Comment Re:I unfortunately know about this subject... (Score 1) 78
Thank you for sharing this. Can I ask - How much were your out of pocket costs?
Video A Honda Civic With no Gas Tank (Video) 331
Exchange Comes To Linux As OpenChange 249
joesmart writes to tell us that new work on OpenChange and KDE seeks to bridge the gap between groupware compatibility and open source. KDE developer Brad Hards spoke at the Linux.conf.au conference and said the goal of OpenChange is to implement the Microsoft Exchange protocols as they are used by Outlook. "OpenChange has client and server-side libraries for Exchange integration and relies heavily on code developed for Samba 4. It is open source software licensed under the GPL version 3. Hards said more work is being done on the client side and 'we have code for the server,' but estimates another 12 months of development is required to produce an OpenChange server ready for production."
Comment It's all in the economics... (Score 1) 488
What is keeping the PC gaming community afloat is MMORPGs, which derive their revenue from a subscription model (and the occasional expansion). Subcription based PC games want you to pick one game and devote your gaming time to it -- thereby keeping you as a revenue stream (see: WoW, EQ, Eve, etc.)
Console games have a different model - the console manufacturer gets a cut of each game sold, so they would like a game to be really popular, sell a ton of units, and then they want gamers to give up on it and move on to the next big game so that the console vendor gets to tap each individual again. Sure, some console vendors have subscription fees for online use (Xbox live gold) but the revenue from this must pale in comparison to the revenue from someone buying a new game each month.
There is NO reason you could not do a port of EQ or WoW to a PS3 or an XBOX360.... the UI differences are easy -- just plug in a wireless usb keyboard and mouse (a keyboard with integrated touchpad would work fine from your lap on the couch, who said you had to use a joystick?). You could package the keyboard and sell it with the game.
The problem with MMORPGs is that they are sticky -- they encourage gamers to devote their playing time to them to the detriment of other games. This breaks a model where the console is sold below cost and the profit comes from game sales - if MMORPGs for consoles were that sticky, people would only buy and play only one or two games.
Console games have a different model - the console manufacturer gets a cut of each game sold, so they would like a game to be really popular, sell a ton of units, and then they want gamers to give up on it and move on to the next big game so that the console vendor gets to tap each individual again. Sure, some console vendors have subscription fees for online use (Xbox live gold) but the revenue from this must pale in comparison to the revenue from someone buying a new game each month.
There is NO reason you could not do a port of EQ or WoW to a PS3 or an XBOX360.... the UI differences are easy -- just plug in a wireless usb keyboard and mouse (a keyboard with integrated touchpad would work fine from your lap on the couch, who said you had to use a joystick?). You could package the keyboard and sell it with the game.
The problem with MMORPGs is that they are sticky -- they encourage gamers to devote their playing time to them to the detriment of other games. This breaks a model where the console is sold below cost and the profit comes from game sales - if MMORPGs for consoles were that sticky, people would only buy and play only one or two games.
Submission + - US kills controversial anti-terror database (networkworld.com)
coondoggie writes: "Long criticized for keeping track of regular everyday citizens, the government's anti-terror database will officially close Sept. 17. The Threat and Local Observation Notices or TALON, was established in 2002 by then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz as a way to collect and evaluate information about possible threats to U.S. servicemembers and defense civilians all over the world.
Congress and others protested its apparent use as an unauthorized citizen tracking database. The TALON system came under fire in 2005 for improperly storing information about some civilian individuals and non-government-affiliated groups on its database. The Air Force developed TALON, or the Threat and Local Observation Notice system in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as a way to gather data on possible terrorist threats. Anti-war groups and other organizations, protested after it was revealed last year that the military had monitored anti-war activities, organizations and individuals who attended peace rallies.
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/18609"
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