"Just as the plantation masters of 1850, who in a desperate attempt to fence themselves off from the forces of the industrial revolution, succeded their states from the union."
You must be from the South. Everybody else knows and understands that they did not, in fact, succeed.
Or perhaps you meant "seceded"?:-)
Caveat: I'm from the South. This is not a 'dumb redneck' insult.
"You know, I would *love* a re-enactment of Gettysburg, esp the last charge by the confederates."
Sid Meier already did it, complete with Pickett's Charge and lots of other scenarios, real and imagined. He also did an Antietam game. You can probably still find these games packaged together --- it hasn't been all that long since I bought them. Look for "Sid Meier's Civil War Pack" or something along those lines.
I'd like to see more Civil War games, though. The strategy and tactics of that period translate to computer gaming quite well, in my opinion.
"Doesn't this interfere with interstate commerce, the domain of the federal government?"
It does. Congress will have to pass legislation specifically allowing it. Such legislation has not yet been introduced, but unfortunately they're working on it. I've already written my congresscritters asking them to oppose it. (Not that I think it does a lot of good, but it doesn't cost me very much to do it.)
"I would love to get an award because it would mean people like my work. It is the applause that filmmakers never get because there is no live audience."
Your point is valid, but for my part, if I were an actor or director, the box office receipts from my movies would be all the applause I would need. To me that's a much more accurate measure of whether or not people like my work --- or at least, ordinary people, who are the ones whose opinions I'd care about most.
I should probably be glad I went ahead and ordered my Gateway notebook via the website, then. I went to the local Gateway store, and found out I'd have had to pay sales tax if I'd had them order it for me, AND I'd have had to pay shipping. The website, on the other hand, charged me neither tax nor shipping. Same computer, and it had to be shipped anyway since they didn't have one in stock. The salesman was thoroughly taken aback by it, but he agreed with me that I'd be better off going home and ordering off the web. It's a $160 difference, and that's a pretty big wad of cash.
Still, given that the salesman didn't realize this until I told him, I'm guessing not too many people have been taking advantage of little tricks like that. But it makes a heck of a lot of difference on a $2000 computer.
If click-through EULAs that you aren't even presented with until after you've bought the software are legal, this must legal too. It's basically the same principle.
Of course, both are dishonest and wrong, but alas, that's not the same as illegal.
"This flies directly in the face of what the framers of the Constitution had in mind. But is it unconstitutional?"
This statement seems contradictory. One would think that something that "flies directly in the face of what the framers of the Constitution had in mind" would, by definition, be unconstitutional. Certainly, the Supreme Court has ruled things unconstitutional on much weaker grounds than that in the past.
What surprises me here is that the justices who traditionally hold to a strict interpretation of the Constitution, and thus base their decisions on the intent of the framers, voted this law constitutional when it obviously violates the intentions of the framers.
"They would have to get the permission of the MAME developers as well. If you read the license that comes with MAME, it forbids distribution together with roms."
I don't think that would be much of a problem if they legally bought the rights to distribute the roms. The MAME developers put that in there as a guard against being accused of copyright violations and piracy. Take away the threat of piracy lawsuits, and I imagine they'd be perfectly willing to allow MAME to be shipped in this sort of system.
"I still can vividly recall my Darth Vader action figure and his cheap light saber (the little plastic stick was always bent). It added a certain irony to the menacing dark mask."
He just needs a voice box that says "I hate it when my Schwartz gets twisted..."
That's true in America as well. The Constitution specifically forbids ex post facto laws, meaning that you can't pass a law and then convict people of breaking it before it was enacted.
"Yeah, it was nice to see that the british accent is genetic"
I'd expect that the Romulans would have been training him to speak with a British accent before they gave up the infiltration plan and abandoned him on Remus. He looked about 10-12 in the flashbacks that showed him being thrown into the dungeons, so it seems reasonable that he'd already developed his accent by that time.
Not that I'm saying I thought he was a good villain --- he wasn't really --- but the accent certainly isn't any less believable than the idea of a universal translator that can even make aliens' lips move like they're speaking English...
One thing you do have to keep in mind is the goal and purpose of the community. If you have a community dedicated to mechanisms of evolution, for instance, you might want to ban creationism in order to keep creation/evolution debating from disrupting the overall purpose of your community. I don't really see anything wrong with that (and I'm a creationist).
Now, I agree with you that if you have a community that's meant to be diverse, censorship in any form would definitely violate that principle. But some communities have more specialized purposes, and it might be valid to expect them to take steps to keep their communities on topic.
I've always thought something was wrong with those TCO studies that say MS has a lower TCO than Linux. It just seems blindingly obvious that free software would give you a much lower TCO than something that comes with massive license fees, regardless of what other factors you work into the equation - - - and I've always suspected that those other factors are mostly just handwaving and smoke and mirrors.
"Maybe it's only on computer where available? Our testing center isn't outfitted for it."
I believe that's correct. When I took the GRE (4 years ago), there was a lot of talk that it was going to be available on computer. They were just starting to roll out the computer-based testing, and it wasn't available at my location. It probably still isn't available at a lot of locations.
I'd agree with you, except for one thing. A lot of software I want/need to run is not available on Linux. If Linux develops to the point where "average morons" use it --- even if it's not a particularly overwhelming percentage --- more software companies will find it worth their while to port their products to Linux. Therefore I do have a significant interest in seeing widespread adoption of Linux by average users.
"Couple that with the fact that there is apparently a number of working cracks and keygens spread out across the internet, and you're looking at seriously low sales."
I doubt the cracks and keygens seriously cut into A/W's bottom line. The big reason they have such a high price point is because they sell mainly to businesses, which can afford to drop $2000 a box for software. They price it there in part because that's the best price point for their target audience.
The average Joe can't and/or won't pay $2000 for a piece of software, so when he pirates it, he doesn't harm A/W in the least --- he may actually help them by gaining experience with the software that might translate into a job down the road in which he might use a licensed copy. Businesses, on the other hand, generally can't afford to engage in rampant piracy since they're much more vulnerable to litigation than individuals. That's even more true when most of A/W's customers are high-profile entertainment companies rather than small backwater businesses, and they can't really get away with piracy.
So, I can't really believe piracy has a very significant effect on software shops like A/W.
Do any of the distros use ALSA for sound by default?
Re:Surprising this has not happened with soundcard
on
The Last Days at 3dfx
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· Score: 2
I've got an SB Live Platinum on a VIA-based mobo and it works like a charm, even in Linux. (I had to disable the on-board audio in BIOS before Linux would configure the SB card properly, though, but that's not really something I'd call an "issue" with the mobo --- any conflict with onboard audiowould need to be resolved, no matter what the chipset.)
Maybe they do have problems on some boards, though. My mobo is a newer board, and they might have fixed some things.
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You must be from the South. Everybody else knows and understands that they did not, in fact, succeed.
Or perhaps you meant "seceded"? :-)
Caveat: I'm from the South. This is not a 'dumb redneck' insult.
Sid Meier already did it, complete with Pickett's Charge and lots of other scenarios, real and imagined. He also did an Antietam game. You can probably still find these games packaged together --- it hasn't been all that long since I bought them. Look for "Sid Meier's Civil War Pack" or something along those lines.
I'd like to see more Civil War games, though. The strategy and tactics of that period translate to computer gaming quite well, in my opinion.
It does. Congress will have to pass legislation specifically allowing it. Such legislation has not yet been introduced, but unfortunately they're working on it. I've already written my congresscritters asking them to oppose it. (Not that I think it does a lot of good, but it doesn't cost me very much to do it.)
You forgot "fhqwhgads".
Consummate V's! I said CONSUMMATE V's! Sheesh...
Your point is valid, but for my part, if I were an actor or director, the box office receipts from my movies would be all the applause I would need. To me that's a much more accurate measure of whether or not people like my work --- or at least, ordinary people, who are the ones whose opinions I'd care about most.
Still, given that the salesman didn't realize this until I told him, I'm guessing not too many people have been taking advantage of little tricks like that. But it makes a heck of a lot of difference on a $2000 computer.
There were love scenes in The Phantom Menance?
Of course, both are dishonest and wrong, but alas, that's not the same as illegal.
Didn't E.T. already do this twenty-some-odd years ago?
This statement seems contradictory. One would think that something that "flies directly in the face of what the framers of the Constitution had in mind" would, by definition, be unconstitutional. Certainly, the Supreme Court has ruled things unconstitutional on much weaker grounds than that in the past.
What surprises me here is that the justices who traditionally hold to a strict interpretation of the Constitution, and thus base their decisions on the intent of the framers, voted this law constitutional when it obviously violates the intentions of the framers.
I don't think that would be much of a problem if they legally bought the rights to distribute the roms. The MAME developers put that in there as a guard against being accused of copyright violations and piracy. Take away the threat of piracy lawsuits, and I imagine they'd be perfectly willing to allow MAME to be shipped in this sort of system.
He just needs a voice box that says "I hate it when my Schwartz gets twisted..."
In the United States, last time I checked, it's illegal to discriminate against a potential employee on the basis of religion.
That's true in America as well. The Constitution specifically forbids ex post facto laws, meaning that you can't pass a law and then convict people of breaking it before it was enacted.
I'd expect that the Romulans would have been training him to speak with a British accent before they gave up the infiltration plan and abandoned him on Remus. He looked about 10-12 in the flashbacks that showed him being thrown into the dungeons, so it seems reasonable that he'd already developed his accent by that time.
Not that I'm saying I thought he was a good villain --- he wasn't really --- but the accent certainly isn't any less believable than the idea of a universal translator that can even make aliens' lips move like they're speaking English...
Actually, I'd have said half-baked.
Pretty much everything except the kitchen sink, I'd imagine.
Now, I agree with you that if you have a community that's meant to be diverse, censorship in any form would definitely violate that principle. But some communities have more specialized purposes, and it might be valid to expect them to take steps to keep their communities on topic.
I've always thought something was wrong with those TCO studies that say MS has a lower TCO than Linux. It just seems blindingly obvious that free software would give you a much lower TCO than something that comes with massive license fees, regardless of what other factors you work into the equation - - - and I've always suspected that those other factors are mostly just handwaving and smoke and mirrors.
I believe that's correct. When I took the GRE (4 years ago), there was a lot of talk that it was going to be available on computer. They were just starting to roll out the computer-based testing, and it wasn't available at my location. It probably still isn't available at a lot of locations.
I'd agree with you, except for one thing. A lot of software I want/need to run is not available on Linux. If Linux develops to the point where "average morons" use it --- even if it's not a particularly overwhelming percentage --- more software companies will find it worth their while to port their products to Linux. Therefore I do have a significant interest in seeing widespread adoption of Linux by average users.
I doubt the cracks and keygens seriously cut into A/W's bottom line. The big reason they have such a high price point is because they sell mainly to businesses, which can afford to drop $2000 a box for software. They price it there in part because that's the best price point for their target audience.
The average Joe can't and/or won't pay $2000 for a piece of software, so when he pirates it, he doesn't harm A/W in the least --- he may actually help them by gaining experience with the software that might translate into a job down the road in which he might use a licensed copy. Businesses, on the other hand, generally can't afford to engage in rampant piracy since they're much more vulnerable to litigation than individuals. That's even more true when most of A/W's customers are high-profile entertainment companies rather than small backwater businesses, and they can't really get away with piracy.
So, I can't really believe piracy has a very significant effect on software shops like A/W.
Do any of the distros use ALSA for sound by default?
I've got an SB Live Platinum on a VIA-based mobo and it works like a charm, even in Linux. (I had to disable the on-board audio in BIOS before Linux would configure the SB card properly, though, but that's not really something I'd call an "issue" with the mobo --- any conflict with onboard audiowould need to be resolved, no matter what the chipset.) Maybe they do have problems on some boards, though. My mobo is a newer board, and they might have fixed some things.