It took a solid ten hours of work *AND* there was a chick in it. Think about it. A chick helpin a dude build a Lego Star Wars model. I find it hard to believe you weren't sitting there watching that vid going "I wish I was that guy!":)
"Thats just Karmic revenge for being complete bastards from 1895-1945. All japanese people living during that time have been reported as being re-encarnated as butt plugs to punish them for being one of the most evil conquers since Ghengis Khan."
What's funny is if this comment was about the USA, it'd have been modded up. I can't wait until that fad passes.
The NES Launched at either $199 or $249 depending on if you got the one with the Light Zapper etc or not. SNES launched at $199. As I recall, it came with Super Mario World. Also, the DreamCast came out at $199. The Sega Genesis came in at a little under $200.
I can't imagine why somebody would pay $400 for a whoop-de-fuck Playstation with go-faster stripes. I'll happily back down on that comment if the PS3 actually launches with new games. I mean new in the sense that they're not just higher-res sequels of old games. (Note: At least the original Playstation managed this. I don't mean because it was the first of the line, but it really was a different gaming experience.)
"All three companies are claiming their systems are "more than just a gaming system", so I don't really see the difference here."
Sony and MS are under the impression that integrating video games and passive entertainment is some big whoop-de-fuck. It's pretty clear that Nintendo's idea of "more than just a game machine" doesn't mean duct-taping movie playing capabilities with it.
If I sound bitter, it's because I am. The rumors of $300-$450 price tags for the new machines is disheartening.
" When the DS was announced, I decided they'd shot themselves in the foot and essentially handed Sony a sizeable slice of the handheld market"
Just for clarification: The PSP was in development long before the DS was announced. There have been rumors about the PSP since a year or two after the PS1 was launched. Sony's been trying for years to release a new 'walkman'.
"The real danger is with racing games. Try racing an Audi S4 around in Project Gotham all day, then hopping into a real S4 to go to the grocery store. Dangerous stuff."
What's funny is that GTA caused me to be a better driver. In GTA, when you run over people, cops chase you. That makes the game heaps harder. As a result, I was more cautious about pedestrians wandering out in front of me. Not long after playing that game, I found myself paying a good deal more attention to people on the street making sure they're not going to stupidly walk out in front of me.
Compare that to Crazy Taxi. You can't hit a pedestrian in that game.
Re:Anti-Cold
on
How Ice Melts
·
· Score: 5, Insightful
"Not really. But I have a hypothesis that it has something to do with heat or as I call it, "anti-cold."
I like how people bitch about the lack of 'news for nerds' on this site lately. Then, when something comes along that's truely nerd worthy, everybody becomes a smart ass.
"Microsoft's predatory, monopolistic practices easily made the company $850 million this year, and they've been doing it for a lot of years."
Actually, it was Microsoft's practice of making products people want that made them their money. The difference? You can't make money on monopolistic practices without a product in high demand.... not that I expect anybody here to notice the difference and understand why it's significant. The concept of a 'de-fact monopoly' just isn't easy to process when talking about Microsoft. Afterall, it's common knowledge around here that one day, suddenly, Bill Gates personally went to several computer retailers, put a gun to their heads, and demanded they ship Windows.
I'm actually quite surprised at all the yip yapping over MS not being 'punished' badly enough without noticing the word 'settlement'. It was about compensating IBM, not bending Billy Boy over a barrel and flogging him.
"Cash. That's how astroturfing works. You hire a PR agency with cash and voila! You have hired people to say nice things about you, or try to obscure the words of others who say bad things about you."
Heh. I wish MS would pay me to dispute the FUD spread against them. Not sure why else I put up with some of the thick headed people here who still think the borg icon is funny.
" Do they not realize that a mediocre command of written English makes them appear less intelligent?"
Frankly, I have no interest in impressing judgemental people. It's hard to want to spend time correcting spelling or grammar when one innocent little slip-up well result in a snide reply. I used to spend extra effort to make sure I used their, there, and they're properly. Then, one day, I goofed. Of course, that one particular time, I was colorfully judged as a half-wit. Why should I impress these over-zealous jerks?
To answer the question, no, I don't care about 'communicating effectively' when the grammar nazis don't have any tact. Meet me half way.
"Too much anime is certainly cliched to HELL and back."
Erm. Mixed feelings on your comment here. Though you're right about the common ingredients of anime, I think you're missing out on the whole story bit. Gundam != Robotech != Full Metal Panic != Evangelion, for example.
Maybe I'm biased, though, but I find the content of the 'cliched stuff' far more original than a lot of the crap we see on TV here. On the other hand, maybe I've only seen the top stuff. I mean, who'd say sci-fi sucks if all they saw was Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica?
" Now if you post something knocking Microsoft, you are equally likely to get modded to oblivion as modded up. Since Microsoft hasn't changed, I can attribute this shift to one of two things:"
The shift is because of all the sensationalistic bullshit Slashdot's been stoking for the last few years. Noone can really judge from reading Slashdot whether or not MS really is shady. Because everything MS does is bad, even if your favorite company does the same thing. A Linux distro intentionally infringes on MS's trademark? It's Microsoft's fault. Security flaw in IE? It's time to switch. Security flaw in Firefox? This is proof we should stay with Firefox. Microsoft decides to discontinue support for Windows 98? MS is evil for forcing people to upgrade. Microsoft decides to continue support for Windows 98? MS is evil for keeping that insecure OS around.
You don't have to be an MS astroturfer to be sick of the bullshit and often outright fiction that the Slashdot community post about MS. Why would I care? Because I love Microsoft? Heh no. Not even close. If Slashdot posted a story right now about MS truely doing something evil, it wouldn't be anymore credible to me than Rush Limbaugh's criticism of a democrat. Slashdot's cried wolf too many times.
Slashdot's lack of credibility about Microsoft is not a result of astroturfing.
I wouldn't look at Acts of Gord for 'truth'. Not only does he mention a blurb in a stock report that he didn't even quote, but he draws an extreme conclusion from it.
Here are the two basic problems I have with his claim:
1.) It's a quarterly stock report. Those are MEANT to sound compelling. Since we don't even have the exact quote from the report, we have no way of knowing what type of math Sony was using to impress their stockholders. Also, it's a quarterly report. For all we know, Sony spent all the money making the machines the previous quarter.
2.) Lots of other quite reputable news sources have reported the first run of PS2s being sold at a loss. Sony has never publically disputed this.
I can't say that Gord is wrong about this, but I wouldn't just immediately jump to the conclusion that his interpretation is correct. Not only are his claims dubious, but he doesn't even cite anything of interest to prove his claim. In simpler terms: My bullshit meter beeps wildly when I read that article. It didn't help when he taunted 'fanboys' of other systems.
"I think this is the first time I've bitched about him. His previous articles were actually remotely accurate. This write up is just plain stupid."
I hear ya. I actually thought about writing a PHP script that loads Slashdot, looks for Roland's name, and filters out that particular article. Funny thing is, I think I could do it.
"And by 2007, we'll have computers as smart as your average Slashdotter. What's that? You say I'm typing on one already? Well I never!"
Pfft. My Atari 800 computer could do that.
10 $Comment[1] = "This is proof that Microsoft is evil! I'll tell you why as soon as I figure it out!" 20 $Comment[2] = "FireFox is great!!" 30 $Comment[3] = "GWB is stoopid! I can tel by da way he tawks!!" 40 $Comment[4] = "I, for one, welcome our " + $Subject + " overlords!" 50 $Comment[5] = "I haven't seen that movie yet, but I hate it because I look smart when I'm picky!!" 60 $Comment[6] = "Enterprise sucks! Even though I can easily skip it, I think it should be off the air anyway!" 70 $Comment[7] = "Roland's an ass, I want to be the 1,500th person to say it!" 80 $Comment[8] = "In Soviet Russia, " + $Topic + " " + $Verb + "'s you!" 90 $Comment[9] = "Despite being a 'nerd' who spends his entire life on the internet, new cell phones are too much for me to handle!" 100 $Comment[10] = "This is a dupe!! Even though Slashdot is a 24 hour news site, I catch every single story that comes through just so I can rub it in the Editor's faces!!!"
Now, if we're talking an Atari 800 with a RAM expansion, I could store all the various BSOD jokes that were written 10 years ago that still fly around here.
"As it stands, though, the People care more about their Big Macs and SUVs than voting."
I'd find this more insightful if not for the fact that nearly all politicians are self-serving asses. The problem isn't with the voters, it's who's running.
"For Mars, there are no clouds to contend with, so solar panels would work a great deal better overall. EXCEPT in sand-storms, where they'd not only be useless during the storm, they'd be so etched up at the end that they'd be useless afterwards, too. If you plan on studying Martian storms up-close, carrying your own fuel would have some major benefits. (Remember, they'd need to carry their own oxygen, too, though.)"
The bigger problem with one of these on Mars is the thinner atmosphere. It's a lot harder to fly a vehicle like that on Mars than it is on Earth.
And, no, I'm not really that smart. I read about it in PopSci or something.
" Hey, wait a minute, this is just empty drivel written by someone who doesn't even appear to have a highschool level education! I'm gunna click on the post comment button and tell him off!"
Hehe. I always thought it was more like this:
"Ooo! There's a Roland article! If I bitch about him, I'll be modded as insightful, just like the 300 other times it happened!"
Slashdot Mirror
"This would have been far more interesting if..."
:)
It took a solid ten hours of work *AND* there was a chick in it. Think about it. A chick helpin a dude build a Lego Star Wars model. I find it hard to believe you weren't sitting there watching that vid going "I wish I was that guy!"
"Thats just Karmic revenge for being complete bastards from 1895-1945. All japanese people living during that time have been reported as being re-encarnated as butt plugs to punish them for being one of the most evil conquers since Ghengis Khan."
What's funny is if this comment was about the USA, it'd have been modded up. I can't wait until that fad passes.
The NES Launched at either $199 or $249 depending on if you got the one with the Light Zapper etc or not. SNES launched at $199. As I recall, it came with Super Mario World. Also, the DreamCast came out at $199. The Sega Genesis came in at a little under $200.
I can't imagine why somebody would pay $400 for a whoop-de-fuck Playstation with go-faster stripes. I'll happily back down on that comment if the PS3 actually launches with new games. I mean new in the sense that they're not just higher-res sequels of old games. (Note: At least the original Playstation managed this. I don't mean because it was the first of the line, but it really was a different gaming experience.)
"So the rumours of a new system costing pretty much the same amount that new systems always have is disheartening... mmmkay."
The Nintendo 64 launched at $249. The Dreamcast and the GameCube launched at $199. Yes, a $400 price tag is disheartening.
"All three companies are claiming their systems are "more than just a gaming system", so I don't really see the difference here."
Sony and MS are under the impression that integrating video games and passive entertainment is some big whoop-de-fuck. It's pretty clear that Nintendo's idea of "more than just a game machine" doesn't mean duct-taping movie playing capabilities with it.
If I sound bitter, it's because I am. The rumors of $300-$450 price tags for the new machines is disheartening.
" When the DS was announced, I decided they'd shot themselves in the foot and essentially handed Sony a sizeable slice of the handheld market"
Just for clarification: The PSP was in development long before the DS was announced. There have been rumors about the PSP since a year or two after the PS1 was launched. Sony's been trying for years to release a new 'walkman'.
"The real danger is with racing games. Try racing an Audi S4 around in Project Gotham all day, then hopping into a real S4 to go to the grocery store. Dangerous stuff."
What's funny is that GTA caused me to be a better driver. In GTA, when you run over people, cops chase you. That makes the game heaps harder. As a result, I was more cautious about pedestrians wandering out in front of me. Not long after playing that game, I found myself paying a good deal more attention to people on the street making sure they're not going to stupidly walk out in front of me.
Compare that to Crazy Taxi. You can't hit a pedestrian in that game.
"And be a square? Never!"
Shut your pi hole.
"Not really. But I have a hypothesis that it has something to do with heat or as I call it, "anti-cold."
I like how people bitch about the lack of 'news for nerds' on this site lately. Then, when something comes along that's truely nerd worthy, everybody becomes a smart ass.
"Microsoft's predatory, monopolistic practices easily made the company $850 million this year, and they've been doing it for a lot of years."
... not that I expect anybody here to notice the difference and understand why it's significant. The concept of a 'de-fact monopoly' just isn't easy to process when talking about Microsoft. Afterall, it's common knowledge around here that one day, suddenly, Bill Gates personally went to several computer retailers, put a gun to their heads, and demanded they ship Windows.
Actually, it was Microsoft's practice of making products people want that made them their money. The difference? You can't make money on monopolistic practices without a product in high demand.
" It's supposed to be a penalty,"
Really? Then why'd IBM settle?
I'm actually quite surprised at all the yip yapping over MS not being 'punished' badly enough without noticing the word 'settlement'. It was about compensating IBM, not bending Billy Boy over a barrel and flogging him.
"$850 million to Microsoft? Pfft! They've probably lost that much on XBox sales and they're still going."
If IBM was seeking compensation instead of punitive damages, then MS's net worth doesn't matter in the slightest.
Not that it matters around here, though. Microsoft is evil so the gov't should just take all their money away.
"I mean when CDI and 3DO did this, it completely elminated the standalone console....oh wait."
Um, yeah. "Two systems that few people wanted are definitive proof that this particular business model will fail." Case closed.
"Cash. That's how astroturfing works. You hire a PR agency with cash and voila! You have hired people to say nice things about you, or try to obscure the words of others who say bad things about you."
Heh. I wish MS would pay me to dispute the FUD spread against them. Not sure why else I put up with some of the thick headed people here who still think the borg icon is funny.
" Do they not realize that a mediocre command of written English makes them appear less intelligent?"
Frankly, I have no interest in impressing judgemental people. It's hard to want to spend time correcting spelling or grammar when one innocent little slip-up well result in a snide reply. I used to spend extra effort to make sure I used their, there, and they're properly. Then, one day, I goofed. Of course, that one particular time, I was colorfully judged as a half-wit. Why should I impress these over-zealous jerks?
To answer the question, no, I don't care about 'communicating effectively' when the grammar nazis don't have any tact. Meet me half way.
"I can't prove any given mod is astroturfing, but I am convinced it is happening overall."
What would be the motivation for people suddenly liking Microsoft if they 'haven't changed'?
"Too much anime is certainly cliched to HELL and back."
Erm. Mixed feelings on your comment here. Though you're right about the common ingredients of anime, I think you're missing out on the whole story bit. Gundam != Robotech != Full Metal Panic != Evangelion, for example.
Maybe I'm biased, though, but I find the content of the 'cliched stuff' far more original than a lot of the crap we see on TV here. On the other hand, maybe I've only seen the top stuff. I mean, who'd say sci-fi sucks if all they saw was Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica?
" Now if you post something knocking Microsoft, you are equally likely to get modded to oblivion as modded up. Since Microsoft hasn't changed, I can attribute this shift to one of two things:"
The shift is because of all the sensationalistic bullshit Slashdot's been stoking for the last few years. Noone can really judge from reading Slashdot whether or not MS really is shady. Because everything MS does is bad, even if your favorite company does the same thing. A Linux distro intentionally infringes on MS's trademark? It's Microsoft's fault. Security flaw in IE? It's time to switch. Security flaw in Firefox? This is proof we should stay with Firefox. Microsoft decides to discontinue support for Windows 98? MS is evil for forcing people to upgrade. Microsoft decides to continue support for Windows 98? MS is evil for keeping that insecure OS around.
You don't have to be an MS astroturfer to be sick of the bullshit and often outright fiction that the Slashdot community post about MS. Why would I care? Because I love Microsoft? Heh no. Not even close. If Slashdot posted a story right now about MS truely doing something evil, it wouldn't be anymore credible to me than Rush Limbaugh's criticism of a democrat. Slashdot's cried wolf too many times.
Slashdot's lack of credibility about Microsoft is not a result of astroturfing.
"That's actually not really true."
I wouldn't look at Acts of Gord for 'truth'. Not only does he mention a blurb in a stock report that he didn't even quote, but he draws an extreme conclusion from it.
Here are the two basic problems I have with his claim:
1.) It's a quarterly stock report. Those are MEANT to sound compelling. Since we don't even have the exact quote from the report, we have no way of knowing what type of math Sony was using to impress their stockholders. Also, it's a quarterly report. For all we know, Sony spent all the money making the machines the previous quarter.
2.) Lots of other quite reputable news sources have reported the first run of PS2s being sold at a loss. Sony has never publically disputed this.
I can't say that Gord is wrong about this, but I wouldn't just immediately jump to the conclusion that his interpretation is correct. Not only are his claims dubious, but he doesn't even cite anything of interest to prove his claim. In simpler terms: My bullshit meter beeps wildly when I read that article. It didn't help when he taunted 'fanboys' of other systems.
"Fanboys? All you have to do in order to become anti-Microsoft is pay attention...." ... to your karma while making "M$ $UCKS!" comments.
If you don't think Slashdot is a MS haters club, then you're nust kidding yourself.
"I think this is the first time I've bitched about him. His previous articles were actually remotely accurate. This write up is just plain stupid."
I hear ya. I actually thought about writing a PHP script that loads Slashdot, looks for Roland's name, and filters out that particular article. Funny thing is, I think I could do it.
Pfft. My Atari 800 computer could do that.
Now, if we're talking an Atari 800 with a RAM expansion, I could store all the various BSOD jokes that were written 10 years ago that still fly around here.
"As it stands, though, the People care more about their Big Macs and SUVs than voting."
I'd find this more insightful if not for the fact that nearly all politicians are self-serving asses. The problem isn't with the voters, it's who's running.
"For Mars, there are no clouds to contend with, so solar panels would work a great deal better overall. EXCEPT in sand-storms, where they'd not only be useless during the storm, they'd be so etched up at the end that they'd be useless afterwards, too. If you plan on studying Martian storms up-close, carrying your own fuel would have some major benefits. (Remember, they'd need to carry their own oxygen, too, though.)"
The bigger problem with one of these on Mars is the thinner atmosphere. It's a lot harder to fly a vehicle like that on Mars than it is on Earth.
And, no, I'm not really that smart. I read about it in PopSci or something.
" Hey, wait a minute, this is just empty drivel written by someone who doesn't even appear to have a highschool level education! I'm gunna click on the post comment button and tell him off!"
Hehe. I always thought it was more like this:
"Ooo! There's a Roland article! If I bitch about him, I'll be modded as insightful, just like the 300 other times it happened!"