Another recent study said that walking down dark alleys while jiggling your car keys and waving a wad of cash around may increase the likelyhood of muggings.
I agree with everything you've said. Unfortunately, back here in reality I can't imagine that stuff ever happening...or at least not in my lifetime. So I'll settle for the bandaid to the situation. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush and all...
I don't think that scenario will really play out like that most of the time. I think what will happen is that the cheaper format to produce will run away with the success as content producers see that they don't need to pay for the more expensive format to get their stuff into people's houses anymore. As more and more titles move to the cheaper format, the more expensive will fade to irrelevance.
Is it really necessary for Lucas to defecate on another one of our beloved 80s trilogies?
I suppose it is...since he couldn't float another turd across if it wasn't held up by the nations collective nostalgia. Any magic he allegedly had 'back in the day' has clearly faded, or been retarded by senility.
...including a promise to observe 'network neutrality' principles...
But I thought network neutrality was bad for consumers last time we asked the telcos?
The whole thing smacks of business as usual to me. Lots of shitty companies with bad ideas flood into the market and die, and a few clever ones succeed. The same stuff happens in the 'real world'. The only difference is we don't call it 'Real World 2.0' every time the tides turn.
Now, I'm not economist, but a lot of investors lost their shirts in the dot-bomb and going to be put off the technology sector all together. I'd say thats going to act as a mitigating factor. People aren't just asking whats the hot company anymore, they want to know how the company is going to make money.
On the other hand, google did buy youtube, the website with nothing but multi-million dollar bandwidth bills and rampant copyright infringement as features so maybe I have no idea what I'm talking about!
This made me think of a personal antecdote. I don't know how many people played any games from the dungeon keeper series, but I used to play the first one a lot. One of the hallmarks of the game is that you're an evil character. However, as much as the ability to play a different persona appeals to me, every time I set out to play an evil character in any game I end up feeling remorse for killing innocents, even though they aren't real.
Anyway, in dungeon keeper (Real time strategy) you start out with a group of loyal imps. They are weak, small and do all of the mining and grunt work in your dungeon. They are unique in the game in that they can be created, and will always serve you no matter how poorly you treat them. The game allows you to slap creatures to make them work harder. There is little downside in doing this with imps since they won't flee the dungeon in anger and since they are poor fighters their health level isn't really important. Logically, all imps should be regularly slapped for maximum dungeon efficancy. And in fact, the computer controlled rival keepers do just that.
But I couldn't really do it as a matter of course. I actually felt bad, knowing full well that they weren't real. They made noises like they were in pain but of course thats just the computer. It was only when I was in a dire spot (doing a fast gem seam grab at the start of the map and then fortifying the walls to hold off an attack) that I would slap them, and even then I felt kind of bad.
So I can sort of understand how the results are similar to the original experiment. Its evoking an emotional response, and playing it again logic.
How could you resist a setup like that? You should have snatched up your PS2 game, and then busted through the wall of xbox 360s while yelling "OOOOOHHH YEAAAAAHHHH!"
Stores push those warranties so hard because they're pretty much pure profit.
I particularly liked when I bought an $8 universal remote from best buy and they asked me if I wanted the service plan for it for $6. 1) Its an $8 remote. I kind of expect it to break. 2) Why would I pay %75 of the purchase price for a potential replacement in one year? If it breaks, I'll just buy a new one.
In the BS fight scenes, as near as I could tell, Matt Damon rolled around on the floor with a RealDoll while the director shook the camera hard enough to give old Star Trek space ship combat scenes are run for their money.
If Matt Damon was doing something else, I apologize...because I COULDN'T SEE A GOD DAMN THING.
I see I'm not the only one that had fond memories of ebay. Thats what appealed to me as well. I got into PC hardware pretty heavily back in 1996. I also used to enjoy the ability to find all kinds of obscure computer parts. There's a lot of items that are still useful, but technically obsolete...and ebay was pretty much the only source.
I never tried to sell anything until after I met my wife. I say tried because I gave up half way through the process of setting up an auction. It was just to much of a hassle to sell some old necklace for $30 or something. That, coupled with the "lost in the noise" (I'd call it 'lost in the shit' myself) really breaks the core of what made ebay work. It was just a one mans trash is another mans treasure kind of place. But when you make it hard for some one to sell their trash, they just throw it away. And when people that look for that kind of stuff can't find it, they stop coming back.
I think that, like a predator chasing a much larger but wounded beast...other companies are waiting for ebay to bleed out before moving in to deal the killing blow.
I agree with everything you've said. I cannot understand why so much stuff sells on ebay at prices higher then prices from a more traditional online stores, or even brick and mortar outlets. I used to buy stuff from ebay around 97, 98 quite a bit. I usually bought computer parts, they has some hard to find obscure stuff and no one wanted an arm and a leg for things that were sitting in garage collecting dust. There was an added risk buying on ebay, and the lower cost served to offset that risk for me.
A few years later, ebay had exploded. I stopped even looking on the website when I realized everything cost more then newegg and other retailers. I only pop in occasionally to see how much people are getting gouged on the latest consoles.
Ebay sellers seem to do ok, but I don't understand why people are willing to pay more for a riskier experience when there's alternatives available.
Ebay will be fine. They'll just raise the fees for sellers again. And the sellers will pay it. Because for all their whining, it seems pretty clear they'll put up with anything ebay does to them just to get access to that critical mass of buyers. There's definately a lot of people fed up with ebay, buyers and sellers...but ebay has such a wide reach, its a household word with people that barely use a computer, that sellers just don't want to give up that customer base. And potential competitors see to much of a burden to entry. And the buyers? Well...I really don't know what their problem is, ebay prices are usually like %15 higher then retail these days. They must just like clicking on things.
Only a powerhouse like google, maybe microsoft (yahoo?) could make inroads, and I think they'd have to throw a lot of advertising money at the problem.
I thought I read that there was a way to limit the models used in game, forcing them to use the default CT/T skins. I never bothered to figure it out because while skins are usually crappy and annoying, very few servers I play on use them so they haven't bothered me to much. I wish I could just download maps and nothing else.
Valve also added a switch that disabled commands sent from the server recently. (It breaks a lot of things, and they botched it turning it on by default...but it was still a good idea.)
While I'm disappointed some of these things weren't included in the original release, but I'm happy they (eventually) added them.
If the drug companies can get away with sticking a capital letter on the end of an existing drug while changing its dosage to get a new patent, thats certainly an issue with the patent system. But its only one element in a perfect storm in this case. If consumers weren't so brand horny, and were more cost oriented when buying their drugs then these drugs wouldn't even sell. Few of them offer any signifigant benefit, and I'd argue none have any benefits worth the extra cost. But consumers see that 'D' or some other moniker advertised and assume thats the new one with less side effects that they need to demand from their doctor while asking for antibiotics to treat their viral infections. For health care providers part though, its their job to recommend drugs to their patients...and since a lot of them seem to be getting a kickback from the drug companies, they don't always make the the correct decisions.
My company offers a generous healthcare plan for this day and age. But they ask all of us to do our best to keep costs down. I can't tell you the number of times I requested a generic from my awful dermatologist when I didn't even know one existed, only to find out that it did...and wasn't the automatic first choice! Most people aren't concerned with those costs since the insurance pays for it...but we've seen what that attitude has caused, insurance is more expensive and less people have it.
I personally don't think HSA and the like are the solution. But I can understand why they are being tried. Consumers need to be more proactive about doing their part to keep insurance costs down.
Thats actually pretty clever. At this point, the PS2 hardware probably costs almost nothing to make so it could very well be the most cost effective and elegant solution to the problem.
Well, you can just turn sprays off. And given that 2/3s of sprays in counterstrike seem to be pictures of stretched out anuses or some sort of "I'm a bigot d00dz!!!11" crap its actually not a bad idea.
Although it sounds like the next phase for viral marketing! I did see some one with a spray that was just the best buy logo the other day, so maybe its actually the current phase!
There's nothing that enforces models or skins for valves games. You can use bright green skins and VAC will never stop you. I personally consider that borderline or outright cheating, but if they aren't enforcing models I would think it would be just as simple to stop the ads.
I think it would be more likely they push different ads served up from some external server somewhere, but you're right they have the capability to include them in the steam updates so it might not be necessary.
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Another recent study said that walking down dark alleys while jiggling your car keys and waving a wad of cash around may increase the likelyhood of muggings.
I agree with everything you've said. Unfortunately, back here in reality I can't imagine that stuff ever happening...or at least not in my lifetime. So I'll settle for the bandaid to the situation. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush and all...
I don't think that scenario will really play out like that most of the time. I think what will happen is that the cheaper format to produce will run away with the success as content producers see that they don't need to pay for the more expensive format to get their stuff into people's houses anymore. As more and more titles move to the cheaper format, the more expensive will fade to irrelevance.
And when there's 12 seeders and no one besides you downloading...then what? Its rare, but that does happen.
How do we know Ford isn't just going to do voice overs and dance around a green room in a motion tracking suit for this film?
Is it really necessary for Lucas to defecate on another one of our beloved 80s trilogies?
I suppose it is...since he couldn't float another turd across if it wasn't held up by the nations collective nostalgia. Any magic he allegedly had 'back in the day' has clearly faded, or been retarded by senility.
...including a promise to observe 'network neutrality' principles...
But I thought network neutrality was bad for consumers last time we asked the telcos?
The whole thing smacks of business as usual to me. Lots of shitty companies with bad ideas flood into the market and die, and a few clever ones succeed. The same stuff happens in the 'real world'. The only difference is we don't call it 'Real World 2.0' every time the tides turn.
Now, I'm not economist, but a lot of investors lost their shirts in the dot-bomb and going to be put off the technology sector all together. I'd say thats going to act as a mitigating factor. People aren't just asking whats the hot company anymore, they want to know how the company is going to make money.
On the other hand, google did buy youtube, the website with nothing but multi-million dollar bandwidth bills and rampant copyright infringement as features so maybe I have no idea what I'm talking about!
My parents are still married, a little over ~25 years.
:P
I've paid some one to do my taxes my entire life, I can't stand doing them.
Enjoy the fall from the breaking limb.
I agree.
This made me think of a personal antecdote. I don't know how many people played any games from the dungeon keeper series, but I used to play the first one a lot. One of the hallmarks of the game is that you're an evil character. However, as much as the ability to play a different persona appeals to me, every time I set out to play an evil character in any game I end up feeling remorse for killing innocents, even though they aren't real.
Anyway, in dungeon keeper (Real time strategy) you start out with a group of loyal imps. They are weak, small and do all of the mining and grunt work in your dungeon. They are unique in the game in that they can be created, and will always serve you no matter how poorly you treat them. The game allows you to slap creatures to make them work harder. There is little downside in doing this with imps since they won't flee the dungeon in anger and since they are poor fighters their health level isn't really important. Logically, all imps should be regularly slapped for maximum dungeon efficancy. And in fact, the computer controlled rival keepers do just that.
But I couldn't really do it as a matter of course. I actually felt bad, knowing full well that they weren't real. They made noises like they were in pain but of course thats just the computer. It was only when I was in a dire spot (doing a fast gem seam grab at the start of the map and then fortifying the walls to hold off an attack) that I would slap them, and even then I felt kind of bad.
So I can sort of understand how the results are similar to the original experiment. Its evoking an emotional response, and playing it again logic.
How could you resist a setup like that? You should have snatched up your PS2 game, and then busted through the wall of xbox 360s while yelling "OOOOOHHH YEAAAAAHHHH!"
Stores push those warranties so hard because they're pretty much pure profit.
I particularly liked when I bought an $8 universal remote from best buy and they asked me if I wanted the service plan for it for $6.
1) Its an $8 remote. I kind of expect it to break.
2) Why would I pay %75 of the purchase price for a potential replacement in one year? If it breaks, I'll just buy a new one.
In the BS fight scenes, as near as I could tell, Matt Damon rolled around on the floor with a RealDoll while the director shook the camera hard enough to give old Star Trek space ship combat scenes are run for their money.
If Matt Damon was doing something else, I apologize...because I COULDN'T SEE A GOD DAMN THING.
I see I'm not the only one that had fond memories of ebay. Thats what appealed to me as well. I got into PC hardware pretty heavily back in 1996. I also used to enjoy the ability to find all kinds of obscure computer parts. There's a lot of items that are still useful, but technically obsolete...and ebay was pretty much the only source.
I never tried to sell anything until after I met my wife. I say tried because I gave up half way through the process of setting up an auction. It was just to much of a hassle to sell some old necklace for $30 or something. That, coupled with the "lost in the noise" (I'd call it 'lost in the shit' myself) really breaks the core of what made ebay work. It was just a one mans trash is another mans treasure kind of place. But when you make it hard for some one to sell their trash, they just throw it away. And when people that look for that kind of stuff can't find it, they stop coming back.
I actually checked the same thing yesterday as I was curious. I was surprised to see some Wiis going for a pretty high price.
You won't live to be old. Not after the robots eat all of your medicine for fuel.
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I think that, like a predator chasing a much larger but wounded beast...other companies are waiting for ebay to bleed out before moving in to deal the killing blow.
I agree with everything you've said. I cannot understand why so much stuff sells on ebay at prices higher then prices from a more traditional online stores, or even brick and mortar outlets. I used to buy stuff from ebay around 97, 98 quite a bit. I usually bought computer parts, they has some hard to find obscure stuff and no one wanted an arm and a leg for things that were sitting in garage collecting dust. There was an added risk buying on ebay, and the lower cost served to offset that risk for me.
A few years later, ebay had exploded. I stopped even looking on the website when I realized everything cost more then newegg and other retailers. I only pop in occasionally to see how much people are getting gouged on the latest consoles.
Ebay sellers seem to do ok, but I don't understand why people are willing to pay more for a riskier experience when there's alternatives available.
Ebay will be fine. They'll just raise the fees for sellers again. And the sellers will pay it. Because for all their whining, it seems pretty clear they'll put up with anything ebay does to them just to get access to that critical mass of buyers. There's definately a lot of people fed up with ebay, buyers and sellers...but ebay has such a wide reach, its a household word with people that barely use a computer, that sellers just don't want to give up that customer base. And potential competitors see to much of a burden to entry. And the buyers? Well...I really don't know what their problem is, ebay prices are usually like %15 higher then retail these days. They must just like clicking on things.
Only a powerhouse like google, maybe microsoft (yahoo?) could make inroads, and I think they'd have to throw a lot of advertising money at the problem.
I thought I read that there was a way to limit the models used in game, forcing them to use the default CT/T skins. I never bothered to figure it out because while skins are usually crappy and annoying, very few servers I play on use them so they haven't bothered me to much. I wish I could just download maps and nothing else.
Valve also added a switch that disabled commands sent from the server recently. (It breaks a lot of things, and they botched it turning it on by default...but it was still a good idea.)
While I'm disappointed some of these things weren't included in the original release, but I'm happy they (eventually) added them.
If the drug companies can get away with sticking a capital letter on the end of an existing drug while changing its dosage to get a new patent, thats certainly an issue with the patent system. But its only one element in a perfect storm in this case. If consumers weren't so brand horny, and were more cost oriented when buying their drugs then these drugs wouldn't even sell. Few of them offer any signifigant benefit, and I'd argue none have any benefits worth the extra cost. But consumers see that 'D' or some other moniker advertised and assume thats the new one with less side effects that they need to demand from their doctor while asking for antibiotics to treat their viral infections. For health care providers part though, its their job to recommend drugs to their patients...and since a lot of them seem to be getting a kickback from the drug companies, they don't always make the the correct decisions.
My company offers a generous healthcare plan for this day and age. But they ask all of us to do our best to keep costs down. I can't tell you the number of times I requested a generic from my awful dermatologist when I didn't even know one existed, only to find out that it did...and wasn't the automatic first choice! Most people aren't concerned with those costs since the insurance pays for it...but we've seen what that attitude has caused, insurance is more expensive and less people have it.
I personally don't think HSA and the like are the solution. But I can understand why they are being tried. Consumers need to be more proactive about doing their part to keep insurance costs down.
Thats actually pretty clever. At this point, the PS2 hardware probably costs almost nothing to make so it could very well be the most cost effective and elegant solution to the problem.
Thanks for the education folks.
Well, you can just turn sprays off. And given that 2/3s of sprays in counterstrike seem to be pictures of stretched out anuses or some sort of "I'm a bigot d00dz!!!11" crap its actually not a bad idea.
Although it sounds like the next phase for viral marketing! I did see some one with a spray that was just the best buy logo the other day, so maybe its actually the current phase!
There's nothing that enforces models or skins for valves games. You can use bright green skins and VAC will never stop you. I personally consider that borderline or outright cheating, but if they aren't enforcing models I would think it would be just as simple to stop the ads.
I think it would be more likely they push different ads served up from some external server somewhere, but you're right they have the capability to include them in the steam updates so it might not be necessary.