As an Easter Egg in Pinball Fantasies, the developers gave some technical info about the game code on the table score boards. If I remember correctly, the ball physics are updated 200 times per second, rather than at the monitor refresh rate.
I did a RAM Scan of the Amiga version, and there's a full-sized 2-color bitmap for the physics. It's rather strange, and appears quite sophisticated. Any line only 1 pixel in width was for the table angle, and 2 or more pixels was a border. Different cross hatching patterns defined the steepness.
Supposedly, the majority of service calls are not hardware related, so this lets Sears see what's wrong with your machine and potentially fix it without having to send someone out.
Not hardware related? Do you know how many times in the last 20 years I've had to fix a washer, stove, microwave, or refrigerator due to software problems? Zero.
But what we see instead is cut-throat competition on price that lowers quality.
What ensures quality are sales and complaints. The bottom line is that many people, if not most, simply put up with what they get. Why not? PCs have always been seen as disposable. After a few years, it's obsolete, regardless of how useful it really is.
Do you know how hard it is to find an IPS LCD monitor for a computer? People seem perfectly happy with with the horrible, crappy TN panels they are getting with their PCs now. By comparison, viewing angles and colors are much, much better on HDTVs, even when shopping for them at Wal-Mart. That's not just a coincidence.
Basically, the pictures would never go "in the attic"...
In the real world, no. The overwhelming majority of people do not make backups, burn to CD, or systematically sort their files. That's the reason why a lot of people have dusty boxes of loose photos in the attic, rather than proper photo albums.
It's their own fault for not putting more effort into preserving their history and memories, but for the average person, digital will never be as permanent as something you can hold in your hand, no matter how many fancy interfaces or newfangled portable storage devices are created. Chances are, the relatives are not going to be any more diligent, either.
Most people these days are perfectly aware that there's no air in space, but watching a space war in silence is pretty boring. So what if a punch from Indiana Jones sounds like a splintering telephone pole? It's obviously not real, but it sure is a lot more satisfying.
Even if people act stupid, they generally aren't. They know that a car can't bust through a brick wall and land on the roof of another building in one piece. Art isn't so much fooling the audience into thinking it's real, as it is making it bigger than life while avoiding the uncanny valley. Some people, especially geeks, are just not as forgiving as others.
I used to work in a photo store. On the Kodak Picturemaker we used to use, the admin interface required a password not only to print, but also to recall previous orders. Also, the machine only saved orders for one day.
Of course, that machine was based on a Sun SPARCstation. It's been a while since I've worked retail.
You should see the sorry condition of the fork trucks we use in our warehouse. Anyone who wants to swap a battery pack in a shiny car would have to have the dedication and precision of a brain surgeon to avoid dings and scratches. Your typical grease monkey in a refill station would never cut it. You're looking at a battery swap at a dealership, and that would cost money. Heck, many dealerships hire mechanics from outside sources who aren't even affiliated with the car manufacturers. Large battery swaps are not trivial or cheap if you want them done correctly.
For years, LCD displays have given me headaches, and I religiously kept using a CRT for all my graphic work. I simply could not look at an LCD display. It wasn't until I came across a good IPS panel that I noticed that I had no trouble looking at it and focusing my eyes correctly. As it turns out, cheap TN-panel LCDs have such a narrow viewing angle that the image viewed by the left eye is noticeably different than the image for the right. Rotating your head makes the problem even worse.
So, people kept telling me that LCDs are easier on the eyes, and I always said they were liars. Anything that causes pain and headaches can't be a good thing in the long term. However, now that I have a good LCD, I have finally ditched my old CRT and will never go back.
There really is no excuse to keep making horrible TN-panel LCDs, and yet, they are still everywhere. Lowest common denominator wins again. I sure hope that 3D technology doesn't evolve as slowly as LCD panels.
I am aware that they, like every other company on the face of the planet, from time to time, produce an inferior product.
Tell that to the 50,000 magazines that reserve a front page for Apple every time Mr. Jobs sneezes.
Re:The same can be said for Microsoft's domination
on
Why Apple Is So Sticky
·
· Score: 0, Flamebait
That's true only of businesses that lock themselves into the platform. IE6, anyone?
It's not hard to switch to Linux/OpenOffice if you actually know you can do it. Hell, just fire up a bootable CD and try it out. Microsoft doesn't own the hardware.
Mac? Another beast entirely. How many people buy Macs simply because they believe they'll never, ever get a virus? People stick with platforms that keep them ignorant.
The town where I work decided to re-pave a traffic intersection. They tore out the old magnetic sensor and now the lights just use a regular timer. Traffic jams are now the norm.
Given that this is right next to the exit of a major expressway (I-495) and is the entrance to an industrial complex that regularly services 18-wheelers, I sure hope the town puts the old lights back. The paving is already finished, so I'm hoping there is a new magnetic sensor installed, but simply not plugged in. Some lights in the town are radar controlled, but my radar detector doesn't show any signals from the new intersection, yet.
In college we used HP-UNIX machines a lot. The general idea was that UNIX offered the largest gamut of languages with which to work, and learning different programming languages was generally more beneficial than learning a lot of platforms. I'm not a hardware guy, but for software, I generally agree that comparing different languages and coding styles is the best way to learn about computers. Any open-source OS is a big plus for this. If this is high-school level work, I assume the class work will largely focus on programming.
Of course, that was on the north campus where all the geeks were. I was also studying art on the south campus, and they used Macs exclusively in the art program, as well as in the newspaper office. Windows machines were available for word processing and "everything else", but not much in the CS program. Windows would be a curious choice, especially XP, as it doesn't offer very much useful stuff for education out-of-the-box.
However most graphics and UI designers, tech reporters and iThing owners love it because it is the latest and most shiniest flashing glitter ball that they must play with.
Thank you.
One thing that really annoys me about Chrome is that it's so different from other apps on my machine. No matter how fancy the interface is (for better or for worse), I expect it to follow the UI guidelines for the OS. I hate the fact that Chrome has replaced drop-down menus with icons. It screws me up every time.
Plus, you have to respect people's right to choose. Not everybody needs the same thing, let alone wants it for emotional reasons. Using Chrome as a web developer is painful. Why can't I choose between having drop-down menus and having extra space? The Web Developer extension for Firefox gives me a whole toolbar to use for development that has clear icons for everything. Why can't I just move a button around where I want it? Why do I have to be forced to use a minimalist interface? It can't possibly be that hard to code.
The truth is, minimalism is often just an exercise in control. Sure, tell me it's for my own good and it makes things better, but I know very well that streamlining is just a way to tell me I should expect less. Concerning good interface design and computer companies, does this sound familiar?
On top of all the other issues, it's worth noting that system updates take a LONG time and don't multitask. Is Sony going to decide to update my system whenever it wants, and lock me out of actually using my PS3? If it's possible to download the update in the background and play games at the same time, why can't I already do that?
Seriously? I didn't realize product development was a public issue and everybody needed to know. We're not talking about a security vulnerability in a product that the company won't patch.
It's not news -- it's a childish game of finger-pointing with peoples' livelihoods on the line. Did Gizmodo reveal the name of the person who sold the device to them?
Slashdot Mirror
At least the waggle is an option.
New ideas and tech is nice, but I hate it when companies say, "this is the future, so we're doing it exclusively, now!"
Say what you will, but I have a PS3 because it really does a little of everything.
As an Easter Egg in Pinball Fantasies, the developers gave some technical info about the game code on the table score boards. If I remember correctly, the ball physics are updated 200 times per second, rather than at the monitor refresh rate.
I did a RAM Scan of the Amiga version, and there's a full-sized 2-color bitmap for the physics. It's rather strange, and appears quite sophisticated. Any line only 1 pixel in width was for the table angle, and 2 or more pixels was a border. Different cross hatching patterns defined the steepness.
Supposedly, the majority of service calls are not hardware related, so this lets Sears see what's wrong with your machine and potentially fix it without having to send someone out.
Not hardware related? Do you know how many times in the last 20 years I've had to fix a washer, stove, microwave, or refrigerator due to software problems? Zero.
Go O-O
First GIMP, now "Goo". The Linux community really does take the cake for bad names that don't explain what the software actually does.
But what we see instead is cut-throat competition on price that lowers quality.
What ensures quality are sales and complaints. The bottom line is that many people, if not most, simply put up with what they get. Why not? PCs have always been seen as disposable. After a few years, it's obsolete, regardless of how useful it really is.
Do you know how hard it is to find an IPS LCD monitor for a computer? People seem perfectly happy with with the horrible, crappy TN panels they are getting with their PCs now. By comparison, viewing angles and colors are much, much better on HDTVs, even when shopping for them at Wal-Mart. That's not just a coincidence.
No, they are not "sucking money out of the system". They are CIRCULATING money in the system.
I was under the impression that most rich people were hoarders. It's the nouveau riche that actually spend their earnings.
Basically, the pictures would never go "in the attic"...
In the real world, no. The overwhelming majority of people do not make backups, burn to CD, or systematically sort their files. That's the reason why a lot of people have dusty boxes of loose photos in the attic, rather than proper photo albums.
It's their own fault for not putting more effort into preserving their history and memories, but for the average person, digital will never be as permanent as something you can hold in your hand, no matter how many fancy interfaces or newfangled portable storage devices are created. Chances are, the relatives are not going to be any more diligent, either.
It might have helped if they had not tried to sell bumpers for $30 as a fix.
Apple products are now mainstream, and not just for rabid fanboys anymore.
Most people these days are perfectly aware that there's no air in space, but watching a space war in silence is pretty boring. So what if a punch from Indiana Jones sounds like a splintering telephone pole? It's obviously not real, but it sure is a lot more satisfying.
Even if people act stupid, they generally aren't. They know that a car can't bust through a brick wall and land on the roof of another building in one piece. Art isn't so much fooling the audience into thinking it's real, as it is making it bigger than life while avoiding the uncanny valley. Some people, especially geeks, are just not as forgiving as others.
I used to work in a photo store. On the Kodak Picturemaker we used to use, the admin interface required a password not only to print, but also to recall previous orders. Also, the machine only saved orders for one day.
Of course, that machine was based on a Sun SPARCstation. It's been a while since I've worked retail.
This sounds like a horrible idea.
You should see the sorry condition of the fork trucks we use in our warehouse. Anyone who wants to swap a battery pack in a shiny car would have to have the dedication and precision of a brain surgeon to avoid dings and scratches. Your typical grease monkey in a refill station would never cut it. You're looking at a battery swap at a dealership, and that would cost money. Heck, many dealerships hire mechanics from outside sources who aren't even affiliated with the car manufacturers. Large battery swaps are not trivial or cheap if you want them done correctly.
For years, LCD displays have given me headaches, and I religiously kept using a CRT for all my graphic work. I simply could not look at an LCD display. It wasn't until I came across a good IPS panel that I noticed that I had no trouble looking at it and focusing my eyes correctly. As it turns out, cheap TN-panel LCDs have such a narrow viewing angle that the image viewed by the left eye is noticeably different than the image for the right. Rotating your head makes the problem even worse.
So, people kept telling me that LCDs are easier on the eyes, and I always said they were liars. Anything that causes pain and headaches can't be a good thing in the long term. However, now that I have a good LCD, I have finally ditched my old CRT and will never go back.
There really is no excuse to keep making horrible TN-panel LCDs, and yet, they are still everywhere. Lowest common denominator wins again. I sure hope that 3D technology doesn't evolve as slowly as LCD panels.
I am aware that they, like every other company on the face of the planet, from time to time, produce an inferior product.
Tell that to the 50,000 magazines that reserve a front page for Apple every time Mr. Jobs sneezes.
That's true only of businesses that lock themselves into the platform. IE6, anyone?
It's not hard to switch to Linux/OpenOffice if you actually know you can do it. Hell, just fire up a bootable CD and try it out. Microsoft doesn't own the hardware.
Mac? Another beast entirely. How many people buy Macs simply because they believe they'll never, ever get a virus? People stick with platforms that keep them ignorant.
I'll trust smart lights over smart cars any day.
The town where I work decided to re-pave a traffic intersection. They tore out the old magnetic sensor and now the lights just use a regular timer. Traffic jams are now the norm.
Given that this is right next to the exit of a major expressway (I-495) and is the entrance to an industrial complex that regularly services 18-wheelers, I sure hope the town puts the old lights back. The paving is already finished, so I'm hoping there is a new magnetic sensor installed, but simply not plugged in. Some lights in the town are radar controlled, but my radar detector doesn't show any signals from the new intersection, yet.
In college we used HP-UNIX machines a lot. The general idea was that UNIX offered the largest gamut of languages with which to work, and learning different programming languages was generally more beneficial than learning a lot of platforms. I'm not a hardware guy, but for software, I generally agree that comparing different languages and coding styles is the best way to learn about computers. Any open-source OS is a big plus for this. If this is high-school level work, I assume the class work will largely focus on programming.
Of course, that was on the north campus where all the geeks were. I was also studying art on the south campus, and they used Macs exclusively in the art program, as well as in the newspaper office. Windows machines were available for word processing and "everything else", but not much in the CS program. Windows would be a curious choice, especially XP, as it doesn't offer very much useful stuff for education out-of-the-box.
Welcome to English!
So, Apple banning Flash is good because it crashes and is slow, even if there's virtually no HTML5 content or editors ready to replace Flash.
If Flash didn't suck as much and wasn't as popular, would you feel the same way?
So... they had no internal build of the game without the DRM?
Is that smart?
However most graphics and UI designers, tech reporters and iThing owners love it because it is the latest and most shiniest flashing glitter ball that they must play with.
Thank you.
One thing that really annoys me about Chrome is that it's so different from other apps on my machine. No matter how fancy the interface is (for better or for worse), I expect it to follow the UI guidelines for the OS. I hate the fact that Chrome has replaced drop-down menus with icons. It screws me up every time.
Plus, you have to respect people's right to choose. Not everybody needs the same thing, let alone wants it for emotional reasons. Using Chrome as a web developer is painful. Why can't I choose between having drop-down menus and having extra space? The Web Developer extension for Firefox gives me a whole toolbar to use for development that has clear icons for everything. Why can't I just move a button around where I want it? Why do I have to be forced to use a minimalist interface? It can't possibly be that hard to code.
The truth is, minimalism is often just an exercise in control. Sure, tell me it's for my own good and it makes things better, but I know very well that streamlining is just a way to tell me I should expect less. Concerning good interface design and computer companies, does this sound familiar?
Bosses will also see that you are at work to work, not jabber, and they like that.
Welcome aboard, Abused Housewife.
NSFH, either. Remember to turn off JavaScript, first.
But if they hate flash on the iPhone, there is NOTHING apple can do to improve it.
Make their own? Just because it's difficult and would take a long time doesn't mean it's impossible, and if it's open, it should catch on quickly.
Ah, but then there would be that nice no-compete clause... and the appearance of just playing "catch-up"...
On top of all the other issues, it's worth noting that system updates take a LONG time and don't multitask. Is Sony going to decide to update my system whenever it wants, and lock me out of actually using my PS3? If it's possible to download the update in the background and play games at the same time, why can't I already do that?
I agreed with you up to this point:
Gizmodo* did us a favor by telling us his name.
Seriously? I didn't realize product development was a public issue and everybody needed to know. We're not talking about a security vulnerability in a product that the company won't patch.
It's not news -- it's a childish game of finger-pointing with peoples' livelihoods on the line. Did Gizmodo reveal the name of the person who sold the device to them?