Why are we even considering discombobulating an entire industry over a tiny fraction of the population? There's already warnings on the games. And where the hell is a rational suggestion like having a "No-Seizures Mode" switch on the back of every console to severely cripple it's graphics engine?
Granted, you already have a keyboard and thus it's free. But I've got one of these (blue lights, black frame) and it's wonderful. Just like a notebook keyboard - perfect for coding:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/input/keyboards/5c3f/
Because many of the devices that play DVDs (PlayStation2, set-top DVD players, portable DVD players - but not computers) have the MPEG decoding functionality in an integrated circuit. It would cost much more to provide a software/firmware based system where you could "swap" codecs.
I -did- read your comment, and just did so a second time. It wasn't till this time I even noticed your title of "God...".
I was, in fact, referring to how you seem to shut out the tablet so quickly and hashly without even considering its good points.
It seemed that, as is usual on Slashdot, you were regurgitating the same old crap we already know -- anything Mirosoft is bad - anything Linux is good - all hail communism!
Over a year ago now, my company bought 4 Motion Computing M1200 tablets. I took one, my business partner took another, and we each gave one to our parents. I can definitely say I've been very pleased.
The specs on two of them are 80GB HD, 12.1" 1024x768 screen, 800MHz, 1GB of RAM. You can get a slightly better system now.
THE PROS:
The pen interface is awesome, whether using it as a mouse or for writing. Writing is just incredibly rewarding, especially with all the neat features like copy and paste, delete stroke, convert to text, etc. There's an updated version of XP Tablet Edition coming out this year for FREE too with new features.
The connectors (100baseTX/POTS/usb/firewire), portability, weight, speed, flexibility (ie: use as desktop via docking bay or notebook with clip-on keyboard/hardshell cover) is wonderful. I've found myself using my tablet as my primary system over my 3GHz desktop many times.
The battery life is superb, it's ability to play a DVD or a CD-based game from a disc image on the hard drive is acceptable, and overall the "Centrino" optimization is very noticeable.
THE CONS:
The screen is notably bad if you aren't at a "sweet spot" of an angle - it seems too bright. They do have a solution for this, though.
XP Tablet edition isn't as stable as XP Professional. The mouse cursor gets laggy/jumpy sometimes and consume 100% CPU randomly. I've experienced the "blue screen of death" numerous times, and had system freezes even more frequently.
802.11b built in and only one PC-Card/PCMCIA port. I wish they would've provided a 3-way 802.11a/b/g as the built in wireless - for something this expensive already it'd make sense. I would like to have all 3 802.11 specs while having a celluar modem in the PC card slot.
As with all the tablets I've seen without an integrated keyboard (and thus all the compact, lightweight ones), it does not have a built-in CD/DVD drive - a major issue to me.
Yes but flash can only be re-written about 100,000 times. Ideal for saving game data. But while it -could- be used for caching, but it wouldn't necessarily be wise as it'd die very quickly.
You're exactly right. As far as I know, though, there's still no official plan to do this. It was the original motivator behind the ".NET Initiative", which has since fizzled into just another API.
Imagine, though, a Microsoft who created all their own websites and content, their own operating system, their own hardware, their own file formats, where you had to store your data on their networks, use their software only, their hardware only, their network connections only, and pay a monthly fee for each of the above items, and maybe more. It'd not only be brilliant for them, since most people would be too afraid to run away or couldn't because of work, but it'd also upgrade them to the category of Apple - immune to anti-trust lawsuits since they're using proprietary stuff across the board, leaving the PC and Linux as its own tiny island of PCness to die off. Scary, and possible.
Um, if they didn't put in a hard drive, wouldn't they just have a PlayStation 3 with crappier marketing and no dominance? The hard drive is the real difference between PS2's abysmal load times and XBox's blazing speeds. There's 2gb on the hard drive reserved for caching your most recently played games. Of course, remove the hard drive, and running Linux on one becomes rather pointless.
I guess it's a matter of preference. But I've never been able to like the PlayStation. Game boot times are way too long, load times during the game are as well. The controllers are pretty good, that's definitely where they shine. The graphics and sound have never impressed me (well, ok, PS1 did way back before N64;p).
The one place they seem to dominate is marketing. The game publishers put most of their effort into PlayStation, meaning most people buy for PlayStation cause that's where the good titles are. Unfortunately, I skip any good title that doesn't apppear on GameCube or XBox, even though I own a PS2.
Seriously:(. I was only trying to explain the reasoning behind how it works. It's up to everyone individually if they actually like it and want to use it.
But what's your point? Are you saying that because a company can video tape someone and has the right right to do so, it should be compelled to?
I guess I did fail to mention that. Don't do drugs. Anyway, remember that gaming competition out there a few months ago, where the company owner's kid got held at gunpoint outside when two clans got in a fight? It was slashdotted, I can't remember the details, but it sounded pretty bad to me.
A bunch of testosterone and adrenaline fueled teenage males in one place playing aggressive games, combined with the fact it's in California;p, *could* create a dangerous situation.
So, yes, I am saying that I think they should be compelled to install surveillance in any store or other open-to-the-public establishments - not just 'cybercafes'. If not for the sake of crime then for the sake of equality - you'll never be unsure as you'll know everywhere has monitoring. However, I believe most people aren't as paranoid as I am, and will opt to protest, ultimately revoking the regulation to have surveillance. Strange, though, since more monitoring by the public sector actually returns some power from the government to the people. And it's not like they're saying the cameras will follow you home - it's your choice to go to a public place.
Do you also believe that, because people have the right to vote and right to say who they want to vote for, that everyone should be compelled to wear badges with the name of the party they vote for, everywhere they go?
No, but it'd certainly be more effective than those people holding signs, no?
I mean, where exactly does this "They have the right to do it, therefore it's perfectly ok to force them to do it" philosophy of yours end?
That'd be hard to define since I'm a relatively insect-like creature driven by impulses and such, sometimes called 'human'. For example, the government should be providing whatever is necessary for these companies to comply with their new regulations, ie: video cameras and a recording device, plus cover installation fees. I also think I'd protest if they were going to install monitoring devices on, say, every telephone pole and street light in my city, or every public restroom.
It's for the [perceived] safety of the public, and really doesn't interfere with anybody's privacy. You're still allowed to buy (or rent, for that matter) a computer, dial up to Juno, hit a few relays, and do as you please in your home. This isn't really anything new... the government has always had a say in what we're compelled to do - and they're not really taking any rights in the process.
Last time I checked, if you leave your house and elect to go to an business establishment of sorts, you're entering someone else's private property. And if I recall correctly, it's always been legal to videotape persons on your premises (eg: convenience stores, gas stations, banks). You're also aware in advance of the monitoring situation. If these were not the cases, and the monitoring was covert or just unmentioned, or this was the first and only case of people being recorded in public, maybe I'd be worried.
The whole point of the XBox is it's the first system to demonstrate to Nintendo, Sony, Sega, etc. that there's a second game market, not made up of children, with lots of cash, and who are very picky.
Removing the hard drive and sticking in cheap hardware wherever possible will only mean I have no more reason to buy it. I'll simply resort to the rule of "wherever the best content is", as opposed to "whichever machine has the most power".
Why would I want to wait for PS2 to load a game for 5 minutes only to wait some more every 30 seconds while it loads the next screen, when I can play the same or a better game with almost no load times thanks to the hard drive's caching? How come I don't own (nor have I lost) a single memory card for XBox, and would marry Gates for that reason alone. Why use GameCube at all in 480i over S-Video when I can drool over some widescreen progressive component video on my HDTV?
.NET also makes it rather disgustingly easy to have applications which either dynamically generate and execute code, or can take actual.NET code in whichever language and execute it on-the-fly. Though it's not guaranteed in any case that it'll actually compile and run, it's much more likely when there's a well-known set of libraries out there on "every" machine.
Tell whoever is mucking around with manifests to just stop. I let Visual Studio compile my projects with near-default settings, and they load the proper runtime fine. I, too, fear manifests.
As for your bad experience downloding 80MB repeatedly from Windows Update, you could have used a centralized Update Server... being a software company, it'd probably be wise to look into.
As for the premise of your complaint, it does have merit. It would be ideal to be able to link your entire program into an EXE, especially for small apps. However, Microsoft's decision is the right one.
Everybody complains they're insecure - their response was total lockdown.
Whoever wrote that article failed to do step #1: RESEARCH.
I code in.NET, and very little researh yields phrases like "The.NET runtime has side-by-side execution."
What this means is very simple: You have a.NET-based graphics program, which I'll call "Imagerizer 1.0", which uses the.NET runtime version 1.0 let's say. You also have a.NET-based database program, "Storzit 2.5", which uses the.NET runtime version 1.1.
You have BOTH of those runtimes installed, if you want to run both of those programs.
Imagerizer 1.0 will ALWAYS use runtime version 1.0, however it will use the newest version of 1.0 (for example 1.0.3.3 vs. 1.0.2.2). Storzit 2.5 will always use the latest version 1.1 runtime.
Simple. No more DLL hell - for a tradeoff of extra clutter. But the runtime will manage it all for you, and you can usually mess around with it more. It's actually much more control given to the end user.
I totally agree - but I'm fine with a remake! I've had tons of fun with F-Zero GX multiplayer.
I discredit most N64 games... I really didn't like the system after an overhyped and long wait. The controller was abysmal. And I was really unimpressed with the graphics and sound quality versus PS (though I only -bought- FF7 for PS, I avoid Sony as if it were AOL).
I was also really upset and pissed off that I couldn't give F-Zero 64, the sequel to one of my all time favorites, more than a week of play before shelving it.
Yes, that's what I mean. If you look closely, I did say "grossly underpowered versus XBox". I don't know the exact specs on the XBox but I assume it's NVidia graphics chip runs at a minimum of 133MHz (I dislike NVidia, and wish they had gone ATI). I know it's Celery is 700MHz or so. And it's got more RAM, and a hard drive for caching data (though I must admit the GameCube's drive seems to read much faster). Also, I was giving them credit for managing to crank out *more* FPS (albeit at lower resolution, wish they gave us component output!) than XBox on a weaker system. Extra extra credit, if you will.
Slashdot Mirror
Why are we even considering discombobulating an entire industry over a tiny fraction of the population? There's already warnings on the games. And where the hell is a rational suggestion like having a "No-Seizures Mode" switch on the back of every console to severely cripple it's graphics engine?
Granted, you already have a keyboard and thus it's free. But I've got one of these (blue lights, black frame) and it's wonderful. Just like a notebook keyboard - perfect for coding: http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/input/keyboards /5c3f/
Because many of the devices that play DVDs (PlayStation2, set-top DVD players, portable DVD players - but not computers) have the MPEG decoding functionality in an integrated circuit. It would cost much more to provide a software/firmware based system where you could "swap" codecs.
Or maybe it's me... His whole comment sounds confusing but revive a dead and decaying drive from the dead?
+5, High IQ
I -did- read your comment, and just did so a second time. It wasn't till this time I even noticed your title of "God...".
I was, in fact, referring to how you seem to shut out the tablet so quickly and hashly without even considering its good points.
It seemed that, as is usual on Slashdot, you were regurgitating the same old crap we already know -- anything Mirosoft is bad - anything Linux is good - all hail communism!
lol :)
And for that matter, what planet are you on recommending PalmOS over anything?
Because people don't ask questions to hear religiously spun commentary.
In case you didn't notice, I like Microsoft. :)
The specs on two of them are 80GB HD, 12.1" 1024x768 screen, 800MHz, 1GB of RAM. You can get a slightly better system now.
THE PROS:
THE CONS:
XP Tablet edition isn't as stable as XP Professional. The mouse cursor gets laggy/jumpy sometimes and consume 100% CPU randomly. I've experienced the "blue screen of death" numerous times, and had system freezes even more frequently.
Yes but flash can only be re-written about 100,000 times. Ideal for saving game data. But while it -could- be used for caching, but it wouldn't necessarily be wise as it'd die very quickly.
How about just going all the way and making the controller ports be USB from the very start?
Let me know as soon as you've started the petition. This has pissed me off since day #1 - especially since they didn't release a keyboard.
You're exactly right. As far as I know, though, there's still no official plan to do this. It was the original motivator behind the ".NET Initiative", which has since fizzled into just another API.
Imagine, though, a Microsoft who created all their own websites and content, their own operating system, their own hardware, their own file formats, where you had to store your data on their networks, use their software only, their hardware only, their network connections only, and pay a monthly fee for each of the above items, and maybe more. It'd not only be brilliant for them, since most people would be too afraid to run away or couldn't because of work, but it'd also upgrade them to the category of Apple - immune to anti-trust lawsuits since they're using proprietary stuff across the board, leaving the PC and Linux as its own tiny island of PCness to die off. Scary, and possible.
Um, if they didn't put in a hard drive, wouldn't they just have a PlayStation 3 with crappier marketing and no dominance? The hard drive is the real difference between PS2's abysmal load times and XBox's blazing speeds. There's 2gb on the hard drive reserved for caching your most recently played games. Of course, remove the hard drive, and running Linux on one becomes rather pointless.
I guess it's a matter of preference. But I've never been able to like the PlayStation. Game boot times are way too long, load times during the game are as well. The controllers are pretty good, that's definitely where they shine. The graphics and sound have never impressed me (well, ok, PS1 did way back before N64 ;p).
The one place they seem to dominate is marketing. The game publishers put most of their effort into PlayStation, meaning most people buy for PlayStation cause that's where the good titles are. Unfortunately, I skip any good title that doesn't apppear on GameCube or XBox, even though I own a PS2.
Seriously :(. I was only trying to explain the reasoning behind how it works. It's up to everyone individually if they actually like it and want to use it.
But what's your point? Are you saying that because a company can video tape someone and has the right right to do so, it should be compelled to?
;p, *could* create a dangerous situation.
I guess I did fail to mention that. Don't do drugs. Anyway, remember that gaming competition out there a few months ago, where the company owner's kid got held at gunpoint outside when two clans got in a fight? It was slashdotted, I can't remember the details, but it sounded pretty bad to me.
A bunch of testosterone and adrenaline fueled teenage males in one place playing aggressive games, combined with the fact it's in California
So, yes, I am saying that I think they should be compelled to install surveillance in any store or other open-to-the-public establishments - not just 'cybercafes'. If not for the sake of crime then for the sake of equality - you'll never be unsure as you'll know everywhere has monitoring. However, I believe most people aren't as paranoid as I am, and will opt to protest, ultimately revoking the regulation to have surveillance. Strange, though, since more monitoring by the public sector actually returns some power from the government to the people. And it's not like they're saying the cameras will follow you home - it's your choice to go to a public place.
Do you also believe that, because people have the right to vote and right to say who they want to vote for, that everyone should be compelled to wear badges with the name of the party they vote for, everywhere they go?
No, but it'd certainly be more effective than those people holding signs, no?
I mean, where exactly does this "They have the right to do it, therefore it's perfectly ok to force them to do it" philosophy of yours end?
That'd be hard to define since I'm a relatively insect-like creature driven by impulses and such, sometimes called 'human'. For example, the government should be providing whatever is necessary for these companies to comply with their new regulations, ie: video cameras and a recording device, plus cover installation fees. I also think I'd protest if they were going to install monitoring devices on, say, every telephone pole and street light in my city, or every public restroom.
It's for the [perceived] safety of the public, and really doesn't interfere with anybody's privacy. You're still allowed to buy (or rent, for that matter) a computer, dial up to Juno, hit a few relays, and do as you please in your home. This isn't really anything new... the government has always had a say in what we're compelled to do - and they're not really taking any rights in the process.
Last time I checked, if you leave your house and elect to go to an business establishment of sorts, you're entering someone else's private property. And if I recall correctly, it's always been legal to videotape persons on your premises (eg: convenience stores, gas stations, banks). You're also aware in advance of the monitoring situation. If these were not the cases, and the monitoring was covert or just unmentioned, or this was the first and only case of people being recorded in public, maybe I'd be worried.
The whole point of the XBox is it's the first system to demonstrate to Nintendo, Sony, Sega, etc. that there's a second game market, not made up of children, with lots of cash, and who are very picky.
Removing the hard drive and sticking in cheap hardware wherever possible will only mean I have no more reason to buy it. I'll simply resort to the rule of "wherever the best content is", as opposed to "whichever machine has the most power".
Why would I want to wait for PS2 to load a game for 5 minutes only to wait some more every 30 seconds while it loads the next screen, when I can play the same or a better game with almost no load times thanks to the hard drive's caching? How come I don't own (nor have I lost) a single memory card for XBox, and would marry Gates for that reason alone. Why use GameCube at all in 480i over S-Video when I can drool over some widescreen progressive component video on my HDTV?
I hope they're listening.
.NET also makes it rather disgustingly easy to have applications which either dynamically generate and execute code, or can take actual .NET code in whichever language and execute it on-the-fly. Though it's not guaranteed in any case that it'll actually compile and run, it's much more likely when there's a well-known set of libraries out there on "every" machine.
I'd also like to make a few remarks...
Tell whoever is mucking around with manifests to just stop. I let Visual Studio compile my projects with near-default settings, and they load the proper runtime fine. I, too, fear manifests.
As for your bad experience downloding 80MB repeatedly from Windows Update, you could have used a centralized Update Server... being a software company, it'd probably be wise to look into.
As for the premise of your complaint, it does have merit. It would be ideal to be able to link your entire program into an EXE, especially for small apps. However, Microsoft's decision is the right one.
Everybody complains they're insecure - their response was total lockdown.
Whoever wrote that article failed to do step #1: RESEARCH.
.NET, and very little researh yields phrases like "The .NET runtime has side-by-side execution."
.NET-based graphics program, which I'll call "Imagerizer 1.0", which uses the .NET runtime version 1.0 let's say. You also have a .NET-based database program, "Storzit 2.5", which uses the .NET runtime version 1.1.
I code in
What this means is very simple: You have a
You have BOTH of those runtimes installed, if you want to run both of those programs.
Imagerizer 1.0 will ALWAYS use runtime version 1.0, however it will use the newest version of 1.0 (for example 1.0.3.3 vs. 1.0.2.2). Storzit 2.5 will always use the latest version 1.1 runtime.
Simple. No more DLL hell - for a tradeoff of extra clutter. But the runtime will manage it all for you, and you can usually mess around with it more. It's actually much more control given to the end user.
I totally agree - but I'm fine with a remake! I've had tons of fun with F-Zero GX multiplayer.
I discredit most N64 games... I really didn't like the system after an overhyped and long wait. The controller was abysmal. And I was really unimpressed with the graphics and sound quality versus PS (though I only -bought- FF7 for PS, I avoid Sony as if it were AOL).
I was also really upset and pissed off that I couldn't give F-Zero 64, the sequel to one of my all time favorites, more than a week of play before shelving it.
Yes, that's what I mean. If you look closely, I did say "grossly underpowered versus XBox". I don't know the exact specs on the XBox but I assume it's NVidia graphics chip runs at a minimum of 133MHz (I dislike NVidia, and wish they had gone ATI). I know it's Celery is 700MHz or so. And it's got more RAM, and a hard drive for caching data (though I must admit the GameCube's drive seems to read much faster). Also, I was giving them credit for managing to crank out *more* FPS (albeit at lower resolution, wish they gave us component output!) than XBox on a weaker system. Extra extra credit, if you will.