His motives aren't the problem. His methods were pretty crappy. I hope this doesn't damage the WP project itself, as it seems like a great piece of software which I was planning to use (and still am).
Indeed! Rowan Atkinson was the best Doctor ever, even better than Tom Baker. Too bad that regeneration lasted such a short time. Thanks for the link - I didn't know that was available for purchase (too bad it looks like only on VHS, blah, PAL only probably, too; DVD gets around so many problems).
I'm told the square button problem was fixed for the US launch; I've not heard anyone reporting that problem exists with the US machines.
I was thinking about the UMD, and everyone has a problem that it's not some other format, but think about the specs of it for a bit: 1.8Gig, and very small (smaller than miniDVD - a miniDVD disc is wider than the PSP is; and some are complaining that the PSP is too big already). The MiniDisc format holds 1Gig, 80% less than the UMD. I dunno what the power requirements are of those two formats, but that's a LOT less capacity, so the MD is out. What else could they have used?
I don't see anyone bitching about the format of Nintendo DS cartridges, so WTF?
I think Sony's new leadership is definitely a good sign, and even before that, they had already decided to open up their audio platforms to play mp3, which is a great sign. I'm hoping that new mindset, and the new leadership will combine to someone realizing that opening the PSP to running apps off the memory stick would be a fantastic thing.
They also have an opportunity to sell quite a few Sony-priced UMD-R drives for computers, if they have enough vision to do so. Plus the market for UMD-R discs. I smell profit here, and I'm hoping Sony does, too. Time will tell...
I'm tellin' ya - if someone can make the PSP run MAME, it's all over for Nintendo for me, no matter what their next-gen mobile platform is like. That'd just be too sweet for words.
1) LCD quality control & dead pixel policy. Horrid.
2) Only selling the 'value' pack. Worst. Idea. EVER. There is already a great selection of third-party add-ons which make the 'value' pack absurd.
3) High price of games. $40-50 per game. Ouch.
4) No demo units in stores. You want to sell a $250 machine? Have demo units.
5) Some stores selling only bundles. Out of the 5 stores I went to opening day, only 1 was doing that in the Seattle area (KB Toys).
6) High price of UMD movies (when they arrive). Silly; they shouldn't try selling UMD movies to the public; this should really be targeted at rental places, especially airport locations.
All these problems aside, most of this can get better, if not much better. Quality control will increase over time, and they're already addressing the dead pixel policy. Hopefully they'll come out with the base edition, sans 'value' soon. $50 in third-party add-ons goes a long way.
The biggest hope I have is that they'll either change their business model, or make a PSP-like PDA platform with a modular bay where the UMD drive is. I live in breathless anticipation.
Would it be done in Qt, GTK1, GTK2 or raw X widgets? Which printer dialogs would it use -- KDE or GNOME? Which file selectors would it use? How would they keep up, test and fix bugs for GNOME on a 6 month cycle or KDE on a ?? month cycle? How would you have it look nice with the default theme of the desktop?
Ah, let me introduce you to Adobe Corp. They'd just make their own, and they'd be unlike any of those you mentioned (or like anything ever seen on any other platform).
I gotta say, trying to even find out how much it costs to get into developing for the PSP platform was way more trouble than it should've been. Basically, if you're not already a big-name developer, it seems like Sony won't even talk to you.
Installed on what? The PSP has no harddrive, and the UMD is read-only. I wonder if the webbrowser can save files onto the memory stick? Even if it can let something get installed onto the memory stick, the memory stick isn't bootable, as far as I know, and the webbrowser being used here runs from within a game on a UMD, so it can't be reconfigured by malware to reload upon next browser startup. Turn your PSP off, and any possible malware goes away, voila. Probably the most secure webbrowsing experience you can have, minus the lack of WiFi WAP.
If you're lucky, and shooting under the right conditions. The kinds of sensors and lenses on 2mp cameras are far from middle of the line, much less high quality.
I just want to see Apple take that gorgeous LCD and wrap a star-killing PDA phone around it, using a scaled-up iPod mini look with touchscreen. Something with internal disk, HWR, 3G, voice recognition (for bluetooth headset/handsfree dialing etc.), the works. Adding the ability to run Dashboard apps even if you don't use a PPC full-blown OS X env would be super kewl.
BTW, if Apple were to do that, the $250 you're complaining about with the PSP will seem like peanuts in comparison.
'Very good'? Yikes. Yes, # of pixels isn't everything, but cameras coming out with ~ 2 megapixels are pretty much crap in most every other respect, too. Sorry, I know too much about this topic for you to fool me. Nice try, though.
UMD is smaller than a mini DVD, though, isn't it? I mean, a mini DVD is 3", which is larger than the width of the entire PSP unit, and some people are already complaining about how large the PSP is.
The thing I was most disappointed in about the rollout was the lack of demo units _anywhere_. I went to 5 places Thursday night after work. They all had units (though most were almost sold out), but none had demo units. I think with something that pricey, they really _need_ demo units to sway the people on the fence about buying.
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I don't need respect, just obedience.
And no backtalk.
His motives aren't the problem. His methods were pretty crappy. I hope this doesn't damage the WP project itself, as it seems like a great piece of software which I was planning to use (and still am).
Interestingly, this was for a MANAGER position!
So do they ask management questions of programmers? Human resources questions for janitors?
He did say that he wanted to do Who to, "prove to people that he wasn't just a miserable bastard", to paraphrase.
And I'd say with this move, he's proved that he IS. He's too good to lose. A damned shame, considering how bad the post-Tom Baker Doctors were. *sigh*
Oops, nope, I checked - you can get an NTSC VHS version from amazon.com; right on. Man, WHY is this not on DVD?! :(
Indeed! Rowan Atkinson was the best Doctor ever, even better than Tom Baker. Too bad that regeneration lasted such a short time. Thanks for the link - I didn't know that was available for purchase (too bad it looks like only on VHS, blah, PAL only probably, too; DVD gets around so many problems).
Dude, get with it - it's news cuz it's a chick! Everyone knows the only good chick hackers are Jeri Ellsworth and Angelina Jolie! :)
I'm told the square button problem was fixed for the US launch; I've not heard anyone reporting that problem exists with the US machines.
I was thinking about the UMD, and everyone has a problem that it's not some other format, but think about the specs of it for a bit: 1.8Gig, and very small (smaller than miniDVD - a miniDVD disc is wider than the PSP is; and some are complaining that the PSP is too big already). The MiniDisc format holds 1Gig, 80% less than the UMD. I dunno what the power requirements are of those two formats, but that's a LOT less capacity, so the MD is out. What else could they have used?
I don't see anyone bitching about the format of Nintendo DS cartridges, so WTF?
I think Sony's new leadership is definitely a good sign, and even before that, they had already decided to open up their audio platforms to play mp3, which is a great sign. I'm hoping that new mindset, and the new leadership will combine to someone realizing that opening the PSP to running apps off the memory stick would be a fantastic thing.
They also have an opportunity to sell quite a few Sony-priced UMD-R drives for computers, if they have enough vision to do so. Plus the market for UMD-R discs. I smell profit here, and I'm hoping Sony does, too. Time will tell...
I'm tellin' ya - if someone can make the PSP run MAME, it's all over for Nintendo for me, no matter what their next-gen mobile platform is like. That'd just be too sweet for words.
In order of biggest problem to least, IMO:
1) LCD quality control & dead pixel policy. Horrid.
2) Only selling the 'value' pack. Worst. Idea. EVER. There is already a great selection of third-party add-ons which make the 'value' pack absurd.
3) High price of games. $40-50 per game. Ouch.
4) No demo units in stores. You want to sell a $250 machine? Have demo units.
5) Some stores selling only bundles. Out of the 5 stores I went to opening day, only 1 was doing that in the Seattle area (KB Toys).
6) High price of UMD movies (when they arrive). Silly; they shouldn't try selling UMD movies to the public; this should really be targeted at rental places, especially airport locations.
All these problems aside, most of this can get better, if not much better. Quality control will increase over time, and they're already addressing the dead pixel policy. Hopefully they'll come out with the base edition, sans 'value' soon. $50 in third-party add-ons goes a long way.
The biggest hope I have is that they'll either change their business model, or make a PSP-like PDA platform with a modular bay where the UMD drive is. I live in breathless anticipation.
Actually, I think he's been promoted to Major.
I've got PSP on the brain, so I was thinking Memory Stick. :)
Crackers are people who crack software copy protection.
Crackers is white people, Keebler-man. Shutshomowth.
Pocket Books has asked him to write a two-novel series based on the 'Starfleet Academy' concept.
Ahh, more ghost work for Ron Goulart. Es muy fantastico.
Would it be done in Qt, GTK1, GTK2 or raw X widgets? Which printer dialogs would it use -- KDE or GNOME? Which file selectors would it use? How would they keep up, test and fix bugs for GNOME on a 6 month cycle or KDE on a ?? month cycle? How would you have it look nice with the default theme of the desktop?
Ah, let me introduce you to Adobe Corp. They'd just make their own, and they'd be unlike any of those you mentioned (or like anything ever seen on any other platform).
Hey, as long as there's a Process(tm)!
Wow, and with all that experience, you seem to prefer sticking to your Commodore 64? I mean, check the width of your posting, geez. :)
I gotta say, trying to even find out how much it costs to get into developing for the PSP platform was way more trouble than it should've been. Basically, if you're not already a big-name developer, it seems like Sony won't even talk to you.
Of the 5 places I've been to with PSPs, only one was forcing you to buy a game bundle (KB toys, I think).
Installed on what? The PSP has no harddrive, and the UMD is read-only. I wonder if the webbrowser can save files onto the memory stick? Even if it can let something get installed onto the memory stick, the memory stick isn't bootable, as far as I know, and the webbrowser being used here runs from within a game on a UMD, so it can't be reconfigured by malware to reload upon next browser startup. Turn your PSP off, and any possible malware goes away, voila. Probably the most secure webbrowsing experience you can have, minus the lack of WiFi WAP.
If you're lucky, and shooting under the right conditions. The kinds of sensors and lenses on 2mp cameras are far from middle of the line, much less high quality.
I just want to see Apple take that gorgeous LCD and wrap a star-killing PDA phone around it, using a scaled-up iPod mini look with touchscreen. Something with internal disk, HWR, 3G, voice recognition (for bluetooth headset/handsfree dialing etc.), the works. Adding the ability to run Dashboard apps even if you don't use a PPC full-blown OS X env would be super kewl.
BTW, if Apple were to do that, the $250 you're complaining about with the PSP will seem like peanuts in comparison.
'Very good'? Yikes. Yes, # of pixels isn't everything, but cameras coming out with ~ 2 megapixels are pretty much crap in most every other respect, too. Sorry, I know too much about this topic for you to fool me. Nice try, though.
UMD is smaller than a mini DVD, though, isn't it? I mean, a mini DVD is 3", which is larger than the width of the entire PSP unit, and some people are already complaining about how large the PSP is.
The thing I was most disappointed in about the rollout was the lack of demo units _anywhere_. I went to 5 places Thursday night after work. They all had units (though most were almost sold out), but none had demo units. I think with something that pricey, they really _need_ demo units to sway the people on the fence about buying.