I guess the old ColecoVision game, Campaign '84 (Sunrise, 1984), still beats *that* by one term, and The Political Machine by a few more... can anyone think of a presidential game released before 1984, though?
We are getting pretty big real fast, and unless someone wants to take steps to de-populate earth in a very unfortunate manner, we are going to have to go somewhere.
I see this line of thinking bandied about quite a bit, but recent projections (1998) show eventual leveling of growth post-2050, with the UN World Population Prospects (2002) noting further negative impact on growth as a result of increased use of birth control and the spread of HIV/AIDS.
One can generate projections based on the 2002 population database, even, though only through 2050.
Yes, world population growth continues, and yes it seems we're still on the steep upward slope of the graph, but if the people responsible for these projections know anything at all, there's more than enough room to believe the present explosive rate of growth will abate in time.
In other words, by the time we all can go "somewhere else" world population may have stabilized with the worst growing pains having already passed.
Outsourced burgers in India? From what? Holy cows?
Guess you didn't think that one through;)
Though you meant it as a joke... it should be pointed out that the sacred prohibition against the slaughter of cows applies to "Hindus" (however one might want to construe that term) and not to other sizeable populations within India, such as Muslims.
Jains are not to kill cattle or consume beef, either, but not because cows possess inherent sanctity. Then there's the Buddhist population...
Whether the "Hindu" prohibition is long-standing is itself a contentious view.
Adherents to movements like the BJP may not be too thrilled about it, but there are plenty of Indians who don't think cows sacred. Indians aren't all Hindus.
Of course it selects all the text in the string. Not too often one's wanting to actually insert text instead of type a brand new URL that reuses the window.
I call bullshit. Speaking for myself, at least, I pretty much click on the string within the location bar to add (or remove) characters. Complete URL replacement is usually accomplished by pasting (after Cmd-L'ing), through a bookmark, or in a new tab/window with a clean location bar. Could just be me, but I generally only fiddle with a populated location bar to edit, rather than replace by overtyping.
In the grand scheme of things, this isn't onerous though. Firefox behaves similarly, though Safari and MSIE on a Mac sets an insertion point on first click instead (though Cmd-L selects the whole string in Safari). However, were I in Opera's shoes, it would probably make more sense to emulate the behavior of Mac's bundled browsers (past and present) and set behavior to insertion rather than selection on first click.
Diablo had more depth than any of those games except NetHack.
Actually, understood in terms of game mechanics, the depth of Diablo (either release, with or without exapansions) is less than that found in most modern, "completed" roguelikes (many are extended programming exercises that never attain full realization). It's about on par with seminal games of the genre.
The only depth to be found in Diablo that exceeds a typical roguelike is to be found in the plotting of the storyline. Apart from ADOM, there really aren't (m)any roguelikes with a cohesive, multipart plot - apart from "slay foo" or "retrieve bar".
But returning to game mechanics, Diablo is incredibly atrophied compared to the average roguelike. Diablo II compares a bit more favorably, but still misses the mark. Not a bad thing, as more often than not, roguelikes tend to choke on their complexities, leading to woeful imbalance/inconsistency or excessive demand on gamers to grok the system as presented to make any headway at all (NetHack).
The results of the transition to the big screen for Firefly, without wanting to alienate the uninitiated, might resemble those of the X-Files movie ("Fight the Future" or whatever it was), which had to generate similar appeal to fans and non-fans for the box office.
Then again, considerably more people watched -- more often, over several more seasons -- the X-Files, so you may be right: the fanbase just isn't there to generate a decent draw without courting the clueless.
On the other hand, Firefly was aired in the US (I believe) out-of-order and absent a few episodes that were shot, so perhaps deep backstory isn't all that important to crafting an appealing movie set in its universe.
But, if they have developed Photoshop for Mac, including MacOSX, then they now have a reason to develop it for GNU/Linux. This would be a reason for a lot of businesses to get into gear and start porting.
I am aware of all the reasons they might not -- different distros, harder to support, not as focused a userbase, etc. but at least the list no longer includes "it's not even as popular as Mac!"
Unfortunately, I think you are being a bit too optimistic, if not outright mistaken in jumping to this conclusion. Overall shifts in desktop installations for Linux compared to OS X do not translate to equivalent shifts in the interest, need, or profitability for a given application native to either platform.
Let's use PhotoShop as an example.
Those who are increasingly adopting Linux may not be a solid target market for (in this case) PhotoShop. Now, if one could demonstrate that all those graphic designers et al. who currently use Macs or Windows are jumping the fence for Linux, that may be the case, but greater or growing numbers overall don't mean greater or growing numbers of users who want to or are willing to purchase (in this case) PhotoShop.
In the firm for which I work, everyone uses either OS X or Linux on the desktop. The Linux users outnumber the OS X users by a ratio of about 2:1 (and yes, there are more than 3 people in the firm). However, the number of Linux users interested in acquiring PhotoShop is zero. Anecdotal, I know, but my gut feeling is that something about my personal experience with Linux v. OS X on the desktop captures (at least a bit of) the reality in the bigger picture when it comes to this particular app.
It's not the size of the install base, but its characteristics of that base which are most important. Mac users may have a fractional hold on the desktop market, but it's where that fraction of the whole pie has been installed and put to use (DTP, etc.) that attracts the interest of companies like Adobe at present.
"It's not even as popular as Mac!" means a whole lot more when you ask: "Among whom?"
It also means they have failed to take advantage of the synergies possible in a full-blown portal, like Yahoo.
Perhaps... perhaps not:
Google Directory
Which is nothing more than a redressed (and not so
frequently updated - the real kicker) dmoz.org feed... this is innovative use of dormant synergies how?
But, again, CVS use is only compelling if you have more than one person working on the project at the same time.
Unless, as a programmer, one suffers from split and competing personalities. Always looking over your own shoulder, second-guessing the changes made to "your" own code...
Even for a single developer, and even in the context of webwork, cvs (or arch, subversion, etc.) is a relatively painless way to track modifications over time without heavy accumulation of redundancy (=unaltered clutter) with the periodic zip/tar+gz approach.
And if you're working on something that you may later open to other developers... well, might as well get in the habit of using cvs (or arch, subversion, etc.) from the start.
I also think this is somewhat analagous to VHS vs. DVD. It might take a while, but ppl will start to use it, and companies will start to support it.
Hmmm... perhaps I'm remembering things incorrectly, but DVD uptake was actually quite rapid. Maybe three or so years from geeky high-end to mass mass mass consumption? I seem to recall its adoption rate being something to crow about among manufacturers.
Ogg seems to me more like a LaserDisc than a DVD if you really want to stretch an analogy. Geeky, offers some benefits over MP3 (~VHS) but not without cost/hassle (remember LD flipping?), and not widely adopted or likely ever to be.
In terms of relative benefits to consumers and market penetration, though, Ogg (Vorbis) certainly is not to MP3 as DVD is to VHS.
Just because HTML 3.2 "worked" didn't make it good, or right. A proper application of [X]HTML and CSS can be a huge bandwidth saver.
It also didn't make it "wrong" out of the box. There are plenty of cases where HTML 3.2 is more than enough. [X]HTML + CSS can be as much a bandwidth drain as HTML. It can lead to as many bendover-backwards markup hacks as with plain ol' HTML and as few semantic connections with presented content. Don't confuse the tool for the craftsman.
Besides, most presumed bandwidth savings from changing markup wash out with liberal use of data compression (e.g. mod_gzip) and cache controls.
Get it css compliant, and let subscribers create/swap/rate/choose their own stylesheet... I'd subscribe for that.
No need to subscribe. Just use a browser that permits definition and application of user stylesheets stored locally and you're all set. Why pay for such a small privilege?
Yes, it'd suck ass to write just about any code on a Palm, especially an older one, 160x160 screen and Graffiti. But, there are WinCE devices out there with very good keyboards.
Why anyone would contemplate writing any large amount of code directly on any of the above-named devices is beyond me, integrated keypad or no. Writing a little Forth now and then on a Palm device (with stylus even!) isn't too bad, but again, we're talking small pieces of program logic.
OTOH, one can always write the programs on a less-mobile device like a desktop and sync the files over to the portable, or, in the case of the "older Palms" specifically, from day one (or at least the Palm III line) there have been folding travel keyboards available for use.
After all, Sega had a serious competitor to Game Boy, and it didn't last that long.
You truly consider the Game Gear (I assume that is what you are alluding to) to have been serious competition in the long run? Although I have one and play with it on occasion, it is significantly larger (and heavier), eats batteries at a furious pace, and despite a few game titles, wasn't really a match for the Game Boy's catalog game for game. I don't recall costs at the time of release, perhaps someone can throw in the economic angle.
It's an interesting platform with some interesting games, but compared to any of the Game Boy systems, it doesn't remotely come across as being "as portable" for gaming purposes. Even the benefit of the adapter to permit play of Sega console titles of the time (somewhat like a Super Game Boy in reverse) wasn't enough to save it.
Had it been competitive at all, it probably would have lasted a bit longer... why would Sega dump something that was working out well in the market?
What would be ultra-fscking-cool would be to see Alpha Centauri open sourced and ported to Linux... that would kick so much ass.
Gah. Please, do something about the graphics (you know, the ones for which Firaxis had to "fix" for people who happen to be colorblind), then.:p
In all seriousness, I was greatly disappointed with SMAC. Sure, I loved the unit customization feature (probably the best thing about the game on the whole), but the remainder felt terribly unfinished. The AI was a joke, endgames were nearly always bore-a-thons (related directly to the weak AI), and it really struck me hard that not enough attention was paid to balancing the game. It was too frickin' easy compared to the Civ titles that came before and after, and SMACX didn't do much to improve things. Fun for the first couple games, but thereafter it really lost any charm that it had (have I mentioned the color palette for the graphics yet?).
At the time, I was an avid reader of the user forums for SMAC, and logged a fair number of bug reports or game shortcomings myself -- to join the chorus of hardcore players with similar complaints. No game is perfect, and I've never been duly impressed with the stability or feature completeness of most Firaxis products, but SMAC had more than its fair share of flaws the dragged it down off the pedestal and into the gutter.
But unit customization sure was cool. It would be nice to see the source for SMAC/SMACX, if only to see whether anyone is up to repairing its internals.
"[I'm] not gon[n]a fork out the cash for... a constant flow of batteries when i can download it from my computer for free.
I have to ask what's the trouble in using rechargeables, then?
And it's only "free" to download on your computer if you're willing to suspend disbelief and pretend you own the original arcade machines from which the ROMs were copied.
Vincent Price's "The Last Man on Earth"... Was Boyle merely influenced by this classic? Or is it a total rip-off?
I always thought that The Omega Man was a remake of The Last Man on Earth (which I didn't realize was an Italian production), both of which were based on the work of Matheson: I Am Legend. Great book.
The problem is less the number of links than the weak approach toward linking strategy, which may or may not be the fault of the editor... well, ok, a/. editor could always repair things.
Better link-wrapping (and a little more distance between links) would help quite a bit in letting scan-readers choose appropriate references without visually inspecting URLs first.
Slashdot Mirror
Released in 1988 by SSI. Oh, how I miss the old SSI titles.
I guess the old ColecoVision game, Campaign '84 (Sunrise, 1984), still beats *that* by one term, and The Political Machine by a few more... can anyone think of a presidential game released before 1984, though?
I see this line of thinking bandied about quite a bit, but recent projections (1998) show eventual leveling of growth post-2050, with the UN World Population Prospects (2002) noting further negative impact on growth as a result of increased use of birth control and the spread of HIV/AIDS.
One can generate projections based on the 2002 population database, even, though only through 2050.
Yes, world population growth continues, and yes it seems we're still on the steep upward slope of the graph, but if the people responsible for these projections know anything at all, there's more than enough room to believe the present explosive rate of growth will abate in time.
In other words, by the time we all can go "somewhere else" world population may have stabilized with the worst growing pains having already passed.
Though you meant it as a joke ... it should be pointed out that the sacred prohibition against the slaughter of cows applies to "Hindus" (however one might want to construe that term) and not to other sizeable populations within India, such as Muslims.
Jains are not to kill cattle or consume beef, either, but not because cows possess inherent sanctity. Then there's the Buddhist population...
Whether the "Hindu" prohibition is long-standing is itself a contentious view.
Adherents to movements like the BJP may not be too thrilled about it, but there are plenty of Indians who don't think cows sacred. Indians aren't all Hindus.
I call bullshit. Speaking for myself, at least, I pretty much click on the string within the location bar to add (or remove) characters. Complete URL replacement is usually accomplished by pasting (after Cmd-L'ing), through a bookmark, or in a new tab/window with a clean location bar. Could just be me, but I generally only fiddle with a populated location bar to edit, rather than replace by overtyping.
In the grand scheme of things, this isn't onerous though. Firefox behaves similarly, though Safari and MSIE on a Mac sets an insertion point on first click instead (though Cmd-L selects the whole string in Safari). However, were I in Opera's shoes, it would probably make more sense to emulate the behavior of Mac's bundled browsers (past and present) and set behavior to insertion rather than selection on first click.
To each their own.
Actually, understood in terms of game mechanics, the depth of Diablo (either release, with or without exapansions) is less than that found in most modern, "completed" roguelikes (many are extended programming exercises that never attain full realization). It's about on par with seminal games of the genre.
The only depth to be found in Diablo that exceeds a typical roguelike is to be found in the plotting of the storyline. Apart from ADOM, there really aren't (m)any roguelikes with a cohesive, multipart plot - apart from "slay foo" or "retrieve bar".
But returning to game mechanics, Diablo is incredibly atrophied compared to the average roguelike. Diablo II compares a bit more favorably, but still misses the mark. Not a bad thing, as more often than not, roguelikes tend to choke on their complexities, leading to woeful imbalance/inconsistency or excessive demand on gamers to grok the system as presented to make any headway at all (NetHack).
The results of the transition to the big screen for Firefly, without wanting to alienate the uninitiated, might resemble those of the X-Files movie ("Fight the Future" or whatever it was), which had to generate similar appeal to fans and non-fans for the box office.
Then again, considerably more people watched -- more often, over several more seasons -- the X-Files, so you may be right: the fanbase just isn't there to generate a decent draw without courting the clueless.
On the other hand, Firefly was aired in the US (I believe) out-of-order and absent a few episodes that were shot, so perhaps deep backstory isn't all that important to crafting an appealing movie set in its universe.
Considering the original Nintendo was probably the first major console in in video gaming history...
X11 ships with OS X 10.3 on the developer CD. An earlier version of the same was available as a download for 10.2.
Whether to use virtual desktops has always been a matter of user preference ... but there appear to be options for OS X.
Unfortunately, I think you are being a bit too optimistic, if not outright mistaken in jumping to this conclusion. Overall shifts in desktop installations for Linux compared to OS X do not translate to equivalent shifts in the interest, need, or profitability for a given application native to either platform.
Let's use PhotoShop as an example.
Those who are increasingly adopting Linux may not be a solid target market for (in this case) PhotoShop. Now, if one could demonstrate that all those graphic designers et al. who currently use Macs or Windows are jumping the fence for Linux, that may be the case, but greater or growing numbers overall don't mean greater or growing numbers of users who want to or are willing to purchase (in this case) PhotoShop.
In the firm for which I work, everyone uses either OS X or Linux on the desktop. The Linux users outnumber the OS X users by a ratio of about 2:1 (and yes, there are more than 3 people in the firm). However, the number of Linux users interested in acquiring PhotoShop is zero. Anecdotal, I know, but my gut feeling is that something about my personal experience with Linux v. OS X on the desktop captures (at least a bit of) the reality in the bigger picture when it comes to this particular app.
It's not the size of the install base, but its characteristics of that base which are most important. Mac users may have a fractional hold on the desktop market, but it's where that fraction of the whole pie has been installed and put to use (DTP, etc.) that attracts the interest of companies like Adobe at present.
"It's not even as popular as Mac!" means a whole lot more when you ask: "Among whom?"
Which is nothing more than a redressed (and not so frequently updated - the real kicker) dmoz.org feed ... this is innovative use of dormant synergies how?
Hmmm... what to think of a post scored as +3 Funny that simply summarizes a bit by the Dead Alewives without giving credit where credit is due?
Funny. Sad. Whatever. Listen to the original routine should you be so inclined.
Unless, as a programmer, one suffers from split and competing personalities. Always looking over your own shoulder, second-guessing the changes made to "your" own code...
Even for a single developer, and even in the context of webwork, cvs (or arch, subversion, etc.) is a relatively painless way to track modifications over time without heavy accumulation of redundancy (=unaltered clutter) with the periodic zip/tar+gz approach.
And if you're working on something that you may later open to other developers ... well, might as well get in the habit of using cvs (or arch, subversion, etc.) from the start.
Hmmm... perhaps I'm remembering things incorrectly, but DVD uptake was actually quite rapid. Maybe three or so years from geeky high-end to mass mass mass consumption? I seem to recall its adoption rate being something to crow about among manufacturers.
Ogg seems to me more like a LaserDisc than a DVD if you really want to stretch an analogy. Geeky, offers some benefits over MP3 (~VHS) but not without cost/hassle (remember LD flipping?), and not widely adopted or likely ever to be.
In terms of relative benefits to consumers and market penetration, though, Ogg (Vorbis) certainly is not to MP3 as DVD is to VHS.
It also didn't make it "wrong" out of the box. There are plenty of cases where HTML 3.2 is more than enough. [X]HTML + CSS can be as much a bandwidth drain as HTML. It can lead to as many bendover-backwards markup hacks as with plain ol' HTML and as few semantic connections with presented content. Don't confuse the tool for the craftsman.
Besides, most presumed bandwidth savings from changing markup wash out with liberal use of data compression (e.g. mod_gzip) and cache controls.
No need to subscribe. Just use a browser that permits definition and application of user stylesheets stored locally and you're all set. Why pay for such a small privilege?
Why anyone would contemplate writing any large amount of code directly on any of the above-named devices is beyond me, integrated keypad or no. Writing a little Forth now and then on a Palm device (with stylus even!) isn't too bad, but again, we're talking small pieces of program logic.
OTOH, one can always write the programs on a less-mobile device like a desktop and sync the files over to the portable, or, in the case of the "older Palms" specifically, from day one (or at least the Palm III line) there have been folding travel keyboards available for use.
Whoever pays the bills.
Guess I wasn't the only one to do that,then ... first on my C64, then on my Apple //c.
Even started my own Car Wars "game" ... then Origin promptly released Autoduel, and there wasn't much fun left in it for me back then.
And you can get them off eBay for a third of that if you're smart about it ... how is that relevant to the past pricing of the unit?
You truly consider the Game Gear (I assume that is what you are alluding to) to have been serious competition in the long run? Although I have one and play with it on occasion, it is significantly larger (and heavier), eats batteries at a furious pace, and despite a few game titles, wasn't really a match for the Game Boy's catalog game for game. I don't recall costs at the time of release, perhaps someone can throw in the economic angle.
It's an interesting platform with some interesting games, but compared to any of the Game Boy systems, it doesn't remotely come across as being "as portable" for gaming purposes. Even the benefit of the adapter to permit play of Sega console titles of the time (somewhat like a Super Game Boy in reverse) wasn't enough to save it.
Had it been competitive at all, it probably would have lasted a bit longer ... why would Sega dump something that was working out well in the market?
Gah. Please, do something about the graphics (you know, the ones for which Firaxis had to "fix" for people who happen to be colorblind), then. :p
In all seriousness, I was greatly disappointed with SMAC. Sure, I loved the unit customization feature (probably the best thing about the game on the whole), but the remainder felt terribly unfinished. The AI was a joke, endgames were nearly always bore-a-thons (related directly to the weak AI), and it really struck me hard that not enough attention was paid to balancing the game. It was too frickin' easy compared to the Civ titles that came before and after, and SMACX didn't do much to improve things. Fun for the first couple games, but thereafter it really lost any charm that it had (have I mentioned the color palette for the graphics yet?).
At the time, I was an avid reader of the user forums for SMAC, and logged a fair number of bug reports or game shortcomings myself -- to join the chorus of hardcore players with similar complaints. No game is perfect, and I've never been duly impressed with the stability or feature completeness of most Firaxis products, but SMAC had more than its fair share of flaws the dragged it down off the pedestal and into the gutter.
But unit customization sure was cool. It would be nice to see the source for SMAC/SMACX, if only to see whether anyone is up to repairing its internals.
I have to ask what's the trouble in using rechargeables, then?
And it's only "free" to download on your computer if you're willing to suspend disbelief and pretend you own the original arcade machines from which the ROMs were copied.
I always thought that The Omega Man was a remake of The Last Man on Earth (which I didn't realize was an Italian production), both of which were based on the work of Matheson: I Am Legend. Great book.
The problem is less the number of links than the weak approach toward linking strategy, which may or may not be the fault of the editor ... well, ok, a /. editor could always repair things.
Better link-wrapping (and a little more distance between links) would help quite a bit in letting scan-readers choose appropriate references without visually inspecting URLs first.