Things can backfire, even without malicious intent. I wrote a (crappy) little app back in the day, and was pissed when I'd found folks grabbing the code, changing the name, and distributing it as their own. "I'll put a stop to that", I said to myself, and wrote a (crappy) little self-checker to run a few simple tests to determine if someone had ripped the code without permission, and if so, to nuke the installation directory. I'd tested it, tried to break it, called it good, and posted it.
One day, I was talking with someone who'd installed the app and was having some trouble. To this day, I still believe he'd jacked around with it against all the warnings not to, but that's beside the point. He'd installed it in the root directory. I was appalled, but at that point, there was nothing else which could have been done.
Moral of the story: learn to deal with copyright infringement in a sane manner - piracy will happen.
The number of people with security clearances pales in comparison to those who do NOT have security clearances and is therefore a completely moot point.
I'm just pissed that I have to call them in the first place, repeating the long string of alphanumerics notwithstanding. When the OS itself becomes spyware, what can you do? (Well, besides switching OSs, not really an option for gamers.)
Funny, as many people are of the opinion that the reason taxes are paid is because the IRS will send jack-booted thugs to kick down your door and shoot your dog if you don't. The IRS has never once disclosed what law compells ordinary wage slaves to pay taxes on their salaries. The ONLY gotcha is that most people "voluntarily" fill out a W2 and/or otherwise "volunteer" their wages for taxable status.
You know what the IRS said when folks asked them about the law? "We're answering them through enforcement actions." Gee, how nice of them. 'Bout time to give them the boot?
Smoking bans == infringement on property rights
on
2006's Bill of Wrongs
·
· Score: 1
So a sole-proprietor who owns his own bar doesn't have any rights to his own property?
I have no rights in my front-room LAN-party/PC repair shop in my own home?
On that note, a lot of the "crap" CS weapons turned out to be a lot of fun, even if my score wasn't so hot. The TMP came with a silencer, and it turned out to be a blast hiding underneath a boxcar while popping the bomb-setting Ts in the head without them immediately knowing where I was camping. The MAC-10 was also a fun one for the Ts, although it was louder and less accurate (if such a thing were possible) than the TMP.
Same goes for the M3 shotgun: turns out it actually is (or was, pre 1.6 at least) a fantastic CQB weapon due to the larger number of pellets. When your play style becomes molded around the weapon you choose, rather then vice-versa, is where CS really began to become enjoyable for me.
(Then they made STEAM mandatory and I got bored shooting noobs with my FiveseveN and a shield...)
However, Star Wars Galaxies did not "feel like" Star Wars to some fans. Star Wars was epic, and SWG, well, wasn't. I'm not sure what it's like now, but when it launched, it was basically Everquest with blasters. Some folks did like the crafting system and signed on for that, but I left during the beta after my fat Mon Calamarian got bored being eaten by carniverous butterflies while looking for critters to kill and skin.
It's a game in the same vein that the MOOs and MUSHes of old were games. No real goal, no way to "win" per se, but things could be built in-game and socializing was the order of the day. Think "role play" in the truer sense of the word.
So, is SL a game? Yes. Does it require a heck of a lot more work to have fun than most "modern" games? Yes. Some folks like it, some don't; it shouldn't be "disturbing".
The problems with modern demos is that they often have stupid copy-prevention crap included with the demo (supposedly to prevent crackers from using the demo to help crack the full version), often without warning. Since almost ALL those piles of poo install more-or-less silently, I, as an avid gamer who purchases all his games, almost never install demos.
When I buy a console, it's good to go for 3 or 4 years, at least. You're lucky if you get a year out of a computer.
While I agree that PC gaming is not as cost-effective as console gaming, you're a bit off with your figures. For the last several years now, I've simply been assembling PCs as a whole unit, taking few, if any, components from the previous generation's PC. I buy brand-name, quality parts, and take extra care assembling everything. All told, I spend about $2,000 every two years on PC hardware. That's a little more expensive than basic cable TV with a few add-ons.
I can't help with the control scheme, but the keyboard/mouse combination is the most precise and accurate combination of controls bar none, sorry. Add to the fact the extra 80-ish keys on the beyboard, and the utility of a KB overwhelms that of a controller.
Lastly, it's also plain to see that a nice, powerful PC with lots of storage space is orders of magnitude more useful than a mere gaming console. No, I don't need an ATi X1900XTXTXXTXT card to surf the web, but it won't stop me from doing so, or downloading OSs, encoding video, ripping CDs, editing images, or any other of a huge number of useful tasks. We've not even started on the sheer variety of entertainment titles for the PC, but they are legion: role-playing, FPS/TPS shooters, puzzle/strategy games, real-time strategy, air/land/sea/space simulations, MMOGs (of all the previous flavors, usually)... and more.
Therefore, consoles are more cost efficient than PCs when used strictly for gaming, yes. In the long run, though, I think most folks might find PC gaming to be more affordable than they might think. (Disclaimer: you'd usually have to assemble the parts yourself to avoid paying $tupid prices at, e.g., Alienware.)
So your computer is running an operating system, worth around $200, that you recieved for free, and will work for a year.
Hm, now, what was that old saying? "It's only free if your time is worthless."? Oh, yes, that's the one.... except that, in a year, you won't even have anything to show for your worthless time.;)
In the case of normal humans, I agree with you regarding shoulder surfing not being a horrible problem.
However, with the arrival of smaller and smaller video recorders, this could indeed be a decent solution for those forced to use passwords at terminals in (more) public places.
Though, the smaller entropy pool would likely become a problem if measures aren't taken to counter brute-force attacks...
By the way, I'm *not* stating that "since most people with bad credit made crappy choices, running credit checks on people before hiring them is not a problem", no, I do not think this is a wise decision.
I'm merely pointing out that, as an AC said previously, not everyone has bad credit because they had to charge little Suzy's meds to the credit card.
So, the vast majority of people who have a high debt load have that debt because they are paying for medical expenses? New cars, big homes, lots of toys, as well as plenty of services (television, internet, phone[s])) don't fill the overwhelming majority?
If you can't get a job, you can't make the payments.
If you can't get a job, you shouldn't be buying a bunch of crap you can't afford.
I'm aware that the US economy seems to be driven by consumer debt, but on an individual level it is simply a dumb lifestyle. People don't need brand-new cars, nor a huge HDTV-ready flat-screen TV, nor the latest computer hardware, etc., etc. If you can afford them, that is pay for them with cash, then feel free. Else, by maintaining a debt load of one's own creation, that person is setting themself up for disaster.
If IBM did buy SCO, they could have the pleasure of firing everyone there.
Except for the fact that the crooks behind this mess all have golden parachutes which would receive funding from such a buyout. Instead, IBM is not likely to pay one red cent for SCO, but merely crush them in court (as it is currently doing).
... or a new interface to software/games to compensate for the apparent lack of accuracy and speed (note the Quake 2 demo video), at least in FPS-style games.
Could absolutely rock if tweaked minutely for flight and other simulation games, though.:)
I failed to notice that you do not appear to live in the USA. My argument comes from the perspective of the folks who founded the USA. Regardless, my logic will still apply when you consider a firearm for what it is: a tool. Do any of your neighbors have ammonia-based cleaners and Drano? Whoops, they're risking your life, as they can make chlorine gas! I digress...
But since I don't agree that free speak and "owning a gun" are the same thing, or even that the later is an intrinsic right...
You are wrong, then. The US Constitution explicitly spells out that the right to bear arms is an intrinsic right (militia mish-mash aside, as the vast majority of us ARE militia, as section 311 of US Code Title 10 still declares to this day, "the people" means us, individual people), on equal footing with the First, Fourth, etc., etc.
Wait a moment. It is not up to me if my neighbor owns a gun and is completely umprepared to own it ? He is risking MY life too.
So did everyone who rode around on a horse in a town when they weren't prepared (to avoid the "but we need drivers' licenses!" side road). As I've already stated, we have a system in place already to deal with neglegence which results in harm to another.
On the surface, it is easy to make the case that your argument is reasonable: "Even tho you can (and I do) call stupidity to buy a gun if you are not technicaly and psycologicaly prepared to have one (and shoot at someone else if needed), it goes farther than that.... if you take the EXACT SAME REASONSING and apply it to any other basic human right (for example, as explicitly spelled out in the Bill of Rights), you'll see how totally screwed up such a suggestion is.
I can make a case for a lot of people who are not technically and psychologically prepared to speak freely, travel openly, etc... does not mean they should have to earn their intrinsic *rights*.
I agree that training of body and mind is paramount, but whether or not someone takes the precautions is completely up to the individual. If someone misuses a tool and causes another harm, we have a solution for that: prison, and newspapers so other people will hear about it and take note, the same method we use for dealing with just about every other wrong in the USA.
For the record, I've used 1st-2nd generation MS optical mice (great, except the tracking was less than stellar for fast-paced FPS games), wired Logitech mice from their first optical line on up, and the Razer.
Logitech's offerings could be problematic when it came to the driver, but that was usually sorted in short order with an update. However, using the driver wasn't required.
The Dual Mouseman was my favorite - I used mine so much the cord developed a short/open, and by that time, they'd stopped making them. Their offerings then sucked until the release of the wired MX line of mice, and I've settled on a wired G5 I like very much, with the exception of the tilt-wheel (just TRY to middle-click!) and the missing second thumb button. Since the tilt-wheel is software programmable, I've changed middle-click to be tilt-wheel-left, and life is good again.
I paid $50 for a Razer Diamondback - cheap, chinsy buttons which literally squeaked and thumb buttons which neglected to click after a short duration. Can't believe I fell for the hype.
Logitech's offerings are MUCH more durable and robust. It's like comparing a Microsoft joystick to a CH product... the difference in quality is vast.
Slashdot Mirror
Things can backfire, even without malicious intent. I wrote a (crappy) little app back in the day, and was pissed when I'd found folks grabbing the code, changing the name, and distributing it as their own. "I'll put a stop to that", I said to myself, and wrote a (crappy) little self-checker to run a few simple tests to determine if someone had ripped the code without permission, and if so, to nuke the installation directory. I'd tested it, tried to break it, called it good, and posted it.
One day, I was talking with someone who'd installed the app and was having some trouble. To this day, I still believe he'd jacked around with it against all the warnings not to, but that's beside the point. He'd installed it in the root directory. I was appalled, but at that point, there was nothing else which could have been done.
Moral of the story: learn to deal with copyright infringement in a sane manner - piracy will happen.
The number of people with security clearances pales in comparison to those who do NOT have security clearances and is therefore a completely moot point.
Example of gov't-funded game: America's Army.
;)
Best waste of taxpayer dollars ever.
Congress is authorized to promote the arts and sciences...
I'm just pissed that I have to call them in the first place, repeating the long string of alphanumerics notwithstanding. When the OS itself becomes spyware, what can you do? (Well, besides switching OSs, not really an option for gamers.)
Funny, as many people are of the opinion that the reason taxes are paid is because the IRS will send jack-booted thugs to kick down your door and shoot your dog if you don't. The IRS has never once disclosed what law compells ordinary wage slaves to pay taxes on their salaries. The ONLY gotcha is that most people "voluntarily" fill out a W2 and/or otherwise "volunteer" their wages for taxable status.
You know what the IRS said when folks asked them about the law? "We're answering them through enforcement actions." Gee, how nice of them. 'Bout time to give them the boot?
So a sole-proprietor who owns his own bar doesn't have any rights to his own property?
I have no rights in my front-room LAN-party/PC repair shop in my own home?
Democracy is tyranny from the majority.
On that note, a lot of the "crap" CS weapons turned out to be a lot of fun, even if my score wasn't so hot. The TMP came with a silencer, and it turned out to be a blast hiding underneath a boxcar while popping the bomb-setting Ts in the head without them immediately knowing where I was camping. The MAC-10 was also a fun one for the Ts, although it was louder and less accurate (if such a thing were possible) than the TMP.
Same goes for the M3 shotgun: turns out it actually is (or was, pre 1.6 at least) a fantastic CQB weapon due to the larger number of pellets. When your play style becomes molded around the weapon you choose, rather then vice-versa, is where CS really began to become enjoyable for me.
(Then they made STEAM mandatory and I got bored shooting noobs with my FiveseveN and a shield...)
However, Star Wars Galaxies did not "feel like" Star Wars to some fans. Star Wars was epic, and SWG, well, wasn't. I'm not sure what it's like now, but when it launched, it was basically Everquest with blasters. Some folks did like the crafting system and signed on for that, but I left during the beta after my fat Mon Calamarian got bored being eaten by carniverous butterflies while looking for critters to kill and skin.
Yes, and the Reaver class is highly recommended!
*sucks the marrow out of Quietude's femur*
It's a game in the same vein that the MOOs and MUSHes of old were games. No real goal, no way to "win" per se, but things could be built in-game and socializing was the order of the day. Think "role play" in the truer sense of the word.
So, is SL a game? Yes. Does it require a heck of a lot more work to have fun than most "modern" games? Yes. Some folks like it, some don't; it shouldn't be "disturbing".
The problems with modern demos is that they often have stupid copy-prevention crap included with the demo (supposedly to prevent crackers from using the demo to help crack the full version), often without warning. Since almost ALL those piles of poo install more-or-less silently, I, as an avid gamer who purchases all his games, almost never install demos.
When I buy a console, it's good to go for 3 or 4 years, at least. You're lucky if you get a year out of a computer.
While I agree that PC gaming is not as cost-effective as console gaming, you're a bit off with your figures. For the last several years now, I've simply been assembling PCs as a whole unit, taking few, if any, components from the previous generation's PC. I buy brand-name, quality parts, and take extra care assembling everything. All told, I spend about $2,000 every two years on PC hardware. That's a little more expensive than basic cable TV with a few add-ons.
I can't help with the control scheme, but the keyboard/mouse combination is the most precise and accurate combination of controls bar none, sorry. Add to the fact the extra 80-ish keys on the beyboard, and the utility of a KB overwhelms that of a controller.
Lastly, it's also plain to see that a nice, powerful PC with lots of storage space is orders of magnitude more useful than a mere gaming console. No, I don't need an ATi X1900XTXTXXTXT card to surf the web, but it won't stop me from doing so, or downloading OSs, encoding video, ripping CDs, editing images, or any other of a huge number of useful tasks. We've not even started on the sheer variety of entertainment titles for the PC, but they are legion: role-playing, FPS/TPS shooters, puzzle/strategy games, real-time strategy, air/land/sea/space simulations, MMOGs (of all the previous flavors, usually)... and more.
Therefore, consoles are more cost efficient than PCs when used strictly for gaming, yes. In the long run, though, I think most folks might find PC gaming to be more affordable than they might think. (Disclaimer: you'd usually have to assemble the parts yourself to avoid paying $tupid prices at, e.g., Alienware.)
So your computer is running an operating system, worth around $200, that you recieved for free, and will work for a year.
... except that, in a year, you won't even have anything to show for your worthless time. ;)
Hm, now, what was that old saying? "It's only free if your time is worthless."? Oh, yes, that's the one.
In the case of normal humans, I agree with you regarding shoulder surfing not being a horrible problem.
However, with the arrival of smaller and smaller video recorders, this could indeed be a decent solution for those forced to use passwords at terminals in (more) public places.
Though, the smaller entropy pool would likely become a problem if measures aren't taken to counter brute-force attacks...
By the way, I'm *not* stating that "since most people with bad credit made crappy choices, running credit checks on people before hiring them is not a problem", no, I do not think this is a wise decision.
I'm merely pointing out that, as an AC said previously, not everyone has bad credit because they had to charge little Suzy's meds to the credit card.
So, the vast majority of people who have a high debt load have that debt because they are paying for medical expenses? New cars, big homes, lots of toys, as well as plenty of services (television, internet, phone[s])) don't fill the overwhelming majority?
:)
I think we both know that's a load of bullcrap.
If you can't get a job, you can't make the payments.
If you can't get a job, you shouldn't be buying a bunch of crap you can't afford.
I'm aware that the US economy seems to be driven by consumer debt, but on an individual level it is simply a dumb lifestyle. People don't need brand-new cars, nor a huge HDTV-ready flat-screen TV, nor the latest computer hardware, etc., etc. If you can afford them, that is pay for them with cash, then feel free. Else, by maintaining a debt load of one's own creation, that person is setting themself up for disaster.
If IBM did buy SCO, they could have the pleasure of firing everyone there.
Except for the fact that the crooks behind this mess all have golden parachutes which would receive funding from such a buyout. Instead, IBM is not likely to pay one red cent for SCO, but merely crush them in court (as it is currently doing).
... or a new interface to software/games to compensate for the apparent lack of accuracy and speed (note the Quake 2 demo video), at least in FPS-style games.
:)
Could absolutely rock if tweaked minutely for flight and other simulation games, though.
Firefox 1.5.0.5 .ZIP package.
The links are usually posted here, but 1.5.0.5 hadn't been posted there yet.
I failed to notice that you do not appear to live in the USA. My argument comes from the perspective of the folks who founded the USA. Regardless, my logic will still apply when you consider a firearm for what it is: a tool. Do any of your neighbors have ammonia-based cleaners and Drano? Whoops, they're risking your life, as they can make chlorine gas! I digress...
But since I don't agree that free speak and "owning a gun" are the same thing, or even that the later is an intrinsic right ...
You are wrong, then. The US Constitution explicitly spells out that the right to bear arms is an intrinsic right (militia mish-mash aside, as the vast majority of us ARE militia, as section 311 of US Code Title 10 still declares to this day, "the people" means us, individual people), on equal footing with the First, Fourth, etc., etc.
Wait a moment. It is not up to me if my neighbor owns a gun and is completely umprepared to own it ? He is risking MY life too.
So did everyone who rode around on a horse in a town when they weren't prepared (to avoid the "but we need drivers' licenses!" side road). As I've already stated, we have a system in place already to deal with neglegence which results in harm to another.
On the surface, it is easy to make the case that your argument is reasonable: "Even tho you can (and I do) call stupidity to buy a gun if you are not technicaly and psycologicaly prepared to have one (and shoot at someone else if needed), it goes farther than that. ... if you take the EXACT SAME REASONSING and apply it to any other basic human right (for example, as explicitly spelled out in the Bill of Rights), you'll see how totally screwed up such a suggestion is.
I can make a case for a lot of people who are not technically and psychologically prepared to speak freely, travel openly, etc... does not mean they should have to earn their intrinsic *rights*.
I agree that training of body and mind is paramount, but whether or not someone takes the precautions is completely up to the individual. If someone misuses a tool and causes another harm, we have a solution for that: prison, and newspapers so other people will hear about it and take note, the same method we use for dealing with just about every other wrong in the USA.
For the record, I've used 1st-2nd generation MS optical mice (great, except the tracking was less than stellar for fast-paced FPS games), wired Logitech mice from their first optical line on up, and the Razer.
Logitech's offerings could be problematic when it came to the driver, but that was usually sorted in short order with an update. However, using the driver wasn't required.
The Dual Mouseman was my favorite - I used mine so much the cord developed a short/open, and by that time, they'd stopped making them. Their offerings then sucked until the release of the wired MX line of mice, and I've settled on a wired G5 I like very much, with the exception of the tilt-wheel (just TRY to middle-click!) and the missing second thumb button. Since the tilt-wheel is software programmable, I've changed middle-click to be tilt-wheel-left, and life is good again.
I paid $50 for a Razer Diamondback - cheap, chinsy buttons which literally squeaked and thumb buttons which neglected to click after a short duration. Can't believe I fell for the hype.
Logitech's offerings are MUCH more durable and robust. It's like comparing a Microsoft joystick to a CH product... the difference in quality is vast.
Don't waste your cash on Razer!