A source inside Scotland Yard has also confirmed that they are looking to bring Time Magazine's Person of the Year 2006 in for questioning.

So if an arrest has been made on the basis of software user registration details, surely the appropriate response is to start flooding the Internet with questionable documents (kitty porn, bomb-making instructions etc.), all in the name of a specific celebrity target?

There's a world of difference between a dedicated gaming device and a touch-screen phone in terms of controls. Using a touchscreen for all input or shoehorning in the phone's buttons for gaming controls can't provide the level of control of a d-pad and ABXY buttons positioned exactly where they need to be. Of course the games market is apparently going more 'casual' so perhaps touchscreens are the way to go. Not that I even have a portable games console or a smart phone for that matter so it's all academic. Fuck it, do what you want with your fucking games.

You're thinking of salami, surely?

Yeah, all it will take is a packet collision between my order from an air conditioning company and some other guy's stool sample on its way to the lab and the shit will really hit the fan.

Body scanners in the subway? Screw that, I'll just take a Johnny Cab instead!

The Great Firewall of London

While it may seem self evident that more choice is always better, the reality is less than clear cut. See The Paradox of Choice. Consumers equate more choice with more freedom and therefore it must be a good thing, right? However, more choice can lead to greater anxiety and decreased satisfaction in the ultimate selection. Many of us have experienced that feeling of helplessness, however brief, when faced with thirty different varieties of ketchup in the supermarket.

Of course, that isn't to say that choice is inherently bad or that one size should always fit all. However, there might possibly surely be a sweet spot, beyond which greater choice and increased fragmentation become counterproductive. Whether or not this poses a problem in the open source community is an exercise for the reader.

There is no fork?

So that millions of people can express their unique individuality.

Perhaps I should have used a PVP qualifier, but most multiplayer games pit humans against other humans and one wins at the expense of another. True, co-op games are multiplayer and not competitive (althought there can still be competition between co-operating players for scores etc.) but as the poster was talking about jerks dominating noobs I took it as given that he was talking about competitive multiplayer scenarios.

You can't expect people to handicap their abilities because there are noobs playing; an online multiplayer game is supposed to be competitive after all. I don't think it's fair to call people jerks because they are better at something than you are. If a few skilled people are able to ruin everybody else's efforts then I'd say that's a game design issue. Most games that I have played online have allowed me to play reasonably well enough when a noob as to be enjoyable.

Now, I'm a PC gamer mainly and stick to games where there is a heavy emphasis on teamplay, so the John McClane effect is less pronounced and effective. Dedicated custom servers mean that a few good admins can keep things pleasant enough most of the time. It may be that the console wolrd has more teabagging jerk 12 year olds calling everybody fags and screaming at their mothers for chocolate milk. YMMV after all...

According to Wikipedia, Nintendo's d-pad patent expired in 2005 which would mean that any company could freely use the plus-shaped d-pad as sported by the NES, SNES etc.

I could care less about Slashdot's rules.