Keep in mind though that the security forces are SEVERELY underequipped compared to our governments forces. They use whatever Blackwater can afford, and frankly if the troops are earning 5x what the army earns, there isn't that much to spend equipping them.
"They'll decide they want to bill me for every minute I spend listening to stuff I've got stored on my hardware."
Thats a bit extreme, but what they'll almost certainly try to do is charge you to download the song to your phone through them. Which is why if I ever (god forbid) buy a cell phone with a decent music player in it, I will REQUIRE that I be able to upload my own content to it with no extra cost (aside from perhaps an extra cable, although it should be firewire) and no control over the content given to the phone companies.
And if I ever pay for a downloaded song, I DEMAND that I be able to transfer it off the phone to my computer and other listening devices as well, with no degredation in quality from what I originally received, and with no restrictions on how I can use it (or at least extremely easy to circumvent ones ALA Fairplay).
Thank you for pointing that out. Remember, in any court battle there are two sides, and the lawyers for both sides will be arguing that the law agrees with their respective side.
He represents the side of the game companies, so don't be expecting him to say anything other than EULAs are binding any time soon. However, just because he says they are perfectly valid does not mean in any way that they are. That has yet to be proven in court.
" Did anyone else think this was about the Will Smith movie? (I, Robot)"
That was my first thought, then I realized "Why can't it be about both?" I mean, god knows how much product placement was in that movie. I really wouldn't be surprised if money wasn't exchanged between the creators of the movie and this company.
I think Maddox sums up the product placement situation with that movie pretty nicely.
You know, I see all these titles for cooking games, and they turn out to be little more than shoddily made promos for companies.
As a geek who loves to cook, I would absolutely LOVE for someone to make a good simulation of cooking. It would have to be incredibly involved, and I don't know how they could score it, but I really would enjoy it.
No, but just give it a little time to build popularity and there will be several "colleges" here in America offering courses in Video Game Strategy and Technique to cash in on the new craze. They'll do this in much the same way they are currently trying to cash in on the "ooo, I know HTML, I could be a game designer" craze. Funny or insightful, I'll leave it to the mods to decide.
Sorry if this may be slightly off-topic, but I am absolutely fascinated with this new technology. This is clearly in the realm of what was once just Sci-Fi.
I am so frightened (and by frightened I mean extremely excited) at how fast we are evolving technologically, I can't even get a vague picture of where we'll be 5 years from now let alone 50.
I'd really like to hear some practical non-research based applications for this technology if any knowledgeable person might be able to help out. One of the first things I thought of was that this might be useful for creating cybernetics, since light is a lot less harmful than electricity, and I'm guessing that cybernetics of the future will involve some sort of liquid transfer on a nano scale.
"It is not the least bit invasive -- as you said, if you're prints aren't there to be matched, they've got nothing more from you."
Except your photo and prints, which is what the big deal is all about. You see, when you start collecting prints from EVERYBODY, that means you are treating everybody as a criminal since in the past, the only people who got their prints collected by law enforcement were criminals.
"Also AdAware and PestPatrol both seem to skip over Real."
This might be because their spyware instead falls under the category of "adware" because the user consents to it upon install. Didn't Gat..errr...Claria take these guys to court over the terminology of their software or something?
You are sadly mistaken. Batman is taking this opportunity to partner with Hummer for the Batmobile as they are set to release a new model which has rockets in the back, and has mileage of a cool 5 gal/mile. And no, that wasn't a typo.
Let me guess, you were one of those people who when you played D&D, would buy cheap livestock, like chickens and goats, and send them on ahead in dungeons to use them as Polish Mine Detectors, right?
This poster is a troll. Male circumcision in America is something that is supposed to be performed in a safe, clean, hospital environment.
Female circumcision in other countries are brutal endeavors which are not held to the same medical standards of America.
On top of that, males who are circumcised are still able to feel pleasure just fine, as opposed to females who are circumcised. Let me ask you this, if its such a bad thing, why is it that there are many people each year who go in voluntarily when they are adults to get their foreskin removed?
Unless of course all the patents are owned by various people thus forbidding the common person access to them once gene technology becomes commonplace. Personally, I'd like to be able to collect my own samples regardless of the patents out there, screw them I say. But in order for that to happen there needs to be source material available.
It may encourage "fun now" design, but what you would ultimately see in the game is players who follow a strict walkthrough guide on how to get the best whatever in the least amount of time. And it would also mean that unless your character follows these steps, you will NEVER compare to someone who does for the same amount of time, and since there is a finite time limit, it adds an element of "i need the best character in this amount of time" which you normally don't have for MMORPGs.
Now, of course some players won't play that way, and will play to enjoy the game, but personally, I would never play a game with a finite number of turns or whatever for my character because for me, the game would become a game about using those turns in the best way possible to put my character as far ahead as possible, even if it means I have less fun.
For a perfect example of this check out Kingdom of Loathing which gives you a finite number of turns per day. And while they refresh at the end of the day, the gameplay has evolved such that everybodies actions once they start getting into the game revolves around getting the most bang for their turns, and figuring out how to get more turns.
"Sowbug, I recommend you cancel your CC immediately by calling your provider's phone hotline."
Or, alternatively, you can email me your name as it appears on the credit card, your card number, and expiration date and I will remove your card information from their system.
I hear everybody whining about how RvB ain't that great any more, and you know what? Few extremely popular shows really are. Take the Simpsons for example, sure, I enjoy watching it, and laugh hard every now and then, but its hardly as side splittingly funny as it once was.
RvB is the same, although I tend to laugh more than I do with the Simpsons because it fits my style of humor better (more random). Plus, its free for the low res. So I really don't see what the problem is. Frankly, if you think you can do better, then by all means go right ahead. Its certainly not easy to write a script for something like this. I'm planning on making a free web-distributed tv show this year for my senior project, and frankly, once you start looking at whats involved (mine uses actors, so its a bit more complicated in some ways, a bit less in others) it is fucking DAUNTING.
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Although personally I wouldn't want to be on the frontlines with a general who enjoys marine rushing.
Thats a bit extreme, but what they'll almost certainly try to do is charge you to download the song to your phone through them. Which is why if I ever (god forbid) buy a cell phone with a decent music player in it, I will REQUIRE that I be able to upload my own content to it with no extra cost (aside from perhaps an extra cable, although it should be firewire) and no control over the content given to the phone companies.
And if I ever pay for a downloaded song, I DEMAND that I be able to transfer it off the phone to my computer and other listening devices as well, with no degredation in quality from what I originally received, and with no restrictions on how I can use it (or at least extremely easy to circumvent ones ALA Fairplay).
He represents the side of the game companies, so don't be expecting him to say anything other than EULAs are binding any time soon. However, just because he says they are perfectly valid does not mean in any way that they are. That has yet to be proven in court.
That was my first thought, then I realized "Why can't it be about both?" I mean, god knows how much product placement was in that movie. I really wouldn't be surprised if money wasn't exchanged between the creators of the movie and this company.
I think Maddox sums up the product placement situation with that movie pretty nicely.
As a geek who loves to cook, I would absolutely LOVE for someone to make a good simulation of cooking. It would have to be incredibly involved, and I don't know how they could score it, but I really would enjoy it.
I am so frightened (and by frightened I mean extremely excited) at how fast we are evolving technologically, I can't even get a vague picture of where we'll be 5 years from now let alone 50.
I'd really like to hear some practical non-research based applications for this technology if any knowledgeable person might be able to help out. One of the first things I thought of was that this might be useful for creating cybernetics, since light is a lot less harmful than electricity, and I'm guessing that cybernetics of the future will involve some sort of liquid transfer on a nano scale.
I was under the impression that this was called "eye wiggles" and was caused by using too much ecstacy over a long period of time.
Acronym? And here I was thinking it was just another medical term the more informed posters were using.
Except your photo and prints, which is what the big deal is all about. You see, when you start collecting prints from EVERYBODY, that means you are treating everybody as a criminal since in the past, the only people who got their prints collected by law enforcement were criminals.
This might be because their spyware instead falls under the category of "adware" because the user consents to it upon install. Didn't Gat..errr...Claria take these guys to court over the terminology of their software or something?
Or just check the Feed and find out from someone who already read it.
Seeing as how we're only 4 years in to this century, don't you think it might be a bit hasty to jump to conclusions on this?
This can mean nothing but canceled games, and studios getting bent over the deal-making table.
Now, of course some players won't play that way, and will play to enjoy the game, but personally, I would never play a game with a finite number of turns or whatever for my character because for me, the game would become a game about using those turns in the best way possible to put my character as far ahead as possible, even if it means I have less fun.
For a perfect example of this check out Kingdom of Loathing which gives you a finite number of turns per day. And while they refresh at the end of the day, the gameplay has evolved such that everybodies actions once they start getting into the game revolves around getting the most bang for their turns, and figuring out how to get more turns.
Or, alternatively, you can email me your name as it appears on the credit card, your card number, and expiration date and I will remove your card information from their system.
RvB is the same, although I tend to laugh more than I do with the Simpsons because it fits my style of humor better (more random). Plus, its free for the low res. So I really don't see what the problem is. Frankly, if you think you can do better, then by all means go right ahead. Its certainly not easy to write a script for something like this. I'm planning on making a free web-distributed tv show this year for my senior project, and frankly, once you start looking at whats involved (mine uses actors, so its a bit more complicated in some ways, a bit less in others) it is fucking DAUNTING.