Your arguments for the advantages of a game pad over a keyboard are completely unfounded.
I'd have to utilise 3 fingers, a joypad only required my thumb.
First of all, if you know what you're doing with a keyboard in any FPS, you would be using ASDF as your movement keys, or some kind of equivalent set of 4 in the same row.
Using WASD may seem the most intuitive to most people used to the arrow pad, but moving your middle finger up and down to go forwards/backwards is incredibly inefficient. Using the arrow keys is just plain stupid, you can't press any other keys with the left hand while using the mouse since they're so far away.
The other disadvantage of a gamepad over a mouse is the fact that you can't aim precisely. When you move a gamepad joystick, it only spins your view as fast as its maximum speed is set. The mouse however, just does a translation of your crosshair as far as you move your mouse. There is a reason why we use mice to navigate 2d computer interfaces instead of a joystick. Same for trackballs.
Then there's the case of ease. With the keyboard I'd have to give quick looks to make sure I didn't hit the wrong key.
Learn where the keys are on a keyboard, or at least change your keys for every new FPS you get to be virtually the same as all the others you've played. I've been mapping ASDF for movement and other keys nearby for everything else since Quake 1.
With a gamepad, I never had to look at it, my eyes could remain on the screen 100%
Just because you can't type doesn't mean that a gamepad is better.
And in closing, Turok is just another FPS, with the exact same control as all the rest. You cannot aim, or move quickly but precisely with a gamepad -- nor can you press nearly as many buttons for complicated games. But there aren't complex and detailed games for the console, that's not their market.
I don't see him solving any political problems, and I don't know how well respected he is by those who study such things, but I think he's a loon.
Chomsky's political commentary is some of the best out there IMHO. He talks mostly about the United States and its aspirations for world dominance, but he explains exactly what is going on in the world with the utmost clarity. He explains the intent of the nation in question from a historical perspective and debunks the myths and lies stated by those in power. For example, he will give specific meaning to Bush's words: "Either you're with us, or you're with the terrorists" and other such infamous statements in many of his articles.
He is indeed an extremely well respected intellectual among those on the left, although many neo-conservatives both in and out of the political scene despise him immensely... probably because of the threat his ideas pose to them. He is also, however, given virtually no air time by the main stream media because his views aren't compatible with the interests of the corporations who own the main stream media (which aren't that many unfortunately).
Now usually even what I'm saying is seen as crazy left-wing hippie rhetoric, because that's how Chomsky is regarded by much of the population. But one should read what he has to say and find some flaws before dismissing his ideas based on political spectrum alignment.
What I meant about "Microsoft Rules Games" wasn't that they made good games or ruled the market. I should have been more clear. They certainly only publish games like Sierra does, and they're getting screwed with the X-Box.
What I meant was that if you want to play games, you need Windows. There's not much consumer choice you can make there, except for using Windows without paying for it. =)
When it comes to finding a Laptop without windows on it, sure you could buy it and not use Windows. That's what I would do. But you've just given Microsoft money you shouldn't have had to. That's one of the two strongarm things I was saying they did.
If you want a Laptop, you're most likely paying the Microsoft Tax.
If you want to play computer games that aren't on a console, you're going to have to use Windows for most of them.
You can't make consumer choice when there is no non-Microsoft option for many applications. It used to be much worse, but it's getting better.
What pisses me off the most is the general stupidity of the consumers out there limits my choice because they feed this company who ruins software for all of us.
"Microsoft does not rule the entire world nor will they ever."
But they're pretty damn close sometimes. Find a laptop, with relative ease, that has everything that say, Toshiba would have -- that doesn't come with Windows on it. Find one as a single consumer without a business and feel the pain.
I know you can find laptops that don't come with the Microsoft Tax, but it's difficult and annoying to do so.
The whole "doom and gloom" attitude comes from years and years of frustration many of us suffer from having to work with Microsoft's crap, work around it, or trying to get rid of it in daily use. There's also having to work with people who nothing but Microsoft, and interoperate with their garbage through closed standards.
They rule computer games right now, they pretty much rule consumer laptops, and they continuously cause massive inconvenience for all of us in other markets as well.
I think what the parent poster meant was that it wasn't impossible to sell motherboards that don't run windows, but that Microsoft will find a way to override market forces and give the consumer another good reaming for old times' sake...
Slashdot Mirror
So what would you consider posting to, and reading of, Slashdot? =)
You my friend, are a pun master. That was hilarious.
You obviously haven't been on Slashdot long enough to know that you're only supposed to read the comments about the article on Slate, linked from /.
Your arguments for the advantages of a game pad over a keyboard are completely unfounded.
I'd have to utilise 3 fingers, a joypad only required my thumb.
First of all, if you know what you're doing with a keyboard in any FPS, you would be using ASDF as your movement keys, or some kind of equivalent set of 4 in the same row.
Using WASD may seem the most intuitive to most people used to the arrow pad, but moving your middle finger up and down to go forwards/backwards is incredibly inefficient. Using the arrow keys is just plain stupid, you can't press any other keys with the left hand while using the mouse since they're so far away.
The other disadvantage of a gamepad over a mouse is the fact that you can't aim precisely. When you move a gamepad joystick, it only spins your view as fast as its maximum speed is set. The mouse however, just does a translation of your crosshair as far as you move your mouse. There is a reason why we use mice to navigate 2d computer interfaces instead of a joystick. Same for trackballs.
Then there's the case of ease. With the keyboard I'd have to give quick looks to make sure I didn't hit the wrong key.
Learn where the keys are on a keyboard, or at least change your keys for every new FPS you get to be virtually the same as all the others you've played. I've been mapping ASDF for movement and other keys nearby for everything else since Quake 1.
With a gamepad, I never had to look at it, my eyes could remain on the screen 100%
Just because you can't type doesn't mean that a gamepad is better.
And in closing, Turok is just another FPS, with the exact same control as all the rest. You cannot aim, or move quickly but precisely with a gamepad -- nor can you press nearly as many buttons for complicated games. But there aren't complex and detailed games for the console, that's not their market.
cfuse, I think you just found a new sig!
I don't see him solving any political problems, and I don't know how well respected he is by those who study such things, but I think he's a loon.
Chomsky's political commentary is some of the best out there IMHO. He talks mostly about the United States and its aspirations for world dominance, but he explains exactly what is going on in the world with the utmost clarity. He explains the intent of the nation in question from a historical perspective and debunks the myths and lies stated by those in power. For example, he will give specific meaning to Bush's words: "Either you're with us, or you're with the terrorists" and other such infamous statements in many of his articles.
He is indeed an extremely well respected intellectual among those on the left, although many neo-conservatives both in and out of the political scene despise him immensely... probably because of the threat his ideas pose to them. He is also, however, given virtually no air time by the main stream media because his views aren't compatible with the interests of the corporations who own the main stream media (which aren't that many unfortunately).
Now usually even what I'm saying is seen as crazy left-wing hippie rhetoric, because that's how Chomsky is regarded by much of the population. But one should read what he has to say and find some flaws before dismissing his ideas based on political spectrum alignment.
I encourage anyone to read some of his political writings:
Articles by Noam Chomsky
I sincerely apologize to anyone who is extremely offended by my request for you to READ something, named TFAs.
Why on EARTH would you have to take a polygraph to work at a convenience store?
Is this in the United States or something?
What I meant about "Microsoft Rules Games" wasn't that they made good games or ruled the market. I should have been more clear. They certainly only publish games like Sierra does, and they're getting screwed with the X-Box.
What I meant was that if you want to play games, you need Windows. There's not much consumer choice you can make there, except for using Windows without paying for it. =)
When it comes to finding a Laptop without windows on it, sure you could buy it and not use Windows. That's what I would do. But you've just given Microsoft money you shouldn't have had to. That's one of the two strongarm things I was saying they did.
If you want a Laptop, you're most likely paying the Microsoft Tax.
If you want to play computer games that aren't on a console, you're going to have to use Windows for most of them.
You can't make consumer choice when there is no non-Microsoft option for many applications. It used to be much worse, but it's getting better.
What pisses me off the most is the general stupidity of the consumers out there limits my choice because they feed this company who ruins software for all of us.
"Microsoft does not rule the entire world nor will they ever."
But they're pretty damn close sometimes. Find a laptop, with relative ease, that has everything that say, Toshiba would have -- that doesn't come with Windows on it. Find one as a single consumer without a business and feel the pain.
I know you can find laptops that don't come with the Microsoft Tax, but it's difficult and annoying to do so.
The whole "doom and gloom" attitude comes from years and years of frustration many of us suffer from having to work with Microsoft's crap, work around it, or trying to get rid of it in daily use. There's also having to work with people who nothing but Microsoft, and interoperate with their garbage through closed standards.
They rule computer games right now, they pretty much rule consumer laptops, and they continuously cause massive inconvenience for all of us in other markets as well.
I think what the parent poster meant was that it wasn't impossible to sell motherboards that don't run windows, but that Microsoft will find a way to override market forces and give the consumer another good reaming for old times' sake...
Actually, this is goatse.cx in ASCII:
http://goatse.cx/contrib.html
Hey, I've been a member of Slashdot for years (check my number) and this is my first post ever! =)