If they have some sort of ailment, then they are probably on the lower-quality end of the human gene pool (unless they are elderly). In which case, why are we trying to keep them running? They've obviously been chosen by evolution to leave the gene pool, why should we try to give them a normal life so that they can reproduce and such? Kind of an off-the-wall question, but it always comes to mind when I see people being treated for degenerative diseases and similar problems early on in their lives. Like people who are mentally retarded, why should they be allowed to reproduce? They obviously have some disorder that needs to be removed from the gene pool.
You know, I hear this argument all the time and end up feeling like we do actually owe the Indians something. But, I typically feel that their monopoly on casinos and 100s of square miles of free tribal land is enough.
But this time around, you know what? I'm thinking that the Indians don't deserve anything. During the era that we started taking over Indian lands in America, the entire world consisted of war-faring nations attacking each other for land and resources. If a nation wasn't strong enough to protect themselves, then they lost - plain and simple. So, why should the Indians be treated any different? Just because they were so weak militarily and behind the times in military technology doesn't mean they deserve protection from the rest of the world. They simply get what the rest of the world, or whoever conquers them, decides that they should get. Rape, murder, and pillaging occurred in every war and military action of the time - not that it was a very nice thing to do, but back then "might makes right" was a valid statement.
Personally, I think the Indians should feel lucky that we gave them anything at all instead of just assimilating them into our society as just one more ethnic group in the already-growing melting pot.
It's a record for an air-breathing engine. The SS get's lofted into orbit by self-contained solid rocket boosters that carry fuel and oxidizer together and burn it without air and then drops out of orbit. An air-breathing engine carries fuel with it and adds that to the surrounding air and pushes it all through it's combustion chamber.
OS, Web Server and Hosting History for search.msn.com http://search.msn.com was running Microsoft-IIS on Linux when last queried at 3-Nov-2004 17:10:15 GMT OS Server Last changed IP address Netblock Owner Linux Microsoft-IIS/5.0 2-Nov-2004 193.108.93.132 Akamai Linux Microsoft-IIS/5.0 30-Oct-2004 212.23.32.6 Akamai Linux Microsoft-IIS/5.0 29-Oct-2004 81.52.205.38 Akamai Technologies Linux Microsoft-IIS/5.0 28-Oct-2004 193.108.93.139 Akamai Linux Microsoft-IIS/5.0 27-Oct-2004 212.23.37.7 Akamai Linux Microsoft-IIS/5.0 26-Oct-2004 212.187.244.14 Akamai Linux Microsoft-IIS/5.0 25-Oct-2004 193.45.1.112 Akamai Linux Microsoft-IIS/5.0 24-Oct-2004 212.23.32.14 Akamai Linux Microsoft-IIS/5.0 23-Oct-2004 212.23.32.15 Akamai Linux Microsoft-IIS/5.0 22-Oct-2004 212.23.32.8 Akamai
Here's an easy solution: Don't commit a crime and you won't go to jail.
And your statement "The same homophobic people will then turn around and chuckle at the thought of men raping men in prison" is an invalid stereotype/generalization. Perhaps the only reason you said this is because you feel this way.
Re:Hopefully not as terrible as the first
on
Halo 2 Released
·
· Score: 1
Very true, I miss flipping the dip switches to make bus speed selections.
"pah, what next, PSUs without voltage selectors on the back?"
I have seen them:( On a big box company's though... it might have been a Dell or HP or something, can't remember exactly.
Re:Hopefully more insightful than the parent
on
Halo 2 Released
·
· Score: 1
Quake was fun because you could play with other people easily. And even though the story may have not been the greatest (neither is Halo's), the action was orders more fun than Halo's. It's nice that you take the easiest one to knock... try to fit HL into that shoe. It doesn't fit.
Oh, and I'm sure Halo was a blast when half-way through the game it felt like the same thing over and over. Not that other FPSs don't have this issue, but people give Halo more credit than it is worth.
Re:Hopefully not as terrible as the first
on
Halo 2 Released
·
· Score: 1
I'm probably getting hooked by a troll, but oh well, here it goes:
If you hand some moron 1 set of components that all fit together a certain way and ask them to assemble the components, they'll most likely figure it out after a while. But ask them to tailor a computer to someone's needs and order the correct components and you'll probably end up with a pile of incompatible components.
Same bus speeds? Dunno... SD, DDR, RDRAM? What? AGP8x card for a AGP4x board? Whoops. 200 Watt PSU for an Athlon XP 3200 system? Whoops. SATA Drives for an IDE board? Whoops. MicroATX case for an ATX system? Whoops. Slot A, Socket A, Socket 478, 939 pin, Socket 370? Huh? PSU has 12/N/N/5, Molex, mini 4-pin, SATA, 4-pin inline aux, EPS leads? Uh...
And I would be surprised if after assembling numerous computers these kids didn't know about EDO and different socket CPUs and cards.
And what about troubleshooting? Throw it all together and it doesn't work... now what? I bet they're useless in that department.
Go troll somewhere else please...
Re:Hopefully not as terrible as the first
on
Halo 2 Released
·
· Score: 1
I never said that the only people exposed to Halo were the non-technical ones, I said that it has exposed a "new set of people" to the FPS genre. I bet if you cut out the non-technical people from the sales statistics and only included those who have played Doom, Quake, and HL before, the sales would be 10% of what the are now.
And I don't know about you, but playing an FPS with low graphics on 1/4th of a 40" television isn't exactly what I would call 'a good gaming environment'. Although, being able to easily play with your friends is a plus.
I've played some console FPS-like games (including Halo, Bond (or Goldeneye, or whatever it was called)) and half the time I couldn't even tell what some of the environment actually is, because the graphics are so crappy. Look at a high quality PC FPS and you can see detailed foliage and you can discern objects off in the distance easily. The quality is unmatched.
Re:Hopefully not as terrible as the first
on
Halo 2 Released
·
· Score: 1
Really, and that's why GTA3:VC and GTA3:SA don't have problems with low frame rates on the PS2? Right?
You don't have to spend $1200 for a new computer every 2 years. I bought an $80 video card 2 years ago and have used it on the latest games ever since. It was a GF4 Ti4200 with 128 MB RAM and I did get a really good deal on it with rebates, coupons, etc. I have since upgraded my computer for other reasons, but the original video card is still running fine. Now, I may have to upgrade for Half Life 2, but 2 years later and another $80 to $100 for a new video card is fine. Also, $1200 is more than you need for a good computer. The last 3 computers since 1999/2000 that I have built for myself and other people were all under $800 and they ran things like Warcraft 3 just fine. Even with $40 or $50 video cards. Now, you can't have every last graphic feature turned on or run the game at 1600 x 1200, but neither can a console. The reason why you "wont have to turn the graphics settings way down to play that years xmas blockbuster" is because the graphics always suck on a console. You are always playing with a low resolution and few graphic options turned on. Sure, if you take a computer from 3 years ago and bump the resolution down to 640x480 and turn most of the graphic options off then it'll run Doom 3 just fine.
And I think many people gloss over this point: you aren't just spending $800 for a gaming machine. More than likely you have a machine at home already, right? And if all that machine is good for is pictures, some movies, email, internet, and word processing - then you probably paid $500 to $600 for it, right? Well, what is another $300 or $200 to add some extra RAM and a better video card? That's almost as much as you would pay for a console. And the kinds of games you have access to through a computer is way beyond anything any of the consoles alone have to offer.
Re:Hopefully not as terrible as the first
on
Halo 2 Released
·
· Score: 2, Interesting
Microsoft will not allow the console players to interact with the PC players because they know that the console players would get their asses handed to them. And the end result would be that no one on a console would want to play online anymore.
In highschool a friend of mine claimed that he was a master of some FPS (probably Quake or something from that era). Somehow it came about that he used the keyboard to look around (ie: he did not use the mouse). I was astounded and questioned his ability to use the keyboard versus using the mouse to look around. He assured me that he liked the keyboard more and was just as proficient as anyone with a mouse. I continued doubting him and the end result was a challenge for a head to head competition. Now, I'm not the best FPS player out there, but I am good enough to have fun. So, we loaded up two computers at his house... the short and sweet of it was that I obliterated him without a trace. I think I might have jumped into some lava at some point, but otherwise the score was around 100 to 1 after 10 or 15 minutes.
The same goes for those clunky non-intuitive console controllers. Ever watch people try to aim a gun in Halo or GTA3? It's pretty funny.
Comcast should have listened. Before the merge of G4 and TechTV I used to tune into TechTV several times a week just to see what was on, and sometimes I would tune into TechTV for a program that I know is on. Immediately after the merger I continued tuning in, but kept running into G4 programming that was absolutely horrible. After about 1 or 2 weeks of G4/TechTV programming, I just quit and I haven't tuned into G4/TechTV since. And I haven't given it a second thought either, this is the first time I've really looked back at the whole situation since.
Re:Hopefully not as terrible as the first
on
Halo 2 Released
·
· Score: 4, Funny
Halo has exposed a new set of people to FPS gaming: those that are not technically inclined enough to get a computer and play HL, Quake, Doom, etc. IE: your typical morons that run around pursuing degrees in communications, interpretive dance, and underwater basket weaving. It is only big because these people have not seen an FPS before. As far as FPSs are concerned, Halo is average - not that it's a bad game, but it's just a typical run-of-the-mill production. Sure, you can load it up and have a bit of fun, but it is not what Quake used to be, nor is it what Half Life has been for the past several years.
Early 1900s hardware store... Shopper: *Buying some cast iron pipe for plumbing* Shopkeep: Ah, I see you are buying some cast iron pipe for plumbing, would you also like a ball of twine and some lead to melt down and form the connections? Shopper: Sure, thanks. Shopkeep: You're welcome, that lead gets pretty hot when you make the connections, would you like some gloves to protect your hands too? Shopper: Yeh, that sounds like a good idea. Shopkeep: And just in case you get a little parched, there's a boy selling lemonade outside the door. Shopper: Hot damn! That sounds dandy!
lol, that is pretty funny.
It's not that the people in SLC, Denver, etc are weird or anything (except for maybe SLC); it's that no matter where you are, big city people generally are not as nice as small town people. SLC with the whole mormom thing could definitely scare people off, and the smell of the great salt lake right by, and the fact that downtown SLC backs right up onto the hillsides behind it, giving the whole city a somewhat ominous feeling. I was ok with SLC when I drove through there, I only stayed for a few minutes though because I was on a cross-country trip and had to keep moving.
"All I know is that I want nothing -- nothing -- to do with any of the red states."
Are you kidding? The red states are the best states out there - Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, Alaska. These states are absolute gems, beautiful countryside, wonderfully nice people, fresh air, blue skies. Have you ever visited these states? Outside of the downtown and suburbs of the big cities (Denver, Salt Lake, etc), the people are the nicest people you will ever meet in the USA (perhaps the world). The areas are just so beautiful that people can't stand being mean to anyone. And just imagine, buying or building a small cabin in a meadow or valley along the side of a river, with the mountains in the background and wild animals running around. Pure heaven I tell ya, pure heaven. Especially in the middle of winter when there is 4 feet of snow on the ground. Just snowmobile or hike in to your cabin, light a fire, warm up some hot chocolate or coffee and kick back and relax.
Why, does anyone actually hold the media at fault? Not really. Some people mention it in passing, but then jump straight to denouncing Bush as the presiddent-elect.
"The networks won't report these because they are unreliable at this point and because of the great caution they are taking to avoid another 2000 debacle."
Right, I'm sure the networks would just hate having to report on another election debacle. They would be so much happier with another suicide-bomb in the middle east or another celebrity drug overdose. Yeh, they want to avoid an election debacle at all costs... yep.
You know, I think in order to claim damages, or to even have a court hear their case, the holder of the patent needs to show that they either a) intend to use the patent or b) used the patent but were unable to succeed due to other companies or people using their patent. They had to have produced something and failed. They can't just say "oh, we wanted to try and develop our idea but decided it was pointless because other people had similar ideas already implemented, so instead we'll sue them". The whole idea of an IP company is complete horseshit. If you're not working to make something out of the patents, you should be stripped of them. You don't own an idea, you are provided with the privelege of using that idea without competition for a certain time period. If the law firm wants to develop 3D software, fine. But if they're just sitting on the patent, they don't deserve a thing.
"A graphics display terminal performs a pan operation with respect to a view motion center to effectuate spherical panning, thereby providing perspective and non-perspective views."
This guy always posts stories with links to physorg.com which other people have noted is a site that rips off other news sites' stories and throws in a bunch of ads for revenue. You can check out his submission history here (18 submissions accepted in the last 50 days or so):
The Rocketdyne RS-68. From conception to production in $500 Million and 4 or 5 years. The first large liquid-fueled rocket engine to be designed in the United States in 25 years. And the performance aint shabby considering that the deciding factor for every trade study was cost. I think if we applied this same model of design to a new reusable spacecraft with a short life span, it could work extremely well. The problem is, everyone wants the next vehicle to last 50 years or be the most efficient thing in the world and handle all of NASA's needs.
You can draw a comparison from this to the personal computer market. Back when I was younger, I always wanted the latest and greatest boards and devices to build my computers with. I would plop down $2000 for a ton of top-of-the-line equipment. But as I grew older, I realized that I could get less leading-edge stuff and it would still allow me to get my work done and play most of the latest games (although not all). So instead of spending $2000 on new equipment, I would spend $800. But, the time between upgrades changed. I would spend $800 every 1.5 years instead of $2000 every 2 to 2.5 years. But to make the $2000 investment match the cheaper one, I would have had to stretch it out to 3.75 years between upgrades. So my choice was financially more efficient. Not to mention that at the end of the $2000 life span, the equipment would not be that great anyhow even if it was the best at the start of the life span. However, the $800 equipment would almost always have decent performance throughout its entire life span.
So, I think NASA needs to redefine their goals for human spaceflight and to restructure their plan for reaching those goals. Instead of spending $X for a craft that can do everything and last Y years, they should just spend $X/3 for a craft that can do most things and last Y/2 years. This way they can also customize different crafts and different revisions of the crafts to take care of different tasks (1 version to do science, 1 version to build and resupply the ISS, etc).
It's all about diversification and simplification of systems, not trying to cram everything into 1 solution.
Slashdot Mirror
If they have some sort of ailment, then they are probably on the lower-quality end of the human gene pool (unless they are elderly). In which case, why are we trying to keep them running? They've obviously been chosen by evolution to leave the gene pool, why should we try to give them a normal life so that they can reproduce and such? Kind of an off-the-wall question, but it always comes to mind when I see people being treated for degenerative diseases and similar problems early on in their lives. Like people who are mentally retarded, why should they be allowed to reproduce? They obviously have some disorder that needs to be removed from the gene pool.
You know, I hear this argument all the time and end up feeling like we do actually owe the Indians something. But, I typically feel that their monopoly on casinos and 100s of square miles of free tribal land is enough.
But this time around, you know what? I'm thinking that the Indians don't deserve anything. During the era that we started taking over Indian lands in America, the entire world consisted of war-faring nations attacking each other for land and resources. If a nation wasn't strong enough to protect themselves, then they lost - plain and simple. So, why should the Indians be treated any different? Just because they were so weak militarily and behind the times in military technology doesn't mean they deserve protection from the rest of the world. They simply get what the rest of the world, or whoever conquers them, decides that they should get. Rape, murder, and pillaging occurred in every war and military action of the time - not that it was a very nice thing to do, but back then "might makes right" was a valid statement.
Personally, I think the Indians should feel lucky that we gave them anything at all instead of just assimilating them into our society as just one more ethnic group in the already-growing melting pot.
It's a record for an air-breathing engine. The SS get's lofted into orbit by self-contained solid rocket boosters that carry fuel and oxidizer together and burn it without air and then drops out of orbit. An air-breathing engine carries fuel with it and adds that to the surrounding air and pushes it all through it's combustion chamber.
And they might want to fix this: (from Netcraft)
OS, Web Server and Hosting History for search.msn.com
http://search.msn.com was running Microsoft-IIS on Linux when last queried at 3-Nov-2004 17:10:15 GMT
OS Server Last changed IP address Netblock Owner
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Linux Microsoft-IIS/5.0 28-Oct-2004 193.108.93.139 Akamai
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Here's an easy solution: Don't commit a crime and you won't go to jail.
And your statement "The same homophobic people will then turn around and chuckle at the thought of men raping men in prison" is an invalid stereotype/generalization. Perhaps the only reason you said this is because you feel this way.
Very true, I miss flipping the dip switches to make bus speed selections.
:( On a big box company's though ... it might have been a Dell or HP or something, can't remember exactly.
"pah, what next, PSUs without voltage selectors on the back?"
I have seen them
Quake was fun because you could play with other people easily. And even though the story may have not been the greatest (neither is Halo's), the action was orders more fun than Halo's. It's nice that you take the easiest one to knock ... try to fit HL into that shoe. It doesn't fit.
Oh, and I'm sure Halo was a blast when half-way through the game it felt like the same thing over and over. Not that other FPSs don't have this issue, but people give Halo more credit than it is worth.
I'm probably getting hooked by a troll, but oh well, here it goes:
... ...
... now what? I bet they're useless in that department.
...
If you hand some moron 1 set of components that all fit together a certain way and ask them to assemble the components, they'll most likely figure it out after a while. But ask them to tailor a computer to someone's needs and order the correct components and you'll probably end up with a pile of incompatible components.
Same bus speeds? Dunno
SD, DDR, RDRAM? What?
AGP8x card for a AGP4x board? Whoops.
200 Watt PSU for an Athlon XP 3200 system? Whoops.
SATA Drives for an IDE board? Whoops.
MicroATX case for an ATX system? Whoops.
Slot A, Socket A, Socket 478, 939 pin, Socket 370? Huh?
PSU has 12/N/N/5, Molex, mini 4-pin, SATA, 4-pin inline aux, EPS leads? Uh
And I would be surprised if after assembling numerous computers these kids didn't know about EDO and different socket CPUs and cards.
And what about troubleshooting? Throw it all together and it doesn't work
Go troll somewhere else please
I never said that the only people exposed to Halo were the non-technical ones, I said that it has exposed a "new set of people" to the FPS genre. I bet if you cut out the non-technical people from the sales statistics and only included those who have played Doom, Quake, and HL before, the sales would be 10% of what the are now.
And I don't know about you, but playing an FPS with low graphics on 1/4th of a 40" television isn't exactly what I would call 'a good gaming environment'. Although, being able to easily play with your friends is a plus.
I've played some console FPS-like games (including Halo, Bond (or Goldeneye, or whatever it was called)) and half the time I couldn't even tell what some of the environment actually is, because the graphics are so crappy. Look at a high quality PC FPS and you can see detailed foliage and you can discern objects off in the distance easily. The quality is unmatched.
Really, and that's why GTA3:VC and GTA3:SA don't have problems with low frame rates on the PS2? Right?
You don't have to spend $1200 for a new computer every 2 years. I bought an $80 video card 2 years ago and have used it on the latest games ever since. It was a GF4 Ti4200 with 128 MB RAM and I did get a really good deal on it with rebates, coupons, etc. I have since upgraded my computer for other reasons, but the original video card is still running fine. Now, I may have to upgrade for Half Life 2, but 2 years later and another $80 to $100 for a new video card is fine. Also, $1200 is more than you need for a good computer. The last 3 computers since 1999/2000 that I have built for myself and other people were all under $800 and they ran things like Warcraft 3 just fine. Even with $40 or $50 video cards. Now, you can't have every last graphic feature turned on or run the game at 1600 x 1200, but neither can a console. The reason why you "wont have to turn the graphics settings way down to play that years xmas blockbuster" is because the graphics always suck on a console. You are always playing with a low resolution and few graphic options turned on. Sure, if you take a computer from 3 years ago and bump the resolution down to 640x480 and turn most of the graphic options off then it'll run Doom 3 just fine.
And I think many people gloss over this point: you aren't just spending $800 for a gaming machine. More than likely you have a machine at home already, right? And if all that machine is good for is pictures, some movies, email, internet, and word processing - then you probably paid $500 to $600 for it, right? Well, what is another $300 or $200 to add some extra RAM and a better video card? That's almost as much as you would pay for a console. And the kinds of games you have access to through a computer is way beyond anything any of the consoles alone have to offer.
Microsoft will not allow the console players to interact with the PC players because they know that the console players would get their asses handed to them. And the end result would be that no one on a console would want to play online anymore.
... the short and sweet of it was that I obliterated him without a trace. I think I might have jumped into some lava at some point, but otherwise the score was around 100 to 1 after 10 or 15 minutes.
In highschool a friend of mine claimed that he was a master of some FPS (probably Quake or something from that era). Somehow it came about that he used the keyboard to look around (ie: he did not use the mouse). I was astounded and questioned his ability to use the keyboard versus using the mouse to look around. He assured me that he liked the keyboard more and was just as proficient as anyone with a mouse. I continued doubting him and the end result was a challenge for a head to head competition. Now, I'm not the best FPS player out there, but I am good enough to have fun. So, we loaded up two computers at his house
The same goes for those clunky non-intuitive console controllers. Ever watch people try to aim a gun in Halo or GTA3? It's pretty funny.
Comcast should have listened. Before the merge of G4 and TechTV I used to tune into TechTV several times a week just to see what was on, and sometimes I would tune into TechTV for a program that I know is on. Immediately after the merger I continued tuning in, but kept running into G4 programming that was absolutely horrible. After about 1 or 2 weeks of G4/TechTV programming, I just quit and I haven't tuned into G4/TechTV since. And I haven't given it a second thought either, this is the first time I've really looked back at the whole situation since.
Penny Arcade put it well:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3/
Halo has exposed a new set of people to FPS gaming: those that are not technically inclined enough to get a computer and play HL, Quake, Doom, etc. IE: your typical morons that run around pursuing degrees in communications, interpretive dance, and underwater basket weaving. It is only big because these people have not seen an FPS before. As far as FPSs are concerned, Halo is average - not that it's a bad game, but it's just a typical run-of-the-mill production. Sure, you can load it up and have a bit of fun, but it is not what Quake used to be, nor is it what Half Life has been for the past several years.
Other forms of prior art:
...
Early 1900s hardware store
Shopper: *Buying some cast iron pipe for plumbing*
Shopkeep: Ah, I see you are buying some cast iron pipe for plumbing, would you also like a ball of twine and some lead to melt down and form the connections?
Shopper: Sure, thanks.
Shopkeep: You're welcome, that lead gets pretty hot when you make the connections, would you like some gloves to protect your hands too?
Shopper: Yeh, that sounds like a good idea.
Shopkeep: And just in case you get a little parched, there's a boy selling lemonade outside the door.
Shopper: Hot damn! That sounds dandy!
lol, that is pretty funny. It's not that the people in SLC, Denver, etc are weird or anything (except for maybe SLC); it's that no matter where you are, big city people generally are not as nice as small town people. SLC with the whole mormom thing could definitely scare people off, and the smell of the great salt lake right by, and the fact that downtown SLC backs right up onto the hillsides behind it, giving the whole city a somewhat ominous feeling. I was ok with SLC when I drove through there, I only stayed for a few minutes though because I was on a cross-country trip and had to keep moving.
Satellite Internet. High bandwidth, high latency. Not good for games, but still great for downloading large files, complex websites, etc.
"All I know is that I want nothing -- nothing -- to do with any of the red states."
Are you kidding? The red states are the best states out there - Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, Alaska. These states are absolute gems, beautiful countryside, wonderfully nice people, fresh air, blue skies. Have you ever visited these states? Outside of the downtown and suburbs of the big cities (Denver, Salt Lake, etc), the people are the nicest people you will ever meet in the USA (perhaps the world). The areas are just so beautiful that people can't stand being mean to anyone. And just imagine, buying or building a small cabin in a meadow or valley along the side of a river, with the mountains in the background and wild animals running around. Pure heaven I tell ya, pure heaven. Especially in the middle of winter when there is 4 feet of snow on the ground. Just snowmobile or hike in to your cabin, light a fire, warm up some hot chocolate or coffee and kick back and relax.
Why, does anyone actually hold the media at fault? Not really. Some people mention it in passing, but then jump straight to denouncing Bush as the presiddent-elect.
"The networks won't report these because they are unreliable at this point and because of the great caution they are taking to avoid another 2000 debacle."
... yep.
Right, I'm sure the networks would just hate having to report on another election debacle. They would be so much happier with another suicide-bomb in the middle east or another celebrity drug overdose. Yeh, they want to avoid an election debacle at all costs
You know, I think in order to claim damages, or to even have a court hear their case, the holder of the patent needs to show that they either a) intend to use the patent or b) used the patent but were unable to succeed due to other companies or people using their patent. They had to have produced something and failed. They can't just say "oh, we wanted to try and develop our idea but decided it was pointless because other people had similar ideas already implemented, so instead we'll sue them". The whole idea of an IP company is complete horseshit. If you're not working to make something out of the patents, you should be stripped of them. You don't own an idea, you are provided with the privelege of using that idea without competition for a certain time period. If the law firm wants to develop 3D software, fine. But if they're just sitting on the patent, they don't deserve a thing.
Favorite quote from the patent:
"A graphics display terminal performs a pan operation with respect to a view motion center to effectuate spherical panning, thereby providing perspective and non-perspective views."
Now I see why they call it an 'abstract'.
This guy always posts stories with links to physorg.com which other people have noted is a site that rips off other news sites' stories and throws in a bunch of ads for revenue. You can check out his submission history here (18 submissions accepted in the last 50 days or so):
http://slashdot.org/search.pl?query=neutron_p
Do we have another Roland on our hands? Why not just post a link to the original story on the original news site?
Only about 4 light years to Alpha Centauri
You know what might be a good idea? Work in the USA, live in Canada (if you can afford it).
Check this out:
R S68.html
http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/space/propul/
The Rocketdyne RS-68. From conception to production in $500 Million and 4 or 5 years. The first large liquid-fueled rocket engine to be designed in the United States in 25 years. And the performance aint shabby considering that the deciding factor for every trade study was cost. I think if we applied this same model of design to a new reusable spacecraft with a short life span, it could work extremely well. The problem is, everyone wants the next vehicle to last 50 years or be the most efficient thing in the world and handle all of NASA's needs.
You can draw a comparison from this to the personal computer market. Back when I was younger, I always wanted the latest and greatest boards and devices to build my computers with. I would plop down $2000 for a ton of top-of-the-line equipment. But as I grew older, I realized that I could get less leading-edge stuff and it would still allow me to get my work done and play most of the latest games (although not all). So instead of spending $2000 on new equipment, I would spend $800. But, the time between upgrades changed. I would spend $800 every 1.5 years instead of $2000 every 2 to 2.5 years. But to make the $2000 investment match the cheaper one, I would have had to stretch it out to 3.75 years between upgrades. So my choice was financially more efficient. Not to mention that at the end of the $2000 life span, the equipment would not be that great anyhow even if it was the best at the start of the life span. However, the $800 equipment would almost always have decent performance throughout its entire life span.
So, I think NASA needs to redefine their goals for human spaceflight and to restructure their plan for reaching those goals. Instead of spending $X for a craft that can do everything and last Y years, they should just spend $X/3 for a craft that can do most things and last Y/2 years. This way they can also customize different crafts and different revisions of the crafts to take care of different tasks (1 version to do science, 1 version to build and resupply the ISS, etc).
It's all about diversification and simplification of systems, not trying to cram everything into 1 solution.