over 1,000 pirated game discs I wonder if there actually were 1,000 discs, or if the ESA is making up similar statistics like the RIAA did.. Maybe it was only 77 dual layer DVD discs, not 1,000 650MB CD's. That would be fun all over again.
Actually, that was a pointless rambling.. I sincerely doubt the ESA would do something so laughably foul.
..so I know from experience that with networking they can be good. My friends' classes consisted mainly of learning how to use software for modeling, drawing, etc. and relatively few were related to actual design or industry practices. It wasn't until senior year that any of them actually worked on a project as they would at a job.
The people who are successful are those who would do a lot outside of school no matter what they were studying in school. I made basic Quake mods in 6th grade with a friend, and can hold conversations with these students about tools and techniques just because I've been interested in games over the years.
Do I think my friends will do well in the game industry? Not all of them. The ones I believe in have a deep interest in, and knowledge of, games. But they still don't know the first damn thing about technology (e.g. shorting your motherboard is bad, how a URL works).
This is a great idea. I made images of my family members' computers using Ghost via our network. That tidbit on my resume got me a job doing QA, since they used Ghost every time a new build came along.. That job ended up being the basis of my career:o
Taking the route of the 'tech savvy' person will always yield advantages down the line.
As an ex-Fry's employee, this is interesting. First thing I would say is that this kind of practice varies widely between departments. It virtually never occurred in mine, but I have many examples of ultra shifty warranty (and other) sales just form overhearing people from other departments. This variance occurs because of different Department Managers' values and goals.
The second thing, you mentioned it _was_ a dept. mgr. They kinda get commission from warranty sales, but it's indirect. I think the most likely explanation is that this particular DM was just an idiot and didn't really care about his job enough to bother checking facts. Either that or he somehow decided you were dumb (still makes him an idiot..).
So, in summary, your observations are correct; but don't go into an electronics store with prejudice (unless you're a time-traveling super-cop, etc.). The rules and practices vary so widely you'll be doing yourself a disservice if you assume anything, especially at a place where people make commissions. They have the biggest sleaze bags and the biggest morons.
No kidding. After hearing about all their usual "services" and that Consumerist story recently where Geeksquad collected personal files, this sort of thing isn't surprising. After learning a friend of mine had been promoted from a floor associate to the manager of the Geeksquad department at his store, and hearing about the kinds of things the "fucking idiots" pay them for.. I'm surprised they haven't been charging for recovery discs for longer.
All true. Another situation: the manager will temporarily run out of work they need done, and allow people to come in late, surf the web, and generally slack. That sounds bad, but when there is work to be done the workers are more likely to run right through it. For me it's a welcome change of pace, and I know when I can slack and when it would be helpful to work a little OT and not mark it. It evens out over time, and it sure is nice to have the freedom that ebb and flow allows.
Yes, there is an initial extra investment to modify your console, and that can prevent you from using XboxLive!, but then you have the freedom to try any game you want. If you're a PC gamer, there is no need to mod, a free software method should exist for the game.
I know it's bad and immoral etc. but if you think objectively about the game you will notice if you keep playing it, and will realize you should buy it. I like doing this because there is no initial risk to me, and when I find a good game I get to keep it mint in its cellophane, because I'm a dork like that.
I know this may not be adequate in this particular situation, since you already explained your objections to the conditions attached to this game, but it's still worth considering. You could be missing something great.
I've had very mixed experiences with WD drives. I know people who have always had good experiences with them, but I've noticed that some don't work with certain drive controllers.
Twice I have had WD drives that were functional stop working, randomly or when connected to a different motherboard/controller. Through testing on other motherboards/controllers, in both cases, I found that the drive was not recognized at all by some controllers (major brand names, that detected other Seagate, Maxtor, and WD drives with no problems). I was eventually able to find a PCI card that did recognize the drive.
Based on my first experience I stopped buying them, but helped a friend several years later with his drive that had randomly failed. It was SATA instead of PATA and had the same weird incompatibility. It worked on a Silicon Image based controller that is known to have a slight deviation from the SATA spec. (and it cost him an extra $35).
At least the government seems to realize there is a potential risk before they buy Chinese hardware. It was rather silly when they bought Lenovo's laptops then spent thousands auditing them.
But, then again, how else could they manage to waste money on bulk purchases of computer hardware?
He's very good at making rocket engines, it's just that players tend to enjoy the results of physics bugs whereas the laws of the universe tend to explode them.
I just saw that episode last night. We had ads in our.. (15 advertising mediums)..but not in our dreams.
And you're absolutely right. They're advertisers and only care about putting ads in potentially lucrative mediums.
It feels just like the ads in movie theaters. I swore those off and have only seen 3 or 4 movies in that type of theater since it started. People have decided they will dislike it and complain, but just deal with it. When I explain my theater avoision to those people, they just look at me funny and compliment my ability to stand for what I believe in. (Yes, The Simpsons was definitely one of my conscious oversights)
I've never thought it was all that difficult, but the naysayers are too few and too far between for the corporate sponsors to even notice.
Some people would prefer to have the 60GB unit because the 80GB unit has no Emotion Engine, but they're worried about the stock running dry before they have enough reason to buy one.
Sony predicts that, at current demand levels, the console will remain in the North American retail channel until fall. This is good news then, because at current Sony prediction levels, this means the 60GB unit will still be on shelves through the winter.
It wasn't explained in the movie, but could easily be explained by automated manufacturing/production. Think Forbidden Planet. We could create just enough to make basic sustainability easy in the next few hundred years. Hopefully, though, us smartypantses will have figured out how to stay present in the general populous.
Yes, the popularity definitely relies on more than one aspect like pop culture or science jokes.
I can't remember his name now, but your post reminds me of an excellent example in Family Guy, where Peter references somebody (a writer I think?) then the scene cuts to him; he looks up at the camera and just says "You don't even know who I am."
When I bought my refurbished iPod from Apple it wouldn't charge. I called them to ask why and they said the most likely reason was that I was using a PC and not a Mac.
I don't know about that. I think Sony is as dumb and foolish as the next guy, but unless LBP changes significantly, it will be my killer app for the PS3. I will drop $500 early to get an Emotion Engine unit. I might even camp out for LBP if I think it's necessary.
Today the game industry is vastly different from what it was when any of us were kids just getting into games. Everything games in the main stream are designed for is completely different from the design goals we remember. I think anybody here will agree, or at least know exactly what I'm talking about.
The "Hardcore Audience" was created out of nothing by marketing groups, and has changed the way non-gamers and relative newcomers think of video games. I'm not saying they stink and I'm oldskewl l33t or anything; many of these games are very good. But having been into video games as long as I have, I recognize them as what has been popular and successful in recent years, nothing more.
Everything that was revealed about the Revolution (once they started giving away actual details, that is) struck me as a return to old, well defined values. There was no question in my mind that the system would do well. Of course I didn't know it would do this well, but I did think it would do well enough to invest in Nintendo. [/IMHO]
And I also agree that this just shows how out of touch EA is with what makes a game a game. It was a good follow up laugh to the laugh I had when they said they wouldn't be supporting the Wii.
In fact, it helps this message propagate. I'm sure everybody remembers how attitudes and personalities seemed to change on the first day of middle school or junior high.. I thought it was very odd, and there sure were a few idiots out there whose personalities seemed to disappear completely.
But it didn't come close to the change that happened on the first day of high school. All of my friends and I were amazed. We saw a few other kids from other middle schools walking around who were visibly as shocked as we were.. But not enough of them to keep us from feeling uncomfortable about society's efforts to be "normal".
You know the saying "it takes a village to raise a child"? It's very true, and the current educational system is the wrong village.
I'm not one to throw out accusations of spin too often, but trying to present this as some sort of disrespect, slam, or screw job by MS seems a little unwarranted.
Quite correct, this is admission of a screw job and a further extended warranty to go along with the admission.
That makes me unsure whether or not I actually want to RTFA. I haven't read much of what Croal or Totilo have said in the past, but I had the impression Croal wrote some good stuff.
Please tell me that the rest of his words don't come off as an uninformed diatribe to those of us who are able to appreciate gaming..
Slashdot Mirror
Actually, that was a pointless rambling.. I sincerely doubt the ESA would do something so laughably foul.
..so I know from experience that with networking they can be good. My friends' classes consisted mainly of learning how to use software for modeling, drawing, etc. and relatively few were related to actual design or industry practices. It wasn't until senior year that any of them actually worked on a project as they would at a job.
The people who are successful are those who would do a lot outside of school no matter what they were studying in school. I made basic Quake mods in 6th grade with a friend, and can hold conversations with these students about tools and techniques just because I've been interested in games over the years.
Do I think my friends will do well in the game industry? Not all of them. The ones I believe in have a deep interest in, and knowledge of, games. But they still don't know the first damn thing about technology (e.g. shorting your motherboard is bad, how a URL works).
But, if the artificial intelligence is 'evil' then is the robot evil for merely being programmed with 'evil'? Or is the designer the evil one?
Yeah bunnies are fuz.. oh have you seen this commercial before!?
This is a great idea. I made images of my family members' computers using Ghost via our network. That tidbit on my resume got me a job doing QA, since they used Ghost every time a new build came along.. That job ended up being the basis of my career :o
Taking the route of the 'tech savvy' person will always yield advantages down the line.
As an ex-Fry's employee, this is interesting. First thing I would say is that this kind of practice varies widely between departments. It virtually never occurred in mine, but I have many examples of ultra shifty warranty (and other) sales just form overhearing people from other departments. This variance occurs because of different Department Managers' values and goals.
The second thing, you mentioned it _was_ a dept. mgr. They kinda get commission from warranty sales, but it's indirect. I think the most likely explanation is that this particular DM was just an idiot and didn't really care about his job enough to bother checking facts. Either that or he somehow decided you were dumb (still makes him an idiot..).
So, in summary, your observations are correct; but don't go into an electronics store with prejudice (unless you're a time-traveling super-cop, etc.). The rules and practices vary so widely you'll be doing yourself a disservice if you assume anything, especially at a place where people make commissions. They have the biggest sleaze bags and the biggest morons.
No kidding. After hearing about all their usual "services" and that Consumerist story recently where Geeksquad collected personal files, this sort of thing isn't surprising. After learning a friend of mine had been promoted from a floor associate to the manager of the Geeksquad department at his store, and hearing about the kinds of things the "fucking idiots" pay them for.. I'm surprised they haven't been charging for recovery discs for longer.
All true. Another situation: the manager will temporarily run out of work they need done, and allow people to come in late, surf the web, and generally slack. That sounds bad, but when there is work to be done the workers are more likely to run right through it. For me it's a welcome change of pace, and I know when I can slack and when it would be helpful to work a little OT and not mark it. It evens out over time, and it sure is nice to have the freedom that ebb and flow allows.
Yes, there is an initial extra investment to modify your console, and that can prevent you from using XboxLive!, but then you have the freedom to try any game you want. If you're a PC gamer, there is no need to mod, a free software method should exist for the game.
I know it's bad and immoral etc. but if you think objectively about the game you will notice if you keep playing it, and will realize you should buy it. I like doing this because there is no initial risk to me, and when I find a good game I get to keep it mint in its cellophane, because I'm a dork like that.
I know this may not be adequate in this particular situation, since you already explained your objections to the conditions attached to this game, but it's still worth considering. You could be missing something great.
I've had very mixed experiences with WD drives. I know people who have always had good experiences with them, but I've noticed that some don't work with certain drive controllers.
Twice I have had WD drives that were functional stop working, randomly or when connected to a different motherboard/controller. Through testing on other motherboards/controllers, in both cases, I found that the drive was not recognized at all by some controllers (major brand names, that detected other Seagate, Maxtor, and WD drives with no problems). I was eventually able to find a PCI card that did recognize the drive.
Based on my first experience I stopped buying them, but helped a friend several years later with his drive that had randomly failed. It was SATA instead of PATA and had the same weird incompatibility. It worked on a Silicon Image based controller that is known to have a slight deviation from the SATA spec. (and it cost him an extra $35).
At least the government seems to realize there is a potential risk before they buy Chinese hardware. It was rather silly when they bought Lenovo's laptops then spent thousands auditing them.
But, then again, how else could they manage to waste money on bulk purchases of computer hardware?
He's very good at making rocket engines, it's just that players tend to enjoy the results of physics bugs whereas the laws of the universe tend to explode them.
I just saw that episode last night. We had ads in our.. (15 advertising mediums) ..but not in our dreams.
And you're absolutely right. They're advertisers and only care about putting ads in potentially lucrative mediums.
It feels just like the ads in movie theaters. I swore those off and have only seen 3 or 4 movies in that type of theater since it started. People have decided they will dislike it and complain, but just deal with it. When I explain my theater avoision to those people, they just look at me funny and compliment my ability to stand for what I believe in. (Yes, The Simpsons was definitely one of my conscious oversights)
I've never thought it was all that difficult, but the naysayers are too few and too far between for the corporate sponsors to even notice.
It wasn't explained in the movie, but could easily be explained by automated manufacturing/production. Think Forbidden Planet. We could create just enough to make basic sustainability easy in the next few hundred years. Hopefully, though, us smartypantses will have figured out how to stay present in the general populous.
Yes, the popularity definitely relies on more than one aspect like pop culture or science jokes.
I can't remember his name now, but your post reminds me of an excellent example in Family Guy, where Peter references somebody (a writer I think?) then the scene cuts to him; he looks up at the camera and just says "You don't even know who I am."
When I bought my refurbished iPod from Apple it wouldn't charge. I called them to ask why and they said the most likely reason was that I was using a PC and not a Mac.
Parent is a troll?
I don't know about that. I think Sony is as dumb and foolish as the next guy, but unless LBP changes significantly, it will be my killer app for the PS3. I will drop $500 early to get an Emotion Engine unit. I might even camp out for LBP if I think it's necessary.
Today the game industry is vastly different from what it was when any of us were kids just getting into games. Everything games in the main stream are designed for is completely different from the design goals we remember. I think anybody here will agree, or at least know exactly what I'm talking about.
The "Hardcore Audience" was created out of nothing by marketing groups, and has changed the way non-gamers and relative newcomers think of video games. I'm not saying they stink and I'm oldskewl l33t or anything; many of these games are very good. But having been into video games as long as I have, I recognize them as what has been popular and successful in recent years, nothing more.
Everything that was revealed about the Revolution (once they started giving away actual details, that is) struck me as a return to old, well defined values. There was no question in my mind that the system would do well. Of course I didn't know it would do this well, but I did think it would do well enough to invest in Nintendo.
[/IMHO]
And I also agree that this just shows how out of touch EA is with what makes a game a game. It was a good follow up laugh to the laugh I had when they said they wouldn't be supporting the Wii.
If you were an Initech sysadmin, your opinion would be swayed by the delicious piece of cake you were enjoying right now!
In fact, it helps this message propagate. I'm sure everybody remembers how attitudes and personalities seemed to change on the first day of middle school or junior high.. I thought it was very odd, and there sure were a few idiots out there whose personalities seemed to disappear completely.
But it didn't come close to the change that happened on the first day of high school. All of my friends and I were amazed. We saw a few other kids from other middle schools walking around who were visibly as shocked as we were.. But not enough of them to keep us from feeling uncomfortable about society's efforts to be "normal".
You know the saying "it takes a village to raise a child"? It's very true, and the current educational system is the wrong village.
GIIIT OUTTA MAH OFFICE!
Quite correct, this is admission of a screw job and a further extended warranty to go along with the admission.
I've only had time to get through part of Round 1 so far, but it's quite good. I agree with the siblings that I should read the rest.. thanks guys.
That makes me unsure whether or not I actually want to RTFA. I haven't read much of what Croal or Totilo have said in the past, but I had the impression Croal wrote some good stuff.
Please tell me that the rest of his words don't come off as an uninformed diatribe to those of us who are able to appreciate gaming..