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Comment Re:Could be worse (Score 4, Interesting) 234

Lets see how this compares to Canada's new anti spam law since EA has offices in Vancouver and Montreal.

you got it for free if you had the promo code so can't really bitch about the DRM in it.

If I have not been (clearly) informed of it's presence and implications by the publisher

10.(3) A person who seeks express consent for the doing of any act described in section 8 must, when requesting consent, also, in addition to setting out any other prescribed information, clearly and simply describe, in general terms, the function and purpose of the computer program that is to be installed if the consent is given.

I certainly can and so should any person that consider themselves the owner of their machine when it is DRM that is known to:

- Generate false positives on authentic discs.

- Create files and reg keys that you cannot access/remove as admin.

- Snoop on your software usage 24/7.

- Conflict with debugging software and in some instances even require debuggers to be un-installed in order for you to play the game.

(5) A function referred to in subsection (4) is any of the following functions that the person who seeks express consent knows and intends will cause the computer system to operate in a manner that is contrary to the reasonable expectations of the owner or an authorized user of the computer system:

(a) collecting personal information stored on the computer system;

(b) interfering with the owner’s or an authorized user’s control of the computer system;

(c) changing or interfering with settings, preferences or commands already installed or stored on the computer system without the knowledge of the owner or an authorized user of the computer system;

(d) changing or interfering with data that is stored on the computer system in a manner that obstructs, interrupts or interferes with lawful access to or use of that data by the owner or an authorized user of the computer system;

- Remain installed after you have un-installed the game.

11 (5) A person who has the express consent of an owner or authorized user to do any act described in section 8 must

(a) for a period of one year after any computer program that performs one or more of the functions described in subsection 10(5) but not referred to in subsection 10(6) is installed under the consent, ensure that the person who gave their consent is provided with an electronic address to which they may, if they believe that the function, purpose or impact of the computer program installed under the consent was not accurately described when consent was requested, send a request to remove or disable that computer program; and

(b) if the consent was based on an inaccurate description of the material elements of the function or functions described in subsection 10(5), on receipt within that one-year period of a request to remove or disable that computer program, without cost to the person who gave consent, assist that person in removing or disabling the computer program as soon as feasible.

20 (4) The maximum penalty for a violation is $1,000,000 in the case of an individual, and $10,000,000 in the case of any other person.

Any Canadians affected by this feel like filing a complaint?

Comment Re:Pft (Score 1, Insightful) 962

I doubt it. You don't get a lot of men being asked If the carpet matches the drapes I think the real problem with gamers in general is that you get a lot of "type A" competitive personalities without any social skills to temper their behavior. Throw in the fact that, for a lot of gamers their only actual experience of actual females is either from watching porn or interacting with booth babes and they just don't realize that both are fictional.

Comment Re: So... (Score 1) 401

Been there done that, I sat down with a friend who was dropping AOL because the computer store he bought the computer from never mentioned that "3 free months of Internet" meant that they took his credit card and signed him up for AOL. The credit card company started from the assumption that since AOL was an established company that they would not need to charge back and we should talk to AOL about it.

Que an endless "no sir we had no way to know you never used your account since we don't go into customer accounts without permission"

The credit card companies are not always on your side.

Comment Re:Linux? (Score 1) 145

Have you actually read the law? This seems like a ton of FUD.

At any rate some Canadian companies have behaved horribly when it comes to email. I have had problems with companies refusing to change a mistyped email address unless I was the confirmed (with security questions) account holder and some not even bother to check if the recipient mail server even accepted the message for over a year.

Comment Re:hahaha! (Score 1) 932

Opposition to immigration tends to spike every time there is a recession. The reality is that without immigrants, the older generations of both the EU and north America will not have enough of a population left to maintain the economy once they start to retire.

Comment Re:Really? (Score 3, Interesting) 255

Agreed. I have seem some devs treated badly who turned out to be pretty good developers once people stopped treating them like crap. I also had one kid fresh out of university who needed some hand-holding for his first few months while he gained some experience and gained some self esteem who turned out to be a one of the best programmers I've ever worked with.

Comment Re:Many users won't be back (Score 2) 516

I am thinking that has more to do with the massive advertising/FUD campaign they were running. When I was in Spain, for several months the Metro (subways for you Americans) were covered with ads for the Nokia phones and I had friends tell me that they bought the Nokias because the sales reps at the store told them that Android had a virus problem. Now the campaigns have been cut back so the sales dropped right off.

Comment Re:I don't like the control it takes away from you (Score 1) 865

Same here!

With an ignition key, I know that I'm in control. If I step out of the car, I'd normally remove the keys (unless there were other passengers already) and do whatever I have to do before returning, knowing that my car would still be there. With the remote, even if I stepped out w/ it, leaving the car unlocked, anybody can just get in and drive some distance. Maybe he won't get far, but the damage would have been done.

In Europe, most cars use a key card system, if you remove the card from it's slot, the car won't drive.

Really? Most cars? I don't think so. Maybe most high-end cars but get in to a cheap hatchback be it European or not in Europe and you'll have a key start.

Renault isn't high end and it won't start if it doesn't detect it's card in the passenger compartment.

Comment Re:Easier or harder to steal a car? (Score 1) 865

Mechanical locks may be mature but they are not in any way reliable.

People have known for years how to bypass an ignition switch and any decent car will have some sort of a backup anti theft system. It is also not hard to break a steering lock, in fact the police up here Canada demonstrated that some of the cheaper club clones (specifically the one that clamps to one side of the steering wheel and extends over the dashboard) actually make the car easier to steal because they can be pulled back and used as a lever to snap the steering lock before being removed.

Comment Re:I don't like the control it takes away from you (Score 3, Informative) 865

Same here!

With an ignition key, I know that I'm in control. If I step out of the car, I'd normally remove the keys (unless there were other passengers already) and do whatever I have to do before returning, knowing that my car would still be there. With the remote, even if I stepped out w/ it, leaving the car unlocked, anybody can just get in and drive some distance. Maybe he won't get far, but the damage would have been done.

In Europe, most cars use a key card system, if you remove the card from it's slot, the car won't drive.

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