Recent Posts

3876

Living Room / Re: What are your favorite movies?

« Last post by 40hz on March 10, 2013, 06:30 PM »

@Wraith - good stuff! And you've got Dark City - one of my favorite sleeper sci-fi flicks!

I love it when they bring that film noir look to sci-fi like they did in The Thirteenth Floor. Which is also highly recommended.

 

Another good film is the odd indy picture Franklyn. Four lives intersect and interact in strange ways in this surprise movie that combines elements of steampunk and modern psychological drama. This is one movie that has a storyline I can safely say is not what you would expect. Highly recommended.

Franklyn is easily one of the darkest and creepiest movie vigilantes since Rorschach (below) in Watchmen.



 

3877

Living Room / Re: "Half of our users block ads. Now what?"

« Last post by 40hz on March 10, 2013, 11:33 AM »

What do you think? Are the days of online ads numbered? Are we moving to a content-based society that will result in subscriptions for basic information?

-Josh (March 10, 2013, 07:44 AM)

There's an old bit of Zen instruction which goes: "When sitting, just sit. When standing, just stand. Above all, do not to wobble..."

I think it's reached the point when the web must leave its adolescence behind and emerge into adulthood. Which is to say it's time to graduate from school, stop sponging off your parents, and start to earn a living. It's also time to abandon all those "pfun" experiments and 'contrarian' theories (such as the "New Economy" and "Everything is free!") that haven't proven themselves, and move on to better (or at least more realistic) things.

In a nutshell:

It costs something in time and money to do most things worth doing. And people will either be willing to support it - or they won't. If they won't, the two remaining choices are to abandon the endeavor; or, scale it back and become a "patron of the art" by funding it yourself.

Trying to straddle the middle and somehow get somebody else to pay for it through indirect means doesn't work very well. It mostly just pisses off the people you're trying to serve. So do one or the other. Either get it to pay for itself - or pay for it yourself.

To paraphrase the Zen master: If you honestly need to sell, sell honestly. If not, then don't. Above all, do not spin in circles and make an ass of yourself trying to find a way around this.



 

3878

Living Room / Re: SimCity - EA shows us all how to ruin a landmark game with DRM.

« Last post by 40hz on March 10, 2013, 10:00 AM »

Just thinking: as long as there's GoG.com I never really need to be bothered by any of this nonsense.  Hmm...wonder what they have on sale this weekend?
 

3879

Living Room / Re: Meet George

« Last post by 40hz on March 10, 2013, 08:27 AM »

Hi George 

-Ath (March 10, 2013, 03:14 AM)

What Ath said!

3880

Living Room / Re: "Half of our users block ads. Now what?"

« Last post by 40hz on March 10, 2013, 08:14 AM »

I think ad blocking originally emerged in response to widespread abusive practices on the part of many who were relying on web advertising for their income. I'm sure we all remember that miserable period when pop-up (and the pop-under) ads were pretty much the norm. So taking a high-handed tone and blaming the victims of prior abuse is more than a little disingenuous AFAIC.

And while it's true that many sites never played those games - or have since learned the error of their ways - they're now discovering that consumer trust is a very real and fragile thing. Especially when it comes to the web. So even though the notion of 'entitlement' very likely drives a part of the ad blocking mentality, it would have never become such an issue if so much web advertising hadn't been allowed to become so intrusive and annoying in the first place.

Right now, I think ad blocking is done more out of habit than anything else. At least that's the case with me. When asked (politely) not to block ads by those websites I regularly visit, I almost always exempt them from being blocked. However, sites I don't regularly visit, or that have an excessive (IMO) amount of annoying advertising are SOL.

I don't really know what to suggest to the webmasters who have to deal with this issue - other than offer some tough love and say: if people aren't willing to pay to support what you're doing for them - and you can't afford to continue it out of your own pocket - then maybe it's time to wake up and smell the coffee.

This is a hard reality everybody involved in any creative activity (music, drama, literature, art) has to deal with every day. And as site producers and content providers, website owners fall into that same category. Something often referred to as "starving artists".

I suppose there are a few alternatives to advertising. You could charge a membership fee, solicit donations - or best of all - sell your own product. I never have a problem with people advertising something they make themselves. But I tend to be much less appreciative of 3rd-party advertising. Especially if it's totally unrelated to anything I might reasonably be visiting the site for in the first place. And I also find any sort of history tracking to be personally offensive and morally repugnant. But that may just be me. I get crotchety about the littlest things sometimes.
  

3881

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« Last post by 40hz on March 10, 2013, 07:37 AM »

I think the Jellyfish is hard to find because it basically isn't that musically useful and people have stopped buying them. Those little springs also have a tendency to snag and semi-unravel after a relatively short time. And it's more difficult than it looks to find a good sound using one of these things.

I bought one, and had two more given to me by people who tried and gave up on it. All three are currently residing in the tin where I keep spare picks, small parts, and other junk.

YMMV... However, if anybody has recorded something good that depended on one of these things, could you please point me to it? I'm one of those people who hates to admit defeat when it comes to something like this.

3882

Living Room / Re: Google Glasses BANNED!

« Last post by 40hz on March 10, 2013, 07:22 AM »

On a more positive note, with a little additional tech, it could make things considerably more difficult for police who are behaving badly.

What if a web-enabled version of "The Wire" (that most beloved gadget of police action movies - right up there with the HK MP5K) found it's way into the hands of the average Jill or Joe out on the street?

Hard to arrest people for videoing some questionable "enforcement actions" when everybody in the crowd is wearing a set of goggles that can do so. How would you know which of the hundreds is videoing? And how would you stop them if they were? It's pointless to confiscate if the video feed is being sent up to the net in realtime. I suppose you could subpoena their ISP and get access to the person's online storage accounts. But if they've been set up to auto-push to the torrents, well...it's gonna be a bear to censor people or enforce gag orders.

With police perjury on the rise (especially in countries where they still bother to hold trials) it could become a valuable asset in the struggle to preserve constitutional freedoms.

 

3883

Living Room / Re: Google Glasses BANNED!

« Last post by 40hz on March 10, 2013, 06:34 AM »

I pity the hipster walking down a city street with a pair of those on when he walks past a paranoid crazy who thinks they're being videoed.

3884

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« Last post by 40hz on March 09, 2013, 06:51 PM »

$30 bucks? how the hell did the pull that off?

-mouser (March 09, 2013, 06:49 PM)

Slave labor.

3885

Living Room / Re: Gadget WEEKENDS

« Last post by 40hz on March 09, 2013, 06:50 PM »

I own a $$ Gyration set. It is pretty amazing even if I primarily bought it for the to-die-for keyboard.

If this puppy works even half as good as that it's worth double the asking price imho.

Thanks for sharing!

3886

General Software Discussion / Re: From Canonical's drink the kool-aid dept: Unity - sign on, or sign out

« Last post by 40hz on March 09, 2013, 09:46 AM »

@Ren - well...thats only because you're a Ubuntu hater, and opposed to progress and anybody making any money - to say nothing of being an elitist techno-snob.

"Strength through Unity.
Unity through Faith."

Or at least so goes the semi-official party line.
 

3887

General Software Discussion / Re: From Canonical's drink the kool-aid dept: Unity - sign on, or sign out

« Last post by 40hz on March 09, 2013, 08:26 AM »

Out of curiosity, has anybody actually bothered to follow (or do a little research to catch up) on exactly how Canonical has been operating when it comes to Mir - which is what this discussion was originally supposed to be about in case anybody is wondering?

If you do, I think you'd be far less likely to buy Canonical's story - or parrot back Mr. Shuttleworth's canned talking points and transparent ad hominem propaganda.

Just thinking out loud here..,

3888

Living Room / Re: Judge skeptical of "torrent chaser" law firm's antics. Jail time threatened.

« Last post by 40hz on March 09, 2013, 07:35 AM »

I really, really, really, really hope these snakes end up in jail. Society would be better if more lawyers knew what ruining people's lives means... first-hand.

-f0dder (March 09, 2013, 06:40 AM)

+1 x 1000  

3889

Living Room / Re: Judge skeptical of "torrent chaser" law firm's antics. Jail time threatened.

« Last post by 40hz on March 09, 2013, 06:30 AM »

They are challenging a federal judge's jurisdiction?

-40hz (March 08, 2013, 10:15 PM)

Just call them "terrorists". Boom. There ya go. Instant jurisdiction. And, you can even just kill 'em outright if you like~!

-Renegade (March 08, 2013, 11:12 PM)

A secret warrant. A swift and forceful but very quiet arrest? A quick transfer to a detention facility in an "undisclosed location" outside US territorial space? No big-hoopla trial? A complete information blackout on what happened and who was involved? No further news forthcoming now - or ever?

Where's the fun in that?

3890

Living Room / Re: SimCity - EA shows us all how to ruin a landmark game with DRM.

« Last post by 40hz on March 09, 2013, 06:02 AM »

EA has now made the ultimate acknowledgement that there's a serious problem: they've suspended some of SimCity's online marketing.

In an email sent this morning to marketing affiliate partners, EA Origin says it has "deactivated all SimCity text links and creative and we ask you to please remove any copy promoting SimCity from your website for the time-being." The email, obtained by Polygon, is directed at affiliates of EA Origin's LinkShare program.

"To be clear we are continuing to payout commissions on all SimCity sales that are referred, however we are requesting that you please stop actively promoting the game," the email reads. "We will notify you as soon as the SimCity marketing campaigns have been resumed and our promotional links are once again live in the Linkshare interface. We apologize for any inconveniences that this may cause, and we thank you for your cooperation."

Full article here.

3891

Living Room / Re: DOTCOM saga - updates

« Last post by 40hz on March 09, 2013, 05:50 AM »

No word yet on what is being done re the apparent perjury by police.

-IainB (March 09, 2013, 04:25 AM)

I would be extremely interested in seeing what's done about that more than anything else actually.

If NZ could make something happen over that growing problem - and render a decision that would actually stick -  I'd put their legal system ahead of the rest of the world's at this point.

In the last 5 years it's become fairly apparent to even the most casual of news watchers that police perjury is becoming a standard tactic in law enforcement. And that's something that needs to be stopped before the legal system loses whatever credibility it has left.

Hope springs eternal. Go kiwis!



------------------------
@IainB - tried reading the article your link pointed to. Got this:



 




 

3892

Living Room / Re: Judge skeptical of "torrent chaser" law firm's antics. Jail time threatened.

« Last post by 40hz on March 08, 2013, 10:15 PM »

It just got better...

Some of the persons ordered to appear this Monday in Judge Wright's courtroom have now filed an opposition to the judge's order

Once again from Ken at Popehat:

In short, Steele, Hansmeier, and Duffy say that Judge Wright should lift his order because (1) Judge Wright lacks personal jurisdiction over them because they are in different states, aren't parties to this case, and aren't attorneys of record in this case; (2) they didn't get adequate notice of the order, they are busy, they have limited resources, and traveling on short notice is difficult. They ask, at a minimum, that the judge reschedule the hearing. Considering they have had several days to put a brief together, I find this motion rather half-hearted and meager, particularly given the gravity of the situation and what they are trying to accomplish. If this is all they could pull together, I am surprised they didn't file it sooner, like Wednesday.

They are challenging a federal judge's jurisdiction?

That is just totally insane. And laughable.

Read Ken's whole post here.

3893

Living Room / Re: Recommendations for a Host OS?

« Last post by 40hz on March 08, 2013, 09:47 PM »

And no - this isn't on a laptop.

-Renegade (March 08, 2013, 06:12 PM)

Thank heavens for that! I was afraid for a minute or two...

3894

General Software Discussion / Re: From Canonical's drink the kool-aid dept: Unity - sign on, or sign out

« Last post by 40hz on March 08, 2013, 09:45 PM »

No. Ubuntu products arent bad its the people who dont like changes.

-mahesh2k (March 08, 2013, 03:31 PM)

Purely your own personal opinion. And not a very well considered or provable one.

The nature of free and open source license offers him to do that another walled garden.

Incorrect. If that is your interpretation of FOSS you're sadly mistaken. No matter which FOSS license (there are several BTW) you're misinterpreting here.

Is he violating gpl? No.

Hard to say. You'll need to be much more specific as to what you're talking about him doing - as well as which license you're referring to - before this can be discussed with any degree of intelligence or rationality.

Is he pissing off community that hates making money and changes to traditional thinking? Yes.

Again, your own very personal opinion - and not a very well considered or provable one.

But to each his/her own. If all of the above is truly what you believe - and you're happy with such rationalizations - then I wish you well.

3895

Living Room / Re: $12,000 in Bitcoin Stolen

« Last post by 40hz on March 08, 2013, 09:27 PM »

^From my experience, it doesn't happen very often in practice. Law enforcement will usually let you file the complaint. But unless you can document an actual quantifiable and substantial financial loss, it just stops there. And forget the FBI. Unless you're a financial institution or defense contractor - or you have a provable financial loss up in the millions.

What mostly happens is the information you provide gets filed. If your issue is part of a larger pattern, something may eventually happen. But if it's a smaller "one off" sort of crime they seldom open an active investigation.  At least from my experience.

Probably all depends on where you live, how busy the police are, and how interested they become in what's happened to you.

3896

Living Room / Re: $12,000 in Bitcoin Stolen

« Last post by 40hz on March 08, 2013, 12:51 PM »

at the risk of the basement, exactly who do you call - and more importantly WHO will be willing to open an investigation.

AFAIK something like this would generally be handled under civil rather than criminal law unless you could interest a prosecutor in basing a case around some sort of cybercrime.

Good luck. you can't even get the cops interested in looking into major data security breeches. So when it comes to something like bitcoins, I don't think that will gain much traction with the police.

Not saying it's right. Just saying how it usually works. At least where I live.  

3897

Living Room / Re: Recommendations for a Host OS?

« Last post by 40hz on March 08, 2013, 12:33 PM »

If you already have VMWare...why?

There is some mention of running Proxmox inside another VE. But they also say it's experimental, needs a host that supports "nesting", and that KVM will most likely not work. so unless you're running a sever from the command line that way, it's generally a no-go doing Prox inside another VE.

And please don't tell me you're trying to do all this on a laptop. 

3898

Living Room / Re: Recommendations for a Host OS?

« Last post by 40hz on March 08, 2013, 08:54 AM »

Does anyone know how to create a Windows VM (or anything) in Proxmox VE? The docs are basically non-existant, and the ones that show you how to mount an ISO are way out of date and not applicable to v2.

-Renegade (March 07, 2013, 05:51 PM)

Their channel is here.

Eloquence aside, it's not very difficult IMHO.  

3899

Living Room / Re: $12,000 in Bitcoin Stolen

« Last post by 40hz on March 08, 2013, 08:22 AM »

It also shows that, despite many people's romantic fascination with "alternate currencies," unless you have an established government standing behind your monetary system, it's little more than an interesting social experiment so far.

Your currency is only as good as the reputation and strength of whatever is backing it. As many 'revolutionary' governments discovered the hard way when they first came into power. And it's only as 'safe' as your ability to protect it.

3900

Living Room / SimCity - EA shows us all how to ruin a landmark game with DRM.

« Last post by 40hz on March 08, 2013, 07:44 AM »

With all the ridiculous DRM nonsense going on it was bound to happen to some game sooner or later.

From OSNews:

EA botches SimCity launch, Amazon stops sales
posted by Thom Holwerda   on Thu 7th Mar 2013 22:44 UTC


SimCity has been released - the fifth instalment in this venerable series of fantastic games. However, just as everyone suspected, the game has been completely ruined by the always-online DRM. So much so, in fact, that Amazon has ceased selling the game.

SimCity requires no introduction - from the first game onwards, it has captured the minds and hearts of gamers the world over. SimCity 2000 is my personal favourite, but I have played all versions to death. I was eagerly awaiting SimCity (no version number), but sadly, the game has been ruined even before it's been properly released.

The game requires an always-on internet connection to connect with EA's servers, partly because of online components, but mostly because of DRM. During a Reddit AmA with Maxis, the game's developers, the problems were already predicted, and they panned out: EA's servers couldn't handle the load, and the game became unplayable for large groups of people who just paid €60 for the privilege.

They were greeted by waiting screens, unable to play the game.

EA had to act, and they did. They have released a patch which... Disables several features of the game. Ironically, it mostly disables features that supposedly required the always-on connection in the first pace, such as leaderboards and achievements. A more dramatic step is the removal of the 'cheetah' speed. This is the highest simulation speed in the game, and at least in the way I play the game I require it - I switch between pause (build mode) and cheetah (develop mode).

As a consequence of all the troubles with players being unable to, well, play, Amazon has decided to remove the digital version of the game from its virtual shelves, while the physical copy now carries a warning about the game.