Not quite true; given the fact that the code was found in the X-Box and PS2 versions of the game means that it isn't third party code; though Rockstar orginially claimed that it was, they later admitted the truth. All versions could only be accessed by using third-party software, but the software didn't create this stuff, Rockstar did. Though I don't believe Rockstar ever stated what had happened, most likely this code was created, the idea was denied approval; but for one reason or another the code was left in the game, but inaccessible. In any case, Rockstar wrote the code, but someone else wrote the code to access the game that was otherwise unaccessible; I hope this clears up your confusion.
In many games, the storyline is not the main draw. Sports games, puzzle games, simulations and others are all games that are easy to not become emotionally involved in; I'd compare them to action movies or sports games, you're involved to a point but you're ultimately still fine with doing other things while playing the game. But some games are so immersive that I think it would be more difficult (compared to a movie or TV show) to not become engrossed in the game. Roleplaying games like Final Fantasy, certain action/adventure games ilke Prince of Persia, shooters like F.E.A.R. and cult hits like Shadow of the Colossus and Okami have kept me engrossed in the game from beginning to end; more than any movie ever has. I think the key to engrossing players in video games is to get away from the traditional process of action then story; intertwining the story in the action is the key.
To be honest, Vista isn't a necessary upgrade at this point, or even a wanted one. Windows XP is doing just fine, and if DX10 doesn't actually need to run on Vista (like another article posted earlier said) then there is no real reason to upgrade to Vista. I think that Vista will be like Windows ME; nobody will buy it and Microsoft will begin working on something that actually works right and actually is better so that people will move from XP to whatever their next OS is. Either that, or they'll fix all the "features" that are wrong with Vista.
But isn't the better solution to not use Google at all, rather than trying to block their legal acquisition of a company? I mean, Google can't gather info on you if you don't use their services; I personally don't. If you really want to be effective, you could e-mail Google's customer service and say "I won't use your services until you stop gathering data from my searches" and proceed to not use their services.
Ummm....ICANN isn't a law-making group;.xxx was a proposed ICANN change. Furthermore, the ICANN change was never enacted, and this article only looks at US laws that were actually enacted. Perhaps you do need to slow down when you read, your reading comprehension seems to be poor.
If this project pans out, and you can run DX10 games and applications on Windows XP systems running DX10 hardware, Microsoft has some definate explaining to do; their claims that DX 10 would only work on Vista will be busted. I imagine these guys will get sueded into oblivion by Microsoft, but Microsoft would be forced to admit that DX 10 COULD run on Windows XP systems and thus people don't need to run Vista in order to run DX 10 games. Definately hoping this pans out.
No, I call this bullshit; publicity is good and all but these "virtual trees" and this "virtual party" are burning real life fuel to be displayed. Sure, Greenpeace might print flyers on paper, but paper can be recycled (in fact, most of the paper used today is 50% or more recycled materials) and besides that the organization itself does real things to help the environment.
Dell's initiative means jack shit, because it's the customers who donate the money which Dell passes along; it's a feel good measure for their customers. Are other pre-built companies much better? Not really, but that is somewhat beside the point here. The point is that this is a publicity move for Dell using Earth Day as leverage; raping Earth Day the way Christmas, Easter and others have been raped by Dell and other companies to push consumerism. This "virtual tree" planting is Dell giving away free crap so people go buy Dell's while trying to wrap it in Earth Day; literally doing the opposite of what Earth Day is about (conserving) in the holiday's name. Yet another reason not to buy a Dell.
He hacked into a website, but it wasn't Steam itself but a third party site (the article linked itself has this correction at the bottom); at least that's the official line from Valve.
That's why video game sales numbers have been rising the past two months and are predicted to remain about the same this month; it makes perfect sense, the video game industry is heading towards a crash. Why anybody turns to the BBC for news with "insight" like this is beyond me.
Aside from the principal's numbers and e-mail at the bottom of the linked article, I suggest you contact their school board: http://www.hempfieldarea.k12.pa.us/administration. asp. Here's the number for their administrative offices: 724-834-2590.
Wow, you're silly. Straight damage bonuses (ie, the ones without any sort of element) can make any weapon a destructive force of great power. Using the more powerful stones, you can give your stats huge boosts (I had something ridiculous, 200 strength or something on one character) and constant buffs in general are just nice.
So any game that reviewers didn't give a 90% to or above on Metacritic is automaticaly "bad"? Actually, the Xenosaga series sold fairly well and I'd say it's one of the better RPGs out there for consoles; episode 1 on Metacritic actually scored 83...a mere 7 points from your much vaunted 90%; overall the series scored 79%. Let's face it, games are getting bigger, a lot bigger; in the not so-distant future, I think it will be standard for console games to need at least two DVDs worth of space.
Will game designers be able to fill up an entire Blu-Ray disc in the near future? No. But at some point in the near future, that extra space is going to be pretty damn handy.
All I can say is that it is about damn time. I worked for a summer as a tech support agent and spyware caused us more headaches than anything else; and it results in stress, time lost and possibly even monetary loss for individuals with infected computers. The fact that spyware and malware writers can usually avoid punishment (particularly considering that many spyware and malware applications are used to steal people's identities) is simply ridiculous. Good on the senator, and I hope that spyware and malware writers get what is coming to them.
Yes, because Nazis are just SO popular over here in America; look at all the protests when the latest WW2 game comes out where you are shooting Nazis...oh wait, nevermind. Actual facists in the United States aren't popular at all; people in America generally don't like being told what to do (especially by the government). Bush's attempts to expand the powers of the President are worrisome and facist-like, but I'm fairly confident that the pendulum will swing the other way (sooner perhaps, then later) given the backlash against him over the past two years or so.
History and lack of unity is no excuse; you can't achieve unity without having trust, and you can't have trust without everyone being open and honest (as much as governments can be with each other).
Illegalizing the expression of these thoughts will do nothing more than feed the fire, increasing the number of individuals who think this way. No, it won't. You're overstating the argument here and you get carried away into some conspiracy underground movement fantasy. The grandparent mentioned _very specific_ laws (swastika/holocaust denial ban). Those are actually just an exclamation point on top of common sense but are important in regard of recent Europe history. An exclamation point on top of common sense? No, those laws are bans on certain types of expression and speech. As for "underground movement fantasies" I don't think you have to look far for examples of how this works; an example that is familiar to most Americans (which I assume you are) are rock bands and rappers who's record sales soared when there's controversy over their albums.
The way to stop this is to debate them, confront their ideals honestly and openly and show them to be the stupid bastards they are; to do anything less is not just the wrong way to go about things (you can't restrict freedoms in order to protect them) but will eventually lead to you losing the argument against such movements. Now this is just ridiculous. Looks like something out of "Parenting for Dummies". C'mon. No, this is from "Having an Open Society with Universal Freedoms for Dummies"; if you can't debate facists on an open and level playing field, then the facists deserve to win. To some extent, facism as an idea will likely always be with the world, but banning facist symbolism will not impede the spread of facist ideas nor will it stamp it out.
Illegalizing the expression of these thoughts will do nothing more than feed the fire, increasing the number of individuals who think this way. To those who dislike the current state of their country, this just makes these groups seem more like freedom or resistance fighters than the foul upholders of the antithesis of freedom that they are. The way to stop this is to debate them, confront their ideals honestly and openly and show them to be the stupid bastards they are; to do anything less is not just the wrong way to go about things (you can't restrict freedoms in order to protect them) but will eventually lead to you losing the argument against such movements. I think people here understand quite well that such ideas are worrying, but this is the wrong way to combat them.
So my answer to your question "Think of it this way, do you think that someone who advocates the end of free speech as meritory of free speech benefits themselves?" is yes; the more you move to restrict their freedoms, the closer you get to becoming them yourself.
Erm, how would it kill the PS2 (one of the best selling game systems of all times)? Sure, the PS2's lifespan is coming to an end because the next generation of consoles is out, but it wouldn't be a DS Lite price drop that would kill the PS2; especially since they aren't even in the same market (the portable market and the console market are two different beasts). If anything will "kill" the PS2, which i assume you mean drop sales to nil, it will be the end of the PS2's generation of consoles, and it looks like the PS2 is going to be last out the door since hit games are STILL coming out for it (such as God of War 2).
The point was that such a scene can be rendered using ONLY ray-tracing in a roughly $1,800 setup; using other techniques in addition to ray-tracing would likely render a much more impressive scene. The point wasn't to create a beautiful picture, but to show the hardware power of the cell chip.
I'm just saying that if you can't find time for your kids, something is wrong. To be honest, I think I know what it is, too much shit; people seem to think that kids need to have all the crap they ask for nowadays, and that's simply not true. As for quitting my job to raise my kids, I didn't need to, thank you; my kids turned out just fine because I was around at least an hour or so everyday to raise them.
This article just pisses me off; if people don't have an hour or two to devote to their kids, then there is something seriously wrong with their life and they need to re-evaluate it. This is the problem with parenting in America; it's no longer about the kids and what is best for them, it's about what the parents schedule is. Wake up people, you're not paying enough attention to your kids.
How so? The X-Box and 360 have only had a handful of hit games, and some of them were done by Japanese publishers (Ninja Gaiden, for example). The PC is still dominated by American and European developers, of course, but that's always been the case; Japanese developers are still dominating in the console gaming industry.
Slashdot Mirror
Not quite true; given the fact that the code was found in the X-Box and PS2 versions of the game means that it isn't third party code; though Rockstar orginially claimed that it was, they later admitted the truth. All versions could only be accessed by using third-party software, but the software didn't create this stuff, Rockstar did. Though I don't believe Rockstar ever stated what had happened, most likely this code was created, the idea was denied approval; but for one reason or another the code was left in the game, but inaccessible. In any case, Rockstar wrote the code, but someone else wrote the code to access the game that was otherwise unaccessible; I hope this clears up your confusion.
In many games, the storyline is not the main draw. Sports games, puzzle games, simulations and others are all games that are easy to not become emotionally involved in; I'd compare them to action movies or sports games, you're involved to a point but you're ultimately still fine with doing other things while playing the game. But some games are so immersive that I think it would be more difficult (compared to a movie or TV show) to not become engrossed in the game. Roleplaying games like Final Fantasy, certain action/adventure games ilke Prince of Persia, shooters like F.E.A.R. and cult hits like Shadow of the Colossus and Okami have kept me engrossed in the game from beginning to end; more than any movie ever has. I think the key to engrossing players in video games is to get away from the traditional process of action then story; intertwining the story in the action is the key.
To be honest, Vista isn't a necessary upgrade at this point, or even a wanted one. Windows XP is doing just fine, and if DX10 doesn't actually need to run on Vista (like another article posted earlier said) then there is no real reason to upgrade to Vista. I think that Vista will be like Windows ME; nobody will buy it and Microsoft will begin working on something that actually works right and actually is better so that people will move from XP to whatever their next OS is. Either that, or they'll fix all the "features" that are wrong with Vista.
But isn't the better solution to not use Google at all, rather than trying to block their legal acquisition of a company? I mean, Google can't gather info on you if you don't use their services; I personally don't. If you really want to be effective, you could e-mail Google's customer service and say "I won't use your services until you stop gathering data from my searches" and proceed to not use their services.
Because OpenGL is dead as far as most of the video game industry is concerned. When was the last time you bought a game that used OpenGL?
Ummm....ICANN isn't a law-making group; .xxx was a proposed ICANN change. Furthermore, the ICANN change was never enacted, and this article only looks at US laws that were actually enacted. Perhaps you do need to slow down when you read, your reading comprehension seems to be poor.
If this project pans out, and you can run DX10 games and applications on Windows XP systems running DX10 hardware, Microsoft has some definate explaining to do; their claims that DX 10 would only work on Vista will be busted. I imagine these guys will get sueded into oblivion by Microsoft, but Microsoft would be forced to admit that DX 10 COULD run on Windows XP systems and thus people don't need to run Vista in order to run DX 10 games. Definately hoping this pans out.
No, I call this bullshit; publicity is good and all but these "virtual trees" and this "virtual party" are burning real life fuel to be displayed. Sure, Greenpeace might print flyers on paper, but paper can be recycled (in fact, most of the paper used today is 50% or more recycled materials) and besides that the organization itself does real things to help the environment.
Dell's initiative means jack shit, because it's the customers who donate the money which Dell passes along; it's a feel good measure for their customers. Are other pre-built companies much better? Not really, but that is somewhat beside the point here. The point is that this is a publicity move for Dell using Earth Day as leverage; raping Earth Day the way Christmas, Easter and others have been raped by Dell and other companies to push consumerism. This "virtual tree" planting is Dell giving away free crap so people go buy Dell's while trying to wrap it in Earth Day; literally doing the opposite of what Earth Day is about (conserving) in the holiday's name. Yet another reason not to buy a Dell.
Up is down, black is white, Rush Limbaugh opened his mouth and said something intelligent?! Man, I need to have a few beers and let this sink in now.
He hacked into a website, but it wasn't Steam itself but a third party site (the article linked itself has this correction at the bottom); at least that's the official line from Valve.
That's why video game sales numbers have been rising the past two months and are predicted to remain about the same this month; it makes perfect sense, the video game industry is heading towards a crash. Why anybody turns to the BBC for news with "insight" like this is beyond me.
Aside from the principal's numbers and e-mail at the bottom of the linked article, I suggest you contact their school board: http://www.hempfieldarea.k12.pa.us/administration. asp. Here's the number for their administrative offices: 724-834-2590.
Wow, you're silly. Straight damage bonuses (ie, the ones without any sort of element) can make any weapon a destructive force of great power. Using the more powerful stones, you can give your stats huge boosts (I had something ridiculous, 200 strength or something on one character) and constant buffs in general are just nice.
So any game that reviewers didn't give a 90% to or above on Metacritic is automaticaly "bad"? Actually, the Xenosaga series sold fairly well and I'd say it's one of the better RPGs out there for consoles; episode 1 on Metacritic actually scored 83...a mere 7 points from your much vaunted 90%; overall the series scored 79%. Let's face it, games are getting bigger, a lot bigger; in the not so-distant future, I think it will be standard for console games to need at least two DVDs worth of space.
Will game designers be able to fill up an entire Blu-Ray disc in the near future? No. But at some point in the near future, that extra space is going to be pretty damn handy.
All I can say is that it is about damn time. I worked for a summer as a tech support agent and spyware caused us more headaches than anything else; and it results in stress, time lost and possibly even monetary loss for individuals with infected computers. The fact that spyware and malware writers can usually avoid punishment (particularly considering that many spyware and malware applications are used to steal people's identities) is simply ridiculous. Good on the senator, and I hope that spyware and malware writers get what is coming to them.
In Soviet Russia, STALKER steals from you!
Yes, because Nazis are just SO popular over here in America; look at all the protests when the latest WW2 game comes out where you are shooting Nazis...oh wait, nevermind. Actual facists in the United States aren't popular at all; people in America generally don't like being told what to do (especially by the government). Bush's attempts to expand the powers of the President are worrisome and facist-like, but I'm fairly confident that the pendulum will swing the other way (sooner perhaps, then later) given the backlash against him over the past two years or so.
History and lack of unity is no excuse; you can't achieve unity without having trust, and you can't have trust without everyone being open and honest (as much as governments can be with each other).
You're overstating the argument here and you get carried away into some conspiracy underground movement fantasy. The grandparent mentioned _very specific_ laws (swastika/holocaust denial ban). Those are actually just an exclamation point on top of common sense but are important in regard of recent Europe history. An exclamation point on top of common sense? No, those laws are bans on certain types of expression and speech. As for "underground movement fantasies" I don't think you have to look far for examples of how this works; an example that is familiar to most Americans (which I assume you are) are rock bands and rappers who's record sales soared when there's controversy over their albums. The way to stop this is to debate them, confront their ideals honestly and openly and show them to be the stupid bastards they are; to do anything less is not just the wrong way to go about things (you can't restrict freedoms in order to protect them) but will eventually lead to you losing the argument against such movements. Now this is just ridiculous. Looks like something out of "Parenting for Dummies". C'mon. No, this is from "Having an Open Society with Universal Freedoms for Dummies"; if you can't debate facists on an open and level playing field, then the facists deserve to win. To some extent, facism as an idea will likely always be with the world, but banning facist symbolism will not impede the spread of facist ideas nor will it stamp it out.
Illegalizing the expression of these thoughts will do nothing more than feed the fire, increasing the number of individuals who think this way. To those who dislike the current state of their country, this just makes these groups seem more like freedom or resistance fighters than the foul upholders of the antithesis of freedom that they are. The way to stop this is to debate them, confront their ideals honestly and openly and show them to be the stupid bastards they are; to do anything less is not just the wrong way to go about things (you can't restrict freedoms in order to protect them) but will eventually lead to you losing the argument against such movements. I think people here understand quite well that such ideas are worrying, but this is the wrong way to combat them.
So my answer to your question "Think of it this way, do you think that someone who advocates the end of free speech as meritory of free speech benefits themselves?" is yes; the more you move to restrict their freedoms, the closer you get to becoming them yourself.
Erm, how would it kill the PS2 (one of the best selling game systems of all times)? Sure, the PS2's lifespan is coming to an end because the next generation of consoles is out, but it wouldn't be a DS Lite price drop that would kill the PS2; especially since they aren't even in the same market (the portable market and the console market are two different beasts). If anything will "kill" the PS2, which i assume you mean drop sales to nil, it will be the end of the PS2's generation of consoles, and it looks like the PS2 is going to be last out the door since hit games are STILL coming out for it (such as God of War 2).
The point was that such a scene can be rendered using ONLY ray-tracing in a roughly $1,800 setup; using other techniques in addition to ray-tracing would likely render a much more impressive scene. The point wasn't to create a beautiful picture, but to show the hardware power of the cell chip.
I'm just saying that if you can't find time for your kids, something is wrong. To be honest, I think I know what it is, too much shit; people seem to think that kids need to have all the crap they ask for nowadays, and that's simply not true. As for quitting my job to raise my kids, I didn't need to, thank you; my kids turned out just fine because I was around at least an hour or so everyday to raise them.
This article just pisses me off; if people don't have an hour or two to devote to their kids, then there is something seriously wrong with their life and they need to re-evaluate it. This is the problem with parenting in America; it's no longer about the kids and what is best for them, it's about what the parents schedule is. Wake up people, you're not paying enough attention to your kids.
How so? The X-Box and 360 have only had a handful of hit games, and some of them were done by Japanese publishers (Ninja Gaiden, for example). The PC is still dominated by American and European developers, of course, but that's always been the case; Japanese developers are still dominating in the console gaming industry.