netsharc writes: "To comment on the article, I don't understand why idiots even bother downloading cam-rips, the quality is so shit, you're not getting the real film: the angle is wrong, the color is usually gone, the audio can be good when ripped from source when it's an inside job (ha nowadays an MPAA cop sits in the projection booth, the article claims), but if they used the camcorder mic to record it, that's not exactly CD quality is it?"
You dismiss cams too quickly.
It's a balancing act. Some movies -- Matrix Revolutions, Return of the King, etc -- you really need to see in the theatre to fully appreciate (for my tastes, anyway). Other movies, most movies are movies that you might very well watch from a download and realize that the movie wasn't good enough to warrant the $8 or that the copy you have was "good enough." Gothika is a good example of the former, Finding Nemo is a good example of the latter, IMO.
Cam releases vary widely on the quality. Heck, even screener rip releases vary greatly. I saw a so-called "workprint" version of Kill Bill Vol 1 the day it came out and it was more than acceptable.
You should be a bit more cautious about making blanket statements of opinion for others. Your needs are not everyone else's needs. Your threshold is not necessarily ours. There may be people for whom a cam release of RotK is sufficient.
I currently work at a midway and recently took apart all five of our skeeball lanes. Wish I had pictures. Some posts here seem to be pretty good so I'll just offer some tidbits that might be helpful.
- Our lanes are covered in a sort of think painted cork. This probably does two things; makes the lanes a lot smoother and forgiving on the balls and keeps the noise a lot lower. Your wife will thank you for it.
- We have some lanes that have optical switches, some that have mechanical switches. The mecahnical ones have a wire that juts out and blocks the path of the ball as it goes down the chute after it has gone in one of the holes. The problem with this is that sometimes the wires snap, sometimes the wire slips over the ball rather than actually triggering the switch, etc. I recommend optical. For 1-3 lanes, this *isn't* going to kill you. Just blow them out once in a while.
- Get a cheapo meter if you don't already have one.
- Oh, this is probably a good time to explain how the scoring actually works... Generally, you have two 100's (top left and top right) and one each of 50, 40, 30, 20 and 10. But the 50 hole does not score 50 right away. The switch right below that hole is worth 10. When the ball goes into the 50 hole, it hits the back of the chute and starts to roll down. It meets the switch below that hole and registers 10 points. The ball continues to fall and as it does, goes past (and behind) the "40 hole." It will then triger the sub 40 hold switch, giving another 10 points.
I should mention that the two 100 holes trigger 50 points each. They then accumulate the last 50 by each of the five switches it encounters on the way down.
Hopefully this makes sense. Let me know if it doesn't. The reason I bring this up is because it can simplify diagnosing problems. Say you get it in the 50 hole and you only get 30 points. Well, you know that two of the switches are probably out.
- I kind of agree with the person who said that the wooden balls are the best. I prefer the plastic balls only because I find they wear better and a very worn wooden ball is very hard to direct properly.
That's all I can think of. Good luck!
PS: If you need clarification on anything here, just reply and I'll check back.
LostCluster writes: "I think the people left holding the bag here are exactly the right ones: The ones who thought they were gonna make instant big profits"
I hardly ever resort to such things but this one deserves it. You, sir, are an idiot.
I realize I'm not really adding to the discussion here but I've recently gotten into making techno (Cool Edit Pro 2 and Reason are excellent) and being a huge fan of Tracy Thorne-esque voices on techno tracks, I was just wondering the other day why I'd never heard of such a tool.
I don't know how PKD felt about Total Recall, but according to the documentary On The Edge Of Blade Runner:
Philip K. Dick was reasonably unhappy. Katie Haber gave me a call and said, "put together the best of the best in a reel," and...it was left to me to go in with a few of my key people and [Dick] and his friend go down and sit in the screening room and uh...and he said very little and I said, "Roll it." And it went dark. The ten minutes of optical takes ran, the lights came up, Philip turned around, looked me right in the eyes and he says, "How is this possible? I don't understand this." He says, "This feels exactly like what I had in my head when I was writing it. How does this happen?" At that moment it was probably the best moment in my career because I said (making fist), "We nailed it."
- David Dryer, Visual Effects Supervisor ("Blade Runner")
You can get audiobooks on the groups at alt.binaries.audiobooks, I think. If you don't find it there just look for "alt.binaries.*.audiobooks" and you should find it.
Invert their mouse settings. Pick left-handed if they're right, etc. That little tool that helps calibrate the mouse to your movement? Mess with that. Change the buttom mapping.
Makes is a real !@#$ to fix if you don't know how to use your keyboard.
mjh writes: "The problem is that there's no one that's doing this in the open source/free software world. So if someone else's copyright or patent DOES get into Linux or OpenBSD, then they can sue YOU for using it w/out a license. Generally, I think we are pretty well convinced that SCO's case has no teeth. But that's not the problem. There may be some other case out there that *does* have teeth, and there is no one to indemnify the user of Linux/OpenBSD in the event that something that's copyrighted accidentally got into the code. "
Buy indemnification insurance.
I am not in the industry so I don't know if such a beast exists but if there is a need, trust me, someone will insure you against it.
From the blurb: "IPv6 will increase the supply of addresses from 4 billion today to a number in excess of 35 trillion that is "so big that there's not a word for the number," says Cody Christman, director of product engineering for Verio."
It's a shame when a Verio rep has to dance around the word "google" out of fear of a lawsuit.
NaugaHunter writes: "Exactly HOW is that going to happen? Does Linus have a huge catalog of free music samples he'll open up?"
I should have been more specific. I meant more the tools, not the sound libraries. I prefer a more organic, home-made sound (I make my own as needed) so large-as-god soundbanks do little for me.
It doesn't matter who has a better claim. A deal was made and now Rockstar is pulling some really, really cheezy stunt to back out of it. That will haunt them until they die. Everyone slumps at some point. And when they do, they will be harshly reminded of this event in the form of a producer that thinks to themselves "look what they did to Sony, I don't need that kind of hassle."
Yeah, they're Rockstar, but how stupid is it to give Sony of all people the big double deuce? Bad Fscking Move. Because trust me, Rockstar, you will see the same people coming down that ladder that you saw on the way up.
I will admit that I have not looked into this past the blurb (so apologies in advance if a closer look would have revealed all this to be bogus), but if it's true this strikes me as very, very poor form. You got there, in part, with Sonys help. Incredible games, but I really hope their lawyers cram it up your ass.
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netsharc writes:
"To comment on the article, I don't understand why idiots even bother downloading cam-rips, the quality is so shit, you're not getting the real film: the angle is wrong, the color is usually gone, the audio can be good when ripped from source when it's an inside job (ha nowadays an MPAA cop sits in the projection booth, the article claims), but if they used the camcorder mic to record it, that's not exactly CD quality is it?"
You dismiss cams too quickly.
It's a balancing act. Some movies -- Matrix Revolutions, Return of the King, etc -- you really need to see in the theatre to fully appreciate (for my tastes, anyway). Other movies, most movies are movies that you might very well watch from a download and realize that the movie wasn't good enough to warrant the $8 or that the copy you have was "good enough." Gothika is a good example of the former, Finding Nemo is a good example of the latter, IMO.
Cam releases vary widely on the quality. Heck, even screener rip releases vary greatly. I saw a so-called "workprint" version of Kill Bill Vol 1 the day it came out and it was more than acceptable.
You should be a bit more cautious about making blanket statements of opinion for others. Your needs are not everyone else's needs. Your threshold is not necessarily ours. There may be people for whom a cam release of RotK is sufficient.
Oh, this is a no-brainer.
You say that the problems only start after a day or more of abstinence, right? So indulge! No more problem!
There are plenty of third-world kids who never get to enjoy that little twitch, my friend.
Finding out they existed.
I currently work at a midway and recently took apart all five of our skeeball lanes. Wish I had pictures. Some posts here seem to be pretty good so I'll just offer some tidbits that might be helpful.
- Our lanes are covered in a sort of think painted cork. This probably does two things; makes the lanes a lot smoother and forgiving on the balls and keeps the noise a lot lower. Your wife will thank you for it.
- We have some lanes that have optical switches, some that have mechanical switches. The mecahnical ones have a wire that juts out and blocks the path of the ball as it goes down the chute after it has gone in one of the holes. The problem with this is that sometimes the wires snap, sometimes the wire slips over the ball rather than actually triggering the switch, etc. I recommend optical. For 1-3 lanes, this *isn't* going to kill you. Just blow them out once in a while.
- Get a cheapo meter if you don't already have one.
- Oh, this is probably a good time to explain how the scoring actually works... Generally, you have two 100's (top left and top right) and one each of 50, 40, 30, 20 and 10. But the 50 hole does not score 50 right away. The switch right below that hole is worth 10. When the ball goes into the 50 hole, it hits the back of the chute and starts to roll down. It meets the switch below that hole and registers 10 points. The ball continues to fall and as it does, goes past (and behind) the "40 hole." It will then triger the sub 40 hold switch, giving another 10 points.
I should mention that the two 100 holes trigger 50 points each. They then accumulate the last 50 by each of the five switches it encounters on the way down.
Hopefully this makes sense. Let me know if it doesn't. The reason I bring this up is because it can simplify diagnosing problems. Say you get it in the 50 hole and you only get 30 points. Well, you know that two of the switches are probably out.
- I kind of agree with the person who said that the wooden balls are the best. I prefer the plastic balls only because I find they wear better and a very worn wooden ball is very hard to direct properly.
That's all I can think of. Good luck!
PS: If you need clarification on anything here, just reply and I'll check back.
Kirk Troll writes:
"SOYLENT SPAM IS FROGS!!!"
Leave the French out of this.
gnu-generation-one writes:
"Of course, you can still get the kazzaalite application from any of the P2P networks, including Kazaa."
That will work until Kazaa does something to the protocol or client that makes K++ no longer work. This will happen within a week, I predict.
LostCluster writes:
"I think the people left holding the bag here are exactly the right ones: The ones who thought they were gonna make instant big profits"
I hardly ever resort to such things but this one deserves it. You, sir, are an idiot.
Blunte writes: :)"
"More importantly, what do I need to do to get ME to glow? Please limit answers to non-lethal solutions
Get laid? =)
1.) Use your own voice as the seed for the font.
2.) Throw the switch on your improbability drive.
3.) Profit!!
I realize I'm not really adding to the discussion here but I've recently gotten into making techno (Cool Edit Pro 2 and Reason are excellent) and being a huge fan of Tracy Thorne-esque voices on techno tracks, I was just wondering the other day why I'd never heard of such a tool.
...this is excellent. $200 and soon.
So
Nevermind, he died (1982) before Total Recall was filmed (1990).
I don't know how PKD felt about Total Recall, but according to the documentary On The Edge Of Blade Runner:
...it was left to me to go in with a few of my key people and [Dick] and his friend go down and sit in the screening room and uh ...and he said very little and I said, "Roll it." And it went dark. The ten minutes of optical takes ran, the lights came up, Philip turned around, looked me right in the eyes and he says, "How is this possible? I don't understand this." He says, "This feels exactly like what I had in my head when I was writing it. How does this happen?" At that moment it was probably the best moment in my career because I said (making fist), "We nailed it."
Philip K. Dick was reasonably unhappy. Katie Haber gave me a call and said, "put together the best of the best in a reel," and
- David Dryer, Visual Effects Supervisor ("Blade Runner")
You can get audiobooks on the groups at alt.binaries.audiobooks, I think. If you don't find it there just look for "alt.binaries.*.audiobooks" and you should find it.
That's a hell of a good point. Thanks.
Invert their mouse settings. Pick left-handed if they're right, etc. That little tool that helps calibrate the mouse to your movement? Mess with that. Change the buttom mapping.
Makes is a real !@#$ to fix if you don't know how to use your keyboard.
W33dz writes:
"2. You own the right to listen to and enjoy the product on the cd. It is yours to use as you see fit as long as you do not violate #3."
What if the recording sucks and I don't enjoy it at all? Does that constitute breach of contract?
Great. Now we just need to find moons Metus (fear), Ambiguitas (uncertainty) and Dubium (doubt) and convince Gates to purchase them...
mjh writes:
"The problem is that there's no one that's doing this in the open source/free software world. So if someone else's copyright or patent DOES get into Linux or OpenBSD, then they can sue YOU for using it w/out a license. Generally, I think we are pretty well convinced that SCO's case has no teeth. But that's not the problem. There may be some other case out there that *does* have teeth, and there is no one to indemnify the user of Linux/OpenBSD in the event that something that's copyrighted accidentally got into the code. "
Buy indemnification insurance.
I am not in the industry so I don't know if such a beast exists but if there is a need, trust me, someone will insure you against it.
I wrote:
"It's a shame when a Verio rep has to dance around the word "google" out of fear of a lawsuit."
praxim replied:
"He didn't have to. The word is "googol," and happens to be much larger than 35 trillion."
Any suggestions on how I could have made this any more obviously a joke?
From the blurb:
"IPv6 will increase the supply of addresses from 4 billion today to a number in excess of 35 trillion that is "so big that there's not a word for the number," says Cody Christman, director of product engineering for Verio."
It's a shame when a Verio rep has to dance around the word "google" out of fear of a lawsuit.
This behavior bears a disturbing resemblance to my former cubefarm cellmates.
NaugaHunter writes:
"Exactly HOW is that going to happen? Does Linus have a huge catalog of free music samples he'll open up?"
I should have been more specific. I meant more the tools, not the sound libraries. I prefer a more organic, home-made sound (I make my own as needed) so large-as-god soundbanks do little for me.
If linux ever catches up in this dept I may very well never have to dual boot again. Sure wish they would but I don't see it happening. *shrug
It doesn't matter who has a better claim. A deal was made and now Rockstar is pulling some really, really cheezy stunt to back out of it. That will haunt them until they die. Everyone slumps at some point. And when they do, they will be harshly reminded of this event in the form of a producer that thinks to themselves "look what they did to Sony, I don't need that kind of hassle."
Yeah, they're Rockstar, but how stupid is it to give Sony of all people the big double deuce? Bad Fscking Move. Because trust me, Rockstar, you will see the same people coming down that ladder that you saw on the way up.
I will admit that I have not looked into this past the blurb (so apologies in advance if a closer look would have revealed all this to be bogus), but if it's true this strikes me as very, very poor form. You got there, in part, with Sonys help. Incredible games, but I really hope their lawyers cram it up your ass.