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Comment Re:If you.... (Score 3, Insightful) 161

by Onaga (#37919636) Attached to: 'Free' Games Dominate Top-Grossing Game List On App Store

Here have a stick, they can be fun.

Pfft. Every hardcore gamer knows that logs are better than sticks.

What rolls down stairs
alone or in pairs,
and over your neighbor's dog?
What's great for a snack,
And fits on your back?
It's log, log, log

It's log, it's log,
It's big, it's heavy, it's wood.
It's log, it's log, it's better than bad, it's good.

Comment Re:Okay, I'll be the one to say it... (Score 1) 416

by Onaga (#30512228) Attached to: Android's Success a Threat To Free Software?
Exactly. The reason the paid apps succeed is because people pay for them. Weekend developers of free apps generally can't keep up with paid apps. I recently tried to find an open-source alternative to quicken... epic fail. Oh sure, such-and-such an app may contain all the same functionality on paper, but usability, polish, and design are usually absent from FOSS. Please note, I said usually. So the main point of the OP that I want to reiterate, "good, foss apps." (emphasis mine).

Comment Re:The Obvious Truth (Score 3, Interesting) 295

by Onaga (#28986219) Attached to: Underground App Store Courts the Jailbroken
Not entirely true. Ask the recent defendant who now has to cough up close to $700,000 for his piracy. While being a nice customer might not pay, breaking the law might cost a lot more. Yes, yes, the law might be stupid, but it's still the law.

To date, I have never been able to get out of a speeding ticket by telling the magistrate that the speed limit should be 65 instead of 55 on that highway.

Comment Re:Profit! (Score 1) 284

by Onaga (#28895333) Attached to: Amazon US Refunds Windows License Fee, Too
Unlikely. If the cost of netbooks goes down enough, then Microsoft will have a netbook-only version of the OS at a discounted price. Hell, they would give the OS away for practically nothing (see: China) if it meant capturing more market space. While the OS makes them money, they also make money off of Office as well. Indirectly, the more people with MS installed, the more apps are created for MS platforms. Sales of dev studio, MSDN alliance packages, etc. all increase.

Comment But will they apply other laws to it (Score 1) 65

by Onaga (#27285739) Attached to: Virtual World, Real Banking
One of the problems when virtual currency = real currency is that people can now affect other people's money. When the whole BoB thing went down, I was just thinking of the economical impact that had on that corporation. If someone hacks the system or accounts, is that going to be considered theft? Will selling a fake item be considered fraud?
Transportation

Tai Chi Scooter Promises Fun and Falls 30

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the thinning-the-herd dept.
In a bold move for natural selection, a mechanical engineer at Purdue University has created a new take on the Segway. Removing pesky confusing handlebars, the new "Tai Chi Scooter" has an optical encoder that monitors the angular displacement of the electric motor, requiring you to manipulate your center of balance to drive the scooter. Unfortunately you will not be able to purchase this and begin breaking your own limbs anytime soon as the creator says he has no plans to market the scooter. Someone buy the rights to this and mass produce it quickly so we can thin the herd.
Games

Dealing With Fairness and Balance In Video Games 192

Posted by Soulskill from the it's-balanced-when-i-always-win dept.
MarkN writes "Video games are subject to a number of balance issues from which traditional games have largely stayed free. It can be hard finding players of comparable skill-level to create even match-ups, diverse gameplay options can quickly become irrelevant if someone finds a broken feature that beats everything else, and some online games make your ability to play competitively a question of how much time and money you've invested in a game, rather than the skill you possess. In this article, I talk about some of the issues relating to fairness and balance in games, in terms of the factors and strategies under the player's control, the game's role in potentially handicapping players, and the role a community of gamers plays in setting standards for how games are to be played. What are your thoughts on managing a 'fair and balanced' gaming experience?"

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