...and one of the most memorable events was when I got separated from one of my friends and didn't happen to have a phone on me. I missed lunch and barely found someone from my group in time (I was the last to arrive and didn't know where my group's hotel was either!)
The reason? Nintendo had a bunch of their chicks walking around with GBAs strapped to their hips, and both me and my friend had happened to run into them at the same time.
I realize you're kidding, but for almost half a year I just didn't have Internet at home at all and instead used the library.
I recall reading something by a book publisher stating that the Internet has been good for business partially because public workstations increase library traffic from people who would otherwise stay home and just watch TV.
Battle.net is only "public" in the sense that a nightclub with a cover charge is "public". Walmart.com is more like walking into a walmart but leaving without buying anything.
And no, I wouldn't call sneaking into the nightclub theft...it's in a similar category to piracy in that you aren't actually taking anything away from the club but you are getting a service without compensation or consent. With game servers, on the other hand, you are costing the host money just by being there.
OK, even if you want to play the mince words game, at the very least you have to admit that when you use someone's server, system resources, and bandwidth (none of which are free), you are actively costing the company money. At least with IP "theft" you can say "well I wouldn't have bought it anyway so it's no difference to them either way".
But that's supposing; I still don't agree with you. Transferring something of financial value in a zero-sum fashion from someone else to yourself without said someone's permission IS theft.
Even if you don't believe in copyright, if you are playing a multiplayer game on someone else's network using pirated software, you are accessing their network without consent.
No matter how many arguments anyone may have against intellectual property, bandwidth theft is "real" theft.
Paying $50 for ICO is an absurd rip-off. That's why I just forgot about it until I saw it used for less than $15, bought it, played it off and on until I beat it, then brought it back to the store.
I paid $10 for my copy of Starcraft, and that was before WCIII was out, and this was right out of a retailer.
Bitching about CD prices is one thing because CDs NEVER go down in cost unless they are absolute crap. Games are another story.
Tell me exactly how one affords a place with a garage on a McDonald's salary without outside assistance. Minimum Wage + 20 hours a week = you must have like three roommates at least.
...in the original civ how they had the series of historical figures to compare you to when determining your civ score. That one had some recent politicians on it, with the lowest being Dan Quayle (IIRC).
Sometime in 2001 my first brush with spyware was WhenU. I knew it was WhenU because every popup had a notice at the bottom saying "This is a WhenU offer and is not caused by the webpages you are visiting. For more information click here." The link then took me to a website explaining how to get the thing off my computer. Upon uninstalling I got a notice telling me what program it had been bundled with, and saying that it should have been mentioned in that program's TOS and if not to email them (although there's no guarantee that was anything but a cover).
I then told one of my friends about it, who introduced me to ad-aware. I updated and ran it immediately and found nothing.
I don't know if it still works like that (and I'm not purposely installing spyware just to find out), but back then I wasn't annoyed at all because it was so easy to remove.
If all spyware worked like this, I would have no problem with it. It's the garbage that installs itself in secret and then periodically changes its filename to dodge spyware detectors that pisses me off.
"Also, this website was only created a week ago. The research and writing take time, so please be patient. The essays will be posted (behind schedule of the deadlines I originally set) when they are finished to my liking; I would rather post a satisfactory product late than one which is rushed and incomplete. This is only a side-project of mine, on top of classes, studying, and work."
As has been stated in posts on similar subjects, the problem is not the acquisition of new data (almost none of it is new), but the unprecedented ability to sort and process it.
Government agents could theoretically follow me around everywhere I go without breaking any rules; however, I have not given them a reason to do so, and they can't follow everyone around without spending so much money they'd break the entire economy. The reason why things like this scare people is because it implies that eventually it will be technologically feasible to collect large amounts of data about large amounts of people with little to no manpower. This results in a net decrease in privacy for everyone because things that used to be private only by difficulty lost their only protection.
Lady demonstrating water purifying equipment: "And it has 'inside' connectors here and 'outside' connectors here..."
My Father: "'Inside'? 'Outside'? What are you talking about?"
Lady (cringes): "...male/female?"
Dad: "Oh, ok."
Lady: "Sorry, the last customers were offended by that terminology..."
'Talky', a sentient bread obsessed toaster so cheerfully irritating as to be unbearable, that's where we're heading.
The corporation's 'Genuine People Personalities' make interacting with objects such as doors and teasmades a new and exciting adventure. Or very irritating, depending on your frame of mind.
Doors will always open politely, and it will be their pleasure to serve your entrance and exit needs. Their Happy Vertical People Transporters - or Lifts - are fitted with the most recent precognition software, allowing them to be on the floor you want, before you know you want it!
"I mean, I hate to sound heartless, but the artist drew pictures advocating a completely free and open source OS. It would just therefore stand to reason that his artwork would be free as well."
Cinderella is a completely free and public domain story, but if a television station decides to play the Disney movie without permission and without compensating Disney, they would get sued.
Just because art is about something free doesn't mean it is free.
My library's computers are all supposed to be set up the same, but for some reason I still haven't figured out my email only appears to work on one of them. If I drop by to check my email, I have to wait for "my" computer to be free because the rest of them give me error messages.
Slashdot Mirror
The reason? Nintendo had a bunch of their chicks walking around with GBAs strapped to their hips, and both me and my friend had happened to run into them at the same time.
Man am I sorry I'm not going this year. :(
...then this article would be entitled "Perfect Dugutal Skun"
No, he's better off not knowing. =)
You're embedding electronic devices in soda cans now?!? You just ruined my best source of tin for my hats, Coca-Cola.
Thanks for reminding me
I realize you're kidding, but for almost half a year I just didn't have Internet at home at all and instead used the library. I recall reading something by a book publisher stating that the Internet has been good for business partially because public workstations increase library traffic from people who would otherwise stay home and just watch TV.
And then steal a few cents from a bunch of bank accounts? Sounds like a job for Zero Cool...
B: So you're saying robbing from the clueless and senile is better than actually selling a product?
And no, I wouldn't call sneaking into the nightclub theft...it's in a similar category to piracy in that you aren't actually taking anything away from the club but you are getting a service without compensation or consent. With game servers, on the other hand, you are costing the host money just by being there.
But that's supposing; I still don't agree with you. Transferring something of financial value in a zero-sum fashion from someone else to yourself without said someone's permission IS theft.
No matter how many arguments anyone may have against intellectual property, bandwidth theft is "real" theft.
Paying $50 for ICO is an absurd rip-off. That's why I just forgot about it until I saw it used for less than $15, bought it, played it off and on until I beat it, then brought it back to the store. I paid $10 for my copy of Starcraft, and that was before WCIII was out, and this was right out of a retailer. Bitching about CD prices is one thing because CDs NEVER go down in cost unless they are absolute crap. Games are another story.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/08 05063897/103-2802373-7693457?v=glance
Even if we interpret free speech to mean "say whatever you want", that doesn't mean I have to let you come into my house to say it.
...in the original civ how they had the series of historical figures to compare you to when determining your civ score. That one had some recent politicians on it, with the lowest being Dan Quayle (IIRC).
I then told one of my friends about it, who introduced me to ad-aware. I updated and ran it immediately and found nothing.
I don't know if it still works like that (and I'm not purposely installing spyware just to find out), but back then I wasn't annoyed at all because it was so easy to remove.
If all spyware worked like this, I would have no problem with it. It's the garbage that installs itself in secret and then periodically changes its filename to dodge spyware detectors that pisses me off.
"Also, this website was only created a week ago. The research and writing take time, so please be patient. The essays will be posted (behind schedule of the deadlines I originally set) when they are finished to my liking; I would rather post a satisfactory product late than one which is rushed and incomplete. This is only a side-project of mine, on top of classes, studying, and work."
Government agents could theoretically follow me around everywhere I go without breaking any rules; however, I have not given them a reason to do so, and they can't follow everyone around without spending so much money they'd break the entire economy. The reason why things like this scare people is because it implies that eventually it will be technologically feasible to collect large amounts of data about large amounts of people with little to no manpower. This results in a net decrease in privacy for everyone because things that used to be private only by difficulty lost their only protection.
Lady demonstrating water purifying equipment: "And it has 'inside' connectors here and 'outside' connectors here..."
My Father: "'Inside'? 'Outside'? What are you talking about?"
Lady (cringes): "...male/female?"
Dad: "Oh, ok."
Lady: "Sorry, the last customers were offended by that terminology..."
The corporation's 'Genuine People Personalities' make interacting with objects such as doors and teasmades a new and exciting adventure. Or very irritating, depending on your frame of mind.
Doors will always open politely, and it will be their pleasure to serve your entrance and exit needs. Their Happy Vertical People Transporters - or Lifts - are fitted with the most recent precognition software, allowing them to be on the floor you want, before you know you want it!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/hitchhikers/guide/siri uscybernetics.shtml
Cinderella is a completely free and public domain story, but if a television station decides to play the Disney movie without permission and without compensating Disney, they would get sued.
Just because art is about something free doesn't mean it is free.
Flying Penguins?
Fortran Programming?
Flux...caPacitor?
-Patent the human cloning process -Pass the DMPA -Outlaw birth control -PROFIT!
My library's computers are all supposed to be set up the same, but for some reason I still haven't figured out my email only appears to work on one of them. If I drop by to check my email, I have to wait for "my" computer to be free because the rest of them give me error messages.
Why is that smart? If they can make garbage and still be rich afterwards, isn't that a better business decision than spending more money?