Try not to confuse societal issues with technological issues. Cell phones take off in countries where land lines are expensive. Console saturation is high where PC penetration is low. Architecture is a cultural aspect outside of basic considerations for stuctural soundness.
Political issues are also not technological ones. Government granted monopolies are the reason broadband adoption is slow. Cheap foreign labor is why most production is farmed out to other countries - how much you wanna bet that Sony laptop is 100% made in Japan?
A much more accurate assessment of technological prowess, if such a thing matters, is Research and Development. Does it really matter that your Gamecube is "Japanese" if the chips powering it were developed by IBM and ATI?
How many different places did the technology for your digital camera come from? Who owns and collects on the patents? Cars are even more complex, believe it or not.
If a laptop is manfactured in Taiwan for a Japanese company using technology from the U.S. and chips made by a European-owned factory in Singapore, and then loaded with an OS from Microsoft... does it make a sound?
Not to belittle the specter of human suffering, but where can I get my hands on some of this free hardware? I want to set up a Linux server for my home, but I haven't got the cash to go out and buy some cheap hardware.
I figure there are a lot of perfectly-working Pentium I (or II) class machines being "recycled" to these third world countries. Is there somewhere I can go and just nab one?
Usually these previews are riddled with canned PR hype that may or may not be true. The fun part is seeing which promises come true when the product eventually hits the market, and which were totally off base.
So they spent about $100 million in investor money, and now they're being sold for $1 million. In today's economy, doesn't that mean they turned a net profit?
Re:Spread of US "culture"
on
The Last Place
·
· Score: 2
> As for the locals themselves, there seemed to be no benefit whatsoever for them having "Coke" soft drinks compared to the local ones before them.
Uhm, you're expecting some sort of change when people switch from one brand of suger water to another? And then you're blaming Coca Cola and American culture when there isn't one? You could at least try/i to hide your inherent cultural bias.
So that's Microsoft, Microsoft, Microsoft, and... Microsoft. But Microsoft has nothing to do with this article, IIRC.
Sure, they're also mucking around with DRM, but that's it. Oh, and there is a Limewire port for Windows. Ah-ha! Now I see their sinister claws in this matter.
Excuse me, but outside of nostalgia, why would anyone want an arcade cabinet in their home? Is there some hidden joy in standing up while playing a game? Or in being inches from the display (usually a low res TV screen).
At home, the console paradigm works much better: Sitting or laying down somewhere comfortable, using a hand-held controller on an extended cord, viewing the TV screen from afar. And heck, you can even use that very same TV for other everyday uses! Like watching programs, viewing DVDs, recording on your VCR/PVR, and routing pr0n videos though your TV-out and onto the bigger screen. Did I just say that last one out loud?
But seriously, can you name one good reason to have big honking stand-up arcade cabinet? Unless you run your home like a real arcade, it's doubtful.
> yes, I definitely meant 3/4 overhead perspecitve with 2d graphics and classic rpg combat system.
I always thought Square's Active Time Battle (ATB) system was nice, but a bit pointless in a single player game. It'd work out pretty well online, though.
Doesn't anyone realize that FF6 doesn't really scale up to a MMORPG? Unless by "FF6-like" you mean 3/4 overhead perspective with 2D graphics.
Well, maybe if the game world was hundreds upon hundreds of times bigger, and they got rid of the story arc so you could keep playing forever, and made all the quests reset after you complete them (so others could have their turn), and removed personality from the party members in favor of character customization (can't have everyone running around as Terra, now can we?)
See? Not so hard. But is it still FF6? Would it even fit on a GBA cartridge?
The absolute best solution to this kind of thing has been around for decades, works perfectly, doesn't cost a cent, and causes your day to suddenly seem a couple of hours longer:
Sell your books.
Try, just try, life without books. You'd be amazed how little you miss them, and how much other stuff you'll do instead. If you have a significant other, you'll have time to actually spend with that person, instead of sitting on your arse and not looking at each other. If you don't have an SO, you'll drastically increase your chances of finding one. If you're not looking, you'll at least have time to pursue other hobbies, like coding, or cooking, or bungee jumping, or whatever the heck else trips your trigger. Just try it. You may very well love it.
We live in a capitalist society. If you don't like what the businesses are trying to do to you, then stop using their product. What the hell does federally-mandted illiteracy matter to you when you don't read books?
> Pioneer 10 > Distance from Sun (AU) 80.858 > Speed relative to Sun (km/s) 12.255 > Speed relative to Sun (AU/year) 2.585 > Ecliptic Latitude 3.0 > Declination (J2000) 25.78 > Right Ascension (J2000) 5.012 hrs > One-way light time (hours) 11.31
Well, if this case succeeds, we might be seeing the first programs fall into the public domain since... well, ever. Correct me if I'm wrong, but has any piece of software ever fallen into the public domain unless specifically put there? It's a damn shame, now that I think about it.
So to heck with buying programs out of copyright prison. Eldred has the right idea in attacking the root of the problem - insanely long copyright extensions! (Of course, that won't necessarily free the code...)
Slashdot Mirror
This topic wouldn't be complete without a link to this.
That is all.
Try not to confuse societal issues with technological issues. Cell phones take off in countries where land lines are expensive. Console saturation is high where PC penetration is low. Architecture is a cultural aspect outside of basic considerations for stuctural soundness.
Political issues are also not technological ones. Government granted monopolies are the reason broadband adoption is slow. Cheap foreign labor is why most production is farmed out to other countries - how much you wanna bet that Sony laptop is 100% made in Japan?
A much more accurate assessment of technological prowess, if such a thing matters, is Research and Development. Does it really matter that your Gamecube is "Japanese" if the chips powering it were developed by IBM and ATI?
How many different places did the technology for your digital camera come from? Who owns and collects on the patents? Cars are even more complex, believe it or not.
If a laptop is manfactured in Taiwan for a Japanese company using technology from the U.S. and chips made by a European-owned factory in Singapore, and then loaded with an OS from Microsoft... does it make a sound?
Who cares if it means more U.S. bashing! Woo!
Seems like a great way to kill the MP3 format. Perhaps they're being duly compensated by a certain Association of America.
Not that we can't all switch to ogg anyway, but still.
Not to belittle the specter of human suffering, but where can I get my hands on some of this free hardware? I want to set up a Linux server for my home, but I haven't got the cash to go out and buy some cheap hardware.
I figure there are a lot of perfectly-working Pentium I (or II) class machines being "recycled" to these third world countries. Is there somewhere I can go and just nab one?
Usually these previews are riddled with canned PR hype that may or may not be true. The fun part is seeing which promises come true when the product eventually hits the market, and which were totally off base.
Mmmm... nostalgia.
They said "no cheap shots."
Was just another talk show.
Donahue is scum.
a b c d e
f g h i j k l
m n o p q
Ha! I bet in Perl you could write it in eight.
So they spent about $100 million in investor money, and now they're being sold for $1 million. In today's economy, doesn't that mean they turned a net profit?
If you're anywhere near the Vancouver, B.C. area, make sure to check out the Necrowombicon, as mentioned on Penny Arcade.
I won't be, because it's 3000 freaking miles away, but it looks like it could contain fun (in liberal dosages).
Sorry, dude. I invoke Godwin's Law.
;-)
You lose.
> As for the locals themselves, there seemed to be no benefit whatsoever for them having "Coke" soft drinks compared to the local ones before them.
Uhm, you're expecting some sort of change when people switch from one brand of suger water to another? And then you're blaming Coca Cola and American culture when there isn't one? You could at least try/i to hide your inherent cultural bias.
Culture is bunk.
So that's Microsoft, Microsoft, Microsoft, and... Microsoft. But Microsoft has nothing to do with this article, IIRC.
Sure, they're also mucking around with DRM, but that's it. Oh, and there is a Limewire port for Windows. Ah-ha! Now I see their sinister claws in this matter.
... Until someone makes a videogame using these shapes. Maybe something funky like Frequency Cubed, Dance Dance Dance Revolution, or Duke Nukem 4D?
I'm serious though.
Because my ISP, Verizon, specifically allows for up to five simultaneous "dial-ups" on one DSL account. Pretty cool of them, actually.
> > Why do you need to see Jennifer Aniston's head four feet across?
> I don't think it's her head that people want to see four feet across...
Okay then, whose head do they want to see four feet across?
> What are you talking about? Boeing already produces an entire line of gravity defying products...
Boeing makes breast implants too?
Anyone wanna put an Atari 2600 in a PC case?
It's just for the sake of cosmic karma balance.
Excuse me, but outside of nostalgia, why would anyone want an arcade cabinet in their home? Is there some hidden joy in standing up while playing a game? Or in being inches from the display (usually a low res TV screen).
At home, the console paradigm works much better: Sitting or laying down somewhere comfortable, using a hand-held controller on an extended cord, viewing the TV screen from afar. And heck, you can even use that very same TV for other everyday uses! Like watching programs, viewing DVDs, recording on your VCR/PVR, and routing pr0n videos though your TV-out and onto the bigger screen. Did I just say that last one out loud?
But seriously, can you name one good reason to have big honking stand-up arcade cabinet? Unless you run your home like a real arcade, it's doubtful.
> yes, I definitely meant 3/4 overhead perspecitve with 2d graphics and classic rpg combat system.
I always thought Square's Active Time Battle (ATB) system was nice, but a bit pointless in a single player game. It'd work out pretty well online, though.
Internet traffic grows by a factor of 100 every two days. Now get out there and buy those stocks! Buy Buy Buy!
Doesn't anyone realize that FF6 doesn't really scale up to a MMORPG? Unless by "FF6-like" you mean 3/4 overhead perspective with 2D graphics.
Well, maybe if the game world was hundreds upon hundreds of times bigger, and they got rid of the story arc so you could keep playing forever, and made all the quests reset after you complete them (so others could have their turn), and removed personality from the party members in favor of character customization (can't have everyone running around as Terra, now can we?)
See? Not so hard. But is it still FF6? Would it even fit on a GBA cartridge?
The absolute best solution to this kind of thing has been around for decades, works perfectly, doesn't cost a cent, and causes your day to suddenly seem a couple of hours longer:
Sell your books.
Try, just try, life without books. You'd be amazed how little you miss them, and how much other stuff you'll do instead. If you have a significant other, you'll have time to actually spend with that person, instead of sitting on your arse and not looking at each other. If you don't have an SO, you'll drastically increase your chances of finding one. If you're not looking, you'll at least have time to pursue other hobbies, like coding, or cooking, or bungee jumping, or whatever the heck else trips your trigger. Just try it. You may very well love it.
We live in a capitalist society. If you don't like what the businesses are trying to do to you, then stop using their product. What the hell does federally-mandted illiteracy matter to you when you don't read books?
> Pioneer 10
> Distance from Sun (AU) 80.858
> Speed relative to Sun (km/s) 12.255
> Speed relative to Sun (AU/year) 2.585
> Ecliptic Latitude 3.0
> Declination (J2000) 25.78
> Right Ascension (J2000) 5.012 hrs
> One-way light time (hours) 11.31
Boosting NASA's public image: PRICELESS.
Well, if this case succeeds, we might be seeing the first programs fall into the public domain since... well, ever. Correct me if I'm wrong, but has any piece of software ever fallen into the public domain unless specifically put there? It's a damn shame, now that I think about it.
So to heck with buying programs out of copyright prison. Eldred has the right idea in attacking the root of the problem - insanely long copyright extensions! (Of course, that won't necessarily free the code...)