Meh. Once again, it will never materialize. For all the same reasons - griefers aren't fun, lack of any lasting impact, difficulty with network code for handling hundreds of players, etc.
Quebec outlaws most contests by requiring companies offering contests to have a head office or place of business in Quebec. No need to resort to conspiracy theories, it's just good business to make them ineligible due to their laws.
And yet, nobody cares, because it isn't a TiVo. Feature checklists are nice and all, but "As simple and easy to use as TiVo?" is hard to boil down to a checkbox, and is failed at by every other DVR.
One day, your legitimate key will be disabled, and you'll wonder why you used to argue that it was a good thing for a company to treat their legitimate customers with even less rights than thieves, who are at least innocent until proven guilty.
Isn't this an argument that it is impossible for WoW to succeed because EverQuest met your impossible-to-beat criteria? Or that Google can't beat Altavista or Yahoo?
I think all evidence to date is that if something better comes along, people will happily jump ship.
No such luck. You're making a logical argument regarding law, while logic and the law need not mix.
Read the wikipedia link and follow a few links, it's fascinating and scary. For example: 'MAI Systems Corp. v. Peak Computer, Inc. and Triad Systems Corp. v. Southeastern Express Co.' - in both cases, it was found that the person who had paid to use the software was not an 'owner' with regard to this law, they were instead a 'licensee', and thus the law didn't apply, and so the people they hired to use the program were illegally violating copyright by running the program that the person hiring them had licensed. Whole cases hinges fully on the meaning of the word 'owner'. It isn't at all clear that downloading a GPLed program makes one an owner, and thus without a license granting the right to copy, it may or may not be legal to run the program - depending on which judge you get and how good your lawyer is. As such, it's a good thing there is a license granting us copyright, to avoid the whole issue - but we can't argue that it isn't necessary, because courts have ruled that it is.
"The right to use the software is implicit in the fact that it was legally distributed to you." - not in America, no. It has been deemed by our brilliant legal system that in order to run a program, it is necessary to "copy" it (into the computer's memory). And, of course, in order to legally copy something, you need to be explicitly granted permission by the holder of the copyright. (The law has since been changed, now if you are an 'owner' of a program you have the legal right to run it - but who is the 'owner' of something that wasn't bought? Law isn't clear there.)
Radio: Amplifier and tuner used to be separate boxes (still are on very top-end gear). TiVo. Cell phone + camera. Cell phone + email = crackberry. Roller skate + sneaker = annoying kid conveyance at the malls these days. Internet + walkman = Ipod.
Plenty of two-use devices. I can't think of much beyond the computer in general that successfully rolls a bunch of concepts into just one device.
I think the ipod is the big one; it's widely regarded to have succeeded based on how well it works with itunes, not just on what a good device it is by itself.
Anecdotal, but I noticed Hotmail suddenly got a lot worse a few weeks ago, to the point where I wonder if their spam filter completely broke; while Gmail has still been fine.
I _know_! I mean, just yesterday when I was playing Ms. Pac-Man in a bar, I was pining away for the clean simple fun gameplay of the latest Primal Fury Wrath Fighter Clone Thing. Oh, wait, no I wasn't, because Ms. Pac-Man still kicks butt.
Ok, so I think this 'portal' game looks neat, and would like to try it. But 'episodic gameplay' sounds suspiciously like 'recurring monthly charge' or whatnot. Can I walk into a store and buy a copy? How do I get and play just this 'portal' game?
I don't have half life 2, or valve or steam or whatever. And I'm not willing to sign up for any sort of we'll-give-you-a-new-game-every-month-try-it-you'l l-like-it sort of system. Can I still play?
Everybody seems to be criticizing for not having multiple data centers, but I haven't seen anybody talk about a real cost/benefit analysis. I figure their margins are pretty low, and I know replicating data properly is very expensive... I can easily see an analysis where they don't earn enough during a day of downtime to justify the added cost of always trying to prevent it with a second data center. Pity I don't know enough numbers to run the math, though.
I hear you. All of my friends can't understand why I won't game on an XBox (MS doesn't need to dominate yet another industry, and I still haven't forgiven them for Stacker). We don't like talking about principles anymore, they might make somebody uncomfortable.:(
I wish more games would get the 'you actually put something you value on the line' idea right. Eve does, and that's what makes it brilliant. I never cared a whit about dying in WoW, but every battle in Eve practically flips me out. CCP missed a bunch of polish, but they got this one detail right and I love it.
No support for proper comment discussion threading, no user moderation. If it ever became popular, it would become fark, and the world already has more than enough of that.
What do they put in the water to make you believe such insanity? It will work fine for a few years, then either corruption or incompetence will ruin everything. The problem with government is that when they fail, we don't let them collapse and be replaced by something better.
I suspect your average cube dweller believes he would rather be outside framing houses.
Fair chance he's wrong if he were to try it, but on the other hand, difficult to underestimate the soul-sucking ability of cubes, especially given the permanent lack of tangible accomplishment associated with them. It's pretty much impossible to create anything real (non-virtual) in a cube farm.
For some reason that I don't know, stuff in Britain seems to cost the same numeric amount, except it's pounds instead of dollars and pounds are worth way more. So you buy a book in America for $7.99, same book is 7.99 pounds in Britain. Wish I knew why.
(Specific Example: list price for "Stranger in a Strange Land", by Heinlein.)
Slashdot Mirror
Maybe they'll actually finish the next one.
Probably too much to hope for...
Meh. Once again, it will never materialize. For all the same reasons - griefers aren't fun, lack of any lasting impact, difficulty with network code for handling hundreds of players, etc.
This christmas, the geeks you know want the Lego Batmobile. Who needs digital gadgets?
1. Don't bother
There, you're all set now.
So, are there any games that look like they'll be worth $600+ to play?
Quebec outlaws most contests by requiring companies offering contests to have a head office or place of business in Quebec. No need to resort to conspiracy theories, it's just good business to make them ineligible due to their laws.
So what you're saying is, the grass is greener?
Hm. Give us an update after you've changed fields. Something tells me green is the same color everywhere.
And yet, nobody cares, because it isn't a TiVo. Feature checklists are nice and all, but "As simple and easy to use as TiVo?" is hard to boil down to a checkbox, and is failed at by every other DVR.
One day, your legitimate key will be disabled, and you'll wonder why you used to argue that it was a good thing for a company to treat their legitimate customers with even less rights than thieves, who are at least innocent until proven guilty.
Isn't this an argument that it is impossible for WoW to succeed because EverQuest met your impossible-to-beat criteria? Or that Google can't beat Altavista or Yahoo?
I think all evidence to date is that if something better comes along, people will happily jump ship.
No such luck. You're making a logical argument regarding law, while logic and the law need not mix.
Read the wikipedia link and follow a few links, it's fascinating and scary. For example: 'MAI Systems Corp. v. Peak Computer, Inc. and Triad Systems Corp. v. Southeastern Express Co.' - in both cases, it was found that the person who had paid to use the software was not an 'owner' with regard to this law, they were instead a 'licensee', and thus the law didn't apply, and so the people they hired to use the program were illegally violating copyright by running the program that the person hiring them had licensed. Whole cases hinges fully on the meaning of the word 'owner'. It isn't at all clear that downloading a GPLed program makes one an owner, and thus without a license granting the right to copy, it may or may not be legal to run the program - depending on which judge you get and how good your lawyer is. As such, it's a good thing there is a license granting us copyright, to avoid the whole issue - but we can't argue that it isn't necessary, because courts have ruled that it is.
"The right to use the software is implicit in the fact that it was legally distributed to you." - not in America, no.
It has been deemed by our brilliant legal system that in order to run a program, it is necessary to "copy" it (into the computer's memory). And, of course, in order to legally copy something, you need to be explicitly granted permission by the holder of the copyright. (The law has since been changed, now if you are an 'owner' of a program you have the legal right to run it - but who is the 'owner' of something that wasn't bought? Law isn't clear there.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_copyright is a good overview.
So what you're saying is, Dance Dance Revolution could never catch on, because people will get tired from all the physical activity?
The market seems to have a different opinion.
Radio: Amplifier and tuner used to be separate boxes (still are on very top-end gear).
TiVo.
Cell phone + camera.
Cell phone + email = crackberry.
Roller skate + sneaker = annoying kid conveyance at the malls these days.
Internet + walkman = Ipod.
Plenty of two-use devices. I can't think of much beyond the computer in general that successfully rolls a bunch of concepts into just one device.
I think the ipod is the big one; it's widely regarded to have succeeded based on how well it works with itunes, not just on what a good device it is by itself.
Dude, if your balls are green, you have bigger problems than this robot.
Anecdotal, but I noticed Hotmail suddenly got a lot worse a few weeks ago, to the point where I wonder if their spam filter completely broke; while Gmail has still been fine.
I _know_! I mean, just yesterday when I was playing Ms. Pac-Man in a bar, I was pining away for the clean simple fun gameplay of the latest Primal Fury Wrath Fighter Clone Thing. Oh, wait, no I wasn't, because Ms. Pac-Man still kicks butt.
Ok, so I think this 'portal' game looks neat, and would like to try it.
l l-like-it sort of system. Can I still play?
But 'episodic gameplay' sounds suspiciously like 'recurring monthly charge' or whatnot.
Can I walk into a store and buy a copy? How do I get and play just this 'portal' game?
I don't have half life 2, or valve or steam or whatever. And I'm not willing to sign up for any sort of we'll-give-you-a-new-game-every-month-try-it-you'
Everybody seems to be criticizing for not having multiple data centers, but I haven't seen anybody talk about a real cost/benefit analysis. I figure their margins are pretty low, and I know replicating data properly is very expensive... I can easily see an analysis where they don't earn enough during a day of downtime to justify the added cost of always trying to prevent it with a second data center. Pity I don't know enough numbers to run the math, though.
I hear you. All of my friends can't understand why I won't game on an XBox (MS doesn't need to dominate yet another industry, and I still haven't forgiven them for Stacker). :(
We don't like talking about principles anymore, they might make somebody uncomfortable.
I wish more games would get the 'you actually put something you value on the line' idea right. Eve does, and that's what makes it brilliant. I never cared a whit about dying in WoW, but every battle in Eve practically flips me out. CCP missed a bunch of polish, but they got this one detail right and I love it.
No support for proper comment discussion threading, no user moderation. If it ever became popular, it would become fark, and the world already has more than enough of that.
What do they put in the water to make you believe such insanity?
It will work fine for a few years, then either corruption or incompetence will ruin everything. The problem with government is that when they fail, we don't let them collapse and be replaced by something better.
I suspect your average cube dweller believes he would rather be outside framing houses.
Fair chance he's wrong if he were to try it, but on the other hand, difficult to underestimate the soul-sucking ability of cubes, especially given the permanent lack of tangible accomplishment associated with them. It's pretty much impossible to create anything real (non-virtual) in a cube farm.
For some reason that I don't know, stuff in Britain seems to cost the same numeric amount, except it's pounds instead of dollars and pounds are worth way more. So you buy a book in America for $7.99, same book is 7.99 pounds in Britain. Wish I knew why.
(Specific Example: list price for "Stranger in a Strange Land", by Heinlein.)