I disagree. I think that the BluRay functionality would be a major reason to purchase one, especially if the price dropped. However, that's exactly why a price drop is not going to happen. It has nothing to do with the PS3 but with the positioning of other products.
In particular, Sony just announced a set-top BluRay player for - look at that - $599, which is the MSRP of one of their PS3 models, I believe. I would not be surprised that the reason for the price drop of the player is to match the PS3 price. "Hey, wait. People are buying our PS3s to be BluRay players, so our regular BluRay players are just sitting on the shelf." Now people have a choice for roughly the same price: a PS3 without the full functionality of a standalone BluRay player -or- a full player with all of the features that a PS3 doesn't have but it cannot play PS3/2/1 games. If they dropped the price of the PS3, that would undercut their position on their new, lower cost BluRay player.
It seems more to me that they're trying to avoid making the PS3 the BluRay player of choice because of having a lower cost that an fully featured player, which is exactly what would happen if they dropped the price.
Wow. Care to dash your credibility any further? By admitting that you weren't even the admin means that you clearly have no idea what you're talking about.
So, let me get this straight... you are critical of a company for software/hardware that someone else was administering, so who knows how it might have been installed or configured. Additionally, you don't even know the architecture that was being used with a vague statement about a server sometime between 2000-2004. Do you have any idea of how many dozens of different styles of servers that Sun released in that time? Was it even a server that was released in that frame or was it an older box that was still hanging around? You might as well say, "I had reliability problems with a car made by [insert company here] sometime between 2000 and 2004, but I was just a passenger."
And you expect us to take your statements about Solaris/Java/OO with any seriousness? You accuse me of inaccuracy when you yourself have no credible knowledge of the environment that you were criticizing?
Big time troll. We're talking "The Hobbit" troll -- all three of them wrapped up into one with a nice coating of bullsh*t on the outside.
I've been using OpenOffice ever since it was released - on both Solaris and Windows - and I've never had "stability" issues. In fact, I haven't voluntarily used any MS Office product, with the exception of MS Publisher, in years. I've had Solaris boxes that were heavy-use, web development servers with uptimes of more than 13 months, as in 13 months without rebooting but getting heavy development usage every weekday. It's been a long time since I've run into a Sun server that crashed for no apparent reason. Anyone who has seriously worked with Sun hardware and Solaris knows better. This guy probably tried it, had no clue what he was doing, and gave up, or else he tried to run Solaris on some crap x86 hardware that was barely compatible.
Referring to Solaris as "unstable" is like referring to a Mack truck as a "Yugo".
I'd trust a Sun-released version of a Word export filter far, far more than I'd trust Microsoft to release the same because you know that MS would never make it fully compatible in order to protect their monopoly.
At what point did I say that I was talking to all of Europe? At what point did I say that all of Europe should consider buying a US PS3? In fact, I was responding specifically to someone from the UK for a scenario that involves only the UK.
Not to worry. I know people with four out of five of those last names here in the U.S. who are native-born, U.S. citizens. I'm sure that they're not willing to throw away any PS2s that they might have because of the inferior, European PS3.:P
Before I continue, want to make it clear that I'm not trolling. I'm just curious about this.
What's to prevent you from purchasing a US version? Yes, you will most likely be restricted to purchasing games and movies from the US thanks to bullsh*t region coding, but from what I understand most TVs in the UK will support NTSC as well as PAL. Hardware like controllers or cables should work regardless of the version of the PS3, or so I would think. And when it comes to software, when I buy CDs or DVDs from around the world they generally arrive in less than a week using standard air mail. One of my friends in London buys DVDs from the US regularly.
Obviously, getting everything native to the UK would be infinitely more convenient for you, but if backwards compatibility is that important, would not a US PS3 be an acceptable inconvenience? Plus the exchange rate is definitely in England's favor!
Urgh! Too many classical composer puns for anyone to Handel. We ought to throw any classical pun abusers into jail with one person Percell until they Telemann (and women) that they're sorry.
Okay, it wasn't that great, but you already took the obvious ones. It was very Strauss-ful coming up with new ones.
I was waiting for someone to state that exact response. Thank you for not making me wait too long. No, it absolutely does not sound silly. Your attempt to equate the two is what sounds silly, or actually closer to ignorant.
As people like you always tend to forget, upgrading a PC vs. a console it a totally different experience. When you upgrade a console, it's with the expectation of newer and better games. The console is expected to be engineered with a narrow scope and hardware platform with one specific function -- to play games, although admittedly many are marching towards becoming media centers. The hardware is a specific chipset; the coding is for a specific set of circuitry. You can have a reasonable expectation that everything will work just fine and if something goes wrong, you lose your ability to play games.
With Remedy's expectations that you must upgrade to Vista, there are a ton of other issues that might be affected. We're already getting reports of hardware and software incompatibilities across the board. If you have iTunes, don't go to Vista - the blue screen will follow. I've been reading that old games run slower on Vista than on XP. I've not heard good things about NVidia's drivers for Vista. There are lots of reports of application incompatibility.
So, upgrading to Vista just because Remedy doesn't want to use DX9 will likely have more ramifications than just the cost of upgrading to a new operating system. In this case, if something goes wrong you could lose a lot more than just your ability to play games, not the least of which is who-know-how-many hours possibly rebuilding your PC, loss of data, inability to use software that you've been using for years, and lots of other headaches that have been reported for just about every new Windows version since 3.1 -> 95.
In fairness, some have reported no problems at all with Vista, and I say "Good for them". And, yes, yes, we know all about backups or using a test PC instead, blah, blah, blah. We're geeks. We know all about that. Some ignoramus parent who buys Vista (A) because it's programmed into them by Microsoft marketing, (B) because they want to have the newest status symbol, or (C) because their kid is screaming to play Crysis or Alan Wake isn't going to take the same precaution and therefore risks encountering a lot of upgrade problems. "Gee, dad. Did you back up all of your data before you tried to upgrade?" "No." "How far back does your data go?" "Since XP was released." You don't run into that with a console upgrade because your old console is still there!
Upgrading to Vista just to play one game has far more risks involved for things that have nothing to do with that game than buying a new console just to play one game. Forcing customers to a whole new operating system is a much more arrogant statement on the company than forcing them to buy a new console.
No, this is NOT a PC/360 exclusive title. This is a VISTA/360 exclusive title.
From TFA (emphasis mine): Alan Wake will require either the Windows Vista operating system or Microsoft's Xbox 360 gaming console as its platform.
Go f**k yourselves, Remedy! I'm not switching to Vista just to play one of your damned games! You want me to play your game? I expect a copy of Vista to come with it, and we all know that that's NOT going to happen. Otherwise, I'll be sticking with XP and going back to your gaming pinnacles, Max Payne and Max Payne 2!
My CDs can be used on every Windows/Mac/Linux/Solaris box and CD player in my house, my car, or at work with no loss in audio quality and no restrictions on how many pieces of hardware it's played on. Can you say the same for your iTunes downloads?
(Not trying to be a prick. Just playing Devil's Advocate at this point.)
Yes, yes, I know. You hate CDs. But the notion that Beatles music is not available at any online store is a misnomer. And I guess that we're just going to have to agree to disagree when it comes to our definitions of "a convenient, simple and cost effective solution".:)
I do understand where you're going with that. I've done the same thing. I have some CDs that were the fourth iteration of that album, having been preceeded by 8-track, cassette, and LP. But with CD it's not nearly as much of an issue. Vinyl gets worn every time you run the needle over it. That's unavoidable. Tape loses its signal quality every time you play it. That's unavoidable.
But with CDs, just rip a high-quality set of MP3s/OGGs/AACs or whatever, then tuck the original away in a cool area where you won't be bothered by it. Then use a backup CD for the car or wherever. If something happens to that backup CD, burn another copy from your MP3s/OGGs/AACs or whatever. All of the CDs in my car are copies of my legally-owned CDs. They're also ripped to my hard drive as 240-320 VBR MP3s. If anything happens to the copies in my car, I burn another one from the MP3s. If anything happens to my hard drive, I can get the original CD from the CD rack in the basement and create new MP3s.
Until something completely replaces CD, which I don't see happening any time soon, a CD purchase that you make today should last a hell of a long time.
Sorry, but I just can't buy (no pun intended) the argument about waste of money and materials. It's only a waste of money and materials for the time that you think that you don't need it. If something happens to your data and you have no immediate way to get your songs back from iTunes, a CD that you tucked away in a closet would be the perfect solution.
I understand that jewel cases can be bulky and a waste of space, so why not take the CD and put in a paper sleeve. The CD would then take up - what? - 1/8" of space? You could then put it in a shoebox somewhere!
Honestly, that excuse just doesn't fly. I have over 500 CDs. They're all on two CD racks of about four shelves each rack in the corner of my basement. They're completely out of the way. If I need the disc for some reason, I just run downstairs. If space becomes an issue, I'll just buy a few of those CD binders and put them on a bookshelf.
And I can still have all of my music DRM-free on my file server.
I'm not saying that your way is wrong. If that's the way you want to do it, fine. I just can't understand for the life of me why anyone would want so badly to avoid a very thin piece of plastic and rely solely on a digital medium that is stored on a mechanical medium that will -- not might -- eventually break with no method of recovery except to once again rely on another mechanical medium that will -- not might -- eventually break.
Honestly, I don't understand what this is all about. Why are people making such a big deal about the Beatles being available on iTunes? Has everyone suddenly forgotten about this thing called a compact disc? You just pop it in your CD-ROM drive, run CDex to convert the audio files to MP3, then move the files over to your MP3 player! I've done it! It's not so hard! I actually slammed some knucklehead on Engadget who said that he downloaded the Beatles' songs illegally because he couldn't download them legally! WTF? Is this what we've reduced ourselves to? Are physical discs now completely taboo?
Ordering music online? I buy music online that's not on iTunes lots of times! It's called a "compact disc"! Sure, it takes a few days for it to arrive, but when it gets here I can do whatever I want with it, including rip it to MP3 and put it on my MP3 player.
I know, I know. iTunes gives you the ability to download individual songs as well at whole albums. Well, I'm a big Beatles fan and probably 90% of their most popular songs are on the "1962-1966 (Red Album)" and "1967-1970 (Blue Album)" CD sets.
But even if you wanted songs that are not on those two sets, in total we're talking about 13 original albums that were produced. Sure, that would cost a bit of money to buy brand-new CDs online or at brick-and-mortar stores, but what about discount stores? What about used CD stores? What about eBay, for crying out loud? You can get all of the Beatles CDs (used) for probably less than what iTunes will charge, and you'll at least have a physical, DRM-free CD in your hands! Yes, there are certain things where "instant gratification" is required, like insulin to a diabetic. But music is NOT an "instant gratification" requirement to survive! Is it really that hard to wait a few days for a CD to be shipped?
Come on, people! Just because music isn't available on iTunes doesn't mean that it's not available at all! It's absolutely staggering to see that there are actually people out there who refuse to buy a physical disc anymore, and even more staggering to see people act as though iTunes is the only music repository available. Don't you think this whole iTunes thing is being taken a bit too far?
No, this isn't flamebait, damn it, but it is certainly a question of the degradation of patience in this society when we can't wait a few days for a 5-inch piece of reflective plastic to arrive in the mail and we can't look in the phone book for used CD stores in the area.
That's exactly where I got my Wii two weeks after Thanksgiving. I never expected it. In fact, I was in a Game Stop in the same plaza asking when they expected to get more Wiis in when the guy behind me said, "I just got one at Target. They got ten of them in an hour ago." Sure enough, they still had six of them on the floor -- five after I was done.:)
Another thing to do is to avoid the chain stores that are in prime locations. I got three Wiimotes and an additional nunchuck in a Toys R Us and GameStop that were in two different but not-very-popular malls. Trying to find them in a popular mall shows an immense trust in luck. I've also heard of very Wiierd:) situations where a store like Best Buy will get four or five Wiis in a city store but they'll get twenty or so in one of their out-of-the-way stores.
Of course, if you want to pay a premium, there's always eBay.:/
But that's also assuming that you can get your hands on that! From what I've been reading, it's just as difficult to get that on pre-order as it is to get a remote!
I must have gotten really lucky. I managed to get three additional Wiimotes and an additional nunchuck within a week of each other from two different stores.:/
As long as they have enough Wiimotes to plug them into. From what I've been seeing, getting additional Wiimotes appears to be a bit of a problem right now.;)
Besides, there are 3rd party, wireless GC controller manufacturers out there. I got three genuine controllers and a smaller, 3rd party controller for my daughter. I've played several hours of Sonic and SMB with the GC controller and haven't had a problem. Admittedly, it's not like those games require a lot of controller action.
I'd strongly recommend getting the wireless Gamecube controllers instead of the Classic controllers. At least wireless Gamecube controllers can be used with Gamecube games and they work with all of the VC games. If you buy the Classic controller, okay, it connects to the bottom of the Wiimote, so that makes it wireless, but if you want to play any GC games you'll need to buy GC controllers anyway.
I play all of my VC games with wireless GC controllers after returning the unopened Classic controllers that I bought. Haven't regretted it for a second. And now that rechargeable batteries are dropping in price, there is no reason to get the Classic controller unless you simply want it for the sake of having it... that whole Wii "continuity" thing, I suppose.
And I've not seen a place out of stock of wireless GC controllers while the CC area remains out of stock.
I love the arrogance as though there are no women out there who like Star Trek or that anyone who enjoys Trek has no sex life! WTF??? My wife and I have been married almost 14 years, and she watches Trek more than I do! In fact, she's the one who keeps pressing to complete our various Star Trek DVD collections! Jeez, I wish Slashdot would knock it off with the bullshit stereotypes!
As for resale value, don't you think it's possible that he doesn't see a need to sell the house any time soon so he just wants to enjoy it as "his house" for a while? Not every home improvement is rooted in resale value, you know. You obviously either don't own a house or you're too concerned about money to enjoy your house.
So, how is moving to Canada going to resolve their issue? From what I understand, they're just as bad as the U.S. when it comes to matters of copyright. Going to Canada is like jumping out of the frying pan into another frying pan that's over the same fire. If their intention really was for piracy and profit, then Sweden would be the most appropriate option. I'm not saying that you're wrong, but either they're blowing a sh!tload of smoke or they've got some really incompetent people running it.
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I disagree. I think that the BluRay functionality would be a major reason to purchase one, especially if the price dropped. However, that's exactly why a price drop is not going to happen. It has nothing to do with the PS3 but with the positioning of other products.
In particular, Sony just announced a set-top BluRay player for - look at that - $599, which is the MSRP of one of their PS3 models, I believe. I would not be surprised that the reason for the price drop of the player is to match the PS3 price. "Hey, wait. People are buying our PS3s to be BluRay players, so our regular BluRay players are just sitting on the shelf." Now people have a choice for roughly the same price: a PS3 without the full functionality of a standalone BluRay player -or- a full player with all of the features that a PS3 doesn't have but it cannot play PS3/2/1 games. If they dropped the price of the PS3, that would undercut their position on their new, lower cost BluRay player.
It seems more to me that they're trying to avoid making the PS3 the BluRay player of choice because of having a lower cost that an fully featured player, which is exactly what would happen if they dropped the price.
Just my two cents. I still don't want a PS3.
Wow. Care to dash your credibility any further? By admitting that you weren't even the admin means that you clearly have no idea what you're talking about.
... you are critical of a company for software/hardware that someone else was administering, so who knows how it might have been installed or configured. Additionally, you don't even know the architecture that was being used with a vague statement about a server sometime between 2000-2004. Do you have any idea of how many dozens of different styles of servers that Sun released in that time? Was it even a server that was released in that frame or was it an older box that was still hanging around? You might as well say, "I had reliability problems with a car made by [insert company here] sometime between 2000 and 2004, but I was just a passenger."
So, let me get this straight
And you expect us to take your statements about Solaris/Java/OO with any seriousness? You accuse me of inaccuracy when you yourself have no credible knowledge of the environment that you were criticizing?
Big time troll. We're talking "The Hobbit" troll -- all three of them wrapped up into one with a nice coating of bullsh*t on the outside.
I've been using OpenOffice ever since it was released - on both Solaris and Windows - and I've never had "stability" issues. In fact, I haven't voluntarily used any MS Office product, with the exception of MS Publisher, in years. I've had Solaris boxes that were heavy-use, web development servers with uptimes of more than 13 months, as in 13 months without rebooting but getting heavy development usage every weekday. It's been a long time since I've run into a Sun server that crashed for no apparent reason. Anyone who has seriously worked with Sun hardware and Solaris knows better. This guy probably tried it, had no clue what he was doing, and gave up, or else he tried to run Solaris on some crap x86 hardware that was barely compatible.
Referring to Solaris as "unstable" is like referring to a Mack truck as a "Yugo".
I'd trust a Sun-released version of a Word export filter far, far more than I'd trust Microsoft to release the same because you know that MS would never make it fully compatible in order to protect their monopoly.
What's even more ironic is that I was watching the same Nova program on PBS yesterday afternoon!!
At what point did I say that I was talking to all of Europe? At what point did I say that all of Europe should consider buying a US PS3? In fact, I was responding specifically to someone from the UK for a scenario that involves only the UK.
Idiot.
Not to worry. I know people with four out of five of those last names here in the U.S. who are native-born, U.S. citizens. I'm sure that they're not willing to throw away any PS2s that they might have because of the inferior, European PS3. :P
Before I continue, want to make it clear that I'm not trolling. I'm just curious about this.
What's to prevent you from purchasing a US version? Yes, you will most likely be restricted to purchasing games and movies from the US thanks to bullsh*t region coding, but from what I understand most TVs in the UK will support NTSC as well as PAL. Hardware like controllers or cables should work regardless of the version of the PS3, or so I would think. And when it comes to software, when I buy CDs or DVDs from around the world they generally arrive in less than a week using standard air mail. One of my friends in London buys DVDs from the US regularly.
Obviously, getting everything native to the UK would be infinitely more convenient for you, but if backwards compatibility is that important, would not a US PS3 be an acceptable inconvenience? Plus the exchange rate is definitely in England's favor!
Again, just curious.
Urgh! Too many classical composer puns for anyone to Handel. We ought to throw any classical pun abusers into jail with one person Percell until they Telemann (and women) that they're sorry.
Okay, it wasn't that great, but you already took the obvious ones. It was very Strauss-ful coming up with new ones.
Apparently, the phrase "sarcasm" is lost on you.
I was waiting for someone to state that exact response. Thank you for not making me wait too long. No, it absolutely does not sound silly. Your attempt to equate the two is what sounds silly, or actually closer to ignorant.
As people like you always tend to forget, upgrading a PC vs. a console it a totally different experience. When you upgrade a console, it's with the expectation of newer and better games. The console is expected to be engineered with a narrow scope and hardware platform with one specific function -- to play games, although admittedly many are marching towards becoming media centers. The hardware is a specific chipset; the coding is for a specific set of circuitry. You can have a reasonable expectation that everything will work just fine and if something goes wrong, you lose your ability to play games.
With Remedy's expectations that you must upgrade to Vista, there are a ton of other issues that might be affected. We're already getting reports of hardware and software incompatibilities across the board. If you have iTunes, don't go to Vista - the blue screen will follow. I've been reading that old games run slower on Vista than on XP. I've not heard good things about NVidia's drivers for Vista. There are lots of reports of application incompatibility.
So, upgrading to Vista just because Remedy doesn't want to use DX9 will likely have more ramifications than just the cost of upgrading to a new operating system. In this case, if something goes wrong you could lose a lot more than just your ability to play games, not the least of which is who-know-how-many hours possibly rebuilding your PC, loss of data, inability to use software that you've been using for years, and lots of other headaches that have been reported for just about every new Windows version since 3.1 -> 95.
In fairness, some have reported no problems at all with Vista, and I say "Good for them". And, yes, yes, we know all about backups or using a test PC instead, blah, blah, blah. We're geeks. We know all about that. Some ignoramus parent who buys Vista (A) because it's programmed into them by Microsoft marketing, (B) because they want to have the newest status symbol, or (C) because their kid is screaming to play Crysis or Alan Wake isn't going to take the same precaution and therefore risks encountering a lot of upgrade problems. "Gee, dad. Did you back up all of your data before you tried to upgrade?" "No." "How far back does your data go?" "Since XP was released." You don't run into that with a console upgrade because your old console is still there!
Upgrading to Vista just to play one game has far more risks involved for things that have nothing to do with that game than buying a new console just to play one game. Forcing customers to a whole new operating system is a much more arrogant statement on the company than forcing them to buy a new console.
No, this is NOT a PC/360 exclusive title. This is a VISTA/360 exclusive title.
From TFA (emphasis mine): Alan Wake will require either the Windows Vista operating system or Microsoft's Xbox 360 gaming console as its platform.
Go f**k yourselves, Remedy! I'm not switching to Vista just to play one of your damned games! You want me to play your game? I expect a copy of Vista to come with it, and we all know that that's NOT going to happen. Otherwise, I'll be sticking with XP and going back to your gaming pinnacles, Max Payne and Max Payne 2!
Yeah, for now because you're not being inconvenienced by the here and now. Hopefully, you won't experience a time where you do care.
My CDs can be used on every Windows/Mac/Linux/Solaris box and CD player in my house, my car, or at work with no loss in audio quality and no restrictions on how many pieces of hardware it's played on. Can you say the same for your iTunes downloads?
(Not trying to be a prick. Just playing Devil's Advocate at this point.)
Not available from any online store? I beg to differ.
0 34?url=search-alias%3Dpopular&field-keywords=Beatl es&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go
e t=ISO-8859-1&id=pcat17071&type=page&st=Beatles&sc= artistSP&cp=1&sp=&qp=ccat02001%23%23-1%23%23-1~~q4 26561746c6573~~nf47%7C%7C426561746c657320285468652 9&list=y&usc=%A0-Artist&nrp=15&iht=n
B eatles/a/Beatles.htm
:)
http://amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/105-3241028-3714
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?_dynchars
http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/artist/
Yes, yes, I know. You hate CDs. But the notion that Beatles music is not available at any online store is a misnomer. And I guess that we're just going to have to agree to disagree when it comes to our definitions of "a convenient, simple and cost effective solution".
I do understand where you're going with that. I've done the same thing. I have some CDs that were the fourth iteration of that album, having been preceeded by 8-track, cassette, and LP. But with CD it's not nearly as much of an issue. Vinyl gets worn every time you run the needle over it. That's unavoidable. Tape loses its signal quality every time you play it. That's unavoidable.
But with CDs, just rip a high-quality set of MP3s/OGGs/AACs or whatever, then tuck the original away in a cool area where you won't be bothered by it. Then use a backup CD for the car or wherever. If something happens to that backup CD, burn another copy from your MP3s/OGGs/AACs or whatever. All of the CDs in my car are copies of my legally-owned CDs. They're also ripped to my hard drive as 240-320 VBR MP3s. If anything happens to the copies in my car, I burn another one from the MP3s. If anything happens to my hard drive, I can get the original CD from the CD rack in the basement and create new MP3s.
Until something completely replaces CD, which I don't see happening any time soon, a CD purchase that you make today should last a hell of a long time.
Sorry, but I just can't buy (no pun intended) the argument about waste of money and materials. It's only a waste of money and materials for the time that you think that you don't need it. If something happens to your data and you have no immediate way to get your songs back from iTunes, a CD that you tucked away in a closet would be the perfect solution.
I understand that jewel cases can be bulky and a waste of space, so why not take the CD and put in a paper sleeve. The CD would then take up - what? - 1/8" of space? You could then put it in a shoebox somewhere!
Honestly, that excuse just doesn't fly. I have over 500 CDs. They're all on two CD racks of about four shelves each rack in the corner of my basement. They're completely out of the way. If I need the disc for some reason, I just run downstairs. If space becomes an issue, I'll just buy a few of those CD binders and put them on a bookshelf.
And I can still have all of my music DRM-free on my file server.
I'm not saying that your way is wrong. If that's the way you want to do it, fine. I just can't understand for the life of me why anyone would want so badly to avoid a very thin piece of plastic and rely solely on a digital medium that is stored on a mechanical medium that will -- not might -- eventually break with no method of recovery except to once again rely on another mechanical medium that will -- not might -- eventually break.
Honestly, I don't understand what this is all about. Why are people making such a big deal about the Beatles being available on iTunes? Has everyone suddenly forgotten about this thing called a compact disc? You just pop it in your CD-ROM drive, run CDex to convert the audio files to MP3, then move the files over to your MP3 player! I've done it! It's not so hard! I actually slammed some knucklehead on Engadget who said that he downloaded the Beatles' songs illegally because he couldn't download them legally! WTF? Is this what we've reduced ourselves to? Are physical discs now completely taboo?
Ordering music online? I buy music online that's not on iTunes lots of times! It's called a "compact disc"! Sure, it takes a few days for it to arrive, but when it gets here I can do whatever I want with it, including rip it to MP3 and put it on my MP3 player.
I know, I know. iTunes gives you the ability to download individual songs as well at whole albums. Well, I'm a big Beatles fan and probably 90% of their most popular songs are on the "1962-1966 (Red Album)" and "1967-1970 (Blue Album)" CD sets.
But even if you wanted songs that are not on those two sets, in total we're talking about 13 original albums that were produced. Sure, that would cost a bit of money to buy brand-new CDs online or at brick-and-mortar stores, but what about discount stores? What about used CD stores? What about eBay, for crying out loud? You can get all of the Beatles CDs (used) for probably less than what iTunes will charge, and you'll at least have a physical, DRM-free CD in your hands! Yes, there are certain things where "instant gratification" is required, like insulin to a diabetic. But music is NOT an "instant gratification" requirement to survive! Is it really that hard to wait a few days for a CD to be shipped?
Come on, people! Just because music isn't available on iTunes doesn't mean that it's not available at all! It's absolutely staggering to see that there are actually people out there who refuse to buy a physical disc anymore, and even more staggering to see people act as though iTunes is the only music repository available. Don't you think this whole iTunes thing is being taken a bit too far?
No, this isn't flamebait, damn it, but it is certainly a question of the degradation of patience in this society when we can't wait a few days for a 5-inch piece of reflective plastic to arrive in the mail and we can't look in the phone book for used CD stores in the area.
Well, I don't know about you, but the name "Amber MacArthur" comes to mind. ;)
That's exactly where I got my Wii two weeks after Thanksgiving. I never expected it. In fact, I was in a Game Stop in the same plaza asking when they expected to get more Wiis in when the guy behind me said, "I just got one at Target. They got ten of them in an hour ago." Sure enough, they still had six of them on the floor -- five after I was done. :)
:) situations where a store like Best Buy will get four or five Wiis in a city store but they'll get twenty or so in one of their out-of-the-way stores.
:/
Another thing to do is to avoid the chain stores that are in prime locations. I got three Wiimotes and an additional nunchuck in a Toys R Us and GameStop that were in two different but not-very-popular malls. Trying to find them in a popular mall shows an immense trust in luck. I've also heard of very Wiierd
Of course, if you want to pay a premium, there's always eBay.
But that's also assuming that you can get your hands on that! From what I've been reading, it's just as difficult to get that on pre-order as it is to get a remote!
:/
I must have gotten really lucky. I managed to get three additional Wiimotes and an additional nunchuck within a week of each other from two different stores.
As long as they have enough Wiimotes to plug them into. From what I've been seeing, getting additional Wiimotes appears to be a bit of a problem right now. ;)
Besides, there are 3rd party, wireless GC controller manufacturers out there. I got three genuine controllers and a smaller, 3rd party controller for my daughter. I've played several hours of Sonic and SMB with the GC controller and haven't had a problem. Admittedly, it's not like those games require a lot of controller action.
I'd strongly recommend getting the wireless Gamecube controllers instead of the Classic controllers. At least wireless Gamecube controllers can be used with Gamecube games and they work with all of the VC games. If you buy the Classic controller, okay, it connects to the bottom of the Wiimote, so that makes it wireless, but if you want to play any GC games you'll need to buy GC controllers anyway.
... that whole Wii "continuity" thing, I suppose.
I play all of my VC games with wireless GC controllers after returning the unopened Classic controllers that I bought. Haven't regretted it for a second. And now that rechargeable batteries are dropping in price, there is no reason to get the Classic controller unless you simply want it for the sake of having it
And I've not seen a place out of stock of wireless GC controllers while the CC area remains out of stock.
Ah, so you subscribe to the "Nothing's illegal until you're caught" philosophy. :)
I love the arrogance as though there are no women out there who like Star Trek or that anyone who enjoys Trek has no sex life! WTF??? My wife and I have been married almost 14 years, and she watches Trek more than I do! In fact, she's the one who keeps pressing to complete our various Star Trek DVD collections! Jeez, I wish Slashdot would knock it off with the bullshit stereotypes!
As for resale value, don't you think it's possible that he doesn't see a need to sell the house any time soon so he just wants to enjoy it as "his house" for a while? Not every home improvement is rooted in resale value, you know. You obviously either don't own a house or you're too concerned about money to enjoy your house.
So, how is moving to Canada going to resolve their issue? From what I understand, they're just as bad as the U.S. when it comes to matters of copyright. Going to Canada is like jumping out of the frying pan into another frying pan that's over the same fire. If their intention really was for piracy and profit, then Sweden would be the most appropriate option. I'm not saying that you're wrong, but either they're blowing a sh!tload of smoke or they've got some really incompetent people running it.