Hell, on top of that, encrypt two volumes with two different crimes. One volume with a lesser crime (jaywalking), containing a video of you jaywalking and a text explanation as a "proof of concept". That way you can divulge that key to decrypt that volume and show you're not just bullshitting. Then, a second more serious crime confession to encrypt the second volume with the real data.
The first will show that you have encrypted drives with confessions, to give weight to the argument that divulging the second drive's key would be self-incrimination.
This is flagged as Funny, but I think Interesting is a lot more accurate.
Could this be valid? Committing a crime such as shoplifting, documenting that crime, including a video of that crime in the encrypted volume, and then writing a short confession as the encryption key?
There's an easy way to diagnose this specific problem and prove it to the Apple techs.
Boot the computer with sound on; you should hear Mac OSX start up. Hit Command-F5 (or Command-Fn-F5, depending on your settings.) That will turn on Voiceover. This will let you navigate without the screen, (although slowly and painfully).
Go to System Preferences -> Sharing -> Screen Sharing, and turn on screen sharing, setting a password. Use TightVNC to connect to your MBP's IP address. You now have a screen.
Go to About This Mac -> System Profiler. Check your graphics card. If it reports as an Intel GMA X3100, take a screenshot and print it. That's the rock-solid proof of a faulty GeForce 8600.
Used this method to get mine replaced 2 days ago. I had Applecare, thank goodness; if you have one of these Macbooks and you've had it less than a year, GET APPLECARE. The chip WILL fail, and then you're out $1000 for a logic board replacement, as Apple has given no indication that they're going to extend the warranty for this issue.
I didn't pirate mine, but I did need to circumvent the DRM. I bought a copy of "Ethics in the Information Age" from an e-book vendor, which was distributed in Adobe format. Little did I know that it only worked in a the new "Adobe Digital Editions" reader. A flash-based PDF reader. Someone thought it was a good idea.
My license allowed for 50 pages every 3 days to be printed. The crappy reader wouldn't let me print at all. Couldn't move it from one machine to the next, either, which wouldn't have been a problem if printing worked.
So I wrote a script to create high-res screenshots of every damn page, then assembled them into a new PDF, and printed that.
I then wrote about the experience for the class, and the teacher was greatly amused.
Seriously, people, intrusive advertising is never going to go away. Neither is prostitution. Google is the brothel that tests its hookers and johns for STDs before letting them bump uglies. Doesn't matter whether you wear FlashBlock(tm) brand rubbers or not, the ads will still be there for everyone else. Any attempt to make a safer environment is worthwhile.
"But they're still (exchanging sex/displaying animated ads) for money! They're evil!"
Go ahead and take the "high ground" if you want; they're still more morally sound than their competitors, and I'd much rather people did business with Google than any of the current flash distributors.
Aladrin is right, large (and incorrect) assumptions are being made. No one at GWN seems to have read the designer's official FAQ for the UDE points, or done any research past punching numbers into a calculator. What a surprise! Looks like the whiners haven't either.
You get 100 points for buying a pack of cards. Rewards for participating in any sponsored tournament, whether local game store or regional event, will likely rank in thousands of points. Just participating, not actually winning. Winning will theoretically net you over ten thousand points. (Dependant upon the tournament level, etc...) The cheapest item is the Tabard at 2500 points, with a lifetime count of 25000. Not to mention all the other prizes you can get like play mats, counters, special cards, etc. Sure, 25000 is a lot, but that's 25000 including everything you'd spent up until that point.
The trinkets and UDE point system were specifically designed to reward people who play the game. After you'd been to a few tournaments, you'd get a special tabard to show you play. Winning tournaments wouldn't just be something to be happy about IRL; it would be represented in WoW as well.
Of course, people are whining because it's expensive to buy the cool stuff. It's also expensive to BUY enough gold off eBay for an epic mount, but you don't need to spend real world money to get one; you just have to play the game. It doesn't hurt that it's a damn good card game.
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Hell, on top of that, encrypt two volumes with two different crimes. One volume with a lesser crime (jaywalking), containing a video of you jaywalking and a text explanation as a "proof of concept". That way you can divulge that key to decrypt that volume and show you're not just bullshitting. Then, a second more serious crime confession to encrypt the second volume with the real data. The first will show that you have encrypted drives with confessions, to give weight to the argument that divulging the second drive's key would be self-incrimination.
This is flagged as Funny, but I think Interesting is a lot more accurate. Could this be valid? Committing a crime such as shoplifting, documenting that crime, including a video of that crime in the encrypted volume, and then writing a short confession as the encryption key?
Well, damn, I guess I made a mistake; that article says there's an official warranty extension. Good news for all involved!
There's an easy way to diagnose this specific problem and prove it to the Apple techs. Boot the computer with sound on; you should hear Mac OSX start up. Hit Command-F5 (or Command-Fn-F5, depending on your settings.) That will turn on Voiceover. This will let you navigate without the screen, (although slowly and painfully). Go to System Preferences -> Sharing -> Screen Sharing, and turn on screen sharing, setting a password. Use TightVNC to connect to your MBP's IP address. You now have a screen. Go to About This Mac -> System Profiler. Check your graphics card. If it reports as an Intel GMA X3100, take a screenshot and print it. That's the rock-solid proof of a faulty GeForce 8600. Used this method to get mine replaced 2 days ago. I had Applecare, thank goodness; if you have one of these Macbooks and you've had it less than a year, GET APPLECARE. The chip WILL fail, and then you're out $1000 for a logic board replacement, as Apple has given no indication that they're going to extend the warranty for this issue.
I didn't pirate mine, but I did need to circumvent the DRM. I bought a copy of "Ethics in the Information Age" from an e-book vendor, which was distributed in Adobe format. Little did I know that it only worked in a the new "Adobe Digital Editions" reader. A flash-based PDF reader. Someone thought it was a good idea. My license allowed for 50 pages every 3 days to be printed. The crappy reader wouldn't let me print at all. Couldn't move it from one machine to the next, either, which wouldn't have been a problem if printing worked. So I wrote a script to create high-res screenshots of every damn page, then assembled them into a new PDF, and printed that. I then wrote about the experience for the class, and the teacher was greatly amused.
Seriously, people, intrusive advertising is never going to go away. Neither is prostitution. Google is the brothel that tests its hookers and johns for STDs before letting them bump uglies. Doesn't matter whether you wear FlashBlock(tm) brand rubbers or not, the ads will still be there for everyone else. Any attempt to make a safer environment is worthwhile.
"But they're still (exchanging sex/displaying animated ads) for money! They're evil!"
Go ahead and take the "high ground" if you want; they're still more morally sound than their competitors, and I'd much rather people did business with Google than any of the current flash distributors.
Aladrin is right, large (and incorrect) assumptions are being made. No one at GWN seems to have read the designer's official FAQ for the UDE points, or done any research past punching numbers into a calculator. What a surprise! Looks like the whiners haven't either.
You get 100 points for buying a pack of cards. Rewards for participating in any sponsored tournament, whether local game store or regional event, will likely rank in thousands of points. Just participating, not actually winning. Winning will theoretically net you over ten thousand points. (Dependant upon the tournament level, etc...) The cheapest item is the Tabard at 2500 points, with a lifetime count of 25000. Not to mention all the other prizes you can get like play mats, counters, special cards, etc. Sure, 25000 is a lot, but that's 25000 including everything you'd spent up until that point.
The trinkets and UDE point system were specifically designed to reward people who play the game. After you'd been to a few tournaments, you'd get a special tabard to show you play. Winning tournaments wouldn't just be something to be happy about IRL; it would be represented in WoW as well.
Of course, people are whining because it's expensive to buy the cool stuff. It's also expensive to BUY enough gold off eBay for an epic mount, but you don't need to spend real world money to get one; you just have to play the game. It doesn't hurt that it's a damn good card game.
Waaah! No free lunch!