How is this "new tool" any different than the "site:" command that google has always had to search within a particular domain?
I bring this up because Google lets you integrate their search engine int your site for free and all it does is add "site:yourdomain.com" to the end of the query. I've replaced the normal search on one of my sites with google's search because it works much much better, there's no reason other sites couldn't do the same.
Public game companies can't just ignore pirates because shareholders will be all over them for not doing anything about such a big "loss of revenue".
There are two problems here:
1. If the company sees financial savings with no ill effects from abandoning invasive DRM systems then it's reasonable to assume that they can provide shareholders with the same graphs, charts, presentations, and analysis that would convince them that it's a good idea. If they don't like it then they can take their dollars elsewhere. they don't actually have any control in the company aside from the threat of selling their shares.
2. "Ignoring Pirates" wouldn't be such a big deal if the estimated loss due to piracy wasn't so ridiculously over-inflated in the first place. If any company has a hard time convincing shareholders that it's not worth worrying about pirates it's only due to their own fear mongering at a prior date.
I'm in the same situation, I live in NH and keep a 4 cylinder 4x4 on hand just for the really bad winter days (which we got an f-ton of this last winter). It'd be great to have something like this for my daily commute or for when I take a trip down to Boston.
Here's hoping they offer a more rugged version at a reasonable price in the near future.
Though considering I paid thousands in heating oil this winter, and I only have a 15 mile commute to work. I'm honestly much more interested in being efficient and energy independent in terms of my home than efficient with my car.
I would think the Aptera Hybrid is much further along than Tesla's offerings, it already gets 330MPG but it's only a 2 seater, and a 3 wheeler... They could probably made a less efficient 4 seat/4 wheel model and call it a day.
The thing I like about it the most is that rather than trying to shoehorn good aero design onto something that looks like a typical car and ending up with something very ugly, they just embraced good aero design and made something that looks nothing like a modern car and is very sexy because of it.
Some of the cooler things I've seen built with them are data analysis tools, such as a compact digital oscilloscope, another was a decryption tool that was fast enough to capture decrypt and analyze data traveling across an encrypted system bus in real time (IIRC it was demoed on an Xbox 360).
The impression I get is that they're super powerful for performing straight forward repetitive tasks at high speed. This makes them capable of managing lots of high speed data such as Ethernet, video signals, or even system buses, it also makes them useful for encrypting/decrypting data streams in real time. It also makes the perfect for doing high speed conversions or switching.
Part of why I want to get into FPGAs is that unlike a Microcontroller or CPU that simply execute instructions in order, an FPGA is literally a logic array and can execute dozens if not hundreds of threads at once (you can of course make an array of FPGAs and have them function like one big FPGA as well). This also makes it really useful for robotic applications where lots of things need to be handled at once and executing commands sequentially can be quite a bottleneck in situations where speed is essential.
Nice to see Assembly at the top of your list. There's something to be said for learning some form of assembly.
after learning C++, Java and a few others I decided to get into Microprocessor and Microcontroller programming and did so in whatever flavor of assembly the chip supported. I gained an entirely new respect and understanding about how these chips work on physical level as well as a much greater understanding about how inefficient most applications are and the enormous potential for improvement, as well as the enormous potential of modern CPUs and how much that potential is squandered on what people actually use them for.
I've developed a number of embedded applications now and the way I think about other applications has really changed too. My next language will probably be Verilog because the price of FGPAs has dropped significantly and they are incredibly versatile tools if you know how to use them... some of the things I've seen people use them for are mind boggling
On a size for size comparison, meaning 32" SD vs 32" HD HDTVs really arn't any more expensive than good quality SDTVs were about 5-10 years ago, it's just that SDTV prices have dropped to help get them off the shelves and most people look at much larger screens when looking at HDTV.
2. Standard definition picture quality.
That all depends on if you know what you're doing/what you're buying. While I'll conceed that joe consumer doesn't really understand the technology if you buy an HDTV with a Faroudja DCDi processor, or a stand alone up converter, (Oppo also makes DVD players with this processor) then your SDTV content will never have looked better. Most people don't factor that in when looking for a TV though.
3. Cost of content.
That all depends on what kind of content you're viewing. All current generation games cost exactly the same whether you view them in SD or HD, and even the Wii can benifit from HDTV since it supports progressive scan and widescreen. Similarly most DVD content is also progressive scan and widescreen and with a good scaler like the aforementioned Faroudja in either your player or your TV will create a better picture than your SDTV tube is capable of. While the prices of Blu-Ray movies is a bit more than DVDs, you can usually find them for the same price if you shop around, it also doesn't usually cost any more to rent one over the other, at least not at any of the places I've seen.
4. Amount of content.
with the exception of the Wii all new video game content is HD, and as stated before with the right processor you'll get a better picture for SD broadcasts, DVDs, and other SD content. There are thousands of DVDs and last generation games that suppored EDTV (progressive scan/widescreen) that were not able to reach their full graphical potential on SD sets but CAN be fully realized on an HDTV. Becides most new movies and popular older movies are arriving on Blu-Ray and available through numerous download on-demand services, not to mention most of the popular TV stations (NBC, ABC, CBS, etc.) as well as most of the premium stations (HBO Stars, Cinemax, etc.) are broadcasting in HD now too, and it's only getting better as time goes on.
5. Cost of accessories.
like what exactly? the rental fee for a DVR from my cable provider is the same if it's SD or HD, as far as cables go the difference between RCA interconnects and HDMI is inconsequential as long as you're comparing similar quality products and not cheapo RCAs to rip-off Monster HDMIs. Go hit up monoprice if you don't believe me
6. The fact that I already own an SDTV.
You got me there, but I've yet to find any new technology that I was able to own without buying it.
Ultimately, not everyone is you, and not everyone has the same needs as you. I'm sure there are quite a few people who don't need or want an HDTV or HD content, but I know I personally don't watch TV but instead play video games, and I have over 400 DVD movies in my collection all supporting progressive scan and widescreen. My display is a projector in a home theater room and when I made the jump from an ED projector to an HD projector the difference was night and day... the HD projector I bought didn't cost any more than the ED projector when I bought it 3 years before, all of my old content looked far and wide better (because I specifically bought a projector that uses a Faroudja DCDi) and the Xbox 360 and Wii games that I had been playing already looked much better. I don't have a Blu-Ray player, but I do rent HD movies through the Xbox Live marketplace... Of course I also place a high value on the fidelity of my picture and sound.
This is one of the greatest selling points to open source software IMO.
When you have a product like MS Office, every year that they release a new version they have to load it up with new features to encourage people to buy it, despite the fact that most users only use a fraction of the feature set and rarely need any of the new features the new version offers. This can be applied to most for profit software.
When you have a product like Open Office it's being developed by people who are working more for their affinity for the software rather than a paycheck. The result here is that unneeded features are left out of the core application and once there is a solid interface and feature set they start turning towards making the product more stable and more efficient.
Of course there are exceptions on both sides of the fence, but this is something I've noticed with most of the OSS that I use. By running nearly all OSS alternatives I'm able to use the latest versions of my most common apps on my old P3 733 laptop and it feels just as peppy as the high performance rig I use at work loaded with MS apps.
I'll note that I'm a car enthusiast, and my car is 16 years old - and it's the newest car I've ever owned.
I'm a car enthusiast as well and my car is 13 years old. The thing about cars is that unlike computers newer doesn't necessarily mean better. I personally stick to pre 1996 models because they're exempt from OBDII emissions testing which means I'm free to tinker with the onboard computer among other things. My car is also rear wheel drive and a 5 speed which are two features that are increasingly more difficult to find in a new car, never mind find them affordably. The car comparison doesn't really work here because 1.I don't think any "web enthusiast" keeps Netscape around for nostalgic purposes or admires it's design as a mark of the times in which it was created. and 2. you would have to imagine if hardware manufacturers and software developers started doing stupid things that would make older hardware and software more desirable to use, which isn't really the case.
being able to write assembly protects you from corruption how?
It doesn't, but that's not why people here are excited. People here are excited that there might be a voice in congress, albeit small, that can can stand up and say "um, that new tech law isn't feasible" or "the telco lobbyists aren't telling you the whole story because of X, Y, and Z".
we _HOPE_ he's not corrupt, but we at least know he can see a line of tech BS from a special interest when he hears it, then if he does vote in favor of a bad tech law it will be on him, and not on the lobbyist that convinced the congress person that they were doing the right thing.
I'm sure there are cooks who turn their noses up at the cheap and inferior cookware and methods to which us nerds use to make our food, fashion experts who cringe at our outdated and worn-out wardrobe, and lots of other people who place a high value on a certain activity and it's associated tools that we simply neglect because we don't place a high value on it.
If John Uribe is a fisherman I'm sure he has all the latest and greatest fishing gear because it's something he places a high value on, if he checks his AOL email once a week to see if he got a message from his grand kids then Netscape is probably all he really needs. Switching to a new bowser wont add any benefit to his internet tasks, but it will involve him spending time to research which browser to use, figuring out how to install it and set it up, and learning a new interface. Where's the benefit in that?
Also consider the point of view from developers. Xbox 360 (and the Xbox 1) utilizes DX and so does the Windows PC market. That allows them to port between the two platforms much more easily. Smaller developers can build on the PC platform and port to console when they start to gain popularity. Larger developers can build for the console platform and port to the PC market to milk more out of the franchise.
Developing for Linux typically means building your Game in Open GL, which allows portability between Windows and Linux, but you lose the (relatively) easy jump from the PC world to the console world. The gaming market for the Xbox 360 is arguably much larger than Linux.
Overall though the mentality of the Linux users is either of a DYI/open-source mindset, or a "just give me something that works" mind set in which case the former would probably only bite games that fall under open source and the latter probably bought a console for their gaming since they're purpose built and a much more hassle free/efficient tool for the job.
Also, games for the consoles seem to be noticeably more expensive than PC games. It might just be because it's easier to pirate PC games, but it may also be to help make up for the manufacturer's losses in selling you the console hardware in the first place.
I'm sure that's part of it, PC developers don't have to pay licensing fees since the platforms they developing for are open, Xbox 360 and PS3 games pay out nearly $7 per disc back to MS/Sony for licensing. Not to mention they have to foot the bill for special development hardware that can cost 10s of thousands of dollars per unit while PC games can be developed on off the shelf hardware.
Most importantly though is that the Console market is more willing to pay a higher price, and things are usually priced at what the market will bear rather than what it's worth based on the entertainment it provides or the cost of manufacturing.
passing on the right is only illegal in certain states. I know it's legal in my state but ticket worthy in some of the neighboring states.
as for why people go all the way to the left when they get on the high way. it's just a zombie driver mentality thing. They _THINK_ they're a "fast driver" and that lane is for them, or they think that by being in that lane they're allowed to go faster.
Some drivers just go one speed no matter what road they're on. For example: last year I needed to follow my aunt somewhere, she warned me that she was a "fast driver" and that I should do my best to keep up. On the back 30MPH roads she barreled down at about 50MPH and tail gated any slower moving traffic we encountered, we got to the highway... and she still drove at about 50MPH in the left lane holding up all the traffic behind her.
In NH we have some other problem drivers too, we have long stretches of single lane highways with lots of passing zones. but all too often people are too chicken sh*t to pass and just slow down when they encounter slow moving traffic. What ends up happening is you'll get 2 or 3 of these people stacked up and now there are too many cars to safely pass with average on coming traffic. On more than one occasion I've passed 12+ cars in one shot that were putting along at 35MPH behind a tractor or dump truck in a 55MPH zone, though unless there is no on coming traffic at all it can be a rather dangerous maneuver. Completely avoidable if the slow vehicle would just pull over, or other drivers would grow a pair and pass. I know lots of people who claim they never pass because they're afraid to pull into the oncoming traffic lane even when it's completely clear.
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the state of Alaska export crude oil? I seem to recall my brother-in-law and former Alaskan mentioning that Alaskan citizens get kick-backs (as opposed to having to pay taxes) from the oil profits.
If that's the case, wouldn't they in-effect be suing themselves?
I think it would severely hurt industry across the EU if the sale of Microsoft products were banned, especially since the EU has to deal with the rest of the world who for the most part use Microsoft products. It's just not possible for free/open source software to inter-operate effectively with Microsoft products at the moment, which was kind of the whole point of the anti-trust ruling.
That's a good point, but consider how much of a wake up call that would be to most businesses. Maybe even if the EU threatened to pull the plug on MS product sales it would get companies to start thinking about what that means and how dependent they become when they purchase close/anti-competitive software. Even if they barred sales of the software for a day/week/month before lifting it (for the sake of the economy) in the case that MS calls their bluff. It would seriously hurt MS but wouldn't have any major effects on business beyond scaring them to hell.
The only punishments that would hurt Microsoft have been illegal since the Dark Ages.
What's that? Personally I think the best punishment would be to hit them where it hurts. If the fine isn't paid in X number of days Ban the sale of all MS products in the EU until the fine is paid, then once paid give them X number of days to comply or the ban gets reenacted and wont be reversed until it's paid AND they comply.
This is the most appropriate punishment because it is MS's anti-competitive behavior that would ultimately lead to them being barred from competing in the marketplace. It's not like people wouldn't be able to buy Macs or install Linux for their OS or use Open office/other alternatives for productivity.
Heck it might actually do the industry some good, nothing breeds innovation like necessity.
I don't know if I completely agree with that, there are a very small number of movie writers/directors who have achieved household name status.
Usually when I tell people that "David Fincher is my favorite director" or "I'm not a very big fan of Michael Bay's work" I get blank stares in return. Even bringing up Peter Jackson, gets looks of confusion.
I think what people look for in movies is much more about the actors, because they are the FACE of the movie. In most cases the only time I find people who know about the writers/directors is if I'm either talking to a movie buff or I'm online.
On a whole though the only reason names like Lucas, Spielberg, or Scorsese are well known is because not only have they been around forever hand have their names attached to dozens of successful projects but also because movies appeal to a much broader spectrum of people and is on a whole a much more popular medium.
I think if you want people to start recognizing game developers more often you're going to have to invent a red carpet event for them to attend, televise it on an NBC/ABC/CBS, and put their name on the box... even then only gamers will care about these names.
There are certainly others, but those are the names of game designers that, in the past, I've purchased, or at least taken a closer look at new games because their name was attached to it. I've seen interviews with these guys packaged in bonus CDs with the games and on game news sites, I see videos of them giving talks and presenting their new games at conventions, etc.
There are a lot of creative names in game design. IMO if you aren't noticing the developers behind the games, it's only because you aren't paying attention.
I'm not condoning the patent at all, I'm simply explaining why MS wasn't named in the lawsuit. It could also be because with the subscription and points card you're not actually redeeming them for a physical item, similarly phone cards are selling a service as opposed to a item, the patent uses physical items as an example.
Because it's speficially for "Point of Sale" (POS) items. Which specifically refers the the items within reach of the checkout lane, like the candy at the grocery store, they keychains and tire pressure gauges at the auto parts store, or the cds/gift cards at starbucks.
XBL subscription and point cards aren't sold at the "point of sale"
However, I got tired of seeing fiction that tried to make me believe things that could not be true due to the laws of physics, or due to other aspects of reality. So, now I only watch or read non-fiction. Defending myself from the deceptions and errors of fiction takes brain processing time, and I'd rather use my brainpower to work on something else besides the ideas of a writer who had little interest in reality when he was in school.
There's quite a lot of space between Documentary and fiction that breaks the laws of physics.
CSI and a lot of other tech/police shows do break a lot of rules to make it "work", I usually try to avoid shows like that because it frustrates the hell out of me. However there are many shows that are fictional and still follow the rules. Monk for instance doesn't use any fake tech but rather interesting fictional situations. Then there are shows like Star Trek that use fictional technology but clearly define the laws and limitations of their world.
Unless I'm watching something like the History Channel/Mythbusters/Dirty Jobs/How it's Made/etc I find most "reality" based programing to be far more of an insult to my intelligence than anything CSI and the like could throw at me...
Slashdot Mirror
How is this "new tool" any different than the "site:" command that google has always had to search within a particular domain?
I bring this up because Google lets you integrate their search engine int your site for free and all it does is add "site:yourdomain.com" to the end of the query. I've replaced the normal search on one of my sites with google's search because it works much much better, there's no reason other sites couldn't do the same.
1. If the company sees financial savings with no ill effects from abandoning invasive DRM systems then it's reasonable to assume that they can provide shareholders with the same graphs, charts, presentations, and analysis that would convince them that it's a good idea. If they don't like it then they can take their dollars elsewhere. they don't actually have any control in the company aside from the threat of selling their shares.
2. "Ignoring Pirates" wouldn't be such a big deal if the estimated loss due to piracy wasn't so ridiculously over-inflated in the first place. If any company has a hard time convincing shareholders that it's not worth worrying about pirates it's only due to their own fear mongering at a prior date.
I'm in the same situation, I live in NH and keep a 4 cylinder 4x4 on hand just for the really bad winter days (which we got an f-ton of this last winter). It'd be great to have something like this for my daily commute or for when I take a trip down to Boston.
Here's hoping they offer a more rugged version at a reasonable price in the near future.
Though considering I paid thousands in heating oil this winter, and I only have a 15 mile commute to work. I'm honestly much more interested in being efficient and energy independent in terms of my home than efficient with my car.
I would think the Aptera Hybrid is much further along than Tesla's offerings, it already gets 330MPG but it's only a 2 seater, and a 3 wheeler... They could probably made a less efficient 4 seat/4 wheel model and call it a day.
The thing I like about it the most is that rather than trying to shoehorn good aero design onto something that looks like a typical car and ending up with something very ugly, they just embraced good aero design and made something that looks nothing like a modern car and is very sexy because of it.
The best site I've found on them so far is http://www.fpga4fun.com/
Some of the cooler things I've seen built with them are data analysis tools, such as a compact digital oscilloscope, another was a decryption tool that was fast enough to capture decrypt and analyze data traveling across an encrypted system bus in real time (IIRC it was demoed on an Xbox 360).
The impression I get is that they're super powerful for performing straight forward repetitive tasks at high speed. This makes them capable of managing lots of high speed data such as Ethernet, video signals, or even system buses, it also makes them useful for encrypting/decrypting data streams in real time. It also makes the perfect for doing high speed conversions or switching.
Part of why I want to get into FPGAs is that unlike a Microcontroller or CPU that simply execute instructions in order, an FPGA is literally a logic array and can execute dozens if not hundreds of threads at once (you can of course make an array of FPGAs and have them function like one big FPGA as well). This also makes it really useful for robotic applications where lots of things need to be handled at once and executing commands sequentially can be quite a bottleneck in situations where speed is essential.
Nice to see Assembly at the top of your list. There's something to be said for learning some form of assembly.
after learning C++, Java and a few others I decided to get into Microprocessor and Microcontroller programming and did so in whatever flavor of assembly the chip supported. I gained an entirely new respect and understanding about how these chips work on physical level as well as a much greater understanding about how inefficient most applications are and the enormous potential for improvement, as well as the enormous potential of modern CPUs and how much that potential is squandered on what people actually use them for.
I've developed a number of embedded applications now and the way I think about other applications has really changed too. My next language will probably be Verilog because the price of FGPAs has dropped significantly and they are incredibly versatile tools if you know how to use them... some of the things I've seen people use them for are mind boggling
Ultimately, not everyone is you, and not everyone has the same needs as you. I'm sure there are quite a few people who don't need or want an HDTV or HD content, but I know I personally don't watch TV but instead play video games, and I have over 400 DVD movies in my collection all supporting progressive scan and widescreen. My display is a projector in a home theater room and when I made the jump from an ED projector to an HD projector the difference was night and day... the HD projector I bought didn't cost any more than the ED projector when I bought it 3 years before, all of my old content looked far and wide better (because I specifically bought a projector that uses a Faroudja DCDi) and the Xbox 360 and Wii games that I had been playing already looked much better. I don't have a Blu-Ray player, but I do rent HD movies through the Xbox Live marketplace... Of course I also place a high value on the fidelity of my picture and sound.
This is one of the greatest selling points to open source software IMO.
When you have a product like MS Office, every year that they release a new version they have to load it up with new features to encourage people to buy it, despite the fact that most users only use a fraction of the feature set and rarely need any of the new features the new version offers. This can be applied to most for profit software.
When you have a product like Open Office it's being developed by people who are working more for their affinity for the software rather than a paycheck. The result here is that unneeded features are left out of the core application and once there is a solid interface and feature set they start turning towards making the product more stable and more efficient.
Of course there are exceptions on both sides of the fence, but this is something I've noticed with most of the OSS that I use. By running nearly all OSS alternatives I'm able to use the latest versions of my most common apps on my old P3 733 laptop and it feels just as peppy as the high performance rig I use at work loaded with MS apps.
I'm pretty sure a fake 4 year old just keeps asking "why?" over and over until the test subjects shot themselves.
we _HOPE_ he's not corrupt, but we at least know he can see a line of tech BS from a special interest when he hears it, then if he does vote in favor of a bad tech law it will be on him, and not on the lobbyist that convinced the congress person that they were doing the right thing.
I'm sure there are cooks who turn their noses up at the cheap and inferior cookware and methods to which us nerds use to make our food, fashion experts who cringe at our outdated and worn-out wardrobe, and lots of other people who place a high value on a certain activity and it's associated tools that we simply neglect because we don't place a high value on it.
If John Uribe is a fisherman I'm sure he has all the latest and greatest fishing gear because it's something he places a high value on, if he checks his AOL email once a week to see if he got a message from his grand kids then Netscape is probably all he really needs. Switching to a new bowser wont add any benefit to his internet tasks, but it will involve him spending time to research which browser to use, figuring out how to install it and set it up, and learning a new interface. Where's the benefit in that?
Also consider the point of view from developers. Xbox 360 (and the Xbox 1) utilizes DX and so does the Windows PC market. That allows them to port between the two platforms much more easily. Smaller developers can build on the PC platform and port to console when they start to gain popularity. Larger developers can build for the console platform and port to the PC market to milk more out of the franchise.
Developing for Linux typically means building your Game in Open GL, which allows portability between Windows and Linux, but you lose the (relatively) easy jump from the PC world to the console world. The gaming market for the Xbox 360 is arguably much larger than Linux.
Overall though the mentality of the Linux users is either of a DYI/open-source mindset, or a "just give me something that works" mind set in which case the former would probably only bite games that fall under open source and the latter probably bought a console for their gaming since they're purpose built and a much more hassle free/efficient tool for the job.
Most importantly though is that the Console market is more willing to pay a higher price, and things are usually priced at what the market will bear rather than what it's worth based on the entertainment it provides or the cost of manufacturing.
passing on the right is only illegal in certain states. I know it's legal in my state but ticket worthy in some of the neighboring states.
as for why people go all the way to the left when they get on the high way. it's just a zombie driver mentality thing. They _THINK_ they're a "fast driver" and that lane is for them, or they think that by being in that lane they're allowed to go faster.
Some drivers just go one speed no matter what road they're on. For example: last year I needed to follow my aunt somewhere, she warned me that she was a "fast driver" and that I should do my best to keep up. On the back 30MPH roads she barreled down at about 50MPH and tail gated any slower moving traffic we encountered, we got to the highway... and she still drove at about 50MPH in the left lane holding up all the traffic behind her.
In NH we have some other problem drivers too, we have long stretches of single lane highways with lots of passing zones. but all too often people are too chicken sh*t to pass and just slow down when they encounter slow moving traffic. What ends up happening is you'll get 2 or 3 of these people stacked up and now there are too many cars to safely pass with average on coming traffic. On more than one occasion I've passed 12+ cars in one shot that were putting along at 35MPH behind a tractor or dump truck in a 55MPH zone, though unless there is no on coming traffic at all it can be a rather dangerous maneuver. Completely avoidable if the slow vehicle would just pull over, or other drivers would grow a pair and pass. I know lots of people who claim they never pass because they're afraid to pull into the oncoming traffic lane even when it's completely clear.
Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't the state of Alaska export crude oil? I seem to recall my brother-in-law and former Alaskan mentioning that Alaskan citizens get kick-backs (as opposed to having to pay taxes) from the oil profits.
If that's the case, wouldn't they in-effect be suing themselves?
This is the most appropriate punishment because it is MS's anti-competitive behavior that would ultimately lead to them being barred from competing in the marketplace. It's not like people wouldn't be able to buy Macs or install Linux for their OS or use Open office/other alternatives for productivity.
Heck it might actually do the industry some good, nothing breeds innovation like necessity.
I don't know if I completely agree with that, there are a very small number of movie writers/directors who have achieved household name status.
Usually when I tell people that "David Fincher is my favorite director" or "I'm not a very big fan of Michael Bay's work" I get blank stares in return. Even bringing up Peter Jackson, gets looks of confusion.
I think what people look for in movies is much more about the actors, because they are the FACE of the movie. In most cases the only time I find people who know about the writers/directors is if I'm either talking to a movie buff or I'm online.
On a whole though the only reason names like Lucas, Spielberg, or Scorsese are well known is because not only have they been around forever hand have their names attached to dozens of successful projects but also because movies appeal to a much broader spectrum of people and is on a whole a much more popular medium.
I think if you want people to start recognizing game developers more often you're going to have to invent a red carpet event for them to attend, televise it on an NBC/ABC/CBS, and put their name on the box... even then only gamers will care about these names.
- Cliff Bleszinski
- David Jones
- Hideki Kamiya
- Hideo Kojima
- Keiji Inafune
- Ken Levine
- Peter Molyneux
- Shigeru Miyamoto
- Shinji Mikami
- Tomonobu Itagaki
- Will Wright
There are certainly others, but those are the names of game designers that, in the past, I've purchased, or at least taken a closer look at new games because their name was attached to it. I've seen interviews with these guys packaged in bonus CDs with the games and on game news sites, I see videos of them giving talks and presenting their new games at conventions, etc.There are a lot of creative names in game design. IMO if you aren't noticing the developers behind the games, it's only because you aren't paying attention.
I'm not condoning the patent at all, I'm simply explaining why MS wasn't named in the lawsuit. It could also be because with the subscription and points card you're not actually redeeming them for a physical item, similarly phone cards are selling a service as opposed to a item, the patent uses physical items as an example.
Because it's speficially for "Point of Sale" (POS) items. Which specifically refers the the items within reach of the checkout lane, like the candy at the grocery store, they keychains and tire pressure gauges at the auto parts store, or the cds/gift cards at starbucks.
XBL subscription and point cards aren't sold at the "point of sale"
What I'm wondering is why you aren't modded higher.... you summed up my thoughts exactly.
CSI and a lot of other tech/police shows do break a lot of rules to make it "work", I usually try to avoid shows like that because it frustrates the hell out of me. However there are many shows that are fictional and still follow the rules. Monk for instance doesn't use any fake tech but rather interesting fictional situations. Then there are shows like Star Trek that use fictional technology but clearly define the laws and limitations of their world.
Unless I'm watching something like the History Channel/Mythbusters/Dirty Jobs/How it's Made/etc I find most "reality" based programing to be far more of an insult to my intelligence than anything CSI and the like could throw at me...
"Your operating system is working as designed. Nothing to see here..."