while there is a bit of a tone that puts all hackers into the 'cracker' crowd, the reality is that security folk love this stuff. Computers or not, the best way to convince people how crappy their security is (or rather, where the gaping holes are that they overlooked) is by a real live demo. Most here have heard about the post 9-11 breaches of security by folks who had wired themselves with all sorts of goodies to test the security at airports and other similarly secured areas.
the problems served as an eye opener to many. AT&T however, has taken a very foolish approach to dealing with this. Instead of tightening the social arm of security all year around, they are only interested in this date range (not ONLY of course, but since this has not been made a big issue before, and employee training is the NUMBER ONE method of reducing social engineering security risk, then AT&T is not taking it seriously overall)
This is exactly what any thief, vandal, or anyone who wishes to subvert security, wishes for... the very predictable nature. I hope for their sake that these warnings are more often (year around) and are not the only method of education of employees.
outside of the actual cyber-squatting debate, I just wonder how many of you have come across domains that spelled out, give the impression of a very generic reference to something that is nationwide (or world), has many different types, names, etc. (i.e. like when we use the word, "tissue" instead of the product specific "Kleenex", or rather we say "get me a kleenex" but really refer to any tissue). I don't remember any, because I just hit the back button and keep looking. But it seems the food service does this a lot. Othertimes it is some single community that uses a very generic name like 'community.com' for only their local community. I would think that it is better to put [town].community.com, or something similar so it is more intuitive. Seems now that people are much more familiar with the dot notation and it is a shame to take generic names for use by very specific sites.
On the other hand, it is amusing some of these examples... just start typing common words and ideas (more words I guess... hmmm) into the path window.
having attended a wedding recently and asking the photographer a bit about this subject (and a very similar question) the answer was basically this.
For speed, there are very good digital cameras out there that cost a bit more than the 'equivelant' 35mm ones in which there is no noticable difference on speed. The trade off is one of mechanics however. You must have an enourmous amount of storage that can quickly and easily be switched out for the digital camera. (which I was told is not a big deal, but analog cameras have had the techniques of that problem brought down to a science)
About the quality, the answer was this: If you only view desktop (not computer) sized photos and smaller then you will never see a problem with the mid to high end digital cameras out on the market currently. However, while you can blow up the negative (from a good quality film/camera) to make very large pictures you are stuck with a rather low end for magnification on digital film. His solution was to take his best shots and store them on very high (and thus very large) resolution files and store those on any number of mediums.
Yeah, I know its not that helpful really but I hope it is a jumping off point for more information.
I agree that it is pretty ridiculous that many products are rated before they ever are out and tested exensively. On sites like Amazon, it is sad to see the pool of reviews so corrupted by obviously irrellevant posts. (sure the series was great, but we are talking about THIS game) Another factor that is both annoying and sad is that professional reviewers often do this. How can you judge a game, especially any persistent world or long term game, solely based on a week or two of play? Most things have a newness factor, yet reviews do not often reflect this.
However, it is my understanding that 'Best of Show' literally has to do with presentation at E3. meaning that I could go there with a proof of concept, a few screen captures and wireframe models but win if I displayed my booth in a fantastic way. At least that is the way I have seen it in the past. Sort of like how there is 'Best Picture' and 'Best Actor/Actress' awards.
I was discussing something similar to this with a friend recently and we both hit upon what you just said. The part that was particularly funny was where you point out that your co-workers are assholes. Remember, loyalty and respect work both ways. If you are the one that is depended on to fix problems, find solutions, do grunt work, etc but yet are treated like crap (not paid as well as those who are worthless) then that is not a company you should even consider staying with. It works both ways, they expect quality work out of you and you expect 'fair' compensation.
I bought the book recently and have only gone through the first 2 chapters. It is interesting to say the least.
However, I wonder if those (or any other) fundamentals can be applied in a relatively painless manner with CrystalSpace and OGRE. I would love to have one graphics engine that I can use for ultra high resolution rendering of stills, or lower resolution for physics rendering and toying around with odd things, and still another for walkthroughs of homes and yards.
By setting the level of detail, rendering api used (opengl, directx, whatever) along with plugging in the right modules to serve as AI, resources, scripting, physics, etc. I could then save a lot of time between experiments. Basically the engine would serve as the basis for a 'proving ground' for ideas... at least to someone like me.
without gutting the system, can a developer use different modules for AI, physics, rulesets, etc as to adapt this engine for whatever use it was needed for? Is this really the graphics portion only, and are there any physics and AI modules or plugins for this?
I can't read it now because I think it is slashdotted... or my ISP sucks, one of the two. I have started looking recently for a graphics engine to create a demo world for things ranging from physics programing experiments, to an 'object fitting room', to a world to display some architecture and landscape files I am working on. Will this be a good place to start? I have looked a bit (but not much yet) at the CrystalSpace engine, and it is very nice indeed. But I am not really into the graphics myself. Graphics is just another tool for me as I focus on the physics, AI, economy (for some 'games'). So is there a good API for this and perhaps already a component based object library in place? I would love to use something like this as the cornerstone of a rendering suite to test my little evil contraptions:)
Also, assuming anyone actually reads this and understands it... if anyone knows of a good programming and resource referrence for what I am describing I would appreciate any leads. Thanks
is that in any situation where direct security (the security of the system itself) and derived security (the security of personnel, equipment/property and other assets that depend in various degrees on the stability of the system)then MS can NOT be seriously considered. The fact that MS products are on the rise in many DoD systems shows that, once again, our government is full of a bunch of slack jawed fools that get sold and taken in by gimicks. No competent Officer would ever accept shoddy weapons for his men simply because they looked pretty and the salesmen were all slick talkers... but then again the modern military is full of self indulging, career minded simpletons who wear officer rank.
Once again, we see how the one thing that was needed most throughout this great country's passage through the ages has been the thing that is ignored and ridiculed the most, Vigilance.
Well, as I arrived home this evening what greeted me in my mail but a big Star Wars pic with the caption, "See the movie in theaters May 16th. Get the merchandise now at WALL*MART"
Hmmm, I know it is one store but still I chuckled and thought of the above/. story.
just like Napster and other 'naughty' software re-awakened the beast of P2P, I think that this type of use of existing P2P and pseudo-P2P networks will spawn more innovative (the real definition) use of networks.
However, I remember the concept of bandwidth as a commodity... and how that generally didn't work out so good, but maybe that changed now. Would the combination of bandwidth, storage and computing do better? The article a couple of days ago about sharing bandwidth is in the same category I guess.
Same issues of security and such, but I am thinking that the 'acceptance' from business and such could drive the technology in new directions... oh wait, that can be good AND bad sometimes.
the complete lack of AC's and even the ability to have the 'post as AC' button kind gives it away. Perhaps by linking to some nice physics sites with very little relevance might help hide it... I dunno, I'm not good at this stuff
I have heard that he is arrogant and presumptious, so I wonder if that has anything to do with it... not like Hollywood isn't full of Prima Donnas, but I just wonder now. Were he not a 'geek' would/. necessarily care? Oh well, I always wonder about odd things like that.
I was discussing something similar to this the other day with a friend/colleage. What was brought up was how even with the best algorithms, super computing (or distrubuted, but you get my point I hope) and even significantly in the future (such as 50 years here), that it would be foolish to 'put your eggs in the basket of computers'. Well, I agree that dependancy is foolish, however in the meantime before we build massive intelligent robots to make us slaves, then perhaps we could merely use MUD's and other massive online games as a platform to test out mass response in a 'controlled' environment. I am thinking just off the top of my head that any result would be accurate than any mathmatical projection using the same environmental conditions and tests. The chaotic nature of real people, from the 1337 d00dz to just those that are drinking while playing would be only invalidated by the 'unreal' factor of the test, thus owing to lack of real consequence of action (like in buying something with real vs. virtual play money). However, this is the same for any mathmatical setup (pure math and no human interaction except to just say 'go' and 'stop'.
Yeah, its not the best idea I realize, but it would be fun I think. Not to mention that the benefit to games from creating virtual worlds more of the simulator sort, and less of the Diablo sort might really appeal to many (I know it would to me:)
Taking advantage of the player base (not abusing mind you) already there, while applying more advanced and dynamic models (for example: economic models, social response to stimuli modeling, etc). I admit that I have a strong bias for making better online games and that the simulator/modeling approach while interesting, may just be some justification to fund better dynamics into the very static and boring MMOG games... and of course that is MY opinion, so feel free to disagree.
Spelling and grammer errors aside, I have actually thought this out for quite awhile, but am too lazy to write good now (I am cooking).
by admiting that, many system integrators and developers will now move on to greater things. As an integrator myself, we often come across problems of vendors who sell solutions that they claim "use open and published standards." However, the method in which they actually interface with various components (web server, shared library like functionality, OS, messaging, etc.) is very much proprietary and unpublished. What we then see is a system that embeds these components not integrates with them. We are then forced by simple necessity to move on to other vendors.
Microsoft by admitting this, just said to the world that they are not making an Operating System, as much as they are making an embedded solution. This reminds me of remote controlled cars, which I dabbled with many moons ago. You could buy plans for cars (really just guidelines) and any of the individual parts you wanted. There was a defacto standard for interconnections: batteries, radio parts, servos, electronics, gears, etc. While not everyone stuck to this, it became quickly obvious what hobbiests wanted, that being a standard. It was then easier and cheaper to get parts that you could interchange in your RC car.
Now then we had Radio Shack and others like them selling these 'wanna be's' that while they looked like the real deal, they were obviously embedded parts and not integrated. No ability therefore existed to interchange (i.e. customize and upgrade) parts, much less replace damaged and broken parts. This apparently did not go unnoticed, as eventually there were less of these fake rc cars, and more that followed the standard. This was indeed a good thing for them. You could buy these pre-fab cars, and you could have various degrees of customizability in them.
Microsoft is like those cheapo (except in price) Radio Shack cars. Many users wanted the same customizability but didn't want to bother with building from scratch. Microsoft shows here that they either can or do not produce operating systems that give the user the power to decide. By saying that those components are integral to the OS, tells us that besides the anticompetitive nature of that design, that you introduce more unneeded complexity, bloat and the stability and security issues that go along with it.
I therefore think we should just nod silently and let nature take its course. If these lawsuits interfere with that, then it will mess that natural order up, and could most likely cause a shielding of MS from the market and the consumer choice.
since the stated goals of Bioware were to create a computerized pen-and-paper system, where you have the same dynamics of interaction (including an optional DM) but now with graphics and pretty stuff... will this take off like the original D&D did, or are too many already wrapped up in MMORPG's?
Also, while I greatly anticipate this game and personally think it will do great, I am still curious about a system using non D&D 'rules' but made in a modular system as they are. Well as they claim, who knows what it will really be like until the final is released? I think D&D rules did a great job for simplifying a very complex system through short cuts and probability rolls. However, pretend graphics was not an issue. Are there computerized systems out there for a much more complex rules system in existence now? I am just thinking that computers could give us the ability to be much more complex, and do things that would have taken 4 hours of complex rolls, table lookups, conversions and decisions by a team of DMs for just one 'move'. It seems that we still see the same simplified systems (levels and battle heavy systems that allow little if no flexibility to role play), but with graphics and sound.
Not to say graphics and sound are 'bad', they can be used to augment the immersion factor of the game. But I have yet to see any game, movie or TV show that could ever come close to portraying what my imagination can picture when reading a well writen story/novel. So, should I just adjust to what is out there, or are there any efforts underway to use the more advanced power of computers to help us create more complex worlds and systems? I would even be interested in computer programs that let you continue to have table top games, but now you have lap tops and such that connect to actually calculate moves, combat, skill, reactions and the like... I guess you could have primative graphics to 'help' then too... but only primative if the CPU is too bogged down with the system calculations. (I guess it is obvious where my priorities lie:)
what about licensing? Most know about the complexity surounding the litigation and subsequent delay (and almost canceling it was whispered) of Neverwinter Nights by Bioware. I believe that the holders of the rights of these ideas, will need to be more open to individual development teams and not just license to large producers. So, is that likely? Will the licensing issue even be a big deal?
in theory... if a system like this is sucessful (or more exactly spawns a whole movement that is very sucessful) then this could be a great thing for both developers/designers and players. I will even venture to say that, pun intended, many investors will find this to be a great thing. I don't adopt any 'fight da man' attitude or have any quest against Evil (c) Corporations (tm). However, it has become apparent to me, and through many others by word of mouth and on forums, that the uber-producing companies like EA are really gettting in the way of good game development. Developers have to put up with snotty management, stupid processes, idiotic deveoopment constraints and moronic deadlines. During the development cycle, especially with very large games (did I mention that this is mainly about PC games?:) the marketroids might freak out on the latest incomplete statistics they have and force a change in deadline, a rewrite to features, or a full change of direction for the game development in general... usually all of the above. Its that frustration you get if you were to wake up at 2 am, drive 8 hours to pick someone up, only to find they decided when you get within 10 miles they want to stay, or maybe even go several hours away from your home (making your trip even longer). This backtracking, not to mention the additional work of the 'new' feature takes quite a while and therefore quite a lot of money. This causes even more of a timeline clenching, because some buffoon in marketing said that it would/should be released for Christmas. end result is a piece of crap, that could be good, if given the time and effort to actually finish it. (resulting in layoffs and budget cuts for the development team, yet raises and promotions for the foolish decision makers that caused the problem. which leads too...
the player/consumer. what the consumer sees is yet another cookie cutter p.o.s. that really is only differentiated from all the other p.o.s.'s by a witty character trait here, or a city/dungeon/craft name there.... and MAYBE better graphics. Plus, the 'elements' that were obviously introduced ad hoc into the game merely to appeal to certain markets do not melt together good, are not done well and not really finished (half baked).
Perhaps this is one more step in allowing developers to make games that they want to make, and players being able to pick and play the games they want. The players could pick the styles they want and not be forced to put up with erradic mixtures of crap they don't care about resulting from the 'try to make everyone happy all the time' mentality often dictated by large production shops.
This could also be a great benefit for small startup development teams as well. I for one think this is a good thing
will MS provide wrapping (perhaps not the most appropriate term) for older apps to reside on this new system and/or allow the older apps to reside on other partitions (remote or local) that are NTFS or FAT but yet still run with system calls and libs that are on this new system? Or, will it be like NTFS, and you must either redo the entire application or wait until MS decides to bridge the incompatability a bit better? And of course for most here that do use windows the question will be: 'Can I use my older games on this?' and then 'Dammit! why aren't my games (old or not) all ported to Linux or *BSD yet?'
This could be very bad and annoying... but then MS should realize (they do in name) that people are tired of their crap in growing numbers. I doubt that many will stick around with Windows if all of their libs, apps and API's now suddenly don't work. Graphics will require new DirectX that is compatable with both... OpenGL will have to be rewritten... flesh will melt off your face and plagues will infest your innards... ok, sorry got carried away.
I am sure many are asking about the security issues of this new system. If MS uses this as a method of locking people into an even tighter and more viscious upgrade cycle just to keep the very same functionality they have now, but with the 'added reliability' of this new Filesystem, I doubt they will stick around.
I apparently did not want any answers, but just thought that my keyboard needed a workout. Amazing how people can get so worked up about bitching and griping, arguing and attacking each other and write megabyte sized rants... yet when it comes to a technical question/problem... all one can hear are the crickets chirping.
what about inheriting large web sites that use a combination of ASP, PHP, Perl and JSP that you must integrate together. (well most parts, but not necessarily all of them) Add to that non-'web based' services that are either in development or are legacy in which you must incorporate/integrate at various levels...
With that in mind, what is then the best solution for maintenance. Key desires are abstracted design elements to encourage reuse between all components, along with a framework for future projects/elements that you do not want to limit to one particular language or implementation. Would PHP be a good solution for a quick fix? Can PHP create data formats for storage and interfacing that will easily (hahaha) be usable by other languages like Java? Perhaps first creating a more Java friendly system that PHP can also access with little overhead? (rumoured desire is RMI, so I am leaning for Jini right now just because I want to learn it:) Then once operational the optimization can happen for different sections, converting to Java if needed (if only for the API and consistent calls), or writing C++ wrappers (apparently that is desired by some talking heads)... what to do, oh what to do? oh yeah... there are also a TON of datastores of various types that need to be normalized and made to play nicely together.
Perhaps simply coding under the influence will make all those problems solve themselves, believe I shall try that later!
I am simply curious (and offer no opinion on it) if nVidia would try to fire up a litigation gun aimed at the name chosen. Regardless of whether they would win or not, regardless of whether or not the name comes from a very old Zelda (Nintendo) game item/idea and regardless of whether anyone agrees, disagrees or doesn't care one way or another. I just would like to be a fly on the wall to find out if nVidia lawyers are discussing this right now.
and living by that choice. If I was beta testing software, I would expect two assumptions to be evident.
being beta, it is unstable and I carry a risk, so don't tie in any mission critical apps or data into it (at least not without adequate redundancy and backup)
this is someone elses product that I am helping out on
now, if I get paid... good. If I get some stock or percent of sales... good. However there is nothing that says that they OWE me, no more than anyone really OWES me if I help them move. Sure it would be nice, but lets keep our heads on now.
That said, as a company manager (or project manager) of a product that was entering beta, I would want to provide incentives to beta testers. Perhaps they would get discounts... perhaps I would give them money or percentages of sales... perhaps I would merely put their name in the credits (if there is one). Whatever it is, it would be spelled out in a contract. If I don't like the terms asked for by a potential tester, then I do not have to let him/her test. If as a customer, I do not like the terms of the test, then I do not have to test. Unless there was a clear (and most likely written) indication that testers would receive some monetary compensation, then I don't believe that these complainers have a leg to stand on.
if you know of the story of Ultima: Ascension, then skip down, the next section is about the setup and a little history lesson
back around the time when Episode I was about to be released, was still the time when another 'Epic' (touted by the creators) entertainment event was unfolding. That event was the conclusion of the Ultima series. For just under 6 years, fans and even new initiates to the series had eagerly awaited not just the release but any snippet of news, screenshots, story, etc. The excitement built up this mere game both amazed and scared some who did not understand the game (hey, what do THEY know). Literally hundreds of sites devoted themselves to this next epic conclusion known as Ultima IX, and then Ascension later. Many fan sites had a ton of fiction and story lines, many a serious (and often very nasty) discussion on forums was held about what the origin of blackrock, the guardian and this whole mess really was. There where even rumors of published books. (I for one never saw them) In a stated attempt by Origin|EA to not scare off potential new customers they would stealthily release tidbits of information to select organizations (usually in other countries than most of the fan sites, but that is merely a demographic issue). It was touted as just another action adventure game, and the title changed to reflect that no player had to have any existing experience with the series.
However, things began to go sour. Long time devoted fans (made obvious by their volunteer time and effort given so generously to the community) found that they where THE ONLY source of information about the upcoming game. Questions about why they, the fans, must volunteer their time (as in free) to promote and advocate the game, ask questions that never where answered, be put off by EA|Origin staff, yet not get paid or compensated for it. (In case you don't know, free is not accurate. The fans in fact take a loss from the costs to bandwidth and hardware, not to mention loss of real life productivity) EA|Origin obviously did not care about this issue, and could not seem to spend the money to either help out some sites, through direct assistance or just providing a few hours here and there for knowledgable employees to act as liasons. Soon, many web sites began to disappear, feeling dejected that they would not only be denied any information, but where often lied to. (as evidenced by answers from staff that where directly contradicting a press release that would be released a day later to a gaming magazine, usually in a foreign language) It soon became apparent that EA|Origin either where taking the existing fan base for granted (in a VERY extreme case), or simply did not wish to make a game that appealed to them and thus felt some sort of guilt or shame, leading to the alienation treatment of the fans.
While the term 'understand' can be used to describe how the vast majority of fans felt in relation to the game appealing to a larger market, many where worried that if the development/producing team did not have the integrity necessary to first produce a game that answers the call of the fan base (regardless of whether they dress it up later a bit to appeal to others) then it would manifest as a bad game that appeals to none (neither the new crowd or the existing fans). This was warrented not only because of this situation happening so many times in other games and even non entertainment and/or computer industries... but more importantly, was the fact that when it had been tried with Ultima 8, it only ended in disaster. No one liked the game (by no one and none used earlier I mean a significant enough sized group to justify expenses, much less keep people interested in later releases). Like a restaruant that serves fecal matter and wonders why no one ever comes back and why negative word of mouth travels faster than positive word, EA|Origin proved that they refused to comprehend this basic lesson of life and business (on any level) by releasing Ascension as a... well... it didn't seem like an "Ultima" at all to me and many others. Some will argue pro or con of its merits as a stand alone game, that is not my concern here. The fact was, it not only continued a series and a story line, but was a very eagerly anticipated final wrap up of the entire series. Just looking back at that time period, you see how eagerly people where to once again travel to Britania and face its perils. Fan art, fan fiction, fan news sites, fan organizations of real life events and sub-press conferences... all of this translated to a very easy market for Origin and EA. They could have layed off their marketers for this. Or in efficiency and logical terms, they could have better applied their resources to the tasks that most made sense. Put that marketing (including marketing management, oversite, corporate interaction, overhead, etc) into development of code, art and story. (not to mention QA) Not to go into a rant on the futility of and inefficiency of corporate/bureaucratic mentality and processes... they simply did not prioritize correctly. End result was yet another game and public relation status that angered many and alienated many more.
But wait, theres more... if you order now we include this guide, "How to take your one saving grace and flush it down the toilet". One of the most devestating (now seen in hindsite and admited by many ex employees including Garriot himself) was the mistake that trully relates to the Star Wars issue here. First, the comparison. Obviously many had awaited a long and often frustrating yet exciting time for Episode I to come out. Any news was lapped up like a marooned man in the Saharra laps up the dew off of a blade of grass if he finds it. Fans dressed up in silly costumes and acted out there favorite scenes from books and movies alike. Like with Ultima, fans devoted huge amounts of time, bandwidth, hardware and good ol fashion brain power to present news, art, rumors, facts and even fan based fiction. Even more than Ultima, Star Wars spawned an entire (and sometimes frightening) sub-culture of its own.
However, some began to see signs of impending doom in the commercials, trailers, interviews and art. I for one remember a particular ad on TV that scared the bones from my body... it was narrated by this woman who's inflections, voice tenor and choice and timing of words where obviously of the sort used by advertising agencies to appeal to small children. Complete with the choicest tidbits of scenes that all featured everyone's favorite CGI loon, Jar Jar. If no one had ever hear of Star Wars, then they would have been left with the impression that this 'new movie' was merely a fun and cute childrens flick, much like a Disney animated film (well, not just animated, and no that is not necesarilly a bad thing on its own). This seemed to contrast the existing movies, books, story, etc that made up the fantasy universe of Star Wars.
Now back to Ultima... the biggest single issue that destroyed the game and its effect on fans and newbies alike was the botched PR of the leak of the original game plot/script. (no, it is not ironic, at least not from a historical and 'Big Picture' perspective) Due to most likely a lack of consistent (or I should really say, just a sheer lack of PR in the first place) PR policy, growing tensions within the Origin camp and against its 'overlords', EA... a very large mistake happened. Besides the first mistake of leaking the script, the real issue was how they handled it. First they denied it, in an attempt to (as a prankster would perform if his joke was beginning to be suspected) turn the tide away from the discovery of the plot, Origin (whether directed or not) decided to redo the story. The result was a simplistic story with no real substance, much less any tie in with past releases and 'unanswered questions'. Very much less than any 'Epic' feel to the grand conclusion of one of the most popular and succesful (by various definitions) game series of all times.
Now fast forward to the present... now we hear of a release/leak of the plot. Should we be concerned at all that they would change it, not really. I doubt any film studio would ever throw away its existing film already recorded, not to mention the CGI already in place in most parts. Even though it has happened in the past (like when an actor/actress dies before completion), I doubt personally anything major COULD be changed. However, I just hope (as in 'New Hope'?) that this next movie will break the 'cycle'. I look forward to it, and hope that it returns to the Episode 5 look and feel.
Note that this was meant to really be silly to a large degree, so this does not necessarily reflect the internal ramblings of my rational mind... I know it is around here somewhere.
I am not sure if this is a good thing or not. I really have way too much to do for this game to suck every last bit of time from me. Geez! Had I the will power I would resist, but the call is too strong.
I am really looking forward to the consumer created modules and campaigns that will pop up eventually. So many people have done so much already before even getting their hands on the actual DM tools. I am not a gambling man, but I will put money down on this one bet... that this method of producing games will become popular. Errr, let me reword that. Rather, this type of scalable multiplayer engine with a very modular design and included design tools will probably catch on. Many other games have already had variations on this, including 'mod' and 'level' editors, but as far as I know this is the first CRPG. Since there are so many planned persistent worlds in the making (just awaiting the software I assume) in addition to the many play session (like in the traditional table top sessions) servers that will be conceived, I wonder how this will impact the "MMORPG" games already in place.
On a side note/question... Does anyone know if Star Wars: Knights of the [old?] Republic will have a multiplayer capability? (like the Infinity engine provided) I would love to play this with my wife at the very least (so she can not get on me as much:)
that is a good moral indeed. However, I believe instead of saying, "It's a lot easier to design security into a system in the first place, than to try to add it on later" Perhaps it should be more on the lines of, It is better to design FOR security in the first place. No one can predict the future, and often the best layed methods of security today, show up tomorrow to be the gaping holes of vulnerability. Either way, if you hard code things like that in, then you will end up having your work cut out for you. The only constant in the universe is change itself, so modularize as much as possible (if only in your code base, but not necessarily in the completed product).
In your story, the problem could have been that the money was simply not available (or some other logistic issue existed) to initially put in locks. But maybe, a lesser (but still perhaps more than no implementation) preporatory 'middle ground' could have been put in.
For example, many doors have no cut out section along side the knobs. (doors where no locking is anticipated) However, why not buy normal doors and frames, but no lockable knobs. Or as I have seen before, have a door pre cut for any cipher locks or such, but put a plate on that section for the later time when the cipher will be needed.
Another aspect of this, is that when security and vulnerability methods change (which they will), it is cheaper/easier to convert.
Or I could be nuts... I have drugs in my right now (no, not that kind) that could be making me rather loopy!
Slashdot Mirror
the problems served as an eye opener to many. AT&T however, has taken a very foolish approach to dealing with this. Instead of tightening the social arm of security all year around, they are only interested in this date range (not ONLY of course, but since this has not been made a big issue before, and employee training is the NUMBER ONE method of reducing social engineering security risk, then AT&T is not taking it seriously overall)
This is exactly what any thief, vandal, or anyone who wishes to subvert security, wishes for... the very predictable nature. I hope for their sake that these warnings are more often (year around) and are not the only method of education of employees.
On the other hand, it is amusing some of these examples... just start typing common words and ideas (more words I guess... hmmm) into the path window.
For speed, there are very good digital cameras out there that cost a bit more than the 'equivelant' 35mm ones in which there is no noticable difference on speed. The trade off is one of mechanics however. You must have an enourmous amount of storage that can quickly and easily be switched out for the digital camera. (which I was told is not a big deal, but analog cameras have had the techniques of that problem brought down to a science)
About the quality, the answer was this: If you only view desktop (not computer) sized photos and smaller then you will never see a problem with the mid to high end digital cameras out on the market currently. However, while you can blow up the negative (from a good quality film/camera) to make very large pictures you are stuck with a rather low end for magnification on digital film. His solution was to take his best shots and store them on very high (and thus very large) resolution files and store those on any number of mediums.
Yeah, I know its not that helpful really but I hope it is a jumping off point for more information.
However, it is my understanding that 'Best of Show' literally has to do with presentation at E3. meaning that I could go there with a proof of concept, a few screen captures and wireframe models but win if I displayed my booth in a fantastic way. At least that is the way I have seen it in the past. Sort of like how there is 'Best Picture' and 'Best Actor/Actress' awards.
I was discussing something similar to this with a friend recently and we both hit upon what you just said. The part that was particularly funny was where you point out that your co-workers are assholes.
Remember, loyalty and respect work both ways. If you are the one that is depended on to fix problems, find solutions, do grunt work, etc but yet are treated like crap (not paid as well as those who are worthless) then that is not a company you should even consider staying with. It works both ways, they expect quality work out of you and you expect 'fair' compensation.
However, I wonder if those (or any other) fundamentals can be applied in a relatively painless manner with CrystalSpace and OGRE. I would love to have one graphics engine that I can use for ultra high resolution rendering of stills, or lower resolution for physics rendering and toying around with odd things, and still another for walkthroughs of homes and yards.
By setting the level of detail, rendering api used (opengl, directx, whatever) along with plugging in the right modules to serve as AI, resources, scripting, physics, etc. I could then save a lot of time between experiments. Basically the engine would serve as the basis for a 'proving ground' for ideas... at least to someone like me.
I can't read it now because I think it is slashdotted... or my ISP sucks, one of the two. I have started looking recently for a graphics engine to create a demo world for things ranging from physics programing experiments, to an 'object fitting room', to a world to display some architecture and landscape files I am working on. Will this be a good place to start? I have looked a bit (but not much yet) at the CrystalSpace engine, and it is very nice indeed. But I am not really into the graphics myself. Graphics is just another tool for me as I focus on the physics, AI, economy (for some 'games'). So is there a good API for this and perhaps already a component based object library in place? I would love to use something like this as the cornerstone of a rendering suite to test my little evil contraptions :)
Also, assuming anyone actually reads this and understands it... if anyone knows of a good programming and resource referrence for what I am describing I would appreciate any leads. Thanks
Once again, we see how the one thing that was needed most throughout this great country's passage through the ages has been the thing that is ignored and ridiculed the most, Vigilance.
Well, as I arrived home this evening what greeted me in my mail but a big Star Wars pic with the caption, "See the movie in theaters May 16th. Get the merchandise now at WALL*MART"
Hmmm, I know it is one store but still I chuckled and thought of the above /. story.
However, I remember the concept of bandwidth as a commodity... and how that generally didn't work out so good, but maybe that changed now. Would the combination of bandwidth, storage and computing do better? The article a couple of days ago about sharing bandwidth is in the same category I guess.
Same issues of security and such, but I am thinking that the 'acceptance' from business and such could drive the technology in new directions... oh wait, that can be good AND bad sometimes.
the complete lack of AC's and even the ability to have the 'post as AC' button kind gives it away. Perhaps by linking to some nice physics sites with very little relevance might help hide it... I dunno, I'm not good at this stuff
I have heard that he is arrogant and presumptious, so I wonder if that has anything to do with it... not like Hollywood isn't full of Prima Donnas, but I just wonder now. Were he not a 'geek' would /. necessarily care? Oh well, I always wonder about odd things like that.
Yeah, its not the best idea I realize, but it would be fun I think. Not to mention that the benefit to games from creating virtual worlds more of the simulator sort, and less of the Diablo sort might really appeal to many (I know it would to me :)
Taking advantage of the player base (not abusing mind you) already there, while applying more advanced and dynamic models (for example: economic models, social response to stimuli modeling, etc). I admit that I have a strong bias for making better online games and that the simulator/modeling approach while interesting, may just be some justification to fund better dynamics into the very static and boring MMOG games... and of course that is MY opinion, so feel free to disagree.
Spelling and grammer errors aside, I have actually thought this out for quite awhile, but am too lazy to write good now (I am cooking).
Microsoft by admitting this, just said to the world that they are not making an Operating System, as much as they are making an embedded solution. This reminds me of remote controlled cars, which I dabbled with many moons ago. You could buy plans for cars (really just guidelines) and any of the individual parts you wanted. There was a defacto standard for interconnections: batteries, radio parts, servos, electronics, gears, etc. While not everyone stuck to this, it became quickly obvious what hobbiests wanted, that being a standard. It was then easier and cheaper to get parts that you could interchange in your RC car.
Now then we had Radio Shack and others like them selling these 'wanna be's' that while they looked like the real deal, they were obviously embedded parts and not integrated. No ability therefore existed to interchange (i.e. customize and upgrade) parts, much less replace damaged and broken parts. This apparently did not go unnoticed, as eventually there were less of these fake rc cars, and more that followed the standard. This was indeed a good thing for them. You could buy these pre-fab cars, and you could have various degrees of customizability in them.
Microsoft is like those cheapo (except in price) Radio Shack cars. Many users wanted the same customizability but didn't want to bother with building from scratch. Microsoft shows here that they either can or do not produce operating systems that give the user the power to decide. By saying that those components are integral to the OS, tells us that besides the anticompetitive nature of that design, that you introduce more unneeded complexity, bloat and the stability and security issues that go along with it.
I therefore think we should just nod silently and let nature take its course. If these lawsuits interfere with that, then it will mess that natural order up, and could most likely cause a shielding of MS from the market and the consumer choice.
Also, while I greatly anticipate this game and personally think it will do great, I am still curious about a system using non D&D 'rules' but made in a modular system as they are. Well as they claim, who knows what it will really be like until the final is released? I think D&D rules did a great job for simplifying a very complex system through short cuts and probability rolls. However, pretend graphics was not an issue. Are there computerized systems out there for a much more complex rules system in existence now? I am just thinking that computers could give us the ability to be much more complex, and do things that would have taken 4 hours of complex rolls, table lookups, conversions and decisions by a team of DMs for just one 'move'. It seems that we still see the same simplified systems (levels and battle heavy systems that allow little if no flexibility to role play), but with graphics and sound.
Not to say graphics and sound are 'bad', they can be used to augment the immersion factor of the game. But I have yet to see any game, movie or TV show that could ever come close to portraying what my imagination can picture when reading a well writen story/novel. So, should I just adjust to what is out there, or are there any efforts underway to use the more advanced power of computers to help us create more complex worlds and systems? I would even be interested in computer programs that let you continue to have table top games, but now you have lap tops and such that connect to actually calculate moves, combat, skill, reactions and the like... I guess you could have primative graphics to 'help' then too... but only primative if the CPU is too bogged down with the system calculations. (I guess it is obvious where my priorities lie :)
what about licensing? Most know about the complexity surounding the litigation and subsequent delay (and almost canceling it was whispered) of Neverwinter Nights by Bioware. I believe that the holders of the rights of these ideas, will need to be more open to individual development teams and not just license to large producers. So, is that likely? Will the licensing issue even be a big deal?
the player/consumer. what the consumer sees is yet another cookie cutter p.o.s. that really is only differentiated from all the other p.o.s.'s by a witty character trait here, or a city/dungeon/craft name there.... and MAYBE better graphics. Plus, the 'elements' that were obviously introduced ad hoc into the game merely to appeal to certain markets do not melt together good, are not done well and not really finished (half baked).
Perhaps this is one more step in allowing developers to make games that they want to make, and players being able to pick and play the games they want. The players could pick the styles they want and not be forced to put up with erradic mixtures of crap they don't care about resulting from the 'try to make everyone happy all the time' mentality often dictated by large production shops.
This could also be a great benefit for small startup development teams as well. I for one think this is a good thing
This could be very bad and annoying... but then MS should realize (they do in name) that people are tired of their crap in growing numbers. I doubt that many will stick around with Windows if all of their libs, apps and API's now suddenly don't work. Graphics will require new DirectX that is compatable with both... OpenGL will have to be rewritten... flesh will melt off your face and plagues will infest your innards... ok, sorry got carried away.
I am sure many are asking about the security issues of this new system. If MS uses this as a method of locking people into an even tighter and more viscious upgrade cycle just to keep the very same functionality they have now, but with the 'added reliability' of this new Filesystem, I doubt they will stick around.
With that in mind, what is then the best solution for maintenance. Key desires are abstracted design elements to encourage reuse between all components, along with a framework for future projects/elements that you do not want to limit to one particular language or implementation. Would PHP be a good solution for a quick fix? Can PHP create data formats for storage and interfacing that will easily (hahaha) be usable by other languages like Java? Perhaps first creating a more Java friendly system that PHP can also access with little overhead? (rumoured desire is RMI, so I am leaning for Jini right now just because I want to learn it :) Then once operational the optimization can happen for different sections, converting to Java if needed (if only for the API and consistent calls), or writing C++ wrappers (apparently that is desired by some talking heads)... what to do, oh what to do? oh yeah... there are also a TON of datastores of various types that need to be normalized and made to play nicely together.
Perhaps simply coding under the influence will make all those problems solve themselves, believe I shall try that later!
I am simply curious (and offer no opinion on it) if nVidia would try to fire up a litigation gun aimed at the name chosen. Regardless of whether they would win or not, regardless of whether or not the name comes from a very old Zelda (Nintendo) game item/idea and regardless of whether anyone agrees, disagrees or doesn't care one way or another. I just would like to be a fly on the wall to find out if nVidia lawyers are discussing this right now.
now, if I get paid... good. If I get some stock or percent of sales... good. However there is nothing that says that they OWE me, no more than anyone really OWES me if I help them move. Sure it would be nice, but lets keep our heads on now.
That said, as a company manager (or project manager) of a product that was entering beta, I would want to provide incentives to beta testers. Perhaps they would get discounts... perhaps I would give them money or percentages of sales... perhaps I would merely put their name in the credits (if there is one). Whatever it is, it would be spelled out in a contract. If I don't like the terms asked for by a potential tester, then I do not have to let him/her test. If as a customer, I do not like the terms of the test, then I do not have to test. Unless there was a clear (and most likely written) indication that testers would receive some monetary compensation, then I don't believe that these complainers have a leg to stand on.
Practice your freedom of choice.
back around the time when Episode I was about to be released, was still the time when another 'Epic' (touted by the creators) entertainment event was unfolding. That event was the conclusion of the Ultima series. For just under 6 years, fans and even new initiates to the series had eagerly awaited not just the release but any snippet of news, screenshots, story, etc. The excitement built up this mere game both amazed and scared some who did not understand the game (hey, what do THEY know). Literally hundreds of sites devoted themselves to this next epic conclusion known as Ultima IX, and then Ascension later. Many fan sites had a ton of fiction and story lines, many a serious (and often very nasty) discussion on forums was held about what the origin of blackrock, the guardian and this whole mess really was. There where even rumors of published books. (I for one never saw them) In a stated attempt by Origin|EA to not scare off potential new customers they would stealthily release tidbits of information to select organizations (usually in other countries than most of the fan sites, but that is merely a demographic issue). It was touted as just another action adventure game, and the title changed to reflect that no player had to have any existing experience with the series.
However, things began to go sour. Long time devoted fans (made obvious by their volunteer time and effort given so generously to the community) found that they where THE ONLY source of information about the upcoming game. Questions about why they, the fans, must volunteer their time (as in free) to promote and advocate the game, ask questions that never where answered, be put off by EA|Origin staff, yet not get paid or compensated for it. (In case you don't know, free is not accurate. The fans in fact take a loss from the costs to bandwidth and hardware, not to mention loss of real life productivity) EA|Origin obviously did not care about this issue, and could not seem to spend the money to either help out some sites, through direct assistance or just providing a few hours here and there for knowledgable employees to act as liasons. Soon, many web sites began to disappear, feeling dejected that they would not only be denied any information, but where often lied to. (as evidenced by answers from staff that where directly contradicting a press release that would be released a day later to a gaming magazine, usually in a foreign language) It soon became apparent that EA|Origin either where taking the existing fan base for granted (in a VERY extreme case), or simply did not wish to make a game that appealed to them and thus felt some sort of guilt or shame, leading to the alienation treatment of the fans.
While the term 'understand' can be used to describe how the vast majority of fans felt in relation to the game appealing to a larger market, many where worried that if the development/producing team did not have the integrity necessary to first produce a game that answers the call of the fan base (regardless of whether they dress it up later a bit to appeal to others) then it would manifest as a bad game that appeals to none (neither the new crowd or the existing fans). This was warrented not only because of this situation happening so many times in other games and even non entertainment and/or computer industries... but more importantly, was the fact that when it had been tried with Ultima 8, it only ended in disaster. No one liked the game (by no one and none used earlier I mean a significant enough sized group to justify expenses, much less keep people interested in later releases). Like a restaruant that serves fecal matter and wonders why no one ever comes back and why negative word of mouth travels faster than positive word, EA|Origin proved that they refused to comprehend this basic lesson of life and business (on any level) by releasing Ascension as a... well... it didn't seem like an "Ultima" at all to me and many others. Some will argue pro or con of its merits as a stand alone game, that is not my concern here. The fact was, it not only continued a series and a story line, but was a very eagerly anticipated final wrap up of the entire series. Just looking back at that time period, you see how eagerly people where to once again travel to Britania and face its perils. Fan art, fan fiction, fan news sites, fan organizations of real life events and sub-press conferences... all of this translated to a very easy market for Origin and EA. They could have layed off their marketers for this. Or in efficiency and logical terms, they could have better applied their resources to the tasks that most made sense. Put that marketing (including marketing management, oversite, corporate interaction, overhead, etc) into development of code, art and story. (not to mention QA) Not to go into a rant on the futility of and inefficiency of corporate/bureaucratic mentality and processes... they simply did not prioritize correctly. End result was yet another game and public relation status that angered many and alienated many more.
But wait, theres more... if you order now we include this guide, "How to take your one saving grace and flush it down the toilet". One of the most devestating (now seen in hindsite and admited by many ex employees including Garriot himself) was the mistake that trully relates to the Star Wars issue here. First, the comparison. Obviously many had awaited a long and often frustrating yet exciting time for Episode I to come out. Any news was lapped up like a marooned man in the Saharra laps up the dew off of a blade of grass if he finds it. Fans dressed up in silly costumes and acted out there favorite scenes from books and movies alike. Like with Ultima, fans devoted huge amounts of time, bandwidth, hardware and good ol fashion brain power to present news, art, rumors, facts and even fan based fiction. Even more than Ultima, Star Wars spawned an entire (and sometimes frightening) sub-culture of its own.
However, some began to see signs of impending doom in the commercials, trailers, interviews and art. I for one remember a particular ad on TV that scared the bones from my body... it was narrated by this woman who's inflections, voice tenor and choice and timing of words where obviously of the sort used by advertising agencies to appeal to small children. Complete with the choicest tidbits of scenes that all featured everyone's favorite CGI loon, Jar Jar. If no one had ever hear of Star Wars, then they would have been left with the impression that this 'new movie' was merely a fun and cute childrens flick, much like a Disney animated film (well, not just animated, and no that is not necesarilly a bad thing on its own). This seemed to contrast the existing movies, books, story, etc that made up the fantasy universe of Star Wars.
Now back to Ultima... the biggest single issue that destroyed the game and its effect on fans and newbies alike was the botched PR of the leak of the original game plot/script. (no, it is not ironic, at least not from a historical and 'Big Picture' perspective) Due to most likely a lack of consistent (or I should really say, just a sheer lack of PR in the first place) PR policy, growing tensions within the Origin camp and against its 'overlords', EA... a very large mistake happened. Besides the first mistake of leaking the script, the real issue was how they handled it. First they denied it, in an attempt to (as a prankster would perform if his joke was beginning to be suspected) turn the tide away from the discovery of the plot, Origin (whether directed or not) decided to redo the story. The result was a simplistic story with no real substance, much less any tie in with past releases and 'unanswered questions'. Very much less than any 'Epic' feel to the grand conclusion of one of the most popular and succesful (by various definitions) game series of all times.
Now fast forward to the present... now we hear of a release/leak of the plot. Should we be concerned at all that they would change it, not really. I doubt any film studio would ever throw away its existing film already recorded, not to mention the CGI already in place in most parts. Even though it has happened in the past (like when an actor/actress dies before completion), I doubt personally anything major COULD be changed. However, I just hope (as in 'New Hope'?) that this next movie will break the 'cycle'. I look forward to it, and hope that it returns to the Episode 5 look and feel.
Note that this was meant to really be silly to a large degree, so this does not necessarily reflect the internal ramblings of my rational mind... I know it is around here somewhere.
I am really looking forward to the consumer created modules and campaigns that will pop up eventually. So many people have done so much already before even getting their hands on the actual DM tools. I am not a gambling man, but I will put money down on this one bet... that this method of producing games will become popular. Errr, let me reword that. Rather, this type of scalable multiplayer engine with a very modular design and included design tools will probably catch on. Many other games have already had variations on this, including 'mod' and 'level' editors, but as far as I know this is the first CRPG. Since there are so many planned persistent worlds in the making (just awaiting the software I assume) in addition to the many play session (like in the traditional table top sessions) servers that will be conceived, I wonder how this will impact the "MMORPG" games already in place.
On a side note/question... Does anyone know if Star Wars: Knights of the [old?] Republic will have a multiplayer capability? (like the Infinity engine provided) I would love to play this with my wife at the very least (so she can not get on me as much :)
In your story, the problem could have been that the money was simply not available (or some other logistic issue existed) to initially put in locks. But maybe, a lesser (but still perhaps more than no implementation) preporatory 'middle ground' could have been put in.
For example, many doors have no cut out section along side the knobs. (doors where no locking is anticipated) However, why not buy normal doors and frames, but no lockable knobs. Or as I have seen before, have a door pre cut for any cipher locks or such, but put a plate on that section for the later time when the cipher will be needed.
Another aspect of this, is that when security and vulnerability methods change (which they will), it is cheaper/easier to convert.
Or I could be nuts... I have drugs in my right now (no, not that kind) that could be making me rather loopy!