Which is exactly what I wrote (try re-reading my comment again). And it's their own damn fault if they don't keep the publishing rights to the music they wrote, IMHO.
$0.82 Publishing royalties - if it's cover songs, sure. If this is original material written for a contract or under licensing from a signed artist, this cost shouldn't be this high.
Just felt the need to comment on this one. If the band whose CD you're buying is also the band that wrote the song then this money also goes to them, assuming they kept the publishing rights.
Somehow I knew that this would be the first response. "But making a video game costs money! It doesn't cost anything to produce a record!" I'm not saying that I agree with how the major labels operate (I worked in the music industry for a number of years, FWIW. And part of that was for a major label.), but it's disingenuous to say that it only costs a coupla grand to make an album that will sell millions of copies. Or should we also base the entire software world on the success and relative costs on something like, say, Geometry Wars?
I'm aware of all of that. I also know that all of the information that you need to file a lawsuit is publicly available. So saying "but they wouldn't give it to me" is no excuse, and quite frankly shows just how serious you are about filing suit.
Can't say I'm the biggest fan of MS technologies, but I will say that I think they did a pretty decent job with HDi (all of the menus, animations, bookmarks and other interactive features on an HD DVD are done using it). I'm sure there are any number of other companies who could've done the same thing, too. But if MS wants to use this technology for downloadable videos, then I'm all for it. It'd be nice to actually have a downloadable video that has menus and chapters and the other niceties that we've grown used to.
"Admittedly, we are not really so fast with this because actually we had intended to publish this release already in December as promised. However, it was decided for strategic reasons to wait a bit for the outcome of the "format war" between HD DVD and Blu-ray."
Interesting that they wanted to wait for the outcome before releasing this. It's almost as if they were waiting to thumb their nose at the BD camp once all the companies had moved over to that side. And did anyone get the feeling the press release was run through a translator before they posted it?
Re:really, i didn't make it up
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Matter
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· Score: 1
I'll back this up. Like I said in an earlier post, finding his regular fiction is fairly easy, but his scifi is fairly hard to come by. Mostly because the stuff that has been published in the US seems to get one printing and then it goes out of print. The only store I've ever found that had any of his scifi books in abundance was Small World Books in Venice, CA, and that's because they were importing the British editions.
It had Book Review tacked on it when I first went to read the article and there were 0 comments.
Re:Other Banks books
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Matter
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· Score: 3, Informative
"The Wasp Factory" is very close to the most messed-up, disturbing book I've ever read. I personally think it's his best work.
It is a very very twisted book, and it was an excellent way for a new author to get himself noticed (what exactly is wrong with flame-throwering a bunch of little bunnies?). I read the Steep Approach to Garbadale a few months ago and thought it was a pretty good read. Nothing like world-domination board games, incest, and family politics to get a story going...And although many don't like Song of Stone, for some reason I go back to it and reread it every few years. It has a weird darkness that just resonates with me. *shrug*
Re:Either you're being funny...
on
Matter
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· Score: 1
Yeah, right after I hit submit I realized I probably should've put that explanation in there somewhere. A moment after that I thought "Hey, this is slashdot. Someone else will come along and point out that they are in fact one and the same."
I'm suggesting the article title is misleading to people interested in science, not science fiction...
Though, this is slashdot. I should of expected a slightly misleading headline.
Should you of? I thought the heading of "Book Review" and first sentence of "Less known than he deserves to be among American science fiction readers is Iain M. Banks..." was a pretty good indicator that this was going to be a book review about a science fiction book titled "Matter" by an author named Iain M. Banks. But then again I might just be crazy...
Which Iain Banks?
on
Matter
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· Score: 2, Interesting
I have to admit that I've only read one Iain M. Banks novel (Look to Windward, because for some reason my local library has a copy), but I've had Consider Phlebas and Player of Games on order with Amazon waiting for their US (re)issues for the past few months. However, I've read nearly every Iain Banks novel and have absolutely loved almost every word he's written. Actually, I'll be finishing up The Wasp Factory in the next day or so. If you aren't familiar with him, I strongly suggest you pick up something right away (most of his fiction is fairly readily available in the States; his scifi is a bit harder to come by until those reissues come out over the next few months). Absolutely amazing author.
This was back in the OS9 days. And no, for the most part the scripts were not compatible with Office for Mac (some of the basics work). However, they were capable enough to get themselves into the template.dot files. So any new file created on that machine, while not really a threat to a Mac, was a threat to a Windows machine.
The networks were firewalled. All it took to get an infected template.doc was opening an infected Word document on a machine. After that, any new files created on that machine are infected.
I used to work at a computer lab that was all Macs at a school. For a short while we didn't run any AV software on the machines--until we started getting complaints from other departments that files that were coming from us had viruses. Turns out that Office for Mac is a perfect vector for all those pesky macro viruses that would find their way onto machines. It wasn't incredibly serious, but it was enough to get us to put AV software back on the Macs.
Slashdot Mirror
My comment only pertained to the costs of manufacturing and distribution. Anything else that you derived from it was purely your own creation.
Which is exactly what I wrote (try re-reading my comment again). And it's their own damn fault if they don't keep the publishing rights to the music they wrote, IMHO.
$0.82 Publishing royalties - if it's cover songs, sure. If this is original material written for a contract or under licensing from a signed artist, this cost shouldn't be this high.
Just felt the need to comment on this one. If the band whose CD you're buying is also the band that wrote the song then this money also goes to them, assuming they kept the publishing rights.
Somehow I knew that this would be the first response. "But making a video game costs money! It doesn't cost anything to produce a record!" I'm not saying that I agree with how the major labels operate (I worked in the music industry for a number of years, FWIW. And part of that was for a major label.), but it's disingenuous to say that it only costs a coupla grand to make an album that will sell millions of copies. Or should we also base the entire software world on the success and relative costs on something like, say, Geometry Wars?
Shhh. Nobody tell SatanicPuppy that the Manufacturing and Distribution costs are the same for that $60 video game he just bought.
I'm aware of all of that. I also know that all of the information that you need to file a lawsuit is publicly available. So saying "but they wouldn't give it to me" is no excuse, and quite frankly shows just how serious you are about filing suit.
Unfortunately, that's not the address for serving a notice of suit and motion for judgment. They refused flat out to give it to me.
And if not giving you my address is all it took to keep you from suing me, then I wouldn't give you my address either.
Can't say I'm the biggest fan of MS technologies, but I will say that I think they did a pretty decent job with HDi (all of the menus, animations, bookmarks and other interactive features on an HD DVD are done using it). I'm sure there are any number of other companies who could've done the same thing, too. But if MS wants to use this technology for downloadable videos, then I'm all for it. It'd be nice to actually have a downloadable video that has menus and chapters and the other niceties that we've grown used to.
That's the old address. The new address is 920 Solid State Dr.
I already get enough crap email as it is!
- Dylan O'Notreply
There's gotta be some ridiculously arcane law on the books somewhere whereby the practice of using a false "from" header would be considered forgery.
HTC Shift ThinkPad X300 MacBook Air Perfect Notebook?
Goo-goo-ga-joob?
"Admittedly, we are not really so fast with this because actually we had intended to publish this release already in December as promised. However, it was decided for strategic reasons to wait a bit for the outcome of the "format war" between HD DVD and Blu-ray."
Interesting that they wanted to wait for the outcome before releasing this. It's almost as if they were waiting to thumb their nose at the BD camp once all the companies had moved over to that side. And did anyone get the feeling the press release was run through a translator before they posted it?
I'll back this up. Like I said in an earlier post, finding his regular fiction is fairly easy, but his scifi is fairly hard to come by. Mostly because the stuff that has been published in the US seems to get one printing and then it goes out of print. The only store I've ever found that had any of his scifi books in abundance was Small World Books in Venice, CA, and that's because they were importing the British editions.
Hmm. I've seen the name of that book a few times before, but know nothing about it. Thanks, I'll check that out.
It had Book Review tacked on it when I first went to read the article and there were 0 comments.
"The Wasp Factory" is very close to the most messed-up, disturbing book I've ever read. I personally think it's his best work.
It is a very very twisted book, and it was an excellent way for a new author to get himself noticed (what exactly is wrong with flame-throwering a bunch of little bunnies?). I read the Steep Approach to Garbadale a few months ago and thought it was a pretty good read. Nothing like world-domination board games, incest, and family politics to get a story going...And although many don't like Song of Stone, for some reason I go back to it and reread it every few years. It has a weird darkness that just resonates with me. *shrug*
Yeah, right after I hit submit I realized I probably should've put that explanation in there somewhere. A moment after that I thought "Hey, this is slashdot. Someone else will come along and point out that they are in fact one and the same."
I'm suggesting the article title is misleading to people interested in science, not science fiction... Though, this is slashdot. I should of expected a slightly misleading headline.
Should you of? I thought the heading of "Book Review" and first sentence of "Less known than he deserves to be among American science fiction readers is Iain M. Banks..." was a pretty good indicator that this was going to be a book review about a science fiction book titled "Matter" by an author named Iain M. Banks. But then again I might just be crazy...
I have to admit that I've only read one Iain M. Banks novel (Look to Windward, because for some reason my local library has a copy), but I've had Consider Phlebas and Player of Games on order with Amazon waiting for their US (re)issues for the past few months. However, I've read nearly every Iain Banks novel and have absolutely loved almost every word he's written. Actually, I'll be finishing up The Wasp Factory in the next day or so. If you aren't familiar with him, I strongly suggest you pick up something right away (most of his fiction is fairly readily available in the States; his scifi is a bit harder to come by until those reissues come out over the next few months). Absolutely amazing author.
This was back in the OS9 days. And no, for the most part the scripts were not compatible with Office for Mac (some of the basics work). However, they were capable enough to get themselves into the template.dot files. So any new file created on that machine, while not really a threat to a Mac, was a threat to a Windows machine.
The networks were firewalled. All it took to get an infected template.doc was opening an infected Word document on a machine. After that, any new files created on that machine are infected.
I used to work at a computer lab that was all Macs at a school. For a short while we didn't run any AV software on the machines--until we started getting complaints from other departments that files that were coming from us had viruses. Turns out that Office for Mac is a perfect vector for all those pesky macro viruses that would find their way onto machines. It wasn't incredibly serious, but it was enough to get us to put AV software back on the Macs.
Yeah, well, you're just another commie, so what do you know. ; )
You're gonna give me drugs because I like surfing the net? Well, okay Doc. Will they help me surf faster or something?