Am I the only person on the planet who played TRON 2.0?
Lemme tell 'ya, the game is fantastic! There's simply nothing about it that isn't great. I rank it as the 2nd best video game I've ever played (after Deus Ex). It is by far the most visually appealing game I've played, hands down. So much so that I suspect that my very concept of aesthetic beauty was probably largely derived from Tron. Some of the environments are so beautiful that I'd have to stop actually playing the game for a minute and just look around.
I've played both Armagetron and GLtron, and love them. When I found out that TRON 2.0 was coming out, and that it includes a light cycles component, I was dubious. How could it improve on what was already available out there for free? Trust me, it does.
As far as the plot of the game goes, I think it's a worthy sequel to the original movie. The story is engaging, and they effectively update the Tron universe to the present day, staying true to the original movie while also explaining how it is that, if the technology to "digitize" people existed in 1982, we aren't zapping people back and forth all the time. I've seen an early draft script that was written for a film sequel to Tron. The TRON 2.0 game is actually better.
The multiplayer modes are fantastic, with 3 distinct types- light cycles, team arena combat (similar to the various game grid battles in the movie, only more playable), and deathmatch (which requires a patch on the PC version).
Obviously I'm more than a bit of a Tron nut. I wrote a light cycle game for the IBM PS/2 as my final project in a high school BASIC programming class back in `88. For the sake of completeness regarding light cycles games, does anyone else remember or have the handheld electronic game that came out? It used an LED display and had three minigames in it, including a light cycle game. Not great by any means, but nifty for the time period. I've got one.:-)
Re:Tron Anniversary DVD & Sony PS2: FYI
on
The Story of Tron
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· Score: 1
I can verify that. I had the same problem. Fantastic DVD set, though. It was clearly put together by people who love the movie. It's extremely comprehensive, and has the coolest animated menus I've ever seen.
When Moses appeared in that episode I was so amazed that I probably drooled all over myself. Suddenly I was 12 again. I couldn't believe that they'd slip in such an (I thought) obscure reference.
For months afterwards, my wife and I would say "No cake for the impurator!" to each other at random times. It's still kind of a running joke with us.
I wouldn't say that I know Elonka, but I've met her numerous times at Dragon*Con, have spoken with her during and after various hacker panels, and even snapped a couple of pix of her (no, not THOSE kinds of pix!).
She's one of the most impressive people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. She's staggeringly intelligent, yet completely approachable and unassuming. She's the only person I've ever met who can discuss quantum cryptography in detail without coming across sounding "high brow". Think of a female Buckaroo Banzai with a better sense of humor and you'll get an idea.
My wife has a strong interest in cryptography, and has made it clear that Elonka is her hero. Personally, I suspect that she (my wife) has a bit of a crush on her, but that's fodder for a different forum.;-)
That was exactly my situation. I saw an ad on TV and was psyched, then found that it won't run on my PowerBook.
Crap.
Not that I'm endorsing license violations, but MAME runs just fine on Macs (as do countless other emulators). Regardless, I think the other commenter has a good point. I'm gonna send 'em e-mail.
I just recently (within the last 2 months) finally got off my butt and started to teach myself electronics. I've been meaning to do this for years, and so far I'm absolutely loving it!
The down side has been in finding components. I wasted an evening going to 3 different Radio Shacks looking for parts. At the 3rd store one of the employees informed me that they no longer carry components at mall stores. *sigh*
The next day I tracked down a non-mall store and stopped in. They do still carry components, and the manager was extremely friendly and helpful, but the selection was much more limited than I'd expected, and I still haven't been able to track down everything I need for the project I'm working on, which I'm afraid is killing the inertia of my new hobby.
At this point that doesn't make sense. To build a space elevator you essentially need two things- a ribbon and a climber system. There are labs all over the world spending significant quantities of both government and private funding to develop longer, stronger, cheaper carbon nanotubes at higher production capacities. There is only one organization working on a climber system, and that's LiftPort.
Additionally, LiftPort is a modest operation. I wouldn't be surprised if the amount spent by just the US government on CNT research in a single day exceeded LiftPort's entire annual budget. If they were to work on CNTs their efforts would be an insignificant drop in the bucket. On the equally important (for a space elevator, anyway) climber system problem they're the only game in town, and can actually make a real difference.
-Cybrex
Re:Every boxed copy of OS X is the complete system
on
OSx86 Cracked Again
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· Score: 1
Be that as it may, that clearly wasn't what the parent post was implying. Someone else made a similar statement elsewhere in this thread specifically with respect to licensing. Since I don't know the details of the OS X EULA I didn't comment.
Every boxed copy of OS X is the complete system
on
OSx86 Cracked Again
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· Score: 1
That's not correct. In fact, I believe it's the other way around, as I've never seen an "upgrade-only" version of OS X. When you buy a copy of Tiger (or Panther, or Jaguar), you're getting a disc with the full OS. When you boot your Mac off of the disc it'll detect if an earlier version of the OS already exists on your hard drive and give you the option of either upgrading the current install, archiving it and doing a clean install of the newer version, or wiping the drive entirely and installing fresh.
Just last week I completely reformatted and repartitioned my older PowerBook, then installed Tiger from a retail box I bought at the local Apple Store. The only component that was missing was the Classic (OS 9) environment (which is included in the restore discs that come with new PPC machines).
Versions of MacOS prior to OS X were sold as just upgrades, but that policy is no longer in effect.
At least my Dad does, anyway (15 years as RAF navigator). As well he should, because your point is correct. "Roger, wilco" conveys the same level of head-in-ass that "Department of Redundancy Department" would if someone sincerely meant it.
Wanna have some fun? Use the word "repeat" instead of "say again" over the radio while anyone with experience in artillery is listening. In the US military at least, the two have very different meanings, and confusing one with the other has (or so I've been told) cost lives.
My story is almost identical to yours. My first computer was a Timex Sinclair ZX-80, followed by a C-64, then an Amiga 1200, then a PC.
I've since switched from the PC to an Apple PowerBook as my primary computer. What's funny is that I still own all of those machines (as well as a few other historical relics I've picked up along the way), and have emulators for each of them on the PowerBook.
I recently (2 weeks ago) upgraded to a newer PowerBook. Just for kicks, over this past weekend I set up the older PB as a "Commodore G4". It auto-logs in with an account that runs the excellent Power64 emulator full-screen at startup, has a screen shot of the 64's startup screen as the desktop wallpaper, and hides everything non-Commodore until you need it. With a couple of Stelladaptors I can even use my old Atari CX40 joysticks. Just hit the power button and in less than a minute you're looking at
I would've killed for a machine like this when I was a kid- a 12" portable C-64 with a built-in display and my entire 64 games library that can run at least 16 C-64s simultaneously at full speed, to say nothing of running every arcade game I loved back then through MAME and every Atari 2600 cartridge ever made through Stella.
Here's some irony for you. I know three people who are all romantically involved with each other (1 male, 2 female) who play WoW together. So in a way I suppose that's not a complete non-issue.
Brilliantly put. As others have correctly stated, yes they're making a business decision, and yes it's their sandbox and their toys. From an ethical standpoint, however, they don't have a leg to stand on, and you've just hit the nail on the head.
It's been mentioned elsewhere but it bears repeating- the PowerBook line was not so named because of the processor. Apple's upper tier laptops were called PowerBooks for some time before Apple decided to migrate to the PPC architecture.
This is clearly a far more important question than all that graviton nonsense, so here's the scoop:
The Yars themselves fired "Energy Missiles", which could damage the shield around the Qotile but couldn't harm the Qotile itself. The weapon used to destroy the Qotile was simply called a "Destroyer Missile", fired by the Zorlon Cannon. The Qotile's weapon was called a "Swirl".
Sheesh. Don't they teach the fundamentals in school anymore?
Honestly, after maybe 30 seconds of "that's not what I normally find here" I don't imagine I'd give it another thought.
Contrary to common opinion, there are geek girls out there, (and for that matter not all of the geek guys are straight). I see no reason why there shouldn't be eye candy for everyone.
I just firmly believe that if its your time to die, you're going to die regardless.
I'm really not sure how to respond to this, as the basic premise is completely alien to me, but since it's a philosophical viewpoint I think that ultimately everyone needs to decide for themselves what value they place on their own life, so I respect your right to make that determination for yourself.
would you really want to get dunked in liquid nitrogen only to wake up many years later in the same old decrepit body suffering of the same arthritis and whatnot?
Given the alternative, YES! However, that's a misrepresentation of the situation. The technology that will enable us to cure old age- doing cellular repair at the molecular level- will be a precursor to the technology that will be required to repair and resuscitate cryonics patients. You won't wake up in a decrepit body.
They would have to find cures for all of your ailments and old age, or they would need to clone you or place your memories and consciousness into a host body (be it organic or otherwise).
Well, yeah. No argument there.
Creepy.
That's a subjective assessment. In my opinion, rotting in the ground and having everything that I've learned and become being reduced to worm food in truly creepy!
I have to ask- do you find organ transplants "creepy"? How about artificial limbs?
And if cryonics ever becomes a real problem
A real problem? Huh? Kindly explain to me how saving lives is a problem. Do you have any suggestions for solving the heart surgery problem or the vaccinations against polio problem? After that maybe we can work on a solution to the problem of doctors washing their hands before operating, since this rampant "problem" is needlessly saving countless lives each year- far more than cryonics will ever hope to!
I'm sure there will be fanatics and anti-corpsiclists (new word) to mob in and torch the homosapien iceboxes.
Fanatics indeed. I'm willing to accept that you feel an urge to die at some divinely-determined time. In return, I respectfully request that you keep the torches and pitchforks to yourself and allow the rest of us to live our lives as we see fit.
Rather than get into a point-by-point debate, I'll simply refer you here to address the specific technical questions: http://www.alcor.org/sciencefaq.htm
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Am I the only person on the planet who played TRON 2.0?
:-)
Lemme tell 'ya, the game is fantastic! There's simply nothing about it that isn't great. I rank it as the 2nd best video game I've ever played (after Deus Ex). It is by far the most visually appealing game I've played, hands down. So much so that I suspect that my very concept of aesthetic beauty was probably largely derived from Tron. Some of the environments are so beautiful that I'd have to stop actually playing the game for a minute and just look around.
I've played both Armagetron and GLtron, and love them. When I found out that TRON 2.0 was coming out, and that it includes a light cycles component, I was dubious. How could it improve on what was already available out there for free? Trust me, it does.
As far as the plot of the game goes, I think it's a worthy sequel to the original movie. The story is engaging, and they effectively update the Tron universe to the present day, staying true to the original movie while also explaining how it is that, if the technology to "digitize" people existed in 1982, we aren't zapping people back and forth all the time. I've seen an early draft script that was written for a film sequel to Tron. The TRON 2.0 game is actually better.
The multiplayer modes are fantastic, with 3 distinct types- light cycles, team arena combat (similar to the various game grid battles in the movie, only more playable), and deathmatch (which requires a patch on the PC version).
Obviously I'm more than a bit of a Tron nut. I wrote a light cycle game for the IBM PS/2 as my final project in a high school BASIC programming class back in `88. For the sake of completeness regarding light cycles games, does anyone else remember or have the handheld electronic game that came out? It used an LED display and had three minigames in it, including a light cycle game. Not great by any means, but nifty for the time period. I've got one.
I can verify that. I had the same problem. Fantastic DVD set, though. It was clearly put together by people who love the movie. It's extremely comprehensive, and has the coolest animated menus I've ever seen.
It's great background music for work. I've got it on my iPod. :-)
When Moses appeared in that episode I was so amazed that I probably drooled all over myself. Suddenly I was 12 again. I couldn't believe that they'd slip in such an (I thought) obscure reference.
For months afterwards, my wife and I would say "No cake for the impurator!" to each other at random times. It's still kind of a running joke with us.
I wouldn't say that I know Elonka, but I've met her numerous times at Dragon*Con, have spoken with her during and after various hacker panels, and even snapped a couple of pix of her (no, not THOSE kinds of pix!).
;-)
She's one of the most impressive people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. She's staggeringly intelligent, yet completely approachable and unassuming. She's the only person I've ever met who can discuss quantum cryptography in detail without coming across sounding "high brow". Think of a female Buckaroo Banzai with a better sense of humor and you'll get an idea.
My wife has a strong interest in cryptography, and has made it clear that Elonka is her hero. Personally, I suspect that she (my wife) has a bit of a crush on her, but that's fodder for a different forum.
What happens when you have 1000 Survivor players log in, and 5 Zombies?
Um... Caiger Mall?
BARHAH, mah zambah braharz!
-Dedboy, er, "Cybrex"
It's H2O. They've been able to specifically identify the Hydrogen and Oxygen, and the ratio is correct.
That was exactly my situation. I saw an ad on TV and was psyched, then found that it won't run on my PowerBook.
Crap.
Not that I'm endorsing license violations, but MAME runs just fine on Macs (as do countless other emulators). Regardless, I think the other commenter has a good point. I'm gonna send 'em e-mail.
Oooh... shiny! Thanks for the tip. I'll name one of my Giant Evil Robots of Doom after you! ;-)
I just recently (within the last 2 months) finally got off my butt and started to teach myself electronics. I've been meaning to do this for years, and so far I'm absolutely loving it!
The down side has been in finding components. I wasted an evening going to 3 different Radio Shacks looking for parts. At the 3rd store one of the employees informed me that they no longer carry components at mall stores. *sigh*
The next day I tracked down a non-mall store and stopped in. They do still carry components, and the manager was extremely friendly and helpful, but the selection was much more limited than I'd expected, and I still haven't been able to track down everything I need for the project I'm working on, which I'm afraid is killing the inertia of my new hobby.
-Cybrex
At this point that doesn't make sense. To build a space elevator you essentially need two things- a ribbon and a climber system. There are labs all over the world spending significant quantities of both government and private funding to develop longer, stronger, cheaper carbon nanotubes at higher production capacities. There is only one organization working on a climber system, and that's LiftPort.
Additionally, LiftPort is a modest operation. I wouldn't be surprised if the amount spent by just the US government on CNT research in a single day exceeded LiftPort's entire annual budget. If they were to work on CNTs their efforts would be an insignificant drop in the bucket. On the equally important (for a space elevator, anyway) climber system problem they're the only game in town, and can actually make a real difference.
-Cybrex
Be that as it may, that clearly wasn't what the parent post was implying. Someone else made a similar statement elsewhere in this thread specifically with respect to licensing. Since I don't know the details of the OS X EULA I didn't comment.
That's not correct. In fact, I believe it's the other way around, as I've never seen an "upgrade-only" version of OS X. When you buy a copy of Tiger (or Panther, or Jaguar), you're getting a disc with the full OS. When you boot your Mac off of the disc it'll detect if an earlier version of the OS already exists on your hard drive and give you the option of either upgrading the current install, archiving it and doing a clean install of the newer version, or wiping the drive entirely and installing fresh.
Just last week I completely reformatted and repartitioned my older PowerBook, then installed Tiger from a retail box I bought at the local Apple Store. The only component that was missing was the Classic (OS 9) environment (which is included in the restore discs that come with new PPC machines).
Versions of MacOS prior to OS X were sold as just upgrades, but that policy is no longer in effect.
-Cybrex
At least my Dad does, anyway (15 years as RAF navigator).
As well he should, because your point is correct. "Roger, wilco" conveys the same level of head-in-ass that "Department of Redundancy Department" would if someone sincerely meant it.
Wanna have some fun? Use the word "repeat" instead of "say again" over the radio while anyone with experience in artillery is listening. In the US military at least, the two have very different meanings, and confusing one with the other has (or so I've been told) cost lives.
-Cybrex
My story is almost identical to yours. My first computer was a Timex Sinclair ZX-80, followed by a C-64, then an Amiga 1200, then a PC.
I've since switched from the PC to an Apple PowerBook as my primary computer. What's funny is that I still own all of those machines (as well as a few other historical relics I've picked up along the way), and have emulators for each of them on the PowerBook.
I recently (2 weeks ago) upgraded to a newer PowerBook. Just for kicks, over this past weekend I set up the older PB as a "Commodore G4". It auto-logs in with an account that runs the excellent Power64 emulator full-screen at startup, has a screen shot of the 64's startup screen as the desktop wallpaper, and hides everything non-Commodore until you need it. With a couple of Stelladaptors I can even use my old Atari CX40 joysticks. Just hit the power button and in less than a minute you're looking at
COMMODORE 64 BASIC V2
64K RAM SYSTEM 38911 BASIC BYTES FREE
READY.
I would've killed for a machine like this when I was a kid- a 12" portable C-64 with a built-in display and my entire 64 games library that can run at least 16 C-64s simultaneously at full speed, to say nothing of running every arcade game I loved back then through MAME and every Atari 2600 cartridge ever made through Stella.
It's truly a beautiful thing.
Point taken. You're absolutely correct, and I bow to your command of the English language. Now get a life. ;-)
-Cybrex
Here's some irony for you. I know three people who are all romantically involved with each other (1 male, 2 female) who play WoW together. So in a way I suppose that's not a complete non-issue.
-Cybrex
Brilliantly put. As others have correctly stated, yes they're making a business decision, and yes it's their sandbox and their toys. From an ethical standpoint, however, they don't have a leg to stand on, and you've just hit the nail on the head.
-Cybrex
Is that the same as Ace of Angels?
It's been mentioned elsewhere but it bears repeating- the PowerBook line was not so named because of the processor. Apple's upper tier laptops were called PowerBooks for some time before Apple decided to migrate to the PPC architecture.
-Cybrex
That's great! You've totally made my day! :-) Thanks for the flashback.
This is clearly a far more important question than all that graviton nonsense, so here's the scoop:
The Yars themselves fired "Energy Missiles", which could damage the shield around the Qotile but couldn't harm the Qotile itself. The weapon used to destroy the Qotile was simply called a "Destroyer Missile", fired by the Zorlon Cannon. The Qotile's weapon was called a "Swirl".
Sheesh. Don't they teach the fundamentals in school anymore?
Honestly, after maybe 30 seconds of "that's not what I normally find here" I don't imagine I'd give it another thought.
Contrary to common opinion, there are geek girls out there, (and for that matter not all of the geek guys are straight). I see no reason why there shouldn't be eye candy for everyone.
I just firmly believe that if its your time to die, you're going to die regardless.
I'm really not sure how to respond to this, as the basic premise is completely alien to me, but since it's a philosophical viewpoint I think that ultimately everyone needs to decide for themselves what value they place on their own life, so I respect your right to make that determination for yourself.
would you really want to get dunked in liquid nitrogen only to wake up many years later in the same old decrepit body suffering of the same arthritis and whatnot?
Given the alternative, YES! However, that's a misrepresentation of the situation. The technology that will enable us to cure old age- doing cellular repair at the molecular level- will be a precursor to the technology that will be required to repair and resuscitate cryonics patients. You won't wake up in a decrepit body.
They would have to find cures for all of your ailments and old age, or they would need to clone you or place your memories and consciousness into a host body (be it organic or otherwise).
Well, yeah. No argument there.
Creepy.
That's a subjective assessment. In my opinion, rotting in the ground and having everything that I've learned and become being reduced to worm food in truly creepy!
I have to ask- do you find organ transplants "creepy"? How about artificial limbs?
And if cryonics ever becomes a real problem
A real problem? Huh? Kindly explain to me how saving lives is a problem. Do you have any suggestions for solving the heart surgery problem or the vaccinations against polio problem? After that maybe we can work on a solution to the problem of doctors washing their hands before operating, since this rampant "problem" is needlessly saving countless lives each year- far more than cryonics will ever hope to!
I'm sure there will be fanatics and anti-corpsiclists (new word) to mob in and torch the homosapien iceboxes.
Fanatics indeed. I'm willing to accept that you feel an urge to die at some divinely-determined time. In return, I respectfully request that you keep the torches and pitchforks to yourself and allow the rest of us to live our lives as we see fit.
-Cybrex
Rather than get into a point-by-point debate, I'll simply refer you here to address the specific technical questions:
http://www.alcor.org/sciencefaq.htm
-Cybrex