Game consoles already solve this problem pretty nicely. Sony (yea, yea, boo and all that jazz) tends to release updates for the PS3 pretty consistently and keeps the Blu-Ray spec up to date. All 3 consoles have updated their software to incorporate Netflix, and PS3/360 have both also added various other streaming services long after their initial release. They don't run into the lack of ROI problem since they seem to be selling consoles on a pretty consistent basis, compounded with the residual income from game licensing and pay services on their respective networks.
I remember years ago Microsoft's ultimate goal was to have Xbox be the entertainment hub for your home. Back then, I scoffed at the idea, but its becoming a reality with all of the consoles.
Well, they ignored the massive backlash about removing the status bar, so what makes you think they'll listen to the masses about the location bar? Mozilla's been making some really questionable design decisions lately, and their response always seems to be "find an add-on to do it." Extensions are nifty and all, but they should be required for what some would consider basic interface functionality.
There is an extension to make the "add-on" bar act like the old status bar, but it's got some issues (might be FF, might be the add-on).
Actually, 3D Realms were actively developing it just before closing doors, and the project was handed over to Gearbox (which isn't a 'hackjob' studio) to finish it up. Given that Gearbox only had it in their hands for 6 months, I'd say the game was already pretty far long before 3DR closed up shop.
the network he set up kept running even with him away from it
Actually, it wouldn't. It was specifically designed to fail if he wasn't around any *anything* went wrong. The configs all wiped themselves on boot, and he had the only encrypted backups of them. He also was the only person with the admin passwords and refused to relinquish them to anyone.
Update: After affecting only Comcast users for about 15 hours, The Pirate Bay seems to be inaccessible pretty much everywhere now. The Pirate Bay team is looking into it. (Update: one webserver died, should be back for most people who are not on Comcast now).
You're connecting to someone else hosting a game. The mentioned scheme would still work, you would just just wouldn't be able to host games. Right now, PSN/XBL work like this and require some firewall hole punching due to the peer-to-peer multiplayer. Right now, you would be detected as having either a "strict NAT" on Xbox or a "Type 3" on the PSN, essentially meaning you aren't able to host games. It would work the exact same as it does now, you're just manually doing the matchmaking process instead of relying on a server to send you the information.
There's that, but there's also the cross-platform multiplayer (PC and PS3 can play together). The DLC packs are free for PC and PS3.. not sure if MS will let it go for free on Xbox (Valve and MS have fought over this before).
This is already happening automatically with the current systems. If your firewall is not configured to allow outbound connections from your console, PSN/XBL gaming wouldn't work anyway.
I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised by what I find on PBS these days. Hustle, the original Life on Mars, and Spooks were entertaining, not to mention semi-new Dr. Who. Granted, this is literally just BBC programming from a the past few years, but it's still new to me.
Term-limits in the USA is just enforced gang-banging;).
The only federally held position with term limits is the president. Some folks think that Congress should have term limits as well. Personally, I don't like the unlimited term positions (aka "appointed for life") in the government, especially since they're also the positions of highest power.
Nah. An open source app can collect just as much data as a closed source one. Average users won't do a code review (and, honestly, most tech savvy users won't either). Even with a code review, I'm sure that some programmers can get creative with the methods so they aren't so easily detected.
There's also some additional services that require a card on record at Sony tied to your PSN account (Qriocity and Playstation+). There's also the stored card information for your wallet if you set that up as well.
Being an Xbox Live player (hate to say this cause its MS we are talking about) but you can enjoy gaming without the posibility for account Hijacking.
That's actually not true. XBL support has a notoriously bad track record when it comes to social engineering and giving away your account details to attackers. There were quite a few articles about it a few years back (here's one from a quick search). I think it's actually more of a threat since a valid credit card is required for XBL Gold accounts.
Sort of, via my credit score. They use my identity to use my credit, not a copy of it. Anything they do to damage my credit becomes my burden to bear, not reflected on a copy of it. Credit isn't something that can be copied like a file.
Not entirely true, they offer "Playstation+" for a monthly fee, not to mention other pay services which require the PSN being available (i.e., Netflix).
Nintendo seems to be out of cycle with the rest of the industry, though. Their last console is hardly considered "current generation" given the capabilities of the system itself. It lacks HD output, a reasonably sized HDD, a functional online service, etc. They've addressed some of the other missing "standard" features via updates (ie, WiiWare). Granted, their target audience wasn't exactly gamers with the Wii, but I don't think they can rely on the casual market to carry them again and need to get up to snuff for modern gaming.
Nah, Steam itself is trying to establish itself as the dominant gaming platform regardless of the hardware. Portal 2 is an example of this, being available on both the PS3 and the PC, and offering cross-platform play (that actually works really well). They're also bolstering their install base by offering a free PC/Mac version of the game with the PS3 version.
Steam support indicates they'll be showing up on the 360 at some point as well. However, given MS's track record for openness to anything not directly controlled by them, there might be a few obstacles to overcome. Then again, maybe MS realized they screwed up due to Vavle's recent statements about both consoles.
You can continue using XP for as long as you want; they don't magically make it stop working.
As other have pointed out, I imagine it'd be hard to activate your copy with no activation servers in existence. So, unless you're running a post-activation install, or a cracked version to avoid activation all together, you're going to be SOL at some point.
People would laugh at the idea of mandatory age-ratings on books, so why do they accept it on movies and games?
Both the ESRB and the MPAA are voluntary rating boards. You can make a game/movie and release it without a rating, and it's plenty legal (but difficult to get certified for console releases). It's a much, much better solution than attempting to have the government dictate and enforce regulations.
Well, EA's support was the original source for disabling the DRM as a fix. I personally wouldn't mind seeing EA sue itself into oblivion. It'd be the only way they'd learn...
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Game consoles already solve this problem pretty nicely. Sony (yea, yea, boo and all that jazz) tends to release updates for the PS3 pretty consistently and keeps the Blu-Ray spec up to date. All 3 consoles have updated their software to incorporate Netflix, and PS3/360 have both also added various other streaming services long after their initial release. They don't run into the lack of ROI problem since they seem to be selling consoles on a pretty consistent basis, compounded with the residual income from game licensing and pay services on their respective networks.
I remember years ago Microsoft's ultimate goal was to have Xbox be the entertainment hub for your home. Back then, I scoffed at the idea, but its becoming a reality with all of the consoles.
Well, they ignored the massive backlash about removing the status bar, so what makes you think they'll listen to the masses about the location bar? Mozilla's been making some really questionable design decisions lately, and their response always seems to be "find an add-on to do it." Extensions are nifty and all, but they should be required for what some would consider basic interface functionality.
There is an extension to make the "add-on" bar act like the old status bar, but it's got some issues (might be FF, might be the add-on).
sticking to Adobe flash
That <video> tag isn't becoming standardized and widely supported fast enough...
Actually, 3D Realms were actively developing it just before closing doors, and the project was handed over to Gearbox (which isn't a 'hackjob' studio) to finish it up. Given that Gearbox only had it in their hands for 6 months, I'd say the game was already pretty far long before 3DR closed up shop.
the network he set up kept running even with him away from it
Actually, it wouldn't. It was specifically designed to fail if he wasn't around any *anything* went wrong. The configs all wiped themselves on boot, and he had the only encrypted backups of them. He also was the only person with the admin passwords and refused to relinquish them to anyone.
http://torrentfreak.com/comcast-blocked-the-pirate-bay-110512/
which states
Update: After affecting only Comcast users for about 15 hours, The Pirate Bay seems to be inaccessible pretty much everywhere now. The Pirate Bay team is looking into it. (Update: one webserver died, should be back for most people who are not on Comcast now).
Meant to emphasize the "server to join"
Enter the IP of the game server to join
You're connecting to someone else hosting a game. The mentioned scheme would still work, you would just just wouldn't be able to host games. Right now, PSN/XBL work like this and require some firewall hole punching due to the peer-to-peer multiplayer. Right now, you would be detected as having either a "strict NAT" on Xbox or a "Type 3" on the PSN, essentially meaning you aren't able to host games. It would work the exact same as it does now, you're just manually doing the matchmaking process instead of relying on a server to send you the information.
There's that, but there's also the cross-platform multiplayer (PC and PS3 can play together). The DLC packs are free for PC and PS3.. not sure if MS will let it go for free on Xbox (Valve and MS have fought over this before).
This is already happening automatically with the current systems. If your firewall is not configured to allow outbound connections from your console, PSN/XBL gaming wouldn't work anyway.
Saying "I watch anime" is like saying "I watch television" - it's a medium, not genre.
I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised by what I find on PBS these days. Hustle, the original Life on Mars, and Spooks were entertaining, not to mention semi-new Dr. Who. Granted, this is literally just BBC programming from a the past few years, but it's still new to me.
Term-limits in the USA is just enforced gang-banging ;).
The only federally held position with term limits is the president. Some folks think that Congress should have term limits as well. Personally, I don't like the unlimited term positions (aka "appointed for life") in the government, especially since they're also the positions of highest power.
Since OSX is somewhat based on FreeBSD, wouldn't pkg_add be more suitable?
Nah. An open source app can collect just as much data as a closed source one. Average users won't do a code review (and, honestly, most tech savvy users won't either). Even with a code review, I'm sure that some programmers can get creative with the methods so they aren't so easily detected.
There's also some additional services that require a card on record at Sony tied to your PSN account (Qriocity and Playstation+). There's also the stored card information for your wallet if you set that up as well.
Being an Xbox Live player (hate to say this cause its MS we are talking about) but you can enjoy gaming without the posibility for account Hijacking.
That's actually not true. XBL support has a notoriously bad track record when it comes to social engineering and giving away your account details to attackers. There were quite a few articles about it a few years back (here's one from a quick search). I think it's actually more of a threat since a valid credit card is required for XBL Gold accounts.
Sort of, via my credit score. They use my identity to use my credit, not a copy of it. Anything they do to damage my credit becomes my burden to bear, not reflected on a copy of it. Credit isn't something that can be copied like a file.
The last time I checked, my identity couldn't be stolen with a copied MP3.
PSN is free last time I checked
Not entirely true, they offer "Playstation+" for a monthly fee, not to mention other pay services which require the PSN being available (i.e., Netflix).
Nintendo seems to be out of cycle with the rest of the industry, though. Their last console is hardly considered "current generation" given the capabilities of the system itself. It lacks HD output, a reasonably sized HDD, a functional online service, etc. They've addressed some of the other missing "standard" features via updates (ie, WiiWare). Granted, their target audience wasn't exactly gamers with the Wii, but I don't think they can rely on the casual market to carry them again and need to get up to snuff for modern gaming.
Nah, Steam itself is trying to establish itself as the dominant gaming platform regardless of the hardware. Portal 2 is an example of this, being available on both the PS3 and the PC, and offering cross-platform play (that actually works really well). They're also bolstering their install base by offering a free PC/Mac version of the game with the PS3 version.
Steam support indicates they'll be showing up on the 360 at some point as well. However, given MS's track record for openness to anything not directly controlled by them, there might be a few obstacles to overcome. Then again, maybe MS realized they screwed up due to Vavle's recent statements about both consoles.
You can continue using XP for as long as you want; they don't magically make it stop working.
As other have pointed out, I imagine it'd be hard to activate your copy with no activation servers in existence. So, unless you're running a post-activation install, or a cracked version to avoid activation all together, you're going to be SOL at some point.
People would laugh at the idea of mandatory age-ratings on books, so why do they accept it on movies and games?
Both the ESRB and the MPAA are voluntary rating boards. You can make a game/movie and release it without a rating, and it's plenty legal (but difficult to get certified for console releases). It's a much, much better solution than attempting to have the government dictate and enforce regulations.
Well, EA's support was the original source for disabling the DRM as a fix. I personally wouldn't mind seeing EA sue itself into oblivion. It'd be the only way they'd learn...