For those who don't know what WDDX is, here's a nutshell explanation. Basically WDDX is a standard for taking data and complex data structures and moving it around as XML in a standardized format, in which it can easily be reassembled at the other end.
WDDX is supported in ColdFusion, PHP, Perl, COM enabled languages and probably several others.
Good move by Allaire/Macromedia for truly opening WDDX up. Good job guys.
-----
You can be cable assemblies pre-terminated and connectorized at nearly any length from a myriad of suppliers and assembly houses. With pre-made cables, installation and creating receptacles is as easy as for phone or category 3/5 cable.
Seriously. We have 18 year olds employed that we trust to installations and field terminations, and not very geeky ones either.
----
www.focenter.com (1-800-IS-FIBER)
We have termination procedures and if you call, we'll provide tech support or produce termination procedures for you. If not provide training.
Some people might think about fiber also. I'm not sure as to the costs/benefits. I think fiber is a pain to run (it can't be bent to much, can't be pulled to hard,...)
Oooh! Myth debunking time! =) I'm an installer and I work for a fiber optic distributor, so I'll throw in my few cents.
Benefits? Security is first. Fiber is very difficult to tap. Even if someone wanted to do it right, fusion splicers are expensive. $30,000 - $40,000 man, and yes, they are quite portable.
Next would be interference. Lack thereof. Fiber isn't affected by EMI or ESD at all. Run it wherever you want and it doesn't care about environmental factors.
Distance. Typically you can run several kilometers before repeating a signal. Granted your house isn't that big, but if your cable assembly was well done, you don't hafta worry about signal loss (just different modes combining after a while on multimode, but no one has a house that big).
Price. Fiber, in the long run, isn't expensive. You can get some multimode fiber and run 10Base-FL, 100Base-FX, 1000Base-SX or 1000Base-LX, or whatever on it (up to about a gigabit). Just change the devices on the end (and possibly use a different adapter) and that's it. Don't need to run new cable. Want more power? Single mode is pricier, but I think Lucent is pumping 40Gbps over it nowadays (PER fiber), and it'll keep getting better.
Bending? Well, not because of breakage, but to minimize loss. Even indoor rated riser/plenum jumper cables can take a BEATING. Typically you'll have an outer jacket, then strength members (kevlar usually for indoors), a coating, the cladding, and then the core itself. You just don't want true KINKS or 50,000,000 loops in how you're running it, to minimize loss. But at work we've done some REAL hack jobs in the office (we run fiber to EVERYTHING we can) when we've had to, and we've never had a problem.
NICs are about $150 nowadays for top name 100Mbps Ethernet topology (like 3Com's 100Base-FX cards). Hubs can be a bit pricey, but hey, fiber can be well worth it if you're willing to invest in it.
-----
Bonobo is the GNOME component framework. Gnumeric and Evolution both make heavy use of Bonobo components, which can be reused to solve new problems in the future.
-----
4 cents a mile isn't too bad compared to 3 cents a mile. Granted I wouldn't want to smell french fries all day, they should probably work on reducing the cost another 25% so we can fill up with Mazola at the pump.
Thing is, my car requires 93 or 94 octane, what would I be able to use instead? Bacon grease?
Around here T1 service (yes, a leased line) can be had as low as $500/mo (with $1250 setup) and T3? About $18,000 a month. Still not cheap nonetheless. But at least T1s have come down... heh.
A whole group of us actually went out and purchased copies of Stars! (yes, Stars!) for the sole purpose of having legitimate copies so we could start some lengthy e-mail based campaigns.
It makes so much more sense too. We get about 18 hours to complete our turn, which means we can do it at our leisure, or you can really sit down and play out several different options to see which is best for a really nasty battle/trade agreement/whatnot. We're thinking that with so much more time to make our next move, that our games will be incredibly aggressive, and definitely some of the best gaming we've ever had.
Plus there's so much to anticipate. We plan on 1 turn a day... just imagine our anxiety waiting an entire day to find out the outcome of an assult!
Not exactly a stressful game either. Runs on a 486 just great, Windows 3.1 and it runs in Wine just fine. You can order it straight from the UK for about £10.06 (about $14.05 U.S.) from Empire Interactive with shipping included.
I chedk out Honolulu's site to see what the hubbub was about.
There was an ad for leasing a beamer... from BMW of Honolulu. An ad for autoinsurance... from AIG Hawaii. An ad for Nissan vehicles... from a Honolulu Nissan Dealer. Etc.
At least the ads are Honolulu or Hawaii-centric, and they are at least trying to keep things within the community.
I mean, if there were ads for ComGas or Accenture or some foreign brewery, I could see more justification for complaint. At least the ads are for things in the community.
-----
he would get $50/hour, which I thought sounded a bit low considering that my company charges double that for.
HE'S getting $50/hour. The company is probably charging around $100/125 an hour for his services.
I had a friend who was a surveyor back in the 70s. He got $18/hr, the engineering company sent him out charging $50/hr though. Consulting companies and engineering firms are no different today.
Look at your auto repair bill. Bet you paid around $65/hr for labor. I bet the mechanics are at MOST making $30 an hour. Way it works.
-----
What's to prevent me and three friends from creating 6 player games all the time and coordinate ourselves over a party line (or on a LAN in the same room) to gang up on two players and rape them of their money, and let the next two victims come in.
If a ganger runs low on cash, he kills his teamie for money, so the team is always with a few bucks, and can continue to take everyone else for granted.
I've used these tactics with TFC, Infiltration, etc before... nothing to prevent me to apply it this way and make a few bucks every night. Curious as to what measures are in place to prevent this kind of abuse.
-----
As a one year running premium member (in GemStone)... I wish! =)
Actually Premium is little different than Basic. We're eligible for homes after 3 months (but still need to fork over the cash for it). We do get some premie only merchants, but they can't sell anything with an enchantment higher than 4x (+20) so its not unfair to Basic subscribers. When there's premie only alters, you can only get one every four months at most. We do have the weekly raffle in which something is given away, which is what you were probably referring to... but so many people show up and a 1 ticket limit means your chances of winning are slim to none.
The locker space is nice. Another type ahead line is nice. The yearly gift is nice. 10% discount on quest prices is nice. All them extra character slots for playing with is nice... The queue by the way is a seperate queue from the Basic queue. So if there's 3 GMs on duty, they'll take care of the Premium queue only when its got a line, and Gorlash and Bhamma told me they'll at most only put one Host on the Premium queue, even if there's 4 or 5 hosts in game. However, I think this is all the perks and benefits we get. And overall, its not unbalancing (as in skills, equipment, and experience) at all. Just not everyone is willing to shell out the cash for it.
Platinum is $70 or $80 for a reason... to attract only the most hardcore roleplayers. The people in which GemStone/DragonRealms is a major hobby. The people who go to SimuCon. The people who never slip out of character, who can sit in a bar for a few hours, etc. Platinum wasn't designed with everyone in mind, only a small group. Sure they get all the cool events and stuff, but then again, they're paying $70-80 a month!
GS3 and DR were only free because AOL was shoving some serious cash and bandwidth at Simu to stay with them. A major reason that Simu moved is that the bandwidth provided (10Mbps) wasn't enough, and that AOL wasn't really paying the most fabulous rate in the world. Did Simu sell out by doing things themselves? I don't think so.
Things have gotten better for the most part (in GemStone at least). Lots more public events than ever before, stricter policy enforcement to help set some people straight, and lots of new areas and critters. You should consider going back to DragonRealms... you KNOW you loved DR. What's $0.30 a day for basic service, anyways.;)
-----
I think this is what seperates Simutronics' games from the rest of the MU*s. Hypothetical situation time to really discern the difference...
I go back to town (there's only three major and two villages) with a dented oak chest I found on a stone troll. I head into the gate tower East because I'm aware that's where the rogues hang out. They gather there to pick the boxes of adventurers, not only for the experience, but for the customary monetary tip in exchange for their service. A rogue shouts she is available and I gladly hand over my box.
Unlike most games, I don't need to worry of thieves, despite being in a room with a group of experienced rogues. Two reasons. If the 'locksmith' decided to run away with my chest, the constable could warrant an arrest, incarcerate her, and levy a fine. The second, is if anyone did try to steal from me, they would break a well known taboo among rogues, and would promptly be dragged outside the town gates and have their hands severed. Most healers would be wary of helping the teef out, aware of her act, letting her suffer and pay for her actions.
Of course, this doesn't happen. My box is picked, and I always tip well. She gets experience and a handful of coins, and I get some coins, a few gems, and maybe a useful trinket or bauble to trade, use or sell.
I pull a twisted wand out of the box. It contains the spell 'Mana Distruption'. A crush attack often used by sorcerers. I'm aware that young sorcerers lack the mana to hunt with the spell effectively, so I inquire in the Ether as to anyone who would like to purchase it. I find a young sorcerer and we agree on a price of 1000 silvers.
We meet one west of the town bank, and exchange. I have no worries of this young sorcerer running off for two reasons. First the exchange command simultaneously swaps the agreed price and the item for us, preventing a scam. Second... I'm much older than he is and with a somewhat rare, exceptionally well balanced waraxe. I'm a rogue myself, and he's aware I could stalk him, undetected, and remove his hand (or arm, my call, I'm a well trained ambusher) to liberate the wand from him.
It's a nice system, and Simutronics' strict policy against unwarranted and unwanted PvP works, and creating skills and an environment which not only encourages, but nearly requires a productive and cooperative society of roleplayers.
Some of the largest MUDs are still around. Simutronic's GemStone III and DragonRealms are still among the most popular online games. Both are text based, but have a world no other game can compare with.
Thousands of people active in the game world at any given time. A realistic working economy. A tight-knit community on thousands which frowns upon PvP combat. Houses, organizations and guilds which help, not war with each other. Hundreds of spells. Balanced items. A logical EXP system which focuses on skills, not level, which provides unrivaled game balance. Dozens and dozens of special events and quests monthly. A rich history and storyline which involves all who play. A courteous and helpful staff. Dozens of unique and complex skills. A marvelous combat system. And well... lots more!
Both of these games are FAR different from your typical MUD, and are definitely worth a try.
-----
I forget the first application they tried to use. Think it was Full Armor. We found out that through the Anti-Virus scheduler, we could make our way to MSCONFIG and set 'Advanced Properties' for the task. Well, in this case we were able to just tick off a few checkboxes in the init files and Full Armor was no more.
Second they tried Fortres. This was pretty fun. Basically I wrote some basic boot floppies (I even made it menu based. you could temporarily disabled Fortres or permanently). Then they disabled booting from A and setting a password.
Then it got interesting. Some (idiots) would open it up and flash the BIOS. They asked for the trouble they got into. I gave up after this point, but someone did get around it and then they cracked down.
All this to prevent students from moving icons and changing the desktop theme.
Slashdot Mirror
Wow. I thought my Ducati 888 SP was fast... wow.
Um... wow. Uh... damn. Wow.
Drool bucket please!
-----
The publicity would be great if the students didn't come back.
Just great amounts of BAD publicity.
-----
For those who don't know what WDDX is, here's a nutshell explanation. Basically WDDX is a standard for taking data and complex data structures and moving it around as XML in a standardized format, in which it can easily be reassembled at the other end.
WDDX is supported in ColdFusion, PHP, Perl, COM enabled languages and probably several others.
Good move by Allaire/Macromedia for truly opening WDDX up. Good job guys.
-----
in an online gaming environment
pr0paganda is supposedly releasing this with their site debut.
-----
You can be cable assemblies pre-terminated and connectorized at nearly any length from a myriad of suppliers and assembly houses. With pre-made cables, installation and creating receptacles is as easy as for phone or category 3/5 cable.
Seriously. We have 18 year olds employed that we trust to installations and field terminations, and not very geeky ones either.
----
www.focenter.com (1-800-IS-FIBER) We have termination procedures and if you call, we'll provide tech support or produce termination procedures for you. If not provide training.
Some people might think about fiber also. I'm not sure as to the costs/benefits. I think fiber is a pain to run (it can't be bent to much, can't be pulled to hard, ...)
Oooh! Myth debunking time! =) I'm an installer and I work for a fiber optic distributor, so I'll throw in my few cents.
Benefits? Security is first. Fiber is very difficult to tap. Even if someone wanted to do it right, fusion splicers are expensive. $30,000 - $40,000 man, and yes, they are quite portable.
Next would be interference. Lack thereof. Fiber isn't affected by EMI or ESD at all. Run it wherever you want and it doesn't care about environmental factors.
Distance. Typically you can run several kilometers before repeating a signal. Granted your house isn't that big, but if your cable assembly was well done, you don't hafta worry about signal loss (just different modes combining after a while on multimode, but no one has a house that big).
Price. Fiber, in the long run, isn't expensive. You can get some multimode fiber and run 10Base-FL, 100Base-FX, 1000Base-SX or 1000Base-LX, or whatever on it (up to about a gigabit). Just change the devices on the end (and possibly use a different adapter) and that's it. Don't need to run new cable. Want more power? Single mode is pricier, but I think Lucent is pumping 40Gbps over it nowadays (PER fiber), and it'll keep getting better.
Bending? Well, not because of breakage, but to minimize loss. Even indoor rated riser/plenum jumper cables can take a BEATING. Typically you'll have an outer jacket, then strength members (kevlar usually for indoors), a coating, the cladding, and then the core itself. You just don't want true KINKS or 50,000,000 loops in how you're running it, to minimize loss. But at work we've done some REAL hack jobs in the office (we run fiber to EVERYTHING we can) when we've had to, and we've never had a problem.
NICs are about $150 nowadays for top name 100Mbps Ethernet topology (like 3Com's 100Base-FX cards). Hubs can be a bit pricey, but hey, fiber can be well worth it if you're willing to invest in it.
-----
Link: http://www.ximian.org/tech/bonobo.php3
Bonobo is the GNOME component framework. Gnumeric and Evolution both make heavy use of Bonobo components, which can be reused to solve new problems in the future.
-----
4 cents a mile isn't too bad compared to 3 cents a mile. Granted I wouldn't want to smell french fries all day, they should probably work on reducing the cost another 25% so we can fill up with Mazola at the pump.
Thing is, my car requires 93 or 94 octane, what would I be able to use instead? Bacon grease?
Mmm... bacon...
-----
April Fools guys for those of you who didn't figure it out and actually tried it.
No... I didn't try it. Really! No... that ISNT the backup tape set I'm holding...
---
Around here T1 service (yes, a leased line) can be had as low as $500/mo (with $1250 setup) and T3? About $18,000 a month. Still not cheap nonetheless. But at least T1s have come down... heh.
A whole group of us actually went out and purchased copies of Stars! (yes, Stars!) for the sole purpose of having legitimate copies so we could start some lengthy e-mail based campaigns.
;)
It makes so much more sense too. We get about 18 hours to complete our turn, which means we can do it at our leisure, or you can really sit down and play out several different options to see which is best for a really nasty battle/trade agreement/whatnot. We're thinking that with so much more time to make our next move, that our games will be incredibly aggressive, and definitely some of the best gaming we've ever had. Plus there's so much to anticipate. We plan on 1 turn a day... just imagine our anxiety waiting an entire day to find out the outcome of an assult!
Not exactly a stressful game either. Runs on a 486 just great, Windows 3.1 and it runs in Wine just fine. You can order it straight from the UK for about £10.06 (about $14.05 U.S.) from Empire Interactive with shipping included.
Who says turn based gaming is dead?
------
I buy a lot of storage on eBay and I'll tell you right now, the good stuff goes fast.
I usually buy 10,000rpm Ultra2-SCSI and Ultra160 SCSI disks, and you need to snipe to even stand a remote chance of getting em.
Vapor? Doubt it. Probably they were just bought up already through 'Buy It Now!' or whatnot.
-----
I chedk out Honolulu's site to see what the hubbub was about.
There was an ad for leasing a beamer... from BMW of Honolulu. An ad for autoinsurance... from AIG Hawaii. An ad for Nissan vehicles... from a Honolulu Nissan Dealer. Etc.
At least the ads are Honolulu or Hawaii-centric, and they are at least trying to keep things within the community.
I mean, if there were ads for ComGas or Accenture or some foreign brewery, I could see more justification for complaint. At least the ads are for things in the community.
-----
he would get $50/hour, which I thought sounded a bit low considering that my company charges double that for.
HE'S getting $50/hour. The company is probably charging around $100/125 an hour for his services.
I had a friend who was a surveyor back in the 70s. He got $18/hr, the engineering company sent him out charging $50/hr though. Consulting companies and engineering firms are no different today.
Look at your auto repair bill. Bet you paid around $65/hr for labor. I bet the mechanics are at MOST making $30 an hour. Way it works.
-----
I hate to say it, but come on. Part Ten? Doesn't anyone remember when the Friday the 13th series went this far?
-----
What's to prevent me and three friends from creating 6 player games all the time and coordinate ourselves over a party line (or on a LAN in the same room) to gang up on two players and rape them of their money, and let the next two victims come in.
If a ganger runs low on cash, he kills his teamie for money, so the team is always with a few bucks, and can continue to take everyone else for granted.
I've used these tactics with TFC, Infiltration, etc before... nothing to prevent me to apply it this way and make a few bucks every night. Curious as to what measures are in place to prevent this kind of abuse.
-----
they got a free cool item evey week
;)
As a one year running premium member (in GemStone)... I wish! =)
Actually Premium is little different than Basic. We're eligible for homes after 3 months (but still need to fork over the cash for it). We do get some premie only merchants, but they can't sell anything with an enchantment higher than 4x (+20) so its not unfair to Basic subscribers. When there's premie only alters, you can only get one every four months at most. We do have the weekly raffle in which something is given away, which is what you were probably referring to... but so many people show up and a 1 ticket limit means your chances of winning are slim to none.
The locker space is nice. Another type ahead line is nice. The yearly gift is nice. 10% discount on quest prices is nice. All them extra character slots for playing with is nice... The queue by the way is a seperate queue from the Basic queue. So if there's 3 GMs on duty, they'll take care of the Premium queue only when its got a line, and Gorlash and Bhamma told me they'll at most only put one Host on the Premium queue, even if there's 4 or 5 hosts in game. However, I think this is all the perks and benefits we get. And overall, its not unbalancing (as in skills, equipment, and experience) at all. Just not everyone is willing to shell out the cash for it.
Platinum is $70 or $80 for a reason... to attract only the most hardcore roleplayers. The people in which GemStone/DragonRealms is a major hobby. The people who go to SimuCon. The people who never slip out of character, who can sit in a bar for a few hours, etc. Platinum wasn't designed with everyone in mind, only a small group. Sure they get all the cool events and stuff, but then again, they're paying $70-80 a month!
GS3 and DR were only free because AOL was shoving some serious cash and bandwidth at Simu to stay with them. A major reason that Simu moved is that the bandwidth provided (10Mbps) wasn't enough, and that AOL wasn't really paying the most fabulous rate in the world. Did Simu sell out by doing things themselves? I don't think so.
Things have gotten better for the most part (in GemStone at least). Lots more public events than ever before, stricter policy enforcement to help set some people straight, and lots of new areas and critters. You should consider going back to DragonRealms... you KNOW you loved DR. What's $0.30 a day for basic service, anyways.
-----
I think this is what seperates Simutronics' games from the rest of the MU*s. Hypothetical situation time to really discern the difference...
I go back to town (there's only three major and two villages) with a dented oak chest I found on a stone troll. I head into the gate tower East because I'm aware that's where the rogues hang out. They gather there to pick the boxes of adventurers, not only for the experience, but for the customary monetary tip in exchange for their service. A rogue shouts she is available and I gladly hand over my box.
Unlike most games, I don't need to worry of thieves, despite being in a room with a group of experienced rogues. Two reasons. If the 'locksmith' decided to run away with my chest, the constable could warrant an arrest, incarcerate her, and levy a fine. The second, is if anyone did try to steal from me, they would break a well known taboo among rogues, and would promptly be dragged outside the town gates and have their hands severed. Most healers would be wary of helping the teef out, aware of her act, letting her suffer and pay for her actions.
Of course, this doesn't happen. My box is picked, and I always tip well. She gets experience and a handful of coins, and I get some coins, a few gems, and maybe a useful trinket or bauble to trade, use or sell.
I pull a twisted wand out of the box. It contains the spell 'Mana Distruption'. A crush attack often used by sorcerers. I'm aware that young sorcerers lack the mana to hunt with the spell effectively, so I inquire in the Ether as to anyone who would like to purchase it. I find a young sorcerer and we agree on a price of 1000 silvers.
We meet one west of the town bank, and exchange. I have no worries of this young sorcerer running off for two reasons. First the exchange command simultaneously swaps the agreed price and the item for us, preventing a scam. Second... I'm much older than he is and with a somewhat rare, exceptionally well balanced waraxe. I'm a rogue myself, and he's aware I could stalk him, undetected, and remove his hand (or arm, my call, I'm a well trained ambusher) to liberate the wand from him.
It's a nice system, and Simutronics' strict policy against unwarranted and unwanted PvP works, and creating skills and an environment which not only encourages, but nearly requires a productive and cooperative society of roleplayers.
Okay, I've rambled, so I'll end it here.
-----
Not even close. GemStone was orginally owned by another group (IA) back in 1987 and around 1993 or 1994 I think Simutronics bought it out.
Some of the largest MUDs are still around. Simutronic's GemStone III and DragonRealms are still among the most popular online games. Both are text based, but have a world no other game can compare with.
Thousands of people active in the game world at any given time. A realistic working economy. A tight-knit community on thousands which frowns upon PvP combat. Houses, organizations and guilds which help, not war with each other. Hundreds of spells. Balanced items. A logical EXP system which focuses on skills, not level, which provides unrivaled game balance. Dozens and dozens of special events and quests monthly. A rich history and storyline which involves all who play. A courteous and helpful staff. Dozens of unique and complex skills. A marvelous combat system. And well... lots more!
Both of these games are FAR different from your typical MUD, and are definitely worth a try.
-----
I forget the first application they tried to use. Think it was Full Armor. We found out that through the Anti-Virus scheduler, we could make our way to MSCONFIG and set 'Advanced Properties' for the task. Well, in this case we were able to just tick off a few checkboxes in the init files and Full Armor was no more.
Second they tried Fortres. This was pretty fun. Basically I wrote some basic boot floppies (I even made it menu based. you could temporarily disabled Fortres or permanently). Then they disabled booting from A and setting a password.
Then it got interesting. Some (idiots) would open it up and flash the BIOS. They asked for the trouble they got into. I gave up after this point, but someone did get around it and then they cracked down.
All this to prevent students from moving icons and changing the desktop theme.
-----
Ha. I guess my tuition does help pay for something useful aside from Power Mac cubes for new professors' offices.
-----
Nuke the script kiddie from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
-----
Please tell me. How did you create the internet? I'd really like to know about every detail throughout the entire process
:)
(I'm just ASKING for it this time...
-----