I would like to point out that file sharing is legal, always has been legal, and always will be legal. Copyright infringement, however, is not.
Saying that file sharing is illegal is like saying that the snail mail system is illegal, because it can be used to distribute copyrighted material illegally. This is giving the file sharing technology a bad reputation, which is bad for obvious reasons - it can be used for many other things besides copyright infringement.
That's totally besides the point. If they say it's unlimited, then it should be unlimited. It may be a bad idea business wise for them to provide ulimited bandwidth for a fixed price, as you correctly point out, but that's their problem.
There will be no new N-Gage phone. All future Nokia smartphones will however be compatible with the future N-Gage platform (it may not even end up being called N-Gage).
So, you won't have to own a special N-Gage phone. Any Nokia smartphone will be able to play these games. Bear in mind that Nokia sold 9 million (if memory serves) smartphones is 2005 alone. And some of the phones that are already being sold (such as the Nokia N93) will be able to play these games.
MP3-player sales are dropping, because everybody already has a cell phone that can play MP3s. Will the same happen to the PSP and Nintendo DS? Unlikely, but it's an interesting thought.
This reminds me of an interesting story my father told me, that supposedly happened here i Karlstad, Sweden, in the early 20th century.
There was a rich farmer who lived outside the city (supposedly in Ekshärad) who decided to go into the city to do some shopping. Even though he was wealthy, you couldn't tell by the way he dressed. So, he walks into an expensive furniture store, and finds a large mirror that he's interested in buying. He asks the clerk how much the mirror costs, but the clerk says something along the lines of "more than you can afford". The farmer, understandably angered by the clerk's arrogance, grabs his cane and smashes the mirror. "Now will you tell me how much the mirror costs?" he asked the baffled clerk who now decides to answer. The farmer pulls out his wallet, puts the money on the counter and leaves.
Hospitals are an entirely different matter. I'm talking about routers.
My router is connected to the Internet. If I'm going to let your data pass through MY router, you can rest assured it's going to be on MY terms, or not at all. And if my data is going to pass through YOUR router, it is going to be on YOUR terms.
Say after me: We do not have the right of complete privacy on the Internet, because when we are on the net we use other people's resources, without paying for it. Ok? By "other people's resources" I mean routers and the like. Sure, you may be paying your ISP for Internet access, but you're not paying for use of the equipment outside of your ISP's network. And since we're not paying for the use of this equipment, we have no right to make any sorts of demands, such as complete privacy.
Sure, it would be nice to have complete privacy, I agree, but we cannot demand it. These are the terms we have to accept to use Internet. If we don't accept them, then we don't have to use it.
Btw, I realise this post won't make me popular. If you disagree, reply instead of modding me down.
Duke 3d added shooting on the Y plane and not just X and Z...
Actually, you could shoot on the Y plane in Doom (sort of). Try standing on a ledge above a monster below. Shoot "above" the monster, and the shot will automatically be aimed downwards towards it.
Yes, but game complainers aren't generally as reasonable as you are. You say "I like it, but it's not perfect", whereas game complainers say "I don't like it, it sucks", but they still play it 24/7. That's the difference.
has there ever been a game that's criticised by so many people, most of whom continue to play it?
It's the same with most games. People keep saying "This game sucks worse than anything else I have ever played! I should know, I play it 24/7!". One can only speculate as to why people keep playing games they allegedly hate so much...
What is the difference (in MMOG terms) between "death" and "collaps(ing) into unconsciousness and wak(ing) up in a safe place"?
For a game mechanics standpoint, there is no difference. But from the roleplaying standpoint, there is. In Lord of the Rings, people couldn't be resurrected. If they could in the game, people would complain. This solution is easier to accept, from a roleplaying standpoint.
Almost the whole point of the RPGs is to gain items and build up your character over time.
Whoa, easy with the generalizations there. What you're talking about is generally known as "Hack & slash" RPGs. Actual role playing games aren't like that at all, most of the time.
You just stop wasting so much time over a $20 part. I don't see why people make such a big deal over cheap things
I don't think that would be a good idea. If we let companies get away with stuff like this, they'll learn that its safe to screw customers over just as long as the item in question is cheap. I, for one, wouldn't want to end up in that situation. In fact, capitalism itself relies on the principles of self-moderation - if we want capitalism to work, we as consumers have to make it work.
True, but the principle is still the same - you have to prove that you are innocent (authorized), something which we generally dislike. And like I said, it does save lives, so I'll live with it. We make compromises for safety reasons all the time, and this is a compromise that I'm willing to make, especially since it could save my own daughter from being killed by a drunk driver. Like somebody else mentioned, 50% of all car accidents resulting in death in Sweden are alcohol-related. Meaning, these deaths could possibly be close to reduced by half with these devices. In my book, that makes it worth it.
Uhmm, no. It's not. I should know, I live here. Sweden is run by the social democrats right now, same as most other European countries. Which reminds me of an old (supposedly true, I don't know) story about Ronald Reagan; someone suggested that he should meet with Olaf Palme, who was Sweden's social democratic prime minister at the time. To this suggestion, Ronald Reagan replied "Olaf Palme? Isn't he a communist?". One of Reagan's advisors, embarrased by his president's ignorance said "Actually, sir, he's a social democrat.". Reagan looked at his advisor and said "I don't care what kind of communist he is!".
Anyway, this is getting off-topic, so I won't reply to any other replies in this branch.
When I arrive at work each morning, I must use my passcard to prove that I'm authorized to enter the building where I work. I see little difference between that, and having to prove that I'm not drunk in order to be allowed to drive.
This has been suggested in Sweden too. On www.aftonbladet.se, one of Sweden's leading newspapers they had a poll about it, asking if people would approve of a law that required everyone to pay for the installation (about 100 USD) of such a device in their cars. The majority voted for the "yes" option.
Some of you make good points about how this is an inconvenience, and that it violates your privacy and so on. And that's true. But when you consider the fact (yes, fact) that this WOULD save many human lives each year, then your arguments against it don't sound very important anymore.
Given that the raison d'etre of Palm devices is as a PIM, should you really have to buy extra software in order for it to be a good PIM? That's just my point - the PalmOS software isn't very good.
True. Newer Clie models (Sony's Palm devices) use a much more sophisticated software than the traditional Palm PIM suite. But still, the extra USD 25 are definitely worth it.
Not true. On most devices there is the internal memory, and memory cards. If I transfer a document from memory to my memory stick, it can no longer be read.
Right, I simplified a bit for clarity. But if a user is sophisticated enough to use a memory card, I'm sure he or she can resolve any such problems. I aimed that statement at newbie users, who are unlikely to have memory cards.
You make a good point about the simplicity being an advantage, but in this case, the right thing to do would be to combine both internal and external memory into one virtual directory, wouldn't it?
Possibly. But while that would make the UI in itself simpler, for a newbie it might also "hide" the fact that a specific file is stored on a memory card and not on internal RAM. The user would then be very confused when the file suddenly isn't available anymore. It could be difficult to make the connection that its because he or she pulled out the memory card a week earlier.
I can only assume people sing the praises of PalmOS so much, because they have never used anything better.
Touche. I haven't tried any other PIMs than Palms. Still, I admire Palms for their simplicity when compared to desktop machines, and I fear that implementing too many typical desktop features (proper file systems, multitasking, etc) might bring typical desktop problems to Palm.
I have to say, I can't agree with you less. I recently bought a Clie, and while the hardware design is great (apart from the speaker being way to quiet), the OS (4) is rubbish. It has all the PIM features you need, but absolutely no integration - you can't for example set a time on a ToDo item and have it appear in the diary, or set an alarm for it.
Buy DateBk5 for Palm. It costs USD 25, and has all the features you need and more, trust me.:-)
The filesystem is brain-dead.
Correction: The file system is simplistic, which is one of the things that make Palms easy to use - you don't have to worry about files being installed in the wrong location, because there's only one place to install them. There are no directories.
There is no multitasking.
That's not true, strictly speaking. There is multitasking (how else would an alarm be able to go off while you're running some other Palm application?), it's just that only one application can access the UI at a time. This may sound stupid, but it too is one of the things that make Palms hassle-free. Sure, applications crash, but not to a greater extent than applications of any other operating systems. But besides that, there are rarely any problems with PalmOS applications. This is mostly because PalmOS is so simplistic, there isn't really anything to mess up.
Think about the kinds of things that cause problems with applications on a desktop PC:
1. File locations.
On PalmOS, there is only one place to put files (since there is no directories and no file hierarchy), so you can't mess up in that department on a Palm.
2. File priviledges
There are no file priviledges on Palms, so that won't cause you any problems.
3. Bad drivers
In general, Palms don't require any drivers, unless you buy extra hardware addons, so drivers won't cause you any problems.
4. Running out of memory
Since only one Palm program can run at a time, and the amount of heap space available on different PalmOS versions / Palm devices is very well documented, you'll rarely run into problems because a Palm application runs out of memory.
Combined, these factors come together to make PalmOS devices relatively stable. Sure, there is no memory protection, so when an application does crash, you usually have to "reboot" (soft reset) the device, but that takes about 20 seconds and you're good to go (without any loss of data). Besides, PalmOS 6 will include memory protection and proper multitasking for those who want that.
Some people say that they've had to hard reset their Palm to fix a problem, and that erases all data (the data will normally be totally restored by simply putting the Palm in its cradle and pressing the hotsync button though). Yes, that can be a problem. But you can usually avoid it. Here's how:
When a Palm application crashes, you usually have to "reboot" (soft reset) it. After a soft reset occurs, PalmOS notifies all applications that a soft reset has taken place. This is where bad things can happen. Some applications don't handle this notification properly and crash, causing a new soft reset, and you end up in an eternal soft reset boot which can only be fixed by a hard reset that deletes the offending (and all other) applications.
To avoid this problem, do this: Install a free file manager, such as Filez. Then, should you enter one of these eternal soft reset loops, you can fix it without hard resetting. As I said earlier, all applications are notified when the device soft resets. One of the first applications that is notified (and thus started) is usually the Prefs applications. Use this to your advantage by going to the "button setup" prefs panel, and redefine one of the hardware buttons to start the file manager you installed earlier. Then press that hardware button to start the file manager. Use the file manager to delete the offending application, and soft reset. There. Soft reset loop broken, problem solved, no loss of data.
Slashdot Mirror
Are you an emacs user? If so, then I definitely recommend org-mode: http://orgmode.org/
It's notes mixed with todos on steroids (which themselves are on steroids). There's nothing it can't do. Check it out.
There's a Google tech video about it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJTwQvgfgMM
Keep in mind that English is not everybody's native language.
Btw, how's your Icelandish grammar?
Arguing on the Internet is like competing in the Special Olympics. Even if you win, you're still retarded.
Sorry, couldn't resist. I normally don't make insulting jokes like this, but this one is just so funny I can't help myself.
I would like to point out that file sharing is legal, always has been legal, and always will be legal. Copyright infringement, however, is not.
Saying that file sharing is illegal is like saying that the snail mail system is illegal, because it can be used to distribute copyrighted material illegally. This is giving the file sharing technology a bad reputation, which is bad for obvious reasons - it can be used for many other things besides copyright infringement.
That's totally besides the point. If they say it's unlimited, then it should be unlimited. It may be a bad idea business wise for them to provide ulimited bandwidth for a fixed price, as you correctly point out, but that's their problem.
There will be no new N-Gage phone. All future Nokia smartphones will however be compatible with the future N-Gage platform (it may not even end up being called N-Gage).
a ge_Future_Watch_site_launc.php.
So, you won't have to own a special N-Gage phone. Any Nokia smartphone will be able to play these games. Bear in mind that Nokia sold 9 million (if memory serves) smartphones is 2005 alone. And some of the phones that are already being sold (such as the Nokia N93) will be able to play these games.
MP3-player sales are dropping, because everybody already has a cell phone that can play MP3s. Will the same happen to the PSP and Nintendo DS? Unlikely, but it's an interesting thought.
For more information: http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/news/item/4685_N-G
This reminds me of an interesting story my father told me, that supposedly happened here i Karlstad, Sweden, in the early 20th century.
There was a rich farmer who lived outside the city (supposedly in Ekshärad) who decided to go into the city to do some shopping. Even though he was wealthy, you couldn't tell by the way he dressed. So, he walks into an expensive furniture store, and finds a large mirror that he's interested in buying. He asks the clerk how much the mirror costs, but the clerk says something along the lines of "more than you can afford". The farmer, understandably angered by the clerk's arrogance, grabs his cane and smashes the mirror. "Now will you tell me how much the mirror costs?" he asked the baffled clerk who now decides to answer. The farmer pulls out his wallet, puts the money on the counter and leaves.
Uhmm, no. I don't personally own the road in front of my house. It is owned by all taxpayers. I do, however, personally own my router.
Hospitals are an entirely different matter. I'm talking about routers.
My router is connected to the Internet. If I'm going to let your data pass through MY router, you can rest assured it's going to be on MY terms, or not at all. And if my data is going to pass through YOUR router, it is going to be on YOUR terms.
Say after me: We do not have the right of complete privacy on the Internet, because when we are on the net we use other people's resources, without paying for it. Ok? By "other people's resources" I mean routers and the like. Sure, you may be paying your ISP for Internet access, but you're not paying for use of the equipment outside of your ISP's network. And since we're not paying for the use of this equipment, we have no right to make any sorts of demands, such as complete privacy.
Sure, it would be nice to have complete privacy, I agree, but we cannot demand it. These are the terms we have to accept to use Internet. If we don't accept them, then we don't have to use it.
Btw, I realise this post won't make me popular. If you disagree, reply instead of modding me down.
Uhmm, I think you're misunderstanding. He doesn't want to advertise his product / service - he wants to put other people's ads on his web site.
Duke 3d added shooting on the Y plane and not just X and Z...
Actually, you could shoot on the Y plane in Doom (sort of). Try standing on a ledge above a monster below. Shoot "above" the monster, and the shot will automatically be aimed downwards towards it.
Yes, but game complainers aren't generally as reasonable as you are. You say "I like it, but it's not perfect", whereas game complainers say "I don't like it, it sucks", but they still play it 24/7. That's the difference.
It's the same with most games. People keep saying "This game sucks worse than anything else I have ever played! I should know, I play it 24/7!". One can only speculate as to why people keep playing games they allegedly hate so much...
For a game mechanics standpoint, there is no difference. But from the roleplaying standpoint, there is. In Lord of the Rings, people couldn't be resurrected. If they could in the game, people would complain. This solution is easier to accept, from a roleplaying standpoint.
Whoa, easy with the generalizations there. What you're talking about is generally known as "Hack & slash" RPGs. Actual role playing games aren't like that at all, most of the time.
I don't think that would be a good idea. If we let companies get away with stuff like this, they'll learn that its safe to screw customers over just as long as the item in question is cheap. I, for one, wouldn't want to end up in that situation. In fact, capitalism itself relies on the principles of self-moderation - if we want capitalism to work, we as consumers have to make it work.
Because the utility of people driving is bigger than the problem of people getting killed in traffic, seen as a whole.
True, but the principle is still the same - you have to prove that you are innocent (authorized), something which we generally dislike. And like I said, it does save lives, so I'll live with it. We make compromises for safety reasons all the time, and this is a compromise that I'm willing to make, especially since it could save my own daughter from being killed by a drunk driver. Like somebody else mentioned, 50% of all car accidents resulting in death in Sweden are alcohol-related. Meaning, these deaths could possibly be close to reduced by half with these devices. In my book, that makes it worth it.
Uhmm, no. It's not. I should know, I live here. Sweden is run by the social democrats right now, same as most other European countries. Which reminds me of an old (supposedly true, I don't know) story about Ronald Reagan; someone suggested that he should meet with Olaf Palme, who was Sweden's social democratic prime minister at the time. To this suggestion, Ronald Reagan replied "Olaf Palme? Isn't he a communist?". One of Reagan's advisors, embarrased by his president's ignorance said "Actually, sir, he's a social democrat.". Reagan looked at his advisor and said "I don't care what kind of communist he is!".
Anyway, this is getting off-topic, so I won't reply to any other replies in this branch.
I am not trolling, and no, I do not understand the difference. Please elaborate.
When I arrive at work each morning, I must use my passcard to prove that I'm authorized to enter the building where I work. I see little difference between that, and having to prove that I'm not drunk in order to be allowed to drive.
This has been suggested in Sweden too. On www.aftonbladet.se, one of Sweden's leading newspapers they had a poll about it, asking if people would approve of a law that required everyone to pay for the installation (about 100 USD) of such a device in their cars. The majority voted for the "yes" option.
Some of you make good points about how this is an inconvenience, and that it violates your privacy and so on. And that's true. But when you consider the fact (yes, fact) that this WOULD save many human lives each year, then your arguments against it don't sound very important anymore.
Given that the raison d'etre of Palm devices is as a PIM, should you really have to buy extra software in order for it to be a good PIM? That's just my point - the PalmOS software isn't very good.
True. Newer Clie models (Sony's Palm devices) use a much more sophisticated software than the traditional Palm PIM suite. But still, the extra USD 25 are definitely worth it.
Not true. On most devices there is the internal memory, and memory cards. If I transfer a document from memory to my memory stick, it can no longer be read.
Right, I simplified a bit for clarity. But if a user is sophisticated enough to use a memory card, I'm sure he or she can resolve any such problems. I aimed that statement at newbie users, who are unlikely to have memory cards.
You make a good point about the simplicity being an advantage, but in this case, the right thing to do would be to combine both internal and external memory into one virtual directory, wouldn't it?
Possibly. But while that would make the UI in itself simpler, for a newbie it might also "hide" the fact that a specific file is stored on a memory card and not on internal RAM. The user would then be very confused when the file suddenly isn't available anymore. It could be difficult to make the connection that its because he or she pulled out the memory card a week earlier.
I can only assume people sing the praises of PalmOS so much, because they have never used anything better.
Touche. I haven't tried any other PIMs than Palms. Still, I admire Palms for their simplicity when compared to desktop machines, and I fear that implementing too many typical desktop features (proper file systems, multitasking, etc) might bring typical desktop problems to Palm.
I have to say, I can't agree with you less. I recently bought a Clie, and while the hardware design is great (apart from the speaker being way to quiet), the OS (4) is rubbish. It has all the PIM features you need, but absolutely no integration - you can't for example set a time on a ToDo item and have it appear in the diary, or set an alarm for it.
:-)
Buy DateBk5 for Palm. It costs USD 25, and has all the features you need and more, trust me.
The filesystem is brain-dead.
Correction: The file system is simplistic, which is one of the things that make Palms easy to use - you don't have to worry about files being installed in the wrong location, because there's only one place to install them. There are no directories.
There is no multitasking.
That's not true, strictly speaking. There is multitasking (how else would an alarm be able to go off while you're running some other Palm application?), it's just that only one application can access the UI at a time. This may sound stupid, but it too is one of the things that make Palms hassle-free. Sure, applications crash, but not to a greater extent than applications of any other operating systems. But besides that, there are rarely any problems with PalmOS applications. This is mostly because PalmOS is so simplistic, there isn't really anything to mess up.
Think about the kinds of things that cause problems with applications on a desktop PC:
1. File locations.
On PalmOS, there is only one place to put files (since there is no directories and no file hierarchy), so you can't mess up in that department on a Palm.
2. File priviledges
There are no file priviledges on Palms, so that won't cause you any problems.
3. Bad drivers
In general, Palms don't require any drivers, unless you buy extra hardware addons, so drivers won't cause you any problems.
4. Running out of memory
Since only one Palm program can run at a time, and the amount of heap space available on different PalmOS versions / Palm devices is very well documented, you'll rarely run into problems because a Palm application runs out of memory.
Combined, these factors come together to make PalmOS devices relatively stable. Sure, there is no memory protection, so when an application does crash, you usually have to "reboot" (soft reset) the device, but that takes about 20 seconds and you're good to go (without any loss of data). Besides, PalmOS 6 will include memory protection and proper multitasking for those who want that.
Some people say that they've had to hard reset their Palm to fix a problem, and that erases all data (the data will normally be totally restored by simply putting the Palm in its cradle and pressing the hotsync button though). Yes, that can be a problem. But you can usually avoid it. Here's how:
When a Palm application crashes, you usually have to "reboot" (soft reset) it. After a soft reset occurs, PalmOS notifies all applications that a soft reset has taken place. This is where bad things can happen. Some applications don't handle this notification properly and crash, causing a new soft reset, and you end up in an eternal soft reset boot which can only be fixed by a hard reset that deletes the offending (and all other) applications.
To avoid this problem, do this: Install a free file manager, such as Filez. Then, should you enter one of these eternal soft reset loops, you can fix it without hard resetting. As I said earlier, all applications are notified when the device soft resets. One of the first applications that is notified (and thus started) is usually the Prefs applications. Use this to your advantage by going to the "button setup" prefs panel, and redefine one of the hardware buttons to start the file manager you installed earlier. Then press that hardware button to start the file manager. Use the file manager to delete the offending application, and soft reset. There. Soft reset loop broken, problem solved, no loss of data.