I honestly don't think that the political problems surrounding content in videogames has anything to do with the average (or assumed average) age of gamers; the real problem is that (inspite of what we gamers think) videogame playing is really not a mainstream activity.
I believe the average age of the gamers disprove the notion that gaming is not a mainstream activity. Ignore the notion of gaming as arcades and consoles. Think how many people have computers. Now, how many of those people do you think are at Yahoo! Games or the like, playing some flash based game. Or maybe they are playing a Java Game. These are not on the same level, but it is still "gaming". Honestly, simple things like this are almost "gateway" games to more intense gaming. (Though probably not GTA intense.)
Now, consider that the last generation of gamers (which I guess I am part of) is approaching 30. We are now working individuals with money to spend. Now, instead of dropping quarters into machines, we purchase $300+ consoles and $50+ games. The fact is, it is really becoming a mainstream media format, especially with the increase in casual gamers. The true problem is the age of politicians. It is disgusting to think how old some of them are. It is also bad when you realize this generational gap is a big reason why they are so ignorant of technology. (See previous slashdot article from today I believe.)
They are no worse then the Night Elves. Personally, I do not find it that big of a deal. I personally liked the fact that the Horde were "uglier" or more "brutish." I always thought it meant we had more players who cared less about character aesthetics and more about substance. Of course, I do not play anymore, so the attitude might have changed greatly. Personally, I liked playing what amounted to a bull walking upright...
Here is what I want from my country, does anyone have a good choice:
1. No censorship. Preferable a country without "hate speech" laws, because those things are laughable.
2. Low Taxes. I am a Libertarian, and hate my money being spent on social services.
3. Citizenship. If I am leaving here, I want to have the right to be a citizen elsewhere. I have one and a half languages (not enough Spanish to call it complete). So, it would be preferred that I can get buy with English (to some degree). (Note: I would probably learn the language, but I would need time.)
4. Job Availability. I obviously need work anywhere I go. So, the country should have a well established industry for Electrical/Computer Engineers.
5. Sanity in Copyright. I want fair use, and I want to avoid the MPAA/RIAA equivalents harassing me at every turn. I should be allowed to backup DVDs and CDs. I should be able to transcode them to digital formats for use with my PC or MP3 player.
6. More rights than the police. You know: not having to produce IDs at random, protection from illegal search and monitoring...you know, the rights currently being eroded in the US.
Those would be the bigger ones. I am big on individual freedoms. So, does anyone have any countries that combine all or most of the above requirements?
Actually, I do know what a split is...believe it or not, I am not totally clueless about the market. My father spent a lot of time doing his own investing and was an accountant, so I actually have pretty good understanding of how the market works. Next, your split occurs in 2001, and the dive that it is responsible is a minor cut that is to be expected, like the 2005 split. The problem is the stock going from $20 a share in late 2000, to almost $6 in early 2001. The stock stayed down in this range until almost 2003, when the current up turn started. Look at the chart now. In linear and zoomed a bit, you can see that there is approximately 6 months between the split and the GROSS dive, which actually appears to approximately coincide with when a quarterly report would've come out. Now, look at this. Near the bottom, you see the daily price from 9/28 to 9/29 is almost $14 a share different for the Adjusted Close (your far right column). Two pages prior, in June is where your split occurs. So, to say AAPL was not in a downturn in 2000 and leading into 2001 is a joke.
The company said Wednesday that it shipped 8.7 million iPods during its fourth fiscal quarter, which ended Sept. 30. In fact, Apple's $1.6 billion from iPod sales in the quarter was more than it generated as an entire company back in October 2001.
Also, look at the stock. It was near dead in 2001. Now, look when the great climb began in 2003. What happened in 2003 you ask (two years after the iPod intro)? It is the year that Apple officially released a "Windows" version of the iPod. This isn't sensationlist crap, it is the truth in the eyes of a great many financial analysts. Also, the fact Apple has less than 10% of the PC or OS market and an estimate of upwards of 70% of the MP3 player market.
That games name was Half-Life 2...that game got delayed and delayed and delayed some more...it eventually became a mystery as to when it would be available. They (Valve) wanted it to be "perfect". You know, maybe this is the reason we are still waiting for Duke Nukem Forever, perfection...
then any other addiction. I know plenty of people who successfully play WoW in moderation without trouble. I also know several other people, like myself, who quit playing the game altogether. Any addiction can ruin someone's life, whether that addiction be alcohol, sex, illicit drugs, video games, or any other addiction. I really do not think this should surprise people; video game addiction has been a problem since long before WoW came along. I just think that the number of addicts is becoming larger as more people begin to play games.
No, best phrase ever: antisuckback device. (With antisuckback appearing as one word.) It was a machine translation of a Japanese technical document. Thankfully, electrical symbols being the same, I deciphered the antisuckback device to be a diode.
First, the multimode fiber refraction is nothing like the electromagnetic interference that disrupts the electromagnetic systems. I would actually liken it more to cable resistance with an electrical system. In the case of refraction, it actually increases the distance the light travels. (Granted it is very small amounts.) These increases cause the signal to take longer to travel and gradually cause some signal degradation. With resistance, you receive various similar problems. Different materials have different resistivities (similar to different refraction indices for fiber materials), and the cross sectional area of the cable and length of the cable affect the resistance of the cable. You can read more on Resistivity and Resistance.
Now, the interference of which I spoke, is of the electromagnetic type. The EM signals that can be emitted from other cables running near each other, or other devices that produce EM. Yes, light is a form of EM, but light is not a susceptible (not even close) to it like signals carried over a line or cable. As you might know (assuming you weren't trying to give me the internet techie trip), Crosstalk is a form of interference. In order to cancel out this annoyance, we came up with the idea of twisted pairs. The reason that different network cables get different speeds is in part the number of twisted pairs per foot (though cable gauges and materials also have an affect).
Now, I will admit I did not like any of my e-mag courses in college, but, heck, they do not hand out BS in EE without knowing something. Sorry for all the wikipedia links, but it the quickest resource. I cannot exactly reference my brain. So, do you actually have a degree, or are you just one of the/. crowd who think they do? (BTW, this last link, a bit more relevant to the discussion overall.)
One thing I will add to the parent post that should be considered is noise and interference. Electrical signals are more susceptible to noise and interference. This is probably the biggest advantage fiber has over electrical transmission. I actually believe many of the other "advatanges" of fiber are in some way linked to this advantage.
I bolded the word that has caused Adobe to sue Microsoft. My question is simple, doesn't Google face the same kind of lawsuit?
Adobe is suing because Microsoft is trying to create a new format that is embedded as part of the system. This was discussed many times in the previous discussion of the lawsuit. Both this app and OpenOffice have PDF exporting support. As you pointed out, there are PDF creators that are freely available.
Remember, Adobe opened the PDF standard so people could do this. (At least, I do believe that has how it went.) Like I said, it is not PDF creation that has Adobe pissed at Microsoft, it is their new, PDF-esque format.
RIM tried using a similar defense, I believe, in their patent suit with NTP. They tried claiming a lack of jurisdiction. How successful would a company like Microsoft be in saying they are a US company, so we do not answer to another court? This notion is just out right stupid. The real problem that has been created is more with the Internet then with international commerce. It is sort of hard to draw national boundaries around it. So using your logic, if a spammer in Russia was breaking US laws, would he fall into US jurisidiction? Well this would be fuzzy. You could argue he transmitted message through networks on US soil, and assert jurisdiction that way. This is why they created treaties, in the hope of resolving problems like this.
In a truly great moment in my gaming history, I went into my local Software Etc. (which is now and EB), to bring back my World Series Baseball (I think it was 2K1). Anyone who had a Dreamcast will remember what a tragic failure this game turned out to be. Much to my surprise, and possibly because I was a regular or had pre-ordered my DC almost 6 months before launch (yet I still cannot get a Wii pre-order, but that is another story), but I was unable to return it for a full store credit. I was expecting to have to "re-sell" it to them and lose a huge chunk of change, but the game was just that bad, I would've been happy.
Our store was very good about stuff like that during my high school years. Unlike just about every place else, where they seem to just try to sell you the most expensive thing in the store, they were quite capable of telling you what you wanted to know. I actually once interviewed for a job there, just before the DC launch. It was at this time that I learned they allowed employees to basically rent out any games they had in stock. This is a great policy in my opinion, because you make sure your employees are on top of the current games. I wish more places hired and taught their people about the things they sell. (We know that Best Buy is horrible with this. I hear more BS out of some of those employees mouths then anywhere else.)
You mean ccommon place enough to already be in Wal-Mart? I mean this place is usually far behind technology, and they are the largest retailer in the US. Actually, many HDTV products are available there with 17" LCDs on their website going for around $299. Granted this is almost $100-$150 over comparable sized televisions that are standard definition, but the point is it might not be as far off as some people think.
I think the true test is going to be getting TV stations to broadcast in HD and to get less 4:3 content. This is a problem since most HDTVs are widescreen aspects, so the black bars are on the sides now, and that small widescreen TV looks even smaller with 4:3 content showing. I do think Nintendo was smart though. While Microsoft and Sony expect these things to last in the long haul, Nintendo can sit back and sell consoles without HD and make money. They can also avoid the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray war and release their next console 4 or 5 years down the road (if not less) once a potential winner has been anounced. I think they are smart to avoid direct competition so as to avoid the fate of Sega.
You aren't kidding. Little story: I was working in mail order at the time, and a gentleman called up in reference to a product the company sold. One of the requirements for the item being sold was that you needed a web browser. The device in question was a GPS system for a laptop, though I am not 100% sure why it needed a browser. Well, this gentleman obviously had a hard time understanding what a web browser was. I even said, "If you are surfing the internet, you have a web browser." The old fool still didn't understand. I mean, it is really sad how these concepts that truly are rather simple just seem to miss many PC users. Hence, why IE becomes the internet. Though, I have managed to switch my siblings off of AIM to gaim. No longer does instant messaging just mean that ad ridden AOL product.
Let me raise a very viable scenario that may not have been presented. This is that the system reports a false positive for pirated hardware. Now, the person quoted in the submission works for the Duke Cancer Center; this might mean they get the same licensing deal that the university presumably gets. Now, let me use an example I am familiar with.
At Ohio State, one of the most populous universities in the country, they have a deal with Microsoft that gives students access to Microsoft software on the cheap. At the same time, this deal applies to departments and other machines for the university. Since this deal is based on mass distribution, and in many cases does not include permanent media, if any media at all (basically, students take the disks, install the software, return the disks), everyone uses the same key. This is the case for XP and Server 2003. It is also the case for 2000, in fact the key is "embedded" on the Win 2k disk, so no input is required from the user.
Now, let us assume that OSU has about 50,000 students (not too far off actually). And each student has this version of Vista installed. Now, let us assume each department is using Windows (actually very few at OSU are not), that is even more copies of the software being used. I would venture that it might not be too far fetched to assume that OSU could have 100,000 or more copies of the same OS installed on various student, faculty and departmental machines. Now, the server installations are quite a bit fewer; however, I do know the department I worked for already have several (as in 8-10) servers running various Windows versions. If all these were upgraded to the server equivalent to Vista, then that would mean 10 servers with the same key, and possibly hundreds (if not thousands) across the campus.
Okay, so let us assume none of this duplication creates a false positive. Instead, let us take the example where someone has offered these versions of Windows to the internet as pirated copies. We now hit a new dilemma. There is the potential for massive piracy in this. You cannot simply cut off every version with this key, since you would be cutting off thousands of legitimate copies. You also cannot do some sort of limitation based solely on IP, since students do not live strictly in dorms and since this would enter a new realm of privacy invasion. You see, there is a huge problem with this sort of re-activation issue. You risk hurting many people. Also, for gaming enthusiast who changes components frequently, this could also lead to issues. And what if your MoBo died? Will it be a problem replacing it with another copy of the same board? You should not have to activate this product everytime your system changes. Defeating piracy is one thing, but causing a lot of headache and issues for paying customers is not. In the end, they will only hurt the paying customers, since the hackers will defeat whatever stupid system they come up with anyway.
I wanted to be an EE and want very much to be good at math but if my ability does not increase I will not be able to. I am willing to do anything to increase my skill. I hate rote and do not want to be merely 'good' at math, I want to speak it. If math is a mindset then it's one I want to be part of.
You will never make an EE with bad pre-cal skills. You have yet to hit Calculus and are struggling already. Most every EE I know, and that was my degree so I know quite the few, were taking Calculus in high school. It will only get worse until Differential Equations, and if someone told you EE was not a lot of math, they lied to you.
Have you considered the option that maybe EE is not for you? I whole-heartedly suggest that you go and find a counselor or advisor and get their opinions, but I am pretty sure any one from your College of Engineering, will tell you that it probably is not a good idea to pursue EE (or any other engineering) if you are struggling with Pre-Calculus. I know I have completely skirted your question, but this is something you should really consider. If you are not good with Math, engineering is not for you and trying to learn math now is a bit late in the game.
is truly inflammatory. It is horribly taken out of context, which makes you wonder if the submitter works for mainstream media because they love taking things out of context. The quote goes:
We're trying to find out exactly where the monetization is coming from. We're not interested in jumping down a rat hole until such time as it finally figures itself out.
He is saying, "We do not want to rush into this and have the method we chose to enter the online realm explode on us." Online movie distribution is in its infancy. We have already seen the Wal-Mart/iTunes debacle. He is simply making a methaphorical statement to describe that they are being cautious, but he does not openly say, "Online distribution is a stupid."
So, this one again proves that you must always RTFA.
No...all those foreign papers have them...you know the personals for terrorists...
SMET seeking like minded individuals for cave expeditions, vigorous exercise, and praying to Allah. Enjoys long nights plotting together and holding hostages.
For those who missed it, Single Middle Eastern Terrorist (SMET).
that people are no longer buying Sony's bullshit excuses. Consumers have been lied to time and time again, and I think they have finally caught on to what Sony was doing. I mean, first Dell recalls your batteries, then Apple and before you know it, you are the only one proclaiming nothing is wrong. As I recall, this a similar pattern of behavior from Sony was used during the drm rootkit fiasco too.
It is rather simple. RMS has decided too turn the GPL and the FSF into a political machine to shape the way he views software should be used and distributed. He is very much against DRM and Software Patents, which is fairly well documented by his actions. I do not like what the MPAA and RIAA are attempting to do with DRM nor do I like software patents; however, adding specific clauses to the GPL to make these things essentially violate the GPL is insane.
Let me attempt to liken this to other organizations that had good intentions at one time or another. Take Greenpeace for example. Here is a group whose original ideology was somewhat new at the time and who developed a large following. The problem is, the group decided to become more political and began to lose focus of what they were doing. Some of the key members and founders even left because of this. It became a means for certain people to advance their own perceived political aspirations. Their tactics became less of prevention and started down this path of awareness, a path that is usually more fiction than fact. (Every group enjoys using sensationalism. Half of what PETA tells you is wrong with meat isn't true, and neither is half of what GP says is wrong when it comes to certain environmental issues.)
Now, we have RMS doing much of the same thing with the GPL and open source. He is convinced these items are evil and will use a variety of methods in an attempt to prove this. Some of the methods have even begun to reach that point where they are literally "over the top." You can mark me a troll if you want, but I seriously think this is a true point that people need to consider. While countering software patents and DRM are good things, I do not believe a software license that would be used by tons of open source products is the place to fight this battle.
May I also suggest you read the results of the survery performed on Hackers to determine Open Source development that is paid for. (Hint: The link is in the Student FAQ of the Summer of Code link I sent you.) One of the two versions suggest about 26% surveyed do open source development as part of their job and the other more directly states that 30% say they have been paid for doing Open Source Development. The software might be free, but the workers do not necessarily come that way. (Also, a lot of your unpaid contributors are not the ones making significant contributions. Remember, the big companies that are paying people are probably making some of the larger contribs to large scale projects. Why? Because not doing so could actually affect their bottom dollar.)
Slashdot Mirror
I honestly don't think that the political problems surrounding content in videogames has anything to do with the average (or assumed average) age of gamers; the real problem is that (inspite of what we gamers think) videogame playing is really not a mainstream activity.
I believe the average age of the gamers disprove the notion that gaming is not a mainstream activity. Ignore the notion of gaming as arcades and consoles. Think how many people have computers. Now, how many of those people do you think are at Yahoo! Games or the like, playing some flash based game. Or maybe they are playing a Java Game. These are not on the same level, but it is still "gaming". Honestly, simple things like this are almost "gateway" games to more intense gaming. (Though probably not GTA intense.)
Now, consider that the last generation of gamers (which I guess I am part of) is approaching 30. We are now working individuals with money to spend. Now, instead of dropping quarters into machines, we purchase $300+ consoles and $50+ games. The fact is, it is really becoming a mainstream media format, especially with the increase in casual gamers. The true problem is the age of politicians. It is disgusting to think how old some of them are. It is also bad when you realize this generational gap is a big reason why they are so ignorant of technology. (See previous slashdot article from today I believe.)
They are no worse then the Night Elves. Personally, I do not find it that big of a deal. I personally liked the fact that the Horde were "uglier" or more "brutish." I always thought it meant we had more players who cared less about character aesthetics and more about substance. Of course, I do not play anymore, so the attitude might have changed greatly. Personally, I liked playing what amounted to a bull walking upright...
pirates kill small kittens for fun
Puts down his hammer, you mean I am not supposed to kill small kittens...
Here is what I want from my country, does anyone have a good choice:
1. No censorship. Preferable a country without "hate speech" laws, because those things are laughable.
2. Low Taxes. I am a Libertarian, and hate my money being spent on social services.
3. Citizenship. If I am leaving here, I want to have the right to be a citizen elsewhere. I have one and a half languages (not enough Spanish to call it complete). So, it would be preferred that I can get buy with English (to some degree). (Note: I would probably learn the language, but I would need time.)
4. Job Availability. I obviously need work anywhere I go. So, the country should have a well established industry for Electrical/Computer Engineers.
5. Sanity in Copyright. I want fair use, and I want to avoid the MPAA/RIAA equivalents harassing me at every turn. I should be allowed to backup DVDs and CDs. I should be able to transcode them to digital formats for use with my PC or MP3 player.
6. More rights than the police. You know: not having to produce IDs at random, protection from illegal search and monitoring...you know, the rights currently being eroded in the US.
Those would be the bigger ones. I am big on individual freedoms. So, does anyone have any countries that combine all or most of the above requirements?
Actually, I do know what a split is...believe it or not, I am not totally clueless about the market. My father spent a lot of time doing his own investing and was an accountant, so I actually have pretty good understanding of how the market works. Next, your split occurs in 2001, and the dive that it is responsible is a minor cut that is to be expected, like the 2005 split. The problem is the stock going from $20 a share in late 2000, to almost $6 in early 2001. The stock stayed down in this range until almost 2003, when the current up turn started. Look at the chart now. In linear and zoomed a bit, you can see that there is approximately 6 months between the split and the GROSS dive, which actually appears to approximately coincide with when a quarterly report would've come out. Now, look at this. Near the bottom, you see the daily price from 9/28 to 9/29 is almost $14 a share different for the Adjusted Close (your far right column). Two pages prior, in June is where your split occurs. So, to say AAPL was not in a downturn in 2000 and leading into 2001 is a joke.
That games name was Half-Life 2...that game got delayed and delayed and delayed some more...it eventually became a mystery as to when it would be available. They (Valve) wanted it to be "perfect". You know, maybe this is the reason we are still waiting for Duke Nukem Forever, perfection...
then any other addiction. I know plenty of people who successfully play WoW in moderation without trouble. I also know several other people, like myself, who quit playing the game altogether. Any addiction can ruin someone's life, whether that addiction be alcohol, sex, illicit drugs, video games, or any other addiction. I really do not think this should surprise people; video game addiction has been a problem since long before WoW came along. I just think that the number of addicts is becoming larger as more people begin to play games.
No, best phrase ever: antisuckback device. (With antisuckback appearing as one word.) It was a machine translation of a Japanese technical document. Thankfully, electrical symbols being the same, I deciphered the antisuckback device to be a diode.
Which would end quickly, when the retailers get thousands of returns for DVDs that did not work...
First, the multimode fiber refraction is nothing like the electromagnetic interference that disrupts the electromagnetic systems. I would actually liken it more to cable resistance with an electrical system. In the case of refraction, it actually increases the distance the light travels. (Granted it is very small amounts.) These increases cause the signal to take longer to travel and gradually cause some signal degradation. With resistance, you receive various similar problems. Different materials have different resistivities (similar to different refraction indices for fiber materials), and the cross sectional area of the cable and length of the cable affect the resistance of the cable. You can read more on Resistivity and Resistance.
/. crowd who think they do? (BTW, this last link, a bit more relevant to the discussion overall.)
Now, the interference of which I spoke, is of the electromagnetic type. The EM signals that can be emitted from other cables running near each other, or other devices that produce EM. Yes, light is a form of EM, but light is not a susceptible (not even close) to it like signals carried over a line or cable. As you might know (assuming you weren't trying to give me the internet techie trip), Crosstalk is a form of interference. In order to cancel out this annoyance, we came up with the idea of twisted pairs. The reason that different network cables get different speeds is in part the number of twisted pairs per foot (though cable gauges and materials also have an affect).
Now, I will admit I did not like any of my e-mag courses in college, but, heck, they do not hand out BS in EE without knowing something. Sorry for all the wikipedia links, but it the quickest resource. I cannot exactly reference my brain. So, do you actually have a degree, or are you just one of the
One thing I will add to the parent post that should be considered is noise and interference. Electrical signals are more susceptible to noise and interference. This is probably the biggest advantage fiber has over electrical transmission. I actually believe many of the other "advatanges" of fiber are in some way linked to this advantage.
I bolded the word that has caused Adobe to sue Microsoft. My question is simple, doesn't Google face the same kind of lawsuit?
Adobe is suing because Microsoft is trying to create a new format that is embedded as part of the system. This was discussed many times in the previous discussion of the lawsuit. Both this app and OpenOffice have PDF exporting support. As you pointed out, there are PDF creators that are freely available.
Remember, Adobe opened the PDF standard so people could do this. (At least, I do believe that has how it went.) Like I said, it is not PDF creation that has Adobe pissed at Microsoft, it is their new, PDF-esque format.
Bah, why have three items. Pepperoni pizza...meat, dairy, vegetable and bread....all in one.
RIM tried using a similar defense, I believe, in their patent suit with NTP. They tried claiming a lack of jurisdiction. How successful would a company like Microsoft be in saying they are a US company, so we do not answer to another court? This notion is just out right stupid. The real problem that has been created is more with the Internet then with international commerce. It is sort of hard to draw national boundaries around it. So using your logic, if a spammer in Russia was breaking US laws, would he fall into US jurisidiction? Well this would be fuzzy. You could argue he transmitted message through networks on US soil, and assert jurisdiction that way. This is why they created treaties, in the hope of resolving problems like this.
In a truly great moment in my gaming history, I went into my local Software Etc. (which is now and EB), to bring back my World Series Baseball (I think it was 2K1). Anyone who had a Dreamcast will remember what a tragic failure this game turned out to be. Much to my surprise, and possibly because I was a regular or had pre-ordered my DC almost 6 months before launch (yet I still cannot get a Wii pre-order, but that is another story), but I was unable to return it for a full store credit. I was expecting to have to "re-sell" it to them and lose a huge chunk of change, but the game was just that bad, I would've been happy.
Our store was very good about stuff like that during my high school years. Unlike just about every place else, where they seem to just try to sell you the most expensive thing in the store, they were quite capable of telling you what you wanted to know. I actually once interviewed for a job there, just before the DC launch. It was at this time that I learned they allowed employees to basically rent out any games they had in stock. This is a great policy in my opinion, because you make sure your employees are on top of the current games. I wish more places hired and taught their people about the things they sell. (We know that Best Buy is horrible with this. I hear more BS out of some of those employees mouths then anywhere else.)
You mean ccommon place enough to already be in Wal-Mart? I mean this place is usually far behind technology, and they are the largest retailer in the US. Actually, many HDTV products are available there with 17" LCDs on their website going for around $299. Granted this is almost $100-$150 over comparable sized televisions that are standard definition, but the point is it might not be as far off as some people think.
I think the true test is going to be getting TV stations to broadcast in HD and to get less 4:3 content. This is a problem since most HDTVs are widescreen aspects, so the black bars are on the sides now, and that small widescreen TV looks even smaller with 4:3 content showing. I do think Nintendo was smart though. While Microsoft and Sony expect these things to last in the long haul, Nintendo can sit back and sell consoles without HD and make money. They can also avoid the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray war and release their next console 4 or 5 years down the road (if not less) once a potential winner has been anounced. I think they are smart to avoid direct competition so as to avoid the fate of Sega.
You aren't kidding. Little story: I was working in mail order at the time, and a gentleman called up in reference to a product the company sold. One of the requirements for the item being sold was that you needed a web browser. The device in question was a GPS system for a laptop, though I am not 100% sure why it needed a browser. Well, this gentleman obviously had a hard time understanding what a web browser was. I even said, "If you are surfing the internet, you have a web browser." The old fool still didn't understand. I mean, it is really sad how these concepts that truly are rather simple just seem to miss many PC users. Hence, why IE becomes the internet. Though, I have managed to switch my siblings off of AIM to gaim. No longer does instant messaging just mean that ad ridden AOL product.
Let me raise a very viable scenario that may not have been presented. This is that the system reports a false positive for pirated hardware. Now, the person quoted in the submission works for the Duke Cancer Center; this might mean they get the same licensing deal that the university presumably gets. Now, let me use an example I am familiar with.
At Ohio State, one of the most populous universities in the country, they have a deal with Microsoft that gives students access to Microsoft software on the cheap. At the same time, this deal applies to departments and other machines for the university. Since this deal is based on mass distribution, and in many cases does not include permanent media, if any media at all (basically, students take the disks, install the software, return the disks), everyone uses the same key. This is the case for XP and Server 2003. It is also the case for 2000, in fact the key is "embedded" on the Win 2k disk, so no input is required from the user.
Now, let us assume that OSU has about 50,000 students (not too far off actually). And each student has this version of Vista installed. Now, let us assume each department is using Windows (actually very few at OSU are not), that is even more copies of the software being used. I would venture that it might not be too far fetched to assume that OSU could have 100,000 or more copies of the same OS installed on various student, faculty and departmental machines. Now, the server installations are quite a bit fewer; however, I do know the department I worked for already have several (as in 8-10) servers running various Windows versions. If all these were upgraded to the server equivalent to Vista, then that would mean 10 servers with the same key, and possibly hundreds (if not thousands) across the campus.
Okay, so let us assume none of this duplication creates a false positive. Instead, let us take the example where someone has offered these versions of Windows to the internet as pirated copies. We now hit a new dilemma. There is the potential for massive piracy in this. You cannot simply cut off every version with this key, since you would be cutting off thousands of legitimate copies. You also cannot do some sort of limitation based solely on IP, since students do not live strictly in dorms and since this would enter a new realm of privacy invasion. You see, there is a huge problem with this sort of re-activation issue. You risk hurting many people. Also, for gaming enthusiast who changes components frequently, this could also lead to issues. And what if your MoBo died? Will it be a problem replacing it with another copy of the same board? You should not have to activate this product everytime your system changes. Defeating piracy is one thing, but causing a lot of headache and issues for paying customers is not. In the end, they will only hurt the paying customers, since the hackers will defeat whatever stupid system they come up with anyway.
You will never make an EE with bad pre-cal skills. You have yet to hit Calculus and are struggling already. Most every EE I know, and that was my degree so I know quite the few, were taking Calculus in high school. It will only get worse until Differential Equations, and if someone told you EE was not a lot of math, they lied to you.
Have you considered the option that maybe EE is not for you? I whole-heartedly suggest that you go and find a counselor or advisor and get their opinions, but I am pretty sure any one from your College of Engineering, will tell you that it probably is not a good idea to pursue EE (or any other engineering) if you are struggling with Pre-Calculus. I know I have completely skirted your question, but this is something you should really consider. If you are not good with Math, engineering is not for you and trying to learn math now is a bit late in the game.
is truly inflammatory. It is horribly taken out of context, which makes you wonder if the submitter works for mainstream media because they love taking things out of context. The quote goes: We're trying to find out exactly where the monetization is coming from. We're not interested in jumping down a rat hole until such time as it finally figures itself out.
He is saying, "We do not want to rush into this and have the method we chose to enter the online realm explode on us." Online movie distribution is in its infancy. We have already seen the Wal-Mart/iTunes debacle. He is simply making a methaphorical statement to describe that they are being cautious, but he does not openly say, "Online distribution is a stupid."
So, this one again proves that you must always RTFA.
No...all those foreign papers have them...you know the personals for terrorists...
SMET seeking like minded individuals for cave expeditions, vigorous exercise, and praying to Allah. Enjoys long nights plotting together and holding hostages.
For those who missed it, Single Middle Eastern Terrorist (SMET).
that people are no longer buying Sony's bullshit excuses. Consumers have been lied to time and time again, and I think they have finally caught on to what Sony was doing. I mean, first Dell recalls your batteries, then Apple and before you know it, you are the only one proclaiming nothing is wrong. As I recall, this a similar pattern of behavior from Sony was used during the drm rootkit fiasco too.
It is rather simple. RMS has decided too turn the GPL and the FSF into a political machine to shape the way he views software should be used and distributed. He is very much against DRM and Software Patents, which is fairly well documented by his actions. I do not like what the MPAA and RIAA are attempting to do with DRM nor do I like software patents; however, adding specific clauses to the GPL to make these things essentially violate the GPL is insane.
Let me attempt to liken this to other organizations that had good intentions at one time or another. Take Greenpeace for example. Here is a group whose original ideology was somewhat new at the time and who developed a large following. The problem is, the group decided to become more political and began to lose focus of what they were doing. Some of the key members and founders even left because of this. It became a means for certain people to advance their own perceived political aspirations. Their tactics became less of prevention and started down this path of awareness, a path that is usually more fiction than fact. (Every group enjoys using sensationalism. Half of what PETA tells you is wrong with meat isn't true, and neither is half of what GP says is wrong when it comes to certain environmental issues.)
Now, we have RMS doing much of the same thing with the GPL and open source. He is convinced these items are evil and will use a variety of methods in an attempt to prove this. Some of the methods have even begun to reach that point where they are literally "over the top." You can mark me a troll if you want, but I seriously think this is a true point that people need to consider. While countering software patents and DRM are good things, I do not believe a software license that would be used by tons of open source products is the place to fight this battle.
May I also suggest you read the results of the survery performed on Hackers to determine Open Source development that is paid for. (Hint: The link is in the Student FAQ of the Summer of Code link I sent you.) One of the two versions suggest about 26% surveyed do open source development as part of their job and the other more directly states that 30% say they have been paid for doing Open Source Development. The software might be free, but the workers do not necessarily come that way. (Also, a lot of your unpaid contributors are not the ones making significant contributions. Remember, the big companies that are paying people are probably making some of the larger contribs to large scale projects. Why? Because not doing so could actually affect their bottom dollar.)