It didn't look like it had Macrovision. (And yes, it IS noticable...like some kind of edge-enhancement filter or something, applied lightly, at least on VHS) But then, I've seen tapes 15 years old that are clearer than that tape was.
Closing the Analog Hole by only releasing incredibly crappy analog. Heh.
" Michael Bacarella, a New York software developer and aficionado of online action games such as "Doom" and "Half-Life," envisions a system similar to eBay's feedback ratings, with game companies maintaining a central repository where players could rate one another for honesty. The result would be a " network of trust," with honest players given reliable tools to find one another. "
I'm a glass half empty kind of guy. I want to screen out the assholes.
And anyhow, a "network of trust" will NOT work. This isn't like Ebay, where you're probably dealing with only a few people a month, or in most cases less. (Even most sellers won't be dealing with more than a few per day) You will not get enough data for positive experiences.
But people already scream bloody murder about cheating. (Even in Diablo, which is so thorougly CRAWLING with cheaters that to not cheat is to not play) They would GLADLY contribute to a blacklist. It won't work positive and negative...only the negative will get results.
And I'd take it a step further than this centralized system for each game or manufacturer...centralized blacklists like for spammers would be wonderful. To make it so that once someone cheats too many times in a game, they can't play ANY game online again unless they change ISPs. (One result of this would be that people would guard their serial numbers with their life) The benefits to the industry as a whole might override the competetive pressure for companies not to share such information.
other broadband services were late (but admittedly quick once they started) in coming to Japan, probably due to the almost unbelievable coverage that ISDN has there.
But anyhow, you're looking at the PAYPHONES. They aren't going to have ISDN sockets EVERYWHERE, BTW, that's mainly in train stations and airports. (But this is in a country with thousands and thousands of train stations...)
I hear secondhand that to get a phone line IN YOUR HOUSE will cost about 800 dollars. 800. That's one hell of a disincentive to use land line phones right there, considering you can get started with your cell phone for as little as 1 yen. (Why they don't just say "free" I don't know...) Oh, and the land line phone is metered, too, so there goes that advantage, too.
It's not just the quality of the lines, it'S the pricing structure, and the coverage. In Japan, I know for a fact that all the advantages go to mobile phones...and at least some of those advantages go to them in most countries. In the US, it's much more split. The advantage isn't nearly so decisive.
" America lags partly because only half of its adult population has cell phones, compared to 65 percent in Japan and 70 percent in Taiwan and Hong Kong. "
Most likely because unlike many countries, the land-line phone system in the US does not suck. AT&T at it's worst was never the pain in the ass that NTT is/was.
How would D&D be the same without being in a room full of your fellow dorks, playing with brightly colored funny shaped dice, and possibly wearing costumes? How can a cell phone provide that?
Nevermind that you could probably play it over the phone ANYWAY...
Yah, I had the same problem with a japanese-english dictionary once. The thing could take unbelievable punishment from being dropped and whatnot...but I leaned on my backpack while it was in it...
"Remember Disney's pathetic Z-rock national station? I remember listening one day and a caller requested to hear Anthrax.. the dj said 'No you're gonna listen to Nirvana' - I'm surprised they even let that guy on the air... as always we'll be forcefed what they want us to hear."
So...seems like all radio stations are like that nowadays, except they don't come right out and say it.
Something like Sim Life could probably be integrated into a more detailed Sim Earth...instead of having each square be occupied by ONE life form, have each square be displayed with the predominant one, but keep track of the different amounts of each. Then you could zoom in on a square and see the life there in more detail.
The only problem I can see with this is it might be a little memory-intensive if you want to have this life anything but randomly distributed every time you open the same square up.
I don't think you could integrate SimEarth into that...unless we get to see the Sims evolve from tiny eukaryotes. Maybe we could see insect or cetacean Sims?
A game of Sim City would fit in a few microseconds of Sim Earth. It just woulnd't work.
What does the robot need the screen for? Let it get smashed, so long as you have some external monitor port (and remember to have it set to always output to it) you can plug it in elsewhere whenever you need to do any work on it.
This reminds me of something that's always bothered me about the Terminator...what does he need all that text overlayed on his video input for? For Robocop, it makes sense...but the Terminator isn't thinking like a person.
These cracking programs...how many languages do they tend to have dictionaries for? How many foreign pop cultural references might one find?
I have a tendency to use non-english words for passwords (my current fave is a combination, forming a nonsense word, so it ought to be safe)...how safe is this practice?
I right clicked and selected "Open Link in New Tab."
Thanks Mozilla. For being slightly less bloated, easier to use, and more pleasant to look at than your branded offspring. Oh, and being released months sooner in perfectly useable condition.
The computer press will cover major netscape releases...but the real NEWS is coming from Mozilla.
A lot of people are saying that stopping/slowing hardware advances would improve software - it won't. The proof is in the gaming area - they optimise it as far as possible while still making the game profitable and they need the latest hardware all the time.
Ahem: bull...shit.
I have a counterexample: Half-life. Explain to me why with every successive version I'm getting noticably better frame rates? On the same (outdated, I'm on a notebook) hardware? Bet you can't explain it without noting considering that they've been tweaking this software for the last 4+ years after the NONoptimized version was released.
Games may be more optimized than office apps for example (probably because unlike productivity apps, every bell and every whistle in most games is highly dependent upon speed) but there's still a lot of room for improvement.
Yeah, and the point here is that EVENTUALLY, barring a completely new technological path computers will STOP getting any faster (I'm sure we'll see more multiprocessor systems and the like, but it'll still be slower progress). So the only way to improve performance will be optimization.
Slashdot Mirror
I think that was Science Digest.
It didn't look like it had Macrovision. (And yes, it IS noticable...like some kind of edge-enhancement filter or something, applied lightly, at least on VHS) But then, I've seen tapes 15 years old that are clearer than that tape was.
Closing the Analog Hole by only releasing incredibly crappy analog. Heh.
"web of trust" won't work, except in an environment where trustworthy players are rare (Like Diablo). A Web of Mistrust is what is needed.
" Michael Bacarella, a New York software developer and aficionado of online action games such as "Doom" and "Half-Life," envisions a system similar to eBay's feedback ratings, with game companies maintaining a central repository where players could rate one another for honesty. The result would be a " network of trust," with honest players given reliable tools to find one another. "
I'm a glass half empty kind of guy. I want to screen out the assholes.
And anyhow, a "network of trust" will NOT work. This isn't like Ebay, where you're probably dealing with only a few people a month, or in most cases less. (Even most sellers won't be dealing with more than a few per day) You will not get enough data for positive experiences.
But people already scream bloody murder about cheating. (Even in Diablo, which is so thorougly CRAWLING with cheaters that to not cheat is to not play) They would GLADLY contribute to a blacklist. It won't work positive and negative...only the negative will get results.
And I'd take it a step further than this centralized system for each game or manufacturer...centralized blacklists like for spammers would be wonderful. To make it so that once someone cheats too many times in a game, they can't play ANY game online again unless they change ISPs. (One result of this would be that people would guard their serial numbers with their life) The benefits to the industry as a whole might override the competetive pressure for companies not to share such information.
That would be the ultimate anti-cheating tool.
If there is no silicon heaven, where would all the calculators go?
How many times can all you sysadmins read your tape backups? How about DAT?
I would imagine that durability for this would be comparable.
An EFFICIENT workplace would be an employee strapped to a gurney with One of these in each eye, and food and waste going through tubes.
Or would it just be an efficient way to lose employees to competitors, kind of like your idea?
Oh, and BTW, good point, about the numbers and charging for incoming calls. Didn'T think of that.
other broadband services were late (but admittedly quick once they started) in coming to Japan, probably due to the almost unbelievable coverage that ISDN has there.
But anyhow, you're looking at the PAYPHONES. They aren't going to have ISDN sockets EVERYWHERE, BTW, that's mainly in train stations and airports. (But this is in a country with thousands and thousands of train stations...)
I hear secondhand that to get a phone line IN YOUR HOUSE will cost about 800 dollars. 800. That's one hell of a disincentive to use land line phones right there, considering you can get started with your cell phone for as little as 1 yen. (Why they don't just say "free" I don't know...) Oh, and the land line phone is metered, too, so there goes that advantage, too.
It's not just the quality of the lines, it'S the pricing structure, and the coverage. In Japan, I know for a fact that all the advantages go to mobile phones...and at least some of those advantages go to them in most countries. In the US, it's much more split. The advantage isn't nearly so decisive.
" America lags partly because only half of its adult population has cell phones, compared to 65 percent in Japan and 70 percent in Taiwan and Hong Kong. "
Most likely because unlike many countries, the land-line phone system in the US does not suck. AT&T at it's worst was never the pain in the ass that NTT is/was.
How would D&D be the same without being in a room full of your fellow dorks, playing with brightly colored funny shaped dice, and possibly wearing costumes? How can a cell phone provide that?
Nevermind that you could probably play it over the phone ANYWAY...
Why do the chief executives always take all the heat for what is at least half congress's fault? (In the case of Enron probably more than that)
Yah, I had the same problem with a japanese-english dictionary once. The thing could take unbelievable punishment from being dropped and whatnot...but I leaned on my backpack while it was in it...
Shock is no problem...pressure kills.
God I wasted so much time making those things. Exitilus quests, too.
:P 2 of them local.
IIRC, there were 4 BBSs with my ANSIs for logon screens.
"Remember Disney's pathetic Z-rock national station? I remember listening one day and a caller requested to hear Anthrax.. the dj said 'No you're gonna listen to Nirvana' - I'm surprised they even let that guy on the air... as always we'll be forcefed what they want us to hear."
So...seems like all radio stations are like that nowadays, except they don't come right out and say it.
"it looks like it seems to work pretty well."
I guess it's pretty good at appearing to work.
Something like Sim Life could probably be integrated into a more detailed Sim Earth...instead of having each square be occupied by ONE life form, have each square be displayed with the predominant one, but keep track of the different amounts of each. Then you could zoom in on a square and see the life there in more detail.
The only problem I can see with this is it might be a little memory-intensive if you want to have this life anything but randomly distributed every time you open the same square up.
Oops...or prgrmr, rather.
"This could become a milestone for making the service more ubiquitous, or the millstone that finally sinks it."
This is the cleverest turn of a phrase I have ever seen on Slashdot.
I don't think you could integrate SimEarth into that...unless we get to see the Sims evolve from tiny eukaryotes. Maybe we could see insect or cetacean Sims?
A game of Sim City would fit in a few microseconds of Sim Earth. It just woulnd't work.
What does the robot need the screen for? Let it get smashed, so long as you have some external monitor port (and remember to have it set to always output to it) you can plug it in elsewhere whenever you need to do any work on it.
This reminds me of something that's always bothered me about the Terminator...what does he need all that text overlayed on his video input for? For Robocop, it makes sense...but the Terminator isn't thinking like a person.
These cracking programs...how many languages do they tend to have dictionaries for? How many foreign pop cultural references might one find?
I have a tendency to use non-english words for passwords (my current fave is a combination, forming a nonsense word, so it ought to be safe)...how safe is this practice?
I right clicked and selected "Open Link in New Tab."
Thanks Mozilla. For being slightly less bloated, easier to use, and more pleasant to look at than your branded offspring. Oh, and being released months sooner in perfectly useable condition.
The computer press will cover major netscape releases...but the real NEWS is coming from Mozilla.
A lot of people are saying that stopping/slowing hardware advances would improve software - it won't. The proof is in the gaming area - they optimise it as far as possible while still making the game profitable and they need the latest hardware all the time.
Ahem: bull...shit.
I have a counterexample: Half-life. Explain to me why with every successive version I'm getting noticably better frame rates? On the same (outdated, I'm on a notebook) hardware? Bet you can't explain it without noting considering that they've been tweaking this software for the last 4+ years after the NONoptimized version was released.
Games may be more optimized than office apps for example (probably because unlike productivity apps, every bell and every whistle in most games is highly dependent upon speed) but there's still a lot of room for improvement.
Yeah, and the point here is that EVENTUALLY, barring a completely new technological path computers will STOP getting any faster (I'm sure we'll see more multiprocessor systems and the like, but it'll still be slower progress). So the only way to improve performance will be optimization.