I don't mind paying for something useful but I hate buying crippled shit. I really don't play games anymore but if I did I wouldn't want anything that forced me to put up with a bunch on needless BS.
Same here. I hate paying for crippled products. I still play games, but specifically avoided buying the latest Ubisoft games: Anno 1404 with TAGES drm, Settlers 7 and Assassins Creed with this always online stuff. I own most other games in these respective series, but preferred not playing these to throwing money at their drm garbage. I don't think this new patch will change my mind. It is too little, too late. I guess Ubisoft can be happy - I don't pirate their games. I stopped playing them altogether. Problem is that I was a legitimate customer that never pirated their games before. I doubt the pirates had these problems.
Since last year, SABAM (Belgium's RIAA) charges day cares and schools for the music they play in class: see here
Youth organizations, neighborhood parties and small businesses that play radio during work already had to pay for this (or risk being raided by the copyright cops).
they could have just raised the price of the game and stuck it in. Would make me feel less of a sucker
But it still wouldn't change the fact that they are trying to charge extra for what should just be in the game from the start.
This isn't an expansion, this is just a side quest that has been ripped out of the game and is now sold separately.
If EA gets their way we'll soon be paying for our RPGs on a per quest basis.
Not that any of this will stop me from buying Dragon Age (although I don't think I ll buy any DLC).
Which is of course the main problem. Dragon Age already has a strong following of BG/bioware fans.
EA knows they can get away with this, the game will still be a guaranteed hit.
The grandparent post said that identical scores mean identical potential, and that is utter bollocks. Two people might both be intelligent and perform well with tests. One of these might get on well with others, have good listening skills while the other is only interested in their own opinion. One may may be liked and respected by his team the other resented and ridiculed. How are these two even remotely identical?
Very True. But what makes you so sure that the person who is good at making up 500 words of bullshit is the one that will be liked and respected by his team? (especially a team composed of engineers)
So "Darwinian evolution" raises a question: What's the other evolution?
Other evolutionary systems have been proposed.
Before Darwin came along Lamarck formulated his own theory of evolution.
The main difference with Darwinian evolution is that Lamarckian evolution supposes inheritance of characteristics acquired during the life time of the organisms.
See
wikipedia
Besides encrypting your data, TrueCrypt can also create hidden volumes:
"The principle is that a TrueCrypt volume is created within another TrueCrypt volume (within the free space on the volume). Even when the outer volume is mounted, it is impossible to prove whether there is a hidden volume within it or not, because free space on any TrueCrypt volume is always filled with random data when the volume is created* and no part of the (dismounted) hidden volume can be distinguished from random data. Note that TrueCrypt does not modify the file system (information about free space, etc.) within the outer volume in any way."
So even if you reveal your password, the hidden volume stays safe.
Not a bad feature, considering it is a crime in many countries to refuse
to give your encryption key to the authorities...
For those of you that don't know what this is about:
This isn't related to Turing's work on early computer science, but
concerns research he did shortly before his death. Turing proposed
that under certain conditions diffusion can destabilize a chemical system
and cause spatial patterns.
His original paper on the subject can be found at the
Turing Archive.
Mathematical biologists have been using these equations to model biological pattern formation
for some time. If you want to read up on it, try googling for research by Gierer and Meinhardt on pattern formation
This type of language/vocabulary development experiments has been done before.
You should take a look at the talking heads experiment. This page has some related publications.
So I guess everyone will just switch to a solution like TrueCrypt:
You can create hidden encrypted volumes within other encrypted systems.
Even if you are forced to give up your password it's impossible to tell
if their is another hidden volume present.
From the TrueCrypt site:
The principle is that a TrueCrypt volume is created within another TrueCrypt volume (within the free space on the volume). Even when the outer volume is mounted, it is impossible to prove whether there is a hidden volume within it or not, because free space on any TrueCrypt volume is always filled with random data when the volume is created* and no part of the (dismounted) hidden volume can be distinguished from random data.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't mind paying for something useful but I hate buying crippled shit. I really don't play games anymore but if I did I wouldn't want anything that forced me to put up with a bunch on needless BS.
Same here. I hate paying for crippled products. I still play games, but specifically avoided buying the latest Ubisoft games: Anno 1404 with TAGES drm, Settlers 7 and Assassins Creed with this always online stuff. I own most other games in these respective series, but preferred not playing these to throwing money at their drm garbage. I don't think this new patch will change my mind. It is too little, too late. I guess Ubisoft can be happy - I don't pirate their games. I stopped playing them altogether. Problem is that I was a legitimate customer that never pirated their games before. I doubt the pirates had these problems.
Since last year, SABAM (Belgium's RIAA) charges day cares and schools for the music they play in class:
see here
Youth organizations, neighborhood parties and small businesses that play radio during work already had to pay for this (or risk being raided by the copyright cops).
they could have just raised the price of the game and stuck it in. Would make me feel less of a sucker
But it still wouldn't change the fact that they are trying to charge extra for what should just be in the game from the start.
This isn't an expansion, this is just a side quest that has been ripped out of the game and is now sold separately.
If EA gets their way we'll soon be paying for our RPGs on a per quest basis.
Not that any of this will stop me from buying Dragon Age (although I don't think I ll buy any DLC).
Which is of course the main problem. Dragon Age already has a strong following of BG/bioware fans.
EA knows they can get away with this, the game will still be a guaranteed hit.
The grandparent post said that identical scores mean identical potential, and that is utter bollocks. Two people might both be intelligent and perform well with tests. One of these might get on well with others, have good listening skills while the other is only interested in their own opinion. One may may be liked and respected by his team the other resented and ridiculed. How are these two even remotely identical?
Very True. But what makes you so sure that the person who is good at making up 500 words of bullshit is the one that will be liked and respected by his team? (especially a team composed of engineers)
So "Darwinian evolution" raises a question: What's the other evolution?
Other evolutionary systems have been proposed. Before Darwin came along Lamarck formulated his own theory of evolution. The main difference with Darwinian evolution is that Lamarckian evolution supposes inheritance of characteristics acquired during the life time of the organisms. See wikipedia
It just doesn't compare
USA Vs. Belgium
Area: 9,631,420 km Vs. 30,528 km
Population: 299,360,879 Vs. 10,419,000
Yes that looks like a fair comparison, doesnt't it?
Couldn't find it in the linked article, found it on EFF page:
original site
site after complaint
A pity they don't mention TrueCrypt.
Besides encrypting your data, TrueCrypt can also create hidden volumes:
"The principle is that a TrueCrypt volume is created within another TrueCrypt volume (within the free space on the volume). Even when the outer volume is mounted, it is impossible to prove whether there is a hidden volume within it or not, because free space on any TrueCrypt volume is always filled with random data when the volume is created* and no part of the (dismounted) hidden volume can be distinguished from random data. Note that TrueCrypt does not modify the file system (information about free space, etc.) within the outer volume in any way."
So even if you reveal your password, the hidden volume stays safe. Not a bad feature, considering it is a crime in many countries to refuse to give your encryption key to the authorities...
For those of you that don't know what this is about:
This isn't related to Turing's work on early computer science, but concerns research he did shortly before his death.
Turing proposed that under certain conditions diffusion can destabilize a chemical system and cause spatial patterns.
His original paper on the subject can be found at the Turing Archive.
Mathematical biologists have been using these equations to model biological pattern formation for some time. If you want to read up on it, try googling for research by Gierer and Meinhardt on pattern formation
This type of language/vocabulary development experiments has been done before.
You should take a look at the talking heads experiment.
This page has some related publications.
So I guess everyone will just switch to a solution like TrueCrypt:
You can create hidden encrypted volumes within other encrypted systems. Even if you are forced to give up your password it's impossible to tell if their is another hidden volume present.
From the TrueCrypt site:
The principle is that a TrueCrypt volume is created within another TrueCrypt volume (within the free space on the volume). Even when the outer volume is mounted, it is impossible to prove whether there is a hidden volume within it or not, because free space on any TrueCrypt volume is always filled with random data when the volume is created* and no part of the (dismounted) hidden volume can be distinguished from random data.
Guy 1: "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
I think so, Brain, but where are we going to find a duck and a hose at this hour?
"The difference between pornography and erotica is lighting" -Gloria Leonard
...the difference between using a feather and using the whole chicken.
-Terry Pratchett