Modifying the firmware isn't illegal of itself, unless the modification allows for the circumvention of copy protection. Since this modification apparently only allows for homebrew code execution, i don't think it applies..
Of course, IANAL, and i haven't actually applied/played with the code of this mod. it's possible that wholesale piracy is now possible without hardware modification, but i'll still be buying games i like regardless.
I'm sure you'll be welcome here in Australia, tho i hear that welfare and healthcare are even better in some EU countries.
I also think that a balance is probably a better approach.. taking the good aspects of Capitalism and Socialism and working them together.. So businesses are free to trade, medical care is catered for, and people who can't get work don't starve to death.
It's a pretty weak simile, but i see a country as roughly like a person. If they want to stay active they have to stay healthy.. expecting them to take care of it themselves is like expecting your cells to organize themselves so you have Olympic-level fitness on demand. Pretty much the same goes for education..
That's partially valid, of course, but i didn't say that the healthcare system was to blame for diet.. i don't think it's accurate to say that the average Cuban has an ideal diet either.
I'm not trying to endorse either the Cuban lifestyle or Michael Moore here, but that is actually partially true. The Cuban healthcare system runs far more efficiently than the one in the US, at least as far as the numbers are concerned.
For example, the average life expectancy of a Cuban (77.23 years) is roughly on par with the average life expectancy of an American (78.1 years), but the Cuban government spends ~US$5/year/person on healthcare. In comparison, the amount spent in the US on healthcare (by individuals, government, businesses, etc..) is ~US$7200/year/person.
Given that they have embargoes on American medical technology, doctors, etc.. they must be doing something right.
Disclaimer: I'm from a country which has a nationally supported healthcare system alongside a private system, and they seem to work equally well together. I also don't understand why so many Americans hate Cuba so much..
Indeeed. In the.au at the moment, the politicians are falling over each other trying to play the numbers so that we don't look like the biggest per-capita polluters on the planet.
ATM they can't decide whether it's a good idea to cut emissions 'when everyone else starts doing it' or 'at some point in the future'.
ah, yes. As long as they are applied equally. Uniformly, actually.
This is one of those questions that Utilitarians often have problems with.. Is it easier to inconvenience everyone a bit now or an unknown amount later?
Indeed, I completely agree. It's somewhat similar to suggesting that playing a martial arts oriented game somehow makes you into a action movie-esque fighter. The parallels that i see are purely in organizational and logical areas, and can't be realistically compared to actually doing the things depicted in the games.
I also believe that anyone with high-school level psychology knowledge (i.e. anyone who has actually read any Pavlov, et al) would be able to differentiate between the 'reward' of a couple of hundred in-game points and some flashing lights (and maybe a 'congratulation'), and the 'reward' of not having your drill sergeant call you a maggot in front of your peers. The process of molding soldiers requires strict control over the majority of the recruits' lives, and this is something video games don't (and can't) have, except in border cases where problems would exist even without the games.
As a supposed left winger, i agree. People who put their causes above all else are the problem here. Defending ideological territory at any cost is akin (isomorphic?) to religious zealotry.
Displaying my supposed left-wingedness, i'll say that religions are fine, provided you don't shove them down everyone else's throats. The same goes for ideological platforms. Thankyou.
There's a lot more to military conditioning than target practice or tactical training. While these things are comparable in some ways, there are significant differences.
For example, gamers are not subject to the same regime of fitness and discipline as recruits, and can stop at any point without fear of retribution. A soldier cannot stop training simply because he is tired, bored, hungry, there's something on TV, etc.
There is a point to what you're saying, but the anti-games lobby (and JT in particular) tend to blow it way out of proportion.
I agree with what you're saying in general, but the effort required to do it is not trivial. Admins cannot stop other Admins from altering pages and cannot delete history from the frontend. Reverting a page is a positive change, and leaves an obvious mark in history.
I'm not saying that the system is ideal, by the way.. I just don't think your observation is as critical as you're claiming.
In addition, it has absolutely nothing to do with linking to a position in history.
Your first point is potentially valid, and i wonder... how do we avoid that? I'm afraid I cannot see a way, short of making each deletion a group decision, which makes spam hard to eliminate. In addition, i think wikipedia's system is somewhat better than the current library archival system, if only because the amount of available space before this becomes necessary is far greater.
As for the second point, this is somewhat true of pure disciplines, sciences, et al. Less so of popular culture, history, politics, biographies, and many of the other things that wikipedia has comparatively good collections of. While the articles often attempt to be unbiased (yes, your first point does come into play here), various points of view are expressed in discussion, as well as observations about the history and events which shaped the live article. I find the discussions quite interesting, as long as they doesn't devolve into shitfights, which, admittedly, they often do.
I'm amazed at how many people are missing Wikipedia's built in protection against this.
Every page has a history. It's possible to cite a page at a certain time and guarantee that it will be displayed regardless of what changes are made to the article. This, in addition to a diff system (and discussion), makes it better in some ways than hard print, because it allows the reader to map changes over time and consensus/disagreements over contentious topics.
Honestly, from what I've seen, the problem is on the other end. There's no problem becoming a developer, the trick is getting them to approve titles for release on the platform, but that really isn't that unique.
Yes, i imagine they do favor some developers over others, but that's the nature of the game. Of course they're going to think more of you if you have a proven track record.
Yes, you will have to contact them in order to get any real information, but i was surprised at exactly how cheap their development hardware is compared to their competitors.
Disclaimer: I only moonlight as a games developer, it's not my occupation.
That's exactly the point, isn't it? Eventually, you can no longer ascribe it to incompetence.
Also, the message of the phrase was never 'they're incompetent, so do nothing'.. especially since those in question are in a position of great power. Personally, i'd prefer a competent president.
Right.. so you are addressing the original argument here, right? That a soccer ball sized warhead can level a US city? If not, you're taking me out of context.
I don't claim to be an physicist, and i certainly stuck my neck way too far out on this argument.. but the amount of pressure required to make a 'backpack nuke' (sigh, too many memes) capable of taking out a major US city.. well, i recognize that my imagination is limited, but i just can't see that happening.
I'm willing to accept 35kg warheads with 1kt of detonation, but i can't see a 28cm sphere with the 10kt+ you'd need to remove the city from the map.
In short, i was not asserting that such a device couldn't be built, but that there would not be sufficient power in it to do what Cyberax was claiming it would. Or rather, what QuantumG was claiming it would not.
Thanks buddy, perhaps i come from an alternate timeline. You're right tho, i wrote myself a note not to judge on things i don't fully get. In addition, i won't be parroting sources i can't correlate.
We'll see if i learn in future, eh?
PS. Thanks for taking the time to bother remembering me. I don't believe i specified western Europe, my timeline was way off (you could have pointed that out too) and used does not inherently imply used in combat.
Slashdot Mirror
Modifying the firmware isn't illegal of itself, unless the modification allows for the circumvention of copy protection. Since this modification apparently only allows for homebrew code execution, i don't think it applies..
Of course, IANAL, and i haven't actually applied/played with the code of this mod. it's possible that wholesale piracy is now possible without hardware modification, but i'll still be buying games i like regardless.
Actually, the fix didn't even remove installed channels, just prevented the system from loading the specific savegame used by the twilight hack.
Either the coder who fixed it did a sloppy job, or he left the actual vulnerability there on purpose.
I'm sure you'll be welcome here in Australia, tho i hear that welfare and healthcare are even better in some EU countries.
I also think that a balance is probably a better approach.. taking the good aspects of Capitalism and Socialism and working them together.. So businesses are free to trade, medical care is catered for, and people who can't get work don't starve to death.
It's a pretty weak simile, but i see a country as roughly like a person. If they want to stay active they have to stay healthy.. expecting them to take care of it themselves is like expecting your cells to organize themselves so you have Olympic-level fitness on demand. Pretty much the same goes for education..
That's partially valid, of course, but i didn't say that the healthcare system was to blame for diet.. i don't think it's accurate to say that the average Cuban has an ideal diet either.
I'm not trying to endorse either the Cuban lifestyle or Michael Moore here, but that is actually partially true. The Cuban healthcare system runs far more efficiently than the one in the US, at least as far as the numbers are concerned.
For example, the average life expectancy of a Cuban (77.23 years) is roughly on par with the average life expectancy of an American (78.1 years), but the Cuban government spends ~US$5/year/person on healthcare. In comparison, the amount spent in the US on healthcare (by individuals, government, businesses, etc..) is ~US$7200/year/person.
Given that they have embargoes on American medical technology, doctors, etc.. they must be doing something right.
Disclaimer: I'm from a country which has a nationally supported healthcare system alongside a private system, and they seem to work equally well together. I also don't understand why so many Americans hate Cuba so much..
Indeeed. In the .au at the moment, the politicians are falling over each other trying to play the numbers so that we don't look like the biggest per-capita polluters on the planet.
ATM they can't decide whether it's a good idea to cut emissions 'when everyone else starts doing it' or 'at some point in the future'.
I'm not holding my breath.
ah, yes. As long as they are applied equally. Uniformly, actually.
This is one of those questions that Utilitarians often have problems with.. Is it easier to inconvenience everyone a bit now or an unknown amount later?
Indeed, I completely agree. It's somewhat similar to suggesting that playing a martial arts oriented game somehow makes you into a action movie-esque fighter. The parallels that i see are purely in organizational and logical areas, and can't be realistically compared to actually doing the things depicted in the games.
I also believe that anyone with high-school level psychology knowledge (i.e. anyone who has actually read any Pavlov, et al) would be able to differentiate between the 'reward' of a couple of hundred in-game points and some flashing lights (and maybe a 'congratulation'), and the 'reward' of not having your drill sergeant call you a maggot in front of your peers. The process of molding soldiers requires strict control over the majority of the recruits' lives, and this is something video games don't (and can't) have, except in border cases where problems would exist even without the games.
That might work.. until someone asks him about the gay porn he kept submitting to the courts.
As a supposed left winger, i agree. People who put their causes above all else are the problem here. Defending ideological territory at any cost is akin (isomorphic?) to religious zealotry.
Displaying my supposed left-wingedness, i'll say that religions are fine, provided you don't shove them down everyone else's throats. The same goes for ideological platforms. Thankyou.
There's a lot more to military conditioning than target practice or tactical training. While these things are comparable in some ways, there are significant differences.
For example, gamers are not subject to the same regime of fitness and discipline as recruits, and can stop at any point without fear of retribution. A soldier cannot stop training simply because he is tired, bored, hungry, there's something on TV, etc.
There is a point to what you're saying, but the anti-games lobby (and JT in particular) tend to blow it way out of proportion.
Those are two different issues.
I agree with what you're saying in general, but the effort required to do it is not trivial. Admins cannot stop other Admins from altering pages and cannot delete history from the frontend. Reverting a page is a positive change, and leaves an obvious mark in history.
I'm not saying that the system is ideal, by the way.. I just don't think your observation is as critical as you're claiming.
In addition, it has absolutely nothing to do with linking to a position in history.
Your first point is potentially valid, and i wonder... how do we avoid that? I'm afraid I cannot see a way, short of making each deletion a group decision, which makes spam hard to eliminate. In addition, i think wikipedia's system is somewhat better than the current library archival system, if only because the amount of available space before this becomes necessary is far greater.
As for the second point, this is somewhat true of pure disciplines, sciences, et al. Less so of popular culture, history, politics, biographies, and many of the other things that wikipedia has comparatively good collections of. While the articles often attempt to be unbiased (yes, your first point does come into play here), various points of view are expressed in discussion, as well as observations about the history and events which shaped the live article.
I find the discussions quite interesting, as long as they doesn't devolve into shitfights, which, admittedly, they often do.
If you're citing a source you don't understand, using wikipedia is the least of your problems.
This applies to everyone, including myself (as yes, I am guilty of it too).
I'm not sure how this relates to your earlier statement. Care to clarify?
yeah, to Alexis Denisof of all people.
It's like a teenage Buffy fanfic. Scary.
I'm amazed at how many people are missing Wikipedia's built in protection against this.
Every page has a history. It's possible to cite a page at a certain time and guarantee that it will be displayed regardless of what changes are made to the article. This, in addition to a diff system (and discussion), makes it better in some ways than hard print, because it allows the reader to map changes over time and consensus/disagreements over contentious topics.
Honestly, from what I've seen, the problem is on the other end. There's no problem becoming a developer, the trick is getting them to approve titles for release on the platform, but that really isn't that unique.
Yes, i imagine they do favor some developers over others, but that's the nature of the game. Of course they're going to think more of you if you have a proven track record.
I suggest looking here to get started though.
Yes, you will have to contact them in order to get any real information, but i was surprised at exactly how cheap their development hardware is compared to their competitors.
Disclaimer: I only moonlight as a games developer, it's not my occupation.
On the other hand, Nintendo's licensed SDKs are an order of magnitude cheaper than Sony/MS SDKs.
It is, at least, possible to write garage games for the wii/ds without taking out a second mortgage.
The right thing and the easy thing aren't mutually exclusive.
Purchasing the game is not mutually exclusive with using a cracked exe.
That's exactly the point, isn't it? Eventually, you can no longer ascribe it to incompetence.
Also, the message of the phrase was never 'they're incompetent, so do nothing'.. especially since those in question are in a position of great power. Personally, i'd prefer a competent president.
Sadly, those horses bolted a long time ago.
Right.. so you are addressing the original argument here, right? That a soccer ball sized warhead can level a US city? If not, you're taking me out of context.
I don't claim to be an physicist, and i certainly stuck my neck way too far out on this argument.. but the amount of pressure required to make a 'backpack nuke' (sigh, too many memes) capable of taking out a major US city.. well, i recognize that my imagination is limited, but i just can't see that happening.
I'm willing to accept 35kg warheads with 1kt of detonation, but i can't see a 28cm sphere with the 10kt+ you'd need to remove the city from the map.
In short, i was not asserting that such a device couldn't be built, but that there would not be sufficient power in it to do what Cyberax was claiming it would. Or rather, what QuantumG was claiming it would not.
Hope that's not too convoluted.
Thanks buddy, perhaps i come from an alternate timeline. You're right tho, i wrote myself a note not to judge on things i don't fully get. In addition, i won't be parroting sources i can't correlate.
We'll see if i learn in future, eh?
PS. Thanks for taking the time to bother remembering me. I don't believe i specified western Europe, my timeline was way off (you could have pointed that out too) and used does not inherently imply used in combat.
Man, that's gunna look real bad. Like career killing bad. so to speak.
sadly agreed.