I didn't purchase the game, so this information below is completely second hand.
Refunds: EA said they would allow refunds, however, I've seen several posts saying that you had to contact EA support by phone to get one, and that getting a hold of a human being right now was next to impossible.
People purchasing second copy: Totalbiscuit put that out there as a rumor, so I'm not sure if I would be comfortable citing that as a source of fact as even he didn't know for sure.
Server saves: My understanding is that they have regional server farms - US and Europe at the least. Where the save game thing comes into play is if you are a US player trying to play in Europe, etc. If you continue to play in your region, your save should be there.
So... mistake made, sincere apology offered and a promise not to do it again. I think we can put this to bed unless people are only interested in enjoying the conflict.
Modern revolutions are fought with indirect weapons such as mines, booby traps, etc. See Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq. Any time that the insurgents tried a stand up battle, they were wiped out. See Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq. Your 30-06 is of extremely limited value in an insurgent war. 80-100 million of them get you nothing against C-130 gunships, drone platforms, Apaches, Tomahawk Missiles, artillery, etc.
The US isn't Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq when it comes to layout. We have a highly centralized, easily controlled population (supplies of food, water, and power come from very distinct and easily controllable areas). The unlimited surveillance abilities of the US Military make it impossible to directly assemble and move large numbers of people without being wiped out.
For the "how many US military are going to knowingly invade a state or states in rebellion and kill fellow citizens" question, the US Military vs the population isn't my juvenile fantasy, so I'm not defending it or the possibilities of it occurring. I'm only pointing out how silly the gun owners vs the US Military meme is.
Really? 80-100 million gun owners vs the government and you think the latter would win? *pfft* Good luck with that one.
I'll ask the same question again:
How many of the 80-100 million gun owners do you know of that have weapons can reach up 30,000 feet? Because the Fed has lots of weapons platforms that can reach down that far. You're delusional if you think any weapon that can be bought legally is a strategic or even tactical threat to the US Military.
The US Military is designed to fight enemies with aircraft, warships, and armor exercised strategically through superior intelligence, mobility, and supply. Your hypothetical revolution doesn't get off the ground without force parity in all of these aspects.
The day of the musket as great equalizer is long over. No gun vs gun pitched battle with a (the) modern military is going to work. It's not the number of weapons, it is the effectiveness of these weapons.
The reality is that the 80-100 million gun owners would have little chance even against the assembled police forces of this country.
You can bet your ass that this was heavy on their minds at the time, so the 2nd Amendment is there to make sure we are able to do it again if necessary.
...
Privately owned, people-killing, war-waging firearms are precisely why the 2nd Amendment exists.
What privately owned, people-killing, war-waging firearms do you know of that can reach up 30,000 feet? Because the Fed has lots of weapons platforms that can reach down that far. You're delusional if you think any weapon that can be bought legally is a strategic or even tactical threat to the US Military.
I've been thinking that athletes themselves should just put together their own competition.
Create a consortium of athletes and then promise to put on a series of events. Sell the TV rights. Round up sponsors and host cities/arena's (why does it have to be just one?), etc. Work out a payment system for the athletes.
At this point, they're just unpaid interns being exploited to make money for an organization that cares nothing for them. Rise up ye athletes and revolt!
I don't want to him sharing my order info willy nilly, but if some of the chips I buy end up being used to hurt people, I don't expect Keith Shandlow to take my order info to the grave with him, and I don't think he should expect to, either.
Agree - love sparkfun as a customer, and very much appreciate the up front attitude about the entire affair.
I'm not one of the 20 affected, but if I was, I would understand that they did their best to keep the scope of the discovery limited.
Don't you think it's odd that the authorities appear to have done EXACTLY as discussed yesterday, pulling the domain down long enough to collect some evidence, to check some things out, and then allowed business to continue as normal?
They didn't collect any evidence at all. All they did was keep internet traffic from being able to reach the .com address for a few days, while allowing it to reach the .net.
Evidence in this context could only mean collecting it off the wire (eavesdropping) or pulling it from their servers. This action did neither.
Big is only a problem when it comes to Search. Because Google must not be pulling its weight donating to their campaigns.
This.
These hearing don't happen to well represented ("$") companies. This is just notice to Google that they aren't giving enough into the payola system we call Congress.
Re: The bigger they are the easier they need to make it to avoid.
This argument has more straw men per square inch…
Google is big...
Yes, you can always use another search engine, but....the bigger they get the harder it is to avoid them.
Personally the only thing I think that needs to happen, now that Google is so big and successful, is an easier way to avoid them.
At this point, even if you wanted to avoid Google, you would have a hard time of it.
I don't really agree with this statement. However, the logical problem with your statement is that if it is true, no matter what happens to Google (one company or many) this will still happen.
So you use Bing instead of Google for search, well every web page that is using Google Ads or Google analytics is still keeping tabs on you.
And about 20 other various companies doing the same thing on those web pages. Is your argument against tracking in general, only that Google does it cause it's "bigger", or "?"
So you use Yahoo Mail instead of GMail, Google is still going through all of the emails that either come from other people with GMail or get sent to people with GMail. The bigger they get the more people will be using GMail and the harder it will be to avoid them.
To use your argument: If you use Yahoo Mail, Yahoo is still going through all of the emails that either come from other people with Yahoo or get sent to people with Yahoo. The bigger they get the more people will be using Yahoo and the harder it will be to avoid them. Again, is your argument against email in general, or only that Google does it?
If you have an Android phone, good luck trying to use a competitor's mapping service. Last I checked they _required_ you to have a GMail account.
Having a Gmail account doesn't force you to use a specific web page (Google maps, Bing Maps, MapQuest) on any phone. There isn't any luck involved - I can go to any map service I want.
If you have a wireless router, Google wants to force you to 'Opt-Out' of them tracking it.
Well, only one that they have gone through the trouble of detecting, which *anyone* can do. However, I agree this is a pretty douchey(tm) move.
Can you see where this is heading? At some point, unless Google is forced to obey such things as the 'Do not track' header (which they have been adamantly opposed to), or move some of their things to an opt-in basis, you won't be able to avoid their tracking of you.
I could do the substitution game again, but at this point I'm hoping you get the point - the "unless company X is forced to Y" argument could apply to anyone, yes? Again, why is this only in the context of Google? Again, are you only opposed to Google doing/not doing this thing when so many others do/don't?
Phone vendors should be able to offer alternatives to Google Maps on an Android phone without worrying about Google putting the screws to them.
My Droid X actually came with the Verizon flavor of a map application, which I couldn't get rid of quick enough. You might want to stop using the Android platform as your example, as the vendors implementing the platform have enormous freedom in how they deploy it, what features to include, etc. When you see homogeneous feature sets, it isn't a conspiracy, but instead the end result of a decision to leverage the feature set because it provides the best value to the company implementing it. The exception is the application store, which Google does require a gmail account to leverage (billing, tracking, etc). Addressed next...
GMail should _not_ be a requirement for all Android phone users, or even Android developers.
Let's see. How about "An Apple account should not be a requirement for all iPhone users, or even iPhone developers". Yet again - against centralized app market stores in general, or just the Google one?
Where Google is getting into trouble is the irresistible desire to improperly use their success in one area as a club to force people to do things their way in another.
A lot of supposition here, unsupported by your previous arguments. If you don't mind, please define the "club" being using only by Google/Big Company. Define how this mythical thing is being "improperly" used by Google/Big Company. Most importantly, if you could, show how Google/Big Company's improper use of the club will "force people to do things their way". I only ask because [a] all your statements above really could apply to any company that does similar business on the internet, and [b] In each case above, I can go to a competitor without issues or consequences*.
In your post, you haven't so much made a case against Google, as much as against certain business practices and applications on the internet (tracking, email, maps, app stores, etc) in general. You've then taken these items and made Google the bad guy in spite of being "one of many" in the same space simply because they are "bigger". You didn't define how "bigger" is worse then doing the same thing when you are "smaller" outside of the flawed argument that Google is bad because they are everywhere and can't be avoided. This argument doesn't seem to hold water as per the rebuttals above. Yes, Google is big, but I am under no obligation to use them at all*. If I do decide to use Google, I certainly can change my mind later and use a competing service without fear of retribution or negative consequences.
* The sole exception I can think of being the platform centric Google centralized application store. However, even here I now have another choice - the Amazon Appstore for Android. However, based on your arguments, I'm not sure if I should avoid Amazon: they are big, they require I sign up with them, I will get emails from them, I will be forced to use their downloader, and they will track me. Is it ok to use Amazon? Do I need to determine an absolute measure of "bigness" to determine which way to go?
To help aleviate your fear of Google, here are some helpful tips:
[1] If you don't want to be tracked by Google Analytics, Ad Sense, or *anyone*, there isn't a high technical or implementation hurdle to make this so on your browser.
[2] If you don't want to use gmail, don't. No one will shoot a dog (sorry Mad magazine) if you choose to use any one of what must be hundreds of mail service providers.
[3] You can use any mapping application you like! Crazy, but true. I happen to use Google maps, and I highly recommend it - tons of features, and easy to leverage API's. But the choice is yours.
[4] If you buy a mobile/smart device that has an application store, you most likely WILL have to sign up to a specific vendor in most cases to use that store (Apple, Blackberry, etc). The only exception I can think of at this time (not counting grey market) is the Android platform - Amazon has an app store for droid applications.
surreptitious means unauthorized... and when you have a camera filming in the background and people do not want or know its there but you refuse to turn it off.. that is unauthorized.. you are breaking the law
I still think you need to look up the meaning of the word "surreptitious".
On the post: Launch Day Punishment: SimCity's Online-Only DRM Locking Purchasers Out Of Servers, Purchases
Refunds, second copy, server saves
Refunds: EA said they would allow refunds, however, I've seen several posts saying that you had to contact EA support by phone to get one, and that getting a hold of a human being right now was next to impossible.
People purchasing second copy: Totalbiscuit put that out there as a rumor, so I'm not sure if I would be comfortable citing that as a source of fact as even he didn't know for sure.
Server saves: My understanding is that they have regional server farms - US and Europe at the least. Where the save game thing comes into play is if you are a US player trying to play in Europe, etc. If you continue to play in your region, your save should be there.
On the post: Makers Of Firefly 'Fan-game' Abuse DMCA To Try To Silence Critic
Re: Yes, I agree
On the post: More Prenda Insanity: Lawyer Claims Defendant Erased Infringing Activity Using A Registry Cleaner, Citing A Single EHow Submission
Re: Re:
On the post: Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
On the post: Prenda's Brett Gibbs Tries To Avoid Answering Questions About Alan Cooper By Dismissing Case
Re:
On the post: Senate Finally Holds Weak 'Debate' On FISA Amendments Act... But Terrorism!
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Let's get this clear
The US isn't Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq when it comes to layout. We have a highly centralized, easily controlled population (supplies of food, water, and power come from very distinct and easily controllable areas). The unlimited surveillance abilities of the US Military make it impossible to directly assemble and move large numbers of people without being wiped out.
For the "how many US military are going to knowingly invade a state or states in rebellion and kill fellow citizens" question, the US Military vs the population isn't my juvenile fantasy, so I'm not defending it or the possibilities of it occurring. I'm only pointing out how silly the gun owners vs the US Military meme is.
On the post: Senate Finally Holds Weak 'Debate' On FISA Amendments Act... But Terrorism!
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Let's get this clear
How many of the 80-100 million gun owners do you know of that have weapons can reach up 30,000 feet? Because the Fed has lots of weapons platforms that can reach down that far. You're delusional if you think any weapon that can be bought legally is a strategic or even tactical threat to the US Military.
The US Military is designed to fight enemies with aircraft, warships, and armor exercised strategically through superior intelligence, mobility, and supply. Your hypothetical revolution doesn't get off the ground without force parity in all of these aspects.
The day of the musket as great equalizer is long over. No gun vs gun pitched battle with a (the) modern military is going to work. It's not the number of weapons, it is the effectiveness of these weapons.
The reality is that the 80-100 million gun owners would have little chance even against the assembled police forces of this country.
On the post: Senate Finally Holds Weak 'Debate' On FISA Amendments Act... But Terrorism!
What privately owned, people-killing, war-waging firearms do you know of that can reach up 30,000 feet? Because the Fed has lots of weapons platforms that can reach down that far. You're delusional if you think any weapon that can be bought legally is a strategic or even tactical threat to the US Military.
On the post: Olympics Shuts Down Non-Commercial Online Service That Helped People Get Tickets
The 42nd Athletes Competition...
Create a consortium of athletes and then promise to put on a series of events. Sell the TV rights. Round up sponsors and host cities/arena's (why does it have to be just one?), etc. Work out a payment system for the athletes.
At this point, they're just unpaid interns being exploited to make money for an organization that cares nothing for them. Rise up ye athletes and revolt!
On the post: Sparkfun Explains Why It Provided Customer Info In Response To Subpoena
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
I'm not one of the 20 affected, but if I was, I would understand that they did their best to keep the scope of the discovery limited.
I'll buy from them again without reservations.
On the post: US Returns JotForm.com Domain; Still Refuses To Say What Happened
Re: Re: Re: What are the laws regarding this?
They didn't collect any evidence at all. All they did was keep internet traffic from being able to reach the .com address for a few days, while allowing it to reach the .net.
Evidence in this context could only mean collecting it off the wire (eavesdropping) or pulling it from their servers. This action did neither.
On the post: There's No Such Thing As 'Natural' Search Results; Search Results Are Inherently Biased
Re: So Big is a Problem?
This.
These hearing don't happen to well represented ("$") companies. This is just notice to Google that they aren't giving enough into the payola system we call Congress.
On the post: There's No Such Thing As 'Natural' Search Results; Search Results Are Inherently Biased
Re: The bigger they are the easier they need to make it to avoid.
Google is big...
Yes, you can always use another search engine, but....the bigger they get the harder it is to avoid them.
Personally the only thing I think that needs to happen, now that Google is so big and successful, is an easier way to avoid them.
At this point, even if you wanted to avoid Google, you would have a hard time of it.
I don't really agree with this statement. However, the logical problem with your statement is that if it is true, no matter what happens to Google (one company or many) this will still happen.
So you use Bing instead of Google for search, well every web page that is using Google Ads or Google analytics is still keeping tabs on you.
And about 20 other various companies doing the same thing on those web pages. Is your argument against tracking in general, only that Google does it cause it's "bigger", or "?"
So you use Yahoo Mail instead of GMail, Google is still going through all of the emails that either come from other people with GMail or get sent to people with GMail. The bigger they get the more people will be using GMail and the harder it will be to avoid them.
To use your argument: If you use Yahoo Mail, Yahoo is still going through all of the emails that either come from other people with Yahoo or get sent to people with Yahoo. The bigger they get the more people will be using Yahoo and the harder it will be to avoid them. Again, is your argument against email in general, or only that Google does it?
If you have an Android phone, good luck trying to use a competitor's mapping service. Last I checked they _required_ you to have a GMail account.
Having a Gmail account doesn't force you to use a specific web page (Google maps, Bing Maps, MapQuest) on any phone. There isn't any luck involved - I can go to any map service I want.
If you have a wireless router, Google wants to force you to 'Opt-Out' of them tracking it.
Well, only one that they have gone through the trouble of detecting, which *anyone* can do. However, I agree this is a pretty douchey(tm) move.
Can you see where this is heading? At some point, unless Google is forced to obey such things as the 'Do not track' header (which they have been adamantly opposed to), or move some of their things to an opt-in basis, you won't be able to avoid their tracking of you.
I could do the substitution game again, but at this point I'm hoping you get the point - the "unless company X is forced to Y" argument could apply to anyone, yes? Again, why is this only in the context of Google? Again, are you only opposed to Google doing/not doing this thing when so many others do/don't?
Phone vendors should be able to offer alternatives to Google Maps on an Android phone without worrying about Google putting the screws to them.
My Droid X actually came with the Verizon flavor of a map application, which I couldn't get rid of quick enough. You might want to stop using the Android platform as your example, as the vendors implementing the platform have enormous freedom in how they deploy it, what features to include, etc. When you see homogeneous feature sets, it isn't a conspiracy, but instead the end result of a decision to leverage the feature set because it provides the best value to the company implementing it. The exception is the application store, which Google does require a gmail account to leverage (billing, tracking, etc). Addressed next...
GMail should _not_ be a requirement for all Android phone users, or even Android developers.
Let's see. How about "An Apple account should not be a requirement for all iPhone users, or even iPhone developers". Yet again - against centralized app market stores in general, or just the Google one?
Where Google is getting into trouble is the irresistible desire to improperly use their success in one area as a club to force people to do things their way in another.
A lot of supposition here, unsupported by your previous arguments. If you don't mind, please define the "club" being using only by Google/Big Company. Define how this mythical thing is being "improperly" used by Google/Big Company. Most importantly, if you could, show how Google/Big Company's improper use of the club will "force people to do things their way". I only ask because [a] all your statements above really could apply to any company that does similar business on the internet, and [b] In each case above, I can go to a competitor without issues or consequences*.
In your post, you haven't so much made a case against Google, as much as against certain business practices and applications on the internet (tracking, email, maps, app stores, etc) in general. You've then taken these items and made Google the bad guy in spite of being "one of many" in the same space simply because they are "bigger". You didn't define how "bigger" is worse then doing the same thing when you are "smaller" outside of the flawed argument that Google is bad because they are everywhere and can't be avoided. This argument doesn't seem to hold water as per the rebuttals above. Yes, Google is big, but I am under no obligation to use them at all*. If I do decide to use Google, I certainly can change my mind later and use a competing service without fear of retribution or negative consequences.
* The sole exception I can think of being the platform centric Google centralized application store. However, even here I now have another choice - the Amazon Appstore for Android. However, based on your arguments, I'm not sure if I should avoid Amazon: they are big, they require I sign up with them, I will get emails from them, I will be forced to use their downloader, and they will track me. Is it ok to use Amazon? Do I need to determine an absolute measure of "bigness" to determine which way to go?
To help aleviate your fear of Google, here are some helpful tips:
[1] If you don't want to be tracked by Google Analytics, Ad Sense, or *anyone*, there isn't a high technical or implementation hurdle to make this so on your browser.
[2] If you don't want to use gmail, don't. No one will shoot a dog (sorry Mad magazine) if you choose to use any one of what must be hundreds of mail service providers.
[3] You can use any mapping application you like! Crazy, but true. I happen to use Google maps, and I highly recommend it - tons of features, and easy to leverage API's. But the choice is yours.
[4] If you buy a mobile/smart device that has an application store, you most likely WILL have to sign up to a specific vendor in most cases to use that store (Apple, Blackberry, etc). The only exception I can think of at this time (not counting grey market) is the Android platform - Amazon has an app store for droid applications.
On the post: Concord PD Hits For The Cycle: Lemonade Stand + Camera + Wiretap Law
Re: Re: Re:
I still think you need to look up the meaning of the word "surreptitious".
On the post: Court Slams Righthaven (Again); Refuses To Let It Back Into Democratic Underground Case
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