While this is probably sound advice, I think the fact that this is almost necessary is a sad commentary on the state of the world in general. Soon we're going to end up with people needing insurance to step outside of their home just incase they happen to offend the wrong person.
Well, being the masochist that I am, I went to Fountain Valley, and did stick it out until the end. I was one of the last people who actually got a copy of the game, and there were still people behind me, so the fears about running out were correct. They offered posters (which could be signed) to those who didn't get the game...
Half the reason I went was for the craziness of a few thousand nerds at Fry's in the middle of the night (or early morning - didn't get out of there until 4am).
I seem to be experiencing the same problem in Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, which also uses the Source engine. Hopefully the same solutions can be applied there.
While it doesn't apply to all non-hybrids, H2's in particular probably cause a lot more road wear and tear than a Prius would, just due to the weight difference. So unless they plan to account for that to, it still doesn't really balance out.
quoth sahonen: "Let me know when you find electronic music that can make you cry or fall in love or get that amazing "that rocked so much" feeling when you hear a great performace."
Okay - here's one for you: VNV Nation. (the one song they actually have on the site is an old remix and not representative of their work really). Maybe not for everyone, but they put on the most amazing live show I've seen, and it's pure electronics with vocals. Quite literally life-changing for me.
I see no problem with looking to interesting sources for sound. While I do agree there's plenty of possible songs possible with 'traditional' means, I think finding interesting ways to produce the sounds is an entirely viable option. In GOOD electronic music, not only does the musician compose the song, but they effectively create the sound it's played with. There are more ways to produce pleasing sounds than just strings and breath.
Though I admit that just making the interesting noises is not that amazing to me, musically. They have to be used well, by passionate musicians.
Actually, based on how much it would hurt open source software, and small vendors, I think Gates at least (if not the others) would love this idea. The main reason being that it raises the barrier to entry. Microsoft can afford all the testing it wants, but OSS projects, and small developers could not. It would just increase the stranglehold Gates & Co. already have.
I don't watch TV at all. No cable, not even an antenna on the TV that is here for PS2 use in the bedroom. Call me crazy, but I'd rather spend my time doing something interactive.
My news comes from websites, not the evening TV News. At least web news is at my own pace, rather than me having to wait through a bunch of pointless information to see the one or two things I care about.
If I want to "veg out" I pick a relatively mindless game to play. To me that's still better than just staring mindlessly at talking heads, or various contrived shows.
The current crop of TV shows does not encourage me to return to watching it either. Why do I need 'reality' TV? I already deal with enough reality on a day to day basis. Games offer new worlds to explore, and in some cases new people to actually meet and interact with. Rather than just watching another life, you can LIVE another life.
I don't miss it in the slightest. The few shows that are even close to being worth watching don't justify cable bills. It's not that I can't afford it, I just don't feel there's enough value in it. My roommates had cable in my previous apartment, which I made little to no use of, now that it's just me and my significant other, we don't have any form of TV reception, and my life is better for it.
When I was in elementary school my teachers would not LET me turn in handwritten assignments anymore due to my god awful handwriting. It actually probably contributed to my interest in computers since I often sat at one of the class computers typing my work...
Of course I still can't write cursive for the life of me (my printing is not so good either).
In a way you are correct, but the initial ruling here is the thing that makes me 'indignant' about the whole thing. The judge effectively saying that video games were not even worthy of protection as free speech is totally ridiculous. It reinforces my opinion that people who probably have never touched a game control in their lives have no business regulating them. It's just the opinion of someone who just assumes game must be utterly worthless, with no facts or experience to base it on. That kind of thing just cannot be the law of the land, at least not in anyplace in which I would care to live.
I would not outright object to limiting sales of particularly graphic games (though even that is questionable because you get companies like EA that will not publish 'M-rated' titles anymore), though I think doing it voluntarily ala the movie industry is better than having it regulated by law. But having it set as legal precedent that games are worthless, as opposed to the art form I see them (okay well some of them) as definitely justifies indignation.
Excellent points. Though the problem I see with the perspective 5-6 year development cycle, is that the only companies which can afford to put that into a product will be the MS's of the world. A new company won't be able to stay running long enough to put out their product especially since financial people (investors and such) often seem to see nothing but the short term bottom line. An unproven company will not get backing for something that will come out in 5-6 years. But MS et al. as we all know can afford to lose money on a longer dev cycle.
I admit, I am an eternal pessimist, but that's just how things look to me.
Yeah it looks like the general idea in terms of pricing is $0.99 per track, albums such as 'Blue Lines' which are less than ten tracks are priced at the per track rate. Other albums that are ten tracks or over can be purchased for $9.99, or the tracks individually for $0.99. There do seem to be some exceptions to this, and some tracks (for example 'Orbus Terrarum' by The Orb, which has 7 tracks) are limited to album purchase only. I'm not entirely sure what all the pricing criteria are yet, but I think that's the general idea.
Say what you will about the whole file format debate and such, but the service works very nicely. To try it out I fired up my newly downloaded iTunes 4, set up my account, found something that interests me (Massive Attack's Blue Lines, cd I had meant to get but never got around to it) and bought it for $8.91 for the whole album.
The tracks where then downloaded to my library, after which I burned a copy of the disc, and had it transfered to my iPod. Sound quality is good so far, though I haven't gotten to listen to it on my good speakers at home yet. The album cover art and such is downloaded with the album and displayed with the tracks in iTunes. Not the same as the physical thing, but it's something.
The selection could definitely use some work (hopefully it will expand to include more indie lables and such over time), but as for the service in general it works very well. The protection is minimal when you think about it - unlimited cd burns means you can re-mp3 it easily if you desire. There's no way the big labels would've let them do something like this in a totally opened way, so this is not too bad.
My usual procedure when buying a cd is to bring it home, throw it in my cd-rom and wait for it to rip, then do the iPod transfer, and if it's a cd deemed worthy I put the disc in my car changer. This cuts out the whole ripping step (replaced with downloading though), and saves the trouble of having to go to a store, or wait for an online place to ship to me. I can't see myself using it too much right now honestly, but if the selection improves it will be a good way to grab songs.
ExInferus
Re:carrying on after wilbur and orville
on
To the Moon, Alice
·
· Score: 2
Yes, he may well make quite a big impact on the world should this not go favorably... a noble goal nontheless:>.
Actually those people who paid $30 for the beta received $30 off of the OS X final. Granted they did not say so before hand, but essentially the beta cost has gone towards the price of the final.
If Halo is (and it seems like it will be) made an X-Box exclusive title, won't it be old news by the time the X-Box launches for Christmas 2001? It does look amazing, but everyone else will probably have caught up by then. It may not be entirely obsolete, but it probably won't be anything that special. Even if they don't make it exclusive to X-Box you can bet the PC/Mac version (if either exist) will be delayed until the X-Box is ready to go.
As a side note, I'm sorry to see one of the few awesome independant developers destroyed like this. They used to have such a great attitude and style, but now they'll just be part of the collective. They've lost at least one loyal customer today.
The amusing thing about the comparison is that M$ bought FASA Interactive (makers of Shadowrun computer and console games), and cancelled the Shadowrun title that was being worked on at the time. Suppose they didn't want anyone to get any anti-megacorp ideas...
Slashdot Mirror
While this is probably sound advice, I think the fact that this is almost necessary is a sad commentary on the state of the world in general. Soon we're going to end up with people needing insurance to step outside of their home just incase they happen to offend the wrong person.
I'm stopping there before this turns into a rant.
Well, being the masochist that I am, I went to Fountain Valley, and did stick it out until the end. I was one of the last people who actually got a copy of the game, and there were still people behind me, so the fears about running out were correct. They offered posters (which could be signed) to those who didn't get the game...
Half the reason I went was for the craziness of a few thousand nerds at Fry's in the middle of the night (or early morning - didn't get out of there until 4am).
--
ExInferus
I seem to be experiencing the same problem in Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, which also uses the Source engine. Hopefully the same solutions can be applied there.
While it doesn't apply to all non-hybrids, H2's in particular probably cause a lot more road wear and tear than a Prius would, just due to the weight difference. So unless they plan to account for that to, it still doesn't really balance out.
quoth sahonen: "Let me know when you find electronic music that can make you cry or fall in love or get that amazing "that rocked so much" feeling when you hear a great performace."
Okay - here's one for you: VNV Nation. (the one song they actually have on the site is an old remix and not representative of their work really). Maybe not for everyone, but they put on the most amazing live show I've seen, and it's pure electronics with vocals. Quite literally life-changing for me.
I see no problem with looking to interesting sources for sound. While I do agree there's plenty of possible songs possible with 'traditional' means, I think finding interesting ways to produce the sounds is an entirely viable option. In GOOD electronic music, not only does the musician compose the song, but they effectively create the sound it's played with. There are more ways to produce pleasing sounds than just strings and breath.
Though I admit that just making the interesting noises is not that amazing to me, musically. They have to be used well, by passionate musicians.
But that is only because the legal world is backwards and will not keep up with current technology.
To some degree I can see why, but I think there's an element of "this is the way we've always done it" in there.
--
ExInferus
Actually, based on how much it would hurt open source software, and small vendors, I think Gates at least (if not the others) would love this idea. The main reason being that it raises the barrier to entry. Microsoft can afford all the testing it wants, but OSS projects, and small developers could not. It would just increase the stranglehold Gates & Co. already have.
--ExInferus
I don't watch TV at all. No cable, not even an antenna on the TV that is here for PS2 use in the bedroom. Call me crazy, but I'd rather spend my time doing something interactive.
My news comes from websites, not the evening TV News. At least web news is at my own pace, rather than me having to wait through a bunch of pointless information to see the one or two things I care about.
If I want to "veg out" I pick a relatively mindless game to play. To me that's still better than just staring mindlessly at talking heads, or various contrived shows.
The current crop of TV shows does not encourage me to return to watching it either. Why do I need 'reality' TV? I already deal with enough reality on a day to day basis. Games offer new worlds to explore, and in some cases new people to actually meet and interact with. Rather than just watching another life, you can LIVE another life.
I don't miss it in the slightest. The few shows that are even close to being worth watching don't justify cable bills. It's not that I can't afford it, I just don't feel there's enough value in it. My roommates had cable in my previous apartment, which I made little to no use of, now that it's just me and my significant other, we don't have any form of TV reception, and my life is better for it.
--ExInferus
When I was in elementary school my teachers would not LET me turn in handwritten assignments anymore due to my god awful handwriting. It actually probably contributed to my interest in computers since I often sat at one of the class computers typing my work...
Of course I still can't write cursive for the life of me (my printing is not so good either).
ExInferus
In a way you are correct, but the initial ruling here is the thing that makes me 'indignant' about the whole thing. The judge effectively saying that video games were not even worthy of protection as free speech is totally ridiculous. It reinforces my opinion that people who probably have never touched a game control in their lives have no business regulating them. It's just the opinion of someone who just assumes game must be utterly worthless, with no facts or experience to base it on. That kind of thing just cannot be the law of the land, at least not in anyplace in which I would care to live.
I would not outright object to limiting sales of particularly graphic games (though even that is questionable because you get companies like EA that will not publish 'M-rated' titles anymore), though I think doing it voluntarily ala the movie industry is better than having it regulated by law. But having it set as legal precedent that games are worthless, as opposed to the art form I see them (okay well some of them) as definitely justifies indignation.
--
ExInferus
Excellent points. Though the problem I see with the perspective 5-6 year development cycle, is that the only companies which can afford to put that into a product will be the MS's of the world. A new company won't be able to stay running long enough to put out their product especially since financial people (investors and such) often seem to see nothing but the short term bottom line. An unproven company will not get backing for something that will come out in 5-6 years. But MS et al. as we all know can afford to lose money on a longer dev cycle.
I admit, I am an eternal pessimist, but that's just how things look to me.
ExInferus
Yeah it looks like the general idea in terms of pricing is $0.99 per track, albums such as 'Blue Lines' which are less than ten tracks are priced at the per track rate. Other albums that are ten tracks or over can be purchased for $9.99, or the tracks individually for $0.99. There do seem to be some exceptions to this, and some tracks (for example 'Orbus Terrarum' by The Orb, which has 7 tracks) are limited to album purchase only. I'm not entirely sure what all the pricing criteria are yet, but I think that's the general idea.
ExInferus
Say what you will about the whole file format debate and such, but the service works very nicely. To try it out I fired up my newly downloaded iTunes 4, set up my account, found something that interests me (Massive Attack's Blue Lines, cd I had meant to get but never got around to it) and bought it for $8.91 for the whole album.
The tracks where then downloaded to my library, after which I burned a copy of the disc, and had it transfered to my iPod. Sound quality is good so far, though I haven't gotten to listen to it on my good speakers at home yet. The album cover art and such is downloaded with the album and displayed with the tracks in iTunes. Not the same as the physical thing, but it's something.
The selection could definitely use some work (hopefully it will expand to include more indie lables and such over time), but as for the service in general it works very well. The protection is minimal when you think about it - unlimited cd burns means you can re-mp3 it easily if you desire. There's no way the big labels would've let them do something like this in a totally opened way, so this is not too bad.
My usual procedure when buying a cd is to bring it home, throw it in my cd-rom and wait for it to rip, then do the iPod transfer, and if it's a cd deemed worthy I put the disc in my car changer. This cuts out the whole ripping step (replaced with downloading though), and saves the trouble of having to go to a store, or wait for an online place to ship to me. I can't see myself using it too much right now honestly, but if the selection improves it will be a good way to grab songs.
ExInferus
Yes, he may well make quite a big impact on the world should this not go favorably... a noble goal nontheless :>.
ExInferus
Actually those people who paid $30 for the beta received $30 off of the OS X final. Granted they did not say so before hand, but essentially the beta cost has gone towards the price of the final.
If Halo is (and it seems like it will be) made an X-Box exclusive title, won't it be old news by the time the X-Box launches for Christmas 2001? It does look amazing, but everyone else will probably have caught up by then. It may not be entirely obsolete, but it probably won't be anything that special. Even if they don't make it exclusive to X-Box you can bet the PC/Mac version (if either exist) will be delayed until the X-Box is ready to go.
As a side note, I'm sorry to see one of the few awesome independant developers destroyed like this. They used to have such a great attitude and style, but now they'll just be part of the collective. They've lost at least one loyal customer today.
ExInferus
The amusing thing about the comparison is that M$ bought FASA Interactive (makers of Shadowrun computer and console games), and cancelled the Shadowrun title that was being worked on at the time. Suppose they didn't want anyone to get any anti-megacorp ideas...
ExInferus