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Comment Re:Surviving off the GPL (Score 1) 480

I think I might be able to provide a bit of an answer to this. I know of two ways (I'm sure there are more) to monetize production of free software. First, there's the Red Hat way: monetize support. If your product is sufficiently complex, this is probably the obvious choice. Otherwise, there's been a recent trend toward crowdfunding new features and certain lower-priority bugfixes. This might be an option for you if your program is something you anticipate a decent number of people using.

RMS might have something more to say, but this is just my two cents on the issue.

Comment Re:what a stupid article (Score 1) 320

To start with, no, not all games are designed for the "testosterone-fueled male intellect." If that's what you think, you only have exposure to the ultra-popular games (and they're ultra-popular because the testosterone-fueled male intellect has a lot of money). If you want games for whatever other crowd (I'm guessing women, since it's the general topic of discussion), you're going to need to make a persuasive argument as to why a profit-seeking entity should bother with you and, furthermore, come to the discussion table and talk to people about what you want and how to do it without sacrificing what other people want and what the game is about. Regarding the first part (I'll touch on the second part later), game devs and publishers are, nine times out of ten, ultimately looking to make money. Games for "girls," while often being misguided and pretty blatantly offensive to begin with, tend to sell very poorly. The largest and most lucrative audience is the male gamer, 18-24, who is influenced by his peers. So the big-money games tend to be targeted toward that crowd. There's a bit of a negative feedback loop going on: women tend to be less interested in games in general, and this results in game developers not making a concerted effort to make games that would appeal to them, thus strengthening the general disinterest in games by that audience.

That said, creators often create what they know. Most game devs grew up surrounded by the last generation of gaming culture: D&D, point-and-clicks, Doom, Quake, Duke Nukem, etc. That kind of thing shows through in a lot of games. Speaking generally, women weren't really a part of that culture to any significant degree. Modern devs really have no idea how to make a game appeal to women, especially in the context of everything else they're trying to do with their game. Devs usually make what they know they would like (provided the game's not being written by committee for that college bro gamer market). If you want these games to be designed in a way that appeals more to you, you're first going to have to educate people on what it is you want that's different from what's available: what you think is fun and interesting, why and how it's different from what's offered, etc. And, of course, you're going to need to be able to sell it, because, as mentioned, ultimately the goal is money. People might give your ideas a chance if they make sense, but they better pay off.

I am a part of a specific gaming community that largely opposes a lot of the "we're not appealing to X enough" mentality that's starting to become pervasive in the modern discussion about games. Speaking for others here, and not myself, a lot of people are afraid that this whole mentality's going to ruin what has produced fantastic games in the past. People in the community I am part of are afraid that there won't be that next Planescape: Torment, that there won't be the next Myst, or Half-Life 2, or Metroid Prime, or whatever. They're afraid that all games are going to be designed specifically to pander to some particular market segment (women or not). That's the fear, and it's what causes the hostility. Personally, I don't think it'll ever be so bad that it prevents good works from showing up. It's true that there is some pandering going on to that 18-24 "testosterone gamer" crowd as mentioned earlier, and publishers are starting to direct devs to pander to other crowds, but there are still good games being made for the sake of being good games. I don't think this pandering mentality is ever going to become the one and only force in game design to the complete detriment of creative expression. I would like the discussion to get away from this whole "we need to be inclusive of everyone" mentality, though. I think some people are starting to losing sight of what makes a really good game.

Anyway, that last part was a bit of a tangent. What I'm trying to say is that a lot of the hostility you're seeing from certain people comes from a fear of losing what they love. If you have this good thing going and you see this bogeyman come out of nowhere and start threatening to take it away, you're going to lash out at it. That's exactly what's happening. I think folks would make a lot more progress (on both sides) if they actually came to the discussion table instead of demonizing each other. That's why I bothered to type this up (apologies if it was a bit convoluted, I was in a hurry).

Submission + - Tiny Motors Controlled Inside Human Cell (bbc.co.uk)

cold fjord writes: BBC reports, "For the first time, scientists have placed tiny motors inside living human cells and steered them magnetically. The advance represents another step towards molecular machines that can be used, for example, to release drugs into specific locations within the body. There is interest in the approach because it could enhance the benefits of drugs while minimising side effects. The rocket-shaped metal particles were propelled using ultrasound pulses. Materials scientist Prof Tom Mallouk, from Penn State University, and colleagues have published their research in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition. "As these nanomotors move around and bump into structures inside the cells, the live cells show internal mechanical responses that no one has seen before," said Prof Mallouk. "This research is a vivid demonstration that it may be possible to use synthetic nanomotors to study cell biology in new ways.""

Submission + - The Death Cap Is Spreading Across the United States

Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes: Discover News reports that although it's big, meaty, looks innocuous, and smells delicious, the death cap is now an invasive species on every continent except Antarctica and is spreading along the East and West Coasts and appears to be moving south into Mexico. "When someone eats Amanita phalloides, she typically won’t experience symptoms for at least six and sometimes as many as 24 hours.," says Cat Adams. "Eventually she’ll suffer from abdominal cramps, vomiting, and severely dehydrating diarrhea. This delay means her symptoms might not be associated with mushrooms, and she may be diagnosed with a more benign illness like stomach flu. To make matters worse, if the patient is somewhat hydrated, her symptoms may lessen and she will enter the so-called honeymoon phase." Without proper, prompt treatment, the victim can experience rapid organ failure, coma, and death. But good news is on the way. S. Todd Mitchell of Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz, California has treated more than 60 patients with a drug derived from milk thistle. The patients who have started the drug on time (within 96 hours of ingesting the mushroom) and who have still had kidney function intact have all survived. “When administered intravenously, the compound sits on and blocks the receptors that bring amatoxin into the liver, thus corralling the amatoxins into the blood stream so the kidneys can expel them faster,” says Adams. "“As long as the drug is started within 96 hours or less following an ingestion of these deadly mushrooms, we’ve had 100% of patients make full and complete recovery." Still, Mitchell cautions against the “regular look” of deadly mushrooms. “They smell very good and when they’re cooked, many patients have described them as the most delicious mushrooms they’ve ever eaten. Unfortunately, famous last words for some.”

Comment Cell phone? What cell phone? (Score 1) 171

I don't have a cell phone. I've never had the desire to be called at random hours of the day when I'm busy with other things. I've never had the desire to be distracted by pointless crap when someone else is talking. And I've certainly never had the desire to pay some $50 a month on top of all the expenses I already have. If someone needs to get ahold of me, they can email me or leave a message on my terrestrial phone. If I'm bored, I have a desktop and a laptop computer I can make use of, or I can just, you know, talk with people.

And before you call me a fossil, I'm 23 and just graduated with my degree in CS about a year ago. So I don't quite think I'm old enough to qualify.

Comment Re:RMS needs to get over the GPL (Score 1) 279

If you'd like a specific example, OpenBSD. They were recently facing major problems because none of the corporations that took from their project were willing to give back where it was needed most. Granted, monetary issues aren't something the GPL is going to solve, but I'm speaking more generally to the larger point of "corporations will give back when it suits their interest." At least in this case, it seems like most corporations that "took" from OpenBSD figured that it wasn't their problem, that someone else would give back and they could just reap the profits. And really, that's what ended up happening (I believe a rich user ended up stepping up and covering their electrical costs).

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