I really don't care. I'm glad I can play Dead Rising in HD (as soon as I buy it and a 360). But I don't really care that much. The 'cube looks fine already, and it would actually look BETTER on my new TV because I could run it in progressive scan. Then again I still thing Super Mario World and Yoshi's Island are two of the best looking games ever. I wouldn't care if new games were released that looked just like those. If they were just as fun, I'd be thrilled.
I'm glad I got an HDTV, and I'm sure it will make games look pretty. I think the biggest difference HDTVs will have over SD with games is the extra screen realestate afforded by being 16:9 instead of 4:3.
An extra sharp picture is nice, but having a new TV isn't going to make ME go out and buy a new console just so games look better, just like buying a new console wouldn't make me go buy a new TV just so games look a hair better (if we were going from B&W to Color, that would be different).
It works just fine as a USB drive. If iTunes isn't installed, then the iPod appears like a normal drive. Once you've installed iTunes, there is an option to reserver a portion of the space on the disk to be used as a normal disk. When you turn this on, the iPod appears like a normal drive when plugged in.
Only MP3s, AACs, Apple Lossless, and WAV files work for music (IIRC). That said, OGG is not popular with the general public. The only format that has much acceptance that's missing is WMA.
Yes, you can get other players cheaper. I consider it a good value for the UI, the integration, etc. I don't mind paying for what I see as quality.
I have a series 3 and with my abuse it's battery has lasted a long time. I find it odd that 3 of the 5 batteries have died in a year. I wonder how they've been using/charging them.
The screen can be slow in the winter, but I've often left my iPod in my car overnight outside (I live in Kansas, we get snow and all) and it never fails to play, spin up, etc. The LCDs response is noticeably slow, but it functions just fine.
As for the scroll-wheel content, I never had any problem. It was instantly apparent to me how to operate it. When you get to the entry you want, you just either stop moving your finger or lift it off completely.
If you want to change the song or volume without taking the iPod out of your pocket, you can do that easily with the remote (that's what it's for!) but let's say you don't have your remote. To change the volume, just use the scroll wheel (clockwise is up, counter-clockwise is down). To change the track to the next/last, just press the FF or REW buttons (on my 3rd gen then are separate, on the new ones they are under the scroll-wheel and activated by pressing down, they are a physical button).
I've got to say to me your response does look like a troll, but you seem to believe it and you signed your name. If you used an iPod for a day or two you may change your tune. Not everyone has to love the iPod, but most people do.
On the shutter speed issue, it depends on just how fast the thing rotates, but this is also the government. If the CIA buys a bunch of these things, there is no reason they couldn't put in their new Camera 2,000,000 that only needs 1/1000th the light of a traditional digital camera (or whatever other cool camera gizmos they have that we don't know about).
I agree, but you should monitor them anyway. Between having a sociopath who has no problem lying, to having a good kid make a mistake once that could ruin the rest of their life, I think there are far too many reasons to monitor anyway.
Talking to the kid is important. Possibly the most important. But having talked to the kid isn't a cure-all either.
Well, if you put the camera in the center of the thing and actually rotated the CAMERA the oposite direction, you could get the camera relativly stationary. Combine that with a fast shutter speed (daylight use only, probably) and you could get some pretty good picutes out of it.
I love Guitar Hero and I will buy 2 the second it comes out. That said, I'm not sure about this. The downloadable content is nice, but I'm not sure if it would be enough to get me to re-buy the game (since it won't come out 'till next year at least and I'm not waiting that long).
If they offered me a way to transfer my profiles off my PS2 (and even better, to copy the tracks off Guitar Hero 1 and onto the 360's HD so you could play those also) I would plunk money down no question.
If they were going to release it on the same day as the PS2 version (which they won't) then I'd buy it then no question, including the 360 I would need to play it on.
But as a PS2 owner, I don't think it's compelling enough for me to wait to buy at all.
Maybe I could buy now, then get the 360 version and sell my PS2 version when that comes out...
Reminds me of a movie I just saw called "Final Cut">The Final Cut with Robin Williams. In the movie he plays a "cutter". His job is to splice the full memories of people (who have had a chip implanted into their brains) into little films to play at their funerals. It was a very interesting movie.
That said... what a waste of space. How much of my life will I spend watching TV. Good thing we might be able to record all that soon.
If you read the article it explains the difference. While Passport is a full login (that can hold things like Credit Card numbers and such) this just holds information about what you like and your name, stuff like that. For all intents and purposes you are still anonymous, but they can customize content so that you are more likely to read it using the information you provide.
Compare that to Passport who is basically giving a site a biography on your if you use it.
These days, you never know. I thought of that, but what about the idea of IPTV. If they have IPTV they may have the 'net connection and no computer. They may live in an apartment that provides that as part of the rent but they don't have a computer. They may GET an internet connection for their Wii and still not have a computer.
They already announced this for Japan, so I expecit it to happen. I think it's a great thing to do. I have to wonder what the price will be once the "sale" stops. Still, I can see how this may be useful, but I don't think I'd pay for it. People who may have a Wii and no computer though might.
They aren't pre-orders, but they are almost as good as. They were taking names and numbers. When they were able to officially pre-order they would call people on the list from the top to the bottom, giving out pre-orders to those people who still wanted it (and would pay).
Bull. I wish that was true, but I don't think it is. I went into my local Gamestop this weekend (in Kansas) and was told that they weren't taking orders yet (check back start of October) but that they expect to be told to use that exact same "you must trade in $50 of stuff" policy. I'm going to talk to the manager of the store if that turns out true and they will lose my (rather lucrative) business if they insist on doing that. I'm already mad they won't take pre-orders (they've been doing it on the PS3 for like a year now), but to put such a stupid (and hard to meet) restriction on will cost them my business. I'll just go to Target next door and camp out for an hour or two if I have to.
That is something I hadn't thought of (I've never used one), but I don't think it counts. People could probably make arguments about Media Center too. The problem is that most people don't use Tablet PCs. You need specialized hardware. You can't get tablet desktops (you could rig one up with one of Wacom's cool monitors though). There is nothing about Spotlight, Exposé, or OpenGL based window management that can't be done on any PC with a half-decent graphics chip from the last couple of years.
First, remember that the "markedly better" comment references what HOME users were using before, Windows ME. For businesses, XP isn't much better (or is much worse).
But let's look at what OS X has done in the past 5 years (I only converted early last year). OS X has hardware accelerated it's GUI. It has gained Spotlight and Exposé, probably the two best inventions in improving computer use in the last 5 years. It has had little touches like spring-loaded folders. It manages to get basic window use right.
The fact that Apple did the first 3 things (OpenGL GUI, Spotlight, Expose) which MS sat around (really: spent all their time on patches) is just sad. MS has improved things (the wireless handling was abysmal compared to today's XP), but not others. I took a job last month that has me using a Windows box for the first time in a year and the result of having to use it for long periods is jarring.
Let's ignore the lack of Spotlight (which I love). Let's focus on something simple. Something that was in Windows 95. Something that was in Windows 3.1. Something that was there before that (don't know which version exactly, probably 1.0). Let's talk about the Z-ordering of windows.
At least once a day I seem to run into this. Let us consider 3 windows among about 10. We'll use FireFox, Outlook, and Calculator. Let's say those windows are all maximized (as are all others) except for Calculator. Calculator has been buried to the very bottom of the windows (or near). Firefox is on top, with Outlook below. Now click on the taskbar button for Calculator. What happens?
What SHOULD happen is you see Firefox with Calculator on top. That is what happens most of the time. But some times, for some random reason I can't find, doing this will bring Outlook to the front window behind Calculator, so you see those two on your desktop (Calculator on top). You can often repeat this 3 or 4 times before Windows "gets it" and things are put correct. By this I mean you can switch back to Firefox (which works), then click for Calculator and have it happen again.
I have NO IDEA how this happens or why, but how hard is it to keep a Z ranking of the windows I have?
I won't even touch on how hard it is to manage 10 windows with your only tools being the taskbar and Alt-Tab. Exposé is so intuitive and simple. From the screenshots I've seen (I haven't looked hard) Vista only seems to have a graphical version of the current Alt-Tab.
There are no spring-loaded folders (terribly handy for moving stuff around).
Windows DOES have a Cut command in Explorer, something that still boggles my mind about the Mac (how can Finder not have a Cut?)
Windows hasn't really improved at all (other than in security) since 1999 (when Windows 2k was released). Look at the changes OS X has made from 10.0 to 10.4. I'm not even including the cool stuff that's coming in Tiger. OS X even gets faster.
I'm glad to be off Windows for my personal use. And since my job is all Java and HTML, I'm going to ask for a Mac when my current Dell is no longer powerful enough. I think Exposé alone will vastly improve my productivity.
I don't own a 360 (costs more than I'm willing to pay right now, and my motivation has dropped now that the main game I want to play, Dead Rising, won't work on my TV and won't be patched). But I do know a neighbor who does have one. They've had it for a few months (they got it after Christmas, I think). I was talking to them the other day and they told me the thing has been in like 3 times for service (although they think MS just replaces it each time). They've said it's really hard to get into contact with MS (long waits, etc.), and they won't cross ship (so you are 360-less while all this is going on) and it can take like two weeks to get the working unit. They have had different problems every time. Some failed as soon as they came back, some lasted a few months. They don't play it very hard or anything.
I've got to say I was surprised and disappointed when I heard their story. But then again, I find the idea that MS considers a 1 in 20 defect rate of boxes in the hands of the consumer abysmal. Stuff happens, but that's just pathetic.
One more reason for me to wait for a redesign of the unit or a re-spin of the silicon to a smaller process. Maybe by then things will be better.
I've never had problems with my XBox (non-360). I've never had problems with any of my consoles (even my initial batch PS and PS2s).
Anyone know Dell's defect rate (hardware only, in the first year)? I can't possibly be as bad as MS claims is OK (5%) or what they actually have (15%).
That's not the box I saw. The one I saw was red and black and used a font very similar to the guitar hero box. It was WAY closer than that one (which I agree, is rather far off).
No kidding. I don't expect high quality, but this entire "article" could be summed up in three pictures. The first would show the old and new controllers, the second the dev box, and the third a screenshot of the interface.
Those three pictures already exist and are on the 'net.
I'm used to somewhat pointless articles, but this is a new low. With a title like "A Look Inside the PlayStation 3" I expected someone managed to get the cover off a retail or development box (specifically the latter based on the summary). Instead I got something I would expect out of USA Today when they needed to fill a couple of inches in the entertainment section.
Red Octane's stuid had merrit. I saw that wireless contoller box the other day and I had to look hard for a while to see it wasn't a Red Octane product, it did look VERY similar.
On the other hand, bundling a peripheral that is required to play a game with the game it is used for is standard industry practice (see: Samba De Amigo, some DDRs, Donkey Konga, Sega Menacer, Super Scope 6, etc.). They aren't locking out other peripheral makers. They aren't saying "you can't make Guitar Hero controllers". They just want the box to look different so it's obvious that it isn't a Red Octane product.
I don't buy many games (mostly I rent because most games are worth the $$$). If I REALLY want a game (New Mario, Guitar Hero) I'll just buy it ("Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"). But if I want a game but I'm not that set, I'll wait for the reviews. If the review seems positive (no major flaws, still sounds fun) then I tend to buy the game. If not (bugs, doesn't sound fun, etc) then I don't.
I don't buy games just because of reviews though.
For the record, I get most of my reviews from X-Play (which I watch all new episodes of). I also check specific games on GameSpot and IGN.
A demo is FAR more likely to change my opinion of a game than a review, but I like having reviews around to see what is happening with games I don't tend to play (sports games) and to save me from buying a piece of junk that won't be that fun.
However, I can tell you that my little sister and her friends (all about 14) don't read reviews at all. They are just mindless consumers. "I liked spider man/the hulk, I'll get that game". "That football game looks like it might be fun". Mostly we rent (so many games are terrible) but they don't even consider reviews before renting (not their money, I guess).
Slashdot Mirror
Now ask the question of Joe Bob, who bought a new 45" Plasma and watched SD content on it thinking it's HD because he has no clue.
Note: I just bought an HDTV on Saturday.
I really don't care. I'm glad I can play Dead Rising in HD (as soon as I buy it and a 360). But I don't really care that much. The 'cube looks fine already, and it would actually look BETTER on my new TV because I could run it in progressive scan. Then again I still thing Super Mario World and Yoshi's Island are two of the best looking games ever. I wouldn't care if new games were released that looked just like those. If they were just as fun, I'd be thrilled.
I'm glad I got an HDTV, and I'm sure it will make games look pretty. I think the biggest difference HDTVs will have over SD with games is the extra screen realestate afforded by being 16:9 instead of 4:3.
An extra sharp picture is nice, but having a new TV isn't going to make ME go out and buy a new console just so games look better, just like buying a new console wouldn't make me go buy a new TV just so games look a hair better (if we were going from B&W to Color, that would be different).
It could be like MkLinux, basically a modified Linux kernel running atop a proprietary microkernel.
I've got mod points but I"ll respond instead.
As for the scroll-wheel content, I never had any problem. It was instantly apparent to me how to operate it. When you get to the entry you want, you just either stop moving your finger or lift it off completely.
If you want to change the song or volume without taking the iPod out of your pocket, you can do that easily with the remote (that's what it's for!) but let's say you don't have your remote. To change the volume, just use the scroll wheel (clockwise is up, counter-clockwise is down). To change the track to the next/last, just press the FF or REW buttons (on my 3rd gen then are separate, on the new ones they are under the scroll-wheel and activated by pressing down, they are a physical button).
I've got to say to me your response does look like a troll, but you seem to believe it and you signed your name. If you used an iPod for a day or two you may change your tune. Not everyone has to love the iPod, but most people do.
I think this one might have more information.
Lower proffits.
*rimshot*
On the shutter speed issue, it depends on just how fast the thing rotates, but this is also the government. If the CIA buys a bunch of these things, there is no reason they couldn't put in their new Camera 2,000,000 that only needs 1/1000th the light of a traditional digital camera (or whatever other cool camera gizmos they have that we don't know about).
I agree, but you should monitor them anyway. Between having a sociopath who has no problem lying, to having a good kid make a mistake once that could ruin the rest of their life, I think there are far too many reasons to monitor anyway.
Talking to the kid is important. Possibly the most important. But having talked to the kid isn't a cure-all either.
Well, if you put the camera in the center of the thing and actually rotated the CAMERA the oposite direction, you could get the camera relativly stationary. Combine that with a fast shutter speed (daylight use only, probably) and you could get some pretty good picutes out of it.
I love Guitar Hero and I will buy 2 the second it comes out. That said, I'm not sure about this. The downloadable content is nice, but I'm not sure if it would be enough to get me to re-buy the game (since it won't come out 'till next year at least and I'm not waiting that long).
If they offered me a way to transfer my profiles off my PS2 (and even better, to copy the tracks off Guitar Hero 1 and onto the 360's HD so you could play those also) I would plunk money down no question.
If they were going to release it on the same day as the PS2 version (which they won't) then I'd buy it then no question, including the 360 I would need to play it on.
But as a PS2 owner, I don't think it's compelling enough for me to wait to buy at all.
Maybe I could buy now, then get the 360 version and sell my PS2 version when that comes out...
OK, I TOALLY screwed up that link.
The Final Cut
Reminds me of a movie I just saw called "Final Cut">The Final Cut with Robin Williams. In the movie he plays a "cutter". His job is to splice the full memories of people (who have had a chip implanted into their brains) into little films to play at their funerals. It was a very interesting movie.
That said... what a waste of space. How much of my life will I spend watching TV. Good thing we might be able to record all that soon.
If you read the article it explains the difference. While Passport is a full login (that can hold things like Credit Card numbers and such) this just holds information about what you like and your name, stuff like that. For all intents and purposes you are still anonymous, but they can customize content so that you are more likely to read it using the information you provide.
Compare that to Passport who is basically giving a site a biography on your if you use it.
These days, you never know. I thought of that, but what about the idea of IPTV. If they have IPTV they may have the 'net connection and no computer. They may live in an apartment that provides that as part of the rent but they don't have a computer. They may GET an internet connection for their Wii and still not have a computer.
They already announced this for Japan, so I expecit it to happen. I think it's a great thing to do. I have to wonder what the price will be once the "sale" stops. Still, I can see how this may be useful, but I don't think I'd pay for it. People who may have a Wii and no computer though might.
Close, but no cigar.
They aren't pre-orders, but they are almost as good as. They were taking names and numbers. When they were able to officially pre-order they would call people on the list from the top to the bottom, giving out pre-orders to those people who still wanted it (and would pay).
Bull. I wish that was true, but I don't think it is. I went into my local Gamestop this weekend (in Kansas) and was told that they weren't taking orders yet (check back start of October) but that they expect to be told to use that exact same "you must trade in $50 of stuff" policy. I'm going to talk to the manager of the store if that turns out true and they will lose my (rather lucrative) business if they insist on doing that. I'm already mad they won't take pre-orders (they've been doing it on the PS3 for like a year now), but to put such a stupid (and hard to meet) restriction on will cost them my business. I'll just go to Target next door and camp out for an hour or two if I have to.
That is something I hadn't thought of (I've never used one), but I don't think it counts. People could probably make arguments about Media Center too. The problem is that most people don't use Tablet PCs. You need specialized hardware. You can't get tablet desktops (you could rig one up with one of Wacom's cool monitors though). There is nothing about Spotlight, Exposé, or OpenGL based window management that can't be done on any PC with a half-decent graphics chip from the last couple of years.
First, remember that the "markedly better" comment references what HOME users were using before, Windows ME. For businesses, XP isn't much better (or is much worse).
But let's look at what OS X has done in the past 5 years (I only converted early last year). OS X has hardware accelerated it's GUI. It has gained Spotlight and Exposé, probably the two best inventions in improving computer use in the last 5 years. It has had little touches like spring-loaded folders. It manages to get basic window use right.
The fact that Apple did the first 3 things (OpenGL GUI, Spotlight, Expose) which MS sat around (really: spent all their time on patches) is just sad. MS has improved things (the wireless handling was abysmal compared to today's XP), but not others. I took a job last month that has me using a Windows box for the first time in a year and the result of having to use it for long periods is jarring.
Let's ignore the lack of Spotlight (which I love). Let's focus on something simple. Something that was in Windows 95. Something that was in Windows 3.1. Something that was there before that (don't know which version exactly, probably 1.0). Let's talk about the Z-ordering of windows.
At least once a day I seem to run into this. Let us consider 3 windows among about 10. We'll use FireFox, Outlook, and Calculator. Let's say those windows are all maximized (as are all others) except for Calculator. Calculator has been buried to the very bottom of the windows (or near). Firefox is on top, with Outlook below. Now click on the taskbar button for Calculator. What happens?
What SHOULD happen is you see Firefox with Calculator on top. That is what happens most of the time. But some times, for some random reason I can't find, doing this will bring Outlook to the front window behind Calculator, so you see those two on your desktop (Calculator on top). You can often repeat this 3 or 4 times before Windows "gets it" and things are put correct. By this I mean you can switch back to Firefox (which works), then click for Calculator and have it happen again.
I have NO IDEA how this happens or why, but how hard is it to keep a Z ranking of the windows I have?
I won't even touch on how hard it is to manage 10 windows with your only tools being the taskbar and Alt-Tab. Exposé is so intuitive and simple. From the screenshots I've seen (I haven't looked hard) Vista only seems to have a graphical version of the current Alt-Tab.
There are no spring-loaded folders (terribly handy for moving stuff around).
Windows DOES have a Cut command in Explorer, something that still boggles my mind about the Mac (how can Finder not have a Cut?)
Windows hasn't really improved at all (other than in security) since 1999 (when Windows 2k was released). Look at the changes OS X has made from 10.0 to 10.4. I'm not even including the cool stuff that's coming in Tiger. OS X even gets faster.
I'm glad to be off Windows for my personal use. And since my job is all Java and HTML, I'm going to ask for a Mac when my current Dell is no longer powerful enough. I think Exposé alone will vastly improve my productivity.
I've got to say I was surprised and disappointed when I heard their story. But then again, I find the idea that MS considers a 1 in 20 defect rate of boxes in the hands of the consumer abysmal. Stuff happens, but that's just pathetic.
One more reason for me to wait for a redesign of the unit or a re-spin of the silicon to a smaller process. Maybe by then things will be better.
I've never had problems with my XBox (non-360). I've never had problems with any of my consoles (even my initial batch PS and PS2s).
Anyone know Dell's defect rate (hardware only, in the first year)? I can't possibly be as bad as MS claims is OK (5%) or what they actually have (15%).
That's not the box I saw. The one I saw was red and black and used a font very similar to the guitar hero box. It was WAY closer than that one (which I agree, is rather far off).
No kidding. I don't expect high quality, but this entire "article" could be summed up in three pictures. The first would show the old and new controllers, the second the dev box, and the third a screenshot of the interface.
Those three pictures already exist and are on the 'net.
I'm used to somewhat pointless articles, but this is a new low. With a title like "A Look Inside the PlayStation 3" I expected someone managed to get the cover off a retail or development box (specifically the latter based on the summary). Instead I got something I would expect out of USA Today when they needed to fill a couple of inches in the entertainment section.
Red Octane's stuid had merrit. I saw that wireless contoller box the other day and I had to look hard for a while to see it wasn't a Red Octane product, it did look VERY similar.
On the other hand, bundling a peripheral that is required to play a game with the game it is used for is standard industry practice (see: Samba De Amigo, some DDRs, Donkey Konga, Sega Menacer, Super Scope 6, etc.). They aren't locking out other peripheral makers. They aren't saying "you can't make Guitar Hero controllers". They just want the box to look different so it's obvious that it isn't a Red Octane product.
This is stupid.
I don't buy many games (mostly I rent because most games are worth the $$$). If I REALLY want a game (New Mario, Guitar Hero) I'll just buy it ("Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"). But if I want a game but I'm not that set, I'll wait for the reviews. If the review seems positive (no major flaws, still sounds fun) then I tend to buy the game. If not (bugs, doesn't sound fun, etc) then I don't.
I don't buy games just because of reviews though.
For the record, I get most of my reviews from X-Play (which I watch all new episodes of). I also check specific games on GameSpot and IGN.
A demo is FAR more likely to change my opinion of a game than a review, but I like having reviews around to see what is happening with games I don't tend to play (sports games) and to save me from buying a piece of junk that won't be that fun.
However, I can tell you that my little sister and her friends (all about 14) don't read reviews at all. They are just mindless consumers. "I liked spider man/the hulk, I'll get that game". "That football game looks like it might be fun". Mostly we rent (so many games are terrible) but they don't even consider reviews before renting (not their money, I guess).