I would like to see how much time one spends every months getting Linux to function.:D
When I moved into this apartment, I wanted to get a Linux server set up to make use of my TV-in card. I installed Debian, which took about 5 hours altogether (the Debian discs I had were either netinst discs that couldn't use pppoe to install or full install discs that didn't have pppoe either; after I got one that worked, Debian screwed up the networking by putting in some arbitrary route that I told it not to have). After that, I upgraded everything, which took about 6 hours (the machine is quite low on ram, and was swapping like mad), then went to install the kernel. 2.4, 2.5, and even the 2.6 test releases, nothing would compile, and whatever did compile went fuckery on boot. After about 3 hours of fix-compile-reboot-recover I gave up on it.
I'm not a Linux newbie - I've used Linux (Debian) almost exclusively for around 7 years - but I guess Windows XP has spoiled me. Putting in the install disc, letting it run while I read a book, and then having everything work (and look good doing it) - it can ruin a guy on Linux. It's just not worth my time anymore.
I'd originally intended for it to be a small TV and ssh box, and instead I bought a TV and a PS2, and turned the tower and monitor into a set of bedside tables. Now I don't need it to watch TV, and I have no desire to go online anymore. Oh well.
To go along with a city-wide fibre-optic network, the City of Fredericton quietly launched a wireless network covering most of downtown Fredericton. It's free, all you have to do is associate to the network, and you're done.
The project, recently started, now covers a large part of downtown Fredericton, and is supposed to extend to the city's largest mall by the end of the year (it's getting close guys...), and then in 2004 to extend further, and, by the end of 2005, the entire city should be wired - or rather, not.
I'm looking forward to the mall being connected - there aren't any major obstructions between our house and the mall (that I'm aware of), so I might be able to get a clear signal. Here's hoping.
On the other hand, IBM Research has done pretty well, though it too has gone through hard times. Its contributions to open-source are substantial, and at the same time, it's much more in touch with the demands of the company.
Not to mention breaking the magnetic HD data density record. And then breaking it again a few months later. Their open-source contributions are more a child of their programming departments. IBM research, on the other hand, is the largest industrial research lab in the world, employing five nobel laureates, winning four Turing awards, and the national medals of technology and science to name a few. The technologies IBM's fellows have originated include RISC, DRAM, relational databases, virtual memory, and the scanning tunneling microscope, adding to IBM's collection of over 22,000 patents - having been awarded the most patents of any patenter in 2002 - as it has been for the last ten years.
So yeah, yay open-source, but credit where it's due - IBM Research has done a lot more for the world than their Linux programmers have.
Poppies in Afghanistan would be left alone even if people wouldn't starve, because the government has much more important things to deal with. Prostitution in Southeast Asia is left alone because of bribes and kickbacks, but mostly because it's socially acceptible, despite not being legal.
I'm sure that the amount of money this brings in isn't lost on the Nigerian police, but it got that way because no one got busted, and no one got busted because the police certainly don't care. The fact that the scammers are ripping off rich Westerners probably doesn't spur them towards action either though.
The actual premise of the transaction doesn't even sound legal. A banker needs to move money that isn't his by using an offshore account?
It isn't legal, it's wire fraud as I recall. The illegality of what you think you're trying to do is why no one ever nails the scammers for it. You lost your money trying to commit international wire fraud? Sounds fitting to me.
That's actually why the police in Nigeria don't particularly care about these scams - first of all, you're doing something illegal anyway (or, you think you are); secondly, you have to be pretty gullible to believe this stuff.
No, non-technical people are buying Intel/AMD-based computers because they're only $500, not realizing that they're pieces of shit.
What Apple really needs to focus on is the 'Value Myth' - that just because it's 1/4 of the price of a Mac doesn't mean it's 4 times the value of a Mac. You get a shitload more for your money buying a good computer, but people don't realize (or don't care) about that.
But I don't use Linux 'because it is Free as in Speech'. I use Linux because it's the right tool for the job. I don't care about the petty politics or socialist ideals that seem to spring whole from the mouth of Stallman. I just want to get the job done with a solution that works.
I answered the survey for this exact reason. If Microsoft wants to know what it is about Windows that makes me not use it, I'll tell them. In fact, I filled out both the home and server surveys separately - the home version indicating (for example) that I don't choose Linux because of the price, and the server version indicating that I do, in order to give them even better information than their survey will allow. I find that Windows XP is already better than Linux in a lot of ways - but not in the ways that matter for development. If Microsoft were to fix those issues, then I would be glad to use it, and drop some cash on XP2 Pro or whatever.
I don't like Microsoft's policies, and I don't like all of their software, but I will use it if it's the best tool for the job. I'm not blind to the fact that, at this point, open-source is not the be-all and end-all of software, and if Microsoft can make their products better, then so be it. If Linux wants to win in the desktop, server, or anywhere but the hobbyist's basement, it had better win on quality, not ideology. Most people understand this, but not all, yet.
Second, whose cell phone batteries are only $10? A new lithium-ion battery for my phone costs about $50, and that's just something you can snap on and off yourself.
I'm going to second this. I paid $200 for my cellphone (Canadian dollars, btw), and a new battery, when this one stops taking a charge, is - surprise - another $100. When that point comes around, I could buy a replacement phone for the same price, I'm sure.
The iPod should have about 500 charge cycles - times seven hours, that's a hell of a lot of use. So when they use this thing that much in this short of a time, and the battery dies, this is a problem? Or is it a problem that they tried to replace the battery and toasted their iPod? No, it seems to be that the battery wasn't (designed to be) user-replacable.
There's a reason for this. The iPod packs quite a lot of technology into a small and precise design. There's a hard drive, a firewire controller card, a display, a CPU, and a battery, all packed into a delightful selection of sleek lines and sexy curves. The battery, a lithium-polymer, needs to have very precise battery control and management circuitry, and it all needs to be kept working properly, in alignment, and so forth. If not, it could break or catch fire.
So in order to prevent people from fiddling with their iPods, having them catch fire, and then suing Apple by making a dangerous product (all the while breaking the clean, unblemished look of the device, and making it a tech-support headache), they made it one simple solid device that looks good, and, for most people, works fine. If you overuse it and it dies, then shit, sorry, but that's life.
To silence the comparisons to automogives - have you ever listened to the commercials where they warantee parts? It's always '5 years or 50,000 kilometers' or something of the sort - it should work for at least 5 years, unless you use it an obscene amount, in which case it might die sooner. This is what happened with this iPod, and that's too bad.
I'm not referring to normal 'American-style' fair use rights, keep in mind. I'm referring to the right to duplicate someone else's recording (a friend's Shania Twain CD) for your own use - that right hasn't been around for a long time, as far as I'm aware.
Also, technically, the levy isn't a tax, it's a levy. It's not charged to consumers by the government, it's charged to consumers by stores. The stores are charged by the government when they bring in recording devices for resale, and they kindly pass that on to us.
That being said, the levy goes to music producers (SOCANN, etc.) according to the ratio of sales - 20% of sales means 20% of the income from the levy. The levy is there to offset the costs to producers, artists, etc. of piracy. I know, it doesn't cost them anything directly, but it's entirely possible that I'll copy a CD instead of buying it - especially since I know I can - and that's what this levy is here for.
Personally, I'm willing to pay the levy in exchange for the extended 'fair use' rights granted by the Copyright Act.
Now that I have to pay this royalty, am i free to duplicate copyrighted material? Or will I now merely be paying twice for something.
Yep. Under section (as I recall) 80 of the Copyright Act, you may make a copy of any recording, in whole or in part, for personal use. However, you may not make a copy for anyone else's use, nor may they make a copy for your use. You have to be the one making a copy from the original format (CD, etc).
I'm going to second sawfish. I was stuck on 640x480 for a long time and Sawfish left me more then enough screen space to do my work without crud getting in the way. To this day, I still have trouble using WM (much though I love it) because of the amount of space it uses up for its stuff.
While I think that what Penny Arcade is doing is a wonderful attempt to change the public perception of gamers
That's not right at all. What Penny Arcade is doign is a wonderful attempt to change the lives of so many underprivileged kids. I'm sure they like the good publicity, but I'm also sure they couldn't care less about it. They're doing this to help, not to 'change the public perception of gamers'.
Of course, I could be wrong, but if I am, then I don't want any part of this endeavor - the right thing for the wrong reasons is still wrong.
1) Games on PC are all the fucking same - you take one engine, change the weapons, art, and levels, and you're done, it's all copycat shit.
2) They never fucking work - they don't work on Linux, almost none work on Mac (at EB, only the Blizzard stuff is Macompatible) and fuck, the ones designed for Windows need some pretty fucking specific hardware to work properly.
3) It's too fucking expensive - if I buy a new video card every odd-numbered year and a new processor or ram alternating even-numbered years, I'm spending a shitload but if I buy an XBox one year, a PS2 the next, and get a Gamecube for Christmas or something, I've spent less than the cost of a gaming PC. In fact, I've spent less than the cost of a shitty PC that won't do a fucking thing.
So instead of spending $2500 on a gaming PC with everything, I can spend $730 on every console there is. The GBA I can take with me, the XBox I can play online, and that leaves me with $1700 for games, or a new TV, or extra controllers to play two-player, something you can't do on a PC (unless your roommate wants to drop another $2500).
That $730 will last you 4-5 years on average (or, in the case of the Playstation, 8+ years), while the PC will have to be upgraded constantly, with video cards that cost the same as a new console every two years at least, or video cards that cost the same as two consoles if you want to go hardcore and get the best graphics. On consoles, one purchase is all it takes, and you'll have the best graphics for a long time.
Wait 'till you tell them said cables are being used on a computer running a "stoned beaver" OS kernel!
Like, I as a Canadian find that term offensive. It impllies that like, we Canadians are a total bunch of like potheads man. I mean, like really. You Ameridudes really need to like, chill out you know. Like, relax for a while and just veg out man. Just let it all go man, and live together in like, harmony man.
I've had quite a bit of experience with girl gamers, and I've found that some things can be said that are not always inaccurate, but that's about as specific as you can get.
I work with one girl who enjoys 'deep' games - Final Fantasy, Metroid, Zelda - and platformers - Mario, etc. I work with another who loves first person shooters (she goes for the sniper rifle every time - a girl after my own heart). Another I met the other day was raving about Max Payne 2 (she'd never played the first) - a game that she'd bought herself, not something she found on her boyfriend's computer.
A couple asked me the other day which system they should buy - XBox or PS2. I asked them what kind of games they had, and the guy said he played pretty much everything. I asked the lady, and she said she liked the 'fun' games, like Mario Kart on the N64. As soon as I mentioned Mario Kart Double Dash her eyes lit up. I've met a gaggle of ladies, from 14 to 74, looking for a copy of Harvest Moon 64 of late - for themselves, their mothers, or their daughters.
The impression that I tend to get of girls buying games (from my experience behind the counter) is that they don't tend to know anything about the games, and so they stick to what they know. If they're getting something for their boyfriend, they'll ask me for advice, or pick out a few things and get them (or, they'll ask the guy and get it for him). If they're buying for themselves, they tend to stick to games they've played already. I don't make a habit of asking people who their games are for, but when I ask girls if the game is for them/if they've played it, the answer is usually the same for both questions. Maybe it's coincidence.
Most of the 'girls' (and ladies) that come into my store alone are looking for (or looking for something for) their boyfriends. Most that come in with their boyfriends/husbands stand around bored to tears. I sometimes want to try and introduce them to the non-blow-em-up games and see if they'd like them, but that would be rather intrusive - 'I see you look bored, can I find something to sell you?' just doesn't go over well. Still, I'm willing to wager that every girl that comes into my store could find a game somewhere on my shelves that they would like. I'd pretty much guarantee it. But they don't bother to look, because they're not interested. And who would with front runners like Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, and the like?
To sum up, girls that I meet generally stick to games they know they like and have played before (a sensible attitude in this era of shitty overhyped games), as they seem to have this idea that they won't like any games, with a few exceptions (which may be true). Perhaps it's just a matter of 'girls don't like games' that girls are beginning to get over. Who knows?
Probably, the girls do. But no one seems to ever ask them.
Basically, you're suggesting what has happened in reality for thousands of years - getting jealous of power, and mobbing those who have it because of fear or envy.
I find it really interesting how MMORPGs reflect our basic human natures in so many ways.
IBM owning Novell is less obvious, as Novell lost their claim to the UNIX rights, in the early parts of this bout.
UNIX schmunix, that would be incidental. Novell's technologies like eDirectory and their groupware suite would be what really interests IBM. Linux has no directory service, and eDirectory is one of those fantastic things that Just Works once you get it all set up. That and its interoperability with the rest of Novell's offerings would be the icing on the cake, especially with Novell's push towards Linux with SUSE.
This would give IBM a much more complete set of offerings in the Linux sector for people who wanted it - and remember, IBM wants to be a service company, and they can't be a service company that suggests Linux if the solutions aren't there to use on it. That being said, they can't suggest programs from another vendor (Novell)...
For those musicians who are original and are making what I like to call "real music", it would be nice to have a little extra money to get their music out to the public.
The poster was being sarcastic, incidentally. Looking at most artists nowadays, it doesn't seem like they're suffering - watch any rap video and listen to how they brag about having the bling bling. It's sad and pathetic.
The point the poster was making is that the RIAA isn't fighting for the artists, it's fighting for the labels (and itself). Even if you were signed on Sony or BMI, I'm certain you wouldn't see a dime. Either way, you don't want to be on a record label anyway. You'd just get fucked.
I'm going to add to that list and say 'anyone who can't find a net radio station that fits their preference (it can be hard, believe me), and who doesn't want to just stick to what they know or dick around with most portable audio formats.
My roommate is the music director for a local station, the best in town. His radio station, like every other, gets pushed music - that is to say, the record labels deliver it to them, instead of them having to find stuff they want to play. He then finds the good stuff (not always top 40, not always popular) and plays it. From that, the people in this city get a sometimes eclectic but always interesting blend of pretty much everything the music world has to offer.
Screwing around trying to find a decent quality net radio station that does that would be impossible and limiting. Trying to program that kind of mix manually would require more work than I'm willing to put into my leisure time.
Just because the digital revolution allows us more options doesn't mean those options are always better. Sometimes, it's nice to be able to listen to the same tunes on the way to work, at the mall, in the car, and at home, without having to carry around extra technology. Radios are everywhere, and they will be for a long time. Why not use them?
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I would like to see how much time one spends every months getting Linux to function. :D
When I moved into this apartment, I wanted to get a Linux server set up to make use of my TV-in card. I installed Debian, which took about 5 hours altogether (the Debian discs I had were either netinst discs that couldn't use pppoe to install or full install discs that didn't have pppoe either; after I got one that worked, Debian screwed up the networking by putting in some arbitrary route that I told it not to have). After that, I upgraded everything, which took about 6 hours (the machine is quite low on ram, and was swapping like mad), then went to install the kernel. 2.4, 2.5, and even the 2.6 test releases, nothing would compile, and whatever did compile went fuckery on boot. After about 3 hours of fix-compile-reboot-recover I gave up on it.
I'm not a Linux newbie - I've used Linux (Debian) almost exclusively for around 7 years - but I guess Windows XP has spoiled me. Putting in the install disc, letting it run while I read a book, and then having everything work (and look good doing it) - it can ruin a guy on Linux. It's just not worth my time anymore.
I'd originally intended for it to be a small TV and ssh box, and instead I bought a TV and a PS2, and turned the tower and monitor into a set of bedside tables. Now I don't need it to watch TV, and I have no desire to go online anymore. Oh well.
Go Linux.
--Dan
To go along with a city-wide fibre-optic network, the City of Fredericton quietly launched a wireless network covering most of downtown Fredericton. It's free, all you have to do is associate to the network, and you're done.
The project, recently started, now covers a large part of downtown Fredericton, and is supposed to extend to the city's largest mall by the end of the year (it's getting close guys...), and then in 2004 to extend further, and, by the end of 2005, the entire city should be wired - or rather, not.
I'm looking forward to the mall being connected - there aren't any major obstructions between our house and the mall (that I'm aware of), so I might be able to get a clear signal. Here's hoping.
--Dan
'Correpondants must answer a skill-testing question before sending the email. Not valid in Quebec. See administrator for full contest rules.'
--Dan
On the other hand, IBM Research has done pretty well, though it too has gone through hard times. Its contributions to open-source are substantial, and at the same time, it's much more in touch with the demands of the company.
Not to mention breaking the magnetic HD data density record. And then breaking it again a few months later. Their open-source contributions are more a child of their programming departments. IBM research, on the other hand, is the largest industrial research lab in the world, employing five nobel laureates, winning four Turing awards, and the national medals of technology and science to name a few. The technologies IBM's fellows have originated include RISC, DRAM, relational databases, virtual memory, and the scanning tunneling microscope, adding to IBM's collection of over 22,000 patents - having been awarded the most patents of any patenter in 2002 - as it has been for the last ten years.
So yeah, yay open-source, but credit where it's due - IBM Research has done a lot more for the world than their Linux programmers have.
--Dan
Poppies in Afghanistan would be left alone even if people wouldn't starve, because the government has much more important things to deal with. Prostitution in Southeast Asia is left alone because of bribes and kickbacks, but mostly because it's socially acceptible, despite not being legal.
I'm sure that the amount of money this brings in isn't lost on the Nigerian police, but it got that way because no one got busted, and no one got busted because the police certainly don't care. The fact that the scammers are ripping off rich Westerners probably doesn't spur them towards action either though.
--Dan
The actual premise of the transaction doesn't even sound legal. A banker needs to move money that isn't his by using an offshore account?
It isn't legal, it's wire fraud as I recall. The illegality of what you think you're trying to do is why no one ever nails the scammers for it. You lost your money trying to commit international wire fraud? Sounds fitting to me.
--Dan
That's actually why the police in Nigeria don't particularly care about these scams - first of all, you're doing something illegal anyway (or, you think you are); secondly, you have to be pretty gullible to believe this stuff.
--Dan
No, non-technical people are buying Intel/AMD-based computers because they're only $500, not realizing that they're pieces of shit.
What Apple really needs to focus on is the 'Value Myth' - that just because it's 1/4 of the price of a Mac doesn't mean it's 4 times the value of a Mac. You get a shitload more for your money buying a good computer, but people don't realize (or don't care) about that.
--Dan
But I don't use Linux 'because it is Free as in Speech'. I use Linux because it's the right tool for the job. I don't care about the petty politics or socialist ideals that seem to spring whole from the mouth of Stallman. I just want to get the job done with a solution that works.
I answered the survey for this exact reason. If Microsoft wants to know what it is about Windows that makes me not use it, I'll tell them. In fact, I filled out both the home and server surveys separately - the home version indicating (for example) that I don't choose Linux because of the price, and the server version indicating that I do, in order to give them even better information than their survey will allow. I find that Windows XP is already better than Linux in a lot of ways - but not in the ways that matter for development. If Microsoft were to fix those issues, then I would be glad to use it, and drop some cash on XP2 Pro or whatever.
I don't like Microsoft's policies, and I don't like all of their software, but I will use it if it's the best tool for the job. I'm not blind to the fact that, at this point, open-source is not the be-all and end-all of software, and if Microsoft can make their products better, then so be it. If Linux wants to win in the desktop, server, or anywhere but the hobbyist's basement, it had better win on quality, not ideology. Most people understand this, but not all, yet.
--Dan
Second, whose cell phone batteries are only $10? A new lithium-ion battery for my phone costs about $50, and that's just something you can snap on and off yourself.
I'm going to second this. I paid $200 for my cellphone (Canadian dollars, btw), and a new battery, when this one stops taking a charge, is - surprise - another $100. When that point comes around, I could buy a replacement phone for the same price, I'm sure.
The iPod should have about 500 charge cycles - times seven hours, that's a hell of a lot of use. So when they use this thing that much in this short of a time, and the battery dies, this is a problem? Or is it a problem that they tried to replace the battery and toasted their iPod? No, it seems to be that the battery wasn't (designed to be) user-replacable.
There's a reason for this. The iPod packs quite a lot of technology into a small and precise design. There's a hard drive, a firewire controller card, a display, a CPU, and a battery, all packed into a delightful selection of sleek lines and sexy curves. The battery, a lithium-polymer, needs to have very precise battery control and management circuitry, and it all needs to be kept working properly, in alignment, and so forth. If not, it could break or catch fire.
So in order to prevent people from fiddling with their iPods, having them catch fire, and then suing Apple by making a dangerous product (all the while breaking the clean, unblemished look of the device, and making it a tech-support headache), they made it one simple solid device that looks good, and, for most people, works fine. If you overuse it and it dies, then shit, sorry, but that's life.
To silence the comparisons to automogives - have you ever listened to the commercials where they warantee parts? It's always '5 years or 50,000 kilometers' or something of the sort - it should work for at least 5 years, unless you use it an obscene amount, in which case it might die sooner. This is what happened with this iPod, and that's too bad.
--Dan
I'm not referring to normal 'American-style' fair use rights, keep in mind. I'm referring to the right to duplicate someone else's recording (a friend's Shania Twain CD) for your own use - that right hasn't been around for a long time, as far as I'm aware.
Also, technically, the levy isn't a tax, it's a levy. It's not charged to consumers by the government, it's charged to consumers by stores. The stores are charged by the government when they bring in recording devices for resale, and they kindly pass that on to us.
That being said, the levy goes to music producers (SOCANN, etc.) according to the ratio of sales - 20% of sales means 20% of the income from the levy. The levy is there to offset the costs to producers, artists, etc. of piracy. I know, it doesn't cost them anything directly, but it's entirely possible that I'll copy a CD instead of buying it - especially since I know I can - and that's what this levy is here for.
Personally, I'm willing to pay the levy in exchange for the extended 'fair use' rights granted by the Copyright Act.
--Dan
Now that I have to pay this royalty, am i free to duplicate copyrighted material? Or will I now merely be paying twice for something.
Yep. Under section (as I recall) 80 of the Copyright Act, you may make a copy of any recording, in whole or in part, for personal use. However, you may not make a copy for anyone else's use, nor may they make a copy for your use. You have to be the one making a copy from the original format (CD, etc).
--Dan
Probably the bullet just didn't have the speed necessary to escape the XBox's gravity.
--Dan
I'm going to second sawfish. I was stuck on 640x480 for a long time and Sawfish left me more then enough screen space to do my work without crud getting in the way. To this day, I still have trouble using WM (much though I love it) because of the amount of space it uses up for its stuff.
--Dan
While I think that what Penny Arcade is doing is a wonderful attempt to change the public perception of gamers
That's not right at all. What Penny Arcade is doign is a wonderful attempt to change the lives of so many underprivileged kids. I'm sure they like the good publicity, but I'm also sure they couldn't care less about it. They're doing this to help, not to 'change the public perception of gamers'.
Of course, I could be wrong, but if I am, then I don't want any part of this endeavor - the right thing for the wrong reasons is still wrong.
--Dan
1) Games on PC are all the fucking same - you take one engine, change the weapons, art, and levels, and you're done, it's all copycat shit.
2) They never fucking work - they don't work on Linux, almost none work on Mac (at EB, only the Blizzard stuff is Macompatible) and fuck, the ones designed for Windows need some pretty fucking specific hardware to work properly.
3) It's too fucking expensive - if I buy a new video card every odd-numbered year and a new processor or ram alternating even-numbered years, I'm spending a shitload but if I buy an XBox one year, a PS2 the next, and get a Gamecube for Christmas or something, I've spent less than the cost of a gaming PC. In fact, I've spent less than the cost of a shitty PC that won't do a fucking thing.
So instead of spending $2500 on a gaming PC with everything, I can spend $730 on every console there is. The GBA I can take with me, the XBox I can play online, and that leaves me with $1700 for games, or a new TV, or extra controllers to play two-player, something you can't do on a PC (unless your roommate wants to drop another $2500).
That $730 will last you 4-5 years on average (or, in the case of the Playstation, 8+ years), while the PC will have to be upgraded constantly, with video cards that cost the same as a new console every two years at least, or video cards that cost the same as two consoles if you want to go hardcore and get the best graphics. On consoles, one purchase is all it takes, and you'll have the best graphics for a long time.
--Dan
Wait 'till you tell them said cables are being used on a computer running a "stoned beaver" OS kernel!
Like, I as a Canadian find that term offensive. It impllies that like, we Canadians are a total bunch of like potheads man. I mean, like really. You Ameridudes really need to like, chill out you know. Like, relax for a while and just veg out man. Just let it all go man, and live together in like, harmony man.
--Like, Dan, y'know?
I've had quite a bit of experience with girl gamers, and I've found that some things can be said that are not always inaccurate, but that's about as specific as you can get.
I work with one girl who enjoys 'deep' games - Final Fantasy, Metroid, Zelda - and platformers - Mario, etc. I work with another who loves first person shooters (she goes for the sniper rifle every time - a girl after my own heart). Another I met the other day was raving about Max Payne 2 (she'd never played the first) - a game that she'd bought herself, not something she found on her boyfriend's computer.
A couple asked me the other day which system they should buy - XBox or PS2. I asked them what kind of games they had, and the guy said he played pretty much everything. I asked the lady, and she said she liked the 'fun' games, like Mario Kart on the N64. As soon as I mentioned Mario Kart Double Dash her eyes lit up. I've met a gaggle of ladies, from 14 to 74, looking for a copy of Harvest Moon 64 of late - for themselves, their mothers, or their daughters.
The impression that I tend to get of girls buying games (from my experience behind the counter) is that they don't tend to know anything about the games, and so they stick to what they know. If they're getting something for their boyfriend, they'll ask me for advice, or pick out a few things and get them (or, they'll ask the guy and get it for him). If they're buying for themselves, they tend to stick to games they've played already. I don't make a habit of asking people who their games are for, but when I ask girls if the game is for them/if they've played it, the answer is usually the same for both questions. Maybe it's coincidence.
Most of the 'girls' (and ladies) that come into my store alone are looking for (or looking for something for) their boyfriends. Most that come in with their boyfriends/husbands stand around bored to tears. I sometimes want to try and introduce them to the non-blow-em-up games and see if they'd like them, but that would be rather intrusive - 'I see you look bored, can I find something to sell you?' just doesn't go over well. Still, I'm willing to wager that every girl that comes into my store could find a game somewhere on my shelves that they would like. I'd pretty much guarantee it. But they don't bother to look, because they're not interested. And who would with front runners like Grand Theft Auto, Call of Duty, and the like?
To sum up, girls that I meet generally stick to games they know they like and have played before (a sensible attitude in this era of shitty overhyped games), as they seem to have this idea that they won't like any games, with a few exceptions (which may be true). Perhaps it's just a matter of 'girls don't like games' that girls are beginning to get over. Who knows?
Probably, the girls do. But no one seems to ever ask them.
--Dan
Basically, you're suggesting what has happened in reality for thousands of years - getting jealous of power, and mobbing those who have it because of fear or envy.
I find it really interesting how MMORPGs reflect our basic human natures in so many ways.
--Dan
IBM owning Novell is less obvious, as Novell lost their claim to the UNIX rights, in the early parts of this bout.
UNIX schmunix, that would be incidental. Novell's technologies like eDirectory and their groupware suite would be what really interests IBM. Linux has no directory service, and eDirectory is one of those fantastic things that Just Works once you get it all set up. That and its interoperability with the rest of Novell's offerings would be the icing on the cake, especially with Novell's push towards Linux with SUSE.
This would give IBM a much more complete set of offerings in the Linux sector for people who wanted it - and remember, IBM wants to be a service company, and they can't be a service company that suggests Linux if the solutions aren't there to use on it. That being said, they can't suggest programs from another vendor (Novell)...
--Dan
I don't see how they could abandon compatibility, since they've claimed backwards compatibility with the XBox. Hmm...
--Dan
For those musicians who are original and are making what I like to call "real music", it would be nice to have a little extra money to get their music out to the public.
The poster was being sarcastic, incidentally. Looking at most artists nowadays, it doesn't seem like they're suffering - watch any rap video and listen to how they brag about having the bling bling. It's sad and pathetic.
The point the poster was making is that the RIAA isn't fighting for the artists, it's fighting for the labels (and itself). Even if you were signed on Sony or BMI, I'm certain you wouldn't see a dime. Either way, you don't want to be on a record label anyway. You'd just get fucked.
--Dan
What happened to side scrollers???
Viewtiful Joe happened to them - and all I can say is damn!
Score one for Capcom. Maybe they're trying to make amends for the Super Street Fighter Alpha II Championship Ex garbage they were pulling before.
--Dan
In communist Vietnam, war wins you!
--Dan
In short, a LOT of people.
I'm going to add to that list and say 'anyone who can't find a net radio station that fits their preference (it can be hard, believe me), and who doesn't want to just stick to what they know or dick around with most portable audio formats.
My roommate is the music director for a local station, the best in town. His radio station, like every other, gets pushed music - that is to say, the record labels deliver it to them, instead of them having to find stuff they want to play. He then finds the good stuff (not always top 40, not always popular) and plays it. From that, the people in this city get a sometimes eclectic but always interesting blend of pretty much everything the music world has to offer.
Screwing around trying to find a decent quality net radio station that does that would be impossible and limiting. Trying to program that kind of mix manually would require more work than I'm willing to put into my leisure time.
Just because the digital revolution allows us more options doesn't mean those options are always better. Sometimes, it's nice to be able to listen to the same tunes on the way to work, at the mall, in the car, and at home, without having to carry around extra technology. Radios are everywhere, and they will be for a long time. Why not use them?
--Dan