find ways to guarantee that items bought are permanently owned even without a physical copy
That's just it! These companies don't WANT you to "permanently own" anything. This way they can sell it to you over and over again.
And, with the move to online distribution, they have grasped you at the base of your snarglies because when THEY decide it's time for you to upgrade, they simply shut down all the older stuff. Period.
And the lack of a physical copy simply gives them even more leverage.
"We have no record of you ever buying anything through us. Sorry! Maybe it was the PSN hack a few years back! Heheh! PAY UP!"
Part of the problem is this whole "sick culture" where people are convinced nowadays that they are all seriously ill but can simply medicate any problem away.
Listen to some of these commercials on television. A good chunk of them have side effects including triggering the things they're supposed to be helping you with. Like antidepressants that can make you MORE suicidal.
My whole response to this is "Are you fucking kidding me?"
My company sells and supports business software and gets bombarded all the time about "a Mac version".
Developing the software for Windows is already more than expensive enough, not to mention having Windows-centric dependencies. Creating a Mac port just ain't in the cards.
We have to continually give them a polite "Get a real OS" speech.
While I take no pleasure in the fact that people's financial data has been compromised, my intense dislike of Sony and its business practices is severely inhibiting my ability to wipe an evil little grin off my face.
Sure, you're always going to have people for whom these games are REEL SRS BZNS! But everyone else looks at these hypercompetitive button-pushers with something faintly resembling pity (with a large dose of impatience and disgust mixed in for good measure).
2. Web distribution. My parents for example don't rent physical movies anymore. They use the ON-Demand functionality of their cable provider. Obviously, netflix and others do the same thing.
Well
Now, this late in the game, since it has to now compete with streaming/downloadable content as well, it's going to continue to stumble.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the people who actually care about format are a much smaller population than the people for whom DVD is "good enough."
No you misunderstand. The format war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray created a massive amount of uncertainty as to which format to buy into. So many bought NEITHER. Not wanting to wind up on the losing side of a fight reminiscent of VHS-vs-Beta.
Plain and simple. Most people aren't looking to play in high definition on Frank's 2000 inch TV.
And for screens 60" and smaller high def, while noticeable just isn't enough of an improvement to merit the switchover.
That and the huge install base of DVD players and drives out there is just an 800 lb gorilla that Blu-Ray has to struggle to overcome.
And the capper.
If there had NOT been a credible format war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, we'd probably have seen better adoption by now. The format war completely crippled uptake of the format for YEARS. As such, neither HD platform gained the critical early traction necessary to overtake DVD. Now, this late in the game, since it has to now compete with streaming/downloadable content as well, it's going to continue to stumble.
Seriously. While I can understand Sony's position of "used games = no money" for them, their repeated attempts to stifle user choice pretty much means that unless Sony is THE only option left on earth, you shouldn't be buying from them.
If someone demanded $300 and then kicked you in the nuts, would you give them more money when they demanded another $50? And then again when they demanded another $10-15? And then again when they insist you re-pay for everything you've bought because they've decided to shitcan support for all of it and convert to a new, incompatible format?
Or will it sink in when they devolve to charging pay-per-play? What? You paid your $5 for a single play and then our servers crashed? Sorry! Pay another $5 for the privilege of getting back on!
The short: Give them an account. For a hospital IT department they're unusually permissive about this. If you're giving them an account with suitably circumscribed permissions, there's zero harm they can do to the machine. Likely the most they'd need to do is shut it down in the event that there's some sort of information leak via the system.
The long: Your IT department requires access to the machine because they need to be able to show HIPPA compliance. This is federal law in the US and breaking it can lead to expensive fines, civil lawsuits, and if severe enough, could do SERIOUS damage to the hospital's ability to continue functioning.
As I mentioned, your IT department is being unusually permissive about this. Prepare for them to want to dissect the setup vigorously as part of their risk management and get ready for additional demands to be placed on you as the price for them allowing this system onto the network. Again, they're not being dicks just to be dicks about it. They're doing this because it's part of their job, and keeps the hospital from getting sued and fined into oblivion.
Grant the an account. And ask them what sort of permissions they need on the box. It may be that they want to add the system to their backup routine, or as a node being watched by the network monitoring system. It could be as simple as needing to be able to cleanly shut the machine down (rather than breaking into your office and pulling the plug) if there is an issue where sensitive data is being released by the system. Go out of your way to be accommodating and IT should, baring issues beyond your control, respond in kind.
If you have to travel outside the US, make use of FTP, webmail, etc to move your sensitive data. And own a cheapass laptop that you don't mind getting confiscated.
Slashdot Mirror
find ways to guarantee that items bought are permanently owned even without a physical copy
That's just it! These companies don't WANT you to "permanently own" anything. This way they can sell it to you over and over again.
And, with the move to online distribution, they have grasped you at the base of your snarglies because when THEY decide it's time for you to upgrade, they simply shut down all the older stuff. Period.
And the lack of a physical copy simply gives them even more leverage.
"We have no record of you ever buying anything through us. Sorry! Maybe it was the PSN hack a few years back! Heheh! PAY UP!"
"I think I'll take being happy and feeling fine versus meds and "prolonged health". Quality over quantity."
Exactly.
Part of the problem is this whole "sick culture" where people are convinced nowadays that they are all seriously ill but can simply medicate any problem away.
Listen to some of these commercials on television. A good chunk of them have side effects including triggering the things they're supposed to be helping you with. Like antidepressants that can make you MORE suicidal.
My whole response to this is "Are you fucking kidding me?"
In America, you make party disappear!
In Soviet Russia, party make YOU disappear!
Wish I had mod points for this.
My company sells and supports business software and gets bombarded all the time about "a Mac version".
Developing the software for Windows is already more than expensive enough, not to mention having Windows-centric dependencies. Creating a Mac port just ain't in the cards.
We have to continually give them a polite "Get a real OS" speech.
So you're saying you're a majority of the Mac userbase?
Nice to meet you!
*Whispers to aide* Get me my elephant gun please.
It's a turn of phrase.
It generally means "might go in a different direction".
The outcome of the trial might be different if they can get their hands on that missing router.
While I take no pleasure in the fact that people's financial data has been compromised, my intense dislike of Sony and its business practices is severely inhibiting my ability to wipe an evil little grin off my face.
Pizza delivery!
What?
=)
Nintendo chief doesn't understand consumers yet, keeps pushing 3DS.
If it can't do the slow-mo superspeed with the funky "bionic" noise.
It's a damn computer game.
Sure, you're always going to have people for whom these games are REEL SRS BZNS! But everyone else looks at these hypercompetitive button-pushers with something faintly resembling pity (with a large dose of impatience and disgust mixed in for good measure).
The only reason why metric is convenient at all is because of the biological fluke of humans having roughly 10 digits on the end of their hands.
It's an absolute bitch for conversion to anything else. And don't even get me started about infinitely repeating decimals.
*SHUDDER*
There's also a few other factors.
2. Web distribution. My parents for example don't rent physical movies anymore. They use the ON-Demand functionality of their cable provider. Obviously, netflix and others do the same thing.
Well
Now, this late in the game, since it has to now compete with streaming/downloadable content as well, it's going to continue to stumble.
Yeah.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the people who actually care about format are a much smaller population than the people for whom DVD is "good enough."
No you misunderstand. The format war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray created a massive amount of uncertainty as to which format to buy into. So many bought NEITHER. Not wanting to wind up on the losing side of a fight reminiscent of VHS-vs-Beta.
Plain and simple. Most people aren't looking to play in high definition on Frank's 2000 inch TV.
And for screens 60" and smaller high def, while noticeable just isn't enough of an improvement to merit the switchover.
That and the huge install base of DVD players and drives out there is just an 800 lb gorilla that Blu-Ray has to struggle to overcome.
And the capper.
If there had NOT been a credible format war between HD-DVD and Blu-Ray, we'd probably have seen better adoption by now. The format war completely crippled uptake of the format for YEARS. As such, neither HD platform gained the critical early traction necessary to overtake DVD. Now, this late in the game, since it has to now compete with streaming/downloadable content as well, it's going to continue to stumble.
Seriously. While I can understand Sony's position of "used games = no money" for them, their repeated attempts to stifle user choice pretty much means that unless Sony is THE only option left on earth, you shouldn't be buying from them.
If someone demanded $300 and then kicked you in the nuts, would you give them more money when they demanded another $50? And then again when they demanded another $10-15? And then again when they insist you re-pay for everything you've bought because they've decided to shitcan support for all of it and convert to a new, incompatible format?
Or will it sink in when they devolve to charging pay-per-play? What? You paid your $5 for a single play and then our servers crashed? Sorry! Pay another $5 for the privilege of getting back on!
The short: Give them an account. For a hospital IT department they're unusually permissive about this. If you're giving them an account with suitably circumscribed permissions, there's zero harm they can do to the machine. Likely the most they'd need to do is shut it down in the event that there's some sort of information leak via the system.
The long: Your IT department requires access to the machine because they need to be able to show HIPPA compliance. This is federal law in the US and breaking it can lead to expensive fines, civil lawsuits, and if severe enough, could do SERIOUS damage to the hospital's ability to continue functioning.
As I mentioned, your IT department is being unusually permissive about this. Prepare for them to want to dissect the setup vigorously as part of their risk management and get ready for additional demands to be placed on you as the price for them allowing this system onto the network. Again, they're not being dicks just to be dicks about it. They're doing this because it's part of their job, and keeps the hospital from getting sued and fined into oblivion.
Grant the an account. And ask them what sort of permissions they need on the box. It may be that they want to add the system to their backup routine, or as a node being watched by the network monitoring system. It could be as simple as needing to be able to cleanly shut the machine down (rather than breaking into your office and pulling the plug) if there is an issue where sensitive data is being released by the system. Go out of your way to be accommodating and IT should, baring issues beyond your control, respond in kind.
Geek or no. She wants a goddamn diamond!
Not that I really care either way, but why is elitism bad again?
A MERITOCRACY isn't bad.
Elitism, people who are blindly convinced that they (and their choice) are superior, and are offensive about it to others?
Yes. Bad.
That's all we needed was another organization with this jacktard at the top encouraging retarded elitism.
[
Steve Wozniak told Reuters he would consider returning to an active role at Apple, the company he co-founded
I'm sure he would. And I'm sure he'd have a positive effect on them too if he could.
and believes the consumer electronics giant could afford to be more open than it is.
And this is why he never will.
If you have to travel outside the US, make use of FTP, webmail, etc to move your sensitive data. And own a cheapass laptop that you don't mind getting confiscated.
Tell that to the poor bastard who's going to die because the government denied him treatment.
Funny! All these desktops look the same from inside a command prompt.