They do limit the way I use my game. If I copy it to another PC and run it for some multiplayer action, it will not work. I can't use it without connecting online to validate that copy. Yes, it will validate, but it's the process of validating that _IS_ DRM.
It's like copying an MP3 to your car so you can listen to it on the way to work while your wife/kid/roomate stays at home to listen to it. Without getting Stardock involved in the process, you cannot play the game after making a copy of it.
Except that you can't. I don't know where you got that quote from but it wasn't me. If you copy the game to another computer, you need to create a new license key for it before it will run.
"Digital rights management (DRM) refers to the control and protection of digital intellectual property (content), including documents, images, video and audio. DRM limits what a user can do with that content even when in possession of it...."
You can possess the files, on any hardware, but unless you have that hardware tied key, the games will not run. In order to get that key, you have to validate your copy with Stardock.
I'm not saying it's BAD DRM, but if you copy the game to another computer, I can pretty much guarantee that it WILL NOT run without re-installing Impules and re-verifying that you own the game. Yes, you can install Impulse, verify your game and remove Impulse if you like. It's not required for every startup... but it IS required at some point in your installation unless you want to run a completely un-patched version. The game will not run without that license file that is tied to your specific hardware without asking Stardock to allow it to run on THAT hardware. Yes, it's a no hassle permissions process, but you still have to do it.
Then they've changed it recently. I "own" a copy of Galactic Civilization... I had a Stardock version of that game and it would not play after re-installing my Windows system or after I copied the files to my laptop to play on vacation. It needed the Stardock software to create a new license file in the root of the game folder before it would run. Every patch after that, required connecting to the service.
... as long as you reconnect to Impulse to generate the new key. At least that's my experience with Galciv2. If I were to copy the game to another computer, it would not run until I put Stardock's software on the machine and validated my copy. That is DRM.
But it's still DRM as defined EVERYWHERE. It's digital copy protection. You need Impulse to play any game that you purchase and or patch through Impulse. If you are willing to suffer with a buggy 1.0 release on DVD, sure. You can install it and use your key as many times as you want. If you buy it online, or patch it to fix the issues that shouldn't be there, you now have a DRM'd version of the game. If they offered a free download for Original CD installations that didn't require the DVD to play, then... and only then, will it be truly DRM free.
"Sins of a Solar Empire is also completely free of DRM."
Ugh... it's NOT COMPLETELY free of DRM. I'd like to see you copy the game to another PC and run it without having to phone home or patch it to fix all the bugs that version 1.0 has without Impulse.
And the last time I had Gal Civ installed, you had to electronically "phone home" to validate your copy before you could use if it was copied to another PC or if it was patched. I still stick to the basis that it's NOT DRM free, but it's a very lenient DRM.
I hate that Stardock calls it DRM free. They should clarify and call it DRM lite. You still need to generate a key for your installation. Just because it doesn't phone home every time you play doesn't mean it's not DRM. If you re-install your OS and don't re-install your game, copy the game to another computer (laptop, etc.) you will NEED to connect to Stardock to re-enable the game. DRM in any form is STILL DRM. Digital means to enable a product before it can be used.
Except for the fact that anything bought through Stardock IS DRM because you need the Stardock software (impulse) to generate a key before you can run the game. (My experience with Gal Civ... and I doubt it's changed) If you can take Sins and copy it to another computer and run it without requiring Impulse... I'd be VERY surprised.
Certainly not hacking, but what constitutes terrorism tomorrow? Will they start banning videos that talk about presidential candidates poorly? I mean, we can't have people inciting hateful thoughts about a candidate. That would be terrorist. What about killing animals? Joe Bob Moonshine is all proud of his deer hunting expedition and decided to post videos of it for others that might be interested. Will these fall under "sniper videos"? How about all the videos of US soldiers sniping foreigners with.50 Cal rifles from a mile away? Are those to be banned as well?
Oh man, I wish the world had more people with your mentality. (IE: Don't pretend to be the highway patrol and pull in front of that speeder, get out of the way and let the patrol make their own money.) I'm being serious here. People don't know enough about how other people live in order to make life decisions for them. The same goes for government oversight of my life (you know... things like health care)
Let's say that the "researchers" created a bunch of light skinned avatars and approached a bunch of people asking for help. These people, being this is the first time they were asked, likely assisted. Now the "researcher" turns around and makes a bunch of dark skinned characters and does the same thing. The people who offered help are likely to turn them away simply because they sense a pattern of a scam having nothing to do with their skin color. They sense that these people are merely looking for a leg up on the kindness of another person.
I've been approached by people (of both colors) on the street asking for money to catch a bus to the other side of town. Sensing that they weren't really looking for bus fair, I turned them down. There was only one of these people who called me a racist. I'll let you guess which. Going along with the question raised on sample sizes, should I take this as my own research project based on my small sample size?
Re:More than scientific learning
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Still, I'm going to check the following site on a regular basis to make sure I'm still around:
"(Digital Rights Management) Software encryption/security that prevents the unauthorised copying and distribution of digital information, most popularly used in connection with digital music (MP-3 formats, etc.)"
It IS DRM because you cannot play the game without first acquiring the software to download and unlock the software. If you do not have the Stardock software, you CANNOT play the game unless you want an unpatched CD copy. IF you want a bug free version of the game, you MUST have the Stardock software in order to use/install the game.
If you take your game and copy it to your laptop or another PC it will not run without reconnecting to the service to generate a new key. Unless they changed it recently, that still holds true.
Also, If I remember right, you cannot update/patch your game unless you use the Stardock service. If you buy the Disc version of the game, there were no patches available for download without Stardock (when I played it last.)
Sorry, yes. Gal Civ 2. For some reason I thought it was 4 (thinking of Space Empires probably).
To test if it's DRM take the files from your game folder, copy them to another computer and try to run it. You can't without installing it from the Stardock software (whatever it's called.) It generates a file in the root of the game install that IS hardware dependent. If you copy the files to another computer without the Stardock software, it WILL NOT run.
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They do limit the way I use my game. If I copy it to another PC and run it for some multiplayer action, it will not work. I can't use it without connecting online to validate that copy. Yes, it will validate, but it's the process of validating that _IS_ DRM.
It's like copying an MP3 to your car so you can listen to it on the way to work while your wife/kid/roomate stays at home to listen to it. Without getting Stardock involved in the process, you cannot play the game after making a copy of it.
The version of GalCiv that I bought from Stardock begs to differ. I cannot play it right now unless I install Stardock's software to validate it.
Except that you can't. I don't know where you got that quote from but it wasn't me. If you copy the game to another computer, you need to create a new license key for it before it will run.
"Digital rights management (DRM) refers to the control and protection of digital intellectual property (content), including documents, images, video and audio. DRM limits what a user can do with that content even when in possession of it. ..."
You can possess the files, on any hardware, but unless you have that hardware tied key, the games will not run. In order to get that key, you have to validate your copy with Stardock.
I'm not saying it's BAD DRM, but if you copy the game to another computer, I can pretty much guarantee that it WILL NOT run without re-installing Impules and re-verifying that you own the game. Yes, you can install Impulse, verify your game and remove Impulse if you like. It's not required for every startup... but it IS required at some point in your installation unless you want to run a completely un-patched version. The game will not run without that license file that is tied to your specific hardware without asking Stardock to allow it to run on THAT hardware. Yes, it's a no hassle permissions process, but you still have to do it.
Then they've changed it recently. I "own" a copy of Galactic Civilization... I had a Stardock version of that game and it would not play after re-installing my Windows system or after I copied the files to my laptop to play on vacation. It needed the Stardock software to create a new license file in the root of the game folder before it would run. Every patch after that, required connecting to the service.
... as long as you reconnect to Impulse to generate the new key. At least that's my experience with Galciv2. If I were to copy the game to another computer, it would not run until I put Stardock's software on the machine and validated my copy. That is DRM.
But it's still DRM as defined EVERYWHERE. It's digital copy protection. You need Impulse to play any game that you purchase and or patch through Impulse. If you are willing to suffer with a buggy 1.0 release on DVD, sure. You can install it and use your key as many times as you want. If you buy it online, or patch it to fix the issues that shouldn't be there, you now have a DRM'd version of the game. If they offered a free download for Original CD installations that didn't require the DVD to play, then... and only then, will it be truly DRM free.
Impulse is DRM. DRM as it is defined is any electronic form of verification of ownership. If you don't have Impulse, you cannot run the game.
DRM Lite. You need Impulse to patch it, and validate it after patches.
"Sins of a Solar Empire is also completely free of DRM."
Ugh... it's NOT COMPLETELY free of DRM. I'd like to see you copy the game to another PC and run it without having to phone home or patch it to fix all the bugs that version 1.0 has without Impulse.
And the last time I had Gal Civ installed, you had to electronically "phone home" to validate your copy before you could use if it was copied to another PC or if it was patched. I still stick to the basis that it's NOT DRM free, but it's a very lenient DRM.
I hate that Stardock calls it DRM free. They should clarify and call it DRM lite. You still need to generate a key for your installation. Just because it doesn't phone home every time you play doesn't mean it's not DRM. If you re-install your OS and don't re-install your game, copy the game to another computer (laptop, etc.) you will NEED to connect to Stardock to re-enable the game. DRM in any form is STILL DRM. Digital means to enable a product before it can be used.
Except for the fact that anything bought through Stardock IS DRM because you need the Stardock software (impulse) to generate a key before you can run the game. (My experience with Gal Civ ... and I doubt it's changed) If you can take Sins and copy it to another computer and run it without requiring Impulse... I'd be VERY surprised.
You think they'd fire me if I wore a Linux shirt while "pitching how great Windows is"? /wink
So what is the "innapropriate" software that Gates is pushing on the kid in a "Here, play this, but don't tell anyone where you got it" kind of way.
Bill Gates ... supporting software piracy the world around.
I be willing to bet a lot of piracy is done by insiders. In this case, Bill gave him some software ... hmm.
It is all the same, if you'd sit back and look at it objectively.
Sadly, people don't look at the world this way.
Certainly not hacking, but what constitutes terrorism tomorrow? Will they start banning videos that talk about presidential candidates poorly? I mean, we can't have people inciting hateful thoughts about a candidate. That would be terrorist. What about killing animals? Joe Bob Moonshine is all proud of his deer hunting expedition and decided to post videos of it for others that might be interested. Will these fall under "sniper videos"? How about all the videos of US soldiers sniping foreigners with .50 Cal rifles from a mile away? Are those to be banned as well?
Oh man, I wish the world had more people with your mentality. (IE: Don't pretend to be the highway patrol and pull in front of that speeder, get out of the way and let the patrol make their own money.) I'm being serious here. People don't know enough about how other people live in order to make life decisions for them. The same goes for government oversight of my life (you know... things like health care)
People are more likely to help a stranded motorist if they are driving the same color and type of car. ;)
My first question was this:
Let's say that the "researchers" created a bunch of light skinned avatars and approached a bunch of people asking for help. These people, being this is the first time they were asked, likely assisted. Now the "researcher" turns around and makes a bunch of dark skinned characters and does the same thing. The people who offered help are likely to turn them away simply because they sense a pattern of a scam having nothing to do with their skin color. They sense that these people are merely looking for a leg up on the kindness of another person.
I've been approached by people (of both colors) on the street asking for money to catch a bus to the other side of town. Sensing that they weren't really looking for bus fair, I turned them down. There was only one of these people who called me a racist. I'll let you guess which. Going along with the question raised on sample sizes, should I take this as my own research project based on my small sample size?
Still, I'm going to check the following site on a regular basis to make sure I'm still around:
http://www.hasthelhcdestroyedtheearth.com/
"(Digital Rights Management) Software encryption/security that prevents the unauthorised copying and distribution of digital information, most popularly used in connection with digital music (MP-3 formats, etc.)"
It IS DRM because you cannot play the game without first acquiring the software to download and unlock the software. If you do not have the Stardock software, you CANNOT play the game unless you want an unpatched CD copy. IF you want a bug free version of the game, you MUST have the Stardock software in order to use/install the game.
How is that NOT "actual" DRM?
If you take your game and copy it to your laptop or another PC it will not run without reconnecting to the service to generate a new key. Unless they changed it recently, that still holds true.
Also, If I remember right, you cannot update/patch your game unless you use the Stardock service. If you buy the Disc version of the game, there were no patches available for download without Stardock (when I played it last.)
Sorry, yes. Gal Civ 2. For some reason I thought it was 4 (thinking of Space Empires probably).
To test if it's DRM take the files from your game folder, copy them to another computer and try to run it. You can't without installing it from the Stardock software (whatever it's called.) It generates a file in the root of the game install that IS hardware dependent. If you copy the files to another computer without the Stardock software, it WILL NOT run.