Which is exactly why SCEA executive vice president Andrew House emplores you to buy another PS2 and keep it in the original packaging as a collector's item. He does, after all, have a family to support and not one, not two, but three houses to pay property taxes on! Please, think of Andrew and buy a PS2 for every television you own.
And while we're at it...Hideki "Dick" Komiyama thinks you might like a brand new Sony television. You deserve it! Be good to yourself! The new HDTVs are cool!
As any company that has been stuck with MS Office can tell you, once you get into the Microsoft rut, it is difficult to get out. Companies have old files that can only be read by MS software and that is why they're stuck with MS. It shows a lack of foresight on their part not to have kept their files in a non-proprietary format but I think there's another issue here. People have grown accustomed to the environment of Windows and don't neccescarily want to have to learn a new way to change the desktop background or search for files. So when you present them with the option of a different operating system and tell them that its open source, more stable, and generally better - they look at you slack-jawed and say, "But I'm happy with Solitaire." On the other hand, if you tell them it's exactly like Windows except free, I think they'd be much more interested in it. (Speaking of Joe Sixpack here.) The point is that, yes, people are getting more and more locked in to Microsoft but with the right arguments, I think people will switch over. They may not want to know enough to understand all of the IP issues and the behavior by Microsoft that has been improper but they will love the price.
The point is that hopefully this SCO stuff will eventually blow over. From there, getting Windows choked out, is a matter of understanding what the public wants and cares about.
I would say that the main reason a company would want to region lock is so that they have much more precise control over the global market. Most companies will say that they use region locks in order to deliver different experiences to different users - depending upon their local customs and environments. (i.e. no Nazi symbols in French games). But I would imagine a more likely reason is that release dates can be stretched out, allowing the company's resources to be focused on a single region during that region's release period. Also, if piracy becomes prevelant, as it is in Asia, that piracy can be kept local and not spread worldwide if you've got region locks in place. That's what I'd gather region locks are for - anyone else have any better ideas?
You piss and moan a lot, don't you? Just calm down pal. Nothing reported on Slashdot should make you this (and by "this" I am referring to your numerous posts concerning this article) upset. Have a beer, get a girlfriend, calm down. You sound like the type of guy to really just lose it one day because I am sure that in real life, you walked around with all your witty little lines bottled up and neither the nerve or will to let them out at people. It's sad really.
Great! But Mozilla isn't complete until you've got MOUSE GESTURES. Honestly, I've found that mouse gestures coupled with tabbed browsing is such a more pleasant experience than anything that Microsoft is peddling. It seems that the best innovation is still coming from elsewhere and Microsoft is playing catch-up. Didn't I hear about IE having tabbed browsing in the next release?
The library pays an extra fee to hand over DVDs? That's surprising. I didn't know that. In my younger years, I worked at a small video rental place and we didn't have to pay an extra fee in order to rent tapes to people. Why should a library have to pay a fee?
I think that for music this is true and that a 30 second spot could change things. I was watching TechTV one time and this woman (40 or so probably) called up and asked about whether it was legal or not to download music. She'd been doing it but then saw an article about piracy in Newsweek. So, yeah - some people don't get it and it's easy enough to download an mp3 that people who don't get it (and by extension, probably don't have the greatest understanding of computers), still can. While downloading a movie is a bit more dicey (obviously no one on Slashdot would have any problem) and the casual user isn't going to bother with it - huge files, multiple formats, "What's a codec?", etc.
So the MPAA doesn't need to educate anyone - the people who download movies probably realize that what they're doing is wrong. On the other hand, some people who are upsetting the RIAA don't know it.
On a related note: find someone to work out with you if you're going to go the gym route. It's all too easy to say, "Oh, well, I'll skip today." But if you've got someone expecting to go with you, it's much harder to say you can't do it today. Likewise, they won't have as easy a time backing out.
Go five days a week, do cardio for a half hour. Three days of the week, also work on muscles but don't keep doing the same muscle group. Ask around at the gym and I am sure someone there will give you a little advice.
Quite right, and why exactly does the submitter say Un*x? What else goes in there but an i? Nit picking can be annoying but come on, this is Slashdot - we see *nix in every fifth story, is it so much to ask to get it right?
"The look of Gladius, still some weeks from release, is impressive."
Is the writer at GameSpy making some type of veiled suggestion that, with only a few weeks to go before the release, the game shouldn't be at a near complete state? Of course the game should look good! If you're at the release date of a game and it doesn't look as good as most other games out at the time, you're in trouble. Now let me nit pick some more...
"The attention to detail is fantastic. Battles will unfold in dozens of different arenas and venues and all have a distinct look."
Now from this writing we can see that the reviewer was either not given a full copy of the game and therefore was only believing the marketing hype that said there would be dozens of different arenas, and that they all have a distinct look. If he did receive a complete copy, why the speculative nature to the writing? I don't get it. I realize that this is a preview article and other than screenshots, the writer probably only has some PR fluff sheet to work from but I'd rather they made it a bit more objective. Such as, "Lucasarts is promising dozens of different arenas and venues, each with distinct looks." These are probably small points but I think something worth considering for the simple fact that most video game publishers do nothing but praise games in their preview articles. This never presents an accurate picture of a game and thus I have to wait for a few weeks after the game comes out to read actual reviews on the Internet. All I'm looking for is some objectivity here!
There's a huge difference between concluding that people can be sued and raising a question about whether people are going to be sued. Hopefully you can see the difference. Since I am being modded down by one of your lackeys at this point, I retire.
You weren't trying to be personally insulting by calling me obtuse? Then who were you trying to insult? You called ME obtuse - that is PERSONAL. I don't know how to make that any more clear. Don't backpedal now. If you want to call me obtuse, go ahead.
I did not conclude that anyone using Freenet could be sued - I brought it up as a possibility. As the student at RPI who created the search engine learned, you don't have to be blatantly violating copyright in order to get sued by the RIAA. So how is this a stretch? I offer you an example of someone getting sued (or at least the threat of one) without violating copyright.
Now why did you need to begin your comment by insulting me? Did I say anywhere that every node was going to handle traffic for 1 download? No, I did not. I was pointing out that since the RIAA doesn't know who is supplying the copyrighted content, they could go after everyone involved with the system since, at some level, they are facilitating the distribution of copyrighted material. IANAL and so I was asking about the legality of it. I feel that you did not need to insult me with the very first sentence of your post and so, this will be my only reply to you. Try to be a bit more civil in your discourse for the future.
Check here. The only reason I know this is because I've seen it discussed on Slashdot before. And I might have gotten it mixed around as well. Anyway U.S. billion is not always the same as a billion in other parts of the world. Silly, right?
Okay, so let's say Freenet works perfectly and you can't trace anyone by IP address. But someone from the RIAA uses it to download a copyrighted song, wouldn't they then be able to sue all users of Freenet as accessories to the crime? (Assuming each node handles traffic from transactions it may or may not be involved in - that's the way I remember it working.) And then get a court order for Freenet to give up IP addresses of users who have downloaded the client?
You know, Nintendo could make a pretty penny by releasing a disc that contained every NES game they ever published BUT, they could make even more by re-releasing games separately and hiding them in their GC and GBA games. Why release all your games on one disc when you can release one or two per disc? Since this is Slashdot, here goes.
1) Start gaming company
2) Build huge library of classic games
3) Release new hardware
4) Sell your old games on the new hardware - no development costs!
5) PROFIT!!!
Using a viarety of operating systems does not lend greater security. You're suggesting a sort of bastardized security through obscurity, wherein an attacker is not sure which OS is on Machine X even though he's already compromised Machine Y and knows everything about it - not a good method. Furthermore, even if this did help security and having multiple operating systems running would introduce complexity in that patches would have to be monitored for multiple systems. All operating systems are going to need a patch or two at some point.
If you've got 1,000 machines running Win XP and a new patch is released, you've got one patch to apply 1,000 times. If you've got 1,000 machines running fifteen operating systems, and a new patch is released for each OS, you've got 15 patches to apply. If you're going to run a secure network, you want to have a homogenous environment throughout. That way, once you've got Machine 1 secure, you know the others are also secure. You may argue that if Machine 1 is compromised, then all the rest will be compromised as well. But the problem with that argument is that if Machine 1 is compromised, even if the rest of the machines (assuming they're running different operating systems) are fine, you've still got a compromise and in government and business matters - one is too many.
And this article says that the PS3 won't be backwards compatible. Trying to discern what Sony is up to with the PS3 from who they hire and don't hire is a little like reading tea leaves. I think we're just going to have to wait it out, although people are going to speculate.
Another point I might bring up is that, and maybe I'm just alone in this, but I don't play my old PS1 games anymore so I would have no need for that type of backwards compatibility. Of course, I play a lot of sports games so that might be the reason why but I would rather see PS1 emulated in software rather than a hardware sacrifice in the PS3 to get the games running.
FDR style work programs? What you are proposing is socialism my friend. FDR pushed socialism down America's throat in order to get out of the depression. The system of economics we have in place supports private industries. The government does not need to cure AIDS and cancer - the government needs to be hands off and allow researchers and scientists to cure AIDS and cancer on their own.
Think of it this way - less government means that there's no laws against violent video games. Furthermore, the people in charge of releasing America's Army are not the same people who wrote the violent video game law. In a huge, multi-sectored government like the U.S., you're going to get hypocrisy from time to time. Pointing it out doesn't in itself prove that the approach is wrong. Violent video games should not be regulated because there is no need for it - it is the parent's responsibility to control what their child plays.
Wolfenstein came out, I played it then I ate some dog food, legally changed my name to Max Power, and began hunting Nazis - only to find out that World War II ended like 45 years ago.
Mortal Kombat I came out, I played it and wondered why everyone was sweating gray liquid. I pondered this for awhile, realized that my sweat was clear, became depressed, sold my Super Nintendo, and cried a little.
Samurai Shodown came out, I played it and became a samurai and scheduled a showdown with Little Bobby from down the street but then the ice cream truck came rumbling down the block and we had to get out of the way. The showdown was not to be.
My life has featured many video games, most of which involved a time commitment so great that at this point in my life I post on Slashdot with the nickname "Acidic_Diarrhea."
Slashdot Mirror
Man, do I look like an idiot. Go ahead, let me have it.
Google cache of the article.
And while we're at it...Hideki "Dick" Komiyama thinks you might like a brand new Sony television. You deserve it! Be good to yourself! The new HDTVs are cool!
:P
The point is that hopefully this SCO stuff will eventually blow over. From there, getting Windows choked out, is a matter of understanding what the public wants and cares about.
I would say that the main reason a company would want to region lock is so that they have much more precise control over the global market. Most companies will say that they use region locks in order to deliver different experiences to different users - depending upon their local customs and environments. (i.e. no Nazi symbols in French games). But I would imagine a more likely reason is that release dates can be stretched out, allowing the company's resources to be focused on a single region during that region's release period. Also, if piracy becomes prevelant, as it is in Asia, that piracy can be kept local and not spread worldwide if you've got region locks in place. That's what I'd gather region locks are for - anyone else have any better ideas?
Let's hug!
Great! But Mozilla isn't complete until you've got MOUSE GESTURES. Honestly, I've found that mouse gestures coupled with tabbed browsing is such a more pleasant experience than anything that Microsoft is peddling. It seems that the best innovation is still coming from elsewhere and Microsoft is playing catch-up. Didn't I hear about IE having tabbed browsing in the next release?
You insensitive clod, I AM A MIDGET!
Doom 3 is going to come out, when it's done and then Quake IV is going to come out later. I don't know about what engine it's going to use.
So the MPAA doesn't need to educate anyone - the people who download movies probably realize that what they're doing is wrong. On the other hand, some people who are upsetting the RIAA don't know it.
Go five days a week, do cardio for a half hour. Three days of the week, also work on muscles but don't keep doing the same muscle group. Ask around at the gym and I am sure someone there will give you a little advice.
Oh, and GOOD LUCK!
Quite right, and why exactly does the submitter say Un*x? What else goes in there but an i? Nit picking can be annoying but come on, this is Slashdot - we see *nix in every fifth story, is it so much to ask to get it right?
There's a huge difference between concluding that people can be sued and raising a question about whether people are going to be sued. Hopefully you can see the difference. Since I am being modded down by one of your lackeys at this point, I retire.
I did not conclude that anyone using Freenet could be sued - I brought it up as a possibility. As the student at RPI who created the search engine learned, you don't have to be blatantly violating copyright in order to get sued by the RIAA. So how is this a stretch? I offer you an example of someone getting sued (or at least the threat of one) without violating copyright.
Now why did you need to begin your comment by insulting me? Did I say anywhere that every node was going to handle traffic for 1 download? No, I did not. I was pointing out that since the RIAA doesn't know who is supplying the copyrighted content, they could go after everyone involved with the system since, at some level, they are facilitating the distribution of copyrighted material. IANAL and so I was asking about the legality of it. I feel that you did not need to insult me with the very first sentence of your post and so, this will be my only reply to you. Try to be a bit more civil in your discourse for the future.
Check here. The only reason I know this is because I've seen it discussed on Slashdot before. And I might have gotten it mixed around as well. Anyway U.S. billion is not always the same as a billion in other parts of the world. Silly, right?
Okay, so let's say Freenet works perfectly and you can't trace anyone by IP address. But someone from the RIAA uses it to download a copyrighted song, wouldn't they then be able to sue all users of Freenet as accessories to the crime? (Assuming each node handles traffic from transactions it may or may not be involved in - that's the way I remember it working.) And then get a court order for Freenet to give up IP addresses of users who have downloaded the client?
1) Start gaming company
2) Build huge library of classic games
3) Release new hardware
4) Sell your old games on the new hardware - no development costs!
5) PROFIT!!!
If you've got 1,000 machines running Win XP and a new patch is released, you've got one patch to apply 1,000 times. If you've got 1,000 machines running fifteen operating systems, and a new patch is released for each OS, you've got 15 patches to apply. If you're going to run a secure network, you want to have a homogenous environment throughout. That way, once you've got Machine 1 secure, you know the others are also secure. You may argue that if Machine 1 is compromised, then all the rest will be compromised as well. But the problem with that argument is that if Machine 1 is compromised, even if the rest of the machines (assuming they're running different operating systems) are fine, you've still got a compromise and in government and business matters - one is too many.
Another point I might bring up is that, and maybe I'm just alone in this, but I don't play my old PS1 games anymore so I would have no need for that type of backwards compatibility. Of course, I play a lot of sports games so that might be the reason why but I would rather see PS1 emulated in software rather than a hardware sacrifice in the PS3 to get the games running.
Just my two cents.
No, in the US a billion is 1,000,000,000 while in many other parts of the world a billion is 100,000,000.
Think of it this way - less government means that there's no laws against violent video games. Furthermore, the people in charge of releasing America's Army are not the same people who wrote the violent video game law. In a huge, multi-sectored government like the U.S., you're going to get hypocrisy from time to time. Pointing it out doesn't in itself prove that the approach is wrong. Violent video games should not be regulated because there is no need for it - it is the parent's responsibility to control what their child plays.
Mortal Kombat I came out, I played it and wondered why everyone was sweating gray liquid. I pondered this for awhile, realized that my sweat was clear, became depressed, sold my Super Nintendo, and cried a little.
Samurai Shodown came out, I played it and became a samurai and scheduled a showdown with Little Bobby from down the street but then the ice cream truck came rumbling down the block and we had to get out of the way. The showdown was not to be.
My life has featured many video games, most of which involved a time commitment so great that at this point in my life I post on Slashdot with the nickname "Acidic_Diarrhea."
Point being, games don't kill people - guns do.