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Comment: Re:It's probably cheaper than the alternatives (Score 1) 222

by DarkMage0707077 (#32074046) Attached to: Should the Gov't Pay For Injured Man's Wii?

Besides (and maybe even more important) a lot of people want a game console, like a Nintendo Wii. Giving away such devices for free when people are sick is going to make a lot of people sick.

Hospitals keep track of who has what hospital-owned item so that they can recover/charge for it after your prescribed time with it is up. So people won't be able to keep using it after they've recovered using WiiFit or similiar.

I suppose they could go out and buy / rent a game to use while they own it, but why would they do that and NOT use WiiFit as well, since I assume they'd want to recover from whatever it is the doctor recommended the Wii for?

Assuming regular play DOES get in the way of actual treatment to the point that hospitals want to do something about it, you don't think Nintendo would be willing - chomping at the bit, even, for the publicity on top of the money - to manufacture special "Medi-Wiis" that have WiiFit/Similiar installed internally and no Eject/game slot/internet connection? In fact, if hospitals want to save money, how much would it cost for them to buy an off-the-shelf model, slap WiiFit in there and then remove / "sodder" some metal over the eject button and game-slot?

Heck, if we're really really worried, we can just have people go to the hospital for treatment sessions with game cabinets locking the wii up (same as what gamestores have allowing people to test games). We already have DDR being used in P.E. for classes, so how's this so much different?

In the short term, yes, people may try to claim work-comp to score a free Wii. But many of these cases will quickly disappear once people realize it'd just be easier (and probably cheaper) to just buy one instead.

Comment: Re:Phonetics & putting the blame in the right (Score 1) 1343

by DarkMage0707077 (#30984112) Attached to: Students Failing Because of Poor Grammar

The problem I see here is that as the language degrades, so will corporations' abilities to hire people with such skills and eventually it will end up in upper management.

In that case, when all of upper management thinks it's the norm, they would probably seek to hire those who use it throughout the organization, right? And so, in an effort to be hired, would students not *demand* to be taught English in this way, forcing even English teachers to eventually yield or find new careers?

This would then seed the entire workforce with those who speak/write this way. And when it's become prevelant throughout the organization at all levels, would it not *become* the norm? And, by extension from organization to country/world, would it not also become the norm if the large majority of writers considers it so?

We may simply be seing the next phase of phonetic/literary evolution in progress, as has occured through out history as long as humanity has possessed a written/spoken language. After all, I'm sure people today certainly would not consider the very small people who know and can speak/write in original Old English from the dark ages to be "the norm" with current phrasing. Heck, even a realatively more recent transition in the late Colonial period of America saw us give birth to a whole new "English Language" that is seperate from proper Queen's English to the point that we need lessons to be able to bridge the gap and prevent misunderstandings in mixed crowds.

Comment: Re:One reason why not moving is making you sick: (Score 1) 376

by DarkMage0707077 (#30834584) Attached to: Sitting Down Too Long Is Bad Even If You Exercise

We geeks have a hard time with sports. But I got a little mind-twist for you: How about you see your body as this extremely advanced machine that it is. And you want to tune it, hack it, and keep it running nicely, just like do with your (really much much more primitive computer).

Great idea! I'll just treat it like I'm upgrading my computer! Quick, someone give me a hacksaw, I want to swap out my arms for the "Chiseled Weight Lifter" models...!

In all seriousness, this idea fails because of the time difference. For someone who knows what they're doing, it takes about a day or two at most to build/upgrade a typical PC (faster if you just go buy a pre-made one). For someone to get from "flabby" to "fantastic" (or even just "fit") it would take at least a month, possibly more depending on how bad off they are. Someone using this mindset would probably be put into a short-term perspective on working out, and would then likely be disappointed later when it doesn't happen.

I should sell stickers, saying “My other computer... is my body!”. ;)

Not bad, actually. Might appeal to the small-but-growing Bodybuilding Geek demographic.

Comment: Re:Half a game? (Score 2, Funny) 214

by DarkMage0707077 (#30378790) Attached to: Pirates as a Marketplace
You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike.

>N

Thank you for your purchase of Zork! If you wish to continue your adventure, please purchase and install our DLR content "Twisty Passages 2" $5.99!

>buy/install

Downloading.....................Complete.
Installing.....................Complete.

Thank you for your purchase of Zork and Twisty Passages 2! Enjoy your new and amazing Zork experience!

>N

You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike.

>N

Thank you for your purchase of Zork and Twisty Passages 2! If you wish to continue your adventure, please purchase and install our DLR content "Twisty Passages 3", only $5.99!

>exit

Thank you for your purchase of Zork and Twisty Passages 2! If you wish to exit the game, please purchase our "Exit Game" DLR, for just $2.99!

>uninstall

Thank you for your purchase of Zork and Twisty Passages 2! If you wish to uninstall the game, please purchase our brand new "Uninstall Pack" DLR, for just $2.99!

>shoot computer

I'm sorry, that is not recogSHOCNOCJAOAIJDHZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Games

Pirates as a Marketplace 214

Posted by Soulskill
from the marrrrrrrket-share dept.
John Riccitiello, the CEO of Electronic Arts, made some revealing comments in an interview with Kotaku about how the company's attitudes are shifting with regard to software piracy. Quoting: "Some of the people buying this DLC are not people who bought the game in a new shrink-wrapped box. That could be seen as a dark cloud, a mass of gamers who play a game without contributing a penny to EA. But around that cloud Riccitiello identified a silver lining: 'There's a sizable pirate market and a sizable second sale market and we want to try to generate revenue in that marketplace,' he said, pointing to DLC as a way to do it. The EA boss would prefer people bought their games, of course. 'I don't think anybody should pirate anything,' he said. 'I believe in the artistry of the people who build [the games industry.] I profoundly believe that. And when you steal from us, you steal from them. Having said that, there's a lot of people who do.' So encourage those pirates to pay for something, he figures. Riccitiello explained that EA's download services aren't perfect at distinguishing between used copies of games and pirated copies. As a result, he suggested, EA sells DLC to both communities of gamers. And that's how a pirate can turn into a paying customer."

The Lord prefers common-looking people. That is the reason that He makes so many of them. -- Abraham Lincoln

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