Um... so what? The exact coordinates of such landmarks are no secret. And the fact that Microsoft produces software which allows users to "fly" over and into those landmarks is not illegal, nor should it be. I've used Microsoft Flight Simulator myself and have "crashed" into tall buildings on purpose. I even read an article in the newspaper written by a United pilot, who stated that many pilots end up with unused minutes at the end of their regular simulator time, and he says many of them have swooped down, flying into and through the twin towers of the World Trade Center. There is no crime in that! Nonetheless, this pilot concluded "I guess none of us will ever do that again."
Peter Lyons
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Joined: Sep 12, 2000
Posts: 202
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And by the way, did you consider that pilots must know the locations of skyscrapers so planes DON'T hit them in poor visibility conditions? Just imagine being a customer service representative for Microsoft and reading: "Dear Microsoft, I will never buy another Microsoft product. I hope you all burn in hell for your role in the recent terrorism in New York and Washington. You call it "Microsoft Professional Flight Simulator 2000", but it's obvious now that you were really only trying to equip terrorists with the training they needed to kill thousands of Americans. You profit from this? How can you sleep? Sincerely, A Disgusted American"
Actually, it doesn't say anything about them rwmoving the ability to fly through buildings in Flight Simulator, just removing a comment in some intro. material that could be taken in bad taste after the events of the preceding week, and removing the WTC towers from the maps of NYC included with the game... I assume that they are doing this for two reasons... one, emotional purposes, and two, for purposes of realism...
I also heard that several movies about terrorism are having their release dates pushed back, and that the Spider-Man movie is being edited... there was a scene where Spider-Man captures a helicopter between the WTC towers that is going to be removed... ( I actually saw this scene in a trailer for the movie earlier this summer... )
-Nate
-Nate
Write once, run anywhere, because there's nowhere to hide! - /. A.C.
There is nothing wrong with Flight Simulator and no one should be angry at Microsoft about it. I used to love swooping around my old office in the World Trade Center. I think it will be too painful to do that ever again.
Having done a little flying in both the real and virtual worlds, I can tell you that half the fun of a flight sim is doing stuff you�d never consider trying in the real world. I�ve �flown� any number of different aircraft between the WTC Towers, under bridges and even the base of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. For those who have a problem with MS FS 2000, all I can say is that they thoughtfully included their own offices on the terrain map and a nice selection aircraft suitable for Kamikaze missions.
I can't say that I understand what the fuss is about. What was Microsoft supposed to do? Throw a Blue Screen up if you get too close? The fact that the terrorists practiced with Microsoft Flight Simulator is disturbing, but almost all objects can be used for disturbing purposes. Paul R
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