A couple points about what you've said, Australia STILL doesn't have an R or X rating on video games. It's highest rating is M15+. This means anything that would be "worse" than that is simply refused classification and is unable to be sold. Grand Theft Auto 3 for example was refused classification until it was edited.
The only time I've ever seen a game rating on R18+ was on Evil Dead where they boxed the video with it - and then the rating was actually because of the move not the game. Second point, not all movies are available in all states. I know for a fact that in Queensland it is illegal to sell an X rated movie.
Back on topic... Based on the reactions to this post obviously this is another area where Oz and the US differ. Both in law and in attitudes. Frankly I don't see anything wrong with classification and at least a little restriction. We already have retailers doing age-checking on quite a few things here, cigarettes, alcohol, videos and already games (although the last two are pretty feebly enforced at the moment).
Frankly I see nothing wrong with classifying anything, be it games or movies or whatever. And if a reasonable classification board feels that a game/movie/book rates an M15+ or R18+ rating then so be it - the kids shouldn't be able to buy it. If their parents believe the child is capable of understanding and dealing with the issues in the game then they (the adult) can buy it and let the kid play it.
If nothing else maybe it'll cut down the number of 13 year old kiddies in games like CS who run around calling everyone fags and worse...
Unfortunately, age checking in a store won't stop pirate downloading or even buying online using Mum's credit card. However, if the parents are paying attention they should be checking bills, and if the boxes have a big "R18+" rating blazoned on them maybe they'll notice and take action.
It's interesting to ask the same question in other countries. Here in Australia if you asked the same question kids would say they had the right to free speech etc. Except they don't, at least not constitutionally. So many kids (here at least) seem to assume that we have the same constituion and laws as the USA.
I wonder what it's like in the UK and other countries?
But the users DO see those options without having to right click. Most apps (hell any app that follows good design standards) displays the options in the normal menus or on buttons. The context menu is just meant to provide "shortcut" access to commonly used options. eg: You select some text and the context menu shows cut/copy/paste. It's more intuitive seeing it right there than having to move the mouse up to a menu/buttons at the top of the screen and finding the same options.
Personally I think it seems a bit cheap to ship a one button mouse, but as some people have stated it forces companies to follow Apple design rules so fair enough.
On a related note, it is extremely frustrating using another persons PC. The extra buttons and especially the scroll wheel become second nature. I hate having to fix a PC problem for friends only to find they have a crapola $5 mouse with no scrollwheel.
1) However they (the buyers) are willing to pay. If anything they're a truer indication of lost sales. After all the people who download them off the net may NEVER be willing to spend cash on a movie. And the seller is deinfitely conclusively making a profit, unlike movie uploaders who are not actually seeing real cash at any point.
2) The quality of a lot of movies downloaded off the net is notoriously unwatchable (or so I've heard);) In fact a lot of the pirate discs on the street were probably downloaded off the net in the first place. That fact is a better reason to pursue the movie uploaders than anything else the MPAA has come up with.
3) I wouldn't think the movie downloaders are the demographic they're aiming at. After all if you look at college kids going to movies they're usually going there in a group with friends or on a date. How many people actually go to see a movie by themself? Those people would be more inclined to skip a cinema release and rent a DVD.
So the college kids who'd pay for movies are probably still paying for movies. Why? Because it's not as cool to take your date to sit in front of a tiny tv/PC monitor and watch a dodgy video compared to taking him/her to the cinema and watching the big screen. Same with a bunch of friends seeing a pic, harder to cram six friends around a small screen to watch "The Matrix" (or whatever).
So I'd hazard a guess that cinema attendance isn't affected as badly by movie sharing as they make out.
I think you missed the gist of his question. As I interpret it the original poster was saying "How much security does a typical home PC really need?" and not "How do I make my PC as secure as possible?"
Frankly if it's a gaming PC that I do a little net surfing on I wouldn't even bother with a firewall and I wouldn't bother with a resident virus checker. Why? Because the PC is low risk. It has no passwords, bank account info etc. So my potential risk if it is compromised is basically a few hours reinstalling from the original CDs.
I'd say for a "typical" home user who not only does a bit of surfing and gaming but also does some internet banking and possibly a little work on their home PC the approach outlined in the original post is sufficient. Firewall, virus checker etc.
Good points. You're talking "equality of opportunity". This is what the world should be striving for. Because lets face it, we're *NOT* all equal. I know I'm not as smart as some people but smarter than others, not as strong as some but stronger than others, etc.
If we wanted a truly unbiased society then we should be saying simply "Who is the best at this job" and not looking at gender quotas or racial quotas, or sexuality quotas or any other non-ability based factors.
As for the function of these studies (let's ignore it's (in)accuracy for the moment) - if a study conclusively proves that men are better at math (or vice versa) then it could be used as a guide to determine whether due care is being taken in the selection process.
eg: If they work out a ratio of 60-40 men-women being good at math and the jobs are 90-10 then it may indicate that people aren't being selected on merit. And the selection criteria and process (interviewers etc) needs review.
What happens to patents and copyright? Considering there are so many complaints about the longevity of patents today can you imagine patents and copyright that last the lifespan of the inventor if this happens?
Yes that song from 2005 goes into the public domain somewhere around the year 3000. 0_o
That sounds a lot like Audioscrobbler. It doesn't do ratings but it keeps track of number of times a track is played so that equates to a similar value (ie: if you think a song sucks you won't play it 20 times). It then matches you with other people based on the songs you listen to and the songs they listen to.
It's not a bad way of finding similar types of music. Of course it doesn't help you find radically different music.
Are they talking profits or revenue? The interesting (and amazing) thing about Hollywood is the way a movie can cost $200 Million to make and earn $500 million yet not break even...apparently. There seems to be a huge amount of creative accounting that takes place after a film release that absorbs profits. I'd like to compare Movie *profits* with Game *profits* too.
I'd be interested to see how Half-Life 2's opening weekend of sales compared to Halo2's as well.
There's a few problems with that analogy - the govt may build the majority of the infrastructure when it comes to roads, but they don't build the majority of the infrastructure for the internet. They may have done the legwork years ago...
Not to mention highways... lets see tolls, speed limits, weight limits, etc. If you follow that analogy through to the internet do you really want the Govt dictating that you can only have a maximum of 1500k connection or you must use a certain type of modem? Extreme examples but still possible.
I'd rather see as little interference as possible from the Govt. But maybe that's because the Australian Tech minister is (was) a moron.
That was what struck me about the issue as well. It reads as though I could claim you were using a photo on your website that you don't own. So I complain to your ISP and your site gets taken down. Further it reads as though it doesn't even have to be *my* photo you're using I might just think it's not your photo and you're breeching copyright by using it.
I would hope that the regulations include really strict clauses about incorrect/malicious claims - including financial penalties. eg: If they issue a takedown notice and the file turns out to be legitimate they get slapped with a huge fine.
After hearing reports of certain companies claiming breech of copyright based purely on a file name without viewing the content I think we could cause major havoc. Just name a few files "britney spears.mp3" - even though it's a recording of your cat wailing. Then when the RIAA to a takedown notice they'll get hit by a fine cos it's not really copyrighted material!
Another thing I'd put in if I was writing the regulations would be a "required warning" clause. ie: The complainant would have to show proof that they'd attempted to contact the person/site that was allegedly breeching their copyright *before* the site could be taken down.
Be interesting to see how the public servants draft these regs...
I'd say it's made with Geek *money* in mind. Same as Tomb Raider and Mortal Kombat etc. They looked at the numbers for people buying the games and just translated that straight into movie tickets.
Pity they couldn't have at least had the courtesy to follow the plot of Doom for the first movie (at least reasonably closely). Then they could have thrown it all out for the sequels... and you know they're gonna churn *them* out.:(
Exactly! Why bother paying for the license when they're not really making use of it? It could be any one of a dozen cookie cutter sci-fi/action movies. If they don't keep the core (demons from hell invading Mars) then it just ain't Doom.
I'd assume the marketing suits figure all the "geeks" will want to go and see it because of the name alone. Be interesting to see if they change it too much whether it'll have the opposite effect and all the Doom fans will boycott the movie...
Be interesting to see the kids all unionize and dump every single RFID though. What does the school do when every single student refuses to use them? If only one or two kids do it they can be punished but how do they punish every student.
What bothers me about the difference between criminal and civil court is not so much the fines but the different burden of proof. There is a lot more proof required to find someone guilty of a criminal charge compared to a civil one.
The problem with that though is how do they determine the people to sue? If you use say emule/edonkey while you're downloading the file you may also be sharing it with several thousand other people.
So even if you delete the file as soon as it finished downloading and you've watched it you would still technically be guilty of sharing it with a thousand people.
That's interesting because I've got three domains with Joker and I haven't seen a single email yet. And yes all my contact info is correct:)
I'm still a little hazy though, does this only apply to domains that are due to expire or can a domain be transferred away from you half way through your 2 year block? And for that matter do you lose ownership of it, or just have it transferred to another registrar?
There's so much FUD in this thread it's unclear...
While I hate spyware/adware as much as anyone else I believe that if it's mentioned in a EULA then it's the users own stupid fault if it's installed. And as long as the company provides a simple uninstaller I wouldn't consider it malware. It took less than a minute searching the WhenU website to hit this page detailing how to unintall their software: http://www.whenu.com/products_whenusearch_help.htm l#8
According to that there is an entry in the add/remove programs for their WhenU software so it is easily uninstalled. Now I haven't installed it to test whether it's true or not but for now I'll take them on their word.:)
I would suggest that spyware/adware removers class software into two categories. Malicious - where the software installs without notifying you and is difficult to remove (eg: Coolwebsearch) and Non-Malicious - where they provide you with info and a simple uninstall (eg: This WhenU stuff). That way when your anti-spyware program scans you get two lists and can make a choice based on that. Should keep us happy and the ad software companies as well (well at least it should stop the lawsuits).
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Mrs Walton was asked for a comment on the case. Her only reply was: "Braaaaaaaains..."
A couple points about what you've said, Australia STILL doesn't have an R or X rating on video games. It's highest rating is M15+. This means anything that would be "worse" than that is simply refused classification and is unable to be sold. Grand Theft Auto 3 for example was refused classification until it was edited.
The only time I've ever seen a game rating on R18+ was on Evil Dead where they boxed the video with it - and then the rating was actually because of the move not the game. Second point, not all movies are available in all states. I know for a fact that in Queensland it is illegal to sell an X rated movie.
Back on topic... Based on the reactions to this post obviously this is another area where Oz and the US differ. Both in law and in attitudes. Frankly I don't see anything wrong with classification and at least a little restriction. We already have retailers doing age-checking on quite a few things here, cigarettes, alcohol, videos and already games (although the last two are pretty feebly enforced at the moment).
Frankly I see nothing wrong with classifying anything, be it games or movies or whatever. And if a reasonable classification board feels that a game/movie/book rates an M15+ or R18+ rating then so be it - the kids shouldn't be able to buy it. If their parents believe the child is capable of understanding and dealing with the issues in the game then they (the adult) can buy it and let the kid play it.
If nothing else maybe it'll cut down the number of 13 year old kiddies in games like CS who run around calling everyone fags and worse...
Unfortunately, age checking in a store won't stop pirate downloading or even buying online using Mum's credit card. However, if the parents are paying attention they should be checking bills, and if the boxes have a big "R18+" rating blazoned on them maybe they'll notice and take action.
It's interesting to ask the same question in other countries. Here in Australia if you asked the same question kids would say they had the right to free speech etc. Except they don't, at least not constitutionally. So many kids (here at least) seem to assume that we have the same constituion and laws as the USA.
I wonder what it's like in the UK and other countries?
Which is all good and fine - until you're asking someone to fix your PC. Which was what I was talking about.
Nothing wrong with making life difficult for people who shouldn't be using your PC. But why make us poor support guys suffer :(
"Before starting play please ensure you have a flashlight handy and turn out all lights. All 'to hit' dice rolls are to be made in the dark."
And on the back of the box, "Duct tape not included".
But the users DO see those options without having to right click. Most apps (hell any app that follows good design standards) displays the options in the normal menus or on buttons. The context menu is just meant to provide "shortcut" access to commonly used options. eg: You select some text and the context menu shows cut/copy/paste. It's more intuitive seeing it right there than having to move the mouse up to a menu/buttons at the top of the screen and finding the same options.
Personally I think it seems a bit cheap to ship a one button mouse, but as some people have stated it forces companies to follow Apple design rules so fair enough.
On a related note, it is extremely frustrating using another persons PC. The extra buttons and especially the scroll wheel become second nature. I hate having to fix a PC problem for friends only to find they have a crapola $5 mouse with no scrollwheel.
1) However they (the buyers) are willing to pay. If anything they're a truer indication of lost sales. After all the people who download them off the net may NEVER be willing to spend cash on a movie. And the seller is deinfitely conclusively making a profit, unlike movie uploaders who are not actually seeing real cash at any point.
2) The quality of a lot of movies downloaded off the net is notoriously unwatchable (or so I've heard) ;) In fact a lot of the pirate discs on the street were probably downloaded off the net in the first place. That fact is a better reason to pursue the movie uploaders than anything else the MPAA has come up with.
3) I wouldn't think the movie downloaders are the demographic they're aiming at. After all if you look at college kids going to movies they're usually going there in a group with friends or on a date. How many people actually go to see a movie by themself? Those people would be more inclined to skip a cinema release and rent a DVD.
So the college kids who'd pay for movies are probably still paying for movies. Why? Because it's not as cool to take your date to sit in front of a tiny tv/PC monitor and watch a dodgy video compared to taking him/her to the cinema and watching the big screen. Same with a bunch of friends seeing a pic, harder to cram six friends around a small screen to watch "The Matrix" (or whatever).
So I'd hazard a guess that cinema attendance isn't affected as badly by movie sharing as they make out.I think you missed the gist of his question. As I interpret it the original poster was saying "How much security does a typical home PC really need?" and not "How do I make my PC as secure as possible?"
Frankly if it's a gaming PC that I do a little net surfing on I wouldn't even bother with a firewall and I wouldn't bother with a resident virus checker. Why? Because the PC is low risk. It has no passwords, bank account info etc. So my potential risk if it is compromised is basically a few hours reinstalling from the original CDs.
I'd say for a "typical" home user who not only does a bit of surfing and gaming but also does some internet banking and possibly a little work on their home PC the approach outlined in the original post is sufficient. Firewall, virus checker etc.
Good points. You're talking "equality of opportunity". This is what the world should be striving for. Because lets face it, we're *NOT* all equal. I know I'm not as smart as some people but smarter than others, not as strong as some but stronger than others, etc.
If we wanted a truly unbiased society then we should be saying simply "Who is the best at this job" and not looking at gender quotas or racial quotas, or sexuality quotas or any other non-ability based factors.
As for the function of these studies (let's ignore it's (in)accuracy for the moment) - if a study conclusively proves that men are better at math (or vice versa) then it could be used as a guide to determine whether due care is being taken in the selection process.
eg: If they work out a ratio of 60-40 men-women being good at math and the jobs are 90-10 then it may indicate that people aren't being selected on merit. And the selection criteria and process (interviewers etc) needs review.
What happens to patents and copyright? Considering there are so many complaints about the longevity of patents today can you imagine patents and copyright that last the lifespan of the inventor if this happens?
Yes that song from 2005 goes into the public domain somewhere around the year 3000. 0_o
That sounds a lot like Audioscrobbler. It doesn't do ratings but it keeps track of number of times a track is played so that equates to a similar value (ie: if you think a song sucks you won't play it 20 times). It then matches you with other people based on the songs you listen to and the songs they listen to.
It's not a bad way of finding similar types of music. Of course it doesn't help you find radically different music.
Are they talking profits or revenue? The interesting (and amazing) thing about Hollywood is the way a movie can cost $200 Million to make and earn $500 million yet not break even...apparently. There seems to be a huge amount of creative accounting that takes place after a film release that absorbs profits. I'd like to compare Movie *profits* with Game *profits* too.
I'd be interested to see how Half-Life 2's opening weekend of sales compared to Halo2's as well.
There's a few problems with that analogy - the govt may build the majority of the infrastructure when it comes to roads, but they don't build the majority of the infrastructure for the internet. They may have done the legwork years ago...
Not to mention highways... lets see tolls, speed limits, weight limits, etc. If you follow that analogy through to the internet do you really want the Govt dictating that you can only have a maximum of 1500k connection or you must use a certain type of modem? Extreme examples but still possible.
I'd rather see as little interference as possible from the Govt. But maybe that's because the Australian Tech minister is (was) a moron.
That was what struck me about the issue as well. It reads as though I could claim you were using a photo on your website that you don't own. So I complain to your ISP and your site gets taken down. Further it reads as though it doesn't even have to be *my* photo you're using I might just think it's not your photo and you're breeching copyright by using it.
I would hope that the regulations include really strict clauses about incorrect/malicious claims - including financial penalties. eg: If they issue a takedown notice and the file turns out to be legitimate they get slapped with a huge fine.
After hearing reports of certain companies claiming breech of copyright based purely on a file name without viewing the content I think we could cause major havoc. Just name a few files "britney spears.mp3" - even though it's a recording of your cat wailing. Then when the RIAA to a takedown notice they'll get hit by a fine cos it's not really copyrighted material!
Another thing I'd put in if I was writing the regulations would be a "required warning" clause. ie: The complainant would have to show proof that they'd attempted to contact the person/site that was allegedly breeching their copyright *before* the site could be taken down.
Be interesting to see how the public servants draft these regs...
I'd say it's made with Geek *money* in mind. Same as Tomb Raider and Mortal Kombat etc. They looked at the numbers for people buying the games and just translated that straight into movie tickets.
Pity they couldn't have at least had the courtesy to follow the plot of Doom for the first movie (at least reasonably closely). Then they could have thrown it all out for the sequels... and you know they're gonna churn *them* out. :(
Exactly! Why bother paying for the license when they're not really making use of it? It could be any one of a dozen cookie cutter sci-fi/action movies. If they don't keep the core (demons from hell invading Mars) then it just ain't Doom.
I'd assume the marketing suits figure all the "geeks" will want to go and see it because of the name alone. Be interesting to see if they change it too much whether it'll have the opposite effect and all the Doom fans will boycott the movie...
Be interesting to see the kids all unionize and dump every single RFID though. What does the school do when every single student refuses to use them? If only one or two kids do it they can be punished but how do they punish every student.
What bothers me about the difference between criminal and civil court is not so much the fines but the different burden of proof. There is a lot more proof required to find someone guilty of a criminal charge compared to a civil one.
The problem with that though is how do they determine the people to sue? If you use say emule/edonkey while you're downloading the file you may also be sharing it with several thousand other people. So even if you delete the file as soon as it finished downloading and you've watched it you would still technically be guilty of sharing it with a thousand people.
That's interesting because I've got three domains with Joker and I haven't seen a single email yet. And yes all my contact info is correct :)
I'm still a little hazy though, does this only apply to domains that are due to expire or can a domain be transferred away from you half way through your 2 year block? And for that matter do you lose ownership of it, or just have it transferred to another registrar?
There's so much FUD in this thread it's unclear...
While I hate spyware/adware as much as anyone else I believe that if it's mentioned in a EULA then it's the users own stupid fault if it's installed. And as long as the company provides a simple uninstaller I wouldn't consider it malware. It took less than a minute searching the WhenU website to hit this page detailing how to unintall their software: http://www.whenu.com/products_whenusearch_help.htm l#8
According to that there is an entry in the add/remove programs for their WhenU software so it is easily uninstalled. Now I haven't installed it to test whether it's true or not but for now I'll take them on their word. :)
I would suggest that spyware/adware removers class software into two categories. Malicious - where the software installs without notifying you and is difficult to remove (eg: Coolwebsearch) and Non-Malicious - where they provide you with info and a simple uninstall (eg: This WhenU stuff). That way when your anti-spyware program scans you get two lists and can make a choice based on that. Should keep us happy and the ad software companies as well (well at least it should stop the lawsuits).