It does actually have a good AI, but once you scratch the surface Dark Avatar is beset with critical bugs in many areas. I haven't been able to play a game without getting affected by some bug or another.
The harder levels of difficulty simply give the computer players economy and production bonuses. When given an unlimited amount of resources (like in a huge map), no matter how high you set the difficulty, you have to be pretty stupid to be beaten by the computer In smaller maps, the computer becomes much more difficult, but the strategies to defeat it are also much more limited, and much less fun.
I also suspect that Stardock outsourced much of the coding for the game. After reading their API docs, either one of their coders spells at a 5th grade level or is learning English still. While that doesn't necessarily mean anything bad, the disconnect inherent in outsourcing would explain the nature of the bugs I am seeing, and why they have been slow to patch the game.
They always have taken it seriously. In fact IE LJ users have been nearly invulnerable from simple (stuff that doesn't exploit IE cross-domain vulnerabilities) XSS attacks for years, because of LJ's use of HTTPONLY cookies.
Firefox dev's have in the past explicitly ruled out supporting HTTPONLY pretty much just because Microsoft invented it. The result is Firefox users are much more vulnerable to XSS attacks that IE users.
It was pedantic. The definition of theft is not a relevant issue, and it's usage is grammatically correct anyway.
The word identity is a relative term, and since the point of view from which the theft occurred (could be from the POV of a electronic business transaction that exists for milliseconds in which posession is determined once and never considered again) it is a waste of time to question the author's grammar when there are much more important issues in question.
Maybe a coincidence, but it is very interesting. Could this be some kind of stealh whistleblowing?
Both Sunbelt and Scientology are headquartered here in Clearwater (I live within walking distance of the Scientology complex), and the IT community isn't so huge that there isn't more than a few degrees of seperation between everyone. The Sunbelt researcher very well could have been tipped off.
In the same sense that an overweight middle-aged man screaming at the top of his lungs... "I am not ogling the barely covered ass of the 15 year old girl walking ahead of me!" as he walks through the mall would soon find himself being escorted off the property. Any corporation that feels it necessary to tell me that it is "fair and balanced" is probably just the opposite.
I agree with your post entirely, but if there is any place where irrational exuberance about new technology should be greeted with optimism, it's Slashdot!
These guys could be really happy in our mouths...
Do you know what causes toothaches? Cavities allow bacteria to infect the soft tissue inside the tooth causing swelling and pus to build up. The toothache is caused by the pressure buildup on the nerves. I've been told by dentists, that our immune systems are incapable of fighting off bacterial gum infections. Unless the root of a tooth dies, or is pulled out, antibiotics are the only way to cure a toothache.
Solving the problem of rejection by the immune system is probably just an engineering problem.
Re:Please get some journalistic integrity...
on
Korean MSN Site Hacked
·
· Score: 2, Informative
Here is a list of appoximately 325 Linux based web sites that were defaced today.
The FTC should stick to trade, and leave the mismanagement of the Internet to the FCC. The FCC just ruled last week VOIP to tell their customers if they provide 911 access or not after a girl died because her mom couldn't call 911 on her VOIP phone.
It wont be long before someone dies because their newly 911 enabled VOIP phone was disconnected because their machine was suspected of being a spam zombie.
#3) The best, very best log in tool for security I saw was a small clock a friend was given from his company. It had some funky algorithm on it, and it displayed a 14 alphanumeric code. When my friend logged in, he had to enter this code, which changed ever 1 minute. This was in addition to his username and password.
Most likely an RSA SecurID. They are all supposed to be unique, and are very expensive to replace. We use them for VPN passwords across the net between databases.
I store most of my passwords on some off the wall free password manager website that looks like it was designed in 1997. I am confident that any two bit script kiddie could and probably already has compromised their server.
It serves as constant reminder that password based security is no security at all.
Do you really think that non-libre software has __your__ interests in mind when they force an 'upgrade' ??
Can you give one example of a software company forcing someone to upgrade? The only people I can see that would realistically be impacted by your hypothetical example are corporations. When it comes to looking out for corporations best interests, I trust Adam Smith's Invisible Hand a hell of a lot more than Stallman.
Quite frankly, if someone showed up at my door waving a software licence in my face and tried to force me to pay for an upgrade I'd politely show them my copy of the 2nd amendment.
I'm not surprised when I see completely non-sensical posts get modded up on Slashdot anymore, but this has to be the most blatant example I've ever seen.
That this post got to +5 Interesting is proof that Slashdot's community moderation concept is a failure.
Do you honestly believe that NASA should spend it's time publicizing the fact that strapping astronauts onto literally a ton of rocket fuel and blasting them into outer space is involves significant risk to people who are unable to come to that conclusion themselves?
Would keeping a deceased cancer victim who donated their body to science on life support after brain death (Terry Schiavo style), and injecting the corpse be considered unethical?
Even if it is, I think a cure for cancer deserves an exception to that rule.
Storing credit card numbers themselves isn't an issue anymore as long as they are secured. The credit card companies say as much in their guidelines. Storing of CC numbers doesn't even preclude Visa from a giving a merchant a passing grade on their PCI Audit.
Merchants are prohibited from storing CVV2 though.
Personally, I write off anyone who writes off anyone based on a Slashdot post.
It must be hard to empathize with mere mortals way up on that high horse of yours, half blinded from the glare of your own halo.
Those "supposedly smart people" that you are preaching about are most likely fresh out of high school 17-18 year olds who were given the chance to view what could be the most important letter of their lives a bit early. Given the amount of dedication to schoolwork it takes to even be considered for Harvard they probably had to sacrifice some real world lessons that most kids their age learn. Being blided to a risks consequences by potential gain is one of those lessons.
They probably do lack some common sense relative to their peers, and I don't hold it against them in the slightest. In fact I immensely respect the amount of work that all those who were considered for Harvard had to do, even if they don't end up being accepted.
Advertising has no place in an encyclopedia. There should be zero tolerance for even the appearance of a cause for bias.
Allowing organizations to sponsor individual entries that the org. is relevant to provides the needed funds, without any detriment to credibility as long as there is public oversight and transparency.
For example, Intel would be relevant to an entry about Semiconductors, while McDonalds would not be. If multiple orgs want to sponsor an entry, it is voted on. Who knows...being allowed to sponsor a popular wikipedia entry could even become a capitalization of corporate goodwill.
Slashdot Mirror
GalCiv 2's AI is highly overrated.
It does actually have a good AI, but once you scratch the surface Dark Avatar is beset with critical bugs in many areas. I haven't been able to play a game without getting affected by some bug or another.
The harder levels of difficulty simply give the computer players economy and production bonuses. When given an unlimited amount of resources (like in a huge map), no matter how high you set the difficulty, you have to be pretty stupid to be beaten by the computer In smaller maps, the computer becomes much more difficult, but the strategies to defeat it are also much more limited, and much less fun.
I also suspect that Stardock outsourced much of the coding for the game. After reading their API docs, either one of their coders spells at a 5th grade level or is learning English still. While that doesn't necessarily mean anything bad, the disconnect inherent in outsourcing would explain the nature of the bugs I am seeing, and why they have been slow to patch the game.
They always have taken it seriously. In fact IE LJ users have been nearly invulnerable from simple (stuff that doesn't exploit IE cross-domain vulnerabilities) XSS attacks for years, because of LJ's use of HTTPONLY cookies.
Firefox dev's have in the past explicitly ruled out supporting HTTPONLY pretty much just because Microsoft invented it. The result is Firefox users are much more vulnerable to XSS attacks that IE users.
It was pedantic. The definition of theft is not a relevant issue, and it's usage is grammatically correct anyway.
The word identity is a relative term, and since the point of view from which the theft occurred (could be from the POV of a electronic business transaction that exists for milliseconds in which posession is determined once and never considered again) it is a waste of time to question the author's grammar when there are much more important issues in question.
Maybe a coincidence, but it is very interesting. Could this be some kind of stealh whistleblowing?
Both Sunbelt and Scientology are headquartered here in Clearwater (I live within walking distance of the Scientology complex), and the IT community isn't so huge that there isn't more than a few degrees of seperation between everyone. The Sunbelt researcher very well could have been tipped off.
In the same sense that an overweight middle-aged man screaming at the top of his lungs...
"I am not ogling the barely covered ass of the 15 year old girl walking ahead of me!" as he walks through the mall would soon find himself being escorted off the property.
Any corporation that feels it necessary to tell me that it is "fair and balanced" is probably just the opposite.
I agree with your post entirely, but if there is any place where irrational exuberance about new technology should be greeted with optimism, it's Slashdot!
These guys could be really happy in our mouths...
Do you know what causes toothaches? Cavities allow bacteria to infect the soft tissue inside the tooth causing swelling and pus to build up. The toothache is caused by the pressure buildup on the nerves. I've been told by dentists, that our immune systems are incapable of fighting off bacterial gum infections. Unless the root of a tooth dies, or is pulled out, antibiotics are the only way to cure a toothache.
Solving the problem of rejection by the immune system is probably just an engineering problem.
Here is a list of appoximately 325 Linux based web sites that were defaced today.
r _system=Linux/filter_date_select=today/page=1/
http://www.zone-h.org/en/defacements/filter/filte
The FTC should stick to trade, and leave the mismanagement of the Internet to the FCC. The FCC just ruled last week VOIP to tell their customers if they provide 911 access or not after a girl died because her mom couldn't call 911 on her VOIP phone.
It wont be long before someone dies because their newly 911 enabled VOIP phone was disconnected because their machine was suspected of being a spam zombie.
Pen + Paper
#3) The best, very best log in tool for security I saw was a small clock a friend was given from his company. It had some funky algorithm on it, and it displayed a 14 alphanumeric code. When my friend logged in, he had to enter this code, which changed ever 1 minute. This was in addition to his username and password.
Most likely an RSA SecurID. They are all supposed to be unique, and are very expensive to replace. We use them for VPN passwords across the net between databases.
I store most of my passwords on some off the wall free password manager website that looks like it was designed in 1997. I am confident that any two bit script kiddie could and probably already has compromised their server.
It serves as constant reminder that password based security is no security at all.
Can you give one example of a software company forcing someone to upgrade? The only people I can see that would realistically be impacted by your hypothetical example are corporations. When it comes to looking out for corporations best interests, I trust Adam Smith's Invisible Hand a hell of a lot more than Stallman.
Quite frankly, if someone showed up at my door waving a software licence in my face and tried to force me to pay for an upgrade I'd politely show them my copy of the 2nd amendment.
Has anyone done research on how much money is wasted each year on pointless white papers by IT research firms?
I'm not surprised when I see completely non-sensical posts get modded up on Slashdot anymore, but this has to be the most blatant example I've ever seen.
That this post got to +5 Interesting is proof that Slashdot's community moderation concept is a failure.
http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2005/04/05/res earchers_pioneer_new_gene_therapy_technique_using_ natural_repair_process.html
Do you honestly believe that NASA should spend it's time publicizing the fact that strapping astronauts onto literally a ton of rocket fuel and blasting them into outer space is involves significant risk to people who are unable to come to that conclusion themselves?
Would keeping a deceased cancer victim who donated their body to science on life support after brain death (Terry Schiavo style), and injecting the corpse be considered unethical?
Even if it is, I think a cure for cancer deserves an exception to that rule.
Storing credit card numbers themselves isn't an issue anymore as long as they are secured. The credit card companies say as much in their guidelines. Storing of CC numbers doesn't even preclude Visa from a giving a merchant a passing grade on their PCI Audit.
Merchants are prohibited from storing CVV2 though.
Personally, I write off anyone who writes off anyone based on a Slashdot post.
I can't shake the feeling that this article and Roblimo's open source chronic are connected somehow.
It must be hard to empathize with mere mortals way up on that high horse of yours, half blinded from the glare of your own halo.
Those "supposedly smart people" that you are preaching about are most likely fresh out of high school 17-18 year olds who were given the chance to view what could be the most important letter of their lives a bit early. Given the amount of dedication to schoolwork it takes to even be considered for Harvard they probably had to sacrifice some real world lessons that most kids their age learn. Being blided to a risks consequences by potential gain is one of those lessons.
They probably do lack some common sense relative to their peers, and I don't hold it against them in the slightest. In fact I immensely respect the amount of work that all those who were considered for Harvard had to do, even if they don't end up being accepted.
I propose that we should call them criminals.
Don't get all worked up. We laugh at our homegrown American criminals just the same.
Last I checked Microsoft hasn't chosen a side of the argument. Right now it's the browser makers vs the plugin makers.
Advertising has no place in an encyclopedia. There should be zero tolerance for even the appearance of a cause for bias. Allowing organizations to sponsor individual entries that the org. is relevant to provides the needed funds, without any detriment to credibility as long as there is public oversight and transparency. For example, Intel would be relevant to an entry about Semiconductors, while McDonalds would not be. If multiple orgs want to sponsor an entry, it is voted on. Who knows...being allowed to sponsor a popular wikipedia entry could even become a capitalization of corporate goodwill.