I have a bunch of hobbies (snowboarding, reading, cooking/baking, singing, video games, violin, dancing, project gutenberg, etc), and I've had them for quite a while.
When I was in the pits of depression, I found little to no enjoyment in them. After I got on antidepressants, I rediscovered my love of cooking and making music, amongst other things. I also enjoyed getting out of the house again, to spend time with friends or go out to a nightclub or something. Before, I found it too overwhelming to leave the house to meet up with friends.
I understand the OP's urge to get people to be more involved with various activities in their lives. However, true depression will prevent you from enjoying anything, including things that you used to love.
I'm a UW student. I didn't see it, so here's the full text of the email the administration sent out:
Dear Student:
I am writing to inform you of a development that could become a serious issue for some of our students--the law governing downloading and sharing of music and video from the internet. Under copyright law, it is illegal to download or share copyrighted materials such as music or movies without the permission of the copyright owner. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in recent years has taken an aggressive approach to stopping this illegal downloading and file sharing. This has put many students at the nation's colleges and universities at some legal risk. I write first to caution you against illegally downloading or sharing files. Your actions when you do so are traceable and could result in a significant financial penalty to you. Second, I want to inform you about a new process the RIAA has initiated and the University's role in this process.
The RIAA is now sending colleges and universities a letter for each instance they find of a student illegally downloading material from the internet and requesting the university to identify the individual student and forward the letter to him or her. The letter, called an "Early Settlement Letter" notifies the student that he or she has 20 days to settle with the RIAA by going to a designated website, entering identifying information, and paying a set amount, usually between $3,000 and $5,000, but sometimes considerably more. If the recipient chooses not to settle, the RIAA will file a lawsuit and the offer to settle for the amount stipulated is no longer an option.
The University has been notified by the RIAA that we will be receiving a number of these early settlement letters. After careful consideration, we have decided to forward the letters to the alleged copyright violators. We do so primarily because we believe students should have the opportunity to avail themselves of the settlement option if they so choose. Not forwarding the RIAA letter to students could result in their being served with a lawsuit, with no chance to settle it beforehand.
The University is unable to provide legal services to students who have violated copyright law through illegal downloading or sharing. If you receive a letter from the RIAA, we encourage you to engage a personal attorney. If you have questions, please let us know.
We know how tempting it is to download music or movies and share files with your friends. But you need to know that it is illegal to do so and that the consequences can be severe. Please inform yourself of the requirements of the law and please obey it. Otherwise, it may prove costly for you and your family.
Sincerely yours,
Vice Provost for Student Life
As fun as it is to watch someone playing a good game, it takes the fun out of playing that game yourself.
Case in point: Final Fantasy X. When my husband and I were still dating, sometimes I would be over at his place and he would be playing that game. It's really pretty to watch, so I'd occasionally sit and watch him play. I also started playing that game, but since I didn't have my own PS2, I could only play at his place when he wasn't playing. I wound up watching him play a lot more than playing mysef, and when I tried to continue with my game, I got annoyed because I had alredy seen the same animations and I already knew what was going to happen. I eventually just gave up on playing the game.
Now, if mr. mystereys is playing a game I haven't beat yet, I just leave the room. My point is, if you want a significant other to play video games, hand her the controller once in a while (or play 2-player games).
I went to the supreme court this morning in hopes of being able to see the oral arguments for the case (I live in the DC area). Unfortunately, there was a huge line and I and many others didn't get in. I can report on what happened outside, though.
The pro-RIAA/MPAA/MGM protesters showed up first, at maybe 8:45am. They tried to go up on the steps leading to the court building, but police told them they needed to stay on the sidewalk. This group of folks then hung out for a little while with their signs (one which read "Thou shalt not steal. -God"), then some of them took out their guitars and started playing and singing.
Then at around 9am, the protesters from the Consumer Electronics Association showed up, with black shirts reading "Save Betamax" in white letters. They were met with a some cheers from some folks in the waiting lines as they left their bus and assembled on the sidewalk a little ways away from the rival protesters. They had more creative signs compared to the musician protesters. The interesting thing to note were different demographics of the two protesting groups. The musicians were mostly middle-aged white men. The electronics advocates were generally younger, and had more of a mix of genders and races.
The news media started showing up in full force at around 9:30, and took some interviews with various people, including folks from both protest groups, and random people (including a teenager from a school group). I saw cameras from NBC, ABC, Channel One and Reuters. The media seemed to be focusing a lot of attention on the musician protest group, as at least one of their members was always being interviewed. However, that might have had something to do with them having guitars and making music, which got them attention.
The crowd waiting to get in seemed to be either on the side of Grokster or ambivalent. I took some photos, which I'll put up on Flickr (tagged "Grokster" or something like that) or the dc metblog when I get home from work.
When I first read about this, I was ready to give the guy a pass, thinking "Well, we all say stupid things once in a while, maybe he phrased what he meant wrong way, etc." Then, I read this at the end of the article I read (link):
Summers already faced criticism because the number of senior job offers to women has dropped each year of his three-year presidency.
It's one thing to say that differences between men and women need to be studied. But in light of the above fact, I've become rather suspicious.
I noticed that on the IT page, there is a link for (US) government employees to buy apple products for personal use at a discount. This discount includes government employees, contractors, and their families. The discounts are not as steep as the educational discounts, but it's significant. You can buy "or "sponsor" up to six system bundles each calendar year (January 1-December 31). "Sponsoring" means placing an order for a family member or friend."
The article says in the next 30-60 days. Although that makes sense in terms of the holiday shopping season, didn't they just come out with the 4th gen ipod, oh, 3 or 4 months ago? You still have problems finding accessories for the 4th gen--most of the cases sold in the stores are still for the 3rd gen ipod.
I'm interested in seeing what they're going to do with the Gundam Seed game. I'm imagining the top screen being used to display the battlefield (3rd person view), and the bottom screen displaying the controls of the strike/gundam you're piloting (pilot view). Adjust one of the controls (say, activate a special armor) with the stylus and the mecha responds.
I'm interested in seeing what is going to happen with the DS platform. I'm holding judgement on the system until we start seeing what some of these games can do. Some people voiced concerns about relying too heavily on existing franchises; it's not the franchises that are important, but the games themselves.
So you mean you're not going to go right out and buy the new model? The apple overlords are indeed disappointed with you...
The Newsweek article mentions this: whether current iPodders are going to stick with what they've got or sell it & buy the new one. Personally, I think the rate of buying the new one is directly correlated to the size of the iPodder's wallet.
The pace is innovation that Apple has is great. However, continual support is a bit lacking. This doesn't apply just to iPods. Right now, I'm typing on TiBook with OSX 10.2.8 running. Mac is gradually stopping support for Jaguar in the months since Panther has come out, and thus newer versions of some programs are only coming out for OS X10.3, like Safari. It's a trade-off. You get newer, better (well, at least in most cases) things faster, but support for the older stuff gets dropped quickly. The choice is to upgrade or be left behind.
When I'm not working, I spend a lot of time on the internet, playing. Yes, believe it or not, the internet can be used for entertainment purposes. Some may even call slashdot entertaining.
I think of wifi+laptop in a cafe (or similar location) as a variation of sitting there with a book. Sometimes, you want to get out of the house, sip/munch on something, and amuse yourself. Books do this well, as can laptops.
I don't know... a lot of times, this comes off as just another sales tactic.
For example, I remember buying a tv/vcr combo about 8 or so years ago at Circuit City. The salesman wasn't pushy or anything, but he did say something about how tv/vcr combos tend to need servicing once every year or so, and that the service would be covered under the warranty plan the store offered. I declined the offer. I have not had one problem with the unit, and I still use it on a daily basis. Servicing my bum--it was just a way to try to sell up the store's warranty plan.
Just to expand on the education point: there are a good number of women in science. However, as it now stands, most/many are not interested in computer engineering or number theory. Many of them are to be found in biology classes: there are more women applying to medical school now than there are men (or so I heard from someone applying to med schools).
I agree on marketing video games towards women.
However, I can think of one feature that would make it a lot easier for more women, and more working people, to play games: a pause button that works, and being able to save at any time. You see, many peole (not just women) can't devote hours at a time for gaming. Myself, I like to play anywhere between 10 minutes and 2 hours. I really resent the fact that in some games, that if I need to stop right away or take a break, I can't without losing game data or dying. As much as I want to see the pretty computer animated cut scenes, sometimes I really just need to go to the bathroom! Sometimes, I want hurry up and save so I can get started on dinner.
I had the opposite reaction: I really did NOT like Waking Life.
The animation is beautiful. However, the dialogue sounded like the cheesy ramblings of a 14-15 year old who thinks he's being really deep: "If we're dreaming now, and I'm awake, maybe that means what we call real life is actually a dream..."
The best way to watch that movie is with the sound turned off
Since this new movie is not written by Linklater (although he did adapt the screenplay), I'm sure it will be better, especially if he's applying that animation technique... (And I didn't much care for Dazed and Confused, either, which was also written by him.)
Even cheaper: get it done at city hall (or your county building). Cost: under $100 for fees & license. You don't even need to dress up. My county even had a non-denominational "chapel" with pews for guests who wanted to witness the ceremony, free of charge.
(Fyi, I was the bride & I wanted it this way. Used the saved $ to buy an iBook & a vacation.)
"But I do agree with him that people should be able to pick up and play, so on that note get rid of these ridiculous load times that are built in to the system. The splash screens are so annoying, especially after going back to SNES/NES recently and having a simple chime, then a menu in seconds. Of course, that's a limitation of the media."
I have to point out that load times are almost unnoticeable on the GameCube, after the game finishes booting up. Compare Metroid Prime and GTA (3 or Vice City) on PS2. In Metroid, once the game is loaded and Samus is ready to go, there are pretty much no load times. In Vice City, I remember waiting and staring at the splash screen for at least 20 seconds while the little bar at the bottom ticked slowly closer to full, waiting for the game to get set up.
That's one of the things I really like about the GC, and something that not enough people recognize.
Is this a ploy by Arthur Murray's Dance Studios to get young'ns interested in ballroom dancing? I can't imagine there is going to be much interest in this game in the arcades.
The website doesn't mention anything about controls (as far as I could see): will it be a touch sensitive pad to step on? As the phrase goes, it takes two to tango: will single players have to pretend they're holding a partner? And what about women's versus men's steps: will the player lead or will the computer?
Actually, as far as I know, movie theaters will give you a refund or a certificate for a free movie, if you really hate the movie you just saw. You have talk to theater management right after the movie (or right after you walk out). My father told me this a while ago. I've never tested it out, though, because I only see movies in a theater when I know I'll like it (based on topic, reviews from friends, writer/director, etc).
And, obligatory South Park quote: Let's go see Mel Gibson to get our money back.... This is America, and in America, if something sucks, you get your money back.
Oh, and so as not to make this a total threadjack: I prefer easier games. I hate having to re-do a section of a game 30+ times before I can continue. It seems like a lot of games rely on difficulty, as opposed to storyline or gameplay, to make it entertaining. It's seeing a movie, whose only redeeming factor is a spectacular stunt at the 1.5 hr mark, instead of it being a compelling way of telling a story. (Jerry Bruckheimer, I'm looking in your direction.)
Some/.ers have mentioned that they work on laptops belonging to their work, and/or have employer-paid DSL lines and cell phones. But what about costs associated with the workplace? Currently, employers pay for office space, utilities, janitors, security measures (ID cards, security personnell), etc.
Will employers re-imburse at-home workers for these costs? Or should it be the responsibility of the worker to provide the workplace and bear the costs associated with it? For example, if I work from home, will my employer cover the costs of setting aside a workplace in my home, and reimburse me for the electricity I use when working? What about heating or cooling my workspace? How can such costs be separated from the costs involved in maintaing my home?
You can make an analogy to a clothing factory vs. piecemeal work: the clothing factory provides the materials, lighting, sewing machines, fabric upfront, and in peicemeal work the worker provides all this (with exception of the fabric) and only gets paid after each piece of clothing is sewn.
Unless factors like these are taken care of, telecommuting seems like a bad deal for many employees.
Maybe this was Nokia's plan all along: they release a really sucky phone-game-mp3 combo system, and then when they release the next gen system, which is of marginal quality, everyone thinks "oh, this is a big improvement!" From the screenshots, the new system looks better: no more side-talking and better placement of game buttons.
For some reason, I keep thinking of Coke & the fiasco with Coke 2 in the 80s: releasing a sucky product to remind everyone how much better the "classic" product is.
Slashdot Mirror
I have a bunch of hobbies (snowboarding, reading, cooking/baking, singing, video games, violin, dancing, project gutenberg, etc), and I've had them for quite a while.
When I was in the pits of depression, I found little to no enjoyment in them. After I got on antidepressants, I rediscovered my love of cooking and making music, amongst other things. I also enjoyed getting out of the house again, to spend time with friends or go out to a nightclub or something. Before, I found it too overwhelming to leave the house to meet up with friends.
I understand the OP's urge to get people to be more involved with various activities in their lives. However, true depression will prevent you from enjoying anything, including things that you used to love.
I'm a UW student. I didn't see it, so here's the full text of the email the administration sent out: Dear Student: I am writing to inform you of a development that could become a serious issue for some of our students--the law governing downloading and sharing of music and video from the internet. Under copyright law, it is illegal to download or share copyrighted materials such as music or movies without the permission of the copyright owner. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in recent years has taken an aggressive approach to stopping this illegal downloading and file sharing. This has put many students at the nation's colleges and universities at some legal risk. I write first to caution you against illegally downloading or sharing files. Your actions when you do so are traceable and could result in a significant financial penalty to you. Second, I want to inform you about a new process the RIAA has initiated and the University's role in this process. The RIAA is now sending colleges and universities a letter for each instance they find of a student illegally downloading material from the internet and requesting the university to identify the individual student and forward the letter to him or her. The letter, called an "Early Settlement Letter" notifies the student that he or she has 20 days to settle with the RIAA by going to a designated website, entering identifying information, and paying a set amount, usually between $3,000 and $5,000, but sometimes considerably more. If the recipient chooses not to settle, the RIAA will file a lawsuit and the offer to settle for the amount stipulated is no longer an option. The University has been notified by the RIAA that we will be receiving a number of these early settlement letters. After careful consideration, we have decided to forward the letters to the alleged copyright violators. We do so primarily because we believe students should have the opportunity to avail themselves of the settlement option if they so choose. Not forwarding the RIAA letter to students could result in their being served with a lawsuit, with no chance to settle it beforehand. The University is unable to provide legal services to students who have violated copyright law through illegal downloading or sharing. If you receive a letter from the RIAA, we encourage you to engage a personal attorney. If you have questions, please let us know. We know how tempting it is to download music or movies and share files with your friends. But you need to know that it is illegal to do so and that the consequences can be severe. Please inform yourself of the requirements of the law and please obey it. Otherwise, it may prove costly for you and your family. Sincerely yours, Vice Provost for Student Life
As fun as it is to watch someone playing a good game, it takes the fun out of playing that game yourself.
Case in point: Final Fantasy X. When my husband and I were still dating, sometimes I would be over at his place and he would be playing that game. It's really pretty to watch, so I'd occasionally sit and watch him play. I also started playing that game, but since I didn't have my own PS2, I could only play at his place when he wasn't playing. I wound up watching him play a lot more than playing mysef, and when I tried to continue with my game, I got annoyed because I had alredy seen the same animations and I already knew what was going to happen. I eventually just gave up on playing the game.
Now, if mr. mystereys is playing a game I haven't beat yet, I just leave the room. My point is, if you want a significant other to play video games, hand her the controller once in a while (or play 2-player games).
I went to the supreme court this morning in hopes of being able to see the oral arguments for the case (I live in the DC area). Unfortunately, there was a huge line and I and many others didn't get in. I can report on what happened outside, though.
The pro-RIAA/MPAA/MGM protesters showed up first, at maybe 8:45am. They tried to go up on the steps leading to the court building, but police told them they needed to stay on the sidewalk. This group of folks then hung out for a little while with their signs (one which read "Thou shalt not steal. -God"), then some of them took out their guitars and started playing and singing.
Then at around 9am, the protesters from the Consumer Electronics Association showed up, with black shirts reading "Save Betamax" in white letters. They were met with a some cheers from some folks in the waiting lines as they left their bus and assembled on the sidewalk a little ways away from the rival protesters. They had more creative signs compared to the musician protesters. The interesting thing to note were different demographics of the two protesting groups. The musicians were mostly middle-aged white men. The electronics advocates were generally younger, and had more of a mix of genders and races.
The news media started showing up in full force at around 9:30, and took some interviews with various people, including folks from both protest groups, and random people (including a teenager from a school group). I saw cameras from NBC, ABC, Channel One and Reuters. The media seemed to be focusing a lot of attention on the musician protest group, as at least one of their members was always being interviewed. However, that might have had something to do with them having guitars and making music, which got them attention.
The crowd waiting to get in seemed to be either on the side of Grokster or ambivalent. I took some photos, which I'll put up on Flickr (tagged "Grokster" or something like that) or the dc metblog when I get home from work.
When I first read about this, I was ready to give the guy a pass, thinking "Well, we all say stupid things once in a while, maybe he phrased what he meant wrong way, etc." Then, I read this at the end of the article I read (link):
Summers already faced criticism because the number of senior job offers to women has dropped each year of his three-year presidency.
It's one thing to say that differences between men and women need to be studied. But in light of the above fact, I've become rather suspicious.
I noticed that on the IT page, there is a link for (US) government employees to buy apple products for personal use at a discount. This discount includes government employees, contractors, and their families. The discounts are not as steep as the educational discounts, but it's significant. You can buy "or "sponsor" up to six system bundles each calendar year (January 1-December 31). "Sponsoring" means placing an order for a family member or friend."
Here's the link for federal employees.
and for state & local.
However, http://www.iphone.org/ leads to the apple website...
The article says in the next 30-60 days. Although that makes sense in terms of the holiday shopping season, didn't they just come out with the 4th gen ipod, oh, 3 or 4 months ago? You still have problems finding accessories for the 4th gen--most of the cases sold in the stores are still for the 3rd gen ipod.
I'm interested in seeing what they're going to do with the Gundam Seed game. I'm imagining the top screen being used to display the battlefield (3rd person view), and the bottom screen displaying the controls of the strike/gundam you're piloting (pilot view). Adjust one of the controls (say, activate a special armor) with the stylus and the mecha responds.
I'm interested in seeing what is going to happen with the DS platform. I'm holding judgement on the system until we start seeing what some of these games can do. Some people voiced concerns about relying too heavily on existing franchises; it's not the franchises that are important, but the games themselves.
You know, when I saw the pictures, I thought just the opposite: how are people with small hands going to be able to reach all the buttons comfortably?
So you mean you're not going to go right out and buy the new model? The apple overlords are indeed disappointed with you...
The Newsweek article mentions this: whether current iPodders are going to stick with what they've got or sell it & buy the new one. Personally, I think the rate of buying the new one is directly correlated to the size of the iPodder's wallet.
The pace is innovation that Apple has is great. However, continual support is a bit lacking. This doesn't apply just to iPods. Right now, I'm typing on TiBook with OSX 10.2.8 running. Mac is gradually stopping support for Jaguar in the months since Panther has come out, and thus newer versions of some programs are only coming out for OS X10.3, like Safari. It's a trade-off. You get newer, better (well, at least in most cases) things faster, but support for the older stuff gets dropped quickly. The choice is to upgrade or be left behind.
Gorath99, you just made my day. =D I'm still waiting for the official animated Tick DVDs to come out. Maybe someday... *sigh*
Sorry to get so incredibly off-topic.
I'm just waiting for the conspiracy theorists on this one:
It's the sign on the devil! Apocalypse is upon us! Major League Baseball really is tracking our movements!
When I'm not working, I spend a lot of time on the internet, playing. Yes, believe it or not, the internet can be used for entertainment purposes. Some may even call slashdot entertaining.
I think of wifi+laptop in a cafe (or similar location) as a variation of sitting there with a book. Sometimes, you want to get out of the house, sip/munch on something, and amuse yourself. Books do this well, as can laptops.
I don't know... a lot of times, this comes off as just another sales tactic.
For example, I remember buying a tv/vcr combo about 8 or so years ago at Circuit City. The salesman wasn't pushy or anything, but he did say something about how tv/vcr combos tend to need servicing once every year or so, and that the service would be covered under the warranty plan the store offered. I declined the offer. I have not had one problem with the unit, and I still use it on a daily basis. Servicing my bum--it was just a way to try to sell up the store's warranty plan.
Just to expand on the education point: there are a good number of women in science. However, as it now stands, most/many are not interested in computer engineering or number theory. Many of them are to be found in biology classes: there are more women applying to medical school now than there are men (or so I heard from someone applying to med schools).
I agree on marketing video games towards women.
However, I can think of one feature that would make it a lot easier for more women, and more working people, to play games: a pause button that works, and being able to save at any time. You see, many peole (not just women) can't devote hours at a time for gaming. Myself, I like to play anywhere between 10 minutes and 2 hours. I really resent the fact that in some games, that if I need to stop right away or take a break, I can't without losing game data or dying. As much as I want to see the pretty computer animated cut scenes, sometimes I really just need to go to the bathroom! Sometimes, I want hurry up and save so I can get started on dinner.
Most women with G-cups are fat (or have implants. Sorry to say, but it's the truth). Why don't we see many games with fat female characters?
I had the opposite reaction: I really did NOT like Waking Life.
The animation is beautiful. However, the dialogue sounded like the cheesy ramblings of a 14-15 year old who thinks he's being really deep: "If we're dreaming now, and I'm awake, maybe that means what we call real life is actually a dream..."
The best way to watch that movie is with the sound turned off
Since this new movie is not written by Linklater (although he did adapt the screenplay), I'm sure it will be better, especially if he's applying that animation technique... (And I didn't much care for Dazed and Confused, either, which was also written by him.)
Even cheaper: get it done at city hall (or your county building). Cost: under $100 for fees & license. You don't even need to dress up. My county even had a non-denominational "chapel" with pews for guests who wanted to witness the ceremony, free of charge.
(Fyi, I was the bride & I wanted it this way. Used the saved $ to buy an iBook & a vacation.)
That's one of the things I really like about the GC, and something that not enough people recognize.
Is this a ploy by Arthur Murray's Dance Studios to get young'ns interested in ballroom dancing? I can't imagine there is going to be much interest in this game in the arcades.
The website doesn't mention anything about controls (as far as I could see): will it be a touch sensitive pad to step on? As the phrase goes, it takes two to tango: will single players have to pretend they're holding a partner? And what about women's versus men's steps: will the player lead or will the computer?
This should be interesting...
Actually, as far as I know, movie theaters will give you a refund or a certificate for a free movie, if you really hate the movie you just saw. You have talk to theater management right after the movie (or right after you walk out). My father told me this a while ago. I've never tested it out, though, because I only see movies in a theater when I know I'll like it (based on topic, reviews from friends, writer/director, etc).
... This is America, and in America, if something sucks, you get your money back.
And, obligatory South Park quote:
Let's go see Mel Gibson to get our money back.
Oh, and so as not to make this a total threadjack: I prefer easier games. I hate having to re-do a section of a game 30+ times before I can continue. It seems like a lot of games rely on difficulty, as opposed to storyline or gameplay, to make it entertaining. It's seeing a movie, whose only redeeming factor is a spectacular stunt at the 1.5 hr mark, instead of it being a compelling way of telling a story. (Jerry Bruckheimer, I'm looking in your direction.)
How are matters dealing with money dealt with?
/.ers have mentioned that they work on laptops belonging to their work, and/or have employer-paid DSL lines and cell phones. But what about costs associated with the workplace? Currently, employers pay for office space, utilities, janitors, security measures (ID cards, security personnell), etc.
Some
Will employers re-imburse at-home workers for these costs? Or should it be the responsibility of the worker to provide the workplace and bear the costs associated with it? For example, if I work from home, will my employer cover the costs of setting aside a workplace in my home, and reimburse me for the electricity I use when working? What about heating or cooling my workspace? How can such costs be separated from the costs involved in maintaing my home?
You can make an analogy to a clothing factory vs. piecemeal work: the clothing factory provides the materials, lighting, sewing machines, fabric upfront, and in peicemeal work the worker provides all this (with exception of the fabric) and only gets paid after each piece of clothing is sewn.
Unless factors like these are taken care of, telecommuting seems like a bad deal for many employees.
Maybe this was Nokia's plan all along: they release a really sucky phone-game-mp3 combo system, and then when they release the next gen system, which is of marginal quality, everyone thinks "oh, this is a big improvement!" From the screenshots, the new system looks better: no more side-talking and better placement of game buttons.
For some reason, I keep thinking of Coke & the fiasco with Coke 2 in the 80s: releasing a sucky product to remind everyone how much better the "classic" product is.
Where's my voter-verifiable paper printout?