I played blackjack and other computer card games for hours on my TRS-80 Model 1 back in the late 70s.
And look at me now.
Actually, I really think I've been reading this damn site too much... there are trolls in my brain now. Last night I dreamed that I was playing "Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando" and got to the last level, and discovered it was GNAA Headquarters, complete with public baths...
The jar file can contain your classes and any add-on libraries.
The idea that you can't conveniently include an entire JRE and library set is false, because I've used software which did so. However, I wish it was true, because it's a dumb thing to do; I'd much rather treat the JRE like any other part of the OS.
That's a software issue, you don't need a hard drive to do it. Look at Jak & Daxter on PS2 -- huge detailed world, no loading pauses. And it's written in Lisp!
You need to get them to dump this from the codec license:
You may not... (vi) use the Software to develop any application that has the capability of transcoding or converting RealAudio or RealVideo Files into any other file format
Until I can easily turn RealAudio files into something I can listen to on my iPod, I'll view it as a dead-end proprietary format.
again, Java does this too. If i have a.class file or jar, there isn't some way to encapsulate it all into one double-clickable executable file that I can share.
Sure there is. Just distribute the jar file.
Of course, this doesn't work for the Windows-impaired, because Microsoft are never going to make it easy to run Java executables.
I listen to radio shows on my iPod. Therefore I need to be able to convert to MP3 or MPEG-4. Right now the only way to do this is to capture the RealPlayer output and encode back to MP3 in real time. Until they fix that and allow conversion from Real to other formats, I'm going to keep treating Real as a PITA closed format to avoid.
The arcade was big when games were a quarter to play. These days I see an interesting arcade game, and they want $2 to play something I might only last 30 seconds at. Instead of playing 10 games of that, I'd rather buy a game for my console and get hours of entertainment.
What do you mean "collateral damage"? Anti-virus ads in response to e-mail I didn't send *are* spam, by any reasonable definition. They're advertising a commercial product to me, and I didn't ask for the mail.
assuming one bounce per virus email, that is only 1x as harmful as the virus itself
Actually, the bounces are much more harmful to me than the virus. The virus is totally harmless to me, because I don't run Windows and just filter anything with a Windows-executable attachment to/dev/null. The bounces are a problem because they aren't easy to filter on without also bouncing legitimate delivery failure reports.
Inclined keyboards are deadly. Those stupid legs on the back were put there for people used to mechanical typewriters, which had to incline the keys for mechanical reasons. Get rid of the legs. If the keyboard isn't flat after that, get a new one. Every ergonomics guide I've seen agrees on at least this one issue...
Fits my own experience. I notice a comfort difference with different keyboards, but it's the mouse that really trashes my wrists and elbows. I use trackballs instead. The Kensington Turbo Mouse optical USB trackball is my current favorite.
I certainly don't think that key pressure and travel distance is the issue, as the best keyboard I've found is the classic IBM sprung steel mechanism which has an abundance of both. Still, I'm considering trying a zero force Fingerworks keyboard...
Edison was also a weaselly-shrewd lying, cheating, world-class FUD spreader of a hardball businessman.
Read up about how he stole movies from European movie makers, pirated them and showed them in movie theaters without paying royalties. Read about how he tried to spread FUD about AC electricity, to avoid admitting Tesla was right. Read about the inventions he stole from his underlings.
My Casio goes one better than that. It has a shock sensing mechanism, and also a light sensor--so it lights up when you flick your wrist to look at it, but only if it's dark enough that it needs to. You don't want to waste battery power, after all.
Oh, except that it's also solar powered. And waterproof to 200m, and shockproof, with a titanium casing.
I really don't see the appeal of old mechanical wristwatches. What I want from a watch is that it tells me the time accurately, is reliable, and doesn't need maintenance. I want a watch that can withstand any environment I can withstand, and which will survive repeated physical abuse such as being smashed into door frames. I don't want to have to adjust it more than twice a year (when the stupid time zone changes), and I don't want to have to change batteries or wind it up.
The Casio is a bit clunky, though not without a certain industrial aesthetic appeal. I tried a Seiko Kinetic, but it wasn't shockproof enough and needed regular maintenance.
Still, if people want to collect fragile mechanical timepieces, I have no objection. I mean, I have quite a collection of cuddly plush otters, so I'm not one to judge.
Stereo cannot possibly provide the impression that a sound comes from the left of the leftmost speaker or to the right of the rightmost speaker, since your brain uses the difference in time that a sound needs to reach your left and right ears to determine the angle...
True, but pretty irrelevant. Binaural can do it, with two speakers, and there are DSP encoders which will convert from surround to binaural. A lot of them sound pretty good played through stereo speakers too.
Two games built using the same game engine: "Jak II" and "Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando".
"Jak II" is just way, way too hard. Worse, it's hard in irritating and boring ways, like being prevented from completing a mission by a random traffic jam, or the "Escape from the boardwalks" mission where the game will literally throw an endless supply of guards at you until you force your way through or die of boredom. (That was the point at which I resorted to the cheat codes.) I should point out that I'm no klutz when it comes to games--I'm a pretty good Wipeout player, and I finished Jak & Daxter without needing to cheat. Jak II is just ludicrously tough.
Now contrast with "Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando", which is the game Jak II should have been. The elegance of the R&C game design is that it's automatically self-adjusting without changing the rules--it starts off easy, and if the difficulty ramps up too quickly for you, you can just keep trying for a while. Eventually by killing the stuff you *can* kill, you get enough bolts to buy bigger and better weapons and armor which will let you plough through the nastier enemies. The only potentially frustrating parts are the environment-related traps and puzzles, like the pit of lava at the bottom of a river of lava that took me half a dozen attempts to get across.
The end result is that Jak II was nowhere near as much fun as R&C:GC has been. In fact, even with cheat codes I gave up on Jak II, because the final level seems to dispense with actually allowing you save/continue points, so one small slip and you have to start the entire thing again. Really, I don't know what Naughty Dog were thinking...
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I played blackjack and other computer card games for hours on my TRS-80 Model 1 back in the late 70s.
And look at me now.
Actually, I really think I've been reading this damn site too much... there are trolls in my brain now. Last night I dreamed that I was playing "Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando" and got to the last level, and discovered it was GNAA Headquarters, complete with public baths...
The jar file can contain your classes and any add-on libraries.
The idea that you can't conveniently include an entire JRE and library set is false, because I've used software which did so. However, I wish it was true, because it's a dumb thing to do; I'd much rather treat the JRE like any other part of the OS.
That's a software issue, you don't need a hard drive to do it. Look at Jak & Daxter on PS2 -- huge detailed world, no loading pauses. And it's written in Lisp!
Hmm, so that's a different splay from http://splay.sourceforge.net/...
You need to get them to dump this from the codec license:
Until I can easily turn RealAudio files into something I can listen to on my iPod, I'll view it as a dead-end proprietary format.
Sure there is. Just distribute the jar file.
Of course, this doesn't work for the Windows-impaired, because Microsoft are never going to make it easy to run Java executables.
I've a hunch it's something to do with Americans working more hours per year than any other country in the world.
I listen to radio shows on my iPod. Therefore I need to be able to convert to MP3 or MPEG-4. Right now the only way to do this is to capture the RealPlayer output and encode back to MP3 in real time. Until they fix that and allow conversion from Real to other formats, I'm going to keep treating Real as a PITA closed format to avoid.
RealAudio is supported on Linux? Cool!
Perhaps you can tell me how to install a command-line RealAudio player on my music server.
My music server does not have the X Window system installed.
You forgot something...
The arcade was big when games were a quarter to play. These days I see an interesting arcade game, and they want $2 to play something I might only last 30 seconds at. Instead of playing 10 games of that, I'd rather buy a game for my console and get hours of entertainment.
Plus Ford is vaguely sleazy and a bit of a scam artist; witness his getting drunk on That Ol' Janx Spirit.
I think Steve Buscemi would make a perfect Ford Prefect, myself.
I think I speak for many when I say:
Who gives a shit?
(About the bread and circuses, or about the video game predictions?)
I like to spread the load. No point stressing one hand all the time.
The Trackman Marble FX is useless for ambidextrous people.
What do you mean "collateral damage"? Anti-virus ads in response to e-mail I didn't send *are* spam, by any reasonable definition. They're advertising a commercial product to me, and I didn't ask for the mail.
Actually, the bounces are much more harmful to me than the virus. The virus is totally harmless to me, because I don't run Windows and just filter anything with a Windows-executable attachment to
Better still: Kensington Turbo Mouse optical.
For ambidextrous people like me, it gives you the opportunity to swap which hand you use for mousing and distribute the stress better.
Inclined keyboards are deadly. Those stupid legs on the back were put there for people used to mechanical typewriters, which had to incline the keys for mechanical reasons. Get rid of the legs. If the keyboard isn't flat after that, get a new one. Every ergonomics guide I've seen agrees on at least this one issue...
Fits my own experience. I notice a comfort difference with different keyboards, but it's the mouse that really trashes my wrists and elbows. I use trackballs instead. The Kensington Turbo Mouse optical USB trackball is my current favorite.
I certainly don't think that key pressure and travel distance is the issue, as the best keyboard I've found is the classic IBM sprung steel mechanism which has an abundance of both. Still, I'm considering trying a zero force Fingerworks keyboard...
I am in the market for a PalmOS PDA. The TapWave Zodiac does indeed look great.
However, I'm waiting for them to add OS X support.
Edison was also a weaselly-shrewd lying, cheating, world-class FUD spreader of a hardball businessman.
Read up about how he stole movies from European movie makers, pirated them and showed them in movie theaters without paying royalties. Read about how he tried to spread FUD about AC electricity, to avoid admitting Tesla was right. Read about the inventions he stole from his underlings.
Uh, ever tried maintaining a UnitedLinux system without RPM?
So IBM is now the dot in .com.
Sun is the colon in http:.
My Casio goes one better than that. It has a shock sensing mechanism, and also a light sensor--so it lights up when you flick your wrist to look at it, but only if it's dark enough that it needs to. You don't want to waste battery power, after all.
Oh, except that it's also solar powered. And waterproof to 200m, and shockproof, with a titanium casing.
I really don't see the appeal of old mechanical wristwatches. What I want from a watch is that it tells me the time accurately, is reliable, and doesn't need maintenance. I want a watch that can withstand any environment I can withstand, and which will survive repeated physical abuse such as being smashed into door frames. I don't want to have to adjust it more than twice a year (when the stupid time zone changes), and I don't want to have to change batteries or wind it up.
The Casio is a bit clunky, though not without a certain industrial aesthetic appeal. I tried a Seiko Kinetic, but it wasn't shockproof enough and needed regular maintenance.
Still, if people want to collect fragile mechanical timepieces, I have no objection. I mean, I have quite a collection of cuddly plush otters, so I'm not one to judge.
True, but pretty irrelevant. Binaural can do it, with two speakers, and there are DSP encoders which will convert from surround to binaural. A lot of them sound pretty good played through stereo speakers too.
Two games built using the same game engine: "Jak II" and "Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando".
"Jak II" is just way, way too hard. Worse, it's hard in irritating and boring ways, like being prevented from completing a mission by a random traffic jam, or the "Escape from the boardwalks" mission where the game will literally throw an endless supply of guards at you until you force your way through or die of boredom. (That was the point at which I resorted to the cheat codes.) I should point out that I'm no klutz when it comes to games--I'm a pretty good Wipeout player, and I finished Jak & Daxter without needing to cheat. Jak II is just ludicrously tough.
Now contrast with "Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando", which is the game Jak II should have been. The elegance of the R&C game design is that it's automatically self-adjusting without changing the rules--it starts off easy, and if the difficulty ramps up too quickly for you, you can just keep trying for a while. Eventually by killing the stuff you *can* kill, you get enough bolts to buy bigger and better weapons and armor which will let you plough through the nastier enemies. The only potentially frustrating parts are the environment-related traps and puzzles, like the pit of lava at the bottom of a river of lava that took me half a dozen attempts to get across.
The end result is that Jak II was nowhere near as much fun as R&C:GC has been. In fact, even with cheat codes I gave up on Jak II, because the final level seems to dispense with actually allowing you save/continue points, so one small slip and you have to start the entire thing again. Really, I don't know what Naughty Dog were thinking...