I'm just waiting for our Developer to come out with that new Expansion Pack they've been promising, Earth II: Second Coming. Though I hear it starts off with a nasty purge of the less savory users. (I corrected the spelling error here)
Not to be pedantic, but shouldn't that be Earth 3? Or was Earth just in beta until it happened?
There seem to be alot of users on the planet that aren't sure what version we are on though (or who the developer is for that matter)
I vote for the second server. I think growing the capacity of the Earth would be at least a little difficult. That would require increasing the planet's size (and not just adding more landmass), and somehow I don't think we have the resources (knowledge or materials) to actually do that.
So when do we start boarding the ship?
Maybe there is another solution? Perhaps deleting the inactive users? Didn't Jonathan Swift write an article on this some time ago?
NTP was never in the wireless communication business.
From the very top of the Wikipedia article: NTP, Inc. is a Virginia-based patent holding company, founded in 1992 by the late inventor Thomas J. Campana Jr. and Donald E. Stout. The company's only asset is a set of wireless email patents that were awarded to Andrew Andros and Thomas Campana and originally assigned to Telefind Corporation, a Florida-based company (now out of business) partly owned by Campana.
Additionally, the patent office is still investigating the patents NTP has and continues to invalidate them.
The serious issue here is that email (a service that is transmitted over data connections) existed prior to the patents, wireless data transmission existed prior to the patents, and therefore it is a natural progression for email to be transmitted over wireless data connections. Since the logical progression of ideas is NOT patentable, these patents are invalid.
The problem is that a patent is supposed to protect a specific way of doing something from being used by someone else. It's not supposed to protect "doing something" directly.
Take a toaster for example. You could have patented a method for toasting bread using electric heating elements to darken and dry out a slice of bread. That patent would not have prevented someone else from inventing a toaster that used a propane flame to do the same thing.
It should be the same way with software. If developer A writes a program to do something and developer B writes another program to do the same thing (without looking at developer A's code) there SHOULD be no issue (unless the interface is the same, but that should be a trademark issue rather than a patent issue) At the same time, I feel that if two companies produce a product that is identical in function at the same time, independently, then if any patents were to be issued, it should be jointly held by both companies (perhaps with royalties from licensing the idea being distributed equally to the two companies by a third party.)
Additionally, if you came up with some idea, and someone else came up with the same idea without meeting you or seeing any of your work, but you file for a patent before they do because they took the time to produce a product before submitting a patent, should they be forced to license their work from you? (You may say "Yes", but if the positions were reversed would you feel the same way?)
1) RIM established it's BlackBerry service 2) NTP filed a patent on how it works. (And did not subsequently do ANYTHING with it) 3) NTP contacts RIM to "negotiate" a licensing agreement for NTP's patent (RIM walked away) 4) Lawsuits are filed 5) Patent office invalidates NTP's relevant patents 6) RIM ordered to pay, due to the courts not allowing the testimony of the patent office.
The patent system needs to be reformed. Patents are supposed to protect companies against theft. Patents are not supposed to be a form of revenue.
The way it should work (in my opinion) is that if you want to patent something, you had better have something tangible to present with your filing. In this case, NTP only held a piece of paper saying they invented something. They did not write any code or develop any product (or component of a product). Essentially, there were only three possible sources of revenue for NTP: Investments, Licensing, and Lawsuits.
What about the games he made under his previous studio, Bullfrog? Surely you can't think Syndicate, Populous, Magic Carpet, and Dungeon Keeper were all crap?
Slightly OT: How many more big-name EA-acquired studio designers are left for Microsoft to steal away? From Origin they got Chris Roberts (Wing Commander -> Starlancer/Freelancer), From Bullfrog/Lionhead they have Peter Molyneaux. I can think of two more big names (although I don't know if they'd go): Maxis' Will Wright and Origin's Richard Garriott (who has a new company now if I'm not mistaken).
Also, although not part of an EA studio, Chris Taylor (who made Total Annihilation) went to Microsoft and created Dungeon Siege.
Another OT: Do you think MS will make a patch for B&W 1 so that I can finally finish playing it? It's hasn't worked since I upgraded to XP from 98. (Probably not, I guess)
Wouldn't the appropriate action be for Linotype to sue AGFA? Microsoft didn't make the fonts that Linotype is complaining about. AGFA Monotype made them. Microsoft just bought them. I'm not trying to defend Microsoft here.
Linotype seems to have issues (and probably with good cause) with the fonts that Microsoft includes in it's products. All of these fonts came from AGFA Monotype. Has Linotype gone after AGFA?
The reason for the fork was due to the company that sponsored Mambo (in the form of buying the developers out, while promising to keep it open-source) started to handle the project in the "evil" corporate ways, in a sense, overruling the decisions of the steering committee.
The developers were not happy with that, and thus, forked the project.
I agree with the KDE vs Gnome argument, although I didn't think it really mattered much as long as you had both installed. I don't use Linux on an everyday basis though...
Hell, in the MMOs that I play, the NPCs don't even use English properly (poorly translated from Korean). I actually find it enjoyable that not every character in the game gets along. I also like that unlike a single-player RPG, I'm one of many who are actually doing something. I might actually play another single-player RPG if things happened at random (such as an NPC bragging about a great find he got while hunting and then looking to sell it to the highest bidder.)
But I guess that's just me. I'm not the kind of person who likes to be entertained by a storyline that rarely deviates each time you play. (Of course, with MMOs that's generally at the expense of any storyline at all) I prefer gameplay and community over the pure "order" or at least well-orchestrated "chaos" that the developers put into a game.
Oh, and when it comes to spelling things properly and using complete sentences:
1) There is supposed to be a suspension of disbelief where what you are reading on the screen, your character is actually hearing. 2) If you can't understand what another player is saying, treat it as someone speaking a foreign language. I know you are a hero, but you're not supposed to be omnipotent (usually). 3) I'm playing the game for fun, not education. If I wanted education, I'd be playing Reader Rabbit.
Does this "atmosphere" in Oblivion consist of characters being played by other people around the world that you can interact with? No? Well then I guess I'll be sticking to MMOs (which I don't consider anti-social behavior even though my wife does. Just because I've never met the people I'm talking to doesn't mean that I'm not being social...)
That said, most MMOs could stand to use more story and less pure "grinding". (This is actually available in some MMOs such as Anarchy Online. You can get randomly-generated quests based on what type you are looking for.)
Also, I've only played a few MMOs, and of those, all were at no cost to play (i.e. Free client, no fees). So no WoW, GW, or Evercrack for me.
CmdrTaco, CowboyNeal, Zonk, et al., Please change the Troll moderations he has received on his posts to "Offtopic". He has clearly tried to derail the serious discussion (and succeeded in doing so) of the article by expressing his disdain of the term "FUD".
I tried to change your thought process to a serious discussion as to why you think it should not be labeled "FUD" (Other than the reason that you simply do not like the term).
It's only abuse if it's not deserved. Your posts that received that moderation expressed your disdain of the term, even when used in the proper context (as was the case here). "FUD" is a term used to describe statements that can only be interpreted as an attempt to sway support away from something by insinuating that the speaker is legally in the right as opposed to the target of the statement.
Have you interpreted the statements differently? Please explain to the groupthink that is Slashdot why the statements should not be deemed "FUD".
Come on now! You aren't thinking of the best solution here. Your "noise" transmitter idea doesn't have enough focus to it. You have the problem of all of your stuff being affected as well (as well as your other neighbors). What you truly need is a highly directional aural transmission system (the type that "Minority Report" used) pumping out 150 dB of "Afternoon Delight". That way, you don't hear it, your other neighbors don't hear it, the cops don't hear it when they do show up, but your target can definately hear it. (Just remember to shut it off when the cops do show up, before they hear the evidence.)
Interestingly enough, if any computer on your network is running on Windows you are pretty much automatically non-compliant!
From the document: 2.5 Are all production systems (servers and network components) hardened by removing all unnecessary services and protocols installed by the default configuration?
From the services list on my own machine that would cause problems with compliance and are default: Plug and Play - USB thumb drives anyone? Telnet - instant remote command prompt NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing - enough said
Also, don't forget: Just because the service isn't running doesn't mean it is unavailable. We remotely start and stop services on our servers all the time (especially the Print Spooler).
That's interesting, considering no amount of cardholder authorization allows them to store credit card numbers. If they are doing this, they need to be reported to Visa and MasterCard for a blatent violation of the merchant bylaws.
Other interesting bylaws that can result in a merchant being blacklisted: - Requiring a minimum purchase amount over $1 - Allowing the card number and expiration date to appear on the cardholder's copy of receipts - Charging a surcharge for paying via credit card (although you can offer a discount for paying cash instead)
The real question though is did Sony steal the actual design of Immersion's technology, or did they just say "putting two unbalanced motors into the controller would be cool"
If the concept of having two unbalanced motors on different axes is patentable, does someone already have a patent on three?
Also, if I go to my local electronics supply store, pick up two DC motors, some weights, a battery pack, and a project case and connect it all together, would I be in violation of the patent?
What I would really like is something along the line of solar panels and a flywheel. If the flywheel stops (or slows too much), then switch to the grid to start the flywheel back up (and keeping a nice isolation as well).
1) It is very easy to spoof (Anyone with a PBX system and PRI/T1 lines can do it). We use it to display our Toll-Free callback number rather than our regular number. 2) You cannot block your number when calling a Toll-Free number. (You'd be surprised at how many people don't know this)
Not to mention that they still haven't figured out why our probes are slowing down while trying to escape the solar system. (Unless I'm really out of date and just haven't heard that they finally did.)
How well does the energy convert when cannabis is burned? From what I understand, cannabis is one of the hardiest plants known to man (i.e. It will grow just about anywhere). If the energy produced is decent, there is more land to grow it on.
I do find it interesting however, that marijuana was outlawed shortly after a machine (a decorticator) was invented to convert hemp into a pulp suitable for making paper (of course, there's a joke waiting to be told there).
Slashdot Mirror
I'm just waiting for our Developer to come out with that new Expansion Pack they've been promising, Earth II: Second Coming. Though I hear it starts off with a nasty purge of the less savory users. (I corrected the spelling error here)
Not to be pedantic, but shouldn't that be Earth 3? Or was Earth just in beta until it happened?
There seem to be alot of users on the planet that aren't sure what version we are on though (or who the developer is for that matter)
I vote for the second server. I think growing the capacity of the Earth would be at least a little difficult. That would require increasing the planet's size (and not just adding more landmass), and somehow I don't think we have the resources (knowledge or materials) to actually do that.
So when do we start boarding the ship?
Maybe there is another solution? Perhaps deleting the inactive users? Didn't Jonathan Swift write an article on this some time ago?
NTP was never in the wireless communication business.
From the very top of the Wikipedia article:
NTP, Inc. is a Virginia-based patent holding company, founded in 1992 by the late inventor Thomas J. Campana Jr. and Donald E. Stout. The company's only asset is a set of wireless email patents that were awarded to Andrew Andros and Thomas Campana and originally assigned to Telefind Corporation, a Florida-based company (now out of business) partly owned by Campana.
Additionally, the patent office is still investigating the patents NTP has and continues to invalidate them.
The serious issue here is that email (a service that is transmitted over data connections) existed prior to the patents, wireless data transmission existed prior to the patents, and therefore it is a natural progression for email to be transmitted over wireless data connections. Since the logical progression of ideas is NOT patentable, these patents are invalid.
The problem is that a patent is supposed to protect a specific way of doing something from being used by someone else. It's not supposed to protect "doing something" directly.
Take a toaster for example. You could have patented a method for toasting bread using electric heating elements to darken and dry out a slice of bread. That patent would not have prevented someone else from inventing a toaster that used a propane flame to do the same thing.
It should be the same way with software. If developer A writes a program to do something and developer B writes another program to do the same thing (without looking at developer A's code) there SHOULD be no issue (unless the interface is the same, but that should be a trademark issue rather than a patent issue) At the same time, I feel that if two companies produce a product that is identical in function at the same time, independently, then if any patents were to be issued, it should be jointly held by both companies (perhaps with royalties from licensing the idea being distributed equally to the two companies by a third party.)
Additionally, if you came up with some idea, and someone else came up with the same idea without meeting you or seeing any of your work, but you file for a patent before they do because they took the time to produce a product before submitting a patent, should they be forced to license their work from you? (You may say "Yes", but if the positions were reversed would you feel the same way?)
No, that's not quite it...
1) RIM established it's BlackBerry service
2) NTP filed a patent on how it works. (And did not subsequently do ANYTHING with it)
3) NTP contacts RIM to "negotiate" a licensing agreement for NTP's patent (RIM walked away)
4) Lawsuits are filed
5) Patent office invalidates NTP's relevant patents
6) RIM ordered to pay, due to the courts not allowing the testimony of the patent office.
The patent system needs to be reformed. Patents are supposed to protect companies against theft. Patents are not supposed to be a form of revenue.
The way it should work (in my opinion) is that if you want to patent something, you had better have something tangible to present with your filing. In this case, NTP only held a piece of paper saying they invented something. They did not write any code or develop any product (or component of a product). Essentially, there were only three possible sources of revenue for NTP: Investments, Licensing, and Lawsuits.
What about the games he made under his previous studio, Bullfrog? Surely you can't think Syndicate, Populous, Magic Carpet, and Dungeon Keeper were all crap?
Slightly OT:
How many more big-name EA-acquired studio designers are left for Microsoft to steal away? From Origin they got Chris Roberts (Wing Commander -> Starlancer/Freelancer), From Bullfrog/Lionhead they have Peter Molyneaux. I can think of two more big names (although I don't know if they'd go): Maxis' Will Wright and Origin's Richard Garriott (who has a new company now if I'm not mistaken).
Also, although not part of an EA studio, Chris Taylor (who made Total Annihilation) went to Microsoft and created Dungeon Siege.
Another OT:
Do you think MS will make a patch for B&W 1 so that I can finally finish playing it? It's hasn't worked since I upgraded to XP from 98. (Probably not, I guess)
Wouldn't the appropriate action be for Linotype to sue AGFA? Microsoft didn't make the fonts that Linotype is complaining about. AGFA Monotype made them. Microsoft just bought them. I'm not trying to defend Microsoft here.
Linotype seems to have issues (and probably with good cause) with the fonts that Microsoft includes in it's products. All of these fonts came from AGFA Monotype. Has Linotype gone after AGFA?
The reason for the fork was due to the company that sponsored Mambo (in the form of buying the developers out, while promising to keep it open-source) started to handle the project in the "evil" corporate ways, in a sense, overruling the decisions of the steering committee. The developers were not happy with that, and thus, forked the project. I agree with the KDE vs Gnome argument, although I didn't think it really mattered much as long as you had both installed. I don't use Linux on an everyday basis though...
Hell, in the MMOs that I play, the NPCs don't even use English properly (poorly translated from Korean). I actually find it enjoyable that not every character in the game gets along. I also like that unlike a single-player RPG, I'm one of many who are actually doing something. I might actually play another single-player RPG if things happened at random (such as an NPC bragging about a great find he got while hunting and then looking to sell it to the highest bidder.)
But I guess that's just me. I'm not the kind of person who likes to be entertained by a storyline that rarely deviates each time you play. (Of course, with MMOs that's generally at the expense of any storyline at all) I prefer gameplay and community over the pure "order" or at least well-orchestrated "chaos" that the developers put into a game.
Oh, and when it comes to spelling things properly and using complete sentences:
1) There is supposed to be a suspension of disbelief where what you are reading on the screen, your character is actually hearing.
2) If you can't understand what another player is saying, treat it as someone speaking a foreign language. I know you are a hero, but you're not supposed to be omnipotent (usually).
3) I'm playing the game for fun, not education. If I wanted education, I'd be playing Reader Rabbit.
What I want to know, is when can I expect Jazz Jackrabbit to use the Unreal 3 engine?
Does this "atmosphere" in Oblivion consist of characters being played by other people around the world that you can interact with? No? Well then I guess I'll be sticking to MMOs (which I don't consider anti-social behavior even though my wife does. Just because I've never met the people I'm talking to doesn't mean that I'm not being social...)
That said, most MMOs could stand to use more story and less pure "grinding". (This is actually available in some MMOs such as Anarchy Online. You can get randomly-generated quests based on what type you are looking for.)
Also, I've only played a few MMOs, and of those, all were at no cost to play (i.e. Free client, no fees). So no WoW, GW, or Evercrack for me.
It really simple. Joomla has all of the developers. Therefore, Joomla continues to improve.
Mambo might have some developers, but they are not the ones who wrote it in the first place.
Disclaimer: I've never used either product (nor do I have my own website). I speak only of what I've heard.
You are absolutely right.
CmdrTaco, CowboyNeal, Zonk, et al., Please change the Troll moderations he has received on his posts to "Offtopic". He has clearly tried to derail the serious discussion (and succeeded in doing so) of the article by expressing his disdain of the term "FUD".
I tried to change your thought process to a serious discussion as to why you think it should not be labeled "FUD" (Other than the reason that you simply do not like the term).
It's only abuse if it's not deserved. Your posts that received that moderation expressed your disdain of the term, even when used in the proper context (as was the case here). "FUD" is a term used to describe statements that can only be interpreted as an attempt to sway support away from something by insinuating that the speaker is legally in the right as opposed to the target of the statement.
Have you interpreted the statements differently? Please explain to the groupthink that is Slashdot why the statements should not be deemed "FUD".
Come on now! You aren't thinking of the best solution here. Your "noise" transmitter idea doesn't have enough focus to it. You have the problem of all of your stuff being affected as well (as well as your other neighbors). What you truly need is a highly directional aural transmission system (the type that "Minority Report" used) pumping out 150 dB of "Afternoon Delight". That way, you don't hear it, your other neighbors don't hear it, the cops don't hear it when they do show up, but your target can definately hear it. (Just remember to shut it off when the cops do show up, before they hear the evidence.)
Skyrockets in flight. Afternoon delight.
Interestingly enough, if any computer on your network is running on Windows you are pretty much automatically non-compliant!
From the document:
2.5 Are all production systems (servers and network components) hardened by removing all unnecessary services and protocols installed by the default configuration?
From the services list on my own machine that would cause problems with compliance and are default:
Plug and Play - USB thumb drives anyone?
Telnet - instant remote command prompt
NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing - enough said
Also, don't forget: Just because the service isn't running doesn't mean it is unavailable. We remotely start and stop services on our servers all the time (especially the Print Spooler).
That's interesting, considering no amount of cardholder authorization allows them to store credit card numbers. If they are doing this, they need to be reported to Visa and MasterCard for a blatent violation of the merchant bylaws.
Other interesting bylaws that can result in a merchant being blacklisted:
- Requiring a minimum purchase amount over $1
- Allowing the card number and expiration date to appear on the cardholder's copy of receipts
- Charging a surcharge for paying via credit card (although you can offer a discount for paying cash instead)
The real question though is did Sony steal the actual design of Immersion's technology, or did they just say "putting two unbalanced motors into the controller would be cool"
If the concept of having two unbalanced motors on different axes is patentable, does someone already have a patent on three?
Also, if I go to my local electronics supply store, pick up two DC motors, some weights, a battery pack, and a project case and connect it all together, would I be in violation of the patent?
What I would really like is something along the line of solar panels and a flywheel. If the flywheel stops (or slows too much), then switch to the grid to start the flywheel back up (and keeping a nice isolation as well).
And you though greenhouse gasses were the big contributor to global warming!
Here we are producing temperatures exceeding the sun's, and we think the sun is cooking the planet from 1 AU away!
We need to stop trying to ignite the atmosphere!
(This was a joke, and I couldn't find a decent post to reply to.)
My speculative guess envisions this conversation:
Microsoft: We would like you to make a XBox360-exclusive title.
Rockstar: No problem! (Evil grin)
Duke Nukem Forever has been announced to be the pack-in game for Infinium Labs' Phantom gaming console system.
Things that I know about CallerID:
1) It is very easy to spoof (Anyone with a PBX system and PRI/T1 lines can do it). We use it to display our Toll-Free callback number rather than our regular number.
2) You cannot block your number when calling a Toll-Free number. (You'd be surprised at how many people don't know this)
Not to mention that they still haven't figured out why our probes are slowing down while trying to escape the solar system. (Unless I'm really out of date and just haven't heard that they finally did.)
Disclaimer: This post is NOT meant as a joke.
How well does the energy convert when cannabis is burned? From what I understand, cannabis is one of the hardiest plants known to man (i.e. It will grow just about anywhere). If the energy produced is decent, there is more land to grow it on.
I do find it interesting however, that marijuana was outlawed shortly after a machine (a decorticator) was invented to convert hemp into a pulp suitable for making paper (of course, there's a joke waiting to be told there).