Keep in mind that if a game is too short for you, its probably not targeted at your demographic. Why is it that everybody around here gets insulted at the possibility that THEY MAY NOT BE THE TARGET AUDIENCE?!
I don't have 80-100 hours to sink into a game, in fact, I get bored before 50 and move on to a different game. This game length is perfect for me as it lets me get some resolution, and not lose a significant portion of my life to it.
I'm sorry.....but this is obviously nothing more than a cheap press release by Real. So what if streaming video is 10 years old. Big whoop. Can anybody tell me why this anniversary is newsworthy?
What really astounds me is that people are ignorant enough to think that nothing "meaningful" can come of fanciful things like this. I recommend that these people watch the BBC Connections series sometime and realize that innovation sparks from a series of seemingly random occurences. The Trigger Effect as Burke called it. Who knows that this model might inspire somebody to create, and who knows what effects the construction of this may hold in the distant future.
The sad thing is, no matter how obvious it may be to us readers, or how much we cry foul, the editors will never do anything about it because we keep reading, and they keep generating ad revenue.
Unfortunately, the only real way to let them know how you feel is to stop reading Slashdot, a decision that becomes easier to make with each passing slashvertisement that gets posted.
I've been studying the upcoming internet video revolution very intensely. Spearheading the effort for distribution of large video files are the various torrent trackers out there. However, for smaller video clips, especially the viral ones, there seem to be a few large sites that categorize and aggregate the content. iFilms does this quite nicely, and I wouldn't be shocked if Google purchased them.
However, the more people who are trying to break into this market, the more it is going to split up collections of video. Because when you have competitors, the name of the game will soon be "exclusive content". How can we get around this? And how can we determine content visually when we can't even get the semantic web working correctly?
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad big companies like Google and MS are sinking tons of money into this, but I just don't think they'll do it right. Does anybody have any links for some video aggregation sites that DO do it correctly?
Because they are a company that exists to make money, and they are doing that in a way which improves the product for their users.
You can wish all you want for everything in life to be free, but it won't be coming from MS. My point is, this is a good thing for their existing customer base. That customer base is not skilled enough to use the free alternatives, so they pay for one that works best for them.
I don't even know why I'm responding to this as it seems you're just an AC troll though.
So I'm curious, blogs have been hitting the news all over the place now, and there has been a lot of attention focused on "astroturfing" (a fake grass roots movement where PR people pretend to be regular people promoting a product or service or putting down a competitor).
What do Slashdotters find acceptable in terms of blogs that accept payment for publishing content?
How much disclosure is required before you say "ok, they weren't trying to slip this one by me, I accept it, I'll still read"?
What should a company do if they've accepted money for a a paid blog entry, not disclosed it, and got caught?
Blogging is going to become a larger and larger part of the business world, and especially advertising and PR, whether we like it or not. I'm just curious on what Slashdotters thoughts on acceptable practices for this behavior are. And please don't say "don't do it" or other unconstructive things, I'm asking some honest "best practice" questions.
I'm not really surprised this got modded up, but let me explain why this IS progress.
The MS demographic does NOT use linux and solaris. This is new for them, and it is an improvement. Nobody said it was innovative, but it most certainly is progress. I'm really sick of people harping on MS for actually improving their OS. Yeah, they're stealing a lot of ideas from all over the place, but not only does that make a LOT of business sense for their company (a lot less risk, and proven results), it improves the product for their customers and raises the standards for the OS with the biggest marketshare out there.
No kidding. I do things that are addictive in nature (gaming being one of them) and I don't let it destroy my life.
I'm 21, graduating college, and have people in the top of my industry acknowledging me.
I say this not to brag, but to agree that it really does come down to the character of the person doing these addictive things, not the addictive things themselves.
But these things are strong. I know that I game more than most people, and that I spend most of my time in front of the computer. Its my media center, I watch movies, listen to music, learn, communicate, and play games on it. And this has hindered my social life, so I took the steps necessary to fix that. I made myself start to work out in the morning, I started trying to be outside more, and I started inviting people over to hang out and watch a movie (on my computer. But you need to have the willpower to do this otherwise you will succumb to your addictions. Its ALL about willpower, and the only one who can cause change in your life is you.
Because statistics for Slashdot have shown that despite all of the Linux fanboys on here, Windows is the most common operating system of Slashdot users.
I really wish they WOULD find some way to release the music. As an avid listener of the Essential Selection and the Essential Mix, I am forced to download the shows I want through various P2P services. Thankfully, Freshly-Mixed has all of the Essential Mixes I need, but I need to rip the Essential Selection streams and convert them myself, which is a major time sink and a PITA.
There's huge demand for that, and I think the labels are nuts. They could even charge for those downloaded shows and the labels could split the proceeds.
First of all, I would be what you might consider a marketing peon (actually I'm a consultant). Let me state right off the bad that your negative attitude and perception of the entire business world is what would turn an employer away from you in the beginning. If you don't want to work at that kind of place, more power to you, but don't put down those who do just because they do not share the same ideologies as you.
Fact is, if you want to play ball in the business world, you have to look the part, and play the part. If an employer has a choice between several candidates that are all similar in skills, and one dresses very professionally, guess who's getting picked? You see, appearance matters for more public jobs, like marketing and PR, etc.
Don't bitch and moan just because you don't like something or don't see the importance of it. That is ignorance.
Bash the last two all you want, but viral marketing is one of the few forms of advertising out there that consistently has cool ideas. So many of the fun video clips everybody loves on the internet are forms of viral marketing. People love them. That must mean they're doing SOMETHING right.
Give it a chance. Online advertising is still in its painful growing stages, and keep in mind that its a much more accelerated pace than print, radio, or TV.
The thing about the growth of it though is that it will come gradually in individual examples, and then there will be a push towards better work in general. An example of recent "good" online campaigns are the BMW Films. Not annoyingly intrusive, entertaining, and not pushy on the sales end.
"Can you give me one, solid, ACTUAL (not made up) bad thing that can happen to you because of a cookie on your personal PC? Just one. I'd love to hear just one."
That's the thing about privacy though. I don't need to give one. I don't even need to HAVE one. If I want my privacy, that is enough.
While I agree that this is obviously a PR piece for DoubleClick (look at all the buzz around this article), don't flame them unnecessarily.
Online advertising DOES work, and it IS highly effective and low-cost. Or are you going to completely ignore the roaring success of Google and Amazon, et al.
Like it or not, it works, and its here to stay. Thankfully, us geeks know how to deal with it, so all we have to do is come on/. and whine about it.
This is DoubleClick, they are an advertising business. This ENTIRE REPORT is HUGE PR for them, and not only drives traffic to their site, but gets people to talk about, and consider their business.
"A game that requires true intellectual skill need not require quick reflexes at all."
I disagree. I think there are several types of intellectual skill, and quick thinking and decision making is one of them. A twitch based game tests and trains that part of your mind, and develops hand eye coordination.
You see, I desire the tactical element as well, but current games have some of the most dumbed down tactics ever. There's a reason why the army uses CS to train its forces. Its because it provides a good environment for tactical executions.
Current MMORPGs leave out so many factors that apply to tactics that I have no idea how many people claim to play the game for its "tactics". These are pretty basic things too, like range, elevation, sound, light, etc.
Slashdot Mirror
Keep in mind that if a game is too short for you, its probably not targeted at your demographic. Why is it that everybody around here gets insulted at the possibility that THEY MAY NOT BE THE TARGET AUDIENCE?!
I don't have 80-100 hours to sink into a game, in fact, I get bored before 50 and move on to a different game. This game length is perfect for me as it lets me get some resolution, and not lose a significant portion of my life to it.
Unfortunately, the only real way to let them know how you feel is to stop reading Slashdot, a decision that becomes easier to make with each passing slashvertisement that gets posted.
However, the more people who are trying to break into this market, the more it is going to split up collections of video. Because when you have competitors, the name of the game will soon be "exclusive content". How can we get around this? And how can we determine content visually when we can't even get the semantic web working correctly?
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad big companies like Google and MS are sinking tons of money into this, but I just don't think they'll do it right. Does anybody have any links for some video aggregation sites that DO do it correctly?
You can wish all you want for everything in life to be free, but it won't be coming from MS. My point is, this is a good thing for their existing customer base. That customer base is not skilled enough to use the free alternatives, so they pay for one that works best for them.
I don't even know why I'm responding to this as it seems you're just an AC troll though.
What do Slashdotters find acceptable in terms of blogs that accept payment for publishing content?
How much disclosure is required before you say "ok, they weren't trying to slip this one by me, I accept it, I'll still read"?
What should a company do if they've accepted money for a a paid blog entry, not disclosed it, and got caught?
Blogging is going to become a larger and larger part of the business world, and especially advertising and PR, whether we like it or not. I'm just curious on what Slashdotters thoughts on acceptable practices for this behavior are. And please don't say "don't do it" or other unconstructive things, I'm asking some honest "best practice" questions.
The MS demographic does NOT use linux and solaris. This is new for them, and it is an improvement. Nobody said it was innovative, but it most certainly is progress. I'm really sick of people harping on MS for actually improving their OS. Yeah, they're stealing a lot of ideas from all over the place, but not only does that make a LOT of business sense for their company (a lot less risk, and proven results), it improves the product for their customers and raises the standards for the OS with the biggest marketshare out there.
I'm 21, graduating college, and have people in the top of my industry acknowledging me.
I say this not to brag, but to agree that it really does come down to the character of the person doing these addictive things, not the addictive things themselves.
But these things are strong. I know that I game more than most people, and that I spend most of my time in front of the computer. Its my media center, I watch movies, listen to music, learn, communicate, and play games on it. And this has hindered my social life, so I took the steps necessary to fix that. I made myself start to work out in the morning, I started trying to be outside more, and I started inviting people over to hang out and watch a movie (on my computer. But you need to have the willpower to do this otherwise you will succumb to your addictions. Its ALL about willpower, and the only one who can cause change in your life is you.
There's huge demand for that, and I think the labels are nuts. They could even charge for those downloaded shows and the labels could split the proceeds.
Fact is, if you want to play ball in the business world, you have to look the part, and play the part. If an employer has a choice between several candidates that are all similar in skills, and one dresses very professionally, guess who's getting picked? You see, appearance matters for more public jobs, like marketing and PR, etc.
Don't bitch and moan just because you don't like something or don't see the importance of it. That is ignorance.
The thing about the growth of it though is that it will come gradually in individual examples, and then there will be a push towards better work in general. An example of recent "good" online campaigns are the BMW Films. Not annoyingly intrusive, entertaining, and not pushy on the sales end.
That's the thing about privacy though. I don't need to give one. I don't even need to HAVE one. If I want my privacy, that is enough.
Online advertising DOES work, and it IS highly effective and low-cost. Or are you going to completely ignore the roaring success of Google and Amazon, et al.
Like it or not, it works, and its here to stay. Thankfully, us geeks know how to deal with it, so all we have to do is come on /. and whine about it.
I disagree. I think there are several types of intellectual skill, and quick thinking and decision making is one of them. A twitch based game tests and trains that part of your mind, and develops hand eye coordination.
Current MMORPGs leave out so many factors that apply to tactics that I have no idea how many people claim to play the game for its "tactics". These are pretty basic things too, like range, elevation, sound, light, etc.