Ask any operator about the go-go early 80s "golden age" of video arcades, and they'll tell you that they're glad it's over. Operators had to spend so much money to keep up with the latest games that they ended up in debt in the end. They're much happier operating the scant equipment choices they have these days.
The real money these days is in coin-op pool tables and juke boxes. Videos are too expensive and the kids won't play them, and pinball machines are just too much maintenance. Pool tables and jukes are guaranteed moneymakers, and don't require nearly the amount of maintenance.
"Now, that Italian place is gone and the games are gone for good. While I still plan to get a Robotron machine first [linuxgames.com], I'm thinking of adding a pinball machine to my computer and work room when we finally get time to get a real home. They really are awesome."
I'd plan to spend between $800-$1,200 for a Robotron in average condition. The game is one of the top machines on most collectors' lists and commands top dollar. One thing you don't want to do is buy from anyone who consults a video game collectors price guide. The price then shoots upward exponently. Every longtime collector will tell you that you'll get screwed this way, and 99% of them won't buy from anyone who uses a guide to gauge prices. This really only purtains to videos. I don't think you'll have the same problem with pins.
Don't rely on eBay for accurate prices either. Those prices are generally inflated. You can get a really decent deal if you hunt around for a bargain.
One last thing to end this rambling post- learn how to FIX the machines. Be prepared to buy a machine and have it break down on you within weeks, even DAYS after you've taken stock of it. Pinball machines and video games take a ton of abuse on location; most collectors and operators (who dare deal with the public; most don't) will sell the machines as-is and will refuse to fix them once they leave the shop. There are lots of resources on the web and usenet for collectors. Find them and dig in!
It's sad really. I own a pool hall in a small town and pinball still registers decent coin drop (I have two machines). The problem is that the industry went a little crazy trying to catch up to video in the early 80s and the designs got too complicated and therefore, more expensive to purchase and maintain. Operators started abandoning them in droves near the end of the last century. When companies such as WMS (Bally/Williams/Atari Games), who owned two of the major pinball manufacturers, bailed out in early 2000, the death knell was sounded for the industry. Stern Pinball is still alive, having bought out Sega's pinball division (originally Data East Pinball), but most of their sales are to overseas distributors. The pins they sell in the US are basically writeoffs. It's a shame really. I think if the industry stuck to innovative, less complicated designs, it might still be thriving, rather than barely surviving.
Not necessarily. There are quite a few games in MAME and other emulators that require a lot more power than a piddly p200 could ever give them. Even my old lowly C500 can't run the Neogeo games at 100% frame rate. The Atari polygonal games, which use software rendering, won't even hit 10%!
If anyone decides to put together your own MAME cabinet, please, for the love of all things holy, do NOT use a rare classic cabinet to do it in!!! There are a ton of cabinets built for conversion kits, and crappy JAMMA games can be had for $50-$200 in these cabs.
If you come across a classic cabinet in your hunt for a machine to "MAME," please consider restoring it. There are many resources available on the net and usenet for parts and assistance in doing so. I've put many a converted classic back together and it's a real thrill to see a long-dead machine come back from the dead.
Things have changed. The entire Greater Grand Rapids Area is now wired; not to mention that there are a dozen, if not more, dial-up ISPs in place now.
I used to live in Belding. My nearest neighbor had cable tv, internet, etc. I lived 150 yards from him and had to get a sat dish and 28.8 dialup! Thankfully, Greenville had cable when I moved up there.
"Music creators have the right to protect their property from theft, just like owners of any other property," Sherman said. "Motion picture studios and software and video game publishers have protected their works for years, and no one has even (thought) to claim that doing so was inappropriate, let alone unlawful."
This argument is flawed. The difference is that software is used on a specific medium, i.e. a game console or PC. Music CDs are designed to be used on various forms of compact disc players, i.e. hi-fi systems, portables, and PCs. In other words, an 'authorized' piece of hardware is not needed to play a CD (although I'm sure they'd love to be able to implement that) as opposed to software.
One more thing to mention- certain forms of software were built with copy-protection in mind, i.e. DVDs, when CDs were not. That alone proves their argument invalid.
"Cry me a river. Buy the CD and be done with it, if you're really that interested in finding the actual song."
Or just do what any smart person would do: downlaod it from the newsgroups. Then you don't have to worry about such crap.
Available NOW at Gap....
on
DRM Helmet
·
· Score: 1
"The DRM Suit! Handle Your Favorite Artists (i.e. corporation's) Intellectual Property In Style! Includes Helmet, Gloves, Chainmail Shirt and Pants!"
The least expensive outfit will automatically bend you over and take "royalties" out of your wallet everytime you listen to a song or watch a movie. The chainmail pants and shirt are used to punish you if you illegally download or record/burn music or movies (110 volts. BZZZT!)The most expensive outfit will just turn pink and polkadotted and make you the joke of your "peers" if you partake in any "illegal" activity.
USA Today's cover story from Wednesday was a very well-written and non-biased article about everything that is wrong with the music industry. I'm surprised at the quality of the piece; given that it was ran in the king of the fluff rags sold on the newsstand these days.
No network in their right mind would allow such a commercial to run, thereby stifling this (otherwise) good idea before it could even get off the ground.
...how I submitted this same story a lot earlier than "Matey-O" did, and it got rejected. Now I *know* and have proof that Slashdot editors take some of the good stories and give props to their friends. You would have NEVER found this story otherwise.
Not that I care about credit and glory for things like this, but you've just lost a longtime reader as a result.
There is a way to neuter Kazaa so that you can run it without the spyware phoning home. Go to http://www.cexx.org/dummies.htm and download the dummy CD_CLINT.DLL. Voila! Neutered:)
People aren't going to be flooding the streets due to MS's new OS either. XP just isn't that important enough, in these tough times, to justify a purchase. The PC market is saturated, and the sales of new PCs alone will not make XP the dominant OS that MS wants it to be. People will stick to what works best, and that just happens to be their Win9x/2K systems.
Slashdot Mirror
Ask any operator about the go-go early 80s "golden age" of video arcades, and they'll tell you that they're glad it's over. Operators had to spend so much money to keep up with the latest games that they ended up in debt in the end. They're much happier operating the scant equipment choices they have these days.
The real money these days is in coin-op pool tables and juke boxes. Videos are too expensive and the kids won't play them, and pinball machines are just too much maintenance. Pool tables and jukes are guaranteed moneymakers, and don't require nearly the amount of maintenance.
"Now, that Italian place is gone and the games are gone for good. While I still plan to get a Robotron machine first [linuxgames.com], I'm thinking of adding a pinball machine to my computer and work room when we finally get time to get a real home. They really are awesome."
I'd plan to spend between $800-$1,200 for a Robotron in average condition. The game is one of the top machines on most collectors' lists and commands top dollar. One thing you don't want to do is buy from anyone who consults a video game collectors price guide. The price then shoots upward exponently. Every longtime collector will tell you that you'll get screwed this way, and 99% of them won't buy from anyone who uses a guide to gauge prices. This really only purtains to videos. I don't think you'll have the same problem with pins.
Check out rec.games.pinball and rec.games.video.arcade.collecting to gauge what you'll have to pay. Another good outlet is Mr. Pinball classifieds.
Don't rely on eBay for accurate prices either. Those prices are generally inflated. You can get a really decent deal if you hunt around for a bargain.
One last thing to end this rambling post- learn how to FIX the machines. Be prepared to buy a machine and have it break down on you within weeks, even DAYS after you've taken stock of it. Pinball machines and video games take a ton of abuse on location; most collectors and operators (who dare deal with the public; most don't) will sell the machines as-is and will refuse to fix them once they leave the shop. There are lots of resources on the web and usenet for collectors. Find them and dig in!
Good luck!
It's sad really. I own a pool hall in a small town and pinball still registers decent coin drop (I have two machines). The problem is that the industry went a little crazy trying to catch up to video in the early 80s and the designs got too complicated and therefore, more expensive to purchase and maintain. Operators started abandoning them in droves near the end of the last century. When companies such as WMS (Bally/Williams/Atari Games), who owned two of the major pinball manufacturers, bailed out in early 2000, the death knell was sounded for the industry. Stern Pinball is still alive, having bought out Sega's pinball division (originally Data East Pinball), but most of their sales are to overseas distributors. The pins they sell in the US are basically writeoffs. It's a shame really. I think if the industry stuck to innovative, less complicated designs, it might still be thriving, rather than barely surviving.
This will probably be modded down as flamebait, but I really don't care.
I knew the second that this article was pointed out, the MS shills would come out in record numbers.
You people aren't fooling anybody. We know who you are, and who pays you to post to defend this crap.
"For those of you fixing things in your software:
:)
The year 2000 *is* a leap year, despite what many algorithms tell you.
The year 2400 is *not* a leap year.
With minimal effort, you can make things work until 2399. You may be
subject to complaints after that."
Funny how this gentleman had the insight to know that it really was a miniscule problem in 1985.
Of course (to be a bit cynical), I think the slime that profited from the Y2K hysteria knew this too
Not necessarily. There are quite a few games in MAME and other emulators that require a lot more power than a piddly p200 could ever give them. Even my old lowly C500 can't run the Neogeo games at 100% frame rate. The Atari polygonal games, which use software rendering, won't even hit 10%!
If anyone decides to put together your own MAME cabinet, please, for the love of all things holy, do NOT use a rare classic cabinet to do it in!!! There are a ton of cabinets built for conversion kits, and crappy JAMMA games can be had for $50-$200 in these cabs.
If you come across a classic cabinet in your hunt for a machine to "MAME," please consider restoring it. There are many resources available on the net and usenet for parts and assistance in doing so. I've put many a converted classic back together and it's a real thrill to see a long-dead machine come back from the dead.
Actually, the site has now moved to Vintage Gaming Network. You can view the new page here.
Things have changed. The entire Greater Grand Rapids Area is now wired; not to mention that there are a dozen, if not more, dial-up ISPs in place now.
I used to live in Belding. My nearest neighbor had cable tv, internet, etc. I lived 150 yards from him and had to get a sat dish and 28.8 dialup! Thankfully, Greenville had cable when I moved up there.
Poor journalism? From Slashdot, the site that takes user submissions and slaps their own name on them after rejecting yours? NAH! NOT SLASHDOT!
Slashdot is far from real journalism, as proven by this troll they've posted today.
Tomato, tomato...
You're looking way too far into what I posted. Your first sentence killed your argument, as you totally missed the point of what I said.
Have a nice day.
"Music creators have the right to protect their property from theft, just like owners of any other property," Sherman said. "Motion picture studios and software and video game publishers have protected their works for years, and no one has even (thought) to claim that doing so was inappropriate, let alone unlawful."
This argument is flawed. The difference is that software is used on a specific medium, i.e. a game console or PC. Music CDs are designed to be used on various forms of compact disc players, i.e. hi-fi systems, portables, and PCs. In other words, an 'authorized' piece of hardware is not needed to play a CD (although I'm sure they'd love to be able to implement that) as opposed to software.
One more thing to mention- certain forms of software were built with copy-protection in mind, i.e. DVDs, when CDs were not. That alone proves their argument invalid.
"Cry me a river. Buy the CD and be done with it, if you're really that interested in finding the actual song."
Or just do what any smart person would do: downlaod it from the newsgroups. Then you don't have to worry about such crap.
"The DRM Suit! Handle Your Favorite Artists (i.e. corporation's) Intellectual Property In Style! Includes Helmet, Gloves, Chainmail Shirt and Pants!"
The least expensive outfit will automatically bend you over and take "royalties" out of your wallet everytime you listen to a song or watch a movie. The chainmail pants and shirt are used to punish you if you illegally download or record/burn music or movies (110 volts. BZZZT!)The most expensive outfit will just turn pink and polkadotted and make you the joke of your "peers" if you partake in any "illegal" activity.
USA Today's cover story from Wednesday was a very well-written and non-biased article about everything that is wrong with the music industry. I'm surprised at the quality of the piece; given that it was ran in the king of the fluff rags sold on the newsstand these days.
View it here.
No network in their right mind would allow such a commercial to run, thereby stifling this (otherwise) good idea before it could even get off the ground.
...how I submitted this same story a lot earlier than "Matey-O" did, and it got rejected. Now I *know* and have proof that Slashdot editors take some of the good stories and give props to their friends. You would have NEVER found this story otherwise.
Not that I care about credit and glory for things like this, but you've just lost a longtime reader as a result.
"And what the heck, why not re-unite Menudo and give them a role too."
YEAH! That way, we could kill off Ricky Martin for good!!
(Actually, Menudo is an on-going entity, even tlo this day).
There is a way to neuter Kazaa so that you can run it without the spyware phoning home. Go to http://www.cexx.org/dummies.htm and download the dummy CD_CLINT.DLL. Voila! Neutered :)
You forgot about Darth's comment to the Emperor in ESB:
"I have felt him, my master."
So what? It STILL never worked right.
Why bother, when there are two or three other BETTER emulators out there. If I'm not mistaken, at least one of them is open source.
People aren't going to be flooding the streets due to MS's new OS either. XP just isn't that important enough, in these tough times, to justify a purchase. The PC market is saturated, and the sales of new PCs alone will not make XP the dominant OS that MS wants it to be. People will stick to what works best, and that just happens to be their Win9x/2K systems.
You'll also notice, that the mainstream media outlets are saying NOTHING about this. Goes to show you who owns the media, as well as congress.
"Dude! That's your MOM!"
ALex Winter played Bill, kthx.