By his own admission, he didn't invent videogames, he commercialized them.
So maybe we should call him the "Bill Gates" of Video Games instead of the "Father" of Video Games?
Re:We are behind the rest of the world on this one
on
PC Baangs In America
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· Score: 1
Do any online services ever give any indication of where the other players are, or could you spend hours playing the guy down the street from you and never know it?
I don't know about all -- some might. When I play on public servers a lot of people come and go and you often don't know where they are. But when you play regularly the in-game chat functions and voice-chat allow you to learn these things with the people you regularly see. It also seems that players that play in clans have a tight relationship with others generally.
And LAN parties often fill the social aspects for others using PC/console games. I don't deny that there are opportunities to set up parlors and make a go at it. I just don't agree with the article's promotion of this as a coming popular thing in this format in the US. I think to make something commercially viable you have to do more than plop down some Dell computers running Counter Strike. The places I've been to that seem to have more potential would be Dave & Busters and Gameworks. Others have mentioned similar concepts at Mall of America in Blommington MN (auto racing similators), and others.
Re:We are behind the rest of the world on this one
on
PC Baangs In America
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· Score: 1
The US is behind the rest of the world when it comes to businesses making money off the LAN Party concept.
That's because we can sit in our homes where we have new computers and high speed internet. These types of parlors make sense in a country where the infrastructure isn't in place for lots of people on-line, or where the average person doesn't have a computer capable of playing these games. But, does it make sense to go somewhere for the same experience we have at home?
The analogy in this country would probably be "Dave & Buster's" or "Gameworks" or one of the other similar concepts. These places survive because you get the electronic gaming experience you can't recreate (easily) in your homes. "Counter Strike" is a home game experience in the US, making it difficult to catch on. I can't imagine setting up parlors of Game Cubes or Playstation 2's either.
Now consider the case in question? The information apple wanted to cover up was the fact that now wasn't the time to buy one of their machines. They didn't want their customers to be able to make an informed choice about when to buy. The information wasn't of a nature that would allow a rival to improve their product or make their product more efficiently. I don't see this as a legitimate area for NDA's to cover.
By this philosophy, it would be impossible for companies to develop any new products. As soon as a new model was under development, some employee can decide that its in the public interest, Email pictures to the press, and kill the demand for any products on the market currently.
The very act of developing a new product will make all the current products obsolete. When people are asked to sign NDA's, its because the company is going to tell them plans that impact the market, their competitors, and the sales channel.
What if the product is cancelled? All those potential sales disappeared needlessly. What if the new product isn't as good as the one it replaces? Then the sales demand for the old product remains and the new one is killed. What if the market doesn't understand a revolutionary new product? Then the company goes belly up before the product is released and the market gets the new paradigm. The responsibility of the company is to release information and products in a way that optimizes their profit or return on research investment, increases shareholder value, promotes the mission, and satisfies the customers' need. People are asked to sign NDAs because its not their job to release this information.
Of course NDA's cannot be used to withhold information if the public is at risk (or we have a moral responsibility to break our agreement). But I don't think disagreeing with marketing plans is a valid reason to destroy the ability of those responsible to nurture a product's place in the market.
When you look at the original article's disclaimer "Microsoft or one of its partners" this isn't much of a prediction.
While.Net was created for Microsoft operating systems, Microsoft did release a portion of the framework and C# to the ECMA standards committee. The Mono project, an implementation of.Net for Linux, includes the Framework and a C# compiler. This means that many applications, especially Web-based applications, can be written once and then run on multiple platforms.
It seems to be a constant "cold war", where the equipment and software is just a little bit ahead of what you can do in your home. Forcing a replacement of most stuff every year or so.
The only way this amounts to something is where it makes sense to play as a group where you need to look or talk to each other (where this adds something other than the chat function of most multiplayer games). If you're gathering to imerse in individual VR units, it will only last as long as they stay ahead of the technology you can have at home, which seems difficult these days.
So did you ever buy any of the previous versions of tablet computers that have been around the past 10 years? Aside from the Internet stuff (which no one was really doing 10 years ago anyway), this is new hardware but not real new functionality.
I'm trying to figure out if I would stop using my CrossPad for one of these.
What kind of support do you get with the commercial version of products listed by the author? Do you think that support is free?
Support directly from a PC manufacturer is general OK for the warrenty period, provided your problem is with the bundled software. But after expiration, support is still up to you. My experience has been that support from companies is either expensive, or no better than open source help.
Cars kill thousands of pedestrians every year, not to mention reducing air quality and making any activity that requires breathing the air outdoors less pleasant and potentially unhealthy.
Cars also rush people to hospitals, haul merchandise and contribute to the economy, provide transportation for millions of commuters every day, etc. etc. etc. And don't think recharging those Segway batteries happenes through the magical non-polluting electricity power plant.
Pollution goes down once people decide to live 5 miles from work, and not 45, and we'll also get a ton of urban planning benefits. Everything else is just shifting pollution from one source to another.
Side note: I'm surprised this got modded to "insightful" when it seems to just be a promotional Amazon redirect link for commission.
And how long until that bump results in someone getting tossed under the wheels of a car, resulting in legal action?
I'm sure they are fun to ride. I would hope any $5000 yuppie scooter would be fun to ride. While the electronics are great, the concept of small wheeled vehicle is not new, and if it wasn't for the hype of the IPO crowd wanting in on the action this wouldn't be getting the attention it is. I'll look again when they cost $250 (or whatever a bicycle costs these days).
When Sprint Spectrum (GSM) was sold (Washington DC area) it was the first deployment of PCS in the US, and they owned all the towers and equipment. With the transfer to CDMA, they lease space on towers and have lost a lot of control of quality.
Of course, explosive growth without capacity doesn't help either.
By the way, there is no "Sprint Home Office" in a previous post. All these guys are essentially franchised with a specific service area, and they share account information for roaming. If Kansas City has good coverage, you have a good local operation.
This is the one thing that bothers me about Harry Potter, as much as I enjoyed the stories superficially. The characters have no moral depth. The good guys are good guys; the bad guys are just mean. There's no struggle in Potter's goodness, just as there's no struggle in Malfoy's evil.
I believe there are examples of the struggle inside Harry in a few places. He had a chance to kill "Wormtail", and struggled with this (and against the advice of others), but showed mercy. There also is plenty of hatred against the Malfoy character from the "good" boy. I'm sure others that know the stories better than I can provide others.
But golly, these are children's books! How many 6 year olds can sit through Macbeth? (How many adults can sit through Macbeth?) How much irony, character development, and multiple plots are you expecting in books aimed at 6 year olds. If anything, its pretty amazing at the amount of serious debate on the books.
I don't know if I'd look at Dell's selection of OS as any indicator of market trends. Dell has been a PC clone manufacturer since Day 1, and doesn't really seem to be doing any R&D on other operating environments other than the obligatory Linux install for a low end server.
I think the reason for attraction to Microsoft is that most hardware manufacturers are looking for fatter margins than $100 PDA's, and their sweet spot seems to be the $700 pocket replacement for a laptop. Palm's price point is more of a personal or consummer device, which maybe is more attractive to a company like Sony that knows how to make money in that space.
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So maybe we should call him the "Bill Gates" of Video Games instead of the "Father" of Video Games?
I don't know about all -- some might. When I play on public servers a lot of people come and go and you often don't know where they are. But when you play regularly the in-game chat functions and voice-chat allow you to learn these things with the people you regularly see. It also seems that players that play in clans have a tight relationship with others generally.
And LAN parties often fill the social aspects for others using PC/console games. I don't deny that there are opportunities to set up parlors and make a go at it. I just don't agree with the article's promotion of this as a coming popular thing in this format in the US. I think to make something commercially viable you have to do more than plop down some Dell computers running Counter Strike. The places I've been to that seem to have more potential would be Dave & Busters and Gameworks. Others have mentioned similar concepts at Mall of America in Blommington MN (auto racing similators), and others.
That's because we can sit in our homes where we have new computers and high speed internet. These types of parlors make sense in a country where the infrastructure isn't in place for lots of people on-line, or where the average person doesn't have a computer capable of playing these games. But, does it make sense to go somewhere for the same experience we have at home?
The analogy in this country would probably be "Dave & Buster's" or "Gameworks" or one of the other similar concepts. These places survive because you get the electronic gaming experience you can't recreate (easily) in your homes. "Counter Strike" is a home game experience in the US, making it difficult to catch on. I can't imagine setting up parlors of Game Cubes or Playstation 2's either.
Maryland did this 2 or 3 years ago. 443 is just cell phones and pagers, I believe.
I agree. The only place I can think of where they make a lot of sense is in a large factory or convention center, or something like that.
While Einstein is not referenced, they list it as "nuclear power" in 1945, not "weapons".
By this philosophy, it would be impossible for companies to develop any new products. As soon as a new model was under development, some employee can decide that its in the public interest, Email pictures to the press, and kill the demand for any products on the market currently.
The very act of developing a new product will make all the current products obsolete. When people are asked to sign NDA's, its because the company is going to tell them plans that impact the market, their competitors, and the sales channel.
What if the product is cancelled? All those potential sales disappeared needlessly. What if the new product isn't as good as the one it replaces? Then the sales demand for the old product remains and the new one is killed. What if the market doesn't understand a revolutionary new product? Then the company goes belly up before the product is released and the market gets the new paradigm. The responsibility of the company is to release information and products in a way that optimizes their profit or return on research investment, increases shareholder value, promotes the mission, and satisfies the customers' need. People are asked to sign NDAs because its not their job to release this information.
Of course NDA's cannot be used to withhold information if the public is at risk (or we have a moral responsibility to break our agreement). But I don't think disagreeing with marketing plans is a valid reason to destroy the ability of those responsible to nurture a product's place in the market.
About $50. No voice regonition, but everything else.
LinkAgreed - this isn't even secret.
When you look at the original article's disclaimer "Microsoft or one of its partners" this isn't much of a prediction.
From ZDnet article Top 10 reasons to go withIt seems to be a constant "cold war", where the equipment and software is just a little bit ahead of what you can do in your home. Forcing a replacement of most stuff every year or so.
The only way this amounts to something is where it makes sense to play as a group where you need to look or talk to each other (where this adds something other than the chat function of most multiplayer games). If you're gathering to imerse in individual VR units, it will only last as long as they stay ahead of the technology you can have at home, which seems difficult these days.
I like Science Fiction, I'd like to check it out! What's the URL? How much bandwidth do you need to see it?
Microsoft has a large office in Reston VA now. Obviously, MA and WV are feeling in need of something.
So did you ever buy any of the previous versions of tablet computers that have been around the past 10 years? Aside from the Internet stuff (which no one was really doing 10 years ago anyway), this is new hardware but not real new functionality.
I'm trying to figure out if I would stop using my CrossPad for one of these.
In my day we only programmed with ones and zeros. And sometimes they didn't let us use ones! -Wally.
What kind of support do you get with the commercial version of products listed by the author? Do you think that support is free?
Support directly from a PC manufacturer is general OK for the warrenty period, provided your problem is with the bundled software. But after expiration, support is still up to you. My experience has been that support from companies is either expensive, or no better than open source help.
The variant on this, create a game with your marketing dollars.
http://www.americasarmy.com
Cars also rush people to hospitals, haul merchandise and contribute to the economy, provide transportation for millions of commuters every day, etc. etc. etc. And don't think recharging those Segway batteries happenes through the magical non-polluting electricity power plant.
Pollution goes down once people decide to live 5 miles from work, and not 45, and we'll also get a ton of urban planning benefits. Everything else is just shifting pollution from one source to another.
Side note: I'm surprised this got modded to "insightful" when it seems to just be a promotional Amazon redirect link for commission.
Is there a knobby tire version for walking on trails?
Contractor version with a big tool box on the back, and mudflaps with the chrome lady?
Yellow going to school versions?
Will the Army get cammo paint schemes?
Does the French Police version have that different siren sound?
I'm out of time, others can continue the list...
And how long until that bump results in someone getting tossed under the wheels of a car, resulting in legal action?
I'm sure they are fun to ride. I would hope any $5000 yuppie scooter would be fun to ride. While the electronics are great, the concept of small wheeled vehicle is not new, and if it wasn't for the hype of the IPO crowd wanting in on the action this wouldn't be getting the attention it is. I'll look again when they cost $250 (or whatever a bicycle costs these days).
When Sprint Spectrum (GSM) was sold (Washington DC area) it was the first deployment of PCS in the US, and they owned all the towers and equipment. With the transfer to CDMA, they lease space on towers and have lost a lot of control of quality.
Of course, explosive growth without capacity doesn't help either.
By the way, there is no "Sprint Home Office" in a previous post. All these guys are essentially franchised with a specific service area, and they share account information for roaming. If Kansas City has good coverage, you have a good local operation.
Kind of gives the advertising campaign a whole new meaning!
Funnier was the promotional commercial for the new sit-com, "Welcome Back Potter".
I believe there are examples of the struggle inside Harry in a few places. He had a chance to kill "Wormtail", and struggled with this (and against the advice of others), but showed mercy. There also is plenty of hatred against the Malfoy character from the "good" boy. I'm sure others that know the stories better than I can provide others.
But golly, these are children's books! How many 6 year olds can sit through Macbeth? (How many adults can sit through Macbeth?) How much irony, character development, and multiple plots are you expecting in books aimed at 6 year olds. If anything, its pretty amazing at the amount of serious debate on the books.
I don't know if I'd look at Dell's selection of OS as any indicator of market trends. Dell has been a PC clone manufacturer since Day 1, and doesn't really seem to be doing any R&D on other operating environments other than the obligatory Linux install for a low end server.
I think the reason for attraction to Microsoft is that most hardware manufacturers are looking for fatter margins than $100 PDA's, and their sweet spot seems to be the $700 pocket replacement for a laptop. Palm's price point is more of a personal or consummer device, which maybe is more attractive to a company like Sony that knows how to make money in that space.
Plus five of your friends are standing around watching you.
I believe in the end it was neither a good game, nor a good cartoon.