They'll have to replace DirectX with "TotallyInYourFaceX" or "DirectAndToThePointX" or something similar.
Seriously though, 3D displays are extremely useful for a variety of applications, from architecture (actual 3D renderings that you can actually walk around and see) to medicine (detailed and accurate 3D MRI imaging).
Of course, this particular article deals with 3D for entertainment purposes, so of course I have to mention the most probable use for 3D displays, which is 3D pr0n (in case you didn't catch the 50 or so other posts making the same exact joke).
Can we stop jumping to conclusions here? Why is it that anytime Microsoft adds a useful new feature all the/.ers start running around like a chicken sans head? Maybe this extra checking that MS does is to ensure that the Windows updates are compatible with your existing programs! Ever think of that? No, I didn't think so.
/sarcasm
Seriously folks, I don't know what kind of information is collected by MS, but I know that there's an option in a system configuration utility called X-Setup which allows one to anonymously connect to the Windows Update site. Does it actually work? I don't know, but on the upside it prevents the "customize Windows Update" feature from saving your settings, which seems promising.
Dean Kamen is a genius! I mean, a motorized scooter? It's brilliant! Society will be revolutionized!
Think of the benefits: Less people driving cars! Unless more than one person wants to travel, and unless they want to carry luggage or groceries or anything else for that matter, or if they want to listen to the radio while they travel, or if they want to go more than a dozen or so miles...hmm, lets try this again.
Think of the benefits: Easier personal transport! Unless you run into a flight of stairs, or uneven or wet ground, or want to travel for longer than 45 minutes after which you'll have to lug it around with you like so much dead weight...hmmm, this isn't working either.
How about this: The Segway is amazing! For only $5000 you can get a motorized scooter that allows you to roll where you once walked! That is truly revolutionary, unless you count the bicycle, rollerskates, rollerblades, skateboards, wheelchairs, non-motorized scooters...Aww forget it, I give up!
Surprising? I think not. Every/. reader here knows that Apple has been dragging its ass in the sand in the processor race due to Motorola's lack of money/research/carbonated beverages, and this isn't going to change until IBM gets around to releasing the "G5" architecture, probably using multiple cores on chip. So this is all old hat until then, really.
Though I wonder how many quarters it'll take to get 10 minutes of Wi-Fi access? I can just see it: "Please Mr., can you spare a quarter? I gotta finish this upload to the home office in Duluth or else!" And thanks to the the wonders of wireless, you've already walked a half block away from the payphone and now you're gonna have to hoof it double time to make it before your connection is lost.
And don't even get me started on the resurgence of phone phreaks!
Funny, I use Netcaptor and I never get pop ups on ANY website. So I wouldn't know which websites want to annoy me with popups. And popunders are trivial; they open in a tab next to the currently open webpage, and i just middle mouse-click the tab to close it without even looking at the ad.
But to answer your question, you probably should ask daddy before installing any software on his computer.
How about battlezone for PC? Came out in 1997 as a sort of combination RTS/Action, but it tanked (forgive the pun) because it was too far ahead of its time. Play it now, you'll be amazed by the graphics, the music, the gameplay, and even the voice acting was above par.
I have a retail, boxed copy of Out of This World, released by Interplay in 1991. It's in mint condition, complete with 5.25" and 3.5" diskettes and the bizarre security wheel used to enter the correct images on the installation screen. Any takers?;-)
But the real find would be the European version, called Another World.
I've always found it ridiculous that ISPs want customers to shell out an extra 5 bucks a month for the privilege of a second IP address just to have 2 computers connect to the internet, because even when using a router you're not pulling down extra bandwidth, you're still just sharing the fixed bandwidth that the ISP is providing.
I talked to a service tech for my local cable company, Mediacom, and he said that service was terrible on campus because college students sharing bandwidth was putting a big load on Mediacom's servers. How can this be? If you've got 1000 customers at 1.5mb each, it doesn't matter if each of them share bandwidth with 10 other computers, it's still a total of 1.5gb for the ISP. Bad service just means that the ISP wasn't equipped to serve out that much bandwidth in the 1st place.
Consoles have really become mainstream with the current generation. They provide enough processing power for developers to make believable worlds, and the graphics have improved enough that even nongamers are sucked in by the visuals. On a PSX, Metal gear Solid looked like a Saturday morning cartoon; MGS2 for PS2 looks like it was rendered by Pixar.
The videogame industry is on the cusp of widespread acceptance. In a hardware generation or two consoles might be seen as being just as indispensable as a TV. On the other hand, PCs and PC games are only growing in complexity, and it seems that they will be relegated to the hardcore segment only. This is not necessarily a bad thing; developers can make the big bucks off a multi-console release, but can realize their pet projects for the "advanced" PC audience. Face it, you're not going to see Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" at the local multiplex because the mass appeal just isn't there. Likewise, most people won't find the PC game Arx Fatalis under their trees this Christmas for the same reason. That's not to say that their won't be megahits on PC anymore, just look at any Blizzard game. It's the same with movies; arthouse can cross over to mainstream: think "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
The videogame industry is going through some serious growing pains with the fracturing console market and the lower PC game sales, but it'll come out stronger and more focused at the end of it, and it will have mass appeal equivalent to the movie industry. IMHO;-)
I have created a database of people ripped off by these ebay scams. if you think you are one of them, please send your name, address, and credit card number with expiration date to ebayscam@scamalert.com
Let's get to the bottom of this scam!
...because tech workers are embracing it! I mean, why fight spam when it offers to enlarge your penis by 237% in 48 hours? This is truly a golden age of technology! Hallelujah!
the gba doom port is pretty impressive framerate-wise, and it includes the full game with multiplayer. $30 retail is a bit steep for a decade old game though.
"Almost every post" I make? Yeah right. The only reason there are TWO posts referring to my hand is because there were TWO stories relating to bionic hands in TWO days. And any innovation that can help a dude with 8 fingers is worth commenting on;-)
I can definitely use one these, ever since the unfortunate accident which robbed me of two fingers. You can't make this stuff up, people! Anyway, I wonder what this could be used for, maybe as a part of a 3-D filesystem? Add a pair of stereovision goggles and you've got a Lawnmower Man scenario on your hands (pun intended).
You can get a cheap HTPC (home theater PC) setup if you have a vid card with TV out and a software DVD player that can disable Macrovision and region encoding, but the quality is not up there. Personally, I'd recommend getting a Realmagic Xcard with remote from (www.sigmadesigns.com). It's a hardware MPEG-1/-2/-4 decoder, and it has S-video and digital coaxial sound output, and it comes with a S-video to component cable to free up an S-video input on your TV. I'd couple this with a nifty tool called Remote Selector (www.remoteselector.com) which makes the Xcard and other hardware DVD decoders region free, macrovision free, and disables user prohibition (I.E. skipping FBI warnings and studio intros).
Some higher end TVs are quite "malleable." The Sony Wega series, for instance, has a service mode that allows for manipulating the image like a computer monitor. They also have a set of ID codes which control what features are activated or deactivated. I'd recommend not changing the ID codes unless you know exactly what does what, because you might turn your 36 inch Triniton display with component input into a 27 inch with RCA inputs. Of course, if you actually know what you're doing, you could activate hidden features, such as re-enabling the firewire port even after its been deactivated due to regulations and restrictions.
...I just need a couple of fingers, ever since the unfortunate "accident." Anyone wanna guess why my name is Toasty16? Winner gets a jpeg of my hand, pending licensing talks with Forgent Networks...
Slashdot Mirror
Seriously though, 3D displays are extremely useful for a variety of applications, from architecture (actual 3D renderings that you can actually walk around and see) to medicine (detailed and accurate 3D MRI imaging).
Of course, this particular article deals with 3D for entertainment purposes, so of course I have to mention the most probable use for 3D displays, which is 3D pr0n (in case you didn't catch the 50 or so other posts making the same exact joke).
I'm such a hack.
Seriously folks, I don't know what kind of information is collected by MS, but I know that there's an option in a system configuration utility called X-Setup which allows one to anonymously connect to the Windows Update site. Does it actually work? I don't know, but on the upside it prevents the "customize Windows Update" feature from saving your settings, which seems promising.
A compliment? On Slashdot? haggar, you're my new best friend :-)
Engineers: "No problem, we'll release betas every year and you can sell them to the public for the price of a finished product."
Bill Gates: "Good idea. What do you think Steve?"
Steve Ballmer: "Developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers, developers...*wheeze* *hack* *cough*...."
Bill Gates: "It's ideas like those that will make you CEO in 10 years."
Think of the benefits: Less people driving cars! Unless more than one person wants to travel, and unless they want to carry luggage or groceries or anything else for that matter, or if they want to listen to the radio while they travel, or if they want to go more than a dozen or so miles...hmm, lets try this again.
Think of the benefits: Easier personal transport! Unless you run into a flight of stairs, or uneven or wet ground, or want to travel for longer than 45 minutes after which you'll have to lug it around with you like so much dead weight...hmmm, this isn't working either.
How about this: The Segway is amazing! For only $5000 you can get a motorized scooter that allows you to roll where you once walked! That is truly revolutionary, unless you count the bicycle, rollerskates, rollerblades, skateboards, wheelchairs, non-motorized scooters...Aww forget it, I give up!
Surprising? I think not. Every /. reader here knows that Apple has been dragging its ass in the sand in the processor race due to Motorola's lack of money/research/carbonated beverages, and this isn't going to change until IBM gets around to releasing the "G5" architecture, probably using multiple cores on chip. So this is all old hat until then, really.
And don't even get me started on the resurgence of phone phreaks!
Kill me.
I'm selling rights to the Hudson River bottom on ebay, any takers? Also up for sale is a bridge in Brooklyn, good condition, barely used!
But to answer your question, you probably should ask daddy before installing any software on his computer.
If you're feeling nostalgic, you can check it out for yourself, that link to the game in my 1st post has it available for download (about 1 MB).
How about battlezone for PC? Came out in 1997 as a sort of combination RTS/Action, but it tanked (forgive the pun) because it was too far ahead of its time. Play it now, you'll be amazed by the graphics, the music, the gameplay, and even the voice acting was above par.
But the real find would be the European version, called Another World.
I talked to a service tech for my local cable company, Mediacom, and he said that service was terrible on campus because college students sharing bandwidth was putting a big load on Mediacom's servers. How can this be? If you've got 1000 customers at 1.5mb each, it doesn't matter if each of them share bandwidth with 10 other computers, it's still a total of 1.5gb for the ISP. Bad service just means that the ISP wasn't equipped to serve out that much bandwidth in the 1st place.
Fight the power, sign up with Speakeasy ;-)
The videogame industry is on the cusp of widespread acceptance. In a hardware generation or two consoles might be seen as being just as indispensable as a TV. On the other hand, PCs and PC games are only growing in complexity, and it seems that they will be relegated to the hardcore segment only. This is not necessarily a bad thing; developers can make the big bucks off a multi-console release, but can realize their pet projects for the "advanced" PC audience. Face it, you're not going to see Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" at the local multiplex because the mass appeal just isn't there. Likewise, most people won't find the PC game Arx Fatalis under their trees this Christmas for the same reason. That's not to say that their won't be megahits on PC anymore, just look at any Blizzard game. It's the same with movies; arthouse can cross over to mainstream: think "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."
The videogame industry is going through some serious growing pains with the fracturing console market and the lower PC game sales, but it'll come out stronger and more focused at the end of it, and it will have mass appeal equivalent to the movie industry. IMHO ;-)
I have created a database of people ripped off by these ebay scams. if you think you are one of them, please send your name, address, and credit card number with expiration date to ebayscam@scamalert.com Let's get to the bottom of this scam!
...because tech workers are embracing it! I mean, why fight spam when it offers to enlarge your penis by 237% in 48 hours? This is truly a golden age of technology! Hallelujah!
the gba doom port is pretty impressive framerate-wise, and it includes the full game with multiplayer. $30 retail is a bit steep for a decade old game though.
...but they still can't make Frodo look like a guy.
"Almost every post" I make? Yeah right. The only reason there are TWO posts referring to my hand is because there were TWO stories relating to bionic hands in TWO days. And any innovation that can help a dude with 8 fingers is worth commenting on ;-)
I can definitely use one these, ever since the unfortunate accident which robbed me of two fingers. You can't make this stuff up, people! Anyway, I wonder what this could be used for, maybe as a part of a 3-D filesystem? Add a pair of stereovision goggles and you've got a Lawnmower Man scenario on your hands (pun intended).
You can get a cheap HTPC (home theater PC) setup if you have a vid card with TV out and a software DVD player that can disable Macrovision and region encoding, but the quality is not up there. Personally, I'd recommend getting a Realmagic Xcard with remote from (www.sigmadesigns.com). It's a hardware MPEG-1/-2/-4 decoder, and it has S-video and digital coaxial sound output, and it comes with a S-video to component cable to free up an S-video input on your TV. I'd couple this with a nifty tool called Remote Selector (www.remoteselector.com) which makes the Xcard and other hardware DVD decoders region free, macrovision free, and disables user prohibition (I.E. skipping FBI warnings and studio intros).
Send me an email at toastman_16@yahoo.com to claim your prize!
Some higher end TVs are quite "malleable." The Sony Wega series, for instance, has a service mode that allows for manipulating the image like a computer monitor. They also have a set of ID codes which control what features are activated or deactivated. I'd recommend not changing the ID codes unless you know exactly what does what, because you might turn your 36 inch Triniton display with component input into a 27 inch with RCA inputs. Of course, if you actually know what you're doing, you could activate hidden features, such as re-enabling the firewire port even after its been deactivated due to regulations and restrictions.
...I just need a couple of fingers, ever since the unfortunate "accident." Anyone wanna guess why my name is Toasty16? Winner gets a jpeg of my hand, pending licensing talks with Forgent Networks...