Look ... when I buy a product, I expect it to come in its original packaging straight from the factory. When its out of its packaging, I have no idea where the product has been. Sure, it could have been safely stowed in drawer, but seeing the assholes who work at my local gamestop, I can only assume the game has been used as a coaster for a cigarette stuffed bottle of stale miller light. How am I to know otherwise?

Because, if it's not sealed in its original case, you can look at it, you know, with your eyes, and then choose not to buy it if it's scratched or if there are tracces of cigarette ash or beer stains on it. Or you can tell the manager that you want one that wasn't a "display copy" and if they only have "display copies", then you can either buy it, or not buy it, or try to Intimidate the manager, or just wander around and level up for a while and collect more gil, or whatever. It's really up to you. But let's dispense with the drama. It's not like the store is replacing the sticker on the top of the case (that's such a pain to remove) and then re-plastic wrapping it and pretending that it's never been opened. Sheesh.

Just in case anyone is wondering, I finally broke down and bought one of those CD/DVD buffing/repair kits (with the hand crank, haven't tried the automatic things) and it works great. I got a lot of games and DVD's that my kids had scratched working again with it.

sounds good

Take this with a grain of salt (possibly lithium salt), but I have found the following technique to work for returning the occasional horrible game (Spore? anyone?):

Go to the store and tell them that you had "problems with the game" and would like to exchange it for an new copy. In most cases, they will give you an unopened copy which you can then return for a credit. If you buy from a chain that there are multiple of in your area this works a little bit better. (Get the new copy at Target A, return it at Target B)

As I understand it, the system is set up so that stores can return what they call "defective copies" for almost nothing. This allows the store to not lose money and for you to return the game.

I really wish this comment could be at the top of every political discussion to come up on Slashdot. Losing the representation of state's as entities cost this nation a great deal.

+100 Whuffie for you

Lord Ender said:

Then Linux would be as simple as installing the minimalist distro, then doing "apt-get install smartphone-system" for a distro customized for smartphones, or "media-system" for a distro customized for mediacenter PCs, etc.

I think this would be a superior option to having many completely independent distributions, and it would allow for faster innovation and easier support.

Every time I read one of these posts I'm reminded of this scene in the movie "Enemy of the State":

Miltary muscle: Can we get a feature scan of the guy with him?
Tech: No, he's smart, he never looks up.
Miltary muscle: So?
Tech: The satellite is 155 miles above the Earth. It can only look straight down.
Miltary muscle: That's a bit limited, isn't it?
Tech: [Sarcastically] Well, maybe you should design a better one.
Miltary muscle: Maybe I will.

The problem with your proposal is that it's not that simple. Smartphone system A may rely on kernel features that are incompatible with smartphone system B or maybe only on architecture C or when used with optional sub-package D of version E.

The people who design the kernel and the distributions aren't lacking in intelligence or ambition and please understand, I'm not saying that can't have some great insight that will work for a large number of people, but I am saying that the thing you've described doesn't sound new or innovative, it sounds naive.

On a side and only barely related note, Ender's Game may be my favorite novel of all time.

1. 0
2. 1
3. Profit?

--
The dwarves know how to make gold.

I'm assuming that their argument(not that I agree with it) would be that it is inter national waters, not inter personal . If you are operating under the authority of a recognized nation, they won't mess with you, otherwise you are a pirate. I believe it's always been legal to pursue pirates (with said pirates (I assume) being identified by some means other than parrots, peg legs, and Jolly Rogers)

According to Director of Communications Martin Oops, he is not...

my sarcasm's sniPod is playing the head shot theme song right now.

Not only objectionable, but completely impractical. What kind of sniper would want to draw attention to his location by playing a theme song?

the odds that the normal looking white guy on your other side is going to mug you are probably significantly higher

I'm sorry, but you just derailed your entire argument. In an effort to prove that the average person lacks sufficient knowledge to truly be prudent, you created a "probable" statistic based on what - the desire that reality be the opposite of what someone "less intelligent/knowledgeable" than you would reason it to be?

If the a lack of a Creative Commons license for linux.com content doesn't lead you to avoid the website, their efforts to indoctrinate you certainly will...