"Why is anything relating to beer considered Slashdot material, yet something relating to rights of products purchased over the internet not slashdot material when it references wine?"
Being contrarian earns mod points. For example: We're all supposed to be tech loving nerds, right? When a cool cell phone comes along, there's a tradition of some git saying "but I want Fred Flinstone's Cell phone!", and his post is modded up.
The real question I have is whether or not he would have posted that if the karma system didn't exist.
" The deal went south. Rather than eat the loss, Sony pressed on and made it a standalone unit instead."
Actually, it wasn't because Sony didn't want to eat the cost, it's because the execs were finally convinced they could make one. There had been an internal movement at Sony for some time to make a game unit. They didn't wanna until Nintendo came around.
"So, it did see the light of day, just not as originally planned."
I'm aware of the story. The reason I was being annoyingly nitpicky was that the SNES CD and the Playstation really only match in terms of name. In other words: The SNES CD was a green light to make a new game machine, not a mutation into the system we see now.
"Noppepeee. Noo probbbblleem he 20934 hehrr. I don0932t kn203w what yo.....u are all2342 talking about. THe99999-9re is 980980 da800ta corrupt232342ion you2234 Say0--0????"
"When the N64 came out, companies like Square could not release their games on the N64 due to cartridge format."
As pointed out numerous times already, FFVII used all that space for FMV. They very easily could have made that game for the N64. They chose not to. Back in those days, textures were around 4k. Even 8 - 16 megs is a lot of k's. The music was all midi. The characters were simply polygonal, most using goraud shading instead of textures. Etc. There would probably have been a few comporimises, but FFVII could have made it into an N64 cartridge.
"In reality, their proprietary format drives up cost for developers to use on their system. "
True for the N64, negligible for the GameCube. The reason the proprietary format for the N64 was expensive was because cartridges are just plain expensive. Optical media, nah. Make the disc a little smaller, change the format a bit. That wasn't anything but a minor change to the production facility. If it did cost more for the developers, it's doubtful it was by much. It was CERTAINLY nowhere near the difference between producing a CD and producing a catridge.
"And since Nintendo is continually losing market share to the XBox..."
Ugh. I hate getting into this argument. Are we talking world or USA here? The GameCube might be number 3 in the USA, but it's also killing the XBOX quite soundly in Japan. You may be thinking "so?" but imagine what the executives at Nintendo are thinking. Money's money. Even at 3rd place, Nintendo themselves produce AAA titles. Nintendo is going to react to their profit margins, not their market share. If Nintendo were to turn into Sony, would they really make more money? Sell systems at a loss? Produce cookie cutter games? Do nothing to ensure the market doesn't collapse like it did in Atari's age?
"I think Nintendo should really re-eveluate their stance on media drives."
The media drive isn't going to make the difference. It's the games. If Nintendo wants to give Sony hell, they'll need broader 3rd party support. At this point, the media won't make a difference. (assuming it has reasonable storage, anyway.) They need good hardware. They need good marketing. And they need killer apps at launch to get a few million into people's homes. From there, more developers will come out of the woodwork.
That is: IF they want to do that. The downside here is that store shelves get flooded with games. The problem is that Nintendo makes a killing on its first party titles. Less shelf space means less attention to their own products. Don't get me wrong, either way they make money, but they create a huge mess in their wakes.
"Actually I misread TFA, 12cm is the same size as DVD's isn't ?, we don't know at the moment whether it will be able to play them."
Not too long ago, Nintendo had it posted on their site that it COULD play DVDs. But that was taken down. (Yes, I actually saw it before it was taken down.)
You're right, it's not known for certain if it'll play DVDs. It's just interesting that Nintendo posted that for a bit. On a side note, there's an interesting rumor floating around. A dude claiming to be close to the Revolution was talking quite a bit on a gaming forum. Nobody knows if he's legit or not, but he did make a comment about the media having a surprise in it. Speculation led to the Revolution using Optical media with some sort of flash memory built into it. In other words, save the game data to the game instead of a memory card. This may be a bunch of bunk, but the SNES CD was rumored to have all its games in a CD caddy with a similar chip. If I recall, though, the chip on the SNES CD caddy had more to do with thwarting piracy than anything else.
"No, this video is very much in line with something Nintendo would generate and potentially show at a press event, and the fact that it appeared on the net last week is either a testament that Nintendo is attempting to execute a buzz kill on it's competitors announcements... or a very serious security breach has happened within Nintendo."
Or, simply, as it's been reported on numerous news sites, it's a hoax.
On another note, I apologize for my comma abuse.:P
I would imagine that the biggest difference between Google and the engine in the article is that it is intended to reduce false hits by a great deal more. "how to take down an airliner" turned up over 200,000 hits. In other words, it'd be hard to use Google to find somebody planning a terrorist attack.
Yep, just like my PS2, GameCube, N64, and Dreamcast are also crappy PCs.
"got your goat."
Sort of. I don't have any real affection for the XBOX, I just can't believe how many computer-intelligent people don't know the difference between a game console and a PC is. A PC isn't a PC because it runs an X86 processor. It's a PC because it has certain pieces of hardware AND it runs general purpose apps. The XBOX sort of qualifies for the former (the processor inside it may be Pentium based, but it still has some subtle differences. Not to mention it has a BIOS that PREVENTS it from running 'unauthorized' software.) but definitely does NOT qualify for the latter. To put it another way: ever see one of those trailers that's just the ass end of a truck? Is that a trailer or a truck? It shares some of the components of a trunk, but it's PURPOSE is to be a trailer.
So yeah, it gets my goat. If we're all going to make generalizations based on superficial observations then we're going to have a real hard time making intelligent comments about news articles involving technology.
" I would say this is really just MORE proof that Apple has been ripping people off for years by putting out underpowered computers to save a few bucks and then jacking up the price."
Erm. Couple of things:
1.) Microsoft is almost definitely losing money on these units. That would be a dumb business move for Apple.
2.) It's not clear, today, whether or not those processors could do the general computing jobs they'd need to on desktop machines. I'm going to be honest, I don't know much about this. I just remember reading in another thread about how the XBOX 360 processors likely have several things trimmed out of them. (Note: If anybody can correct me, it'd be mucho appreciated.)
I'm not a huge fan of Apple's prices, but I really don't think you can draw those conclusions based on the data you have.
"I do wonder about the xBox 360 though... can you say, "PC?"
XBOX 360 != PC. Just like XBOX != PC. That's like calling a man a woman because they're not biologically dissimilar and they can do pretty much the same work.
The Federation and the Cardassians weren't exactly in love with each other, but that was not a war.
I would agree if you said they were in a hostile situation and that battle drills were a good idea, however, war is a serious overstatement of the predicament they were in. Had they been at war, there wouldn't be kids on the Enterprise.
"The xbox360 is going to dominate the living room, sorry to say to all you pro-linux folks. With specs like this the Linux home system has some BIG shoes to fill."
Those specs are overkill for a home theater system. As for whether or not the XBOX 360 dominates the living room, consider that games will drive the purchase of this machine.
Slashdot Mirror
"Why is anything relating to beer considered Slashdot material, yet something relating to rights of products purchased over the internet not slashdot material when it references wine?"
Being contrarian earns mod points. For example: We're all supposed to be tech loving nerds, right? When a cool cell phone comes along, there's a tradition of some git saying "but I want Fred Flinstone's Cell phone!", and his post is modded up.
The real question I have is whether or not he would have posted that if the karma system didn't exist.
"How much do you want to candy coat crimes?"
I'm not advocating candy coating of crimes. Rather, I don't think we should be pooring blue cheese dressing all over them.
" The deal went south. Rather than eat the loss, Sony pressed on and made it a standalone unit instead."
Actually, it wasn't because Sony didn't want to eat the cost, it's because the execs were finally convinced they could make one. There had been an internal movement at Sony for some time to make a game unit. They didn't wanna until Nintendo came around.
"So, it did see the light of day, just not as originally planned."
I'm aware of the story. The reason I was being annoyingly nitpicky was that the SNES CD and the Playstation really only match in terms of name. In other words: The SNES CD was a green light to make a new game machine, not a mutation into the system we see now.
"They could have jumped to optical with the N64 but they had too much money invested in ROM factories."
Uh.. That and it would raised the cost of the system, made gaming more frustrating, and the games would have been far easier to pirate.
"Noppepeee. Noo probbbblleem he 20934 hehrr. I don0932t kn203w what yo.....u are all2342 talking about. THe99999-9re is 980980 da800ta corrupt232342ion you2234 Say0--0????"
Good thing cell phones were unaffected!
"How about those folks who rob a convenience store to show their security holes.."
How about an analogy that doesn't involve a gun to the face?
"Oh, but it did. You may have heard of the "Playstation"
Sorry, I've never heard of the Nintendo Playstation.
"Of course, the most effective anti-piracy measure for the SNES CD-Rom drive was the fact that it was vaporware"
It wasn't vapour in the sense that they made it up to sound cool. It actually was in development. You can blame Sony for it never reaching the market.
"When the N64 came out, companies like Square could not release their games on the N64 due to cartridge format."
As pointed out numerous times already, FFVII used all that space for FMV. They very easily could have made that game for the N64. They chose not to. Back in those days, textures were around 4k. Even 8 - 16 megs is a lot of k's. The music was all midi. The characters were simply polygonal, most using goraud shading instead of textures. Etc. There would probably have been a few comporimises, but FFVII could have made it into an N64 cartridge.
"In reality, their proprietary format drives up cost for developers to use on their system. "
True for the N64, negligible for the GameCube. The reason the proprietary format for the N64 was expensive was because cartridges are just plain expensive. Optical media, nah. Make the disc a little smaller, change the format a bit. That wasn't anything but a minor change to the production facility. If it did cost more for the developers, it's doubtful it was by much. It was CERTAINLY nowhere near the difference between producing a CD and producing a catridge.
"And since Nintendo is continually losing market share to the XBox..."
Ugh. I hate getting into this argument. Are we talking world or USA here? The GameCube might be number 3 in the USA, but it's also killing the XBOX quite soundly in Japan. You may be thinking "so?" but imagine what the executives at Nintendo are thinking. Money's money. Even at 3rd place, Nintendo themselves produce AAA titles. Nintendo is going to react to their profit margins, not their market share. If Nintendo were to turn into Sony, would they really make more money? Sell systems at a loss? Produce cookie cutter games? Do nothing to ensure the market doesn't collapse like it did in Atari's age?
"I think Nintendo should really re-eveluate their stance on media drives."
The media drive isn't going to make the difference. It's the games. If Nintendo wants to give Sony hell, they'll need broader 3rd party support. At this point, the media won't make a difference. (assuming it has reasonable storage, anyway.) They need good hardware. They need good marketing. And they need killer apps at launch to get a few million into people's homes. From there, more developers will come out of the woodwork.
That is: IF they want to do that. The downside here is that store shelves get flooded with games. The problem is that Nintendo makes a killing on its first party titles. Less shelf space means less attention to their own products. Don't get me wrong, either way they make money, but they create a huge mess in their wakes.
"Actually I misread TFA, 12cm is the same size as DVD's isn't ?, we don't know at the moment whether it will be able to play them."
:)
Not too long ago, Nintendo had it posted on their site that it COULD play DVDs. But that was taken down. (Yes, I actually saw it before it was taken down.)
You're right, it's not known for certain if it'll play DVDs. It's just interesting that Nintendo posted that for a bit. On a side note, there's an interesting rumor floating around. A dude claiming to be close to the Revolution was talking quite a bit on a gaming forum. Nobody knows if he's legit or not, but he did make a comment about the media having a surprise in it. Speculation led to the Revolution using Optical media with some sort of flash memory built into it. In other words, save the game data to the game instead of a memory card. This may be a bunch of bunk, but the SNES CD was rumored to have all its games in a CD caddy with a similar chip. If I recall, though, the chip on the SNES CD caddy had more to do with thwarting piracy than anything else.
T'is fun to imagine!
"No, this video is very much in line with something Nintendo would generate and potentially show at a press event, and the fact that it appeared on the net last week is either a testament that Nintendo is attempting to execute a buzz kill on it's competitors announcements... or a very serious security breach has happened within Nintendo."
:P
Or, simply, as it's been reported on numerous news sites, it's a hoax.
On another note, I apologize for my comma abuse.
"Apart from my plastation 2."
Have you ever timed how long it takes to start up your PS2 and get to a playable state in San Andreas?
"local internet shopping centre"
"A what?"
That's where peopel go to buy internets!
"but this is really pretty rare and it's hard to believe that a hardware fault could cause such a widespread fault."
It'd also be pretty rare for a fault like this causing robots to suddenly self-replicate and rebel.
"Those 100 SCOX shares really paid off!"
Yeah! Now you can go to the movies!!
"Huh, doesn't google do this already!????"
(Note: I din't RTFA.)
I would imagine that the biggest difference between Google and the engine in the article is that it is intended to reduce false hits by a great deal more. "how to take down an airliner" turned up over 200,000 hits.
In other words, it'd be hard to use Google to find somebody planning a terrorist attack.
"also, your humor could use some work."
Heh. Yep. Nobody liked my academic literature joke.
Ever wake up and spend most of the day with a cloudy mind and your eyes trying to close? (No, not a hangover. NFI what I did wrong.)
"Does Anyone in IT Read Academic Literature?"
Well, I do read lots of porn. Afterall, most of the topics in there are all academic to me!
"XBOX == Crappy PC."
Yep, just like my PS2, GameCube, N64, and Dreamcast are also crappy PCs.
"got your goat."
Sort of. I don't have any real affection for the XBOX, I just can't believe how many computer-intelligent people don't know the difference between a game console and a PC is. A PC isn't a PC because it runs an X86 processor. It's a PC because it has certain pieces of hardware AND it runs general purpose apps. The XBOX sort of qualifies for the former (the processor inside it may be Pentium based, but it still has some subtle differences. Not to mention it has a BIOS that PREVENTS it from running 'unauthorized' software.) but definitely does NOT qualify for the latter. To put it another way: ever see one of those trailers that's just the ass end of a truck? Is that a trailer or a truck? It shares some of the components of a trunk, but it's PURPOSE is to be a trailer.
So yeah, it gets my goat. If we're all going to make generalizations based on superficial observations then we're going to have a real hard time making intelligent comments about news articles involving technology.
Ugh I'm grammatically challenged today.
Oops. Forgot who my target audience here is. Next time, I'll leave comparisons to women out of my analogies.
" I would say this is really just MORE proof that Apple has been ripping people off for years by putting out underpowered computers to save a few bucks and then jacking up the price."
Erm. Couple of things:
1.) Microsoft is almost definitely losing money on these units. That would be a dumb business move for Apple.
2.) It's not clear, today, whether or not those processors could do the general computing jobs they'd need to on desktop machines. I'm going to be honest, I don't know much about this. I just remember reading in another thread about how the XBOX 360 processors likely have several things trimmed out of them. (Note: If anybody can correct me, it'd be mucho appreciated.)
I'm not a huge fan of Apple's prices, but I really don't think you can draw those conclusions based on the data you have.
"I do wonder about the xBox 360 though... can you say, "PC?"
XBOX 360 != PC. Just like XBOX != PC. That's like calling a man a woman because they're not biologically dissimilar and they can do pretty much the same work.
No, they weren't.
The Federation and the Cardassians weren't exactly in love with each other, but that was not a war.
I would agree if you said they were in a hostile situation and that battle drills were a good idea, however, war is a serious overstatement of the predicament they were in. Had they been at war, there wouldn't be kids on the Enterprise.
"The xbox360 is going to dominate the living room, sorry to say to all you pro-linux folks. With specs like this the Linux home system has some BIG shoes to fill."
Those specs are overkill for a home theater system. As for whether or not the XBOX 360 dominates the living room, consider that games will drive the purchase of this machine.
"Linux: Are you coming or what?"
Linux: We are carbon paper's biggest competitor!