Tell that to anybody prosecuted for false advertising. Or any manner of con artists.
"The RIAA isn't lying. They won't press charges."
Sez them. However, I don't see that in writing, at least not without a signature with some weight behind it.
"In this case they simply don't spell out that other owners of the IP can press charges."
The RIAA members are the people who own the IP. If they are dues-paying members of the orgainziation, then it is reasonable to assume that the organization they are a part of speaks for them, especially when they are obliged to follow other membership regulations.
Or are the US steel tariff's magicly OK because, while the WTO has ruled against them, the US (a member of the organization) is free to ignore them at its liesure without fear of recrimination?
"Law enforcment does this type of thing all the time."
No, they do it once. And then they find that all of the local defense attorneys stonewall them, and suddenly it's much more difficult to prosecute just about any crime as plea bargaining becomes a thing of the past.
"It doesn't matter if you don't like it. It's perfectly legal and there's no reason it shouldn't be."
No, in many states it would be considered breach of contract, which is (and should) be illegal.
"I shook my head at the morally bankrupt Slashdot crowd that wants to continue lying to people telling them that stealing music should be legal."
Time for remedial English, everyone!
Your average dictionary will tell you that the verb "to lie" (aside from the "going horizontal" definition) is to intentionally state information that isn't true. A misrepresentation of a statement of fact.
The word "should," you will note, expressed a matter of opinion. It's how you feel.
Therefore, anything with the word "should" in it cannot be a lie. Fact != opinion. The time such a statement is a lie is when you lie about your own feelings on the subject.
"So is China evil because they censor the Internet? Or are they good because the block spam?"
Bear in mind that Beijing's definition of "spam" may and probably varies widely with the definition commonly used on Slashdot. For example, consider what most Slashdotters think of when they hear the word "cult" (Scientology) and what Beijing wants people to think of (Falun Gong).
"Hard to see the world in slashdotter green-and-white, is it?:)"
A quick trip to the games section should cure you of that.:)
I would imagine that, if their OoT/Master Quest disc is any indication, that this new disc will be included as a pre-sale offer with one of the new Zelda games (Tetra's Pirates or the GCN version of Four Swords) and/or will be thrown in with a Nintendo Power subscription package.
"The RIAA views the average person (customer) as a morally bankrupt thief who will steal at every opportunity, unless they are constantly subjected to campaigns of fear and shame."
If they were to only stop looking in the mirror all the time...
Debatable. But it is a right guaranteed to US citizens by the fourth amendment of the Constitution of the United States, which is more important (as far as the US is concerned at least).
Of course, free speech isn't a "basic human right" either, at least not to those who are usually consulted to define what such rights are.
"Sega showed us it takes more than originality in game design to survive in the console industry. It takes a viable platform and large installed user base."
Specifically, Sega showed us what can happen to a company that has a history of totally abandoning its hardware (and customers) in the middle of its lifespan. Since Nintendo persists on keeping its consoles around long after most other companies would have moved on, the Sega model is misapplied.
"This statement perplexes me. How can you equate overheating N64's, asinine controllers, stupid battery backups in your stupid carts, etc. good hardware?"
It was good enough for Sony. There is nothing that Sony did to their PSX/PS2 controller that Nintendo didn't do first. Even the basic premise is a rip-off of the SNES controller (or is it coincidence that Sony made the first non-Nintendo console ever to have a "Select" button on the controller?)
"They've lost sight of who their core audience is, which is males. "
You're confusing the general category "males" with the sub-category of "boys." Anybody with a Y chromosone that's (mentally) older than the age of 18 and isn't terminally homophobic has no problem playing Nintendo's games.
You're confusing Nintendo's target audience with Sony's and Microsoft's. Nintendo's target audience is now, has always been and will always be "everybody." Maintaining artistic vision instead of always chasing after the almighty dollar is a good thing, sales and marketing departments be damned.
Let's look at it this way: Whose games are most likely to still be remembered ten years from now?
I'm personally amazed at how dynamic the controller is. I've discovered that it's better (for me and my gargantuan hands, at least) to put your middle fingers on the L & R triggers (and my right-index on the Z) in games that use the analog stick while games that rely on the d-pad feel better when I have my index fingers on L & R. I'm tempted to say it was designed to work that way. All the dynamics of the N64 controller without looking like one.
What's not "standard" about mini-DVDs? They're still DVDs, just smaller. I think you're confusing "standard" with "I can't easily buy blank media to pirate games onto." If you're so desparate to rip-off Blockbuster, wait a little while for somebody to make a digital camera that writes to 8 cm DVD+RWs, because until then burning GCN games is the only possible market for such a medium.
Or are you bemoaning about the GameCube's inability to play DVD movies? With things like what's happening to DeCSS and with the DMCA, you'd think any Slashdotter would be damned proud to own a game console where the MPAA (and their lackeys at the DVD Consortium) don't see a single red cent.
"So link to the reviewed article that says stirring molten lead and chanting the right phrases creates gold. Alchemists 1000 years ago had no idea of fission, fusion, or the subatomic."
You're confusing methodology with basic premise. The parent mocked alchemy, but the fact of the matter is that you can transmute elements into something else. Just because alchemists a few hundred years ago were quacks doesn't mean that all such claims of transmuting elements must therefore be bunk.
You know, like how just because Pons and Fleischmann were screwy doesn't mean that the concept of cold fusion is without merit.
"Alchemy is just about as (dis)provabe as magick. Fission is truth. Please don't confuse the two."
Here's some magic for you, then: the reference I was using to Hiroshima wasn't about fission, it was about what was being fissioned: plutonium. In the 1940's they didn't even know that (trace amounts of) plutonium actually occur natually. Every miligram of plutonium used in that bomb was transmuted from a different element.
At any rate, I don't forsee cold fusion being all that useful for making bombs since (if possible) it wouldn't nearly be energetic enough to make a useful explosion. Don't forget that the only reason fusion bombs work is that they include a fission bomb to kick-start the process (and in the early days of H-bomb development, sometimes even that didnt't work).
"At least someone took the time to prove alchemy wrong."
It's impossible to transmute one element into another one? I'm sure all those people in Hiroshima in August of 1945 will be glad to know that what that B-29 dropped on them was powered by a figment of somebody's imagination.
Turning lead into gold isn't impossible, it's just expensive.
"the victim is most likely in deep pain and may be under the impression the stopping the game company from making such games might also stop this pain from happening again."
Then it's the responsibility of their lawyer (you know, the person they pay for legal advice) to point out how they're letting themselves get carried away on an ill-informed crusade.
But that would rely on the lawyer in question to take his or her job seriously and not be an ambulance-chaser...
"If they reached something like a 4:1 loss:win ratio, they should be disbarred for a year."
Then they'd be even more inclined not to take cases they don't think they can win. And suddenly making sure defendants get a fair trial doesn't seem so important any more. After all, nobody would want to get involved in a criminal case unless the defendant has a rock-solid alibi.
Slashdot Mirror
"It's not against the law to fool people."
Tell that to anybody prosecuted for false advertising. Or any manner of con artists.
"The RIAA isn't lying. They won't press charges."
Sez them. However, I don't see that in writing, at least not without a signature with some weight behind it.
"In this case they simply don't spell out that other owners of the IP can press charges."
The RIAA members are the people who own the IP. If they are dues-paying members of the orgainziation, then it is reasonable to assume that the organization they are a part of speaks for them, especially when they are obliged to follow other membership regulations.
Or are the US steel tariff's magicly OK because, while the WTO has ruled against them, the US (a member of the organization) is free to ignore them at its liesure without fear of recrimination?
"Law enforcment does this type of thing all the time."
No, they do it once. And then they find that all of the local defense attorneys stonewall them, and suddenly it's much more difficult to prosecute just about any crime as plea bargaining becomes a thing of the past.
"It doesn't matter if you don't like it. It's perfectly legal and there's no reason it shouldn't be."
No, in many states it would be considered breach of contract, which is (and should) be illegal.
"Posting a story on the front page of slashdot sure is a very nice gesture to the sysadmins of philly.com, you retards."
How do you know philly.com wasn't hosting kiddie pr0n?
"I shook my head at the morally bankrupt Slashdot crowd that wants to continue lying to people telling them that stealing music should be legal."
Time for remedial English, everyone!
Your average dictionary will tell you that the verb "to lie" (aside from the "going horizontal" definition) is to intentionally state information that isn't true. A misrepresentation of a statement of fact.
The word "should," you will note, expressed a matter of opinion. It's how you feel.
Therefore, anything with the word "should" in it cannot be a lie. Fact != opinion. The time such a statement is a lie is when you lie about your own feelings on the subject.
"So is China evil because they censor the Internet? Or are they good because the block spam?"
:)"
:)
Bear in mind that Beijing's definition of "spam" may and probably varies widely with the definition commonly used on Slashdot. For example, consider what most Slashdotters think of when they hear the word "cult" (Scientology) and what Beijing wants people to think of (Falun Gong).
"Hard to see the world in slashdotter green-and-white, is it?
A quick trip to the games section should cure you of that.
I would imagine that, if their OoT/Master Quest disc is any indication, that this new disc will be included as a pre-sale offer with one of the new Zelda games (Tetra's Pirates or the GCN version of Four Swords) and/or will be thrown in with a Nintendo Power subscription package.
"The RIAA views the average person (customer) as a morally bankrupt thief who will steal at every opportunity, unless they are constantly subjected to campaigns of fear and shame."
If they were to only stop looking in the mirror all the time...
"Who the fuck are these doctors, and how the hell do they figure that kids with ADHD are getting it because they play too many videogames?"
Lady and gentlemen, I believe we have this week's RTFA Poster Child!
"What did you do today?"
I bumped up the size of my Freenet node space.
"Privacy is not a basic human right."
Debatable. But it is a right guaranteed to US citizens by the fourth amendment of the Constitution of the United States, which is more important (as far as the US is concerned at least).
Of course, free speech isn't a "basic human right" either, at least not to those who are usually consulted to define what such rights are.
"Sega showed us it takes more than originality in game design to survive in the console industry. It takes a viable platform and large installed user base."
Specifically, Sega showed us what can happen to a company that has a history of totally abandoning its hardware (and customers) in the middle of its lifespan. Since Nintendo persists on keeping its consoles around long after most other companies would have moved on, the Sega model is misapplied.
"This statement perplexes me. How can you equate overheating N64's, asinine controllers, stupid battery backups in your stupid carts, etc. good hardware?"
It was good enough for Sony. There is nothing that Sony did to their PSX/PS2 controller that Nintendo didn't do first. Even the basic premise is a rip-off of the SNES controller (or is it coincidence that Sony made the first non-Nintendo console ever to have a "Select" button on the controller?)
- You're confusing the general category "males" with the sub-category of "boys." Anybody with a Y chromosone that's (mentally) older than the age of 18 and isn't terminally homophobic has no problem playing Nintendo's games.
- You're confusing Nintendo's target audience with Sony's and Microsoft's. Nintendo's target audience is now, has always been and will always be "everybody." Maintaining artistic vision instead of always chasing after the almighty dollar is a good thing, sales and marketing departments be damned.
Let's look at it this way: Whose games are most likely to still be remembered ten years from now?"First, look at the controller."
I'm personally amazed at how dynamic the controller is. I've discovered that it's better (for me and my gargantuan hands, at least) to put your middle fingers on the L & R triggers (and my right-index on the Z) in games that use the analog stick while games that rely on the d-pad feel better when I have my index fingers on L & R. I'm tempted to say it was designed to work that way. All the dynamics of the N64 controller without looking like one.
"Refusal to come out with "Vice City"-style Zelda game in which Link has a Hookershot weapon"
Am I the only person to read that and immediately think that suction-cup gun Ataru pulled on Lum in the first chapter of Urusei Yatsura?
How come nobody's build that?
"Use STANDARD MEDIA! (...) mini-DVD's."
What's not "standard" about mini-DVDs? They're still DVDs, just smaller. I think you're confusing "standard" with "I can't easily buy blank media to pirate games onto." If you're so desparate to rip-off Blockbuster, wait a little while for somebody to make a digital camera that writes to 8 cm DVD+RWs, because until then burning GCN games is the only possible market for such a medium.
Or are you bemoaning about the GameCube's inability to play DVD movies? With things like what's happening to DeCSS and with the DMCA, you'd think any Slashdotter would be damned proud to own a game console where the MPAA (and their lackeys at the DVD Consortium) don't see a single red cent.
"You pretty much have to buy the DVD remote for the PS2 as using the controller to play a DVD is completely unintuitive."
At least you don't have to buy the remote to get the DVD driver update. Oh, wait...
"I'm beginning to see parallels between Apple and Nintendo,"
Could be worse. Apple doesn't have to work practically next door to a major competitor.
I wonder if the NOA crew have managed to TP the MSFT compound yet...
5) A virus writer finds a lawyer to successfully uses this court case to say "it wasn't a trojan, it was spyware."
"Speaking of adware, I installed mouse a month ago. The friggin mouse program had an adware component."
Microsoft's mouse driver for DOS comes with spyware, too? The situation's worse than I thought!
"So link to the reviewed article that says stirring molten lead and chanting the right phrases creates gold. Alchemists 1000 years ago had no idea of fission, fusion, or the subatomic."
You're confusing methodology with basic premise. The parent mocked alchemy, but the fact of the matter is that you can transmute elements into something else. Just because alchemists a few hundred years ago were quacks doesn't mean that all such claims of transmuting elements must therefore be bunk.
You know, like how just because Pons and Fleischmann were screwy doesn't mean that the concept of cold fusion is without merit.
"Alchemy is just about as (dis)provabe as magick. Fission is truth. Please don't confuse the two."
Here's some magic for you, then: the reference I was using to Hiroshima wasn't about fission, it was about what was being fissioned: plutonium. In the 1940's they didn't even know that (trace amounts of) plutonium actually occur natually. Every miligram of plutonium used in that bomb was transmuted from a different element.
"If I remember correctly, the fictional bomb had a pretty astounding yield - over 50 megatons, larger than the biggest H-Bomb."
Ehhh... I wouldn't say that...
At any rate, I don't forsee cold fusion being all that useful for making bombs since (if possible) it wouldn't nearly be energetic enough to make a useful explosion. Don't forget that the only reason fusion bombs work is that they include a fission bomb to kick-start the process (and in the early days of H-bomb development, sometimes even that didnt't work).
"At least someone took the time to prove alchemy wrong."
It's impossible to transmute one element into another one? I'm sure all those people in Hiroshima in August of 1945 will be glad to know that what that B-29 dropped on them was powered by a figment of somebody's imagination.
Turning lead into gold isn't impossible, it's just expensive.
"the victim is most likely in deep pain and may be under the impression the stopping the game company from making such games might also stop this pain from happening again."
Then it's the responsibility of their lawyer (you know, the person they pay for legal advice) to point out how they're letting themselves get carried away on an ill-informed crusade.
But that would rely on the lawyer in question to take his or her job seriously and not be an ambulance-chaser...
"If they reached something like a 4:1 loss:win ratio, they should be disbarred for a year."
Then they'd be even more inclined not to take cases they don't think they can win. And suddenly making sure defendants get a fair trial doesn't seem so important any more. After all, nobody would want to get involved in a criminal case unless the defendant has a rock-solid alibi.
"a far more pressing issue for me is why doesn't google remove links for "kiddie porn" or "illegal porn" or "rape pics" or something?"
Because it's easier to filter out one or two specific brand names than a few thousand different metaphors and spellings.