No, but the possibility of getting hefty fines and sanctions imposed by the WIPO, WTO, and various other trade organizations would. IBM actually holds some clout with the aforementioned organizations, and if they chose to get involved, China could suffer serious harm. The GPL isn't just enforced by the public will of the community; it's also enforced by international laws, laws that ironically were promoted and enforced by those who are oppposed to everything the GPL stands for.
Put it before those others. Fallout and Fallout 2 don't take *that* much time to play, although there's a great deal of replay value if you choose to dedicate more time to them. It's hard to believe that they're as old as they are sometimes... well, no, Fallout you can believe is that old. Fallout 2 was way ahead of its time.
Personally, I'm a fan of Spiderweb Software's Exile and Avernum series. They aren't alternate histories, but they're incredibly entertaining. Only shareware worth registering.
System Shock 2 used the Thief engine, and although the engine is still solid, the graphics are starting to show some age. Hence, fans are updating the skins and models.
The original System Shock used the Ultima Underworld engine, with improvements and tweaks suited to the setting. Check out The System Shock Hack Project for technical details.
I've been trying to find ways to volunteer for all of these projects, but being a non-coder it's rather difficult. Ah, well.
Respectfully, I disagree. I think Chretien's approach, and Bill Simon's, is entirely consistent with moral behavior, even though homosexuality may be (is, in my opinion) wrong. Why? Separation of church and state. If it is your belief that governing on the basis of strict Christianity or another religious framework is wrong, and that the rule of law is paramount, then it is vital that you govern according to that rule of law. Bush and the Republican party are not governing by rule of law- they are governing by rule of Christianity.
It may tear at a leader's heart to know that the people he represents are looking at pornography, having homosexual sex, swearing, and expressing beliefs that don't accord with his own... but it is that leader's paramount duty to maintain the freedom of the people to make choices, even when those choices seem wrong to him. It is not man's role to come between man and God.
An incredibly fun example of this from 1997
on
Mutating Animations
·
· Score: 4, Informative
This freeware program from Jeffrey Ventrella is an open-ended version of this. Small wormlike creatures evolve to find the most efficient, fastest method of locomotion through liquid. You can change various parameters to make it easier or harder for the little swimmers.
DarwinBots makes use of true genetic algorithms for propulsion, attack, feeding, social behavior, and evolution of multicellularity. I like Darwin Pond better, personally, because it's more stable and DarwinBots doesn't have the "cuteness" factor.
Because these figures are engaging in human-type motion in a reasonably believable 3D environment, I can understand how it's important- however, it isn't truly revolutionary in nature. It's just another step in the evolution (appropriate, ne?) of genetic algorithms.
I think that's his point. Hateful or not, it brings in the money. Exploiting human psychology to sell a product is fine as long as everyone involved knows what's going to happen- yes, there will be a "value added" release several months after the original DVD is sold. Caveat emptor- let the buyer beware.
If you don't want to play their game then don't buy the initial product. It is a *choice* you must make- whether to succumb to instant gratification or delay gratification until a point where you can maximize your enjoyment. The motion picture industries are continuing a time-honored tradition of exploiting the human desire for instant gratification. Exploitative? Maybe. Cynical? Absolutely. Wrong? I don't believe so.
Personally, I think this plan is marketing genius- the people who see the DVD are going to remember how very cool the second movie was and will be even more exciting about seeing the third film. Cynicism aside, it's probably the best way to promote co-produced sequels like this, and I'm glad that for once the studios seem to be showing a little bit of respect for a film.
I don't think anybody's complaining about the surface results. Saddam Hussein is out of power. *Hurrah*. But as for terrorist threats... Well, there's evidence to suggest that terrorist groups have been some of the worst enemies of Saddam over the years, especially Al Qaeda. And as for the weapons of mass destruction that were touted as the reason for going to war, well, one of the strong possibilities floating around in Defense Department and Pentagon press briefings is that the weapons have left the country. That does *not* make me feel secure- and it shouldn't. If we assume that there were any WMDs- and right now, Occam's Razor suggests that there weren't any to begin with- they are now in the hands of increasingly desperate people who may put those weapons in the hands of less desperate but decidedly crazier people.
There are, as I see it, three major possibilities, with minor variations on those: 1) No WMDs. The simplest and at the moment most likely explanation 2) Buried WMDs. If we find them, okay, then the Bush team wasn't lying. Great- a political win for them that I'm very willing to concede, with skepticism. 3) WMDs that have fled the country with their owners. They'd go for a good price on the open market these days, ya know? Bin Laden's been looking for some weapons-grade material, and though he thought the Ba'ath party was a bunch of "infidels" I'm sure he'd been willing to bargain with the other "Great Satan" to hurt his biggest target.
I agree that sometimes the outrage seems forced by some parties. That doesn't mean that the reasons for the outrage aren't there, or that they aren't good.
As for hopes for freedom... The Shi'ites, with the exception of pre-Shah Iran, have historically made Ashcroft look like Rainbow Brite. They're amassing power. They want blood. If I were an Iraqi right now, I would be fricking scared, man. Those Shi'ite clerics are *bad* dudes.
Forgive the lapse into colloquialism, but you see my point.
1) It could well be about the oil *if* the administration doesn't care about the financial solvency of the government, or considers it secondary to the financial wellbeing of the corporations that directly and indirectly are responsible for the administration's current power. Given the fact that the president has authorized contracts with a value of well over $7 billion to Halliburton, for example, without consideration of some rather inviting competing bids is something that indicates that this may be the case. If one considers the economic policy of this administration as a whole, including what should have been a scandalous "stimulus" package to Enron execs and tax initiatives that should speak for themselves, one begins to see a sense of financial priorities that does not have the United States and its citizens at the top of the list.
2) I think what the poster intended to say- or *should* have intended to say, had he or she been thinking more clearly- is that the sex life of any person should remain private and free from scrutiny unless it brings harm to parties involved. Clinton's indiscretions do not meet that test (as repugnant as I find his behavior).
One more thing: The cost of investigating Clinton's sexual activities and the entrapment that ensued was $40 million with some Congresspeople complaining that Starr was underfunded. Those exact same Congresspeople have attempted to eviscerate an investigation into the causes of the most heinous attack on American soil since the Civil War (Pearl Harbor was nothing to 9/11, in my opinion- may be the New Yorker in me talking). Clinton: $40 million. 9/11: $5 million, and it was a truly epic battle to get even that much. The same people were involved in supporting the Clinton investigation and denying support to the 9/11 investigation- and Bush and the members of his administration supported both.
Sad, and disturbing. Sad because, once again, game companies are exploiting jingoism to sell games. Disturbing, because whatever popularity this game amasses may bleed over into the Bush Administration's efforts to hide the truth.
I wonder if the game will mention the civilian casualties caused by the bomb-dropping. On a much more serious and perhaps even scary note, I wonder if the game will have missions to "destroy the weapons of mass destruction" and then reward the player with feedback indicating that yes, indeed, weapons of mass destruction were destroyed. If so- *if*- then I am saddened to think that the game will further contribute to the misinformation that many Americans still suffer from.
It's a nice sentiment... but honestly, I don't think it'll do much good. Congress has a bad habit of tacking on things in amendments without people caring about it. After the furor dies down, it'll be quietly authorized and all this effort will have been for nothing.
I'd also like to point out that the White House may well decide to authorize it anyway using an executive order, since this administration agrees with Gephardt on the issue of executive supremacy. Because the CIA, NSA, and FBI are executive agencies, the White House may be able to authorize the project anyway under a different name and tell Congres to go shove itself. Constitutionally shaky, yes, but very possible in today's civil liberties-impaired legal system.
That being said, I grant conditional respect to many House Republicans and Democrats alike for speaking out against the TIA. Even if this provision is merely a postponement of the inevitable, I am grateful for every moment of precious liberty.
Son, you've got this *completely* turned around. Tort reform has nothing to do with protecting the little guy- it's all about protecting the corporations. Look at Texas. When the regulatory commissions in Texas refused to do anything about the heavy pollutants that have driven many people out of Houston (including members of my family) and have caused disease in others, environmentalist groups were able to use lawsuits to force compliance with the law. Tort reform has made it nearly impossible for the little guy (i.e. black lung sufferers) to get justice or monetary recompense.
Or look at this case. Under the Arkansas tort reform act, and in many other "reformed" states, the college student could have been even more financially crippled- because not only would he have had to pay full damages, he would also have had to pay the legal costs of the RIAA.
Speaking of Arkansas, here's a case close to my own heart. My stepmother was forced to put her aunt and mother in a nursing home. Soon after they were committed, the nursing home used fraudulent means to confiscate every bank account she had, charge massive fees to every credit card she owned, *and* force the sale of her house. But that's only a small measure of the pain they caused. They withheld treatment for diabetes from her aunt, and refused to wash her. When the aunt's legs turned gangrenous and died, they didn't operate- they covered up her legs and refused to allow visitors to check on her health. Naturally, she died. Similar things happened to her mother.
Under the Arkansas tort reform act, hailed as a "model of responsible legislation" by Republicans around the country, she could have collected $500,000- $250,000 per lawsuit, not counting any lawyer's fees that the nursing home managed to accumulate. That's unjust, and I thank God that there was a grandfather clause in that act.
So you see, I am *very* skeptical of tort reform. It doesn't do much, if anything, to protect the average American against the depredations of those companies that give the rest a bad name. It protects the wealth and power of those who have obtained it by insidious means. So, whoever you are, I pray fervently to God that your tort reform isn't passed.
Some people may like the speed, or corporations may have standardized around a single release. It also makes for better bug reports; if you can quickly download and test an old release as a reporter, other people don't have to do it for you. The branch may differ enough from the trunk present at that point to be worthwhile.
Honestly, I agree, but you might as well not bother bringing it up; other vendors do the same. It's SOP for a lot of freeware/OSS sites, whether it makes sense or not.
It's not happening to me, either, and I'm running Windows ME on a damn unstable box. I'm willing to bet it's OS-related or hardware related, because it definitely isn't standard behavior. Your mention of the filesystem suggests operating system; WinME has problems with filesystems like you wouldn't believe.
Re:Naturally it IS price fixing
on
LCD Price Fixing?
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
I'm not sure you understand- price fixing is *exactly* the situation as described. You see, when manufacturers fix prices, all the manufacturers collude to set prices far above fair market value. In the modern world, they feel they can get away with it because if someone tries to undercut them they can revoke licenses and sue for patent infringement.
The point he's making is that this is a corruption of capitalism, and that the situation you're describing- lowered prices- is not occurring because of illegal collusion among competitors. This is encouraged in Japan (for an excellent fictional discussion of the topic, see Michael Crichton's novel "Rising Sun"), but frowned on in the United States. Unfortunately, stupid patent laws and unenforced hole-filled antitrust laws are what make this possible.
I think what you're doing may be covered under the following provision of the battle.net ToS:
Can I create and/or distribute hack and cheats for your games?
No. Blizzard Entertainment® does not support or condone the use or distribution of cheats and/or hacks for use with Blizzard Entertainment® games under any circumstance.
This script allows a person to progress in the game without being present; as such, under some definitions (i.e. the ones Blizzard would use) users of your script could risk being banned, especially since it gathers information from monsters not currently on the screen.
Is it strong legally? No, but neither was their action against bnetd, and I think we all know what happened there.
I would also like to say, as a struggling legitimate Diablo II player on the Realms, that Pindlebot, Maphack, and other cheats, hacks, and scripts like yours make it very difficult for players such as myself to avoid being killed by overpowered pks in public games, or to compete in a crowded Pindlebot and hacked item economy. Honestly, I would very much appreciate it if you specified in your license that your product could not be used on the Realms, or if you instituted some form of technical control. I think other legit players would as well.
Joke, meet Poster. Poster, meet Joke. Here are Joke's friends, Irony and Sarcasm. They hang out together a lot; you might want to get used to seeing them together.:-)
I would like to defend this comment- I believe it is completely on-topic, rather than off. First of all, moderators, what is the topic of the article? It's about the worst things you've done to your hardware that the very same hardware has survived. He's describing an experience that fits within the topic- yes, it has a happy ending, but why not? Second, a comment should only be moderated offtopic when it is so far offtopic that there can be no reasoned defense that doesn't resort to metaphysics.
I'd also like to share one of my own experiences. I had a quart of orange Crystal Light sitting next to my keyboard, right next to my computer- which, coincidentally, had its case off due to horrific cooling- there was a case fan, but no intake for it. Temps were running about 68C. Yuck. Anyway, as I got up I bumped my keyboard- and, lo and behold, the entire quart of Crystal Light splashed all over my computer. I immediately turned that sucker off and frantically tried to clean it. An hour later, I turned it back on. Still worked. The carpet had more damage than the computer (in fact, the carpet in that room needs to be replaced now). The only hardware problem that has developed since then is an inability to run the NIC and CD-ROM drive at the same time, and that's due to a faulty cable.
Maybe because of this and this and various others on the subject of blue laser DVDs. Quite honestly, they get hundreds of submissions a day... some good ones are bound to fall through the cracks.
Not necessarily. My father grew about that amount in 18 months; in some families growth can be achieved in a remarkably short period of time. It can happen in other higher-order vertebrates; why not in humans? It's just another case of genetic variability.
I also knew of a young man who between 7th grade and 8th grade grew from about 5'4" to 6'6". So even if I didn't have my father's example, there's one.
Unusual? Yes. Improbable? Yes. Unlikely? No; even in a population of about 350 million it's going to happen at least once and more likely many more times. Get a big enough population sample and pretty much anything is possible, especially with genetics.
Uh-huh... and exactly what fantasy world do you live in? California has unusually good labor laws- same with New York. In the rest of the country employers can and will fire you for any pretext whatsoever. Ever tried working in Florida? There is no guarantee that you will be working from one day to the next; employers are free to fire you for any reason. Labor laws elsewhere really aren't much better.
If you want to demand overtime, they'll gladly pay it. And then gladly shove your ass out the door.
For me, Latin has been a Godsend. My friends familiar with Spanish or French try to pass coded messages to each other or speak over my head in their languages of choice, thinking I won't understand it- I took the "dead language." However, I have discovered I can understand about 40% of the average Spanish or French periodical without knowing anything about the language, and about 80% of the conversational forms of those languages.
While it is true Latin will not help the average geek in most fields, it can be a lifesaver in the biological sciences, and helps with chemistry as well. For that matter, in the more advanced math courses knowing Latin can help with memorization of key terms.
Yes, you have to work at vocabulary to benefit from Latin studies. But do not forget that approximately 60% of English comes from Latin, with even higher rates in specialized fields. Do you really want to deny yourself a resource that, with use, will form the core of a broad knowledge base applicable in any number of places in life? I chose to pursue Latin, and I believe I have profited. Your mileage may vary.
It'll do a lot of other things, too. Like make you do the Ballmer "I'm a monkey!" dance, or start reminiscing about pretty clouds - in your nice, deep voice, of course.
For entertainment value for your students, and blackmail opportunities for your colleagues, this one's the kicker.
Unfortunately, CFCs are not fully phased out all over the world. China still uses them, and since China's set to become the world economic powerhouse over the next half-century, the only hope for continued recovery is getting them to halt their production of CFCs.
And quite honestly, does anybody really believe that chlorofluorocarbons aren't used in places like India? I mean, there's a reason they were so popular- cheap, relatively easy to manufacture, effective; they would be a wonder chemical if they didn't eat holes in the ozone layer. In less ecologically sensitive countries (yes, one can be less ecologically sensitive than the United States) with weak environmental controls, use of CFCs is a rather attractive proposition.
Slashdot Mirror
No, but the possibility of getting hefty fines and sanctions imposed by the WIPO, WTO, and various other trade organizations would. IBM actually holds some clout with the aforementioned organizations, and if they chose to get involved, China could suffer serious harm. The GPL isn't just enforced by the public will of the community; it's also enforced by international laws, laws that ironically were promoted and enforced by those who are oppposed to everything the GPL stands for.
Put it before those others. Fallout and Fallout 2 don't take *that* much time to play, although there's a great deal of replay value if you choose to dedicate more time to them. It's hard to believe that they're as old as they are sometimes... well, no, Fallout you can believe is that old. Fallout 2 was way ahead of its time.
Personally, I'm a fan of Spiderweb Software's Exile and Avernum series. They aren't alternate histories, but they're incredibly entertaining. Only shareware worth registering.
System Shock 2 used the Thief engine, and although the engine is still solid, the graphics are starting to show some age. Hence, fans are updating the skins and models.
The original System Shock used the Ultima Underworld engine, with improvements and tweaks suited to the setting. Check out The System Shock Hack Project for technical details.
I've been trying to find ways to volunteer for all of these projects, but being a non-coder it's rather difficult. Ah, well.
Respectfully, I disagree. I think Chretien's approach, and Bill Simon's, is entirely consistent with moral behavior, even though homosexuality may be (is, in my opinion) wrong. Why? Separation of church and state. If it is your belief that governing on the basis of strict Christianity or another religious framework is wrong, and that the rule of law is paramount, then it is vital that you govern according to that rule of law. Bush and the Republican party are not governing by rule of law- they are governing by rule of Christianity.
It may tear at a leader's heart to know that the people he represents are looking at pornography, having homosexual sex, swearing, and expressing beliefs that don't accord with his own... but it is that leader's paramount duty to maintain the freedom of the people to make choices, even when those choices seem wrong to him. It is not man's role to come between man and God.
Yeah, have more than 6 protons per atom :-)
This freeware program from Jeffrey Ventrella is an open-ended version of this. Small wormlike creatures evolve to find the most efficient, fastest method of locomotion through liquid. You can change various parameters to make it easier or harder for the little swimmers.
DarwinBots makes use of true genetic algorithms for propulsion, attack, feeding, social behavior, and evolution of multicellularity. I like Darwin Pond better, personally, because it's more stable and DarwinBots doesn't have the "cuteness" factor.
Because these figures are engaging in human-type motion in a reasonably believable 3D environment, I can understand how it's important- however, it isn't truly revolutionary in nature. It's just another step in the evolution (appropriate, ne?) of genetic algorithms.
I think that's his point. Hateful or not, it brings in the money. Exploiting human psychology to sell a product is fine as long as everyone involved knows what's going to happen- yes, there will be a "value added" release several months after the original DVD is sold. Caveat emptor- let the buyer beware.
If you don't want to play their game then don't buy the initial product. It is a *choice* you must make- whether to succumb to instant gratification or delay gratification until a point where you can maximize your enjoyment. The motion picture industries are continuing a time-honored tradition of exploiting the human desire for instant gratification. Exploitative? Maybe. Cynical? Absolutely. Wrong? I don't believe so.
Personally, I think this plan is marketing genius- the people who see the DVD are going to remember how very cool the second movie was and will be even more exciting about seeing the third film. Cynicism aside, it's probably the best way to promote co-produced sequels like this, and I'm glad that for once the studios seem to be showing a little bit of respect for a film.
I don't think anybody's complaining about the surface results. Saddam Hussein is out of power. *Hurrah*. But as for terrorist threats... Well, there's evidence to suggest that terrorist groups have been some of the worst enemies of Saddam over the years, especially Al Qaeda. And as for the weapons of mass destruction that were touted as the reason for going to war, well, one of the strong possibilities floating around in Defense Department and Pentagon press briefings is that the weapons have left the country. That does *not* make me feel secure- and it shouldn't. If we assume that there were any WMDs- and right now, Occam's Razor suggests that there weren't any to begin with- they are now in the hands of increasingly desperate people who may put those weapons in the hands of less desperate but decidedly crazier people.
There are, as I see it, three major possibilities, with minor variations on those:
1) No WMDs. The simplest and at the moment most likely explanation
2) Buried WMDs. If we find them, okay, then the Bush team wasn't lying. Great- a political win for them that I'm very willing to concede, with skepticism.
3) WMDs that have fled the country with their owners. They'd go for a good price on the open market these days, ya know? Bin Laden's been looking for some weapons-grade material, and though he thought the Ba'ath party was a bunch of "infidels" I'm sure he'd been willing to bargain with the other "Great Satan" to hurt his biggest target.
I agree that sometimes the outrage seems forced by some parties. That doesn't mean that the reasons for the outrage aren't there, or that they aren't good.
As for hopes for freedom... The Shi'ites, with the exception of pre-Shah Iran, have historically made Ashcroft look like Rainbow Brite. They're amassing power. They want blood. If I were an Iraqi right now, I would be fricking scared, man. Those Shi'ite clerics are *bad* dudes.
Forgive the lapse into colloquialism, but you see my point.
To correct:
1) It could well be about the oil *if* the administration doesn't care about the financial solvency of the government, or considers it secondary to the financial wellbeing of the corporations that directly and indirectly are responsible for the administration's current power. Given the fact that the president has authorized contracts with a value of well over $7 billion to Halliburton, for example, without consideration of some rather inviting competing bids is something that indicates that this may be the case. If one considers the economic policy of this administration as a whole, including what should have been a scandalous "stimulus" package to Enron execs and tax initiatives that should speak for themselves, one begins to see a sense of financial priorities that does not have the United States and its citizens at the top of the list.
2) I think what the poster intended to say- or *should* have intended to say, had he or she been thinking more clearly- is that the sex life of any person should remain private and free from scrutiny unless it brings harm to parties involved. Clinton's indiscretions do not meet that test (as repugnant as I find his behavior).
One more thing: The cost of investigating Clinton's sexual activities and the entrapment that ensued was $40 million with some Congresspeople complaining that Starr was underfunded. Those exact same Congresspeople have attempted to eviscerate an investigation into the causes of the most heinous attack on American soil since the Civil War (Pearl Harbor was nothing to 9/11, in my opinion- may be the New Yorker in me talking). Clinton: $40 million. 9/11: $5 million, and it was a truly epic battle to get even that much. The same people were involved in supporting the Clinton investigation and denying support to the 9/11 investigation- and Bush and the members of his administration supported both.
That's hypocrisy.
Sad, and disturbing. Sad because, once again, game companies are exploiting jingoism to sell games. Disturbing, because whatever popularity this game amasses may bleed over into the Bush Administration's efforts to hide the truth.
I wonder if the game will mention the civilian casualties caused by the bomb-dropping. On a much more serious and perhaps even scary note, I wonder if the game will have missions to "destroy the weapons of mass destruction" and then reward the player with feedback indicating that yes, indeed, weapons of mass destruction were destroyed. If so- *if*- then I am saddened to think that the game will further contribute to the misinformation that many Americans still suffer from.
It's a nice sentiment... but honestly, I don't think it'll do much good. Congress has a bad habit of tacking on things in amendments without people caring about it. After the furor dies down, it'll be quietly authorized and all this effort will have been for nothing.
I'd also like to point out that the White House may well decide to authorize it anyway using an executive order, since this administration agrees with Gephardt on the issue of executive supremacy. Because the CIA, NSA, and FBI are executive agencies, the White House may be able to authorize the project anyway under a different name and tell Congres to go shove itself. Constitutionally shaky, yes, but very possible in today's civil liberties-impaired legal system.
That being said, I grant conditional respect to many House Republicans and Democrats alike for speaking out against the TIA. Even if this provision is merely a postponement of the inevitable, I am grateful for every moment of precious liberty.
Son, you've got this *completely* turned around. Tort reform has nothing to do with protecting the little guy- it's all about protecting the corporations. Look at Texas. When the regulatory commissions in Texas refused to do anything about the heavy pollutants that have driven many people out of Houston (including members of my family) and have caused disease in others, environmentalist groups were able to use lawsuits to force compliance with the law. Tort reform has made it nearly impossible for the little guy (i.e. black lung sufferers) to get justice or monetary recompense.
Or look at this case. Under the Arkansas tort reform act, and in many other "reformed" states, the college student could have been even more financially crippled- because not only would he have had to pay full damages, he would also have had to pay the legal costs of the RIAA.
Speaking of Arkansas, here's a case close to my own heart. My stepmother was forced to put her aunt and mother in a nursing home. Soon after they were committed, the nursing home used fraudulent means to confiscate every bank account she had, charge massive fees to every credit card she owned, *and* force the sale of her house. But that's only a small measure of the pain they caused. They withheld treatment for diabetes from her aunt, and refused to wash her. When the aunt's legs turned gangrenous and died, they didn't operate- they covered up her legs and refused to allow visitors to check on her health. Naturally, she died. Similar things happened to her mother.
Under the Arkansas tort reform act, hailed as a "model of responsible legislation" by Republicans around the country, she could have collected $500,000- $250,000 per lawsuit, not counting any lawyer's fees that the nursing home managed to accumulate. That's unjust, and I thank God that there was a grandfather clause in that act.
So you see, I am *very* skeptical of tort reform. It doesn't do much, if anything, to protect the average American against the depredations of those companies that give the rest a bad name. It protects the wealth and power of those who have obtained it by insidious means. So, whoever you are, I pray fervently to God that your tort reform isn't passed.
Some people may like the speed, or corporations may have standardized around a single release. It also makes for better bug reports; if you can quickly download and test an old release as a reporter, other people don't have to do it for you. The branch may differ enough from the trunk present at that point to be worthwhile.
Honestly, I agree, but you might as well not bother bringing it up; other vendors do the same. It's SOP for a lot of freeware/OSS sites, whether it makes sense or not.
It's not happening to me, either, and I'm running Windows ME on a damn unstable box. I'm willing to bet it's OS-related or hardware related, because it definitely isn't standard behavior. Your mention of the filesystem suggests operating system; WinME has problems with filesystems like you wouldn't believe.
I'm not sure you understand- price fixing is *exactly* the situation as described. You see, when manufacturers fix prices, all the manufacturers collude to set prices far above fair market value. In the modern world, they feel they can get away with it because if someone tries to undercut them they can revoke licenses and sue for patent infringement.
The point he's making is that this is a corruption of capitalism, and that the situation you're describing- lowered prices- is not occurring because of illegal collusion among competitors. This is encouraged in Japan (for an excellent fictional discussion of the topic, see Michael Crichton's novel "Rising Sun"), but frowned on in the United States. Unfortunately, stupid patent laws and unenforced hole-filled antitrust laws are what make this possible.
I think what you're doing may be covered under the following provision of the battle.net ToS:
Can I create and/or distribute hack and cheats for your games?
No. Blizzard Entertainment® does not support or condone the use or distribution of cheats and/or hacks for use with Blizzard Entertainment® games under any circumstance.
This script allows a person to progress in the game without being present; as such, under some definitions (i.e. the ones Blizzard would use) users of your script could risk being banned, especially since it gathers information from monsters not currently on the screen.
Is it strong legally? No, but neither was their action against bnetd, and I think we all know what happened there.
I would also like to say, as a struggling legitimate Diablo II player on the Realms, that Pindlebot, Maphack, and other cheats, hacks, and scripts like yours make it very difficult for players such as myself to avoid being killed by overpowered pks in public games, or to compete in a crowded Pindlebot and hacked item economy. Honestly, I would very much appreciate it if you specified in your license that your product could not be used on the Realms, or if you instituted some form of technical control. I think other legit players would as well.
Joke, meet Poster. Poster, meet Joke. Here are Joke's friends, Irony and Sarcasm. They hang out together a lot; you might want to get used to seeing them together. :-)
I would like to defend this comment- I believe it is completely on-topic, rather than off. First of all, moderators, what is the topic of the article? It's about the worst things you've done to your hardware that the very same hardware has survived. He's describing an experience that fits within the topic- yes, it has a happy ending, but why not? Second, a comment should only be moderated offtopic when it is so far offtopic that there can be no reasoned defense that doesn't resort to metaphysics.
I'd also like to share one of my own experiences. I had a quart of orange Crystal Light sitting next to my keyboard, right next to my computer- which, coincidentally, had its case off due to horrific cooling- there was a case fan, but no intake for it. Temps were running about 68C. Yuck. Anyway, as I got up I bumped my keyboard- and, lo and behold, the entire quart of Crystal Light splashed all over my computer. I immediately turned that sucker off and frantically tried to clean it. An hour later, I turned it back on. Still worked. The carpet had more damage than the computer (in fact, the carpet in that room needs to be replaced now). The only hardware problem that has developed since then is an inability to run the NIC and CD-ROM drive at the same time, and that's due to a faulty cable.
Maybe because of this and this and various others on the subject of blue laser DVDs. Quite honestly, they get hundreds of submissions a day... some good ones are bound to fall through the cracks.
...the New York Times wakes up and discovers quantum physics.
How is this news?
Not necessarily. My father grew about that amount in 18 months; in some families growth can be achieved in a remarkably short period of time. It can happen in other higher-order vertebrates; why not in humans? It's just another case of genetic variability.
I also knew of a young man who between 7th grade and 8th grade grew from about 5'4" to 6'6". So even if I didn't have my father's example, there's one.
Unusual? Yes. Improbable? Yes. Unlikely? No; even in a population of about 350 million it's going to happen at least once and more likely many more times. Get a big enough population sample and pretty much anything is possible, especially with genetics.
Uh-huh... and exactly what fantasy world do you live in? California has unusually good labor laws- same with New York. In the rest of the country employers can and will fire you for any pretext whatsoever. Ever tried working in Florida? There is no guarantee that you will be working from one day to the next; employers are free to fire you for any reason. Labor laws elsewhere really aren't much better.
If you want to demand overtime, they'll gladly pay it. And then gladly shove your ass out the door.
For me, Latin has been a Godsend. My friends familiar with Spanish or French try to pass coded messages to each other or speak over my head in their languages of choice, thinking I won't understand it- I took the "dead language." However, I have discovered I can understand about 40% of the average Spanish or French periodical without knowing anything about the language, and about 80% of the conversational forms of those languages. While it is true Latin will not help the average geek in most fields, it can be a lifesaver in the biological sciences, and helps with chemistry as well. For that matter, in the more advanced math courses knowing Latin can help with memorization of key terms. Yes, you have to work at vocabulary to benefit from Latin studies. But do not forget that approximately 60% of English comes from Latin, with even higher rates in specialized fields. Do you really want to deny yourself a resource that, with use, will form the core of a broad knowledge base applicable in any number of places in life? I chose to pursue Latin, and I believe I have profited. Your mileage may vary.
It'll do a lot of other things, too. Like make you do the Ballmer "I'm a monkey!" dance, or start reminiscing about pretty clouds - in your nice, deep voice, of course. For entertainment value for your students, and blackmail opportunities for your colleagues, this one's the kicker.
Unfortunately, CFCs are not fully phased out all over the world. China still uses them, and since China's set to become the world economic powerhouse over the next half-century, the only hope for continued recovery is getting them to halt their production of CFCs. And quite honestly, does anybody really believe that chlorofluorocarbons aren't used in places like India? I mean, there's a reason they were so popular- cheap, relatively easy to manufacture, effective; they would be a wonder chemical if they didn't eat holes in the ozone layer. In less ecologically sensitive countries (yes, one can be less ecologically sensitive than the United States) with weak environmental controls, use of CFCs is a rather attractive proposition.