Macintosh and Games haven't really been synonymous with each other at any point in Mac history. But, since their "Switch" campaign is on, this might spark my interest.
First came the news that OSX was in fact a BSD/*Nix derivative with Mac's pretty looks. That got my attention. Then came the news that they were keeping an x86 architecture port of OSX laying around. That got me thinking. Now, if someone comes up with a few nifty games to play on OSX, coupled with the aformentioned x86 port, I might just shun Winblows for good and give the Fruit Factor a try. All I ever do with my PC is cruise the 'Net, do some graphics work (which MacOS has always been good with), maintain my website, and play games occasionally to kill time. Music is another consideration, but since the advent of the MP3 and now OGG Vorbis, it's pretty much been cross-platform the whole time.
The addition of some nifty games and the x86 port would be all I need to consider diving headlong into a switch. Keep it coming, cause I'm listening now...
Here's my $.02. Being a musician myself, I can only suggest a few ideas, as I haven't gotten as far as you guys have.
1. Copyrights. I'm sure you've already done this one, but it's important. Once you own the rights to your own stuff, you have one up on the record companies. You can release it however you choose, as you write the license terms. If you haven't yet, it's simple to do. Just get $20 and the right form, send it away to the Library of Congress, and everything is happy. Remember, once you put it in the mail, it's considered recieved, so you can start your plan to take over the music world right away.
2. Take advantage of P2P networks. Rip your stuff to MP3, OGG, or your desired format. When you name the file, stick a refference to the Genre of music in there. That way, people looking for Metal, Pop, Country, whatever your music is, can find it and go "Hmmm? What's this? This is new, I'll check it out. And only release one or two songs, not the entire album. Common sense, I know, but some bands leave that out sometimes, so I put it here just in case.
3. Check out the local radio stations in your area. They probably have some sort of local musicians program. See if you can weasle their DJ into getting you guys on, and once you get on, plug the heck out of your website and the fact that your stuff is available on P2P networks. Free plugs are always good, especially on the air. If you have a built-in fanbase (like our local boys, Stept On (shameless plug, I know, but they F'N ROCK!), your music could end up in regular rotation, as will the plugs for yoru website.
4. Take advantage of any fanbase you have to start a grassroots internet campaign. Some of your fans are likely to frequent chat rooms. That's an advertising blitz waiting to happen. If they can convince one person to try your music out, then it's a success. From there, it has the potential to spread like wildfire.
5. Send your stuff to me! I'm always looking out for new bands to dig on, and I'm interested in giving your music a go-round! The fact that you're circumventing the big boys (and even the indies) is what I'd like to see more bands do!
Buying an XBox is a complete waste of cash. In case you haven't noticed, XBox sales are tanking compared to the PS2. And with Sony actively developing the PS3, who's going to want MS's offering? Hands down, the PS2 is the better system.
With its reverse compatability, the PS2 already had a solid library of games when it was released. The XBox had zilch, just some games that were "exclusives" only because MS bought up their producers for that reason. Chances are that the PS3 will also be retro-happy. If there's ever an X2, knowing MS, it probably won't be retro-happy. How else would they suck our wallets dry?
And now, people are porting Linux to it. That's no reason to rush out and buy an XBox. Sony embraced Linux and put out a PS2 Linux Kit. MS, while they haven't really bitched yet, will probably flip if someone gets Linux running on their console in any practical sense. They've been nearly 100% anti-Linux (as much as they are anti-competitive despite the DoJ rulings) and will probably go crying to the courts if it happens. And if they do that, you can bet the result will be having to all but say goodbye to your rights as a consumer/end user with regards to their failing console.
I own neither a PS2 or an XBox. I'm waiting for the right moment to get one, and I assure you, it'll be a PS2. Reason? FF XI. The only thing I'd want to do with an XBox is put Linux on it to spite MS, and knowing me, I'd fuck that up somehow. At least with the PS2 I can go clean out my local Trading Post/Second Hand joint for all the games its got and know they'll work.
But hey. I still wish the XBox Linux Project all the luck in the world. Anyone who's out to "stick it to the man" (whether that's their motive or not) is OK in my book.
Well, MS likes to prevent PC makers from shipping PCs with anything but Windows on them. Who's to say that they don't apply this same pressure to software makers? Just a wild guess on my part, really. Should have clarified that as such. My bad.
A Linux standard would be nice, that's for sure. But I still kinda like having the choice of flavors with different distros. Gives you options for specific tasks.
The focus should be Linux on the Desktop. The only thing holding it back are the companies who refuse (or are prevented by Microsoft) to port their apps to Linux. Come on, people. Give it up!
Granted, there are some old farts who can't let go of the "hiss-pop" of vinyl, but come on. If the process creates a noisy track, who in their right mind would do it? Even the old school vinyl crowd would frown on it if the noise is overpowering.
There's a reason why vinyl was discontinued, folks. Because it just plain old sucks. Too easy to fuck the records up, and there's no "disc doctor" style product to fix that without losing the original etching on the record. Hell with that.
And to the person who submitted this article: Why the hell would you instal KaZaA? Don't you know KaZaA is loaded with Spyware? Or do you like having stuff installed without your knowledge?
...that Frito Lay's "Planet Lunch" is just an optical illusion as well? And here I thought I was doing something good saving my little cousins those "ploid" things...
Yes, in modern history, they are. However, I'm not too sure that Stalin and Pot were quite the religious types. Stalin's Communism didn't really allow much room for it. Pol Pot, I'm not too sure on him at all. No religion was mentioned, I'm not quite sure his Genocide was Ethnically or Religiously biased.
Add the Crusades (three in all, including a Children's Crusade where thousands of "God's Children" died in the mountains), throw the events of 9/11 coupled with the sum of any and all terrorism, be it Muslim, Israelli, Catholic, Protestant or whatever religious group (they're all guilty at some point in history or another), the sacrifices of the South American Natives (10 Karma points to the person who knows what a cenotè is), do I really need to go on? You're GEEKS. PLEASE tell me you made world history a part of your knowledge base, and not just the Middle Ages themes of D&D!
And gee, doesn't it always seem like one is going after the other for some reason? It's not just random violence. Catholic v. Protestant. Christian v. Muslim or Roman (lions!), wasn't Buddah oppressed? What about the Muslim v. Judeism, Muslim v. whichever Indian sect occupies Kashmire...
Does anyone else notice a pattern? A cycle that continually spells certain doom at an early stage of life for large amounts of human beings in a short time? God's children or not, don't you think it's a little senseless for children to die before their lives even begin? The agressors kill indiscriminately: man, woman or child. It's all because of what they believe, conflicting with the other.
Does it make any less sense to believe that the goal should be furthering the species? Making sure we're not part of the list of failed life forms on this planet? Do we really want to lose to the FUCKING COCKROACH? We're the first ones to become aware of, and conciously realize where in the world we stand, and how we can manipulate the world around us to survive. And yes, that includes blockingasteroids targeting the Yucatan.
It's about us as a whole, not us as little sects. We can keep our beliefs, I have no problem with that. But we need to stop twisting the message into a violent struggle for power.
The general lesson Religion gives us is Faith. Faith in ourselves, faith in our task at hand. We have a good cause. Better lives for future generations. Faith that we can accomplish that goal wisely, if we all pitch in. It won't be a miracle. It'll be the sum of the work we can do now. During OUR period in time. Making it a MEANINGFUL LIFE. There isn't any God that's going to come along and zap it all to shit if we don't follow orders.
The only ones who can (and are) fuck it up are ourselves. If we keep squabbling like this, then faith might not be enough...
I love it. The RIAA, MPAA, and other such entities are frumping over these P2P networks like KaZaA, Morpheus, the now-defunct Napster, Gorkster, etc. Meanwhile, the TRUE geeks are still trading away, right under their noses. The high profile nature of the P2P clients is giving us some GREAT cover! I'd like to personally thank them all for sucking the attention of the "super media conglomerates" away from us and our happiness.
Here. I'll even spell it out for you, but I'll encode it. Care to try and break this code? It's totally stupid simple, even a child could figure it out. When decoded, it tells you exactly how we do it. Good luck, and may the force be with you.
(1,2,5)(1,3,14)(2,4,52)
Face it: there is absolutely no way to stop P2P file trading unless you turn America into China and fear monger to keep us in line. And there's no way the American people will let that happen.
Oh, by the way. Wouldn't the RIAA (which is made up of many recording companies) be considered a kind of monopoly? When you get right down to it, what you have is a good majority of corporations working together to impose their collective will. There's no choice in the matter, it's their way or the highway. Isn't that anti-competitive? They're guilty of at least one thing: Price Gouging. They try to sell us CDs with minimal amounts of data for $15-20, when we can all go out and get a blank for around 20 cents a pop if you shop right.
The only reason they sign artists in the first place is to control that particular flow of data. The artist gets a minimal fee, and the record companies sit back and collect the profits. What wee need is an IRIAA, the first I being Independant. Once artists jump on the bandwagon and start releasing their own material (thanks to MP3, OGG, or whatever format they choose, on CD or over the Net), then they can leverage out the RIAA's member companies.
I agree as far as needing to get rid of Israel. The only reason the US is involved is because our Judeo-Christian beliefs obligate us to protect "the holy land." For pete's sake, people, it's a fucking hunk of dirt! There's nothing "holy" about it. It's fucking DIRT! Let the Arabs have it, it was theirs to begin with.
If Israel is destined to not have any homeland, so be it. And if getting rid of Israel means peace in the Middle East, I'm all for it. Being a firefighter, you learn that the best way to put a fire out is to attack it at the bottom, the root of the problem, the source of fuel for the fire. It's not rocket science. There's no room for debate. Knock out the source, and the problem goes with it.
Pick up any history book and you'll find that the leading cause of war and death throughout recorded history is RELIGION. Abolish religion, and you eliminate the biggest cause of war. Once people's minds are no longer clouded by the 3000 year old ramblings of an opium smoking camel jockey, they'll start to think for themselves. That just might lead to the realization that killing each other is stupid, and we can move a step closer to humanity coming together as a whole.
I know I'm going to get flamed to hell for this. But since I don't believe in heaven and hell, it kinda works out...
Oh, heck yeah. Add in some healing herbs, a few potions and the D&D community will see a resurgance in popularity like never before. Geeks wandering around, invisible, whacking each other on the melon with +1 clubs and bitching about saving throws.
Wait. That'd kill the "download pics of Sara Michelle Gellar" market. Bad idea...
I never owned an Atari. My experience with Pitfall was on the Intellevision. Lord, that game confused the heck out of me. But still, as a young kid, it drove my imagination wild. I'd have dreams that I was Pitfall Harry, swinging over gators and leaping scorpions in search of treasure.
I remember the TV I would use had the absolute worst red settings. When you'ld play and made Harry run left, it looked as if he had long, red hair that flew in the breeze behind him. Of course, turning around to the right would slap the "hair" into his face. My friends and I would amuse ourselves with that little TV glitch for hours on end.
After the demise of my InTV, Pitfall faded from my scene. Then Super Pitfall came along, and it just had to have the original game hidden in there. Nothing but good memories of a great game came flooding right back. And they say games rot your brain. Horse Hockey! Glad I was alive when this game rolled out. Kids today are too spoiled with their Quake 3 engines and their MMORPGs. Of course, they wouldn't even give it the time of day, given it's outdated graphics and all.
Those kids gotta learn that you can never know where you (or your games) are going if you don't know where you (or your games) came from. Big thanks to David Crane for giving a young me such a fun memory.
Ghost is one of the best films I've seen, Anime or otherwise. And given that it doesn't suffer from Dragonball GT syndrome (aka its actually written by Masamune Shirow), I'm looking forward to the series. Any info on number of eps, seiyuu, etc? Gotta know how many DVDs to budget when they're released...
For a time, I worked in the construction racket, doing fiberglass insulation. Yeah, seeing the homes wired for broadband is neat, but then again, the quality of the homes I insulaetd lacked HEAVILY. S&A Homes is the biggest culprit. They build homes with warped 2x4s, particle board, and other cheap materials. And then they sell these shacks for somewhere in excess of $200G or more. I swear that the fibre is the most expensive part.
If you want to go this route and are building a new home, make sure you DEMAND that your home is at least framed in 2x6s (2x10 is optimal, IMHO) and covered in strong plywood. If I were the homeowner, I wouldn't be happy to know that someone can break into my home with a super soaker and a pocket knife...
Be careful which builder you choose, and make sure you supervise the construction at every step. Otherwise, the resale value won't be shit, fiber or not. Just another case of buyer beware...
Now, let's see how many ACs flame me because they know better. Seems to be a curse of mine lately...
With the calibur of students that MIT attracts, you'ld figure there'd be some sort of original creativity there. I can understand how an alum would be brought down by something like this. Whoever did that should lose their scholarship. MIT has some of the brightest young minds the world has to offer. Someone doing something like this just plain tarnishes that esteemed reputation. Not that it affects all MIT students/grads, just those who's bonehead idea it was to violate a copyright...
The real reason they won't release fuel cells isn't because of problems. The article itself says they last 10x longer than a regular Li. Duh. They won't release them because then noone will want the older batteries. Then they can't gouge the fuck out of us at the register (those things are damned expensive for all the longer they last in my DC3200).
Edison invented a light bulb that will last 10x longer than even today's four and five year bulbs. You can go to the Smithsonian and see it for yourself. But why won't GE and Sylvania, or even Philips, spit one out on the consumer market? Because then they couldn't rope us into buying the nasty bulbs that don't last very long at all. We buy more, they make more money. Simple as that.
And I'm sure the government has computers that far outdo anything that any PC or Server that's commercially available could do. When will we see that kind of power? When they decide that they don't have to charge $10G for a toilet seat to cover this stuff (aka none too soon).
I hate the song, but Puffy said it best: It's all about the Benjamins, baby...
After filing for Chapter 13, Adelphia launched an initiative to wire our area for Cable connections. And boy, is it taking off. With the students at PSU returning for fall classes this week, they're seeing a spike in users with the hunger for broadband. Not to mention they're rebuilding each town's cables in the surrounding area (something AT&T and TCI didn't do). Now that our rural areas are getting wired, we can finally jump on the broadbandwagon. Another tactic of theirs (which AT&T didn't do, leading to their bowing out of the Broadband market) is actually charging for installations. After that, a Digital Cable/Cable Modem tandem package is costing local residents about $80/month, which isn't half bad at all. Hopefully, this works out. My town will be broadband ready within the next 2 months (a promise both AT&T and Verizon couldn't/haven't kept), and the day it is, I'll be on the horn ordering it up.
Any other areas experiencing a similar situation? Any positive steps being taken to get broadband where it belongs (in our homes, not over our heads)?
Let's say that the Internet IS like Terra's fault network. Then this means the "Ring of Fire" would look something like this:
Washington, USA: Duh. Though I know it's overstated, it has to be Microsoft. If you equate them to Mount St. Helens, though, it's not really that bad. Occasional hiccups, not too terrible.
Japan: Either Mt. Fuji is the tons of crazy pr0n, both human and Anime, or the congestion that the Sony PS2 and Nintendo GameCube will cause when MMO gaming hits consoles full force.
The Philipines: Don't even get me started. If I had a nickle for every time I say the words "pinoy" and "pinay" on IRC, I'd be rolling in cash like/. is in AC posts.
Hawaii, USA: We consider it something of an expensive paradise, right? Compare that, and the archipilego's many volcanic spots, to the P2P MP3 revolution. While it gurgles, it never really erupts (RIAA and MPAA). The sons of Napster are living it up while they can.
California, USA: One word, three times: Pr0n, pr0n, pr0n! Where is most of your congestion? Why, in the state that's doomed to fall off the continent and into the vast warm waters of the Pacific, of course! How much of it is made there? It's Hollywood, after all. That place gives a whole new meaning to the word "fault," eh?
Booby Prize Winner - Russia: While not really a big part of the "Ring of Fire," Russia has it's own explosive history, that being the Tunguska Blast in the early 20th Century. Open Source anyone? It's not so much congestion (though this is where "/.ings" come in) as it is the explosion that OSS has enjoyed as of late.
And they got government money to do this sort of crap? No study...
...Politicians on the list? Don't they come from a high crime neighborhood (the Capital Building)? Aren't they likely to commit crimes (soft money, self-imposed pay raises and yes, the ever-evil DMCA)? Until I see some senators and other high ranking government officials on this list, it just won't be believable...
..."Fuck You" if you give someone the bird? Or maybe "Go Fuck Yourself?" Maybe when you give the thumbs up it says "Roger Ebert is a Homo." When you give the Texas University "Hook 'Em Horns" sign, will it say "Satan is my all powerful master?" Would it actually say "Talk to the hand, etc." if you stuck your palm in someone's face? Or if you smack a girl in the ass, maybe it'll say "Nice tush, sweetheart."
Oh, the possibilities... Now even deaf people can get slapped by a woman for saying the wrong things...
Slashdot Mirror
Macintosh and Games haven't really been synonymous with each other at any point in Mac history. But, since their "Switch" campaign is on, this might spark my interest.
First came the news that OSX was in fact a BSD/*Nix derivative with Mac's pretty looks. That got my attention. Then came the news that they were keeping an x86 architecture port of OSX laying around. That got me thinking. Now, if someone comes up with a few nifty games to play on OSX, coupled with the aformentioned x86 port, I might just shun Winblows for good and give the Fruit Factor a try. All I ever do with my PC is cruise the 'Net, do some graphics work (which MacOS has always been good with), maintain my website, and play games occasionally to kill time. Music is another consideration, but since the advent of the MP3 and now OGG Vorbis, it's pretty much been cross-platform the whole time.
The addition of some nifty games and the x86 port would be all I need to consider diving headlong into a switch. Keep it coming, cause I'm listening now...
Um, didn't I say I didn't own a PS2? Yet another case of reading only what you want to, I suppose...
Here's my $.02. Being a musician myself, I can only suggest a few ideas, as I haven't gotten as far as you guys have.
1. Copyrights. I'm sure you've already done this one, but it's important. Once you own the rights to your own stuff, you have one up on the record companies. You can release it however you choose, as you write the license terms. If you haven't yet, it's simple to do. Just get $20 and the right form, send it away to the Library of Congress, and everything is happy. Remember, once you put it in the mail, it's considered recieved, so you can start your plan to take over the music world right away.
2. Take advantage of P2P networks. Rip your stuff to MP3, OGG, or your desired format. When you name the file, stick a refference to the Genre of music in there. That way, people looking for Metal, Pop, Country, whatever your music is, can find it and go "Hmmm? What's this? This is new, I'll check it out. And only release one or two songs, not the entire album. Common sense, I know, but some bands leave that out sometimes, so I put it here just in case.
3. Check out the local radio stations in your area. They probably have some sort of local musicians program. See if you can weasle their DJ into getting you guys on, and once you get on, plug the heck out of your website and the fact that your stuff is available on P2P networks. Free plugs are always good, especially on the air. If you have a built-in fanbase (like our local boys, Stept On (shameless plug, I know, but they F'N ROCK!), your music could end up in regular rotation, as will the plugs for yoru website.
4. Take advantage of any fanbase you have to start a grassroots internet campaign. Some of your fans are likely to frequent chat rooms. That's an advertising blitz waiting to happen. If they can convince one person to try your music out, then it's a success. From there, it has the potential to spread like wildfire.
5. Send your stuff to me! I'm always looking out for new bands to dig on, and I'm interested in giving your music a go-round! The fact that you're circumventing the big boys (and even the indies) is what I'd like to see more bands do!
Buying an XBox is a complete waste of cash. In case you haven't noticed, XBox sales are tanking compared to the PS2. And with Sony actively developing the PS3, who's going to want MS's offering? Hands down, the PS2 is the better system.
With its reverse compatability, the PS2 already had a solid library of games when it was released. The XBox had zilch, just some games that were "exclusives" only because MS bought up their producers for that reason. Chances are that the PS3 will also be retro-happy. If there's ever an X2, knowing MS, it probably won't be retro-happy. How else would they suck our wallets dry?
And now, people are porting Linux to it. That's no reason to rush out and buy an XBox. Sony embraced Linux and put out a PS2 Linux Kit. MS, while they haven't really bitched yet, will probably flip if someone gets Linux running on their console in any practical sense. They've been nearly 100% anti-Linux (as much as they are anti-competitive despite the DoJ rulings) and will probably go crying to the courts if it happens. And if they do that, you can bet the result will be having to all but say goodbye to your rights as a consumer/end user with regards to their failing console.
I own neither a PS2 or an XBox. I'm waiting for the right moment to get one, and I assure you, it'll be a PS2. Reason? FF XI. The only thing I'd want to do with an XBox is put Linux on it to spite MS, and knowing me, I'd fuck that up somehow. At least with the PS2 I can go clean out my local Trading Post/Second Hand joint for all the games its got and know they'll work.
But hey. I still wish the XBox Linux Project all the luck in the world. Anyone who's out to "stick it to the man" (whether that's their motive or not) is OK in my book.
Well, MS likes to prevent PC makers from shipping PCs with anything but Windows on them. Who's to say that they don't apply this same pressure to software makers? Just a wild guess on my part, really. Should have clarified that as such. My bad.
A Linux standard would be nice, that's for sure. But I still kinda like having the choice of flavors with different distros. Gives you options for specific tasks.
The focus should be Linux on the Desktop. The only thing holding it back are the companies who refuse (or are prevented by Microsoft) to port their apps to Linux. Come on, people. Give it up!
Granted, there are some old farts who can't let go of the "hiss-pop" of vinyl, but come on. If the process creates a noisy track, who in their right mind would do it? Even the old school vinyl crowd would frown on it if the noise is overpowering.
There's a reason why vinyl was discontinued, folks. Because it just plain old sucks. Too easy to fuck the records up, and there's no "disc doctor" style product to fix that without losing the original etching on the record. Hell with that.
And to the person who submitted this article: Why the hell would you instal KaZaA? Don't you know KaZaA is loaded with Spyware? Or do you like having stuff installed without your knowledge?
...that Frito Lay's "Planet Lunch" is just an optical illusion as well? And here I thought I was doing something good saving my little cousins those "ploid" things...
Yes, in modern history, they are. However, I'm not too sure that Stalin and Pot were quite the religious types. Stalin's Communism didn't really allow much room for it. Pol Pot, I'm not too sure on him at all. No religion was mentioned, I'm not quite sure his Genocide was Ethnically or Religiously biased.
Add the Crusades (three in all, including a Children's Crusade where thousands of "God's Children" died in the mountains), throw the events of 9/11 coupled with the sum of any and all terrorism, be it Muslim, Israelli, Catholic, Protestant or whatever religious group (they're all guilty at some point in history or another), the sacrifices of the South American Natives (10 Karma points to the person who knows what a cenotè is), do I really need to go on? You're GEEKS. PLEASE tell me you made world history a part of your knowledge base, and not just the Middle Ages themes of D&D!
And gee, doesn't it always seem like one is going after the other for some reason? It's not just random violence. Catholic v. Protestant. Christian v. Muslim or Roman (lions!), wasn't Buddah oppressed? What about the Muslim v. Judeism, Muslim v. whichever Indian sect occupies Kashmire...
Does anyone else notice a pattern? A cycle that continually spells certain doom at an early stage of life for large amounts of human beings in a short time? God's children or not, don't you think it's a little senseless for children to die before their lives even begin? The agressors kill indiscriminately: man, woman or child. It's all because of what they believe, conflicting with the other.
Does it make any less sense to believe that the goal should be furthering the species? Making sure we're not part of the list of failed life forms on this planet? Do we really want to lose to the FUCKING COCKROACH? We're the first ones to become aware of, and conciously realize where in the world we stand, and how we can manipulate the world around us to survive. And yes, that includes blocking asteroids targeting the Yucatan.
It's about us as a whole, not us as little sects. We can keep our beliefs, I have no problem with that. But we need to stop twisting the message into a violent struggle for power.
The general lesson Religion gives us is Faith. Faith in ourselves, faith in our task at hand. We have a good cause. Better lives for future generations. Faith that we can accomplish that goal wisely, if we all pitch in. It won't be a miracle. It'll be the sum of the work we can do now. During OUR period in time. Making it a MEANINGFUL LIFE. There isn't any God that's going to come along and zap it all to shit if we don't follow orders.
The only ones who can (and are) fuck it up are ourselves. If we keep squabbling like this, then faith might not be enough...
I love it. The RIAA, MPAA, and other such entities are frumping over these P2P networks like KaZaA, Morpheus, the now-defunct Napster, Gorkster, etc. Meanwhile, the TRUE geeks are still trading away, right under their noses. The high profile nature of the P2P clients is giving us some GREAT cover! I'd like to personally thank them all for sucking the attention of the "super media conglomerates" away from us and our happiness.
Here. I'll even spell it out for you, but I'll encode it. Care to try and break this code? It's totally stupid simple, even a child could figure it out. When decoded, it tells you exactly how we do it. Good luck, and may the force be with you.
(1,2,5)(1,3,14)(2,4,52)
Face it: there is absolutely no way to stop P2P file trading unless you turn America into China and fear monger to keep us in line. And there's no way the American people will let that happen.
Oh, by the way. Wouldn't the RIAA (which is made up of many recording companies) be considered a kind of monopoly? When you get right down to it, what you have is a good majority of corporations working together to impose their collective will. There's no choice in the matter, it's their way or the highway. Isn't that anti-competitive? They're guilty of at least one thing: Price Gouging. They try to sell us CDs with minimal amounts of data for $15-20, when we can all go out and get a blank for around 20 cents a pop if you shop right.
The only reason they sign artists in the first place is to control that particular flow of data. The artist gets a minimal fee, and the record companies sit back and collect the profits. What wee need is an IRIAA, the first I being Independant. Once artists jump on the bandwagon and start releasing their own material (thanks to MP3, OGG, or whatever format they choose, on CD or over the Net), then they can leverage out the RIAA's member companies.
I agree as far as needing to get rid of Israel. The only reason the US is involved is because our Judeo-Christian beliefs obligate us to protect "the holy land." For pete's sake, people, it's a fucking hunk of dirt! There's nothing "holy" about it. It's fucking DIRT! Let the Arabs have it, it was theirs to begin with.
If Israel is destined to not have any homeland, so be it. And if getting rid of Israel means peace in the Middle East, I'm all for it. Being a firefighter, you learn that the best way to put a fire out is to attack it at the bottom, the root of the problem, the source of fuel for the fire. It's not rocket science. There's no room for debate. Knock out the source, and the problem goes with it.
Pick up any history book and you'll find that the leading cause of war and death throughout recorded history is RELIGION. Abolish religion, and you eliminate the biggest cause of war. Once people's minds are no longer clouded by the 3000 year old ramblings of an opium smoking camel jockey, they'll start to think for themselves. That just might lead to the realization that killing each other is stupid, and we can move a step closer to humanity coming together as a whole.
I know I'm going to get flamed to hell for this. But since I don't believe in heaven and hell, it kinda works out...
Oh, heck yeah. Add in some healing herbs, a few potions and the D&D community will see a resurgance in popularity like never before. Geeks wandering around, invisible, whacking each other on the melon with +1 clubs and bitching about saving throws.
Wait. That'd kill the "download pics of Sara Michelle Gellar" market. Bad idea...
I never owned an Atari. My experience with Pitfall was on the Intellevision. Lord, that game confused the heck out of me. But still, as a young kid, it drove my imagination wild. I'd have dreams that I was Pitfall Harry, swinging over gators and leaping scorpions in search of treasure.
I remember the TV I would use had the absolute worst red settings. When you'ld play and made Harry run left, it looked as if he had long, red hair that flew in the breeze behind him. Of course, turning around to the right would slap the "hair" into his face. My friends and I would amuse ourselves with that little TV glitch for hours on end.
After the demise of my InTV, Pitfall faded from my scene. Then Super Pitfall came along, and it just had to have the original game hidden in there. Nothing but good memories of a great game came flooding right back. And they say games rot your brain. Horse Hockey! Glad I was alive when this game rolled out. Kids today are too spoiled with their Quake 3 engines and their MMORPGs. Of course, they wouldn't even give it the time of day, given it's outdated graphics and all.
Those kids gotta learn that you can never know where you (or your games) are going if you don't know where you (or your games) came from. Big thanks to David Crane for giving a young me such a fun memory.
Ghost is one of the best films I've seen, Anime or otherwise. And given that it doesn't suffer from Dragonball GT syndrome (aka its actually written by Masamune Shirow), I'm looking forward to the series. Any info on number of eps, seiyuu, etc? Gotta know how many DVDs to budget when they're released...
For a time, I worked in the construction racket, doing fiberglass insulation. Yeah, seeing the homes wired for broadband is neat, but then again, the quality of the homes I insulaetd lacked HEAVILY. S&A Homes is the biggest culprit. They build homes with warped 2x4s, particle board, and other cheap materials. And then they sell these shacks for somewhere in excess of $200G or more. I swear that the fibre is the most expensive part.
If you want to go this route and are building a new home, make sure you DEMAND that your home is at least framed in 2x6s (2x10 is optimal, IMHO) and covered in strong plywood. If I were the homeowner, I wouldn't be happy to know that someone can break into my home with a super soaker and a pocket knife...
Be careful which builder you choose, and make sure you supervise the construction at every step. Otherwise, the resale value won't be shit, fiber or not. Just another case of buyer beware...
Now, let's see how many ACs flame me because they know better. Seems to be a curse of mine lately...
With the calibur of students that MIT attracts, you'ld figure there'd be some sort of original creativity there. I can understand how an alum would be brought down by something like this. Whoever did that should lose their scholarship. MIT has some of the brightest young minds the world has to offer. Someone doing something like this just plain tarnishes that esteemed reputation. Not that it affects all MIT students/grads, just those who's bonehead idea it was to violate a copyright...
The real reason they won't release fuel cells isn't because of problems. The article itself says they last 10x longer than a regular Li. Duh. They won't release them because then noone will want the older batteries. Then they can't gouge the fuck out of us at the register (those things are damned expensive for all the longer they last in my DC3200).
Edison invented a light bulb that will last 10x longer than even today's four and five year bulbs. You can go to the Smithsonian and see it for yourself. But why won't GE and Sylvania, or even Philips, spit one out on the consumer market? Because then they couldn't rope us into buying the nasty bulbs that don't last very long at all. We buy more, they make more money. Simple as that.
And I'm sure the government has computers that far outdo anything that any PC or Server that's commercially available could do. When will we see that kind of power? When they decide that they don't have to charge $10G for a toilet seat to cover this stuff (aka none too soon).
I hate the song, but Puffy said it best: It's all about the Benjamins, baby...
But I still like it. Now, if I could only figure out how to turn my Dodge into a street legal Guntank (from Mobile Suit Gundam)...
It's Cowton, not Carlton ^-^ Nitpicky, I know, but still...
"I thought I told you to never call me on this wall. This is an unlisted wall..." -- President Skroob (Mel Brooks)
Jules Verne wasn't the only guy who could predict great technology with sci-fi, even in jest ^-^
After filing for Chapter 13, Adelphia launched an initiative to wire our area for Cable connections. And boy, is it taking off. With the students at PSU returning for fall classes this week, they're seeing a spike in users with the hunger for broadband. Not to mention they're rebuilding each town's cables in the surrounding area (something AT&T and TCI didn't do). Now that our rural areas are getting wired, we can finally jump on the broadbandwagon. Another tactic of theirs (which AT&T didn't do, leading to their bowing out of the Broadband market) is actually charging for installations. After that, a Digital Cable/Cable Modem tandem package is costing local residents about $80/month, which isn't half bad at all. Hopefully, this works out. My town will be broadband ready within the next 2 months (a promise both AT&T and Verizon couldn't/haven't kept), and the day it is, I'll be on the horn ordering it up.
Any other areas experiencing a similar situation? Any positive steps being taken to get broadband where it belongs (in our homes, not over our heads)?
Let's say that the Internet IS like Terra's fault network. Then this means the "Ring of Fire" would look something like this:
/. is in AC posts.
Washington, USA: Duh. Though I know it's overstated, it has to be Microsoft. If you equate them to Mount St. Helens, though, it's not really that bad. Occasional hiccups, not too terrible.
Japan: Either Mt. Fuji is the tons of crazy pr0n, both human and Anime, or the congestion that the Sony PS2 and Nintendo GameCube will cause when MMO gaming hits consoles full force.
The Philipines: Don't even get me started. If I had a nickle for every time I say the words "pinoy" and "pinay" on IRC, I'd be rolling in cash like
Hawaii, USA: We consider it something of an expensive paradise, right? Compare that, and the archipilego's many volcanic spots, to the P2P MP3 revolution. While it gurgles, it never really erupts (RIAA and MPAA). The sons of Napster are living it up while they can.
California, USA: One word, three times: Pr0n, pr0n, pr0n! Where is most of your congestion? Why, in the state that's doomed to fall off the continent and into the vast warm waters of the Pacific, of course! How much of it is made there? It's Hollywood, after all. That place gives a whole new meaning to the word "fault," eh?
Booby Prize Winner - Russia: While not really a big part of the "Ring of Fire," Russia has it's own explosive history, that being the Tunguska Blast in the early 20th Century. Open Source anyone? It's not so much congestion (though this is where "/.ings" come in) as it is the explosion that OSS has enjoyed as of late.
And they got government money to do this sort of crap? No study...
...Politicians on the list? Don't they come from a high crime neighborhood (the Capital Building)? Aren't they likely to commit crimes (soft money, self-imposed pay raises and yes, the ever-evil DMCA)? Until I see some senators and other high ranking government officials on this list, it just won't be believable...
[Insert Witty Anti-AC Comment Here]
..."Fuck You" if you give someone the bird? Or maybe "Go Fuck Yourself?" Maybe when you give the thumbs up it says "Roger Ebert is a Homo." When you give the Texas University "Hook 'Em Horns" sign, will it say "Satan is my all powerful master?" Would it actually say "Talk to the hand, etc." if you stuck your palm in someone's face? Or if you smack a girl in the ass, maybe it'll say "Nice tush, sweetheart."
Oh, the possibilities... Now even deaf people can get slapped by a woman for saying the wrong things...