Re:Really? RPGs and the lack of real changes.
on
Rethinking the MMOG
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· Score: 1
Something about winding up insane kinda put a damper on the stating up;)
Hey, fella, don't knock it until you've tried it (going insane, that is). Heh.
Damn you, now I'm starting to get an urge to fire up a WW or VTM campaign again.
As I've gotten older the thrill in playing has more to do with playing with old friends. If it weren't for people who I have a real history with I don't know if I'd even be playing any RPGs anymore.
Re:Really? RPGs and the lack of real changes.
on
Rethinking the MMOG
·
· Score: 1
I certainly do agree that it has something to do with the system but I also found that it had a lot to do with the players too. I GM'd Call of Cthulhu about a dozen times for some of my old school D&D friends and these people just obsessed over their stats. I can understand some curiosity in how some of the numbers play out being new to a game system. I felt that the stats whoring took a bit from the game and they ultimately wanted CoC to be another D&D with a different world dynamic.
Some seemed to catch on but somehow I would have felt better working with some n00bs with some HP Lovecraft knowledge over veteran D&D players.
Really? RPGs and the lack of real changes.
on
Rethinking the MMOG
·
· Score: 1
And as long as [MMOGs] are designed by and for stat geeks (whom I know and love and sometimes am) with little regard for traditional game design fundamentals, they will continue to waste that potential.
At this point the vast majority of MMOGs are RPGs. From where I sit it seems that all RPGs have always been about being a stats geek. I'm wondering what fundamentals he thinks are being overlooked.
Would they improve with a better story line instead of hack and slash? Potentially but you don't really see a lot of this in the pen and paper version of RPGing either. Sure, the GM can entertain and let the group run about with little crazy side adventures but in the end it always comes down to the same question: How much XP to the next level?
If there are any real thoughts on this there is nothing stopping someone from developing a game that strays from the beaten path but the world of MMOGs suffers, as was hinted at in the blurb, from having everyone being the hero of the game. IIRC, SWG tried to limit the number of truely powerful and progressive toons only to do poorly at luring in players.
Just for the record: I haven't had a chance to read the article. Take it for what it's worth.
1. The Sci-Fi channel. How can anyone sample this crap and take sci-fi seriously?
2. Long films. For those of you have have seen the 27 different versions of Dune, you understand. What version is best? The longest, of course, unless you have a good insight into the social and technological structure of the fantasy world it does take 45 minutes of explanation to understand why "the floating fat man" and the spacing guild are wanting to beat up on the baron and his son. The story line doesn't need to involve sci-fi but it does. Without a good amount of background the sci-fi just becomes so much babble (read: an obstacle for the viewer).
3. George Lucas/Steven Spielberg
4. Too many Trekkies. Maybe you're laughing or maybe you're shaking your fist at me but subcultures that become so heavily associated with a media franchise can do tons to harm it. Let's face facts: how many of you associate pro-wrestling with beer-bellied, screaming, toothless hicks? The same applies here.
5. There are so many sci-fi fans that really want this material. Stepping off the beaten path is a risk. Hollywood doesn't like risks.
Cookie cutter is the name of the game in all film today. I wonder more why sci-fi was picked on over, let's say, chick flicks? It's a format that people pick up on and staying with a solid proven formula (FTW!) doesn't seem like too bad of an idea when it's your money on the line.
Sadly once the formula becomes a dime a dozen it's hard to make any progress in any other direction without going independent.
We need to keep the scientific method in mind anytime we read a study. Far too many people are willing to take a study as an absolute truth instead of a new way of seeing an incident. This coupled with the fact that too many people already have a problem with the concept of a law and a theory makes talking about science in a meaningful way fairly hard.
So yes, there is tons to be discovered even in our own backyard but at the same time theories and predictions can be made with some degree on without knowing everything there is to know. For example, we didn't need microscopes and such to know that a muscle's contractions is what makes a body move but on the other hand we needed better powers of observation to understand the virus. I'm sure our theories on astronomical events of this nature will be a topic of debate for a long time to come but it doesn't hurt to consider the possibilities. Be thankful for it too; it's the way of progress.
FTFB: the initial burst that is thought to be the source of much of the iron in the universe
I always thought that iron was produced without the nova and that it was elements that are heavier than iron that were created by the blast. Am I wrong on this?
I know another user already replied with most of my thoughts on this but...
If their product borks my system, they are off the hook simply because they told me their product might be defective and break it?
First off, the GP didn't say that the upgrade fouled up his system at all. He seems to simply not like Vista. So I'm questioning where you got the "defective" part of this. Having something that is defective versus something you just don't like are two very different concepts. Anyway...
And to be honest? Yeah, a warning should be enough among the high and mighty of slashdot. It's odd that we sit in a forum where so many users pat themselves on the back for having such great insight into the world of technology and science but PC Support 101 type issues are too hard for some to grasp? Creating an image of a mission critical PC before an upgrade is a standard where I come from, not an extra step.
As I said in my original post on this; the user got off lucky. His system wasn't damaged. He didn't seem to lose any data. If the situation was different he certainly didn't make it seem that way.
All of the MS bashers out there get a great kick out of telling us how the unwashed masses would save themselves a boatload of problems by "simply switching to Linux and learning the new system". Is this true? If it's worth the efforts it takes to switch to another OS for the sake of security and reliability isn't it worth the "effort" it takes to image a system for the same reasons?
But, yeah, if I bought a new car that only ran 75,000 miles and died I wouldn't buy the same thing again unless they were giving them out as free-bees with a carton of Camel Lights.
what the heck are you supposed to do with your system (as mine) when you depend on it, and a complex configuration you've spend a long time building?
Image it first? That's my guess.
Not to slight you but anytime you're doing an operation of this magnitude on a system that you truely value the information on you should take steps to create some type of backup of said system in case of any number of failures. In your case you stepped into an unproven product (and no, I'm not MS bashing by saying that) on what you make seem like a critical system. Anything could have happened, be thankful it went as well as it did. You seriously risked total data loss.
Bad Microsoft. I don't *care* if there was an option for having Windows.old - it's still bad practice to *not* explain and make this obvious.
Again, not to slight you but anyone with any significant time using PCs can tell you that installs of this nature normally aren't very easy to roll back if it's an option at all. Not to say that MS has put out a good product and probably didn't fumble the ball in some aspect (again, not MS bashing, I simply haven't used Vista) but normally MS is fairly good at pointing out to users that OS upgrades and service packs may (as in probably will) cause system changes that simply can not be undone.
OSs aren't meant to do everything except wipe. Users need to be aware of the potential data loss/system failures they face without having their hands held through the process. Unless you're a "n00b" you should have known better than to simply "flick the switch" and hope for the best.
Hopefully making images of such a vital PC will become a practice in your future instead of another hindsight regret.
MIT has made a ton of stuff free to the unwashed masses. Is this a big deal simply because it involves open source or is this a really noteworthy book like "Design Patterns" or "Code Complete"?
Go independent, and I'd bet a lot of these fees go down, down, down and payment to the independent artist goes up, up, up. Isn't that what we all want in the first place?
This is all fine and well within certain genres but there is tons of stuff this simply wouldn't cover. For instance: my father is a big doo-wop/oldies fan. There is no real way to substitute that type of music by indies. Maybe there is a handful of modern doo-wop style groups out there today that are independent but i doubt enough to support a station not to mention that he is listening to this music for it's place in time. The same is true of classic and prog rock. There are tons of bands that fit both of these categories that are out there today but a lot of prog and classic rock fans aren't going to be happy without Led Zep, Floyd or Rush.
If you're listening to the radio for older, more nestaligic stuff this plan simply isn't going to work and I think that's what many radio listeners are still in it for today.
After all that seems to be a big complaint among ex-radio fans: not enough new/difference material. So the ex-listener goes away from format radio and the loyal listeners are happy that they still get to hear AC/DC 20 times a day. They like the repetitiveness. Most people never move far beyond the music of their youth.
Granted, it's not too hard to figure it out but starting a sentence in the subject line and having it continue into the message is somewhat poor communications.
Not to come off as a grammar nazi but subject lines should contain subjects, the body of the post should be complete thoughts. There should be a clear and definite line between the two.
To be honest about it, given the quality of most of the gaming rags I've seen recently any 16 year olds blog on how BF2 r0x0rz and endless Duke Nuke 'em jokes is just as good.
That's what rocks about Thief, even beyond the gameplay itself. There are so many points in the game where I was simply terrified. One of my most memorable gaming moments was the first time I ran into one of the undead knights. I swear every hair on my head stood on end and I was looking over my shoulder IRL for fear. It was fantastic.
I didn't mind the mission structure that much. One of the things I didn't like was the third person aspect you sometimes had to use. I felt it was awkward. I can understand where some others may not feel the same.
Also, it just seemed that some of the overall feel of the first two was lost in the third. I don't know if it was updates to the graphics or the idea that they made it with porting it to the Xbox in mind that caused the new feel and look of the game.
And don't get me wrong, if they make a T4 on the same engine as T3 I'm still going to buy it.
So tell me what that looks like. When do they get to consider anything other than profit?
Uh, you don't have priorities in your life? You don't have something that always comes first? When do you get time to consider anything else? It's fairly sad that you feel the issue is so black and white. If you didn't have such a bug up your ass about people actually making money maybe you wouldn't have such a problem with what I'm saying.
If I do not eat, I cease to exist. However, it's really a tiny concern -- there's plenty of food, and I don't have to work very hard to keep myself fed.
If things were that easy in business most businesses wouldn't go under in the first couple of years. I bet if starvation of the population was around 30% a year you'd scramble to get food where and when you could. You can deny it but when it comes down to survival most people do what they need to stay alive. Business should be no different. You see them as big faceless entities but some people probably has a fair share of their life's savings riding on the health of the company.
Please, try to see this as an analogy, and not as a personal assault. I am not calling you Jabba the Hutt -- it's an analogy.
You've already likened me to a rapist in a round-about fashion. How much worse can it get?
And, back in the real world, it's perfectly possible to run a business, and have it make money, and remain a business for a very long time, without ever putting profits first in the sense you're implying -- in the sense where you use it as an excuse for anything wrong they do.
Again, quote me! The last time you said some shit like this and I told you to quote me you backed down. Are you going to do it again? Quote me as to where I said that making a profit is an excuse for "anything wrong" one can do. I don't recall ever even mentioning the breaking of the law in my posts. Maybe you're just reading too much into it and went off raving like a mad man and now are trying to save face? Get real.
Think of it this way: Will Dell cease to make profit if they start shipping OpenOffice? If that's what you're implying, then you should have said that, and I certainly don't agree. It seems like what you're implying is that Dell won't make as much profit -- which is really the way a business should operate, just as it's the way an individual should operate: Get enough profit, food, etc to stay alive, and then do the right thing.
The right thing? How is preinstalling a free piece of software that anyone can download on their own suddenly the morally correct thing to do? Where the hell does this higher sense of right come from? Is it one of these "I hate MS so much I could just scream" type of things? I'm serious here, maybe you have some personal vendetta against MS but 98% of the world doesn't feel that way. I certainly don't. If people feel so good about using free software than use it. Why does it have to be forced on others? People have the freedom to choose. There is nothing stopping anyone from installing OO. More power to them if it fits their needs. I've recommended it to a few who were looking for some basic office functions without the expense.
Or, for that matter, I prefer to do the right thing, and then focus on staying alive. Or do you believe selfless acts are never justified? There's actually a theory about how while the selfless individual may be selected out, communities which never produce selfless individuals will also be selected out.
Well, if you'd rather die than have Dell not offer OO so be it. I'm not going to stop you.
If you can't understand why I scoff at someone who rants and raves about the offerings of one company on one piece of software (that is free and that anyone can get on their own) then I'm afraid you need to step back from your PC and at least go outside for a little while.
We're not talking about resistance to the Nazis in 1938 Germany here... we're talking about software that anyone can own.
I think you're confusing the Hindu belief of an impersonal God versus an atheist standpoint. If there is a truely atheistic Hindu sect I've never heard of it. If you could shed more like on this I think it would be interesting.
You didn't say that. You said they were THE key, and that businesses shouldn't consider anything else.
Quote me where I said they shouldn't consider anything else.
Speak for yourself. Growing up means taking responsibility and demanding it of others, and not letting people get away with the excuse of "Businesses should make money."
If businesses do not make money they cease to exist. Why is this concept so hard for you?
Honestly, I think everyone needs to learn that the Linux community will never be happy with "the industry". And I believe deep down, that's what Dell knows.
it's not hard to see. just look at the postings here, most are less concerned with linux than with having to buy something that has a ms os on it. i understand that compatibility issues are a regal pain but if the pc is linux friendly and costs less with windows and than without what's the problem? it has nothing to do with linux being better, it's all about linux cry babies have a stick so far up their butts that they can't just buy a piece of hardware, install linux and be happy with it. they need to have their pet project's name stamped on the side of it in bold letters to show everyone that they're so cool that it hurts.
the linux community is full of suckers and malcontents. this is the reason i don't even bother to discuss technology with most of them. for them it's not the tech but the ego factor of being a linux user that gets them into the game.
they can keep their little clique of goofs, i enjoy the technology i work with.
Slashdot Mirror
Something about winding up insane kinda put a damper on the stating up ;)
Hey, fella, don't knock it until you've tried it (going insane, that is). Heh.
Damn you, now I'm starting to get an urge to fire up a WW or VTM campaign again.
As I've gotten older the thrill in playing has more to do with playing with old friends. If it weren't for people who I have a real history with I don't know if I'd even be playing any RPGs anymore.
I certainly do agree that it has something to do with the system but I also found that it had a lot to do with the players too. I GM'd Call of Cthulhu about a dozen times for some of my old school D&D friends and these people just obsessed over their stats. I can understand some curiosity in how some of the numbers play out being new to a game system. I felt that the stats whoring took a bit from the game and they ultimately wanted CoC to be another D&D with a different world dynamic.
Some seemed to catch on but somehow I would have felt better working with some n00bs with some HP Lovecraft knowledge over veteran D&D players.
And as long as [MMOGs] are designed by and for stat geeks (whom I know and love and sometimes am) with little regard for traditional game design fundamentals, they will continue to waste that potential.
At this point the vast majority of MMOGs are RPGs. From where I sit it seems that all RPGs have always been about being a stats geek. I'm wondering what fundamentals he thinks are being overlooked.
Would they improve with a better story line instead of hack and slash? Potentially but you don't really see a lot of this in the pen and paper version of RPGing either. Sure, the GM can entertain and let the group run about with little crazy side adventures but in the end it always comes down to the same question: How much XP to the next level?
If there are any real thoughts on this there is nothing stopping someone from developing a game that strays from the beaten path but the world of MMOGs suffers, as was hinted at in the blurb, from having everyone being the hero of the game. IIRC, SWG tried to limit the number of truely powerful and progressive toons only to do poorly at luring in players.
Just for the record: I haven't had a chance to read the article. Take it for what it's worth.
OK, for all you true nurds: Spell "Zeppelin" (or nerds for that matter) correctly... 3...2...1... GO!
Some problems with today's sci-fi...
1. The Sci-Fi channel. How can anyone sample this crap and take sci-fi seriously?
2. Long films. For those of you have have seen the 27 different versions of Dune, you understand. What version is best? The longest, of course, unless you have a good insight into the social and technological structure of the fantasy world it does take 45 minutes of explanation to understand why "the floating fat man" and the spacing guild are wanting to beat up on the baron and his son. The story line doesn't need to involve sci-fi but it does. Without a good amount of background the sci-fi just becomes so much babble (read: an obstacle for the viewer).
3. George Lucas/Steven Spielberg
4. Too many Trekkies. Maybe you're laughing or maybe you're shaking your fist at me but subcultures that become so heavily associated with a media franchise can do tons to harm it. Let's face facts: how many of you associate pro-wrestling with beer-bellied, screaming, toothless hicks? The same applies here.
5. There are so many sci-fi fans that really want this material. Stepping off the beaten path is a risk. Hollywood doesn't like risks.
Cookie cutter is the name of the game in all film today. I wonder more why sci-fi was picked on over, let's say, chick flicks? It's a format that people pick up on and staying with a solid proven formula (FTW!) doesn't seem like too bad of an idea when it's your money on the line.
Sadly once the formula becomes a dime a dozen it's hard to make any progress in any other direction without going independent.
Well, you are correct, to a point...
We need to keep the scientific method in mind anytime we read a study. Far too many people are willing to take a study as an absolute truth instead of a new way of seeing an incident. This coupled with the fact that too many people already have a problem with the concept of a law and a theory makes talking about science in a meaningful way fairly hard.
So yes, there is tons to be discovered even in our own backyard but at the same time theories and predictions can be made with some degree on without knowing everything there is to know. For example, we didn't need microscopes and such to know that a muscle's contractions is what makes a body move but on the other hand we needed better powers of observation to understand the virus. I'm sure our theories on astronomical events of this nature will be a topic of debate for a long time to come but it doesn't hurt to consider the possibilities. Be thankful for it too; it's the way of progress.
FTFB: the initial burst that is thought to be the source of much of the iron in the universe
I always thought that iron was produced without the nova and that it was elements that are heavier than iron that were created by the blast. Am I wrong on this?
I know another user already replied with most of my thoughts on this but...
If their product borks my system, they are off the hook simply because they told me their product might be defective and break it?
First off, the GP didn't say that the upgrade fouled up his system at all. He seems to simply not like Vista. So I'm questioning where you got the "defective" part of this. Having something that is defective versus something you just don't like are two very different concepts. Anyway...
And to be honest? Yeah, a warning should be enough among the high and mighty of slashdot. It's odd that we sit in a forum where so many users pat themselves on the back for having such great insight into the world of technology and science but PC Support 101 type issues are too hard for some to grasp? Creating an image of a mission critical PC before an upgrade is a standard where I come from, not an extra step.
As I said in my original post on this; the user got off lucky. His system wasn't damaged. He didn't seem to lose any data. If the situation was different he certainly didn't make it seem that way.
All of the MS bashers out there get a great kick out of telling us how the unwashed masses would save themselves a boatload of problems by "simply switching to Linux and learning the new system". Is this true? If it's worth the efforts it takes to switch to another OS for the sake of security and reliability isn't it worth the "effort" it takes to image a system for the same reasons?
I think this in miles.
But, yeah, if I bought a new car that only ran 75,000 miles and died I wouldn't buy the same thing again unless they were giving them out as free-bees with a carton of Camel Lights.
what the heck are you supposed to do with your system (as mine) when you depend on it, and a complex configuration you've spend a long time building?
Image it first? That's my guess.
Not to slight you but anytime you're doing an operation of this magnitude on a system that you truely value the information on you should take steps to create some type of backup of said system in case of any number of failures. In your case you stepped into an unproven product (and no, I'm not MS bashing by saying that) on what you make seem like a critical system. Anything could have happened, be thankful it went as well as it did. You seriously risked total data loss.
Bad Microsoft. I don't *care* if there was an option for having Windows.old - it's still bad practice to *not* explain and make this obvious.
Again, not to slight you but anyone with any significant time using PCs can tell you that installs of this nature normally aren't very easy to roll back if it's an option at all. Not to say that MS has put out a good product and probably didn't fumble the ball in some aspect (again, not MS bashing, I simply haven't used Vista) but normally MS is fairly good at pointing out to users that OS upgrades and service packs may (as in probably will) cause system changes that simply can not be undone.
OSs aren't meant to do everything except wipe. Users need to be aware of the potential data loss/system failures they face without having their hands held through the process. Unless you're a "n00b" you should have known better than to simply "flick the switch" and hope for the best.
Hopefully making images of such a vital PC will become a practice in your future instead of another hindsight regret.
MIT has made a ton of stuff free to the unwashed masses. Is this a big deal simply because it involves open source or is this a really noteworthy book like "Design Patterns" or "Code Complete"?
Go independent, and I'd bet a lot of these fees go down, down, down and payment to the independent artist goes up, up, up. Isn't that what we all want in the first place?
This is all fine and well within certain genres but there is tons of stuff this simply wouldn't cover. For instance: my father is a big doo-wop/oldies fan. There is no real way to substitute that type of music by indies. Maybe there is a handful of modern doo-wop style groups out there today that are independent but i doubt enough to support a station not to mention that he is listening to this music for it's place in time. The same is true of classic and prog rock. There are tons of bands that fit both of these categories that are out there today but a lot of prog and classic rock fans aren't going to be happy without Led Zep, Floyd or Rush.
If you're listening to the radio for older, more nestaligic stuff this plan simply isn't going to work and I think that's what many radio listeners are still in it for today.
After all that seems to be a big complaint among ex-radio fans: not enough new/difference material. So the ex-listener goes away from format radio and the loyal listeners are happy that they still get to hear AC/DC 20 times a day. They like the repetitiveness. Most people never move far beyond the music of their youth.
Perhaps you missed the word "or" in the subject?
Granted, it's not too hard to figure it out but starting a sentence in the subject line and having it continue into the message is somewhat poor communications.
Not to come off as a grammar nazi but subject lines should contain subjects, the body of the post should be complete thoughts. There should be a clear and definite line between the two.
So now we're going to have truth and lie tables?
Stop this crazy planet. I want to get off!
To be honest about it, given the quality of most of the gaming rags I've seen recently any 16 year olds blog on how BF2 r0x0rz and endless Duke Nuke 'em jokes is just as good.
For the same reason Dorkvorak gets recognition here: to start flame wars.
The cradle still scares the crap out of me...
That's what rocks about Thief, even beyond the gameplay itself. There are so many points in the game where I was simply terrified. One of my most memorable gaming moments was the first time I ran into one of the undead knights. I swear every hair on my head stood on end and I was looking over my shoulder IRL for fear. It was fantastic.
"Join us! Join us! Join us NOW!" Great!
I didn't mind the mission structure that much. One of the things I didn't like was the third person aspect you sometimes had to use. I felt it was awkward. I can understand where some others may not feel the same.
Also, it just seemed that some of the overall feel of the first two was lost in the third. I don't know if it was updates to the graphics or the idea that they made it with porting it to the Xbox in mind that caused the new feel and look of the game.
And don't get me wrong, if they make a T4 on the same engine as T3 I'm still going to buy it.
So tell me what that looks like. When do they get to consider anything other than profit?
Uh, you don't have priorities in your life? You don't have something that always comes first? When do you get time to consider anything else? It's fairly sad that you feel the issue is so black and white. If you didn't have such a bug up your ass about people actually making money maybe you wouldn't have such a problem with what I'm saying.
If I do not eat, I cease to exist. However, it's really a tiny concern -- there's plenty of food, and I don't have to work very hard to keep myself fed.
If things were that easy in business most businesses wouldn't go under in the first couple of years. I bet if starvation of the population was around 30% a year you'd scramble to get food where and when you could. You can deny it but when it comes down to survival most people do what they need to stay alive. Business should be no different. You see them as big faceless entities but some people probably has a fair share of their life's savings riding on the health of the company.
Please, try to see this as an analogy, and not as a personal assault. I am not calling you Jabba the Hutt -- it's an analogy.
You've already likened me to a rapist in a round-about fashion. How much worse can it get?
And, back in the real world, it's perfectly possible to run a business, and have it make money, and remain a business for a very long time, without ever putting profits first in the sense you're implying -- in the sense where you use it as an excuse for anything wrong they do.
Again, quote me! The last time you said some shit like this and I told you to quote me you backed down. Are you going to do it again? Quote me as to where I said that making a profit is an excuse for "anything wrong" one can do. I don't recall ever even mentioning the breaking of the law in my posts. Maybe you're just reading too much into it and went off raving like a mad man and now are trying to save face? Get real.
Think of it this way: Will Dell cease to make profit if they start shipping OpenOffice? If that's what you're implying, then you should have said that, and I certainly don't agree. It seems like what you're implying is that Dell won't make as much profit -- which is really the way a business should operate, just as it's the way an individual should operate: Get enough profit, food, etc to stay alive, and then do the right thing.
The right thing? How is preinstalling a free piece of software that anyone can download on their own suddenly the morally correct thing to do? Where the hell does this higher sense of right come from? Is it one of these "I hate MS so much I could just scream" type of things? I'm serious here, maybe you have some personal vendetta against MS but 98% of the world doesn't feel that way. I certainly don't. If people feel so good about using free software than use it. Why does it have to be forced on others? People have the freedom to choose. There is nothing stopping anyone from installing OO. More power to them if it fits their needs. I've recommended it to a few who were looking for some basic office functions without the expense.
Or, for that matter, I prefer to do the right thing, and then focus on staying alive. Or do you believe selfless acts are never justified? There's actually a theory about how while the selfless individual may be selected out, communities which never produce selfless individuals will also be selected out.
Well, if you'd rather die than have Dell not offer OO so be it. I'm not going to stop you.
If you can't understand why I scoff at someone who rants and raves about the offerings of one company on one piece of software (that is free and that anyone can get on their own) then I'm afraid you need to step back from your PC and at least go outside for a little while.
We're not talking about resistance to the Nazis in 1938 Germany here... we're talking about software that anyone can own.
If any sci-fi writer does get it right it will doubtlessly be Niven. The man is a God.
Thief 4! (except for make it a bit more like 1 and 2 and not as much like 3)
I think you're confusing the Hindu belief of an impersonal God versus an atheist standpoint. If there is a truely atheistic Hindu sect I've never heard of it. If you could shed more like on this I think it would be interesting.
You didn't say that. You said they were THE key, and that businesses shouldn't consider anything else.
Quote me where I said they shouldn't consider anything else.
Speak for yourself. Growing up means taking responsibility and demanding it of others, and not letting people get away with the excuse of "Businesses should make money."
If businesses do not make money they cease to exist. Why is this concept so hard for you?
Wow. Did you forget to take your meds today or something? Heh.
So I've gone from being honest enough to admit that profits are a key to business success to now being a rapist with no ethics? LOL.
Move along. If anyone is pathetic here it's you. Come back when you grow up a little.
Honestly, I think everyone needs to learn that the Linux community will never be happy with "the industry". And I believe deep down, that's what Dell knows.
it's not hard to see. just look at the postings here, most are less concerned with linux than with having to buy something that has a ms os on it. i understand that compatibility issues are a regal pain but if the pc is linux friendly and costs less with windows and than without what's the problem? it has nothing to do with linux being better, it's all about linux cry babies have a stick so far up their butts that they can't just buy a piece of hardware, install linux and be happy with it. they need to have their pet project's name stamped on the side of it in bold letters to show everyone that they're so cool that it hurts.
the linux community is full of suckers and malcontents. this is the reason i don't even bother to discuss technology with most of them. for them it's not the tech but the ego factor of being a linux user that gets them into the game.
they can keep their little clique of goofs, i enjoy the technology i work with.