psst... A lot of people on Slashdot are full of shit. If anyone here were as self-righteous as they claimed to be, they would have no life, and would be relegated to staring at a computer all day because the rest of the world wouldn't want to deal with them.
But nobody here is like that. So I assume that it is all lies.
Actually, the Mac will let you use two buttons too. I bought my wife a wireless mouse, with two buttons, and she now enjoys the thrills of 'right-clicking'. And it really does work too! Just about every time I use her computer, I right-click (because that is what I would normally do) and the menu I would expect to come up...comes up.
On the other hand- as a person who used Macintoshes from 1985, until about 1999, when I switched to Windows...I find the Mac OS X to be completely confusing, and more difficult to use than either OS 9, or Windows XP.
I don't think is is a bad OS- but it suffers from the same problem that people complain about in Windows. There are just so damn many features now, that it is difficult to figure out where stuff is.
I'm sure that if I had been using the Mac for the last 5 years, everything would be fine. But right now, I would guess that the barrier to entry for a new user is very similar for either Mac OS X, or Windows XP.
That's because in Berkeley, a ton of the 'homeless' people are just kids who thought it would be awesome to 'hang out in Berkeley all day and bum money for food.'
I would guess that Berkeley has one of the lowest average ages for homeless people. I always enjoy walking down Telegraph, and having kids with dreadlocks come up, and ask for food- while flashing teeth so straight, that his parents are probably still paying the orthodontic bills. These kids hang out with their Che Guevara t-shirts, and talk about how 'everything should be free'. But aren't willing to do anything other than ask for handouts.
Also, while sitting around in Davis CA, I've watch the same 'homeless' kids talk about going back to Berkeley, because they can earn a few hundred bucks on Saturdays. (In Davis, they generally hang out in front of Baskin Robbins, Chipotle, or Newsbeat). Of course after hearing them say this- the proceed to ask me for money 'for food'.
One thing that ticks me off- is the assumption that the government cannot spend any money for services tht will benefit a large portion of the population, until there are no poor/homeless people left.
City government's job is not to solely start at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, and start moving everyone up. The citizens in the middle don't need to wait until everyone below them has been 'assisted'.
Parks cost a lot of money- most cities attempt to provide nice parks for their residents.
Unfortunately, having a park near your house is not always a good thing. These days, a lot of parks have been turned into de-facto homeless shelters. Every city has the 'homeless park' where nobody else (who actually paid the taxes to build the park) can go. If you live in Sacramento, go hang out at Ceasar Chavez park, on any day other than the free music days. You will be surrounded by homeless people, and all of their belongings.
In the town I live in (see my sig) we have a park like that. It is the park right near downtown- which is surrounded on 3 sides by residential neighborhoods. Who goes to the park- kids? families? No...guys sitting around drinking until the pass out or puke. Great- another park that can't be enjoyed by the general population.
I am NOT saying that we should not spend money to help these people. What I am saying, is that when city funds are used to pay for something else OTHER than social services, it's okay. We can spend money (taxpayer money, and most of the taxpayers are not getting drunk in the park) for something that will benefit the other 99% percent of the community.
Our city also has a large/nice homeless shelter - which for our population is a great base of assistance. But not everything we do needs to be for the assistance of the same group of people. The other 50,000 can benefit from their own taxes too.
San Francisco is a fairly expensive place to live, there are not a lot of poor people there. I'm sure they are only concerned with the people who actually have an address- not homeless people, who don't pay taxes, or vote.
Then again- cities spend a lot of money on streets, traffic lights, etc. And not everyone has a car...
Actually, if I had mod points right now, I would give you a + 2000 insightful.
I used to think that just about everything that Stallman (RMS if you're a weenie) writes is a big packet of crap. The article you linked to was some of the most eye-opening proof of my theory yet.
I like the way that most of the article tells his soldiers in the war on economic independence to avoid pigeon-holing their software. Yet proprietary software should be called 'handcuffware'.
I just hope that some of the people in power who he is trying to sway (not his followers, but REAL leaders) get a chance to read his articles, and see him for what he really is. You summed it up very well:
RMS is a stinky hippy that wants to force everyone to his idea of society. He claims that he gives choice, all the while trying to shape the slash sheeple into his way of thinking by altering language and hopefully altering though because of it.
In business parlance, physical theft is called 'shrinkage'.
(I've always laughed whenever we had meetings talking about 'shrinkage'...call me immature, but it is just funny to see a 60 year old guy standing up there who has no idea of the other definition)
But I need to go get the controller device, and plug it in.
#1- I might want to purchase one of these games while sitting there at 3:00 am because I can't sleep.
#2- It sounds dumb, by my TV is very heavy- and it is tightly jammed into a large cabinet. I don't want to move it to plug something else in (that is worth about $30 right there).
#3- Purchasing the actual hardware (joystick games) seems like an actual emotional investment. I had to actually pick it up, put it in my cart, pay for it, etc. If it does not work the way I want, then I've got this stupid thing lying around. With Xbox arcade, I can just buy the games on a whim, and if I don't like them- I can forget all about it.
Other than the retro games, I'm assuming that a lot of these games will have much better graphics and sound than the Atari 2600 ports.
I consider myself a 'real' (hardcore super 'leet) gamer. And I am really looking forward to this concept. I really don't care about spending $10 for a game, and if I can sit on my couch and decide which game to play, I'll be happy. (Rather than being locked into the games that come on the joystick)
I'm not as picky on this type of game as I am on others. If I play a first person shooter, a driving game, a sports game, etc- I want it to be really good, engaging, and fresh. If I am just sitting there for 20 minutes waiting while my wife finally gets dressed to go out- I can play some crap game like Bejeweled and be totally happy. Because when she finally is ready, I can just turn the game off, and not really care.
(Personally, I play 'Pure Pinball' now for this exact reason. It's a pretty good pinball game, but I wouldn't be upset if the power went out and I lost my 'progress'. A decent use of $20, if $20 is no big deal for you)
I mean, WASD and ESDF are okay, and they make sense. But QWTF? Do you have extra fingers or something? Is your hand permanently stuck in the Vulcan salute that you spent years perfecting?:-)
This works fantastic. I'm impressed with the speed, and accuracy of the searches.
Already two Mac people in my office are fairly jealous, because this is what they thought Sherlock would be- but wasn't.
I don't think this will make anyone change platforms, but on the other hand, it will keep a few people on Windows- until it is ported over somewhere else.
I have an Axim X30. I carry it around all the time, and use it fairly frequently. One of the main things I use it for is an MP3 (wma really) player. As a music player it does a pretty good job- in fact, I put the iPod skin on top of Windows Media Player, and it works just fine when using my thumbs to navigate through songs, etc.
Of course, it can do more than just play music- I can surf the web, get e-mail, etc. etc. I've noticed that more and more restaurants offer free wireless internet access, and I use this about 1-2 times a week to check my e-mail. Just to make sure that taking a long lunch will be okay, and there are no emergencies dragging me back to the office. (or better yet, I won't get caught taking a long lunch...because replying to an e-mail is just like saying "I'm back in my office")
I even have some pictures stored on it, and if I really wanted to, I could put on some video.
So my question/comment is this- if Microsoft makes a product like this (the software) then why the heck would we want to buy their over-sized lesser-functioning media players?
I don't have one of their new media players- but as far as I know, the functions are:
- plays music - plays video
Well, their PocketPCs can already do that. And now with the VGA PPC, the video can look pretty damn good. With a PocketaPC I can play a game, or use Excel, or whatever while I listen to music. I keep my contacts, appointments, etc.
So why not just sell a Pocket PC with a different marketing twist- aimed as a media player, that also does other crap?
While my PPC is not as nice of a media player as an iPod- it is a better media player than 80% of the dedicated devices I've seen. But you you add in e-mail, this devices zooms to the top of the 'useful crap in my pocket' category.
Re:Driving games better on consoles? You serious?
on
Halo 2 Goes Gold
·
· Score: 1
I disagree with you about driving games sucking on all platforms other than the PC. In fact, Gamerankings.com also disagrees with you.
Go to their 'The Rankings' section, and choose Category: Driving >> ALL
You can mess with the date range to make it suit your needs- but I think that 'Last 12 months' is the most relevant. But you'll see that far and away, the consoles are beating out the PC in both quantity and quality of racing games. The PC platforms biggest winner in the past 5 years is NASCAR (by Sierra). (In the past 12 months, you'll notice that the Xbox takes 7 of the top 12 slots. With Mario Kart Double Dash! Being the only game in the top 15 not available on the Xbox. In fact, you'll probably notice that Xbox dominates the the top of the driving charts- which many people cite as a detraction.."Xbox is only good for first person shooters and driving games")
Before I had an Xbox, I went to a friends house where we played Rallisport Challenge for hours and hours. We even played 4 player split-screen (big screen tv) and it was a blast. After that, I went out and bought Rallisport for my PC, got a wheel, etc. etc.
Well, it looked really nice (whenever my computer wasn't crashing) and it was a lot more realistic. Unfortunately, it wasn't really all that FUN.
Now I play Burnout 3 on the couch with my wife. It's a lot more fun, and playing it with someone else is great. Then of course, going on-line is also pretty nice (works now).
I hate boring simulators- give me insane crashes over 'realistic damage' any day. At least it is a lot more FUN. And the gaming media in general seems to agree.
If you really are a UC student, you should educate yourself a little bit on how the University is funded.
Student fees (the stuff you pay) makes up about 10% of the University of California budget.
Since it is a public institution (no, your 10% does not make it private) they make their budget readily available to the public. In fact, you can view it here: UC Budget in PDF
Anyone who has seen the budget, and understands what students really pay, finds it pretty amusing when the students 'protest' on campus (whichever one you're on, it happens everywhere) the way their money is being spent. I'm not against the idea that the university should answer to the public, but students have an inflated sense of their (or their parents) financial contribution.
Why is it? Well, the University of California is not just an institution dedicated to teaching, but it also is an institution of research, outreach to the public, medicine for the state, etc. etc. When you walk through your science building, know that every faculty member there is trying desperately to get outside grants.
Go to your Ag department (if you are at Davis, Riverside, or Berkeley), and find out how much money comes from the USDA.
Find out how much money the Federal government gives your school before your friends protest the ROTC classes. We won't even talk about the Department of Energy- because that could be going away soon...
But list goes on, and on and on. Student fees are only a small part of the budget.
Re:Why I dislike Halo (and all modern console game
on
Halo 2 Goes Gold
·
· Score: 1
Whoops...sorry about that. Yes, it just vibrates.
Re:Why I dislike Halo (and all modern console game
on
Halo 2 Goes Gold
·
· Score: 1
Playstation 2 has at LEAST that number- probably about double.
The Gamecube has at least 300 games.
Your comment stating that PC gaming was vastly cheaper than console gaming is highly debatable.
I probably have spent the same amount of money on console gaming in the last 2 years, as I did on PC gaming in the previous 2 years.
The only difference is that my console gaming dollars have gone towards GAMES. 50 or 60 in the past two years.
While my PC gaming dollars were going towards new graphics cards, more memory, new motherboard, etc. etc. I probably only purchased 15 games in 2 years.
The fun part for me is playing the games- not getting my system rigged up so it won't crash while playing games.
Re:Why I dislike Halo (and all modern console game
on
Halo 2 Goes Gold
·
· Score: 1
Okay- if you can't aim, pick up a Needler. Problem solved.
Re:Why I dislike Halo (and all modern console game
on
Halo 2 Goes Gold
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
It's easy for me.
On the PC I played a lot of FPS, and a few RTS. I didn't like anything else. I'd sit there with headphones on, staring at the screen, and not talking to anyone.
On a console I play a lot of other types of games- platformers, 3rd person shooters (different beast than an FPS) sports, driving, flying, etc.
Try playing Burnout 3 on a PC. First of all- it doesn't exist. Secondly, driving games such big time on a PC, unless you buy a wheel. I had a racing wheel, and I still didn't really like it.
My Xbox controller has some really nice force-feedback. That can add so much to a game that you don't get with a keyboard and mouse.
4 people can all play together on one console. That's far, far, far more fun than playing online on a PC. I can ALSO play online- and when I do, I can voice chat with everyone else in the game. Oh...and they can't cheat.
I bought Sims 2 for my daughter about a week ago. Of COURSE I had to upgrade her computer to make it run well. So that $40 game ended up costing me about $150- and a trip to the computer store.
Slashdot Mirror
Once you go to worldsex.com, do you really need to find anything else.
This plug has nothing to do with my own involvement with the site, other than the fact that I am a very happy customer of their free porn links.
psst... A lot of people on Slashdot are full of shit. If anyone here were as self-righteous as they claimed to be, they would have no life, and would be relegated to staring at a computer all day because the rest of the world wouldn't want to deal with them.
But nobody here is like that. So I assume that it is all lies.
Not only that...but now they will be able to use Covenant Elites, since they are in the vs. mode.
You mean, they might be able to run an emulator fast enough, that you can really play games on a Mac?
Good point...
Actually, the Mac will let you use two buttons too. I bought my wife a wireless mouse, with two buttons, and she now enjoys the thrills of 'right-clicking'. And it really does work too! Just about every time I use her computer, I right-click (because that is what I would normally do) and the menu I would expect to come up...comes up.
On the other hand- as a person who used Macintoshes from 1985, until about 1999, when I switched to Windows...I find the Mac OS X to be completely confusing, and more difficult to use than either OS 9, or Windows XP.
I don't think is is a bad OS- but it suffers from the same problem that people complain about in Windows. There are just so damn many features now, that it is difficult to figure out where stuff is.
I'm sure that if I had been using the Mac for the last 5 years, everything would be fine. But right now, I would guess that the barrier to entry for a new user is very similar for either Mac OS X, or Windows XP.
That's because in Berkeley, a ton of the 'homeless' people are just kids who thought it would be awesome to 'hang out in Berkeley all day and bum money for food.'
I would guess that Berkeley has one of the lowest average ages for homeless people. I always enjoy walking down Telegraph, and having kids with dreadlocks come up, and ask for food- while flashing teeth so straight, that his parents are probably still paying the orthodontic bills. These kids hang out with their Che Guevara t-shirts, and talk about how 'everything should be free'. But aren't willing to do anything other than ask for handouts.
Also, while sitting around in Davis CA, I've watch the same 'homeless' kids talk about going back to Berkeley, because they can earn a few hundred bucks on Saturdays. (In Davis, they generally hang out in front of Baskin Robbins, Chipotle, or Newsbeat). Of course after hearing them say this- the proceed to ask me for money 'for food'.
I really hate those kids...
So city tax money can only be spent if it helps out the lowest common denominator? What about the other 99.99% of the residents (those paying taxes)?
One thing that ticks me off- is the assumption that the government cannot spend any money for services tht will benefit a large portion of the population, until there are no poor/homeless people left.
City government's job is not to solely start at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder, and start moving everyone up. The citizens in the middle don't need to wait until everyone below them has been 'assisted'.
Parks cost a lot of money- most cities attempt to provide nice parks for their residents.
Unfortunately, having a park near your house is not always a good thing. These days, a lot of parks have been turned into de-facto homeless shelters. Every city has the 'homeless park' where nobody else (who actually paid the taxes to build the park) can go. If you live in Sacramento, go hang out at Ceasar Chavez park, on any day other than the free music days. You will be surrounded by homeless people, and all of their belongings.
In the town I live in (see my sig) we have a park like that. It is the park right near downtown- which is surrounded on 3 sides by residential neighborhoods. Who goes to the park- kids? families? No...guys sitting around drinking until the pass out or puke. Great- another park that can't be enjoyed by the general population.
I am NOT saying that we should not spend money to help these people. What I am saying, is that when city funds are used to pay for something else OTHER than social services, it's okay. We can spend money (taxpayer money, and most of the taxpayers are not getting drunk in the park) for something that will benefit the other 99% percent of the community.
Our city also has a large/nice homeless shelter - which for our population is a great base of assistance. But not everything we do needs to be for the assistance of the same group of people. The other 50,000 can benefit from their own taxes too.
And how many people who live in the city of San Francisco cannot afford a computer?
The median income is $74,000 per year.
San Francisco is a fairly expensive place to live, there are not a lot of poor people there. I'm sure they are only concerned with the people who actually have an address- not homeless people, who don't pay taxes, or vote.
Then again- cities spend a lot of money on streets, traffic lights, etc. And not everyone has a car...
Cheating completely ruins games.
On the PC side, I absolutely hated cheaters...and just the thought that someone *might* be cheating, made it a lot less fun to play.
On the Xbox, when people found a cheat for Rallisport Challenge on-line, I stopped playing. It's no fun when it isn't competitive.
Actually, if I had mod points right now, I would give you a + 2000 insightful.
I used to think that just about everything that Stallman (RMS if you're a weenie) writes is a big packet of crap. The article you linked to was some of the most eye-opening proof of my theory yet.
I like the way that most of the article tells his soldiers in the war on economic independence to avoid pigeon-holing their software. Yet proprietary software should be called 'handcuffware'.
I just hope that some of the people in power who he is trying to sway (not his followers, but REAL leaders) get a chance to read his articles, and see him for what he really is. You summed it up very well:
RMS is a stinky hippy that wants to force everyone to his idea of society. He claims that he gives choice, all the while trying to shape the slash sheeple into his way of thinking by altering language and hopefully altering though because of it.
Thanks very much for the link.
There are a lot more- don't just assume that all FPSs have male characters exclusively. Because that would be wrong.
Next Muthafuckers gonna get my metal.
In business parlance, physical theft is called 'shrinkage'.
(I've always laughed whenever we had meetings talking about 'shrinkage'...call me immature, but it is just funny to see a 60 year old guy standing up there who has no idea of the other definition)
But I need to go get the controller device, and plug it in.
#1- I might want to purchase one of these games while sitting there at 3:00 am because I can't sleep.
#2- It sounds dumb, by my TV is very heavy- and it is tightly jammed into a large cabinet. I don't want to move it to plug something else in (that is worth about $30 right there).
#3- Purchasing the actual hardware (joystick games) seems like an actual emotional investment. I had to actually pick it up, put it in my cart, pay for it, etc. If it does not work the way I want, then I've got this stupid thing lying around. With Xbox arcade, I can just buy the games on a whim, and if I don't like them- I can forget all about it.
Other than the retro games, I'm assuming that a lot of these games will have much better graphics and sound than the Atari 2600 ports.
I consider myself a 'real' (hardcore super 'leet) gamer. And I am really looking forward to this concept. I really don't care about spending $10 for a game, and if I can sit on my couch and decide which game to play, I'll be happy. (Rather than being locked into the games that come on the joystick)
I'm not as picky on this type of game as I am on others. If I play a first person shooter, a driving game, a sports game, etc- I want it to be really good, engaging, and fresh. If I am just sitting there for 20 minutes waiting while my wife finally gets dressed to go out- I can play some crap game like Bejeweled and be totally happy. Because when she finally is ready, I can just turn the game off, and not really care.
(Personally, I play 'Pure Pinball' now for this exact reason. It's a pretty good pinball game, but I wouldn't be upset if the power went out and I lost my 'progress'. A decent use of $20, if $20 is no big deal for you)
Dude, how do you use QWTF?
:-)
I mean, WASD and ESDF are okay, and they make sense. But QWTF? Do you have extra fingers or something? Is your hand permanently stuck in the Vulcan salute that you spent years perfecting?
This works fantastic. I'm impressed with the speed, and accuracy of the searches.
Already two Mac people in my office are fairly jealous, because this is what they thought Sherlock would be- but wasn't.
I don't think this will make anyone change platforms, but on the other hand, it will keep a few people on Windows- until it is ported over somewhere else.
I have an Axim X30. I carry it around all the time, and use it fairly frequently. One of the main things I use it for is an MP3 (wma really) player. As a music player it does a pretty good job- in fact, I put the iPod skin on top of Windows Media Player, and it works just fine when using my thumbs to navigate through songs, etc.
Of course, it can do more than just play music- I can surf the web, get e-mail, etc. etc. I've noticed that more and more restaurants offer free wireless internet access, and I use this about 1-2 times a week to check my e-mail. Just to make sure that taking a long lunch will be okay, and there are no emergencies dragging me back to the office. (or better yet, I won't get caught taking a long lunch...because replying to an e-mail is just like saying "I'm back in my office")
I even have some pictures stored on it, and if I really wanted to, I could put on some video.
So my question/comment is this- if Microsoft makes a product like this (the software) then why the heck would we want to buy their over-sized lesser-functioning media players?
I don't have one of their new media players- but as far as I know, the functions are:
- plays music
- plays video
Well, their PocketPCs can already do that. And now with the VGA PPC, the video can look pretty damn good. With a PocketaPC I can play a game, or use Excel, or whatever while I listen to music. I keep my contacts, appointments, etc.
So why not just sell a Pocket PC with a different marketing twist- aimed as a media player, that also does other crap?
While my PPC is not as nice of a media player as an iPod- it is a better media player than 80% of the dedicated devices I've seen. But you you add in e-mail, this devices zooms to the top of the 'useful crap in my pocket' category.
I disagree with you about driving games sucking on all platforms other than the PC. In fact, Gamerankings.com also disagrees with you.
Go to their 'The Rankings' section, and choose Category: Driving >> ALL
You can mess with the date range to make it suit your needs- but I think that 'Last 12 months' is the most relevant. But you'll see that far and away, the consoles are beating out the PC in both quantity and quality of racing games. The PC platforms biggest winner in the past 5 years is NASCAR (by Sierra). (In the past 12 months, you'll notice that the Xbox takes 7 of the top 12 slots. With Mario Kart Double Dash! Being the only game in the top 15 not available on the Xbox. In fact, you'll probably notice that Xbox dominates the the top of the driving charts- which many people cite as a detraction.."Xbox is only good for first person shooters and driving games")
Before I had an Xbox, I went to a friends house where we played Rallisport Challenge for hours and hours. We even played 4 player split-screen (big screen tv) and it was a blast. After that, I went out and bought Rallisport for my PC, got a wheel, etc. etc.
Well, it looked really nice (whenever my computer wasn't crashing) and it was a lot more realistic. Unfortunately, it wasn't really all that FUN.
Now I play Burnout 3 on the couch with my wife. It's a lot more fun, and playing it with someone else is great. Then of course, going on-line is also pretty nice (works now).
I hate boring simulators- give me insane crashes over 'realistic damage' any day. At least it is a lot more FUN. And the gaming media in general seems to agree.
I'm an Xbox customer-
I would be happy as shit if Microsoft came out with a new Xbox tomorrow.
If they had a 3 year product cycle, that would be fantastic.
I would guess that a lot of other 'loyal customers of the current console' feel the same way. Bring on the new stuff!
At least you don't need to aim.
Vectorian-
If you really are a UC student, you should educate yourself a little bit on how the University is funded.
Student fees (the stuff you pay) makes up about 10% of the University of California budget.
Since it is a public institution (no, your 10% does not make it private) they make their budget readily available to the public. In fact, you can view it here: UC Budget in PDF
Anyone who has seen the budget, and understands what students really pay, finds it pretty amusing when the students 'protest' on campus (whichever one you're on, it happens everywhere) the way their money is being spent. I'm not against the idea that the university should answer to the public, but students have an inflated sense of their (or their parents) financial contribution.
Why is it? Well, the University of California is not just an institution dedicated to teaching, but it also is an institution of research, outreach to the public, medicine for the state, etc. etc. When you walk through your science building, know that every faculty member there is trying desperately to get outside grants.
Go to your Ag department (if you are at Davis, Riverside, or Berkeley), and find out how much money comes from the USDA.
Find out how much money the Federal government gives your school before your friends protest the ROTC classes. We won't even talk about the Department of Energy- because that could be going away soon...
But list goes on, and on and on. Student fees are only a small part of the budget.
Whoops...sorry about that. Yes, it just vibrates.
Which console only has 200 games?
According to this: http://msxbox-world.com/xbox/games/index/ the Xbox has 750. (I thought it was more like 500, but who knows)
Playstation 2 has at LEAST that number- probably about double.
The Gamecube has at least 300 games.
Your comment stating that PC gaming was vastly cheaper than console gaming is highly debatable.
I probably have spent the same amount of money on console gaming in the last 2 years, as I did on PC gaming in the previous 2 years.
The only difference is that my console gaming dollars have gone towards GAMES. 50 or 60 in the past two years.
While my PC gaming dollars were going towards new graphics cards, more memory, new motherboard, etc. etc. I probably only purchased 15 games in 2 years.
The fun part for me is playing the games- not getting my system rigged up so it won't crash while playing games.
Okay- if you can't aim, pick up a Needler. Problem solved.
It's easy for me.
On the PC I played a lot of FPS, and a few RTS. I didn't like anything else. I'd sit there with headphones on, staring at the screen, and not talking to anyone.
On a console I play a lot of other types of games- platformers, 3rd person shooters (different beast than an FPS) sports, driving, flying, etc.
Try playing Burnout 3 on a PC. First of all- it doesn't exist. Secondly, driving games such big time on a PC, unless you buy a wheel. I had a racing wheel, and I still didn't really like it.
My Xbox controller has some really nice force-feedback. That can add so much to a game that you don't get with a keyboard and mouse.
4 people can all play together on one console. That's far, far, far more fun than playing online on a PC. I can ALSO play online- and when I do, I can voice chat with everyone else in the game. Oh...and they can't cheat.
I bought Sims 2 for my daughter about a week ago. Of COURSE I had to upgrade her computer to make it run well. So that $40 game ended up costing me about $150- and a trip to the computer store.