It makes financial sense except for (a) the cost of bandwidth is extremely neglegeble compared to the rest of Bush's campaign, and (b) the cost of hosting is probably provided by some sort of campaign contribution.
Except the DS, which is $140 in Japan and $150 in the US. Ditto for the new PSTwo. I think the $185 in Japan will become $195 here, but it's because the USD isn't doing so great these days vs. the Yen.
They have a more mature and diverse lineup of games with a much better stable of 3rd-party developers, and anyone who says the PSP's screen isn't just plain sexy is a liar.
I really hate the way "mature" in video games has become equivalent to either "violent" or "raunchy." There's no way I'll look at GTA3 and call it mature, as it's pretty much running around shooting things ad infinitum. Deathmatch games aren't mature... its a bunch of kids running around with finger pistols shouting "bang bang you're dead!" "no I'm not! You cheated! wall hack wall hack!" "Yeah, well then you're a bot!"
P.S. Anyone who says the screen is sexy is a liar, too, as pretty much nobody has actually gotten a chance to use it and determine its quality in person.
Chances are that they're taking a loss, and the basic reasoning for it all is that (a) they get a lot of money in game licenses from 3rd parties, and (b) getting it out now means they can potentially damage the DS launch. So even though they lose money in the short run, they're gambling that the system will catch on and they'll make it all back later.
... stance on abortion, embryo stem cell research, and same-sex marriage.
This tends to annoy me a lot. I'm sure you think you have a lot of disagreement with Kerry here, but maybe it's less than you think.
Kerry is morrally against abortion (clarrified in the 2nd debate). However, he understands that his morals come from religious beliefs and, since they aren't universally shared, he cannot put them into legislation (seperation of church and state). I'm sure you can agree that this is a reasonable view.
Embryonic stem cell research is done on embryos from failed artificial insemination attempts mostly, and not from abortions. This is equivalent to using cadaver tissue for medical experiments. The medical experiments aren't killing the person, and (as with the case of any minor) are being carried out with the parents' consent. It is only banned because at some point people mistakenly believed that the embryos were coming from abortions.
Kerry is not for same sex marriage, he's for civil unions (which grant a lot of the same legal standing to homosexual life-partners). These are practical rights, like hospital visiting rights and joint tax filing.
I find that a lot of people's fears about Kerry are a little fuzzy and come from misconceptions about his views. I'm not trying to assail you or anything with this post (please read it in the friendliest tone you can, as that's how I'm trying to write it). And please at least consider the 3 points above before you head to the ballot.
"There's a lesson in there. If something is surrounded by a lot of hype, this means that someone is trying to make you wait for their product, rather than going with a competitor's."
And why excactly have there been so many PSP announcements from Sony when it most likely won't come out until next fall? Could it have something to do with making you gloss over the DS in favor of waiting for the PSP?
I am not saying that Nintendo is in the poorhouse, but who can compete with Microcash when they spend billions (yes, billions with a B) to break the back of the video game market? Nintendo survives because they are clearly superior.
Clearly superior or not, I'm usually quite happy with a game released by Nintendo. Maybe hype plays a lot into it. I didn't know what to expect from Mario Sunshine, and if I heard hype about the watter nozzle, I would've never picked it up. I ended up having a blast with it. Nintendo survives not because it's "superior," but because there are a lot of fans out there (like me) who will keep coming back to them because we're overall satisfied customers. They're making their profit based on one of the most tried-and-true marketing tactics, and, all fanboy-ism aside, I'd rather have customer satisfaction than hype.
I think I may write a DOOM 3 text adventure. Here's the code.
#include <stdlib.h> #include <stdio.h> #include <time.h> #inlcude <coniio.h>// I hope you have Turbo C
int room(void) { char input; printf("You entered the room, which is well lit. Would you like to proceed? (y/n)\n"); input = getch(); if ((input == 'n')||(input=='N')) return 0; printf("The lights turned off. Would you like to turn on the flash light?(y/n)\n"); input = getch(); if ((input == 'n')||(input=='N')) return 0; printf("You see a monster, would you like to switch to the gun and shoot it? (y/n)\n"); input = getch(); if ((input == 'n')||(input=='N')) return 0; printf("You have killed the monster, and are moving on to the next room.\n"); return 1; }
int locker(void) { int lockercombo = rand()%1000; printf("You've found a PDA, would you like to listen to the messages? (y/n)"); input = getch(); if ((input == 'n')||(input=='N')) return 0; printf("Playing back message... "); sleep(120000); printf("The combo for the locker is %d, would you like to open the locker? (y/n)\n", lockercombo); input = getch(); if ((input == 'n')||(input=='N')) return 0; printf("You found some ammo and a medpack.\n"); return 1; }
void main(void) { srand(time(NULL)); int stillrunning; do { if (rand()%10<2) stillrunning = locker(); else stillrunning = room(); } while (stillrunning); printf("You were killed by a zombie. GAME OVER\n"); }
Here here... everyone uses the term wrong, but we let it go because we don't know a better word for people getting what they deserve.
Or do we... ?
From dictionary.com: Comeuppance (n.) A punishment or retribution that one deserves; one's just deserts: "It's a chance to strike back at the critical brotherhood and give each his comeuppance for evaluative sins of the past" (Judith Crist).
I doubt anyone will want to hear this, but I fail to see why more traditional advertisers can pay-per-play to get their message out, but the RIAA (which has music as its product, thus radio play seems comparable to giving out free samples of product) cannot?
I don't know if this answer will be satisfactory or not, but the general gist is built around the premise that (a) the air waves belong to the people and that the broacasters are granted the right to use them because they serve a public good (bringing culture to the people through music, disseminating news and bulletins, keeping the masses happy), and that (b) there's a difference between "content" and "advertising."
Now, if you subscribe to this mentality, the law falls into place nicely. Since the radio stations are there for the public benefit, it is up to the public (by way of representatives and laws) to determine how they should conduct business. Also, since there's supposed to be a division between content and advertising, and I think we can all agree that that division is in the public's best interest, codifying that division can only support the public's best interest.
Again... this all makes sense if you agree with the original mindset in which the law was written. To sum it up, here's the basic logic (since that last paragraph was poorly written and hard to follow):
Radio stations are allowed to broadcast by the government (acting as representatives of the people) for the public benefit.
Radio stations have "content" (music, talk shows, etc... ) and "advertising" (pre-recorded ads, endorsements, contests, etc... ). Keeping these separate allows to strengthen the public discourse while providing the radio station enough money to operate profitably.
By allowing companies and industry groups (like RIAA) to "pay for play" in the content section, the "public discourse" is taken away from the public and given wholly to the industry. As representatives of the public, the government should try to stop this.
Furthermore, by having a "pay for play" policy, recording companies with less money are unable to get their songs heard and can never compete with the larger labels. This creates a oligopoly (like monopoly, but instead the market is cornered by a "group" of companies), which is against the competition model of our society's capitalist system.
Agree or not, hopefully that will make the intention of the law clearer. I thoroughly understand your viewpoint, though, and I agree that dictating what a company can or can not do is a little risky, but only if you're a laissez-faire Republican (one who believes government should be reduced in size, and take a less-active role in day-to-day life... i.e. a classical conservative). The fact of the matter is that industry is subject to regulation all the time, usually in a way that supports the public good (i.e. environmental laws, zoning laws, bribery laws, accounting laws, etc... ), and that this law was intended to serve the public good. Whether it (a) actually does, or (b) is over reaching is tottaly up to your interpretation of the "public good" and how far you think government should be allowed to go to serve it.
Look, nobody believed it, but/. posted it anyway... exactly when DS info came out. Now that more DS info is coming out, everyone's reporting on how the PSP is being delayed. This is a standard Sony strategy to keep their product in the press as long as possible, and to keep the competition out. Unfortunately, the ever-retarded video game press still hasn't caught on.
Excuse me? I play games because I find them fun. Games with no/little plot can still be plenty fun (Zelda I, Tetris, Goldeneye, Animal Crossing - don't tell me they suck). Why cut a game out just because it aims purely to be fun?
While I get your point, I'd like to point out that Animal Crossing does have a bit of plot and story, but it's more like an ongoing narrative that you create. IMHO, that's what makes it a lot of fun, that you have a say in how things turn out for your town full of characters.
Actually, you'll never have a real answer to this one. "Essential and critical element of the plot" is a very subjective qualifier and we could argue it all day. Nevertheless, it's obvious that it was done before Final Fantasy VII, and that the first time really depends on how critical you think the character is. I've seen people get very very involved with text-based games, and even freak out when characters in those die.
The problem is that STORY and GAME tend to be very discrete elements, where in a movie STORY and MOVIE are one and the same and this is where that expectation comes from.
I'll agree that this tends to be true, but... We've all posted a few exceptions to this general rule (as there are quite a few), and I'm kinda disappointed that everyone's glossed over my favorite: Shenmue. There's a game where STORY and GAME are almost completely one and the same. While I know it has a boatload of flaws, I absolutely adore the game, love to play it, and respect what it was trying to acheive.
Actually, the thing I find most frustrating about this is that GTA was pretty low on the list of things he had to plan with. Instead, if you read the article again, you'll notice that it mentions several times that he was going to emulate the Columbine massacre on the anniversary of the massacre. It seems that Columbine is responsible for this Columbine-like behavior, and GTA was just what the guy played when he wanted to fantasize about killing people.
Apparently, Yucatan means the same thing. When the conquistadors asked the locals where they were, the locals responded with something similar to "I don't understand you." and the Yucatan Peninsula was thereby named.
I don't know where this idea that MS doesn't hire skilled people to design and develop software came from
Well, technically, MS doesn't hire skilled people. They have an army of perma-temps at their disposal! Soon enough, it'll come down to Gates and Ballmer and a lot of outsourcing contracts.... and then Ballmer better watch his back...
Even though it doesn't fall under parody, how is this a violation of copyright? If they actually made the models themselves (and from the poor quality of the DOA2 models, that's pretty possible), then they haven't copied anything. the textures are most definitely original. If you could make it so that you (a) have your own model and textures, and (b) copy the facial data from the user's own CD/DVD, I think you could easily win this case.
Don't forget the ABM treaty. Oh boy that was classic. "Thanks for coming to the Ranch, President Putin. By the way, remember that treaty we signed? Well, I feel we need more bombs, not fewer, so I'm gonna ignore it."
I suspect Senator Finestein's shock is strictly rhetorical. I certainly hope it is.
I can't really speak to hers, but my shock is only partially rhetorical. I always knew that Allawi was on Bush's "camp" so to speak, so I expected that he would say something similar to what Bush was saying. That's no surprise. That they would have Bush campaign staffers write his speech is just a total farce and a mockery of the office of the President.
I dislike Bush as much as anybody, but Jesus Christ, people need to get over that subject.
I'll never get over it. If the recount had been completed, Bush would have lost the recount in Florida, giving those electoral votes to Gore, and thereby making Gore the President. As it stood when the Supreme Court intervened, the Florida electoral votes were still up in the air, leaving Gore with the majority of confirmed electoral votes. Instead, Bush was appointed President. In a republic, this should never happen. It's not about the fact that he became President, it's about all the back-door underhandedness that went on to get him there.
Having said that, I would have thought his own spin doctors would have written it, not White House staff, but really this idea that Iraq is somehow sovereign and no longer merely existing at the whim of the US is bollocks.
Exactly. The controversy isn't that Allawi's speech was written by spin doctors or speech writers. It's that it was written (at least in part) by the same speech writers he came to lend creedence to.
Basically, the point of Allawi's visit to the White House was to validate Bush's statements that the US invasion of Iraq has made a better situation for its citizens. He was supposed to be a separate viewpoint that would give a second opinion to verify the positive reports. As it turns out, though, he was just another voice from the exact same viewpoint.
And you'll have to explain this to your Republican cousin for months to come, 'cause he'll never see it on Fox News.
There's a fine distinction to make here. Some insurgents do indeed directly fight against American forces who are (in every literal sense of the word) occupying their country. While I wouldn't say that they're innocent, they are at least understandably justified in what they're doing.
And then you have these guys who blow up car-bombs in well-populated areas, killing innocent civilians to make the statement that any Iraqi who gets along with Americans deserves to die.... these people are neither innocent nor justified in any way. Even as soldiers fighting a war against an invading force, purposefully killing non-combatants is a war crime.
It's kinda like Pac-man in so far as you move around a maze and "collect" things (like pelets). The trick is that hitting anything too big will hurt the size of your accumulated trash heap, and hitting anything small enough will get absorbed, making the ball bigger. The size of the ball will determine where you can go, so sometimes you should avoid collecting stuff so that you don't get blocked out of something good. There's a lot to it, and assuming that it's just like some work that it's (eventually) derived from really underestimates it.
Slashdot Mirror
It makes financial sense except for (a) the cost of bandwidth is extremely neglegeble compared to the rest of Bush's campaign, and (b) the cost of hosting is probably provided by some sort of campaign contribution.
Except the DS, which is $140 in Japan and $150 in the US. Ditto for the new PSTwo. I think the $185 in Japan will become $195 here, but it's because the USD isn't doing so great these days vs. the Yen.
P.S. Anyone who says the screen is sexy is a liar, too, as pretty much nobody has actually gotten a chance to use it and determine its quality in person.
Chances are that they're taking a loss, and the basic reasoning for it all is that (a) they get a lot of money in game licenses from 3rd parties, and (b) getting it out now means they can potentially damage the DS launch. So even though they lose money in the short run, they're gambling that the system will catch on and they'll make it all back later.
- Kerry is morrally against abortion (clarrified in the 2nd debate). However, he understands that his morals come from religious beliefs and, since they aren't universally shared, he cannot put them into legislation (seperation of church and state). I'm sure you can agree that this is a reasonable view.
- Embryonic stem cell research is done on embryos from failed artificial insemination attempts mostly, and not from abortions. This is equivalent to using cadaver tissue for medical experiments. The medical experiments aren't killing the person, and (as with the case of any minor) are being carried out with the parents' consent. It is only banned because at some point people mistakenly believed that the embryos were coming from abortions.
- Kerry is not for same sex marriage, he's for civil unions (which grant a lot of the same legal standing to homosexual life-partners). These are practical rights, like hospital visiting rights and joint tax filing.
I find that a lot of people's fears about Kerry are a little fuzzy and come from misconceptions about his views. I'm not trying to assail you or anything with this post (please read it in the friendliest tone you can, as that's how I'm trying to write it). And please at least consider the 3 points above before you head to the ballot."There's a lesson in there. If something is surrounded by a lot of hype, this means that someone is trying to make you wait for their product, rather than going with a competitor's."
And why excactly have there been so many PSP announcements from Sony when it most likely won't come out until next fall? Could it have something to do with making you gloss over the DS in favor of waiting for the PSP?
Here here... everyone uses the term wrong, but we let it go because we don't know a better word for people getting what they deserve.
... ?
Or do we
From dictionary.com:
Comeuppance (n.) A punishment or retribution that one deserves; one's just deserts: "It's a chance to strike back at the critical brotherhood and give each his comeuppance for evaluative sins of the past" (Judith Crist).
Now, if you subscribe to this mentality, the law falls into place nicely. Since the radio stations are there for the public benefit, it is up to the public (by way of representatives and laws) to determine how they should conduct business. Also, since there's supposed to be a division between content and advertising, and I think we can all agree that that division is in the public's best interest, codifying that division can only support the public's best interest.
Again... this all makes sense if you agree with the original mindset in which the law was written. To sum it up, here's the basic logic (since that last paragraph was poorly written and hard to follow):
- Radio stations are allowed to broadcast by the government (acting as representatives of the people) for the public benefit.
- Radio stations have "content" (music, talk shows, etc
... ) and "advertising" (pre-recorded ads, endorsements, contests, etc ... ). Keeping these separate allows to strengthen the public discourse while providing the radio station enough money to operate profitably.
- By allowing companies and industry groups (like RIAA) to "pay for play" in the content section, the "public discourse" is taken away from the public and given wholly to the industry. As representatives of the public, the government should try to stop this.
- Furthermore, by having a "pay for play" policy, recording companies with less money are unable to get their songs heard and can never compete with the larger labels. This creates a oligopoly (like monopoly, but instead the market is cornered by a "group" of companies), which is against the competition model of our society's capitalist system.
Agree or not, hopefully that will make the intention of the law clearer. I thoroughly understand your viewpoint, though, and I agree that dictating what a company can or can not do is a little risky, but only if you're a laissez-faire Republican (one who believes government should be reduced in size, and take a less-active role in day-to-day life... i.e. a classical conservative). The fact of the matter is that industry is subject to regulation all the time, usually in a way that supports the public good (i.e. environmental laws, zoning laws, bribery laws, accounting laws, etcLook, nobody believed it, but /. posted it anyway ... exactly when DS info came out. Now that more DS info is coming out, everyone's reporting on how the PSP is being delayed. This is a standard Sony strategy to keep their product in the press as long as possible, and to keep the competition out. Unfortunately, the ever-retarded video game press still hasn't caught on.
Actually, you'll never have a real answer to this one. "Essential and critical element of the plot" is a very subjective qualifier and we could argue it all day. Nevertheless, it's obvious that it was done before Final Fantasy VII, and that the first time really depends on how critical you think the character is. I've seen people get very very involved with text-based games, and even freak out when characters in those die.
Actually, the thing I find most frustrating about this is that GTA was pretty low on the list of things he had to plan with. Instead, if you read the article again, you'll notice that it mentions several times that he was going to emulate the Columbine massacre on the anniversary of the massacre. It seems that Columbine is responsible for this Columbine-like behavior, and GTA was just what the guy played when he wanted to fantasize about killing people.
Apparently, Yucatan means the same thing. When the conquistadors asked the locals where they were, the locals responded with something similar to "I don't understand you." and the Yucatan Peninsula was thereby named.
Even though it doesn't fall under parody, how is this a violation of copyright? If they actually made the models themselves (and from the poor quality of the DOA2 models, that's pretty possible), then they haven't copied anything. the textures are most definitely original. If you could make it so that you (a) have your own model and textures, and (b) copy the facial data from the user's own CD/DVD, I think you could easily win this case.
Don't forget the ABM treaty. Oh boy that was classic. "Thanks for coming to the Ranch, President Putin. By the way, remember that treaty we signed? Well, I feel we need more bombs, not fewer, so I'm gonna ignore it."
Basically, the point of Allawi's visit to the White House was to validate Bush's statements that the US invasion of Iraq has made a better situation for its citizens. He was supposed to be a separate viewpoint that would give a second opinion to verify the positive reports. As it turns out, though, he was just another voice from the exact same viewpoint.
And you'll have to explain this to your Republican cousin for months to come, 'cause he'll never see it on Fox News.
There's a fine distinction to make here. Some insurgents do indeed directly fight against American forces who are (in every literal sense of the word) occupying their country. While I wouldn't say that they're innocent, they are at least understandably justified in what they're doing.
And then you have these guys who blow up car-bombs in well-populated areas, killing innocent civilians to make the statement that any Iraqi who gets along with Americans deserves to die.... these people are neither innocent nor justified in any way. Even as soldiers fighting a war against an invading force, purposefully killing non-combatants is a war crime.
It's kinda like Pac-man in so far as you move around a maze and "collect" things (like pelets). The trick is that hitting anything too big will hurt the size of your accumulated trash heap, and hitting anything small enough will get absorbed, making the ball bigger. The size of the ball will determine where you can go, so sometimes you should avoid collecting stuff so that you don't get blocked out of something good. There's a lot to it, and assuming that it's just like some work that it's (eventually) derived from really underestimates it.