There have been a number of times where I'm talking to folks about something, and the topic of Movies/CD's come up. When you're trying to explain to people why you don't buy them any more, it helps to have an actual, real world example of the problems that DRM brings to the table.
You seem like a nut job ranting about hte 3v17 of the man until you can sit Jane and Joe down and explain to them that they can't watch their new kickass T2 DVD they bought, because someone decided they didn't actually own it.
Science fiction and sports games were not pulled as part of the sweep, so more nerdy prisoners will not be affected by the changes."
So now we have the more violent criminals sitting around with nothing to do, while the geeky ones still get to enjoy their video games. Yeah, I'm sure nothing bad could possibly arise from that situation.
I was playing a bit this morning on my lunch break. (wanted to snag my SN before someone else did) and I have to say I'm impressed. So far very little lag at all, including the n00b areas. That and they went with a distributed download for the initial patch, and it seems as if they might have done alright estimating bandwidth/demand on the first day.
So, this is actually going to be the first MMPORG I sign up for. It was a little more level dependant than I would have liked, but fact is this is what peopel are going to be playing.
Not to mention it was a lot of fun in the Beta, and they have both PC and Mac clients. That's pretty much all I needed from an MMPORG. Now to see if I stick with it.
Windows update will update 3rd party hardware drivers, but last I checked, won't update 3rd party software.
I'm surprised that someone who's ready to install Linux on a Box for "ease of use" hasn't learned just a touch more about OSX. (most linux geeks I know are computer geeks in general, and like to learn about everything they can).
I've set up numerous folks with both Windows machines and Macs. These are completely computer ignorant users. I've had far less trouble with the Mac users than the Windows users. The only Windows users I've had set up that didn't have problems were those that never went online. What a waste of a computer.
I'm glad to see that another online game is built around the idea that cross-platform gaming is important.
What I think a lot of companies might not realize is that when you're making a game that plays on Mac or Linux boxes, you're not just adding that ~2% - 3% of marketshare to your total games sales.
Instead, what you're doing is creating a game that everyone can play. That means next time someone decides to have a LAN party, YOUR game is at the top of the list for anyone who would rather bring their Linux or Mac machine along with them. Sure, there are half a dozen MMPORG's out there. However, the only ones I'm considering, along with half a dozen friends of mine are ones that are cross platform. The reason is that we want to make sure our friends who use something other than Windows can still play in our groups. So yeah, there might be one Mac user and one Linux user out of 10 people, but writing your game to support those two people happened to net you another 8 monthly subscriptions.
Please, if you have a chance to sign up for these services, do so. And watch decent television. The sooner we can get the Reality TV craze off the air the better.
I played the Beta for a while. It was fun for about the first week. Then, the grind started to get to me.
I know a lot of people seem to like this type of game, but really the fact is I don't want to feel like I'm working while I'm playing a video game, and to me most MMPORG's feel like work, not play.
That, and the PVP aspect of it felt very broken. The classes had serious balance issues, and level was almost everything. (i know, it was beta, maybe it will get better but i'd be surprised).
Dunno, but after playing games like Vendetta for a while, I see less of a reason to the WoW angle. Vendetta does something that every game should aspire to. The better skilled player wins the battles, not the highest level player. A very low level play can clean up against much higher level unskilled players, which is how it should be.
Guess I just don't have to time to dedicate to get to be one of those highest level characters running around, and I'd rather not get my ass handed to me just because someone doesn't have a job and can put 10 hours a day into a game.
I mean, I understand that it's super cool geeky and all to do this crap, but do we really need a story every time someone manages to run a modern OS on an old piece of shit computer?
Why not just do an end of the year round-up of all them at the same time, rather than 20 stories spread out over the year?
Why does everyone think that the iPod killer is going to be a new player?
That's not what an iPod is.
An iPod is actually a combination of things. First, it's a small, lightweight player. That's right where most people stop. They think "Hey, we can make a light weight player, and we can make it cheaper."
Second, it's an easy to use player. Too many competitors don't take this into consideration. There are far too many players on the market that gloss over this step. It's hard to demonstrate UI through press photos. Word of mouth is the key for this step, and it tends to destroy most other players. Lets face it, most people are idiots, and end up confused by the average mp3 player UI, and then they bitch about it. The iPod is so simple anyone can use it.
Now here's the sneaky part that everyone seems to forget about. The iPod is also married to the iTunes Music Store. It's an easy, legal way to get songs on your player. Both built from the ground up to work together with ease. Throw in 1-Click purchasing, and you've got yourself a nice little system.
To see a real iPod killer, someone will have to come up with an easier way to get music onto their player. Until that happens, everyone's going to keep selling their ideas in the boardroom, only to watch them fall apart in the market.
I know some folks who teach courses on air pollution. Just wondering if anyone knew where I could get higher quality versions of those nitrogen pollution maps. Since the course has been taught for 10 years, I'm sure the images they're using are out of date.
While it's fine to include one, it's NOT fine to integrate it to the point where you CAN'T GET RID OF IT.
That's what everyone's problem is in this case. Tell you what, you remove Internet Explorer from your machine, and replace it with Firefox. Then come back and tell us how you did it. You will be the next internet God.
Holding down the mouse button on any Mac will cause it to eject all media, including those "hard to eject" CD's.
Rather than jamming a metal stick into a little hole, you just hold down a button. Sorry, but the buttom seems like the more elegant solution. Too bad they never told anyone about it.
Last month called, they want their story back. See the dozens of comments (in these comments alone) regarding google's dropping of the web browser usage stat.
I looked everywhere. No friggin uninstallers for practically anything. There was the occasional one from the odd app., but most programs had nothing.
Then I asked someone. You throw the Application icon away. That's it. The vast majority of the apps. files are stored within a package which appears as the app. icon. aside from a few preference files, there's nothing else left.
No hidden DLL's, no registry to clean. It was freaky.
Initially, the internet was bits of meaningless data between two computers.
Today? Bits of meaningless data between millions of computers.
All joking aside though, I have no idea how people got anything done before the internet.
Need to fix something around the house? Check the 'net.
Need to figure out where the hell a business/friend is? Check the 'net.
Have some jackass who insists they're right about some obscure factoid, and want to make them admit they're full of crap now, before they can deny it ever happened? Good 'ol internet.
Between wireless, high-speed access, and laptops within an arm's reach, the average person now has access to information that used to be obscure and almost impossible to come by at a moments notice.
In 35 years, the internet has probably done more to change the way people live than any other invention. (at least in the last 100 years or so) That dude who discovered fire and the wheel did pretty well for humanity.
Interesting you mention that. I employ your strategy above, only use a simple multiplier. Whatever someone does, they get it back at least three times worse. Dispropotionate responses also discourage others from going down that road.
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There have been a number of times where I'm talking to folks about something, and the topic of Movies/CD's come up. When you're trying to explain to people why you don't buy them any more, it helps to have an actual, real world example of the problems that DRM brings to the table.
You seem like a nut job ranting about hte 3v17 of the man until you can sit Jane and Joe down and explain to them that they can't watch their new kickass T2 DVD they bought, because someone decided they didn't actually own it.
Here's a true story that should go some way to explaining my views. One friend of mine.....
:)
Well, obviously the only constant in all of these stories is you. Must be your fault they all crashed.
Science fiction and sports games were not pulled as part of the sweep, so more nerdy prisoners will not be affected by the changes."
So now we have the more violent criminals sitting around with nothing to do, while the geeky ones still get to enjoy their video games. Yeah, I'm sure nothing bad could possibly arise from that situation.
I was playing a bit this morning on my lunch break. (wanted to snag my SN before someone else did) and I have to say I'm impressed. So far very little lag at all, including the n00b areas. That and they went with a distributed download for the initial patch, and it seems as if they might have done alright estimating bandwidth/demand on the first day.
Every edition comes with a free month, so it's $80 again.
So, this is actually going to be the first MMPORG I sign up for. It was a little more level dependant than I would have liked, but fact is this is what peopel are going to be playing.
Not to mention it was a lot of fun in the Beta, and they have both PC and Mac clients. That's pretty much all I needed from an MMPORG. Now to see if I stick with it.
Seeing as they don't really care what the studies are saying, I'm not sure why you think they'd need to buy one.
Study concludes A.
MS decides B.
MS distributes B across the globe, everyone repeats. End of story.
No new study required.
Windows update will update 3rd party hardware drivers, but last I checked, won't update 3rd party software.
I'm surprised that someone who's ready to install Linux on a Box for "ease of use" hasn't learned just a touch more about OSX. (most linux geeks I know are computer geeks in general, and like to learn about everything they can).
I've set up numerous folks with both Windows machines and Macs. These are completely computer ignorant users. I've had far less trouble with the Mac users than the Windows users. The only Windows users I've had set up that didn't have problems were those that never went online. What a waste of a computer.
I'm glad to see that another online game is built around the idea that cross-platform gaming is important.
What I think a lot of companies might not realize is that when you're making a game that plays on Mac or Linux boxes, you're not just adding that ~2% - 3% of marketshare to your total games sales.
Instead, what you're doing is creating a game that everyone can play. That means next time someone decides to have a LAN party, YOUR game is at the top of the list for anyone who would rather bring their Linux or Mac machine along with them. Sure, there are half a dozen MMPORG's out there. However, the only ones I'm considering, along with half a dozen friends of mine are ones that are cross platform. The reason is that we want to make sure our friends who use something other than Windows can still play in our groups. So yeah, there might be one Mac user and one Linux user out of 10 people, but writing your game to support those two people happened to net you another 8 monthly subscriptions.
Please, if you have a chance to sign up for these services, do so. And watch decent television. The sooner we can get the Reality TV craze off the air the better.
I played the Beta for a while. It was fun for about the first week. Then, the grind started to get to me.
I know a lot of people seem to like this type of game, but really the fact is I don't want to feel like I'm working while I'm playing a video game, and to me most MMPORG's feel like work, not play.
That, and the PVP aspect of it felt very broken. The classes had serious balance issues, and level was almost everything. (i know, it was beta, maybe it will get better but i'd be surprised).
Dunno, but after playing games like Vendetta for a while, I see less of a reason to the WoW angle. Vendetta does something that every game should aspire to. The better skilled player wins the battles, not the highest level player. A very low level play can clean up against much higher level unskilled players, which is how it should be.
Guess I just don't have to time to dedicate to get to be one of those highest level characters running around, and I'd rather not get my ass handed to me just because someone doesn't have a job and can put 10 hours a day into a game.
WTF? Can someone explain to my WHY I would want to store my data on biodegradable discs? Isn't the whole point of disc to store long term?
After reading the article, I want to find out more about the St. Paulie girl.
I want a step by step about every part of her costume.
I have it on good insider knowledge, that this entire cluster is going to be put to the best possible usage.
/kidding
Not disease solving, not genetic mapping, not calculating weather patterns.
No, what they're going to do is remaster the Original Star Wars series, right from the laser disc versions!!!!
Imagine, a digitallly remastered bar scene where Han shoots first!!@$!@#!one!@
I mean, I understand that it's super cool geeky and all to do this crap, but do we really need a story every time someone manages to run a modern OS on an old piece of shit computer?
Why not just do an end of the year round-up of all them at the same time, rather than 20 stories spread out over the year?
I just looked over our school's info. A lot of it is wrong. It was off in at least three or four categories too, not just one or two.
Anyone else's school got the wrong info for it? From what I saw of the school where I work, I wouldn't give this list much credence.
Why does everyone think that the iPod killer is going to be a new player?
That's not what an iPod is.
An iPod is actually a combination of things. First, it's a small, lightweight player. That's right where most people stop. They think "Hey, we can make a light weight player, and we can make it cheaper."
Second, it's an easy to use player. Too many competitors don't take this into consideration. There are far too many players on the market that gloss over this step. It's hard to demonstrate UI through press photos. Word of mouth is the key for this step, and it tends to destroy most other players. Lets face it, most people are idiots, and end up confused by the average mp3 player UI, and then they bitch about it. The iPod is so simple anyone can use it.
Now here's the sneaky part that everyone seems to forget about. The iPod is also married to the iTunes Music Store. It's an easy, legal way to get songs on your player. Both built from the ground up to work together with ease. Throw in 1-Click purchasing, and you've got yourself a nice little system.
To see a real iPod killer, someone will have to come up with an easier way to get music onto their player. Until that happens, everyone's going to keep selling their ideas in the boardroom, only to watch them fall apart in the market.
I know some folks who teach courses on air pollution. Just wondering if anyone knew where I could get higher quality versions of those nitrogen pollution maps. Since the course has been taught for 10 years, I'm sure the images they're using are out of date.
While it's fine to include one, it's NOT fine to integrate it to the point where you CAN'T GET RID OF IT.
That's what everyone's problem is in this case. Tell you what, you remove Internet Explorer from your machine, and replace it with Firefox. Then come back and tell us how you did it. You will be the next internet God.
One thing I'll say for Camino is they know how to render default buttons.
Firefox's button defaults look like ass. It has a lot of other, better features, but the UI isn't really one of them.
Now Adblock.......
Holding down the mouse button on any Mac will cause it to eject all media, including those "hard to eject" CD's.
Rather than jamming a metal stick into a little hole, you just hold down a button. Sorry, but the buttom seems like the more elegant solution. Too bad they never told anyone about it.
Last month called, they want their story back. See the dozens of comments (in these comments alone) regarding google's dropping of the web browser usage stat.
How to uninstall a program.
I looked everywhere. No friggin uninstallers for practically anything. There was the occasional one from the odd app., but most programs had nothing.
Then I asked someone. You throw the Application icon away. That's it. The vast majority of the apps. files are stored within a package which appears as the app. icon. aside from a few preference files, there's nothing else left.
No hidden DLL's, no registry to clean. It was freaky.
Initially, the internet was bits of meaningless data between two computers.
Today? Bits of meaningless data between millions of computers.
All joking aside though, I have no idea how people got anything done before the internet.
Need to fix something around the house? Check the 'net.
Need to figure out where the hell a business/friend is? Check the 'net.
Have some jackass who insists they're right about some obscure factoid, and want to make them admit they're full of crap now, before they can deny it ever happened? Good 'ol internet.
Between wireless, high-speed access, and laptops within an arm's reach, the average person now has access to information that used to be obscure and almost impossible to come by at a moments notice.
In 35 years, the internet has probably done more to change the way people live than any other invention. (at least in the last 100 years or so) That dude who discovered fire and the wheel did pretty well for humanity.
Interesting you mention that. I employ your strategy above, only use a simple multiplier. Whatever someone does, they get it back at least three times worse. Dispropotionate responses also discourage others from going down that road.
Thank god I'm fucking crazy.