I recently did a lot of research on this topic. Both have good points and bad points. Tivo looks like it'll win as the standard considering that the company that makes ReplayTV (Sonic Blue) just filed for bankruptcy. The bad part about Tivo is that it absolutely will not function without the guide service that you pay them for. ReplayTV will work without the service but it functions more like a vcr that way (but with all of the nice things about digital like no rewinding, etc.).
The other main function I wanted was the ability to copy the shows to my computer, edit out the commercials, and burn to dvd. Here the ReplayTV blows the Tivo away. First of all, it supports this out of the box with a freely available piece of hacker software that you run from your PC. Tivo requires you to hack the software inside the Tivo which can be re-hacked by the Tivo software downloads anytime the company feels like making a change. Second, ReplayTV captures the audio and video at the right resolution and sampling rate for DVD. With the Tivo, you'd have to convert it after downloading it. Video conversion is very time consuming and really a pain in the ass.
After weighing all the pros and cons, I decided to go with the ReplayTV. If the company that bought up Sonic Blue's assets discontinues the guide service, I can still use it. All of the downloading pluses outweigh the instability factor.
The best example of game originality on the Dreamcast was Seaman. I don't even know how to describe it. It was basically a simfish with a verbal interface. Yeah, I know that doesn't make any sense. I doubt you'll ever see anything like it again either.
I know a few people who play Everquest and I wonder if this is relevant? It seems that once you get addicted to the game, you stop playing everything else. Are there a lot of people who have time to play multiple online RPGs?
What would make more sense to me is a sort of mini-site-license that allows everyone in a single household to play for a flat fee. I know of at least two families where both parents and at least one kid all play Everquest. It would make sense to offer a flat fee for them.
Actually, now that I think about it, Sony is probably doing what makes more financial sense for them. A person is more likely to try another game if they don't have to pay another subscription fee.
Of course, based on the people I know, they could charge 50 bucks a hit for EQ and people would pay it. It's worse than heroin.
I'm sure I'm not the only person who sees problems with a system where you first pay for a game and then pay to play it. It would make more sense if there were single player versions included with the game but for the online-only stuff the games should be free to download if they are going to charge to play.
What other product sells you something that is absolutely useless without paying a subscription fee? Tivo comes to mind but at least you're getting hardware with your initial purchase that can concievably be used for other purposes. I can't think of another example of this type of system where you don't get something for your up front money. Anyone?
Anyone who ever played online with the Dreamcast knows why console gaming and online play don't really work well together. There is nothing more frustrating than getting 3/4 of the way through a football game and having the other person quit because they were losing. Games with more players and cooperative play games have a better chance of succeeding. It seems like the quality of gamer on the console side just isn't up to the same standards as PC online gamers.
The only benefit I can really see to console gaming online is that it would be much more difficult to cheat. I finally quit playing Counterstrike (which I loved, btw) because it seemed like every third person was using a hack of some sort.
Actually, this isn't true of book publishing. Usually, the publisher buys the rights to a certain number of printings for a book. The author retains the copyright for the work as well as the right to distribute in other mediums (movies, etc.)
I doubt the music business works the same way, though. From what I've heard, more and more artists are being paid as 'work for hire' rather than as creators. It's like the difference between hiring a programmer to write software for you and buying someone else's software that they wrote. In the first case, you own the program copyright and in the second, the author keeps it.
Isn't it possible that they picked this day for the maintenance because they knew there wouldn't be any traffic to monitor? I'm not saying that this is necessarily the case but it's just as good an explanation as the government taking control for surveillance purposes. Let's not get too paranoid when there are obvious injustices right out in the open.
It was a joke! People get so touchy about their politics. I guess the South Park rule of 23 years having to pass before something controversial can be funny is true.* Two years down, 21 to go!
Marvel is Apple and Sony is Microsoft. Jack Kirby is Xerox and Stan Lee is Steve Jobs. Kirby created a lot of stuff and got shafted and ended up with nothing. Lee (Jobs) took Kirby's stuff and established a semi-successful company called Marvel (Apple). Now Sony (MS) comes along and takes the thing that makes Marvel who they are and tries to co-opt it for their own use.
All programmers should be forced to write their programs on hardware that is at least 2 years old. Am I the only one who gets sick of having to upgrade my hardware because programmers can't be bothered to optimize their code a little. Some of the recommended requirements on games these days reads like a NASA shopping list. I'm as much of a hardware junkie as the next geek but developers need to recognize that not everyone has an unlimited upgrade budget.
Seems like the title should fit the job description. After all, servers and workstations rarely crash themselves. IT people always get the blame when someone can't work because they screwed something up on their own system. And lets not even talk about budget scapegoating!
I'm sure the RIAA is thrilled about this. Now when university professors like Prof. Felten crack their encryption schemes, they won't have to worry about it being published.
Did anyone else notice that the Wheel of Time series is a pretty close ripoff to the original Dune? I mean, women with special powers that only one man can weild (messiah). Hard desert fighters that become the allies of this man. There are a ton of similarities that seem to be lifted directly from Dune and placed in a fantasy setting.
Actually, there is a tax on DAT tapes (used mainly for data backup) that was put in place back when the RIAA thought that DATs might promote copying CDs. Since then, DAT has become obsolete in the 'consumer' audio market but the tax is still in place. I, as a network administrator, am still paying a tax to the RIAA every time I back up my network on a DAT tape.
The CD-R tax is probably just another potential source of revenue to them. If you can't cheat the audio buying consumers (i.e. keeping the price of CDs artificially high), cheat the computer people.
Slashdot Mirror
It must be nice to be able to make up statistics to prove you're doing your job. And the numbers themselves are nice too.
'We've managed to make a dent in piracy but there's still a long way to go...keep paying us money to chase pirates.'
I recently did a lot of research on this topic. Both have good points and bad points. Tivo looks like it'll win as the standard considering that the company that makes ReplayTV (Sonic Blue) just filed for bankruptcy. The bad part about Tivo is that it absolutely will not function without the guide service that you pay them for. ReplayTV will work without the service but it functions more like a vcr that way (but with all of the nice things about digital like no rewinding, etc.).
The other main function I wanted was the ability to copy the shows to my computer, edit out the commercials, and burn to dvd. Here the ReplayTV blows the Tivo away. First of all, it supports this out of the box with a freely available piece of hacker software that you run from your PC. Tivo requires you to hack the software inside the Tivo which can be re-hacked by the Tivo software downloads anytime the company feels like making a change. Second, ReplayTV captures the audio and video at the right resolution and sampling rate for DVD. With the Tivo, you'd have to convert it after downloading it. Video conversion is very time consuming and really a pain in the ass.
After weighing all the pros and cons, I decided to go with the ReplayTV. If the company that bought up Sonic Blue's assets discontinues the guide service, I can still use it. All of the downloading pluses outweigh the instability factor.
I don't think this is what my mom meant when she kept telling me to stop watching tv and go outside to play.
The best example of game originality on the Dreamcast was Seaman. I don't even know how to describe it. It was basically a simfish with a verbal interface. Yeah, I know that doesn't make any sense. I doubt you'll ever see anything like it again either.
I know a few people who play Everquest and I wonder if this is relevant? It seems that once you get addicted to the game, you stop playing everything else. Are there a lot of people who have time to play multiple online RPGs?
What would make more sense to me is a sort of mini-site-license that allows everyone in a single household to play for a flat fee. I know of at least two families where both parents and at least one kid all play Everquest. It would make sense to offer a flat fee for them.
Actually, now that I think about it, Sony is probably doing what makes more financial sense for them. A person is more likely to try another game if they don't have to pay another subscription fee.
Of course, based on the people I know, they could charge 50 bucks a hit for EQ and people would pay it. It's worse than heroin.
I'm sure I'm not the only person who sees problems with a system where you first pay for a game and then pay to play it. It would make more sense if there were single player versions included with the game but for the online-only stuff the games should be free to download if they are going to charge to play.
What other product sells you something that is absolutely useless without paying a subscription fee? Tivo comes to mind but at least you're getting hardware with your initial purchase that can concievably be used for other purposes. I can't think of another example of this type of system where you don't get something for your up front money. Anyone?
Anyone who ever played online with the Dreamcast knows why console gaming and online play don't really work well together. There is nothing more frustrating than getting 3/4 of the way through a football game and having the other person quit because they were losing. Games with more players and cooperative play games have a better chance of succeeding. It seems like the quality of gamer on the console side just isn't up to the same standards as PC online gamers.
The only benefit I can really see to console gaming online is that it would be much more difficult to cheat. I finally quit playing Counterstrike (which I loved, btw) because it seemed like every third person was using a hack of some sort.
Aaargh! My eyes! I've been blinded by a flash of the obvious!
Oh, I'm sorry...was that a rhetorical question or a joke?
A version of the kumite for video game slobs like me! Too bad we don't get to beat the hell out of Jean-Claude van Damme, though.
Actually, this isn't true of book publishing. Usually, the publisher buys the rights to a certain number of printings for a book. The author retains the copyright for the work as well as the right to distribute in other mediums (movies, etc.)
I doubt the music business works the same way, though. From what I've heard, more and more artists are being paid as 'work for hire' rather than as creators. It's like the difference between hiring a programmer to write software for you and buying someone else's software that they wrote. In the first case, you own the program copyright and in the second, the author keeps it.
Not just the DRM but what kind of new EULA restrictions are you agreeing to?
So basically, the 6 million dollar man was overpriced?
Where do we sign up to become super-strength wielding platinum cyborgs?
From the site... "Like I wrote, it looked like an automated form letter sent with a fake
name, and we haven't received any further response."
Fantastic! Now we have form letter Cease and Desist spam to deal with too.
Isn't it possible that they picked this day for the maintenance because they knew there wouldn't be any traffic to monitor? I'm not saying that this is necessarily the case but it's just as good an explanation as the government taking control for surveillance purposes. Let's not get too paranoid when there are obvious injustices right out in the open.
It was a joke! People get so touchy about their politics. I guess the South Park rule of 23 years having to pass before something controversial can be funny is true.* Two years down, 21 to go!
*(the Jared has AIDS episode)
Sure there's an election. But just like all elections in this country, your vote doesn't count and somebody else decides the outcome.
Of course they do. It's called Apple.
Okay...here it goes.
Marvel is Apple and Sony is Microsoft. Jack Kirby is Xerox and Stan Lee is Steve Jobs. Kirby created a lot of stuff and got shafted and ended up with nothing. Lee (Jobs) took Kirby's stuff and established a semi-successful company called Marvel (Apple). Now Sony (MS) comes along and takes the thing that makes Marvel who they are and tries to co-opt it for their own use.
Sound about right?
All programmers should be forced to write their programs on hardware that is at least 2 years old. Am I the only one who gets sick of having to upgrade my hardware because programmers can't be bothered to optimize their code a little. Some of the recommended requirements on games these days reads like a NASA shopping list. I'm as much of a hardware junkie as the next geek but developers need to recognize that not everyone has an unlimited upgrade budget.
Scapegoat.
Seems like the title should fit the job description. After all, servers and workstations rarely crash themselves. IT people always get the blame when someone can't work because they screwed something up on their own system. And lets not even talk about budget scapegoating!
"Our data was completely random. It's just an odd coincidence that it came out as all 0s, really!"
I'm sure the RIAA is thrilled about this. Now when university professors like Prof. Felten crack their encryption schemes, they won't have to worry about it being published.
Did anyone else notice that the Wheel of Time series is a pretty close ripoff to the original Dune? I mean, women with special powers that only one man can weild (messiah). Hard desert fighters that become the allies of this man. There are a ton of similarities that seem to be lifted directly from Dune and placed in a fantasy setting.
Am I the only one who noticed this?
Who wants to bet me that the non-bundled version of Windows will cost more and not be available to OEMs for pre-installed PCs?
Actually, there is a tax on DAT tapes (used mainly for data backup) that was put in place back when the RIAA thought that DATs might promote copying CDs. Since then, DAT has become obsolete in the 'consumer' audio market but the tax is still in place. I, as a network administrator, am still paying a tax to the RIAA every time I back up my network on a DAT tape.
The CD-R tax is probably just another potential source of revenue to them. If you can't cheat the audio buying consumers (i.e. keeping the price of CDs artificially high), cheat the computer people.