Could it be then that Joshua was right, "The only way to win is not to cheat" (altered version for modern times)

Thank you. Only after a gazillion FUCK BETAs (though it does suck) I get a good explanation to the post. That is a pretty shitty thing to do. If people can rate outside the game at google play then perhaps those rating will start to drop. I'm guessing there is no rule stopping EA from doing such an act.

I'm trying to imagine the programmer who got told to do this:

Bob, put this code in the rating class
But sir, it directly emails bad ratings to us and not to Google Play. Isn't that unethical?
Bob, You like your job? Consider that question first.
Yes, sir, the code will be in place tomorrow.

I love the smell of Corporate Ethics in the morning.

To be clear, I looked at the Beta site and am in line with the general thinking. Having been a /. member since 2000 there is something solid about the look and feel that has not changed much in over 14 years. Clearly the beta site is trying to look like other sites (presumably held by Dice?) and it does not work (or look good).

I made my comment before I read some posts that advocated a protest/boycott. How funny though, with all the "we need to boycott" statements i've read in /. over the years taht was met with "grow up, boycotts don't work", here is now one called on the fertile soil of /. ... will this one work?

I'm going otu on a limb and say, boycotts never work unless you can truly convince the vast majority to join in and I'm guessing that demographics of /. have changed. Current owners figure they can weather the storm.

As for me, I may check out this very young upstart I just read about here on this site. Though I'll hang with this ship for a bit, I'll check out the upstart and at the least, add my voice (I cannot help code as I don't do python).

Now if they make it operate by pressing 'G', that will be cool. Something interesting stuck me watching that clip (besides the memories, I loved Speed Racer), the Mach Five was a little environmentally unfriendly. Cutting down trees without concern about the impact of the forest, for shame. I think later on there was a dump oil mod (or maybe that was the bad guys) which certainly did not help the environment either. Watching Speed Racer did not turn me into a race car driver, but in an odd way, I thunk it made me a better driver. At the least, it taught me to be aware, have good situational awareness otherwise the bad guy is going to run you off the road.

Great post....and the obligatory "BETTTTTTAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaa"

To be fair, many of the posts are variations of "BETA IS TEH SUKZ" and little in suggestions (other then shut it down). Perhaps constructive criticism would not hurt.

I think in the original article (and as an aside, I submitted a story about this two days ago...bad timing beta) there was a suggestion that instead of LMB (Lakemiad Brewery) "owning" the BDV, the local ice fishermen purchase the equipment and loan the operation to LMB. Thus, while the purchase of the beer is commercial, the delivery is not. I akin this to having a friend pick up the beer for a night watching TV. The distributor cannot be held accountable for the operation of the BDV. To take it one step more, LMB could make a donation to the local community fund for maintaining the health and happiness of the community for each and every delivery is made. Really, the FAA went way over the top on this one.

Because in the case of lakemaid Brewery, they were technically not breaking the law, they we looking to advance the technology of beer delivery to a "new level".

Seriously, skimming around led me to this article which indicates that FAA does not have regulations in place, only guidelines. Forgetting the technological issues LMB would have to over come, they were operating in a line of sight manner, with the idea of GPS positioning being overridden by a human pilot *(yes, there is tech for that).

Since there would not be multiple companies operating in that environment, the FAA could have used LMB asa tast bed to see how such a business would work. The clientele was perfect, the location fantastic...stupid on the FAA to try and shut them down and shame on LMB for giving in so quick.

oh and... BETA!!!!

Yo dude, how about a little warning. That was border line NSFW. Besides, now I got THAT image in my head...thanks a lot.

In your case, it tells me you are a poorer cousin to Superdave, the astounding and adventurous stunt man and provocateur. As camperdave, you are more Winnebago to Superdave's private jet. You are state parks and camp fires to your Cousin's North Pole trek and Burning Man experience. So indeed the AC is correct, our user names tell all about us ... or so heshe/it thinks ...

"Snowden released a lot of material that has nothing to do with eavesdropping on US citizens, and that's what changes him from a whistleblower to an alleged criminal"

ftfy

He is not nor can he be, by any stretch, be considered a traitor (please stop with the knee jerk reaction statements and read the actual definition). It is also apparent that what he disclosed was (1) actual violations of the Constitution by a government agency and (2) potential crimes committed by a government agency that had nothing to do with national security.

the NSA stinks worse the a dead skunk on the side of a hot Texas highway. it seems to easy for our government to throw the word "classified" onto actions that they feel or know may be illegal so the actions cannot be shown the light of day. All of us passed by that spot on the road and said "something stinks". Edward Snowden made the effort to stop, point to the spot and say "This is what stinks, fix it". My fervent hope for this man is he gets his life back at some point and, as a Society, we keep working to remove the stench that is draped over this country. he did his part, let's do ours.

What ever happened to whimsy, what ever happened to imagination. You live a life in dull grays. Enjoy, but I still enjoy creativity for the joy of it and thank goodness others do as well.

I had a completely different experience. First, I think there would be many orchestras that would consider playing this score for it represents something new, fresh yet still melodic. A lot different then some of the "modern" classical written today.

As Iistened I did hear a story. This is about two ships, doing the same thing yet different. Separated by millions of miles the travel at the same rate, but yet sned moments of difference. It is a story about movement, progress, almost a happy feeling of purpose.

So all the notes (are you sure) are the same length, so what? It fits with the piece.

Figuring you listen to classical music I am surprised that you did not find something in this work. The fact that you listened to the end indicates to me that you did not waste that time, but something kept you engaged to the end. Had you truly "hated" it and felt it a waste then it would have been over in seconds.

If this was on the bill for a show I would certainly go and listen to a live playing, so much could be done with this music.

maybe, but this is Voyager man, no one did that before and yeah, it's pretty cool.

Okay, I can on one hand understand the lack of love for the dear Senator. With the other, let us not miss an advantage to press an issue that till now did not seem important to our Surveillance Lady in Waiting. Finally a Senator gets a first hand taste (and let's assume it really happened*) of getting spied on and she's pissed off. Now she wants warrants and oversight so let's help in that direction to the full extent of what it means to have your privacy assaulted.

I think it is sad that one of the privileged needs to be affected before they react with more then a sniff. It would be grand if our elected officials actually cared a damn for the people they represent, but I for one welcome her "outrage" and hope she uses it to tighten privacy laws and get tough on those who ignore our Constitutional rights.

* all this noise of whether it was a real drone, it was made up, or did or did not carry a camera is plain stupid. If it happened then good, she got a taste of the future and does not like it. If it was fake or trumped up so she can cited a "legitimate" reason for her outcry, who cares. The story is her enlightened position.