Wow, I was going to disagree with your post until I read the last line. Nobody wants Halo to become the next Madden.
That is absolutely true. Well put.
Personally, I prefer Halo over Quake and Unreal because of the speed. Halo is generally slower. And the jumping- Halo is generally more 'grounded.' Probably because I could never deal with fighting AND jumping (double jumping!) at the same time- so it sucks to go against someone who can do it.
I hope they don't add crazy jumps to Halo 3.
But as you said, Halo should not be the next Madden. But Halo *could be* the next Mario. More games in the same universe- but each game isn't just a mildly incremental improvement on the previous game.
Will Microsoft's XNA platform prove to be a good idea?
It seems like the entire plan *IS* to make cross platform (Xbox/PC) games easier to make.
Something like XNA, if it proves to be useful, could very well swing a large pendulum in Microsoft's favor.
How expensive is an XNA developing environment anyway...I assume it would be much cheaper than the hardware/software required for Xbox/Playstation development.
I have a gazillion pictures on my website. One of the most popular is a picture of a taco. I don't know why, but evidently people really like it.
A lot of people use it as their avatar on discussion boards. Which for one thing, is really retarded because the original picture is like 400x300 pixels, and they usually try to shove it into a 125x125 box. If they half of a brain, they would have downloaded it- reduced the size, and then uploaded it to the discussion board. It would have looked better, and it wouldn't have used my bandwidth.
Once it reached the number one spot on Google Images, I started to get 40,000 - 200,000 hits on the picture every day, then that number started climbing even higher... I started switching the picture out, replacing it with some sort of message to tell people NOT to use it this way (with a pornographic background eventually) Then I would rename the picture on my site.
In one month, I had to pay an extra $55 dollars to my hosting service because of this extra bandwidth I was 'using'. $55 isn't a lot, but it is $55 taken from my pocket.
Switching out the picture helped a lot, but eventually I had to change the name of the file to NOT include the word 'taco'. It seems that these people are smart enough to use Google Images...so I just had to get the file out of their search.
And what are the two competing formats of media? I'm guessing you are basing some of your points on very old (and incorrect) news.
Sony is going with a next-gen format: BlueRay
Microsoft is sticking with current DVD tech. They are calling it DVD 9.
It doesn't seem like much of a battle when one of the players is using the exact same format they used in their previous console. Now, I wish that MS was using HD-DVD. But they aren't starting that way.
There are belly-button fetish sites on the web, and some are based in Japan. So I'm not sure how excited/not-excited your friends actually are.
I keep telling people this, but they don't listen: Windows is totally NON-intuitive.
Maybe they don't listen, because you don't know what you are talking about.
Go into VisualStudio.Net. Open a project. Double click on an object. Viola...source code. Scroll up and down (don't forget to click the little '+' signs) and now you see all of it.
If you think VisualStudio.Net hides the source, obviously you have never used it.
Loading the PDF viewer is SLOW. I am constantly reminded that I need to 'update' something. In fact, the viewer on two of my computers is stuck in an update loop- where it thinks I need to update something that has already been updated.
Once a large PDF is loaded, it is still SLOW to scroll pages. And when I hit a page with some pictures, I need to wait a few seconds for them to load.
PDF files are more difficult for me to modify.
All around, PDF is a poor choice for me.
Anyone with IE on Windows can view.doc files without any additional software.
Personally, I hate either file, especially on the web. But I actually prefer.doc by a slight margin- because they take less time to load, they don't bog my computer down, and they are more easily edited.
Xbox Live (in its current incarnation) does not really have gaming servers. Each game is hosted by one of the players.
If they maintain the current user limits (8-16 people per game) then the new Xbox 360 should have no trouble putting the extra processor toward hosting.
For those who don't want to read the link, basically he was at the airport, and didn't take his shoes off. Even though it was 'recommended'. He was brought to the side, and they had to do an entire search. Then he wanted to get into a philosophical debate with the security guy, who was just doing his job.
I fly for work too, Mr. Stallman. Maybe I was the guy in the line behind you who had to wait an extra 10 minutes, while you decided to cry out about your rights...and about the use of the word 'recommend.'
Why the hell can't you just take off your shoes, and go through the detector like everyone else? Anyone who has flown in the past few years knows the drill. The security checkpoint wasn't put there to violate our rights, it was put there because people want to bring bombs and guns onto airplanes. It is unfortunately a necessity.
But of course Stallman just has to see this as another chance to challenge the status quo...to make his point.
The hundred people behind him don't give a shit about his point...they just want to get through the damn security check. So they can get on with their lives.
That is just ONE example of why I think he is a big idiot.
I could point out hundreds of others from his blog. It's easy, because he is the most self-rightous person I have ever 'met' through their blog.
No, I haven't him in person. I can only form my opinion on the information he makes available.
If he (or anyone else) would like to investigate my life, and make his opinion known, I would welcome them.
Oh, and that guy has one of the ugliest websites I have ever seen...and he has no idea in the world how to crop pictures. (Seriously, this is not flamebait...go look at his website.) Oh, and I also think he is a big hairy dirt-bag.
But honestly...Stallman is a big, over-grown crybaby. He has been whining for years, upset that the rest of the world doesn't share his beliefs, and they are not creating the world as he imagines it.
Does anyone really care about his opinion anymore? (Ever?)
Or, is he just a 'big' name that reporters use to sell articles to their editors.
I've spent waaayyyy too many hours on his blog, because his life is one big interesting train-wreck. I guess the fact that I read (present/past) his blog shows that what he is doing is making a difference to me.
But all it does is make me want to do everything he is opposed to.
Halo 2 did offer a fantastic on-line multi-player mode. Probably the best out there for consoles.
In fact, I have been 'ruined' and I find it very difficult to play other games on line. Once you have played a game that works as well as Halo 2 it is difficult to drop down to anything else.
Of the married people I know, about 95% of the women are 'in charge.' Maybe the guys walk around and think they are running the show, but when it comes down to it, it is typically the woman.
It's probably a good thing too...I would do far more stupid stuff if my wife wasn't there to tell me what a stupid idea it was.
On the other hand, I would have a lot more fun...
It's like your mom telling you to wear a sweater. It's not fun, but you'll be a lot more comfortable if you listen.
The main reason I tell my wife I need a 360 is the wireless controllers. Just the selling point of 'we can get rid of these wires' helps it make sense to her.
My wife isn't jealous of the time games take away from 'US'. She's upset because when I'm playing games, she can't watch 'Law and Order.'
Halo 2 matchmaking is the BEST on-line system I have played. The number of crap games vs. good games leans very heavily toward the good games.
And if I am ever itching to play a specific map or gametype, I can always host the game and invite a few friends...(whose friends will come in, and bring their friends, etc. etc.) Getting 16 people together is rarely a problem.
And when the host leaves...someone else takes over.
Yep- the low-end box is the idiot route. For the kid who tells his parents "It's $400." And then they scream and have a fit. They see the $300 version as being cheaper. But in the long run, it will cost you about $100 more to go that way.
On your numbers, the only thing I don't like is the wireless networking kit. Millions of people are already connected to Live, and they won't need that.
I know that I went wireless at first, and then got too frustrated when something would affect my connection...so I finally had to run a cable to my living room. So I won't be spending that money.
DRM is the REALITY- because the studios (music/movies) are going to insist upon it.
In the future, if you want to view the content, you will have to play by their rules. And it is only fair that they make rules, because they are making the content.
DRM will be a reality- unless you want to watch a continuous stream of non-DRM'd ballet recitals and birthday parties.
Vendors don't give a shit what the mission of the customer is. Whether it be a school, or a fast-food outlet.
The vendor does not need to share the mission of their customer.
You can see that golf burns about 205 calories per 30 minutes. A round of golf takes about 3 hours. So, it would be about 1,200 calories.
Step Aerobics (which I used as an example, because it is strenuous) burns about 386 calories per 30 minutes. But most people only do it for 30 minutues. So, you would get about 386 calories.
So, at least when it comes to burning calories, golf is better than step aerobics.
Which doesn't surprise me. I've talked to a lot of fat women who INSIST they go to the gym 5X a week. And you wonder, "then why are you still fat?"
Because they go do aerobics for 10 minutes, and think they are actually doing something...
See, the healthcare industry did not CREATE the human body. They just work on it.
That would be like saying the anti-virus companies are responsible for security. They really aren't. The anti-virus companies exist only because there was a flaw in the original plan.
Unfortunately, common sense does not mean the same thing for the average user, as it does for people on Slashdot.
Average users feel that since mail was sent to them, it should be safe to open in.
Common sense means that it is the job of the technical industry to make sure that this can happen. That the average user can open mail without worrying about being 'infected.'
Common sense means that when an e-mail is sent, and it says that Grandma Jones sent it, it really was from Grandma Jones.
Common sense means that WE (technical industry) have a lot of work to do. Not the average user. Thier only job is to use the infrastructure we create.
Slashdot Mirror
Wow, I was going to disagree with your post until I read the last line. Nobody wants Halo to become the next Madden.
That is absolutely true. Well put.
Personally, I prefer Halo over Quake and Unreal because of the speed. Halo is generally slower. And the jumping- Halo is generally more 'grounded.' Probably because I could never deal with fighting AND jumping (double jumping!) at the same time- so it sucks to go against someone who can do it.
I hope they don't add crazy jumps to Halo 3.
But as you said, Halo should not be the next Madden. But Halo *could be* the next Mario. More games in the same universe- but each game isn't just a mildly incremental improvement on the previous game.
Will Microsoft's XNA platform prove to be a good idea?
It seems like the entire plan *IS* to make cross platform (Xbox/PC) games easier to make.
Something like XNA, if it proves to be useful, could very well swing a large pendulum in Microsoft's favor.
How expensive is an XNA developing environment anyway...I assume it would be much cheaper than the hardware/software required for Xbox/Playstation development.
I have a gazillion pictures on my website. One of the most popular is a picture of a taco. I don't know why, but evidently people really like it.
A lot of people use it as their avatar on discussion boards. Which for one thing, is really retarded because the original picture is like 400x300 pixels, and they usually try to shove it into a 125x125 box. If they half of a brain, they would have downloaded it- reduced the size, and then uploaded it to the discussion board. It would have looked better, and it wouldn't have used my bandwidth.
Once it reached the number one spot on Google Images, I started to get 40,000 - 200,000 hits on the picture every day, then that number started climbing even higher... I started switching the picture out, replacing it with some sort of message to tell people NOT to use it this way (with a pornographic background eventually) Then I would rename the picture on my site.
In one month, I had to pay an extra $55 dollars to my hosting service because of this extra bandwidth I was 'using'. $55 isn't a lot, but it is $55 taken from my pocket.
Switching out the picture helped a lot, but eventually I had to change the name of the file to NOT include the word 'taco'. It seems that these people are smart enough to use Google Images...so I just had to get the file out of their search.
I hate bandwidth thieves.
And what are the two competing formats of media? I'm guessing you are basing some of your points on very old (and incorrect) news.
Sony is going with a next-gen format: BlueRay
Microsoft is sticking with current DVD tech. They are calling it DVD 9.
It doesn't seem like much of a battle when one of the players is using the exact same format they used in their previous console. Now, I wish that MS was using HD-DVD. But they aren't starting that way.
There are belly-button fetish sites on the web, and some are based in Japan. So I'm not sure how excited/not-excited your friends actually are.
I keep telling people this, but they don't listen: Windows is totally NON-intuitive.
Maybe they don't listen, because you don't know what you are talking about.
Go into VisualStudio.Net. Open a project. Double click on an object. Viola...source code. Scroll up and down (don't forget to click the little '+' signs) and now you see all of it.
If you think VisualStudio.Net hides the source, obviously you have never used it.
Loading the PDF viewer is SLOW. I am constantly reminded that I need to 'update' something. In fact, the viewer on two of my computers is stuck in an update loop- where it thinks I need to update something that has already been updated.
.doc files without any additional software.
.doc by a slight margin- because they take less time to load, they don't bog my computer down, and they are more easily edited.
Once a large PDF is loaded, it is still SLOW to scroll pages. And when I hit a page with some pictures, I need to wait a few seconds for them to load.
PDF files are more difficult for me to modify.
All around, PDF is a poor choice for me.
Anyone with IE on Windows can view
Personally, I hate either file, especially on the web. But I actually prefer
Xbox Live (in its current incarnation) does not really have gaming servers. Each game is hosted by one of the players.
If they maintain the current user limits (8-16 people per game) then the new Xbox 360 should have no trouble putting the extra processor toward hosting.
Yes...and any person in an industry other than the computer field will tell you how stupid computers are.
It's amazing how many people feel they have ALL the answers.
Construction, architecture, art, music...everything is fair game for those who feel they know the real answers.
I'm guessing that the TSA policy makers knows a LITTLE more about airport security than any of us involved in this discussion.
It's ironic that anytime I post something negative about Stallman, his followers mod me down.
What would he say about this type of censorship?
Okay, here is a good example.
For those who don't want to read the link, basically he was at the airport, and didn't take his shoes off. Even though it was 'recommended'. He was brought to the side, and they had to do an entire search. Then he wanted to get into a philosophical debate with the security guy, who was just doing his job.
I fly for work too, Mr. Stallman. Maybe I was the guy in the line behind you who had to wait an extra 10 minutes, while you decided to cry out about your rights...and about the use of the word 'recommend.'
Why the hell can't you just take off your shoes, and go through the detector like everyone else? Anyone who has flown in the past few years knows the drill. The security checkpoint wasn't put there to violate our rights, it was put there because people want to bring bombs and guns onto airplanes. It is unfortunately a necessity.
But of course Stallman just has to see this as another chance to challenge the status quo...to make his point.
The hundred people behind him don't give a shit about his point...they just want to get through the damn security check. So they can get on with their lives.
That is just ONE example of why I think he is a big idiot.
I could point out hundreds of others from his blog. It's easy, because he is the most self-rightous person I have ever 'met' through their blog.
No, I haven't him in person. I can only form my opinion on the information he makes available.
If he (or anyone else) would like to investigate my life, and make his opinion known, I would welcome them.
Oh, and that guy has one of the ugliest websites I have ever seen...and he has no idea in the world how to crop pictures. (Seriously, this is not flamebait...go look at his website.) Oh, and I also think he is a big hairy dirt-bag.
There- that's about it for now.
But honestly...Stallman is a big, over-grown crybaby. He has been whining for years, upset that the rest of the world doesn't share his beliefs, and they are not creating the world as he imagines it.
Does anyone really care about his opinion anymore? (Ever?)
Or, is he just a 'big' name that reporters use to sell articles to their editors.
I've spent waaayyyy too many hours on his blog, because his life is one big interesting train-wreck. I guess the fact that I read (present/past) his blog shows that what he is doing is making a difference to me.
But all it does is make me want to do everything he is opposed to.
Halo 2 did offer a fantastic on-line multi-player mode. Probably the best out there for consoles.
In fact, I have been 'ruined' and I find it very difficult to play other games on line. Once you have played a game that works as well as Halo 2 it is difficult to drop down to anything else.
But I think that women are far more cunning.
Of the married people I know, about 95% of the women are 'in charge.' Maybe the guys walk around and think they are running the show, but when it comes down to it, it is typically the woman.
It's probably a good thing too...I would do far more stupid stuff if my wife wasn't there to tell me what a stupid idea it was.
On the other hand, I would have a lot more fun...
It's like your mom telling you to wear a sweater. It's not fun, but you'll be a lot more comfortable if you listen.
But when you want to spend $700...that's the time to tell the wife.
You don't want to shoot your wad too early.
Very insightful post.
The main reason I tell my wife I need a 360 is the wireless controllers. Just the selling point of 'we can get rid of these wires' helps it make sense to her.
My wife isn't jealous of the time games take away from 'US'. She's upset because when I'm playing games, she can't watch 'Law and Order.'
Halo 2 matchmaking is the BEST on-line system I have played. The number of crap games vs. good games leans very heavily toward the good games.
And if I am ever itching to play a specific map or gametype, I can always host the game and invite a few friends...(whose friends will come in, and bring their friends, etc. etc.) Getting 16 people together is rarely a problem.
And when the host leaves...someone else takes over.
Well, with a *little* bit of research, you would find that the map-pack(s) are free.
The plan is that they release the map-pack, and charge for it initially. So anyone who *really* wants it NOW can pay for it.
But about 2 months later, it is released for free.
Personally, I paid for both map-packs, because I want to support the creation of the maps, and $20 (or whatever) isn't a big deal.
But, if I had wanted to wait a few months, it would have been free.
In my mind, this is the best of both worlds. They get an income, and people who 'refuse' to pay, don't have to.
Yep- the low-end box is the idiot route. For the kid who tells his parents "It's $400." And then they scream and have a fit. They see the $300 version as being cheaper. But in the long run, it will cost you about $100 more to go that way.
On your numbers, the only thing I don't like is the wireless networking kit. Millions of people are already connected to Live, and they won't need that.
I know that I went wireless at first, and then got too frustrated when something would affect my connection...so I finally had to run a cable to my living room. So I won't be spending that money.
But I figured that $550 is the minimum.
This finally is starting to make sense.
DRM is the REALITY- because the studios (music/movies) are going to insist upon it.
In the future, if you want to view the content, you will have to play by their rules. And it is only fair that they make rules, because they are making the content.
DRM will be a reality- unless you want to watch a continuous stream of non-DRM'd ballet recitals and birthday parties.
Vendors don't give a shit what the mission of the customer is. Whether it be a school, or a fast-food outlet. The vendor does not need to share the mission of their customer.
On the other hand...
Take a look at this chart.
You can see that golf burns about 205 calories per 30 minutes. A round of golf takes about 3 hours. So, it would be about 1,200 calories.
Step Aerobics (which I used as an example, because it is strenuous) burns about 386 calories per 30 minutes. But most people only do it for 30 minutues. So, you would get about 386 calories.
So, at least when it comes to burning calories, golf is better than step aerobics.
Which doesn't surprise me. I've talked to a lot of fat women who INSIST they go to the gym 5X a week. And you wonder, "then why are you still fat?"
Because they go do aerobics for 10 minutes, and think they are actually doing something...
Well, there is a big difference.
See, the healthcare industry did not CREATE the human body. They just work on it.
That would be like saying the anti-virus companies are responsible for security. They really aren't. The anti-virus companies exist only because there was a flaw in the original plan.
I disagree that some of the 'best' studios are Japanese.
I have as much dislike for Japanese style games, as the Japanese (in general) have for Western style games.
To me, they actually have the worst studios, putting out the worst games.
Strangely, it is a French studio that is my favorite...Ubisoft of course.
You don't know what 'rechargle' means?
My friends and I chargle all the time. Then sometimes, we get really crazy, and REchargle.
It's like chargling, but TWICE as good.
Unfortunately, common sense does not mean the same thing for the average user, as it does for people on Slashdot.
Average users feel that since mail was sent to them, it should be safe to open in.
Common sense means that it is the job of the technical industry to make sure that this can happen. That the average user can open mail without worrying about being 'infected.'
Common sense means that when an e-mail is sent, and it says that Grandma Jones sent it, it really was from Grandma Jones.
Common sense means that WE (technical industry) have a lot of work to do. Not the average user. Thier only job is to use the infrastructure we create.