Tim Marman's Loosely Coupled

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• Taxing Virtual Economies?

  A congressional committee is exploring the idea of taxing in-game virtual economies . This is not a tax on the sale of video games themselves ( especially violent ones ), nor is it a tax on the sale of virtual assets in a real market like eBay. As Mike explains: Note that the politicians aren't talking about virtual items in the game that have been converted to real dollars or other assets. That's already taxable as income. Instead, they're looking at actually taxing the items within the game based on the perceived value of those assets. The complexity in even attempting such a system should be obvious. Different games have different economies and different currencies, and unless those currencies are convertible to real dollars there is no (easy) way to set the tax basis for the income. If the virtual assets are not readily convertible, this would be what is known as "phantom income" - that is, income in the eyes of the IRS but not in your pocket. This is a common topic with stock grants... Posted Oct 18 2006, 11:44 AM by Tim with | with no comments Filed under: Technology, Intellectual Property, Rants, Gaming

• Update on XBox Live disconnects

  A quick update on the XBox Live disconnect problems I was having last week. As it turns out, the problem was with my router - specifically, the firmware version on my router. I thought at first I might need to buy a new router, as I wasn't sure if it was supported. There's some conflicting information out there: one version of the FAQ says it isn't, but another version ( here ) says it is. Apparently, the culprit is with the firmware version and how NAT is implemented in later versions. So after loading the older firmware, the disconnect problems have disappeared. Lesson learned: the latest and greatest isn't always the best. If you are having similar problems, check the supported firmware versions before you buy a new router. Update Only the latest versions are listed on the site, but the older firmware I used is available on their FTP site. Here's a link . If you are not using this router or are having trouble connecting to games entirely... If you are you not using... Posted Nov 29 2004, 08:16 AM by Tim with | with 10 comment(s) Filed under: Rants, Gadgets, Things that bother me, XBox 360, Gaming