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Good Games For Christmas?
Since nothing really interesting seems to be happening today (unless you count some lame overpriced scooter) I figured I'd throw this out. We've discussed christmas presents in general, but what about refining the subject to just video games? With Final Fantasy 10 not due out until the day after christmas, what new games are coming out? Please mention systems in your subject line. Personally I just finished Klonoa 2 and enjoyed it, I'm maybe half way through Grand Theft Auto 3 and am absolutely in love, and just picked up Metal Gear Solid 2 but have yet to break the celophane, but can't wait. On the PC side, The Sims Hot Date expansion pack is pretty smooth if your idea of fun is micromanaging an armada of virtual people. I hope a psychiatrist never analyzes my Sims style.
Although, i bet a Sim of several multi-processing systems working together to mimic human balance would require. . . Wait for it. . . A Beowulf cluster of Segways. Speaking of transportation. . .
You are not the customer.
I'm looking to get a copy of the hot new Sim "Virtual Sociologist". In it you post messages on a simulated message board, and attempt to garner "karma" in attempt to rule the world.
As valuable as a list of good games is, let me tack on a note about a game not to buy your child this Christmas season.
Don't buy your kids "WinBack: Covert Operation". A young child recently shot his brother to death after playing this game on his computer and attempting to re-enact the game.
Personally, I'm rather fond of Half-Life, but my daughter doesn't seem to enjoy it.
If guns kill people, then CmdrTaco's keyboard misspells words.
Taco's got a point. It's a frikkin' scooter. Big whoop-de-do. Anyways it weighs 60+ pounds, thats too damn heavy to carry up stairs, a 30lb bike is marginal for carrying. I'll keep my bike, or buy a motorized Razor Scooter instead. The Crazy Finn
"You've got an invalid haircut" -Warren Zevon - Life'll Kill Ya
Sometimes I just have to shake my head at the density of a lot of people who can't see when something is truly remarkable. I don't know if this thing is really going to remake the world, but can anyone really look at a self-balancing two wheel platform and not see a hell of a lot of uses for it?
Overpriced is debatable, but there is apparently a lot of safety and quality built into the thing, from all the reports. $3K for the first unit seems pretty damn good.
I know if I lived in NYC or some other big city, I'd get one for doing a 20 block commute trip rather that having to take the subway, particularly if it was legal on the sidewalks (which is what they're pushing for).
Not to mention that it sounds pretty damn fun. Imagine doing power turns when the device does its own balancing. Hell, imagine off-road all-terrain versions that you can take pretty much anywhere a body will fit.
I think people need to use a little imagination.
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
Invest now, and watch as an 'ordinary, just-another-scooter' invention becomes the next big thing within 10 years.
People keep slamming on Steve Jobs for touting it as the Next Big Thing, because after all, he only invented Apple Computers and they never did so well. Considering he helped invent the entire desktop PC, which MS stole GUI ideas and other things from, I honestly don't know why slashdot (users and site operators alike) is being so gay about IT.
For Christmas I want: ;)
IT, Segway, Ginger, whatever you call it.
Civ3 - I already got it, but highly recommend it
Return to Castle Wolfenstein - if my computer had a GeForce3 it would run fine for me, and I played the multiplayer test more than CS over the past few weeks!
GeForce3 - to run games better on my PC
PS2 + Final Fantasy 10 - give me a gift certificate to Best Buy, I can wait a few weeks
Yes I strayed off-topic a bit, but somebody had to do it.
what's irritating is the hype. and yeah, yeah, the inventor says he didn't want that... which considering the train of events, with the leaks and the big tech names and the book deal, seems suspect to me. nevertheless, the rhetoric was the supertech marvel world changing brave new world machine. well, what it is is a funky little rolling platform... and the performance I saw on good morning america did little to impress me. you're dreaming if you think this thing can do any serious power turns or off-roading. it's awfully slow and awfully heavy and just insanely expensive for what it is. a bike can completely replace a car for the dedicated commuter - my brother did this for years (in Minneapolis!) - and EVERYTHING in the USA is set up for the car/park/walk a mile paradigm - so is there really even a potential market for adding this third transportation phase? I'll say what a million other people have said - at 20 pounds and say $500 I would . The product , just in and of itself, is all very nice and nifty - enhanced stability, intuitive interface - but the premise that giving people the ability to triple their walking speed at about 1/3 the median cost of a fairly decent car is a stretch. I suspect it is going to be a very hard road out of the economy of scale valley for Ginger. you notice the thing has its defenders and detractors, but I have yet to see anyone go tot he extent of saying: I'm going to buy one. plunk down my $3000 and roll on home. will you?
It Is the Nature of Information to Transgress Artificial Boundaries
Probably the same way they would have before September 11th, excersizing freedoms which allow them to create whatever they like.
:(
Beautiful thing, a free country, where people can do something despite it being politically incorrect.
If SOME people got their way, all movies with references to the twin towers would be destroyed. That is so goddamn scary.
We are at war with afganistan. We have always been at war with afganistan. We are allies with britain. We have always been allies with britan.
If you understand the above paragraph, you understand why I think it's so scary. The mutability of the past is NOT fiction, but a goal that most people and governments seem to strive towards!
It's been a long time.
So I trust this is NOT offtopic.... I just have to get this off my chest.
The only explanation I can think of to explain the Slashdot editors' unwarranted negativism is that they got scooped and are having sour grapes about it.
Not scooped in the literal sense, since I'm sure they knew about it long ago, but in the editorial sense: they made a bad decision in thinking that this story was irrelevant, and now they're going to defend it at all costs.
By the way, one of those costs includes trying to influence your opinion.
it may not be a game but damn i want to be on www.bangbus.com
Me and lunchbox here are going to kick your ass.
And for all you naysayers, here's a little thing I typed up. Please correct me where necessary.
The Unofficial Anti-Anti-Segway FAQ v0.01
by Greg Fodor (nebby@half-empty.org)
Created on 12/3/01
Feel free to copy this wherever you want.
Q: What is Segway?
A: Not a scooter. More specifically, Segway is a two-wheeled self-balancing electrically powered people moving device created by inventor Dean Kamen.
More information, obviously, can be found at http://www.segway.com.
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Q: How is it not a scooter? Screw this, I'm gonna just go by an electric Razor!
A: Calling the Segway a scooter is analagous to calling the automobile a motorized buggy. Riding the Segway is supposedly an amazing experience like no other; all those who have ridden one agree: this is amazing stuff. Propelling the scooter requires just a slight lean forward or back, with steering controlled on the handlebar.
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Q: What if I don't *need* help balancing? I'm not an uncoordinated loser like the people who need these Segway things! (or, Why don't they just put a third wheel on it for balancing and chop $2500 off the price?)
A: The purpose of Kamen's balancing technology is not merely to prevent you from falling, but is the key element in the entire feel and interface of the device. Using the device, as Kamen puts it, is like wearing "magic sneakers." The device feels like an attachment to your very feet, giving you the ability to freely glide over any surface on a whim. You feel not like the passenger on a vehicle, as you would with a motorized scooter, but as an empowered pedestrian whose very feet have been enhanced with wheels.
From segway.com:
"Step on Segway HT, and your instinct will be to steady yourself, as you would on anything with two wheels. Almost immediately, you'll realize that isn't necessary - Segway HT is balancing for you. Then it's as simple as shifting your weight. Lean forward and you go forward. Straighten up and you gently stop. You'll see that Segway HT isn't moving you, it's moving in response to you.
That's what happens physically. Emotionally, it's like the childhood dreams you had where you could fly. You feel freedom, exhilaration, and confidence. You have the sensation of the ground moving beneath you, but you're not touching it. And you're seized by the desire to go somewhere. Only then do you become aware of your own smile."
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Q: 17 MPH!? It's way too slow, I want something that will replace the car!
A: The Segway is not meant to replace the car. It is meant as a way of augmenting the process of walking as a pedestrian. Being able to up your pace to 17 MPH both makes your usual walks shorter and easier (and on this thing, more fun,) and also increases the number of places you can feasibly go.
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Q: So aren't people going to be pissed when they're walking around and Segway users zip by and annoy them?
A: Eventually when more people purchase Segways, it is feasible to think that small Segway lanes will be opened (similar to bike lanes) in major cities for fast Segway users. Other Segway riders could very well roll along with pedestrians unannoyingly at a slightly slower pace.
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Q: This is so horrible. People already are fat and out of shape enough, we don't need another American gadget that will give people another excuse to stop exercising.
A: Yes, we should also outlaw cars since you can sit your lazy ass in them all the time. Donuts too are a possible target for legislation, we wouldn't want anyone eating them since they could become fat and stricken with heart disease. It's important that we keep a careful control on what people can choose to do or not do, since we know what's best for them.
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Q: I live in Northen Montana and it snows all day here. Theres no way in hell I'd give up my car to ride to work and get hypothermia in the snow.
A: The Segway wasn't made for you. Though it supposedly can navigate through small piles of snow (just put on a hat and jacket for the 5 minute ride to work in the city,) it's not meant to be a all-terrain 4-wheel drive mini-SUV with heat and AC.
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Q: So, what if it rains? I'll get soaked!
A: The Segway is supposed to be an elegant and easy to use enhancement for the speed of the pedestrian. It is not meant to replace the car, and hence, if you don't like walking in the rain with an umbrella, you probably will dislike riding the Segway in the rain with an umbrella.
Overall, anything you wouldn't walk through (wind, snow, rain) you probably won't be willing to go Segging through either. Don't buy one if you hate walking outside and in all cases prefer the heat/AC/enclosure of a car.
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Q: It's too expensive, at $3k nobody is ever going to buy one.
A: You're absolutely right, except the "nobody" part should be changed to "only early adopters." Like any brand-spanking-never-been-seen-before technology, the price will be high and the initial demand will be filled by either large companies who can drop the change needed to buy a slew of them, or for the enthusiasts (early adopters) who just have to have the latest and greatest. GeForce3, anyone?
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Q: I'm so sick of this, all that hype and it's just a scooter? No sterling? It doesn't fly? What the hell??
A: The so-called hype that people love to complain about has not been fed to them by Kamen himself but by third parties, mostly just idiots on the Internet over-speculating and coming up with their wildest fantasies. It's amazing how many idiots thought it would fly. Kamen has said from the get go of the hype-machine that it would and could never live up to the hype.
That being said, Segway is an amazing acheivement, and does in fact have the ability to change everything if adopted around the world. It's a low-energy electrically powered transportation device that seemingly can be used by anyone. Not everyone can manage to control an electric scooter, but everyone will be able to glide around with childlike freedom on their Segway.
Also, don't forget that Kamen's company (DEKA Research, http://www.dekaresearch.com) has been and is working on a high efficiency sterling engine. I don't think it takes much foresight to think perhaps one could eventually be found on a new version of the Segway once the technology is perfected.
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Q: It's 60 pounds, yet in videos I've seen, there are old ladies carrying it up stairs! What a crock!
A: The Segway supposedly has a mode called "following mode" which allows it to be guided (perhaps remotely via the key?) by a human but using its own power for propelling itself. In other words, when you come to a set of stairs unnavigable by the device, you hop off, switch to following mode, and walk up the stairs guiding the Segway along. It will turn its wheels as you offset its balance in order to climb the stairs.
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Q: Nobody is going to buy one because they'll look really stupid on them.
A: I'd guess that in most cases, if you look stupid on a Segway, you look stupid off a Segway. Regardless, this product is largely meant for people who do not necessarily hold their "dork factor" in the highest importance when it comes to choosing a transportation method. Look at some of the cars on the road and you'll realize there are many of these types of people.
Also, once a tenth of the population are crusing around on them in a city, you'll probably get used to them. I'd imagine the first car drivers looked rather silly with no horse being driven by them in front of the thing.
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Q: Nobody is going to buy one because the thing doesn't go too far on a single charge.
A: It really isn't meant to go long distances. It's meant for daily errands, the short trip to work, etc. A charge will get you approx. 17 miles or so (IIRC) which has been determined by Kamen's team to be far exceeding the average amount of distance covered daily by city dwellers in their day-to-day activites.
Also, it wouldn't be impossible to imagine an enhanced battery or motor in a few years extending the distance capabilities of the Segway. Regardless, right now it's not an impractical limit by any means.
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Q: It's going to be great when the system just zonks out and people start falling over! Hahah! I am so smart!
A: Actually, the Segway incorporates reduntant systems and is supposed to be fail safe on a level near medical devices (remember, most of Kamen's other devices have been in the medical field, requiring FDA approval and all.) The onscreen meter will undoubtfully inform you of the battery level, and as such, battery failure is most likely going to be as common as a car running out of gas. Oh wait, actually, since every electrical outlet becomes the equivalent of a gas station with an electric vehicle, only those who are extremely stupid and/or drunk will be most likely to let their Segway run down to nothing. If your Segway is running out of steam, you're not exactly stranded with no means of charging it up if you're in a metropolis.
I'd also guess that if these become adopted in the future, offices will install chargers to allow you to charge your Segway while you work.
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Q: This Kamen guy is a crock.
A: Not really. He has many inventions in the medical industry, one of the most well known is the iBot, a motorized robot which serves the same purpose as a wheelchair but allows its rider to climb stairs, curbs, drive over sand, and raise his/herself to eye level by balancing on two wheels.
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Q: Ok, maybe he's smart, but he just over-hyped this thing to make tons of money.
A: First, he didn't hype it, that was (probably) you, and the media. Secondly, Kamen has a pretty good record to show he's an example of an rather unselfish inventor whose endevours are a function not just of his financial gain but moreso from the overall benefit to the users of his inventions. As further evidence, he's the creator and overseer of FIRST (the project on the top of his list of importance, supposedly,) a national robotics program and competition for high schoolers which is intended to help change teen idols from pop stars and sports athletes to scientists and mathematicians. More information about FIRST can be found at http://www.usfirst.org.
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Q: Well, I don't live in a city anyway, I would never want one.
A: Well, do you work in a manufacturing facility? For a shipping company? Hell, in a big library?
Do you deliver mail? Do you perform rounds as a guard in a federal building?
Do you hate walking around Disney World? The mall? The town square?
Are you a cop? A paramedic? Do you just make rounds with medication in a hospital?
Do you go to school at a large campus? Do you work on a company campus?
Do you have trouble walking around the house due to your age or another condition?
If so, you might end up riding on and appreciating a Segway.
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Q: But..but..it's just a freaking SCOOTER!? I want my flying car!!!
A: *sigh* Go invent it yourself, then. I'll be cruising around in my Segway in the meantime.
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