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Investor Money Goes To Magic Lag Reducing Tech

Gamasutra reports on Texas technology company Bigfoot networks, which just received a $4 Million investment to develop a lag-reducing hardware PC card. From the piece: "According to the firm, it will bring to market the world's first Gaming Network Accelerator card, which will allow online gamers to play their favorite games with less lag. The company explained: 'Lag is the number one problem in online video games today, and Bigfoot Networks is the only company in the world whose sole mission is to fight lag', but gave no specific technical explanation about how it intends to do this." Greg Costikyan spells it out on the Games*Design*Art*Culture blog: "So yes, there might be a business here. But if so, it will be a business built largely on bullshit."

14 of 133 comments (clear)

  1. Made from oil squeezed from genuine snakes. by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 4, Funny

    I wonder if these are the same people as the ones behind the magic cellphone boosting sticker.

  2. Special Driver? by elasticwings · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe it's a regular old NIC, but part of the driver just shuts down all your P2P apps and torrents.

  3. It's filled with entangled qubits! by santiago · · Score: 4, Funny

    The card must have a reservoir of quantom-entangled particles that can be used to communicate instantaneously with the server (which has the other half of each pair). You'll probably have to subscribe to a service that ships you new bundles of particles each month to replace the bandwidth you use up. Be careful not to do anything important with it, or you'll violate causality, and cause all sorts of trouble for the universe...

    1. Re:It's filled with entangled qubits! by vertinox · · Score: 2, Funny

      Does it mean I have to look inside my computer box each time I want to know if I've been fragged or not?

      And if I don't look... Does that mean my online Counterstrike guy is neither alive nor dead, but stuck in some limbo where he has neither rescued the hostages nor got an Desert Eagle round to the head?

      I don't know about this service...

      --
      "I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
      -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
  4. Re:Weakest link? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think it's obvious to all of us that the NIC is certainly not the weakest link in a connection.

    It's obvious to intelligent people. It's not obvious to top-notch leveraging 24/7 TCO-oriented business-cunts (who synergize front-end e-commerce and harness B2B portals to recontextualize best-of-breed systems in holistic technologies).

  5. using beta hardware here.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Suck it, net haters. Beta hardware here. Using the special optimized ping utility they supplied with the board:

    C:\>ping www.bigfootnetworks.com

    Pinging www.bigfootnetworks.com [66.219.46.153] with 32 bytes of data:

    Reply from 66.219.46.153: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=47
    Reply from 66.219.46.153: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=47
    Reply from 66.219.46.153: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=47
    Reply from 66.219.46.153: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=47

    Ping statistics for 66.219.46.153:
            Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
    Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
            Minimum = 1ms, Maximum = 1ms, Average = 1ms


    See? *Obviously* it works. Heck, it's so powerful and well-optimized that it works even if I take the new net card out!

  6. This is nothing. by Burgundy+Advocate · · Score: 2, Funny
    Once I get my new quantum-entangled NIC and running, I'll have zero lag EVAR! "Accelerators"... hah! Try instantaneous reaction!

    --
    Dragging people kicking and screaming into reality since 1996.
  7. No, you just need Monster Cables by Animats · · Score: 5, Funny
    Monster Cables, the darling of high-end audio wannabees, now sells computer cables. All you need is to connect your joystick using a gold-plated Monster USB cable to realize its "true performance potential ".

    Monster USB(TM) Ultimate Performance USB Cable

    Today's Advanced, High Speed USB Peripherals Require A Higher Performance USB Cable
    Not long ago, the world of USB was limited to low-speed devices like keyboards, hubs, and scanners, so using ordinary USB cable could suffice. Things have changed. USB is now used for high-speed peripherals like speakers and video capture delivering larger and different kinds of data at much faster rates with incredible bandwidth. Ordinary USB cable isn't designed to meet the new high speed demand. High attenuation can occur, which may result in "clipped" sound, lost frames of video when capturing, and connection failure. Of course, data isn't the only element a USB cable carries. In many cases, it must carry power, too. Average USB cables often promote loss, because they can't transfer all the power needed. This invites, lockup, hard shutdowns, etc...

    Introducing Ultimate Performance Monster USB: The Only High Speed USB Cable You'll Ever Need
    Higher speed. More bandwidth. That's what the latest generation of USB devices demand and only Monster USB delivers. Here's how: Internally, the conductors are specially wound using our advanced SingleHelix(TM) helical winding process. This enables Monster USB cable to deliver 500 MHz of bandwidth. That's five times the minimum USB requirement! You'll enjoy crystal clear sound and the highest resolution images possible. The RF and EM noise problems that commonly plague lesser cables is combated with not one or two, but three separate layers of high density shielding. As a result, you'll get the fastest, most accurate data transfer possible. Thanks to our ultra-large gauge power conductor, you'll get all the power needed to power-hungry USB devices, without loss. The internal construction of every Monster USB cable is created by a laser-controlled USB Extruder which ensures that the cable meets the highest performance standards for ultra-fast data transfer, up to 400 Mbps. And, precision 24k gold contacts maximize signal integrity and corrosion resistance.

    Prices start at only $24.95!

    And for that extra, melee-winning boost, get Monster Cable Ethernet Cable. Advanced XLN® Xtra Low Noise® construction delivers fast, reliable data transfer -- up to 100Mbps. 24k gold contacts provide error--free data transfer and maximum corrosion resistance.

  8. Re:The "gold cables" of gaming? by MarkGriz · · Score: 2, Funny

    "I'm VERY curious to how they plan to eliminate lag introduced by routers that they have no control over."

    By getting the routers to support the NO_LAG bit, of course.

    --
    Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder.
  9. Why has no one mentioned by DangerSteel · · Score: 2, Funny

    Just turn off the porn !

  10. This means further delays... by monopole · · Score: 4, Funny

    Both Duke Nukem Forever and the Phantom console will have to be redesigned to incorporate this technology.

  11. Galvanic corrosion by mbessey · · Score: 2, Funny

    Anybody remember from chem what happens when you place two dissimilar metals against each other?

    Uh, nothing, unless there's an electrolyte in contact with both. I think if the back of your computer is regularly getting splashed with salt water, you might want to think about moving it to another location...

  12. Re:Weakest link? by Schraegstrichpunkt · · Score: 2, Funny

    So that's what Web 2.0 lets me do...

  13. Re:Weakest link? by apoc.famine · · Score: 2, Funny

    Plus they obviously have never played any games:

    Lag is the number one problem in online video games today

    Punk-ass campers, script kiddies, and bitchy n00bs are the number 1-3 problems (pick your order) in online video games today. And have been for years now. I'd have to put lag fairly low on the list.

    --
    Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor