This is why I prefer to play games against AI instead of other players whenever possible. If I wanna cheat, the AI doesn't care, if I wanna fair game, the AI accomodates. Very good system.
I guess I'm now obliged to go kill someone. I hope you can sleep tonight =)
(This is in reference to my bargain at the end of my post that you replied to, I feel the need to explain myself because most Slashdotters--not necessarily including you--seem incapable of following posts in a thread)
Actually my post was a bit of a joke (patents are given for almost anything, so I was implying that patents must be awarded in all cases), but thanks for the in-depth analysis =)
These patents were classic "submarine" patents orginally applied for in 1954, but tied up in the patent office and changed over the next four decades to cover changes taking place in the machine vision field
I didn't really know where the name came from until recently, so I'll comment on it (maybe it's ITFA, but I didn't RTFA). Apparently they're claled "submarine" patents because they only surface when necessary. Like when 3dfx sued nVidia and then nVidia countersued for trivial patents so that they could end up with a cross-licensing agreement.
If this is wrong, I've been misinformed, will apologize, and then hunt down whatever sick mind thought it could safely spread lies on the Internet (of all places!).
They have a convertible laptop/tablet PC for $999. If you can find another for that price or less, I'd be very interested.
This next part isn't directed at you so much as others: how is buying a Windows PC from Dell because it's cheaper better than buying products from WalMart because they're cheaper? I don't support WalMart and I don't support Microsoft (I have a hatred for WalMart, Microsoft I'm just not interested in anymore).
From my other post: "If you can explain to me how actually committing the acts in a virtual world is the same as watching someone commit the act in a virtual world, then maybe I'd listen to you."
And no, you're not the guy that I replied to, you're just a whiny coward. He was... oh wait. Hey.
They're not exactly Dell (referring to the size, not the quality), but Element Computer has a strict no-Microsoft policy to avoid paying expensive licensing fees to Microsoft. All the computers they sell run Lycoris Desktop/LX (a Linux distribution). They've got some pretty nice computers for the price... now if only I wasn't so cheap...
I'm sure people made the argument, but that doesn't mean that it had any traction. Books and movies are approximately the same in my mind since you're viewing the acts. If you can explain to me how actually committing the acts in a virtual world is the same as watching someone commit the act in a virtual world, then maybe I'd listen to you.
If Linux was as easily accessible as Windows, I'm sure it would be plagued with many of the stupidity flaws that Windows has.
I almost agree with this. But the reason Linux (or Windows for that matter) would appear plagued with "stupidity flaws" in a case like this is that the users are just too dumb.
Perhaps instead of "trusted" or "secure" computing, Microsoft and others should be focusing on the problem directly with "idiot-proof software."
I'd say only self-defense is a good reason to kill another, but that's nor terribly important at the moment (so don't reply about it =)
In GTA3, however, the killings are not socially acceptable killings (not even the ones you listed), so I can't really agree with your conclusion on the issue.
Graphic violence isn't the main problem from my perspective.
In games, YOU kill people. It is your responsibility. You can't just sit back and watch morons kill people as in a movie, you have to accomplish the task yourself in a good number of games.
Because the player is active in committing whatever atrocities in games (whereas in movies, the viewer only sees others do it) I think the standards for games and movies should be different.
An example would be watching Saving Private Ryan versus developing tactics and strategies within a realistic environment to kill "enemies" (by "enemies" I mean other human beings). The second situation is playing a game and requires much more input from the player than kicking back and laughing at a sniper getting shot in the eye.
I don't think your example of Unreal Tournament really addresses the issue, here. UT is not a terribly realistic game. The killings in UT seem more like a sport of sorts.
But what about games that are incredibly realistic? In GTA3 many people have pointed out killing random people does not allow one to progress through the game very rapidly. But people still do it and have fun in the process. I'm not saying GTA3 is realistic, but if it was realistic, what would your argument be?
Interesting side issue: what about a game where you kill other players online and it has real consequences for them? Like you could kill each other's characters on The Sims or something. I don't think such a game exists, but it would not be unreasonable to think such a game could exist in the future.
Except movies do not require an active role by their viewers to carry out such "dark stuff." In a game, you have to kill/rape people (etc.), yourself. No one else will do it for you. This is completely different from watching an NPC in a game commit such an act.
But thanks for assuming all media are created equal and trying to belittle the parent poster. Way to keep the Jihad alive.
SO much better than Apocalypse Now. "Platoon" was amazing (especially considering it came out only a year or two after Predator). The scene where the main character wakes up and sees the Vietcong slowly moving around in the dark was so incredibly well done that I'm going to go watch the movie again right now... after class.
I believe BlackBox and FluxBox are both written on top of Xlib. I've hacked around with the source code a bit and Xlib looks pretty unwieldy. Good thing there's Gtk for all my application needs =)
It's a message queue for programs to take advantage of. Just a simple way to communicate between desktop applications. I think they're planning on using it in the Dashboard project.
Slashdot Mirror
Very refreshing concept. Why can't other Slashdotters do the same?
This is why I prefer to play games against AI instead of other players whenever possible. If I wanna cheat, the AI doesn't care, if I wanna fair game, the AI accomodates. Very good system.
I guess I'm now obliged to go kill someone. I hope you can sleep tonight =)
(This is in reference to my bargain at the end of my post that you replied to, I feel the need to explain myself because most Slashdotters--not necessarily including you--seem incapable of following posts in a thread)
Actually my post was a bit of a joke (patents are given for almost anything, so I was implying that patents must be awarded in all cases), but thanks for the in-depth analysis =)
That's a pretty clever joke. But how am I supposed to justify laughing at it? =)
I didn't really know where the name came from until recently, so I'll comment on it (maybe it's ITFA, but I didn't RTFA). Apparently they're claled "submarine" patents because they only surface when necessary. Like when 3dfx sued nVidia and then nVidia countersued for trivial patents so that they could end up with a cross-licensing agreement.
If this is wrong, I've been misinformed, will apologize, and then hunt down whatever sick mind thought it could safely spread lies on the Internet (of all places!).
Can they do that?
They have a convertible laptop/tablet PC for $999. If you can find another for that price or less, I'd be very interested.
This next part isn't directed at you so much as others: how is buying a Windows PC from Dell because it's cheaper better than buying products from WalMart because they're cheaper? I don't support WalMart and I don't support Microsoft (I have a hatred for WalMart, Microsoft I'm just not interested in anymore).
From my other post: "If you can explain to me how actually committing the acts in a virtual world is the same as watching someone commit the act in a virtual world, then maybe I'd listen to you."
And no, you're not the guy that I replied to, you're just a whiny coward. He was... oh wait. Hey.
It runs DOS games (Syndicate, Raptor, etc.) faster than any emulator under Linux, for one... I guess that's about it, though =)
And yes, I've tried DOSBox. It's quite slow for protected-mode games. I'm sure it will get better. This post isn't terribly serious.
They're not exactly Dell (referring to the size, not the quality), but Element Computer has a strict no-Microsoft policy to avoid paying expensive licensing fees to Microsoft. All the computers they sell run Lycoris Desktop/LX (a Linux distribution). They've got some pretty nice computers for the price... now if only I wasn't so cheap...
I'm sure people made the argument, but that doesn't mean that it had any traction. Books and movies are approximately the same in my mind since you're viewing the acts. If you can explain to me how actually committing the acts in a virtual world is the same as watching someone commit the act in a virtual world, then maybe I'd listen to you.
I almost agree with this. But the reason Linux (or Windows for that matter) would appear plagued with "stupidity flaws" in a case like this is that the users are just too dumb.
Perhaps instead of "trusted" or "secure" computing, Microsoft and others should be focusing on the problem directly with "idiot-proof software."
Not "terrorism," more like "karma" (and not the delicious Slashdot variety).
Yes, I'm sure no one has known somebody that died. Makes perfect sense. Glad we're immortal.
I'd say only self-defense is a good reason to kill another, but that's nor terribly important at the moment (so don't reply about it =) In GTA3, however, the killings are not socially acceptable killings (not even the ones you listed), so I can't really agree with your conclusion on the issue.
Graphic violence isn't the main problem from my perspective.
In games, YOU kill people. It is your responsibility. You can't just sit back and watch morons kill people as in a movie, you have to accomplish the task yourself in a good number of games.
Because the player is active in committing whatever atrocities in games (whereas in movies, the viewer only sees others do it) I think the standards for games and movies should be different.
An example would be watching Saving Private Ryan versus developing tactics and strategies within a realistic environment to kill "enemies" (by "enemies" I mean other human beings). The second situation is playing a game and requires much more input from the player than kicking back and laughing at a sniper getting shot in the eye.
I don't think your example of Unreal Tournament really addresses the issue, here. UT is not a terribly realistic game. The killings in UT seem more like a sport of sorts.
But what about games that are incredibly realistic? In GTA3 many people have pointed out killing random people does not allow one to progress through the game very rapidly. But people still do it and have fun in the process. I'm not saying GTA3 is realistic, but if it was realistic, what would your argument be?
Interesting side issue: what about a game where you kill other players online and it has real consequences for them? Like you could kill each other's characters on The Sims or something. I don't think such a game exists, but it would not be unreasonable to think such a game could exist in the future.
Except movies do not require an active role by their viewers to carry out such "dark stuff." In a game, you have to kill/rape people (etc.), yourself. No one else will do it for you. This is completely different from watching an NPC in a game commit such an act.
But thanks for assuming all media are created equal and trying to belittle the parent poster. Way to keep the Jihad alive.
The funny part is that this particular joke was only used in New Zealand
I'm having trouble grappling with grokking the grep/grope groblem. Sorry, I'll go back to naming GNOME projects now...
SO much better than Apocalypse Now. "Platoon" was amazing (especially considering it came out only a year or two after Predator). The scene where the main character wakes up and sees the Vietcong slowly moving around in the dark was so incredibly well done that I'm going to go watch the movie again right now... after class.
Please tell me Old Age was wielding a baseball bat and aiming for Jar Jar's crotch...
I believe BlackBox and FluxBox are both written on top of Xlib. I've hacked around with the source code a bit and Xlib looks pretty unwieldy. Good thing there's Gtk for all my application needs =)
It's a message queue for programs to take advantage of. Just a simple way to communicate between desktop applications. I think they're planning on using it in the Dashboard project.