As I said, I'm using XP classic, and far lower left corner is start button. I'm not really sure what the grandparent's point was, especially since 99% out of the box systems has to refer to XP and not Windows 2000 (at least, this is the case in 2005).
"Try moving your mouse all the way to the corner of the screen and click. See what happens? Nothing... Again, try moving your mouse to the top-right corner and click. Again, nothing."
I'm using Windows XP with the classic theme, and when I move the cursor as far as I can into the lower left hand corner and click, the start menu pops up. Upper right hand corner? Closes the window. I'm not sure what OS you're using, but it works fine for me.
What would be nicer, oh exalted Slashdot elder, is if they had included the actual name of the camera(s). Sure, TFA gives you all the info, but if I would have known that it was a point & shoot rather than a DSLR, I wouldn't have bothered even reading this. Honestly, this submission was as well thought-out as "Sony Releases Wi-Fi Computer" and then a description about how nifty Wi-Fi computers are (without bothering to list any specs), and how wonderful Sony is.
"but the good stuff is still out there, and even in reruns it gets more viewers than most prime-time crap."
Uh huh. In the last few years, Carnivale, Futurama, and Firefly have been cancelled. All three are Triple-A TV franchises in terms of quality, and all three were stomped on by studio execs because they didn't have *enough* viewers. In these three cases, innovation and creativity *didn't* take care of itself, and we're stuck instead with endless reality shows that cost next to nothing to produce. What "good stuff" are you talking about, exactly?
The PC Gaming scene isn't far behind - how many innovative and creative games have come out in the last few years, and how many were resounding successes? Maybe I'm jaded, but I can't think of a single one.
"...they will use DVD-Rom disks. Which hold roughly 15 gigs per layer..."
Huh? Are you and me talking about the same format? You know, a DVD that in reality holds 4.4GB per layer (4.4 for DVD5, 8.8 for DVD9)? Where in the world are you getting 15GB per layer?
He said: "Show me a high-end gaming PC with 11 titles for $1,200. Geez. You pay that for an average PC without any good software."
Software choices: I threw in a little of everything, including strategy games, RPGs, sports games, and shooters. Mostly I was including as many $50 games as I could, balancing it out with older $30 games that are still a lot of fun, both single and multi.
As for your other concerns with the processor and video card: you forget that while consoles are static machines, the PC gaming scene is dynamic. My Gamecube built in 2001 plays games made in 2005 perfectly, whereas my Athlon Thunderbird 1.2GHz 256MB Geforce 2 GTS computer *doesn't* run Fable or Battlefield 2. By necessity, you need to either overspend when you buy a computer and buy bleeding edge components, or upgrade once or twice in five years. The system that I listed in my older post is almost the same one that I've got (I have a 3200+ Venice, different motherboard, etc.) plays Fable at 1280x1024, max detail, 2xAA. It will be able to run anything that's thrown at it for the next year at max detail, and the year after that at medium detail at perhaps the same resolution. Why buy overpriced components when you don't need them this second?
If you look at the maximum recommended specs on most games coming out, you'd find that the system I listed meets or exceeds them. I'd consider that a "high end" machine. No, it doesn't have an X2 processor or 4GB of RAM, but we're talking about a high end computer, not Ars Technica's God Box, and quite frankly, the A64 processors are still extremely fast and have a terrific price/performance ratio.
... but in a previous/. story about a 360 bundle costing $1200, one poster made the comment that you couldn't build an average computer with eleven games for the same price. I proved him wrong. In the above link I also used a good PSU, which this story's author neglected. Please don't mod this post up; I'm not looking for karma.
Have you tried Reiner Knizia's Samurai? It's based on the board game of the same name and is a very high quality independent video game. By the same token, there are several official versions of Carcassonne available for the PC that have extremely high artistic values.
I don't know why this isn't the default setting *now*, but when I switched four or so years ago, this was the default setting. Besides, as I said, it takes less than a minute to get rid of all the useless stuff (right click -> customize -> uncheck stuff), so what's the big deal (now that I've shown you how it can look)?
I actually went from a 19" CRT to a 17" LCD (about an inch smaller in actual real estate), and because the LCD is much thinner, it's about five inches further towards the wall than my CRT - still no dice. It *is* good advice for anybody else reading this, but I'm afraid my only options are playing games where the backgrounds are static (ah, Baldur's Gate and Fallout), or where they don't move in relation to the player (Eternal Darkness, for instance). Wish I would have known this before getting my A64 3200+ 6600GT 1GB new computer last year!
Monroe's Ad Filter is amazing. Download the program, spend about thirty seconds setting it up, download their list, close opera, and *Boom* - all ads are gone. Come across one? Get the address, open up the ad filter, put it in, and close it again.
I've been struggling with CSS adblockers in Opera for a couple of years, but this program makes it really, really simple. To be honest, until my monthy reinstall of Windows, I forget I've even got the program.
Agreed, but for a different reason than sticking it to the Man: I recently downloaded Advent Rising because I've discovered that some third-person games make me nauseous; Jedi Knight 2, for instance, was so bad that I couldn't complete it, and the boat sequence in Half-Life 2 gave me headaches. Interestingly enough, the nausea effect seemed to be cumulative; that is, no matter how short a period of time I played either game, I would eventually (after 3 or 4 hours) get sick after even playing the game for a minute.
I was interested in Advent Rising because of Orson Scott Card and downloaded it to see if I could handle the perspective. Sadly, about fifteen minutes into it, I started to feel terrible. There was no demo to try out, nor could I buy the game and return it if I felt sick. So, sadly, I completely deleted the game.
I feel morally justified in what I did, but are there any developers out there who feel otherwise? The fact that I now get sick after playing 1st and 3rd person games means that I generally stay away from the genre (Battlefield 2 being the exception, as I seem to be okay playing that), but I legitimately wanted to try it out to see what its effects would be on me. Assuming that I'm not a bald-faced liar (hey, it's the Internet and anything's possible), how do game devs feel about the above situation?
"Excellent response! However, while you spent time researching, purchasing, waiting for delivery, assembling the components, and then finally installing the games - I have already been playing."
You're more right than you think - I spent a good six months researching components for a system I built in May & didn't check whether the motherboard & video card were compatible. Whoops! Had to sell the motherboard (and case - mATX motherboard) and buy a new motherboard and case. It's all still sitting here, ready to be put together, because the case isn't here yet (will be here Monday). Three and a half fricking months. At least my Gamecube's been put to good use!
Total cost for games: $410. Leaves you $3 for a snack while you're assembling your system. So, instead of bitching and moaning about which component doesn't work, or this and that game sucks, can you see that, in theory, it's perfectly possible to spend $1200 on a better-than-average PC system with eleven games?
If you're in Canada, I'd suggest Canadian Tire. On PS2 launch day, when every other store in the city was sold out of PS2s, every Canadian Tire in the city had at least ten consoles sitting on the shelves.
Lag? There's absolutely no difference in performance between a Wavebird and a wired Gamecube controller. Have you actually tried using a modern wireless controller?
The difference between the VHS & Beta "war" and the upcoming Blu/HD war is the fact that, for the most part, there wasn't anything *like* a VCR before the two competing formats came out. Customers wanted a product that worked and weren't willing to wait until a single product had dominated the market place. This shortened the "war" significantly.
On the other hand, as a self-professed media junkie, I could care less at this point whether or not there's a next-generation-DVD war. A DVD played on a progressive-scan DVD player with component-out is pretty damn good, and I can record all I want on my VCR. I don't need to buy next generation DVD hardware to watch a movie at home.
There were two significant reasons to jump from VHS to DVD - quality and convenience. The quality difference between a $50 VCR and a $50 DVD player is astounding. I also don't have to rewind my DVDs, and they won't wear out after I play one fifteen times. Several Baby Einstein DVDs can attest to this fact, having been played hundreds of times each.
And I *like* buying the next and greatest shiny thing. Folks like my parents, who still watch VHS tapes along with their formidable DVD collection, see no reason why they should upgrade to a better format. If it so happens that they stop making DVDs and switch over to HD or Blu, well, there's a reason for you, but otherwise, they simply don't care, and I suspect that there's more folks out there like my parents than there are like me.
I wish I had a link for you, but when I looked at it a few days ago I noted that the price was 400. Ouch. Anybody know what it's called to help the OP out?
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If your taskbar isn't the standard size, that kinda defeats the whole concept of "99% out of the box" behaviour, now doesn't it?
As I said, I'm using XP classic, and far lower left corner is start button. I'm not really sure what the grandparent's point was, especially since 99% out of the box systems has to refer to XP and not Windows 2000 (at least, this is the case in 2005).
I'm using Windows XP with the classic theme, and when I move the cursor as far as I can into the lower left hand corner and click, the start menu pops up. Upper right hand corner? Closes the window. I'm not sure what OS you're using, but it works fine for me.
Start -> Run -> msconfig -> Startup tab. You're welcome.
Or you can have both - Gamecube games that are mature rated and are actually not bad.
Riiight. You honestly believe that relinquishing control over media content to record/film studios through licensing is going to end world hunger?
What would be nicer, oh exalted Slashdot elder, is if they had included the actual name of the camera(s). Sure, TFA gives you all the info, but if I would have known that it was a point & shoot rather than a DSLR, I wouldn't have bothered even reading this. Honestly, this submission was as well thought-out as "Sony Releases Wi-Fi Computer" and then a description about how nifty Wi-Fi computers are (without bothering to list any specs), and how wonderful Sony is.
Uh huh. In the last few years, Carnivale, Futurama, and Firefly have been cancelled. All three are Triple-A TV franchises in terms of quality, and all three were stomped on by studio execs because they didn't have *enough* viewers. In these three cases, innovation and creativity *didn't* take care of itself, and we're stuck instead with endless reality shows that cost next to nothing to produce. What "good stuff" are you talking about, exactly?
The PC Gaming scene isn't far behind - how many innovative and creative games have come out in the last few years, and how many were resounding successes? Maybe I'm jaded, but I can't think of a single one.
Huh? Are you and me talking about the same format? You know, a DVD that in reality holds 4.4GB per layer (4.4 for DVD5, 8.8 for DVD9)? Where in the world are you getting 15GB per layer?
Software choices: I threw in a little of everything, including strategy games, RPGs, sports games, and shooters. Mostly I was including as many $50 games as I could, balancing it out with older $30 games that are still a lot of fun, both single and multi.
As for your other concerns with the processor and video card: you forget that while consoles are static machines, the PC gaming scene is dynamic. My Gamecube built in 2001 plays games made in 2005 perfectly, whereas my Athlon Thunderbird 1.2GHz 256MB Geforce 2 GTS computer *doesn't* run Fable or Battlefield 2. By necessity, you need to either overspend when you buy a computer and buy bleeding edge components, or upgrade once or twice in five years. The system that I listed in my older post is almost the same one that I've got (I have a 3200+ Venice, different motherboard, etc.) plays Fable at 1280x1024, max detail, 2xAA. It will be able to run anything that's thrown at it for the next year at max detail, and the year after that at medium detail at perhaps the same resolution. Why buy overpriced components when you don't need them this second?
If you look at the maximum recommended specs on most games coming out, you'd find that the system I listed meets or exceeds them. I'd consider that a "high end" machine. No, it doesn't have an X2 processor or 4GB of RAM, but we're talking about a high end computer, not Ars Technica's God Box, and quite frankly, the A64 processors are still extremely fast and have a terrific price/performance ratio.
... but in a previous /. story about a 360 bundle costing $1200, one poster made the comment that you couldn't build an average computer with eleven games for the same price. I proved him wrong. In the above link I also used a good PSU, which this story's author neglected. Please don't mod this post up; I'm not looking for karma.
Have you tried Reiner Knizia's Samurai? It's based on the board game of the same name and is a very high quality independent video game. By the same token, there are several official versions of Carcassonne available for the PC that have extremely high artistic values.
Alien Hominid, which was originally just a flash game and has now been released for all three console platforms.
I don't know why this isn't the default setting *now*, but when I switched four or so years ago, this was the default setting. Besides, as I said, it takes less than a minute to get rid of all the useless stuff (right click -> customize -> uncheck stuff), so what's the big deal (now that I've shown you how it can look)?
I just installed Opera 8.02 (fresh format), and it's set to identify itself as MSIE 6.0.
I actually went from a 19" CRT to a 17" LCD (about an inch smaller in actual real estate), and because the LCD is much thinner, it's about five inches further towards the wall than my CRT - still no dice. It *is* good advice for anybody else reading this, but I'm afraid my only options are playing games where the backgrounds are static (ah, Baldur's Gate and Fallout), or where they don't move in relation to the player (Eternal Darkness, for instance). Wish I would have known this before getting my A64 3200+ 6600GT 1GB new computer last year!
You do realise that it takes about a minute to strip down the interface to practically nothing, right? Like this!
I've been struggling with CSS adblockers in Opera for a couple of years, but this program makes it really, really simple. To be honest, until my monthy reinstall of Windows, I forget I've even got the program.
I was interested in Advent Rising because of Orson Scott Card and downloaded it to see if I could handle the perspective. Sadly, about fifteen minutes into it, I started to feel terrible. There was no demo to try out, nor could I buy the game and return it if I felt sick. So, sadly, I completely deleted the game.
I feel morally justified in what I did, but are there any developers out there who feel otherwise? The fact that I now get sick after playing 1st and 3rd person games means that I generally stay away from the genre (Battlefield 2 being the exception, as I seem to be okay playing that), but I legitimately wanted to try it out to see what its effects would be on me. Assuming that I'm not a bald-faced liar (hey, it's the Internet and anything's possible), how do game devs feel about the above situation?
You're more right than you think - I spent a good six months researching components for a system I built in May & didn't check whether the motherboard & video card were compatible. Whoops! Had to sell the motherboard (and case - mATX motherboard) and buy a new motherboard and case. It's all still sitting here, ready to be put together, because the case isn't here yet (will be here Monday). Three and a half fricking months. At least my Gamecube's been put to good use!
Do I detect a CHALLENGE???
DFI nF4 Ultra-Infinity Socket 939 - $98
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice - $146
Samsung Spinpoint SP2014N 200GB ATA133 - $86
MSI NX6600GT-TD128E Geforce 6600GT 128MB - $169 (comes with XIII, so there's one game)
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) - $90
Seasonic S12-330 PSU (22a on 12v channel, 330w max) - $59
In-Win S508T case - $53 (includes okay power supply for backup)
Logitech MX510 mouse - $28
Logitech cheap keyboard - $8
NEC DVD Burner - $50.
(I'm assuming that, since the 360 doesn't come with any way to watch/listen to games, that this computer doesn't come with a monitor or speakers.)
Total cost: $787, including one game. That leaves $413 for ten games (from ebgames.com), so here we go:
Guild Wars: $50
Advent Rising: $30
Madden NFL 06: $40
Battlefield 2: $50
Doom 3: $30
HL2 - GOTY: $50
C&C Generals Deluxe: $30
Empire Earth II: $50
Rome: Total War: $50
UT2004: $30
Total cost for games: $410. Leaves you $3 for a snack while you're assembling your system. So, instead of bitching and moaning about which component doesn't work, or this and that game sucks, can you see that, in theory, it's perfectly possible to spend $1200 on a better-than-average PC system with eleven games?
If you're in Canada, I'd suggest Canadian Tire. On PS2 launch day, when every other store in the city was sold out of PS2s, every Canadian Tire in the city had at least ten consoles sitting on the shelves.
Lag? There's absolutely no difference in performance between a Wavebird and a wired Gamecube controller. Have you actually tried using a modern wireless controller?
On the other hand, as a self-professed media junkie, I could care less at this point whether or not there's a next-generation-DVD war. A DVD played on a progressive-scan DVD player with component-out is pretty damn good, and I can record all I want on my VCR. I don't need to buy next generation DVD hardware to watch a movie at home.
There were two significant reasons to jump from VHS to DVD - quality and convenience. The quality difference between a $50 VCR and a $50 DVD player is astounding. I also don't have to rewind my DVDs, and they won't wear out after I play one fifteen times. Several Baby Einstein DVDs can attest to this fact, having been played hundreds of times each.
And I *like* buying the next and greatest shiny thing. Folks like my parents, who still watch VHS tapes along with their formidable DVD collection, see no reason why they should upgrade to a better format. If it so happens that they stop making DVDs and switch over to HD or Blu, well, there's a reason for you, but otherwise, they simply don't care, and I suspect that there's more folks out there like my parents than there are like me.
I wish I had a link for you, but when I looked at it a few days ago I noted that the price was 400. Ouch. Anybody know what it's called to help the OP out?