The reason why is because of the keyboard and mouse. While I can definitely sympathize with you...unfortunately you are in the VAST minority.
To your point about built in voice chat...I wonder if that may indeed help turn the tide to the console. One of the main reason for using MMORPGs on the PC now is all of the auxilliary software people tend to run with it....voice chat...map overlays.....mods.....etc. But I don't foresee the keyboard and mouse going away anytime in the immediate future. They simply offer WAY more input options than the Xbox controller.
'"only" $47 million in revenue in 2005? I'm fairly sure I could pay the rent and eat nice dinners every day with $47 million yearly.."
I REALLY hope you know the difference between revenue and profit. Remember, just because they make that much doesn't mean they necessarily give it all to the owner...they have expenses, and plenty of them.
Online games, MMORPGs in particular are sweeping the world by storm, and lets face it...the computer is a much better tool for playing these than consoles. Then lets take a look at blockbuster titles...there are none, or if they do exist, they are sequels which don't justify spending $400 just to play.
The biggest issue by far though is innovative gameplay. I have a sneaking suspicion that if the Revolution can come out with one or two innovative games that focus on the new gameplay enhancements of the system...they will sweep the console market.
In this day and age gamers are NOT just satisfied with better graphics. Its become expected that graphics power will increase, and yes....eventually they must upgrade to accommodate, but there are two areas of gaming that have also become very important as of late, and thats where the real room for growth is.
These two areas are physics engines and input devices. Gamers are quick realizing after HL2 was released that one of the best ways to creative fresh gameplay every time and to be able to constantly surprise yourself is to be able to do cool things with physics. Games can look as pretty as they can make them, but all that is useless if it doesn't FEEL like real life. And that's where the input devices come in. Nintendo is bridging the gap between how you play the game, and what happens in the game. Suddenly you don't push a button to swing your sword, you actually swing it. And yes, this isn't exactly an earth-shattering concept...but pulling it off successfully enough and having enough market share to actually make people develop for it is fairly new...and something that Nintendo is uniquely positioned to do at this point.
I'm personally holding out for a Revolution. And no, I don't work for Nintendo, in fact I camped out in front of Target to get a PS2 when it came out...but Sony has lost my trust, and my praise. And MS never had it to begin with.
"Microsoft will introduce a search engine better than Google in six months in the United States and Britain followed by Europe, its European president said on Wednesday."
Um...how about you wait until your product is on the market and its users can decide which is better before you go making statements like this?
But aside from that, even if it is MS, I'm glad there is heavy competition here because in the end, the people who really benefit are the users...and Google has been resting on its laurels as of late.
The only people who want a tiered internet are the telecom companies. Users don't want it, web companies don't want it...how in the hell do they expect to get this to get through? If they all colluded to make sure everybody in their industry did this, wouldn't that be illegal and violate some price fixing laws (not necessarily in Germany, but in the States)?
My other question is...if this does get pushed through, is there anything preventing another company from starting up and basically offering things the way are currently? I mean, if the whole telecom industry decides to force us into tiered internet, couldn't some company just NOT do it, and rake in the cash hand over fist from all the users and companies that flock to them?
While I agree with you on moral grounds...your wish is pure fantasy. There will always be people who break the rules, and unless you are some of the top people in your industry...you might have to as well in order to compete with them. Its a slippery slope.
My main concerns are these...what will be done to protect the students from any draconic DRM schemes that textbook publishers implement to prevent resale of school text books? Also, what will be done to ensure that the school does not invade the privacy of the students via the laptop?
The video format this is a big concern to me. I was wondering if any Mac geeks here could suggest a solution for my current situation...
I have a PC which I currently use for most of my video watching. I would LOVE to be able to hook something with the form factor of the Mini with the useability of the remote and Frontrow to my TV, and have it connect wirelessly to my PC which runs XP.
So, there's the OS issue...then on top of that, my entire video collection is either DivX or Xvid with a variety of codecs used. From the parents comment it would appear I am out of luck here.
Can anybody suggest a setup/solution that would allow me to wirelessly (or wired if neccessary) connect my PC to the Mini so I can transfer files between the two boxes...and also a solution for watching DivX/Xvid files with Frontrow on the Mini?
"The idea is user-friendliness and connectivity, but on the terms of the Chinese Communist Party.
Chinese-encoded TLDs will make it easier for an increasingly-wired Chinese people to use the internet. It will also make it much easier for the Party to control exactly what happens on Chinese-language domains."
And unfortunately....the one real thing that could prevent them from doing this is international businesses who have a strong investment in China. But all that will happen is that the decision makers at those companies will see "hey, China made a new internet, and in order to do business there we need to purchase another domain name. Where do I sign?"
They won't care about the issue of freedom and privacy. Because if they don't follow along...and their competitors do, they are at a disadvantage.
In addition to power supplies, there are some environmental issues to deal with as well.
What solutions exist over there to deal with the large amounts of sand that can, and do end up in the systems? Obviously server rooms have intense filtration systems, but what about home computer use or laptops?
For my hourly rate of $100/hr I'd be more than happy to share my marketing expertise with you.
No offense, but you're basically asking the Slashdot community to fill in the other half of your business plan...you know, the actual money making part. Getting expertise on how to do that costs money.
"There is no such thing as a legitimate "spam list". Spam lists are **ALWAYS** full of unwitting recipients. Legitimate mailing-lists, on the other hand, only have addresses of people who have specifically requested to be included in **YOUR** (and YOURS alone - there is no such thing as a "legitimate" purchased list, because the people there HAVE NOT requested to be on it) mailing list.
They know that your lists are legitimate mailing lists because every single person on them have requested to be on them, and for the eventual complaint that seeps through, you can PROVE that the person has requested to be on it, because you have DUTIFULLY kept the actual request ON FILE."
While IANAL, from a legal standpoint I believe you are deadwrong. That is why all the privacy policies of the companies who sell the lists say that they share them with their third party affiliates and all that crap. So while yes, it is INCREDIBLY scummy to prey upon the ignorance of people who do not read those things...and while morally it is about as illegitimate as you can get...legally I believe that selling spam lists is perfectly legit as long as it has been disclosed in the privacy agreement. Of course whether that would hold up in court or not is another story altogether.
Just out of curiosity...any developers want to comment on the efficiency of the proposed method? I mean...wouldn't that eat up a LOT of time to sort through the code and see what is useable and what isn't? And in that timeframe...wouldn't it have been quicker just to have the developer write the code himself?
Actually, you make a good point. I should have mentioned that some professions have internships that can pay quite decently, engineering being one, and law being another. Actually, I'm considering going into law...can any lawyers on here comment on what kind of pay first year students can make doing a summer internship?
"Try going for a job instead of a internship. Having an internship on your school record or resume may look good to school officials and some business types, but real work experience counts a lot more."
While I agree with the parent that real work experience counts for a lot, what the parent doesn't mention is the fact that in todays business world, unless you are EXTREMELY lucky, have the right connections, or are just that good your resume will get tossed out the second they see you don't have any actual related experience.
You see, internships are all about gaining real world experience, for the most part while you're in college (some people do internships during highschool or after college to get their foot in the door).
As someone with a lot of experience interning...let me explain how it works...
You have little to no REAL experience (being a student doesn't exactly count unless you're a masters student)...thus you will be getting little to zero pay in exchange for getting a chance to get some real world experience to bolster your resume. Now, this may seem like a kinda crappy deal, until you realize that not only is it one of the best networking experiences most college students get...it also gets your foot in the door at the company you intern at.
I personally had two internships, both at prestidigious ad agencies (i'm in advertising), one of which resulted in a job offer (which I turned down since I went to school in another state and wanted to complete my education), and the other was just such a good place that it looks amazing on my resume to show employers "Hey, I'm good, I was able to get in at XYZ". Of course...interns aren't expected to really do much, but it gives you a leg up.
My current job started as a paid internship, and I quickly gained more responsibilities once I had proven myself.
So...I hope that clarifies just how important internships are. Yes, if you can land a job, by all means do so! But unless you're fairly confident you'll get it, don't waste your time applying for a position where you have a slim to nil chance of being accepted and instead shoot for the internship where you have better odds.
Now, I said all this to address the parent...I feel the story submitter knows all of this, and was merely looking for an answer as to whether or not his current skillset is competitive in today's cutthroat world of internship hunting. Unfortunately, I can't answer that. But remember, business is 20% WHAT you know, and 80% WHO you know. That internship I just bragged about that looks great on my resume (and was a FANTASTIC experience)...well, ultimately I had to back it up with skill, but I never even would have gotten an interview if it hadn't been for my industry connections, which basically led to me getting a VERY enthusiastic call from the HR person to ask when I'd like to interview (remember, HR is supposedly the black tar pit of resumes). Networking is just about everything when you don't have much real world experience. Remember that and you'll be bound to get in somewhere.
So...is Slashdot the first stop? Remember, any press is good press, and right now they're reaching a LOT of readers, some of whom might potentially see one of these images and think to themselves, "hmm...this is the scummiest company on earth, and I hate how they are intentionally trying to subvert these gaming forums to reach me...but damn, thats a cool looking keyboard, I might have to buy it".
As an American, I was wondering if someone could clarify something on this law for me...
Since this tax goes to the recording industry to apparently make up for "lost sales due to copyright infringement"....where can independant Canadian artists who are not affiliated with the labels sign up to receive their cut of this tax? I mean...people use these blank CDs for things other than the music of the labels...
And if this tax applies to ALL CDRs, rather than just the music CDRs that nobody buys in America...how does a Canadian citizen dispute the tax on something they've never used (assuming of course they don't burn music to CDs?
The thing that made City of Heroes a good game was that their world was set up under the premise that super heroes were EXTREMELY common. In the DC Universe, while heroes aren't exactly rare...they are unique. They are personalities. This problem came up with the Star Wars MMO as well...you can't have everybody running around as Luke or Vader. Unfortunately, I don't really see this game succeeding unless they can address that problem or have a REALLY cool power system that blows CoH out of the water.
" BitTorrent seems to have worn out it's welcome with the MPAA recently, so maybe the future holds P2P networks owned and managed by Hollywood?"
That's assuming that Hollywood hasn't worn out its welcome with users, which it has in spades. I think the future holds P2P networks owned and managed by users, who will watch content owned and created by users, and BitTorrent is a great distribution method for it.
Why is it unfair? Because this isn't a movie you're purchasing, its a video game. its SUPPOSED to be re-playable content. You can't compare the two, thats comparing apples to oranges. What you should be comparing is the retail price of HL2 (roughly $50) and the number of hours of gameplay you get from it (essentially unlimited with online play and mods) and compare it to this steaming pile of crap.
Make no mistake about it...the ONLY reason game companies want to move to episodic releases is because they make more profit. They will toss out every other excuse they can think of, but thats all it really comes down to. They are thinking "hey, we don't have a subscription model, but what can we do that would be close to it?"
Not only do I feel like I actually get LESS done with tech....I also feel like more is expected of me. Its like....ok, we gave you this computer that can do all these things, now do it in half the time it used to take. Not to mention that since tech definitely does increase efficiency in some area...suddenly they dump even more work on you to fill up whatever free time you might have had their. So instead of being able to be more thorough and spend more time with a project thanks to the free time the technology enables, instead in leads to us getting rushed through it more and more.
Not to mention that tech has only added to the problem of employers thinking they rule your life...expecting you to stay late every night and work on weekends.
Its funny...but I'm sure I'm not the only one here who wishes for simpler times when life was a bit slower.
Funny you should mention "sleeping on it". I always wondered if our brains are able to do some of the things they do because of quantum properties. I mean, why SHOULDN'T quantum mechanics like those that are being used here work on our brains? Of course, I know absolutely nothing about this, so if there really is a reason, please, by all means enlighten me.
As someone who has an AOL email address because they have family who still religiously use it.....I have to say that their communications to their customers are very confusing. They make it sound like you're getting a free upgrade to broadband, and just paying a buck or two more.
Slashdot Mirror
To your point about built in voice chat...I wonder if that may indeed help turn the tide to the console. One of the main reason for using MMORPGs on the PC now is all of the auxilliary software people tend to run with it....voice chat...map overlays.....mods.....etc. But I don't foresee the keyboard and mouse going away anytime in the immediate future. They simply offer WAY more input options than the Xbox controller.
I REALLY hope you know the difference between revenue and profit. Remember, just because they make that much doesn't mean they necessarily give it all to the owner...they have expenses, and plenty of them.
Online games, MMORPGs in particular are sweeping the world by storm, and lets face it...the computer is a much better tool for playing these than consoles. Then lets take a look at blockbuster titles...there are none, or if they do exist, they are sequels which don't justify spending $400 just to play.
The biggest issue by far though is innovative gameplay. I have a sneaking suspicion that if the Revolution can come out with one or two innovative games that focus on the new gameplay enhancements of the system...they will sweep the console market.
In this day and age gamers are NOT just satisfied with better graphics. Its become expected that graphics power will increase, and yes....eventually they must upgrade to accommodate, but there are two areas of gaming that have also become very important as of late, and thats where the real room for growth is.
These two areas are physics engines and input devices. Gamers are quick realizing after HL2 was released that one of the best ways to creative fresh gameplay every time and to be able to constantly surprise yourself is to be able to do cool things with physics. Games can look as pretty as they can make them, but all that is useless if it doesn't FEEL like real life. And that's where the input devices come in. Nintendo is bridging the gap between how you play the game, and what happens in the game. Suddenly you don't push a button to swing your sword, you actually swing it. And yes, this isn't exactly an earth-shattering concept...but pulling it off successfully enough and having enough market share to actually make people develop for it is fairly new...and something that Nintendo is uniquely positioned to do at this point.
I'm personally holding out for a Revolution. And no, I don't work for Nintendo, in fact I camped out in front of Target to get a PS2 when it came out...but Sony has lost my trust, and my praise. And MS never had it to begin with.
Um...how about you wait until your product is on the market and its users can decide which is better before you go making statements like this?
But aside from that, even if it is MS, I'm glad there is heavy competition here because in the end, the people who really benefit are the users...and Google has been resting on its laurels as of late.
My other question is...if this does get pushed through, is there anything preventing another company from starting up and basically offering things the way are currently? I mean, if the whole telecom industry decides to force us into tiered internet, couldn't some company just NOT do it, and rake in the cash hand over fist from all the users and companies that flock to them?
I have a PC which I currently use for most of my video watching. I would LOVE to be able to hook something with the form factor of the Mini with the useability of the remote and Frontrow to my TV, and have it connect wirelessly to my PC which runs XP.
So, there's the OS issue...then on top of that, my entire video collection is either DivX or Xvid with a variety of codecs used. From the parents comment it would appear I am out of luck here.
Can anybody suggest a setup/solution that would allow me to wirelessly (or wired if neccessary) connect my PC to the Mini so I can transfer files between the two boxes...and also a solution for watching DivX/Xvid files with Frontrow on the Mini?
And unfortunately....the one real thing that could prevent them from doing this is international businesses who have a strong investment in China. But all that will happen is that the decision makers at those companies will see "hey, China made a new internet, and in order to do business there we need to purchase another domain name. Where do I sign?"
They won't care about the issue of freedom and privacy. Because if they don't follow along...and their competitors do, they are at a disadvantage.
What solutions exist over there to deal with the large amounts of sand that can, and do end up in the systems? Obviously server rooms have intense filtration systems, but what about home computer use or laptops?
No offense, but you're basically asking the Slashdot community to fill in the other half of your business plan...you know, the actual money making part. Getting expertise on how to do that costs money.
While IANAL, from a legal standpoint I believe you are deadwrong. That is why all the privacy policies of the companies who sell the lists say that they share them with their third party affiliates and all that crap. So while yes, it is INCREDIBLY scummy to prey upon the ignorance of people who do not read those things...and while morally it is about as illegitimate as you can get...legally I believe that selling spam lists is perfectly legit as long as it has been disclosed in the privacy agreement. Of course whether that would hold up in court or not is another story altogether.
Actually, you make a good point. I should have mentioned that some professions have internships that can pay quite decently, engineering being one, and law being another. Actually, I'm considering going into law...can any lawyers on here comment on what kind of pay first year students can make doing a summer internship?
While I agree with the parent that real work experience counts for a lot, what the parent doesn't mention is the fact that in todays business world, unless you are EXTREMELY lucky, have the right connections, or are just that good your resume will get tossed out the second they see you don't have any actual related experience.
You see, internships are all about gaining real world experience, for the most part while you're in college (some people do internships during highschool or after college to get their foot in the door).
As someone with a lot of experience interning...let me explain how it works...
You have little to no REAL experience (being a student doesn't exactly count unless you're a masters student)...thus you will be getting little to zero pay in exchange for getting a chance to get some real world experience to bolster your resume. Now, this may seem like a kinda crappy deal, until you realize that not only is it one of the best networking experiences most college students get...it also gets your foot in the door at the company you intern at.
I personally had two internships, both at prestidigious ad agencies (i'm in advertising), one of which resulted in a job offer (which I turned down since I went to school in another state and wanted to complete my education), and the other was just such a good place that it looks amazing on my resume to show employers "Hey, I'm good, I was able to get in at XYZ". Of course...interns aren't expected to really do much, but it gives you a leg up.
My current job started as a paid internship, and I quickly gained more responsibilities once I had proven myself.
So...I hope that clarifies just how important internships are. Yes, if you can land a job, by all means do so! But unless you're fairly confident you'll get it, don't waste your time applying for a position where you have a slim to nil chance of being accepted and instead shoot for the internship where you have better odds.
Now, I said all this to address the parent...I feel the story submitter knows all of this, and was merely looking for an answer as to whether or not his current skillset is competitive in today's cutthroat world of internship hunting. Unfortunately, I can't answer that. But remember, business is 20% WHAT you know, and 80% WHO you know. That internship I just bragged about that looks great on my resume (and was a FANTASTIC experience)...well, ultimately I had to back it up with skill, but I never even would have gotten an interview if it hadn't been for my industry connections, which basically led to me getting a VERY enthusiastic call from the HR person to ask when I'd like to interview (remember, HR is supposedly the black tar pit of resumes). Networking is just about everything when you don't have much real world experience. Remember that and you'll be bound to get in somewhere.
Since this tax goes to the recording industry to apparently make up for "lost sales due to copyright infringement"....where can independant Canadian artists who are not affiliated with the labels sign up to receive their cut of this tax? I mean...people use these blank CDs for things other than the music of the labels...
And if this tax applies to ALL CDRs, rather than just the music CDRs that nobody buys in America...how does a Canadian citizen dispute the tax on something they've never used (assuming of course they don't burn music to CDs?
That's assuming that Hollywood hasn't worn out its welcome with users, which it has in spades. I think the future holds P2P networks owned and managed by users, who will watch content owned and created by users, and BitTorrent is a great distribution method for it.
Make no mistake about it...the ONLY reason game companies want to move to episodic releases is because they make more profit. They will toss out every other excuse they can think of, but thats all it really comes down to. They are thinking "hey, we don't have a subscription model, but what can we do that would be close to it?"
Not to mention that tech has only added to the problem of employers thinking they rule your life...expecting you to stay late every night and work on weekends.
Its funny...but I'm sure I'm not the only one here who wishes for simpler times when life was a bit slower.
Offer a contest, give away cheap prizes...and get EXTREMELY valuable contact information and increased number of users.
This probably won't last very long either. Only reason its getting a lot of buzz is because all companies involved have excellent PR departments.
I'm really confused what the real story is.