It is articles like this and this that have made me really question the editorial decisions and direction of Slashdot. I've had Slashdot as my homepage for more years than I can remember; today this is changing.
So long Slashdot, it's been fun. Digg is taking your spot.
I've played with all of the data carriers and EDGE is just not what it was cracked up to be. Verizon may suck for voice quality, but their EVDO is tops. I'm able to listen to 160kbit streams all day long no matter where I go in Chicagoland on my XV6700.
"There's a war for the future of this world going on regardless of the geek world shoving its collective head up its fat, conspiracy and ideologically addled ass."
I Like it! I'm going to paste this all over! Since you posted anonymously I'm going to assume you're William Gibson, that will give it some cred.
There were 2 in Naperville, neither did well. Only one of them is still open, NTWLINK in downtown, and it has been near empty every time I've walked past it. The owner is on old Lucent employee trying desperately to make a living so she'll keep that going until the bitter end. There just isn't a reason to game at a cafe in America.
Please. When Pat Buchannan flaps his lips, do you think it reflects badly on you? We're all grownups here. Screaming that 'it's not us!' just re-inforces that it is us!;)
Judging by his attitude and comments, I'd suspect he agrees with Buchannan (or some other God-Only-Loves-America-Because-He-Drives-A-Ford Fundie). So, bad example.
I am deeply saddened to see this comment coming from someone who has invested himself in higher education. Perhaps before they fill your head with all that troubling knowledge they should encourage skeptical thought?
There are much more devestating agents that would appeal to those that wanted to strike a civilian population. Do not let your paranoia trump your common sense. The evil-brown-people do not want to eat your babies.
I've played MMOs since UO and always had a bug up my ass for people who would buy/sell in-game items. But as soon as I started playing WoW the absurdity of NOT buying gold became very clear to me.
From http://igxe.com/ (I recommend them over IGE, they deliver much faster and have much better prices) I can buy 1000 Gold for $62.99. That is enough to buy an "Epic Mount" which is a vital part of End Game PVP. Or I could farm for the gold in game for about 400 hours.
Let's consider this very carefully. Let's say you have a shitty job as a waiter or something and make $10/hr (net). You could work your real job for 6 hours being bored and obtain you Epic Mount, or you could spend 400 hours being bored farming in game.
For me this is a no brainer as my time is much more valuable than $10/hr. This is why I don't make my own shoes either!
Sure Germany is known for it's shit eating porn... but Japan's got its fair share or shit eating porn and the only country that really produces vomit porn.
I recall in my sceneing days a little number called "Fish Girl" that hit all of the ftps. While I wouldn't call myself a pervert; I am a very curious sort and immediately set to leech what is without a doubt the weirdest porn I've ever seen. 60 solid minutes of guys shoving dead sea-critters into a young Japanese lady. That would have been enough to easily hold on to a "Weirdest Porn" title, but to make sure no one will ever dethrone it they added a storyline. It wasn't subbed and at the time didn't speak a word of Japanese, but it had something to do with one of the old guys needing to go to the hospital for chest pains. This of course necessitated the show hitting the road and them doing more freaky shit with this girl in a van on the way.
From the Germans I was especially mortified and puzzled by a skin-head fisting video in which a bunch of skin-heads are sitting around in their hang-out spot when a couple of guys get into an altercation. They fight. The loser gets fisted by the victor and of course passers-by. The really weird part about this is it wasn't really homosexual or even sexual at all. It was like a documentary that went horribly wrong.
BTW, you really can desensitize yourself to anything. I don't choke up when I see vomit anymore, but I still clench up when I see a skin-head.
While GW is fine if all you want to do is whack on rats or whatever brain-dead AI you encounter, it is a completely unfriendly game for casual PVP.
This is a real shame because the game was originally marketed as the game you'd just pick up and play when you want... how you want.
By the time of retail release it became a requirement to play approximately 1000 hours of PvE unlocking skills to compete in PvP and GvG. There are pre-made characters you can hop on without playing any PvE, but they just can't compete and are woefully inadequate for GvG.
I'm terribly disappointed in this and feel really burned because I just wanted to PvP with my clan; I have no interest or desire in spending any amount of time PvEing... That's why I bought a game called Guild Wars, not EQ2, not WOW, and not any of the other dozen or so games that already cater to a PvE audience.
It is my sincere belief that for a game to really reach casual-gamers they need to stop the PvE treadmill. PvE doesn't appeal to casual gamers... PvE only appeals to Koreans and a small minority of gamers with obsessive/addictive personality disorders. This is why FPS online gaming has numbers no MMO can touch. When I want to play I just play... I don't/can't/won't spend any amount of time getting ready to play!
PlanetSide was close to the mark but had woefully incompetent developers and a very dubious publisher at the helm.
I wouldn't think this would be a problem with DVI. I know I hated my Voodoo2 for this reason, but that was Analog VGA -> Ditigal -> Analog VGA. Is there something I'm missing that would effect a Digitial -> Digital -> Digital solution?
I have been very pleased with Doppler Radio. It has a very clean UI, works out-of-the-box with BT, and allows for authentication.
The later is a key destinction between Doppler and Ipodder or other offerings. Let's be honest... the majority of podcasts by Joe and Jane Public aren't terribly good. But you can subscribe to some really great radio shows from all over the world, some of which require membership fees since they are offering the commercial show without commericals.
In my work I spend about 30% of my time driving and 30% of my time walking; and I have a diminished attention span. So I listen to Sirius in my car, and internet streams on my Verizon Audiovox XV6600 using their unlimited EV-DO network here in the Chicago Burbs.
I had tried the same thing with a Treo650 on Cingular's EDGE but encountered nothing but headaches with the Treo. I've been a Palm fanboi since `97 and sadly the Treo650 changed all of that. It was completely unreliable even in factory settings just being used as a phone! The damn thing crashed when I received phone calls, when I received Emails/SMS, and once got into a reboot loop when I had the nerve to receive a SMS while on a phone call. I had it for 2 weeks and unable to resolve my troubles.
There are a few things I should warn about though in going the route I have. This burns through an amazing amount of battery, especially when used in conjunction with my iTech Bluetooth Stereo Headset which I highly recommend to anyone thinking of pursuing this route. It instantly makes this the coolest portable music route to take. But you'll need to also invest in a much bigger battery, I personally opted for a 2200mAh Li-Ion but there are 3300mAh also available. Of course you'll need a stylish case that can comfortably fit the engorged battery. My 2200 barely fits in my Covertec. Lastly, you'll need a decent SD Card if you don't have one already. You will be amazed at how much difference a spare gig of storage can make, and this actually makes for a nice portable video player as well.
Let us review the cost of convergence: Audiovox XV6600 = $600 Stereo Bluetooth Headset = $70 2200mAh Li-Ion Battery = $80 Covertec Leather Case = $40 Corsair 1Gig SD Card = $80 Never being alone in the harshness of meatspace without the warm buzz of the collective = Priceless.
There are some things money can't buy, for everything else resistance is futile.
During the early days of the "Pay 2 Surf" fad, some friends of mine in college devised some of the original scams (including bots that have led Yahoo and others to include image verification to determine if a real person is making an account). They were monumentally succesful, one claimed he paid for nearly a whole year's worth of tuition from scamming these guys.
None of them ever had the slightest bit of legal woes as a result of it, and none of them even got complaints from the companies. As far as the companies organizing Pay 2 Surf programs were concerned the more the merrier as it meant more ad revenue for them.
I wonder why Google has decided, against their own interests, to go after fraudsters like this.
You could do all that manually, but I would recommend getting Sirius instead. You get NPR Talk, NPR Now, PRI, BBC, etc... etc... etc... Really great unbiased intelligent talk.
"In Germany, they first came for the communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist, Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics. I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak up." - Rev. Martin Niemöller.
Slashdot Mirror
It is articles like this and this that have made me really question the editorial decisions and direction of Slashdot. I've had Slashdot as my homepage for more years than I can remember; today this is changing.
So long Slashdot, it's been fun. Digg is taking your spot.
So does the XV6700.
The availablity must be very limited. I ran around with a Treo from Cingular for a month and had really spotty service availablity.
I've played with all of the data carriers and EDGE is just not what it was cracked up to be. Verizon may suck for voice quality, but their EVDO is tops. I'm able to listen to 160kbit streams all day long no matter where I go in Chicagoland on my XV6700.
They got some nice swag now for donating.
Suck it, PBS!
"There's a war for the future of this world going on regardless of the geek world shoving its collective head up its fat, conspiracy and ideologically addled ass."
I Like it! I'm going to paste this all over! Since you posted anonymously I'm going to assume you're William Gibson, that will give it some cred.
Ah great, thanks! Now I know where to find that 17y/o daughter you were talking about in your previous post.
There were 2 in Naperville, neither did well. Only one of them is still open, NTWLINK in downtown, and it has been near empty every time I've walked past it. The owner is on old Lucent employee trying desperately to make a living so she'll keep that going until the bitter end. There just isn't a reason to game at a cafe in America.
Please. When Pat Buchannan flaps his lips, do you think it reflects badly on you? We're all grownups here. Screaming that 'it's not us!' just re-inforces that it is us! ;)
Judging by his attitude and comments, I'd suspect he agrees with Buchannan (or some other God-Only-Loves-America-Because-He-Drives-A-Ford Fundie). So, bad example.
I am deeply saddened to see this comment coming from someone who has invested himself in higher education. Perhaps before they fill your head with all that troubling knowledge they should encourage skeptical thought?
There are much more devestating agents that would appeal to those that wanted to strike a civilian population. Do not let your paranoia trump your common sense. The evil-brown-people do not want to eat your babies.
I forget the exact numbers, something like USD$100-200/mo I think.
Which works out to being a very lucrative opportunity for non-skilled labor by Chinese standards.
The only things of value in GW are "unlocking" items on the account for PVP characters. Gold has no purpose in achieving that.
Now if you could buy accounts with everything unlocked that would be worthwhile.
I've played MMOs since UO and always had a bug up my ass for people who would buy/sell in-game items. But as soon as I started playing WoW the absurdity of NOT buying gold became very clear to me.
From http://igxe.com/ (I recommend them over IGE, they deliver much faster and have much better prices) I can buy 1000 Gold for $62.99. That is enough to buy an "Epic Mount" which is a vital part of End Game PVP. Or I could farm for the gold in game for about 400 hours.
Let's consider this very carefully. Let's say you have a shitty job as a waiter or something and make $10/hr (net). You could work your real job for 6 hours being bored and obtain you Epic Mount, or you could spend 400 hours being bored farming in game.
For me this is a no brainer as my time is much more valuable than $10/hr. This is why I don't make my own shoes either!
You put the Japanese second to Germans?
Sure Germany is known for it's shit eating porn... but Japan's got its fair share or shit eating porn and the only country that really produces vomit porn.
I recall in my sceneing days a little number called "Fish Girl" that hit all of the ftps. While I wouldn't call myself a pervert; I am a very curious sort and immediately set to leech what is without a doubt the weirdest porn I've ever seen. 60 solid minutes of guys shoving dead sea-critters into a young Japanese lady. That would have been enough to easily hold on to a "Weirdest Porn" title, but to make sure no one will ever dethrone it they added a storyline. It wasn't subbed and at the time didn't speak a word of Japanese, but it had something to do with one of the old guys needing to go to the hospital for chest pains. This of course necessitated the show hitting the road and them doing more freaky shit with this girl in a van on the way.
From the Germans I was especially mortified and puzzled by a skin-head fisting video in which a bunch of skin-heads are sitting around in their hang-out spot when a couple of guys get into an altercation. They fight. The loser gets fisted by the victor and of course passers-by. The really weird part about this is it wasn't really homosexual or even sexual at all. It was like a documentary that went horribly wrong.
BTW, you really can desensitize yourself to anything. I don't choke up when I see vomit anymore, but I still clench up when I see a skin-head.
While GW is fine if all you want to do is whack on rats or whatever brain-dead AI you encounter, it is a completely unfriendly game for casual PVP.
This is a real shame because the game was originally marketed as the game you'd just pick up and play when you want... how you want.
By the time of retail release it became a requirement to play approximately 1000 hours of PvE unlocking skills to compete in PvP and GvG. There are pre-made characters you can hop on without playing any PvE, but they just can't compete and are woefully inadequate for GvG.
I'm terribly disappointed in this and feel really burned because I just wanted to PvP with my clan; I have no interest or desire in spending any amount of time PvEing... That's why I bought a game called Guild Wars, not EQ2, not WOW, and not any of the other dozen or so games that already cater to a PvE audience.
It is my sincere belief that for a game to really reach casual-gamers they need to stop the PvE treadmill. PvE doesn't appeal to casual gamers... PvE only appeals to Koreans and a small minority of gamers with obsessive/addictive personality disorders. This is why FPS online gaming has numbers no MMO can touch. When I want to play I just play... I don't/can't/won't spend any amount of time getting ready to play!
PlanetSide was close to the mark but had woefully incompetent developers and a very dubious publisher at the helm.
I wouldn't think this would be a problem with DVI. I know I hated my Voodoo2 for this reason, but that was Analog VGA -> Ditigal -> Analog VGA. Is there something I'm missing that would effect a Digitial -> Digital -> Digital solution?
I have been very pleased with Doppler Radio. It has a very clean UI, works out-of-the-box with BT, and allows for authentication.
The later is a key destinction between Doppler and Ipodder or other offerings. Let's be honest... the majority of podcasts by Joe and Jane Public aren't terribly good. But you can subscribe to some really great radio shows from all over the world, some of which require membership fees since they are offering the commercial show without commericals.
In my work I spend about 30% of my time driving and 30% of my time walking; and I have a diminished attention span. So I listen to Sirius in my car, and internet streams on my Verizon Audiovox XV6600 using their unlimited EV-DO network here in the Chicago Burbs.
I had tried the same thing with a Treo650 on Cingular's EDGE but encountered nothing but headaches with the Treo. I've been a Palm fanboi since `97 and sadly the Treo650 changed all of that. It was completely unreliable even in factory settings just being used as a phone! The damn thing crashed when I received phone calls, when I received Emails/SMS, and once got into a reboot loop when I had the nerve to receive a SMS while on a phone call. I had it for 2 weeks and unable to resolve my troubles.
There are a few things I should warn about though in going the route I have. This burns through an amazing amount of battery, especially when used in conjunction with my iTech Bluetooth Stereo Headset which I highly recommend to anyone thinking of pursuing this route. It instantly makes this the coolest portable music route to take. But you'll need to also invest in a much bigger battery, I personally opted for a 2200mAh Li-Ion but there are 3300mAh also available. Of course you'll need a stylish case that can comfortably fit the engorged battery. My 2200 barely fits in my Covertec. Lastly, you'll need a decent SD Card if you don't have one already. You will be amazed at how much difference a spare gig of storage can make, and this actually makes for a nice portable video player as well.
Let us review the cost of convergence:
Audiovox XV6600 = $600
Stereo Bluetooth Headset = $70
2200mAh Li-Ion Battery = $80
Covertec Leather Case = $40
Corsair 1Gig SD Card = $80
Never being alone in the harshness of meatspace without the warm buzz of the collective = Priceless.
There are some things money can't buy, for everything else resistance is futile.
During the early days of the "Pay 2 Surf" fad, some friends of mine in college devised some of the original scams (including bots that have led Yahoo and others to include image verification to determine if a real person is making an account). They were monumentally succesful, one claimed he paid for nearly a whole year's worth of tuition from scamming these guys.
None of them ever had the slightest bit of legal woes as a result of it, and none of them even got complaints from the companies. As far as the companies organizing Pay 2 Surf programs were concerned the more the merrier as it meant more ad revenue for them.
I wonder why Google has decided, against their own interests, to go after fraudsters like this.
You could do all that manually, but I would recommend getting Sirius instead. You get NPR Talk, NPR Now, PRI, BBC, etc... etc... etc... Really great unbiased intelligent talk.
Somehow reading this post I knew you were a libertarian. God you lot scare me.
This is one of the best articulated comments you are likely to read on /. and yet someone modded it down... while the bigot was modded up?
What an odd occurance.
Posting un-anonymously because I don't care if I burn more karma on this sort of thing.
"In Germany, they first came for the communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist, Then they came for the Jews and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics. I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak up." - Rev. Martin Niemöller.
Next...
Never before has a publisher tried so hard to avoid showing any screenshots on their website.
It's okay I'm using FireFox. :)