.NET is pretty damned good, and people recognize that. The few who don't are the normal "Anything but Microsoft" zealots. It's not perfect, but very good and getting better.
What's it going to give me, an embedded systems developer?
Absolutely nothing, but you're not the target demographic.
Why are vice presidents at work mandating its use in a hard realtime product?
.NET is the hot new buzzword, and your VPs aren't smart enough to realize that it's not suitable for embedded realtime applications.
Frankly it appears to me that the world has gone stark raving mad.
From your perspective, that may be true, but then you're looking at the world from the eyes of a real-time, embedded systems developer where you work with a limited set of known hardware under strict time and resource constraints..NET isn't for you. That doesn't mean the world has actually gone mad, just that there's more to the world than that which applies to you.
Only one problem though. I am yet to work out a way to have my address book shared between Thunderbird and SquirrelMail. Does anyone have any ideas on this? Ideally pine could join in on the shared address book action too, but that's not overly unnecessary.
Start at Freshmeat and search for what's available. Or, you could go all out and setup OpenLDAP on your internal network. I don't know if Thunderbird or SquirrelMail can access LDAP directories, but I'd be very surprised if they couldn't. I haven't done this myself, though I use the same setup as you minus SquirrelMail (I never access my personal email away from home, and if I'm not on my laptop with Thunderbird I can always ssh directly to the server and read it with mutt).
Yes, please! And while suggestions are being made, make the stand-alone HD units support not only OTA HD feeds but also digital cable. You can get a HD Tivo right now, but only for satellite. If you have OTA or cable HD, you're SOL.
Not true. I believe it was Robert Alton Harris, who got the death penalty in California, raped an inmate at the Sacramento jail. Harris held a trial in jail, convicted the other jailbird of being a sissy for only having forged checks, and punished him.
I didn't say it wasn't possible, just that it wasn't likely. However, it sounds like what Harris did was while he was in prison, not jail. ("jailbird" is a misnomer)
I say if you're in jail, you've lost your rights and should be on camera.
Please keep in mind the difference between jail ("A place for the confinement of persons in lawful detention, especially persons awaiting trial under local jurisdiction") and prison ("A place for the confinement of persons in lawful detention, especially persons convicted of crimes"). If you're in jail, you've not been convicted of anything yet, and thus you have not lost any rights, nor should you. You're being held, but you've not been tried or convicted of anything yet (that's not to say that you're innocent, or that you didn't do it, but as other posters have pointed out we do have the concept of "Innocent until proven guilty"). As such, you'll typically only run into drunks, vagrants, prostitutes, and other less violent criminals (or suspects). If you're being held on some more heinous charge, you're not going to be put into the communal holding cells (commonly referred to as "the drunk tank"), but you're also not likely to be congregating with other folks in jail. Once you've been tried, convicted, and sentenced to a term of confinement, you'll be put into prison. That's when you lose some (not all!) rights and are at serious risk of ass-raping and other unsavory acts (the fact that a short prison sentence can become a death sentence due to the rampancy of AIDS in federal prisons is sad, but I'm not addressing that -- do you really deserve to die if your crime was "minor" like fraud or larceny? Do you not deserve a chance to be rehabilitated?).
So, if you're in "jail", you're still innocent but suspected. If you're in prison, you've been found guilty. There's a world of difference, and saying that anyone who is ever in jail (not prison) should lose their rights is stupid and insane.
Re:I would feel safer if...
on
Judges Junk Jailcam
·
· Score: 2, Informative
I think the public does need to be more exposed to the problems with our prisons. But these jail cams in arizona aren't the way to go about doing that. These cameras aren't being used for education or information. They're being used as exploitation of the prisoners. Putting cameras in the women's toilets is not going to help teenagers stay away from crime.
I agree with your points, but there's something you missed -- these are jail cameras, not prison cameras. These are being used during booking and holding (ie, jail), not during incarceration (ie, prison). You're not likely to be ass-raped while in a holding cell in a jail.
What cars are you buying that regularly come with BOOST temperature and exhaust temp guages? engine temp maybe. Engine speed probably (in RPMS) but the other two? Even my Corvette C5 didn't have that before I traded it in...
Your Corvette C5 also didn't have a turbocharger on it as stock equipment, so boost temperature and exhaust temperature are meaningless for that car and engine (the former doesn't exist and the latter doesn't matter for a NA car).
Yeah, they didnt get away with a laptop, but I had to replace the window and school books. I'm sure it pissed them off too.
Not necessarily. School books (University-level) are insanely overpriced, so they could still make a good bit off of that. Say you had 5 books in there, all retailing for $100. They could easily sell those books for $50-70 a piece on the streets of your local campus town, no questions asked, and make off with a good stash of drug money.
no popup-blockers? no flash-click-to-view? Other than the fact I'm on XP, is there any compelling reason to switch over?
The update to IE6 in XP SP2 adds a popup blocker (I don't know if it has click-to-view for flash), so that won't be a new feature for IE7. Besides, you can find manypopupblockers for free for IE6 already. Just because it's not built into IE doesn't mean it can't be done with IE's programming model.
If you ISP's mailserver offer IMAP, then you can access the e-mail from both linux/windows since the e-mail is stored on the server. You might run out of space on the server if you get many e-mails and don't delete so often. Several e-mail clients can be configured to download the entire message, in case the mailserver is not accessible.
Better yet, get yourself a cheap old computer, set it up with linux, a good MTA (exim, postfix, qmail), an imap server, and fetchmail. Use that machine to fetch all of your mail from your ISP, in which case it won't matter if the ISP uses POP3 or IMAP. Then set up your mail clients on your dual-boot box to point to your local mail cache instead of your ISP. You can even setup the mail clients to use the local server to send mail, if you like. There'll be a small delay in receiving mail this way, though you can setup fetchmail to poll more often if you like, but I've never found that to be a problem. Finally, you can also setup a good spam solution like SpamAssassin and solve your spam problems in a single place rather than relying on the varying spam features of your different email clients (assuming they even have spam features, unlike a lot of console-based clients like pine or mutt).
There are more benefits for running your own server like this, too. It doesn't have to function solely as a mail machine. You could install Squid and an ad-killing plugin like AdZapper, and use the box as a web proxy. You could setup NAT and a DHCP server and have yourself an internal network that will support N clients, all with ineternet access, without having to buy a pre-packaged router (and you can do this with a single dialup connection, if you can't get broadband -- I don't know of any consumer routers you can buy that will dial on demand for you). You can firewall your entire internal network from a single point. You could add a wireless access point for cheaper than it would cost to buy a wireless router, plug it into a port on your switch, and have an instant wireless network. Setup samba and have an internal file share network. The sky (and hardware you have available) is the limit!
Engineer 1 - "Hey, our new car may burst into flames if people try to drive it."
Engineer 2 - "I know... let's get as many people to drive it as possible so we can see what the problem is!"
That's actually not a terrible idea, given proper precautions. Equip the drivers with proper safety equipment (nomex suits, gloves, shoes, fire retardent underwear, helmet, etc), put them on a controlled test track with fire and medical personnel on-site, put measuring equipment in the stable of cars so you can record information that will help you later determine the cause, and let the drivers have at it. Granted, it would work better with a few properly qualified test drivers, but so long as all of the safety concerns are covered it could be a fun experience for "average" drivers. I'd sign up!
This is the first time I have ever heard of a small site that was able to sucessfully defend itself from a slashdotting, due to an early warning.
I'm sure the guy had fair warning. It was on Blue's News earlier today, and I'm sure all of the other gaming sites picked up on it well before Slashdot.
when someone calls the first innovative controller since the classic NES days an abortion, I draw the line. It may have been a bit oversized, but without it where would either the analog stick, or the rumble feature be today. It's like calling the Wright Flyer an Abortion just because it only went a few feet! Aceadean
I'll agree that there were innovations in the controller, with the addition of an analog stick and the eventual rumble pack. However, PCs had analog joysticks for years, and my timeline may be slightly off but I believe that PCs also had force feedback around the time Nintendo launched their rumble pack (and the PC joysticks were more advanced in that the force feedback was not just some non-directional vibration). However, the layout and hand-feel (for lack of a better term) of the N64 controller was horrible. I acknowledge it for what it was, a step in the right direction, but to ignore that it was also poorly designed ergonomically is to blind yourself. Besides, we're not talking about revolutionary changes to the control scheme. Analog controls and force feedback/vibration are obvious evolutions that would've come about even without the horrible N64 controller. One may say the same thing about flight and the Wright Bros., but giving man the gift of flight is quite a bit different than giving the gift of vibration.
Controllers are meant to be held, not looked at. The N64 controller fit my hands perfectly and IMO was the most comfortable controller around before the GCN came out. And I suspect I wasn't the only one with this opinion, considering for how long the N64 controller was the iconic symbol of the games section here on/. for quite a while.
I played a good amount of N64 back in college (Mario Kart 64, Goldeneye, Killer Instinct 64), and the controllers really cramped my hands after half an hour of play. It was especially bad on fighters like KI. It was only slightly better on MK or 007. As well, I don't find the GC controller all that comfortable either, though it is quite a bit easier to hold than the N64. No, give me an XBox Controller S, and I can play for hours with no cramping at all. That's not something I can do with a GC, PS2, or N64 controller (the DC controller was better than those, too, though not better than the XBox).
Avoiding the "DVD" moniker also means avoiding obnoxious licensing fees to our good friends at the DVD Consortium. You'd think with all the pro-DeCSS voices here on/. there'd be more praise for a major media company that has boycotted the CSS heierarchy in entirety.
Sure the lack of licensing keeps the price point lower, but other than that I don't care. I couldn't care less about DeCSS, the "injustice" of the regions system, or other political bullcrap Slashdotters think everybody should care about. Maybe that's just me, though.
It's the games, stupid! If you want bells and whistles over gameplay and fun, go back to PC gaming.
Yes, bells and whistles don't make a good game, but as I implied in other posts, given the choice between "Game with good gameplay and average looks on GC" and "Game with good gameplay, bells and whistles, and perhaps some extras like online play or custom soundtracks or downloadable content on the XBox", I'm going to go with "bells and whistles" every time.
Of what use is better picture and sound when you can't play Metroid Prime or Wind Waker on it?
What use is a beautiful game like Metroid Prime (just about compares graphically to XBox launch titles) when you can't control it worth a shit? I blame Zoid for that, though.
How about horrendous battery lives for handhelds with such built-in lighting until the pricepoint on better technology came down?
Considering long the GBA ran off of two AA batteries, I don't see why they couldn't have just put in two more batteries and a backlight, and not lost much play time at all. Besides, if you put a switch on it to turn off the light, you can play for 20 hours with no light, and I can play for 5 with a light, and we'll both be happy. I may replace my batteries more often than you, but that doesn't bother me. Nintendo didn't give us that option, though. If you wanted a backlight, you had to buy a whole new GBA. Was that "about the game, stupid," or was it "about the money, stupid?"
I'm probably in a minority opinion here, but I don't think the Virtual Boy would have had the fate it did if Mario Clash was the Super Mario World-style platformer it was originally intended to be. The 3D Mario Bros. gameplay was alright and Wario World was good and all, but...
I never spent much time playing a VirtualBoy, so I can't tell you whether or not the games were good. However, that's a moot point. The thing burned out your eyes! Seriously, what genius thought it was a good idea to have a monochrome red stereo display only inches away from your eyes? I hope he has images of koopas burned into his retinas for that.
Go to GameFAQS and look at the top XBox FAQ. It's Ninja Gaiden - a game that came out almost 1/2 of a year ago.
That cuts both ways. The top PS2 FAQ is Final Fantasy X, which came out over 2 years ago. #2 is GTA:VC, another old game. #3 is FFX-2, another old game. Only Spider-Man 2 at #4 is a recent game in the top 5. The top Gamecube game is Tales of Symphonia which is relatively new (almost a year old in Japan, though), but look further into the list and you see #2 is Super Smash Bros. Melee, #3 is Zelda: The Wind Waker, and #4 is the GameCube hardware!
No. The Xbox is an x86 kludge of a console. It is expensive and inelegant. The reason it has more capabilities is that has more high end (expensive) parts. Throwing money at a problem is not a good technical solution (i.e. paying for an expensive HD).
First off, the cost for manufacturing XBoxes, like all the other consoles, has steadily been decreasing. Second, the Gamecube is a slightly more elegant PowerPC kludge of a console. The fact that the XBox is based on PC hardware doesn't make it any less of a console. And finally, what "problem" was Microsoft "throwing money at" to solve with a hard drive? You can still use memory cards, but putting a fixed storage device in a console is a very good idea.
The GC gets 3rd party exclusives but if they are successful they get ported to the PS2 (I know, not all of them do. I am exaggerating).
That would define the games as non-exclusive then, huh? Would you care to provide any examples of this? The marketing just doesn't make sense. "Hey, let's spend a bunch of money to write an exclusive game for a marginal console. If it does well there, then we can spend even more money and port it to PS2." Why not just start on the PS2 immediately? Oh, and I'm referring to the US market, so if you want to mention Japanese games that are GC exclusive, they should be games that have already or will be released in the States.
Also, multiplatform games are rarely better on the Xbox than GC and sometimes, but even more rarely, better on the GC than Xbox.
Again, I'm going to have to ask for examples. For my part, take a look at the Splinter Cell games (better on XBox than GC or PS2), EA Sports' entire lineup (they're designed for PS2, but at least now the XBox ports will have online play -- GC still doesn't get the love there, and no the Warp Pipe project doesn't count), Prince of Persia (best on XBox), Soul Calibur II (again best on XBox with better graphics and game control, though fanboys will prefer the GC version for the Link character -- personally, I like Spawn), Rainbow Six 3 (well, pretty much every Ubi Soft game), and many more. Can you provide me examples of cross-platform games that were better on the GC? And games like Skies of Arcadia don't count, because that was only cross-platform for DreamCast and GC, not GC/PS2/XBox.
Granted, the PS2 version can sometimes be less impressive but the GC and Xbox are basically the same unless you have an HDTV
If the port is done properly, the PS2 version will always be less impressive because both the GC and XBox support higer resolution textures. That's not to say that ports are always done well, especially when it's a port from PS2 to GC/XBox. However, I wouldn't say that the GC and XBox "are basically the same". Oh, and speaking of HDTV, that's another Nintendo hardware bungle. They dropped the component output on recent GameCube hardware revisions, which is just plain stupid. Of course, it was a self-fulfilling prophecy when their marketting department looked at the usage of component output on GC, since they only sell the component cables direct from the Nintendo store, and not at regular retail joints. And speaking of non-HDTV, I don't know why, but my GC looks much worse via composite or S-Vid than my XBox. My GC apparently has issues with red pixels, making them appear very blocky and nasty, and bleed all over the place. It seems to be an inerlacing issue, though, because I have the same problem with component cables unless I switch to progressive mode. It's most visible on the red Nintendo oval logo at the start of each game, though you can also really notice it on Mario's hat in Mario Sunshine (horrible game, sold it not long after getting it "for free" with the purchase of my GC). In contrast, my XBox looks just fine on a comp
I don't think they have made any stupid decisions regarding hardware thought the GC controller is debatable
How about the decision to stick with the cartridge format for the N64 when all of the competition had moved to CDs (cost them Square's games, a major blow)? The abortion that was the N64 controller? How about the decision to use a miniature disc for the GC, thus making the GC unable to double as a DVD player while simultaneously decreasing the storage space available for media content such as voices, music, video, and high-resolution textures? Not a huge deal, but when your competition is offering that feature and you're not, it's just one more reason why a person may not buy your console. How about no backlight on the GB/GBA for years, up until the release of the GBA SP? I can understand no backlight on the GB, but when the GBA was designed there was no reason not to add a backlight. What about the aborted SNES CD expansion, which ultimately turned into the Sony Playstation and signed Nintendo's death warrant? And the worst of all... wait for it... VirtualBoy.
It's too soon to tell yet how the DS will turn out, but I'm afraid that the touch screen is going to be more pain than it's worth.
They have technically the best console out right now. The Xbox has slightly more capabilities but it is also much more expensive to produce.
No, Nintendo may have monetarily the best console out right now (assuming it costs less to build than a PS2), but I don't think anyone would claim that the XBox is not the best technically. Two words: hard drive.
The problem Nintendo has is that is has not been good at attracting third party developers. They really need to get some good 3rd party exclusives to drive GC sales. Some 3rd party non-exclusives wouldn't kill them either.
Nintendo used to be the best at attracting 3rd parties, but their rash of bad hardware mistakes (mostly starting with the N64, which they still have recovered from) caused them to lose many 3rd parties. Oh, and the GC does get 3rd party non-exclusives, but the problem is that while the GC ports may be better than the PS2 (not always the case, given that the PS2 has more storage space available on the disk, and a better controller), they can't hold a candle to the XBox port (see Splinter Cell and Splinter Cell: PT). I expect that a majority of GC owners also have a PS2 or XBox, and so when it comes to 3rd party non-exclusive titles they will either buy it for the platform it's released on first (XBox or PS2, depending on the game), or where it has more/better features (better graphics, online play, better controller, etc).
By remake, I mean taking the storyline, and make it full 3D, with cool graphics and everything.
And ruin the games while you're at it? No offense to the folks who've only played Final Fantasy games starting from VII, but the games were much different (and much better!) in the 2D days. Moving FF4 or FF6 into a 3D gameworld would do nothing to enhance the enjoyment or playability of the game, and would be more likely to screw it up instead.
So, I'll have to disagree with you. I don't think Square should remake the 2D Final Fantasies into 3D versions.
Oh, and the games are not all "just ports". At least, not directly. For example, FF1 in FF:Origins is quite a bit different than the original FF1 on NES (because they ported from the WonderSwan version of FF1 rather than the NES version). The graphics have been updated, as well as some play mechanics (no more "Inaffective!").
I would say a FF4 and/or FF6 remake, but I think Square is already working on a FF4 remake huh? (That's funny, I held shift a little too long, and the result was "FF$", which is not an unrealistic representation...)
Already been done. You can pick up FF:Anthology and FF:Chronicles for remakes of FF5 and FF6 (FFA) and FF4 and Chrono Trigger (FFC), or FF:Origins for remakes of FF1 and FF2 (The Japanese FF2, not the American FF2, which was FF4). These are all remakes for PS1, but they should work on a PS2 as well (I seem to recall hearing that FF5 had problems with PS2's PS1 compatibility, but the rest should work).
Playing Metroid Prime with help turned off is a must, and certainly you should pass up any of the new GBA offerings.
I'd suggest the exact opposite. The play control in Prime is horrid enough that you must have the help system turned on, or you have no idea where you need to go next (and even with the help system on, it's not that big of a help). While I like a good exploration game as much as the next guy, Prime just couldn't overcome its control scheme for me (and I didn't just play 5 minutes and throw it down in a huff -- I have probably 20 hours into my current game of Prime, though my GCN is on loan to a friend at the moment).
On the other hand, the help system on the map in the GBA games is easily ignored, and they're much more fun and true to the spirit of the original Metroid games. Fusion was good, but Zero Mission was awesome (and has the original Metroid available as an unlockable bonus, too!). Great 2D graphics, great 2D gameplay, a familiar but expanded story and environment, and a real addition to the Samus Aran mythos make the game almost perfect for any Metroid fan. If you loved the original metroid games (Metroid and Super Metroid mostly, Metroid II was a bit of an anamoly in my opinion), forget about Prime and buy Zero Mission.
This election is too important to show your dissent. Trust me, Im as disgusted with the system as you are. But this is reality and you are either going to get a complete retard in the white house again or your going to get someone else ANYONE else.
Bullshit. If anything, it's more important than ever to vote 3rd party. If everyone were to vote 3rd party (I'm libertarian, but if you want to vote Green I don't care), neither of the two major parties would win.
Yuck, you put your commas at the beginning of the line! Are you insane?
Nope. I just follow the path of least effort. If putting my commas at the beginning of a line rather than at the end lets me quickly and easily add a new line later without the possibility of accidentally breaking code because I forgot to put a comma on the previous line, then I do it. In this case, it makes it painfully obvious that you're going to need to add a comma if you add a new line, and it keeps additions to a single-line change. Commas at the end of the line mean that it's easy to forget to add the comma, and it's a two-line change if you add a new line to the end of the list.
Remember, scalable bitmaps and alpha blending are already fully available on Mac (natively) and Win (with add-ons).
It's native in Windows, as well, since Windows 2000. Just because you need a separate application to enable it in apps that don't specifically support the Windows 2000+-specific extensions doesn't mean it's not native to the system. See the alpha-blended fade-in/out effects on menus, for example. Microsoft simply chose to go with an understated application (and yet still gets blasted for "annoying" menu animations), while Apple went over the top.
This article makes it unclear if WGF 1.0 is basically DirectX 10.0 or a Longhorn-specific system. If it isn't available to users of older versions of Windows, there is little incentive to rewrite code specifically for it. I think the adoption of Longhorn will be slow as I haven't heard any really compelling reasons to shell out the money for the upgrade.
Slashdot Mirror
.NET is pretty damned good, and people recognize that. The few who don't are the normal "Anything but Microsoft" zealots. It's not perfect, but very good and getting better.
Absolutely nothing, but you're not the target demographic.
.NET is the hot new buzzword, and your VPs aren't smart enough to realize that it's not suitable for embedded realtime applications.
From your perspective, that may be true, but then you're looking at the world from the eyes of a real-time, embedded systems developer where you work with a limited set of known hardware under strict time and resource constraints. .NET isn't for you. That doesn't mean the world has actually gone mad, just that there's more to the world than that which applies to you.
Start at Freshmeat and search for what's available. Or, you could go all out and setup OpenLDAP on your internal network. I don't know if Thunderbird or SquirrelMail can access LDAP directories, but I'd be very surprised if they couldn't. I haven't done this myself, though I use the same setup as you minus SquirrelMail (I never access my personal email away from home, and if I'm not on my laptop with Thunderbird I can always ssh directly to the server and read it with mutt).
Yes, please! And while suggestions are being made, make the stand-alone HD units support not only OTA HD feeds but also digital cable. You can get a HD Tivo right now, but only for satellite. If you have OTA or cable HD, you're SOL.
I didn't say it wasn't possible, just that it wasn't likely. However, it sounds like what Harris did was while he was in prison, not jail. ("jailbird" is a misnomer)
Please keep in mind the difference between jail ("A place for the confinement of persons in lawful detention, especially persons awaiting trial under local jurisdiction") and prison ("A place for the confinement of persons in lawful detention, especially persons convicted of crimes"). If you're in jail, you've not been convicted of anything yet, and thus you have not lost any rights, nor should you. You're being held, but you've not been tried or convicted of anything yet (that's not to say that you're innocent, or that you didn't do it, but as other posters have pointed out we do have the concept of "Innocent until proven guilty"). As such, you'll typically only run into drunks, vagrants, prostitutes, and other less violent criminals (or suspects). If you're being held on some more heinous charge, you're not going to be put into the communal holding cells (commonly referred to as "the drunk tank"), but you're also not likely to be congregating with other folks in jail. Once you've been tried, convicted, and sentenced to a term of confinement, you'll be put into prison. That's when you lose some (not all!) rights and are at serious risk of ass-raping and other unsavory acts (the fact that a short prison sentence can become a death sentence due to the rampancy of AIDS in federal prisons is sad, but I'm not addressing that -- do you really deserve to die if your crime was "minor" like fraud or larceny? Do you not deserve a chance to be rehabilitated?).
So, if you're in "jail", you're still innocent but suspected. If you're in prison, you've been found guilty. There's a world of difference, and saying that anyone who is ever in jail (not prison) should lose their rights is stupid and insane.
I agree with your points, but there's something you missed -- these are jail cameras, not prison cameras. These are being used during booking and holding (ie, jail), not during incarceration (ie, prison). You're not likely to be ass-raped while in a holding cell in a jail.
You mean something like this?
Your Corvette C5 also didn't have a turbocharger on it as stock equipment, so boost temperature and exhaust temperature are meaningless for that car and engine (the former doesn't exist and the latter doesn't matter for a NA car).
Not necessarily. School books (University-level) are insanely overpriced, so they could still make a good bit off of that. Say you had 5 books in there, all retailing for $100. They could easily sell those books for $50-70 a piece on the streets of your local campus town, no questions asked, and make off with a good stash of drug money.
The update to IE6 in XP SP2 adds a popup blocker (I don't know if it has click-to-view for flash), so that won't be a new feature for IE7. Besides, you can find many popup blockers for free for IE6 already. Just because it's not built into IE doesn't mean it can't be done with IE's programming model.
Better yet, get yourself a cheap old computer, set it up with linux, a good MTA (exim, postfix, qmail), an imap server, and fetchmail. Use that machine to fetch all of your mail from your ISP, in which case it won't matter if the ISP uses POP3 or IMAP. Then set up your mail clients on your dual-boot box to point to your local mail cache instead of your ISP. You can even setup the mail clients to use the local server to send mail, if you like. There'll be a small delay in receiving mail this way, though you can setup fetchmail to poll more often if you like, but I've never found that to be a problem. Finally, you can also setup a good spam solution like SpamAssassin and solve your spam problems in a single place rather than relying on the varying spam features of your different email clients (assuming they even have spam features, unlike a lot of console-based clients like pine or mutt).
There are more benefits for running your own server like this, too. It doesn't have to function solely as a mail machine. You could install Squid and an ad-killing plugin like AdZapper, and use the box as a web proxy. You could setup NAT and a DHCP server and have yourself an internal network that will support N clients, all with ineternet access, without having to buy a pre-packaged router (and you can do this with a single dialup connection, if you can't get broadband -- I don't know of any consumer routers you can buy that will dial on demand for you). You can firewall your entire internal network from a single point. You could add a wireless access point for cheaper than it would cost to buy a wireless router, plug it into a port on your switch, and have an instant wireless network. Setup samba and have an internal file share network. The sky (and hardware you have available) is the limit!
That's actually not a terrible idea, given proper precautions. Equip the drivers with proper safety equipment (nomex suits, gloves, shoes, fire retardent underwear, helmet, etc), put them on a controlled test track with fire and medical personnel on-site, put measuring equipment in the stable of cars so you can record information that will help you later determine the cause, and let the drivers have at it. Granted, it would work better with a few properly qualified test drivers, but so long as all of the safety concerns are covered it could be a fun experience for "average" drivers. I'd sign up!
I'm sure the guy had fair warning. It was on Blue's News earlier today, and I'm sure all of the other gaming sites picked up on it well before Slashdot.
I'll agree that there were innovations in the controller, with the addition of an analog stick and the eventual rumble pack. However, PCs had analog joysticks for years, and my timeline may be slightly off but I believe that PCs also had force feedback around the time Nintendo launched their rumble pack (and the PC joysticks were more advanced in that the force feedback was not just some non-directional vibration). However, the layout and hand-feel (for lack of a better term) of the N64 controller was horrible. I acknowledge it for what it was, a step in the right direction, but to ignore that it was also poorly designed ergonomically is to blind yourself. Besides, we're not talking about revolutionary changes to the control scheme. Analog controls and force feedback/vibration are obvious evolutions that would've come about even without the horrible N64 controller. One may say the same thing about flight and the Wright Bros., but giving man the gift of flight is quite a bit different than giving the gift of vibration.
Absolutely nothing at all. XP == desktop. 2003 == server.
I played a good amount of N64 back in college (Mario Kart 64, Goldeneye, Killer Instinct 64), and the controllers really cramped my hands after half an hour of play. It was especially bad on fighters like KI. It was only slightly better on MK or 007. As well, I don't find the GC controller all that comfortable either, though it is quite a bit easier to hold than the N64. No, give me an XBox Controller S, and I can play for hours with no cramping at all. That's not something I can do with a GC, PS2, or N64 controller (the DC controller was better than those, too, though not better than the XBox).
Sure the lack of licensing keeps the price point lower, but other than that I don't care. I couldn't care less about DeCSS, the "injustice" of the regions system, or other political bullcrap Slashdotters think everybody should care about. Maybe that's just me, though.
Yes, bells and whistles don't make a good game, but as I implied in other posts, given the choice between "Game with good gameplay and average looks on GC" and "Game with good gameplay, bells and whistles, and perhaps some extras like online play or custom soundtracks or downloadable content on the XBox", I'm going to go with "bells and whistles" every time.
What use is a beautiful game like Metroid Prime (just about compares graphically to XBox launch titles) when you can't control it worth a shit? I blame Zoid for that, though.
Considering long the GBA ran off of two AA batteries, I don't see why they couldn't have just put in two more batteries and a backlight, and not lost much play time at all. Besides, if you put a switch on it to turn off the light, you can play for 20 hours with no light, and I can play for 5 with a light, and we'll both be happy. I may replace my batteries more often than you, but that doesn't bother me. Nintendo didn't give us that option, though. If you wanted a backlight, you had to buy a whole new GBA. Was that "about the game, stupid," or was it "about the money, stupid?"
I never spent much time playing a VirtualBoy, so I can't tell you whether or not the games were good. However, that's a moot point. The thing burned out your eyes! Seriously, what genius thought it was a good idea to have a monochrome red stereo display only inches away from your eyes? I hope he has images of koopas burned into his retinas for that.
That cuts both ways. The top PS2 FAQ is Final Fantasy X, which came out over 2 years ago. #2 is GTA:VC, another old game. #3 is FFX-2, another old game. Only Spider-Man 2 at #4 is a recent game in the top 5. The top Gamecube game is Tales of Symphonia which is relatively new (almost a year old in Japan, though), but look further into the list and you see #2 is Super Smash Bros. Melee, #3 is Zelda: The Wind Waker, and #4 is the GameCube hardware!
First off, the cost for manufacturing XBoxes, like all the other consoles, has steadily been decreasing. Second, the Gamecube is a slightly more elegant PowerPC kludge of a console. The fact that the XBox is based on PC hardware doesn't make it any less of a console. And finally, what "problem" was Microsoft "throwing money at" to solve with a hard drive? You can still use memory cards, but putting a fixed storage device in a console is a very good idea.
That would define the games as non-exclusive then, huh? Would you care to provide any examples of this? The marketing just doesn't make sense. "Hey, let's spend a bunch of money to write an exclusive game for a marginal console. If it does well there, then we can spend even more money and port it to PS2." Why not just start on the PS2 immediately? Oh, and I'm referring to the US market, so if you want to mention Japanese games that are GC exclusive, they should be games that have already or will be released in the States.
Again, I'm going to have to ask for examples. For my part, take a look at the Splinter Cell games (better on XBox than GC or PS2), EA Sports' entire lineup (they're designed for PS2, but at least now the XBox ports will have online play -- GC still doesn't get the love there, and no the Warp Pipe project doesn't count), Prince of Persia (best on XBox), Soul Calibur II (again best on XBox with better graphics and game control, though fanboys will prefer the GC version for the Link character -- personally, I like Spawn), Rainbow Six 3 (well, pretty much every Ubi Soft game), and many more. Can you provide me examples of cross-platform games that were better on the GC? And games like Skies of Arcadia don't count, because that was only cross-platform for DreamCast and GC, not GC/PS2/XBox.
If the port is done properly, the PS2 version will always be less impressive because both the GC and XBox support higer resolution textures. That's not to say that ports are always done well, especially when it's a port from PS2 to GC/XBox. However, I wouldn't say that the GC and XBox "are basically the same". Oh, and speaking of HDTV, that's another Nintendo hardware bungle. They dropped the component output on recent GameCube hardware revisions, which is just plain stupid. Of course, it was a self-fulfilling prophecy when their marketting department looked at the usage of component output on GC, since they only sell the component cables direct from the Nintendo store, and not at regular retail joints. And speaking of non-HDTV, I don't know why, but my GC looks much worse via composite or S-Vid than my XBox. My GC apparently has issues with red pixels, making them appear very blocky and nasty, and bleed all over the place. It seems to be an inerlacing issue, though, because I have the same problem with component cables unless I switch to progressive mode. It's most visible on the red Nintendo oval logo at the start of each game, though you can also really notice it on Mario's hat in Mario Sunshine (horrible game, sold it not long after getting it "for free" with the purchase of my GC). In contrast, my XBox looks just fine on a comp
How about the decision to stick with the cartridge format for the N64 when all of the competition had moved to CDs (cost them Square's games, a major blow)? The abortion that was the N64 controller? How about the decision to use a miniature disc for the GC, thus making the GC unable to double as a DVD player while simultaneously decreasing the storage space available for media content such as voices, music, video, and high-resolution textures? Not a huge deal, but when your competition is offering that feature and you're not, it's just one more reason why a person may not buy your console. How about no backlight on the GB/GBA for years, up until the release of the GBA SP? I can understand no backlight on the GB, but when the GBA was designed there was no reason not to add a backlight. What about the aborted SNES CD expansion, which ultimately turned into the Sony Playstation and signed Nintendo's death warrant? And the worst of all ... wait for it ... VirtualBoy.
It's too soon to tell yet how the DS will turn out, but I'm afraid that the touch screen is going to be more pain than it's worth.
No, Nintendo may have monetarily the best console out right now (assuming it costs less to build than a PS2), but I don't think anyone would claim that the XBox is not the best technically. Two words: hard drive.
Nintendo used to be the best at attracting 3rd parties, but their rash of bad hardware mistakes (mostly starting with the N64, which they still have recovered from) caused them to lose many 3rd parties. Oh, and the GC does get 3rd party non-exclusives, but the problem is that while the GC ports may be better than the PS2 (not always the case, given that the PS2 has more storage space available on the disk, and a better controller), they can't hold a candle to the XBox port (see Splinter Cell and Splinter Cell: PT). I expect that a majority of GC owners also have a PS2 or XBox, and so when it comes to 3rd party non-exclusive titles they will either buy it for the platform it's released on first (XBox or PS2, depending on the game), or where it has more/better features (better graphics, online play, better controller, etc).
And ruin the games while you're at it? No offense to the folks who've only played Final Fantasy games starting from VII, but the games were much different (and much better!) in the 2D days. Moving FF4 or FF6 into a 3D gameworld would do nothing to enhance the enjoyment or playability of the game, and would be more likely to screw it up instead.
So, I'll have to disagree with you. I don't think Square should remake the 2D Final Fantasies into 3D versions.
Oh, and the games are not all "just ports". At least, not directly. For example, FF1 in FF:Origins is quite a bit different than the original FF1 on NES (because they ported from the WonderSwan version of FF1 rather than the NES version). The graphics have been updated, as well as some play mechanics (no more "Inaffective!").
Already been done. You can pick up FF:Anthology and FF:Chronicles for remakes of FF5 and FF6 (FFA) and FF4 and Chrono Trigger (FFC), or FF:Origins for remakes of FF1 and FF2 (The Japanese FF2, not the American FF2, which was FF4). These are all remakes for PS1, but they should work on a PS2 as well (I seem to recall hearing that FF5 had problems with PS2's PS1 compatibility, but the rest should work).
I'd suggest the exact opposite. The play control in Prime is horrid enough that you must have the help system turned on, or you have no idea where you need to go next (and even with the help system on, it's not that big of a help). While I like a good exploration game as much as the next guy, Prime just couldn't overcome its control scheme for me (and I didn't just play 5 minutes and throw it down in a huff -- I have probably 20 hours into my current game of Prime, though my GCN is on loan to a friend at the moment).
On the other hand, the help system on the map in the GBA games is easily ignored, and they're much more fun and true to the spirit of the original Metroid games. Fusion was good, but Zero Mission was awesome (and has the original Metroid available as an unlockable bonus, too!). Great 2D graphics, great 2D gameplay, a familiar but expanded story and environment, and a real addition to the Samus Aran mythos make the game almost perfect for any Metroid fan. If you loved the original metroid games (Metroid and Super Metroid mostly, Metroid II was a bit of an anamoly in my opinion), forget about Prime and buy Zero Mission.
Bullshit. If anything, it's more important than ever to vote 3rd party. If everyone were to vote 3rd party (I'm libertarian, but if you want to vote Green I don't care), neither of the two major parties would win.
Nope. I just follow the path of least effort. If putting my commas at the beginning of a line rather than at the end lets me quickly and easily add a new line later without the possibility of accidentally breaking code because I forgot to put a comma on the previous line, then I do it. In this case, it makes it painfully obvious that you're going to need to add a comma if you add a new line, and it keeps additions to a single-line change. Commas at the end of the line mean that it's easy to forget to add the comma, and it's a two-line change if you add a new line to the end of the list.
It's native in Windows, as well, since Windows 2000. Just because you need a separate application to enable it in apps that don't specifically support the Windows 2000+-specific extensions doesn't mean it's not native to the system. See the alpha-blended fade-in/out effects on menus, for example. Microsoft simply chose to go with an understated application (and yet still gets blasted for "annoying" menu animations), while Apple went over the top.
Sounds like OS X, huh?