Now we have crime in virtual reality .
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/10207486.stm

Is this what the world is coming to? Spending Zillions for virtual property on line in a game?

I agree people should be allowed to spend their money how they wish. But this does strike me as a wee bit anal if not the peak of self indulgence.

Would you be prepare to spend god knows how much on real police chasing 14 yo Geeks, especially when in the end as minors they get what from the justice systems.

Add to that how long before we Cayman islands in Cyberspace to hide the stolen cyber furniture.

Yup, I'm getting old.
Now we have to 'invent' worlds to spend cash .... Flash there is enough REAL worth causes that would appreciate some of that discretionary indulgence cash?
What are your feeling on the direction of 'virtual reality' property (imaginary no physical reality)?
To me it smacks of 'derivatives' mentality!
Has capitalism gone too far?

Has capitalism gone too far?
Examinator,
In my opinion it's not Capitalism that's gone too far, it's people with a mentality totally devoid of any sense of integrity nor an ounce of responsibility towards anyone other than themselves.
This mentality is a link to the individual right campaign which of course neglected the responsibility factor. When the bleeding heart brigade denied parents, teachers & other authorities the right to discipline youngsters is where things inevitably went wonky. Even now in 2010, there are those who resent National Service or any other disciplinary education. It's those mentally warped academics who are the cause of it all. Unquestioning bureaucrats provide the stimulus for this progressive regress of our society. We've arrived at a stage now where many people won't be able to distinguish between the two realities. Throw in the buy now , pay next year pseudo economic stimulus & presto, you get what we have now. An increasingly dumbed down pool of "I want it now" lay-by consumers. Ah, yes, don't forget to blame those who can't keep up with manufacturing to satisfy the unrealistic demands of the consumers.

All I can say is, serves them right for being stupid enough to pay
real money (was it real money ?) for a string of bits.
The policeman who undertook the investigation should be reprimanded.

No wonder this generation gets employment in the financial sector and
plays with real pixel money and get us all into trouble.

Dear Examinator,

The new technology is what television
initially was to our parents. A novelty,
a new technology that is fascinating
until the novelty wears off. And with time,
I'm sure that it will become just a small
part of people's lives. I wouldn't panic
too much just yet.

Let's assume that it is a cycle through
which new experiences have to be tried
before people find newer technologies
to occupy their time.

Technology is forever evolving and what's
popular today is quickly replaced by a
newer product tomorrow. We started with
television years ago that was black and white
and looked like a piece of furniture.
Then we progressed to colour, flat screen,
digital, and now 3D. What's next?
The same will happen with the development of
virtual reality being developed into
hologrammic technology that the individual
will be able to experience.
Avatar the movie -
remember the film?
It blew most of us away.
A fantasy - right?
Or perhaps - our future - who knows?

examinator -

Hi 'zam.

I wouldn't worry at all. It's the nowadays equivalent of people cheating at poker.

There are gaming sites where people register then pay to be able certain games at different levels. My son had someone pinch his account and change the password. I think he had about 100 or 200 dollars worth of games there. It took him a bit of mucking around to identify himself again to the owner and have his accounts and the games and levels it contained restored and the thief blocked.

I can see how the people who pay for the site domain and software etc need to cover their costs and like any service they are entitled to the income they derive from selling access to use their software.

For some people who break into accounts, there's a bit of player revenge and for others it's the technical challenge. They are just another version of the sort of people who cheat and prank, who have always been around in every generation.

When you think about it, maybe it would be less traumatic to be robbed electronically (like a game or a virtual summin or other) than to have one's house broken into.