Online delivery is the future. How that happens and the pricing model that dominates is what he's worried about. If it's the GameTap model, then developers aren't going to have a viable market for older games because users are going to be used to the gametap pricing model.
The part I think he misses with his fruity analogies, is that room may exist in the market for BOTH models to coexist peacefully. The subtle flaw in his logic is where he manages to simultaneously argue that old games still have value, yet DOS games aren't as valuable because they're difficult to run. Both statements are true, but they create a huge divide between the 'old' and the 'new'.
No studio in their right mind is going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to update a DOS game for a re-release. The most they're going to do is a straight-up port that they can cram in a shovelware collection. If they can shortcut this cost with an emulator, all the better. The down side to this method is that the product doesn't hold the same market value it once did. For example, Doom II can't directly compete for the same dollar that Doom III competes for.
This means that it's actually in a publisher's interest to promote these games as "classic". This removes them from direct competition with the new titles, and allows the studio to make more money rather than siphoning sales from their new product lines. So when push comes to shove, I don't think the online retailers will have anything to worry about from Gametap. The only way that Gametap could pose any sort of threat is if the Indies put out games in the vein of those from 10 or 20 years ago, rather than producing games that compete in the current market.
That was a simplification of the problem. Basically, I get a different language than I was expecting because I had been previously using the language in another window. Even though that window had been changed back, the current window (which was never changed) is using the wrong language.
If you look down at the taskbar, you can see the two character locale ID.
Methinks that would be the "small blue box" to which I was referring.
Play with it, and you can see it's per process, and so "changing it and switching windows" will behave exactly the way you describe, every time.
Except that it doesn't work that way. If I switch the language for a single window (let's say OpenOffice, for example), I'll usually type in the alternate language. That seems to hold to that window while I switch between them. But if I then go back to OpenOffice, change the language back to English, then change the window I've got focused, I'll usually find myself typing the alternate language again. So then I have to switch it for THAT window (which never had its language changed) at which point it will 'take' for the entire system.
Are you referring to the three key or the full keyboard? Because I agree that the three key is not really practical. But a full keyboard, now that would have some incredible uses. The first one that pops in my head is multilingual support. I'm constantly driven nuts by those little stickers all over my keyboard. Not to mention that the only indication of which language you're using under Windows is the small blue box in the corner.
Given how buggy Windows is at switching languages (I can't count how many times I've changed the langauge, switched the window, then started typing only to find that Windows is using the previously selected language), having the keys on the keyboard change would greatly assist in knowing the currently selected language. Well, that and you can see which keys you're typing.;-)
Now, 200+ nukes launched at the same time between India and Pakistan would cause some immediate localized damage.
There's no doubt 200 nukes would make the Middle East might inhospitable, mighty fast. However, I merely sought to "reassure" the great-grandparent that 200 nukes would not end the world. Having done that, I'm going to go make myself a latte.:D
Could you cite the source you used to determine this? How do you know that 200 nukes launched between India and Pakistan won't kilter the environment enough to kill us all?
Because both the United States and Russia blew up hundreds, if not thousands of atomic and hydrogen bombs during testing?
But, anyway, the results aren't as suspect as you'd think. The Official PlayStation Magazine agrees with them.
Interesting. The question is, where are these 32% of people who aren't going to purchase a PS3 just because of the rumble? You'd think a few would be popping up here and saying, "Yeah, that's me. I'm not going to purchase a PS3 just because of the rumble. The other factors like price and availability have nothing to do with it."
Considering that this survey was done by the same company that sued Sony over their rumble feature, I'm not at all surprised that the numbers for rumble are coming out high while the numbers for tilt sensors are coming out low.
That being said, I have heard a lot of disappointment being expressed over the PS3's lack of rumble. Most people don't seem to think the tilt sensors are a good replacement, and mostly think it's a gimmick ripped off from Nintendo. (Which would explain why the numbers are so low for the tilt sensor, while most people I've spoken with are very positive about the Wii-mote.) Yet I don't hear enough that I would consider the lack of rumble to be the feature that's going to kill the PS3. It seems to me the price tag, lack of games, and console shortages are all far more problematic.
If Immersion is trying to prove to Sony that they should have licensed the technology, well this (as in "suspect numbers") is the wrong way to go about it.
try running a basically closed loop 220V, 30amp connection for 5 mintues
220V * 30amp = 6,600 watts * 5 minutes = 0.55 kilowatt hours. You're only a few orders of magnitude off from "$9 worth of electricity", specifically 52 kWhs for EEStor's product. To charge 52 kWhs in 5 minutes, you'd need to be chugging through ~600 kW of power, or about 2.7 kiloamps at 220V.
I said that they're NOT GETTING MORE complex, not that they aren't complex already. While extra codes are swapped in and out, the general length stays approximately the same between generations of the overall organism. So individually, cells do not grow in complexity. However, a multicelled organism is more complex than a single-celled organism by way of a modular yet cohesive system. A bit like well-designed components in an Operating System.
Back on the subject of software, the more the complexity is packaged into simpler modules, the more the system above it can be simplified. The end goal is to have modules of a stable complexity (like TCP/IP) forming together to create a simpler OS. The problems occur when there's a monolithic structure that exposes lower-level complexity at a higher level.
I'd say gaining complexity is perhaps the definition of evolution
I'd say the opposite. When systems are overly complex, it's a sign that they're in need of simplification. OS X shows what such a system looks like. Users have an easier time working with the system, while programmers have an easier time maintaining it.
Windows Vista shows what happens when you keep trying to complicate an overly complicated system. The system eventually extends beyond the control of the developers, making each change more and more difficult to make. Users feel it in the way of a confusing interface, and slow progress.
As for biology, I don't see any signs that things are tending toward more complex. Even a single celled organism is quite complex. Multicelled organisms are the ulimate in modular software.;)
...set up modem init strings, resolve IRQ conflicts...
*cringe*
Don't remind me. I can't count how many times I managed to set the modem all screwy whilst trying to install a new piece of hardware. (Or get an old one working right.) Invariably, it meant that the computer would dial the wrong number. Which would leave me sheepishly picking up the phone and trying to explain to the person on the other end why I just screeched in their ear.
It's amazing how much different the experience was. I remember logging into one system to play Lemonade Stand, as well as get in my Trivia questions for the day. (If you scored high enough, you became the virtual President of something or other. The title kept hopping between a few of us as we logged in every day and got a slight edge on our friends.) I'd also check the latest messages, and send one hopping the BBS 'net (sorry, I forget what it was called) to continue a discussion that had been going on for weeks. If the Sysop was on, I could try asking for a chat window and shoot the bull. The sysop eventually got another line so we could shoot the bull with each other too.:)
Then I'd log out of that system, and log into a massive Raytracing BBS out of Chicago to find the latest PovRay tools and scenes. Then I'd log into another local BBS to grab some files off a MASSIVE CD he had. (The sysop continually swapped out CD collections. Those old collections used to have everything from the latest games to graphics to neat software. It was fun when I wasn't disconnected in the middle of a transfer.:-/)
If I felt really adventurous (i.e. Willing to pay the phone bill) I could long distance into Texas and get the latest Apogee and Epic wares. (As in SHAREwares, you dweebs!) I remember getting the original One Must Fall demo before it became the robot game. That was pretty cool, though I could have saved some money by waiting for a shareware mag to get it.
Those were really different times. You weren't just logging in, you were logging into someone else's computer. Which made them local, regional, and even national repositories of communication and information. Something like local events was great to log into your local BBS for. But for a specialized item like PovRay info, you really needed to pay the long distance charges. It's hard to even explain how different it was.
I guess the best way to put it was, these were the trading posts of the early digital era.:)
... but will they be just as explosive as LiIon batteries?
Probably moreso. Carrying around 187 megajoules (pulled from 52kWh given by a Google link) in a compact, 400 pound container is guaranteed to be dangerous. Charging it at a rate of ~600 kilowatts for 5 minutes does nothing to reduce that problem.
Sounds like something new for the Mythbusters to blow up^W^W - I mean, investigate.;)
Perhaps he should have considered an Apple or Dell instead.
Or perhaps he should have bought his battery in shrinkwrap from a reputable dealer rather than getting an after-market battery off of eBay? Even if it's a "genuine" IBM, for all he knows he ended up with a recall unit that somehow (*cough*) got resold on the open market.
There are some things you DO NOT trust after-market vendors for. One of those things happens to be a highly explosive Lithium Ion battery pack. There are enough problems with the first party units to give pause to anyone even considering third party units. Getting off of eBay? Now that's just asking for trouble.:-/
if it's true, NTSC TV's suck way more than I thought they did.
NTSC and PAL suck way more than you realize. Broadcast signals being what they were back in the day (i.e. horribly inefficient usage of bandwidth), these standards were designed around interlaced signals. The idea behind an interlaced signal is that you can cut the framerate in half (to 30fps and 25fps respectively) by sending alternating lines of video each frame. Thus the vertical resolution drops in half to 240 (NTSC) and 288 (PAL).
This crappy resolution is not only what's broadcast, but it's what's recorded on VHS cassettes. Which is why movies on VHS look so gosh-darn blurry in comparison to DVDs.
Viewing recordings in 480p (progressive scan NTSC) or 576p (progressive scan PAL) solves the resolution problems present in 480i/576i interlaced modes.
Slashdot Mirror
The part I think he misses with his fruity analogies, is that room may exist in the market for BOTH models to coexist peacefully. The subtle flaw in his logic is where he manages to simultaneously argue that old games still have value, yet DOS games aren't as valuable because they're difficult to run. Both statements are true, but they create a huge divide between the 'old' and the 'new'.
No studio in their right mind is going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to update a DOS game for a re-release. The most they're going to do is a straight-up port that they can cram in a shovelware collection. If they can shortcut this cost with an emulator, all the better. The down side to this method is that the product doesn't hold the same market value it once did. For example, Doom II can't directly compete for the same dollar that Doom III competes for.
This means that it's actually in a publisher's interest to promote these games as "classic". This removes them from direct competition with the new titles, and allows the studio to make more money rather than siphoning sales from their new product lines. So when push comes to shove, I don't think the online retailers will have anything to worry about from Gametap. The only way that Gametap could pose any sort of threat is if the Indies put out games in the vein of those from 10 or 20 years ago, rather than producing games that compete in the current market.
That was a simplification of the problem. Basically, I get a different language than I was expecting because I had been previously using the language in another window. Even though that window had been changed back, the current window (which was never changed) is using the wrong language.
Methinks that would be the "small blue box" to which I was referring.
Except that it doesn't work that way. If I switch the language for a single window (let's say OpenOffice, for example), I'll usually type in the alternate language. That seems to hold to that window while I switch between them. But if I then go back to OpenOffice, change the language back to English, then change the window I've got focused, I'll usually find myself typing the alternate language again. So then I have to switch it for THAT window (which never had its language changed) at which point it will 'take' for the entire system.
Drives me nuts.
Are you referring to the three key or the full keyboard? Because I agree that the three key is not really practical. But a full keyboard, now that would have some incredible uses. The first one that pops in my head is multilingual support. I'm constantly driven nuts by those little stickers all over my keyboard. Not to mention that the only indication of which language you're using under Windows is the small blue box in the corner.
Given how buggy Windows is at switching languages (I can't count how many times I've changed the langauge, switched the window, then started typing only to find that Windows is using the previously selected language), having the keys on the keyboard change would greatly assist in knowing the currently selected language. Well, that and you can see which keys you're typing.
1. Which really has nothing to do with Pakistan and India.
2. Larger than the Tsar Bomb? I think not! (*poof* again)
Bigger than a hydrogen bomb? Pakistan and India?!
I think not! (*poof*)
There's no doubt 200 nukes would make the Middle East might inhospitable, mighty fast. However, I merely sought to "reassure" the great-grandparent that 200 nukes would not end the world. Having done that, I'm going to go make myself a latte.
Why would I try to prove that, when I'm actually trying to prove the reverse? You folks are so silly.
Because both the United States and Russia blew up hundreds, if not thousands of atomic and hydrogen bombs during testing?
Interesting. The question is, where are these 32% of people who aren't going to purchase a PS3 just because of the rumble? You'd think a few would be popping up here and saying, "Yeah, that's me. I'm not going to purchase a PS3 just because of the rumble. The other factors like price and availability have nothing to do with it."
It just seems... odd.
...lies, damn lies, and statistics.
Considering that this survey was done by the same company that sued Sony over their rumble feature, I'm not at all surprised that the numbers for rumble are coming out high while the numbers for tilt sensors are coming out low.
That being said, I have heard a lot of disappointment being expressed over the PS3's lack of rumble. Most people don't seem to think the tilt sensors are a good replacement, and mostly think it's a gimmick ripped off from Nintendo. (Which would explain why the numbers are so low for the tilt sensor, while most people I've spoken with are very positive about the Wii-mote.) Yet I don't hear enough that I would consider the lack of rumble to be the feature that's going to kill the PS3. It seems to me the price tag, lack of games, and console shortages are all far more problematic.
If Immersion is trying to prove to Sony that they should have licensed the technology, well this (as in "suspect numbers") is the wrong way to go about it.
220V * 30amp = 6,600 watts * 5 minutes = 0.55 kilowatt hours. You're only a few orders of magnitude off from "$9 worth of electricity", specifically 52 kWhs for EEStor's product. To charge 52 kWhs in 5 minutes, you'd need to be chugging through ~600 kW of power, or about 2.7 kiloamps at 220V.
Bye, bye wall plug.
I said that they're NOT GETTING MORE complex, not that they aren't complex already. While extra codes are swapped in and out, the general length stays approximately the same between generations of the overall organism. So individually, cells do not grow in complexity. However, a multicelled organism is more complex than a single-celled organism by way of a modular yet cohesive system. A bit like well-designed components in an Operating System.
Back on the subject of software, the more the complexity is packaged into simpler modules, the more the system above it can be simplified. The end goal is to have modules of a stable complexity (like TCP/IP) forming together to create a simpler OS. The problems occur when there's a monolithic structure that exposes lower-level complexity at a higher level.
I'd say the opposite. When systems are overly complex, it's a sign that they're in need of simplification. OS X shows what such a system looks like. Users have an easier time working with the system, while programmers have an easier time maintaining it.
Windows Vista shows what happens when you keep trying to complicate an overly complicated system. The system eventually extends beyond the control of the developers, making each change more and more difficult to make. Users feel it in the way of a confusing interface, and slow progress.
As for biology, I don't see any signs that things are tending toward more complex. Even a single celled organism is quite complex. Multicelled organisms are the ulimate in modular software.
*cringe*
Don't remind me. I can't count how many times I managed to set the modem all screwy whilst trying to install a new piece of hardware. (Or get an old one working right.) Invariably, it meant that the computer would dial the wrong number. Which would leave me sheepishly picking up the phone and trying to explain to the person on the other end why I just screeched in their ear.
Remember how Compuserve charged more per minute for such "high speed access"? Man, those were different days...
It's amazing how much different the experience was. I remember logging into one system to play Lemonade Stand, as well as get in my Trivia questions for the day. (If you scored high enough, you became the virtual President of something or other. The title kept hopping between a few of us as we logged in every day and got a slight edge on our friends.) I'd also check the latest messages, and send one hopping the BBS 'net (sorry, I forget what it was called) to continue a discussion that had been going on for weeks. If the Sysop was on, I could try asking for a chat window and shoot the bull. The sysop eventually got another line so we could shoot the bull with each other too. :)
:-/)
:)
Then I'd log out of that system, and log into a massive Raytracing BBS out of Chicago to find the latest PovRay tools and scenes. Then I'd log into another local BBS to grab some files off a MASSIVE CD he had. (The sysop continually swapped out CD collections. Those old collections used to have everything from the latest games to graphics to neat software. It was fun when I wasn't disconnected in the middle of a transfer.
If I felt really adventurous (i.e. Willing to pay the phone bill) I could long distance into Texas and get the latest Apogee and Epic wares. (As in SHAREwares, you dweebs!) I remember getting the original One Must Fall demo before it became the robot game. That was pretty cool, though I could have saved some money by waiting for a shareware mag to get it.
Those were really different times. You weren't just logging in, you were logging into someone else's computer. Which made them local, regional, and even national repositories of communication and information. Something like local events was great to log into your local BBS for. But for a specialized item like PovRay info, you really needed to pay the long distance charges. It's hard to even explain how different it was.
I guess the best way to put it was, these were the trading posts of the early digital era.
Probably moreso. Carrying around 187 megajoules (pulled from 52kWh given by a Google link) in a compact, 400 pound container is guaranteed to be dangerous. Charging it at a rate of ~600 kilowatts for 5 minutes does nothing to reduce that problem.
Sounds like something new for the Mythbusters to blow up^W^W - I mean, investigate.
Yes, thank you for correcting my typo. :)
BTW, Slashdot ate one of my links. Here it is again, in case you want to verify it through Google's calculator:
100 kilowatt hours = 360 000 000 joules
He means "5 minutes". And he's correct.
100 kWhs == 3,600,000 joules
3,600,000 joules / (5 * 60) = 1,200,000 joules/per second
1,200,000 joules/per second == 1.2 mW
The whole idea behind an ultracapacitor is that it stores significantly more energy than a regular capacitor.
Linky:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultracapacitors
Or perhaps he should have bought his battery in shrinkwrap from a reputable dealer rather than getting an after-market battery off of eBay? Even if it's a "genuine" IBM, for all he knows he ended up with a recall unit that somehow (*cough*) got resold on the open market.
There are some things you DO NOT trust after-market vendors for. One of those things happens to be a highly explosive Lithium Ion battery pack. There are enough problems with the first party units to give pause to anyone even considering third party units. Getting off of eBay? Now that's just asking for trouble.
NTSC and PAL suck way more than you realize. Broadcast signals being what they were back in the day (i.e. horribly inefficient usage of bandwidth), these standards were designed around interlaced signals. The idea behind an interlaced signal is that you can cut the framerate in half (to 30fps and 25fps respectively) by sending alternating lines of video each frame. Thus the vertical resolution drops in half to 240 (NTSC) and 288 (PAL).
This crappy resolution is not only what's broadcast, but it's what's recorded on VHS cassettes. Which is why movies on VHS look so gosh-darn blurry in comparison to DVDs.
Viewing recordings in 480p (progressive scan NTSC) or 576p (progressive scan PAL) solves the resolution problems present in 480i/576i interlaced modes.
If you read the article, it's far from the "best" question. However, it is one of the few questions that Sony actually answers.
Mr. Ed is Sony's new spokesperson?!?
Figures.
BTW, does this article remind anyone else of the Chief of Police scene in TMNT 2?
"Is there anything else you'd like to not tell me, Mr Kutaragi?"