He did fine, except for seeming to get rather offended over what seemed to be a perfectly innocent question about the number of women at the installfest.
I suspect some of his bluntness has to do with simple pride in his country, annoyance at simple things (to him) that he thinks should be known already, and just his personality. He could have controlled himself a bit better, but there's not anything wrong with it really - the whole thing's pretty informal anyway.
And if you're reading this, Alaa, thanks for giving a look at the geek culture of somewhere I won't be able to go to in person for a long time, if ever.
If that is the final music, I will eat the keyboard i'm typing on - it's almost certain that the music has not been composed (fully) yet and/or they just didn't use the real music for the demo.
At any rate, the game isn't due out until 2005 sometime, so I wouldn't worry much:)
Re:Why is the GBA the center of portable gaming?
on
GPS for GBA
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
However, where mobile gaming is concern, I think GBA is quite behind other players -
Not to try and actively bash you here, but as far as general market data and public opinion appears, you are in a microscopic minority.
By way of an example or two, the hardware sales for the GBA and GBA SP combined are outstripping even the PS2 in both the US and Japan.
Contrary to what you may think by browsing some of the bigger gaming message boards, many people play the system/games they do because it's FUN, not because it has the most neato whiz-bang technical specs.
N-Gage, for example, although criticised, is actually a better platform for mobile gaming, with possibilities like bluetooth gaming and over-the-air gaming.
If you overlook all the other glaring, horrible flaws it has, maybe. Nokia is supposedly going to/has redesigned the thing, but at this point there's a mountain of negative publicity and public opinion to overcome.
And even then, simply having wireless capabilities does not make it a better platform - I understand that Nintendo will soon be releasing ( in the US ) a 2.4 Ghz wireless adapter, packaged with the Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green remakes.
This is a problem, why? They are learning art, not computer science. They are ARTISTS learning about how to create ART, using the computer as a tool (or perhaps toolbox). This art is not some excuse for these students to hone up on their computer skills and become some sort of pseudo computer geek that would appear to be more acceptable to you.
You're only proving my point further. The original poster was implying that those at art schools would partake in online forums about security issues. But, as you and I both seem to be implying, they don't generally have or need indepth knowledge about computer issues - so why would they be on those aforementioned forums?
Posts like yours aren't informative or interesting. Anyone that thinks people should have to learn how a computer works before they are 'allowed' to use one is deluded. Show me how many people know the internal workings of their car.
That wasn't really my point. I'm sorry if I didn't come across clearly enough, though.
mod'd funny... 'kay. But those art schools do actually have internet connections. And, actually, Mac users to have internet fora into wich they can gripe including mainstream medai connected forums. If this were happening it's reasonable to assume those forums and media would be abuzz about it. Perhaps this is just more M$ FUD. BK425
The original poster seemed to be implying that people at art schools would take advantage of Mac forums discussing security issues, and that's what I take issue with.
Sure, they'll download an update if it's automatic and pops up a reminder, but other than that, I can't say that 4 years of experience (and friends of that persuasion) has led me to believe most students in that field are going to be interested beyond that. That's not necessarily a bad thing for them, but the fact remains.
If this were happening it's reasonable to assume those forums and media would be abuzz about it. Perhaps this is just more M$ FUD. BK425
Have you actually talked to some art students lately? Aside from people that are actually doing computer graphics work, their computer skills (in general) are pitiful. Having a Mac does not help this - in fact, it gives them even less incentive to actually learn how their computer works beyond "double-click the cute little icon to open IE/AIM/Photoshop/etc.".
Feel free to prove me wrong, but I go to a fairly geeky school, and with a couple exceptions, I haven't really seen otherwise among the art/photo majors here.
I had way too much free time one summer a few years ago, and started to write a dungeon-crawler game similar to the style of the MUD I frequent.
I forget why I finally gave up, but got pretty far along...Had a combat system that did dice rolls for weapon damage, random monsters, and a menu system for buying equipment, etc. Amazing what you can do if you're really determined and bored:)
I'm 23, and as I mentioned in the first post, finishing college fairly soon.
As I tried to state in my first post, my comment does not apply to living in a huge city. Judging by some of your other comments, you apparently live in or nearby DC - of course $13/hr would be peanuts there. I've actually spent some time around that area (girlfriend used to live about 20 minutes away from the city), and living costs are horrendous - for example, the current rent for my waterfront apartment is less than her share to rent a townhouse was, and that was even after being split among 3 people.
If you think the rest of the country is like that, though, I pity you. You'd be amazed at how much lower costs can be in "normal" areas that aren't part of a megalopolis or major government center.
In the Central and Western NY areas where i've lived most of my life, $13/hour would be an ungodly salary to pay an average high schooler - try more like $6-8/hour, or possibly around $10 if they're lucky and doing something fairly specialized.
If you're going to respond further, please at least read my other posts first:)
It is also somewhere barely above poverty... Hell I made 12 bucks an hour when I was in school 15 years ago. Yes, I got to live like a king in a small college town. But now I have a mortgage that is 3 times what I was paying in Rent - and frankly I like my nice stuff.
Hence my first thought. Obviously my costs are going to rise some eventually. Poverty is quite subjective - that would depend completely on where you're living, your buying habits, your money management skills, and who you're trying to support.
Now if you are in school somewhere in California, or expensive towns in the North East - I feel sorry for you that you can't make money. If you are in school somewhere in the midwest - I agree 13 bucks an hour is GREAT for a college student.
You must rent a cardboard box and eat scraps from a garbage bin and steal cable and have a walkie talkie for a phone and drive a scooter to have a sizeable chunk left from that pay.
Funny. Reminds me of an argument I got into another Slashdotter on this sort of topic a while back. Like someone's already said, not everybody lives in places like Boston, NY, San Fran, etc.
I rent a nice 1-bedroom apartment (waterfront, even!) for $600/month, split with my SO. Same with utilities, usually an average of $130 or so, more lately. Cable net only ($50 for basic TV is out at the moment), phone, and gas run about $120 or so together. Food is $150-170 every 3 weeks or so.
Works for me. Oh, and if you're going to try and insult my living conditions, maybe you should make sure your webpage doesn't have an "Account Suspended, contact the billing department" notice on it;)
Maybe this will change when I finish school next year, but damn, I would kill for a salary of $13/hour at the moment.
Currently, one month's pay at that rate that would pay my rent, food, utilities, cable, phone, gas, and 6 months of car insurance, with a sizable chunk left over.
Probably couldn't support a family on that amount, granted, but for anyone (single or splitting costs) not living right near a giant city, $13/hour would be awesome.
Linux isn't all that great at sound, though the article is complete FUD. I've never had a problem running a Soundblaster card on a Linux machine. They always autodetect fine. And since Soundblaster is about the most common soundcard on the market...
Then you're quite lucky. Personally, my SB Live PCI128 has never worked quite right under Linux - at times it will just start or stop outputting sound for no apparent reason, or require that I mess with switching between 3 different sound systems before it works again.
At any rate, I've hardly ever had a linux machine with a soundcard in it. I hardly ever have the GUI enabled. If I want to play games, I use my windoze box...that's what it's there for, to be a toy.
Yes, i'm getting the idea quite quickly.
That's what Windows is for. Not to do anything real, or useful. Can't check your email on it, or browse the internet without worrying that its executing code from every damn website, or that its autorunning attachments.
Forgive me for being blunt, but if that's true, you:
A) Are someone that has a very tenuous grasp on safe computing practices, and shouldn't really be using a computer at all, much less one with Linux.
B) As you seem to be - hopelessly biased against Windows, so much so that you won't acknowledge the extremely simple solutions to the problems you mention - use Mozilla instead of IE/Outlook, and don't open strange attachments, no matter who they come from. Doing so, and using my head in general, I have not gotten a single virus on my system in 7 years and counting.
Doesn't come with any useful compilers or development tools.
And this matters to normal desktop users (and even some non-normal ones) why, exactly? News flash - not everyone who uses a computer is a freakin' programmer. I don't know why so many Linux advocates seem to think this way, and it's one of the major factors keeping Linux from widespread desktop adoption, I think.
The included webserver sucks.
So don't use it. Last I checked, Apache has a Win32 version. You seem to be looking for any reason to do some Windows-bashing, though, not suprised you'd neglect to mention that.
Windows is a toy, and it has always been a toy, and the fact that people are looking at a kick-ass powertool and complaining that it's not a toy is absurd.
Man...With people like you promoting that "kick-ass powertool", how could users not be flocking to Linux in droves, eh? For the love of $DIETY, if you're going to attempt to advocate something, get some damned tact first.
I would just like to interject into your little rant here, and let you that, for the last 2 years now, I have not watched and do not watch ANY TV, excluding random stuff that I download.
There are probably only 3 or 4 channels I actually like, and I refuse to pay Time Warner another $50/month for channels I will never use.
That said, there is value in some TV programming, and as I tried to say before, insulting people and calling them idiots simply because they don't abstain completely is itself idiotic.
How the hell can the kids have a hope at reducing viewing, or dumping TV altogether, when the adults around them come up with excuses to not give up the idiot box for just one damn week?
Yeah, that's a great way to get people to participate - get angry, act annoyed about the shows they watch, and call it the "idiot box".
I don't think the lack of joy at your requests should be suprising in the least.
Hollywood? Stick to a storyline? As if. Don't worry, I'm sure they'll "reimagine" it for us.
Yeah, probably, but i'll hope for the best.
Ok, so we see a bunch of teens on the ship. We have no idea who it's going to be. I just suggested training because it seemed obvious. But any sort of flashback done in such a way as to confuse you would be fine.
Well, if that happens, then they've already massively diverged from the existing source material, and I won't even bother watching the movie.
If they stick even close to the storyline laid out by Nintendo - Samus was orphaned after a space pirate attack on her colony world, and taken in by the Chozo soon after, who gave her the power suit, an infusion of Chozo blood, and all that fun stuff.
No training at all there, really, except for possibly her with the Chozo as a young/teen girl.
Sorry to break this to you, but the vast majority of home desktop PC users already have copies of Windows installed that were either free or included in the cost of something else. While they did pay for it one way or another, it's a one-time cost. As such, you're really reaching to insinuate that WMP somehow actually costs $150.
That's like saying that you have to have a computer to run it as well, so better factor that cost into all the software you get too. Oh, and you have to pay for electricity to run the system, and rent to have somewhere to put it all...See where i'm going?
Hopefully you believe one of the Winamp team below, but just for another check: My system was clean before installing, and afterwards, full scans with updated Ad-Aware and Spybot turned up...Not a trace of Gator anywhere.
Methinks you better learn how to keep that spyware junk off your system first, before you go blaming programs and people that had absolutely nothing to do with it.
"Suddenly I see that indelable name and address etc burned into the steel case in a whole different light, making these things at least a little trackable should they ever be recovered by police or offered for sale on EBay etc..."
Sure. Then the mugger sees your name and address burned into the iPod, thinks "Gee, if this guy can drop $300 on a music player, he must have lots of neat stuff!", and pays you another visit a few days later.
Any sort of creative control that Nintendo exercises over the content of the games on their system is a bad thing.
Depends if it's for the purpose of increasing quality or, in your words, to create "Disneyfied" games. It's a case-by-case deal, not something where you just say "Hands off!" and that's it.
Sure its their right, as the console manufacturer, to enforce this Disneyfied vision on their developers, but it hurts them with other markets... like people who eventually get sick of MarioKart's colour scheme.
Okay, i'm trying not to get too annoyed, but you're being quite confusing here. Since you mention Mario Kart and it's color scheme for some reason, we'll go with that.
First of all, the latest Mario Kart game (and the two before them) were all first-party Nintendo titles, meaning they didn't force a vision on anyone but themselves. You may argue that they're still stifling their in-house developers, but that's not really what we're worried about at the moment.
Secondly, I really fail to understand how having a similar color scheme across games in a series is a problem in the first place. Even if it is/was, it's certainly not confined to Nintendo alone.
And lastly, i'm curious who you mean, exactly, by "people who eventually get sick of MarioKart's colour scheme.". Would that include the teenaged segment of the population that worships stuff like Halo, GTA3, or DOA: Extreme Volleyball?
Again, if your sole reason for not playing a game is embarassment over a bright, colorful color scheme or oddball premise, maybe you should think about how mature you really are.
Sony has it right. Games are so mainstream now, they must be treated like movies - and more importantly, art, when warranted. Put a rating on the thing and stay the hell out of the creative. It stunts the available offerings.
Oh, Sony and many of the developers for the PS2 are treating games like movies in more ways than one, especially the more high-profile RPG's.
If you have a PS2, go rent Xenosaga, and you'll see exactly what I mean. Namco's still cool and all, but gawd...The game is best described as a series of up to 45-minute cutscenes where you occasionally get to play the game a bit inbetween. The cutscenes are skippable, but if you're going to miss huge chunks of story, what's the point of even playing?
Anyway, when it comes down to it, if you think a game's fun, just play it. Personally, I think life's too short to miss a good gaming experience just because it might look a bit cutesy.
Nintendo needs to get over the gaming is for kids only thing, but they've made and continue to make some quality games.
The people that think Nintendo only promotes "kiddie" gaming are the same ones that won't play a game because they think their friends will laugh at them, playing something with bright colors and/or bouncy music is embarassing, etc.
I realize you're not (directly) bashing Nintendo, but this rubbish that they only target little kids needs to stop. Just because they make games without massive blood, violence, or sex does not make them any less mature or enjoyable.
Well, I hate to break it to you, but what's stopping TW/Charter/Cox/etc. from charging you $3/channel (or pick your favorite insane amount) on the a la carte plan? They will still be (essentially) a monopoly.
So? Considering I only watch(ed) 4 or 5 channels with any regularity, paying $3 per channel would be a godsend compared to the $50/month TW wants to charge for basic cable - which includes tons of channels i'd never use. Even if I got 10 channels instead of 4 or 5, it'd still be almost half the price.
I do agree that starvation of niche channels would quickly present a problem, but as it stands, I can't afford to watch anything right now because of the insane rates they're already charging. Gotta take things one step at a time, I suppose.
I run Win2k, with DX9, and use the multimedia functions of my card all the time, but have never seen this black screen of death? Must be an XP thing
Heck, i've used XP for 2 years now, and I can still count the number of blue/black screens i've seen on one hand.
To the original poster: Frankly, you shouldn't be blaming anyone but yourself if you're not competent enough to get Windows running fairly stable and virus-free. It's not all that hard if you can get past the irrational bias.
I know you're just joking around, but really...If you're using Win 2000 or XP and it bluescreens THAT much, you either have some serious hardware problems or something badly misconfigured.
This perception that Windows can't go 5 seconds without a BSOD is just silly.
Slashdot Mirror
He did fine, except for seeming to get rather offended over what seemed to be a perfectly innocent question about the number of women at the installfest.
I suspect some of his bluntness has to do with simple pride in his country, annoyance at simple things (to him) that he thinks should be known already, and just his personality. He could have controlled himself a bit better, but there's not anything wrong with it really - the whole thing's pretty informal anyway.
And if you're reading this, Alaa, thanks for giving a look at the geek culture of somewhere I won't be able to go to in person for a long time, if ever.
If that is the final music, I will eat the keyboard i'm typing on - it's almost certain that the music has not been composed (fully) yet and/or they just didn't use the real music for the demo.
:)
At any rate, the game isn't due out until 2005 sometime, so I wouldn't worry much
However, where mobile gaming is concern, I think GBA is quite behind other players -
Not to try and actively bash you here, but as far as general market data and public opinion appears, you are in a microscopic minority.
By way of an example or two, the hardware sales for the GBA and GBA SP combined are outstripping even the PS2 in both the US and Japan.
Contrary to what you may think by browsing some of the bigger gaming message boards, many people play the system/games they do because it's FUN, not because it has the most neato whiz-bang technical specs.
N-Gage, for example, although criticised, is actually a better platform for mobile gaming, with possibilities like bluetooth gaming and over-the-air gaming.
If you overlook all the other glaring, horrible flaws it has, maybe. Nokia is supposedly going to/has redesigned the thing, but at this point there's a mountain of negative publicity and public opinion to overcome.
And even then, simply having wireless capabilities does not make it a better platform - I understand that Nintendo will soon be releasing ( in the US ) a 2.4 Ghz wireless adapter, packaged with the Pokemon Fire Red and Leaf Green remakes.
This is a problem, why? They are learning art, not computer science. They are ARTISTS learning about how to create ART, using the computer as a tool (or perhaps toolbox). This art is not some excuse for these students to hone up on their computer skills and become some sort of pseudo computer geek that would appear to be more acceptable to you.
You're only proving my point further. The original poster was implying that those at art schools would partake in online forums about security issues. But, as you and I both seem to be implying, they don't generally have or need indepth knowledge about computer issues - so why would they be on those aforementioned forums?
Posts like yours aren't informative or interesting. Anyone that thinks people should have to learn how a computer works before they are 'allowed' to use one is deluded. Show me how many people know the internal workings of their car.
That wasn't really my point. I'm sorry if I didn't come across clearly enough, though.
mod'd funny... 'kay. But those art schools do actually have internet connections. And, actually, Mac users to have internet fora into wich they can gripe including mainstream medai connected forums. If this were happening it's reasonable to assume those forums and media would be abuzz about it. Perhaps this is just more M$ FUD. BK425
The original poster seemed to be implying that people at art schools would take advantage of Mac forums discussing security issues, and that's what I take issue with.
Sure, they'll download an update if it's automatic and pops up a reminder, but other than that, I can't say that 4 years of experience (and friends of that persuasion) has led me to believe most students in that field are going to be interested beyond that. That's not necessarily a bad thing for them, but the fact remains.
If this were happening it's reasonable to assume those forums and media would be abuzz about it. Perhaps this is just more M$ FUD. BK425
Have you actually talked to some art students lately? Aside from people that are actually doing computer graphics work, their computer skills (in general) are pitiful. Having a Mac does not help this - in fact, it gives them even less incentive to actually learn how their computer works beyond "double-click the cute little icon to open IE/AIM/Photoshop/etc.".
Feel free to prove me wrong, but I go to a fairly geeky school, and with a couple exceptions, I haven't really seen otherwise among the art/photo majors here.
Sorta.
:)
I had way too much free time one summer a few years ago, and started to write a dungeon-crawler game similar to the style of the MUD I frequent.
I forget why I finally gave up, but got pretty far along...Had a combat system that did dice rolls for weapon damage, random monsters, and a menu system for buying equipment, etc. Amazing what you can do if you're really determined and bored
I'm 23, and as I mentioned in the first post, finishing college fairly soon.
:)
As I tried to state in my first post, my comment does not apply to living in a huge city. Judging by some of your other comments, you apparently live in or nearby DC - of course $13/hr would be peanuts there. I've actually spent some time around that area (girlfriend used to live about 20 minutes away from the city), and living costs are horrendous - for example, the current rent for my waterfront apartment is less than her share to rent a townhouse was, and that was even after being split among 3 people.
If you think the rest of the country is like that, though, I pity you. You'd be amazed at how much lower costs can be in "normal" areas that aren't part of a megalopolis or major government center.
In the Central and Western NY areas where i've lived most of my life, $13/hour would be an ungodly salary to pay an average high schooler - try more like $6-8/hour, or possibly around $10 if they're lucky and doing something fairly specialized.
If you're going to respond further, please at least read my other posts first
It is also somewhere barely above poverty... Hell I made 12 bucks an hour when I was in school 15 years ago. Yes, I got to live like a king in a small college town. But now I have a mortgage that is 3 times what I was paying in Rent - and frankly I like my nice stuff.
Hence my first thought. Obviously my costs are going to rise some eventually. Poverty is quite subjective - that would depend completely on where you're living, your buying habits, your money management skills, and who you're trying to support.
Now if you are in school somewhere in California, or expensive towns in the North East - I feel sorry for you that you can't make money. If you are in school somewhere in the midwest - I agree 13 bucks an hour is GREAT for a college student.
Western New York (for the moment).
You must rent a cardboard box and eat scraps from a garbage bin and steal cable and have a walkie talkie for a phone and drive a scooter to have a sizeable chunk left from that pay.
;)
Funny. Reminds me of an argument I got into another Slashdotter on this sort of topic a while back. Like someone's already said, not everybody lives in places like Boston, NY, San Fran, etc.
I rent a nice 1-bedroom apartment (waterfront, even!) for $600/month, split with my SO. Same with utilities, usually an average of $130 or so, more lately. Cable net only ($50 for basic TV is out at the moment), phone, and gas run about $120 or so together. Food is $150-170 every 3 weeks or so.
Works for me. Oh, and if you're going to try and insult my living conditions, maybe you should make sure your webpage doesn't have an "Account Suspended, contact the billing department" notice on it
Maybe this will change when I finish school next year, but damn, I would kill for a salary of $13/hour at the moment.
Currently, one month's pay at that rate that would pay my rent, food, utilities, cable, phone, gas, and 6 months of car insurance, with a sizable chunk left over.
Probably couldn't support a family on that amount, granted, but for anyone (single or splitting costs) not living right near a giant city, $13/hour would be awesome.
Linux isn't all that great at sound, though the article is complete FUD. I've never had a problem running a Soundblaster card on a Linux machine. They always autodetect fine. And since Soundblaster is about the most common soundcard on the market...
Then you're quite lucky. Personally, my SB Live PCI128 has never worked quite right under Linux - at times it will just start or stop outputting sound for no apparent reason, or require that I mess with switching between 3 different sound systems before it works again.
At any rate, I've hardly ever had a linux machine with a soundcard in it. I hardly ever have the GUI enabled. If I want to play games, I use my windoze box...that's what it's there for, to be a toy.
Yes, i'm getting the idea quite quickly.
That's what Windows is for. Not to do anything real, or useful. Can't check your email on it, or browse the internet without worrying that its executing code from every damn website, or that its autorunning attachments.
Forgive me for being blunt, but if that's true, you:
A) Are someone that has a very tenuous grasp on safe computing practices, and shouldn't really be using a computer at all, much less one with Linux.
B) As you seem to be - hopelessly biased against Windows, so much so that you won't acknowledge the extremely simple solutions to the problems you mention - use Mozilla instead of IE/Outlook, and don't open strange attachments, no matter who they come from. Doing so, and using my head in general, I have not gotten a single virus on my system in 7 years and counting.
Doesn't come with any useful compilers or development tools.
And this matters to normal desktop users (and even some non-normal ones) why, exactly? News flash - not everyone who uses a computer is a freakin' programmer. I don't know why so many Linux advocates seem to think this way, and it's one of the major factors keeping Linux from widespread desktop adoption, I think.
The included webserver sucks.
So don't use it. Last I checked, Apache has a Win32 version. You seem to be looking for any reason to do some Windows-bashing, though, not suprised you'd neglect to mention that.
Windows is a toy, and it has always been a toy, and the fact that people are looking at a kick-ass powertool and complaining that it's not a toy is absurd.
Man...With people like you promoting that "kick-ass powertool", how could users not be flocking to Linux in droves, eh? For the love of $DIETY, if you're going to attempt to advocate something, get some damned tact first.
I would just like to interject into your little rant here, and let you that, for the last 2 years now, I have not watched and do not watch ANY TV, excluding random stuff that I download.
There are probably only 3 or 4 channels I actually like, and I refuse to pay Time Warner another $50/month for channels I will never use.
That said, there is value in some TV programming, and as I tried to say before, insulting people and calling them idiots simply because they don't abstain completely is itself idiotic.
How the hell can the kids have a hope at reducing viewing, or dumping TV altogether, when the adults around them come up with excuses to not give up the idiot box for just one damn week?
Yeah, that's a great way to get people to participate - get angry, act annoyed about the shows they watch, and call it the "idiot box".
I don't think the lack of joy at your requests should be suprising in the least.
Hollywood? Stick to a storyline? As if. Don't worry, I'm sure they'll "reimagine" it for us.
Yeah, probably, but i'll hope for the best.
Ok, so we see a bunch of teens on the ship. We have no idea who it's going to be. I just suggested training because it seemed obvious. But any sort of flashback done in such a way as to confuse you would be fine.
Well, if that happens, then they've already massively diverged from the existing source material, and I won't even bother watching the movie.
Umm, actually, that won't (or shouldn't) happen.
If they stick even close to the storyline laid out by Nintendo - Samus was orphaned after a space pirate attack on her colony world, and taken in by the Chozo soon after, who gave her the power suit, an infusion of Chozo blood, and all that fun stuff.
No training at all there, really, except for possibly her with the Chozo as a young/teen girl.
Sorry to break this to you, but the vast majority of home desktop PC users already have copies of Windows installed that were either free or included in the cost of something else. While they did pay for it one way or another, it's a one-time cost. As such, you're really reaching to insinuate that WMP somehow actually costs $150.
That's like saying that you have to have a computer to run it as well, so better factor that cost into all the software you get too. Oh, and you have to pay for electricity to run the system, and rent to have somewhere to put it all...See where i'm going?
Hopefully you believe one of the Winamp team below, but just for another check: My system was clean before installing, and afterwards, full scans with updated Ad-Aware and Spybot turned up...Not a trace of Gator anywhere.
Methinks you better learn how to keep that spyware junk off your system first, before you go blaming programs and people that had absolutely nothing to do with it.
"Suddenly I see that indelable name and address etc burned into the steel case in a whole different light, making these things at least a little trackable should they ever be recovered by police or offered for sale on EBay etc..."
Sure. Then the mugger sees your name and address burned into the iPod, thinks "Gee, if this guy can drop $300 on a music player, he must have lots of neat stuff!", and pays you another visit a few days later.
Any sort of creative control that Nintendo exercises over the content of the games on their system is a bad thing.
Depends if it's for the purpose of increasing quality or, in your words, to create "Disneyfied" games. It's a case-by-case deal, not something where you just say "Hands off!" and that's it.
Sure its their right, as the console manufacturer, to enforce this Disneyfied vision on their developers, but it hurts them with other markets... like people who eventually get sick of MarioKart's colour scheme.
Okay, i'm trying not to get too annoyed, but you're being quite confusing here. Since you mention Mario Kart and it's color scheme for some reason, we'll go with that.
First of all, the latest Mario Kart game (and the two before them) were all first-party Nintendo titles, meaning they didn't force a vision on anyone but themselves. You may argue that they're still stifling their in-house developers, but that's not really what we're worried about at the moment.
Secondly, I really fail to understand how having a similar color scheme across games in a series is a problem in the first place. Even if it is/was, it's certainly not confined to Nintendo alone.
And lastly, i'm curious who you mean, exactly, by "people who eventually get sick of MarioKart's colour scheme.". Would that include the teenaged segment of the population that worships stuff like Halo, GTA3, or DOA: Extreme Volleyball?
Again, if your sole reason for not playing a game is embarassment over a bright, colorful color scheme or oddball premise, maybe you should think about how mature you really are.
Sony has it right. Games are so mainstream now, they must be treated like movies - and more importantly, art, when warranted. Put a rating on the thing and stay the hell out of the creative. It stunts the available offerings.
Oh, Sony and many of the developers for the PS2 are treating games like movies in more ways than one, especially the more high-profile RPG's.
If you have a PS2, go rent Xenosaga, and you'll see exactly what I mean. Namco's still cool and all, but gawd...The game is best described as a series of up to 45-minute cutscenes where you occasionally get to play the game a bit inbetween. The cutscenes are skippable, but if you're going to miss huge chunks of story, what's the point of even playing?
Anyway, when it comes down to it, if you think a game's fun, just play it. Personally, I think life's too short to miss a good gaming experience just because it might look a bit cutesy.
Nintendo needs to get over the gaming is for kids only thing, but they've made and continue to make some quality games.
The people that think Nintendo only promotes "kiddie" gaming are the same ones that won't play a game because they think their friends will laugh at them, playing something with bright colors and/or bouncy music is embarassing, etc.
And yet again, this PA comic is appropriate.
I realize you're not (directly) bashing Nintendo, but this rubbish that they only target little kids needs to stop. Just because they make games without massive blood, violence, or sex does not make them any less mature or enjoyable.
Well, I hate to break it to you, but what's stopping TW/Charter/Cox/etc. from charging you $3/channel (or pick your favorite insane amount) on the a la carte plan? They will still be (essentially) a monopoly.
So? Considering I only watch(ed) 4 or 5 channels with any regularity, paying $3 per channel would be a godsend compared to the $50/month TW wants to charge for basic cable - which includes tons of channels i'd never use. Even if I got 10 channels instead of 4 or 5, it'd still be almost half the price.
I do agree that starvation of niche channels would quickly present a problem, but as it stands, I can't afford to watch anything right now because of the insane rates they're already charging. Gotta take things one step at a time, I suppose.
Hell, I live in NY state, and this is the first i've heard of it, online or the radio.
I run Win2k, with DX9, and use the multimedia functions of my card all the time, but have never seen this black screen of death? Must be an XP thing
Heck, i've used XP for 2 years now, and I can still count the number of blue/black screens i've seen on one hand.
To the original poster: Frankly, you shouldn't be blaming anyone but yourself if you're not competent enough to get Windows running fairly stable and virus-free. It's not all that hard if you can get past the irrational bias.
I know you're just joking around, but really...If you're using Win 2000 or XP and it bluescreens THAT much, you either have some serious hardware problems or something badly misconfigured.
This perception that Windows can't go 5 seconds without a BSOD is just silly.