You know what, guys, you got your CD-R tax. Now leave file traders alone. You can't have it both ways.
In America, you buy CD-Rs without supporting record companies but get your ass grilled if they get your IP.
In Canada, you buy CD-Rs and have your money go to the record companies, and you're legally immune to their sue-craziness.
Yeah, yeah, and in Soviet Russia, MP3 trades you, but who didn't see that coming?
Seriously, though...either shut your mouths about your precious subpoenas, or lift the tax on media. You can't have your cake and eat it too. And if you think you can, consider this-the people won't let you.
I wonder what the settlement will be? Kinda reminds me of a Dilbert comic.
PHB: You're being appointed president of our dot-com division. Your job is to go in and fire everyone.
Dilbert: Do I get a raise?
PHB: How does a billion shares of stock sound?
What of Alys Brangwin from the 4th installment of the series? The article cites Alis Landale as a strong female protagonist, but then goes on to say that her gender was largely a non-issue. Alys was proud to be a woman, and knew damn well that she could kick the asses of anybody who got in her way, regardless of their chromosomes. Furthermore, she had a lean, athletic figure and dressed very modestly-below her neck, no skin showed at all.
But possible. The only problem is human stubbornness-namely those users who don't know and aren't willing to use/learn/try anything other than Microsoft products. This includes narrow-minded PHBs obsessed with bottom lines, and home users who've been conditioned through past experience and marketing efforts to jump at anything with the Microsoft logo and that bears the words "New," "Better," "Best," or the like. They use Windows, they know Windows, and they'll keep feeding the beast their dollars to get the latest Windows (or other MS product-insert your favorite here).
This is where we really, really need advances made in Linux GUIs-so that they're intuitive enough for Mom and Dad to use and say "Oh, gee, this is just like Windows," and for the PHB to say "Oh, okay, training costs will be minimal." If Linux (or, again, insert your favorite OSS solution here) can break into the areas MS controls the most tightly, namely the home desktop market, then OSS will pose a threat to MS on more than one front, and it will (hopefully) lead to an adapt-or-die scenario. They'll have to do something to compete with free software, and it will become evident that the 800-pound gorilla can't outmaneuver the chimps...so to speak.
It's like Leia said in Star Wars: the more they tighten their grip, the more potential customers will slip through their fingers. The only real way they can try to ensure their market dominance without some severe adaptation is to buy more DMCA-esque laws and hope for TCPA to take hold and be their savior. And even then, there'll always be underground movements to hack TCPA hardware, distribute OSS applications and operating systems...it's too late for them. Unless MS wants to play fair with the rest of the software world, it's only a matter of time before more progressive, open, versatile solutions outpace the Windows/Office/.NET juggernaut.
I know it's fictitious, but has anyone else seen the episode of Stargate SG-1 "Absolute Power," wherein Daniel helps to design a satellite weapon system using Goa'uld technology and it winds up firing on Moscow? Granted it was due to a lust for power on his part and, if implemented, would most likely be subject to some pretty extensive checks and balances, but the thought is a bit unsettling either way. And why did it fire on Russia, by the way? As a means of silencing the questions they were asking.
You know...as much as I love laughing at Infinium, I do have to wonder what kind of impact the system will have when/if it is released. Going up against the big 3 will be an uphill battle to say the least, but maybe it'll become a successful "fringe system?"
Seems to me that it's really all about the games. If they can get a library that's interesting enough, not even necessarily expansive enough or having the big names, but one that sparks enough gamer interest, they might have a shot at, at the very least, success in their own arena. The biggest problem I see with the Xbox is that there are so many sports and driving games, one (theoretically, from my POV) wouldn't know where to begin, much less what's good and what's bad. Review websites notwithstanding, it's difficult to separate the cream of the crop from the cream of the crap in a scenario like that. Gamecube has plenty of action/adventure games and platformers, but is a little bit lacking in other genres. PS2 has such a large library that there's a lot of room for crap to slip through. If Infinium can get a good, decently-sized, and balanced library with some original titles, and maybe some "concept games" like Rez, Vib Ribbon, Fantavision, and the like; games that break molds and create some of their own, they could try for an Apple-style "think different" image.
Of course, then they'd face the wrath of Apple's legal team, and the days of Tycho and Gabe's merciless heckling will seem pleasant to them.
A good place to go if you want to sample some VGM is GFF. Some may remember Gamingforce Audio, a game-music site based on free net drive storage accounts from which people could download full game soundtracks. The Audio project is gone, but GFF is still around and for those who register and log in, there's a forum where people post information on FTP servers they run, 95% of which are brimming with game soundtracks.
I do urge you, though, to buy the soundtracks if you like what you hear from GFF. Game soundtracks (usually) aren't published by the RIAA, and are well worth the cost-some of the best music I've heard in recent years has been from games (for those really into the VGM scene, try/buy Shadow Hearts' OST, you won't be disappointed).
Oh, for Direct Connect users, there's vgmcentral.no-ip.com-just share one complete OST and you're good to go.
Usual disclaimers apply, not responsible for copyright suits/moral dilemmas resulting from the information I provide, buy it if you like it, support composers, etc.
Of course, the conspiracy theorists are going to point out the massive resources of Sony and Microsoft, and how easy it would be for them to buy their own kind of coverage. Can't say I blame them (the theorists, I mean)-there was that dealy with the "Linux has a higher TCO than Windows" study...
I have to wonder, though, what impact this would have on more *ahem* sensible companies like Apple. Apple centers its entire marketing strategy on digital media and the freedom to create, edit, and share personal media projects. Where is this going to leave them? They're smaller than Microsoft, but still a force to be reckoned with...it surely can't be so simple as "Microsoft pays off politicians, gets its way, game over."...Can it?
Re:DRM === All Yuor Base R bLong 2 US
on
Buzzword du Jour: DRM
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· Score: 3, Interesting
6. I leave this country and never come back.
I don't want to hate America as a country, but I can't help but hate a government that would be so easily manipulated as to sanction forced implementation of something so draconian-indeed, Orwellian-upon its citizens.
Call me a skeptic, but it seems like there's still a lot of room for potential damage from this. PTSD patients reliving memories until they're accepted? Doesn't that seem a little like forced traumatic recollection? I mean...yes, I'm sure it would have some desensitizing factor, but is that really a good thing?
I don't necessarily know that I'd be jumping to sign up...
You know...I never really understood the appeal of sports games. I was always of the mindset that if one wants to play sports, one should do so for real and not play a computer simulation of his or her sport of choice.
Now...I suppose that having students play videogames in class WOULD raise some eyebrows-incredulity in parents and administrators, interest in students-but wouldn't it be somewhat counter-intuitive? If PE is supposed to promote physical activity and fitness...sports or no sports, it's still a videogame, and still exercises only the hands and mind. (then again, exercising the mind isn't a bad ides)
Were they to use DDR as some others have mentioned, it would at least make more sense. Hell...I'd have enjoyed gym class far more than only in my final year of high school if I could've danced (badly, mind you...apparently we Irish have no coordination, Michael Flatley notwithstanding;-) ) to Look to the Sky or Midnight Blaze.
Oh, yeah, the Irish bit was a joke-no offense intended (I'm insulting myself as much as anyone else anyway)
Well lord knows I'm no fan of Final Fantasy, and in fact have some choice words to say about Squaresoft as a whole, but one place I do not discriminate is in video game music. By far my favorite genre, I'm truly surprised that VGM hasn't already made a bigger hit here in the States, what with games becoming so mainstream nowadays. It's truly great stuff (usually-like any genre, there are always a few stinkers), far better than anything the RIAA churns out, and deserves this kind of recognition.
Who knows-if this is a big enough hit, I might be able to go to Borders and buy the Phantasy Star Online episode 3 OST along with my next book on Perl-as someone said before, great background music for coding.
This just might be the ticket to getting video game music the recognition it deserves here. Let's hope.
Everyone talks about user-friendliness issues that prevent Linux from becoming desktop-worthy. Wouldn't Apple be the best platform to introduce this on? Not due to technical merit, but simply because ease-of-use is a major selling point to Apple? If people want to make a truly slam-bang intuitive GUI for Linux, code it for PPC and worry about porting it later. Hell, Apple themselves could sponsor such a project and use it as a way to garner themselves more Mac sales. "Look, the most intuitive Linux distro out there runs best on a Mac!" Maybe end-users wouldn't get it right away, but sysadmins and such types would, and there's always the "My friend knows computers, and..." factor to be considered. They'll hear about it soon enough (remember when the Internet was a geek-exclusive playground?).
Just be careful not to let it get too competitive. You don't need high tension and flaring tempers if one of you does significantly better than the other. Remember, it's all a game, it's all for fun, and you care about each other, not about upstaging each other.
It's still nice to see that something's being done to help. Even if it is just another proxy service, that still makes it another proxy service that the RIAA has to expend time and effort to "manage."
I wonder, though, if they can implement some kind of disclaimer or warning (like those you see when logging into some FTP servers) that state that personnel from the RIAA or from record companies are not permitted to use the service. I may be mistaken, but that should provide some legal clout in the event they get h4xx0r3d (so to speak) and their users sued like so many others.
Slashdot Mirror
You mean they're not infallible? WAAAAAHHHHHH!
Oops...guess that didn't do much to help them, either, did it?
You know what, guys, you got your CD-R tax. Now leave file traders alone. You can't have it both ways.
In America, you buy CD-Rs without supporting record companies but get your ass grilled if they get your IP.
In Canada, you buy CD-Rs and have your money go to the record companies, and you're legally immune to their sue-craziness.
Yeah, yeah, and in Soviet Russia, MP3 trades you, but who didn't see that coming?
Seriously, though...either shut your mouths about your precious subpoenas, or lift the tax on media. You can't have your cake and eat it too. And if you think you can, consider this-the people won't let you.
I wonder what the settlement will be? Kinda reminds me of a Dilbert comic.
PHB: You're being appointed president of our dot-com division. Your job is to go in and fire everyone.
Dilbert: Do I get a raise?
PHB: How does a billion shares of stock sound?
What of Alys Brangwin from the 4th installment of the series? The article cites Alis Landale as a strong female protagonist, but then goes on to say that her gender was largely a non-issue. Alys was proud to be a woman, and knew damn well that she could kick the asses of anybody who got in her way, regardless of their chromosomes. Furthermore, she had a lean, athletic figure and dressed very modestly-below her neck, no skin showed at all.
But possible. The only problem is human stubbornness-namely those users who don't know and aren't willing to use/learn/try anything other than Microsoft products. This includes narrow-minded PHBs obsessed with bottom lines, and home users who've been conditioned through past experience and marketing efforts to jump at anything with the Microsoft logo and that bears the words "New," "Better," "Best," or the like. They use Windows, they know Windows, and they'll keep feeding the beast their dollars to get the latest Windows (or other MS product-insert your favorite here).
This is where we really, really need advances made in Linux GUIs-so that they're intuitive enough for Mom and Dad to use and say "Oh, gee, this is just like Windows," and for the PHB to say "Oh, okay, training costs will be minimal." If Linux (or, again, insert your favorite OSS solution here) can break into the areas MS controls the most tightly, namely the home desktop market, then OSS will pose a threat to MS on more than one front, and it will (hopefully) lead to an adapt-or-die scenario. They'll have to do something to compete with free software, and it will become evident that the 800-pound gorilla can't outmaneuver the chimps...so to speak.
It's like Leia said in Star Wars: the more they tighten their grip, the more potential customers will slip through their fingers. The only real way they can try to ensure their market dominance without some severe adaptation is to buy more DMCA-esque laws and hope for TCPA to take hold and be their savior. And even then, there'll always be underground movements to hack TCPA hardware, distribute OSS applications and operating systems...it's too late for them. Unless MS wants to play fair with the rest of the software world, it's only a matter of time before more progressive, open, versatile solutions outpace the Windows/Office/.NET juggernaut.
How do you introduce yourself in a situation like that? "Hi Apu, how are ya? They're outsourcing me to...you!"
I know it's fictitious, but has anyone else seen the episode of Stargate SG-1 "Absolute Power," wherein Daniel helps to design a satellite weapon system using Goa'uld technology and it winds up firing on Moscow? Granted it was due to a lust for power on his part and, if implemented, would most likely be subject to some pretty extensive checks and balances, but the thought is a bit unsettling either way. And why did it fire on Russia, by the way? As a means of silencing the questions they were asking.
You know...as much as I love laughing at Infinium, I do have to wonder what kind of impact the system will have when/if it is released. Going up against the big 3 will be an uphill battle to say the least, but maybe it'll become a successful "fringe system?"
Seems to me that it's really all about the games. If they can get a library that's interesting enough, not even necessarily expansive enough or having the big names, but one that sparks enough gamer interest, they might have a shot at, at the very least, success in their own arena. The biggest problem I see with the Xbox is that there are so many sports and driving games, one (theoretically, from my POV) wouldn't know where to begin, much less what's good and what's bad. Review websites notwithstanding, it's difficult to separate the cream of the crop from the cream of the crap in a scenario like that. Gamecube has plenty of action/adventure games and platformers, but is a little bit lacking in other genres. PS2 has such a large library that there's a lot of room for crap to slip through. If Infinium can get a good, decently-sized, and balanced library with some original titles, and maybe some "concept games" like Rez, Vib Ribbon, Fantavision, and the like; games that break molds and create some of their own, they could try for an Apple-style "think different" image.
Of course, then they'd face the wrath of Apple's legal team, and the days of Tycho and Gabe's merciless heckling will seem pleasant to them.
A good place to go if you want to sample some VGM is GFF. Some may remember Gamingforce Audio, a game-music site based on free net drive storage accounts from which people could download full game soundtracks. The Audio project is gone, but GFF is still around and for those who register and log in, there's a forum where people post information on FTP servers they run, 95% of which are brimming with game soundtracks.
I do urge you, though, to buy the soundtracks if you like what you hear from GFF. Game soundtracks (usually) aren't published by the RIAA, and are well worth the cost-some of the best music I've heard in recent years has been from games (for those really into the VGM scene, try/buy Shadow Hearts' OST, you won't be disappointed).
Oh, for Direct Connect users, there's vgmcentral.no-ip.com-just share one complete OST and you're good to go.
Usual disclaimers apply, not responsible for copyright suits/moral dilemmas resulting from the information I provide, buy it if you like it, support composers, etc.
Less like talking into CmdrTaco? Uhm...he might want to know about this...
Of course, the conspiracy theorists are going to point out the massive resources of Sony and Microsoft, and how easy it would be for them to buy their own kind of coverage. Can't say I blame them (the theorists, I mean)-there was that dealy with the "Linux has a higher TCO than Windows" study...
I have to wonder, though, what impact this would have on more *ahem* sensible companies like Apple. Apple centers its entire marketing strategy on digital media and the freedom to create, edit, and share personal media projects. Where is this going to leave them? They're smaller than Microsoft, but still a force to be reckoned with...it surely can't be so simple as "Microsoft pays off politicians, gets its way, game over." ...Can it?
6. I leave this country and never come back.
I don't want to hate America as a country, but I can't help but hate a government that would be so easily manipulated as to sanction forced implementation of something so draconian-indeed, Orwellian-upon its citizens.
Call me a skeptic, but it seems like there's still a lot of room for potential damage from this. PTSD patients reliving memories until they're accepted? Doesn't that seem a little like forced traumatic recollection? I mean...yes, I'm sure it would have some desensitizing factor, but is that really a good thing? I don't necessarily know that I'd be jumping to sign up...
You know...I never really understood the appeal of sports games. I was always of the mindset that if one wants to play sports, one should do so for real and not play a computer simulation of his or her sport of choice.
;-) ) to Look to the Sky or Midnight Blaze.
Now...I suppose that having students play videogames in class WOULD raise some eyebrows-incredulity in parents and administrators, interest in students-but wouldn't it be somewhat counter-intuitive? If PE is supposed to promote physical activity and fitness...sports or no sports, it's still a videogame, and still exercises only the hands and mind. (then again, exercising the mind isn't a bad ides)
Were they to use DDR as some others have mentioned, it would at least make more sense. Hell...I'd have enjoyed gym class far more than only in my final year of high school if I could've danced (badly, mind you...apparently we Irish have no coordination, Michael Flatley notwithstanding
Oh, yeah, the Irish bit was a joke-no offense intended (I'm insulting myself as much as anyone else anyway)
Well lord knows I'm no fan of Final Fantasy, and in fact have some choice words to say about Squaresoft as a whole, but one place I do not discriminate is in video game music. By far my favorite genre, I'm truly surprised that VGM hasn't already made a bigger hit here in the States, what with games becoming so mainstream nowadays. It's truly great stuff (usually-like any genre, there are always a few stinkers), far better than anything the RIAA churns out, and deserves this kind of recognition.
Who knows-if this is a big enough hit, I might be able to go to Borders and buy the Phantasy Star Online episode 3 OST along with my next book on Perl-as someone said before, great background music for coding.
This just might be the ticket to getting video game music the recognition it deserves here. Let's hope.
Yes, as a matter of fact. I know her, --quite well--, and man oh man, you oughta check out the intellectual property on her! Rowwwrrr!
So we have a game version of RPG World now? Good stuff.
Everyone talks about user-friendliness issues that prevent Linux from becoming desktop-worthy. Wouldn't Apple be the best platform to introduce this on? Not due to technical merit, but simply because ease-of-use is a major selling point to Apple? If people want to make a truly slam-bang intuitive GUI for Linux, code it for PPC and worry about porting it later. Hell, Apple themselves could sponsor such a project and use it as a way to garner themselves more Mac sales. "Look, the most intuitive Linux distro out there runs best on a Mac!" Maybe end-users wouldn't get it right away, but sysadmins and such types would, and there's always the "My friend knows computers, and..." factor to be considered. They'll hear about it soon enough (remember when the Internet was a geek-exclusive playground?).
Hey, now, this is Slashdot! Where are all the computer-related stories? NO MORE MONKEY BUSINESS!
Just be careful not to let it get too competitive. You don't need high tension and flaring tempers if one of you does significantly better than the other. Remember, it's all a game, it's all for fun, and you care about each other, not about upstaging each other.
It's still nice to see that something's being done to help. Even if it is just another proxy service, that still makes it another proxy service that the RIAA has to expend time and effort to "manage."
I wonder, though, if they can implement some kind of disclaimer or warning (like those you see when logging into some FTP servers) that state that personnel from the RIAA or from record companies are not permitted to use the service. I may be mistaken, but that should provide some legal clout in the event they get h4xx0r3d (so to speak) and their users sued like so many others.
I never thought the day would come, but I just tried to run Software Update, and was told the "server is unavailable." Has Apple been Slashdotted?
Imagine a castle of Beowulf clusters...
How would you like to see voice control in videogames evolve, going forward?
Personally, I'd prefer slightly to the side. If that's all okay with you.