I think Back to the Future 2 may have diluted the meaning of that phrase. "The justice system moves a lot faster since they have abolished all lawyers."
"..does it really matter what the guy from Red Hat says?"
Yes it does! This has little to do with XP's adoption, it has to do with punishing MS for using shitty business tactics to stay ahead.
I'm not sure if forcing the source code to Windows into the public is the right thing to do, though. Personally, I think fining the crap out of them is appropriate. They'll think twice about pushing people around when they lose billions of dollars.
Mac is definitely the king of Laptops. I seriously think my next laptop purchase will be a Mac. It's a shame I couldn't get Linux to work on my Laptop, then I'd be *cough* cool like everybody else here.
I might try SuSE, though. A few people here suggested it.
"I couldn't agree more. Coming from an environment where I have to support our software on Proxy 2.0/NT4, or ISA/Win2K, Win2K is loads better. Win2K is stable, compared to the crap that was NT"
Careful there! You'll get modded down as flame bait!;)
Wanna know what's embarrasing? I made a few posts over the weekend defending Win2k and I tried to pull my laptop out of suspend today and it refused. Figures, eh? Had to pull the battery out. Heh I haven't had to do that in ages!
"This is not necessarily the case. An application may crash because system calls put it in an inconsistant state or corrupt it's memory."
At first I thought that was the case. And then I tried to run Netscape on NT instead of 9X... *CrAsH*. Then Netscape'd crash on 2k, altho not as often, making me think Windows might be the culprit, right? Well I have friends using Mac and Linux that both say the same thing about Netscape. It sounds to me that they had trouble making it work right. The term 'Nutscrape' was being used commonly.
Netscape 6.2 has definitely gotten better, though.
"Furthermore, an application crash should not make the entire system unstable."
True in 9x, not true in 2K. I have an average uptime, on all my machines, of at least a week. I couldn't do that with NT, I couldn't get 9X to last more than a day. If you saw some of the BS I put my computer through, you'd be amazed.
I do agree that some of what they talk about in this article would apply to most applications, but not everybody uses an OS the same way. Take this except, for example:
"Everybody loves graphical interfaces. Many times they make our lives easier, and in this way help to popularize software, because the learning curve becomes shallower. But for everyday use, a command at the console prompt, with many options and a good manual, becomes much more practical, making scripts easy, allowing for remote access, etc. So the suggestion is, whenever is possible, to provide both interfaces: graphical for the beginners, and the powerful command line for the expert."
This is wonderful advice in the Linux world. However, most Windows and Mac users, sadly, don't know what a command prompt is, let alone how to script it. This is a native concept to a Linux user.
I have no doubt that even in the Windows/Mac world a really powerful Command Line feature for any given app would be super useful, but it is only so for those who have climed that learning curve. In that case, it's better to focus on making the App do what it needs to do.
In any case, I'm sure I'll draw criticism for that comment. I'd prefer you didn't, though. The point I'm making is that slasho81's comment that all software should be the same despite the OS isn't quite so black and white.
"(Apologies in advance to all/. readers who have no Y chromosone and/or who don't appreciate South Park-style humour.)"
More accurately, it's Red Dwarf style humor... I certainly had a laugh at it. =)
Reminds me of when my company announced they had hired a Director Of Product Engineering. Being a Dilbert fan, I would have leapt at the opportunity to make his business cards....
"When you lose the argument miserably, just try to claim that "both sides are right, there shouldn't even be an argument like this"."
I never miserably lost an argument. It's not a very good agrument when people argue over points that have little relevance to the topic at hand. 'It doesn't do remote automation'. Okay, for that Linux wins. 'Win2k sucks as a webserver' yep, Linux wins. 'You can't even change DNS from a command prompt.' So? What's the big deal? use your mouse. That's the problem with Linux, you can't get at some of the features of it so easily with a mouse. You have to find the right command to type in. Sorry, but some of us think that really sucks. You can use Win2k without a manual.
In any case, your arguments against 2K, whether they are true or not, don't affect the fact that Win2k is an awesome desktop OS for the average office user. It also excels at being a 3D workstation for artists like me. I've already said that it's deployed where I work, and it works wonderfully. Some of it is for software development, some of it is for PowerPoint and Email. *shrug*
We paid a lot for it. But I don't regret it. It was easy to install on the wide variety of computer hardware we have, and I haven't had to fix a Windows related problem in ages.
The simple fact is that Windows 2000 is a good desktop OS and a great 3D Workstation Os. I have a great deal of experience with both, and virtually no horror stories to tell. Considering that I can't afford computer crashes during rendering, that's saying a lot.
Anybody know of any beginners guides to physics, preferably on the web I can start reading?
I read 'The Physics of Star Trek' recently, and found that to have a very fascinating insight into how likely some of the fictional technology is. The author did a good job of explaining some of the more complex stuff in terms I could understand. Now I hunger for more. Anybody have a site or a book they could point me to?
I had the same reaction to this comment that I did when an 80 year old man was found dead on an airplane the other day. There was some debate as to whether or not he died before he got on the plane, or after.
One of the officials said "I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have allowed a dead man to board a plane." (true story)
In any case, lower gravity would help obese people move around more, but in the long term it wouldn't be such a good idea. The problem is that it'd make their condition worse as they'd be burning less energy trying to walk.
I realize you were probably just being silly, but it got me thinking. Lets say one day we had gravity reduction devices in our home to make us more comfy. Would that lead to a weaker speices down the road? Some would see the mass production of cars to have had a similar effect on our species.
The thought of gravity reduction devices scares me a little, although their applicates would definitely change the world we live in.
"I think they basically try to figure out the proper expense-to-total-profit ratio and go with that, which seems to be around $20 for a DVD."
I would normally agree, except I think the real thought in their minds is "if we drop the prices, we'll never be able to raise them again." You are right that if people don't buy them that the prices will go down. I can't ask people to say 'don't buy DVD's cos I want to pay less for them!'. I think, though, that they won't be able to maintain that revenue if they 'restrict' the DVD's.
One thing that really irks me about the RIAA releasing restricted CD's is that they don't lower the price. They claim that piracy costs them billions, but when they fight it they don't pass savings on to people.
"Don't you think this is a little over the top, nerd? You need to find a girlfriend."
Wow, what a witty reply. So what's it like being a graduate of the Bob Saget School of Comedy?
I can't believe how fast this turns into a "Win2k sucks" thread. The funny thing is that the people that are bashing 2k don't appear to have used it much. For some reason 'changing dns via command line' is an important feature. Maybe it is. But I do the system administration for all the 2k boxes in my office. Once they were set up (easy to do), they were up and running. Everybody is still running. I don't have people walking into my office saying 'Uhh I think I broke it' like they did constantly with Windows 98 or 95.
In any case, this whole debate is stupid. 2K is a far better system for most of the users in most offices than Linux. I'm not criticizing Linux so much as pointing out that MS was made for the office types. Linux is easily a better server. Questions about which is better to administer seems rather academic, doesn't it? I could sit here and say that Win2k is far easier to administer for this reason and that reason, but I use it every single day! I don't know Linux so I can't say it's better or it's not. I do like that in Windows I can tell somebody over the phone how to do something like change their gateway. No big deal. I've tried to do commandline stuff over the phone before, and it doesn't work so well.
So put this stupid debate to rest, okay? Win2k is not a bad OS by any stretch of the imagination. Look at what it does do instead of judging it for something it doesn't do that you think you need it to. The average Linux user doesn't have the same needs as the average Windows user. It's hard to imagine they'd both need to do the exact same things if they're not for the same type of people, isn't it?
I don't have either right now, I'm a Windows 2k user. I'd have to buy a Mac box in order to use OSX. If Linux were able to behave on an Intel Box, then I have a couple of computers I could put it on right now.
That's why.
The advantage to OSX is that it already has the Apps I wanna use on it, i.e. Lightwave, Photoshop and AfterEffects. If I could install OSX on my AMD machine, I'd be rather excited.
I got modded down earlier today as flamebait because I made a post that said Win2k was stable. Somebody posted that MS made promises along the lines of 'greater stability' and accused them of lying. So I responded with my insight into it as the asistant system administrator that the 17 or so Win2k machines we have are great and none of my office mates have been able to break them.
For some reason, that's not only offtopic, that's flamebait. *Shrug*
I was talking to a coworker of mine that has OSX on his laptop. He has fiddled a lot with his Mac laptop, but he's never needed to know the root password of it. He doesn't even know how to get to a command-line interface, he hasn't needed to.
I wish they'd either port OSX to x86 architecture, or have somebody make a Linux distro that's just as easy to use.
When that happens, I'll probably be ready to move off of Windows. In the mean time, Macs are looking mighty fine. There's a VERY good chance my next laptop will be a Mac.
TheOnlyCoolTim is right. You buy a lotta nice little things when you get a 40k car, but in the end you're still driving on the same road. The car may do 140, but the roads won't let you. You may have climate control, but if it was really all that important they'd find a way to put it in a cheaper car.
A lot of people buy computers for the potential of what they can do, as opposed to buying them for a very specific task. I want to get a Mac to use Lightwave on, but the reality is that plug-in support is far better on the PC than the Mac.
It doesn't get interesting until I want to use Lightwave on a Laptop. Then the Mac play comes into Focus. Apple really knows how to make a laptop. I feel like I'm definitely getting more bang for my buck when I go that route. The Mac's simplicity and elegance on a laptop is far more enticing than as a desktop machine. It's a lot easier to justify.
Part of the problem with the game industry is that there are too many games in it. For now, it's okay because there are still lots of people not playing games yet, but eventually it'll turn into a market where there's 10 new games for every game player. Uh oh. I don't have $500 a month to spend on maintaining a game library.
What effect will this have on the game industry? Well, that's a little hard to predict. Here's a problem I face today. I bought a GameCube, I love it, but occasionally there's a game on the XBOX that I'd like to get. The problem is that the $300 I'd spend just to get the system is at least 6 games I could by on my GC or GBA. It would definitely be in my best interest for these games to be portable across the various systems.
Here's the problem, though. The dividing line that's preventing me from having too many games is the fact that I only have the GC and GBA. The different games coming out on the XBOX are so seperate for me that I'll continue to be a Nintendo customer. That is great for the companies that are focusing on Nintendo. But if I can suddenly play XBOX games on my GameCube, then it's just a flip of the coin which platform I want, and I'll be able to play all the games. Well, this leaves Microsoft or Sony with very little left to do except try to make new platforms for me to play on. The console market will suddenly turn into the PC Market.
The unfortunate problem here is that the PC Game Market isn't as lucrative as the Console market in some respects. The average shelf life of a game goes way down. A successful game is rated at like 500,000 copies sold, versus 2 million on the console platform.
Is there hope? Oh yeah. Eventually PC game makers will realize that a price drop would be in their best interests. If the average PC game were $35 instead of $50, people could splurge a little more. More copies would get sold. If the majority of the people who would have spent $50 on one game decided to spend $70 on two games, then the industry's audience widens, allowing more games to get made.
Personally, I think it is in everybody's best interests if the line between each console stays thick. Stick with a platform, cater to that platform, and then watch the money roll in. There's nothing more frustrating than having a game's quality diluted because it was transported to other different consoles.
Anybody remember Ultra HLE? It's a N64 emulator. I never got the chance to muck with it because I never had a Voodoo 2 card, but what I read about it was very interesting. It didn't emulate the processor of the N64, instead it was a translator so that commands in the ROM went to native commands on the Voodoo card. A 'draw triangle' command on the N64 would be sent to the Voodoo card and translated to 'draw triangle' in the native hardware. This is different from trying to get the PC's main processor to emulate what the N64 processor would do.
In other words, it was more of a translator than an emulator. Now that I think about it, isn't Wine like that?
Would this approach work with games? It seems like if this technique were ported to the PS2, GameCube, and XBOX, it would be possible to make portable games. Each one would have to be tweaked a bit on a per-platform basis, as each system has their strengths, but they probably could go a similar route that Ultra HLE did.
I have concerns about using Java for it. The problem is that the game hardware is a little too different. One technique that'd work on the XBOX would have a different effect on the GameCube, just because of how the graphics co-processors work. I think it'd be possible to make one game engine work on all machines to run the same code, but I don't think Java would be the solution. I think a cross-platform engine would be more suitable.
Are there games still being made in DOS? Could you name one or two? I'm not trying to challenge you here, I just wasn't aware of it. I'm curious what happens if I run them in Win2k. If they don't work, I'd like to try to find a DOS emulator that will make them work. If I could find that, I have a few games packed in a box somewhere I'd like to try to resurrect.
"Like the things your buttons go into, that have the stitched reinforcements on the sides?"
Yes, you are quite right. It was in either a Sear's ad or a JC Penny's ad, but my dad did show it to me. I have the image somewhere on a CD, but I don't think I could find it and post it before this topic loses interest.
I forgot to mention this was back in like the 60's or 70's. Not sure which but it was definitely a more conservative time. Today 'buttholer' is Beavis and Butthead funny, but I bet when this ad went to print people called up deeply offended, threatening to cancel subscriptions on their newspapers etc. Heh.
Slashdot Mirror
It may depend on which state you are in, but I think the way it works is you can work at 16, but contracts you have to be at least 18 for.
I think Back to the Future 2 may have diluted the meaning of that phrase. "The justice system moves a lot faster since they have abolished all lawyers."
"..does it really matter what the guy from Red Hat says?"
Yes it does! This has little to do with XP's adoption, it has to do with punishing MS for using shitty business tactics to stay ahead.
I'm not sure if forcing the source code to Windows into the public is the right thing to do, though. Personally, I think fining the crap out of them is appropriate. They'll think twice about pushing people around when they lose billions of dollars.
So can a bow-flex! Heh =)
Mac is definitely the king of Laptops. I seriously think my next laptop purchase will be a Mac. It's a shame I couldn't get Linux to work on my Laptop, then I'd be *cough* cool like everybody else here.
I might try SuSE, though. A few people here suggested it.
"I couldn't agree more. Coming from an environment where I have to support our software on Proxy 2.0/NT4, or ISA/Win2K, Win2K is loads better. Win2K is stable, compared to the crap that was NT"
;)
Careful there! You'll get modded down as flame bait!
Wanna know what's embarrasing? I made a few posts over the weekend defending Win2k and I tried to pull my laptop out of suspend today and it refused. Figures, eh? Had to pull the battery out. Heh I haven't had to do that in ages!
I got several interesting suggestions, I'm going to look into each of them. Just wanted to thank everybody for their time! :)
"This is not necessarily the case. An application may crash because system calls put it in an inconsistant state or corrupt it's memory."
At first I thought that was the case. And then I tried to run Netscape on NT instead of 9X... *CrAsH*. Then Netscape'd crash on 2k, altho not as often, making me think Windows might be the culprit, right? Well I have friends using Mac and Linux that both say the same thing about Netscape. It sounds to me that they had trouble making it work right. The term 'Nutscrape' was being used commonly.
Netscape 6.2 has definitely gotten better, though.
"Furthermore, an application crash should not make the entire system unstable."
True in 9x, not true in 2K. I have an average uptime, on all my machines, of at least a week. I couldn't do that with NT, I couldn't get 9X to last more than a day. If you saw some of the BS I put my computer through, you'd be amazed.
I do agree that some of what they talk about in this article would apply to most applications, but not everybody uses an OS the same way. Take this except, for example:
"Everybody loves graphical interfaces. Many times they make our lives easier, and in this way help to popularize software, because the learning curve becomes shallower. But for everyday use, a command at the console prompt, with many options and a good manual, becomes much more practical, making scripts easy, allowing for remote access, etc. So the suggestion is, whenever is possible, to provide both interfaces: graphical for the beginners, and the powerful command line for the expert."
This is wonderful advice in the Linux world. However, most Windows and Mac users, sadly, don't know what a command prompt is, let alone how to script it. This is a native concept to a Linux user.
I have no doubt that even in the Windows/Mac world a really powerful Command Line feature for any given app would be super useful, but it is only so for those who have climed that learning curve. In that case, it's better to focus on making the App do what it needs to do.
In any case, I'm sure I'll draw criticism for that comment. I'd prefer you didn't, though. The point I'm making is that slasho81's comment that all software should be the same despite the OS isn't quite so black and white.
"(Apologies in advance to all /. readers who have no Y chromosone and/or who don't appreciate South Park-style humour.)"
More accurately, it's Red Dwarf style humor... I certainly had a laugh at it. =)
Reminds me of when my company announced they had hired a Director Of Product Engineering. Being a Dilbert fan, I would have leapt at the opportunity to make his business cards....
"When you lose the argument miserably, just try to claim that "both sides are right, there shouldn't even be an argument like this"."
I never miserably lost an argument. It's not a very good agrument when people argue over points that have little relevance to the topic at hand. 'It doesn't do remote automation'. Okay, for that Linux wins. 'Win2k sucks as a webserver' yep, Linux wins. 'You can't even change DNS from a command prompt.' So? What's the big deal? use your mouse. That's the problem with Linux, you can't get at some of the features of it so easily with a mouse. You have to find the right command to type in. Sorry, but some of us think that really sucks. You can use Win2k without a manual.
In any case, your arguments against 2K, whether they are true or not, don't affect the fact that Win2k is an awesome desktop OS for the average office user. It also excels at being a 3D workstation for artists like me. I've already said that it's deployed where I work, and it works wonderfully. Some of it is for software development, some of it is for PowerPoint and Email. *shrug*
We paid a lot for it. But I don't regret it. It was easy to install on the wide variety of computer hardware we have, and I haven't had to fix a Windows related problem in ages.
The simple fact is that Windows 2000 is a good desktop OS and a great 3D Workstation Os. I have a great deal of experience with both, and virtually no horror stories to tell. Considering that I can't afford computer crashes during rendering, that's saying a lot.
Anybody know of any beginners guides to physics, preferably on the web I can start reading?
I read 'The Physics of Star Trek' recently, and found that to have a very fascinating insight into how likely some of the fictional technology is. The author did a good job of explaining some of the more complex stuff in terms I could understand. Now I hunger for more. Anybody have a site or a book they could point me to?
"less gravity is good for fat people"
I had the same reaction to this comment that I did when an 80 year old man was found dead on an airplane the other day. There was some debate as to whether or not he died before he got on the plane, or after.
One of the officials said "I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have allowed a dead man to board a plane." (true story)
In any case, lower gravity would help obese people move around more, but in the long term it wouldn't be such a good idea. The problem is that it'd make their condition worse as they'd be burning less energy trying to walk.
I realize you were probably just being silly, but it got me thinking. Lets say one day we had gravity reduction devices in our home to make us more comfy. Would that lead to a weaker speices down the road? Some would see the mass production of cars to have had a similar effect on our species.
The thought of gravity reduction devices scares me a little, although their applicates would definitely change the world we live in.
"You missed the fine print: there's a "per anum" service fee to get that feature."
LOL!!! 'So fast, you can sew by the seat of your pants!' (Sorry, that's the best I could come up with. Drink a couple of beers and then read it.)
"I think they basically try to figure out the proper expense-to-total-profit ratio and go with that, which seems to be around $20 for a DVD."
:)
I would normally agree, except I think the real thought in their minds is "if we drop the prices, we'll never be able to raise them again." You are right that if people don't buy them that the prices will go down. I can't ask people to say 'don't buy DVD's cos I want to pay less for them!'. I think, though, that they won't be able to maintain that revenue if they 'restrict' the DVD's.
One thing that really irks me about the RIAA releasing restricted CD's is that they don't lower the price. They claim that piracy costs them billions, but when they fight it they don't pass savings on to people.
Anyway, I think I drifted off topic a bit hehe.
"Don't you think this is a little over the top, nerd? You need to find a girlfriend."
Wow, what a witty reply. So what's it like being a graduate of the Bob Saget School of Comedy?
I can't believe how fast this turns into a "Win2k sucks" thread. The funny thing is that the people that are bashing 2k don't appear to have used it much. For some reason 'changing dns via command line' is an important feature. Maybe it is. But I do the system administration for all the 2k boxes in my office. Once they were set up (easy to do), they were up and running. Everybody is still running. I don't have people walking into my office saying 'Uhh I think I broke it' like they did constantly with Windows 98 or 95.
In any case, this whole debate is stupid. 2K is a far better system for most of the users in most offices than Linux. I'm not criticizing Linux so much as pointing out that MS was made for the office types. Linux is easily a better server. Questions about which is better to administer seems rather academic, doesn't it? I could sit here and say that Win2k is far easier to administer for this reason and that reason, but I use it every single day! I don't know Linux so I can't say it's better or it's not. I do like that in Windows I can tell somebody over the phone how to do something like change their gateway. No big deal. I've tried to do commandline stuff over the phone before, and it doesn't work so well.
So put this stupid debate to rest, okay? Win2k is not a bad OS by any stretch of the imagination. Look at what it does do instead of judging it for something it doesn't do that you think you need it to. The average Linux user doesn't have the same needs as the average Windows user. It's hard to imagine they'd both need to do the exact same things if they're not for the same type of people, isn't it?
I don't have either right now, I'm a Windows 2k user. I'd have to buy a Mac box in order to use OSX. If Linux were able to behave on an Intel Box, then I have a couple of computers I could put it on right now.
That's why.
The advantage to OSX is that it already has the Apps I wanna use on it, i.e. Lightwave, Photoshop and AfterEffects. If I could install OSX on my AMD machine, I'd be rather excited.
I got modded down earlier today as flamebait because I made a post that said Win2k was stable. Somebody posted that MS made promises along the lines of 'greater stability' and accused them of lying. So I responded with my insight into it as the asistant system administrator that the 17 or so Win2k machines we have are great and none of my office mates have been able to break them.
:)
For some reason, that's not only offtopic, that's flamebait. *Shrug*
Good thing my feelings aren't hurt.
I was talking to a coworker of mine that has OSX on his laptop. He has fiddled a lot with his Mac laptop, but he's never needed to know the root password of it. He doesn't even know how to get to a command-line interface, he hasn't needed to.
I wish they'd either port OSX to x86 architecture, or have somebody make a Linux distro that's just as easy to use.
When that happens, I'll probably be ready to move off of Windows. In the mean time, Macs are looking mighty fine. There's a VERY good chance my next laptop will be a Mac.
TheOnlyCoolTim is right. You buy a lotta nice little things when you get a 40k car, but in the end you're still driving on the same road. The car may do 140, but the roads won't let you. You may have climate control, but if it was really all that important they'd find a way to put it in a cheaper car.
A lot of people buy computers for the potential of what they can do, as opposed to buying them for a very specific task. I want to get a Mac to use Lightwave on, but the reality is that plug-in support is far better on the PC than the Mac.
It doesn't get interesting until I want to use Lightwave on a Laptop. Then the Mac play comes into Focus. Apple really knows how to make a laptop. I feel like I'm definitely getting more bang for my buck when I go that route. The Mac's simplicity and elegance on a laptop is far more enticing than as a desktop machine. It's a lot easier to justify.
Part of the problem with the game industry is that there are too many games in it. For now, it's okay because there are still lots of people not playing games yet, but eventually it'll turn into a market where there's 10 new games for every game player. Uh oh. I don't have $500 a month to spend on maintaining a game library.
What effect will this have on the game industry? Well, that's a little hard to predict. Here's a problem I face today. I bought a GameCube, I love it, but occasionally there's a game on the XBOX that I'd like to get. The problem is that the $300 I'd spend just to get the system is at least 6 games I could by on my GC or GBA. It would definitely be in my best interest for these games to be portable across the various systems.
Here's the problem, though. The dividing line that's preventing me from having too many games is the fact that I only have the GC and GBA. The different games coming out on the XBOX are so seperate for me that I'll continue to be a Nintendo customer. That is great for the companies that are focusing on Nintendo. But if I can suddenly play XBOX games on my GameCube, then it's just a flip of the coin which platform I want, and I'll be able to play all the games. Well, this leaves Microsoft or Sony with very little left to do except try to make new platforms for me to play on. The console market will suddenly turn into the PC Market.
The unfortunate problem here is that the PC Game Market isn't as lucrative as the Console market in some respects. The average shelf life of a game goes way down. A successful game is rated at like 500,000 copies sold, versus 2 million on the console platform.
Is there hope? Oh yeah. Eventually PC game makers will realize that a price drop would be in their best interests. If the average PC game were $35 instead of $50, people could splurge a little more. More copies would get sold. If the majority of the people who would have spent $50 on one game decided to spend $70 on two games, then the industry's audience widens, allowing more games to get made.
Personally, I think it is in everybody's best interests if the line between each console stays thick. Stick with a platform, cater to that platform, and then watch the money roll in. There's nothing more frustrating than having a game's quality diluted because it was transported to other different consoles.
Anybody remember Ultra HLE? It's a N64 emulator. I never got the chance to muck with it because I never had a Voodoo 2 card, but what I read about it was very interesting. It didn't emulate the processor of the N64, instead it was a translator so that commands in the ROM went to native commands on the Voodoo card. A 'draw triangle' command on the N64 would be sent to the Voodoo card and translated to 'draw triangle' in the native hardware. This is different from trying to get the PC's main processor to emulate what the N64 processor would do.
In other words, it was more of a translator than an emulator. Now that I think about it, isn't Wine like that?
Would this approach work with games? It seems like if this technique were ported to the PS2, GameCube, and XBOX, it would be possible to make portable games. Each one would have to be tweaked a bit on a per-platform basis, as each system has their strengths, but they probably could go a similar route that Ultra HLE did.
I have concerns about using Java for it. The problem is that the game hardware is a little too different. One technique that'd work on the XBOX would have a different effect on the GameCube, just because of how the graphics co-processors work. I think it'd be possible to make one game engine work on all machines to run the same code, but I don't think Java would be the solution. I think a cross-platform engine would be more suitable.
Are there games still being made in DOS? Could you name one or two? I'm not trying to challenge you here, I just wasn't aware of it. I'm curious what happens if I run them in Win2k. If they don't work, I'd like to try to find a DOS emulator that will make them work. If I could find that, I have a few games packed in a box somewhere I'd like to try to resurrect.
Any help here?
"Like the things your buttons go into, that have the stitched reinforcements on the sides?"
Yes, you are quite right. It was in either a Sear's ad or a JC Penny's ad, but my dad did show it to me. I have the image somewhere on a CD, but I don't think I could find it and post it before this topic loses interest.
I forgot to mention this was back in like the 60's or 70's. Not sure which but it was definitely a more conservative time. Today 'buttholer' is Beavis and Butthead funny, but I bet when this ad went to print people called up deeply offended, threatening to cancel subscriptions on their newspapers etc. Heh.
Just wanted to show my appreciation to those who listened to me. Thank you.