I'm very concerned about this. With the console market so strong (and why not, with the cost of a PS2/Xbox system less than just an average-quality video card), I don't see any way a game company can afford NOT to develop for a console. And so will we see the end of games like Starcraft that really can't work as effectively without better UI?
I really hope not, but we've already seen posts about Deus Ex II having a crappy interface that parallels that required for a console.
I had an opportunity to play Metroid Prime recently, given all its hype. I was very impressed with the game from graphics to story, but I got too frustrated by the controls. I couldn't stop thinking how easy these things I was TRYING to do were on a keyboard/mouse combo, but were complicated on the console by trying to press three buttons at once while moving one or another stick. So I scrapped it for Tony Hawk, which is totally suited to a joystick/controller.
consider this: what fraction of the molecular content within you (including your brain) will be there within a year? Replacing one liver, one cell, or one amino acid at a time...philosophically no different, although biologically very different. A proton is a proton, provided it gets put back in the right place.:)
I think there is a problem with target mass markets. The big money-making movies rarely crack the surface of important issues. And frankly, Joe and Josette movie-goer rarely WANT to be alerted to social/economic/global issues. At the end of a long work week, most people want to escape to an air-conditioned megaplex to see Senator Arnie nuke some aliens (a guilty pleasure we almost all want).
But I agree that we need to balance such popcorn ventures with thought-provoking movies about global issues, told not just from a North American standpoint. Perhaps European game companies should pushing their industry the same way European movie houses do the movie industry. I imagine the global market would like to see games that improve the human condition.
With a world of good gaming stories out there, why recycle rankings/awards annually? Has the best FPS of 1995 suddenly changed!?!? Is there an old game found on the editting-room floor?!!? I propose a ban on these pointless stories.
And besides, I question the "good natured attitude" of Duke-Nukem 3D. If memory serves it has women dancing for money..."gimme some sugar"?
I could produce a ranking totally different and equally pointless. I suppose people who like the Oscars like these sorts of things. If you call this whining, try to justify these stories instead, AC.
Is anyone else getting tired of these monthly polls that rank the top games, FPS, strange NPCs, in-game music, text-based games, etc. etc. of all time? How many times must we slice and dice the past? Contemporize!:)
I just bought a new ATI card. When I read that nVidia is the better choice for Doom 3, I wonder "Hrm, maybe I should just stick with HalfLife 2 and skip Doom altogether." No way am I forking out for a new videocard again...might as well buy a console and sit by the TV. In reality, the differences between cards may be small, but there is a two-edged sword with these company claims.
Why even post these mock technology articles. New weapons will always be created, so don't go glorifying them as some great application of the mind...it just makes the miliary look scared of getting their hands dirty.
Besides, these weapons really don't provide the U.S. with much greater power than it already has. And it doesn't provide any greater protection against home-made pipe bombs, snipers and ricin in the reservoir.
Keep in mind the motivation for this is not convenience but greater profit. They will not lower prices, but instead pocket the money otherwise spent on production, packaging, shipping, shelving, mark-up, etc. So my question is: what's the added value of this approach? I can order games from Amazon already that arrive within days, so it's not the convenience. And I'm lucky enough to walk down the street 10 minutes to an EB Games. In order to have your company's game carried by a major distribution outlet (e.g., EB Games), you normally agree NOT to sell the game for cheaper than the distributor. I'd prefer the hardcopy thanks. Many people do; this is why games include large unfolding maps and cute figurines.
This clarification on the Lego website is a direct result of Slashdot. I read the original posting that Mindstorm may be discontinued and sent the article to my wife who is a primary organizer for the First Lego League here in Canada. She in turn sent it up the chain of command until it reached First in the US and then Lego. Lego responded with this clarification. So thank you Slashdot for providing the start of this process.
I work in a hospital in Toronto. There were almost NO facilities or services that functioned in the early parts of the blackout. Would you claim phones are a critical infrastructure? It's true that they worked during the power outage, but very quickly all the phone networks were too congested to provide service - this lasted for several hours. Radio stations continued to broadcast until their backups ran out and we were left with dead air. Thankfully, the hospitals had sufficient emergency generation to support several days without external power, but I wonder how could such a heavy power consumer as the internet rely on backup? It is really a question of "how many other essential services require internet connectivity during a blackout", because every citizen surely doesn't need it right now.
Slashdot Mirror
Muscle doubling in cattle with the same gene was publishedin 1997, with extraordinary photos of a Belgian Blue bull: HERE
Here's an interesting list of alternate forms of weaponry, some realized and others speculative.
Here
It's a small point, but it's a small "i" (ATi).
Similar to an older story?
Hey, stop using janitors as some lowest-common-denominator! Rather "The language was so simple even programmers could use it."
The JLO
Don't forget Octave, a Matlab-like but free data analysis/plotting program. It can directly run most of what you've already programmed for Matlab.
Although there ARE other things that "AXA" stands for as seen here
This reminds me of Field Programmable Gate Arrays. Can someone explain the difference?
I wonder if they pay royalties to Spinmaster Toys:
Air Hogs
I'm very concerned about this. With the console market so strong (and why not, with the cost of a PS2/Xbox system less than just an average-quality video card), I don't see any way a game company can afford NOT to develop for a console. And so will we see the end of games like Starcraft that really can't work as effectively without better UI?
:)
I really hope not, but we've already seen posts about Deus Ex II having a crappy interface that parallels that required for a console.
I had an opportunity to play Metroid Prime recently, given all its hype. I was very impressed with the game from graphics to story, but I got too frustrated by the controls. I couldn't stop thinking how easy these things I was TRYING to do were on a keyboard/mouse combo, but were complicated on the console by trying to press three buttons at once while moving one or another stick. So I scrapped it for Tony Hawk, which is totally suited to a joystick/controller.
Please tell me that PC gaming will live forever
consider this: what fraction of the molecular content within you (including your brain) will be there within a year? Replacing one liver, one cell, or one amino acid at a time...philosophically no different, although biologically very different. A proton is a proton, provided it gets put back in the right place. :)
I think there is a problem with target mass markets. The big money-making movies rarely crack the surface of important issues. And frankly, Joe and Josette movie-goer rarely WANT to be alerted to social/economic/global issues. At the end of a long work week, most people want to escape to an air-conditioned megaplex to see Senator Arnie nuke some aliens (a guilty pleasure we almost all want).
But I agree that we need to balance such popcorn ventures with thought-provoking movies about global issues, told not just from a North American standpoint. Perhaps European game companies should pushing their industry the same way European movie houses do the movie industry. I imagine the global market would like to see games that improve the human condition.
With a world of good gaming stories out there, why recycle rankings/awards annually? Has the best FPS of 1995 suddenly changed!?!? Is there an old game found on the editting-room floor?!!? I propose a ban on these pointless stories.
And besides, I question the "good natured attitude" of Duke-Nukem 3D. If memory serves it has women dancing for money..."gimme some sugar"?
I could produce a ranking totally different and equally pointless. I suppose people who like the Oscars like these sorts of things. If you call this whining, try to justify these stories instead, AC.
Is anyone else getting tired of these monthly polls that rank the top games, FPS, strange NPCs, in-game music, text-based games, etc. etc. of all time? How many times must we slice and dice the past? Contemporize! :)
I just bought a new ATI card. When I read that nVidia is the better choice for Doom 3, I wonder "Hrm, maybe I should just stick with HalfLife 2 and skip Doom altogether." No way am I forking out for a new videocard again...might as well buy a console and sit by the TV. In reality, the differences between cards may be small, but there is a two-edged sword with these company claims.
Why even post these mock technology articles. New weapons will always be created, so don't go glorifying them as some great application of the mind...it just makes the miliary look scared of getting their hands dirty.
Besides, these weapons really don't provide the U.S. with much greater power than it already has. And it doesn't provide any greater protection against home-made pipe bombs, snipers and ricin in the reservoir.
Keep in mind the motivation for this is not convenience but greater profit. They will not lower prices, but instead pocket the money otherwise spent on production, packaging, shipping, shelving, mark-up, etc. So my question is: what's the added value of this approach? I can order games from Amazon already that arrive within days, so it's not the convenience. And I'm lucky enough to walk down the street 10 minutes to an EB Games. In order to have your company's game carried by a major distribution outlet (e.g., EB Games), you normally agree NOT to sell the game for cheaper than the distributor. I'd prefer the hardcopy thanks. Many people do; this is why games include large unfolding maps and cute figurines.
From Serious Sam to Serious Scam...
This was previously reported here on slashdot. Remember: coffee before posting.
This clarification on the Lego website is a direct result of Slashdot. I read the original posting that Mindstorm may be discontinued and sent the article to my wife who is a primary organizer for the First Lego League here in Canada. She in turn sent it up the chain of command until it reached First in the US and then Lego. Lego responded with this clarification. So thank you Slashdot for providing the start of this process.
I work in a hospital in Toronto. There were almost NO facilities or services that functioned in the early parts of the blackout. Would you claim phones are a critical infrastructure? It's true that they worked during the power outage, but very quickly all the phone networks were too congested to provide service - this lasted for several hours. Radio stations continued to broadcast until their backups ran out and we were left with dead air. Thankfully, the hospitals had sufficient emergency generation to support several days without external power, but I wonder how could such a heavy power consumer as the internet rely on backup? It is really a question of "how many other essential services require internet connectivity during a blackout", because every citizen surely doesn't need it right now.
main site is down, but more images / text
here.
Offtopic troll alert!
/. and get rejected. Nice level of QC. I'm done.
What's the deal...I submit these same stories days in advance of when they make it onto
2003-03-07 14:25:55 National News Archives Translated to Internet (articles,news) (rejected)
2003-09-24 18:30:56 e-Paper...now with colour video (articles,science) (rejected)
Text here and images here.
...or perhaps he's getting paid a huge wad of cash.
Most people, and therefore employees, are also idiots.