Strictly speaking, the formats are properly called +RW and +R. Look at the logos on the front of the drive.
The drives and discs are called "DVD+RW" on the fairly spurious grounds that they are compatible with DVD drives. +RW is *not* a DVD format. That's why it doesn't have the DVD logo on it.
There are several Panasonic drives which support all the DVD writing standards; for example, the LF-D321U. Only one drive supports both DVD and +RW writing standards, the Sony DRU500A.
In terms of which you actually want to use: DVD-R is best for video discs playable on a DVD player. +RW or DVD-RAM are best for data storage. I haven't found much use for DVD-RW, except test burns of DVD-R discs to check the DVD authoring worked properly. +R is a bit better than +RW but not as good as DVD-R for video, and less convenient than +RW for data, so there's no much point in it.
I dunno, but I'll buy the Mac version when it's released... but IF AND ONLY IF (a) it's feature-complete, with feature parity with the Windoze version, and (b) it's the same price as the Windoze version.
Those are my standard terms for purchasing any Mac game. If necessary, I wait until (b) is true. So software houses that release games late for non-Windows platforms really lose out; they miss the peak of excitement that might make people want to buy the game, and they miss the chance to charge full price for it.
The quality of software has certainly declined. I remember when you bought a video game, it worked, and that was it. None of this "download patch 1.4.34 to fix bugs in the 3D engine".
Of course, it's still mostly the case that console games work when you buy them. You can hear video game authors complain all the time about the horrendous problems they have getting through Sony QA. These two things are related!
I tried installing OS/2 on three different machines from three different PC manufacturers. On one, the hard disk drivers didn't work. On the second, the graphics drivers didn't work. On the third, the CD-ROM drivers didn't work.
So I gave up on OS/2.
It was probably great if you ran it on IBM hardware, but that just wasn't a realistic requirement.
Well, let's see... three out of five of those points apply to Windows, a fourth applied to Windows XP on launch... I guess Windows isn't the standard desktop interface on PCs.
You make your signup contract specify financial penalties for conducting a spamming campaign... $1000 ought to do it. When someone uses the $100 hosting service for a spamming campaign, you extract the $1000 from them, using collections agencies or legal action if necessary. You will succeed and get damages plus costs, because you have a solid case of breach of contract.
When word gets around that you're serious about enforcing the terms of your contracts, spammers will stop signing up for your service.
It's a temporary phenomenon. A lot of people are new to IM and get these misunderstandings a lot. After about ten years of using IM systems you stop having the problem, in my experience.
I own two Atari STs and a couple of crates of commercial software I paid for. If I want to play the software on an emulator, seems perfectly legal to me.
The problem with Qcast is that the PS2 sounds like a vacuum cleaner. I want something QUIET to play my MP3s on. That's why I have a separate DVD player as well as a PS2.
Slashdot Mirror
On the other hand, DVD-RAM discs are in a cartridge, so they're practically impossible to scratch in regular usage.
Strictly speaking, the formats are properly called +RW and +R. Look at the logos on the front of the drive.
The drives and discs are called "DVD+RW" on the fairly spurious grounds that they are compatible with DVD drives. +RW is *not* a DVD format. That's why it doesn't have the DVD logo on it.
There are several Panasonic drives which support all the DVD writing standards; for example, the LF-D321U. Only one drive supports both DVD and +RW writing standards, the Sony DRU500A.
In terms of which you actually want to use: DVD-R is best for video discs playable on a DVD player. +RW or DVD-RAM are best for data storage. I haven't found much use for DVD-RW, except test burns of DVD-R discs to check the DVD authoring worked properly. +R is a bit better than +RW but not as good as DVD-R for video, and less convenient than +RW for data, so there's no much point in it.
I dunno, but I'll buy the Mac version when it's released... but IF AND ONLY IF (a) it's feature-complete, with feature parity with the Windoze version, and (b) it's the same price as the Windoze version.
Those are my standard terms for purchasing any Mac game. If necessary, I wait until (b) is true. So software houses that release games late for non-Windows platforms really lose out; they miss the peak of excitement that might make people want to buy the game, and they miss the chance to charge full price for it.
aka The Murphia?
When iPods hit 40GB, I'll probably get one, engraved with a comment about Hilary Rosen or the RIAA.
My initial thought was "F**k You, Hilary Rosen", but I was wondering if they'd let me get away with "RIAA Approved Music Piracy Device".
(Yes, I'm serious.)
The quality of software has certainly declined. I remember when you bought a video game, it worked, and that was it. None of this "download patch 1.4.34 to fix bugs in the 3D engine".
Of course, it's still mostly the case that console games work when you buy them. You can hear video game authors complain all the time about the horrendous problems they have getting through Sony QA. These two things are related!
I tried installing OS/2 on three different machines from three different PC manufacturers. On one, the hard disk drivers didn't work. On the second, the graphics drivers didn't work. On the third, the CD-ROM drivers didn't work.
So I gave up on OS/2.
It was probably great if you ran it on IBM hardware, but that just wasn't a realistic requirement.
Well, PGP 8 won't run on my OS X machine (10.1), and I can't fix it myself using the source code because of the stupid license.
GPG works, however.
Besides tourism, there's no reason for the vast majority of people to go to Florida. We still build highways there, though.
Well, let's see... three out of five of those points apply to Windows, a fourth applied to Windows XP on launch... I guess Windows isn't the standard desktop interface on PCs.
I loved programming the 6502, but could never stomach the crappy x86. The best environment for programming assembler, however, was the 68000 series...
If slashdot stopped printing all the "Crime Does Pay" stories, where would we go for our Microsoft news?
You make your signup contract specify financial penalties for conducting a spamming campaign... $1000 ought to do it. When someone uses the $100 hosting service for a spamming campaign, you extract the $1000 from them, using collections agencies or legal action if necessary. You will succeed and get damages plus costs, because you have a solid case of breach of contract.
When word gets around that you're serious about enforcing the terms of your contracts, spammers will stop signing up for your service.
It's a temporary phenomenon. A lot of people are new to IM and get these misunderstandings a lot. After about ten years of using IM systems you stop having the problem, in my experience.
(Yes, I'm serious.)
If you think Mozilla is sabotaging Opera, fix the code and submit the patch. If they won't take it, distribute your own fixed version.
Oh, wait, you'd rather just whine.
I have four sets of Cambridge Soundworks speakers of various price levels. All are wonderful for their respective prices.
If Bill Gates created a Windows-based vibrating butt plug, there would be a whole load of MCSEs bent over and greased up at midnight on release day.
Dreamcast used Microsoft Windows CE, dumbass.
I'm glad Dreamcast crashed and burned.
Plus remember that Sega sued companies for producing software compatible with their consoles.
Still, there's absolutely no reason to legalize drugs or provide universal healthcare. And you'd be a fool and a Communist to think otherwise.
To wrap lines as you type: :set wm=6
To reformat a paragraph:
!}fmt
To reformat a paragraph in vim without needing fmt:
gq}
You don't have to use HTTP. You can run SOAP over IBM MQSeries if you want to, to pick one example.
I own two Atari STs and a couple of crates of commercial software I paid for. If I want to play the software on an emulator, seems perfectly legal to me.
The problem with Qcast is that the PS2 sounds like a vacuum cleaner. I want something QUIET to play my MP3s on. That's why I have a separate DVD player as well as a PS2.
I just had a vision of a bunch of Asian engineers so excited that they would "pour over" x-ray blowups of integrated circuits.
Sorry.
Actually, a tie is a badge which says "I know fuck all about technology, but I really know how to kiss ass. Ignore anything I say."