"you'll be able to buy higher priority for your packets"
How is this effectively different from the current situation: "free" ISP -> ISP -> DSL, cable modem -> T1 -> T3
More $$ -> more bandwidth -> more priority
You mention scary possiblities. What about the possibility that a bunch of teenagers' download of a pirated MP3 blocks research information from getting through? Oh wait, that's already happening. -----
D. Fischer
We're getting ahead of ourselves. First, we need to restrict people's access to libraries. Currently, too many foolish, ignorant people have access to too much information. No good will come of that.
We also need to license people for social interactions -- when people get together, they often exchange thoughts and ideas (many of these, no doubt, gained from the libraries!). From a careful study of history, we now know that this uncontrolled interaction usually leads to grave disaster for the ruling elite. Thus, for their own good, and ours, non-approved persons will be confined to their homes until they have proven they are capable of civilized behavior in groups.
(my apologies to Jonathon Swift:) -----
D. Fischer
Your comments also reveal the benefits of consoles.
Multiplayer is sweet. - PC multiplayer is usually unknown, unseen people. Console MP is truly interactive, with your friend/foe sitting next to you on the couch. That is much more fun, IMHO.
Interface. PC has a lot more interfaces to offer from mouse, keyboard to joystick. A console has a consistent standard interface. A good developer will create a near-perfect control scheme to allow easy play. With a PC, controls vary, so the developer must try and meet all styles, and the user experience will vary depending on their hardware.
Patches - Every PC game needs a patch (or eight) today, even those from the top-tier developers. Arguably, most shouldn't even be purchased until they are patched to 1.03. But since consoles can't be patched, they either ship (essentially) bug free, or they don't ship at all. I prefer the latter method generally.
Mods - I have not seen a mod for a console game. OTOH, I don't usually find PC mods very interesting, so I don't think that's a great loss.
Sound - this cuts both ways. My N64 is connected to my stereo VCR, which is routed through my stereo. My computer has baseline computer speakers (good, but not great). So, my N64 games sound much better than my PC games. In general, the stereo is with the TV/enertainment center. Most PC's are not near a stereo. I'd say most people have better sound for their consoles than their computers.
console has the advantage of...one set of hardware...with Direct X and Glide, is this...a concern any more? - Yes. It seems there are still problems getting 3D cards to talk to the games at times. A recent example is UT; the game performed significantly better using Glide than DirectX through several patch levels. Consoles just work.
only see 2 advantages - clearly I think there quite a few: no hardware incompatibilities, no patches, more comfortable and interactive settings usually, better sound for many people. And cost; consoles are ~10x less expensive than computers. And a console has a good 4 yr life span, during which it can play every game released for it. A retail computer bought by a mainstream consumer has about a 2 yr game-life, if that, before minimal game requirements start to approach the computer hardware.
Don't get me wrong - I like PC games a great deal. But console games offer significant advantages in various respects, and shouldn't be given short thrift. -----
D. Fischer
The first time I played with a friend's WinCE palm-style gadget, I crashed it in 20 min.:/ Hopefully their gaming version fares better in my hands. -----
D. Fischer
Give me a good game with moderate graphics over a mediocre game with killer graphics any day.
Starcraft, for example, is 3 yrs old, runs at 640x480 with 2D sprites, and lacks many of the features found in modern RTS games. But I find it far more fun than UT or Q3A, or any of the new-fangled 3D RTS games, like Earth 2150. In fact, I'd generally rather play the four yr. old N64 game 1080 snowboarding game than most of the new PC games.
It's about gameplay, and Nintendo knows console gameplay. It remains to be seen if MS does too. -----
D. Fischer
SC64 is now out for the Nintendo 64, and it gets good reviews, in part for having an excellent interface.
Of course it is not as full featured as the PC version, but the PC version requires $500-$1000 of hardware to play, and double that to play against a friend in the same room. The console will set you back ~$150 including the game, and "installation" is plug-&-play, unlike the PC's plug-&-pray. -----
D. Fischer
Re:No console competes with the genre of games for
on
Salon on the XBox
·
· Score: 2
"Plots for console games are normally shallow"
Not to be confused with the deep and engaging plots of PC games e.g. Doom, Quake, Q3:Arena, Unreal, UT, Earth 2150, etc.:)
Even the the "deep" games for PC are pretty thin compared to average books.
Let's maintain some perspective on these things. -----
D. Fischer
I've long suspected that Bill Gates doesn't actually use his own software, and this seems to confirm it (I'm not sure whether to use a:) or:/ or:( )
This reminds me of my proposed punishment for the DOJ v. MS case: Require Bill Gates to write a >200 pg thesis and 45 min presentation using Win98 (not SE), 28.8 modem, P2-400, and Office 97 (not updated). The thesis must have figures, tables, equations, endnotes. It must be printed with page numbers on alternating sides for publishing. The presentation must be on overheads, produced with Powerpoint.
He is free to download any software he wants from the 'net, or Windows Update via his dial-up connection. The only help he can get is from the MS website and other online sources.
He can return to MS after this is done.
That's my gentle punishment. My serious one is to force MS to use its own software for *everything*-- development, reports, and accounting purposes, etc.
I suspect that their products would improve significantly after that. -----
D. Fischer
I don't know patent law specifically, but my understanding is that if an invention is widely known about and understood, then you can't patent it. That's pretty much a way of saying that if overlapping prior art exists, you haven't invented anything.
But in this case:
1) "Randolph N. Reynolds" is not the general public.
2) Researchers do not work in a vacuum. Generally other people unrelated to the work know about the project. In this case, Pool hired others to create the method for him. So others know about it, but it's not a problem. It's fairly contained, unique (allegedly), and not generally implemented.
I believe you can publish a paper on an invention and then file a patent within a year. That makes sense, since the patent process is much longer than the time to publication and timely publication is, in many ways, more important than a patent. -----
D. Fischer
My recollection is that benchmarks show that an X MHz PPC has the same speed as an X, or 1.2 X, MHz Pentium. That is, a 500 MHz PPC runs like a 500-600 MHz P3. Unless you have specially coded Altivec code vs. regular P3 code, you'll never see 2x performance gains.
I'm a rather boggled by this:
- multi-million dollar contract for the one of the largest global sporting events
- IBM will have tremendous public exposure via their site
- IBM must certainly expect this to be an advertisment for their own services, to help land future fat contracts
- yet they forget the ALT tag? An ancient tag so obvious, so simple, that even *I* know to use it in my little "hobby" website?
Does IBM have any blind employees in their company? Anywhere? In the world? Has anyone on their design team ever known a severely sight-impaired person? Ever? In their life?
Hello! McFly!
If they can be that dense and still succeed as a huge multi-national company, it gives me hope that my plans for world domination will one day come to fruition:)
You just showed that those non-obvious points are known by people. Thus, the image creator could have know that too, and added all the right details to perfect the deception.
A good hoax must be well done. Otherwise, what's the point?
This of course raises bigger questions, like, "Can we trust images as evidence?" or, "How do you collect evidence in a digital investigation?" It's illegal to destroy incriminating evidence. But if there is no evidence of that evidence ever existing, how can it be shown that it was deleted?
Finally, in a more philosophical bent, "What is the sound of one hacker hacking?" -----
D. Fischer
That's an interesting point, considering the link has now been removed from CNN's site.
Was the report and image a fabrication?
Is CNN hypocritical?
Did they just decide that link wasn't really part of the "whole story"?
Or were they *really* short on hard-drive space?:) -----
D. Fischer
But isn't the point that the judge ruled that it is illegal to link to the DeCSS source code? If it's illegal, it's illegal, news or not. CNN shouldn't get a pass if 2600 doesn't.
It's like saying a group of kids making a newsletter can't tell others the address for e.g. a gun wholesaler, but a newspaper can (which a kid could then read...) -----
D. Fischer
You make a great point, that I've wondered about over the years. The model most people have for a business is to be the biggest, richest company around. There seems to be no room in peoples' minds for regular businesses making regular profits, employing regular people. Yet, that is how the vast majority of businesses really are.
It's good to aim for excellence, and nothing wrong in being rich. But there's also nothing wrong with have an average business that pays the bills and employs others. -----
D. Fischer
Google is for primary search site. But I rarely use "I'm Feeling Lucky" because I'm such a ninny. Are there any he-men (or she-women) who use it on a regular basis? How often do you find it works? Other thoughts on getting lucky? -----
D. Fischer
I'd guess that Toshiba was getting heat from its investors & customers, asking, "where's that Transmeta system with the 8 hr battery life you promised?" If those people (esp. investors) thought that the problem was on Toshiba's end of things, that could negatively impact their stock price and maybe future purchases.
So Toshiba shifts blame: "It's not us. Transmeta's chip isn't as good as promised, so as a good caring company who exists only to serve its customers, we will not be selling these things until they are worthwhile."
Well said. Best case scenario, Transmeta makes a zero power processor. That just moves the power bottleneck from the processor to something else (the screen, most likely). -----
D. Fischer
Re:I'm getting tired of this...
on
Men of Zeal
·
· Score: 2
I just finished reading the thread you started, and I found it very interesting. You stated well several ideas that I've been mulling over a bit lately. While I'm not a professional coder, I have to code as an aspect of my work (as a researcher), so this is an interesting topic to me.
What I would like to see is an "Ask Slashdot" topic; something like:
"If Linux wins, do professional developers lose?"
A related question is:
"Can the Free-Software paradigm be applied to non software endeavors? e.g. Authoring (books, movies, music, plays), Microprocessor design, Architecture."
Perhaps more to the point: "Is there a future for Free Software beyond hobbyist coders in a (mostly) capitalistic society?"
These are earnest questions, not flamebait. Given the thoughtful, well-expressed comments in this thread, I think they would make for excellent discussion on their own. -----
http://movies.shoutingman.com
"Why should Nintendo ultimately decide what I can and cannot see in my video games?"
This is not a free-speech issue. A developer has no fundamental right to produce any game for any platform.
It is Nintendo's hardware platform. They control the hardware and software production. Their approach has generally been to a strong Q&A, strict content standards, and a "few games, much quality" mindset. It's served them fairly well.
This approach also works for Disney, childrens' book publishers, childrens' TV & movie producers, and certainly others.
I'm not easily offended, and I enjoy bloody games at times. I just appreciate knowing that at least one content provider understands and respects that a large group of people prefer to have access to a generally "clean" source of entertainment.
A peeve of mine is the labeling of graphic nudity, violence, or offensive language as "Mature Content," because it generally isn't. Usually it would be more accurate to label it "Immature Content" since the use of that sort of material usually reflects more junior high fantasies than mature attitudes on the subjects.
For truly "Mature Content" that effectively uses brutal violence, extremely offensive language, and brief nudity, see the movie "American History X".
Oh, I see it's time for my medication! I'm sorry, what was I saying?:)
This has been a very interesting discussion. I'll just add that I'd save the hospital over the library. Books can be re-written but people can't be resurrected (at least not by us mere mortals). -----
http://movies.shoutingman.com
Slashdot Mirror
"you'll be able to buy higher priority for your packets"
How is this effectively different from the current situation: "free" ISP -> ISP -> DSL, cable modem -> T1 -> T3
More $$ -> more bandwidth -> more priority
You mention scary possiblities. What about the possibility that a bunch of teenagers' download of a pirated MP3 blocks research information from getting through? Oh wait, that's already happening.
-----
D. Fischer
We're getting ahead of ourselves. First, we need to restrict people's access to libraries. Currently, too many foolish, ignorant people have access to too much information. No good will come of that.
:)
We also need to license people for social interactions -- when people get together, they often exchange thoughts and ideas (many of these, no doubt, gained from the libraries!). From a careful study of history, we now know that this uncontrolled interaction usually leads to grave disaster for the ruling elite. Thus, for their own good, and ours, non-approved persons will be confined to their homes until they have proven they are capable of civilized behavior in groups.
(my apologies to Jonathon Swift
-----
D. Fischer
Your comments also reveal the benefits of consoles. Multiplayer is sweet. - PC multiplayer is usually unknown, unseen people. Console MP is truly interactive, with your friend/foe sitting next to you on the couch. That is much more fun, IMHO. Interface. PC has a lot more interfaces to offer from mouse, keyboard to joystick. A console has a consistent standard interface. A good developer will create a near-perfect control scheme to allow easy play. With a PC, controls vary, so the developer must try and meet all styles, and the user experience will vary depending on their hardware. Patches - Every PC game needs a patch (or eight) today, even those from the top-tier developers. Arguably, most shouldn't even be purchased until they are patched to 1.03. But since consoles can't be patched, they either ship (essentially) bug free, or they don't ship at all. I prefer the latter method generally. Mods - I have not seen a mod for a console game. OTOH, I don't usually find PC mods very interesting, so I don't think that's a great loss. Sound - this cuts both ways. My N64 is connected to my stereo VCR, which is routed through my stereo. My computer has baseline computer speakers (good, but not great). So, my N64 games sound much better than my PC games. In general, the stereo is with the TV/enertainment center. Most PC's are not near a stereo. I'd say most people have better sound for their consoles than their computers. console has the advantage of...one set of hardware...with Direct X and Glide, is this...a concern any more? - Yes. It seems there are still problems getting 3D cards to talk to the games at times. A recent example is UT; the game performed significantly better using Glide than DirectX through several patch levels. Consoles just work. only see 2 advantages - clearly I think there quite a few: no hardware incompatibilities, no patches, more comfortable and interactive settings usually, better sound for many people. And cost; consoles are ~10x less expensive than computers. And a console has a good 4 yr life span, during which it can play every game released for it. A retail computer bought by a mainstream consumer has about a 2 yr game-life, if that, before minimal game requirements start to approach the computer hardware. Don't get me wrong - I like PC games a great deal. But console games offer significant advantages in various respects, and shouldn't be given short thrift.
-----
D. Fischer
The first time I played with a friend's WinCE palm-style gadget, I crashed it in 20 min. :/ Hopefully their gaming version fares better in my hands.
-----
D. Fischer
Hardware, schmardware.
Give me a good game with moderate graphics over a mediocre game with killer graphics any day.
Starcraft, for example, is 3 yrs old, runs at 640x480 with 2D sprites, and lacks many of the features found in modern RTS games. But I find it far more fun than UT or Q3A, or any of the new-fangled 3D RTS games, like Earth 2150. In fact, I'd generally rather play the four yr. old N64 game 1080 snowboarding game than most of the new PC games.
It's about gameplay, and Nintendo knows console gameplay. It remains to be seen if MS does too.
-----
D. Fischer
SC64 is now out for the Nintendo 64, and it gets good reviews, in part for having an excellent interface. Of course it is not as full featured as the PC version, but the PC version requires $500-$1000 of hardware to play, and double that to play against a friend in the same room. The console will set you back ~$150 including the game, and "installation" is plug-&-play, unlike the PC's plug-&-pray.
-----
D. Fischer
"Plots for console games are normally shallow" :)
Not to be confused with the deep and engaging plots of PC games e.g. Doom, Quake, Q3:Arena, Unreal, UT, Earth 2150, etc.
Even the the "deep" games for PC are pretty thin compared to average books.
Let's maintain some perspective on these things.
-----
D. Fischer
I've long suspected that Bill Gates doesn't actually use his own software, and this seems to confirm it (I'm not sure whether to use a :) or :/ or :( )
This reminds me of my proposed punishment for the DOJ v. MS case: Require Bill Gates to write a >200 pg thesis and 45 min presentation using Win98 (not SE), 28.8 modem, P2-400, and Office 97 (not updated). The thesis must have figures, tables, equations, endnotes. It must be printed with page numbers on alternating sides for publishing. The presentation must be on overheads, produced with Powerpoint.
He is free to download any software he wants from the 'net, or Windows Update via his dial-up connection. The only help he can get is from the MS website and other online sources.
He can return to MS after this is done.
That's my gentle punishment. My serious one is to force MS to use its own software for *everything*-- development, reports, and accounting purposes, etc.
I suspect that their products would improve significantly after that.
-----
D. Fischer
Speaking of audible noises...
The recent Newsweek article on the Kursk said that the U.S. sub's sonar operators were nearly deafened by the explosion.
Them's some high-falutin' headphones...
-----
D. Fischer
Actually, it's become a Tom Clancy story with his recent essay in Newsweek. And, his analysis is essentially the same as that in the report slashdot linked to.
-----
D. Fischer
I don't know patent law specifically, but my understanding is that if an invention is widely known about and understood, then you can't patent it. That's pretty much a way of saying that if overlapping prior art exists, you haven't invented anything.
But in this case:
1) "Randolph N. Reynolds" is not the general public.
2) Researchers do not work in a vacuum. Generally other people unrelated to the work know about the project. In this case, Pool hired others to create the method for him. So others know about it, but it's not a problem. It's fairly contained, unique (allegedly), and not generally implemented.
I believe you can publish a paper on an invention and then file a patent within a year. That makes sense, since the patent process is much longer than the time to publication and timely publication is, in many ways, more important than a patent.
-----
D. Fischer
My recollection is that benchmarks show that an X MHz PPC has the same speed as an X, or 1.2 X, MHz Pentium. That is, a 500 MHz PPC runs like a 500-600 MHz P3. Unless you have specially coded Altivec code vs. regular P3 code, you'll never see 2x performance gains.
Sad, but true.
-----
D. Fischer
I'm a rather boggled by this:
:)
- multi-million dollar contract for the one of the largest global sporting events
- IBM will have tremendous public exposure via their site
- IBM must certainly expect this to be an advertisment for their own services, to help land future fat contracts
- yet they forget the ALT tag? An ancient tag so obvious, so simple, that even *I* know to use it in my little "hobby" website?
Does IBM have any blind employees in their company? Anywhere? In the world? Has anyone on their design team ever known a severely sight-impaired person? Ever? In their life?
Hello! McFly!
If they can be that dense and still succeed as a huge multi-national company, it gives me hope that my plans for world domination will one day come to fruition
-----
D. Fischer
You just showed that those non-obvious points are known by people. Thus, the image creator could have know that too, and added all the right details to perfect the deception.
A good hoax must be well done. Otherwise, what's the point?
This of course raises bigger questions, like, "Can we trust images as evidence?" or, "How do you collect evidence in a digital investigation?" It's illegal to destroy incriminating evidence. But if there is no evidence of that evidence ever existing, how can it be shown that it was deleted?
Finally, in a more philosophical bent, "What is the sound of one hacker hacking?"
-----
D. Fischer
That's an interesting point, considering the link has now been removed from CNN's site.
:)
Was the report and image a fabrication?
Is CNN hypocritical?
Did they just decide that link wasn't really part of the "whole story"?
Or were they *really* short on hard-drive space?
-----
D. Fischer
But isn't the point that the judge ruled that it is illegal to link to the DeCSS source code? If it's illegal, it's illegal, news or not. CNN shouldn't get a pass if 2600 doesn't.
It's like saying a group of kids making a newsletter can't tell others the address for e.g. a gun wholesaler, but a newspaper can (which a kid could then read...)
-----
D. Fischer
You make a great point, that I've wondered about over the years. The model most people have for a business is to be the biggest, richest company around. There seems to be no room in peoples' minds for regular businesses making regular profits, employing regular people. Yet, that is how the vast majority of businesses really are.
It's good to aim for excellence, and nothing wrong in being rich. But there's also nothing wrong with have an average business that pays the bills and employs others.
-----
D. Fischer
Google is for primary search site. But I rarely use "I'm Feeling Lucky" because I'm such a ninny. Are there any he-men (or she-women) who use it on a regular basis? How often do you find it works? Other thoughts on getting lucky?
-----
D. Fischer
The "thin" front page also means fast loads for us modem users. Big plus in my book.
-----
D. Fischer
As others said, bad publicity is real.
I'd guess that Toshiba was getting heat from its investors & customers, asking, "where's that Transmeta system with the 8 hr battery life you promised?" If those people (esp. investors) thought that the problem was on Toshiba's end of things, that could negatively impact their stock price and maybe future purchases.
So Toshiba shifts blame: "It's not us. Transmeta's chip isn't as good as promised, so as a good caring company who exists only to serve its customers, we will not be selling these things until they are worthwhile."
Thoughts?
-----
D. Fischer
Well said. Best case scenario, Transmeta makes a zero power processor. That just moves the power bottleneck from the processor to something else (the screen, most likely).
-----
D. Fischer
I just finished reading the thread you started, and I found it very interesting. You stated well several ideas that I've been mulling over a bit lately. While I'm not a professional coder, I have to code as an aspect of my work (as a researcher), so this is an interesting topic to me.
What I would like to see is an "Ask Slashdot" topic; something like:
"If Linux wins, do professional developers lose?"
A related question is:
"Can the Free-Software paradigm be applied to non software endeavors? e.g. Authoring (books, movies, music, plays), Microprocessor design, Architecture."
Perhaps more to the point: "Is there a future for Free Software beyond hobbyist coders in a (mostly) capitalistic society?"
These are earnest questions, not flamebait. Given the thoughtful, well-expressed comments in this thread, I think they would make for excellent discussion on their own.
-----
http://movies.shoutingman.com
Again, thoughts can be rethunk. People can't be re-alived.
I value people more than knowledge. Besides, to quote from valuable literature, "there is nothing new under the sun."
At the risk of attacking a straw-man, consider this: The public library in your town is demolished, or your mother dies. Which is it?
To me, the choice is simple.
-----
http://movies.shoutingman.com
"Why should Nintendo ultimately decide what I can and cannot see in my video games?"
:)
This is not a free-speech issue. A developer has no fundamental right to produce any game for any platform.
It is Nintendo's hardware platform. They control the hardware and software production. Their approach has generally been to a strong Q&A, strict content standards, and a "few games, much quality" mindset. It's served them fairly well.
This approach also works for Disney, childrens' book publishers, childrens' TV & movie producers, and certainly others.
I'm not easily offended, and I enjoy bloody games at times. I just appreciate knowing that at least one content provider understands and respects that a large group of people prefer to have access to a generally "clean" source of entertainment.
A peeve of mine is the labeling of graphic nudity, violence, or offensive language as "Mature Content," because it generally isn't. Usually it would be more accurate to label it "Immature Content" since the use of that sort of material usually reflects more junior high fantasies than mature attitudes on the subjects.
For truly "Mature Content" that effectively uses brutal violence, extremely offensive language, and brief nudity, see the movie "American History X".
Oh, I see it's time for my medication! I'm sorry, what was I saying?
-----
http://movies.shoutingman.com
This has been a very interesting discussion. I'll just add that I'd save the hospital over the library. Books can be re-written but people can't be resurrected (at least not by us mere mortals).
-----
http://movies.shoutingman.com