Just add RFID support to the things. Each iPhone owner gets an RFID patch they put somewhere on their body that's encoded with a key specific to their iPhone. If the iPhone detects that it's been both moved out of range of it's owner and that it's moving around beyond a certain threshold, it sends an unpleasent 10,000 volt jolt through the metal backing into the thief's hand. If that doesn't work, and movement is still detected, it then destroy's it's own SIM, wipes the memory and locks up the phone until it's taken/sent to an Apple certified dealer for repair. All the dealer has to do is run a check on the iPhone's serial number and verify the owner is actually the person who brought in the locked unit.
How soon until the **AA cartels begin accusing users of Apple's Garageband (or other loop layering tools) of similar offenses... especially once a few of these users songs that incorporate these loop fragments become part of the **AA's collection? Will other users who just happen to layer a couple loops in a similar manner suddenly be infringing upon the RIAA's copyrights, despite the fact that the loops themselves are royalty free?
And what of loop layering tools in general that can accept audio from sources other than those included with the software itself? Could these tools be made illegal since their existence both encourages users to sample external audio sources and facilitates the distribution of these samples in a user's "creation"?
Combined with the call for mandatory DRMing on podcasts, this could get very ugly for anyone who even thinks of trying to create music outside of the **AA's control.
Why do we even have internet-connected computers in our schools? What is so different today that children can't possibly learn anything without the aid of the internet? I seemed to have gotten by just fine during my school years without the internet being there at the time!
If it's really so vital to keep our students wired, then why not just pre-download all of the content needed for the curriculum and host it locally on a local intranet instead? That way you know for sure exactly what data is on the system at any given moment. There is nothing technology wise that couldn't be hosted locally, while still giving the students the experience needed to interact with those technologies.
The sheer stupidity of relying on cheesy little "filters" to protect you from every possible threat the internet might throw at you is simply blinding!
"If you're not doing anything wrong, what do you have to hide?"
It's that kind of thinking that's been destroying our country's struggle of over 200 years to prevent the ideology of "guilt before proven innocent" from taking over, when our country's government is supposed to serve the people, rather than persecute the people.
Aren't there certain laws about stationary, always-on cameras that dictates how one can use them? Despite the fact that there is no expectation of privacy in public, specifically pointing a fixed camera at another person's house for the sole purpose of monitoring their activity is probably illegal in a lot of states. (Especially since law enforcement officials used to require a warrant for such activities.)
Somehow, I doubt putting a tiny "you are being watched" sticker in your window is going to save your ass in court.
The VEX robot kit is definitely worth a look for anyone wanting to experiment in robotic design, outside of the Lego-based options. It's sort of a "smart" erector set with loads of sensors and parts to choose from (including 3rd party customizations).
How about a trade-in program so those of us with the original NES/SNES/N64/Sega/NEC game cartridges can exchange the old physical game carts for their Wii virtual console counterparts? That way, these aging game carts can be collected at a centralized location and recycled (as in real recycling, not the "sprawl the toxic parts on the ground of a third world country" type). They could also offer such a service to recycle old consoles as well, and then credit the user 500-1000 points for each console they send in.
15-20 years worth of games/consoles adds up to one hell of a lot landfill space.
Considering just how many differing opinions and conflicts appear on the internet each day alone, you can just imagine the chaos that would cause trying to coordinate that mess within a hive mind situation. Unless a setup like this is extremely low-level hardware communicating each neuron independently of the individual's personality and mindset, I doubt it could be used efficiently. (Let alone safely.)
Obviously, the stuff we learn during life has to be stored somewhere within the brain. If a system like this can do something as creepy as accessing specific neurons/neuron sets as easily as computers can access various memory registers, and then insert, copy or remove information from those areas in addition to basic data processing, the potential risks would be to dangerous to use on the human body.
Risks could range anywhere between identity theft, to brain piracy to coma/death from brain viruses or "crashing" the brain itself by accidentally altering the neurons the wrong way.
As cool as a hive mind type setup might seem, I think I'll keep the networked hardware outside of my body. No reason we can't be satisfied augmented reality and passive, non-invasive communication with the brain, alone.
That aside though, implantable, non-networked hardware could have some nice benefits. For example, imagine if you could have math-coprocessor to perform the heavy lifting of calulating large, complicated number sets, while leaving the rest of your mind free to use the results in some innovative, creative way. Or, how about a form of long term data storage that's far more reliable than your brain, and can record data from your various senses about a particular event in an entirely objective manner... rather than being altered by your flawed "perception" of that event?
At any rate, we may eventually start altering our brains through external means in the near future, but the brainnetworking stuff would just be too much.
You do realize by my username that I myself am an avid Mac fan, right?
I'm not suggesting in the least that I personally *want* the Mac to end up as little more than just another Windows-running clone, but I'm not foolish enough to ignore the trends I'm seeing throughout the community. Apple wants to push the PowerPC line into an early grave. Once they have achieved that goal, all reason to support both OS platforms needlessly will die with it. They're all running identical hardware, regardless of the brand name sticker on the casing, so why not push your customers into using the same OS used by the majority to cut development costs? All it'd take is enough developers to do it for the userbase to simply accepted it as the norm. Most users are just too lazy to take the steps needed to prevent such activity. (aside from pointless online petitions.)
It's the same methodology used by the **AA cartels and their major partners to control what Apple can or can't charge the end user for a song/tv show/movie, yet we happily bend over and take it for the convenience of instant gratification. Until we become more willing to show some patience for the latest and greatest must-have items, this is just how things will be. (Not unlike the near riots over the PS3 a few weks ago.)
Remember, Apple is a hardware manufacturer first and software developer second. If it takes selling Windows pre-installed to move Macs out the door... they will do it.
I do strongly feel this may well describe the future state of the Macintosh in general. Look at sites like Mac Gamer, and you'll see a steady decline in the updates to these sites since the Intel Macs went mainstream. It almost seems like the Mac game developers/porters have thrown in the towel and have acknowledged that the majority of their previous customer base would rather install Windows on their shiny new Macs, rather than wait the usual six months for them to produce a native Mac OS X port.
If gaming on the Mac has eroded to this lowly state, it can't be long until other markets are affected too. Developers of several popular multimedia/graphics/productivity tools that have maintained multiple code bases over the years may finally decide to kill off their Mac versions to cut costs, once armed with the knowledge that the average Mac user can simply be coerced into buying a copy of Windows and installing it via a Bootcamp-like utility. Before long, Apple may well have to break down and start to officially sell Macs with Windows pre-installed to remain competative in the PC market.
Eventually, being a "Mac user" could mean little more than "someone who uses the Mac OS for file management, internet activity and itunes, and uses Windows for everything else". Granted the integration may be tighter between the two OSes, but it'll still end up with Mac users paying royalties to Microsoft in the end... either for Windows, or the necessary APIs needed to ensure complete compatibility.
In a few years, Apple will be as generic a name brand as IBM, Dell or HP.
... which bears an odd similarity to the "heathen hunting" game featured in the Simspons several years ago.
If only all religions would go SCRATCH (ala Cowboy Bebop), so the rest of us reasonable individuals could regain control of the world before humanity destroys itself over some foolish religious idealogies.
It's ridiculous to think Nintendo is even trying to overtake a position on the Next-Gen console front. The Wii maybe the "next biggest thing" from them, but it's not designed to be the end-all product the PS3 or Xbox 360 are... at least no more than the DS is intended to be the true successor to the Gameboy line. Like the DS, the Wii is simply an experimental product intended to prevent the game industry from stagnating itself into oblivion, while also not costing an arm and a leg in the process.
Let's face it, consumers do want a Nintendo handheld that can compete with the PSP in terms of raw power. Obviously, the technology is already available for Nintendo to develop such a device, but it can't yet be produced inexpensively or meet the the guidelines of portability Nintendo demands in its products, to be viable. This doesn't mean Nintendo won't develop such a product eventually, but they're going to demand it to be at least as portable and rugged as the GBA SP, with enough battery life to last around 20hrs between charges... none of which the PSP lives up to. Once these demands can be met for a low enough price, Nintendo will probably release a new version of the gameboy, probably matching the PSPs current graphical and storage capabilities closely, while at the same time avoiding the awkward nature of the DS's stylus based interface. The same will be true of the Wii a few years from now, when a true gamecube follow-up is produced to compete on equal footing with the 360 and the PS3.
Until then, both the DS and the Wii are decent enough placeholders to give Nintendo the time they need for the technology costs and advancements needed reach the levels they want.
If you check out the iSight section of Apple's online store, the iSight itself is nowhere to be found. I noticed this a few days ago, thinking it may just indicate an update was coming at the next MacWorld event a couple weeks from now. However, I'm starting to think this issue may well be a factor toward its seemingly sudden disappearance from Apple's website.
Not to delve into the TRON MPC territory here, but I've heard there may actually be a few AI research programs in progress that have shown signs of becoming increasingly tempermental of humans as they continue to learn and develop. While such an AI would probably never end up in a system that could pose any realistic threat to human life, it is a bit creepy to think that if one of these AI systems would ever become sentient, its first reaction toward humanity might be one of malice and hatred.
Is my Roomba going to become a "pusher" robot every time I go near the stairs, simply for shedding a few skinflakes and eyelashes on its precious floor?
In my experience, the number of people I'm exposed to while in a good mood is far greater than it is when I'm not in a good mood. Statistically, it seems like happier people should be far more likely to get sick.
Perhaps this may be dictated more by *who* we're exposed to depending on our mood, rather than by our mood itself.
For example, a happy person is probably more likely to go to a random place for entertain among others upon impulse, while unhappy people may be more likely to either be around one or two close friends/relatives or they simply remain alone.
Another point of interest would be to see how many of these happy/unhappy people had recently been to a doctor's office or knew someone that had been they had contact with.
The inclusion of the wrist strap may have actually been *too* innovative for the user. Instead of it being just a typical remote like the ones we've been using for the last 30+ years, the Wii controller gave users an unspoken excuse to be lazy or irresponsible in handling it, simply because the wrist strap gave them that extra freedom.
If the Wii controller had never had a wrist strap in the first place, doesn't it seem obvious that the users would simply be more cautious in its use entirely out of habit?
The lawsuit may have *some* merit to it, but for a much, much different reason than the one being used in this case.
I wasn't specifically trying to single out Microsoft, in this particular case. In fact, I'd like this to become a sucessful business model for independent developers on the 360. The 360's XBox Live Arcade simply doesn't grow fast enough, despite how well designed their system is.
The problem I'm curious about, is that I've seen many of these proprietary development systems come out over the years that would eventually screw over the developers. They'd limit the potential audience to only a select few who owned the proper developer kit or dongle. After that, the path pretty much became a dead end street.
If I spent hundreds or thousands on development software/hardware, I'd certainly want some assurance that I could allow anyone with a normal version of the console I'm developing for to be able to play the game I created, so my friends/relatives could try it out for themselves without having to jump through a bunch of hoops.
Luckily, it sounds like XNA may actually be a step in the right direction, for a change.
Saying something is "too complicated" doesn't necessarily imply it'll go away. Knowing Microsoft and the **AA groups, DRM may eventually shift to a form where it seems transparent to the end user, but is actually acting against the user's wishes in the background whenever the user attempts to defy the DRM scheme's rule set.
For example, a DRM'ed file may appear to "copy" when the user issues the command to do so. But after the operation is completed, the user will simply get a rude awakening in the form of a message on whatever device or program their using saying that the original file was copy protected with a link to a webpage on Microsoft's website claiming that the copy didn't work because they were either trying to pirate the content or because they failed to use an approved piece of software to handle the copy operation for them.
In short, it will probably be some method that passively harrasses the user into relinquishing control of their computer to Microsoft or some other "approved" company.
Just on the outside chance that there is no "catch" to using XNA, there are ways Microsoft could embrace independent game development to it's full potential.
One possible method, would be to introduce a special section on XBox Live Arcade specifically for allowing end users to try out independently developed games. They could set up a sort of "Independent Game Developer of the Week" contest, where the best designed game gets a full week of distribution onto the Xbox Live Arcade. Once downloaded, these games would have an expiration date on them, at which point the game is removed from the user's console once the time has elapsed. Microsoft could then use Xbox Live to track each game's popularity and overall usage to determine whether or not to buy the rights to the game outright and make it a permanent addition to the Xbox Live Arcade's library.
I've been hearing a lot about XNA lately, but I'm curious if the licensing only allows you to share your creations with other XNA developers. At what point does the average consumer get to try out these independent games for themselves? Also, who ultimately owns the content you create using these tools? As inexpensive as Microsoft is making XNA for all the aspiring developers out there, I'd imagine there's probably some benefits Microsoft is going to gain from offering XNA other than mere bragging rights.
Will some of these developers one day find their creations suddenly assimilated into the Xbox Live Arcade under a completely different title with no mention of their name in the credits?
I definitely agree with the parent post. Without understanding things like basic algebra or how to plan out an algorithm before even coding it, you won't get past "Hello, World" with most of them. You can't assume they'll already know this stuff or have any programming experience.
Try a few exercises away from the computer where the students can learn without the pressure of a blinking cursor demanding some kind of input from them right off the bat. Look at things that are popular in their culture such as games and have them try to break the rules of each game down to instructional steps, as well think about the thought process that goes into planning a move, and then explain it in instructional terms... all of it in plain english.
Another good one, is learning how to sort various forms of data, along with the numerous ways one can achieve a sort (such as the bubble sort). A great physical example of sorting are things like the Towers of Hanoi puzzle (the one with the disks and three pegs), or a deck of playing cards.
Pushing an entire programming language on someone before they know the basics of how programs function will only scare or frustrate them... especially when they have the prospect of a failing grade looming overhead.
Get them thinking outside the box before putting them *in* one.
Actually, I always thought a spin-off of Stargate based on the campy "Wormhole Xtreme" series used in the show could offer some interesting possibilities. Granted it might only last a season at most, but Sci-Fi could easily polish it up to something on the level of their cheesy low-budget movies they show every couple weeks.
For example, instead using of a military trained crew, they could have a completely random set of civilians who accidentally become unwitting participants, ala Sliders, where they have to contend with both each other and each world they end up on. It could also play on the campy nature of various sci-fi shows from the 1960s-1980s (like Star Trek: TOS or the original Battlestar Galactica), where things just work out for no reason other than to advance the plot.
It'd be a nice break from the mind-numbing geek speak of Amanda Tapping/Micheal Shanks characters. It's just walk into a problem specific to the episode, fixing it and returning, only to start again next week.
The quality of any product is directly proportional to the product's "traditional" popularity, lack of compatibility with competing products and price.
So, it makes sense that once Microsoft has you locked into using their products without any easy way out and can offer them to you for practically little-to-no cost so long as every machine in your company is Microsoft controlled by contract (under penalty of the "Microsoft Tax" for non-compliance), that people both use microsoft products and hate them at the same time.
Money talks, and no one (short of Walmart) speaks the language any better than Microsoft.
Sounds like just one more example of one's desired conclusion ultimately altering the testing conditions and results to match. Seems to be almost a disease in this country.
That musical number from the episode "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back", where Hermes is sorting the Master "In" pile, is easily one of the best sequences of the entire series. Between the song and the quality of the animation involved, I can only begin to imagine the number of hours that were needed for the planning and execution of that one single sequence.
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Just add RFID support to the things. Each iPhone owner gets an RFID patch they put somewhere on their body that's encoded with a key specific to their iPhone. If the iPhone detects that it's been both moved out of range of it's owner and that it's moving around beyond a certain threshold, it sends an unpleasent 10,000 volt jolt through the metal backing into the thief's hand. If that doesn't work, and movement is still detected, it then destroy's it's own SIM, wipes the memory and locks up the phone until it's taken/sent to an Apple certified dealer for repair. All the dealer has to do is run a check on the iPhone's serial number and verify the owner is actually the person who brought in the locked unit.
How soon until the **AA cartels begin accusing users of Apple's Garageband (or other loop layering tools) of similar offenses... especially once a few of these users songs that incorporate these loop fragments become part of the **AA's collection? Will other users who just happen to layer a couple loops in a similar manner suddenly be infringing upon the RIAA's copyrights, despite the fact that the loops themselves are royalty free?
And what of loop layering tools in general that can accept audio from sources other than those included with the software itself? Could these tools be made illegal since their existence both encourages users to sample external audio sources and facilitates the distribution of these samples in a user's "creation"?
Combined with the call for mandatory DRMing on podcasts, this could get very ugly for anyone who even thinks of trying to create music outside of the **AA's control.
Why do we even have internet-connected computers in our schools? What is so different today that children can't possibly learn anything without the aid of the internet? I seemed to have gotten by just fine during my school years without the internet being there at the time!
If it's really so vital to keep our students wired, then why not just pre-download all of the content needed for the curriculum and host it locally on a local intranet instead? That way you know for sure exactly what data is on the system at any given moment. There is nothing technology wise that couldn't be hosted locally, while still giving the students the experience needed to interact with those technologies.
The sheer stupidity of relying on cheesy little "filters" to protect you from every possible threat the internet might throw at you is simply blinding!
"If you're not doing anything wrong, what do you have to hide?"
It's that kind of thinking that's been destroying our country's struggle of over 200 years to prevent the ideology of "guilt before proven innocent" from taking over, when our country's government is supposed to serve the people, rather than persecute the people.
Aren't there certain laws about stationary, always-on cameras that dictates how one can use them? Despite the fact that there is no expectation of privacy in public, specifically pointing a fixed camera at another person's house for the sole purpose of monitoring their activity is probably illegal in a lot of states. (Especially since law enforcement officials used to require a warrant for such activities.)
Somehow, I doubt putting a tiny "you are being watched" sticker in your window is going to save your ass in court.
The VEX robot kit is definitely worth a look for anyone wanting to experiment in robotic design, outside of the Lego-based options. It's sort of a "smart" erector set with loads of sensors and parts to choose from (including 3rd party customizations).
How about a trade-in program so those of us with the original NES/SNES/N64/Sega/NEC game cartridges can exchange the old physical game carts for their Wii virtual console counterparts? That way, these aging game carts can be collected at a centralized location and recycled (as in real recycling, not the "sprawl the toxic parts on the ground of a third world country" type). They could also offer such a service to recycle old consoles as well, and then credit the user 500-1000 points for each console they send in.
15-20 years worth of games/consoles adds up to one hell of a lot landfill space.
Considering just how many differing opinions and conflicts appear on the internet each day alone, you can just imagine the chaos that would cause trying to coordinate that mess within a hive mind situation. Unless a setup like this is extremely low-level hardware communicating each neuron independently of the individual's personality and mindset, I doubt it could be used efficiently. (Let alone safely.)
Obviously, the stuff we learn during life has to be stored somewhere within the brain. If a system like this can do something as creepy as accessing specific neurons/neuron sets as easily as computers can access various memory registers, and then insert, copy or remove information from those areas in addition to basic data processing, the potential risks would be to dangerous to use on the human body.
Risks could range anywhere between identity theft, to brain piracy to coma/death from brain viruses or "crashing" the brain itself by accidentally altering the neurons the wrong way.
As cool as a hive mind type setup might seem, I think I'll keep the networked hardware outside of my body. No reason we can't be satisfied augmented reality and passive, non-invasive communication with the brain, alone.
That aside though, implantable, non-networked hardware could have some nice benefits. For example, imagine if you could have math-coprocessor to perform the heavy lifting of calulating large, complicated number sets, while leaving the rest of your mind free to use the results in some innovative, creative way. Or, how about a form of long term data storage that's far more reliable than your brain, and can record data from your various senses about a particular event in an entirely objective manner... rather than being altered by your flawed "perception" of that event?
At any rate, we may eventually start altering our brains through external means in the near future, but the brainnetworking stuff would just be too much.
You do realize by my username that I myself am an avid Mac fan, right?
I'm not suggesting in the least that I personally *want* the Mac to end up as little more than just another Windows-running clone, but I'm not foolish enough to ignore the trends I'm seeing throughout the community. Apple wants to push the PowerPC line into an early grave. Once they have achieved that goal, all reason to support both OS platforms needlessly will die with it. They're all running identical hardware, regardless of the brand name sticker on the casing, so why not push your customers into using the same OS used by the majority to cut development costs? All it'd take is enough developers to do it for the userbase to simply accepted it as the norm. Most users are just too lazy to take the steps needed to prevent such activity. (aside from pointless online petitions.)
It's the same methodology used by the **AA cartels and their major partners to control what Apple can or can't charge the end user for a song/tv show/movie, yet we happily bend over and take it for the convenience of instant gratification. Until we become more willing to show some patience for the latest and greatest must-have items, this is just how things will be. (Not unlike the near riots over the PS3 a few weks ago.)
Remember, Apple is a hardware manufacturer first and software developer second. If it takes selling Windows pre-installed to move Macs out the door... they will do it.
I do strongly feel this may well describe the future state of the Macintosh in general. Look at sites like Mac Gamer, and you'll see a steady decline in the updates to these sites since the Intel Macs went mainstream. It almost seems like the Mac game developers/porters have thrown in the towel and have acknowledged that the majority of their previous customer base would rather install Windows on their shiny new Macs, rather than wait the usual six months for them to produce a native Mac OS X port.
If gaming on the Mac has eroded to this lowly state, it can't be long until other markets are affected too. Developers of several popular multimedia/graphics/productivity tools that have maintained multiple code bases over the years may finally decide to kill off their Mac versions to cut costs, once armed with the knowledge that the average Mac user can simply be coerced into buying a copy of Windows and installing it via a Bootcamp-like utility. Before long, Apple may well have to break down and start to officially sell Macs with Windows pre-installed to remain competative in the PC market.
Eventually, being a "Mac user" could mean little more than "someone who uses the Mac OS for file management, internet activity and itunes, and uses Windows for everything else". Granted the integration may be tighter between the two OSes, but it'll still end up with Mac users paying royalties to Microsoft in the end... either for Windows, or the necessary APIs needed to ensure complete compatibility.
In a few years, Apple will be as generic a name brand as IBM, Dell or HP.
... which bears an odd similarity to the "heathen hunting" game featured in the Simspons several years ago.
If only all religions would go SCRATCH (ala Cowboy Bebop), so the rest of us reasonable individuals could regain control of the world before humanity destroys itself over some foolish religious idealogies.
It's ridiculous to think Nintendo is even trying to overtake a position on the Next-Gen console front. The Wii maybe the "next biggest thing" from them, but it's not designed to be the end-all product the PS3 or Xbox 360 are... at least no more than the DS is intended to be the true successor to the Gameboy line. Like the DS, the Wii is simply an experimental product intended to prevent the game industry from stagnating itself into oblivion, while also not costing an arm and a leg in the process.
Let's face it, consumers do want a Nintendo handheld that can compete with the PSP in terms of raw power. Obviously, the technology is already available for Nintendo to develop such a device, but it can't yet be produced inexpensively or meet the the guidelines of portability Nintendo demands in its products, to be viable. This doesn't mean Nintendo won't develop such a product eventually, but they're going to demand it to be at least as portable and rugged as the GBA SP, with enough battery life to last around 20hrs between charges... none of which the PSP lives up to. Once these demands can be met for a low enough price, Nintendo will probably release a new version of the gameboy, probably matching the PSPs current graphical and storage capabilities closely, while at the same time avoiding the awkward nature of the DS's stylus based interface. The same will be true of the Wii a few years from now, when a true gamecube follow-up is produced to compete on equal footing with the 360 and the PS3.
Until then, both the DS and the Wii are decent enough placeholders to give Nintendo the time they need for the technology costs and advancements needed reach the levels they want.
If you check out the iSight section of Apple's online store, the iSight itself is nowhere to be found. I noticed this a few days ago, thinking it may just indicate an update was coming at the next MacWorld event a couple weeks from now. However, I'm starting to think this issue may well be a factor toward its seemingly sudden disappearance from Apple's website.
Not to delve into the TRON MPC territory here, but I've heard there may actually be a few AI research programs in progress that have shown signs of becoming increasingly tempermental of humans as they continue to learn and develop. While such an AI would probably never end up in a system that could pose any realistic threat to human life, it is a bit creepy to think that if one of these AI systems would ever become sentient, its first reaction toward humanity might be one of malice and hatred.
Is my Roomba going to become a "pusher" robot every time I go near the stairs, simply for shedding a few skinflakes and eyelashes on its precious floor?
In my experience, the number of people I'm exposed to while in a good mood is far greater than it is when I'm not in a good mood. Statistically, it seems like happier people should be far more likely to get sick.
Perhaps this may be dictated more by *who* we're exposed to depending on our mood, rather than by our mood itself.
For example, a happy person is probably more likely to go to a random place for entertain among others upon impulse, while unhappy people may be more likely to either be around one or two close friends/relatives or they simply remain alone.
Another point of interest would be to see how many of these happy/unhappy people had recently been to a doctor's office or knew someone that had been they had contact with.
The inclusion of the wrist strap may have actually been *too* innovative for the user. Instead of it being just a typical remote like the ones we've been using for the last 30+ years, the Wii controller gave users an unspoken excuse to be lazy or irresponsible in handling it, simply because the wrist strap gave them that extra freedom.
If the Wii controller had never had a wrist strap in the first place, doesn't it seem obvious that the users would simply be more cautious in its use entirely out of habit?
The lawsuit may have *some* merit to it, but for a much, much different reason than the one being used in this case.
I wasn't specifically trying to single out Microsoft, in this particular case. In fact, I'd like this to become a sucessful business model for independent developers on the 360. The 360's XBox Live Arcade simply doesn't grow fast enough, despite how well designed their system is.
The problem I'm curious about, is that I've seen many of these proprietary development systems come out over the years that would eventually screw over the developers. They'd limit the potential audience to only a select few who owned the proper developer kit or dongle. After that, the path pretty much became a dead end street.
If I spent hundreds or thousands on development software/hardware, I'd certainly want some assurance that I could allow anyone with a normal version of the console I'm developing for to be able to play the game I created, so my friends/relatives could try it out for themselves without having to jump through a bunch of hoops.
Luckily, it sounds like XNA may actually be a step in the right direction, for a change.
Saying something is "too complicated" doesn't necessarily imply it'll go away. Knowing Microsoft and the **AA groups, DRM may eventually shift to a form where it seems transparent to the end user, but is actually acting against the user's wishes in the background whenever the user attempts to defy the DRM scheme's rule set.
For example, a DRM'ed file may appear to "copy" when the user issues the command to do so. But after the operation is completed, the user will simply get a rude awakening in the form of a message on whatever device or program their using saying that the original file was copy protected with a link to a webpage on Microsoft's website claiming that the copy didn't work because they were either trying to pirate the content or because they failed to use an approved piece of software to handle the copy operation for them.
In short, it will probably be some method that passively harrasses the user into relinquishing control of their computer to Microsoft or some other "approved" company.
Just on the outside chance that there is no "catch" to using XNA, there are ways Microsoft could embrace independent game development to it's full potential.
One possible method, would be to introduce a special section on XBox Live Arcade specifically for allowing end users to try out independently developed games. They could set up a sort of "Independent Game Developer of the Week" contest, where the best designed game gets a full week of distribution onto the Xbox Live Arcade. Once downloaded, these games would have an expiration date on them, at which point the game is removed from the user's console once the time has elapsed. Microsoft could then use Xbox Live to track each game's popularity and overall usage to determine whether or not to buy the rights to the game outright and make it a permanent addition to the Xbox Live Arcade's library.
I've been hearing a lot about XNA lately, but I'm curious if the licensing only allows you to share your creations with other XNA developers. At what point does the average consumer get to try out these independent games for themselves? Also, who ultimately owns the content you create using these tools? As inexpensive as Microsoft is making XNA for all the aspiring developers out there, I'd imagine there's probably some benefits Microsoft is going to gain from offering XNA other than mere bragging rights.
Will some of these developers one day find their creations suddenly assimilated into the Xbox Live Arcade under a completely different title with no mention of their name in the credits?
I definitely agree with the parent post. Without understanding things like basic algebra or how to plan out an algorithm before even coding it, you won't get past "Hello, World" with most of them. You can't assume they'll already know this stuff or have any programming experience.
Try a few exercises away from the computer where the students can learn without the pressure of a blinking cursor demanding some kind of input from them right off the bat. Look at things that are popular in their culture such as games and have them try to break the rules of each game down to instructional steps, as well think about the thought process that goes into planning a move, and then explain it in instructional terms... all of it in plain english.
Another good one, is learning how to sort various forms of data, along with the numerous ways one can achieve a sort (such as the bubble sort). A great physical example of sorting are things like the Towers of Hanoi puzzle (the one with the disks and three pegs), or a deck of playing cards.
Pushing an entire programming language on someone before they know the basics of how programs function will only scare or frustrate them... especially when they have the prospect of a failing grade looming overhead.
Get them thinking outside the box before putting them *in* one.
Actually, I always thought a spin-off of Stargate based on the campy "Wormhole Xtreme" series used in the show could offer some interesting possibilities. Granted it might only last a season at most, but Sci-Fi could easily polish it up to something on the level of their cheesy low-budget movies they show every couple weeks.
For example, instead using of a military trained crew, they could have a completely random set of civilians who accidentally become unwitting participants, ala Sliders, where they have to contend with both each other and each world they end up on. It could also play on the campy nature of various sci-fi shows from the 1960s-1980s (like Star Trek: TOS or the original Battlestar Galactica), where things just work out for no reason other than to advance the plot.
It'd be a nice break from the mind-numbing geek speak of Amanda Tapping/Micheal Shanks characters. It's just walk into a problem specific to the episode, fixing it and returning, only to start again next week.
The quality of any product is directly proportional to the product's "traditional" popularity, lack of compatibility with competing products and price.
So, it makes sense that once Microsoft has you locked into using their products without any easy way out and can offer them to you for practically little-to-no cost so long as every machine in your company is Microsoft controlled by contract (under penalty of the "Microsoft Tax" for non-compliance), that people both use microsoft products and hate them at the same time.
Money talks, and no one (short of Walmart) speaks the language any better than Microsoft.
Sounds like just one more example of one's desired conclusion ultimately altering the testing conditions and results to match. Seems to be almost a disease in this country.
That musical number from the episode "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back", where Hermes is sorting the Master "In" pile, is easily one of the best sequences of the entire series. Between the song and the quality of the animation involved, I can only begin to imagine the number of hours that were needed for the planning and execution of that one single sequence.