"If id wants to rake in the cash and not worry about piracy, they need to develop something revolutionary and (as others have mentioned) tie it in to online play."
For me, as a Computer Scientist, it's all about the packages. I _love_ the bleeding edge and the obscure. No other distro out there offers the depth and breadth of packages that Gentoo does. Using anything else is just downright painful as I end up compiling a lot of my own programs _anyway_ by hand (and not managed).
I originally switched to Gentoo because I had given up on using Slackware's package system and was keeping a large library of software current by hand.... Gentoo scratched my itch perfectly.
I really do hope it doesn't die from the inside. There are still a lot of people doing a lot of good work... and a _lot_ of people still benefiting from it. The way I see it, these type of squabbles are just a by product of becoming popular. As your dev team grows you're inevitably going to have personality conflicts... you just hope that over time you find a way to work them out and it doesn't bring the project down in the mean time.
I personally really like it. I've used similar services in the past (Allakhazam / Thottbot)... but they left a lot to be desired.
I often want to check what people in my group have both gear and talent wise, so I know what I'm supposed to be doing. For instance, I'm a full Prot spec warrior (as you can see on my page above)... so my main purpose in life is tanking and holding aggro... so I really need to know if that other warrior in my group is also full prot-spec and maybe has better gear/talents for holding aggro... 'cause then I can defer to him. Sure we could sit around and talk about it for a long time (which is what goes on now for the most part)... but it would be a lot simpler to just look him up and compare our stats....
Anyway... I think people that get overly worked up about this are just too damn serious about the game... it's just that, a GAME! Cool off and go kill something....
Despite what you think... many people enjoyed Oblivion... myself included.
I would rate it just behind Baldurs Gate for me. It gave me exactly what I wanted, a fairly large world where I could just go explore and find stuff with a loosely coupled story.
I know that might not be what everyone is looking for in a game, but for many it hit the sweet spot.
You know.... there was a difficultly slider... and since it's a single player game, feel free to make the game as difficult as you like.... you're the only person you have to please.
Seriously, I didn't find it all that hard in the end (but I spent well over 100 hours on the game, so I was pretty trained in most everything), but I ended up turning the difficulty down slightly just so that the actual fighting portion of the game didn't take so long so I would have more time to explore and such.
Oblivion more than any other game is a sandbox, you build the experience you want...
What I believe happened is that someone already figured this out and changed the artist and song titles _for that cd_ in cddb. Then this person comes along and pops in the cd and it pulls down the scandalous info and they think they're onto something....
There is no way iTunes is actually doing song fingerprinting to figure out what the songs are. I mean, maybe, but I really doubt it.
If you go read the Wikipedia article on the pianist it says that this was all figured out by a couple of groups at universities. So I think the timeline goes like this:
1. Someone thinks it is a fake. 2. University group studies it and finds it is a fake. 3. CDDB gets updated so the correct musicians names are attached to the work. 4. Person comes along and pops in a CD and "finds" a scandal...
I know they have dialed it down some since I last used it (I used some of the first public betas as my main Windows OS for a couple of months last year) but when I was using it, it would ask about _EVERYTHING_.... and I really mean everything. It was unbelievable how often it would ask... and was definitely really annoying.
I know that windows needs to get more secure, and one way of moving towards that goal is to have these nag screens.... but after using it for a while I really wonder why they couldn't come up with something better....
In the movie a character named Willam tries throughout the movie to see one of those "3D Pictures" (where you make it out of focus and see a 3d scene http://www.magiceye.com/ ). The picture he is trying to see is of a Sailboat (or as a kid points out in the movie, a "Schooner").
So, basically, the poster is saying that the original post looks like a huge jumbly mess.
I hope Microsoft's newly released ODF converter doesn't mess with Texas's plans... a partly-free solution just doesn't cut it in my eyes.
For me, this is all about the future. Locking up government documents in proprietary formats is a disaster for future generations. We should ideally be scratching them out on cave walls...
Seriously... that's the only reason I switched from going to google.com to using Firefox's search box. I ignored to search box for years until I learned that you can just hit Ctrl+k and it will take you up to the search box. I now regularly do "Ctrl+T -> Ctrl+K" to get a new tab and then head into the search box.
Also... Ctrl+L will take you to the address bar....
"I firmly believe in updating server software only when you need to. If you don't need new features, and things are working, why change anything?"
I agree... so why does this preclude using Gentoo?
Just because you _can_ update all the time doesn't mean you should. I've used gentoo for various purposes (server, desktop, laptop). What I usually do is get it setup and install all the packages I need and then leave it for a _long_ time... only upgrading packages that I either need the new capability of or for security purposes.
Look... I personally don't think Gentoo is the best server OS out there... but I also don't think that just because the package system makes it really easy to tinker with the system that Gentoo is inherently unstable...
That _is_ a shame... because episode 1 was a lot of fun.
Short is in the eye of the beholder. I guess I tend to play a little slower as it seemed like a fine length to me.
You sound like you really do want to play the game... so I wouldn't let some other people's feelings on the length get in the way of that. If you enjoyed HL2 then EP1 will be worth the price to _you_.
I'm using Energizer NiMH batteries in my Wiimotes... haven't had any problems.
I must have missed the part where they tell you not to use rechargeables.... but at any rate, everything is working fine. There was simply no way I was buying regular Alkalines all the damn time. Only time will tell if it damages the Wiimote.... but my bet is they are just protecting their asses in case something _did_ happen.
This is a reply to nullify my incorrect "Off Topic" mod... I just accidentally clicked it....
But to bring _this_ post back on-topic... I'll say that I finally decided that I wanted one bad enough to sleep out overnight for it. So when I heard that the morning of December 17th was going to be _the_ day that everyone got their shipments, I camped out from about 10PM until 8AM for my Wii. It was totally worth it.
Sorry to hear about the Zelda with no Wii... it is a great game... definitely worth waiting for.
I finally bit the bullet last weekend... and camped out overnight Saturday night to get my Wii.
Every store within 10 miles of my house (which is a lot... including 3 "Gamestops", Toys R Us, 4! Best Buys, 2 Circuit Citys, Wal-Mart, 2 Targets and a bunch of other stuff) had a line that started at around 8:00 PM last Saturday evening. EVERYONE knew that the shipments had come in and were going to be on shelves on Sunday morning (including myself).
I personally got in line at Toys R Us at around 10:00 PM. I was 7th in line for the 11 confirmed Wiis. Every line I know of had more people than confirmed consoles by midnight. The best buy a couple of stores down from the Toys R Us had 30 people for 18 confirmed Wiis by 1:00AM... and over 50 people by opening time Sunday morning.
At 6:30 in the morning the Toys R Us manager handed out "Tickets" to the first 11 people in line... she _also_ had 2 PS3 tickets... which _no one_ wanted (2 guys that were about 15th in line ended up taking them I think... but I never saw them actually purchase the machines). The tickets allowed you to purchase the console between 8 (when they opened) and 9 in the morning. After that they were going back on the market.
Personally... it was totally worth it! The Wii is freaking awesome! It is a blast to play with friends and the few hours I've had to put into Zelda have been some of the most fun I've had playing a console in many years.
Anyway... I'm sure that supply is ramping up... and many people will be able to get their Wii on in January. Just sit tight for a bit.
The problem with the morning news is.... _people_. I _can't stand_ the fuckers on the morning news. Even if you mute it... I still have to look at their goofy asses....
I much prefer the internet/wii for some quick news and weather...
The one thing that I found useful, is that when you first click on the Forecast Channel it gives you the current conditions outside... even before you click "Start" to actually launch the full blown channel.
I think this might be handy... just for quickly checking the temp in the morning while I'm getting ready.
I wish they would build in a small dashboard or something on the Channels menu itself... where it could have a rolling ticker displaying the current weather and the forecast so that you don't have to actually launch the forecast channel itself unless you want detailed information or info on another city....
I couldn't help but smile this morning when I got up and saw the glowing blue light under my TV... I knew that some new Wii goodness had been handed down by the Wii Gods overnight;-)
Also... you never finished your story.... did the blue light make you stop and check out the new functionality... thus making you more late?;-)
Firstly... the browser is _not_ going to be a portal for "finding other Nintendo goodness". The Wii _comes_ with a Shopping Channel that allows you to buy stuff (including retro games... and this browser when it's released).
What I wan't to know is why you think the browser should be free? Opera is the browser of choice here because they have built considerable functionality in for displaying web pages on resolution and input limited devices (cell phones, PDAs, the OLPC and now the Wii). Are you saying that all of their work isn't worth anything? I mean, we are just talking about $5 here...
Also... you make it sound as if Nintendo is the one that made the browser and is selling it. In fact, Opera put money into porting a browser (and by all accounts it works really well) and is selling it through Nintendo's Shopping Channel. I see no problem with this.
Look... I love Linux/OSS/Free software as much as anyone... and I also enjoy getting most of it for free (as in money). But, what is everyone's aversion to paying for some software? As a computer scientist I know how much work goes into making good software, and I don't understand why people around here think it should always be free (as in money).
"Can you get back to your game at the same place, though?"
Not currently.
When you hit the Home button on the Wiimote and go back to the Wii Menu it quits the game completely. I'm hoping this ability might be something they add in the future though.
I'm 6'5" myself and drive an Impreza WRX... and fit in it really well. Like you said it has a lot of headroom... and I find that it has plenty of legroom. The newer models have even _more_ legroom (2"!) than before.
I guess all of your height must be in your legs. I tend to be fairly evenly split. I have a friend who's as tall as me, but his head touches the ceiling in my car! (He has a _really_ long torso).
Anyway... until the American car companies figure out how to provide a good looking sporty 4-Door with over 200hp for a reasonable price, I'll continue buying Japanese... and if that means I have to squeeze in a bit then so be it;-)
Please do some research before spouting off your crap.
Samsung, Sharp and Sony are all more expensive than Westinghouse _for very good reasons_. There are very real differences in the technologies that drive the panels... even if they were to all use the same exact screens (which they don't) the tech driving the panels would still differentiate the low ball crap from the good stuff. It's just like if you buy the exact same LCD monitor and hook it up to two different video cards... sure you could hook it up to a video card that was $500 cheaper.... but when playing a game the image will look like shit on the cheaper one. Go do some reading of actual reviews of the panels... or better yet, go down to Fry's, Best Buy, Circuit City or wherever and get them to put similar panels right next to eachother and compare the picture quality for a range of different inputs (480,720,1080). I guarantee you will be able to see large differences... even in the more expensive TVs.
Besides the chips that actually run the panels... there's also all the features. For instance, most cheap Westinghouse (and other cheap brands) TVs _don't_ come with HiDef tuners in them at all. If you look closely they will be called "HD Monitors" instead of "HD TVs".... because essentially they are just a large computer monitor. You have to hook them up to a cable box or external HD receiver to use them. This saves a huge amount of cost, but at the expense of utility. There are many other similar things that effect the price.
You might notice that this is a hot button for me. The reason is that I see uninformed consumers making terrible purchasing decisions all the time. Now, some people just want the biggest damn TV they can get at the cheapest price (this seems to be the American way) and these cheap panels fill the void. But, if you are actually wanting a good picture at a great price and reasonable size, what to buy is a lot less clear. Money really does buy you something in this market...
I've been shopping for an LCD TV for about 4 months now (no, I still haven't bought one). In that time I have gone through _completely deciding_ to buy 4 different brands and around 6 different models. Each time I make a decision I do a little bit more digging, a little bit more comparison and come up with a new winner. Looking back to some of my first decisions, I can't believe how terrible of a deal I would have been getting.
Anyway... sorry for the tirade. Just get out there and seriously do some comparison shopping, I think you'll be amazed at the differences.
Slashdot Mirror
Wow... I'm actually still a subscriber... but I hardly ever use it.
Just the other day I was thinking "Maybe I should cancel that... they haven't come out with any real improvements in a while"... Lo and Behold....
I'll give it a whirl and see if I can spend some more time in Linux...
Derek
"If id wants to rake in the cash and not worry about piracy, they need to develop something revolutionary and (as others have mentioned) tie it in to online play."
It's called ET: Quake Wars: http://www.enemyterritory.com/
Friedmud
For me, as a Computer Scientist, it's all about the packages. I _love_ the bleeding edge and the obscure. No other distro out there offers the depth and breadth of packages that Gentoo does. Using anything else is just downright painful as I end up compiling a lot of my own programs _anyway_ by hand (and not managed).
I originally switched to Gentoo because I had given up on using Slackware's package system and was keeping a large library of software current by hand.... Gentoo scratched my itch perfectly.
I really do hope it doesn't die from the inside. There are still a lot of people doing a lot of good work... and a _lot_ of people still benefiting from it. The way I see it, these type of squabbles are just a by product of becoming popular. As your dev team grows you're inevitably going to have personality conflicts... you just hope that over time you find a way to work them out and it doesn't bring the project down in the mean time.
Friedmud
I just took a look at my own character: http://armory.worldofwarcraft.com/#character-sheet .xml?r=Thunderhorn&n=Friedmud
I personally really like it. I've used similar services in the past (Allakhazam / Thottbot)... but they left a lot to be desired.
I often want to check what people in my group have both gear and talent wise, so I know what I'm supposed to be doing. For instance, I'm a full Prot spec warrior (as you can see on my page above)... so my main purpose in life is tanking and holding aggro... so I really need to know if that other warrior in my group is also full prot-spec and maybe has better gear/talents for holding aggro... 'cause then I can defer to him. Sure we could sit around and talk about it for a long time (which is what goes on now for the most part)... but it would be a lot simpler to just look him up and compare our stats....
Anyway... I think people that get overly worked up about this are just too damn serious about the game... it's just that, a GAME! Cool off and go kill something....
Friedmud
Just to name a few things I watch on Cable:
;-)
1. Sports: ESPN, ESPN2, FoxSports are all _necessary_ during football season. Vs is necessary for watching cycling...
2. Discovery Channel: Dirty Jobs! Myth Busters! Not too mention all the stuff on Discovery HD.
3. USA: Monk! Psych! 4400!
3. I also tend to watch a lot of stuff on MHD (Love the live concerts!), INHD, and UNHD (Surface! Firefly!)
Sadly, that's about it. But I do watch enough that it isn't too hard to justify the cost. The sports alone justifies the cost for me.
This also not mentioning my cable internet... which is cheaper if you "bundle" with some cable.
Anyway... some people do find value in cable TV... I promise
Friedmud
I have been a Cedega user for several years now... and they do WoW in Linux very well:
http://www.transgaming.com/
It's only $15 to try it out for 3 months... if you are really interested in doing WoW in Linux I highly recommend it!
Friedmud
Despite what you think... many people enjoyed Oblivion... myself included.
I would rate it just behind Baldurs Gate for me. It gave me exactly what I wanted, a fairly large world where I could just go explore and find stuff with a loosely coupled story.
I know that might not be what everyone is looking for in a game, but for many it hit the sweet spot.
Friedmud
You know.... there was a difficultly slider... and since it's a single player game, feel free to make the game as difficult as you like.... you're the only person you have to please.
Seriously, I didn't find it all that hard in the end (but I spent well over 100 hours on the game, so I was pretty trained in most everything), but I ended up turning the difficulty down slightly just so that the actual fighting portion of the game didn't take so long so I would have more time to explore and such.
Oblivion more than any other game is a sandbox, you build the experience you want...
Friedmud
I completely agree.
What I believe happened is that someone already figured this out and changed the artist and song titles _for that cd_ in cddb. Then this person comes along and pops in the cd and it pulls down the scandalous info and they think they're onto something....
There is no way iTunes is actually doing song fingerprinting to figure out what the songs are. I mean, maybe, but I really doubt it.
If you go read the Wikipedia article on the pianist it says that this was all figured out by a couple of groups at universities. So I think the timeline goes like this:
1. Someone thinks it is a fake.
2. University group studies it and finds it is a fake.
3. CDDB gets updated so the correct musicians names are attached to the work.
4. Person comes along and pops in a CD and "finds" a scandal...
Friedmud
Have you actually used Vista?
I know they have dialed it down some since I last used it (I used some of the first public betas as my main Windows OS for a couple of months last year) but when I was using it, it would ask about _EVERYTHING_.... and I really mean everything. It was unbelievable how often it would ask... and was definitely really annoying.
I know that windows needs to get more secure, and one way of moving towards that goal is to have these nag screens.... but after using it for a while I really wonder why they couldn't come up with something better....
Friedmud
It's a reference to the movie "Mallrats" ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113749/ ).
In the movie a character named Willam tries throughout the movie to see one of those "3D Pictures" (where you make it out of focus and see a 3d scene http://www.magiceye.com/ ). The picture he is trying to see is of a Sailboat (or as a kid points out in the movie, a "Schooner").
So, basically, the poster is saying that the original post looks like a huge jumbly mess.
Friedmud
I hope Microsoft's newly released ODF converter doesn't mess with Texas's plans... a partly-free solution just doesn't cut it in my eyes.
For me, this is all about the future. Locking up government documents in proprietary formats is a disaster for future generations. We should ideally be scratching them out on cave walls...
Friedmud
Ctrl+K FTW!
Seriously... that's the only reason I switched from going to google.com to using Firefox's search box. I ignored to search box for years until I learned that you can just hit Ctrl+k and it will take you up to the search box. I now regularly do "Ctrl+T -> Ctrl+K" to get a new tab and then head into the search box.
Also... Ctrl+L will take you to the address bar....
Friedmud
"I firmly believe in updating server software only when you need to. If you don't need new features, and things are working, why change anything?"
I agree... so why does this preclude using Gentoo?
Just because you _can_ update all the time doesn't mean you should. I've used gentoo for various purposes (server, desktop, laptop). What I usually do is get it setup and install all the packages I need and then leave it for a _long_ time... only upgrading packages that I either need the new capability of or for security purposes.
Look... I personally don't think Gentoo is the best server OS out there... but I also don't think that just because the package system makes it really easy to tinker with the system that Gentoo is inherently unstable...
Friedmud
That _is_ a shame... because episode 1 was a lot of fun.
Short is in the eye of the beholder. I guess I tend to play a little slower as it seemed like a fine length to me.
You sound like you really do want to play the game... so I wouldn't let some other people's feelings on the length get in the way of that. If you enjoyed HL2 then EP1 will be worth the price to _you_.
Friedmud
I'm using Energizer NiMH batteries in my Wiimotes... haven't had any problems.
I must have missed the part where they tell you not to use rechargeables.... but at any rate, everything is working fine. There was simply no way I was buying regular Alkalines all the damn time. Only time will tell if it damages the Wiimote.... but my bet is they are just protecting their asses in case something _did_ happen.
Friedmud
This is a reply to nullify my incorrect "Off Topic" mod... I just accidentally clicked it....
But to bring _this_ post back on-topic... I'll say that I finally decided that I wanted one bad enough to sleep out overnight for it. So when I heard that the morning of December 17th was going to be _the_ day that everyone got their shipments, I camped out from about 10PM until 8AM for my Wii. It was totally worth it.
Sorry to hear about the Zelda with no Wii... it is a great game... definitely worth waiting for.
Friedmud
I finally bit the bullet last weekend... and camped out overnight Saturday night to get my Wii.
Every store within 10 miles of my house (which is a lot... including 3 "Gamestops", Toys R Us, 4! Best Buys, 2 Circuit Citys, Wal-Mart, 2 Targets and a bunch of other stuff) had a line that started at around 8:00 PM last Saturday evening. EVERYONE knew that the shipments had come in and were going to be on shelves on Sunday morning (including myself).
I personally got in line at Toys R Us at around 10:00 PM. I was 7th in line for the 11 confirmed Wiis. Every line I know of had more people than confirmed consoles by midnight. The best buy a couple of stores down from the Toys R Us had 30 people for 18 confirmed Wiis by 1:00AM... and over 50 people by opening time Sunday morning.
At 6:30 in the morning the Toys R Us manager handed out "Tickets" to the first 11 people in line... she _also_ had 2 PS3 tickets... which _no one_ wanted (2 guys that were about 15th in line ended up taking them I think... but I never saw them actually purchase the machines). The tickets allowed you to purchase the console between 8 (when they opened) and 9 in the morning. After that they were going back on the market.
Personally... it was totally worth it! The Wii is freaking awesome! It is a blast to play with friends and the few hours I've had to put into Zelda have been some of the most fun I've had playing a console in many years.
Anyway... I'm sure that supply is ramping up... and many people will be able to get their Wii on in January. Just sit tight for a bit.
Friedmud
The problem with the morning news is.... _people_. I _can't stand_ the fuckers on the morning news. Even if you mute it... I still have to look at their goofy asses....
I much prefer the internet/wii for some quick news and weather...
Friedmud
The one thing that I found useful, is that when you first click on the Forecast Channel it gives you the current conditions outside... even before you click "Start" to actually launch the full blown channel.
I think this might be handy... just for quickly checking the temp in the morning while I'm getting ready.
I wish they would build in a small dashboard or something on the Channels menu itself... where it could have a rolling ticker displaying the current weather and the forecast so that you don't have to actually launch the forecast channel itself unless you want detailed information or info on another city....
Friedmud
I agree!
;-)
;-)
I couldn't help but smile this morning when I got up and saw the glowing blue light under my TV... I knew that some new Wii goodness had been handed down by the Wii Gods overnight
Also... you never finished your story.... did the blue light make you stop and check out the new functionality... thus making you more late?
Friedmud
Firstly... the browser is _not_ going to be a portal for "finding other Nintendo goodness". The Wii _comes_ with a Shopping Channel that allows you to buy stuff (including retro games... and this browser when it's released).
What I wan't to know is why you think the browser should be free? Opera is the browser of choice here because they have built considerable functionality in for displaying web pages on resolution and input limited devices (cell phones, PDAs, the OLPC and now the Wii). Are you saying that all of their work isn't worth anything? I mean, we are just talking about $5 here...
Also... you make it sound as if Nintendo is the one that made the browser and is selling it. In fact, Opera put money into porting a browser (and by all accounts it works really well) and is selling it through Nintendo's Shopping Channel. I see no problem with this.
Look... I love Linux/OSS/Free software as much as anyone... and I also enjoy getting most of it for free (as in money). But, what is everyone's aversion to paying for some software? As a computer scientist I know how much work goes into making good software, and I don't understand why people around here think it should always be free (as in money).
Friedmud
"Can you get back to your game at the same place, though?"
Not currently.
When you hit the Home button on the Wiimote and go back to the Wii Menu it quits the game completely. I'm hoping this ability might be something they add in the future though.
Friedmud
Really?
;-)
I'm 6'5" myself and drive an Impreza WRX... and fit in it really well. Like you said it has a lot of headroom... and I find that it has plenty of legroom. The newer models have even _more_ legroom (2"!) than before.
I guess all of your height must be in your legs. I tend to be fairly evenly split. I have a friend who's as tall as me, but his head touches the ceiling in my car! (He has a _really_ long torso).
Anyway... until the American car companies figure out how to provide a good looking sporty 4-Door with over 200hp for a reasonable price, I'll continue buying Japanese... and if that means I have to squeeze in a bit then so be it
Derek
Please do some research before spouting off your crap.
Samsung, Sharp and Sony are all more expensive than Westinghouse _for very good reasons_. There are very real differences in the technologies that drive the panels... even if they were to all use the same exact screens (which they don't) the tech driving the panels would still differentiate the low ball crap from the good stuff. It's just like if you buy the exact same LCD monitor and hook it up to two different video cards... sure you could hook it up to a video card that was $500 cheaper.... but when playing a game the image will look like shit on the cheaper one. Go do some reading of actual reviews of the panels... or better yet, go down to Fry's, Best Buy, Circuit City or wherever and get them to put similar panels right next to eachother and compare the picture quality for a range of different inputs (480,720,1080). I guarantee you will be able to see large differences... even in the more expensive TVs.
Besides the chips that actually run the panels... there's also all the features. For instance, most cheap Westinghouse (and other cheap brands) TVs _don't_ come with HiDef tuners in them at all. If you look closely they will be called "HD Monitors" instead of "HD TVs".... because essentially they are just a large computer monitor. You have to hook them up to a cable box or external HD receiver to use them. This saves a huge amount of cost, but at the expense of utility. There are many other similar things that effect the price.
You might notice that this is a hot button for me. The reason is that I see uninformed consumers making terrible purchasing decisions all the time. Now, some people just want the biggest damn TV they can get at the cheapest price (this seems to be the American way) and these cheap panels fill the void. But, if you are actually wanting a good picture at a great price and reasonable size, what to buy is a lot less clear. Money really does buy you something in this market...
I've been shopping for an LCD TV for about 4 months now (no, I still haven't bought one). In that time I have gone through _completely deciding_ to buy 4 different brands and around 6 different models. Each time I make a decision I do a little bit more digging, a little bit more comparison and come up with a new winner. Looking back to some of my first decisions, I can't believe how terrible of a deal I would have been getting.
Anyway... sorry for the tirade. Just get out there and seriously do some comparison shopping, I think you'll be amazed at the differences.
Derek