So far, the Radio Shack/FIRST VEX robotics kits seem to be the most interesting pre-fab robotics kits next to the older Lego MindStorms kits. There are numerous sites that carry add-on parts (sensors, timing gears, etc...) for the VEX kits, as well as the long awaited programming module.
Of course, if you'd rather go the old-school route, you could go looking for Capsela sets and try hacking together a few custom bubble modules to give it some intelligence.
... for Nintendo to announce a Wii launch date. Speculation has placed the launch between October 2nd and November 15th, and many users are already foaming at the mouth to get a pre-order in. It's only a matter of time before Sony buckles and announces either mass-shortages on the PS3 this holiday season, assuming they even get it out the door by then.
Nintendo has a perfect opportunity here to dominate a market it's been trailing behind in for the last decade, especially with folks like those who are holding out against the XBox 360 as their next game console. But they need to act quickly on this before anymore addictive next gen titles (like Dead Rising) end up falling into Microsoft's lap.
Needless to say, I'm keeping a close eye on sites like EBGames for the instant they open the pre-order floodgates on the Wii.
CrossOver may not be an entirely new concept, but it looks like a decent enough compromise of Windows compatibility without having to deal with the hassles of a true Windows installation. The software works much like Apple's X11 implementation, constraining the Windows parts of the Windows applications running within it to each application's main window. This includes all menus and application-generated windows, keeping your Mac OS X environment completely uncluttered.
Aside from that, this also eliminates much of the unnecessary Windows hassles, such as activation and "phoning home"... and you even get to save money to boot.
Needless to say, intel-based Macintosh users may want to snatch this up before it goes the way of Connectix Virtual Game Station. I can't imagine Microsoft letting this get by them without a fight, when there are other options that will require users to actually own a copy of Windows.
"People are convinced that their vote doesn't matter..."
Well, if you really think about it, these people aren't entirely wrong. As more people vote, each single vote submitted becomes less significant to the election's outcome.
An intelligent candidate would take advantage of this problem by starting a massive anti-voting campaign, appeal to peoples' laziness and desire for instant gratification to deture the desire to participate. Then, locate the extremists who deem it their god-given right to vote by watching the internet and the press (letters to the editor type stuff). Finally, cooerce these remaining people into voting for you and watch the votes fly in.
The great thing about it, is that because you've streamlined the voter pool to only a few individuals, each of their votes become far more relevant to the election results. It's also a win-win situation, since the politicians would only have to focus their efforts on persuading a few key individuals rather than a massive group, and the uber-voters get the satisfaction of knowing their vote actually has relevance over the election results without it being quite as dependent on support from other votes.
What I find so interesting about the "game enhancer" thing, is that this could imply *anyone* that sells any modern game consoles, including properly-regioned, unmodified consoles. Almost every modern console has software built into them that can directly affect a user's gaming experience (such as age rating restrictions, parental controls, etc...). Doesn't this qualify as "enhancement"?
... if it were a physically disabled person being denied access to the service due to the risk of them also being mental retarded? As a severely disabled person myself, it's been a common issue for me to stumble across people that will immediate jump to the conclusion that you must disabled in the mental department if they see you don't walk normally.
Can you imagine the shitstorm this would have created had it been Stephen Hawking that was denied service because he *looked* retarded.
After having experienced the incomplete version of Madden 06 for the XBox 360, fans of the series were probably foaming at the mouth for a version of the game that didn't feel quite so rushed. Also, unlike Madden 06, this one is more likely to look and feel like a true next gen title.
This is where the beauty of the XBox 360's "Live" capabilities come in... given enough complaints, it shouldn't be *that* difficult for Capcom to issue a small, downloadable update for the game that would make the dialogue text bigger on non-HD displays.
It may be possible to push them into developing such an update if enough people contact Capcom USA's consumer service department requesting a fix for the issue. Here's the info:
Phone: (408) 774-0400 Hours: 8:30am - 5pm PST
Snail Mail:
Capcom Entertainment Inc. Consumer Service Department 475 Oakmead Parkway Sunnyvale, CA 94085
Part of the reason the Kai Kraus interface annoyed so many people, is because display sizes were extremely limited at the time. Most users were stuck at VGA (640x480), but the Kai Kraus interface demaned enough screen space to support tool icons similar in size to icons used in Mac OS X today. So, even if the tools were revolutionary for the time, many users ended up with a tool palette as large as the working area, if not larger.
Today though, much of Kai Kraus' influence can still be seen in many pieces of software, such as Adobe Photoshop (non-rectangular windows with drop shadows) and Carrara Studio (most of the tool palettes work the same way they did in the older Kai-based apps.
As for whether Kai Kraus applies in terms of OS interfaces, that remains to be seen. But the Kai interface is still going strong today in many modern applications.
I'm amazed how anyone can hate this game. Sure, the game feels like a gimmick at first with all the flare of "Night of the Comet', but there's actually a lot of depth to it once you realize you aren't restricted to the single, repetative section you start out in. You can even go outside of the mall and locate other entrances to different sections while fending off hundreds of zombies and crazed, escape convicts hell bent on killing anything that moves, human or otherwise. There are even some really unusual weapons, such as snowblowers and motorcycles, that can take out entire crowds in the most gruesome manner imaginable.
Other weapons I really enjoy:
- Katana Sword (it slices and dices with the greatest of easy) - Sledgehammer (great for watermelons or human skulls) - Scythe (hook the neck and pull to remove head) - sub-machine gun (perforate them all before they know what hit them) - stun-gun (sizzle till they pop) - heated frying pan (grill 'em and kill 'em) - mall benches (have a seat, or else) - propane tank + handgun (fire in the hole)
Other useful items include insects that will wipe out entire crowds and electric mixers that will convert various combinations of food items into temporary power-up drinks (2x Pie = "untouchable", 2x Wine/yogurt+ice cream = "quickstep", etc...). If you really want a challenge, try a cooking oil and orange juice cocktail.
The AI of the zombies is surprisingly random, but not to the point of being all to predictable. They also get more intelligent over time as they get more desperate to feed. (For example, they'll try to sneak up behind you and attack in large swarms further into the game, as well as becoming increasingly skilled at navigating complicated terrain, such as looking for openings to enclosed counters and traversing stairs.)
Finally, if you play along with the storyline, you'll find some of the human characters pose a greater threat than the zombies themselves, as you slowly uncover the mystery behind how the zombies came to be.
Overall, if you weren't a fan of the sometimes repetative gameplay of the Grand Theft Auto III titles, you may not find much value to Dead Rising. But if your not afraid to explore, Dead Rising will offer plenty of challenges to keep you busy long after the initial 72 in-game hours. Capcom really offered what was promised... anything within reach can be used as a weapon.
... firebombing farmers, gardeners, landscapers or anyone else that might own a lawnmower or weedwhacker? Plants are "alive" and deserve equal respect, right?
And where are the virus/germ rights activists? Shouldn't germs and viruses be deserving of protection from those who would intentionally harm them with anti-biotics and other medication? Just because they have less cells doesn't make them inferior.
You activists are really getting lazy in your work. Stop supporting only "certain" living things because you think they're cute, and start protecting all forms of life, no matter how undesireable you think they are.
This is just one more example of the direction our country is going. The government is already pre-emptively watching our every move without any legal justification. Whether its logging our phone calls and internet activity, or monitoring our financial records, you can't hide anymore.
Now, suddenly, we're getting bombarded by ads for devices to track and control what our children can or can't do, under the guise of convenience. Many of these items have been around for nearly 5 years, so why is it only now that they are getting around to pushing these tools on parents?
Parents are already afraid to spank a child for getting into trouble, so who wouldn't snatch up all these new tools to pre-emptively ensure their child can do no wrong? If children can't get into trouble, you don't have to risk confronting them directly... right?
In the meanwhile, the child in question is quickly becoming more and more desensitized to living in a world of constant mistrust and surveillance. By the time these children become adults, will our government's monitoring techniques be seen as justified through transference, after having been constantly monitored in a similar fashion by their own parents?
If we, as adults, don't start demanding government limitations on what can and can't be monitored, freedom as we know it will be lost by the time the next generation is in control of things.
... this won't stop the practice of product activation using the internet. The whole process makes it a pain in the ass to migrate to new hardware and, it could eventually render the software you paid for today unusable tomorrow once these companies decide to cut support for it. I'm just waiting for the day large numbers of people find their software suddenly refusing to run because the activation server never responds, or fails to recognize the software/serial number due to the older versions' databases being dumped as obsolete data.
I have to agree, the Zaurus was definitely cool, but got killed off before it ever really had a chance to establish itself. The Japan-only versions with VGA displays and folded up like a laptop were probably the most interesting ones produced.
I got quite a bit of use out of my SL-5600, using it for everything from a portable web server to emulation. Here's a shot of mine running the Mac OS:
I have a set of three Canon ZR500's that I'm planning to use in a rig that will record video from the top, right and front view of a moving target simultaneously. However, there are going to be a number of limitations to overcome with such a setup.
Luckily, it seems RealViz will soon be releasing a new software package, called Movimento, that claims to be able to obtain motion capture data from video of events taken from multiple camera angles. While this new software should definitely make things easier for me, it also appears that this software may be able to use video taken from non-stationary cameras as well. As long as there is simultaneous footage of a single event taken from two or more camera angles, the software should work.
But until Movimento is released, it seems manually rotoscoping motion using a rig like mine may work best for the time being.
I'm not sure how realistic it'll be to make something like this actually work. Are they expecting the ESRB to examine only content of a game that is disclosed to them by the developer, or are they planning to make the ESRB hire people to pound on a title for any potential exploits that might allow a game to become open to third party modification, such as the "Hot Coffee" mod to GTA:SA that enabled a "feature" that was never intended for the end user to access in the first place?
And who will be accountable for what? Will the ESRB be held accountable for not getting the rating right on the first try? Will the developer's be held accountable because some 3D model they use is too accurately detailed and exposed only through third party modification, even though the detail of the model actually improves the visual quality of the game itself? Will developers be forced by law to hold any "controversial" games indefinitely until the ESRB rates it under the new criteria proposed in this?
Personally, I think we may be looking at the end of the ESRB. This act would make the stakes too high for any civilian agency to control. Get ready for the new Federal Video Games Rating Board, powered by same good people in the red states who put our fearless leader into office.
The hard part may be keeping the character usage right, this is where the difference between CG artists and real-life actors lies, but with a character interesting enough, is it possible?
The nature of the animation / comics industry is to hand over the rights to your creation to those who are going to publish and/or distribute it. That way, you can be replaced without the publisher/distributor losing money on their investment, should you breach your contract or become unable to continue working on the project itself.
Most likely, the only way a large scale publisher/distributor would agree to let you keep the rights is if you paid them directly for their services up front. (I'm also betting the price would be pretty steep... like several millions of dollars.)
Look, my point is that the school and the teacher acted without actually investigating the situation. How difficult is it to request the kid be psychologically evaluated before considering him a threat. The "one size fits all" approach to handling situations like this probably creates more problems than they actually solve.
Does this teacher have a teenage child or, for that matter, any kids at all? I'm curious as to what experiences he is using to justify getting the school's higher ups involved. Obviously he believes there is a chance this kid might actually kill him... but what is it outside of the kid's icon that actually supports this idea in his mind?
If it turns out that this teacher doesn't have any children himself, does that mean Chicken Little's claims of the sky falling should be taken at face value rather than investigated further before validating it?
Ok, let's look at another example... suspected "terrorists" being held captive without trial for several years. Even though these people may be innocent, won't being unfairly punished for a potential crime eventually drive these very people to lash out at those who screwed them over once they are released? And, if they did, would it justify their previous incarceration, despite the fact they never actually committed the crime they were being held for until now?
This kid created this icon as an expression of opinion. Despite the lack of good taste, is punishing someone for expressing opinion justified under the pretense that they may act out by simply having the said opinion in question?
Let's say this kid eventually does turn around and actually "kills" this teacher. Who's fault is it? Would it be those who punished him unjustly for expressing his opinion (including the teacher himself), driving him to lash out in response to his oppression? Would it be the parents, who supported their child's right to express an opinion, despite of its lack of popularity with those who disagree with it?
Hell, for that matter, why don't we just bypass all of it and go where the hotbutton of the day is... videogames. Yeah... the videogames made him do it... now pay up.
What's even scarier than the alleged "death threat" (which was never delivered to the "victim" to insight "terror" in the first place), is how many posts here actually suggest the kid deserves punishment. It's an expression of opinion, not an order to carry out a murder on his behalf. Have we become so accustomed to conformity that any dissent from athority is met with zero tolerance?
Needless to say, I'd guess 9/11 accomplished it's goal exactly as it was intended to do. We're now little more than bunch of Smurfs screaming and running around erratically every time something bad might happen.
A death threat? It's not like the kid tied it to a rock and threw it into the teachers house though a window or something.
Children do stupid things like this all the time. What we have here is just a prime example of a post-columbine overreaction. If something is uttered by a child, it must be literally true... right?
that's keeping the average US broadband speeds so low. What company in their right mind is going to ramp up their speeds noticeably higher than their competitors if the potential for piracy is so high? In fact, couldn't offering such blatantly huge bandwidth be falsely viewed as facilitating piracy under laws such the DMCA?
Slashdot Mirror
So far, the Radio Shack/FIRST VEX robotics kits seem to be the most interesting pre-fab robotics kits next to the older Lego MindStorms kits. There are numerous sites that carry add-on parts (sensors, timing gears, etc...) for the VEX kits, as well as the long awaited programming module.
Of course, if you'd rather go the old-school route, you could go looking for Capsela sets and try hacking together a few custom bubble modules to give it some intelligence.
... for Nintendo to announce a Wii launch date. Speculation has placed the launch between October 2nd and November 15th, and many users are already foaming at the mouth to get a pre-order in. It's only a matter of time before Sony buckles and announces either mass-shortages on the PS3 this holiday season, assuming they even get it out the door by then.
Nintendo has a perfect opportunity here to dominate a market it's been trailing behind in for the last decade, especially with folks like those who are holding out against the XBox 360 as their next game console. But they need to act quickly on this before anymore addictive next gen titles (like Dead Rising) end up falling into Microsoft's lap.
Needless to say, I'm keeping a close eye on sites like EBGames for the instant they open the pre-order floodgates on the Wii.
CrossOver may not be an entirely new concept, but it looks like a decent enough compromise of Windows compatibility without having to deal with the hassles of a true Windows installation. The software works much like Apple's X11 implementation, constraining the Windows parts of the Windows applications running within it to each application's main window. This includes all menus and application-generated windows, keeping your Mac OS X environment completely uncluttered.
Aside from that, this also eliminates much of the unnecessary Windows hassles, such as activation and "phoning home"... and you even get to save money to boot.
Needless to say, intel-based Macintosh users may want to snatch this up before it goes the way of Connectix Virtual Game Station. I can't imagine Microsoft letting this get by them without a fight, when there are other options that will require users to actually own a copy of Windows.
"People are convinced that their vote doesn't matter..."
Well, if you really think about it, these people aren't entirely wrong. As more people vote, each single vote submitted becomes less significant to the election's outcome.
An intelligent candidate would take advantage of this problem by starting a massive anti-voting campaign, appeal to peoples' laziness and desire for instant gratification to deture the desire to participate. Then, locate the extremists who deem it their god-given right to vote by watching the internet and the press (letters to the editor type stuff). Finally, cooerce these remaining people into voting for you and watch the votes fly in.
The great thing about it, is that because you've streamlined the voter pool to only a few individuals, each of their votes become far more relevant to the election results. It's also a win-win situation, since the politicians would only have to focus their efforts on persuading a few key individuals rather than a massive group, and the uber-voters get the satisfaction of knowing their vote actually has relevance over the election results without it being quite as dependent on support from other votes.
What I find so interesting about the "game enhancer" thing, is that this could imply *anyone* that sells any modern game consoles, including properly-regioned, unmodified consoles. Almost every modern console has software built into them that can directly affect a user's gaming experience (such as age rating restrictions, parental controls, etc...). Doesn't this qualify as "enhancement"?
... if it were a physically disabled person being denied access to the service due to the risk of them also being mental retarded? As a severely disabled person myself, it's been a common issue for me to stumble across people that will immediate jump to the conclusion that you must disabled in the mental department if they see you don't walk normally.
Can you imagine the shitstorm this would have created had it been Stephen Hawking that was denied service because he *looked* retarded.
After having experienced the incomplete version of Madden 06 for the XBox 360, fans of the series were probably foaming at the mouth for a version of the game that didn't feel quite so rushed. Also, unlike Madden 06, this one is more likely to look and feel like a true next gen title.
This is where the beauty of the XBox 360's "Live" capabilities come in... given enough complaints, it shouldn't be *that* difficult for Capcom to issue a small, downloadable update for the game that would make the dialogue text bigger on non-HD displays.
It may be possible to push them into developing such an update if enough people contact Capcom USA's consumer service department requesting a fix for the issue. Here's the info:
Phone: (408) 774-0400
Hours: 8:30am - 5pm PST
Snail Mail:
Capcom Entertainment Inc.
Consumer Service Department
475 Oakmead Parkway
Sunnyvale, CA 94085
Part of the reason the Kai Kraus interface annoyed so many people, is because display sizes were extremely limited at the time. Most users were stuck at VGA (640x480), but the Kai Kraus interface demaned enough screen space to support tool icons similar in size to icons used in Mac OS X today. So, even if the tools were revolutionary for the time, many users ended up with a tool palette as large as the working area, if not larger.
Today though, much of Kai Kraus' influence can still be seen in many pieces of software, such as Adobe Photoshop (non-rectangular windows with drop shadows) and Carrara Studio (most of the tool palettes work the same way they did in the older Kai-based apps.
As for whether Kai Kraus applies in terms of OS interfaces, that remains to be seen. But the Kai interface is still going strong today in many modern applications.
I'm amazed how anyone can hate this game. Sure, the game feels like a gimmick at first with all the flare of "Night of the Comet', but there's actually a lot of depth to it once you realize you aren't restricted to the single, repetative section you start out in. You can even go outside of the mall and locate other entrances to different sections while fending off hundreds of zombies and crazed, escape convicts hell bent on killing anything that moves, human or otherwise. There are even some really unusual weapons, such as snowblowers and motorcycles, that can take out entire crowds in the most gruesome manner imaginable.
Other weapons I really enjoy:
- Katana Sword (it slices and dices with the greatest of easy)
- Sledgehammer (great for watermelons or human skulls)
- Scythe (hook the neck and pull to remove head)
- sub-machine gun (perforate them all before they know what hit them)
- stun-gun (sizzle till they pop)
- heated frying pan (grill 'em and kill 'em)
- mall benches (have a seat, or else)
- propane tank + handgun (fire in the hole)
Other useful items include insects that will wipe out entire crowds and electric mixers that will convert various combinations of food items into temporary power-up drinks (2x Pie = "untouchable", 2x Wine/yogurt+ice cream = "quickstep", etc...). If you really want a challenge, try a cooking oil and orange juice cocktail.
The AI of the zombies is surprisingly random, but not to the point of being all to predictable. They also get more intelligent over time as they get more desperate to feed. (For example, they'll try to sneak up behind you and attack in large swarms further into the game, as well as becoming increasingly skilled at navigating complicated terrain, such as looking for openings to enclosed counters and traversing stairs.)
Finally, if you play along with the storyline, you'll find some of the human characters pose a greater threat than the zombies themselves, as you slowly uncover the mystery behind how the zombies came to be.
Overall, if you weren't a fan of the sometimes repetative gameplay of the Grand Theft Auto III titles, you may not find much value to Dead Rising. But if your not afraid to explore, Dead Rising will offer plenty of challenges to keep you busy long after the initial 72 in-game hours. Capcom really offered what was promised... anything within reach can be used as a weapon.
... firebombing farmers, gardeners, landscapers or anyone else that might own a lawnmower or weedwhacker? Plants are "alive" and deserve equal respect, right?
And where are the virus/germ rights activists? Shouldn't germs and viruses be deserving of protection from those who would intentionally harm them with anti-biotics and other medication? Just because they have less cells doesn't make them inferior.
You activists are really getting lazy in your work. Stop supporting only "certain" living things because you think they're cute, and start protecting all forms of life, no matter how undesireable you think they are.
This is just one more example of the direction our country is going. The government is already pre-emptively watching our every move without any legal justification. Whether its logging our phone calls and internet activity, or monitoring our financial records, you can't hide anymore.
Now, suddenly, we're getting bombarded by ads for devices to track and control what our children can or can't do, under the guise of convenience. Many of these items have been around for nearly 5 years, so why is it only now that they are getting around to pushing these tools on parents?
Parents are already afraid to spank a child for getting into trouble, so who wouldn't snatch up all these new tools to pre-emptively ensure their child can do no wrong? If children can't get into trouble, you don't have to risk confronting them directly... right?
In the meanwhile, the child in question is quickly becoming more and more desensitized to living in a world of constant mistrust and surveillance. By the time these children become adults, will our government's monitoring techniques be seen as justified through transference, after having been constantly monitored in a similar fashion by their own parents?
If we, as adults, don't start demanding government limitations on what can and can't be monitored, freedom as we know it will be lost by the time the next generation is in control of things.
... this won't stop the practice of product activation using the internet. The whole process makes it a pain in the ass to migrate to new hardware and, it could eventually render the software you paid for today unusable tomorrow once these companies decide to cut support for it. I'm just waiting for the day large numbers of people find their software suddenly refusing to run because the activation server never responds, or fails to recognize the software/serial number due to the older versions' databases being dumped as obsolete data.
I have to agree, the Zaurus was definitely cool, but got killed off before it ever really had a chance to establish itself. The Japan-only versions with VGA displays and folded up like a laptop were probably the most interesting ones produced.
I got quite a bit of use out of my SL-5600, using it for everything from a portable web server to emulation. Here's a shot of mine running the Mac OS:
- http://www.bones3d.com/think/zmac.jpg
I have a set of three Canon ZR500's that I'm planning to use in a rig that will record video from the top, right and front view of a moving target simultaneously. However, there are going to be a number of limitations to overcome with such a setup.
Luckily, it seems RealViz will soon be releasing a new software package, called Movimento, that claims to be able to obtain motion capture data from video of events taken from multiple camera angles. While this new software should definitely make things easier for me, it also appears that this software may be able to use video taken from non-stationary cameras as well. As long as there is simultaneous footage of a single event taken from two or more camera angles, the software should work.
But until Movimento is released, it seems manually rotoscoping motion using a rig like mine may work best for the time being.
I'm not sure how realistic it'll be to make something like this actually work. Are they expecting the ESRB to examine only content of a game that is disclosed to them by the developer, or are they planning to make the ESRB hire people to pound on a title for any potential exploits that might allow a game to become open to third party modification, such as the "Hot Coffee" mod to GTA:SA that enabled a "feature" that was never intended for the end user to access in the first place?
And who will be accountable for what? Will the ESRB be held accountable for not getting the rating right on the first try? Will the developer's be held accountable because some 3D model they use is too accurately detailed and exposed only through third party modification, even though the detail of the model actually improves the visual quality of the game itself? Will developers be forced by law to hold any "controversial" games indefinitely until the ESRB rates it under the new criteria proposed in this?
Personally, I think we may be looking at the end of the ESRB. This act would make the stakes too high for any civilian agency to control. Get ready for the new Federal Video Games Rating Board, powered by same good people in the red states who put our fearless leader into office.
The hard part may be keeping the character usage right, this is where the difference between CG artists and real-life actors lies, but with a character interesting enough, is it possible?
The nature of the animation / comics industry is to hand over the rights to your creation to those who are going to publish and/or distribute it. That way, you can be replaced without the publisher/distributor losing money on their investment, should you breach your contract or become unable to continue working on the project itself.
Most likely, the only way a large scale publisher/distributor would agree to let you keep the rights is if you paid them directly for their services up front. (I'm also betting the price would be pretty steep... like several millions of dollars.)
Look, my point is that the school and the teacher acted without actually investigating the situation. How difficult is it to request the kid be psychologically evaluated before considering him a threat. The "one size fits all" approach to handling situations like this probably creates more problems than they actually solve.
If you were a teacher and someone was spreading around animations of you being shot, would you want to teach the kid?
Sure. Unless the kid personally confronted me with a legitimate threat on my life, I'd pass it off as little more than typical teenage rebellion.
Does this teacher have a teenage child or, for that matter, any kids at all? I'm curious as to what experiences he is using to justify getting the school's higher ups involved. Obviously he believes there is a chance this kid might actually kill him... but what is it outside of the kid's icon that actually supports this idea in his mind?
If it turns out that this teacher doesn't have any children himself, does that mean Chicken Little's claims of the sky falling should be taken at face value rather than investigated further before validating it?
Ok, let's look at another example... suspected "terrorists" being held captive without trial for several years. Even though these people may be innocent, won't being unfairly punished for a potential crime eventually drive these very people to lash out at those who screwed them over once they are released? And, if they did, would it justify their previous incarceration, despite the fact they never actually committed the crime they were being held for until now?
This kid created this icon as an expression of opinion. Despite the lack of good taste, is punishing someone for expressing opinion justified under the pretense that they may act out by simply having the said opinion in question?
Let's say this kid eventually does turn around and actually "kills" this teacher. Who's fault is it? Would it be those who punished him unjustly for expressing his opinion (including the teacher himself), driving him to lash out in response to his oppression? Would it be the parents, who supported their child's right to express an opinion, despite of its lack of popularity with those who disagree with it?
Hell, for that matter, why don't we just bypass all of it and go where the hotbutton of the day is... videogames. Yeah... the videogames made him do it... now pay up.
So, while we're at it, can we charge this kid with conspiracy to commit murder, since we're wasting the court's time with this nonsense?
What's even scarier than the alleged "death threat" (which was never delivered to the "victim" to insight "terror" in the first place), is how many posts here actually suggest the kid deserves punishment. It's an expression of opinion, not an order to carry out a murder on his behalf. Have we become so accustomed to conformity that any dissent from athority is met with zero tolerance?
Needless to say, I'd guess 9/11 accomplished it's goal exactly as it was intended to do. We're now little more than bunch of Smurfs screaming and running around erratically every time something bad might happen.
A death threat? It's not like the kid tied it to a rock and threw it into the teachers house though a window or something.
Children do stupid things like this all the time. What we have here is just a prime example of a post-columbine overreaction. If something is uttered by a child, it must be literally true... right?
that's keeping the average US broadband speeds so low. What company in their right mind is going to ramp up their speeds noticeably higher than their competitors if the potential for piracy is so high? In fact, couldn't offering such blatantly huge bandwidth be falsely viewed as facilitating piracy under laws such the DMCA?