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Domain: kriston.net
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Comments · 57
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Re:Inventory
Have more fun in my archive here: http://kriston.net/games/
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Re:Review of the review...
Incredibly long review for a book of 286 pages. I almost don't need to read the book anymore.
At least we can still play the games online at:
http://kriston.net/games/
Kris -
Text Adventure Games are Still Exploding
When someone mentions "Adventure Games" I still think of text adventures like the old Infocom games. I played games like Calixto Island on my TRS-80 CoCo that were still text adventure games but had graphics to illustrate the story. I didn't really appreciate the new fully graphical adventure games from outfits like Sierra On-Line where you didn't have to type anymore--I still like the old art of text adventures. That art, called Interactive Fiction, is exploding and every year there is a competition.
I have an online sampler of Interactive Fiction text adventures online. Just go to:
Kriston.net/Games
Kris -
Re:Celeron? So what?Power consumption and heat is a big problem with Athlons and Durons. I read on a hardware reviewer site that Athlon consumes 36 watts and Duron only a little less. Compare that to Celeron at about 20 watts.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:Why??Hold on there... All the all-in-one motherboards have the standard ports included -- two USB external, two internal USB headers, one external serial port, one internal serial port internal header for IRDA, a printer port, two PS/2 ports, VGA out, line-out/speaker-out/line-in/mic-in.
If you want more ports then you're in the wrong market. Of course you'd want to add a modem and FireWire... but nothing beats an all-in-one computer for a server or internet terminal.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
SiS 530 not that fast, eitherSiS has their work cut out for them. The SiS 530 for Super Socket7 isn't the fastest integrated chipset, either. I'm waiting for the VIA chipsets with the integrated S3 video to come out for Socket A, personally.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Dreamcast graphicsI spent part of the weekend playing on my brother's pre-bought PS2. After the novelty wore off, we are rather disappointed in the system. The things we noticed were:
1) Graphics are not as good as Dreamcast.
2) Only two controller ports (WHY?!).
3) Very expensive.
4) No remote control for DVD (WHY?!).
We also concluded that the only reason the PS2 plays PSX titles is so that you can keep convincing yourself that your PS2 is better than your PSX.
Of course, the Dreamcast next to the PS2 is so much better (except for the controller of course)... and the $20 Dreamcast keyboard lends itself well to Quake3. No word on whether Unreal on the PS2 will support a $50 USB keyboard.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Intel processor announcements are meaninglessHow long can Intel keep this scam going.
- People who build machines from components *still* cannot get anything better than a 933 MHz Pentium 3
- People can walk into local, independent computer component shops and actually buy a 1 GHz AMD Athlon.
- The 1.13 GHz Pentium 3 is recalled simply because it's an over-clocked 1 GHz part.
- Motherboard recalls, too?!?!!?
Does anyone see a pattern here? Is it over for Intel?
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Booting the BIOS is the problemAthlon motherboards are notorious for not booting with cheap keyboards. Later revisions of the Asus boards fix this (it's even listed in the release notes) but others, like FIC, still don't work. It's ironic that one of the most-neglected components is one of the biggest reliability factors -- once the system is up and running, cheap keyboard or not, it just doesn't quit. It's just getting the BIOS screen to show up...
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:The others still has a healthy headstart
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Umm, Illustra anyone?The story fails to mention that Illustra was the first commercial version of Postgres, way 'back when.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
PINE D'Music Player at TigerDirect available nowIn the hardcopy catalog, Vol. X, Issue 4A, page 76, the PINE D'Music MP3 CD/Player, $299.99. http://www.tigerdirect.com/.
Plays CDs and CD-R's with MP3s on them. Equalizer, anti-shock (though I doubt playing MP3 CD-Rs could have any kind of anti-shock), and a built-in battery charger if you use rechargeables. Fairly ugly-looking, but it's portable and the best part is that there's NO FRIGGIN' DOWNLOADING. Has a digital display, a simple dsp equalizer, and bass boost.
Available for immediate shipment at: 1-800-292-6095 or http://www.tigerdirect.com/.
Umm, duh...
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Good if you don't use SMPAll of the BSD's are great operating systems. One major limitation for large systems is the utter lack of SMP support in threads. None of the BSD kernels I know of support kernel-level threads, and you need them for effective SMP. This essentially means that your second CPU is going to do nothing unless your program actually forks (or you start different copies of your program and give them an affinity to processor 1 and 2). Unfortunately, this still won't address load-balancing, which kernel threads with SMP will do. Doing these things defeats much of the good things about threaded programming and SMP, but that's BSD for you. The kernels are great and stable but just do not seem to address threads at all.
So if you expect to utilize your dual-processor machine, you should consider Solaris x86, Unixware, or Linux, instead of the *BSD's.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Really fast around here... but...They're right. My cable modem is extremely fast. There is DSL available to practically anyone who doesn't live in the sticks, ISDN is readily available (but QOS is questionable), and there are tens of independent providers for DSL (but all of the consumer-level and most of the business-level DSL services still use Bell Atlantic's facilities).
The one major drawback to being so connected is that underground service line cuts seem to be a major problem in the region. The diggers keep the utility-locator services so busy that the locators can't seem to keep up... in most of western Fairfax county there is an ongoing major replacement of underground electrical transmission lines. That work has obliterated the cable system in some neighborhoods. My cable modem works fine on the downlink, but the uplink is suffering from a couple of local digging accidents that cut the line past my house. It still works, but it's really dogging it on the uploads. I noticed that the locator service did not mark the location of any of the cable-TV lines in the neighborhood, so it looks like they're going to bill the power company for the repair.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Modem unit is modularThe unit is modular enough to replace with just about any kind of network-access device. One of the chief reasons of modularizing the unit was to allow cable and DSL providers to offer a Dreamcast access unit for their service. This unit would definitely be an ethernet interface.
Therefore, I don't see how this eliminates a LAN-based solution. I actually expect the cable modem and DSL modules to be ethernet interfaces. The modems are only reachable via ethernet, anyway -- for example, my cable modem sits on the network. It doesn't connect directly with anything. Surely the Dreamcast cable/DSL access packages will replace the 56k modem with an ethernet interface.
You didn't expect the cable/DSL modems to actually plug directly into the Dreamcast, did you? Have you seen the power and thermal requirements of those devices?
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:Need GD-ROM specifications please!Ahh.. that's probably the best explanation of GD-ROM I could find. I always wondered why manufacturers wasted the surface area as the laser tracks outward on the disc. The trick is to use a good variable-speed motor in combination with a more sensitive pickup laser to read the dense data that is now spinning exponentially faster than it is in the center (someone correct my math here and tell me how fast it really is going).
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:ConvergenceNot really, it's very sharp and clear. The fonts are easy to read. If you still can't see, you can hit a button on the controller to bring up a two-mode magnifying glass.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Nope, it's OpenBSD/SH4The whole thing on OpenBSD on Sega Dreamcast is here:
http://www.softrare.com/openbsd-sh4/
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:ethernet connectionThe web browser disc supports "blind dialing" which waits 2 seconds and dials whether there is a dial tone or not. You could get away with that and another modem waiting on an ATA. I suspect any internet game would allow you to do blind dialing if the web browser disc does.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:modemIt's not external, it's modular. There is a tab on the bottom of the DC that lets you remove the 56k modem and replace it with something better. I'm personally excited about a rumored ethernet card so I can use it on the cable modem.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:IEThe web browser in DC is nothing like Pocket MSIE. It's something called Planetweb, and it's nothing to be excited about. Still, it's better than WebTV. It also has built-in email and IRC, if you can believe that.
My browser disc didn't work so I returned the whole thing for a new one... everything works now except I cancelled the internet registration half-way through and now it thinks I'm registered. I can't figure out how to get back to registration so I guess I'll have to sign up on the PC to get my login information that way and manually enter it. It's not exactly ready for prime-time.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:Don't buy dreamcast!The machine is silk-screened on the front with a "Compatible with Windows CE" logo. It doesn't say "Powered by Windows CE". Some games use WinCE, some don't.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Use MediaGX or MATX Super7Even better, you could get yourself a MediaGX or one of the video/sound-integrated Super7 motherboards. I ran across a baby-AT MediaGX that is the smallest motherboard I've ever seen -- even smaller than MATX boards. For about $100 you get a 233 MHz system with sound and video. Add $15 each for two PCI ethernet cards, 64 megabytes for $40, and one of your spare hard disks (or get a CompUSA rebate special for around $50). Finally, get a case/ps for $40 if you don't already have one.
That would work much better than your $1000+ Libretto or the lousy Multia...plus it won't overheat. Best of all, it's i586.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:You are forgetting one thing...The irony is that MS is not using the published protocol. They have conducted espionage by reverse-engineering the proprietary one.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:Not as I understand itTOC is the publically-published protocol and it talks to a special TOC server. This protocol doesn't work with the AIM servers. MSN Messenger uses the proprietary one and it talks directly to the AIM server.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:Why did AOL open their protocol?I'm sounding like a broken record, but MSN is not using the open protocol. MSN Messenger is using the unpublished, proprietary protocol that AIM uses to make themselves look like a real AIM client.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:AOL has a point regarding securityThis would be a good position, if it were accurate. MSN is not using the published protocol -- they are using AIM's unpublished protocol.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:So why did AOL open the specs?MSN is, in fact, using the non-published protocol. They reverse-engineered it. Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Wrong again about the protocol.He said that Microsoft is using the open AOL Instant Messenger
protocol. This is not true!
AOL did release a special public version of the AIM protocol called
"TOC" that connects to special TOC servers made for that purpose and
even released several open-source clients to connect with that special
server.
The AIM clients for Windows and Macintosh connect to another set of
servers whose protocol is undocumented. MSN Messenger is connecting to
that other set of servers with the UNDOCUMENTED protocol. Microsoft
reverse-engineered that protocol, in fact.
The story should state that:
1) Yahoo Messenger and Prodigy were using the publically-published TOC
protocol.
2) MSN Messenger is using a reverse-engineered protocol.
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:"Re:a different perspective..." or "TOC vs. OSCSorry, but NAIM and LAIM do not use TOC. They use the FAIM library, which is a public-domain reverse-engineered version of the AIM protocol. FAIM-based applications like these do not use TOC.
GAIM *does* use TOC.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:a different perspective...Microsoft isn't using the TOC protocol. They are using a reverse-engineered version of the protocol that the regular AIM clients use. Only Yahoo and Prodigy were using TOC -- not Microsoft.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
A word on protocolsIn the hopes of clearing up some misconceptions, here is an explanation of the protocol issue in the fight over AIM.
There are two protocols that AOL uses for instant messaging. There is the one proprietary protocol that the Windows and Macintosh clients use, and then there is a published protocol intended for use by people who prefer Unix (it works with the Tcl, Lisp, and the various Java clients, along with some small third-party ones like LAIM).
Having said that, it must be made clear that MSN Messenger is using a reverse-engineered version of the AIM protocol, not the published version that AOL made available to Unix users.
Yahoo Messenger uses the published protocol (sflap), but it has been blocked by AOL from using the published version, too. It has been reported that Prodigy's messaging client was very similar to Yahoo's (in its use of TOC).
The published AIM protocol and its special TOC server, according to the documentation of the Tik client, isn't intended for this kind of use by a major third-party client but as an effort to bolster the Open-Source movement and to let Unix users gain access to the world of AIM and AOL at large.
MSN is clearly wrong for reverse-engineering the proprietary, unpublished protocol. Yahoo is less so because they are using the publically-published protocol. However, Yahoo really shouldn't be using the TOC server protocol without releasing the source to its Yahoo Messenger client because TOC's protocol was under the rules of the GPL.
The Tik clients still work with the TOC server. Yahoo and Prodigy are blocked. Tonight, MSN still seems to work for me after downloading the three different versions (the new ones no longer say "compatible" in the ID string). Since MSN is now looking quite much like a real AIM client does to the AIM servers, doesn't anyone at MSN think they would be in trouble for copyright infringement?
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:Time for a GPL'd cross platform solutionICQ doesn't display banners at all. Perhaps you're confusing ICQ with AIM?
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:Less-Competitive Area?Cyrix MediaGX is a certified as a supported platform for WinCE:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsce/embedded/reso urces/proc21.asp
Also, noted earlier, it is fully i586-compatible with an MMU, plus a companion chipset that supplies a PC-on-two-chips solution. I run several versions of Unix-like OS's on MediaGX systems, as well as Windows 98 and NT. It is not the same architecture as the other Cyrix chips. It's an original Nat'l Semi design and the newer (MMX-enhanced versions) had some Cyrix influence when Nat'l Semi bought them. MediaGX is not involved in the VIA sale at all -- it stays at Nat'l Semi.
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:FIRST integrated uP/peripherals?Just like the original MediaGX, when you plug a video card into the motherboard, it cedes the video to it or lets you use multiple-monitor support depending on the BIOS and the OS. However, the market for this chipset probably doesn't include PC's with expansion slots in them.
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:Version 2.3 rulesPhilip Greenspun's reasons are more well-stated than mine were. Having said that, all of the removed features can be replaced by folks who have the initiative to do so. After all, this is beta 1 of the product. If this is a reason to drop advocacy of the server, the potential to add features in the Open Source effort is a better reason to advocate it.
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:It's worse that, Jim, they're fuckwitsYou mean to tell me you can't tell the difference between a firewall and a web server? What makes you think that opening up hosts in the world's largest network to DoS attacks is advantageous?
*shakes head in disbelief*
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:Dammit...This just isn't true. Sure, the press reports that things are found now and then, and there may have been problems in the past, but his posting about the so-called "client-based security model" is just plain incorrect, wrong, and downright clueless. If he really knew what he was talking about, he'd have been able to exploit any security hole -- which he admits he was not able to do.
How such an obviously wrong posting gets a score of "4: Interesting" is beyond me. Besides, what does it have to do with AOLserver at all?
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:Version 2.3 rulesAll of the features you were crying about were useful back in, say, 1994, but not now. If you can't learn Tcl, and if as you say "it is IMPOSSIBLE for me to upgrade to 3.0 without a TON of work" then you might have to look for another line of work.
Good luck with thhtpd.
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:It's worse that, Jim, they're fuckwitsIt helps to understand the difference between a software development organization and a network operations organization. Your complaints have nothing to do with the software.
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:Version 2.3 rulesLet's be reasonable, here.
First, AOLpress has been dead for almost two years. If you're still using it, you're clueless.
Server-side includes are simply the wrong way to publish web content when you have ADP's, which give you Tcl scripting right in your web page. Once more, if you still cry for SSI's, you're clueless.
Java servlets were not dropped, they were always an optional object. The code for that is merely a cgi-like proxy to the Java Web Server and anyone can write his own version. Once more, you're clueless.
Virtual FTP was nice (it was a feature I championed) but there are other things that do it much better.
If you pine for web-based administration, it's time to get with the program. The control port interface gives you extensive control that you just can't achieve on web pages.
And, of course, the rest of the missing features of 2.3 can be re-implemented by anyone, you know, and you can even make great new features yourself.
AOLserver has always had an extensive C API which let you add shared objects. It's still there, of course. Why not use it to add the features you liked?
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:DirecDuo DishThe law concerning broadcast networks is "The Satellite Television Act S. 303." Also, DirecTV/DirecDuo is the only service that lets you get all the channels on one dish. EchoStar (DISH Network) requires two dishes to get all the channels and doesn't yet offer an internet service, though they have announced integrated landline WebTV set-top boxes.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
DirecDuo DishHughes sells the DirecDuo dish which is an elliptical dish designed to receive the regular three DBS satellites plus the Internet receive service. The dish has two focal points that aim the signals from the three satellites more precisely at the LNB (two of the birds are practically on top of each other while the third is 10 degrees away). As you might guess the aiming of the signal is very important for data quality. Aiming the dish requires a lot more skill than regular DBS (physics tells us that larger dishes require more precise aiming). This service provides regular DirecTV service plus 400 kbs internet service. You still need a modem for sending data. There are many mixed feelings on the net about this; check dejanews for more. This service has been in production for a couple of years.
The same dish with just one LNB is sold as the internet-only "DirecPC" service. You'd be happier with DirecDuo since it gives you your precious tee vee.
On broadcast networks: Congress and the House recently passed a law allowing the DBS providers to transmit the network channels regardless of the signal quality in your area. Previously, you have to have no signal and/or you must obtain permission from each local affiliate. However, nothing seems to have happened as a result of the legislation, yet. I don't have the details (see directv.com or primetime24.com). I think the law has yet to go into effect.
If you really think the networks are that good (I don't) then put an antenna in your attic.
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:This *could* be good...Tik is a very good open-source project run by AOL that essentially makes it the be-all and end-all of instant messenger clients. You can add all sorts of things to it, including Slashdot stories. It's definitely Done Right with respect to the online community. I suspect the new media acquisitions today will also be Done Right, as have Netscape, ICQ, and CompuServe.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Re:Problems with ATXI have had poor luck with OEM power supplies that come with brand-named computers. I have also seen lots of cheap ATX power supplies that are rated 140 watts peak. Remember, the rating you're seeing is the peak rating, not the optimal power rating which is usually 20-40% lower than the peak rating. AT power supplies are always cheaper and always offer higher wattage ratings per dollar.
One major problem that I have experienced wth ATX power supplies is that since the fan is mounted on a horizontal plane it seems to be more prone to wear and "chuffing."
ATX motherboards are great since they reduce ribbon cable clutter. However, if you must use ATX you should ALWAYS get a motherboard that has AT power supply connectors (most aftermarket boards do). You'll save at least $30 and be able to get higher-rated power supplies for less money. You also won't have the annoying power button problems.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Performance scaling vs. ClusteringSun's Fibre Channel and some ultrawide SCSI disc arrays allow multiple computers to share not only several drives in the disc array but can actually share volumes. That means several computers can share real hard disc volumes with the high speed and low latency of ultrawide SCSI. With these solutions, beowulf clustering can actually be a feasible alternative to expensive SMP motherboards for i/o-intensive tasks. Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Shared Video/System Memory Bad?I don't know about the shared memory thing, it appears to be enforced by the hardware. However, Linux really doesn't like the fact that these motherboards (esp. MediaGX) have uncommon video memory. For example, the two different MediaGX BIOS's I've dealt with let you change the amount of shared memory in use, but you only get to choose between 1.5 MB and 2.5 MB. Nowhere in XF86 are you able to set the memory to either of those values, so I think it's XF86's fault. Even the newer Debian that actually has MediaGX in its list of video cards can't handle MediaGX.
I've moved these machines to server-land, which isn't such a bad idea because I don't have enough monitors, anyway.
Sound/Video integrated motherboards are great for servers!! This is because they're super cheap and you don't have to waste a good video card on the server, or cripple it with a really slow ISA card, just to boot the stupid thing!
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Stay away from TigerDirect!!!Boy am I glad I threw out the TigerDirect catalog. I was wondering why they didn't offer a non-ATX super socket7 motherboard. I went instead to Computer Parts Only (www.cponly.com) where I previously bought a replacement MediaGX motherboard. Their prices were lower than Tiger on the same motherboards and they also sold better brands.
They're a small outfit, but they really know what they're doing.
I'm still looking for a dealer for Epox motherboards, though. I have one in a Pentium 2 computer that I'm very pleased with, even though it's only 66 MHz front-side. Bah.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
Linux "Roughcuts" CD from Red HatPerhaps you'd like to run around town looking for used Macintoshes, Amigas, and Atari ST's. Then grab a copy of "LInux Roughcuts" from Red Hat. It has the old mkLinux, Yyggradsil(sp), and other Linux kernel distributions for weird architectures for about $26 at Cheap Bytes.
And if you can't find an old Mac or Amiga lying around, there's always NetBSD or Slackware.
Yours in pain,
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/ -
What's a "Sparq" chip?My favorite paragraph of the article follows. It would be nice if the author knew the correct name of a certain Sun CPU, knew that AIX runs on PowerPC, RS/6000, and Power2 architectures, and might have known that "codeveloped" is not a word in the English language. It would have been nice if he realized that Windows NT used to run on MIPS architectures and had a short-lived PowerPC version as well. Still, the comparisons presented in the article are well-researched.
It sometimes seems as if NT gets less portable by the day. NT currently supports the Alpha and x86 architectures. Although you can probably find a version of UNIX that runs on any given hardware platform, the leading commercial UNIX releases are even less portable that NT, running only on their vendors' proprietary CPU type, and sometimes on the x86 as well. For example, Sun Microsystems developed Solaris for the SUN Sparq chip but ports Solaris to the x86. IBM's AIX runs only on the PowerPC chip, which IBM codeveloped with Motorola.
Kris
Kriston J. Rehberg
http://kriston.net/