Actually I couldn't stand NWN because the rules implementation was godawful.
I had a lot of p&p D&D characters at that stage, that I'd built from scratch. But the NWN was so limited and poorly implemented, I couldn't recreate my pen and paper characters using the system without installing 3rd party hacks and the DM editor. Not because I was breaking rules, but because NWN didn't implement the rules properly. What's worse is that the controls look and feel and handle much like a really half-assed attempt to port a console game.
I'd much rather see work done with the TOEE engine than NWN's. I'm trying to play the game again, and although the plot looks interesting, the system is so bad I can barely make it.
Actually, it seems the whole point of the article was to bag pen and paper RPG's, and to somehow try and point out that 1st edition AD&D was vastly superior to D&D3.5.
What kind of drugs was the author on??
There are so many rules holes and inconsistencies in 1st Ed, it's practically a microsoft product.
3.5 on the other hand is consistent, everything can be classified and "fits" somewhere in the scheme of things, and the rules all interoperate perfectly.
Actually it didn't implement AD&D at all, it implemented the D&D3.5 rules. And it did a better job than any computer game in history at representing a RPG rules set in a workable fashion. It was more faithful than any other conversion, and despite the unfixed bugs, it was quite playable.
The problem really was they picked a godawful module and didn't spice it up at all. So after you finish the first quests in the village, it's all hacking through the vast temple dungeons (repetitive!).
I'm hoping they keep that engine and do a baldurs gate or something similar.
But here's the trick, in roleplaying games, the warrior is almost always given a historical background, because we're playing a near-historical figure. So the armour is the same as might be found in the 1300's, and so are the weapons.
Now, what the roleplaying system tries to do is create rules that emulate the weapons and armour and so on that was in use all that long ago.
A good roleplaying system will have powergamers who play warriors who carry around weapons just like they did in the 1300's. Because the system is working. If, on the other hand, everyone is carrying around spiked chains, a weapon which is incredibly rare, just because they're the best to have, then the system has failed.
I suppose you would call every figure in history who ever used a sword a "powergamer" just because the sword turned out to be a pretty useful all around weapon, and they chose to use a sword. All they cared about was killing! What kind of historical figure were those people??
So, choosing the most effective weapon, according to your logic, is powergaming, not roleplaying. Therefore, choosing a clumsy or ineffective weapon is much better roleplaying. Right?
The whole point of the game for me was the D20 system, although a bit kludged. I suppose people see different things in games. But yes, a good mix, despite the very flawed implementation of the D20 rules in KOTOR.
worms spread by attacking default listening services on these ports? 100%
Actually they latest big worms (netsky etc) to hit the front news pages are spreading through Kazaa and through vulnerabilities in BlackIce. Nothing to do with open ports at all.
Please remember - credibility does not come from making up statistics unless you're a politician.
Well the topical poster wanted to know how he could set up a computer for his relatives to make it easier for him to manage and prevent them from picking up spyware and virii.
In the long run, we can see MS is moving towards a secure and patched by default model. For instance, when you set up Windows XP, it has the option to connect to MS and download patches for things like Blaster before the system is even fully running.
In service pack 2 for XP, the firewall is enabled by default. Outlook is blocking most virus style attachments. Just about every inch of the software is buffer checked. MSIE will have popup blocking. Spyware install requests will blink in a tray instead of popping up a window, so users will have to go out of their way to get Gator instead of just clicking through on a popup. Windows update will run and install patches by default, so unless people opt to make their systems *less* secure, the world is going to become a better place.
You're right, people won't listen. Thankfully MS finally seems to be, so it won't matter in a year or so.
Yep, I revoked admin access to my wife and the guys when they visit for LAN gaming. They all run with reduced privelege, because they simply don't need it for day-to-day activities.
Obviously "end users" refers to accounts, because people aren't like Neo in the matrix. They need computers to access resources on networks.
Well that's the point exactly. The PC doesn't have big load times (apart from BF:vietnam and some other really new games). When you consider just how much detail it's loading, however, you can understand. Consoles are very very weak in power, so when you make them do real I/O work of course they're going to pale in comparison.
I've managed to cut down the load times with my new SATA RAID0 stripe to seconds, because I had that choice. But if console gamers want the same performance as a real computer, unfortunately they're eventually going to have to start paying for it. And if a proprietary locked down console with DRM costs you the same as an open architecture PC that you can web-browse, install linux on without modding or hacking, and customise to your hearts content, which will you buy?
How many windows 3.11 vulnerabilities do you hear about today? None?
Does that mean that Windows 3.11 is secure? (haha).
So does it then follow that if 90% of the severs and clients on the internet were Linux... people would be complaining about how insecure linux was because people could hack it or spam it or DOS it or infect it with virii through unpatched vulnerabilities?
Windows Server 2003 has nearly every service turned off by default. Every O/S that microsoft releases since Win2K3 was released (two years ago!) is following the same secure-by-default methodology. This includes file sharing services! A windows 2K3 server out of the box does *NOTHING* at all.
Yes, it took MS a long time to finally take notice that they had a bad reputation for security.
This doesn't excuse Slashdot readers, supposedly tech savvy people, from not knowing that Windows has been following this philosophy for two years!
Don't rely on the security through obscurity that OS/X and *nix are enjoying right now.
See, eventually Mac emulation of x86 will become so good that spyware will install just as readily on the mac.
Or, alternatively, the marketing guys will realise that Mac users are great for spamming/spying on because we already know a couple of things about them that makes them great targets!
For starters, we know they have lots of money because they bought a mac.
Secondly, we know they would rather pay lots of money for a computer because it's "grape" or "blueberry", irrespective of actual real-world performance. These mac users are people who you can sell anything to if your marketing is right!
Conversely, Linux users will be spared because we all know they're too cheap to *pay* for an O/S.
It's pretty straightforward, there's a hole in your SOE, dear 'liza, dear 'liza.
Gator is installing it into an area that you haven't locked down.
I suggest you use AD policy to restrict users from executing files that relate to spyware, and that you use a CACLS script or similar in your SOE build that locks down the areas that Gator is writing itself to.
Would you give them a Linux box and give them root access on it by default? No? Whyever not?;)
Same goes for windows. Why is it that you say it's sad that it's necessary to make sure that Windows users aren't admins? Is it sad that it's best practice for Linux users to not be admins?
Seriously though. End users shouldn't be administrators, and that's something we all agree on.
There are many, many tools that can be used to manage a single workstation.
The easiest way is to build the system then take an image. You could use System Restore points (free with Windows), or you could use Ghost or other utilities. Then simply rebuild the o/s from the image (less than an hour with decent hardware) every time you visit.
If they need to install or use different software then that of course will need to be managed, and new images/system restore points will need to be added, but this is a small price to pay compared to trying to manage a messed up system, due to the complexity that Windows carries with it.
Likewise it's very easy to prevent users from running MSIE, and provide safer browsers like Opera or Mozilla. Also you can provide a safer email client like Pegasus or similar that won't automatically run viruses when they arrive. You can use a firewall and free A/V software like AVG to prevent new viruses. Spyware blocking tools can also be used to prevent malware from being installed.
It's a great utility but it doesn't fit the topic. Reg/filemon spam like crazy if you actually watch how busy Windows gets when it's doing things. The log files would fill up like crazy even with decent filters applied. Not suitable for long periods of time.
I think the system restore points/install monitoring tools would be the way to go.
It's Microsoft vs IBM in the same way that the Vietnam "conflict" was USA vs Soviet Union. MS is using SCO quite happily as a little proxy for IBM to napalm.
If IBM loses, then the MS borg strategy strikes a severe blow to free software.
If IBM wins, MS finds a new puppet and starts all over again. They've got the cash. The only way it can stop is if Ikea steps in.
If you are an artist, and you're poor, you are not producing art of quality good enough to meet the demands of a sufficiently large/wealthy section of the population. I know it sounds harsh, but the USA is a "free market" economy where demand, supply, and price determine volume of economic activity.
So if your price is right, you have enough CD's to sell, but they aren't selling.... it's because no one wants your stuff. You're doing a job that isn't useful.
If the RIAA was responsible for making typewriters, computers would have been illegal years ago, and there would be hundreds of typists complaining about how the underground computer networks are stealing their livelihoods. The truth of the matter is, they aren't needed, and they should go do something more valuable to themselves and society.
You can log onto Win2K/Win2K3 TS in Remote Admin mode with any account, assuming the account has the right to "log on locally".
Removing "default gateway" from the IP configuration won't prevent it from seeing the internet in many cases, depending on how you configure routing/remote access. This is a potentially dangerous and stupid thing to tell someone! The default gateway simply allows that specific host to find the way out of its subnet when NAT and other routing isn't configured.
Would you give out the root password for any *nix boxes you have? After all, it's a *nux box, does it really matter?
Better ways to lock down the server would be to apply local system policies, prevent the execution of iexplore.exe (really handy this one, I do this on my domain at home). Use windowsupdate to keep the system as tightly patched as possible. Run A/V software. And despite some advice to the contrary, don't give out the admin password. Just create a non-priveleged account and give it log on locally rights.
Okay, you need to go read the post again. You've missed something. The original post simply said it would be amusing to imagine Hitler reading it out.
The original post did not say it would be amusing to imagine Hitler reading it out because it was German, because Hitler was German, because some Germans were Nazis, because Hitler was a Nazi, or because pseudoGerman is just the kind of thing that Nazis love. None of that was ever stated or even implied.
If his logical reasoning that a passage must be associated with Hitler based solely on the fact that it appeared to be written in German is not, in fact, accurate, please enlighten me as to what the vague alludement is.
There was no logic presented to imply that the passage must be associated with Hitler. There was no assertion whatsoever apart from the simple one that it would be amusing, in a satirical sense, to see Hitler talking about Star Wars. You're putting words in the guys mouth.
Speaking of putting words in someone's mouth!
Hey, here's one. Wouldn't it be a riot if Charlie Manson came crashing through the front door and, as he and his followers were carving your unborn child out of the womb of your beloved wife, he merrily nattered away on the unjust treatment of construction workers contracted on the Death Star? Yeah, that would be just fucking hilarious.
So now you're trying to create a victim out of me by suggesting that any of these hypothetical situations might come true? Just what are you trying to achieve here? Someone cracks a joke and you go out of your way to rile everyone up about it?
Wait... you're one of those people who takes offense at things because you *like* being offended. I bet you like to slip over in a restaurant and sue *everybody* who ever walked in there! I bet you think that's great to get money from all those jerks because they might or might not have made you fall over. In fact, I'm guessing you're American. And we all know what they're like, because look at George Bush!
And you say this because why? You're personal best friends with both Peter Jackson and George Lucas?
If you think and use historical frames of reference (hard to do for some I know), you'd know that Lucas has been very busily ripping off Samurai films whenever he can. The Yoda fight was an extension of that (bear with me) in that he wanted to show the old master teaching the rebelling student a lesson. That was the crux of the fight. It had *absolutely* nothing to do with Tolkein.
Slashdot Mirror
Actually I couldn't stand NWN because the rules implementation was godawful.
I had a lot of p&p D&D characters at that stage, that I'd built from scratch. But the NWN was so limited and poorly implemented, I couldn't recreate my pen and paper characters using the system without installing 3rd party hacks and the DM editor. Not because I was breaking rules, but because NWN didn't implement the rules properly. What's worse is that the controls look and feel and handle much like a really half-assed attempt to port a console game.
I'd much rather see work done with the TOEE engine than NWN's. I'm trying to play the game again, and although the plot looks interesting, the system is so bad I can barely make it.
Actually, it seems the whole point of the article was to bag pen and paper RPG's, and to somehow try and point out that 1st edition AD&D was vastly superior to D&D3.5.
What kind of drugs was the author on??
There are so many rules holes and inconsistencies in 1st Ed, it's practically a microsoft product.
3.5 on the other hand is consistent, everything can be classified and "fits" somewhere in the scheme of things, and the rules all interoperate perfectly.
Actually it didn't implement AD&D at all, it implemented the D&D3.5 rules. And it did a better job than any computer game in history at representing a RPG rules set in a workable fashion. It was more faithful than any other conversion, and despite the unfixed bugs, it was quite playable.
The problem really was they picked a godawful module and didn't spice it up at all. So after you finish the first quests in the village, it's all hacking through the vast temple dungeons (repetitive!).
I'm hoping they keep that engine and do a baldurs gate or something similar.
But here's the trick, in roleplaying games, the warrior is almost always given a historical background, because we're playing a near-historical figure. So the armour is the same as might be found in the 1300's, and so are the weapons.
Now, what the roleplaying system tries to do is create rules that emulate the weapons and armour and so on that was in use all that long ago.
A good roleplaying system will have powergamers who play warriors who carry around weapons just like they did in the 1300's. Because the system is working. If, on the other hand, everyone is carrying around spiked chains, a weapon which is incredibly rare, just because they're the best to have, then the system has failed.
I suppose you would call every figure in history who ever used a sword a "powergamer" just because the sword turned out to be a pretty useful all around weapon, and they chose to use a sword. All they cared about was killing! What kind of historical figure were those people??
So, choosing the most effective weapon, according to your logic, is powergaming, not roleplaying. Therefore, choosing a clumsy or ineffective weapon is much better roleplaying. Right?
Thanks for sharing. Please stop.
The whole point of the game for me was the D20 system, although a bit kludged. I suppose people see different things in games. But yes, a good mix, despite the very flawed implementation of the D20 rules in KOTOR.
worms spread by attacking default listening services on these ports? 100%
Actually they latest big worms (netsky etc) to hit the front news pages are spreading through Kazaa and through vulnerabilities in BlackIce. Nothing to do with open ports at all.
Please remember - credibility does not come from making up statistics unless you're a politician.
Well the topical poster wanted to know how he could set up a computer for his relatives to make it easier for him to manage and prevent them from picking up spyware and virii.
In the long run, we can see MS is moving towards a secure and patched by default model. For instance, when you set up Windows XP, it has the option to connect to MS and download patches for things like Blaster before the system is even fully running.
In service pack 2 for XP, the firewall is enabled by default. Outlook is blocking most virus style attachments. Just about every inch of the software is buffer checked. MSIE will have popup blocking. Spyware install requests will blink in a tray instead of popping up a window, so users will have to go out of their way to get Gator instead of just clicking through on a popup. Windows update will run and install patches by default, so unless people opt to make their systems *less* secure, the world is going to become a better place.
You're right, people won't listen. Thankfully MS finally seems to be, so it won't matter in a year or so.
Yep, I revoked admin access to my wife and the guys when they visit for LAN gaming. They all run with reduced privelege, because they simply don't need it for day-to-day activities.
Obviously "end users" refers to accounts, because people aren't like Neo in the matrix. They need computers to access resources on networks.
Well that's the point exactly. The PC doesn't have big load times (apart from BF:vietnam and some other really new games). When you consider just how much detail it's loading, however, you can understand. Consoles are very very weak in power, so when you make them do real I/O work of course they're going to pale in comparison.
I've managed to cut down the load times with my new SATA RAID0 stripe to seconds, because I had that choice. But if console gamers want the same performance as a real computer, unfortunately they're eventually going to have to start paying for it. And if a proprietary locked down console with DRM costs you the same as an open architecture PC that you can web-browse, install linux on without modding or hacking, and customise to your hearts content, which will you buy?
It's not useability, it's market penetration.
How many windows 3.11 vulnerabilities do you hear about today? None?
Does that mean that Windows 3.11 is secure? (haha).
So does it then follow that if 90% of the severs and clients on the internet were Linux... people would be complaining about how insecure linux was because people could hack it or spam it or DOS it or infect it with virii through unpatched vulnerabilities?
Windows Server 2003 has nearly every service turned off by default. Every O/S that microsoft releases since Win2K3 was released (two years ago!) is following the same secure-by-default methodology. This includes file sharing services! A windows 2K3 server out of the box does *NOTHING* at all.
Yes, it took MS a long time to finally take notice that they had a bad reputation for security.
This doesn't excuse Slashdot readers, supposedly tech savvy people, from not knowing that Windows has been following this philosophy for two years!
Don't rely on the security through obscurity that OS/X and *nix are enjoying right now.
See, eventually Mac emulation of x86 will become so good that spyware will install just as readily on the mac.
Or, alternatively, the marketing guys will realise that Mac users are great for spamming/spying on because we already know a couple of things about them that makes them great targets!
For starters, we know they have lots of money because they bought a mac.
Secondly, we know they would rather pay lots of money for a computer because it's "grape" or "blueberry", irrespective of actual real-world performance. These mac users are people who you can sell anything to if your marketing is right!
Conversely, Linux users will be spared because we all know they're too cheap to *pay* for an O/S.
Flame away!
It's pretty straightforward, there's a hole in your SOE, dear 'liza, dear 'liza.
Gator is installing it into an area that you haven't locked down.
I suggest you use AD policy to restrict users from executing files that relate to spyware, and that you use a CACLS script or similar in your SOE build that locks down the areas that Gator is writing itself to.
So fix it, dear henry, dear henry, dear henry...
Would you give them a Linux box and give them root access on it by default? No? Whyever not? ;)
Same goes for windows. Why is it that you say it's sad that it's necessary to make sure that Windows users aren't admins? Is it sad that it's best practice for Linux users to not be admins?
Seriously though. End users shouldn't be administrators, and that's something we all agree on.
Couldn't think of anything else?
There are many, many tools that can be used to manage a single workstation.
The easiest way is to build the system then take an image. You could use System Restore points (free with Windows), or you could use Ghost or other utilities. Then simply rebuild the o/s from the image (less than an hour with decent hardware) every time you visit.
If they need to install or use different software then that of course will need to be managed, and new images/system restore points will need to be added, but this is a small price to pay compared to trying to manage a messed up system, due to the complexity that Windows carries with it.
Likewise it's very easy to prevent users from running MSIE, and provide safer browsers like Opera or Mozilla. Also you can provide a safer email client like Pegasus or similar that won't automatically run viruses when they arrive. You can use a firewall and free A/V software like AVG to prevent new viruses. Spyware blocking tools can also be used to prevent malware from being installed.
All of this stuff can be done without pain.
It's a great utility but it doesn't fit the topic. Reg/filemon spam like crazy if you actually watch how busy Windows gets when it's doing things. The log files would fill up like crazy even with decent filters applied. Not suitable for long periods of time.
I think the system restore points/install monitoring tools would be the way to go.
It's Microsoft vs IBM in the same way that the Vietnam "conflict" was USA vs Soviet Union. MS is using SCO quite happily as a little proxy for IBM to napalm.
If IBM loses, then the MS borg strategy strikes a severe blow to free software.
If IBM wins, MS finds a new puppet and starts all over again. They've got the cash. The only way it can stop is if Ikea steps in.
Exactly! Here's a sad but true fact.
If you are an artist, and you're poor, you are not producing art of quality good enough to meet the demands of a sufficiently large/wealthy section of the population. I know it sounds harsh, but the USA is a "free market" economy where demand, supply, and price determine volume of economic activity.
So if your price is right, you have enough CD's to sell, but they aren't selling.... it's because no one wants your stuff. You're doing a job that isn't useful.
If the RIAA was responsible for making typewriters, computers would have been illegal years ago, and there would be hundreds of typists complaining about how the underground computer networks are stealing their livelihoods. The truth of the matter is, they aren't needed, and they should go do something more valuable to themselves and society.
You can log onto Win2K/Win2K3 TS in Remote Admin mode with any account, assuming the account has the right to "log on locally".
Removing "default gateway" from the IP configuration won't prevent it from seeing the internet in many cases, depending on how you configure routing/remote access. This is a potentially dangerous and stupid thing to tell someone! The default gateway simply allows that specific host to find the way out of its subnet when NAT and other routing isn't configured.
Would you give out the root password for any *nix boxes you have? After all, it's a *nux box, does it really matter?
Better ways to lock down the server would be to apply local system policies, prevent the execution of iexplore.exe (really handy this one, I do this on my domain at home). Use windowsupdate to keep the system as tightly patched as possible. Run A/V software. And despite some advice to the contrary, don't give out the admin password. Just create a non-priveleged account and give it log on locally rights.
Who wants a spoiler? Who wants a spoiler? Here's a spoiler for you:
You will die alone.
Okay, you need to go read the post again. You've missed something.
The original post simply said it would be amusing to imagine Hitler reading it out.
The original post did not say it would be amusing to imagine Hitler reading it out because it was German, because Hitler was German, because some Germans were Nazis, because Hitler was a Nazi, or because pseudoGerman is just the kind of thing that Nazis love. None of that was ever stated or even implied.
If his logical reasoning that a passage must be associated with Hitler based solely on the fact that it appeared to be written in German is not, in fact, accurate, please enlighten me as to what the vague alludement is.
There was no logic presented to imply that the passage must be associated with Hitler. There was no assertion whatsoever apart from the simple one that it would be amusing, in a satirical sense, to see Hitler talking about Star Wars. You're putting words in the guys mouth.
Speaking of putting words in someone's mouth!
Hey, here's one. Wouldn't it be a riot if Charlie Manson came crashing through the front door and, as he and his followers were carving your unborn child out of the womb of your beloved wife, he merrily nattered away on the unjust treatment of construction workers contracted on the Death Star? Yeah, that would be just fucking hilarious.
So now you're trying to create a victim out of me by suggesting that any of these hypothetical situations might come true? Just what are you trying to achieve here? Someone cracks a joke and you go out of your way to rile everyone up about it?
Wait... you're one of those people who takes offense at things because you *like* being offended. I bet you like to slip over in a restaurant and sue *everybody* who ever walked in there! I bet you think that's great to get money from all those jerks because they might or might not have made you fall over. In fact, I'm guessing you're American. And we all know what they're like, because look at George Bush!
That enough words put into your mouth for ya?
You don't seem to have actually watched any of the Star Wars movies. Let me fill in some of the blanks for you.
The Force grants the wielder precognition. ("He sees things before they happen"). It controls their actions (But it also obeys their commands.)
Anakin may not have even had a choice in what he was doing. If he did, he did so knowing there was almost no risk to himself.
Yet he's still more convincing than Anakin in Episode 1.
And you say this because why? You're personal best friends with both Peter Jackson and George Lucas?
If you think and use historical frames of reference (hard to do for some I know), you'd know that Lucas has been very busily ripping off Samurai films whenever he can. The Yoda fight was an extension of that (bear with me) in that he wanted to show the old master teaching the rebelling student a lesson. That was the crux of the fight. It had *absolutely* nothing to do with Tolkein.
Think before you post. With your brain.
Why aren't people on Slashdot bagging Jackson for ripping off the 5th Element in TTT, but they are bagging Lucas for exactly the same thing with AOTC?
Don't bother explaining. Just think about ways to reduce carrying double standards around.