Msf does deserve credit. It has innovated in new and creative ways of taking our money. Making us buy something we already bought over and over. Convincing us that we REALLY need to buy broken software and furthermore that we NEED to pay to upgrade it. Holes in the Windows operating system basically created the entire antivirus industry. Msf does INDEED deserve credit for building a better mousetrap. One designed so well that the mice dont even know theyve been caught. Kudos.
I mean, really. What kind of world would we live in if people actually got what they need, when they need it? Would we continue to pay taxes to fund antiterrorist and antihacker government programs? Microsoft has succeeded in creating a disease that everybody wants -- the almighty upgrade.
I posted the following on the Adult Swim Forums:
"Unfortunately, as I am a SwimNewbie I cannot start new threads so all you people must learn of this buried in a thread. Since this one is so popular, Im hoping this will get noticed. I really dont want to have to wait 2 days to let you all know!!
I recently learned of this website: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/ecard/scripts/addSignature sForm.php
For those of you unwilling or yet unable to click the link, the site is a portal in which anyone can enter their full name which will be entered into a database and physically stored in a space probe headed to Pluto, the little rock on the outskirts of our solar system. The launch date is set for sometime this year and the name database will close on September 16th.
At the time I read an article about this site, I was watching ATHF when Frylock met the Plutonians Oglethorpe and Emory. This gave me an idea! I ventured to the site and after submitting my name of course, I entered the names of all the characters on Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Futurama and even a couple from Harvey Birdman. I also included the names of the voice talent for those shows. I managed to enter the entire list of minor characters in ATHF from the wikipedia site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_characters_from _Aqua_Teen_Hunger_Force
If you go to the name database site you can search the names. Try it! Type in the name of any ATHF character and there you will see it. Displayed in all its glory before being blasted into space, on to Pluto and should it survive - return to earth in 50 thousand years.
Since the database requires two name fields to be entered - one for first name one for last name - I had to split the names of certain characters who had no known last name. Frylock for example was made "Fry" "Lock." Assistant Steve became "Steve" "The Assistant." As well as Dr. Weird became "Doctor" "Weird." Futurama characters posed no problem as most of them had first and last names.
So perhaps in 50 thousand years when when the apes have control of the earth, Dr. Zaius will know once and for all that humans did indeed rule Pluto with an iron fist from their megathrones on Earth. You animals! You blew it up!
Pass this on!!!!
-C"
Welcome to the world of tomorrooow!
The fact is linux users and developers simply dont want its use to be that easy. Ive found repeatedly, time and again that those in the know dont want YOU to know. Perhaps out of fear that you might grow to learn (or make more) than them (too 133t for your own good)? There are myriad reasons for this mentality but in the end people dont want it to be easy.
Ive been to many *LUG meetings in my area, been on usergroups, forums and had long discussions and running arguments with friends and associates who could be classified as "linux people" and they all treat those outside of their community the same way. n00bz. i agree with the points made in this post completely, but in the end its what linux devs and current users decide to do and decide what to accept that will tell the fate of linux. the fact that for the most part, linux developers and linux users are one in the same is proof that unless the bulk of the community takes a more professional, COMMERCIAL approach the OS will forever be in the hands of hobbyists, amateurs and small-scale developers. all users have the power to steer the community in another direction by not accepting software, updates, etc that would require kernel tweaking to get it to function, for example. demanding that final builds have a standard (clean) UI and do not require you to download numerous or large libraries. as the article says, if you download it - it should WORK. and never doubt the value of a clean, smooth, tight UI. even piddling proggys with limited functionality will be accepted if the dashboard looks pretty enough.
The study of this would actually make an interesting case study. Most of the people speaking of serenity/firefly are die-hard fans of whedons work. those outside of the fan community for the most part dont know what the hell this is or why they should care. upon reading some of the previous posts supporting the film, it is obvious that said folks are speaking from the perspective of a person who has dissected every ounce of dialogue in the entire series and related material. very few people except the outsiders are looking at serenity and the future of the concept as it is: a movie based on a failed tv series. the chances of serenity taking off are at best 50/50. for more accurate numbers, just take the number of tv series that have been cancelled, count how many of those were scifi/fantasy, count how many later had movies made based on the series and then see how many of those made a comeback or were otherwise commercially successful.... the answers are pretty grim. frankly i dont see anything special about serenity/firefly that would make it throw off the shackled curse of the myriad failed tv series that have come before it. its already had more than most have coming to them, this is its second chance and considering how difficult it obviously is to convince producers to push an idea through (especially if it is beloved), serenity is a real indulgence for joss whedon and fans of the work.
[EDIT/ADD.]
once again, just as with HHGG die hard fans were thrilled to see a beloved hobby (obsession) of theirs thrown up on the BIG screen and considered the result to be totally worth it and would rate the movie as a '10.' however, anyone who has not been making anime drawings of the characters on their peechees for years (the non-obsessed and otherwise laypeople) would see a movie geared toward a specific circle of people. it would take on an inside-joke type of uncomfortability that would leave laypeople looking around them for the right moment to exit and would end up leaving a bad taste in their mouths. if this effect built up enough, it could actually create negative sentiment toward the series as i saw with HHGG. in the end, so many people didnt get it that the mere suggestion of a sequel resulted in a roaring "NO WAY THAT MOVIE SUCKS!" the sad conclusion being that the series would have been better NOT to have a movie as to prevent backlash that ultimately creates negative sentiment. this is a serious risk to the serenity/firefly concept.
anyway im done. if you cant tell already, i havent slept! no trollery intended, honest!
the rarest quality ive seen in my fellow nerds is the quality each and every one proclaim to have the most of - open mindedness. to doubt the status-quo and ask 'why'. good to see there still exist nerds with TASTE. not all of us are H.P. Lovecraft fanatics (no insult to lovecraft enthusiasts intended, but seriously the adaptations made in the 80's have an almost porno-grade cheesiness to them;)
I just dont see this thing taking off in the way fans (?) would like it to. The reasoning being mainly that most often what fans would like to happen usually isnt what they get. Such was the case with HHGG. Also personally, looking at the concept behind firefly I just dont see it becoming the "buffy" of scifi. People shouldnt forget that most of the audience that made buffy the tv juggernaut that it was were girls between the ages of 13 and 18. Creating a teeny-bopper soap opera in space simply for the sake that its in space doesnt make a concept unique or necessarily a good idea. Normally I would stand up for the scifi entertainment community but taking into account my taste for quality and fresh ideas I just dont see serenity/firefly becoming the phenomenon fans wish it to be. sorry guys.
Slashdot Mirror
Msf does deserve credit. It has innovated in new and creative ways of taking our money. Making us buy something we already bought over and over. Convincing us that we REALLY need to buy broken software and furthermore that we NEED to pay to upgrade it. Holes in the Windows operating system basically created the entire antivirus industry. Msf does INDEED deserve credit for building a better mousetrap. One designed so well that the mice dont even know theyve been caught. Kudos.
I mean, really. What kind of world would we live in if people actually got what they need, when they need it? Would we continue to pay taxes to fund antiterrorist and antihacker government programs? Microsoft has succeeded in creating a disease that everybody wants -- the almighty upgrade.
I posted the following on the Adult Swim Forums: "Unfortunately, as I am a SwimNewbie I cannot start new threads so all you people must learn of this buried in a thread. Since this one is so popular, Im hoping this will get noticed. I really dont want to have to wait 2 days to let you all know!! I recently learned of this website: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/ecard/scripts/addSignature sForm.php
For those of you unwilling or yet unable to click the link, the site is a portal in which anyone can enter their full name which will be entered into a database and physically stored in a space probe headed to Pluto, the little rock on the outskirts of our solar system. The launch date is set for sometime this year and the name database will close on September 16th.
At the time I read an article about this site, I was watching ATHF when Frylock met the Plutonians Oglethorpe and Emory. This gave me an idea! I ventured to the site and after submitting my name of course, I entered the names of all the characters on Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Futurama and even a couple from Harvey Birdman. I also included the names of the voice talent for those shows. I managed to enter the entire list of minor characters in ATHF from the wikipedia site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_characters_from _Aqua_Teen_Hunger_Force
If you go to the name database site you can search the names. Try it! Type in the name of any ATHF character and there you will see it. Displayed in all its glory before being blasted into space, on to Pluto and should it survive - return to earth in 50 thousand years.
Since the database requires two name fields to be entered - one for first name one for last name - I had to split the names of certain characters who had no known last name. Frylock for example was made "Fry" "Lock." Assistant Steve became "Steve" "The Assistant." As well as Dr. Weird became "Doctor" "Weird." Futurama characters posed no problem as most of them had first and last names.
So perhaps in 50 thousand years when when the apes have control of the earth, Dr. Zaius will know once and for all that humans did indeed rule Pluto with an iron fist from their megathrones on Earth. You animals! You blew it up!
Pass this on!!!!
-C"
Welcome to the world of tomorrooow!
The fact is linux users and developers simply dont want its use to be that easy. Ive found repeatedly, time and again that those in the know dont want YOU to know. Perhaps out of fear that you might grow to learn (or make more) than them (too 133t for your own good)? There are myriad reasons for this mentality but in the end people dont want it to be easy.
Ive been to many *LUG meetings in my area, been on usergroups, forums and had long discussions and running arguments with friends and associates who could be classified as "linux people" and they all treat those outside of their community the same way. n00bz. i agree with the points made in this post completely, but in the end its what linux devs and current users decide to do and decide what to accept that will tell the fate of linux. the fact that for the most part, linux developers and linux users are one in the same is proof that unless the bulk of the community takes a more professional, COMMERCIAL approach the OS will forever be in the hands of hobbyists, amateurs and small-scale developers. all users have the power to steer the community in another direction by not accepting software, updates, etc that would require kernel tweaking to get it to function, for example. demanding that final builds have a standard (clean) UI and do not require you to download numerous or large libraries. as the article says, if you download it - it should WORK. and never doubt the value of a clean, smooth, tight UI. even piddling proggys with limited functionality will be accepted if the dashboard looks pretty enough.
The study of this would actually make an interesting case study. Most of the people speaking of serenity/firefly are die-hard fans of whedons work. those outside of the fan community for the most part dont know what the hell this is or why they should care. upon reading some of the previous posts supporting the film, it is obvious that said folks are speaking from the perspective of a person who has dissected every ounce of dialogue in the entire series and related material. very few people except the outsiders are looking at serenity and the future of the concept as it is: a movie based on a failed tv series. the chances of serenity taking off are at best 50/50. for more accurate numbers, just take the number of tv series that have been cancelled, count how many of those were scifi/fantasy, count how many later had movies made based on the series and then see how many of those made a comeback or were otherwise commercially successful.... the answers are pretty grim. frankly i dont see anything special about serenity/firefly that would make it throw off the shackled curse of the myriad failed tv series that have come before it. its already had more than most have coming to them, this is its second chance and considering how difficult it obviously is to convince producers to push an idea through (especially if it is beloved), serenity is a real indulgence for joss whedon and fans of the work.
[EDIT/ADD.]
once again, just as with HHGG die hard fans were thrilled to see a beloved hobby (obsession) of theirs thrown up on the BIG screen and considered the result to be totally worth it and would rate the movie as a '10.' however, anyone who has not been making anime drawings of the characters on their peechees for years (the non-obsessed and otherwise laypeople) would see a movie geared toward a specific circle of people. it would take on an inside-joke type of uncomfortability that would leave laypeople looking around them for the right moment to exit and would end up leaving a bad taste in their mouths. if this effect built up enough, it could actually create negative sentiment toward the series as i saw with HHGG. in the end, so many people didnt get it that the mere suggestion of a sequel resulted in a roaring "NO WAY THAT MOVIE SUCKS!" the sad conclusion being that the series would have been better NOT to have a movie as to prevent backlash that ultimately creates negative sentiment. this is a serious risk to the serenity/firefly concept. anyway im done. if you cant tell already, i havent slept! no trollery intended, honest!
the rarest quality ive seen in my fellow nerds is the quality each and every one proclaim to have the most of - open mindedness. to doubt the status-quo and ask 'why'. good to see there still exist nerds with TASTE. not all of us are H.P. Lovecraft fanatics (no insult to lovecraft enthusiasts intended, but seriously the adaptations made in the 80's have an almost porno-grade cheesiness to them ;)
I just dont see this thing taking off in the way fans (?) would like it to. The reasoning being mainly that most often what fans would like to happen usually isnt what they get. Such was the case with HHGG. Also personally, looking at the concept behind firefly I just dont see it becoming the "buffy" of scifi. People shouldnt forget that most of the audience that made buffy the tv juggernaut that it was were girls between the ages of 13 and 18. Creating a teeny-bopper soap opera in space simply for the sake that its in space doesnt make a concept unique or necessarily a good idea. Normally I would stand up for the scifi entertainment community but taking into account my taste for quality and fresh ideas I just dont see serenity/firefly becoming the phenomenon fans wish it to be. sorry guys.