Probably going to be a common one for this crowd. I ran my own in the area I live in for several years, it was the only anime board in the area. Had files, games, you name it. I was one of the first people in the city to get a 14.4k modem at the time, the 9600 baud users were happy to be getting the max utilization out of their hardware.
I worked up a copy of Waffle BBS to execute as a door program from the main system, and had a UUCP feed come in nightly complete with email. I believe I was the first board in town to offer that kind of thing publicly for no charge.
The whole board ran on OS/2 from a command prompt using a Rexx script. The script handled all the mail transfers with Fidonet and other such message nets, as well as the nightly game maintenance (VGA Planets, BRE and SRE, OOII, LORD, etc) and such. The system got profiled in the Computer Shopper Magazine BBS section once, still have that copy lying around.:)
If they can change the EULA to accomodate the Exchange, they can also change it to say they're immune from lawsuits that could arise from it. Keep in mind, you can't get to the Exchange without agreeing to the EULA before even entering to the game.
I agree with a lot of what you said. I think WoW was a fun game when I played it, but for me I realized fairly early on that the gameplay was never going to change. Sure my spells will get stronger, I might even get the odd new ability... but gameplay will always be me beating on something else. Even the crafting system lacks depth and challenge. Sure there's PVP, but it's still more of the same. Been there, done that.
Personally, I'm a big fan of EVE Online. It's the type of MMO that people either love or hate, a game that doesn't tell you how to play it, but provides the universe and the tools, an lets you play it as you wish. It's the first game I've messed with where making your own goals was enjoyable, even when you get tired and want to try somethign else. There's always something else. And thankfully, it's a MMO that isn't in the fantasy genre. I don't know if you've given it a look, but it's a stunning game that has yet to be equalled in my opinion -- and I've played almost all the major MMOs that have come out.:)
Just one of many issues with the game that never seem to reach the forefront of gaming news. This probably won't stop the WoW zealots from whacking it to the news their one-trick pony has suckered so many.
That being said, I'm glad the game has been successful for Blizzard. Maybe they can take some of the proceeds of the game and hire some people to start programming some content. Or just move on and make World of Starcraft.
GameSpot has a news item that indicates the ESRB has officially slapped the AO rating on GTA San Andreas. Looks like a lot of retails are starting to pull it.
I suppose there should be an important distinction made here between people who buy a Mac and have both Windows PCs and Macs, versus people who throw their Windows machine out the window (irony!) and purchase a Mac to replace it.
There are plenty of decent resolution imagery of the gas giants that show a lot of details of the atmosphere. One issue I suppose would be consistent coverage. At any rate, a similar type of thing for even the gas giant would be a very interesting tool to use. But you'd know that if you weren't too busy responding to other peoples' posts like a complete ass.
Regarding the dog scene and suspension of disbelief, a lot of the suspension is mitigated by the overall atmosphere of the movie. That's something a lot of modern films fail to do. The effects are there to serve themselves, not the story. One of the things I enjoyed about the new War of the Worlds movie was how the effects were truly there just to help tell the story, something Spielberg is very capable at.
I agree with you though, that one or the other should be used. Transitions are far too jarring.
As a side note, I've showed The Thing to a friend who's the most nitpicky moviegoer I know with regards to special effects. The dog scene in The Thing messed him up bad.:)
It would be cool. Will it happen, though? Can you stream super duper high-def video from a Mac across a wireless network for play on a TV? It takes a very high end dual processor G5 system right now to put it onto the screen. You either decode it first and stream it to the AEV device (I doubt highly that a wireless network will handle it that well), or the device itself will decode a streaming file on the fly. I'd prefer the latter, but I doubt it's possible in a compact form.
Why 17 and not 18, or 21? Deciding by committee for every child in the US is stupid. They should use a system that lists the 'level' of sex, violence, dirty language or whatever and let parents choose appropriately for their own fears.
Why is this moderated as a troll? You moderators need to wake up and learn to read past line 1 before rating something. This post makes a very valid point about how the ratings seem to indicate specific age tolerances relate to content appropriateness.
It's funny you mention The Thing. If you haven't seen the early 80's movie "The Thing" by John Carpenter, I highly recommend it for reasons which are fairly pertinent to this thread.
I think if they were to do a remake of this movie today it would be a CGI-heavy movie which wouldn't carry even a fraction of the original movie's ability to scare the crap out of the viewers. Even to this day, the movie genuinely makes me uneasy while I watch it. The reason? Rob Bottin's incredibly detailed creatures. The scene with the dog is particularly horrific, so much so you'll never look at a dog the same way again after seeing it.
I still think physical effects have a place in hollywood, there's a certain flow an interaction they afford that a CGI equivalent simply cannot no matter how hard they try. In Hellboy, hand-to-hand fights with Samael were much more realistic and effective when Ron Perlman was tossing around the guy in the suit. The transition to full CGI characters fighting suddenly cheapened the whole scene, because you know the only thing of the actors in there was maybe some motion capture and a few days of recording studio sessions grunting into microphones.
I'm thinking the design of the video iPod might be slightly different than the audio version. At least that's what I'm hoping for, because you're right -- it will be horrific if it's the little stamp sized screen they have now. Maybe if they had something similar to the PSP's screen...
And even then, why should playing a game where the buildings look photorealistic really make anyone excited? I mean it's a racing game. Playing it will entail watching your car, the road, and the other cars, not staring at fine rusting of the 10th floor fire escape.
I'm curious when the game industry will wake up and realize that being able to add all these details does not make games better. I'm convinced in a world with games that all are able to mimic the real world in every detail it will be the games which take the artistic/abstract road which will be the real standouts.
I've played both the DS and the PSP, and frankly I much prefer the PSP. There's simply more options with the fact it plays movies on UMD or encoded on the memory card, views photos, and can play back music. If you crunch the numbers, the DS might have a lot more games, but that certainly doesn't mean they're all good.
Friends of mine who have a DS constantly complain about the lack of more mature types of games for the platform. And from a hardware perspective, the PSP's screen is pretty impressive.
PSP or DS? A lot of it is personal preference. I picked the PSP because of the game lineup at launch and the stuff that was coming. I love the WipEout series, and with Rockstar's involvement on the platform the prospect of a handheld Grand Theft Auto is just too compelling.;)
It's 69ing the world, can't you tell? It's basically an artist's representation of the give-take relationship that is the basis of the internet. This ying-yang philosophy is clearly shown, as while the silly fox slurps up Lithuanians, it firmly nestles Toronto in its crotch. It's art!
That's really neat. Normally I balk at a lot of the madness that is case modding, but this one is pretty impressive. One question I have would be about climate issues. It's no doubt a very VERY snug fit to get it attached to the rest of the iPod hardware, how would expansion due to moisture in the air (or would it even be a factor)?
That 'secure browsing' feature sounds like a great potential firefox extension.
Yeah, it's definitely a handy feature when using someone else's computer, so it doesn't store webmail or banking screens in the cache, or whatever.
Looks like the idiotic moderators are hard at work on my original post too. For fuck's sake people, if you want to correct me on something then reply to the thread and correct me. Don't mod the post to oblivion.
This is not only great news for Mozilla, but excellent news for Safari, which draws a lot of technology from Mozilla.
My personal preference is actually Safari. I've tried all of the browsers available for OS X, and found the features Safari has to be pretty compelling. The ability to toggle on secure browsing (no cookies, caching, etc) is nifty, and all the little hooks into other OS X software really adds to the usefulness of it all.
Slashdot Mirror
Probably going to be a common one for this crowd. I ran my own in the area I live in for several years, it was the only anime board in the area. Had files, games, you name it. I was one of the first people in the city to get a 14.4k modem at the time, the 9600 baud users were happy to be getting the max utilization out of their hardware.
:)
I worked up a copy of Waffle BBS to execute as a door program from the main system, and had a UUCP feed come in nightly complete with email. I believe I was the first board in town to offer that kind of thing publicly for no charge.
The whole board ran on OS/2 from a command prompt using a Rexx script. The script handled all the mail transfers with Fidonet and other such message nets, as well as the nightly game maintenance (VGA Planets, BRE and SRE, OOII, LORD, etc) and such. The system got profiled in the Computer Shopper Magazine BBS section once, still have that copy lying around.
If they can change the EULA to accomodate the Exchange, they can also change it to say they're immune from lawsuits that could arise from it. Keep in mind, you can't get to the Exchange without agreeing to the EULA before even entering to the game.
Excellent post.
:)
I agree with a lot of what you said. I think WoW was a fun game when I played it, but for me I realized fairly early on that the gameplay was never going to change. Sure my spells will get stronger, I might even get the odd new ability... but gameplay will always be me beating on something else. Even the crafting system lacks depth and challenge. Sure there's PVP, but it's still more of the same. Been there, done that.
Personally, I'm a big fan of EVE Online. It's the type of MMO that people either love or hate, a game that doesn't tell you how to play it, but provides the universe and the tools, an lets you play it as you wish. It's the first game I've messed with where making your own goals was enjoyable, even when you get tired and want to try somethign else. There's always something else. And thankfully, it's a MMO that isn't in the fantasy genre. I don't know if you've given it a look, but it's a stunning game that has yet to be equalled in my opinion -- and I've played almost all the major MMOs that have come out.
Just one of many issues with the game that never seem to reach the forefront of gaming news. This probably won't stop the WoW zealots from whacking it to the news their one-trick pony has suckered so many.
That being said, I'm glad the game has been successful for Blizzard. Maybe they can take some of the proceeds of the game and hire some people to start programming some content. Or just move on and make World of Starcraft.
GameSpot has a news item that indicates the ESRB has officially slapped the AO rating on GTA San Andreas. Looks like a lot of retails are starting to pull it.
I think it might be time to rename this shuttle Longhorn
Get over it.
I suppose there should be an important distinction made here between people who buy a Mac and have both Windows PCs and Macs, versus people who throw their Windows machine out the window (irony!) and purchase a Mac to replace it.
There are plenty of decent resolution imagery of the gas giants that show a lot of details of the atmosphere. One issue I suppose would be consistent coverage. At any rate, a similar type of thing for even the gas giant would be a very interesting tool to use. But you'd know that if you weren't too busy responding to other peoples' posts like a complete ass.
Regarding the dog scene and suspension of disbelief, a lot of the suspension is mitigated by the overall atmosphere of the movie. That's something a lot of modern films fail to do. The effects are there to serve themselves, not the story. One of the things I enjoyed about the new War of the Worlds movie was how the effects were truly there just to help tell the story, something Spielberg is very capable at.
:)
I agree with you though, that one or the other should be used. Transitions are far too jarring.
As a side note, I've showed The Thing to a friend who's the most nitpicky moviegoer I know with regards to special effects. The dog scene in The Thing messed him up bad.
A better question would be, can the IT industry survive another dot com era? :)
It would be cool. Will it happen, though? Can you stream super duper high-def video from a Mac across a wireless network for play on a TV? It takes a very high end dual processor G5 system right now to put it onto the screen. You either decode it first and stream it to the AEV device (I doubt highly that a wireless network will handle it that well), or the device itself will decode a streaming file on the fly. I'd prefer the latter, but I doubt it's possible in a compact form.
Why 17 and not 18, or 21? Deciding by committee for every child in the US is stupid. They should use a system that lists the 'level' of sex, violence, dirty language or whatever and let parents choose appropriately for their own fears.
Why is this moderated as a troll? You moderators need to wake up and learn to read past line 1 before rating something. This post makes a very valid point about how the ratings seem to indicate specific age tolerances relate to content appropriateness.
It's funny you mention The Thing. If you haven't seen the early 80's movie "The Thing" by John Carpenter, I highly recommend it for reasons which are fairly pertinent to this thread.
I think if they were to do a remake of this movie today it would be a CGI-heavy movie which wouldn't carry even a fraction of the original movie's ability to scare the crap out of the viewers. Even to this day, the movie genuinely makes me uneasy while I watch it. The reason? Rob Bottin's incredibly detailed creatures. The scene with the dog is particularly horrific, so much so you'll never look at a dog the same way again after seeing it.
I still think physical effects have a place in hollywood, there's a certain flow an interaction they afford that a CGI equivalent simply cannot no matter how hard they try. In Hellboy, hand-to-hand fights with Samael were much more realistic and effective when Ron Perlman was tossing around the guy in the suit. The transition to full CGI characters fighting suddenly cheapened the whole scene, because you know the only thing of the actors in there was maybe some motion capture and a few days of recording studio sessions grunting into microphones.
This is different than the OS X that doesn't run on anything but Apple's lineup of PowerPOC stuff how?
Why they went with ANYONE is beyond me. I thought Steam would have been a great way for them to be publisher-less.
I'm thinking the design of the video iPod might be slightly different than the audio version. At least that's what I'm hoping for, because you're right -- it will be horrific if it's the little stamp sized screen they have now. Maybe if they had something similar to the PSP's screen...
And even then, why should playing a game where the buildings look photorealistic really make anyone excited? I mean it's a racing game. Playing it will entail watching your car, the road, and the other cars, not staring at fine rusting of the 10th floor fire escape.
I'm curious when the game industry will wake up and realize that being able to add all these details does not make games better. I'm convinced in a world with games that all are able to mimic the real world in every detail it will be the games which take the artistic/abstract road which will be the real standouts.
I've played both the DS and the PSP, and frankly I much prefer the PSP. There's simply more options with the fact it plays movies on UMD or encoded on the memory card, views photos, and can play back music. If you crunch the numbers, the DS might have a lot more games, but that certainly doesn't mean they're all good.
;)
Friends of mine who have a DS constantly complain about the lack of more mature types of games for the platform. And from a hardware perspective, the PSP's screen is pretty impressive.
PSP or DS? A lot of it is personal preference. I picked the PSP because of the game lineup at launch and the stuff that was coming. I love the WipEout series, and with Rockstar's involvement on the platform the prospect of a handheld Grand Theft Auto is just too compelling.
It's 69ing the world, can't you tell? It's basically an artist's representation of the give-take relationship that is the basis of the internet. This ying-yang philosophy is clearly shown, as while the silly fox slurps up Lithuanians, it firmly nestles Toronto in its crotch. It's art!
I can't wait to head down to the local supermarket and buy some "I Can't Believe It's Not Steak".
That's really neat. Normally I balk at a lot of the madness that is case modding, but this one is pretty impressive. One question I have would be about climate issues. It's no doubt a very VERY snug fit to get it attached to the rest of the iPod hardware, how would expansion due to moisture in the air (or would it even be a factor)?
Here's a link to Sony's Greatest Hits games... I don't know if it's the same as the UK Platinum games, but I doubt they're too dissimilar.
That 'secure browsing' feature sounds like a great potential firefox extension.
Yeah, it's definitely a handy feature when using someone else's computer, so it doesn't store webmail or banking screens in the cache, or whatever.
Looks like the idiotic moderators are hard at work on my original post too. For fuck's sake people, if you want to correct me on something then reply to the thread and correct me. Don't mod the post to oblivion.
This is not only great news for Mozilla, but excellent news for Safari, which draws a lot of technology from Mozilla.
My personal preference is actually Safari. I've tried all of the browsers available for OS X, and found the features Safari has to be pretty compelling. The ability to toggle on secure browsing (no cookies, caching, etc) is nifty, and all the little hooks into other OS X software really adds to the usefulness of it all.