If you opted-in for the Customer Experience Improvement Program, then it records a bunch of data about your system and how you use it and uploads it to Microsoft.
A couple of key points: 1) It's opt-in, so it's not sending data unless you said to do so. 2) It's anonymous. It does not collect any information that can be used to identify you.
You're comparing performance of an interpreted language vs a native code language which, in most cases, should result in a performance difference, especially for an iterative, non-interactive process. (Although, in my experience, it's not usually that dramatic if the code is equivalent.)
He's comparing using a simple, easy to understand construct (array indexing) vs a more complicated construct (pointer arithmetic) in the same language, which at best will result in a minor performance difference. With a good compiler, it should result in near zero performance difference.
Theres a big difference between a programmer who knows a language vs a programmer who understands it.
True, but there are few things more dangerous to a critical project than a programmer who simply thinks he/she understands the language. Adding complexity to a program for a possible minor performance adds risk to the project without an acceptable reward, and should be avoided whenever possible.
Time is money, and avoiding critical bugs saves both. Even if it means your 90 minute process now takes 94 minutes to run instead.
EA and PS2 have an exclusive deal for online play.
No, I don't believe that they do. Can you find any links that show that they have an exclusive contract? My google search didn't come up with anything.
If anything, they may have a marketing agreement where Sony kicks in advertising dollars and EA says "Only online on PS2". But I don't think EA has any obligation to stay off of Xbox Live if they wish to change their minds.
I almost agree with you. I personally think Outlaw Volleyball is a better volleyball game though...
People see DOA girls in bikinis and think that this must be some crap title that was slapped together in an obvious ploy to get geeks to buy the game. The commercials don't help this image one bit, nor do the quicky reviews you find at most gaming sites (*cough*gamespot*cough*). But at its heart, DOA:XVB is an original, deep, complex game based on relationships and collecting (not volleyball). Unfortunately I don't play it much because it seems like too much of a commitment to learn each girls likes/dislikes/reactions, etc... But it really is a brilliant game and I applaud Team Ninja for trying something original.
I'd argue that the XBOX has a higher percentage of good games, only because there are a lot more games for the PS2. Therefor the signal to noise ratio is higher.
Is that a good thing? One of the things I've never liked about the PS/PS2 are the number of games that are utter crap. Xbox definitely has some crap games as well (Kabuki Warriors, Pulse Racer), but they're easier to weed out.
Personally, I think Xbox has more quality titles than I have time to play anyway, so a larger game library means little. Although I would really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, REALLY like to see a Final Fantasy, Wild Arms, Lufia, Shining Force, Breath of Fire, etc... type of title come out on the Xbox. I'm hoping that Sudeki will fill that void somewhat...
That's interesting because it blew me away. I think it's the best Pixar movie yet (followed by TS2). Maybe it's because Ellen Degeneres didn't annoy me nearly as much as I thought she would. Actually, I thought she did quite well.
I would definitely recomment that you give it another shot, except this time watch the DVD version and use at least a 25 inch TV.:)
BTW - Did you know that non-letterbox is not necessarily "cropped"? Each frame on the digital source is usually much larger than what gets framed out for the movie. So when they make the full screen version, instead of just cropping the widescreen frame, they simply use more of the frame from the original source. If you watched the extras on the DVD you would know that.:)
People jumped from the Sega consoles because they didn't feel they got their money's worth out of the previous consoles, especially after the Sega CD and the 32X. There simply were not enough games released for those systems before they were supposed to upgrade to the next system so people felt ripped off.
Now go to your local Best Buy or whatever and compare how many games are available for the GameCube versus the XBox. It probably varies, but my local Best Buy has about 50% more space for XBox games than GameCube games. EBGames.com's "Coming Soon" list shows 75 GC titles this year vs 115 XBox titles.
That's why I say that Nintendo seems to be slipping similar to how Sega was slipping, although Sega certainly lost control much faster than Nintendo is.
You need to have games to sell consoles. Nintendo has by far the best lineup of first party exclusive titles of any console, no question. But they can't do it alone. They still need good 3rd party support to really sell more consoles, and they're losing that. In order to get 3rd parties to develop games, they need to sell more consoles. It's a tough problem, and lowering their console price may fix things if it's not too late.
I saw that and I thought there was probably a time when Sega fans said "You'll never see Sonic on another system.":)
It's great that you love Nintendo so much. I grew up on Mario, Zelda, and Metroid, so I also have many fond Nintendo memories. However, it's clear that Nintendo is not in the best position right now, and they seem to be slipping; much like Sega years ago.
The current price drop may actually save Nintendo, though. Personally, I still like my XBox over the Gamecube, even at the current prices. But I think parents looking to buy their kids a game console this Christmas are going to see $99 Gamecube vs $179 XBox/PS2 and choose Gamecube.
Bah. Personally, I think that no guns would definitely mean no gun crime.
You're right, but if you can come up with a "no guns" solution that would actually work, I'll nominate you for a Nobel prize.
Then we can focus on other killers like spears, knives, cars, etc...
My personal opinion is that better education would mean fewer stupid people.
You think Sony will renew an exclusivity contract on what will then be a 3 year old game? I highly doubt it. Now, a contract on GTA 4 they may want, but I imagine that after the success of GTA 3, that will be mighty expensive. I for one think it would be funny if Rockstar announced that they were making GTA 4 for everything but the PS2 and see if Sony tries to pay them to release it for PS2.:)
This is still a rumor, but it's not a very surprising one. The contract ends when the next GTA game is released, and Sony bought the rights fairly late in the development cycle, so there probably isn't all that much left to finish it for XBox and GC. I'm not sure how well a 3 year old game will sell, but if it's cheap or has a significant amount of updates it may do alright. It may also help drive GTA 4 sales on those platforms if they are going to be released on them a short time after the PS2 release.
RAID-5 only requires 3 disks, although you can use more if you want better data protection.
So it's really 3x600GB (minimum), and since you can get 200GB IDE drives for around $200: 9 x $200 = $1800. Add in more for the controllers and I'm sure you're over $2000, but not by a lot.
Here's a site that's more or less dedicated to showing PC/LCD mods.
And here's a sweet mod that uses the exact same 5" LCD screen and puts it in a Lian-Li case.
Pretty cool lookin case mod and useful if you don't have space for full dual-monitors but also want to have winamp/instant messenger/MB Monitor/etc... running and visible but not necessarily on your main monitor.
The only way I could see this as usable for a server though is if you only have a one or two. After that it gets pretty expensive.
Actually, there's also: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Window s\Curre ntVersion\Run Your Startup Folder "All Users" Startup Folder
The Startup tab of msconfig handles all of those locations, and I think it exists on all versions of Windows (except maybe 95).
Re:Win2K has name completion...
on
MS DOS: A Eulogy
·
· Score: 4, Informative
Change this registry setting:
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Command Processor\Completetion Char"
to 0x09 and TAB will work, even without/F:ON.
Most people are opposed to killing someone if they don't have to, so the fear comes from the fact that because it's non-lethal and remote, people would be more apt to use it inappropriately.
For example, say that the person who delivers my newspaper always throws my paper in the bushes. I'm certainly not going to kill him over it, but if I had one of these, I may be tempted to use it on him to "get even". I don't want to imagine what kind of effect this could have on road rage...
How many people downloaded the Abode eBook Reader and the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland eBook on Dec. 14th, 2000?
Adobe could never have bought this much interest through mere advertising... If they haven't seen this article they have to be perplexed about the sudden "interest".
So you're saying that because Slashdot gets their revenue from advertising (like television does), that people should expect less in terms of quality? That's total BS! I suppose you think that no one has the right to complain about the shoddy news reporting in the US election. After all, you're not sending a check to CNN every month.
Slashdot is a news site, and like every non-parodical news site they have an obligation to report accurate information. Anyone who has been reading slashdot for any period of time knows that inaccuracies are showing up more and more often. These kinds of things are unacceptable!
You may not be paying for slashdot out of your own pocket, but you are providing revenue for them by allowing them to advertise to you. As such you have a right to complain when the quality is substandard.
However, if you're an Anonymous Coward that uses a filter to block the ads, then of course you really do have no right to complain.
Slashdot Mirror
Depends on what you think it means.
If you opted-in for the Customer Experience Improvement Program, then it records a bunch of data about your system and how you use it and uploads it to Microsoft.
A couple of key points:
1) It's opt-in, so it's not sending data unless you said to do so.
2) It's anonymous. It does not collect any information that can be used to identify you.
http://www.microsoft.com/products/ceip/en-us/default.mspx
http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/pages/windows-vista-service-pack-1-beta-whitepaper.aspx
You're comparing performance of an interpreted language vs a native code language which, in most cases, should result in a performance difference, especially for an iterative, non-interactive process. (Although, in my experience, it's not usually that dramatic if the code is equivalent.)
He's comparing using a simple, easy to understand construct (array indexing) vs a more complicated construct (pointer arithmetic) in the same language, which at best will result in a minor performance difference. With a good compiler, it should result in near zero performance difference.
True, but there are few things more dangerous to a critical project than a programmer who simply thinks he/she understands the language. Adding complexity to a program for a possible minor performance adds risk to the project without an acceptable reward, and should be avoided whenever possible.
Time is money, and avoiding critical bugs saves both. Even if it means your 90 minute process now takes 94 minutes to run instead.
And the best part is, if you miss an article there's a good chance it'll be posted again within a couple of days.
Maybe he gets his beer from the same guy who sells Rollex's on the street. :)
The original Shinning force is my favorite game of all time.
Don't worry. You can say Shining. You won't get sued.
And I agree. Shining Force is one of my favorite series. If only Sega would release the new one on the Xbox... (with the original as an unlockable!)
EA and PS2 have an exclusive deal for online play.
No, I don't believe that they do. Can you find any links that show that they have an exclusive contract? My google search didn't come up with anything.
If anything, they may have a marketing agreement where Sony kicks in advertising dollars and EA says "Only online on PS2". But I don't think EA has any obligation to stay off of Xbox Live if they wish to change their minds.
Somewhere in the world, a guy named Linus makes a minor update to the linux kernel... and it becomes news.
However, the "news" site also fails to mention what is contained in said update or where to get it from.
Analysts also predict sales of Xbox to decline dramatically until the beginning of April.
They're so smart...
I almost agree with you. I personally think Outlaw Volleyball is a better volleyball game though...
People see DOA girls in bikinis and think that this must be some crap title that was slapped together in an obvious ploy to get geeks to buy the game. The commercials don't help this image one bit, nor do the quicky reviews you find at most gaming sites (*cough*gamespot*cough*). But at its heart, DOA:XVB is an original, deep, complex game based on relationships and collecting (not volleyball). Unfortunately I don't play it much because it seems like too much of a commitment to learn each girls likes/dislikes/reactions, etc... But it really is a brilliant game and I applaud Team Ninja for trying something original.
Personally, I think Xbox has more quality titles than I have time to play anyway, so a larger game library means little. Although I would really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, REALLY like to see a Final Fantasy, Wild Arms, Lufia, Shining Force, Breath of Fire, etc... type of title come out on the Xbox. I'm hoping that Sudeki will fill that void somewhat...
That's interesting because it blew me away. I think it's the best Pixar movie yet (followed by TS2). Maybe it's because Ellen Degeneres didn't annoy me nearly as much as I thought she would. Actually, I thought she did quite well.
:)
:)
I would definitely recomment that you give it another shot, except this time watch the DVD version and use at least a 25 inch TV.
BTW - Did you know that non-letterbox is not necessarily "cropped"? Each frame on the digital source is usually much larger than what gets framed out for the movie. So when they make the full screen version, instead of just cropping the widescreen frame, they simply use more of the frame from the original source. If you watched the extras on the DVD you would know that.
People jumped from the Sega consoles because they didn't feel they got their money's worth out of the previous consoles, especially after the Sega CD and the 32X. There simply were not enough games released for those systems before they were supposed to upgrade to the next system so people felt ripped off.
Now go to your local Best Buy or whatever and compare how many games are available for the GameCube versus the XBox. It probably varies, but my local Best Buy has about 50% more space for XBox games than GameCube games. EBGames.com's "Coming Soon" list shows 75 GC titles this year vs 115 XBox titles.
That's why I say that Nintendo seems to be slipping similar to how Sega was slipping, although Sega certainly lost control much faster than Nintendo is.
You need to have games to sell consoles. Nintendo has by far the best lineup of first party exclusive titles of any console, no question. But they can't do it alone. They still need good 3rd party support to really sell more consoles, and they're losing that. In order to get 3rd parties to develop games, they need to sell more consoles. It's a tough problem, and lowering their console price may fix things if it's not too late.
You'll never see Mario on another system.
:)
I saw that and I thought there was probably a time when Sega fans said "You'll never see Sonic on another system."
It's great that you love Nintendo so much. I grew up on Mario, Zelda, and Metroid, so I also have many fond Nintendo memories. However, it's clear that Nintendo is not in the best position right now, and they seem to be slipping; much like Sega years ago.
The current price drop may actually save Nintendo, though. Personally, I still like my XBox over the Gamecube, even at the current prices. But I think parents looking to buy their kids a game console this Christmas are going to see $99 Gamecube vs $179 XBox/PS2 and choose Gamecube.
It's going to be an interesting holiday season.
Bah. Personally, I think that no guns would definitely mean no gun crime.
You're right, but if you can come up with a "no guns" solution that would actually work, I'll nominate you for a Nobel prize.
Then we can focus on other killers like spears, knives, cars, etc...
My personal opinion is that better education would mean fewer stupid people.
Sega dumped by Namco
You think Sony will renew an exclusivity contract on what will then be a 3 year old game? I highly doubt it. Now, a contract on GTA 4 they may want, but I imagine that after the success of GTA 3, that will be mighty expensive. I for one think it would be funny if Rockstar announced that they were making GTA 4 for everything but the PS2 and see if Sony tries to pay them to release it for PS2. :)
This is still a rumor, but it's not a very surprising one. The contract ends when the next GTA game is released, and Sony bought the rights fairly late in the development cycle, so there probably isn't all that much left to finish it for XBox and GC. I'm not sure how well a 3 year old game will sell, but if it's cheap or has a significant amount of updates it may do alright. It may also help drive GTA 4 sales on those platforms if they are going to be released on them a short time after the PS2 release.
RAID-5 only requires 3 disks, although you can use more if you want better data protection.
So it's really 3x600GB (minimum), and since you can get 200GB IDE drives for around $200: 9 x $200 = $1800. Add in more for the controllers and I'm sure you're over $2000, but not by a lot.
Here's a site that's more or less dedicated to showing PC/LCD mods.
And here's a sweet mod that uses the exact same 5" LCD screen and puts it in a Lian-Li case.
Pretty cool lookin case mod and useful if you don't have space for full dual-monitors but also want to have winamp/instant messenger/MB Monitor/etc... running and visible but not necessarily on your main monitor.
The only way I could see this as usable for a server though is if you only have a one or two. After that it gets pretty expensive.
Actually, there's also:w s\Curre ntVersion\Run
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windo
Your Startup Folder
"All Users" Startup Folder
The Startup tab of msconfig handles all of those locations, and I think it exists on all versions of Windows (except maybe 95).
Change this registry setting: /F:ON.
/? will give you more information if you care.
"HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Command Processor\Completetion Char"
to 0x09 and TAB will work, even without
cmd
Do hot-cakes really sell that good?
Are there any public companies that are in the hot-cake business?
What are their ticker symbols?
Game level development
Most people are opposed to killing someone if they don't have to, so the fear comes from the fact that because it's non-lethal and remote, people would be more apt to use it inappropriately.
For example, say that the person who delivers my newspaper always throws my paper in the bushes. I'm certainly not going to kill him over it, but if I had one of these, I may be tempted to use it on him to "get even". I don't want to imagine what kind of effect this could have on road rage...
How many people downloaded the Abode eBook Reader and the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland eBook on Dec. 14th, 2000?
Adobe could never have bought this much interest through mere advertising... If they haven't seen this article they have to be perplexed about the sudden "interest".
So you're saying that because Slashdot gets their revenue from advertising (like television does), that people should expect less in terms of quality? That's total BS! I suppose you think that no one has the right to complain about the shoddy news reporting in the US election. After all, you're not sending a check to CNN every month.
Slashdot is a news site, and like every non-parodical news site they have an obligation to report accurate information. Anyone who has been reading slashdot for any period of time knows that inaccuracies are showing up more and more often. These kinds of things are unacceptable!
You may not be paying for slashdot out of your own pocket, but you are providing revenue for them by allowing them to advertise to you. As such you have a right to complain when the quality is substandard.
However, if you're an Anonymous Coward that uses a filter to block the ads, then of course you really do have no right to complain.