At some point the Linux game industry will reach the volume needed to justify a magazine targetted at Linux gamers (or serious inclusion in the Windows gaming mags), at which point you'll be able to get the demos on CD's that come with many magazines or are handed out at computer stores...
Perhaps until that point, some enterprising soul could offer CD collections of assorted Linux game demos (as more become available, and as [copyrights,licenses] allow), even by snail mail. I don't know what kinds of agreements the mags make with the game companies on anything except "exclusives", but...
If licenses allow it, charge a nominal fee for the service to cover media, labor, and shipping and maybe a little profit to support the operation (or be donated to a righteous cause, like dvd/decss defense fund?).
Just a thought. It works to some extent in the Windows world (and probably Mac, too).
>Hum seem to rember working on a 1 Meg cache PPro system today
Yeah, there were a few sizes of PPro processors done. Smallest were 256k of L2 built into the chip, then 512k, then 1 meg.. the vast majority were 256k, as the larger cache sizes (obviously) commanded a significant price premium.
Other than that, yeah, he was correct (and usefully informative, I woulda moderated that one up myself).
However, I still kinda self-consciously defend my geek points by pointing out that I said the PRIMARY difference that most people saw. I had basically forgotten the whole fuss that went around when Win95 came out about how it was slower on a PPro 200 than a regular P54C running at 200 for many operations due to the lingering 16-bit crud.. his notes reminded me of it. "oops".
>Actually, Pentium IIs/IIIs/Celerons are just >beefed up PPros
I dunno enough about CPU architecture to comment on the P2 or Celerons (well, beyond that they added MMX to the regular PPro instructions), but the P3 did actually add some new instructions above and beyond that. Not that they're really used by anything yet that I'm aware of, but it's more than just a "beefed up PPro".
Besides, the primary (ie most significant to the majority of users) difference between the PPro and the P54 class CPUs was the location of the L2 cache (on the chip vs. on the board).
I'm still more interested in seeing what other CPU makers do than yet another rehash of the ix86.
>there was, in the early days of the Apple ][, >the idea of creating a super powerful modem that >would be programmable
Sounds like the old AppleCat modem by Novation.
Amazing little device, had a tone generator on it (we weren't hip enough to call it a DSP yet), so you could use it for the various things you mentioned (generating assorted phreak-related tones) as well as playing music. There was also a DTMF decoder PROM available for it, but I never got/burned one..
The niftiest thing at the time about the AppleCat was the ability to do Bell 202, 1200-baud half-duplex (at the time, 1200 baud full-duplex modems were still prohibitively expensive).
Of course, the warez scene at the time picked up on this and pretty soon Cat Fur systems popped up all over the place. Cat Fur was a nifty terminal/transfer program that allowed chatting between the sender/receiver (definitely a novelty at the time).
So they should just remove the offending driver, reboot the telescope, let it autodetect things (do those gyros support plug and play?), reboot it again...
>The Eyeball Theory >This theory states that no matter how large the >warning on the side of the laser, someone will >inevitably see what happens when they shine it >in their eye.[1]
>Hang on -- how can you get a faster ping if the >pinged server is down, if there is some Internet >congestion or if there is a backhoe (snip!) >between you and the machine? =)
Ok, I'm gonna hope the smiley means this one's a joke, but...
In a modem connection, the modem is often (usually) the slowest link (100+ ms). If they can shave even 25% of that off, it will make a noticable difference in internet gaming.
Of course they can't do anything about the connections on the other side - but every little bit at any step of the way certainly helps.
As much as I hate to reply to my own post and as much as I appreciate the kind karma points , it almost seems like we need a new moderation category for these kinds of topics.
I picked up the first edition at a local used bookstore over the weekend ($15 including CD, I couldn't resist) without knowing a second edition was in the works..
Is there anything about the second edition that would make it worth "upgrading" to?
I couldn't care less about the software on the CD, but what about real content, specifically for the newer models like the III(x,e), V(x), and VII?
-LjM
(seems like I always buy something right before something newer is announced.. wish I'd held off on my IIIx untli the Visors or Vx were out)
>And then there was a contracted deal between DoD >and some PC manufacturer to produce "battle- >proof" PC which were used in both "Desert >Shield" and later "Desert Storm" Operations.
That would have been GRiD (http://www.grid.com), as I recall.. they made some pretty nifty notebooks, including some of the earlier consumer-grade pads (GRiDpad).
Unfortunately, their web page doesn't seem to have a lot of information (listed as under construction, of course).
I seem to remember Grid going under a few years back... the web page says it's from GSCS, "founded to service and support exiting (sic) GRiD products".
>, as is everything else except the built in >camera (which uses firewire, not yet supported >under linux, but getting there).
I'd been wondering about that, actually...
Is there firewire support for *any* "alternative" OS? I really want a picturebook, but I'd like to at least have a choice of operating systems.
I run 98 on my home machine (I play a lot of games, sue me) and work-assigned laptop (haven't gotten around to dividing up the drive), but if I'm gonna shell out 2k of my own money for something like this, I'd at least like the option of Linux or a BSD. If one of the primary goodies of the laptop doesn't work, this kinda limits the appeal to me...
>What if new accounts couldn't post messages >until two weeks has passed?
The problem here is that sometimes there is a good reason to post anonymously, or at least from an "irregular" account.
For example... someone commenting unfavorably on the company they work for. Perhaps someone commenting on something that might have legal implications (or at least gray areas)... there are others, these are just the two that come to mind.
Making someone wait two weeks might prevent an otherwise insightful comment.
When was the last time you went back and re-read a two week old slashdot article?
One problem with having to log in to post something is that you end up with people creating one-shot accounts to post things that might cause problems in their professional lives if posted from their regular login.
Another problem is that instead of Anonymous Coward (starting at 0 or -1) flaming, you'll have a thousand "real" logins posting the flames, starting at 1...
No, I don't have a better answer. But I don't think doing away with AC's completely is a good idea, either.
Slashdot Mirror
At some point the Linux game industry will reach the volume needed to justify a magazine targetted at Linux gamers (or serious inclusion in the Windows gaming mags), at which point you'll be able to get the demos on CD's that come with many magazines or are handed out at computer stores...
Perhaps until that point, some enterprising soul could offer CD collections of assorted Linux game demos (as more become available, and as [copyrights,licenses] allow), even by snail mail. I don't know what kinds of agreements the mags make with the game companies on anything except "exclusives", but...
If licenses allow it, charge a nominal fee for the service to cover media, labor, and shipping and maybe a little profit to support the operation (or be donated to a righteous cause, like dvd/decss defense fund?).
Just a thought. It works to some extent in the Windows world (and probably Mac, too).
-LjM
>Has anyone else ever avoided an accident by accelerating?
On my motorcycle?
Yes, lots of times.
-LjM
>Hum seem to rember working on a 1 Meg cache PPro system today
Yeah, there were a few sizes of PPro processors done. Smallest were 256k of L2 built into the chip, then 512k, then 1 meg.. the vast majority were 256k, as the larger cache sizes (obviously) commanded a significant price premium.
Other than that, yeah, he was correct (and usefully informative, I woulda moderated that one up myself).
However, I still kinda self-consciously defend my geek points by pointing out that I said the PRIMARY difference that most people saw. I had basically forgotten the whole fuss that went around when Win95 came out about how it was slower on a PPro 200 than a regular P54C running at 200 for many operations due to the lingering 16-bit crud.. his notes reminded me of it. "oops".
-LjM
>Actually, Pentium IIs/IIIs/Celerons are just
>beefed up PPros
I dunno enough about CPU architecture to comment on the P2 or Celerons (well, beyond that they added MMX to the regular PPro instructions), but the P3 did actually add some new instructions above and beyond that. Not that they're really used by anything yet that I'm aware of, but it's more than just a "beefed up PPro".
Besides, the primary (ie most significant to the majority of users) difference between the PPro and the P54 class CPUs was the location of the L2 cache (on the chip vs. on the board).
I'm still more interested in seeing what other CPU makers do than yet another rehash of the ix86.
-LjM
>there was, in the early days of the Apple ][,
>the idea of creating a super powerful modem that
>would be programmable
Sounds like the old AppleCat modem by Novation.
Amazing little device, had a tone generator on it (we weren't hip enough to call it a DSP yet), so you could use it for the various things you mentioned (generating assorted phreak-related tones) as well as playing music. There was also a DTMF decoder PROM available for it, but I never got/burned one..
The niftiest thing at the time about the AppleCat was the ability to do Bell 202, 1200-baud half-duplex (at the time, 1200 baud full-duplex modems were still prohibitively expensive).
Of course, the warez scene at the time picked up on this and pretty soon Cat Fur systems popped up all over the place. Cat Fur was a nifty terminal/transfer program that allowed chatting between the sender/receiver (definitely a novelty at the time).
Fun stuff.
Gosh, sometimes I miss being 15...
-LjM
Oh yeah?
Well, I'm running on an NT box right now, so all of my bits are having to go uphill BOTH WAYS!
-LjM
So they should just remove the offending driver, reboot the telescope, let it autodetect things (do those gyros support plug and play?), reboot it again...
Mostly I'm just jealous you beat me to the joke.
-LjM
>The Eyeball Theory
>This theory states that no matter how large the
>warning on the side of the laser, someone will
>inevitably see what happens when they shine it
>in their eye.[1]
This just reminds me of the old joke disclaimer..
"Do not shine laser into remaining eye"
-LjM
>Hang on -- how can you get a faster ping if the
>pinged server is down, if there is some Internet
>congestion or if there is a backhoe (snip!)
>between you and the machine? =)
Ok, I'm gonna hope the smiley means this one's a joke, but...
In a modem connection, the modem is often (usually) the slowest link (100+ ms). If they can shave even 25% of that off, it will make a noticable difference in internet gaming.
Of course they can't do anything about the connections on the other side - but every little bit at any step of the way certainly helps.
-LjM
And nobody thinks professional wrestling is real.
And nobody thinks the letters to Penthouse Forum are real.
And nobody thinks the government might have anything other than our best interests in mind.
And nobody thinks slashdot polls reflect the real world.
And...
As much as I hate to reply to my own post and as much as I appreciate the kind karma points , it almost seems like we need a new moderation category for these kinds of topics.
Anyone for a "Bitter" category?
-LjM
Yeah, lord knows women wouldn't wanna attract intelligent, successful, sensitive guys with a real solid future ahead of 'em.
What a bunch of bow-tie wearin' cowlicked losers we are.
-LjM
Uhm... isn't that IS*B*N?
-LjM
I picked up the first edition at a local used bookstore over the weekend ($15 including CD, I couldn't resist) without knowing a second edition was in the works..
Is there anything about the second edition that would make it worth "upgrading" to?
I couldn't care less about the software on the CD, but what about real content, specifically for the newer models like the III(x,e), V(x), and VII?
-LjM
(seems like I always buy something right before something newer is announced.. wish I'd held off on my IIIx untli the Visors or Vx were out)
>And then there was a contracted deal between DoD
>and some PC manufacturer to produce "battle-
>proof" PC which were used in both "Desert
>Shield" and later "Desert Storm" Operations.
That would have been GRiD (http://www.grid.com), as I recall.. they made some pretty nifty notebooks, including some of the earlier consumer-grade pads (GRiDpad).
Unfortunately, their web page doesn't seem to have a lot of information (listed as under construction, of course).
I seem to remember Grid going under a few years back... the web page says it's from GSCS, "founded to service and support exiting (sic) GRiD products".
Anyone have any idea what the real history is?
-LjM
>I guess they didn't want to call it National 'Be
>a Geek' Day
Or maybe the Internet America people (of 1-800-BE-A-GEEK tv ad infamy) would have tried to sue CNet and techies.com (listed as founders).
Or more likely, they're just going along with the techies.com theme.
-LjM
Actually, he mentions his id several times in the article: fish8.
Numerous buyer feedbacks mentioning the article... and the Madonna and baby are real, and listed for sale here.
The scary thing is, someone actually bid on it. Probably in response to the article, but still...
-LjM
No easier than updating via flash.
And given the nightmares I dealt with at Dell doing reinstalls of hosed Winmodem drivers, I'd rather flash firmware than go through that hell again.
-LjM
>No bs you just plug it in and go. For some :(
>reason a great many of you don't want that
If MacOS is the cost... no, you're right, I don't.
-LjM
>What are the advantages and disadvantages (apart
>from not working under Linux) of having a
>winmodem ?
The advantages:
Cheap
The disadvantages:
Relies on Windows
Easy to corrupt drivers and/or settings
Hard to reinstall drivers
High CPU utilization
-LjM
>, as is everything else except the built in
>camera (which uses firewire, not yet supported
>under linux, but getting there).
I'd been wondering about that, actually...
Is there firewire support for *any* "alternative" OS? I really want a picturebook, but I'd like to at least have a choice of operating systems.
I run 98 on my home machine (I play a lot of games, sue me) and work-assigned laptop (haven't gotten around to dividing up the drive), but if I'm gonna shell out 2k of my own money for something like this, I'd at least like the option of Linux or a BSD. If one of the primary goodies of the laptop doesn't work, this kinda limits the appeal to me...
-LjM
>What if new accounts couldn't post messages
>until two weeks has passed?
The problem here is that sometimes there is a good reason to post anonymously, or at least from an "irregular" account.
For example... someone commenting unfavorably on the company they work for. Perhaps someone commenting on something that might have legal implications (or at least gray areas)... there are others, these are just the two that come to mind.
Making someone wait two weeks might prevent an otherwise insightful comment.
When was the last time you went back and re-read a two week old slashdot article?
-LjM
One problem with having to log in to post something is that you end up with people creating one-shot accounts to post things that might cause problems in their professional lives if posted from their regular login.
Another problem is that instead of Anonymous Coward (starting at 0 or -1) flaming, you'll have a thousand "real" logins posting the flames, starting at 1...
No, I don't have a better answer. But I don't think doing away with AC's completely is a good idea, either.
-LjM
As opposed to killed by the state, I mean...
(okay, so I'd forgotten that Bundy had actually gotten his justice)
-LjM
>Where [is ...] Jeffrey Dahmer to be found?
Last I checked, dead.
Killed by another prisoner.
-LjM