Cell phones don't fit into the "keeping up with the Jones" category - at least not any more. It's become practically a necessity in my line of work (software consulting), where out-of-state travel is the norm and client business is getting increasingly harder to obtain. Being constantly connected, even on the road, is something that clients want.
And outside the workplace, it makes a lot of sense to have a cell phone these days. You can usually find a rate plan nearly as good or even better than a land line, so cost isn't a major factor. My parents got rid of their land line entirely - and so would I, if the pizza people would deliver when I use my cell.:)
I think the most important point in this article was in the conculsion. "Don't pollute the market" Walton said. The worst thing that could happen to MMORPGs is a bunch of crappy games. I fervently hope that upcoming releases like Star Wars Galaxies will be wonderful - but if they aren't, the whole genre could die.
True, but aren't those mostly tabs implemented by the application itself? I've yet to see an application that takes advantage of the tab functions embedded in the browser itself. Maybe that's just due to the newness of the features.
I've used all sorts of browser interfaces, tabbed and otherwise, and the benefits of tabbed browsing to me basically boiled down to one thing: it hides the complexity of your browsing from the OS. As I'm forced into Window$ systems at work, I have to deal with the Explorer task bar, and it's a real pain to have 30 web browser sessions show up in the task bar. (Yes, I know there are replacements, but they tend to conflict with other things on the system - generally more trouble than they're worth.) This is much less of a problem with XP's ability to group window types in the task bar, and I've basically stopped using tabs for that reason. I don't really see a lot of other reason to use tabs, and having different windows can be more useful in some situations.
The comment about lack of multi-player in this game got me thinking - how many people actually play turn based strategy games in multiplayer mode? I know there's been a lot of hype around multi-player features, but at least in my little circle of friends it's never caught on. Part of that is due to lack of opportunity - I don't live or work with most of my gaming friends. For the most part, though, I think it's something about turn based games in general. We still find time to play real-time games over the 'net, but no one is ever interested in doing turn based multiplayer. Those who do play turnbased multiplayer games, what's the attraction? What makes a game worth playing multiplayer even if you do have to wait through other folks' turns?
Here's an assumption that Jon didn't mention: The musicians involved in the various lawsuits and such disagree with free music distribution. I don't believe that the musicians that have been "bashing" Napster would disagree with Jon. Look at Metallica. From the beginning, Lars Ulrich has been saying that the reason they're upset is that Napster distibuted their music without permission. They don't have a problem with the idea of music distribution as such (proof? Check out their policy of allowing live recordings), but they want to decide how it is done. Don't forget that it isn't just the industries that make faulty assumptions - the web community does it all the time as well.
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Cell phones don't fit into the "keeping up with the Jones" category - at least not any more. It's become practically a necessity in my line of work (software consulting), where out-of-state travel is the norm and client business is getting increasingly harder to obtain. Being constantly connected, even on the road, is something that clients want.
:)
And outside the workplace, it makes a lot of sense to have a cell phone these days. You can usually find a rate plan nearly as good or even better than a land line, so cost isn't a major factor. My parents got rid of their land line entirely - and so would I, if the pizza people would deliver when I use my cell.
I think the most important point in this article was in the conculsion. "Don't pollute the market" Walton said. The worst thing that could happen to MMORPGs is a bunch of crappy games. I fervently hope that upcoming releases like Star Wars Galaxies will be wonderful - but if they aren't, the whole genre could die.
True, but aren't those mostly tabs implemented by the application itself? I've yet to see an application that takes advantage of the tab functions embedded in the browser itself. Maybe that's just due to the newness of the features.
I've used all sorts of browser interfaces, tabbed and otherwise, and the benefits of tabbed browsing to me basically boiled down to one thing: it hides the complexity of your browsing from the OS. As I'm forced into Window$ systems at work, I have to deal with the Explorer task bar, and it's a real pain to have 30 web browser sessions show up in the task bar. (Yes, I know there are replacements, but they tend to conflict with other things on the system - generally more trouble than they're worth.) This is much less of a problem with XP's ability to group window types in the task bar, and I've basically stopped using tabs for that reason. I don't really see a lot of other reason to use tabs, and having different windows can be more useful in some situations.
The comment about lack of multi-player in this game got me thinking - how many people actually play turn based strategy games in multiplayer mode? I know there's been a lot of hype around multi-player features, but at least in my little circle of friends it's never caught on. Part of that is due to lack of opportunity - I don't live or work with most of my gaming friends. For the most part, though, I think it's something about turn based games in general. We still find time to play real-time games over the 'net, but no one is ever interested in doing turn based multiplayer. Those who do play turnbased multiplayer games, what's the attraction? What makes a game worth playing multiplayer even if you do have to wait through other folks' turns?
Here's an assumption that Jon didn't mention: The musicians involved in the various lawsuits and such disagree with free music distribution. I don't believe that the musicians that have been "bashing" Napster would disagree with Jon. Look at Metallica. From the beginning, Lars Ulrich has been saying that the reason they're upset is that Napster distibuted their music without permission. They don't have a problem with the idea of music distribution as such (proof? Check out their policy of allowing live recordings), but they want to decide how it is done. Don't forget that it isn't just the industries that make faulty assumptions - the web community does it all the time as well.