All these rationalizations for buying and selling in-game items makes me sick. You are all missing the whole fucking point of a video game. Deny all you want, but video games boil down to escaping reality in some fashion. When people trade in-game crap for real life currency, guess what - real life economic standings are brought right back into the picture. If I wanted to be invovled in a setting where US dollars matter, I wouldn't be playing a video game, I'd play real life! No, life isn't fair, but you sure as hell don't make video games that way too.
I think he's addicted to these games because it gives him a sense of accomplishment, something that doesn't come so easily for him in the real world.
Bingo. At least, that's a big part of my own personal gaming addiction. It also explains my preference to rpgs over fps. People tell me I'm wasting my time, but at the end of the day I still feel like I've gotten something done. Non-rpgs retain their mindless entertainment factor, but pale in comparison to the addictive power that rpgs hold over me. This is also why it was so hard for me to quit Everquest, as my characters weren't just a bunch of 1s and 0s on somebody's box, it represents a huge time investment in addition to the often talked about social ties found in those kind of games. Waste of time to you maybe, but it can easily be an all encompassing life for someone like me.
I have to say this it not something I'd expect coming from Blizzard. I know they are just trying to stop the (rampant) piracy of their games, but this is has implications that extend well beyond that. Sad to see.
I RTFA but I couldn't find anywhere that stated who called this shot. Did the OSCE make the decision? Some aliens with freaky oblong bodies? Crazy extremist politico nuts? Or maybe all 3? I'm not saying I think elections should go unmonitored (although fucks up started well before 2000). I'm just curious as who's idea this was and how it was 'passed.'
I have this problem. I've been wanting to upgrade for quite some time now, but I feel like I'm just throwing money away if I get a bit more ram and a new vid card for such an old mobo. So now I'm looking at the prospect of a totally new box all together but I could allow afford a lower end one right now which seems pointless as well. So here I sit with my old piece of shit computer still, wondering what the hell I should do.
What is most unfortunate is that these people are tarnishing the already shot reputation of Christianity. Going from what it seen on the media, being Christian means hating gays, supporting war, turning America into a theocracy, and opressing anyone who disagrees. This is a far cry from love your enemies, forgive those who wrong you, and peace loving message I garnered from reading the Bible. Not saying that approach is the best either, but these Right wingers certainly have no place in calling themselves Christian.
I'm doubting the majority's ability to discern or even care about the quality differences. However, anyone into serious collecting will definitely very much be concerned with this. Probably won't hurt Apple's business significantly though, and I'm sure they know it.
It's about time for everybody to stand up to those fuckheads at the FCC. They will push and push and push until they get pushed back. They know that people are generally lazy, apathetic, and stupid, and they are going to take advantage of it as much as they can. It is our responsibility to do something about it. Whether it be in spreading information about the FCC's ridiculous plans or volunteering with EFF. The time for action is now.
Why do people think that a documentary must be a completely objective, facts only movie?
This is why. Note definition 2 states "objectively without editorializing." That's what a documentary is. Regardless of which way the slant or opinion is, if it's there, the film is no longer a documentary, but a commentary. That's not to say commentaries don't have merit, but to try to pass it as a documentary is incorrect and misleading.
MS isn't my favorite company but I also detest it when people try to play off of someone else's popularity. A perplexing conundrum: I'm not sure who to root for this time.
When there's no law, there are market incentives to Do The Right Thing. (If you fail to Do The Right Thing, your customers get pissed off and leave.)
Ideally, yes. However, this assumes that the consumer cares or is even informed enough to make a judgement call about caring. A lot of times, this just isn't the case. Ideally again, laws help shore this up. But as you pointed out, law is far from being perfect. However, it DOES add another check point, and a very important one at that. I would trust the elaborate system of checks and balances for the law over the assumption that people will do the right thing.
In the United States, "It's all about complying with the law, which may or may not have any bearing to people," said Ponemon. "In Canada, I got the sense that they thought it was just the right thing to do."
Isn't that exactly why we have laws in the first place, to set up penalties for not doing the 'right thing?'
Can someone explain to me the difference in a 'slow earthquake' and just general plate movement? Cause from I just read, I couldn't differentiate between the two.
Wikipedia has a solid list of the containment types. This helps illustrate way it's just so hard to keep the reaction going.
"The most advanced test reactors, the Tokomak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) in the U.S. and the Joint European Torus (JET), use the tokomak design and have come close to break even conditions. In fact, in November, 1991, the British-based Tokomak reported break even conditions. This occurs when the energy given off by the fusion reaction is equal to the energy input required to sustain the reaction. In order for a fusion reaction to generate useful amounts of electricity, the energy given off must be many times greater than that required to sustain the reaction. Even the most optimistic researchers feel that it will be well into the next century before this stage is reached." (from This site)
...is how much energy it will take to maintain that 100 million degrees Celcius temp for 500 seconds or longer. Sure, 500 megatwatts sounds awesome, but fusion reactions are historically extremely difficult to maintain as the plasma constantly bumps into the container and kills efficiency. That being said, more research into the field is a Good Thing(TM).
I know it's still a long way off from a Matrix-esque scenario (or better yet, Skynet), but this has me a little jumpy. Not because we are doing amazing things with AI these days, but because we keep advancing it in a totally carefree manner. Perhaps it is time to start applying a little caution in our ever forward moving technology push? I for one would feel stupid if all that 'ridiculous' sci-fi stuff ending up happening.
The much antipated mmmorpg Vanguard is going to use XNA (as well as the Unreal engine). The devs (same guys who made Everquest, but left the company after Sony took over) have only good things to say about XNA. Sure, MS leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but if it helps good games get made, I'll sell my soul in a heart beat.
Depending on the nature of the contract, Napster may have every right to ask them to not disclose that information. It would seem a little awkward though that the schools are paying an apparently flat fee, regardless if the students opt in or not.
My ex-girlfriend has a Civic Hybrid. On long trips that required two cars, I would notice her car wasn't doing *that* much better than the others. At first I dismissed it as different fuel tank sizes, but she seemed to be putting almost as much in as the rest of us. Sure, it of course did pretty well, but I was having a hard time swalloing 45+ mpg.
Shame on the EPA.
Slashdot Mirror
All these rationalizations for buying and selling in-game items makes me sick. You are all missing the whole fucking point of a video game. Deny all you want, but video games boil down to escaping reality in some fashion. When people trade in-game crap for real life currency, guess what - real life economic standings are brought right back into the picture. If I wanted to be invovled in a setting where US dollars matter, I wouldn't be playing a video game, I'd play real life! No, life isn't fair, but you sure as hell don't make video games that way too.
I think he's addicted to these games because it gives him a sense of accomplishment, something that doesn't come so easily for him in the real world.
Bingo. At least, that's a big part of my own personal gaming addiction. It also explains my preference to rpgs over fps. People tell me I'm wasting my time, but at the end of the day I still feel like I've gotten something done. Non-rpgs retain their mindless entertainment factor, but pale in comparison to the addictive power that rpgs hold over me. This is also why it was so hard for me to quit Everquest, as my characters weren't just a bunch of 1s and 0s on somebody's box, it represents a huge time investment in addition to the often talked about social ties found in those kind of games. Waste of time to you maybe, but it can easily be an all encompassing life for someone like me.
I have to say this it not something I'd expect coming from Blizzard. I know they are just trying to stop the (rampant) piracy of their games, but this is has implications that extend well beyond that. Sad to see.
I RTFA but I couldn't find anywhere that stated who called this shot. Did the OSCE make the decision? Some aliens with freaky oblong bodies? Crazy extremist politico nuts? Or maybe all 3? I'm not saying I think elections should go unmonitored (although fucks up started well before 2000). I'm just curious as who's idea this was and how it was 'passed.'
I have this problem. I've been wanting to upgrade for quite some time now, but I feel like I'm just throwing money away if I get a bit more ram and a new vid card for such an old mobo. So now I'm looking at the prospect of a totally new box all together but I could allow afford a lower end one right now which seems pointless as well. So here I sit with my old piece of shit computer still, wondering what the hell I should do.
What is most unfortunate is that these people are tarnishing the already shot reputation of Christianity. Going from what it seen on the media, being Christian means hating gays, supporting war, turning America into a theocracy, and opressing anyone who disagrees. This is a far cry from love your enemies, forgive those who wrong you, and peace loving message I garnered from reading the Bible. Not saying that approach is the best either, but these Right wingers certainly have no place in calling themselves Christian.
I'm doubting the majority's ability to discern or even care about the quality differences. However, anyone into serious collecting will definitely very much be concerned with this. Probably won't hurt Apple's business significantly though, and I'm sure they know it.
It's about time for everybody to stand up to those fuckheads at the FCC. They will push and push and push until they get pushed back. They know that people are generally lazy, apathetic, and stupid, and they are going to take advantage of it as much as they can. It is our responsibility to do something about it. Whether it be in spreading information about the FCC's ridiculous plans or volunteering with EFF. The time for action is now.
Why do people think that a documentary must be a completely objective, facts only movie?
This is why. Note definition 2 states "objectively without editorializing." That's what a documentary is. Regardless of which way the slant or opinion is, if it's there, the film is no longer a documentary, but a commentary. That's not to say commentaries don't have merit, but to try to pass it as a documentary is incorrect and misleading.
MS isn't my favorite company but I also detest it when people try to play off of someone else's popularity. A perplexing conundrum: I'm not sure who to root for this time.
That is a classic example of Ad Populum logical fallacy (Appeal to Popularity). Capitalistic, yes, logical, maybe not.
When there's no law, there are market incentives to Do The Right Thing. (If you fail to Do The Right Thing, your customers get pissed off and leave.)
Ideally, yes. However, this assumes that the consumer cares or is even informed enough to make a judgement call about caring. A lot of times, this just isn't the case. Ideally again, laws help shore this up. But as you pointed out, law is far from being perfect. However, it DOES add another check point, and a very important one at that. I would trust the elaborate system of checks and balances for the law over the assumption that people will do the right thing.
In the United States, "It's all about complying with the law, which may or may not have any bearing to people," said Ponemon. "In Canada, I got the sense that they thought it was just the right thing to do."
Isn't that exactly why we have laws in the first place, to set up penalties for not doing the 'right thing?'
Can someone explain to me the difference in a 'slow earthquake' and just general plate movement? Cause from I just read, I couldn't differentiate between the two.
Wikipedia has a solid list of the containment types. This helps illustrate way it's just so hard to keep the reaction going.
"The most advanced test reactors, the Tokomak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) in the U.S. and the Joint European Torus (JET), use the tokomak design and have come close to break even conditions. In fact, in November, 1991, the British-based Tokomak reported break even conditions. This occurs when the energy given off by the fusion reaction is equal to the energy input required to sustain the reaction. In order for a fusion reaction to generate useful amounts of electricity, the energy given off must be many times greater than that required to sustain the reaction. Even the most optimistic researchers feel that it will be well into the next century before this stage is reached." (from This site)
...is how much energy it will take to maintain that 100 million degrees Celcius temp for 500 seconds or longer. Sure, 500 megatwatts sounds awesome, but fusion reactions are historically extremely difficult to maintain as the plasma constantly bumps into the container and kills efficiency. That being said, more research into the field is a Good Thing(TM).
I know it's still a long way off from a Matrix-esque scenario (or better yet, Skynet), but this has me a little jumpy. Not because we are doing amazing things with AI these days, but because we keep advancing it in a totally carefree manner. Perhaps it is time to start applying a little caution in our ever forward moving technology push? I for one would feel stupid if all that 'ridiculous' sci-fi stuff ending up happening.
...in the world still can't fix the problem of stupid user syndrome.
The much antipated mmmorpg Vanguard is going to use XNA (as well as the Unreal engine). The devs (same guys who made Everquest, but left the company after Sony took over) have only good things to say about XNA. Sure, MS leaves a bad taste in my mouth, but if it helps good games get made, I'll sell my soul in a heart beat.
"Rodents of unusual size? They don't exist!" *rat attacks*
Depending on the nature of the contract, Napster may have every right to ask them to not disclose that information. It would seem a little awkward though that the schools are paying an apparently flat fee, regardless if the students opt in or not.
My ex-girlfriend has a Civic Hybrid. On long trips that required two cars, I would notice her car wasn't doing *that* much better than the others. At first I dismissed it as different fuel tank sizes, but she seemed to be putting almost as much in as the rest of us. Sure, it of course did pretty well, but I was having a hard time swalloing 45+ mpg. Shame on the EPA.
I give it a month before the date gets pushed back again. Stop teasing us damn you!
I try to be conservative in my estimates :)
...Apple should hire the guys, as they are obviously at least as good as the guys they have now.