A taxi here can also be a small minibus. The lack of proper public transport and the fact that the "taxis" were all privately owned and run led to an escalation of violence in competing for passengers to the point where gunfights occurred... Hasn't happened in a long time tough.

Both wrong. I live in Joburg, and don't carry a gun. There hasn't been a taxi war in years, and while violent crime does happen it isn't as common as people make out. Depending where you are of course, but a lot of Joburg is quite safe - and I do go to unsafe areas on occasion, but so far the worst I've witnessed is a smash and grab.

Yeah, I do see the point. Surely though you could build a 'black box' model. Not for use in analysis of reality, but for use in-game. Simply take existing sales figures from existing game companies and then match them to the internal success/failure variables of the in-game game. There must be sufficient data available to make this a fairly viable approach. You could even factor in more complex stuff like review scores. Just because you can't model the process entirely doesn't mean you can't make a passable simulation of it. You could also to some extent model DRM including it's negative impact. It wouldn't make the game a completely accurate simulation of the real market, but it would make it more interesting than a 'tycoon' game. Though, IANAE( E= Economist....).

Ah. The site appeared down, so I didn't realize. Well, that's a pity then. Doesn't that mean they don't actually have a point? I understand the guy wants to make money. It is tough being Indie (that is why I keep buying the same game from Jeff Vogel), but wouldn't it have made the point better if it had been an accurate simulation of piracy?

Incorrect. MS Flight Sim X is used extensively as a training simulator. The fact that it uses lookup tables instead of fluid dynamics equations doesn't detract from what it is. In the long run X-Plane has much more potential, but FSX has better aftermarket scenery and aircraft. Call me when A2A make a airplane for for X-Plane.

To be honest though, right now I think the pirated 'demo' sounds like more fun than the real version. A more realistic(?) simulation, if you will. If I bought this game, I'd still pirate it.

That wasn't actually my point. Many atheists do actually go on the war path. They seek out agnostics and the religious and try to convert them. One in particular has even been known to take out adverts in the papers and published one on a bus. I name no names, but I am sure you take the point. Like with most groups(I deliberately avoid the contentious terms religion and 'belief system'), it is the vocal minority not the reasonable majority that is the problem.

It is one thing to stand one's ground and another to go on the warpath. Just sayin'.

I get to blame mweb for my troubles....

~280ms, Johannesburg, South Africa. Yay! I'm not last!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUFkb0d1kbU

In this case, it has everything to do with tech. What failed on the plant's systems to cause this? Fertalizer plants are dangerous places, by nature, and (at least in my part of the world) have some hectic safety procedures and equipment up to shutting down if it looks like there is lightning anywhere near....

Was it human error? Equipment failure? We don't know, but everyone came here to speculate. So, yeah it belongs here.

Actually, increasing the voltage won't help. You can't charge a 400V battery with 4KV without some hefty transformers or solid state switching supplies in the car that would be heavy and waste energy. Not to mention still generating 2.5kA internally. Switching to a higher voltage system (battery and motor) increases the weight and complexity of the system. I built the controls for a system that regularly handles 2.9kA and more. The slightest imperfection in a join or link causes things to get red hot very quickly. If you plan on pushing 2.5kA into a battery, I want to be very very far away.

Well, wouldn't that apply to offline reviews too?

I tend to search for forums to find out the problems first, but I do know of one instance where a company deleted forum posts to hide the fact that their AV product broke windows 7 (try to guess who, it is worth 1 internet!).

Not sure about that, but "illegal" (whatever that means here) file sharing is against the TOS for most providers.