"Leading" is hardly a word I would choose... They weren't first with Terminal Server, that I can recall. WinDD was first on NT 3.5 and 3.0, but of course, Microsoft had to undercut and buy that branch of Tektronics.
The big deal of "network computers" and "diskless workstations" was hyped by Oracle... back when ol' Larry had to eat crow saying "Computer prices will never be $500"... and lo, they were.
Dell and HP/Compaq will sell their computers for $50 before they'll give up the market, I suspect.:)
This notion of returning to the old model of computing won't come to pass until everyone who was at the ground floor of the personal computer revolution are dead and gone. No one wants to go backwards... I'd rather have my machine in my control with a network that I choose to get on and use when I feel like doing so. No way will I be forced to be connected to use my computer...but that's just me... someone who remembers life before the personal computer.
This'll go the way of the "movie rental" version of DiVx. No one will buy into it, because the $500 computer or the $300 computer is "good enough."
Nice try, junior. But your rights aren't as defined as an adult because you're not an adult. You can't enter into contracts, you can't vote, you can't buy beer... all these restrictions. Life's just not FAIR! You'll understand this when you're older....
Don't worry. Mommy will still buy you Mortal Kombat 27 if you throw enough tantrums in Wal-Mart.
The "government" didn't decide what's inappropriate here. They decided minors shouldn't get to go to the store to buy a videogame that's mature-rated. That's the parent's job until they become an ADULT. They gave a tool to parents so that the decision for what is or is not appropriate for their children is THEIR decision, not their kid's.
Get the point? Probably not....Most replies here don't.
You completely missed the point and ranted about something totally different than what is at issue here. See why kids don't have the same rights as adults? They're not equipped to handle them yet.:)
Yep... but considering this legislation doesn't BAN anything, just the kid's ability to get a mature rated game, that quote is irrelevant.
Mom and Dad can still go buy it for them... so the point is moot. They're not being restricted....
Why this wasn't modded offtopic is beyond me. Of course the quote ignores the bans on selling porn to minors, and beer, and cigarettes... guess that's just "different." Oh, and since we need them to be informed, let's allow them to enter into contracts and things. After all, we don't want them to be ignorant of that sort of thing before they enter the voting booth, do we?
Considering that 99% of the time, no one asks for ID when you buy a video game... why would he think such? It's a "recommended" age and a voluntary rating, unlike liquor which is a legally mandated age minimum.
It's illegal for HIM to buy it. If his mum and pop want him to have it... get off of their sofa and go buy it for him until he's 18.
A 15 year old can't drive, so they must have to get off the sofa to drive him to the slaughterhouse. What's the difference? If you don't like it, don't have kids... or be prepared for some parental responsibility.
Yeesh.
It's not a problem of responsibility anymore... it's a problem with pure laziness.
"Here's $100 Junior. Go to the mall and leave mom and dad alone...." Bah.
Isn't "automagic" update turned on by default on XP? If these people are as dumb as some suggest with regard to patching and the like, perhaps they weren't smart enough to turn that "feature" off.
Still, In the last few months I've seen more mainstream press information about service packs and "protecting yourself on the internet" than I've ever seen before. Of course none of them recommend a 3rd party firewall (dumb-user style ones exist), or using something other than IE, but it's a start. Perhaps the bombardment of these reports and "expose's" of the "nasty evil hacker internet" will give the dumb users pause to think about reading that shiny pamphlet that comes with their computers telling them to click on "WindowsUpdate" once in a while...
I personally don't install SP2 on my machine because it's never on the net, and anything SP2 does to degrade system performance (if any) will affect the primary use of the machine... to play games. So, it's not worth me fiddling with it just to play games... I envision myself Windows free when I get my new G5. It needs a desk to sit under.....:)
I think Microsoft is realizing just how much of a hassle it is to undo all the crap that such an insecure architecture like Windows has wrought. It's beginning to sink in with their "10 year roadmap" for security. But I suspect that little roadmap ends up with a Palladium (whatever it's called now) encumbered DRM infested X-Box with a keyboard that Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer have wet dreams about every night. Part of their evil plan to turn the planet into a Pay-Per-View utopia. The *IAA's are definitely on board with that aspect of Microsoft's hideous future...do I get a tinfoil hat now too?:)
I bet we can expect a SP2-A soon to address these "issues".... most of which they will steadfastly blame on 3rd party software....(a "fix" for "naughty 3rd party apps"...) We've seen that before....
Your point is? I would read from that information that Microsoft has its evil fingers into more than people realize, not that WMA is "more standard" than AC3.
I have 3 DVD players that are capable of playing MP3s. MUCH better IMNSHO, because MP3 is not burdened by DRM.
I bet you a shiny gmail account request that your set top DVD player will have trouble with some of the DRM-laden WMA crapola from Microsoft. Heck, you can't even use MP3 CDs in their shiny green XBox. Talk about vendor lock-in....
If not now, in the near future, we will be hearing the complaints of "why can't I play my WMA files ANYWHERE????" Microsoft will tell you when and where you can play your WMA files.....the Kool-Aid line is to the left...
I'd agree with that in principle if Acclaim wasn't such a large publisher of games (they've got quite a list of titles)...
Sure, there are independent developers making crap and dying off all the time, but that's been true of every industry. When the big companies start dying off and/or not being able to find a game that isn't terrible, something larger is amiss. I think we're seeing what is going to happen inevitably to the entire marketplace if the big companies don't stop making MOTS and focusing on graphics and framerates to the nth degree.
I haven't bought a new release in quite some time for any console or my PC/Macs. The games I have bought are used titles of games like Disgaea and La Pucelle Tactics (and Silent Storm 2 for the PC.) The whizzbang movie-tie-in or whatnot hasn't even been on my rent list since I tried to play Blade on the consoles. Bleh.
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make (or not, it's been a long day)... is that we're seeing a hyper expansive version of the days before the crash of 84. (mainly it's expansive is because games and console entertainment in general are much more a part of society than in 1984.)
Tons of games are going into the bargain bin (shovelware galore) before you even get a chance to read up on the title, companies are dropping like flies, the "next big thing" is not giving people cause to do their traditional "want it now!" drool-fest. I am thinking if the PS3 and XBox Next aren't leaps and bounds over their current offerings, it's going to collapse under its own weight. The big companies are launching tons of "also-rans" of the last big hit, seeing if any of them will stick... and I just don't think even EA has the financial cushion to keep doing this forever. That's just a guess, of course.
(and I miss TBS games...hehehh):-) Guess that's why I keep my eyes on the independent wargame publishers...:) They're turn-based and proud.:-)
Rhapsody is in fact a monopoly because you can't use it on a platform other than Windows. Napster is I think, only Windows as well.
See the pattern?
The new MP3 Walkman from Sony. ATRAC only... well, mp3 -> ATRAC, but who's counting? ATRAC is a Sony only product. (ever try to use a MiniDisc? Pain in the butt...)
you can buy music from anyone and put it on the iPod. Tower Records, Wal Mart, CostCo, you name it. If you want digital downloads, you have to use the iTunes music store.
If there were NO other alternative for music than the iTunes store, I'd agree there was a monopoly. There are other alternatives. So, in effect, it's not a monopoly. You just can't download another company's DRM-laden tracks and use them on the iPod. I would sooner poke my eye out than allow my music to be in WMA format.... Lots of luck getting a reasonable DRM solution like Fairplay from Microsoft....
Besides, the only non-subscription based solution is iTunes store... you buy it, its yours even if you never shop at the store again. Burn it to a CD, re-rip it and it's yours on any device capable of playing MP3s.
I just don't get all the hubub... Real wants "choice"? Let people reverse engineer THEIR formats.
Oh, that's right... choice only works when it benefits THEM, not the consumer.
No, it's teaching someone to follow their hunches, and anything that requires you to "reverify" or to "check the status of your account" via a link you cannot easily determine where that link goes is good enough to be suspicious. It's really doing a good job of telling users: "BE SUSPICIOUS."
They are trying to teach people that NONE of the sites that house your personal info will EVER send you a "please verify" in email. They don't need to. People need to be told that. If they do tell you to access your account information, they do not provide a link, but instructions on how to get to it.
Most importantly, there is no such thing as completely harmless email... if you're a Windows user.:)
While I agree in principle, I feel the point about business models is too broad a brush-stroke. I agree that simply "changing the business model" is not the answer to piracy, but I do think that adapting to technology is something that can turn a potential loss into a gain for an industry. The VCR happens to be a prime example of this working. First, the MPAA tried to stifle the VCR through the courts and legislation, but eventually they adapted their model to include the VCR. Now the MPAA makes billions on VCR tapes (now DVDs, but you get the idea.)
I don't advocate "rental" of software over broadband, nor do I think all software should be free. There's room for both, despite Microsoft's whining. I also don't agree the shareware concept is dead, but I do think people should stop making a catalog program and charging $40 for it. There are free alternatives that have been made mature and better over time. Finding a niche in this industry is harder now that it has matured a bit. But I don't think it is impossible to do.
I personally don't have broadband, simply because I'm patient, and I do not relish the idea of giving money to Comcast. (DSL is not available here.) I do not feel the need for broadband other than to get large files over the internet, which I don't need to do all the time (certainly not for $43 a month.) So I pay $10 a month for dialup. Works great for me.
As for curbing the wholesale downloading of software via broadband, metering the high-usage downloaders might be the ticket. Charge the giant bandwidth usage hogs. Download 3 movies in a month (ripped) and that's what, 6 gigs? In addition to all the other traffic, that's quite a chunk of change. *shrug* I know people are readying the torches for my castle, but I think it would stop these 12 year old script kiddiez from amassing libraries of stuff they'll never run or use, and at the same time, it will decrease traffic of P2P and we can finally put this to rest. It'll take a while, of course, to shut the pundits up, but hopefully, like the VCR, we can show them the right way.
I don't have all the answers, but I think the little bastards who spend their summers downloading all the software on the planet for no reason other than to "amass warez" need a kick in the ass. Right in the wallet side.
If they offered that, you'd find something else to complain about. Face it, you're not going to be a customer, and by making impossible or nearly impossible demands on a service like iTunes, you just cement your "non-customer" attitude.
That's fine. I don't use iTMS much because most of what's on there is not what I listen to normally. (I'm not a big radio listener.) But claiming you'd be a customer when "X" occurs is just silly.:)
BTW, some people say "I'll be a customer when they rip that DRM out." Not going to happen, but I guess it makes them feel better.:)
You know nothing about history. Stop pretending you do. Japanese Imperial aggression was legendary in the mid to late 30's. Only after Japan had to fight a war on two fronts (sound familiar) and its military blunders at Midway among other places did the tide turn in favor of the United States. Japan's interest in world conquest as an imperial power was more than well known, it was practically trumpeted. Considering their pact with the Germans, it was only a matter of time that it would've been a desperate fight for our very survival. Why wait until that happens? You seem to think it'd be more "honorable" or "moral" to wait until we were the last free nation on earth to stand against the Nazis and Japanese. That's stupid. Thank your grandparents for not being as dumb as you, or you'd be speaking German right now and praising the fall of the zionist state of America.
My rhetorical question is, how can you know nothing about the size and scope of Japanese aggression in the Pacific? In 1945, the Japanese were sitting on their island, defeated by the Allies, refusing to surrender. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were their incentive.
Ahh, the logical fallacy of thinking that because people pirate music, it's awesome.:) When things are perceived as free, people generally don't bother judging it on the merits of quality or if they like it. It's free.:) It's how this generation of spoon-fed consumers have been taught to think. So, I would argue that the music isn't that good, but because it's free and "MTV says it's cool", people download it. Because that's how they were taught to conform. Copying music/movies is a logical extension of the "consume all you can" mentality forced down our throats since the 80's.
People copy music for a myriad of reasons, not the least of which people are too cheap to pay for it. Most people just don't care anymore. The technology they scoffed at has finally been made idiot-proof enough that they can use it. It's been said a million times, but there is no technological solution to a moral problem. Copying music will occur until it is impossible to do (that is an unachievable goal), or it becomes more convenient just to pay for it.
I don't care if they cripple CD's. What I DO care is that they LABEL them. I want to know IN THE STORE that it won't work on my Mac. Until that happens, they are asking to be sued.... again.
While there are people on slashdot who would argue copying music should be legal, no one advocates not compensating the artists. Setting up a P2P system where people paid a fee to get music would be a BOON to labels, provided it was REASONABLY priced. Why does iTunes work? Because the restrictions are few, and the price is right. Wal Mart's scheme doesn't work because the price may be right, but the restrictions are too great a hassle.
Besides, the Who isn't what Slashdotters consider relevant... it's Led Zeppelin.:-)
I think the bigger problem with the argument is that even though some (most?) golfers watch golf on TV, you don't see ANY non-gamers watching "game" TV. But there are non-golfers who watch golf. Just as there are non-football players who watch football.
It's a weak argument to begin with, and most of the "gamer" tv shows (like X-Play) are geared towards the moronic console user and moronic FPS addict with broadband and no firewall.:) It's not necessarily for "hardcore" gamers... or those who play something besides Counterstrike and Everquest.
They don't even TRY to reach out to the strategy gamer, wargamer, non-FF RPG gamer.... And they wonder why no one watches? Can't pry the average half-wit from his Counterstrike marathon, I guess.:-)
Your example is considerably more serious than removal of crosses from a game (pre-emptively). The former is of course protected by the First Amendment, as is the latter, but no one told the latter to do anything. If they had left them in, and not mentioned it, do you think anyone who was offended would notice? I certainly feel the corporate censorship (SLAPP suits and the like) much more grievous than someone not seeing a cross in a video game. That's Japan editorializing what bothers Americans.
There's no outcry for removal of crosses from games that I have ever heard. This sort of thing just smells like cultural ignorance on the part of Japanese. Sure there might be a group somewhere... but sheesh, there's a group for everything. We've got fringe groups burning SUVs,vandalizing them in the name of the "earth" or something. There's always SOMETHING that'll offend someone.:)
The Japanese just don't know what is a hot-button enough item to remove from their games.:)
It's not fear of change, but a simple fact some people don't download pr0n (I know, it's a stretch) all the time, and are happy with getting email the old fashioned way.
I won't submit to Comcat's BS of a service... so I'm on dialup. DSL is still out of my reach (CO distance), so until DSL gets here, I'm not going broadband. Simple. It's not that people like me fear change, it's more like people hate the tablescraps some cable providers dish out.
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"Leading" is hardly a word I would choose... They weren't first with Terminal Server, that I can recall. WinDD was first on NT 3.5 and 3.0, but of course, Microsoft had to undercut and buy that branch of Tektronics.
:)
..but that's just me... someone who remembers life before the personal computer.
The big deal of "network computers" and "diskless workstations" was hyped by Oracle... back when ol' Larry had to eat crow saying "Computer prices will never be $500"... and lo, they were.
Dell and HP/Compaq will sell their computers for $50 before they'll give up the market, I suspect.
This notion of returning to the old model of computing won't come to pass until everyone who was at the ground floor of the personal computer revolution are dead and gone. No one wants to go backwards... I'd rather have my machine in my control with a network that I choose to get on and use when I feel like doing so. No way will I be forced to be connected to use my computer.
This'll go the way of the "movie rental" version of DiVx. No one will buy into it, because the $500 computer or the $300 computer is "good enough."
Nice try, junior. But your rights aren't as defined as an adult because you're not an adult. You can't enter into contracts, you can't vote, you can't buy beer... all these restrictions. Life's just not FAIR! You'll understand this when you're older....
:)
Don't worry. Mommy will still buy you Mortal Kombat 27 if you throw enough tantrums in Wal-Mart.
The "government" didn't decide what's inappropriate here. They decided minors shouldn't get to go to the store to buy a videogame that's mature-rated. That's the parent's job until they become an ADULT. They gave a tool to parents so that the decision for what is or is not appropriate for their children is THEIR decision, not their kid's.
Get the point? Probably not....Most replies here don't.
You completely missed the point and ranted about something totally different than what is at issue here. See why kids don't have the same rights as adults? They're not equipped to handle them yet.
Yep... but considering this legislation doesn't BAN anything, just the kid's ability to get a mature rated game, that quote is irrelevant.
Mom and Dad can still go buy it for them... so the point is moot. They're not being restricted....
Why this wasn't modded offtopic is beyond me. Of course the quote ignores the bans on selling porn to minors, and beer, and cigarettes... guess that's just "different." Oh, and since we need them to be informed, let's allow them to enter into contracts and things. After all, we don't want them to be ignorant of that sort of thing before they enter the voting booth, do we?
bah.
Considering that 99% of the time, no one asks for ID when you buy a video game... why would he think such? It's a "recommended" age and a voluntary rating, unlike liquor which is a legally mandated age minimum.
It's illegal for HIM to buy it. If his mum and pop want him to have it... get off of their sofa and go buy it for him until he's 18.
A 15 year old can't drive, so they must have to get off the sofa to drive him to the slaughterhouse. What's the difference? If you don't like it, don't have kids... or be prepared for some parental responsibility.
Yeesh.
It's not a problem of responsibility anymore... it's a problem with pure laziness.
"Here's $100 Junior. Go to the mall and leave mom and dad alone...." Bah.
Try yelling "fire" in a theater when there isn't one. Try threatening the President.
There are limits. Sorry, but it's true. The original poster was just pointing out the obvious.
don't like it? start campaigning.
Otherwise, it's not an issue.
I had something, but I slipped in the bathroom and now it's gone. ..back to the deep fryer....
Isn't "automagic" update turned on by default on XP? If these people are as dumb as some suggest with regard to patching and the like, perhaps they weren't smart enough to turn that "feature" off.
:)
..do I get a tinfoil hat now too? :)
Still, In the last few months I've seen more mainstream press information about service packs and "protecting yourself on the internet" than I've ever seen before. Of course none of them recommend a 3rd party firewall (dumb-user style ones exist), or using something other than IE, but it's a start. Perhaps the bombardment of these reports and "expose's" of the "nasty evil hacker internet" will give the dumb users pause to think about reading that shiny pamphlet that comes with their computers telling them to click on "WindowsUpdate" once in a while...
I personally don't install SP2 on my machine because it's never on the net, and anything SP2 does to degrade system performance (if any) will affect the primary use of the machine... to play games. So, it's not worth me fiddling with it just to play games... I envision myself Windows free when I get my new G5. It needs a desk to sit under.....
I think Microsoft is realizing just how much of a hassle it is to undo all the crap that such an insecure architecture like Windows has wrought. It's beginning to sink in with their "10 year roadmap" for security. But I suspect that little roadmap ends up with a Palladium (whatever it's called now) encumbered DRM infested X-Box with a keyboard that Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer have wet dreams about every night. Part of their evil plan to turn the planet into a Pay-Per-View utopia. The *IAA's are definitely on board with that aspect of Microsoft's hideous future.
I bet we can expect a SP2-A soon to address these "issues".... most of which they will steadfastly blame on 3rd party software....(a "fix" for "naughty 3rd party apps"...) We've seen that before....
...maybe because winamp is no longer free....
Or perhaps its like my experience with winamp 2.xx in XP, which causes a full-stop kernel panic on XP when I eject a CD.
Or perhaps no one really wants to whip the Llama's ass....
Your point is? I would read from that information that Microsoft has its evil fingers into more than people realize, not that WMA is "more standard" than AC3.
....the Kool-Aid line is to the left...
I have 3 DVD players that are capable of playing MP3s. MUCH better IMNSHO, because MP3 is not burdened by DRM.
I bet you a shiny gmail account request that your set top DVD player will have trouble with some of the DRM-laden WMA crapola from Microsoft. Heck, you can't even use MP3 CDs in their shiny green XBox. Talk about vendor lock-in....
If not now, in the near future, we will be hearing the complaints of "why can't I play my WMA files ANYWHERE????" Microsoft will tell you when and where you can play your WMA files.
I'd agree with that in principle if Acclaim wasn't such a large publisher of games (they've got quite a list of titles)...
:-) Guess that's why I keep my eyes on the independent wargame publishers... :) They're turn-based and proud. :-)
Sure, there are independent developers making crap and dying off all the time, but that's been true of every industry. When the big companies start dying off and/or not being able to find a game that isn't terrible, something larger is amiss. I think we're seeing what is going to happen inevitably to the entire marketplace if the big companies don't stop making MOTS and focusing on graphics and framerates to the nth degree.
I haven't bought a new release in quite some time for any console or my PC/Macs. The games I have bought are used titles of games like Disgaea and La Pucelle Tactics (and Silent Storm 2 for the PC.) The whizzbang movie-tie-in or whatnot hasn't even been on my rent list since I tried to play Blade on the consoles. Bleh.
Anyway, the point I'm trying to make (or not, it's been a long day)... is that we're seeing a hyper expansive version of the days before the crash of 84. (mainly it's expansive is because games and console entertainment in general are much more a part of society than in 1984.)
Tons of games are going into the bargain bin (shovelware galore) before you even get a chance to read up on the title, companies are dropping like flies, the "next big thing" is not giving people cause to do their traditional "want it now!" drool-fest. I am thinking if the PS3 and XBox Next aren't leaps and bounds over their current offerings, it's going to collapse under its own weight. The big companies are launching tons of "also-rans" of the last big hit, seeing if any of them will stick... and I just don't think even EA has the financial cushion to keep doing this forever. That's just a guess, of course.
(and I miss TBS games...hehehh)
They also said they weren't a monopoly either. Great track record that....
(yeah mod it as a troll.... big deal....)
Rhapsody is in fact a monopoly because you can't use it on a platform other than Windows. Napster is I think, only Windows as well.
See the pattern?
The new MP3 Walkman from Sony. ATRAC only... well, mp3 -> ATRAC, but who's counting? ATRAC is a Sony only product. (ever try to use a MiniDisc? Pain in the butt...)
you can buy music from anyone and put it on the iPod. Tower Records, Wal Mart, CostCo, you name it. If you want digital downloads, you have to use the iTunes music store.
If there were NO other alternative for music than the iTunes store, I'd agree there was a monopoly. There are other alternatives. So, in effect, it's not a monopoly. You just can't download another company's DRM-laden tracks and use them on the iPod. I would sooner poke my eye out than allow my music to be in WMA format.... Lots of luck getting a reasonable DRM solution like Fairplay from Microsoft....
Besides, the only non-subscription based solution is iTunes store... you buy it, its yours even if you never shop at the store again. Burn it to a CD, re-rip it and it's yours on any device capable of playing MP3s.
I just don't get all the hubub... Real wants "choice"? Let people reverse engineer THEIR formats.
Oh, that's right... choice only works when it benefits THEM, not the consumer.
But....
... one of the only bright spots in Coneheads. :)
It is as if you have seized me at the base of my snardlies.
No, it's teaching someone to follow their hunches, and anything that requires you to "reverify" or to "check the status of your account" via a link you cannot easily determine where that link goes is good enough to be suspicious. It's really doing a good job of telling users: "BE SUSPICIOUS."
:)
They are trying to teach people that NONE of the sites that house your personal info will EVER send you a "please verify" in email. They don't need to. People need to be told that. If they do tell you to access your account information, they do not provide a link, but instructions on how to get to it.
Most importantly, there is no such thing as completely harmless email... if you're a Windows user.
While I agree in principle, I feel the point about business models is too broad a brush-stroke. I agree that simply "changing the business model" is not the answer to piracy, but I do think that adapting to technology is something that can turn a potential loss into a gain for an industry. The VCR happens to be a prime example of this working. First, the MPAA tried to stifle the VCR through the courts and legislation, but eventually they adapted their model to include the VCR. Now the MPAA makes billions on VCR tapes (now DVDs, but you get the idea.)
I don't advocate "rental" of software over broadband, nor do I think all software should be free. There's room for both, despite Microsoft's whining. I also don't agree the shareware concept is dead, but I do think people should stop making a catalog program and charging $40 for it. There are free alternatives that have been made mature and better over time. Finding a niche in this industry is harder now that it has matured a bit. But I don't think it is impossible to do.
I personally don't have broadband, simply because I'm patient, and I do not relish the idea of giving money to Comcast. (DSL is not available here.) I do not feel the need for broadband other than to get large files over the internet, which I don't need to do all the time (certainly not for $43 a month.) So I pay $10 a month for dialup. Works great for me.
As for curbing the wholesale downloading of software via broadband, metering the high-usage downloaders might be the ticket. Charge the giant bandwidth usage hogs. Download 3 movies in a month (ripped) and that's what, 6 gigs? In addition to all the other traffic, that's quite a chunk of change. *shrug* I know people are readying the torches for my castle, but I think it would stop these 12 year old script kiddiez from amassing libraries of stuff they'll never run or use, and at the same time, it will decrease traffic of P2P and we can finally put this to rest. It'll take a while, of course, to shut the pundits up, but hopefully, like the VCR, we can show them the right way.
I don't have all the answers, but I think the little bastards who spend their summers downloading all the software on the planet for no reason other than to "amass warez" need a kick in the ass. Right in the wallet side.
If they offered that, you'd find something else to complain about. Face it, you're not going to be a customer, and by making impossible or nearly impossible demands on a service like iTunes, you just cement your "non-customer" attitude.
:)
:)
That's fine. I don't use iTMS much because most of what's on there is not what I listen to normally. (I'm not a big radio listener.) But claiming you'd be a customer when "X" occurs is just silly.
BTW, some people say "I'll be a customer when they rip that DRM out." Not going to happen, but I guess it makes them feel better.
It's funny... LAUGH.
---
Watch the planet cringe when Microsoft cashes out of their "short term investments".
That's part of their revenue stream. It's not meant to be stacks of money.
Spend a little time in Econ 101 before you post.
As we have seen in the past time and again, the better product doesn't always win. In fact, it rarely wins based on quality or superiority.
Does it show that people as a group are stupid? No, just lazy.
You know nothing about history. Stop pretending you do. Japanese Imperial aggression was legendary in the mid to late 30's. Only after Japan had to fight a war on two fronts (sound familiar) and its military blunders at Midway among other places did the tide turn in favor of the United States. Japan's interest in world conquest as an imperial power was more than well known, it was practically trumpeted. Considering their pact with the Germans, it was only a matter of time that it would've been a desperate fight for our very survival. Why wait until that happens? You seem to think it'd be more "honorable" or "moral" to wait until we were the last free nation on earth to stand against the Nazis and Japanese. That's stupid. Thank your grandparents for not being as dumb as you, or you'd be speaking German right now and praising the fall of the zionist state of America.
My rhetorical question is, how can you know nothing about the size and scope of Japanese aggression in the Pacific? In 1945, the Japanese were sitting on their island, defeated by the Allies, refusing to surrender. Hiroshima and Nagasaki were their incentive.
Your view of history sickens me. Creep.
It's all funny until someone puts an eye out. :)
:)
Where I work, I can't carry a PDA (3 guesses where that might be..) So I had to "upgrade" to a Pad and paper....
Much easier to use, and no one will send me to Leavenworth for using a pad and paper.
Ahh, the logical fallacy of thinking that because people pirate music, it's awesome. :) When things are perceived as free, people generally don't bother judging it on the merits of quality or if they like it. It's free. :) It's how this generation of spoon-fed consumers have been taught to think. So, I would argue that the music isn't that good, but because it's free and "MTV says it's cool", people download it. Because that's how they were taught to conform. Copying music/movies is a logical extension of the "consume all you can" mentality forced down our throats since the 80's.
:-)
People copy music for a myriad of reasons, not the least of which people are too cheap to pay for it. Most people just don't care anymore. The technology they scoffed at has finally been made idiot-proof enough that they can use it. It's been said a million times, but there is no technological solution to a moral problem. Copying music will occur until it is impossible to do (that is an unachievable goal), or it becomes more convenient just to pay for it.
I don't care if they cripple CD's. What I DO care is that they LABEL them. I want to know IN THE STORE that it won't work on my Mac. Until that happens, they are asking to be sued.... again.
While there are people on slashdot who would argue copying music should be legal, no one advocates not compensating the artists. Setting up a P2P system where people paid a fee to get music would be a BOON to labels, provided it was REASONABLY priced. Why does iTunes work? Because the restrictions are few, and the price is right. Wal Mart's scheme doesn't work because the price may be right, but the restrictions are too great a hassle.
Besides, the Who isn't what Slashdotters consider relevant... it's Led Zeppelin.
I think the bigger problem with the argument is that even though some (most?) golfers watch golf on TV, you don't see ANY non-gamers watching "game" TV. But there are non-golfers who watch golf. Just as there are non-football players who watch football.
:) It's not necessarily for "hardcore" gamers... or those who play something besides Counterstrike and Everquest.
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It's a weak argument to begin with, and most of the "gamer" tv shows (like X-Play) are geared towards the moronic console user and moronic FPS addict with broadband and no firewall.
They don't even TRY to reach out to the strategy gamer, wargamer, non-FF RPG gamer.... And they wonder why no one watches? Can't pry the average half-wit from his Counterstrike marathon, I guess.
It's funny, laugh.
Your example is considerably more serious than removal of crosses from a game (pre-emptively). The former is of course protected by the First Amendment, as is the latter, but no one told the latter to do anything. If they had left them in, and not mentioned it, do you think anyone who was offended would notice? I certainly feel the corporate censorship (SLAPP suits and the like) much more grievous than someone not seeing a cross in a video game. That's Japan editorializing what bothers Americans.
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There's no outcry for removal of crosses from games that I have ever heard. This sort of thing just smells like cultural ignorance on the part of Japanese. Sure there might be a group somewhere... but sheesh, there's a group for everything. We've got fringe groups burning SUVs,vandalizing them in the name of the "earth" or something. There's always SOMETHING that'll offend someone.
The Japanese just don't know what is a hot-button enough item to remove from their games.
It's not fear of change, but a simple fact some people don't download pr0n (I know, it's a stretch) all the time, and are happy with getting email the old fashioned way.
I won't submit to Comcat's BS of a service... so I'm on dialup. DSL is still out of my reach (CO distance), so until DSL gets here, I'm not going broadband. Simple. It's not that people like me fear change, it's more like people hate the tablescraps some cable providers dish out.