The problem with this line of argument is that if no good people work there for that reason, it is bound to be even worse.
That's the age-old "I'm better off trying to change it from the inside" argument that a lot of people use to morally justify working for an immoral organization. The problem is that this almost never works. People who start off vowing to "change it from the inside" almost always end up just becoming corrupted themselves. Once you take your first step on the road to hell, each successive step becomes easier and easier.
It may sound like a great idea on the surface, but a leopard doesn't change its spots just because you give it a paycheck.
So either the NSA are really fucking stupid or this is some sort of honeypot trap to target some specific (or maybe even non-specific) hackers and bust them on an espionage charge when they inevitably leak some fake secrets you give them after they become "employees." If it's the latter, I'm impressed. Never seen anyone go that far with a honeypot operation. But maybe Anon and LulSec are making them desperate. Hell, maybe they're hoping they can just *luck* into busting some Anon/LulSec leaders by throwing a wide net.
So I guess it really comes down here to a question of who's more stupid--the NSA for thinking they can tame hackers or the hackers for possibly falling for a honeypot. I don't know which is the more scary possibility.
For you UFO researchers who know this is no mere rock formation, you can learn more about the alien civilization whose ship this is by reading up on the legendary Apophenia alien civilization. This will tell you all about who put this clearly recognizable spaceship on the sea floor.
If you scroll down, you'll see there are similar figures for other countries as well. There is also a note indicating that the figures from 2005 and 2006 do include online downloads. Sorry, but PC game sales just don't compare to console game sales, no matter how you try to slice it. Consoles dominate. Just look at those Call of Duty numbers in the second article. Almost 5 million on the PS3 and 360, less than 400,000 on the PC. That ain't pretty.
I should also add that I found a more recent article which seems to suggest the situation is getting even worse for PC games sales. Though mobile gaming seems to be gaining on both of them.
Got them here (you can see his sources toward the bottom). Take it for what it's worth. But even if that's not including the money from MMO subscriptions and the like, it's still pretty stunning.
What about all those programmers working at MS and Apple? I dare say they are spending all their paychecks on coke and hookers. Okay, maybe Pepsi and Cheetos.
Exactly. The cost of Windows or OS X is trivial for users because they basically come with the computer (depending on whether you go PC or Apple, of course). This could make a difference if it was a common occurrence for people to build their own computers (as many of us geeks do) or if computers-sans-OS's were routinely sold at a discount in stores. But the vast majority of people are saving nothing by installing Linux on their computers. In fact, it would actually cost them MORE in time to install it than to just leave the default Windows or OS X installation.
Now with apps, you MIGHT have a better case. There is little doubt that Blender is a shitload cheaper than 3ds Max to use if you're looking to do some 3D editing. And GIMP is much cheaper than Photoshop. But, chances are, if you're doing such high-end video or graphic editing, you're probably going to be willing to sink in the money to use an industry-standard program (unless it's a one-off deal where you don't ever have to worry about contract work or sharing). It may also be a lot cheaper to install OpenOffice on your startup's PC's than to buy a bunch of Office licenses. But again, if you're a serious startup, the cost of Office licenses are likely to be pretty trivial compared to the hassle of using non-standard software.
So no, in the end I very seriously doubt that even a more serious economic slide than we're already facing would really help FOSS much. At most, it might lower the cost of some of the more expensive proprietary stuff (as it already has on software like Final Cut Pro, for example).
I'm sure they were more worried about the radioactive material itself than the possibility he would actually succeed at building a reactor. He was never going to build a working reactor, but it's quite possible he might have acquired enough radioactive material to make himself and his neighbors very sick.
But then Hollywood would need to stop requiring the lead role to be an Americans for action movies.
Where have YOU been for the last decade? These days it's hard to find a lead in a Hollywood movie who *isn't* a Brit, Australian, etc. Actual *American* action stars went out of fashion years ago.
Hell, look at Cowboys and Aliens. Harrison Ford who (literally) got grandfathered in as an American action star. And Daniel Craig, a Brit.
Deep Space 9 was the only Trek series to ever deal even semi-realistically with human behavior, IMHO. All the other Trek series seemed to presume that human greed, jealousy, ambition, sexual politics (or even sexual intercourse), etc. had somehow been obliterated.
Data was the only TNG character who ever made any sense to me at all, since he was the only who was SUPPOSED to act like a robot. Everyone else was supposed to be human, not some bizarre automaton who's perfectly happy to work in a sexless, moneyless, greedless environment where everyone presumably got up every say whistling "Zippity Doo Da" out of their assholes. And wtf was with putting families and children on a ship that was nearly destroyed every week? What sane human being would even CONSIDER something that batshit crazy, much less implement it and keep it in place? In real life, a ship that was threatened that much would not only not have children on board, but would probably have trouble even finding a crew. Seriously, a few weeks on that death trap would have John Wayne suffering from PTSD.
There is a really big difference between risk and fucking stupid. Risk is investing in a business that you believe in, that you have written a business plan for, that you have good reason to believe will succeed, that you have realistic goals for, etc. Fucking stupid is "investing" in a lottery where the odds of you winning are statistically indistinguishable from the odds of you finding a suitcase full on money sitting on your front porch one day.
The last time I checked the numbers, console and handheld games sales accounted for something like 7x the sales of PC games in the U.S. (about $1 billion a year for PC games, and $7 billion for console and handheld games) And that gap has been widening for years.
So which do you think they're going to prioritize?
In fact, considering those numbers, I'm shocked that any developer still releases any PC-only games at all. If they're not developing console ports, they're basically throwing away most of their money.
I'm all for freedom to live your life the way you want and all that. But for the *state* to openly exploit its citizens with these parasitic lotteries makes my stomach turn. Rather than raise taxes, let's exploit out poorest and dumbest citizens! Yea!!!
I always though that replicators essentially recycled everything for raw materials (and maybe had a cache of matter stored somewhere on board in case that wasn't enough). I seem to recall scenes in TNG where crewmembers put their dirty dishes into replicators and they were de-replicated (presumably for recycling).
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The problem with this line of argument is that if no good people work there for that reason, it is bound to be even worse.
That's the age-old "I'm better off trying to change it from the inside" argument that a lot of people use to morally justify working for an immoral organization. The problem is that this almost never works. People who start off vowing to "change it from the inside" almost always end up just becoming corrupted themselves. Once you take your first step on the road to hell, each successive step becomes easier and easier.
So the plan is to hire some Houdini's, put them in a cage, and tell them not to escape, huh? Hope that's a really good lock.
Yeah, I recall how well the CIA vetted Humam al-Balawi. I hope the NSA is a little more thorough.
There are black hats and then there are black hats.
It may sound like a great idea on the surface, but a leopard doesn't change its spots just because you give it a paycheck.
So either the NSA are really fucking stupid or this is some sort of honeypot trap to target some specific (or maybe even non-specific) hackers and bust them on an espionage charge when they inevitably leak some fake secrets you give them after they become "employees." If it's the latter, I'm impressed. Never seen anyone go that far with a honeypot operation. But maybe Anon and LulSec are making them desperate. Hell, maybe they're hoping they can just *luck* into busting some Anon/LulSec leaders by throwing a wide net.
So I guess it really comes down here to a question of who's more stupid--the NSA for thinking they can tame hackers or the hackers for possibly falling for a honeypot. I don't know which is the more scary possibility.
For you UFO researchers who know this is no mere rock formation, you can learn more about the alien civilization whose ship this is by reading up on the legendary Apophenia alien civilization. This will tell you all about who put this clearly recognizable spaceship on the sea floor.
If you scroll down, you'll see there are similar figures for other countries as well. There is also a note indicating that the figures from 2005 and 2006 do include online downloads. Sorry, but PC game sales just don't compare to console game sales, no matter how you try to slice it. Consoles dominate. Just look at those Call of Duty numbers in the second article. Almost 5 million on the PS3 and 360, less than 400,000 on the PC. That ain't pretty.
He who gives gold to Congressional and Presidential election campaigns makes the rules.
And $111 million is a lot of gold.
I should also add that I found a more recent article which seems to suggest the situation is getting even worse for PC games sales. Though mobile gaming seems to be gaining on both of them.
Got them here (you can see his sources toward the bottom). Take it for what it's worth. But even if that's not including the money from MMO subscriptions and the like, it's still pretty stunning.
MS and Apple employee about 95,000 employees between them. I dare say most of those aren't rich fat cats.
What about all those programmers working at MS and Apple? I dare say they are spending all their paychecks on coke and hookers. Okay, maybe Pepsi and Cheetos.
Exactly. The cost of Windows or OS X is trivial for users because they basically come with the computer (depending on whether you go PC or Apple, of course). This could make a difference if it was a common occurrence for people to build their own computers (as many of us geeks do) or if computers-sans-OS's were routinely sold at a discount in stores. But the vast majority of people are saving nothing by installing Linux on their computers. In fact, it would actually cost them MORE in time to install it than to just leave the default Windows or OS X installation.
Now with apps, you MIGHT have a better case. There is little doubt that Blender is a shitload cheaper than 3ds Max to use if you're looking to do some 3D editing. And GIMP is much cheaper than Photoshop. But, chances are, if you're doing such high-end video or graphic editing, you're probably going to be willing to sink in the money to use an industry-standard program (unless it's a one-off deal where you don't ever have to worry about contract work or sharing). It may also be a lot cheaper to install OpenOffice on your startup's PC's than to buy a bunch of Office licenses. But again, if you're a serious startup, the cost of Office licenses are likely to be pretty trivial compared to the hassle of using non-standard software.
So no, in the end I very seriously doubt that even a more serious economic slide than we're already facing would really help FOSS much. At most, it might lower the cost of some of the more expensive proprietary stuff (as it already has on software like Final Cut Pro, for example).
Wow, that place has changed a lot since I was there. Back in my day, we didn't even have clothes. Just ran around naked and illiterate all day.
I'm sure they were more worried about the radioactive material itself than the possibility he would actually succeed at building a reactor. He was never going to build a working reactor, but it's quite possible he might have acquired enough radioactive material to make himself and his neighbors very sick.
According to comic books, it can give you superpowers.
Sorry, but humans existed for a long, long time, with a much smaller population in much more rural/agrarian settings, without electric power
FTFY
But then Hollywood would need to stop requiring the lead role to be an Americans for action movies.
Where have YOU been for the last decade? These days it's hard to find a lead in a Hollywood movie who *isn't* a Brit, Australian, etc. Actual *American* action stars went out of fashion years ago.
Hell, look at Cowboys and Aliens. Harrison Ford who (literally) got grandfathered in as an American action star. And Daniel Craig, a Brit.
Deep Space 9 was the only Trek series to ever deal even semi-realistically with human behavior, IMHO. All the other Trek series seemed to presume that human greed, jealousy, ambition, sexual politics (or even sexual intercourse), etc. had somehow been obliterated.
Data was the only TNG character who ever made any sense to me at all, since he was the only who was SUPPOSED to act like a robot. Everyone else was supposed to be human, not some bizarre automaton who's perfectly happy to work in a sexless, moneyless, greedless environment where everyone presumably got up every say whistling "Zippity Doo Da" out of their assholes. And wtf was with putting families and children on a ship that was nearly destroyed every week? What sane human being would even CONSIDER something that batshit crazy, much less implement it and keep it in place? In real life, a ship that was threatened that much would not only not have children on board, but would probably have trouble even finding a crew. Seriously, a few weeks on that death trap would have John Wayne suffering from PTSD.
There is a really big difference between risk and fucking stupid. Risk is investing in a business that you believe in, that you have written a business plan for, that you have good reason to believe will succeed, that you have realistic goals for, etc. Fucking stupid is "investing" in a lottery where the odds of you winning are statistically indistinguishable from the odds of you finding a suitcase full on money sitting on your front porch one day.
Oh boy, you might want to duck.
The last time I checked the numbers, console and handheld games sales accounted for something like 7x the sales of PC games in the U.S. (about $1 billion a year for PC games, and $7 billion for console and handheld games) And that gap has been widening for years.
So which do you think they're going to prioritize?
In fact, considering those numbers, I'm shocked that any developer still releases any PC-only games at all. If they're not developing console ports, they're basically throwing away most of their money.
But considering that's like 1/7th of what it costs to launch a single shuttle, it's really not that bad.
I'm all for freedom to live your life the way you want and all that. But for the *state* to openly exploit its citizens with these parasitic lotteries makes my stomach turn. Rather than raise taxes, let's exploit out poorest and dumbest citizens! Yea!!!
Serves them right. Fucking vampires.
I always though that replicators essentially recycled everything for raw materials (and maybe had a cache of matter stored somewhere on board in case that wasn't enough). I seem to recall scenes in TNG where crewmembers put their dirty dishes into replicators and they were de-replicated (presumably for recycling).