And, it's written 'DivX'. Ha! I just linked to myself! I'm so cool!
Not to be picky, but it's "DivX;-)" to make fun of the original DivX - might want to check your facts (or at least read the sources you link to) before being a jerk.
Ok, some quick comments on various things I've read in these threads:
This project is meant for FPGAs only, not ASICs
It would probably take a Virtex-II FPGA to even remotely compete with a decent accelerator - and these mofo's cost $3000-6000 apiece
People would NOT need their own synthesis/implementation tools ($10000) because people could just upload the fully "compiled" bitfile - and they're only around a couple megabytes
The circuit board would be a MAJOR problem - board development houses will try to quote you around $50000 to press off ONE sample board
High-end FPGAs only run around 100 MHz - how are they going to do memory accesses to 233 MHz DDR and get bandwidth to compete with nVidia?
It takes a very nice motherboard to provide enough power to the AGP bus to run one of these guys - I've seen numbers as high as 5 Amps for a chip like we're talking about here
Ok, all that being said, I think this project is a bit out of scope for what these people want to do. There's a really big reason that nVidia and ATI are where they are - capital and large teams of engineers. 'nuff said.
Hey. I'm just making the point that the already-implemented features make C++ a burden to use. C++ is always the last language I would ever choose to do anything in. Last thing, IMHO, that it needs is more crap I'll never be able to use.
This article should really win the Captain Obvious award. I mean, really, it's not too hard to come up with the idea of "tell your neighbors which frequencies you're using". I could have saved them a bunch of money if they had asked me instead of some dumb flies! Yeesh.
This is all cool, but I've got two concerns: 1) How will it deal with the lack of keyboard? Communicating (and thus forming parties) will be more difficult. 2) Will the lack of hard drive effect anything? It seems that the game will be un-patchable and unable to work with expansion packs.
You see, it's all great that Ebert came out to say something like this, but let's face it: he's not risking much. And the reason that he's not risking anything is because he's not directly involved.
What we really need are more BANDS (you know, the people that make the music) to stand up and speak for us. All it will take is for a few of them to say "wtf?! People are ripping them off because they don't want to pay $16 for a CD. Let's drop the costs, pass on more to the band, and give up on the protection." Then I'm sure we'd see more people buying more CDs and everyone could be happy. Besides, the greedy RIAA, of course.
We did this once (with Record of Lodoss War) and they were quite amazed. Now, however, their new line is simply "I can't tell unless you switch back and forth like that". *mutter*
Am I the only one disappointed by the sound getting no better than DD 5.1? I'm all about DTS. And widescreen. I'm still trying to convince some of my friends that you GAIN by watching the widescreen. They always complain that the black bars destroy their viewing experience. Ahh well, a home theater nerd I am.:)
Yeah, but JonKatz's review would tell us of the chilling reality of vampire movies in a post-9/11 society. The ramifications of this being that we now live in a world where Vampires and Blade can get along in the face of a greater danger. Just like the Taliban. Or something.
When I read things like this, it always makes me think of some of the contracts I've signed with employers. I've basically signed away every idea in my head before, but it has always been alright because they were just temporary jobs (internships and whatnot). Fortunately, the job I'm at right now is run by a bunch of even-headed people whose IP contract was all acceptable.
The reasons that this merger is just fine with the government are pretty simple. There's a measure for each industry called the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index. If a merger doesn't make this number go over a certian boundary, it's all good. HP and Compaq are in an industry that is diversified enough to handle a horizontal merger like this one.
So this means that the Government has a LIST somewhere of kiddie porn sites? First of all, that's the kind of material that can get people in trouble;)
I almost wish I had a site on that list so I could see how many hits I got from *.pa.gov.:)
Honestly, it's about high time that we're getting around to the penalty. It has always bothered me how much money the government needs to spend to enforce simple laws like the Sherman Antitrust act. *sigh* Perhaps we would have just been better off if the government had just subsidized the ridiculous price of Windows and Office.
And it's not like this is the end either. MS will appeal every last thing they can think of.
I just have this feeling that completely replacing the file system can't make it less likely to break. I've had no trouble with FAT32, and I seriously doubt MS's ability to write a filesystem that has no bugs. But maybe I'm just being pessimistic today.
Re:Element names work well for a small low-order n
on
Server Naming Conventions?
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
One word: Pokemon.
We've got a lab at school in which the machines are all named after Pokemon. It's kinda silly to log into Wigglytuff, but you've got hundreds of names to use.
Since when does "research" consist of having people fill out a survey? Every statistician would tell you that you need to be a little more caeful than that.
Now for the arguments given: 1) Bundled software prevents piracy: Yeah, true. No need to warez it if you have a legal copy. But how often is something actually useful included with a computer? Maybe something like Office, but I tend to save the $200 and leave it out. On top of that, you can't get things like Matlab, Maple, ProE, Photoshop, etc bundled.
2) Student prices prevent warez: Not really. $50 to $100 is still a LOT of money to spend on a piece of software that you'll only use for a semester or two. That's like up to 20 pizzas (for the resourceful)! Free is better. Or use a computer lab.
3) Free updates for using a real version: This is one of the lamest things in the article. If you need the latest point release THAT badly, you can get it.
So yeah, the article is a bit misguided in its assumptions. All in all, piracy might be declining, but I doubt we'll ever know.
I'm not so sure about this. Most of my friends get upset when they find they need a $100 piece of software for a class. So they either go to a computer lab to use it or come and ask me if I have a warez'd copy.
Hell, I tend to even borrow text books instead of buying them whenever I can... $100 for a book on probability is dumb.
Slashdot Mirror
Delaware! w00t w00t!!!
Hehehe.
Mod parent up.
I agree, it would be really interesting to have an interview with some supercomputer guys.
I apologize for my comment. Regardless, it seems sort of silly to complain about Slashdot doing what it does best ;)
Not to be picky, but it's "DivX ;-)" to make fun of the original DivX - might want to check your facts (or at least read the sources you link to) before being a jerk.
A++++++++++++++ Grate review of a review!!!!!!!!! A good adition to community!!
:)
Ok, all that being said, I think this project is a bit out of scope for what these people want to do. There's a really big reason that nVidia and ATI are where they are - capital and large teams of engineers. 'nuff said.
Anyone have a mirror? I'm bored at work!
Hey. I'm just making the point that the already-implemented features make C++ a burden to use. C++ is always the last language I would ever choose to do anything in. Last thing, IMHO, that it needs is more crap I'll never be able to use.
Wow! A compiler! Now all we need is a language whose syntax makes sense! I have an easier time coding in Perl than trying to use the bloody C++ STL.
It is infeasible for a new competitor to arise because of the capital involved
Rule #1 of an econ class I'm taking right now: capital is never a constraint for entering a market. It's out there; you just need to get it.
When the government is looking at antitrust cases, they get concerned when entry into a market isn't easy. And they don't consider capital an issue.
This article should really win the Captain Obvious award. I mean, really, it's not too hard to come up with the idea of "tell your neighbors which frequencies you're using". I could have saved them a bunch of money if they had asked me instead of some dumb flies! Yeesh.
This is all cool, but I've got two concerns:
1) How will it deal with the lack of keyboard? Communicating (and thus forming parties) will be more difficult.
2) Will the lack of hard drive effect anything? It seems that the game will be un-patchable and unable to work with expansion packs.
You see, it's all great that Ebert came out to say something like this, but let's face it: he's not risking much. And the reason that he's not risking anything is because he's not directly involved.
What we really need are more BANDS (you know, the people that make the music) to stand up and speak for us. All it will take is for a few of them to say "wtf?! People are ripping them off because they don't want to pay $16 for a CD. Let's drop the costs, pass on more to the band, and give up on the protection." Then I'm sure we'd see more people buying more CDs and everyone could be happy. Besides, the greedy RIAA, of course.
We did this once (with Record of Lodoss War) and they were quite amazed. Now, however, their new line is simply "I can't tell unless you switch back and forth like that". *mutter*
Am I the only one disappointed by the sound getting no better than DD 5.1? I'm all about DTS. And widescreen. I'm still trying to convince some of my friends that you GAIN by watching the widescreen. They always complain that the black bars destroy their viewing experience. Ahh well, a home theater nerd I am. :)
Yeah, but JonKatz's review would tell us of the chilling reality of vampire movies in a post-9/11 society. The ramifications of this being that we now live in a world where Vampires and Blade can get along in the face of a greater danger. Just like the Taliban. Or something.
When I read things like this, it always makes me think of some of the contracts I've signed with employers. I've basically signed away every idea in my head before, but it has always been alright because they were just temporary jobs (internships and whatnot). Fortunately, the job I'm at right now is run by a bunch of even-headed people whose IP contract was all acceptable.
The reasons that this merger is just fine with the government are pretty simple. There's a measure for each industry called the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index. If a merger doesn't make this number go over a certian boundary, it's all good. HP and Compaq are in an industry that is diversified enough to handle a horizontal merger like this one.
So this means that the Government has a LIST somewhere of kiddie porn sites? First of all, that's the kind of material that can get people in trouble ;)
:)
I almost wish I had a site on that list so I could see how many hits I got from *.pa.gov.
And easier to maintain than Lisp! :)
Honestly, it's about high time that we're getting around to the penalty. It has always bothered me how much money the government needs to spend to enforce simple laws like the Sherman Antitrust act. *sigh* Perhaps we would have just been better off if the government had just subsidized the ridiculous price of Windows and Office.
And it's not like this is the end either. MS will appeal every last thing they can think of.
I just have this feeling that completely replacing the file system can't make it less likely to break. I've had no trouble with FAT32, and I seriously doubt MS's ability to write a filesystem that has no bugs. But maybe I'm just being pessimistic today.
One word: Pokemon.
We've got a lab at school in which the machines are all named after Pokemon. It's kinda silly to log into Wigglytuff, but you've got hundreds of names to use.
Since when does "research" consist of having people fill out a survey? Every statistician would tell you that you need to be a little more caeful than that.
Now for the arguments given:
1) Bundled software prevents piracy: Yeah, true. No need to warez it if you have a legal copy. But how often is something actually useful included with a computer? Maybe something like Office, but I tend to save the $200 and leave it out. On top of that, you can't get things like Matlab, Maple, ProE, Photoshop, etc bundled.
2) Student prices prevent warez: Not really. $50 to $100 is still a LOT of money to spend on a piece of software that you'll only use for a semester or two. That's like up to 20 pizzas (for the resourceful)! Free is better. Or use a computer lab.
3) Free updates for using a real version: This is one of the lamest things in the article. If you need the latest point release THAT badly, you can get it.
So yeah, the article is a bit misguided in its assumptions. All in all, piracy might be declining, but I doubt we'll ever know.
I'm not so sure about this. Most of my friends get upset when they find they need a $100 piece of software for a class. So they either go to a computer lab to use it or come and ask me if I have a warez'd copy.
... $100 for a book on probability is dumb.
Hell, I tend to even borrow text books instead of buying them whenever I can