You can do that, provided you run something like twm, and stick to apps that use simple toolkits like athena.
X was never designed to be run with the graphics-intensive toolkits like gtk and qt. If you want the kind of performance you're suggesting, you've got to stick with the kits it was designed for.
If you want more speed, and you want your pretty interface too, then X needs to be redesigned from the ground up, perhaps even being limited to one toolkit so that that toolkit's baser functions can be abstracted away over the linkup. (And better gui object caching added, by way of a scenegraph.) For an example of a project currently attempting this, do a search on Slashdot for Y; there was a story on it here within the month or so.
In the old days, the game development schedule went as follows: - finish game - release game - rework a demo - release demo - work on expansion - start sequel
Nowadays, the schedule goes: - leaked copy - work on game - release game - warez version available - finish game - release gold edition - start sequel
The nice things about leaking a beta are: - you don't have to actually customize anything - it's completely not your fault if it sucks.
Between the warez version coming out right after release, and the number of leaked betas from E3 or whatever, I think the market for official demos has completely dried up. Especially considering the longer development times for products nowadays, and the fact that most of these companies live hand-to-mouth.
Dude, Puyo Pop is the bomb. But getting back on topic..
What really gets me about this particular wireless adapter is that it'll never be used for what it should be; good P2P games. Instead, it'll be used for stuff like Pokemon, so kids don't have to mess with cords.
What do I mean by P2P games? I mean, something like, a game where each cartridge has a semi-unique ID number, or something. And each time you pull it out and play it, it scans the surrounding area to see if anyone is around that you haven't played against before.
Where this'd be really neat would be if you were playing an RPG. Suddenly, you come into contact with someone else playing the same game. Random encounter! And the two of you are fighting. Alternately, if you've met them before, and you're of the same allegiance in the game, you get some sort of bonus.
Or how about a game where you have to collect as many hashes as possible? Think of a fighting game, where each opponent you beat is a hash you collect that unlocks something. You could go to a convention or something and play against a bunch of other people, each with one of the hashes you need, and try and get all the hashes, all the while meeting new people and just having fun.
There are tons of ways that you could use this technology, once you realize you aren't always playing the same people in multiplayer games on portable platforms. I'd love to see a paradigm shift in the industry, where instead of meeting friends to play games, you play games to meet friends. GBA can become the next Evercrack, but in a good way, promoting socializing IRL to meet others to advance your progress.
What type of power supplies do you have in these machines? I ran my 8500le with the one that came with my case for almost a year, and it crashed on me constantly. Upgrading to a 450W power supply fixed all my problems. Perhaps you're just not letting the card have enough juice?
The XBox pixel and vertex shader languages have extra instructions that you can exploit to get faster code, if you're smart. I've heard, for instance, that there is an XBox-only pixel shader instruction which does only half of what a DirectX one does, but it does it in half the time.
These kinds of things would be easy for DirectX 9 level hardware, though. The amount of distance travelled since the XBox was released means that emulating XBox video functions on a DX9 ATi part would be a cakewalk.
Where things get tricky is in the timing. You want an XBox game to feel like an XBox game on XBox2 hardware. If someone got "smart" and stopped checking game time to get a little extra CPU wiggle room in certain situations, then things could get messy. (I doubt anyone out there's stupid enough to do something like that, though, in this day in age. Plus Microsoft probably tests for this sort of thing, anyways, before giving it the sticker, so I don't think it'd be a problem with official XBox products.)
Of course, they'll want to make sure that XBox2 can be emulated on XBox3 when that comes out. So I'm sure they're already thinking ahead to what XBox3 will be, and how they're going to emulate this generation on it.
I rather enjoyed the GameCube gamepad, coming from a Dreamcast background, but you're right about those shoulder buttons.
I think with the Gamecube gamepad, Nintendo was trying to inspire game developers to think different about how their games would be played. And also, of course, to lock more titles into their own platform by having them designed around the peripheral. They should be given kudos for trying to innovate in an area that's really only experienced iterative improvements over the years. (NES controller -> more buttons SNES controller -> sticks and extra buttons PS controller -> analog everything PS2 controller)
Mind you, they should be kicked in the shins for thinking convergeance is their saviour. Releasing games that require a GBA be used as a controller in order to experience the full breadth of gameplay is just plain annoying. I pity da fool playing GC with a GBA:SP. I mean you wanna talk about cramped fingers....They dumbed down Wind Waker!? Bugger..
I really don't like how this has turned into a war between the different consoles. You'd think they'd sell these things based on their merits--the games, controllers, ease of use--but instead it seems to be more about numbers.
Everyone always quotes the number of PS2 and XBoxes out there, and then scoffs at the Gamecubes. Okay, I understand what you're saying, if what you're most concerned about with is having a large number of people to play against online. If you're just concerned about having enough userbase out there that companies will want to fund a game on your platform, I think GC's still got enough. It's just a matter of actually connecting with your audience. I'll get to that in a second.
PS2 development is a pain in the ass. So says anyone I've talked to who has worked on it. Sure you can licence an engine to get around that little problem, but then you're giving a cheque to someone else, too. And what about studios that already have their own engines in-house? Wasted money.
XBox is good for companies used to developing for Windows. This is well-known. Unfortunately, for gamers it's just not the best option, unless what you're interested in is DOA3 or their Beach Volleyball game. Nearly every other popular game available for the XBox is also available for either the PS2 or the PC. Or they have worthy competition on another console.
The Gamecube is just a nice gaming console. Its appeal is to those in the audience who are just after the games. They don't want to have to think about what kind of DVD player is included, or getting the specific type of surround sound system to get the audio working at 100% of potential. They just want something that they can plug in quickly, and get as much enjoyment out of it as the next person. DVD, MP3 ripping, hard drive attachments.. they'll just get another box to look after that. If they decide to get a new gaming system in a few years, it just means they won't have to look for a new DVD player when they get rid of their game console. Simplicity.
I think by now it's kind of obvious where my prejudices lie, now, so lets get back to my little connecting with the audience theory.
The reason I think Gamecube hasn't done as well as the others has to do with the way the game industry is set up. In order for a game company to keep operating, it needs to have cash flow. Guaranteed cash flow is even better. To guarantee cash flow, companies have a full playbook of possibilities: - Release sequels to popular games - Create franchises with a yearly refresh cycle, such as EA Sports - Integrate an online component into the game, and require the user to continue to pay for the priviledge to play the game with others
Notice that nowhere in there is "Innovate new titles." This is not a guaranteed method of success, especially in today's gaming society. Why is that? I think it's because of the way companies handle their advertising.
Let's say you're Nintendo. You have a totally new game idea, like sayyy... Pikmon. You want people to buy it. What do you do? If a product is totally new, with a totally different type of gameplay, then people are going to want to know how it plays before they go about purchasing it. They want more than a few pictures or videos or testimonials.. they want a FEEL for how the product handles.
This is where demo discs come in handy. Sure, I can go into my local gaming store and maybe see a GC running Wind Waker, but how often do they put the game I want to try on for me to play-test? Am I going to be able to play it long enough to "get into it?"
The XBox people know this; XBox Magazine comes with a demo disc every month. It features demos of upcoming games, some videos.. you know, the usual. You can play it in your very own home, at your own pace, with no annoying sales people or even more annoying my-life-is-games-ers telling you how to get past that certain point.
Sony's PS2 people get it too; their PS2 Magazine also comes with a demo
It's sad but true; Carmack's probably the one person out there with the biggest influence on new revisions of the OpenGL spec.
As to whether or not it's largely based on his work, however, that's another story. Honestly, there are tons of people working on the same thing that Carmack is. He's just the most well known, with the biggest profile. The technology behind Doom III, while interesting, really is just a natural, next logical extension of the current state of 3D graphics.
Who came up with that name?
on
Kroupware Komplete
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· Score: 0, Redundant
"Kroupware"?!!? As someone who's had a few younger brothers and sisters who've had the croup as babies.. that's a pretty lame name. It makes me think of text-to-speech software being played too loudly on a pair of cheap speakers.
The logical extension from this, which I believe Cringley was implying by having a charge for each song you decide to purchase, is that eventually Snapster would become a record label unto itself.
At that point in time, the big name artists would start signing up with Snapster, so they would be taking maybe four of the five cents collected, since it wouldn't be needed for legal defence against them.
If you plan on getting this thing, keep in mind that it requires more batteries than what are just in the base unit.
There are two of these tuners out there. One gives you an input jack, and the other only lets you use the antenna. Both require another GBA cart be in the slot to provide the boot code.
And if that was just a typo, you're blind; there's a BIG "DRIVERS" button on the www.ati.com front page. Click that. Then from the lists, select "Graphic driver," "Windows [whatever version]," and then "RADEON Family."
The page works in Firebird, and IE. If you're using Opera, or some other browser, switch to IE and give it a go there.
Gawd.. How the hell that post was "Insightful" I'll never know..
How about "Enhanced CDs" that don't carry that label? Will they still play in my PC?
I was looking at Weird Al's "Poodle Hat" in the store the other day, but was confused as to whether or not I could play it in my PC without some Windows-only copy protection thing kicking in, because there was no "CD" symbol on the case.
I downloaded and played with the latest beta. A few questions:
- How do I access the envelope editor? - Can I use MIDI events (a MIDI mixer, or the knobs on my MIDI synth) to control envelopes? - Is there any way to have VST effects be applied during playback, as opposed to being a processing phase? (For interactive editing) - Can I use envelopes to control the parameters of VST effects? - Do you support mixing for more than two channels?
It's looking better than the last release I tried, but I still can't shake the feeling that everything I do is "offline." If I could find a way to have more interactive access to the controls, I think I'd find it to be a more engaging experience.
They're like night and day. Audacity is designed for editing sound clips. Its interface was designed in the style of CoolEdit or the windows Sound Recorder.
Ardour, on the other hand, is designed as a suite. It's layout is designed so you can easily edit multiple tracks at the same time. You can have the volume or panning change as your progress, timewise, through each track. You can apply certain effects to just one track on the fly, rather than having to pre-process it and mix it, and then listen to the result.
The difference between Audacity and Ardour is kind of like the difference between MS Paint and The Gimp. Think layers. It's just a more robust program.
Remember, other peoples governments giving us money (even in the form of memory) is a good thing for our economy. Don't be led into this fallacy that its more important to keep our money "internal." The greedy strategy tends yield an amazingly near optimal solution. Government intervention will always lead something ineffecient taking place.
This is a flawed argument. The idea isn't to keep the money internal; the idea is to maintain the stability of the businesses involved.
In a typical free market situation, you have different companies vying against eachother for a slice of the same pie. Their products may not be completely identical, but the idea is that the best ideas, the best products, the best business plans, will eventually win out.
Now in this instance, we have a business which is close to collapse. So what happens if, on the way out, Hynix temporarily becomes the primary seller of DRAM chips on the market? Let's say that the products of this company and Micron are similar enough, and everyone switches to Hynix chips. Assume Hynix really is going to collapse; what happens to Micron?
First, they reduce costs, trying to compete. Then, when they find they can't attract the demand, they shut down production lines, sell plants. If things get far enough along, they may have to start pulling funding for R&D, which will hurt them even more later on. It could take them years to retool, to recover, to refinance their R&D divisions, after such problems.
Now what happens to everyone else, if Hynix collapses? Companies that rely on a steady flow of parts could be ruined by this, as they suddenly have nowhere to turn to for the pieces they need. They may find parts at a higher price, but that will still raise their costs, making it difficult to compete. Possibly even against themselves, if a large quantity of a previous version of their product is already out there, and was cheaper prior.
Now I'm not saying they're at this stage right now, and I'm not saying they're necessarily even headed for this stage. Micron seems like they're a pretty popular, thriving company at the moment. But depending on how long South Korea keeps Hynix on life support, they could last just long enough to really screw things up for several companies. With Hynix hanging on, newcomers will have a hard time getting a foothold in the market, as Hynix's chips stay at an artificially low price.
Getting back to your statement, I don't think that the government being involved in something necessitates that it become inefficient. In fact, I think it's rather important to have the government involved in all major business decisions, especially those involving monopolies or companies in near-monopoly positions. Without the government, companies would become "too" efficient, and I'm convinced that most would just start sucking money directly out of our bank accounts, given the opportunity. It is, after all, the most efficient business model you'll ever see.
Slashdot Mirror
You can do that, provided you run something like twm, and stick to apps that use simple toolkits like athena.
X was never designed to be run with the graphics-intensive toolkits like gtk and qt. If you want the kind of performance you're suggesting, you've got to stick with the kits it was designed for.
If you want more speed, and you want your pretty interface too, then X needs to be redesigned from the ground up, perhaps even being limited to one toolkit so that that toolkit's baser functions can be abstracted away over the linkup. (And better gui object caching added, by way of a scenegraph.) For an example of a project currently attempting this, do a search on Slashdot for Y; there was a story on it here within the month or so.
You know, that reminds me; the new Microsoft Outlook design looks suspiciously like Google's Groups layout...
In the old days, the game development schedule went as follows:
- finish game
- release game
- rework a demo
- release demo
- work on expansion
- start sequel
Nowadays, the schedule goes:
- leaked copy
- work on game
- release game
- warez version available
- finish game
- release gold edition
- start sequel
The nice things about leaking a beta are:
- you don't have to actually customize anything
- it's completely not your fault if it sucks.
Between the warez version coming out right after release, and the number of leaked betas from E3 or whatever, I think the market for official demos has completely dried up. Especially considering the longer development times for products nowadays, and the fact that most of these companies live hand-to-mouth.
Dude, Puyo Pop is the bomb. But getting back on topic..
What really gets me about this particular wireless adapter is that it'll never be used for what it should be; good P2P games. Instead, it'll be used for stuff like Pokemon, so kids don't have to mess with cords.
What do I mean by P2P games? I mean, something like, a game where each cartridge has a semi-unique ID number, or something. And each time you pull it out and play it, it scans the surrounding area to see if anyone is around that you haven't played against before.
Where this'd be really neat would be if you were playing an RPG. Suddenly, you come into contact with someone else playing the same game. Random encounter! And the two of you are fighting. Alternately, if you've met them before, and you're of the same allegiance in the game, you get some sort of bonus.
Or how about a game where you have to collect as many hashes as possible? Think of a fighting game, where each opponent you beat is a hash you collect that unlocks something. You could go to a convention or something and play against a bunch of other people, each with one of the hashes you need, and try and get all the hashes, all the while meeting new people and just having fun.
There are tons of ways that you could use this technology, once you realize you aren't always playing the same people in multiplayer games on portable platforms. I'd love to see a paradigm shift in the industry, where instead of meeting friends to play games, you play games to meet friends. GBA can become the next Evercrack, but in a good way, promoting socializing IRL to meet others to advance your progress.
Cheers
What type of power supplies do you have in these machines? I ran my 8500le with the one that came with my case for almost a year, and it crashed on me constantly. Upgrading to a 450W power supply fixed all my problems. Perhaps you're just not letting the card have enough juice?
At 1280x960, this is a known issue with CRTs. At all other resolutions .... that's weird.
The XBox pixel and vertex shader languages have extra instructions that you can exploit to get faster code, if you're smart. I've heard, for instance, that there is an XBox-only pixel shader instruction which does only half of what a DirectX one does, but it does it in half the time.
These kinds of things would be easy for DirectX 9 level hardware, though. The amount of distance travelled since the XBox was released means that emulating XBox video functions on a DX9 ATi part would be a cakewalk.
Where things get tricky is in the timing. You want an XBox game to feel like an XBox game on XBox2 hardware. If someone got "smart" and stopped checking game time to get a little extra CPU wiggle room in certain situations, then things could get messy. (I doubt anyone out there's stupid enough to do something like that, though, in this day in age. Plus Microsoft probably tests for this sort of thing, anyways, before giving it the sticker, so I don't think it'd be a problem with official XBox products.)
Of course, they'll want to make sure that XBox2 can be emulated on XBox3 when that comes out. So I'm sure they're already thinking ahead to what XBox3 will be, and how they're going to emulate this generation on it.
What's that, you say? Buy Microsoft? ;)
I rather enjoyed the GameCube gamepad, coming from a Dreamcast background, but you're right about those shoulder buttons.
..They dumbed down Wind Waker!? Bugger..
I think with the Gamecube gamepad, Nintendo was trying to inspire game developers to think different about how their games would be played. And also, of course, to lock more titles into their own platform by having them designed around the peripheral. They should be given kudos for trying to innovate in an area that's really only experienced iterative improvements over the years. (NES controller -> more buttons SNES controller -> sticks and extra buttons PS controller -> analog everything PS2 controller)
Mind you, they should be kicked in the shins for thinking convergeance is their saviour. Releasing games that require a GBA be used as a controller in order to experience the full breadth of gameplay is just plain annoying. I pity da fool playing GC with a GBA:SP. I mean you wanna talk about cramped fingers..
I really don't like how this has turned into a war between the different consoles. You'd think they'd sell these things based on their merits--the games, controllers, ease of use--but instead it seems to be more about numbers.
Everyone always quotes the number of PS2 and XBoxes out there, and then scoffs at the Gamecubes. Okay, I understand what you're saying, if what you're most concerned about with is having a large number of people to play against online. If you're just concerned about having enough userbase out there that companies will want to fund a game on your platform, I think GC's still got enough. It's just a matter of actually connecting with your audience. I'll get to that in a second.
PS2 development is a pain in the ass. So says anyone I've talked to who has worked on it. Sure you can licence an engine to get around that little problem, but then you're giving a cheque to someone else, too. And what about studios that already have their own engines in-house? Wasted money.
XBox is good for companies used to developing for Windows. This is well-known. Unfortunately, for gamers it's just not the best option, unless what you're interested in is DOA3 or their Beach Volleyball game. Nearly every other popular game available for the XBox is also available for either the PS2 or the PC. Or they have worthy competition on another console.
The Gamecube is just a nice gaming console. Its appeal is to those in the audience who are just after the games. They don't want to have to think about what kind of DVD player is included, or getting the specific type of surround sound system to get the audio working at 100% of potential. They just want something that they can plug in quickly, and get as much enjoyment out of it as the next person. DVD, MP3 ripping, hard drive attachments.. they'll just get another box to look after that. If they decide to get a new gaming system in a few years, it just means they won't have to look for a new DVD player when they get rid of their game console. Simplicity.
I think by now it's kind of obvious where my prejudices lie, now, so lets get back to my little connecting with the audience theory.
The reason I think Gamecube hasn't done as well as the others has to do with the way the game industry is set up. In order for a game company to keep operating, it needs to have cash flow. Guaranteed cash flow is even better. To guarantee cash flow, companies have a full playbook of possibilities:
- Release sequels to popular games
- Create franchises with a yearly refresh cycle, such as EA Sports
- Integrate an online component into the game, and require the user to continue to pay for the priviledge to play the game with others
Notice that nowhere in there is "Innovate new titles." This is not a guaranteed method of success, especially in today's gaming society. Why is that? I think it's because of the way companies handle their advertising.
Let's say you're Nintendo. You have a totally new game idea, like sayyy... Pikmon. You want people to buy it. What do you do? If a product is totally new, with a totally different type of gameplay, then people are going to want to know how it plays before they go about purchasing it. They want more than a few pictures or videos or testimonials.. they want a FEEL for how the product handles.
This is where demo discs come in handy. Sure, I can go into my local gaming store and maybe see a GC running Wind Waker, but how often do they put the game I want to try on for me to play-test? Am I going to be able to play it long enough to "get into it?"
The XBox people know this; XBox Magazine comes with a demo disc every month. It features demos of upcoming games, some videos.. you know, the usual. You can play it in your very own home, at your own pace, with no annoying sales people or even more annoying my-life-is-games-ers telling you how to get past that certain point.
Sony's PS2 people get it too; their PS2 Magazine also comes with a demo
It's sad but true; Carmack's probably the one person out there with the biggest influence on new revisions of the OpenGL spec.
As to whether or not it's largely based on his work, however, that's another story. Honestly, there are tons of people working on the same thing that Carmack is. He's just the most well known, with the biggest profile. The technology behind Doom III, while interesting, really is just a natural, next logical extension of the current state of 3D graphics.
"Kroupware"?!!? As someone who's had a few younger brothers and sisters who've had the croup as babies.. that's a pretty lame name. It makes me think of text-to-speech software being played too loudly on a pair of cheap speakers.
Ditto for movies. Didja see the bit in that list where they praised Batman & Robin? I mean, COME ON..
(link)
The logical extension from this, which I believe Cringley was implying by having a charge for each song you decide to purchase, is that eventually Snapster would become a record label unto itself.
At that point in time, the big name artists would start signing up with Snapster, so they would be taking maybe four of the five cents collected, since it wouldn't be needed for legal defence against them.
There is Transgaming's WineX, you know. I hear it's pretty good for playing games under Linux.
If you plan on getting this thing, keep in mind that it requires more batteries than what are just in the base unit.
There are two of these tuners out there. One gives you an input jack, and the other only lets you use the antenna. Both require another GBA cart be in the slot to provide the boot code.
As for me, I'm waiting for the PSP. P:
Dude, it's a Radeon, not Raedon..
And if that was just a typo, you're blind; there's a BIG "DRIVERS" button on the www.ati.com front page. Click that. Then from the lists, select "Graphic driver," "Windows [whatever version]," and then "RADEON Family."
The page works in Firebird, and IE. If you're using Opera, or some other browser, switch to IE and give it a go there.
Gawd.. How the hell that post was "Insightful" I'll never know..
How about "Enhanced CDs" that don't carry that label? Will they still play in my PC?
I was looking at Weird Al's "Poodle Hat" in the store the other day, but was confused as to whether or not I could play it in my PC without some Windows-only copy protection thing kicking in, because there was no "CD" symbol on the case.
Where are all of the "In Soviet Russia" jokes? You'd think a story like this'd be just loaded with them..
I downloaded and played with the latest beta. A few questions:
- How do I access the envelope editor?
- Can I use MIDI events (a MIDI mixer, or the knobs on my MIDI synth) to control envelopes?
- Is there any way to have VST effects be applied during playback, as opposed to being a processing phase? (For interactive editing)
- Can I use envelopes to control the parameters of VST effects?
- Do you support mixing for more than two channels?
It's looking better than the last release I tried, but I still can't shake the feeling that everything I do is "offline." If I could find a way to have more interactive access to the controls, I think I'd find it to be a more engaging experience.
They're like night and day. Audacity is designed for editing sound clips. Its interface was designed in the style of CoolEdit or the windows Sound Recorder.
Ardour, on the other hand, is designed as a suite. It's layout is designed so you can easily edit multiple tracks at the same time. You can have the volume or panning change as your progress, timewise, through each track. You can apply certain effects to just one track on the fly, rather than having to pre-process it and mix it, and then listen to the result.
The difference between Audacity and Ardour is kind of like the difference between MS Paint and The Gimp. Think layers. It's just a more robust program.
Woohoo! Now internet porn can finally have centerfolds!
If I am going to introduce someone to Linux, the options would be Mandrake, Redhat, Lindows, but never Debian or Slackware.
But never Debian? Am I missing something, here?
Remember, other peoples governments giving us money (even in the form of memory) is a good thing for our economy. Don't be led into this fallacy that its more important to keep our money "internal." The greedy strategy tends yield an amazingly near optimal solution. Government intervention will always lead something ineffecient taking place.
This is a flawed argument. The idea isn't to keep the money internal; the idea is to maintain the stability of the businesses involved.
In a typical free market situation, you have different companies vying against eachother for a slice of the same pie. Their products may not be completely identical, but the idea is that the best ideas, the best products, the best business plans, will eventually win out.
Now in this instance, we have a business which is close to collapse. So what happens if, on the way out, Hynix temporarily becomes the primary seller of DRAM chips on the market? Let's say that the products of this company and Micron are similar enough, and everyone switches to Hynix chips. Assume Hynix really is going to collapse; what happens to Micron?
First, they reduce costs, trying to compete. Then, when they find they can't attract the demand, they shut down production lines, sell plants. If things get far enough along, they may have to start pulling funding for R&D, which will hurt them even more later on. It could take them years to retool, to recover, to refinance their R&D divisions, after such problems.
Now what happens to everyone else, if Hynix collapses? Companies that rely on a steady flow of parts could be ruined by this, as they suddenly have nowhere to turn to for the pieces they need. They may find parts at a higher price, but that will still raise their costs, making it difficult to compete. Possibly even against themselves, if a large quantity of a previous version of their product is already out there, and was cheaper prior.
Now I'm not saying they're at this stage right now, and I'm not saying they're necessarily even headed for this stage. Micron seems like they're a pretty popular, thriving company at the moment. But depending on how long South Korea keeps Hynix on life support, they could last just long enough to really screw things up for several companies. With Hynix hanging on, newcomers will have a hard time getting a foothold in the market, as Hynix's chips stay at an artificially low price.
Getting back to your statement, I don't think that the government being involved in something necessitates that it become inefficient. In fact, I think it's rather important to have the government involved in all major business decisions, especially those involving monopolies or companies in near-monopoly positions. Without the government, companies would become "too" efficient, and I'm convinced that most would just start sucking money directly out of our bank accounts, given the opportunity. It is, after all, the most efficient business model you'll ever see.
Someone should tell Starcube that their FILE_ID.DIZ file isn't fully compliant..
10 lines or less of text? less than 45 characters long? They're not even trying! For shame, Starcube, for shame!