Allright, I've just snapped here. I can't take all these people claiming that David Lynch's Dune was worth more than the celluloid it was printed on. Yes, there were good things about the Lynch version (better actors certainly) but the bad (first and foremost, the completely made up wierding modules, key pieces of explanation left out so no one who'd read the book had any damn clue what was going on, the Fremen stillsuits being these black bodysuits which not only would bake them, but would make it a shitload harder to hide than if they simply used beige, or even red for goodness sake, etc.) far and away outweigh them. The style was neat, but if you want stylish films go see Rocky Horror again. If you butcher the story, all the style in the world doesn't help anything. Hell, even if the book didn't exist the Lynch crapfest doesn't hold together on it's own. More holes than your average block of swiss cheese.
I don't love the mini-series. The acting was lackluster. Alot of the plot points were forced, and they left out stuff I wished they'd have kept in. Alot of the stuff that did get put in seemed forced and out of place. The whole "buding romance" deal with Irulan and Paul was completely pointless and stupid, and the screen time could've been put to much better use. But at least the mini-series follows the basic plot of the book it purports to be based on.
I don't care how deeply involved Frank Herbert was with the movie. He was a great novelist, but he was obviously unable to effectively adapt anything for the screen if the Lynch movie was a result of his efforts.
Taiwan is a much more complex situation that the US press gives credit for. Not only does mainland China claim sovereignty over Taiwan, Taiwan claims sovereignty over mainland China! That is why they used to call themselves the Republic of China.
For those of you not up on your Chinese/Taiwanese history, this comes from the fact that Taiwan is where the remaining Chinese government officials fled to when Mao and his army kicked their butts out of Beijing. Technically, the government in Taipei is China. However, technicalities mean squat when you're dealing with things on this kind of level. Might makes right, and the PRC is certainly the mightier of the two, so they're "China."
As far as I know, the Taipei government doesn't claim sovereignty over the PRC. They'd be hideously stupid if they actually said anything to that effect, and you can't afford to be stupid when you're in the position Taiwan is in.
Re:How is the pencil-n-paper business these days?
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SJGames Layoffs
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· Score: 1
I still don't think it's the best choice for sci-fi games. Heck, I don't think it's the best choice for fantasy, but I seem to be in the minority.
Well, there's more than just you. I personally prefer the Shadowrun rule system, with a close second to White Wolf's Storyteller system. (I realize this may tarnish my image with many roleplayers, but so be it).
While I have serious issues with what was taken out, and put back into 3rd edition, on the whole it certainly is an improvement on the basic D&D game. My own bias, just gets in the way. I am _very_ glad that they opened up the system in the way that they have, allowing for people to legally publish their own home-brewed campaign worlds and even make some kind of profit off their labors. (Or at the very least, not recieve mounds of threatening mail from T$R lawyers, accusing them of theft).
However, I really think someone should've pulled the plug before they took on Star Wars for D20. $30 better spent on beer, that book was.
This is how Microsoft will go out. Not with a bang, but with a whimper.
Nothing, aside from Mount Ranier exploding and burying the Redmond campus in a sea of lava, will take down Microsoft instantly like so many people (myself included) wish will happen. There will never be a "Microsoft killer" application that single-handedly kills Microsoft. IT managers are not all going to see the light one day and toss out all their Windows software and licenses into the trash for the crows to pick over.
Microsft was built on marketing. It will die because of marketing practices like this. No one likes to be strongarmed. Barring a miracle, most people aren't going to be able to ditch Microsoft for a free/open-sourced alternative. Some howver, are going to be pissed off enough, that they'll bite the bullet and make the change. New companies won't use as many Microsoft products, not wanting to get drawn into the forced upgrade trap they're watching the established companies get drawn into. New products for alternative OSes _will_ come out. Believe it or not naysayers, people actually are working on software for operating systems other than Windows. The current selection is not all that will ever be.
As long as Microsoft continues to act like a evil monopoly, they'll continue to have more and more bad blood built up against them. Just a matter of time.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't love the mini-series. The acting was lackluster. Alot of the plot points were forced, and they left out stuff I wished they'd have kept in. Alot of the stuff that did get put in seemed forced and out of place. The whole "buding romance" deal with Irulan and Paul was completely pointless and stupid, and the screen time could've been put to much better use. But at least the mini-series follows the basic plot of the book it purports to be based on.
I don't care how deeply involved Frank Herbert was with the movie. He was a great novelist, but he was obviously unable to effectively adapt anything for the screen if the Lynch movie was a result of his efforts.
Have you seen anything about that little old anti-trust trial? Microsoft's lawyers won't be going hungry any time soon, storm troopers or no.
For those of you not up on your Chinese/Taiwanese history, this comes from the fact that Taiwan is where the remaining Chinese government officials fled to when Mao and his army kicked their butts out of Beijing. Technically, the government in Taipei is China. However, technicalities mean squat when you're dealing with things on this kind of level. Might makes right, and the PRC is certainly the mightier of the two, so they're "China."
As far as I know, the Taipei government doesn't claim sovereignty over the PRC. They'd be hideously stupid if they actually said anything to that effect, and you can't afford to be stupid when you're in the position Taiwan is in.
Well, there's more than just you. I personally prefer the Shadowrun rule system, with a close second to White Wolf's Storyteller system. (I realize this may tarnish my image with many roleplayers, but so be it).
While I have serious issues with what was taken out, and put back into 3rd edition, on the whole it certainly is an improvement on the basic D&D game. My own bias, just gets in the way. I am _very_ glad that they opened up the system in the way that they have, allowing for people to legally publish their own home-brewed campaign worlds and even make some kind of profit off their labors. (Or at the very least, not recieve mounds of threatening mail from T$R lawyers, accusing them of theft). However, I really think someone should've pulled the plug before they took on Star Wars for D20. $30 better spent on beer, that book was.
This is how Microsoft will go out. Not with a bang, but with a whimper.
Nothing, aside from Mount Ranier exploding and burying the Redmond campus in a sea of lava, will take down Microsoft instantly like so many people (myself included) wish will happen. There will never be a "Microsoft killer" application that single-handedly kills Microsoft. IT managers are not all going to see the light one day and toss out all their Windows software and licenses into the trash for the crows to pick over.
Microsft was built on marketing. It will die because of marketing practices like this. No one likes to be strongarmed. Barring a miracle, most people aren't going to be able to ditch Microsoft for a free/open-sourced alternative. Some howver, are going to be pissed off enough, that they'll bite the bullet and make the change. New companies won't use as many Microsoft products, not wanting to get drawn into the forced upgrade trap they're watching the established companies get drawn into. New products for alternative OSes _will_ come out. Believe it or not naysayers, people actually are working on software for operating systems other than Windows. The current selection is not all that will ever be.
As long as Microsoft continues to act like a evil monopoly, they'll continue to have more and more bad blood built up against them. Just a matter of time.