Seriously, not everyone is going to skip the ads, so their will be transitional revenue to allow the current model to change. Also, not everyone will have a PVR for a while --same effect.
As the numbers grow, other sources of funding for programming will evolve. Look at HBO now. They charge for their programming and have come quite a ways from their old movie only no commercial formats. Some of the programming produced with these models has enough value that it gets resold on DVD.
So there will be stuff to record for sure, just not the material we have today and that is a good thing.
This is one of the primary reasons why I use Peer to Peer. Finding new music.
Personally, I like a lot of different music. (Basically everything but Country Music, though I will sample because you never know...) I go and look for something I am in the mood for targeting users that have a lot of it. Then checkout their other shared tunes to see if there are new ones.
I have found out about a lot of good music! (that is more often than not from countries than USA.)
For a long time I could never figure that part out. I know I want the CD if I hear it. Letting me hear a lot means I will buy more. The more you expose the more you get. I believe most people are this way, otherwise we would not tend to invest in large music collections. It is not all about the money though.
Control is a big part of things. We have all discussed that so enough for now.
Competition really is another. Our American labels don't want labels from abroad gaining much of a foothold here either. The business model is that we export our culture while only sampling others. Peer to Peer breaks this.
Thinking about it a little more, I realize that this really is just control again, but maybe from an angle that has not been discussed much. --Then again, maybe it is late.
Either way know this:
You begin to get old when you stop craving new music. There is something good in all music, you just have to learn to relate. Tough at first, but it gets easier.
I am 35 now. Still enjoy new music as much as I did as a kid. Better, my approach lets me enjoy good music with my kids and we can actually talk about it.
Don't miss out on things like that, life is too short.
I don't like these schemes, but at least SGI has it right.
(I work with them too. Very nice machines with long lives.)
The Number In a CAN is actually located in a part of the SGI that permits upgrades everywhere else. This way you can change almost the entire machine (CPU, disks, reload the OS, Graphics) without any software hassle.
On O2 machines this number is on the PCI tray. Move that tray, and your software will work on the new O2.
Octane has it in the Backplane I think, either that or the MainBoard. It is a small chip that can be moved if you need a new main board, if it is there.
Indy has it on the main board. Dallas semiconductor. Socketed.
Indigo uses a similar chip. Same.
BTW you *can* change the lmhostid on Indy and O2 machines at least. Do a search on changing sysid, or hostid. There may be ways for others.
This system is annoying, but at least SGI thought long and hard about that annoyance factor and tried very hard to make sure the users were able to make the very best use of the licenses they have. A lot of companies don't do the kind of engineering they do and it shows. That is a big part of why an SGI costs what it does. (Worth it if you need to run that sort of software.)
Sidebar: You can get this sort of functionality on a PC, though I don't hear about it much. Get your FlexLM license tied to an ID on a hardware dongle, or better PCMCIA network card. Works the same and you can move your license at will without discussing it with your vendor, who will only entertain the conversation if you have paid your maint. contract in full to date...
So, I guess I could live with some things done this way, but I don't want to. Besides, even high-end machines like an SGI can be cracked so what's the point? Apply this sort of tech to the everyday PC and it will get cracked sooner than later.
We should focus on incentives for people to do the right thing, not technology based solutions that start us down a path of control that we all will regret.
I agree with most of what you say however, you are missing some of the point.
I don't think the intention is a 3d web. (yet) The idea is to make 2D representation of 3D data easier and more interactive.
Most of us really have little need for these things because the standard 2D we have now does the trick. There are clear uses though that are hard to get done today.
- Interactive product selling demonstrations. Want to get a closer look at that new hip mp3 player? How does it look in your favorite color? Will the addons make it too bulky? Where exactly are the connections? All of these questions can be answered today with 2D, but 3D can tell the story better. Yes it takes more than an aging Pentium to render, but that is ok given how cheap hardware is these days.
- Collaboration between engineering industrial design manufacturing and others working on multi-company projects is getting big these days. Currently it is hard to do. A coupla posts above illustrate this nicely so I won't do it again but to say that doing these things without the costly 3D application and the skills to run it are important.
- Business data presentation. 2D does a lot, 3D can make some trends and patterns obvious where 2D cannot. Make the whole thing move and you get to a point where some CEO somewhere can see a little blob form on the screen, move change shape and relate that to a new market trend that could change their business. Illustrating this sort of thing with charts and graphs really does not have the same ability to communicate higher level ideas. If it did, the big boys would not be using advanced 3D techniques to aid their understanding of their efforts.
Most all of the things you mention would indeed be hurt by 3D. Heck, flash and java script can ruin most of them, but these are not really the reason that 3D is not more common today.
The reason we do not have much 3D content is because with todays toolsets, 3D content is hard to create and present, not that we don't need to make use of it.
I have worked with companies that needed to get a technical concept across to people with little technical background. Maybe at a trade show, or as a sales tool to help them show their potential customers exactly how their product is different. Most of these to date have been pre-rendered animations that were hard to produce and quite expensive really. Even without interactivity, the effort appears to be worth it. These guys try to illustrate their concepts with pages of 2D documentation containing stats, graphs, and analogies that take way too long to wade through. One simple 30 second animation can make that same process painless. Your potential customer will go, "Ohh, that's what it does, or that's why yours is better." Once that connection is made, both parties have a solid foundation for further practical communication. This is worth a lot.
Communicating this way is worth the effort for large companies now. Standards like this will make it possible for smaller ones which is why it is worth doing.
I have issues with this particular effort, though. I wonder exactly why they appear to be ignoring XGL (Open GL via XML). Some good Open work has already been done, why not take advantage of that and build on it?
I am a little bit skeptical of this effort at the moment:
Notice how a lot of the major MCAD companies are missing from this group? They do have a working group to address this, but I wonder how much success it will have when 3D collaboration on the net is a focus right now with products already on the market, or at the end of the development queue.
Given some of the players, I seriously wonder how open this standard is.
Adobe Systems Inc
Dassault Systemes -- Owners of Solidworks, popular, but totally Microsoft (read) closed MCAD package. Yes I am slamming them!
Microsoft Corporation -- What exactly do these guys have to do with 3D CAD? Nothing, but they want to own more of it. Check out Solidworks above and consider their development directions and development philosophy.
Intel -- Currently playing both sides of the fence by selling base technology while at the same time courting Media companies and Microsoft to make sure the next wave of closed tech runs nicely on their hardware. (They have done good things, but not enough to sell me yet.)
If you take a look here you will see XGL listed as a technology. This is OpenGL contained in an easy to parse format that is already capable of representing any 3D CAD data with good precision.
http://www.web3d.org/vrml/types.htm
Looking at that page, you also see X3D listed right above. I can't help but wonder about the relationship between the trademarks for OpenGL and X3D. Seems like more of the same OpenGL vs Direct X / 3D wars we have been seeing for some time now.
Clicking on either of the X3D XGL links takes you to the X3D specification page. Hmmm.... No mention of XGL, just X3D and how it will improve on VRML.
Another interesting fact here. Almost all MCAD and 3D visualization / Animation software makes use of OpenGL for its display. There are reasons for this. One simple one is that OpenGL really is open and runs anywhere. There are many others related to the strength and precision of this API.
So, everyone is generating OpenGL displays for their MCAD. Converting this to XGL is going to be straightforward with the added advantage of being able to render an accurate WYSIWYG display for 3D.
Why then, would everyone just go and embrace this new standard that breaks a lot of that?
I agree. Computers have a totally different feel today. The better projects of this type involve ways of getting the older machines involved with computing today --retro feel intact.
Yes it is disturbing. I have only been doing these sort of things since I was a little kid, I'll bet a lot of us have. Since this really is little more than some creative packaging of existing technology, there is going to be prior art all over the place.
You would think that someone smart enough to consider a patent would also understand that the sort of people who would appreciate this sort of thing are also ones who see a lame patent for what it is. I am not buying anything --why bother? I can make my own and that is just how silly this patent would be.
Anyone that licenses anything from these people is wasting their time. Pick a different console, make it better, let the buyers decide who deserves the reward, not the lawyers....
Well, this one is not exactly cheap, but it is very good. Probably not on the healthy list either, but again its really good.
I have never really described this sort of thing, so here goes...
Need:
1 or 2 steaks. 1/4 Red Onion (White or yellow work, but not well.) 1 or two Brocoli stalks. Small amount of cooking oil. 1 slice butter. (just make it equal to one of the little marks on the cube.) small amount of water, or ice cubes. Your favorite seasonings. I use pepper, garlic salt, and Cajuns Choice seasonings.
Chop up red onion into small pieces. Do not dice. Bigger pieces are better. Prepare your broccoli also. Generally you only use the crowns, not the stalk. Coarse cut broccoli works best, cut larger crowns in half.
Begin to cook steak in medium sized no stick pan with a small amount of oil pre-heated. Steak works best on medium to medium-high heat.
Add seasoning, onion and more oil if the steak gets dry.
You want to keep the onion moving so that it does not burn. Placing it on top of the steak, for a while, works if you have a particularly thick steak. You are going to mix the onion in with the brocoli in a moment.
Once steak is halfway done, add brocoli, butter and additional seasonings. The idea is to capture some of the good flavor present in the steak juices while steaming the brocoli.
(This is the tricky part.)
If you get things right, you will end up with a steak cooking in one side of pan, while the juices from the brocoli, steak and onion combined with the butter make a small amount of sauce that coats the brocoli while it is cooking on the other side. Higher heat for this part is better, just don't overcook a good steak.
You want to let the brocoli steam a little and capture some of the steak and onion flavor. It is best to move the onion in with the brocoli. You don't eat it unless you really like onion.
What I do is tilt the pan, add butter, and perhaps a bit of water on the brocoli side of things. This is where the ice cubes can work well, they will provide some steam for the brocoli while keeping the overall water level in the bottom of the pan to a minimum. I also have a gas stove which makes this part easier. You can use a lid to partially cover the brocoli part of the pan if the brocoli is not cooking fast enough.
With an electric stove it is harder to keep the steak cooking well. An alternative is to put the butter in one side of the pan, tilt to get the juices to mix, then toss brocoli. Move the brocoli, onion mixture to a microwave bowl, and finish steaming there.
Another alternative, if your steak gets done before the brocoli does, is to remove it, increase the heat, and finish off the brocoli adding a little more water if you need it.
The end result is a well cooked steak with a nicely seasoned outer surface. Moving the onions around in the oil does this. Your brocoli and onions steamed together make the rest of the meal. Add more butter if you enjoy it on your greens, while not worrying about your arteries.
When everything is golden, the brocoli will get done right when the steak does.
Eating the onions is optional. They are there mostly for flavor, but if you do plan to eat them, starting with bigger pieces is the way to go. Smaller ones turn to mush and become part of the broccoli sauce.
Serve right away before anything gets a chance to cool much. Goes well with a nice salad.
The article states that a perpetual software license means that you can use it for the life of the product provided that you continue to pay the contract fees.
As I understand things, a perpetual license really means that once the software is licensed in a particular way, you can go on using it as long as you want. You will run out of support for it after your contract term is up, but you can still make use of the software.
I have run across this type of license often. It is tied to a hardware component, dongle, or (rarely) a particular site. I have fixed many an older machine just for the use of the software licenses attached to it. The contracts clearly stated the word 'perpetual' when defining the license.
In many cases, a physical device is used in combination with FlexLM to provide the license functionality. If you do fail to pay your fees and want to move the license, many companies will either require you to purchase a new license (at the current version) or pay all back fees to get a new license key for the version that was in use.
Anyone else think this definition is bogus, or was I misunderstanding what I was seeing?
This type of experience was one of the primary motivators for me to begin exploring OSS for my computing needs.
If you can learn to compile and use Open Source software, then you are set for life.
This got really long. If you are interested in hearing an alternative view regarding how to deal with the whole media struggle, read on, else skip....
For most of us, they are going to get something out of us. Nobody wants to forgo interesting media in the hopes that the diminished revenue will make things change. It is not going to happen.
I think the secret really is to exercise choice when you have it, and make them provide value to you when you buy. I believe there are a lot of people out there just sucking down whatever comes through their pipe without really thinking about it. These people are easy targets --true consumers. Life is short, we should make the best of it.
Here are some of the choices I have made.
Killed the Sat Tv system. (Will really miss HBO and their Sopranos series though.) Why won't these turkeys just sell me HBO without the 150 crap channels? I could wait a year, and get it on DVD, but I am not sure that is worth it yet.
Put up a nice Antenna. Too bad the additional FM I get with it is not worth a damn.
Purchased a DVD player. And use the money normally spent on the SAT to purchase programming I can watch at my leisure. This is a good value really if you can ignore some of the DVD annoyances.
Ditched commercial radio totally. If I want something live, I check out the college stations, AM, or OPB. Programming is spotty, but there are good things to be had.
Quit buying POP CD's unless they are very good ones. Never purchase any music without either a recommendation from a trusted friend, or a sample.
Speaking of samples, I get them from listening booths, if they have good choices in there, kazaa of course, lending and trading other peoples media, and mp3 swapping. It is damn nice to just mail over a track to someone and be able to have a constructive conversation about it on our time, not theirs.
For times when I am outside, or with friends, I bought one of those little FM transmitter things from Ramsey electronics. They will easily go 1000 feet or more. Any music source I own can be easily used around my home with current equipment.
Spent more time outside. This is a biggie. You have no idea what you are missing until you start doing it. Coaching kid sports has been great as well.
Know the feeling you get at the end of a particularly good movie? It's nothing compared to the end of a winning season, or close game. And there is no license required!
I get news via internet, in favor of magazine and newspaper subscriptions. I still look them over on the news stand, and will buy one if it is worthy. (Not many are right now.)
Started shopping for clothes with *no* logo on them.
Take advantage of used media when it makes sense. Why buy twice? If someone makes a bad call, that can be my gain, not the **AAs gain.
Let the kids sample music via peer to peer.
Spent a lot of time surfing with the kids. Tossed out forever the idea of censorware. Who else is going to help them understand the net and what it can do for them?
Told all my friends and neighbors what I am doing and why it matters.
Here are some of the results so far:
Kids are way more active. They actually consider going to bed on time, and are doing better in school thanks to their increased ability to use the net and their increased overall energy level they have from using their bodies instead of wasting them.
Buying the DVDs has been interesting. The collection is pretty large now. You never know how much you really spend monthly on subscription programming services until you use it for something like this.
So, taking that collection and sharing it among friends has been well worth it. Many of them are beginning to do the same thing. Because our tastes are different, I get to sample for free, things that I would have missed, or would have paid for via some subscription. Bet the **AA really hates that.
Made some new friends via the kid sports thing. So far I have had two really good summers. That is worth something now. Will likely be worth more as my kids grow up and share memories and hopefully get their kids to do the same things.
Feel better now on a daily basis. Getting out and making the best of your life relieves a lot of stress.
Since I spend a lot less time soaking up mind-candy, I have had to find other things to do with my time. Writing (I did not say writing well though --ha!), getting back into programming, coaching, working on the house, are all things that took too much time before I started this whole thing.
So, does this make a difference? I think it does. Maybe not in the shorter term, but in the longer term making active choices matters, and they will make a difference.
I believe one of the right ways to deal with the **AA is to make them compete with life --specifically yours. They have a *lot* of power right now because they consume a large portion of many of our lives. Why exactly do we do this?
They make it easy not to choose.
They make things avaliable in ways that consume your time. This is not a bad thing, but the current structure often dictates you dedicate parts of your time that you really should be spending on other things.
They make you wonder about how good things could be if only... Bullshit.
You know life is really better than you think, and they spend a lot of time selling you pictures of an alternate one that looks better, but lacks the depth your own life has right now.
If more of us put them in their proper place and started acting like customers instead of consumers, they would likely have a much different attitude in a few years.
Yeah, they do need our money, but not nearly as much as they need when working through the RIAA.
What they really need is a little mainstream attention once this gets rolling. If the quality is good, the money will take care of itself.
(I am not saying that we don't need to support them, what I am saying is that we can support them easier this way. Which is a good thing. (tm --by some smart ass.)
You can dupe the bad sector protected ones, then play them anyway.
Listen to the beeps as the Atari reads each sector of the disk. After a time, you will hear a different sound, or a pause or something. This is the bad sector!
When playing your duplicated disk, simply open the drive door at the right time, then close it.
Most of those games are looking for a disk error, but they don't care which one!
I remember Ultima ][. Turn Atari on, wait 19 beeps, flip the drive door...one...two...close! The 1040 drive was the best for this because it had the little lever on the front that allowed for accurate timing.
You are right on with this. I have been working with a design package called FreeForm that uses the new Sensable Technologies Haptic input device.
Being able to feel your model has significant advantages, but there is one subtle downside. You get *tired* quickly. One can run a MCAD or ID design package all day with a mouse and keyboard and not blink an eye. The haptic will leave your arm sore after a few hours.
Personally I feel we have not done near enough with audio input...
Yes I do and yes they have ruined a game or two. (Pisses me off to no end!) My point really was that we need to allow people to make personal copies while discouraging them from distributing them.
I know this sounds like having cake and eating it too, but I used the terms 'copy prevention' and 'discouraging' carefully.
People are *going* to make copies if they can. The rest of my post really was a suggestion toward that end. Instead of crippling the technology to prevent copies, (Because it does not work and only harms the honest customers.) we use social norms to *discourage* copies.
Think about it, right now to make backups for the kids to use you have to go through some hoops. For console systems, this is often not possible. Implementing ideas along the lines I have outlined provide a way for all of us to protect our investments without undue hassle.
There are problems with what I said, but the concept is sound.
Instead of engaging in the technology power struggle at considerable expense to everyone, why not invest now in ways of doing business that help both sides get what they want?
I know a lot of people who want backup copies. Most of them would not object to a simple social copy prevention system if they gained the ability to make backups of expensive media.
Would you purchase an early copy of a hot game if it was customized with your contact information? Would getting your copy before it hits the stores matter?
Pre-orders, are a big part of the game business today that are just waiting for something like this. If you want to be anonymous, then your copy of the media will be hard to reproduce. If you are willing to step up and be recognized as one who has a legal copy, then you get extra benefit.
Low cost replacement media, no sales receipt or media return required. (Game console)
Where media formats permit, unencumbered media so you can handle your own backups. (PC CD-ROM or DVD-ROM.)
Discounts on continued advance purchases.
Some or all of the above might not be workable, but something along those lines *is*.
The first company to realise this, will get a *lot* of business, mine included.
Interesting variation. Seems ok to me. How about they just burn your copy at the store? This could be pretty cool actually. You can get your choice of interesting media to put your game on. (Different color media, labels etc...)
You get a free coffee or something while you wait, thumb through a couple game mags, or play your game while you wait for it.
You are probably right though about this sort of thing actually happening...
With regard to the review, it was ok, but really did little except sell the cheap sleeper drive over the more expensive ones....
I think we need copy prevention for games. Not so much with online ones though because you can do things at the server that discourage casual copies. (Flame suit on:)
However, I also demand the ability to make backups, or take advantage of the hardware I own. (Putting several games onto DVD, or HardDisk really should be possible.)
So given the cost reductions in media production today, why not offer people a choice?
If you purchase the game through your standard shrink wrap vendor, then you get to live with the copy prevention methods. Same battle different day.
If you purchase from the publishing house directly, or better yet the game developers, you get unencumbered media with a catch:
Your name and address becomes part of the game as they burn a copy for you on demand. You get to make any copies you want, and they get to know if you start distributing them irresponsibly.
I did this long ago with a utility program I wrote for CADKEY. (Ez-Shapes BTW.) I did put a lot of time into the program and wanted my return, but also did not want to invest a lot more into something that had very little to do with my program just to get that return. Why? Lets just say that copy prevention schemes have caused me enough grief in the past that I did not want to be associated with them.
Each copy went out with the buyers name on it. I figured that the incentive to keep ones name clean was as good as any to prevent copies without undue restrictions on the buyer. I never did encounter how I was going to handle transfers because it never came up, but that could be a concern.
Maybe a worthy tradeoff though. What if your media was damaged? Since they *know* you are supposed to have it, maybe they can just make another for a small fee.
You forget the prefex '$'. Commonly seen in assemblers for Motorola and MOS technologies. I always preferred this because it takes less space and is more readable than '0x'.
#(6502) CODE TO COUNT FROM 160 to 175 STORE # RESULT IN MEMORY LOCATION 208
Valenti said the same thing about DVD media. Something along the lines of DVD media devaluing movies.
Open digital media with a long lifetime *will* get used over and over again. Older analog media required new purchases for the best experience. Today you can find a scratched CD in the dumpster, clean it and get that new CD experience, sans liner notes and such.
Tough spot for them right now. The big bucks only happen with high distribution. The higher the distribution the quicker the value drops.
Too bad those pesky CD's don't just decay.
Really its their own fault.
They have saturated their market with increasingly bland albums. Killed radio at the same time. Nice...
The trading of production values for profit has made many buyers reluctant to buy new. Why bother if 2 out of 15 tracks are trash? This more than any other reason is why lots of people are looking used CD over a little more closely.
They know we all want to purchase music online in unfettered formats, yet they killed their one chance to get that done. (Napster.)
One common thread to all their actions seems to be preserving that annuity model. Each hit needs to be the gift that keeps on giving.
As they continue to saturate their back catalog, look for them to become more desperate as their overall sales continue to fall.
I am not sorry at all. Our goverment should not be either.
Slashdot Mirror
Whatever comes after things begin to change.
Seriously, not everyone is going to skip the ads, so their will be transitional revenue to allow the current model to change. Also, not everyone will have a PVR for a while --same effect.
As the numbers grow, other sources of funding for programming will evolve. Look at HBO now. They charge for their programming and have come quite a ways from their old movie only no commercial formats. Some of the programming produced with these models has enough value that it gets resold on DVD.
So there will be stuff to record for sure, just not the material we have today and that is a good thing.
Amen!
This is one of the primary reasons why I use Peer to Peer. Finding new music.
Personally, I like a lot of different music. (Basically everything but Country Music, though I will sample because you never know...) I go and look for something I am in the mood for targeting users that have a lot of it. Then checkout their other shared tunes to see if there are new ones.
I have found out about a lot of good music! (that is more often than not from countries than USA.)
For a long time I could never figure that part out. I know I want the CD if I hear it. Letting me hear a lot means I will buy more. The more you expose the more you get. I believe most people are this way, otherwise we would not tend to invest in large music collections. It is not all about the money though.
Control is a big part of things. We have all discussed that so enough for now.
Competition really is another. Our American labels don't want labels from abroad gaining much of a foothold here either. The business model is that we export our culture while only sampling others. Peer to Peer breaks this.
Thinking about it a little more, I realize that this really is just control again, but maybe from an angle that has not been discussed much. --Then again, maybe it is late.
Either way know this:
You begin to get old when you stop craving new music. There is something good in all music, you just have to learn to relate. Tough at first, but it gets easier.
I am 35 now. Still enjoy new music as much as I did as a kid. Better, my approach lets me enjoy good music with my kids and we can actually talk about it.
Don't miss out on things like that, life is too short.
I don't like these schemes, but at least SGI has it right.
(I work with them too. Very nice machines with long lives.)
The Number In a CAN is actually located in a part of the SGI that permits upgrades everywhere else. This way you can change almost the entire machine (CPU, disks, reload the OS, Graphics) without any software hassle.
On O2 machines this number is on the PCI tray. Move that tray, and your software will work on the new O2.
Octane has it in the Backplane I think, either that or the MainBoard. It is a small chip that can be moved if you need a new main board, if it is there.
Indy has it on the main board. Dallas semiconductor. Socketed.
Indigo uses a similar chip. Same.
BTW you *can* change the lmhostid on Indy and O2 machines at least. Do a search on changing sysid, or hostid. There may be ways for others.
This system is annoying, but at least SGI thought long and hard about that annoyance factor and tried very hard to make sure the users were able to make the very best use of the licenses they have. A lot of companies don't do the kind of engineering they do and it shows. That is a big part of why an SGI costs what it does. (Worth it if you need to run that sort of software.)
Sidebar: You can get this sort of functionality on a PC, though I don't hear about it much. Get your FlexLM license tied to an ID on a hardware dongle, or better PCMCIA network card. Works the same and you can move your license at will without discussing it with your vendor, who will only entertain the conversation if you have paid your maint. contract in full to date...
So, I guess I could live with some things done this way, but I don't want to. Besides, even high-end machines like an SGI can be cracked so what's the point? Apply this sort of tech to the everyday PC and it will get cracked sooner than later.
We should focus on incentives for people to do the right thing, not technology based solutions that start us down a path of control that we all will regret.
Ok late night spelling sucks...
There can be only one!
(I feel better now)
Their can be only one!
(Ducks and runs...)
I agree with most of what you say however, you are missing some of the point.
I don't think the intention is a 3d web. (yet) The idea is to make 2D representation of 3D data easier and more interactive.
Most of us really have little need for these things because the standard 2D we have now does the trick. There are clear uses though that are hard to get done today.
- Interactive product selling demonstrations. Want to get a closer look at that new hip mp3 player? How does it look in your favorite color? Will the addons make it too bulky? Where exactly are the connections? All of these questions can be answered today with 2D, but 3D can tell the story better. Yes it takes more than an aging Pentium to render, but that is ok given how cheap hardware is these days.
- Collaboration between engineering industrial design manufacturing and others working on multi-company projects is getting big these days. Currently it is hard to do. A coupla posts above illustrate this nicely so I won't do it again but to say that doing these things without the costly 3D application and the skills to run it are important.
- Business data presentation. 2D does a lot, 3D can make some trends and patterns obvious where 2D cannot. Make the whole thing move and you get to a point where some CEO somewhere can see a little blob form on the screen, move change shape and relate that to a new market trend that could change their business. Illustrating this sort of thing with charts and graphs really does not have the same ability to communicate higher level ideas. If it did, the big boys would not be using advanced 3D techniques to aid their understanding of their efforts.
Most all of the things you mention would indeed be hurt by 3D. Heck, flash and java script can ruin most of them, but these are not really the reason that 3D is not more common today.
The reason we do not have much 3D content is because with todays toolsets, 3D content is hard to create and present, not that we don't need to make use of it.
I have worked with companies that needed to get a technical concept across to people with little technical background. Maybe at a trade show, or as a sales tool to help them show their potential customers exactly how their product is different. Most of these to date have been pre-rendered animations that were hard to produce and quite expensive really. Even without interactivity, the effort appears to be worth it. These guys try to illustrate their concepts with pages of 2D documentation containing stats, graphs, and analogies that take way too long to wade through. One simple 30 second animation can make that same process painless. Your potential customer will go, "Ohh, that's what it does, or that's why yours is better." Once that connection is made, both parties have a solid foundation for further practical communication. This is worth a lot.
Communicating this way is worth the effort for large companies now. Standards like this will make it possible for smaller ones which is why it is worth doing.
I have issues with this particular effort, though. I wonder exactly why they appear to be ignoring XGL (Open GL via XML). Some good Open work has already been done, why not take advantage of that and build on it?
I am a little bit skeptical of this effort at the moment:
Notice how a lot of the major MCAD companies are missing from this group? They do have a working group to address this, but I wonder how much success it will have when 3D collaboration on the net is a focus right now with products already on the market, or at the end of the development queue.
Given some of the players, I seriously wonder how open this standard is.
Adobe Systems Inc
Dassault Systemes -- Owners of Solidworks, popular, but totally Microsoft (read) closed MCAD package. Yes I am slamming them!
Microsoft Corporation -- What exactly do these guys have to do with 3D CAD? Nothing, but they want to own more of it. Check out Solidworks above and consider their development directions and development philosophy.
Intel -- Currently playing both sides of the fence by selling base technology while at the same time courting Media companies and Microsoft to make sure the next wave of closed tech runs nicely on their hardware. (They have done good things, but not enough to sell me yet.)
If you take a look here you will see XGL listed as a technology. This is OpenGL contained in an easy to parse format that is already capable of representing any 3D CAD data with good precision.
http://www.web3d.org/vrml/types.htm
Looking at that page, you also see X3D listed right above. I can't help but wonder about the relationship between the trademarks for OpenGL and X3D. Seems like more of the same OpenGL vs Direct X / 3D wars we have been seeing for some time now.
Clicking on either of the X3D XGL links takes you to the X3D specification page. Hmmm.... No mention of XGL, just X3D and how it will improve on VRML.
Another interesting fact here. Almost all MCAD and 3D visualization / Animation software makes use of OpenGL for its display. There are reasons for this. One simple one is that OpenGL really is open and runs anywhere. There are many others related to the strength and precision of this API.
So, everyone is generating OpenGL displays for their MCAD. Converting this to XGL is going to be straightforward with the added advantage of being able to render an accurate WYSIWYG display for 3D.
Why then, would everyone just go and embrace this new standard that breaks a lot of that?
Just some food for thought.
I agree. Computers have a totally different feel today. The better projects of this type involve ways of getting the older machines involved with computing today --retro feel intact.
Yes it is disturbing. I have only been doing these sort of things since I was a little kid, I'll bet a lot of us have. Since this really is little more than some creative packaging of existing technology, there is going to be prior art all over the place.
You would think that someone smart enough to consider a patent would also understand that the sort of people who would appreciate this sort of thing are also ones who see a lame patent for what it is. I am not buying anything --why bother? I can make my own and that is just how silly this patent would be.
Anyone that licenses anything from these people is wasting their time. Pick a different console, make it better, let the buyers decide who deserves the reward, not the lawyers....
Well, this one is not exactly cheap, but it is very good. Probably not on the healthy list either, but again its really good.
I have never really described this sort of thing, so here goes...
Need:
1 or 2 steaks.
1/4 Red Onion (White or yellow work, but not well.)
1 or two Brocoli stalks.
Small amount of cooking oil.
1 slice butter. (just make it equal to one of the little marks on the cube.)
small amount of water, or ice cubes.
Your favorite seasonings. I use pepper, garlic salt, and Cajuns Choice seasonings.
Chop up red onion into small pieces. Do not dice. Bigger pieces are better. Prepare your broccoli also. Generally you only use the crowns, not the stalk. Coarse cut broccoli works best, cut larger crowns in half.
Begin to cook steak in medium sized no stick pan with a small amount of oil pre-heated. Steak works best on medium to medium-high heat.
Add seasoning, onion and more oil if the steak gets dry.
You want to keep the onion moving so that it does not burn. Placing it on top of the steak, for a while, works if you have a particularly thick steak. You are going to mix the onion in with the brocoli in a moment.
Once steak is halfway done, add brocoli, butter and additional seasonings. The idea is to capture some of the good flavor present in the steak juices while steaming the brocoli.
(This is the tricky part.)
If you get things right, you will end up with a steak cooking in one side of pan, while the juices from the brocoli, steak and onion combined with the butter make a small amount of sauce that coats the brocoli while it is cooking on the other side. Higher heat for this part is better, just don't overcook a good steak.
You want to let the brocoli steam a little and capture some of the steak and onion flavor. It is best to move the onion in with the brocoli. You don't eat it unless you really like onion.
What I do is tilt the pan, add butter, and perhaps a bit of water on the brocoli side of things. This is where the ice cubes can work well, they will provide some steam for the brocoli while keeping the overall water level in the bottom of the pan to a minimum. I also have a gas stove which makes this part easier. You can use a lid to partially cover the brocoli part of the pan if the brocoli is not cooking fast enough.
With an electric stove it is harder to keep the steak cooking well. An alternative is to put the butter in one side of the pan, tilt to get the juices to mix, then toss brocoli. Move the brocoli, onion mixture to a microwave bowl, and finish steaming there.
Another alternative, if your steak gets done before the brocoli does, is to remove it, increase the heat, and finish off the brocoli adding a little more water if you need it.
The end result is a well cooked steak with a nicely seasoned outer surface. Moving the onions around in the oil does this. Your brocoli and onions steamed together make the rest of the meal. Add more butter if you enjoy it on your greens, while not worrying about your arteries.
When everything is golden, the brocoli will get done right when the steak does.
Eating the onions is optional. They are there mostly for flavor, but if you do plan to eat them, starting with bigger pieces is the way to go. Smaller ones turn to mush and become part of the broccoli sauce.
Serve right away before anything gets a chance to cool much. Goes well with a nice salad.
(Ducks now)
Good, then they got it wrong then, or that little mistake is a bit of 'spin' to get people to change their notion of just what a perpetual license is.
Not that I like these sort of license schemes because I don't.
I do however prefer the perpetual I remember over the one they are pitching in that article.
The article states that a perpetual software license means that you can use it for the life of the product provided that you continue to pay the contract fees.
As I understand things, a perpetual license really means that once the software is licensed in a particular way, you can go on using it as long as you want. You will run out of support for it after your contract term is up, but you can still make use of the software.
I have run across this type of license often. It is tied to a hardware component, dongle, or (rarely) a particular site. I have fixed many an older machine just for the use of the software licenses attached to it. The contracts clearly stated the word 'perpetual' when defining the license.
In many cases, a physical device is used in combination with FlexLM to provide the license functionality. If you do fail to pay your fees and want to move the license, many companies will either require you to purchase a new license (at the current version) or pay all back fees to get a new license key for the version that was in use.
Anyone else think this definition is bogus, or was I misunderstanding what I was seeing?
This type of experience was one of the primary motivators for me to begin exploring OSS for my computing needs.
If you can learn to compile and use Open Source software, then you are set for life.
Me too.
.02
This got really long. If you are interested in hearing an alternative view regarding how to deal with the whole media struggle, read on, else skip....
For most of us, they are going to get something out of us. Nobody wants to forgo interesting media in the hopes that the diminished revenue will make things change. It is not going to happen.
I think the secret really is to exercise choice when you have it, and make them provide value to you when you buy. I believe there are a lot of people out there just sucking down whatever comes through their pipe without really thinking about it. These people are easy targets --true consumers. Life is short, we should make the
best of it.
Here are some of the choices I have made.
Killed the Sat Tv system. (Will really miss HBO and their Sopranos series though.) Why won't these turkeys just sell me HBO without the 150 crap channels? I could wait a year, and get it on DVD, but I am not sure that is worth it yet.
Put up a nice Antenna. Too bad the additional FM I get with it is not worth a damn.
Purchased a DVD player. And use the money normally spent on the SAT to purchase programming I can watch at my leisure. This is a good value really if you can ignore some of the DVD annoyances.
Ditched commercial radio totally. If I want something live, I check out the college stations, AM, or OPB. Programming is spotty, but there are good things to be had.
Quit buying POP CD's unless they are very good ones. Never purchase any music without either a recommendation from a trusted friend, or a sample.
Speaking of samples, I get them from listening booths, if they have good choices in there, kazaa of course, lending and trading other peoples media, and mp3 swapping. It is damn nice to just mail over a track to someone and be able to have a constructive conversation about it on our time, not theirs.
For times when I am outside, or with friends, I bought one of those little FM transmitter things from Ramsey electronics. They will easily go 1000 feet or more. Any music source I own can be easily used around my home with current equipment.
Spent more time outside. This is a biggie. You have no idea what you are missing until you start doing it. Coaching kid sports has been great as well.
Know the feeling you get at the end of a particularly good movie? It's nothing compared to the end of a winning season, or close game. And there is no license required!
I get news via internet, in favor of magazine and newspaper subscriptions. I still look them over on the news stand, and will buy one if it is worthy. (Not many are right now.)
Started shopping for clothes with *no* logo on them.
Take advantage of used media when it makes sense. Why buy twice? If someone makes a bad call, that can be my gain, not the **AAs gain.
Let the kids sample music via peer to peer.
Spent a lot of time surfing with the kids. Tossed out forever the idea of censorware. Who else is going to help them understand the net and what it can do for them?
Told all my friends and neighbors what I am doing and why it matters.
Here are some of the results so far:
Kids are way more active. They actually consider going to bed on time, and are doing better in school thanks to their increased ability to use the net and their increased overall energy level they have from using their bodies instead of wasting them.
Buying the DVDs has been interesting. The collection is pretty large now. You never know how much you really spend monthly on subscription programming services until you use it for something like this.
So, taking that collection and sharing it among friends has been well worth it. Many of them are beginning to do the same thing. Because our tastes are different, I get to sample for free, things that I would have missed, or would have paid for via some subscription. Bet the **AA really hates that.
Made some new friends via the kid sports thing. So far I have had two really good summers. That is worth something now. Will likely be worth more as my kids grow up and share memories and hopefully get their kids to do the same things.
Feel better now on a daily basis. Getting out and making the best of your life relieves a lot of stress.
Since I spend a lot less time soaking up mind-candy, I have had to find other things to do with my time. Writing (I did not say writing well though --ha!), getting back into programming, coaching, working on the house, are all things that took too much time before I started this whole thing.
So, does this make a difference? I think it does. Maybe not in the shorter term, but in the longer term making active choices matters, and they will make a difference.
I believe one of the right ways to deal with the **AA is to make them compete with life --specifically yours. They have a *lot* of power right now because they consume a large portion of many of our lives. Why exactly do we do this?
They make it easy not to choose.
They make things avaliable in ways that consume your time. This is not a bad thing, but the current structure often dictates you dedicate parts of your time that you really should be spending on other things.
They make you wonder about how good things could be if only... Bullshit.
You know life is really better than you think, and they spend a lot of time selling you pictures of an alternate one that looks better, but lacks the depth your own life has right now.
If more of us put them in their proper place and started acting like customers instead of consumers, they would likely have a much different attitude in a few years.
Just my
Yeah, they do need our money, but not nearly as much as they need when working through the RIAA.
What they really need is a little mainstream attention once this gets rolling. If the quality is good, the money will take care of itself.
(I am not saying that we don't need to support them, what I am saying is that we can support them easier this way. Which is a good thing. (tm --by some smart ass.)
Got it, running on an SGI no less. It does work well. Need paddles tho.
Great twitch game. You had a bucket of sorts at the bottom and an evil guy at the top dropping bombs. (Lots of them.)
Catch all the bombs and you are golden. Drop one and *flash* (literally) your paddle is one shorter and the game is harder.
For an old ~1.7Mhz system, this game could easily test the limits of your reflexes.
Does not go over as well in emulation. Something about the feel of the paddle, and the big graphics....
BTW the Mame version has nothing on the 2600 native version.
Great game! 4 players even!
You can dupe the bad sector protected ones, then play them anyway.
Listen to the beeps as the Atari reads each sector of the disk. After a time, you will hear a different sound, or a pause or something. This is the bad sector!
When playing your duplicated disk, simply open the drive door at the right time, then close it.
Most of those games are looking for a disk error, but they don't care which one!
I remember Ultima ][. Turn Atari on, wait 19 beeps, flip the drive door...one...two...close! The 1040 drive was the best for this because it had the little lever on the front that allowed for accurate timing.
Was a much nicer time back then.
You are right on with this. I have been working with a design package called FreeForm that uses the new Sensable Technologies Haptic input device.
Being able to feel your model has significant advantages, but there is one subtle downside. You get *tired* quickly. One can run a MCAD or ID design package all day with a mouse and keyboard and not blink an eye. The haptic will leave your arm sore after a few hours.
Personally I feel we have not done near enough with audio input...
Yes I do and yes they have ruined a game or two. (Pisses me off to no end!) My point really was that we need to allow people to make personal copies while discouraging them from distributing them.
I know this sounds like having cake and eating it too, but I used the terms 'copy prevention' and 'discouraging' carefully.
People are *going* to make copies if they can. The rest of my post really was a suggestion toward that end. Instead of crippling the technology to prevent copies, (Because it does not work and only harms the honest customers.) we use social norms to *discourage* copies.
Think about it, right now to make backups for the kids to use you have to go through some hoops. For console systems, this is often not possible. Implementing ideas along the lines I have outlined provide a way for all of us to protect our investments without undue hassle.
There are problems with what I said, but the concept is sound.
Instead of engaging in the technology power struggle at considerable expense to everyone, why not invest now in ways of doing business that help both sides get what they want?
I know a lot of people who want backup copies. Most of them would not object to a simple social copy prevention system if they gained the ability to make backups of expensive media.
Would you purchase an early copy of a hot game if it was customized with your contact information? Would getting your copy before it hits the stores matter?
Pre-orders, are a big part of the game business today that are just waiting for something like this. If you want to be anonymous, then your copy of the media will be hard to reproduce. If you are willing to step up and be recognized as one who has a legal copy, then you get extra benefit.
Low cost replacement media, no sales receipt or media return required. (Game console)
Where media formats permit, unencumbered media so you can handle your own backups. (PC CD-ROM or DVD-ROM.)
Discounts on continued advance purchases.
Some or all of the above might not be workable, but something along those lines *is*.
The first company to realise this, will get a *lot* of business, mine included.
Interesting variation. Seems ok to me. How about they just burn your copy at the store? This could be pretty cool actually. You can get your choice of interesting media to put your game on. (Different color media, labels etc...)
You get a free coffee or something while you wait, thumb through a couple game mags, or play your game while you wait for it.
You are probably right though about this sort of thing actually happening...
That's funny! Hacking the psyche for copy prevention. Comes with a bonus though. Beat the game, then make a copy and beat it again!
Seriously though, this sort of thing is a whole lot better than all of the error-prone annoying hardware schemes.
With regard to the review, it was ok, but really did little except sell the cheap sleeper drive over the more expensive ones....
:)
I think we need copy prevention for games. Not so much with online ones though because you can do things at the server that discourage casual copies. (Flame suit on
However, I also demand the ability to make backups, or take advantage of the hardware I own. (Putting several games onto DVD, or HardDisk really should be possible.)
So given the cost reductions in media production today, why not offer people a choice?
If you purchase the game through your standard shrink wrap vendor, then you get to live with the copy prevention methods. Same battle different day.
If you purchase from the publishing house directly, or better yet the game developers, you get unencumbered media with a catch:
Your name and address becomes part of the game as they burn a copy for you on demand. You get to make any copies you want, and they get to know if you start distributing them irresponsibly.
I did this long ago with a utility program I wrote for CADKEY. (Ez-Shapes BTW.) I did put a lot of time into the program and wanted my return, but also did not want to invest a lot more into something that had very little to do with my program just to get that return. Why? Lets just say that copy prevention schemes have caused me enough grief in the past that I did not want to be associated with them.
Each copy went out with the buyers name on it. I figured that the incentive to keep ones name clean was as good as any to prevent copies without undue restrictions on the buyer. I never did encounter how I was going to handle transfers because it never came up, but that could be a concern.
Maybe a worthy tradeoff though. What if your media was damaged? Since they *know* you are supposed to have it, maybe they can just make another for a small fee.
Something to think about anyway.
(not so funny)
You forget the prefex '$'. Commonly seen in assemblers for Motorola and MOS technologies. I always preferred this because it takes less space and is more readable than '0x'.
#(6502) CODE TO COUNT FROM 160 to 175 STORE
# RESULT IN MEMORY LOCATION 208
C000 LDX $A0
C002 INX
C003 CPX $AF
C005 BNE $FE
C008 STX $DO
C00A RTS
Since you seem to be way obsessed with this, I thought you would enjoy the trivia.
The branch might be a byte or two off. It has been a *long* time.
Go away (really) and don't come back.
Valenti said the same thing about DVD media. Something along the lines of DVD media devaluing movies.
Open digital media with a long lifetime *will* get used over and over again. Older analog media required new purchases for the best experience. Today you can find a scratched CD in the dumpster, clean it and get that new CD experience, sans liner notes and such.
Tough spot for them right now. The big bucks only happen with high distribution. The higher the distribution the quicker the value drops.
Too bad those pesky CD's don't just decay.
Really its their own fault.
They have saturated their market with increasingly bland albums. Killed radio at the same time. Nice...
The trading of production values for profit has made many buyers reluctant to buy new. Why bother if 2 out of 15 tracks are trash? This more than any other reason is why lots of people are looking used CD over a little more closely.
They know we all want to purchase music online in unfettered formats, yet they killed their one chance to get that done. (Napster.)
One common thread to all their actions seems to be preserving that annuity model. Each hit needs to be the gift that keeps on giving.
As they continue to saturate their back catalog, look for them to become more desperate as their overall sales continue to fall.
I am not sorry at all. Our goverment should not be either.