Technology failures causes me stress and I dont mean the Sys/netadmin systems failures. I'm talking about when my PDA phone breaks down.
I love my Kyocera 7135. It helps me track all my projects and appointments, my phone numbers, and I can surf where ever I am. However, I'm a tad clumsy and I've dropped my Kyocera 7135 maybe 3-4 times. That was enough to cause my phone to a pretty undependable state. Right now, my phone crashes a couple times a week and once every few weeks, it crashes bad enough where I lose all my data and I have to resync. Now that's stressful.
I was out of town when this happened and I really needed my contacts to get in touch with my friends (it's been years since I memorized phone numbers.. remember the pager days with pager code? =P). It was quite stressful to not have all my contacts and all the new data since my last sync disappeared.
Technology is a wonderful thing but as a part of evolution, technology becomes a part of our lives. When they fail, it causes us stress. For those of you who dont have PDA phones, think about the last time your hard drive failed to a unrecoverable state. Even with backups, the amount of time you have to spend to replace it is stressful.
Timbuk2 makes messenger bags (like biker messengers in San Francisco and other metro cities delivering packages). You know they're rugged from all that abuse the package deliverers go through while biking through San Francisco.
I got one and these bags are great. You can order a slip sleeve which is great protection for the laptop (it looks like it's about a 1/2" foam tightly snuggling the laptop). The slip case is great as it allows you to just carry the laptop by itself if you're going from say your cube to your meeting.
Their messager bags comes in four sizes. I like the messager bags because you dont have to take the bag off to access it (as opposed to normal backpacks). Their "Bolo" series messenger bag (the largest one) allows for 3067 cubic inches of space, so if the geek needs to bring the ham radio and the hand crank generator with him, he can.
You can also customize it with something like 20 different colors, a custom ipod holder and a radio holder that attaches to the strap.
Best of all, it seems like their bags are very Apple laptop friendly (and colors that match the old imacs). Highly recommended from a highly satisfied customer.
I'm surprised to hear so many people comparing HD-DVDs and DVDs to VOD as if they compete directly. HBO, Showtime, and Pay Per View do not put on movies to compete with DVDs.
Who cares if the quality isn't there. MP3s suffer from loss of quality compared to CDs. CDs arent going away in the next 10 years. In fact, the audiophile population is so profitable that companies are pushing DVD-Audio and SACD. That's not going away because Apple is selling music online.
Also, I know plenty of people who watch their Tivo in low or medium resolution. They want to watch the their regular shows and missing the show is a bigger deal than resolution. High quality is not a necessity for everyone.
What it comes down to is, "I'm bored, but I'm too lazy to go down to Blockbusters to get a movie. What's on? Hey, I've been wanting to watch this movie..Lets order it." Providing instant gratification is a great way to make money.
I think it's actually a good move. I was recently out there for 3 months on business and I'm from the bay area. Granted it might be the middle of nowhere but once technology moves in, you know things will start popping up. Look at Austin as an example. When technology moved into Austin, all sorts of new things came up. That and the UT college girls are there too;). Once people move out there for jobs, things will naturally pop up.
However, the big thing about being out there is NY city itself. Yahoo maps say it's a 3 hour drive in but I'll bet you can drive and take Metro North in 2 and half hours. New York City is definitely worth the drive. San Francisco is a small and boring place compared to NYC. There are definitely more diverse food and more arts. Tons of clubbing in Manhattan, but I'm sure it doesnt interest most of the/. crowd =).
East coast is definitely a lot more beautiful than Silicon Valley, and there are actual seasons! A bonus point goes to Bay Area for good weather though. I think overall, it'll definitely become the next Silicon ________ (Hudson maybe?)
Besides, if people are willing to move out to Texas, I dont think upstate New York is any worse.
Rushing is still rampant in war3, but not in the same form. Hero harass works the same as the zergling rush. If you're a n00b, you're gonna get owned in any RTS from rushing. No RTS to date has prevented rushes.
Blizzard worked really hard at preventing rushes for war3 but they still cant prevent it. One example of this was creeps at the entrance of every base. They took that out because it detered from the game rather than add value to it.
To say hardcore players do not play war3 is just plain foolish. Hardcore players will win in any game they play, and they dont need rushes to beat the average player. They just think the game is boring.
Sure. It has great graphics. Fine. Spectacular. I have always been amazed by Id's graphics engines.
However, the *point* was something entirely different.
Sorry I didn't elaborate with ID. When I said everyone dropped their jaws in awe, it was the incredible environment that you experienced. The demo did not just show more lighting effects, polygons, etc etc. Sure those all added to the feel but there were other aspects such as the sounds Trent Reznor put in. The following is a quote from e3awards explaing the award for best of show.
"Watching programming legend John Carmack manipulate the lone marine through the claustrophobic corridors, it was easy to get caught up in the revolutionary steps embodied by the technology on display. And all of that would do an injustice to the entrancing glimpses of terrifying gameplay"
Doom 3 won 3 awards at E3 this year. Anyone who saw the demo dropped their jaws in awe. ID software does not make bad games (some would debate quake 2 though) and Blizzard has a VERY good track record.
Most of the "improvements" in WC3 weren't because it would make it a better experience in the world of Warcraft, it's what would make it a more "perfect" RTS.
Now why the hell would Warcraft 3 make for a better experience in World of Warcraft? So you're saying you want single player rpg game before the mmorpg comes out? How are either of those creating a better experience for the RTS player? If you're thinking of better experience in single experience, you've come to the wrong genre. Majority of RTS customers play online against other human opponents. That's their experience. Blizzard is interested in creating a better experience for the online gamers. People will not move from Starcraft to Warcraft 3 if Warcraft 3 did not provide a better experience.
The evidence is in the players. All the rts hardcore players have played in the beta and have quit. Why? Cause the game lacks a lot of depth due to a lot of built in "features".
Like for instance, creeps. The idea of AI controlled units around the map for you to attack and guard things such as mines and shops might sound good. However, creeps has an adverse side affect. It gives experience to your heros and gives you gold (Heros are another new concept, which is a big buff unit that can gain experience, level and have very powerful abilities and spells) . How is that an adverse side affect you ask? Well, it turns out, early on in the game, you *HAVE* to go creep hunting to give your hero that experience edge. Heros have the ability to turn the tides of the battle and a level 1 hero is much weaker than a level 3 hero. Right now, I rarely engage combat with the opponent until my hero is at least level 3. After creep hunting for a couple hundred games, it gets mundane and boring. Some people brush this off as "another resource" to get. However, this resource takes the first 10 min of the game. Before in previous RTS games, the focus of resource gathering was maybe the first 1-2 min of the game.
Another big flaw many players see is upkeep. Upkeep is another new concept by Blizzard which cuts down the amount of gold a peon will bring out of the mine. At 30 units, you enter low upkeep which reduces gold to 7 and at 70 units, you enter high upkeep which reduces gold to 4. Blizzard implemented this because they didnt want 200 zerglings running around on the map. However, many players despise this limit saying low upkeep is annoying and they never really enter into high upkeep, which defeats the purpose. This also affects expanding because the extra peons cuts into your upkeep. Oh, that reminds me, 5 peons *MAX* per mine.
These are two of the most controversial ideas that Blizzard has brought in. There are others as well. Many players complain that these limitations limits the depth of the game. IMHO, the game is fun and interesting. The 3D is done pretty well. However, it's not a Starcraft. Starcraft has depth and it's a very strategic game. It captivates players even today (I think it's been out for 4 years?).
Will I buy War3? Yes. Will I be playing it after 6-12 months? Prolly not.
Novell hasn't gotten much right except their directory services. By far, Novell NDS/E-Directory is the best you can get in the industry. If you just want password management, openldap is good enough. However, if you want better user/group/server/services/application management, give eDirectory a shot. There's nothing else better to manage mid-enterprise corporations. It really does kick ass.
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Technology failures causes me stress and I dont mean the Sys/netadmin systems failures. I'm talking about when my PDA phone breaks down.
I love my Kyocera 7135. It helps me track all my projects and appointments, my phone numbers, and I can surf where ever I am. However, I'm a tad clumsy and I've dropped my Kyocera 7135 maybe 3-4 times. That was enough to cause my phone to a pretty undependable state. Right now, my phone crashes a couple times a week and once every few weeks, it crashes bad enough where I lose all my data and I have to resync. Now that's stressful.
I was out of town when this happened and I really needed my contacts to get in touch with my friends (it's been years since I memorized phone numbers.. remember the pager days with pager code? =P). It was quite stressful to not have all my contacts and all the new data since my last sync disappeared.
Technology is a wonderful thing but as a part of evolution, technology becomes a part of our lives. When they fail, it causes us stress. For those of you who dont have PDA phones, think about the last time your hard drive failed to a unrecoverable state. Even with backups, the amount of time you have to spend to replace it is stressful.
Timbuk2 makes messenger bags (like biker messengers in San Francisco and other metro cities delivering packages). You know they're rugged from all that abuse the package deliverers go through while biking through San Francisco.
I got one and these bags are great. You can order a slip sleeve which is great protection for the laptop (it looks like it's about a 1/2" foam tightly snuggling the laptop). The slip case is great as it allows you to just carry the laptop by itself if you're going from say your cube to your meeting.
Their messager bags comes in four sizes. I like the messager bags because you dont have to take the bag off to access it (as opposed to normal backpacks). Their "Bolo" series messenger bag (the largest one) allows for 3067 cubic inches of space, so if the geek needs to bring the ham radio and the hand crank generator with him, he can.
You can also customize it with something like 20 different colors, a custom ipod holder and a radio holder that attaches to the strap.
Best of all, it seems like their bags are very Apple laptop friendly (and colors that match the old imacs). Highly recommended from a highly satisfied customer.
I'm surprised to hear so many people comparing HD-DVDs and DVDs to VOD as if they compete directly. HBO, Showtime, and Pay Per View do not put on movies to compete with DVDs.
Who cares if the quality isn't there. MP3s suffer from loss of quality compared to CDs. CDs arent going away in the next 10 years. In fact, the audiophile population is so profitable that companies are pushing DVD-Audio and SACD. That's not going away because Apple is selling music online.
Also, I know plenty of people who watch their Tivo in low or medium resolution. They want to watch the their regular shows and missing the show is a bigger deal than resolution. High quality is not a necessity for everyone.
What it comes down to is, "I'm bored, but I'm too lazy to go down to Blockbusters to get a movie. What's on? Hey, I've been wanting to watch this movie..Lets order it." Providing instant gratification is a great way to make money.
IDC Research is under investigation by the SEC for insider trading of Microsoft (MSFT) shares.
Shares are up 15% today after news of Microsoft Windows 2000 server being cheaper than your mom.
I think it's actually a good move. I was recently out there for 3 months on business and I'm from the bay area. Granted it might be the middle of nowhere but once technology moves in, you know things will start popping up. Look at Austin as an example. When technology moved into Austin, all sorts of new things came up. That and the UT college girls are there too ;). Once people move out there for jobs, things will naturally pop up.
/. crowd =).
However, the big thing about being out there is NY city itself. Yahoo maps say it's a 3 hour drive in but I'll bet you can drive and take Metro North in 2 and half hours. New York City is definitely worth the drive. San Francisco is a small and boring place compared to NYC. There are definitely more diverse food and more arts. Tons of clubbing in Manhattan, but I'm sure it doesnt interest most of the
East coast is definitely a lot more beautiful than Silicon Valley, and there are actual seasons! A bonus point goes to Bay Area for good weather though. I think overall, it'll definitely become the next Silicon ________ (Hudson maybe?)
Besides, if people are willing to move out to Texas, I dont think upstate New York is any worse.
Rushing is still rampant in war3, but not in the same form. Hero harass works the same as the zergling rush. If you're a n00b, you're gonna get owned in any RTS from rushing. No RTS to date has prevented rushes.
Blizzard worked really hard at preventing rushes for war3 but they still cant prevent it. One example of this was creeps at the entrance of every base. They took that out because it detered from the game rather than add value to it.
To say hardcore players do not play war3 is just plain foolish. Hardcore players will win in any game they play, and they dont need rushes to beat the average player. They just think the game is boring.
Sure. It has great graphics. Fine. Spectacular. I have always been amazed by Id's graphics engines.
Sorry I didn't elaborate with ID. When I said everyone dropped their jaws in awe, it was the incredible environment that you experienced. The demo did not just show more lighting effects, polygons, etc etc. Sure those all added to the feel but there were other aspects such as the sounds Trent Reznor put in. The following is a quote from e3awards explaing the award for best of show.However, the *point* was something entirely different.
"Watching programming legend John Carmack manipulate the lone marine through the claustrophobic corridors, it was easy to get caught up in the revolutionary steps embodied by the technology on display. And all of that would do an injustice to the entrancing glimpses of terrifying gameplay"
If thta's not experience, I'm not sure what is.
But the game penzlizes you for expanding through upkeep. Everytime you expand, it's another 5 towards your upkeep.
Most of the "improvements" in WC3 weren't because it would make it a better experience in the world of Warcraft, it's what would make it a more "perfect" RTS.
Now why the hell would Warcraft 3 make for a better experience in World of Warcraft? So you're saying you want single player rpg game before the mmorpg comes out? How are either of those creating a better experience for the RTS player? If you're thinking of better experience in single experience, you've come to the wrong genre. Majority of RTS customers play online against other human opponents. That's their experience. Blizzard is interested in creating a better experience for the online gamers. People will not move from Starcraft to Warcraft 3 if Warcraft 3 did not provide a better experience.
The evidence is in the players. All the rts hardcore players have played in the beta and have quit. Why? Cause the game lacks a lot of depth due to a lot of built in "features". Like for instance, creeps. The idea of AI controlled units around the map for you to attack and guard things such as mines and shops might sound good. However, creeps has an adverse side affect. It gives experience to your heros and gives you gold (Heros are another new concept, which is a big buff unit that can gain experience, level and have very powerful abilities and spells) . How is that an adverse side affect you ask? Well, it turns out, early on in the game, you *HAVE* to go creep hunting to give your hero that experience edge. Heros have the ability to turn the tides of the battle and a level 1 hero is much weaker than a level 3 hero. Right now, I rarely engage combat with the opponent until my hero is at least level 3. After creep hunting for a couple hundred games, it gets mundane and boring. Some people brush this off as "another resource" to get. However, this resource takes the first 10 min of the game. Before in previous RTS games, the focus of resource gathering was maybe the first 1-2 min of the game. Another big flaw many players see is upkeep. Upkeep is another new concept by Blizzard which cuts down the amount of gold a peon will bring out of the mine. At 30 units, you enter low upkeep which reduces gold to 7 and at 70 units, you enter high upkeep which reduces gold to 4. Blizzard implemented this because they didnt want 200 zerglings running around on the map. However, many players despise this limit saying low upkeep is annoying and they never really enter into high upkeep, which defeats the purpose. This also affects expanding because the extra peons cuts into your upkeep. Oh, that reminds me, 5 peons *MAX* per mine. These are two of the most controversial ideas that Blizzard has brought in. There are others as well. Many players complain that these limitations limits the depth of the game. IMHO, the game is fun and interesting. The 3D is done pretty well. However, it's not a Starcraft. Starcraft has depth and it's a very strategic game. It captivates players even today (I think it's been out for 4 years?). Will I buy War3? Yes. Will I be playing it after 6-12 months? Prolly not.
Novell hasn't gotten much right except their directory services. By far, Novell NDS/E-Directory is the best you can get in the industry. If you just want password management, openldap is good enough. However, if you want better user/group/server/services/application management, give eDirectory a shot. There's nothing else better to manage mid-enterprise corporations. It really does kick ass.