Doesn't *ALL* software "belong to someone else"? Even with FOSS software you depend on others to maintain it. If they stop, then you don't get updates. Now sure, you could theoretically go down to the local college and get a programming degree and learn to do it yourself--but how often does that REALLY happen? At least with MS, I know the software is going to be supported for several years, and not become adandonware because Jeremy got a new job and doesn't have time to update it anymore.
You think pirating a game doesn't take real physical money from all the programmers, developers, artists, etc. who created that game? I'm pretty sure that very real physical dollars would be missing from a lot of paychecks if everyone were pirating like you.
Justify your theft to yourself all you want to. But the chances of any of us buying your justification are about as good as the chance of you buying a game.
These days, any company or software project without a portfolio of defensive patents to defend itself with is just lawsuit bait. The second you get any success, it's just a matter of time before the crippling patent lawsuits come. It's ironic that patents, which were created to *promote* innovation, have become a weapon that now *stifles* innovation.
An successful indie software developer with no patents is like a meekly 12-year-old walking through Compton with a "I have a lot of cash in my wallet" sign on his back.
So, you're saying my proposed "You're a Winner!"-hats-for-the-homeless plan might be a *bad idea*?!?!? Obviously, you're just a victim of negative thinking.
Crazy as that state is, there had to be at least *one* sane person in the room when that was pitched. Surely to god, there had to be one person there who saw the disaster coming. My question is "What kind of environment was so toxic that he wouldn't or couldn't speak up and challenge such an obviously FUCKING INSANE idea?" How beaten down and scared do you have to be before you let something like that slide by without comment? How crazy does a boss have to be before his subordinates are so tired that no one even bothers to say "I think this might be a bad idea."?
There is a BIG difference between what cops are taught at the Academy and what they actually do in the field. I've had friends in the past who were cops, and the stuff they would brag and laugh about doing would send a chill up your spine.
What does that really matter if the cops already have my info, just based on a simple traffic stop? Sure, my ticket gets dropped. But that doesn't mean I get the pics of my girlfriend back that the cops are leering over, or that my personal info and data aren't still archived in a database somewhere to be used at the cops' discretion, or that they aren't now watching my house because they saw a pic of a marijuana plant on my phone, etc., etc,.
It's not nearly as cheap as buying used console games. Just a few months from release, I can usually get a big console game used on Amazon for $20. If it's a year or more out, I can usually get it for less than $10. Right now, for example I can buy Gears of War 2 for $6 used on Amazon, Mass Effect 2 for $11, and Bioshock 2 for $9. Not sure if Steam ever gets down that cheap or not. But I doubt it consistently beats the used market, especially for big releases.
With PC games I never have the option of buying them used, of course. I still do (for now) with console games.
You mean the same noble Jews who forced Palestinians into walled-off ghettos, forced farmers off their land so they could be settlements on the West Bank, and slaughtered thousands of unarmed innocent civilians in Beruit?
Yeah, I imagine they're pretty distrustful. That's not to even mention the fact that the Israelis are a bunch of religious fanatics. Do religious fanatics with nuclear arms make YOU comfortable?
My biggest problem with blu-ray early on was that the first generation of players was awful. They were slow as Christmas (WAY slower than the first generation of DVD players) for one thing. Newer players are considerably faster and come with a lot more features. Unfortunately, it doesn't help that blu-ray discs still come with forced trailers (way more common with blu-rays than with DVD's) from most studios (Universal and a few others being notable exceptions).
I liked the way the Watchmen did it. It started out with the characters in place and we only learned of their origins (not even all of them) through their own flashbacks with their own voice-overs. We never learn how much of what we're seeing is real and how much is their own self-serving version of their origins. It was not only simple and effective, it also gave a lot of insight into how these superheroes saw themselves.
Yeah, but this time he'll be all emo and brooding after he gets bit. The demographics for the teenage girl market necessitated it. Product placement also requires that the spider infect him with a strong thirst for refreshing Coca-Cola.
Batman, like most other superheroes, is a laughably fictional construct. Trying to do a "gritty" Batman only highlights how silly he is. No one in ANYTHING even RESEMBLING real-life would walk around throwing Bat-a-Rangs at vicious gang members and psychopaths with machine guns. AndaAfter about the 2nd time the Joker escaped and killed again, any superhero in his right mind would have written off the Gotham penal system as completely inadequate and just killed him after capturing him, or at least turned him over to *federal* authorities. If such super-villains existed in real life, the local police probably wouldn't even accept custody of them (probably directing Batman to the military or FBI), much less run an asylum for them locally.
The only time violence bothers me is when it's non-fictional. I could watch a fictional hero or villain mow through an entire village and it won't phase me. But I couldn't watch even a few minutes of a playground fistfight on Youtube without feeling sick. There is a *big* difference between real violence and pretend violence (at least for me), and it's not just of degree but of kind.
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Doesn't *ALL* software "belong to someone else"? Even with FOSS software you depend on others to maintain it. If they stop, then you don't get updates. Now sure, you could theoretically go down to the local college and get a programming degree and learn to do it yourself--but how often does that REALLY happen? At least with MS, I know the software is going to be supported for several years, and not become adandonware because Jeremy got a new job and doesn't have time to update it anymore.
I'm perfect for the job. I've already got an idea for re-branding the Xbox "Red Ring of Death" to the "Xbox upgrade opportunity alert"
You think pirating a game doesn't take real physical money from all the programmers, developers, artists, etc. who created that game? I'm pretty sure that very real physical dollars would be missing from a lot of paychecks if everyone were pirating like you.
Justify your theft to yourself all you want to. But the chances of any of us buying your justification are about as good as the chance of you buying a game.
These days, any company or software project without a portfolio of defensive patents to defend itself with is just lawsuit bait. The second you get any success, it's just a matter of time before the crippling patent lawsuits come. It's ironic that patents, which were created to *promote* innovation, have become a weapon that now *stifles* innovation.
An successful indie software developer with no patents is like a meekly 12-year-old walking through Compton with a "I have a lot of cash in my wallet" sign on his back.
So, you're saying my proposed "You're a Winner!"-hats-for-the-homeless plan might be a *bad idea*?!?!? Obviously, you're just a victim of negative thinking.
Crazy as that state is, there had to be at least *one* sane person in the room when that was pitched. Surely to god, there had to be one person there who saw the disaster coming. My question is "What kind of environment was so toxic that he wouldn't or couldn't speak up and challenge such an obviously FUCKING INSANE idea?" How beaten down and scared do you have to be before you let something like that slide by without comment? How crazy does a boss have to be before his subordinates are so tired that no one even bothers to say "I think this might be a bad idea."?
Yes, he's knows what's best. We should all agree with you.
How are state legislatures and Attorneys General chosen in Australia?
With an IQ test. Lowest score wins.
There is a BIG difference between what cops are taught at the Academy and what they actually do in the field. I've had friends in the past who were cops, and the stuff they would brag and laugh about doing would send a chill up your spine.
What does that really matter if the cops already have my info, just based on a simple traffic stop? Sure, my ticket gets dropped. But that doesn't mean I get the pics of my girlfriend back that the cops are leering over, or that my personal info and data aren't still archived in a database somewhere to be used at the cops' discretion, or that they aren't now watching my house because they saw a pic of a marijuana plant on my phone, etc., etc,.
Robot Chicken had it right. If someone like that showed up to protect me, fighting Terminators would most definitely not be her primary job.
Falken had it right. Much better to be vaporized instantaneously than to wander around in the aftermath of a full-on nuclear war.
Something lazy always happens on 4/20.
FTFY.
Finally, all my work in a crematorium in college pays off. I have valuable skills that Skynet will need!
It's not nearly as cheap as buying used console games. Just a few months from release, I can usually get a big console game used on Amazon for $20. If it's a year or more out, I can usually get it for less than $10. Right now, for example I can buy Gears of War 2 for $6 used on Amazon, Mass Effect 2 for $11, and Bioshock 2 for $9. Not sure if Steam ever gets down that cheap or not. But I doubt it consistently beats the used market, especially for big releases.
With PC games I never have the option of buying them used, of course. I still do (for now) with console games.
You mean the same noble Jews who forced Palestinians into walled-off ghettos, forced farmers off their land so they could be settlements on the West Bank, and slaughtered thousands of unarmed innocent civilians in Beruit?
Yeah, I imagine they're pretty distrustful. That's not to even mention the fact that the Israelis are a bunch of religious fanatics. Do religious fanatics with nuclear arms make YOU comfortable?
My biggest problem with blu-ray early on was that the first generation of players was awful. They were slow as Christmas (WAY slower than the first generation of DVD players) for one thing. Newer players are considerably faster and come with a lot more features. Unfortunately, it doesn't help that blu-ray discs still come with forced trailers (way more common with blu-rays than with DVD's) from most studios (Universal and a few others being notable exceptions).
I liked the way the Watchmen did it. It started out with the characters in place and we only learned of their origins (not even all of them) through their own flashbacks with their own voice-overs. We never learn how much of what we're seeing is real and how much is their own self-serving version of their origins. It was not only simple and effective, it also gave a lot of insight into how these superheroes saw themselves.
Once there was an evil sorcerer name kdawson...
Yeah, but this time he'll be all emo and brooding after he gets bit. The demographics for the teenage girl market necessitated it. Product placement also requires that the spider infect him with a strong thirst for refreshing Coca-Cola.
Surely you're not implying that almost all major motion pictures today are remakes, reboots, re-imaginings, sequels, and adaptations?!?!?
Only if we had infinite money for infinite supplies and ammo (or a moral willingness to make the Iraqies and Afghanies pay for their occupation).
Batman, like most other superheroes, is a laughably fictional construct. Trying to do a "gritty" Batman only highlights how silly he is. No one in ANYTHING even RESEMBLING real-life would walk around throwing Bat-a-Rangs at vicious gang members and psychopaths with machine guns. AndaAfter about the 2nd time the Joker escaped and killed again, any superhero in his right mind would have written off the Gotham penal system as completely inadequate and just killed him after capturing him, or at least turned him over to *federal* authorities. If such super-villains existed in real life, the local police probably wouldn't even accept custody of them (probably directing Batman to the military or FBI), much less run an asylum for them locally.
The only time violence bothers me is when it's non-fictional. I could watch a fictional hero or villain mow through an entire village and it won't phase me. But I couldn't watch even a few minutes of a playground fistfight on Youtube without feeling sick. There is a *big* difference between real violence and pretend violence (at least for me), and it's not just of degree but of kind.
I liked that joke when David Spade did it 20 years ago.