This guy writes like he saw Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and now Hunter S Thompson is his writing hero. Unfortunatley, he doesn't have the talent needed for that style of writing. Basically, he got high and went to a trade show.
But what happens when the legal department loses it's first case? Here's a likely situation. The government decides it needs protect us by listening you talk to your friends in your car. You know, just in case you're a terrorist. And since the GPS is always on, why not have your car's location get tagged whenever certain 'key phrases' are overheard. Of course, this will have to be done without alerting the driver or passengers that they're being listened to and tracked, otherwise the terrorists will never talk openly. While we're at it, better make this tech mandatory...i mean 'standard' on all new vehicles.
It's already being done on phone calls, this would be the next logical step.
Every IT person I've known has acted like a tyrant. Without exception. I figure that it stems from them getting beat down as geeky kids and now that they have some power, they're gonna use it. They know they could upgrade that server in a heartbeat, but they also know that you want them to. I've seen request for password changes take a week. And god forbid they have to fix something that doesnt work. It's easier to display power by denying something from someone than granting it.
That 'When its done' crap was ok 10 years ago when it meant something, but now it's just a cop out meaning they don't want to announce a release date because they're falling behind. They know the release date because they had to tell Sony. Do you believe for a second that when the money guys from Sony were about to sign the check and asked when they could expect to see a game , Epic looked them in the eyes and said 'When it's done'? Hell no. Mark Reign said 'We'll be ready to ship on XXX,XX,2006...and dont forget to dot the 'i' in Epic.'
15gb for extras isn't a lot of room at all, especially when a lot of 'special editions' have hours of extras. If the extras are in HD, then they'll be limited to an hour or so. Otherwise, you're talking about having multiple disc sets. And what about when HD TV shows hit the market? 2-3 episodes of Lost per disc plus a few featurettes and it could come out to a 7-8 discs. Kinda like we have now.
Not at first anyway. Sony dropped a bombshell on it's partners when they stated that the 50gb discs wont be available at launch, and probably not for a while. So content producers will have to make do with the 25gb discs. Sony also said that they're sticking with Mpeg2 to encode. This isn't good, because using Mpeg2 at a high bitrate most of the disc is taken up by the movie and it doesn't leave much space for the extras. And all that extra space was a big reason companies choose BluRay over HD-DVD and most already planned on filling up the discs. Looks like Sony pulled a bait and switch on a lot of big companies.
HD-DVD will use VC1 or Mpeg4 which will give the same quality picture and using a lot less space. So even though on paper, BluRay has better specs, in real life HD-DVD will allow more stuff on a disc.
It's an automatic radar gun. Sits on the side of the road and waits for speeders. Takes a picture, and a few weeks later (fortnight?) you get a ticket in the mail.
When all the tech stuff started, the people who knew how all of it worked guarded that knowledge like it was the holy grail. Computer Labs were kept locked, when something broke they would rush in, move you away while they fixed it. And when asked what they did to fix it, the answer would be some roundabout gobbledy gook designed to make themselves look like geniuses while keeping the user in the dark. After a while, people stopped asking how and why.
But now the complaint is that the next generation is ignorant? Thats how you wanted it. Now it's time to deal with the consequences.
It took them from 1961-1969 to get to the moon the first time. 8 years. In the freaking 60's when everyone thought -plastic- was a gift from God and micro computers were stuff from fantasy land.
But now, it's gonna take them 13 years to do the same damn thing? It's 50 years later. At this point NASA should be able to say 'We're going to the moon Next week. And we figure to have a Mars Mission launching in time to get the promo toys on the shelves before Christmas.'
2018? By that time Carmarck will be taking digital pics on Phobos to use as textures for DOOM 7.
Everytime NASA announces anything they prove that they're so far behind the curve it's laughable.
It took them from 1961-1969 to get to the moon the first time. 8 years. In the freaking 60's when everyone thought -plastic- was a gift from God and micro computers were stuff from fantasy land.
But now, it's gonna take them 13 years to do the same damn thing? It's 50 years later. At this point NASA should be able to say 'We're going to the moon Next week. And we figure to have a Mars Mission launching in time to get the promo toys on the shelves before Christmas.'
2018? By that time Carmarck will be taking digital pics on Phobos to use as textures for DOOM 7.
Everytime NASA announces anything they prove that they're so far behind the curve it's laughable.
A lot of business have wide open wireless networks, either intentionally or because of poor security. When will the cops bust into the local Century 21 office and arrest everyone because they never put a password on thier router?
The last line of the article makes it sound like downloading movies is something that everyone does but just don't 'admit' to.
Could it be that most people would rather spend the $4-$8 on a rental or $10-$18 to buy a movie instead of going through the still complicated steps to find, download and burn a dvd of a low quality bootleg?
Movie piracy over the net in the US is vastly overrated.
It shouldn't be too hard to get something that 'looks' like it's tracking an intruder. Stick 4 motion sensors on the front with a narrow beam and have a motor turn the turret to whichever sensor was tripped. It probably couldnt handle tracking a horde of aliens but it should be enough to convince a little brother to fear it.
That was incredible. It's a shame this type of thing isn't considered a sport. (If Street Luge and SkyDiving are sports, then so is SF). Mad props to both players.
Just on the surface, you gotta side with the hot twins. Acclaim could've easily made half decent games and plopped the MK&A brand on it. Olsen Twins Bedazzled, Olsen Twins Music Trivia, Olsen Twins Pictionary. No one was looking for Halflife level Olsen Twins games, but Acclaim, as usual, screwed it up by releasing drek. In thier defense though, Acclaim has released nothing but crap since 1998 so maybe the twins should've seen it coming.
D (waiting for the inevitable Maxim spread they'll do to promote New York Minute)
I got the idea into my head a while back that my PC would do everything. I'd have every piece of electronic and entertainment equipment in one box. I would be able to watch DVDs, TV, play CDs and MP3s, fake Tivo, Fax machine, answering machine all from my PC. All controlled via remote and piped to my TV.
It would be incredible.
Then I realized that I already had all of that stuff and it all worked perfectly. Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.
I don't believe that for a second. To cheat online, you usually have to go through a fair amount of work (to mod your console) or shell out cash(Gameshark). Someone that's good at the game isn't doing that. People who cheat are people who either can't compete on a level playing field(real or imagined) or enjoy ruining the game for others. If you really believe that there aren't people who take a huge delight in screwing up someone else's game, then you're living in a fantasy world.
The pro-sports metaphor doesn't work. There's always a huge uproar. Remember when McGuire was on Creatine? How about when Sosa got caught with a corked bat? Those incidents weren't swept under the rug. Online cheating is even worse because it directly affects -me-, not some abtract city/team. It's my game being ruined. It's MY time thats being wasted. And it's not because someone simply wants an edge. It's because the cheater can't or won't compete with everyone else.
If what you say is true, then cheaters would happily leave a game when asked, or start their own servers labeled 'cheating allowed'. But instead they claim innocence or that the other players are the ones with a problem because after all, it's just a game.
Looks like they're trying to bring back the Nuon. The Nuon played DVD's, CD, and games. An SDK was released and a few homebrew apps have been released for it, too. Maybe this has a better chance of survival than the Nuon did, but it'll be an uphill battle. The guys at VMLabs learned the hard way that consumers and developers both hate machines that aren't quite PCs and aren't quite consoles.
The Sega rep is right. They make better games than EA but the marketing and name recognition of Madden (which somehow filters to the rest of their sports line) is overpowering. If Sega is going to compete, they need to ramp up advertising.
Slashdot Mirror
This guy writes like he saw Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and now Hunter S Thompson is his writing hero. Unfortunatley, he doesn't have the talent needed for that style of writing. Basically, he got high and went to a trade show.
D
But what happens when the legal department loses it's first case? Here's a likely situation. The government decides it needs protect us by listening you talk to your friends in your car. You know, just in case you're a terrorist. And since the GPS is always on, why not have your car's location get tagged whenever certain 'key phrases' are overheard. Of course, this will have to be done without alerting the driver or passengers that they're being listened to and tracked, otherwise the terrorists will never talk openly. While we're at it, better make this tech mandatory...i mean 'standard' on all new vehicles.
It's already being done on phone calls, this would be the next logical step.
D
Robotron 2084 and Lllamatron both say 'Hi'.
D
Every IT person I've known has acted like a tyrant. Without exception. I figure that it stems from them getting beat down as geeky kids and now that they have some power, they're gonna use it. They know they could upgrade that server in a heartbeat, but they also know that you want them to. I've seen request for password changes take a week. And god forbid they have to fix something that doesnt work. It's easier to display power by denying something from someone than granting it.
It's payback, plain and simple.
D
That 'When its done' crap was ok 10 years ago when it meant something, but now it's just a cop out meaning they don't want to announce a release date because they're falling behind. They know the release date because they had to tell Sony. Do you believe for a second that when the money guys from Sony were about to sign the check and asked when they could expect to see a game , Epic looked them in the eyes and said 'When it's done'? Hell no. Mark Reign said 'We'll be ready to ship on XXX,XX,2006...and dont forget to dot the 'i' in Epic.'
When it's done my ass.
D
15gb for extras isn't a lot of room at all, especially when a lot of 'special editions' have hours of extras. If the extras are in HD, then they'll be limited to an hour or so. Otherwise, you're talking about having multiple disc sets. And what about when HD TV shows hit the market? 2-3 episodes of Lost per disc plus a few featurettes and it could come out to a 7-8 discs. Kinda like we have now.
D
One company announce shipping of sample isnt the same as being available in decent quantities.
http://videobusiness.com/article/CA6288668.html
D
Not at first anyway. Sony dropped a bombshell on it's partners when they stated that the 50gb discs wont be available at launch, and probably not for a while. So content producers will have to make do with the 25gb discs. Sony also said that they're sticking with Mpeg2 to encode. This isn't good, because using Mpeg2 at a high bitrate most of the disc is taken up by the movie and it doesn't leave much space for the extras. And all that extra space was a big reason companies choose BluRay over HD-DVD and most already planned on filling up the discs. Looks like Sony pulled a bait and switch on a lot of big companies.
HD-DVD will use VC1 or Mpeg4 which will give the same quality picture and using a lot less space. So even though on paper, BluRay has better specs, in real life HD-DVD will allow more stuff on a disc.
D
It's an automatic radar gun. Sits on the side of the road and waits for speeders. Takes a picture, and a few weeks later (fortnight?) you get a ticket in the mail.
D
Atari, the makers of I Robot and Hard Drivin, say hello.
D
Looks like Blue Blockers really work. And here I was thinking $40 for a pair of sunglasses was a ripoff.
D
When all the tech stuff started, the people who knew how all of it worked guarded that knowledge like it was the holy grail. Computer Labs were kept locked, when something broke they would rush in, move you away while they fixed it. And when asked what they did to fix it, the answer would be some roundabout gobbledy gook designed to make themselves look like geniuses while keeping the user in the dark. After a while, people stopped asking how and why.
But now the complaint is that the next generation is ignorant? Thats how you wanted it. Now it's time to deal with the consequences.
D
It took them from 1961-1969 to get to the moon the first time. 8 years. In the freaking 60's when everyone thought -plastic- was a gift from God and micro computers were stuff from fantasy land.
But now, it's gonna take them 13 years to do the same damn thing? It's 50 years later. At this point NASA should be able to say 'We're going to the moon Next week. And we figure to have a Mars Mission launching in time to get the promo toys on the shelves before Christmas.'
2018? By that time Carmarck will be taking digital pics on Phobos to use as textures for DOOM 7.
Everytime NASA announces anything they prove that they're so far behind the curve it's laughable.
D
--
Everything is better with a Laser
It took them from 1961-1969 to get to the moon the first time. 8 years. In the freaking 60's when everyone thought -plastic- was a gift from God and micro computers were stuff from fantasy land.
But now, it's gonna take them 13 years to do the same damn thing? It's 50 years later. At this point NASA should be able to say 'We're going to the moon Next week. And we figure to have a Mars Mission launching in time to get the promo toys on the shelves before Christmas.'
2018? By that time Carmarck will be taking digital pics on Phobos to use as textures for DOOM 7.
Everytime NASA announces anything they prove that they're so far behind the curve it's laughable.
D
A lot of business have wide open wireless networks, either intentionally or because of poor security. When will the cops bust into the local Century 21 office and arrest everyone because they never put a password on thier router?
D
The last line of the article makes it sound like downloading movies is something that everyone does but just don't 'admit' to.
Could it be that most people would rather spend the $4-$8 on a rental or $10-$18 to buy a movie instead of going through the still complicated steps to find, download and burn a dvd of a low quality bootleg?
Movie piracy over the net in the US is vastly overrated.
D
The producers of 'The Iron Giant' say hi.
D
Doesnt the author actually live on the check he receives from Valve for working on the Steam project?
D
It shouldn't be too hard to get something that 'looks' like it's tracking an intruder. Stick 4 motion sensors on the front with a narrow beam and have a motor turn the turret to whichever sensor was tripped. It probably couldnt handle tracking a horde of aliens but it should be enough to convince a little brother to fear it.
D
That was incredible. It's a shame this type of thing isn't considered a sport. (If Street Luge and SkyDiving are sports, then so is SF). Mad props to both players.
D
Just on the surface, you gotta side with the hot twins. Acclaim could've easily made half decent games and plopped the MK&A brand on it. Olsen Twins Bedazzled, Olsen Twins Music Trivia, Olsen Twins Pictionary. No one was looking for Halflife level Olsen Twins games, but Acclaim, as usual, screwed it up by releasing drek. In thier defense though, Acclaim has released nothing but crap since 1998 so maybe the twins should've seen it coming.
D
(waiting for the inevitable Maxim spread they'll do to promote New York Minute)
I got the idea into my head a while back that my PC would do everything. I'd have every piece of electronic and entertainment equipment in one box. I would be able to watch DVDs, TV, play CDs and MP3s, fake Tivo, Fax machine, answering machine all from my PC. All controlled via remote and piped to my TV.
It would be incredible.
Then I realized that I already had all of that stuff and it all worked perfectly. Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.
D
I don't believe that for a second. To cheat online, you usually have to go through a fair amount of work (to mod your console) or shell out cash(Gameshark). Someone that's good at the game isn't doing that. People who cheat are people who either can't compete on a level playing field(real or imagined) or enjoy ruining the game for others. If you really believe that there aren't people who take a huge delight in screwing up someone else's game, then you're living in a fantasy world.
The pro-sports metaphor doesn't work. There's always a huge uproar. Remember when McGuire was on Creatine? How about when Sosa got caught with a corked bat? Those incidents weren't swept under the rug. Online cheating is even worse because it directly affects -me-, not some abtract city/team. It's my game being ruined. It's MY time thats being wasted. And it's not because someone simply wants an edge. It's because the cheater can't or won't compete with everyone else.
If what you say is true, then cheaters would happily leave a game when asked, or start their own servers labeled 'cheating allowed'. But instead they claim innocence or that the other players are the ones with a problem because after all, it's just a game.
D
Looks like they're trying to bring back the Nuon. The Nuon played DVD's, CD, and games. An SDK was released and a few homebrew apps have been released for it, too. Maybe this has a better chance of survival than the Nuon did, but it'll be an uphill battle. The guys at VMLabs learned the hard way that consumers and developers both hate machines that aren't quite PCs and aren't quite consoles.
D
The Sega rep is right. They make better games than EA but the marketing and name recognition of Madden (which somehow filters to the rest of their sports line) is overpowering. If Sega is going to compete, they need to ramp up advertising.
D