The more I read about "Lindows" and other wannabe Windows retrofittings for Linux, the more I wonder about the psychological health of the (wannabe Windows) Linux community.
Think about it this way: it's like the people who bashed the hell out of Star Wars Episode I, but still showed up at midnight in full Jedi drag for Attack of the Clones. There's constant whining and putting-down of Microsoft, yet everything that goes into KDE and Lindows tries to make Linux more Windows-like.
Why must Linux define itself through Windows? It's good enough to stand on its own, last I heard...
has anyone heard (rumors or otherwise) what Nintendo's online strategy will be? Here's what I have so far:
PSO version 2 was ported to the Gamecube in August 2001.
Projected US release date was pushed back to September, then December, then June 2002, and now Sega is saying "before the end of the year."
Modem was originally supposed to be released at launch, broadband adapter soon after.
Is Nintendo getting cold feet due to the cost of add-ons? They are saying "Fuck you" to SEGA and Sonic Team due to draggin' their feet on the network. What a bunch of crap!
okay, maybe the link to Microsoft's website was a little much. Anyway, LAN parties are a big hassle to me because:
Non geek friends are afraid to move computers
My apartment is too small
Someone always forgets something important
Windows may be having problems on any one of my friends' computers
The PS2 offers networking through the firewire port. (GT3 supports multiple racers this way, and more titles are on the way). The Xbox has an ethernet card built in. 16 person Halo is great, even if you do have to share the screen. Much less hassle.
I balk at your comparison between Big Media and the Nazis. And l33t H4x0rz vs. Bletchley Park? Todebreakers of that time don't have too much in common with today's copyright-circumventing hackers.
The fictional encomium to hacking (the Cryptonomicon) tries to draw a parallel, but let's not forget that the codebreakers of WW2 were trying to save their country. They didn't think "information wants to be free"-as a matter of fact, the fact that Enigma was broken was one of the most jealously guarded secrets of the war.
Today's hackers (or "crackers" if you prefer) are mostly motivated by challenge and ego. Although there is a mythological character called "the good hacker," he coincides with reality about as much as the "honorable thief."
That's why I was glad when I heard that Microsoft Corp. was coming out with the X box. This console is compact, portable, and connects to any TV with RCA inputs. A much easier way to do LAN gaming, and when Return to Castle Wolfenstein arrives on the 'Box, I see very little reason to go back to the Dark Ages of PC gaming...
Don't worry, they're not worth listening to anyway. It's not such a great artistic feat to randomly jam music together. Most of them don't even mesh together well ("Oops! Eminem did it again!" is just fucking terrible.
All in all, this is about the artistic equivalent of writing fanfiction where He-Man meets the Transformers...not too high by my measure. A silly novelty at best.
Good question, and I don't really have the answer. I think has to do with an ad campaign that never made it past the conceptual stage. I can't remember how I found that, but hey, at least it doesn't point to goatse!
Yes, my heel turned happened after the moderators rated my humorous posts as "troll."
Feeling betrayed by Slashdot, I began trashing Slashdot favorites. I posted (ripping the Simpsons from behind!) At the last Slashdot Pay-Per-View, I attacked Malda with a folding chair, forcing to him to lose the Hardcore title to The Amazing Super Goatse Guy. Soon, I shall merge the NW0 and the MPAA, and be the scourge of Slashbots everywhere....
Yeah, apparently it wasn't just huge hit with geeks, but also just about every American action director.
Personally I'm sick of Matrix rip-off movies. Even the parodies are overdone. The movie itself just wasn't good enough to take over every single freakin' directors' mind since 1999. Here is a great review of the movie.
Anyway, enjoy your Matrix, but don't let your stoned friends try to engage you in sophomoric philosophical discussions about the nature of reality.
My point exactly. Have these people opened a book lately? Been to the symphony? Perhaps supported their local community theater by viewing Checkov's Under the Cherry Moon?
Alas, I fear not. Guys, seriously, you shouldn't run from an inoculation of culture. Think of it as your intellectual booster shot. You'll be glad you did!
And the line between fantasy and reality blurs even further. People around this site like to say "Well it's just a game" when asked about their debilitating Quake addictions.
Yet the strongest military in the free world is using the same "game" as training material. Before that it was Doom, and before that, Battlezone. How many hours have you spent molding yourself into a ruthless killer?
When are we going to wise up and see Washington doing something about this. If they are using it to train soldiers, we shouldn't be allowing kids (or maybe even adults) anywhere near it.
I know it sounds ridiculous, but I might feel a little bit safer if we had something like background checks to prevent all those creepy, friendless joners from buying gruesomely violent games (Think Soldier of Fortune) I might sleep a little better.
If you want to really see his best work, you'll have to look at his early Life in Hell comics (pre-1984 is best). His satire bites, it hurts, it actually has teeth.
The Simpsons was basically a Punch-and-Judy show when it premiered on Tracey Ullman. It staggered through a mediocre first year, propelled mostly by Bart Simpson's "negative role model" image which was further sensationalized by the media.
Conan O Brien's writing talents mad the show somewhat more watchable, however, most episodes consist of predictable sitcom plots, poorly conceived visual jokes, and celebrity guest appearances-the modern equivalent to Scooby-Doo. And it's part of pop culture for all the same reason-it's formulaic structure and catchphrases. Yes, "D'oh!" has become the "Zoinks!" of the year 2000.
Matt, it's been a long, dull ride, and you've made a lot of money. I can't say I blame you, but I do feel sorry for the people who think the Simpsons are "clever". I wonder if they've ever read anything by Evan Dorkin or Dan Clowes.
The reason Lucas doesn't want people creating derivative works is that he's seen how much it can suck. Think about how bad most of the Star Wars novels and comic books are.
Now think about how utterly unreadable Star Wars fanfiction is. Why do people fixate on the Star Wars world? If they don't have the creative tools to create their own world, why should they have the right to create crappy rip-offs in the Lucas/Star Wars universe?
Yes, all works are derivative of other works. However, it's not hard to tell the difference between a coherent vision and a shitty rip-off. It's Lucas' baby here and he's totally justified.
Avoid the Noid was hardly the most notorious fast-food marketing game on the NES. Let us not forget McKids, where you had to win Ronald McDonald's "magic bag" back from the Hamburglar, all the while collecting "golden arches" to gain extra lives. And yet, both games were pretty good as I remember.
Nowadays, we have games that advertise for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olson, boy bands, Britney Spears, etc. I think using video games in politics is actually a step up?
PS: Does anyone know if Jesse Ventura is in the PS2 game "Legends of Wrestling"? This might mark his second video-game appearance...
t's Spring, and the need for a new video card presents itself. Why? Because the one you bought 6 months ago is "outdated," meaning it doesn't get the highest FPS on some benchmark site like the one whored in this article.
So is it time to drop the $400? To rely on buggy drivers rushed out by ATi or nVidia? To snarl at DirectX's mysterious problems, which may or may not be related to some of your older hardware not agreeing with your new card?
You've stared at the numbers on the site, and you don't see any reason why not. Did you know some sites exist (and make money) just by getting new video cards and "benchmarking" (aka "playing") them? Is this fair? Are you going to contribute to this universally unfair practice? Of course, you clicked through to buy from the first vendor listed on the site. You can hardly wait for the UPS man to come tomorrow (you can afford expedited shipping, you only paid 95% of what you'd pay at a retail store anyway).
As a savvy PC gamer, you've already downloaded the latest crack off Usenet. You never pay for software-why should you? The hardware costs enough as it is, besides, each game on the PC is just an iteration of Doom or Command and Conquer. Brainless blowing away, or boring resource management? You love 'em both. Or at least, they're available, and you play them.
You laugh at your buddies with an Xbox, because "I can build a more powerful system than that for half the cost!" You've scorned the Gamecube because "The Gamepurse is for kiddies!" Your Playstation 2, purchased for Final Fantasy X, lies collecting dust next to your DVD player (which sucks compared to the one on your computer-NATCH!)
You pause a bit to think about your computer purchases over the last year:
Athlon T-bird and motherboard-$250.
Athlon XP and motherboard-$400.
"L337" Custom Water Cooled Case-$300
1 Gig RAM (purchased 256MB at a time)-$400.
SB Audigy-$95.
GeForce 3-$350.
Now this Radeon card will be about $400, but it's worth it! Buy a Mac? Never! They don't have games, and besides, they're too expensive.
Buyer's remorse never seizes your temples with its steely vice grip. You'll never lose your job at the helpdesk, and even if you do, Mom and Dad will be there to help you out. You're a sharp guy, and you're surely going places. Right after this game of Return to Castle Wolfenstein, that is...
It's Spring, and the need for a new video card presents itself. Why? Because the one you bought 6 months ago is "outdated," meaning it doesn't get the highest FPS on some benchmark site like the one whored in this article.
So is it time to drop the $400? To rely on buggy drivers rushed out by ATi or nVidia? To snarl at DirectX's mysterious problems, which may or may not be related to some of your older hardware not agreeing with your new card?
You've stared at the numbers on the site, and you don't see any reason why not. Did you know some sites exist (and make money) just by getting new video cards and "benchmarking" (aka "playing") them? Is this fair? Are you going to contribute to this universally unfair practice? Of course, you clicked through to buy from the first vendor listed on the site. You can hardly wait for the UPS man to come tomorrow (you can afford expedited shipping, you only paid 95% of what you'd pay at a retail store anyway).
As a savvy PC gamer, you've already downloaded the latest crack off Usenet. You never pay for software-why should you? The hardware costs enough as it is, besides, each game on the PC is just an iteration of Doom or Command and Conquer. Brainless blowing away, or boring resource management? You love 'em both. Or at least, they're available, and you play them.
You laugh at your buddies with an Xbox, because "I can build a more powerful system than that for half the cost!" You've scorned the Gamecube because "The Gamepurse is for kiddies!" Your Playstation 2, purchased for Final Fantasy X, lies collecting dust next to your DVD player (which sucks compared to the one on your computer-NATCH!)
You pause a bit to think about your computer purchases over the last year:
Athlon T-bird and motherboard-$250.
Athlon XP and motherboard-$400.
"L337" Custom Water Cooled Case-$300
1 Gig RAM (purchased 256MB at a time)-$400.
SB Audigy-$95.
GeForce 3-$350.
Now this GeForce 4 will be about $400, but it's worth it! Buy a Mac? Never! They don't have games, and besides, they're too expensive.
Buyer's remorse never seizes your temples with its steely vice grip. You'll never lose your job at the helpdesk, and even if you do, Mom and Dad will be there to help you out. You're a sharp guy, and you're surely going places. Right after this game of Return to Castle Wolfenstein, that is...
Look at Apple, decent systems with SHIT for software or at the very least, a good wait of 6 months to a year to get the same software Windows already has.
Not everyone cares about playing Doom 2k2, or having 12 different versions of label-making software. Some of us have video to edit, and the best packages are Mac-only.
Installation isn't the problem, and it's a shame that so many Linux distros concentrate on this and forget about the day-to-day operations.
Desktops like KDE and to (and to a lesser extent, GNOME) copy Windows so shamelessly that they bring expectations, especially from novice users. The wild cut and paste in UNIX is enough to frustrate most novice users. The ripped off UI minus the "normal" (read: Windowsesque) behavior is enough to make most novices believe that Linux is nothing better than a second-rate windows. I've seen this first hand: my neighbor installs RedHat/KDE and it looks like Windows, and what does he do when the first misbehaving X app takes over half his screen (without revealing the "close" widget)? He realizes that he's in over his head, and goes back to Windows.
It's a terrible idea to out-Windows windows. If they don't carve out their own UI, Linux will always be playing catch-up on the desktop.
What does freedom of speech have to do with not releasing information? If you truly believed in "freedom of speech" wouldn't you release information such as book buying records so that anyone could read them?
Just another case of someone crying about "big brother" when the worst thing that could happen is that they know some guy buys hustler now and then. What an affront to privacy!
On the other hand, this information could be used to prevent future crimes. What's the big deal?
I think there's been a lot of problems with the "camera" since video games moved to 3d. If you don't have full control of your character (i.e. you can't see him and where he has to go) the suspension of reality fails. In 2d games, you always have COMPLETE control of your character, which is pretty much unprecedented in 3D outside of FPS's and a few very well done games (Super Mario 64, Crazy Taxi).
Personally, I wonder where all the accessibility went. Too many rules, too much of a learning curve, not enough "pick up for 5 minutes and have fun games". They'll still be playing Tetris long after I'm dead, but the latest Xbox beat 'em up probably won't fare so well.
reading the first point-counterpoint exchange pretty much reveals (as we all suspected) that this is a heavy-handed attempt to curb music distribution outside of accepted RIAA channels.
Since the FCC allowed Clear Channel to own up to 49% of as many local radio stations as they wanted, I've heard a lot more crap on the radio, both from shitty Creed ripoffs and more screaming car salesman. Stuff like live365.com keeps me going during work hours. If this passes, I'll probably just turn the radio up till I go deaf. It would be better than commercial radio is now.
Slashdot Mirror
Think about it this way: it's like the people who bashed the hell out of Star Wars Episode I, but still showed up at midnight in full Jedi drag for Attack of the Clones. There's constant whining and putting-down of Microsoft, yet everything that goes into KDE and Lindows tries to make Linux more Windows-like.
Why must Linux define itself through Windows? It's good enough to stand on its own, last I heard...
Is Nintendo getting cold feet due to the cost of add-ons? They are saying "Fuck you" to SEGA and Sonic Team due to draggin' their feet on the network. What a bunch of crap!
The PS2 offers networking through the firewire port. (GT3 supports multiple racers this way, and more titles are on the way). The Xbox has an ethernet card built in. 16 person Halo is great, even if you do have to share the screen. Much less hassle.
The fictional encomium to hacking (the Cryptonomicon) tries to draw a parallel, but let's not forget that the codebreakers of WW2 were trying to save their country. They didn't think "information wants to be free"-as a matter of fact, the fact that Enigma was broken was one of the most jealously guarded secrets of the war.
Today's hackers (or "crackers" if you prefer) are mostly motivated by challenge and ego. Although there is a mythological character called "the good hacker," he coincides with reality about as much as the "honorable thief."
That's why I was glad when I heard that Microsoft Corp. was coming out with the X box. This console is compact, portable, and connects to any TV with RCA inputs. A much easier way to do LAN gaming, and when Return to Castle Wolfenstein arrives on the 'Box, I see very little reason to go back to the Dark Ages of PC gaming...
All in all, this is about the artistic equivalent of writing fanfiction where He-Man meets the Transformers...not too high by my measure. A silly novelty at best.
Good question, and I don't really have the answer. I think has to do with an ad campaign that never made it past the conceptual stage. I can't remember how I found that, but hey, at least it doesn't point to goatse!
Here is your solution for a Windows-free PC. Although it can run Office if you really need it to.
Feeling betrayed by Slashdot, I began trashing Slashdot favorites. I posted (ripping the Simpsons from behind!) At the last Slashdot Pay-Per-View, I attacked Malda with a folding chair, forcing to him to lose the Hardcore title to The Amazing Super Goatse Guy. Soon, I shall merge the NW0 and the MPAA, and be the scourge of Slashbots everywhere....
Personally I'm sick of Matrix rip-off movies. Even the parodies are overdone. The movie itself just wasn't good enough to take over every single freakin' directors' mind since 1999. Here is a great review of the movie.
Anyway, enjoy your Matrix, but don't let your stoned friends try to engage you in sophomoric philosophical discussions about the nature of reality.
Alas, I fear not. Guys, seriously, you shouldn't run from an inoculation of culture. Think of it as your intellectual booster shot. You'll be glad you did!
Yet the strongest military in the free world is using the same "game" as training material. Before that it was Doom, and before that, Battlezone. How many hours have you spent molding yourself into a ruthless killer?
When are we going to wise up and see Washington doing something about this. If they are using it to train soldiers, we shouldn't be allowing kids (or maybe even adults) anywhere near it.
I know it sounds ridiculous, but I might feel a little bit safer if we had something like background checks to prevent all those creepy, friendless joners from buying gruesomely violent games (Think Soldier of Fortune) I might sleep a little better.
The Simpsons was basically a Punch-and-Judy show when it premiered on Tracey Ullman. It staggered through a mediocre first year, propelled mostly by Bart Simpson's "negative role model" image which was further sensationalized by the media.
Conan O Brien's writing talents mad the show somewhat more watchable, however, most episodes consist of predictable sitcom plots, poorly conceived visual jokes, and celebrity guest appearances-the modern equivalent to Scooby-Doo. And it's part of pop culture for all the same reason-it's formulaic structure and catchphrases. Yes, "D'oh!" has become the "Zoinks!" of the year 2000.
Matt, it's been a long, dull ride, and you've made a lot of money. I can't say I blame you, but I do feel sorry for the people who think the Simpsons are "clever". I wonder if they've ever read anything by Evan Dorkin or Dan Clowes.
A: They use the internet!
to use a Mac.
Now think about how utterly unreadable Star Wars fanfiction is. Why do people fixate on the Star Wars world? If they don't have the creative tools to create their own world, why should they have the right to create crappy rip-offs in the Lucas/Star Wars universe?
Yes, all works are derivative of other works. However, it's not hard to tell the difference between a coherent vision and a shitty rip-off. It's Lucas' baby here and he's totally justified.
Nowadays, we have games that advertise for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olson, boy bands, Britney Spears, etc. I think using video games in politics is actually a step up?
PS: Does anyone know if Jesse Ventura is in the PS2 game "Legends of Wrestling"? This might mark his second video-game appearance...
So is it time to drop the $400? To rely on buggy drivers rushed out by ATi or nVidia? To snarl at DirectX's mysterious problems, which may or may not be related to some of your older hardware not agreeing with your new card?
You've stared at the numbers on the site, and you don't see any reason why not. Did you know some sites exist (and make money) just by getting new video cards and "benchmarking" (aka "playing") them? Is this fair? Are you going to contribute to this universally unfair practice? Of course, you clicked through to buy from the first vendor listed on the site. You can hardly wait for the UPS man to come tomorrow (you can afford expedited shipping, you only paid 95% of what you'd pay at a retail store anyway).
As a savvy PC gamer, you've already downloaded the latest crack off Usenet. You never pay for software-why should you? The hardware costs enough as it is, besides, each game on the PC is just an iteration of Doom or Command and Conquer. Brainless blowing away, or boring resource management? You love 'em both. Or at least, they're available, and you play them.
You laugh at your buddies with an Xbox, because "I can build a more powerful system than that for half the cost!" You've scorned the Gamecube because "The Gamepurse is for kiddies!" Your Playstation 2, purchased for Final Fantasy X, lies collecting dust next to your DVD player (which sucks compared to the one on your computer-NATCH!)
You pause a bit to think about your computer purchases over the last year:
Now this Radeon card will be about $400, but it's worth it! Buy a Mac? Never! They don't have games, and besides, they're too expensive.
Buyer's remorse never seizes your temples with its steely vice grip. You'll never lose your job at the helpdesk, and even if you do, Mom and Dad will be there to help you out. You're a sharp guy, and you're surely going places. Right after this game of Return to Castle Wolfenstein, that is...
So is it time to drop the $400? To rely on buggy drivers rushed out by ATi or nVidia? To snarl at DirectX's mysterious problems, which may or may not be related to some of your older hardware not agreeing with your new card?
You've stared at the numbers on the site, and you don't see any reason why not. Did you know some sites exist (and make money) just by getting new video cards and "benchmarking" (aka "playing") them? Is this fair? Are you going to contribute to this universally unfair practice? Of course, you clicked through to buy from the first vendor listed on the site. You can hardly wait for the UPS man to come tomorrow (you can afford expedited shipping, you only paid 95% of what you'd pay at a retail store anyway).
As a savvy PC gamer, you've already downloaded the latest crack off Usenet. You never pay for software-why should you? The hardware costs enough as it is, besides, each game on the PC is just an iteration of Doom or Command and Conquer. Brainless blowing away, or boring resource management? You love 'em both. Or at least, they're available, and you play them.
You laugh at your buddies with an Xbox, because "I can build a more powerful system than that for half the cost!" You've scorned the Gamecube because "The Gamepurse is for kiddies!" Your Playstation 2, purchased for Final Fantasy X, lies collecting dust next to your DVD player (which sucks compared to the one on your computer-NATCH!)
You pause a bit to think about your computer purchases over the last year:
Now this GeForce 4 will be about $400, but it's worth it! Buy a Mac? Never! They don't have games, and besides, they're too expensive.
Buyer's remorse never seizes your temples with its steely vice grip. You'll never lose your job at the helpdesk, and even if you do, Mom and Dad will be there to help you out. You're a sharp guy, and you're surely going places. Right after this game of Return to Castle Wolfenstein, that is...
Not everyone cares about playing Doom 2k2, or having 12 different versions of label-making software. Some of us have video to edit, and the best packages are Mac-only.
You are too smart to be posting in a Jon Katz article!
Desktops like KDE and to (and to a lesser extent, GNOME) copy Windows so shamelessly that they bring expectations, especially from novice users. The wild cut and paste in UNIX is enough to frustrate most novice users. The ripped off UI minus the "normal" (read: Windowsesque) behavior is enough to make most novices believe that Linux is nothing better than a second-rate windows. I've seen this first hand: my neighbor installs RedHat/KDE and it looks like Windows, and what does he do when the first misbehaving X app takes over half his screen (without revealing the "close" widget)? He realizes that he's in over his head, and goes back to Windows.
It's a terrible idea to out-Windows windows. If they don't carve out their own UI, Linux will always be playing catch-up on the desktop.
Just another case of someone crying about "big brother" when the worst thing that could happen is that they know some guy buys hustler now and then. What an affront to privacy!
On the other hand, this information could be used to prevent future crimes. What's the big deal?
Personally, I wonder where all the accessibility went. Too many rules, too much of a learning curve, not enough "pick up for 5 minutes and have fun games". They'll still be playing Tetris long after I'm dead, but the latest Xbox beat 'em up probably won't fare so well.
Since the FCC allowed Clear Channel to own up to 49% of as many local radio stations as they wanted, I've heard a lot more crap on the radio, both from shitty Creed ripoffs and more screaming car salesman. Stuff like live365.com keeps me going during work hours. If this passes, I'll probably just turn the radio up till I go deaf. It would be better than commercial radio is now.