Wouldn't they then have a complete, total monopoly on the graphics card market then?
I'm no expert on the gfx card business front (I only vaguely remember the 3dfx Voodoo series), but isn't that sort of consolidation usually not so good for advancing technology and staying competitive?
Um, ArsonSmith, you said "his" answer. You're implying that the AC is a male, when that AC actually decried Big Brother as a sexist term.
At the risk of misusing the term, I think that's ironic? I am a Canadian who did grow up when that Alanis Morissette song was popular, so... I might be wrong.
The HP laptop ($2000 Can. plus tax) I bought has about the same configuration as the first generation Macbook Pro (compare -- $2100-2200 Can. eight months ago when I bought my laptop)... The x1600 isn't underclocked and didn't suffer overheating problems like the first gen of MBPros did, and the extra $300 Canadian I paid for the complete accidental damage warranty is in my mind a godsend.
I appreciate what Apple can do by compartmentalizing their entire line into a few models (they can be very price competitive and with good manufacturing turnover times), but I don't think that Macs always have the price - performance ratio over a PC. It's almost like they're competing for different markets, no?
That said, yes, I agree, the design is cool, backlit keys and anodized whatever it's made out of metal or what not. I almost bought one too. =)
I find it somewhat horrifying that it's even possible that CSI can be considered a standard to measure real-world applications' effectiveness. Seriously, with CSI, it's almost like Arthur C. Clarke's third law applies by default.
Wasn't the point of the article to apply some sort of scientific approach to game tuning? Sure, you can make the argument for tuning as "art", but what happens when the devs just make a downright stupid decision? In, say, a timed segment of a game where one has to manuveur (sp?) through a bunch of obstacles, the mean time will go up dependent on how difficult the section is. I've played games where some parts are insanely difficult for me to complete, yet other "more difficult" parts later on are a cakewalk. Do they factor in the mean time for reattempting a section? I have no idea, but it seems like a logical step.
I agree with you in that the correction of that section of hypothetical gameplay would be more art than mathematics, but I believe that the article was focused more on the application of mathematics to hard data. That said, it didn't necessarily show how to apply the concepts therein directly to a game design -- but that's probably the challenge in being a game designer, no? The article seems well-written insofar that someone like me (a layperson, relatively ignorant in terms of mathematics) can grasp the concepts. I don't think it was meant to teach someone the practical application, since that's mostly achieved by going out there and doing it.
I guess the real question is whether or not this is covered under warranty, and if it is, would changing a factory setting void the warranty? Perhaps that's why it's disabled off the bat. I paid a few hundred more Canadian for my business model laptop this past summer, opting for HP's full coverage damage protection. (I think the only thing they don't cover is surge protection, which I have in my power bar.)
From a business / "real world" perspective, they might not consider a product with a factory-disabled setting worthy of replacement under warranty.
Most television programming sucks. (Note how I said most, not all.) They probably have something going with the whole 'watch when you want to watch' streaming method, but isn't that the luxury of the internet? I choose what content I want to view, when I want to view it. It sounds very similar to TiVo and the like, except it runs off a computer.
I could be overgeneralizing or mistaken, but I doubt that this whole 'streaming revolution' will really change my lack of interest in generic television, movies, and music.
If they had to change the DRM standard now, wouldn't that kind of retroactively gum up the works with the existing setup (both hardware and software, including the music files)?
It seems to me that Apple has a good thing going for them, so of course they're not about to stop. Just because I've never bought an Apple product doesn't mean I can't appreciate some of the great things they've managed to do for the average consumer and the nice little touches they include (say, when you pull a pair of headphones out of the jack when music is playing, it mutes it, or so I'm told). It's the little things that make the whole package that much sweeter. My mom didn't really have any trouble setting up the iPod the college gave her for when she creates podcasts. Technology shouldn't be all that obtrusive, and while I don't agree with DRM philosophically, at least the easy workaround (burn and rip from an audio CD) is available for those that choose to purchase music from the iTunes Music Store.
Just because it's successful doesn't always mean it's bad! Heck, Ubuntu is what got me interested in Linux to begin with, since it seems pretty straightforward. I have friends that use it, and I'll get around to installing it eventually.
Yeah, my Dad and grandfather applied for a patent repeatedly when I was a kid. Dad's an engineer and designed a garbage bag holder for use in the kitchen -- you'd put the bag onto the frame of the device (a set of bars that were hinged), and the bag would open and close neatly while keeping the trash smell out. Pretty convenient.
Sadly, they blew 12 grand before they decided to stop applying for a patent. Apparently it was too similar to other such garbage bag holders that shut and kept the smell out. There goes a year's worth of schooling for me...
And they wonder why I'm an arts student with an interest (yet aversion) to engineering and technology... When an engineer and a chemistry professor with a Ph. D. couldn't beat the system, I preemptively gave up.
Um, Gish comes to mind as a 'rolling blob game' that came out a year or two ago, so I don't think these games coming 'out of the woodwork' as you so put it is an entirely new thing.
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Wouldn't they then have a complete, total monopoly on the graphics card market then?
I'm no expert on the gfx card business front (I only vaguely remember the 3dfx Voodoo series), but isn't that sort of consolidation usually not so good for advancing technology and staying competitive?
Um, ArsonSmith, you said "his" answer. You're implying that the AC is a male, when that AC actually decried Big Brother as a sexist term.
At the risk of misusing the term, I think that's ironic? I am a Canadian who did grow up when that Alanis Morissette song was popular, so... I might be wrong.
You forgot Beowulf Cluster...
The HP laptop ($2000 Can. plus tax) I bought has about the same configuration as the first generation Macbook Pro (compare -- $2100-2200 Can. eight months ago when I bought my laptop)... The x1600 isn't underclocked and didn't suffer overheating problems like the first gen of MBPros did, and the extra $300 Canadian I paid for the complete accidental damage warranty is in my mind a godsend.
I appreciate what Apple can do by compartmentalizing their entire line into a few models (they can be very price competitive and with good manufacturing turnover times), but I don't think that Macs always have the price - performance ratio over a PC. It's almost like they're competing for different markets, no?
That said, yes, I agree, the design is cool, backlit keys and anodized whatever it's made out of metal or what not. I almost bought one too. =)
So basically, if I patent binary electron usage... ??? Profit?!?!
And I said to myself, well, s%&*.
I find it somewhat horrifying that it's even possible that CSI can be considered a standard to measure real-world applications' effectiveness. Seriously, with CSI, it's almost like Arthur C. Clarke's third law applies by default.
So what you're really saying is that its original creator had no monopoly on Monopoly. Ba-dum-chshh!
Wasn't the point of the article to apply some sort of scientific approach to game tuning? Sure, you can make the argument for tuning as "art", but what happens when the devs just make a downright stupid decision? In, say, a timed segment of a game where one has to manuveur (sp?) through a bunch of obstacles, the mean time will go up dependent on how difficult the section is. I've played games where some parts are insanely difficult for me to complete, yet other "more difficult" parts later on are a cakewalk. Do they factor in the mean time for reattempting a section? I have no idea, but it seems like a logical step. I agree with you in that the correction of that section of hypothetical gameplay would be more art than mathematics, but I believe that the article was focused more on the application of mathematics to hard data. That said, it didn't necessarily show how to apply the concepts therein directly to a game design -- but that's probably the challenge in being a game designer, no? The article seems well-written insofar that someone like me (a layperson, relatively ignorant in terms of mathematics) can grasp the concepts. I don't think it was meant to teach someone the practical application, since that's mostly achieved by going out there and doing it.
I guess the real question is whether or not this is covered under warranty, and if it is, would changing a factory setting void the warranty? Perhaps that's why it's disabled off the bat. I paid a few hundred more Canadian for my business model laptop this past summer, opting for HP's full coverage damage protection. (I think the only thing they don't cover is surge protection, which I have in my power bar.) From a business / "real world" perspective, they might not consider a product with a factory-disabled setting worthy of replacement under warranty.
Most television programming sucks. (Note how I said most, not all.) They probably have something going with the whole 'watch when you want to watch' streaming method, but isn't that the luxury of the internet? I choose what content I want to view, when I want to view it. It sounds very similar to TiVo and the like, except it runs off a computer. I could be overgeneralizing or mistaken, but I doubt that this whole 'streaming revolution' will really change my lack of interest in generic television, movies, and music.
When I read the headline, I figured someone forgot to replace the faulty strap on the Wiimote. Nothing quite like a controller-induced concussion...
If they had to change the DRM standard now, wouldn't that kind of retroactively gum up the works with the existing setup (both hardware and software, including the music files)? It seems to me that Apple has a good thing going for them, so of course they're not about to stop. Just because I've never bought an Apple product doesn't mean I can't appreciate some of the great things they've managed to do for the average consumer and the nice little touches they include (say, when you pull a pair of headphones out of the jack when music is playing, it mutes it, or so I'm told). It's the little things that make the whole package that much sweeter. My mom didn't really have any trouble setting up the iPod the college gave her for when she creates podcasts. Technology shouldn't be all that obtrusive, and while I don't agree with DRM philosophically, at least the easy workaround (burn and rip from an audio CD) is available for those that choose to purchase music from the iTunes Music Store. Just because it's successful doesn't always mean it's bad! Heck, Ubuntu is what got me interested in Linux to begin with, since it seems pretty straightforward. I have friends that use it, and I'll get around to installing it eventually.
Yeah, my Dad and grandfather applied for a patent repeatedly when I was a kid. Dad's an engineer and designed a garbage bag holder for use in the kitchen -- you'd put the bag onto the frame of the device (a set of bars that were hinged), and the bag would open and close neatly while keeping the trash smell out. Pretty convenient. Sadly, they blew 12 grand before they decided to stop applying for a patent. Apparently it was too similar to other such garbage bag holders that shut and kept the smell out. There goes a year's worth of schooling for me... And they wonder why I'm an arts student with an interest (yet aversion) to engineering and technology... When an engineer and a chemistry professor with a Ph. D. couldn't beat the system, I preemptively gave up.
Yeah, I second that. I don't want CSI overlords. They can't even get primetime science right. =\
Let me fix your typo for you. You clearly meant to say 'pwned.'
Um, Gish comes to mind as a 'rolling blob game' that came out a year or two ago, so I don't think these games coming 'out of the woodwork' as you so put it is an entirely new thing.