The PSP is a nice device, but the DS has the *potential* to be a more innovative gaming device. First of all, I think wireless multi-player is the potential killer app of both devices. However, the PSP requires all players to have a copy of the game to play, and at $40 to $50 a pop that's going to put a limitation on the festivities. On most DS multiplayer games only ONE copy of the game is required to play, which is a far more spontaneous and accessable way to go. Also, the DS has a touch screen, which opens up a lot of possibilities for innovative game play. The PSP has great graphics and sound, but brings nothing new to the table, just a mobile version of your standard PS2 game. The DS however has the potential of actually delivering unique gaming experiences. I'm hoping that developers have the vision to make that happen.
And I actually hope that BOTH devices are successful - competition is good for consumers.
Agreed. Honestly, it's the best community I've ever seen in an MMORPG (mostly because it seems to be a bit of an older one, attracting both men and women in their mid-20s).
The appearance of the Cube was also diminished by the wire-connected peripherals - it would actually be much cooler looking now with Bluetooth and WiFi.
Gee, profits are up, they're going to lay off workers, and the games are going to get more expensive. Happy days all around!
Seriously though, all of this downsizing is nice and dandy for short term profits, and high CEO salaries, but how are these companies going to function in the long term when there are no more consumers left to buy their wares?
...the irony of computer geeks staying at home playing physical sports on their computers.
Actually, sports video games the likes of Madden, NBA Live, etc. aren't really played that much by so-called computer geeks, but mostly by a whole sub-culture of sports video gamers. These sports gamers are primarily interested in the sport simulation angle, and are just as likely to be young and urban, and many play sports. Just watch a Madden Championship tournament sometime and see who's playing.
And that's why having the actual players, stadiums, uniforms etc. is so important to this demographic. So while/.ers are longing for a Mutant League Hockey revivial, EA and Take-Two know where the real money is.
I was never a fan of Howard Stern, and I don't really care for humor based on the ridicule and humiliation of others. However, when Howard Stern speaks, I feel that what he's saying is what he actually believes, that he has no hidden agenda, and that he's not beholden to anyone but himself. I don't feel that way about Michael Powell.
Why,? Because last year I could by an NFL licensed video game, with actual NFL teams, players and stadiums, for $19.95 from Sega, who is COMPETING with EA. Next year, I'll have to pay 50 bucks for the same kind of game, because there will be NO COMPETITION. You see, the consumer looses with these types of exclusivity deals. That will not bother everyone, but it bothers me.
In related news, EA has agreed to pay the automotive industry $12.5 billion for the exclusive use of automobiles in a video game format for the next 10 years.
Funny, France tried this. Now their economy has collapsed, and their own labor unions are asking for MORE WORK HOURS again.
The French economy has COLLAPSED, eh? That's interesting, because when I Google "France", "Economy" and "Collapse", I get mostly hits about the collapse of the U.S. Dollar and potential collapse of the U.S. Economy! (Jon Stewart Voice: "Damn You Google! Damn You!")
That's a little unreasonable. Companies don't have unlimited funds for labor costs. The only way it would be economically feasible to pay the same for less work is if that work was more productive, i.e. you do the same work in 30 hours that was previously done in 40.
Actually, I'm pretty sure that if & when a company's senior management DOES find a way to get the same amount of work done with fewer manhours, they will just cut the staff proportionally and give themselves a nice fat raise. Just look at the dramatically increasing ratio of CEO salaries to average employee salaries.
The Beauty of Modern Capitalism. Yes, I know, all the other systems suck more.
some people are concerned with more than just cuteness
For some people, style is more than just "cuteness", and can contribute to a positive user experience, just like a pleasant work environment can. Apple runs circles around just about everyone else in the tech industry when it comes to style and design, and many are willing to pay extra for it. And whether you actually DO pay extra in the long run is also a matter of debate.
There are kit cars too. Most people would rather buy a Toyota.
Geez, talk about hyperbole! Putting your own computer together is hardly comparable to building a car. I should know, I've built a few computers and that was less work than just putting in a new stereo system in my Toyota. There are a whole lot of people who enjoy building and tinkering with PCs, modding their cases and whatnot, and they are more than a fringe market.
Geez, you guys just don't get it. This last year, a COMPETITOR of EA Sports released an NFL Football videogame, EPSN NFL 2k5, for 19.95. This forced EA to eventually reduce the price of it's product, Madden 2005. Consumers saved money due to this COMPETITION. I think this was a good thing.
Now, the ESPN NFL series is as dead as dead can be. Madden will come out next year, and it will be 50 bucks. And I wonder how much pressure there will be to make the product as innovative.
I don't care whether this meets the legal definition of a monoply - the consumer loses in any case.
While you are limited as to what you can store in a Palm OS5 handheld's memory, you can put at least a few file types on the SD card without any of them being "owned" by an application. For example, you can copy the following file types, each of which can then be used by at least one Palm OS5 application without any sort of desktop conversion: JPEG and GIF, MP3 and several other music formats, including Ogg, MPEG (supported codecs are limited but growing in number,.doc (MS Word),.xls (MS Excel). There may be a few other as well.
Oh... those yellow tabs attached to the monitors of people who can't remember their passwords! People in your office keep their client lists on those things? Why? The computer is right there on your desk, isn't it?
Um, no, this was out in the field, away from the office, while touring job sites with some potential clients. I don't really advocate PDA use while sitting at your desk.
For that matter, any decent phone should store all the contact information you could need.
Well, you see, we have several thousand contacts in our database, along with contact histories. I don't know what kind of phone you carry, but it would probably have to be a *PDA* combo phone to handle that.
And you're calling me a luddite!
Some of my best friends are Luddites - not that there's anything WRONG with that...
It's been about three years since I've seen anybody take notes on a palmtop in a meeting, and if somebody did they would probably be laughed at.
I just have to laugh when I read stuff like this. People have made snide comments to me about my persistant use of a PDA, but they don't laugh when I'm able to pull up important information because I'm using a device with a SEARCHABLE DATABASE while they stumble through piles of Post-It Notes and other paper debris. One co-worker used to make fun of me, touting the superiority and speed of his paper planner, until recently when I was able to quickly find the contact info of a client, whose name none of us could remember, based on a job site location only. I could describe the dozens of uses I have for my Palm OS device, but since being a Luddite is the latest fad of the Slashdot crowd, why bother?
If you don't need a PDA, fine, but I've found mine to be an extremely useful asset to my life.
"The survivors have been minimally compensated". There's a fund of $328 million dollars. If that were spread evenly over the 3,000-some families of survivors, each family would get about $100,000 each. That's about 35 years of average earnings. I wouldnt call that "minimal".
So, you use the pathetic earning power of third world workers as a justification for this pathetic reward? When the financial cost of neglect is less than the financial cost of proper safety precautions, you can guess what will happen. But then, third world workers are expendable, right?
You live like a Bangladeshi farmer and you would use less energy. You might also only live to be 45 or so, leaving a lot more room for children and their future. The livestyle of the Bangladeshi farmer doesn't appeal to you? Well, then there is your answer.
I would hope there is a liveable alternative between living like a Bangladeshi farmer and driving a Hummer. Hell, I drive a 30 mpg Toyota, and I think I'm going to make it to at least age 50!
I think with this model PalmOne has pretty much demonstrated that they're just not that committed to the conventional PDA business anymore. The real flagship and barometer of the company's future is the Treo 600. The 650 is in production now, with a high-rez screen and Bluetooth, a they have announced the intention of offering low-cost Treo's as well.
The hard-core PDA users, who have been screeming for built-inWiFi, are a niche market, and are probably better off with Pocket PCs. Since the PDA market is just a (relatively) small side business for Dell and HP, they can continue to pursue this market. PalmOne is a relatively small company compared to those giants, and has been fighting for survival the last few years. They just cannot afford to cater to any market that's not profitable.
Slashdot Mirror
The PSP is a nice device, but the DS has the *potential* to be a more innovative gaming device. First of all, I think wireless multi-player is the potential killer app of both devices. However, the PSP requires all players to have a copy of the game to play, and at $40 to $50 a pop that's going to put a limitation on the festivities. On most DS multiplayer games only ONE copy of the game is required to play, which is a far more spontaneous and accessable way to go. Also, the DS has a touch screen, which opens up a lot of possibilities for innovative game play. The PSP has great graphics and sound, but brings nothing new to the table, just a mobile version of your standard PS2 game. The DS however has the potential of actually delivering unique gaming experiences. I'm hoping that developers have the vision to make that happen.
And I actually hope that BOTH devices are successful - competition is good for consumers.
Agreed. Honestly, it's the best community I've ever seen in an MMORPG (mostly because it seems to be a bit of an older one, attracting both men and women in their mid-20s).
Now I feel REALLY old.
The appearance of the Cube was also diminished by the wire-connected peripherals - it would actually be much cooler looking now with Bluetooth and WiFi.
Gee, profits are up, they're going to lay off workers, and the games are going to get more expensive. Happy days all around!
Seriously though, all of this downsizing is nice and dandy for short term profits, and high CEO salaries, but how are these companies going to function in the long term when there are no more consumers left to buy their wares?
Actually, sports video games the likes of Madden, NBA Live, etc. aren't really played that much by so-called computer geeks, but mostly by a whole sub-culture of sports video gamers. These sports gamers are primarily interested in the sport simulation angle, and are just as likely to be young and urban, and many play sports. Just watch a Madden Championship tournament sometime and see who's playing.
And that's why having the actual players, stadiums, uniforms etc. is so important to this demographic. So while
-G
www.g-pix.com
I was never a fan of Howard Stern, and I don't really care for humor based on the ridicule and humiliation of others. However, when Howard Stern speaks, I feel that what he's saying is what he actually believes, that he has no hidden agenda, and that he's not beholden to anyone but himself. I don't feel that way about Michael Powell.
-G
www.g.pix.com
Why,? Because last year I could by an NFL licensed video game, with actual NFL teams, players and stadiums, for $19.95 from Sega, who is COMPETING with EA. Next year, I'll have to pay 50 bucks for the same kind of game, because there will be NO COMPETITION. You see, the consumer looses with these types of exclusivity deals. That will not bother everyone, but it bothers me.
-G
www.g.pix.com
In related news, EA has agreed to pay the automotive industry $12.5 billion for the exclusive use of automobiles in a video game format for the next 10 years.
-G
www.g.pix.com
Funny, France tried this. Now their economy has collapsed, and their own labor unions are asking for MORE WORK HOURS again.
The French economy has COLLAPSED, eh? That's interesting, because when I Google "France", "Economy" and "Collapse", I get mostly hits about the collapse of the U.S. Dollar and potential collapse of the U.S. Economy! (Jon Stewart Voice: "Damn You Google! Damn You!")
-G
www.g.pix.com
That's a little unreasonable. Companies don't have unlimited funds for labor costs. The only way it would be economically feasible to pay the same for less work is if that work was more productive, i.e. you do the same work in 30 hours that was previously done in 40.
Actually, I'm pretty sure that if & when a company's senior management DOES find a way to get the same amount of work done with fewer manhours, they will just cut the staff proportionally and give themselves a nice fat raise. Just look at the dramatically increasing ratio of CEO salaries to average employee salaries.
The Beauty of Modern Capitalism. Yes, I know, all the other systems suck more.
-G
some people are concerned with more than just cuteness
For some people, style is more than just "cuteness", and can contribute to a positive user experience, just like a pleasant work environment can. Apple runs circles around just about everyone else in the tech industry when it comes to style and design, and many are willing to pay extra for it. And whether you actually DO pay extra in the long run is also a matter of debate.
-G
www.g.pix.com
There are kit cars too. Most people would rather buy a Toyota.
Geez, talk about hyperbole! Putting your own computer together is hardly comparable to building a car. I should know, I've built a few computers and that was less work than just putting in a new stereo system in my Toyota. There are a whole lot of people who enjoy building and tinkering with PCs, modding their cases and whatnot, and they are more than a fringe market.
-G
www.g-pix.com
Not to mention that here in Europe we have no DS. Long Held throne? On a device that we can't even buy?!
Where is this strange place you call "Europe"?
Do you really need to see "Three's Company" reruns or "Vacation at Bernie's" on a huge screen?
Try adding this: DVD Player + Surround Sound + Lord of the Rings DVD. See if that doesn't change your mind just a little.
i for one welcome our combo-cellphone-do-everything
Until it breaks - and it will, often.
Geez, you guys just don't get it. This last year, a COMPETITOR of EA Sports released an NFL Football videogame, EPSN NFL 2k5, for 19.95. This forced EA to eventually reduce the price of it's product, Madden 2005. Consumers saved money due to this COMPETITION. I think this was a good thing.
Now, the ESPN NFL series is as dead as dead can be. Madden will come out next year, and it will be 50 bucks. And I wonder how much pressure there will be to make the product as innovative.
I don't care whether this meets the legal definition of a monoply - the consumer loses in any case.
While you are limited as to what you can store in a Palm OS5 handheld's memory, you can put at least a few file types on the SD card without any of them being "owned" by an application. For example, you can copy the following file types, each of which can then be used by at least one Palm OS5 application without any sort of desktop conversion: JPEG and GIF, MP3 and several other music formats, including Ogg, MPEG (supported codecs are limited but growing in number, .doc (MS Word), .xls (MS Excel). There may be a few other as well.
Oh... those yellow tabs attached to the monitors of people who can't remember their passwords! People in your office keep their client lists on those things? Why? The computer is right there on your desk, isn't it?
Um, no, this was out in the field, away from the office, while touring job sites with some potential clients. I don't really advocate PDA use while sitting at your desk.
For that matter, any decent phone should store all the contact information you could need.
Well, you see, we have several thousand contacts in our database, along with contact histories. I don't know what kind of phone you carry, but it would probably have to be a *PDA* combo phone to handle that.
And you're calling me a luddite!
Some of my best friends are Luddites - not that there's anything WRONG with that...
It's been about three years since I've seen anybody take notes on a palmtop in a meeting, and if somebody did they would probably be laughed at.
I just have to laugh when I read stuff like this. People have made snide comments to me about my persistant use of a PDA, but they don't laugh when I'm able to pull up important information because I'm using a device with a SEARCHABLE DATABASE while they stumble through piles of Post-It Notes and other paper debris. One co-worker used to make fun of me, touting the superiority and speed of his paper planner, until recently when I was able to quickly find the contact info of a client, whose name none of us could remember, based on a job site location only. I could describe the dozens of uses I have for my Palm OS device, but since being a Luddite is the latest fad of the Slashdot crowd, why bother?
If you don't need a PDA, fine, but I've found mine to be an extremely useful asset to my life.
They're only brown-skinned third world people, but hey.
"The survivors have been minimally compensated". There's a fund of $328 million dollars. If that were spread evenly over the 3,000-some families of survivors, each family would get about $100,000 each. That's about 35 years of average earnings. I wouldnt call that "minimal".
So, you use the pathetic earning power of third world workers as a justification for this pathetic reward? When the financial cost of neglect is less than the financial cost of proper safety precautions, you can guess what will happen. But then, third world workers are expendable, right?
When the government starts telling us that we have to watch commercials I have to wonder exactly who's side the government is on?
You REALLY haven't figured that one out yet?
-G
I would hope there is a liveable alternative between living like a Bangladeshi farmer and driving a Hummer. Hell, I drive a 30 mpg Toyota, and I think I'm going to make it to at least age 50!
Achtung Baby. "Nuff said.
I think with this model PalmOne has pretty much demonstrated that they're just not that committed to the conventional PDA business anymore. The real flagship and barometer of the company's future is the Treo 600. The 650 is in production now, with a high-rez screen and Bluetooth, a they have announced the intention of offering low-cost Treo's as well.
The hard-core PDA users, who have been screeming for built-inWiFi, are a niche market, and are probably better off with Pocket PCs. Since the PDA market is just a (relatively) small side business for Dell and HP, they can continue to pursue this market. PalmOne is a relatively small company compared to those giants, and has been fighting for survival the last few years. They just cannot afford to cater to any market that's not profitable.
I'll be all over the Treo 650 myself.