There are already lots of games like this - albeit without the touch screen. Look at Neverwinter Nights, for instance. To me, a system like this would take away from the fun of a pen & paper RPG. It's nice to unplug for a while, sit down with some friends face to face, and roll some dice. I think that it would be nice to have a big touch screen for the main map, but once you let the system automate the rolling of the dice, it basically becomes a computer RPG.
But not all of us live in the US, either. Here in Canada the majority of our electricity is generated by hydro dams. From the Canadian Encyclopedia:
Canada's installed electrical generating capacity in 1994 was 114 gigawatts (GW = 109 watts): 56% derived from HYDROELECTRICITY, 18% from coal, 14% from nuclear power, 7% from oil, 4% from natural gas and 1% from other sources. Installed capacity is the amount of power that could be generated at a given instant if all power plants were working simultaneously at full capacity.
I normally use a Logitech 5 button mouse with my Mac. I have the 2 thumb buttons mapped to show the desktop and show all open windows. Very handy to have those features immediately available.
Actually, the mighty mouse only has one physical button for left- and right-clicking. It uses heat sensors to tell if your forefinger is resting on the mouse. If it is, then you get a left-click; if not, you get a right-click. Lifting your finger takes a bit of getting used to, and it sometimes takes several tries to get a right-click - especially in a warm environment where it takes longer for the sensor to cool down. This makes a mighty mouse almost useless if you're in a hurry (gaming, for instance).
I agree. I install cable and internet for our local telco, and it almost never works to use existing cable to pull new stuff through the walls. If you're very lucky and the initial install wasn't done by an overzealous electrician with an unnatural love of his staple gun, you might get away with it. Also, if you have a basement with a drywalled ceiling, you can just about forget about it. Why would anyone permanently cover up the only access to most of the utilities in their home?
If the Romulans hadn't been blown up at the end, they might have fallen through the singularity and gone on to destroy Vulcan again (in yet another dimension).
My mighty mouse did the same thing with the scroll button not working properly. It's probably just because some dirt got in behind the ball. Try holding the mouse upside down and spin the ball around like crazy for a bit. That should make any debris fall out and restore functionality.
I live in Canada, and have both a Canadian and US iTunes account. I just downloaded something from the US iTunes store and had to agree to the new terms of service. The download worked fine.
As far as I can tell, the terms of service (for the US store, anyway) no longer allow you to use a credit card from a foreign bank. You can still make purchases if you use pre-paid iTunes cards, as long as those cards were purchased in the US.
This is a bit off-topic, but it seems like a good chance to rant a bit.
That sounds more like the Canadian GST system. It gets a bit ridiculous sometimes. There's tax on 5 or fewer donuts or muffins (considered snack food), but not if you buy 6 or more (groceries). Likewise, there's tax on pre-made fruit beverages, unless they contain more than 10% real juice. The cooked chicken thing applies to us as well. Bottled water is taxed if its sold in a container that is smaller than 600ml, which is annoying because the default size seems to be 591ml (20oz).
Then there's the whole headache of provincial sales tax, which varies from one province to the next (except in Alberta, where it doesn't exist), or in some cases is even combined with the GST.
I just used the Mac installer to install the game on my MacBook Pro. I had the same problem, but found a fix for it. Try holding down the option key while clicking on the icon to load the game. This will bring up the D2 options program. Go through the "configure video" section, and select 640x480 (stretched) and/or 800x600 (stretched). This should allow you to run it in fullscreen. Also, make sure you have the latest patch (1.12). You can get it from here: http://ftp.blizzard.com/pub/diablo2/patches/Mac/D2%20Patcher%20112a%20(Carbon).zip
It also depends on where in the world you live. Here in Manitoba, almost all of our electricity is hydro electric. This is not only a clean source of power, but it means that we generally have low rates for electricity.
I think that even 13km on a charge would be great for a commute, especially if you could recharge your car while you're at work. I would definitely consider a plug-in hybrid, but my concern is that the batteries wouldn't fare too well during our winters. I could easily see the 13km/charge dropping off considerably in cold weather.
The scary part of it all is that the mainstream media is all that most people read/watch/listen to. I work in a grocery store and my boss wanted to wait until Vista was released to upgrade some equipment because he heard that Vista was great. I tried to tell him that we should at least wait until things shake out a bit, but he's all gung-ho to be an early adopter. I just hope that it doesn't make my job of maintaining the systems too much of a PITA. Unfortunately, some of our software won't run on Linux or OSX, so this might be our only option.
Re:If you think education is expensive, try ignora
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Verizon Can't Do Math
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· Score: 1
Appearantly Verizon is trying ignorance. As George can attest, Verizon's ignorance is trying.
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And even then, the release date will get pushed back at least three times!
That's one reason I call it "Lackluster" instead of "Blockbuster".
There are already lots of games like this - albeit without the touch screen. Look at Neverwinter Nights, for instance. To me, a system like this would take away from the fun of a pen & paper RPG. It's nice to unplug for a while, sit down with some friends face to face, and roll some dice. I think that it would be nice to have a big touch screen for the main map, but once you let the system automate the rolling of the dice, it basically becomes a computer RPG.
When someone builds a space station that stays in orbit out of a Pringles can and duct tape.. I'll be impressed.
That would either be one hell of a pringles can, or you'd be recruited some mighty small people to populate the space station.
Or a hell of a lot of duct tape!
Archie: How very interesting. You're a true vulgarian, aren't you?
Otto: You're the vulgarian, you fuck.
Canada's installed electrical generating capacity in 1994 was 114 gigawatts (GW = 109 watts): 56% derived from HYDROELECTRICITY, 18% from coal, 14% from nuclear power, 7% from oil, 4% from natural gas and 1% from other sources. Installed capacity is the amount of power that could be generated at a given instant if all power plants were working simultaneously at full capacity.
See http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=a1ARTA0002565 for more info.
The big problem for us is the cold weather sucking the life out of the batteries.
I normally use a Logitech 5 button mouse with my Mac. I have the 2 thumb buttons mapped to show the desktop and show all open windows. Very handy to have those features immediately available.
Actually, the mighty mouse only has one physical button for left- and right-clicking. It uses heat sensors to tell if your forefinger is resting on the mouse. If it is, then you get a left-click; if not, you get a right-click. Lifting your finger takes a bit of getting used to, and it sometimes takes several tries to get a right-click - especially in a warm environment where it takes longer for the sensor to cool down. This makes a mighty mouse almost useless if you're in a hurry (gaming, for instance).
The scroll ball is awesome, though!
YMMV
I agree. I install cable and internet for our local telco, and it almost never works to use existing cable to pull new stuff through the walls. If you're very lucky and the initial install wasn't done by an overzealous electrician with an unnatural love of his staple gun, you might get away with it. Also, if you have a basement with a drywalled ceiling, you can just about forget about it. Why would anyone permanently cover up the only access to most of the utilities in their home?
CONTINUING SPOILER ALERT!
If the Romulans hadn't been blown up at the end, they might have fallen through the singularity and gone on to destroy Vulcan again (in yet another dimension).
There's no pulling the wool over your eyes!
My mighty mouse did the same thing with the scroll button not working properly. It's probably just because some dirt got in behind the ball. Try holding the mouse upside down and spin the ball around like crazy for a bit. That should make any debris fall out and restore functionality.
I live in Canada, and have both a Canadian and US iTunes account. I just downloaded something from the US iTunes store and had to agree to the new terms of service. The download worked fine.
As far as I can tell, the terms of service (for the US store, anyway) no longer allow you to use a credit card from a foreign bank. You can still make purchases if you use pre-paid iTunes cards, as long as those cards were purchased in the US.
Does it run on Linux?
It could be the "Imperial March" from Star Wars.
I prefer "-1 Unsightful".
On a Mac, try "Command, Option, Control, 8" to invert the colours.
This is a bit off-topic, but it seems like a good chance to rant a bit.
That sounds more like the Canadian GST system. It gets a bit ridiculous sometimes. There's tax on 5 or fewer donuts or muffins (considered snack food), but not if you buy 6 or more (groceries). Likewise, there's tax on pre-made fruit beverages, unless they contain more than 10% real juice. The cooked chicken thing applies to us as well. Bottled water is taxed if its sold in a container that is smaller than 600ml, which is annoying because the default size seems to be 591ml (20oz).
Then there's the whole headache of provincial sales tax, which varies from one province to the next (except in Alberta, where it doesn't exist), or in some cases is even combined with the GST.
All in all, its a real PITA.
If you're interested, here's more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goods_and_Services_Tax_(Canada)
And it's only $1.99 for the same thing in Canada. It's nice to see the cost discrimination going the other way for once!
I just used the Mac installer to install the game on my MacBook Pro. I had the same problem, but found a fix for it. Try holding down the option key while clicking on the icon to load the game. This will bring up the D2 options program. Go through the "configure video" section, and select 640x480 (stretched) and/or 800x600 (stretched). This should allow you to run it in fullscreen. Also, make sure you have the latest patch (1.12). You can get it from here: http://ftp.blizzard.com/pub/diablo2/patches/Mac/D2%20Patcher%20112a%20(Carbon).zip
Wouldn't that make it a buy-law?
It also depends on where in the world you live. Here in Manitoba, almost all of our electricity is hydro electric. This is not only a clean source of power, but it means that we generally have low rates for electricity.
I think that even 13km on a charge would be great for a commute, especially if you could recharge your car while you're at work. I would definitely consider a plug-in hybrid, but my concern is that the batteries wouldn't fare too well during our winters. I could easily see the 13km/charge dropping off considerably in cold weather.
The scary part of it all is that the mainstream media is all that most people read/watch/listen to. I work in a grocery store and my boss wanted to wait until Vista was released to upgrade some equipment because he heard that Vista was great. I tried to tell him that we should at least wait until things shake out a bit, but he's all gung-ho to be an early adopter. I just hope that it doesn't make my job of maintaining the systems too much of a PITA. Unfortunately, some of our software won't run on Linux or OSX, so this might be our only option.