Obviously, it's so expensive, there will be no leecher companies that sit on their ass all day, think up of shit to patent without implementation (99.9% of the work), and go after other companies that do the work for a profit (since they don't have to pay for R&D, they can operate cheap).
Thanks for setting me straight!
You do realize it can take anywhere up to 2 years or more to have a patent approved?
Your entire post basically goes in the direction that people are too dumb. Specifically this:
Complex technology often reminds people that they know little to knowing of tech.
But I disagree 'dumb' is the word to use. The iPod is extremely popular with geeks and non-geeks alike.
The reason complex tech doesn't get accepted is because, in most instances, the design sucks. Tech is supposed to help people, not hinder them. That's why a lot of early (and some current) PDAs failed - a pen and paper was more useful in many cases thus people used what seemed like the best solution on the surface.
For example, I use Emacs and while it's extremely productive, it's not so with the newcomer. I could see why others give up and think the design sucks in a way that it's a hindrance to them. This may go down to the whole GUI vs CLI debate where power users feel empowered by the CLI while most everyone else prefers the GUI.
I think it comes more down to the human need for instant gratification. A complex multi-purpose interface has to add that much more complexity up front at a scale to the tasks it needs to accomplish while a 1-task system can be simple. One design will take time to learn from the smartest people (who can understand the tech extremely well, just not the particulars of the syntax in this instance), and the other one will be immediately graspable by everyone and hence does it's job.
We moved from a manufacturing based economy to a "service" based economy.
Now it's lovely that we are moving on from even that, and can earn money by letting others do the hard work and implementation while we can sit at the patent office all day and submit vague, obtuse applications (that read like and are about as specific as Nostradamus predictions, he predicted Hister you know!) to gain a monopoly on "methods", "software", etcetera all in the name of "innovation" (because without patent, there wouldn't be any you know. Civilization started when Romulus and Remus instituted the first patent office.....)
A great time to be an American. It's also nice we are exporting this type of mentality to the rest of the world too.
Curiously: 'instead of asking to eavesdrop on the contents of the e-mail messages, which would require some evidence of wrongdoing, prosecutors [of the US Justice Dept.] instead requested the identities of the correspondents. Also included in the request was header information like date and time and Internet address--but not subject lines.'"
Which doesn't seem all that different from what they can do with snailmail in the USPS (I assume) anyway. Though in both cases, you have the easy chance decieve who the sender is - fake name on envelope, or different web-based email account on foreign computer - but not so much the reciever.
No, the alternative is ogg (lossy), flaac (non-lossy), or any other free alternative. MP3, the format, isn't free.
but then you lose the ability to protect your music.
Music isn't protected by DRM, which I assume you mean keeping it from P2P networks and the like (name 1 popular track not on a P2P network). DRM simply encumbers the paying consumer with baggage, non-payers actually enjoy not getting digital restrictions management. Which doesn't seem entirely fair. After all, many CDs don't have DRM and the artists do fine there.....
I'm purely wondering about this because a lot of people buy music at iTunes at whatever rate it's ripped at, and then in 10 years, will they have to buy it again because their single copy of it is on a harddrive that crashes (I don't think Apple allows redownloads, don't know). By then, the bit rate will have quadrupled (fiber becomes prevalent or something). The quality is higher, sure, but most people won't know the difference - especially on computer speakers......
It's intuitive and I always basically thought this, but never had the physics credentials to really back it up - even to myself.
Anyway, heard some people with Physics PhDs talking about time travel on the Discovery Channel more than a few times (last time, sending messages back with a laser....), what's the credibility of this guy or article?
Hmmm.... a purely academic question here as I am personally boycotting (not in not paying for, actually not viewing as well) any MPAA/RIAA content.
But from the summary. "Some of the movies to be released in the first batch by Sony are The Fifth Element, Desperado, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, Legends of the Fall, and Terminator."
Let's say I already own Terminator (1 and 2) on DVD, would I be able to download the HD version legally and have it qualify as "Fair Use" back-up? (I don't care about the legal situation of the man distributing it for purposes of this question.)
Why or why not? I already own the movie.
Before you groan and tell me why I can't - let me put this in perspective - would you answer be different if someone owned a VHS copy of a movie and wanted a back-up on his harddrive, thus downloads the "higher" quality DVD off a P2P - after all, he justs wants a fair-use back-up of a movie he owns on his harddisk.
There's a campaign to ban energy-wasteful technology [banthebulb.org] where cheaper, superior alternatives exist. In the unlikely event that the campaign achieves a meaningful result, America could dispose of several existing power stations without the need for nuclear stations to replace them.
I find that capitalism is better than banning lightbulb:/
For instance, I use CFL (compact fluorescent light bulbs) regularly, but especially in the hot summer where the extra heat generated from traditional light-bulbs in a fully lighted house is like putting on a 1500+ watt electric heater and then wondering why the AC has to be cranked so high (and expensively).
But traditionally lightbulbs can't be replaced - they're nice in an otherwise small underheated bathroom and less expensive than an oilheater:-D (plus one doesn't forget to turn the lights off as much).
Or in uses such as the oven, fridge, etcetera where the plastic ballast of a CFL doesn't have a chance....
Small, safe and convenient nuclear laptop batteries, right here right now.:)
Heh, heh - hoax but nice pipedream^_^ The first tip-off is the skimpy details of the innerworkings of the battery in the article, but this made me laugh:
"XCell-N is a nuclear powered laptop battery that can provide between seven and eight thousand times the life of a normal laptop battery - that's more than three and a half years worth of continuous power.............
While Shephard says they are committed to safety, he does not recommend close exposure to an XCell-N powered laptop for more than 20 minutes a day."
Just like my 1950's instruction card for nuclear safety:
Step 1. In the event of a nuclear disaster/explosion, seek out shelter.
Step 2. Find cover, preferably under a desk or table if possible.
In short, by now we have doubled the spending that was based on and we could have had upwards of 10% of our energy from green solar power. Of course there are problems such as solar not being available at night or in bad weather, and taking a lot of space in the desert, and transmitting the power. Of course you can store power during the day at some loss and the largest power demand is during the day for air conditioning. I didn't calculate the space it would take however, but there's a *lot* of desert in the southwest that gets a *lot* of sun.
Of course, you can always use solar on the acres of roofs across the country, much of which is covered by a black tarry substance that contributes to electric bills going up in the summer when the air conditioner is turned on:) No long distance transmission is needed.
Speaking of roofs, many commercial building (Home Depots, SuperMarkets) have flat ones that would be perfect to have a few parabolic dishes with stirling engine generators or perhaps just a PV layout to power themselves.
And there are application somewhat independent of time, such as the home heating of water (which could also heat the house if us Americans ever get away from the inferior forced air heating (asthma, breathing problems, sinuses) back to radiant heat) - which various solar technologies can take of in this day and age.
If you're looking at powering televisions and radios, though, you need to have electricity. Photovoltaics generally work best for that. Turning heated water into electricity does work, though at a lower efficiency.
That's not always true.
For a farm, it's more efficient to use Parabolic mirrors and then at the focus point use either a stirling engine or a very heat resistent PV. Even if a PV is used, you need much less of it, saving a lot of money in the process.
There are energy farms of both types in Austrailia and in the Southwestern US, I believ.
lease explain why during the SARS scare all those who took Chinese Medicine survived but those who took western medicine either died or suffered a lot before making a recovery.
Link? References?
I'm skeptical, as that's a very big claim - "all" who took Chinese medicine. I doubt all the practictioners of Chinese Medicine would even take/prescribe the same herbs, much less that something like this won't make the news. Hell, China would be trumpeting it as propaganda (and rightly so).
Okay, I won't go on about stuff I am clueless about, *but* wasn't UNIX inspired by MULTICS, and wasn't MULTICS a pretty secure o/s, by design?
Yes Unix was inspired by Multics. I don't know about the security of Multics, Unix was written by Kernighan/Ritchie because they saw defiencies in Multics. I believe Multics didn't have a good scheduler, it slowed down with multiple users, and back then when computer time was alloted, that meant everything. I don't think security was a particular problem like it is today....
How hard would it be to start fresh, apply the Linux method to MULTICS or something like it, to have a an networking-oriented o/s with comprehensive security?
Insurance is a gamble against yourself. It's always going to be in the favour of the insurance companies because they are private enterprises, created to make money. Everyone should realise that.
Many insurance companies actually don't make all that much money (compared to other businesses). Warren Buffett has a large amount of insurance companies under Berkshire Hathaway and their purpose isn't generally profit (though a few percent is nice) but for him it's basically an interest free loan called float. Meaning premiums in minus payments out = whatever you are sitting on at the time being the loan.
Also, insurance companies have to compete with a multitude of other insurance companies (especially in this day and age with instant internet quotes) - so with some half-way smart shopping, you end up with a decent coverage for the premium and they're not likely making a gazillion dollars in the deal and it's not that much of a gamble against yourself.
Insurance Agents? Well, that's another matter. They may get commission for the lifetime of your business with the company........
This is text book Chinese medicine. Looking for signs of these things in the face and eyes has a history of about 1500 to 2000 years. I guess it is good that Western medicine has finally come around, but this is far from amazing.
I agree to a point - but Chinese medicine is overrated. Many more affluent Chinese turn to "Western-style" medicine these days when they have something serious.
For every 1 thing they had correct, there were at least 100 things that were useless or worse. That's the problem with something based in tradition without the scientific method to question it: "wisdom" get passed down through the generations, most of it never questioned.
As a western corollary: just think about the mountains of homebrew cures everybody suggests for a hangover and then go over how many actually work.
The search is extremely retarded - as you can search globally but just have to keep switching cities. In other words - they're unloading work the computer should be doing is dumped onto you.
Ebay (owner of craigslist) can limit searches by radius to zip code, I don't see why craigslist won't implement that.
People who want to deal locally will still be able to do that (and by default if decided), but especially in the trade of small items - location doesn't matter. Otherwise one of the internet's biggest benefits is ignored by the site.
He hinted that it was in their interessed to create such absurd cases so their "hunt for pirates" stayed in the news. If nothing like that happens, people will forget the whole thing and start downloading again, as the papers will not print headlines "RIAA still hunting!" a few month after the first anouncements.
That's it! I want to sue the RIAA for deliberately trying to cause global warming!
The fibers in fruits usually wash away the sugars. Most processed sweets don't have any fiber, thus the sugar is deposited and stays there.
This is also the case with honey - it's sticky and cause cavities if used as a sweetener. But it's not too dangerous eating an apple/orange without brushing your teeth for a while.
As long as people avoid honey, processed foods with sugar or flour - you should be able to get away without brushing and have no cavities.
However, that lifestyle and this treatment isn't going to be an end to brushing or flossing. Even if the teeth are completely protected, your gums can get gingivitus/periodontis without the stimulation of brushing/flossing.
Here is a pretty good website that explains/backs-up most of what I said. I found it to read up on wisdom teeth extraction a while back:
As a counterpoint, I have to say in my small experience in programming games (only in school, I didn't go into this) and reading up on the game industry:
It takes a strong personality (ies) with a vision to make a great game. The strong personality pushes the whole team, and even if it doesn't meet dates - an outsider can see that something substantial is being done and being made.
I would have Shigeru Miyamoto as the prime example of this. How many great games did he come out with?
All I see is 3d realm throwing money at a problem, but I see the lack of this type of game designer in the team.
Good designers generally have a concept for a game that they HAVE to get out there, with whatever technology is there at the time, and with what they can make at the time. The first cue that they are grasping at straws is the constant changing of 3d engines. Whatever initial concept that they had in 1998 probably has been surpassed by now or they are jumping from concept to concept....
A sunk cost is a sunk cost, no matter what you've got for it. The only thing to consider is a) what's it going to cost us from now on, and b) what are we gonna get for it.
Now tell me how many times 3D_Realms were at a juncture to ask themselves this question in the past and how much they would have saved if they didn't trust their own estimates of what it cost (because it'll always cost more than one thinks) and what they are gonna get for it will be lower than they think:)
They restarted their project twice....
Economics is okay but it should be recognized that it's largely a science based on average out information and the case by case basis is vastly different. There's also the human factor to recognize.
As to why current estimates are likely to be more reliable than past estimates - well, generally when a cost blowout occurs you have some idea of why, and you can take these additional costs into account when making your new estimate. That isn't to say that these new estimates are always reliable, but it's better to make an estimate than to just cancel a project if something doesn't go exactly how you expect.
Which in this case seems unlikely - the project has been restarted twice. I'm only wondering if the same managers are in charge.
Yeah, you don't consider sunk costs when deciding to continue with a project. Why? Because that money is gone. Cancelling the project won't bring it back. Cancelling the project will, however, make your investment up to that point a complete write off.
The line of logic this goes into makes sense if economics was only figures and numbers without an human element and there was only one way to go. But in some cases, and in this project definitely - there is an undefinable karma involved. I'm not spiritual - I just use that as a blanket term for shit factor.
I find it hard to accept an arguement that (in all cases) cranking up investment in a project that may recoup the future invesetment and then some is the only way to go. One of the more sucessful strategies I had in life was cutting my losses, despite future estimates.
In invested stocks, for example, on iffy companies I would have a cut-off point - like say 1/3 (or 1/4 or 1/5, doesn't matter) of the losses I'm willing to accept before I just dump a stock and look for greener pastures.
And there are people who do the opposite. If they bought 100 shares of AMZN at $100 and it went down to $50, they'd buy 100 more shares of AMZN to balance out what they bought it at (would be $75 average) in the hopes it goes up again.
Both POV are valid, but in multiple areas of my life, I found cutting losses a better path for some things (unless you're building a house or something, and even then.... think about it). Perhaps it's simply because shoring up more investment is a more emotional decision made with less logic due to lost money. -shrugs-
You've spent 150 thousand developing a game, you need 20 thousand more to finish the game. The game has an expected lifetime profit of 70 thousand.
Do you cancel the project? Heck no!
I differ with you on the "20 thousand" more part and that it gets further along into a project and this is probably where the entire argument stems.
The accuracy depends on the project manager and his experience. And he can be the absolute best person to make that decision sometimes due to obvious reasons, but also worst person to make that decision due to his closeness to the project, how hard he's been pushed, whether he thinks he can just throw artists/programmers at the problem, etcetera.
They always used to say not to consider what the project cost so far when deciding whether to continue, but what it will cost to bear into fruition.
However, that logic always seemed seriously flawed - if the past estimates on how much a project will cost were bad, what guarantee is there that the current estimates are good.
Seriously, what does 3DRealms (?) have to gain anymore? It's like a doomed government military project where they keep throwing good money into this black hole, never to see anything for their investment other than ridicule.
It makes the Daikatana folks seem professional.
Either way, 3D_Realms should just shut-up until the factories are actually packaging the CDs, or quietly kill the project.
He would always drink massive amounts of water and juice while working, saying that it helped his wrists. We'd make fun of him because he had to piss every half hour, but perhaps he was on to something.
It sounds like he may have diabetes II. Especially if he's drinking a lot of juice (this is sugar water for blood sugar purposes).
If you're still see him from time to time, make sure he sees a doctor about that - I drink water all day long and have to visit the bathroom maybe every 4 hours.
It could also be an enlarged prostrate..... anyway, the bladder is capable of stretching to several liters....
Slashdot Mirror
When the method of swinging on a swing can be patented and granted - the patent system must be really expensive and systematic.
http://www.darrenbarefoot.com/archives/2004/06/pa
Obviously, it's so expensive, there will be no leecher companies that sit on their ass all day, think up of shit to patent without implementation (99.9% of the work), and go after other companies that do the work for a profit (since they don't have to pay for R&D, they can operate cheap).
Thanks for setting me straight!
I do realize that, yes. Do I care? No.
Thanks for proving me correct.
But I disagree 'dumb' is the word to use. The iPod is extremely popular with geeks and non-geeks alike.
The reason complex tech doesn't get accepted is because, in most instances, the design sucks. Tech is supposed to help people, not hinder them. That's why a lot of early (and some current) PDAs failed - a pen and paper was more useful in many cases thus people used what seemed like the best solution on the surface.
For example, I use Emacs and while it's extremely productive, it's not so with the newcomer. I could see why others give up and think the design sucks in a way that it's a hindrance to them. This may go down to the whole GUI vs CLI debate where power users feel empowered by the CLI while most everyone else prefers the GUI.
I think it comes more down to the human need for instant gratification. A complex multi-purpose interface has to add that much more complexity up front at a scale to the tasks it needs to accomplish while a 1-task system can be simple. One design will take time to learn from the smartest people (who can understand the tech extremely well, just not the particulars of the syntax in this instance), and the other one will be immediately graspable by everyone and hence does it's job.
We moved from a manufacturing based economy to a "service" based economy.
Now it's lovely that we are moving on from even that, and can earn money by letting others do the hard work and implementation while we can sit at the patent office all day and submit vague, obtuse applications (that read like and are about as specific as Nostradamus predictions, he predicted Hister you know!) to gain a monopoly on "methods", "software", etcetera all in the name of "innovation" (because without patent, there wouldn't be any you know. Civilization started when Romulus and Remus instituted the first patent office.....)
A great time to be an American. It's also nice we are exporting this type of mentality to the rest of the world too.
Which doesn't seem all that different from what they can do with snailmail in the USPS (I assume) anyway. Though in both cases, you have the easy chance decieve who the sender is - fake name on envelope, or different web-based email account on foreign computer - but not so much the reciever.
No, the alternative is ogg (lossy), flaac (non-lossy), or any other free alternative. MP3, the format, isn't free.
Music isn't protected by DRM, which I assume you mean keeping it from P2P networks and the like (name 1 popular track not on a P2P network). DRM simply encumbers the paying consumer with baggage, non-payers actually enjoy not getting digital restrictions management. Which doesn't seem entirely fair. After all, many CDs don't have DRM and the artists do fine there.....
Interesting and valid.
I'm purely wondering about this because a lot of people buy music at iTunes at whatever rate it's ripped at, and then in 10 years, will they have to buy it again because their single copy of it is on a harddrive that crashes (I don't think Apple allows redownloads, don't know). By then, the bit rate will have quadrupled (fiber becomes prevalent or something). The quality is higher, sure, but most people won't know the difference - especially on computer speakers......
It's intuitive and I always basically thought this, but never had the physics credentials to really back it up - even to myself.
Anyway, heard some people with Physics PhDs talking about time travel on the Discovery Channel more than a few times (last time, sending messages back with a laser....), what's the credibility of this guy or article?
Hmmm.... a purely academic question here as I am personally boycotting (not in not paying for, actually not viewing as well) any MPAA/RIAA content.
But from the summary. "Some of the movies to be released in the first batch by Sony are The Fifth Element, Desperado, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, Legends of the Fall, and Terminator."
Let's say I already own Terminator (1 and 2) on DVD, would I be able to download the HD version legally and have it qualify as "Fair Use" back-up? (I don't care about the legal situation of the man distributing it for purposes of this question.)
Why or why not? I already own the movie.
Before you groan and tell me why I can't - let me put this in perspective - would you answer be different if someone owned a VHS copy of a movie and wanted a back-up on his harddrive, thus downloads the "higher" quality DVD off a P2P - after all, he justs wants a fair-use back-up of a movie he owns on his harddisk.
Um, isn't Valentine's Day for romance?
I don't understood that.
I find that capitalism is better than banning lightbulb:/
For instance, I use CFL (compact fluorescent light bulbs) regularly, but especially in the hot summer where the extra heat generated from traditional light-bulbs in a fully lighted house is like putting on a 1500+ watt electric heater and then wondering why the AC has to be cranked so high (and expensively).
But traditionally lightbulbs can't be replaced - they're nice in an otherwise small underheated bathroom and less expensive than an oilheater
Or in uses such as the oven, fridge, etcetera where the plastic ballast of a CFL doesn't have a chance....
Heh, heh - hoax but nice pipedream^_^ The first tip-off is the skimpy details of the innerworkings of the battery in the article, but this made me laugh:
"XCell-N is a nuclear powered laptop battery that can provide between seven and eight thousand times the life of a normal laptop battery - that's more than three and a half years worth of continuous power.............
While Shephard says they are committed to safety, he does not recommend close exposure to an XCell-N powered laptop for more than 20 minutes a day."
Just like my 1950's instruction card for nuclear safety:
Step 1. In the event of a nuclear disaster/explosion, seek out shelter.
Step 2. Find cover, preferably under a desk or table if possible.
Step 3. Bend over.
Step 4. And kiss your ass goodbye.
Of course, you can always use solar on the acres of roofs across the country, much of which is covered by a black tarry substance that contributes to electric bills going up in the summer when the air conditioner is turned on:) No long distance transmission is needed.
Speaking of roofs, many commercial building (Home Depots, SuperMarkets) have flat ones that would be perfect to have a few parabolic dishes with stirling engine generators or perhaps just a PV layout to power themselves.
And there are application somewhat independent of time, such as the home heating of water (which could also heat the house if us Americans ever get away from the inferior forced air heating (asthma, breathing problems, sinuses) back to radiant heat) - which various solar technologies can take of in this day and age.
Solar could take care of more than 10%.
That's not always true.
For a farm, it's more efficient to use Parabolic mirrors and then at the focus point use either a stirling engine or a very heat resistent PV. Even if a PV is used, you need much less of it, saving a lot of money in the process.
There are energy farms of both types in Austrailia and in the Southwestern US, I believ.
http://stirlingenergy.com/
Link? References?
I'm skeptical, as that's a very big claim - "all" who took Chinese medicine. I doubt all the practictioners of Chinese Medicine would even take/prescribe the same herbs, much less that something like this won't make the news. Hell, China would be trumpeting it as propaganda (and rightly so).
Yes Unix was inspired by Multics. I don't know about the security of Multics, Unix was written by Kernighan/Ritchie because they saw defiencies in Multics. I believe Multics didn't have a good scheduler, it slowed down with multiple users, and back then when computer time was alloted, that meant everything. I don't think security was a particular problem like it is today....
A secure, networking oriented OS?
I believe you are talking about Plan 9.
http://www.cs.bell-labs.com/wiki/plan9/plan_9_wik
http://www.ecf.toronto.edu/plan9/plan9faq.html#pl
There's also an OS based on/off of Plan9 called Inferno. Look into it.
Many insurance companies actually don't make all that much money (compared to other businesses). Warren Buffett has a large amount of insurance companies under Berkshire Hathaway and their purpose isn't generally profit (though a few percent is nice) but for him it's basically an interest free loan called float. Meaning premiums in minus payments out = whatever you are sitting on at the time being the loan.
Also, insurance companies have to compete with a multitude of other insurance companies (especially in this day and age with instant internet quotes) - so with some half-way smart shopping, you end up with a decent coverage for the premium and they're not likely making a gazillion dollars in the deal and it's not that much of a gamble against yourself.
Insurance Agents? Well, that's another matter. They may get commission for the lifetime of your business with the company........
I agree to a point - but Chinese medicine is overrated. Many more affluent Chinese turn to "Western-style" medicine these days when they have something serious.
For every 1 thing they had correct, there were at least 100 things that were useless or worse. That's the problem with something based in tradition without the scientific method to question it: "wisdom" get passed down through the generations, most of it never questioned.
As a western corollary: just think about the mountains of homebrew cures everybody suggests for a hangover and then go over how many actually work.
You're correct.
The search is extremely retarded - as you can search globally but just have to keep switching cities. In other words - they're unloading work the computer should be doing is dumped onto you.
Ebay (owner of craigslist) can limit searches by radius to zip code, I don't see why craigslist won't implement that.
People who want to deal locally will still be able to do that (and by default if decided), but especially in the trade of small items - location doesn't matter. Otherwise one of the internet's biggest benefits is ignored by the site.
That's it! I want to sue the RIAA for deliberately trying to cause global warming!
Proven past refute by my religion:
http://www.seanbonner.com/blog/archives/001857.ph
The fibers in fruits usually wash away the sugars. Most processed sweets don't have any fiber, thus the sugar is deposited and stays there.
This is also the case with honey - it's sticky and cause cavities if used as a sweetener. But it's not too dangerous eating an apple/orange without brushing your teeth for a while.
As long as people avoid honey, processed foods with sugar or flour - you should be able to get away without brushing and have no cavities.
However, that lifestyle and this treatment isn't going to be an end to brushing or flossing. Even if the teeth are completely protected, your gums can get gingivitus/periodontis without the stimulation of brushing/flossing.
Here is a pretty good website that explains/backs-up most of what I said. I found it to read up on wisdom teeth extraction a while back:
http://www.doctorspiller.com/
As a counterpoint, I have to say in my small experience in programming games (only in school, I didn't go into this) and reading up on the game industry:
It takes a strong personality (ies) with a vision to make a great game. The strong personality pushes the whole team, and even if it doesn't meet dates - an outsider can see that something substantial is being done and being made.
I would have Shigeru Miyamoto as the prime example of this. How many great games did he come out with?
All I see is 3d realm throwing money at a problem, but I see the lack of this type of game designer in the team.
Good designers generally have a concept for a game that they HAVE to get out there, with whatever technology is there at the time, and with what they can make at the time. The first cue that they are grasping at straws is the constant changing of 3d engines. Whatever initial concept that they had in 1998 probably has been surpassed by now or they are jumping from concept to concept....
Now tell me how many times 3D_Realms were at a juncture to ask themselves this question in the past and how much they would have saved if they didn't trust their own estimates of what it cost (because it'll always cost more than one thinks) and what they are gonna get for it will be lower than they think:)
They restarted their project twice....
Economics is okay but it should be recognized that it's largely a science based on average out information and the case by case basis is vastly different. There's also the human factor to recognize.
Which in this case seems unlikely - the project has been restarted twice. I'm only wondering if the same managers are in charge.
The line of logic this goes into makes sense if economics was only figures and numbers without an human element and there was only one way to go. But in some cases, and in this project definitely - there is an undefinable karma involved. I'm not spiritual - I just use that as a blanket term for shit factor.
I find it hard to accept an arguement that (in all cases) cranking up investment in a project that may recoup the future invesetment and then some is the only way to go. One of the more sucessful strategies I had in life was cutting my losses, despite future estimates.
In invested stocks, for example, on iffy companies I would have a cut-off point - like say 1/3 (or 1/4 or 1/5, doesn't matter) of the losses I'm willing to accept before I just dump a stock and look for greener pastures.
And there are people who do the opposite. If they bought 100 shares of AMZN at $100 and it went down to $50, they'd buy 100 more shares of AMZN to balance out what they bought it at (would be $75 average) in the hopes it goes up again.
Both POV are valid, but in multiple areas of my life, I found cutting losses a better path for some things (unless you're building a house or something, and even then.... think about it). Perhaps it's simply because shoring up more investment is a more emotional decision made with less logic due to lost money. -shrugs-
I differ with you on the "20 thousand" more part and that it gets further along into a project and this is probably where the entire argument stems.
The accuracy depends on the project manager and his experience. And he can be the absolute best person to make that decision sometimes due to obvious reasons, but also worst person to make that decision due to his closeness to the project, how hard he's been pushed, whether he thinks he can just throw artists/programmers at the problem, etcetera.
How that estimate gets arrived is the key.
They always used to say not to consider what the project cost so far when deciding whether to continue, but what it will cost to bear into fruition.
However, that logic always seemed seriously flawed - if the past estimates on how much a project will cost were bad, what guarantee is there that the current estimates are good.
Seriously, what does 3DRealms (?) have to gain anymore? It's like a doomed government military project where they keep throwing good money into this black hole, never to see anything for their investment other than ridicule.
It makes the Daikatana folks seem professional.
Either way, 3D_Realms should just shut-up until the factories are actually packaging the CDs, or quietly kill the project.
It sounds like he may have diabetes II. Especially if he's drinking a lot of juice (this is sugar water for blood sugar purposes).
If you're still see him from time to time, make sure he sees a doctor about that - I drink water all day long and have to visit the bathroom maybe every 4 hours.
It could also be an enlarged prostrate..... anyway, the bladder is capable of stretching to several liters....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urinary_bladder