I think that many people (mostly those who are not gaming enthusiasts) see a first person shooter and think that it's exactly like any other FPS that has ever existed, when in fact each successful title has innovations not seen in other games.
It would be crazy to say that every Zelda game is a rehash of the last. Each release not only takes full advantage of the newly available technology, but adds new, innovative concepts not found in the previous games. These innovations (not the new technology) keep the games fresh and fun to play.
The writer of the linked article seems disappointed that more companies are moving toward first-person shooter games in hopes that they can sell more games. He quotes Ragnar Tornquist, who says that "the era of point-and-click adventures is over." Of course the era of point-and-click is over; when game developers can shed a crummy, nonintuitive interface and use new technology to make a more realistic environment, I'd call that progress. There is no reason to think that The longest journey would have been less fun if you could walk up to an item and pick it up instead of simply clicking on it.
The article basically claims that the move to a universal 3D engine will be the nail in the coffin for originality. Instead, I think it will promote originality; if developers work together to build an engine which lets players have complete control over their environment, then their ability to innovate within this environment will be limitless.
Why is this modded +5? All you have to do is search for "murberry slocomb" on google and you'll get:
"Your search - "Murberry Slocomb" - did not match any documents. "
As a matter of fact, just search for any page with the two words "murberry" and "slocomb" and you'll still find 0 hits.
According to switchboard.com, there is not a single business in the US with "murberry" in its name, and only one (listed) person in the US has a last name of Murberry.
None of your links tie your statements together. You link to a generic page which shows SEC filings for VA, but nothing on that page ties it to "Murberry". You link to the board of directors for VA, but again, you don't link them in any way to "Murberry". And why didn't you provide a link to any page which links OSDN to "Murberry?" You claim that you found these links using lexis-nexis because you know that most people don't have a (very expensive) subscription to that database. Nice try.
Anyone with an educational/legal subscription to lexis-nexis: Please do a quick search and refute this guy's claim completely.
Before you blindly boycott Blizzard for their parent company's stance on IP infringement/DMCA issues, please keep in mind that
1) Blizzard has very talented designers, artists, and developers, and
2) They worked extremely hard to create some of the best RTS/strategy games on earth.
3) All of the legal threats were initiated by Vivendi, NOT Blizzard.
4) The people who actually created the damn games have very little control over what goes on at the ownership level (especially when the economy is poor and their parent company changes regularly).
5) Vivendi will probably go bankrupt before they would ever change their stance on this issue.
6) Vivendi is currently trying very hard to sell their games division.
7) Supporting them now will help the company get new ownership (maybe even an actual game company who understands gamers!).
There is no reason to punish the game developers for something over which they have no control, and there's no reason to stop supporting Blizzard when they need our support the most.
Just my opinion...
"But any tech geek worth his salt knows Plextor is besto"
This was true 3-4 years ago when CD-R drives were less common and more expensive, but times have changed.
Lite-On makes some of the least expensive drives you can buy, yet they are top quality. They consistently beat Plextor and other expensive brands, not only in burning performance, but in ripping audio and reading data. Lite-On drives are one of the few brands that have a dead-on implementation of C2 Error detection, which is great for anyone who is serious about ripping their CDs to digital format. See Nero's Advanced DAE Error test results and you'll see Lite-on in 3 out of the 10 top spots. Not bad for a $48 48x CD-R drive.
And this probably the exact reason that Yamaha is backing out. They can match the quality or the price, but they can't match both.
I never understood why Philips uses that song for marketing. The very next line in the chorus is "It can't get no worse!"
Of course, they leave that part out in the commercials, but it's not like people don't know the song; it's on one of the most popular albums ever released:)
1) Amazon.com : If you haven't tried Amazon.com lately, their recommendations are very smart. They can tell you why they think you would like the recommended products, and their recommendations respond well to new ratings. I also love having a selection of 100+ reviews for each album.. after reading a few of them, you usually can tell whether or not the album's for you.
2) AllMusic.com : Excellent reviews of albums. If they rate something five stars, chances are you'll like it. I guess this is more of a reference site, but it's the ultimate reference:)
3) Rateyourmusic.com : You archive your cd collection by rating your albums, then you get amazon-style recommendations. It has more of a community focus than amazon or other sites (message boards, private messages, etc) so it's easy to get direct recommendations from other users.
4) Emergentmusic.com : Basically, someone writes a recommendation, and everyone else gets in on it, making corrections, adding new information, and making it better. By the end of the process, you have a well-written recommendation that gives you all the information needed to decide whether or not you like the artist/album.
It uses windows-like controls (dialog boxes, drop-down combos, OK buttons, etc). Looks like it would be very difficult to navigate/operate with a remote control. I'd say it has a long way to go before the UI will feel as intuitive as something like a TiVo or replayTV, instead of feeling like a All-in-wonder card hooked into your TV.
On the other hand, the hardware is far superior to current DVRs. At least the UI can be easily improved through patches.
Well, if it says you must have receipts, it may be a mistake in the claim form. Read the actual terms of settlement here. You can get up to $83 with no receipts (just a sworn statement).
According to the settlement, you get different amount of money based on how much proof you can show. If you can show both evidence that you use another ISP in addition to AOL and proof from a third party (computer technician, etc) that the problem existed, then you're eligible for a maximum of $250.00 You're eligible for a max of $167 for 1 piece of proof, or $83 for no proof.
Building VPNs is a pain in the ass, regardless of whether you're using windows NT/2k or linux. Microsoft's documentation is sketchy (and in some cases completely wrong), and there are very few sources for building a VPN in Linux.
This book may make it easier to build a VPN, but it's kind of obsolete, now that the Linksys VPN router has been released, making it a matter of plugging in and turning on. Of course, if you have plenty of free time, but very little money, you might go for the book instead.
Not really an intelligent device.
on
ULTra Robo-Taxi
·
· Score: 1
This is far from the technology of a futuristic fantasy. There is very little artifical intelligence required to operate these objects. The device runs on a track, which means it doesn't need to know how to follow a path (it only knows how to stop if something jumps in front of it). It can't "drive" to your destination; instead, it runs in a circular path, making regular stops. I would bet that existing subway stations could probably automate their trains as well, but they actually care about the safety of their passengers enough to hire at least one person per car that knows what to do if something goes wrong.
Every health class I've taken since elementary school has told me that active people need less sleep than sedentary people. From what I remember, people that excercise on a daily basis need about 6.5 to 7 hours of sleep, compared to 8-9 for an average person. Considering this fact, it seems obvious that people who sleep less live longer. I'm surprised that the researchers conducting the survey haven't considered this.
Slashdot Mirror
I think that many people (mostly those who are not gaming enthusiasts) see a first person shooter and think that it's exactly like any other FPS that has ever existed, when in fact each successful title has innovations not seen in other games.
It would be crazy to say that every Zelda game is a rehash of the last. Each release not only takes full advantage of the newly available technology, but adds new, innovative concepts not found in the previous games. These innovations (not the new technology) keep the games fresh and fun to play.
The writer of the linked article seems disappointed that more companies are moving toward first-person shooter games in hopes that they can sell more games. He quotes Ragnar Tornquist, who says that "the era of point-and-click adventures is over." Of course the era of point-and-click is over; when game developers can shed a crummy, nonintuitive interface and use new technology to make a more realistic environment, I'd call that progress. There is no reason to think that The longest journey would have been less fun if you could walk up to an item and pick it up instead of simply clicking on it.
The article basically claims that the move to a universal 3D engine will be the nail in the coffin for originality. Instead, I think it will promote originality; if developers work together to build an engine which lets players have complete control over their environment, then their ability to innovate within this environment will be limitless.
Why is this modded +5? All you have to do is search for "murberry slocomb" on google and you'll get: "Your search - "Murberry Slocomb" - did not match any documents. " As a matter of fact, just search for any page with the two words "murberry" and "slocomb" and you'll still find 0 hits. According to switchboard.com, there is not a single business in the US with "murberry" in its name, and only one (listed) person in the US has a last name of Murberry. None of your links tie your statements together. You link to a generic page which shows SEC filings for VA, but nothing on that page ties it to "Murberry". You link to the board of directors for VA, but again, you don't link them in any way to "Murberry". And why didn't you provide a link to any page which links OSDN to "Murberry?" You claim that you found these links using lexis-nexis because you know that most people don't have a (very expensive) subscription to that database. Nice try. Anyone with an educational/legal subscription to lexis-nexis: Please do a quick search and refute this guy's claim completely.
Are they sure it's 43? It would be much more interesting if they found 42 new moons instead.
Before you blindly boycott Blizzard for their parent company's stance on IP infringement/DMCA issues, please keep in mind that 1) Blizzard has very talented designers, artists, and developers, and 2) They worked extremely hard to create some of the best RTS/strategy games on earth. 3) All of the legal threats were initiated by Vivendi, NOT Blizzard. 4) The people who actually created the damn games have very little control over what goes on at the ownership level (especially when the economy is poor and their parent company changes regularly). 5) Vivendi will probably go bankrupt before they would ever change their stance on this issue. 6) Vivendi is currently trying very hard to sell their games division. 7) Supporting them now will help the company get new ownership (maybe even an actual game company who understands gamers!). There is no reason to punish the game developers for something over which they have no control, and there's no reason to stop supporting Blizzard when they need our support the most. Just my opinion...
"But any tech geek worth his salt knows Plextor is besto"
This was true 3-4 years ago when CD-R drives were less common and more expensive, but times have changed.
Lite-On makes some of the least expensive drives you can buy, yet they are top quality. They consistently beat Plextor and other expensive brands, not only in burning performance, but in ripping audio and reading data. Lite-On drives are one of the few brands that have a dead-on implementation of C2 Error detection, which is great for anyone who is serious about ripping their CDs to digital format. See Nero's Advanced DAE Error test results and you'll see Lite-on in 3 out of the 10 top spots. Not bad for a $48 48x CD-R drive.
And this probably the exact reason that Yamaha is backing out. They can match the quality or the price, but they can't match both.
I never understood why Philips uses that song for marketing. The very next line in the chorus is "It can't get no worse!"
:)
Of course, they leave that part out in the commercials, but it's not like people don't know the song; it's on one of the most popular albums ever released
1) Amazon.com : If you haven't tried Amazon.com lately, their recommendations are very smart. They can tell you why they think you would like the recommended products, and their recommendations respond well to new ratings. I also love having a selection of 100+ reviews for each album.. after reading a few of them, you usually can tell whether or not the album's for you.
:)
2) AllMusic.com : Excellent reviews of albums. If they rate something five stars, chances are you'll like it. I guess this is more of a reference site, but it's the ultimate reference
3) Rateyourmusic.com : You archive your cd collection by rating your albums, then you get amazon-style recommendations. It has more of a community focus than amazon or other sites (message boards, private messages, etc) so it's easy to get direct recommendations from other users.
4) Emergentmusic.com : Basically, someone writes a recommendation, and everyone else gets in on it, making corrections, adding new information, and making it better. By the end of the process, you have a well-written recommendation that gives you all the information needed to decide whether or not you like the artist/album.
It uses windows-like controls (dialog boxes, drop-down combos, OK buttons, etc). Looks like it would be very difficult to navigate/operate with a remote control. I'd say it has a long way to go before the UI will feel as intuitive as something like a TiVo or replayTV, instead of feeling like a All-in-wonder card hooked into your TV. On the other hand, the hardware is far superior to current DVRs. At least the UI can be easily improved through patches.
The claim form says I need receipts.
Well, if it says you must have receipts, it may be a mistake in the claim form. Read the actual terms of settlement here. You can get up to $83 with no receipts (just a sworn statement).
According to the settlement, you get different amount of money based on how much proof you can show. If you can show both evidence that you use another ISP in addition to AOL and proof from a third party (computer technician, etc) that the problem existed, then you're eligible for a maximum of $250.00 You're eligible for a max of $167 for 1 piece of proof, or $83 for no proof.
Building VPNs is a pain in the ass, regardless of whether you're using windows NT/2k or linux. Microsoft's documentation is sketchy (and in some cases completely wrong), and there are very few sources for building a VPN in Linux.
This book may make it easier to build a VPN, but it's kind of obsolete, now that the Linksys VPN router has been released, making it a matter of plugging in and turning on. Of course, if you have plenty of free time, but very little money, you might go for the book instead.
This is far from the technology of a futuristic fantasy. There is very little artifical intelligence required to operate these objects. The device runs on a track, which means it doesn't need to know how to follow a path (it only knows how to stop if something jumps in front of it). It can't "drive" to your destination; instead, it runs in a circular path, making regular stops. I would bet that existing subway stations could probably automate their trains as well, but they actually care about the safety of their passengers enough to hire at least one person per car that knows what to do if something goes wrong.
Every health class I've taken since elementary school has told me that active people need less sleep than sedentary people. From what I remember, people that excercise on a daily basis need about 6.5 to 7 hours of sleep, compared to 8-9 for an average person. Considering this fact, it seems obvious that people who sleep less live longer. I'm surprised that the researchers conducting the survey haven't considered this.
I often see punchcards being used as keys to hotel rooms. Does that count?