Seems to me doing a Fallout Online would be pretty easy to do.
Sci-Fi doesn't have to be all spaceships and aliens, those that would defiantly be fun also.
You could even model the same ideas out of WOW. Races? Pick and alien, make them have various abilities. Gear? Ship upgrades, dur. Dungeons? Preset wars or engagements. Guilds could function much the same... perhaps give ability to buy capital ships or support ships for engagements.
Anyway like most things Sci-fi all it takes is some imagination.
Oh and as to having to back stuff up with science, that's BS, it never stopped Star Trek. Just invent a crazy sounding names. "We need to adjust the warp flux with this here hydrospanner or the temporal gradient of the tachyon field will destabilize and lead to a thaten overload". nuff' said.
I will go one step further. Make the upgrade path from Vista very inexpensive and easy.
Seeing as supposedly very few bought into it, you will not be losing a lot of revenue.
Being one of the jerks who bought Vista, I don't appreciate having to buy an new OS every 14 months. Can't you give those of us who took a chance a break?
I have to say that not having USB support in NT was a pain in the ass. We were a bit slow to upgrade, and everything started to use USB. You could get serial alternatives usually, but what a pain in the ass.
Not sure if this is really a good idea and it is likely too expensive but perhaps an interesting case anyway:
Have all your software developed to portal technology. Pay someone to host all your stuff remotely on servers (which they maintain anyway). Buy a really low tech computer and use it like a terminal simply to access the remote server over the internet.
You pay up front for development, and after that fees to the host.
Only drawback is if you ever lose connectivity your pretty much screwed. Anyway just an idea.
Though in fairness I would be a little suspect of those statistics to begin with.
1) Its not like you can just walk into N. Korea and ask someone, and whatever figures they give you are likely to be bogus anyway. So your number is a pretty big estimate... in other words a guess.
2) Considering that N. Korea is pretty much one of the last Communist states in the world, you have to understand that what the US might consider the "military" and what they might consider may vary a bit. I doubt the "military complex" is counted as part of that 4% because it is all privately owned, it is likely nationalized in N. Korea and thus counted. It is apples and oranges.
3) Even using ratios it is a bit stupid to compare the GDP of the largest economy in the entire world to that of N. Korea. To think that their spending would be structured the same is absurd.
Having said all that, I agree with you that N. Korea looks at least to me as pretty smegging bleak, and Kim seems to be a crazy loon.
Create an international task force to "deal" with the issue out of the UN. Call it Rainbow 6 for fun. Use force to root out spammers in member countries, and allow swat force in cooperation with local law enforcement to nab jerks. Use diplomatic pressure in non UN areas for compliance. Since it is an international issue choose a member state to try the individuals in court. Pick Iran.
A good simple example of this was the old code wheels you got is some games. Basically a code word based on the manual from two cardboard disks.
Sure you could photocopy the stupid manual, and make a cardboard wheel, and I am sure some did. However it was just damn easier to buy the damn game.
Also I think a basic truth is that the lower the cost of the item the less it will be worthwhile to pirate. It has already been pointed out that games are way over priced and that a correction needs to occur. They would likely do a lot for selling more and market penetration as well as growing the industry as well if they were not so short sighted for short term profits.
Its not so much that they are greedy (well they are, but that is beside the point), it is that they are misinformed and unrealistic.
1st hardly any of these folks develop their own DRM, there is a whole industry out there preying on the fears of developers. They (and their consultants) will tell them whatever they want to hear to sell their own garbage.
2nd they really just went a bit too far. DRM has been around since the beginning of video games, and so has trying to get around it and pirating software and games. This is NOT new. What they forgot is that DRM only has to be strong enough to keep the honest people honest. The idea that you can "stop" piracy, or copying games and software is ludicrous. The sooner they realize this the better. Make it transparent and easy, and your mainstream customers can't be bothered. You will always have those on the fringe that will do it no matter what. Also they must take into their fiscal consideration the fact (like the music industry is having a hard time understanding), that just because some one pirated your stuff doesn't mean that is a lost sale as they may not have bought it no matter what anyway....
Anyway some DRM is fine so long as you don't go overboard is the bottom line. You just have to make it somewhat a pain in the ass to copy without effecting your normal users.
*Apple does not warrant the battery beyond Apple's one-year Limited Warranty. The battery has a limited number of charge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced by an Apple Service Provider. Battery life and charge cycles vary by use and settings. See www.apple.com/batteries for more information.
lol.
This reminds me of hard drive warranties. Put your money where you mouth is.
Designed obsolescence. If company A has a HD with a 3 year warranty and company B has a 5 year one, I will always go with B. It tells me that one expects it to last X years based on returns.
If apply is claiming 5 years of life, then why only 1 year of warranty? If they don't fail, its costs them nothing...
Apple Mac users are stupid. They are sheep. They will believe anything they are told without reservations.
I recently saw an apple commercial on TV for a "Green" Mac. I was astounded, not so much about their "green" Mac but that A) anyone would buy such drivel, and B) that they can say such things without penalty.
Just in case you think I make this stupid stuff up:
OK there is a lot of BS there, the one the popped out to me when I was watching the commercial on TV was the claims of battery life.
I actually think the TV commercial had an even more preposterous claim that is stated on their website (Though I may have remembered incorrectly). It said that the life span of their laptop was 5 TIMES that of a normal laptop. They go on to say that a typical laptop battery lasts about 1 year.
I don't know about you, but never in all my experience, or anyone I know, or that I have ever heard about says the typical life span of a laptop battery is 1 year, or even 2 years. I would say this is a complete fabrication. I would LOVE to see some independent look into the "green" claims.
They offer no proof, or details on any of it. The low power stuff I am suspicious of as well. I have looked into some really low power systems so I know you can do it, however I call BS again. Sure their system may only use 15-25 watts, when in sleep mode with the LCD off, doing absolutely nothing, which of course would be a totally pointless as a test.
The recycling stuff is a joke and while yes less packaging is good for the environment, however to say this is anything but an economic decision is silly. Less packaging is less material which is less money, and more units in shipping which is larger volume, which all together just means better margins. Much of the packing material is just cardboard anyway, one of the more recycled materials.
Switching between GPU and CPU for efficiency is intriguing, however this is probably something as simple as engaging GPU during graphic intensive operations, which isn't really "switching" so much as turning on which isn't as impressive.
Anyway my point is too many zelots take this sort of guff as gospal and will use it to back claims of superiority to everything else, when really they are just being mislead and baa baaing the company line for Apple.
From stuff I have previously read on this title, it will be developed for consoles and the ported to PC, which means in no uncertain terms that it will suck horribly.
As much as I like Wolfenstein, and loved ET, I will take a pass on this one I think.
New Ubik Ethernet search interface! That's right, no more inconvenient clicking! With this new and innovative design you can type in commands! Have your husband pick up an Ubik for your household today. Personal Computational device will not self destruct if used as directed...
I have only bought computer equipment online. Ever. Since the 90's. The ONE exception was two years ago when I had an imminent (thank you SMART drive and VISTA) HD failure, and at the time was not backing up (should have been I know). So I went to Futureshop and bought an overpriced external HD. The next week I saw the exact same drive on for 100$ less at NCIX. However I didn't want to wait for delivery, and I wanted it NOW, and I could drive the 10min to get it easily. So there is one reason. Yes I could have expressed it so it would be 1-2 days, but really it would take 3, and that was still too long.
The other thing, which is obvious, is large stuff. You may notice one of the main things these places sell are LCD TV's, big ones. Try ordering a 42"-52" LCD and getting it delivered from newegg or NCIX or any online retailer. Haven't really looked into it, but I would bet the shipping costs would more than negate any cost discounts unless you live in the immediate area and can pick up.
I think the problem is that they were everything back in the day, haven't kept up with change, and now they don't know what they are anymore, and just keep slogging away.
I hate going into a brink and morter sears to buy anything. The service people SUCK, they NEVER have stock, and what stock they do have is either the wrong one, or size or whatever.
What they do well is order by catalog. For my grandparents its great. Limited mobility combined with limited understanding of Internet = success. Also easy to deliver to various places. However anyone that has a smidgen of understanding of the internet can locate many better alternatives.
Having said all that, I bought my fridge from them last year when my old one died. Apart from trying to sell me an extended warranty and then calling and bothering me on the phone a year later to try and do it again (both I declined) it was a good experience, so they might be OK for big appliance type purchases.
Slashdot Mirror
The problem is perception. If they didn't shove it in everyones face probably a lot less people would care.
So change your Name from "PirateBay" to "FuzzyKittens" and it will all work itself out.
Because really, who wants to ban fuzzy kittens.
Seems to me doing a Fallout Online would be pretty easy to do.
Sci-Fi doesn't have to be all spaceships and aliens, those that would defiantly be fun also.
You could even model the same ideas out of WOW. Races? Pick and alien, make them have various abilities. Gear? Ship upgrades, dur. Dungeons? Preset wars or engagements. Guilds could function much the same... perhaps give ability to buy capital ships or support ships for engagements.
Anyway like most things Sci-fi all it takes is some imagination.
Oh and as to having to back stuff up with science, that's BS, it never stopped Star Trek. Just invent a crazy sounding names. "We need to adjust the warp flux with this here hydrospanner or the temporal gradient of the tachyon field will destabilize and lead to a thaten overload". nuff' said.
Agreed.
I will go one step further. Make the upgrade path from Vista very inexpensive and easy.
Seeing as supposedly very few bought into it, you will not be losing a lot of revenue.
Being one of the jerks who bought Vista, I don't appreciate having to buy an new OS every 14 months. Can't you give those of us who took a chance a break?
I have to say that not having USB support in NT was a pain in the ass. We were a bit slow to upgrade, and everything started to use USB. You could get serial alternatives usually, but what a pain in the ass.
I'm from the maritimes you insensitive clod!
Grok is a made up word by Robert A. Heinlein that roughly translates from Martian to "Understand".
Save the world they said... Tropical Island I was told....
Not sure if this is really a good idea and it is likely too expensive but perhaps an interesting case anyway:
Have all your software developed to portal technology. Pay someone to host all your stuff remotely on servers (which they maintain anyway). Buy a really low tech computer and use it like a terminal simply to access the remote server over the internet.
You pay up front for development, and after that fees to the host.
Only drawback is if you ever lose connectivity your pretty much screwed. Anyway just an idea.
Though in fairness I would be a little suspect of those statistics to begin with.
1) Its not like you can just walk into N. Korea and ask someone, and whatever figures they give you are likely to be bogus anyway. So your number is a pretty big estimate... in other words a guess.
2) Considering that N. Korea is pretty much one of the last Communist states in the world, you have to understand that what the US might consider the "military" and what they might consider may vary a bit. I doubt the "military complex" is counted as part of that 4% because it is all privately owned, it is likely nationalized in N. Korea and thus counted. It is apples and oranges.
3) Even using ratios it is a bit stupid to compare the GDP of the largest economy in the entire world to that of N. Korea. To think that their spending would be structured the same is absurd.
Having said all that, I agree with you that N. Korea looks at least to me as pretty smegging bleak, and Kim seems to be a crazy loon.
Not to mention you get free room and board!
Create an international task force to "deal" with the issue out of the UN. Call it Rainbow 6 for fun. Use force to root out spammers in member countries, and allow swat force in cooperation with local law enforcement to nab jerks. Use diplomatic pressure in non UN areas for compliance. Since it is an international issue choose a member state to try the individuals in court. Pick Iran.
No more spam.
A good simple example of this was the old code wheels you got is some games. Basically a code word based on the manual from two cardboard disks.
Sure you could photocopy the stupid manual, and make a cardboard wheel, and I am sure some did. However it was just damn easier to buy the damn game.
Also I think a basic truth is that the lower the cost of the item the less it will be worthwhile to pirate. It has already been pointed out that games are way over priced and that a correction needs to occur. They would likely do a lot for selling more and market penetration as well as growing the industry as well if they were not so short sighted for short term profits.
Its not so much that they are greedy (well they are, but that is beside the point), it is that they are misinformed and unrealistic.
1st hardly any of these folks develop their own DRM, there is a whole industry out there preying on the fears of developers. They (and their consultants) will tell them whatever they want to hear to sell their own garbage.
2nd they really just went a bit too far. DRM has been around since the beginning of video games, and so has trying to get around it and pirating software and games. This is NOT new. What they forgot is that DRM only has to be strong enough to keep the honest people honest. The idea that you can "stop" piracy, or copying games and software is ludicrous. The sooner they realize this the better. Make it transparent and easy, and your mainstream customers can't be bothered. You will always have those on the fringe that will do it no matter what. Also they must take into their fiscal consideration the fact (like the music industry is having a hard time understanding), that just because some one pirated your stuff doesn't mean that is a lost sale as they may not have bought it no matter what anyway....
Anyway some DRM is fine so long as you don't go overboard is the bottom line. You just have to make it somewhat a pain in the ass to copy without effecting your normal users.
oh and in small print:
*Apple does not warrant the battery beyond Apple's one-year Limited Warranty. The battery has a limited number of charge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced by an Apple Service Provider. Battery life and charge cycles vary by use and settings. See www.apple.com/batteries for more information.
lol.
This reminds me of hard drive warranties. Put your money where you mouth is.
Designed obsolescence. If company A has a HD with a 3 year warranty and company B has a 5 year one, I will always go with B. It tells me that one expects it to last X years based on returns.
If apply is claiming 5 years of life, then why only 1 year of warranty? If they don't fail, its costs them nothing...
Apple Mac users are stupid. They are sheep. They will believe anything they are told without reservations.
I recently saw an apple commercial on TV for a "Green" Mac. I was astounded, not so much about their "green" Mac but that A) anyone would buy such drivel, and B) that they can say such things without penalty.
Just in case you think I make this stupid stuff up:
http://www.apple.com/mac/green-notebooks/
OK there is a lot of BS there, the one the popped out to me when I was watching the commercial on TV was the claims of battery life.
I actually think the TV commercial had an even more preposterous claim that is stated on their website (Though I may have remembered incorrectly). It said that the life span of their laptop was 5 TIMES that of a normal laptop. They go on to say that a typical laptop battery lasts about 1 year.
I don't know about you, but never in all my experience, or anyone I know, or that I have ever heard about says the typical life span of a laptop battery is 1 year, or even 2 years. I would say this is a complete fabrication. I would LOVE to see some independent look into the "green" claims.
They offer no proof, or details on any of it. The low power stuff I am suspicious of as well. I have looked into some really low power systems so I know you can do it, however I call BS again. Sure their system may only use 15-25 watts, when in sleep mode with the LCD off, doing absolutely nothing, which of course would be a totally pointless as a test.
The recycling stuff is a joke and while yes less packaging is good for the environment, however to say this is anything but an economic decision is silly. Less packaging is less material which is less money, and more units in shipping which is larger volume, which all together just means better margins. Much of the packing material is just cardboard anyway, one of the more recycled materials.
Switching between GPU and CPU for efficiency is intriguing, however this is probably something as simple as engaging GPU during graphic intensive operations, which isn't really "switching" so much as turning on which isn't as impressive.
Anyway my point is too many zelots take this sort of guff as gospal and will use it to back claims of superiority to everything else, when really they are just being mislead and baa baaing the company line for Apple.
Anyway Flame on!
From stuff I have previously read on this title, it will be developed for consoles and the ported to PC, which means in no uncertain terms that it will suck horribly.
As much as I like Wolfenstein, and loved ET, I will take a pass on this one I think.
I played Masters of Orion 2 last weekend. I think it was made in 1995. Still Awesome.
That said I for kicks I downloaded Duke Nukem 3d a couple of weeks ago, and boy did it look awful.
Depends on the type of game you are playing I suppose.
Also I love UFO defense as well! I may have to break that out and try to see if I can hack it to work in Vista.
New Ubik Ethernet search interface! That's right, no more inconvenient clicking! With this new and innovative design you can type in commands! Have your husband pick up an Ubik for your household today. Personal Computational device will not self destruct if used as directed...
I thought that WAS their status, which was the whole problem....
Do you want to be the one to tell Arnold he has to drive a white hummer now? I didn't think so.
what the article didn't tell you that he got bitten after his plane crashed on a magical island...
Speaking of Zombie games, QUAKE Live was launched by Id a couple of weeks ago.
Supposedly funded with in game ads.
Runs in your frickin' web broswer!
Played it myself. Basically Quake 3 in your browser, runs ultra smooth also. I personally had some punkbuster issues however.
Pffft Horseshoe crab been around for 300-450 million years, kicks old octo's ass!
While trying to figure out exactly how long the fossil record is for it I came across this:
http://creationwiki.org/Horseshoe_crab#Horseshoe_Crab_and_Evolution
I am not sure what it says about me, but I can't tell if this is supposed to be serious or just satire...
Also apparently this is not a new conversation as I also ran across this wonderful yahoo forum on the debate...
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090310061347AAXFTt1
Funtimes Friday I tell you!
Yes and no.
I have only bought computer equipment online. Ever. Since the 90's. The ONE exception was two years ago when I had an imminent (thank you SMART drive and VISTA) HD failure, and at the time was not backing up (should have been I know). So I went to Futureshop and bought an overpriced external HD. The next week I saw the exact same drive on for 100$ less at NCIX. However I didn't want to wait for delivery, and I wanted it NOW, and I could drive the 10min to get it easily. So there is one reason. Yes I could have expressed it so it would be 1-2 days, but really it would take 3, and that was still too long.
The other thing, which is obvious, is large stuff. You may notice one of the main things these places sell are LCD TV's, big ones. Try ordering a 42"-52" LCD and getting it delivered from newegg or NCIX or any online retailer. Haven't really looked into it, but I would bet the shipping costs would more than negate any cost discounts unless you live in the immediate area and can pick up.
I personally hate sears.
I think the problem is that they were everything back in the day, haven't kept up with change, and now they don't know what they are anymore, and just keep slogging away.
I hate going into a brink and morter sears to buy anything. The service people SUCK, they NEVER have stock, and what stock they do have is either the wrong one, or size or whatever.
What they do well is order by catalog. For my grandparents its great. Limited mobility combined with limited understanding of Internet = success. Also easy to deliver to various places. However anyone that has a smidgen of understanding of the internet can locate many better alternatives.
Having said all that, I bought my fridge from them last year when my old one died. Apart from trying to sell me an extended warranty and then calling and bothering me on the phone a year later to try and do it again (both I declined) it was a good experience, so they might be OK for big appliance type purchases.
You are correct, sort of.
25 billion likely was total revenue which doesn't include operating expenses.
From what I briefly googled it was more like 31 billion in 2008 (Feb 5th), and I thought it was about 110 million actual profit.
While 31 million would be about 1/4 of their profits for that year what the point is:
A) 80 million dollars is still a shit ton of money profit anyway, so keep doing it.
and
B) Do you think the 31 million was directed for one particular year. Put another way, do you think they priced fixed LCD's for one fiscal year?
Answer: So more likely a 4 year profit margin of about 500 million, and they get a 31 million dollar fine for price fixing.
If I was CEO I would give all my price fixing accountant overlords huge bonuses.
In short:
1) Fix prices
2) Get fine
3) PROFIT!