I wouldn't be nearly so sanguine about a $300-350 price point for the PS3. If the Blu-Ray drive is truly costing $100, that price range is going to lead to even bigger losses than Microsoft took on the Xbox. Sony still has a lot of money they need to recoup on Cell development, plus whatever they're paying Nvidia for the graphics processing.
I think that Sony does have an advantage in the HD-media war with the PS3 (whenever it finally hits the market). I just wish it weren't so because I have a personal distaste for Sony.:)
That's a good idea, though I'd imagine both Microsoft and Toshiba would have something to say about it. If MS manages to match Sony's PS3 release with a monster game (and maybe even a small price drop, depending on the loss Sony is willing to take on PS3s) and Toshiba hits the street at the same time with an HD-DVD player costing half or less the cost of a PS3...In other words, Sony's plans don't exist in a market vacuum.
You're getting into a pretty gray area here. While he did not himself "hotlink" to other sites, he used a redirect on a resource that he knew was "hotlinked" on another site. The fact that said redirect was deceptive and that he knew it could cause hassles for the third party adds spice to the jerk gumbo.
Bottom line - as stated by others already, but it bears repeating - is that both entities acted like assholes and I wouldn't want anything to do with either of them. If I was trying to judge who was the bigger asshole, it would probably be the Flash hack because while the actions of the burger joint's webgeek could perhaps be interpreted as a compliment (and even as good advertising - a lot of people who post things on the web LIKE getting more hits), Flashboy's actions were performed out of pure malice.
These devices are meant for commercial shooters who need to show large images to art directors immediately, or event photographers who transmit action shots from little league or high school football games to a central locations for viewing and purchasing by parents.
I wonder about the utility even in those situations. A WiFi-enabled laptop would seem more advantageous given that you could fill up a card, pop the card into the laptop, start the picture dump and put a fresh card in. If desired, and a connection is available, transferring via WiFi from the laptop would be as simple as anything and would have the advantage of having assured archiving of the pictures. This would free up the first card very quickly so that it could be loaded right back into the camera when the second card fills up.
Of course, the biggest advantage of using an external device is that you retain flexibility in terms of choosing a camera - something I think no professional would do without.
I watch, and participate in, a few gaming fora around the web and one of the things I've found disturbing since China's announced three-hour rule for MMORPGs is how gamers in "free" (in quotes because the word is so loaded for some folks) countries have responded. I've seen many people say that it's a good idea and very few taking issue with the limitation in freedom. I thought of this again upon reading the BBC article here where a young man in the UK supports the law and says "Some people need to be compelled to stop." That's certainly true, but do we really want governments doing the compelling?
Personally, I found the news of the Chinese law to be unsurprising because that's what those scumbags do all the time: Take control from individuals and transfer it to the government for "the common good" - well, that and imprison/execute their citizens who disagree with them...
The idea that people in the "western" world would be on board with this concept freaks me out a bit. But, maybe I'm over-reacting. Maybe it would be a good thing if the government got some more legislation out there to control our free time. After all, we can never have too much government intervention in our lives, right?
I'll reply just in case you might be popping back.:)
There are (obviously) many types of headaches, many of which have radically different treatments. For example, a doctor may prescribe something to reduce vascular pressure for one type and prescribe an aspirin (or similar) for another. I found this "FAQish" article a nice overview of the different kinds of headaches one can experience.
I loved Gunship - so much so that I used to call up Microprose monthly while Gunship 2000 was in development. My favorites of their simulation line were F19 (the stealth fighter from Lockheed that was in contention with the eventually accepted F117), F15 Strike Eagle II (loved the combination of sim and arcade action in that one) and Red Storm Rising. Red Storm Rising was a particular favorite which I bought three times (twice for the C64 and once for the PC) because it had a real "thinker" feel to it. I never had so much fun staring at a blank screen moving at a snail's pace trying to find an enemy sub running on batteries using just passive sonar...talk about a perfect game for a dual-screen/touch-screen system.
Atari made me a gamer with the 2600. Microprose made me "hardcore.":)
Master of Magic, Darklands, Covert Action...Not only would I enjoy some of these games as simple ports to a handheld, but every year that passes I'm surprised that someone hasn't started releasing modernized versions of the Microprose catalog. That company put out so many great games, and in several genres, that it was ridiculous (and expensive since I bought nearly every game they ever released, sometimes multiple times).:)
In situations like this, it's less a question of getting more donors and more a question of not alienating people who are willing to donate blood. Not only do you lose that person from the donor pool but, if they feel slighted by the criteria, they can discourage others from coming in.
I worked at the Red Cross for a number of years and by far the least pleasant duty I had to perform was explaining to perfectly healthy people, whose blood was also probably perfectly healthy, that they couldn't donate because they happened to be in a group we had to consider "high risk." These reasons could be anything from having certain types of cancer (despite the fact that, AFAIK, nobody has gotten cancer from a blood transfusion) to a relative with CJD to a trip to the "wrong" country (various parasitic infections, high HIV infection rates, etc.). It's tough to tell somebody "no thanks" when they're trying to give of themselves (literally).
If you read the article you'll find that the antioxidants are found in both regular and decaffeinated coffees. So, drink decaf and that knocks out the biggest health risk (you can hit this search to find out more about the biggest problem with caffeine) while preserving the "benefit."
Actually, you got it a bit wrong (and it makes all the difference): It was a $5 buy-in tournament table. In other words, it was 10 people who each paid $5 to play until one person has all the chips. Usually, the top three finish in the money and given the $30 win the payout must have been 60% to the winner with the balance being shared between 2nd and 3rd place.
It's amazing how insidious it's gotten. Tivo grabbed an episode of The Practice for me a couple weeks ago and I was actually angered by the sound attached to the overlay ads, so much so that I turned off the show and promptly deleted it. The insidious part is that I've actually stopped being irritated by the overlays with no sound - even the tedious NASCAR overlay on TNT (a pit crew creating the NASCAR logo) has stopped affecting me consciously. The ones with sound, though, are particularly awful in dialogue-heavy shows.
Sony has a lot of nerve calling anything Nintendo has done with the DS 'gimmicky'.
It's not just Sony. I still see posts by "gamers" deriding the touch screen as a "gimmick." What makes it odd to me is that touch screens have been a fantastic user interface for years now in the PDA market, and it's downright bizarre that anyone who plays games would think that functionality is anything but genius. Not only is it an extremely convenient feature for gamers who've been around the block many times (when the game design is good, of course), but it makes the device that much more accessible to new gamers - no more wondering if 'A' or 'B' is going to activate a particular feature since all you have to do is point the stylus at the screen. Puzzle games (a favorite in this house) in particular benefit immediately from "point and touch."
If your decision on buying the PSP is based on it's movie playing capability, I suggest you look into a portable DVD player instead. They're about the same price, usually have a noticibly larger screen, and have a practically limitless DVD library.
Don't forget the very handy ability to plug any of the portable DVD players into a regular TV and get, in most cases, the same quality as a full-size DVD player. This is yet another reason UMDs are unlikely to gain traction since you can only see those discs on the PSP's tiny screen. I doubt this will change much considering Sony would probably have a hard time selling home UMD players when DVD (as you said) has the vastly superior library, not to mention the fact that Sony has Blu-Ray coming up fast - trying to market two "new" movie formats at the same time is probably going to make the already painful HD-DVD/Blu-Ray situation that much worse...
Interesting commentary on today's society...people would rather invest in a virtual dog than accept the responsibility of owning an actual pet.
GOOD! We (at least in my area, and most big cities) have too many dogs ending up neglected and abandoned anyway, only to go to the "death row" which you recommend saving dogs from. I agree that if someone wants a cat or dog, they should go to their local "pound" or Humane Society and adopt that way, but if there were fewer pet owners in the first place those organizations wouldn't have to deal with as many results of the bad ones.
I love [real] dogs and cats (I particularly like cats). I therefore recognize that there are people who shouldn't have them. If some of those folks find Nintendogs to be an adequate substitute (especially kids who might whine and complain to get a pet that their parents don't really want), that's a great result.
Well, if you get your 50 invites, how about tossing me one as well (address above)? I received an invite once but it didn't work at all (might it have expired because it was sent while I was away from e-mail for week?).:)
The only way the content providers bail on NTSC/PAL DVD early is if there's no profit to be made on selling the format. Otherwise, it's going to be at least five years before DVD starts being phased out by the content providers (unless they manage to make hybrid discs fully compatible with older DVD players). The copy protection on current DVDs is meaningless to anyone who really wants to get around it (and the proof is in the DVD rips posted online daily), yet they continue to make money off the things. When the copy protection on Blu-Ray and HD-DVD is, inevitably, circumvented, they'll continue to make those discs too if they're profitable.
Honestly, if you truly believe that the studios are going to say "ha ha, you can't crack our new format" and abandon everyone with DVD players, you're taking paranoia to a ridiculous level. If I turn out to be wrong, I'll wear a tinfoil hat for a month - or longer if I feel I'm getting good protection from the blu rays...:)
True fact, but off point. For the majority of the population, if they don't have the equipment to display HD content they'll simply buy plain old DVDs as they have been doing for years now. In other words, the content providers don't need HD to make a profit. They simply hope that WITH HD they'll make more.
So, if you're having a good time with the game you shouldn't complain when a patch comes out that screws up your good time? That makes about as much sense as you apparently believe SOE has demonstrated in creating and running the game.
Of COURSE your post is flamebait. You're saying that anyone who continues to play playing the game is a fool. How can that not be modded down as a troll or flamebait?
Slashdot Mirror
I think that Sony does have an advantage in the HD-media war with the PS3 (whenever it finally hits the market). I just wish it weren't so because I have a personal distaste for Sony. :)
That's a good idea, though I'd imagine both Microsoft and Toshiba would have something to say about it. If MS manages to match Sony's PS3 release with a monster game (and maybe even a small price drop, depending on the loss Sony is willing to take on PS3s) and Toshiba hits the street at the same time with an HD-DVD player costing half or less the cost of a PS3...In other words, Sony's plans don't exist in a market vacuum.
Bottom line - as stated by others already, but it bears repeating - is that both entities acted like assholes and I wouldn't want anything to do with either of them. If I was trying to judge who was the bigger asshole, it would probably be the Flash hack because while the actions of the burger joint's webgeek could perhaps be interpreted as a compliment (and even as good advertising - a lot of people who post things on the web LIKE getting more hits), Flashboy's actions were performed out of pure malice.
I wonder about the utility even in those situations. A WiFi-enabled laptop would seem more advantageous given that you could fill up a card, pop the card into the laptop, start the picture dump and put a fresh card in. If desired, and a connection is available, transferring via WiFi from the laptop would be as simple as anything and would have the advantage of having assured archiving of the pictures. This would free up the first card very quickly so that it could be loaded right back into the camera when the second card fills up.
Of course, the biggest advantage of using an external device is that you retain flexibility in terms of choosing a camera - something I think no professional would do without.
Good for you, but your rant on MMOG design had zero to do with my point. Glad you could get it off your chest, though.
Personally, I found the news of the Chinese law to be unsurprising because that's what those scumbags do all the time: Take control from individuals and transfer it to the government for "the common good" - well, that and imprison/execute their citizens who disagree with them...
The idea that people in the "western" world would be on board with this concept freaks me out a bit. But, maybe I'm over-reacting. Maybe it would be a good thing if the government got some more legislation out there to control our free time. After all, we can never have too much government intervention in our lives, right?
There are (obviously) many types of headaches, many of which have radically different treatments. For example, a doctor may prescribe something to reduce vascular pressure for one type and prescribe an aspirin (or similar) for another. I found this "FAQish" article a nice overview of the different kinds of headaches one can experience.
In the future, I recommend keeping your breakfast cereals outside of the bathroom.
Don't forget price. $130 versus $250 is a pretty big deal.
Atari made me a gamer with the 2600. Microprose made me "hardcore." :)
The first WiFi Internet DS title on the schedule is Animal Crossing and that one was pushed back recently - to November if I remember correctly.
Master of Magic, Darklands, Covert Action...Not only would I enjoy some of these games as simple ports to a handheld, but every year that passes I'm surprised that someone hasn't started releasing modernized versions of the Microprose catalog. That company put out so many great games, and in several genres, that it was ridiculous (and expensive since I bought nearly every game they ever released, sometimes multiple times). :)
I worked at the Red Cross for a number of years and by far the least pleasant duty I had to perform was explaining to perfectly healthy people, whose blood was also probably perfectly healthy, that they couldn't donate because they happened to be in a group we had to consider "high risk." These reasons could be anything from having certain types of cancer (despite the fact that, AFAIK, nobody has gotten cancer from a blood transfusion) to a relative with CJD to a trip to the "wrong" country (various parasitic infections, high HIV infection rates, etc.). It's tough to tell somebody "no thanks" when they're trying to give of themselves (literally).
If you read the article you'll find that the antioxidants are found in both regular and decaffeinated coffees. So, drink decaf and that knocks out the biggest health risk (you can hit this search to find out more about the biggest problem with caffeine) while preserving the "benefit."
Actually, you got it a bit wrong (and it makes all the difference): It was a $5 buy-in tournament table. In other words, it was 10 people who each paid $5 to play until one person has all the chips. Usually, the top three finish in the money and given the $30 win the payout must have been 60% to the winner with the balance being shared between 2nd and 3rd place.
It's amazing how insidious it's gotten. Tivo grabbed an episode of The Practice for me a couple weeks ago and I was actually angered by the sound attached to the overlay ads, so much so that I turned off the show and promptly deleted it. The insidious part is that I've actually stopped being irritated by the overlays with no sound - even the tedious NASCAR overlay on TNT (a pit crew creating the NASCAR logo) has stopped affecting me consciously. The ones with sound, though, are particularly awful in dialogue-heavy shows.
It's not just Sony. I still see posts by "gamers" deriding the touch screen as a "gimmick." What makes it odd to me is that touch screens have been a fantastic user interface for years now in the PDA market, and it's downright bizarre that anyone who plays games would think that functionality is anything but genius. Not only is it an extremely convenient feature for gamers who've been around the block many times (when the game design is good, of course), but it makes the device that much more accessible to new gamers - no more wondering if 'A' or 'B' is going to activate a particular feature since all you have to do is point the stylus at the screen. Puzzle games (a favorite in this house) in particular benefit immediately from "point and touch."
Don't forget the very handy ability to plug any of the portable DVD players into a regular TV and get, in most cases, the same quality as a full-size DVD player. This is yet another reason UMDs are unlikely to gain traction since you can only see those discs on the PSP's tiny screen. I doubt this will change much considering Sony would probably have a hard time selling home UMD players when DVD (as you said) has the vastly superior library, not to mention the fact that Sony has Blu-Ray coming up fast - trying to market two "new" movie formats at the same time is probably going to make the already painful HD-DVD/Blu-Ray situation that much worse...
GOOD! We (at least in my area, and most big cities) have too many dogs ending up neglected and abandoned anyway, only to go to the "death row" which you recommend saving dogs from. I agree that if someone wants a cat or dog, they should go to their local "pound" or Humane Society and adopt that way, but if there were fewer pet owners in the first place those organizations wouldn't have to deal with as many results of the bad ones.
I love [real] dogs and cats (I particularly like cats). I therefore recognize that there are people who shouldn't have them. If some of those folks find Nintendogs to be an adequate substitute (especially kids who might whine and complain to get a pet that their parents don't really want), that's a great result.
They get upset because they're looking for things to get upset about...this IS the Internet, after all.
Well, if you get your 50 invites, how about tossing me one as well (address above)? I received an invite once but it didn't work at all (might it have expired because it was sent while I was away from e-mail for week?). :)
Honestly, if you truly believe that the studios are going to say "ha ha, you can't crack our new format" and abandon everyone with DVD players, you're taking paranoia to a ridiculous level. If I turn out to be wrong, I'll wear a tinfoil hat for a month - or longer if I feel I'm getting good protection from the blu rays... :)
True fact, but off point. For the majority of the population, if they don't have the equipment to display HD content they'll simply buy plain old DVDs as they have been doing for years now. In other words, the content providers don't need HD to make a profit. They simply hope that WITH HD they'll make more.
Of COURSE your post is flamebait. You're saying that anyone who continues to play playing the game is a fool. How can that not be modded down as a troll or flamebait?
Wow, yeah. Row after row of videos of old people telling anecdotes about how they used to wear onions on their belts...