028: Listener Question Bonanza!
This week, we dedicate a whole episode to your questions.
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This week, we dedicate a whole episode to your questions.
Watch Video
That sort of thing has grown (but probably not started) as, in my opinion, a positive outcome of digital distribution. Publishers have always played "games are a service... no no... now they're a product... no... service again... aaaaaand product. service. product" depending on which gave them the advantage at any given moment. With Digital Distro so advantageous for Publishers to work the 'games are a service' that now they're willing to offer consumers some of the advantages that any other service in another industry would provide (including other software industries).biophobe said:Just want to throw this out there - Blizzard lets you download clients of any of their games from battle.net, as long as you have a cd key for it to tie to your account.
You mean the playback cuts off? No idea.sunami88 said:I just have a quick question that can be answered in the forum; Why do some episodes cut off at the end? It can be rather jarring when I'm not watching the time.
Thanks, and keep doing what you're doing. Love the podcast/website.
Assuming it's not extended AGAIN. I'm in Canada, and we just got Jung and Hemingway into the public domain while Europe just got Joyce and Woolf. But less than a week after that, the Canadian government is considering putting a stop to any new entries into the public domain for the next twenty years [http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6225/125/].HobbesMkii said:US Copyright Law lasts for 70 years after the death of the author. For corporations, it's 120 years after creation or 95 years after publication (whichever is less). Meaning you probably won't see these games in the public domain for at least another 50 years. PONG for instance, will remain outside the public domain and property of Atari, Inc until 2067.
Are you? If the EULA says they can revoke that right at any time, all you own is privilege to play at the owner's sufferance.Azuaron said:In fact, with publishers locking down games in the manner they are, such as when EA limited Spore to three installs, they are specifically showing that you are not owning a product, you are owning the right to play this game.
Hear hear. A lot of copyright holders in TV/movies/music - which has a notable overlap with video game copyright holders - have been trying to lock down on time and format shifting. So because I work late I shouldn't be allowed to PVR a show? Is it wrong to copy my old VHSs to DVD before the tapes fail or my last VCR dies? (Now downloading a DVD rip would be wrong due to higher quality - improved version, that's not what I originally paid for. But if don't mind a VCR-quality DVD, or if a DVD version doesn't exist, then I think I'm perfectly in my rights to copy that sucker to DVD.)Azuaron said:If the developers want me to pay for the same game again, they must add something, whether it's an expansion, updated graphics, or convenience (money-sucking Wii store full of retro games).
No comment, as I do have a keygenned version of Win98 running in a virtual PC (hey, another emulator) on my PC. Not very legal, but with Microsoft steadfastly trying to kill XP I doubt they'll be selling me 98 any time soon.Azuaron said:A question for you: I do not have a computer that runs Windows 98 anymore. But I do have games that require me to run them in Windows 98.
True that. Modern copyright law has lead to a tremendous distortion of the whole concept. Copyright was supposed to do two things: 1) protect artists from those groups that would seek to deprive them of their livelihood by granting them exclusive publishing rights for a duration of time, and 2) after that time was over, to facilitate the transfer of private works into the public domain. It's now used by corporations to hold publishing rights in de facto perpetuity and crush artist innovation, increasing their own profits while actively preventing others from achieving similar profit.Formica Archonis said:Assuming it's not extended AGAIN. I'm in Canada, and we just got Jung and Hemingway into the public domain while Europe just got Joyce and Woolf. But less than a week after that, the Canadian government is considering putting a stop to any new entries into the public domain for the next twenty years [http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6225/125/].HobbesMkii said:US Copyright Law lasts for 70 years after the death of the author. For corporations, it's 120 years after creation or 95 years after publication (whichever is less). Meaning you probably won't see these games in the public domain for at least another 50 years. PONG for instance, will remain outside the public domain and property of Atari, Inc until 2067.
If copying something you have no right just so you can save a few bucks is immoral, then stealing it from the public just so you can make a few bucks is just as bad. I'm not saying the pirates are right or justified, far from it, but we have plenty of evidence that corporations that hold copyrights are no less in the wrong.
It got me interested in space travel and science. It jump started my imagination and inspired me to try my hand at creative writing. I made up my own stories about being a hero fighting the forces of evil, piloting space ships. It got me reading other science fiction stories, so that I could explore other universes and learn about other alien cultures.Zhukov said:Uhh... how exactly does Star Wars form a significant part of someone's identity?
Not gonna lie, that notion didn't go down too easily.