Actually, he didn't attack Helprin about anything that wasn't in the discussion. Helprin's use of the title (and the idea) goes against the very thing that he is trying to promote. "Do as I say, not as I do" never did work very well, especially on adults. If he can't even follow his own ideas, how could he possibly convince others to?
While it is still technically an 'ad hominem' attack, It pertains to the matter at hand.
Now, whether of not using a title and idea of another writer is actually against copyright is a whole other issue.
"Basically, when a an artist creates a song for example, copyright gives them a limited time to commercially exploit their material."
No, they still have unlimited time to 'commercially exploit their material'. The limit is only on the time that the ability is solely theirs.
When the copyright expires on Madonna's stupid Bananas song, she doesn't lose the ability to make money from it. She can still sing in it concerts, sell CDs/MP3s/whatever, and anything else she wants. Others will be able to sell CDs/MP3s of it, but they will still be completely unable to BE her and sing it live in concert.
And for her to stop making money on the CDs requires the assumption that nobody will pay for the official CD. Collectors, fans, and others who simply enjoy the music will continue to buy the original to support the artist.
What removing lengthy copyrights DOES do it remove the bullshit from the system. No more price-gouging for CDs. They can't pay the artist $.07 a song and sell them for $1.30 anymore. They'll have to actually have reasonable rates because someone else WILL sell it for a reasonable rate.
(My apologies to those of you who actually like the Bananas song. All 3 of you.)
Exactly. This software isn't for the tech-savvy. It's for all those people that don't even understand what a firewall does. Those people need an automated click-n-go solution for their security. Unless they've got tech-savvy family, and then it's handled for them anyhow.
For the record, I use AVG and a properly configured firewall, and I haven't had a virus or spyware on my Windows system for years.
You were seriously sheltered. Even having never SEEN a hooker or 'blow' at 13, I still knew what they were. ('Blow' I'd have had to guess at... In fact, still do. I assume it's a drug. Doesn't even really matter which one, does it?)
At 13, I knew that if someone referred to something by a nickname and refused to outright say it, it was probably taboo. And since they'd already mentioned hookers, it isn't a stretch for figure what the other reference is. Hooker is a lot easier, because even if you haven't SEEN one, someone has undoubtedly said 'that girl dresses like a hooker' in front of you. That term usually gets defined pretty quickly afterwards.
As for wanting them... It just takes 1 adult that talks about them regularly, longingly, to make a child 'want' it without even knowing what it really is. Because adults want it, so it must be worth having. The logic for 'want' isn't always very logical.
'is not impermanent'... ? ALWAYS WAS. Where was the Battle of Bunker Hill fought? I'll give you a hint: It wasn't Bunker Hill.
Yes, we know that the history media lied about this and it's not 'permanent' record. How many other things were changed because they sounded better, or gave an advantage? How many were changed YEARS later and word of mouth made the false version more prominent, and therefore more accepted?
The ability to change a single website is absolutely no different than the ability to change 1 piece of paper. There are archives, there are other sites, there are references, AND there is still paper.
I assume this is sometime AFTER people all start to hug each other and install firmware that lets them link their wireless routers together in a network WITHOUT that very same infrastructure you are trying to avoid.
And that's completely forgetting the amazingly limited bandwidth of wireless routers. If I want to download a movie from Russia, and traverse the wireless network to get it (how'd it get over the ocean?) then I would be maxing out the bandwidth of every router along the way. That's fine as long as -nobody else- is using the internet at the time.
Before your 'wireless world' dream comes anywhere close to reality there will be something completely different to replace it.
No, last I heard the refresh was quite slow, and that's why it's being marketted as electronic paper, and not a flexible screen. It also happens to be VERY much like paper to the eyes as well.
Design a World Contest: You design a world and it's yours to keep! Unfortunately, that means that we won't have anything to do with it afterwards and it won't get published.
Oh yeah, that makes sense. People could design a world any time they want to, especially with the NWN toolset. The could certainly create a cutscene, a puzzle, and interesting NPC behavior without this contest. The key here is that BioWare is looking for future employees via this contest. The real winners are the ones that get hired, not the ones that 'win' the contest. And BioWare will probably want the new employee to expand upon the idea they already had, rather than start from scratch on a new one immediately. That means owning the results of the contest.
People also forget something about art: Giving a little of your work away is a GREAT advertisement. Baen.com has pretty much proven this with their free library. The first book they -gave away- is now their all-time best seller. Yes, seller.
You can say that all you want, but you and I seem to be in the minority. The average gameplayer WANTS pointless difficulty. They want artificial obstacles. It somehow gives them a feeling of accomplishment.
I got over that a few years ago. I now only enjoy games if there is an actual reward for my work, instead of just being allowed to grind to the next level. I enjoy plot, puzzles, and other such rewards. I do not enjoy mindless tedium in order to experience more mindless tedium.
I recently started playing WoW. There is a -tiny- bit of plot, there's quite a bit of exploring to do, and that's about it. I don't expect to make it to the end of my first month... I haven't even entered in payment information yet. But for $20, I've had more entertainment than I usually get from a new $50 game.
Everquest did not have plot when I played. There was string of quests from town to town, detailing the invasion that was about to happen, and attempting to prevent it. (Yes, WoW has this... Hoard side, as a troll, I've been going through it. It seems silly in an MMO, because you KNOW the outcome is predetermined, but at least it's something.) EQ simply had a bunch of pointless quests that went nowhere.
Unfortunately, this IS enough for the mindless masses of MMO players. Somehow they get what they need from it. It's okay, though, because when this entire group gets sick of grinding, they'll all want something more, and developers start making 'good' games.
You've made a bad assumption. Your scenario assumes that Sony will not produce and attempt to sell any more consoles than it has already produced. They can only cut their losses on the currently existing ones if they don't plan to make any in the future. Otherwise, there's future losses at the reduced price that negate any 'cut losses' on the current inventory.
If Sony really WAS going to stop producing PS3s forever, they would have to cut the current ones to a ridiculous price to sell them.
Okay, I'm totally against shitty salesman tactics. (I passed this test... I was a salesman for a year and a half and was really bad at it because I refused to push a sale... Heh.)
But this is not one of them. You did EVERYTHING in your power, even went WAY beyond (shame on you) and she still insisted on buying that car at a stupid price. You didn't sell her that car, you merely ran the paperwork. 'Selling' involves an effort to entice the customer to buy. You did exactly the opposite.
Maybe your immortal soul will have to atone for other saleman-sins, but this is not one of them..
Re:Whatever, won't work where I am
on
Treadmill Workstation
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Actually, no, I don't have much time for the Wii, either. I've played it maybe 5 hours in the last month.
But you act like entertainment is not a necessary part of life. Like you can just give up on having fun and just exercise and work, and that'll be fine. Some of us need a little de-stressing time from work, and exercise doesn't do that for me, no matter what it does for other people. Everyone's always saying how the endorphins will make you feel better, etc, etc. Doesn't work for me. I'm just as stressed afterwards as before. I need a good book or video game to de-stress. While it's marginally possible to watch TV while on exercise equipment, it's nearly impossible for gaming or reading.
So don't be so quick to lump the entire human race together as if we're all identical. We each have different needs.
I'm offended by that. I'm overweight (medically obese) at 260lbs (should be 180, apparently.) I don't like being fat, but I refuse to have surgery to deal with it. I have an elliptical machine in my house and a bicycle which I barely ride, but I find I don't ever have enough time. I -want- to lose the weight, but life tends to get in the way.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to diet and keep your energy level up for work? Probably not, as you're skinny enough to call people 'lardasses'. Staying skinny is a hell of a lot easier than getting skinny again. Eating healthy helps, but at some point you need to cut calories (and therefore energy) to lose weight.
The Wii is fun, and a little exercise, but not nearly enough to do the job. This device takes that a step further. If it really -is- fun, and not just a marketing gimmick, then I'll probably buy one for my living room.
Ah, too bad. 'their' is plural, so it'd be 'their locations'. It's okay, though, since the original summary had the same problem. To have 'their location' read, they'd all have to be in exactly the same place... And that'd be pointless in this situation. So 'their locations are read'.
I'm going to completely ignore the lack of a capital letter and period on that last sentence.
I'm terribly annoyed by the constant inability of people to use the correct word, too, but in the end, none of us are perfect. I've started to convert from grammar-nazi to grammar-prejudiced instead. It's quite useful to be able to judge a person's intelligence by the format of their text. Saves me a lot of headaches, I can tell you.
Because once it starts as a joke, it'll catch on for real, and we'll be stuck with branded items in every MMO from here to eternity. People actively fight it because of this thought.
Honestly... I don't think I care. I'm sure it'll be annoying at times, but aren't some advertisements annoying? If advertisement agencies would just learn to make interesting/funny/informative ads instead of the drivel they produce, they wouldn't have so many people trying so hard to ignore them.
Need for Speed is a good example of in-game advertising that isn't too annoying. They have Burger King and Best Buy stores all over town, and Cingular cellphone service in-game. It doesn't take away from the game, it doesn't slow you down, and it's a constant reminder of the product. (Heck, I didn't play those games much and I remember all 3 of them!)
The biggest problem is that they just can't get their minds onto a different track. Here's a good idea they apparently haven't realized: Make computer wallpapers that are 90% cool, with a logo in the other 10%. People will rush to put them on their desktops. A few have made skins for Winamp/etc, but there's still not much of that. It's a one-time artist/scripter cost, and winamp.com will even host the thing afterwards for years. Make it good enough and it'll even advertise itself by being in the top % on the site. Why not take it a step further and make WindowBlinds skins?
Nice try, but you seem to be confused. There's quite a bit wrong with your post. Let's start with these:
I never said what 'biotech companies' do is 'right' either. Are you that brainwashed that YOU think it's okay?
Why would a company invest millions of advertising dollars in an obvious idea that can be copied in a week?
Your last line seems to suggest that if I don't work at the patent office, I have no business talking about the patent system. Just because you have NO idea about anything but the job you currently do, don't assume everyone else is as narrow-minded.
Just because something is legal and possible does NOT make it 'right'. If it was found that it was legal to kill people by some method, does that make it right for everyone to kill everyone they can by that method? Too extreme? How about a corporation that takes advantage of the tax system to pay as almost no taxes, so that everyone else has to pay their share? How about police that run reds lights in their cars because it's legal for them to, even when they don't have the need? How about a teacher that hands out religious pamphlets right outside the school grounds? How about someone standing outside a playground and screaming at the children?
I bet I just hit on the sensibilities of most of the people that read this. There's plenty of examples of things that are totally legal, but not 'right' in any way.
Amazon may be within their rights to attempt to patent this, but that does not mean they are 'doing the right thing' in any way shape or form. Amazon should be considering their customers in this. If it angers your customers, it's probably not a good idea. Since any global online retailer's goal is to have the whole world as customers, they should be thinking about everyone.
I question whether that -really- matters in this situation.
You're at a park, having a hamburger. A guy runs up and says 'The park rangers say there's some guys shooting guns randomly in the park!' Does it matter that you don't trust him at all? You're going to assume he's telling the truth.
Your best friend, a known prankster, does the same thing. You still assume he's telling the truth, but you question him to make sure.
Your teachers, who you KNOW have yet to play their annual prank on this year's field trip, do the same thing. Again, you STILL assume they are telling the truth, and do what they say. But a part of you knows that it could be fake.
Yes, the third one IS the case here. In another post, someone has linked to the letter the school wrote explaining the situation. Some of the more trusting children will have the walls of their bubble shaken a bit. (I'd have been one of those children. I've always been way too trusting of authority.) The rest of them will laugh it off, and wonder what they'll do next year.
That letter is obviously biased. Maybe not as biased as the news reports, but still heavily biased.
For one thing, it dismisses the impact on the children by saying most said it was funny, and that only a few had issues. And that those few were okay after talking to a teacher. And that nobody talked about it the next morning, so it must have been okay.
Last time -I- had a major emotional problem, it wasn't easy to talk about. OF COURSE they didn't talk about it the next morning. For that matter, even the kids that weren't affected didn't talk about it... That's extremely hard to believe. They'd been talking about the possible prank for quite a long time beforehand. It just disappears after it finally happens? They didn't talk about it at all?
Nope, this is not the real story, just the 'other side' that's just as biased.
Those of us with REALLY old addresses get spammed incessantly because there was a time when it was safe to post your email address anywhere. My oldest (still working) address has been moved to gmail's hosting. It clears the spam automatically after 30 days, and there's 2,962 pieces of spam in there right now. That's almost 100 per day for an account I barely use now, and didn't use AT ALL for about 8 years. (Started actively using it again a few months ago.)
I think the coward's point was that nVidia's drivers are better right now. If ATI hasn't made good on their commitment to open source (and thus foster an environment for better drivers) then he's just going to keep on as if nothing has changed.
Why should he believe the promises of an PR person and let that influence his buying decision?
I just ordered parts to build a new PC and the GPU is an onboard Intel X3000. Why? Open source drivers. If ATI has open source drivers the next time I buy parts, I'll probably choose them for the GPU, even if nVidia also has open sourced, despite the fact that I've been an nVidia fan. Why? ATI has better hardware! It's just too bad their drivers have always sucked, on all platforms.
The AC stated it like an ultimatum, but I think he/she was just stating a fact: Their next purchase would depend on ATI's action or inaction.
Linux is a MUCH better desktop OS than it was 5 years ago. Coincidentally, that was about the same time I tried to use Debian as a desktop. It stunk and I quickly dropped it. Then 2 years ago, I found reason to try it out again. Slackware was pretty good, but still iffy for a desktop.
Now I've got Kubuntu. It's amazing, and definitely a good desktop OS. The home PC I have ordered was chosen based on the idea that it would only run Linux, and Windows didn't matter. (This one is going to be my 'game' PC in the living room now.)
Loki was too early. If they tried the same thing now, they'd have a LOT better success.
As for the 'waiting' issue... Was that the only issue? Or did Loki fail to advertise that they were going to be releasing that game in a few months? Because if I didn't know about it, I'd just pick it up for Windows, assuming Linux would never get it. Maybe there were other issues as well, that don't come to mind immediately.
Loki didn't prove anything except that they didn't make it.
That's the easiest question ever. Because people want it.
Nintendo tends to be a people company, and they tend to listen to their customers a LOT more than the other console manufacturers. So when it became clear that there was NO way to avoid having things like this on their console, they went ahead and saved everyone the trouble, earning some more money in the process.
Nothing extra exists to stop someone from writing a homebrew version of these features than would have existed anyhow. In fact, the copy protection on the Wii is amazingly weak. It's almost identical to the Gamecube's, and that was weak as well. Everyone else in the industry has put a LOT more effort into protection.
So tell me again why they shouldn't do this? Because you don't want it is not good enough, and you don't speak for the majority of people. You probably don't even have a vague clue how many Wii-owners feel as you do.
I take your point, but you've missed 1 thing: BSG kicks Cylon ass and THINKS they've won. You think a race made entirely of computers doesn't know to make backups? If BSG hits them hard enough, it'd take an entire generation of humans to get Cylon culture running again. But when they came back, they'd be more powerful than ever, and the human race would be weak from just trying to survive and the petty squabbling that humans do when they have no outside enemies.
Slashdot Mirror
Actually, he didn't attack Helprin about anything that wasn't in the discussion. Helprin's use of the title (and the idea) goes against the very thing that he is trying to promote. "Do as I say, not as I do" never did work very well, especially on adults. If he can't even follow his own ideas, how could he possibly convince others to?
While it is still technically an 'ad hominem' attack, It pertains to the matter at hand.
Now, whether of not using a title and idea of another writer is actually against copyright is a whole other issue.
"Basically, when a an artist creates a song for example, copyright gives them a limited time to commercially exploit their material."
No, they still have unlimited time to 'commercially exploit their material'. The limit is only on the time that the ability is solely theirs.
When the copyright expires on Madonna's stupid Bananas song, she doesn't lose the ability to make money from it. She can still sing in it concerts, sell CDs/MP3s/whatever, and anything else she wants. Others will be able to sell CDs/MP3s of it, but they will still be completely unable to BE her and sing it live in concert.
And for her to stop making money on the CDs requires the assumption that nobody will pay for the official CD. Collectors, fans, and others who simply enjoy the music will continue to buy the original to support the artist.
What removing lengthy copyrights DOES do it remove the bullshit from the system. No more price-gouging for CDs. They can't pay the artist $.07 a song and sell them for $1.30 anymore. They'll have to actually have reasonable rates because someone else WILL sell it for a reasonable rate.
(My apologies to those of you who actually like the Bananas song. All 3 of you.)
Exactly. This software isn't for the tech-savvy. It's for all those people that don't even understand what a firewall does. Those people need an automated click-n-go solution for their security. Unless they've got tech-savvy family, and then it's handled for them anyhow.
For the record, I use AVG and a properly configured firewall, and I haven't had a virus or spyware on my Windows system for years.
You were seriously sheltered. Even having never SEEN a hooker or 'blow' at 13, I still knew what they were. ('Blow' I'd have had to guess at... In fact, still do. I assume it's a drug. Doesn't even really matter which one, does it?)
At 13, I knew that if someone referred to something by a nickname and refused to outright say it, it was probably taboo. And since they'd already mentioned hookers, it isn't a stretch for figure what the other reference is. Hooker is a lot easier, because even if you haven't SEEN one, someone has undoubtedly said 'that girl dresses like a hooker' in front of you. That term usually gets defined pretty quickly afterwards.
As for wanting them... It just takes 1 adult that talks about them regularly, longingly, to make a child 'want' it without even knowing what it really is. Because adults want it, so it must be worth having. The logic for 'want' isn't always very logical.
'is not impermanent' ... ? ALWAYS WAS. Where was the Battle of Bunker Hill fought? I'll give you a hint: It wasn't Bunker Hill.
Yes, we know that the history media lied about this and it's not 'permanent' record. How many other things were changed because they sounded better, or gave an advantage? How many were changed YEARS later and word of mouth made the false version more prominent, and therefore more accepted?
The ability to change a single website is absolutely no different than the ability to change 1 piece of paper. There are archives, there are other sites, there are references, AND there is still paper.
I assume this is sometime AFTER people all start to hug each other and install firmware that lets them link their wireless routers together in a network WITHOUT that very same infrastructure you are trying to avoid.
And that's completely forgetting the amazingly limited bandwidth of wireless routers. If I want to download a movie from Russia, and traverse the wireless network to get it (how'd it get over the ocean?) then I would be maxing out the bandwidth of every router along the way. That's fine as long as -nobody else- is using the internet at the time.
Before your 'wireless world' dream comes anywhere close to reality there will be something completely different to replace it.
No, last I heard the refresh was quite slow, and that's why it's being marketted as electronic paper, and not a flexible screen. It also happens to be VERY much like paper to the eyes as well.
It goes even further than that, though.
Design a World Contest: You design a world and it's yours to keep! Unfortunately, that means that we won't have anything to do with it afterwards and it won't get published.
Oh yeah, that makes sense. People could design a world any time they want to, especially with the NWN toolset. The could certainly create a cutscene, a puzzle, and interesting NPC behavior without this contest. The key here is that BioWare is looking for future employees via this contest. The real winners are the ones that get hired, not the ones that 'win' the contest. And BioWare will probably want the new employee to expand upon the idea they already had, rather than start from scratch on a new one immediately. That means owning the results of the contest.
People also forget something about art: Giving a little of your work away is a GREAT advertisement. Baen.com has pretty much proven this with their free library. The first book they -gave away- is now their all-time best seller. Yes, seller.
You can say that all you want, but you and I seem to be in the minority. The average gameplayer WANTS pointless difficulty. They want artificial obstacles. It somehow gives them a feeling of accomplishment.
I got over that a few years ago. I now only enjoy games if there is an actual reward for my work, instead of just being allowed to grind to the next level. I enjoy plot, puzzles, and other such rewards. I do not enjoy mindless tedium in order to experience more mindless tedium.
I recently started playing WoW. There is a -tiny- bit of plot, there's quite a bit of exploring to do, and that's about it. I don't expect to make it to the end of my first month... I haven't even entered in payment information yet. But for $20, I've had more entertainment than I usually get from a new $50 game.
Everquest did not have plot when I played. There was string of quests from town to town, detailing the invasion that was about to happen, and attempting to prevent it. (Yes, WoW has this... Hoard side, as a troll, I've been going through it. It seems silly in an MMO, because you KNOW the outcome is predetermined, but at least it's something.) EQ simply had a bunch of pointless quests that went nowhere.
Unfortunately, this IS enough for the mindless masses of MMO players. Somehow they get what they need from it. It's okay, though, because when this entire group gets sick of grinding, they'll all want something more, and developers start making 'good' games.
You've made a bad assumption. Your scenario assumes that Sony will not produce and attempt to sell any more consoles than it has already produced. They can only cut their losses on the currently existing ones if they don't plan to make any in the future. Otherwise, there's future losses at the reduced price that negate any 'cut losses' on the current inventory.
If Sony really WAS going to stop producing PS3s forever, they would have to cut the current ones to a ridiculous price to sell them.
Sony's not giving up any time soon.
Okay, I'm totally against shitty salesman tactics. (I passed this test... I was a salesman for a year and a half and was really bad at it because I refused to push a sale... Heh.)
But this is not one of them. You did EVERYTHING in your power, even went WAY beyond (shame on you) and she still insisted on buying that car at a stupid price. You didn't sell her that car, you merely ran the paperwork. 'Selling' involves an effort to entice the customer to buy. You did exactly the opposite.
Maybe your immortal soul will have to atone for other saleman-sins, but this is not one of them..
Actually, no, I don't have much time for the Wii, either. I've played it maybe 5 hours in the last month.
But you act like entertainment is not a necessary part of life. Like you can just give up on having fun and just exercise and work, and that'll be fine. Some of us need a little de-stressing time from work, and exercise doesn't do that for me, no matter what it does for other people. Everyone's always saying how the endorphins will make you feel better, etc, etc. Doesn't work for me. I'm just as stressed afterwards as before. I need a good book or video game to de-stress. While it's marginally possible to watch TV while on exercise equipment, it's nearly impossible for gaming or reading.
So don't be so quick to lump the entire human race together as if we're all identical. We each have different needs.
I'm offended by that. I'm overweight (medically obese) at 260lbs (should be 180, apparently.) I don't like being fat, but I refuse to have surgery to deal with it. I have an elliptical machine in my house and a bicycle which I barely ride, but I find I don't ever have enough time. I -want- to lose the weight, but life tends to get in the way.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to diet and keep your energy level up for work? Probably not, as you're skinny enough to call people 'lardasses'. Staying skinny is a hell of a lot easier than getting skinny again. Eating healthy helps, but at some point you need to cut calories (and therefore energy) to lose weight.
The Wii is fun, and a little exercise, but not nearly enough to do the job. This device takes that a step further. If it really -is- fun, and not just a marketing gimmick, then I'll probably buy one for my living room.
Ouch. It actually took me longer than 5 seconds to get that. I feel stupid.
Ah, too bad. 'their' is plural, so it'd be 'their locations'. It's okay, though, since the original summary had the same problem. To have 'their location' read, they'd all have to be in exactly the same place... And that'd be pointless in this situation. So 'their locations are read'.
I'm going to completely ignore the lack of a capital letter and period on that last sentence.
I'm terribly annoyed by the constant inability of people to use the correct word, too, but in the end, none of us are perfect. I've started to convert from grammar-nazi to grammar-prejudiced instead. It's quite useful to be able to judge a person's intelligence by the format of their text. Saves me a lot of headaches, I can tell you.
Because once it starts as a joke, it'll catch on for real, and we'll be stuck with branded items in every MMO from here to eternity. People actively fight it because of this thought.
Honestly... I don't think I care. I'm sure it'll be annoying at times, but aren't some advertisements annoying? If advertisement agencies would just learn to make interesting/funny/informative ads instead of the drivel they produce, they wouldn't have so many people trying so hard to ignore them.
Need for Speed is a good example of in-game advertising that isn't too annoying. They have Burger King and Best Buy stores all over town, and Cingular cellphone service in-game. It doesn't take away from the game, it doesn't slow you down, and it's a constant reminder of the product. (Heck, I didn't play those games much and I remember all 3 of them!)
The biggest problem is that they just can't get their minds onto a different track. Here's a good idea they apparently haven't realized: Make computer wallpapers that are 90% cool, with a logo in the other 10%. People will rush to put them on their desktops. A few have made skins for Winamp/etc, but there's still not much of that. It's a one-time artist/scripter cost, and winamp.com will even host the thing afterwards for years. Make it good enough and it'll even advertise itself by being in the top % on the site. Why not take it a step further and make WindowBlinds skins?
Nice try, but you seem to be confused. There's quite a bit wrong with your post. Let's start with these:
I never said what 'biotech companies' do is 'right' either. Are you that brainwashed that YOU think it's okay?
Why would a company invest millions of advertising dollars in an obvious idea that can be copied in a week?
Your last line seems to suggest that if I don't work at the patent office, I have no business talking about the patent system. Just because you have NO idea about anything but the job you currently do, don't assume everyone else is as narrow-minded.
Get your head out of your ass for a moment.
Just because something is legal and possible does NOT make it 'right'. If it was found that it was legal to kill people by some method, does that make it right for everyone to kill everyone they can by that method? Too extreme? How about a corporation that takes advantage of the tax system to pay as almost no taxes, so that everyone else has to pay their share? How about police that run reds lights in their cars because it's legal for them to, even when they don't have the need? How about a teacher that hands out religious pamphlets right outside the school grounds? How about someone standing outside a playground and screaming at the children?
I bet I just hit on the sensibilities of most of the people that read this. There's plenty of examples of things that are totally legal, but not 'right' in any way.
Amazon may be within their rights to attempt to patent this, but that does not mean they are 'doing the right thing' in any way shape or form. Amazon should be considering their customers in this. If it angers your customers, it's probably not a good idea. Since any global online retailer's goal is to have the whole world as customers, they should be thinking about everyone.
"Told by a person they inherently TRUST."
I question whether that -really- matters in this situation.
You're at a park, having a hamburger. A guy runs up and says 'The park rangers say there's some guys shooting guns randomly in the park!' Does it matter that you don't trust him at all? You're going to assume he's telling the truth.
Your best friend, a known prankster, does the same thing. You still assume he's telling the truth, but you question him to make sure.
Your teachers, who you KNOW have yet to play their annual prank on this year's field trip, do the same thing. Again, you STILL assume they are telling the truth, and do what they say. But a part of you knows that it could be fake.
Yes, the third one IS the case here. In another post, someone has linked to the letter the school wrote explaining the situation. Some of the more trusting children will have the walls of their bubble shaken a bit. (I'd have been one of those children. I've always been way too trusting of authority.) The rest of them will laugh it off, and wonder what they'll do next year.
That letter is obviously biased. Maybe not as biased as the news reports, but still heavily biased.
For one thing, it dismisses the impact on the children by saying most said it was funny, and that only a few had issues. And that those few were okay after talking to a teacher. And that nobody talked about it the next morning, so it must have been okay.
Last time -I- had a major emotional problem, it wasn't easy to talk about. OF COURSE they didn't talk about it the next morning. For that matter, even the kids that weren't affected didn't talk about it... That's extremely hard to believe. They'd been talking about the possible prank for quite a long time beforehand. It just disappears after it finally happens? They didn't talk about it at all?
Nope, this is not the real story, just the 'other side' that's just as biased.
Those of us with REALLY old addresses get spammed incessantly because there was a time when it was safe to post your email address anywhere. My oldest (still working) address has been moved to gmail's hosting. It clears the spam automatically after 30 days, and there's 2,962 pieces of spam in there right now. That's almost 100 per day for an account I barely use now, and didn't use AT ALL for about 8 years. (Started actively using it again a few months ago.)
I think the coward's point was that nVidia's drivers are better right now. If ATI hasn't made good on their commitment to open source (and thus foster an environment for better drivers) then he's just going to keep on as if nothing has changed.
Why should he believe the promises of an PR person and let that influence his buying decision?
I just ordered parts to build a new PC and the GPU is an onboard Intel X3000. Why? Open source drivers. If ATI has open source drivers the next time I buy parts, I'll probably choose them for the GPU, even if nVidia also has open sourced, despite the fact that I've been an nVidia fan. Why? ATI has better hardware! It's just too bad their drivers have always sucked, on all platforms.
The AC stated it like an ultimatum, but I think he/she was just stating a fact: Their next purchase would depend on ATI's action or inaction.
You've missed 1 key point: 5 years ago!
Linux is a MUCH better desktop OS than it was 5 years ago. Coincidentally, that was about the same time I tried to use Debian as a desktop. It stunk and I quickly dropped it. Then 2 years ago, I found reason to try it out again. Slackware was pretty good, but still iffy for a desktop.
Now I've got Kubuntu. It's amazing, and definitely a good desktop OS. The home PC I have ordered was chosen based on the idea that it would only run Linux, and Windows didn't matter. (This one is going to be my 'game' PC in the living room now.)
Loki was too early. If they tried the same thing now, they'd have a LOT better success.
As for the 'waiting' issue... Was that the only issue? Or did Loki fail to advertise that they were going to be releasing that game in a few months? Because if I didn't know about it, I'd just pick it up for Windows, assuming Linux would never get it. Maybe there were other issues as well, that don't come to mind immediately.
Loki didn't prove anything except that they didn't make it.
That's the easiest question ever. Because people want it.
Nintendo tends to be a people company, and they tend to listen to their customers a LOT more than the other console manufacturers. So when it became clear that there was NO way to avoid having things like this on their console, they went ahead and saved everyone the trouble, earning some more money in the process.
Nothing extra exists to stop someone from writing a homebrew version of these features than would have existed anyhow. In fact, the copy protection on the Wii is amazingly weak. It's almost identical to the Gamecube's, and that was weak as well. Everyone else in the industry has put a LOT more effort into protection.
So tell me again why they shouldn't do this? Because you don't want it is not good enough, and you don't speak for the majority of people. You probably don't even have a vague clue how many Wii-owners feel as you do.
I take your point, but you've missed 1 thing: BSG kicks Cylon ass and THINKS they've won. You think a race made entirely of computers doesn't know to make backups? If BSG hits them hard enough, it'd take an entire generation of humans to get Cylon culture running again. But when they came back, they'd be more powerful than ever, and the human race would be weak from just trying to survive and the petty squabbling that humans do when they have no outside enemies.