Sorry, but when you are bombarded with "Black Isle" ads during the startup of the games and printed all over the packaging, and keep seeing "...a Baldur's Gate engine game..." in all of the advertising you can get confused.:) But yea, Bioware is an awesome company that made the Infinity engine - much props.
I don't think that visual offerings mean much in a RPG. You also don't have to rely on truly open ended gameplay if the story line is strong and the basic gameplay offers a variety of styles and characters. Just look at Black Isle's "Baldur's Gate" game engine. Ice Wind Dale 2, which uses this engine, is about as linear as they come and looks like it came from 1997, yet, you are able to play an extremely wide variety of characters in numerous combinations successfully. You don't have to rely on the classic "fighter, cleric, thief, wizard" team.
And of course, multiplayer options immediately add a needed dimension in today's broadband world.
Since Citrix is commonly used in conjunction with Windows clients to run remote programs, this program being Microsoft Office on some occasions, replacing Citrix with a cheaper solution and replacing the Windows clients with Linux (free), you can (duh) save money.
Lets look at a simple setup, where you have a Citrix (the XP edition, not the MetaFrame 1.8, which has a much higher intitial cost but is cheaper to add licenses too - $4,900 for the English, Win2k in fact) server providing access to Office 2000 to the type of crap systems you see on secretary workstations and library consoles around the nation: a Windows 95/98 machine with 64 megs of RAM and a 2.4 gig hard drive. A Citrix "starter" (5 licenses) runs you about $1900 bucks. The Office license is like $300-$400. The Windows client is dirt cheap or "paid for", but will still find a way to consume tech support time somehow. Oh, don't forget the cost of the Windows or Unix license for the server itself.
On the other hand, the CrossOver Office server is $1,195. With a Linux workstation and a Linux server, you dump the cost of the Microsoft licenses and can make the workstation into a true, no hassle thin client. You can then expand this equation: A 25 user licenses + Citrix runs you $5800-$8000, depending on the version. CrossOver Office would be $2,380 with 25 user licenses.
In the end, none of this matters. The Telcos own us, the fiber lines in question and fiber lines like them are lost to the world. American politics (laws are influenced by money) and corporate cash pits will insure that the telephone and cable industries will remain as they are or get worse.
Chemical analyzation and dating procedures prove otherwise (that oil is not recently decayed bacterial life, but rather long dead plant life and other things).
Besides, dead bacteria don't hold nearly enough energy potential. Dead plants, with all of that trapped sunlight, do.
This means that life as we know it has an even greater potential to be living in some of the extreme enviornments found on nearby planets. Not so much a tie-in or comparison to possible life elsewhere in the universe as it is a statement that Earth life and life like it is proven to be this much more resilient.
So, corporate money does all of the legal talking in Norway, too. Seeing as I have no idea what the technology laws are like in Norway, my interpretation of the trial means nothing and is ultimately pointless.
However, my opinion as a technology using citizen of the world that routinely watches DVDs that I purchased and own in Linux is this: Any judge that possesses an ounce of common sense would wrap this case up in favor of the defendant in a day. The kid/man owns the DVDs, the CSS encryption is not in place to protect anything other then access. He did not gain unlawful access to anything, and furthermore did not harm or effect the DVD (which he owns) in any way. I would imagine that the judge has heard of reverse engineering, and understands that it is legal.
Bah, this all pointless. They should just bring in a group of Korean protestors and make it interesting.
There is a good reason why nearly the entire computing industry, from small mom-and-pop shop to Sun Microsystems hates Microsoft. The concern that many politicians show about the role of Microsoft in our world is valid. The multiple trials and appeals and bickering and complaining is justified.
Eventually, we have to get a judge that either sees the sense in all of it, or cannot be bought, or (hopefully) both. How much more can will it take?
Lunar The Silver Star is the game that made me an RPG addict. I had logged many hours with old classics like Dragon Warrior, Eye of the Beholder, and Final Fantasy 1, but my interest lapsed when the 16 bit revolution came (not to mention women and drugs in that time frame). But, Lunar for the Sega CD made me a full tilt closet geek. Let's pray that a Lunar 3 hits shelves, even if you are a godless communist heathen like myself.
....because I know what many of you are thinking the same thing: This article was boring and didn't tell us anything that we didn't already know. Most of the crowd here is in IT and/or develops. We know how this shit works. Many of us work in corporate settings. The failure of a game to be produced can paralled to many application development failures. Furthermore, these were all games that no one ever heard of or cared about.
Please post a Microsoft bashing article - oh how we love them.
I feel you homie, but what I was saying is this: any company that can only offer their product (barring video game developers, of course) on the Windows platform says a few things to me. One, they lack the talent and fortitude to develop their technology to meet multiple market targets, which means that they are sub par. Also, it means that their marketing and vision sense is poor, because they pooled all of their resources into just barely getting it out into the mainstream market. Really good companies with really good developers make really good products - and these companies have really good management that drive their company into tackling the entire market. Shitty companies pump out Windows only crap that meets the demand of the mindless.
So, in short, they are a lame company, and it shows.
Only Bill Gates, of course. No one can match his uncanny vision and technological sense. He is a mastermind, and respect all of his decisions - especially when it comes to marketing.
Any company that only offers their services on the Windows platform or through technology that must be utilized on the Windows platform (like a web site that only works with IE, or Windows only download clients needed, or Windows Media player format only, etc) is useless to me. Immediately, it is appearent that they lack the vision and skill of a truly talented and innovative company. They do not deserve my money, let alone a second of my time. They should be IN SOVIET RUSSIA.
Let's talk about other things! The ainme series Berserk is awesome, especially the out takes. Who can forget the Whitney Houston song? "I don't really wanna go, very much farther..."
And Metroid Prime has to be the best game ever! I am hooked. Seeing as I have the whole of next week off (burning those vacation days before the end of the year), I may actually get my $6 dollars worth out of this Blockbuster rental.
Slashdot Mirror
They need an Ellen Fiess edition!
Sorry, but when you are bombarded with "Black Isle" ads during the startup of the games and printed all over the packaging, and keep seeing "...a Baldur's Gate engine game..." in all of the advertising you can get confused. :) But yea, Bioware is an awesome company that made the Infinity engine - much props.
And of course, multiplayer options immediately add a needed dimension in today's broadband world.
I still have the 10 disk "Eye of the Beholder" game on these.
It isn't 'gone' until March 12th, next year. ;)
Since Citrix is commonly used in conjunction with Windows clients to run remote programs, this program being Microsoft Office on some occasions, replacing Citrix with a cheaper solution and replacing the Windows clients with Linux (free), you can (duh) save money.
Lets look at a simple setup, where you have a Citrix (the XP edition, not the MetaFrame 1.8, which has a much higher intitial cost but is cheaper to add licenses too - $4,900 for the English, Win2k in fact) server providing access to Office 2000 to the type of crap systems you see on secretary workstations and library consoles around the nation: a Windows 95/98 machine with 64 megs of RAM and a 2.4 gig hard drive. A Citrix "starter" (5 licenses) runs you about $1900 bucks. The Office license is like $300-$400. The Windows client is dirt cheap or "paid for", but will still find a way to consume tech support time somehow. Oh, don't forget the cost of the Windows or Unix license for the server itself.
On the other hand, the CrossOver Office server is $1,195. With a Linux workstation and a Linux server, you dump the cost of the Microsoft licenses and can make the workstation into a true, no hassle thin client. You can then expand this equation: A 25 user licenses + Citrix runs you $5800-$8000, depending on the version. CrossOver Office would be $2,380 with 25 user licenses.
Max discovers an old crate of Viagra underneath some rubble, and heads back to Barter Town's red light district in a hurry.
In the end, none of this matters. The Telcos own us, the fiber lines in question and fiber lines like them are lost to the world. American politics (laws are influenced by money) and corporate cash pits will insure that the telephone and cable industries will remain as they are or get worse.
12th post!!
Besides, dead bacteria don't hold nearly enough energy potential. Dead plants, with all of that trapped sunlight, do.
This means that life as we know it has an even greater potential to be living in some of the extreme enviornments found on nearby planets. Not so much a tie-in or comparison to possible life elsewhere in the universe as it is a statement that Earth life and life like it is proven to be this much more resilient.
However, my opinion as a technology using citizen of the world that routinely watches DVDs that I purchased and own in Linux is this: Any judge that possesses an ounce of common sense would wrap this case up in favor of the defendant in a day. The kid/man owns the DVDs, the CSS encryption is not in place to protect anything other then access. He did not gain unlawful access to anything, and furthermore did not harm or effect the DVD (which he owns) in any way. I would imagine that the judge has heard of reverse engineering, and understands that it is legal.
Bah, this all pointless. They should just bring in a group of Korean protestors and make it interesting.
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Google search of "beware of paypal": Beware
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Google search of "beware of paypal": Beware
PayPal Warning
Petition to shut down PayPal My skin is crawling - really.
Eventually, we have to get a judge that either sees the sense in all of it, or cannot be bought, or (hopefully) both. How much more can will it take?
Yay geek!
Lunar The Silver Star is the game that made me an RPG addict. I had logged many hours with old classics like Dragon Warrior, Eye of the Beholder, and Final Fantasy 1, but my interest lapsed when the 16 bit revolution came (not to mention women and drugs in that time frame). But, Lunar for the Sega CD made me a full tilt closet geek. Let's pray that a Lunar 3 hits shelves, even if you are a godless communist heathen like myself.
Please post a Microsoft bashing article - oh how we love them.
So, in short, they are a lame company, and it shows.
Only Bill Gates, of course. No one can match his uncanny vision and technological sense. He is a mastermind, and respect all of his decisions - especially when it comes to marketing.
Dan Bricklin! I'm gonna run right out and buy one now, because Dan Bricklin reviewed it!!
Any company that only offers their services on the Windows platform or through technology that must be utilized on the Windows platform (like a web site that only works with IE, or Windows only download clients needed, or Windows Media player format only, etc) is useless to me. Immediately, it is appearent that they lack the vision and skill of a truly talented and innovative company. They do not deserve my money, let alone a second of my time. They should be IN SOVIET RUSSIA.
Droid Factory
Let's talk about other things! The ainme series Berserk is awesome, especially the out takes. Who can forget the Whitney Houston song? "I don't really wanna go, very much farther..." And Metroid Prime has to be the best game ever! I am hooked. Seeing as I have the whole of next week off (burning those vacation days before the end of the year), I may actually get my $6 dollars worth out of this Blockbuster rental.
Come on now. You aren't that geeky are you? Geek. Who the hell even heard of this crap? IN SOVIET RUSSIA the Fire Fly cancels the likely!!!