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Online Games
Today's PC's can run some pretty impressive
games that range from online versions of
popular board games to video arcade style
"shoot-em-up" games with incredibly
realistic graphics.
Online games can be describe as one
of three
types:
- a competition with the computer, where it
is a player or judge of your performance
- for play among several players at your PC
- interaction with players at different PC's
through the Internet
Game distributors must pay the cost of developing,
programming, and/or distributing the games;
if a game interacts with a host computer,
they also must pay for that expense. Few,
if any, game distributors are in business
to lose money, so they aim to recapture their
costs (and in most cases make a profit) in
at least one of these ways:
- through advertising that appears on their
site, during the game download process, and
during game play
- installing on your PC 'adware' or other software
that provides them or their client the ability
to show advertising to you while you are
using your PC (not necessarily only while
you are using the game)
- collecting user information to be used for
sending advertising
- a per download or play fee
- a membership fee (one time or recurring)
Before you download any program, make sure
you:
- are accessing a reputable website that has
checked their downloads for viruses
- read the privacy policy if you are giving
your address, email address, or telephone
number. Spam isn't spam if you agree to receive
it, and many websites bury a clause in their
privacy policy that grants them permission
to send it to you; hence, by registering
to get the game download, you are "opting
in" to a potential flood of online spam
and telephone solications.
- understand any billing information if you
are giving some form of payment. You should
understand if the fee is a one time charge,
per use charge, or a recurring subscription.
In the case of the subscription, you should
understand how and when to cancel it should
you no longer want the service.
Armed with this knowledge, you may
more safely
peruse the game sites in search of
a game
that best fits your needs.
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