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Xbox 360 Lightsynth

Posted by Zonk on from the trippy dept.

Ophion writes "Renowned digital artist Jeff Minter of Llamasoft has created a new lightsynth that will be built into the Xbox 360. More information on the console's music player is available from Microsoft." From the post: "I believe it finally begins to achieve the potential that I saw all those years ago when I first made Psychedelia... and I am happier with it than I have ever been with anything I've created in my entire career. And we got it into the firmware again... Microsoft firmware. Of the Xbox360 for goat's sake. At last... after more than 20 years' work, one of my lightsynths is going to reach a decent sized audience. Millions and millions..."

83 of 129 comments (clear)

  1. I wonder... by KDR_11k · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ... how many will now call Mr. Minter a sellout.

    --
    Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    1. Re:I wonder... by Golias · · Score: 2, Interesting

      As soon as I get done googling Jeff Minter, reading TFA and figuring out what the hell a Lightsynth is and why the hell I should care, I'll be happy to call him a sellout. ... Not that I consider "sellout" to be a bad thing. That word stopped being an insult which carried any weight sometime around 1972.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    2. Re:I wonder... by INSSOMNIAK · · Score: 1

      You are not a nerd.

    3. Re:I wonder... by ArmorFiend · · Score: 1

      And you are not EXPLAINING any of this either, I notice. What is a lightsynth? Please? I'll give you a cookie...

    4. Re:I wonder... by Golias · · Score: 1

      Okay. I got it now. Pretty colors and music. I'm sure LSD users everywhere are going to snap up the XBox360 now. For that matter E-popping ravers will probably want to hook one up to a projector screen at their next party.

      If you don't use recreational hallucinagens, then this thing is still a quirky work of art and a clever toy, but certainly not enough to make me want to buy the console.

      When it comes to my interest in buying one, I have no questions about polygon count or built-in "Lightsynths" or funky new controllers. I'm sure it's all spiffy. What I most want to know is: What games will there be?

      I don't need to see 2,000 titles available. The threshold for buying a console for me is "three games which don't suck, at least one of which totally kicks ass."

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    5. Re:I wonder... by pocopoco · · Score: 1

      Heh, I had no clue either. At first I thought you could make sound by waving your hands at a sensor or something. Apparently, looking at the site, it's the opposite. It makes ugly, meaningless crap on the screen from controller or audio input. I guess if you can't beat Mario paint you implement something like this...

    6. Re:I wonder... by Golias · · Score: 1

      At first I thought you could make sound by waving your hands at a sensor or something.

      Hmm... Come to think of it, a software version of the Theremin would be extremely cool.

      Perhaps one could make it a Mac program to work with those iSight cameras.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    7. Re:I wonder... by Destoo · · Score: 1

      Some screensaver.

      A music synthesizer is a device that can make sounds based on various inputs. Turn a knob, the sound changes. Program a beat. apply various effects on the sounds. One track, multi tracks, etc.

      This is the same, applied to light, or image.
      If you remember Cthugha, that's something close to it.
      You can let the music do the controlling, but you can also input light effects and beats with all 4 controllers. That's what the "Interactive screensaver" feature was, in this week's leak of specs.

      --
      Nouvelles de jeux et technologies en français. TC
    8. Re:I wonder... by einTier · · Score: 3, Informative

      I don't think the point is to make a game. There's two ways I see this program. One, it's just a cool screensaver to use while you're streaming MP3's during a party -- and hey, you can play with it. Two, it's meant to be used under the influence of really heavy hallucinogins. If you've never used psychedelic drugs, then that might be hard to understand, but let me assure you that combined with the right drugs, that "meaningless crap" could be the most profound thing ever.

      --
      -------------------------------------------------- $665.95 -- retail price of the beast.
    9. Re:I wonder... by MarkGriz · · Score: 1

      how many will now call Mr. Minter a sellout

      Just the ones who are jealous.

      --
      Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.
    10. Re:I wonder... by th3space · · Score: 1

      A lightsynth is the thing I stare at from 10am until 7pm CST, counting the minutes until the clock tells the bossman it is okay to undo my shackles and allow me to return to my hovel for the evening. Durr.

      --
      "How like you to drag your keyboard to a gun fight." - Aaron Bedard (BANE)
    11. Re:I wonder... by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      dunno.
      I'm happy he gets to be a sellout this way.

      sheep need food, you know.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    12. Re:I wonder... by jericho4.0 · · Score: 1

      Salvia Divinorum, thanks. LSD is so 20th century....

      --
      "A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
    13. Re:I wonder... by stephenisu · · Score: 1
      Salvia is great at closed eye and low light visuals... But Shrooms are where the open-eye visuals are at in my opinion..

      Call me old school (shrooms have speculatively been used since pre-history), but salvia (even extract) can't touch the visuals on shrooms while leaving you in a state that leaves the rest of your brain capable of remembering just what the hell happened to you.

      --
      Sigs? We don't need no stinking sigs!
    14. Re:I wonder... by jericho4.0 · · Score: 1
      Huh. I've had totally immersive experiences on Salvia, with the universe totally replaced by another, and remembered it. Nothing like what shrooms can do. (or have done). Extract only, I don't even try with the straight leaf, unless it's oral.

      Salvia also has a long history. The only known collected samples came from tended plots, it's never been found in the wild, and might be extinct as a wild plant. This, along with the fact that salvia has almost totally lost its ability to grow from seed, point towards a long relationship with humans. Probably not nearly as long as shrooms, though.

      For anyone interested in the subject, I highly recommend the first two thirds of Terrance McKenna's "Food of the Gods".

      --
      "A language that doesn't affect the way you think about programming, is not worth knowing" - Alan Perlis
  2. Wow... by hsteck_ylf · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Well isn't Jeff Special that his most acclaimed development is included in the Xbox 360...

    --
    If you are expecting something here, I don't know what to tell you...
    1. Re:Wow... by SteveX · · Score: 1

      Anyone who's been around gaming a while will remember Jeff Minter and Gridrunner and Attack of the Mutant Camels... the guy's earned some respect.

      Maybe not respect that's relevant these days (he was creating cool stuff on C64 era machines) but still, his stuff was always ahead of its time.

    2. Re:Wow... by Golias · · Score: 1

      Anyone who's been around gaming a while will remember Jeff Minter and Gridrunner and Attack of the Mutant Camels... the guy's earned some respect.

      Dude. I've been around gaming since PONG, and I've never heard of either of those games!

      What did "Attack of the Mutant Camels" run on anyway?

      Shit. I just googled it. The C64. I owned a C64, and a Vic20 before that. Even had the goofy mercury-switch handheled joystick for it. Still never heard of "Attac of the Mutant Camels."

      He's obviously not as huge as you think he is.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    3. Re:Wow... by Golias · · Score: 2, Funny

      Then again, I can't even remember to close an HTML "bold" tag, so what do I know?

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    4. Re:Wow... by Ford+Prefect · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Dude. I've been around gaming since PONG, and I've never heard of either of those games!

      I think Mr. Yak's problems are that he has an uncanny knack of choosing hardware platforms which are doomed to utter failure.

      Witness his numerous games for the Atari ST and Commodore Amiga, and then the Atari-commissioned Llamazap for the Falcon 030. If you've never heard of that particular Atari computer, then that should indicate how successful it was.

      He wrote Tempest 2000 for the Atari Jaguar. Then another version for the Nuon. Which you've probably not heard of either. Oh, and he was working on Unity for the Nintendo Gamecube, but presumably some Nintendo bigwigs sensed that impending-doom vibe - the game got cancelled instead of the console.

      So, basically, Minter on Xbox 360 means that the Xbox is going to die a horrible, horrible death in the marketplace... ;-)

      --
      Tedious Bloggy Stuff - hooray?
    5. Re:Wow... by torpor · · Score: 2, Informative

      Dude. I've been around gaming since PONG, and I've never heard of either of those games!

      hello dude, you must be american. minters' big successes in the early 80's were .. mostly .. for early UK 8-bit scenery ...

      i was always pretty surprised, personally, by the secular nation of american video game markets in the 80's.. a lot of really cool shit happened that the average american video junky missed out on because of the different 'scene' in the states ..

      --
      ; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
    6. Re:Wow... by Golias · · Score: 1

      i was always pretty surprised, personally, by the secular nation of american video game markets

      Secular?

      Did graphics programs in the 80s have something to do with your religion?

      Shouldn't you have abandoned the Earth on the Hale-Bopp comet along with the rest of the Heaven's Gate members? I hate to be the one to tell you, but you've missed the last train out by about eight years.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    7. Re:Wow... by oGMo · · Score: 1
      I think Mr. Yak's problems are that he has an uncanny knack of choosing hardware platforms which are doomed to utter failure.

      This is very possible... I've met a number of people who made and continue to make all the wrong choices. One kid I met in a gameshop had gotten a Saturn, Virtual Boy, Dreamcast, and was picking up an XBOX, convinced that this would be the #1 console. (This was back when the XBOX was pretty new.)

      On one hand, you want to feel sorry; on the other, you have to wonder at what point the person said "this is going to win!" and wonder if they make their decisions based on their favorite color being on the box, or what.

      --

      Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage

    8. Re:Wow... by torpor · · Score: 1

      Did graphics programs in the 80s have something to do with your religion?

      pfftt... you haven't actually played any games from the 80's, have you?

      stupid person. of course video games are a religion! you moron, go back to new-world-order combat school, leave us old people alone.

      hail qix! praise crazy climber!

      --
      ; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
    9. Re:Wow... by Rico_Suave · · Score: 1

      Just because your experience is lacking doesn't negate Minter's accomplishments.

    10. Re:Wow... by snuf23 · · Score: 1

      Well, the Virtual Boy sure is a bad choice - the others at least have some merit. Saturn was pretty interesting for its time, the Dreamcast still has a loyal fan base and a large amount of decent, cheap (or bootlegged for that matter) games, the Xbox has plenty of games to play. Just because something is the number one seller doesn't mean that the competition has nothing to offer.
      I have a GameCube, PS2 and Xbox in my house. The GameCube and Xbox get the most play (although in the Xbox case it's more to play old NES and SNES games). On the PS2 the only thing recently that shook the dust off the case was Katamari Damacy.

      --
      Sometimes my arms bend back.
    11. Re:Wow... by snuf23 · · Score: 1

      I'm American and I know Minter's work very well. Attack of the Mutant Camels and the rest.
      Of course I imagine that those playing bootlegged games back when they were using Ataris and Commodore 64s had more exposure to UK releases.
      The biggest thing I could never understand was why the UK loved the Speccy so much. I guess it was cheap and came out before the C-64. All those ports of Spectrum games to the C-64 had completely crap graphics.

      --
      Sometimes my arms bend back.
    12. Re:Wow... by oGMo · · Score: 1

      The only real reason for any of those platforms now is as a collector's piece. For all intents and purposes, they're failed platforms. If I saw a Virtual Boy for sale (reasonably), I'd probably pick it up... not because I'd play it, but to collect a piece of Nintendo history, even if it was a darker moment.

      The sales status of something doesn't matter to me... if it did, I'd hardly run Linux, or play various lesser RPGs (Everblue 2 rocks), etc. What does interest me is simply the games. XBOX never had any that were console sellers for me. Dreamcast games you can mostly get for other platforms now (Shenmue and Skies of Arcadia being the biggest, for me). Saturn technically had a few interesting games (Nights, Virtua Fighter), but far too expensive an investment.

      Also, if you haven't been keeping up with your PS2 games, you've been missing a lot. Either that or you're a fan of a very limited scope of games (perhaps sports games?). Nothing wrong with that, I guess, but if you've missed stuff like GTA:SA, Jak3, Metal Gear Solid 3, Shin Megami Tensei (3 and DDS), Sly2, Phantom Brave, Ys6, GT4, God of War, you've missed out on quite a lot, even if there are a couple in that list that don't interest you for whatever reason (genre, violence, etc). There are some interesting B games here and there as well (I'm working on Obscure at the moment... kinda a Silent Hill Lite).

      It's all about the games. The next generation will be an interesting thing to see, but currently, the XBOX 360 isn't looking much more enticing than the XBOX. Waiting to see what the PS3 and Revolution have to offer is definitely prudent, and likely to pay off as in previous generations.

      --

      Don't think of it as a flame---it's more like an argument that does 3d6 fire damage

    13. Re:Wow... by stephenisu · · Score: 1
      I think Mr. Yak's problems are that he has an uncanny knack of choosing hardware platforms which are doomed to utter failure.

      Prediction noted..

      --
      Sigs? We don't need no stinking sigs!
    14. Re:Wow... by torpor · · Score: 1

      speccy was a real 'englishmans' computer .. it was fun and easy to program (once you got over the keyboard) and it was sensible.

      the C-64 was anything but sensible. the brits laughed hard at 'the american computer with all its PEEKs and POKEs', and continued bouncing away at the little rubber keys all the while..

      me, personally, i was way more fond of my oric than either C64 or Speccy, though i eventually had all three in my repertoire.. amstrad too, which i thought was pure dope, but i warrant very few Americans had much to do with the CPC464...

      i think the American market, at that time, suffered from a fair bit of ego for the whole computer thing - silicon valley and all that - and didn't really see what other computing efforts were happening in the world, such as at Cambridge, etc...

      --
      ; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
    15. Re:Wow... by snuf23 · · Score: 1

      Either that or you're a fan of a very limited scope of games (perhaps sports games?)

      Wow. State that the PS2 is the least favorite console at my house and get branded a Madden fan.
      I enjoy a wide variety of games and have ever since the Atari 2600 I had in 1979. I am a PC gamer primarily (preferring strategy, FPS, MMOs and RPGs). On the console side the Gamecube gets a lot of use partially because it has more kid friendly games.
      The rash of generic looking 3rd person action games on the current generation of consoles really bores me.
      You argument about missing out on the PS2 games is also valid for the Xbox or Gamecube. On Xbox you get ports of a lot of great PC games. Xbox will be the only system to see Half Life 2 for example. Other great games include Knights of the Old Republic and Phantom Dust. On Gamecube you have the range of Nintendo exclusives, and for something not so kid friendly Resident Evil 4 is pretty sweet.
      I'm not knocking the PS2 - I just can't see some kid sitting there being bummed because he got the wrong console. There are great games available for each of these systems.
      As for the Dreamcast a lot of people I know own and use one because of the last generation 2D shooters that were released on it.

      --
      Sometimes my arms bend back.
    16. Re:Wow... by zero_offset · · Score: 1

      i think the American market, at that time, suffered from a fair bit of ego for the whole computer thing

      Yeah, that tends to happen when you're primarily responsible for a whole series of the most important innvations in human history.

      --

      Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005

    17. Re:Wow... by torpor · · Score: 1

      yeah, i know, the french taught me to appreciate this immensely, same with the hassids and the israelis' ..

      you can't wrap human progress in a flag. to do so is degrading.

      --
      ; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
    18. Re:Wow... by zero_offset · · Score: 1

      You're the one wrapping it in a flag, even if it was only to follow it up with bitching and whining.

      --

      Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005

  3. Rambling... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I believe it finally begins to achieve the potential that I saw all those years ago when I first made Psychedelia... and I am happier with it than I have ever been with anything I've created in my entire career. And we got it into the firmware again... Microsoft firmware. Of the Xbox360 for goat's sake. At last... after more than 20 years' work, one of my lightsynths is going to reach a decent sized audience. Millions and millions...

    Damn... And I thought I could ramble on... and on... for several lines really well... but this guy really has me beat... because he sure knows how to ramble a lot better than I could... and I thought I was an expert at rambling... but he's a lot better than me at rambling... and taking one idea... and dragging it into what could be several paragraphs... or rambling... about one idea... much better than I could... and I thought I was really good at rambling... on and on... for a long time... but he has me beat. :)

  4. millions... by alexandreracine · · Score: 1
    At last... after more than 20 years' work, one of my lightsynths is going to reach a decent sized audience. Millions and millions...
    Really? How much Xbox was sold? 3 millions? Does someone have the sales figures?
    --
    No sig for now.
    1. Re:millions... by SoVeryWrong · · Score: 2, Informative

      According to Microsoft, they've sold approximately 20 million Xboxes as of year end 2004.

  5. 30 Million Xboxs sold by lake2112 · · Score: 1, Informative

    According to the article on CNN.com, there have been about 30 million Xboxs sold world-wide.

    1. Re:30 Million Xboxs sold by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      According to the Microsoft trademark guidelines, the plural of "Microsoft Xbox" is "Microsoft Xbox game consoles."

    2. Re:30 Million Xboxs sold by stephenisu · · Score: 1

      I prefer "Xboxen" but only my nerdier friends understand me. My nerdiest friends just ask me why I am bringing up X-term in the context of a console (not because they are stupid, just that they think they are truly funny).

      --
      Sigs? We don't need no stinking sigs!
  6. Redpoint (artists in the video)'s record label by Acronym · · Score: 3, Informative

    If you like the music in the demo video, visit http://www.hiddenmusic.co.uk/ - the website of Redpoint's label.

  7. Let me be the first to say something POSITIVE by sirenbrian · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Jeez, four comments already, all whining. C'mon, this is a good guy who writes great games, LOVES his work and loves to make other people happy. You'll know I'm right when you actually try this thing and see, and feel, what a cool thing it is. And if you'd waited 20 years for a project to reach a wide audience, you'd write a fair bit too. Nicely done, Jeff, Giles and crew.

    --
    Brian Smith "Jokers and aces, bruisy and blackfern" - Steve Kilbey, Day of the Dead.
    1. Re:Let me be the first to say something POSITIVE by Golias · · Score: 1

      I think the problem is that this was posted on games.slashdot.com.

      Not a lot of FPS and MMORPG players are going to give a crap about an obscure work of visual art from the 80s showing up in the firmware of the upcoming XBox360.

      I see the logic of posting it here, since it is a feature on a game console we are talking about... but it probably would have been more well-received on the front page.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    2. Re:Let me be the first to say something POSITIVE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      furthermore, his previous work is basically the foundation for much of modern audio visualization programs (iTunes; WinAmp, WinMediaPlayer, various xmmc plugins). this software is likely to further influence the field, given it's unique qualities. there has been some experimentation with 3d visualizations and various filters and effects, but this is pretty much state of the art. it's running in HD, and quite fluidly. it's realtime interactive, and it should be pretty accessible being in ROM and using a wireless analouge controller. 4 people can control the thing simultaneously using a variety of control inputs (buttons, sticks,.. I don't know the exact mappings). impressively, this thing is under a half meg of code. check out the video's, which are compressed, low resolution, low framerate relative to the actual realtime xbox360 HD output...

    3. Re:Let me be the first to say something POSITIVE by pnice · · Score: 1

      ...and not everyone that reads games.slashdot.org are into the FPS and MMORPGs.

      --
      My Xbox Live Gamer Card
    4. Re:Let me be the first to say something POSITIVE by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      minter is awesome..

      and well.. fuck.. i might just get xbox360 just because of this.

      minter is a nice guy, does awesome things and well, some platforms he devved for just had bad luck.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    5. Re:Let me be the first to say something POSITIVE by zero_offset · · Score: 1

      That's a stretch. It isn't as if he invented the idea.

      Actually if you read his "History" ramblings on his website, he was rather far behind the curve when it comes to computer stuff across the board. Not that it makes him a bad person or anything, but it's a far cry from giving him credit for subsequent things which happen to resemble something he did at one point.

      --

      Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005

  8. Llamatron? by technopinion · · Score: 1

    Woohoo, can't wait for the Xbox 360 version of Llamatron! I just hope it's as good as the C-64 version was.

    1. Re:Llamatron? by tolan-b · · Score: 1

      My high score was more than double any published in st format's 'send us your llamatron scores', including jeff minter's. i was so proud :p (maybe i still am a bit... maybe..)

  9. Potential evil? by Black+Pete · · Score: 1

    At last... after more than 20 years' work, one of my lightsynths is going to reach a decent sized audience. Millions and millions...

    Maybe it's just me, but this sounded like something Dr. Evil would say (with a pinkie finger to his mouth) :)

  10. Quicktime? by John+Harrison · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Is anybody else impressed that Minter has posted movie files of his xbox 360 lightsynth in quicktime format? I'm sure someone at MS is having a fit about this right now.

    --
    Lasers Controlled Games!
    1. Re:Quicktime? by ZephyrXero · · Score: 1

      Nah, more importantly... we Slashdot users will be furious it wasn't encoded in Ogg Theora/Vorbis :P

      --
      "A truly wise man realizes he knows nothing."
  11. You guys should listen... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    to yourselves. Nearly all of you sound like whining brats. The guy's proud of his achievement for god's sake. You geeks simply do not want anything... ANYTHING... associated with MS to do well. You're all stuck in this rigid and inflexible, adolescent mindset.

    1. Re:You guys should listen... by hsteck_ylf · · Score: 1

      Not so... I love the Xbox and can't wait for Xbox 360... I just don't see the point of this being posted on slashdot... the guy can be as happy and proud of himself as he wants, but this is not the place for it...

      --
      If you are expecting something here, I don't know what to tell you...
    2. Re:You guys should listen... by themuffinking · · Score: 1

      "Don't hate microsoft, they're good!"

      no.

      every os sucks.

      except for the one used on the Nintendo DS.

      I love that.

      whooo!

      double line breaks.

  12. How does this compare to Milkdrop... by Mortimer82 · · Score: 1

    I found Milkdrop before Winamp 3 hit the scenes, and I had loads of fun being the one to introduce it to all my friends, seeing as Nullsoft only started including it by default with Winamp 5.0.

    Anyone seen both in action?

    1. Re:How does this compare to Milkdrop... by Acronym · · Score: 1

      It's not even close. This makes Milkdrop look like a joke; the video's awesome.

    2. Re:How does this compare to Milkdrop... by ClioCJS · · Score: 1

      Let's not forget that in conjunction with EvilLyrics, found at http://www.evillabs.sk/ you can have the lyrics sent to milkdrop as they are sung. No other program can do this in existence. Certainly not in a way where you can download the lyrics and timing information for new songs in near-realtime.

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
    3. Re:How does this compare to Milkdrop... by triso · · Score: 1
      Let's not forget that in conjunction with EvilLyrics, found at http://www.evillabs.sk/ you can have the lyrics sent to milkdrop as they are sung.
      That's irrelevant since everybody knows the words to "Stairway to Heaven" and "Freebird" already.
    4. Re:How does this compare to Milkdrop... by ClioCJS · · Score: 1

      It's far from irrelavant considering you can create a lyric timing file by simply listening to the song and manually hilighting the correct line at the correct time. Then, it's saved, and uploaded, and you get a better experience listening to the song for the rest of your life, as well as any guests who might NOT know the song would now know what they are saying.

      --
      -Clio
      Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
      Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
  13. Re:metaslashdot by Golias · · Score: 1

    Wow. And now you've started a metathread complaining of all the metacomments.

    Now all we need are a few dozen posts complaining about moderation before anything actually falls to the -1 threshold, and our journey to the Dark Side will be complete!

    --

    Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

  14. The XBOX 360... by stu_coates · · Score: 1

    ...bought to you by Llama Man and Monkey Boy!

  15. the coolest thing MS ever did by nickos · · Score: 1

    Wow!!!

    I normally slag off Microsoft like everyone else, but in this case it seems like they had a clue.

    An aside: I remember reading once that Jeff had got into this stuff after reading a book by the guy who did the visual effects in the trippy scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Does anyone remember the name of that book? I have a nasty deeling it's out of print now...

    1. Re:the coolest thing MS ever did by Ford+Prefect · · Score: 1

      An aside: I remember reading once that Jeff had got into this stuff after reading a book by the guy who did the visual effects in the trippy scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Does anyone remember the name of that book? I have a nasty deeling it's out of print now...

      Okay, so it's not the book or its title, but have some Slit-Scan photography, including the 2001 imagery unwrapped!

      --
      Tedious Bloggy Stuff - hooray?
    2. Re:the coolest thing MS ever did by nickos · · Score: 1

      Sorry to answer my own post but after a bit of Googling I found the answer. The book was Digital Harmony (published 1980) by John Whitney

    3. Re:the coolest thing MS ever did by nickos · · Score: 1

      Very cool, thanks! I love this stuff :D

    4. Re:the coolest thing MS ever did by kingsmedley · · Score: 1

      I normally slag off Microsoft like everyone else, but in this case it seems like they had a clue.

      I agree completely. Having the VLM (lightsynth) built in to the JagCD was perhaps that doomed unit's single greatest saving grace. I was surprised when the Dreamcast, Playstation 2, and Xbox did not bother to include a similair feature even though all those units were developed post-Jag and all featured audio CD playback.

      --
      Must... think up... something... clever!
  16. Gddammit..... by szyzyg · · Score: 1

    I really wanted to avoid giving Microsoft any of my hard earned cash. Then again it's in the firmware, so if MS subsidise the console price then maybe I can justify it.

  17. this is great by denidoom · · Score: 1
    Oh finally I can override that damn Need for Speed Underground 2 soundtrack!

    I wonder how customizable this whole audio set up will be. Will the annoying Holo flavored start menu be replaced and can we play our own music while it sits idle? I'm tired of the creepy sounds.

    The Lightsynth is a great addition but I like a simpler Ambient Light. Now, if only the hard drive weren't so loud...

    --
    Lane Myer: I have great fear of tools. I once made a birdhouse in woodshop and the fair housing committee condemned it.
  18. Yay for Jeff! by zulux · · Score: 1, Troll

    Too bad for us that is with the XBOX, but congrats to Jeff for getting some eyeballs in front of his work.

    Unity (Jeff's VLM/Game) for the Gamecube was cancelled too soon.

    Sucks that it's an XBOX. I like the XBOX360 PowerPC clone of Nintedo's Revolution but hate the fact that Microsoft is using one monopoly in one market to buy their way into a second.

    Some of us like to see people earn their sucess, and not steal it.

    --

    Moneyed corporations, non-working 'poor' and criminal prisoners are turning productive citizens into tax-slaves.

    1. Re:Yay for Jeff! by radish · · Score: 1

      Some of us like to see people earn their sucess, and not steal it.

      I don't remember Gates or Ballmer being prosecuted for any bank robberies lately. I think, maybe, they earned their success by, you know, selling lots of software. And I really like how the Xbox360 is a "clone" of a product which hasn't even been announced and doesn't have a public spec.

      --

      ---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"

    2. Re:Yay for Jeff! by KillShill · · Score: 1

      you seem to be forgetting the only member of the RIAA and MPAA is making consoles and games...

      i'll give you a hint: it's spelled ynos backwards and it's sony forwards.

      and lets not forget the price fixing, sue happy nintendo (i'm being terribly concise, so forgive me if i miss anything).

      so basically i say a BIG FUCK YOU to all 3 console manufacturers. even more so for their damn DRM schemes to rob us of our ability to own our own hardware.

      is that sufficient?

      --
      Science : Proprietary , Knowledge : Open Source
  19. Visualization is cool, but... by fleck_99_99 · · Score: 1
    ... will it also feature GridRunner?

    I can't imagine why I'm suddenly missing my Vic-20...

    --
    seven two six five
    seven four six one seven
    two six four two e
  20. NO, NO, NO!! by M.C.+Hampster · · Score: 1

    The difference is that Microsoft is a convicted monopollist!!!!111oneoneelevenonehundredeleven

    --
    Forget the whales - save the babies.
  21. Re:metaslashdot by warmcat · · Score: 1

    Where's the lightswitch?

  22. Ah, finally... by Dan+Up+Baby · · Score: 1

    A killer app that will allow Microsoft to sell systems like Atari or VMLabs. I don't know if they'll be able to do it without a launch title like Merlin Racing, though.

  23. if('Virtual Light Machine' == 'God'); by kerobaros · · Score: 1

    Say what you will about Microsoft, but if the original VLM was addicting enough to make me actually want to hunt down a Jaguar and Jaguar CD, then I think I'll be more than willing to pick up an Xbox 360. Once the price goes under $200, of course.

    One more thing: have any of you ever spent any time with an Xbox? The company may be a piece of trash, but their hardware design is, in my experience, immaculate. I'm still using a Microsoft mouse from.. God, must be 1995 or something. The thing just won't die. I have a feeling the Xbox could have the same roach-like lifespan.

    1. Re:if('Virtual Light Machine' == 'God'); by Colol · · Score: 1

      I have to admit I was one of those massive skeptics when word came out that Microsoft was releasing a gaming console. Having actually owned one since a few months after it launched, though, I'm in love. The power supply issues aside, Microsoft put together an excellent system both from the hardware and software sides. Xbox Live works brilliantly, I've had nary a disc read problem, and unlike my PS2 (and PSX before it), I haven't had to replace any controllers due to failure.

      Microsoft is definitely a hit-or-miss company, but when they hit something (and as you mentioned, they tend to do so with hardware), they nail it. For me, the Xbox captured the goodness of the Dreamcast (the Sega games didn't hurt ;) in a much bigger, blacker package.

      If the release price is reasonable enough, Xbox 360 will easily top my Christmas list. The potential of the system is great, and the lightsynth is just icing on the cake. Now if Unity would just make an appearance as an Xbox 360 game...

    2. Re:if('Virtual Light Machine' == 'God'); by Suddenly_Dead · · Score: 1

      "Your", not "You're", tool.

      People have opinions. If you prefer something else, or just hate the Microsoft there's no need to question someone else's sexuality over it. It just makes you look insecure.

  24. When the 360 falls in price by Rhys · · Score: 1

    I might have to buy one. The VLM on the Jaguar (also in ROM, written by Jeff) was awesome for it's time and still looks fairly cool.

    --
    Slashdot Patriotism: We Support our Dupes!
  25. Finally! by snuf23 · · Score: 1

    A good reason to start dropping acid again!

    --
    Sometimes my arms bend back.
  26. Re:Ugh, why did it have to be the XBox360? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Just because it's the world's largest console doesn't mean it's the best.

  27. Re:Ugh, why did it have to be the XBox360? by KillShill · · Score: 1

    have you seen the ps3? it's about 1.5 times larger than the xbox 360.

    and the revolution is smaller than both of them.

    --
    Science : Proprietary , Knowledge : Open Source