And who's to say that an international court would carry the same protection that an American court would. Most countries could care less about copyright and trademark law. Just look at the pirating problem in China. Certainly the UN has no problem with ignoring American interests.
Why not just have a group of hackers that goes vigilante and goes after the bad guys. Ruin their credit ratings, put their picture in the FBI Ten Most Wanted lists, etc. Or maybe I'm just watching too much A-Team.
I don't even believe everything I read. Taking implied meanings for granted is really asking for trouble
However, by providing reviews that supposedly will tell you whether a product is worthwhile or crap, they are implying that their review is based on the merits of the product, not on any outside influence. Yes, any idiot would take a review with a grain of salt. But the fact that they are providing these reviews implies that the reviewer was not influenced in anyway, other than the quality of the product.
Only if they explicitly say that they were under no influence from nVidia.
Should they even have to explicitly state this? It should be a given. They should explicitely state that they were given free stuff, so they won't tell you about the bad aspects of a product. I know, it's a little naive. But just because it's assumed that these reviews aren't unbiased doesn't remove the responsibility to be unbiased and correct.
Everybody's out to make money in this world, and trusting people too much is your own mistake. Don't blame people for trying to make a living.
I don't blame them for making a living. All advertisers lie about their product. I just want these "review" sites to be held to a higher standard.
If nVidia gives you free cards, good for you. If you do something they don't like, they can stop giving you free cards. They can do whatever they damn well please. If you don't care if you get the cards or not, you can tell nVidia to piss off. If you do care, you dance to their tune.
The problem is that these sites are supposedly providing un-biased opinions. They may not expressly state it, but that's what they are implying. By nVidia providing free cards on the condition that they only get positive reviews, nVidia is acting unethically. Not quite illegally, but definitely unethically.
And if the sites accept the free demo unit with the understanding that the cost is that they receive a positive review, then the sites are acting just as unethically as nVidia.
Almost every computer manufacturer provided free demo units. It's a solid assumption to make that every hardware review site receives free demo units. And I'm willing to bet hard cash that a sizable portion of them sway the review to the favor of the provider of free equipment.
It's pretty bad when you trust an independent review site as much as the company's press release.
1 - Paranoia, the RPG, had a delivery service called Fed-R-ALL Express. Basically, a seat and handlebar strapped to a Saturn 5 rocket. Instant delivery! I smoked a few clones with that one.
Who ordered pizza?Whoosh!! Screech!! Kerblam!!
2 - I believe it was one of the Hitchhikers Guide books. A ship was travelling the cosmos setting suns to supernova, just so that when the light from the nova suns reached a certain planet, it spelled out an advertisement in the sky!
Cars are speeding down interstates and through intersections. So they install cameras to take pictures of license plates.
People are being shot with guns at schools and churches. So they install metal detectors, cameras, and want a database of all gun owners in the country.
People die because they choose to smoke cigarettes. So they sue tobacco companies for an absolutely absurd amount.
Drug dealers and other criminals are possibly using e-mail to plan their crimes. So the FBI installs boxes at ISPs to copy all e-mail and other net traffic from it's users.
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. - Ben Franklin
HALO for Mac!! This most likely means HALO for PC also!
Multiple G4 for the same price as previous single G4. And with the clock settings as dip switches, it's an overclockers dream!
Cool new mouse. Yeah, is weird. But it sure beats the hockey puck!
New keyboard. Finally!
OSx public beta in September!
This MacWorld is about as momentous as the iMac introduction. Apple is moving in the right direction. Yes, the new mouse is going to be ridiculed by alot of people. So was the iMac. And that little colored piece of plastic brought Apple back from the grave. And now 350mhz iMacs for $799! Faster and better than a piece of crap eMachine!
I'm drooling over one of the new (G4/500)^2 machines for the price of a single G4.
Other ideas: a Superman movie that Doesn't Suck. A Batman movie that Doesn't Suck. Hell, I'd even be willing to give a Wonder Woman movie a chance (Lucy Lawless perhaps?) once they get it through their Hollywood dope-addled heads that the story is important!
Ooh, a Wonder Woman movie, staring Lucy Lawless, directed by Tim Burton. Oooooh!
Tim Burton is about the only director I've seen that can do comic book movies justice. Batman is the litmus test by which all comic-book-derived movies should be based against.
My favorite comic-book-movie is still Mystery Men! I want a sequel with Flaming Carrot! And I want a live-action big-budget Tick movie!
Is it possible to build software that is 100% resistant to computer viruses? Can software be coded with no possible pathways for a virus to spread?
Microsoft is the primary cause for the proliferation of viruses in the past few years. Scripting ability is a nice feature in software, but should it be defaulted to be active upon installation of the software? A vast majority of users don't need scripting in spreadsheets and word processors.
But with all of the holes in older software (sendmail, etc), it seems that the problem is getting worse, not better.
So, where does the problem lie? Programmers not willing to look back over their own code and eliminate such holes? Corporations that are pushing for release, regardless of the security issues (hmmm, could it be... M$!!!)? Users that blindly open attachments without looking to see what they are opening?
I used to be a major comic book hound. About the only comic book I didn't read was X-Men. I read about every other mutant book (X-Factor, Excaliber), but I just couldn't stand X-Men.
I hate Wolverine. I hate the character, I hate the rabid fanboys of him. I hate the fact that he shows up in EVERY SINGLE DAMN MARVEL COMIC!! If Marvel printed Archie and Jughead, Wolverine would show up, beat up Jughead, and molest Veronica! I want to see nothing more than Wolverine vs. Galactus. Galactus pulls him up to orbit, let's him suffocate, then hurls him back to the earth. Repeat until dead!
But, I do hope that X-Men does well at the box office (even without my dollars). I am dying to see even better comic books made into movies. I would give my right scrot to see The Watchmen, directed by Terry Gilliam. At least SpiderMan is finally being done, with an excellent director (Sam Raimi, of EvilDead!)
And this isn't the sames as MP3 i.e. downloading whole tracks - the trailers may make people go out and buy DVDs.
Unless they download whole movies that have been DivX;-) -ed. Between downloading ripped DVD movies and new movies, I'll never rent a movie or go to a theatre again.
Yes, the quality of DivX;-) movies aren't close to DVD. But, like MP3, they're close enough for most of us. And some of us don't have a DVD player yet.
Yes, new release movies are pretty crappy quality when downloaded (especially cam and telesync). But it sure saved me a bunch of money I would have spent to see such lamers as Rocky and Bullwinkle, Scary Movie, and Gone in 60 Seconds. And, after seeing The Patriot via the net, I've seen it in the theatre twice.
I can d/l mp3 and movies over the net. Now, if only I can download groceries!
First, Bungie. I'm still pissed about that. The only company that I would buy a product from without question.
Now Carmack has been assimilated??
Granted, he does know games, graphics, and how to make them work. If M$ actually listens to his advice, then maybe the X-Box will give the PSX2 and Dolphin a run for it's money.
However, if Halo is X-Box only, out of sheer protest, I will refuse to buy anything to do with it (and tear myself apart, cause I've been waiting to play Halo since it was announced!)
Hmmm perhaps this Honda might be a solution? Insight == 60-70MPG Cost: ~$20,000 Beats the hell out of all of the Excursions\Expeditions\Suburbans I keep seeing roaming about suburbia!
I have three kids. I'd have to buy two Insights to fit everybody. At $20k a pop, I'll stick with my GMC Yukon. I average about 19mpg (when I'm not towing). And, I can fit the whole familial unit into one vehicle.
Besides, until they can fly, I won't buy a car that looks like a Blade Runner Skimmer. Well, maybe I would, but it doesn't look enough like a Skimmer.
Slashdot Mirror
Why not just have a group of hackers that goes vigilante and goes after the bad guys. Ruin their credit ratings, put their picture in the FBI Ten Most Wanted lists, etc. Or maybe I'm just watching too much A-Team.
However, by providing reviews that supposedly will tell you whether a product is worthwhile or crap, they are implying that their review is based on the merits of the product, not on any outside influence. Yes, any idiot would take a review with a grain of salt. But the fact that they are providing these reviews implies that the reviewer was not influenced in anyway, other than the quality of the product.
Only if they explicitly say that they were under no influence from nVidia.
Should they even have to explicitly state this? It should be a given. They should explicitely state that they were given free stuff, so they won't tell you about the bad aspects of a product. I know, it's a little naive. But just because it's assumed that these reviews aren't unbiased doesn't remove the responsibility to be unbiased and correct.
Everybody's out to make money in this world, and trusting people too much is your own mistake. Don't blame people for trying to make a living.
I don't blame them for making a living. All advertisers lie about their product. I just want these "review" sites to be held to a higher standard.
The problem is that these sites are supposedly providing un-biased opinions. They may not expressly state it, but that's what they are implying. By nVidia providing free cards on the condition that they only get positive reviews, nVidia is acting unethically. Not quite illegally, but definitely unethically.
And if the sites accept the free demo unit with the understanding that the cost is that they receive a positive review, then the sites are acting just as unethically as nVidia.
Almost every computer manufacturer provided free demo units. It's a solid assumption to make that every hardware review site receives free demo units. And I'm willing to bet hard cash that a sizable portion of them sway the review to the favor of the provider of free equipment.
It's pretty bad when you trust an independent review site as much as the company's press release.
That's right. Thanks. I knew it was a British Sci-Fi Comedy. Not to many of them around.
Who ordered pizza? Whoosh!! Screech!! Kerblam!!
2 - I believe it was one of the Hitchhikers Guide books. A ship was travelling the cosmos setting suns to supernova, just so that when the light from the nova suns reached a certain planet, it spelled out an advertisement in the sky!
.....
didn't think so.
So they install cameras to take pictures of license plates.
People are being shot with guns at schools and churches.
So they install metal detectors, cameras, and want a database of all gun owners in the country.
People die because they choose to smoke cigarettes.
So they sue tobacco companies for an absolutely absurd amount.
Drug dealers and other criminals are possibly using e-mail to plan their crimes.
So the FBI installs boxes at ISPs to copy all e-mail and other net traffic from it's users.
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. - Ben Franklin
Multiple G4 for the same price as previous single G4. And with the clock settings as dip switches, it's an overclockers dream!
Cool new mouse. Yeah, is weird. But it sure beats the hockey puck!
New keyboard. Finally!
OSx public beta in September!
This MacWorld is about as momentous as the iMac introduction. Apple is moving in the right direction. Yes, the new mouse is going to be ridiculed by alot of people. So was the iMac. And that little colored piece of plastic brought Apple back from the grave. And now 350mhz iMacs for $799! Faster and better than a piece of crap eMachine!
I'm drooling over one of the new (G4/500)^2 machines for the price of a single G4.
It's a good time to be a Mac user!
Spare tire? I want a spare car!
Put a couple of hooks into the rafters in the garage, and you can hang three or four Hondas.
Wow, nothing like that cosmic undo button to make life a little bit more surreal.
Ooh, a Wonder Woman movie, staring Lucy Lawless, directed by Tim Burton. Oooooh!
Tim Burton is about the only director I've seen that can do comic book movies justice. Batman is the litmus test by which all comic-book-derived movies should be based against.
My favorite comic-book-movie is still Mystery Men! I want a sequel with Flaming Carrot! And I want a live-action big-budget Tick movie!
Microsoft is the primary cause for the proliferation of viruses in the past few years. Scripting ability is a nice feature in software, but should it be defaulted to be active upon installation of the software? A vast majority of users don't need scripting in spreadsheets and word processors.
But with all of the holes in older software (sendmail, etc), it seems that the problem is getting worse, not better.
So, where does the problem lie? Programmers not willing to look back over their own code and eliminate such holes? Corporations that are pushing for release, regardless of the security issues (hmmm, could it be... M$!!!)? Users that blindly open attachments without looking to see what they are opening?
I hate Wolverine. I hate the character, I hate the rabid fanboys of him. I hate the fact that he shows up in EVERY SINGLE DAMN MARVEL COMIC!! If Marvel printed Archie and Jughead, Wolverine would show up, beat up Jughead, and molest Veronica! I want to see nothing more than Wolverine vs. Galactus. Galactus pulls him up to orbit, let's him suffocate, then hurls him back to the earth. Repeat until dead!
But, I do hope that X-Men does well at the box office (even without my dollars). I am dying to see even better comic books made into movies. I would give my right scrot to see The Watchmen, directed by Terry Gilliam. At least SpiderMan is finally being done, with an excellent director (Sam Raimi, of EvilDead!)
Unless they download whole movies that have been DivX ;-) -ed. Between downloading ripped DVD movies and new movies, I'll never rent a movie or go to a theatre again.
Yes, the quality of DivX ;-) movies aren't close to DVD. But, like MP3, they're close enough for most of us. And some of us don't have a DVD player yet.
Yes, new release movies are pretty crappy quality when downloaded (especially cam and telesync). But it sure saved me a bunch of money I would have spent to see such lamers as Rocky and Bullwinkle, Scary Movie, and Gone in 60 Seconds. And, after seeing The Patriot via the net, I've seen it in the theatre twice.
I can d/l mp3 and movies over the net. Now, if only I can download groceries!
"I will bring your satellites, your power grids, your cellular phones, and your governments too their knees unless you give me... $1 million dollars!"
Let's start with this one!
And, since the original msg got modded down, this one makes no sense if you don't read 0 and below msgs.
First, Bungie. I'm still pissed about that. The only company that I would buy a product from without question.
Now Carmack has been assimilated??
Granted, he does know games, graphics, and how to make them work. If M$ actually listens to his advice, then maybe the X-Box will give the PSX2 and Dolphin a run for it's money.
However, if Halo is X-Box only, out of sheer protest, I will refuse to buy anything to do with it (and tear myself apart, cause I've been waiting to play Halo since it was announced!)
And, for those of you that want to know, fucktheolympics.com, fucktheioc.com, and olympicdoghumping.com are all available.
We are sorry. The database is currently overloaded. Please try again later.
Maybe here's our form of protest.
Slashdot ICANN
Bloody Peasant. You will use only .com, .net, .org, and YOU WILL LIKE IT!
On a side note, what country has the domain .cc that I keep hearing advertised?
Insight == 60-70MPG Cost: ~$20,000
Beats the hell out of all of the Excursions\Expeditions\Suburbans I keep seeing roaming about suburbia!
I have three kids. I'd have to buy two Insights to fit everybody. At $20k a pop, I'll stick with my GMC Yukon. I average about 19mpg (when I'm not towing). And, I can fit the whole familial unit into one vehicle.
Besides, until they can fly, I won't buy a car that looks like a Blade Runner Skimmer. Well, maybe I would, but it doesn't look enough like a Skimmer.
Microsoft Bob
Ummm, that's about all I can think of.
Oh yeah, the paper clip in Office 2000.
I ordered my IIIx Friday, received it this morning. I was playing with it when I saw the article on Slashdot.
I felt like banging my head against the desk.
I paid $225 with shipping at CDW. I know it was more expensive than at other places, but I trust CDW with my credit card number.