As a long time player of RPG's like the Gold Box series, I really miss the ability to to import characters from earlier games into later installments (mentioned several times in this article). I know there was some talk about Mass Effect 2 or some other RPG's maybe bringing this back. I wish they would. I hate having to recreate a new character in every sequel, when I really just want to play as my original character. Knights of the Old Republic 2 is a great example of a RPG that would have been so much better if you could have simply continued playing as the original Revan instead of some faceless new douchebag.
You know, if you replaced "Jehovahs Witnesses" and "they can't" with "anyone who comes to my house" and "I'm going to harvest their organs for sale on the Mexican black market" in that paragraph, I would be able to relate to it completely.
Announcing that they have a backup data center for all our phone calls and emails is their way of saying "Sure, we're totalitarians--but at least we're COMPETENT totalitarians."
And also keep in mind that most retailers won't let you return an opened disc for a refund if it doesn't work (most will only let you exchange it for another of the same title, pretty useless if the title isn't working because of some new copy protection). So you're not only dealing with a blu-ray that won't play on your player (with no indication on the box to warn you), but you're also out $20-$35 (more if it's a TV series).
Sadly, if you want HD content (and not that overcompressed downloaded crap), blu-ray is the only choice now. It's a shame too. I have an HD-DVD player which loads discs and performs MUCH faster than any blu-ray player I've ever had. And the HD-DVD format had a lot cheaper prices for discs, more lax region coding, didn't make unskippable opening trailers a seeming prerequsite for the format (seriously, every single blu-ray I buy seems to have these annoying things), and was generally WAY more consumer friendly. Blu-ray seems more geared to the studios; their trailers, their encryption, etc.; than to the person actually BUYING the disc. It's like the studios invented blu-ray just to piss people off and turn them off to the whole idea of a HD video format.
The other day I was talking to my dad, who knows about as much about computers as a lamppost, and just out of the blue he started to complain about Vista, wishing he could go back to XP (all without me ever even mentioning the issue to him). That should say something.
Bethesda needs to stick to developing new content for Fallout 3 and Oblivion (and, preferably, developing Fallout 4 and and new Elder Scrolls game). Every day they're developing a crapfest for this kid's toy is a day wasted and an insult to the real gamers who have kept you in business all these years.
I don't care about your little IP war. All I know is, the first time I pop a blu-ray disc into my $300 player and it refuses to play because of one of your new little one-upmanship encryption schemes, I'm going to be plenty pissed. And I bet there are any number of ambulance-chasing trial lawyers out there are who going to be looking to make some big money off some nice class action suits everytime one of your new schemes renders all our existing players obsolete too.
P.S. And no, "Well you may be able to get a firmware update from your player's manufacturer" doesn't cut it.
The U.S. is basically living in the 21st century with numerous laws predicated on 19th century assumptions about the predominance of the state (when the state was a MUCH more important part of people's lives than the country or world). Most of those laws just assume that large multi-state companies either wouldn't exist at all or would be always be insignificant next to Ma Kettle's corner general store and Silas Dipshit's local-yokel bank and trust.
The main thing *I* want to know is how to combine quantum physics and general relativity into a consistent single theory that works for both large bodies and quantum particles. But yeah, memory leaks in Firefox are pretty important to me too.
The ultimate goal of the MPPA/RIAA and its ilk isn't to stop P2P on a site-by-site basis (as they did with Napster, Supernova, Pirate Bay, etc.), but to stop P2P at the *ISP* level. What they're shooting for now is a system where when a new pirate site goes up--they send out a quick automatic blacklist update to the handful of broadband ISP's out there and bam, that site and all its associated IP addresses are blocked for everyone. Someone comes up with a proxy server to bypass it? Bam--that gets blocked too. Someone comes up with a proxy server list? Bam--blocked! All with no police and no court battles; affected almost instantaneously. Imagine the equivalent of Websense on every single broadband connected computer in the world, with a constantly updated blacklist of P2P sites and proxy server bypasses.
Sony's Linux "support" on the PS2 and PS3 is a joke. I'm not sure why they even offered if (since it's so laughably crippled). There were rumors that they were only offering this for the PS2, and later the PS3, so they could get around some EU import tax by getting the console classified as a "computer" (though that seems to be discredited).
At *most* Congress will hold some show hearings, make a big production out of berating the Sony CEO briefly (during which he will offer the traditional "We're just following the law" defense), let a few Senators fire off some brief criticism of Sony, then completely forget about the whole thing and go on with business as usual. Sony will be briefly embarrassed, then continue on without a single change or reform.
Don't believe it? Just ask Jerry Yang if *HE* changed anything (or faced any real punishment) after getting this treatment.
Well, there goes the best of the great torrent sites. I'll bet dollars to donuts that this new company attempts to Napsterize the site, turning into a pathetic shell of its former self.
Bah, I think the guy is telling the truth. Why, just the other day, I was stopped at the airport for trying to bring a delicious Coca-Cola on the plane. No matter how much the TSA officers agreed on the unbeatable crisp taste of Coca-Cola, they still detained me. Luckily, I discovered that I could buy a delicious, ice-cold Coca Cola right in the airport gift shop! Thank God I wasn't deprived of the cool, refreshing taste of Coca-Cola on the plane.
Slashdot Mirror
As a long time player of RPG's like the Gold Box series, I really miss the ability to to import characters from earlier games into later installments (mentioned several times in this article). I know there was some talk about Mass Effect 2 or some other RPG's maybe bringing this back. I wish they would. I hate having to recreate a new character in every sequel, when I really just want to play as my original character. Knights of the Old Republic 2 is a great example of a RPG that would have been so much better if you could have simply continued playing as the original Revan instead of some faceless new douchebag.
Just s long as you don't release it on the same weekend as my directorial debut "Dig Dug: The Movie."
Wait a minute, this ISN'T a joke? For a second there I thought it was either April 1st or that this would somehow end up linking to an Onion story.
You know, if you replaced "Jehovahs Witnesses" and "they can't" with "anyone who comes to my house" and "I'm going to harvest their organs for sale on the Mexican black market" in that paragraph, I would be able to relate to it completely.
Announcing that they have a backup data center for all our phone calls and emails is their way of saying "Sure, we're totalitarians--but at least we're COMPETENT totalitarians."
Can we even build "Self-replicating nano robots" on EARTH?
And also keep in mind that most retailers won't let you return an opened disc for a refund if it doesn't work (most will only let you exchange it for another of the same title, pretty useless if the title isn't working because of some new copy protection). So you're not only dealing with a blu-ray that won't play on your player (with no indication on the box to warn you), but you're also out $20-$35 (more if it's a TV series).
Sadly, if you want HD content (and not that overcompressed downloaded crap), blu-ray is the only choice now. It's a shame too. I have an HD-DVD player which loads discs and performs MUCH faster than any blu-ray player I've ever had. And the HD-DVD format had a lot cheaper prices for discs, more lax region coding, didn't make unskippable opening trailers a seeming prerequsite for the format (seriously, every single blu-ray I buy seems to have these annoying things), and was generally WAY more consumer friendly. Blu-ray seems more geared to the studios; their trailers, their encryption, etc.; than to the person actually BUYING the disc. It's like the studios invented blu-ray just to piss people off and turn them off to the whole idea of a HD video format.
The other day I was talking to my dad, who knows about as much about computers as a lamppost, and just out of the blue he started to complain about Vista, wishing he could go back to XP (all without me ever even mentioning the issue to him). That should say something.
It's just a test run of their soon-to-be-released iSpaceheater app.
Not for long they're not. Get the axe.
Bethesda needs to stick to developing new content for Fallout 3 and Oblivion (and, preferably, developing Fallout 4 and and new Elder Scrolls game). Every day they're developing a crapfest for this kid's toy is a day wasted and an insult to the real gamers who have kept you in business all these years.
I don't care about your little IP war. All I know is, the first time I pop a blu-ray disc into my $300 player and it refuses to play because of one of your new little one-upmanship encryption schemes, I'm going to be plenty pissed. And I bet there are any number of ambulance-chasing trial lawyers out there are who going to be looking to make some big money off some nice class action suits everytime one of your new schemes renders all our existing players obsolete too.
P.S. And no, "Well you may be able to get a firmware update from your player's manufacturer" doesn't cut it.
The U.S. is basically living in the 21st century with numerous laws predicated on 19th century assumptions about the predominance of the state (when the state was a MUCH more important part of people's lives than the country or world). Most of those laws just assume that large multi-state companies either wouldn't exist at all or would be always be insignificant next to Ma Kettle's corner general store and Silas Dipshit's local-yokel bank and trust.
Just one problem I see with that. What's to stop the ISP from just blocking the client it has to connect to to get the proxy list?
Well, Sony finally manages to get SOMETHING out on time. Too bad God of War 3 wasn't requested by an evil totalitarian regime to oppress its people.
Yeah, but they totally nerfed the refresh button.
No, REAL men use acoustic coupler modems to post through BBS hubs.
The main thing *I* want to know is how to combine quantum physics and general relativity into a consistent single theory that works for both large bodies and quantum particles. But yeah, memory leaks in Firefox are pretty important to me too.
The ultimate goal of the MPPA/RIAA and its ilk isn't to stop P2P on a site-by-site basis (as they did with Napster, Supernova, Pirate Bay, etc.), but to stop P2P at the *ISP* level. What they're shooting for now is a system where when a new pirate site goes up--they send out a quick automatic blacklist update to the handful of broadband ISP's out there and bam, that site and all its associated IP addresses are blocked for everyone. Someone comes up with a proxy server to bypass it? Bam--that gets blocked too. Someone comes up with a proxy server list? Bam--blocked! All with no police and no court battles; affected almost instantaneously. Imagine the equivalent of Websense on every single broadband connected computer in the world, with a constantly updated blacklist of P2P sites and proxy server bypasses.
Sony's Linux "support" on the PS2 and PS3 is a joke. I'm not sure why they even offered if (since it's so laughably crippled). There were rumors that they were only offering this for the PS2, and later the PS3, so they could get around some EU import tax by getting the console classified as a "computer" (though that seems to be discredited).
At *most* Congress will hold some show hearings, make a big production out of berating the Sony CEO briefly (during which he will offer the traditional "We're just following the law" defense), let a few Senators fire off some brief criticism of Sony, then completely forget about the whole thing and go on with business as usual. Sony will be briefly embarrassed, then continue on without a single change or reform.
Don't believe it? Just ask Jerry Yang if *HE* changed anything (or faced any real punishment) after getting this treatment.
By the time they pay all the taxes, I doubt very seriously anyone will be walking away with anything.
Well, there goes the best of the great torrent sites. I'll bet dollars to donuts that this new company attempts to Napsterize the site, turning into a pathetic shell of its former self.
Bah, I think the guy is telling the truth. Why, just the other day, I was stopped at the airport for trying to bring a delicious Coca-Cola on the plane. No matter how much the TSA officers agreed on the unbeatable crisp taste of Coca-Cola, they still detained me. Luckily, I discovered that I could buy a delicious, ice-cold Coca Cola right in the airport gift shop! Thank God I wasn't deprived of the cool, refreshing taste of Coca-Cola on the plane.