Open Source

I just read an article on Open Source development projects... One side of the situation is that companies that stay in business by selling their software are trying to file hundreds of patents that will protect their investments (which stifles the abilities of open source developers to work on projects for fear of a lawsuit). And on the other side of the situation we have literally tens of thousands of open source projects waiting to be worked on. There are those enterprising people who decide they want to develop code on their own time for no financial compensation, wonderful people.

My take is this:

Intellectual rights patents are bologne. We should allow anyone to develop anything they want to, even if it is the same exact application. Where you are going to see the benefits - who makes the interface easier to use, what options there are, cost of the product.

I can understand the fear of getting your newly coded software ripped of by someone hacking into your system (actually in my utopian world up above my guess would be most corporations would be hiring hackers to do just that to their competition). It would suck to devote 2 years of man power to a software product just to have the rug swept from under your feet by a company stealing your code and selling it for half the cost. But I think it would also generate more competition, which would fuel more innovation in the industry. So definitely don't make everything free, but make idea's and thoughts free.

Ahh here is what I think I mean to say. Make patents only good for a finished product and only for very limited time window. Something like - I create a document writer program that has the neat feature of a built in dictionary (I know been done a long time ago). For the first 12 months, no-one can release a product that is similar to that product. After those 12 months the patent is expired. It would fuel the corporations to do constant updates to keep in patent, furthering the software industry...

I don't know those are just my thoughts.

Missing this weekend

I will miss you all this weekend. It sounds like you're going to have some serious fun. I will be moving into my brand new, er, make that 92 year old victorian, house that I will be the proud new owner of as of tomorrow. Here are some pictures (staged, not my furniture) if you'd like to have a look. It's in Oakland, so I guess I'll be up here for a few years yet! Have fun this weekend! Adeptio's Home

Huge LCD Screen on a Digital Camera!

This is pretty awesome!

Oregon Scientific's PV100 digital camera has a very large LCD screen. Seriously. - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Rammstein Video

RAMMSTEIN's video for their new single, "Amerika", has been posted online at Viva.tv. Check it out: Windows Media (Dial-Up, Broadband), Real Media (Dial-Up, Broadband).

Big Fish

NightenGail and I saw Big Fish last night (newish movie by Tim Burton) and we definitely have to recommend it to you all. It was one of the first movies this year that we have seen which truly had an awesome storyline.

Actors were all amazing... We really have nothing bad to say about the movie!

Digital Gaming

Finally after years of the Imperial Executioner dragging his computer up to my place, we had an internet game. Since he has DSL now we had no noticable lag on our Quake 3 game!

DSL Online

I at last join the ranks of those with high speed internet. All I'm waiting for now is Earthlink to reverse the $200 early termination fee they charged me in the process of moving over the account to the correct address. But, overall, big smiley faces and stuff.

Got my dinette set. It looks ok. I have to admit its going to be crowded at my place for this gaming party, so please accept my apologies in advance. See most of you the 29th.

Hammerfall

Hammerfall will be spending all of September and October in the studio working on new material to be released in March next year.

I don't know what's worse, the fact that this guy's insults are right on, or that I have all the albums that these pictures are in...

Mike From Hobart of RuthlessReviews.com has compiled a list of the "Top Ten Most Ridiculous Black Metal Pics Of All Time". The list, which includes such names as IMMORTAL, DARK FUNERAL, DIMMU BORGIR, CRADLE OF FILTH and OLD MAN'S CHILD along with Mike's humorous commentary about each entry, can be viewed at this location.

Aliens vs Predator review

I'll do a better job some day but check it out Here

W Ketchup

W Ketchup

Specialness comes in all sorts of packages... I don't even know if I want to put a link up on the web with this, as it will give more credit than it is due. (Although if it tastes good I'd purchase some) What do ya think Adeptio, should get some from Grandma?

[Gamers Inc.] Awesome site

Tom's Hardware go here


--
Posted by DeathShade to Gamers Inc. at 8/17/2004 07:30:58 AM

At Last...

From Blabbermouth:

German power metallers FREEDOM CALL, who feature in their ranks GAMMA RAY drummer Dan Zimmermann, have commenced the recording process for their new album, tentatively due in early 2005 through SPV Records. No further details are available at this time.

Wired News: Turning Slackers Into Workaholics

Wired News: Turning Slackers Into Workaholics

I like Gene Therapy. I think it is part of our key to the future.

AvP

This weekend is the supposed release for Aliens Vs. Predator. NightenGail and I will be down on Saturday afternoon. Lets make a group thing of it!

A special mission

So I got a call on Friday from the division manager I work under. It seems that there's a branch that needs some major help...and fast. They've got an audit in two weeks and they failed their last one. I start Monday. It also seems that I might end up working at that office, depending on the fate of their current manager. More on this as I discover it myself. The cool thing (besides more money) is that this is a full size branch, and those are closed on all federal holidays and Sundays...more time off for the friends.

In other news, in 10-12 working days, my DSL should be transferred from my parents' house to mine.

Rammstein

RAMMSTEIN's song "Mein Herz Brennt" is featured in a Mercedes television commercial which has been airing on British television. The commercial, which includes "breath-taking special effects" during the breaks, features the driver of a Mercedes Cabriolet fleeing from two battling "Cloud Gods". More information about the commercial is available at this location.

RAMMSTEIN's latest single, "Mein Teil", entered the German singles chart at position No. 2. A video (Windows Media, Real Media) for the track was shot on June 2-3 in Berlin, Germany. A fifty-person crew and director Zoran Bihac, who also directed the "Links 2,3,4" clip, realized the concept for the video together with the band.

The Joys of DSL: Chapter 2 - The Epiphany

So I finally found someone at Earthlink who could tell me what went wrong. Despite the fact that I gave the sales person my new address and phone number, as well as changing them both on their website, they set up the DSL at my old address and phone number. Thus the battle for DSL rages on.

RE: Doom 3

I’ve actually had Doom 3 since Monday night.

The Graphics are beyond amazing. They are in all honesty, unbelievable in a computer game. If you saw the movie ‘Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within’ and thought the graphics were good in that movie, I would say that the graphics in this game are on par if not better.

The game blows away most horror movies I’ve seen as far as immersion. You have to compare it with some of the best suspense movies in the genre. I would say Event Horizon actually is pretty comparable for the suspense.

Gameplay: Smooth, if you are a fan of the FPS genre you will feel at home with this game.

Graphics: The full potential of the graphics hasn’t been realized because the systems today don’t have the CPUs / GPUs powerful enough to truly max out the graphics. Although on my system which is almost 2 years dated it still looks visually stunning. They do a LOT with dynamic lighting. Everything object has texture. Literally if you see a pimple of a person’s face it can give off a shadow. There are some still cheesy things, I have only noticed this in the multiplayer maps but like the outside environments were obviously just pictures and not full 3d rendered objects going beyond say a window. I don’t know how that is going to play out in the actual single player experience because I haven’t experienced it.

Sound: Very atmospheric, at various times during gameplay it will have a radio communication link establish and you will hear people talking and screaming (lots of death). I was standing in a room and I heard someone say ‘help me’ very quiet with a kind of a moan. And I couldn’t tell where it was coming from (don’t have 5.1 set up), and I just sat there looking around then after a minute I looked up and there was a body suspended on a rope, and that was the person who was asking for help. Of course I had to shoot him then but ya know ;).

Overall:

The game scares the crap out of me. I am not a fan of horror films, never have been. I am forcing myself to play this game for 2 reasons:

1) It is just so awesome in its technology that I am amazed every minute I am playing it
2) In all honesty, it is a fun, challenging game.

9/10 in my opinion.

Thanks,
Eric

This is a really cool concept...

Computer / Monitor in one
If it had the ability to end user upgrade video card and memory this would be awesome... But I doubt it will have that.

The Joys of DSL - Chapter 1: The Beginning

Hopefully, there won't be many chapters, but I expected trouble from the beginning. Got the modem today and there is no DSL signal at all on my phone line. My next day off being 6 days away, I continue to be limited to 20 hrs/month dial up until someone can come and fix me up...and of course, because tech support is in India or something, half the time you're disconnected after being on hold for 15 minutes. Future chapters of "The Joys of DSL" will appear as the struggle for high speed internet continues. Stay tuned...

BTW, I loved the British/German/French joke.

Heaven and Hell Joke

A coworker told this one to me today.. It is hilarious.

So in heaven:
The British are the police
The Germans are the engineers
And the French are the chefs

In Hell:
The Germans are the police
The French are the engineers
And the British are the chefs

... Gotta love that British food.

This and that

• The USA released date of the next full length Rammstein album, called "Reise Reise," has been set for November 2.
• A review of the new Kittie album can be found here.
• Information on the next full length Rhapsody album is up on their site.
• Congrats on the new job Phil!!
• DSL modem is still MIA
• Got my entertainment center...perfect except its a little darker than it looked in the store, not that that's bad, it just doesn't quite match everything else. Dinette set is still MIA
  

Doom 3

I have acquired my pre-ordered version of Doom 3. The graphics are amazing. But I don't know if I can handle the 'jump' factor. This is one scary ass game. Steve, Scott.. You have to check it out.

A little bragging

Just wanted to let everyone know about my branch audit last Thursday. All the bank branches get an interal audit once a year. Mine got a perfect score...only 4 others in all of California can say that.

Dimmu Borgir Drummer

Here's a little information on the new Dimmu Borgir drummer...

In a short note Silenoz confirmed that the new Session drummer for Dimmu Borgir is Danish drummer Reno Kiilerich. Kiilerich is widely considered to be one of the most skilled speed/grind drummers around, having won the title "fastest feet in the world" with more than 800 hits on the pedals in one minute at the NAMM music convention in the U.S., according to published reports.