Answer me this: why must every Linux distribution be about infinite choice?
I want to see more specialized Linux distributions, and less distribs that try to present all software to everyone. Instead of distribs that have 1/3rd of their GUIs break at various times, a distrib that picks one GUI and makes sure it works is great.
Don't like that GUI? Pick one that uses your GUI. Or pick one of the jack-of-all-trades distribs.
But stop pressuring every Linux distrib to offer every single damn software package under the sun.
... now I'm even more sympathetic to the sentiment of the game's Cubans!
So the Haitians are offended by a line in the game about killing Haitians? You know what? I'm offended that the god damned Haitians try to kill me in the game!
>> Virginia arrested a North Carolina man for spamming
What a cool state. When someone sends them spam, the entire state gets up, walks over to a whole different state, and grabs and drags the spammer back, kicking and screaming.
>> Wait, so we're getting a history lesson? Or will this be a revisionist history lesson?
How dare you suggest that. This is obviously going to be an accurate portrayal of Brezhnev's arsenal of Metal Gear Rexs, and one man's systematical disarmament of that entire regime's Metal Gears, leaving them only with 1,000 plain ol' ICBMs.
My Warcraft II and Total Annihilation experiences on Case's Ladder were nothing like that. I don't think I ever had a match that went unreported, and I was in the top 50 in TA for a while. I played a good deal of matches.
Attachment rate is actually a very poor measure, mainly because it is incredibly skewed by people that own a system and buy a mere handful of games in the system's lifespan. As I've said in similar arguments before, everyone and their mama owns a PS2, a GTA game, and a Madden game.
The people that play online are largely the same people that buy dozens of games for their systems.
Funny how, in a press release explaining SOCOM 2 shattering a sales record, the first quote out of an SCEA representative's mouth was: "With SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs, we have created one of the most intense and complete online experiences available on any console or personal computer".
Game consoles are at very fixed prices, although console manufacturers aren't so draconian to disallow using store discounts on their product.
I got my iPod cheap through the educational store, bundled with my PowerBook. (Ha, and you thought the draconian comment was venom spewed from an Apple hater)
Well, the problem is that Dell can get a bad name for customer support, from idiots whose spyware-riddled computers don't work right. If Dell can't fix it for them, then Dell products must be crap, the idiot thinking goes.
Most people would be smart enough to realize that damage caused from sugar being poured into a car's gas tank is not the responsibility of the car manufacturer, but when it comes to computers, far fewer people are able to make similar parallels.
PC controllers, especially these days, largely ape their console counterparts. Plus, there's much to be said about playing a game with the input device it was designed for. I do lots of emulation on my PowerBook, and it's great, but sometimes, since my controller isn't the same as a Genesis (for example) one game will need a button combination that isn't too convienent on my controller mapping, but changing the mapping presents issues in another game. It's not a deal-breaker, but it can be annoying.
Old hardware isn't hard to find, particularly for the average Slashdot user. As for hardware lifespan, you have part of a point, but not incredibly so. My two NESs now work like brand new after buying a pair of $10 replacement connectors. Anything newer than the NES doesn't have the same design flaws that led to the NES's problems (which were happening back when the NES was a current console, even).
There's also lots to be said for playing the console games on the TV. It's usually easier to crowd around the TV than it is the computer desk - or if you use a laptop, you're playing on a small screen. At the same time, as you point out, emulators do often have options to improve the visuals (I just played Super Metroid with OpenGL making everything smoother and nicer looking).
I'd say it all depends on the computers, the seating arrangements near them, etc. Plenty of good reasons to go either way.
This does make one wonder what the PSP and PS3 have to look forward to. The PSP seems like it might be the next overpromised device to get cut down.
Is this foreshadowing Sony's fall from the #1 spot? Sounds impossible, but it also seemed impossible that Nintendo would fall after the NES and Super NES (and Game Boy, for that matter), but all it took was the Nintendo 64 to send them free-falling down the totem pole.
Sony needs to not be screwing with this PSX crap, and maybe not even the PSP, but better focus attention on the PS3. There won't be a big head start for them this time.
Of course, for Sony to fall, it means Microsoft has to step it up to the next level. They had a good first showing, and really led the way on complete online console gaming, but they have to bring in more balanced, broad development for the second go-around (and no flubs like too-big-for-some-people controllers on release).
I'm neither a "KDE user" nor a "GNOME user". I'm an "I use each one come their new release, hoping for one that's on par with something like OS X or Windows someday" user.
Sometimes I say to hell with it, and use WindowMaker or Fluxbox. But a new KDE or GNOME comes out, and I try again.
I don't have a pet project, and I would willingly part with my favorites of the bunch, if it meant the others got better from it. I'd rather have one great GUI instead of 5 half-assed ones.
And that, dear friends, proves the article's point.
Note how every response was "me, me, me". Does he have the right to do this? YES. Does it serve the end user? NO.
And there's the problem, from the perspective of the end user. If software is only meant to serve the author, then OK. But don't be shocked when the end user that you're offering your software to throws it back in your face.
They may have the same itch, and a few separate attempts at scratching it might be attempted, but in the end, Windows doesn't come with 15 different GUIs.
Some level of quality control (I know, MS, quality control, har har), is exercised, and the weaker attempts get canned and their developers end up working on the stronger ones.
In open source, the weaker attempts languish on, while the stronger attempts could sure use the extra effort to make them better.
>> the same was said of calculators in early 1970s and 1980s..
... and student arithmetical skills have never recovered.
I don't think the answer is keeping the technology away, though. I think the answer is instructors that do not allow the technology to become a crutch.
By the time battlefield robots are feasible for use, the Segway technology will almost certainly be outdated and/or improved upon.
I would at least hope for something a bit more speedy/agile. Seems like these things would be overpriced tin cans used for RPG round practice in the field.
The game most likely has many, many, many, many lines of code that "expect" HP to go from a finite number to 0.
Now, one could go through the code and change ALL those lines of code, just to accomodate this creature... or they can just assign it a high number. The design decision was reasonable, and hey, the outcome of the effort of these players is only a good thing. It's a nice story for all the players involved. After all, we know EQ players give up their pathetic real lives in favor of their EQ virtual lives.
(that last part was a joke. Mostly. Don't anyone kill themselves over it.).
The poster you replied to cited 4 factors he felt were common among the shooter kids. You applied those factors to yourself, and since you're not a shooter, you declared his point invalid.
The problem is that you are not interpreting his point correctly. What he said, basically, is "for all shooter kids, there exist these four factors". What he DID NOT say is that "all people with these four factors are shooter kids". There is a very big and important difference.
Slashdot Mirror
Answer me this: why must every Linux distribution be about infinite choice?
I want to see more specialized Linux distributions, and less distribs that try to present all software to everyone. Instead of distribs that have 1/3rd of their GUIs break at various times, a distrib that picks one GUI and makes sure it works is great.
Don't like that GUI? Pick one that uses your GUI. Or pick one of the jack-of-all-trades distribs.
But stop pressuring every Linux distrib to offer every single damn software package under the sun.
Myself, I've never had mine lock up, but I highly doubt all of those with problems are bold-faced liars.
No matter how many people say they jog/run with their iPod fine, there's no denying that the sucker locks up for a whole lot of people.
So the Haitians are offended by a line in the game about killing Haitians? You know what? I'm offended that the god damned Haitians try to kill me in the game!
What a cool state. When someone sends them spam, the entire state gets up, walks over to a whole different state, and grabs and drags the spammer back, kicking and screaming.
How dare you suggest that. This is obviously going to be an accurate portrayal of Brezhnev's arsenal of Metal Gear Rexs, and one man's systematical disarmament of that entire regime's Metal Gears, leaving them only with 1,000 plain ol' ICBMs.
Perhaps I was just lucky.
The people that play online are largely the same people that buy dozens of games for their systems.
Funny how, in a press release explaining SOCOM 2 shattering a sales record, the first quote out of an SCEA representative's mouth was: "With SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs, we have created one of the most intense and complete online experiences available on any console or personal computer".
Clearly, Sony understands. As does Microsoft.
I can think of nothing worse.
Nothing would ruin Fallout's compelling world faster than the "kewl d00dz"
I got my iPod cheap through the educational store, bundled with my PowerBook. (Ha, and you thought the draconian comment was venom spewed from an Apple hater)
Most people would be smart enough to realize that damage caused from sugar being poured into a car's gas tank is not the responsibility of the car manufacturer, but when it comes to computers, far fewer people are able to make similar parallels.
PC controllers, especially these days, largely ape their console counterparts. Plus, there's much to be said about playing a game with the input device it was designed for. I do lots of emulation on my PowerBook, and it's great, but sometimes, since my controller isn't the same as a Genesis (for example) one game will need a button combination that isn't too convienent on my controller mapping, but changing the mapping presents issues in another game. It's not a deal-breaker, but it can be annoying.
Old hardware isn't hard to find, particularly for the average Slashdot user. As for hardware lifespan, you have part of a point, but not incredibly so. My two NESs now work like brand new after buying a pair of $10 replacement connectors. Anything newer than the NES doesn't have the same design flaws that led to the NES's problems (which were happening back when the NES was a current console, even).
There's also lots to be said for playing the console games on the TV. It's usually easier to crowd around the TV than it is the computer desk - or if you use a laptop, you're playing on a small screen. At the same time, as you point out, emulators do often have options to improve the visuals (I just played Super Metroid with OpenGL making everything smoother and nicer looking).
I'd say it all depends on the computers, the seating arrangements near them, etc. Plenty of good reasons to go either way.
Is this foreshadowing Sony's fall from the #1 spot? Sounds impossible, but it also seemed impossible that Nintendo would fall after the NES and Super NES (and Game Boy, for that matter), but all it took was the Nintendo 64 to send them free-falling down the totem pole.
Sony needs to not be screwing with this PSX crap, and maybe not even the PSP, but better focus attention on the PS3. There won't be a big head start for them this time.
Of course, for Sony to fall, it means Microsoft has to step it up to the next level. They had a good first showing, and really led the way on complete online console gaming, but they have to bring in more balanced, broad development for the second go-around (and no flubs like too-big-for-some-people controllers on release).
Sometimes I say to hell with it, and use WindowMaker or Fluxbox. But a new KDE or GNOME comes out, and I try again.
I don't have a pet project, and I would willingly part with my favorites of the bunch, if it meant the others got better from it. I'd rather have one great GUI instead of 5 half-assed ones.
Note how every response was "me, me, me". Does he have the right to do this? YES. Does it serve the end user? NO.
And there's the problem, from the perspective of the end user. If software is only meant to serve the author, then OK. But don't be shocked when the end user that you're offering your software to throws it back in your face.
Some level of quality control (I know, MS, quality control, har har), is exercised, and the weaker attempts get canned and their developers end up working on the stronger ones.
In open source, the weaker attempts languish on, while the stronger attempts could sure use the extra effort to make them better.
I don't think the answer is keeping the technology away, though. I think the answer is instructors that do not allow the technology to become a crutch.
I would at least hope for something a bit more speedy/agile. Seems like these things would be overpriced tin cans used for RPG round practice in the field.
Warren Spector is still active. Even my John Elway question might not be so good. Perhaps Brett Favre would be better.
Now, one could go through the code and change ALL those lines of code, just to accomodate this creature... or they can just assign it a high number. The design decision was reasonable, and hey, the outcome of the effort of these players is only a good thing. It's a nice story for all the players involved. After all, we know EQ players give up their pathetic real lives in favor of their EQ virtual lives.
(that last part was a joke. Mostly. Don't anyone kill themselves over it.).
LOL. That thought had crossed my mind, but I didn't want to be so mean. :)
The poster you replied to cited 4 factors he felt were common among the shooter kids. You applied those factors to yourself, and since you're not a shooter, you declared his point invalid.
The problem is that you are not interpreting his point correctly. What he said, basically, is "for all shooter kids, there exist these four factors". What he DID NOT say is that "all people with these four factors are shooter kids". There is a very big and important difference.