I consider myself relatively smart and familiar with the digital era, and I couldn't possibly care less whether or not the PSP is compatible with anything beyond good PSP games. Some of the interactivity between the Gamecube and GBA is interesting, but if they had nothing to connect them I'd still own both devices.
I read this as pure marketing drivel that exists solely to be commented on by enthusiasts and analysts. For any game console, I would paraphrase that famous Clinton campaign message: "It's the games, stupid."
I can get a whopping 6 channels of HD with digital cable here, and about 1/3 of it would be even halfway interesting to me (ie, no sports).
Cable is not delivering nearly enough HD at the moment. The satellite companies, on the other hand, are doing quite a bit better (and have been ahead of the curve for some time). In my area (Portland, OR), on my system (DishNetwork), I can get eight satellite HDTV channels and seven local EDTV/HDTV channels (networks are showing most hours of broadcasting in 480p with some prime-time programming and sports in HD). Dish is even offering a $999 deal that will buy an HDTV (either 34" widescreen direct-view or 40" widescreen rear-projection), an HDTV receiver and the new dish to pick up all three necessary satellite locations. Not a bad deal at all.
Apologies if the above sounds like a DishNetwork ad - as it did to me on preview - but it's the company I deal with and so the one I know the most about.:)
You make it sound like HDTV isn't in the process of being adopted when in truth the prices have come down at a fairly rapid pace over the last year to the point that you can buy a direct-view CRT HDTV for $500. In addition, virtually every rear-projection big-screen TV is now an HDTV (the ones that aren't are barely worth considering with the narrow price difference), which benefit the most from a higher resolution signal - try watching an NTSC signal blown up to 50+ inches without some decent line-multiplication; personally, I can only do so for about a minute before I feel a trickle of blood from the corners of my eyes (at least at the viewing distances in a typical living/family room).
Considering that the earliest this tech will hit the mass market is 2005 (expect at least another year before serious adoption occurs), high[er]-resolution DVDs will be hitting shelves just as a lot of people will start wanting them for their new screens. Sounds like good timing to me.
Here's your answer: Life in prison is better. Why? Because you've still got a chance to learn and do things, even if it's within a circumscribed reality. Not to mention the fact that a life sentence isn't always a life sentence (hence penalties like "15 to life").
The death penalty is irrevocable once carried out. It's one reason murderers receive the harshest sentences despite the fact that, for example, rapists can cause far more pain. Institutionalized killing is no better than a burglar killing a homeowner, due process or not...IMO, of course.
At the risk of being acused of baiting the old flames, emulation is popular because people like to play games and they like to play games for free - I think it has very little to do with current games sucking (many do, many don't). The Internet has enabled people to be cheap and lazy in this regard as never before. After all, it's not that hard to find a working Sega Genesis, Master System, NES, SNES, etc. (go to the video games section at eBay if you need proof). Emulation software and the people willing to distribute ROMs on the Internet, however, allow people to get all of it for free.
Ah, gone are the days of the Commodore 64 "User Group" pizza parties where we actually had to bring our computers, disc drives and monitors with us to do the heavy stealing of 170k games. Oh, how I envied that cool kid with the SX64 and dual disc drives...hex editors, Fast Hack'Em, blank 5-1/4s...but I digress.
There are good games being produced but they cost actual money or take a bigger effort (downloading multiple gigs that can take days and monopolize bandwidth, modding a console, buying/installing a DVD burner...) to steal - except for the PC where it's pretty darned easy.
Fair enough. I would add to your statstics, however, that in 2002 the US executed a total of 71 people. China, on the other hand, managed to perform 1,060 executions during the same time period. Even given the differences in population, you stand a better chance of being executed by the Chinese government than you do in the US...note that I think the death penalty is wrong in any case, but that's another argument entirely.
In recent years, China has even INCREASED their persecution...err, prosecution...of "criminals," including people categorized as "religious extremists" despite having no evidence of crimes besides worship/faith.
The US has a lot of problems. The "war on drugs" (which has become the "war on drug users"), the detestable imprisonment (without trial, representation, etc.) of suspected "terrorists" at Guantanamo Bay, the questionable justification of the war in Iraq (a war I think needed to be fought, but it would be nice if the government could be honest about motives), etc.
However, just because there is evil in the US doesn't mean that a US citizen can't recognize evil elsewhere.
I forgot to mention the fundamental that you're missing in my original post:
I DIDN'T SAY ONE DAMN THING ABOUT AMERICA. I didn't claim America was good. I didn't even offer any indication that I was FROM America. Saying China is bad does not mean that I think America is great.
Whatever my post may prove, all yours proves is that you're more comfortable twisting someone's words instead of refuting them.
Does China imprison people for organized religious worship? Yes. Does China imprison political activists based ENTIRELY on words? Yes.
Does China force women to undergo abortions? Yes.
"In other words, your entire post is based off your grossly innacurate perception of another country."
If any part of YOUR post had pointed out inaccuracies in mine, I might consider you insightful like the person who moderated you. As it is, since you offer no facts it's just flamebait.
"Back" to hard-line communism? The last time people in China felt that they could speak their mind in public, they were assaulted by tanks. China still jails their citizens for the slightest criticism of government policy and regularly suppresses religious freedom by putting leaders of congregations in jail. Their one-child policy (whatever the perceived need) takes away the fundamental human right of reproduction and requires (REQUIRES!!) abortions in many, many situations.
The truth is that the only reason China could be considered a "beacon of freedom in computer software" is because they pay only the slightest lip service to international law and systematically, institutionally, defy legitimate and reasonable copyright and patent laws (for example, I would consider the ridiculous, ancient copyrights of Disney to be "Mickey Mouse" and unreasonable, while the latest Britney Spears album SHOULD be protected).
Don't forget Phantasy Star Online, where the entire game is "instanced" for small groups.
I have to wonder: At what point these games should stop calling themselves "massively multiplayer?" Some of the best fun I had in Everquest (before I got tired of the whole thing) was when I was hooked up with 30 or more people at a time, working through the same area, answering calls for assistance, coordinating movement, etc. If, over time, content becomes predominantly aimed at small groups, then how massive can the multiplayer truly be?
Re:I'm not a big fan of all-in-one devices...
on
PSX Review At Lik-Sang
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· Score: 4, Interesting
Not including MP3 support from the get-go is more than a compromise - it's a greedy power play for Sony's own audio format. One can get MP3 playback from the CHEAPEST DVD players, yet Sony's own high-end device lacks it. Of course, it's not that surprising considering that Sony's DVD/SACD (SACD, for those who don't know, is Sony's proprietary high-resolution audio format) players don't support DVD-Audio while other companies (including Pioneer which has a DVD/DVD-Audio/SACD player available for well under $200) release players supporting all formats.
It's worth noting, too, that the PSX is a PVR device released after Sony quit producing TiVo PVRs, almost certainly because they didn't want TiVo to have their cut.
Sony is well on their way to marginalizing themselves in the consumer electronics world with their insistence on supporting primarily, and sometimes ONLY, their own proprietary media formats. One would have thought they had learned their lesson from the VHS/Beta debacle oh so long ago.
To me, downloading recipes to a stove is just silly (assuming the presence of an Internet-connected PC) unless it has robot arms that prepare the meal to the recipe's suggestions. Automating and remote-controlling home-heating and air-conditioning systems has been going on for YEARS. Here's but one example using the X10 system (I refuse to link directly to X10 because of their evil internet advertising practices).
Another use I've heard/read about is a "smart" refrigerator that can tell you, for example, when you need milk. Of course, most homes have solved this complicated problem with the extremely advanced pen/paper system (some VERY rich people substitute a dry erase system, but I've only read about homes so equipped in magazines) combined with opening the refrigerator door.
I really wish manufacturers would come up with something truly useful and unique to do with these appliance-connectivity solutions. I love spending money on mostly unnecessary gadgets, but I need a LITTLE justification.
I don't see important new applications for the desktop causing people to care about ever-increasing processor power again - outside of the examples cited in the question, of course. What I do see as being important is smaller, cheaper and more powerful devices of other stripes.
A good example would be Palm-type devices. As big-processor speed increases, there is also an increase in small-processor speed and efficiency (limited more by heat than anything else). This has given people a smaller, more powerful Palm-type device today than they could have bought five years ago. Another example is the DVR/PVR. The new two-tuner satellite HDTV receiver/recorders can handle the receipt and recording of two high-definition streams while decoding and playing back a third - my ancient Showstopper (ReplayTV), on the other hand, starts to chug when encoding/saving an NTSC transmission (at highest quality) while watching another (I paid &700 for my 20-GB Showstopper back "in the day" while the new 250-GB HDTV units will go for $1,000 and come down from there).
It will be interesting to see how long non-PC devices take to catch up to current top PC speeds and what applications (especially portable, non-notebook apps) spring from that.
It's also worth noting that some of the new TiVo units are coming with "TiVo Basic." While this option doesn't provide the full functionality of TiVo (season passes, wish lists, etc.) and only has a three-day program guide, it's a nice deal for those who want to upgrade from their VCR while avoiding extra fees.
You've got it right there. CLEARLY, anyone who has fun playing console games online has been duped by marketing and needs to get back to playing PC Counterstrike.
Don't forget the EXTRA special hosing received by those who made the mistake of the dial-up adapter because unlike Sony, Nintendo split dial-up and broadband. If they don't like, or get tired of, Phantasy Star Online (Eps. I and II; C.A.R.D. Battle), they're SOL.
My only gripe is that all the Dish Networks units use the same frequency and codes for their UHF remotes. We have 2 of three receivers (including the 510) that are UHF capable and they tend to interfere with each other (I'll change the channel in the bedroom and my wife can be heard screaming from the living room!).
Actually, you can change the UHF frequency used by each receiver. I don't remember the exact number, but there are at least 12 channels available so that conflicts as you describe can be avoided. Check it out in the manual that came with your 510 (or other) receiver (page 21 in the 510 manual, "Changing Remote Address," to be specific) or, if you've misplaced your manual, go here and scan through the PDFs to find the information.
We had the same problem here when we got the 721 (a device we love) and it only took about five minutes to fix. Good luck!
Two thoughts on cinematics: First, can't cinematics be part of telling the story? Whilst I agree that some games substitute cinematics for gameplay, they DO attract customers in many cases (see Final Fantasy VII+). Second, disc space has nothing whatsoever to do with the quality of the AI or graphics engine - at least not since the advent of the CD-ROM and its subsequent commoditization.
One thought on why people buy games: You may THINK that storytelling is the "prime reason people make and buy games," but you'd be wrong. On the PC in particular this is a fallacy: See Quake (especially III), Unreal Tournament, Battlefield 1942, Tribes and The Sims for a few examples. In fact, you can look at the extremely popular games from Blizzard and see the same effect in that while Diablo, Starcraft and Warcraft DO have stories being told, people would likely still buy them if they had no story at all.
The REAL reason people buy games is to have fun, most often because of entertaining gameplay. Granted, some people do make games to tell a story, but that goal (again, especially on the PC) is often eschewed in favor of making leaps in technological achievement - kind of like our old pal, George Lucas, in fact. Even more significant is that customers go for this, which is why a game like Quake III outsells a game like Thief.
Picking three titles from the biggest developer on the market and extrapolating their overall quality from there is intellectually dishonest.
I'm not a big EA fan, particularly since my preferred console (out of the three I current use) is the Xbox where they refuse to play ball with Xbox Live. That being said, they manage to put out titles like SSX3 (improved immensely over its predecessors), Madden (even the hardcore football gamers are hard-pressed to declare an absolute winner between Madden and ESPN/2kX), LOTR: TT and ROTK, Need For Speed Underground, NBA Street, The Sims, SimCity...
Whether you like their approach or not, EA does put out good games. Great marketing or not, if the games weren't there they wouldn't be making money.
As for your title claiming EA is "dangerous": Get some perspective. Videogames are a hobby and not a life-or-death situation. Further, even if you were to assign videogames more importance than they deserve, EA (unlike Microsoft, for example) has plenty of competition out there and we're in NO danger of EA controlling all videogaming.
Correct me if I'm wrong (I probably am), but wouldn't a port from Amiga to ST be relatively easy? I know that for a while there they had a fair bit of software in common, but I confess that I don't know if it was due to similarities in architecture or similarities in capability.
Slashdot Mirror
I read this as pure marketing drivel that exists solely to be commented on by enthusiasts and analysts. For any game console, I would paraphrase that famous Clinton campaign message: "It's the games, stupid."
Cable is not delivering nearly enough HD at the moment. The satellite companies, on the other hand, are doing quite a bit better (and have been ahead of the curve for some time). In my area (Portland, OR), on my system (DishNetwork), I can get eight satellite HDTV channels and seven local EDTV/HDTV channels (networks are showing most hours of broadcasting in 480p with some prime-time programming and sports in HD). Dish is even offering a $999 deal that will buy an HDTV (either 34" widescreen direct-view or 40" widescreen rear-projection), an HDTV receiver and the new dish to pick up all three necessary satellite locations. Not a bad deal at all.
Apologies if the above sounds like a DishNetwork ad - as it did to me on preview - but it's the company I deal with and so the one I know the most about. :)
Considering that the earliest this tech will hit the mass market is 2005 (expect at least another year before serious adoption occurs), high[er]-resolution DVDs will be hitting shelves just as a lot of people will start wanting them for their new screens. Sounds like good timing to me.
I hear the Blu-Ray group is appearing at the Bellagio next year!
The death penalty is irrevocable once carried out. It's one reason murderers receive the harshest sentences despite the fact that, for example, rapists can cause far more pain. Institutionalized killing is no better than a burglar killing a homeowner, due process or not...IMO, of course.
You're right. I mistyped. Not EVERY emulator user is in it just for free games. Just 90% or more. Happy now?
Ah, gone are the days of the Commodore 64 "User Group" pizza parties where we actually had to bring our computers, disc drives and monitors with us to do the heavy stealing of 170k games. Oh, how I envied that cool kid with the SX64 and dual disc drives...hex editors, Fast Hack'Em, blank 5-1/4s...but I digress.
There are good games being produced but they cost actual money or take a bigger effort (downloading multiple gigs that can take days and monopolize bandwidth, modding a console, buying/installing a DVD burner...) to steal - except for the PC where it's pretty darned easy.
In recent years, China has even INCREASED their persecution...err, prosecution...of "criminals," including people categorized as "religious extremists" despite having no evidence of crimes besides worship/faith.
The US has a lot of problems. The "war on drugs" (which has become the "war on drug users"), the detestable imprisonment (without trial, representation, etc.) of suspected "terrorists" at Guantanamo Bay, the questionable justification of the war in Iraq (a war I think needed to be fought, but it would be nice if the government could be honest about motives), etc.
However, just because there is evil in the US doesn't mean that a US citizen can't recognize evil elsewhere.
I DIDN'T SAY ONE DAMN THING ABOUT AMERICA. I didn't claim America was good. I didn't even offer any indication that I was FROM America. Saying China is bad does not mean that I think America is great.
Does China imprison people for organized religious worship? Yes.
Does China imprison political activists based ENTIRELY on words? Yes.
Does China force women to undergo abortions? Yes.
"In other words, your entire post is based off your grossly innacurate perception of another country."
If any part of YOUR post had pointed out inaccuracies in mine, I might consider you insightful like the person who moderated you. As it is, since you offer no facts it's just flamebait.
The truth is that the only reason China could be considered a "beacon of freedom in computer software" is because they pay only the slightest lip service to international law and systematically, institutionally, defy legitimate and reasonable copyright and patent laws (for example, I would consider the ridiculous, ancient copyrights of Disney to be "Mickey Mouse" and unreasonable, while the latest Britney Spears album SHOULD be protected).
I have to wonder: At what point these games should stop calling themselves "massively multiplayer?" Some of the best fun I had in Everquest (before I got tired of the whole thing) was when I was hooked up with 30 or more people at a time, working through the same area, answering calls for assistance, coordinating movement, etc. If, over time, content becomes predominantly aimed at small groups, then how massive can the multiplayer truly be?
It's worth noting, too, that the PSX is a PVR device released after Sony quit producing TiVo PVRs, almost certainly because they didn't want TiVo to have their cut.
Sony is well on their way to marginalizing themselves in the consumer electronics world with their insistence on supporting primarily, and sometimes ONLY, their own proprietary media formats. One would have thought they had learned their lesson from the VHS/Beta debacle oh so long ago.
Somehow, I never got that information. Consider my snide comment retracted with apologies.
Another use I've heard/read about is a "smart" refrigerator that can tell you, for example, when you need milk. Of course, most homes have solved this complicated problem with the extremely advanced pen/paper system (some VERY rich people substitute a dry erase system, but I've only read about homes so equipped in magazines) combined with opening the refrigerator door.
I really wish manufacturers would come up with something truly useful and unique to do with these appliance-connectivity solutions. I love spending money on mostly unnecessary gadgets, but I need a LITTLE justification.
A good example would be Palm-type devices. As big-processor speed increases, there is also an increase in small-processor speed and efficiency (limited more by heat than anything else). This has given people a smaller, more powerful Palm-type device today than they could have bought five years ago. Another example is the DVR/PVR. The new two-tuner satellite HDTV receiver/recorders can handle the receipt and recording of two high-definition streams while decoding and playing back a third - my ancient Showstopper (ReplayTV), on the other hand, starts to chug when encoding/saving an NTSC transmission (at highest quality) while watching another (I paid &700 for my 20-GB Showstopper back "in the day" while the new 250-GB HDTV units will go for $1,000 and come down from there).
It will be interesting to see how long non-PC devices take to catch up to current top PC speeds and what applications (especially portable, non-notebook apps) spring from that.
It's also worth noting that some of the new TiVo units are coming with "TiVo Basic." While this option doesn't provide the full functionality of TiVo (season passes, wish lists, etc.) and only has a three-day program guide, it's a nice deal for those who want to upgrade from their VCR while avoiding extra fees.
If it weren't for Christmas, I wouldn't have any underwear at all...HelLO ladies!
Don't forget the EXTRA special hosing received by those who made the mistake of the dial-up adapter because unlike Sony, Nintendo split dial-up and broadband. If they don't like, or get tired of, Phantasy Star Online (Eps. I and II; C.A.R.D. Battle), they're SOL.
Actually, you can change the UHF frequency used by each receiver. I don't remember the exact number, but there are at least 12 channels available so that conflicts as you describe can be avoided. Check it out in the manual that came with your 510 (or other) receiver (page 21 in the 510 manual, "Changing Remote Address," to be specific) or, if you've misplaced your manual, go here and scan through the PDFs to find the information.
We had the same problem here when we got the 721 (a device we love) and it only took about five minutes to fix. Good luck!
The beauty part is that if you don't hear the local road reports anymore, you'll have the satellite radio entertaining you on the extended drive home.
One thought on why people buy games: You may THINK that storytelling is the "prime reason people make and buy games," but you'd be wrong. On the PC in particular this is a fallacy: See Quake (especially III), Unreal Tournament, Battlefield 1942, Tribes and The Sims for a few examples. In fact, you can look at the extremely popular games from Blizzard and see the same effect in that while Diablo, Starcraft and Warcraft DO have stories being told, people would likely still buy them if they had no story at all.
The REAL reason people buy games is to have fun, most often because of entertaining gameplay. Granted, some people do make games to tell a story, but that goal (again, especially on the PC) is often eschewed in favor of making leaps in technological achievement - kind of like our old pal, George Lucas, in fact. Even more significant is that customers go for this, which is why a game like Quake III outsells a game like Thief.
I'm not a big EA fan, particularly since my preferred console (out of the three I current use) is the Xbox where they refuse to play ball with Xbox Live. That being said, they manage to put out titles like SSX3 (improved immensely over its predecessors), Madden (even the hardcore football gamers are hard-pressed to declare an absolute winner between Madden and ESPN/2kX), LOTR: TT and ROTK, Need For Speed Underground, NBA Street, The Sims, SimCity...
Whether you like their approach or not, EA does put out good games. Great marketing or not, if the games weren't there they wouldn't be making money.
As for your title claiming EA is "dangerous": Get some perspective. Videogames are a hobby and not a life-or-death situation. Further, even if you were to assign videogames more importance than they deserve, EA (unlike Microsoft, for example) has plenty of competition out there and we're in NO danger of EA controlling all videogaming.
Correct me if I'm wrong (I probably am), but wouldn't a port from Amiga to ST be relatively easy? I know that for a while there they had a fair bit of software in common, but I confess that I don't know if it was due to similarities in architecture or similarities in capability.