How is that different from what most OEMs offer? What if I want a scrolling touchpad on that HP laptop, or I want "feature X" on my HP desktop that they don't offer?
In the end, the Apple machine offers more choice: I can run Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux on it. On the other-brand PC or clone, I cannot run Mac OS X. Other options might or might not be available, but Apple machines usually offer good high-end options which other vendors don't always have.
Well, since we sell HP and Apple where I work, we compared a HP workstation to the Mac Pro. We ended up at the same price for feature-equivalent machines.
The BSA is akin to a racket organization: Instead of "You pay us up or we get fat Tony to break your legs" it's "You pay us to do an audit and pay whatever licence fees we decide you should pay or we sue you". Same tactics, but in better suits.
Also, as others mentioned, 11,000 fonts is absurd. They probably counted each and every copy on every computer whether it was used or not. A normal audit would have deleted unused software and fonts, possibly replaced a few with FOSS where more appropriate. The BSA will make you sign a contract where you essentially give up many rights, your first-born, the works.
I always recommend to my customers to buy their fonts and software legally (I deal with a lot of DTP/graphics shops), but the company where I work would never denounce a customer for non-criminal activity, and we're not shy about bashing Microsoft and recommending FOSS alternatives.
Because a lot of terrorists striking the US came through this route lately...
Seriously, this and other measures are totally useless and inefficient to deter terrorists. The 9/11 hijackers had perfectly valid travel papers and would have been most likely granted entry even had these rules been in place. Building fences isn't going to do much, I'd rather suggest solving the problem at the source - US involvement in the Middle East.
Nettwerk, Sarah's label, doesn't distribute her music in the US. Sony does that. The canadian editions (by Nettwerk, I have almost all of them) do not contain any DRM. Sony did it to her US CDs without her consent.
I concur. Individuals can be responsible and have a sense of ethics. Corporations are by definition non-ethical because profit is all they care about, and have no sense of social or personal responsibility. They shouldn't have the same rights as individuals if they cannot express the same social responsibility.
Rolemaster combat is somewhat long, but it's also rather exciting. My players strangely enough look forward to getting fights. To each his own I guess.
To this day, running Rolemaster campaigns, I have players roll for random sexual orientation because of that clause in the Palladium books. We've had some good laughs and nice role-playing moments from that (like the campaign where the only female character was a lesbian and all the males heterosexual).
ICE (http://www.ironcrown.com/), makers of the Rolemaster system, started understanding this a while ago and have been selling PDF versions of their books online, with great success from what I've seen. I've bought a few myself.
The first "real" RPG I ever played was Palladium's RIFTS and Palladium worlds, I had most of their books. I agree that the system was somewhat unyieldy mostly due to the lack of clear-cut classifications and categories. Rolemaster is a lot more complex, yet has an inherent structure and standards applied throughout the system that make it elegant.
"While it's great to suspect some extortion/conspiracy theory, the signed driver requirement is in place so that it'll be much harder for Hacker McPhee to install that driver rootkit on your machine."
Yes, I'm sure that's what they told you. Oceania has always been at war and all that shizz, you know?
Hackers will find ways to bypass these restrictions easily enough. Security holes (old AND new) will allow dishonest people to do whatever they want anyway.
That's not even counting on the possibility of hackers getting their spyware signed. Remember when people managed to get keys signed in Microsoft's name? You REALLY trust Verisign with this? I sure don't.
Apart from the others issues in your post, here's a possibility:
Companies are patenting genes and genetic modification to food, and we've already seen cases of accidental contamination, and the court upheld the company's right to the genetic code in the food. What happens if a company holds the right to the genetic code of every orange on the planet? Stop buying oranges? And what about apples? And bananas?
What happens when someone patents the cure for a pandemia? We all die?
You're assuming you can get the user to describe the ACTUAL problem, and to be able to follow your instructions in doing a diagnostic and implementing a fix.
In the case of the "server down" issue, the problem was "I can't access web site x". The user never stated that or anything close to it. You cannot solve an issue that isn't correctly conveyed. I once had a user bring in a computer for repairs, and the only statement the clerk who took it in could get out of the customer was "It doesn't start up", with no indication as to where it fails precisely. So I take the computer, plug it in, and try to start it. Video comes up, operating system starts, it gets to a working login window. I log in correctly, and it seems to be working. So I call the customer, to finally figure out that the issue is really that email isn't working. When your users equate "no email" with "no startup", what can you do?
Re:Only real answer is free character transfer
on
World of Queuecraft
·
· Score: 1
60G at level 60? That's pretty absurd considering the repair cost of my gear is about 12G:-) But I don't think that'll work, in any way the current issues with WoW is lack of hardware.
Re:Only real answer is free character transfer
on
World of Queuecraft
·
· Score: 1
For reasons of progression, itemization and economic balance, as well as socialization.
Slashdot Mirror
How is that different from what most OEMs offer? What if I want a scrolling touchpad on that HP laptop, or I want "feature X" on my HP desktop that they don't offer?
In the end, the Apple machine offers more choice: I can run Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux on it. On the other-brand PC or clone, I cannot run Mac OS X. Other options might or might not be available, but Apple machines usually offer good high-end options which other vendors don't always have.
Well, since we sell HP and Apple where I work, we compared a HP workstation to the Mac Pro. We ended up at the same price for feature-equivalent machines.
The magnetic field apparently has little bearing on the shields protecting Earth from the solar winds.
The BSA is akin to a racket organization: Instead of "You pay us up or we get fat Tony to break your legs" it's "You pay us to do an audit and pay whatever licence fees we decide you should pay or we sue you". Same tactics, but in better suits.
Also, as others mentioned, 11,000 fonts is absurd. They probably counted each and every copy on every computer whether it was used or not. A normal audit would have deleted unused software and fonts, possibly replaced a few with FOSS where more appropriate. The BSA will make you sign a contract where you essentially give up many rights, your first-born, the works.
I always recommend to my customers to buy their fonts and software legally (I deal with a lot of DTP/graphics shops), but the company where I work would never denounce a customer for non-criminal activity, and we're not shy about bashing Microsoft and recommending FOSS alternatives.
As if it was something anyone would want noted. I'd rather think he's trying to forget about that part myself.
http://itsatrap.net/
:-0
Couldn't help myself
Because a lot of terrorists striking the US came through this route lately...
Seriously, this and other measures are totally useless and inefficient to deter terrorists. The 9/11 hijackers had perfectly valid travel papers and would have been most likely granted entry even had these rules been in place. Building fences isn't going to do much, I'd rather suggest solving the problem at the source - US involvement in the Middle East.
Nettwerk, Sarah's label, doesn't distribute her music in the US. Sony does that. The canadian editions (by Nettwerk, I have almost all of them) do not contain any DRM. Sony did it to her US CDs without her consent.
I concur. Individuals can be responsible and have a sense of ethics. Corporations are by definition non-ethical because profit is all they care about, and have no sense of social or personal responsibility. They shouldn't have the same rights as individuals if they cannot express the same social responsibility.
Alternatives? No, not really. And they probably know it.
You think that's bad? That will make BRAINS illegal. Not that politicians or *AA members care since they don't have those.
Rolemaster combat is somewhat long, but it's also rather exciting. My players strangely enough look forward to getting fights. To each his own I guess.
To this day, running Rolemaster campaigns, I have players roll for random sexual orientation because of that clause in the Palladium books. We've had some good laughs and nice role-playing moments from that (like the campaign where the only female character was a lesbian and all the males heterosexual).
ICE (http://www.ironcrown.com/), makers of the Rolemaster system, started understanding this a while ago and have been selling PDF versions of their books online, with great success from what I've seen. I've bought a few myself.
The first "real" RPG I ever played was Palladium's RIFTS and Palladium worlds, I had most of their books. I agree that the system was somewhat unyieldy mostly due to the lack of clear-cut classifications and categories. Rolemaster is a lot more complex, yet has an inherent structure and standards applied throughout the system that make it elegant.
"While it's great to suspect some extortion/conspiracy theory, the signed driver requirement is in place so that it'll be much harder for Hacker McPhee to install that driver rootkit on your machine."
Yes, I'm sure that's what they told you. Oceania has always been at war and all that shizz, you know?
Hackers will find ways to bypass these restrictions easily enough. Security holes (old AND new) will allow dishonest people to do whatever they want anyway.
That's not even counting on the possibility of hackers getting their spyware signed. Remember when people managed to get keys signed in Microsoft's name? You REALLY trust Verisign with this? I sure don't.
I remember Microsoft patenting something like this a while ago...
Apart from the others issues in your post, here's a possibility:
Companies are patenting genes and genetic modification to food, and we've already seen cases of accidental contamination, and the court upheld the company's right to the genetic code in the food. What happens if a company holds the right to the genetic code of every orange on the planet? Stop buying oranges? And what about apples? And bananas?
What happens when someone patents the cure for a pandemia? We all die?
I have to point that's actually the name of a horde guild on the US Deathwing server. We usually call them "PPP" for short. They're a good guild too.
You're assuming you can get the user to describe the ACTUAL problem, and to be able to follow your instructions in doing a diagnostic and implementing a fix.
In the case of the "server down" issue, the problem was "I can't access web site x". The user never stated that or anything close to it. You cannot solve an issue that isn't correctly conveyed. I once had a user bring in a computer for repairs, and the only statement the clerk who took it in could get out of the customer was "It doesn't start up", with no indication as to where it fails precisely. So I take the computer, plug it in, and try to start it. Video comes up, operating system starts, it gets to a working login window. I log in correctly, and it seems to be working. So I call the customer, to finally figure out that the issue is really that email isn't working. When your users equate "no email" with "no startup", what can you do?
Yes, I think the grand-parent knows that and was using sarcasm.
There are other kinds?
"The game is dull" & "I don't play MMO" you said.
How do you know?
60G at level 60? That's pretty absurd considering the repair cost of my gear is about 12G :-) But I don't think that'll work, in any way the current issues with WoW is lack of hardware.
For reasons of progression, itemization and economic balance, as well as socialization.
No, they said it would be pushed back "after March 2006". They never gave a date beyond that, and the April date was simple speculation.