"The primary problem with electronics, however, is that many of the shops they visited pay their employees close to minimum wage, possibly with a marginal commission enticement. Given that, who do you think will fill those roles? I don't intend to demean workers at those shops, but it's inevitable: You're not finding the brightest stars of the tech world toiling away, with terrible hours, for $8 an hour at the local Best Buy."
Unfortunately, this doesn't just attract the "dimmer" stars...it also attracts the dishonest ones. When you get paid a low base rate with EXTREMELY high pressure to push your commission based add-ons (like the warranty), you get a situation where people start acting unethically just to increase their earnings.
Case in point...I recently went to Best Buy and was just taking a look at some of the small form factor laptops when I overheard a salesperson trying to pull one over on a customer. They tried to tell this poor women who seemed like she didn't have any clue about computers that she needed the model with a faster processor and more RAM in order to view webpages quicker. Now...that might be true if you were comparing a modern computer to a Pentium 166...but just about every computer on the market today is powerful enough to handle just about any website without the slightest hiccup save those caused by your connection.
I felt the need to intervene so I approached the woman when the salesperson stepped away momentarily to help another customer and explained the situation. She got very upset and left the store before the sales guy got back. When he did get back and demanded to know what I said to her, I explained that I simply clarified on the horribly inaccurate and false information he had been feeding her and she decided to make her purchase at a more trustworthy retailer whos salespeople wouldn't try to scam her.
Salesperson then walked away in a huff. I would have reported this to a store manager had I thought it would have any effect...but he'd probably just congratulate the salesperson for coming up with an "inventive" way to push their product and then ask if he had sold a PSP with it.
"Because it distracts you from the things that trully matter--um, like reality. You're volunteering yourself for Plato's cave (or the Matrix). Can you really not see how that is bad?"
Allow me to play Devil's Advocate and explore your point (while ignoring the more practical side of the legal issues regarding virtual worlds).
As a scientifically minded person, I subscribe to the belief that what we consider "reality" is all a matter of perception. It is in essence what our brain tells us it is. Thus, in a way, virtual worlds can offer us many, if not eventually all of the experiences of "real life". So then my question becomes...who are you to determine what REALLY matters? If life is what you make of it, by setting your own goals and striking out on your own path, then it is really up to every individual to determine whether "reality" matters more than virtual reality.
Now, I know this may be an uncomfortable thought for many older people here as younger generations are adopting a much different view of life where their virtual lives play just as important a role as their "real" lives (if not more so). And while on the surface it seems like it may just be the geeks...there's also the MILLIONS of teens who's lives are increasingly becoming enveloped by MySpace and Facebook, etc. And while these are not virtual worlds in the normal sense, once technology improves and true virtual reality becomes mainstream, I think it will be quite common for people to view their online lives with increasing importance.
I understand the experience might be kind of hard to put into words, but can you possibly try to equate it to something else...or maybe provide an example that we can try at home that might help convey what the extra sensory perception is like?
Not to troll or anything...but did anybody else find it a bit odd that the whole blurb was basically a press release? In fact, I read the headline, then read the blurb, and had to REREAD the blurb to realize that I missed the first bit about it being delayed. Rather than explain about Phantom and their lapboard, which most of Slashdot is very familiar with...wouldn't it have been more useful to say something...i dunno....maybe about WHY it is delayed?
Since this is basically the Vapourware Company Of The Year, I think most readers would find that info a bit more interesting.
Regarding the attraction of this species
on
An Alternate Human
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· Score: 1
If what he is proposing is to use human DNA to "remix" our form...it brings an interesting question to mind. Lets say this thing could actually be created and it had its reproductive organs in its mouth...can anybody here shed some light on the psychology behind whether it would find other members of its species attractive? I mean...if it had human DNA...would it find regular shaped humans attractive? Or only those of similar form?
What I'm getting at...and I'm entirely serious when I ask this...if a male and female of this species were created...would they even WANT to reproduce with each other? Would they even find the other attractive?
While ads certainly have their place in games like GTA, The Matrix Online, even CoH...I have to say I am DYING to see what attempts will be made to breach the ad market with fantasy games. Because honestly there is no clean, natural and non-disruptive way to do so without completely borking the setting.
Of course what that means is we will start seeing less ads in the actual game world, and more ads in the interface, similar to the whole "ordering pizza through the command line" deal. Or possibly showing spots during zone loads. Of course then you have angry players who would rightly be suspicious that their uberfast connection and computer should load the zone quicker and that they are delaying the zone loading process just to show ads.
And lets face it...since the most popular (for the moment) game online is WoW...you KNOW someone will attempt it. Whether Blizzard will bite or not is another question. Would you object to seeing a food vendor selling chicken suspiciously labeled "K'ntuckee Fried Chicken"? I actually think that is one option advertisers have...parodying their brands. People can easily make the connection and see the joke, it would definitely be fitting in the setting...AND people would still make the same connection to the brand, and perhaps even appreciate that they didn't try to make a hugely flashing ad that completely broke the theme of the game world.
As an advertising exec (and a huge geek and longtime Slashdotter)...I must say this has to be one of the most ignorant and naive posts I've read in a long time....lets start with your 1st point...
"1. The only advertisement that will really continue to flourish are the sorts of things that make it to the Super Bowl commercials, which is to say that they'll actually be entertaining."
Right, because there is no advertising that is creative and witty that is not shown during the superbowl commercials where it costs 2.4 mil per:30 spot. News flash, I HIGHLY recommend you check out The Cannes Advertising Festival. You will see some of the truly great advertising out there that does not necessarily get played during big spend events. In addition, how in the hell do you explain the ridiculously explosive growth of viral advertising? I'm sure you can't, but I'd love to see you try. However I do agree with your point that truly effective advertising will continue to be forced to be more entertaining in the future as audiences in any medium now have an unprecedented level of control over their media. Don't like an ad on TV? Fast forward it with TiVo. Don't like an ad on the net? Use ad blockers. We are developing highly effective methods of getting rid of advertising so the only advertising that will ultimately get through is that which is entertaining enough to actually make people seek it out. And of course there's your average American who will still be affected by run-of-the-mill advertising because they don't know what an ad blocker or TiVo are.
"2. "Advertising" as an industry will basically keel over and die, because products will eventually reach a point at which they will stand or fall on their own merits. The internet means that the exchange of information is certainly possible; all that remains is for people to realize that 99% of advertisement has nothing to do with the product and everything to do with making as much noise to get as much attention (negative OR positive) as possible.
"
I had to take a moment to pick myself up from the floor from laughing so hard at this. If you think advertising is going to die...well...I have a bridge I'd like to sell you. As another poster pointed out, sometimes making noise is all thats needed. That is called generating buzz, and when people are talking about your ads or your product, word gets around and people will have that brand name stuck in their heads whether they like it or not. It is true that the industry is going through some MASSIVE changes as all the ancient giant holding companies like Publicis and Omnicom etc. are fast learning that large agencies like BBDO and Foote Cone & Belding and DDB and Saatchi etc. are nowhere near as agile as they need to be in this rapidly changing mediascape. They simply can't react fast enough to changes in the market which is why we are seeing a huge surge in tiny "boutique" ad shops, particularly for viral and guerilla advertising. But that just means the money is being spread differently, ad spending has actually increased in many areas...few of them traditional.
"I really don't care about the advertising industry; I'm not the sort to know or care what's in fashion, I just buy what I want (or need) and any advertisement aimed at me beyond the introduction of new products is doomed to failure."
I honestly don't believe this for a second, despite how anti-advertising you claim to be. As a fellow geek who thoroughly researches every purchase I make, ads be damned, I have to say there have been plenty of times when an amazing ad has swayed my purchasing decision and when I immediately realize it I get very angry at myself since I do this for a living and know better than most how they affect people. However I am not ignorant enough to think that all advertising is bad...otherwise how do you find out about sales and other ways you can save money? Yeah, most "special offers" are utter crap and make m
To add to your point about exaggeraged movements with the controller....this is critical when you are playing multiplayer games. For example, the steering wheel they sold for Gran Turismo 3 on the PS2....great concept, except for the fact that the minimal movements you had to make with the joystick on the regular controller gave you a distinct advantage over someone playing with the wheel since they had to make a longer movement to achieve the same results.
Thats just one example. And yes, a lightgun might be good in a FPS....but take it multiplayer and I'll use a mouse against a light gun any day of the week.
One of the things I've noticed is the same thing that happened with P2P apps once the legal issues started arising....they branched off.
What happened then was that while the features and everything were all new and great, unfortunately the thing that had made those systems initially great was their large user bases. This is the same thing with social networking sites.
What I'm wondering is if there are any plans for something that can merge the data between them...kind of like an aggregator between all of your social networking sites you are signed up on.
Why should I have to go to 15 different sites to check my messages and scrapbook entries when there could be a way for me to go to one site that has my login info for all those sites and aggregates them nicely....perhaps in an RSS feed.
I guess the only thing really preventing this kind of interoperability is the proprietary nature of these sites and the fact that their business models rely on you visiting their sites and being bombarded with ads.
But can anybody here think of a way around that? Perhaps there could be some sort of software that lets you drop a line of code into the CSS of your page and have it send updates to your aggregator feed or something. Any body have any info on this? I'd prefer your comments over your mod points.
No kidding. What I'd really love is a game similar to the Galactic Conquest mod for BF:1942....except much more massive. I want HUNDREDS of people manning all of the turrets on a full size Star Destroyer. I want large squadrons of TIE fighters that I can swat down like gnats. I want capital ships that ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING! And how do you stop fuckwads from ruining the experience? Implement a rank system similar to Planetside. Yeah, you might get some fuckwads who occasionally abuse their power that they've EARNED.....but most of the time the capital ship commands will actually have a clue as to what they're doing and if you're just a TKer the only think you'll be able to do is turret duty.
No kidding. Whats the point of being a master lockpicker or laying out a huge plan to assasinate someone to gain access to their house if everybody knows what goods are hot and what goods aren't? I mean...if I'm in a house with a close door...and I loot EVERYTHING there, even if its a generic item, how in the HELL is some shop keeper going to know it was stolen? I mean...yeah, if it was an amulet that some guy never took off and I'm trying to hawk it, sure, I'd be a bit suspicious, but a metal plate? Whats the deal?
"So it seems that when people want to laugh at the deaf guy with the weird glasses"
And unfortunately thats why these devices never take off. They look weird. That's why all the cool tech gadgets that fit in glasses or watches tend to be still-births. And even if they did look SOMEWHAT decent...the problem is that glasses and watches are more fashion accessories today than functional items. So when you release a product with a really cool function in one of those form factors...the fact that your fashion design aspects of the product don't offer the options that the rest of the marketplace does kills any chance it had to begin with.
Interesting counter-point, however I still disagree regarding the point about how doing stuff that wasn't fun in the game in order to get to the fun parts makes you play less. While that may have been your case, I feel you are the exception rather than the rule. You see, MMOs like WoW are nothing more than virtual Skinner Boxes as discussed in this wonderful essay on the subject. So while some parts might not be fun, due to the random reward nature of them and the game, people will still come back for more, ESPECIALLY just to get to the good parts... And MMO companies take FULL advantage of this. That is why there are "grind levels". They are nothing more than timesinks. MMO companies have a vested interest in keeping you playing their game as long as possible unlike games that don't charge a subscription fee since their ROI is directly tied to the number and duration of monthly fee incomes.
Why do that when they can just take those additional features (and any they feel like scraping out of the initial release) and sell them as "add-ons" for a couple bucks a pop? *cough*Bethesda*cough*
This is only not really off-topic depending on how you read the title of story question...but does anybody know of any advances made in getting a computer screen displayed ON the actual contact lens ala Star Trek? I would love more than anything to have a contact that could display data on it, especially video. Of course it would probably be so thick that I couldn't shut my eye because it would protrude past my eyelids.
There is another less-publicized reason why the MMORPG companies like Blizzard want to fight gold farmers. Gold farmers shorten the number of months someone is likely to play the game.
While I don't have any studies to back me up, I would be willing to bet that someone who buys there way to the highest level and equipment plays the game a significantly shorter time than someone who earns their way to the top. The reason why is simple...it takes a serious amount of time to amass the gold that those guys do. If you cut out that time by paying a $50 or so, then thats a good month or two of subscription fees.
When you start looking at things in terms of shortened subscriptions, you can see why companies like Blizzard are concerned. Of course, they probably make up for it by having the gold farmers just buy a new copy of the game every time they get banned.
What I want to know aside from getting a tech job in the industry is how do you actually start a porn company? Can anybody post a good guide? I know plenty of cute girls who don't mind being a little risque or topless for cash, and from all appearances, those softcore tease sites make a LOT of money.
Also, any info on where he found Jordan? She is certainly cute and seems to have a nice personality.
You can say that again. Thats why I'm almost tempted to get a shitbox "date" car when I am (hopefully) oneday rich. I would do what I could to hide my money to make sure someone wasn't with me for that. Its not that I don't mind sharing money with people, I love buying people gifts...its just that I want someone to be with me for me, not for my money.
As you can see from the video, calling it a "forcefield" is nothing but an attempt to get free publicity. This thing is in reality a point defense system that uses radar to sense incoming projectiles and shoots out the equivelant of chaff to destroy the projectiles before it hits the vehicle.
Like the fact that unless you're a big name male porn start or do your own net porn site starring yourself...your pay will be absolute shit. The real money goes to the women.
Then add on the fact that you have to have to be attractive and well-endowed, which cancels out most of the population (although I wouldn't be surprised if 90% of Slashdot claimed to be both). Plus there's the high risk of STDs, despite testing...and the final point is that when it comes down to it...when you're in a porn shoot, after a while its JUST a job. And as with any job it can be tedious and unenjoyable, especially when you have little to no say in your partner. Yeah...its getting paid to have sex, but there is almost no emotion in it...a lot of it is stop and go so they can get the shot just right, and its in a lot of weird positions that happen to work well for the camera.
True. It didn't take me 2 minutes to read the blurb and it did state it. This was kinda just the straw that broke the camel's back (mine) and made me decide to write my rant about this trend in technology articles.
The real lesson you should be getting from reading these studies is that there are groups, businesses and associations that have a lot to gain from hurting the video game industry through sensationalist stories. Unfortunately, while WE know this study is complete and utter bollocks...a lot of parents who "only get their news from Fox" etc. will read this and get alarmed.
Not only that, but political decision makers will then get tons of complaints from these parents...look to these studies to pull some numbers from to make their arguments...and pass legislation that is unjust, asinine, and just plain ignorant.
Also thought I'd include a nice analysis of this "study" that tears it apart. Read it here.
Slashdot Mirror
Unfortunately, this doesn't just attract the "dimmer" stars...it also attracts the dishonest ones. When you get paid a low base rate with EXTREMELY high pressure to push your commission based add-ons (like the warranty), you get a situation where people start acting unethically just to increase their earnings.
Case in point...I recently went to Best Buy and was just taking a look at some of the small form factor laptops when I overheard a salesperson trying to pull one over on a customer. They tried to tell this poor women who seemed like she didn't have any clue about computers that she needed the model with a faster processor and more RAM in order to view webpages quicker. Now...that might be true if you were comparing a modern computer to a Pentium 166...but just about every computer on the market today is powerful enough to handle just about any website without the slightest hiccup save those caused by your connection.
I felt the need to intervene so I approached the woman when the salesperson stepped away momentarily to help another customer and explained the situation. She got very upset and left the store before the sales guy got back. When he did get back and demanded to know what I said to her, I explained that I simply clarified on the horribly inaccurate and false information he had been feeding her and she decided to make her purchase at a more trustworthy retailer whos salespeople wouldn't try to scam her.
Salesperson then walked away in a huff. I would have reported this to a store manager had I thought it would have any effect...but he'd probably just congratulate the salesperson for coming up with an "inventive" way to push their product and then ask if he had sold a PSP with it.
Allow me to play Devil's Advocate and explore your point (while ignoring the more practical side of the legal issues regarding virtual worlds).
As a scientifically minded person, I subscribe to the belief that what we consider "reality" is all a matter of perception. It is in essence what our brain tells us it is. Thus, in a way, virtual worlds can offer us many, if not eventually all of the experiences of "real life". So then my question becomes...who are you to determine what REALLY matters? If life is what you make of it, by setting your own goals and striking out on your own path, then it is really up to every individual to determine whether "reality" matters more than virtual reality.
Now, I know this may be an uncomfortable thought for many older people here as younger generations are adopting a much different view of life where their virtual lives play just as important a role as their "real" lives (if not more so). And while on the surface it seems like it may just be the geeks...there's also the MILLIONS of teens who's lives are increasingly becoming enveloped by MySpace and Facebook, etc. And while these are not virtual worlds in the normal sense, once technology improves and true virtual reality becomes mainstream, I think it will be quite common for people to view their online lives with increasing importance.
Since this is basically the Vapourware Company Of The Year, I think most readers would find that info a bit more interesting.
What I'm getting at...and I'm entirely serious when I ask this...if a male and female of this species were created...would they even WANT to reproduce with each other? Would they even find the other attractive?
Of course what that means is we will start seeing less ads in the actual game world, and more ads in the interface, similar to the whole "ordering pizza through the command line" deal. Or possibly showing spots during zone loads. Of course then you have angry players who would rightly be suspicious that their uberfast connection and computer should load the zone quicker and that they are delaying the zone loading process just to show ads.
And lets face it...since the most popular (for the moment) game online is WoW...you KNOW someone will attempt it. Whether Blizzard will bite or not is another question. Would you object to seeing a food vendor selling chicken suspiciously labeled "K'ntuckee Fried Chicken"? I actually think that is one option advertisers have...parodying their brands. People can easily make the connection and see the joke, it would definitely be fitting in the setting...AND people would still make the same connection to the brand, and perhaps even appreciate that they didn't try to make a hugely flashing ad that completely broke the theme of the game world.
"1. The only advertisement that will really continue to flourish are the sorts of things that make it to the Super Bowl commercials, which is to say that they'll actually be entertaining."
Right, because there is no advertising that is creative and witty that is not shown during the superbowl commercials where it costs 2.4 mil per :30 spot. News flash, I HIGHLY recommend you check out The Cannes Advertising Festival. You will see some of the truly great advertising out there that does not necessarily get played during big spend events. In addition, how in the hell do you explain the ridiculously explosive growth of viral advertising? I'm sure you can't, but I'd love to see you try. However I do agree with your point that truly effective advertising will continue to be forced to be more entertaining in the future as audiences in any medium now have an unprecedented level of control over their media. Don't like an ad on TV? Fast forward it with TiVo. Don't like an ad on the net? Use ad blockers. We are developing highly effective methods of getting rid of advertising so the only advertising that will ultimately get through is that which is entertaining enough to actually make people seek it out. And of course there's your average American who will still be affected by run-of-the-mill advertising because they don't know what an ad blocker or TiVo are.
"2. "Advertising" as an industry will basically keel over and die, because products will eventually reach a point at which they will stand or fall on their own merits. The internet means that the exchange of information is certainly possible; all that remains is for people to realize that 99% of advertisement has nothing to do with the product and everything to do with making as much noise to get as much attention (negative OR positive) as possible. "
I had to take a moment to pick myself up from the floor from laughing so hard at this. If you think advertising is going to die...well...I have a bridge I'd like to sell you. As another poster pointed out, sometimes making noise is all thats needed. That is called generating buzz, and when people are talking about your ads or your product, word gets around and people will have that brand name stuck in their heads whether they like it or not. It is true that the industry is going through some MASSIVE changes as all the ancient giant holding companies like Publicis and Omnicom etc. are fast learning that large agencies like BBDO and Foote Cone & Belding and DDB and Saatchi etc. are nowhere near as agile as they need to be in this rapidly changing mediascape. They simply can't react fast enough to changes in the market which is why we are seeing a huge surge in tiny "boutique" ad shops, particularly for viral and guerilla advertising. But that just means the money is being spread differently, ad spending has actually increased in many areas...few of them traditional.
"I really don't care about the advertising industry; I'm not the sort to know or care what's in fashion, I just buy what I want (or need) and any advertisement aimed at me beyond the introduction of new products is doomed to failure."
I honestly don't believe this for a second, despite how anti-advertising you claim to be. As a fellow geek who thoroughly researches every purchase I make, ads be damned, I have to say there have been plenty of times when an amazing ad has swayed my purchasing decision and when I immediately realize it I get very angry at myself since I do this for a living and know better than most how they affect people. However I am not ignorant enough to think that all advertising is bad...otherwise how do you find out about sales and other ways you can save money? Yeah, most "special offers" are utter crap and make m
Thats just one example. And yes, a lightgun might be good in a FPS....but take it multiplayer and I'll use a mouse against a light gun any day of the week.
What happened then was that while the features and everything were all new and great, unfortunately the thing that had made those systems initially great was their large user bases. This is the same thing with social networking sites.
What I'm wondering is if there are any plans for something that can merge the data between them...kind of like an aggregator between all of your social networking sites you are signed up on.
Why should I have to go to 15 different sites to check my messages and scrapbook entries when there could be a way for me to go to one site that has my login info for all those sites and aggregates them nicely....perhaps in an RSS feed.
I guess the only thing really preventing this kind of interoperability is the proprietary nature of these sites and the fact that their business models rely on you visiting their sites and being bombarded with ads.
But can anybody here think of a way around that? Perhaps there could be some sort of software that lets you drop a line of code into the CSS of your page and have it send updates to your aggregator feed or something. Any body have any info on this? I'd prefer your comments over your mod points.
And unfortunately thats why these devices never take off. They look weird. That's why all the cool tech gadgets that fit in glasses or watches tend to be still-births. And even if they did look SOMEWHAT decent...the problem is that glasses and watches are more fashion accessories today than functional items. So when you release a product with a really cool function in one of those form factors...the fact that your fashion design aspects of the product don't offer the options that the rest of the marketplace does kills any chance it had to begin with.
While I don't have any studies to back me up, I would be willing to bet that someone who buys there way to the highest level and equipment plays the game a significantly shorter time than someone who earns their way to the top. The reason why is simple...it takes a serious amount of time to amass the gold that those guys do. If you cut out that time by paying a $50 or so, then thats a good month or two of subscription fees.
When you start looking at things in terms of shortened subscriptions, you can see why companies like Blizzard are concerned. Of course, they probably make up for it by having the gold farmers just buy a new copy of the game every time they get banned.
Also, any info on where he found Jordan? She is certainly cute and seems to have a nice personality.
As you can see from the video, calling it a "forcefield" is nothing but an attempt to get free publicity. This thing is in reality a point defense system that uses radar to sense incoming projectiles and shoots out the equivelant of chaff to destroy the projectiles before it hits the vehicle.
Well I guess its reassuring to know what your relationship is based upon without any pretenses.
Like the fact that unless you're a big name male porn start or do your own net porn site starring yourself...your pay will be absolute shit. The real money goes to the women.
Then add on the fact that you have to have to be attractive and well-endowed, which cancels out most of the population (although I wouldn't be surprised if 90% of Slashdot claimed to be both). Plus there's the high risk of STDs, despite testing...and the final point is that when it comes down to it...when you're in a porn shoot, after a while its JUST a job. And as with any job it can be tedious and unenjoyable, especially when you have little to no say in your partner. Yeah...its getting paid to have sex, but there is almost no emotion in it...a lot of it is stop and go so they can get the shot just right, and its in a lot of weird positions that happen to work well for the camera.
Not only that, but political decision makers will then get tons of complaints from these parents...look to these studies to pull some numbers from to make their arguments...and pass legislation that is unjust, asinine, and just plain ignorant.
Also thought I'd include a nice analysis of this "study" that tears it apart. Read it here.