It's such a wasted opportunity too. If I get an IM, wouldn't it be sweet if I could click on the notification to bring up the window? Or, better yet, wouldn't it be sweet if I could send a quick reply in the notification bubble itself? Digsby on windows does this and it's pretty fantastic. But no. Instead I have to hunt through my task bar/docky to find the application providing the notification and click on it in order to respond to the notification. Why can't the notification system make it easier to deal with notifications?
So does Trillian. It has bubbles for incoming messages that are out of focus. Click on them and start typing to reply.
It's little things like that which keep me using Windows as my primary OS.
Perhaps I should've read more carefully, but you really did not make it clear.
Sorry. To make it even more confusing. I had different points in different posts, so unless you read both posts, my complaints weren't fleshed out properly.
The first thing I noticed after installing Ubuntu was it makes very loud beeps. Apparently my motherboard has a super loud beep speaker attached, and Linux just loves making it go off for trivial stuff like typing too fast or clicking shutdown. Google informed me that inputrc was the place to mute it.
Since I can hear the beep two stories down across the building, it really had to be muted before I got into other stuff...
Then I noticed my monitor was running at the wrong resolution and refresh rate. I have a 1440x900 monitor, but Ubuntu decided to run it at 1920x1080, if I remember right. Distorted, blurry (it's an old VGA LCD), and in urgent need of fixing, so that was my second task.
After that I actually got to look around and spend time figuring stuff out - but by that point Nautilus had already annoyed me, and I'd become acquainted with sudo and the terminal.
It's painfully obvious to me how the GUI could be improved - prompting for a password rather than failing with an error message.
I think your point about priviledges on Ubuntu vs OSX is interesting, but really, all you have to do is install the right package to extend nautilus and set it up to suit you. Whether they should include it as default is a matter of opinion, mine being that they should for Administrators.
That's my opinion too. Heh... I was quite frustrated with Nautilus before I figured out there were extensions. But now I've gotten used to a lot of terminal stuff.
Regarding the printer - it was supposed to have Linux drivers, but the Linux support was shoddy. Some developer created a driver that works perfect, so I'm using that.
I had to edit xorg.conf because it was failing to detect the supported resolutions and refresh rates for my monitor.
I was trying to copy from the Desktop to/usr/share to install a stability tester. The program was only distributed in a tar file - no.deb package. I read on some blogs that all your programs should go in/usr/share, and indeed, that seems to be where they all are.
I don't consider stability testing very advanced. I had to do that when I was a complete computer newbie, after putting together my very first box. Most of my friends know how to do it, and lots of them are gamers rather than coders.:P Even my mother had to stability test some old DOS business computer.
Indeed, poorly thought out programs are on every OS, but on Windows it seems to be too many options(cluttered GUI) rather than too little, which I prefer. You have to wade through the muck to find what you need, but it's better than finding out the program is useless to you.
Windows have the same problem. Don't have to use the terminal but it's still annoying to have to right click on notepad, run as admin and browse through the open dialog to edit a text file.
Yes, you are correct. I have an equal distaste for Vista!:P
Well, Windows 95 didn't have much of a security model so there was no need for an "admin" button (for better or for worse)
Very true. But my point was more centered around pretty much everything being GUI, rather than 75% of stuff. Sometimes you have to open Boot.ini in notepad, or use regedit, but until Vista if you could find the file you could also save it.
Lets say you need to edit a conf file...
In OSX, it would prompt for a password when saving.
In Linux it fails with an error message. You have to restart your text editor with sudo.
In XP it succeeds.
In Vista+, it... fails? I don't use Vista, so don't know offhand.
My preferred method is OSX's. Next to that I'd take XP, modified a tad. If notepad tries to save boot.ini, and notepad was started from the run box or explorer, allow. If anything else does, deny.;)
Maybe there's a specific place where it doesn't prompt you -- in which case, file a bug. I haven't come across one yet.
My post above details 3 separate situations where it doesn't auto-elevate or prompt.
They're major GUI elements - the Desktop, Nautilus(in particular the/usr/share folder), and gedit on conf files like xorg.conf, inputrc, etc.
I'm using 8.10 right now, and will upgrade to 9.04 in a few days.
It should be. Both because you're playing the "poor me, my post will probably be modded unfairly" game (as a ploy to get sympathy modpoints), and because you clearly have not used a modern Ubuntu, when you make claims like this:
My biggest beef with linux is it doesn't prompt to elevate privs like OSX does. This is an incredible time sink if you're doing something for the first time.
That is flamebait. Read my above post rather than dismissing. Dismissing is just sticking your head in the sand rather than fixing the issues.
I've beta-tested quite a bit of software. I can find bugs/glitches in almost anything, and suggest solutions - but these issues in particular are GUI design choices rather than actual bugs. I have filed bug reports for Ubuntu, but not for these GUI issues.
I really don't understand why people would prefer Windows, all other things being equal.
The first time I set up a network laser printer, it went like this.
1) Click on Printers in the Start Menu. 2) Click "Add Printer" 3) Click Next. 4) Type in IP Address. 5) Click "Have Disk" and point to drivers, which are sitting on the desktop. 6) Done.
Total time taken - almost 3 minutes.
Downloading the drivers went like this:
1) Open Firefox 2) Type in [printer name] drivers in the address bar. (this is an automatic google search) 3) Click download and wait.
Total time taken - around 45-60 seconds.
I assure you that it was not this painless in Linux. In terms of GUIs, I would rate Windows as #1, OSX as #2 (putting priority on stuff relevant to new users), and Linux as #3/#4/#5/etc. (depending on the distro and desktop environment)
Have you ever fired up a modern distro, like Ubuntu? It is possible to use it without once opening up the commandline, except perhaps to copy and paste some commands -- and I think even people paranoid of the commandline know how to copy and paste.
I have. I wrote a post just above, which I'm sure will be modded as flamebait. After all, I slandered Ubuntu's GUI shortfalls, and this is/.
My biggest beef with linux is it doesn't prompt to elevate privs like OSX does. This is an incredible time sink if you're doing something for the first time.
Except it is happening. Try installing a modern Linux distribution, especially a user-friendly one. It will default to runlevel 4 and Gnome, which means you never see a command line unless you go looking for it. Gnome's menu system makes Windows look very complicated by comparison. I'm not a Gnome fan because it's *too* simple for me, but many people (particularly the audience you're targeting) love it.
I'm not so sure of that. I've been running Ubuntu, and I've found many problems and limitations with the GUI. They still haven't figured out what's required to be user friendly towards people used to other operating systems.
But luckily I have a list.
1) Switch to Admin button.
The first time I had to edit xorg.conf, I was very annoyed by having to use the terminal to open it so that it can actually save.
Tip: If the user requested it, the user wanted to edit it. Hide it from view in Nautilus if you want, but after searching it out, opening it, and editing it, at least *prompt* me for my password to save it, if you're not going to give me a button to do it manually.
Oh well. For now, sudo gedit/etc/X11/xorg.conf
2) Switch to Admin button.
There's nothing that peeves me more than a failed file copy. And when I can't copy from my desktop(where I unzipped something) to another folder on my computer, that really annoys me!
I didn't realize the desktop has such strict security. So strict, in fact, that it can't prompt for a password when you try to copy something off it. Instead, it just fails with an error message. Keep in mind the desktop is the default download location. I can't even copy the tar.gz file elsewhere, so it's simpler to re-download it.
Or... I can open the terminal and type sudo cp/home/bikehelmet/Desktop/filename OtherLongDestGoesHere.
3) Switch to Admin button.
It appears your desktop isn't the only high security folder! The first time I installed something in/usr/share, it was quite the challenge! Don't even bother with Nautilus, as short of the "Open Terminal here" optional extension, there's not much it can do. Just go straight to the terminal and type sudo tar -xvvf/home/bikehelmet/Desktop/blahlongtarname_version0.5.1.5.3.6_something.tar/usr/share to unpack the folder into the proper dir.
Now, don't forget to chmod it then make a link and stick it in/usr/bin!
4) Poorly thought out/non-descriptive GUI programs.
I found this thing in the Ubuntu repository called "startupmanager", which is supposed to help get rid of the six extra kernels in my grub boot list.
But... there's no way to manually edit anything. No listbox with +/- add/remove buttons.
All it has is a "Limit the number of kernels" checkbox, and you can enter a number.
Is it going to remove my WinXP or Solaris references from grub!? I can't find any info on how this thing works! So far I've been disappointed by how shortsighted third-party programs are, so I'd bet it'll wipe out the entire boot menu. Gah... looks like gksu gedit/boot/grub/menu.lst is the answer.
My point? Ubuntu, apparently the most friendly desktop linux, still has a long way to go before it has that GUI polish that Microsoft has had since Windows 95.
Don't delude yourself. Linux is wonderful, but if you refuse to acknowledge all the UI shortfalls, they'll never be fixed! I actually believe this is part of the reason GUI progress is so slow in Linux...
If Ubuntu could just be like OSX and prompt for a password (rather than failing with a non-descriptive error message), then I'd be happy.
I've seen well optimized C programs get a 60% speed boost from some arm assembly. 60% is huge - it's hard to believe GCC could be failing so badly.
It's strange that interpreting is faster than JIT compiling in all those tests, but it was true when the article was written, and probably still is.
JamVM is very light on memory usage because of the lack of JIT compilation, which actually enhances performance on low memory devices. You can lose about 15% of your speed from too-frequent garbage collection.
All things considered, it plays to the strengths of the devices it runs on.
I have collapsing arches, and an extra bone near my ankle that blisters.
Without running shoes, my feet hurt!
It took me a while to find shoes that didn't rub the bone, and I went through two pairs of orthotics before I got some good ones - but now my legs don't feel like they're falling off if I run for a while.
JamVM proved that interpreting java can be faster than JIT compiling it. JamVM is the fastest JavaSE-capable JVM for ARM based devices that isn't made by Sun.
It's still way slower than optimized C or assembly, but... GCC is pretty bad at optimizing for ARM, so the difference between C and interpreted java isn't that huge. (maybe 2-4x faster)
when Valve had the pre-release demo of Left 4 Dead, they were testing what happens when thousands of gamers used their brand new matchmaking system
I remember that!
And the answer is: Nothing.
Yep! Nothing happened when thousands of people tried to use the matchmaking system. We all just sat there waiting and waiting until we finally decided to play with friends on local servers.
There's an Oasis in Egypt that's drying up. (Siwa? Can't remember exactly) Once it's gone, all the people living there will either have to move or die.
There's plenty of proof out there. Global warming may not be globally bad, but it sure is shitty for quite a few countries. If you can't see that, you're a buffoon.
I'm most creative between two to four in the morning, as well.
A couple times I've been struggling to solve some problem, like a GUI crash. I can stare at tens of thousands of lines of code all day long, but I won't find it. Then if I re-examine the source files at 2 in the morning, poof, it jumps right out at me. Two hours later I've fixed that bug plus ten others that nobody knew about.
I turn all electronic devices off, except for my computer and a non-buzzing lamp. I sit on an exercise ball and begin.
Sometimes I drift off to other coding tasks; whatever inspires me. Yesterday I created a non-GUI sprite sheet ripper that deals with sprites of different sizes, not laid out properly inside the image. It correctly detects transparency based on shape, how common a colour is, and whether it has extreme values(0, 255).
You drag a sprite sheet onto it, it tries to figure out which sprites are related, and then it splits them to their own files or smaller sheets. Brilliant!
If I add a GUI, it would display to you what it thinks is correct - but I don't really enjoy all that GUI stuff, so I'll probably be lazy and keep it cmdline.
Somehow I doubt my boss will pay me for my work last night.:P
It really depends how rugged he needs it. Some of those laptops can be driven over by tanks or be used to diffuse land mines, but I really think he's looking for something inbetween.
Unfortunately, low power doesn't go very well with 4-core, 8GB RAM, 2-4 HDD system.
And in a laptop formfactor? Easily $10k!
I'm sure someone knows of a company that makes computers like this.
I enjoyed it, but I do enjoy hack'n'slash games. What I enjoyed the most was analyzing how and why the devs did stuff. I've been creating small 2D games(platformers, etc.) as a hobby, so I appreciate how much effort must have gone into the game.
The class system was impressive, but the minor details are what really did it.
TQ was released pretty much bug-free. Around that time most other games were released in crash-prone states, making them unplayable until a patch comes out a month later.
Hellgate London(released ~1 year later) is a perfect example of that era. That thing could crash in 30 minutes in multiplayer on a 32bit system.
The same thing happened to the game Titan Quest. I've never seen a game so stable and masterfully crafted before. The devs listened to the community and actually added features and tweaks to the game just for them.
Yet all the reviews I saw were negative. "Yet another Diablo II rehash", "plagued with crash problems - can't even get past the cave in the starting area". Well, it's a rehash in the way WoW is a rehash of EQ or UO, I suppose.
Unfortunately for them, the guy cracking their DRM failed and didn't care, so every torrented copy crashed 5 mins in. Also, he released it 1 month before TQ went on sale, giving time for thousands of people to download it (millions if it hadn't crashed 5 mins in:P )
Ever since I bought three games that wouldn't run because of DRM, I've been a bigger supporter of Piracy - but seeing my favourite companies go down because of it makes me less happy.:/
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Ubuntu auto-detected everything on my Athlon X2 w/ 8800GS - but on an older fanless Eden fileserver, I had to manually configure xorg.conf.
Looks like you get that pleasure too. ;)
It's such a wasted opportunity too. If I get an IM, wouldn't it be sweet if I could click on the notification to bring up the window? Or, better yet, wouldn't it be sweet if I could send a quick reply in the notification bubble itself? Digsby on windows does this and it's pretty fantastic. But no. Instead I have to hunt through my task bar/docky to find the application providing the notification and click on it in order to respond to the notification. Why can't the notification system make it easier to deal with notifications?
So does Trillian. It has bubbles for incoming messages that are out of focus. Click on them and start typing to reply.
It's little things like that which keep me using Windows as my primary OS.
I download all my ROMs, but I actually own the games.
Close enough. ;)
Perhaps I should've read more carefully, but you really did not make it clear.
Sorry. To make it even more confusing. I had different points in different posts, so unless you read both posts, my complaints weren't fleshed out properly.
The first thing I noticed after installing Ubuntu was it makes very loud beeps. Apparently my motherboard has a super loud beep speaker attached, and Linux just loves making it go off for trivial stuff like typing too fast or clicking shutdown. Google informed me that inputrc was the place to mute it.
Since I can hear the beep two stories down across the building, it really had to be muted before I got into other stuff...
Then I noticed my monitor was running at the wrong resolution and refresh rate. I have a 1440x900 monitor, but Ubuntu decided to run it at 1920x1080, if I remember right. Distorted, blurry (it's an old VGA LCD), and in urgent need of fixing, so that was my second task.
After that I actually got to look around and spend time figuring stuff out - but by that point Nautilus had already annoyed me, and I'd become acquainted with sudo and the terminal.
It's painfully obvious to me how the GUI could be improved - prompting for a password rather than failing with an error message.
I think your point about priviledges on Ubuntu vs OSX is interesting, but really, all you have to do is install the right package to extend nautilus and set it up to suit you. Whether they should include it as default is a matter of opinion, mine being that they should for Administrators.
That's my opinion too. Heh... I was quite frustrated with Nautilus before I figured out there were extensions. But now I've gotten used to a lot of terminal stuff.
Regarding the printer - it was supposed to have Linux drivers, but the Linux support was shoddy. Some developer created a driver that works perfect, so I'm using that.
I had to edit xorg.conf because it was failing to detect the supported resolutions and refresh rates for my monitor.
I was trying to copy from the Desktop to /usr/share to install a stability tester. The program was only distributed in a tar file - no .deb package. I read on some blogs that all your programs should go in /usr/share, and indeed, that seems to be where they all are.
I don't consider stability testing very advanced. I had to do that when I was a complete computer newbie, after putting together my very first box. Most of my friends know how to do it, and lots of them are gamers rather than coders. :P Even my mother had to stability test some old DOS business computer.
Indeed, poorly thought out programs are on every OS, but on Windows it seems to be too many options(cluttered GUI) rather than too little, which I prefer. You have to wade through the muck to find what you need, but it's better than finding out the program is useless to you.
Windows have the same problem. Don't have to use the terminal but it's still annoying to have to right click on notepad, run as admin and browse through the open dialog to edit a text file.
Yes, you are correct. I have an equal distaste for Vista! :P
Well, Windows 95 didn't have much of a security model so there was no need for an "admin" button (for better or for worse)
Very true. But my point was more centered around pretty much everything being GUI, rather than 75% of stuff. Sometimes you have to open Boot.ini in notepad, or use regedit, but until Vista if you could find the file you could also save it.
Lets say you need to edit a conf file...
In OSX, it would prompt for a password when saving.
In Linux it fails with an error message. You have to restart your text editor with sudo.
In XP it succeeds.
In Vista+, it... fails? I don't use Vista, so don't know offhand.
My preferred method is OSX's. Next to that I'd take XP, modified a tad. If notepad tries to save boot.ini, and notepad was started from the run box or explorer, allow. If anything else does, deny. ;)
Maybe there's a specific place where it doesn't prompt you -- in which case, file a bug. I haven't come across one yet.
My post above details 3 separate situations where it doesn't auto-elevate or prompt.
They're major GUI elements - the Desktop, Nautilus(in particular the /usr/share folder), and gedit on conf files like xorg.conf, inputrc, etc.
I'm using 8.10 right now, and will upgrade to 9.04 in a few days.
It should be. Both because you're playing the "poor me, my post will probably be modded unfairly" game (as a ploy to get sympathy modpoints), and because you clearly have not used a modern Ubuntu, when you make claims like this:
My biggest beef with linux is it doesn't prompt to elevate privs like OSX does. This is an incredible time sink if you're doing something for the first time.
That is flamebait. Read my above post rather than dismissing. Dismissing is just sticking your head in the sand rather than fixing the issues.
I've beta-tested quite a bit of software. I can find bugs/glitches in almost anything, and suggest solutions - but these issues in particular are GUI design choices rather than actual bugs. I have filed bug reports for Ubuntu, but not for these GUI issues.
I really don't understand why people would prefer Windows, all other things being equal.
The first time I set up a network laser printer, it went like this.
1) Click on Printers in the Start Menu.
2) Click "Add Printer"
3) Click Next.
4) Type in IP Address.
5) Click "Have Disk" and point to drivers, which are sitting on the desktop.
6) Done.
Total time taken - almost 3 minutes.
Downloading the drivers went like this:
1) Open Firefox
2) Type in [printer name] drivers in the address bar. (this is an automatic google search)
3) Click download and wait.
Total time taken - around 45-60 seconds.
I assure you that it was not this painless in Linux. In terms of GUIs, I would rate Windows as #1, OSX as #2 (putting priority on stuff relevant to new users), and Linux as #3/#4/#5/etc. (depending on the distro and desktop environment)
Have you ever fired up a modern distro, like Ubuntu? It is possible to use it without once opening up the commandline, except perhaps to copy and paste some commands -- and I think even people paranoid of the commandline know how to copy and paste.
I have. I wrote a post just above, which I'm sure will be modded as flamebait. After all, I slandered Ubuntu's GUI shortfalls, and this is /.
My biggest beef with linux is it doesn't prompt to elevate privs like OSX does. This is an incredible time sink if you're doing something for the first time.
A very frustrating GUI flaw.
Except it is happening. Try installing a modern Linux distribution, especially a user-friendly one. It will default to runlevel 4 and Gnome, which means you never see a command line unless you go looking for it. Gnome's menu system makes Windows look very complicated by comparison. I'm not a Gnome fan because it's *too* simple for me, but many people (particularly the audience you're targeting) love it.
I'm not so sure of that. I've been running Ubuntu, and I've found many problems and limitations with the GUI. They still haven't figured out what's required to be user friendly towards people used to other operating systems.
But luckily I have a list.
1) Switch to Admin button.
The first time I had to edit xorg.conf, I was very annoyed by having to use the terminal to open it so that it can actually save.
Tip: If the user requested it, the user wanted to edit it. Hide it from view in Nautilus if you want, but after searching it out, opening it, and editing it, at least *prompt* me for my password to save it, if you're not going to give me a button to do it manually.
Oh well. For now, sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf
2) Switch to Admin button.
There's nothing that peeves me more than a failed file copy. And when I can't copy from my desktop(where I unzipped something) to another folder on my computer, that really annoys me!
I didn't realize the desktop has such strict security. So strict, in fact, that it can't prompt for a password when you try to copy something off it. Instead, it just fails with an error message. Keep in mind the desktop is the default download location. I can't even copy the tar.gz file elsewhere, so it's simpler to re-download it.
Or... I can open the terminal and type sudo cp /home/bikehelmet/Desktop/filename OtherLongDestGoesHere.
3) Switch to Admin button.
It appears your desktop isn't the only high security folder! The first time I installed something in /usr/share, it was quite the challenge! Don't even bother with Nautilus, as short of the "Open Terminal here" optional extension, there's not much it can do. Just go straight to the terminal and type sudo tar -xvvf /home/bikehelmet/Desktop/blahlongtarname_version0.5.1.5.3.6_something.tar /usr/share to unpack the folder into the proper dir.
Now, don't forget to chmod it then make a link and stick it in /usr/bin!
4) Poorly thought out/non-descriptive GUI programs.
I found this thing in the Ubuntu repository called "startupmanager", which is supposed to help get rid of the six extra kernels in my grub boot list.
But... there's no way to manually edit anything. No listbox with +/- add/remove buttons.
All it has is a "Limit the number of kernels" checkbox, and you can enter a number.
Is it going to remove my WinXP or Solaris references from grub!? I can't find any info on how this thing works! So far I've been disappointed by how shortsighted third-party programs are, so I'd bet it'll wipe out the entire boot menu. Gah... looks like gksu gedit /boot/grub/menu.lst is the answer.
My point? Ubuntu, apparently the most friendly desktop linux, still has a long way to go before it has that GUI polish that Microsoft has had since Windows 95.
Don't delude yourself. Linux is wonderful, but if you refuse to acknowledge all the UI shortfalls, they'll never be fixed! I actually believe this is part of the reason GUI progress is so slow in Linux...
If Ubuntu could just be like OSX and prompt for a password (rather than failing with a non-descriptive error message), then I'd be happy.
I'm waiting for these guys to finish their magical battery!
(not sarcasm! - I am waiting for a non-degrading-ultra-capacitor electric vehicle.)
http://bugblogger.com/java-vms-compared-160/
Nothing is as you'd expect on ARM.
I've seen well optimized C programs get a 60% speed boost from some arm assembly. 60% is huge - it's hard to believe GCC could be failing so badly.
It's strange that interpreting is faster than JIT compiling in all those tests, but it was true when the article was written, and probably still is.
JamVM is very light on memory usage because of the lack of JIT compilation, which actually enhances performance on low memory devices. You can lose about 15% of your speed from too-frequent garbage collection.
All things considered, it plays to the strengths of the devices it runs on.
I hate people like you.
I have collapsing arches, and an extra bone near my ankle that blisters.
Without running shoes, my feet hurt!
It took me a while to find shoes that didn't rub the bone, and I went through two pairs of orthotics before I got some good ones - but now my legs don't feel like they're falling off if I run for a while.
Conclusion: I need running shoes to run.
JamVM proved that interpreting java can be faster than JIT compiling it. JamVM is the fastest JavaSE-capable JVM for ARM based devices that isn't made by Sun.
It's still way slower than optimized C or assembly, but... GCC is pretty bad at optimizing for ARM, so the difference between C and interpreted java isn't that huge. (maybe 2-4x faster)
Monster cables cost roughly the same amount from the warehouse as other brands.
All my CAT5e is Monster. Where else would I go for 100ft/$10?
I should really be buying 1000ft at a time and crimping it myself, but I'm lazy, and it's not worth saving $20.
when Valve had the pre-release demo of Left 4 Dead, they were testing what happens when thousands of gamers used their brand new matchmaking system
I remember that!
And the answer is: Nothing.
Yep! Nothing happened when thousands of people tried to use the matchmaking system. We all just sat there waiting and waiting until we finally decided to play with friends on local servers.
Proof?
There's an Oasis in Egypt that's drying up. (Siwa? Can't remember exactly) Once it's gone, all the people living there will either have to move or die.
There's plenty of proof out there. Global warming may not be globally bad, but it sure is shitty for quite a few countries. If you can't see that, you're a buffoon.
I'm most creative between two to four in the morning, as well.
A couple times I've been struggling to solve some problem, like a GUI crash. I can stare at tens of thousands of lines of code all day long, but I won't find it. Then if I re-examine the source files at 2 in the morning, poof, it jumps right out at me. Two hours later I've fixed that bug plus ten others that nobody knew about.
I turn all electronic devices off, except for my computer and a non-buzzing lamp. I sit on an exercise ball and begin.
Sometimes I drift off to other coding tasks; whatever inspires me. Yesterday I created a non-GUI sprite sheet ripper that deals with sprites of different sizes, not laid out properly inside the image. It correctly detects transparency based on shape, how common a colour is, and whether it has extreme values(0, 255).
You drag a sprite sheet onto it, it tries to figure out which sprites are related, and then it splits them to their own files or smaller sheets. Brilliant!
If I add a GUI, it would display to you what it thinks is correct - but I don't really enjoy all that GUI stuff, so I'll probably be lazy and keep it cmdline.
Somehow I doubt my boss will pay me for my work last night. :P
Click Options and switch your posting mode to "Plain Old Text"
That'll convert newlines to br HTML tags and stuff.
I don't know of a laptop like that, but I've seen PDAs and micro-tablets that meet those criteria.
It really depends how rugged he needs it. Some of those laptops can be driven over by tanks or be used to diffuse land mines, but I really think he's looking for something inbetween.
Unfortunately, low power doesn't go very well with 4-core, 8GB RAM, 2-4 HDD system.
And in a laptop formfactor? Easily $10k!
I'm sure someone knows of a company that makes computers like this.
I played through it once.
I enjoyed it, but I do enjoy hack'n'slash games. What I enjoyed the most was analyzing how and why the devs did stuff. I've been creating small 2D games(platformers, etc.) as a hobby, so I appreciate how much effort must have gone into the game.
The class system was impressive, but the minor details are what really did it.
TQ was released pretty much bug-free. Around that time most other games were released in crash-prone states, making them unplayable until a patch comes out a month later.
Hellgate London(released ~1 year later) is a perfect example of that era. That thing could crash in 30 minutes in multiplayer on a 32bit system.
This is so typical.
The same thing happened to the game Titan Quest. I've never seen a game so stable and masterfully crafted before. The devs listened to the community and actually added features and tweaks to the game just for them.
Yet all the reviews I saw were negative. "Yet another Diablo II rehash", "plagued with crash problems - can't even get past the cave in the starting area". Well, it's a rehash in the way WoW is a rehash of EQ or UO, I suppose.
Unfortunately for them, the guy cracking their DRM failed and didn't care, so every torrented copy crashed 5 mins in. Also, he released it 1 month before TQ went on sale, giving time for thousands of people to download it (millions if it hadn't crashed 5 mins in :P )
Ever since I bought three games that wouldn't run because of DRM, I've been a bigger supporter of Piracy - but seeing my favourite companies go down because of it makes me less happy. :/
Most Valve games have incredible replay value, similar to most Blizzard games. ;)
CSS, TF2... my favourite is definitely L4D. I don't think it's overpriced, but I'd still be happier if I had paid $25 for it rather than $50!