Software (read: applications) isn't destroying hardware in this case. The hardware itself is now "faulty" as the drivers have a pretty bad bug.
In my mind, this is no different than taking the the heatsink/fan off a CPU. That's a hardware issue. Doesn't matter what games, etc, you run, you risk killing that CPU because the CPU is under an abnormal operating condition.
Er, no, because the hardware clearly still works fine with older drivers.
While drivers are in control in the case we have here with nVidia, I see the drivers as part of the hardware since they were released by the manufacturer.
If it was an issue with the Firmware, then it'd be a hardware issue, as firmware is part of the card itself. Drivers are a piece of software on the computer that knows how to talk to the hardware device that can be changed out by the user as needed.
The real issue here is that the firmware has no override if it thinks the driver is giving it the wrong fan control values.
PNG is not a competitor to JPG, it's a competitor to GIF. The feature set is superior (really only one thing mattered, the alpha transparency), and it was unencumbered by the unisys patent. That's why it succeeded.
That's true, but given that people used to post screenshots as JPGs (which look *terrible* after dithering), PNG has replaced JPG for some purposes.
However, with the button being red...the likelihood you'd accidentally hit it is significantly diminished from, say, Windows.
What does the button color have to do with this? Actually, this is a moot point, since Windows has used a red button with a white X on it since XP launched in 2002. It's just wider, shorter, and glossier in Vista/7.
Like the corners of the screen, the corners of the window are just as important
That's an interesting conclusion you've drawn. Unfortunately, it's also wrong.
The reason the corners and edges of the screen are important is that your mouse cursor stops at the corners and edges of the screen*. Corners of the application window? Sorry, nope, the mouse cursor keeps going.
* This doesn't apply to one side of a dual-monitor setup.
I truely hate that resize function, if I move a windows out of the way suddenly windows decides to resize it in some direction losing the "back to resize" functionality I expect from the clickies in the top right corner.
1. Windows has an outline that shows you where window move to when you let go of the mouse button. An animated outline, so it's really obvious when you move to one of the areas that will resize, as the outline suddenly starts moving in a direction other than the one you moved the document. As I recall (I'm not at a Win7 machine), the mouse cursor also changes. 2. Resizing it back is as simple as moving the Window. Or clicking the Restore button (where the Maximize button usually sits).
1. It's non-lossy, unlike JPG. 2. It's does 24-bit color with 8-bit alpha transparency, unlike GIF which does 8-bit color with indexed transparency (one color is replaced with transparent). 3. Unisys patent trolled companies/people who made image editors that could output GIF.
Internet based trade barriers are everywhere, what immediately also comes to mind is the US block on gambling websites. The problem here is that it won't be easy to fight this one when we're not smelling like a rose, either.
Fun fact: The WTO ruled against the US in the gambling website matter..
Because they have to offset their losses on the PS3 somehow, and removing its ability to play PS2 games to make you have to buy a new PS2 when your old one breaks is one of those ways.
Why does this sound familiar. Maybe because it reminds me of Macromedia Shockwave, the browser plugin from the 90-s. With OpenGL, Direct3D support and Havok for physics effects. Yet today we still play Farmville and Flash puzzlers, some of which make millions of dollars per month for their makers.
The irony is that Macromedia Shockwave Flash (now Adobe Flash) was what "killed" Macromedia Shockwave (now Adobe Shockwave). Victim of their own success and all that.
Incidentally, the former name is why Flash files use the.swf extension.
So... you're advocating having to write two code paths (one for AMD and one for nVidia) for each new graphics feature in an application until one of the two, or worse some amalgamation of the two, is accepted into the OpenGL standard? Again, for each feature.
Please tell me that you don't work in the game industry,
Why are F/OSS projects supporting IE at all? Presumably because some proportion of their userbase wants to and is willing to contribute time or money to make this support happen.
Which in turn is because IE still holds a ridiculously large market share. 60%? 70%? If you're making a web application, making it so your app doesn't work for over-half of your potential users is a good way to lose the moment a competitor pops up.
Pixels are meaningless as they are affected by the display's DPI.
Ah, no. Pixels are meaningless because of the screen resolution, which is itself restricted by the DPI. Hence the term "Native Resolution" which is where the DPI matches the number of pixels in the screen resolution. However, the resolution can be set lower, making it so that each pixel is one or more dots.
There are no tools for the server admin to make things like md5 or cvar checks
MD5 checks are built into the game. This is controlled through the sv_pure cvar and the pure_server_whitelist.txt file (when sv_pure 1 is set, this file is used to determine which files the client can use that don't match the files on the server).
As for cvars, some are already checked and disallowed (anything marked as a cheat in the game).
Also, the Sourcemod plugin "Kigen's Anti-Cheat" has more rigorous cvar checks.
no screenshot facility to check players
Spectate, left or right-click until you find the problem player, then hit F5 to take screenshots (at least in TF2). Or even better, spectate and use the client-side record command to record a demo, which you can later play back. I believe SourceTV can be used to record demos automatically, but I don't think it records one for each player.
or even the ability to kick a player
OK, now you're just being ignorant. Source servers have built-in commands to kick and ban people through either the server console or through the game using the RCON commands (which require a password that you set in the main server configuration).
This is in addition to addons such as Sourcemod, which include kick and ban abilities for any users matching specific Steam IDs, and the optional Sourcebans module, which allows bans to be synchronized between servers.
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Opposing Force, Blue Shift, and Decay are all by Gearbox, not Valve. Hence why the OP didn't count them.
Er, no, because the hardware clearly still works fine with older drivers.
If it was an issue with the Firmware, then it'd be a hardware issue, as firmware is part of the card itself. Drivers are a piece of software on the computer that knows how to talk to the hardware device that can be changed out by the user as needed.
The real issue here is that the firmware has no override if it thinks the driver is giving it the wrong fan control values.
That's true, but given that people used to post screenshots as JPGs (which look *terrible* after dithering), PNG has replaced JPG for some purposes.
What does the button color have to do with this? Actually, this is a moot point, since Windows has used a red button with a white X on it since XP launched in 2002. It's just wider, shorter, and glossier in Vista/7.
That's an interesting conclusion you've drawn. Unfortunately, it's also wrong.
The reason the corners and edges of the screen are important is that your mouse cursor stops at the corners and edges of the screen*. Corners of the application window? Sorry, nope, the mouse cursor keeps going.
* This doesn't apply to one side of a dual-monitor setup.
He's referring to the message that you get after Windows Updates reboot but before Windows Vista/7 finishes loading, not to a dialog.
1. Windows has an outline that shows you where window move to when you let go of the mouse button. An animated outline, so it's really obvious when you move to one of the areas that will resize, as the outline suddenly starts moving in a direction other than the one you moved the document. As I recall (I'm not at a Win7 machine), the mouse cursor also changes.
2. Resizing it back is as simple as moving the Window. Or clicking the Restore button (where the Maximize button usually sits).
Windows uses borders to convey information. "1 inch think" borders are only on windows that you can resize by dragging the edges.
Yes, this includes most windows, but windows that have thin borders that you can't resize are immediately distinguishable as such.
HA, WRONG!
They were drawn by Shuttleworth's secretary in GIMP.
PNG gained support for three reasons.
1. It's non-lossy, unlike JPG.
2. It's does 24-bit color with 8-bit alpha transparency, unlike GIF which does 8-bit color with indexed transparency (one color is replaced with transparent).
3. Unisys patent trolled companies/people who made image editors that could output GIF.
Fun fact: The WTO ruled against the US in the gambling website matter..
Because they have to offset their losses on the PS3 somehow, and removing its ability to play PS2 games to make you have to buy a new PS2 when your old one breaks is one of those ways.
Actually, usually it's nVidia or ATI dictating what 3D features we have, with the other immediately implementing the same thing to keep up.
And the King's Quest Collection* (games 1-7) was re-released on Steam in July 2009!
* Doesn't work on Windows 64-bit.
As long as you realize that this Activision contains the remnants of Sierra, Activision, Blizzard, Vivendi-Universal, etc... then OK.
Personally, I would have said World of Warcraft, but that interest has long since died.
Well, I imagine a lot of code for the game must already run on Linux, as they have Linux server binaries.
It's the graphics-related code that doesn't. Or so I assume.
The irony is that Macromedia Shockwave Flash (now Adobe Flash) was what "killed" Macromedia Shockwave (now Adobe Shockwave). Victim of their own success and all that.
Incidentally, the former name is why Flash files use the .swf extension.
I thought it was Mozzarella Fox Fire.
I want Flash, ergo your argument is wrong. Buh-Bye.
And no, I'm not a Flash developer. The only time I've even attempted to write something in Flash was back when Flash 5 was new.
So... you're advocating having to write two code paths (one for AMD and one for nVidia) for each new graphics feature in an application until one of the two, or worse some amalgamation of the two, is accepted into the OpenGL standard? Again, for each feature.
Please tell me that you don't work in the game industry,
Which in turn is because IE still holds a ridiculously large market share. 60%? 70%? If you're making a web application, making it so your app doesn't work for over-half of your potential users is a good way to lose the moment a competitor pops up.
Yes, it seems odd that they wouldn't use transparent proxies to do that...
Why? Do you have some Java program that would run in 1.4 that won't run in 1.6? I certainly have never run into any.
Ah, no. Pixels are meaningless because of the screen resolution, which is itself restricted by the DPI. Hence the term "Native Resolution" which is where the DPI matches the number of pixels in the screen resolution. However, the resolution can be set lower, making it so that each pixel is one or more dots.
MD5 checks are built into the game. This is controlled through the sv_pure cvar and the pure_server_whitelist.txt file (when sv_pure 1 is set, this file is used to determine which files the client can use that don't match the files on the server).
As for cvars, some are already checked and disallowed (anything marked as a cheat in the game).
Also, the Sourcemod plugin "Kigen's Anti-Cheat" has more rigorous cvar checks.
Spectate, left or right-click until you find the problem player, then hit F5 to take screenshots (at least in TF2). Or even better, spectate and use the client-side record command to record a demo, which you can later play back. I believe SourceTV can be used to record demos automatically, but I don't think it records one for each player.
OK, now you're just being ignorant. Source servers have built-in commands to kick and ban people through either the server console or through the game using the RCON commands (which require a password that you set in the main server configuration).
This is in addition to addons such as Sourcemod, which include kick and ban abilities for any users matching specific Steam IDs, and the optional Sourcebans module, which allows bans to be synchronized between servers.