"To be clear: That doesnt mean the phone should be allowed to audibly ring. I have no problem with turning sound off. There are idiots in this thread that think what I want is to chat during the movie, I'm not suggesting that at all."
Aha! Now we get to the heart of the matter: the rude people. If everyone used their cell phone the way you do, NanoG, then we wouldn't be having this discussion. However, people forget to put their phones on silent ring, OR they just don't care. Some people even take the call and sit in the theatre and talk instead of walking to the lobby. These people are more common than girlfriends in accidents trying to reach their boyfriends who are watching movies. If the cinemas don't deal with the problem, then some people will choose to rent a DVD so they can hear all the dialog. So what choice to the cinemas have? Should they pay for ushers to police for cell phone policy violators and ask them to leave? which is confrontational and disruptive to the other people watching, or just quietly block the signal? They don't even have to tell you they are doing it. I'm in favor of disclosure, of course. And if people don't like being away from their cell phones for 2 hours, well that is a choice. I think there is more danger the cinema will lose customers by NOT blocking cell phones, than by blocking them.
"Capcom has not settled on a new home system yet, but once they do, it'll be all over."
Doesn't that contradict the idea that in-house gmae development is really important? PS2 seems to be doing just fine with their "second rate" in-house development. Given that the game "Spider Man: The Movie" launched for all 3 platforms and is selling best on the PS2, which console do you think Capcom and Konami as most likely to focus on?
Ok so I would just need to buy a $200 video card and Bleem would work better/satisfactorily? Wow, that sounds great. Wait, a PS One is $50, and for $16 more I can buy a second controller so my buddy can play with me, and on the 32" screen in the living room. If you had friends you might understand the appeal of that option. Can you play 4 player Madden football on your computer? Sure, you just need 4 USB controllers and a USB hub, what does that cost?
" It clearly used to be true, at least back in the days of 8-bit consoles, so why should we believe it is not true now? To debunk the myth you'll need to present some evidence."
Could you present some evidence that consoles were sold at a loss back in the 8-bit days?
I was in complete agreement right up until this part.
"...and if Sony's developers don't keep producing games that match Nintendo's consistent level of quality, customers won't keep buying Playstation titles. Nintendo's in-house titles were matched in closest by Sega, and the Gamecube shows that Nintendo learned from Sega's mistakes in the hardware department."
I'm not here to bash Nintendo, but the idea that Sony and Microsoft need to keep up with Nintendo is very strange. This report of game sales for last month would seem to belie that notion. I wish it had numbers and not just rank, but it is the best I could find. It is pretty interesting that the Spider Man Movie game is 1st for PS2, 7th for Xbox, and 9th for Gamecube. Yes, that does not address your point about who is making good games, and has nothing to do with "in-house" games, but your idea that "customers will stop buying Playstation titles" is silly. Sony has the largest user base, by a long ways. Of course they are going to sell the most games. If Nintendo has great games, that doesn't change Sony game sales, because MOST people who have a PS2 don't have a Gamecube. Great games on the Gamecube MIGHT effect future PS2 console sales. MOST people only buy one console, which is why comparing console unit sales of PS2 since its launch (over a year and a half ago) to unit sales of the Xbox and Gamecube (which have been on sale less than a year) IS a fair comparison, and it explains why Sony sells more games.
"The old garage mechanic is gone," he said. "In fact, the term 'mechanic' is gone. They're called technicians now. These people have to be very intelligent people. They're working on computers, and it's a high-tech industry. . . . How does the guy that's in a little town of a population of 500 people get educated about the electronics of a $30,000 new automobile?
"make them undo the errors they made and/or pay for the damages they caused"
Your suggestions are completely impractical and do nothing to discourage or prevent future abuses of monopoly. And lets be clear on one point, these were not "errors." Microsoft has been caught before and failed to comply with the past consent decree, and they have given no indication that they will even consider playing by the rules in the future. Forcing them into a weaker position with respect to their competitors (read: one where they don't have an unfair advantage) is the ONLY way we can expect to get proper competition that makes the marketplace function the way it is supposed to.
"though I think there's no more danger than the zillions of PCs already out there.
The difference is that if an exploit is found (or should I say when) the exploiter will be able to rely on all the consoles being the same. And furthermore, there is not currently any mechanism for getting a patch out to and installed on millions of existing consoles to close the hole. Maybe PCs are still more of a danger, but this new problem is worth considering.
I say that if Microsoft didn't have a monopoly, then you would be able to get better driver support for other OSes. Microsoft establishes "standards" not for your benefit, nor for the benefit of hardware makers, but for their own benefit, and they break or "change" them when it suits their business goals. And they use access to these standards as reward or punishment.
As for 3rd party apps, you can expect an unchecked monopoly to stop you from using them in subtle ways. I'm not saying that everything they have done is bad for us, I'm saying that a person who says "there is nothing wrong here" is ignoring the facts. Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson is smarter than you or I, and he studied this issue for a very long time and heard the best arguements money could buy, and he came to the conclusion that there is something very wrong here, and that it is bad for you and I, and that drastic measures are warranted.
Although headphones don't let you hear the difference between ahead and behind the way good front and rear speakers do, the clarity of right and left are miles better. Its a fair trade off. I have been accused several times of using "wall hack" in CS because I could hear where the enemy was in my headphones. Plus, it doesn't wake up the kids sleeping in the other rooms. I have a 6 speaker system in my living room, but I always use headphones on the computer, for both movies and games.
Just because someone in Japan has run a 300mph maglev, doesn't mean another person in the USA can build a 300mph maglev without doing a 40mph one first. Its gonna have to be (re)invented here before we go and spend government money deploying it in anything more than small scale.
Naw, real rednecks go out to the backyard to shoot stuff instead of using their computer. They use their computer for trading stocks and playing fantasy sports.
And furthermore, even IF a bunch of rednecks shop at Wal-Mart, thats okay. Rednecks buy computers too, and their money is just as green as anyone's, which is what it takes to get more companies writing software and drivers for *nix.
Naw, the sheathed single-mode fiber looks like heavy fishing line, so you have any overhead lines at all you could just spiral the fibre down those lines and no one would see them. They might notice you in the cherry picker putting the line up though....and then there is the matter of a 12km link at both ends and deserializing the bits and...
While that may be YOUR price point for a controller, I think the sucess of the MOMO steering wheel has proved that many people are willing to pay more to change the experience. Some people buy an entire console system for ONE game.
The big problem will be software. Games will pretty much have to be written for this device.
With the right spin, or lack thereof, you can get a ball to speed up, slow down, skip, jump, wiggle, and otherwise behave in novel ways. Table tennis balls are also quite flammable, though I've never seen one catch fire during a match. I've also played "Pain Pong" where you can get a point in the traditional manner OR for hitting your opponnent on the fly. Thats not quite the same as a rocket launcher though.
All that aside though your point is a good one, that video games allow the impossible. For example a "tribes" style jetpack to add more movement in the 3rd dimension isn't possible in my meatspace.
The other big thing video games have going for them in my life is that I can find an opponent on the internet at 10pm on a Wednesday night after the kids are in bed, and I would have trouble finding a table tennis partner at that time, even if they had a table at my local gym.
And yes, like the above poster, all the Indians I know are quite good too, though our mainland Chinese are just as good.
Peru is not moving towards any single OS. That is exactly what they DONT want. And it isn't really about the money for them either, though I'm sure that factors in. What they want is control over their own IT, and that means an open source so that you are not dependant on any one company. That doesn't block out Microsoft. Microsoft can certainly compete to serve Peru, but they must open the source on whatever they offer.
The entire premise of the post is that you DONT own the character file. That is the property of the software company. All you buy is the info to access. That is why this is different than any real property, like a house.
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"To be clear: That doesnt mean the phone should be allowed to audibly ring. I have no problem with turning sound off. There are idiots in this thread that think what I want is to chat during the movie, I'm not suggesting that at all."
Aha! Now we get to the heart of the matter: the rude people. If everyone used their cell phone the way you do, NanoG, then we wouldn't be having this discussion. However, people forget to put their phones on silent ring, OR they just don't care. Some people even take the call and sit in the theatre and talk instead of walking to the lobby. These people are more common than girlfriends in accidents trying to reach their boyfriends who are watching movies. If the cinemas don't deal with the problem, then some people will choose to rent a DVD so they can hear all the dialog. So what choice to the cinemas have? Should they pay for ushers to police for cell phone policy violators and ask them to leave? which is confrontational and disruptive to the other people watching, or just quietly block the signal? They don't even have to tell you they are doing it. I'm in favor of disclosure, of course. And if people don't like being away from their cell phones for 2 hours, well that is a choice. I think there is more danger the cinema will lose customers by NOT blocking cell phones, than by blocking them.
"Capcom has not settled on a new home system yet, but once they do, it'll be all over."
Doesn't that contradict the idea that in-house gmae development is really important? PS2 seems to be doing just fine with their "second rate" in-house development. Given that the game "Spider Man: The Movie" launched for all 3 platforms and is selling best on the PS2, which console do you think Capcom and Konami as most likely to focus on?
Ok so I would just need to buy a $200 video card and Bleem would work better/satisfactorily? Wow, that sounds great. Wait, a PS One is $50, and for $16 more I can buy a second controller so my buddy can play with me, and on the 32" screen in the living room. If you had friends you might understand the appeal of that option. Can you play 4 player Madden football on your computer? Sure, you just need 4 USB controllers and a USB hub, what does that cost?
" It clearly used to be true, at least back in the days of 8-bit consoles, so why should we believe it is not true now? To debunk the myth you'll need to present some evidence."
Could you present some evidence that consoles were sold at a loss back in the 8-bit days?
I was in complete agreement right up until this part.
"...and if Sony's developers don't keep producing games that match Nintendo's consistent level of quality, customers won't keep buying Playstation titles. Nintendo's in-house titles were matched in closest by Sega, and the Gamecube shows that Nintendo learned from Sega's mistakes in the hardware department."
I'm not here to bash Nintendo, but the idea that Sony and Microsoft need to keep up with Nintendo is very strange. This report of game sales for last month would seem to belie that notion. I wish it had numbers and not just rank, but it is the best I could find. It is pretty interesting that the Spider Man Movie game is 1st for PS2, 7th for Xbox, and 9th for Gamecube. Yes, that does not address your point about who is making good games, and has nothing to do with "in-house" games, but your idea that "customers will stop buying Playstation titles" is silly. Sony has the largest user base, by a long ways. Of course they are going to sell the most games. If Nintendo has great games, that doesn't change Sony game sales, because MOST people who have a PS2 don't have a Gamecube. Great games on the Gamecube MIGHT effect future PS2 console sales. MOST people only buy one console, which is why comparing console unit sales of PS2 since its launch (over a year and a half ago) to unit sales of the Xbox and Gamecube (which have been on sale less than a year) IS a fair comparison, and it explains why Sony sells more games.
"The old garage mechanic is gone," he said. "In fact, the term 'mechanic' is gone. They're called technicians now. These people have to be very intelligent people. They're working on computers, and it's a high-tech industry. . . . How does the guy that's in a little town of a population of 500 people get educated about the electronics of a $30,000 new automobile?
Could he be any more condescending?
One way is to only rip the good songs. :-)
"make them undo the errors they made and/or pay for the damages they caused"
Your suggestions are completely impractical and do nothing to discourage or prevent future abuses of monopoly. And lets be clear on one point, these were not "errors." Microsoft has been caught before and failed to comply with the past consent decree, and they have given no indication that they will even consider playing by the rules in the future. Forcing them into a weaker position with respect to their competitors (read: one where they don't have an unfair advantage) is the ONLY way we can expect to get proper competition that makes the marketplace function the way it is supposed to.
Case for $25? I don't think you can get a 300watt case for less than $50. You might want a mouse and keyboard too.
"though I think there's no more danger than the zillions of PCs already out there.
The difference is that if an exploit is found (or should I say when) the exploiter will be able to rely on all the consoles being the same. And furthermore, there is not currently any mechanism for getting a patch out to and installed on millions of existing consoles to close the hole. Maybe PCs are still more of a danger, but this new problem is worth considering.
So we would have choices? Real choices? I'm not seeing how that would be a Bad Thing.
I say that if Microsoft didn't have a monopoly, then you would be able to get better driver support for other OSes. Microsoft establishes "standards" not for your benefit, nor for the benefit of hardware makers, but for their own benefit, and they break or "change" them when it suits their business goals. And they use access to these standards as reward or punishment.
As for 3rd party apps, you can expect an unchecked monopoly to stop you from using them in subtle ways. I'm not saying that everything they have done is bad for us, I'm saying that a person who says "there is nothing wrong here" is ignoring the facts. Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson is smarter than you or I, and he studied this issue for a very long time and heard the best arguements money could buy, and he came to the conclusion that there is something very wrong here, and that it is bad for you and I, and that drastic measures are warranted.
Although headphones don't let you hear the difference between ahead and behind the way good front and rear speakers do, the clarity of right and left are miles better. Its a fair trade off. I have been accused several times of using "wall hack" in CS because I could hear where the enemy was in my headphones. Plus, it doesn't wake up the kids sleeping in the other rooms. I have a 6 speaker system in my living room, but I always use headphones on the computer, for both movies and games.
Just because someone in Japan has run a 300mph maglev, doesn't mean another person in the USA can build a 300mph maglev without doing a 40mph one first. Its gonna have to be (re)invented here before we go and spend government money deploying it in anything more than small scale.
You should build a 40 mph maglev before you try building a 300 mph maglev. The first automobiles were not faster than horses.
Naw, real rednecks go out to the backyard to shoot stuff instead of using their computer. They use their computer for trading stocks and playing fantasy sports.
And furthermore, even IF a bunch of rednecks shop at Wal-Mart, thats okay. Rednecks buy computers too, and their money is just as green as anyone's, which is what it takes to get more companies writing software and drivers for *nix.
Naw, the sheathed single-mode fiber looks like heavy fishing line, so you have any overhead lines at all you could just spiral the fibre down those lines and no one would see them. They might notice you in the cherry picker putting the line up though. ...and then there is the matter of a 12km link at both ends and deserializing the bits and...
While that may be YOUR price point for a controller, I think the sucess of the MOMO steering wheel has proved that many people are willing to pay more to change the experience. Some people buy an entire console system for ONE game.
The big problem will be software. Games will pretty much have to be written for this device.
Descent didn't give you feedback in all dimensions. One or two at best.
With the right spin, or lack thereof, you can get a ball to speed up, slow down, skip, jump, wiggle, and otherwise behave in novel ways. Table tennis balls are also quite flammable, though I've never seen one catch fire during a match.
I've also played "Pain Pong" where you can get a point in the traditional manner OR for hitting your opponnent on the fly. Thats not quite the same as a rocket launcher though.
All that aside though your point is a good one, that video games allow the impossible. For example a "tribes" style jetpack to add more movement in the 3rd dimension isn't possible in my meatspace.
The other big thing video games have going for them in my life is that I can find an opponent on the internet at 10pm on a Wednesday night after the kids are in bed, and I would have trouble finding a table tennis partner at that time, even if they had a table at my local gym.
And yes, like the above poster, all the Indians I know are quite good too, though our mainland Chinese are just as good.
I thought that was Bruce Lee's hand gesture that Neo was paying homage to.
Peru is not moving towards any single OS. That is exactly what they DONT want. And it isn't really about the money for them either, though I'm sure that factors in. What they want is control over their own IT, and that means an open source so that you are not dependant on any one company. That doesn't block out Microsoft. Microsoft can certainly compete to serve Peru, but they must open the source on whatever they offer.
The solar eclipse has begun. Don't look at it.
The entire premise of the post is that you DONT own the character file. That is the property of the software company. All you buy is the info to access. That is why this is different than any real property, like a house.