I started off with pre-ordering Q3 for Linux; I still use it, especially in Win98. Why? The cash, as I saw it, went to Loki; the performance is only decent on Linux. My 64M DDR Radeon, for example, pushes around 50 frames at 800x600x32. In windows, I get around 75 frames at 1024x768x32. Add the drop in framerates during all the action on CTF4, for example, and Win98 seems to take the lead. And, yes, this is used with the "timedemo 1; demo demo127" commands and not "cg_showfps 1" stare at the walls ****.
Secondly, pricing. With the exception of the $10 games at EB World, the Linux games can be more expensive than the Windows counterparts; I still refused to take EB up on their $10 offer. The more I spent, and I hope I am right;), the more money would go to Loki. I could be wrong, who knows. Anyway, let's look at a sample of the games I personally purchased:
These prices are from Tux Games and the local EB and Gamestop.
Hrm. Ack! Yes, I have purchased all of these games, with the exception of Shogo: MAD, Unreal Tournament and the Rune series, as Linux ports. In short, Linux games can be, almost, twice the cost of their Win98 counterparts. For the economically challenged ( or conscious ), why spend the extra cash on a Linux port when you could get an additional game?
I'm reading through a couple of articles that talk about this "MediaTerminal", and I fail to see how FT.com got the impression that it was a competitor vs. the Xbox.
According to Nokia's MediaTerminal website, it's basically a PVR with Internet Access. There is a link to the Game Development section, and the FAQ states that it will play "a wide variety of games". But, looking at the tech specs, this piece of machinery doesn't stand a chance against the Xbox. Celeron 366? 4MB Video RAM? Seems a little too underpowered to me.
I realize that this is probably splitting hairs, but there is a slight problem with the law as referenced in the article:
Modchips, if I understand them correctly, can be used to unlock the region encoding to allow a player to play imported games; one of the side effects is that it also allows someone to play pirated games burned onto a CD. So, installing a modchip specifically to play pirated games is illegal, but what of chipping a PS2 to play import games? According to the article, just opening the PS2 voids the warranty; installing a modchip could land you with jail time and a fairly hefty fine...
Not all of us can afford multiple PS2s, for example, let alone find them...
I thought that was standard practice for any cellular phone deal. Back when I used to sell them, there would be a $300 "non-activation fee" for any customer that wanted to buy the phone and take it to another state. It's like buying direct without the benefit -- the service provider isn't getting you for your yearly contract, so why should they help buy your phone? Remember when they were giving away analog cell phones? The phones weren't really free, they usually cost the store US$150-200; the stores would be reimbursed that amount from the service provider for each new contract signed.
First, I apologize. I misinterpreted the message. The City-County Council voted this through with or without the aid of the arcades themselves. I can see what you're attempting to say in the story.
However, I still don't believe that this is a constitutional violation. When the ESRB was created, it allowed for something like this to happen. Personally, I agree with the ESRB system, in as much that parents should be aware of what their children are up to. At least to a certain point.
Our local EB, for example, follows the ESRB fairly strictly as well; again, I agree with that. If the local Council chose to pass a city law forcing arcades to adhere to the ESRB as much as retail outlets, then, again, I agree with them. Note, however, that I agree if they follow the ESRB; if they decide, for example, to ever start restricting games for the fun of it, then I'd reconsider where I stand on the issue. By specifically stating graphically violent and sexually explicit, then, as noted in other posts, this is no different than renting movies or buying magazines.
I responded prior to reading the article. My fault...
I still feel my points above still stand. The arcade still has the right to refuse service. Game makers, developers, and kids can complain all they want, but, ultimately, the person in charge of the arcade can still refuse your money. It's still the arcade's loss of revenue; it doesn't violate any constitutional rights at all. Unless playing video games do fall under the realm of freedom of expression. In which case there shouldn't be any regulation on games at all.
I won't go into the "it isn't banned; it's a restriction" issue; other people have made the point better than I can. I will address the supposed violation of free speech.
First, the seller has the right to refuse service. Remember all those little signs back in the 80s? "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone"? The seller can simply refuse to sell you product because s/he chooses to, unless it's a clear cut case of discrimination.
Second, you have consumer rights. However, there is no constitutional right of "A seller must sell me his product" as this is covered above. You can expect to receive product in good condition, though.
Personally, I believe that code is not "free speech". A game, for example, has little speech involved. Clicking, yes. Pointing, yes. Talking, rarely. However, it is freedom of expression. Hence, they're allowed to develop the game however they want to. But, that doesn't mean that people have to sell your game.
What it comes down to is this: Developers develop the games, sellers sell the game, consumers buy the game. If the seller refuses to sell the game, s/he only hurts the store's revenue. I don't see where the constitution comes into this at all.
Customers such as Barnes and Noble, The Boeing Company, Chicago Stock Exchange, Dell Computer, Nasdaq and many others run mission-critical applications on Windows NT 4.0.
And Yahoo and USWest use FreeBSD. What's the point? Companies will just take an OS and suit it for what it needs -- if, for example, Boeing chose to run Linux, then it'd be running Linux.
Therefore, commercial support services for Linux will be fee-based and will likely be priced at a premium. These costs have to be factored into the total cost model.
And their point? Let's see: US$X for a copy of Win2K Enterprise. Free download for a copy of a Linux ISO. US$X for a per-incident call to MS tech support. US$X for a per-incident call to RedHat. So who has the lower cost support service?
Linux is a higher risk option than Windows NT. For example how many certified engineers are there for Linux?
And which company drove the concept of MCP and MCSE into the ground, effectively making it worthless? Heck, almost everyone in Seattle that I talk to has an MCP of some sort -- so it all goes back to square one: experience.
Linux security is all-or-nothing.
Understandably, MS doesn't know about sudo.
Linux system administrators must spend huge amounts of time understanding the latest Linux bugs and determining what to do about them.
Granted, bugtraq is probably not an efficient way of doing things, but the repository is available. Now, I would rather monitor a few mailing lists than worry about when the next ActiveX or ASP vulnerability comes about. Or suffer through endless calls asking about that new-fangled virus that affects only Outlook users.
Linux does not provide support for the broad range of hardware in use today.
True. This is also not necessarily a bad thing. Think of when Nvidia or 3dfx updates their drivers and it breaks something on a gamer's computer. Support for new technologies immediately isn't always the best policy.
The Linux operating system is not suitable for mainstream usage by business or home users.
Strictly opinion and subjective. Seeing as it comes from MS, it's no surprise they don't recommend Linux.
In the previous versions, people have been tweaking quake and all their hardware so that they would be able to sustain a constant framerate of 125 fps.
Or, I can see another revolt because they seem to have removed damage transfering through the floor. After watching the recent demos, it seems that tracking opponents from below has become another strategy. To be honest, getting rocked from below seems like valid damage to me, but that's just me.;)
In Seattle, where I live, the local Electronic Boutique employees love Linux. However, their manager felt that Linux games couldn't sell. So, the manager decided to not stock any Linux title. Aside from Terminus, but that's primarily because it includes the Linux binary instead of being a separate item. Sadly, that's the case for just about every store that I go to; the management feel that Linux games can't sell enough for a worthwhile profit.
Remember, it isn't the publisher or the game company that has the final say as to where their game sells. They can play it up all they like, but, ultimately, the retailer needs to make the order...
Been using it for about a week, and I'm happy with it. 33.6 modem, flash upgrade to 56k this fall ( or so they say ). Then there's the 8mb Flash module and a backup module, but that's not as interesting as the other stuff. Visit Palm Gear's Module site for currently released module stuff.
I chose the Thincom for the on-board browser, terminal and mail apps -- a little disappointed since the terminal and mail apps are shareware...
So, if one is holding out specifically because of a "lack of wireless" on a Visor, then, perhaps, these will come out soon enough. Personally, I use the Thincom modem, which does its job just fine.
Now, if one is holding out for which product is "superior" to the other, I can't help -- I only have experience with the Visor, which I purchased 'cause it was the best, IMO, available at the time.
I figure that, if I did make it into the Carnivore logs, then they'd get pretty bored monitoring my traffic. Unless they have something against searches and links to paganism, ghosts, and slashdot.;)
I do notice that the worry seems not to be on Carnivore itself but concern over appropriate usage. If that's the case, here's a proposal:
Require Carnivore to be installed on all ISPs, as well as on the FBI's external sites (the ones they'd use for Carnivore, not the FBI itself;)). When they do decide to log something, then it'd require configuration on the FBI side and the ISP side. If anything suspicious is found, run a diff to verify that it appears on both sides. Therefore, "accidentally" misinterpreting an IP would be less likely. I mean, what if xxx.xxx.xxx.88 is the guilty party but someone decides it's actually.86?
Seeing as this thread is already getting old, I doubt this will get read, but at least it makes me feel better.;)
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I started off with pre-ordering Q3 for Linux; I still use it, especially in Win98. Why? The cash, as I saw it, went to Loki; the performance is only decent on Linux. My 64M DDR Radeon, for example, pushes around 50 frames at 800x600x32. In windows, I get around 75 frames at 1024x768x32. Add the drop in framerates during all the action on CTF4, for example, and Win98 seems to take the lead. And, yes, this is used with the "timedemo 1; demo demo127" commands and not "cg_showfps 1" stare at the walls ****.
Secondly, pricing. With the exception of the $10 games at EB World, the Linux games can be more expensive than the Windows counterparts; I still refused to take EB up on their $10 offer. The more I spent, and I hope I am right ;), the more money would go to Loki. I could be wrong, who knows. Anyway, let's look at a sample of the games I personally purchased:
These prices are from Tux Games and the local EB and Gamestop.
Hrm. Ack! Yes, I have purchased all of these games, with the exception of Shogo: MAD, Unreal Tournament and the Rune series, as Linux ports. In short, Linux games can be, almost, twice the cost of their Win98 counterparts. For the economically challenged ( or conscious ), why spend the extra cash on a Linux port when you could get an additional game?
Is it just me, or does it sound a little bit like "a rappa ho".
Inside joke or poor planning?
I'm reading through a couple of articles that talk about this "MediaTerminal", and I fail to see how FT.com got the impression that it was a competitor vs. the Xbox.
According to Nokia's MediaTerminal website, it's basically a PVR with Internet Access. There is a link to the Game Development section, and the FAQ states that it will play "a wide variety of games". But, looking at the tech specs, this piece of machinery doesn't stand a chance against the Xbox. Celeron 366? 4MB Video RAM? Seems a little too underpowered to me.
I realize that this is probably splitting hairs, but there is a slight problem with the law as referenced in the article:
Modchips, if I understand them correctly, can be used to unlock the region encoding to allow a player to play imported games; one of the side effects is that it also allows someone to play pirated games burned onto a CD. So, installing a modchip specifically to play pirated games is illegal, but what of chipping a PS2 to play import games? According to the article, just opening the PS2 voids the warranty; installing a modchip could land you with jail time and a fairly hefty fine...
Not all of us can afford multiple PS2s, for example, let alone find them...
I thought that was standard practice for any cellular phone deal. Back when I used to sell them, there would be a $300 "non-activation fee" for any customer that wanted to buy the phone and take it to another state. It's like buying direct without the benefit -- the service provider isn't getting you for your yearly contract, so why should they help buy your phone? Remember when they were giving away analog cell phones? The phones weren't really free, they usually cost the store US$150-200; the stores would be reimbursed that amount from the service provider for each new contract signed.
First, I apologize. I misinterpreted the message. The City-County Council voted this through with or without the aid of the arcades themselves. I can see what you're attempting to say in the story.
However, I still don't believe that this is a constitutional violation. When the ESRB was created, it allowed for something like this to happen. Personally, I agree with the ESRB system, in as much that parents should be aware of what their children are up to. At least to a certain point.
Our local EB, for example, follows the ESRB fairly strictly as well; again, I agree with that. If the local Council chose to pass a city law forcing arcades to adhere to the ESRB as much as retail outlets, then, again, I agree with them. Note, however, that I agree if they follow the ESRB; if they decide, for example, to ever start restricting games for the fun of it, then I'd reconsider where I stand on the issue. By specifically stating graphically violent and sexually explicit, then, as noted in other posts, this is no different than renting movies or buying magazines.
I responded prior to reading the article. My fault...
I still feel my points above still stand. The arcade still has the right to refuse service. Game makers, developers, and kids can complain all they want, but, ultimately, the person in charge of the arcade can still refuse your money. It's still the arcade's loss of revenue; it doesn't violate any constitutional rights at all. Unless playing video games do fall under the realm of freedom of expression. In which case there shouldn't be any regulation on games at all.
I won't go into the "it isn't banned; it's a restriction" issue; other people have made the point better than I can. I will address the supposed violation of free speech.
First, the seller has the right to refuse service. Remember all those little signs back in the 80s? "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone"? The seller can simply refuse to sell you product because s/he chooses to, unless it's a clear cut case of discrimination.
Second, you have consumer rights. However, there is no constitutional right of "A seller must sell me his product" as this is covered above. You can expect to receive product in good condition, though.
Personally, I believe that code is not "free speech". A game, for example, has little speech involved. Clicking, yes. Pointing, yes. Talking, rarely. However, it is freedom of expression. Hence, they're allowed to develop the game however they want to. But, that doesn't mean that people have to sell your game.
What it comes down to is this: Developers develop the games, sellers sell the game, consumers buy the game. If the seller refuses to sell the game, s/he only hurts the store's revenue. I don't see where the constitution comes into this at all.
Customers such as Barnes and Noble, The Boeing Company, Chicago Stock Exchange, Dell Computer, Nasdaq and many others run mission-critical applications on Windows NT 4.0.
And Yahoo and USWest use FreeBSD. What's the point? Companies will just take an OS and suit it for what it needs -- if, for example, Boeing chose to run Linux, then it'd be running Linux.
Therefore, commercial support services for Linux will be fee-based and will likely be priced at a premium. These costs have to be factored into the total cost model.
And their point? Let's see: US$X for a copy of Win2K Enterprise. Free download for a copy of a Linux ISO. US$X for a per-incident call to MS tech support. US$X for a per-incident call to RedHat. So who has the lower cost support service?
Linux is a higher risk option than Windows NT. For example how many certified engineers are there for Linux?
And which company drove the concept of MCP and MCSE into the ground, effectively making it worthless? Heck, almost everyone in Seattle that I talk to has an MCP of some sort -- so it all goes back to square one: experience.
Linux security is all-or-nothing.
Understandably, MS doesn't know about sudo.
Linux system administrators must spend huge amounts of time understanding the latest Linux bugs and determining what to do about them.
Granted, bugtraq is probably not an efficient way of doing things, but the repository is available. Now, I would rather monitor a few mailing lists than worry about when the next ActiveX or ASP vulnerability comes about. Or suffer through endless calls asking about that new-fangled virus that affects only Outlook users.
Linux does not provide support for the broad range of hardware in use today.
True. This is also not necessarily a bad thing. Think of when Nvidia or 3dfx updates their drivers and it breaks something on a gamer's computer. Support for new technologies immediately isn't always the best policy.
The Linux operating system is not suitable for mainstream usage by business or home users.
Strictly opinion and subjective. Seeing as it comes from MS, it's no surprise they don't recommend Linux.
In the previous versions, people have been tweaking quake and all their hardware so that they would be able to sustain a constant framerate of 125 fps.
Or, I can see another revolt because they seem to have removed damage transfering through the floor. After watching the recent demos, it seems that tracking opponents from below has become another strategy. To be honest, getting rocked from below seems like valid damage to me, but that's just me. ;)
According to the top of page 10, "A kilobyte ("K") is 1024 bytes, a megabyte ("MB") 1024 kilobytes, and a gigabyte ("GB") 1024 kilobytes."
Is this a bug, or is this freedom of expression? :)
In Seattle, where I live, the local Electronic Boutique employees love Linux. However, their manager felt that Linux games couldn't sell. So, the manager decided to not stock any Linux title. Aside from Terminus, but that's primarily because it includes the Linux binary instead of being a separate item. Sadly, that's the case for just about every store that I go to; the management feel that Linux games can't sell enough for a worthwhile profit.
Remember, it isn't the publisher or the game company that has the final say as to where their game sells. They can play it up all they like, but, ultimately, the retailer needs to make the order...
Been using it for about a week, and I'm happy with it. 33.6 modem, flash upgrade to 56k this fall ( or so they say ). Then there's the 8mb Flash module and a backup module, but that's not as interesting as the other stuff. Visit Palm Gear's Module site for currently released module stuff. I chose the Thincom for the on-board browser, terminal and mail apps -- a little disappointed since the terminal and mail apps are shareware...
If you're one that trusts press releases and the like, it would be important to note that Handspring has three wireless modems/modules coming its way:
So, if one is holding out specifically because of a "lack of wireless" on a Visor, then, perhaps, these will come out soon enough. Personally, I use the Thincom modem, which does its job just fine.
Now, if one is holding out for which product is "superior" to the other, I can't help -- I only have experience with the Visor, which I purchased 'cause it was the best, IMO, available at the time.
I figure that, if I did make it into the Carnivore logs, then they'd get pretty bored monitoring my traffic. Unless they have something against searches and links to paganism, ghosts, and slashdot. ;)
I do notice that the worry seems not to be on Carnivore itself but concern over appropriate usage. If that's the case, here's a proposal:
Require Carnivore to be installed on all ISPs, as well as on the FBI's external sites (the ones they'd use for Carnivore, not the FBI itself ;)). When they do decide to log something, then it'd require configuration on the FBI side and the ISP side. If anything suspicious is found, run a diff to verify that it appears on both sides. Therefore, "accidentally" misinterpreting an IP would be less likely. I mean, what if xxx.xxx.xxx.88 is the guilty party but someone decides it's actually .86?
Seeing as this thread is already getting old, I doubt this will get read, but at least it makes me feel better. ;)