$276 for a system specced out at Newegg.com (yes, there are cheaper places online, but none as reputable). The kicker is video - most of the posts I've seen on this thread have generic onboard video, which is easily outclassed by the Xbox. This system would have been competitive pricewise if it didn't need a GF3/GF4 class video card with TV out.
Here's the specs. Here's a mirrored copy of the cart if you feel like shopping.
Dynapower Model# METIS CS-I3ALB.701 (Light-Blue) ATX MID-TOWER CASE w/ 300W POWER SUPPLY -2 x USB RETAIL : $22.00 Aopen Internal EIDE 16X DVD ROM / 40X Max CD-ROM Drive Beige RETAIL : $28.00 Seagate 30GB 7200rpm EIDE Hard Drive Barracuda V ST330013A - OEM : $50.00 SimpleTech (Simple Technologies) 128MB DDR PC2100 - OEM : $22.00 ECS K7S5A PRO USB 2.0 SiS® 735 SOCKET A MOTHERBOARD - RETAIL Back Plate Included : $47.00 AMD DURON 1.2GHZ Socket A PGA Processor -OEM : $34.00 VGA CHAINTECH A-GX20 TI-4200 64MB 8X VGA & TV-OUT. RETAIL BOX : $95.00
Subtotal : $298.00
It's pretty nice, but nothing beats getting a nice computer in a pretty box and with a fun controller for $179, subsidized by Bill Gates himself.
No need for a new keyboard - a remap is all you need. The single-handed Dvorak layouts are built into Windows, Linux, and probably OSX. Even though I have the use of both hands, I've considered learning left-handed Dvorak so I don't have to lift my right hand from the mouse.
From this website about one-handed keyboarding: In 1945, during World War II, Colonel Robert Allen lost his right arm. Being a writer, he now found typing nearly impossible. He contacted August Dvorak and asked for help. Using his previous research, August developed keyboard layouts for one handed typists. These are known as the Dvorak left hand layout and the Dvorak right hand layout. A few months after using the Dvorak left hand layout, the Colonel was typing over 50 WPM.
I think I figured out what's missing from the 3D. Detail. There's so much detail in the 2D concept work and even the 320x200 graphics of the original game. It's very very hard to do 3D with that kind of detail.
Grim Fandango was great, but I believe it was created with the 3D aesthetic from the start. This version of Sam & Max just seemed like it was slapped into a 3D engine.
Anyway, I should stop passing judgement until I see the actual game, which probably won't come out for a long, long time.
The 2D concept art drawings on the page have much more character and whimsy than the 3D screenshots. To quote max from the end of the trailer, "Eh, it's been done." It's as if they're making it 3D simply because 2D doesn't sell any more.
Will there ever be a 2D adventure game ever again?
(Prompted from discussion on a certain IRC channel...)
That thing is still on the books? The bill that caused a LARGE portion of the 'net to go black for 48 hours in 1995? The bill that started the EFF's blue ribbon campaign? I thought the bill was ruled unconstitutional, or were just the "evil" parts?
Check out 3D Gamers. Someone mentioned them in the Unreal 2 demo thread. Clicked and started downloading right away for both. They seem to have all the latest big game downloads.
The Via C3 series is pretty anemic, especially in the FPU department. The Nehemiah series has a vastly improved FPU, but the current generation of Hush systems don't use them.
In any case, if MPEG2 is what you want, the Hauppage WinTV PVR-250 offers hardware MPEG2 compression. They just got basic support for it in MythTV in Linux, too. Linux support for the EPIA's onboard MPEG2 decoder is forthcoming as well (Alan Cox has one).
My only issue would be the AC97-based onboard sound. Hopefully VIA comes out with this board soon - it has the very high quality Envy24 24/96 sound chip on it. A lot of "semi-pro" recording cards like those from M-Audio use the Envy24 series. One good feature is lack of resampling on the SPDIF output.
Interesting! Is it still a 101-key 'extended' keyboard?
I, too, pilfered a PS/2 cable from a younger Model M for my trusty steed. It's kind of cool using it and knowing it's a REAL PS/2 connector. No phony connectors here, bub! I also have an original PS/2 mouse but I'd have to say they got the ergonomics on those pretty much wrong.
A few people have suggested the Canon Powershot series - while they're semi-durable, they really aren't ruggedized, and underwater enclosures are expensive and clunky.
I used to be a sysadmin at an engineering company where our engineers would often need to take pictures out on job sites, and we found the perfect camera for the job: the Kodak DC5000. The interface is simple, they're 2MP, and they're tough as nails. They're weatherproof and could probably survive a dunk into water as all the doors and buttons are rubber sealed. There's a protective tube to protect the lens when it's extended. Battery life is pretty decent, and it works great on AA NiMH rechargables. Also, if you're in the field and you absolutely need power you can always stop by a 7-11 and get some AA alkalines.
Unfortunately Kodak no longer makes them, and there's been a service recall because a few people have gotten shocked while changing batteries. It's a shame Kodak (or anyone else) doesn't make a camera like this any more, especially in the 3MP+ range. There's a chance you could find one on eBay.
10-JUL-86. Came as original equipment with an IBM AT. Has the square metal IBM logo in the upper right hand corner instead of the plastic IBM logo in the upper left.
I just installed these on my Windows machine. The monospace font is excellent. Until now I haven't seen a decent TTF monospace font that was properly hinted to keep it from looking horrible at 9pt, but still nice and smooth at large sizes.
The Lucida Sans monospace font that came with Windows pales in comparison to Vera Sans Mono, even though the Lucida family was supposedly designed with bitmap screens in mind.
It'll also be sharing the name of the so-called "bum wine" Thunderbird.
A radio jingle for perhaps the Gallos' most notorious product went like this: "What's the word?/Thunderbird/ How's it sold?/ Good and cold/What's the jive?/ Bird's alive/ What's the price?/ Thirty twice." According to author Ellen Hawkes, who wrote an unauthorized history of the Gallo family called Blood and Wine, Ernest later delighted in telling the story of driving through a tough, inner city neighborhood. Seeing a man on the sidewalk, Gallo rolled down his window and called out, "What's the word?" The immediate answer was, "Thunderbird."
How did you find out that the system used was Blackboard?
Look for an AT&T or Blackboard logo on the devices that you swipe your ID through. (Soda machines, POS terminals, dining halls, copy machines...)
My university (University of Missouri) has TONS of these things. And most of them are totally unsecure. The RS-485 lines are there, ripe for the picking. I've seen many soda machines and copiers, many in low-traffic areas, simply plugged into an RJ11 jack in the wall with no conduit protecting it. It's ridiculous.
(BTW, I'm typing this on an IBM Model M with a born-on date of July 10, 1986.)
Check out Unicomp - they bought the rights from Lexmark to make the ol' Model M and still make them to this day. They're a bit expensive but they're the only place for brand new Model Ms.
Also, Qtopia is open source... I think I want a Qtopia device now:-D (Although none really have the capabilities of my Clie NX70:)
Go out and buy a Sharp Zaurus. It has a 206Mhz StrongArm, keyboard, SD slot, and a CF slot that accepts memory, cameras, ethernet, WiFi, and Bluetooth cards. What does the NX70 have over that, other than a built-in camera?
The Zaurus SL-5500 is a good PDA and an even better "handheld computer." The SL-5600M will be even more capable when it is released.
Discount Laptops is another online vendor that sells laptops made by the same ODMs that provide Dell, Toshiba, and others with their laptops. The good thing about this is that the ODMs don't put Windows on their machines.
In contrast to previous seasons, this year we are looking for individual applicants who are skilled at putting together sophisticated machinery and not afraid of getting their hands dirty.
I'm a bit worried about the 'individual applicants' part. Part of what makes JYW/SHC so great is the camaraderie of the teams. With a few exceptions, they're a delight to see working together as one.
I'm concerned about throwing a group of people together. Are they wanting to introduce more "reality TV" elements in by putting strangers together? The show TLC show "Escape from Experiment Island" is like this, and it absolutely stinks (for that and other contrived "reality TV"-like elements).
Slashdot Mirror
Crap! So that's why I've been frying CPUs left and right....
$276 for a system specced out at Newegg.com (yes, there are cheaper places online, but none as reputable). The kicker is video - most of the posts I've seen on this thread have generic onboard video, which is easily outclassed by the Xbox. This system would have been competitive pricewise if it didn't need a GF3/GF4 class video card with TV out.
Here's the specs. Here's a mirrored copy of the cart if you feel like shopping.
Dynapower Model# METIS CS-I3ALB.701 (Light-Blue) ATX MID-TOWER CASE w/ 300W POWER SUPPLY -2 x USB RETAIL : $22.00
Aopen Internal EIDE 16X DVD ROM / 40X Max CD-ROM Drive Beige RETAIL : $28.00
Seagate 30GB 7200rpm EIDE Hard Drive Barracuda V ST330013A - OEM : $50.00
SimpleTech (Simple Technologies) 128MB DDR PC2100 - OEM : $22.00
ECS K7S5A PRO USB 2.0 SiS® 735 SOCKET A MOTHERBOARD - RETAIL Back Plate Included : $47.00
AMD DURON 1.2GHZ Socket A PGA Processor -OEM : $34.00
VGA CHAINTECH A-GX20 TI-4200 64MB 8X VGA & TV-OUT. RETAIL BOX : $95.00
Subtotal : $298.00
It's pretty nice, but nothing beats getting a nice computer in a pretty box and with a fun controller for $179, subsidized by Bill Gates himself.
No need for a new keyboard - a remap is all you need. The single-handed Dvorak layouts are built into Windows, Linux, and probably OSX. Even though I have the use of both hands, I've considered learning left-handed Dvorak so I don't have to lift my right hand from the mouse.
From this website about one-handed keyboarding: In 1945, during World War II, Colonel Robert Allen lost his right arm. Being a writer, he now found typing nearly impossible. He contacted August Dvorak and asked for help. Using his previous research, August developed keyboard layouts for one handed typists. These are known as the Dvorak left hand layout and the Dvorak right hand layout. A few months after using the Dvorak left hand layout, the Colonel was typing over 50 WPM.
Everyone's favorite SSH/Telnet program for Windows, PuTTY, is a possible future option. A MacOS port is forthcoming. If you're brave, preliminary support is in CVS right now.
(In other Non-MacOS-related PuTTY news, you can also get a PuTTY-based xterm replacement for X if you fancy its emulation better: pterm).
Finally, after more than 30 years and being spun off of Xerox, PARC finally comes up with a product involving copiers. And it's absolutely useless.
I think I figured out what's missing from the 3D. Detail. There's so much detail in the 2D concept work and even the 320x200 graphics of the original game. It's very very hard to do 3D with that kind of detail.
Grim Fandango was great, but I believe it was created with the 3D aesthetic from the start. This version of Sam & Max just seemed like it was slapped into a 3D engine.
Anyway, I should stop passing judgement until I see the actual game, which probably won't come out for a long, long time.
The 2D concept art drawings on the page have much more character and whimsy than the 3D screenshots. To quote max from the end of the trailer, "Eh, it's been done." It's as if they're making it 3D simply because 2D doesn't sell any more.
Will there ever be a 2D adventure game ever again?
(Prompted from discussion on a certain IRC channel...)
That thing is still on the books? The bill that caused a LARGE portion of the 'net to go black for 48 hours in 1995? The bill that started the EFF's blue ribbon campaign? I thought the bill was ruled unconstitutional, or were just the "evil" parts?
Check out 3D Gamers. Someone mentioned them in the Unreal 2 demo thread. Clicked and started downloading right away for both. They seem to have all the latest big game downloads.
The Via C3 series is pretty anemic, especially in the FPU department. The Nehemiah series has a vastly improved FPU, but the current generation of Hush systems don't use them.
In any case, if MPEG2 is what you want, the Hauppage WinTV PVR-250 offers hardware MPEG2 compression. They just got basic support for it in MythTV in Linux, too. Linux support for the EPIA's onboard MPEG2 decoder is forthcoming as well (Alan Cox has one).
My only issue would be the AC97-based onboard sound. Hopefully VIA comes out with this board soon - it has the very high quality Envy24 24/96 sound chip on it. A lot of "semi-pro" recording cards like those from M-Audio use the Envy24 series. One good feature is lack of resampling on the SPDIF output.
Interesting! Is it still a 101-key 'extended' keyboard?
I, too, pilfered a PS/2 cable from a younger Model M for my trusty steed. It's kind of cool using it and knowing it's a REAL PS/2 connector. No phony connectors here, bub! I also have an original PS/2 mouse but I'd have to say they got the ergonomics on those pretty much wrong.
A few people have suggested the Canon Powershot series - while they're semi-durable, they really aren't ruggedized, and underwater enclosures are expensive and clunky.
I used to be a sysadmin at an engineering company where our engineers would often need to take pictures out on job sites, and we found the perfect camera for the job: the Kodak DC5000. The interface is simple, they're 2MP, and they're tough as nails. They're weatherproof and could probably survive a dunk into water as all the doors and buttons are rubber sealed. There's a protective tube to protect the lens when it's extended. Battery life is pretty decent, and it works great on AA NiMH rechargables. Also, if you're in the field and you absolutely need power you can always stop by a 7-11 and get some AA alkalines.
Unfortunately Kodak no longer makes them, and there's been a service recall because a few people have gotten shocked while changing batteries. It's a shame Kodak (or anyone else) doesn't make a camera like this any more, especially in the 3MP+ range. There's a chance you could find one on eBay.
10-JUL-86. Came as original equipment with an IBM AT. Has the square metal IBM logo in the upper right hand corner instead of the plastic IBM logo in the upper left.
Beat that.
I found a howto guide here though it looks like it replaces all usage of Lucida Console with Vera Mono. It's worth a try.
I just installed these on my Windows machine. The monospace font is excellent. Until now I haven't seen a decent TTF monospace font that was properly hinted to keep it from looking horrible at 9pt, but still nice and smooth at large sizes.
The Lucida Sans monospace font that came with Windows pales in comparison to Vera Sans Mono, even though the Lucida family was supposedly designed with bitmap screens in mind.
It was in Montreal in 1995 and 1996. It's still sorta around, at naid.net though it's only really about coding now.
There have been other smaller North American parties, but nothing approaching the size of NAID.
It'll also be sharing the name of the so-called "bum wine" Thunderbird.
/Thunderbird/ How's it sold?/ Good and cold/What's the jive?/ Bird's alive/ What's the price?/ Thirty twice." According to author Ellen Hawkes, who wrote an unauthorized history of the Gallo family called Blood and Wine, Ernest later delighted in telling the story of driving through a tough, inner city neighborhood. Seeing a man on the sidewalk, Gallo rolled down his window and called out, "What's the word?" The immediate answer was, "Thunderbird."
A radio jingle for perhaps the Gallos' most notorious product went like this: "What's the word?
How did you find out that the system used was Blackboard?
Look for an AT&T or Blackboard logo on the devices that you swipe your ID through. (Soda machines, POS terminals, dining halls, copy machines...)
My university (University of Missouri) has TONS of these things. And most of them are totally unsecure. The RS-485 lines are there, ripe for the picking. I've seen many soda machines and copiers, many in low-traffic areas, simply plugged into an RJ11 jack in the wall with no conduit protecting it. It's ridiculous.
Why would one want to use it in a home setup?
Because slightly obsolete FC hardware is DIRT CHEAP on eBay. That, and it's kind of fun to install some "enterprise level" hardware at home.
(BTW, I'm typing this on an IBM Model M with a born-on date of July 10, 1986.)
Check out Unicomp - they bought the rights from Lexmark to make the ol' Model M and still make them to this day. They're a bit expensive but they're the only place for brand new Model Ms.
Guys, we really know that THIS is the real XXX-box.
Or maybe THIS is the real one!
TechTV already has Serial Experiments: Lain. I was pretty shocked when I was flipping through the channels and I saw it.
It's amazing that totally obtuse anime like Lain and Evangelion are making it to 'mainstream' cable TV now.
Also, Qtopia is open source... I think I want a Qtopia device now :-D (Although none really have the capabilities of my Clie NX70 :)
Go out and buy a Sharp Zaurus. It has a 206Mhz StrongArm, keyboard, SD slot, and a CF slot that accepts memory, cameras, ethernet, WiFi, and Bluetooth cards. What does the NX70 have over that, other than a built-in camera?
The Zaurus SL-5500 is a good PDA and an even better "handheld computer." The SL-5600M will be even more capable when it is released.
Discount Laptops is another online vendor that sells laptops made by the same ODMs that provide Dell, Toshiba, and others with their laptops. The good thing about this is that the ODMs don't put Windows on their machines.
In contrast to previous seasons, this year we are looking for individual applicants who are skilled at putting together sophisticated machinery and not afraid of getting their hands dirty.
I'm a bit worried about the 'individual applicants' part. Part of what makes JYW/SHC so great is the camaraderie of the teams. With a few exceptions, they're a delight to see working together as one.
I'm concerned about throwing a group of people together. Are they wanting to introduce more "reality TV" elements in by putting strangers together? The show TLC show "Escape from Experiment Island" is like this, and it absolutely stinks (for that and other contrived "reality TV"-like elements).