FFS - the dude said he does trust them. He just doesn't want work stuff (in particular) sitting around for them to stumble onto. He didn't say he's working on freaking nuclear submarine plans or something similarly classified. All he really needs is a fairly weak encryption - as someone else noted, I think we can assume his roommates aren't too computer-savvy.
BTW original poster - I cannot suggest anything that hasn't already been suggested.
I too was interested to hear how Farscape fans would defend the show, as I have seen it many a time on late-night TV and found no redeeming qualities at all.
The one thing that most fans have talked up, and the one thing I can't comment on, is the storyline. I haven't watched two episodes in a row (to my knowledge) and I've not seen many full episodes, either. I can however comment on the acting, the SFX, the episode-level plots, and the music, all of which were in my opinion terrible.
Farscape fans, what have you to say about that? I'm genuinely interested to know why so many like this show which seems so terrible to me (and let's not get started on the Stargate series... *shudder*).
Man, I would love to be able to fix some of the bugs which plague my (employer mandated) Notes programming. Apart from anything else, there are buckets of UI bugs which sometimes result in the loss of huge wads of work, even if it's been saved.
Luckily, though, I get to do the majority of my work in plain old C. Ahhh.
You're wrong;)
Haven't you ever played a console game where certain (usually fairly uncommon) bits slow down the frame rate? It happens a fair bit in crazy games like Metal Slug, where there are often heaps of sprites jumping around the screen.
steve
Palm does the same thing with their Hotsync software and Microsoft does the same with their AcitveSync software for Pocket PCs
There are two big differences here:
Hotsync (and I assume it is basically the same for ActiveSync) doesn't add a service, it puts something in your startup folder which shows up on the taskbar. It is visibly running, and can be disabled easily.
If you install Palm Desktop or the PocketPC software, 99.999% of the time you're going to want to synchronise with a Palm or PocketPC. On the hand, I would hazard a guess that less than 50% of people who install iTunes don't have an iPod, and probably never intend to get one.
...Italians were #1 household coffe drinkers ("expresso")...
AFAIK, most Italians wouldn't dream of purchasing an expensive espresso machine for their house, as they have such damn good stuff at the place down the road. A vast proportion of them do, however, own and use stovetop moka pots, which use steam pressure to produce a strong espresso-like coffee.
The longer roasting time for dark coffee beans destroys a significant amount of the caffeine in said beans...
What has the degree of roast got to do with espresso? Espresso can be made from any roast you like, and for a straight shot generally a lighter (rather than *dark*) roast is preferable to really appreciate a decent blend. I think you need to stay AWAY from *$.
Ahhh yes, the all-important "user experience". We can improve the "user experience" to our heart's content - after all, this is how today's software developers are helping Intel sell chips - but what value has this really? Where does it stop?
You're almost right that the services don't make "any" difference to performance - I'm sure they make some, however miniscule - but unfortunately Apple does not exist in a vacuum (no matter how much Steve Jobs' ego protests). What if all the software I installed created services like these, silently, with no way of permanently and un-annoyingly disabling them (preferably before they are even installed)?
PS - all you iTunes fanboys (and fangirls) - iTunes isn't that great!. It implements a few ideas which are obvious anyway, and should be available in all similar software (and if they're not, that's due to the other software sucking, not due to iTunes being particularly innovative). For example, the much raved-about "dynamic playlist" - who didn't think of this 5 years ago? I'm shocked it wasn't implemented earlier elsewhere. I've not used iTunes in MacOS X, but in Windows it is (as is all Apple software) a clunky POS (yeah, I know about Apple's 'strategy').
I mean, as others have pointed out and will continue to point out, there are other things such as strobe lights and picket fences which do or may cause seizures - and why should Nintendo be held liable for testing for something so random and odd? - but just take a look at the numbers they're talking about. 22? That's miniscule compared to the rate of just about anything else in the world. Including emergency room anus/bottle "I slipped whilst cleaning my kitchen in the nude" interaction events.
I applaud Nintendo for (ostensibly) taking this seriously, but I would rather they just told all the whingers to just stop playing the games...
What about Apple?
on
Real's Reality
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· Score: 3, Informative
For another example of a piece of software bloating one's system with silent crap, take a look at iTunes for Windows. I was annoyed (but not particularly surprised) to find that after installation of this I had two services by the names of (IIRC) iPodService and iTunesHelper running. They're not all that large (1 - 3 MB between them), but they're there.
All so that when some idiot plugs his iPod into his PC the thing will pop up iTunes or whatever and do something or other, and the idiot can exclaim "Wow! Magic Apple software duhhhhhh!".
Yeah, I don't really know what the cost of living is like over there (I'm in Aus), just what stuff like CDs and games cost. I don't think the experience of the teacher has too much relevance... though I suppose getting through to an old granny can be a fine art. Really what I'm saying is, "to whom is basic computer training worth $75?". I'm a book man myself, whether it's computers, musical instruments, or cars.
Unfortunately AFAIK the ink cartridges that come with printers only contain about 20% of the ink that comes in a bought cartridge. So, unless you've actually done a proper empirical analysis, you're screwing yourself.
So a lack of access to music due to artificial scarcity imposed by huge corporations trying to apply traditional microeconomic theory to intangible zero-marginal-cost goods isn't a social issue?
Oh wait... maybe it's BOTH.
... the silent movies era. In those days, at least for a while, all criminals had to receive just deserts - in other words, they had to be caught. And killing law enforcement was a no-no. Never mind telling a good story - just keep the propaganda machine going...
This whole thing is a lot more complicated that the FREE ROMZ types make it out to be. What about the people who originally created these games? Suppose the guy who wrote the music still needs to be paid a couple bucks because of his contract? There's legal hoops to jump through, and it's often just not worth it.
Good point.
Pick any TV show you liked that is no longer on the air. If you're lucky, there's a DVD or VHS available somewhere. If not, too bad. You can't just claim My Right! and demand that it be released for free by whatever company still owns the physical tapes or film.
Bad point. Do you know what the point of copyright is? It's to encourage people to create. It's not to enforce some pre-existing control over ideas and creations - in nature, once these are disseminated, they're part of the world and the creator loses control. Copyright gives creators exclusive right to copy/distribute their works for a certain term. A certain term! The idea is that after a reasonable period of profit (HA! Reasonable 200 years ago maybe...) the creator loses control over the work so that the world can further benefit from it and build on it. When we look at ancient shows or games which the owning corporation doesn't see fit to release in any legal form (and in particular, a form which allows legal preservation), morally there is no reason to restrict what the public does with that game.
Yeah yeah yeah, "But it's the law" - we all know the arguments against that. Most notably here, we must recognise that no law can forsee every case, nor give everyone the benefit of the doubt. In these cases we must fall back on morality, and in my opinion only a total nutter would judge it immoral or amoral to distribute 10 or 20 year old games in which the publisher's only interest is a possible rehash 10 years in the future - if at all. The game is part of my world - what really gives anyone the right to take that away?
The sci-fi novel 'The Second Angel' by Phillip Kerr is set some 70 years into the future and has a section where the crew is travelling on an old shuttle with a dodgy environmental system.
Apart from the smells induced by the bright idea of a curry for dinner, there also come to be chunks of poo floating around when someone fails to use the zero-g toilet properly. You see, poo don't fall down without gravity. Ahem.
I'm getting the impression you designed the AI for this game:) I'm pretty sure it would have been on the first mission, rescuing someone from some big manor or something, and if it seemed at all realistic to me I wouldn't be whinging about it now - but anyway, I shall play the game again and see if I was mistaken the first time. If I'm disappointed again, you better watch your back.;)
Slashdot Mirror
... and how much snail junk mail do you get each day? 400? You must have a big mailbox...
stev
BTW original poster - I cannot suggest anything that hasn't already been suggested.
steve
backspace :)
backspace
I too was interested to hear how Farscape fans would defend the show, as I have seen it many a time on late-night TV and found no redeeming qualities at all.
The one thing that most fans have talked up, and the one thing I can't comment on, is the storyline. I haven't watched two episodes in a row (to my knowledge) and I've not seen many full episodes, either. I can however comment on the acting, the SFX, the episode-level plots, and the music, all of which were in my opinion terrible.
Farscape fans, what have you to say about that? I'm genuinely interested to know why so many like this show which seems so terrible to me (and let's not get started on the Stargate series... *shudder*).
steve
Man, I would love to be able to fix some of the bugs which plague my (employer mandated) Notes programming. Apart from anything else, there are buckets of UI bugs which sometimes result in the loss of huge wads of work, even if it's been saved.
Luckily, though, I get to do the majority of my work in plain old C. Ahhh.
You're wrong ;)
Haven't you ever played a console game where certain (usually fairly uncommon) bits slow down the frame rate? It happens a fair bit in crazy games like Metal Slug, where there are often heaps of sprites jumping around the screen.
steve
Dennis Fong misspelt "m4d sk1LLz".
There are two big differences here:
AFAIK, most Italians wouldn't dream of purchasing an expensive espresso machine for their house, as they have such damn good stuff at the place down the road. A vast proportion of them do, however, own and use stovetop moka pots, which use steam pressure to produce a strong espresso-like coffee.
What has the degree of roast got to do with espresso? Espresso can be made from any roast you like, and for a straight shot generally a lighter (rather than *dark*) roast is preferable to really appreciate a decent blend. I think you need to stay AWAY from *$.
steve
You're almost right that the services don't make "any" difference to performance - I'm sure they make some, however miniscule - but unfortunately Apple does not exist in a vacuum (no matter how much Steve Jobs' ego protests). What if all the software I installed created services like these, silently, with no way of permanently and un-annoyingly disabling them (preferably before they are even installed)?
PS - all you iTunes fanboys (and fangirls) - iTunes isn't that great!. It implements a few ideas which are obvious anyway, and should be available in all similar software (and if they're not, that's due to the other software sucking, not due to iTunes being particularly innovative). For example, the much raved-about "dynamic playlist" - who didn't think of this 5 years ago? I'm shocked it wasn't implemented earlier elsewhere. I've not used iTunes in MacOS X, but in Windows it is (as is all Apple software) a clunky POS (yeah, I know about Apple's 'strategy').
I applaud Nintendo for (ostensibly) taking this seriously, but I would rather they just told all the whingers to just stop playing the games...
All so that when some idiot plugs his iPod into his PC the thing will pop up iTunes or whatever and do something or other, and the idiot can exclaim "Wow! Magic Apple software duhhhhhh!".
Yeah, I don't really know what the cost of living is like over there (I'm in Aus), just what stuff like CDs and games cost. I don't think the experience of the teacher has too much relevance... though I suppose getting through to an old granny can be a fine art. Really what I'm saying is, "to whom is basic computer training worth $75?". I'm a book man myself, whether it's computers, musical instruments, or cars.
Uh, you charge $175 an hour? Even if you meant $75, that's insane. I had no idea Donald Trump was so bad with computers...
Unfortunately AFAIK the ink cartridges that come with printers only contain about 20% of the ink that comes in a bought cartridge. So, unless you've actually done a proper empirical analysis, you're screwing yourself.
So a lack of access to music due to artificial scarcity imposed by huge corporations trying to apply traditional microeconomic theory to intangible zero-marginal-cost goods isn't a social issue? Oh wait... maybe it's BOTH.
I'd say it's more intertia than momentum...
Or use a rewritable...
... the silent movies era. In those days, at least for a while, all criminals had to receive just deserts - in other words, they had to be caught. And killing law enforcement was a no-no. Never mind telling a good story - just keep the propaganda machine going...
This whole thing is a lot more complicated that the FREE ROMZ types make it out to be. What about the people who originally created these games? Suppose the guy who wrote the music still needs to be paid a couple bucks because of his contract? There's legal hoops to jump through, and it's often just not worth it.
Good point.
Pick any TV show you liked that is no longer on the air. If you're lucky, there's a DVD or VHS available somewhere. If not, too bad. You can't just claim My Right! and demand that it be released for free by whatever company still owns the physical tapes or film.
Bad point. Do you know what the point of copyright is? It's to encourage people to create. It's not to enforce some pre-existing control over ideas and creations - in nature, once these are disseminated, they're part of the world and the creator loses control. Copyright gives creators exclusive right to copy/distribute their works for a certain term. A certain term! The idea is that after a reasonable period of profit (HA! Reasonable 200 years ago maybe...) the creator loses control over the work so that the world can further benefit from it and build on it. When we look at ancient shows or games which the owning corporation doesn't see fit to release in any legal form (and in particular, a form which allows legal preservation), morally there is no reason to restrict what the public does with that game.
Yeah yeah yeah, "But it's the law" - we all know the arguments against that. Most notably here, we must recognise that no law can forsee every case, nor give everyone the benefit of the doubt. In these cases we must fall back on morality, and in my opinion only a total nutter would judge it immoral or amoral to distribute 10 or 20 year old games in which the publisher's only interest is a possible rehash 10 years in the future - if at all. The game is part of my world - what really gives anyone the right to take that away?
Apart from the smells induced by the bright idea of a curry for dinner, there also come to be chunks of poo floating around when someone fails to use the zero-g toilet properly. You see, poo don't fall down without gravity. Ahem.
Cat got your tongue? (something important seems to be missing from your comment ... like the body or the subject!)
I'm getting the impression you designed the AI for this game :) I'm pretty sure it would have been on the first mission, rescuing someone from some big manor or something, and if it seemed at all realistic to me I wouldn't be whinging about it now - but anyway, I shall play the game again and see if I was mistaken the first time. If I'm disappointed again, you better watch your back. ;)