I've always found that I didn't get much of an idea of how good a game was from watching gameplay footage. When comparing one FPS to the other, or one RTS to another, just looking at the graphics won't tell you a whole lot about how good the game is. I find I actually have to play it if I want to get a feel for whether or not I like it.
The problem with the taxes on gas is that they come nowhere close to covering the cost of having the vehicles on the road. They have to cover road maintenance/construction, police to patrol those streets, maintenance and installation of traffic signals and signs. There's a lot of tax dollars coming from other areas because just the tax on the gas isn't enough to cover it, and if they raise the gas taxes, then people get mad.
How does not putting DRM on online shows kill the market for DVD sales? Are people actually going to take the online video, pirate it, and use that instead of the DVD. If someone is going to go through that trouble, they would probably just use a TV Tuner to record it, and burn a DVD, or download it off bittorrent, from some other guy who recorded it with a TV Tuner. I don't think DVD sales would be affected much, if at all, if the online offerings didn't have DRM. Most people who buy the DVD do so because they get a better copy, and a nice box that they can put on their shelf. Not because there's absolutely no other way of obtaining the material.
But humans are pretty light, so if we have to transport them with rockets, and use the space elevator for the other stuff. The reason the space shuttle sucks so much is because it's a compromise to be able to safely lift humans and yet also lift some heavy cargo. In reality what they should have done was had 2 separate programs. One to build a spacecraft that would transport people, and another that would transport the heavy cargo loads.
Well, assuming the escalator is angled at 45 degress, and it goes in a straight line (I've never seen a spiral escalator), and you wanted to get into geostationary orbit, at 35,786 KM, you would have to build an escalator that wrapped most of the way around the earth. Definitely not a good idea.
Most of the cheap employers don't have 1600x1200 21" CRTs. These are the people still running 15-17 inch monitors at 1024x768 or less, and the monitors are sold old they have started to blur and fade. A really good CRT will give you the best picture, but most people don't want to spend that kind of money on a monitor. For a reasonable price, you can get an LCD that will give you a pretty decent picture. Oh, and it won't take up your entire desk either.
It sure didn't have quantity, but it had the quailty. Over the 4 years that anybody owns a console, before moving to the next generation, they shouldn't need any more than 10 games. I don't play every night, but I play a couple times a week, and 10 games would easily last me for 4 years. I'm still playing Mario Kart Double Dash on my Wii because that is just such a great game. I also downloaded Mario Kart 64. I think the Gamecube also had a lot of quality, although it didn't have tons of games. The 2 Metroids, Zelda WW and TP, Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros. Mario Party, Super Monkey Ball (The new one is awesome on the Wii), and many others. I don't care if other systems have 1000 games, when they all suck.
Maybe he's adding in the cost of a game. The Wii already comes with one. So the games don't quite cost $100, but it'll bring the price close to $700 than it is to $600.
Well, i'm not sure if doing the laundry is any faster, but it sure is a lot easier. It takes about 1.5 hours for me to do the laundry. I could probably do it with a washboard in about that time, but I would be much more tired by the end of the process. Right now doing the laundry consists of putting clothes in washer, doing something else for 1/2 an hour, then putting it in the dryer, and waiting another hour. Couldn't get much easier, unless I got one of those two in one washer-dryer units they have in Europe.
I work in a small company, I was provided a mouse by my employer, but I like trackballs, so i brought in my own. I don't think a lot of employers would have a huge problem with this, they don't make you wear company shoes, or a company uniform at most offices, or use a specific coffee cup, why should they restrict which keyboards and mice you use?
Re:Mmmm, chocolate...
on
ATM Turns 40
·
· Score: 1
I know my parents had 4 digit phone numbers, and they are only around 50. Now I'm using 10 digit dialing. Whats really annoying is that we're on 10 digit dialing but there's only 1 area code. Some how the phone company tells me this creates more numbers. I'm note quite sure how. I guess they get to add a few extra prefixes that usually wouldn't be available (411,911,611,1xx,0xx) but it all seems really annoying to me. Anyway, I don't think they are really using up all the combinations.
Re:Asynchronous Transfer Mode?
on
ATM Turns 40
·
· Score: 1
In Canada, some banks refer to them as Automatic Banking Machines (ABMs) because the tellers got mad that they were being "automated". My biggest problem is that now that the machines are so prevalent, it's takes forever to see a human. The only people who go see the tellers are the people with something that the machine can't do. This is usually something quite complex which means they speak with the teller for at least 15 minutes. On the other hand, if you're just going to get a couple rolls of quarters to do you laundry, it can take quite a while to see a teller because all the people in front of you are having long drawn out problems.
It's amazing that it took you so long and so much money to eventually figure out what you should really do is "try a bunch of different stuff, and see what works for you". I remember when the "natural" keyboards came out and everybody and their brother had one. I didn't really like them too much myself. But people kept on saying you had to have one, because they were so much better. The point is to find something that works for you. There is no single right keyboard or mouse for everyone. It's good that there's a lot of different models so that people actually have a choice. Why do you think cars come with so many adjustments (seat position, steering wheel tilt)? Because not everybody is built the same, and what is comfortable for one person will be very uncomfortable for the next. Personally, I use a trackball and a standard keyboard. I find this very comfortable and have never had a problem. For other people, it's just not comfortable at all.
I knew a guy who had a similar mouse called the "quill mouse" (I think). He found it comfortable, and I tried it a few times, but the problem I has was that the mouse would move to the left as you pressed the buttons. Hard to be really accurate when you're pushing the mouse to the left just to click a button.
I find it odd that after such a long time you could not get used to the devices. I have been using trackballs for the last 5 years. I remember when I got my first one, it took a few days, maybe a week to get used to, and then I was done. Since I've had a couple different trackballs, and don't have any problem using them. I find trackballs are the best, because you can put them in the right position, and they stay there. Also, I find it a lot easier to just move my thumb or fingers (depending on the trackball) and have the device do it's work. Really when you consider it, it's not much different than typing. I never had any wrist problems, but picked up a trackball because I didn't have a lot of desk space. I find it a lot easier to use a trackball. I really don't know why they aren't more popular.
Re:who invented the BSOD ..
on
ATM Turns 40
·
· Score: 1
It seems kind of funny for an ATM to display any kind of error message such as BSOD. You'd think they could program the thing to reboot itself when it encountered such an error. Maybe even just display a nice "this machine is not in service" message. I find it really odd that they would have an ATM display the BSOD, or in the case of that last picture, what looks like a memory dump.
Re:Mmmm, chocolate...
on
ATM Turns 40
·
· Score: 1
Well, most ATM cards i've seen give you 3 tries and then the card is disabled. Even if you only have a 3 digit pin, then you only get.3% chance of getting it right by guessing the pin before the card is disabled.
Does that mean you can't configure them to work in non-secure modes? Is it disabled on German models? I mean, if laws like this pass, wouldn't people just leave wireless routers open just in case somebody wanted to make an anonymous connection?
Apparently Hollywood is so scared of the analog hole that they got the Canadian government to pass laws against "camcordering" movies in theatres. The analog hole is good, just look at all the cam/telesync movies available for download. People would rather download this, then pay $11 for a theatre ticket, or $6 for a movie rental. In university, I knew people who downloaded asf files, with really bad quality. Some times it's nice to have HD uber high quality stuff. But if the movie is just about the story line, then it really doesn't matter to most people.
I make "only" 50K. My wife stays home to watch the kids. I don't consider us poor in any way. When I first started working right out of school, I only made 30K. I still didn't think I was poor, although we didn't have any kids then. If you think people making 40-50K need every dime, you have to reevaluate your spending habits. The real poor people make half that. Or less.
Most universities have people that will help you with your resume if you're a new graduate, for free. They do a really good job. I've seen a lot of resumes come across my desk with really bad spelling and grammar, and it's an automatic no. Especially when you can tell the the applicant is just sending the same resume out to every company in the city, because they list every computer program they've ever used, even if it has nothing to do with the job. I don't care if programmers know how to use 3DS Max, and if you think MS Office is a skill, then I don't want to talk to you either.
Slashdot Mirror
I've always found that I didn't get much of an idea of how good a game was from watching gameplay footage. When comparing one FPS to the other, or one RTS to another, just looking at the graphics won't tell you a whole lot about how good the game is. I find I actually have to play it if I want to get a feel for whether or not I like it.
The problem with the taxes on gas is that they come nowhere close to covering the cost of having the vehicles on the road. They have to cover road maintenance/construction, police to patrol those streets, maintenance and installation of traffic signals and signs. There's a lot of tax dollars coming from other areas because just the tax on the gas isn't enough to cover it, and if they raise the gas taxes, then people get mad.
How does not putting DRM on online shows kill the market for DVD sales? Are people actually going to take the online video, pirate it, and use that instead of the DVD. If someone is going to go through that trouble, they would probably just use a TV Tuner to record it, and burn a DVD, or download it off bittorrent, from some other guy who recorded it with a TV Tuner. I don't think DVD sales would be affected much, if at all, if the online offerings didn't have DRM. Most people who buy the DVD do so because they get a better copy, and a nice box that they can put on their shelf. Not because there's absolutely no other way of obtaining the material.
But humans are pretty light, so if we have to transport them with rockets, and use the space elevator for the other stuff. The reason the space shuttle sucks so much is because it's a compromise to be able to safely lift humans and yet also lift some heavy cargo. In reality what they should have done was had 2 separate programs. One to build a spacecraft that would transport people, and another that would transport the heavy cargo loads.
Maybe the US government can tell you a little about handling trillions of dollars in debt.
Well, assuming the escalator is angled at 45 degress, and it goes in a straight line (I've never seen a spiral escalator), and you wanted to get into geostationary orbit, at 35,786 KM, you would have to build an escalator that wrapped most of the way around the earth. Definitely not a good idea.
The folds are what make the posters truly great.
Most of the cheap employers don't have 1600x1200 21" CRTs. These are the people still running 15-17 inch monitors at 1024x768 or less, and the monitors are sold old they have started to blur and fade. A really good CRT will give you the best picture, but most people don't want to spend that kind of money on a monitor. For a reasonable price, you can get an LCD that will give you a pretty decent picture. Oh, and it won't take up your entire desk either.
It sure didn't have quantity, but it had the quailty. Over the 4 years that anybody owns a console, before moving to the next generation, they shouldn't need any more than 10 games. I don't play every night, but I play a couple times a week, and 10 games would easily last me for 4 years. I'm still playing Mario Kart Double Dash on my Wii because that is just such a great game. I also downloaded Mario Kart 64. I think the Gamecube also had a lot of quality, although it didn't have tons of games. The 2 Metroids, Zelda WW and TP, Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros. Mario Party, Super Monkey Ball (The new one is awesome on the Wii), and many others. I don't care if other systems have 1000 games, when they all suck.
Maybe he's adding in the cost of a game. The Wii already comes with one. So the games don't quite cost $100, but it'll bring the price close to $700 than it is to $600.
Google is your friend.
Well, i'm not sure if doing the laundry is any faster, but it sure is a lot easier. It takes about 1.5 hours for me to do the laundry. I could probably do it with a washboard in about that time, but I would be much more tired by the end of the process. Right now doing the laundry consists of putting clothes in washer, doing something else for 1/2 an hour, then putting it in the dryer, and waiting another hour. Couldn't get much easier, unless I got one of those two in one washer-dryer units they have in Europe.
I work in a small company, I was provided a mouse by my employer, but I like trackballs, so i brought in my own. I don't think a lot of employers would have a huge problem with this, they don't make you wear company shoes, or a company uniform at most offices, or use a specific coffee cup, why should they restrict which keyboards and mice you use?
Or changing who shot first.
I know my parents had 4 digit phone numbers, and they are only around 50. Now I'm using 10 digit dialing. Whats really annoying is that we're on 10 digit dialing but there's only 1 area code. Some how the phone company tells me this creates more numbers. I'm note quite sure how. I guess they get to add a few extra prefixes that usually wouldn't be available (411,911,611,1xx,0xx) but it all seems really annoying to me. Anyway, I don't think they are really using up all the combinations.
In Canada, some banks refer to them as Automatic Banking Machines (ABMs) because the tellers got mad that they were being "automated". My biggest problem is that now that the machines are so prevalent, it's takes forever to see a human. The only people who go see the tellers are the people with something that the machine can't do. This is usually something quite complex which means they speak with the teller for at least 15 minutes. On the other hand, if you're just going to get a couple rolls of quarters to do you laundry, it can take quite a while to see a teller because all the people in front of you are having long drawn out problems.
It's amazing that it took you so long and so much money to eventually figure out what you should really do is "try a bunch of different stuff, and see what works for you". I remember when the "natural" keyboards came out and everybody and their brother had one. I didn't really like them too much myself. But people kept on saying you had to have one, because they were so much better. The point is to find something that works for you. There is no single right keyboard or mouse for everyone. It's good that there's a lot of different models so that people actually have a choice. Why do you think cars come with so many adjustments (seat position, steering wheel tilt)? Because not everybody is built the same, and what is comfortable for one person will be very uncomfortable for the next. Personally, I use a trackball and a standard keyboard. I find this very comfortable and have never had a problem. For other people, it's just not comfortable at all.
I knew a guy who had a similar mouse called the "quill mouse" (I think). He found it comfortable, and I tried it a few times, but the problem I has was that the mouse would move to the left as you pressed the buttons. Hard to be really accurate when you're pushing the mouse to the left just to click a button.
I find it odd that after such a long time you could not get used to the devices. I have been using trackballs for the last 5 years. I remember when I got my first one, it took a few days, maybe a week to get used to, and then I was done. Since I've had a couple different trackballs, and don't have any problem using them. I find trackballs are the best, because you can put them in the right position, and they stay there. Also, I find it a lot easier to just move my thumb or fingers (depending on the trackball) and have the device do it's work. Really when you consider it, it's not much different than typing. I never had any wrist problems, but picked up a trackball because I didn't have a lot of desk space. I find it a lot easier to use a trackball. I really don't know why they aren't more popular.
It seems kind of funny for an ATM to display any kind of error message such as BSOD. You'd think they could program the thing to reboot itself when it encountered such an error. Maybe even just display a nice "this machine is not in service" message. I find it really odd that they would have an ATM display the BSOD, or in the case of that last picture, what looks like a memory dump.
Well, most ATM cards i've seen give you 3 tries and then the card is disabled. Even if you only have a 3 digit pin, then you only get .3% chance of getting it right by guessing the pin before the card is disabled.
Does that mean you can't configure them to work in non-secure modes? Is it disabled on German models? I mean, if laws like this pass, wouldn't people just leave wireless routers open just in case somebody wanted to make an anonymous connection?
Apparently Hollywood is so scared of the analog hole that they got the Canadian government to pass laws against "camcordering" movies in theatres. The analog hole is good, just look at all the cam/telesync movies available for download. People would rather download this, then pay $11 for a theatre ticket, or $6 for a movie rental. In university, I knew people who downloaded asf files, with really bad quality. Some times it's nice to have HD uber high quality stuff. But if the movie is just about the story line, then it really doesn't matter to most people.
I make "only" 50K. My wife stays home to watch the kids. I don't consider us poor in any way. When I first started working right out of school, I only made 30K. I still didn't think I was poor, although we didn't have any kids then. If you think people making 40-50K need every dime, you have to reevaluate your spending habits. The real poor people make half that. Or less.
Most universities have people that will help you with your resume if you're a new graduate, for free. They do a really good job. I've seen a lot of resumes come across my desk with really bad spelling and grammar, and it's an automatic no. Especially when you can tell the the applicant is just sending the same resume out to every company in the city, because they list every computer program they've ever used, even if it has nothing to do with the job. I don't care if programmers know how to use 3DS Max, and if you think MS Office is a skill, then I don't want to talk to you either.