See, that's the frustrating thing: I really like the hardware, and I find the interface to be fairly intuitive...were it not for locking people into their own store (and were it not for being stuck with AT&T), I would very likely own an iPhone. So long as appstore lock-in and AT&T exclusivity are around though, I won't be a paying customer.
No, because cars that are artificially limited (including my own, a 2004 RSX Type-S) are generally capped at 155 MPH. I don't know about you, but I have no intention of driving 155 MPH. If I was interested in driving faster than that, I wouldn't have bought a car that was artificially limited. I do, however, intend to install whatever I want on my phone without wondering if I have to hack the hardware first, which is why I have a phone where I can do exactly that.
But seriously folks...the new iPhone hardware and many of the additions they are making to the OS are really great...but I'm sorry, I still can't get past the walled garden. Again, I know the app store would have everything I would likely need, but I just can't accept being told that an application would be inappropriate for me to use. And yes, I know I could just jailbreak it...but that's not the point. I don't care that I can get around it, I care that the walled garden exists in the first place. As a consumer, the best I can do is vote with my wallet.
This is only my opinion, I don't speak for others, YMMV, etc applies.
I suppose I meant that as far as consoles were concerned I grew up with the PSX. We weren't allowed a console before that (since they were games only devices and our dad liked us to have stuff that was at least slightly educational). So I mostly grew up with Amigas.. now I think about it I used to use a Mega Drive controller in my Amiga. Before that we had a Commodore 128 as well with a little joystick.
My parents thought of any video game as a learning tool, insofar as hand-eye coordination, problem solving, and quick thinking were concerned. We already loved playing outside and being physically active, so they saw no reason we shouldn't flex our minds as well.
I guess I think of the N64 and Xbox controllers as bad because of their layout of the analog sticks. I actually thought the Xbox one had a centrally mounted analog stick as well until I looked it up just now (despite using one a couple of times).
Nope, they're extremely different:-) On top of that, the Xbox 360 controller is far superior to the original Xbox controller in pretty much every way (except that near-useless D-pad. Grr.)
Oh yeah I definitely value gameplay above graphics, for example I recently got 3D Dot Game Heroes which purposefully emulates the oldskool 2D RPG style (but in 3D), I just also like the wow factor I get when diving out of a plane in Just Cause 2 and looking at the island below me - it really does look amazingly real.
OOOOO I've been wanting to pick up 3D Dot Game Heroes, it looked pretty bad-ass. Glad to hear it's worth buying.
26 here as well, so likewise I've probably been gaming for 22-23 years, but I guess I just took a different path:P
Between my fiancee and I, we have the following:
Atari 2600, NES (boxy and toploader), Genesis, two SNES, N64, PSOne, Dreamcast, PS2, Gamecube, Xbox, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Game Gear, two Game Boys (the originals), two Game Boy Advance SP, two Nintendo DS Lites, a fairly up-to-date gaming desktop, a slightly out of date gaming-capable laptop, and some of those older Tiger Electronics LCD handhelds. We take our gaming seriously:-)
I bought a Wii and a PS3 in this generation, but the Wii stopped getting used as soon as I had the PS3 so I just left it at my mum's house one Christmas.
Oofa, bad choice:/ There are a LOT of awesome Wii games. Aside from the standard Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Galaxy games, there's also Madworld, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, the House of the Dead ports, House of the Dead: Overkill, Dead Space: Extraction, Metroid Prime Trilogy, and plenty more. Hell, Madworld and Muramasa: The Demon Blade ALONE make it worth buying a Wii.
We also dig all the cooking games out there, like Cooking Mama, Order Up, etc; they're lot of fun to play when downing some Jäger shots:-)
last time I checked, there were still literally hundreds of thousands of private businesses out there, and there isn't a single industry in which government runs 100% the design, production, distribution, and funding.
Claims of socialism in this country (at least, to the extent that people have been making since the 2008 elections) are knee jerk reactions at best and extensive fear mongering at worst. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Obama is all roses and wine...but he's hardly the harbinger of socialism so many people try to pin him with.
1) I remember reading about Fable or Fable II a few years ago and thought it sounded good. Didn't realise it was XBox exclusive though.
Fable I eventually made it to the PC. There are rumblings that Fable II is on its way to the PC as well, although nothing official has been announced. For now, Fable II remains a 360 exclusive.
2) I've grown up with PS controllers so I'm obviously biased that way, but I've never enjoyed stuff like the N64 and Xbox controller (they're both very similar IMO). I've never had any issues with the playstation controllers (apart from once getting blisters while playing Dynasty Warriors!), always found them to be nice and comfortable even when playing for over 13 hours straight (Uncharted 2).
I grew up with Commmodore 64 keyboards and Atari/NES controllers...so yeah:-)
I don't really see how an N64 controller and a Xbox controller are similar...they're about as similar as a an Atari controller and this monstrosity.
3. Not a great excuse, as you say PCs have been able to keep cool for much longer.
I said nothing of cooling or hardware...I said complexity, in reference to overall game design, control schemes, and general gameplay.
I didn't realise it's been 5 years already for the 360 - the time has flown by! I still don't feel we're extracting the full potential out of this current gen though - the new input systems and stereo 3D capabilities are going to be a lot of fun:)
Not by a long shot! Every year, games that are coming out for the consoles are still getting better and better. Unfortunately though, they are kind of holding back development on the PC gaming front. The hardware in modern consoles really lags behind what is available on the PC, and I think this puts a huge damper (graphically and computationally) on multi-platform games.
I suppose another console generation will be necessary for nice high res, high framerate 3D on truly complex scenes, though we're almost at photorealistic level already with the current generation
People used to say the same thing about the SNES:-) Trust me, we have a long way to go before we approach truly life-like visuals in video games.
so I expect the next couple of gens will have an even longer time scale unless the console makers come out with more gimmicks that truly require a main unit upgrade. Look at how many people are still happy with the PS2 and Wii level of graphics..
While I'm a sucker for great graphics as much as the next guy, I still care far more about gameplay. In some cases, graphics add to the gameplay, and in some cases they are just eye candy. Regardless, as long as something is fun, I don't care if it's just squars (Atari) or 65 gazillion colors with hyper-realistic curvatures (uh...nothing): I primarily care that a game is fun to play.
Let me also take this time to say that, as a long-time gamer (26 years old, so I've been gaming for 22 years at this point), if you can afford it, don't lock yourself out of buying a console because it's from a "rival company" or whatever...games are games. It doesn't matter what console they appear on, all that matters is that they are fun.
As Jeremy from Pure Pwnage once said, "You put a mouse in my hand, or a controller, or an arcade stick, it doesn't matter...the end result is gonna be the same."
Quinn: "I think the great struggle is all made up...the only thing we're struggling against is him." Debbie: "So wait, you're saying communism is bad?" Quinn: "What are you, two years old? Hasn't history proven that Marx's vision of an egalitarian utopia is unattainable, inevitably creating an oligarchy more oppressive to the proletariat than the bourgeoisie it vilifies?" Stormy: "I have to pee."
I don't think quoting a Senator who is reviled by just about everyone, regardless of party affiliation, is indicative of the general consensus in this country.
...how is this any different than radio and TV? Do we not already have the emergency broadcast system that can barge in and essentially "turn off" radio and TV services?
Disclaimer: I own gaming consoles from many different companies (Atari, Sega, Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, etc), and although I use Windows 7 on my gaming rig, I have Ubuntu running on everything else.
but after Vista and the 360 RRoD problems, they've gone back to being a joke in my eyes
That's a shame. Windows 7 and everything from the Falcon revision or later for the 360 have been solid, well-made products. For me, the 360 was worth it for a few reasons:
1. Exclusives. There are some Xbox Live Arcade exclusives ('Splosion Man, Trials HD, and Shadow Complex alone are almost worth the price of the console) and some retail exclusives (Fable II and soon III, the Crackdown series, Chromehounds, Dead Rising, etc.)
2. The controller. I know that the dual shock is considered to be the "pinnacle" of controller design...but fuck that. I've always found it to be a bit awkward to hold, and slightly too small. The 360 controller is, aside from the horrendous d-pad, just about perfect. YMMV, of course.
3. This no longer applies, but keep in mind that the 360 was the first 7th gen console that was released, and ushered in a new era in complexity for consoles (admittedly, complexity that we PC gamers had enjoyed for nearly a decade, but still...it was exciting.) My time spent with friends when the 360 first launched are some great memories, so even though the console is only five years old, I already have nostalgia associated with it.
Just like people complaining how in Star Wars, Han Solo said he made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs...yes, we know that parsecs are a measure of distance, Solo was talking about being able to complete the race using a shorter route than the standard 18 parsecs, which is why a measure of distance makes sense.
Disclaimer: some people may shout "retcon" at this explanation, but at this point singling out each instance retconning in the Star Wars universe is a wasted effort.
And what's with all the love for Sunshine? The premise sounded like another typical, tedious, scientifically illiterate Hollywood movie all the way down to the secret killer, crew getting picked off one by one, and impossibly large plot holes. How was it not awful?
Well, for one thing, that's not what it was about at all. It focused on the interactions and relationships between people when they are on a mission that could either save or doom the entire solar system. It's done a fairly realistic manner, from the ship they are in to their interactions to their responsibilities. The whole "crew picked off one by one" happens literally in 10 of the last 20 minutes of the movie, and although the reason for it plays a major role in the final outcome, in the scope of the story it has almost zero relevance.
Another reason why Sunshine gets a lot of love is that it doesn't take place all that far in the future, and every single piece of technology seen in it could conceivably be built today...just not efficiently or cheaply. It's science fiction solidly based in reality (although the "bomb" concept they use is a bit out there), which is a very rare thing.
Logan's Run is a classic in every sense and, in my opinion, shouldn't be fucked with. Still, if someone HAS to do it, the guy that wrote Sunshine (which was a modern day masterpiece) is certainly a good choice.
Yeah. Here's to hoping when the Supreme Court FINALLY releases a decision on Bilski v Kappos, that "pending" status is changed to "no way in hell" status.
5% of the apps were found to have the ability to make calls, and 2% can send text messages, without the mobile user doing anything
Emphasis mine. I'm not saying it's right that this could occur, but I operate under the assumption that anything I do online or with my phone is not private.
Slashdot Mirror
See, that's the frustrating thing: I really like the hardware, and I find the interface to be fairly intuitive...were it not for locking people into their own store (and were it not for being stuck with AT&T), I would very likely own an iPhone. So long as appstore lock-in and AT&T exclusivity are around though, I won't be a paying customer.
No, because cars that are artificially limited (including my own, a 2004 RSX Type-S) are generally capped at 155 MPH. I don't know about you, but I have no intention of driving 155 MPH. If I was interested in driving faster than that, I wouldn't have bought a car that was artificially limited. I do, however, intend to install whatever I want on my phone without wondering if I have to hack the hardware first, which is why I have a phone where I can do exactly that.
Apples to oranges, bud. Apples to oranges.
Goatse.
But seriously folks...the new iPhone hardware and many of the additions they are making to the OS are really great...but I'm sorry, I still can't get past the walled garden. Again, I know the app store would have everything I would likely need, but I just can't accept being told that an application would be inappropriate for me to use. And yes, I know I could just jailbreak it...but that's not the point. I don't care that I can get around it, I care that the walled garden exists in the first place. As a consumer, the best I can do is vote with my wallet.
This is only my opinion, I don't speak for others, YMMV, etc applies.
I suppose I meant that as far as consoles were concerned I grew up with the PSX. We weren't allowed a console before that (since they were games only devices and our dad liked us to have stuff that was at least slightly educational). So I mostly grew up with Amigas.. now I think about it I used to use a Mega Drive controller in my Amiga. Before that we had a Commodore 128 as well with a little joystick.
My parents thought of any video game as a learning tool, insofar as hand-eye coordination, problem solving, and quick thinking were concerned. We already loved playing outside and being physically active, so they saw no reason we shouldn't flex our minds as well.
I guess I think of the N64 and Xbox controllers as bad because of their layout of the analog sticks. I actually thought the Xbox one had a centrally mounted analog stick as well until I looked it up just now (despite using one a couple of times).
Nope, they're extremely different:-) On top of that, the Xbox 360 controller is far superior to the original Xbox controller in pretty much every way (except that near-useless D-pad. Grr.)
Oh yeah I definitely value gameplay above graphics, for example I recently got 3D Dot Game Heroes which purposefully emulates the oldskool 2D RPG style (but in 3D), I just also like the wow factor I get when diving out of a plane in Just Cause 2 and looking at the island below me - it really does look amazingly real.
OOOOO I've been wanting to pick up 3D Dot Game Heroes, it looked pretty bad-ass. Glad to hear it's worth buying.
26 here as well, so likewise I've probably been gaming for 22-23 years, but I guess I just took a different path :P
Between my fiancee and I, we have the following:
Atari 2600, NES (boxy and toploader), Genesis, two SNES, N64, PSOne, Dreamcast, PS2, Gamecube, Xbox, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, Game Gear, two Game Boys (the originals), two Game Boy Advance SP, two Nintendo DS Lites, a fairly up-to-date gaming desktop, a slightly out of date gaming-capable laptop, and some of those older Tiger Electronics LCD handhelds. We take our gaming seriously :-)
I bought a Wii and a PS3 in this generation, but the Wii stopped getting used as soon as I had the PS3 so I just left it at my mum's house one Christmas.
Oofa, bad choice :/ There are a LOT of awesome Wii games. Aside from the standard Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Galaxy games, there's also Madworld, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, the House of the Dead ports, House of the Dead: Overkill, Dead Space: Extraction, Metroid Prime Trilogy, and plenty more. Hell, Madworld and Muramasa: The Demon Blade ALONE make it worth buying a Wii.
We also dig all the cooking games out there, like Cooking Mama, Order Up, etc; they're lot of fun to play when downing some Jäger shots :-)
Honestly, I have no freakin' idea. It makes as much sense as Keith Richards reaching his 70th birthday.
last time I checked, there were still literally hundreds of thousands of private businesses out there, and there isn't a single industry in which government runs 100% the design, production, distribution, and funding.
Claims of socialism in this country (at least, to the extent that people have been making since the 2008 elections) are knee jerk reactions at best and extensive fear mongering at worst. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Obama is all roses and wine...but he's hardly the harbinger of socialism so many people try to pin him with.
Your sig applies aptly, might I add.
1) I remember reading about Fable or Fable II a few years ago and thought it sounded good. Didn't realise it was XBox exclusive though.
Fable I eventually made it to the PC. There are rumblings that Fable II is on its way to the PC as well, although nothing official has been announced. For now, Fable II remains a 360 exclusive.
2) I've grown up with PS controllers so I'm obviously biased that way, but I've never enjoyed stuff like the N64 and Xbox controller (they're both very similar IMO). I've never had any issues with the playstation controllers (apart from once getting blisters while playing Dynasty Warriors!), always found them to be nice and comfortable even when playing for over 13 hours straight (Uncharted 2).
I grew up with Commmodore 64 keyboards and Atari/NES controllers...so yeah :-)
I don't really see how an N64 controller and a Xbox controller are similar...they're about as similar as a an Atari controller and this monstrosity.
3. Not a great excuse, as you say PCs have been able to keep cool for much longer.
I said nothing of cooling or hardware...I said complexity, in reference to overall game design, control schemes, and general gameplay.
I didn't realise it's been 5 years already for the 360 - the time has flown by! I still don't feel we're extracting the full potential out of this current gen though - the new input systems and stereo 3D capabilities are going to be a lot of fun :)
Not by a long shot! Every year, games that are coming out for the consoles are still getting better and better. Unfortunately though, they are kind of holding back development on the PC gaming front. The hardware in modern consoles really lags behind what is available on the PC, and I think this puts a huge damper (graphically and computationally) on multi-platform games.
I suppose another console generation will be necessary for nice high res, high framerate 3D on truly complex scenes, though we're almost at photorealistic level already with the current generation
People used to say the same thing about the SNES :-) Trust me, we have a long way to go before we approach truly life-like visuals in video games.
so I expect the next couple of gens will have an even longer time scale unless the console makers come out with more gimmicks that truly require a main unit upgrade. Look at how many people are still happy with the PS2 and Wii level of graphics..
While I'm a sucker for great graphics as much as the next guy, I still care far more about gameplay. In some cases, graphics add to the gameplay, and in some cases they are just eye candy. Regardless, as long as something is fun, I don't care if it's just squars (Atari) or 65 gazillion colors with hyper-realistic curvatures (uh...nothing): I primarily care that a game is fun to play.
Let me also take this time to say that, as a long-time gamer (26 years old, so I've been gaming for 22 years at this point), if you can afford it, don't lock yourself out of buying a console because it's from a "rival company" or whatever...games are games. It doesn't matter what console they appear on, all that matters is that they are fun.
As Jeremy from Pure Pwnage once said, "You put a mouse in my hand, or a controller, or an arcade stick, it doesn't matter...the end result is gonna be the same."
Quinn: "I think the great struggle is all made up...the only thing we're struggling against is him."
Debbie: "So wait, you're saying communism is bad?"
Quinn: "What are you, two years old? Hasn't history proven that Marx's vision of an egalitarian utopia is unattainable, inevitably creating an oligarchy more oppressive to the proletariat than the bourgeoisie it vilifies?"
Stormy: "I have to pee."
I don't think quoting a Senator who is reviled by just about everyone, regardless of party affiliation, is indicative of the general consensus in this country.
...how is this any different than radio and TV? Do we not already have the emergency broadcast system that can barge in and essentially "turn off" radio and TV services?
Disclaimer: I own gaming consoles from many different companies (Atari, Sega, Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, etc), and although I use Windows 7 on my gaming rig, I have Ubuntu running on everything else.
but after Vista and the 360 RRoD problems, they've gone back to being a joke in my eyes
That's a shame. Windows 7 and everything from the Falcon revision or later for the 360 have been solid, well-made products. For me, the 360 was worth it for a few reasons:
1. Exclusives. There are some Xbox Live Arcade exclusives ('Splosion Man, Trials HD, and Shadow Complex alone are almost worth the price of the console) and some retail exclusives (Fable II and soon III, the Crackdown series, Chromehounds, Dead Rising, etc.)
2. The controller. I know that the dual shock is considered to be the "pinnacle" of controller design...but fuck that. I've always found it to be a bit awkward to hold, and slightly too small. The 360 controller is, aside from the horrendous d-pad, just about perfect. YMMV, of course.
3. This no longer applies, but keep in mind that the 360 was the first 7th gen console that was released, and ushered in a new era in complexity for consoles (admittedly, complexity that we PC gamers had enjoyed for nearly a decade, but still...it was exciting.) My time spent with friends when the 360 first launched are some great memories, so even though the console is only five years old, I already have nostalgia associated with it.
I just finally upgraded all of the connections in my house to Gigabit Ethernet, you fucking clod you!
...until students start taking field trips to other planets, as seen on Spaceship Earth in Epcot Center.
Just like people complaining how in Star Wars, Han Solo said he made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs...yes, we know that parsecs are a measure of distance, Solo was talking about being able to complete the race using a shorter route than the standard 18 parsecs, which is why a measure of distance makes sense.
Source.
Disclaimer: some people may shout "retcon" at this explanation, but at this point singling out each instance retconning in the Star Wars universe is a wasted effort.
Sorry, I meant the general "you", not "you, amRadioHed". My bad -_-;;
So it's just like Vista-era security? You know, the same annoying "Allow or Deny" people used to make fun of?
So you're saying your iPhone is like Vista?
So now you're pissed that it doesn't work like Vista-era security by asking if you want allow or not? Make up your mind, people! Sheesh!
And what's with all the love for Sunshine? The premise sounded like another typical, tedious, scientifically illiterate Hollywood movie all the way down to the secret killer, crew getting picked off one by one, and impossibly large plot holes. How was it not awful?
Well, for one thing, that's not what it was about at all. It focused on the interactions and relationships between people when they are on a mission that could either save or doom the entire solar system. It's done a fairly realistic manner, from the ship they are in to their interactions to their responsibilities. The whole "crew picked off one by one" happens literally in 10 of the last 20 minutes of the movie, and although the reason for it plays a major role in the final outcome, in the scope of the story it has almost zero relevance.
Another reason why Sunshine gets a lot of love is that it doesn't take place all that far in the future, and every single piece of technology seen in it could conceivably be built today...just not efficiently or cheaply. It's science fiction solidly based in reality (although the "bomb" concept they use is a bit out there), which is a very rare thing.
Not to mention it is a stunningly beautiful film.
Logan's Run is a classic in every sense and, in my opinion, shouldn't be fucked with. Still, if someone HAS to do it, the guy that wrote Sunshine (which was a modern day masterpiece) is certainly a good choice.
That simultaneously makes my joke even funnier and makes me an even bigger dickhead.
No offense intended :/
So they are trying to patent software.
Yeah. Here's to hoping when the Supreme Court FINALLY releases a decision on Bilski v Kappos, that "pending" status is changed to "no way in hell" status.
I exposed your mom's private data last night...but it was too corrupted to be worth anything.
Zing!
5% of the apps were found to have the ability to make calls, and 2% can send text messages, without the mobile user doing anything
Emphasis mine. I'm not saying it's right that this could occur, but I operate under the assumption that anything I do online or with my phone is not private.
I think it's rather foolish to assume otherwise.
^^^This. My DS is also my eBook reader.
/sarcasm
HAHA, Tom Hanks.