"Some people are just so used to being mistreated like this that they just accept it as the way things are."
Oops, shoulda been clearer. I meant, some people actually think that it's okay to have that kind of business. I listened to a dude go off about how it was stupid that people were bitching about Steam's EULA. He seemed to think that it was perfectly okay for them to demand that. He wasn't the only one with that opinion. I just assumed that it was because he liked that game. But, I am sort of getting the hint that this opinion is more wide spread than I had initially assumed. So I just wanted to ask: Why is this okay?
"So I guess this means I get to save a few hundred bucks the next time I buy a PC that "luckily" comes bundled with a $200 copy of Windows XP that I have "purchased" by opening the top of the box?"
No, but you might save as much as $100 depending on the vendor etc. The MS Tax is there but it's not 'a few hundred bucks'.
The Sony Killer will be the games library. MP3/MP4 playing is not going to be the deciding factor between these two machines. Had it been, the PDA war would be a lot more interesting right now.
"It is a pity so many people don't even question themselves about these matters and as long as something is convinient they close their eyes to the consequences of their actions."
It is a pity so many people hate a company so bad it impairs their judgement on anything related to what they do.
"What I mean is that there is nothing inherent in the OS itself that makes Windows a better platform. The examples you site show that Windows is a more popular and lucrative platform, but not necessarily a better one."
Okay, I understand what you're saying. Please understand, we're measuring 'better' in two different senses here. I'm talking about better in the sense of "My goal is gaming, which OS gets me closer to that goal?" I never intended my comment to imply that Windows was technically superior for development. In all honesty, I have no way of knowing that. I do know that I would be unhappy trying to make a Linux machine or a Mac computer into a gaming machine.
"Pixel count is a big deal to me. Even after the results are gausian blurred by the TV phosphor I appreciate the extra amount of information. When I see a 720x480 display on a blurry TV screen, it just seems like cheeting to me."
Before I start, I wanted to apologize for the harshness of my 'cop-out' comment. I really wish I hadn't written that.
Sadly, I still disagree with your view.;) Hehe. Seriously, we really don't need that many pixels to recognize an image. Consider the Palm Pilot. 160 by 160 display. Yet, it was still quite capable of displaying text and even playing some games. It, of course, depends on the game. However, even SimCity 2000 was playable on the Game Boy Advance, and it's screen is... oh.. I want to say 220 pixels wide, but I may be off a bit.
If you're talking about playing the same game on PC and a console and preferring the PC, then I think we're in total agreement on which is better. But the real truth of the matter is that console gaming is rather different from PC gaming. Different types of games, different types of goals. I wouldn't want to play Mario Sunshine on a PC any more than I'd want to play Quake 3 on my Game Cube.
"Window is not the best OS for gameing. Most games are optimized for Windows. There's a differance."
Really? Care to spell that out a bit? Windows has the largest user base, largest library of games, and supports the largest range of hardware the games will play on. What's so different that it's not the 'best'?
" I won't even consider using a console because of the ~720x480 screen size used by the NTSC signal, a 1950's technology."
If you watch any TV at all then this is a ridiculous cop-out. If FPS shooters were all I cared about, then I'd be behind you 100%. But there is more to games than how many pixels are on the screen. Don't get me wrong, I do look forward to HDTV gaming, but it's not enough to turn me away.
"Stop making excuses for your Windows partition. You don't need it, remove it."
Whoever modded this as 'insightful' was being incredibly short-sighted. The simple fact of the mnatter is that Windows is the best OS for PC gaming. If you want to play games only available on PC, and you want to play on-line, then having a Windows partition is not an 'excuse'. A PS2 or GameCube is an alternative, but not always an ideal one.
Do yourself a favor and quit kidding yourself. If you're avoiding games because you hate Microsoft, you really are taking things way too seriously.
"I don't care how the N64 sold. I bought one the very day it was released in the states, and I was really let down. "
To each is own. I was let down by the PS1.
" Also, Nintendo didn't listen to their customers throughout the entire 8-bit generation and more than half of the 16-bit generation, with regards to lame censorship."
Mortal Kombat is what drove Nintendo's reversal, and it had a rather solid reason for having the blood etc. Maybe I'm just too young to remember, but I don't recall any particular game stirring up this debate to the point that MK did.
"Finally, Nintendo delayed the release of the SNES, because they wanted to further milk the NES."
I wouldn't mind reading up about that. I remain skeptical, but don't take that personally. (i.e. I'm not calling you a liar or anything. Rather I'm just dense.) Nintendo had an uphill battle with the SNES because of its slower processor compared to the Genesis. Can't help but wonder if they delayed it to make it a better competitor (launch games etc) under the banner of "We want NES owners to enjoy their system more!"
"0. All of the lame censorship starting with the NES."
They reversed that policy after a bunch of grumbling by their customers. Okay, the censorship sucked, but at least they listened to their customers instead of going merrily on their arrogant way.
"4. Delaying the release of the SNES, allowing Sega to get a few breathes of air."
I don't know the reasons for delaying the SNES, but I doubt they did it because they wanted to see better profits.
"8. Most stuff related to the N64. A few good games is not enough."
The N64 held up quite strongly to the PS1. It's diffficult to imagine they would have sold 30 million of those things if they made a $300 cd based machine that wasn't easy to distinguish from the PS1.
" Does an internet ban mean they are banned from all things internet?"
No. They're not going to get caught using the net unless they're caught causing trouble in a chat room. If they're not causing trouble in the chat room, then they're safe since they won't show up on the radar. It's just like probation.
I'm not sure why it's assumed that it's a failure if they actually get back on the chat room. That's not the point. The consquences if they offend again will be seriously worse.
Yes, and the first run of original PS's did as well. I had a lot of fun that year selling units to kids that had too good chance of failure and a shortage preventing exchanges from happening until the following March.
"I think this is really good, now we never again need to encounter one of those akward moments wherein we must occupy time with our own thoughts."
Why is it that cell phone users never get any credit, even though at least half of us have one? One guy in a theater with 400 people in it forgets to turn his phone off and it rings. Damn those annoying cell phones that every single person has and abuses!
Watch out! Here comes television! Now we can attack the priorities of these people! Well now they'll never occupy themselves with their own thoughts! The zomby-like morons! Ha HA! I'm so high and mighty! Oh, and I have a cell phone.
"Just get a usb keychain for each one.. they're cheap these days.
Simple isn't always bad:-)"
It could kind of go either way, couldn't it? On the one hand, if he makes 1 and it dies or something, he's got some work ahead of him to make a second. Not as bad with the mulitple key approach. On the other, those keys are getting so big there's space wasted.
I don't blame him for wanting to keep just one around, though. Juggling a bunch of things like that sucks.
Slashdot Mirror
"Some people are just so used to being mistreated like this that they just accept it as the way things are."
Oops, shoulda been clearer. I meant, some people actually think that it's okay to have that kind of business. I listened to a dude go off about how it was stupid that people were bitching about Steam's EULA. He seemed to think that it was perfectly okay for them to demand that. He wasn't the only one with that opinion. I just assumed that it was because he liked that game. But, I am sort of getting the hint that this opinion is more wide spread than I had initially assumed. So I just wanted to ask: Why is this okay?
"So I guess this means I get to save a few hundred bucks the next time I buy a PC that "luckily" comes bundled with a $200 copy of Windows XP that I have "purchased" by opening the top of the box?"
No, but you might save as much as $100 depending on the vendor etc. The MS Tax is there but it's not 'a few hundred bucks'.
"If you don't agree you can then bring it back and not have any issues because the package is not open."
Why do some think this is an acceptable business practice?
The Sony Killer will be the games library. MP3/MP4 playing is not going to be the deciding factor between these two machines. Had it been, the PDA war would be a lot more interesting right now.
"It is a pity so many people don't even question themselves about these matters and as long as something is convinient they close their eyes to the consequences of their actions."
It is a pity so many people hate a company so bad it impairs their judgement on anything related to what they do.
"What I mean is that there is nothing inherent in the OS itself that makes Windows a better platform. The examples you site show that Windows is a more popular and lucrative platform, but not necessarily a better one."
;) Hehe. Seriously, we really don't need that many pixels to recognize an image. Consider the Palm Pilot. 160 by 160 display. Yet, it was still quite capable of displaying text and even playing some games. It, of course, depends on the game. However, even SimCity 2000 was playable on the Game Boy Advance, and it's screen is... oh.. I want to say 220 pixels wide, but I may be off a bit.
Okay, I understand what you're saying. Please understand, we're measuring 'better' in two different senses here. I'm talking about better in the sense of "My goal is gaming, which OS gets me closer to that goal?" I never intended my comment to imply that Windows was technically superior for development. In all honesty, I have no way of knowing that. I do know that I would be unhappy trying to make a Linux machine or a Mac computer into a gaming machine.
"Pixel count is a big deal to me. Even after the results are gausian blurred by the TV phosphor I appreciate the extra amount of information. When I see a 720x480 display on a blurry TV screen, it just seems like cheeting to me."
Before I start, I wanted to apologize for the harshness of my 'cop-out' comment. I really wish I hadn't written that.
Sadly, I still disagree with your view.
If you're talking about playing the same game on PC and a console and preferring the PC, then I think we're in total agreement on which is better. But the real truth of the matter is that console gaming is rather different from PC gaming. Different types of games, different types of goals. I wouldn't want to play Mario Sunshine on a PC any more than I'd want to play Quake 3 on my Game Cube.
"Window is not the best OS for gameing. Most games are optimized for Windows. There's a differance."
Really? Care to spell that out a bit? Windows has the largest user base, largest library of games, and supports the largest range of hardware the games will play on. What's so different that it's not the 'best'?
" I won't even consider using a console because of the ~720x480 screen size used by the NTSC signal, a 1950's technology."
If you watch any TV at all then this is a ridiculous cop-out. If FPS shooters were all I cared about, then I'd be behind you 100%. But there is more to games than how many pixels are on the screen. Don't get me wrong, I do look forward to HDTV gaming, but it's not enough to turn me away.
"Stop making excuses for your Windows partition. You don't need it, remove it."
Whoever modded this as 'insightful' was being incredibly short-sighted. The simple fact of the mnatter is that Windows is the best OS for PC gaming. If you want to play games only available on PC, and you want to play on-line, then having a Windows partition is not an 'excuse'. A PS2 or GameCube is an alternative, but not always an ideal one.
Do yourself a favor and quit kidding yourself. If you're avoiding games because you hate Microsoft, you really are taking things way too seriously.
"Good point, because as we all know: In space, no one can hear you blue-screen."
Oh wow, did somebody finally come up with a new BSOD joke?
"Does anyone have a higher resolution image so I can actually read the names."
What, you can't read Morse Code?
"so, when all the programmers go on strike, what's to stop the company from just up and moving its programming department overseas?"
Practicality? Disrupted deadlines?
"I don't care how the N64 sold. I bought one the very day it was released in the states, and I was really let down. "
To each is own. I was let down by the PS1.
" Also, Nintendo didn't listen to their customers throughout the entire 8-bit generation and more than half of the 16-bit generation, with regards to lame censorship."
Mortal Kombat is what drove Nintendo's reversal, and it had a rather solid reason for having the blood etc. Maybe I'm just too young to remember, but I don't recall any particular game stirring up this debate to the point that MK did.
"Finally, Nintendo delayed the release of the SNES, because they wanted to further milk the NES."
I wouldn't mind reading up about that. I remain skeptical, but don't take that personally. (i.e. I'm not calling you a liar or anything. Rather I'm just dense.) Nintendo had an uphill battle with the SNES because of its slower processor compared to the Genesis. Can't help but wonder if they delayed it to make it a better competitor (launch games etc) under the banner of "We want NES owners to enjoy their system more!"
Cheers
"0. All of the lame censorship starting with the NES."
They reversed that policy after a bunch of grumbling by their customers. Okay, the censorship sucked, but at least they listened to their customers instead of going merrily on their arrogant way.
"4. Delaying the release of the SNES, allowing Sega to get a few breathes of air."
I don't know the reasons for delaying the SNES, but I doubt they did it because they wanted to see better profits.
"8. Most stuff related to the N64. A few good games is not enough."
The N64 held up quite strongly to the PS1. It's diffficult to imagine they would have sold 30 million of those things if they made a $300 cd based machine that wasn't easy to distinguish from the PS1.
" Does an internet ban mean they are banned from all things internet?"
No. They're not going to get caught using the net unless they're caught causing trouble in a chat room. If they're not causing trouble in the chat room, then they're safe since they won't show up on the radar. It's just like probation.
I'm not sure why it's assumed that it's a failure if they actually get back on the chat room. That's not the point. The consquences if they offend again will be seriously worse.
"The only difference here is that the PSP is so well known that they can't keep the status quiet."
There is one other important difference: Nobody in USA is buying this thing considering it a beta.
"The one that has games aimed at mature adults available for it, not just games for kiddies."
Gee, I wish I was so elite that I couldn't stand certain games no matter how fun they are.
"Which of these systems would you rather own?"
I play games, not systems. I'd rather have the one with games I want to play.
Didn't the new Playstation 2 also have defects?"
Yes, and the first run of original PS's did as well. I had a lot of fun that year selling units to kids that had too good chance of failure and a shortage preventing exchanges from happening until the following March.
" I own one, but I am still annoyed by the guy who not only refuses to turn off his cell phone in the theater"..." it's they who are less than scum."
See how ya just went from I to they there? That's why some get defensive. I'm not guilty.
"I think this is really good, now we never again need to encounter one of those akward moments wherein we must occupy time with our own thoughts."
Why is it that cell phone users never get any credit, even though at least half of us have one?
One guy in a theater with 400 people in it forgets to turn his phone off and it rings. Damn those annoying cell phones that every single person has and abuses!
Watch out! Here comes television! Now we can attack the priorities of these people! Well now they'll never occupy themselves with their own thoughts! The zomby-like morons! Ha HA! I'm so high and mighty! Oh, and I have a cell phone.
"Is anyone else imagining people watching Seinfeld reruns and the Simpsons during their evening commute home?...and not paying attention to driving?"
;)
Yes, but I'm low on karma as well.
"Who really needs to watch TV on a cellphone?"
Who really needs to post comments on Slashdot? We could be out reading books to sick children!!!
"If you view the photos in reverse you can see him put it back together."
I had a biology teacher that pulled that joke with a birth video. Half the class needed counseling.
"OK, AC, how do we lowly innovators protect ourselves?"
Good Product + Reasonable Price - Annoyance?
"Just get a usb keychain for each one.. they're cheap these days.
:-)"
Simple isn't always bad
It could kind of go either way, couldn't it? On the one hand, if he makes 1 and it dies or something, he's got some work ahead of him to make a second. Not as bad with the mulitple key approach. On the other, those keys are getting so big there's space wasted.
I don't blame him for wanting to keep just one around, though. Juggling a bunch of things like that sucks.