With products such as this actually seeing the light of day, how long until we see the big innovation i've been waiting to happen:
Electronic Textbooks.
yes, we already haev Ebooks, but they are _so_ limited in what they can do, compared to what they _should_ be able to do. I want to be able to have all of my books on 1 small device. I want to stop paying so much to buy books when i'm going to sell them back anyways.
There are ways around getting older sony things while screwing sony at the same time.
You can get a used, 5-disc sony ES (the good stuff) cd changer now for not so much. Instead of giving sony your money for the cd player, just buy it from somebody else. That way sony is losing the money you would have spent on their cd player and you help out somebody else.
Secondly, if you feel strongly about sony, don't support their Super Audio CD effort. If the same holds true to their SACD effor as does their cd effort, please let Sound & Vision know, as they are feverishly watching this whole copy protection thing and are opposed to it.
As far as making a recording of a recording that you buy, it is perfectly legal per the Home Recording Act.
If you do tell Sound & Vision, please let me know what happens, as i will be very intereted.
But dont' knock monkey ball so hard, its a great game. Just takes a little to get used to. It has good gameplay and if you don't like the music, turn it off...
But then again, if you don't like marble madness types of games, then i can see why you don't like monkey ball.
As for 4 player wave race... I think that applies to any 4 player split screen game. Once you get a big tv its not bad anymore.
Its called MiniDisc and its a very mature and developed alternative.
Media for mp3 players is expensive unless you get the optical kind. Media for minidisc is cheap. You can record stuff, batteries last long and the players are as small as mp3 players for the most part. If you get one of the newer sony's you can compress your music further and fit 5 hours on a minidisc. I'm not sure if this is advisable as i've not heard it.
I love my minidisc player as i can't stand listening to the same songs over and over again.
The game cube will render everything at >30 frames per second, given the developer isn't dumb.
No matter what you render at, the standard tv draws it at 60 fields per second. A field is half a screenful of information, going down every other line. So, 60 fields per second is 30 frames per second, cumulative, interlaced.
The reason you want a high frame rate from the source is so that the games are smooth and truly interactive, ie., you push a button and your character reacts as if the controller is wired into him.
Just because its running on an hdtv doesn't make it look better. There are different formats of hdtv, and it depends on
1) your tv... doesn't matter what resolution it displays if it can'd do color well....
2) video cables, if your cables are crap, you won't see vivid colors or, more importantly, detail in shadows,
3) type of video cables, you're not gonna convey a whole lot of picture information undisturbed over your standard rca composite video cable, you'll need a wide band component video cable set for it to look best, which is available from nintendo, 4) how the games look. If you want to see flicker, set your monitor to 60 frames/sec refresh and look at a white page... hurts and flickers, right? Well try it again with something with color, less noticable flicker. Anyhoo, anyway you look at it, 480p (progresssive, meaning full 60 frames per second) looks better than 480i.
But, in the end, its the gameplay!
Pikmin will rock as will the starwars game and super smash brothers melee... i'm into multiplayer stuff...
Re: I found dvd-r prices
on
Debian On DVD
·
· Score: 1
Dunno.
I know cdrecord can handle it i believe.
THats just for the burning, i suggest you consult freshmeat.net to see if there's anyting that will make an image of those filesystems...
Re: I found dvd-r prices
on
Debian On DVD
·
· Score: 1
On pricewatch i found 2 dvd-r drives
Cheapest is the panasonic.
It is combo dvd-ram/dvd-r drive.
It costs $445 for the bare drive (ide)
The pioneer dvr-a03 is the de-facto.
It is combo dvd-r/dvd-rw/cd-r/cd-rw.
It is also what apple uses for the "superdrive"
It costs $475.
Here are stats about the DVR-A03:
8x cd-r
4x cd-rw
2x dvd-r
1x dvd-rw
1x may sound slow, but, uh, thats 4.7 gigs in an hour or 2.
I found this link.
http://www.meritline.com/supa1dvwrit.html
and this one showing most of the industry offerings.
http://www.meritline.com/dvddrives.html
Somebody find a dvd-r howto, or write one.
And include a part about how to author one that will play movies in standard component dvd players with the use of free tools.
Dvd prices (drives and media)
on
Debian On DVD
·
· Score: 2, Informative
Since everybody is going to ask this anyways, and other will speculate, i thought i'd make a nice list for everybody.
All prices are from pricewatch.
dvdrom drives:
(ide or eide) - 16x for $42, 12x for $39, 10x for $35
dvdram drives:
(scsi) - 5.2GB for $189 (creative), 5.2GB for $249 (toshiba), (single/double sided) - 4.7GB/9.4GB for $468 (panasonic)
(ide) - 4.7GB/9.4GB for $440 (ibm)
dvdram media - 1 for $11 (smart & friendly)
dvd-r media - 1 for $8 (pioneer)
Couldn't find dvd-r drive on pricewatch.
Sorry, looks like they are still expensive.
As time goes by and my copy of rc pro/am gets even harder to get to play, the blowing on doesn't work anymore. The key is to get the hot moisture from your breath onto the connectors.
Much like one fogs their glasses for cleaning, the cartridge must also be "fogged"
Think of everyone oogling the fancy graphics and a nice bluescreen comes up, and everybody thinks its a joke, but it isn't.
This brings me to an unrelated point. Nintendo actually spent money on me. They sent me promotional material. It was an envelope shaped like a gamecube with a minicd in it that was basically a big web page. It included info about their upcoming games as well as wallpapers and videos. Pretty neat.
I'm not trying to fiercly defend it here, because your point is valid. You will still have to reposition your hands. I'm just asking that you look at it from a different angle than initial shock.
If the keyboard is the same size as say a happ hacker, then that isn't that bad at all. It feels kinda natural... but you will still have to reposition your hands to be able to chat, etc.
I'm sure that it will be a lot less painful than putting down the controller and picking up the _huge_ keyboard that the dreamcast has.
I think its kinda cool.. but at the same time would try it out before i bought it.
PS : i will buy a gamecube. Nintendo always give me the gameplay i want.
Forget the headphones. Unless they are your primary listening devices, don't use them. You may notice things with them that you didn't before, but that doesn't mean that you'll notice the same things on your computer or floor speakers.
The truth of the matter is, if you can't notice the difference between 160kb and 320kb there are a few thigns going on which may include.
1) Bad encoder
If your encoder sucks, both will sound like garbage.
2) Bad speakers/sound card
If you have regular computer speakers, everything sounds like garbage already. They are low fidelity and you won't be able to tell a good, quality example from one with a lot of artifacting.
3) Don't know what to listen for.
If you don't know what to listen for, you won't be able to tell the difference. I've found that listening to vocals is what _not_ to do. Most algorithms are really good in the midrange. I listen to the highs because thats what i can hear best. The percussion will most likey sound quieter and fade in and out abruptly compared to the original recording.
A trick that a lot of compression schemes play on people is taht they are very "clear." People mistake this "clarity" as sounding "better." This is the same crowd that used to listen to tapes, but switched to cd's to avoid the "hiss." The only reason compressed audio sounds clearer is because it is removing most of the background ambience.
As for a consensus about which sounds better, you'll never get one. You may get some tests that reveal which one is closer to the original signal, but sound is subjective, and some people will swear by one as opposed to the other.
What it comes down to is doing the tests like the post i'm replying to. You must do a double blind test.
Its fun!
Re:GPS + PCS, Garmin GPS Phone with RealTime Map
on
GPS Meets PCS
·
· Score: 1
I should add the facts that:
You could send your coordinates to anyone and show up on a map.
It was really cool.
You could get pc software that would allow you to see your friend's
location, velocity and other things in real time on a map.
GPS + PCS, Garmin GPS Phone with RealTime Map
on
GPS Meets PCS
·
· Score: 3, Informative
GPS and phones aren't that new.
Garmin had their gps phone a couple of years ago.
When you put in an emergency call it would send
your coordinates along with it.
It was nifty, i almost got one for my birthday.
If you're looking for a link here it is..
http://www.garmin.com/products/navTalk/
Slashdot Mirror
With products such as this actually seeing the light of day, how long until we see the big innovation i've been waiting to happen:
Electronic Textbooks.
yes, we already haev Ebooks, but they are _so_ limited in what they can do, compared to what they _should_ be able to do. I want to be able to have all of my books on 1 small device. I want to stop paying so much to buy books when i'm going to sell them back anyways.
Anyone else agree?
yes, Revolt for N64 had good physics but...
It was _unplayable_ because of the terrible framerate.
I just wish it would have had a decent framerate like on dreamcast.
There are ways around getting older sony things while screwing sony at the same time.
You can get a used, 5-disc sony ES (the good stuff) cd changer now for not so much. Instead of giving sony your money for the cd player, just buy it from somebody else. That way sony is losing the money you would have spent on their cd player and you help out somebody else.
Secondly, if you feel strongly about sony, don't support their Super Audio CD effort. If the same holds true to their SACD effor as does their cd effort, please let Sound & Vision know, as they are feverishly watching this whole copy protection thing and are opposed to it.
As far as making a recording of a recording that you buy, it is perfectly legal per the Home Recording Act.
If you do tell Sound & Vision, please let me know what happens, as i will be very intereted.
Thanks.
-Mike
Everybody i play with hates kirby because i can beat them all with him, but they can't properly use him.
Oh, and my friend used to sell kirby vaccuum cleaners. They are pretty nice too...
Kirby !!!
I will agree with you about wave race.
But dont' knock monkey ball so hard, its a great game. Just takes a little to get used to. It has good gameplay and if you don't like the music, turn it off...
But then again, if you don't like marble madness types of games, then i can see why you don't like monkey ball.
As for 4 player wave race... I think that applies to any 4 player split screen game. Once you get a big tv its not bad anymore.
Its called MiniDisc and its a very mature and developed alternative.
Media for mp3 players is expensive unless you get the optical kind. Media for minidisc is cheap. You can record stuff, batteries last long and the players are as small as mp3 players for the most part. If you get one of the newer sony's you can compress your music further and fit 5 hours on a minidisc. I'm not sure if this is advisable as i've not heard it.
I love my minidisc player as i can't stand listening to the same songs over and over again.
If you have an n64, go buy or rent conker's bad fur day.
It has the nintendo gameplay mixed with the mature themes you speak about.
I found it hilarious and as much fun to watch as to play. It plays more like an adult cartoon than a game.
The game cube will render everything at >30 frames per second, given the developer isn't dumb.
No matter what you render at, the standard tv draws it at 60 fields per second. A field is half a screenful of information, going down every other line. So, 60 fields per second is 30 frames per second, cumulative, interlaced.
The reason you want a high frame rate from the source is so that the games are smooth and truly interactive, ie., you push a button and your character reacts as if the controller is wired into him.
Just because its running on an hdtv doesn't make it look better. There are different formats of hdtv, and it depends on
1) your tv... doesn't matter what resolution it displays if it can'd do color well....
2) video cables, if your cables are crap, you won't see vivid colors or, more importantly, detail in shadows,
3) type of video cables, you're not gonna convey a whole lot of picture information undisturbed over your standard rca composite video cable, you'll need a wide band component video cable set for it to look best, which is available from nintendo, 4) how the games look. If you want to see flicker, set your monitor to 60 frames/sec refresh and look at a white page... hurts and flickers, right? Well try it again with something with color, less noticable flicker. Anyhoo, anyway you look at it, 480p (progresssive, meaning full 60 frames per second) looks better than 480i.
But, in the end, its the gameplay!
Pikmin will rock as will the starwars game and super smash brothers melee... i'm into multiplayer stuff...
Dunno.
I know cdrecord can handle it i believe.
THats just for the burning, i suggest you consult freshmeat.net to see if there's anyting that will make an image of those filesystems...
On pricewatch i found 2 dvd-r drives
Cheapest is the panasonic.
It is combo dvd-ram/dvd-r drive.
It costs $445 for the bare drive (ide)
The pioneer dvr-a03 is the de-facto.
It is combo dvd-r/dvd-rw/cd-r/cd-rw.
It is also what apple uses for the "superdrive"
It costs $475.
Here are stats about the DVR-A03:
8x cd-r
4x cd-rw
2x dvd-r
1x dvd-rw
1x may sound slow, but, uh, thats 4.7 gigs in an hour or 2.
I found this link.
http://www.meritline.com/supa1dvwrit.html
and this one showing most of the industry offerings.
http://www.meritline.com/dvddrives.html
Somebody find a dvd-r howto, or write one.
And include a part about how to author one that will play movies in standard component dvd players with the use of free tools.
Since everybody is going to ask this anyways, and other will speculate, i thought i'd make a nice list for everybody.
All prices are from pricewatch.
dvdrom drives:
(ide or eide) - 16x for $42, 12x for $39, 10x for $35
dvdram drives:
(scsi) - 5.2GB for $189 (creative), 5.2GB for $249 (toshiba), (single/double sided) - 4.7GB/9.4GB for $468 (panasonic)
(ide) - 4.7GB/9.4GB for $440 (ibm)
dvdram media - 1 for $11 (smart & friendly)
dvd-r media - 1 for $8 (pioneer)
Couldn't find dvd-r drive on pricewatch.
Sorry, looks like they are still expensive.
Hope this helps.
The point is you shouldn't need to do all of those things in order to get good performance.
Apparently the X extensions that are speedy aren't being used very much.
I run blackbox witha sold background because i like my windowing environment to be snappy.
I spend most of my time in the console anywas though.
gecko == the chip nintendo is using that ibm made for them.
We're talking about one in the same. Its very very small. More like a dime or smaller. It's made in vermont.
Yea.
errr,
maybe i should use the preview button.
2 outa 3 in't bad
haha
3 outa five
yea, meatloaf
Please, learn how to read and understand what you're reading.
Out of five stores that have playable demos within a ten mile area, only two have working units
Out of the 5 stores in the 10 mile area.
Unless the whole country has a 10 mile radius, you are wrong.
So, out of 5 stores in the 10 mile radius, 2 have working units. Thats 2/5.
Even meatloaf agrees...
3 out 5 ain't bad, 2 out five ain't no good.
So, next time use the preview button.
As time goes by and my copy of rc pro/am gets even harder to get to play, the blowing on doesn't work anymore. The key is to get the hot moisture from your breath onto the connectors.
Much like one fogs their glasses for cleaning, the cartridge must also be "fogged"
Worked for me.
I agree that graphics aren't important, to a point that is.
If poor graphics get in the way of gameplay, then they all of a sudden get very important.
X-boxy can push lots of poly's etc., but how was the gameplay? Was it sacrificed in order to make it 3% prettier?
I'm banking on gamecube.
This is why nintendo got ibm to make them an embeddable powerpc. It is very small, inexpensive to manufacture, and runs cool.
Did it give a big BSOD? Or did it just lock up?
Think of everyone oogling the fancy graphics and a nice bluescreen comes up, and everybody thinks its a joke, but it isn't.
This brings me to an unrelated point. Nintendo actually spent money on me. They sent me promotional material. It was an envelope shaped like a gamecube with a minicd in it that was basically a big web page. It included info about their upcoming games as well as wallpapers and videos. Pretty neat.
Well, .
Mike
I'm not trying to fiercly defend it here, because your point is valid. You will still have to reposition your hands. I'm just asking that you look at it from a different angle than initial shock.
If the keyboard is the same size as say a happ hacker, then that isn't that bad at all. It feels kinda natural... but you will still have to reposition your hands to be able to chat, etc.
I'm sure that it will be a lot less painful than putting down the controller and picking up the _huge_ keyboard that the dreamcast has.
I think its kinda cool.. but at the same time would try it out before i bought it.
PS : i will buy a gamecube. Nintendo always give me the gameplay i want.
Ever seen/heard an asx or wma/wmv?
Does microsoft realize that it makes stuff sound like its coming through a tin can?
!
I agree with your whole post save 1 point.
Forget the headphones. Unless they are your primary listening devices, don't use them. You may notice things with them that you didn't before, but that doesn't mean that you'll notice the same things on your computer or floor speakers.
The truth of the matter is, if you can't notice the difference between 160kb and 320kb there are a few thigns going on which may include.
1) Bad encoder
If your encoder sucks, both will sound like garbage.
2) Bad speakers/sound card
If you have regular computer speakers, everything sounds like garbage already. They are low fidelity and you won't be able to tell a good, quality example from one with a lot of artifacting.
3) Don't know what to listen for.
If you don't know what to listen for, you won't be able to tell the difference. I've found that listening to vocals is what _not_ to do. Most algorithms are really good in the midrange. I listen to the highs because thats what i can hear best. The percussion will most likey sound quieter and fade in and out abruptly compared to the original recording.
A trick that a lot of compression schemes play on people is taht they are very "clear." People mistake this "clarity" as sounding "better." This is the same crowd that used to listen to tapes, but switched to cd's to avoid the "hiss." The only reason compressed audio sounds clearer is because it is removing most of the background ambience.
As for a consensus about which sounds better, you'll never get one. You may get some tests that reveal which one is closer to the original signal, but sound is subjective, and some people will swear by one as opposed to the other.
What it comes down to is doing the tests like the post i'm replying to. You must do a double blind test.
Its fun!
I should add the facts that:
You could send your coordinates to anyone and show up on a map.
It was really cool.
You could get pc software that would allow you to see your friend's
location, velocity and other things in real time on a map.
GPS and phones aren't that new.
Garmin had their gps phone a couple of years ago.
When you put in an emergency call it would send
your coordinates along with it.
It was nifty, i almost got one for my birthday.
If you're looking for a link here it is..
http://www.garmin.com/products/navTalk/