Recent Posts

6876

Living Room / Re: DOTCOM saga - updates

« Last post by wraith808 on October 11, 2012, 02:39 PM »

You suggest that "...but this was most likely a civil seizure..." but if that is the case, then I do not understand why the police/FBI/SS etc . were so heavily involved with the police and SS (GCSB) in NZ.
As far as I was aware, in any civil actions in NZ, the police would not normally get involved - only if a crime had been committed.

-IainB (October 11, 2012, 12:58 PM)

The civil seizure is not predicated by a criminal procedure.  However, the two are related, i.e. they seized him based upon criminal proceedings.  During the criminal seizure of his person, they also seized his assets based on civil forfeiture rules, so that this part would not be based on the criminal proceedings.  This is usually used in the case of drug lords and such, as they deal in cash and other assets with ready liquidity and as such if immediate seizure and forfeiture is not enacted, there might be nothing to enact it against.

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DC Gamer Club / Re: Testers Wanted for my Game(s) - Asteroid Destroyer

« Last post by wraith808 on October 11, 2012, 10:56 AM »

Congrats! 

6878

Living Room / Re: DOTCOM saga - updates

« Last post by wraith808 on October 11, 2012, 10:37 AM »

Confuzzling. The US judiciary apparently want Dotcom extradited because they cannot put him on trial until he is in the US.
However, it seemed to me that they had already established his guilt in something, having effectively somehow already charged and tried him in his absence - otherwise why sequester all his personal and business assets as they would do for a confirmed criminal?

-IainB (October 11, 2012, 09:51 AM)

There are two types of seizure - criminal and civil.  Criminal is what you refer to, but this was most likely a civil seizure (most likely because most these days are, and the requirements place the onus on the claimant, not the authorities).

A good explanation of asset forfeiture laws^w

HR 1658

Overview of Current US Forfeiture Processes (.pdf courtesy of UNAFEI)

6879

Living Room / Re: 20 famous corporate logos that hide secret messages

« Last post by wraith808 on October 11, 2012, 10:16 AM »

Oh, it's just that I don't like to download stuff other than very deliberately, and especially not pdfs, and usually only if its something that I'm going to keep.  I think there are several others like that, so I googled it and found the original article

6880

General Software Discussion / Re: Steam set to become app store

« Last post by wraith808 on October 11, 2012, 08:10 AM »

I'm curious whether they will make the software sold via steam able to run without running steam. If not, you're buying software that you can only rely on when you have access to a connection, which is inadequate imo.

-iphigenie (October 11, 2012, 05:56 AM)

Have you tried this recently?  I have three of my computers (XP desktop, W7 Laptop, Macbook) set to offline, and I haven't had any problems with this on any of them...

6881

Living Room / Re: 20 famous corporate logos that hide secret messages

« Last post by wraith808 on October 11, 2012, 12:15 AM »

Seems to be from MSN for those of us that like credits and/or websites instead of PDFs

6882

Living Room / Re: Major ISPs to implement "Six strike" rule

« Last post by wraith808 on October 10, 2012, 06:46 PM »

Send a message to the ISPs about backing down from the rule:

http://act.demandpro.../letter/six_strikes/

6883

Living Room / Re: Major ISPs to implement "Six strike" rule

« Last post by wraith808 on October 10, 2012, 07:39 AM »

So, how do people have their connections set up for VPN?  Connection sharing through a central computer?  Or some other setup?

6884

DC Gamer Club / Re: Dishonored for $45

« Last post by wraith808 on October 09, 2012, 11:30 PM »

That resale case lurking in the Supreme Court might bear on this too. The price of a game used to also factor that used copies were beginning to show up.

-TaoPhoenix (October 09, 2012, 11:10 PM)

That wouldn't really have any effect on PC game sales.  You don't really see PC games used.

6885

DC Gamer Club / Re: Dishonored for $45

« Last post by wraith808 on October 09, 2012, 10:48 PM »

Has someone made a site yet that predicts prices of games over time?  So that for a new game we could see a prediction of how the price will change over the next year?  Might help in making decisions..

-mouser (October 09, 2012, 10:20 PM)

I don't think such a thing is reliably possible - especially with the business model that steam is using (and others appear to be following).  I saw syndicate for $10 over on Gamersgate.  That's a function of the reviews, I think.  But in addition to that, there's the publisher, the developer, and the buy rate.  All of those factor into it.

6886

Living Room / Re: Major ISPs to implement "Six strike" rule

« Last post by wraith808 on October 09, 2012, 10:46 PM »

How much of a slowdown is it?  One of the major reasons I haven't worried about it (and I don't torrent either, so not a big deal there).  I just hear about the false positives, and that's the major reason I'm looking (in addition to being able to connect to home while I'm out).

6887

Living Room / Major ISPs to implement "Six strike" rule

« Last post by wraith808 on October 09, 2012, 09:43 PM »

The USA's major internet service providers by year’s end will institute a so-called six-strikes plan, the “Copyright Alert System” initiative backed by the Obama administration and pushed by Hollywood and the major record labels to disrupt and possibly terminate internet access for online copyright scofflaws.

The plan, now four years in the making, includes participation by AT&T, Cablevision Systems, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Verizon. After four offenses, the historic plan calls for these residential internet providers to initiate so-called “mitigation measures” (.pdf) that might include reducing internet speeds and redirecting a subscriber’s service to an “educational” landing page about infringement.

If you download a lot through torrents, you might want to consider getting an VPN account.  TorrentFreak has a good article on which VPN hosts that do not track ther users

http://torrentfreak....ty-seriously-111007/

More information (where I borrowed most of this post from:

http://www.wired.com...-sharing-monitoring/

6888

DC Gamer Club / Dishonored for $45

« Last post by wraith808 on October 09, 2012, 09:42 PM »

Green man gaming has a coupon on the home page of the site that applies to Dishonored, bringing the price down to $45.  If the reviews are any indication, it's not likely to be that price anytime soon otherwise.

Sale lasts until 10/12/12

6889

Living Room / Humble eBook Bundle

« Last post by wraith808 on October 09, 2012, 01:31 PM »

Humble eBook Bundle is here with an amazing collection of literary tales by award-winning authors!

Pay what you want for Pirate Cinema, Pump Six and Other Stories, Zoo City, Invasion: The Secret World Chronicle (with extras!), Stranger Things Happen, and Magic for Beginners. If you choose to pay more than the average, you will also receive Old Man's War and graphic novel Signal to Noise!

Each of these fantastic digital books is DRM-free and work on your computer, eBook readers, and many mobile devices. Signal to Noise has never been available in digital format before, and Invasion's unabridged version is debuting right here with us!

6890

DC Gamer Club / Groupees Be Mine 5

« Last post by wraith808 on October 08, 2012, 05:25 PM »

Groupees is having a promotion- they must be regularly going to do stuff along the lines of the other indie bundles.

A pretty good round-up:

Games:
Kung Fu Strike
NEO Scavenger
King's Bounty: The Legend
X-Blades
Tropico 3
Stranger's Wrath HD

Graphic Novels
The Sixth Gun V1: Cold Dead Fingers
Sharknife: Stage First
WASTELAND V1: CITIES IN DUST3

Music
Search & Destroy EP
The Android Factory EP
Special Collection
Dim World
World Invasion EP

For a min. of $1, get: Kung Fu Strike PC (Steam Key) , Neo Scavenger PC/ Mac/ Linux (Desura + DRM Free),  X-Blades PC (Steam Key), King's Bounty: The Legend PC/Mac (Steam Key+ DRM Free), For $5 get the core Bundle AND: Stranger's Wrath HD PC ( Steam Key + DRM free), Tropico 3 PC (Steam key) + 3 Graphic Novels: The Sixth Gun V1: Cold Dead Fingers 160 pg. Graphic Novel (.PDF), Sharknife: Stage First 168 pg. Graphic Novel (.PDF), Wasteland V1: Cities in Dust 3 144 pg. Graphic Novel (.PDF)

6891

N.A.N.Y. 2011 / Re: NANY 2011 Release: NetLaunch

« Last post by wraith808 on October 08, 2012, 09:59 AM »

I think that the post should be removed.  An unknown participant with a link to an executable based off of another?  *I* wouldn't trust it.

6892

DC Gamer Club / Re: Testers Wanted for my Game(s) - Asteroid Destroyer

« Last post by wraith808 on October 06, 2012, 10:43 AM »

I'll echo the nice graphics and explosions.  The thing about newtonian physics in asteroids was that you could accelerate continuously and continue to gain acceleration- you might want to think about if you want to go full newtonian, not newtonian, or keep it as is.  I'll definitely echo the difficulty level, and not sure what you are going to do for long term playability- after a few levels, the sameness sets in.  Also, a way in the application to adjust the volume other than on or off would be nice.  But nice first shot.

6893

Living Room / Re: Yet Another Privacy Violation - This time it's about kids

« Last post by wraith808 on October 05, 2012, 08:30 PM »

And I am not too sure it would be wise to put up a fuss about the palm scanning, either. It is for the protection of the children, and not merely for convenience. You might not understand my point of view unless you were bullied, beaten up, and had your lunch money/tickets stolen as a child. A single act is a multiple assault whose effects do not ever entirely go away, first with an act of violence when the money/tickets are taken, then again when you have to go hungry every day for a week, and then again every day when you are going to/from school from the fear of being attacked again. I still hold my breath when going under a certain bridge, even as an adult in the safety of a car, because of what happened there when I was about 8 years old.

A bully can't steal your palm.

-app103 (October 05, 2012, 08:08 PM)

Very good points.  I was of a different mind... but reading your post with an open mind... You make a very persuasive argument.

6894

Living Room / Re: For the Trekkies - Star Trek Engines Being Researched

« Last post by wraith808 on October 04, 2012, 01:33 PM »

Call me when either Deanna or Beverly are free for dinner.

-40hz (October 04, 2012, 01:30 PM)

Is dinner a euphemism?  No?  It is for me...

6895

N.A.N.Y. 2013 / Re: Carbon - my new hackable performant (semi) static blogging system.

« Last post by wraith808 on October 04, 2012, 01:32 PM »

That's really cool!  Having done my own framework, I know how much work is involved, and tip my hat to you- the code looks really solid for this stage of the game.  And if you're not using it for a wide variety of projects, having your own tailor made to what you need is great.  That's my problem with Unity and Prism and all of the Microsoft Enterprise libraries- they're too heavyweight.  Yours is functional and readable.

Great work!

6896

Screenshot Captor / Re: This program should be avoided like the plague!

« Last post by wraith808 on October 04, 2012, 01:03 PM »

(Quite true that respect is lacking) You're half way there. The problem is that the sugarcoating is being used as a substitute for respect. It's a pretend civility, because people are just trying to sound nice...instead of being nice. Kind of like self respect, folks what have it are generally never seen flopping around on the floor like toddlers. But the PC types will throw a flatout fit if one makes the "mistake" of using a "naughty" word in their presence.

-Stoic Joker (October 04, 2012, 11:58 AM)

Oh, I totally agree with you on that point.  I hate all of the PC pretend that I'm OK while internally being the same person BS.  I'd rather see the real you, and decide for myself if I like you or want to be offended, rather than this whitewashed facade.  If I choose to get offended or not- that's my choice.  But let it be based on the real you, and if I make that choice, then I can choose to distance myself, which is better for both of us.  This Coexist BS just rubs me the wrong way.

That's not to say force my views on you, or you force yours on me, but for us to agree not to agree and not deal with the fakeness.

6897

N.A.N.Y. 2013 / Re: Carbon - my new hackable performant (semi) static blogging system.

« Last post by wraith808 on October 04, 2012, 10:07 AM »

So... technical question.  It looks like you did your MVC work from scratch?  Is that right?  Just curious... I've been looking at CodeIgniter because I did an MVVM framework almost from scratch (using parts of Unity and Prism), and didn't want to go through that again, but love the approach.

6898

Living Room / Re: For the Trekkies - Star Trek Engines Being Researched

« Last post by wraith808 on October 04, 2012, 10:03 AM »

Well, no.  But, yes. 

6899

Screenshot Captor / Re: This program should be avoided like the plague!

« Last post by wraith808 on October 04, 2012, 09:53 AM »

It didn't used to be rare, back when people had spines. Now our society has become hypersensitive about anything that isn't sugarcoated.

-Stoic Joker (October 04, 2012, 06:54 AM)

It's not about sugar-coating.  It's a good dose of respect, and the realization that if you do it, and it's done back, then you shouldn't get bent about someone turning your own vitriol against you.

I'm personally getting a little fed up with all the cheap shots, digs, snide comments, swearing, posturing, ranting and screaming that seems to be the norm of late.

-40hz (October 04, 2012, 07:55 AM)

This is exactly it.  There's criticism (and I'm not one of those people that believe that criticism can't be constructive), and then there's just useless ranting and vitriol.  People confuse the two, and the PC movement hasn't helped.

I personally prefer if someone is straight with me.  But if you come at me the wrong way, I'll either shut down and ignore what you're trying to say, or come back at you inappropriately (most times, the first... but... hey, I'm human).  There are only a few people that I will let actually vent at me.  It's a matter of respect, in my opinion, something that's vanishingly rare online these days.

What is going on with people lately? There's a widespread refusal to deal with situations (any situation) in a mature and sane manner. In almost every place I been lately I'm running into people who cry on cue and/or fly off the handle at the drop of a hat. It's almost like there's a reward for acting like a cranky toddler rather than an adult. Antisocial is becoming the accepted new 'social.'

-40hz (October 04, 2012, 07:55 AM)

So much this.  I was in court recently, and it even works there.  Passive-Aggressive or Antisocial is the way to go these days, it seems.

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Living Room / Re: For the Trekkies - Star Trek Engines Being Researched

« Last post by wraith808 on October 04, 2012, 09:45 AM »

Trekkers, please