I think its a little early to dig that grave.
I suspect MS bought Skype to kill it, or corrupt it to its own version. Imagine that MS changes two lines of code, calls it their own software, and then forces all current users to update "automatically" or else it doesn't work anymore. People are hooked now and will follow along. Eventually, the service fees will pop up. There will be a fair amount of outrage, especially here on/., but people will want it and start paying, complaining the whole time.
I find it quite interesting that the author thinks that someone who would by "Homefront" would have moral misgivings that they needed to be relieved of. Shouldn't the Anit-Discrimination Group for all things Asian be kicking in about now? One usually hasknowledge of the game before it is purchased. I have never heard of the situation where the game was returned because some had to "kill too many things."
My daughter was wathcing me play an FPS. She asked "how do you know which ones to shoot?" I repled "I shoot the ones shooting at me first", trying to be a little neutral. She asked "Do you get more points if you shoot them all?"
No paternity test needed here...
but I can not take comments on intelligence seriously from a man who wasn't smart enough to say NO to Dancing with the Stars.
Let the Flaming begin in 3...2...
Gut feelings and odds have little to do with it. Bookies try to get enough people to bet on both teams. If too many people were betting on the Packers, they would move the spread so more people bet on the Steelers, and vice versa. They have to balance the money on both sides so they have enough to pay out. Most bookies take a percentage of the bet, or a "vig", so they get paid no matter which side wins. I ran a small operation in high school like this. The house always wins.
If a bookie runs into the situation where his cash flow isn't as good as it should be, he usually lets them carry over the bet into the next week. That gets kinda hard with the Super Bowl.
just my $0.02 (plus my percentage)
Actually, I only see about 6 colors confidently. Purple/pink and navy blue/purple are real pains in the arse. orange/brown ranks right up there too.
The old red/blue goggles never worked for me. I haven't seen any of the new 3d stuff yet, so don't know if I'll have issues, but with all the blue and green in Avatar I think I'll only be getting 70% of the real effect.
Let's say you run a newspaper. Are you going to hire the person with a journalism degree from the liberal arts college or the highly technical college? Which one do you think has more of a focus on the degree in question?
I see a lot of "it doesn't matter" comments and being an Engineering Manager, I tend to disagree. Here is my usual ratio for hiring. Send out an ad. Get 100 resumes. Filter about 65 out right away. Look hard at the others and filter down to about ten. Call them for either a quick first interview or phone interview. (Let the flaming begin)
If I see a non-technical school for an engineer, I don't necessarily hold it against them, but I do look for some backing evidence of actual engineering knowledge. However, if I see a resume from a MIT or other school, I kind of know they had some actual applications experience in their education. I know my experiences from a highly tech-focused university included two major design projects that were of corporate caliber. I can't say I would trust a liberal arts or community college degree to have the same.
At least for me, the technical school may help you get past the first filter. After that, it's all about what you bring to the table.
Detroit is a little more apathetic (or pathetic) than you think. The Mayor used 9 million dollars to pay off two ex-cops he fired because they caught him in an affair with his Chief of Staff. he still has over a 50% approval rating. They can't get a recall organized and the City Council is at a stalemate. On top of that, the Mayor lied on the stand in court (on live TV) and the City prosecutor can't figure out if she should charge him with perjury about the affair.
I think I learned perspective. I learned how to step back and view something from the outside, as an invisible outsider. (Go go DM screen) The game taught me to think about how people react to certain things, and to think ahead of that. Yes, I was the nasty DM that made the door have a real obvious trap on the lock, only to have a pitfall right after the door. I use that kind of perspective today when doing engineering things like DFMEAs.
Being the father of a 5yo and 3yo, I admit they have started playing games. This includes PC games like Reader Rabbit and Dora. I have personally witnessed the increase in problem solving ability, basic math and reading, and a little strategy.
However, we do limit them. The most I have let one play is 60 minutes non-stop. Daddy does have to be mean and turn it off sometimes, even to the chorus of tears. Computer time is probably the first privilege they lose when they are disciplined.
They play on them in school. I have no issue with them understanding a mouse click or keyboard. Think of yourself learning how to use a computer. Now think of your parents learning the same thing. You probably had an advantage because you started when you were younger. I feel that if they are comfortable with technology now, they will be more able to assimilate it as they grow up.
I also let them play on the Wii. They are actually quite good at some games. The 5yo has a +170 average on bowling and can also post a decent golf score. I believe it helps their gross and fine motor skills, as well as get some exercise. Anyone who has boxed a few rounds knows what I am talking about.
Has there been any thoughts or discussions on reducing the amount of books needed to play? Donating a bookshelf to every new edition is getting a little ridiculous for the casual gamer. I have 40+ books from first and second edition. I bought the Player's Handbook from the third edition, read the first thirty pages and went "bleh".
To reference another gaming system, I can generate a character in GURPS (Steve Jackson Games) in under an hour, have a little better feel for advantages and disadvantages, arm and clothe the character, and do it all from one book. Now there are other books available, but not necessary. Also, their magic system seems a lot more reasonable than memorizing spells. I always thought of spells more like skills than chunks of memory.
I know it goes against the business model, but can you actually make a game that can be played with less than four books?
We went the same thing at our company. We had offices in Europe and the USA. The CIO rammed OO down everyone's throat and said it was the way of the future. I will say that the European community handled it better than the USA community though, but that may be more on the culture than user ability.
Everyone responding here, I think, can be assumed to have some computer knowledge. You all can figure out that commands like Save, Copy, Paste work the same from program to program. My experience with the user base is not as good. I have people that can't even plug in their mouse. There are people that still use "password" their password because they can't remember anything else. Unfortunately we need these people, i.e. the Sales and Finance Departments.
When we switched to OO, the big problem was familiarity. We took away the one tool they could use. Widespread panic ensued. Users cried. Users whined. The last straw was when the owner of the company couldn't save a document because "the buttons look too different".
So it's not functionality you are fighting, it's familiarity. It is perception. I will admit that we had a huge problem trying to convert Excel macros to OO. The biggest factor in the decision to switch back was based more on emotion than on technical compatibility.
If you worked in an office where everyone could set up their own computer, install their own software and maintain it, these kind of switches are easy. If you work in an office like me, where people can't even burn their own CDs and copy/paste their own pictures, conversions like this do not go well. EVER!!
Re:An Interesting Alternate Universe Idea
on
Superhero Smackdown
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· Score: 2, Informative
There is a collection of superhero short stories called amazingly enough "Superheroes" (by John Varley)with Superman landing in Russia. IIRC, he ends up in a Siberian jail for the rest of his life.
If I patent X and Y chromosones, then I can charge licensing fees to all babies born after the patent takes effect, right? This has got to be the stupidest thing I have ever seen. Being spectrally-challenged (A PC term I heard for color blind), I am insulted. That means that this sham of a company is the only ones that will ever be helping this condition. My confidence is underwhelming.
Let's suppose I run my own server. I provide the connections to 10 users, with my own cabling, etc. I am not using one ounce of government lines. Someone uses my server and connects to m$n.com for some (ungodly) reason. Will Carnivore be able to penetrate the server and look at my 10 users on my "private" network?
In an article posted yesterday, there was a lot of discussion about how many hours one worked at their job. I read some people working 60+ hours a week. This will be a huge generalisation (bracing for flames) but I don't know too many women who would be willing to work that type of schedule. I have not yet met a woman who COULDN'T say NO. Plus we can bring up the whole "women won't work long hours because they want to be mothers" argument. It is sad to say, but those 60+ weeks are needed to advance sometimes. Most women, let alone normal people, do not want to work the hellacious schedule or deal with the inordinatwe amount of stress associacted with this kind of work. I remember back in school, I knew a few female CS majors. By sophomore year, they bailed out to technical writing or something else, claiming the pressure was too much. I am not saying women can't do a good job. I am not saying women can't be programmers or IT people. What I am trying to say is if you look at what is required of the job, i.e. large amounts of stress, impossible deadlines, 60+ hour work weeks, this is not the most appealing profession for a young woman to consider. P.S. When I have kids (married and trying), it doesn't matter if they are boy or girl, they will have access to a computer. I have three female cousins (4,6,8 years old respectively) and they have access to computers. Two of them really like it. The other could care less.
Here's a couple of questions... 1. Have you paid restitution or provided any sort of compensation to the people's or company's sites you have personally hacked into in your 'notorious' youth ? 2. Aren't the techniques you employ just as illegal or invading of privacy as the hackers you have sworn to hunt down ?
What better way to psychoanalyze a kid than to have them write a story for you, or draw a picture. It is a common practiceamong therapist and counselors of young children. Did the teacher feel shock, guilt, or pleasure when she read this story? After reading this report, a few things stuck out. Who taught this child grammar? (I realize it is Texas, but there are some rules there too, aren't there?) Second, he knows WAY too much about illegal drug use. Third, how can the teacher give him a grade of "Outstanding", then report him? This smells like a setup to me. "Ok everyone, write a scary story. The one that scares me the most gets a week's vacation!" I wonder what would have happened if little Stephen King, Wes Craven, or John Carpenter was in that class. Do they make straightjackets for 13 year olds? This story wasn't scary. If anything, it looks like the script from about ten different rap videos. School violence is on the rise BECAUSE of incidents like this. Repression breeds violence, it doesn't hinder it. If administrators keep trying to "control" all of the students' emotions, we will only see more incidents. Taking the student out of the school doesn't eliminate the problem. With no attempt to determine root causes for this behavior, schools are only dooming themselves to see more of it.
If I read the article correctly, Gateway and AOL are going to market this jointly. I'm making quite a jump here, but does this open the door for AOL to create a new OS? They already knocked off IE and Netscape to make their own browser, what's stopping them from a new OS?
I can see it now, just in time for Christmas. Some typical family shopping and look, a shiny new computer with AOL already installed! Just give it all the necessary info (credit card number, phone number, DNA sample, next of kin, etc.) and the parents feel better because they aren't supporting that nasty old monopoly Microsoft. You have a warm and fuzzy feeling yet?
If they do market a non-Windows system, will it be compatible with 90% of the software available in the free world? Do they have software maker guarantees for compatibility? (Heck, even stuff written for Windows doesn't work under Windows) Is this just a move to cut down on the manufacturers labor and make the consumer install an OS? The companies probably save on packaging and shipping weight also if they don't include all that wonderful documentation.
It may be the first step in releasing Microsoft's deathgrip on PC's as we know them, but what price are we going to pay?
The most repeated comment about Columbine was that it "was never expected." Having been the visitor to the counselor's office more than once in my high school career, I knew what answers to give to get out of there quick. All of the students were given "personality" or "aptitude" tests to evaluate their potential. To make my point, the results of one test told me to look for work in the fast food or carpet cleaning professions. The next test said I should be an engineer or computer programmer. I think the infamous Columbine duo would have seen right through the test and given answers that would've protected their anonymity. This test will only catch the really dumb ones, who will probably blow themselves up, i.e. recent MIT incident. I know I probably would've faked it out. We will never know what causes people to snap. Usually it can never be traced to one particular instance in time. It usually is the result of continued abuse, trauma, or stress over a period of time. Every time I hear about Columbine, I think about the movie "Falling Down", and how Douglas' character snapped. Then I think about how close I've come to being him...but I haven't. Not yet at least. What is my point? Look for the source of the stress, not the results of it.
Slashdot Mirror
I think its a little early to dig that grave. I suspect MS bought Skype to kill it, or corrupt it to its own version. Imagine that MS changes two lines of code, calls it their own software, and then forces all current users to update "automatically" or else it doesn't work anymore. People are hooked now and will follow along. Eventually, the service fees will pop up. There will be a fair amount of outrage, especially here on /., but people will want it and start paying, complaining the whole time.
I find it quite interesting that the author thinks that someone who would by "Homefront" would have moral misgivings that they needed to be relieved of. Shouldn't the Anit-Discrimination Group for all things Asian be kicking in about now? One usually hasknowledge of the game before it is purchased. I have never heard of the situation where the game was returned because some had to "kill too many things." My daughter was wathcing me play an FPS. She asked "how do you know which ones to shoot?" I repled "I shoot the ones shooting at me first", trying to be a little neutral. She asked "Do you get more points if you shoot them all?" No paternity test needed here...
but I can not take comments on intelligence seriously from a man who wasn't smart enough to say NO to Dancing with the Stars. Let the Flaming begin in 3...2...
Yes, but the Amazonian lawyers (ooh, what a visual) will make Texas burn at least that much to get the money...
Gut feelings and odds have little to do with it. Bookies try to get enough people to bet on both teams. If too many people were betting on the Packers, they would move the spread so more people bet on the Steelers, and vice versa. They have to balance the money on both sides so they have enough to pay out. Most bookies take a percentage of the bet, or a "vig", so they get paid no matter which side wins. I ran a small operation in high school like this. The house always wins. If a bookie runs into the situation where his cash flow isn't as good as it should be, he usually lets them carry over the bet into the next week. That gets kinda hard with the Super Bowl. just my $0.02 (plus my percentage)
Letting Congress pick rocket components is equivalent to me (colorblind) pick out the paint scheme for my house. Both will end in amazing disasters...
Actually, I only see about 6 colors confidently. Purple/pink and navy blue/purple are real pains in the arse. orange/brown ranks right up there too.
The old red/blue goggles never worked for me. I haven't seen any of the new 3d stuff yet, so don't know if I'll have issues, but with all the blue and green in Avatar I think I'll only be getting 70% of the real effect.
How much damage could a poorly educated man from Texas actually cause? It's not like he could become President or something...
Was I the only one who thought the story was about George Lucas before reading the article?
Let's say you run a newspaper. Are you going to hire the person with a journalism degree from the liberal arts college or the highly technical college? Which one do you think has more of a focus on the degree in question?
I see a lot of "it doesn't matter" comments and being an Engineering Manager, I tend to disagree. Here is my usual ratio for hiring. Send out an ad. Get 100 resumes. Filter about 65 out right away. Look hard at the others and filter down to about ten. Call them for either a quick first interview or phone interview. (Let the flaming begin)
If I see a non-technical school for an engineer, I don't necessarily hold it against them, but I do look for some backing evidence of actual engineering knowledge. However, if I see a resume from a MIT or other school, I kind of know they had some actual applications experience in their education. I know my experiences from a highly tech-focused university included two major design projects that were of corporate caliber. I can't say I would trust a liberal arts or community college degree to have the same.
At least for me, the technical school may help you get past the first filter. After that, it's all about what you bring to the table.
Just my $0.02
Detroit is a little more apathetic (or pathetic) than you think. The Mayor used 9 million dollars to pay off two ex-cops he fired because they caught him in an affair with his Chief of Staff. he still has over a 50% approval rating. They can't get a recall organized and the City Council is at a stalemate. On top of that, the Mayor lied on the stand in court (on live TV) and the City prosecutor can't figure out if she should charge him with perjury about the affair.
Truly a sad day for RPGers...
I think I learned perspective. I learned how to step back and view something from the outside, as an invisible outsider. (Go go DM screen) The game taught me to think about how people react to certain things, and to think ahead of that. Yes, I was the nasty DM that made the door have a real obvious trap on the lock, only to have a pitfall right after the door. I use that kind of perspective today when doing engineering things like DFMEAs.
Being the father of a 5yo and 3yo, I admit they have started playing games. This includes PC games like Reader Rabbit and Dora. I have personally witnessed the increase in problem solving ability, basic math and reading, and a little strategy.
However, we do limit them. The most I have let one play is 60 minutes non-stop. Daddy does have to be mean and turn it off sometimes, even to the chorus of tears. Computer time is probably the first privilege they lose when they are disciplined.
They play on them in school. I have no issue with them understanding a mouse click or keyboard. Think of yourself learning how to use a computer. Now think of your parents learning the same thing. You probably had an advantage because you started when you were younger. I feel that if they are comfortable with technology now, they will be more able to assimilate it as they grow up.
I also let them play on the Wii. They are actually quite good at some games. The 5yo has a +170 average on bowling and can also post a decent golf score. I believe it helps their gross and fine motor skills, as well as get some exercise. Anyone who has boxed a few rounds knows what I am talking about.
Like everything in life, the key is moderation...
Has there been any thoughts or discussions on reducing the amount of books needed to play? Donating a bookshelf to every new edition is getting a little ridiculous for the casual gamer. I have 40+ books from first and second edition. I bought the Player's Handbook from the third edition, read the first thirty pages and went "bleh".
To reference another gaming system, I can generate a character in GURPS (Steve Jackson Games) in under an hour, have a little better feel for advantages and disadvantages, arm and clothe the character, and do it all from one book. Now there are other books available, but not necessary. Also, their magic system seems a lot more reasonable than memorizing spells. I always thought of spells more like skills than chunks of memory.
I know it goes against the business model, but can you actually make a game that can be played with less than four books?
"A robot just sang a love song to a turtle..."
From the Gamera movie
We went the same thing at our company. We had offices in Europe and the USA. The CIO rammed OO down everyone's throat and said it was the way of the future. I will say that the European community handled it better than the USA community though, but that may be more on the culture than user ability.
Everyone responding here, I think, can be assumed to have some computer knowledge. You all can figure out that commands like Save, Copy, Paste work the same from program to program. My experience with the user base is not as good. I have people that can't even plug in their mouse. There are people that still use "password" their password because they can't remember anything else. Unfortunately we need these people, i.e. the Sales and Finance Departments.
When we switched to OO, the big problem was familiarity. We took away the one tool they could use. Widespread panic ensued. Users cried. Users whined. The last straw was when the owner of the company couldn't save a document because "the buttons look too different".
So it's not functionality you are fighting, it's familiarity. It is perception. I will admit that we had a huge problem trying to convert Excel macros to OO. The biggest factor in the decision to switch back was based more on emotion than on technical compatibility.
If you worked in an office where everyone could set up their own computer, install their own software and maintain it, these kind of switches are easy. If you work in an office like me, where people can't even burn their own CDs and copy/paste their own pictures, conversions like this do not go well. EVER!!
We created our own web access to our server.
I also agreed with the "no third party" rule...
There is a collection of superhero short stories called amazingly enough "Superheroes" (by John Varley)with Superman landing in Russia. IIRC, he ends up in a Siberian jail for the rest of his life.
If I patent X and Y chromosones, then I can charge licensing fees to all babies born after the patent takes effect, right? This has got to be the stupidest thing I have ever seen. Being spectrally-challenged (A PC term I heard for color blind), I am insulted. That means that this sham of a company is the only ones that will ever be helping this condition. My confidence is underwhelming.
Let's suppose I run my own server. I provide the connections to 10 users, with my own cabling, etc. I am not using one ounce of government lines. Someone uses my server and connects to m$n.com for some (ungodly) reason. Will Carnivore be able to penetrate the server and look at my 10 users on my "private" network?
In an article posted yesterday, there was a lot of discussion about how many hours one worked at their job. I read some people working 60+ hours a week. This will be a huge generalisation (bracing for flames) but I don't know too many women who would be willing to work that type of schedule. I have not yet met a woman who COULDN'T say NO. Plus we can bring up the whole "women won't work long hours because they want to be mothers" argument. It is sad to say, but those 60+ weeks are needed to advance sometimes. Most women, let alone normal people, do not want to work the hellacious schedule or deal with the inordinatwe amount of stress associacted with this kind of work. I remember back in school, I knew a few female CS majors. By sophomore year, they bailed out to technical writing or something else, claiming the pressure was too much. I am not saying women can't do a good job. I am not saying women can't be programmers or IT people. What I am trying to say is if you look at what is required of the job, i.e. large amounts of stress, impossible deadlines, 60+ hour work weeks, this is not the most appealing profession for a young woman to consider. P.S. When I have kids (married and trying), it doesn't matter if they are boy or girl, they will have access to a computer. I have three female cousins (4,6,8 years old respectively) and they have access to computers. Two of them really like it. The other could care less.
Here's a couple of questions... 1. Have you paid restitution or provided any sort of compensation to the people's or company's sites you have personally hacked into in your 'notorious' youth ? 2. Aren't the techniques you employ just as illegal or invading of privacy as the hackers you have sworn to hunt down ?
What better way to psychoanalyze a kid than to have them write a story for you, or draw a picture. It is a common practiceamong therapist and counselors of young children. Did the teacher feel shock, guilt, or pleasure when she read this story? After reading this report, a few things stuck out. Who taught this child grammar? (I realize it is Texas, but there are some rules there too, aren't there?) Second, he knows WAY too much about illegal drug use. Third, how can the teacher give him a grade of "Outstanding", then report him? This smells like a setup to me. "Ok everyone, write a scary story. The one that scares me the most gets a week's vacation!" I wonder what would have happened if little Stephen King, Wes Craven, or John Carpenter was in that class. Do they make straightjackets for 13 year olds? This story wasn't scary. If anything, it looks like the script from about ten different rap videos. School violence is on the rise BECAUSE of incidents like this. Repression breeds violence, it doesn't hinder it. If administrators keep trying to "control" all of the students' emotions, we will only see more incidents. Taking the student out of the school doesn't eliminate the problem. With no attempt to determine root causes for this behavior, schools are only dooming themselves to see more of it.
If I read the article correctly, Gateway and AOL are going to market this jointly. I'm making quite a jump here, but does this open the door for AOL to create a new OS? They already knocked off IE and Netscape to make their own browser, what's stopping them from a new OS?
I can see it now, just in time for Christmas. Some typical family shopping and look, a shiny new computer with AOL already installed! Just give it all the necessary info (credit card number, phone number, DNA sample, next of kin, etc.) and the parents feel better because they aren't supporting that nasty old monopoly Microsoft. You have a warm and fuzzy feeling yet?
If they do market a non-Windows system, will it be compatible with 90% of the software available in the free world? Do they have software maker guarantees for compatibility? (Heck, even stuff written for Windows doesn't work under Windows) Is this just a move to cut down on the manufacturers labor and make the consumer install an OS? The companies probably save on packaging and shipping weight also if they don't include all that wonderful documentation.
It may be the first step in releasing Microsoft's deathgrip on PC's as we know them, but what price are we going to pay?
The most repeated comment about Columbine was that it "was never expected." Having been the visitor to the counselor's office more than once in my high school career, I knew what answers to give to get out of there quick. All of the students were given "personality" or "aptitude" tests to evaluate their potential. To make my point, the results of one test told me to look for work in the fast food or carpet cleaning professions. The next test said I should be an engineer or computer programmer. I think the infamous Columbine duo would have seen right through the test and given answers that would've protected their anonymity. This test will only catch the really dumb ones, who will probably blow themselves up, i.e. recent MIT incident. I know I probably would've faked it out. We will never know what causes people to snap. Usually it can never be traced to one particular instance in time. It usually is the result of continued abuse, trauma, or stress over a period of time. Every time I hear about Columbine, I think about the movie "Falling Down", and how Douglas' character snapped. Then I think about how close I've come to being him...but I haven't. Not yet at least. What is my point? Look for the source of the stress, not the results of it.