Deep Note made a cameo appearance in the anime "RG Veda" as the sound made by somebody's big-ass sword. I remember laughing my ass off when I first saw that sequence.
Or at least not many. I was listening to the radio (that's like television without pictures) today, and they had their weekly talk with a local movie critic. He said they weren't giving screenings to critics, and that was a baaaad sign. Folks, this is going to be a bad movie. Maybe not Highlander II bad, but still bad. Wait for it to come out on DVD, wait for a friend rent it, then ask to borrow it for a night.
Give me a load of All-Bran or other fibre-rich foodstuffs to work on, and I'm sure I could produce a feature-complete copy of Microsoft Windows in 24 hours or so. Even less, if laxatives are involved.
"...to re-energize the pipeline via high-profile tentpoles while revitalizing the Par brand with top-tier talent..."
Wouldn't they have to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow first? Geez, Variety's [TECH] jargon is every bit as bad as the worst Star Trek [TECH] jargon.
I know which one is more likely, and it pains me to say it, I don't want to watch movie #2, but #1 would be awesome.;)
Ten or so years ago when I first heard the rumors about a "Starfleet Academy" movie, the frat house comedy was exactly what I didn't want to see. But that was back when there was still some Star Trek that didn't suck. Now that Paramount has sucked all the life out of the franchise, cadets saving the world would be such a cliche. I probably wouldn't watch either movie (I didn't watch Nemesis, but I hear it was just Khan with the serial numbers filed off anyhow), but I wouldn't have any problem with a Star Trek frat movie.
Remember, Star Trek did have comedy moments. In fact, ST4 was pretty much all ST comedy. I think a "StarFrat Academy" would suck, but there's a small chance that they could write it to be truly funny. A very small chance. If after they finish it and I hear reviews saying it doesn't suck, then I would go see it.
I recommend you try getting commercial free versions of your favorite shows. I won't comment on where to get them...
I've heard that there are these mythical places called "stores", which can provide commercial-free versions of television shows in exchange for money. They're even nice enough to provide you with a tidy box to keep the shows in. The only problem is that there are a few shows I would like to give them money for, but which they never seem to have, such as Max Headroom.
You should try laserdisc. No menu crap, no disabling your remote, and a lot less bonus material, which goes at the end or on extra discs. And you can even get 5.1 Dolby Digital.
But there is that little problem of flipping the discs every 60 minutes (some players can just flip the optical head), and more than a few movies taking up three sides, which means a disc swap near the end.
Don't forget the 3 1/2" floppy disc. Back in 1983 or so, there were three competing formats at that size. One got used by Amstrad and Nintendo, another got used by some typewriter manufacturers, and the third was used... in the new Apple Macintosh. It was also used in an new HP computer at that time, but it was the Macintosh which caused the Sony format (which this time really was the best) to win.
Now I hear that digital music only accounts for six percent of music sales? I knew LPs were making a bit of a comeback, but I didn't know it was that big.
Nope, it's not LP, it's tape. So crank up your 8-track and boogie on down to the dance floor.
...because as we all know, the iPod is a "gateway product" that leads to hardcore product usage, such as OS X, Linux, and the psychedelic effects of BSD.
But there's a way you can help. Talk to your kids about products and teach them why non-Microsoft products are dangerous, and can lead to a life of crime.
Did you know that Steve Ballmer recently got interested in photography? But he had a problem when he ran out of supplies, and he started shouting "Developers! Developers! Developers!"
...about REALLY old computer games was that they used to be entirely the product of *one person's vision*, like the old Infocom games and the first few Ultimas. I mean one or two guys used to code/write entire games! Now I don't think anyone of those games listed has less than what? 50 people in the credits?
Right, and only in independent games will you still see that. And there are still some of us out there crazy enough to write new games for old systems.
Back in the day, most 2600 games were written by a single person over a period of about six months or so. It didn't hurt that the graphics were so primitive that you didn't need a good artist. But the days of one or two people creating a game pretty much ended by 1984 for consoles.
Lockout chips saw to it that nobody could create pirate copies of games (not easily, anyhow), and neither could they write their own without a company above them to pay console licensing fees. The first was obvious, but the second was a bit less obvious unless you understand the reasons behind The Crash in 1984. Third-party 2600 games had reached the point where the vulture capitalists were pushing out crapware in the mistaken belief that all games were equal, and once you got them out there, you would rake in $30 a pop. The worst of them all was Mythicon who released three games at $10 list price each, and two of the games were identical except that the graphics were different!
Home computers still had some room for independent publishing and still do, but it got to the point where less people cared about programming (because computers were going mainstream, but programming wasn't), and because there was less chance of keeping up with corporate games. These days you can do some really interesting games (or even silly throwaway games) with Flash, so there's been a bit of a resurgence.
But you still gotta have people who both know how to program and can make the art. There's not a lot of intersection between really good programmers and really good artists. I think getting them together without bringing in a lot of management is the real problem.
Now maybe the crap quotient is a bit higher in games these days, but the principle is still the same - 10% or less of everything is not crap. There were great games back then, and there are great games now (Katamari Damacy, for instance). But now the crap games are soooooo shiny ("You can't polish a turd, Beavis.") and all the popular games these days seem to end in digits. Back in the Atari 2600 days, I loved the Space Invaders game on it, and that was a system seller for me. Combat was good, too. But most of the other games were pretty boring.
The point is that there are games from back then that are better than what we have today. There are true classics that people still want from all over the past 25 years. The only really new thing these days is the internet allowing people to play against each other without having to leave their couch. And even online gaming isn't all that new, I was playing a text MMORPG 15 years ago on the GEnie service.
I also find it amusing that this is comparing current games with 20 year old games. You could get a similar article by comparing the games from 20 vs 25 years ago! Games have gotten more shiny because the hardware now has the capability (storage space, graphics memory, CPU/GPU speed) to show more shine. But that doesn't contribute one bit to gameplay.
And it's not just games... movies and mainstream American music these days suck more than ever, too. It's all because once you get that much money in it, things start to get managed by the "mooks", who have their own screwy ideas of what the public wants, and start to throw in cliched crap in a cargo-cult attempt to succeed. What they don't understand is that you can't make a classic by throwing everything including the kitchen sink into it. Hell, even 2600 Pac-Man and E.T. sucked so much because management said "we need this game now!" The truly original ideas rarely get funded unless they somehow escape into the public awareness first... and then they become the next cliche to throw into everything.
Haven't you seen the movie Real Genius? The next step is that the prof brings in a tape player with his lecture on it. By the end of the semester, the room is 2/3 tape recorders.
CAPTION:
"THRUST - A QUITE CONTROVERSIAL LOOK AT THE WORLD AROUND US"
Presenter:
I have with me tonight Anne Elk. Mrs Anne Elk.
Miss Elk:
(John Cleese, as a very prim lady)
Miss.
SUPERIMPOSED CAPTION:
"ANNE ELK"
Presenter:
You have a new theory about the brontosaurus.
Miss Elk:
Can I just say here Chris for one moment that I have a new theory about the brontosaurus?
Presenter:
Er... exactly.
(he gestures but she does not say anything)
What is it?
Miss Elk:
Where? (looks round)
Presenter:
No, no. Your new theory.
Miss Elk:
Oh, what is my theory?
Presenter:
Yes.
Miss Elk:
Oh what is my theory that it is.
Well Chris you may well ask me what is my theory.
Presenter:
I am asking.
Miss Elk:
Good for you. My word yes.
Well Chris, what is it that it is - this theory of mine. Well, this is what it is - my theory that I have, that is to say, which is mine, is mine
Presenter:
(beginning to show signs of exasperation)
Yes, I know it's yours, what is it?
Miss Elk:
Where? Oh, what is my theory? This is it.
(clears throat at some length)
My theory that belongs to me is as follows.
(clears throat at great length)
This is how it goes.
The next thing I"m going to say is my theory. Ready?
Presenter:
Yes!
Miss Elk:
My theory by A. Elk. Brackets Miss, brackets.
This theory goes as follows and begins now.
All brontosauruses are thin at one end, much thicker in the middle and then thin again at the far end. That is my theory, it is mine, and belongs to me and I own it, and what it is too.
Presenter:
That's it, is it?
Miss Elk:
Stop on, Chris.
Presenter:
Well, er, this theory of yours appears to have hit the nail on the head.
Miss Elk:
And it's mine.
Presenter:
Yes, thank you very much for coming along to the studio. Thank you.
Miss Elk:
My pleasure, Chris....
Presenter:
Next week Britain's newist wasp farm...
Miss Elk:
It's been a lot of fun.
Presenter:
Yes, thank you very much.
Miss Elk:
Saying what my theory is.
Presenter:
Yes, thank you.
Miss Elk:
And whose it is.
Presenter:
Yes, thank you - that's all - thank you... opens next week.
Miss Elk:
I have another theory.
Presenter:
Yes.
Miss Elk:
Called my second theory, or my theory number two.
Presenter:
Thank you. Britian's newest wasp farm...
Miss Elk:
This second theory which was the one that I had said...
Presenter:
(the phone rings; he answers)
Yes, no I'm trying...
Miss Elk:
Which I could expound without doubt.This second theory which, with the one which I just said, forms the brace of theories which I own and which belong to me, goes like this...
Presenter:
(looking at his shoe)
9 and a half, wide fitting... Balleys of Bond Street.
What? No, sort of brogue.
Miss Elk:
This is what it is.
(clears throat)
Presenter:
8 and a half.
Miss Elk:
This is it...
(lots of noisy throat clearing)
The Presenter rises and leaves the set to go next door to the travel agents set, leaving Miss Elk behind for a moment.
Bounder is still on the phone.
His other phone rings; he answers it.
Bounder:
Hello, yes... yes...
The presenter enters the travel set. The tourist is still droning on from a previous sketch and Bounder is still on the phone.
Tourist:
(carrying on all through the scene below)...and the Spanish Tourist Board promises you that the raging choloera epidemic is mearly a case of mild Spanish tummy, like the last outbreak of Spanish tummy in 1660 which killed half London and descimated Europe, and meanwhile the bloody Guardia are busy arresting 16-year-olds for kissing in the streets and shooting anyone under 19 who doesn't like Franco...
I don't want an interactive service or TV over IP. Between free over the air HDTV, DVD, and Japanese and British (more Dr. Who is a month away!) shows that I download over bittorrent (which wouldn't appear here for months or years if ever), I've got plenty. I don't have cable or satellite TV now, and I won't want it from the phone company either.
What I do want is a higher upstream bandwidth. Right now I have 512K up, but even 2-3 megs would be really nice. They're building a Project Lightspeed box right up the street from me, less than 1000 wire feet away. When that baby lights up, I want the faster internet (VDSL2 can go 50-100mbits symmetrical at that distance), and that's it.
Your story doesn't surprise me. Esperanto is not really a language at all. It didn't evolve from the bottom up, in a decentralized fashion, little by little over hundreds or thousands of years. It was designed from the top down by a central group. It is not inherited from culture, but taught from a book. This is why it will never be adopted like a natural language: there is no evolution behind it, no culture or anything of social value, no momentum -- only documents.
That's not the worst of it. I think this web page says it so best. Esperanto is hardly a "universal" language that anyone can learn. The Japanese and Chinese have enough problem with R vs L, and the Japanese with our barbaric European vowels like schwa and ihh and uhh, and Esperanto is much worse. It is an ugly hack of a language, a bad marriage of Polish and Italian, with phonemes that are difficult for half the world to pronounce, and with way too many irregularites and inconsistencies. Not to mention that it uses circumflex accent marks for no good reason, such that the page I linked has to use a superscript "v" to render them.
The Catweasel controller board can read basically any floppy disk format, because it returns the timing between transitions. Whether you can find drivers to decode the data is another matter, but it is possible to write your own. For standard FM and MFM disks, cw2dmk works very well. The main problem with reading old Commodore disks is the crazy copy protection tricks they used, some of which even required 6502 code be downloaded to the floppy drive.
Slashdot Mirror
Have we got a video? Yes we've got a video!
- #
-_|_
-\o/ <-- guitar
-/_\
Ex-cellent!
I doubt Lucasfilm or THX authorized that usage.
Or at least not many. I was listening to the radio (that's like television without pictures) today, and they had their weekly talk with a local movie critic. He said they weren't giving screenings to critics, and that was a baaaad sign. Folks, this is going to be a bad movie. Maybe not Highlander II bad, but still bad. Wait for it to come out on DVD, wait for a friend rent it, then ask to borrow it for a night.
But will it be bug compatible?
Wouldn't they have to reverse the polarity of the neutron flow first? Geez, Variety's [TECH] jargon is every bit as bad as the worst Star Trek [TECH] jargon.
Ten or so years ago when I first heard the rumors about a "Starfleet Academy" movie, the frat house comedy was exactly what I didn't want to see. But that was back when there was still some Star Trek that didn't suck. Now that Paramount has sucked all the life out of the franchise, cadets saving the world would be such a cliche. I probably wouldn't watch either movie (I didn't watch Nemesis, but I hear it was just Khan with the serial numbers filed off anyhow), but I wouldn't have any problem with a Star Trek frat movie.
Remember, Star Trek did have comedy moments. In fact, ST4 was pretty much all ST comedy. I think a "StarFrat Academy" would suck, but there's a small chance that they could write it to be truly funny. A very small chance. If after they finish it and I hear reviews saying it doesn't suck, then I would go see it.
I've heard that there are these mythical places called "stores", which can provide commercial-free versions of television shows in exchange for money. They're even nice enough to provide you with a tidy box to keep the shows in. The only problem is that there are a few shows I would like to give them money for, but which they never seem to have, such as Max Headroom.
http://www.madchat.org/vxdevl/vxmisc/Symantec_Revo lution.mp3
They're "secure" alright... it's rather hard to rip them if nobody's buying them in the first place.
But there is that little problem of flipping the discs every 60 minutes (some players can just flip the optical head), and more than a few movies taking up three sides, which means a disc swap near the end.
Don't forget the 3 1/2" floppy disc. Back in 1983 or so, there were three competing formats at that size. One got used by Amstrad and Nintendo, another got used by some typewriter manufacturers, and the third was used... in the new Apple Macintosh. It was also used in an new HP computer at that time, but it was the Macintosh which caused the Sony format (which this time really was the best) to win.
Roomba Frogger
Nope, it's not LP, it's tape. So crank up your 8-track and boogie on down to the dance floor.
But there's a way you can help. Talk to your kids about products and teach them why non-Microsoft products are dangerous, and can lead to a life of crime.
Did you know that Steve Ballmer recently got interested in photography? But he had a problem when he ran out of supplies, and he started shouting "Developers! Developers! Developers!"
I think the Atari 5200 could be considered a "major system" of its day, even if you don't want to count the Vectrex.
And all that before Nintendo even thought of creating a home video game console. There were video games before 1986, you know.
Kids these days. And keep off my BGCOLOR="#00FF00"!
Maybe you should ask Strongbad how he types with boxing gloves on.
And besides, the Power Glove is so bad.
Of course I'm having no problems since I know how to run my own DNS server and am too cheap to have them do it for me.
Right, and only in independent games will you still see that. And there are still some of us out there crazy enough to write new games for old systems.
Back in the day, most 2600 games were written by a single person over a period of about six months or so. It didn't hurt that the graphics were so primitive that you didn't need a good artist. But the days of one or two people creating a game pretty much ended by 1984 for consoles.
Lockout chips saw to it that nobody could create pirate copies of games (not easily, anyhow), and neither could they write their own without a company above them to pay console licensing fees. The first was obvious, but the second was a bit less obvious unless you understand the reasons behind The Crash in 1984. Third-party 2600 games had reached the point where the vulture capitalists were pushing out crapware in the mistaken belief that all games were equal, and once you got them out there, you would rake in $30 a pop. The worst of them all was Mythicon who released three games at $10 list price each, and two of the games were identical except that the graphics were different!
Home computers still had some room for independent publishing and still do, but it got to the point where less people cared about programming (because computers were going mainstream, but programming wasn't), and because there was less chance of keeping up with corporate games. These days you can do some really interesting games (or even silly throwaway games) with Flash, so there's been a bit of a resurgence.
But you still gotta have people who both know how to program and can make the art. There's not a lot of intersection between really good programmers and really good artists. I think getting them together without bringing in a lot of management is the real problem.
Now maybe the crap quotient is a bit higher in games these days, but the principle is still the same - 10% or less of everything is not crap. There were great games back then, and there are great games now (Katamari Damacy, for instance). But now the crap games are soooooo shiny ("You can't polish a turd, Beavis.") and all the popular games these days seem to end in digits. Back in the Atari 2600 days, I loved the Space Invaders game on it, and that was a system seller for me. Combat was good, too. But most of the other games were pretty boring.
The point is that there are games from back then that are better than what we have today. There are true classics that people still want from all over the past 25 years. The only really new thing these days is the internet allowing people to play against each other without having to leave their couch. And even online gaming isn't all that new, I was playing a text MMORPG 15 years ago on the GEnie service.
I also find it amusing that this is comparing current games with 20 year old games. You could get a similar article by comparing the games from 20 vs 25 years ago! Games have gotten more shiny because the hardware now has the capability (storage space, graphics memory, CPU/GPU speed) to show more shine. But that doesn't contribute one bit to gameplay.
And it's not just games... movies and mainstream American music these days suck more than ever, too. It's all because once you get that much money in it, things start to get managed by the "mooks", who have their own screwy ideas of what the public wants, and start to throw in cliched crap in a cargo-cult attempt to succeed. What they don't understand is that you can't make a classic by throwing everything including the kitchen sink into it. Hell, even 2600 Pac-Man and E.T. sucked so much because management said "we need this game now!" The truly original ideas rarely get funded unless they somehow escape into the public awareness first... and then they become the next cliche to throw into everything.
And keep off my BGCOLOR="#00FF00"!
Haven't you seen the movie Real Genius? The next step is that the prof brings in a tape player with his lecture on it. By the end of the semester, the room is 2/3 tape recorders.
CAPTION: "THRUST - A QUITE CONTROVERSIAL LOOK AT THE WORLD AROUND US"
Presenter: I have with me tonight Anne Elk. Mrs Anne Elk.
Miss Elk: (John Cleese, as a very prim lady) Miss.
SUPERIMPOSED CAPTION: "ANNE ELK"
Presenter: You have a new theory about the brontosaurus.
Miss Elk: Can I just say here Chris for one moment that I have a new theory about the brontosaurus?
Presenter: Er... exactly. (he gestures but she does not say anything) What is it?
Miss Elk: Where? (looks round)
Presenter: No, no. Your new theory.
Miss Elk: Oh, what is my theory?
Presenter: Yes.
Miss Elk: Oh what is my theory that it is. Well Chris you may well ask me what is my theory.
Presenter: I am asking.
Miss Elk: Good for you. My word yes. Well Chris, what is it that it is - this theory of mine. Well, this is what it is - my theory that I have, that is to say, which is mine, is mine
Presenter: (beginning to show signs of exasperation) Yes, I know it's yours, what is it?
Miss Elk: Where? Oh, what is my theory? This is it. (clears throat at some length) My theory that belongs to me is as follows. (clears throat at great length) This is how it goes. The next thing I"m going to say is my theory. Ready?
Presenter: Yes!
Miss Elk: My theory by A. Elk. Brackets Miss, brackets. This theory goes as follows and begins now. All brontosauruses are thin at one end, much thicker in the middle and then thin again at the far end. That is my theory, it is mine, and belongs to me and I own it, and what it is too.
Presenter: That's it, is it?
Miss Elk: Stop on, Chris.
Presenter: Well, er, this theory of yours appears to have hit the nail on the head.
Miss Elk: And it's mine.
Presenter: Yes, thank you very much for coming along to the studio. Thank you.
Miss Elk: My pleasure, Chris ....
Presenter: Next week Britain's newist wasp farm ...
Miss Elk: It's been a lot of fun.
Presenter: Yes, thank you very much.
Miss Elk: Saying what my theory is.
Presenter: Yes, thank you.
Miss Elk: And whose it is.
Presenter: Yes, thank you - that's all - thank you... opens next week.
Miss Elk: I have another theory.
Presenter: Yes.
Miss Elk: Called my second theory, or my theory number two.
Presenter: Thank you. Britian's newest wasp farm...
Miss Elk: This second theory which was the one that I had said...
Presenter: (the phone rings; he answers) Yes, no I'm trying...
Miss Elk: Which I could expound without doubt.This second theory which, with the one which I just said, forms the brace of theories which I own and which belong to me, goes like this...
Presenter: (looking at his shoe) 9 and a half, wide fitting... Balleys of Bond Street. What? No, sort of brogue.
Miss Elk: This is what it is. (clears throat)
Presenter: 8 and a half.
Miss Elk: This is it... (lots of noisy throat clearing)
The Presenter rises and leaves the set to go next door to the travel agents set, leaving Miss Elk behind for a moment.
Bounder is still on the phone. His other phone rings; he answers it.
Bounder: Hello, yes ... yes ...
The presenter enters the travel set. The tourist is still droning on from a previous sketch and Bounder is still on the phone.
Tourist: (carrying on all through the scene below) ...and the Spanish Tourist Board promises you that the raging choloera epidemic is mearly a case of mild Spanish tummy, like the last outbreak of Spanish tummy in 1660 which killed half London and descimated Europe, and meanwhile the bloody Guardia are busy arresting 16-year-olds for kissing in the streets and shooting anyone under 19 who doesn't like Franco...
The Presenter approaches Bounder.
Prese
What I do want is a higher upstream bandwidth. Right now I have 512K up, but even 2-3 megs would be really nice. They're building a Project Lightspeed box right up the street from me, less than 1000 wire feet away. When that baby lights up, I want the faster internet (VDSL2 can go 50-100mbits symmetrical at that distance), and that's it.
That's not the worst of it. I think this web page says it so best. Esperanto is hardly a "universal" language that anyone can learn. The Japanese and Chinese have enough problem with R vs L, and the Japanese with our barbaric European vowels like schwa and ihh and uhh, and Esperanto is much worse. It is an ugly hack of a language, a bad marriage of Polish and Italian, with phonemes that are difficult for half the world to pronounce, and with way too many irregularites and inconsistencies. Not to mention that it uses circumflex accent marks for no good reason, such that the page I linked has to use a superscript "v" to render them.
Esperanto sucks.
The Catweasel controller board can read basically any floppy disk format, because it returns the timing between transitions. Whether you can find drivers to decode the data is another matter, but it is possible to write your own. For standard FM and MFM disks, cw2dmk works very well. The main problem with reading old Commodore disks is the crazy copy protection tricks they used, some of which even required 6502 code be downloaded to the floppy drive.