A much better examination of the evoltuion of the controller is Sock Master's Video Game Controller Family Tree (http://www.axess.com/twilight/console/). Instead of just hilighting the heavyweights like the story article does (what, no Master System controllers? What about the original Genesis controller?), Sock Master's chart is more diverse, showing who borrowed what from who.
Generally the reaction online has been "Why are people so uptight about consentual sex instead of the gratuitous violence in the games? It's ok for Johnny to run over a prostitute, but is not ok to sleep with one consentually? WTF, mate?" That's not what is at issue here, in my mind.
The problem here was that of the voluntary disclosure and sloppy programming/publishing practices by Rockstar/Take Two. The ESRB rating system arose in the mid-90's when parents were up-in-arms about Mortal Kombat. There was the threat of legislative intervention and a mandatory rating system by the government. Game developers cried bloody murder, censorship, 1st Ammendment rights, etc. So, to head off the government from making a mandatory rating system, they implemented one of their own - what became the ESRB and the game ratings we know of today. It was all voluntary - game publishers can choose to not have their game rated, but many large stores will not sell games without a rating, which would be financial suicide. Submission was voluntary, disclosure of content was all up to the developer.
Rockstar and TakeTwo being sloppy in disclosure and programming puts the credibility of the entire volunteer, industry-lead ESRB system in jeapordy. With the current problem with GTA:SA, some politicians are calling for a government-run ratings system, using GTA:SA as evidence that the existing ESRB system does not work and is not reliable. The same arguments of censorship and 1st Ammendment protections from the mid-90's Mortal Kombat episode are returning. Regardless of your opinions of whether or not video games are art, and therefore protected speech, I don't think anyone would believe that a panel of old senators would do any better in rating video games than a panel of people who actually play them. And for this reason I believe that the ESRB did the right thing in changing the rating for GTA:SA, despite the fact that Rockstar should not be held accountable for this unofficial hack (assuming it did not come from an internal Rockstar leak). The ratings change for GTA:SA returns credibility to the ESRB rating process.
The concept is nice. The problem, for me at least, is that when I want to drop something into a new location, I need to make sure that that location is where I want the file to be. To do that I need to see the titlebar of the window. If all the windows are stacked on top of eachother, it's a pain in the butt to "fold" far enough all the windows covering the target so I can see the titlebar of the target window. Of course, I could move the windows so they're not directly stacked...but that would defeat the need of folding the windows.
Doom 3 was looking good, as was Halo 2. Then I saw the physics demo for Half-Life 2, and promptly stopped paying attention to anything else.
Computer (more specifically, GPU) processing power has increased so much in the past few years that game companies can no longer simply rely on "Uber-realistic graphics!!!" to sell their games. Everyone can do that now. It's old news.
That was id's mistake. I think that Valve properly recognized the "Uber-Graphics" wall in the industry and instead focused on game physics and AI. The result was Half-Life 2, and one of the first (if not the first) FPS games that you could really interact with any aspect of the environment, beyond scripted "push this crate here to open the door" elements. Don't get me wrong, Doom 3 is pretty. But gamers are bored of "just pretty graphics". Doom 3 didn't bring anything new to the party; Half-Life 2 did.
"Simply fantastic flash video that manages to be at once a critique of the PSP, an elegy for consoles and games past, and a paean to one of the greatest RPGs ever. It's funny, but also extremely moving. At least, to me.
(To see thoe whole piece, click on New Game.)"
Note to Zonk: The above does not make a commentary! At most it's a "hey lookit this cool thing", or a "blurb" if you're feeling generous. A commentary would be an analysis of why single-purpose consoles would feel threatened by the PSP, and how it might really be threatening the industry (or at least changing its direction), or why each platform was a perfect choice to represent each FFVI character (example: the XBox as Umaro is freaking hilarious).
This is one reason why I decided to purchase a DS instead of a PSP. The PSP is a fantastic piece of hardware. It's very powerful. But, it's just the same-old, repackaged. The DS has new ideas for interaction, namely the touch screen, the second screen, and the microphone. I'm looking forward to more interesting games that take advantage of those features, instead of yet-another-FPS or shooting/carjacking game (whoopdefreakingdoo).
If you read the text of the bill, it only applies to "protected computers", as defined in section 1030 of title 18, US Code.
That section defines a "protected computer" as such:
1030. Fraud and related activity in connection with computers
1. As used in this section--...
2. the term "protected computer" means a computer--
1. exclusively for the use of a financial institution or the United States Government, or, in the case of a computer not exclusively for such use, used by or for a financial institution or the United States Government and the conduct constituting the offense affects that use by or for the financial institution or the Government; or
2. which is used in interstate or foreign commerce or communication, including a computer located outside the United States that is used in a manner that affects interstate or foreign commerce or communication of the United States;...
So, this bill only appiles to governmental and financial computers. Plus, it expries in 2009.
Therefore, this bill is meaningless. I'd wager that the lone person voting "no" was angry that this bill did jack.
[quote] Better yet, don't censor the airwaves at all, just require a very thorough, detailed, and precise rating system, and enforce it. Then parents can decide what is suitable for themselves to view as well as their children, and nobody needs to step on anyone else's right to broadcast what they want or watch what they want [/quote]
I think that's the way to go. However, most parents in this country don't want to have any responsibility with their kids. They would rather have the govt. play babysitter and take care of everything. So, if the law makers don't do anything, Joe and Jane Sixpack will complain about the crap on TV that their kids are watching, instead of monitoring what's being watched, making it a family thing, and otherwise taking an interest in the growth and development of their kids.
The slashdot crowd might want to check out Console Classix. They've taken the game-rental business model and applied it to emulation. Nintendo knows about CC, and has left them alone. For each copy of a ROM they have available, they have a matching physical cartridge. So, if they have 3 ROMs of Tetris, they pulled the ROMs from three individual carts they have on-site.
The emulators are all open-source, and they are encouraging porting from other platforms (currently it's Win32 only). Atari 2600, NES, SNES and Sega Genesis are availble, with other platforms coming soon. The NES and 2600 are free, but the SNES and Genesis clients require a small monthly fee to play (like $5 or something).
Anyhow, go check them out, and if you have any old carts lying around that you don't want anymore, consider donating them to CC so they can have more ROM images available for "rent".
The latest client for MacOS 8/9 (2.5.3) crashes on startup because of this server change. Here's how you fix the 2.5.3 client on MacOS 8/9:
Open a copy of the application in ResEdit. Find the "STR#" resource group, open it. Find ID 130, titled "servers", and open that group. Change string number one from "scs.msg.yahoo.com" to "scs.yahoo.com".
Save changes, quit ResEdit. Launch the copy of Yahoo Messneger you edited, and you'll log in.
The GameCube Zelda Collection, released this past Christmas, is a good example of the proper way to release older games to a nostalgic audience. The sprites are the same, the music is the same, and most importantly: the games have the same slow-down in the same places they did in the original releases. It seems like the Zelda Collection disc just has a real-time NES emulator that loads on the cube and runs a ROM, keeping the speeds the same as the original.
Though FFOrigins for the PS1 is a fantastic remake, I would not want to see the same treatment done to the MegaMan Collection.
[quote] The paragraphs violated court secrecy rules. The case is ongoing. You aren't allowed to publish details of ongoing cases that could taint a potential jury pool, and there's no doubt in my mind that that was the entire point of the ACLU's press release. [/quote]
The information that was removed from the ACLU article is all public knowledge! The paragraph detailing what FBI agents can request is spelled out in detail in the law itself! Certainly a court can't order public knowledge to be kept secret until the trial is over.
Speaking as a Christian D&D player
on
D&D Is 30
·
· Score: 1
I'm a Christian, and I play D&D. I know many other Christian D&D'ers. It's embarassing how most Christians react to PnP gaming, especially D&D. It's been my experience that most do not take the time to evaluate something on their own, but just take their pastor's word for it, or believe whatever book is the best-seller at the Christian bookstore. That's the problem - most don't really think for themselves on issues like this. Perhaps one day that will change. Just know that we're not all idiots. If anyone does start going off on how D&D is satanic, etc, just calmly ask "why", then ask for evidence, etc. Once they realise that they don't really understand the topic, then you can explain what it's really about.
I agree - some black hole lists are getting over-zealous. My ISP's SMTP server was recently listed by dnsbl.sorbs.net. Check out their removal policy:
"Third and finally, if you are really not a spammer, or you are truly reformed, de-listing is relatively easy. You pay US$50 to a charity or trust approved by, and not connected with, SORBS for each spam received relating to the listing (This is known and refered to as the SORBS 'fine')."
(http://www.dnsbl.us.sorbs.net/SpamDBFAQ.html) Who the hell do they think they are, demanding payment of a "fine" to remove your server from their block list? It's extortion. It's just like the protection rackets the mafia used to do: "You've got a nice store here...it would be a shame if anything were to happen to it...we can protect you, guarantee nothing happens to your store for $500 a week..."
For this reason, and many others, I strongly disagree with black hole lists. They think they can change the world by saying "Hey, I'm important, and I'm blocking you! You better shape up, or else!" I understand their cause, their desire to stop spam, but they are just going about it the wrong way.
If you only read a few sentences from this article, read these:
[quote] Ted Senator, who managed that research for Poindexter, told government contractors that mining data to identify terrorists "is much harder than simply finding needles in a haystack."
"Our task is akin to finding dangerous groups of needles hidden in stacks of needle pieces," he said. "We must track all the needle pieces all of the time." [/quote]
This would be where the "Total" part of "Toal Information Awareness" comes in.
"There appears to have been no hacking, no stealing, and no violation of any Senate rule," Miranda said. "Stealing assumes a property right and there is no property right to a government document. . . . These documents are not covered under the Senate disclosure rule because they are not official business and, to the extent they were disclosed, they were disclosed inadvertently by negligent [Democratic] staff."
No property rights to a governemnt document? Interesting, if it is true, though this argument is so slippery and sounds like it's grabbing at straws. Regardless of if it was against Senate rules or not, the Republicans intercepted communications not intended for them. It could have started as an accident, yes, but they kept going for over a year. If that is not illegal, it is highly unethical and immoral, and the people who participated in this need tobe removed from office.
[quote]'The problem is a lack of highly educated workers willing to work for the minimum wage or lower in the U.S." [/quote]
Two points: 1: Just about the only place you can live while you're making only minumum wage is your parent's basement or a cardboard box. 2: You can't pay less than the minimum wage. Hence the term "minimum" before the "wage".
People spend a small fortune going to colleges and trade schools learning the skills necessary. It's insulting to expect that we should be happy with pay that is less than the average burger-flipper makes.
You're comparing apples to oranges with your electric shaver example.
Perhaps using the term "racist" was a bit overdoing it. Let me try again:
Japanese family moves to the US. They buy a DVD player here. They buy Japanese DVDs through a legit online shop. The discs won't play in their brand new player. The region lockout system has decided that nobody in region 1 (north america) should have access to DVDs from other areas around the world. Sucks to be an immigrant, then. You are denied access to material from your native country and culture, in your native language.
Sure, there are numerous hoops you can jump through, from voiding your warranty to purchasing a second player, but you shouldn't have to. The point is that the region lockouts unfairly target immigrants, people who speak more than one language, or people who are otherwise interested in media from all over the world, forcing them to either (a) break the law to get around the lockouts, by purchasing pirated copies that have the region code removed, (b) void their equipment's warranty by installing a mod chip or modifying the firmware (which might also be against the law, thanks to the DMCA), or (c) purchase duplicate equipment that serves the same purpose.
No, it's not racism to the same level as the KKK, or not getting a job based on the color of your skin, but in my opinion region lockouts tend to cause harm to citicens who live in one region, but hail from another. I guess that's where I make the determination that it is a form of racism.
Slashdot Mirror
It's a sports-type drink. Perfectly reasonable name for a drink, if you look at the context at which it is sold.
Mod parent up!
Move along, nothing to see here...
A much better examination of the evoltuion of the controller is Sock Master's Video Game Controller Family Tree (http://www.axess.com/twilight/console/). Instead of just hilighting the heavyweights like the story article does (what, no Master System controllers? What about the original Genesis controller?), Sock Master's chart is more diverse, showing who borrowed what from who.
Anyone who has played Marathon will instantly recognize:
"Frog blast the vent core!"
Grenade-hopping and rocket-jumping started with Marathon, late 1994.
Generally the reaction online has been "Why are people so uptight about consentual sex instead of the gratuitous violence in the games? It's ok for Johnny to run over a prostitute, but is not ok to sleep with one consentually? WTF, mate?" That's not what is at issue here, in my mind.
The problem here was that of the voluntary disclosure and sloppy programming/publishing practices by Rockstar/Take Two. The ESRB rating system arose in the mid-90's when parents were up-in-arms about Mortal Kombat. There was the threat of legislative intervention and a mandatory rating system by the government. Game developers cried bloody murder, censorship, 1st Ammendment rights, etc. So, to head off the government from making a mandatory rating system, they implemented one of their own - what became the ESRB and the game ratings we know of today. It was all voluntary - game publishers can choose to not have their game rated, but many large stores will not sell games without a rating, which would be financial suicide. Submission was voluntary, disclosure of content was all up to the developer.
Rockstar and TakeTwo being sloppy in disclosure and programming puts the credibility of the entire volunteer, industry-lead ESRB system in jeapordy. With the current problem with GTA:SA, some politicians are calling for a government-run ratings system, using GTA:SA as evidence that the existing ESRB system does not work and is not reliable. The same arguments of censorship and 1st Ammendment protections from the mid-90's Mortal Kombat episode are returning. Regardless of your opinions of whether or not video games are art, and therefore protected speech, I don't think anyone would believe that a panel of old senators would do any better in rating video games than a panel of people who actually play them. And for this reason I believe that the ESRB did the right thing in changing the rating for GTA:SA, despite the fact that Rockstar should not be held accountable for this unofficial hack (assuming it did not come from an internal Rockstar leak). The ratings change for GTA:SA returns credibility to the ESRB rating process.
The concept is nice. The problem, for me at least, is that when I want to drop something into a new location, I need to make sure that that location is where I want the file to be. To do that I need to see the titlebar of the window. If all the windows are stacked on top of eachother, it's a pain in the butt to "fold" far enough all the windows covering the target so I can see the titlebar of the target window. Of course, I could move the windows so they're not directly stacked...but that would defeat the need of folding the windows.
Doom 3 was looking good, as was Halo 2. Then I saw the physics demo for Half-Life 2, and promptly stopped paying attention to anything else.
Computer (more specifically, GPU) processing power has increased so much in the past few years that game companies can no longer simply rely on "Uber-realistic graphics!!!" to sell their games. Everyone can do that now. It's old news.
That was id's mistake. I think that Valve properly recognized the "Uber-Graphics" wall in the industry and instead focused on game physics and AI. The result was Half-Life 2, and one of the first (if not the first) FPS games that you could really interact with any aspect of the environment, beyond scripted "push this crate here to open the door" elements. Don't get me wrong, Doom 3 is pretty. But gamers are bored of "just pretty graphics". Doom 3 didn't bring anything new to the party; Half-Life 2 did.
The entire GGA post is:
"Simply fantastic flash video that manages to be at once a critique of the PSP, an elegy for consoles and games past, and a paean to one of the greatest RPGs ever. It's funny, but also extremely moving. At least, to me.
(To see thoe whole piece, click on New Game.)"
Note to Zonk: The above does not make a commentary! At most it's a "hey lookit this cool thing", or a "blurb" if you're feeling generous. A commentary would be an analysis of why single-purpose consoles would feel threatened by the PSP, and how it might really be threatening the industry (or at least changing its direction), or why each platform was a perfect choice to represent each FFVI character (example: the XBox as Umaro is freaking hilarious).
This is one reason why I decided to purchase a DS instead of a PSP. The PSP is a fantastic piece of hardware. It's very powerful. But, it's just the same-old, repackaged. The DS has new ideas for interaction, namely the touch screen, the second screen, and the microphone. I'm looking forward to more interesting games that take advantage of those features, instead of yet-another-FPS or shooting/carjacking game (whoopdefreakingdoo).
Back in the 'Donkey Kong' days, he was a construction worker. When 'Mario Brothers' was released, he and Luigi became plumbers at that point.
If you read the text of the bill, it only applies to "protected computers", as defined in section 1030 of title 18, US Code.
... ...
That section defines a "protected computer" as such:
1030. Fraud and related activity in connection with computers
1. As used in this section--
2. the term "protected computer" means a computer--
1. exclusively for the use of a financial institution or the United States Government, or, in the case of a computer not exclusively for such use, used by or for a financial institution or the United States Government and the conduct constituting the offense affects that use by or for the financial institution or the Government; or
2. which is used in interstate or foreign commerce or communication, including a computer located outside the United States that is used in a manner that affects interstate or foreign commerce or communication of the United States;
So, this bill only appiles to governmental and financial computers. Plus, it expries in 2009.
Therefore, this bill is meaningless. I'd wager that the lone person voting "no" was angry that this bill did jack.
From their live performance at the Hollywood Bowl:
"We find that your American beer is a bit like making love in a canoe."
"Making love in a canoe?"
"Yeah, it's fucking close to water."
*ba dum dum, tsshhhhh*
[quote]
Better yet, don't censor the airwaves at all, just require a very thorough, detailed, and precise rating system, and enforce it. Then parents can decide what is suitable for themselves to view as well as their children, and nobody needs to step on anyone else's right to broadcast what they want or watch what they want
[/quote]
I think that's the way to go. However, most parents in this country don't want to have any responsibility with their kids. They would rather have the govt. play babysitter and take care of everything. So, if the law makers don't do anything, Joe and Jane Sixpack will complain about the crap on TV that their kids are watching, instead of monitoring what's being watched, making it a family thing, and otherwise taking an interest in the growth and development of their kids.
Can the Mac client play against Windows players, or is it Mac-on-Mac only?
The slashdot crowd might want to check out Console Classix. They've taken the game-rental business model and applied it to emulation. Nintendo knows about CC, and has left them alone. For each copy of a ROM they have available, they have a matching physical cartridge. So, if they have 3 ROMs of Tetris, they pulled the ROMs from three individual carts they have on-site.
The emulators are all open-source, and they are encouraging porting from other platforms (currently it's Win32 only). Atari 2600, NES, SNES and Sega Genesis are availble, with other platforms coming soon. The NES and 2600 are free, but the SNES and Genesis clients require a small monthly fee to play (like $5 or something).
Anyhow, go check them out, and if you have any old carts lying around that you don't want anymore, consider donating them to CC so they can have more ROM images available for "rent".
The latest client for MacOS 8/9 (2.5.3) crashes on startup because of this server change. Here's how you fix the 2.5.3 client on MacOS 8/9:
Open a copy of the application in ResEdit. Find the "STR#" resource group, open it. Find ID 130, titled "servers", and open that group. Change string number one from "scs.msg.yahoo.com" to "scs.yahoo.com".
Save changes, quit ResEdit. Launch the copy of Yahoo Messneger you edited, and you'll log in.
The GameCube Zelda Collection, released this past Christmas, is a good example of the proper way to release older games to a nostalgic audience. The sprites are the same, the music is the same, and most importantly: the games have the same slow-down in the same places they did in the original releases. It seems like the Zelda Collection disc just has a real-time NES emulator that loads on the cube and runs a ROM, keeping the speeds the same as the original.
Though FFOrigins for the PS1 is a fantastic remake, I would not want to see the same treatment done to the MegaMan Collection.
I've lived in a town nearby to Redding for over 20 years. The Redding PD has always been a little "uppity" ;-p
Though, to be sure, Redding is not a good example of the rest of the state. Most of the communities north of Sacramento are kinda weird like this.
[quote]
The paragraphs violated court secrecy rules.
The case is ongoing. You aren't allowed to publish details of ongoing cases that could taint a potential jury pool, and there's no doubt in my mind that that was the entire point of the ACLU's press release.
[/quote]
The information that was removed from the ACLU article is all public knowledge! The paragraph detailing what FBI agents can request is spelled out in detail in the law itself! Certainly a court can't order public knowledge to be kept secret until the trial is over.
I'm a Christian, and I play D&D. I know many other Christian D&D'ers. It's embarassing how most Christians react to PnP gaming, especially D&D. It's been my experience that most do not take the time to evaluate something on their own, but just take their pastor's word for it, or believe whatever book is the best-seller at the Christian bookstore. That's the problem - most don't really think for themselves on issues like this. Perhaps one day that will change. Just know that we're not all idiots. If anyone does start going off on how D&D is satanic, etc, just calmly ask "why", then ask for evidence, etc. Once they realise that they don't really understand the topic, then you can explain what it's really about.
I agree - some black hole lists are getting over-zealous. My ISP's SMTP server was recently listed by dnsbl.sorbs.net. Check out their removal policy:
"Third and finally, if you are really not a spammer, or you are truly reformed, de-listing is relatively easy. You pay US$50 to a charity or trust approved by, and not connected with, SORBS for each spam received relating to the listing (This is known and refered to as the SORBS 'fine')."
(http://www.dnsbl.us.sorbs.net/SpamDBFAQ.html)
Who the hell do they think they are, demanding payment of a "fine" to remove your server from their block list? It's extortion. It's just like the protection rackets the mafia used to do: "You've got a nice store here...it would be a shame if anything were to happen to it...we can protect you, guarantee nothing happens to your store for $500 a week..."
For this reason, and many others, I strongly disagree with black hole lists. They think they can change the world by saying "Hey, I'm important, and I'm blocking you! You better shape up, or else!" I understand their cause, their desire to stop spam, but they are just going about it the wrong way.
If you only read a few sentences from this article, read these:
[quote]
Ted Senator, who managed that research for Poindexter, told government contractors that mining data to identify terrorists "is much harder than simply finding needles in a haystack."
"Our task is akin to finding dangerous groups of needles hidden in stacks of needle pieces," he said. "We must track all the needle pieces all of the time."
[/quote]
This would be where the "Total" part of "Toal Information Awareness" comes in.
From the article:
"There appears to have been no hacking, no stealing, and no violation of any Senate rule," Miranda said. "Stealing assumes a property right and there is no property right to a government document. . . . These documents are not covered under the Senate disclosure rule because they are not official business and, to the extent they were disclosed, they were disclosed inadvertently by negligent [Democratic] staff."
No property rights to a governemnt document? Interesting, if it is true, though this argument is so slippery and sounds like it's grabbing at straws. Regardless of if it was against Senate rules or not, the Republicans intercepted communications not intended for them. It could have started as an accident, yes, but they kept going for over a year. If that is not illegal, it is highly unethical and immoral, and the people who participated in this need tobe removed from office.
[quote]'The problem is a lack of highly educated workers willing to work for the minimum wage or lower in the U.S."
[/quote]
Two points:
1: Just about the only place you can live while you're making only minumum wage is your parent's basement or a cardboard box.
2: You can't pay less than the minimum wage. Hence the term "minimum" before the "wage".
People spend a small fortune going to colleges and trade schools learning the skills necessary. It's insulting to expect that we should be happy with pay that is less than the average burger-flipper makes.
You're comparing apples to oranges with your electric shaver example.
Perhaps using the term "racist" was a bit overdoing it. Let me try again:
Japanese family moves to the US. They buy a DVD player here. They buy Japanese DVDs through a legit online shop. The discs won't play in their brand new player. The region lockout system has decided that nobody in region 1 (north america) should have access to DVDs from other areas around the world. Sucks to be an immigrant, then. You are denied access to material from your native country and culture, in your native language.
Sure, there are numerous hoops you can jump through, from voiding your warranty to purchasing a second player, but you shouldn't have to. The point is that the region lockouts unfairly target immigrants, people who speak more than one language, or people who are otherwise interested in media from all over the world, forcing them to either (a) break the law to get around the lockouts, by purchasing pirated copies that have the region code removed, (b) void their equipment's warranty by installing a mod chip or modifying the firmware (which might also be against the law, thanks to the DMCA), or (c) purchase duplicate equipment that serves the same purpose.
No, it's not racism to the same level as the KKK, or not getting a job based on the color of your skin, but in my opinion region lockouts tend to cause harm to citicens who live in one region, but hail from another. I guess that's where I make the determination that it is a form of racism.