>There was once a time where being a police man was a title of privilege and respect. Now the government has pushed laws that turn them into fat, power greedy (at the expense of civil liberties),
You are suffering from the fallacy of idealizing the past. Ironically, a modern police officer is more professional, better educated, and better paid than his past peers. Something tells me youve never read about law enforcement in NYC in the 1800's.
>Maybe the IT industry should look inwards on itself and consider how we've failed to educate the public about the technology we make them use.
Lets not go overboard. The problem here is confirmation bias. You only hear the worst stories. The worst 1% of 1%. What you dont hear is he guy reading consumer reports or the girl calling her mom for computer advice. Or the grandpa using a mac.
What you hear is the girl who tries to use the mouse as a foot pedal or the guy who tries to install a pci card into a agp slot.
For the most part, people get along just fine with technology. They do their research or they have someone help. Its incredible how competent non-IT people can be sometimes. But, again, we dont hear about them. We just hear the bad news.
>(Imagine you doctor wanted to give you a new drug, but wouldn't tell you the name or what was in it. or you were charged with violating a secret law)
Medicine isnt open. Sure, I get a drug. I can read about it and see a lot of biochemical things I dont understand. I cant modify it as I dont have the hardware or expertise to do so and its probably illegal to make a derivative and use an rx not as intended. My doctor cant modify it either. The drug itself is most likely on a patent.
In my mind, drugs have more in common with proprietary software than anything else. You get a brand name, a description, a function, but not much else.
Law is even worse. Without quite a bit of legal education you will have trouble understanding it, and without a JD and a law license you cant assert your rights as an expert (suing in court with you as your own representative).
If anything your post shows the folly of software analogies.
>No matter what Ahmanutjobs rhetoric is he has no power to act without the ruling mullah's of the country.
No. The supreme ruler is the only one who command the military. The Iranian military leader is someone he appoints and controls. If SR wants war he gets it. Its essentially a theocratic dictatorship with some democractic elements here and there.
>This is a classic case of FUD.
Sounds like youre spreading the only FUD here with comments like "So even if Iran is trying to make nuclear weapons they are doing so for defensive purposes."
Iran is anything but defensive. They command Hezbollah, Hamas, and more or less have Syria as a client state. They have exported bombs to Iraqi insurgents to use against the US in Iraq. The idea that they are cowering in their boots is ridiculous. They are on a major offensive to be the region's only power, as the US did them the favor of getting rid of their only real competitor: Saddam.
Heck, Iran and Syria tried this recently until the IDF took down Syria's nuclear program. Lets not mince words: Iran is a threat to the region and a horrible theocracy that murders and tortures its own protesters. Their intentions are offense, not defense.
>Sanctions are essentially an act of war. Clinton's sanctions on Iraq during the 1990's killed over 500,000 children, and many elderly.
Saddam was given more then enough resources to feed everyone and provide proper healthcare to everyone. Saddam chose instead of resell it or hoard it for political means: getting someone like you to blame the US while he starved his own people. Looks like Saddam's plan worked. Here you are blaming the US for his actions.
You know, if I arrest you and put you in prison, and you decide to sell your prison meals instead of eating them, then Im not the one who killed you.
>There have been fewer than 15 murders proven to have been committed with NFA weapons in the 75 years this harsh regulation has existed. There was no sound justification to ban the items again in 1986.
Cause and effect. If it wasnt for the ban that number would be higher.
Actually, if you watch the movie you'll find him make random comments about animals that shows an incredible lack of a basic understanding of natural selection. Im not sure where they came from (made up by the filmmaker, his own writings, his conversations, etc) but its interesting to see that Mr. Moral Middle American Christian is a really just a mentally-ill thief with no understanding of evolution.
Personally, I dont think he's really all that crazy, perhaps mild bipolarity (I wonder if a 21st doctor would have given him a aspergers dx). He's just a price-fixer bribe-taking thief and realized the writing on the wall, so he went to the FBI before any of his co-workers did to work out some deal, but he managed to screw that us as well.
That said, he paid his dues and deserves to be a productive citizen again.
>Ignoring the naive assumption, USB 2 is as fast or faster than the majority of hard drives (which average reads in the 50-60MB/s range). Buying a faster connection technology won't somehow make your hard drive faster.
Absolutely false. USB 2.0 real world speeds are around 30-40mb/sec because of all the overhead. A low end hard drive can easily do 60+ mb/sec and bursts well over 100 mb/sec. USB 2.0 is terrible for hard drives, which is why we have eSata today and need USB 3.0 soon.
Also, your 54mbps wireless g gives you around 20-30mbps not 54.
No they are not. Historically they are a dumping ground that just gets worse over time.
Lets look at a random app Im running, Adobe Reader. If I want to do a copy or a paste I look under Edit, which makes no sense as Im not really editing anything and its a read-only document. But lets ignore that. If I want to a make an app-wide change I go to Edit > Preferences. Shouldnt that be under Tools or Help? If I want to do a search then thats under Edit too? Huh? Im not even going to go into the menu mess that is Word 2003.
I purposely picked an Adobe product because they generally have decent HCI people and this is state of the art. With a ribbon we can do a lot more. Better grouping, contextual items, etc. At the very least it lets us throw away the File > Edit > Help system and gives us more flexibility.
Im looking forward to untying the hands of various talented UI people. Things like the iphone, kindle, touchscreen fad, Win7, Office2007, etc show us that the File > Edit > Help system really isnt the best and is showing its age.
A lot of this "debate" reminds me of the guys who whined about the Win95 interface because they were used to Win311 or DOS. Or the PC guys who snorted at my Mac 512k.
Well, the quote is mine but the idea is pretty old. You can read criticism about brands and advertising in a lot of places. PBS's Frontline "The Persuaders," the whole adbusters movement, the No Logo books, etc.
The only twist I added is the bit about becoming the fashion industry. If we all have the same access to capital and markets then the products we produce will more or less be the same and priced the same. So differentiation can only be done via advertising and branding, especially branding. Your gf is a Old Navy girl and you are an Apple guy. That kind of thing. We dont shop on price or features really anymore. Things like consumer reports are seen as gauche.
I think its interesting that they are using the term freeware instead of open source or FOSS. In a lot of people's minds freeware is shit like bonzai buddy or comet cursor or whatever spyware-laden free software these execs always manager to get on their computers. They equate FOSS with badly written spyware and they keep using the term freeware in their quotes. Interesting. They must have Frank Lutz working for them.
Im sure a lot of execs find this message believable and are drafting up a 'no freeware' policy to only be diplomatically corrected by the IT dept later on.
Ironically, I have a hard time trusting non-FOSS freeware. I always wonder if Im getting a virus or a trojan and wondering why I havent been able to find an OSS alternative to closed source windows freeware/nagware programs. Paid for proprietary Im less worried about, but Im not paying for what I consider basic functionality like DNS.
This is a public policy/legal matter. What if we granted immunity to any non-intentional cross pollination? Would the anti-GMO people settle down? Of course not. Theyre the ones claiming wifi causes cancer, vaccinations cause autism, and the Jesus will come again. They are irrational.
While there are several rational criticisms here, I dont consider this one of them. A lawmaker could fix this shortly.
>Not only that, but anyone willing to ruin someone's life over a little pot (like these cops) has a serious lack of ethics.
The police are the enforcers of the law. It blows my mind that people blame the lowest guy on the ladder for laws and policies. Joe Cop isnt writing state and federal law. Considering you are in a democracy you are just as guilty as anyone else for these laws being in existance. Perhaps having a scapegoat makes you feel better about yourself, but youre 100% wrong to target the police on these matters.
If you ever got off your high horse and talked to some cops you might have many share the same attitudes you do.
What about some basic personal responsibility? If owning pot is such a legal nightmare that it can ruin your life if arrested, as you state, why dont these people move to countries where it is legal instead of pretending they have immunity and then blaming the police for getting caught?
>There's no reason why Apple should accept inputs to its software that have been faked.
Should we start protesting SAMBA when it tells people its an NT4.0 server? Or when I use it talk to a Microsoft share?
Or perhaps if MS does what Apple does and breaks compatibility with SAMBA on purpose then Im sure you will have no complaints.
>There's an API available for third party hardware to sync with iTunes, Palm should have used that.
Psst, the public API has shit for features. Its like telling some people they can use that special water fountain while others can use the regular one.
Right so when AIM was mimicking AOL's protocol and not the public OSCAR protocol because of the lack of features it was okay, but when palm does it, its wrong. And Apple has the right to change their software to break this, right?
Well, I guess if MS produces a SMB update that breaks SAMBA completely and on purpose you'll be cheering that move too?
Heck, what ever happened to my right to tinker with equipment I own? I should be able to tell my phone/pda whatever to fake its USB ID as I please. Its going in my equipment. Heaven forbid we mention the rights of the people who actually own the equipment in this "debate."
The larger issue here is the pro-corporatist attitude so many people have and how they are bending over backwards for the companies that just want to control and lockdown their hardware for one end: profit. Apple isnt doing this to help you, but to sell more iphones.
>the iTunes software might attempt a firmware update and either crash, error out, or brick the Pre.
Brick it? Let me guess you've never written a firmware updater. All USB devices dont magically use the same methods to write to their firmware.
>And again, who will users blame for breaking their phone? My bet is they would blame Apple.
Neither. They would call Sprint for warranty service. The idea that they would somehow get a hold of Apple is ridiculous and only shows that fanboys will do anything to justify this move and help defend Apple's itunes monopoly.
Yep, its a real double standard. I also noticed that no where in this "debate" is the right to modify even brought up. Pre owners, you know the people who paid for it, should at least get the choice to fake their USB ID. Why not? Its their equipment! Have we reached the point where we cant even humor the idea of modifying stuff we own so it works better with our own equipment?
The USB forum rules are the kind of well meaning rules that dont end up applying too well in real life, like the rules of all the religious books out there. Life is too unpredictable and stuff like Apple owning the mp3 player market makes it all the more difficult.
It also blows my mind that Apple couldnt leave well enough alone and immediately sent out an update that broke the Palm hack. Just incredible. Instead of just letting them do what they want, they gimped it hoping to cell more iphones.
>the devil you know is better than the devil you don't.
In capitalism there is no devil, just your worth vs. what you can get in the market. I see a lot of sharp kids in the Apple store and theyre making what? 10-12 dollars an hour? If MS or whomever offers 15/hr then they should go for it. Both are faceless profit driven corporations who create and market products. Dont let emotions get in the way of a smart decision.
>Microsoft has OS, Dev Tools, Software and...........no iPod, iPhone, Accessories, Laptop or Desktop hardware worth speaking of at the moment.
Zune HD, HP laptops, Thinkpads, Office, Windows upgrades, HTC WinMo phones, Xbox 360, etc. The same way I can get third-party software and hardware at the Apple store.
They of course wont be selling any of these. Like Apple these consumer goods are props. They will be selling you a lifestyle. I expect MS to heavily promote the "home digital hub" solution theyve been talking about for the past 3 or 4 years. A Windows home server + Xbox plugged into the tv, Exchange at work, WinMo in your pocket, Zune in your ear, Win7 on your laptop, 25gigs of free skydrive space, etc.
I also expect classes on MovieMaker, Outlook, WinMo, Win7, Bing, etc to be big.
Essentially, its retail as advertising. As capitalism ages everything essentially becomes the fashion industry. All style, perhaps a chance of substance.
>Locking up the whole OS so that user is in 100% controlled environment is a no go, as seeing here on slashdot about iphone and other systems that do it.
Or a balance like running as limited user and upping your privs via the UAC, but people here complain about that too. Look, the slashdot mob isnt rational, its just people airing their frustrations in a two minute hate that never ends. Luckily, in the real world the slashdot mob doesnt exist. People deal with the UAC, run AV, and get on with their lives. Turns out Jane Computer User just wants the thing to work, not get into philosophical arguments over the UAC and MS's business practices.
Exactly. I dont think they understand how causal WoW playing can be. The missions are brain dead simple, you can sit around and chat all you like, theres no real punishment for death, you can casually solo a lot of content, etc. These games are so casual friendly that you can pretty much play it 90% of the time without any group or even without joining a guild. Sure, you miss out on the instances and good gear, but casual Joe MMO Player doesnt care about that.
I think what "casual MMO" is going to mean is something like how Champions Online is today. A dumbed down button masher thats more "arcade levels" than "towns." I dont see who the target demographic really is. WoW, AoC, and the rest are already pretty easy and dont really demand too much time and effort, especially if youre a solo player.
Slashdot Mirror
I wonder how many of these parties will even happen. Heck, Im signed up but only for the free win7 license. Dont tell Bill.
>There was once a time where being a police man was a title of privilege and respect. Now the government has pushed laws that turn them into fat, power greedy (at the expense of civil liberties),
You are suffering from the fallacy of idealizing the past. Ironically, a modern police officer is more professional, better educated, and better paid than his past peers. Something tells me youve never read about law enforcement in NYC in the 1800's.
>Maybe the IT industry should look inwards on itself and consider how we've failed to educate the public about the technology we make them use.
Lets not go overboard. The problem here is confirmation bias. You only hear the worst stories. The worst 1% of 1%. What you dont hear is he guy reading consumer reports or the girl calling her mom for computer advice. Or the grandpa using a mac.
What you hear is the girl who tries to use the mouse as a foot pedal or the guy who tries to install a pci card into a agp slot.
For the most part, people get along just fine with technology. They do their research or they have someone help. Its incredible how competent non-IT people can be sometimes. But, again, we dont hear about them. We just hear the bad news.
>(Imagine you doctor wanted to give you a new drug, but wouldn't tell you the name or what was in it. or you were charged with violating a secret law)
Medicine isnt open. Sure, I get a drug. I can read about it and see a lot of biochemical things I dont understand. I cant modify it as I dont have the hardware or expertise to do so and its probably illegal to make a derivative and use an rx not as intended. My doctor cant modify it either. The drug itself is most likely on a patent.
In my mind, drugs have more in common with proprietary software than anything else. You get a brand name, a description, a function, but not much else.
Law is even worse. Without quite a bit of legal education you will have trouble understanding it, and without a JD and a law license you cant assert your rights as an expert (suing in court with you as your own representative).
If anything your post shows the folly of software analogies.
>No matter what Ahmanutjobs rhetoric is he has no power to act without the ruling mullah's of the country.
No. The supreme ruler is the only one who command the military. The Iranian military leader is someone he appoints and controls. If SR wants war he gets it. Its essentially a theocratic dictatorship with some democractic elements here and there.
>This is a classic case of FUD.
Sounds like youre spreading the only FUD here with comments like "So even if Iran is trying to make nuclear weapons they are doing so for defensive purposes."
Iran is anything but defensive. They command Hezbollah, Hamas, and more or less have Syria as a client state. They have exported bombs to Iraqi insurgents to use against the US in Iraq. The idea that they are cowering in their boots is ridiculous. They are on a major offensive to be the region's only power, as the US did them the favor of getting rid of their only real competitor: Saddam.
Heck, Iran and Syria tried this recently until the IDF took down Syria's nuclear program. Lets not mince words: Iran is a threat to the region and a horrible theocracy that murders and tortures its own protesters. Their intentions are offense, not defense.
>Sanctions are essentially an act of war. Clinton's sanctions on Iraq during the 1990's killed over 500,000 children, and many elderly.
Saddam was given more then enough resources to feed everyone and provide proper healthcare to everyone. Saddam chose instead of resell it or hoard it for political means: getting someone like you to blame the US while he starved his own people. Looks like Saddam's plan worked. Here you are blaming the US for his actions.
You know, if I arrest you and put you in prison, and you decide to sell your prison meals instead of eating them, then Im not the one who killed you.
>There have been fewer than 15 murders proven to have been committed with NFA weapons in the 75 years this harsh regulation has existed. There was no sound justification to ban the items again in 1986.
Cause and effect. If it wasnt for the ban that number would be higher.
>See? We're not all anti-evolutionist
Actually, if you watch the movie you'll find him make random comments about animals that shows an incredible lack of a basic understanding of natural selection. Im not sure where they came from (made up by the filmmaker, his own writings, his conversations, etc) but its interesting to see that Mr. Moral Middle American Christian is a really just a mentally-ill thief with no understanding of evolution.
Personally, I dont think he's really all that crazy, perhaps mild bipolarity (I wonder if a 21st doctor would have given him a aspergers dx). He's just a price-fixer bribe-taking thief and realized the writing on the wall, so he went to the FBI before any of his co-workers did to work out some deal, but he managed to screw that us as well.
That said, he paid his dues and deserves to be a productive citizen again.
>Ignoring the naive assumption, USB 2 is as fast or faster than the majority of hard drives (which average reads in the 50-60MB/s range). Buying a faster connection technology won't somehow make your hard drive faster.
Absolutely false. USB 2.0 real world speeds are around 30-40mb/sec because of all the overhead. A low end hard drive can easily do 60+ mb/sec and bursts well over 100 mb/sec. USB 2.0 is terrible for hard drives, which is why we have eSata today and need USB 3.0 soon.
Also, your 54mbps wireless g gives you around 20-30mbps not 54.
>they are useful and organized
No they are not. Historically they are a dumping ground that just gets worse over time.
Lets look at a random app Im running, Adobe Reader. If I want to do a copy or a paste I look under Edit, which makes no sense as Im not really editing anything and its a read-only document. But lets ignore that. If I want to a make an app-wide change I go to Edit > Preferences. Shouldnt that be under Tools or Help? If I want to do a search then thats under Edit too? Huh? Im not even going to go into the menu mess that is Word 2003.
I purposely picked an Adobe product because they generally have decent HCI people and this is state of the art. With a ribbon we can do a lot more. Better grouping, contextual items, etc. At the very least it lets us throw away the File > Edit > Help system and gives us more flexibility.
Im looking forward to untying the hands of various talented UI people. Things like the iphone, kindle, touchscreen fad, Win7, Office2007, etc show us that the File > Edit > Help system really isnt the best and is showing its age.
A lot of this "debate" reminds me of the guys who whined about the Win95 interface because they were used to Win311 or DOS. Or the PC guys who snorted at my Mac 512k.
Well, the quote is mine but the idea is pretty old. You can read criticism about brands and advertising in a lot of places. PBS's Frontline "The Persuaders," the whole adbusters movement, the No Logo books, etc.
The only twist I added is the bit about becoming the fashion industry. If we all have the same access to capital and markets then the products we produce will more or less be the same and priced the same. So differentiation can only be done via advertising and branding, especially branding. Your gf is a Old Navy girl and you are an Apple guy. That kind of thing. We dont shop on price or features really anymore. Things like consumer reports are seen as gauche.
BIND isnt GPLd. Its BSD or similar. So you could do what these guys are doing:
Compile BIND, perhaps add a little something, give it a cool name, and slag it in public.
Profit? Probably not.
I think its interesting that they are using the term freeware instead of open source or FOSS. In a lot of people's minds freeware is shit like bonzai buddy or comet cursor or whatever spyware-laden free software these execs always manager to get on their computers. They equate FOSS with badly written spyware and they keep using the term freeware in their quotes. Interesting. They must have Frank Lutz working for them.
Im sure a lot of execs find this message believable and are drafting up a 'no freeware' policy to only be diplomatically corrected by the IT dept later on.
Ironically, I have a hard time trusting non-FOSS freeware. I always wonder if Im getting a virus or a trojan and wondering why I havent been able to find an OSS alternative to closed source windows freeware/nagware programs. Paid for proprietary Im less worried about, but Im not paying for what I consider basic functionality like DNS.
This is a public policy/legal matter. What if we granted immunity to any non-intentional cross pollination? Would the anti-GMO people settle down? Of course not. Theyre the ones claiming wifi causes cancer, vaccinations cause autism, and the Jesus will come again. They are irrational.
While there are several rational criticisms here, I dont consider this one of them. A lawmaker could fix this shortly.
>Not only that, but anyone willing to ruin someone's life over a little pot (like these cops) has a serious lack of ethics.
The police are the enforcers of the law. It blows my mind that people blame the lowest guy on the ladder for laws and policies. Joe Cop isnt writing state and federal law. Considering you are in a democracy you are just as guilty as anyone else for these laws being in existance. Perhaps having a scapegoat makes you feel better about yourself, but youre 100% wrong to target the police on these matters.
If you ever got off your high horse and talked to some cops you might have many share the same attitudes you do.
What about some basic personal responsibility? If owning pot is such a legal nightmare that it can ruin your life if arrested, as you state, why dont these people move to countries where it is legal instead of pretending they have immunity and then blaming the police for getting caught?
>There's no reason why Apple should accept inputs to its software that have been faked.
Should we start protesting SAMBA when it tells people its an NT4.0 server? Or when I use it talk to a Microsoft share?
Or perhaps if MS does what Apple does and breaks compatibility with SAMBA on purpose then Im sure you will have no complaints.
>There's an API available for third party hardware to sync with iTunes, Palm should have used that.
Psst, the public API has shit for features. Its like telling some people they can use that special water fountain while others can use the regular one.
>I should have known that was a required qualification to post here.
Then you should refrain from posting commentary in public about how updaters work and how things can be bricked. Thanks.
Right so when AIM was mimicking AOL's protocol and not the public OSCAR protocol because of the lack of features it was okay, but when palm does it, its wrong. And Apple has the right to change their software to break this, right?
Well, I guess if MS produces a SMB update that breaks SAMBA completely and on purpose you'll be cheering that move too?
Heck, what ever happened to my right to tinker with equipment I own? I should be able to tell my phone/pda whatever to fake its USB ID as I please. Its going in my equipment. Heaven forbid we mention the rights of the people who actually own the equipment in this "debate."
The larger issue here is the pro-corporatist attitude so many people have and how they are bending over backwards for the companies that just want to control and lockdown their hardware for one end: profit. Apple isnt doing this to help you, but to sell more iphones.
>so they are fully in their moral right to ONLY let their equipment use it
Ah ok. So when Microsoft releases an update to SMB/CIFS that breaks all SAMBA implementations the world over, you sure wont be complaning. Right?
>the iTunes software might attempt a firmware update and either crash, error out, or brick the Pre.
Brick it? Let me guess you've never written a firmware updater. All USB devices dont magically use the same methods to write to their firmware.
>And again, who will users blame for breaking their phone? My bet is they would blame Apple.
Neither. They would call Sprint for warranty service. The idea that they would somehow get a hold of Apple is ridiculous and only shows that fanboys will do anything to justify this move and help defend Apple's itunes monopoly.
>It's a total double standard.
Yep, its a real double standard. I also noticed that no where in this "debate" is the right to modify even brought up. Pre owners, you know the people who paid for it, should at least get the choice to fake their USB ID. Why not? Its their equipment! Have we reached the point where we cant even humor the idea of modifying stuff we own so it works better with our own equipment?
The USB forum rules are the kind of well meaning rules that dont end up applying too well in real life, like the rules of all the religious books out there. Life is too unpredictable and stuff like Apple owning the mp3 player market makes it all the more difficult.
It also blows my mind that Apple couldnt leave well enough alone and immediately sent out an update that broke the Palm hack. Just incredible. Instead of just letting them do what they want, they gimped it hoping to cell more iphones.
>the devil you know is better than the devil you don't.
In capitalism there is no devil, just your worth vs. what you can get in the market. I see a lot of sharp kids in the Apple store and theyre making what? 10-12 dollars an hour? If MS or whomever offers 15/hr then they should go for it. Both are faceless profit driven corporations who create and market products. Dont let emotions get in the way of a smart decision.
>Microsoft has OS, Dev Tools, Software and ...........no iPod, iPhone, Accessories, Laptop or Desktop hardware worth speaking of at the moment.
Zune HD, HP laptops, Thinkpads, Office, Windows upgrades, HTC WinMo phones, Xbox 360, etc. The same way I can get third-party software and hardware at the Apple store.
They of course wont be selling any of these. Like Apple these consumer goods are props. They will be selling you a lifestyle. I expect MS to heavily promote the "home digital hub" solution theyve been talking about for the past 3 or 4 years. A Windows home server + Xbox plugged into the tv, Exchange at work, WinMo in your pocket, Zune in your ear, Win7 on your laptop, 25gigs of free skydrive space, etc.
I also expect classes on MovieMaker, Outlook, WinMo, Win7, Bing, etc to be big.
Essentially, its retail as advertising. As capitalism ages everything essentially becomes the fashion industry. All style, perhaps a chance of substance.
>Locking up the whole OS so that user is in 100% controlled environment is a no go, as seeing here on slashdot about iphone and other systems that do it.
Or a balance like running as limited user and upping your privs via the UAC, but people here complain about that too. Look, the slashdot mob isnt rational, its just people airing their frustrations in a two minute hate that never ends. Luckily, in the real world the slashdot mob doesnt exist. People deal with the UAC, run AV, and get on with their lives. Turns out Jane Computer User just wants the thing to work, not get into philosophical arguments over the UAC and MS's business practices.
Exactly. I dont think they understand how causal WoW playing can be. The missions are brain dead simple, you can sit around and chat all you like, theres no real punishment for death, you can casually solo a lot of content, etc. These games are so casual friendly that you can pretty much play it 90% of the time without any group or even without joining a guild. Sure, you miss out on the instances and good gear, but casual Joe MMO Player doesnt care about that.
I think what "casual MMO" is going to mean is something like how Champions Online is today. A dumbed down button masher thats more "arcade levels" than "towns." I dont see who the target demographic really is. WoW, AoC, and the rest are already pretty easy and dont really demand too much time and effort, especially if youre a solo player.