This whole thing is good entertainment! My only fear here is that we will have to deal with draconian laws for a while while people wake up, other than that, I see this whole thing as a losing battle over the longer term.
These fools should have partnered with Napster when they had concentrated the general public atttention. Had they allowed the free service to continue along with a subscription catalog sort of thing, they would be making money right now that could fund a new way to market all of their music, not just the hits.
Sad thing about this is that they could have maintained their existing marketing machine for the mega-hits while investing in new infrstructure to add value and thus profit to the losers and niche music that they currently make little from. Personally I would have enjoyed the whole thing because it would not have all this negative baggage associated with it.
Now that the public understands distributed peer to peer systems, they are fsked! Anything they build now will have to compete with those. Pretty hard to sell restrictions when everyone knows that they are artificial. Divx had the same problem look where it is today. --Good luck guys you missed the boat on this one.
As for the copy protected CDs, they can make them or not, I really don't care. When I invested in equipment for moving my vinyl to CD that problem was handled as a bonus. I could actually profit from this as friends would want the service. Great! More for me to invest in unrestricted operating systems and media.
So basically things are not changed. I buy recordings that are worth it, and trade tracks with others to determine worth. Long ago I used to hear about new music on FM. Now that that medium has been neutered, I hear new stuff by word of mouth either electronic, or acoustic. This is how things work now and they helped build it so they get to live with it.
Man, you have got that right! I spent about 20+ ?!? hours on the phone with lame Qwest technicians trying to get the ATM stuff right. Had a friend switch over recently though and his order went right through. He only had about a day of downtime compared to my week!
Expect some problems with the switch, but none after it is done!
Go with Spiretech. They are independant and provide good service. There terms of use are acceptable (servers ok so long as they don't abuse the net in general). You get a shell account with SSH!! Linux UNIX ok. They did not flinch at IRIX even.
Heh, tell them 'ddingus' sent you, I get a free month!
Seriously they are way better than the MSN / Qwest mess.
I checked that one out. It was very similar in concept, but very different in play mechanic. In the Jaguar game, there was a very nice guided discovery element. Exploring the ship and learning where the key elements were was a lot of fun and risky at the same time.
The PC version is more of a guided tour. You are given a path and resources and from there it is just a shooter. Pretty decent one, but still not the same.
Fox produced the PC version, Renegade software did the Jag version.
Went looking for early Gamecubes on Sat and did not have any luck. Heard a lot about XBox though.
Saw a number of display areas with Xbox turned way up, and PS2 off. Go figure.
Target had them opening day (of course) they handed out numbers so people would know if they were getting one or not. 45 people in line for Gamecube avg. age 20 something sales person told me there were about 8 for Xbox. Could be the neighborhood, but on Sat, there were many Xbox units for sale.
Target was giving away free game seats with your Gamecube purchase. They had the Xbox logo on them.
Yes the Jaguar did. Bought the system for Tempest 2000 and Alien vs Predator. Still play them and they are still good. Wonder why nobody has ported AvsP to newer systems in the form that exists for the Jag? It was a great game.
I am not sure about this one. It is true that existing hardware will be around for a while, but what good is it when the law will read that you cannot use it on the net, and cannot distribute what you copy with it?
Really distribution could be to yourself, stranger interpetations have happened lately.
Myself, I have a number of nice machines that I plan on maintaining for a while to come, but it won't be forever.
All of this consolidation along with win32 locking in most users is downright spooky.
Just was thinking about this and the new DMCA (SCCEA or something) law and hit on this line of reasoning:
What if they are watching the copies not to asses the 'damages' from piracy, but instead to bolster the argument that approved hardware is needed because the stuff that is out there right now is too open for any sort of real protection to work.
Combine this with some slanted reports of diminished sales (like the current world crisis has nothing to do with it!) and uninformed legislators would give the law backing.
We all know that it is simple right now. Move the content onto a free format and do what you have been the entire time. They know it too, so this makes some sort of twisted sense.
Just something to think about...
Success by attrition...
on
XBox Delayed
·
· Score: 3, Funny
The scene: Xbox marketing and development lab conference room. Two MSX-droids hash out the ongoing
problems with the Xbox project...
Drone #1: Our box needs to kick ass, or we lose big time. The guys over in the hype machine have set the
bar seriously high! The later it gets, the better it has to be! We might not ever get done!
Drone #2: Yeah it is almost a PC now, maybe we should have thought that Dell offer through a little
more... It will be ok though because that is what we do best --hype now and build later. Half of them
don't even know the difference!
Drone #1: What are we going to do about the price? I mean everything but the kitchen sink is in there!
Parents know how much PC's cost, we have to drop that image, or they will never buy. They will say they
already have one. Everyone knows there is a difference between a PC and a game machine.
#1: That's ok, we will make it up on the licensing. Thats how those Sony and Nintendo guys do it.
Besides the hardware guys know what they are doing.
#2: For that it has to be closed. Damn! that means we have to get it right the first time. No
upgrades...
#1: We can use the expansion port! Everyone has one on their systems right? Anything we need to add goes
in there.
#2: Not everybody buys them though. Expansions make it messy for the dev guys. Remember they said they
would port if the environment was stable. If it gets ugly they will probably just stick to the PC. We
better just make sure we are covered on the hardware front and take the hit on the price. We have deep
pockets -everything will be ok. Remember the chief did say 'at any cost'!
#1: What if we don't have the best games? Damn Sony and their contracts! The bigger the initial loss the
more games we have to sell.
#2: Are you kidding? We have great games. Between Sega, the PC ports, and those cool guys over at the
Microsoft Game development team, our games are going to rock! We don't have to have the best games
silly, we just need the games that people are willing to buy. Remember Sony seems to mix in a lot of
that Jap Crap, we have an all American line up. What could be better for America than American games?
#1: Ok, we are covered on the games. Sounds good! --Wait! What about all those hippy Open Source Linux
running geeks?!? They are going to make webservers, mp3 players, emulators and all sorts of things on
cheap hardware we paid for! What about that!
#2: Linux does not run on Xbox, whats the big deal? Quit worrying.
#1: Man, Linux runs on everything! It's even on a wristwatch for Gods' sake! You don't get outside the
campus enough. Besides we promised the Hollywood guys that it would be closed and cheaper than Sony.
You know how they hate to pay one of their own for distribution -gives them fits just thinking about it.
It's our ace in the hole!
#2: We will just have to make sure it will never run. We can encrypt the ROM and CPU like they do with
some of the Arcade games. That combined with special hardware will make it tough. Who said you get to
leave campus? Running Linux are ya?
#1: No, never... b-but it's all over the web, just look at Slashdot! There are ports mentioned every
couple of weeks! Besides, if our stuff runs, then they can look at that to make their stuff go too. We
would just be adding to the price in order to put them off.
#2: Slashdot-Trashdot, that is why the DMCA was passed remember? You worry too much. Besides I hear
that we are buying another law. It will be perfect! Linux will be illegal because it is not certified
by hollywood and us to run, so even if they run it, they are screwed!
#1: So, does that mean we have to include a contract that requires owners of an Xbox to buy our games?
That is not going to make us look good at the DOJ. They seem to have backed off, but a lot of people
are still pissed.
#2: Which people? Oh, you mean the ones that don't have any money? They won't matter, we have some of
the best inside help working with us on this one. By the time they scrape together any sort of a plan,
this thing will go through right to the top!
#1: Maybe you are right, it is just complex. Why can't we just do what we need to do without all these
hassles?
#2: Ok here's the plan just in case. Every Xbox connects to a phone line and we set up a new free online
service like Sega did with PSO Online. When the machine comes on it checks its boot media, if a non
Microsoft OS is there, it stops and reminds the users of their duty as a citizen to follow the DMCA.
#1: That does not sound like a very fun game machine. Tech support is going to kill us. They are already
buried with product activation, and this will send them through the roof. Ever talk to a pissed off
Apple user. Clueless and angry, enough to drive you nuts! They are nothing compared to the parents who
have to call about the game machine they bought to keep their kids busy!
#2: It will be fine. Lots of things connect to the phone these days. Don't worry about it. Look at all
those cable users with a phone line on their box. The geeks even like their TVIO machines with a phone
line.
#1: The new rage is cell phones, college kids all over the place don't even have a normal phone, and how
are you going to do game parties? They don't want phones, they want ethernet!
#2: Ok you make the call, we have to have more input on this.
#1: No way! I remember what happened last time. That is why you are #2 --remember?
(In walks #3 fresh from school with visions of stock options in his head.... )
#3: Hey guys! What's with the long faces?
#1 & #2: Just in time! Hey we have a little project we would like to to head up for a while, you seem
ready for something new. Lets meet in our office later today to discuss the details.
Just noticed this: (Thanks to the person who posted the WinXP license.)
Begin Draconian License Agreement Excerpt: (DLAE)
Except as otherwise permitted by the NetMeeting, Remote Assistance, and Remote Desktop features described below, you may not use the Product to permit any Device to use, access, display or run other executable software residing on the Workstation Computer, nor may you permit any Device to use, access, display, or run the Product or Product's user interface, unless the Device has a separate license for the Product.
End DLAE Excerpt (hey I am in a hurry...)
So this means a couple of things to me. They expect you to pay for an XP license to remotely display your XP machine graphics screen somewhere else, and that remote display software that it not theirs is not licensed for use!
They are trying to say what you can and cannot run on your own machine!
I know this won't affect many of us because we are not going to be running this OS, but larger companies that have signed agreements (that contained additional terms after the fact BTW) are going to be in a tight position. Forced to use licensed tools by the agreements only, not for technical reasons...
Since they cannot undersell VNC, they are going to have to kill it legaly.
People are going to collect information on the sites you visit. If you don't like it, there are some easy ways to get around the problem.
Personally, I don't mind most sites looking my stats over. This sort of thing keeps a lot of sites free. There are worse options like interrupted browsing. All they have to do is remove the page from direct access and lots of bad things happen. Let the marketing departments pay for something easy that those of us who want to can get around. The alternatives are harder and costly.
1. Fast connection means nothing because you have to wait along with everyone else for the ad server to show you the ad, then the page....
2. Searching becomes harder.
3. The web becomes less cross-platform as the ads require tools not avaliable everywhere.
So,
Use an anon service and surf that way if it is a problem.
Or here is another option. Enable your usual blocking tools hit the page and copy the page to local storage and read as long as you want.
I will do this anyway from time to time because I want to archive some content for reading later offline or on a PDA.
Peer review as part of the grading process. Teachers are best able to understand their students and their strengths. High stakes tests and national guidelines really serve as a minimum acceptable standard. These sort of things do not promote creative-free thinkers. Teachers can and do when they have the chance and are empowered to do so.
For the basic subjects, the current methods are ok for most.
What will do society some good is enlightened students. Exposure to things at an early age forms a foundation for learning later in life that can't be beat.
I am sure that there are many people today that have some knowledge that applies to a specific field. Let them teach! Make it worth it, and let other more general purpose teachers mentor them and learn also.
Not every kid will benefit from these sort of things and for them there are the regular classes and activities, but getting early exposure to technology of any kind will help those that need it more than we know.
-------- End of point... -------------
Just as an example from my youth to belabour this point a little more.
A computer club was announced in my area long ago. For someone interested in technology living in a somewhat backwards small town, this was great. Not attending was not an option.
Turns out the person running this club was a HAM, into computers, and had a lot of experience in other things. Getting older in life and comfortable with his lifestyle left him with free time so he gave it to us with no almost no strings attached. He did want us to work, and would help in any way possible. When we got some technical thing accomplished he was there to say good job when parents and teachers could only say "thats nice, what is it again??"
What a gift!
In about 2.5 years with help from this 'teacher' that did not teach for my school I learned a lot.
- Assembly language programming on 6502 & 6809 re-entrant, relocatable code, graphics, sound, and other things. (6809 rocks BTW!)
- Got a HAM radio license, was on the air for 5 years on old gear that I fixed and maintained with the help and knowledge given to me about AC and DC electrical theory and antennas.
- Wrote an assembler / disassembler for my Atari machine in basic that was used for the coding mentioned above.
- Morse Code.
- Tore into older Vacuum Tube type radios and televisions, fixed them used them sold them played with them. --Just for fun!
Contrast that stuff with technology classes at school. We were typing in programs and then describing what they did. (In Logo no less!) Some of the more creative ones were modifying them (you could tell that they wanted more), but most kids were not learning anything that would matter later on. Lots of busy work only to see their name drawn on the screen and wonder why that was so hard... (They later thought why do that, so they didn't.)
To this day, the discussions, challenges, and arguments we had in that small group still matter.
Not only did we get to the bare metal and make the machines do cool things, we talked about tech and learned to understand it for what it is --a tool of the best kind, one that will do whatever you can think of with a catch... You must learn to speak its language.
I am no genius, but I am doing what I love and making a living at it. One person willing to just tell it like it is and open my eyes changed everything. Contrast that to the career classes that just add to a growing depression and insecurity and you see that things are seriously broken. People wonder why violence, drugs and other issues are growing probems with todays youth...
Take a look around. Wonder how many of those kids have nothing that feeds their soul. Nobody that drives them to grow and learn.
Going to school is a lot like prison today. With the cameras and stiff regulations (my daughter can't even keep her allergy medication with her because it might be a drug!) on conduct and the higher penalties they offer it is no wonder that kids just tune out and wait for it to be over...
As for the teachers, god forbid that they actually say something and wake up the kids! Those kids might actually start thinking up their own stuff and then where are we? It's sick. (not the teachers, the system as it currently stands!)
The best analogy I can think of is this: You are a dog. All of your life you have eaten various kinds of dog food and lived with your mature and stable masters. You know all your tricks. All of your choices are simple and safe, perfect bliss until...
One day you bump into a young kid who gives you a bite of his hamburger and wants to play outside somewhere new. The taste of the food and the thought of the game makes you wonder why this did not happen sooner.
For me it was technology, computing in particular, others it might be music, art, speaking, anything. For many students there is something that they are going to crave the first time they get a taste of it. Making sure people are there to offer the 'food' is what school should be about.
Re:Not only the net. THe article mentions CPRM als
on
Taming the Web
·
· Score: 2, Informative
You know this one always bothered me. The whole CD-ROM thing is due for a rethink. How about connecting the laser and read head right to the machine you have now. Central Point Software (now swallowed by Microsoft...) had an option board that could directly control a floppy drive. Pretty cool unit. Gave the user proper control over the floppy disk. You could read mac disks and make backups of those fragile key disks required to make some programs run. That board also assisted in data recovery from damaged disks.
Early CPUs were probably not fast enough to make good use of a directly controlled CD writer, but the CPUs of today are.
The same thing could be done with DVD.
Why would someone want to do that? I can think of many good uses for this sort of thing.
1. Improved reading of error ridden media.
2. Reading of all CD-ROM formats. SGI EFS formatted discs do not work in a pretty large number of consumer CD-ROMS because their firmware was not written with alternate block sizes in mind.
3. Backups. This is still legal even with the DMCA. Given the high cost and limited release cycles of many types of media this concerns me. Bought a game? Want to play it 10 years from now? What if the media is not playable then? I have games written in 1979 for the Atari 2600 that are still playable on todays hardware. There is no reason this should not continue.
4. Enhanced formats. Users could come up with their own way of using the disc. Maybe they want more space, or perhaps greater resistance to errors. These would be valid choices and a percentage of users would be interested in them.
There are others I am sure, but one thing is sure. Opening up a CD-ROM and driving it yourself is no different from opening your car and making some choices as to what happens under the hood.
Pretty sure that anyone can go to a Radio Shack and get the interface parts required to do this sort of thing. If the current trends continue, particularly with Audio CD's then I just might consider it.
Yeah, I know it is a 'my tech is better than your lawyer' sort of thing. Sue me.
We need advocacy on our side. How can we get this done? Joe Q public has to be able to understand a point like the one I made above. Tell them they can't modify their car and they go nuts! Why is this so hard?
Re:I dont mean to jump the gun...
on
X-server for PS2
·
· Score: 1
Hope so!:)
Re:I dont mean to jump the gun...
on
X-server for PS2
·
· Score: 1
Heh that is why the X-Box is still not released yet. I can just imagine the discussions going on right now...
Drone #1: Our box needs to kick ass, or we lose big time. The guys over in the hype machine have set the bar seriously high!
Drone #2: That means that it needs to almost be a PC because it is what we do best, besides everyone knows it is going to be one because it comes from us.
#1: That's ok, we will make it up on the licensing. Thats how those Sony and Nintendo guys do it.
#2: For that it has to be closed. Damn! that means we have to get it right the first time. No upgrades...
#1: We can use the expansion port! Everyone has one on their systems right?
#2: Not everybody buys them though. Expansions make it messy for the dev guys. Remember they said they would port if the environment was stable. If it gets ugly they will probably just stick to the PC. Better make sure we are covered on the hardware front and just take the hit on the price. We have deep pockets it will be ok. Remember they did say 'at any cost'!
#1: What if we don't have the best games? Damn Sony and their contracts! The bigger the initial loss the more games we have to sell.
#2: Are you kidding? We have great games. Between Sega, the PC ports, and those cool guys over at the Microsoft Game development team, our games are going to rock!
#1: Ok, we are covered on the games. Sounds good! --Wait! What about all those hippy Open Source Linux running geeks! They are going to make webservers, mp3 players, emulators and all sorts of things on cheap hardware we paid for! What about that!
#2: Linux does not run on Xbox, whats the big deal? Quit worrying.
#1: Man, Linux runs on everything! It's even on a wristwatch for Gods' sake! You don't get outside the campus enough.
#2: We will just have to make sure it will never run. We can encrypt the ROM and CPU like they do with some of the Arcade games. That combined with special hardware will make it tough. Who said you get to leave? Running Linux are ya?
#1: No, never... but it's all over the web, just look at Slashdot. There are ports mentioned every couple of weeks! Besides, if our stuff runs, then they can look at that to make their stuff go too. We would just be adding to the price in order to put them off.
#2: Slashdot-Trashdot, that is why the DMCA was passed remember? You worry too much.
#1: So does that mean we have to include a contract that requires owners of an Xbox to buy our games? That is not going to make us look good at the DOJ.
#2: Ok here's the plan. Every Xbox connects to a phone line and we set up a new free online service like Sega did with PSO Online. When the machine comes on it checks its boot media, if a non Microsoft OS is there, it stops and reminds the users of their duty as a citizen to follow the DMCA.
#1: That does not sound like a very fun game machine. Tech support is going to kill us. They are already buried with product activation, this will send them through the roof. Ever talk to a pissed off Apple user. Clueless and angry, enough to drive you nuts. They are nothing compared to the parents who have to call about the game machine they bought to keep their kids busy!
#2: It will be fine. Lots of things connect to the phone these days. Don't worry about it. Look at all those cable users with a phone line on their box. The geeks even like their TVIO machines with a phone line.
#1: The new rage is cell phones, college kids all over the place don't even have a normal phone, and how are you going to do game parties.
#2: lets call Bill and Steve. They can tell us what to do.
Bill & Steve: IF LINUX RUNS ON THAT AND I SEE WEBSITES RUNNING ON MY OWN DAMN MACHINE TELLING ME I SUCK, YOU TWO ARE TOAST. GET IT RIGHT AT ANY COST!
#1 & #2: !?!
Re:Sony's Linux Comes with XFree 3.3.6
on
X-server for PS2
·
· Score: 1
I second that. Very curious about this as well. Many interesting projects come to mind would be nice to be able to consider which ones could be real.
Where I work we have a couple of the SGI visual workstations (320, 540) Nice machines BTW:). Syncing a Palm fried the serial port on one of them. Because of the unique machine design the entire board had to be replaced.
We use USB sync now, but it is not as good as the serial. (Don't know why...)
I did this about a week after the first announcement.
What really peeves me about this is not the MSN content. Their suite of services is actually decent. It is that FAQ. Nothing more than a sales pitch to someone who has to buy. Terrible.
Due to the ever increasing potential for GPL code violations, the Open Source community has formed an alliance with your best interests in mind. Details below:
Keep it Legal --it is fast and easy!
Businesses copy code every day. Many of them get caught, don't let this happen to you!
Remember, all it takes is one disgruntled employee to trigger an audit.
Keep your code legal, release early and often! If in doubt about the legal issues surrounding your code just follow these three easy steps to make sure all your code is in compliance with the GPL.
1. Download a copy of our code inspector software. Its powerful search capability will find suspect code quickly and easily. Just point and click your potential problems away.
2. Contact the FSA for a free no risk consultation. Get help with your licensing problems from the people who know licenses best, the FSA.
3. Release any code through our dedicated portal and licensing service. Fast, painless and legal.
1. It costs me money. The more it costs, the less I enjoy it. Right now the internet as a whole costs me about 40 dollars per month. At this price I am getting good value in exchange for those dollars. Open Source software is saving me license fees, kids are learning a lot, and don't need to go to the library as often. Long distance calls can be made now. One really long call can easily justify the cost per month. Services are ok now, but will get better.
2. There will never be anonymous payment systems. Too much potential for abuse. I don't enjoy people knowing what I am looking at. It's the principle really. Going into a bookstore with cash means I get what I want, can read it as many times as I want, and nobody really knows that I have it, unless I tell them. This is the way most things should be online.
3. What can they really sell that I have to get online that I need, and would be willing to sit at my computer to enjoy? Think about it. Online access to information is easy and fast, but the real value so far is in the communication, not so much the content. Hard to sell that given the current structure of the net. (This is what.net is about. Owning communication and identification in such a way as to profit from it --smart bastards.)
4. When I actually buy content, I expect to be able to refer to it as needed anywhere I want, any time I wan't until I choose to give up that right. This applies to books, cd's --basically any thing that comes to me on physical media. I have media from 20 years ago that sometimes is interesting. How long will you have access to online content you have paid for?
If the media is more fragile than the value warrants, then I expect to be able to make backups to protect my investment as well.
5. Basically I don't plan on doing pay per play at all and this looks like the model that most corporations want. Some things are worth it. Concerts, movies in the theatre, shows, these all involve some experience that makes them worth doing and paying for. Hard to point to anything online that has this quality now. Nobody likes pay per play. It forces you to keep track of what you are spending. takes the freedom, fun, whatever out of the whole thing.
Why do you think they only do day passes at Disneyland? People don't want to keep track of their cash! Would not be any fun to realise that the Dumbo ride sucks, and costs almost as much as Splash Mountain would it? Would getting a bad ride be more or less of a big deal if you had to pay again to find out? Nasty questions for a place all about fun.
This also is the same reason the casinos like to get you to put some cash into the little cards. You just plug into the machine and just press buttons for a while. Gets the actual act of handling the money out of your immediate attention so you can ENJOY LOSING IT!
Finally, paying for the internet until now implies that you can view most of the content and participate. If that changes, then the actuall connection to the net is worth less. How many of you think that connect charges are actually going to go down if that happens?
Slashdot Mirror
This whole thing is good entertainment! My only fear here is that we will have to deal with draconian laws for a while while people wake up, other than that, I see this whole thing as a losing battle over the longer term.
These fools should have partnered with Napster when they had concentrated the general public atttention. Had they allowed the free service to continue along with a subscription catalog sort of thing, they would be making money right now that could fund a new way to market all of their music, not just the hits.
Sad thing about this is that they could have maintained their existing marketing machine for the mega-hits while investing in new infrstructure to add value and thus profit to the losers and niche music that they currently make little from. Personally I would have enjoyed the whole thing because it would not have all this negative baggage associated with it.
Now that the public understands distributed peer to peer systems, they are fsked! Anything they build now will have to compete with those. Pretty hard to sell restrictions when everyone knows that they are artificial. Divx had the same problem look where it is today. --Good luck guys you missed the boat on this one.
As for the copy protected CDs, they can make them or not, I really don't care. When I invested in equipment for moving my vinyl to CD that problem was handled as a bonus. I could actually profit from this as friends would want the service. Great! More for me to invest in unrestricted operating systems and media.
So basically things are not changed. I buy recordings that are worth it, and trade tracks with others to determine worth. Long ago I used to hear about new music on FM. Now that that medium has been neutered, I hear new stuff by word of mouth either electronic, or acoustic. This is how things work now and they helped build it so they get to live with it.
The parent of the above should be the reply --bad day.
Man, you have got that right! I spent about 20+ ?!? hours on the phone with lame Qwest technicians trying to get the ATM stuff right. Had a friend switch over recently though and his order went right through. He only had about a day of downtime compared to my week!
Expect some problems with the switch, but none after it is done!
Go with Spiretech. They are independant and provide good service. There terms of use are acceptable (servers ok so long as they don't abuse the net in general). You get a shell account with SSH!! Linux UNIX ok. They did not flinch at IRIX even.
Heh, tell them 'ddingus' sent you, I get a free month!
Seriously they are way better than the MSN / Qwest mess.
They were very nice morons though.
I checked that one out. It was very similar in concept, but very different in play mechanic. In the Jaguar game, there was a very nice guided discovery element. Exploring the ship and learning where the key elements were was a lot of fun and risky at the same time.
The PC version is more of a guided tour. You are given a path and resources and from there it is just a shooter. Pretty decent one, but still not the same.
Fox produced the PC version, Renegade software did the Jag version.
Find a Jag and play that version. It is worth it.
Went looking for early Gamecubes on Sat and did not have any luck. Heard a lot about XBox though.
Saw a number of display areas with Xbox turned way up, and PS2 off. Go figure.
Target had them opening day (of course) they handed out numbers so people would know if they were getting one or not. 45 people in line for Gamecube avg. age 20 something sales person told me there were about 8 for Xbox. Could be the neighborhood, but on Sat, there were many Xbox units for sale.
Target was giving away free game seats with your Gamecube purchase. They had the Xbox logo on them.
Yes the Jaguar did. Bought the system for Tempest 2000 and Alien vs Predator. Still play them and they are still good. Wonder why nobody has ported AvsP to newer systems in the form that exists for the Jag? It was a great game.
What sucks is that the information is already out there. Those that are interested in this sort of thing already have it and have mirrors too.
Wonder if cryptome has any of this laying around?
Damn right! First learned assembly on the 6502, looked at the Z80 briefly, then saw the 6809... Kick ass chip. Was a work of art.
I am not sure about this one. It is true that existing hardware will be around for a while, but what good is it when the law will read that you cannot use it on the net, and cannot distribute what you copy with it?
Really distribution could be to yourself, stranger interpetations have happened lately.
Myself, I have a number of nice machines that I plan on maintaining for a while to come, but it won't be forever.
All of this consolidation along with win32 locking in most users is downright spooky.
Just was thinking about this and the new DMCA (SCCEA or something) law and hit on this line of reasoning:
What if they are watching the copies not to asses the 'damages' from piracy, but instead to bolster the argument that approved hardware is needed because the stuff that is out there right now is too open for any sort of real protection to work.
Combine this with some slanted reports of diminished sales (like the current world crisis has nothing to do with it!) and uninformed legislators would give the law backing.
We all know that it is simple right now. Move the content onto a free format and do what you have been the entire time. They know it too, so this makes some sort of twisted sense.
Just something to think about...
The scene: Xbox marketing and development lab conference room. Two MSX-droids hash out the ongoing
problems with the Xbox project...
Drone #1: Our box needs to kick ass, or we lose big time. The guys over in the hype machine have set the
bar seriously high! The later it gets, the better it has to be! We might not ever get done!
Drone #2: Yeah it is almost a PC now, maybe we should have thought that Dell offer through a little
more... It will be ok though because that is what we do best --hype now and build later. Half of them
don't even know the difference!
Drone #1: What are we going to do about the price? I mean everything but the kitchen sink is in there!
Parents know how much PC's cost, we have to drop that image, or they will never buy. They will say they
already have one. Everyone knows there is a difference between a PC and a game machine.
#1: That's ok, we will make it up on the licensing. Thats how those Sony and Nintendo guys do it.
Besides the hardware guys know what they are doing.
#2: For that it has to be closed. Damn! that means we have to get it right the first time. No
upgrades...
#1: We can use the expansion port! Everyone has one on their systems right? Anything we need to add goes
in there.
#2: Not everybody buys them though. Expansions make it messy for the dev guys. Remember they said they
would port if the environment was stable. If it gets ugly they will probably just stick to the PC. We
better just make sure we are covered on the hardware front and take the hit on the price. We have deep
pockets -everything will be ok. Remember the chief did say 'at any cost'!
#1: What if we don't have the best games? Damn Sony and their contracts! The bigger the initial loss the
more games we have to sell.
#2: Are you kidding? We have great games. Between Sega, the PC ports, and those cool guys over at the
Microsoft Game development team, our games are going to rock! We don't have to have the best games
silly, we just need the games that people are willing to buy. Remember Sony seems to mix in a lot of
that Jap Crap, we have an all American line up. What could be better for America than American games?
#1: Ok, we are covered on the games. Sounds good! --Wait! What about all those hippy Open Source Linux
running geeks?!? They are going to make webservers, mp3 players, emulators and all sorts of things on
cheap hardware we paid for! What about that!
#2: Linux does not run on Xbox, whats the big deal? Quit worrying.
#1: Man, Linux runs on everything! It's even on a wristwatch for Gods' sake! You don't get outside the
campus enough. Besides we promised the Hollywood guys that it would be closed and cheaper than Sony.
You know how they hate to pay one of their own for distribution -gives them fits just thinking about it.
It's our ace in the hole!
#2: We will just have to make sure it will never run. We can encrypt the ROM and CPU like they do with
some of the Arcade games. That combined with special hardware will make it tough. Who said you get to
leave campus? Running Linux are ya?
#1: No, never... b-but it's all over the web, just look at Slashdot! There are ports mentioned every
couple of weeks! Besides, if our stuff runs, then they can look at that to make their stuff go too. We
would just be adding to the price in order to put them off.
#2: Slashdot-Trashdot, that is why the DMCA was passed remember? You worry too much. Besides I hear
that we are buying another law. It will be perfect! Linux will be illegal because it is not certified
by hollywood and us to run, so even if they run it, they are screwed!
#1: So, does that mean we have to include a contract that requires owners of an Xbox to buy our games?
That is not going to make us look good at the DOJ. They seem to have backed off, but a lot of people
are still pissed.
#2: Which people? Oh, you mean the ones that don't have any money? They won't matter, we have some of
the best inside help working with us on this one. By the time they scrape together any sort of a plan,
this thing will go through right to the top!
#1: Maybe you are right, it is just complex. Why can't we just do what we need to do without all these
hassles?
#2: Ok here's the plan just in case. Every Xbox connects to a phone line and we set up a new free online
service like Sega did with PSO Online. When the machine comes on it checks its boot media, if a non
Microsoft OS is there, it stops and reminds the users of their duty as a citizen to follow the DMCA.
#1: That does not sound like a very fun game machine. Tech support is going to kill us. They are already
buried with product activation, and this will send them through the roof. Ever talk to a pissed off
Apple user. Clueless and angry, enough to drive you nuts! They are nothing compared to the parents who
have to call about the game machine they bought to keep their kids busy!
#2: It will be fine. Lots of things connect to the phone these days. Don't worry about it. Look at all
those cable users with a phone line on their box. The geeks even like their TVIO machines with a phone
line.
#1: The new rage is cell phones, college kids all over the place don't even have a normal phone, and how
are you going to do game parties? They don't want phones, they want ethernet!
#2: Ok you make the call, we have to have more input on this.
#1: No way! I remember what happened last time. That is why you are #2 --remember?
(In walks #3 fresh from school with visions of stock options in his head.... )
#3: Hey guys! What's with the long faces?
#1 & #2: Just in time! Hey we have a little project we would like to to head up for a while, you seem
ready for something new. Lets meet in our office later today to discuss the details.
To be continued...
Amen!
It really is quite simple, but still sometimes one had to express the wonder, which is what happened with your quote above.
They suck we know it, they know we do, but Joe Q Public doesn't. How exactly are we going to get that done?
Just noticed this: (Thanks to the person who posted the WinXP license.)
Begin Draconian License Agreement Excerpt: (DLAE)
Except as otherwise permitted by the NetMeeting, Remote Assistance, and Remote Desktop features described below, you may not use the Product to permit any Device to use, access, display or run other executable software residing on the Workstation Computer, nor may you permit any Device to use, access, display, or run the Product or Product's user interface, unless the Device has a separate license for the Product.
End DLAE Excerpt (hey I am in a hurry...)
So this means a couple of things to me. They expect you to pay for an XP license to remotely display your XP machine graphics screen somewhere else, and that remote display software that it not theirs is not licensed for use!
They are trying to say what you can and cannot run on your own machine!
I know this won't affect many of us because we are not going to be running this OS, but larger companies that have signed agreements (that contained additional terms after the fact BTW) are going to be in a tight position. Forced to use licensed tools by the agreements only, not for technical reasons...
Since they cannot undersell VNC, they are going to have to kill it legaly.
Reality check here...
People are going to collect information on the sites you visit. If you don't like it, there are some easy ways to get around the problem.
Personally, I don't mind most sites looking my stats over. This sort of thing keeps a lot of sites free. There are worse options like interrupted browsing. All they have to do is remove the page from direct access and lots of bad things happen. Let the marketing departments pay for something easy that those of us who want to can get around. The alternatives are harder and costly.
1. Fast connection means nothing because you have to wait along with everyone else for the ad server to show you the ad, then the page....
2. Searching becomes harder.
3. The web becomes less cross-platform as the ads require tools not avaliable everywhere.
So,
Use an anon service and surf that way if it is a problem.
Or here is another option. Enable your usual blocking tools hit the page and copy the page to local storage and read as long as you want.
I will do this anyway from time to time because I want to archive some content for reading later offline or on a PDA.
Big deal.
Peer review as part of the grading process. Teachers are best able to understand their students and their strengths. High stakes tests and national guidelines really serve as a minimum acceptable standard. These sort of things do not promote creative-free thinkers. Teachers can and do when they have the chance and are empowered to do so.
For the basic subjects, the current methods are ok for most.
What will do society some good is enlightened students. Exposure to things at an early age forms a foundation for learning later in life that can't be beat.
I am sure that there are many people today that have some knowledge that applies to a specific field. Let them teach! Make it worth it, and let other more general purpose teachers mentor them and learn also.
Not every kid will benefit from these sort of things and for them there are the regular classes and activities, but getting early exposure to technology of any kind will help those that need it more than we know.
-------- End of point... -------------
Just as an example from my youth to belabour this point a little more.
A computer club was announced in my area long ago. For someone interested in technology living in a somewhat backwards small town, this was great. Not attending was not an option.
Turns out the person running this club was a HAM, into computers, and had a lot of experience in other things. Getting older in life and comfortable with his lifestyle left him with free time so he gave it to us with no almost no strings attached. He did want us to work, and would help in any way possible. When we got some technical thing accomplished he was there to say good job when parents and teachers could only say "thats nice, what is it again??"
What a gift!
In about 2.5 years with help from this 'teacher' that did not teach for my school I learned a lot.
- Assembly language programming on 6502 & 6809 re-entrant, relocatable code, graphics, sound, and other things. (6809 rocks BTW!)
- Got a HAM radio license, was on the air for 5 years on old gear that I fixed and maintained with the help and knowledge given to me about AC and DC electrical theory and antennas.
- Wrote an assembler / disassembler for my Atari machine in basic that was used for the coding mentioned above.
- Morse Code.
- Tore into older Vacuum Tube type radios and televisions, fixed them used them sold them played with them. --Just for fun!
Contrast that stuff with technology classes at school. We were typing in programs and then describing what they did. (In Logo no less!) Some of the more creative ones were modifying them (you could tell that they wanted more), but most kids were not learning anything that would matter later on. Lots of busy work only to see their name drawn on the screen and wonder why that was so hard... (They later thought why do that, so they didn't.)
To this day, the discussions, challenges, and arguments we had in that small group still matter.
Not only did we get to the bare metal and make the machines do cool things, we talked about tech and learned to understand it for what it is --a tool of the best kind, one that will do whatever you can think of with a catch... You must learn to speak its language.
I am no genius, but I am doing what I love and making a living at it. One person willing to just tell it like it is and open my eyes changed everything. Contrast that to the career classes that just add to a growing depression and insecurity and you see that things are seriously broken. People wonder why violence, drugs and other issues are growing probems with todays youth...
Take a look around. Wonder how many of those kids have nothing that feeds their soul. Nobody that drives them to grow and learn.
Going to school is a lot like prison today. With the cameras and stiff regulations (my daughter can't even keep her allergy medication with her because it might be a drug!) on conduct and the higher penalties they offer it is no wonder that kids just tune out and wait for it to be over...
As for the teachers, god forbid that they actually say something and wake up the kids! Those kids might actually start thinking up their own stuff and then where are we? It's sick. (not the teachers, the system as it currently stands!)
The best analogy I can think of is this: You are a dog. All of your life you have eaten various kinds of dog food and lived with your mature and stable masters. You know all your tricks. All of your choices are simple and safe, perfect bliss until...
One day you bump into a young kid who gives you a bite of his hamburger and wants to play outside somewhere new. The taste of the food and the thought of the game makes you wonder why this did not happen sooner.
For me it was technology, computing in particular, others it might be music, art, speaking, anything. For many students there is something that they are going to crave the first time they get a taste of it. Making sure people are there to offer the 'food' is what school should be about.
You know this one always bothered me. The whole CD-ROM thing is due for a rethink. How about connecting the laser and read head right to the machine you have now. Central Point Software (now swallowed by Microsoft...) had an option board that could directly control a floppy drive. Pretty cool unit. Gave the user proper control over the floppy disk. You could read mac disks and make backups of those fragile key disks required to make some programs run. That board also assisted in data recovery from damaged disks.
Early CPUs were probably not fast enough to make good use of a directly controlled CD writer, but the CPUs of today are.
The same thing could be done with DVD.
Why would someone want to do that? I can think of many good uses for this sort of thing.
1. Improved reading of error ridden media.
2. Reading of all CD-ROM formats. SGI EFS formatted discs do not work in a pretty large number of consumer CD-ROMS because their firmware was not written with alternate block sizes in mind.
3. Backups. This is still legal even with the DMCA. Given the high cost and limited release cycles of many types of media this concerns me. Bought a game? Want to play it 10 years from now? What if the media is not playable then? I have games written in 1979 for the Atari 2600 that are still playable on todays hardware. There is no reason this should not continue.
4. Enhanced formats. Users could come up with their own way of using the disc. Maybe they want more space, or perhaps greater resistance to errors. These would be valid choices and a percentage of users would be interested in them.
There are others I am sure, but one thing is sure. Opening up a CD-ROM and driving it yourself is no different from opening your car and making some choices as to what happens under the hood.
Pretty sure that anyone can go to a Radio Shack and get the interface parts required to do this sort of thing. If the current trends continue, particularly with Audio CD's then I just might consider it.
Yeah, I know it is a 'my tech is better than your lawyer' sort of thing. Sue me.
We need advocacy on our side. How can we get this done? Joe Q public has to be able to understand a point like the one I made above. Tell them they can't modify their car and they go nuts! Why is this so hard?
Hope so! :)
Heh that is why the X-Box is still not released yet. I can just imagine the discussions going on right now...
Drone #1: Our box needs to kick ass, or we lose big time. The guys over in the hype machine have set the bar seriously high!
Drone #2: That means that it needs to almost be a PC because it is what we do best, besides everyone knows it is going to be one because it comes from us.
#1: That's ok, we will make it up on the licensing. Thats how those Sony and Nintendo guys do it.
#2: For that it has to be closed. Damn! that means we have to get it right the first time. No upgrades...
#1: We can use the expansion port! Everyone has one on their systems right?
#2: Not everybody buys them though. Expansions make it messy for the dev guys. Remember they said they would port if the environment was stable. If it gets ugly they will probably just stick to the PC. Better make sure we are covered on the hardware front and just take the hit on the price. We have deep pockets it will be ok. Remember they did say 'at any cost'!
#1: What if we don't have the best games? Damn Sony and their contracts! The bigger the initial loss the more games we have to sell.
#2: Are you kidding? We have great games. Between Sega, the PC ports, and those cool guys over at the Microsoft Game development team, our games are going to rock!
#1: Ok, we are covered on the games. Sounds good! --Wait! What about all those hippy Open Source Linux running geeks! They are going to make webservers, mp3 players, emulators and all sorts of things on cheap hardware we paid for! What about that!
#2: Linux does not run on Xbox, whats the big deal? Quit worrying.
#1: Man, Linux runs on everything! It's even on a wristwatch for Gods' sake! You don't get outside the campus enough.
#2: We will just have to make sure it will never run. We can encrypt the ROM and CPU like they do with some of the Arcade games. That combined with special hardware will make it tough. Who said you get to leave? Running Linux are ya?
#1: No, never... but it's all over the web, just look at Slashdot. There are ports mentioned every couple of weeks! Besides, if our stuff runs, then they can look at that to make their stuff go too. We would just be adding to the price in order to put them off.
#2: Slashdot-Trashdot, that is why the DMCA was passed remember? You worry too much.
#1: So does that mean we have to include a contract that requires owners of an Xbox to buy our games? That is not going to make us look good at the DOJ.
#2: Ok here's the plan. Every Xbox connects to a phone line and we set up a new free online service like Sega did with PSO Online. When the machine comes on it checks its boot media, if a non Microsoft OS is there, it stops and reminds the users of their duty as a citizen to follow the DMCA.
#1: That does not sound like a very fun game machine. Tech support is going to kill us. They are already buried with product activation, this will send them through the roof. Ever talk to a pissed off Apple user. Clueless and angry, enough to drive you nuts. They are nothing compared to the parents who have to call about the game machine they bought to keep their kids busy!
#2: It will be fine. Lots of things connect to the phone these days. Don't worry about it. Look at all those cable users with a phone line on their box. The geeks even like their TVIO machines with a phone line.
#1: The new rage is cell phones, college kids all over the place don't even have a normal phone, and how are you going to do game parties.
#2: lets call Bill and Steve. They can tell us what to do.
Bill & Steve: IF LINUX RUNS ON THAT AND I SEE WEBSITES RUNNING ON MY OWN DAMN MACHINE TELLING ME I SUCK, YOU TWO ARE TOAST. GET IT RIGHT AT ANY COST!
#1 & #2: !?!
I second that. Very curious about this as well. Many interesting projects come to mind would be nice to be able to consider which ones could be real.
Where I work we have a couple of the SGI visual workstations (320, 540) Nice machines BTW :). Syncing a Palm fried the serial port on one of them. Because of the unique machine design the entire board had to be replaced.
We use USB sync now, but it is not as good as the serial. (Don't know why...)
I did this about a week after the first announcement.
What really peeves me about this is not the MSN content. Their suite of services is actually decent. It is that FAQ. Nothing more than a sales pitch to someone who has to buy. Terrible.
Press Release from the FSA
For immediate release.
Due to the ever increasing potential for GPL code violations, the Open Source community has formed an alliance with your best interests in mind. Details below:
Keep it Legal --it is fast and easy!
Businesses copy code every day. Many of them get caught, don't let this happen to you!
Remember, all it takes is one disgruntled employee to trigger an audit.
Keep your code legal, release early and often! If in doubt about the legal issues surrounding your code just follow these three easy steps to make sure all your code is in compliance with the GPL.
1. Download a copy of our code inspector software. Its powerful search capability will find suspect code quickly and easily. Just point and click your potential problems away.
2. Contact the FSA for a free no risk consultation. Get help with your licensing problems from the people who know licenses best, the FSA.
3. Release any code through our dedicated portal and licensing service. Fast, painless and legal.
Do it today, before it is too late.
1. It costs me money. The more it costs, the less I enjoy it. Right now the internet as a whole costs me about 40 dollars per month. At this price I am getting good value in exchange for those dollars. Open Source software is saving me license fees, kids are learning a lot, and don't need to go to the library as often. Long distance calls can be made now. One really long call can easily justify the cost per month. Services are ok now, but will get better.
.net is about. Owning communication and identification in such a way as to profit from it --smart bastards.)
2. There will never be anonymous payment systems. Too much potential for abuse. I don't enjoy people knowing what I am looking at. It's the principle really. Going into a bookstore with cash means I get what I want, can read it as many times as I want, and nobody really knows that I have it, unless I tell them. This is the way most things should be online.
3. What can they really sell that I have to get online that I need, and would be willing to sit at my computer to enjoy? Think about it. Online access to information is easy and fast, but the real value so far is in the communication, not so much the content. Hard to sell that given the current structure of the net. (This is what
4. When I actually buy content, I expect to be able to refer to it as needed anywhere I want, any time I wan't until I choose to give up that right. This applies to books, cd's --basically any thing that comes to me on physical media. I have media from 20 years ago that sometimes is interesting. How long will you have access to online content you have paid for?
If the media is more fragile than the value warrants, then I expect to be able to make backups to protect my investment as well.
5. Basically I don't plan on doing pay per play at all and this looks like the model that most corporations want. Some things are worth it. Concerts, movies in the theatre, shows, these all involve some experience that makes them worth doing and paying for. Hard to point to anything online that has this quality now. Nobody likes pay per play. It forces you to keep track of what you are spending. takes the freedom, fun, whatever out of the whole thing.
Why do you think they only do day passes at Disneyland? People don't want to keep track of their cash! Would not be any fun to realise that the Dumbo ride sucks, and costs almost as much as Splash Mountain would it? Would getting a bad ride be more or less of a big deal if you had to pay again to find out? Nasty questions for a place all about fun.
This also is the same reason the casinos like to get you to put some cash into the little cards. You just plug into the machine and just press buttons for a while. Gets the actual act of handling the money out of your immediate attention so you can ENJOY LOSING IT!
Finally, paying for the internet until now implies that you can view most of the content and participate. If that changes, then the actuall connection to the net is worth less. How many of you think that connect charges are actually going to go down if that happens?
Thought so...