Nonsense. There are plenty of freenet sites on how to make explosive devices as well as the locations of animal testing labs.
On a serious note, yes it will. But the world is full of tradeoffs. Nothing is perfect. High anomnity allows the scumballs to hide just as much as the legitimite users. Althogh scumballs and legitimate users are a matter of perspective. You may share copyrighted files on there, and think the pedophile is bad for sharing kiddie porn, while he thinks the terrorist is bad for sharing bomb making instructions, while the terrorist thinks you're both scum.
But yes, generally, most people, myself included, would agree pedophiles are scum and deserve a fate worse than the death penalty. I was just playing devil's advocate.
9-pin serial is stil used by many things, generally more in a business setting though. VGA is still used much more than DVI or other connectors, and works fine.
That's one of the biggest misconceptions most people hold...you don't need to buy a new 200-300 video card every year. Most people get away with a $100-$200 card every 2-4 years.
Consoles get stuck with older graphics for longer...yes developers find new tricks to make them look better, and good art direction goes a LONG LONG way. And graphics aren't everything...look at the Wii's popularity. Gameplay counts for more than graphics. The points being: You don't need to have the best graphics card, becaus a) they will still look better than consoles once the console a year or two old, and b) gameplay is more important than how the game looks. Games always have lower graphical settings that can be used, and can usually run fine on 4 year old computers if they have to (games like crysis being an obvious exception, TF2 being a good example of a great game that runs well on old hardware).
Also, while the biggest majority of PC gamers are people playing the cheapo flash puzzle games, the rest of them are considerably more 'hardcore' than the average console gamer, partly by nature of the platform being generally more expensive (but it doesn't have to be) and more difficult to use. Microsoft is actually doing a halfway decent job promoting 'Games for Windows' (which requires publishers to have a 1-click install) and adding the system rating in Vista, which is helping in some respects. I really think the difficulty factor is the biggest thing..hardware more than software. It's cheap to add a good video card, but very few people realize this...they just see the $600 cards flashed around and $3000+ PCs and say it's too expensive. I think if everyone realized that $200 could upgrade their current PC to be more powerful than a PS3 or 360, then you'd have a LOT more people playing PC games.
Another example of the seriousness of PC gamers: Quake-con existed long before any sort of "Halo-con". Halo was really the first game I noticed with serious competitive multiplayer matches on consoles, something PCs had been doing for years. If a geek lugging a full-ATX desktop and 19" CRT mointor halfway across the country isn't serious, I don't know what is.
But for many people, a console is definately a better choice. Kids, people who aren't technically inclined and don't intend to be, people who don't like computers, or people who just like simplicity. Or people who like certain types of games...sports, fighting and racing games are definately titles that are more prevalent on consoles. Also some exclusive titles like Final Fantasy or Smash Bros. are an excellent reason to have a console as well. I guess the truely 'hardcore' gamers would have all three consoles and a PC they game on.
And for the whole failed thing...you said "Gaming PCs *can't* become more like consoles. If they did, you'd end up with something costing more than a console with a smaller screen and lacking the homogenous feature-set which make consoles "just work"." By hooking it up to a TV you get a larger screen, and a specialized set of software makes it just work...which basically describes a console and kind of points to the fact that modern consoles are getting to be more like PCs....anyway that whole argument is rather moot and pointless and needs to be dropped.
You're right on all points, however nothing you say contradicts what I said or makes either a more or less viable option for gaming...it just makes them different. You're really trying to hang onto this...why can't you just admit they're both pretty equally suited for playing games very well? You obviously prefer consoles based on your needs/wants, but that doesn't make the PC inferior, or the console superior.
However, I do not see how I "failed" in that last part...you said PCs *can't* become more like consoles, and I described how they could become more like them. I didn't say it was a good idea or should be done, I just said it was possible. The current lineup of PCs games is definately not suited to that, but if such devices became more commonplace, then games would start to appear that support a living room role. So the ultimate point there is PCs could become like consoles, but there really isn't a point in doing that, because if you want a device like that, then you would probably just buy a console in the first place. PCs have their own niche that works quite well.
I would be willing to bet the vast majority of FOSS developers are working on stuff they actually use, so it's not entirely for charity.
I guess it's just worded with enough wiggle room that they can back out of it later and claim that's not what they meant. It really is stupid for them to say something like this, when there are thousands of people who develop great free software for Windows. I wouldn't be suprised if some people developing cross-platform stop releasing Windows binaries because of brash statements like this.
I would be willing to bet many people have a PC purchased in the last three years. The vast majority of these have an open PCI-e x16 slot. An 8600GT can be thrown in there for $100 and perform nearly on par with PS3 or 360. Or spend $200 and throw an 8800GT in. Or you can build a complete AMD 64 X2 4200+, 2GB ram and 8600GT system for $400. And even technical illiterates can take their tower into WorstBuy, overpay $150 for the card and $30 for installation, and still come out ahead (or be smart and buy the card online and find a friend that knows what they are doing). Unfortunately most laptop users are SOL.
And you're right, most PC games don't support on-screen multiplayer...which is why a console would be better for having friends over. It's not really a defect of them, it just wouldn't be as necessary of a feature, as PCs are generally not a living room fixture. I'm not one of the idiots who claims a PC is better than a console all the time...I think overall the PC is better but it has its downsides, and there are many benefits to a console as well. I do ultimately think that all gaming will move to a PC (like so many other things), but that could be a few console generations away (probably after HTPCs become standard...a Sony HTPC with a PlayStation 6 'module' installed?).
He was just presenting that you could hook up several controllers to play multiplayer if you wanted (with titles that support it). And I'll back him up...for most types of games, a mouse and keyboard offers better flexibility and control than a gamepad, although it may be harder to adjust to.
And gaming PCs *can* become more like consoles. The case design could be a slim horizontal form factor, and sit either vertically or horizontally, they could put HDMI, component, and RCA outputs on it, and put 4+ USB ports on the front (or use wireless controllers), and make a customized software package that runs when the OS boots up to install and play games, so you don't even see the backend. But they don't, probably because most PC gamers want a PC that does PC stuff as well as gaming.
Exactly...most security is a theft DETERRENT, not a theft stopper. They are there to keep honest people honest, not stop determined thieves. There are ways around every security system, and most of them are pretty easy if you know what you are doing, especially anything affordable for an individual.
If you're really that paranoid, just use the stinking cable lock, and hide the hard drive somewhere (it shouldn't need much ventilation). If someone really wants to steal your stuff, they're going to steal it unless you bolt a safe to the floor. But I would follow the advice of the other people here by either getting a new job, easing up on the paranoia, or quit throwing a hissy because you lost your office/got demoted.
Exactly...they should be running those rovers until they melt down...they are STILL discovering new things. I would challenge them to find 8 millions dollars that is going to produce more scientific discovery than the rovers.
You can take the train, a bus, or rent a car. You don't have to fly.
As a frequent traveler, the TSA is a pain in my ass too, but if you set off one of their detection systems, they should be allowed to know why before you get on a plane with me or other innocent travelers. It's not like they're going to rat you out to your life/health insurance or call up the bully who beat you up in high school so he can laugh at you some more.
But far as the TSA goes though, I would think they would only do this on inbound parties from outside the US. Because there are a lot of cancer patients and possibly others like nuclear power plant workers that would set off the alarm falsely...not to mention such equipment is probably rather pricey (not that they have any trouble wasting tax dollars, but they are only allowed to waste so much).
Or bored. We often dissect old hard drives because it's fun to take out the platters and throw them at people like frisbees. Or explain to idiots why their files are gone after their laptop was violently shaken (although most have motion protection now).
As far as the moral high ground is considered, I think it's still pretty easy to take them to court and still look like a good guy. All you request in the judgement is legal fees, lost wages, expenses, and then just $1 in damages (or maybe the minimum required to keep it out of small claims court or something). That would probably make you look even better than if you had taken a settlement (though you'll walk away with considerably less money).
No, far, far, from integrated garbage. Larrabee will actually have uses as a supercomputer CPU:
"It was clear from Gelsinger's public statements at IDF and from Intel's prior closed-door presentations that the company intends to see the Larrabee architecture find uses in the supercomputing market, but it wasn't so clear that this new many-core architecture would ever see the light of day as an enthusiast GPU. This lack of clarity prompted me to speculate that Larrabee might never yield a GPU product, and others went so far as to report "Larrabee is GPGPU-only" as fact.
Subsequent to my IDF coverage, however, I was contacted by a few people who have more intimate knowledge of the project than I. These folks assured me that Intel definitely intends to release a straight-up enthusiast GPU part based on the Larrabee architecture. So while Intel won't publicly talk about any actual products that will arise from the project, it's clear that a GPU aimed at real-time 3D rendering for games will be among the first public fruits of Larrabee, with non-graphics products following later.
As for what type of GPU Larrabee will be, it's probably going to have important similarities to we're seeing out of NVIDIA with the G80. Contrary to what's implied in this Inquirer article, GPU-accelerated raster graphics are here to stay for the foreseeable future, and they won't be replaced by real-time ray-tracing engines. Actually, it's worthwhile to take a moment to look at this issue in more detail."
Did you just say that Windows has better security than Linux on Slashdot? While you clean off the tar and feathers, here's my 2 cp:
Where I work, we have about 120 Windows clients (mostly XP pro, a few 200 and Vista Biz), and all but a few do not need to run as a local Administrator. I have maybe 2 or 3 problems a month caused by them not being a local administrator. Their software use ranges from Office to web/intranet browsing, a custom VB app, ODBC access, Adobe Illustrator, AutoCAD, and various other utilities for printers or equipment. You can do PLENTY on Windows without being an Admin.
Most modern games will actually run QUITE well on a $100 graphics card (and you can get 8800 series cards for $200 now, $600 is absurd and you deserve to be exploited if you pay that much). The 8600GT does wonders, and can be thrown in most $400 desktops for very respectable game performance.
I'm not saying put those cards in the $400 desktops by default...I think the problem is people buy $800-1000 PCs (or slightly more expensive laptops) with 'Intel Extreme Graphics', that could, at very little extra cost, have a halfway decent video card in them. (Or they could at least make sub-$1000 'Gaming' PCs and NOT exploit them by putting crappy $40 video cards in SLI) Fortunately Windows Vista (yes, I'm actually going to complement it here), has a rating for Gaming Graphics performance, which goes a long way to help this (if people start checking it). I've talked to quite a few people that have tried gaming on their PC but got frustrated because the game couldn't run. For them to have an option when they walk into a store would be quite nice.
I've been on several recent trips and I have never had to turn on the laptop, nor did I see anyone do so. List of airports:
Los Angeles, CA-LAX Hong Kong, China-HKG Cebu, Philippines (Didn't even have to remove it from the bag) Dayton, OH-DAY Newark, NJ-EWR
Here is a funny quirk that pissed me off though...on the flight back to the US from HK, I couldn't take a bottle of water with me on the plane that I purchased after the security checkpoints...they confiscated larger bottles of liqid from everyone as we boarded (excluding medicines and baby formula). What's up with that?
Slashdot Mirror
Not to mention the fact 'Web 2.0' is probably the stupidest and non-specific internet term used by mainstream media/marketing since 'blog'.
Nonsense. There are plenty of freenet sites on how to make explosive devices as well as the locations of animal testing labs.
On a serious note, yes it will. But the world is full of tradeoffs. Nothing is perfect. High anomnity allows the scumballs to hide just as much as the legitimite users. Althogh scumballs and legitimate users are a matter of perspective. You may share copyrighted files on there, and think the pedophile is bad for sharing kiddie porn, while he thinks the terrorist is bad for sharing bomb making instructions, while the terrorist thinks you're both scum.
But yes, generally, most people, myself included, would agree pedophiles are scum and deserve a fate worse than the death penalty. I was just playing devil's advocate.
9-pin serial is stil used by many things, generally more in a business setting though. VGA is still used much more than DVI or other connectors, and works fine.
That's one of the biggest misconceptions most people hold...you don't need to buy a new 200-300 video card every year. Most people get away with a $100-$200 card every 2-4 years.
Consoles get stuck with older graphics for longer...yes developers find new tricks to make them look better, and good art direction goes a LONG LONG way. And graphics aren't everything...look at the Wii's popularity. Gameplay counts for more than graphics. The points being: You don't need to have the best graphics card, becaus a) they will still look better than consoles once the console a year or two old, and b) gameplay is more important than how the game looks. Games always have lower graphical settings that can be used, and can usually run fine on 4 year old computers if they have to (games like crysis being an obvious exception, TF2 being a good example of a great game that runs well on old hardware).
Also, while the biggest majority of PC gamers are people playing the cheapo flash puzzle games, the rest of them are considerably more 'hardcore' than the average console gamer, partly by nature of the platform being generally more expensive (but it doesn't have to be) and more difficult to use. Microsoft is actually doing a halfway decent job promoting 'Games for Windows' (which requires publishers to have a 1-click install) and adding the system rating in Vista, which is helping in some respects. I really think the difficulty factor is the biggest thing..hardware more than software. It's cheap to add a good video card, but very few people realize this...they just see the $600 cards flashed around and $3000+ PCs and say it's too expensive. I think if everyone realized that $200 could upgrade their current PC to be more powerful than a PS3 or 360, then you'd have a LOT more people playing PC games.
Another example of the seriousness of PC gamers: Quake-con existed long before any sort of "Halo-con". Halo was really the first game I noticed with serious competitive multiplayer matches on consoles, something PCs had been doing for years. If a geek lugging a full-ATX desktop and 19" CRT mointor halfway across the country isn't serious, I don't know what is.
But for many people, a console is definately a better choice. Kids, people who aren't technically inclined and don't intend to be, people who don't like computers, or people who just like simplicity. Or people who like certain types of games...sports, fighting and racing games are definately titles that are more prevalent on consoles. Also some exclusive titles like Final Fantasy or Smash Bros. are an excellent reason to have a console as well. I guess the truely 'hardcore' gamers would have all three consoles and a PC they game on.
And for the whole failed thing...you said "Gaming PCs *can't* become more like consoles. If they did, you'd end up with something costing more than a console with a smaller screen and lacking the homogenous feature-set which make consoles "just work"." By hooking it up to a TV you get a larger screen, and a specialized set of software makes it just work...which basically describes a console and kind of points to the fact that modern consoles are getting to be more like PCs....anyway that whole argument is rather moot and pointless and needs to be dropped.
Yeah I figured that, but a) reading the article and b) using facts prevents you from not only making a first post, but also being witty about it.
So 10 access points costs $5M....I want to be the guy who gets paid to install those...
You're right on all points, however nothing you say contradicts what I said or makes either a more or less viable option for gaming...it just makes them different. You're really trying to hang onto this...why can't you just admit they're both pretty equally suited for playing games very well? You obviously prefer consoles based on your needs/wants, but that doesn't make the PC inferior, or the console superior.
However, I do not see how I "failed" in that last part...you said PCs *can't* become more like consoles, and I described how they could become more like them. I didn't say it was a good idea or should be done, I just said it was possible. The current lineup of PCs games is definately not suited to that, but if such devices became more commonplace, then games would start to appear that support a living room role. So the ultimate point there is PCs could become like consoles, but there really isn't a point in doing that, because if you want a device like that, then you would probably just buy a console in the first place. PCs have their own niche that works quite well.
That's why I said 'vast majority' and 'not everyone'.
Well, they *kind of* have a point.
I would be willing to bet the vast majority of FOSS developers are working on stuff they actually use, so it's not entirely for charity.
I guess it's just worded with enough wiggle room that they can back out of it later and claim that's not what they meant. It really is stupid for them to say something like this, when there are thousands of people who develop great free software for Windows. I wouldn't be suprised if some people developing cross-platform stop releasing Windows binaries because of brash statements like this.
I would be willing to bet many people have a PC purchased in the last three years. The vast majority of these have an open PCI-e x16 slot. An 8600GT can be thrown in there for $100 and perform nearly on par with PS3 or 360. Or spend $200 and throw an 8800GT in. Or you can build a complete AMD 64 X2 4200+, 2GB ram and 8600GT system for $400. And even technical illiterates can take their tower into WorstBuy, overpay $150 for the card and $30 for installation, and still come out ahead (or be smart and buy the card online and find a friend that knows what they are doing). Unfortunately most laptop users are SOL.
And you're right, most PC games don't support on-screen multiplayer...which is why a console would be better for having friends over. It's not really a defect of them, it just wouldn't be as necessary of a feature, as PCs are generally not a living room fixture. I'm not one of the idiots who claims a PC is better than a console all the time...I think overall the PC is better but it has its downsides, and there are many benefits to a console as well. I do ultimately think that all gaming will move to a PC (like so many other things), but that could be a few console generations away (probably after HTPCs become standard...a Sony HTPC with a PlayStation 6 'module' installed?).
He was just presenting that you could hook up several controllers to play multiplayer if you wanted (with titles that support it). And I'll back him up...for most types of games, a mouse and keyboard offers better flexibility and control than a gamepad, although it may be harder to adjust to.
And gaming PCs *can* become more like consoles. The case design could be a slim horizontal form factor, and sit either vertically or horizontally, they could put HDMI, component, and RCA outputs on it, and put 4+ USB ports on the front (or use wireless controllers), and make a customized software package that runs when the OS boots up to install and play games, so you don't even see the backend. But they don't, probably because most PC gamers want a PC that does PC stuff as well as gaming.
Exactly...most security is a theft DETERRENT, not a theft stopper. They are there to keep honest people honest, not stop determined thieves. There are ways around every security system, and most of them are pretty easy if you know what you are doing, especially anything affordable for an individual.
If you're really that paranoid, just use the stinking cable lock, and hide the hard drive somewhere (it shouldn't need much ventilation). If someone really wants to steal your stuff, they're going to steal it unless you bolt a safe to the floor. But I would follow the advice of the other people here by either getting a new job, easing up on the paranoia, or quit throwing a hissy because you lost your office/got demoted.
Exactly...they should be running those rovers until they melt down...they are STILL discovering new things. I would challenge them to find 8 millions dollars that is going to produce more scientific discovery than the rovers.
You can take the train, a bus, or rent a car. You don't have to fly.
As a frequent traveler, the TSA is a pain in my ass too, but if you set off one of their detection systems, they should be allowed to know why before you get on a plane with me or other innocent travelers. It's not like they're going to rat you out to your life/health insurance or call up the bully who beat you up in high school so he can laugh at you some more.
But far as the TSA goes though, I would think they would only do this on inbound parties from outside the US. Because there are a lot of cancer patients and possibly others like nuclear power plant workers that would set off the alarm falsely...not to mention such equipment is probably rather pricey (not that they have any trouble wasting tax dollars, but they are only allowed to waste so much).
Or bored. We often dissect old hard drives because it's fun to take out the platters and throw them at people like frisbees. Or explain to idiots why their files are gone after their laptop was violently shaken (although most have motion protection now).
Or better yet, donate the money you get to charity (or the EFF or something).
As far as the moral high ground is considered, I think it's still pretty easy to take them to court and still look like a good guy. All you request in the judgement is legal fees, lost wages, expenses, and then just $1 in damages (or maybe the minimum required to keep it out of small claims court or something). That would probably make you look even better than if you had taken a settlement (though you'll walk away with considerably less money).
No, far, far, from integrated garbage. Larrabee will actually have uses as a supercomputer CPU:
"It was clear from Gelsinger's public statements at IDF and from Intel's prior closed-door presentations that the company intends to see the Larrabee architecture find uses in the supercomputing market, but it wasn't so clear that this new many-core architecture would ever see the light of day as an enthusiast GPU. This lack of clarity prompted me to speculate that Larrabee might never yield a GPU product, and others went so far as to report "Larrabee is GPGPU-only" as fact.
Subsequent to my IDF coverage, however, I was contacted by a few people who have more intimate knowledge of the project than I. These folks assured me that Intel definitely intends to release a straight-up enthusiast GPU part based on the Larrabee architecture. So while Intel won't publicly talk about any actual products that will arise from the project, it's clear that a GPU aimed at real-time 3D rendering for games will be among the first public fruits of Larrabee, with non-graphics products following later.
As for what type of GPU Larrabee will be, it's probably going to have important similarities to we're seeing out of NVIDIA with the G80. Contrary to what's implied in this Inquirer article, GPU-accelerated raster graphics are here to stay for the foreseeable future, and they won't be replaced by real-time ray-tracing engines. Actually, it's worthwhile to take a moment to look at this issue in more detail."
Shamelessly ripped from:
http://arstechnica.com/articles/paedia/hardware/clearing-up-the-confusion-over-intels-larrabee.ars/2
These are code names, not product names. They will probably all be Core 2(3?), Xeon, etc.
Did you just say that Windows has better security than Linux on Slashdot? While you clean off the tar and feathers, here's my 2 cp:
Where I work, we have about 120 Windows clients (mostly XP pro, a few 200 and Vista Biz), and all but a few do not need to run as a local Administrator. I have maybe 2 or 3 problems a month caused by them not being a local administrator. Their software use ranges from Office to web/intranet browsing, a custom VB app, ODBC access, Adobe Illustrator, AutoCAD, and various other utilities for printers or equipment. You can do PLENTY on Windows without being an Admin.
Group Policy
The second option sounds a lot easier.
So can we start charging $100 a bushel like they charge us $100 a barrel?
Whenever they need a few thousand extra page impressions by spanning a half-page article over eleven pages.
Most modern games will actually run QUITE well on a $100 graphics card (and you can get 8800 series cards for $200 now, $600 is absurd and you deserve to be exploited if you pay that much). The 8600GT does wonders, and can be thrown in most $400 desktops for very respectable game performance.
I'm not saying put those cards in the $400 desktops by default...I think the problem is people buy $800-1000 PCs (or slightly more expensive laptops) with 'Intel Extreme Graphics', that could, at very little extra cost, have a halfway decent video card in them. (Or they could at least make sub-$1000 'Gaming' PCs and NOT exploit them by putting crappy $40 video cards in SLI) Fortunately Windows Vista (yes, I'm actually going to complement it here), has a rating for Gaming Graphics performance, which goes a long way to help this (if people start checking it). I've talked to quite a few people that have tried gaming on their PC but got frustrated because the game couldn't run. For them to have an option when they walk into a store would be quite nice.
I've been on several recent trips and I have never had to turn on the laptop, nor did I see anyone do so. List of airports:
Los Angeles, CA-LAX
Hong Kong, China-HKG
Cebu, Philippines (Didn't even have to remove it from the bag)
Dayton, OH-DAY
Newark, NJ-EWR
Here is a funny quirk that pissed me off though...on the flight back to the US from HK, I couldn't take a bottle of water with me on the plane that I purchased after the security checkpoints...they confiscated larger bottles of liqid from everyone as we boarded (excluding medicines and baby formula). What's up with that?