Another benefit - your wife/girlfriend/significant other will like the look of it, whereas if you try to get a PC into the livingroom, they'll use their power of veto...
I think there is some serious "astroturfing" going on in this thread. Comments like yours, that are critical of the XBox, are being modded down as flamebait.
I've noticed the same thing as you, none of my friends are very excited about the 360. There doesn't seem to be much buzz surrounding it. Personally I think it is because all the games are just sequels, more of the same but with fancier graphics.
It will be interesting to see what happens when the Playstation3 comes out.
If you want a media machine for the living room, I can really recommend a Mac Mini. It already has everything you need for multimedia. Get the bluetooth wireless keyboard and mouse.
What advancements would you like to see in the genre, though?
Well, basically I never want a response like "I don't understand what you mean", and want to be able to have proper conversations with in game characters, etc. Yes, I know it's hard, but not impossible and we no longer have the limitations of hardware that we used to have.
Becuase its not limited by [..] by its programming
Actually, it most certainly is limited by its programming. I think it's a real shame the game engines have advanced so little - it used to be that the real limiting factor was the hardware - you had so little memory - now the limiting factor is the engines, and those have hardly advanced at all.
I used to write text adventure games on the BBC micro. Only 32Kb memory as I remember, and you had to get the whole game and all data into that. Even with those limitations, the engines were getting pretty interesting. A lot of time was spent thinking how to compress the info down.
I remember thinking back then, I wonder how amazing the games will be when we have much more memory, like 128Kb or even 256Kb! Couldn't even conceive of 1Mb of memory.
I returned to it a few years ago because I'd heard there were still people developing them, but the engines really haven't advanced at all. It's a shame, with the capacities that computers have these days we really should be able to develop truely interactive fiction, but I don't think it's ever going to happen. A pity.
Coming to you from a couple of years in the future...
Today Bill Gates released a statement "Yes, Google is currently number one in traffic analysis, but at Microsoft we think their service is really basic and we've got some amazing web analytics software in development that will blow Google's out of the water. It's coming out soon... Yes, I know I said we were going to crush Google in search a while ago and we didn't but we're definately going to crush them in Traffic Analysis. Really. Please believe me. Hey, don't walk away I'm still talking! Why doesn't anyone fear me any more..?"
Removing the world's Web servers and replacing them with half the number of UltraSparc T1-based systems would have the same effect on carbon dioxide emissions as planting 1 million trees.
Whether there is prior art or not, it is still wrong that this stuff can be patented.
A technological revolution like the web opens the door to hundreds of new possibilities. Different people will come up with the same ideas within a short space of time. It should not benefit someone to have thought of something slightly before anyone else, and then be able to charge anyone else who comes up with the same idea at a later date.
Apple are justifiably proud of their boast "It just works". If you start letting people run OSX on any platform, then that becomes much harder, if not impossible.
Personally I think Apple should continue producing quality hardware and software for those that want the best, and not cater for the cheapskates who want to run the OS on crappy cheap hardware.
Finally, standard of living-wise the US does have a lot of variation but have you looked at the size of the US economy vis-a-vis these socialist paradises you're talking about?
Standard of living and size of economy are different things. The USA is a big country and has a big economy. So what.
Yes, the amusing thing is that most standard of living indexes (by the Economist, World Bank, UN etc) the USA is often beaten by countries with quite socialist systems.
If he believes that OSS is "socialist", and also believes that it is a threat to his business, then isn't he saying that the socialist model can come up with a market solution that is more competitive than the capitalist model? I thought to capitalist types that type of thinking was heresy.
It's all nonsense of course. OSS is the open market coming up with the most efficient solution to an expensive problem. Nothing socialist about it at all, unless you believe businesses sharing development costs for stuff that helps them run their businesses is socialist.
Apple would literally have to not care about profits in order for that to work.
Not so. I expect iWork contributes a fairly small percentage to their bottom line, which they could sacrifice in order to substantially grow their sales of hardware.
I know this has been speculated on many times before, but I'm convinced that Apple is going to pull something out of the hat with regards to this, may be as soon as next year.
Perhaps an Apple version of openOffice 2.0?
They have to really -- their reliance on Microsoft to produce a Mac version of office has had them in a vice for years, but their agreements are coming to an end and Microsoft's grip is slipping.
In the eyes of the law, a corporation is a single entity.
Sony is huge, with both regional companies and different companies covering different sectors. I expect most legal actions Sony has are brought against these companies, not the Corporation as a whole.
What the hell is that supposed to mean. Just because Microsoft has registered "Windows" as a trademark doesn't mean there aren't lots of legal ways you can use the word, especially with it being just a generic word.
No they don't. I was talking about a product demo, i.e. a working model of the final product. All their demonstration showed was that it is theoretically possible to create such a product.
Slashdot Mirror
Ireland? Norway? Sweden?
Another benefit - your wife/girlfriend/significant other will like the look of it, whereas if you try to get a PC into the livingroom, they'll use their power of veto...
I think there is some serious "astroturfing" going on in this thread. Comments like yours, that are critical of the XBox, are being modded down as flamebait.
I've noticed the same thing as you, none of my friends are very excited about the 360. There doesn't seem to be much buzz surrounding it. Personally I think it is because all the games are just sequels, more of the same but with fancier graphics.
It will be interesting to see what happens when the Playstation3 comes out.
Why has this been modded as flamebait? It's a valid question.
As far as I can see nearly all the launch games for the 360 are sports titles.
If you want a media machine for the living room, I can really recommend a Mac Mini. It already has everything you need for multimedia. Get the bluetooth wireless keyboard and mouse.
What advancements would you like to see in the genre, though?
Well, basically I never want a response like "I don't understand what you mean", and want to be able to have proper conversations with in game characters, etc. Yes, I know it's hard, but not impossible and we no longer have the limitations of hardware that we used to have.
Becuase its not limited by [..] by its programming
Actually, it most certainly is limited by its programming. I think it's a real shame the game engines have advanced so little - it used to be that the real limiting factor was the hardware - you had so little memory - now the limiting factor is the engines, and those have hardly advanced at all.
I used to write text adventure games on the BBC micro. Only 32Kb memory as I remember, and you had to get the whole game and all data into that. Even with those limitations, the engines were getting pretty interesting. A lot of time was spent thinking how to compress the info down.
I remember thinking back then, I wonder how amazing the games will be when we have much more memory, like 128Kb or even 256Kb! Couldn't even conceive of 1Mb of memory.
I returned to it a few years ago because I'd heard there were still people developing them, but the engines really haven't advanced at all. It's a shame, with the capacities that computers have these days we really should be able to develop truely interactive fiction, but I don't think it's ever going to happen. A pity.
Coming to you from a couple of years in the future...
Today Bill Gates released a statement "Yes, Google is currently number one in traffic analysis, but at Microsoft we think their service is really basic and we've got some amazing web analytics software in development that will blow Google's out of the water. It's coming out soon... Yes, I know I said we were going to crush Google in search a while ago and we didn't but we're definately going to crush them in Traffic Analysis. Really. Please believe me. Hey, don't walk away I'm still talking! Why doesn't anyone fear me any more..?"
I'm sure they are going to start charging for this service in the future if you are a company.
Yes, yes, I'm an idiot. I should have RFA...
Did they do this based on their acquisition of Urchin? Are Urchin staff now working on this instead? Does this mean the death of Urchin software?
Dear Sun,
RE: your statement:
Removing the world's Web servers and replacing them with half the number of UltraSparc T1-based systems would have the same effect on carbon dioxide emissions as planting 1 million trees.
Please engage brain before opening mouth.
Thanks.
Whether there is prior art or not, it is still wrong that this stuff can be patented.
A technological revolution like the web opens the door to hundreds of new possibilities. Different people will come up with the same ideas within a short space of time. It should not benefit someone to have thought of something slightly before anyone else, and then be able to charge anyone else who comes up with the same idea at a later date.
Apple are justifiably proud of their boast "It just works". If you start letting people run OSX on any platform, then that becomes much harder, if not impossible.
Personally I think Apple should continue producing quality hardware and software for those that want the best, and not cater for the cheapskates who want to run the OS on crappy cheap hardware.
Finally, standard of living-wise the US does have a lot of variation but have you looked at the size of the US economy vis-a-vis these socialist paradises you're talking about?
Standard of living and size of economy are different things. The USA is a big country and has a big economy. So what.
Yes, the amusing thing is that most standard of living indexes (by the Economist, World Bank, UN etc) the USA is often beaten by countries with quite socialist systems.
If he believes that OSS is "socialist", and also believes that it is a threat to his business, then isn't he saying that the socialist model can come up with a market solution that is more competitive than the capitalist model? I thought to capitalist types that type of thinking was heresy.
It's all nonsense of course. OSS is the open market coming up with the most efficient solution to an expensive problem. Nothing socialist about it at all, unless you believe businesses sharing development costs for stuff that helps them run their businesses is socialist.
Might be time to go through the trouble of installing X11...
Try Neooffice/J - the native port. It works pretty well.
Apple would literally have to not care about profits in order for that to work.
Not so. I expect iWork contributes a fairly small percentage to their bottom line, which they could sacrifice in order to substantially grow their sales of hardware.
I know this has been speculated on many times before, but I'm convinced that Apple is going to pull something out of the hat with regards to this, may be as soon as next year.
Perhaps an Apple version of openOffice 2.0?
They have to really -- their reliance on Microsoft to produce a Mac version of office has had them in a vice for years, but their agreements are coming to an end and Microsoft's grip is slipping.
In the eyes of the law, a corporation is a single entity.
Sony is huge, with both regional companies and different companies covering different sectors. I expect most legal actions Sony has are brought against these companies, not the Corporation as a whole.
A trademark is a trademark.
What the hell is that supposed to mean. Just because Microsoft has registered "Windows" as a trademark doesn't mean there aren't lots of legal ways you can use the word, especially with it being just a generic word.
No they don't. I was talking about a product demo, i.e. a working model of the final product. All their demonstration showed was that it is theoretically possible to create such a product.
It is still in early development...
I have a technology that's ten times better than this one, although it is in very early stages of development...
No technology company should make extravagant claims about the capabilities of their product until they have a genuine, working demo.