I think that "fun" is subjective. Some people may find these things fun, some may find them not. If you don't find it fun, and you need to be having fun to play, then why are you doing it?
Sometimes the things that are fun are the rewards from things that aren't -- take the Paladin Charger quest.
*shrugs* Most people find the grinding quests in WoW (kill X for 12 items that they have a chance of dropping) aren't fun. I think they are great because not only are you completing a quest with an absolute amoutn of XP, you are also getting TONS of XP from the enemies you kill while you are in search of the item.
Sometimes it can be *frustrating*, but I find it fun!
I never stated that there was something wrong with the cobblestones. As a matter of fact, I believe my exact words were:
Whether this "cobblestone" crap actually works I have no idea...
I stated that there was something wrong with reflexology. If the cobblestones work, it isn't because of reflexology (which is where my links and observations enter).
TFA itself stated that the mat works by stimulating "acupoints". It further goes to state that "These acupoints are purportedly linked to all organs and tissues of the body.". This "study" by the ORI is clearly claiming that reflexology is the reason why this mat works. Then it goes on to provide the details of their horribly flawed study performed, that claims it works!
My proof thereof is in the article itself, I shall quote so as to point out exactly what is flawed.
were divided into an experimental group -- the cobblestone mat walkers -- and a control group which took part in conventional walking activities for one hour, three times per week for 16 weeks. At the end of the study, mat walkers were found to have better scores on measures of balance, physical function, and blood pressure than those in the conventional walking group.
Where was the placebo control? 16 weeks? How active were these patients prior to the study? How many participants? Where is the link to the full study including data and comparitive statistics?
How about the fact that the ORI is marketing/advertising the mats themselves! If that isn't bias then I don't know what is!
Although I have serious doubts because the study they did was not placebo-controlled whatsoever and heavily biased, I never said it was the mat doesn't work for being a cobblestone mat. It was the reflexology they stated, and described, that I said is bunk. Please don't put words into my mouth (or post box, whatever)
Believe it or not, you pretty much nailed it right on the head there.
There are lots and lots of Doctors (and not necessarily Medical Doctors, this includes physicists, biologists, etc.) that subscribe to some of these quackery beliefs, not even limited to simply reflexology or acupuncture. Dowsing, astrology, HOMEOPATHY all that stuff is just as unproven and fake as the next. The belief in some of these things even falls down to psychological factors (such as the ideomotor effect (2) with regards to dowsing, and placebo effect for most - if not all - alternative medicine practices). It's interesting how a physicist can believe that dowsing really works, but they are out there!
In the case of the "traditional chinese medicine", the arguement is that it has been around for 2000 years So It Must Work!. Unfortunately, just cause it's been around for a long time, doesn't mean it works either.
Aside from the personal/psychological influences that cause people to follow these things, a huge factor are the people marketing the products and therapies.
Snake oil charmers tend to be able to sell this stuff by scaring people with lies. Fear that the "industry" is out to get you. Fear that "drugs" are poisoning you. It's easy to get someone to believe that there are conspiracies (that are conveniently unprovable) working against them and that the only way out is their form of alternative medicine.
A lot of people lured to alternative medicine are done so because they feel they have been somehow wronged by the MD profession. Like they believe they have a true illness that MDs can't locate/cure (because it doesn't exist). So they go to a naturopath who is only too happy to say "Of course there's something wrong with you! Now that will be $50 a week for therapy plus $35 a month for my homeopathic pills. Don't worry, they are 100x diluted so they are SUPER-effective!". Lots of alternative medicine practitioners even go so far as to claim you have an illness you don't know about, and that only they can cure it! Colonix for example is one such thing, as well as people who say you should be taking TONS of vitamin supplements for various reasons. Anyone heard of magnet therapy (Quackwatch Info)?
The sad thing about it all, is that it's difficult to combat with logic and sense. You say "but its not proven" and they say "You just have to believe!" or "So-and-so said it worked, so it must! I don't care if science says it doesn't".
If you go to http://quackwatch.org/ there is an insane amount of information there with regards to how people get sucked in to this stuff.
"Thinking critically" also means being skeptical of the claims of current medical orthodoxy - looking at the actual evidence rather than being swayed by name-calling.
You are exactly right, however I don't see how that was relevant in my post, or in this thread, as we are not disputing medical practice. I never said that quacks didn't exist in every line of practice. However I will say that anyone practicing acupuncture or reflexology is a quack.
Reflexology has nothing to do with Chinese Medicine.
I didn't mention reflexology together with chinese medicine for no reason. RTFA. Excerpt: "Cobblestone-like walking paths are common in China. The activity is rooted in traditional Chinese medicine and relates to some of the principles of reflexology, in that the uneven surface of the cobblestones stimulate and regulate "acupoints" located on the soles of the feet."
Many pracitioners of Chinese Medicine don't care much about trying to find a Western Medicine explanation for how acupuncture
Whether they care or not doesn't mean it works just because they believe in it. Proof of acupuncture is anecdotal at best, there is absolutely no proof that such techniques are scientifically sound.
Sure there have been lots of "studies" done on acupuncture claiming that it Really Works, however none of which were appropriate in controlling placebo and other factors such as blinding.
They see it work every day, that's enough for them.
But what about all the times that it doesn't work? And there are many. The trouble with things like this is people focus more on the times they succeed and tend to forget about all the times that things failed.
(The same can be said of many Western physicians, a surprising number of whom have little interest or knowledge of biology.)
There is a huge difference between a medical doctor prescribing you a treatment that has been properly scientifically and medically proven and tested without knowing the exact biological aspects, and some quack sticking needles in you because he believes in meridians and qi, and all the other things that whatever acupuncturist you talk to believes.
The CM model is very much a functional, not a structural, one; the Vital Substances, the Zang-Fu organs, and the meridians are best understood by what they do, not by chopping people up looking for them.
You don't have to chop people up to look for meridians. You simply have to submit the practice to a real scientific double blind-placebo controlled test. Fancy that, here is an example: http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/abstract/143/1/1 0
Its theory and practice are based on primitive and fanciful concepts of health and disease that bear no relationship to present scientific knowledge
Research during the past 20 years has not demonstrated that acupuncture is effective against any disease.
Perceived effects of acupuncture are probably due to a combination of expectation, suggestion, counter-irritation, conditioning, and other psychologic mechanisms.
The use of acupuncture should be restricted to appropriate research settings,
Insurance companies should not be required by law to cover acupuncture treatment,
Licensure of lay acupuncturists should be phased out.
Consumers who wish to try acupuncture should discuss their situation with a knowledgeable physician who has no commercial interest [20].
Randi actually goes for anything Paranormal/Supernatural, which reflexology, homeopathy, ghosts, psychics, etc. all fall under. He did do a preliminary on homeopathy though (which failed), IIRC, whereas I don't believe he has had anyone challenge him with reflexology (wonder why?)
Reflexology is not a science, nor has it been proven effective (or even real). It's surprising how many institutions are providing courses/products that teach or use such ridiculous methods (homeopathy, reflexology, magnet therapy, etc.).
Whether this "cobblestone" crap actually works I have no idea, but if it is rooted in "reflexology" and "traditional chinese medicine" then I'd have to bet that there will never be any truly scientific studies that prove this product.
The more likely explanation is that these people age 60+ that they tested are actually WALKING, as opposed to sitting around. Not to mention the likely placebo effect of being told "walk these cobblestones, they make you feel better!"
Pretty simply, because it doesn't work.
The reason they explain it using divine or unexplained phenomenons is because they are not scientifically provable.
The most likely explanation for this "cobblestone" bunk is that it's pure placebo or something that doesn't involve "reflexology" is at work. I'd like to see double-blind placebo-controlled studies that prove the validity of this practice.
Also, if you can prove reflexology works, you can win $1,000,000USD from the James Randi Educational Foundation (http://randi.org./
Hopefully that's enough, cause this issue really isn't worth any further research;)
I will agree that NIC can stand for Controller. However that is not relevant to my previous post as it was in the context of NIC standing for "Network Interface Card".
Do a search for "Stoller, Leo" (in quotes) using TESS, and you will see all the garbage he has patents on... This warrants 17 results. "Leo Stoller" gives 14 others.
Nowhere near the hundreds he has listed on his website.
You are concentrating on IE here. There are countless other products that have been shipped along with windows (scanner software, camera software) but have not been bundled.
Yea, but that was before windows had scanning/printing software to include in their Operating System (pre Windows XP). However that still doesn't justify your point. You are straying from what I was arguing here. Software came on floppy disks with computers from 1989-1995 because there were no All-in-one solutions, and because the majority, if not all users then, were savvy enough to do what they needed to do with floppy disks. Now we have users putting credit cards in floppy drives. Very different market these days.
The retailer isn't going to provide every possible combination of alternatives that exist. You seem to want users to have "choice" which they don't get when they have WMP preinstalled. This is the exact lack of choice should Real be preinstalled and not WMP. The same boundary, the same issue, the same lock-in. The only difference is that it is not Microsoft, which although changes the fact that its not the media player of a monopoly, it still has identical effects on the "competition" getting their software in, instead of Real Player.
And Microsoft bundling products with Windows isn't [a cash grab]?
Windows is Microsoft's product, it is their cash to begin with. It's their own success they are riding, not a lame attempt at riding someone elses.
That single point of support should be the computer supplier - the 'reseller'. This is the way it works for all other goods.
You can't expect a third party to be able to fully support and fully deal with issues that may arise with Microsoft's software. Microsoft sees the code, Microsoft makes the patches. Windows was created by Microsoft, the point of support for Windows problems is Microsoft. The furthest a reseller will go to support Windows is to run a restore CD as well as minor configuration. Any serious issues are taken to Microsoft where they belong.
If I buy a Maxtor hard drive, a Dell printer, a Monster Cable, a Toshiba Television from Best Buy, I don't go to Best Buy for support on these products, I go to their manufacturers, the ones who conceived, developed and distributed the product. This is where it belongs. To make things easier on the consumer when things break, they will buy everything from one name so that I only have one place to call and they can troubleshoot my entire home theater system -- hence these All-In-One systems. The alternatives to these systems are available for those savvy enough to locate, test and set up the singular components.
I never mentioned any locking. If you ship alternatives then the consumer has a choice. Exactly. I never said Microsoft should be forced to bundle anything. My view of WMP is irrelevant (I actually like it, personally). The retailer should provide the media player (or alternatives), not Microsoft.
I don't disagree that resellers/retailers should provide alternatives, however don't be fooled. You aren't getting a real choice, you are just getting whatever brand paid off that reseller to put out their wares. The customers are still going to have to fiddle around with stuff and install/configure extra software. It also "locks" these customers into the bundled software in much the same way you claim they are "locked" in with WMP, and Microsoft's other bundled software. You also, apparantly, don't realize that resellers ARE providing alternatives with their shipped computers. So I don't see what your beef is about this. Is it only because the resellers aren't bundling RealPlayer? As far as I know, they bundle that too. And I mean bundle, not just provide on a CD.
No... some people want all-in-one solutions. Others don't. People should be allowed choice.
How is forcing a user to have RealPlayer on their computer choice? This is just forcing another product. It may be an alternative yes, but a choice? no.
Yes it does, as knowing the IT market and providing user support is part of my job. I have seen plenty of demand for Real and WMP, but not at all for WinAMP and others.
That shows the demand for the market you support. There are many different groups of people with different goals and demands, and there is no way you can see them all at once.
Exactly the way things were done for years before Microsoft bundled things. Either a particular computer supplier can come to an agreement with a particular software vendor to bundle that particular product (Dell could come to an agreement to pre-install RealPlayer for example) without the pressure from Microsoft along the lines of 'you MUST include this - it is part of Windows', or each supplier could ship with the PC some auto-run CD-ROMs with alternate software products allowing the user to choose. No need for the user to have to hunt out alternatives or download.
Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player have always been a part of Windows out of the box since Windows 95. If you really want people to use alternatives, then your companies need to advertise. Why shouldn't Microsoft be allowed to include whatever they want with THEIR operating system? You don't HAVE to use Windows. The only difference if Real were to have a deal with Dell to bundle RealPlayer would be that Real now makes money off forcing Dell users to use RealPlayer, instead of MS making money forcing Dell users to use WMP. It's the same situation, who says that it's more "Right" for Real to make the money instead? This is just a cash grab for people who are too jealous, or not good enough to compete with Windows and looking for an easy way in.
This is the way things were handled successfully for years. No need for downloads or technical knowledge.
Years? The whole 5 years of which the internet was only slightly popular and the only users were people who knew how to set up Trumpet Winsock in Windows 3.1, or a figure out linux? Not to mention pay $30/mo for dial access to a service that was only moderately useful at the time. Since Windows 95/98 Microsoft has been including their Media Player and Browser software. The influx of "stupid" users has changed what is now successful marketing and delivery strategies. What once worked for knowledgable users doesn't work any more now that we have "stupid" users, especially when they are a majority.
Including an extra CD for people to use and install alternate software? that will require users to go through the uncomfortable process of locating, installing and configuring additional software on their computer -- this qualifies as "fiddling" and stuff "busy parents" aren't going to spend time doing. This is why Microsoft includes all that in their OS.
You are concentrating on a very few products. Look at the size of FireFox, or Adobe - [...]
FireFox is a whopping 4.7MB (~15min download @ 5kB/s) , and Adobe what? Microsoft has no software bundled or otherwise that competes with Adobe products whatsover (unless you are thinking of MS Paint). If somebody cared to get FireFox, Netscape, Opera, Thunderbird, Eudora, Winamp, Foobar2000, iTunes, VideoLAN, BSPlayer, Media Player Classic, then they can. And that is to name a few viable alternatives off the top of my head. If one was savvy enough to _care_ about alternatives, then they are savvy enough to locate and download these alternatives. No need to include third party software in someone ELSE's operating system.
[...] products which don't force you to have to use Windows.
I don't understand what you mean by this.. where do alternative Operating Systems enter into this equation? If you don't have Windows, then what do you care about Windows Alternatives? You can't expect Dell to sell a Windows machine with the choice of Mac OS X. Some big suppliers are already starting to provide machines with alternatives like Linux, but their hesitation in doing so has less to do with Microsoft and more to do with th
I haven't heard of the first two, which proves that they aren't competing well. Adobe is competing because there is no equivalent Microsoft product.
Just because you haven't heard of two products that have been popular for the better part of the last decade, doesn't mean that they are not popular, or aren't widely used (as they are, evidenced partly by the fact that AOL Time-Warner bought out Winamp from Nullsoft).
Exactly. Novice users don't want to have to install extra software or fiddle with their computers.
If "Novice Users" don't want to have to install extra software or fiddle with their computers, then how they going to get the software when it's not bundled? Do you now want to take these poor "Novice Users" and put the burden on them to locate and download the software currently bundled in Windows? Even if you did force them to do this, the operating system is Microsoft Windows; where do you think they are going to look first for the video player they lack, or the browser? If they don't know about the alternatives now, what makes you think they will want or know how to research the alternatives when they are forced to get it themselves? These poor computer-illiterate people. If, as you say, they either "Don't Know" or "Don't Care" to change while they are using Microsoft's software, then why would you presume they want you to force them to Know or Care?
Considering that a large number of users still don't even have broadband connectivity, the idea that they will take the time (and cost) to download substantially sized alternatives to Microsoft products is naive.
Have you even looked at the sizes of alternatives to Microsoft products compared to their Microsoft versions? How big do you think Winamp is compared to WMP? Or even Videolan AND Winamp? If you look, you will see that they are, in fact, quite a bit smaller. Even DUN users who really wanted to switch to foobar2000 could do so with little hassle.
So far, all you have presented is a few examples about how the computer-literate minority (probably mostly working with high-speed connections) can easily install alternative software or help others to do so.
If you don't believe the non-computer-literate majority isn't capable, or willing to install alternative software, then what do you expect Microsoft to bundle for them (since that is clearly what they expect)? Something needs to be bundled, or this majority that you are so concerned about protecting will be very frustrated that they can't look at their pictures, movies or websites without having to go through the trouble of "fiddling" with their computers and locating/downloading software to fit their needs.
Consider a person involved in a car accident who has to choose whether to go through physical rehabilitation to regain use of their legs, or simply become expert at wheelchair use. There are those who choose to go the wheechair route. If one becomes enchanted by and involved in wheelchair sports, to the point of competing professionally in wheelchair sports then one's goals may be achieved through the use of one technology (wheelchair) as an alternative to another technology (rehabilitation) and they may indeed become more "able" than if they had chosen otherwise.
Wow, now you've got me wondering. Does anyone really get into a disabling car accident and say to themself "Wow, this is my chance live my dream of being a truly disabled wheelchair athlete! Screw rehabilitation!"
>Since this comment exceed three paragraphs I seriously doubt you even read it.
It doesn't really count as three paragraphs given the lack of sensible content.
The number of typographical errors alongside the serious lack of punctuation in your post inhibited the "domapmine perk" and "quick adrenline" I was hoping to get.
You may have had a point (although doubtful), but it was lost in translation.
Sorry, better luck next time.
Re:Now to blame this on global warming
on
Exploding Toads
·
· Score: 3, Informative
Thanks for the link to Andromeda. I've been looking for something similar to the OP, and short of writing it myself I haven't been able to find anything. I gave the evaluation a shot and it works perfectly.
Aside from the $35 price tag (which almost anyone should be able to afford), this software should be exactly what he is looking for.
Andromeda also has an ASP copy in case you don't want to have PHP.
Unless I can find something within a short period of time, I'll probably be getting myself a personal licence.
Just wanted to let you know that your advertising wasn't for naught.
"Its truly a crapshoot if you think about it" Most of the time you can get a free trial. You can always read reviews, talk to friends, check out screenshots.
Were there even any (legal) demos of Doom3 or HL2 when they were released?
The companies are going to make enough money off of MMOG addicts and people who have been following the release of the game and are genuinely interested in it (and all their friends). They don't really care about the people who have no idea what they are buying into and complain about the pricing.
"If you cannot create a MMORPG that is stupid easy to pickup and play your going to dig yourself a early grave."
Right, I guess you forget about the majority of big name MMOGs that have used the retail box+free month strategy since the late 90s.
I think that the grave an MMOG digs has less to do with how much the box+monthly subscription fee costs and more to do with the quality of the game implementation and management (Earth and Beyond anyone?).
Ultima Online, EverQuest/2, Anarchy Online, PlanetSide, FFXI (who's initial cost and monthly fee is even higher) have survived quite well the test of time. Ultima has even come out with something around 7 expansions all retailing at about $20 a piece.
I will admit though, AO has gone free for non-expansion accounts so they can get new players and bring back older ones that quit during the first rounds of crap when it went gold too early. They still charge for expansion pack holders, who are their real customers anyways.
Basically what they are telling you is "If you don't like it, shove it". Which is exactly what you can do, cause nobody cares about whining and complaining that things "cost too much". An earlier poster had it right, if everyone is already buying it at the current price, then they have set their price correctly. Losing out on a few cheapasses isn't going to do them much harm. Just get your mom or dad to pay for it if its too costly for you. Or hey, just don't play it. You obviously don't want to bad enough if you can't shell out the cash.
They use Steam as a copy protection mechanism. This is why you need to sign in to Steam everytime you want to play HL2.
There is an offline mode, but that requires that you save your password in steam.
I think its just fine, seems like a decent way to fight illegal copying.. thats not saying it hasn't already been cracked though.
Slashdot Mirror
I think that "fun" is subjective. Some people may find these things fun, some may find them not. If you don't find it fun, and you need to be having fun to play, then why are you doing it? Sometimes the things that are fun are the rewards from things that aren't -- take the Paladin Charger quest. *shrugs* Most people find the grinding quests in WoW (kill X for 12 items that they have a chance of dropping) aren't fun. I think they are great because not only are you completing a quest with an absolute amoutn of XP, you are also getting TONS of XP from the enemies you kill while you are in search of the item. Sometimes it can be *frustrating*, but I find it fun!
I stated that there was something wrong with reflexology. If the cobblestones work, it isn't because of reflexology (which is where my links and observations enter).
TFA itself stated that the mat works by stimulating "acupoints". It further goes to state that "These acupoints are purportedly linked to all organs and tissues of the body.". This "study" by the ORI is clearly claiming that reflexology is the reason why this mat works. Then it goes on to provide the details of their horribly flawed study performed, that claims it works!
My proof thereof is in the article itself, I shall quote so as to point out exactly what is flawed.
Where was the placebo control? 16 weeks? How active were these patients prior to the study? How many participants? Where is the link to the full study including data and comparitive statistics?
How about the fact that the ORI is marketing/advertising the mats themselves! If that isn't bias then I don't know what is!
Although I have serious doubts because the study they did was not placebo-controlled whatsoever and heavily biased, I never said it was the mat doesn't work for being a cobblestone mat. It was the reflexology they stated, and described, that I said is bunk. Please don't put words into my mouth (or post box, whatever)
Want another?
http://www.ncahf.org/articles/o-r/reflexology.html
Quit wasting our time by trolling.
There are lots and lots of Doctors (and not necessarily Medical Doctors, this includes physicists, biologists, etc.) that subscribe to some of these quackery beliefs, not even limited to simply reflexology or acupuncture. Dowsing, astrology, HOMEOPATHY all that stuff is just as unproven and fake as the next. The belief in some of these things even falls down to psychological factors (such as the ideomotor effect (2) with regards to dowsing, and placebo effect for most - if not all - alternative medicine practices). It's interesting how a physicist can believe that dowsing really works, but they are out there!
In the case of the "traditional chinese medicine", the arguement is that it has been around for 2000 years So It Must Work!. Unfortunately, just cause it's been around for a long time, doesn't mean it works either.
Aside from the personal/psychological influences that cause people to follow these things, a huge factor are the people marketing the products and therapies.
Snake oil charmers tend to be able to sell this stuff by scaring people with lies. Fear that the "industry" is out to get you. Fear that "drugs" are poisoning you. It's easy to get someone to believe that there are conspiracies (that are conveniently unprovable) working against them and that the only way out is their form of alternative medicine.
A lot of people lured to alternative medicine are done so because they feel they have been somehow wronged by the MD profession. Like they believe they have a true illness that MDs can't locate/cure (because it doesn't exist). So they go to a naturopath who is only too happy to say "Of course there's something wrong with you! Now that will be $50 a week for therapy plus $35 a month for my homeopathic pills. Don't worry, they are 100x diluted so they are SUPER-effective!". Lots of alternative medicine practitioners even go so far as to claim you have an illness you don't know about, and that only they can cure it! Colonix for example is one such thing, as well as people who say you should be taking TONS of vitamin supplements for various reasons. Anyone heard of magnet therapy (Quackwatch Info)?
The sad thing about it all, is that it's difficult to combat with logic and sense. You say "but its not proven" and they say "You just have to believe!" or "So-and-so said it worked, so it must! I don't care if science says it doesn't".
If you go to http://quackwatch.org/ there is an insane amount of information there with regards to how people get sucked in to this stuff.
You are exactly right, however I don't see how that was relevant in my post, or in this thread, as we are not disputing medical practice. I never said that quacks didn't exist in every line of practice. However I will say that anyone practicing acupuncture or reflexology is a quack.
I didn't mention reflexology together with chinese medicine for no reason. RTFA. Excerpt: "Cobblestone-like walking paths are common in China. The activity is rooted in traditional Chinese medicine and relates to some of the principles of reflexology, in that the uneven surface of the cobblestones stimulate and regulate "acupoints" located on the soles of the feet."
Whether they care or not doesn't mean it works just because they believe in it. Proof of acupuncture is anecdotal at best, there is absolutely no proof that such techniques are scientifically sound.
Sure there have been lots of "studies" done on acupuncture claiming that it Really Works, however none of which were appropriate in controlling placebo and other factors such as blinding.
But what about all the times that it doesn't work? And there are many. The trouble with things like this is people focus more on the times they succeed and tend to forget about all the times that things failed.
There is a huge difference between a medical doctor prescribing you a treatment that has been properly scientifically and medically proven and tested without knowing the exact biological aspects, and some quack sticking needles in you because he believes in meridians and qi, and all the other things that whatever acupuncturist you talk to believes.You don't have to chop people up to look for meridians. You simply have to submit the practice to a real scientific double blind-placebo controlled test. Fancy that, here is an example: http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/abstract/143/1/1 0
For some real information see http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/ acu.html
To quote:
The National Council Against Health Fraud has concluded:
Randi actually goes for anything Paranormal/Supernatural, which reflexology, homeopathy, ghosts, psychics, etc. all fall under. He did do a preliminary on homeopathy though (which failed), IIRC, whereas I don't believe he has had anyone challenge him with reflexology (wonder why?)
Whether this "cobblestone" crap actually works I have no idea, but if it is rooted in "reflexology" and "traditional chinese medicine" then I'd have to bet that there will never be any truly scientific studies that prove this product.
The more likely explanation is that these people age 60+ that they tested are actually WALKING, as opposed to sitting around. Not to mention the likely placebo effect of being told "walk these cobblestones, they make you feel better!"
For more information on Reflexology, please see:
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/ reflex.html
And remember folks, think critically. Anything that advertises itself using "accupressure" or "hidden pathways" is bunk.
Pretty simply, because it doesn't work. The reason they explain it using divine or unexplained phenomenons is because they are not scientifically provable. The most likely explanation for this "cobblestone" bunk is that it's pure placebo or something that doesn't involve "reflexology" is at work. I'd like to see double-blind placebo-controlled studies that prove the validity of this practice. Also, if you can prove reflexology works, you can win $1,000,000USD from the James Randi Educational Foundation (http://randi.org./
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=define%3A+NIC
- All relevant definitions are "Network Interface Card".
http://www.acronymfinder.com/af-query.asp?String=e xact&Acronym=NIC
- First hit is "NIC - Network Interface Card (PC Ethernet network card)". "Network Interface Controller" doesn't even show up on the first 3 page.
Hopefully that's enough, cause this issue really isn't worth any further research ;)
I will agree that NIC can stand for Controller. However that is not relevant to my previous post as it was in the context of NIC standing for "Network Interface Card".
Do a search for "Stoller, Leo" (in quotes) using TESS, and you will see all the garbage he has patents on... This warrants 17 results. "Leo Stoller" gives 14 others.
Nowhere near the hundreds he has listed on his website.
What about "NIC card"? Or "IP" instead of "IP Address"?
I believe that it is because he trademarked the word stealth in several contexts, not just a single one.
Yea, but that was before windows had scanning/printing software to include in their Operating System (pre Windows XP). However that still doesn't justify your point. You are straying from what I was arguing here. Software came on floppy disks with computers from 1989-1995 because there were no All-in-one solutions, and because the majority, if not all users then, were savvy enough to do what they needed to do with floppy disks. Now we have users putting credit cards in floppy drives. Very different market these days.
The retailer isn't going to provide every possible combination of alternatives that exist. You seem to want users to have "choice" which they don't get when they have WMP preinstalled. This is the exact lack of choice should Real be preinstalled and not WMP. The same boundary, the same issue, the same lock-in. The only difference is that it is not Microsoft, which although changes the fact that its not the media player of a monopoly, it still has identical effects on the "competition" getting their software in, instead of Real Player.
And Microsoft bundling products with Windows isn't [a cash grab]?
Windows is Microsoft's product, it is their cash to begin with. It's their own success they are riding, not a lame attempt at riding someone elses.
That single point of support should be the computer supplier - the 'reseller'. This is the way it works for all other goods.
You can't expect a third party to be able to fully support and fully deal with issues that may arise with Microsoft's software. Microsoft sees the code, Microsoft makes the patches. Windows was created by Microsoft, the point of support for Windows problems is Microsoft. The furthest a reseller will go to support Windows is to run a restore CD as well as minor configuration. Any serious issues are taken to Microsoft where they belong.
If I buy a Maxtor hard drive, a Dell printer, a Monster Cable, a Toshiba Television from Best Buy, I don't go to Best Buy for support on these products, I go to their manufacturers, the ones who conceived, developed and distributed the product. This is where it belongs. To make things easier on the consumer when things break, they will buy everything from one name so that I only have one place to call and they can troubleshoot my entire home theater system -- hence these All-In-One systems. The alternatives to these systems are available for those savvy enough to locate, test and set up the singular components.
I never mentioned any locking. If you ship alternatives then the consumer has a choice.
Exactly. I never said Microsoft should be forced to bundle anything. My view of WMP is irrelevant (I actually like it, personally). The retailer should provide the media player (or alternatives), not Microsoft.
I don't disagree that resellers/retailers should provide alternatives, however don't be fooled. You aren't getting a real choice, you are just getting whatever brand paid off that reseller to put out their wares. The customers are still going to have to fiddle around with stuff and install/configure extra software. It also "locks" these customers into the bundled software in much the same way you claim they are "locked" in with WMP, and Microsoft's other bundled software. You also, apparantly, don't realize that resellers ARE providing alternatives with their shipped computers. So I don't see what your beef is about this. Is it only because the resellers aren't bundling RealPlayer? As far as I know, they bundle that too. And I mean bundle, not just provide on a CD.
No... some people want all-in-one solutions. Others don't. People should be allowed choice.
How is forcing a user to have RealPlayer on their computer choice? This is just forcing another product. It may be an alternative yes, but a choice? no.
I'm going to go with Marth 15th 1995
That shows the demand for the market you support. There are many different groups of people with different goals and demands, and there is no way you can see them all at once.
Exactly the way things were done for years before Microsoft bundled things. Either a particular computer supplier can come to an agreement with a particular software vendor to bundle that particular product (Dell could come to an agreement to pre-install RealPlayer for example) without the pressure from Microsoft along the lines of 'you MUST include this - it is part of Windows', or each supplier could ship with the PC some auto-run CD-ROMs with alternate software products allowing the user to choose. No need for the user to have to hunt out alternatives or download.
Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player have always been a part of Windows out of the box since Windows 95. If you really want people to use alternatives, then your companies need to advertise. Why shouldn't Microsoft be allowed to include whatever they want with THEIR operating system? You don't HAVE to use Windows. The only difference if Real were to have a deal with Dell to bundle RealPlayer would be that Real now makes money off forcing Dell users to use RealPlayer, instead of MS making money forcing Dell users to use WMP. It's the same situation, who says that it's more "Right" for Real to make the money instead? This is just a cash grab for people who are too jealous, or not good enough to compete with Windows and looking for an easy way in.
This is the way things were handled successfully for years. No need for downloads or technical knowledge.
Years? The whole 5 years of which the internet was only slightly popular and the only users were people who knew how to set up Trumpet Winsock in Windows 3.1, or a figure out linux? Not to mention pay $30/mo for dial access to a service that was only moderately useful at the time. Since Windows 95/98 Microsoft has been including their Media Player and Browser software. The influx of "stupid" users has changed what is now successful marketing and delivery strategies. What once worked for knowledgable users doesn't work any more now that we have "stupid" users, especially when they are a majority.
Including an extra CD for people to use and install alternate software? that will require users to go through the uncomfortable process of locating, installing and configuring additional software on their computer -- this qualifies as "fiddling" and stuff "busy parents" aren't going to spend time doing. This is why Microsoft includes all that in their OS.
You are concentrating on a very few products. Look at the size of FireFox, or Adobe - [...]
FireFox is a whopping 4.7MB (~15min download @ 5kB/s) , and Adobe what? Microsoft has no software bundled or otherwise that competes with Adobe products whatsover (unless you are thinking of MS Paint). If somebody cared to get FireFox, Netscape, Opera, Thunderbird, Eudora, Winamp, Foobar2000, iTunes, VideoLAN, BSPlayer, Media Player Classic, then they can. And that is to name a few viable alternatives off the top of my head. If one was savvy enough to _care_ about alternatives, then they are savvy enough to locate and download these alternatives. No need to include third party software in someone ELSE's operating system.
[...] products which don't force you to have to use Windows.
I don't understand what you mean by this.. where do alternative Operating Systems enter into this equation? If you don't have Windows, then what do you care about Windows Alternatives? You can't expect Dell to sell a Windows machine with the choice of Mac OS X. Some big suppliers are already starting to provide machines with alternatives like Linux, but their hesitation in doing so has less to do with Microsoft and more to do with th
Just because you haven't heard of two products that have been popular for the better part of the last decade, doesn't mean that they are not popular, or aren't widely used (as they are, evidenced partly by the fact that AOL Time-Warner bought out Winamp from Nullsoft).
Exactly. Novice users don't want to have to install extra software or fiddle with their computers.
If "Novice Users" don't want to have to install extra software or fiddle with their computers, then how they going to get the software when it's not bundled? Do you now want to take these poor "Novice Users" and put the burden on them to locate and download the software currently bundled in Windows? Even if you did force them to do this, the operating system is Microsoft Windows; where do you think they are going to look first for the video player they lack, or the browser? If they don't know about the alternatives now, what makes you think they will want or know how to research the alternatives when they are forced to get it themselves? These poor computer-illiterate people. If, as you say, they either "Don't Know" or "Don't Care" to change while they are using Microsoft's software, then why would you presume they want you to force them to Know or Care?
Considering that a large number of users still don't even have broadband connectivity, the idea that they will take the time (and cost) to download substantially sized alternatives to Microsoft products is naive.
Have you even looked at the sizes of alternatives to Microsoft products compared to their Microsoft versions? How big do you think Winamp is compared to WMP? Or even Videolan AND Winamp? If you look, you will see that they are, in fact, quite a bit smaller. Even DUN users who really wanted to switch to foobar2000 could do so with little hassle.
So far, all you have presented is a few examples about how the computer-literate minority (probably mostly working with high-speed connections) can easily install alternative software or help others to do so.
If you don't believe the non-computer-literate majority isn't capable, or willing to install alternative software, then what do you expect Microsoft to bundle for them (since that is clearly what they expect)? Something needs to be bundled, or this majority that you are so concerned about protecting will be very frustrated that they can't look at their pictures, movies or websites without having to go through the trouble of "fiddling" with their computers and locating/downloading software to fit their needs.
Wow, now you've got me wondering. Does anyone really get into a disabling car accident and say to themself "Wow, this is my chance live my dream of being a truly disabled wheelchair athlete! Screw rehabilitation!"
Could this be... the next Ask Slashdot?
Of course, in the case of using Tor you will just be getting targeted data for the last IP address in the chain of Tor nodes.
I doubt these websites have mechanisms in place to say "Oh you're using tor, I guess we won't filter for you!"
So instead of getting stuff targeted for you, you'll be getting stuff targeted for someone else. Seems to be lose/lose for this argument.
>Since this comment exceed three paragraphs I seriously doubt you even read it.
It doesn't really count as three paragraphs given the lack of sensible content.
The number of typographical errors alongside the serious lack of punctuation in your post inhibited the "domapmine perk" and "quick adrenline" I was hoping to get.
You may have had a point (although doubtful), but it was lost in translation.
Sorry, better luck next time.
They are different theories attempting to explain the same problem.
And to stay on topic... ew!
Thanks for the link to Andromeda. I've been looking for something similar to the OP, and short of writing it myself I haven't been able to find anything. I gave the evaluation a shot and it works perfectly.
Aside from the $35 price tag (which almost anyone should be able to afford), this software should be exactly what he is looking for.
Andromeda also has an ASP copy in case you don't want to have PHP.
Unless I can find something within a short period of time, I'll probably be getting myself a personal licence.
Just wanted to let you know that your advertising wasn't for naught.
"Its truly a crapshoot if you think about it"
Most of the time you can get a free trial.
You can always read reviews, talk to friends, check out screenshots.
Were there even any (legal) demos of Doom3 or HL2 when they were released?
The companies are going to make enough money off of MMOG addicts and people who have been following the release of the game and are genuinely interested in it (and all their friends). They don't really care about the people who have no idea what they are buying into and complain about the pricing.
"If you cannot create a MMORPG that is stupid easy to pickup and play your going to dig yourself a early grave."
Right, I guess you forget about the majority of big name MMOGs that have used the retail box+free month strategy since the late 90s.
I think that the grave an MMOG digs has less to do with how much the box+monthly subscription fee costs and more to do with the quality of the game implementation and management (Earth and Beyond anyone?).
Ultima Online, EverQuest/2, Anarchy Online, PlanetSide, FFXI (who's initial cost and monthly fee is even higher) have survived quite well the test of time. Ultima has even come out with something around 7 expansions all retailing at about $20 a piece.
I will admit though, AO has gone free for non-expansion accounts so they can get new players and bring back older ones that quit during the first rounds of crap when it went gold too early. They still charge for expansion pack holders, who are their real customers anyways.
Basically what they are telling you is "If you don't like it, shove it". Which is exactly what you can do, cause nobody cares about whining and complaining that things "cost too much". An earlier poster had it right, if everyone is already buying it at the current price, then they have set their price correctly. Losing out on a few cheapasses isn't going to do them much harm. Just get your mom or dad to pay for it if its too costly for you. Or hey, just don't play it. You obviously don't want to bad enough if you can't shell out the cash.
They use Steam as a copy protection mechanism. This is why you need to sign in to Steam everytime you want to play HL2. There is an offline mode, but that requires that you save your password in steam. I think its just fine, seems like a decent way to fight illegal copying.. thats not saying it hasn't already been cracked though.
Hello, mods? HL2 is just as moddable as HL1 was.
I don't see how using ping -n has any effect whatsoever to the outcome of the ping attempt. The DNS will still resolve it to verisign regardless.