When I worked at blockbuster, our store had a handful of N64 and Gameboy games remaining. No other old systems either. They just wanted space for GameCube, PS2, and Xbox. Can't really blame them though. But the condition their old games were in was abominable. The manager sounded kind of relieved when people would shoplift them, because it got the eyesore off the shelves.
Personally, if the game rocks, and the packaging is something special, I'll save it. I've got a couple games who's boxes I've saved. Plus, if you have the storage space to spare (I keep them in my back closet) it's a good way to keep everything together, especially for someone like myself who's organizational skills are all based off of the "pile system" (i'm sure you're familiar with it).
" I will gladly pay Slashdot when they require everybody to pay, and disallow non-paying posters, and ban trolls even when they pay. But as long as they allow anybody and their dogs to post anything, the S/N ratio will continue to suck pond water from the bottom, and as a consequence, the content will keep being worth what I currently pay for it, which is close to naught."
How this got modded insteresting is astounding. This is flamebait if I ever heard it. There is a reason we have the moderation system on Slashdot. Also, I dread to think what Slashdot would be like without the input of the non-paid accounts. There is so much contribution from these sources that Slashdot would be useless without them. Not to mention your move would silence any person who wanted to remain anonymous. Sometimes popular opinion covers up truth as well, but with our moderation system often times those -1 Troll comments have a gem of wisdom that could get modded up.
On the otherhand, this man now has the coveted Slashdot Moderator Award: +5 Offtopic. This is only slightly less prestigious than the deified +5 Troll Award.
What about those teleporters they had in the movie? Does that work off the same technology? It was the one where the little rings came down around the person and they vanished in a beam of light to reappear in the other set of rings.
Or does this thing look like it wouldn't tip over no matter what it did because of how big those feet are, and the fact that they have the weight of the batteries in them?
Now, all joking aside, this is seriously cool. A robotic toy I can afford (after college) which has a longer battery life than almost all similar toys on the market. Wow. When will we get to the point where they sell a shell unit like that, that allows us to upgrade it and add our own modules? I'd love a plug and play robot that wasn't too expensive/timeprohibitive to make. And so much the better if I can buy a missile launcher attachment.
Seriously, that's my one gripe with this thing, why is there no missile launcher attachment? He did say this was a toy didn't he? I won't be able to have it rampage through my giant lego city and destroy the defense force with missiles.:*(
I know this is going to be posted to late to get any points, but I just have a theory that sums up all these educational issues, and could save people a lot of wasted time/money.
If they advertise on TV, they most likely aren't as good as other schools.
I'm sorry, I know some may disagree, but you don't see Harvard or any of the other good private schools advertising on TV. Sure they advertise, but they don't have a cheesy ass tv spot. I go to school at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. We're one of the top art schools in the country, sending people off to work with Lucas Arts, all the big ad agencies, etc. I spoke with our marketing director and asked her if they would ever consider putting a spot on TV, and she said no and gave the reasons I listed above.
Then you see a spot for those art schools where they send you a drawing test, you fill it out and then send it back. Riiiiight. My school has portfolio interviews before you can get in. You need an EXTENSIVE portfolio, of high quality work. The difference between these two schools I've talked about is that one sets the bar for itself very high, and the other very low.
Think about who might actually sign up for a college they've seen on tv. Think about what kind of education they typically have, and what skills they typically have. I'm sorry if that sounds REALLY stereotypical, but its the truth.
All of these schools are merely trying to get peoples money, and often times offer them high paying jobs as a result. The people who go to these schools are only in it because its a wellpaid profession. Thank god you need to pass the Bar Exam to become a lawyer, otherwise we'd be churning out an army of law students from schools promising "Get rich quick as a lawyer now! Guaranteed clients!"
Sorry for ranting, but this has bugged me for a long time.
So rather than bitch, why don't you learn from this kid? Think of how far YOU could go if you had all the knowledge and hard work ethics, AND you were able to socially engineer your way up? People always whine about people who can manipulate their way to the top. While its ethically not the best practice, you DO have to give them credit for being good bullshitters. Like it or not, that skill makes money in this world, whether it is used to get a high position, politics, sales, you name it.
You'd think a smart person would know how to adapt to best suit his world.
"There's plenty of students who wish to use whatever condition they have, real or imagined as an excuse to not even attempt. There are, of course, certain situations where this is entirely valid... However, I think it's an alarming trend in society, especially to be embraced by students where the problem isn't an obstacle so much as it is a crutch to wave in people's faces."
I think you're forgetting about the vast majority of the cases. These are people who while they might want to make an effort, decide not to because they KNOW they suck at the activities, and its not so much they don't want to do them, its more that they don't want to be mocked by their classmates for their extremely sub-par performance.
When I was younger, I used to manipulate my school nurse to give me notes out of the gym activities I didn't feel confident at. The last thing I needed for my already miserable social situation was to be put on a co-ed basketball team for gym that day and have the girls mock me (we were little, they DID mock you) for my inability to dribble or shoot a ball.
On a side note, I kicked ass at dodgeball too. I really have no idea why, but I would time and time again be the last person standing. Perhaps FPS ARE benefitial afterall! I'm sure this has something to do with size. I was tiny, thus hard to hit. And once I got older and my legs got a bit stronger, I actually became quite the sprinter, and was decent at other sports, I just decided not to play them because of how traumatic it was when I was younger.
Why punish those of us who can control our eating habits though? Why should I be unable to get candy and pop just because other people are fat? It's the same thing as the girl who sued McDonalds for getting her fat. Even if McDonalds hadn't existed, that girl would still be overweight because she either has a genetic predisposition for it, or because she has a problem with overeating.
Removing the candy and pop isn't the cure. Educating people how not to get fat is the cure.
"Combined with a weightlifting or co-ed aerobics class, this is a luring way to weight loss. I don't see why some school somewhere hasn't picked up on this "aerobic entertainment" yet. I think it would be a good way to get all those kids who beg their Dr. for a note to stay out of PE back in the active world."
It wouldn't get those kids back. They'd still get beat up by the jocks for playing that game. In fact, you'd probably get beat up more if you were any good at it and could impress girls. Competition you know.
Thank you for the clarification (yes, I did not RTFA). Is there a possibility this new game could compete with bf1942? Or is that completely out of the question.
I think that this was inevitable. Sites saw other sites raking in the money with subscriptions, so they will inevitably attempt to do it. However, not all content is created equal. There are many sites that attempt to charge a premium for content *cough*IGN*cough* when the content is not worth it, because a million other websites off the same or better for free.
However, I'm sure many websites could get away with it either because their target audience has the cash to drop on it, or they need the service bad enough. Like it or not, I'm sure the NYTimes could make their site subscription only (or only if you have a regular paper subscription with them) and people would still sign up.
My grudge with IGN is that they decided to charge for their bad reviews and images/movies. There are god knows how many other gaming sites out there offering the same things for free. And lets face it, gamers don't usually have money to drop on a website subscription (they'd rather put it towards a game).
Some websites decide not to be greedy and have found a near perfect balance of content vs. price. Take www.Freshlymixed.com for example. An excellent site and the best site to download Essential Mixes from Radio 1 on (among other mixes). For signing up for free, you get to use bit torrent and download the three most recent Essentail Mixes, but only on weekends. For paying like, $2/month you get access to their archive whenever you want. There are other payment options too. They decided not to be greedy, and guess what? They're probably making MORE money because of it! There will always be that certain point where if you charge more, you'll make less money because you'll simply get less customers.
This kind of seems like a dumb move after they've already enlisted the Desert Combat team.But maybe they would use them to work on this remake. That would really suck if the DC mod got stopped because the team sold out and is making a game that'll cost money.
First, I think if they stuck a Nausicaa figure on there, they could sell this thing as a model kit to us Nausicaa fans, perhaps raise some money that way to work on the full scale one.
Second, I'd like everybodies suggestions for other cool devices from anime you'd like to see created in real life.
" Why? Those people who can use this gilder are either: naturally small and/or fairly in shape. The Segway, however, has no such restrictions, and allows anyone to go fast without effort."
Right, because there would never be a market for people who are naturally small and/or fairly in shape. Using this logic, hang-gliders should have no market. What's that? Hang-gliding is a popular sport? Oh, whoops.
God, thank you! I'm glad someone had the balls to say that finally. You're at +3 Informative at the time of this posting, lets hope this one makes it to +5.
TENTACLE PORN JOKES ARE AS PLAYED OUT AS ALL THE OTHER CLICHES!
"I think MMO's will really take off when they are blended correctly with fps games. Picture a MMO where combat is like Quake or Unreal but you can gain experence and new items/powers/gold from killing people/NPC's ala a RPG. Sure your level 60 character might be able to kill that level 1 guy, unless level 1 guy happens to be thresh. "
I completely agree. Except for the thresh part. While he may be better than your average gamer in the game, the level difference should rightly prevent him from being able to kill that level 60 character unless that person basically sits there and lets him coup de grace him.
But I definitely agree that once they blend RPG and FPS a bit more so that combat and magic consist of more than "hit the A button, sit back, and watch" and actually requires some twitch-based skill instead of simply strategy (geee, should I cast the ultimate death spell now......or when he's down a few more hitpoints) the game that manages to pull that off will reap the rewards. And if they manage to make trade skills slightly more skill based, I'd definitely sign up. If I had to learn a rhythm to blacksmith something, and know where I had to hit the mallet on the blade, and such, it would be a lot more fun than "insert items in bag, hit combine".
You could even work the levels into it such that while you click the mouse on the exact point, the cursor might move a little randomly if you are a low level, and be more precise as you gain skill.
"Where is it written that the state can selectively take privileges away from people? If the state was allowed to do this we'd still have separate race-based bathrooms and water fountains."
That's exactly what a privilege is, something that can be selectively taken away. The reason we don't have race-based bathrooms and water fountains ANYMORE is because the laws were changed to allow it.
" Privilege or right I don't think it matters -- the state doesn't have the right to take a privilege away from me unless I am convicted (not merely suspected) of a crime of some sort."
LOL. Perhaps you can see the irony in your words. Actually they DO have the right to take a privilege away from you regardless of whether you are convicted or not. I'm sure when you signed up for your drivers license there were terms stating that failure to comply with the breathalizer means the state can revoke your driving privileges. Period. There is no discussion of whether they have a right to do this or not. You signed their terms of agreement. It is a legally binding contract. End of story. Morally, I agree with you, but this unfortunately is not a moral issue, it is a legal one.
"This suggests that the state holds everyone in thrall and grants 'privileges' to the obedient few. I hope that is not how people in 'the land of freedom and democracy' feel life is."
You seem surprised. It is a common power grabbing tactic to make as many things as possible illegal, and then allow people to get away with it until it is convenient to bust them for it/charge them for it.
Now, I'm not certain of the details, but I believe what the privilege of a drivers license allows you to do is not to drive a car, but to operate a motor vehicle on publicly used roads. I'm really not sure of whether one is necessary to operate a motor vehicle on a closed course or privately owned property.
" While driving is officially considered a privilege (thank god I haven't seen anyone spell this yet with a 'd'), it is realistically a right that can be taken away if deserved."
At the risk of losing you as a fan (please don't go!), it is realistically NOT a right that can be taken away if deserved. It is realistically a PRIVILEGE that can be taken away if deserved. A right is something that cannot be taken away no matter what.
The rest of your post is dead on though. A drivers license is most certainly a privilege with an extremely low barrier to access.
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Personally, if the game rocks, and the packaging is something special, I'll save it. I've got a couple games who's boxes I've saved. Plus, if you have the storage space to spare (I keep them in my back closet) it's a good way to keep everything together, especially for someone like myself who's organizational skills are all based off of the "pile system" (i'm sure you're familiar with it).
How this got modded insteresting is astounding. This is flamebait if I ever heard it. There is a reason we have the moderation system on Slashdot. Also, I dread to think what Slashdot would be like without the input of the non-paid accounts. There is so much contribution from these sources that Slashdot would be useless without them. Not to mention your move would silence any person who wanted to remain anonymous. Sometimes popular opinion covers up truth as well, but with our moderation system often times those -1 Troll comments have a gem of wisdom that could get modded up.
Now, all joking aside, this is seriously cool. A robotic toy I can afford (after college) which has a longer battery life than almost all similar toys on the market. Wow. When will we get to the point where they sell a shell unit like that, that allows us to upgrade it and add our own modules? I'd love a plug and play robot that wasn't too expensive/timeprohibitive to make. And so much the better if I can buy a missile launcher attachment.
Seriously, that's my one gripe with this thing, why is there no missile launcher attachment? He did say this was a toy didn't he? I won't be able to have it rampage through my giant lego city and destroy the defense force with missiles. :*(
If they advertise on TV, they most likely aren't as good as other schools.
I'm sorry, I know some may disagree, but you don't see Harvard or any of the other good private schools advertising on TV. Sure they advertise, but they don't have a cheesy ass tv spot. I go to school at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. We're one of the top art schools in the country, sending people off to work with Lucas Arts, all the big ad agencies, etc. I spoke with our marketing director and asked her if they would ever consider putting a spot on TV, and she said no and gave the reasons I listed above.
Then you see a spot for those art schools where they send you a drawing test, you fill it out and then send it back. Riiiiight. My school has portfolio interviews before you can get in. You need an EXTENSIVE portfolio, of high quality work. The difference between these two schools I've talked about is that one sets the bar for itself very high, and the other very low.
Think about who might actually sign up for a college they've seen on tv. Think about what kind of education they typically have, and what skills they typically have. I'm sorry if that sounds REALLY stereotypical, but its the truth.
All of these schools are merely trying to get peoples money, and often times offer them high paying jobs as a result. The people who go to these schools are only in it because its a wellpaid profession. Thank god you need to pass the Bar Exam to become a lawyer, otherwise we'd be churning out an army of law students from schools promising "Get rich quick as a lawyer now! Guaranteed clients!"
Sorry for ranting, but this has bugged me for a long time.
You'd think a smart person would know how to adapt to best suit his world.
I think you're forgetting about the vast majority of the cases. These are people who while they might want to make an effort, decide not to because they KNOW they suck at the activities, and its not so much they don't want to do them, its more that they don't want to be mocked by their classmates for their extremely sub-par performance.
When I was younger, I used to manipulate my school nurse to give me notes out of the gym activities I didn't feel confident at. The last thing I needed for my already miserable social situation was to be put on a co-ed basketball team for gym that day and have the girls mock me (we were little, they DID mock you) for my inability to dribble or shoot a ball.
On a side note, I kicked ass at dodgeball too. I really have no idea why, but I would time and time again be the last person standing. Perhaps FPS ARE benefitial afterall! I'm sure this has something to do with size. I was tiny, thus hard to hit. And once I got older and my legs got a bit stronger, I actually became quite the sprinter, and was decent at other sports, I just decided not to play them because of how traumatic it was when I was younger.
Removing the candy and pop isn't the cure. Educating people how not to get fat is the cure.
It wouldn't get those kids back. They'd still get beat up by the jocks for playing that game. In fact, you'd probably get beat up more if you were any good at it and could impress girls. Competition you know.
However, I'm sure many websites could get away with it either because their target audience has the cash to drop on it, or they need the service bad enough. Like it or not, I'm sure the NYTimes could make their site subscription only (or only if you have a regular paper subscription with them) and people would still sign up.
My grudge with IGN is that they decided to charge for their bad reviews and images/movies. There are god knows how many other gaming sites out there offering the same things for free. And lets face it, gamers don't usually have money to drop on a website subscription (they'd rather put it towards a game).
Some websites decide not to be greedy and have found a near perfect balance of content vs. price. Take www.Freshlymixed.com for example. An excellent site and the best site to download Essential Mixes from Radio 1 on (among other mixes). For signing up for free, you get to use bit torrent and download the three most recent Essentail Mixes, but only on weekends. For paying like, $2/month you get access to their archive whenever you want. There are other payment options too. They decided not to be greedy, and guess what? They're probably making MORE money because of it! There will always be that certain point where if you charge more, you'll make less money because you'll simply get less customers.
Second, I'd like everybodies suggestions for other cool devices from anime you'd like to see created in real life.
Here's a couple I'd like.
An e-frame from Exosquad.
Obligatory Veritech Fighter.
A new keyboard setup, with hand enhancement like in Ghost in the Shell.
Kaneda's bike.
Make people fear you even if you're old with the Roujin Z setup.
A pokeball, so I can finally do something about that annoying dog next door.
Appleseed had the right idea.
You know you want capsules like in DBZ.
Um....I guess I want a Chii Persocon too.....
I'm done.
Right, because there would never be a market for people who are naturally small and/or fairly in shape. Using this logic, hang-gliders should have no market. What's that? Hang-gliding is a popular sport? Oh, whoops.
TENTACLE PORN JOKES ARE AS PLAYED OUT AS ALL THE OTHER CLICHES!
I completely agree. Except for the thresh part. While he may be better than your average gamer in the game, the level difference should rightly prevent him from being able to kill that level 60 character unless that person basically sits there and lets him coup de grace him.
But I definitely agree that once they blend RPG and FPS a bit more so that combat and magic consist of more than "hit the A button, sit back, and watch" and actually requires some twitch-based skill instead of simply strategy (geee, should I cast the ultimate death spell now......or when he's down a few more hitpoints) the game that manages to pull that off will reap the rewards. And if they manage to make trade skills slightly more skill based, I'd definitely sign up. If I had to learn a rhythm to blacksmith something, and know where I had to hit the mallet on the blade, and such, it would be a lot more fun than "insert items in bag, hit combine".
You could even work the levels into it such that while you click the mouse on the exact point, the cursor might move a little randomly if you are a low level, and be more precise as you gain skill.
Why?
That's exactly what a privilege is, something that can be selectively taken away. The reason we don't have race-based bathrooms and water fountains ANYMORE is because the laws were changed to allow it.
" Privilege or right I don't think it matters -- the state doesn't have the right to take a privilege away from me unless I am convicted (not merely suspected) of a crime of some sort."
LOL. Perhaps you can see the irony in your words. Actually they DO have the right to take a privilege away from you regardless of whether you are convicted or not. I'm sure when you signed up for your drivers license there were terms stating that failure to comply with the breathalizer means the state can revoke your driving privileges. Period. There is no discussion of whether they have a right to do this or not. You signed their terms of agreement. It is a legally binding contract. End of story. Morally, I agree with you, but this unfortunately is not a moral issue, it is a legal one.
You seem surprised. It is a common power grabbing tactic to make as many things as possible illegal, and then allow people to get away with it until it is convenient to bust them for it/charge them for it.
Now, I'm not certain of the details, but I believe what the privilege of a drivers license allows you to do is not to drive a car, but to operate a motor vehicle on publicly used roads. I'm really not sure of whether one is necessary to operate a motor vehicle on a closed course or privately owned property.
At the risk of losing you as a fan (please don't go!), it is realistically NOT a right that can be taken away if deserved. It is realistically a PRIVILEGE that can be taken away if deserved. A right is something that cannot be taken away no matter what.
The rest of your post is dead on though. A drivers license is most certainly a privilege with an extremely low barrier to access.