I think I may go back to PC gaming this generation. Those games are loaded with DRM too, but at least the games are cheap and developers are upfront about restrictions.
I mostly buy games DRM-free on GOG.com these days. A lot of new indie games go there, and there are plenty of older games still worth playing.
I just really hate to go back to chasing that upgrade dragon.
Fortunately most games are crippled for the console market, so a cheap old PC is capable of running them at medium to high settings. That may change for a year or two when the new consoles come out, but this one appears to be significantly less powerful than a high-end PC.
That's assuming they actually get it in the first place, and aren't put on the 'Liverpool Care Pathway' because they're too expensive to treat.
The simple fact is that there's an infinite demand for healthcare and a limited supply. Someone ends up rationing it, and I'd rather it was rationed by what I'm willing to pay than by what some faceless bureaucrat is willing to pay.
When I was at school about twenty years ago some of the kids built a similar-sized hovercraft as a project and used to ride it around the playground. Given how cheap our school was, it can't have cost them much other than a second-hand engine and some wood for the body and fins and rubber for the skirt.
Recently I read an old Arthur C Clarke article from the 50s or 60s about how hovercraft were to be the future of transport and no-one would want wheels any more. I guess it just wasn't this particular future.
But god, the protoreaper fight? I felt like I stepped into some crappy B movie or something.
But that's what I thought of the whole Mass Effect franchise... a mess of unskippable cut-scenes written by a frustrated wannabe SyFy Channel director.
Personally I now wait until the full game with all DLC included is on sale for $5. The only game I've bought on release (actually, pre-release) in the last few years is Guild Wars 2, because you can't avoid DLC in MMOs.
The problem is that the EU allows most people from any EU nation to move to other EU nations. As the locals get fed up with millions of people arriving in their country with whom they have nothing in common, who often can't speak the same language, and who take many of the low-paid jobs that locals used to do, they demand that their politicians do something about immigration. The politicians can't do anything about EU immigration because it's controlled by the EU, so they impose tougher and tougher rules on non-EU immigration, which are counterproductive and fail to solve the problem, but win votes.
That's one way to look at it. The other way to look at it is: if your UI is so discoverable that all you have to do is hit one key and then type whatever you're looking for and *boom* there it is, you know you have a great UI.
DOS was even better. You didn't even have to 'hit one key' before you could type the command you were looking for.
Back in the real world, if your GRAPHICAL User Interface requires you to type the name of a program to start it, it's a lousy UI.
Gnome 2 was pretty much complete; they could have spent time fixing bugs and adding a few new features that people really needed... but that's not sexy, unlike implementing a tablet UI on the desktop.
i don't trust the aim of even the highest trained police officers
Cops are notoriously bad shots. It's one reason why you're far more likely to be accidentally shot by a cop than by a 'gun-toting hero' civilian.
I still don't think that handing passengers a pistol with their boarding pass as they check in would be a good idea. Though maybe if it only had one bullet...
No, they charge you more for being dumb and less for being smart. Smart metering allows pricing to be adjusted by demand, so if you time shift your electricity consumption, you can save money.
Exactly my point.
Today I can run any electrical device any time I want. In the glorious new 'smart meter' future I'll be paying more unless I run it when _THEY_ want.
Certain people seem to think that putting their own devices in the control of a third party is a good idea. Personally, I'd rather just buy a generator like the rest of the third world with unreliable power supplies.
Personally I only got half-way through the first episode before I decided I couldn't be bothered to watch a soap opera set in space. Did it get any better (I gather that the ending was a huge let-down)?
If BB pitch is to corporate clients (still) - how do they plan to attract all these devs who certainly don't care about the enterprise and much, much smaller target market.
As I understand it, a large fraction of Android apps can be ported over in binary form, so even end-users can do so.
I do like the basic idea behind the Transformer, and I think that's going to be much more common in the future as it seems to be a pretty good compromise that actually has real world utility.
I have a Transformer, and while it seems like a good compromise, the end result is that it's both a poor tablet (e.g. too big and heavy to hold comfortably) and a poor netbook (e.g. horrible unbalanced due to having the heavy components behind the screen).
Don't know if it's still the plan, but a few years ago Virgin were predicting the cost of sub-orbital flights would drop to $50,000 within five years of operation. While that's still expensive, it's much closer to a typical 'extreme' vacation like a few days in Antarctica.
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I think I may go back to PC gaming this generation. Those games are loaded with DRM too, but at least the games are cheap and developers are upfront about restrictions.
I mostly buy games DRM-free on GOG.com these days. A lot of new indie games go there, and there are plenty of older games still worth playing.
I just really hate to go back to chasing that upgrade dragon.
Fortunately most games are crippled for the console market, so a cheap old PC is capable of running them at medium to high settings. That may change for a year or two when the new consoles come out, but this one appears to be significantly less powerful than a high-end PC.
Yes, it is. It's a horrible Metroised mess of pictures that trades function for shiny.
That's assuming they actually get it in the first place, and aren't put on the 'Liverpool Care Pathway' because they're too expensive to treat.
The simple fact is that there's an infinite demand for healthcare and a limited supply. Someone ends up rationing it, and I'd rather it was rationed by what I'm willing to pay than by what some faceless bureaucrat is willing to pay.
When I was at school about twenty years ago some of the kids built a similar-sized hovercraft as a project and used to ride it around the playground. Given how cheap our school was, it can't have cost them much other than a second-hand engine and some wood for the body and fins and rubber for the skirt.
Recently I read an old Arthur C Clarke article from the 50s or 60s about how hovercraft were to be the future of transport and no-one would want wheels any more. I guess it just wasn't this particular future.
The Soviet dolphin paratroopers mentioned in an article linked to by this one sound cooler to me though :).
But god, the protoreaper fight? I felt like I stepped into some crappy B movie or something.
But that's what I thought of the whole Mass Effect franchise... a mess of unskippable cut-scenes written by a frustrated wannabe SyFy Channel director.
Personally I now wait until the full game with all DLC included is on sale for $5. The only game I've bought on release (actually, pre-release) in the last few years is Guild Wars 2, because you can't avoid DLC in MMOs.
So it's costing them money from me.
The problem is that the EU allows most people from any EU nation to move to other EU nations. As the locals get fed up with millions of people arriving in their country with whom they have nothing in common, who often can't speak the same language, and who take many of the low-paid jobs that locals used to do, they demand that their politicians do something about immigration. The politicians can't do anything about EU immigration because it's controlled by the EU, so they impose tougher and tougher rules on non-EU immigration, which are counterproductive and fail to solve the problem, but win votes.
That's one way to look at it. The other way to look at it is: if your UI is so discoverable that all you have to do is hit one key and then type whatever you're looking for and *boom* there it is, you know you have a great UI.
DOS was even better. You didn't even have to 'hit one key' before you could type the command you were looking for.
Back in the real world, if your GRAPHICAL User Interface requires you to type the name of a program to start it, it's a lousy UI.
CPU chips are performance-limited by heat.
My old Pentium-4: 130W
My new i7: 75W
There's plenty of headroom to output a few more watts without having to underclock the chip.
Well, it was a stable dictatorship. That stopped being the case a couple years ago.
That was about the time we started giving weapons to the opposition, wasn't it?
Gnome 2 was pretty much complete; they could have spent time fixing bugs and adding a few new features that people really needed... but that's not sexy, unlike implementing a tablet UI on the desktop.
i don't trust the aim of even the highest trained police officers
Cops are notoriously bad shots. It's one reason why you're far more likely to be accidentally shot by a cop than by a 'gun-toting hero' civilian.
I still don't think that handing passengers a pistol with their boarding pass as they check in would be a good idea. Though maybe if it only had one bullet...
Just like encryption will always be broken a few seconds before the plaintext is required.
No, they charge you more for being dumb and less for being smart. Smart metering allows pricing to be adjusted by demand, so if you time shift your electricity consumption, you can save money.
Exactly my point.
Today I can run any electrical device any time I want. In the glorious new 'smart meter' future I'll be paying more unless I run it when _THEY_ want.
Certain people seem to think that putting their own devices in the control of a third party is a good idea. Personally, I'd rather just buy a generator like the rest of the third world with unreliable power supplies.
Personally I only got half-way through the first episode before I decided I couldn't be bothered to watch a soap opera set in space. Did it get any better (I gather that the ending was a huge let-down)?
Given the 'smart grid' is just a way for power companies to charge you more for doing less, I'll keep my 'dumb grid', thanks.
As soon as the publishers get a foot in the door, everything will be a rental with a limited lifespan.
I wish I had mod points. The goal of DRM is to force everyone to pay for everything, every time, everywhere.
That's what happens when you ship your manufacturing to the third world and refuse to build nuclear plants at home.
If BB pitch is to corporate clients (still) - how do they plan to attract all these devs who certainly don't care about the enterprise and much, much smaller target market.
As I understand it, a large fraction of Android apps can be ported over in binary form, so even end-users can do so.
The nearest bus stop where I live is almost 3 miles away and it only gets service once a day
So you want the bus to run empty for three dozen trips a day just in case you decide to take it?
Of course, because of that, the battery will be flat when you go to use it.
I seem to have the choice between:
1. Leave the tablet in standby and have a flat battery.
2. Turn it off and have to wait twice as long for it to boot as my netbook does.
I do like the basic idea behind the Transformer, and I think that's going to be much more common in the future as it seems to be a pretty good compromise that actually has real world utility.
I have a Transformer, and while it seems like a good compromise, the end result is that it's both a poor tablet (e.g. too big and heavy to hold comfortably) and a poor netbook (e.g. horrible unbalanced due to having the heavy components behind the screen).
I don't think anyone would argue that the EV will never be a practical solution. They are just not a practical solution today.
And they haven't been a practical solution in the 150 years or so since they were first released.
Maybe in another 150 years with a 'Mr Fusion' on the back to replace the batteries...
Don't know if it's still the plan, but a few years ago Virgin were predicting the cost of sub-orbital flights would drop to $50,000 within five years of operation. While that's still expensive, it's much closer to a typical 'extreme' vacation like a few days in Antarctica.