I do understand that developers can choose whether to region lock their games. But that's not the issue. The issue is whether the console is region locked, as you mentioned.
So is it? Nintendo of UK said "We are region locked." What does that mean? Their GAMES will be? Or their systems? How does that impact Wifi connectivity? Will people from Japan be able to play against people in the US on the Wii? I still don't see a straight answer here. You seem to have a better grasp of the situation than I, so perhaps you'll be able to clear up my confusion. Is the console region locked? Is Nintendo planning on region locking its first party games in Japan? The US? Europe? Since third partys have the option to region lock, which developers are the most likely to do so?
The reason I accused you of being rather confused, or "clueless," as you put it, along with the fanboys, is the fact that you said
Now, I imagine what some of the confusion might stem from is that first-party titles are not region-locked, so there might be some truth to what the VP of Marketing said, but it certainly isn't what most fans really wanted (which was no region-locking functionality in the hardware at all, preventing 3rd parties from using it).
when it seems to be coming to light that EVERYTHING is region locked. You didn't really have it straight yourself. Thus, it's not the fanboys that are confusing it: whenever a company contradicts itself, there's always confusion over who's telling the truth.
Region-locking isn't confusing, it's just not something that becomes an issue most of the time, excepting special cases like gamers who travel or people buying unreleased games from Japan.
I do agree, however, that it would have been much wiser to just leave sleeping dogs lie, and avoid the issue entirely, instead of proclaiming that it would be region free (pre-production), and WAS region free (post-production), and then having to retract both as lies. It is a little unfair to Nintendo, though: they didn't actually tout the machine as being region free at any of the press conferences. It was only when specifically asked about it did the rep from NoA say it was.
I'm just guessing, but I'll put it out here anyway: if you've got a Gamecube controller, you probably won't need a classic controller anyway. Unless Nintendo has changed what they said in the past, and GC controllers are no longer usable with the Wii, you don't need to buy a new one anyway.
Hopefully, most of the games that lend themselves to four players won't require the use of the nunchuck extension, only the Wiimote itself. Really, though, you shouldn't need four Wiimotes yourself: through implimentation of the while Mii! idea, with the character you create stored on your own controller, it seems they're encouraging people to take these things with them when they visit with their friends. Just make the party a BYOC, and no problem.
The parent proves that the grandparents is completely unfounded in their reasoning. The fact that even HE can't get his story straight shows there IS doubt, and that an announcement from NoJ is really the best way to clear this whole thing up, and by saying that, I'm not just being a fanboi: I truthfully don't know what the hell is going on, one way or the other, and a nice clear announcement would at least confirm it, set it in stone.
The sooner Nintendo puts this behind them (whether the thing is region free or not), the better off they'll be.
Nobody is berating Sony/MS for region locking, but then they never claimed that they'd do anything else. Nintendo, on the other hand, seemed to be doing pretty well in the media wars, and now they've gone and shot themselves in the foot.
Really now? So what exactly is THIS supposed to have ment? Sony is JUST as full of hot air as Nintendo is, but in Nintendo's case, it seems like it was an honest mistake made by a single person, as opposed to a mindful shift made during design. If the Wii was never region free in the first place, and no one had ever said anything about it, would we be complaining as loudly? I do admit that Nintendo should have kept their mouthes shut in this regard, or at least made it a little more low key (having someone from the UK section basically say "We are region-locked" is not exactly buttering it for our eventual forced consumption, and I think this was a mistake.
It doesn't matter: people who find this out and actually know what it means aren't going to refuse to buy a Wii on these grounds, and people who don't know what it means won't care anyway. I don't see Nintendo losing as many sales over this as I see Sony losing sales over their decision to only ship 500k units worldwide at launch, or their slaping Europe in the face.
Seriously, have you been on Slashdot for the past year? If not, I'll get you up to date:
Nintendo fanboys have concluded that the Wii will cure cancer. This is a definite possibility, as it's awesome levels can be measured with a Geiger Counter. Sony has decided to shoot itself in various appendages so many times, it now not only lacks feet, but legs, arms, and a distinguishable face. PS3s will still sell out. Sony fanboys cry a little on the inside, wads of $600 dollars slipping through holes in their pockets. Microsoft twiddles its thumbs, whistles, and eats a kitten.
Can we please get over the fanboyish Wiimote worship and admit it ain't all it is cracked up to be?
Can we please wait until the thing is freakin' RELEASED before we start passing our judgement on it, positive or negative? Heck, we don't even know the PRICE yet, and people are still condemning it as crap or praising it as platinum.
Has anybody actually RTFA?! The defense of Sony's actions in this article are, frankly, laughable. Por ejemplo:
Consumer electronics today have begun to cost more and more, and considering what comes included with the $599 PS3 super-package, I'm honestly surprised that it isn't more expensive. Most people have few qualms against shelling out several hundred dollars to upwards of over a grand to extend their entertainment system or video camera to record their family reunions in needlessly high definition.
I read this, and I said, "WHA?! He wants it to cost MORE?!" The emphasis here should be placed on several hundred dollars, of which the PS3 is not. It is not several. It is a BUNDLE of hundred dollars. It is a multitude, or a plethora of hundreds of dollars, spent on a single item that demands other hundreds of dollars to be spent on upgrading the rest of one's entertainment system, to make the whole ordeal worthwhile. A video camera doesn't demand you upgrade your television, and upgrading your entertainment system usually gets you a whole lot more than a PS3.
A gamer who picks up the $499 "core" version isn't a gamer. I'll rephrase: he isn't a gamer in Sony's target audience, otherwise he would pick up the "full" version. The cheaper version is put out for the people who don't care about hard drive storage or Blu-ray or console bundles or even what games the thing plays; these people only care about price...
Excuse me? I'm not a gamer because I don't happen to have 600 dollars lying around that I can throw at a game system when it launches? I'm not a gamer because I'm a college student, or perhaps I'm on a tight income? This disgusts me. It's a slap in the face.
I'd rather have a game respond to my direct actions than a controller that spends most of its "vibrating" responding to cutscene explosions anyway....do you really enjoy a controller that gives you a little motion when Bob falls out of an airplane and lands on his head?
Again, a sort of slap in the face, implying that anyone who liked the rumble feature is stupid. Also, way to sidestep the fact that the Wii gets you the response to direct actions on TOP of vibration. Must... resist... urge... to strangle... Sony fanboy...
Sony says they won't have enough consoles to ship for launch. Only 500,000, they say.
Evan: The launch is important, but what's more vital to the console's success is how many units Sony can put out by the end of the year.
Question sidestepped, and point completely missed. Every PS3 sold is a PS3 Sony hasn't made money on. If there's a shortage on launch day, Sony is not, somehow, making imaginary money on these systems not sold. The fact that the Wii will be releasing at the same time or earlier makes the whole thing even more dangerous. If someone can't get a PS3, what's to stop them from buying an 360 AND a Wii instead? Launch is vital. Plus, if Sony can't get their act together for launch, what's to say they can pull off their projected end of the year quotes anyway?
In contrast to Evan's comment, the growth surge of the DVD format could in part be attributed to the success of the PS2.
Really now? That's one I've never heard. DVD did well because of the PS2. If that's not the most fanboyish thing I've ever heard... next they'll be telling me that the PS2 contributed to the polio vaccine. DVDs succeeded because they were better than VHSes. They are more compact, last longer, easier to use (does anyone even remember having to rewind VHS tapes anymore?), cheaper... not because they happened to be compatible with the PS2.
It's sort of like Newton's Law of Gravity - all launch games suck; it's universal.
HOW INTERESTING! All Launch games suck? So, Super Mario 64 sucked? You're going to tell me that Legend of Zelda:
So... let me get this straight: you're not going to buy a Wii at launch because they're not offering old, quasi-obscure games from old systems that you loved in the past the moment the system is released, and that you assumed would be on the list but aren't?
I volunteer take that horrible Wii off your hands, if you'd like.
In all seriousness, remember that this is just list at launch. Nintendo's not going to bring out every single game when the system launches: it would be tremendously overwhelming. I think waves of a few weeks between game releases will be ideal. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll start to see your favorite titles popping up soon enough. And while you wait, why not try some of the new Wii titles that are coming out. I hear this new-fangled "Twilight Princess" thing might be good, might be worth picking up.
...and children, to prevent juvenile crime. And adults to prevent pedophilia and murder. And grown men to prevent rape. And barbers to prevent nickings. And chefs to prevent burns. And maids to prevent theft, and mechanics to prevent price gouging.
Your logic is flawed. Crack is illegal (or, at least in most countries it is: I will take no snappy come backs that crack is legal in YOUR section of Sri Lanka) for non-medicinal purposes, and this should be enforced. Alcohol, on the other hand, is not.
That the police do not seem to be concerned about enforcing law like this, and instead take to catching soccer moms going 5 miles over the limit and ticketing Corvettes whose meters expire, is a severe problem. Just because it's easier to enforce some laws than others doesn't mean the hard ones should be ignored.
Granted: I'm sure that in some areas, police do a very good job at drug busting, etc etc. However, the fact that there are still areas in the country that do not "feel safe" shows that this is not a universal property. Why? Why have we allowed society to regress to the point where it is no longer safe for children to play outside? Is this why suburbia, with its terrifying monotony and disgustingly distented sprawl have taken over much of the country?
Where I grew up, there were no children my age in the neighborhood; it was filled with old people. There were no woods nearby, no areas to explore. Our lawn was large, well mowed, and boring. Imagination only carries one so far, and if I'm alone, outside, and there's nothing around me, what am I to do? Run in circles? No, I say suburban sprawl is killing childhoods, as well as neighborhoods and social networking.
This country needs to be cleaned up more uniformly. Will it ever happen? It depends, mostly on education and participation in community.
The spiral notebooks and pencils aren't a huge problem. I suppose on really good pens, the cusioning may be molded to suit a right handed person better, but all three of those examples were mostly a joke, and an example of how the world has been molded around a right handed person, and not a lefty.
I'm sure the makers of the pencils and pens, and advertisers care about the text directions on pencils and pens, though. How much more likely are you to read the brand name or advertisement on your free give-away pen if it's right side up than upside down?
I believe I once found a type of Ticonderoga pencils that happened to be printed left-hand up, but I think it was just poor planning on the manufacturer's part.
There are other problems, too. Musical instruments are ALWAYS right handed, unless you buy a more expensive version specifically for left handed people. (I suppose it's not true of drums, but you still have to set them up in a different manner, which makes playing gigs just that much harder. I also suppose it's not really applicable for the keyboard, inverting the keys wouldn't make much sense, and would force someone to not only lead with their weaker fingers, but reverse hundreds of years of musicology.) Mouses are always contoured for right handed people, and even if the configurations can be changed, they're usually not as comfortable (exeptions exist. One button Mac mouses? Blasphemy!) Etc etc. I'm sure, if you thought about it, you could think of more things. I'm sure you get the point, though.
And here I though it was just me. I'm left handed when it comes to writing, and things that require more precision, like brushing my teeth, but when it comes to strength (kicking something, bowling, etc) I use my right.
Then don't use the left side pages. It's worse to have to write all your notes on the backs of pages, and leave the fronts blank, or perhaps craziest of all, start in the back and work forward. It's like some sort of disgustingly watered down Da Vinci Code. "Oh, You'll Never EVER figure out what order the pages are in now!"
And then you get those terrible stadium-style desks, with the arm rest on the right side, so you have to support your elbow for an entire lecture, or leave your elbow jutting embarassingly out into the isle.
And lefties can forget about using any pen or pencil that smudges. Your hand drags all over everything you've just written, so not only is your writing deemed sloppy and messy and worthy of only the finest chicken huts, but the side of your hand gets covered with a inky splotch, something akin to an organic Jackson Pollock.
You're missing MY point. The fact that people have used the Wiimote, and critiqued it, citing it's problems, it's strengths and weaknesses, indicates that it is beyond marketing hype. It is a thing, an object which exists in this world and on this planet and will be hitting stores in a few months. If it were marketing hype, no one would be able to report on how successful it actually is, or how well it works.
Which, coincidentally, seems to be afflicting the PS3's Amazing Motion Control Sensor Controller, which I have seen reviewed or used no where at all.
You say that Nintendo has actually done the motion-sensitive controllers, but I don't seem to be able to find them.
This is what I was responding to. Nintendo has indeed "done" their controllers, perhaps much like a baker's cookies are done. They are visible, they are cooling on the windowsill, and several people have nibbled at their exteriors. The PS3's controllers, on the other hand, are shockingly similar to a cake batter made by Schrodinger. Perhaps motion sensitivity exists? Will it ever make a cake? Will anyone actually eat it? Questions as of yet unanswered, unadressed by the media and the public at large.
As a lefty, I experience these sorts of problems on a daily basis. Spiral notebooks are a pain, scissors are impossible, and I worry about my efficiency on my Nintendo DS. I lose a substancial number of Bells every day in Animal Crossing. Such a waste!
Those little things no righty ever thinks about. Heck, grab your favorite pencil or pen, hold it in your right hand, and read the markings on the pencil. If they're right side up, you've got yourself a right handed pen. Switch to the left side, and the letters are upside down! How disorienting.
Yes, because no one has been able to play a Wii and use the motion sensitive controllers. All the videos posted all over Youtube and gaming review sitesofpeopleplaying the games are doctored. Oh, and the Apollo never happened, too, right?
WTF? Right now, Wii looks a heck of a lot more tangible than the PS3's motion controller.
Final Fantasy VII isn't considered a classic? Perhaps your definition of classic includes some sort of antiquity requirement, but with technology and games moving forward as fast as they are, a game released almost a decade ago is older than the technological hills.
Plus, there are such things as modern classics. Think about books: they've been around for thousands and thousands of years (almost a thousand years if you only consider actual printed works) and yet books written within the last fifty years are often still considered classics.
As a college student, I can only inform you about the conditions at my university, and in the classes I've taken. Also, IANAS (I am not a statistician) but I can say that a high percentage of the professors I've had, and the professors my friends have had, don't ask questions, or encourage any interaction from the audience at all. In fact, many I have frown upon it.
In stadium classes, for example, interaction has been deemed impractical. Most professors simply lecture, and people with questions are forced to wait until afterwards and scramble for the few moments the professor is cleaning up, or attempt to make office hours, which consist of a small hour or two hour window that usually falls during one of your other classes. In a class like this, what's the difference if the students are there or not? If they have questions, they just try to make office hours anyway.
In smaller, but still lower level classes, interaction between the student and teacher may be encouraged by the professor, but is usually never reciprocated by the student. Most of my classes, the students just sit there silent when the teacher asks a question, and the professor is forced to answer themselves. I assume this has come about due to the abundance of unfriendly or quiet teachers, as well as the fear of getting questions wrong, or the fear of peer ridicule. Usually, I'm the only one in my classes who even speaks to the professor, let alone answer questions. Again, what's the difference? I'd rather have those quiet people at home anyway, so the teacher pays more attention to me.
Only in the higher level, VERY small classes have I found the reverse to be true. Here, interaction is the point of the entire class. If there are only 10 people in your class, and you don't get it, comprehension has just dropped 10%. (Can you tell I'm a Math/Computer Science major?) Of course, in these classes, such a podcast doesn't make sense, but I assume it's not the sort of class the news post is asking about.
Of course, if the professor in question is a good professor, the engaging, interactive, interesting, imaginative type who we always want as teachers but never seem to get, they shouldn't have a problem drawing people to their actual lectures anyway. People should WANT to come, and the ones that don't want to probably shouldn't be there anyway: they just sit in the back, and cause disturbances when their cell phones ring or they spill their Vente Mocha Decaf Frappichinos.
Aah, I don't doubt your knowledge of Slashdot, poster of many thoughts.
I think the format is more of a blog style format, though; entries, sometimes with thoughts attached. I've seen blogs that don't contain opinion at all, but just post links to cool websites, much like Slashdot does.
You do have a point, though: Slashdot is very newsy. And also very forum-y.
Net Neutrality, on the other hand, is definitley important. And not mumbo jumbo.
A dangerous proposition, I believe! If it suddenly becomes the job of the clerk to explain things to you, it also becomes the fault of the clerk if you suddenly change your mind three months into the contract, or if you say you understand something but later admit you didn't. This puts the clerk in a tough position: even a clerk who does the best job at explaining the contract might meet up with an angry or stupid customer, who doesn't listen, signs, and comes back a month later complaining. What is to be done then?
They're not allowed to walk in the street. It's called jaywalking.
They also do it for knives: in some areas it's illegal to carry a knife, and in some places manufacture and sale of certain knives is illegal as well.
I suppose you bring up an important point, however: it's not enough to say that above a certain age people aren't allowed to do something, or that certain people can't do something based on some criteria. Blanket requirements like that always end up including people who shouldn't be, and these people usually become vocal and just get the whole blanket removed (which, as in this case, is not the right answer: I'm certainly sure that there ARE 90 year olds out there who do want the internet but won't understand the contract they're signing, and are suddenly confused when they're paying three hundred dollars a month for fifty-six types of HBO.)
What DOES need to be done is that companies have to instruct their employees on how to judge whether a person understands what they're signing, or is qualified to buy what they are buying, etc. They already do this for grociery cashiers and alcoholic beverages: if you look to be too young, you'll get carded, and you have to prove you qualify. Same should apply here: if you look like you don't understand the contract (if they ask you a basic question about it, you should be able to answer it), you don't allow you the service.
Also, babies aren't a service. They're more of a... bodily function. You can't really bar someone from having a baby.
That means they BLOG about news. They don't report it, or claim that it's factual or acurate or fair and balanced to any degree.
Shockingly, most real news sites don't depend on their viewers for news story contributions. I imagine if they did, we'd hear many more stories on the nightly news about old women teaching their parakeets to crochet.
Slashdot Mirror
I do understand that developers can choose whether to region lock their games. But that's not the issue. The issue is whether the console is region locked, as you mentioned.
So is it? Nintendo of UK said "We are region locked." What does that mean? Their GAMES will be? Or their systems? How does that impact Wifi connectivity? Will people from Japan be able to play against people in the US on the Wii? I still don't see a straight answer here. You seem to have a better grasp of the situation than I, so perhaps you'll be able to clear up my confusion. Is the console region locked? Is Nintendo planning on region locking its first party games in Japan? The US? Europe? Since third partys have the option to region lock, which developers are the most likely to do so?
when it seems to be coming to light that EVERYTHING is region locked. You didn't really have it straight yourself. Thus, it's not the fanboys that are confusing it: whenever a company contradicts itself, there's always confusion over who's telling the truth.
Region-locking isn't confusing, it's just not something that becomes an issue most of the time, excepting special cases like gamers who travel or people buying unreleased games from Japan.
I do agree, however, that it would have been much wiser to just leave sleeping dogs lie, and avoid the issue entirely, instead of proclaiming that it would be region free (pre-production), and WAS region free (post-production), and then having to retract both as lies. It is a little unfair to Nintendo, though: they didn't actually tout the machine as being region free at any of the press conferences. It was only when specifically asked about it did the rep from NoA say it was.
I just realized I used "anyway" three times in two sentences, and used "while" instead of "whole". Please excuse me while I punch myself in the face.
I'm just guessing, but I'll put it out here anyway: if you've got a Gamecube controller, you probably won't need a classic controller anyway. Unless Nintendo has changed what they said in the past, and GC controllers are no longer usable with the Wii, you don't need to buy a new one anyway.
Hopefully, most of the games that lend themselves to four players won't require the use of the nunchuck extension, only the Wiimote itself. Really, though, you shouldn't need four Wiimotes yourself: through implimentation of the while Mii! idea, with the character you create stored on your own controller, it seems they're encouraging people to take these things with them when they visit with their friends. Just make the party a BYOC, and no problem.
The parent proves that the grandparents is completely unfounded in their reasoning. The fact that even HE can't get his story straight shows there IS doubt, and that an announcement from NoJ is really the best way to clear this whole thing up, and by saying that, I'm not just being a fanboi: I truthfully don't know what the hell is going on, one way or the other, and a nice clear announcement would at least confirm it, set it in stone.
The sooner Nintendo puts this behind them (whether the thing is region free or not), the better off they'll be.
Really now? So what exactly is THIS supposed to have ment? Sony is JUST as full of hot air as Nintendo is, but in Nintendo's case, it seems like it was an honest mistake made by a single person, as opposed to a mindful shift made during design. If the Wii was never region free in the first place, and no one had ever said anything about it, would we be complaining as loudly? I do admit that Nintendo should have kept their mouthes shut in this regard, or at least made it a little more low key (having someone from the UK section basically say "We are region-locked" is not exactly buttering it for our eventual forced consumption, and I think this was a mistake.
It doesn't matter: people who find this out and actually know what it means aren't going to refuse to buy a Wii on these grounds, and people who don't know what it means won't care anyway. I don't see Nintendo losing as many sales over this as I see Sony losing sales over their decision to only ship 500k units worldwide at launch, or their slaping Europe in the face.
You must be new here.
Seriously, have you been on Slashdot for the past year? If not, I'll get you up to date:
Nintendo fanboys have concluded that the Wii will cure cancer. This is a definite possibility, as it's awesome levels can be measured with a Geiger Counter.
Sony has decided to shoot itself in various appendages so many times, it now not only lacks feet, but legs, arms, and a distinguishable face. PS3s will still sell out. Sony fanboys cry a little on the inside, wads of $600 dollars slipping through holes in their pockets.
Microsoft twiddles its thumbs, whistles, and eats a kitten.
Can we please wait until the thing is freakin' RELEASED before we start passing our judgement on it, positive or negative? Heck, we don't even know the PRICE yet, and people are still condemning it as crap or praising it as platinum.
I read this, and I said, "WHA?! He wants it to cost MORE?!" The emphasis here should be placed on several hundred dollars, of which the PS3 is not. It is not several. It is a BUNDLE of hundred dollars. It is a multitude, or a plethora of hundreds of dollars, spent on a single item that demands other hundreds of dollars to be spent on upgrading the rest of one's entertainment system, to make the whole ordeal worthwhile. A video camera doesn't demand you upgrade your television, and upgrading your entertainment system usually gets you a whole lot more than a PS3.
Excuse me? I'm not a gamer because I don't happen to have 600 dollars lying around that I can throw at a game system when it launches? I'm not a gamer because I'm a college student, or perhaps I'm on a tight income? This disgusts me. It's a slap in the face.
Again, a sort of slap in the face, implying that anyone who liked the rumble feature is stupid. Also, way to sidestep the fact that the Wii gets you the response to direct actions on TOP of vibration. Must... resist... urge... to strangle... Sony fanboy...
Question sidestepped, and point completely missed. Every PS3 sold is a PS3 Sony hasn't made money on. If there's a shortage on launch day, Sony is not, somehow, making imaginary money on these systems not sold. The fact that the Wii will be releasing at the same time or earlier makes the whole thing even more dangerous. If someone can't get a PS3, what's to stop them from buying an 360 AND a Wii instead? Launch is vital. Plus, if Sony can't get their act together for launch, what's to say they can pull off their projected end of the year quotes anyway?
Really now? That's one I've never heard. DVD did well because of the PS2. If that's not the most fanboyish thing I've ever heard... next they'll be telling me that the PS2 contributed to the polio vaccine. DVDs succeeded because they were better than VHSes. They are more compact, last longer, easier to use (does anyone even remember having to rewind VHS tapes anymore?), cheaper... not because they happened to be compatible with the PS2.
HOW INTERESTING! All Launch games suck? So, Super Mario 64 sucked? You're going to tell me that Legend of Zelda:
So... let me get this straight: you're not going to buy a Wii at launch because they're not offering old, quasi-obscure games from old systems that you loved in the past the moment the system is released, and that you assumed would be on the list but aren't?
I volunteer take that horrible Wii off your hands, if you'd like.
In all seriousness, remember that this is just list at launch. Nintendo's not going to bring out every single game when the system launches: it would be tremendously overwhelming. I think waves of a few weeks between game releases will be ideal. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll start to see your favorite titles popping up soon enough. And while you wait, why not try some of the new Wii titles that are coming out. I hear this new-fangled "Twilight Princess" thing might be good, might be worth picking up.
...and children, to prevent juvenile crime. And adults to prevent pedophilia and murder. And grown men to prevent rape. And barbers to prevent nickings. And chefs to prevent burns. And maids to prevent theft, and mechanics to prevent price gouging.
Your logic is flawed. Crack is illegal (or, at least in most countries it is: I will take no snappy come backs that crack is legal in YOUR section of Sri Lanka) for non-medicinal purposes, and this should be enforced. Alcohol, on the other hand, is not.
That the police do not seem to be concerned about enforcing law like this, and instead take to catching soccer moms going 5 miles over the limit and ticketing Corvettes whose meters expire, is a severe problem. Just because it's easier to enforce some laws than others doesn't mean the hard ones should be ignored.
Granted: I'm sure that in some areas, police do a very good job at drug busting, etc etc. However, the fact that there are still areas in the country that do not "feel safe" shows that this is not a universal property. Why? Why have we allowed society to regress to the point where it is no longer safe for children to play outside? Is this why suburbia, with its terrifying monotony and disgustingly distented sprawl have taken over much of the country?
Where I grew up, there were no children my age in the neighborhood; it was filled with old people. There were no woods nearby, no areas to explore. Our lawn was large, well mowed, and boring. Imagination only carries one so far, and if I'm alone, outside, and there's nothing around me, what am I to do? Run in circles? No, I say suburban sprawl is killing childhoods, as well as neighborhoods and social networking.
This country needs to be cleaned up more uniformly. Will it ever happen? It depends, mostly on education and participation in community.
The spiral notebooks and pencils aren't a huge problem. I suppose on really good pens, the cusioning may be molded to suit a right handed person better, but all three of those examples were mostly a joke, and an example of how the world has been molded around a right handed person, and not a lefty.
I'm sure the makers of the pencils and pens, and advertisers care about the text directions on pencils and pens, though. How much more likely are you to read the brand name or advertisement on your free give-away pen if it's right side up than upside down?
I believe I once found a type of Ticonderoga pencils that happened to be printed left-hand up, but I think it was just poor planning on the manufacturer's part.
There are other problems, too. Musical instruments are ALWAYS right handed, unless you buy a more expensive version specifically for left handed people. (I suppose it's not true of drums, but you still have to set them up in a different manner, which makes playing gigs just that much harder. I also suppose it's not really applicable for the keyboard, inverting the keys wouldn't make much sense, and would force someone to not only lead with their weaker fingers, but reverse hundreds of years of musicology.) Mouses are always contoured for right handed people, and even if the configurations can be changed, they're usually not as comfortable (exeptions exist. One button Mac mouses? Blasphemy!) Etc etc. I'm sure, if you thought about it, you could think of more things. I'm sure you get the point, though.
And here I though it was just me. I'm left handed when it comes to writing, and things that require more precision, like brushing my teeth, but when it comes to strength (kicking something, bowling, etc) I use my right.
Glad to see I'm not the only one like that.
Then don't use the left side pages. It's worse to have to write all your notes on the backs of pages, and leave the fronts blank, or perhaps craziest of all, start in the back and work forward. It's like some sort of disgustingly watered down Da Vinci Code. "Oh, You'll Never EVER figure out what order the pages are in now!"
And then you get those terrible stadium-style desks, with the arm rest on the right side, so you have to support your elbow for an entire lecture, or leave your elbow jutting embarassingly out into the isle.
And lefties can forget about using any pen or pencil that smudges. Your hand drags all over everything you've just written, so not only is your writing deemed sloppy and messy and worthy of only the finest chicken huts, but the side of your hand gets covered with a inky splotch, something akin to an organic Jackson Pollock.
Which, coincidentally, seems to be afflicting the PS3's Amazing Motion Control Sensor Controller, which I have seen reviewed or used no where at all.
This is what I was responding to. Nintendo has indeed "done" their controllers, perhaps much like a baker's cookies are done. They are visible, they are cooling on the windowsill, and several people have nibbled at their exteriors. The PS3's controllers, on the other hand, are shockingly similar to a cake batter made by Schrodinger. Perhaps motion sensitivity exists? Will it ever make a cake? Will anyone actually eat it? Questions as of yet unanswered, unadressed by the media and the public at large.
Flip the screen upside down!
As a lefty, I experience these sorts of problems on a daily basis. Spiral notebooks are a pain, scissors are impossible, and I worry about my efficiency on my Nintendo DS. I lose a substancial number of Bells every day in Animal Crossing. Such a waste!
Those little things no righty ever thinks about. Heck, grab your favorite pencil or pen, hold it in your right hand, and read the markings on the pencil. If they're right side up, you've got yourself a right handed pen. Switch to the left side, and the letters are upside down! How disorienting.
Yes, because no one has been able to play a Wii and use the motion sensitive controllers. All the videos posted all over Youtube and gaming review sites of people playing the games are doctored. Oh, and the Apollo never happened, too, right?
WTF? Right now, Wii looks a heck of a lot more tangible than the PS3's motion controller.
Final Fantasy VII isn't considered a classic? Perhaps your definition of classic includes some sort of antiquity requirement, but with technology and games moving forward as fast as they are, a game released almost a decade ago is older than the technological hills.
Plus, there are such things as modern classics. Think about books: they've been around for thousands and thousands of years (almost a thousand years if you only consider actual printed works) and yet books written within the last fifty years are often still considered classics.
As a college student, I can only inform you about the conditions at my university, and in the classes I've taken. Also, IANAS (I am not a statistician) but I can say that a high percentage of the professors I've had, and the professors my friends have had, don't ask questions, or encourage any interaction from the audience at all. In fact, many I have frown upon it.
In stadium classes, for example, interaction has been deemed impractical. Most professors simply lecture, and people with questions are forced to wait until afterwards and scramble for the few moments the professor is cleaning up, or attempt to make office hours, which consist of a small hour or two hour window that usually falls during one of your other classes. In a class like this, what's the difference if the students are there or not? If they have questions, they just try to make office hours anyway.
In smaller, but still lower level classes, interaction between the student and teacher may be encouraged by the professor, but is usually never reciprocated by the student. Most of my classes, the students just sit there silent when the teacher asks a question, and the professor is forced to answer themselves. I assume this has come about due to the abundance of unfriendly or quiet teachers, as well as the fear of getting questions wrong, or the fear of peer ridicule. Usually, I'm the only one in my classes who even speaks to the professor, let alone answer questions. Again, what's the difference? I'd rather have those quiet people at home anyway, so the teacher pays more attention to me.
Only in the higher level, VERY small classes have I found the reverse to be true. Here, interaction is the point of the entire class. If there are only 10 people in your class, and you don't get it, comprehension has just dropped 10%. (Can you tell I'm a Math/Computer Science major?) Of course, in these classes, such a podcast doesn't make sense, but I assume it's not the sort of class the news post is asking about.
Of course, if the professor in question is a good professor, the engaging, interactive, interesting, imaginative type who we always want as teachers but never seem to get, they shouldn't have a problem drawing people to their actual lectures anyway. People should WANT to come, and the ones that don't want to probably shouldn't be there anyway: they just sit in the back, and cause disturbances when their cell phones ring or they spill their Vente Mocha Decaf Frappichinos.
You should really Wiki before you post, you know. It's applicable in the US, Canada, Singapore, Taiwan, China, and many more places I'm sure.
Oh, but I forgot, intelligent posters don't exist outside of Europe, do they?
Aah, I don't doubt your knowledge of Slashdot, poster of many thoughts.
I think the format is more of a blog style format, though; entries, sometimes with thoughts attached. I've seen blogs that don't contain opinion at all, but just post links to cool websites, much like Slashdot does.
You do have a point, though: Slashdot is very newsy. And also very forum-y.
Net Neutrality, on the other hand, is definitley important. And not mumbo jumbo.
A dangerous proposition, I believe! If it suddenly becomes the job of the clerk to explain things to you, it also becomes the fault of the clerk if you suddenly change your mind three months into the contract, or if you say you understand something but later admit you didn't. This puts the clerk in a tough position: even a clerk who does the best job at explaining the contract might meet up with an angry or stupid customer, who doesn't listen, signs, and comes back a month later complaining. What is to be done then?
They're not allowed to walk in the street. It's called jaywalking.
They also do it for knives: in some areas it's illegal to carry a knife, and in some places manufacture and sale of certain knives is illegal as well.
I suppose you bring up an important point, however: it's not enough to say that above a certain age people aren't allowed to do something, or that certain people can't do something based on some criteria. Blanket requirements like that always end up including people who shouldn't be, and these people usually become vocal and just get the whole blanket removed (which, as in this case, is not the right answer: I'm certainly sure that there ARE 90 year olds out there who do want the internet but won't understand the contract they're signing, and are suddenly confused when they're paying three hundred dollars a month for fifty-six types of HBO.)
What DOES need to be done is that companies have to instruct their employees on how to judge whether a person understands what they're signing, or is qualified to buy what they are buying, etc. They already do this for grociery cashiers and alcoholic beverages: if you look to be too young, you'll get carded, and you have to prove you qualify. Same should apply here: if you look like you don't understand the contract (if they ask you a basic question about it, you should be able to answer it), you don't allow you the service.
Also, babies aren't a service. They're more of a... bodily function. You can't really bar someone from having a baby.
That means they BLOG about news. They don't report it, or claim that it's factual or acurate or fair and balanced to any degree.
Shockingly, most real news sites don't depend on their viewers for news story contributions. I imagine if they did, we'd hear many more stories on the nightly news about old women teaching their parakeets to crochet.
I wouldn't; I'd just like some Grey Poupon.