Enjoy stunning video and audio performance in TV shows on your PC courtesy of the onboard hardware MPEG-2 recording engine
I don't understand why you'd need a P4 1.5GHz machine to successfully record shows unless something is amiss. I always thought the difference in price between low cost and high cost solutions was hardware vs. software encoding.
Hardware solutions should allow a PII to record shows smoothly.
These devices would then need DVI in's to accept the encoded signals, then decode them, record them, then re-encode them and send them to a DVI out - still encrypted??? Is that right? I'm not sure, but I do know that if a VCR/PVR has to decrypt the video stream to record it, we'll soon find someone who has hacked their VCR/PVR device to direct unencrypted video streams somewhere other than where the broadcasters intend.
I used to buy/sell on Ebay - mainly computer equipment and such. Now, I only do it at www.arstechnica.com's Agora section in their user forums.
Why? It's a VERY trusted community with moderators who are committed to ensuring proper sales and purchases. They frequently post a known bad trader list and deal with trolls effectively (props to Leavitron and SuperDave). Mass sales are strongly discouraged and are frankly forbidden w/out prior approval. Nothing like this story would happen there (well, not impossible, but extremely unlikely).
The other main difference is that people aren't looking to profit from sales at the Agora. They're all computer enthusiasts with extra equipment lying around, usually eager to help others who may have a need for their surplus.
Feedback ratings are also handled, albeit through seperate websites (props to Mudboy).
Bottom line: it pays to know your seller/buyer either directly or indirectly through a community and trade in a place where greed is discouraged.
I also didn't see any mention of which graphics API was used. My hunch is that it's Direct 3D.
What follows is simply my opinion: I prefer the looks of OpenGL rendering on Nvidia hardware. My order of preference from a visual perspective was OpenGL, Glide, then D3D. I know Daniel Vogel (once a Loki guy - PS: Good career move) was responsible for most of the OpenGL work on UnrealTournament (i.e. using the S3TC-based textures on the 2nd CD), so my hopes are that this new engine will have OpenGL rendering.
I definitely take a performance hit going from D3D to OpenGL, but with pageflipping enabled in the drivers it's not too bad. I also am willing to do this for my perceived visual enhancements.
Why Gamers Deserve Linux Ports
on
Loki Games Closing?
·
· Score: 3, Insightful
IMHO, Linux gamers deserve Linux ports of their favorite games from the original developers. Why? I believe you cannot have a successful ONLINE multiplayer game without the support of Linux-based dedicated servers.
Quake 1 and 2 set the stage as their Linux ports allowed server administrators to set up dedicated servers and donate their bandwidth. Because there were SO MANY servers, there were SO MANY clients and each game flourished.
No enter the original Unreal. No Linux port. No Linux dedicated server. Multiplayer options were null (and for reasons based in less than steller network performance).
Enter Unreal Tournament. Epic wises up and ports it to Linux - for free. Tons of dedicated servers spring up and the game flourishes even to this day.
Half-Life's Counterstrike also has a dedicated server and that game continues to flourish. I consider it a mistake that Valve has not released a client as the multitude of servers continues to keep the game popular.
That's why I salute id, even though their Linux ports are not simultaneously released, they do recognize the service that Linux based dedicated servers give to them. Therefore they continue to port games to Linux (and for other technically sound reasons).
I realize my arguement holds only for multiplayer titles, but that's what got the ball rolling originally. Those of us that have hosted Linux dedicated servers do indeed deserve a little condiseration from the developers for a Linux client.
During the first few days with a cable modem and my linux machine, I installed portsentry. Every now and then I looked through the history file to see the myriad of scans. I traced one IP to a specific user at Penn State.
I fired off an email about noticing his portscan and asked him if his administrator would care to know about it. His response was almost laughable.
"I don't know how this happened. All I know is when I went to sleep last night my computer was on. When I woke up this morning I was in a heap of trouble."
Needless to say, he didn't scan me again (at least not under his account at PSU).
While not yet posted on their website as of 15:07 Eastern Time, www.tuxgames.com will sell RTCW with a linux-based installer.
This is for those folks who want to show their allegience to Linux gaming by purchasing from a company dedicated to bringing it mainstream and properly tallying Linux sales.
Corporations don't. That's why DivX was launched. We all knew it was a very bad idea, we just didn't know if Joe Consumer would think so too. Thank goodness he did.
Let's just hope the same Joe Consumer will think Universal's idea is a bad one too. Then we can watch this idea die the same death of DivX. It will take a bit of time perhaps, but when a mass amount of people are inconvenienced, corporations should see the proper monetary repsonse.
Been an X-File fan for years and originally thought that the loss of Duchovny was irrecoverable.
But...let me just say that Robert Patrick is one damn fine actor. While Mulder's character was far more likeable and what not, Patrick's portrayal of Doggett is superior IMHO. If they could have severed ties to the Scully/Mulder X-Files and just call the Doggett/Reyes X-Files The Next Generation or something - I'd be happy.
The restrictions imposed by continuity and actors disinterested in continuing their roles hamstrung the entire show. Unfortunately, what could have been a more than viable alternative (Doggett/Reyes) is weighed down by the legacy of the show.
I can say, almost certainly, that's how MTV determines who gets played on shows like TRL, etc. Corporate drones for the record companies either call in, or vote, or do whatever it takes to get their featured artist in the top ten.
I remember when I was in high school, I'd watch an MTV weekly top ten. One friday, Stryper was #1, and on the following Monday they were off the charts. Obviously the record company decided to stop calling in....
If in fact dark matter is matter which exists gravitationally but will not interact w/the EM spectrum, wouldn't you be able to feel it with your hands but not see it? (Provided you have a small bit of it nearby)
Then, couldn't you somehow use this "material" for stealth purposes? Body armor making you invisible, etc. etc.
I find it amusing that as humans, we can only detect the existence of something if we can collide EM particles w/it (photons, etc.) We should rephrase a familiar motto to be "I can interact w/EM particles, therefore I exist.":)
Like me, someone who lost his static IP for a dynamic one, I'd like to recommend www.dns2go.com.
The have a client (win32, linux, & more) that basically sends a heartbeat to their servers telling them your IP address. You can then setup a user defined domain within their top level.d2g.com to point to your dymamic IP, regardless of what it is. Pretty handy.
I know this is incredibly selfish, but I'm relishing the thought of my online game habit flourishing again. I haven't bad a good game of Q3 online in months. My apologies to those out in the cold on this one.
Actually, scraping the heatsink isn't so bad. You actually increase the surface area of the heatsink, and as such, increase its effectiveness. The thermal compound is there to fill in the gaps between both micro and macro-scopic "scrapes."
As I type this, I'm downloading Intel's Linux Fortran compiler. While this is slightly off-topic, it will be interesting to see if this free (non-supported version) will compile some code I have that previously relied on Compaq/Digital Fortran's fort26.dll on the Win32 platform (not my code, honest:).
If I can get it to compile on Linux, then I can do a whole host of things my employer previously thought impossible.:)
I am currently running 2.2.18 out of necessity (VPN patch that's not available for 2.2.19). From the article it would seem that until patches are available for your kernel, you can remove the suid (chmod -s) from the newgrp binary. Granted, you won't be able to add any new groups, but I think it would temporarily remove the exploit. Am I correct here?
As a stock holder of TMTA (ugh, lately:), I am a little concerned at their changing strategy. Generally speaking, changing business strategy so early in the game for Trasmeta speaks of trouble. It is especially difficult to come to market and try to play catch up with a product that's similar to what already exists, i.e. notebook cpu market. It is even more difficult to switch business strategies and succeed.
Having stated that, my opinion is that this company will end up succeeding. I have trouble believing that such talented individuals (Ditzel, Torvalds, Taylor, etc.) will end up falling on their faces. As a stock-holder (I bought in @$3), my worst-case scenario is that their technology gets bought by one of the bigger players (AMD, Intel). Best-case scenario is that they finally find a product that utilizes the competitive advantages of the Crusoe processor - whatever that may end up being.
Back in the early days of broadband (1999 for me:) I regularly got pings to most servers in the 40-80 range and was LOVING it. Fast forward 2.5 years and packet loss makes nearly every game unplayable. I can't find any servers under 100ms ping time.
This weekend, I'm going to one of the best, if not the best, lan parties around http://www.gamersgauntlet.com/
They have networking and power consumption down to an art form. They give away prizes (last time a GeForce 2 Pro card was one prize), run tourneys, and all-around provide an excellent time. The staff is friendly and accomodating to everyone's needs. It really can't be beat.
I've hosted a few mini-lans at my house and I have to say that having some networking experience w/Linux has been a great help. Running the games servers on Linux has given me very favorable results (compared to win2k).
It's so sad that I'm 33 years old and addicted to LAN gaming. So sad.:)
Slashdot Mirror
Non-affiliated plug:
CleverNickName works there. Check out his website for more info.
Their web page states:
Enjoy stunning video and audio performance in TV shows on your PC courtesy of the onboard hardware MPEG-2 recording engine
I don't understand why you'd need a P4 1.5GHz machine to successfully record shows unless something is amiss. I always thought the difference in price between low cost and high cost solutions was hardware vs. software encoding.
Hardware solutions should allow a PII to record shows smoothly.
Not sure if it's related, but Transmeta stock dove about 14% today. I'm guessing there must have been some rumors about an AMD buyout.
These devices would then need DVI in's to accept the encoded signals, then decode them, record them, then re-encode them and send them to a DVI out - still encrypted??? Is that right? I'm not sure, but I do know that if a VCR/PVR has to decrypt the video stream to record it, we'll soon find someone who has hacked their VCR/PVR device to direct unencrypted video streams somewhere other than where the broadcasters intend.
You forgot the most important question: What happened to the quality of the pr0n?????
Why doesn't Blizzard ask id why they allow home-grown servers to flourish, making the demand for their products skyrocket? Or Valve? Or Epic?
I used to buy/sell on Ebay - mainly computer equipment and such. Now, I only do it at www.arstechnica.com's Agora section in their user forums.
Why? It's a VERY trusted community with moderators who are committed to ensuring proper sales and purchases. They frequently post a known bad trader list and deal with trolls effectively (props to Leavitron and SuperDave). Mass sales are strongly discouraged and are frankly forbidden w/out prior approval. Nothing like this story would happen there (well, not impossible, but extremely unlikely).
The other main difference is that people aren't looking to profit from sales at the Agora. They're all computer enthusiasts with extra equipment lying around, usually eager to help others who may have a need for their surplus.
Feedback ratings are also handled, albeit through seperate websites (props to Mudboy).
Bottom line: it pays to know your seller/buyer either directly or indirectly through a community and trade in a place where greed is discouraged.
I also didn't see any mention of which graphics API was used. My hunch is that it's Direct 3D.
What follows is simply my opinion: I prefer the looks of OpenGL rendering on Nvidia hardware. My order of preference from a visual perspective was OpenGL, Glide, then D3D. I know Daniel Vogel (once a Loki guy - PS: Good career move) was responsible for most of the OpenGL work on UnrealTournament (i.e. using the S3TC-based textures on the 2nd CD), so my hopes are that this new engine will have OpenGL rendering.
I definitely take a performance hit going from D3D to OpenGL, but with pageflipping enabled in the drivers it's not too bad. I also am willing to do this for my perceived visual enhancements.
IMHO, Linux gamers deserve Linux ports of their favorite games from the original developers. Why? I believe you cannot have a successful ONLINE multiplayer game without the support of Linux-based dedicated servers.
Quake 1 and 2 set the stage as their Linux ports allowed server administrators to set up dedicated servers and donate their bandwidth. Because there were SO MANY servers, there were SO MANY clients and each game flourished.
No enter the original Unreal. No Linux port. No Linux dedicated server. Multiplayer options were null (and for reasons based in less than steller network performance).
Enter Unreal Tournament. Epic wises up and ports it to Linux - for free. Tons of dedicated servers spring up and the game flourishes even to this day.
Half-Life's Counterstrike also has a dedicated server and that game continues to flourish. I consider it a mistake that Valve has not released a client as the multitude of servers continues to keep the game popular.
That's why I salute id, even though their Linux ports are not simultaneously released, they do recognize the service that Linux based dedicated servers give to them. Therefore they continue to port games to Linux (and for other technically sound reasons).
I realize my arguement holds only for multiplayer titles, but that's what got the ball rolling originally. Those of us that have hosted Linux dedicated servers do indeed deserve a little condiseration from the developers for a Linux client.
True story:
During the first few days with a cable modem and my linux machine, I installed portsentry. Every now and then I looked through the history file to see the myriad of scans. I traced one IP to a specific user at Penn State.
I fired off an email about noticing his portscan and asked him if his administrator would care to know about it. His response was almost laughable.
"I don't know how this happened. All I know is when I went to sleep last night my computer was on. When I woke up this morning I was in a heap of trouble."
Needless to say, he didn't scan me again (at least not under his account at PSU).
While not yet posted on their website as of 15:07 Eastern Time, www.tuxgames.com will sell RTCW with a linux-based installer.
:)
This is for those folks who want to show their allegience to Linux gaming by purchasing from a company dedicated to bringing it mainstream and properly tallying Linux sales.
I have no affiliation, just a friendly notice.
Corporations don't. That's why DivX was launched. We all knew it was a very bad idea, we just didn't know if Joe Consumer would think so too. Thank goodness he did.
:)
Let's just hope the same Joe Consumer will think Universal's idea is a bad one too. Then we can watch this idea die the same death of DivX. It will take a bit of time perhaps, but when a mass amount of people are inconvenienced, corporations should see the proper monetary repsonse.
I hope
Been an X-File fan for years and originally thought that the loss of Duchovny was irrecoverable.
But...let me just say that Robert Patrick is one damn fine actor. While Mulder's character was far more likeable and what not, Patrick's portrayal of Doggett is superior IMHO. If they could have severed ties to the Scully/Mulder X-Files and just call the Doggett/Reyes X-Files The Next Generation or something - I'd be happy.
The restrictions imposed by continuity and actors disinterested in continuing their roles hamstrung the entire show. Unfortunately, what could have been a more than viable alternative (Doggett/Reyes) is weighed down by the legacy of the show.
Weren't those SGI patents what kept Nvidia from open-sourcing their Linux drivers?
Now with Microsoft owning them, the chance of a fully open-source driver goes...up?...down?...stays the same????
No question about it.
I can say, almost certainly, that's how MTV determines who gets played on shows like TRL, etc. Corporate drones for the record companies either call in, or vote, or do whatever it takes to get their featured artist in the top ten.
I remember when I was in high school, I'd watch an MTV weekly top ten. One friday, Stryper was #1, and on the following Monday they were off the charts. Obviously the record company decided to stop calling in....
If in fact dark matter is matter which exists gravitationally but will not interact w/the EM spectrum, wouldn't you be able to feel it with your hands but not see it? (Provided you have a small bit of it nearby)
:)
Then, couldn't you somehow use this "material" for stealth purposes? Body armor making you invisible, etc. etc.
I find it amusing that as humans, we can only detect the existence of something if we can collide EM particles w/it (photons, etc.) We should rephrase a familiar motto to be "I can interact w/EM particles, therefore I exist."
Like me, someone who lost his static IP for a dynamic one, I'd like to recommend www.dns2go.com.
.d2g.com to point to your dymamic IP, regardless of what it is. Pretty handy.
The have a client (win32, linux, & more) that basically sends a heartbeat to their servers telling them your IP address. You can then setup a user defined domain within their top level
I know this is incredibly selfish, but I'm relishing the thought of my online game habit flourishing again. I haven't bad a good game of Q3 online in months. My apologies to those out in the cold on this one.
Actually, scraping the heatsink isn't so bad. You actually increase the surface area of the heatsink, and as such, increase its effectiveness. The thermal compound is there to fill in the gaps between both micro and macro-scopic "scrapes."
As I type this, I'm downloading Intel's Linux Fortran compiler. While this is slightly off-topic, it will be interesting to see if this free (non-supported version) will compile some code I have that previously relied on Compaq/Digital Fortran's fort26.dll on the Win32 platform (not my code, honest :).
:)
If I can get it to compile on Linux, then I can do a whole host of things my employer previously thought impossible.
Brandon Reinhart (sp?) to be specific.
I am currently running 2.2.18 out of necessity (VPN patch that's not available for 2.2.19). From the article it would seem that until patches are available for your kernel, you can remove the suid (chmod -s) from the newgrp binary. Granted, you won't be able to add any new groups, but I think it would temporarily remove the exploit. Am I correct here?
As a stock holder of TMTA (ugh, lately :), I am a little concerned at their changing strategy. Generally speaking, changing business strategy so early in the game for Trasmeta speaks of trouble. It is especially difficult to come to market and try to play catch up with a product that's similar to what already exists, i.e. notebook cpu market. It is even more difficult to switch business strategies and succeed.
Having stated that, my opinion is that this company will end up succeeding. I have trouble believing that such talented individuals (Ditzel, Torvalds, Taylor, etc.) will end up falling on their faces. As a stock-holder (I bought in @$3), my worst-case scenario is that their technology gets bought by one of the bigger players (AMD, Intel). Best-case scenario is that they finally find a product that utilizes the competitive advantages of the Crusoe processor - whatever that may end up being.
Back in the early days of broadband (1999 for me :) I regularly got pings to most servers in the 40-80 range and was LOVING it. Fast forward 2.5 years and packet loss makes nearly every game unplayable. I can't find any servers under 100ms ping time.
:)
This weekend, I'm going to one of the best, if not the best, lan parties around http://www.gamersgauntlet.com/
They have networking and power consumption down to an art form. They give away prizes (last time a GeForce 2 Pro card was one prize), run tourneys, and all-around provide an excellent time. The staff is friendly and accomodating to everyone's needs. It really can't be beat.
I've hosted a few mini-lans at my house and I have to say that having some networking experience w/Linux has been a great help. Running the games servers on Linux has given me very favorable results (compared to win2k).
It's so sad that I'm 33 years old and addicted to LAN gaming. So sad.
I had that same texture "funkyness" when I played in Linux w/my Voodoo3 2000 PCI.
I ended up fixing it my setting my desktop color resolution to 16-bit AND q3's color resolution to 16-bit. Maybe it'll work for you.