Wow. According to your reply, I must have a post-modern, futuristic supercomputer. AMD Barton 3000, 1 GB ram, and a good, old fashioned IDE 7200 RPM 8 Meg Cache 120 Gig system drive. No overclocking, no tweaks (really..) and no Area-51 OS - Clean Build of windows XP.
All that and at what cost you ask? Cold boot from no-power to application ready in less than 25 seconds. What kind of crap are you loading when you start your pc? Kill the stuff in the startup, minimize the self initializing auto loading stuff, and get a faster PC in less time than it takes me to Post..
We want you to restrict users... or we'll restrict the media they're accessing.. So they can only get it through illegal means... Wait a second..
When the content "Providers" actually get around to providing content, I'll get back to this issue. Seems to me the only thing they do these days for revinue is sue users for old content use/abuse...
I have to clean 5 drives a month, every month, and reuse if possible. I have turned to running Norton Ghost of a Fresh windows install overnight (all of our workstation drives are 80 GB drives) and physically "Deleting" (1500lb press brake) those that fail. Cheap, easy, and secure. I do wish a piece of hardware existed out there, off the shelf, to do what you suggest though.
1. I speak of the 3rd party development on the PS2. Katamari Damacy, Grand Theft Auto 3 (getting long in the tooth now..), Final Fantasy 11? Where's the 3rd party development on the GC? Oh, thats right - RE4. Where's the online support? I don't care if I can play with people in the same room, I want to play with friends at school across the country.
2. I'll have to try that. Of course, since I've
played games with the PS2 in my POCKET (showing off to some friends - stupid, but it was cool at the time...) I think I have some concept as to the playability of the PS2.
I stand honorable corrected - I did in fact typo Gran Turismo. And for the sake of future generations, Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen 3. And last but not least - you seem to have mis-understood. Sony can crank out crap. God save us all the day Sony buys SquareEnix (the future of FF on the XBox really would be doomed!) But their HARDWARE and acceptance of 3rd party license is what keeps them not only in the running, but the predominant force.
I'm bothering to reply to you instead of modding you down because there is so much wrong in that post -1 dosen't do you justice...
The only reason I continue to support Sony is the variety of new IP - the sheer number of new IP's coming from that direction flatten any "innovation" coming from anywhere else. Let's face it - Zelda on a touch screen is still Zelda.
There is a good reason why the PS2 was impossible to find this holiday season, while GC's wasted away on store shelves - and guess what? If you play Madden, you are as much a "Gamer" as you or I. Its that elitist attitude that are driving new gamers away - It's just too damn difficult to get into games when your only examples are nintendo fanbois, CS Junkies, and MMORPG whores (Guilty as charged!) Nintendo fails to open up to these markets, by introducing radical changes to the fundamental way gamers interact with games, and guess who is left?
I have yet to have my PS2 fail. Granted, I traded it in on the Slimline version last fall... My Xbox has error'd exactally twice - an eject and a restart worked both times. As for my GC, well.. 2 drive failures later, I really don't listen to rants about qc anymore. Fact is the XBox has the most power, a HDD, and its games beat the crap out of most of the alternatives. Almost anything available cross platform I pick up for the XBox, I have a PS2 for Square and GrandTurismo, and the GC for the Really wacky stuff - super monkey ball, some good imports like Naruto 3, and, wait.. thats about it.
And, btw - Games like ICO fail because people like you chase off the people who are interested in casual gaming and want to start with a PS2 and Madden or Nascar. Guess what? More than likely, there going to want something else. And if you don't let them have it...
1. Game costs will go up, 2. There will be fewer games (and fewer good games) and last of all, 3. At least one of the console manufacturers will drop. And believe you me, if that happens, we're all screwed 'cause someone like the Phantom will show up. Doooooooommmmmmmm
From Lumines as I write this. Had untold legends in - woo woo LVL 10!!! - and feel fairly confident in my decision to wait out for the psp. The GBA will still be used (unless.. Advance Wars on the psp - Gahhhhh....) but other than that, it will be relagated to backseat duty.
On the other hand, it really shouldn't be this difficult to remove valid programs - MS should really step in here and mandate a total-removal tool. Something that wipes ALL THE BLOODY FILES and icons from the HDD.
Of course, unless its IE, MS has never really believed in standards for the good of the end user - just for the good of the bottom line (WMA anyone???)
1. Sony would not ship anywhere near the numbers they said they would, and even if they did, 1 Million wouldn't be enough.
2. The only way to get one guarenteed is to pre order it, back before feb 24, in my particular area - the day the preordeers filled at all the shops I usually visit.
And last of all, 3. If you want to face the screaming masses at Wal-Mart, Be my guest. PSP's will be extorted on ebay Thurs Afternoon, and 100% profit is enough to bring out the crazies.
Or did you think we should have saved some units for the casual gamer, and made a special line so you wouldn't have to wait, like the rest of us??
Yes the gba does have a library of games as long as your arm. Of course, if you want to take advantage of that list, you could buy a 79 $ GBA SP, and get a machine better designed to play those games.
Really, although I can appreciate the idea behind the system (touch screen seemes gimicky still, but 2 screens - cant wait for a developer to take advantage of it. Advance wars ds anyone?) I fully believe that Nintendo is shooting themselves in the foot developing for 2 handheld platforms. The only redeeming grace of the DS right now is that it plays GBA games, and Backwards compatability should be a feature, not the reason a system sells.
There is still no real reason to grab a DS right now. The games are all still-to-come, and from the demo unit at the local eb, the touchscreen has the resiliance of day old pudding. The manager is trying to sell the first 3 demo units, at like half price, and no one is grabbing them because there bloody unplayable. Sign me up for a PSP with Lumines, Untold Legends, and Mercury, and I'll grab a DS when I see software worthy of consideration (post E3 this story will change, but so will the DS's price point!)
#1. Slashdot isnt just reserved for groundbreaking news.
#2. This is actually kinda cool - I'd like to see the interference before I'd act, but Id much rather run a flat cable under some carpet at our office than string through the celing AGAIN....
#3. I'd really like to see your fiber cable do the 90 degree bends like in that picture. Go ahead, we'll wait for you to replace the expensive broken cable to post your response...
1. The only CD's in anything approaching good condition that I currently own are those who were used ONCE, to install the game, and dumped back to the case. My copy of UT2004 is not even readable because when I loaned it to a friend, he dropped the DVD on asphalt - Ouch!! This is a great sceme to get people to replace PC games as often as they replace consoles.
2. What do we do for Multi CD games? I'd love it if everything were on DVD, but the fact is, publishers have been saying they'[d do this for literally years, and yet they still have the audacity to ship 5-6 cd games without even the OPTION to get them on DVD. Oh, yeah - I want load times like FFIX on the PS again - Please!?!?!?!
3. I don't care how you optimize the system - my CD drive reads data slower than my HDD, and cant store temp files and config settings. Im guessing that this miracle will use some sort of configured software on the PC - and it will still be slower. Come on, with SATA HDD's getting cheaper, while M$'s solution will clearly take rediculous system resources - whats it going to do, cache it to RAM? - this is for console players who want to use a mouse. Great marketing, poor technology - please remember the Disable button.
This has got to be one of the most idiotic pieces of get-righ-quick tax legislature I have seen in the last year. How can a state claim not only to regulate interstate commerce, but to enforce said license? I would really like to see them try this one... Would be one of the fastest to supreme court cases RVER.
I am really not too wirried though. Legislatures are not stupid (although some may seem it) and this will likely get voted down asap. Considering the direct implications on ebay, well, I wouldn't be suprised if some "additional support" got waived the direction of Ohio from e-bays generous contributors.
The real issue here is that the PG - 13 system has been flawed since its inception - Instead of dividing the current content, It allowed studios to flex their power even more - movies added or subtracted content to hit that magic line - good movies dropped scenes to draw in crowds, and bad movies added fluf to appear more violent/etc.
What does a new rating in a defunct system do? Make it even more confusing.
Just... Wow. This is lunacris - first the good news that Fiona is leaving, now this? HP hass lost it in the modern market, and unless they wirry more about the customer and less about the bottem line than they currently do, let's just say the market will respond. (It has already to an extent)
This is kinda a given - you cant go out and patent (or TM) the word Dirt, for example. When a word is part of the lexicon, or is applied to a commonly understood term, then it is un-tm-able.
Only problem I see with this is the one that plagues sooo many victims of frivoulos lawsuits - you gotta pay to get to court in the first place (Bittorrent trackers, anyone?) At least in this case, there is a definative plantiff and defandant - and therefor, a countersuit is applicable if they go to court to fight the suit in the first place.
Too bad, I thought the RIAA and MPAA were the only things to fear these days with the impending demise of SCO. When will lawmakers wake up to this nonsense? When you take the initiative and write them.
Saw this site on/. a number of times in the last few years - I still can't get over the broad range of systems this guy works on. Much better read than TFA - spend your time getting info and enjoying ancedotes from an experienced hacker - not clicking "Next" over and over.
"... 99% of the audience is between 12 and 16. Why do you think there is a new edition every 4 years?
Realizing that it takes 6 hours to play a game, countless hours to paint armies and make terrain, etc. then only kids who haven't discovered the opposite sex will ever have time to play. Which is quite something considering how well this game must help stunt that discovery..."
WTH? Letsee... Most of the ppl I play Warhammer with are over 25, Married, well employed, and are some of the mote Sportsmanlike people I know. The community is very receptive to new players, and if you think for a second that there are no girls involved... Half of all major painting competitions are won by females! I know a number of guys whose girlfriends love to paint, and they love to play.
What game like this dosen't need at least a rules revision every few years? You do realize that in the almost 30 year lifespan there have been 6 revisions? 6!!! Not to mention new armies, histories and lore - thats half the game, the story!
GW is losing significant audience from your 12-16 year old demographic because of movies, videogames, and TV. Of course, there gaining much on the other end of the spectrum - people like me who like to take weekends away from the screen and do something with our own hands.
I may not be a professional artist, but my armies allow me to express myself. Blue goblins? Panicky dwarves (long story...)? If you want it - you can paint it however you need to.
I shudder to think of what would happen if the Tabletop gaming industry collapsed as a whole. Adventures like Dawn of War are fun, but the core of the Hobby is interaction.
As someone who started on the Computer Version 2 weeks before formal release - I can wholeheartedly agree with this move.
Understand the ppl they banned were harassing other players (by MPK'ing them - a DIRECT violation of the TOS), automating aspects of the game for exploit purposes (grey area, but...) and out right modifying the game code. Since SE controls the servers, well...
FFXI is one of the most balanced, enjoyable MMOG's I've played in years. CoH is fun, agreed. But when games like WoW fall here in 3-ish mos. (What % of a population can max MULTIPLE jobs before the game starts to seem old?) the alternatives will be ready and waiting (and I just don't see EQ2 as an alternative.)
Make real, HARD code, pass the cost to the Distrubitor, and He'll try to pass it to the consumer.
So we'll have 50$ DVD's that are unbreakable. Creating an insatiable demand for 20$ Bootlegs... Wait, we didn't fix anything did we?
Eventually someone will realize the profit's in the distrobution, not the product. We will reach a point where the 4% loss makes no difference. And the content will be neither Cost prohibitive or Impossible to access.
Once again - which is better - watching some overly adored punk demonstrate the twitch skilz that have kept him out of a real job (do you realize that youre promoting this lifestyle?!?!?) or playing the game yourself?
No good at CS? Halo 2? Get some friends together, and play. Thats what these things are designed for - to PLAY. Not to watch.
Sees this and jumps ship. Valve can survive on its own with Steam as their primary distro.And if you have to be online to access steam, well... Kinda stops this kinda thing in the bud.
To see Ben Affleck call Ferrel "N00b", and to have respond "OMFG - u uze da H4xorz!!!"
Seriously - If this was true, I'd probabally go out back and cry. We have had LOTR - its all downhill from here....
This is reminiscent of certain payphones and CC Whistles....
Kudos for thinking outside the box - I am honestly more impressed with this than just about any hack I'v seen in recent months.
And as for functionality - Who cares? Doing it for the sake of doing it - thats where things like Linux and the whole open source movement are founded.
Slashdot Mirror
All that and at what cost you ask? Cold boot from no-power to application ready in less than 25 seconds. What kind of crap are you loading when you start your pc? Kill the stuff in the startup, minimize the self initializing auto loading stuff, and get a faster PC in less time than it takes me to Post..
When the content "Providers" actually get around to providing content, I'll get back to this issue. Seems to me the only thing they do these days for revinue is sue users for old content use/abuse...
I have to clean 5 drives a month, every month, and reuse if possible. I have turned to running Norton Ghost of a Fresh windows install overnight (all of our workstation drives are 80 GB drives) and physically "Deleting" (1500lb press brake) those that fail. Cheap, easy, and secure. I do wish a piece of hardware existed out there, off the shelf, to do what you suggest though.
2. I'll have to try that. Of course, since I've played games with the PS2 in my POCKET (showing off to some friends - stupid, but it was cool at the time...) I think I have some concept as to the playability of the PS2.
I stand honorable corrected - I did in fact typo Gran Turismo. And for the sake of future generations, Naruto: Gekitou Ninja Taisen 3. And last but not least - you seem to have mis-understood. Sony can crank out crap. God save us all the day Sony buys SquareEnix (the future of FF on the XBox really would be doomed!) But their HARDWARE and acceptance of 3rd party license is what keeps them not only in the running, but the predominant force.
The only reason I continue to support Sony is the variety of new IP - the sheer number of new IP's coming from that direction flatten any "innovation" coming from anywhere else. Let's face it - Zelda on a touch screen is still Zelda.
There is a good reason why the PS2 was impossible to find this holiday season, while GC's wasted away on store shelves - and guess what? If you play Madden, you are as much a "Gamer" as you or I. Its that elitist attitude that are driving new gamers away - It's just too damn difficult to get into games when your only examples are nintendo fanbois, CS Junkies, and MMORPG whores (Guilty as charged!) Nintendo fails to open up to these markets, by introducing radical changes to the fundamental way gamers interact with games, and guess who is left?
I have yet to have my PS2 fail. Granted, I traded it in on the Slimline version last fall... My Xbox has error'd exactally twice - an eject and a restart worked both times. As for my GC, well.. 2 drive failures later, I really don't listen to rants about qc anymore. Fact is the XBox has the most power, a HDD, and its games beat the crap out of most of the alternatives. Almost anything available cross platform I pick up for the XBox, I have a PS2 for Square and GrandTurismo, and the GC for the Really wacky stuff - super monkey ball, some good imports like Naruto 3, and, wait.. thats about it.
And, btw - Games like ICO fail because people like you chase off the people who are interested in casual gaming and want to start with a PS2 and Madden or Nascar. Guess what? More than likely, there going to want something else. And if you don't let them have it... 1. Game costs will go up, 2. There will be fewer games (and fewer good games) and last of all, 3. At least one of the console manufacturers will drop. And believe you me, if that happens, we're all screwed 'cause someone like the Phantom will show up. Doooooooommmmmmmm
From Lumines as I write this. Had untold legends in - woo woo LVL 10!!! - and feel fairly confident in my decision to wait out for the psp. The GBA will still be used (unless.. Advance Wars on the psp - Gahhhhh....) but other than that, it will be relagated to backseat duty.
On the other hand, it really shouldn't be this difficult to remove valid programs - MS should really step in here and mandate a total-removal tool. Something that wipes ALL THE BLOODY FILES and icons from the HDD.
Of course, unless its IE, MS has never really believed in standards for the good of the end user - just for the good of the bottom line (WMA anyone???)
1. Sony would not ship anywhere near the numbers they said they would, and even if they did, 1 Million wouldn't be enough.
2. The only way to get one guarenteed is to pre order it, back before feb 24, in my particular area - the day the preordeers filled at all the shops I usually visit.
And last of all, 3. If you want to face the screaming masses at Wal-Mart, Be my guest. PSP's will be extorted on ebay Thurs Afternoon, and 100% profit is enough to bring out the crazies.
Or did you think we should have saved some units for the casual gamer, and made a special line so you wouldn't have to wait, like the rest of us??
Really, although I can appreciate the idea behind the system (touch screen seemes gimicky still, but 2 screens - cant wait for a developer to take advantage of it. Advance wars ds anyone?) I fully believe that Nintendo is shooting themselves in the foot developing for 2 handheld platforms. The only redeeming grace of the DS right now is that it plays GBA games, and Backwards compatability should be a feature, not the reason a system sells.
There is still no real reason to grab a DS right now. The games are all still-to-come, and from the demo unit at the local eb, the touchscreen has the resiliance of day old pudding. The manager is trying to sell the first 3 demo units, at like half price, and no one is grabbing them because there bloody unplayable. Sign me up for a PSP with Lumines, Untold Legends, and Mercury, and I'll grab a DS when I see software worthy of consideration (post E3 this story will change, but so will the DS's price point!)
#2. This is actually kinda cool - I'd like to see the interference before I'd act, but Id much rather run a flat cable under some carpet at our office than string through the celing AGAIN....
#3. I'd really like to see your fiber cable do the 90 degree bends like in that picture. Go ahead, we'll wait for you to replace the expensive broken cable to post your response...
2. What do we do for Multi CD games? I'd love it if everything were on DVD, but the fact is, publishers have been saying they'[d do this for literally years, and yet they still have the audacity to ship 5-6 cd games without even the OPTION to get them on DVD. Oh, yeah - I want load times like FFIX on the PS again - Please!?!?!?!
3. I don't care how you optimize the system - my CD drive reads data slower than my HDD, and cant store temp files and config settings. Im guessing that this miracle will use some sort of configured software on the PC - and it will still be slower. Come on, with SATA HDD's getting cheaper, while M$'s solution will clearly take rediculous system resources - whats it going to do, cache it to RAM? - this is for console players who want to use a mouse. Great marketing, poor technology - please remember the Disable button.
I am really not too wirried though. Legislatures are not stupid (although some may seem it) and this will likely get voted down asap. Considering the direct implications on ebay, well, I wouldn't be suprised if some "additional support" got waived the direction of Ohio from e-bays generous contributors.
The real issue here is that the PG - 13 system has been flawed since its inception - Instead of dividing the current content, It allowed studios to flex their power even more - movies added or subtracted content to hit that magic line - good movies dropped scenes to draw in crowds, and bad movies added fluf to appear more violent/etc. What does a new rating in a defunct system do? Make it even more confusing.
It's easy to win polls when your competition dosent show up to the poll cause there doing such a good job already.
Because It's good. Period.
Just... Wow. This is lunacris - first the good news that Fiona is leaving, now this? HP hass lost it in the modern market, and unless they wirry more about the customer and less about the bottem line than they currently do, let's just say the market will respond. (It has already to an extent)
Only problem I see with this is the one that plagues sooo many victims of frivoulos lawsuits - you gotta pay to get to court in the first place (Bittorrent trackers, anyone?) At least in this case, there is a definative plantiff and defandant - and therefor, a countersuit is applicable if they go to court to fight the suit in the first place.
Too bad, I thought the RIAA and MPAA were the only things to fear these days with the impending demise of SCO. When will lawmakers wake up to this nonsense? When you take the initiative and write them.
Saw this site on /. a number of times in the last few years - I still can't get over the broad range of systems this guy works on. Much better read than TFA - spend your time getting info and enjoying ancedotes from an experienced hacker - not clicking "Next" over and over.
WTH? Letsee... Most of the ppl I play Warhammer with are over 25, Married, well employed, and are some of the mote Sportsmanlike people I know. The community is very receptive to new players, and if you think for a second that there are no girls involved... Half of all major painting competitions are won by females! I know a number of guys whose girlfriends love to paint, and they love to play.
What game like this dosen't need at least a rules revision every few years? You do realize that in the almost 30 year lifespan there have been 6 revisions? 6!!! Not to mention new armies, histories and lore - thats half the game, the story!
GW is losing significant audience from your 12-16 year old demographic because of movies, videogames, and TV. Of course, there gaining much on the other end of the spectrum - people like me who like to take weekends away from the screen and do something with our own hands.
I may not be a professional artist, but my armies allow me to express myself. Blue goblins? Panicky dwarves (long story...)? If you want it - you can paint it however you need to.
I shudder to think of what would happen if the Tabletop gaming industry collapsed as a whole. Adventures like Dawn of War are fun, but the core of the Hobby is interaction.
Understand the ppl they banned were harassing other players (by MPK'ing them - a DIRECT violation of the TOS), automating aspects of the game for exploit purposes (grey area, but...) and out right modifying the game code. Since SE controls the servers, well...
FFXI is one of the most balanced, enjoyable MMOG's I've played in years. CoH is fun, agreed. But when games like WoW fall here in 3-ish mos. (What % of a population can max MULTIPLE jobs before the game starts to seem old?) the alternatives will be ready and waiting (and I just don't see EQ2 as an alternative.)
Make real, HARD code, pass the cost to the Distrubitor, and He'll try to pass it to the consumer.
So we'll have 50$ DVD's that are unbreakable. Creating an insatiable demand for 20$ Bootlegs... Wait, we didn't fix anything did we?
Eventually someone will realize the profit's in the distrobution, not the product. We will reach a point where the 4% loss makes no difference. And the content will be neither Cost prohibitive or Impossible to access.
No good at CS? Halo 2? Get some friends together, and play. Thats what these things are designed for - to PLAY. Not to watch.
Spectators belong on the BotServe
Sees this and jumps ship. Valve can survive on its own with Steam as their primary distro .And if you have to be online to access steam, well... Kinda stops this kinda thing in the bud.
To see Ben Affleck call Ferrel "N00b", and to have respond "OMFG - u uze da H4xorz!!!" Seriously - If this was true, I'd probabally go out back and cry. We have had LOTR - its all downhill from here....
This is reminiscent of certain payphones and CC Whistles.... Kudos for thinking outside the box - I am honestly more impressed with this than just about any hack I'v seen in recent months. And as for functionality - Who cares? Doing it for the sake of doing it - thats where things like Linux and the whole open source movement are founded.