"The group discounted the recent wave of worms, viruses and other attacks that have affected Windows systems worldwide. It confined the study to overt digital attacks by hackers."
Hackers don't do Windows: it's just too easy; BSDs are viewed more as trophies than anything useful; and Linux is the most popular of the alternative OS, and one very used by the common hacker, so it makes sense that they target it more frequently.
My point: it's not the OS fault for these statistics, it's the common hacker mentality; if they included viruses and worms, Windows would surely come first, because it is, technically at least, the less secure OS of them all.
(yes, yes, not all blackhats use Linux, and it isn't just blackhats that use Linux, but I'm talking about the hacking/cracking/defacing/whatever you want to call it community in general)
Hum Tone: Requires the client to deliver a hum resonance while blowing the alcohol test prior to starting the vehicle. Deters techniques utilized to mimic human breath or to absorb alcohol.
For those complaining about "rolling retests":
Random or Fixed Retest: Programmable. The client is alerted and given a grace period to retest after the vehicle is put into the run state. The test can be delivered while operating the vehicle or after pulling off the road. Breath test refusal or failure is recorded and sanctions are imposed, including honking of the car's horn. Deters drinking after completing a sober start and vehicle idling at bars.
Disabling the damn thing:
Bypass Detect: If a vehicle is started and the breath test is not passed, the horn will begin honking until the vehicle is turned off or a breath test is successfully completed. All events are recorded. Deters hot-wiring and push-starting of vehicles.
Events Log: A built-in memory chip records all events associated with the use or misuse of the device. Reports are generated through a personal computer in a summary and complete hard-copy format.
Power Interrupt: A dated record, in the event 12 volt power has been disconnected or interrupted. The device maintains memory through an onboard back-up lithium battery. This condition (other than tampering) can occur when a vehicle's battery is disconnected due to repairs or is replaced. Clients are required to provide documentation of repairs.
I can't say that I agree -- or disagree -- with this bill, but that's only because I don't know enough details about it, since Slashdot is such an unreliable news source (new here, yes). The technical features of the ignition interlockers can probably bypassed by some smart hackers, sure, but it surprises me -- OK, not really, heh -- that the Slashdot crowd didn't consider that there would be safeguards against the most obvious fallacies of these things.
"Perhaps tougher penalties and larger fines for people who actually drive drunk would be a better idea."
Yeah, the death penalty! Fear of punishment: that sure will prevent drunk people from acting drunk! Yee haa!
Shouldn't be too hard to get into iTunes as a registered artist, redeem the winning caps and get free Pepsi. Add some caps harvesting and you could probably collect a healthy sum of dollars too.
Sounds too obvious to me, there is probably something wrong in my reasoning... I guess.
Maybe RIAA could get some cash inflow this way so that they don't have to sue kiddies?;)
* Windows installer
* New download manager
* Work Offline
* Add Bookmark dialog: recent-folders dropdown and folder-selection tree (replacing a single dropdown listing all folders)
* DOM Inspector is now included in zip builds
* IDN support
* IPv6 support on Windows 2000/XP/2003
Major improvements
* 220807 - prompt user about invalid text/plain content. (Solves most problems like "Firebird tries to display some.rar files instead of downloading them.")
* 214266 - Find should wrap by default
* 217286 - Cookie whitelist should override session cookie option.
* 142459(?) - Shift+click and middle-click on scroll bar should jump to that location
* 214260 - XPInstall UI improvements
* 33282 - enable external scheme handlers (like aim: and telnet:) in Linux
* 6% faster page loading (comparing December to September on a Tp (pageloader time) graph)
Important bug fixes
* 210910 - Right-clicking a file within a bookmarks folder in the bookmarks menu or toolbar makes that folder inaccessible.
* 203102 - URL typed into address bar lost after switching tabs; "Open in new tab" should prefill URI in address bar.
* 222157 - View Source: Find and Save don't work.
* 213250 - Autoscroll prevents middle clicking on links in XML (XHTML) documents.
* 224416 - Tabs don't remember focused element.
* 216170 - Send Page (as Link) omits query string
* 98564 - caret overlaps the last character in textfield (if positioned after the last char).
* 212366 - Make -moz-opacity apply to descendants as a group, as required by CSS3 opacity
* 219705 - Linux: Blackdown Java crashes, saying "Internal error on browser end".
* 102578 - Linux: Clicking wrongfully fires onmouseout (breaks some dhtml menus, css/edge menus)
* 201209 - GTK2: -moz-opacity makes things invisible.
... and much more! You can also download a non-installer (.zip) build based on official installer build here and if you look around in the MozillaZine Firefox Builds Forum there's some Windows/Linux Firefox 0.8 builds optimized for AthlonXP/P4/P3/P2/whatever you have.
Adblock for Mozilla and Firebird is a very robust and precise content-filterer that allows users to specify filters which remove unwanted content based on the source-address (ex.: *doubleclick*, */ad*, *.swf, http://www.goatse.cx/*) and much, much more. It blocks anything that can be seen in a browser.
You want to lose some weight? You stop eating like a fatass and you go outside.
I disagree. You assume that people have an iron will; they don't. By your logic, anyone would just do anything that they wanted to: common people would come together and make sacrifices for the greater good, weak people would join a Shaolin temple, shy people would host big social parties, depressed people would walk about happily tapdancing on the streets, violent people would make love, not war, etc -- but obviously, it doesn't happen that way, since, well, they don't want to, because they lack a good reason to do so. The bigger problem that overweight people have is lack of motivation: what happens frequently is they gather enough courage to try and moderate their food comsuption and do some regular exercise for 1 or 2 weeks, don't get immediate noticeable results and quit frustratred at themselves. What this machine offers is a way for fat gamers (and non-fat gamers too!) to do some exercise, without changing too much their daily routine, and having some fun while they're at it -- like hiding the pill in the dog's food so that he doesn't make noise about it, -- which, if you actually experiment it and not just theorize about it, can be vital to help induce the person to live a healthier lifestyle. Afterall, it's no secret that most self-built sucessful people have high levels of confidence and motivation.
Funny, Carmageddon is one of my favourite games too.
I have never, ever, EVER done something even remotely as stupid on the road as I have in the game.
Neither have I. But, as I posted, it wasn't really a conscient decision in the case I quoted, it was more of a "why not?" reality lapse that almost ended in tragedy. Not exactly something to get alarmed about, just a more extreme case to exalt my point. For example, the worse that ever happened to me when I had one of these "game/reality lapses," was trying to do a rocket jump on a imaginary keyboard while I was seeing someone play Quake -- not exactly life threatning, or exciting, for that matter.
People have driven like morons since the 20's (...) and nobody has ever needed GTA or Carmageddon or whatever to inspire them to do so.
I believe that this kind of games does soften normal people to the idea of driving wildly through the streets, but obviously, reality intervenes quite quickly. But, nevertheless, we can't deny that it affects us.
One of my points was "what the hell does donating to the children in need have to do with violent games? Why is Penny Arcade associating one thing with the other?"
One of my points was "what the hell does donating to the children in need have to do with violent games? Why is Penny Arcade associating one thing with the other?"
Obviously, you missed it by a couple of hectacres.
So, you're taking an example of someone that acted on impulse, doing something I see people do every day, and saying that people may have justification for their fear of game players?
I think the conservative talk heads are starting to get to you. Where the hell did I wrote that? That's you speaking, not me. What I wrote was that it's true that when people spend the whole day playing a videogame, it takes some time (minutes, hours or a couple of days) to readapt to the more common reality. I know this because, as a hardcore gamer, I have personally experienced this, and know of many people who have experienced what I described as well. Obviously, the person I quoted is a more extreme example of what I'm saying, but that was only to exalt my point.
Phobias can be treated in many ways, and with people that have a good sense of distinction between reality and non-reality, video games won't work as treatment, because the phobia won't be as strong (if it exists at all) with the game as it is in real life.
You say that as if the treatment worked at a conscious level. Naturally, the person knows that what it sees on the screen is not real, just as you know that the words you're reading aren't really there, but the body doesn't. That is why it's so effective, as I wrote in my post, it is an interactive audiovisual experience that can be used to manipulate one's senses in order to achieve alternative mind states.
The military uses games both for situation analysis and to teach people how to work in a cohesive group in a combat situation. It's much cheaper than full war games (going out with real equipment and simulating a battle), but doesn't replace either that or any of the numerous other methods they use to bring troops together. In the end, it's about making soldiers work on instinct, with as many different tools as are available. The games don't train the soldiers to shoot, or even to be efficient soldiers, they simply help reinforce their training in situations that may be expensive, dangerous, or impossible to reproduce outside of video games or actual war-time situations.
I agree.
Overall, your primary example proves one thing: people need impulse control and those without it will often blame anything for their lack of impulse control. If I followed every impulse I ever had, I would've been in jail long before video games got more complicated or realistic than the first Super Mario Bros.
Exactly, and what I said was that videogames temporarily weaken our capacity to evaluate what we should or shouldn't do. However, I disagree with "[people] will often blame anything for their lack of impulse control," at least in this case, due to the reasons I already stated. Anyways, since the effect is only temporary, it's hardly going to become an international epidemic of catastrophic consequences, so it's really no big deal, but it would be nice if people admitted that it's true.
No, no, no, you got it all wrong. Sit down. Take a deep breath. That's it, inhale. Read what I wrote again. I've been a gamer for several years. I'm a Counterstrike and Everquest player; I was making fun of myself and generalizing about the community, and since this is Slashdot, I doubt anyone here doesn't know that there are also moderate gamers who don't act that way -- like you knew. The "Don't allow more than 3 hours of gaming per day. Force them to take breaks. Make 'em exercise. Beat the shit out of them," is painfully obviously satire (I was getting tired of sounding self-righteous, so that was to lighten up the mood of the post a bit). And "if violent videogames didn't made me violent, I wouldn't play them," is just my personal motto, and obviously doesn't enclose every gamer -- that's why it says 'me'.
Well, here's a hopefully insightful quote, taken from the comments on this article at Game Girl Advance, about how, when people spend too much time playing a realistic videogame without breaks, they subconsciencely blend elements of the gaming reality into their perception of the mundane world (for a short period of time):
------------- (...) I was playing GTA 3 obsessively since the day I bought it. And usually, I am a careful, courteous, safety-conscious driver.
One night, on the way to a gig, we approached an intersection. The lights were green, but someone in front of me slowed, waiting for oncoming traffic to abate so they could turn.
A car in the lane next to me was barely behind me, almost right in my blind spot. What I should have done is stopped, waited for them to pass, then continued. But I didn't. On a sudden impulse, I sped up towards the stationary car, then suddenly cut between it and the unsuspecting vehicle beside me, leaving a space of what must have been inches between the corners of the 3 cars, a move that if only a split-second mis-timed, would have been a 3-car pile up.
My passenger said "JESUS CHRIST, DUDE!!!". The driver I cut in front of braked loudly and honked reproachfully. And then I realised -- that dangerous move was something I often did in the videogame. I had actually risked the lives of real people, by unconsciously using a learned behaviour from an action game.
I was shocked, and chastened. I now drive ultra-responsibly with an extra layer of "thought censorship" on my impulses. Because I don't trust my mind anymore.
I don't believe the game would drive people to violence, in fact I don't even blame the game for what I did. Rather, it's a more an aspect of my own dizzy perception of reality. However, I am giving serious thought to leaving the more "realistic" games out of my gaming time from now on. -------------
I think everyone has already heard the "if Pacman affected us as kids, we'd all run around in a darkened room munching pills and listening to repetitive music" quote, but the fact is realistic videogames affect us in more ways than we want to admit. People need to gripe the fact that videogames are an interactive audiovisual experience that can be used to manipulate one's senses in order to achieve alternative mind states. Otherwise, how could videogame technology be used to cure people suffering from acute phobias by showing them a computer simulation of their fears, or to help train pilots and military personnel?
...or at least that's what the gaming industry says. This is so much bullshit. Let's be honest, if violent games didn't made me violent, I wouldn't play them. So, how exactly does helping the sick children of Seattle (awww... so heart warming...) change that fact? Sorry, but "we think of the children" schemes don't soften me up. The gaming industry obviously has an interest in this, and Penny Arcade is blatently biased too (who pays their advertising? Who's their user base?). And since when does anyone believe that gamers are inexplicably evil? Why do we even try to argument with those who believe so?
Anyways, my advice for the parents? Buy offline multiplayer games. The most fun I've ever had in my 11 years as a gamer (and counting) was playing Mortal Kombat II or Micro Machines V3 for a couple of hours with some friends when I was 12 (sure, MKII was for 18+, but that only added to the thrill). On the other hand, online games, like Counterstrike and Everquest, are time sinks, they retard your child's social growth, stunt their social skills, turn them into mindless, unimaginative, illiterate, loud-mouthed assholes with no fucking life (join a Counterstrike server and you'll understand immediately that my generalization isn't that far-fetched).
There are good and bad games for the children, but, like everything in life, they're all harmful if played in excess. Don't try to ban videogames in your house, teach your children good gaming habits instead. Don't allow more than 3 hours of gaming per day. Force them to take breaks. Make 'em exercise. Beat the shit out of them, if needed, even if that makes them bitter and spiteful against you; they may think of you as an asshole and never thank you, but at least you'll know that you've done the right thing.
Heh, but seriously, violent videogames shouldn't be played by children (but they are played and marketed for children anyways). Restrict them to adults and enforce those restrictions. The parents have better things to do than overseeing every move their children make. End of story. It's that simple, really.
Anyone who knows of more good, free online comics links, or of some little know starving underground artists with godlike skills, feel free to add to this list! (note: excessive use of adjectives due to attempt of avoidance of the overwhelmingly troublesome, inflammatory, odious, objectionable, innefective, senseless, inappropriate, obtuse, antisocial, disjunctive, annoying, obnoxious, irritating, monotonous, wearisome, dull, dispirited, lackluster, uninspired, babble bubble bobble, puzzling, bewildering, headache-inducing, useless, stupid, lame slashdot usefulness filter.)
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What if I just let the camera take a shot of something else other than my head? After all, the camera can't tell the difference between feet and face. And what if the employeers try to take upskirt shots with these cameras? I can sense a whole new voyeur trend coming...
Well, according to ex-mozilla employee list one of the coders was:
- Driving an Alfa Romeo Spider, inspired by Dustin Hoffmans drive across the San Mateo bridge in "The Graduate", with a Netscape sticker
- Drinking 8 cans of soda a day and building a freakin replica of the golden gate bridge
- Doing bbqs at 5 Eden Avenue, Sunnyvale
- Kegs of guinness at above address
- Having the police turn up at above address - not to stop the party, but to check out Mike McQues Hummer
- 'Video conferencing' with parents back home in Ireland by sitting in front of Fish Cam!
- Heading with netscapees Tom Pixley and Rob Larrubio to Vegas to see U2 perform on the opening night on the Pop Mart tour, and getting more wasted than he has ever been in his life at 'Manhattan' in the New York New York hotel!
- Nerf gun wars.
- Duke Nuken wars.
- Mario Super Kart wars.
- Being interviewed or filmed once a week, and getting annoyed by it
- Writing a script that spat out random numbers on the screen for the film crews to get excited about
- Touring Be when they had 10 employees - and then getting a BeBox
- Taping up PABs monitor when he screwed up
- Beer Busts, and then going on the piss in Palo Alto with the cute admin girl from his building
Who ever mentioned the USA? I'm guessing he must be talking about Canada, because, honestly, with all this terrorist paranoia going on, I don't believe anyone nowadays can say with a straight face that free speech (the right to say something you might not like) currently exists in the USSA.
Slashdot Mirror
"The group discounted the recent wave of worms, viruses and other attacks that have affected Windows systems worldwide. It confined the study to overt digital attacks by hackers."
Hackers don't do Windows: it's just too easy; BSDs are viewed more as trophies than anything useful; and Linux is the most popular of the alternative OS, and one very used by the common hacker, so it makes sense that they target it more frequently.
My point: it's not the OS fault for these statistics, it's the common hacker mentality; if they included viruses and worms, Windows would surely come first, because it is, technically at least, the less secure OS of them all.
(yes, yes, not all blackhats use Linux, and it isn't just blackhats that use Linux, but I'm talking about the hacking/cracking/defacing/whatever you want to call it community in general)
Why do I feel like this is the beginning of the end?
Because you're paranoid. Heh.
For those who say "use a baloon full of air":
Hum Tone: Requires the client to deliver a hum resonance while blowing the alcohol test prior to starting the vehicle. Deters techniques utilized to mimic human breath or to absorb alcohol.
For those complaining about "rolling retests":
Random or Fixed Retest: Programmable. The client is alerted and given a grace period to retest after the vehicle is put into the run state. The test can be delivered while operating the vehicle or after pulling off the road. Breath test refusal or failure is recorded and sanctions are imposed, including honking of the car's horn. Deters drinking after completing a sober start and vehicle idling at bars.
Disabling the damn thing:
Bypass Detect: If a vehicle is started and the breath test is not passed, the horn will begin honking until the vehicle is turned off or a breath test is successfully completed. All events are recorded. Deters hot-wiring and push-starting of vehicles.
Events Log: A built-in memory chip records all events associated with the use or misuse of the device. Reports are generated through a personal computer in a summary and complete hard-copy format.
Power Interrupt: A dated record, in the event 12 volt power has been disconnected or interrupted. The device maintains memory through an onboard back-up lithium battery. This condition (other than tampering) can occur when a vehicle's battery is disconnected due to repairs or is replaced. Clients are required to provide documentation of repairs.
(data from here)
I can't say that I agree -- or disagree -- with this bill, but that's only because I don't know enough details about it, since Slashdot is such an unreliable news source (new here, yes). The technical features of the ignition interlockers can probably bypassed by some smart hackers, sure, but it surprises me -- OK, not really, heh -- that the Slashdot crowd didn't consider that there would be safeguards against the most obvious fallacies of these things.
"Perhaps tougher penalties and larger fines for people who actually drive drunk would be a better idea."
Yeah, the death penalty! Fear of punishment: that sure will prevent drunk people from acting drunk! Yee haa!
Shouldn't be too hard to get into iTunes as a registered artist, redeem the winning caps and get free Pepsi. Add some caps harvesting and you could probably collect a healthy sum of dollars too.
;)
Sounds too obvious to me, there is probably something wrong in my reasoning... I guess.
Maybe RIAA could get some cash inflow this way so that they don't have to sue kiddies?
(from Burning Edge)
.rar files instead of downloading them.")
... and much more!
New features
* Windows installer
* New download manager
* Work Offline
* Add Bookmark dialog: recent-folders dropdown and folder-selection tree (replacing a single dropdown listing all folders)
* DOM Inspector is now included in zip builds
* IDN support
* IPv6 support on Windows 2000/XP/2003
Major improvements
* 220807 - prompt user about invalid text/plain content. (Solves most problems like "Firebird tries to display some
* 214266 - Find should wrap by default
* 217286 - Cookie whitelist should override session cookie option.
* 142459(?) - Shift+click and middle-click on scroll bar should jump to that location
* 214260 - XPInstall UI improvements
* 33282 - enable external scheme handlers (like aim: and telnet:) in Linux
* 6% faster page loading (comparing December to September on a Tp (pageloader time) graph)
Important bug fixes
* 210910 - Right-clicking a file within a bookmarks folder in the bookmarks menu or toolbar makes that folder inaccessible.
* 203102 - URL typed into address bar lost after switching tabs; "Open in new tab" should prefill URI in address bar.
* 222157 - View Source: Find and Save don't work.
* 213250 - Autoscroll prevents middle clicking on links in XML (XHTML) documents.
* 224416 - Tabs don't remember focused element.
* 216170 - Send Page (as Link) omits query string
* 98564 - caret overlaps the last character in textfield (if positioned after the last char).
* 212366 - Make -moz-opacity apply to descendants as a group, as required by CSS3 opacity
* 219705 - Linux: Blackdown Java crashes, saying "Internal error on browser end".
* 102578 - Linux: Clicking wrongfully fires onmouseout (breaks some dhtml menus, css/edge menus)
* 201209 - GTK2: -moz-opacity makes things invisible.
You can also download a non-installer (.zip) build based on official installer build here and if you look around in the MozillaZine Firefox Builds Forum there's some Windows/Linux Firefox 0.8 builds optimized for AthlonXP/P4/P3/P2/whatever you have.
Adblock for Mozilla and Firebird is a very robust and precise content-filterer that allows users to specify filters which remove unwanted content based on the source-address (ex.: *doubleclick*, */ad*, *.swf, http://www.goatse.cx/*) and much, much more. It blocks anything that can be seen in a browser.
You want to lose some weight? You stop eating like a fatass and you go outside.
I disagree. You assume that people have an iron will; they don't. By your logic, anyone would just do anything that they wanted to: common people would come together and make sacrifices for the greater good, weak people would join a Shaolin temple, shy people would host big social parties, depressed people would walk about happily tapdancing on the streets, violent people would make love, not war, etc -- but obviously, it doesn't happen that way, since, well, they don't want to, because they lack a good reason to do so. The bigger problem that overweight people have is lack of motivation: what happens frequently is they gather enough courage to try and moderate their food comsuption and do some regular exercise for 1 or 2 weeks, don't get immediate noticeable results and quit frustratred at themselves. What this machine offers is a way for fat gamers (and non-fat gamers too!) to do some exercise, without changing too much their daily routine, and having some fun while they're at it -- like hiding the pill in the dog's food so that he doesn't make noise about it, -- which, if you actually experiment it and not just theorize about it, can be vital to help induce the person to live a healthier lifestyle. Afterall, it's no secret that most self-built sucessful people have high levels of confidence and motivation.
That's why all the gimmickry.
Funny, Carmageddon is one of my favourite games too.
I have never, ever, EVER done something even remotely as stupid on the road as I have in the game.
Neither have I. But, as I posted, it wasn't really a conscient decision in the case I quoted, it was more of a "why not?" reality lapse that almost ended in tragedy. Not exactly something to get alarmed about, just a more extreme case to exalt my point. For example, the worse that ever happened to me when I had one of these "game/reality lapses," was trying to do a rocket jump on a imaginary keyboard while I was seeing someone play Quake -- not exactly life threatning, or exciting, for that matter.
People have driven like morons since the 20's (...) and nobody has ever needed GTA or Carmageddon or whatever to inspire them to do so.
I believe that this kind of games does soften normal people to the idea of driving wildly through the streets, but obviously, reality intervenes quite quickly. But, nevertheless, we can't deny that it affects us.
One of my points was "what the hell does donating to the children in need have to do with violent games? Why is Penny Arcade associating one thing with the other?"
Obviously, you missed it by a couple of hectares.
I still don't see how donating to charity is going to make gamers look better in the eyes of society in general, as Penny Arcade hopes.
One of my points was "what the hell does donating to the children in need have to do with violent games? Why is Penny Arcade associating one thing with the other?"
Obviously, you missed it by a couple of hectacres.
So, you're taking an example of someone that acted on impulse, doing something I see people do every day, and saying that people may have justification for their fear of game players?
I think the conservative talk heads are starting to get to you. Where the hell did I wrote that? That's you speaking, not me. What I wrote was that it's true that when people spend the whole day playing a videogame, it takes some time (minutes, hours or a couple of days) to readapt to the more common reality. I know this because, as a hardcore gamer, I have personally experienced this, and know of many people who have experienced what I described as well. Obviously, the person I quoted is a more extreme example of what I'm saying, but that was only to exalt my point.
Phobias can be treated in many ways, and with people that have a good sense of distinction between reality and non-reality, video games won't work as treatment, because the phobia won't be as strong (if it exists at all) with the game as it is in real life.
You say that as if the treatment worked at a conscious level. Naturally, the person knows that what it sees on the screen is not real, just as you know that the words you're reading aren't really there, but the body doesn't. That is why it's so effective, as I wrote in my post, it is an interactive audiovisual experience that can be used to manipulate one's senses in order to achieve alternative mind states.
The military uses games both for situation analysis and to teach people how to work in a cohesive group in a combat situation. It's much cheaper than full war games (going out with real equipment and simulating a battle), but doesn't replace either that or any of the numerous other methods they use to bring troops together. In the end, it's about making soldiers work on instinct, with as many different tools as are available. The games don't train the soldiers to shoot, or even to be efficient soldiers, they simply help reinforce their training in situations that may be expensive, dangerous, or impossible to reproduce outside of video games or actual war-time situations.
I agree.
Overall, your primary example proves one thing: people need impulse control and those without it will often blame anything for their lack of impulse control. If I followed every impulse I ever had, I would've been in jail long before video games got more complicated or realistic than the first Super Mario Bros.
Exactly, and what I said was that videogames temporarily weaken our capacity to evaluate what we should or shouldn't do. However, I disagree with "[people] will often blame anything for their lack of impulse control," at least in this case, due to the reasons I already stated. Anyways, since the effect is only temporary, it's hardly going to become an international epidemic of catastrophic consequences, so it's really no big deal, but it would be nice if people admitted that it's true.
That was because it wasn't satire for the entire post; just those parts I highlighted. Humor should always be part of any serious discussion.
No, no, no, you got it all wrong. Sit down. Take a deep breath. That's it, inhale. Read what I wrote again. I've been a gamer for several years. I'm a Counterstrike and Everquest player; I was making fun of myself and generalizing about the community, and since this is Slashdot, I doubt anyone here doesn't know that there are also moderate gamers who don't act that way -- like you knew. The "Don't allow more than 3 hours of gaming per day. Force them to take breaks. Make 'em exercise. Beat the shit out of them," is painfully obviously satire (I was getting tired of sounding self-righteous, so that was to lighten up the mood of the post a bit). And "if violent videogames didn't made me violent, I wouldn't play them," is just my personal motto, and obviously doesn't enclose every gamer -- that's why it says 'me'.
Now exhale.
Well, here's a hopefully insightful quote, taken from the comments on this article at Game Girl Advance, about how, when people spend too much time playing a realistic videogame without breaks, they subconsciencely blend elements of the gaming reality into their perception of the mundane world (for a short period of time):
-------------
(...) I was playing GTA 3 obsessively since the day I bought it. And usually, I am a careful, courteous, safety-conscious driver.
One night, on the way to a gig, we approached an intersection. The lights were green, but someone in front of me slowed, waiting for oncoming traffic to abate so they could turn.
A car in the lane next to me was barely behind me, almost right in my blind spot. What I should have done is stopped, waited for them to pass, then continued. But I didn't. On a sudden impulse, I sped up towards the stationary car, then suddenly cut between it and the unsuspecting vehicle beside me, leaving a space of what must have been inches between the corners of the 3 cars, a move that if only a split-second mis-timed, would have been a 3-car pile up.
My passenger said "JESUS CHRIST, DUDE!!!". The driver I cut in front of braked loudly and honked reproachfully. And then I realised -- that dangerous move was something I often did in the videogame. I had actually risked the lives of real people, by unconsciously using a learned behaviour from an action game.
I was shocked, and chastened. I now drive ultra-responsibly with an extra layer of "thought censorship" on my impulses. Because I don't trust my mind anymore.
I don't believe the game would drive people to violence, in fact I don't even blame the game for what I did. Rather, it's a more an aspect of my own dizzy perception of reality. However, I am giving serious thought to leaving the more "realistic" games out of my gaming time from now on.
-------------
I think everyone has already heard the "if Pacman affected us as kids, we'd all run around in a darkened room munching pills and listening to repetitive music" quote, but the fact is realistic videogames affect us in more ways than we want to admit. People need to gripe the fact that videogames are an interactive audiovisual experience that can be used to manipulate one's senses in order to achieve alternative mind states. Otherwise, how could videogame technology be used to cure people suffering from acute phobias by showing them a computer simulation of their fears, or to help train pilots and military personnel?
It isn't just a game anymore.
...or at least that's what the gaming industry says. This is so much bullshit. Let's be honest, if violent games didn't made me violent, I wouldn't play them. So, how exactly does helping the sick children of Seattle (awww... so heart warming...) change that fact? Sorry, but "we think of the children" schemes don't soften me up. The gaming industry obviously has an interest in this, and Penny Arcade is blatently biased too (who pays their advertising? Who's their user base?). And since when does anyone believe that gamers are inexplicably evil? Why do we even try to argument with those who believe so?
Anyways, my advice for the parents? Buy offline multiplayer games. The most fun I've ever had in my 11 years as a gamer (and counting) was playing Mortal Kombat II or Micro Machines V3 for a couple of hours with some friends when I was 12 (sure, MKII was for 18+, but that only added to the thrill). On the other hand, online games, like Counterstrike and Everquest, are time sinks, they retard your child's social growth, stunt their social skills, turn them into mindless, unimaginative, illiterate, loud-mouthed assholes with no fucking life (join a Counterstrike server and you'll understand immediately that my generalization isn't that far-fetched).
There are good and bad games for the children, but, like everything in life, they're all harmful if played in excess. Don't try to ban videogames in your house, teach your children good gaming habits instead. Don't allow more than 3 hours of gaming per day. Force them to take breaks. Make 'em exercise. Beat the shit out of them, if needed, even if that makes them bitter and spiteful against you; they may think of you as an asshole and never thank you, but at least you'll know that you've done the right thing.
Heh, but seriously, violent videogames shouldn't be played by children (but they are played and marketed for children anyways). Restrict them to adults and enforce those restrictions. The parents have better things to do than overseeing every move their children make. End of story. It's that simple, really.
Underground Comics:
Daniel Clowes
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Ghost World (The Comic)
David Boring
20th Century Eightball
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Robert Crumb
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Book of Mr. Natural
The Life and Death of Fritz the Cat
Complete Crumb (several volumes)
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Harvey Pekar
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American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar
The New American Splendor Anthology
Our Cancer Year
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Maus: A Survivor's Tale (by Art Spiegelman)
Comic Culture:
Ghost World (the Terry Zwigoff movie based on the Daniel Clowes comic of the same name)
Crumb (a biography of underground comic artist Robert Crumb)
American Splendor (a biography of underground comic artist Harvey Pekar)
Online Comics:
Dilbert
Calvin and Hobbes
Ziggy
Sexy Losers (hentai parodies, Not Safe For Work)
This Modern World ("Fair and Balanced" political cartoons with a clear liberal slant)
The Editorial Cartoons of Clay Bennett (2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist)
Daryl Cagle's Professional Cartoonists Index (2003 Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist)
Anyone who knows of more good, free online comics links, or of some little know starving underground artists with godlike skills, feel free to add to this list! (note: excessive use of adjectives due to attempt of avoidance of the overwhelmingly troublesome, inflammatory, odious, objectionable, innefective, senseless, inappropriate, obtuse, antisocial, disjunctive, annoying, obnoxious, irritating, monotonous, wearisome, dull, dispirited, lackluster, uninspired, babble bubble bobble, puzzling, bewildering, headache-inducing, useless, stupid, lame slashdot usefulness filter.)
STEP 1. Beat someone up.
STEP 2. ?
STEP 3. Social progress!
Makes sense.
What if I just let the camera take a shot of something else other than my head? After all, the camera can't tell the difference between feet and face. And what if the employeers try to take upskirt shots with these cameras? I can sense a whole new voyeur trend coming...
Well, according to ex-mozilla employee list one of the coders was:
- Driving an Alfa Romeo Spider, inspired by Dustin Hoffmans drive across the San Mateo bridge in "The Graduate", with a Netscape sticker
- Drinking 8 cans of soda a day and building a freakin replica of the golden gate bridge
- Doing bbqs at 5 Eden Avenue, Sunnyvale
- Kegs of guinness at above address
- Having the police turn up at above address - not to stop the party, but to check out Mike McQues Hummer
- 'Video conferencing' with parents back home in Ireland by sitting in front of Fish Cam!
- Heading with netscapees Tom Pixley and Rob Larrubio to Vegas to see U2 perform on the opening night on the Pop Mart tour, and getting more wasted than he has ever been in his life at 'Manhattan' in the New York New York hotel!
- Nerf gun wars.
- Duke Nuken wars.
- Mario Super Kart wars.
- Being interviewed or filmed once a week, and getting annoyed by it
- Writing a script that spat out random numbers on the screen for the film crews to get excited about
- Touring Be when they had 10 employees - and then getting a BeBox
- Taping up PABs monitor when he screwed up
- Beer Busts, and then going on the piss in Palo Alto with the cute admin girl from his building
Coding not included.
No registration required link
"There's no way they can fit all that up her..."
I'm sorry, I digress...
Who in the hell funds hackers to write viruses that attack networks?
Their mom and dad.
Who ever mentioned the USA? I'm guessing he must be talking about Canada, because, honestly, with all this terrorist paranoia going on, I don't believe anyone nowadays can say with a straight face that free speech (the right to say something you might not like) currently exists in the USSA.
Some of the best times I had with my friends were playing poker or Risk.
You really hated your friends, didn't you?