If you're saying the royal you doesn't need to do that anymore, I call BS.
(OT: not posting with karma bonus)
What? I don't understand what you're saying, but I think you're trying to counter my sig. Windows 2000 and XP don't need to "reboot all the time". Individual users' stories blaming Windows for "instability" when they have $deity knows what programs running and drivers installed with $deity knows what hardware are anecdotal at best.
Don't run that "good deal" shit hardware. Run quality hardware with decent drivers from companies that have experience. Run as a normal user, and log on as an admin when you need to make system changes. Don't run poorly written software. Sloppy programmers have not followed the 2000 and XP API specs. Because there is backward compatibility built in and they take the easy way, those programs often require admin privileges to run. It sucks, but it isn't Microsoft's problem. You might have to fix some software to run as a normal user, but it can be done. It isn't rocket science. Real admins do this already, or they designate the task to a package manager so the software can be deployed with little effort. Again, not Microsoft's problem. Take it up with the third party vendor.
Windows OS servers are capable of the same stability as Linux OS servers. If not, you have a problem with your hardware or software. I'll grant you that 95,98,ME, and to some extent NT 4 were not so good. But since 2000 and XP, and for certain since their respective first service packs, you can't use that excuse anymore. A decent admin running decent hardware can keep an enterprise Windows network stable and the computers operating correctly. Crap hardware and local admin privileges for users on client machines is how you get instability.
It's 2006. IE is still a horrid pile, I won't argue there. But the modern Windows OS from Microsoft works fine. I've seen too many well run, stable Windows networks (from server right down to client) to just pull out Windows as the whipping boy when things go wrong.
I'll reserve judgement on Vista until it's released and maybe until the first service pack. But Windows 2000, XP, and 2003 are stable now. There are plenty of other things to take Microsoft to task for besides OS stability. Not that I'll necessarily convince you, but it's just a belief I hold. Interestingly, this sig has by far been the best at eliciting responses.
I can and do help them set up options, but some of them just Don't Get It. I know how simple CDex is when it's set up too, that's why it's frustrating when they dislike it. All they seem to want is something pretty with limited options, and they don't care about anything else. Tech-illiterate is closer to the truth for them, and they fear those little check boxes if they accidentally open up the Options. There's little I can do to help with that.
I imagine that these people would buy into a movie download service, if it is simple enough. Most of the non-technical friends I have that would take the time and effort to rip DVDs are young and "poor" (as in not much disposable income; they still get by). If they can save a few bucks by ripping a DVD, so that they can watch it on their computer without having to download it from one of these services, they'll do that. Of course, this assumes they even want that; they may not care.
These same people would probably download movies from the service if they had the money to do it since it would save time and hassle. They'd rather be doing other things than screwing around with ripping media from plastic discs, like going out with friends and having fun.
My theory is that a user's tolerance for frustration is inversely proportional to their net worth.
Good to know that they are thinking about it. Is this device rumored to be cheaper than an original Xbox? Cause I soft-modded my Xbox to run XBMC, and I just run movies and music off of a samba share. And XBMC does a lot more than that.
Thinking about it again, I'd have to agree. I have trouble getting my non technical friends to use CDex to rip music because they are intimidated by the options. They'd much rather just use whatever has the fewest clicks, even if it doesn't produce the best quality.
I've done this with CDs for years, as I imagine many others do. The first thing I do after I get an audio CD is rip it to ~224 Kbit OGG files and place the files on my storage server downstairs. I can play the audio through my computer, my portable player, and any TV which has a media player device like XBMC. Once I upgrade my storage server with more space (and get a better backup policy than I have now), I'll move on to ripping video from all DVDs.
I'm thinking of picking up another original Xbox (or two) to make some cheap media boxes. For anyone out there that cares and still doesn't know, you can now soft-mod your Xbox to put stuff like XBMC on it without ever opening the case. With XBMC you can start the Xbox to easily bypass the mod to play Live games to avoid banning, though it might be ok anyway. (I don't play much on Live anymore.) If you don't play on Live, you have no excuse. Go get XBMC. Today. If there's anyone in the St. Paul, MN area that wants help, send me an email.
Hmm. I seem to have become something of an XBMC evangelist, but really, it's that cool.
(though it can be treated as such; note I'm not talking about this in the context of DRM, I'm speaking in terms of the process via which you download something and play it)
I haven't looked into these services recently, but it does intrigue me. Will the DRM that holds the files down enable me to put the video file on my 2 TB storage server in the basement and stream it to my media player of choice? Because if not, this is useless to me. With the advent of large hard disk capacity, and now digital distribution, we certainly have the ability. But I don't want to watch movies on my PC, and getting a dedicated Media Center PC is ridiculous. I want to be able to watch it on any of the three TVs in my house. And why would I get a digital download that costs the same as a normal DVD just so I can have the "convenience" of watching a movie on my PC (and little screened iPod Video)?
The cost of fuel notwithstanding, why don't I just buy the physical DVD (or get it shipped to me), and get the video file myself? I realize it's a convenience thing, non-tech users can't do it, etc. But really, how hard is it to install some software and follow some short instructions? I'd bet that even non-tech users would be willing to follow the process if they can get additional value out of something they own with relatively minor frustration.
Because Nintendo is sitting on a fucking huge pile of cash, because they never lost any money in their whole history (which includes the console-gaming part).
I'm pretty sure that you meant this, but I wanted to stress it again.
People need to understand that Nintendo just doesn't do hardware at a loss like the others. Every console they sell makes a profit, even if it's just a slim margin. Nope, I agree, they aren't in trouble at all. It's extremely hard to wipe out a pile of cash built up over decades of game industry success.
If anyone can do this and all that's needed is to convince a judge, retaliatory registrations will be the norm. Hey, it's like a public, government sponsored, Ebay feedback system! I can't see where it could possibly go wrong!
"Hey, Gary. This bitch got me put on the civil sex offender registry cause I said I liked her tits. Go down to the county courthouse and say that she said that she 'likes young boys'. That'll teach her."
Having said that, they'll need to really bend over incredibly far backwards to get me to even consider installing such a thing. Like, they pay all of my online shopping bills, no exceptions.
So you're saying that you've got your price, huh? Don't we all.
You know, you can turn the commentary off. Though I don't think you can turn off the "Maddenisms", but keep the other commentary in the Madden games. Nothing infuriates me more than making a stupid defensive mistake and having Madden chime in that it was an offensive "textbook play". Fuck you Madden. Fuck you.
I'm pretty partial to their, there, and they're myself.
You, of course, assume that gamers actually are people. 24 hour Starcraft sessions? Playing games until all energy is depleted and the host shuts down? I present you with this. Halo 2 Legendary in an afternoon?! Humans do not do this. Call them meat bags, if you must, but I doubt that they are people.
Your post intrigued me, and after some quick research with the help of Google, I agree. You can fire up Celestia and actually see some of them, just make asteroid orbits and names visible. Pluto fits right in with them; it seems to be the largest of them.
For you unbelievers, here's a list. These objects are all out of the "normal" plane of orbits, just like Pluto.
And these are just some "nicely named" ones. See "2003 EL61", "2005 FY9", etc for more examples. And you can add more as well. For those with computers that aren't slow, this page contains a Celestia ssc of 1007(!) TNOs. Doughnut shaped indeed.
Also, there is a class (like 20%-30%) of them called Plutinos which share Pluto's stable 3:2 orbital resonance with Neptune. How did this come to be? There are theories, but nothing definitive yet.
The debate will continue, but if you look at that Celestia ssc of 1007 TNOs, it is pretty clear that Pluto is not a "major planet". If it is, then we've got dozens, possibly hundreds of them.
Quick! Get those people some Rounded Corners and Gradients!
Welcome to Web 2.0!
Re:Just like there will never be another Doom
on
Can Anyone Beat WoW?
·
· Score: 1
Wow is not a game about story. There are some good story-driven quests in the game, but ultimately they're nothing but a passing amusement for players.
I'm not that familiar with WoW, so learning this stuff is good. (I have played KOTOR 1 and 2, and enjoyed them both.)
What makes the game popular is that you build up a character and make him more and more powerful. Through the uberness of your character, and your inevitable involvment in social structures such as guilds, you gain (virtual) social status. That's the real core of it. Getting recognition, living inside a virtual social space. Building a second life.
I guess then my question would be is it possible to have a popular game that has the social component, but does not have the level grinding and uber-character development? Since you are building up social credibility that is based (at least partially) on status symbols, levels, and attributes, could the system exist without it? I'm thinking more of a system that wouldn't allow veteran players to be gods in comparison to new players, yet still allows the earning of respect from fellow players through feats, acquired items, guild involvement, etc. (Really, it sounds like I'm talking about Second Life, though there's not much actual "game" there.)
The unspoken "I could SO kick your ass" and "That person could SO kick my ass" would be removed from such a system, and players would be on much more equal ground. In that case, respect is not given or received because of the hypothetical deliverance of such an ass-kicking, but is rather garnered by higher actions and involvement in the community. Am I close? Or do your level and attributes not make that much of a difference to veteran WoW players (in terms of player respect) in light of guild involvement and the social element?
Re:Just like there will never be another Doom
on
Can Anyone Beat WoW?
·
· Score: 1
Cool. I'll keep that in mind if I ever give it a try.
Like others, I'm on Comcast cable, and I don't really have a choice for another broadband provider.
My question is this:
What geek (or even normal user) actually uses the email address that the ISP gives them? If I have to change providers and then change my email address, too, that's a ton of work. Why not just have separate entities for Internet access and email service? This really doesn't affect me, since I use Gmail.
From what I've heard, Mythic has still retained a lot of creative control, and interference from EA is not that much. In any case, I doubt that you'll see ads for Pepsi or Coke in Warhammer Online.
"Three out of four Greenskins agree! Diet Coke tastes better than Diet Pepsi!"
But then he won't have much of an online presence either.
The difference is that most of the time, he doesn't want an online presence or to have an entourage. He does it for the music.
Re:Just like there will never be another Doom
on
Can Anyone Beat WoW?
·
· Score: 4, Insightful
There's no point in me, as a user, leaving Wow to play a game that is almost as good -- i have too much invested in my Wow character(s).
Would you rather have a game that had all of the depth as WoW, perhaps even more story, but didn't have the singular character advancement? One more focused on the progression of the story and environment of the world, and not the player? A game such as that might be doomed to failure since the user has less to identify with in the game, so there is nothing that actually ties the user to the game. I don't know which way is better, I'm just curious as to your opinion. It seems by your port that you'd be more likely to part with it.
I ask because it seems that some people avoid WoW on purpose because it is requires such an investment of energy to play, despite the fact that it is no doubt fun. Personally, that's why I avoid it, but I might play a game that doesn't make me build up mountains of a character's skills and attributes.
but at the end of the day.. you're putting something at risk.
Exactly. And for FDIC insured banks in the USA, the associated risk of a bank account has been reduced to less than the risk of keeping your money under the matress at home.
Unfortunately, EVE Online has no real governing body to secure banks. "But what about CCP? Couldn't they secure it?", You say? The game has really brought out the worst in some people. If there were real banks, "secured" by them, I have no doubt that it would just remove a moral barrier for the players to scam people further. People in RL use that justification; I've heard convicted bank robbers use it.
Obviously, the situation is not completely analagous, since in the game it's the founders of the "bank" itself that are absconding with the currency, and not a third party. But how would a bank make money in the game world? Probably through investments and loans. Any party taking out a loan acquiring investment capital would have zero incentive to repay, since the "bank" is secured.
Although, it would open up a larger market for "collections". But you'd need a way of making loan contracts legit to keep some "Secured Bank" from making random "collections contracts" to pad their coffers. I imagine this might be by being "notarized" by CCP. I really doubt that they want to get into that within the game, so I doubt any of this would be done by them. Game users cannot be trusted, because bottom line, there are no consequences for bad behavior. In RL, stealing and scamming sends you to jail (insert obligatory "not for the wealthy" here). In the game world, you may, what.. Get a bad rep? Lose your assets? Worst case scenario you can just start over with a new account.
Maybe now I can get that Vorpal Mace of Undying +3 in the same time that I could only get the +1 model before. This will reduce the time I spend level grinding and farming in the MMORPGs that I frequent. Finally, a technology I can use.
Slashdot Mirror
If you're saying the royal you doesn't need to do that anymore, I call BS.
(OT: not posting with karma bonus)
What? I don't understand what you're saying, but I think you're trying to counter my sig. Windows 2000 and XP don't need to "reboot all the time". Individual users' stories blaming Windows for "instability" when they have $deity knows what programs running and drivers installed with $deity knows what hardware are anecdotal at best.
Don't run that "good deal" shit hardware. Run quality hardware with decent drivers from companies that have experience. Run as a normal user, and log on as an admin when you need to make system changes. Don't run poorly written software. Sloppy programmers have not followed the 2000 and XP API specs. Because there is backward compatibility built in and they take the easy way, those programs often require admin privileges to run. It sucks, but it isn't Microsoft's problem. You might have to fix some software to run as a normal user, but it can be done. It isn't rocket science. Real admins do this already, or they designate the task to a package manager so the software can be deployed with little effort. Again, not Microsoft's problem. Take it up with the third party vendor.
Windows OS servers are capable of the same stability as Linux OS servers. If not, you have a problem with your hardware or software. I'll grant you that 95,98,ME, and to some extent NT 4 were not so good. But since 2000 and XP, and for certain since their respective first service packs, you can't use that excuse anymore. A decent admin running decent hardware can keep an enterprise Windows network stable and the computers operating correctly. Crap hardware and local admin privileges for users on client machines is how you get instability.
It's 2006. IE is still a horrid pile, I won't argue there. But the modern Windows OS from Microsoft works fine. I've seen too many well run, stable Windows networks (from server right down to client) to just pull out Windows as the whipping boy when things go wrong.
I'll reserve judgement on Vista until it's released and maybe until the first service pack. But Windows 2000, XP, and 2003 are stable now. There are plenty of other things to take Microsoft to task for besides OS stability. Not that I'll necessarily convince you, but it's just a belief I hold. Interestingly, this sig has by far been the best at eliciting responses.
I can and do help them set up options, but some of them just Don't Get It. I know how simple CDex is when it's set up too, that's why it's frustrating when they dislike it. All they seem to want is something pretty with limited options, and they don't care about anything else. Tech-illiterate is closer to the truth for them, and they fear those little check boxes if they accidentally open up the Options. There's little I can do to help with that.
I imagine that these people would buy into a movie download service, if it is simple enough. Most of the non-technical friends I have that would take the time and effort to rip DVDs are young and "poor" (as in not much disposable income; they still get by). If they can save a few bucks by ripping a DVD, so that they can watch it on their computer without having to download it from one of these services, they'll do that. Of course, this assumes they even want that; they may not care.
These same people would probably download movies from the service if they had the money to do it since it would save time and hassle. They'd rather be doing other things than screwing around with ripping media from plastic discs, like going out with friends and having fun.
My theory is that a user's tolerance for frustration is inversely proportional to their net worth.
Good to know that they are thinking about it. Is this device rumored to be cheaper than an original Xbox? Cause I soft-modded my Xbox to run XBMC, and I just run movies and music off of a samba share. And XBMC does a lot more than that.
You might think that, but it's simply not true.
Thinking about it again, I'd have to agree. I have trouble getting my non technical friends to use CDex to rip music because they are intimidated by the options. They'd much rather just use whatever has the fewest clicks, even if it doesn't produce the best quality.
I've done this with CDs for years, as I imagine many others do. The first thing I do after I get an audio CD is rip it to ~224 Kbit OGG files and place the files on my storage server downstairs. I can play the audio through my computer, my portable player, and any TV which has a media player device like XBMC. Once I upgrade my storage server with more space (and get a better backup policy than I have now), I'll move on to ripping video from all DVDs.
I'm thinking of picking up another original Xbox (or two) to make some cheap media boxes. For anyone out there that cares and still doesn't know, you can now soft-mod your Xbox to put stuff like XBMC on it without ever opening the case. With XBMC you can start the Xbox to easily bypass the mod to play Live games to avoid banning, though it might be ok anyway. (I don't play much on Live anymore.) If you don't play on Live, you have no excuse. Go get XBMC. Today. If there's anyone in the St. Paul, MN area that wants help, send me an email.
Hmm. I seem to have become something of an XBMC evangelist, but really, it's that cool.
(though it can be treated as such; note I'm not talking about this in the context of DRM, I'm speaking in terms of the process via which you download something and play it)
I haven't looked into these services recently, but it does intrigue me. Will the DRM that holds the files down enable me to put the video file on my 2 TB storage server in the basement and stream it to my media player of choice? Because if not, this is useless to me. With the advent of large hard disk capacity, and now digital distribution, we certainly have the ability. But I don't want to watch movies on my PC, and getting a dedicated Media Center PC is ridiculous. I want to be able to watch it on any of the three TVs in my house. And why would I get a digital download that costs the same as a normal DVD just so I can have the "convenience" of watching a movie on my PC (and little screened iPod Video)?
The cost of fuel notwithstanding, why don't I just buy the physical DVD (or get it shipped to me), and get the video file myself? I realize it's a convenience thing, non-tech users can't do it, etc. But really, how hard is it to install some software and follow some short instructions? I'd bet that even non-tech users would be willing to follow the process if they can get additional value out of something they own with relatively minor frustration.
Because Nintendo is sitting on a fucking huge pile of cash, because they never lost any money in their whole history (which includes the console-gaming part).
I'm pretty sure that you meant this, but I wanted to stress it again.
People need to understand that Nintendo just doesn't do hardware at a loss like the others. Every console they sell makes a profit, even if it's just a slim margin. Nope, I agree, they aren't in trouble at all. It's extremely hard to wipe out a pile of cash built up over decades of game industry success.
All based on the decision of one judge.
If anyone can do this and all that's needed is to convince a judge, retaliatory registrations will be the norm. Hey, it's like a public, government sponsored, Ebay feedback system! I can't see where it could possibly go wrong!
"Hey, Gary. This bitch got me put on the civil sex offender registry cause I said I liked her tits. Go down to the county courthouse and say that she said that she 'likes young boys'. That'll teach her."
Having said that, they'll need to really bend over incredibly far backwards to get me to even consider installing such a thing. Like, they pay all of my online shopping bills, no exceptions.
So you're saying that you've got your price, huh? Don't we all.
You know, you can turn the commentary off. Though I don't think you can turn off the "Maddenisms", but keep the other commentary in the Madden games. Nothing infuriates me more than making a stupid defensive mistake and having Madden chime in that it was an offensive "textbook play". Fuck you Madden. Fuck you.
I'm pretty partial to their, there, and they're myself.
You, of course, assume that gamers actually are people. 24 hour Starcraft sessions? Playing games until all energy is depleted and the host shuts down? I present you with this. Halo 2 Legendary in an afternoon?! Humans do not do this. Call them meat bags, if you must, but I doubt that they are people.
But if they don't blink on this one, it could take BOTH formats down.
I don't see any problem. Keep your fingers crossed.
Your post intrigued me, and after some quick research with the help of Google, I agree. You can fire up Celestia and actually see some of them, just make asteroid orbits and names visible. Pluto fits right in with them; it seems to be the largest of them.
For you unbelievers, here's a list. These objects are all out of the "normal" plane of orbits, just like Pluto.
Name, Radius
Pluto, 1,151km
Ixion, 600km
Quaoar, 625km
Orcus, 800km
Varuna, 450km
And these are just some "nicely named" ones. See "2003 EL61", "2005 FY9", etc for more examples. And you can add more as well. For those with computers that aren't slow, this page contains a Celestia ssc of 1007(!) TNOs. Doughnut shaped indeed.
Also, there is a class (like 20%-30%) of them called Plutinos which share Pluto's stable 3:2 orbital resonance with Neptune. How did this come to be? There are theories, but nothing definitive yet.
The debate will continue, but if you look at that Celestia ssc of 1007 TNOs, it is pretty clear that Pluto is not a "major planet". If it is, then we've got dozens, possibly hundreds of them.
(Apologies if this has been covered before.)
Quick! Get those people some Rounded Corners and Gradients!
Welcome to Web 2.0!
Wow is not a game about story. There are some good story-driven quests in the game, but ultimately they're nothing but a passing amusement for players.
I'm not that familiar with WoW, so learning this stuff is good. (I have played KOTOR 1 and 2, and enjoyed them both.)
What makes the game popular is that you build up a character and make him more and more powerful. Through the uberness of your character, and your inevitable involvment in social structures such as guilds, you gain (virtual) social status. That's the real core of it. Getting recognition, living inside a virtual social space. Building a second life.
I guess then my question would be is it possible to have a popular game that has the social component, but does not have the level grinding and uber-character development? Since you are building up social credibility that is based (at least partially) on status symbols, levels, and attributes, could the system exist without it? I'm thinking more of a system that wouldn't allow veteran players to be gods in comparison to new players, yet still allows the earning of respect from fellow players through feats, acquired items, guild involvement, etc. (Really, it sounds like I'm talking about Second Life, though there's not much actual "game" there.)
The unspoken "I could SO kick your ass" and "That person could SO kick my ass" would be removed from such a system, and players would be on much more equal ground. In that case, respect is not given or received because of the hypothetical deliverance of such an ass-kicking, but is rather garnered by higher actions and involvement in the community. Am I close? Or do your level and attributes not make that much of a difference to veteran WoW players (in terms of player respect) in light of guild involvement and the social element?
Cool. I'll keep that in mind if I ever give it a try.
Like others, I'm on Comcast cable, and I don't really have a choice for another broadband provider.
My question is this:
What geek (or even normal user) actually uses the email address that the ISP gives them? If I have to change providers and then change my email address, too, that's a ton of work. Why not just have separate entities for Internet access and email service? This really doesn't affect me, since I use Gmail.
From what I've heard, Mythic has still retained a lot of creative control, and interference from EA is not that much. In any case, I doubt that you'll see ads for Pepsi or Coke in Warhammer Online.
"Three out of four Greenskins agree! Diet Coke tastes better than Diet Pepsi!"
But then he won't have much of an online presence either.
The difference is that most of the time, he doesn't want an online presence or to have an entourage. He does it for the music.
There's no point in me, as a user, leaving Wow to play a game that is almost as good -- i have too much invested in my Wow character(s).
Would you rather have a game that had all of the depth as WoW, perhaps even more story, but didn't have the singular character advancement? One more focused on the progression of the story and environment of the world, and not the player? A game such as that might be doomed to failure since the user has less to identify with in the game, so there is nothing that actually ties the user to the game. I don't know which way is better, I'm just curious as to your opinion. It seems by your port that you'd be more likely to part with it.
I ask because it seems that some people avoid WoW on purpose because it is requires such an investment of energy to play, despite the fact that it is no doubt fun. Personally, that's why I avoid it, but I might play a game that doesn't make me build up mountains of a character's skills and attributes.
Imagine the frustration of those million wankers and the resulting mess if not for the porn industry!
Actually, I think there's a resulting mess either way.
Programming language handles file input, processing and output. News at 11.00.
Sounds like a bizarro world Ric Romero headline.
but at the end of the day.. you're putting something at risk.
Exactly. And for FDIC insured banks in the USA, the associated risk of a bank account has been reduced to less than the risk of keeping your money under the matress at home.
Unfortunately, EVE Online has no real governing body to secure banks. "But what about CCP? Couldn't they secure it?", You say? The game has really brought out the worst in some people. If there were real banks, "secured" by them, I have no doubt that it would just remove a moral barrier for the players to scam people further. People in RL use that justification; I've heard convicted bank robbers use it.
Obviously, the situation is not completely analagous, since in the game it's the founders of the "bank" itself that are absconding with the currency, and not a third party. But how would a bank make money in the game world? Probably through investments and loans. Any party taking out a loan acquiring investment capital would have zero incentive to repay, since the "bank" is secured.
Although, it would open up a larger market for "collections". But you'd need a way of making loan contracts legit to keep some "Secured Bank" from making random "collections contracts" to pad their coffers. I imagine this might be by being "notarized" by CCP. I really doubt that they want to get into that within the game, so I doubt any of this would be done by them. Game users cannot be trusted, because bottom line, there are no consequences for bad behavior. In RL, stealing and scamming sends you to jail (insert obligatory "not for the wealthy" here). In the game world, you may, what.. Get a bad rep? Lose your assets? Worst case scenario you can just start over with a new account.
I hear the basket-weaving field is fairly decentralized. I'm afraid it won't get you much academic cred though.
Maybe now I can get that Vorpal Mace of Undying +3 in the same time that I could only get the +1 model before. This will reduce the time I spend level grinding and farming in the MMORPGs that I frequent. Finally, a technology I can use.