Doesn't this just make Patch Tuesday more and more irrelevant- that's at least twice (in my memory) that they have had to release a patch "out-of-cycle". I don't give a monkey about cycles, I just want security patches deployed when they have been tested and are available! Big corporates should be using WSUS to manage patching so there's really no excuse for it catch people off guard in the business world, and I'm sure that most consumers think the same as me- fix my computer, and fix it now!
I think everyone is missing where the indie market is- Flash Games. There's lots of creative, small companies releasing games that are played by millions and recouping money through advertising and sponsorship. Ok, they aren't necessarily all small companys working alone, but many are small design studios that fit the title indie (although sometime the overly commerical nature of Flash animation may taint this idea a little bit).
I read the article and feel thoroughly confused- are you telling me that google is placing adverts for video adverts on webpages? Cause if you have to click on them, aka clicking on a link to see them, why do you want to do that? Why not go straight to the site in question and watch a video advert that way.
If what they're suggesting, and I think they are, is a google vid/flash embedded style video advert style (ala youtube), you'll still be wasting your bandwidth downloading them (if I'm not wrong, I haven't check how flash video works fully) regardless of whether or not you press play!
There's a couple of important things about this- rental is a valid business model for many users (e.g. those who listen to music at their PC, those who own compatible WMA players). I have no issue paying a subscription to rent all the music I want. I (pratically) do the same with Sky (Satalite) TV, I pay a subscription to watch the content, not to record it and that suits me fine.
Microsoft's monopoloy will make it unfair for similar business models to succeed- seriously, why do they think they can get away with it again...
DRM is annoying, but tolerable when it doesn't interfere with your ability to enjoy the music- unforunately as long as people complain, hack DRM and pirate music DRM will be tightened up and increasingly restrict access to said music.
The easiest way to beat DRM is to use a stereo cable and feed it back into your PC.
Cory Doctorow's comments in his CC licensed books make a fair point (better than I could) about why artists have to change - sooner rather than later-
"I still don't know how it is artists will earn a living in the age of the Internet, but I remain convinced that the way to find out is to do basic science: that is, to do stuff and observe the outcome. That's what I'm doing here. The thing to remember is that the very *worst* thing you can do to me as an artist is to not read my work -- to let it languish in obscurity and disappear from posterity. Most of the fiction I grew up on is out-of-print, and this is doubly true for the short stories. Losing a couple bucks to people who would have bought the book save for the availability of the free electronic text is no big deal, at least when compared to the horror that is being irrelevant and unread. And luckily for me, it appears that giving away the text for free gets me more paying customers than it loses me."
It's fine saying that you say rich symbolism, but since that symbolism is all about personal interepretation then who are you judge that other people simply saw this as confusing. If you want to add details to the story, see parallels with reality, that's fine, but the animation and story itself must be strong enough on its own for you not to have to read in to it.
That's like saying a book with twenty words with it could rival shakespeare with the right interpretation- I'm sure it could, but most people enjoy shakespeare because they can see the superficial plot as well as the deeper meaning.
I don't want to dismiss this project, the detail is amazing, the modelling is great, and the animation is better than most, but I've seen stronger animation sequences from Machimania films. In fact, machimania seems like a much better cause for OS film production.
Ten minutes isn't long enough for a "movie" - it's an animated short, and should be pitched as such. Wallace and Gromit's creators started off doing the same thing, and it's done their reputation no harm, so why over-sell what you've got.
The best thing I can end on is that the CC license means that somebody could easily rescript and rehash this into quite amazing, and for that, we can thank open source thinking and some truly excellent graphic designers.
The interface is a bit on the poor side, I can't deny, but I can see the market potential for a program that offers decent video management on my PC. I'm not about to switch OS to MCE in order to get a good video recording program (plus the DRM on the video is very off-putting!), which means currently I'm scripting my recordings- but if someone offered a simple progeram that has series links, easy "one-click" recording, etc. which the likes of Showshifter still manage to mess up, then I'd be all over it.
Fair point- it really isn't that difficult to create a plain text document editor which can apply "themes" to documents. So why haven't we got one that is user friendly and avialable on the market (particularly a free one). If it added easy publishing to a webpage and was transparent to users I can't see why it couldn't co-exist and maybe even beat the bulky and OTT office packages on the market today.
I think everyone who is whinging about this is missing the point- OK, so they've miss phrased the service by saying it's a download (although technically you are downloading the data, even if it's only for streaming purposes) but this is effectively (audio) advert free radio and I can see no harm in that. I must admit I'm not a fan of the "new" napster (branding is wrong and compatibility problems spoilt my free-trial of the old service) and the fact that they haven't managed to get a UK service up and running yet is frustraitng (will we always be late to the game?) means that I'd hardly pick them as the best company to herald the future of digital audio, but can't people get their heads around what this service does and doesn't offer. It's free streaming radio, without inane DJ banter or spoken adverts. Where's the harm in that? I'm a massive fan of Last.Fm and Pandora isn't a bad alternative and I don't mind a third company trying to have a go in the streaming audio market (we all love a competitive market at Slashdot, don't we?). Good on them for trying to expand their business and try something different.
Let us just briefly analysis this one, shall we: - No confirmed hard-disk - Hard-disk is essential for the PVR functions- ok, maybe it will be sold seperately, but as it stands, we almost certainly won't get out of the box PVR. - Region Issues- From a technical point of view there are HUNDREDS of TV standards out there, more so if you include analogue and digital based broadcasters all over the world. Sony plans to sell the console in lots of countries- thus you have to create a compatible recording device for various video signals - unless you simply get a bog-standard VCR like device that can't change the channel on your TV, let alone your set-top box (this, friends, seems to me to be the biggest issue and reason why this is almost defintely vapourware). TV Listings over the net would require extensive partnerships across the world to create a worldwide TV Guide... - Copyright issues- Sony like copyright. Ripping content to a hard-drive is a security risk- they would much rather sell you it in DRM'd format over the net. - Where's the $$$? - What benefits will Sony get from combining PVR with the PS3- they already sell PVR devices (DVD-recorders, HardDisk recorders, etc.) and locationfree devices - all of these will suffer if they the features are stuffed into one, very popular, device. It'll cost them more money per console and cost them lost sales- where's the business plan? - HD Content and Hard-disks- HD Content eats up HD space faster than regular content- sony can't afford the extra hard-drive costs if they want to keep the rest of the specs reasonable and not sell the console at a reasonable loss level. - Sony are a "super-dooper" hype company. They have a habit of going a bit Over the Top (though I do love my VAIO laptop!)... that's all I can think of just now, but I'm confident that with a bit more careful analysis we'd be able to put a nail in the coffin of this hype material.
It does seem ironic, especially since just a few comments above someone asks whether you can actually still buy it in the stores (which, having tried, I can confirm is next to impossible) that there are other companies out there who hold onto their intellectual propetry beyond reason. There are so many classic DOS games that would be great to play, but you can't buy. The games industry may have matured, but it still hasn't reached the critical level where (like movies and music) classic titles are held with such high esteem that it seems shocking to go into a decent CD/DVD store and not be able to get a classic title from twenty years ago...
As a personal plea to the software co's out there- please let your old games be free... or at least available to buy! What point is owning a product if you don't sell it?
I think this actually raises another, very important, point- what content providers will be prepared to use this?
I know lots of manufacturers have jumped on the DRM bandwagon, but as Sony have shown not everyone wants to use the same DRM- thus can you really imagine microsoft forcing a standard on us when the content creators don't support it?
Why would Sony create video that can only play back on Windows Media enabled PC's with Windows Media Monitors (or whatever) when it could create it's own DRM and force people to use Sony monitors?
Equally, this may be a boon for indie studios who won't be able to buy the over priced Microsoft taxed DRM and release hi-quality video without DRM, which, thanks to Microsofts video system will look better than the hollywood blockbusters! And to put a final twist on it, how many Hollywood studios are prepared to encode their video to reduce its quality for the sake of DRM, when there are competitors out there making video without DRM which will look better to thousands of consumers who simply won't understand the mechanics of the sitaution and believe that the non-Hollywood stuff just looks better!
I think this actually raises another, very important, point- what content providers will be prepared to use this?
I know lots of manufacturers have jumped on the DRM bandwagon, but as Sony have shown not everyone wants to use the same DRM- thus can you really imagine microsoft forcing a standard on us when the content creators don't support it?
Why would Sony create video that can only play back on Windows Media enabled PC's with Windows Media Monitors (or whatever) when it could create it's own DRM and force people to use Sony monitors?
Equally, this may be a boon for indie studios who won't be able to buy the over priced Microsoft taxed DRM and release hi-quality video without DRM, which, thanks to Microsofts video system will look better than the hollywood blockbusters! And to put a final twist on it, how many Hollywood studios are prepared to encode their video to reduce its quality for the sake of DRM, when there are competitors out there making video without DRM which will look better to thousands of consumers who simply won't understand the mechanics of the sitaution and believe that the non-Hollywood stuff just looks better!
Yeah- this strikes me as "we wish it would be true" territory.
First off- Nintendo are notoriously tight on letting other wares running on their systems (come on, the disc spins backwards on the GC if I remember rightly!).
Secondly, whilst the games industry really needs this revolution to occur, the revolution isn't going to be the one to make it happen.
I have looked into my dark crystal ball, and I have seen what I believe to be the future- this generation of consoles will suck the blood (money) from the big players- both hardware and software developers - and all will suffer. But it won't be a problem because no one will care- you see we'll all being playing a different type of game- either something on mobile devices (the success of the PSP and DS show the strength of this- and mobile phone gaming will completely take over the traditional game market very quickly, particularly in the UK and Japan where non-hardcore games will pick up the latest games quickly for fashion reasons) or we will be getting them from set-top boxes.
Now I know that last one seems crazy, but the Cell architecture Sony's hinting towards with the PS3 is a step in this direction already, networked architecture will mean that games will be distributed online and power across networks distributed in the home. Xbox360 also shows how this may work- a central powerhouse PC in the cupboard (more than capable of throwing polygons around) and a set-top box to play them through. Online distribution will cut out the middle man in a sector that desperately needs to maximise returns on expensive projects, TV cash-ins will grow... it's a scary, but interesting future.
(PS- my crystal ball also told me to buy minidiscs and DDC tapes- it's not always right- but in a world of uncertainty, magic crystal balls are cheap to buy and are nice coffee table decorations).
Isn't it ironic when whilst talking about information overload we are also discussing Microsoft Office. Not to sound funny, but we're talking about a majorly bloated application now, and I bet you any money that they will add several new options to the menu bars.
Forget about legacy support, we need user support, and if that means dropping a few features from the standard package then do it- and allow those who need it to add it to the apps via external plugins.
In honesty, I would love to see an office suite that goes for minimalism, and allows you to build it up using widely available plugins. This could also be an ideal way of marketing an office suite (rather than "100 new whizz-bang features that will never use!" and "your staff will only require three weeks new training to use the ten new features, of which only one of them will become commonly used in your office" sales pitch, how about: buy a strong body, pack it with the guts you need, run it forever).
I can, however, see what the fuss about information overload (I get far to many emails from people who simply want me to be aware of the conversation), but this isn't going to be solved through better applications, but rather by different applications. G-mail has a nice conversation structure that makes sense, this could be integrated into a sound customer/personnel database management system that would allow you to track conversations and comments meaningfully. The further irony of this is is that the best people to provide this apps probably are service providers (like Google) who could manage comms online and allow you to pick up conversations anywhere, rather than through a particular desktop/app.
And one further point- Gates is allowed to comment on IT information overload just as much as the next person- he probably suffers from Outlook Email Bloat (the OEB condition?) worse than many: he works in the IT sector, is involved in application development and uses email- that's a good enough qualification for me to allow him to comment (if not actually pass major judgement!).
I'm sure I'm summarising someone else's comments here but I can think of loads of reasons why this simply won't work/goes against blogging principles:
1) Expensive (broadband, camcorder, etc.)
2) It's slow
3) It's hardly something you can just dip into - you have to dedicate a certain amount of time to a video blog.
4) It's less of an impromtu note or comment, more of a staged medium.
Actually, I have this issue with all video- I really don't see why Joe Blog has much reason to record video- I'm (un)forunately in the wonderful world of retail selling digital cameras/camcorders and the like, and whilst I'm happy to mention the great video modes some of the digital cameras offer (50 sec shorts), I really have a hard time selling camcorders because I just can't the point. Good quality video takes all the expertise and time that an audio track, comic strip and short-story takes to produce- but tripled. Unforunately few people bother to put this much effort in, meaning that most of the world produces rubbish that they watch once (maybe twice) and then archive to be lost.
I'm all one for holding onto memories, but video diaries seem pointless to me- better a snapshot here, a few words there, and a thought, rather than five minute sequence of titles, cheesy music/low quality banter and inane smiling.
(Sorry to sound so cynical!)
I have had the pleasure of attending a guest lecture with Mr Berner-Lee- he's a facinating guy with a lot of ideas- but he always forgets the user. It's completely true- the semantic web could be very powerful- but it's only if meta-data is generated correctly.
Meta-data is fundamentally a personal thing, so generating the meta-data must be done on the fly (at least to some degree).
Now until we've got amazing artifical intelligences that understand context and your needs there is no hope of making this technology useful.
All a bit scary looking to be honest...
But seriously, the technology seems to be technology for technologies sake (OK, I do realise I'm posting on Slashdot)- what's stopping u from pressing a button to indicate that the conversation is worth recording? As it is I make eye contact with shop staff all the time- but I sure as hell don't need to have access to digital copies of my interactions with my green-grocers!
Eye contact is over rated- much of the important and beautiful moments are the ones where u don't see the way someone else is looking at you. In meetings for instance I would rather have complete access to all of the information rather than the bits where people have specifically made eye contact with me (which, being a lowly pleb in the world, is very rare- but it doesn't mean I don't need to be at the meeting!).
Plus- whilst I like the idea of an appliance that acts of my looks, I'm sure it'd drive me mad- I look at my TV all the time- but then I resist the temptation to switch it on because I know it'll be crap- god only knows how much extra rubbish I'll watch if I can switch a TV on with a simple look! Plus, looking doesn't mean I want something- or, more important, doesn't indicate what I want - I might look at my TV with the hope of seeing something important- but I also look at it in anger sometimes with a desire to mute it!
Context is important- and this device doesn't capture enough information to make it useful.
Don't know if this is the same, technology (one day I'll actually RTFA!) - but if it's related it would be cool if Sony actually started making something out of it...
(PDF LINK FOLLOWS:)
http://www.csl.sony.co.jp/person/rekimoto/papers/u ist97.pdf
To everyone who is quickly dismissing this as pointless- if this is something that the kids *want* to learn, then let them learn it. By learning an additional language (any language) it opens the mind to learning further langauges easier (a well accepted concept in psychology that dual linguists can learn additional languages faster and easier) and opens up a new world- langauge - what language it may be - allows people to see the world through different eyes- whether it's through a different countries or through a famous author's (and in turn his attempt to assimilate ancient cultures) I see no harm in it for opening the eyes of the young!
I don't think that's entirely fair- this device will serve people well who don't already have a portable video based hard-drive recorder (e.g. the market that TIVO failed to capture). Add to that, I'd love to be able to take a small device with the TV i want to watch, plus the home movies and music so I can share it with friends by plugging it into their gear- without having lug a whole desktop PC (or even a laptop for that matter).
Currently I use my PDA extensively to catch up on 24 and Futurama episodes I don't have time to watch- the commute to work seems like an ideal time. And if I want to, with a bit of fiddling, I can get output on my freinds PC's using Wi-fi and watch it big screen as soon as I go round their place to watch TV.
I see much potential in this idea- but battery life has to be right.
Not to sound rude to the almighty slashdotters our there, but why the cyncism? Microsoft might be making music downloads cheap for everyone. Everyone seems to be looking for a reason why- maybe they like music and want it to be available to the people who enjoy music too. OK, I imagine their DRM software will be harsh, but let's give it a try guys...
(please don't mod this as funny!)
Just another URL - new scientist (http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99 994093) is running an article on how the computer games can boost language skills...
Middleware is the Solution
on
Razor Blade Games?
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· Score: 4, Insightful
Solutions will arrive automatically. Thankfully we've already seen the start of this via Middleware - software by a third party which is hired/loaned and used for development. PS2 and Xbox have successfully helped build an entire middleware community and a new source of revenue. Now small bedroom programmers can either be responsible for middleware or the "end game" software. Let us not lament- Sony is the current market leader and also happens to be the only manufacterer who opened up their console for easy programming (anyone remember the Sony Yazoo (or whatever it was called) for the PSX - a home development system) and is also selling Linux kits without a free cease and desist letter to anyone who uses linux on their PSX. There's still space out there for bedroom developers, it's just that bedroom developers are changing!
Not to sound rude, but all you yankees moaning about how this service is limited to the US- at least you get the service to begin with! We're still waiting for a launch in the UK/Europe... And there's a thought- maybe once international liscensing is in place it maybe possible to take your music elsewhere. Everyone seems to be slagging off Apple for introducing a revolution that is "perfect" - but there's no such thing as a bloodshed free revolution. Give Apple some time, voice your opinion/feelings to Apple so they know how you feel, and maybe they'll solve the hitch.
Legal hurdles aside, time changes everything... I think.
Linux is find in the IT sector- but I use to work in the council and surfice to say the majority of people there didn't want to fiddle- they wanted compatibility and ease of use. Now in some respects Linux has this just enough to be usable- after all most of the work I did there required simply using an email software (easy enough), an office suite (Star office isn't any more difficult than the MS Solution) and some custom database software (which was all served up using JAVA- so no code porting would have been necessary). In fact, in some respects for the council this situation is ideal- you can almost garuntee that staff won't take files home with them or load them from another PC... actually, mayb the council are the only people who can use it! For the rest of the office world though- compatibility with Windows, and ease of use... I'm sorry- but windows is too well embedded in the home/office market for Linux to ever win.
Slashdot Mirror
Doesn't this just make Patch Tuesday more and more irrelevant- that's at least twice (in my memory) that they have had to release a patch "out-of-cycle". I don't give a monkey about cycles, I just want security patches deployed when they have been tested and are available! Big corporates should be using WSUS to manage patching so there's really no excuse for it catch people off guard in the business world, and I'm sure that most consumers think the same as me- fix my computer, and fix it now!
I think everyone is missing where the indie market is- Flash Games. There's lots of creative, small companies releasing games that are played by millions and recouping money through advertising and sponsorship. Ok, they aren't necessarily all small companys working alone, but many are small design studios that fit the title indie (although sometime the overly commerical nature of Flash animation may taint this idea a little bit).
I read the article and feel thoroughly confused- are you telling me that google is placing adverts for video adverts on webpages? Cause if you have to click on them, aka clicking on a link to see them, why do you want to do that? Why not go straight to the site in question and watch a video advert that way.
If what they're suggesting, and I think they are, is a google vid/flash embedded style video advert style (ala youtube), you'll still be wasting your bandwidth downloading them (if I'm not wrong, I haven't check how flash video works fully) regardless of whether or not you press play!
There's a couple of important things about this-
rental is a valid business model for many users (e.g. those who listen to music at their PC, those who own compatible WMA players). I have no issue paying a subscription to rent all the music I want. I (pratically) do the same with Sky (Satalite) TV, I pay a subscription to watch the content, not to record it and that suits me fine.
Microsoft's monopoloy will make it unfair for similar business models to succeed- seriously, why do they think they can get away with it again...
DRM is annoying, but tolerable when it doesn't interfere with your ability to enjoy the music- unforunately as long as people complain, hack DRM and pirate music DRM will be tightened up and increasingly restrict access to said music.
The easiest way to beat DRM is to use a stereo cable and feed it back into your PC.
Cory Doctorow's comments in his CC licensed books make a fair point (better than I could) about why artists have to change - sooner rather than later-
"I still don't know how it is artists will earn a living in the age of the
Internet, but I remain convinced that the way to find out is to do basic
science: that is, to do stuff and observe the outcome. That's what I'm doing
here. The thing to remember is that the very *worst* thing you can do to me as
an artist is to not read my work -- to let it languish in obscurity and
disappear from posterity. Most of the fiction I grew up on is out-of-print, and
this is doubly true for the short stories. Losing a couple bucks to people who
would have bought the book save for the availability of the free electronic text
is no big deal, at least when compared to the horror that is being irrelevant
and unread. And luckily for me, it appears that giving away the text for free
gets me more paying customers than it loses me."
It's fine saying that you say rich symbolism, but since that symbolism is all about personal interepretation then who are you judge that other people simply saw this as confusing. If you want to add details to the story, see parallels with reality, that's fine, but the animation and story itself must be strong enough on its own for you not to have to read in to it.
That's like saying a book with twenty words with it could rival shakespeare with the right interpretation- I'm sure it could, but most people enjoy shakespeare because they can see the superficial plot as well as the deeper meaning.
I don't want to dismiss this project, the detail is amazing, the modelling is great, and the animation is better than most, but I've seen stronger animation sequences from Machimania films. In fact, machimania seems like a much better cause for OS film production.
Ten minutes isn't long enough for a "movie" - it's an animated short, and should be pitched as such. Wallace and Gromit's creators started off doing the same thing, and it's done their reputation no harm, so why over-sell what you've got.
The best thing I can end on is that the CC license means that somebody could easily rescript and rehash this into quite amazing, and for that, we can thank open source thinking and some truly excellent graphic designers.
The interface is a bit on the poor side, I can't deny, but I can see the market potential for a program that offers decent video management on my PC. I'm not about to switch OS to MCE in order to get a good video recording program (plus the DRM on the video is very off-putting!), which means currently I'm scripting my recordings- but if someone offered a simple progeram that has series links, easy "one-click" recording, etc. which the likes of Showshifter still manage to mess up, then I'd be all over it.
Fair point- it really isn't that difficult to create a plain text document editor which can apply "themes" to documents. So why haven't we got one that is user friendly and avialable on the market (particularly a free one). If it added easy publishing to a webpage and was transparent to users I can't see why it couldn't co-exist and maybe even beat the bulky and OTT office packages on the market today.
I think everyone who is whinging about this is missing the point- OK, so they've miss phrased the service by saying it's a download (although technically you are downloading the data, even if it's only for streaming purposes) but this is effectively (audio) advert free radio and I can see no harm in that. I must admit I'm not a fan of the "new" napster (branding is wrong and compatibility problems spoilt my free-trial of the old service) and the fact that they haven't managed to get a UK service up and running yet is frustraitng (will we always be late to the game?) means that I'd hardly pick them as the best company to herald the future of digital audio, but can't people get their heads around what this service does and doesn't offer.
It's free streaming radio, without inane DJ banter or spoken adverts. Where's the harm in that? I'm a massive fan of Last.Fm and Pandora isn't a bad alternative and I don't mind a third company trying to have a go in the streaming audio market (we all love a competitive market at Slashdot, don't we?). Good on them for trying to expand their business and try something different.
Let us just briefly analysis this one, shall we: ... that's all I can think of just now, but I'm confident that with a bit more careful analysis we'd be able to put a nail in the coffin of this hype material.
- No confirmed hard-disk - Hard-disk is essential for the PVR functions- ok, maybe it will be sold seperately, but as it stands, we almost certainly won't get out of the box PVR.
- Region Issues- From a technical point of view there are HUNDREDS of TV standards out there, more so if you include analogue and digital based broadcasters all over the world. Sony plans to sell the console in lots of countries- thus you have to create a compatible recording device for various video signals - unless you simply get a bog-standard VCR like device that can't change the channel on your TV, let alone your set-top box (this, friends, seems to me to be the biggest issue and reason why this is almost defintely vapourware). TV Listings over the net would require extensive partnerships across the world to create a worldwide TV Guide...
- Copyright issues- Sony like copyright. Ripping content to a hard-drive is a security risk- they would much rather sell you it in DRM'd format over the net.
- Where's the $$$? - What benefits will Sony get from combining PVR with the PS3- they already sell PVR devices (DVD-recorders, HardDisk recorders, etc.) and locationfree devices - all of these will suffer if they the features are stuffed into one, very popular, device. It'll cost them more money per console and cost them lost sales- where's the business plan?
- HD Content and Hard-disks- HD Content eats up HD space faster than regular content- sony can't afford the extra hard-drive costs if they want to keep the rest of the specs reasonable and not sell the console at a reasonable loss level.
- Sony are a "super-dooper" hype company. They have a habit of going a bit Over the Top (though I do love my VAIO laptop!)
It does seem ironic, especially since just a few comments above someone asks whether you can actually still buy it in the stores (which, having tried, I can confirm is next to impossible) that there are other companies out there who hold onto their intellectual propetry beyond reason. There are so many classic DOS games that would be great to play, but you can't buy. The games industry may have matured, but it still hasn't reached the critical level where (like movies and music) classic titles are held with such high esteem that it seems shocking to go into a decent CD/DVD store and not be able to get a classic title from twenty years ago...
As a personal plea to the software co's out there- please let your old games be free... or at least available to buy! What point is owning a product if you don't sell it?
I think this actually raises another, very important, point- what content providers will be prepared to use this?
I know lots of manufacturers have jumped on the DRM bandwagon, but as Sony have shown not everyone wants to use the same DRM- thus can you really imagine microsoft forcing a standard on us when the content creators don't support it?
Why would Sony create video that can only play back on Windows Media enabled PC's with Windows Media Monitors (or whatever) when it could create it's own DRM and force people to use Sony monitors?
Equally, this may be a boon for indie studios who won't be able to buy the over priced Microsoft taxed DRM and release hi-quality video without DRM, which, thanks to Microsofts video system will look better than the hollywood blockbusters! And to put a final twist on it, how many Hollywood studios are prepared to encode their video to reduce its quality for the sake of DRM, when there are competitors out there making video without DRM which will look better to thousands of consumers who simply won't understand the mechanics of the sitaution and believe that the non-Hollywood stuff just looks better!
I think this actually raises another, very important, point- what content providers will be prepared to use this? I know lots of manufacturers have jumped on the DRM bandwagon, but as Sony have shown not everyone wants to use the same DRM- thus can you really imagine microsoft forcing a standard on us when the content creators don't support it? Why would Sony create video that can only play back on Windows Media enabled PC's with Windows Media Monitors (or whatever) when it could create it's own DRM and force people to use Sony monitors? Equally, this may be a boon for indie studios who won't be able to buy the over priced Microsoft taxed DRM and release hi-quality video without DRM, which, thanks to Microsofts video system will look better than the hollywood blockbusters! And to put a final twist on it, how many Hollywood studios are prepared to encode their video to reduce its quality for the sake of DRM, when there are competitors out there making video without DRM which will look better to thousands of consumers who simply won't understand the mechanics of the sitaution and believe that the non-Hollywood stuff just looks better!
Yeah- this strikes me as "we wish it would be true" territory.
First off- Nintendo are notoriously tight on letting other wares running on their systems (come on, the disc spins backwards on the GC if I remember rightly!).
Secondly, whilst the games industry really needs this revolution to occur, the revolution isn't going to be the one to make it happen.
I have looked into my dark crystal ball, and I have seen what I believe to be the future- this generation of consoles will suck the blood (money) from the big players- both hardware and software developers - and all will suffer. But it won't be a problem because no one will care- you see we'll all being playing a different type of game- either something on mobile devices (the success of the PSP and DS show the strength of this- and mobile phone gaming will completely take over the traditional game market very quickly, particularly in the UK and Japan where non-hardcore games will pick up the latest games quickly for fashion reasons) or we will be getting them from set-top boxes.
Now I know that last one seems crazy, but the Cell architecture Sony's hinting towards with the PS3 is a step in this direction already, networked architecture will mean that games will be distributed online and power across networks distributed in the home. Xbox360 also shows how this may work- a central powerhouse PC in the cupboard (more than capable of throwing polygons around) and a set-top box to play them through.
Online distribution will cut out the middle man in a sector that desperately needs to maximise returns on expensive projects, TV cash-ins will grow... it's a scary, but interesting future.
(PS- my crystal ball also told me to buy minidiscs and DDC tapes- it's not always right- but in a world of uncertainty, magic crystal balls are cheap to buy and are nice coffee table decorations).
Isn't it ironic when whilst talking about information overload we are also discussing Microsoft Office. Not to sound funny, but we're talking about a majorly bloated application now, and I bet you any money that they will add several new options to the menu bars.
Forget about legacy support, we need user support, and if that means dropping a few features from the standard package then do it- and allow those who need it to add it to the apps via external plugins.
In honesty, I would love to see an office suite that goes for minimalism, and allows you to build it up using widely available plugins. This could also be an ideal way of marketing an office suite (rather than "100 new whizz-bang features that will never use!" and "your staff will only require three weeks new training to use the ten new features, of which only one of them will become commonly used in your office" sales pitch, how about: buy a strong body, pack it with the guts you need, run it forever).
I can, however, see what the fuss about information overload (I get far to many emails from people who simply want me to be aware of the conversation), but this isn't going to be solved through better applications, but rather by different applications. G-mail has a nice conversation structure that makes sense, this could be integrated into a sound customer/personnel database management system that would allow you to track conversations and comments meaningfully. The further irony of this is is that the best people to provide this apps probably are service providers (like Google) who could manage comms online and allow you to pick up conversations anywhere, rather than through a particular desktop/app.
And one further point- Gates is allowed to comment on IT information overload just as much as the next person- he probably suffers from Outlook Email Bloat (the OEB condition?) worse than many: he works in the IT sector, is involved in application development and uses email- that's a good enough qualification for me to allow him to comment (if not actually pass major judgement!).
I'm sure I'm summarising someone else's comments here but I can think of loads of reasons why this simply won't work/goes against blogging principles: 1) Expensive (broadband, camcorder, etc.) 2) It's slow 3) It's hardly something you can just dip into - you have to dedicate a certain amount of time to a video blog. 4) It's less of an impromtu note or comment, more of a staged medium. Actually, I have this issue with all video- I really don't see why Joe Blog has much reason to record video- I'm (un)forunately in the wonderful world of retail selling digital cameras/camcorders and the like, and whilst I'm happy to mention the great video modes some of the digital cameras offer (50 sec shorts), I really have a hard time selling camcorders because I just can't the point. Good quality video takes all the expertise and time that an audio track, comic strip and short-story takes to produce- but tripled. Unforunately few people bother to put this much effort in, meaning that most of the world produces rubbish that they watch once (maybe twice) and then archive to be lost. I'm all one for holding onto memories, but video diaries seem pointless to me- better a snapshot here, a few words there, and a thought, rather than five minute sequence of titles, cheesy music/low quality banter and inane smiling. (Sorry to sound so cynical!)
I have had the pleasure of attending a guest lecture with Mr Berner-Lee- he's a facinating guy with a lot of ideas- but he always forgets the user. It's completely true- the semantic web could be very powerful- but it's only if meta-data is generated correctly. Meta-data is fundamentally a personal thing, so generating the meta-data must be done on the fly (at least to some degree). Now until we've got amazing artifical intelligences that understand context and your needs there is no hope of making this technology useful.
All a bit scary looking to be honest... But seriously, the technology seems to be technology for technologies sake (OK, I do realise I'm posting on Slashdot)- what's stopping u from pressing a button to indicate that the conversation is worth recording? As it is I make eye contact with shop staff all the time- but I sure as hell don't need to have access to digital copies of my interactions with my green-grocers! Eye contact is over rated- much of the important and beautiful moments are the ones where u don't see the way someone else is looking at you. In meetings for instance I would rather have complete access to all of the information rather than the bits where people have specifically made eye contact with me (which, being a lowly pleb in the world, is very rare- but it doesn't mean I don't need to be at the meeting!). Plus- whilst I like the idea of an appliance that acts of my looks, I'm sure it'd drive me mad- I look at my TV all the time- but then I resist the temptation to switch it on because I know it'll be crap- god only knows how much extra rubbish I'll watch if I can switch a TV on with a simple look! Plus, looking doesn't mean I want something- or, more important, doesn't indicate what I want - I might look at my TV with the hope of seeing something important- but I also look at it in anger sometimes with a desire to mute it! Context is important- and this device doesn't capture enough information to make it useful.
Don't know if this is the same, technology (one day I'll actually RTFA!) - but if it's related it would be cool if Sony actually started making something out of it... (PDF LINK FOLLOWS:) http://www.csl.sony.co.jp/person/rekimoto/papers/u ist97.pdf
To everyone who is quickly dismissing this as pointless- if this is something that the kids *want* to learn, then let them learn it. By learning an additional language (any language) it opens the mind to learning further langauges easier (a well accepted concept in psychology that dual linguists can learn additional languages faster and easier) and opens up a new world- langauge - what language it may be - allows people to see the world through different eyes- whether it's through a different countries or through a famous author's (and in turn his attempt to assimilate ancient cultures) I see no harm in it for opening the eyes of the young!
I don't think that's entirely fair- this device will serve people well who don't already have a portable video based hard-drive recorder (e.g. the market that TIVO failed to capture). Add to that, I'd love to be able to take a small device with the TV i want to watch, plus the home movies and music so I can share it with friends by plugging it into their gear- without having lug a whole desktop PC (or even a laptop for that matter). Currently I use my PDA extensively to catch up on 24 and Futurama episodes I don't have time to watch- the commute to work seems like an ideal time. And if I want to, with a bit of fiddling, I can get output on my freinds PC's using Wi-fi and watch it big screen as soon as I go round their place to watch TV. I see much potential in this idea- but battery life has to be right.
Not to sound rude to the almighty slashdotters our there, but why the cyncism? Microsoft might be making music downloads cheap for everyone. Everyone seems to be looking for a reason why- maybe they like music and want it to be available to the people who enjoy music too. OK, I imagine their DRM software will be harsh, but let's give it a try guys... (please don't mod this as funny!)
Just another URL - new scientist (http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99 994093) is running an article on how the computer games can boost language skills...
Solutions will arrive automatically. Thankfully we've already seen the start of this via Middleware - software by a third party which is hired/loaned and used for development. PS2 and Xbox have successfully helped build an entire middleware community and a new source of revenue. Now small bedroom programmers can either be responsible for middleware or the "end game" software.
Let us not lament- Sony is the current market leader and also happens to be the only manufacterer who opened up their console for easy programming (anyone remember the Sony Yazoo (or whatever it was called) for the PSX - a home development system) and is also selling Linux kits without a free cease and desist letter to anyone who uses linux on their PSX.
There's still space out there for bedroom developers, it's just that bedroom developers are changing!
Frogmanalien
Not to sound rude, but all you yankees moaning about how this service is limited to the US- at least you get the service to begin with! We're still waiting for a launch in the UK/Europe... And there's a thought- maybe once international liscensing is in place it maybe possible to take your music elsewhere. Everyone seems to be slagging off Apple for introducing a revolution that is "perfect" - but there's no such thing as a bloodshed free revolution. Give Apple some time, voice your opinion/feelings to Apple so they know how you feel, and maybe they'll solve the hitch. Legal hurdles aside, time changes everything... I think.
Linux is find in the IT sector- but I use to work in the council and surfice to say the majority of people there didn't want to fiddle- they wanted compatibility and ease of use. Now in some respects Linux has this just enough to be usable- after all most of the work I did there required simply using an email software (easy enough), an office suite (Star office isn't any more difficult than the MS Solution) and some custom database software (which was all served up using JAVA- so no code porting would have been necessary). In fact, in some respects for the council this situation is ideal- you can almost garuntee that staff won't take files home with them or load them from another PC... actually, mayb the council are the only people who can use it! For the rest of the office world though- compatibility with Windows, and ease of use... I'm sorry- but windows is too well embedded in the home/office market for Linux to ever win.