere cash cow(despite the fact that it may well turn out to be in the end) to the makers. It was an almost religious experience in bringing to life a true classic. The sheer attention to detail and the massive scope of creating this trilogy are staggering and humbling.
Personally, I would never think to pirate any piece of this trilogy and any lesser rendition that cuts out the detail of the movie is both an insult to the work of the makers of LotR and an insult to one's self, as there is so much to miss if you pay a buck to get some small, fuzzy rendition of this masterpiece.
Don't cheat yourself and don't cheat the people that made this trilogy possible. Ignore any pirated media dealing with LotR.
Acknowledged. But it would be better to petition to the designers for features you'd like. You have emailed your concerns to them already, haven't you? asked your friends to do so as well to add more than just one voice?
In any case, the majority of this ire is focused at nastier people than you. I can sympathize with your problems, I have a friend who is terrible at navigating in diablo 2. To fix that, she plays with friends that can nav better than she can. That also helps the anger factor. safety in numbers. You might find that much more enjoyable than using the ShowEQ thing.
This isn't surprising at all. Microsoft has a standard procedure for every market they crash. They bring their way of doing things and expect others to conform to what slight room they give to maneuver.
No one should be surprised. But I don't think that will work in the phone market. As always some few will join with Microsoft simply because they are Microsoft. To lightly turn a phrase, better to be vassal to the devil than stand in his path.
But I think that this market will remain diverse. Microsoft won't gain appreciable ground toward dominance unless they manage to pull a pretty big rabbit out of their hat and wow the world enough to overshadow their shady practices.
I don't see that happening with their cookie cutter software and limited access to source.
Good products are only a part of the overall make up of a good company. It is just too bad that this guy had to learn the hard way that, despite their public party line, Microsoft is only happy when they're in full control, running the show.
If you step out of line or play even one note off key, they kick you out of the orchestra and confiscate your instrument. Never mind that you paid for it yourself. They own it now.
I'm glad he didn't sign that contract, but I'm sad that he has to loose not only his years of work, but the motivation to support his community.
Even if it is a Microsoft community. Maybe some day he'll get into a better community with a company that will nurture his zeal.
I find it a little sad to see how Microsoft can remain a force in almost any industry they care to stick their fingers into, simply by merit of having far too much cash in a general pile. It isn't an issue for them to keep incredible amounts of muscle behind what is, more or less, a small aspect of their company while others work to do what is their entire product line. And in the end, it won't matter if MS becomes a console success. If, in five years, that 2 billion is gone it won't effect them much at all. They can just shrug their shoulders, drop support for the console and focus back on other things.
That aside, I'll stick with Nintendo. I haven't bought a console yet, but by virtue of games, price and portability GameCube wins in all three, IMHO.
It's hard to trust Microsoft. They've made it their business to be duplicitous. Whether they are honestly concerned about security for its own sake or as a new tool for furthering their goals of profit and dominance, its not easy to look at them and not keep into the shadows and see if anyone is sneaking up to blackjack you in the back of the head.
All this talk of breaking apps and seemingly shoving things at people is justifiably worrying to many.
And now that the real wolf has come, its hard to decide if Microsoft is really pointing it out or if they're trying to fool us all again. This is what they have sewn and so they reap it now. Many distrust them and will continue to mistrust them until they show that they are trustworthy once more.
This is their chance to show everyone that they can be, if not perfect, a moderately upstanding company rather than a domineering bully. I'll be watching them. And I'm sure many more will be as well to see if they can woo back the skeptical.
Personally, I like the idea of a future where an open and free operating system is the rule of the day. It's on every computer and no one makes cash off it. There's a standards board that monitors it and takes in ideas for upgrades and improvements and they can be submitted for approval by companies or individuals.
Companies make cash off software to run on this Master OS. They follow the rules and aren't allowed to take full control by knowing more about the inner workings of the OS than anyone else.
In this, there will be no compatibility issues. No time, effort or creative energy wasted on finding new ways to insult a competing OS maker and no need to create $70 books on how to link up one OS with another.
Well, look at it this way. They just got back into the game. I spoke with a few more knowledgeable friends of mine briefly(I've never even touched an Amiga before) and I'm of the opinion that this could be just a dip into the pool.
After all, for the real stuff to come back, you have to start small. Its been a long time. The custom hardware and special nature of the Amiga can't just manifest suddenly. Takes time. Have to get money for more R&D and have to build awareness and get the name known once more.
This could be an opportunity to bring back the old. I don't know if it truly is or if the folk in charge now are thinking that, but it's worth a second look and some considering.
Never hurts to give a try to the free stuff(walk in and play, that is).
As to the virus question, well.. that's a toss up. Right now Macs don't have a lot of marketshare, so in general there's no reason to target them too much.
And the likelihood of Macintosh becoming significant enough in numbers to target is not too high, to be truthful. I actually hope to remain 'under the radar' so to speak so I don't have to be frantic about getting infected.;)
Well, the reasons are largely in the interface. The core itself is BSD. If you want facts one what's in it, check here: http://www.apple.com/macosx/.
For the most part, I'd not use RH cause I don't feel like relearning all I would need to so I could get it running just right and replicate all I can do easily right out of the box with OSX.
1. Mac OSX: It's Unix at the core with an easy interface and access to the technical guts if you want it. The interface is clean and more intuitive than most.
2. Stability: On average(in my educated opinion in working with both Windows and Macintosh), Macs are more stable and recover from inevitable catastrophe better. There is also the general Total Cost of Ownership argument. Macs h ave, in many trials, proved to have a lower one on average.
3. Respite from Microsoft: Looking at the high proliferation of viruses, the security issues and Microsoft's openly shady business practices, one of my reasons is that I simply don't trust Microsoft.
4. Preference. Just because someone tells you one thing is better, it doesn't mean that it will be best for all.
In general, games are not that much an issue when many Mac users just buy a cheap PC optimized toward gaming for what doesn't come to Mac and do their real work on a Macintosh. To many, PCs seem to equate to toys and I'm not one to argue with that assertion as one of the most common arguments for sticking with Windows is games.
I use Macintosh because I get less aggravation from them. I have a little PC laptop that I use to play games that I can't get on Macintosh. I'm willing to wait to get games on my preferred platform, case in point Neverwinter Nights. The PC version is out with the Mac version pending. But I'll be waiting for the game to come on my platform of choice because I like using Mac better and I want to show support for my platform.
Hope this helped, though I'm sure some could come up with more points.:)
Considering a quick look at Dell and Gateway reveal only one laptop from Dell that's $899, I think $999, the most affordable iBook Apple has, as being well within the reach of anyone who is considering getting a laptop and can budget it.
Or is 100 dollars that much an issue?
If nothing else, Apple is improving hteir price points gradually.
Slashdot Mirror
Then just wait for the full set to come out. I've been waiting on several DVD sets myself, for the last movies in the sets to be put in.
Has anyone thought of checking the site to see what description they have for the game. I did and here it is:
;)
Eon of Tears, a biblical-fantasy RPG, is based on the premise that there is a Bible Code that gives a special power to those who can harness it. The main objective is to learn how to decode it and understand its power. After going through different periods of time, from the very Creation to the End of Times, learning the true meaning of the Bible and facing all kinds of creatures, you have the ultimate choice of using that power to help save the world or destroy it.
In EoT, players will accomplish several quests in order to accumulate special powers and wisdom. The game will offer a chance to learn and reflect on life, death, and destiny. Eon of Tears is aimed at a mature audience, offering a mix of Survival Horror through its gameplay and traditional RPGs with its actions.
Looking at that, the game sounds like it might well be a damn good romp. If they don't fall into the dumb it down trap and look to make something that's visually impressive, has coherent controls and isn't too preachy or boring in terms of story they might have gold. For a moment, upon looking at that description, I had a slight flash of Eternal Darkness(which I loved), though similarities are minor.
And to answer a previous questioner, it seems that you will be able to be evil and win the game, so to speak. Personally, I'd like to see an end game cinematic for general world destruction. Might they actually play out the events that lead up to the biblical end of days? If so that could get delightfully graphic.
I don't know about anyone else, but being assigned to clean Microsoft's code sounds like one of the worst jobs imaginable. Not just from the sheer size, but attempting to find all of those little loopholes amid a mish-mash of cross integration without sacrificing functionality and speed? I hope they're well paid.
No.
But it is illegal to hack company property(MMORPG servers) and disrupt a company's business. This could put some serious hurt on sales and memebership on their servers.
Think, man.
MSN Slate
Truthout
The Guardian
BBC
Reuters
I installed. It took an inordinately long amount of time to optimize, but when I rebooted all was as it has been before so far as I can see.
Don't mind me, just seeding more information for the people.
One more source of full text, two more analyses and a bevvy of news links.
Electronic Privacy Information Center Page on Patriot II
Just for general verification purposes and ease of grabbing a PDF: PDF of Draft Legislation
I found this in a few moments. Hopefully it's the right and proper draft. ;)
Full Text of Patriot Act II
This could be bad. Connectix makes Virtual PC, a program that allows Mac Users to use Windows programs without having to buy hardware and get locked in.
Would Microsoft do anything to make that particular program dissapear? Let's just say that this does not make me comfortable. Regardless of any spin MS might try to put forward.
Chuckles aside, I don't really feel comfortable with the idea of an automated house. Concerns about Microsoft and having their software running my home aside(I would never buy a Microsoft house), the prospect of having thigns adjusted when someone enters is potentially annoying. What if lights turn on or off or adjust level of illumination while you're doing something. What if someone prefers to have metal blasting when they come in and you happen to be next to the speakers when they open the door.
Sure, small problems but there is more. One of the common themes in science fiction is the one where human technology has risen in scope and scale, reducing the need of people to work or move. It should be obvious, by comparing the different strata of technology across the world, that the ease created by technology creates a general laziness within a population. As nice as conveniences could be, I can only see many of them creating more sloth and laziness amongst the population.
Not to mention the prospect of a wired, net active house being co-opted by hackers. Don't be so naive as to think that security would be so seriously improved as to make hacking impossible. Technology increases on all fronts. I wouldn't relish the prospect of hackers gaining control of environmental functions and other parts of a wired in house. Imagine the water periodically going frosty as you shower. Chilling thought, eh?
I will admit that some things, such as biometric access and a little digital notepad on the door are interesting and much more useful than harmful. But everything has a point of excess, where too much of a good thing sours it. We should be careful about having too much tech.
I don't believe Microsoft is being greatly harmed by this. There is no way to truly damage so large a company in any quick or irrevocable way.
However, I do think that this is a good thing. Microsoft has always done business how it wants to without regard for competitors or allies so much as they were stepping stones to greater profit margins and superior dominance.
I will be both amused and relived if OSS's success forces Microsoft to reevaluate its obviously predatory practices. I might even(loosely) suggest this is much like the situation with RIAA. Software is changing when it comes to how some things are done. Microsoft must either adapt properly or miss the boat.
If they miss the boat, no great loss. Greater competition can only aid technological development and further thrust down Microsoft's prices.
Really, I think the evil thing has been overused in all cases. I'm starting to get a bit sick of it myself.
This is a simple matter of Apple enforcing their license agreements. Microsoft does that too, yes, but by and large they spin their license agreements toward the insane when it comes to both deflecting liability and shoring up their rights to things that shouldn't be theirs.
That is why most people don't call Apple evil over this. Overall I'm inclined to agree with some other posters. Apple is in enough potential hot water with continuing to support MP3 fully as well as making it so easy to rip and burn CDs as well as burn DVDs. To have even a quasi-swapping service that they haven't run past their lawyers for loop holing is just plain mad.
Rumors are of them making an official version. You'd better believe they'll do their best to have it made legal before release.
That's what it all comes down to.
I don't know too much about Asian pirating, save that it happens. What I do know is that I won't dishonor the makers of the LotR trilogy by skimping on big screen viewing or DVD purchase.
I bought he special edition DvD, eager to take a look at the documentaries on it. After spending several hours watching them all with rapt attention, it became clear to me that this movie was no mere cash cow(despite the fact that it may well turn out to be in the end) to the makers. It was an almost religious experience in bringing to life a true classic. The sheer attention to detail and the massive scope of creating this trilogy are staggering and humbling.
Personally, I would never think to pirate any piece of this trilogy and any lesser rendition that cuts out the detail of the movie is both an insult to the work of the makers of LotR and an insult to one's self, as there is so much to miss if you pay a buck to get some small, fuzzy rendition of this masterpiece.
Don't cheat yourself and don't cheat the people that made this trilogy possible. Ignore any pirated media dealing with LotR.
Acknowledged. But it would be better to petition to the designers for features you'd like. You have emailed your concerns to them already, haven't you? asked your friends to do so as well to add more than just one voice?
In any case, the majority of this ire is focused at nastier people than you. I can sympathize with your problems, I have a friend who is terrible at navigating in diablo 2. To fix that, she plays with friends that can nav better than she can. That also helps the anger factor. safety in numbers. You might find that much more enjoyable than using the ShowEQ thing.
This isn't surprising at all. Microsoft has a standard procedure for every market they crash. They bring their way of doing things and expect others to conform to what slight room they give to maneuver.
No one should be surprised. But I don't think that will work in the phone market. As always some few will join with Microsoft simply because they are Microsoft. To lightly turn a phrase, better to be vassal to the devil than stand in his path.
But I think that this market will remain diverse. Microsoft won't gain appreciable ground toward dominance unless they manage to pull a pretty big rabbit out of their hat and wow the world enough to overshadow their shady practices.
I don't see that happening with their cookie cutter software and limited access to source.
Good products are only a part of the overall make up of a good company. It is just too bad that this guy had to learn the hard way that, despite their public party line, Microsoft is only happy when they're in full control, running the show.
If you step out of line or play even one note off key, they kick you out of the orchestra and confiscate your instrument. Never mind that you paid for it yourself. They own it now.
I'm glad he didn't sign that contract, but I'm sad that he has to loose not only his years of work, but the motivation to support his community.
Even if it is a Microsoft community. Maybe some day he'll get into a better community with a company that will nurture his zeal.
I find it a little sad to see how Microsoft can remain a force in almost any industry they care to stick their fingers into, simply by merit of having far too much cash in a general pile. It isn't an issue for them to keep incredible amounts of muscle behind what is, more or less, a small aspect of their company while others work to do what is their entire product line. And in the end, it won't matter if MS becomes a console success. If, in five years, that 2 billion is gone it won't effect them much at all. They can just shrug their shoulders, drop support for the console and focus back on other things.
That aside, I'll stick with Nintendo. I haven't bought a console yet, but by virtue of games, price and portability GameCube wins in all three, IMHO.
It's hard to trust Microsoft. They've made it their business to be duplicitous. Whether they are honestly concerned about security for its own sake or as a new tool for furthering their goals of profit and dominance, its not easy to look at them and not keep into the shadows and see if anyone is sneaking up to blackjack you in the back of the head.
All this talk of breaking apps and seemingly shoving things at people is justifiably worrying to many.
And now that the real wolf has come, its hard to decide if Microsoft is really pointing it out or if they're trying to fool us all again. This is what they have sewn and so they reap it now. Many distrust them and will continue to mistrust them until they show that they are trustworthy once more.
This is their chance to show everyone that they can be, if not perfect, a moderately upstanding company rather than a domineering bully. I'll be watching them. And I'm sure many more will be as well to see if they can woo back the skeptical.
Personally, I like the idea of a future where an open and free operating system is the rule of the day. It's on every computer and no one makes cash off it. There's a standards board that monitors it and takes in ideas for upgrades and improvements and they can be submitted for approval by companies or individuals.
Companies make cash off software to run on this Master OS. They follow the rules and aren't allowed to take full control by knowing more about the inner workings of the OS than anyone else.
In this, there will be no compatibility issues. No time, effort or creative energy wasted on finding new ways to insult a competing OS maker and no need to create $70 books on how to link up one OS with another.
I think that would be a pretty nice future.
Well, look at it this way. They just got back into the game. I spoke with a few more knowledgeable friends of mine briefly(I've never even touched an Amiga before) and I'm of the opinion that this could be just a dip into the pool.
After all, for the real stuff to come back, you have to start small. Its been a long time. The custom hardware and special nature of the Amiga can't just manifest suddenly. Takes time. Have to get money for more R&D and have to build awareness and get the name known once more.
This could be an opportunity to bring back the old. I don't know if it truly is or if the folk in charge now are thinking that, but it's worth a second look and some considering.
Never hurts to give a try to the free stuff(walk in and play, that is).
;)
As to the virus question, well.. that's a toss up. Right now Macs don't have a lot of marketshare, so in general there's no reason to target them too much.
And the likelihood of Macintosh becoming significant enough in numbers to target is not too high, to be truthful. I actually hope to remain 'under the radar' so to speak so I don't have to be frantic about getting infected.
Well, the reasons are largely in the interface. The core itself is BSD. If you want facts one what's in it, check here: http://www.apple.com/macosx/.
For the most part, I'd not use RH cause I don't feel like relearning all I would need to so I could get it running just right and replicate all I can do easily right out of the box with OSX.
1. Mac OSX: It's Unix at the core with an easy interface and access to the technical guts if you want it. The interface is clean and more intuitive than most.
:)
2. Stability: On average(in my educated opinion in working with both Windows and Macintosh), Macs are more stable and recover from inevitable catastrophe better. There is also the general Total Cost of Ownership argument. Macs h ave, in many trials, proved to have a lower one on average.
3. Respite from Microsoft: Looking at the high proliferation of viruses, the security issues and Microsoft's openly shady business practices, one of my reasons is that I simply don't trust Microsoft.
4. Preference. Just because someone tells you one thing is better, it doesn't mean that it will be best for all.
In general, games are not that much an issue when many Mac users just buy a cheap PC optimized toward gaming for what doesn't come to Mac and do their real work on a Macintosh. To many, PCs seem to equate to toys and I'm not one to argue with that assertion as one of the most common arguments for sticking with Windows is games.
I use Macintosh because I get less aggravation from them. I have a little PC laptop that I use to play games that I can't get on Macintosh. I'm willing to wait to get games on my preferred platform, case in point Neverwinter Nights. The PC version is out with the Mac version pending. But I'll be waiting for the game to come on my platform of choice because I like using Mac better and I want to show support for my platform.
Hope this helped, though I'm sure some could come up with more points.
Considering a quick look at Dell and Gateway reveal only one laptop from Dell that's $899, I think $999, the most affordable iBook Apple has, as being well within the reach of anyone who is considering getting a laptop and can budget it.
Or is 100 dollars that much an issue?
If nothing else, Apple is improving hteir price points gradually.