S'okay... I ruined it for you first. Yes, I've been reading Laumer for a long, long time. World Shuffler, Plague of Demons, Earthblood (I read that book credited as by "Rosel George Brown" but I read later he co-wrote it with Laumer), Time Bender, Galactic Odyssey, Knight of Delusions... and of course all the Bolo stories. I especially liked the one where a massive Bolo that had supposedly been decommissioned and buried comes back to life decades after the war was over and decides to pick up the battle where it left off. "... and from the radio came the strange voice that was the Bolo's, 'Primary power cells drained, secondary cells drained, now on Final Emergency Power.'" He wrote some good sci-fi, he really did. I read all the Retief books I could get my hands on, five-eyed little sticky-fingers and all. Oh, and wipe that 34-C: Expression of Smug Self-Satisfaction off your face, or I'll just keep my case of aged Coke, thank you very much.
Sure, they're all computers. More correctly, the term "personal computer" has historically meant a relatively open system, which can support high-bandwidth peripherals, operating systems and applications software from any compatible vendor. This is in direct contrast to game consoles, which are generally locked up tighter than a bank vault, have strictly limited functionality, and practice hardware and software lock-in to whatever insane degree the law permits.
... there is no unrealistic computer simulated sex in it
Exactly, which is why I'm all for including realistic computer simulated sex in it. Why should I spend all this money on the latest video card if I'm not going to get realistic sex?
Granted, this is Slashdot, where anything resembling sex is good.
For now. Over time, as more investment pours in, everything gets more expensive, profits go up, taxes go up, salaries go up. But it does help ease the pain of initial development, I guess.
In the past, I played a lot of Duke Nukem, Shadow Warrior, Redneck Rampage and Blood (all Build Engine games) because they were pure escapism. And the only way I found them interesting enough to continue playing was on a LAN against my friends. In that context, the game simply provides an alternate universe where it is perfectly acceptable to volatilize your fellow players and blow things to bits. Pure escapism, and if that's what you're looking for, the game's design should effortlessly support that without requiring the players to solve too many puzzles or "earn points".
Ultimate, it comes down to what kind of reward you are looking to get from a video game. If a fragfest is your idea of a good time, a game that expects you to spend days or weeks building up your "online presence" will not suit you. Fortunately, there are enough different types of game products out there that there is something for everyone. Some people (actually, a lot of people) are into the types of games that the submitter was complaining about. I'm not one of them (I much prefer a rousing game of Duke or Half-Life on my network, hearing someone across the room go "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh SHIT!!!" when that long-range RPG shot takes him out) but, you know, different strokes for different folks.
In other words, you're a VB/VB.Net bigot that looks down upon those that don't agree with your choice of tools.
Nope, you got that wrong, my friend. I've had twenty-five years in this business and I've lost track of how many applications and languages I've dealt with, from assembler to VB. Consequently I'm not bigoted in any sense of the word. I'm simply irritated by presumptuous individuals that assume their own personal judgment and choices are infallible, and are applicable to all situations. Once you learn anything about computing technology you start to understand how big a pasture it really is, and how little you actually know.
The reality of the programming world is that we don't all get to be research scientists, working in a laboratory setting doing whatever it is that takes our fancy. We might prefer to use the language or development environment with which we are the most comfortable, but in most cases the job dictates the choice of language, not the other way around. At least it does if the programmer is more than a one-trick pony. It's not funny how many developers learn a language and manage to justify using it for everything under the Sun.
Unfortunately, it is all too common for developers to look down upon those who work in what they might consider a "lesser" language... bias, as you say. Possibly this has something to do with penis size but I don't have any hard figures. But it's important to remember that those other tools were created for a reason, and the people that use them are getting a job done, and frankly I'd rather be a well-paid VB hacker than a jobless purist. But after all this time, I don't have any ego invested in any particular way of doing things... if anything, I'm more open to new ideas now than I was decades ago. Computers are fun.
Put it this way, if you're a software developer, and you're afraid to learn something new... you're in the wrong business. Ditto if you have unreasoning feelings of superiority because you use language X: get over yourself.
Hard to say. Give it a shot and post back here with your results. If we don't hear from you in an hour or so we'll figure it's not safe. And should things not go well... rest assured that your contribution to the totality of human knowledge will be greatly appreciated.
Can anything be more important to you then having the same rights as everybody else in the country?
Specious argument. He already has the same rights as everyone else. Same rights that I have, same rights that you have. If society determines that he doesn't have the right to marry another guy, neither does anyone else. Apparently Mr. Sullivan understands that even if you don't.
Regardless, it's time we stop concerning ourselves about continually granting special "rights" to subsets of the population, and start getting very concerned about the remaining civil liberties that all of us have enjoyed for two hundred plus years, because all those extra "rights" that you refer to flow directly from what the Founding Fathers set down for us. Once those are gone for good, it won't much matter whether a gay person can marry another one, or whether homosexuality is a disease or a choice... because choice will become a thing of the past. For everyone.
"Music industry officials claim that {insert source of potential lost profits here}" I could just as easily have claimed that "Internet activity caused substantial harm to the BBS industry", considering how I ran a multinode BBS at one time. It was a tidy source of income until that "Internet" thingy went public and killed off our BBS (and thousands like it.) But I didn't go around complaining and suing ISPs and users. I just went on to other things. But on the other hand, I'm not a record company executive or an RIAA member.
I've heard that SBC has been offering naked DSL in some areas. Dunno if that's true or not, and in any event I prefer to stay as far away from SBC (pardon me, AT&T) as I can. I don't believe that what that company's leadership is doing is right, and I'd just as soon not give them any money with which to screw us all over.
AT&T was a past master of the art of the lobby, and being taken over by the likes of Edward Whitacre and SBC doesn't change that fact. Worse, Comcast, AOL, Verizon and the rest are just as much for this tiered crap as phone companies are. The rich keep getting richer... this is just more of the same, I guess. While I fault Whitacre and his particular brand of corporate criminal for their misdeeds, I'm especially disappointed in Congress, who should know better.
Slashdot Mirror
S'okay ... I ruined it for you first. Yes, I've been reading Laumer for a long, long time. World Shuffler, Plague of Demons, Earthblood (I read that book credited as by "Rosel George Brown" but I read later he co-wrote it with Laumer), Time Bender, Galactic Odyssey, Knight of Delusions ... and of course all the Bolo stories. I especially liked the one where a massive Bolo that had supposedly been decommissioned and buried comes back to life decades after the war was over and decides to pick up the battle where it left off. "... and from the radio came the strange voice that was the Bolo's, 'Primary power cells drained, secondary cells drained, now on Final Emergency Power.'" He wrote some good sci-fi, he really did. I read all the Retief books I could get my hands on, five-eyed little sticky-fingers and all. Oh, and wipe that 34-C: Expression of Smug Self-Satisfaction off your face, or I'll just keep my case of aged Coke, thank you very much.
Sure, they're all computers. More correctly, the term "personal computer" has historically meant a relatively open system, which can support high-bandwidth peripherals, operating systems and applications software from any compatible vendor. This is in direct contrast to game consoles, which are generally locked up tighter than a bank vault, have strictly limited functionality, and practice hardware and software lock-in to whatever insane degree the law permits.
It's clear from the comments that Sony is indicating that it will be possible to upgrade hard drives and perhaps even other components easily.
... but probably not cheaply.
Easily, maybe
... there is no unrealistic computer simulated sex in it
Exactly, which is why I'm all for including realistic computer simulated sex in it. Why should I spend all this money on the latest video card if I'm not going to get realistic sex?
Granted, this is Slashdot, where anything resembling sex is good.
Nah ... in a duel usually only one of the combatants gets wounded or killed. I say just shoot both of them and flip a coin instead.
It's from the novel "The Great Time Machine Hoax" by Keith Laumer.
Windows Servers Beat Linux Servers
I believe that was the title of a third-season episode of Sliders, since only in an alternate Universe could it be true.
Grapefruitized popcorn?
For now. Over time, as more investment pours in, everything gets more expensive, profits go up, taxes go up, salaries go up. But it does help ease the pain of initial development, I guess.
I think all of this comes under the heading of "yes the technology permits it, but is it something we really should be doing?"
You work for Mr. Gates, don't you.
... quickly shut down in case of a malfunction.
So Genuine Advantage needs to contact the mothership in order to be told that it's broken and needs to terminate?
Please.
for Vernor Vinge's Singularity.
In the past, I played a lot of Duke Nukem, Shadow Warrior, Redneck Rampage and Blood (all Build Engine games) because they were pure escapism. And the only way I found them interesting enough to continue playing was on a LAN against my friends. In that context, the game simply provides an alternate universe where it is perfectly acceptable to volatilize your fellow players and blow things to bits. Pure escapism, and if that's what you're looking for, the game's design should effortlessly support that without requiring the players to solve too many puzzles or "earn points".
Ultimate, it comes down to what kind of reward you are looking to get from a video game. If a fragfest is your idea of a good time, a game that expects you to spend days or weeks building up your "online presence" will not suit you. Fortunately, there are enough different types of game products out there that there is something for everyone. Some people (actually, a lot of people) are into the types of games that the submitter was complaining about. I'm not one of them (I much prefer a rousing game of Duke or Half-Life on my network, hearing someone across the room go "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh SHIT!!!" when that long-range RPG shot takes him out) but, you know, different strokes for different folks.
Yes, but porno torrents ... now that's another story.
True, but we're hell-and-gone crazy about football. Oh wait ...
In other words, you're a VB/VB.Net bigot that looks down upon those that don't agree with your choice of tools.
... bias, as you say. Possibly this has something to do with penis size but I don't have any hard figures. But it's important to remember that those other tools were created for a reason, and the people that use them are getting a job done, and frankly I'd rather be a well-paid VB hacker than a jobless purist. But after all this time, I don't have any ego invested in any particular way of doing things ... if anything, I'm more open to new ideas now than I was decades ago. Computers are fun.
... you're in the wrong business. Ditto if you have unreasoning feelings of superiority because you use language X: get over yourself.
Nope, you got that wrong, my friend. I've had twenty-five years in this business and I've lost track of how many applications and languages I've dealt with, from assembler to VB. Consequently I'm not bigoted in any sense of the word. I'm simply irritated by presumptuous individuals that assume their own personal judgment and choices are infallible, and are applicable to all situations. Once you learn anything about computing technology you start to understand how big a pasture it really is, and how little you actually know.
The reality of the programming world is that we don't all get to be research scientists, working in a laboratory setting doing whatever it is that takes our fancy. We might prefer to use the language or development environment with which we are the most comfortable, but in most cases the job dictates the choice of language, not the other way around. At least it does if the programmer is more than a one-trick pony. It's not funny how many developers learn a language and manage to justify using it for everything under the Sun.
Unfortunately, it is all too common for developers to look down upon those who work in what they might consider a "lesser" language
Put it this way, if you're a software developer, and you're afraid to learn something new
That, actually, is the most insightful comment I've yet seen in this forum.
Hard to say. Give it a shot and post back here with your results. If we don't hear from you in an hour or so we'll figure it's not safe. And should things not go well ... rest assured that your contribution to the totality of human knowledge will be greatly appreciated.
And let's not forget vinegar and baking soda.
Microsoft's Four Points of Interoperability:
1. Mine.
2. Mine.
3. MINE.
4. MINE!
Can anything be more important to you then having the same rights as everybody else in the country?
... because choice will become a thing of the past. For everyone.
Specious argument. He already has the same rights as everyone else. Same rights that I have, same rights that you have. If society determines that he doesn't have the right to marry another guy, neither does anyone else. Apparently Mr. Sullivan understands that even if you don't.
Regardless, it's time we stop concerning ourselves about continually granting special "rights" to subsets of the population, and start getting very concerned about the remaining civil liberties that all of us have enjoyed for two hundred plus years, because all those extra "rights" that you refer to flow directly from what the Founding Fathers set down for us. Once those are gone for good, it won't much matter whether a gay person can marry another one, or whether homosexuality is a disease or a choice
"Music industry officials claim that {insert source of potential lost profits here}" I could just as easily have claimed that "Internet activity caused substantial harm to the BBS industry", considering how I ran a multinode BBS at one time. It was a tidy source of income until that "Internet" thingy went public and killed off our BBS (and thousands like it.) But I didn't go around complaining and suing ISPs and users. I just went on to other things. But on the other hand, I'm not a record company executive or an RIAA member.
I've heard that SBC has been offering naked DSL in some areas. Dunno if that's true or not, and in any event I prefer to stay as far away from SBC (pardon me, AT&T) as I can. I don't believe that what that company's leadership is doing is right, and I'd just as soon not give them any money with which to screw us all over.
AT&T was a past master of the art of the lobby, and being taken over by the likes of Edward Whitacre and SBC doesn't change that fact. Worse, Comcast, AOL, Verizon and the rest are just as much for this tiered crap as phone companies are. The rich keep getting richer ... this is just more of the same, I guess. While I fault Whitacre and his particular brand of corporate criminal for their misdeeds, I'm especially disappointed in Congress, who should know better.