There's nothing stubborn at all about using Win98. I maintain the network for a small company of 10 workstations and one server. All we use is the browser, e-mail, Office, Acrobat Reader and media player. The server is just for sharing files, as our Web hosting is part of our ISP package.
Now tell me, what benefits there are for us in switching from our current Win98SE/Win NT 4 machines, which we are all very familiar with, to WinXP/2000? And if there are any benefits, do they offset the costs?
I personally answered the first question with "increased security" and the second with "no". There's nothing stubborn about sticking with Win98SE; it's just common sense.
Actually, the European DVD called "Director's Cut" does have the violence. I've got both DVDs, and while the European version is also censored, some borderline scenes, which are not included in the US version, found their way into the European version.
Both movies are censored, compared to the European version. In the case of Blade Runner Director's Cut, the US version has some excess violence removed. As for Basic Instinct, some of the more racy parts of the sex scenes are missing, even from the so-called "Uncensored" US version. Again, compared with the European version.
Why would somebody download a movie they already own?
I don't know about others, but in my case it's a combination of two factors. First, I have a low-end Win98 machine. I was told that ripping a movie, cropping it to what I want and burning it can take over a day. As a result, I never actually bothered to learn how to rip a movie (this is the second factor), and so it's faster and more convenient to simply download the movie overnight.
Nice that the MPAA acknowledges the problem. Too bad that some members still don't do anything to remedy this situation. They still didn't give me what I wanted:
Non-censored movies. For me, there's only two ways to obtain a movie, such as Blade Runner or Basic Instinct that has not been censored: I can either buy an European version and crack my DVD player to play all regions (oh no! The DMCA hounds are after me!), or I can download them.
Unavailable movies. Some movies, such as one of my favorites, 1492 - Conquest of Paradise are not available in Region 1 at all. Once again, my options are limited to getting the Region 2 version and crack my DVD player or download it.
Forced features. Dear Disney. I'm not interested in five minutes of previews that you force down my throat, preventing me from skipping them. And no, I don't feel like ripping the DVD myself; it's much more comfortable for me to download and burn the movie. Lucky for you, Disney, I still have the courtesy to download only movies thet I unwisely purchased from you.
Put them in your bag, not in the hand bag, there is much less hassle than carring them with you, because it isn't checked every time, maybe just once on the check-in.
Are you a baggage handler by any chance?;) According to the new rules, you are not supposed to lock your check-in baggage, and if you do, the screeners are allowed to break the lock. I've had enough friends and family members finding that this way things were stolen from their baggage, especially when they flew overseas. As a result, the only think I'm still comfortable with putting into my luggage is my underwear.
As for the genre being dead for you... well I hate to break it to you - but it already is. Your threat to stop buying games altogether is fairly idle - as that is what most 'adventure' gamers already did.
Not true. First, adventure gaming is far from dead; in fact, it is becoming a second life. This year I played about a donez new adventure games. Some of the best included Dark Fall and Post Mortem, both of which were point-and-click puzzle orgies. The you have the traditional caqrtoonish 2D games, like Runaway: A Road Adventure. And for those who strive for some more classic entertainment, there's the excellent freeware Space Quest 0: Replicated and games from Tierra (a.k.a. AGD Interactive).
As for "threatening" to not buy certain games, it was not a threat; I simply stated a fact. If there is a product I don't like, I won't buy it; fair and simple. Without commercial adventures out there, I'd actually save money, so in a sense I'm pretty neutral on whether adventures survive or not. However, I see absolutely no reason for me to change my tastes, only to be "progressive", or "go with the herd", as I like to call it.
Any genre that refuses to aknowledge its own shortcomings does not merit anything more than a fringe, niche market.
Not exactly true. I agree that adventure games are a niche genre, and that they most likely remain such in the near future. However, what you describe as shortcomings I see as features, and the main reason why I buy adventure games.
Let's take your example, action in adventure games. There are already so many action games that if I want to play a nice, point-and-click game where it doesn't matter how bad my hand-eye coordination is (it is in fact so bad that I never finished games like Diablo), all I can get is adventure games. If they incorporated the "new ideas", the genre would be dead for me, and I'd end up replaying older titles and stop buying games altogether. As such, adventure publishers are doing the right thing by refusing to get their games tainted by outside influences: they are cattering to people like me and filling a void in the market. Maybe they'll never sell as many copies as big action games, adventures, in their pure form, are here to stay.
You print out 2GB of.pdfs every night?! That is one hell of alot of dead trees!
Comes down to 200-300 pages per day, courtesy of big brokerage logos and useless graphs on the end of each report. Assuming an average of 250 pages, a box of paper from Staples lasts about a month;)
There's a relatively reliable way to prove that you are not using your connection for illegal purposes - comparing the amount of downloads and uploads. I, for example, work in the investment business. I go home, and I spend the next two to three hours downloading and printing out investment reports, all of which are in.pdf form (my bedtime reading). On a normal day, just there I can run up to 2GB of downloads, which translates into 40GB/month (assuming 20 workdays). In addition, most companies offer the replays of their conference calls. When I'm not activelly working on my computer, I have always these replays running and record them or listen to them directly. Even with a small bandwidth usage (around 20kbps), it adds up when you have this running 7 days a week, 3-5 hours on weekdays and up to 16 hours on weekends. I have gotten a letter from my provider, I called them and told what I was doing. I was lucky to talk to a competent person who checked my uploads and found that my upload bandwidth is pretty much non-existent, which is a proof that I don't actually share any files. I was let off the hook after that.
I'm not saying that everybody who has high download bandwidth usage and low upload usage is innocent; there are a lot of leechers who do just that. However, there's so many file sharers that with my low upload usage I dropped off the list of people my provider was after.
Do you have a favorite licensed soundtrack, or is the whole concept a concern to you?
I indeed do. I love the soundtracks to the Might and Magic games (especially 6 through 8), Heroes of Might and Magic series, Age of Empires series and others. All these soundtracks have two things in common: they are original and coherent. They work as one piece, and are not as eclectic as most sports soundtracks. They do what soundtracks are supposed to do - enhancing the atmosphere of the game.
I run Win98, but only because my Win95 machine died on me. As somebody who requires a computer for basic office tasks (Word, Excel), some photoediting and HTML editing, a 400MHz machine with 64MB RAM, Win98, Office 2000, Photoshop 6, HomeSite 4.5 and Opera 7.x is all I need.
I've tried WinXP, and found it very frustrating. Rather than learning how to configure things, such as installing software to be accessible to all users, disabling that damn "You've got too many icons on your desktop" message and dozens of other annoyances, I decided a WinXP computer was not for me and instead kept my older machine.
Of course, I do understand that some people need certain features that are available only in better operating systems, but let's face it: productivity software has very little new to offer, and sticking to an older version is not only cheaper, but also more efficient, as the user is already used to that particlular interface and features.
Maybe if you realised that these "rules" are unilateral, non-negotiable attepmpted modifications of previously completed contracts (the initial sale) implemented against the spirit, and sometimes the word, of law
Well, that's something I really don't realize. It is my belief that these rules are negotiable. You can always say "no" to those rules, and I take great pleasure in doing so. It saves me a lot of money, refusing to purchase software from companies that apply rules that I don't like, such as UBI Soft.
You are right, and I, too, believe that the no-backup clause goes against the US copyright law. However, I'm the kind of person who'll follow the rules he agrees to, no matter how stupid. I reserve the right to agree or disagree with said rules, but once I agree, it's over for me. But that may just be me...
Ubi's EULA is one of the most restrictive in the industry, which is why I don't buy their games anymore. Unlike other large publishers, such as Infogrames, which routinely include the permission to make a single backup copy, UBI expressly forbids making backup copies, modifying the game, creating and distributing "unauthorized levels and/or scenarios", and many other things. While I am aware that EULAs may not have a legaly-binding power, I personally would feel bad if I didn't follow something I agreed to, which is why you won't find any recent game released by UBI Soft on my computer.
It seems much more likely that they'll be considering means of legislating abuse of the system
The problem is that they have to first define what constitutes an abuse of the system. And knowing how restrictive some of the countries are, there is a danger that the expression of political dissent, among other things, would be defined as abuse, and then their effort isn't such a good thing anymore.
Quite frankly, I can't tell you whether the game deserved a 6.5 or not, as I am a 100% PC gamer. However, considering that average is 5, 6.5 is a pretty good, above average score. Anything above 7.5 is excellent, and anything above 9 is an instant classic. I have yet to rate a PC game that highly...
As a writer and editor for a small, independent review site, I view this merger as both good and bad.
On one hand, with a single dominant company we are likely to get more visitors who are disenchanted with them. Before, manly people (not all, of course) went to IGN if they disliked GameSpy and vice versa; now they'll spread out over the smaller sites, and we are likely to get a piece of the pie. In addition, publishers will most likely catter to smaller sites more, as they won't stand idle while a marketing channel is getting monopolized.
On the other hand, this merger does have some negative effects on me as a reviewer and a gamer. First, the new company would have enough leverage to try to push us out of the gaming field or acquire us, mainly by signing exclusive deals with publishers. Second, they'll have much more resources to overhype a game, which will result into high-quality titles (adventures, wargames, turn-based strategies) being pushed even further into background, killing of their developers and offering a smaller choice of games for me.
Gaming is just like watching movies or reading books. It's entertainment that is usually engaging enough to command all your attention. For some reason, however, most people get really surprised when I draw this comparison, and only those who are willing to think about it for a minute agree with me. Maybe the IGDA should target the people who are willing to think first and add some intellectual challenge back into games.
Microsoft should fire the person responsible for the "Sparkle" name ($10 says it's the same who came out with "Clippy") and hire somebody who would give it a more impressive name, such as "Lighting".
For now, cash doesn't have RFID chips, and as long as you don't use frequent shopper cards or credit cards, the "talking cart" won't be able to identify you. While it'll still give you some generic advice, more personalized (and potentially embarrassing) advice won't be available.
When you're not paying for things directly, you're paying for the 'net indirectly via adverts. Think it through the next time you start ranting against people exercising their rights to free speech to promote their fledgling business.
Enlighten me, please, how does buying Viagra support the Internet?
I think you are confusing two issues here. On one side, you have the Web sites I want to visit and products I want to buy. I am fully aware that nothing is for free, and because of that I don't complain about banners or fees, if the Web sites contain information I want to access. In fact, when the site is really helpful to me, I click on banners even though I have not the slightest interest in the products advertised, only to increase the site's revenues.
On the other side, you have Web sites and products that I don't want to buy. I don't visit those sites, and I don't buy such products. As such, I don't own them anything, and thus I do my best to fight against their aggressive marketing campaign. If anything, they put additional burned on the Internet infrastructure without paying their share to "support the 'net" (if there is such a concept in the first place).
Although forbidden by the US Constitution, FTAA's copyright section would allow companies to copyright facts and scientific data.
Last time I checked, the US Constitution didn't expressly prohibit companies to copyright facts and scientific data. The whole article sounds a little too overblown to me (sounds almost like Indymedia stuff), but if they mention the US Constitution, they should make darn sure they know what they're talking about.
Other reviews, such as this one at Netjak complain about the N-Gage having simply too many features. Supposedly it's very battery-demanding, and you'll need to charge it more often than a GBA. In addition, somebody already mentioned here that changing the games is a pain. According to the review, you'll need to remove the battery for that, which supposedly is not encouraged.
To make matters worse, Gamerankings shows that the games for N-Gage are simply disastrous. Who would want to buy a $300 console when the games suck so much?
Slashdot Mirror
Now tell me, what benefits there are for us in switching from our current Win98SE/Win NT 4 machines, which we are all very familiar with, to WinXP/2000? And if there are any benefits, do they offset the costs?
I personally answered the first question with "increased security" and the second with "no". There's nothing stubborn about sticking with Win98SE; it's just common sense.
Actually, the European DVD called "Director's Cut" does have the violence. I've got both DVDs, and while the European version is also censored, some borderline scenes, which are not included in the US version, found their way into the European version.
Both movies are censored, compared to the European version. In the case of Blade Runner Director's Cut, the US version has some excess violence removed. As for Basic Instinct, some of the more racy parts of the sex scenes are missing, even from the so-called "Uncensored" US version. Again, compared with the European version.
I don't know about others, but in my case it's a combination of two factors. First, I have a low-end Win98 machine. I was told that ripping a movie, cropping it to what I want and burning it can take over a day. As a result, I never actually bothered to learn how to rip a movie (this is the second factor), and so it's faster and more convenient to simply download the movie overnight.
Nice that the MPAA acknowledges the problem. Too bad that some members still don't do anything to remedy this situation. They still didn't give me what I wanted:
Are you a baggage handler by any chance? ;) According to the new rules, you are not supposed to lock your check-in baggage, and if you do, the screeners are allowed to break the lock. I've had enough friends and family members finding that this way things were stolen from their baggage, especially when they flew overseas. As a result, the only think I'm still comfortable with putting into my luggage is my underwear.
Not true. First, adventure gaming is far from dead; in fact, it is becoming a second life. This year I played about a donez new adventure games. Some of the best included Dark Fall and Post Mortem, both of which were point-and-click puzzle orgies. The you have the traditional caqrtoonish 2D games, like Runaway: A Road Adventure. And for those who strive for some more classic entertainment, there's the excellent freeware Space Quest 0: Replicated and games from Tierra (a.k.a. AGD Interactive).
As for "threatening" to not buy certain games, it was not a threat; I simply stated a fact. If there is a product I don't like, I won't buy it; fair and simple. Without commercial adventures out there, I'd actually save money, so in a sense I'm pretty neutral on whether adventures survive or not. However, I see absolutely no reason for me to change my tastes, only to be "progressive", or "go with the herd", as I like to call it.
Not exactly true. I agree that adventure games are a niche genre, and that they most likely remain such in the near future. However, what you describe as shortcomings I see as features, and the main reason why I buy adventure games.
Let's take your example, action in adventure games. There are already so many action games that if I want to play a nice, point-and-click game where it doesn't matter how bad my hand-eye coordination is (it is in fact so bad that I never finished games like Diablo), all I can get is adventure games. If they incorporated the "new ideas", the genre would be dead for me, and I'd end up replaying older titles and stop buying games altogether. As such, adventure publishers are doing the right thing by refusing to get their games tainted by outside influences: they are cattering to people like me and filling a void in the market. Maybe they'll never sell as many copies as big action games, adventures, in their pure form, are here to stay.
You can't really annotate, underline or highlight text easily on the screen. Paper is much easier to handle and distribute to others when I need to.
Comes down to 200-300 pages per day, courtesy of big brokerage logos and useless graphs on the end of each report. Assuming an average of 250 pages, a box of paper from Staples lasts about a month ;)
I'm not saying that everybody who has high download bandwidth usage and low upload usage is innocent; there are a lot of leechers who do just that. However, there's so many file sharers that with my low upload usage I dropped off the list of people my provider was after.
I indeed do. I love the soundtracks to the Might and Magic games (especially 6 through 8), Heroes of Might and Magic series, Age of Empires series and others. All these soundtracks have two things in common: they are original and coherent. They work as one piece, and are not as eclectic as most sports soundtracks. They do what soundtracks are supposed to do - enhancing the atmosphere of the game.
I've tried WinXP, and found it very frustrating. Rather than learning how to configure things, such as installing software to be accessible to all users, disabling that damn "You've got too many icons on your desktop" message and dozens of other annoyances, I decided a WinXP computer was not for me and instead kept my older machine.
Of course, I do understand that some people need certain features that are available only in better operating systems, but let's face it: productivity software has very little new to offer, and sticking to an older version is not only cheaper, but also more efficient, as the user is already used to that particlular interface and features.
Well, that's something I really don't realize. It is my belief that these rules are negotiable. You can always say "no" to those rules, and I take great pleasure in doing so. It saves me a lot of money, refusing to purchase software from companies that apply rules that I don't like, such as UBI Soft.
You are right, and I, too, believe that the no-backup clause goes against the US copyright law. However, I'm the kind of person who'll follow the rules he agrees to, no matter how stupid. I reserve the right to agree or disagree with said rules, but once I agree, it's over for me. But that may just be me...
Ubi's EULA is one of the most restrictive in the industry, which is why I don't buy their games anymore. Unlike other large publishers, such as Infogrames, which routinely include the permission to make a single backup copy, UBI expressly forbids making backup copies, modifying the game, creating and distributing "unauthorized levels and/or scenarios", and many other things. While I am aware that EULAs may not have a legaly-binding power, I personally would feel bad if I didn't follow something I agreed to, which is why you won't find any recent game released by UBI Soft on my computer.
The problem is that they have to first define what constitutes an abuse of the system. And knowing how restrictive some of the countries are, there is a danger that the expression of political dissent, among other things, would be defined as abuse, and then their effort isn't such a good thing anymore.
Quite frankly, I can't tell you whether the game deserved a 6.5 or not, as I am a 100% PC gamer. However, considering that average is 5, 6.5 is a pretty good, above average score. Anything above 7.5 is excellent, and anything above 9 is an instant classic. I have yet to rate a PC game that highly...
On one hand, with a single dominant company we are likely to get more visitors who are disenchanted with them. Before, manly people (not all, of course) went to IGN if they disliked GameSpy and vice versa; now they'll spread out over the smaller sites, and we are likely to get a piece of the pie. In addition, publishers will most likely catter to smaller sites more, as they won't stand idle while a marketing channel is getting monopolized.
On the other hand, this merger does have some negative effects on me as a reviewer and a gamer. First, the new company would have enough leverage to try to push us out of the gaming field or acquire us, mainly by signing exclusive deals with publishers. Second, they'll have much more resources to overhype a game, which will result into high-quality titles (adventures, wargames, turn-based strategies) being pushed even further into background, killing of their developers and offering a smaller choice of games for me.
Gaming is just like watching movies or reading books. It's entertainment that is usually engaging enough to command all your attention. For some reason, however, most people get really surprised when I draw this comparison, and only those who are willing to think about it for a minute agree with me. Maybe the IGDA should target the people who are willing to think first and add some intellectual challenge back into games.
Microsoft should fire the person responsible for the "Sparkle" name ($10 says it's the same who came out with "Clippy") and hire somebody who would give it a more impressive name, such as "Lighting".
For now, cash doesn't have RFID chips, and as long as you don't use frequent shopper cards or credit cards, the "talking cart" won't be able to identify you. While it'll still give you some generic advice, more personalized (and potentially embarrassing) advice won't be available.
Enlighten me, please, how does buying Viagra support the Internet?
I think you are confusing two issues here. On one side, you have the Web sites I want to visit and products I want to buy. I am fully aware that nothing is for free, and because of that I don't complain about banners or fees, if the Web sites contain information I want to access. In fact, when the site is really helpful to me, I click on banners even though I have not the slightest interest in the products advertised, only to increase the site's revenues.
On the other side, you have Web sites and products that I don't want to buy. I don't visit those sites, and I don't buy such products. As such, I don't own them anything, and thus I do my best to fight against their aggressive marketing campaign. If anything, they put additional burned on the Internet infrastructure without paying their share to "support the 'net" (if there is such a concept in the first place).
Last time I checked, the US Constitution didn't expressly prohibit companies to copyright facts and scientific data. The whole article sounds a little too overblown to me (sounds almost like Indymedia stuff), but if they mention the US Constitution, they should make darn sure they know what they're talking about.
To make matters worse, Gamerankings shows that the games for N-Gage are simply disastrous. Who would want to buy a $300 console when the games suck so much?