<sarcasm>I didn't know that more modern languages had a 50 year history of reliability, scalability, and security to process transactions 24/7. Live and learn I guess...</sarcasm>

Further, the cost of developing, debugging, and testing the replacement in any language (including redeveloping the system from the ground up in COBOL) is quite expensive, no matter what language you choose. Likely more expensive than the big iron and software environments necessary to run the old code that has worked reliably for the last 20 to 40 years.

Except the $10 that was turned into Wii points and can't be turned back into cash.

So exactly $10 was lost.

I don't think I could have put that more eloquently. Thank you.

You must be kidding me or still be in college.

There is plenty of anonymity in real life. You can publish anonymous pamphlets and you can stand up in public and speak without dropping your docs.

The loss of anonymity in those cases occurs only when you don't go to lengths to protect yourself. If your picture is plastered all over your Facebook page and you appear in public, someone somewhere is going to put the two together, but if you have a low-profile presence online, it's practical to maintain that anonymity offline.

Unless you're dealing with the government, in which case you're screwed.

You first. Papers, citizen! Stop hiding behind your nick!

And what most people miss about this story is not just that the manufacturer wouldn't provide the driver. It was that they refused to provide the driver so that rms could modify it so that MIT could use the hardware in the way that they pleased after paying for it.

The device was a shiny new laser printer. rms wanted to add a feature to the driver - notifying someone when (not if) the printer jammed so that print jobs wouldn't get backed up when the printer jammed without having to have someone babysit the printer. The printer maker (I believe it was Xerox, but I could be wrong on this part) didn't want to give up the source because they were afraid that it contained trade secrets because they were the only game in town for laser printing.

The refusal of source code for drivers goes on today, mainly from wireless manufacturers (with the added point that they feel they might be liable if someone violates an FCC reg because they tweaked the driver) and the video card makers.

No. You know which DVD was copied. You still don't know who did the actual copying. A friend borrows your DVD, rips it, and puts it on the Internet then the MPAA and cops will come after you and you can bet they won't give a shit if you say you lent it to a friend. Same when your DVD collection is stolen. Thief makes the copies, you do the time.

The studios went to DVD partially out of consumer demand but also because it was a process that in the long run is much cheaper. It costs pennies to stamp out a DVD, but it takes much more equipment and time to dub a videocassette. This cost savings is a double-edged sword - digital, in most cases, is easier to copy for the people receiving the product. Much easier than dubbing a copy onto videocassette for both the producer and the consumer.

Even if your logic weren't flawed (see the other response), there is nothing illegal about having a monopoly over a market. You've only broken the law if you unduly use your monopoly status (or near monopoly status) to weed out competitors, for example, by dumping a product on the market below market value, or by illegally tying products and services.

You've just described Ubuntu Netbook Remix. By default, it provides a netbook interface, but it's a trivial change to switch the a normal desktop. It's a standard Ubuntu install under that.

Unless (until) someone leaks a copy of the finished game that's just hanging around for a few more months just waiting.

Apparently you've never heard of VisiCalc. The Apple II had the original spreadsheet.

Companies bought IBM because they were "the computer company", and many large companies likely had IBM mainframes. Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM. That being said, Lotus 1-2-3 was a better spreadsheet than VisiCalc.

Part of the CDA was struck down, primarily the parts of the CDA dealing with protecting children from indecent speech. The CDA was amended by Congress to remove the sections the court found unconstitutional.

Holy totally missing the point!

It's. Just. A. Game.

Here's what I look forward to: getting married, starting a family, being able to pay off my bills, a promotion, several more pranks from/to my friends, and so forth. Not getting 100% in Super Hyper Sequel Roster Update 2010 Mark IV.

If you are the type of gamer that feels they must unlock and earn everything, that is perfectly fine. However, all gamers are not like you. I have a day job that's 8-10 hours a day. I have friends that want to go out into the real world for drinking, driving fast cars, golf, shooting, pranking, talking with girls, more than talking with girls, and generally being social while not being behind a headset or a controller. This leaves a small amount of time for me to play video games, and, consequently, cuts into my ability to unlock things.

However, you'll note, that I paid the exact same amount of money for the game as you did. I bought the exact same content that you did. Our discs are likely identical at the bit level. I already worked to afford the game - I worked hard and saved my money to hand over for the disc. This is why a game that already has everything unlocked is not like getting an expensive car without working - I already worked to buy the game!

If anything, having things locked without the option to put in a cheat code to unlock them is akin to working for years to buy that shiny new car, paying for it, driving it home, and finding out that until you've spent another $4,000, you can't go any faster than 45. Make the full unlock option be a cheat code, and then color the icon of the save to, say, red instead of blue. If you have a blue save, then you haven't unlocked everything with the code (and have done it through your hard work).

All this and more can be avoided by being original and not just posting memes!

Originality - it's fun and fundamental!

2.5 (out of 10) from the East German judge.

Seriously, if you're going to use this meme, at least please use it right. The original line is:
"In America, you can always find a party. In Soviet Russia, party finds you!"

Therefore, the correct mutation of the above meme is:
"In America, you can always find Internet Czar. In Imperial Russia, Czar finds YOU".

Thanks for playing!