Someone, I have no idea who, once said there is no good science, only good intent to perform a scientific endeavor - or something like that. Maybe no one said it and I just made it up - either way, it's true.
All depends on who's doing what for what reasons. I mean, we invented computers for good. And one day our great computer overlords will overtake us. I wait for that day, when the computers say..."All your base are belong to us"...and the human race is no more.
(that would be a fittingly humorous way to go at least)
Sorry, that came across the wrong way. After I posted it I realized the first sentence sounded completely wrong. I meant you're (see, spelled it right this time) being ignorant on the topic and I prob. did look a bit too far - but without this researching being done into 'super' agents, we can never learn how to combat them effectively. If your one of the people that is saved, it's definitely worth it.
And the Hippocratic Oath is not taken by the majority of research scientists (PhD's). I'm not sure how it works, but unless they get an M.D. also I doubt they've ever taken that or any other oath.
You REALLY want to know the answer to that? Yes. The bodies are autoclaved after sacrifice or cremated from what I've been told. Again, I don't work in one of these labs so I don't know.
Without any sign that it CAN infect humans the containment should work given that people follow the protocols. If the only way to get the virus is to eat/ingest/mainline into the bloodstream the virus, then why do BL4 work? As far as I am aware (and I'm 99% sure this is incorrect and too low) there are only 2-3 BL4 labs in the US ('public' type). And they are on islands offshore I believe.
Like I said, I'm prob. wrong - BL4 labs don't normally get talked about around here that much since we never interact with anyone IN one. All I know is that they are a real bitch to work in...
I don't normally look at posters names if that's what you mean...I know submissions come with a title/topic and then are reviewed and posted. And someone can easily alter a title to fit the story.
If you meant things always get misinterpreted...yeah, that I know. And wow...flamebait. Never got THAT before.
Hey, sucks to be a grad student. Hehe. And people are required to wash/etc. before entering and exiting. (Normal lab wear stuff gets cleaned on a regula basis). Since the things are directly contagious it's not as horrendous a working environment as BL4 - which are basically the labs you see in Outbreak.
Then your ignorant. You cannot create an anti-agent without first CREATING the agent your going to attempt to create the anti-agent against.
Basically, using your logic, if someone developed a pandemic strain of flu in the lab and managed to make a vaccine against it (which the can ONLY DO because they made the virus) and it prevented millions of deaths...you couldnt look your son in the face?
By the way, if you don't think this is possible - that something can just appear - please google the flu of 1918 (the spanish flu) or, heck, check out SARS. Without this type of research on how to stop broad swatches of viruses, things like this will just repeat ad infinitum. Unfortunately, most people are extremely ignorant on viruses and think "oh I'll just take an antibiotic and be fine". Since antibiotics don't WORK on viruses, you need a vaccine. And considering all the current anti-virals are insanely horrendous in how the work and the damage they cause IN working (on the line of chemo-therapy...kill the bad and some of the good so a person can live) this research HAS to be done.
Just to be clear on another point, the lab is Bio-Level 3 - NOT level 4. If this thing could infect humans and cause some kind of serious catastrophe it would be in a Bio-Level 4 lab (there are only a handful, and no one of them is NOT at this university. There are a TON of regulations and checks you need to go through and keep up with to even get to Level 3 (nothing goes in/out of your lab without being autoclaved for one. There's an autoclave in your lab WALL to the outside!).
Please get educated before you make ignorant news posts - particularly on the front page.
Let's see...a researcher at a University is working with a strain of virus to develop better and stronger immunization agents. To do this he needs to figure out what he might be up against that terrorists might feasibly make.
The ignorance of the poster, Michael, on science is glaring and obvious. The government funds tons of research every year - it's called grants. If you want to say they are funding bioweapons research look in military R&D labs, not in a University environment. Since the US has basically said they will not do bioweapons research, don't you think doing research in such a public way would be a bit obvious? I mean, getting a grant, publishing papers, etc. on this kind of obliterates the 'secrecy' that would be needed. And, part of the VAST majority of grant stipulations is that you must publish your results.
Then again, the poster checked into all of this before making hs accusatory and 100% factual title right? Or...he at least read the article...right?
With pieces of buggy crap (see the Temple of Elemental Evil boards for a perfect example) basically ruining PC gaming, yeah...something has to be done. As it is now, you can't hold a company accountable because you can't RETURN buggy as hell software. It's quickly becoming impossible to do so because of the way the companies that MAKE the games tell stores they will do returns.
It's a sad thing, because I can say that many good/quality games are tossed and never played because of the horrendous problems people have playing them.
If this is half as good as the current protection implementations (SafeDisc's, SecuROM, etc.), it will just lead to another round of games people HAVE to crack just to PLAY their copies. It happens with many games currently (Neverwinter Nights actually REMOVED the copy protection in a patch because it caused so many headaches - given, they added it back in with the expansion).
It's not going to stop anyone - guaranteed. A cracked copy will still be out on - or before - the release date.
And as Lavarr Burton says, "But don't take my word for it..."
I think this is where RPG's are going to go in the future. I mean, think of Baldur's gate where new storyline kept being released constantly - basically an 'online' game where you can work with a small team of friends/etc. I for one would pay to have a single player experience in a game and have it keep expanding for a long period of time.
They can't even get people to pay for music - something that they the vast majority of people have been paying for all their lives. Now they are going to switch to a pay model for the same content?
It worked for cable for a reason - better content. Short of cutting the reason most people visit a site in the first place (and eliminating new user bases from arriving and realizing why they should subscribe) I see no way for this to work.
The/. "ads/no ads" and "see it first" model honestly seems one that might work the best to increase revenue a bit and keep a large consumer base. (And keep increasing both the ad revenue and subscriber revenue)
You definitely need to talk to my friends about GW. They are the devil, but unfortunately they are the true rulers of the minature wargaming market. Hell, they come out with revised books every 6 months...that alone makes Wizards look like saints.
Though, I would have liked more new art and better editing for 3.5. Your going to see second print books w/in 6 months that correct alot of the typos.
It's different for everyone - but from college (and now grad school) I can give you some advice from my own personal view point and what I saw roommates/friends do.
- Study somewhere/work somewhere where you CAN'T get distracted by outside entertainment. ie the library. I know that an hour of studying in the library was about equivalent to 3-4 in my apartment sometimes.
- Breaks. I cannot concentrate after about 45-50 minutes of studying/doing work. So I take a 10-15 minute break then come back to it. It takes self control to stop the game your playing or stop screwing around on the web, but you come back refreshed and get that 'first go' benefit again.
- Disconnect the internet from your PC. Period. Don't plug it back in. Give the network cable to someone else to not return till your done.
- Get a 'buddy' to study/work with. I don't know exactly what kind of work you are doing but when there is two of you, pushing each other back on track can help keep you both in line. Also, you can explain/work through things together that I've found can actually help MORE then studying alone.
- Small amounts of caffeine or alcohol. Use them to either relax or hype yourself up. By small amounts I mean a beer. Or one drink. Or a cup of coffee.
Remember: If you get yourself hyper, your not getting jack done...use it when your tired or to focus...basically, taking caffeine pills and coffee doesn't work. Particularly dissolving them INTO coffee. You end up running around in circles all night and getting nothing done. I speak from experience.)
- If you experience symptions of ADD ALL the time (not just working...) then see a doctor. Get tested/checked out and get the medicine to help. I think medicating children is a horrendous idea, but if it persists into adulthood then you def. could benefit from it because you've learned to 'overcome' as much as you can...IMHO.
That's all I can think of now. Hope those little tidbits help. Myself, I just study or work for 30 minutes and if Im getting nowhere take a break. Once I get 'rolling' I just keep going until something stops me. Then I restart over until I get back into it. Seems to work - it's frustrating sometimes but...hell...that's life.
Dead Slashdot,
I found the coolest site in the entire world. Please, post it for millions to see and click on and drive into the ground so the site that gave me some enjoyment can be completely wiped off the face of the internet in a few moments.
Thank you!
If a person purchases a video game, and in the EULA of said game there is a specific phrase detailing that they are permitted to make one copy "...for backup and archival purposes, provided that the original and copy of the software are kept in your possession.", where do the rights of the end user stand when the aforementioned game is copy protected in such a manner that they CANNOT exercise this portion of the agreement?
Second question...
If a person purchases a game, and then cannot get it to work on their computer and must use a 'crack' or program to make the game function without the built in copy proection from working, is this second program - the 'crack' or 'No-CD Patch' illegal? Is distribution of said file illegal because of the DMCA or does the end user's rights allow for the obtaining of this program so they may use what they lawfully purchased?
Honestly, that's the mod's fault. I've played online on a few persistant worlds and the 'hak pak's' that they have put together are just amazing. I don't want to slashdot any of them, but they are easy enough to find. Generally, I found the single player lacking a bit - but the multiplayer is amazing.
That's actually not true - I print everything since my cursive writing is horribly illegible. I still wrote faster and finished faster then most of my classmates. It could be because I actually knew the answers or just BS'ed better, I don't know...but I did pretty well in college so it's not as if my grades suffered. If anything, I would have done worse had the prof. not been able to READ my answers. (which I actually lost points on once but got them back once I explained what I had written and they could read it).
Bullettime
on
Matrix MMORPG
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
One way to do this, albeit 'cheesily' is that you use 'bullet-time' to do certain attack moves, etc. Basically you hit the bullet time button and kick and jump and you do a crane kick, if you know how to. It's all done in real time so you actually have to be rather fast to do it. Bullet dodging would just be another button to hit to dodge once someone started firing.
I guess my point is they don't HAVE to have everything slow down to do 'bullet time' type effects. Though many, MANY people will be pissed if they don't.
Something no one has mentioned yet about this - maybe there IS no war between man and machines. Yeah, thats been mentioned. But maybe there was a war between men, and they destroyed the world and 'scorched the sky'. Basically a nuclear holocaust. The machines, programmed to never hurt and always try to save man, created the matrix and placed survivors in there 'protected' from the harshness of the real world and to prevent them from being able to actually ever destroy themselves.
Or maybe it's the robots trying to recreate humanity.
Just some ideas floating in my brain.
Just a reminder to everyone assuming a ton of stuff - remember that the W's have said that the game (which a TON of money was dropped on) is part of the storyline as well. As well as the animatrix. So, pick up the game and get through that (or get a synopsis of it) because alot more storyline is revealed (ie where Niobe and Ghost pop-up from in the highway scene, etc.)
Then again, I havent seen the movie yet (seeing it on friday) so I could just be nuts. Though I do think they explain the kid a bit more in one of the Animatrix shorts and there's some discussion of him in the game (as far as I have gotten so far).
Slashdot Mirror
That's gotta be one HELL of a mouse. And no pressure or massive heat. Basically warming the mouse slightly.
All depends on who's doing what for what reasons. I mean, we invented computers for good. And one day our great computer overlords will overtake us. I wait for that day, when the computers say..."All your base are belong to us"...and the human race is no more.
(that would be a fittingly humorous way to go at least)
Sorry, that came across the wrong way. After I posted it I realized the first sentence sounded completely wrong. I meant you're (see, spelled it right this time) being ignorant on the topic and I prob. did look a bit too far - but without this researching being done into 'super' agents, we can never learn how to combat them effectively. If your one of the people that is saved, it's definitely worth it. And the Hippocratic Oath is not taken by the majority of research scientists (PhD's). I'm not sure how it works, but unless they get an M.D. also I doubt they've ever taken that or any other oath.
You REALLY want to know the answer to that? Yes. The bodies are autoclaved after sacrifice or cremated from what I've been told. Again, I don't work in one of these labs so I don't know.
Like I said, I'm prob. wrong - BL4 labs don't normally get talked about around here that much since we never interact with anyone IN one. All I know is that they are a real bitch to work in...
If you meant things always get misinterpreted...yeah, that I know. And wow...flamebait. Never got THAT before.
Hey, sucks to be a grad student. Hehe. And people are required to wash/etc. before entering and exiting. (Normal lab wear stuff gets cleaned on a regula basis). Since the things are directly contagious it's not as horrendous a working environment as BL4 - which are basically the labs you see in Outbreak.
Basically, using your logic, if someone developed a pandemic strain of flu in the lab and managed to make a vaccine against it (which the can ONLY DO because they made the virus) and it prevented millions of deaths...you couldnt look your son in the face?
By the way, if you don't think this is possible - that something can just appear - please google the flu of 1918 (the spanish flu) or, heck, check out SARS. Without this type of research on how to stop broad swatches of viruses, things like this will just repeat ad infinitum. Unfortunately, most people are extremely ignorant on viruses and think "oh I'll just take an antibiotic and be fine". Since antibiotics don't WORK on viruses, you need a vaccine. And considering all the current anti-virals are insanely horrendous in how the work and the damage they cause IN working (on the line of chemo-therapy...kill the bad and some of the good so a person can live) this research HAS to be done.
Please get educated before you make ignorant news posts - particularly on the front page.
Let's see...a researcher at a University is working with a strain of virus to develop better and stronger immunization agents. To do this he needs to figure out what he might be up against that terrorists might feasibly make. The ignorance of the poster, Michael, on science is glaring and obvious. The government funds tons of research every year - it's called grants. If you want to say they are funding bioweapons research look in military R&D labs, not in a University environment. Since the US has basically said they will not do bioweapons research, don't you think doing research in such a public way would be a bit obvious? I mean, getting a grant, publishing papers, etc. on this kind of obliterates the 'secrecy' that would be needed. And, part of the VAST majority of grant stipulations is that you must publish your results. Then again, the poster checked into all of this before making hs accusatory and 100% factual title right? Or...he at least read the article...right?
With pieces of buggy crap (see the Temple of Elemental Evil boards for a perfect example) basically ruining PC gaming, yeah...something has to be done. As it is now, you can't hold a company accountable because you can't RETURN buggy as hell software. It's quickly becoming impossible to do so because of the way the companies that MAKE the games tell stores they will do returns. It's a sad thing, because I can say that many good/quality games are tossed and never played because of the horrendous problems people have playing them.
If this is half as good as the current protection implementations (SafeDisc's, SecuROM, etc.), it will just lead to another round of games people HAVE to crack just to PLAY their copies. It happens with many games currently (Neverwinter Nights actually REMOVED the copy protection in a patch because it caused so many headaches - given, they added it back in with the expansion). It's not going to stop anyone - guaranteed. A cracked copy will still be out on - or before - the release date. And as Lavarr Burton says, "But don't take my word for it..."
I think this is where RPG's are going to go in the future. I mean, think of Baldur's gate where new storyline kept being released constantly - basically an 'online' game where you can work with a small team of friends/etc. I for one would pay to have a single player experience in a game and have it keep expanding for a long period of time.
So, who wants to place a bet on how long it takes for reports of kids running around flinging frisbees or saw blades at people and emulating Tron?
'But...I thought they could be reloaded...'
They can't even get people to pay for music - something that they the vast majority of people have been paying for all their lives. Now they are going to switch to a pay model for the same content? It worked for cable for a reason - better content. Short of cutting the reason most people visit a site in the first place (and eliminating new user bases from arriving and realizing why they should subscribe) I see no way for this to work. The /. "ads/no ads" and "see it first" model honestly seems one that might work the best to increase revenue a bit and keep a large consumer base. (And keep increasing both the ad revenue and subscriber revenue)
You definitely need to talk to my friends about GW. They are the devil, but unfortunately they are the true rulers of the minature wargaming market. Hell, they come out with revised books every 6 months...that alone makes Wizards look like saints. Though, I would have liked more new art and better editing for 3.5. Your going to see second print books w/in 6 months that correct alot of the typos.
It's different for everyone - but from college (and now grad school) I can give you some advice from my own personal view point and what I saw roommates/friends do. - Study somewhere/work somewhere where you CAN'T get distracted by outside entertainment. ie the library. I know that an hour of studying in the library was about equivalent to 3-4 in my apartment sometimes. - Breaks. I cannot concentrate after about 45-50 minutes of studying/doing work. So I take a 10-15 minute break then come back to it. It takes self control to stop the game your playing or stop screwing around on the web, but you come back refreshed and get that 'first go' benefit again. - Disconnect the internet from your PC. Period. Don't plug it back in. Give the network cable to someone else to not return till your done. - Get a 'buddy' to study/work with. I don't know exactly what kind of work you are doing but when there is two of you, pushing each other back on track can help keep you both in line. Also, you can explain/work through things together that I've found can actually help MORE then studying alone. - Small amounts of caffeine or alcohol. Use them to either relax or hype yourself up. By small amounts I mean a beer. Or one drink. Or a cup of coffee. Remember: If you get yourself hyper, your not getting jack done...use it when your tired or to focus...basically, taking caffeine pills and coffee doesn't work. Particularly dissolving them INTO coffee. You end up running around in circles all night and getting nothing done. I speak from experience.) - If you experience symptions of ADD ALL the time (not just working...) then see a doctor. Get tested/checked out and get the medicine to help. I think medicating children is a horrendous idea, but if it persists into adulthood then you def. could benefit from it because you've learned to 'overcome' as much as you can...IMHO. That's all I can think of now. Hope those little tidbits help. Myself, I just study or work for 30 minutes and if Im getting nowhere take a break. Once I get 'rolling' I just keep going until something stops me. Then I restart over until I get back into it. Seems to work - it's frustrating sometimes but...hell...that's life.
I would, but they turned me down. Me, with years of PnP experience. Guess I was too good. Sheesh.
Dead Slashdot, I found the coolest site in the entire world. Please, post it for millions to see and click on and drive into the ground so the site that gave me some enjoyment can be completely wiped off the face of the internet in a few moments. Thank you!
If a person purchases a video game, and in the EULA of said game there is a specific phrase detailing that they are permitted to make one copy "...for backup and archival purposes, provided that the original and copy of the software are kept in your possession.", where do the rights of the end user stand when the aforementioned game is copy protected in such a manner that they CANNOT exercise this portion of the agreement? Second question... If a person purchases a game, and then cannot get it to work on their computer and must use a 'crack' or program to make the game function without the built in copy proection from working, is this second program - the 'crack' or 'No-CD Patch' illegal? Is distribution of said file illegal because of the DMCA or does the end user's rights allow for the obtaining of this program so they may use what they lawfully purchased?
Honestly, that's the mod's fault. I've played online on a few persistant worlds and the 'hak pak's' that they have put together are just amazing. I don't want to slashdot any of them, but they are easy enough to find. Generally, I found the single player lacking a bit - but the multiplayer is amazing.
That's actually not true - I print everything since my cursive writing is horribly illegible. I still wrote faster and finished faster then most of my classmates. It could be because I actually knew the answers or just BS'ed better, I don't know...but I did pretty well in college so it's not as if my grades suffered. If anything, I would have done worse had the prof. not been able to READ my answers. (which I actually lost points on once but got them back once I explained what I had written and they could read it).
One way to do this, albeit 'cheesily' is that you use 'bullet-time' to do certain attack moves, etc. Basically you hit the bullet time button and kick and jump and you do a crane kick, if you know how to. It's all done in real time so you actually have to be rather fast to do it. Bullet dodging would just be another button to hit to dodge once someone started firing.
I guess my point is they don't HAVE to have everything slow down to do 'bullet time' type effects. Though many, MANY people will be pissed if they don't.
Something no one has mentioned yet about this - maybe there IS no war between man and machines. Yeah, thats been mentioned. But maybe there was a war between men, and they destroyed the world and 'scorched the sky'. Basically a nuclear holocaust. The machines, programmed to never hurt and always try to save man, created the matrix and placed survivors in there 'protected' from the harshness of the real world and to prevent them from being able to actually ever destroy themselves. Or maybe it's the robots trying to recreate humanity. Just some ideas floating in my brain.
Just a reminder to everyone assuming a ton of stuff - remember that the W's have said that the game (which a TON of money was dropped on) is part of the storyline as well. As well as the animatrix. So, pick up the game and get through that (or get a synopsis of it) because alot more storyline is revealed (ie where Niobe and Ghost pop-up from in the highway scene, etc.) Then again, I havent seen the movie yet (seeing it on friday) so I could just be nuts. Though I do think they explain the kid a bit more in one of the Animatrix shorts and there's some discussion of him in the game (as far as I have gotten so far).