How about, expect problems and bugs with any software?
Re:Same with the ipods back when they hit 1 mil.
on
A Million Zunes Sold
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· Score: 1
I don't think MS is doing this faking of numbers to boost stock price.
In terms of both financial metrics and long term strategy, channel stuffing is extremely risky. However, tactically, if it temporarily fools developers/accessory makers to come on board, it might work in generating an "eco-system", which hopefully translates into attracting more real paying customers and creating a larger market. I think MS has been successful with this tactic and the Xbox 360*, making headway against Nintendo. They're obviously doing this with Vista, and they'll probably succeed at that. With Zune it's not so clear, but MS does have the wherewithal to stick it out for quite a while longer. Whether they'll have the commitment to the Zune platform is another question.
The size of MS and the size of their revenues allows them to get away with this tactic. However, when one makes the exception the rule and uses this tactic all the time for every product, one does risk eroding real profits and restating earnings, things that make the shareholders very unhappy.
*The Xbox 360 example:
Channel stuffing --> fake popularity --> more developers --> more games --> more real sales to real customers --> real popularity
Presumably, when the tipping point to real popularity occurs, the channel gets cleared out and the retailers are happy, the developers are happy, the customers are happy, the shareholders are happy, everyone is happy, and the lie is justified.
Re:Same with the ipods back when they hit 1 mil.
on
A Million Zunes Sold
·
· Score: 1
This is what I was thinking. It's called channel stuffing, and MS has been known to engage in it to boost their numbers.
Aside from your humorous dig, you do bring up a really good point. It's all about creating or strengthening a brand and building up a community (or cult, as you might say). I don't think Heinz will be able to build up an army of zealous ketchup lovers, but who knows? Stranger things have happened.
I don't see this as a failure to grasp Web 2.0. It's an attempt to grasp Web 2.0. I don't think Heinz was under any illusion that this was going to be free creation of advertising. It's the NYT's failure to grasp Web 2.0 that is in evidence from the article.
It's the so-called "eco-system", something to consider when you buy any electronic device, including computers. That said, I share your pain. I've got a 2nd Gen iPod, i.e., no dock and it's increasingly hard to find other accessories for it. For an music player manufacturer, it's a chicken and egg thing. Without a large enough eco-system of accessories for your platform it is hard to sell a lot of players. If you're not selling a lot of players, it's going to be hard to build an eco-system, unless you do it all yourself.
This is why Creative made the deal with Apple that they did. Creative realized that they could make a huge amount of money by climbing on the iPod bandwagon, instead of fighting it. Smart move, and they can always try a serious challenge to the iPod again if the opportunity presents itself.
You put your money where your mouth is, as we say. That is commendable. In discussions of real world politics, I often tell friends both liberal and conservative that if they don't like our government's policies or if they don't like paying taxes, they should move. I'm not really being serious, of course, just being a smart ass.
I still sometimes wonder what would happen if the people protesting the EVE scandal used the same amount of effort to protest scandals in the real world, such as the current scandal in the Justice Department (here in the U.S.). People who spend hours every day can't take ten minutes to register their disapproval with their elected representatives.
Pretty much, although that was copyright and this is patents. It could well be that MS holds patents that might be stretched to fit some operation in the Linux kernel, but whether or not that patent is valid is another, yet pertinent, issue.
Until MS lays it all down on the table, just consider it more FUD using the SCO model.
We're not talking about full and perfect knowledge of the game environment. We're talking about the game AI routines having imperfect knowledge and being able to learn about its environment. Is it realistic for a computer enemy to have perfect knowledge of the terrain? On the other end of the spectrum, is it realistic for a computer foe to not be able to take advantage of terrain that it has learned about?
(I didn't use quote marks. When discussing AI, it sometimes seems like every other word needs to be in quotes.)
Just to be safe from the advertisers of bukakke porn, the tinfoil should be covered with late. "Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes", would make both great dialogue and a nifty advertising slogan.
I could see this being applied to game technology before it gets applied to law enforcement. This is an interesting approach to an AI (or AI-like) problem. The implementation just happens to be (and is well suited for) robots.
FTFA:
Sun wants to embrace some Linux elements so "we make Solaris a better Linux than Linux," said Ian Murdock, Sun's chief operating systems officer, quoting Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen, whose latest start-up, Ning, uses Solaris. Andreessen said that about Solaris? Or is Ian Murdock paraphrasing Andreessen, rather than quoting him? I could be totally wrong on this, but I imagine Andreessen said something along the lines of "we make Ning a better MySpace than MySpace".
At any rate, it's a very awkwardly constructed and confusing sentence, and if I was some kind of grammar Nazi, I'd fucking parse the author's ass.
Not only is it useful, but it can be really fun, if you're an uber geek. Imagine getting together with your fellow uber geeks for a rousing game of MySQL the Gathering. (Sadly, I'm not an uber geek, just a smart ass.)
Really? Is saying something like "all niggers are fags" result in punishment from the government in America? Wow. America's even worse then I've heard. Or else you're full of shit. You might get a thank you note from the G.N.A.A., in lieu of punishment.
However, if you said, "all niggers are fags, so we have twice as many reasons to kill them", that would considered a hate crime, and you could be prosecuted for it.
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How about, expect problems and bugs with any software?
I don't think MS is doing this faking of numbers to boost stock price.
In terms of both financial metrics and long term strategy, channel stuffing is extremely risky. However, tactically, if it temporarily fools developers/accessory makers to come on board, it might work in generating an "eco-system", which hopefully translates into attracting more real paying customers and creating a larger market. I think MS has been successful with this tactic and the Xbox 360*, making headway against Nintendo. They're obviously doing this with Vista, and they'll probably succeed at that. With Zune it's not so clear, but MS does have the wherewithal to stick it out for quite a while longer. Whether they'll have the commitment to the Zune platform is another question.
The size of MS and the size of their revenues allows them to get away with this tactic. However, when one makes the exception the rule and uses this tactic all the time for every product, one does risk eroding real profits and restating earnings, things that make the shareholders very unhappy.
*The Xbox 360 example:
Channel stuffing --> fake popularity --> more developers --> more games --> more real sales to real customers --> real popularity
Presumably, when the tipping point to real popularity occurs, the channel gets cleared out and the retailers are happy, the developers are happy, the customers are happy, the shareholders are happy, everyone is happy, and the lie is justified.
This is what I was thinking. It's called channel stuffing, and MS has been known to engage in it to boost their numbers.
Stupid sauce? We're talking about KETCHUP, man! Ketchup! The first amongst condiments! Ketchup! Ketchup! Ketchup! (and chairs) More Ketchup! Ketchup on Wikipedia.
I hope this has cleared up how far ahead of its time ketchup is. There's big money in ketchup entertainment products.
Aside from your humorous dig, you do bring up a really good point. It's all about creating or strengthening a brand and building up a community (or cult, as you might say). I don't think Heinz will be able to build up an army of zealous ketchup lovers, but who knows? Stranger things have happened.
I don't see this as a failure to grasp Web 2.0. It's an attempt to grasp Web 2.0. I don't think Heinz was under any illusion that this was going to be free creation of advertising. It's the NYT's failure to grasp Web 2.0 that is in evidence from the article.
It's the so-called "eco-system", something to consider when you buy any electronic device, including computers. That said, I share your pain. I've got a 2nd Gen iPod, i.e., no dock and it's increasingly hard to find other accessories for it. For an music player manufacturer, it's a chicken and egg thing. Without a large enough eco-system of accessories for your platform it is hard to sell a lot of players. If you're not selling a lot of players, it's going to be hard to build an eco-system, unless you do it all yourself.
This is why Creative made the deal with Apple that they did. Creative realized that they could make a huge amount of money by climbing on the iPod bandwagon, instead of fighting it. Smart move, and they can always try a serious challenge to the iPod again if the opportunity presents itself.
Soap bubbles. The froth of ocean waves.
Still, I was hoping I could use this information to pick some stocks. I'm still not sure whether to short or go long on the universe.
You put your money where your mouth is, as we say. That is commendable. In discussions of real world politics, I often tell friends both liberal and conservative that if they don't like our government's policies or if they don't like paying taxes, they should move. I'm not really being serious, of course, just being a smart ass.
I still sometimes wonder what would happen if the people protesting the EVE scandal used the same amount of effort to protest scandals in the real world, such as the current scandal in the Justice Department (here in the U.S.). People who spend hours every day can't take ten minutes to register their disapproval with their elected representatives.
That and the conviviality are what draw me to slashdot.
You are both freakin' awesome. Man, this is a beautiful thread.
Pretty much, although that was copyright and this is patents. It could well be that MS holds patents that might be stretched to fit some operation in the Linux kernel, but whether or not that patent is valid is another, yet pertinent, issue.
Until MS lays it all down on the table, just consider it more FUD using the SCO model.
So when can we expect to see CSI: Goatse Victims Unit?
We're not talking about full and perfect knowledge of the game environment. We're talking about the game AI routines having imperfect knowledge and being able to learn about its environment. Is it realistic for a computer enemy to have perfect knowledge of the terrain? On the other end of the spectrum, is it realistic for a computer foe to not be able to take advantage of terrain that it has learned about?
(I didn't use quote marks. When discussing AI, it sometimes seems like every other word needs to be in quotes.)
Just to be safe from the advertisers of bukakke porn, the tinfoil should be covered with late. "Don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes", would make both great dialogue and a nifty advertising slogan.
You and the others are 100% right. Thanks for correcting my error.
Ah, thank you. I'm glad I included the disclaimer that I could be wrong so that I only look like a partial asshole instead of a complete asshole.
My job here is done. I must away and demonstrate my big mouth and ignorance on other websites. =)
I could see this being applied to game technology before it gets applied to law enforcement. This is an interesting approach to an AI (or AI-like) problem. The implementation just happens to be (and is well suited for) robots.
At any rate, it's a very awkwardly constructed and confusing sentence, and if I was some kind of grammar Nazi, I'd fucking parse the author's ass.
Not only is it useful, but it can be really fun, if you're an uber geek. Imagine getting together with your fellow uber geeks for a rousing game of MySQL the Gathering. (Sadly, I'm not an uber geek, just a smart ass.)
However, if you said, "all niggers are fags, so we have twice as many reasons to kill them", that would considered a hate crime, and you could be prosecuted for it.
Well, the silver lining is that Chinese users will be able to report really crappy MySpace page designs to the Graphic Design Police.
My initial response to reading the editorial was, "Those goddamn commies . . .er, at the Economist . . .uh."
Correct. It's from Baja California, as opposed to Alta California. But it's correctly spelled Cesar Salad. It's not named after Julius Caesar.
Maybe U.S. schools have changed since I was a student, but I've never come across a teacher that used the phrases 'British English' or 'English(UK)'.
I'm good, thanks for asking. I needed a break from /., and then sort of forgot to come back. The RMS Weenies were really starting to get to me.