I don't know about you but I judge the cost of entertainment based on, well, the entertainment aspect of it. For $50, you're not getting a cd, you're getting a certain amount of entertainment.
That's nice. That really doesn't matter at all because of the way the game is presented and the expectations of the customers, but it's nice to know you'll maintain such a positive attitude.
As such, it will also be the most pirated.
It'll also make a shitload of money despite being pirated. It's unlikely it'd actually lose any significant amount otherwise. Worse, every step they take to lock down the game increases the value of the cracked version. The legitimate customers are the ones that pay for it. Actually, I wonder how many people won't buy the game now because of their choice of copy restriction.
...but I don't see anything wrong with trying to delay the piraters so they might actually go out and purchase the game.
You will when you go install it a year later and you end up on the phone with somebody from India trying to get it unlocked. I guarantee you when that day comes, you won't smile and go "oh well, I had 50 hours of entertainment."
Its not offtopic and you are wrong. The issue is not with 'early versions of RealPlayer' the issue is with the horrific and unnecessary baggage which traditionally comes with any RealPlayer install to date. If you don't understand then go and educate yourself.
Speaking of educating people: Rhapsody doesn't use RealPlayer.
you are from the group who tries to rename it 'file sharing' to make it sound like you are sharing your lunch, and keep saying 'sharing is caring'.
It sounds to me like he's from a group that prefers the philosophy of 'innocent until provent guilty'.
One of the reasons you two are never going to agree on what you're debating is that the RIAA, for example, thinks it's 'stealing' if you're riding in a cab and the driver has the radio on.
Really mine says (3096), and I cleaned it out last week. I'm really ok with being one less spammer in the world - they feed/profit off people's insecurities and depression filling them with false-hope, lies and deceiption. In my mind they are a lower class than scum. The fact that he decided to take the negative sentiment towards him against his own family just illustrate the scum that spammers are.
I don't like spammers either. But they're paid to send unsolicited email. Really, that's the extent of it. You have to stretch things to a ridiculous point to make their actions execution-worthy.
The end result is no different than banning the troll and having the troll come back with a new nym.
When that happens he can either keep up his shennanigans and get banned again or he lays low and continues on. Either way, the desired result is eventually achieved.
Surely patents on using an analog stick would have expired by now?
The patent isn't for 'any analog stick ever made'. It's for a 'specific construction of an anlaog stick'. Patents (in theory, anyway) aren't that broad.
So he saved about $330/month. It cost him $36K (which really cost $50K, but let's say). So it'll take 109 months to get back the money, or 9 years, not adjusting for inflation and investment opportunity cost. Let's say that brings it up to 12 years. Not including maintenance and repairs. It might even need complete replacement at that point. At 50K, which is the real cost, we're talking more like 16-18 years.
It seems to me that could change rather dramatically if the price of electricity goes up. I wonder what effect his solar array will have if he buys an electric car that can be plugged in.
I mean, unless you're so superficial and trendy that you just have to have the "cool look" of the iPhone, why on earth would you do something like this?
Cool look of the iPhone? I have to ask: What cool look are you talking about? Are you talking about the pretty interface, or are you referring to it doing things like browsing the web and not looking like a huge mess of mis-aligned tables? I ask because yes, I am attracted to the iPhone, but for the latter reason. I haven't seen a phone with a comparable browser. (Yet. Suggestions appreciated.)
I'm not saying that there isn't a group of people walking like zombies towards the Apple store going "ooo pretty!" But there are functional reasons why somebody would want to buy one. I mean, seriously, the iPhone is the PDA I've always wanted but could never buy. I remember people saying that a lot when the first iPhone came out. Unfortunately, out of the box, it doesn't do what every other PDA in the world does, and that's why jailbreaking is an attractive option.
"There are a lot more things the businesses have to and should worry about than a reputable company (Google) being hacked or broken into by a competitor."
Yeah yeah, but the real world doesn't run on 'should'. The reality is lots of executive types won't be thrilled with the idea sensitive data being hosted on a website.
This is done by using the two IR dots on the sensor bar. The sensor bar is a fixed length, so at a certain position the camera can look at the two dots and see how far away they are, then compare it to how far away it should be at X meters. As the dots get closer together the wiimote is getting further away, and based on how close they are you can estimate how far away it is at that point.
You're right, but it only works when the remote is facing the sensor. Come to think of it, it would have been cool if the remote had several IR sensors around it. Heh.
The wiimote can currently estimate roll or pitch (and even yaw to within ~20-25 degrees using the IR dots), but once you begin to combine then (ie, roll + pitch) the angles become distorted because you do not know where gravity really is
Actually I think gravity is detected by the accellerometers. I am not an expert by any means, I just remember somebody saying that gravity is used to provide a neutral position to the sensors.. or something like that. In any event, you're right, the Wii remote doesn't have what's necessary. The remote needs a sensor it can always locate, via radio or something like that. (Erm.. exactly like you said, actually... )
I question how much 1:1 would really benefit a game. You could pose the controller perfectly, but you cannot get feedback that way. You can't 'clang' swords. I dunno.. I think if we had both available, the gesture approach the Wii has now would stand a good chance at being the 'winner'.
Seriously, if you think this is such an awesome idea, why isn't every movie and TV producer on earth submitting their content to youtube?
They're not in touch with their customer base. They think that every single person on this planet would prefer to walk up a hill in 20 feet of snow bare-foot to avoid paying them a nickel.
Are they *all* wrong about their business?
Look at iTunes. The record industry was afraid of their customers. They finally caved. Whammo! iTunes. Plus, their original business model is still kicking.
Your faith in the business executives is, in my opinion, naieve. Yes, they have lots of money. No, that doesn't mean they're brilliant. Their strategy was brilliant back in the 50's. They've had decades to build this infrastructure, which means they've always got heaps of money flowing around. The problem is that new delivery mechanisms have become mass-market feasible. Instead of aggressively staking their claim on that new market, they're trying to prop up the old one. These are not the moves of brilliant business-people. Frankly, avoiding pissing off your customers should be something you learn in the first or second day of business school.
no one understood that the system couldn't do lightsaber battles
The limitations of the Wii remote have been known for ages. It was all part of that stupid fanboy brawl between the Nintendo and Sony fanboys. That's beside the point, though. The Wii can do sword fights, certainly better than the other systems can. What it can't do is motion capture. That's fine anyway. It's not like they can simulate a sword striking yours.
Your tone suggests you know more about the video content industry than Viacom do, which suggests you must own a multi-billion dollar business right?
No. Instead, he's a customer. You know, those people that give their money to these corps in exchange for content. How they could get him to spend more money is entirely relevent.
believe it or not, the people running movie and TV studios know a lot more about their business, how it makes money, how much money, from who, under what circumstances, than any of us here posting on slashdot.
Fun fact: The 'business' fought home recording tooth and nail for fears that copying would kill the industry. Now we have DVD sales rescuing cancelled TV shows and box-office bombs turning a profit. They didn't know their customers.
Could it not be that they *do* know how much they have to lose from having their content on youtube, and that they *do* know how much it gets them in terms of advertising, and have decided that they would prefer not to have that content available free for damned good business reasons.
Despite history telling them a different story, they assume everybody'll put a ridiculous amount of energy into avoiding paying for content. They are not in touch with their customers, so it's important when they speak up.
When you talk of "a few hundred million people who do find it convenient", are you parroting Microsoft marketing materials, or are you merely talking about your own misperceptions? How much Microsoft stock do you own that you are so motivated to misrepresent the facts?
I'm surprised Linus lets you talk with your mouth full.
THEY JUST ADMITTED THE WIIMOTE WAS A PIECE OF SHIT WIGGLE STICK THAT COULDN'T DETECT MOTION VERY WELL. DID ANYONE SEE THAT?
I didn't see that, no. But that might be because I know that position and motion are two very different principles. The Wii controller can tell when you're doing a bowling type motion, but it cannot tell that your controller is 3.231 meters away from the sensorbar. You need the latter to get true 1:1.
Honestly dude, this is old news. Actually, this was understood about the controller before the system even came out. That's like saying that Sega's release of the 32X is an admission that the 64-color palette of the Genesis couldn't render graphics very well. It's a gestural control and it works fine for what it is.
you fucking morons, you bought a second gamecube with an astonishingly more awkward controller, that nintendo just admitted sucks
Ah, never played a Wii, have ya? That explains the silliness of your post.
"This reminds me of the extra 4Mb of RAM you had to purchase for the N64 to run the more advanced games. It should have come with it in the first place."
Ah, but here's where it gets fun. What would have happened to the N64 if it had launched at $349?
Totally unscientific survey: my 4-year old daughter prefers to browse YouTube than television. Admittedly she tends to follow pop videos. But she prefers the mouse to the TV remote.
I think we all want true video-on-demand. Sad thing is, their customers are beating them to it.
is there anything that could possibly improve reception with a iphone that would allow for better reception. out of all the phones I have ever had, the reception on the iphone is horrendous. i get noservice through out the majority of my city and they have swapped my phone out twice. my crackberry use to be able to get reception inside our server room. i can't even get reception inside my building with my iphone.
I read somewhere that the iPhone 2's plastic case is better for reception than the original's aluminum casing. I don't know this from personal experience, nor do I think that telling you to go another two years on a contract is really a good answer, but maybe that'll help you in some way down the road.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't know about you but I judge the cost of entertainment based on, well, the entertainment aspect of it. For $50, you're not getting a cd, you're getting a certain amount of entertainment.
That's nice. That really doesn't matter at all because of the way the game is presented and the expectations of the customers, but it's nice to know you'll maintain such a positive attitude.
As such, it will also be the most pirated.
It'll also make a shitload of money despite being pirated. It's unlikely it'd actually lose any significant amount otherwise. Worse, every step they take to lock down the game increases the value of the cracked version. The legitimate customers are the ones that pay for it. Actually, I wonder how many people won't buy the game now because of their choice of copy restriction.
...but I don't see anything wrong with trying to delay the piraters so they might actually go out and purchase the game.
You will when you go install it a year later and you end up on the phone with somebody from India trying to get it unlocked. I guarantee you when that day comes, you won't smile and go "oh well, I had 50 hours of entertainment."
Its not offtopic and you are wrong. The issue is not with 'early versions of RealPlayer' the issue is with the horrific and unnecessary baggage which traditionally comes with any RealPlayer install to date. If you don't understand then go and educate yourself.
Speaking of educating people: Rhapsody doesn't use RealPlayer.
No, the radio stations who play the music have already paid their royalties to the record companies for the right to play music on the airwaves.
Right, they shouldn't be allowed to. But they still want to charge cabs for driving clients with the radio on. I'm not kidding, look it up.
you are from the group who tries to rename it 'file sharing' to make it sound like you are sharing your lunch, and keep saying 'sharing is caring'.
It sounds to me like he's from a group that prefers the philosophy of 'innocent until provent guilty'.
One of the reasons you two are never going to agree on what you're debating is that the RIAA, for example, thinks it's 'stealing' if you're riding in a cab and the driver has the radio on.
"If it's not FREE (as in GPL v3), it's not FREE."
I was disappointed that it doesn't cure cancer or provide faster-than-light travel.
"If Microsoft produced Tron we'd have to wait for Tr3n for them to get it right."
And if the Open Source Community produced Tron, we'd have to wait for Microsoft to get Tr3n right.
Really mine says (3096), and I cleaned it out last week. I'm really ok with being one less spammer in the world - they feed/profit off people's insecurities and depression filling them with false-hope, lies and deceiption. In my mind they are a lower class than scum. The fact that he decided to take the negative sentiment towards him against his own family just illustrate the scum that spammers are.
I don't like spammers either. But they're paid to send unsolicited email. Really, that's the extent of it. You have to stretch things to a ridiculous point to make their actions execution-worthy.
"You can't deny the world would be a better place if all spammers would kill themselves and their snowflakes."
Yeah, the number next to my spam folder would say (0) instead of (30). I really want to spend human lives to change that. /sarcasm.
The end result is no different than banning the troll and having the troll come back with a new nym.
When that happens he can either keep up his shennanigans and get banned again or he lays low and continues on. Either way, the desired result is eventually achieved.
I was born in late 1986, you insensitive clod!
What a coincidence... I lost my virginity in early 1986!
The reality distortion field ... I'd say that fits both.
With statements like that, I wonder which side it's really affecting.
It's a music player.
It also has a heck of a web browser. I've found it incredibly useful for specifically that reason. I can finally enjoy meetings again!
Surely patents on using an analog stick would have expired by now?
The patent isn't for 'any analog stick ever made'. It's for a 'specific construction of an anlaog stick'. Patents (in theory, anyway) aren't that broad.
So he saved about $330/month. It cost him $36K (which really cost $50K, but let's say). So it'll take 109 months to get back the money, or 9 years, not adjusting for inflation and investment opportunity cost. Let's say that brings it up to 12 years. Not including maintenance and repairs. It might even need complete replacement at that point. At 50K, which is the real cost, we're talking more like 16-18 years.
It seems to me that could change rather dramatically if the price of electricity goes up. I wonder what effect his solar array will have if he buys an electric car that can be plugged in.
I mean, unless you're so superficial and trendy that you just have to have the "cool look" of the iPhone, why on earth would you do something like this?
Cool look of the iPhone? I have to ask: What cool look are you talking about? Are you talking about the pretty interface, or are you referring to it doing things like browsing the web and not looking like a huge mess of mis-aligned tables? I ask because yes, I am attracted to the iPhone, but for the latter reason. I haven't seen a phone with a comparable browser. (Yet. Suggestions appreciated.)
I'm not saying that there isn't a group of people walking like zombies towards the Apple store going "ooo pretty!" But there are functional reasons why somebody would want to buy one. I mean, seriously, the iPhone is the PDA I've always wanted but could never buy. I remember people saying that a lot when the first iPhone came out. Unfortunately, out of the box, it doesn't do what every other PDA in the world does, and that's why jailbreaking is an attractive option.
"There are a lot more things the businesses have to and should worry about than a reputable company (Google) being hacked or broken into by a competitor."
Yeah yeah, but the real world doesn't run on 'should'. The reality is lots of executive types won't be thrilled with the idea sensitive data being hosted on a website.
This is done by using the two IR dots on the sensor bar. The sensor bar is a fixed length, so at a certain position the camera can look at the two dots and see how far away they are, then compare it to how far away it should be at X meters. As the dots get closer together the wiimote is getting further away, and based on how close they are you can estimate how far away it is at that point.
You're right, but it only works when the remote is facing the sensor. Come to think of it, it would have been cool if the remote had several IR sensors around it. Heh.
The wiimote can currently estimate roll or pitch (and even yaw to within ~20-25 degrees using the IR dots), but once you begin to combine then (ie, roll + pitch) the angles become distorted because you do not know where gravity really is
Actually I think gravity is detected by the accellerometers. I am not an expert by any means, I just remember somebody saying that gravity is used to provide a neutral position to the sensors.. or something like that. In any event, you're right, the Wii remote doesn't have what's necessary. The remote needs a sensor it can always locate, via radio or something like that. (Erm.. exactly like you said, actually... )
I question how much 1:1 would really benefit a game. You could pose the controller perfectly, but you cannot get feedback that way. You can't 'clang' swords. I dunno.. I think if we had both available, the gesture approach the Wii has now would stand a good chance at being the 'winner'.
Seriously, if you think this is such an awesome idea, why isn't every movie and TV producer on earth submitting their content to youtube?
They're not in touch with their customer base. They think that every single person on this planet would prefer to walk up a hill in 20 feet of snow bare-foot to avoid paying them a nickel.
Are they *all* wrong about their business?
Look at iTunes. The record industry was afraid of their customers. They finally caved. Whammo! iTunes. Plus, their original business model is still kicking.
Your faith in the business executives is, in my opinion, naieve. Yes, they have lots of money. No, that doesn't mean they're brilliant. Their strategy was brilliant back in the 50's. They've had decades to build this infrastructure, which means they've always got heaps of money flowing around. The problem is that new delivery mechanisms have become mass-market feasible. Instead of aggressively staking their claim on that new market, they're trying to prop up the old one. These are not the moves of brilliant business-people. Frankly, avoiding pissing off your customers should be something you learn in the first or second day of business school.
no one understood that the system couldn't do lightsaber battles
The limitations of the Wii remote have been known for ages. It was all part of that stupid fanboy brawl between the Nintendo and Sony fanboys. That's beside the point, though. The Wii can do sword fights, certainly better than the other systems can. What it can't do is motion capture. That's fine anyway. It's not like they can simulate a sword striking yours.
Mole hill.
Your tone suggests you know more about the video content industry than Viacom do, which suggests you must own a multi-billion dollar business right?
No. Instead, he's a customer. You know, those people that give their money to these corps in exchange for content. How they could get him to spend more money is entirely relevent.
believe it or not, the people running movie and TV studios know a lot more about their business, how it makes money, how much money, from who, under what circumstances, than any of us here posting on slashdot.
Fun fact: The 'business' fought home recording tooth and nail for fears that copying would kill the industry. Now we have DVD sales rescuing cancelled TV shows and box-office bombs turning a profit. They didn't know their customers.
Could it not be that they *do* know how much they have to lose from having their content on youtube, and that they *do* know how much it gets them in terms of advertising, and have decided that they would prefer not to have that content available free for damned good business reasons.
Despite history telling them a different story, they assume everybody'll put a ridiculous amount of energy into avoiding paying for content. They are not in touch with their customers, so it's important when they speak up.
When you talk of "a few hundred million people who do find it convenient", are you parroting Microsoft marketing materials, or are you merely talking about your own misperceptions? How much Microsoft stock do you own that you are so motivated to misrepresent the facts?
I'm surprised Linus lets you talk with your mouth full.
THEY JUST ADMITTED THE WIIMOTE WAS A PIECE OF SHIT WIGGLE STICK THAT COULDN'T DETECT MOTION VERY WELL.
DID ANYONE SEE THAT?
I didn't see that, no. But that might be because I know that position and motion are two very different principles. The Wii controller can tell when you're doing a bowling type motion, but it cannot tell that your controller is 3.231 meters away from the sensorbar. You need the latter to get true 1:1.
Honestly dude, this is old news. Actually, this was understood about the controller before the system even came out. That's like saying that Sega's release of the 32X is an admission that the 64-color palette of the Genesis couldn't render graphics very well. It's a gestural control and it works fine for what it is.
you fucking morons, you bought a second gamecube with an astonishingly more awkward controller, that nintendo just admitted sucks
Ah, never played a Wii, have ya? That explains the silliness of your post.
"This reminds me of the extra 4Mb of RAM you had to purchase for the N64 to run the more advanced games. It should have come with it in the first place."
Ah, but here's where it gets fun. What would have happened to the N64 if it had launched at $349?
Totally unscientific survey: my 4-year old daughter prefers to browse YouTube than television. Admittedly she tends to follow pop videos. But she prefers the mouse to the TV remote.
I think we all want true video-on-demand. Sad thing is, their customers are beating them to it.
is there anything that could possibly improve reception with a iphone that would allow for better reception. out of all the phones I have ever had, the reception on the iphone is horrendous. i get noservice through out the majority of my city and they have swapped my phone out twice. my crackberry use to be able to get reception inside our server room. i can't even get reception inside my building with my iphone.
I read somewhere that the iPhone 2's plastic case is better for reception than the original's aluminum casing. I don't know this from personal experience, nor do I think that telling you to go another two years on a contract is really a good answer, but maybe that'll help you in some way down the road.