So, if we can make certain aspects of PS3 open to the independent game development community, we will do our industry a service by providing opportunities for the next generation of creative and technical talent.
"If we can..." "Certain aspects..." That's nice and open-ended. Still, as he seems to have some memory of the glimmer of hacker spirit from his C64 days, he knows full well that whatever they can't give us, given enough time and inclination, we can get for ourselves. Should the platform become as successful as he and his bosses hope, we will do so with or without Sony's hand-holding.
That's why it's perfect for Rupert Murdoch. A locked-in audience of people who don't give a tin shit about the news unless it's pre-packaged and spoon-fed to them in a trendy way must have been an irresistable target to someone who is mainly known for pre-packaging the news as he sees it and making a pantload of money in the process. A step like this was pretty obvious from the moment News Corp. signed on the dotted line and bought MySpace.
I really like the sound of that. It seems to me like it's probably the most overdue thing here. Patents are there to protect the little man from being run over by big companies. Not to allow big companies an extra avenue to milk millions out of the industry by patent-sitting.
That's precisely what this legislation seems to make a whole pantload easier. I, for one, really don't like the sound of this.
Unless I'm really misreading this, he isn't targeting the violent games at all. What he's targeting is the sale of violent games to minors, in the manner of R-rated movies.
I expect that sort of misleading headline from the mainstream press, but Slashdot should really have fixed it.
Sadly, in my experience public school administration has become like the Presidency.. if someone really wants the job, they are almost definitely insane and unfit for the position.
I may be completley wrong, but here's how I understand this so far..
If we can discount anything that looks at the actual audio or video content of the upload, and I believe we can since there just isn't an AI out there which can conclusively pick (for example) Captain Picard out of a video clip, then this must somehow use the textual metadata hooked to it. It'll have to sift through the tags and descriptions put there by the uploader, or possibly contextual data from sites that later embed the clip.
That would open some new cans of worms, though. First, it'd be easy to defeat, as we learned back when the old Napster suddenly didn't have anything by "Metallica," but there were tons of new songs from "Metallika," "Mettalicca," and "Metalligreed." Second, what if I record, say, a "C.S.I." parody? By rights I should be allowed to post it as such, will my file get flagged as lawsuit-bait and zapped because I used a copyrighted term in the description? What if I post an original film about firefighters that happens to use the word "heroes" in the title, which has nothing to do with the copyrighted TV series "Heroes?"
Excellent point. New games aren't replacing existing games, they're adding to the body of games out there. Anyone with an old console, a Java-enabled phone or PDA, a service such as XBox Arcade, a "greatest hits" modern console port, or the wherewithal to grab an emulator and some ROMs will find it at least as easy to get hold of an old classic as it is to buy the latest console or PC game.
True, I've had them filtered out at the firewall or hosts file level since 1997 or so. In fact now that I think about it, they might be the oldest entry in my current hosts file. I should send them a card!
..the remote control is the size and weight of a Volkswagen Beetle, so you'll want to do a few weeks of strength training in preparation for the inevitable fight over it.
Elsewhere in this thread, it's pointed out that you shouldn't have to be an expert in crash testing to be able to buy a car that's safe.
But you don't have to be an expert to know the difference between buying a car from an established company with certificates on the windows, publicly available crash test ratings, and a legally mandated inspection every so often.. and buying a jumbled mass of bolts, pipes, wheels, and a barber's chair that some guy you've never heard of made in his garage and calls a "car."
And even then, the safest car imaginable won't protect you if you or someone else uses it improperly, so you need a license to operate one, ostensibly proving that you have learned the basics.
On the other hand, any fool can grab a Secure-o-Crypt-o-Matic 3000 from a shelf because they like what's written on the box, and trust said gadget with all their sensitive data. Your decision was smarter than that because as the above AC said, you did do your homework.
This explains why the hedge in my yard wasn't doing so well until it was temporarily taken over by the spirit of a wise and charming fern from the future, which corected everything that was wrong in the hedge's life before moving on to my neighbor's lawn ten years ago.
Good point. However to continue along that line of thought, if you're in a position in which you want or need encryption, then you have no business lacking the basic skills to properly implement it. Take a class or read a book, the knowledge you gain will be immeasurably more useful than any magic box you buy off the shelf. The only other option is to get someone with the proper skills who you can trust to do it for you.
The type of people who have got the wherewithal to set up TrueCrpyt are not the market this was aiming for. This seems like a product made for the techno-clueless PHB types who just want to buy something off the shelf they can stick in their magic computer box and have it "just work," and who see that high a price on a simple 1-gig USB stick not as an obvious ripoff, but as a measure of how much good computer magic it must surely contain.
Slashdot Mirror
Jack ThompsOWNED!
That's why it's perfect for Rupert Murdoch. A locked-in audience of people who don't give a tin shit about the news unless it's pre-packaged and spoon-fed to them in a trendy way must have been an irresistable target to someone who is mainly known for pre-packaging the news as he sees it and making a pantload of money in the process. A step like this was pretty obvious from the moment News Corp. signed on the dotted line and bought MySpace.
Quickly! Get Jones in there to make some funny noises with his voice until Zed scream incoherently and Mahoney makes one of his moving speeches!
..unless each video ends with the professorial type energetically lip-synching to a foreign pop-song.
Unless I'm really misreading this, he isn't targeting the violent games at all. What he's targeting is the sale of violent games to minors, in the manner of R-rated movies.
I expect that sort of misleading headline from the mainstream press, but Slashdot should really have fixed it.
Anyone taking bets on how soon they implement rules against handing in legal papers with white-out on them?
Blame that one clumsy pirate who failed to stick the disc into his drive without scratching it 243 times beforehand.
Not everyone figures this out, and many people lie about small things ("Yes, honey, that dress looks great.").
I'm your wife, you insensitive clod!!!
Sadly, in my experience public school administration has become like the Presidency.. if someone really wants the job, they are almost definitely insane and unfit for the position.
I may be completley wrong, but here's how I understand this so far..
If we can discount anything that looks at the actual audio or video content of the upload, and I believe we can since there just isn't an AI out there which can conclusively pick (for example) Captain Picard out of a video clip, then this must somehow use the textual metadata hooked to it. It'll have to sift through the tags and descriptions put there by the uploader, or possibly contextual data from sites that later embed the clip.
That would open some new cans of worms, though. First, it'd be easy to defeat, as we learned back when the old Napster suddenly didn't have anything by "Metallica," but there were tons of new songs from "Metallika," "Mettalicca," and "Metalligreed." Second, what if I record, say, a "C.S.I." parody? By rights I should be allowed to post it as such, will my file get flagged as lawsuit-bait and zapped because I used a copyrighted term in the description? What if I post an original film about firefighters that happens to use the word "heroes" in the title, which has nothing to do with the copyrighted TV series "Heroes?"
Excellent point. New games aren't replacing existing games, they're adding to the body of games out there. Anyone with an old console, a Java-enabled phone or PDA, a service such as XBox Arcade, a "greatest hits" modern console port, or the wherewithal to grab an emulator and some ROMs will find it at least as easy to get hold of an old classic as it is to buy the latest console or PC game.
Check behind the living room couch. Also, buy the new Timbaland album.
True, I've had them filtered out at the firewall or hosts file level since 1997 or so. In fact now that I think about it, they might be the oldest entry in my current hosts file. I should send them a card!
..the remote control is the size and weight of a Volkswagen Beetle, so you'll want to do a few weeks of strength training in preparation for the inevitable fight over it.
And even then, the safest car imaginable won't protect you if you or someone else uses it improperly, so you need a license to operate one, ostensibly proving that you have learned the basics.
On the other hand, any fool can grab a Secure-o-Crypt-o-Matic 3000 from a shelf because they like what's written on the box, and trust said gadget with all their sensitive data. Your decision was smarter than that because as the above AC said, you did do your homework.
Don't forget the Sharpie markers and Post-its.
This explains why the hedge in my yard wasn't doing so well until it was temporarily taken over by the spirit of a wise and charming fern from the future, which corected everything that was wrong in the hedge's life before moving on to my neighbor's lawn ten years ago.
Good point. However to continue along that line of thought, if you're in a position in which you want or need encryption, then you have no business lacking the basic skills to properly implement it. Take a class or read a book, the knowledge you gain will be immeasurably more useful than any magic box you buy off the shelf. The only other option is to get someone with the proper skills who you can trust to do it for you.
N-Neither is M-M-Max Headroom.
The type of people who have got the wherewithal to set up TrueCrpyt are not the market this was aiming for. This seems like a product made for the techno-clueless PHB types who just want to buy something off the shelf they can stick in their magic computer box and have it "just work," and who see that high a price on a simple 1-gig USB stick not as an obvious ripoff, but as a measure of how much good computer magic it must surely contain.
Dave, please see me in my office ASAP.
Also, do you have any empty cardboard boxes near your desk? If so, don't throw them away just yet. They may come in handy.
-- Phil H.