The party owned lock, stock and barrel by the money that large corporations give to finance elections and various and sundry perks. You know...both of them.
"Yes, I know, addiction can be classed as a dibilitaing even fatal disease but the difference is that addiction is normally illegal not contaigous."
Not contagious? Tell that to anyone who started out on a drug because a friend gave it to them. Addiction is just as contagious as any disease - maybe more so since the effects of the particular vice are usually pleasurable, while disease is something painful and to be avoided (apart from the "bug chaser" nutjobs).
To my mind, if the side effects are either extremely rare or non-existent, then let's have the vaccine. If the people don't want administration to be goverment-mandated, it doesn't have to be. But it certainly is an interesting option, especially for people who could be considered "at risk" because of genetics, environment, etc.
Even though I think the article blurb was intended as a joke, for the heck of it I'll note that MSNBC used Netscape as their browser quite a lot in the first couple years (when I watched the network).
As I'm looking through the link in the article and links other people are putting up in this discussion, I can't find a damn thing about WHAT information BC is concerned about, WHAT US agencies have requested this information so far, or how the Patriot Act interacts with HIPAA since people are bringing up the potential of their medical information being revealed.
In short, this is one of the worst blurbs on Slashdot so far, seemingly intended to be yet another shot at the Patriot Act, a law which is misunderstood by many and not read at all by most. Yet, this shot includes no real information at all. Is someone afraid that this Slashdot discussion will be subpoenaed?
I love KOTOR (and, in fact, played it through again last week) and my Xbox but, man, I've never played KOTOR without hassles on Xbox. Bioware left enough bugs and glitches in there to choke a horse. I actually managed to run up against another bug on my sixth time through that I could have avoided if I spent a lot of time on gaming forums (I don't anymore). Very annoying but, of course, not really Microsoft's fault.:)
Ditto on the local store. Even sadder is that I spent a year-and-a-half looking for the cable every time I was videogame shopping before I finally asked someone about it and learned about its ridiculously limited availability. It's a very bad thing, IMO, when stores dedicated to selling videogames can't order up a particular cable from a major manufacturer.
ATI and Nvidia contribute, no doubt. But then you have multiple operating systems (even within the Windows brand), two main lines of processors, MANY motherboard chipsets/configurations per processor style, several sound cards (even if we assume Creative has the bulk of the market, they release many versions of their cards), etc, ad infinitum. Heck, I wonder how many different mouse/keyboard drivers are floating around on people's computers.
PC games will never have the plug&play simplicity of console games, not just because of varying video cards but because of varying everything.
"There's no tuner, so you won't be using any RF connections which is kind of a drag if all your systems are old..."
The easiest way to solve that difficulty is to run the RF signal through a VCR (game consoles don't send Macrovision which can be a problem using the same method with a DVD player). I know very few people these days without an spare one collecting dust.
"I tried the XBOX with the component cables and Halo in progressive scan but I think I may have damaged my XBOX because no red is displayed on the screen."
Sounds more like a fault in the component cable adapter rather than something internal to the Xbox. If you have access to one, try another adapter.
Anyone spending over $2,000 on a 40" TV is looking for something besides screen size (like, say, wall-mounting). A 40" rear-projection HDTV can be had for barely over $1,000 and you don't have to sit in the dark to enjoy it. That, of course, is the fundamental problem with front projection: Most people don't want to set up a dedicated viewing room isolated from virtually all light. Instead, the vast majority of people watch their television in the living room where there's usually at least one window. There are also some people who actually like light. I'm not one of them, but I hear they're out there.
I just pulled four manuals at random (two Xbox and two PS2 - all games released in the past year) and not one mentions burn-in for DLP. It has been one of the fundamental selling points of DLP TV technology from the beginning that it is immune to burn-in.
All four manuals relate that you should exercise caution with projection televisions (rear- and front-) and read the TV owner's manual befoer connecting the game system. One gives the exception of LCD (LCD rear-projection sets like the Sony Grand Wega line are immune to burn-in). None mention DLP.
Either you've just mis-read your manuals or you're trying to spread FUD about DLP for some reason.
You know why I (and many others) haven't used it? Because they make you special-order the damned component cables from their website. You simply can't buy one in a local store. As a special bonus, they want to charge you $30 (plus shipping) for the privilege of them cutting out the middle peoples. The same functionality for the Xbox and PS2 can be had for $20 and under.
My apologies, Mr. Snide, for making that mis-statement. No, you don't get more detail but you get a more pleasurable visual experience at a lower resolution and/or on a bigger screen. Further, assuming frame rates can still be constant/maximized, the resultant softened edges have almost zero effect on gameplay and are thus an acceptable hack.
No. He's saying that with anti-aliasing, 480p (640x480 in 4:3 or 720x480 in 16:9) and a larger screen (minimum 27" 4:3 for most non-LCD HDTV displays), one doesn't notice or care that the game isn't being displayed at 1600x1200. Morrowind and KOTOR (two examples available on both PC and Xbox) looked great (the latter did sacrifice AA for extra detail) on my [27"] HDTV and I didn't have to pick up a $300+ video card to make it happen.
The playing field will change even more with the next console generation in that we're likely to get 720p/1080i (1280x720 progressive and 1920x1080 interlaced) support in virtually every game. Toss in anti-aliasing and even a relatively cheap HDTV (with, say, 800x600 max resolution) will have amazing detail available. And a TV of that description will cost only about 20-30% more than a top-of-the-line video card for the PC and provide more long-term value (IMO, of course).
This isn't a case where the guy went on Valve's network and defaced a web page or said "neener, neener, your security sucks" If it was, Valve would have tightened things up and moved on. It's possible they wouldn't have even reported the break-in to the authorities.
No, this guy stole from Valve and then distributed what he stole. If he expected Valve to laugh it off, laid-back gamer-types or not, he was a damned fool and deserved to get pinched.
The reason magazines traditionally have cover dates at least a month later than the shipping date is that the cover dates are supposed to tell the retailer when to take the issues OFF the shelf and return them to their distributor. This is because magazines are, as a rule, sold on consignment and not actually purchased by retailers (as with most other retail products).
Good point...except for the fact that beta tests, demos and retail games should all be different. Nothing is more likely to turn off a potential customer than a buggy program called a "demo." Well, nothing except perhaps a buggy program called "gold" but even then you've presumably already made the sale. Who else is looking forward to eventually getting "lemon laws" for software?
They can claim 10 hours all they want but, unlike a cartridge-based system, the gaming battery life is going to depend on the individual game. For example, if Rockstar were to port GTA3 over to the system (or any other company did a game that relies on high-quality ambience music), the battery life would be significantly reduced because every part of the system would be in near-constant use, including the disc drive.
Add to that the fact that most such battery life statements are overly optimistic in the first place and you're probably looking at something more like 4-8 hours of gaming.
If I tried to use a device like that on a day when I'm bopping around town (using mainly the game function on the bus and music function while walking around), it would die out long before I got home. Not good.
Slashdot Mirror
The party owned lock, stock and barrel by the money that large corporations give to finance elections and various and sundry perks. You know...both of them.
Not contagious? Tell that to anyone who started out on a drug because a friend gave it to them. Addiction is just as contagious as any disease - maybe more so since the effects of the particular vice are usually pleasurable, while disease is something painful and to be avoided (apart from the "bug chaser" nutjobs).
To my mind, if the side effects are either extremely rare or non-existent, then let's have the vaccine. If the people don't want administration to be goverment-mandated, it doesn't have to be. But it certainly is an interesting option, especially for people who could be considered "at risk" because of genetics, environment, etc.
Even though I think the article blurb was intended as a joke, for the heck of it I'll note that MSNBC used Netscape as their browser quite a lot in the first couple years (when I watched the network).
In short, this is one of the worst blurbs on Slashdot so far, seemingly intended to be yet another shot at the Patriot Act, a law which is misunderstood by many and not read at all by most. Yet, this shot includes no real information at all. Is someone afraid that this Slashdot discussion will be subpoenaed?
I love KOTOR (and, in fact, played it through again last week) and my Xbox but, man, I've never played KOTOR without hassles on Xbox. Bioware left enough bugs and glitches in there to choke a horse. I actually managed to run up against another bug on my sixth time through that I could have avoided if I spent a lot of time on gaming forums (I don't anymore). Very annoying but, of course, not really Microsoft's fault. :)
Running a railroad sounds even more boring. The Railroad Tycoon series rocks. I think you need to expand your gaming horizons a bit.
Ditto on the local store. Even sadder is that I spent a year-and-a-half looking for the cable every time I was videogame shopping before I finally asked someone about it and learned about its ridiculously limited availability. It's a very bad thing, IMO, when stores dedicated to selling videogames can't order up a particular cable from a major manufacturer.
Wow. How did you find your way out from under the bridge?
PC games will never have the plug&play simplicity of console games, not just because of varying video cards but because of varying everything.
The easiest way to solve that difficulty is to run the RF signal through a VCR (game consoles don't send Macrovision which can be a problem using the same method with a DVD player). I know very few people these days without an spare one collecting dust.
Sounds more like a fault in the component cable adapter rather than something internal to the Xbox. If you have access to one, try another adapter.
Anyone spending over $2,000 on a 40" TV is looking for something besides screen size (like, say, wall-mounting). A 40" rear-projection HDTV can be had for barely over $1,000 and you don't have to sit in the dark to enjoy it. That, of course, is the fundamental problem with front projection: Most people don't want to set up a dedicated viewing room isolated from virtually all light. Instead, the vast majority of people watch their television in the living room where there's usually at least one window. There are also some people who actually like light. I'm not one of them, but I hear they're out there.
All four manuals relate that you should exercise caution with projection televisions (rear- and front-) and read the TV owner's manual befoer connecting the game system. One gives the exception of LCD (LCD rear-projection sets like the Sony Grand Wega line are immune to burn-in). None mention DLP.
Either you've just mis-read your manuals or you're trying to spread FUD about DLP for some reason.
You know why I (and many others) haven't used it? Because they make you special-order the damned component cables from their website. You simply can't buy one in a local store. As a special bonus, they want to charge you $30 (plus shipping) for the privilege of them cutting out the middle peoples. The same functionality for the Xbox and PS2 can be had for $20 and under.
My apologies, Mr. Snide, for making that mis-statement. No, you don't get more detail but you get a more pleasurable visual experience at a lower resolution and/or on a bigger screen. Further, assuming frame rates can still be constant/maximized, the resultant softened edges have almost zero effect on gameplay and are thus an acceptable hack.
The playing field will change even more with the next console generation in that we're likely to get 720p/1080i (1280x720 progressive and 1920x1080 interlaced) support in virtually every game. Toss in anti-aliasing and even a relatively cheap HDTV (with, say, 800x600 max resolution) will have amazing detail available. And a TV of that description will cost only about 20-30% more than a top-of-the-line video card for the PC and provide more long-term value (IMO, of course).
They're losing market share (well, market time) to console gaming. PC gaming is still a niche hobby compared to consoles.
No, this guy stole from Valve and then distributed what he stole. If he expected Valve to laugh it off, laid-back gamer-types or not, he was a damned fool and deserved to get pinched.
I hear there's also a link between watching NYPD Blue and fat guys walking around with no pants on.
Actually, I think he was doing all he could to write and sell some entertaining locked-room mysteries in a science fiction setting. :D
The reason magazines traditionally have cover dates at least a month later than the shipping date is that the cover dates are supposed to tell the retailer when to take the issues OFF the shelf and return them to their distributor. This is because magazines are, as a rule, sold on consignment and not actually purchased by retailers (as with most other retail products).
Good point...except for the fact that beta tests, demos and retail games should all be different. Nothing is more likely to turn off a potential customer than a buggy program called a "demo." Well, nothing except perhaps a buggy program called "gold" but even then you've presumably already made the sale. Who else is looking forward to eventually getting "lemon laws" for software?
Add to that the fact that most such battery life statements are overly optimistic in the first place and you're probably looking at something more like 4-8 hours of gaming.
If I tried to use a device like that on a day when I'm bopping around town (using mainly the game function on the bus and music function while walking around), it would die out long before I got home. Not good.
Personally, I hope for peace and understanding between all people on the planet...but your things are good too, I guess.
Funny, I remember the PS2 costing more than a DVD player and PS1 put together.