Yes it has. They've succeeded by selling the Harley image, because the bikes are basically overpriced oil leaking crap, unless you do extensive work on them (or, more likely, pay someone to do it for you).
the only thing on the road isnt huge SUVs, and i dont know anyone who says that
I guess that depends where you live. In Los Angeles it's an extremely high percentage, probably due to the trendy nature and car culture here (you are what you drive). In L.A., this humorous stereotype is not far from the truth.
You have a partial point. From a naive, short-term perspective, it would be easy for Blizzard to make those businesses irrelevant. The administrators of a game server can always undercut a 3rd party seller. Whatever price is offered for gold on ige.com (currently $0.21 each), Blizz can beat with no effort (and, they have untouchable advertising positioning and established billing arrangements with the customers).
The thing is, Blizzard need not "compete" long term, but need only destabilize the market to make it an unprofitable business for the gold farmers. And they can use the same underground economy, without having to set up an official shop.
Any devaluations of the currency could be temporary if handled properly in game, perhaps even enhancing the game. Imagine if a gang of NPC thieves started robbing those with great concentrations of offline-derived wealth. This would effectively decrease the (game) money supply as well as provide a basis for new quests or missions. And unlike a "real economy", you wouldn't need to account for the money in any detail. The thieves spent it on whatever it is that NPC thieves spend their money on, so it is not recoverable. (I know, it actually sounds more like our "real economy".)
You made an excellent rebuttal to Doc, so let me just add that stopping distance is shorter on a lighter bike, which is as much, if not more, of a safety feature than top speed.
The two accidents that I avoided (that I know about) involved someone turning left right in front of me. In both cases it was braking that saved me, as well as anticipating that the driver might pull such a stunt (neither driver was looking at me, so it was safe to assume they didn't see me. And yes, one was on the phone.)
OTOH, the one time I laid my bike down was minutes after it started to rain and on an oil patch in an intersection. From a full stop and at a very low rate of speed, I attempted to turn left, and the bike just slid out from under me. However, since my bike is so light (249 c.c. engine) I was able to quickly pop it up and move to the side of the road. Nothing was irreparably damaged beyond my pride. ( I had to hammer straight a peg that got bent, but not a scratch to the bike other than that.)
Two points come to mind. 1) The trend has been overwhelmingly towards bigger bikes, which are less fuel efficient. 2) One must consider the number of people being transported. An automobile with 3 passengers and 25% the MPG of a single rider bike has equal efficiency, generally. (However, I do notice that the majority of cars on the roads where I live have a single occupant.)
That said, my bike (a Suzuki GZ 250) has a measly 249 c.c. engine, which is fine for most of the riding I do in a densely populated metro area. On one hand, I'm not going to impress anyone with my bike, on the other I get over 60 MPG.
I'll grant that it's possible to over-the-top wrt loud pipes -- but the biggest risk to a competant motorcyclist is cagers who don't know about their presence. Driving a silent vehicle sure seems to me like it would exaserbate that risk.
Unfortunately, that's just a risk we riders face when we get on the road. We deal with that risk by assuming no one can see us (other than traffic cops!), and anyone who thinks that loud pipes will alleviate that risk is either rationalizing or not terribly bright.
I don't see that many riders with loud pipes dressing completely in yellow, which they would do if making others aware of their presence was really the foremost consideration. There is no statistical proof that loud motorcycles increase rider safety, and any anecdotal evidence is easily overcome by anecdotal evidence that people are annoyed by motorcycle noise. It's not like we need to give someone in an automobile more excuse for their road rage. You might think I'm being paranoid, but I firmly believe that a healthy dose of paranoia makes for a healthier rider.
We won't have as many duped posts? Articles and links will be checked before they're posted? Grievous spelling errors will be corrected in the editing process? There will actually be an editing process?
On the other hand, there will still be a Cowboy Neal Option in the polls.
Going by the actual quotes in the summary (and that I've read elsewhere), they're delaying the announcement, the unveiling, until just before they're ready to ship. There isn't a delay of the release, unless by release you mean "talk about it how cool it will be, wait three months, and offer preorders,
Apple sometimes announces a product up to a month ahead of time, but more often than not that announcement is accompanied by other announcements of products that are ready to ship. Apple also has trouble anticipating demand on some items, so on really popular gear, they sell out quickly.
I've got 67 apps in my dock, which I've also located vertically on the right. Magnification actually is helpful for the way I work. OTOH, I've got the genie effect turned off.
My take on GoogleX was similar to yours, though. It was cool as an homage, but does it add anything functional? Or is it just eye candy?
My idea is so non-obvious (and therefore patentable) that you totally missed the idea. I'm not talking about running a standard dice and paper game over the internet.
No. I'm talking about running Neverwinter Nights over the internet! But why stop there? How about Diablo 2? Have I gotten your attention? Good, because I've got an even better idea. Are you sitting down (because this is going to blow you away, it's such an awesome idea). OK, here it is: Quake. Online. Am I a genius or what?
Since for most people, the OS comes from a box maker, like Dell, HP/Compaq, lesser names, etc. The box maker can put firefox or whatever on the machine.
They probably should be doing this, anyway. I'm sure it would cut down on customer support calls and save them money. However, they probably don't want to risk the ire of Microsoft. If the Justice Department took on MS, convicted it of unfair business practices, and still failed to rein in MS in any substantive way, what chances does anyone else have of taking on MS?
No, the only chance is for it to happen from the grassroots, from the OSS community slowly extending itself to the common user. It will be slow going, and there are no guarantees, much as we like to play cheerleader.
Everyone has their own table, and. ..(wait for it). . . you network them! Why, everyone could keep their table at home, and play across the internet. No need to even leave your house to go and play in someone's mom's basement.
This is the future! (I think I better patent this idea.)
Slashdot Mirror
Harley sure has won over the market then....
Yes it has. They've succeeded by selling the Harley image, because the bikes are basically overpriced oil leaking crap, unless you do extensive work on them (or, more likely, pay someone to do it for you).
the only thing on the road isnt huge SUVs, and i dont know anyone who says that
I guess that depends where you live. In Los Angeles it's an extremely high percentage, probably due to the trendy nature and car culture here (you are what you drive). In L.A., this humorous stereotype is not far from the truth.
Hinden-nads... Eep!
Oh, the humanity!
You have a partial point. From a naive, short-term perspective, it would be easy for Blizzard to make those businesses irrelevant. The administrators of a game server can always undercut a 3rd party seller. Whatever price is offered for gold on ige.com (currently $0.21 each), Blizz can beat with no effort (and, they have untouchable advertising positioning and established billing arrangements with the customers).
The thing is, Blizzard need not "compete" long term, but need only destabilize the market to make it an unprofitable business for the gold farmers. And they can use the same underground economy, without having to set up an official shop.
Any devaluations of the currency could be temporary if handled properly in game, perhaps even enhancing the game. Imagine if a gang of NPC thieves started robbing those with great concentrations of offline-derived wealth. This would effectively decrease the (game) money supply as well as provide a basis for new quests or missions. And unlike a "real economy", you wouldn't need to account for the money in any detail. The thieves spent it on whatever it is that NPC thieves spend their money on, so it is not recoverable. (I know, it actually sounds more like our "real economy".)
You made an excellent rebuttal to Doc, so let me just add that stopping distance is shorter on a lighter bike, which is as much, if not more, of a safety feature than top speed.
The two accidents that I avoided (that I know about) involved someone turning left right in front of me. In both cases it was braking that saved me, as well as anticipating that the driver might pull such a stunt (neither driver was looking at me, so it was safe to assume they didn't see me. And yes, one was on the phone.)
OTOH, the one time I laid my bike down was minutes after it started to rain and on an oil patch in an intersection. From a full stop and at a very low rate of speed, I attempted to turn left, and the bike just slid out from under me. However, since my bike is so light (249 c.c. engine) I was able to quickly pop it up and move to the side of the road. Nothing was irreparably damaged beyond my pride. ( I had to hammer straight a peg that got bent, but not a scratch to the bike other than that.)
This should be modded up as insightful.
Two points come to mind. 1) The trend has been overwhelmingly towards bigger bikes, which are less fuel efficient. 2) One must consider the number of people being transported. An automobile with 3 passengers and 25% the MPG of a single rider bike has equal efficiency, generally. (However, I do notice that the majority of cars on the roads where I live have a single occupant.)
That said, my bike (a Suzuki GZ 250) has a measly 249 c.c. engine, which is fine for most of the riding I do in a densely populated metro area. On one hand, I'm not going to impress anyone with my bike, on the other I get over 60 MPG.
I'll grant that it's possible to over-the-top wrt loud pipes -- but the biggest risk to a competant motorcyclist is cagers who don't know about their presence. Driving a silent vehicle sure seems to me like it would exaserbate that risk.
Unfortunately, that's just a risk we riders face when we get on the road. We deal with that risk by assuming no one can see us (other than traffic cops!), and anyone who thinks that loud pipes will alleviate that risk is either rationalizing or not terribly bright.
I don't see that many riders with loud pipes dressing completely in yellow, which they would do if making others aware of their presence was really the foremost consideration. There is no statistical proof that loud motorcycles increase rider safety, and any anecdotal evidence is easily overcome by anecdotal evidence that people are annoyed by motorcycle noise. It's not like we need to give someone in an automobile more excuse for their road rage. You might think I'm being paranoid, but I firmly believe that a healthy dose of paranoia makes for a healthier rider.
We won't have as many duped posts? Articles and links will be checked before they're posted? Grievous spelling errors will be corrected in the editing process? There will actually be an editing process?
On the other hand, there will still be a Cowboy Neal Option in the polls.
Going by the actual quotes in the summary (and that I've read elsewhere), they're delaying the announcement, the unveiling, until just before they're ready to ship. There isn't a delay of the release, unless by release you mean "talk about it how cool it will be, wait three months, and offer preorders,
Apple sometimes announces a product up to a month ahead of time, but more often than not that announcement is accompanied by other announcements of products that are ready to ship. Apple also has trouble anticipating demand on some items, so on really popular gear, they sell out quickly.
Just be thankful he doesn't have geysers.
Who knew that 1 Gig of mail storage wouldn't be enough? =)
I've got 67 apps in my dock, which I've also located vertically on the right. Magnification actually is helpful for the way I work. OTOH, I've got the genie effect turned off.
My take on GoogleX was similar to yours, though. It was cool as an homage, but does it add anything functional? Or is it just eye candy?
So you're saying that Google is worried that Apple will subpoena them to find out who leaked the dock?
Only hillbillies sit around thinking of ways to catch flies.
smallized might be a better one.
I think the word you want is "optimerized".
No, I'm not George. Good guess, though.
Unfortunately (for me) the first thing that comes to mind when I read "chicks that roleplay" was:
I put on my robe and wizard hat...
How do you know when your keyboard is pregnant? When it misses a period. BuaHahahahaha!
I totally agree. Apple should start out with a 1.5 button mouse to ease us into this brave new world.
My idea is so non-obvious (and therefore patentable) that you totally missed the idea. I'm not talking about running a standard dice and paper game over the internet.
No. I'm talking about running Neverwinter Nights over the internet! But why stop there? How about Diablo 2? Have I gotten your attention? Good, because I've got an even better idea. Are you sitting down (because this is going to blow you away, it's such an awesome idea). OK, here it is: Quake. Online. Am I a genius or what?
Since for most people, the OS comes from a box maker, like Dell, HP/Compaq, lesser names, etc. The box maker can put firefox or whatever on the machine.
They probably should be doing this, anyway. I'm sure it would cut down on customer support calls and save them money. However, they probably don't want to risk the ire of Microsoft. If the Justice Department took on MS, convicted it of unfair business practices, and still failed to rein in MS in any substantive way, what chances does anyone else have of taking on MS?
No, the only chance is for it to happen from the grassroots, from the OSS community slowly extending itself to the common user. It will be slow going, and there are no guarantees, much as we like to play cheerleader.
I can only imagine the bad puns that must have assaulted your ears. =)
Is that the Washington Monument in your pocket, or are you just glad to see me?
Take it a step further.
.(wait for it). . . you network them! Why, everyone could keep their table at home, and play across the internet. No need to even leave your house to go and play in someone's mom's basement.
Everyone has their own table, and. .
This is the future! (I think I better patent this idea.)
Luddite!! It's technology. Technology makes everything better.
The least expensive projector I've found is around $1,000.00 now but doesn't do a good job in bright light (such as is found in a house).
This is meant the the dimly lit D&D player's bedroom, i.e., mom's basement.