This has got to be a gimmick, with the way anti social behaviour is in the UK at the minute, the only thing a speaking CCTV camera will get is more attention from those who are comitting acts within it's range. So not only would berating those committing the crimes bring more attention to the camera itself (eventually leading to it being vandalised), it would also just act as a way for some of these yobs to think they are being the big men and getting recognition for their action. I wouldn't be suprised if a camera talked to some groups committing crimes, they would only take their actions further to "show off" to whoever is watching. I think the best thing to do is have the camera operators have police officers on alert in nearby areas that they can call in easily to arrest those who are making trouble, instead of telling them off.
It seems as if 'safe' games appeal to one type of gamer, others such as Metal Gear Solid (for example) attract a gamer who is looking for more of a challenge while gaming and not just looking for some relaxation. How can the major gaming companies ever hope to overtake Hollywood if people are afraid to play games? The thing that a lot of people overlook in the comparison of games to other types of multimedia entertainment is that games require a certain level of skill and commitment to be fully enjoyed. Watching TV or a movie can be relaxing and requires zero input which can be the same if you make your games 'safe' and not have the user care about their pogress. The more challenging games however are seen as frustrating; they punish you for being a bad player and lock away much of their content for only experienced gamers to see which is what makes them better.
I can't say I am really suprised by this, after following the development of this game for a long time it was beginning to become clear that not only will the development process be long and laborious but there will be a substantial period after it is complete (either in internal testing, open beta testing or patching after release) needed to perfect it. I think it's definitely a smart idea, so they will be able to fix any problems and tweak the gameplay for it to be perfect before they head for the mass markets of the consoles (after all, PC games are a lot more easy to patch and easier to get the users to do so than consoles, especially handhelds).
I think the original article is more of an editorial piece than a news article, as I doubt the Chinese government would be hassling WikiMedia to make Wikipedia available to China but censored, I'd imagined after they were first banned he made these statements and nothing has changed since. What is definitely interesting is the growing suggestions from Wales is that advertising could be coming to some wikipedia pages which would definitely change it from a service to a business and I wonder how quick they would be to welcome to the droves of Chinese traffic they can monetise after that, or whether they would continue to stand their ground in the face of losing revenue.
This is a smart move by Microsoft, they know they suffer in the Japanese market place due to brand affiliation and they I bet they are having a whale of a time hearing about Sony's problems (Europe PS3 delay to March 2007) and now that can capitalise in Sony's home market. I definitely think that the PS3 will have a hard time competiting with the 360 due to factors such as the time advantage MS have, the cost of the 360 dropping over that time while the PS3 being priced out of it's own major markets, the online capabilities of the 360 far outshining anything sony have produced previously (along with MS knowledge of the web, unlike Sony) and others, but I will reserve full judgement until I have a PS3 in my hands and can actually play it. If I were Sony, I'd be rather nervous about the performance in the marketplace of their third outing right now.
Seems to me as if the people behind the spam have been reading a few too many articles about subliminal marketing and are just trying their luck. What i'd be more worried about if I was them would be using an animated gif in massive mailing, surely that is going to heavily suck bandwidth (as much as they do have, a lot of resources go in to the mailing and the hardware to power it). If I were them I'd stick with the text plea, I'm far more likely to want to help out the prince of Nigeria than a 1998-style flashing.gif.
One of the lighter sides out this tragedy is the fact that he not only leaves the image of international wildlife conservation much higher in regard to millions of people across the world, but that he was also successful enough to enlarge his zoo using over $16 million in profits from his shows along with buying a lot more land than that for conservation use. His family and young children who have been left without a father are also financially secure and have a much better father figure to look up to when they grow up than most people ever will. Rest In Peace Steve, you were a great man.
I'm all for more gaming magazines, not mainly because I will read them, but because I support competition for the mainstream magazines of today that have their content dominated by their advertisers. Although I have to say, they had an advantage with low costs from running a website and the growing prominance of websites across the world, why are they taking a step backwards into a declining market? It seems like a better idea to put funding into improving and marketing for their web side of things.
It's great to see some common sense finally filtering through, definitely after the argument that some of those who have been trying to regulate the gaming industry more vigorously have been using has been that parents buy the games without really looking at the ratings and that it is the games' industries fault for this. At the end of the day, if the parents aren't supervising their kids when the games are bought and played then surely there are bigger problems that those children will be facing other than the 'violent' themes introduced by video games. It seems as if it is really just a culture of blame nowdays, and the main reason behind it all is the lack of parents in their children's life.
This motion sensor stuff is ridiculous... If I wanted to go through the motions of playing tennis or golf in my living room I'd go out and do it in real life. Video games are for vegging out on the couch and not moving.
Honestly if my FPS required me to wave my arms around to kill anything I wouldn't play it. The current controller has been around in various shapes for 30 years, and any weird new designs have failed, maybe that's for a reason?
This motion sensor stuff is ridiculous... If I wanted to go through the motions of playing tennis or golf in my living room I'd go out and do it in real life. Video games are for vegging out on the couch and not moving.
Honestly if my FPS required me to wave my arms around to kill anything I wouldn't play it. The current controller has been around in various shapes for 30 years, and any weird new designs have failed, maybe that's for a reason?
Not only have the games lack hurt the PSP (Gran Turismo Mobile anyone?), but the introduction of the Mylo will only further cause confusion in the consumer's minds, it will make buyers wonder which does which (especially as they both share video playback features etc). I think the best thing Sony could do right now is encourage developers to start working on more unique and push boundaries on the PSP and also think about the mistakes they have made so far in order for them to not repeat them on the PS3 development, a console which seems to already be facing some major problems (mainly cost related). Seems like Sony should take a long hard look at what they are doing right now and bring it back in line with what the market wants.
It's no real suprise him saying that the companies use 'collecting' in order to retain their customers and keep their sales up, the video game industry also cracked onto this a long time ago (level ups in MMORPGs to keep rebills high) so that you have a feeling of progression and growing with the game. Companies know that is an easy way to extend the life of their games, and on the really good side it can be used to lock users into a product and off other games (which henceforth are produced by other companies and do not make any money for them), for example: WoW and Everquest.
I definitely think that with the hype surrounding online gaming due to the possibilities of broadband nowdays that a lot of game companies are licking their lips at the huge amount of profit to be made by giving their games a lot more longetivity and therefore increasing their userbase. One of the most successful examples I can think of with this is Half Life and the way Counter-Strike/Day of Defeat were handled in order to keep interest in the game until the sequel came out (which also saved on marketing costs). Either way, it's a win-win situation for the companies producing the games.
The one problem for those who crack their 360's is that as soon as microsoft want to screw you over hard enough they will release and update for the firmware via Xbox Live in order to try and check if you have messed around with it. Microsoft know this and it is one of the reasons why they push Xbox live and their developers to get everyone connected to it, not only can they upsell you on new games and increase the life of the games released, but they can try and combat pirates while they are at it.
Co-Founder of id Software and lead designer on Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake. He left and then made Daikatana and didn't do that much until he joined Midway in 2003, left again in 2005 and is currently making his own MMOG. He's pretty legendary for having the domain name rome.ro along with having a Ferrari that you could tune via USB while driving.
As much as it is right to argue that there shouldn't be much fuss over what is an already extremely explicit game, the fact is that it should have been Adults Only if the mod was in the game instead of it's R, what I find amazing is the way that it actually required external code to open the mod and they still claimed that it was content meant to be played in the game. Does that mean if somewhere in an encrypted archive on a game DVD there is a topless woman picture that isn't even used then the game should be AO because the content is 'there'. I don't think so.
Interesting details on his arrest:
* NO bail
* feds are seeking over $4 billion in unpaid taxes
* Carruthers was targeted as part of a larger investigation
* Carruthers was held incommunicado until appearing at trial
* FULL TEXT of the fed press release announcing the indictment details
The news from the past few days made it seem like they were just leaning on Carruthers to help with the Kaplan investigation. But some of this stuff is very broad... "equipment used to place bets" is probably just a server. Sounds like he will be away for quite a while.
I think it's suprising to actually see these figures promoted by the gaming industry, and it is a much better approach that the movie industry which continually forces the issue of piracy and how it is destroying their business down the consumer's throats. I think if the movie producers and companies stopped moaning about how much piracy costs them, then maybe they could get down to work and make films that more people would actually want to see. It seems as if the game developers are actually doing this, with a great lineup for the rest of this year including the introduction of the Playstation3 and all of the games associated with it I can definitely see that this could easily be a bumper year for video game sales.
No real suprises here, after Nintendo's dominance with the Game Boy for so long they had basic plans on what to do and they knew that if they kept their product cheap and innovative they would grab a large share of the market. Sony jumped into the portable market with a high-end machine in comparison and have experienced a few problems straight off the bat (not being able to compete on price, benchmark games like GT4 mobile being delayed, UMD becoming unpopular). I think Nintendo will continue to have the market share, but Sony's sales will stay strong as they continue to improve their game lineup and attract those who are willing to pay more.
Seems like a great time to buy Apple shares right now as they are in a dip at around $57. Peaking at around $85 earlier this month with news of this and the new powermacs expected it will definitely be an easy jump if you are looking for a short term investment.
I don't see this as anything new, other than people taking the initiative from the business world and the online world and putting it to practice in real life. People have been doing this for years in the US, although just not at mainstream companies (for example a lot of the aftermarket alloy rims forums online contain sections where groups of people negotiate a discount for ordering a large quantity). I have to commend them for taking it out to the streets where it is obviously working out for them, but it makes you wonder that if the retailer is happy and welcoming them in to offer 30% discount, just HOW high is the markup on consumer goods nowdays, both in China and globally.
What worries me is the way that they seem to think that by it not being accessed then it is all OK, if anything I think it not being touched is much worse as it indicates that it has been replicated or transferred in order for those who took it to work on it without leaving a bread-trail for the authorities to follow them by. Of course no forensic evidence will be of use, if they were smart enough to copy and not disturb the database itself then they will not have been in physical contact with the laptop for very long and they will have most definitely worn gloves and other protective equipment. It's a shame to see the ever-alert cybercrimes department not realising what is the obvious course of action for these thieves.
The one thing that has always got me about Episode One is how Valve are going to get it onto consoles, which I know a lot of people played Half Life 1 and 2 through (granted, not the majority, but still a large number). Releasing one episode at a time wouldn't be too satisfying to the consumer given the length of gameplay that they offer and does that mean that people who use consoles to game will have to wait until there are a number of episodes (who knows how long that could be) available until they can get their hands on the game.
That being said, those panoramic views are awesome and I think those guys have a very original idea. I hope they keep them archived for a long time, and maybe go back to do a few of the more classic games from the past.
It makes you wonder that by not directing the threat at everyone, and it being reported by someone else at whether he was actually directly making a threat that was worth punishment. I'm not condoning what he did, and if you haven't learned that doing that kind of stuff will get you in trouble (hell, Slashdot even had a story recently about employers who check Myspace and Google for more detailed background information on potential employees) on the internet will eventually get you caught then you definitely deserve anything that is coming to you. To me, it seems like the judge hasn't grasped all of the aspects in the case, most notably the fact that an image cannot possibly represent a threat unless used (which is arguable in this case).
It's the 12 month thing here, I think anyone who gets one should do an analysis on the loss of bandwidth cost vs the savings made over the 12 months. I would think that for occasional users or families who do not use the internet that much but require networks in order to use computers in different parts of their home then it may be a good deal, but for the typical Slashdot user or anyone who uses the internet heavily then their long term usage may end up being impeaded by other users accessing it. It really depends on what the buyer is using the router for.
Slashdot Mirror
This has got to be a gimmick, with the way anti social behaviour is in the UK at the minute, the only thing a speaking CCTV camera will get is more attention from those who are comitting acts within it's range. So not only would berating those committing the crimes bring more attention to the camera itself (eventually leading to it being vandalised), it would also just act as a way for some of these yobs to think they are being the big men and getting recognition for their action. I wouldn't be suprised if a camera talked to some groups committing crimes, they would only take their actions further to "show off" to whoever is watching. I think the best thing to do is have the camera operators have police officers on alert in nearby areas that they can call in easily to arrest those who are making trouble, instead of telling them off.
It seems as if 'safe' games appeal to one type of gamer, others such as Metal Gear Solid (for example) attract a gamer who is looking for more of a challenge while gaming and not just looking for some relaxation. How can the major gaming companies ever hope to overtake Hollywood if people are afraid to play games? The thing that a lot of people overlook in the comparison of games to other types of multimedia entertainment is that games require a certain level of skill and commitment to be fully enjoyed. Watching TV or a movie can be relaxing and requires zero input which can be the same if you make your games 'safe' and not have the user care about their pogress. The more challenging games however are seen as frustrating; they punish you for being a bad player and lock away much of their content for only experienced gamers to see which is what makes them better.
I can't say I am really suprised by this, after following the development of this game for a long time it was beginning to become clear that not only will the development process be long and laborious but there will be a substantial period after it is complete (either in internal testing, open beta testing or patching after release) needed to perfect it. I think it's definitely a smart idea, so they will be able to fix any problems and tweak the gameplay for it to be perfect before they head for the mass markets of the consoles (after all, PC games are a lot more easy to patch and easier to get the users to do so than consoles, especially handhelds).
I think the original article is more of an editorial piece than a news article, as I doubt the Chinese government would be hassling WikiMedia to make Wikipedia available to China but censored, I'd imagined after they were first banned he made these statements and nothing has changed since. What is definitely interesting is the growing suggestions from Wales is that advertising could be coming to some wikipedia pages which would definitely change it from a service to a business and I wonder how quick they would be to welcome to the droves of Chinese traffic they can monetise after that, or whether they would continue to stand their ground in the face of losing revenue.
This is a smart move by Microsoft, they know they suffer in the Japanese market place due to brand affiliation and they I bet they are having a whale of a time hearing about Sony's problems (Europe PS3 delay to March 2007) and now that can capitalise in Sony's home market. I definitely think that the PS3 will have a hard time competiting with the 360 due to factors such as the time advantage MS have, the cost of the 360 dropping over that time while the PS3 being priced out of it's own major markets, the online capabilities of the 360 far outshining anything sony have produced previously (along with MS knowledge of the web, unlike Sony) and others, but I will reserve full judgement until I have a PS3 in my hands and can actually play it. If I were Sony, I'd be rather nervous about the performance in the marketplace of their third outing right now.
Seems to me as if the people behind the spam have been reading a few too many articles about subliminal marketing and are just trying their luck. What i'd be more worried about if I was them would be using an animated gif in massive mailing, surely that is going to heavily suck bandwidth (as much as they do have, a lot of resources go in to the mailing and the hardware to power it). If I were them I'd stick with the text plea, I'm far more likely to want to help out the prince of Nigeria than a 1998-style flashing .gif.
One of the lighter sides out this tragedy is the fact that he not only leaves the image of international wildlife conservation much higher in regard to millions of people across the world, but that he was also successful enough to enlarge his zoo using over $16 million in profits from his shows along with buying a lot more land than that for conservation use. His family and young children who have been left without a father are also financially secure and have a much better father figure to look up to when they grow up than most people ever will. Rest In Peace Steve, you were a great man.
I'm all for more gaming magazines, not mainly because I will read them, but because I support competition for the mainstream magazines of today that have their content dominated by their advertisers. Although I have to say, they had an advantage with low costs from running a website and the growing prominance of websites across the world, why are they taking a step backwards into a declining market? It seems like a better idea to put funding into improving and marketing for their web side of things.
It's great to see some common sense finally filtering through, definitely after the argument that some of those who have been trying to regulate the gaming industry more vigorously have been using has been that parents buy the games without really looking at the ratings and that it is the games' industries fault for this. At the end of the day, if the parents aren't supervising their kids when the games are bought and played then surely there are bigger problems that those children will be facing other than the 'violent' themes introduced by video games. It seems as if it is really just a culture of blame nowdays, and the main reason behind it all is the lack of parents in their children's life.
This motion sensor stuff is ridiculous... If I wanted to go through the motions of playing tennis or golf in my living room I'd go out and do it in real life. Video games are for vegging out on the couch and not moving.
Honestly if my FPS required me to wave my arms around to kill anything I wouldn't play it. The current controller has been around in various shapes for 30 years, and any weird new designs have failed, maybe that's for a reason?
This motion sensor stuff is ridiculous... If I wanted to go through the motions of playing tennis or golf in my living room I'd go out and do it in real life. Video games are for vegging out on the couch and not moving.
Honestly if my FPS required me to wave my arms around to kill anything I wouldn't play it. The current controller has been around in various shapes for 30 years, and any weird new designs have failed, maybe that's for a reason?
Not only have the games lack hurt the PSP (Gran Turismo Mobile anyone?), but the introduction of the Mylo will only further cause confusion in the consumer's minds, it will make buyers wonder which does which (especially as they both share video playback features etc). I think the best thing Sony could do right now is encourage developers to start working on more unique and push boundaries on the PSP and also think about the mistakes they have made so far in order for them to not repeat them on the PS3 development, a console which seems to already be facing some major problems (mainly cost related). Seems like Sony should take a long hard look at what they are doing right now and bring it back in line with what the market wants.
It's no real suprise him saying that the companies use 'collecting' in order to retain their customers and keep their sales up, the video game industry also cracked onto this a long time ago (level ups in MMORPGs to keep rebills high) so that you have a feeling of progression and growing with the game. Companies know that is an easy way to extend the life of their games, and on the really good side it can be used to lock users into a product and off other games (which henceforth are produced by other companies and do not make any money for them), for example: WoW and Everquest.
I definitely think that with the hype surrounding online gaming due to the possibilities of broadband nowdays that a lot of game companies are licking their lips at the huge amount of profit to be made by giving their games a lot more longetivity and therefore increasing their userbase. One of the most successful examples I can think of with this is Half Life and the way Counter-Strike/Day of Defeat were handled in order to keep interest in the game until the sequel came out (which also saved on marketing costs). Either way, it's a win-win situation for the companies producing the games.
The one problem for those who crack their 360's is that as soon as microsoft want to screw you over hard enough they will release and update for the firmware via Xbox Live in order to try and check if you have messed around with it. Microsoft know this and it is one of the reasons why they push Xbox live and their developers to get everyone connected to it, not only can they upsell you on new games and increase the life of the games released, but they can try and combat pirates while they are at it.
Co-Founder of id Software and lead designer on Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake. He left and then made Daikatana and didn't do that much until he joined Midway in 2003, left again in 2005 and is currently making his own MMOG. He's pretty legendary for having the domain name rome.ro along with having a Ferrari that you could tune via USB while driving.
As much as it is right to argue that there shouldn't be much fuss over what is an already extremely explicit game, the fact is that it should have been Adults Only if the mod was in the game instead of it's R, what I find amazing is the way that it actually required external code to open the mod and they still claimed that it was content meant to be played in the game. Does that mean if somewhere in an encrypted archive on a game DVD there is a topless woman picture that isn't even used then the game should be AO because the content is 'there'. I don't think so.
Interesting details on his arrest:
* NO bail
* feds are seeking over $4 billion in unpaid taxes
* Carruthers was targeted as part of a larger investigation
* Carruthers was held incommunicado until appearing at trial
* FULL TEXT of the fed press release announcing the indictment details
The news from the past few days made it seem like they were just leaning on Carruthers to help with the Kaplan investigation. But some of this stuff is very broad... "equipment used to place bets" is probably just a server. Sounds like he will be away for quite a while.
I think it's suprising to actually see these figures promoted by the gaming industry, and it is a much better approach that the movie industry which continually forces the issue of piracy and how it is destroying their business down the consumer's throats. I think if the movie producers and companies stopped moaning about how much piracy costs them, then maybe they could get down to work and make films that more people would actually want to see. It seems as if the game developers are actually doing this, with a great lineup for the rest of this year including the introduction of the Playstation3 and all of the games associated with it I can definitely see that this could easily be a bumper year for video game sales.
No real suprises here, after Nintendo's dominance with the Game Boy for so long they had basic plans on what to do and they knew that if they kept their product cheap and innovative they would grab a large share of the market. Sony jumped into the portable market with a high-end machine in comparison and have experienced a few problems straight off the bat (not being able to compete on price, benchmark games like GT4 mobile being delayed, UMD becoming unpopular). I think Nintendo will continue to have the market share, but Sony's sales will stay strong as they continue to improve their game lineup and attract those who are willing to pay more.
Seems like a great time to buy Apple shares right now as they are in a dip at around $57. Peaking at around $85 earlier this month with news of this and the new powermacs expected it will definitely be an easy jump if you are looking for a short term investment.
I don't see this as anything new, other than people taking the initiative from the business world and the online world and putting it to practice in real life. People have been doing this for years in the US, although just not at mainstream companies (for example a lot of the aftermarket alloy rims forums online contain sections where groups of people negotiate a discount for ordering a large quantity). I have to commend them for taking it out to the streets where it is obviously working out for them, but it makes you wonder that if the retailer is happy and welcoming them in to offer 30% discount, just HOW high is the markup on consumer goods nowdays, both in China and globally.
What worries me is the way that they seem to think that by it not being accessed then it is all OK, if anything I think it not being touched is much worse as it indicates that it has been replicated or transferred in order for those who took it to work on it without leaving a bread-trail for the authorities to follow them by. Of course no forensic evidence will be of use, if they were smart enough to copy and not disturb the database itself then they will not have been in physical contact with the laptop for very long and they will have most definitely worn gloves and other protective equipment. It's a shame to see the ever-alert cybercrimes department not realising what is the obvious course of action for these thieves.
The one thing that has always got me about Episode One is how Valve are going to get it onto consoles, which I know a lot of people played Half Life 1 and 2 through (granted, not the majority, but still a large number). Releasing one episode at a time wouldn't be too satisfying to the consumer given the length of gameplay that they offer and does that mean that people who use consoles to game will have to wait until there are a number of episodes (who knows how long that could be) available until they can get their hands on the game.
That being said, those panoramic views are awesome and I think those guys have a very original idea. I hope they keep them archived for a long time, and maybe go back to do a few of the more classic games from the past.
It makes you wonder that by not directing the threat at everyone, and it being reported by someone else at whether he was actually directly making a threat that was worth punishment. I'm not condoning what he did, and if you haven't learned that doing that kind of stuff will get you in trouble (hell, Slashdot even had a story recently about employers who check Myspace and Google for more detailed background information on potential employees) on the internet will eventually get you caught then you definitely deserve anything that is coming to you. To me, it seems like the judge hasn't grasped all of the aspects in the case, most notably the fact that an image cannot possibly represent a threat unless used (which is arguable in this case).
It's the 12 month thing here, I think anyone who gets one should do an analysis on the loss of bandwidth cost vs the savings made over the 12 months. I would think that for occasional users or families who do not use the internet that much but require networks in order to use computers in different parts of their home then it may be a good deal, but for the typical Slashdot user or anyone who uses the internet heavily then their long term usage may end up being impeaded by other users accessing it. It really depends on what the buyer is using the router for.