I don't exactly see anyone chomping at the bit to buy into HD video at this point, especially seeing that the movie selection is low and most DVD afficienado's already have a very large collection of discs at this point. This war is being aimed towards gear heads and gadget collectors. There is no real compelling reason to switch formats, especially if it means paying more for media. I think DVD is good enough for the population now and that people realize that. Especially seeing that the adoption rate for HD is well under where everyone speculated it would be years ago.
This "war" is going the same way the surround sound cd war went. No where. No one really felt like investing money rebuying cd's, which sound good enough. On top of that, the music nuts that would normally be into this kinda thing have invested enough money in their "stereo" rig where they don't always want to invest twice again that much money in a surround sound system. It's very rare that you'd get a chance to listen to music in your livingroom (where your surround system is probably set up to begin with) with family around anyway.
I guess the point to this rant (and common theme throughout this rant) is the word "enough." I think society as a whole is suffering technology burnout. Things change so quickly that the general population wants to sit on the sideline, see where all these rapid advances eventually take us, and then buy in. Then again, seeing our current political situation, maybe war is the right term for this. A fight that no one wants but big brother insists on.
Right, but at the same time it does no good to keep changing it from product to product, hoping to eventually get it right. This interface was "good enough" and markedly better than anything Sony's ever offered in the past, so I stand by the fact that I think it's a good move on their part to try and create uniformity across their next gen entertainment products.
How is this Anti-PS3? This is the first positive thing I've heard about the PS3 in a while...
In the GUI industry, it's always smart to pick a design you like and use something similar in all your products across the board. Consumers like it when they pick up a new product and instantly know how to use it. It helps build brand loyalty and name recognition.
Why do you think Google's on top of the search engine world? They're cutting edge and they have a simple interface. While it may not matter that the next thing Google rolls out is successful, it certainly matters that they keep rolling out interesting products and come up with a killer ap, such as gmail, every once in a while. Otherwise, there's nothing to keep the publics interest and curiousity with Google. Who's to say that Yahoo won't give themselves a face lift and change their attitude or that some other young upstart won't topple Google by offering something new and interesting? All it takes is something compelling enough to draw the publics interest, even if what pulls their interest isn't the main product.
Nintendo must be EXTREMELY confident in how Zelda plays with the Wiimote combo to pull a stunt like this. I mean, it would be no extra effort on their part to enable the Gamecube controller controls. They must be using this title to prove their point. I have a lot of faith in Nintendo, lets hope they know what they're doing.
Man, Nintendo's balls have dropped over the past few years with Reggie at the forefront. I thought the guy was a douche at first, but I really think he knows what he's doing.
I honestly see this generation war being a 3 way tie amongst the comeptitors. Nintendo offers something different, MS offers a strong online gameplay, and Sony offers the uberhaus of game power. Where as the last gen was really pick or choose (i.e., nothing really differentiated the systems except for the lincenses on each system), this generation will see much more of a differentiation of the type of games for each system. Old Skool gamers will probably lean towards Nintendo, PC and online gamers towards MS, and new skool gamers towards Sony.
We could actually see a 3 way split for the first time in history. It'll be interesting to see what Nintendo and MS do in 5 years when Sony insists their console will last til 2017....
Super Metroid on the SNES was a good game, outside of the limits of the hardware. That game still stands as the pinacle of 2d sidescrolling, alongside Castlevania: SotN. Nostalgia or not, that games influence can still be seen in games to date.
But, point taken, Metroid is a game that's stayed consistantly good and pushed it's hardware in interesting, innovative ways.
Doubt that. The Wii's download system is based on SD memory cards. That'd be an awful lot of memory card space (although, memory cards are getting dirt cheap these days)
Will we see the bonuses added to the Sega Saturn version of the game? As a die hard Castlevania fan (the only ones I haven't played and destroyed are Rhondo of Blood and the Saturn version of SOTN), this would definately be an incentive to rebuy a game that I already own three copies of (my original scratched disc, my replacement, and a sealed greatest hits version).
Heck, it might be an incentive to buy a 360 if we see more of these kind of classic ports. Now when's Sega re-releasing Panzer Dragoon Saga?
Now here's a guy who really doesn't understand the industry....
We need more info, but here you go....
on
Manual Writing Tools?
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· Score: 3, Insightful
First of all, we have no idea what format the book is to be in (print, pdf, windows help file, etc). Each different format requires different software/knowledge. Without this information, it's pretty hard to recommend anything.
However, as a tech writer with years of experience, if you don't know much about writing or structuring manuals, I would probably default to the defacto FrameMaker package. It supports Docbook, unstructured and structured (SGML and XML) tagging, and it fairly easy to get going with. If you outgrow it's functionality, you can buy one of many packages for macro editing and automation of repetitive tasks. Adobe has a free program to help you do some of these things, but it's very similar to coding C and may be a bit overkill.
As a last resort (and if you have access to people who know how to create or modify a DTD for your use), you could buy a package such as Stylus Studio for editing code and creating XLST files for automating tasks and formatting the document. Unless you have experience, this will be overwhelming.
If you need online help, well, you'll probably use RoboHelp like most everyone else.
As far as any more advice than recommending the software packages, I think we really need to know the scope of this project (length of book, what type of information is involved, how much of the book is tabular data vs. instructional data, etc). Personally, I have about 5 different software packages at my disposal and use a each on a case by case basis depending on use.
This just sounds absurd to me. Of course, if you're looking at what's going on in the Sony and Microsoft camps, the magic has died. There's prettier pictures to look at...and this IS magical for a while...but they're beating a dead horse.
Nintendo, on the other hand, is just pumping me full of adrenaline these days. Pick up a DS. Geez, so many new concepts and ideas are going on. So many brilliant games. Trauma Center, Pheonix Wright: Ace Attourney, Lost in Blue, Brain Age...a lot of traditional type games are getting great face lifts too. We've only seen the first generation of DS games too. It's pretty amazing.
As for the Wii, I can only imagine what games we see come out of it. It's too soon to say if or how it will revolutionize the industry, but seeing how Sony's already tried to implement a knock off of Nintendo's motion detection into the PS3, you can see the fear in their eyes. Maybe Nintendo will finally be able to take gaming back to its roots and divert attention away from the more graphics/more power mentality that's taken over America.
One trade-off for another. While I miss the clickiness of the original DS, this is more than outweighed by the fact that the buttons are raised and rounded. I'm already noticing that games that require using multiple buttons are much easier to control.
The d-pad on the Lite is a total blessing. The original d-pad was just mushy. I could actually play a fighting game on the new model!
And lets not forget about the resin molding on the new model. Wow, I can actually grip this thing.
This is pretty rediculous, to say the least. G-mail won't dissapear, it will evolve. Gmail is a great example of how great the convergence of e-mail and instant messaging can be. I'll be the first to admit that the combination of Gmail and Gtalk have changed how I communicate on a daily basis with friends and family.
I'd actually argue that Mac's are ideal gaming platforms. There's only so many different configurations available, so it's more or less like programming for a game console (you know what you're programming for and optimise it for a specific hardware set), except everything is in x86 on a Linux platform. So really, no new hardware and api's need to be learned...it's pretty much all pre-existing. And with the number of game engines readily available, I bet Windows gamers would be pretty impressed with what you could do on a Core Duo Mac.
I don't know if they're doing it this year, but www.gamesarefun.com has done live blogging of major game press conferences in the past. They're a smaller site, but they're the first of the to cover a lot of these real time. Pretty nice for those of us who want to keep up on the news as it's happening, especially with big press conferences for the Wii and PS3 happening this year!
If anyone knows of other sites doing this kind of live updates, spread the news!
I remember having a sample of one of these in Target around hurricane season. They were trying to pass them off as a good way to get a hot cup of coffee when and if the power went out. I probabbly would have bought a few, but then they proceeded to give me a sample.
This is, by far, the most disgusting "coffee" drink I've ever had, and this come from someone who's been known to suck on plugs of grounds like chewing tobacco when there's no hot water around...
Consumers actually believe that Bose puts out a good product. Ack! If they only knew of the cheap paper cones they've been spending small fortunes for. Their instore demo department puts more work into making their speakers sound good than speaker engineers do.
I was talking about GB, not GBA. And besides, I can legally, with an add on made directly by nintendo, play GBA games on my GameCube. What makes you think they would strike the ability all together from the Rev...especially with the DS being their portable powerhouse at the moment?
The problem with the N64 wasn't lack of focus on adult titles, it was lack of support in general. The cartridge format wasn't embraced by the development community and, although the N64 was the easier console to code for of it's generation, it was the most expensive to publish for and had relatively low revenue because the console wasn't supported because the format wasn't embraced, violent circle, etc. etc.
The Gamecube, IMO, largely fixed this problem. There were kid games, there were adult games, and there were fun games for gamers of all ages. I think there's a general misunderstanding that games that aren't innately designed specifically for an adult audience are automatically designated as kids games. People see black and white but no grey.
The Rev will probably continue this and focus primarily on games that all can enjoy that aren't realistic or violent. As far as I'm concerned that's a.o.k....if I want super realism, I'll walk outside...and extreme violence has never made a game anymore enjoyable for me.
There's something that people forget about PDF. The companies that actually purchase seats of Acrobat use the format for reasons very different than what end users use them for. It makes an easy platform to distribute files for markup/editing/reviewing. The file size is very small and it works hand in hand with other Adobe products, such as FrameMaker, which is an industry standard (I'm in the tech writing field). While I used to absolutely despise the PDF format, it's matured so much over the past few years that I consider it an indispensable tool for my job at this point, if for no other reason than the fact than I can PDF thousands of sheets of engineering drawings and use PDF to search for cable numbers, key terms, etc. PDF has changed how I do my job and cut my research time in half.
For nonpaying PDF users, however, this new format is great. It will be an easy to use way to send resumes, papers, etc. to anyone on any platform with no worries about what software they may or may not have installed.
In short, different products for different uses by different audiences. Although, if it eventually matures to the level of Acrobat, I love competition.
Slashdot Mirror
I don't exactly see anyone chomping at the bit to buy into HD video at this point, especially seeing that the movie selection is low and most DVD afficienado's already have a very large collection of discs at this point. This war is being aimed towards gear heads and gadget collectors. There is no real compelling reason to switch formats, especially if it means paying more for media. I think DVD is good enough for the population now and that people realize that. Especially seeing that the adoption rate for HD is well under where everyone speculated it would be years ago. This "war" is going the same way the surround sound cd war went. No where. No one really felt like investing money rebuying cd's, which sound good enough. On top of that, the music nuts that would normally be into this kinda thing have invested enough money in their "stereo" rig where they don't always want to invest twice again that much money in a surround sound system. It's very rare that you'd get a chance to listen to music in your livingroom (where your surround system is probably set up to begin with) with family around anyway. I guess the point to this rant (and common theme throughout this rant) is the word "enough." I think society as a whole is suffering technology burnout. Things change so quickly that the general population wants to sit on the sideline, see where all these rapid advances eventually take us, and then buy in. Then again, seeing our current political situation, maybe war is the right term for this. A fight that no one wants but big brother insists on.
Actually, wouldn't it be veal?
Right, but at the same time it does no good to keep changing it from product to product, hoping to eventually get it right. This interface was "good enough" and markedly better than anything Sony's ever offered in the past, so I stand by the fact that I think it's a good move on their part to try and create uniformity across their next gen entertainment products.
How is this Anti-PS3? This is the first positive thing I've heard about the PS3 in a while...
In the GUI industry, it's always smart to pick a design you like and use something similar in all your products across the board. Consumers like it when they pick up a new product and instantly know how to use it. It helps build brand loyalty and name recognition.
Why do you think Google's on top of the search engine world? They're cutting edge and they have a simple interface. While it may not matter that the next thing Google rolls out is successful, it certainly matters that they keep rolling out interesting products and come up with a killer ap, such as gmail, every once in a while. Otherwise, there's nothing to keep the publics interest and curiousity with Google. Who's to say that Yahoo won't give themselves a face lift and change their attitude or that some other young upstart won't topple Google by offering something new and interesting? All it takes is something compelling enough to draw the publics interest, even if what pulls their interest isn't the main product.
Nintendo must be EXTREMELY confident in how Zelda plays with the Wiimote combo to pull a stunt like this. I mean, it would be no extra effort on their part to enable the Gamecube controller controls. They must be using this title to prove their point. I have a lot of faith in Nintendo, lets hope they know what they're doing.
Man, Nintendo's balls have dropped over the past few years with Reggie at the forefront. I thought the guy was a douche at first, but I really think he knows what he's doing.
I honestly see this generation war being a 3 way tie amongst the comeptitors. Nintendo offers something different, MS offers a strong online gameplay, and Sony offers the uberhaus of game power. Where as the last gen was really pick or choose (i.e., nothing really differentiated the systems except for the lincenses on each system), this generation will see much more of a differentiation of the type of games for each system. Old Skool gamers will probably lean towards Nintendo, PC and online gamers towards MS, and new skool gamers towards Sony.
We could actually see a 3 way split for the first time in history. It'll be interesting to see what Nintendo and MS do in 5 years when Sony insists their console will last til 2017....
Super Metroid on the SNES was a good game, outside of the limits of the hardware. That game still stands as the pinacle of 2d sidescrolling, alongside Castlevania: SotN. Nostalgia or not, that games influence can still be seen in games to date. But, point taken, Metroid is a game that's stayed consistantly good and pushed it's hardware in interesting, innovative ways.
Doubt that. The Wii's download system is based on SD memory cards. That'd be an awful lot of memory card space (although, memory cards are getting dirt cheap these days)
Will we see the bonuses added to the Sega Saturn version of the game? As a die hard Castlevania fan (the only ones I haven't played and destroyed are Rhondo of Blood and the Saturn version of SOTN), this would definately be an incentive to rebuy a game that I already own three copies of (my original scratched disc, my replacement, and a sealed greatest hits version).
Heck, it might be an incentive to buy a 360 if we see more of these kind of classic ports. Now when's Sega re-releasing Panzer Dragoon Saga?
Now here's a guy who really doesn't understand the industry....
First of all, we have no idea what format the book is to be in (print, pdf, windows help file, etc). Each different format requires different software/knowledge. Without this information, it's pretty hard to recommend anything.
However, as a tech writer with years of experience, if you don't know much about writing or structuring manuals, I would probably default to the defacto FrameMaker package. It supports Docbook, unstructured and structured (SGML and XML) tagging, and it fairly easy to get going with. If you outgrow it's functionality, you can buy one of many packages for macro editing and automation of repetitive tasks. Adobe has a free program to help you do some of these things, but it's very similar to coding C and may be a bit overkill.
As a last resort (and if you have access to people who know how to create or modify a DTD for your use), you could buy a package such as Stylus Studio for editing code and creating XLST files for automating tasks and formatting the document. Unless you have experience, this will be overwhelming.
If you need online help, well, you'll probably use RoboHelp like most everyone else.
As far as any more advice than recommending the software packages, I think we really need to know the scope of this project (length of book, what type of information is involved, how much of the book is tabular data vs. instructional data, etc). Personally, I have about 5 different software packages at my disposal and use a each on a case by case basis depending on use.
Now we're handing over prestigious awards to case modders.
This just sounds absurd to me. Of course, if you're looking at what's going on in the Sony and Microsoft camps, the magic has died. There's prettier pictures to look at...and this IS magical for a while...but they're beating a dead horse.
Nintendo, on the other hand, is just pumping me full of adrenaline these days. Pick up a DS. Geez, so many new concepts and ideas are going on. So many brilliant games. Trauma Center, Pheonix Wright: Ace Attourney, Lost in Blue, Brain Age...a lot of traditional type games are getting great face lifts too. We've only seen the first generation of DS games too. It's pretty amazing.
As for the Wii, I can only imagine what games we see come out of it. It's too soon to say if or how it will revolutionize the industry, but seeing how Sony's already tried to implement a knock off of Nintendo's motion detection into the PS3, you can see the fear in their eyes. Maybe Nintendo will finally be able to take gaming back to its roots and divert attention away from the more graphics/more power mentality that's taken over America.
One trade-off for another. While I miss the clickiness of the original DS, this is more than outweighed by the fact that the buttons are raised and rounded. I'm already noticing that games that require using multiple buttons are much easier to control. The d-pad on the Lite is a total blessing. The original d-pad was just mushy. I could actually play a fighting game on the new model! And lets not forget about the resin molding on the new model. Wow, I can actually grip this thing.
This is pretty rediculous, to say the least. G-mail won't dissapear, it will evolve. Gmail is a great example of how great the convergence of e-mail and instant messaging can be. I'll be the first to admit that the combination of Gmail and Gtalk have changed how I communicate on a daily basis with friends and family.
I'd actually argue that Mac's are ideal gaming platforms. There's only so many different configurations available, so it's more or less like programming for a game console (you know what you're programming for and optimise it for a specific hardware set), except everything is in x86 on a Linux platform. So really, no new hardware and api's need to be learned...it's pretty much all pre-existing. And with the number of game engines readily available, I bet Windows gamers would be pretty impressed with what you could do on a Core Duo Mac.
I don't know if they're doing it this year, but www.gamesarefun.com has done live blogging of major game press conferences in the past. They're a smaller site, but they're the first of the to cover a lot of these real time. Pretty nice for those of us who want to keep up on the news as it's happening, especially with big press conferences for the Wii and PS3 happening this year! If anyone knows of other sites doing this kind of live updates, spread the news!
I remember having a sample of one of these in Target around hurricane season. They were trying to pass them off as a good way to get a hot cup of coffee when and if the power went out. I probabbly would have bought a few, but then they proceeded to give me a sample. This is, by far, the most disgusting "coffee" drink I've ever had, and this come from someone who's been known to suck on plugs of grounds like chewing tobacco when there's no hot water around...
Consumers actually believe that Bose puts out a good product. Ack! If they only knew of the cheap paper cones they've been spending small fortunes for. Their instore demo department puts more work into making their speakers sound good than speaker engineers do.
I was talking about GB, not GBA. And besides, I can legally, with an add on made directly by nintendo, play GBA games on my GameCube. What makes you think they would strike the ability all together from the Rev...especially with the DS being their portable powerhouse at the moment?
The Nintendo Rev will be able to play NES, SNES, N64, GB, GC, Genesis, and TurboGraphx games out of the box. Big deal. I think I can wait :)
Everquest has supported home brewed / modded UI's for at least 2-3 years now. There's some stunning interfaces available, too.
The problem with the N64 wasn't lack of focus on adult titles, it was lack of support in general. The cartridge format wasn't embraced by the development community and, although the N64 was the easier console to code for of it's generation, it was the most expensive to publish for and had relatively low revenue because the console wasn't supported because the format wasn't embraced, violent circle, etc. etc.
The Gamecube, IMO, largely fixed this problem. There were kid games, there were adult games, and there were fun games for gamers of all ages. I think there's a general misunderstanding that games that aren't innately designed specifically for an adult audience are automatically designated as kids games. People see black and white but no grey.
The Rev will probably continue this and focus primarily on games that all can enjoy that aren't realistic or violent. As far as I'm concerned that's a.o.k....if I want super realism, I'll walk outside...and extreme violence has never made a game anymore enjoyable for me.
Go Rev!
There's something that people forget about PDF. The companies that actually purchase seats of Acrobat use the format for reasons very different than what end users use them for. It makes an easy platform to distribute files for markup/editing/reviewing. The file size is very small and it works hand in hand with other Adobe products, such as FrameMaker, which is an industry standard (I'm in the tech writing field). While I used to absolutely despise the PDF format, it's matured so much over the past few years that I consider it an indispensable tool for my job at this point, if for no other reason than the fact than I can PDF thousands of sheets of engineering drawings and use PDF to search for cable numbers, key terms, etc. PDF has changed how I do my job and cut my research time in half.
For nonpaying PDF users, however, this new format is great. It will be an easy to use way to send resumes, papers, etc. to anyone on any platform with no worries about what software they may or may not have installed.
In short, different products for different uses by different audiences. Although, if it eventually matures to the level of Acrobat, I love competition.