OK, I get harshing on most of the others, but c'mon, skycaps? Let's smack down a bunch of guys who make $30k a year standing in the exhaust-drenched air at airport dropoff points, dealing with irate travellers, lugging overpacked suitcases around to the cries of 'Be careful with that!'...so they make tips, too--you think the surly, don't-give-a-damn ones are the ones raking in $300/day in tips? Right.
Saying it takes less brains than stuffing fast food in a bag is rather insulting to skycaps, too--does this guy honestly think that a skycap can just kinda traipse around with a cart full of luggage, darned if he cares what happens to it? (This even without taking the crazy new security measures into account--I'm sure that makes their jobs oh-so-easy these days...)
Pro atheletes? Sure. High-end real estate agents? Yep. Skycaps? That's...kinda reaching for a top ten list...
What makes this question different from the "Can Mom-And-Pop stores survive in the face of Wal-Mart" question?
Yeah, a lot of independents die out. More often than not, these independents try to fight toe-to-toe with EA, Microsoft, etc. This is how you lose; you can't use the same tactics as the 800-pound gorilla, or you'll get crushed.
What you can do, though, is take advantage of being a small developer. You can produce edgier stuff. You can try crazy new things. You don't have four levels of management to clear things with. You may not hit as hard as they do, but you can act with far greater flexibility and alacrity than a big game house can.
If you've got a Wal-Mart to compete with, you can't expect to survive a price war. They're geared for that kind of thing, and they will beat you every single time. You can, however, expect to blow them out of the water with excellent customer service or specialized services. Similarly, you can't out-'big' EA. You've gotta take a different approach. For all it's fearsome size, there's plenty that a small, independent firm can do better than a giant like EA.
Oh, c'mon, people. Do I really need to use the <sarcasm> tag?
Does this really look like a troll?
Before I'm excommunicated for failing to deliver a joke with the subtlety of a nailbat-wielding goon, would it change any minds to know that I actually use a 3-button mouse on my PowerBook? Anybody?
True, Ashcroft didn't pass the Patriot Act, but he's done a miserable job of allaying the fears of the Patriot Act's opponents. In fact, he's basically taken the tack of belittling and mocking opponents of the Act. All discussion of the Patriot Act aside, it's unbecoming of an Attorney General to mock and belittle those who disagree with the law.
If the man would simply show a modicum of courtesy and respect for his opponents--even if his opponents don't return the gesture--he wouldn't be nearly as hot a target as he is today. People demonize him because he treats anyone who disagrees with him as either ignorant or hysterical.
Re:$4.50 cheaper and free shipping
on
Bitter EJB
·
· Score: 1
Right, "Ref:" really makes that clear. Why not simply use your user account? Why post it AC in the first place?
Re:$4.50 cheaper and free shipping
on
Bitter EJB
·
· Score: 2, Informative
...and for those of you boycotting Slashdot users who slip user-referral URLs into AC posts:
They're partnering with Pepsi to give away 100 million songs. No matter how you cut it--hours, number of iPods filled, Libraries of Congress--that's an assload of music to give away.
This is just one reason why iTunes will likely kick the ass of its competitors for the Windows market--name one other player that has a promo even a tenth as big as this one. Apple is playing hardball, and there aren't many companies out there that can compete with an Apple/Pepsi combination, to say nothing of their partnership with AOL...
Run 'em through Vischeck, a colorblindness simulator. It shows you a simulation of what a colorblind individual sees for three different types of colorblindness. Vischeck also works on webpages.
After watching my colorblind brother-in-law struggle through one of the Puzzle Bobble variants, (the bubbles were largely pastel red, green, and blue hues, and were often tricky to distinguish for non-color-blind players,) I decided to make the graphics for my game colorblind-friendly. Here are some suggestions for making a game colorblind-friendly:
Shape matters. If you have things like powerups, try to make their shapes distinct, sharply defined, and easy to identify. As a test, set your monitor to grayscale; if you have trouble distinguishing between different shapes, you should try making them more distinctive.
Avoid red/green pairings without tying them to spatial or geometric differences. While color can play a key role in a game, it's important to realize that a colorblind player won't be able to tell when that green light on the booby-trap turns red. You can still use red and green in this fashion, but be sure to add some other distinguishing trait, like flashing the light, changing the shape of the object, or highlighting the object. Again, setting your monitor to grayscale will speak volumes.
Try using colors that are independent of colorblindness. You can use oranges, purples, and yellows to make an image look uniform to most eyeballs.
Use brightness to highlight changes between red and green. If you absolutely -must- use red and green and can't follow the suggestions above, try making one color measurably lighter than the other. While there will still be some confusion, (is this red or green?) a colorblind person will at least be able to distinguish between the two.
It may seem like a lot of work, but it isn't as hard as it sounds, and your colorblind friends will thank you!
Forewarning: The open source community is not portrayed in positive light so you might want to skip reading this.
Because ya know, we don't ever wanna hear nuthin' bad 'bout our boys, no sir, no sir.
Whatever happened to "know thy enemy"? Instead of telling people to not read this piece because it has bad things to say about the open source community, why not advocate reading it carefully to pick out the other side's arguments, analyze them, and learn how to counter them when your own boss starts quoting the article?
...cuz' simply saying, "They're full of shit! open source is great!" isn't gonna change any minds, folks. Learn how they think, study their arguments, and develop good responses, and you're in the game. Ignore it because it doesn't agree with What You Know Is True, you're just that shirtless, fat, face-painted idiot in the stands.
You have been playing the latest and greatest video game for a few hours when you make a mistake and pound the keyboard. The hardrives senses it and locks you down without saving. Whoops.
Dear IgD,
Yikes! We hadn't even considered a scenario where the laptop might be bumped during a read/write operation! Looks like it's back to the drawing board for us!
...don't forget the control-open apple-closed apple-reset key combo that ran the computer through it's system tests, culminating with the mysterious "KERNEL OK" message.
Man, it pissed my parents off when I did that. Sounded like a dentist's drill being dragged across a chalkboard.
The GIMP, a couple dozen sheets of overhead transparencies, some markers, a compass, a protractor, and tape to stick the overhead sheets to your monitor.
Why stop with phones? Since when do American property owners need the Government to hold their hand in managing their property?
Property owners be solely responsible for owning a parcel of land that's completely connected to the rest of the world.
If you don't want strangers walking across it, build a fence; if they climb the fence, put razor wire across the top. If you don't want people to stand at the perimiter of your yard with a bullhorn shouting the latest, greatest offers your credit card company has in store for you, build the wall out of thick, soundproof steel. If you don't want them lobbing promotional materials over the wall, put a roof on it. If you don't want them breaking through your gate to gain access, put a heavier lock on it. If you don't want them tunneling under the gate, build a deep steel foundation. If you don't want them using explosives to blast through your wall, build guard towers and buy automated turrets. It's not like this technology doesn't exist, and if you can afford land, you sure as hell can afford to take proper care of it.
If you're not serious about protecting your land by your own initiative, or if you're too stupid to stay one step ahead of marauding Marketing Commandos, then you deserve what's coming to you.
The very fact that we have trespassing laws makes me bristle with unbridled, meandering libertarian rage.
Slashdot Mirror
OK, I get harshing on most of the others, but c'mon, skycaps? Let's smack down a bunch of guys who make $30k a year standing in the exhaust-drenched air at airport dropoff points, dealing with irate travellers, lugging overpacked suitcases around to the cries of 'Be careful with that!'...so they make tips, too--you think the surly, don't-give-a-damn ones are the ones raking in $300/day in tips? Right.
Saying it takes less brains than stuffing fast food in a bag is rather insulting to skycaps, too--does this guy honestly think that a skycap can just kinda traipse around with a cart full of luggage, darned if he cares what happens to it? (This even without taking the crazy new security measures into account--I'm sure that makes their jobs oh-so-easy these days...)
Pro atheletes? Sure. High-end real estate agents? Yep. Skycaps? That's...kinda reaching for a top ten list...
Eh, I'm not about to let the facts get in the way of a bad joke...
Le Quebec peut me manger. Etat bilingue stupide...
Yeah, a lot of independents die out. More often than not, these independents try to fight toe-to-toe with EA, Microsoft, etc. This is how you lose; you can't use the same tactics as the 800-pound gorilla, or you'll get crushed.
What you can do, though, is take advantage of being a small developer. You can produce edgier stuff. You can try crazy new things. You don't have four levels of management to clear things with. You may not hit as hard as they do, but you can act with far greater flexibility and alacrity than a big game house can.
If you've got a Wal-Mart to compete with, you can't expect to survive a price war. They're geared for that kind of thing, and they will beat you every single time. You can, however, expect to blow them out of the water with excellent customer service or specialized services. Similarly, you can't out-'big' EA. You've gotta take a different approach. For all it's fearsome size, there's plenty that a small, independent firm can do better than a giant like EA.
Egad, man--imagine it! Big Blue with their own console--hell, just the tag line alone would be enough to induce acute narcolepsy:
Introducing the new IBM IES/90 Interactive Entertainment System. IBM IES/90: the right solution for your personal entertainment needs.
(System ships with Advanced Tactical Defensive Missile Systems Operator 1.0. Click here for a list of authorized IES/90 vendors and resellers.)
Does this really look like a troll?
Before I'm excommunicated for failing to deliver a joke with the subtlety of a nailbat-wielding goon, would it change any minds to know that I actually use a 3-button mouse on my PowerBook? Anybody?
Nyah-hah!
fnord
If the man would simply show a modicum of courtesy and respect for his opponents--even if his opponents don't return the gesture--he wouldn't be nearly as hot a target as he is today. People demonize him because he treats anyone who disagrees with him as either ignorant or hysterical.
Right, "Ref:" really makes that clear. Why not simply use your user account? Why post it AC in the first place?
Direct link to the book on Amazon without stealth referral info!
"Missed Yesterday's News? Slashdot: News, every day, whether you need it or not."
Dupes: they're not a mistake, they're a public service!
That's odd. I was in Far just last week, and I didn't see a single zealot anywhere.
Oh, by the way, you forgot to capitalize Far.
This is just one reason why iTunes will likely kick the ass of its competitors for the Windows market--name one other player that has a promo even a tenth as big as this one. Apple is playing hardball, and there aren't many companies out there that can compete with an Apple/Pepsi combination, to say nothing of their partnership with AOL...
Thanks--I'll tweak these colors for the next release!
Run 'em through Vischeck, a colorblindness simulator. It shows you a simulation of what a colorblind individual sees for three different types of colorblindness. Vischeck also works on webpages.
There's enough contrast that it's not a problem. My QA (colorblind bro-in-law) said he could read it just fine.
Now, had I done dark red text on a dark green background, that'd be a problem...
It may seem like a lot of work, but it isn't as hard as it sounds, and your colorblind friends will thank you!
Because ya know, we don't ever wanna hear nuthin' bad 'bout our boys, no sir, no sir.
Whatever happened to "know thy enemy"? Instead of telling people to not read this piece because it has bad things to say about the open source community, why not advocate reading it carefully to pick out the other side's arguments, analyze them, and learn how to counter them when your own boss starts quoting the article?
Dear IgD,
Yikes! We hadn't even considered a scenario where the laptop might be bumped during a read/write operation! Looks like it's back to the drawing board for us!
Kisses,
The IBM engineers who designed APS
Man, it pissed my parents off when I did that. Sounded like a dentist's drill being dragged across a chalkboard.
India Blocks Yahoo Groups: Sikh and Wrong
No, really, it's just as good as Illustrator!
What is that big difference?
Property owners be solely responsible for owning a parcel of land that's completely connected to the rest of the world.
If you don't want strangers walking across it, build a fence; if they climb the fence, put razor wire across the top. If you don't want people to stand at the perimiter of your yard with a bullhorn shouting the latest, greatest offers your credit card company has in store for you, build the wall out of thick, soundproof steel. If you don't want them lobbing promotional materials over the wall, put a roof on it. If you don't want them breaking through your gate to gain access, put a heavier lock on it. If you don't want them tunneling under the gate, build a deep steel foundation. If you don't want them using explosives to blast through your wall, build guard towers and buy automated turrets. It's not like this technology doesn't exist, and if you can afford land, you sure as hell can afford to take proper care of it.
If you're not serious about protecting your land by your own initiative, or if you're too stupid to stay one step ahead of marauding Marketing Commandos, then you deserve what's coming to you.
The very fact that we have trespassing laws makes me bristle with unbridled, meandering libertarian rage.