This is nothing more than racketeering on their part. Shakedowns for money from people who can ill-afford to defend themselves from the illegal manner in which the RIAA tries to get information, much less from the baseless charges that stem from IP addresses and somehow having a share on the internet that has copyrighted material unprotected (yes, there are exceptions, but the "big wide net" technique should be, and thankfully has, been curtailed.) They don't WANT you to go to court... they want to get rulings regarding you without you even knowing, which smells EXACTLY like shady tactics. It's about time a judge told them to FOAD. They aren't law enforcement @ the RIAA. If they've got proof... bring it... let the person you're accusing get his/her day in court and go from there. (funny that is how our legal system is supposed to work...) If not, go away and please, for the love of pete....shut up. Stop clogging the already burdened legal system with yet more ill-advised and often unsubstantiated claims of infringement. It's not stopping, deterring, or otherwise curtailing the actual IP infringement in countries around the world (China, Russia, etc.) and it's not going to. We've got too many people suing over tainted peanut butter to clog the bloody system with this nonsense.
If they suspect someone of wholesale infringement... gather the information through law-enforcement as any other entity would and stop trying to short-circuit the system and get payouts from people like you're their bookie. I mean that big blue stupid disclaimer at the front of EVERY STINKING MOVIE they MAKE tells us the FBI investigates this sort of crap...:)
I have lost all faith that this will ever get better... and it seems that the *AA's are intent on destroying themselves rather than acknowledge some infringement exists, but that the vast majority are not guilty... and that we cannot simultaneously violate our own labor laws buying goods from China on the one hand while at the same time scolding them about IP protection. It's Ri-goddanged-diculous.. (sanitized for your protection.) We can't have it both ways... we can't stop it with a technological solution (it's a moral problem... Just like his Steveness said...) and we sure can't have inflated loss claims and dire threats of a non-essential industry going under due to "theft of IP." (sorry, they don't make pacemakers, nuclear weapons, or medicines.. so why are they trying to align themselves on that level?)
It's enough to make you puke.;) So, I stay away from major labels. If that brands me as a "pirate"... well, I've got one thing to say to that:
"ARRRRRRR!" (you knew it was coming... it's funny... laugh. heh)
That's not the point... the point is not the flood, but how Noah handled it.
Gilgamesh may have handled it differently (it's been a while)... but that's not what I meant.
And, no, the jury's still out on Gilgamesh being first because of the oral traditions being so hard to nail down... (depending on who you ask..and no, I don't mean fundies...)
I'm sorry you feel that way... but you can always take your marbles and move to a different location if you're feeling left out, persecuted, or otherwise slighted.;) This is slashdot... most of what people say that is modded insightful is tripe. Most of what is said on here is tripe overall... even what I said is tripe... It's just a half-baked opinion based on one documentary of his (F-9/11) that I saw. I saw part of Bowling for Columbine, but didn't care to be interested in his version of things...
But hey, thanks for your support... good or bad, at least you're using your brain. Don't let life get you down.;)
The idea remains that Moore, while producing facts, can (and has) carefully positioned the facts, that while in the grand scheme of things might seem unconnected, he positions them to garner a different conclusion than would otherwise thought in terms of the overall facts of a particular incident (the "asking congressmen and senators if they'd send their kids to Iraq" is a prime example... the raw footage did come out, and Moore deliberately left out one senator's (or congressman's?) answer to Moore's interview question on film. Recall the lawmaker had a nephew and son in Iraq. Now, draw your own conclusions there, but the idea is to leave the facts bare and let the audience decide.
Would it have mattered if he had put the whole response in? No.. the point was still there, but his idea that the "no senators' kids went" would've been less effective in his mind I suppose. The overall message was still valid and worth thinking about. It's not as bad as say, Charlie Rangle trying to insinuate that only poor people were fighting our wars (which is demographically not true... but that doesn't stop him from trying to push it...)
The fact trial you list may or may not be related, but the way that Moore presented them gave little doubt his conclusions... save his conclusions for later in the film and lay the facts out so that people can decide. That's all I am asking. I think most of that may not matter, considering the things he left out of the "in-between" time... but that's just me.
But the point is, overall, Moore doesn't do his agenda justice if he leaves facts on the cutting room floor... he should have more faith in the intelligence of his audience to make the decision based on facts, not innuendo and assumption. It would go a long way to making him more credible in my mind... if on the opposite side of some issues from me.
I never said Moore invented facts. I merely stated he picks facts and positions facts for the greatest effect and those that will benefit his position more than hinder it. Coulter and Gore and the lot of them are quite guilty of manipulating facts.
He cherry-picks information, manipulates and molds the facts to point rather unceremoniously to a conclusion he wants you to come to (rather than showing the facts and letting the public decide)... Not unlike other documentary filmmakers, but still....
He is not the voice of reason... he is the voice of another opinion. Nothing wrong with that, but his tactics are not to provide information, insight, or raw un-spun feeds of a particular problem, but to provide you with his opinion on the matter. If you agree with him.. he's happy. If you don't... you're working for W, Haliburton, or the Illuminati.
I don't mind him making movies one bit... more power to him. But the truth is always under his expertly edited hand... and it often times is his truth. It's a delicate line he's walking... he's dangerously skirting the outer edges of propaganda... and most people are unaware because they see the term "documentary" and immediately consider it's like the hygiene films in Jr. High. "Wash up, Susie!" (Not that some of those weren't propaganda laced with horrible acting as well... heh)
You're absolutely right. 1st out of the gate... WMA is (was) an also-ran & late to the party, besides that people view it as "DRM"... even though it can be unencumbered (beyond the obvious Microsoft tax.) Not that there's not a Fraunhaffer (sp?) tax.. but it's a bit less cumbersome... (though not totally absent..)
I personally use Ogg when I can, and mp3 for things that are convenient... like my iPod. My iAudio player can handle ogg... so if I rip my own stuff, rather than getting it from eMusic or Magnatune (or ambient.us)... I prefer Ogg...
But as the Windows Safari goes... why if it is a "failure" does it do anything but be a *shrug* to Jobs & co? Are they investing every last cent of R&D to make this port? Since I'd be willing to bet, no... it's not a big deal if it fails... well, a big deal to bloggers looking to up their traffic... or pundits who like to clang the death knell for Apple at every corner.
Ah well.;) There's always something... It doesn't take all kinds, we just _got_ all kinds.
Those are the people that I liken to the folks who you tell them at a sideshow "this way to the egress" and they're eagerly awaiting what an "egress" was..;)
The symptoms you indicate (6000 year old earth, etc) are more of a misunderstanding of what really is important (a sociological disorder... heh)
The Flood story... what are we to get out of that? Angry God smites world, then feels bad about it? No. That if you stick to your principles and ignore the people who are trying to bring you down, you will succeed.
Things like that get convoluted by people who have a tough time knowing what the real message of anything is... A bunch of people (and there are many) who lack a sense of creativity... who take things as they see, or are told them... and miss the greater meaning.
Religions seem to thrive on these people because they're good donors, I suppose. If it's not religions, it's clubs, overzealous crafting, or some insane sport.
Weird, isn't it? I would consider the people we are discussing as in a state of perpetual adolescence. Perpetual childhood... where things are out of context (because the context hasn't formed yet) and things are most likely taken at face value... deeper meanings are ignored because they lack the developmental capacity to discern the greater meaning... and thus, we have a perpetual group that merely avoids growth and personal journeys in favor of basking in a simpler past where things didn't seem so complicated...
It takes all kinds to make the world go round...:)
Sticking one's head in the sand and ignoring evidence to the contrary isn't a new phenomenon, and it's not solely the parlance of the religious... just the stupid... whether or not the stupid are religious I think is secondary to their stupidity. If they worshiped a can of Snow Peas, or their left toe wouldn't change the fact that they are idiots, and sometimes those same idiots are in charge (bleh!)
IOW, morons have been around long before we had organized religion to put a name to the unnamed "fear" of change.;)
And quite frankly, this extends itself into every aspect of our society... as is evidenced by the random chripings from the chicken littles of the industry... "Few doubt the piracy problem" (so says the article) and goes on to claim billions lost.
If they lost so much, do they write it off on their taxes? Oh yeah.. they can't.;)
I think most launch titles have a little bit of "greenness" on them. I am surprised there's no local MP splitscreen for Motorstorm as well... That being said, I don't mind that a little, but MAdden 06 was unacceptably shortchanged. (and 07 for the PS3)
You know the mindless adrenaline rush I get is from Burnout Revenge. It is one of the few racing games that gives me a sense of speed... (and it's fabulously hilarious!)
Wow.. I didn't realize that Resistance devs apologized..:) I think it's a gorgeous game... albeit damn hard.;)
I really am having second thoughts about my second thoughts.:) I might have to give it a shot... when I can find a Wii.:) I probably won't use it for the VC, but who knows?:)
I support none. itunes is the most unobtrusive (and easiest to get rid of if need be)... but I still have no idea why DRM exists at all... it simply makes the legitimate purchaser out to be a common criminal. If you don't think so, that's fine. I simply hate the idea that DRM has to exist when stores like eMusic have 0 drm and are doing fine (I in fact buy most of my music from them, that I don't buy on physical CD). And _NO_ before anyone gets the wrong idea.. I'm not against DRM because I love bittorrent or usenet for all my content... I simply feel that it is a waste of money for companies to try, and each time they make an "unbreakable" one, it gets broken... and all that money they wasted trying to make me out to be a criminal could be better served with making more reliable consoles, and perhaps cheaper ones...
I have yet to experience MS' redownload, so I can't say... (I've not had a dead console... and MS's stance is as close to impossible as you can get tying it to machine _AND_ gamertag...that was my original point) I'm going on the many reports that I've read online and from friends who've had similar situations.. it's a convoluted mess at times, to be perfectly honest. For someone who has a new console that wants to be able to use it at Grandma's without having to be logged in is kinda out of the question without the "dummy profile" stuff that MS uses as a workaround to their OWN drm.
I have not found that to be the case with my PS3. Should that ever change, I will most likely not use its store at all either (for what little I do use it... I'm not much on the idea yet...) Licensing to a particular machine is what I expect most likely to bite me in the ass in the future. Consoles don't last, and God knows, Microsoft's machine has been a pile... when that occurs, having to be logged in because my original Xbox is dead in order to play DLC is pathetic. Sorry.. it simply mirrors their attempts at "rental" they've been trying to foist since they test marketed "software rentals" in Europe (Office)... You don't own it unless you're able to do with it what you will. Copy a CD? Sure. Loan it to a friend? Sure. Make backups to your computer? Sure. Everything else is just an assault on Fair use. And yes, I do support the EFF.;)
Who knows? Maybe Sony does as well, and I just don't know it yet. But like I said in the beginning... ANY DRM is shit. It does nothing to prevent the determined... it just makes me feel like I'm being treated as an untrustworthy nutjob who will turn on the poor corporation at any moment. If they don't trust me with their precious content, why should I trust them with my money?
NO content is worth that hassle. Not even Tekken 5.
There's just no convincing some morons, though. I've been trying to say that for YEARS... there are some people that are CONVINCED the iPod won't play MP3s... EVEN WHEN I SHOW THEM... "oh that's an apple mp3" WTF? Are you TRYING to be stupidest person of the year?
This is such a non-story, it almost feels like they're SEARCHING for something to piss and moan about.
For chrissakes, people... BITCH WHEN THERE'S A NEED TO...
I love Motorstorm much more... It's not as expansive in unlockables as say, Burnout, but it's fun and when I play it... it feels next-gen, looks next-gen, and is damn fun to play with the sixaxis motion sensing on......
I used excite truck as an example because it was for a while the only racer for the Wii proper.... (at least as I remembered it)... and even then, it seemed like Madden O6 on the 360... rushed to market and missing some features. I thought that was a travesty for the football franchises (and a byproduct of EA being, at the time, the ONLY game in town) Madden 07 was a similar featureless fest for the PS3 (so I hear)... but by then, I was only interested in the 2k8 sports football coming.;)
Now, anyone who loves Barbie's Horse Prancing Show Pony Dress up... they need help.. not just justification.
Thanks for the explanation... the thing that bugs me, particularly with MS and Nintendo's versions of this store crud is the idea that if your console goes tango-uniform, your purchases on that console die with it... and they "let" you put them on a new console... (assuming they are less pissy about it at Nintendo... I mean, you literally have to threaten microsoft to get them to do the xfer... and even then it's some convoluted "dummy account" and some weirdness that is totally unacceptable even for $5 and $10 games...) The kicker in MS's case is, they bury that little tidbit... and since they've got a GLUT of broken consoles... people are becoming understandably pissed when they find out some of the "rules" of the game.... so to speak. It won't make them change their ways... because the revenue's working for them... people buy anyway. I just don't particularly want to... under the circumstances. And I believe their "system" of arcade/virtual console purchases is a load of crap. Others may not think so, and somehow they may believe I am simply sniping at the beloved Nintendo and Microsoft... but I'm not... But if you put a dress on a pig, it's still a pig.
I admit I do have Tekken5:DR for the PS3... oh and Gauntlet II...;) But after recently updating my 20GB to 120GB, all I needed to do was head to the store and get my content I purchased back to my HDD... no questions, no frowny faced employee complaining that they have to "allow" me the chance to do it... Maybe that would not work if I had a new console... who knows? If so, then I hate their store too... I'm not playing favorites...
Is it tied to my console? It might be... But rebuying them in the event of console breakage? Unacceptable. It might work for some people, I just find it a problem. If indeed the Wii eula for VC is like you read it... Nintendo's VC is even MORE draconian than Microsoft's... and that's just sad. (And it makes my first statement in this thread correct..) If the Wii is made like a tank, it still may break... and re-buying the bloody VC content is horsefeathers...
Thanks again for your perspective. I'm liking the idea of a Wii even less now. Sorry Nintendo... Maybe if you wouldn't doublespeak about region-coding (oh, it works FINE without region coding on your handhelds...) and stop trying to treat people like they're "stealing" from you... I'd be more likely to support your console... Meh. They all act that way... but so far, ironically enough, Sony's been the least pissy so far this gen...
And to all the fans of Nintendo out there who are ready to lynch me.. I have a DS and Gamecube.... So put the pitchforks and torches away.
Great. If it works for you, that's fine. For the record, I didn't mention the 360's live arcade, but that doesn't mean I endorse it over the Wii's. (I own the live arcade game disk they came out with a while back... that's it. I refuse to "rent" games...)
The least restrictive I've seen so far is Sony's... it's tied to your account more than the machine, and you can redownload it no problem... (that is IMPOSSIBLE without a lot of ass-chewing on MS side... don't know about Nintendo... but it sounds just as stupid.)
Until they lay off the bloody DRM... they can have their VC.
Just because 4.7 million downloads have occurred... that doesn't mean it's a good idea.
heheh. I think so. I don't think the Wii Nazi had a mustache...;)
Nintendo's up to something, I'm sure.:)
The more I wait for one, the less I want one... the less compelling reasons I have for getting one, that is... the VC is nice, but not _that_ nice yet... and they're pretty draconian about what console they are tied to and where you can copy them, etc.
"creamed" isn't likely a word I would use (unless I relished the insinuation that Sony wasn't doing so "hot")... It's a $600 (or so) console v. a $250 console. Apples to Oranges (no pun intended)... and I for one am happy it's selling faster than previous generations, in spite of the price. That alone is impressive to me, a platform agnostic... This sort of news (8:1 ratio) isn't going to make my toast suddenly not come out right, or my milk to spoil... so in reality, if someone needs this information to make themselves feel better about Excite Truck, have at it. (I'm not saying you are... I am using the "royal you"... so to speak.) There's simply far too many people being nutjobs about the franchise wars that it's becoming tiresome....
It's sold to customers, actually (from what I've read at other sites about this... since Slashdot has the case of oops! right now.) Now whether or not _that_ is true is yet another story.;)
I think people are drinking too much of the kool-aid. The war's not over (if there ever was one... why does there have to be one winner?) and any snippet, shred, tiny molecule of information that makes console A look better than console B in the tiny minds of the fanboys is scraped up off the web and spread around like creamy peanut butter.
WTF? Yeah, I own both... I've got a good job... so I couldn't care less which one is "cooler". I might even buy a Wii if I ever can find the bloody thing.
I wish these people would simply enjoy the games and stop bloody well being the killjoy that is trying to justify purchase of console A over console B. News flash, at these prices, (BOTH consoles, fanboys) there is _NO_ "justification"... except that you wanted one.
And Sega said "It's thinking...";) Sometimes marketing hype is clever... sometimes it just annoys.:) I don't think it has adversely affected performance, because the console was (dunno if it still is) selling at a faster clip in a shorter window than the PS2 did in the same months of its launch cycle (and we all know how many of those systems made it into homes...) The year head start by MS has proven two things... it doesn't matter when you start if your AAA titles aren't there yet (Halo 3), and going too fast can adversely affect console reliability (the 360 is far more prone to breakage this gen than I've seen in a while... even the weak plastic laser track right next to the power supply on the original Playstation) MS hasn't benefited all that greatly from the head start... and it appears to be leveling off... with stacks of both PS3s and 360s in most stores, judging sales by the # of consoles left on the shelf isn't a good barometer... (as I've seen some people mention, w/r/t PS3 sales). Having two winners this generation is a good thing... or 3 if you count the Wii... It means not much in the way of asinine exclusives... and it means competition... something missing last gen....
If you consider the actual costs of owning a 360 is $400+, and $480 if you want HDMI... (and $500/$600 for the PS3) the persistent issue that we're seeing is consoles outprice themselves... not just Sony... for the average gamer. The Wii is an aberration that works for some, but not others... and is the darling of the marketing press right now... so until it falters (production delays that still persist might be the Achilles heel of the Wii) it'll be immune from the criticism the other two companies are getting w/r/t price.
But I remember relative cost (in the 70's) that the Atari 2600 was not a "drop in the bucket" price-wise... Consoles followed a much slower price leveling than other gadget-type products (digital watches, calculators, VCRs, etc...) but we got spoiled in the last couple of generations by the same pricepoints for separate "generations" (I'll leave that to others to argue how that was delimited) and even in those there was one console maker willing to go below the "sacred" price to obtain new customers.
Now we see both Sony and MS up their prices from the previous generation (Sony more than MS, but MS has saddled themselves with an HDD free console that developers are afraid not to support, and that has created issues, as we've read re: GTA IV) and I don't think we're going to see a launch console for less than $500 next generation... as a matter of fact, I think the console that will be the most value will not be the "core" systems from MS (or Sony if they decide to go that route this next time around...) but that will seek to further move the general console population to a less-than-mainstream appeal. Who knows? When Blu-ray or HD-DVD wins the format war, the next HD disc equipped console might be $300 again... but I doubt it. I'm just speculating...:)
But in reference to "niche"... We're both still in a "niche" gaming market... (unless you have a Wii... then marketers and corporations refer to you as a "mainstream" gamer.) heh. I don't think gaming is as "mainstream" as the hype portrays it. Simply owning a PS3 or a 360 (goodness knows both puts you in an even smaller demographic) realistically moves your market potential out of the "mainstream".... Why? I have no idea... but I imagine it's the cost of both (as I said earlier).... It's a "mature" market that keeps outpacing itself to provide one-upsmanship for bragging rights, at the expense of market share.... something we don't traditionally see in a market that has moved mainstream...
I suppose $300 was the sweet spot (remember the Saturn was $399)... and anything more than that will get a backlash from mainstream (whatever they're calling it now...) customers.
I balked at the price of the PS3 early on... mainly as a preprogrammed response to the "it's more exp
I would say that already exists... in certain ways, and in certain countries that are hit hardest by the great hand of censorship... It's just not exactly front-page news (and it really shouldn't be... for obvious reasons...)
Not to mention, those eeevil "pirates" and all use this sort of thing all the time... much to the aneurysm-inducing anger of the *AA's.
I think it's funny, to boot.
What's the most important thing we hate about China? (officially?) That they don't do enough to protect "intellectual" property.
when I first switched (way back in 2001), I thought the same thing.. because I was still waiting for my 10.0.0.4 disk (or whatever the number was) in the mail...:)
Once I got to OS X, I started looking for free alternatives.. and early on, it was a bit sparse... if you wanted it from linux, you had to port it yourself... and so on... but as the OS (just like any other) matured and became more mainstream, I have found no software that I need I cannot get for free...
In the case of longtime mac users, I assume it's because previous editions of the OS were short on freeware, and the condition was assumed to persist... but that's turning around for them perspective wise... and we're all enjoying the quantity of freeware/OSS that any other OS uses... even windows.
I for one am glad for it... It's proof that you can have a stable computer with a lovely OS that doesn't cost you an arm & leg to maintain with extra licenses.;) God bless Fink and Darwinports.:)
Slashdot Mirror
I'm voting for straight to hell.
:)
;) So, I stay away from major labels. If that brands me as a "pirate"... well, I've got one thing to say to that:
This is nothing more than racketeering on their part. Shakedowns for money from people who can ill-afford to defend themselves from the illegal manner in which the RIAA tries to get information, much less from the baseless charges that stem from IP addresses and somehow having a share on the internet that has copyrighted material unprotected (yes, there are exceptions, but the "big wide net" technique should be, and thankfully has, been curtailed.) They don't WANT you to go to court... they want to get rulings regarding you without you even knowing, which smells EXACTLY like shady tactics. It's about time a judge told them to FOAD. They aren't law enforcement @ the RIAA. If they've got proof... bring it... let the person you're accusing get his/her day in court and go from there. (funny that is how our legal system is supposed to work...) If not, go away and please, for the love of pete....shut up. Stop clogging the already burdened legal system with yet more ill-advised and often unsubstantiated claims of infringement. It's not stopping, deterring, or otherwise curtailing the actual IP infringement in countries around the world (China, Russia, etc.) and it's not going to. We've got too many people suing over tainted peanut butter to clog the bloody system with this nonsense.
If they suspect someone of wholesale infringement... gather the information through law-enforcement as any other entity would and stop trying to short-circuit the system and get payouts from people like you're their bookie. I mean that big blue stupid disclaimer at the front of EVERY STINKING MOVIE they MAKE tells us the FBI investigates this sort of crap...
I have lost all faith that this will ever get better... and it seems that the *AA's are intent on destroying themselves rather than acknowledge some infringement exists, but that the vast majority are not guilty... and that we cannot simultaneously violate our own labor laws buying goods from China on the one hand while at the same time scolding them about IP protection. It's Ri-goddanged-diculous.. (sanitized for your protection.) We can't have it both ways... we can't stop it with a technological solution (it's a moral problem... Just like his Steveness said...) and we sure can't have inflated loss claims and dire threats of a non-essential industry going under due to "theft of IP." (sorry, they don't make pacemakers, nuclear weapons, or medicines.. so why are they trying to align themselves on that level?)
It's enough to make you puke.
"ARRRRRRR!" (you knew it was coming... it's funny... laugh. heh)
That's not the point... the point is not the flood, but how Noah handled it.
Gilgamesh may have handled it differently (it's been a while)... but that's not what I meant.
And, no, the jury's still out on Gilgamesh being first because of the oral traditions being so hard to nail down... (depending on who you ask..and no, I don't mean fundies...)
I'd simply love for them to stop falling all over themselves trying to sound unbiased... or trying to portray themselves as unbiased (MM included...)
I'm sorry you feel that way... but you can always take your marbles and move to a different location if you're feeling left out, persecuted, or otherwise slighted. ;) This is slashdot... most of what people say that is modded insightful is tripe. Most of what is said on here is tripe overall... even what I said is tripe... It's just a half-baked opinion based on one documentary of his (F-9/11) that I saw. I saw part of Bowling for Columbine, but didn't care to be interested in his version of things...
;)
But hey, thanks for your support... good or bad, at least you're using your brain. Don't let life get you down.
The idea remains that Moore, while producing facts, can (and has) carefully positioned the facts, that while in the grand scheme of things might seem unconnected, he positions them to garner a different conclusion than would otherwise thought in terms of the overall facts of a particular incident (the "asking congressmen and senators if they'd send their kids to Iraq" is a prime example... the raw footage did come out, and Moore deliberately left out one senator's (or congressman's?) answer to Moore's interview question on film. Recall the lawmaker had a nephew and son in Iraq. Now, draw your own conclusions there, but the idea is to leave the facts bare and let the audience decide.
Would it have mattered if he had put the whole response in? No.. the point was still there, but his idea that the "no senators' kids went" would've been less effective in his mind I suppose. The overall message was still valid and worth thinking about. It's not as bad as say, Charlie Rangle trying to insinuate that only poor people were fighting our wars (which is demographically not true... but that doesn't stop him from trying to push it...)
The fact trial you list may or may not be related, but the way that Moore presented them gave little doubt his conclusions... save his conclusions for later in the film and lay the facts out so that people can decide. That's all I am asking. I think most of that may not matter, considering the things he left out of the "in-between" time... but that's just me.
But the point is, overall, Moore doesn't do his agenda justice if he leaves facts on the cutting room floor... he should have more faith in the intelligence of his audience to make the decision based on facts, not innuendo and assumption. It would go a long way to making him more credible in my mind... if on the opposite side of some issues from me.
I never said Moore invented facts. I merely stated he picks facts and positions facts for the greatest effect and those that will benefit his position more than hinder it. Coulter and Gore and the lot of them are quite guilty of manipulating facts.
He cherry-picks information, manipulates and molds the facts to point rather unceremoniously to a conclusion he wants you to come to (rather than showing the facts and letting the public decide)... Not unlike other documentary filmmakers, but still....
He is not the voice of reason... he is the voice of another opinion. Nothing wrong with that, but his tactics are not to provide information, insight, or raw un-spun feeds of a particular problem, but to provide you with his opinion on the matter. If you agree with him.. he's happy. If you don't... you're working for W, Haliburton, or the Illuminati.
I don't mind him making movies one bit... more power to him. But the truth is always under his expertly edited hand... and it often times is his truth. It's a delicate line he's walking... he's dangerously skirting the outer edges of propaganda... and most people are unaware because they see the term "documentary" and immediately consider it's like the hygiene films in Jr. High. "Wash up, Susie!" (Not that some of those weren't propaganda laced with horrible acting as well... heh)
You're absolutely right. 1st out of the gate... WMA is (was) an also-ran & late to the party, besides that people view it as "DRM"... even though it can be unencumbered (beyond the obvious Microsoft tax.) Not that there's not a Fraunhaffer (sp?) tax.. but it's a bit less cumbersome... (though not totally absent..)
;) There's always something... It doesn't take all kinds, we just _got_ all kinds.
I personally use Ogg when I can, and mp3 for things that are convenient... like my iPod. My iAudio player can handle ogg... so if I rip my own stuff, rather than getting it from eMusic or Magnatune (or ambient.us)... I prefer Ogg...
But as the Windows Safari goes... why if it is a "failure" does it do anything but be a *shrug* to Jobs & co? Are they investing every last cent of R&D to make this port? Since I'd be willing to bet, no... it's not a big deal if it fails... well, a big deal to bloggers looking to up their traffic... or pundits who like to clang the death knell for Apple at every corner.
Ah well.
Those are the people that I liken to the folks who you tell them at a sideshow "this way to the egress" and they're eagerly awaiting what an "egress" was.. ;)
:)
The symptoms you indicate (6000 year old earth, etc) are more of a misunderstanding of what really is important (a sociological disorder... heh)
The Flood story... what are we to get out of that? Angry God smites world, then feels bad about it? No. That if you stick to your principles and ignore the people who are trying to bring you down, you will succeed.
Things like that get convoluted by people who have a tough time knowing what the real message of anything is... A bunch of people (and there are many) who lack a sense of creativity... who take things as they see, or are told them... and miss the greater meaning.
Religions seem to thrive on these people because they're good donors, I suppose. If it's not religions, it's clubs, overzealous crafting, or some insane sport.
Weird, isn't it? I would consider the people we are discussing as in a state of perpetual adolescence. Perpetual childhood... where things are out of context (because the context hasn't formed yet) and things are most likely taken at face value... deeper meanings are ignored because they lack the developmental capacity to discern the greater meaning... and thus, we have a perpetual group that merely avoids growth and personal journeys in favor of basking in a simpler past where things didn't seem so complicated...
It takes all kinds to make the world go round...
Sticking one's head in the sand and ignoring evidence to the contrary isn't a new phenomenon, and it's not solely the parlance of the religious... just the stupid... whether or not the stupid are religious I think is secondary to their stupidity. If they worshiped a can of Snow Peas, or their left toe wouldn't change the fact that they are idiots, and sometimes those same idiots are in charge (bleh!)
;)
;)
IOW, morons have been around long before we had organized religion to put a name to the unnamed "fear" of change.
And quite frankly, this extends itself into every aspect of our society... as is evidenced by the random chripings from the chicken littles of the industry... "Few doubt the piracy problem" (so says the article) and goes on to claim billions lost.
If they lost so much, do they write it off on their taxes? Oh yeah.. they can't.
Like Nintendo and Microsoft do (and have done...)
Of course MS just bans your console from live (for now), and they go after modders...
Nintendo goes after everyone... with a big stick, just like Sony.
Imagine that.... acting EXACTLY the same. This doesn't alienate me from their playbase, because I'm not too cheap to buy games...
Homebrew my ass.
I think most launch titles have a little bit of "greenness" on them. I am surprised there's no local MP splitscreen for Motorstorm as well... That being said, I don't mind that a little, but MAdden 06 was unacceptably shortchanged. (and 07 for the PS3)
:) I think it's a gorgeous game... albeit damn hard. ;)
:) I might have to give it a shot... when I can find a Wii. :) :)
You know the mindless adrenaline rush I get is from Burnout Revenge. It is one of the few racing games that gives me a sense of speed... (and it's fabulously hilarious!)
Wow.. I didn't realize that Resistance devs apologized..
I really am having second thoughts about my second thoughts.
I probably won't use it for the VC, but who knows?
I support none. itunes is the most unobtrusive (and easiest to get rid of if need be)... but I still have no idea why DRM exists at all... it simply makes the legitimate purchaser out to be a common criminal. If you don't think so, that's fine. I simply hate the idea that DRM has to exist when stores like eMusic have 0 drm and are doing fine (I in fact buy most of my music from them, that I don't buy on physical CD). And _NO_ before anyone gets the wrong idea.. I'm not against DRM because I love bittorrent or usenet for all my content... I simply feel that it is a waste of money for companies to try, and each time they make an "unbreakable" one, it gets broken... and all that money they wasted trying to make me out to be a criminal could be better served with making more reliable consoles, and perhaps cheaper ones...
;)
I have yet to experience MS' redownload, so I can't say... (I've not had a dead console... and MS's stance is as close to impossible as you can get tying it to machine _AND_ gamertag...that was my original point) I'm going on the many reports that I've read online and from friends who've had similar situations.. it's a convoluted mess at times, to be perfectly honest. For someone who has a new console that wants to be able to use it at Grandma's without having to be logged in is kinda out of the question without the "dummy profile" stuff that MS uses as a workaround to their OWN drm.
I have not found that to be the case with my PS3. Should that ever change, I will most likely not use its store at all either (for what little I do use it... I'm not much on the idea yet...) Licensing to a particular machine is what I expect most likely to bite me in the ass in the future. Consoles don't last, and God knows, Microsoft's machine has been a pile... when that occurs, having to be logged in because my original Xbox is dead in order to play DLC is pathetic. Sorry.. it simply mirrors their attempts at "rental" they've been trying to foist since they test marketed "software rentals" in Europe (Office)... You don't own it unless you're able to do with it what you will. Copy a CD? Sure. Loan it to a friend? Sure. Make backups to your computer? Sure. Everything else is just an assault on Fair use. And yes, I do support the EFF.
Who knows? Maybe Sony does as well, and I just don't know it yet. But like I said in the beginning... ANY DRM is shit. It does nothing to prevent the determined... it just makes me feel like I'm being treated as an untrustworthy nutjob who will turn on the poor corporation at any moment. If they don't trust me with their precious content, why should I trust them with my money?
NO content is worth that hassle. Not even Tekken 5.
There's just no convincing some morons, though. I've been trying to say that for YEARS... there are some people that are CONVINCED the iPod won't play MP3s... EVEN WHEN I SHOW THEM... "oh that's an apple mp3" WTF? Are you TRYING to be stupidest person of the year?
This is such a non-story, it almost feels like they're SEARCHING for something to piss and moan about.
For chrissakes, people... BITCH WHEN THERE'S A NEED TO...
I love Motorstorm much more... It's not as expansive in unlockables as say, Burnout, but it's fun and when I play it... it feels next-gen, looks next-gen, and is damn fun to play with the sixaxis motion sensing on......
;)
I used excite truck as an example because it was for a while the only racer for the Wii proper.... (at least as I remembered it)... and even then, it seemed like Madden O6 on the 360... rushed to market and missing some features. I thought that was a travesty for the football franchises (and a byproduct of EA being, at the time, the ONLY game in town) Madden 07 was a similar featureless fest for the PS3 (so I hear)... but by then, I was only interested in the 2k8 sports football coming.
Now, anyone who loves Barbie's Horse Prancing Show Pony Dress up... they need help.. not just justification.
Oddly, something else that caught my attention was the only able to play on internal Wii memory... I don't get that... that is indeed odd... *shrug*
Ah well... Their lineup on the VC is impressive (of the bunches I've seen released so far..) but the DRM is bugging me to no end.
Doesn't matter anyway... I can't find a Wii... and I think after this discussion, I'll stop looking.
Thanks for the explanation... the thing that bugs me, particularly with MS and Nintendo's versions of this store crud is the idea that if your console goes tango-uniform, your purchases on that console die with it... and they "let" you put them on a new console... (assuming they are less pissy about it at Nintendo... I mean, you literally have to threaten microsoft to get them to do the xfer... and even then it's some convoluted "dummy account" and some weirdness that is totally unacceptable even for $5 and $10 games...) The kicker in MS's case is, they bury that little tidbit... and since they've got a GLUT of broken consoles... people are becoming understandably pissed when they find out some of the "rules" of the game.... so to speak. It won't make them change their ways... because the revenue's working for them... people buy anyway. I just don't particularly want to... under the circumstances. And I believe their "system" of arcade/virtual console purchases is a load of crap. Others may not think so, and somehow they may believe I am simply sniping at the beloved Nintendo and Microsoft... but I'm not... But if you put a dress on a pig, it's still a pig.
;) But after recently updating my 20GB to 120GB, all I needed to do was head to the store and get my content I purchased back to my HDD... no questions, no frowny faced employee complaining that they have to "allow" me the chance to do it... Maybe that would not work if I had a new console... who knows? If so, then I hate their store too... I'm not playing favorites...
I admit I do have Tekken5:DR for the PS3... oh and Gauntlet II...
Is it tied to my console? It might be... But rebuying them in the event of console breakage? Unacceptable. It might work for some people, I just find it a problem. If indeed the Wii eula for VC is like you read it... Nintendo's VC is even MORE draconian than Microsoft's... and that's just sad. (And it makes my first statement in this thread correct..) If the Wii is made like a tank, it still may break... and re-buying the bloody VC content is horsefeathers...
Thanks again for your perspective. I'm liking the idea of a Wii even less now. Sorry Nintendo... Maybe if you wouldn't doublespeak about region-coding (oh, it works FINE without region coding on your handhelds...) and stop trying to treat people like they're "stealing" from you... I'd be more likely to support your console... Meh. They all act that way... but so far, ironically enough, Sony's been the least pissy so far this gen...
And to all the fans of Nintendo out there who are ready to lynch me.. I have a DS and Gamecube.... So put the pitchforks and torches away.
Great. If it works for you, that's fine. For the record, I didn't mention the 360's live arcade, but that doesn't mean I endorse it over the Wii's. (I own the live arcade game disk they came out with a while back... that's it. I refuse to "rent" games...)
The least restrictive I've seen so far is Sony's... it's tied to your account more than the machine, and you can redownload it no problem... (that is IMPOSSIBLE without a lot of ass-chewing on MS side... don't know about Nintendo... but it sounds just as stupid.)
Until they lay off the bloody DRM... they can have their VC.
Just because 4.7 million downloads have occurred... that doesn't mean it's a good idea.
heheh. I think so. I don't think the Wii Nazi had a mustache... ;)
:)
Nintendo's up to something, I'm sure.
The more I wait for one, the less I want one... the less compelling reasons I have for getting one, that is... the VC is nice, but not _that_ nice yet... and they're pretty draconian about what console they are tied to and where you can copy them, etc.
At least that's what I've read...
"creamed" isn't likely a word I would use (unless I relished the insinuation that Sony wasn't doing so "hot")... It's a $600 (or so) console v. a $250 console. Apples to Oranges (no pun intended)... and I for one am happy it's selling faster than previous generations, in spite of the price. That alone is impressive to me, a platform agnostic... This sort of news (8:1 ratio) isn't going to make my toast suddenly not come out right, or my milk to spoil... so in reality, if someone needs this information to make themselves feel better about Excite Truck, have at it. (I'm not saying you are... I am using the "royal you" ... so to speak.) There's simply far too many people being nutjobs about the franchise wars that it's becoming tiresome....
;)
It's sold to customers, actually (from what I've read at other sites about this... since Slashdot has the case of oops! right now.) Now whether or not _that_ is true is yet another story.
I think people are drinking too much of the kool-aid. The war's not over (if there ever was one... why does there have to be one winner?) and any snippet, shred, tiny molecule of information that makes console A look better than console B in the tiny minds of the fanboys is scraped up off the web and spread around like creamy peanut butter.
WTF? Yeah, I own both... I've got a good job... so I couldn't care less which one is "cooler". I might even buy a Wii if I ever can find the bloody thing.
I wish these people would simply enjoy the games and stop bloody well being the killjoy that is trying to justify purchase of console A over console B. News flash, at these prices, (BOTH consoles, fanboys) there is _NO_ "justification"... except that you wanted one.
And Sega said "It's thinking..." ;) Sometimes marketing hype is clever... sometimes it just annoys. :) I don't think it has adversely affected performance, because the console was (dunno if it still is) selling at a faster clip in a shorter window than the PS2 did in the same months of its launch cycle (and we all know how many of those systems made it into homes...) The year head start by MS has proven two things... it doesn't matter when you start if your AAA titles aren't there yet (Halo 3), and going too fast can adversely affect console reliability (the 360 is far more prone to breakage this gen than I've seen in a while... even the weak plastic laser track right next to the power supply on the original Playstation) MS hasn't benefited all that greatly from the head start... and it appears to be leveling off... with stacks of both PS3s and 360s in most stores, judging sales by the # of consoles left on the shelf isn't a good barometer... (as I've seen some people mention, w/r/t PS3 sales). Having two winners this generation is a good thing... or 3 if you count the Wii... It means not much in the way of asinine exclusives... and it means competition... something missing last gen....
:)
If you consider the actual costs of owning a 360 is $400+, and $480 if you want HDMI... (and $500/$600 for the PS3) the persistent issue that we're seeing is consoles outprice themselves... not just Sony... for the average gamer. The Wii is an aberration that works for some, but not others... and is the darling of the marketing press right now... so until it falters (production delays that still persist might be the Achilles heel of the Wii) it'll be immune from the criticism the other two companies are getting w/r/t price.
But I remember relative cost (in the 70's) that the Atari 2600 was not a "drop in the bucket" price-wise... Consoles followed a much slower price leveling than other gadget-type products (digital watches, calculators, VCRs, etc...) but we got spoiled in the last couple of generations by the same pricepoints for separate "generations" (I'll leave that to others to argue how that was delimited) and even in those there was one console maker willing to go below the "sacred" price to obtain new customers.
Now we see both Sony and MS up their prices from the previous generation (Sony more than MS, but MS has saddled themselves with an HDD free console that developers are afraid not to support, and that has created issues, as we've read re: GTA IV) and I don't think we're going to see a launch console for less than $500 next generation... as a matter of fact, I think the console that will be the most value will not be the "core" systems from MS (or Sony if they decide to go that route this next time around...) but that will seek to further move the general console population to a less-than-mainstream appeal. Who knows? When Blu-ray or HD-DVD wins the format war, the next HD disc equipped console might be $300 again... but I doubt it. I'm just speculating...
But in reference to "niche"... We're both still in a "niche" gaming market... (unless you have a Wii... then marketers and corporations refer to you as a "mainstream" gamer.) heh. I don't think gaming is as "mainstream" as the hype portrays it. Simply owning a PS3 or a 360 (goodness knows both puts you in an even smaller demographic) realistically moves your market potential out of the "mainstream".... Why? I have no idea... but I imagine it's the cost of both (as I said earlier).... It's a "mature" market that keeps outpacing itself to provide one-upsmanship for bragging rights, at the expense of market share.... something we don't traditionally see in a market that has moved mainstream...
I suppose $300 was the sweet spot (remember the Saturn was $399)... and anything more than that will get a backlash from mainstream (whatever they're calling it now...) customers.
I balked at the price of the PS3 early on... mainly as a preprogrammed response to the "it's more exp
I paid $500 for mine, added a $70 120GB HDD and I'm good to go.
:)
I justified it simply by saying, the 360 is $400, or $479 with HDMI.. so $499 is not so bad... and $599 is not a huge leap.
Clearly you are not the target demographic...
I would say that already exists... in certain ways, and in certain countries that are hit hardest by the great hand of censorship... It's just not exactly front-page news (and it really shouldn't be... for obvious reasons...)
;)
Not to mention, those eeevil "pirates" and all use this sort of thing all the time... much to the aneurysm-inducing anger of the *AA's.
I think it's funny, to boot.
What's the most important thing we hate about China? (officially?) That they don't do enough to protect "intellectual" property.
Great...
when I first switched (way back in 2001), I thought the same thing.. because I was still waiting for my 10.0.0.4 disk (or whatever the number was) in the mail... :)
;) God bless Fink and Darwinports. :)
Once I got to OS X, I started looking for free alternatives.. and early on, it was a bit sparse... if you wanted it from linux, you had to port it yourself... and so on... but as the OS (just like any other) matured and became more mainstream, I have found no software that I need I cannot get for free...
In the case of longtime mac users, I assume it's because previous editions of the OS were short on freeware, and the condition was assumed to persist... but that's turning around for them perspective wise... and we're all enjoying the quantity of freeware/OSS that any other OS uses... even windows.
I for one am glad for it... It's proof that you can have a stable computer with a lovely OS that doesn't cost you an arm & leg to maintain with extra licenses.
I'd rather decide which scripts run, and which do not. Noscript does that and does that well. I won't install Firefox without it. :)