I'd love to read what the District Court said to come to the conclusion that "the appearances of the two products are significantly dissimilar" because to me they look near identical.
"...some places people get a teaching position who shouldn't even be allowed in the room with a group of kids, let alone teaching them."
Because principals call their ingrate relatives and tell them:
"Hey, you dropped out of college your junior year, right? Take a few classes to finish an associates and I'll hire you starting at 40k a year!"
Where I live we're facing that problem now, unqualified teachers not teaching students, students failing state exams and teachers and principals being fired while the unions are battling the firings because they've been teachers or principals for ump-teen years when they should have never gotten the positions in the first place.
I don't think Rob has played a Wii yet. If he had he wouldn't have said that.
I'm pissed because, after playing nearly every Wii game currently available (thanks blockbuster!), I'm quickly realizing there's some games I might not be able to finish because I don't have enough skill. Games like Super Swing Golf: no longer do I just have to press up down up down left right left right ABAB start in the proper sequence to beat a bad guy or get 30 lives, I actually have to get up and turn my body in the right way and swing my arms at the right speed and keep my hands straight in order to beat a level. This is as close to real life as you can get, it's virtual reality without the goggles.
I think Apple should scrap the iTV and work out a partnership with Nintendo to have iTunes as a free download for the Wii.
Think about it: the iTV and Wii are nearly identical. Both don't have hard drives (Wii has a SD slot though), both have built-in wifi, both have USB ports for additional devices, the Wii (and probably the iTV) is incredibly easy to navigate and use, and both are small white boxes. Hundreds of thousands (and soon, millions) of Wii's have already been purchased so there's plenty of potential customers.
I'd rather have just one all-in-one device rather than spending double for two devices that have the same capabilities but both are crippled.... least until someone comes out with a website that you can stream full-length movies from (for a fee, of course). Then I wouldn't need a iTV at all.
"Upgraded graphics have driven the entire console industry for twenty years. Look at the 2600 or NES. Are modern consoles that different?"
Yes, they are. 2600 to NES was a revolutionary step forward in graphics. Super Mario Brothers is a leap forward in graphics compared to Pong. NES Zelda doesn't even compare to SNES Zelda: A Link to the Past. The SNES couldn't really muster 3D graphics (remember Star Fox?) so the best SNES games look like Pong compared to Playstation's Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VIII or Gran Turismo 3, and there was another leap forward (although much smaller) when the Playstation 2 came out.
Comparing graphics on the Playstation 3 to the Playstation 2 is like choosing pretty graphics to prettier graphics. This is choosing which Victoria's Secret model looks best, and upgrading from the "ugly" Victoria Secret model to the most beautiful. Most gamers would be happy with any Victoria Secret model, so this explains why the PS3 isn't selling so well because gamers are happy with what they have, they're not willing to trade in several years of developing a relationship with a console to start over with a new one without some serious guarantees of a whole new "gaming" experience.
That's where the Wii succeeds. The Wii compared to the PS2 is like upgrading from the "ugly" Victoria Secret model to twins that are contortionist, head cheerleaders at their college and both named Miss Teen USA (I'm thinking if Lilia Stepanova had a "equally skilled" twin). It gives us everything the PS2 did plus a whole new way to play games we've never experienced. That is why the Wii will, ultimately, sell far better than the PS3 ever will, and put Nintendo back on top.
My question is: what is better than twins that are contortionist, head cheerleaders at their college and both named Miss Teen USA?? Where do we go from here?
"...and since it is a very new console, that relatively few people could get, there were tons of videos coming up from the 'lucky few' and some of them caught this failure."
How many hours of video did they have to record before catching the 10 seconds of video of the strap breaking? You're telling me they just had a camcorder recording non-stop for 10, 20, 30, etc hours, every time they played the Wii? I don't buy it.
I think the videos are fake too, I have a Wii and I don't think I could break the strap no matter how hard I flailed my arms around. It's just not going to get full force from a swinging arm within the ~6 inches of the strap length. It'd fly the length of the strap and snap back into my hand.
Speaking of university, why didn't this high school teacher try looking up the Arts & Sciences department of the local university and try calling some CS teachers to see what books they use or other suggestions on how to teach 1st year CS students? Seems like that'd be a much better option than asking/.
Unlimited in the US. He's traveling to another country with his cellphone. I think 0.002 dollars per kilobyte is still a pretty good deal considering the circumstances.
he should know better. He should know a little bit about cellphone plans. If someone said "yeah, million minutes for $19.95", i'm sure you'd say "what?? i don't believe that, show me where it says that". If the gas station said.2309 per gallon instead of 2.309 per gallon i'm sure you wouldn't expect to fill your SUV for $5. You'd think, oh they made a mistake, and not bitch 20 minutes about it to the manager.
If it's a laptop I can easily see why he's upset because there is no per kbyte plan usually, I don't even think Verizon has a per kbyte plan. However if it's a cellphone (35 mByte isn't hard to do, check a few emails, surf a few sites, get a few ringtones) then he should expect a higher per kbyte because they're usually expensive per kbyte.
I'm read it and thought he had a cellphone because he never mentioned anything about broadband or anything of such, and I know on a laptop 35 mByte would be eaten up in a few minutes of surfing with all the jpgs and banner ads.
So if it's a cellphone he's being a prick and should just pay the bill, if it's wireless broadband then he has a right to bitch.
P.S. He says:
"Prior to crossing the border I called customer service to find out what rates I'd be paying for voice and data."
So I think he has a CELLPHONE and was expecting to pay 10 cents for 5 megabytes on a CELLPHONE. So he's a prick.
even if they did it on purpose I think the customer is a jerk:.002 cents is 500 kbytes for 1 cent, 1 megabyte for 2 cents, 5 megabytes for 10 cents. That's outrageously cheap and obviously not correct.
One's a controller for a game system, the other is a mouse for power point presentations. Since they're not really related at all does it still infringed?
Exactly. This is genius really. The guy's been dragged over the coals for the last 2 years. Arrested, interrogated, numerous court appearances, fear of 20 years in jail. Who would want to ever go through that again??
If I knew how to do click-fraud I'd just try and forget as soon as possible. In the US legal system you're pounded-in-the-ass by the law first, then you go to jail, so I don't wanna even be accused of knowing how.
from the article: "He also is said to own an extensive movie library of more than 10,000 titles and prefers films about James Bond and Godzilla, along with Clint Eastwood's 1993 drama, "In the Line of Fire," and Whitney Houston's 1992 love story, "The Bodyguard.""
Interesting movie choices: both movies where a bodyguard puts himself in front of a bullet to save the person they're guarding. Do you think Kim Jong Il dreams of his own Client Eastwood or Kevin Costner to guard him?
I think a small 1 or 2 lbs hand weight would be a fine workout for most people. Might not seem like much but you try swinging 2 lbs around for 2 hours and see if your arm's don't feel a little sore the next day.
then have larger sizes up to 5 lbs or so. Wow, can you imagine if the Wii actually made people stronger? You'd see some muscular guy and think "What a geek! Must spend 10 hours a day playing with his Wii!"
"most commercial $30 dance pads right now are lacking compared to the strain DDR gameplay can put on them"
you got to remember that all controllers will wear out if you put enough game time in. Sure the $30 pads won't last forever, but I doubt any of the geeks on here would put enough time in to wear one out. We have one of those cheap DDR pads and it's lasted great for the few hours they've bothered to play with it.
If you really put in the hundreds of hours it'd take for the pad to wear out I'd think it's worth another $30 to buy another one. 300 hours of fun / $30 bucks = 10 cents for a hour of fun. Not a bad price.
Slashdot Mirror
"the fact that a) people judge a book by it's cover"
of course they do, look at porn titles, usually their titles are exactly what the porn's about.
I'd love to read what the District Court said to come to the conclusion that "the appearances of the two products are significantly dissimilar" because to me they look near identical.
"...some places people get a teaching position who shouldn't even be allowed in the room with a group of kids, let alone teaching them."
Because principals call their ingrate relatives and tell them: "Hey, you dropped out of college your junior year, right? Take a few classes to finish an associates and I'll hire you starting at 40k a year!"
Where I live we're facing that problem now, unqualified teachers not teaching students, students failing state exams and teachers and principals being fired while the unions are battling the firings because they've been teachers or principals for ump-teen years when they should have never gotten the positions in the first place.
I don't think Rob has played a Wii yet. If he had he wouldn't have said that.
I'm pissed because, after playing nearly every Wii game currently available (thanks blockbuster!), I'm quickly realizing there's some games I might not be able to finish because I don't have enough skill. Games like Super Swing Golf: no longer do I just have to press up down up down left right left right ABAB start in the proper sequence to beat a bad guy or get 30 lives, I actually have to get up and turn my body in the right way and swing my arms at the right speed and keep my hands straight in order to beat a level. This is as close to real life as you can get, it's virtual reality without the goggles.
like parent said, Youtube works great on the Nintendo Wii.
I think Apple should scrap the iTV and work out a partnership with Nintendo to have iTunes as a free download for the Wii.
Think about it: the iTV and Wii are nearly identical. Both don't have hard drives (Wii has a SD slot though), both have built-in wifi, both have USB ports for additional devices, the Wii (and probably the iTV) is incredibly easy to navigate and use, and both are small white boxes. Hundreds of thousands (and soon, millions) of Wii's have already been purchased so there's plenty of potential customers.
I'd rather have just one all-in-one device rather than spending double for two devices that have the same capabilities but both are crippled.... least until someone comes out with a website that you can stream full-length movies from (for a fee, of course). Then I wouldn't need a iTV at all.
"Upgraded graphics have driven the entire console industry for twenty years. Look at the 2600 or NES. Are modern consoles that different?"
Yes, they are. 2600 to NES was a revolutionary step forward in graphics. Super Mario Brothers is a leap forward in graphics compared to Pong. NES Zelda doesn't even compare to SNES Zelda: A Link to the Past. The SNES couldn't really muster 3D graphics (remember Star Fox?) so the best SNES games look like Pong compared to Playstation's Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VIII or Gran Turismo 3, and there was another leap forward (although much smaller) when the Playstation 2 came out.
But that's where it stopped. Playstation 3 is not revolutionary compared to the Playstation 2. We're not talking going from a max of 4 colors per line and 2 channel mono sound to 25 colors per line and 5 sound channels like the revolutionary difference between the consoles you mentioned, the Atari 2600 and NES. This is not 3D vs 2D.
Comparing graphics on the Playstation 3 to the Playstation 2 is like choosing pretty graphics to prettier graphics. This is choosing which Victoria's Secret model looks best, and upgrading from the "ugly" Victoria Secret model to the most beautiful. Most gamers would be happy with any Victoria Secret model, so this explains why the PS3 isn't selling so well because gamers are happy with what they have, they're not willing to trade in several years of developing a relationship with a console to start over with a new one without some serious guarantees of a whole new "gaming" experience.
That's where the Wii succeeds. The Wii compared to the PS2 is like upgrading from the "ugly" Victoria Secret model to twins that are contortionist, head cheerleaders at their college and both named Miss Teen USA (I'm thinking if Lilia Stepanova had a "equally skilled" twin). It gives us everything the PS2 did plus a whole new way to play games we've never experienced. That is why the Wii will, ultimately, sell far better than the PS3 ever will, and put Nintendo back on top.
My question is: what is better than twins that are contortionist, head cheerleaders at their college and both named Miss Teen USA?? Where do we go from here?
"...and since it is a very new console, that relatively few people could get, there were tons of videos coming up from the 'lucky few' and some of them caught this failure."
How many hours of video did they have to record before catching the 10 seconds of video of the strap breaking? You're telling me they just had a camcorder recording non-stop for 10, 20, 30, etc hours, every time they played the Wii? I don't buy it.
I think the videos are fake too, I have a Wii and I don't think I could break the strap no matter how hard I flailed my arms around. It's just not going to get full force from a swinging arm within the ~6 inches of the strap length. It'd fly the length of the strap and snap back into my hand.
"In univeristy the text book I used was..."
/.
Speaking of university, why didn't this high school teacher try looking up the Arts & Sciences department of the local university and try calling some CS teachers to see what books they use or other suggestions on how to teach 1st year CS students? Seems like that'd be a much better option than asking
Here's a demo of the game: Left Behind: Eternal Forces demo
go play it and then comment.
On a cellphone? $20.
Unlimited in the US. He's traveling to another country with his cellphone. I think 0.002 dollars per kilobyte is still a pretty good deal considering the circumstances.
That's for your home connection, we're talking about cellphones.
t-mobile doesn't have free incoming calls so they suck.
he should know better. He should know a little bit about cellphone plans. If someone said "yeah, million minutes for $19.95", i'm sure you'd say "what?? i don't believe that, show me where it says that". If the gas station said .2309 per gallon instead of 2.309 per gallon i'm sure you wouldn't expect to fill your SUV for $5. You'd think, oh they made a mistake, and not bitch 20 minutes about it to the manager.
the guy was downloading this stuff on his cellphone. That's why it's so expensive.
Ok it's my understanding this is his Verizon Unlimited CELLPHONE plan. He never really specifies whether it's a cellphone or wireless broadband network card, because people have used the term interchangeably online.
If it's a laptop I can easily see why he's upset because there is no per kbyte plan usually, I don't even think Verizon has a per kbyte plan. However if it's a cellphone (35 mByte isn't hard to do, check a few emails, surf a few sites, get a few ringtones) then he should expect a higher per kbyte because they're usually expensive per kbyte.
I'm read it and thought he had a cellphone because he never mentioned anything about broadband or anything of such, and I know on a laptop 35 mByte would be eaten up in a few minutes of surfing with all the jpgs and banner ads.
So if it's a cellphone he's being a prick and should just pay the bill, if it's wireless broadband then he has a right to bitch.
P.S. He says: "Prior to crossing the border I called customer service to find out what rates I'd be paying for voice and data."
So I think he has a CELLPHONE and was expecting to pay 10 cents for 5 megabytes on a CELLPHONE. So he's a prick.
for your phone?? If so who's your carrier because I'm switching.
even if they did it on purpose I think the customer is a jerk: .002 cents is 500 kbytes for 1 cent, 1 megabyte for 2 cents, 5 megabytes for 10 cents. That's outrageously cheap and obviously not correct.
wonder if they're suing these guys too? At least that device actually is infringing.
One's a controller for a game system, the other is a mouse for power point presentations. Since they're not really related at all does it still infringed?
Exactly. This is genius really. The guy's been dragged over the coals for the last 2 years. Arrested, interrogated, numerous court appearances, fear of 20 years in jail. Who would want to ever go through that again??
If I knew how to do click-fraud I'd just try and forget as soon as possible. In the US legal system you're pounded-in-the-ass by the law first, then you go to jail, so I don't wanna even be accused of knowing how.
from the article:
"He also is said to own an extensive movie library of more than 10,000 titles and prefers films about James Bond and Godzilla, along with Clint Eastwood's 1993 drama, "In the Line of Fire," and Whitney Houston's 1992 love story, "The Bodyguard.""
Interesting movie choices: both movies where a bodyguard puts himself in front of a bullet to save the person they're guarding. Do you think Kim Jong Il dreams of his own Client Eastwood or Kevin Costner to guard him?
hope someone kills his dog. That'd barely get you probation in the US.
I think a small 1 or 2 lbs hand weight would be a fine workout for most people. Might not seem like much but you try swinging 2 lbs around for 2 hours and see if your arm's don't feel a little sore the next day.
then have larger sizes up to 5 lbs or so. Wow, can you imagine if the Wii actually made people stronger? You'd see some muscular guy and think "What a geek! Must spend 10 hours a day playing with his Wii!"
"most commercial $30 dance pads right now are lacking compared to the strain DDR gameplay can put on them"
you got to remember that all controllers will wear out if you put enough game time in. Sure the $30 pads won't last forever, but I doubt any of the geeks on here would put enough time in to wear one out. We have one of those cheap DDR pads and it's lasted great for the few hours they've bothered to play with it.
If you really put in the hundreds of hours it'd take for the pad to wear out I'd think it's worth another $30 to buy another one.
300 hours of fun / $30 bucks = 10 cents for a hour of fun. Not a bad price.