Wow. Way to miss the point. Okay, here's a metaphor to help you comprehend the idea: Let's say you want to purchase an HD-DVD player. They sell for $200, but demand is high, so you cannot find them. Suddenly, you find one but it's $400 and comes with Gigli, Eps. 1-3, TMNT 3, King Kong, White Noise, and Deuce Bigalow.
Does anyone have the inside scoop on why -- over a year after introducing this product -- Nintendo has not been able to ramp production up to meet demand? It wasn't a surprise that they couldn't meet demand last Christmas. But, this time around they've had a full year to get the production line up to speed.
What's up? Is their a particular component that is hard to come by or has a real low yield? To date, Nintendo's sold 12 million Wii's. That's a pretty strong demand for consoles. I'm not saying it's neverhappened, but I've never heard of a console selling over 10 million in its first year. Heck, the XBOX 360 has been out for two years and the Wii surpassed it in half hte time. If I'm right about the history of console sales, then the question I'd ask is: "What reason would Nintendo have to think they needed say.. double the amount of Wii consoles available?"
"In the article it says they're losing money if a customer uses a credit card but even if they don't you have to wonder how they can keep the doors open."
Unfortunately, there are also key loggers that will do screen captures as well. If the attackers find they are unable to capture your password after you type "www.mybank.com", they can activate the screen capture capability the next time you visit that site. Sure, it takes more storage, and longer to transmit to the attacker, but if you haven't discovered you have a key logger, you won't notice the image files. Well... they might see your address or account number or whatever, but most password fields are masked with asterisks.
Once your system has been compromised, you can't assume anything. That's why Knoppix, or any other LiveCD, is a good idea when you want the added security. Since the media is fixed, even if you get compromised, it goes away when you reboot. However, if you are using a LiveCD, don't leave your machine running for days on end, or you could get compromised. Boot up, do what you have to do, and shut down. Sure, that's a bit paranoid, but it isn't paranoia if someone is actually out to get you. What about using something like VMWare? Fire it up with your favorite OS. Do your important browsing. Shut it down.
"I don't own a ebook dedicated reader, but I go buy ebooks for my laptop and my smartphone."
Me too. As much as I like the ePaper display, I also like the auto-scrolling feature of the reader for Palm. I haven't used an ePaper device for any length of time... so I don't know if I'd prefer it, but it's the sort of thing that makes $399 a bit steep for a Kindle. Still, though, wireless access to Wikipedia... If I travelled a lot like I used to, that'd be killer for me. I can hit it from my Treo, but for long stories (and lack of auto-scroll in the browser... actually I still can't believe how much I like that feature.) I'd prefer something that can display more text.
Okay, I'm just rambling a bit. My point was that I don't think a blanket boycott of anything that supports DRM is the answer. The critical failure, in my opinion, is that it doesn't actually send the message that we don't want DRM. It could easily be misread as "nobody wants these things". But, if more money is made from not having it...
"So as long as my device supports DRM-free content, I don't have a problem with it also supporting DRM."
That's how I feel. Part of the problem is that the content makers, who are not necessarily the same people making these devices, aren't comfortable releasing their content without it. It's the carrot that'll get their attention, not the stick.
The only problem with that is that eBook players are a relatively new market. If nobody bought one simply because it has support for DRM, the companies would just assume nobody wants a reader and they stop producing them. On the other hand, if one e-store sells books DRM free and they do better than the next e-store that's hardly pushing any DRM'd books, then you actually send the right message to the industry.
I think that it does have to be something made this year, but lucky for you that doesn't count out Super Mario 3 because it seems like nintendo is perpetually rereleasing it for various platforms in various new versions. So you can't vote for Super Mario 3, you'll have to vote for "Super Mario Advanced Grand Ultimate Collection DS, now with online multi-player and purchasable characters and music, only $5.99 per download". This joke doesn't make much sense to people who know anything more about Nintendo's games than just the title.
Yes, of course if they stopped making any PS2s, it'd be dead. The reason your example sounds so ludicrous is because that they're *not* stopping production of the PS2, and in fact continue to sell it in large quantities, so trying to imagine such a unlikely fact creates an unreal picture. I get your point, but I think you should consider that there are 120 million PS2s in the world right now. Even if PS2 production came to a loud screeching halt, that's still quite a market to sell games into. If you look at it that way, one could see it as being alive so long as there are new things on the horizon to keep interest up in it.
That said, I don't think that in the context of this discussion that you are wrong. Sega only has 10 million machines out, most of them are likely hiding in dark places in people's homes. There's a trickle of stuff going on, but not enough to keep it alive as a whole.
The theory I've heard a few times was that it was anti-matter. Doctor Raymond Stanz, however, postulated that it may have been the result of a dimensional crossover. This theory has not been widely accepted, though, because no P.K. readings have been captured to support this claim.
"I noticed when I got an Xbox... that the Dreamcast I had ran on Windows CE..."
Well, some of the games used WinCE as an OS for them. It's not like the DC booted up and gave you a Window manager and all that other stuff.
"that the controllers for the Dreamcast and the Xbox had notable similarities in terms of button layout and gameplay..."
There are notable similarities between the XBOX and PS/PS2 controllers, too.
"...and have been of the opinion that Microsoft borrowed (or bought) heavily from Dreamcast in much the same way Windows NT borrowed from the OS/2 project."
Borrowed/bought/stole what? Okay, the controllers have some superficial similarities. What evidence do you have of this that can be explained by some other reason than "Microsoft went to a store and bought a Dreamcast"?
It rolls off the tongue more easily. Funny thing about the net, a lot of the text that's posted on it was originally derived by how people speak to each other. It can really wreak havoc on a brain that's too hard-wired. I remember nearly putting our finance guy into a coma by walking into the building with my baseball hat on backwards.
This is an honest to god response I got from a middle aged woman at work when I told her my parents were looking for a Wii, "What's that?" the other secretary said "It's the thing where you move your arms around to bowl." the first woman replied "Ugh, no thanks." i know this is just a silly anecdotal story... but this isn't the first time I've hear the Wii described as a toy.. I've had a very different experience. The big appeal was that you could, believe it or not, bowl. That was the thing about the Wii's launch that absolutely floored me. Bowling was the BFD. Several of my coworkers, all 360 addicts, went Wii hunting so they could bowl and compare scores the next day. Then they'd all talk about how it was like a workout. Man... I still can't get over that. Bowling.
I'm sorry if it hurts to hear, but I just don't see the "outreach" people claim the Wii has... I really think it's just the hot thing to have, particularly because you can't find it. You're not hurting my feelings. Heck, I'm sad about the lack of game selection at the moment. I still love the machine, but I'm seriously considering a 360 to augment it. That said, though, I think you're downplaying the bit about the interactive controls. They are appealing. It's a different, more intuitive control scheme, especially considering the barrage of buttons modern consoles have on their controllers. Heck, I'm a gamer, and I feel it's daunting. I remember back in the PS2 days one of the big things that kept me from really going out and buying tons of games was the groaning sound I'd make at being presented with this big epic game and trying to sort out what the developer had in mind when they laid out the buttons. It got even more confusing when the same developer made two different franchises. I remember going from San Andreas to Bully... wow that transition sucked. They weren't so different that it was unfamiliar, but man, there were differences in the control that I just didn't understand. It was baffling considering that both games share a lot of similarities. It made me yearn for better control.
But.. now I'm just babbling. I respectfully disagree. Not because I'm a 'righteous' Nintendo fan. But rather because I watched the hype wave rise all around me. I never got the sense it was "I have one and you don't, thpbpbpbpbp". Believe me, I've seen that before. I used to be a video game salesman. Aye carumba.
"In other news, I am losing millions of dollars by not winning the lottery every week."
Um, no, that's just you not understanding what the discussion is about.
"You can't lose money you never had. Nintendo is missing out on potential income that they could be capitalizing on, but for various reasons have decided not to. That's not the same thing as losing money."
You're confused about what this story is about. Nintendo's not claiming 'losses' here. Read the story again.
"But the resulting homework would be the same, which is the point."
That depends on what the homework actually is. To put it another way, this scenario doesn't pass the "What if IE's and FF's roles were reversed?" test.
This is like a teacher telling you to copy every file in a folder , and because he only knows how to do that by right click-copy-paste , you get detention for using Ctrl-A - Ctrl-C - Ctrl-V .
It's a silly example... Here's a less silly example:
A teacher hands out a multiple-choice test that is graded by machine. The higher-ups request that a particular type of pencil is used on these tests because they have been tested with the machine. A student uses a pen with magnetic ink, knowing for a fact that it will work with the machine. The teacher doesn't know this and asks the student to use the right pencil. The student says no. The teacher insists. The student declines. The teacher gives him a detention, not for using a pen, but for disobeying.
Ordinarily I wouldn't have corrected you, but the implication that FireFox and any other browser are the exact same thing is chillingly wrong.
If a $Billion is being left on the table, where are people spending it on? 360? PS3? Or how about this new fangled , environmentally friendly device called:
GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY! I hear ya, man. I wish I could impose my views on everybody in the world, too.
"I just don't understand how they could not have for seen this shortage."
In the space of a year, Nintendo sold 14 million consoles. That's more than the 360 sold in 2 years. Historically, consoles don't hit 10 mill in a year.
"It really makes me wonder about the rumors of intentional shorting."
The Wii was a surprise hit. The surprise wasn't that it's a hit, but that it was such a massive hit. Even the biggest Nintendo fanboy wouldn't have expected nearly this many sales the first year. The Playstation didn't even manage that and Nintendo's last couple of consoles didn't even come close.
Slashdot Mirror
"I have to buy a console and games? Boo hoo!"
Wow. Way to miss the point. Okay, here's a metaphor to help you comprehend the idea: Let's say you want to purchase an HD-DVD player. They sell for $200, but demand is high, so you cannot find them. Suddenly, you find one but it's $400 and comes with Gigli, Eps. 1-3, TMNT 3, King Kong, White Noise, and Deuce Bigalow.
Boo hoo.
What's up? Is their a particular component that is hard to come by or has a real low yield? To date, Nintendo's sold 12 million Wii's. That's a pretty strong demand for consoles. I'm not saying it's neverhappened, but I've never heard of a console selling over 10 million in its first year. Heck, the XBOX 360 has been out for two years and the Wii surpassed it in half hte time. If I'm right about the history of console sales, then the question I'd ask is: "What reason would Nintendo have to think they needed say.. double the amount of Wii consoles available?"
"In the article it says they're losing money if a customer uses a credit card but even if they don't you have to wonder how they can keep the doors open."
They make money on the games.
"How exactly is this strategy going to protect you from a keylogger?"
Use a mouse!!
"I don't own a ebook dedicated reader, but I go buy ebooks for my laptop and my smartphone."
Me too. As much as I like the ePaper display, I also like the auto-scrolling feature of the reader for Palm. I haven't used an ePaper device for any length of time... so I don't know if I'd prefer it, but it's the sort of thing that makes $399 a bit steep for a Kindle. Still, though, wireless access to Wikipedia... If I travelled a lot like I used to, that'd be killer for me. I can hit it from my Treo, but for long stories (and lack of auto-scroll in the browser... actually I still can't believe how much I like that feature.) I'd prefer something that can display more text.
Okay, I'm just rambling a bit. My point was that I don't think a blanket boycott of anything that supports DRM is the answer. The critical failure, in my opinion, is that it doesn't actually send the message that we don't want DRM. It could easily be misread as "nobody wants these things". But, if more money is made from not having it...
"So as long as my device supports DRM-free content, I don't have a problem with it also supporting DRM."
That's how I feel. Part of the problem is that the content makers, who are not necessarily the same people making these devices, aren't comfortable releasing their content without it. It's the carrot that'll get their attention, not the stick.
Way to not get my point, Mr. Godwin.
"Neither... Don't support DRM technology."
The only problem with that is that eBook players are a relatively new market. If nobody bought one simply because it has support for DRM, the companies would just assume nobody wants a reader and they stop producing them. On the other hand, if one e-store sells books DRM free and they do better than the next e-store that's hardly pushing any DRM'd books, then you actually send the right message to the industry.
But, hey, extremism's always an option I suppose.
Assholes like you.
"Burning trees won't add anything to the air that wasn't already there in the first place."
Umm... there's a difference between "CO2 in the air!" and "CO2 stuck inside of trees!".
"Always the excuses come out, but never accepting the existence of a problem most "users" know exists..."
Boy do I agree. Zealotry's bad, even if you're on the 'right' side.
"Does anybody still care about that game?"
I'm hoping the release of the game will abruptly kill off a Slashdot meme.
That said, I don't think that in the context of this discussion that you are wrong. Sega only has 10 million machines out, most of them are likely hiding in dark places in people's homes. There's a trickle of stuff going on, but not enough to keep it alive as a whole.
"What else would it have been?"
The theory I've heard a few times was that it was anti-matter. Doctor Raymond Stanz, however, postulated that it may have been the result of a dimensional crossover. This theory has not been widely accepted, though, because no P.K. readings have been captured to support this claim.
"I noticed when I got an Xbox... that the Dreamcast I had ran on Windows CE..."
Well, some of the games used WinCE as an OS for them. It's not like the DC booted up and gave you a Window manager and all that other stuff.
"that the controllers for the Dreamcast and the Xbox had notable similarities in terms of button layout and gameplay..."
There are notable similarities between the XBOX and PS/PS2 controllers, too.
"...and have been of the opinion that Microsoft borrowed (or bought) heavily from Dreamcast in much the same way Windows NT borrowed from the OS/2 project."
Borrowed/bought/stole what? Okay, the controllers have some superficial similarities. What evidence do you have of this that can be explained by some other reason than "Microsoft went to a store and bought a Dreamcast"?
"Why do people say things like this?"
It rolls off the tongue more easily. Funny thing about the net, a lot of the text that's posted on it was originally derived by how people speak to each other. It can really wreak havoc on a brain that's too hard-wired. I remember nearly putting our finance guy into a coma by walking into the building with my baseball hat on backwards.
But.. now I'm just babbling. I respectfully disagree. Not because I'm a 'righteous' Nintendo fan. But rather because I watched the hype wave rise all around me. I never got the sense it was "I have one and you don't, thpbpbpbpbp". Believe me, I've seen that before. I used to be a video game salesman. Aye carumba.
"In other news, I am losing millions of dollars by not winning the lottery every week."
Um, no, that's just you not understanding what the discussion is about.
"You can't lose money you never had. Nintendo is missing out on potential income that they could be capitalizing on, but for various reasons have decided not to. That's not the same thing as losing money."
You're confused about what this story is about. Nintendo's not claiming 'losses' here. Read the story again.
"But the resulting homework would be the same, which is the point."
That depends on what the homework actually is. To put it another way, this scenario doesn't pass the "What if IE's and FF's roles were reversed?" test.
"The bigger question... for me at least... is WHY is it a surprise hit? "
Price. Intuitive games. Intuitive controls. Virtual Console.
It's a silly example... Here's a less silly example:
Ordinarily I wouldn't have corrected you, but the implication that FireFox and any other browser are the exact same thing is chillingly wrong.
GO OUTSIDE AND PLAY! I hear ya, man. I wish I could impose my views on everybody in the world, too.
"I just don't understand how they could not have for seen this shortage."
In the space of a year, Nintendo sold 14 million consoles. That's more than the 360 sold in 2 years. Historically, consoles don't hit 10 mill in a year.
"It really makes me wonder about the rumors of intentional shorting."
The Wii was a surprise hit. The surprise wasn't that it's a hit, but that it was such a massive hit. Even the biggest Nintendo fanboy wouldn't have expected nearly this many sales the first year. The Playstation didn't even manage that and Nintendo's last couple of consoles didn't even come close.
"Wouldn't the same kind of logic hold here?"
No.
"How can Nintendo lose money on nonexistent consoles if they're already at full production?"
They're not filling a billion dollars worth of demand.