And let's not forget Morrowind, which has a HUGE mod community fanbase. There are several total conversions for the game, as well as user-made mods that allow for literally 50+ more hours of gameplay, in addition to simple game tweaks/enhancements, of which there are hundreds. That game is now almost 4 years old, and sites devoted to the mod community get at *least* daily updates with new mods.
With the addition of a laptop in the last year, I've found myself going back and playing a lot of the older games I have (Anachronox, Civ 2, Diablo 2, etc.), since it's not much good for the likes of HL2 or even AoE3, for that matter. It's been fun revisiting good games that I played 10 years ago in a more casual setting, rather than glued to the PC screen in the basement.
Bad analogy. Once a unit is "sold", it doesn't get "unsold", at least in terms of Microsoft's sales figures. Temperatures fluctuate all the time. But I'm sure you knew this.;-)
You have to give your car oil changes and put gas in it, don't you? Turn on automatic Windows Updates, if you choose Windows as your OS (my in-laws wouldn't have a prayer with Linux or even Mac OS, believe it or not). That's the penalty for choosing that particular OS over some other one, just like choosing to drive a car vs. taking the bus or riding a bike.
OK, let's look at the two reasons stated in the article for turning over control to the UN.
"Some countries have been frustrated that the United States and European countries that got on the Internet first gobbled up most of the available addresses required for computers to connect, leaving developing nations with a limited supply to share."
This is a valid source of frustration, I can understand that. So let's wrest control of the physical machines from the country that controls them, rather than come up with a solution using diplomacy and democratic process! Sounds very, uh... US to me.
"They also want greater assurance that as they come to rely on the Internet more for governmental and other services, their plans won't get derailed by some future U.S. policy."
Translation: "We don't like what the US *MIGHT* do in the future, so let's launch a pre-emptive strike against them and take control away from them!"
Sounds a lot like a very unpopular war that was started a few years back, no? "Pre-emtpive" indeed. I thought you non-Americans were supposed to be so much more enlightened and smarter than the rest of us dumb USA-ians.
I'm not sure I give a hang WHO controls those machines. But so far, I think it's worked out pretty good, no? Are there problems? You betcha. Show me one thing in this world that exists on the scale of the Internet that doesn't have them. Add to that the fact that the UN isn't worth the collective piss in the bladders of those representatives that comprise it. See Darfur, Rwanda, Iraq, or any other slew of "UN actions" (or "inactions", as the case may be) that proved to be utterly futile and ineffective.
This is all from someone who vehemently opposes the war in Iraq and a great deal of his own governments policies when it comes to both domestic and international relations, so remember that before you get on your high-horse and assume that all Americans want to keep control of the servers simply because "they're ours". We have a saying here. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Show me how exactly that it's "broken" in such a way that control should be *seized* from those who currently have it (regardless of who that may be), and that the UN is inifinitely better suited for such a task, and I might be willing to concede to your viewpoint. If the French were currently controlling it, and it worked exactly like it was now, I'd be perfectly happy to let them keep at it.
Right, I would agree with that definition as well. I should have made it more clear than the quotes that I didn't necessarily call something like using a boost from your buddy "cheating" any more than a rocket jump, which is akin to the same thing. If anything, it's teamwork.
And if both sides are doing something I don't particularly agree with on a moral standpoint (ok, maybe it's not "cheating", but it sure takes the fun out of it), then I just choose not to play on that server anymore. If they are in fact cheating (wallhack, aimbot, etc.), then I might bitch about it. Or if the server states "No spawn camping" - ok, maybe not cheating, but it sure sucks the fun out of a game, I'll probably complain. There are plenty of servers that both allow and encourage spawn camping, spawn campers should play on those servers. If the server allows it, then so be it, that's my choice to play or not play on that server.
I hate "cheaters" as much as the next person. But I would have to agree with the grandparent's post, that level design should account for such things. I think it's using terrain/available objects to your advantage if you can climb on a comrade's shoulder to access a higher place, for example.
If we want to argue that games are becoming more and more like real life, if I'm in a combat situation, I'd do whatever it took to get myself the upper hand. Unlike real life, however, there aren't any "laws" (to use your analogy) that say you can or can't use a method like that to gain an advantage, unless the server specifically states that when you join it.
Deliberately hacking code or using scripted cheats, however, is another matter. That's maliciously exploiting programming and altering it to gain an unfair advantage, in a way that is not available to everyone else - the definition of "unfair", I think. That then falls under the realm of "fix it" in terms of the coders/developers need to address that certain vulnerability.
Not sure I'd consider "Alice in Wonderland" a kids book per se... there're a lot of adult themes in the original story, including drug references (although he was not under the influence of any illicit drugs when he wrote AIW, contrary to popular belief), beheadings, disobedience of authority (how shocking!), etc. I'd let my kids read it, but I think that an adult can get as much out of it as a kid, on a wholly different level.
That said, I thought the AM's Alice was a great game, that I thought paid appropriate tribute to the original story but took it in a new direction that created a world I wanted to explore and know more about.
They're everywhere. Booth babes are at just about every type of convention you can imagine - I worked an insurance convention a few years ago - there were booth babes there. Not as many as you might see at a car show or E3, but there were plenty.
There are lots of them out there. My brother bought me one from the Discovery Channel store 4 years ago for Christmas. (Can't find a link to it right now, can't remember the manufacturer.)
This Promtpu one has some nifty features like the "Find..." thing, but I can honestly say that the one I have is a PITA to use. More trouble than it's worth, especially considering my wife would have to train it to respond to her voice as well, and she doesn't have the patience for that.
Yes, but Sony isn't going to/can't count on people to do this, they'd have to be going with the idea of people buying CF cards at current market cost. So it would seem that's a pretty steep assumption to make about Joe Average console owner.
This is assuming that CF/flash memory cards in general are the answer to playing FFXI on the PStwo, which I guess remains to be seen.
Slashdot Mirror
And let's not forget Morrowind, which has a HUGE mod community fanbase. There are several total conversions for the game, as well as user-made mods that allow for literally 50+ more hours of gameplay, in addition to simple game tweaks/enhancements, of which there are hundreds. That game is now almost 4 years old, and sites devoted to the mod community get at *least* daily updates with new mods.
Anachronox
Half-Life (& HL2)
Civ 2
Morrowind (& expansions & mods)
Wolf:ET
Diablo 2
GTA:Vice City
With the addition of a laptop in the last year, I've found myself going back and playing a lot of the older games I have (Anachronox, Civ 2, Diablo 2, etc.), since it's not much good for the likes of HL2 or even AoE3, for that matter. It's been fun revisiting good games that I played 10 years ago in a more casual setting, rather than glued to the PC screen in the basement.
Bad analogy. Once a unit is "sold", it doesn't get "unsold", at least in terms of Microsoft's sales figures. Temperatures fluctuate all the time. But I'm sure you knew this. ;-)
They weren't the only one, see a few posts up.
This accurately describes the *last* time I helped my mother-in-law with a computer problem. I'm not very patient, I need to try harder at that. ;-)
You have to give your car oil changes and put gas in it, don't you? Turn on automatic Windows Updates, if you choose Windows as your OS (my in-laws wouldn't have a prayer with Linux or even Mac OS, believe it or not). That's the penalty for choosing that particular OS over some other one, just like choosing to drive a car vs. taking the bus or riding a bike.
Well, you can add me to that list, so I guess there's three of us... :)
"Bart! Butter up that bacon!"
Bart complies
"Bart! Bacon up that sausage!"
Bart groans and complies
And IIRC, Bart's second groan before he complies is accompanied by him saying "But Dad, my heart hurts!" Classic!
ROFLMAO
/wipes the tears away
:)
THAT is the funniest thing I've read in MONTHS. Thank you, thank you.
Anybody want a peanut
Stop that rhyming! I mean it!
OK, let's look at the two reasons stated in the article for turning over control to the UN.
"Some countries have been frustrated that the United States and European countries that got on the Internet first gobbled up most of the available addresses required for computers to connect, leaving developing nations with a limited supply to share."
This is a valid source of frustration, I can understand that. So let's wrest control of the physical machines from the country that controls them, rather than come up with a solution using diplomacy and democratic process! Sounds very, uh... US to me.
"They also want greater assurance that as they come to rely on the Internet more for governmental and other services, their plans won't get derailed by some future U.S. policy."
Translation: "We don't like what the US *MIGHT* do in the future, so let's launch a pre-emptive strike against them and take control away from them!"
Sounds a lot like a very unpopular war that was started a few years back, no? "Pre-emtpive" indeed. I thought you non-Americans were supposed to be so much more enlightened and smarter than the rest of us dumb USA-ians.
I'm not sure I give a hang WHO controls those machines. But so far, I think it's worked out pretty good, no? Are there problems? You betcha. Show me one thing in this world that exists on the scale of the Internet that doesn't have them. Add to that the fact that the UN isn't worth the collective piss in the bladders of those representatives that comprise it. See Darfur, Rwanda, Iraq, or any other slew of "UN actions" (or "inactions", as the case may be) that proved to be utterly futile and ineffective.
This is all from someone who vehemently opposes the war in Iraq and a great deal of his own governments policies when it comes to both domestic and international relations, so remember that before you get on your high-horse and assume that all Americans want to keep control of the servers simply because "they're ours". We have a saying here. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Show me how exactly that it's "broken" in such a way that control should be *seized* from those who currently have it (regardless of who that may be), and that the UN is inifinitely better suited for such a task, and I might be willing to concede to your viewpoint. If the French were currently controlling it, and it worked exactly like it was now, I'd be perfectly happy to let them keep at it.
Right, I would agree with that definition as well. I should have made it more clear than the quotes that I didn't necessarily call something like using a boost from your buddy "cheating" any more than a rocket jump, which is akin to the same thing. If anything, it's teamwork.
;-)
And if both sides are doing something I don't particularly agree with on a moral standpoint (ok, maybe it's not "cheating", but it sure takes the fun out of it), then I just choose not to play on that server anymore. If they are in fact cheating (wallhack, aimbot, etc.), then I might bitch about it. Or if the server states "No spawn camping" - ok, maybe not cheating, but it sure sucks the fun out of a game, I'll probably complain. There are plenty of servers that both allow and encourage spawn camping, spawn campers should play on those servers. If the server allows it, then so be it, that's my choice to play or not play on that server.
What was I rambling about again?
I hate "cheaters" as much as the next person. But I would have to agree with the grandparent's post, that level design should account for such things. I think it's using terrain/available objects to your advantage if you can climb on a comrade's shoulder to access a higher place, for example.
If we want to argue that games are becoming more and more like real life, if I'm in a combat situation, I'd do whatever it took to get myself the upper hand. Unlike real life, however, there aren't any "laws" (to use your analogy) that say you can or can't use a method like that to gain an advantage, unless the server specifically states that when you join it.
Deliberately hacking code or using scripted cheats, however, is another matter. That's maliciously exploiting programming and altering it to gain an unfair advantage, in a way that is not available to everyone else - the definition of "unfair", I think. That then falls under the realm of "fix it" in terms of the coders/developers need to address that certain vulnerability.
Not sure I'd consider "Alice in Wonderland" a kids book per se... there're a lot of adult themes in the original story, including drug references (although he was not under the influence of any illicit drugs when he wrote AIW, contrary to popular belief), beheadings, disobedience of authority (how shocking!), etc. I'd let my kids read it, but I think that an adult can get as much out of it as a kid, on a wholly different level.
That said, I thought the AM's Alice was a great game, that I thought paid appropriate tribute to the original story but took it in a new direction that created a world I wanted to explore and know more about.
I think you may have missed the joke...
They're everywhere. Booth babes are at just about every type of convention you can imagine - I worked an insurance convention a few years ago - there were booth babes there. Not as many as you might see at a car show or E3, but there were plenty.
Or this...
No, the nuclear arsenal is blessedly safe. The nuculer arsenal, however...
There are lots of them out there. My brother bought me one from the Discovery Channel store 4 years ago for Christmas. (Can't find a link to it right now, can't remember the manufacturer.)
This Promtpu one has some nifty features like the "Find..." thing, but I can honestly say that the one I have is a PITA to use. More trouble than it's worth, especially considering my wife would have to train it to respond to her voice as well, and she doesn't have the patience for that.
Yes, but Sony isn't going to/can't count on people to do this, they'd have to be going with the idea of people buying CF cards at current market cost. So it would seem that's a pretty steep assumption to make about Joe Average console owner.
This is assuming that CF/flash memory cards in general are the answer to playing FFXI on the PStwo, which I guess remains to be seen.