In regards to Software Protection, fear drives it.
The fear that if you're the only software without copy protection, everyone will pirate it. Then, your company's revenue tanks for the next 18-24 months until you get a new version. Without revenue, you can't fund R&D for the new version. Meaning you, Mr. CEO, is out of a job. Most likely many of your employees too.
So, in the face of this possibility, many companies are willing to put up with losing a couple sales by inconveniencing customers and paying tons more in support costs to ensure their only revenue stream continues to flow.
In regards to DRM for music/movies: It's kinda the same thing. But I don't understand why music/movie companies are so risk adverse since they have such large revenue streams outside of online distribution. They'd be wise to try it now, while the online distrubtion industry is still small, and then switch to DRM if they run into problems. It's much riskier to switch later once the industry is huge. That applies to movies. DRM on music is just silly.
The Good: Most amazing armors I've ever seen. Great new combat controls. Yes, they did get it right for the most part. The levels are truly beautiful. The main city is ridiculously awesome. Norse mythology translates pretty damn well to a futuristic world. Great backdrop. The gameplays and levels are all very finished.
Every single asset in this game is awesome... but why is it getting sub-par reviews?
The Bad: Only 4 types of enemies. Seriously? Only 2 player co-op makes many class abilities lame. All that great gear, and the gear interface is slow and cludgy. Most of the classes play pretty much the same. Co-op strategy isn't really necessary, although it makes the game much more fun. Plays a lot like PSO. You walk into a room, the same bad guys spawn as the last room, repeat. Death is a major problem. The death mechanic in the game take all of the sense of accomplishment out of boss fights. Wasting my time is a very bad game mechanic as a "death" punishment. There isn't nearly enough story for an "epic trilogy". Seriously, I got that much story in one mission in Oblivion.
So here's the thing. All the assets are there, they just need to work on making them more accessible and more inviting. Also, they need split screen or shared screen co-op. That would make this a killer game.
"Mac users might be quite amused, considering that (like many other TV shows) the set of Seinfeld always had a Macintosh prominently displayed in the background."
Just an FYI, mac users are pretty similar to PC users. Most of us just don't care.
"The same RIAA executive who defended a $222,000 verdict over 24 song files at an academic conference back in March, Kenneth Doroshow, is leaving the RIAA"
I'm pretty sure if he didn't defend that verdict, as an RIAA executive, he wouldn't have been an RIAA executive for very long. Maybe he's leaving the RIAA since he's realized their business practices are shit, and he got tired of defending them? I don't know, but it's possible.
Plenty of people on this site have worked for tech companies who have done some uncool things. Let's not pretend anyone who works for or with the RIAA is evil or an idiot. Honestly, I don't think they're idiots, they're just scared for their business model. And they should be.
"this piece of crap scourge (sorry for not letting my real feeling for flash content show... it wouldn't be appropriate here)."
Today's Posting: Flash sucks because people mis-use the technology for annoying ads. Tomorrow's Posting: Bittorrent rocks, it's not our fault some people mis-use it for piracy.
I think it's more the implications of alterating the past. Check out The Final Cut with Robin Williams. It touches on this subject a bit. Kinda boring movie, but a great premise. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364343/
And then apple shifts R&D dollars away from cool new projects like the iPhone, AppleTV, and Time Machine, and puts it on projects that make it even harder for clone manufacturers to do their thing.
Then you have people complaining OSX sucks cuz their clone couldn't run the latest update.
Reasons DVD is better than BluRay: 1) Players too Expensive 2) Discs too Expensive 3) Discs 2x as expensive as the same DVD 4) Half the "BluRay" movies have quality at DVD level 5) DRM 6) Incompatible with previous format 7) Requires HDMI (less convenience than DVD) 8) Unnoticeable on TV's under 46" 9) My old DVDs still work fine 10) Buying a blue ray disc is more expensive than a trip to the movies for the family... including food.
Reasons BluRay is Better: 1) Better picture quality on screens over 46" with HDMI support.....
Yikes. Guess that's why this technophile hasn't bought one either. +1 Redundant I guess...
Maybe the solution is for record labels to freely distribute and promote the music, and in turn they get a share of the revenue from performances and commercial licensing?
While I haven't read the book, there are a few strengths to using a PDF (or if you must, powerpoint).
1) It provides documentation that people can reference later. 2) Since documentation is provided, it allows people to concentrate on the important points rather than taking notes. 3) It allows for additional detailed documentation to be included in the file, so you may reference things you do not wish to memorize.
And most importantly
4) It forces the presenter to organize his/her thoughts so that he/she does not waste the audience's time. It allows review of your presentation before you give it, so that you don't include sensitive information or misinformation.
I think most people who "hate" making presentations have a problem with #4. Because honestly, the number of people that can make an interesting, on-topic, and organized presentation without any preparation are generally well beyond the level of having to create a presentation themselves.
If you're just making bad presentations, no piece of software will fix that for you.
While there may still be a market for a few thousand people who like Monkey Island, there are also now millions of people who think that Halo is about as complicated as a game can get before their heads explode. Welcome to today's market.
I swear I read "up hill both ways" in there somewhere.
Is a new file system a real invention? Yes, probably. What about patenting adding a 4-letter extension to file names instead of a 3-letter one? Probably not.
I think everyone disagrees where the line should be drawn, which is why people are frustrated to the point of just wanting to throw it all out the window.
whereas in the US, you don't have a specific regulation covering this situation, so Steve can get away without coming clean. So in the absence of a specific regulation, most of the chatter is trying to turn this into a moral issue - which it isn't. There's something that could materially affect the share price - and being so should be disclosed.
1) You make Jobs sound like a criminal and is "getting away" with being sick. Seriously?
2) This is not a "material contract" or "material obligation", it's someone's medical records. So basically, if the company decides that I'm a material asset, should my medical records be publicly disclosed in the 10k? What about that time I got caught smoking pot in '75? That could indicate that I have a serious drug problem and should probably be disclosed as well. This is stupid.
Seriously. I think you misrepresented the intention of your country's laws. If not, maybe the US isn't as screwed up as everyone claims it is.
So, who promised Daniel anonymity? It wasn't the courts. It wasn't the Academy.
That leaves Craigslist or his ISP. If they give out his identity, and he feels they had a contractual obligation to protect it, he can sue them.
The problem isn't companies being able to find out people's identity. The problem is that the government has let the RIAA have warrant-ish power over ISP's without having to provide proper evidence before a judge. Let's keep the two issues distinctly separate.
We think that since we discovered what DNA is and have a caveman's understanding of how genes work, we can be an omniscient god and figure out each individuals pre-determined fate. I think that, especially in the science crowd, the Nature aspect is way overblown compared to the Nurture part of it.
You're certainly not gonna convince me it's nature by some craptastic standardized math test.
The article shows the difference.
on
Open Sourcing MMOs
·
· Score: 3, Interesting
Because the reasons to play a FPS (most updated graphics, best new gameplay features) aren't the same reasons to play a MMO (building a character, seeing time invested result in virtual properties). The 5-year old MMO can compete very well with recently released MMO's (Warcraft vs AoC).
This is why MMO's aren't OS'd, and probably won't be.
Slashdot Mirror
Will the adblocker work on Adwords? That's crucial to me.
In regards to Software Protection, fear drives it.
The fear that if you're the only software without copy protection, everyone will pirate it. Then, your company's revenue tanks for the next 18-24 months until you get a new version. Without revenue, you can't fund R&D for the new version. Meaning you, Mr. CEO, is out of a job. Most likely many of your employees too.
So, in the face of this possibility, many companies are willing to put up with losing a couple sales by inconveniencing customers and paying tons more in support costs to ensure their only revenue stream continues to flow.
In regards to DRM for music/movies:
It's kinda the same thing. But I don't understand why music/movie companies are so risk adverse since they have such large revenue streams outside of online distribution. They'd be wise to try it now, while the online distrubtion industry is still small, and then switch to DRM if they run into problems. It's much riskier to switch later once the industry is huge. That applies to movies. DRM on music is just silly.
Changing someone's auto-correct of names, verbs, and adjectives in Outlook is *always* worth it.
" The design for such games will have to be thoroughly adapted, even for established genres such as racing games or shooters."
Of course, because, what works for MMO's must be successful in FPS's or Racing games... right?
If driving in a hot car for 5 hours @188MPH isn't considered a sport... ...sitting in front of your computer for 5 hours DEFINITELY IS.
I wonder, if it was a newspaper or CNN doing this, if this would have ever gotten that far.
Because simply doing what the iPhone already does isn't newsworthy?
The problem is it isn't finished.
The Good:
Most amazing armors I've ever seen.
Great new combat controls. Yes, they did get it right for the most part.
The levels are truly beautiful. The main city is ridiculously awesome.
Norse mythology translates pretty damn well to a futuristic world. Great backdrop.
The gameplays and levels are all very finished.
Every single asset in this game is awesome... but why is it getting sub-par reviews?
The Bad:
Only 4 types of enemies. Seriously?
Only 2 player co-op makes many class abilities lame.
All that great gear, and the gear interface is slow and cludgy.
Most of the classes play pretty much the same.
Co-op strategy isn't really necessary, although it makes the game much more fun.
Plays a lot like PSO. You walk into a room, the same bad guys spawn as the last room, repeat.
Death is a major problem. The death mechanic in the game take all of the sense of accomplishment out of boss fights. Wasting my time is a very bad game mechanic as a "death" punishment.
There isn't nearly enough story for an "epic trilogy". Seriously, I got that much story in one mission in Oblivion.
So here's the thing. All the assets are there, they just need to work on making them more accessible and more inviting. Also, they need split screen or shared screen co-op. That would make this a killer game.
"Mac users might be quite amused, considering that (like many other TV shows) the set of Seinfeld always had a Macintosh prominently displayed in the background."
Just an FYI, mac users are pretty similar to PC users. Most of us just don't care.
"The same RIAA executive who defended a $222,000 verdict over 24 song files at an academic conference back in March, Kenneth Doroshow, is leaving the RIAA"
I'm pretty sure if he didn't defend that verdict, as an RIAA executive, he wouldn't have been an RIAA executive for very long. Maybe he's leaving the RIAA since he's realized their business practices are shit, and he got tired of defending them? I don't know, but it's possible.
Plenty of people on this site have worked for tech companies who have done some uncool things. Let's not pretend anyone who works for or with the RIAA is evil or an idiot. Honestly, I don't think they're idiots, they're just scared for their business model. And they should be.
"this piece of crap scourge (sorry for not letting my real feeling for flash content show... it wouldn't be appropriate here)."
Today's Posting: Flash sucks because people mis-use the technology for annoying ads.
Tomorrow's Posting: Bittorrent rocks, it's not our fault some people mis-use it for piracy.
I think it's more the implications of alterating the past. Check out The Final Cut with Robin Williams. It touches on this subject a bit. Kinda boring movie, but a great premise.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364343/
And then apple shifts R&D dollars away from cool new projects like the iPhone, AppleTV, and Time Machine, and puts it on projects that make it even harder for clone manufacturers to do their thing.
Then you have people complaining OSX sucks cuz their clone couldn't run the latest update.
In the end, everyone loses.
I'll just summarize the above comments:
Reasons DVD is better than BluRay:
1) Players too Expensive
2) Discs too Expensive
3) Discs 2x as expensive as the same DVD
4) Half the "BluRay" movies have quality at DVD level
5) DRM
6) Incompatible with previous format
7) Requires HDMI (less convenience than DVD)
8) Unnoticeable on TV's under 46"
9) My old DVDs still work fine
10) Buying a blue ray disc is more expensive than a trip to the movies for the family... including food.
Reasons BluRay is Better: .....
1) Better picture quality on screens over 46" with HDMI support
Yikes. Guess that's why this technophile hasn't bought one either. +1 Redundant I guess...
Maybe the solution is for record labels to freely distribute and promote the music, and in turn they get a share of the revenue from performances and commercial licensing?
While I haven't read the book, there are a few strengths to using a PDF (or if you must, powerpoint).
1) It provides documentation that people can reference later.
2) Since documentation is provided, it allows people to concentrate on the important points rather than taking notes.
3) It allows for additional detailed documentation to be included in the file, so you may reference things you do not wish to memorize.
And most importantly
4) It forces the presenter to organize his/her thoughts so that he/she does not waste the audience's time. It allows review of your presentation before you give it, so that you don't include sensitive information or misinformation.
I think most people who "hate" making presentations have a problem with #4. Because honestly, the number of people that can make an interesting, on-topic, and organized presentation without any preparation are generally well beyond the level of having to create a presentation themselves.
If you're just making bad presentations, no piece of software will fix that for you.
And here I was thinking you were going to say "throw chairs instead".
While there may still be a market for a few thousand people who like Monkey Island, there are also now millions of people who think that Halo is about as complicated as a game can get before their heads explode. Welcome to today's market.
I swear I read "up hill both ways" in there somewhere.
I think it's the threshold of "invention".
Is a new file system a real invention? Yes, probably. What about patenting adding a 4-letter extension to file names instead of a 3-letter one? Probably not.
I think everyone disagrees where the line should be drawn, which is why people are frustrated to the point of just wanting to throw it all out the window.
True, but there needs to be scale.
Applying a $40M punitive damage to microsoft and to an individual for the same copyright infringement is not consistent IMO.
whereas in the US, you don't have a specific regulation covering this situation, so Steve can get away without coming clean. So in the absence of a specific regulation, most of the chatter is trying to turn this into a moral issue - which it isn't. There's something that could materially affect the share price - and being so should be disclosed.
1) You make Jobs sound like a criminal and is "getting away" with being sick. Seriously?
2) This is not a "material contract" or "material obligation", it's someone's medical records. So basically, if the company decides that I'm a material asset, should my medical records be publicly disclosed in the 10k? What about that time I got caught smoking pot in '75? That could indicate that I have a serious drug problem and should probably be disclosed as well. This is stupid.
Seriously. I think you misrepresented the intention of your country's laws. If not, maybe the US isn't as screwed up as everyone claims it is.
Apple's choice of business model is its problem, not ours!
It's amazing to me how people want everyone to respect the FOSS license agreements, but refuse to respect Apple's.
So, who promised Daniel anonymity?
It wasn't the courts.
It wasn't the Academy.
That leaves Craigslist or his ISP. If they give out his identity, and he feels they had a contractual obligation to protect it, he can sue them.
The problem isn't companies being able to find out people's identity. The problem is that the government has let the RIAA have warrant-ish power over ISP's without having to provide proper evidence before a judge. Let's keep the two issues distinctly separate.
We think that since we discovered what DNA is and have a caveman's understanding of how genes work, we can be an omniscient god and figure out each individuals pre-determined fate. I think that, especially in the science crowd, the Nature aspect is way overblown compared to the Nurture part of it.
You're certainly not gonna convince me it's nature by some craptastic standardized math test.
Because the reasons to play a FPS (most updated graphics, best new gameplay features) aren't the same reasons to play a MMO (building a character, seeing time invested result in virtual properties). The 5-year old MMO can compete very well with recently released MMO's (Warcraft vs AoC).
This is why MMO's aren't OS'd, and probably won't be.