Go back to the drawing board with the name. Windows users want something simple sounding. Putting BSD, Linux, or some pun based on the names of a Linux distribution in the title isn't going to help. In fact, it's probably going to hurt because Linux and BSD sound difficult and dorky. You use Linux and BSD as a selling point when people don't want Linux or BSD. Don't go out of your way to advertise it as a Linux or BSD project, make it look like something other than BSD or Linux, and go from there. As someone who works with marketing, it just always blows my mind that one of the simplest things the OS community could do, give a project an easy, accessible, and non-dorky name, is never even attempted.
Correction: The update of the DS wasn't due to problems people were having with the system, because it was more or less a bugless system. The update was to address the fact that the PSP was sleaker and had a brighter screen. Now the DS is sleaker and has two brighter screens than the PSP.
Regardless, every game company releases revisions to their consoles for either cosmetic or bug related issues. the PS1 and PS2 both went through numerous revisions. The X-Box went through a couple of different DVD drive manufacturers. Nintendo eventually putout a top loading NES to fix the game load issues. The only difference between game consoles and any other piece of electronics equipment is that companies will dump tv's, dvd players, etc. for a "new and improved" model if they put out equipment with bugs. You can't do that with a game console as the early adopters will feel ripped off and people fully expect their system to last 5 years.
"the problem with consoles like this with so few games is that sometimes it is impossible to get a game you like if your 'tastes' are not standard"
I understand what you're getting at, but I feel just the opposite. I've been a Nintendo fan ever since my mind was blown as a kid when I played Super Mario Bros, Zelda, and Metroid for the first time. As Nintendo grew as a company and managed to somehow obscure themselves during the N64 and Gamecube era, I started realizing that while Sony and now Microsoft changed to conform to the flavor of the month, I was constantly surprised with the ingenuity and how much many of my favorite Nintendo games strayed from the norm. Looking at my game library...sure, it's full of RPG's (which, believe it or not, are fairly mainstream and have a decently large market over here these days...they're not the black sheep games they were during the NES/SNES era), obscure rhythm games, and just plain old genre breakers such as Katamari and the like on my PSX/PS2. But then I look at my Nintendo consoles and I have equally odd games...games such as Blast Corps, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Cubivore, Goemon (Mystical Ninja) games, Mischeif Makers, etc. In fact, I'd have to say the ratio of relatively obscure games (or financial flop but terrific game) vs. mainstream games is much higher on my Nintendo consoles than on my Sony systems.
It may be that you prefer the type of non-standard games that the Playstation invites vs. the type of obscure game that Nintendo consoles invite, but to say Nintendo consoles don't cater to non-standard tastes is slightly confusing as their consoles attract some of the most non-standard games I've ever seen.
I'm in a small minority, but I'm a rabid music collector. Often times I'll buy both the cd and the vinyl versions of an album (the vinyl to listen to at home, the cd for the car or to rip to portable player). Basically, this allows me to only buy one version of the album (vinyl, the version I really want anyway) and just burn a copy for the car and drop one on the mp3 player. The only way this could get better is if they start supporting flac...then I can convert that to whatever format I want. This is great news for the indie / record junkie scene, though.
It might help to point out that Ron Gilbert is the guy behind a bunch of those classic Lucas Arts adventure games. I've played them all, but Ron Gilbert isn't necessarily a household name, even in the gaming community. I won't lie, I had to look him up on wikipedia.
Certainly sounds more promising than the live action movie in the works, which should promise to be as true to the source material as...well...it won't be. Ugh...too bad Warren Ellis isn't writing the live action movie script...
It was passed a few years ago in Florida that any new videogame store that did not have presence in the date as of such and such a date fell under pawn shop laws for trading in videogames. It seems like they've just extended this to cover used cd's now. The good thing: all your favorite existing local music stores will more than likely be exempt from this and be grandfathered in. The bad thing: this will make new start-ups very unattractive.
Basically, this is a big win for corporate record stores. They already exist with trade in programs, they will be exempt from this law (which will make them more attractive for trade-ins), and they will effectively block new small record stores from being attractive for trade ins. This is bs if I've ever seen it...
Wait, Vista was supposed to be about functionality...?
Seriously...if features sold O/S's, we'd all be using Linux. The hilarious part of it all is that MS overhauled Window's GUI to be more competitive with OSX, an operating system that market's itself around it's built in features and pulls a lot of it's functionality from Linux, and operating system that's problem is it's horrid GUI that is constantly revamping itself to compete with Windows......and the vicious cycle continues...
How's that funny? MS has to sell Vista to OEMS and OEMS want more ways to force you to upgrade your hardware...and everytime the general populous upgrades their hardware, they're forced into buying a new copy of Windows. It's mutually beneficial to both MS and the hardware industry to advertise this out the wazoo!
I wouldn't even consider it being greedy, personally.
Obama's campaign underestimated the importance of something they could have started on their own, didn't make an agreement with the guy when they still could have had the chance to take it over for free, then after the guy puts his own money and who knows how much time into the page they realize the importance of this campaign tool. I say good for the guy. $49k, - $5000 (half of his out of pocket costs) = $44k salary for maintaining a campaign website. Granted, a myspace page isn't the same as maintaining a website, but if someone wanted to buy something from me that I worked on for 3 years, $11.3k a year for back administration isn't asking too much in my opinion. After all, you're paying the guy for his initiative and recognizing an important campaign tool ahead of the curve.
There really is no such thing as cd recycling. The metal in the foil is considered toxic, and there's no real way to reuse the plastic because of the foil inside, so they're more than likely just disintegrated...unless there's some way to reuse the dust if it's pulverized (which I really doubt).
I think a large part of what Nintendo is talking about are bootleg games. I buy a lot of second hand games from flea markets and when I'm looking at GBA and DS games, I always look carefully at the label on the game. A lot of the games at the flea market are clearly counterfeit. I've also seen a resurgence of retro controllers (SNES in particular) that are "new in the box" pop up at a lot of flea markets and small game stores. I'm fairly sure that these are knock offs as well. I doubt they've been sitting in a warehouse for 10 years. I know when I was looking for new controllers years ago, they were no where to be found.
Well, mainly because a lot of consumers, myself included, want to take their entire cd collection with them...not just flavor of the month selections. With well over 1000 cds in my collection, plus the fact that I rip all my music at nearly quality (I have good ears and good headphones to boot, I want my fidelity), I'm welcoming larger players with open arms. I would like to one day have my entire cd collection with me where ever I go. Sure, not everyone is a music nut / audiophile, but with other features such as USBtoGo, smaller players fill up quickly.
That being said, I also have a small 1 gb flash player with fm tuner for the gym and quick trips around town. There's definitely a markup for both devices.
The only real shortcut is to setup your system how you like it the first time and make a system image so you can restore it if you ever have to nuke your system. The first time is always gonna be time consuming. The only other thing I could see that would shorten the process would be to use MS's system settings transfer option to move settings from your existing box.
Also, how the heck did this one make it through the filters? Who the heck cares how long it takes people to set up their system? Although I will brag that I can assemble a new box in under 10 minutes without troubleshooting.
You sure could, if you wanted to play with the Gamecube controller and not the the Wii-mote / nunchaku combo. Or, you know, for $10 more you can get it on the Wii with slightly better graphics and the option to play it with the GC controller or the new Wii controls and get all the extra's that were added to the PS2 version.
This happens everyday, just not all at once. I will never take a job based upon the company having retirement benefits after 20 years of performance. In the defense industry, for example, it's common practice for an entire department to get laid off just to be rehired to perform the same job for the same company. Why? They didn't want to have to pay out retirement. This is the same shady practice, yet on at a larger scale (which means it gets more publicity).
The sad state of affairs is that companies have to please stock holders and, to please stock holders profits have to go up. Even if your company is making money hand over fist, it gets to a point where you have to find a way to cut margins to please stock holders. It's unfortuante that so many companies take the easy way out instead of finding ways to inovate and manage budgets....
You're missing the point. Linux zealots that push all these new killer functions that will push Linux to the mainstream are forgetting that the normal user doesn't want these features. They want something that's basic and easy to use. I just find it ironic when Linux folk say "look at this, this is the new greatest thing!" and, when it comes down to it, there's so many options that the normal user would choke trying to figure out which functions they need to do the bare minimum. From watching people actually use file management systems (I actually design GUIs at my job) the average Joe wants to drag files from one window to another, not use a tabbed file management system. Personally, I'd still use Xtree Gold as my file management system if I could, but that's a different story.
Someone mod this guy up. Seriously, Linux folk need to get serious about GUI design if they ever want Linux to be taken seriously. THAT was supposed to be the holy grail? Not that I'm an avid Windows supporter, but they've had a better file manager than that for over 10 years now. Apple for even longer. I think that, because the typical Linux user has been using Linux forever and would just as well command line everything, the GUI gets relegated to the back of the line. Even the Linux desktop's that are full of graphical eye candy just miss the usability ball. We want/need less information and simple structure, not more options. Well, not we but that "ambiguous" target that's out there that the Linux crowd thinks they can capture.
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"I can has chillidogz?"
Go back to the drawing board with the name. Windows users want something simple sounding. Putting BSD, Linux, or some pun based on the names of a Linux distribution in the title isn't going to help. In fact, it's probably going to hurt because Linux and BSD sound difficult and dorky. You use Linux and BSD as a selling point when people don't want Linux or BSD. Don't go out of your way to advertise it as a Linux or BSD project, make it look like something other than BSD or Linux, and go from there. As someone who works with marketing, it just always blows my mind that one of the simplest things the OS community could do, give a project an easy, accessible, and non-dorky name, is never even attempted.
Correction: The update of the DS wasn't due to problems people were having with the system, because it was more or less a bugless system. The update was to address the fact that the PSP was sleaker and had a brighter screen. Now the DS is sleaker and has two brighter screens than the PSP.
Regardless, every game company releases revisions to their consoles for either cosmetic or bug related issues. the PS1 and PS2 both went through numerous revisions. The X-Box went through a couple of different DVD drive manufacturers. Nintendo eventually putout a top loading NES to fix the game load issues. The only difference between game consoles and any other piece of electronics equipment is that companies will dump tv's, dvd players, etc. for a "new and improved" model if they put out equipment with bugs. You can't do that with a game console as the early adopters will feel ripped off and people fully expect their system to last 5 years.
Maybe if you spent more time with your plug-in's they wouldn't feel that way. Have some compassion!
"the problem with consoles like this with so few games is that sometimes it is impossible to get a game you like if your 'tastes' are not standard"
I understand what you're getting at, but I feel just the opposite. I've been a Nintendo fan ever since my mind was blown as a kid when I played Super Mario Bros, Zelda, and Metroid for the first time. As Nintendo grew as a company and managed to somehow obscure themselves during the N64 and Gamecube era, I started realizing that while Sony and now Microsoft changed to conform to the flavor of the month, I was constantly surprised with the ingenuity and how much many of my favorite Nintendo games strayed from the norm. Looking at my game library...sure, it's full of RPG's (which, believe it or not, are fairly mainstream and have a decently large market over here these days...they're not the black sheep games they were during the NES/SNES era), obscure rhythm games, and just plain old genre breakers such as Katamari and the like on my PSX/PS2. But then I look at my Nintendo consoles and I have equally odd games...games such as Blast Corps, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat, Cubivore, Goemon (Mystical Ninja) games, Mischeif Makers, etc. In fact, I'd have to say the ratio of relatively obscure games (or financial flop but terrific game) vs. mainstream games is much higher on my Nintendo consoles than on my Sony systems.
It may be that you prefer the type of non-standard games that the Playstation invites vs. the type of obscure game that Nintendo consoles invite, but to say Nintendo consoles don't cater to non-standard tastes is slightly confusing as their consoles attract some of the most non-standard games I've ever seen.
Wait, are you pro or con FFVII? Because I definitely thought FFVII was an FMV-centric piece of crap.
Real men suck on plugs of grounds. Liquid coffee's for sissies....
I'm in a small minority, but I'm a rabid music collector. Often times I'll buy both the cd and the vinyl versions of an album (the vinyl to listen to at home, the cd for the car or to rip to portable player). Basically, this allows me to only buy one version of the album (vinyl, the version I really want anyway) and just burn a copy for the car and drop one on the mp3 player. The only way this could get better is if they start supporting flac...then I can convert that to whatever format I want. This is great news for the indie / record junkie scene, though.
It might help to point out that Ron Gilbert is the guy behind a bunch of those classic Lucas Arts adventure games. I've played them all, but Ron Gilbert isn't necessarily a household name, even in the gaming community. I won't lie, I had to look him up on wikipedia.
Certainly sounds more promising than the live action movie in the works, which should promise to be as true to the source material as...well...it won't be. Ugh...too bad Warren Ellis isn't writing the live action movie script...
It was passed a few years ago in Florida that any new videogame store that did not have presence in the date as of such and such a date fell under pawn shop laws for trading in videogames. It seems like they've just extended this to cover used cd's now. The good thing: all your favorite existing local music stores will more than likely be exempt from this and be grandfathered in. The bad thing: this will make new start-ups very unattractive.
Basically, this is a big win for corporate record stores. They already exist with trade in programs, they will be exempt from this law (which will make them more attractive for trade-ins), and they will effectively block new small record stores from being attractive for trade ins. This is bs if I've ever seen it...
Wait, Vista was supposed to be about functionality...?
...and the vicious cycle continues...
Seriously...if features sold O/S's, we'd all be using Linux. The hilarious part of it all is that MS overhauled Window's GUI to be more competitive with OSX, an operating system that market's itself around it's built in features and pulls a lot of it's functionality from Linux, and operating system that's problem is it's horrid GUI that is constantly revamping itself to compete with Windows...
How's that funny? MS has to sell Vista to OEMS and OEMS want more ways to force you to upgrade your hardware...and everytime the general populous upgrades their hardware, they're forced into buying a new copy of Windows. It's mutually beneficial to both MS and the hardware industry to advertise this out the wazoo!
I wouldn't even consider it being greedy, personally.
Obama's campaign underestimated the importance of something they could have started on their own, didn't make an agreement with the guy when they still could have had the chance to take it over for free, then after the guy puts his own money and who knows how much time into the page they realize the importance of this campaign tool. I say good for the guy. $49k, - $5000 (half of his out of pocket costs) = $44k salary for maintaining a campaign website. Granted, a myspace page isn't the same as maintaining a website, but if someone wanted to buy something from me that I worked on for 3 years, $11.3k a year for back administration isn't asking too much in my opinion. After all, you're paying the guy for his initiative and recognizing an important campaign tool ahead of the curve.
I think a large part of it comes from the fact that it's more widely known/played due to the NES port.
There really is no such thing as cd recycling. The metal in the foil is considered toxic, and there's no real way to reuse the plastic because of the foil inside, so they're more than likely just disintegrated...unless there's some way to reuse the dust if it's pulverized (which I really doubt).
I think a large part of what Nintendo is talking about are bootleg games. I buy a lot of second hand games from flea markets and when I'm looking at GBA and DS games, I always look carefully at the label on the game. A lot of the games at the flea market are clearly counterfeit. I've also seen a resurgence of retro controllers (SNES in particular) that are "new in the box" pop up at a lot of flea markets and small game stores. I'm fairly sure that these are knock offs as well. I doubt they've been sitting in a warehouse for 10 years. I know when I was looking for new controllers years ago, they were no where to be found.
Well, mainly because a lot of consumers, myself included, want to take their entire cd collection with them...not just flavor of the month selections. With well over 1000 cds in my collection, plus the fact that I rip all my music at nearly quality (I have good ears and good headphones to boot, I want my fidelity), I'm welcoming larger players with open arms. I would like to one day have my entire cd collection with me where ever I go. Sure, not everyone is a music nut / audiophile, but with other features such as USBtoGo, smaller players fill up quickly.
That being said, I also have a small 1 gb flash player with fm tuner for the gym and quick trips around town. There's definitely a markup for both devices.
If I could mod ya up for that one, I would. ::Shakes his head and walks away::
The only real shortcut is to setup your system how you like it the first time and make a system image so you can restore it if you ever have to nuke your system. The first time is always gonna be time consuming. The only other thing I could see that would shorten the process would be to use MS's system settings transfer option to move settings from your existing box.
Also, how the heck did this one make it through the filters? Who the heck cares how long it takes people to set up their system? Although I will brag that I can assemble a new box in under 10 minutes without troubleshooting.
You sure could, if you wanted to play with the Gamecube controller and not the the Wii-mote / nunchaku combo. Or, you know, for $10 more you can get it on the Wii with slightly better graphics and the option to play it with the GC controller or the new Wii controls and get all the extra's that were added to the PS2 version.
I highly doubt this, seeing that Namco brought Taiko Drum Master to the US.
This happens everyday, just not all at once. I will never take a job based upon the company having retirement benefits after 20 years of performance. In the defense industry, for example, it's common practice for an entire department to get laid off just to be rehired to perform the same job for the same company. Why? They didn't want to have to pay out retirement. This is the same shady practice, yet on at a larger scale (which means it gets more publicity).
The sad state of affairs is that companies have to please stock holders and, to please stock holders profits have to go up. Even if your company is making money hand over fist, it gets to a point where you have to find a way to cut margins to please stock holders. It's unfortuante that so many companies take the easy way out instead of finding ways to inovate and manage budgets....
You're missing the point. Linux zealots that push all these new killer functions that will push Linux to the mainstream are forgetting that the normal user doesn't want these features. They want something that's basic and easy to use. I just find it ironic when Linux folk say "look at this, this is the new greatest thing!" and, when it comes down to it, there's so many options that the normal user would choke trying to figure out which functions they need to do the bare minimum. From watching people actually use file management systems (I actually design GUIs at my job) the average Joe wants to drag files from one window to another, not use a tabbed file management system. Personally, I'd still use Xtree Gold as my file management system if I could, but that's a different story.
Someone mod this guy up. Seriously, Linux folk need to get serious about GUI design if they ever want Linux to be taken seriously. THAT was supposed to be the holy grail? Not that I'm an avid Windows supporter, but they've had a better file manager than that for over 10 years now. Apple for even longer. I think that, because the typical Linux user has been using Linux forever and would just as well command line everything, the GUI gets relegated to the back of the line. Even the Linux desktop's that are full of graphical eye candy just miss the usability ball. We want/need less information and simple structure, not more options. Well, not we but that "ambiguous" target that's out there that the Linux crowd thinks they can capture.