Holy crap, someone else who remembers Sentinel Worlds I: Future Magic. That was a fantastic game, incredibly deep and complex and well done for its time.
If this happens, I have a sneaking suspicion slashdotters will just avoid buying any new computers. When we need more computing power, we'll just add another pre-SSSCA computer to our Beowolf clusters.
On the other hand, I seem to recall the Aliens TC hack of Doom being MUCH more popular than the official first person shooter based on the Aliens world. It's doubtful that the official Aliens shooter would have been such a flop if the Doom Total Conversion had not been so well done.
I think you're making some generalizations abut our generation taht aren't exactly viable. Yes, there is a subset of the young professional set right now that does indeed follow your description. But I would say that most of hte people I know in our generation are more apathetic than anything. We do NOT have a politically proactive generation, we have one that tends to distrust government, large corportaions, and the people with the money. However, that distrust is often expressed by uninvolvement, not by any sort of real action. With that tendency in mind, it would not surprise me if the political leaders that arise from our generation follow in the traditions of the entrenched parties, because they are the only ones who will get the reinforcement to succeed. And that reinforcement isn't going to come from their peers, it will come from their elders and the small subset of our generation that buys into the established views.
LA Times Article
The LA Times article is remarkably balanced and well written, actually... I was going to write Wilson myself, but it appears he has a decent handle on the situation. How refreshing.
How much do you want to bet you'll have to provide some sort of identifying information before using that there conduit to the net? And the whole time, M$ will be recording where you're goin' and what you're doin'....
That's because almost every cable company I've dealt with is a little monopoly. If you want cable programming, you can either go with your old company (which just upgraded and decided to charge you for it) or you can try to invest in a satellite/DirecTV system (which is not feasible for everyone -- and especially not for people who rent their homes).
Slashdot Mirror
Holy crap, someone else who remembers Sentinel Worlds I: Future Magic. That was a fantastic game, incredibly deep and complex and well done for its time.
"I mean, how could it possibly be against the law to write software for a computer you own!?"
If the SSSCA goes through, it damn well will be.
If this happens, I have a sneaking suspicion slashdotters will just avoid buying any new computers. When we need more computing power, we'll just add another pre-SSSCA computer to our Beowolf clusters.
On the other hand, I seem to recall the Aliens TC hack of Doom being MUCH more popular than the official first person shooter based on the Aliens world. It's doubtful that the official Aliens shooter would have been such a flop if the Doom Total Conversion had not been so well done.
I think you're making some generalizations abut our generation taht aren't exactly viable. Yes, there is a subset of the young professional set right now that does indeed follow your description. But I would say that most of hte people I know in our generation are more apathetic than anything. We do NOT have a politically proactive generation, we have one that tends to distrust government, large corportaions, and the people with the money. However, that distrust is often expressed by uninvolvement, not by any sort of real action. With that tendency in mind, it would not surprise me if the political leaders that arise from our generation follow in the traditions of the entrenched parties, because they are the only ones who will get the reinforcement to succeed. And that reinforcement isn't going to come from their peers, it will come from their elders and the small subset of our generation that buys into the established views.
LA Times Article The LA Times article is remarkably balanced and well written, actually... I was going to write Wilson myself, but it appears he has a decent handle on the situation. How refreshing.
How much do you want to bet you'll have to provide some sort of identifying information before using that there conduit to the net? And the whole time, M$ will be recording where you're goin' and what you're doin'....
That's because almost every cable company I've dealt with is a little monopoly. If you want cable programming, you can either go with your old company (which just upgraded and decided to charge you for it) or you can try to invest in a satellite/DirecTV system (which is not feasible for everyone -- and especially not for people who rent their homes).