I really don't blame my decline in going to the theater on the quality of movies. I can still pick and choose some great films.
I simply don't go because the theaters themselves are a complete shell of what moviegoing used to be. Let me count the ways:
1) No projectionists. The movies are always poorly focused, not framed, the sound is off/too loud. And there's nobody up there! They just press buttons. Oh, and just try to complain. Teenager #1 says to teenager #2 "check theater 12" and nothing happens.
2) Prices. Come on! $10??? AND you have the audacity to show me commercials? You can EITHER raise prices or show me commercials. But you can't do both.
3) OTHER PEOPLE. This is the big one. People are just getting dumber, louder, and more selfish. This is the main reason why I do not go. Every time I tempt fate and give another movie a try, I just end up adding more data to my vast collection of empircal evidence in favor of increasing human stupidity.
So, fix theaters and human bahavior, and then I'll be back!
Since everyone became a communist, apparently. Everyone likes capitalism until it means someone else is better than you. Just look at how parents are suing school systems when their poor little Johnny gets a bad grade.
With the DS price drop to $129, and the fact that it actually has a lot of *really* fun games, it looks like the PSP may just be a niche device. The super-1337 teenager may want a PSP for the wow factor, but the fact is the DS is more fun, cheaper, and selling better.
Oh, and Nintendogs just came out in the US. Look out. Sold 700,000 copies in Japan already.
Come on, slashdot. Get your act together. How about just re-work your order of publishing, and get the article page set up BEFORE the link on the main page? Is it really that hard?
Yeah, but you're just wrong. The pilot manually controls the decent of the shuttle, which is a decent about 7 times steeper than that of a commercial jet. And it was dark. That takes some guts.
They weren't just trying to fix ONE problem for two years. Seriously.
Can't you just put aside your cynical nature for ten freakin minutes and actually be excited about the fact that humans were just in space for two weeks in a vehicle we built? Come on!
It's not streaming audio, and Apple didn't invent this. Perhaps you should do at least a *tiny* bit of research before trying your hand at a witty reply.
Podcasting, like a lot of other deployments of technology (think the Web), was a lot more useful before The Man got a hold of it. Before the new iTunes came along, we had places like iPodder.org and podcastalley to list podcasts, and on those sites it was all about indepedent podcasts. There were a few more "official" ones from radio stations and whatnot, but they just weren't as popular.
Now with iTunes it's back to the same techniques using marketing and flashy graphics for the iTunes banner thingy for a particular podcast, so the same masses that tune into clearchannel will click on these new links. And the worst part is now everyone thinks there "in" because they listen to a podcast.
I think it's sad to see the iTunes top 20 - it's mostly corporate overproduced junk. To me, the whole point of podcasting is to listen to what I want to listen to, not just have another medium for corporate radio junk. Most of the podcasts I listen to aren't even on the iTunes list at all because (oh, the horror) they might play material that is not properly licensed because of copyright issues. It's almost like I feel I have gone "underground" to listen to the *real* podcasts.
You get what you pay for. Some things are worth paying more money for. Would you gripe at Porsche for providing a superior sports car but setting the price well above a Honda Civic?
Who keeps deciding this guy can direct? All his movies are arguably terrible. Let's tap into some new talent. Just the fact that he is directing pretty much means this will be a travesty to my childhood memories.
Oh come on. Are you serious? Every time I hear someone scream out for some company to release something as open source and it would be an automatic bonus in terms of usage base I'm reminded of the same people that call for Ogg Vorbis support in the iPod. Who really cares? If Nintendo released the Gamecube OS or Revolution OS as open source, then maybe a dozen geeks would actually do something with it. And that's it. Maybe you're forgetting that Nintendo is all about gaming, and some geek that can compile the Revolution OS is not going to be making a game that will make any money.
The effect would certainly not be "huge", as you said.
Interesting... I have a DS. Any ideas on how it will actually handle discovery of standard WiFi networks? Right now it can only discover other DS units. So I imagine there would have to be some sort of firmware update, no?
Yes, this is my fear. Sure, you can say that USB is supported on Win, Linux, Apple, but then that assumes there is some special software (no doubt with DRM for our convenience). Why not just make it like the Apple Airport Express wireless station that just has a Cat-5 connection? Just use DHCP. It's that easy.
I do NOT play games on a PC, but only on my Gamecube. If Nintendo all of the sudden relies on a Windows PC to do all this magic, I will have to turn in my fanboy card.
I have an Indy. I used in in college for CS work, and it was perfect. Learned OpenGL stuff, etc. I was the biggest SGI fanboy. evar.
I was actually at the event that started the complete destruction of SGI. It was summer 2000 in New Orleans. This would be SIGGRAPH 2000. I actually presented a paper, and was invited to the SGI party at Anne Rice's humble adobe. This was the day of a "big annoucement", and we were ALL expecting SGI PC graphics cards. Taking the SGI name and technology into the new up-and-coming PC graphics card market was the brilliant move we all expected. Compete with nVidia, and take names.
What did they announce? Some newer, bigger supercomputer thingy. You could taste the silence in the room.
That was the day, certainly in my book, that sealed the fate of SGI. After that, PC graphics cards just exploded onto the scene, and the whole reason for getting an SGI became moot.
I still love Irix, and can't believe how amazing the Indy is that I bought back in 1994. Still is a great machine, and it's a shame to see SGI finally near the end.
Oh Please! Microsoft did not "out-innovate" Netscape by any stretch of the imagination. The only reason IE took over market share is BECAUSE IT WAS INCLUDED FOR FREE IN EVERY OS IN 95% OF THE COMPUTERS.
Duh. But I guess you're just a Microsoft fanboy.. *shudder*.
...for me is 'loose' as a spelling for 'lose' or 'looser' instead of 'loser'. I only seem to have noticed this over the past few years, but it's all over the IntarWeb now! So how do you spell the past tense?
Well, on the Mac, you're supposed to use AppleScript to work with iTunes. I wrote a little podcast aggregator using Cocoa and it uses AppleScript to interface with iTunes to add/delete tracks and manage a Podcast playlist. Quite easy. XCode makes Mac development really easy.
You are abosolutely correct, but most people just gloss over this point. To me, this is the key right here. This is why we can't have a generic OS X for intel. It would be installed on the most boring, busted beige PCs and two results would be seen:
1) OS X becomes unstable because of third-party drivers, etc, and Apple support becomes swamped, product image of 'stability' is tarnished.
2) The "mac experience" which includes both software and hardware is gone. To me, using my iMac and PowerBook are great experiences not just because of the OS, but because of the beautiful design, fit, and finish of the actual machines.
That is a very short-sighted view. If all you *really* care about deep down is low prices, then I feel sorry for you. When all the small businesses go away, our choices go away. Some people actually want to buy decent items, not just the cheapest items. This is why it hurts when every store goes away and all we're left with is one big Walmart.
Sometimes I look at this like this and people like you and wonder where we're going as a society. Are we really becoming smarter and more advanced? When everyone shops at Walmart, I think not.
You *should* care about competition, not just for lower prices, but because it promotes creativity and the inventive spirit that has gotten us so far. It's a shame that it's dying out in favor of "I'm just a stupid consumer - please tell me what to use!" mentality.
Slashdot Mirror
I really don't blame my decline in going to the theater on the quality of movies. I can still pick and choose some great films.
I simply don't go because the theaters themselves are a complete shell of what moviegoing used to be. Let me count the ways:
1) No projectionists. The movies are always poorly focused, not framed, the sound is off/too loud. And there's nobody up there! They just press buttons. Oh, and just try to complain. Teenager #1 says to teenager #2 "check theater 12" and nothing happens.
2) Prices. Come on! $10??? AND you have the audacity to show me commercials? You can EITHER raise prices or show me commercials. But you can't do both.
3) OTHER PEOPLE. This is the big one. People are just getting dumber, louder, and more selfish. This is the main reason why I do not go. Every time I tempt fate and give another movie a try, I just end up adding more data to my vast collection of empircal evidence in favor of increasing human stupidity.
So, fix theaters and human bahavior, and then I'll be back!
Or will AOL figure they are making more money than loosing?
It's "losing". LOSING. You know, as in the word "lose". As in "to not win". What's wrong with everyone? Is this word so hard to spell?
Grrrrr.
Since when does success = villain?
Since everyone became a communist, apparently. Everyone likes capitalism until it means someone else is better than you. Just look at how parents are suing school systems when their poor little Johnny gets a bad grade.
With the DS price drop to $129, and the fact that it actually has a lot of *really* fun games, it looks like the PSP may just be a niche device. The super-1337 teenager may want a PSP for the wow factor, but the fact is the DS is more fun, cheaper, and selling better.
Oh, and Nintendogs just came out in the US. Look out. Sold 700,000 copies in Japan already.
Come on, slashdot. Get your act together. How about just re-work your order of publishing, and get the article page set up BEFORE the link on the main page? Is it really that hard?
Thank you! I am simply sick of all these short-sighted people "demanding" OS X run on their 4-year-old beige built-from-parts machine.
Let's all say this again: Apple is an image and an experience. Their software and hardware are great because they complement eachother.
Yeah, but you're just wrong. The pilot manually controls the decent of the shuttle, which is a decent about 7 times steeper than that of a commercial jet. And it was dark. That takes some guts.
Do some research, and get yourself a clue.
They weren't just trying to fix ONE problem for two years. Seriously.
Can't you just put aside your cynical nature for ten freakin minutes and actually be excited about the fact that humans were just in space for two weeks in a vehicle we built? Come on!
What's WRONG with people these days?
It's not streaming audio, and Apple didn't invent this. Perhaps you should do at least a *tiny* bit of research before trying your hand at a witty reply.
Podcasting, like a lot of other deployments of technology (think the Web), was a lot more useful before The Man got a hold of it. Before the new iTunes came along, we had places like iPodder.org and podcastalley to list podcasts, and on those sites it was all about indepedent podcasts. There were a few more "official" ones from radio stations and whatnot, but they just weren't as popular.
Now with iTunes it's back to the same techniques using marketing and flashy graphics for the iTunes banner thingy for a particular podcast, so the same masses that tune into clearchannel will click on these new links. And the worst part is now everyone thinks there "in" because they listen to a podcast.
I think it's sad to see the iTunes top 20 - it's mostly corporate overproduced junk. To me, the whole point of podcasting is to listen to what I want to listen to, not just have another medium for corporate radio junk. Most of the podcasts I listen to aren't even on the iTunes list at all because (oh, the horror) they might play material that is not properly licensed because of copyright issues. It's almost like I feel I have gone "underground" to listen to the *real* podcasts.
Now if they'd only do something about the price.
You get what you pay for. Some things are worth paying more money for. Would you gripe at Porsche for providing a superior sports car but setting the price well above a Honda Civic?
Seriously, get some perspective here.
Who keeps deciding this guy can direct? All his movies are arguably terrible. Let's tap into some new talent. Just the fact that he is directing pretty much means this will be a travesty to my childhood memories.
Spend $2000 on a laptop and then hang it on cheap wood and cardboard. That just blows my mind.
Doesn't anyone have design sense, or even common sense?
Oh come on. Are you serious? Every time I hear someone scream out for some company to release something as open source and it would be an automatic bonus in terms of usage base I'm reminded of the same people that call for Ogg Vorbis support in the iPod. Who really cares? If Nintendo released the Gamecube OS or Revolution OS as open source, then maybe a dozen geeks would actually do something with it. And that's it. Maybe you're forgetting that Nintendo is all about gaming, and some geek that can compile the Revolution OS is not going to be making a game that will make any money.
The effect would certainly not be "huge", as you said.
1. release as open source
2. ???
3. profit!
Interesting... I have a DS. Any ideas on how it will actually handle discovery of standard WiFi networks? Right now it can only discover other DS units. So I imagine there would have to be some sort of firmware update, no?
Yes, this is my fear. Sure, you can say that USB is supported on Win, Linux, Apple, but then that assumes there is some special software (no doubt with DRM for our convenience). Why not just make it like the Apple Airport Express wireless station that just has a Cat-5 connection? Just use DHCP. It's that easy.
I do NOT play games on a PC, but only on my Gamecube. If Nintendo all of the sudden relies on a Windows PC to do all this magic, I will have to turn in my fanboy card.
Because it shows how slack the editors are. They can't even read their own site.
I have an Indy. I used in in college for CS work, and it was perfect. Learned OpenGL stuff, etc. I was the biggest SGI fanboy. evar.
I was actually at the event that started the complete destruction of SGI. It was summer 2000 in New Orleans. This would be SIGGRAPH 2000. I actually presented a paper, and was invited to the SGI party at Anne Rice's humble adobe. This was the day of a "big annoucement", and we were ALL expecting SGI PC graphics cards. Taking the SGI name and technology into the new up-and-coming PC graphics card market was the brilliant move we all expected. Compete with nVidia, and take names.
What did they announce? Some newer, bigger supercomputer thingy. You could taste the silence in the room.
That was the day, certainly in my book, that sealed the fate of SGI. After that, PC graphics cards just exploded onto the scene, and the whole reason for getting an SGI became moot.
I still love Irix, and can't believe how amazing the Indy is that I bought back in 1994. Still is a great machine, and it's a shame to see SGI finally near the end.
Oh Please! Microsoft did not "out-innovate" Netscape by any stretch of the imagination. The only reason IE took over market share is BECAUSE IT WAS INCLUDED FOR FREE IN EVERY OS IN 95% OF THE COMPUTERS.
Duh. But I guess you're just a Microsoft fanboy.. *shudder*.
In my humble opinion, any lawsuit that has the words "failing to protect" in its description is automatically bunk.
Well, on the Mac, you're supposed to use AppleScript to work with iTunes. I wrote a little podcast aggregator using Cocoa and it uses AppleScript to interface with iTunes to add/delete tracks and manage a Podcast playlist. Quite easy. XCode makes Mac development really easy.
Loosing? Please, it's 'losing'. Looking back on this event, would you say that they loost the contract?
You are abosolutely correct, but most people just gloss over this point. To me, this is the key right here. This is why we can't have a generic OS X for intel. It would be installed on the most boring, busted beige PCs and two results would be seen:
1) OS X becomes unstable because of third-party drivers, etc, and Apple support becomes swamped, product image of 'stability' is tarnished.
2) The "mac experience" which includes both software and hardware is gone. To me, using my iMac and PowerBook are great experiences not just because of the OS, but because of the beautiful design, fit, and finish of the actual machines.
That is a very short-sighted view. If all you *really* care about deep down is low prices, then I feel sorry for you. When all the small businesses go away, our choices go away. Some people actually want to buy decent items, not just the cheapest items. This is why it hurts when every store goes away and all we're left with is one big Walmart.
Sometimes I look at this like this and people like you and wonder where we're going as a society. Are we really becoming smarter and more advanced? When everyone shops at Walmart, I think not.
You *should* care about competition, not just for lower prices, but because it promotes creativity and the inventive spirit that has gotten us so far. It's a shame that it's dying out in favor of "I'm just a stupid consumer - please tell me what to use!" mentality.