Just a quick note - despite this limit to the in-client scripting language, there are still a number of easy ways to write bots. I mean, it's fairly trivial to write one using libSL and iron python.
And it's only a matter of (too much?) time before someone hacks together a solution in perl and submits it to CPAN...:D
From my own experience, I've found that excelling anywhere that others do not often brings retaliation.
Again, just from my own experience, this pattern of behavior doesn't end at school, of course - even (and sometimes especially) if one is good natured about the aforementioned success.
I think part of it might be that people are often so focused on themselves, they feel obligated to strike out at anyone who's doing better than they might be, perhaps to make themselves appear to be doing better, if only according to their own perception.
Sitting from an air conditioned room from thousands of miles away, Americans now have the ability to kill in comfort.
We've all paid for it with our tax dollars, we're all responsible. We need to start acting responsibly. I have to disagree here. Just because our tax dollars are being spent on something, doesn't mean that we support it, or even support the person and/or people spending those tax dollars.
Unless, of course, you're trying to say that we wouldn't be responsible, if only we'd evaded our taxes.:D
What with all the trials and litigation going around. But then again, they have seemed to pick legal fights when they wanted a law established. (re: google image search and copyright law)
when i'm at home, i often code for fun. sometimes, i code because i have an application that almost does what i want, but i need some feature that it doesn't provide. and sometimes, i code because i just can't find that one application that i think it would be cool to have. if what i write is even somewhat useful, i release it GPL; after all, if it was handy for me, maybe someone else might want to use it. and if i've made a mistake, then it's likely to be caught. in which case, perhaps someone will learn how not to do something.:D
what i'm getting at is pretty simple: not everyone codes with your bottom line in mind. if you don't like what someone releases, either improve it or don't use it. if you do want to use or improve it, more power to you - sourceforge and friends will be happy to provide a mirror for you to use to download it.
I'd say another thing it has going for it, now, is that the client is open source.
Also, while the server-side code is still in Linden Labs' hands, they haven't said anything *against* eventually opening that. Until there's definitive word in that regard, I'll still hold out some hope that - if you'll excuse the play on words - SecondLife's reality will match its potential.
I do have to note, that it *is* kind of fun to play around with their scripting language. IBM's development center in SL has a nice 'build a robot to navigate this maze' game that has taken up quite a bit of my spare time.
to wire your brain like that. i mean, come on, we have people here talking about going online using nothing but their noodle, and yet no one has thought of how annoying those x10 ads could really get, when they're piped directly into your brain.
At one time I think this (Arcade games influencing what kind of console games people bought) was true but this is grossly out of date IMO. If anything then today it's the reverse of that.
agreed. it doesn't seem to me that microsoft has really paid attention to the gaming community / marketshare. i mean, i'd much rather go online in the comfort of my home, zap it out with some of my friends, and maybe have a cold one, than plunk dollar after dollar into a machine in some seedy little arcade to do the exact same thing.
maybe the little children will like it, and sure, they'll get some revenue from that; but the lion's share are going to be killing their eyeballs in front of their favorite console, without spending a dime more than they have to.
of course, if they can offer something that the home consoles can't - fully immersive gaming experiences, etc - then they might pull it off. but i'm doubting they have that kind of insight.
assuming, of course, that the sites detected are in the states, if they have the technology and methods to detect child pornography, why not simply use this information to crack down on the sites themselves?
perhaps i'm missing something here, but it seems like they're attacking the symptom, rather than the cause.
Slashdot Mirror
Just a quick note - despite this limit to the in-client scripting language, there are still a number of easy ways to write bots. I mean, it's fairly trivial to write one using libSL and iron python. And it's only a matter of (too much?) time before someone hacks together a solution in perl and submits it to CPAN... :D
From my own experience, I've found that excelling anywhere that others do not often brings retaliation.
Again, just from my own experience, this pattern of behavior doesn't end at school, of course - even (and sometimes especially) if one is good natured about the aforementioned success.
I think part of it might be that people are often so focused on themselves, they feel obligated to strike out at anyone who's doing better than they might be, perhaps to make themselves appear to be doing better, if only according to their own perception.
Or maybe I simply think too damn much.
My $100 (ala ebay 2 years ago) 650mhz vaio notebook works pretty well for that, as well. Not to mention ssh'ing into servers at work to code.
and I can take it with me, if need be. :D
Now, a new notebook, unless you really need as much mobile power as possible... well, it just seems silly to me.
Unless, of course, you're trying to say that we wouldn't be responsible, if only we'd evaded our taxes.
they might not now, but thanks to teledildonics, they can. sick and scary, but unfortunately possible.
...though that would be one hell of a way to ruin enemy morale. either get shot by the american infidels, or be raped by robbie the robot.
What with all the trials and litigation going around. But then again, they have seemed to pick legal fights when they wanted a law established. (re: google image search and copyright law)
when i'm at home, i often code for fun. sometimes, i code because i have an application that almost does what i want, but i need some feature that it doesn't provide. and sometimes, i code because i just can't find that one application that i think it would be cool to have. if what i write is even somewhat useful, i release it GPL; after all, if it was handy for me, maybe someone else might want to use it. and if i've made a mistake, then it's likely to be caught. in which case, perhaps someone will learn how not to do something. :D
what i'm getting at is pretty simple: not everyone codes with your bottom line in mind. if you don't like what someone releases, either improve it or don't use it. if you do want to use or improve it, more power to you - sourceforge and friends will be happy to provide a mirror for you to use to download it.
Ok, this is the essay in question.
I'd say another thing it has going for it, now, is that the client is open source.
Also, while the server-side code is still in Linden Labs' hands, they haven't said anything *against* eventually opening that. Until there's definitive word in that regard, I'll still hold out some hope that - if you'll excuse the play on words - SecondLife's reality will match its potential.
I do have to note, that it *is* kind of fun to play around with their scripting language. IBM's development center in SL has a nice 'build a robot to navigate this maze' game that has taken up quite a bit of my spare time.
For toilet humor, this comment was actually quite funny.
...when they start releasing their US-version video games and anime in a more timely manner. :D
I haven't seen enough info on the new IBM PowerPC 970 CPU expected shorty.
watch who you're calling shorty, farm boy.
there is no troll.
...hey, it worked!
"When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone," it means just what I choose it to mean, neither more nor less."
"The question is," said Alice, "whether you can make words mean so many different things."
"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master - that's all."
to wire your brain like that. i mean, come on, we have people here talking about going online using nothing but their noodle, and yet no one has thought of how annoying those x10 ads could really get, when they're piped directly into your brain.
i suppose that after dealing with tech support issues for this long, the man twitches too fast to be caught clearly on film.
*twitch!*
for one thing, i would really be embarrassed to hear that such a "feature" written into software i'd been developing had been comprimised.
...
nevermind the fact that, if found out, you lose any bit of trust you might have earned from your customer and/or employer.
just my $0.02
At one time I think this (Arcade games influencing what kind of console games people bought) was true but this is grossly out of date IMO. If anything then today it's the reverse of that.
agreed. it doesn't seem to me that microsoft has really paid attention to the gaming community / marketshare. i mean, i'd much rather go online in the comfort of my home, zap it out with some of my friends, and maybe have a cold one, than plunk dollar after dollar into a machine in some seedy little arcade to do the exact same thing.
maybe the little children will like it, and sure, they'll get some revenue from that; but the lion's share are going to be killing their eyeballs in front of their favorite console, without spending a dime more than they have to.
of course, if they can offer something that the home consoles can't - fully immersive gaming experiences, etc - then they might pull it off. but i'm doubting they have that kind of insight.
my liver's been hax0red!!!!!!1111oneoneone
see, now he's going to receive mail from thousands of lonely DM's, inviting him to come "roleplay" with them.
gah.
that's how they stick around to find more cures. there's no such thing as a free lunch, people. i wish it were different, but it's not.
crap, man! who's next - pop?
assuming, of course, that the sites detected are in the states, if they have the technology and methods to detect child pornography, why not simply use this information to crack down on the sites themselves?
perhaps i'm missing something here, but it seems like they're attacking the symptom, rather than the cause.
you know, if i did have five grand to spare, i think i'd opt for a vacation, or a new car, or something else moderately important - not a scooter.
and i think that perhaps the heart of the sales problem they're having is that plenty of people would agree with me.
i was unpopular, but not because of any status as a "nerd".
they were just jealous of my stylish good looks.