I think you're talking about the Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer. It's an optical mouse that doesn't use a special pad - it actually has a little camera that takes about 1500 pictures a second and compares one with the next in order to determine how it's tracking.
It's actually a USB mouse, but there is a PS/2 adapter that comes with it.
It works pretty well for day to day tasks, but it does have drawbacks. You can't use it on glass or reflective surfaces (despite this, the in-store displays they shipped have it sitting on a mirror), and doesn't work well on repeating textures like halftone prints. It also doesn't work very well on the hardtop type mouse pads. It works best on hard woodgrain slightly textured surfaces in my experience.
There seem to be a few manufacturing defects in the first generation of them (the ones out right now). A lot of people are complaining that the left button malfunctions frequently - double clicking where you meant to click and hold, and dropping stuff as you click and drag around.
It's also not the best mouse ever for gaming. It seems that you can move it too fast and it loses track of where it is - really bad if you want to suddenly spin and blast the person you hear sneaking up behind you in Quake III.
Otherwise, it's a pretty decent mouse. I'm willing to bet that within a year or two or so most mice will be based on this idea rather than ball type. I'm personally going to wait a bit before shelling out the cash for one (the one I used was a friends). By that time the technology will have overcome the shortcomings (I hope, I'm sick to death of cleaning out all the negative karma built up on the rollers of my mice).
Mac users have run into this for a long time: the problem with hybrid disks is they usually get recorded at the registers as a windows sales, even if you plan to use it on a Mac. You really need a different box to get a fair representation of sales for platforms. The retailer couldn't care less about what the registration cards say once you've shelled out the cash for the product.
Most of Blizzard's stuff is this way: the disks, once the Mac versions come out, are hybrid pc/mac, but the boxes are labeled for either PC or Mac. Sometimes it becomes even more confusing, because they'll have the different boxes priced differently even though the contents of the boxes are identical.
It's not who is playing on what platform that's important- it's who is shelling out the money to buy the game. If everyone buys the windows version, the retailers are going to say "there's no market for [linux|mac] games, see, look at our sales figures!" Even if half the people on the net are using the mac/linux versions. The retailers couldn't care less about anything that doesn't postively effect their bottom line, they're not selling stuff for the good of the universe, they're selling to make money.
Carmack wants to widen the retail channels for non-windows software, so he's just saying that if you want to support linux or mac software, don't buy the windows version and download the binaries, buy the box for your preffered platform. That way the retailers know that there are people out there interested in it, and will have more incentive to carry more alternative software in the future.
Corporations are not private citizens. They are resposible for their actions and have a legal requirement to fufill those responsibilities.
This is a trial in which Microsoft has had every opportunity to prove that they were not breaking the law. The ruling on this trial has yet to come down. If the DOJ wins it sends the clear message that monopolistic practices are illegal. That's it. Nobody will go to jail, nobody will be beaten up (except, perhaps, the MS lawyers, at the hands of Bill) no physical violence will be used.
Illegal use of melodrama, two minutes in the penalty box.
Slashdot Mirror
One totally unconfirmed rumor regarding a completely irrelevant aspect of a company's operations puts you off that company forever?
I think you're talking about the Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer. It's an optical mouse that doesn't use a special pad - it actually has a little camera that takes about 1500 pictures a second and compares one with the next in order to determine how it's tracking.
It's actually a USB mouse, but there is a PS/2 adapter that comes with it.
It works pretty well for day to day tasks, but it does have drawbacks. You can't use it on glass or reflective surfaces (despite this, the in-store displays they shipped have it sitting on a mirror), and doesn't work well on repeating textures like halftone prints. It also doesn't work very well on the hardtop type mouse pads. It works best on hard woodgrain slightly textured surfaces in my experience.
There seem to be a few manufacturing defects in the first generation of them (the ones out right now). A lot of people are complaining that the left button malfunctions frequently - double clicking where you meant to click and hold, and dropping stuff as you click and drag around.
It's also not the best mouse ever for gaming. It seems that you can move it too fast and it loses track of where it is - really bad if you want to suddenly spin and blast the person you hear sneaking up behind you in Quake III.
Otherwise, it's a pretty decent mouse. I'm willing to bet that within a year or two or so most mice will be based on this idea rather than ball type. I'm personally going to wait a bit before shelling out the cash for one (the one I used was a friends). By that time the technology will have overcome the shortcomings (I hope, I'm sick to death of cleaning out all the negative karma built up on the rollers of my mice).
Mac users have run into this for a long time: the problem with hybrid disks is they usually get recorded at the registers as a windows sales, even if you plan to use it on a Mac. You really need a different box to get a fair representation of sales for platforms. The retailer couldn't care less about what the registration cards say once you've shelled out the cash for the product.
Most of Blizzard's stuff is this way: the disks, once the Mac versions come out, are hybrid pc/mac, but the boxes are labeled for either PC or Mac. Sometimes it becomes even more confusing, because they'll have the different boxes priced differently even though the contents of the boxes are identical.
It's not who is playing on what platform that's important- it's who is shelling out the money to buy the game. If everyone buys the windows version, the retailers are going to say "there's no market for [linux|mac] games, see, look at our sales figures!" Even if half the people on the net are using the mac/linux versions. The retailers couldn't care less about anything that doesn't postively effect their bottom line, they're not selling stuff for the good of the universe, they're selling to make money.
Carmack wants to widen the retail channels for non-windows software, so he's just saying that if you want to support linux or mac software, don't buy the windows version and download the binaries, buy the box for your preffered platform. That way the retailers know that there are people out there interested in it, and will have more incentive to carry more alternative software in the future.
Snopes.com info on Walt's final resting place.
Executive summary: He was cremated and is interred in the Forest Lawn cemetary in Glendale, CA.
You are in a maze of twisty commands, all alike...
Really?
Windows, hmmm?
Hang on a sec... "About this Macintosh..."
Nope! Seems to be running MacOS 8.6. and EditDV. Sorry! Thanks for playing!
I'm not even going to dignify this with a proper penalty.
Corporations are not private citizens. They are resposible for their actions and have a legal requirement to fufill those responsibilities.
This is a trial in which Microsoft has had every opportunity to prove that they were not breaking the law. The ruling on this trial has yet to come down. If the DOJ wins it sends the clear message that monopolistic practices are illegal. That's it. Nobody will go to jail, nobody will be beaten up (except, perhaps, the MS lawyers, at the hands of Bill) no physical violence will be used.
Illegal use of melodrama, two minutes in the penalty box.
Flag on the play-
"I'm one of the last people to support Microsoft's practices. However..."
Improper use of cliche, five yard penalty, repeat third down.