Loki declared Chapter 11 in 2001 and shut down operations in early 2002. Tux Games was a reseller; Loki was handling the porting of Windows titles to Linux. The latter did not merge into the former in any real way, and TG never continued the coding work done by Loki.

Pretty much. In most organizations is a parasitic function; the organization's main role isn't propagation of IT systems. Nor is the organization's role good free coffee, clean restrooms, etc. They're things that increase productivity towards core business functions. IT people lose sight of that.

Infosec people are worse about it; infosec is a parasitic function to a parasitic function.

Are you really on Slashdot, a site targeted at "Nerds", complaining about having to read? Perhaps Reddit would be more your style.

I've been a ham since I was 12 (in 1989) and got seriously sidetracked with writing code over the past 12 years or so. It's been absolutely *amazing*.

However lately I set up my old station again, upgraded to a new Elecraft K3 transceiver, and have been having a blast. The Elecraft K3 has the best receiver ever tested by most of the labs that have run tests on it. It's an ingenious hybrid of analog and digital circuitry, created by a company in Aptos California. Until recently most of the highly desirable gear was from Japanese manufacturers, and with all the advantages in manufacturing that exist in Asia, I thought it unlikely that US firms would be able to continue to compete. But Elecraft has done a remarkable job.

Getting on the air again after about a decade off the air, I've noticed that CW (morse code) is more popular than ever. And better receiver tech has made it even more effective than it was in the past. Much of the equipment used by hams today has DSP, and for the first time I'm seriously considering getting into low power (QRP) operation just b/c of this. Finally, probably thanks to the removal of the requirement, morse code is appreciated as a fun activity.

Some fun things to do: HF Contesting is my favorite, particularly on CW (morse). Much like meditation, it clears the mind of distractions and I come away from it feeling refreshed and exhilarated. And CW is quite musical compared to RTTY which I find fatiguing to hear -- even though the computer is doing the "work" of decoding it, some audio is needed to help zero beat signals.

I've noticed that there has been a big movement toward scientific thinking about radio performance and antenna performance. Antennas and propagation are full of mystery, but they are ultimately constrained by the laws of nature, and hams are doing away with superstition and using antenna modeling software and the scientific method to create very cool designs, particularly with under-appreciated low-loss feedlines.

There is a young ham radio superstar, callsign NO3M who has destroyed the competition in some of the most hard core CW contests. This guy apparently races motorcycles as well. Highly impressive. This guy is the DHH of ham radio.

I think that among the type of people who love building things, who love understanding things, tinkering, etc., ham radio will always have an appeal. Worldwide hams are extremely nice and friendly people, who are always willing to help someone new. Sure there are a few kooks on 75m but I think 75m can safely be ignored except during (and immediately after) contests ;) The rest is pure awesome.

They would show you zero iotas of loyalty if it was in their best interest. Walk away, take the better job, and don't look back. It's just business. Don't make the mistake of confusing it for something different.

They can't just arbitrarily do that. If they try, the courts have remedies. "Yes, Mister Vice President, I realize we were advised not to do this, but, like, the President told us to, now we have to pay billions to Verizon, AT&T, and Time-Warner. You told us to do this."
"Really."
"Yep. I'm just glad that @$$ judge didn't hold us in contempt."
"We would have come and bailed you out."

Why is this a front-page Slashdot article? It's ancient tech, closed source, and there's no mention of the vastly superior alternatives out there.

Phew. Guess I'm not either -- late 20s "core" gamer, having played previous games in the series, with disposable income. Can't play it when I am traveling for work? Whatever, Blizzard. I'll just get Torchlight 2.

If you're really interested in where the edges of the industry are being expanded, I suggest checking out the guys at GamersWithJobs.com, especially their weekly podcast. It's the best roundup (on a regular basis, even!) of the industry, with a slant towards this type of non-generic gaming. They also come at it like many of us probably do: slightly older gamers ("alpha gamers") who have been playing since the late 80s/early 90s, and who are as much interested in as they are concerned by the commercial evolution of video games. No affiliation, just a fan of what they do.

I think that familiarity with roguelikes -- at least in terms of general context -- are an assumed part of the Slashdot culture. I hear you on the lack of explanation around obscure references to things that only a select group of folks know, but for those of us who have been around for a while, *hack doesn't really fall into that bucket. That said, the point of the article is that the genre supposedly defies easy explanation; offering a definition would be somewhat contrary to that point.

I don't care for it, but so many people I know use it I have no option.

You do have an option, no matter how many people whom you know use it. Your argument is for the convenience of Facebook, not the necessity of it; you could just as easily use the phone, email, post, or even a personal webpage to stay in touch with your remote friends and family. Perhaps you wouldn't be able to reach out to however many dozens or hundreds of "friends" you may have in your network online, but there's a secondary argument there, hinging on the definition of friend.

Thank you for reciting the trolltastic NN lines, and provide where, exactly in either act, internet service is defined as a telecommunications service.

If you can't find it, you've hit upon the problem. It's not the FCC's job to make the distinction between what is and is not a telecommunications service.

if they could make up those rules on the whim of whichever party is in office, there's virtually no limit in what they might be able to regulate.

Congress has to explicitly grant them the authority. Congress hasn't done that (and likely won't now that the NN bobbleheads' ranks have been significantly thinned).

You want a connection with NN compliance? Contract for it. It's called a business-class connection. Put it in the contract terms. If they violate it, you terminate the contract. It's pretty simple.

This is how an essentially political administrative agency works.

We've seen it other places (see: FDA with nicotine delivery, EPA with carbon emissions).

Verizon will win this case, but the politicians in charge of the FCC probably still won't the the message. They certainly didn't the last time they lost in court.

And Congress could have fixed it, but they didn't. It's not at the top of the list of things they failed to do, but it's up there.

....and it's probably sufficient for many people.

That said, having something that could automatically adjust projection on the retina would be better for most people.....glasses with automatically adjusting correction, based on whatever the lens is doing, not just what direction the glance is focused.

Still, even that wouldn't be help for people like me; refractive correction is one thing, understanding how the nerves transmit that information is anoteher thing. (Optic neuritis is a symptom of another medical condition I have. Even getting corrective lenses is difficult, because it's tough to figure out whether the blurry vision is due to ON, or a refractive problem. Complicating matters is unpredictable eye movement....)