Given that the ability to make an unlimited number of perfect and virtually zero-cost copies was inconceivable until the last couple decades, the fact that this definition of "pirate" is relatively recent doesn't mean much.
Yeah, I know exactly what you are talking about--and you're right, the kind of specialized software that's in that boat usually requires expert-level support and is often time-sensitive, too.
But the world of business software is a different animal from consumer software. Businesses typically have a little more leverage in terms of not being left out to try. They can offer to buy source code or work out a support arrangement with whoever ends up with the abandoned product. Joe Consumer really doesn't have much in the way of (legal) options when Software Publisher X goes tits up.
Even so, virtually all DRM schemes can be cracked. I mean, you can crack Steam games as far as that goes. The problem with MMOs is that being able to function at all depends entirely on the presence of those remote servers. All the cracking in the world doesn't do a damn bit of good unless someone has figured out how to setup an unauthorized server.
If I did have some kind of licensed media to which the authorizing server eventually went down, you better believe I'd head over to TPB or Demonoid to download an unencrypted copy. Alas, there is not a comparable solution for MMOs.
The difference being that software, games, music, TV shows, and movies can continue working as long as you have the media (and a suitable device for using them.) With an MMO, once the servers are shut down the software and everything you paid for in the game are worthless.
Inadvertently causing someone's death is legally considered manslaughter, not murder. Murder requires intent to kill. It's extremely unlikely shysters like Madoff intended for anyone to die--it's just a sad consequence of their reprehensibly-selfish actions.
In fact, I see this sort of thing all the time. There are some people I deal with who are really big on privacy issues and they view all technology information through that lens. Rather than having any kind of nuanced opinion on technology, they just assume every new bit of techno-gadgetry is an insidious privacy threat and will inevitably be used to track you and then oppress you.
The point being, I guess, that people will see what they want to see, especially if they are ignorant and unwilling to be educated beyond paranoid worst-case scenarios (or rosy, pie-in-the-sky ideals.) I suspect journalists are just as susceptible to this as the man on the street.
It's not about being pedantic, it's about being honest. I am sick of hearing about the "victory mosque being built at Ground Zero." There is no such thing.
Anyone here play Warning Forever? It's a shoot-'em-up consisting entirely of boss battles, but it has an interesting twist: the next boss adapts based on how you defeated previous bosses in terms of its body configuration, weapon placements, and weapon types. So, you're forced to change up your tactics or you'll be wiped out. I love it.
For the US government (and likely any individual national government), the Internet has only one valid purpose: commerce. It must be a safe place to do business, first and foremost. Any other perks, such as free expression, political activism, and unbridled creativity are expendable if it makes pacifying the electorate and corporate interests easier.
When "national security" is discussed in context of the Internet, let's make no mistake, it just means "keep people from saying things we don't want them to say."
I believe it was also the first FPS to allow rooms above rooms, which were really just different sectors stacked on top of each other using an ugly hack (paraphrasing Ken Silverman.)
That's actually a good point. Many people seem to have lost the distinction between being famous and being infamous. These days, being infamous can be just as good for your image as being famous!
Lindsay Lohan may be a colossal fuckup in life, but it sure keeps her name in the headlines.
It's not even about common sense, it's more a problem with discretion. I cannot believe some of the things people tweet or post about on Facebook--things that I would think any self-respecting person would know better than to share with the world. It's like it's a contest to see who has the most embarrassing dirty laundry. Then there are the people who think their every stray thought is worth a Facebook status update. Well, it isn't. Odds are, no one cares.
Most people would be better off if they just kept their mouths shut and their keyboards silent.
Yeah, it's actually kind of funny how today's Intel desktop processors actually trace their lineage to the Pentium M, which was a mobile chip. When the Pentium 4 came around, the Pentium Pro (Pentium II, Pentium III) architecture was pretty much relegated to the mobile market while Pentium 4 represented their desktop line. As you said, they ran into heat (and power) issues with the Pentium 4s and basically had no more room for expansion there. They went back to the Pentium M, which was doing pretty nicely in the notebook space, and since it was low-power and efficient it became the basis for their future desktop CPUs--the Core line, in particular. They just stopped playing up the clock speed because that architecture's clock speeds were substantially lower than the Pentium 4, despite being able to do more work. I read once that a Pentium M could do about 40% more work than a Pentium 4 of the same clock, so in essence a 2GHz Pentium M was about as powerful as a 3.2 GHz P4.
Switching everything over to the low-power and parallel-friendly Pentium M line is probably one of the smartest things Intel ever did. They would've dug their own grave had they stuck with building on Pentium 4 to the bitter end.
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Given that the ability to make an unlimited number of perfect and virtually zero-cost copies was inconceivable until the last couple decades, the fact that this definition of "pirate" is relatively recent doesn't mean much.
Yeah, I know exactly what you are talking about--and you're right, the kind of specialized software that's in that boat usually requires expert-level support and is often time-sensitive, too.
But the world of business software is a different animal from consumer software. Businesses typically have a little more leverage in terms of not being left out to try. They can offer to buy source code or work out a support arrangement with whoever ends up with the abandoned product. Joe Consumer really doesn't have much in the way of (legal) options when Software Publisher X goes tits up.
Even so, virtually all DRM schemes can be cracked. I mean, you can crack Steam games as far as that goes. The problem with MMOs is that being able to function at all depends entirely on the presence of those remote servers. All the cracking in the world doesn't do a damn bit of good unless someone has figured out how to setup an unauthorized server.
If I did have some kind of licensed media to which the authorizing server eventually went down, you better believe I'd head over to TPB or Demonoid to download an unencrypted copy. Alas, there is not a comparable solution for MMOs.
The difference being that software, games, music, TV shows, and movies can continue working as long as you have the media (and a suitable device for using them.) With an MMO, once the servers are shut down the software and everything you paid for in the game are worthless.
Inadvertently causing someone's death is legally considered manslaughter, not murder. Murder requires intent to kill. It's extremely unlikely shysters like Madoff intended for anyone to die--it's just a sad consequence of their reprehensibly-selfish actions.
In fact, I see this sort of thing all the time. There are some people I deal with who are really big on privacy issues and they view all technology information through that lens. Rather than having any kind of nuanced opinion on technology, they just assume every new bit of techno-gadgetry is an insidious privacy threat and will inevitably be used to track you and then oppress you.
The point being, I guess, that people will see what they want to see, especially if they are ignorant and unwilling to be educated beyond paranoid worst-case scenarios (or rosy, pie-in-the-sky ideals.) I suspect journalists are just as susceptible to this as the man on the street.
And that's just a hypothetical compared to the reality of massive fragmentation among brand new Android phones.
It's not about being pedantic, it's about being honest. I am sick of hearing about the "victory mosque being built at Ground Zero." There is no such thing.
What "Ground Zero mosque" are we talking about here? Last I heard, no one is building any mosque at the former World Trade Center site.
Indeed, the entire concept of an MMO is basically a big "Skinner box."
Flash has a reputation for doing everything (video decoding, etc.) in software even when there is (more efficient) hardware available on the device.
Anyone here play Warning Forever? It's a shoot-'em-up consisting entirely of boss battles, but it has an interesting twist: the next boss adapts based on how you defeated previous bosses in terms of its body configuration, weapon placements, and weapon types. So, you're forced to change up your tactics or you'll be wiped out. I love it.
Link for anyone interested: http://www18.big.or.jp/~hikoza/Prod/index_e.html (Yes, in Japanese, but the game is in English and not hard to download from the page.)
For the US government (and likely any individual national government), the Internet has only one valid purpose: commerce. It must be a safe place to do business, first and foremost. Any other perks, such as free expression, political activism, and unbridled creativity are expendable if it makes pacifying the electorate and corporate interests easier.
When "national security" is discussed in context of the Internet, let's make no mistake, it just means "keep people from saying things we don't want them to say."
Now we know what you two would do for a Klondike bar.
I'd kill a man.
I believe it was also the first FPS to allow rooms above rooms, which were really just different sectors stacked on top of each other using an ugly hack (paraphrasing Ken Silverman.)
Well, at least the "Insane" part of your name is accurate.
http://failbook.failblog.org/
http://www.lamebook.com/
Those are two somewhat humorous ones that collect fully/embarrassing FB posts.
That's actually a good point. Many people seem to have lost the distinction between being famous and being infamous. These days, being infamous can be just as good for your image as being famous!
Lindsay Lohan may be a colossal fuckup in life, but it sure keeps her name in the headlines.
So, what's the point in announcing something like that? "Ha-HA! I'm too cool for social networking!" Good for you, bro!
Christ, I'm only 29 and I still have a filter that says "don't post this stupid thing that will potentially embarrass you and others!"
Duh, what? You are not automatically opted-in to Facebook. Or do we now force people to get FB accounts as soon as they get Internet service?
It's not even about common sense, it's more a problem with discretion. I cannot believe some of the things people tweet or post about on Facebook--things that I would think any self-respecting person would know better than to share with the world. It's like it's a contest to see who has the most embarrassing dirty laundry. Then there are the people who think their every stray thought is worth a Facebook status update. Well, it isn't. Odds are, no one cares.
Most people would be better off if they just kept their mouths shut and their keyboards silent.
Yeah, it's actually kind of funny how today's Intel desktop processors actually trace their lineage to the Pentium M, which was a mobile chip. When the Pentium 4 came around, the Pentium Pro (Pentium II, Pentium III) architecture was pretty much relegated to the mobile market while Pentium 4 represented their desktop line. As you said, they ran into heat (and power) issues with the Pentium 4s and basically had no more room for expansion there. They went back to the Pentium M, which was doing pretty nicely in the notebook space, and since it was low-power and efficient it became the basis for their future desktop CPUs--the Core line, in particular. They just stopped playing up the clock speed because that architecture's clock speeds were substantially lower than the Pentium 4, despite being able to do more work. I read once that a Pentium M could do about 40% more work than a Pentium 4 of the same clock, so in essence a 2GHz Pentium M was about as powerful as a 3.2 GHz P4.
Switching everything over to the low-power and parallel-friendly Pentium M line is probably one of the smartest things Intel ever did. They would've dug their own grave had they stuck with building on Pentium 4 to the bitter end.
That's why you sue the parent company instead, which will most likely rather settle than have a drawn-out court battle.
I'm posting from one of those right now! All hail the glorious 4-inch monochrome screen!