I recommend that anyone who finds this article interesting should read Steven L. Kent's excellent The Ultimate History of Video Games (formerly known as The First Quarter). It's a detailed and nuanced history of the video game industry, starting with the pinball industry's birth in the late 1800s, all the way to the death of the Dreamcast. It's incredibly engrossing, and will leave you with a much clearer picture of how far the industry has come.
Also note that their last major revision coincided with a major OS release. Some with this one. They only seem to crack the ol' IE revision out when they need to match it with a new OS look and feel.
That, or Gamestop got the short end of the Wii allocation stick somehow.
That's exactly what I meant. I think Nintendo is trying to emphsize more mainstream stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, Sears, etc.) over the gaming specialist shops. Places like EB, Babbages, and Gamestop don't cater to the new demographic they're trying to cultivate, so it would make sense for them to focus the majority of their push elsewhere.
I got to my local GameStop (Squirrel Hill location in Pittsburgh, PA) at 8:45 AM, about an hour before they opened. There were about a dozen people in line. Then the EB employee came by, and handed tickets to the first bunch of people in line (not me).
From what I've gathered, they had a lot fewer units allocated than they did for the PS3. When I asked on Wednesday, the clerk said those had sold out in about 15 minutes. It's kinda odd, considering that the Wii's going to have about 10x the availability. My guess is that Nintendo is purposefully avoiding selling the majority of their hardware as preorders. They want to get the hardware into the hands of the general public, not the sorts of people who read gaming sites or get email notifications from EB. It makes sense, though, when you consider how vital Nintendo's market expansion plan is to the system's success.
I've heard of this, it's called battered fanboy syndrome. It's ok to talk now, you're in a safe place. Where did Sony touch you? Are there any bruises? Oh, I see; they used a sack full of oranges.
The fact that the whole thing is timed kinda hurts the challenge, I think. I'd like to consider myself a pretty good writer, but I'm terrible with a time limit. In high school I used to get all As in English class, but when it came to the essay exam at the end (administered by the State of New York), I'd get a B+ at best. That's because I don't work well with a time limit measured in hours or minutes. Give me a day or two to work and I'm fine. I like to move things around, nitpick over word choices, and play with sentence structure; and you can't really do that with a timer ticking in the background.
What baffles me about this mod is that he says it costs $9 to $15, but everything including the ion generator costs more than that. If he can't get the price right, what's to say its as effective has he claims? Especially since he gives us a CFM figure, but doesn't tell us how he measured it, or give us any concrete numbers on how cool it runs.
For what it's worth, my friend makes use of a toaster oven in his soldering experiments, and it's quite easy to do it wrong - he toasted an iPaq at least once doing that.
Did it at least taste good with a bit of butter and jam?
Only Apple would be so self-enamored as to refer to their techs as "geniuses" and not mean it sarcastically. Especially considering the fact that most store technicians aren't above the level of such stunning detecrive work as "Your processor is smoking and giving off a burning smell. I think it's dead."
This might also come in handy for their future HD-DVD addon, certainly when movies will get HDCP-protected."
All currently available HD DVD and the upcoming Blu-Ray titles are HDCP protected. When they're sent as a digital signal over HDMI or DVI to displays that support HDCP, they're encrypted. The Image Constraint Token (ICT)- part of the standard which halves the resolution when a movie is diplayed over unencrypted DVI or analog outputs- just hasn't been put to use yet, making HDCP non-mandatory.
you know what...fuck the acid test.the fact that only 3 browsers pass it and that's just because they wanted to pass this particular test...it TELLS YOU SOMETHING.
it's unrealistic.
The ACID test isn't just some sort of browser back patting wankfest. Well ok, it sorta is, but it's still important. The point is that the internet is based off of standards. All browsers that feature the latest HTML and CSS specs should display pages in exactly the same way. If they don't interoperability goes out the window, and we get hack-laden web sites (a-la sites that depend on bugs in IE6 to make sure they display correctly across all browsers), or worse yet, browser specific web sites. ACID2 is designed to make it easy to test consistency across browsers.
if the functions that are implemented there were so importat every browser would support them.they don't... [sic] there for nobody really gives a fuck about the acid test.
That's a fallacy, pure and simple. A lot of web developers would LOVE to take advantage of the features CSS 2.0 has to offer. The reason why they're so rarely used has nothing to do with their usefulness, and a lot to do with Internet Explorer. Microsoft's browser is notorious for inaccurate, incomplete, or nonexistent standards compliance, but it's still the most popular around. Until Microsoft gets off its duff and makes its browser compliant with modern standards, the internet will be stuck with a 6 year old version of the W3C conventions, and a buggy one at that. If/when they get it done, I'm sure a lot of the features ACID tests will go into wide use.
Hell, I'd even go for $15, but I agree that $20 is too much. I just keep thinking "For $10 more I could buy another DS game" and then I clear out the order form.
Slashdot Mirror
I recommend that anyone who finds this article interesting should read Steven L. Kent's excellent The Ultimate History of Video Games (formerly known as The First Quarter). It's a detailed and nuanced history of the video game industry, starting with the pinball industry's birth in the late 1800s, all the way to the death of the Dreamcast. It's incredibly engrossing, and will leave you with a much clearer picture of how far the industry has come.
Also note that their last major revision coincided with a major OS release. Some with this one. They only seem to crack the ol' IE revision out when they need to match it with a new OS look and feel.
I'm reminded of a joke on The Critic. I wonder if the real film will be at all similar.
Squirrel Hill at 7 AM happened to be pretty cold today, so I fell that #5 and 7:20 were a fair trade. :(
;)
I have windburn from the cold.
Perhaps, since you live so close to me, I can come over and play it when it arrives?
That, or Gamestop got the short end of the Wii allocation stick somehow.
That's exactly what I meant. I think Nintendo is trying to emphsize more mainstream stores (Best Buy, Circuit City, CompUSA, Sears, etc.) over the gaming specialist shops. Places like EB, Babbages, and Gamestop don't cater to the new demographic they're trying to cultivate, so it would make sense for them to focus the majority of their push elsewhere.
I got to my local GameStop (Squirrel Hill location in Pittsburgh, PA) at 8:45 AM, about an hour before they opened. There were about a dozen people in line. Then the EB employee came by, and handed tickets to the first bunch of people in line (not me).
From what I've gathered, they had a lot fewer units allocated than they did for the PS3. When I asked on Wednesday, the clerk said those had sold out in about 15 minutes. It's kinda odd, considering that the Wii's going to have about 10x the availability. My guess is that Nintendo is purposefully avoiding selling the majority of their hardware as preorders. They want to get the hardware into the hands of the general public, not the sorts of people who read gaming sites or get email notifications from EB. It makes sense, though, when you consider how vital Nintendo's market expansion plan is to the system's success.
I've heard of this, it's called battered fanboy syndrome. It's ok to talk now, you're in a safe place. Where did Sony touch you? Are there any bruises? Oh, I see; they used a sack full of oranges.
The fact that the whole thing is timed kinda hurts the challenge, I think. I'd like to consider myself a pretty good writer, but I'm terrible with a time limit. In high school I used to get all As in English class, but when it came to the essay exam at the end (administered by the State of New York), I'd get a B+ at best. That's because I don't work well with a time limit measured in hours or minutes. Give me a day or two to work and I'm fine. I like to move things around, nitpick over word choices, and play with sentence structure; and you can't really do that with a timer ticking in the background.
Perhaps I'm being thick, but what are you talking about? Your comment doesn't seem at all relevant.
The comics are much harder to get ahold of than the game. We're talking about the hardcover going for upwards of $150.
What baffles me about this mod is that he says it costs $9 to $15, but everything including the ion generator costs more than that. If he can't get the price right, what's to say its as effective has he claims? Especially since he gives us a CFM figure, but doesn't tell us how he measured it, or give us any concrete numbers on how cool it runs.
I was shouting "Boourns"...
Oh snap! Buuuuurn!
For what it's worth, my friend makes use of a toaster oven in his soldering experiments, and it's quite easy to do it wrong - he toasted an iPaq at least once doing that.
Did it at least taste good with a bit of butter and jam?
Beyond TV does a pretty good job, though it doesn't instantly jump to TV.
Only Apple would be so self-enamored as to refer to their techs as "geniuses" and not mean it sarcastically. Especially considering the fact that most store technicians aren't above the level of such stunning detecrive work as "Your processor is smoking and giving off a burning smell. I think it's dead."
Don't make a computer for anyone who insults your handiwork.
TF2 after all these many years?
I know. First Prey, and now TF2. All we need is Duke Nukem Forever, and the apocalypse will be upon us.
Nintendogs, which turns your DS into a $150 digital pet? Can you say Tamagotchi?
Nothing at all like Sony's $600 virtual pet.
I am well aware of this. I still weep that I own a Dell 2405FPW, rather than the 2407FPW whic supports HDCP. :(
This might also come in handy for their future HD-DVD addon, certainly when movies will get HDCP-protected."
All currently available HD DVD and the upcoming Blu-Ray titles are HDCP protected. When they're sent as a digital signal over HDMI or DVI to displays that support HDCP, they're encrypted. The Image Constraint Token (ICT)- part of the standard which halves the resolution when a movie is diplayed over unencrypted DVI or analog outputs- just hasn't been put to use yet, making HDCP non-mandatory.
you know what...fuck the acid test.the fact that only 3 browsers pass it and that's just because they wanted to pass this particular test...it TELLS YOU SOMETHING.
it's unrealistic.
The ACID test isn't just some sort of browser back patting wankfest. Well ok, it sorta is, but it's still important. The point is that the internet is based off of standards. All browsers that feature the latest HTML and CSS specs should display pages in exactly the same way. If they don't interoperability goes out the window, and we get hack-laden web sites (a-la sites that depend on bugs in IE6 to make sure they display correctly across all browsers), or worse yet, browser specific web sites. ACID2 is designed to make it easy to test consistency across browsers.
if the functions that are implemented there were so importat every browser would support them.they don't... [sic] there for nobody really gives a fuck about the acid test.
That's a fallacy, pure and simple. A lot of web developers would LOVE to take advantage of the features CSS 2.0 has to offer. The reason why they're so rarely used has nothing to do with their usefulness, and a lot to do with Internet Explorer. Microsoft's browser is notorious for inaccurate, incomplete, or nonexistent standards compliance, but it's still the most popular around. Until Microsoft gets off its duff and makes its browser compliant with modern standards, the internet will be stuck with a 6 year old version of the W3C conventions, and a buggy one at that. If/when they get it done, I'm sure a lot of the features ACID tests will go into wide use.
It reminds me of a phone book. Not really something you want for an eye-catching ad.
Hell, I'd even go for $15, but I agree that $20 is too much. I just keep thinking "For $10 more I could buy another DS game" and then I clear out the order form.
Er, make that "any price gouging"