Have you ever looked at Yahoo personals? That just proves that yahoo attracts the lowest common denominator.
Disclaimer: I apologize in advance to anyone who has used or is using Yahoo personals. This is strictly meant as a broad generalization of the people that use Yahoo personals and should in no way be considered a personal attack.
On a related note. Back in the bad old days, I worked in a call centre and we had an offer with the forms online. The web address wasn't complicated, so if people lost the form, that was the easiest way to get a replacement. One day I got a call from a guy who needed a replacement form....I read the web address off and he asked if I could stay on the phone while he found it...not an odd request, people like to see it before they let you go. Fast forward to 20 minutes later, with me wondering why he can't manage to type in a simple web address and him repeating what had become his mantra "I use the internet every day, so I KNOW how to use it." Now I had given complete instructions many times in this period, including "Type it in the address bar in IE." after verifying that the icon was indeed an "e" As it turns out, he had SBC/Yahoo and had never typed an actual web address...he just used the default yahoo search on the homepage, it also appears that he (or someone else) had hidden the address bar in IE....and he was not going to enable it, no matter what I said. I eventually directed him to call SBC tech support (although what they could do is questionable.)
The moral: Never, ever overestimate a user. Which can now be ammended with the question: "Do you use Google?"
I think that the publishers just want total control, you'll be able to pay to search....and of course they won't be able to get together, so for that one song you heard on the radio, you have to pay 3 or 4 times to look it up on each site (who knows who publishes songs anyway?) The problem for them is to somehow give people no other option to find the name of a song. Once the MPAA, RIAA and BSA are finally able to shut down every form of communication that can be used for sharing digital information, they can just start their own and all the problems of the world will be solved!
I don't know about Australia, but here in Canada, or it could just be Ontario, an ex employer can't actually say anything bad, the least they can do is just verify that you worked there, of course everyone knows this, so if all they get "He worked here from x to x." It's normally considered a black mark anyway. The only thing you can do is not put that job on your resume, meaning you leave off any information before that as well, because it looks worse to have a blank spot and it's hard to explain, but leaving off employment from a few years ago is considered fine, because according to the experts, a resume shouldn't be more than one page anyway.
I've given notice to a few jobs in my life, being paid and released is a lot better than being forced to stick around and treated even worse than before. Some managers can be vindictive after you've resigned, especially if they were the reason you quit in the first place. Enjoy your vacation and realize that even if it was the CEO that had resigned, someone would probably decide to pull his access as well.
It's kind of like saying "I'm an MSCE." or "I'm a MOS (Microsoft Office Specailist)" It sounds really good to anyone who doesn't know, but it's not something I would brag about to anyone that wasn't a User. It's something that may look good on a resume in addition to real skills, or to a manager that has no real idea of what's going on, but it's not something I'd bring up in conversation with anyone I work with (sysadmin would fall out of his chair.)
Not that I have either of these "qualifications." Just thought I'd menrion that.
Most webmail will give the actual originating IP, not just the server IP, so it can be localized. So your e-mail, although sent from a server in the Cayman Islands, should still show an originator in the US. Even taking into account that you may have used a proxy in the Cayman Islands, it's less likely that it would be for the same company that provides the webmail. This is the path of the e-mail that we're talking about, it can still be deemed suspicious by software, especially if there's some sort of history (we are talking about e-mail that appears to be from someone you know and have a relationship with.) Most users wouldn't know what any of this means though, they'll still open an e-mail from unknown sources after how many years of being informed of the danger, so it seems to be more of a matter of education than one of protection.
For me this is in the "I've thought about it but never tried." file. I mean it sounds like a simple thing to do. Since most stores use the manufacturers barcode anyway (I worked at a rebate company while in college, if there's more than one UPC people get really confused.) Maybe if he'd gotten the code for a Nano and slapped it on a video IPod, there'd be more of a chance of getting away with it. He'd still have paid whatever the Nano is worth, but it's still an awesome discount.
The industry group revoked the game's M rating, which labeled it appropriate for players 17 or older, and re-filed it under AO for "adults only" -- raising the minimum age to 18, the year at which a delicate teen becomes less susceptible to the harmful influence of computer-generated cartoon sex.
That pretty much sums up what I think about this whole issue.
I still think it's funny that Americans are more concerned about a few minutes worth of sex, but they don't care about the mindless violence that's part of this game. Isn't that what an "M" rating is for? It means mature audiences, if you let your kid play it, then you know it has mature themes. The rating box on the back says:
Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Sexual Content, Use of Drugs
If that's not enough to turn most parents off from buying their kids this game, then I don't think an AO rating that instead says "Live Hot Girls!!!" is going to stop the same behaviour. I've spent a few hours playing, and no kid of mine would ever play it, whether rated E, T, M, or AO. Parents need to educate themselves, I'm not saying go out and play every game (I pretty much do, but that's for entertainment, not education) but they could at least take 5 minutes to google it and read a couple reviews.
On the other hand, most of the clerks that I and my fiance have talked to about buying or renting games for her 10 year old have been pretty honest and educated about the content, the exception are the ones that will say any game is ok.
What, you were too lazy to tweak your potato cannon?
Actually, a perfectly fitted block of ice is much better for penetrating walls and such, heh
On topic, when I was a kid, we were just content with running our R/C cars into eachother until one died. I would've rather had these though, no more tabletop football on my desk during class, just warfare.
Slashdot Mirror
Have you ever looked at Yahoo personals? That just proves that yahoo attracts the lowest common denominator.
Disclaimer:
I apologize in advance to anyone who has used or is using Yahoo personals. This is strictly meant as a broad generalization of the people that use Yahoo personals and should in no way be considered a personal attack.
On a related note. Back in the bad old days, I worked in a call centre and we had an offer with the forms online. The web address wasn't complicated, so if people lost the form, that was the easiest way to get a replacement. One day I got a call from a guy who needed a replacement form....I read the web address off and he asked if I could stay on the phone while he found it...not an odd request, people like to see it before they let you go.
Fast forward to 20 minutes later, with me wondering why he can't manage to type in a simple web address and him repeating what had become his mantra "I use the internet every day, so I KNOW how to use it."
Now I had given complete instructions many times in this period, including "Type it in the address bar in IE." after verifying that the icon was indeed an "e"
As it turns out, he had SBC/Yahoo and had never typed an actual web address...he just used the default yahoo search on the homepage, it also appears that he (or someone else) had hidden the address bar in IE....and he was not going to enable it, no matter what I said. I eventually directed him to call SBC tech support (although what they could do is questionable.)
The moral:
Never, ever overestimate a user.
Which can now be ammended with the question:
"Do you use Google?"
I think that the publishers just want total control, you'll be able to pay to search....and of course they won't be able to get together, so for that one song you heard on the radio, you have to pay 3 or 4 times to look it up on each site (who knows who publishes songs anyway?) The problem for them is to somehow give people no other option to find the name of a song. Once the MPAA, RIAA and BSA are finally able to shut down every form of communication that can be used for sharing digital information, they can just start their own and all the problems of the world will be solved!
I don't know about Australia, but here in Canada, or it could just be Ontario, an ex employer can't actually say anything bad, the least they can do is just verify that you worked there, of course everyone knows this, so if all they get "He worked here from x to x." It's normally considered a black mark anyway. The only thing you can do is not put that job on your resume, meaning you leave off any information before that as well, because it looks worse to have a blank spot and it's hard to explain, but leaving off employment from a few years ago is considered fine, because according to the experts, a resume shouldn't be more than one page anyway.
I've given notice to a few jobs in my life, being paid and released is a lot better than being forced to stick around and treated even worse than before. Some managers can be vindictive after you've resigned, especially if they were the reason you quit in the first place. Enjoy your vacation and realize that even if it was the CEO that had resigned, someone would probably decide to pull his access as well.
It's kind of like saying "I'm an MSCE." or "I'm a MOS (Microsoft Office Specailist)" It sounds really good to anyone who doesn't know, but it's not something I would brag about to anyone that wasn't a User. It's something that may look good on a resume in addition to real skills, or to a manager that has no real idea of what's going on, but it's not something I'd bring up in conversation with anyone I work with (sysadmin would fall out of his chair.)
Not that I have either of these "qualifications." Just thought I'd menrion that.
Yeah, this is an awful article, people we've never heard of, telling us things we already know. 180 Solutions = Bad. Thanks random blogs.
Most webmail will give the actual originating IP, not just the server IP, so it can be localized. So your e-mail, although sent from a server in the Cayman Islands, should still show an originator in the US. Even taking into account that you may have used a proxy in the Cayman Islands, it's less likely that it would be for the same company that provides the webmail. This is the path of the e-mail that we're talking about, it can still be deemed suspicious by software, especially if there's some sort of history (we are talking about e-mail that appears to be from someone you know and have a relationship with.) Most users wouldn't know what any of this means though, they'll still open an e-mail from unknown sources after how many years of being informed of the danger, so it seems to be more of a matter of education than one of protection.
For me this is in the "I've thought about it but never tried." file. I mean it sounds like a simple thing to do. Since most stores use the manufacturers barcode anyway (I worked at a rebate company while in college, if there's more than one UPC people get really confused.) Maybe if he'd gotten the code for a Nano and slapped it on a video IPod, there'd be more of a chance of getting away with it. He'd still have paid whatever the Nano is worth, but it's still an awesome discount.
from http://wired.com/news/games/0,2101,68284,00.html?t w=wn_tophead_1
That pretty much sums up what I think about this whole issue.
If that's not enough to turn most parents off from buying their kids this game, then I don't think an AO rating that instead says "Live Hot Girls!!!" is going to stop the same behaviour. I've spent a few hours playing, and no kid of mine would ever play it, whether rated E, T, M, or AO. Parents need to educate themselves, I'm not saying go out and play every game (I pretty much do, but that's for entertainment, not education) but they could at least take 5 minutes to google it and read a couple reviews. On the other hand, most of the clerks that I and my fiance have talked to about buying or renting games for her 10 year old have been pretty honest and educated about the content, the exception are the ones that will say any game is ok.
What, you were too lazy to tweak your potato cannon? Actually, a perfectly fitted block of ice is much better for penetrating walls and such, heh On topic, when I was a kid, we were just content with running our R/C cars into eachother until one died. I would've rather had these though, no more tabletop football on my desk during class, just warfare.