[geeks] Ubuntu partition on Bootcamp Mac?

[Jon Gilbert]

On Jul 31, 2007, at 12:15 AM, Jonathan C. Patschke wrote:

> On Mon, 30 Jul 2007, Jon Gilbert wrote:
>
>> What games? What are you talking about?
>>
>> Apparently you don't know what Second Life is. So I'll educate you.
>> It's a 3D virtual reality persistent world.
>
> I'm aware of what it is.
>
> It's a dressed-up plotless virtual world that happens to have a  
> faddish
> economy around it.  That is, it is an amusement with cashflow.

I love it how "SL is a game" people always throw in pejoratives like  
"faddish," "plotless," and "dressed-up." Of course, "fads" are things  
which fade quickly over time; SL's economy has not slowed down since  
its inception 4 years ago. Yep, some fad, that. "Plotless" -- now  
there's a good one. Yeah, the thousands of people who have very  
intriguing virtual lives with ongoing friendships with other people  
online, virtual companies they run, artwork that they create... no  
plot there. No interesting events taking place there. "Dressed-up?"  
Well, I'll give you that one, though there's a lot of nudity too.

You know, I remember hearing this same kind of talk from radio and  
newspaper industry executives in the early 90's when the web was  
first growing in strength. The internet was just a fad, "like HAM  
radio" they said. lol

>
>> Or is it just that, to you, it's not "work" if you are spending long,
>> frustrating hours programming something that is in 3D as opposed  
>> to 2D
>> HTML/Flash sites?
>
> I can't imagine what gave you that idea, as I was doing work (wafer
> defect visualization) in OpenGL on an Indy 10 years ago.  Yes, I've  
> done
> some web stuff (not any Flash, though) to pay the bills, but I've  
> spent
> most of my energies doing more productive things.

Ah, so I suppose that makes you the authority on what is "worthwhile"  
and "productive." Thanks, next time I'm considering doing something,  
I'll check with you first to make sure I'm not wasting my time with  
some fiddle-faddle.

>
>> I make a fair bit of income from scripts (programmed objects) that I
>> create within Second Life and sell to in-world entities (companies,
>> governments, individuals, etc.). Anyone who thinks that's not "work"
>> is stupid, no offense. I know quite a few people who make their
>> entire incomes from SL.
>
> Yes, and John Carmack makes his entire income building video games[0],
> and there are quite a few "professional" athletes that make their  
> entire
> incomes playing games.  What's your point?

The point is it's not a game (read my last post to the list as well).  
The virtual worlds that John Carmack creates are games; they have  
health meters, specific pre-designed levels, specific ranges of  
prescribed actions that you can choose from, etc. Athletes compete in  
contests with specific rules, fields, and times. Second Life is not  
any of the above. It is not a game anymore than say, a webserver is a  
game.

>
>> Besides which, gaming is a $12 billion/year industry (bigger than the
>> movie industry), and that's not even counting all the computer
>> hardware sales that are driven by it. So, you better get off your
>> little "games don't matter" high horse,
>
> No thanks.
>
> People are free to make money in any means they're able, but that
> doesn't mean it need automatically command respect.  Unless you're
> actually getting something done in the real world (ie: building
> something, fixing something, making something work better, discovering
> something, helping someone), you're basically fucking off,  
> regardless of
> how hard you work at it.  Whether you're building virtual objects in a
> 3D virtual world or playing real football in front of 100,000  
> screaming
> fans, if you're not helping the planet evolve, you might as well just
> get off it.

<<facepalm>> So I guess, once again, you're the authority on what is  
helpful to people, what fixes things, and what is real? I suppose  
ideas aren't real then? Yeah all those writer people, writing those  
fuck-off books, not actually making anything real... might as well  
add them to your list of useless time-wasters as well. Oh and don't  
forget musicians... I mean what is with these weird annoying sound  
waves that people claim sound good? It's all just a bunch of games!

But in all seriousness, there is a lot of stuff going on in SL that  
is directly trying to make a difference in the real world.  
Presidential campaigns, educational seminars, marketing campaigns.  
Wired News reported 7/27 that an MIT researcher believes that  
combining SL with a Wii controller is "one of the most significant  
technology breakthroughs in the history of computer science." The  
story reports that SL will be used "to create training simulations,  
which might involve inspecting a house for moisture and heat sources  
or mixing chemicals and loading them onto a truck." (http:// 
www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/news/2007/07/wiimote)

Look... Knowledge, art, ideas, music, etc. are all things which do  
not "exist" physically, yet who will say they are neither real nor  
helpful? A virtual realm in which these things can be transmitted,  
created, manipulated, is a valuable space. Just because it's in 3D  
does not make it a "game." Belittle SL if you want, but this is only  
the beginning of virtual reality. I'm sure lots of people will hate  
virtual reality, just like lots of people hate computers, but that  
won't change what it is and what it isn't.

>
> That is, of course, just my opinion.  If you're proud of what you do,
> excellent, but there's no need to be an ass about it.

LOL be an ass? What, for disagreeing with you? For feeling the need  
to respond to your snide statement: "Ah, video games. For some  
reason, when you mentioned OpenGL, I thought you might be trying to  
get work done." Besides just being wrong (I am trying to get work  
done), this statement is insulting because of what your opinion is of  
gamers (i.e. that they are not helping the planet evolve, and might  
as well just get off it).

It's not painful to my pride that somebody out there does thinks of  
my part-time computer programming job as a "game." Rather, it is just  
painful to my sense of rationality and reason, because calling  
something like SL a "game" makes no sense.

-
Jon Gilbert
PGP fingerprint: 7FA9 B168 73CA A698 DD9E  2DF2 EE1A 3E73 3119 741F