I absolutely respect the rules of RP, and even keep in character until the other person breaks out. I certainly don't want to step on anyone's fun, but I'm mostly just there to play, not to interact a great deal. I have friends and family playing on the same server as I, and we're content to party almost entirely with ourselves, and will keep in character (tho admittedly milder than some of the... more serious RPers) when we interact with others.
That said, I wholly support the parent's statements, and think that it's ridiculous when people go there just to rile up the less casual RPers. RP debates in general chat aren't fun for anyone.
I just have to wonder why they don't release the game, and only allow new character creations to be done on a lower population server.
I bought WoW on release day, and had it running as soon as I got the game out of the box (having already had the beta client installed), and I've only had marginal issues due to picking lower population servers.
If you really want low server load, switch over to an RP server. The crowd can be a little kooky at times, but the smoother gameplay is easily worth it.
After, and then after again... and then there was that time they forgot to renew the domain name, and then there was that time they went down again... and then again. And then... [loop]
Alternatively, one could argue that the hardest part about learning alternative OSs (Linux, OS X, et al), is UNlearning Windows. That was certainly true in my case.
Getting people into Windows-centric habits makes it hard to find the (usually better) different locations of things in other operating systems. By hooking Windows users into the Windows way of thought, it makes it harder for them to get into more rational (but different) ways of finding control panel functions, menu options, printer settings, etc.
Not really. From my understanding of the common usage, dial-in performance is like an easily adjustable carburetor, or (even better) a PDA interface to a mod-chip, that lets you specify (on the fly) what performance settings to use.
My 3000GT has electronic wastegates on the turbos, meaning I can set them to open earlier or later than normal. If I set them to open earlier, it reduces the amount of gain the turbos give me, hence resulting in better gas mileage. However, if I want to have fun on the road, I rotate a dial (or press some buttons) and have them open later, giving me the opposite effect.
So basically, dial-in performance is anything that can be adjusted pre-race, or (even better) in-car to affect the natural operation of the car.
To be fair to the grandparent poster, I don't think he was stating that we shouldn't build it because somebody could potentially blow it up... rather, that we shouldn't put the whole of our infrastructure into it to the point that if someone DID blow up even a portion of it, they would be taking out power, water, gas and oil lines for everything that ran along the road's 4000 mile route.
In that sense, he has a point. Further, while I don't know that I'd be all that worried about terrorism, it does introduce a rather large single point of failure. If there were a storm, flood, technical error, glitch, bug, or even just a really big wreck on the superhighway that was more than the creators had planned for, and it took out those other services in the process, anybody along (and likely beyond) that route is just fucked for a while.
It's not Apple's fault that Real produces DRMd content. It's not Apple's fault that the iPod (which far predates the Real music store) doesn't play Real's Harmony encoded content. It's not Apple's fault that you can't download plain-jane MP3s off of Real's site.
Apple's iPod plays all ITMS songs, as well as regular MP3s and can convert WMVs. If Real's site distributed music in a widely understandable format, then they wouldn't have had to worry about Apple updating firmware and breaking Harmony.
Further, we have no way of knowing that Apple intentionally broke Real's encoding. It is far more likely that they simply fixed another bug, or added some completely unrelated feature, and that just happened to break Real's hack. For all we know, the reason that Apple didn't want Real's hack to exist was for this very reason... if they break it, accidentally or not, they're held to blame for it. It might have been bad coding on Real's part that causes it to no longer work, but we certainly don't know, and I'm not holding Apple accountable for supporting Real's proprietary encoded DRM method.
Not necessarily. For all we know, they patched something completely unrelated, and moved a memory offset that Real's code depended on.
Certainly you wouldn't hold Apple responsible for the quality of Real's code would you? It's certainly not their fault if they recompile an executable and stuff doesn't work anymore.
It might not have deliberately broken a damn thing, other than shifted memory offsets, which will cause Real to have to disassemble the code and try to relocate.
Don't get me wrong, if Apple did it on purpose, then yeah, it's kind of shitty... but we have no way of knowing that they did.
As much as I appreciate Limewire, Gnutella, Donkey and whatnot, I don't want to have to search for files that exist. I want to be able to BROWSE via category, in categories that I am interested in.
Yeah, and as the adage goes, groundings became a lot less of a punishment after I had a phone, TV, PC and gaming system in my room. Who cared that I couldn't go out and do stuff? I had Quake to keep me company.
You know what punishments WORKED tho? The ones in which those amenities were taken away.
I think the real question is why they had them in the first place? Yes, I understand the argument that it's easier to keep them in line if they're docile, but c'mon... I can't tell you how many times I've wished for a place where the meals were prepared for me, could play video games, and not have any responsibilities to worry about (like work).
The more prisons offer to the inmates, the more inclined people are to WANT to go there. Even if they commit a lesser crime for the shorter sentence, it might end up being a choice vacation spot.
Also of note, that if you turn on "click-to-move" option in your game control panel, you can just right click on any point and the game will move in a straight line until you reach it. Might still have to revert back to keyboard navigation if there are fences or whatnot in the way, but on open plains (ala Westfall), you can simply right click on a point in the sky and wait until you get where you want to be.
A friend of mine recently employed Trillian at his company. They have a centralized chat server complete with a customer service chat interface.
If you chat with "companyname_sales", the IM is automatically routed to the next available sales rep. All chats are logged to the server by default, so transcriptions of the chat logs are certainly available, and if at any point they need to route you to someone else, they are able to do so with a couple of clicks, unbeknownst to the user, and the chat logs then become available to the second rep.
It's a brilliant system, and surprisingly, not done at a technology firm. I'm surprised I haven't seen a "corporate solution" developed that does something similar.
Basically, my point though, is that IM is not useless in the application you have suggested, it simply requires more work to be harnessed efficiently.
By switching from chat support person a to chat support person b at the drop of a hat, the user gets realtime support, from the person of choice, and in a means that is amicable to all parties involved. I'm not saying this solution would fit everyone, because frankly, if you have long queues in your email support, chat is only going to bog you down, but it's certainly not useless.
I do not work in technical IT Support. I work in a group charged with developing applications (web and standalone) to enable the company to do business better. The support that we do is on the applications we have developed and/or customized.
I'll spare you the company name, lest I be representing them, but in most major companies, the realization that IT isn't a dictating organization comes sooner rather than later.
That your company lets IT boss it around is kind of ridiculous, unless it is solely an IT company, and even then I think your policies are a little extreme.
At the company I work for, we cater to the money-making groups almost exclusively. Sales and Production have the reigns on how IT money is spent, and it works well 99% of the time. It makes sense as well, as when they're not being productive, or able to function, our company doesn't generate revenue, which means I don't receive a paycheck. As long as they are able to keep providing those to me, I'll do what they ask.
Having 'different images for each department' also wouldn't fly, as again, we have 30,000 users plus in just our core company, plus the responsibility of another 8 under our responsibility. We have BUILDINGS full of IT groups, each charged with the maintenance of its local area, in addition to a centralized IT Headquarters. Our data center is as diverse as our user population as well.
Under your model, it sounds like it would be really easy for developers to tell the business groups 'no', which clearly is a wrong way to go about things. If a business sponsor in my company requests a feature with business justification, they will get it. It may need to have a strong business case to get any priority, but by not catering to the needs and wishes of the sectors that generate revenue means that we are not allowing them to work as efficiently as they need, which is akin to stifling the revenue flow, hence limiting my paycheck potential.
If it works well for you tho, it simply must be easy. Naturally, what works for one must apply to all, and I have every faith that your organization is an industry leader. Heck, with as efficiently as you operate, I'd genuinely be surprised if you had any competitors whatsoever.
It's not always nearly so cut and dry. The company I work for a Fortune 100 company, employing over 30,000 people (in its core business), and owns another 8-10 companies internationally, each with their own networks, own hardware standards, and own people. What they do not have their own of, however, is support. 10 companies share one helpdesk and one central LAN group.
There is no way to "properly" admin this large company that isn't going to allow spyware and viruses in at least a little bit, without sacrificing functionality for many of the enterprise applications that you in your "100 person company" wouldn't have the slightest inkling of.
To sum up, yes, we're at SP2, but it was no easy effort, and we had to perform weeks of testing in multiple environments, on multiple hardware specifications, and with multiple software images... and THEN we had to roll it out in stages. And THEN we had to support it for weeks after.
Just FYI, but between closed beta and open beta, you had to download a new version. Not sure what kind of integrity check they're enforcing, but you'll likely need the installable media in order to play, or at least have someone upload it for you.
Unless you've already got your CD key in hand, you're probably wasting your time, considering you needed one for each of the beta phases (except for open maybe).
If you DO have yours in hand, where'd you get it? I can cancel my preorder.
Just FYI, but the free iPod thing isn't fake. The only reason you haven't seen me hawking the link in my sig is because I've already received mine, as have three of my friends.
Also, there have been countless attempts to discredit it, but Gratis Internet is making good on all their "free whatever" promos, including flat screens, iPods, photo iPods and PCs.
Having played both EQ2 and WoW, I can safely say that EQ is the better game... that's less fun to play. EQ has better graphics, more options for things to do with items and NPCs, more depth, and a better developed engine. All that said, WoW is still FAR more fun to play. Going back to the 'merely excellent' reference, it does what it does exceptionally well, and is much easier to get a feel for. I get tired of having to double-click in EQ2 when it's a single click in WoW, for example. Also, I hate that I have to manually run everywhere in EQ when I can just right-click on a distant spot and let the game take me there.
In theory, the lines that intersect the crosswalk, and only appear shortly before an intersection are exactly what you're talking about.
In Tennessee at least, whether or not you ran a redlight is judged by whether or not your front bumper broke that plane before the light turned yellow (assuming you were doing the speed limit of course).
Nowadays with photo lights tho, it's slightly more exact.
Slashdot Mirror
I absolutely respect the rules of RP, and even keep in character until the other person breaks out. I certainly don't want to step on anyone's fun, but I'm mostly just there to play, not to interact a great deal. I have friends and family playing on the same server as I, and we're content to party almost entirely with ourselves, and will keep in character (tho admittedly milder than some of the... more serious RPers) when we interact with others.
That said, I wholly support the parent's statements, and think that it's ridiculous when people go there just to rile up the less casual RPers. RP debates in general chat aren't fun for anyone.
-9mm-
I just have to wonder why they don't release the game, and only allow new character creations to be done on a lower population server.
I bought WoW on release day, and had it running as soon as I got the game out of the box (having already had the beta client installed), and I've only had marginal issues due to picking lower population servers.
If you really want low server load, switch over to an RP server. The crowd can be a little kooky at times, but the smoother gameplay is easily worth it.
-9mm-
After, and then after again... and then there was that time they forgot to renew the domain name, and then there was that time they went down again... and then again. And then... [loop]
-9mm-
Alternatively, one could argue that the hardest part about learning alternative OSs (Linux, OS X, et al), is UNlearning Windows. That was certainly true in my case.
Getting people into Windows-centric habits makes it hard to find the (usually better) different locations of things in other operating systems. By hooking Windows users into the Windows way of thought, it makes it harder for them to get into more rational (but different) ways of finding control panel functions, menu options, printer settings, etc.
-9mm-
Not really. From my understanding of the common usage, dial-in performance is like an easily adjustable carburetor, or (even better) a PDA interface to a mod-chip, that lets you specify (on the fly) what performance settings to use.
My 3000GT has electronic wastegates on the turbos, meaning I can set them to open earlier or later than normal. If I set them to open earlier, it reduces the amount of gain the turbos give me, hence resulting in better gas mileage. However, if I want to have fun on the road, I rotate a dial (or press some buttons) and have them open later, giving me the opposite effect.
So basically, dial-in performance is anything that can be adjusted pre-race, or (even better) in-car to affect the natural operation of the car.
-9mm-
To be fair to the grandparent poster, I don't think he was stating that we shouldn't build it because somebody could potentially blow it up... rather, that we shouldn't put the whole of our infrastructure into it to the point that if someone DID blow up even a portion of it, they would be taking out power, water, gas and oil lines for everything that ran along the road's 4000 mile route.
In that sense, he has a point. Further, while I don't know that I'd be all that worried about terrorism, it does introduce a rather large single point of failure. If there were a storm, flood, technical error, glitch, bug, or even just a really big wreck on the superhighway that was more than the creators had planned for, and it took out those other services in the process, anybody along (and likely beyond) that route is just fucked for a while.
-9mm-
We already have leap seconds: http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/leapsec.html
-9mm-
That because if you delete notepad you have no editor and no viewer for TXT files.
Windows comes with Wordpad right? Besides, I might have wanted to replace Notepad with some supernotepad that I purchased third party.
-9mm-
Just for clarification, but the iPod does play mp3s, and the iTunes software will convert other formats to AAC as it is imported.
I haven't tried it with ogg (because I don't have any ogg music), but at least, in a sense, it is multi-format.
-9mm-
One would assume they still can play those MP3s, once they get them out of Harmony's DRM protection.
-9mm-
It's not Apple's fault that Real produces DRMd content. It's not Apple's fault that the iPod (which far predates the Real music store) doesn't play Real's Harmony encoded content. It's not Apple's fault that you can't download plain-jane MP3s off of Real's site.
Apple's iPod plays all ITMS songs, as well as regular MP3s and can convert WMVs. If Real's site distributed music in a widely understandable format, then they wouldn't have had to worry about Apple updating firmware and breaking Harmony.
Further, we have no way of knowing that Apple intentionally broke Real's encoding. It is far more likely that they simply fixed another bug, or added some completely unrelated feature, and that just happened to break Real's hack. For all we know, the reason that Apple didn't want Real's hack to exist was for this very reason... if they break it, accidentally or not, they're held to blame for it. It might have been bad coding on Real's part that causes it to no longer work, but we certainly don't know, and I'm not holding Apple accountable for supporting Real's proprietary encoded DRM method.
-9mm-
Not necessarily. For all we know, they patched something completely unrelated, and moved a memory offset that Real's code depended on.
Certainly you wouldn't hold Apple responsible for the quality of Real's code would you? It's certainly not their fault if they recompile an executable and stuff doesn't work anymore.
It might not have deliberately broken a damn thing, other than shifted memory offsets, which will cause Real to have to disassemble the code and try to relocate.
Don't get me wrong, if Apple did it on purpose, then yeah, it's kind of shitty... but we have no way of knowing that they did.
-9mm-
Mod up... more.
As much as I appreciate Limewire, Gnutella, Donkey and whatnot, I don't want to have to search for files that exist. I want to be able to BROWSE via category, in categories that I am interested in.
-9mm-
Yeah, and as the adage goes, groundings became a lot less of a punishment after I had a phone, TV, PC and gaming system in my room. Who cared that I couldn't go out and do stuff? I had Quake to keep me company.
You know what punishments WORKED tho? The ones in which those amenities were taken away.
-9mm-
I think the real question is why they had them in the first place? Yes, I understand the argument that it's easier to keep them in line if they're docile, but c'mon... I can't tell you how many times I've wished for a place where the meals were prepared for me, could play video games, and not have any responsibilities to worry about (like work).
The more prisons offer to the inmates, the more inclined people are to WANT to go there. Even if they commit a lesser crime for the shorter sentence, it might end up being a choice vacation spot.
-9mm-
Also of note, that if you turn on "click-to-move" option in your game control panel, you can just right click on any point and the game will move in a straight line until you reach it. Might still have to revert back to keyboard navigation if there are fences or whatnot in the way, but on open plains (ala Westfall), you can simply right click on a point in the sky and wait until you get where you want to be.
-9mm-
A friend of mine recently employed Trillian at his company. They have a centralized chat server complete with a customer service chat interface.
If you chat with "companyname_sales", the IM is automatically routed to the next available sales rep. All chats are logged to the server by default, so transcriptions of the chat logs are certainly available, and if at any point they need to route you to someone else, they are able to do so with a couple of clicks, unbeknownst to the user, and the chat logs then become available to the second rep.
It's a brilliant system, and surprisingly, not done at a technology firm. I'm surprised I haven't seen a "corporate solution" developed that does something similar.
Basically, my point though, is that IM is not useless in the application you have suggested, it simply requires more work to be harnessed efficiently.
By switching from chat support person a to chat support person b at the drop of a hat, the user gets realtime support, from the person of choice, and in a means that is amicable to all parties involved. I'm not saying this solution would fit everyone, because frankly, if you have long queues in your email support, chat is only going to bog you down, but it's certainly not useless.
-9mm-
I do not work in technical IT Support. I work in a group charged with developing applications (web and standalone) to enable the company to do business better. The support that we do is on the applications we have developed and/or customized.
I'll spare you the company name, lest I be representing them, but in most major companies, the realization that IT isn't a dictating organization comes sooner rather than later.
That your company lets IT boss it around is kind of ridiculous, unless it is solely an IT company, and even then I think your policies are a little extreme.
At the company I work for, we cater to the money-making groups almost exclusively. Sales and Production have the reigns on how IT money is spent, and it works well 99% of the time. It makes sense as well, as when they're not being productive, or able to function, our company doesn't generate revenue, which means I don't receive a paycheck. As long as they are able to keep providing those to me, I'll do what they ask.
Having 'different images for each department' also wouldn't fly, as again, we have 30,000 users plus in just our core company, plus the responsibility of another 8 under our responsibility. We have BUILDINGS full of IT groups, each charged with the maintenance of its local area, in addition to a centralized IT Headquarters. Our data center is as diverse as our user population as well.
Under your model, it sounds like it would be really easy for developers to tell the business groups 'no', which clearly is a wrong way to go about things. If a business sponsor in my company requests a feature with business justification, they will get it. It may need to have a strong business case to get any priority, but by not catering to the needs and wishes of the sectors that generate revenue means that we are not allowing them to work as efficiently as they need, which is akin to stifling the revenue flow, hence limiting my paycheck potential.
If it works well for you tho, it simply must be easy. Naturally, what works for one must apply to all, and I have every faith that your organization is an industry leader. Heck, with as efficiently as you operate, I'd genuinely be surprised if you had any competitors whatsoever.
-9mm-
Laugh. Out. Loud.
It's not always nearly so cut and dry. The company I work for a Fortune 100 company, employing over 30,000 people (in its core business), and owns another 8-10 companies internationally, each with their own networks, own hardware standards, and own people. What they do not have their own of, however, is support. 10 companies share one helpdesk and one central LAN group.
There is no way to "properly" admin this large company that isn't going to allow spyware and viruses in at least a little bit, without sacrificing functionality for many of the enterprise applications that you in your "100 person company" wouldn't have the slightest inkling of.
To sum up, yes, we're at SP2, but it was no easy effort, and we had to perform weeks of testing in multiple environments, on multiple hardware specifications, and with multiple software images... and THEN we had to roll it out in stages. And THEN we had to support it for weeks after.
-9mm-
Just FYI, but between closed beta and open beta, you had to download a new version. Not sure what kind of integrity check they're enforcing, but you'll likely need the installable media in order to play, or at least have someone upload it for you.
-9mm-
Unless you've already got your CD key in hand, you're probably wasting your time, considering you needed one for each of the beta phases (except for open maybe).
If you DO have yours in hand, where'd you get it? I can cancel my preorder.
-9mm-
Next year is less than a month and a half away.
-9mm-
Just FYI, but the free iPod thing isn't fake. The only reason you haven't seen me hawking the link in my sig is because I've already received mine, as have three of my friends.
Also, there have been countless attempts to discredit it, but Gratis Internet is making good on all their "free whatever" promos, including flat screens, iPods, photo iPods and PCs.
-9mm-
Having played both EQ2 and WoW, I can safely say that EQ is the better game... that's less fun to play. EQ has better graphics, more options for things to do with items and NPCs, more depth, and a better developed engine. All that said, WoW is still FAR more fun to play. Going back to the 'merely excellent' reference, it does what it does exceptionally well, and is much easier to get a feel for. I get tired of having to double-click in EQ2 when it's a single click in WoW, for example. Also, I hate that I have to manually run everywhere in EQ when I can just right-click on a distant spot and let the game take me there.
-9mm-
In theory, the lines that intersect the crosswalk, and only appear shortly before an intersection are exactly what you're talking about.
In Tennessee at least, whether or not you ran a redlight is judged by whether or not your front bumper broke that plane before the light turned yellow (assuming you were doing the speed limit of course).
Nowadays with photo lights tho, it's slightly more exact.
-9mm-