ATI has had MPEG2 hardware co-processors as part of every video chipset since the Rage128. Apple doesn't take advantage of it but ATI's tweaked version of Cinemaster does to great effect. Unfortunately unlike standards-based MPEG2 cards like the Hollywood+ ATI plays their hardware drivers very close to their collective vests. They won't even release a binary for Linux for their hardware acceleration libraries, the fsckers.
Actually, after reading "Just For Fun", I came to the realization that it could be morphed into the sequel to "Pirates Of Silicon Valley." The meeting between Linus and Steve Jobs clinched it.
Question: who would play Linus? All I know is that if Noah Wylie, Anthony Michael Hall and the actors who portrayed Steve Wozniak and Steve Ballmer aren't involved, it would suck.
A better screenplay would help, too. There was way too much time spent on Steve Jobs and his various and sundry dramas that the real story got lost a little.
Not everyone wants WINE for games...
on
WineX 2.0
·
· Score: 2
Here's my predicament.
I want to get out from under Redmond's thumb just like everyone else here. (Heh, funny considering my cert...) However, there is a whole category of apps that have not materialized for Linux. What are they?
PRO AUDIO APPS.
There is no native Linux Digital Audio Workstation software available. Nothing that is anywhere near the caliber of Sonic Foundry's Vegas or Digidesign's ProTools. There are stereo audio.WAV editors, tons of MP3 and OGG tools, but nothing like those programs. There is nothing out there that compares to Sound Forge, which right now is the Gold Standard for audio mastering. And there isn't ANYTHING that resembles ACID, Sonic Foundry's loop composition software.
If Wine, WineX, ReWind or Grandma's Chicken Feet (I don't care, I'm not picky about licenses or product names) could get Sonic Foundry products to run, and run predictably and solidly, under Linux I would be able to convert our audio production machine from Windows to Linux. That would mean one less Windows box, one more Linux box.
Linux still needs polishing. Linux still needs to be able to install predictably (My friend Chad ironed out my optical drive problems on one of my Linux boxen...apparently depmod didn't do everything it should have during the Red Hat 7.2 install) and it still has tons of usability problems. However, it is headed in the right direction.
Windows, OTOH, is headed the wrong way...more complexity, more bloat, less functionality, an unruly codebase according to some informed reports, and of course tons of security problems no Ex Cathedra pronouncement by Bill Gates can fix. And there's that wee, small issue of licensing and Microsoft continuing to tighten the screws on that issue.
Until someone steps up to the plate and writes some serious audio apps for Linux, emulation or something that asserts it is not an emulator but the duck test says otherwise is the only hope I have. And any progress along those lines will be cheered. In the words of Daria Morgendorffer, "Go. Go. Kick butt."
I do not know if this is being tested as a treatment for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or not, but people who suffer from that can sleep up to 20 hours and still feel wiped out.
I can relate. I had CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome) and still suffer some aftereffects from it.
During the acute phase of the illness, I definitely experienced what you are talking about. I got lucky...I have not had an acute period since 1994. However, I still have residual effects which include a permanently impaired stamina, and problems with transferring data from short term to long term memory. I also have the annoying habit of occasionally losing consciousness for a few seconds at a time. I call it a "brown out." Some people call it "brain fog."
Anyway, what I'm really saying is...lemme at this stuff! I can definitely use it. If it won't affect blood pressure, I want it.
KCRW, while halfway decent, is nowhere near as good as KXLU. 88.9 FM, out of Loyola Marymount University.
At least you didn't mention KROQ, the new "oldies" station in town. They're still playing the whiny Brit band crap they did 20 years ago. Modern Rock? Naah.
And yeah, Clear Channel should be the first against the wall when the Revolution comes. Plastic music for plastic people.
OK, OK...read closer through Lycoris' site and saw that yes, Lycoris is based on Caldera. However, the MSNBC article suggested it was based on Corel Linux, which if memory serves me right is based on Debian.
set Stacy Rowe mode: ON Sorry! set Stacy Rowe mode: OFF
...towards a demystified Linux for the masses. If memory serves me right, isn't Corel based on Debian? According to the article, Lycoris is based on Corel Linux. Which suggests apt-get is more than a possibility here.
If this gets people out of their Windozers and into Linux, at least superficially, this is A Good Thing (tm) and should be encouraged. If it is a rip on XP and XP is what the newbie is used to, then cool, they'll get acclimated quicker.
We are still in the middle of an ice age that just happens to be in a slight recession. Just because half of the US isn't covered in ice doesn't mean it's not an ice age.
***Set sarcasm mode ON***
Then W00t! for Global Warming! We sure are giving that Ice Age what-for! Greenhouse gases? Hell, we are doing the Earth a favor by driving our big SUVs and using chloroflurocarbons!
I have nothing but admiration for people who keep old machines alive, particularly when they spread their technological wealth around. Which reminds me: I will be decommissioning one of my machines soon. It was built in 1997 and was a real science experiment, hence the name it's held on my network, "Dexter." In fact, I brought the case cover to a comic convention and Genndy Tartakovsky drew his mad scientist character on it and autographed it for good measure.
Dexter has been useful for all these years, and it's only because I have some new stuff coming in that I have to reluctantly decommission it. I'm keeping an eye out for a deserving new home for the thing. The scanner is going out the door too...it's an UMAX 600P and it is not supported in any OS beyond 98SE. SANE doesn't support it and UMAX doesn't make a 2K or XP driver for it either. It also barfs if connected to a computer with a processor that runs at or above 300MHz. Timing prob. Still works like a champ, too.
This machine will be going to the Pacoima Community Center or somewhere else deserving.
I have an i810-based computer, and currently am using the on-board audio. Thing is, there is so much crosstalk from other devices on the motherboard like the IDE lines and so on that unless you are pumping high-volume sound around you still hear little subtle pings and hisses.
I have heard that with the Nforce-based all-in-one motherboards the problem has pretty much been licked. However, I will not believe it until I hear it with my own ears.
Meanwhile, I'm saving my pennies for an Audigy... unless Turtle Beach comes out with an audio card with a firewire port on it.
My father had Lou Gehrig's Disease, and died in 1975. I remember that while my dad was still alive there was mention of this ultra-genius scientist who was still alive, although unwell, and had been struggling with the disease since 1963, the year I was born.
He's had ALS for longer than I have been alive. Frankly it's miraculous that he's lived so long. It seems like Whatever's Out There still has big plans for him. His best work might not be behind him yet.
I thought the law opressing DeCSS doesn't make it criminal to use DeCSS. It's just illegal to publish or share the method DeCSS uses to circumvent copyright protection. That has nothing to do with a Right of First Sale. (ok I'm nitpicking)
It has everything to do with Right of First Sale. Say I buy a copy of Mononoke Hime on DVD. What if I want to play it under Linux? So I want to try it on my Linux box. However, it can't make heads or tails out of the CSS encryption.
I am then forced into a quandary. Either I go download and compile DeCSS, or I can't do what I want with this DVD I bought. The person who slips me the code is now guilty of a crime. I'm guilty of circumvention under the DMCA.
If the only device I had to play this DVD was a Linux box I'd either be a lawbreaker or have a $20 frisbee on my hands. Thankfully my Mac plays it, albeit with some nasty artifacting. I've tried playing it under W2K and it made ATI Cinemaster for W2K puke. Typical Disney menu nonsense. Haven't gotten a standalone DVD player yet. Waiting to get one of those used.
Damn straight this is a Right of First Sale issue.
I can say though... EVERYONE that I know with an MCSE and/or works at a MCSP (MS Cert Solutions Provider) was in support of the Hailstorm idea.
Uh...not every MCSE out there.
I was, to be frank, worried about its implications for security. Having Microsoft guard the keys to my bank account is like having the fox guard the hen house.
Nice to see it go. Now.NET can stand or fall on its own merits, not on privacy concerns.
We need some sort of nice definte laws stating that certain rights may not be restricted. This was the idea behind the Bill of Rights; define certain rights that must not be restricted, and that gives the Judical system a way to keep the congress in check, basically, the judges say, "Nope, that's unconstitutional" and suddenly a new law is absolutly dead. It would be nice to have some sort of law that could define what rights a person has to digital/media content, which cannot be restricted. That way, the judges have a real easy yard stick to measure new laws by. The judges would be able to say, "nope, that violates the digital bill of rights" And no matter how much money had gone into congress to pass the law it would be taken out and shot.
I think that codifying the concept of "Right of First Sale" into law would be a good start. Note that the Authors Guild is raising a stink over Amazon's sale of used books. However, they are legally standing on quicksand because US law states that once you buy a book you are free to do whatever you want with it. That's the law, folks! Stomp your feet and whine all you want, you can't do anything about it.
A universal Right of First Sale would invalidate EULAs. In the state of California, you are now free to sell software that came bundled with your PC thanks to a sensible appelate judge who applied the Right of First Sale to software. The RIAA and MPAA would probably love to stop you from selling your used CDs and used DVDs, but there again is that pesky Right of First Sale. It is (still last I checked) legal to buy and sell used DVDs and CDs.
Universalizing Right of First Sale would also put a monkey wrench into attempts to criminalize the use of DeCSS to play DVDs on Linux. Hey, you bought that DVD...you have a right to play it on any OS you choose.
Same with region coding. You bought a DVD from a European or Japanese store over the Internet? Bought it fair and square? You didn't steal it? Good. You have the right to do with it what you will. Including hacking your DVD player to accommodate it.
I have no illusions that this will ever happen. But this is one way of preserving the rights we already have. The doctrine is already on the books. Let's encourage its application to new technology.
(I also haven't heard anything really bad about Senator Boxer. Again, the correlation isn't perfect.)
And I will vote for Pigasus before I'll vote for Feinstein again.
Senator Boxer is thoroughly 0wned by Hollywood. She's just as bad as Feinstein.
Much as I don't like Republicans and much as I do like women in the Capitol I'm going to vote Libertarian next Senatorial elections. Throw these sellouts to the MPAA and RIAA out the fsckin' door. See ya...
Believe it or not, there are Microsoft products that fail -- remember Microsoft BOB? (If you blinked after it was released, you probably don't.)
Well, considering that the project manager for MS BOB became Bill's wife, I don't think he considers it a total loss. Considering that she's got a third chip in the fab, (somehow "bun in the oven" isn't quite right for them) they must be enjoying each other's company, at least...;-)
The next XBOX (which will NOT be called a NeXT Box all you apple/unix devotees) will be smarter, leaner,and (quite possbly) more geared to content delivery/ "all in one" console box that MS has been talking about for so long. Is the Xbox down for the count? Not at all. It just lost the first round.
If you want a preview of the XBox II/MediaStation, take a look at motherboards using the Nvidia Nforce chipset. Apparently they originally developed this chipset as "plan B" for XBox, and now they may be working up a better version for Microsoft's next machine.
I have mentioned that this current NForce chipset could be used as a unified gaming platform for Linux. Think of it as Indrema's revenge. The mATX motherboard Abit has made with the NForce is from all reports startlingly good. It is perhaps the first all-in-one mobo that is actually usable as designed. Put this in a small case with a strong power supply and there's your Linux gaming console right there.
The problem MS has been having is getting titles out for the XBox that attract Japanese gamers' tastes. Most XBox titles have been very American-oriented. Yes there's DOA3 and Jet Set Radio Future, but that's about it. The XBox has been fine in the US but a console has to do well in Japan to be considered a success.
It is exceedingly easy to port a game from Windows XP to XBox. Basically it's just another variation on the PC gaming platform...and one which has consistent hardware.
The Linux kit for PS2 will NOT allow people to develop world-class games for the PS2. The Sony Linux layer is in a virtual machine, abstracted away from the real hardware. You'd be lucky to get XBill to run on Sony Linux, much less Tux Racer, much less anything that would compete with professionally written PS2 proggies. For that, you need Sony's pro dev kit.
The XBox is getting the same treatment from Sony that the Dreamcast is. In short, its days are numbered. You cannot have success with a console out that doesn't sell in Japan. Also Euro sales of the XBox is even more anemic than the reception of the machine in Japan.
Fearless prediction: November, 2002, MS lowers the price of the XBox to $150 or less. Spring, 2003, Microsoft announces the end of production of the XBox. November, 2003, the remaining XBoxen are blown out at $50.
Too bad, it was the best architecture of the three "next gen" game consoles.
I do like the idea and the design wouldn't mind one of these in blue. of course it would need Text-to-Speech in english. Not to crazy about learning Hindi.
If it's got text-to-speech in India's native languages it's got it for English too. People in India often speak English better than we Yanks do.
Member of both the RIAA and MPAA. Real Intellectual Property nazis. They love picking on people who hack their products, like mod chip builders and AIBO programmers. They pretty much ran the Dreamcast out of business.
I will never buy anything Sony. Ever. No matter how kawaii their stuff looks.
Unfortunately the DC had a lot of strikes against it, and SEGA had a lot of downright BAD LUCK during the period when they were trying to sell it.
However, there is one bright spot...the DC seems to be the most developer-friendly console ever made, and there are scores of people looking to make sure that there are new games...Open Source games using Kallisti!OS and Linux.
The platform is self limiting, alas...the console has been out of production since early 2001 and when a DC dies, in all practicality IT'S DEAD. Repairing it is going to be an exercise in futility a few years down the road.
My heart wants to cheer on the grassroots DC developers. But my mind says that maybe that energy should be better spent making Linux games better. In all likelihood the x86 architecture or something better but backwardly compatible will be with us for a long, long time.
The Nvidia Nforce chipset is the first totally-integrated mobo that is usable right out of the box, and could be the key to an Indrema-like Linux-based console game/convergence box that would beat the XBox at its own game. Heh, rumor has it MS is looking to use it for the next gen XBox.
Poor Dreamcast. Too fast to live, too young to die.
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ATI has had MPEG2 hardware co-processors as part of every video chipset since the Rage128. Apple doesn't take advantage of it but ATI's tweaked version of Cinemaster does to great effect. Unfortunately unlike standards-based MPEG2 cards like the Hollywood+ ATI plays their hardware drivers very close to their collective vests. They won't even release a binary for Linux for their hardware acceleration libraries, the fsckers.
Actually, after reading "Just For Fun", I came to the realization that it could be morphed into the sequel to "Pirates Of Silicon Valley." The meeting between Linus and Steve Jobs clinched it.
Question: who would play Linus? All I know is that if Noah Wylie, Anthony Michael Hall and the actors who portrayed Steve Wozniak and Steve Ballmer aren't involved, it would suck.
A better screenplay would help, too. There was way too much time spent on Steve Jobs and his various and sundry dramas that the real story got lost a little.
It's still a fsckn classic, though.
Two words: Eden Platform
Here's my predicament.
.WAV editors, tons of MP3 and OGG tools, but nothing like those programs. There is nothing out there that compares to Sound Forge, which right now is the Gold Standard for audio mastering. And there isn't ANYTHING that resembles ACID, Sonic Foundry's loop composition software.
I want to get out from under Redmond's thumb just like everyone else here. (Heh, funny considering my cert...) However, there is a whole category of apps that have not materialized for Linux. What are they?
PRO AUDIO APPS.
There is no native Linux Digital Audio Workstation software available. Nothing that is anywhere near the caliber of Sonic Foundry's Vegas or Digidesign's ProTools. There are stereo audio
If Wine, WineX, ReWind or Grandma's Chicken Feet (I don't care, I'm not picky about licenses or product names) could get Sonic Foundry products to run, and run predictably and solidly, under Linux I would be able to convert our audio production machine from Windows to Linux. That would mean one less Windows box, one more Linux box.
Linux still needs polishing. Linux still needs to be able to install predictably (My friend Chad ironed out my optical drive problems on one of my Linux boxen...apparently depmod didn't do everything it should have during the Red Hat 7.2 install) and it still has tons of usability problems. However, it is headed in the right direction.
Windows, OTOH, is headed the wrong way...more complexity, more bloat, less functionality, an unruly codebase according to some informed reports, and of course tons of security problems no Ex Cathedra pronouncement by Bill Gates can fix. And there's that wee, small issue of licensing and Microsoft continuing to tighten the screws on that issue.
Until someone steps up to the plate and writes some serious audio apps for Linux, emulation or something that asserts it is not an emulator but the duck test says otherwise is the only hope I have. And any progress along those lines will be cheered. In the words of Daria Morgendorffer, "Go. Go. Kick butt."
I can relate. I had CFIDS (Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome) and still suffer some aftereffects from it.
During the acute phase of the illness, I definitely experienced what you are talking about. I got lucky...I have not had an acute period since 1994. However, I still have residual effects which include a permanently impaired stamina, and problems with transferring data from short term to long term memory. I also have the annoying habit of occasionally losing consciousness for a few seconds at a time. I call it a "brown out." Some people call it "brain fog."
Anyway, what I'm really saying is...lemme at this stuff! I can definitely use it. If it won't affect blood pressure, I want it.
KCRW, while halfway decent, is nowhere near as good as KXLU. 88.9 FM, out of Loyola Marymount University.
At least you didn't mention KROQ, the new "oldies" station in town. They're still playing the whiny Brit band crap they did 20 years ago. Modern Rock? Naah.
And yeah, Clear Channel should be the first against the wall when the Revolution comes. Plastic music for plastic people.
OK, OK...read closer through Lycoris' site and saw that yes, Lycoris is based on Caldera. However, the MSNBC article suggested it was based on Corel Linux, which if memory serves me right is based on Debian.
set Stacy Rowe mode: ON
Sorry!
set Stacy Rowe mode: OFF
Ms. Geek
...towards a demystified Linux for the masses. If memory serves me right, isn't Corel based on Debian? According to the article, Lycoris is based on Corel Linux. Which suggests apt-get is more than a possibility here.
If this gets people out of their Windozers and into Linux, at least superficially, this is A Good Thing (tm) and should be encouraged. If it is a rip on XP and XP is what the newbie is used to, then cool, they'll get acclimated quicker.
***Set sarcasm mode ON***
Then W00t! for Global Warming! We sure are giving that Ice Age what-for! Greenhouse gases? Hell, we are doing the Earth a favor by driving our big SUVs and using chloroflurocarbons!
***Set sarcasm mode OFF***
Here is some food for thought, both pro-and-con Atlantis/Nadia connections:
DVDAngle: an introduction to the controversy
Nadia/Atlantis: The evil Disney Empire rips off Anime, again...
Nadia/Atlantis: an opposing view
Nadia/Atlantis: list of "homages" in Nadia
Or if you want to see the true low-end hardcore:
http://www.lowendmac.com/
I have nothing but admiration for people who keep old machines alive, particularly when they spread their technological wealth around. Which reminds me: I will be decommissioning one of my machines soon. It was built in 1997 and was a real science experiment, hence the name it's held on my network, "Dexter." In fact, I brought the case cover to a comic convention and Genndy Tartakovsky drew his mad scientist character on it and autographed it for good measure.
Dexter has been useful for all these years, and it's only because I have some new stuff coming in that I have to reluctantly decommission it. I'm keeping an eye out for a deserving new home for the thing. The scanner is going out the door too...it's an UMAX 600P and it is not supported in any OS beyond 98SE. SANE doesn't support it and UMAX doesn't make a 2K or XP driver for it either. It also barfs if connected to a computer with a processor that runs at or above 300MHz. Timing prob. Still works like a champ, too.
This machine will be going to the Pacoima Community Center or somewhere else deserving.
I have an i810-based computer, and currently am using the on-board audio. Thing is, there is so much crosstalk from other devices on the motherboard like the IDE lines and so on that unless you are pumping high-volume sound around you still hear little subtle pings and hisses.
I have heard that with the Nforce-based all-in-one motherboards the problem has pretty much been licked. However, I will not believe it until I hear it with my own ears.
Meanwhile, I'm saving my pennies for an Audigy... unless Turtle Beach comes out with an audio card with a firewire port on it.
eMusic is 0wned by Vivendi/Universal. Figure it out. They aren't our friends.
My father had Lou Gehrig's Disease, and died in 1975. I remember that while my dad was still alive there was mention of this ultra-genius scientist who was still alive, although unwell, and had been struggling with the disease since 1963, the year I was born.
He's had ALS for longer than I have been alive. Frankly it's miraculous that he's lived so long. It seems like Whatever's Out There still has big plans for him. His best work might not be behind him yet.
It has everything to do with Right of First Sale. Say I buy a copy of Mononoke Hime on DVD. What if I want to play it under Linux? So I want to try it on my Linux box. However, it can't make heads or tails out of the CSS encryption.
I am then forced into a quandary. Either I go download and compile DeCSS, or I can't do what I want with this DVD I bought. The person who slips me the code is now guilty of a crime. I'm guilty of circumvention under the DMCA.
If the only device I had to play this DVD was a Linux box I'd either be a lawbreaker or have a $20 frisbee on my hands. Thankfully my Mac plays it, albeit with some nasty artifacting. I've tried playing it under W2K and it made ATI Cinemaster for W2K puke. Typical Disney menu nonsense. Haven't gotten a standalone DVD player yet. Waiting to get one of those used.
Damn straight this is a Right of First Sale issue.
Uh...not every MCSE out there.
I was, to be frank, worried about its implications for security. Having Microsoft guard the keys to my bank account is like having the fox guard the hen house.
Nice to see it go. Now .NET can stand or fall on its own merits, not on privacy concerns.
I think that codifying the concept of "Right of First Sale" into law would be a good start. Note that the Authors Guild is raising a stink over Amazon's sale of used books. However, they are legally standing on quicksand because US law states that once you buy a book you are free to do whatever you want with it. That's the law, folks! Stomp your feet and whine all you want, you can't do anything about it.
A universal Right of First Sale would invalidate EULAs. In the state of California, you are now free to sell software that came bundled with your PC thanks to a sensible appelate judge who applied the Right of First Sale to software. The RIAA and MPAA would probably love to stop you from selling your used CDs and used DVDs, but there again is that pesky Right of First Sale. It is (still last I checked) legal to buy and sell used DVDs and CDs.
Universalizing Right of First Sale would also put a monkey wrench into attempts to criminalize the use of DeCSS to play DVDs on Linux. Hey, you bought that DVD...you have a right to play it on any OS you choose.
Same with region coding. You bought a DVD from a European or Japanese store over the Internet? Bought it fair and square? You didn't steal it? Good. You have the right to do with it what you will. Including hacking your DVD player to accommodate it.
I have no illusions that this will ever happen. But this is one way of preserving the rights we already have. The doctrine is already on the books. Let's encourage its application to new technology.
And I will vote for Pigasus before I'll vote for Feinstein again.
Senator Boxer is thoroughly 0wned by Hollywood. She's just as bad as Feinstein.
Much as I don't like Republicans and much as I do like women in the Capitol I'm going to vote Libertarian next Senatorial elections. Throw these sellouts to the MPAA and RIAA out the fsckin' door. See ya...
Well, considering that the project manager for MS BOB became Bill's wife, I don't think he considers it a total loss. Considering that she's got a third chip in the fab, (somehow "bun in the oven" isn't quite right for them) they must be enjoying each other's company, at least...;-)
...WWF Attitude. And you can't blame WinCE for that...you have to blame Acclaim and the fact that the title is a crufty port from PS One.
I have had no other Dreamcast title crash, including a couple which run under WinCE. The DC is a work of art. Too bad Sega didn't stick with it...
If you want a preview of the XBox II/MediaStation, take a look at motherboards using the Nvidia Nforce chipset. Apparently they originally developed this chipset as "plan B" for XBox, and now they may be working up a better version for Microsoft's next machine.
I have mentioned that this current NForce chipset could be used as a unified gaming platform for Linux. Think of it as Indrema's revenge. The mATX motherboard Abit has made with the NForce is from all reports startlingly good. It is perhaps the first all-in-one mobo that is actually usable as designed. Put this in a small case with a strong power supply and there's your Linux gaming console right there.
The problem MS has been having is getting titles out for the XBox that attract Japanese gamers' tastes. Most XBox titles have been very American-oriented. Yes there's DOA3 and Jet Set Radio Future, but that's about it. The XBox has been fine in the US but a console has to do well in Japan to be considered a success.
I hate seeing Sony on top. Dammit!
It is exceedingly easy to port a game from Windows XP to XBox. Basically it's just another variation on the PC gaming platform...and one which has consistent hardware.
The Linux kit for PS2 will NOT allow people to develop world-class games for the PS2. The Sony Linux layer is in a virtual machine, abstracted away from the real hardware. You'd be lucky to get XBill to run on Sony Linux, much less Tux Racer, much less anything that would compete with professionally written PS2 proggies. For that, you need Sony's pro dev kit.
The XBox is getting the same treatment from Sony that the Dreamcast is. In short, its days are numbered. You cannot have success with a console out that doesn't sell in Japan. Also Euro sales of the XBox is even more anemic than the reception of the machine in Japan.
Fearless prediction: November, 2002, MS lowers the price of the XBox to $150 or less. Spring, 2003, Microsoft announces the end of production of the XBox. November, 2003, the remaining XBoxen are blown out at $50.
Too bad, it was the best architecture of the three "next gen" game consoles.
If it's got text-to-speech in India's native languages it's got it for English too. People in India often speak English better than we Yanks do.
Member of both the RIAA and MPAA. Real Intellectual Property nazis. They love picking on people who hack their products, like mod chip builders and AIBO programmers. They pretty much ran the Dreamcast out of business.
I will never buy anything Sony. Ever. No matter how kawaii their stuff looks.
Sony makes Microsoft look like choirboys.
Unfortunately the DC had a lot of strikes against it, and SEGA had a lot of downright BAD LUCK during the period when they were trying to sell it.
However, there is one bright spot...the DC seems to be the most developer-friendly console ever made, and there are scores of people looking to make sure that there are new games...Open Source games using Kallisti!OS and Linux.
The platform is self limiting, alas...the console has been out of production since early 2001 and when a DC dies, in all practicality IT'S DEAD. Repairing it is going to be an exercise in futility a few years down the road.
My heart wants to cheer on the grassroots DC developers. But my mind says that maybe that energy should be better spent making Linux games better. In all likelihood the x86 architecture or something better but backwardly compatible will be with us for a long, long time.
The Nvidia Nforce chipset is the first totally-integrated mobo that is usable right out of the box, and could be the key to an Indrema-like Linux-based console game/convergence box that would beat the XBox at its own game. Heh, rumor has it MS is looking to use it for the next gen XBox.
Poor Dreamcast. Too fast to live, too young to die.