Keep supply low, restricting sales to fanboys on initial launch
Fanboys talk it up. m@N! my 360 is s0 1337! j00 g0tta g3t 1!
Profit.
Genius. Bravo, Microsoft.
I played it at Wal-Mart for as long as I could bear it - 25 minutes, 3 games. How on earth are people lining up to pay USD $350+ for little more than an original xbox? I mean seriously... I swear I was playing at less than 1024x768 resolution.. oh wait. I WAS!
There is no discernable difference between the xbox 1, and the xbox 1.5, besides the resolution, and if you don't have the TV for it, what's the point? Think HD is _that_ exciting? fine. You shell out the bucks for the Suxty AND the 50-inch+ TV...
I'll spend the $400 on my computer long before the 360.
30-40% of Novell's work force will be laid off in this round. Just you all wait and see. All of the other estimates are low.
This is not the beginning of the end, just one of the many death throes of a once great company, overcome by greedy executives. I fear that Novell will be gone completely within 10 years.
Sorry to sound so pessimistic, but I am right now.
I live in the Provo, Utah area, and I am close to several people who *currently* work for Novell. Laying people off is not a new trend for Novell, but has been going on for many years, and will likely continue for many more, as long as the current CEO Jack Messman and his current collection of board members stick around.
Despite the steady decline in company profits, the head management of Novell continue to draw (relatively) massive paychecks every year. This isn't a question of whether they deserve it, but it's obvious that a few extra million dollars cut from the top would save hundreds of jobs a year. Even if they were to cut the CEO's salary by 50-60%, he would still be making high 6 figures a year. Novell is working on some very amazing projects, and it's sad to know that by cutting the workforce like this, they will be dropping several of their current projects.
In a more general sense, by laying off workers almost yearly for some time now, a culture of FUD about job security has put a huge damper on morale at Novell. The stories I hear are chilling, and simply scary. Employees don't feel any sort of long-term commitment to the company anymore because they could get the axe next week, or next year. It's sickening. Slice the fat off the top, and save the company, before it's too late, Novell!
By the way, letting the CEO go isn't really an option in this case... his contract says that he gets somewhere around $7M when he leaves... which makes it difficult.
I RTA, and it seems that both MS and Sony will at least be able to keep their promises to us that their games will *Look* better, (and probably nothing else), but personally, I'm not interested in that (anymore). There was a time when I wanted the best looking slime on the walls, but more and more, I just want to share fun games with friends and family. I still play my SNES occasionally, while my PS2 sits and gathers dust. (I sold my XBox long ago...). I like what I've been hearing from the Nintendo camp: Focus on Gameplay, fun for the whole group! I'll be buying the Revolution when it comes out, but as for the other two, I think I'll save my money for my PC hardware.
I RTFA, and that's exactly what I got out of it too. "I'm a lawyer, and I'm Pro-Litigation!" Seriously, I'm really disappointed that there aren't more comments on this general topic. I understood the views expressed in the article, but I must say, that I understand that they are largely propaganda. I believe that IP should be protected, but seriously, we've gone too far when a Gigabuck company can put a chain-link fence around something so basic as a Scoring "based on goals achieved and subjective elements" system, preventing anyone else from using that scoring system in a game. Honestly, I think that the best games in the market are the ones that use and perfect the good ideas from other successful games. Copyright is a much more logical (and easy to define) rule for the video gaming industry. Keep patents in the physical world, where they were intended to be in the first place. U.S. Const. Art. I, 8 "The Congress shall have Power to . . . promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.";
Pat-ents, n.: A game rewarding those with deep pockets
Video game patents, if allowed to continue, should at least be:
Why not get something that plays recordings of actual office work, so it makes it seem like you're always typing/busy? Sure it might sound funny when your machine is making talking sounds while no one is around, but oh well.
Just like a player-piano, but instead it's a Player workstation!
Yes I agree that snipers posess an unfair advantage in most of today's FPS games, but I've been unable to take that advantage for several years now, because of another variable I have to deal with: Lag. It's not nearly as predictable as Wind, or movement, or travel-time, but it has just the same effect on my shots. Very rarely do I get the perfect Headshot, but when I do, it's a beautiful thing.
Here's dreaming of a sub 100 ping..... *sigh*
I find this all so amusing. In the current conditions, You *can* make Windows as secure as any other OS out there, because there are counter-measures to the _known_ exploits in Windows. Because Windows is closed source, there are *probably* hundreds of vulnerabilities that are _unknown_ and that the current worm/virus writers are simply not aware of. Through time, it stands to reason that some of these bugs will be discovered, and that they will be exploited, patched, and re-exploited again. The real concern that I have, is that somehow, and this could happen, the entire source, or major portion of the source of Windows could be discovered/leaked and give all the hidden holes broad visibility. With all of those eyes in the world (and probably not all with the best of intentions) looking at the code at the same time, I am sure that we would see not just one hole being exploited at any given time, and I'm sure that the programmers at Microsoft, and other interested parties would find it very difficult to keep up with all of the vermin that would show up in all the various forms of virii. This is only theorhetical, but just imagine for a moment... if just 1 or 2 worms exploiting the same vunlerability can bring down the amount of systems we've seen blaster and sobig.f doing, when all the vulnerabilities are shown at once.... Ouch. We'll be in a world of hurt. Not a pretty picture, and granted, not the most likely scenario, but _what if_??
How does that old saying with the eggs, and the basket go?
Ask anyone where the money they pay for their CDs goes, and they'll tell you: 5% to the artists, 95% to the executives. No one feels like they are actually supporting the artists when they buy a CD! If we wanted to support the artists, we should buy Concert tickets! sell the CD for $5 (most of the CDs out there are only worth $5) and sell the concert tickets for $10 more! Much more of the profits from concert tickets goes into the pockets of the artists! The record labels are an obsolete marketing model. Radio play and file sharing works. The word spreads. When you hear something your friend burned onto his/her last CD, and you like it, you also want to know what it is! If something is of good quality, the people will buy it, period. Not everyone will pay for 100% of the music they burn, but they will pay for enough to keep the artists living the life, but only those who deserve it, and entertain us enough.
Oh, and by the way, Britney can whine all she wants, but for every $1 she's whining about, the execs are out 15! She's just the puppet in "her" anti-piracy campaign.
There is an overwhelming feeling among us music enthusiasts that when we buy a CD, our money isn't going to the people who truly deserve it. We feel that the monetary support the artists deserve is ending up in the bank accounts of the Record label chairmen. We should pay more for live performances, and less for CDs and recorded media. People will not feel bad about paying $5-$10 more for a concert, if they're paying $5-$10 less for the CD.
The technologies bred from file sharing will continue to demonstrate that the old business model of the record labels is becoming obsolete. What will happen when the musicians discover that they don't need a huge record label to market and distribute their music? They will put the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) out of work. Why sign a contract that gives you less than $1 per CD sold when you can make $5 per CD? After all, you created the music, it's your product. The consumers of music know that they can burn their own CDs for less than $1, so paying $18 for a CD produced by a major record label with only 3 good songs on it seems pointless. People want better quality music, and because they can sample the music using online file sharing software before shelling out the money to a record store, they are deciding that it isn't worth it to pay for the CD.
I believe that CD sales haven't dropped off because the expensive advertising of Record companies is being replaced by the free advertising of file sharing. The music itself is the message, spreading faster and further than it could through conventional channels. If the music is good, it will sell CDs and concert tickets. People still pay for the quality of a commercially produced CD. I know I do, but my purchasing has become much more enlightened. I know that I like a song before I buy the CD it's on.
I could rant more, but I'll spare you all. Remember, it's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop at the end.
Vinnster
Thanks for clearing that up, I just didn't know where My KDE came from. It's good to know that I can get future versions of KDE (with a support structure like the collective Linux community, I'd imagine it would continue to be developed anyway) for my Suse.
Is this the end of KDE? will all future Linux distros have to come bundled without KDE as a desktop manager? I love my KDE as much as the next guy, but I must say that I'm worried there won't be any further versions of this excellent desktop manager. I know there are others, but I've grown into KDE.
Also, I'd like to say, at this early on a Saturday, there were no "first posts" posts. All of those FP lamers are either a) too tired from the flame war they engaged in last night (typical firstposter Friday Night activity) b) Watching Saturday morning cartoons, or c) Hungover
I don't want to be a pessimist (but I already am) but it makes me wonder, am I getting just one side of this issue or not? I've heard far more yays than nays for Lasik. Is it possible that there are more people out there that had the surgery messed up, and therefore can't look at monitors anymore, and therefore can't read/., and therefore can't comment, and therefore we can't hear their view? hmm. I would be very careful if I were looking for a procedure to be done on my eyes. Just imagine the tens of people out there that can't write in now.
If people can't separate reality from Quake or other future games, they have a bigger problem than we care to address.
want to keep an idiot occupied for hours? CLICK HERE!
Even Interland.net wants to get in on the action, causing even more problems than Verisign, imho. When Interland sends out their renewal notices, they also look official, but when someone takes the bait, not only is registration transferred to Interland:
Tech Name............ Tech Support
Tech Address......... 101 Marietta Street
Tech Address.........
Tech Address......... Atlanta
Tech Address......... 30303
Tech Address......... GA
Tech Address......... UNITED STATES
Tech Email........... hostmaster@interland.com
Tech Phone........... +1.8005895060
Tech Fax............. +1.4045860001
Name Server.......... a.ns.interland.net
Name Server.......... b.ns.interland.net
Changing the nameservers configuration of the domain(s) in question, and effectively downing web services and e-mail MX records of the victims until they realize that they have been duped.
It's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop at the end.
Me tuning in: Ethel, Where'd I put that darned hearing aid? I can't quite tell what they're all saying... The message seems a bit quiet.... 20 out of every 1 person in the world are dyslexic
Who needs a pill? I sit and stare at the monitor, hitting refresh naturally (see, there were no noticable side-effects from my lobotomy)/. is more than a stimulant, it's my lifeblood.
Flash may not be on everyone's computer, but it is a valuable tool for everyone that's using it. True, the development program costs Big Bucks, but for many uses, flash is really the only option, so what do you do?
"I'm on the Brute Squad"
"You are the Brute Squad"
Slashdot Mirror
MS really does have some genious marketers.
- Keep supply low, restricting sales to fanboys on initial launch
- Fanboys talk it up. m@N! my 360 is s0 1337! j00 g0tta g3t 1!
- Profit.
Genius. Bravo, Microsoft.I played it at Wal-Mart for as long as I could bear it - 25 minutes, 3 games. How on earth are people lining up to pay USD $350+ for little more than an original xbox? I mean seriously... I swear I was playing at less than 1024x768 resolution.. oh wait. I WAS!
There is no discernable difference between the xbox 1, and the xbox 1.5, besides the resolution, and if you don't have the TV for it, what's the point? Think HD is _that_ exciting? fine. You shell out the bucks for the Suxty AND the 50-inch+ TV...
I'll spend the $400 on my computer long before the 360.
--Vin
This is not the beginning of the end, just one of the many death throes of a once great company, overcome by greedy executives. I fear that Novell will be gone completely within 10 years.
Sorry to sound so pessimistic, but I am right now.
I live in the Provo, Utah area, and I am close to several people who *currently* work for Novell. Laying people off is not a new trend for Novell, but has been going on for many years, and will likely continue for many more, as long as the current CEO Jack Messman and his current collection of board members stick around.
Despite the steady decline in company profits, the head management of Novell continue to draw (relatively) massive paychecks every year. This isn't a question of whether they deserve it, but it's obvious that a few extra million dollars cut from the top would save hundreds of jobs a year. Even if they were to cut the CEO's salary by 50-60%, he would still be making high 6 figures a year. Novell is working on some very amazing projects, and it's sad to know that by cutting the workforce like this, they will be dropping several of their current projects.
In a more general sense, by laying off workers almost yearly for some time now, a culture of FUD about job security has put a huge damper on morale at Novell. The stories I hear are chilling, and simply scary. Employees don't feel any sort of long-term commitment to the company anymore because they could get the axe next week, or next year. It's sickening. Slice the fat off the top, and save the company, before it's too late, Novell!
By the way, letting the CEO go isn't really an option in this case... his contract says that he gets somewhere around $7M when he leaves... which makes it difficult.
I RTA, and it seems that both MS and Sony will at least be able to keep their promises to us that their games will *Look* better, (and probably nothing else), but personally, I'm not interested in that (anymore). There was a time when I wanted the best looking slime on the walls, but more and more, I just want to share fun games with friends and family. I still play my SNES occasionally, while my PS2 sits and gathers dust. (I sold my XBox long ago...). I like what I've been hearing from the Nintendo camp: Focus on Gameplay, fun for the whole group! I'll be buying the Revolution when it comes out, but as for the other two, I think I'll save my money for my PC hardware.
Seriously, I'm really disappointed that there aren't more comments on this general topic. I understood the views expressed in the article, but I must say, that I understand that they are largely propaganda. I believe that IP should be protected, but seriously, we've gone too far when a Gigabuck company can put a chain-link fence around something so basic as a Scoring "based on goals achieved and subjective elements" system, preventing anyone else from using that scoring system in a game. Honestly, I think that the best games in the market are the ones that use and perfect the good ideas from other successful games. Copyright is a much more logical (and easy to define) rule for the video gaming industry. Keep patents in the physical world, where they were intended to be in the first place. U.S. Const. Art. I, 8 "The Congress shall have Power to . . . promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.";
Pat-ents, n.: A game rewarding those with deep pockets
Video game patents, if allowed to continue, should at least be:
- Short in length (2-5 years)
- Non-renewable
Just my thoughts on the subject.Vinnster
Why not get something that plays recordings of actual office work, so it makes it seem like you're always typing/busy? Sure it might sound funny when your machine is making talking sounds while no one is around, but oh well.
Just like a player-piano, but instead it's a Player workstation!
Yes I agree that snipers posess an unfair advantage in most of today's FPS games, but I've been unable to take that advantage for several years now, because of another variable I have to deal with: Lag. It's not nearly as predictable as Wind, or movement, or travel-time, but it has just the same effect on my shots. Very rarely do I get the perfect Headshot, but when I do, it's a beautiful thing.
Here's dreaming of a sub 100 ping..... *sigh*
I find this all so amusing. In the current conditions, You *can* make Windows as secure as any other OS out there, because there are counter-measures to the _known_ exploits in Windows. Because Windows is closed source, there are *probably* hundreds of vulnerabilities that are _unknown_ and that the current worm/virus writers are simply not aware of. Through time, it stands to reason that some of these bugs will be discovered, and that they will be exploited, patched, and re-exploited again. The real concern that I have, is that somehow, and this could happen, the entire source, or major portion of the source of Windows could be discovered/leaked and give all the hidden holes broad visibility. With all of those eyes in the world (and probably not all with the best of intentions) looking at the code at the same time, I am sure that we would see not just one hole being exploited at any given time, and I'm sure that the programmers at Microsoft, and other interested parties would find it very difficult to keep up with all of the vermin that would show up in all the various forms of virii. This is only theorhetical, but just imagine for a moment... if just 1 or 2 worms exploiting the same vunlerability can bring down the amount of systems we've seen blaster and sobig.f doing, when all the vulnerabilities are shown at once.... Ouch. We'll be in a world of hurt. Not a pretty picture, and granted, not the most likely scenario, but _what if_??
How does that old saying with the eggs, and the basket go?
By the same token, would you get a lighter sentence for serving out a crappily encoded copy of Britney Spears latest album, full of pops and skips?
All of Britney Spears' music sounds like that, so no, the sentence would be the same, regardless of how crappily done the encoding was.
Ask anyone where the money they pay for their CDs goes, and they'll tell you: 5% to the artists, 95% to the executives. No one feels like they are actually supporting the artists when they buy a CD! If we wanted to support the artists, we should buy Concert tickets! sell the CD for $5 (most of the CDs out there are only worth $5) and sell the concert tickets for $10 more! Much more of the profits from concert tickets goes into the pockets of the artists! The record labels are an obsolete marketing model. Radio play and file sharing works. The word spreads. When you hear something your friend burned onto his/her last CD, and you like it, you also want to know what it is! If something is of good quality, the people will buy it, period. Not everyone will pay for 100% of the music they burn, but they will pay for enough to keep the artists living the life, but only those who deserve it, and entertain us enough.
Oh, and by the way, Britney can whine all she wants, but for every $1 she's whining about, the execs are out 15! She's just the puppet in "her" anti-piracy campaign.
There is an overwhelming feeling among us music enthusiasts that when we buy a CD, our money isn't going to the people who truly deserve it. We feel that the monetary support the artists deserve is ending up in the bank accounts of the Record label chairmen. We should pay more for live performances, and less for CDs and recorded media. People will not feel bad about paying $5-$10 more for a concert, if they're paying $5-$10 less for the CD.
The technologies bred from file sharing will continue to demonstrate that the old business model of the record labels is becoming obsolete. What will happen when the musicians discover that they don't need a huge record label to market and distribute their music? They will put the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) out of work. Why sign a contract that gives you less than $1 per CD sold when you can make $5 per CD? After all, you created the music, it's your product. The consumers of music know that they can burn their own CDs for less than $1, so paying $18 for a CD produced by a major record label with only 3 good songs on it seems pointless. People want better quality music, and because they can sample the music using online file sharing software before shelling out the money to a record store, they are deciding that it isn't worth it to pay for the CD. I believe that CD sales haven't dropped off because the expensive advertising of Record companies is being replaced by the free advertising of file sharing. The music itself is the message, spreading faster and further than it could through conventional channels. If the music is good, it will sell CDs and concert tickets. People still pay for the quality of a commercially produced CD. I know I do, but my purchasing has become much more enlightened. I know that I like a song before I buy the CD it's on.
I could rant more, but I'll spare you all.
Remember, it's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop at the end.
Vinnster
Thanks for clearing that up, I just didn't know where My KDE came from. It's good to know that I can get future versions of KDE (with a support structure like the collective Linux community, I'd imagine it would continue to be developed anyway) for my Suse.
Is this the end of KDE? will all future Linux distros have to come bundled without KDE as a desktop manager? I love my KDE as much as the next guy, but I must say that I'm worried there won't be any further versions of this excellent desktop manager. I know there are others, but I've grown into KDE. Also, I'd like to say, at this early on a Saturday, there were no "first posts" posts. All of those FP lamers are either
a) too tired from the flame war they engaged in last night (typical firstposter Friday Night activity)
b) Watching Saturday morning cartoons, or
c) Hungover
I don't want to be a pessimist (but I already am) but it makes me wonder, am I getting just one side of this issue or not? I've heard far more yays than nays for Lasik. Is it possible that there are more people out there that had the surgery messed up, and therefore can't look at monitors anymore, and therefore can't read /., and therefore can't comment, and therefore we can't hear their view? hmm. I would be very careful if I were looking for a procedure to be done on my eyes. Just imagine the tens of people out there that can't write in now.
If people can't separate reality from Quake or other future games, they have a bigger problem than we care to address.
want to keep an idiot occupied for hours? CLICK HERE!
Even Interland.net wants to get in on the action, causing even more problems than Verisign, imho. When Interland sends out their renewal notices, they also look official, but when someone takes the bait, not only is registration transferred to Interland: Tech Name............ Tech Support Tech Address......... 101 Marietta Street Tech Address......... Tech Address......... Atlanta Tech Address......... 30303 Tech Address......... GA Tech Address......... UNITED STATES Tech Email........... hostmaster@interland.com Tech Phone........... +1.8005895060 Tech Fax............. +1.4045860001 Name Server.......... a.ns.interland.net Name Server.......... b.ns.interland.net Changing the nameservers configuration of the domain(s) in question, and effectively downing web services and e-mail MX records of the victims until they realize that they have been duped.
It's not the fall that kills you, it's the sudden stop at the end.
Me tuning in: Ethel, Where'd I put that darned hearing aid? I can't quite tell what they're all saying... The message seems a bit quiet....
20 out of every 1 person in the world are dyslexic
Who needs a pill? I sit and stare at the monitor, hitting refresh naturally (see, there were no noticable side-effects from my lobotomy) /. is more than a stimulant, it's my lifeblood.
Flash may not be on everyone's computer, but it is a valuable tool for everyone that's using it. True, the development program costs Big Bucks, but for many uses, flash is really the only option, so what do you do? "I'm on the Brute Squad" "You are the Brute Squad"