Yeah thanks for that. Just because I didn't decide to follow an academic path after getting my PhD in Economics at MIT you have decided that I am the dregs of the program at MIT. I'm sure that my classmates and professors there will be happy to disagree. Do you place working for the Federal Reserve in the same category? Just fit for the dregs of the MIT economics program?
What I did was return to my home country to pursue public service. Strangely enough, some people don't want to spend their time in academia but want to make a more direct contribution. This has no correlation with their ability to do economics.
Bottom line: You are speaking out of your arse making sweeping generalisations about something you know nothing about.
What the publishers fail to realise is that the price they can sell new games for reflects the fact that buyers are factoring in the ability to sell the product on the used market. While some people buy to keep, others buy to play and resell. If you kill the used game market the price they can sell a new copy for will drop as all the people who were planning on reselling refuse to buy the game now. Only people who buy to keep will pay the currently inflated prices. (Unless they drop the price.)
The net effect is actually that the amount publishers make will be exactly the same regardless of whether there is a used game market or not. Or whether they take a cut from Gamestop or not (because any cut they take from Gamestop is going to be reflected in lower prices paid by Gamestop for used games, which is going to affect how many people actually buy the game new).
Lots of other industries seem to indulge in this short-sighted thinking. If you offer people an inferior product - use of something for a limited amount of time versus use for an indefinite amount of time the price they are willing to pay for it is reduced. This is even more so where people don't know what the value to them is and are taking a risk by buying it. If there is a possibility a game will suck, the ability to resell it on the used market makes it much more likely that people will take the risk. If the used market gets destroyed there will be fewer customers like that and, once again, the publishers will have to drop their prices if they want to keep making as much money as they currently are.
I tried to do this with Optus and they said they couldn't do it. They said they could block all SMS - but not selectively block premium SMS. How did you manage to get them to do it? Surprisingly Telstra can and will block just premium SMS but most don't.
Anyway, given the money Optus make out of premium SMS it is unsurprising that they refuse to selectively block it. technical problems my arse.
Unless you receive a message from a premium SMS number. Then they charge you $6 a message and send multiple messages within a minute to slam high charges onto your bill.
They supposedly need consent, but many rely on phone numbers entered into websites and general deception as ways to get 'consent'.
the LCD or Plasma screens are already WAY sharper than the CRTs people used to watch Depends on how long ago.
Many LCDs and plasmas are not as good as latest generation CRTs.
The picture I get on my 100Hz widescreen SD CRT is still well ahead of many LCD or Plasma sets I've seen. The response time of the LCDs is one big difference - they don't deal with fast motion well. (A stationary shot of a sportsground is OK, but as soon as they pan the grass goes all blurry.) What many people might confuse is watching a digital TV signal versus an analogue TV signal. That was a big change in quality for me.
Sure the top end flat-screen TVs might be ahead of the best CRTs, but I think the average CRT is still ahead of the majority of flat-screens that seem to be being snapped up by budget concious consumers. A digital signal makes a big difference, after that, not so much.
No - all engines are designed to propel the car forward by providing power.
All brakes are designed to slow the car.
Brake fade has not been a serious problem for years with normally driven cars. Huge drilled disc brakes (which seem to be standard fittings on any car with an engine larger than 1.6L) are purpose built to slow your car in the most efficient manner for as long as possible. They dissipate heat extremely effectively. Do laps of a race track at race speeds and you might begin to have problems with brake fade - but people don't drive like that on normal roads.
You should use the system designed for the purpose - engines to make you go forward, brakes to slow you down.
Mind pointing me toward a mac between the Mini and the Pro starting at $2,600? No, the iMacs and laptops don't count. Underpowered, overpriced and no expansion.
Mind pointing me to a Dell that costs less than $3000? No, all the Dell's you are thinking of don't count - underpowered, overpriced and POSs that break as soon as you look at them.
Everyone can understand this stuff when you point to the sentences in question. Then why are there long complex court cases over the interpretation of clauses in contracts? English is not like maths - it can be and is ambiguous.
Care to tell me what the following clause means (it's just English after all): 8. Indemnification... (c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under Section 1(g), 8(a) or 8(b) hereof of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereto is to be made against an indemnifying party under such section, give notice to the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, but the failure so to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it of any liability that it may have to any indemnified party except to the extent the indemnifying party demonstrates that the defense of such action is prejudiced thereby. If any such action shall be brought against an indemnified party and it shall give notice to the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it shall wish, to assume the defense thereof with counsel satisfactory to such indemnified party and, after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to such indemnified party under such Section for any fees of other counsel or any other expenses, in each case subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the defense thereof, other than reasonable costs of investigation. If an indemnifying party assumes the defense of such an action, (i) no compromise or settlement thereof may be effected by the indemnifying party without the indemnified party's consent (which shall not be unreasonably withheld) and (ii) the indemnifying party shall have no liability with respect to any compromise or settlement thereof effected without its consent (which shall not be unreasonably withheld). If notice is given to an indemnifying party of the commencement of any action and it does not, within ten days after the indemnified party's notice is given, give notice to the indemnified party of its election to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party shall be bound by any determination made in such action or an compromise or settlement thereof effected by the indemnified party.
No - what most ISPs (that people are connected to) do is charge you excess usage - Optus charges $300 for 2GB excess on their Fusion plans - and then they might shape you if they feel that they've ripped you off enough for this month. Telstra doesn't shape - they just charge obscene amounts for excesses.
With the Optus plans that do shape, a lot shape you to 28.8kbps. Having experienced it for a few days last month, let me tell you that the Internet is unusable at those speeds. Way back when it might have been OK - but Internet pages are heavy these days.
If Telus sold underpriced plans, underestimated use, and lost money, how long are they obligated to maintain the service? Forever? For however long they promised they would! You don't just get to make promises and break them whenever you feel like it.
A lot of US car companies are going under because they have very generous pension plans and a lot of retired workers to pay. Short of declaring bankruptcy they have to keep paying.
This is the whole point of contracts - if Telus can't get it right then it's their own fault. It is also deceptive conduct which there should be consumer protection laws against - you can't just advertise something and lie about all its qualities and expect to get away with it.
PS Good troll - you've even been modded insightful.
Lastly, as much as these people irritate you, try your best not to lose your temper with them. Most of them are probably students like I was with terrible managers (the cream of the crap) and strict floor regulations that leave them tethered to their computer, sitting upright, unable to drink coffee or indulge in anything, taking calls for their entire eight hour shift with no breaks, having to sit idley while the death threats poured through the lines, having a one-minute-per-day bathroom break policy and doing it all for a paycheque a meaningless few dollars higher than a McD's salaryman.
If I can, by my actions, make it harder for the bottom-feeding telemarketing companies to operate I will do so. This includes making it so that even starving students are unwilling to work for these companies. By taking a job with these bottom-feeders you are part of the problem. Don't want the aggro? Don't take the job.
If you are commuting by bike it doesn't really take any extra time to exercise than if you sat in a car or rode the bus. Bike commuting is usually as quick if not quicker than alternatives (see Top Gear for example) so it is a time-efficient way to exercise.
See, the thing about sharing is that you don't get to do whatever you damn well please whenever you want to. That's what makes it sharing rather than being selfish.
Do you feel the same way about school busses? You'll share the road with school busses and children when they travel at 30mph without stopping or crossing the road? I presume you also think that anyone over 60 should have their licenses confiscated because they rarely travel at the speed limit. And while we're at it, let's get rid of all heavy vehicles, all tourists who are confused about where they are and drive slowly looking for street signs, all people driving slowly looking for a parking spot, and all learner drivers. I'm sure that will solve all your problems.
For all I know I've been walking through portals that lead to the same box of a room. Plus I have limited amounts of light. This isn't logic or problem solving, this is just blind running around. Screw that.
Of course, you could drop something in each room and see if you come across it again. Soon enough all the rooms will be easily identifiable and you will have a complete map. But that isn't problem solving or logic is it?
Yours seems to be a US experience. In Australia the number one payment method is direct bank deposit through banks' internet banking applications (I think it was about 60% direct deposit to 40% PayPal on eBay in Australia). In Australia, direct bank deposit works quickly (overnight) and cheaply (generally free). I imagine this may be unlike the US where sending money between banks could be a mess. (I know it was a mess in 2000 when I last had dealings with the US banking system - maybe it has improved since then.)
So the policy change in Australia had real bite - people didn't really like PayPal because it provided inferior service to direct bank deposit.
Sure you can. It's called Gran Turismo 1,2,3 and 4. The longest, loudest and most universal complaint about the AI is that it behaves like the gamer isn't there. If the Gran Turismo series can have such stellar sales despite this, I don't see that it would be much of a problem for this game.
Instead of asking "Are you sure?" with the 'Yes' or 'OK' as the default you should have tried "This action is irreversible. Would you like to cancel?" with 'Yes' or 'OK' as the default. (Or made 'Cancel' the default if a bit of testing showed them pressing enter instead of clicking on the button with a mouse.) Then you would harness the users innate ability to automatically click 'OK' for good rather than evil.
I think you are indulging in a bit of creative reinterpretation of history:
1933 Last wild Thylacine captured 1936 Last Thylacine in captivity dies 1936 Thylacine added to list of protected wildlife 1953 DNA discovered
Given that DNA and its chemical structure was unknown in the 1930s - when it really mattered - they could not have been choosing to use alcohol because it did not degrade DNA. Interesting story but no banana.
Also, if there is a suruplus at some times, then energetically intensive industrial operations can be scheduled for those times (for instance, aluminum refining).
Not if you need guaranteed availability for a period of hours - imagine that you have the furnace almost up to temperature and the power gets cut, that would be a massive waste of energy. Also, you talk of scheduling as if we can forecast wind speed days in advance - you can't of course. Which all means that for practically all industrial applications, wind power fails as a viable alternative. Indeed, domestic applications are pretty unforgiving of random fluctuations too - sorry kids, we can't have dinner tonight, the wind isn't blowing.
And what is the average cost of wind power anyway? Probably a lot higher than coal even with large carbon taxes.
I'm cavalier with my e-mail address, giving it out pretty much anywhere, be it on forums, message boards, slashdot, 'put in your e-mail to download this software from this sketchy company', and so on. And still no spam.
No - lots of spam. But you filter it. That's like the little boy sticking his fingers in his ears and shouting "I can't hear you!" - the noise is still there, but less of it gets to his ears.
Try taking your fingers out of your ears/turning off your filtering and seeing the full picture.
My MacBook Pro is my main workhorse machine - and I have no desktop to complement it. It's always got the following hooked up to it:
Nothing.
I don't have the following constantly hooked up to it: Keyboard ('cos the integrated one if fine unless you need a numeric keypad) Mouse ('cos I use a Bluetooth mouse) External HDD ('cos I use it for backups or raw video storage, not editing - and I use Firewire rather than USB because its faster, particularly for video) iPod sync cable ('cos I actually like to use it away from my computer rather than having it permanently attached to my computer - kind of defeats the purpose of a portable music player to have it permanently conected to my computer really. Same would go for an iPhone.) Memory stick ('cos if it's important I put it on my computer)
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah thanks for that. Just because I didn't decide to follow an academic path after getting my PhD in Economics at MIT you have decided that I am the dregs of the program at MIT. I'm sure that my classmates and professors there will be happy to disagree. Do you place working for the Federal Reserve in the same category? Just fit for the dregs of the MIT economics program?
What I did was return to my home country to pursue public service. Strangely enough, some people don't want to spend their time in academia but want to make a more direct contribution. This has no correlation with their ability to do economics.
Bottom line: You are speaking out of your arse making sweeping generalisations about something you know nothing about.
What the publishers fail to realise is that the price they can sell new games for reflects the fact that buyers are factoring in the ability to sell the product on the used market. While some people buy to keep, others buy to play and resell. If you kill the used game market the price they can sell a new copy for will drop as all the people who were planning on reselling refuse to buy the game now. Only people who buy to keep will pay the currently inflated prices. (Unless they drop the price.)
The net effect is actually that the amount publishers make will be exactly the same regardless of whether there is a used game market or not. Or whether they take a cut from Gamestop or not (because any cut they take from Gamestop is going to be reflected in lower prices paid by Gamestop for used games, which is going to affect how many people actually buy the game new).
Lots of other industries seem to indulge in this short-sighted thinking. If you offer people an inferior product - use of something for a limited amount of time versus use for an indefinite amount of time the price they are willing to pay for it is reduced. This is even more so where people don't know what the value to them is and are taking a risk by buying it. If there is a possibility a game will suck, the ability to resell it on the used market makes it much more likely that people will take the risk. If the used market gets destroyed there will be fewer customers like that and, once again, the publishers will have to drop their prices if they want to keep making as much money as they currently are.
I tried to do this with Optus and they said they couldn't do it. They said they could block all SMS - but not selectively block premium SMS. How did you manage to get them to do it? Surprisingly Telstra can and will block just premium SMS but most don't.
Anyway, given the money Optus make out of premium SMS it is unsurprising that they refuse to selectively block it. technical problems my arse.
Unless you receive a message from a premium SMS number. Then they charge you $6 a message and send multiple messages within a minute to slam high charges onto your bill.
They supposedly need consent, but many rely on phone numbers entered into websites and general deception as ways to get 'consent'.
Bah! Kids these days!
When I played them they seemed to require the following player input:
plugh
use brass lantern
drop no tea
There were no levels, but you still had to run from angry wizards every now and then.
the LCD or Plasma screens are already WAY sharper than the CRTs people used to watch
Depends on how long ago.
Many LCDs and plasmas are not as good as latest generation CRTs.
The picture I get on my 100Hz widescreen SD CRT is still well ahead of many LCD or Plasma sets I've seen. The response time of the LCDs is one big difference - they don't deal with fast motion well. (A stationary shot of a sportsground is OK, but as soon as they pan the grass goes all blurry.) What many people might confuse is watching a digital TV signal versus an analogue TV signal. That was a big change in quality for me.
Sure the top end flat-screen TVs might be ahead of the best CRTs, but I think the average CRT is still ahead of the majority of flat-screens that seem to be being snapped up by budget concious consumers. A digital signal makes a big difference, after that, not so much.
No - all engines are designed to propel the car forward by providing power.
All brakes are designed to slow the car.
Brake fade has not been a serious problem for years with normally driven cars. Huge drilled disc brakes (which seem to be standard fittings on any car with an engine larger than 1.6L) are purpose built to slow your car in the most efficient manner for as long as possible. They dissipate heat extremely effectively. Do laps of a race track at race speeds and you might begin to have problems with brake fade - but people don't drive like that on normal roads.
You should use the system designed for the purpose - engines to make you go forward, brakes to slow you down.
Mind pointing me toward a mac between the Mini and the Pro starting at $2,600? No, the iMacs and laptops don't count. Underpowered, overpriced and no expansion.
Mind pointing me to a Dell that costs less than $3000? No, all the Dell's you are thinking of don't count - underpowered, overpriced and POSs that break as soon as you look at them.
Your logic is astounding.
Everyone can understand this stuff when you point to the sentences in question.
Then why are there long complex court cases over the interpretation of clauses in contracts? English is not like maths - it can be and is ambiguous.
Care to tell me what the following clause means (it's just English after all): ...
8. Indemnification
(c) Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under Section 1(g), 8(a) or 8(b) hereof of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party shall, if a claim in respect thereto is to be made against an indemnifying party under such section, give notice to the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, but the failure so to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it of any liability that it may have to any indemnified party except to the extent the indemnifying party demonstrates that the defense of such action is prejudiced thereby. If any such action shall be brought against an indemnified party and it shall give notice to the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party shall be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it shall wish, to assume the defense thereof with counsel satisfactory to such indemnified party and, after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party shall not be liable to such indemnified party under such Section for any fees of other counsel or any other expenses, in each case subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the defense thereof, other than reasonable costs of investigation. If an indemnifying party assumes the defense of such an action, (i) no compromise or settlement thereof may be effected by the indemnifying party without the indemnified party's consent (which shall not be unreasonably withheld) and (ii) the indemnifying party shall have no liability with respect to any compromise or settlement thereof effected without its consent (which shall not be unreasonably withheld). If notice is given to an indemnifying party of the commencement of any action and it does not, within ten days after the indemnified party's notice is given, give notice to the indemnified party of its election to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party shall be bound by any determination made in such action or an compromise or settlement thereof effected by the indemnified party.
No - what most ISPs (that people are connected to) do is charge you excess usage - Optus charges $300 for 2GB excess on their Fusion plans - and then they might shape you if they feel that they've ripped you off enough for this month. Telstra doesn't shape - they just charge obscene amounts for excesses.
With the Optus plans that do shape, a lot shape you to 28.8kbps. Having experienced it for a few days last month, let me tell you that the Internet is unusable at those speeds. Way back when it might have been OK - but Internet pages are heavy these days.
If Telus sold underpriced plans, underestimated use, and lost money, how long are they obligated to maintain the service? Forever?
For however long they promised they would! You don't just get to make promises and break them whenever you feel like it.
A lot of US car companies are going under because they have very generous pension plans and a lot of retired workers to pay. Short of declaring bankruptcy they have to keep paying.
This is the whole point of contracts - if Telus can't get it right then it's their own fault. It is also deceptive conduct which there should be consumer protection laws against - you can't just advertise something and lie about all its qualities and expect to get away with it.
PS Good troll - you've even been modded insightful.
Lastly, as much as these people irritate you, try your best not to lose your temper with them. Most of them are probably students like I was with terrible managers (the cream of the crap) and strict floor regulations that leave them tethered to their computer, sitting upright, unable to drink coffee or indulge in anything, taking calls for their entire eight hour shift with no breaks, having to sit idley while the death threats poured through the lines, having a one-minute-per-day bathroom break policy and doing it all for a paycheque a meaningless few dollars higher than a McD's salaryman.
If I can, by my actions, make it harder for the bottom-feeding telemarketing companies to operate I will do so. This includes making it so that even starving students are unwilling to work for these companies. By taking a job with these bottom-feeders you are part of the problem. Don't want the aggro? Don't take the job.
If you are commuting by bike it doesn't really take any extra time to exercise than if you sat in a car or rode the bus. Bike commuting is usually as quick if not quicker than alternatives (see Top Gear for example) so it is a time-efficient way to exercise.
See, the thing about sharing is that you don't get to do whatever you damn well please whenever you want to. That's what makes it sharing rather than being selfish.
Do you feel the same way about school busses? You'll share the road with school busses and children when they travel at 30mph without stopping or crossing the road? I presume you also think that anyone over 60 should have their licenses confiscated because they rarely travel at the speed limit. And while we're at it, let's get rid of all heavy vehicles, all tourists who are confused about where they are and drive slowly looking for street signs, all people driving slowly looking for a parking spot, and all learner drivers. I'm sure that will solve all your problems.
For all I know I've been walking through portals that lead to the same box of a room. Plus I have limited amounts of light. This isn't logic or problem solving, this is just blind running around. Screw that.
Of course, you could drop something in each room and see if you come across it again. Soon enough all the rooms will be easily identifiable and you will have a complete map. But that isn't problem solving or logic is it?
Yours seems to be a US experience. In Australia the number one payment method is direct bank deposit through banks' internet banking applications (I think it was about 60% direct deposit to 40% PayPal on eBay in Australia). In Australia, direct bank deposit works quickly (overnight) and cheaply (generally free). I imagine this may be unlike the US where sending money between banks could be a mess. (I know it was a mess in 2000 when I last had dealings with the US banking system - maybe it has improved since then.)
So the policy change in Australia had real bite - people didn't really like PayPal because it provided inferior service to direct bank deposit.
Sure you can. It's called Gran Turismo 1,2,3 and 4. The longest, loudest and most universal complaint about the AI is that it behaves like the gamer isn't there. If the Gran Turismo series can have such stellar sales despite this, I don't see that it would be much of a problem for this game.
Let me acquaint you with the well known term - cellophane fallacy.
It is commonly agreed that this case was decided incorrectly.
Nah, "We need nail clippers! Lots of nail clippers!"
That would put the fear of God into them!
TSA - proudly keeping the world safe from nail clippers since 2001.
You should have reveresed the default.
Instead of asking "Are you sure?" with the 'Yes' or 'OK' as the default you should have tried "This action is irreversible. Would you like to cancel?" with 'Yes' or 'OK' as the default. (Or made 'Cancel' the default if a bit of testing showed them pressing enter instead of clicking on the button with a mouse.) Then you would harness the users innate ability to automatically click 'OK' for good rather than evil.
I think you are indulging in a bit of creative reinterpretation of history:
1933 Last wild Thylacine captured
1936 Last Thylacine in captivity dies
1936 Thylacine added to list of protected wildlife
1953 DNA discovered
Given that DNA and its chemical structure was unknown in the 1930s - when it really mattered - they could not have been choosing to use alcohol because it did not degrade DNA. Interesting story but no banana.
the bit-space should be made logarithmic
It already is for all intents and purposes. See: Gamma.
Your problem is that you need to calibrate your monitor properly.
Also, if there is a suruplus at some times, then energetically intensive industrial operations can be scheduled for those times (for instance, aluminum refining).
Not if you need guaranteed availability for a period of hours - imagine that you have the furnace almost up to temperature and the power gets cut, that would be a massive waste of energy. Also, you talk of scheduling as if we can forecast wind speed days in advance - you can't of course. Which all means that for practically all industrial applications, wind power fails as a viable alternative. Indeed, domestic applications are pretty unforgiving of random fluctuations too - sorry kids, we can't have dinner tonight, the wind isn't blowing.
And what is the average cost of wind power anyway? Probably a lot higher than coal even with large carbon taxes.
I'm cavalier with my e-mail address, giving it out pretty much anywhere, be it on forums, message boards, slashdot, 'put in your e-mail to download this software from this sketchy company', and so on. And still no spam.
No - lots of spam. But you filter it. That's like the little boy sticking his fingers in his ears and shouting "I can't hear you!" - the noise is still there, but less of it gets to his ears.
Try taking your fingers out of your ears/turning off your filtering and seeing the full picture.
My MacBook Pro is my main workhorse machine - and I have no desktop to complement it. It's always got the following hooked up to it:
Nothing.
I don't have the following constantly hooked up to it:
Keyboard ('cos the integrated one if fine unless you need a numeric keypad)
Mouse ('cos I use a Bluetooth mouse)
External HDD ('cos I use it for backups or raw video storage, not editing - and I use Firewire rather than USB because its faster, particularly for video)
iPod sync cable ('cos I actually like to use it away from my computer rather than having it permanently attached to my computer - kind of defeats the purpose of a portable music player to have it permanently conected to my computer really. Same would go for an iPhone.)
Memory stick ('cos if it's important I put it on my computer)