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User: Spit

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  1. Re:Slashdot has changed over the 20 years on 20 Years of Stuff That Matters · · Score: 1

    I couldn't register for a while because I was browsing with Lynx on Amiga, which didn't support cookies.

  2. Re:6502 to Z80 work per clock ratio on Why the Z-80's Data Pins Are Scrambled · · Score: 1

    The 6502 memory access style with the unified map worked well for tickling the registers on coprocessors and on bitmaps; very fast and predictable for display timing. The Z80 bus method was abstracted some although still quite useful.

    Regardless, they are such simple devices there's no excuse not to master them both for maximum pleasure.

  3. Re:Ye Gods! on GSOC Project Works To Emulate Systemd For OpenBSD · · Score: 1

    Yes, if this ever gains traction we may possibly end up with a systemd which doesn't suck and can just abandon that horse's ass.

  4. Whew! on Scientists Discover Huge Freshwater Reserves Beneath the Ocean · · Score: 4, Insightful

    For a minute there I thought we'd have to stop washing our shit away with drinking water.

  5. Re: How is this legal? on Employers Switching From Payroll Checks To Prepaid Cards With Fees · · Score: 1

    It is most definitely scrip.

  6. I miss Palm. on Don't Write Them Off: A Palm Retrospective · · Score: 2

    The old mono palm-pilots were fantastic and I still haven't found an app that can hold a candle to the Palm suite. The battery life was phenomenal and it's only recently I've had a backlit e-reader again.

    Vale.

  7. Awesome. on Commodore 64 turns 30 · · Score: 1

    The c64 silicon really is amazing compared to contemporary systems. While the overall system arch is a bit of a hack, the silicon could only have come from a unique environment like Commodore.

  8. He's right. on Bill Gates: the Traditional PC Is Changing · · Score: 2

    Gates isn't saying that we'll all be using tablets, but that for the vast majority of users, convergent devices are more convenient and suitable.

    Workstations will become niche as per servers, but they will remain. The trend started half a decade ago when notebooks started outselling desktop PCs.

  9. Happy birthday Speccy! on Sinclair ZX Spectrum 30th Anniversary · · Score: 1

    You were always a unique take on the home computer.

  10. Re:Google is not shipping binaries (AFAIK) on Google's Honeycomb Source Code Release Is On Ice · · Score: 1

    Code is certainly the reason I bought my Froyo phone, I think it's nice that google released the code. I won't get mad at them unless they reneg on the ice-cream sandwich release. Then I won't buy any more.

    Until then, I don't own any honeycomb device nor will I buy.

  11. Re:Yeah can't figure the appeal of the Sinclair on Greed, Zealotry, and the Commodore 64 · · Score: 1

    It turns the screen and border black on the Vic20.

  12. Re:Yeah can't figure the appeal of the Sinclair on Greed, Zealotry, and the Commodore 64 · · Score: 1

    While I love the Commodore computers, I can appreciate the Speccy as being the "good enough" computer which has some great software. While the c64 has impressive custom silicon, the overall system architecture is a bit slapped together. Whereas the Speccy is clearly a masterpiece of minimalist engineering and design:

    - Great BASIC
    - Clever use of surplus RAM
    - ULA for system logic and video

    The original dead-flesh design also looks fantastic and tiny. In 1982 it wasn't clear that the c64 would become the powerhouse it was and if Sinclair hadn't fumbled their supply chain, Commodore may have really needed that c16 line.

  13. Re:Yeah can't figure the appeal of the Sinclair on Greed, Zealotry, and the Commodore 64 · · Score: 1

    Yes the Vic was the direct competitor along with the parallel launch Oric-1. The Spectrum's design ethic and price point precipitated the Commodore 16 directive from Jack Tramiel, which disintegrated into failure after Tramiel left.

  14. You're not looking. on Split Screen Co-op Is Dying · · Score: 3, Informative

    The most popular titles today all have excellent couch co-op and multi features. Examples:

    Halo Reach
    CoD Black Ops
    SMB Wii
    SM Cart
    Gears of War series

    There are also countless local multi games available on services like Xbox Live Arcade and PSN..

  15. Re:Honestly on Debian 6.0 To Feature a Completely Free Kernel · · Score: 1

    Damn straight. OpenBSD has been free of blobs for years now and that system works great. I'm glad Debian team is focussing their efforts on this as Deb is my favourite Linux system.

    With two well supported OS built from 100% free software, even sceptics will always have an escape chute.

  16. Good luck on Avoiding DMCA Woes As an Indy Game Developer? · · Score: 1

    Considering the maze, gameplay, characters and name are all direct copies of the original game by Namco/Midway. Aside from the clear trade of Namco's Super Pac-Man, Pac-Man was the case that set precedent for "look and feel" with its quashing of KC Munchkin, a distinctive yet pac-man influenced title.

    Namco have also recently released a new Pac-Man game of which yours is a direct competitor. Don't waste your time on this, do something else.

  17. Re:Microsoft Security Essentuals on AVG 2011 Update Causes Widespread Problems For 64-Bit Windows · · Score: 1

    Yes, both Nod and Kaspersky are excellent programs. I found the advantage of both over other products is that they transparently proxy network traffic. Other products operate on file access events only. Nod has the advantage of being cheap.

  18. Moochers. on When DLC Goes Wrong · · Score: 1

    I don't know where all this DLC hubbub is coming from, but I see it posted everywhere. It is a meme propagated by self-entitled moochers without any sense of history. Nobody is forcing you to buy DLC, if you don't think a game or DLC is worth the money, don't buy it. Simple.

    I can think back through gaming history, buying Ultimate Doom; an expansion which would create furor in today's climate. I also bought Quake and QuakeII expansions. Even going back to the 80s where games like Mercenary had the Second City expansion.

    Thinking about it, I can see a parallel in the recording industry where we would buy LPs, with select songs being sold as singles often with good B-side tunes. Should the B-side tunes be given away free to those who purchased the LP?

  19. Wild. on Chip Allows Blind People To See · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Not much of a step from here to arbitrary, computer generated input.

  20. Rube Goldburg machine? on Broadway Musicians Replaced With Synthesizers · · Score: 1

    What's the point of replacing live musicians with a synthesizer? WHy not just use a backing tape which sounds exactly the same? Maybe because it points out that the stage performance could also get great savings, by being played from film...

  21. The fuck? on Utah State Prof Says Hybrids Don't Kill More Pedestrians · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's not a problem with the cars, it's with dumbshits who don't look where they fucking walk. I ride a bicycle everywhere and it makes zero noise even when freewheeling, not that it matters I can ding my bell til my thumb falls off and many won't hear it because of the ipod craze.

    People step out on the road in front of me all the time, maybe not realizing the speed I'm moving at when they last looked up the road, but it's still their fault. There are two ways to deal with this problem: Screaming at the top of your lungs at pedestrians "get of da focken road jackass!" or alternatively, pedestrians can take responsibility for their own personal safety and look with their fucking eyeballs.

  22. Re:Geometry Wars 2 did it best on Anatomy of an Achievement · · Score: 1

    Yeah the Geometry Wars example is quite fun but also trains the player skillset in a way they may not have imagined, as per the not so subtle title. Another example is the full throttle achievement from TrialsHD. I always aim for these ones as they add extra gameplay. Some others of note are achievements which encourage online play and ones which create a meta game like those from the Halo series. I don't really aim for the Halo style ones but I can see how they add to the games' value for fans.

    One interesting aspect of gamerscore is it's a good way to quickly evaluate a player when correlated with the amount of games played and how many years they've been playing; A gamer with low gamerscore but 1000XP in Halo3 and 3 years' xbox live history obviously plays a lot of Halo3 and not much else.

  23. Serial TTY is still a nice feature. on MeeGo, Zero To VT320 In Seventeen Seconds · · Score: 1

    A long time ago I had a handmedown 386 I used to run Debian 1.3 on. At the time I was pretty poor and I didn't have a VGA display, so I used to borrow one from a friend when I needed one like for install or when I trashed it. The rest of the time I used a c64 running Novaterm with a mono display for clarity, worked great.

    The 386 is long gone but the c64 still comes in handy.

  24. Re:irony overload on North Korean Flash Games For Export · · Score: 1

    What's the alternative, leave them totally cut off to stew? Invade the country and "free" them? This is a baby step towards bringing the DPRK back to the international community. Screeching at their diplomats is one thing, reaching out to the people there is another.

  25. Mindblown. on Bionic-Eyed Man Wants To Stream Eye Video Online · · Score: 1

    What an amazing coincidence, I'm just watching some six million dollar man on TV.