Courts here in the US have already affirmed the rights of a user to re-sell software, despite licensing agreements. See Autodesk: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2008/05/court-smacks-autodesk-affirms-right-to-sell-used-software.ars I can't find any follow-up, but I like to think that the decision stuck. I understand their *wanting* more money, but yeah: First Sale Doctrine. I think a MUCH 'better' way for them to deal with this is through first-sale exclusives. i.e., "Buy Gears of War 2 and get a multiplayer map pack code." That way, anyone that buys a new copy, gets the code. I would also recommend that they ALSO offer the same map packs online for, say, $10, so that even if a person buys the game secondarily, if they want the "full" multiplayer experience, they can still get it. I guess they could 'force' users towards brand new retail copies by not offering the map pack except as redeemable by a code, but that just seems like lost sales to me. I really think that game publishers need to stop being crybabies about secondhand games and find a way to make their product more valuable to the consumers. Or make the games cheaper: I'd certainly rather spend $40 on a new game than $60. (Although that's being generous: Gamestop's policy seems to be the Wal*Mart approach "New = $60, used = $57.99"). Ideally, though, games (both new and used) would be cheaper.

A while back, AMDTi said that they were not competing at the high-end anymore: "There were also very specific admissions that AMD/ ATI isnâ(TM)t competing at the high end with Nvidia, nor do they intend to match up to the GTX 280 with a release of their own uber-chip." source. So to say "ATI had to combine two cards to be on top!" kind of completely misses the point. (emphasis added.)

For the interested, there's a great article at anandtech talking about how the R770 came to be pretty awesome... Really, though, it's not a super-high-end part.