KOTOR 2 was unfinished, but still good until the end. With the missing content restored by a modding project, it's great. And MotB, the first expansion for NWN2, was also great. Both games are similar to Black Isle classics like PS:T. For someone who misses Black Isle, Obsidian is pretty much the only substitute nowadays.
Like PS:T? Really? To me, the description of Dragon Age: Origins sounds much more like PS:T than NWN2 does. Intra-party banter, party members each having their own story, and really, really, tons and tons of story in the game. That's what PS:T was, and that's what this review sounds like too.
But what made PS:T really unique is that you're not a generic hero come to save the world. You're just trying to figure out who the hell you are. The main storyline is entirely about you, and and that got you involved in the story in a way that no other CRPG has ever accomplished. I mean, KotOR also sort-of revolved around you, but not in the way that PS:T did. Unfortunately Dragon Age doesn't seem to be missing that aspect completely.
This might imply that it's acceptable for Christians to have slaves.
Or it might not. You're imposing your own interpretation on the text rather than reading what it says. Christians aren't known for their infallibility.
Its possible that a workable solution could take some time to get implemented, and in that time, doesn't it make sense to send a C&D letter in the interim? Hell, doesn't it make sense to send the letter anyways, so you don't have all these assholes trying to break your system?
How the hell does a C&D prevent assholes from breaking your system? Only fixing your system can do that. They should have sent him a letter expressing their gratitude for pointing out this security hole.
But more than that, they shouldn't have enabled and encouraged merchants to rely on a horribly insecure payment method.
Wow, that's sad. That's almost like admitting to being a parking inspector...
Parking inspectors do important work. They keep parking spaces available for those who really need them. I feel sorry for the abuse they sometimes get.
Financial transactions based on a tracking pixel? Really? I just don't know where to start to point out how wrong that is.
PayPal has dozens of different ways to pay, and most of them suck, but at least they don't encourage people to rely on tracking pixels. Either you explicitly send the customer to the payment gateway (including login or entering credit card info there) to authorize the transaction, or you have your own server talk directly to the payment gateway. Relying on a hidden browser-side hack for a financial transaction is just amazingly stupid and unnecessary, even if you don't spot any obvious flaws right away (because someone else will).
My former boss also has a metal Macbook with a big dent in the corner. Works perfectly fine.
I probably just got lucky on this, though; I don't think the MacBook is any more rugged than a regular laptop.
There's a lot of very different "regular" laptops. Some of them fall apart merely from looking at them. Macbooks and Thinkpads may not be Toughbooks, but they're tough enough to withstand everyday abuse.
Because Apple makes fucking shiploads of money from that market share? Apple and AT&T didn't feel the crisis mostly because of the iPhone.
Yes, but they have the premium market segment. It doesn't make sense for a lot of companies to compete for that. And the premium segment is limited in size.
It certainly is, but it's still a really cool segment.
Did they compare the Dells to regular Thinkpads? They're not officially ruggedized, but they can take an awful lot of punishment.
Incidentally, I just had a book shelf collapse under its load of books (apparently I wasn't supposed to stack them that high) and fall on my open Macbook. Huge dent next to the keyboard, but everything works fine.
Why would a company care who fills their app store if they still get stuck at market share numbers as low as Apple's?
Because Apple makes fucking shiploads of money from that market share? Apple and AT&T didn't feel the crisis mostly because of the iPhone.
Besides, all those Apple app store numbers are bogus. I use both platforms, and there are more apps that I actually want to use for Android than for iPhone.
And why do you think that is? Because Android appeases geeks by not subjecting them to some retarded app store rejection policy. So now geeks are flocking to Android and filling up that app store.
...the iPhone is NOT TIED TO AT&T. Believe it or not, countries exist outside of USA. This discussion on/. about iPhone sucks because all of you don't seem to understand that the iPhone is sold GLOBALLY. STFU ABOUT AT&T
You are right. A lot of people write that the iPhone has bad voice quality, because they only tested it with ATT. Well, I get better voice quality from the iPhone than with all Motorola and Nokia handsets I have tried so far. Because I am using a good network.
I (used to) get excellent sound quality from my iPhone despite being on a horrible network (T-Mobile in Netherland). I often don't have any reception at all when in a supermarket, and I had hardly any reception during HAR, but when I do have reception, the sound is excellent.
Being tied to a network is still a big factor in why I want to switch, though. Or maybe I should order one from Belgium.
Actually, I'd say the major thing that gave the iPhone such a major push was the fact that it was the best thing at the time. People seem to have forgotten the awful "smart" phones we had before Apple decided to shake things up. The iPhone may or may not still be the best thing around (I don't know), but it seems to me we probably would have no Android today without the fresh competition Apple provided.
That's exactly it. I never saw the point in smart phones until the iPhone arrived. And so far, it looks like the iPhone is still the best device on the market. Motorola Droid would be cool if it was available, which it unfortunately isn't.
It's not about market share, it's about being the best and hippest smart phone on the market. That gets you the geeks, and geeks fill your app store with creative stuff.
It's part of the Android's feeble attempt at piracy prevention. Apps are only allowed to be installed on the internal memory - not the SD card.
So why does Motorola make a phone with a huge SD card and very little internal memory? Why even have an SD card at all, when you could just as easily have had tons of internal memory?
With out being overly obvious, you realize this is a 2-3mb app with 1.2 gigs of map data? You realize Android apps have access to a SD card? Just my Google listen (podcasts) has nearly 2G of data alone stored on my SD card.
I still don't see the point of that SD card, though. Why would I want to replace my computer's memory? Do people often switch harddisks arround in their PC? I just want to have enough storage, and I want to use it the way I want. Just give me 16 GB for apps and everything else.
The only thing they didn't compare was App stores *seriously if someone says over 100,000 apps again I will strangle you with strangulation.ipa* 100,000 apps. Seriously, it's *that* important.
The problem with iPhone's app store is that most of those 100,000 apps are crap. And some of the good ones that people really want were refused by Apple.
Successful competitors to the iPhone will be those that understand that the point is to make a better ultraportable computing platform, not necessarily a better phone.
QFT.
I actually have a separate (cheap, plastic) Nokia phone as well as my little iPhone computer (which got stolen, so I'm in the market for a replacement -- the Droid sounds great!). I did make calls with the iPhone, but its main purpose is for browsing, GPS + Maps, reading stuff, and tons of other little apps. On my subscription, I care more about unlimited UMTS than about how many phone minutes and SMSs I can use. The reason the iPod Touch doesn't do it for me is not its lack of a phone, but its lack of 3G data.
The only way iPhone can fail is to lose to several competitors, not just one. The iPhone isn't the market leader now. So how can one phone or O/S kill the iPhone or anything else?
The main way in which the iPhone rules is by being the most powerful and most diverse high-end smart phone on the market. There are a lot of smart phones out there, but they lack the diversity of the iPhone's app store, the speed (particularly of the 3GS), or the quality browser. Blackberry used to have an edge in email support, but I think the iPhone managed to catch up there. Although some people will still prefer a physical keyboard, of course. But for most power users, the iPhone is it.
Until the Droid. I think it's the first phone that's explicitly marketed as an iPhone-killer, and it has the specs to make good on that promise. That doesn't mean it will kill actually the iPhone, but it might steal away the attention of the geeks. If geeks choose Android, Android will eventually end up with the better app store (Apple's policies may also help there), and that may eventually make Android the preferred choice of all power users.
I'm certainly interested in the Droid. No news on when it will be available in Europe, unfortunately.
I for one am tired of hearing about all these wonderful propulsion ideas that inevitably fade into the background. What is it going to take to get one of these damned things built and tested?
Slashdot Mirror
KOTOR 2 was unfinished, but still good until the end. With the missing content restored by a modding project, it's great. And MotB, the first expansion for NWN2, was also great. Both games are similar to Black Isle classics like PS:T. For someone who misses Black Isle, Obsidian is pretty much the only substitute nowadays.
Like PS:T? Really? To me, the description of Dragon Age: Origins sounds much more like PS:T than NWN2 does. Intra-party banter, party members each having their own story, and really, really, tons and tons of story in the game. That's what PS:T was, and that's what this review sounds like too.
But what made PS:T really unique is that you're not a generic hero come to save the world. You're just trying to figure out who the hell you are. The main storyline is entirely about you, and and that got you involved in the story in a way that no other CRPG has ever accomplished. I mean, KotOR also sort-of revolved around you, but not in the way that PS:T did. Unfortunately Dragon Age doesn't seem to be missing that aspect completely.
This might imply that it's acceptable for Christians to have slaves.
Or it might not. You're imposing your own interpretation on the text rather than reading what it says. Christians aren't known for their infallibility.
Google is a special case. They become billionaires by sharing as much as possible and figuring out how to make money from it later.
Its possible that a workable solution could take some time to get implemented, and in that time, doesn't it make sense to send a C&D letter in the interim? Hell, doesn't it make sense to send the letter anyways, so you don't have all these assholes trying to break your system?
How the hell does a C&D prevent assholes from breaking your system? Only fixing your system can do that. They should have sent him a letter expressing their gratitude for pointing out this security hole.
But more than that, they shouldn't have enabled and encouraged merchants to rely on a horribly insecure payment method.
and as a lawyer who sends C&Ds for a living...
Wow, that's sad. That's almost like admitting to being a parking inspector...
Parking inspectors do important work. They keep parking spaces available for those who really need them. I feel sorry for the abuse they sometimes get.
Financial transactions based on a tracking pixel? Really? I just don't know where to start to point out how wrong that is.
PayPal has dozens of different ways to pay, and most of them suck, but at least they don't encourage people to rely on tracking pixels. Either you explicitly send the customer to the payment gateway (including login or entering credit card info there) to authorize the transaction, or you have your own server talk directly to the payment gateway. Relying on a hidden browser-side hack for a financial transaction is just amazingly stupid and unnecessary, even if you don't spot any obvious flaws right away (because someone else will).
Personal responsibility is a pure fiction in a deterministic universe.
That's an interesting philosophical claim, but it requires a bit more backing up than merely stating it and hoping everybody agrees.
It is already clear that we are all products of our genetics and our environment.
And isn't assumed responsibility part of that environment too?
My former boss also has a metal Macbook with a big dent in the corner. Works perfectly fine.
I probably just got lucky on this, though; I don't think the MacBook is any more rugged than a regular laptop.
There's a lot of very different "regular" laptops. Some of them fall apart merely from looking at them. Macbooks and Thinkpads may not be Toughbooks, but they're tough enough to withstand everyday abuse.
Because Apple makes fucking shiploads of money from that market share? Apple and AT&T didn't feel the crisis mostly because of the iPhone.
Yes, but they have the premium market segment. It doesn't make sense for a lot of companies to compete for that. And the premium segment is limited in size.
It certainly is, but it's still a really cool segment.
Did they compare the Dells to regular Thinkpads? They're not officially ruggedized, but they can take an awful lot of punishment.
Incidentally, I just had a book shelf collapse under its load of books (apparently I wasn't supposed to stack them that high) and fall on my open Macbook. Huge dent next to the keyboard, but everything works fine.
Why would a company care who fills their app store if they still get stuck at market share numbers as low as Apple's?
Because Apple makes fucking shiploads of money from that market share? Apple and AT&T didn't feel the crisis mostly because of the iPhone.
Besides, all those Apple app store numbers are bogus. I use both platforms, and there are more apps that I actually want to use for Android than for iPhone.
And why do you think that is? Because Android appeases geeks by not subjecting them to some retarded app store rejection policy. So now geeks are flocking to Android and filling up that app store.
...the iPhone is NOT TIED TO AT&T. Believe it or not, countries exist outside of USA. This discussion on /. about iPhone sucks because all of you don't seem to understand that the iPhone is sold GLOBALLY. STFU ABOUT AT&T
You are right. A lot of people write that the iPhone has bad voice quality, because they only tested it with ATT. Well, I get better voice quality from the iPhone than with all Motorola and Nokia handsets I have tried so far. Because I am using a good network.
I (used to) get excellent sound quality from my iPhone despite being on a horrible network (T-Mobile in Netherland). I often don't have any reception at all when in a supermarket, and I had hardly any reception during HAR, but when I do have reception, the sound is excellent.
Being tied to a network is still a big factor in why I want to switch, though. Or maybe I should order one from Belgium.
Actually, I'd say the major thing that gave the iPhone such a major push was the fact that it was the best thing at the time. People seem to have forgotten the awful "smart" phones we had before Apple decided to shake things up. The iPhone may or may not still be the best thing around (I don't know), but it seems to me we probably would have no Android today without the fresh competition Apple provided.
That's exactly it. I never saw the point in smart phones until the iPhone arrived. And so far, it looks like the iPhone is still the best device on the market. Motorola Droid would be cool if it was available, which it unfortunately isn't.
It's not about market share, it's about being the best and hippest smart phone on the market. That gets you the geeks, and geeks fill your app store with creative stuff.
I've heard there's also a version of Android that removes the prohibition on installing apps on the SD card.
3) Atleast the phones _HAVE_ memory card slots, the iPhone does not.
So with 10 GB of the latest episodes of some series and 20 GB of music how much space do you have on your 32 GB iPhone for apps?
So I have to swap memory cards every time I want to do something? I just want a machine with plenty of internal memory.
It's part of the Android's feeble attempt at piracy prevention. Apps are only allowed to be installed on the internal memory - not the SD card.
So why does Motorola make a phone with a huge SD card and very little internal memory? Why even have an SD card at all, when you could just as easily have had tons of internal memory?
With out being overly obvious, you realize this is a 2-3mb app with 1.2 gigs of map data? You realize Android apps have access to a SD card? Just my Google listen (podcasts) has nearly 2G of data alone stored on my SD card.
I still don't see the point of that SD card, though. Why would I want to replace my computer's memory? Do people often switch harddisks arround in their PC? I just want to have enough storage, and I want to use it the way I want. Just give me 16 GB for apps and everything else.
The only thing they didn't compare was App stores *seriously if someone says over 100,000 apps again I will strangle you with strangulation.ipa*
100,000 apps. Seriously, it's *that* important.
The problem with iPhone's app store is that most of those 100,000 apps are crap. And some of the good ones that people really want were refused by Apple.
Lack of a gatekeeper is a big advantage to me.
One problem killing the iPhone, is that most of the iPhone's weaknesses are one policy change away from disappearing.
The one problem with the iPhone is that it still requires a policy change. For Android, it doesn't.
Successful competitors to the iPhone will be those that understand that the point is to make a better ultraportable computing platform, not necessarily a better phone.
QFT.
I actually have a separate (cheap, plastic) Nokia phone as well as my little iPhone computer (which got stolen, so I'm in the market for a replacement -- the Droid sounds great!). I did make calls with the iPhone, but its main purpose is for browsing, GPS + Maps, reading stuff, and tons of other little apps. On my subscription, I care more about unlimited UMTS than about how many phone minutes and SMSs I can use. The reason the iPod Touch doesn't do it for me is not its lack of a phone, but its lack of 3G data.
The only way iPhone can fail is to lose to several competitors, not just one. The iPhone isn't the market leader now. So how can one phone or O/S kill the iPhone or anything else?
The main way in which the iPhone rules is by being the most powerful and most diverse high-end smart phone on the market. There are a lot of smart phones out there, but they lack the diversity of the iPhone's app store, the speed (particularly of the 3GS), or the quality browser. Blackberry used to have an edge in email support, but I think the iPhone managed to catch up there. Although some people will still prefer a physical keyboard, of course. But for most power users, the iPhone is it.
Until the Droid. I think it's the first phone that's explicitly marketed as an iPhone-killer, and it has the specs to make good on that promise. That doesn't mean it will kill actually the iPhone, but it might steal away the attention of the geeks. If geeks choose Android, Android will eventually end up with the better app store (Apple's policies may also help there), and that may eventually make Android the preferred choice of all power users.
I'm certainly interested in the Droid. No news on when it will be available in Europe, unfortunately.
plenty of ways to store energy
such as ?
Are you serious?
I for one am tired of hearing about all these wonderful propulsion ideas that inevitably fade into the background. What is it going to take to get one of these damned things built and tested?
Aren't other ion engines already being used?
Still, since you can run a plasma or ion engine from an external power source (the sun), you do get a massive jump in specific impulse.
At any meaningful fraction of lightspeed, the distance to the sun will quickly get too big to be able to rely on it for energy.