Geez, I've been running Internet 6.0 for a long time. I don't know anyone still running 1.1. Some of the Netscape people are still running version 4, but I heard they can move up to seven.
I hope that Microsoft comes out with version 8 of the Internet- but by then AOL will have Internet version 9. This is so hard to keep track!
Who cares about Internet 1.1 though. Maybe you should get a new computer.
Exactly- the user base would be very small, and the game would still be crap to run. How many people *who want to play this game* have a 2.5ghz+ CPU, but don't have a decent 3d accelerator?
UT2k3 is not a game for the 'casual' game. They would crap their pants after 2 or 3 'die bitch' and 'you whore's. (Not because of the language, but the impossible to track, fast action)
But hey- there are people out there who don't think they should need to buy a decent 3d card, I guess this is more of a proof of concept, than something that would actually be useful.
After a loooong period of time where I played every FPS that came out, I decided I needed something different. Went to Fry's, and I saw Madden 2002 for $17.99. I knew that something had to be wrong- their current game is never under $20, so I looked further, and found Madden 2003 for $40. (By the way, my other choice was Asherons Call- does anyone have an opinion on this game? Haven't played it yet)
They also had a boxed set of 2002 EA Sports titles for $19.99. But, being a First Person Shooter Frames Per Second junkie, there was no way I would by last years games, with crappier graphics, even if they are a lot cheaper. I went with Madden 2003, and I found out it is a very good game. In the reviews I read, this is basically an X-Box port, and the graphics are pretty good. (This reminds me of the last X-Box port I bought- Rallisport Challenge, which is an absolutely incredible looking game, which just blows me away at 16x12 with full details. I've played it on the Xbox, and that version isn't even close. I like this trend...PCs get good games through excellent Xbox ports.)
When I brought Madden home (yeah, me and John hung out), I tried to play it with a keyboard/mouse combo. This absolutely sucked- I figured I had thrown my money away. The passing game was pretty much un-playable. A few days later I went to Staples and bought a gamepad (MS Sidewinder) and started playing with that. Okay- this is GREAT now. The last football game I enjoyed was Tecmo Bowl on the NES, and this is a lot like it- but with better everything.
I realized later how much the game playing styles differ with a gamepad, and mouse/keyboard. With the gamepad, I get to lean back in my chair, and relax. The game is fun, not intense. With the keyboard/mouse, I am leaning forward, in a 'work' mode. This just proved to me again that the keyboard/mouse combo is so much better suited for FPS- not just because of the better control, but the leaning in, close to the action, ready for anything stance you take. Frequently other people in the family tell me how much I 'gasp', 'shout' or 'hold my breath' when playing an FPS (I use headphones all the time)- I can't imagine doing that while leaning back in my chair. Can you really relax while killing Super Nazi's???
Last topic on an already over-inflated post...
Game Controllers- Never underestimate the value of a good game controller. I bought a gamepad for Madden, and it is a great game. Without it, I thought the game was horrible. I did the same thing with Rallisport Challenge. When trying to play with the keyboard/mouse, it was horrible. Bought a steering wheel/pedal combo (with force feedback of course), and the game is fantastic. (But the damn wheel takes up too much space) I've also got a joystick for Mechassault (or warrior, or whatever the hell it is called.)
With these controllers, games become a LOT better. I would buy console, but with two women in the house, there is no way I would get enough TV time to make things fun. "I am going to watch Buffy at 8:00...this is the final season!" would take precedence over "But I've taken the Seahawks to the Super Bowl, this is almost the end of the season!!!"
Okay...if you got down here, thanks for reading. Right now I've just got too many games, and not enough time. My god...Rise of Nations comes out today, and I just don't know what the heck I'm going to wear!
Every since 'Americas Army: Operations' came out last year (4th of July, but it was extremely un-playable until they removed the McKenna requirement), they had been promising another version of Americas Army- this one entitled 'Soldiers'.
Admittedly, the game looked pretty bad. All you could see of it were a few screenshots of a screen with pictures of 'real' (Not CG) basic training. It was supposed to be a role-playing game that gave you an idea of what the Army was really like.
I had the glorious opportunity to go through basic training TWICE in real life- no, I didn't wash out- I re-joined the Army after a break of 7 years. So I wanted to see how they portrayed it. It's amazing how different the whole thing looks when you aren't young, scared and confused. It was actually a lot of fun- especially when you are older, and have more awards on your Class A's than your drill sergeants. (But it is a little sad too...like "what the hell am I doing here?") (Like the time some guy got really sick from 'salmon loaf' and puked. The drill made him scrape it up, and put the puke in his pocket. 3 days later the moron still had a pocket of dried up puke...I hope they put that stuff in the game!)
Just wondering if they decided to scrap the game- it looked a lot more like a recruiting tool than Operations, just not nearly as much fun.
The recruiters lie anyway, so they might as well tell the kids you'll get to go to exciting places, and shoot people who don't speak the same language, it that is what will get them in.
I wish I could reply to all three asshats who think that running Photoshop means REAL computing- but I'll just choose one.
Sorry boys, but Photoshop runs faster on a Windows machine than a Mac. (Ask Adobe, not me- windows is their 'preferred platform') So you obviously assumed that the only thing we did on Windows was play games. Nope, we just got done with our work faster, and we have extra time- while the Mac is still re-drawing the screen.
The Windows box can run Photoshop (and does), and run it better. PLUS it can can run about 99% of the rest of the consumer software out there.
Oh yes...Apple has iTunes, can't forget that. When people at work on Mac's complain that they can't take part in NetMeeting presentations, I usually tell them to go play with iTunes, because that is their idea of productivity.
I've got two young women at home too. One with a Mac, one with a Windows machine.
The Maccie always watches longingly as we play games, use sites like Yahoo! Launch (Windows Update too...can't forget that one man). We used to be impressed with the translucent housed monitor with alien feet- now we scoff as she fires up Photoshop yet again.
Your post is much better than the one I responded to- at least you know that I don't need to go all over the place to configure IIS.
But, in all seriousness. What settings/configuration am I missing by using IIS instead of Apache? I'm not asking "why is Apache better to set up" but "What can Apache do that IIS is missing".
Yes, this is a serious, honest question. I have never used Apache, but I am fairly happy with IIS- except for the fact that moving my meta-data is nearly impossible. Supposedly they have fixed that with 2003.
Just thinking about the basics of business, they must be making more than that.
Now, I must admit that I am not one hundred percent sure, but I am assuming that EBX is the same as Electonics Boutique. Even if this is not the case, a lot of this same information will apply because they are in the same business, and would have similar costs.
This page will give you a good idea of what is going on at Electronics Boutique: (Whoops, I had a link here, but the pages at Yahoo! financials expire so the link was no good. Sorry about that, you can either take my word for it, or do a search on your own their stock symbol is ELBO)
They do over $225 million a quarter. More than double that over the Christmas quarter. But, let's assume we are talking about a non-holiday month here. They had about 1,100 stores last year. So, $225 million divided by 1,100 stores is about $227,00 per quarter. Divide that by three (months), and you get over $75,000.
If you have ever owned a business, you know right away that $5,000 wouldn't even cover the costs of an incense cart at a mall.
Yes, I know your friend said it was over $5,000- but this shows how little most 'underlings' really know about the business they work for.
Webserver settings may be spread across a dozen modules in various parts of the OS
I don't know about this- although I guess you got yourself off the hook by using 'may'. Like "Webserver setting may (but I really don't know) be spread across a dozen modules..."
Other than my network settings, the only things I ever touch on my webservers is the Internet Services Manager. If you can figure out how to use the MMC, and right-click, you can find all of the settings you need right there.
Do you have examples of these wide-spread settings, or did this comment fit into the may/might category of stuff you don't know?
First, let's assume this guy isn't full of crap.
You have TWO servers- so this is the sample you are using for your statistics- one of each?
What are your servers doing? Is there really an interoperability issue between them? Interoperability with WHAT? Are you trying to connect desktops to these machines? Are these DNS servers, what type of function are they providing. 95% of all desktops will be able to connect to the Windows machine better/stronger/faster than the the Redhat box.
If everyone uses free software, and nothing but free software...where do all the programmers go?
I like getting paid to write software. If nobody bought software, I guess that programming would be a 'hobby' and not a 'profession'.
I think the free software people are idiots. Kinda the same if 1/2 the plumbers in the world went around doing the job for nothing- because 'everyone should have water'.
I like getting paid to write code. I'm pretty sure that a lot of other people do. If the companies don't sell the products, and make a lot of money, then the whole idea of a paid programmer will go away. That would be a bummer.
So why the hell do you want to give your work away for free? That's some crack that I ain't smokin'.
At this rate programmers will be like artists- all underpaid and 'struggling'.
Who the hell came up with the idea that my time, effort, and labor is not worth any money? Please don't offer my employer to replace me with something that is free. You may be on your moral high-horse, but what you are really doing is killing one more tech job.
I agree. They called it Diablo, because that game truely was the Devil. I spent/wasted waaaayyyy too many hours on that game. Hundreds.
Then finally I was in Hell, in Hell mode (single player) and something happened to my character (barbarian), and I lost my entire inventory.
Another time I was using an assassin, and put way too many points into some of the simple skills, which left me unable to kill that big maggoty thing at the end of Level II in Hell mode.
Then another time I had a sorceress, and I couldn't get through one of the spider lairs in Level III (hell mode)
The list goes on and on....I've played every character through the game twice, and but could not get through hell mode. I think the barbarian could have done it.
I eventually had to un-install it, and GIVE THE GAME AWAY just to get over my addiction. But I am frequently heard saying "I can't wait until Diable III comes out...Diablo III is gonna be awesome".
When you say games 'should be affordable' how is that capitalistic? Maybe you should say "I wish games were affordable". Capitalists know that you can price something by what the market will bear. Perceived value is what drives the capitalist economy. Enough people think a game is worth X dollars, and the company will sell it for that.
Obviously you feel that your own experience speaks for the rest of society. MY economy is not in the shitter. I have plenty of money to spend on a computer and games. (If 50 bucks for a game is stretching your budget, either you are very young, or B- you should take a good look at the choices you have made which have landed you in the position are are in now) I don't mind if they charge a lot for games, as long as they keep producing them.
You are right about the priorities. But, you should be able to cover the basics, and have some left over. AND save money too. If you can't do that, you should apply yourself, and earn more money. If for no other reason, make sure you can bank some cash, so in case you die, your family is taken care of.
"It's a game, and it should be affordable"
Now games are part of some semi-socialist system?!?!?
For many people, games are a hobby. Like any other hobby, there are different levels of involvement. You can compare it to bicycling for instance.
Let's say you get some rickety old bike from your mom (c366). You can ride about 8-9 MPH and go about 15 miles. You are now playing Doom 1.
Then, you go to Wal-Mart, and buy one of their multi-purpose bikes. Now you can go about 12 MPH, and go about 25-30 miles. Now you are playing Doom II.
Finally, you go to the bike shop, and get a good bike. It's designed for you to ride fast, and for a long time. (Viagra?) You can ride 18 MPH, and go 100 miles comfortably. Now, you are playing Doom III.
The guy who buys that better bike is just more involved. If you are happy on that rickety old piece of crap- good for you. But when we go riding together, your little Doom I ride just ain't gonna cut it for me. I want Doom III- and when I'm done with that, I'll want Doom IV.
Oh- and REAL people have REAL jobs. We don't worry about paying the rent (mortgage) and dropping a few hundred $$ for upgrades really isn't a big deal.
You can slap together a system that will outrun yours by at least 5 times, for about $500-$600 bucks. The rest of us really don't want to play games at your same crappy level, so get off your rusty old bike, get down to Wal-Mart, and get a new computer. Or, stop complaining that some of us really DO want better games, and are willing to pay for them.
No offense...but (oh wait, you are an anonymous coward...take all the offense you can fit in your mouth)
Obviously you are not a gamer, and don't really understand what goes on with these games.
A 2gig Athlon and a 9500 are not 'high-end'. They are 'good-end' maybe, but nothing really special. Over on the green side of/. people like to remember the good ole days of Pong, but I hope that the bright purple colors mean that our gaming standards are higher.
I've got an Athlon 1800+ with a ti4200. I get 60+ frames on UT2k3, (1024x768- highest detail, but no FSAA) and I want more. More detail, not frames.
I expect that I'll be able to run the games I am looking forward to this year- Half Life 2, and Deus Ex 2- but by next year I'll need to upgrade again.
Yes, yes, yes- you're right. It's a crime that so much emphasis is put on the graphics, and back when games were REAL, and Zork was king, text was fine. But Jurassic Park wasn't really that good of a movie, and it sold tickets. Do games need to have a higher moral standard?
Citing the 'Gates Era' as the reason for the now slimmed down to nothing status of computer manuals is dead wrong.
Apple was the first to provide the single-sheet instruction in leiu of manuals. They advertised it on TV, they used it as one of their main marketing mantras- Macintosh is so simple, take it out of the box, and plug it in- that's it!
So- Apple went from being a hobbyists computer, to the computer for 'the rest of us'. Odd that on one hand you (rightfully so) congratulate them for good manuals, but then blame the 'Gates Era' for the new lesser manuals. Both can be attributed to the same company- Apple.
Slashdot Mirror
Geez, I've been running Internet 6.0 for a long time. I don't know anyone still running 1.1. Some of the Netscape people are still running version 4, but I heard they can move up to seven.
I hope that Microsoft comes out with version 8 of the Internet- but by then AOL will have Internet version 9. This is so hard to keep track!
Who cares about Internet 1.1 though. Maybe you should get a new computer.
Exactly- the user base would be very small, and the game would still be crap to run. How many people *who want to play this game* have a 2.5ghz+ CPU, but don't have a decent 3d accelerator?
UT2k3 is not a game for the 'casual' game. They would crap their pants after 2 or 3 'die bitch' and 'you whore's. (Not because of the language, but the impossible to track, fast action)
But hey- there are people out there who don't think they should need to buy a decent 3d card, I guess this is more of a proof of concept, than something that would actually be useful.
After a loooong period of time where I played every FPS that came out, I decided I needed something different. Went to Fry's, and I saw Madden 2002 for $17.99. I knew that something had to be wrong- their current game is never under $20, so I looked further, and found Madden 2003 for $40. (By the way, my other choice was Asherons Call- does anyone have an opinion on this game? Haven't played it yet)
They also had a boxed set of 2002 EA Sports titles for $19.99. But, being a First Person Shooter Frames Per Second junkie, there was no way I would by last years games, with crappier graphics, even if they are a lot cheaper. I went with Madden 2003, and I found out it is a very good game. In the reviews I read, this is basically an X-Box port, and the graphics are pretty good. (This reminds me of the last X-Box port I bought- Rallisport Challenge, which is an absolutely incredible looking game, which just blows me away at 16x12 with full details. I've played it on the Xbox, and that version isn't even close. I like this trend...PCs get good games through excellent Xbox ports.)
When I brought Madden home (yeah, me and John hung out), I tried to play it with a keyboard/mouse combo. This absolutely sucked- I figured I had thrown my money away. The passing game was pretty much un-playable. A few days later I went to Staples and bought a gamepad (MS Sidewinder) and started playing with that. Okay- this is GREAT now. The last football game I enjoyed was Tecmo Bowl on the NES, and this is a lot like it- but with better everything.
I realized later how much the game playing styles differ with a gamepad, and mouse/keyboard. With the gamepad, I get to lean back in my chair, and relax. The game is fun, not intense. With the keyboard/mouse, I am leaning forward, in a 'work' mode. This just proved to me again that the keyboard/mouse combo is so much better suited for FPS- not just because of the better control, but the leaning in, close to the action, ready for anything stance you take. Frequently other people in the family tell me how much I 'gasp', 'shout' or 'hold my breath' when playing an FPS (I use headphones all the time)- I can't imagine doing that while leaning back in my chair. Can you really relax while killing Super Nazi's???
Last topic on an already over-inflated post...
Game Controllers- Never underestimate the value of a good game controller. I bought a gamepad for Madden, and it is a great game. Without it, I thought the game was horrible. I did the same thing with Rallisport Challenge. When trying to play with the keyboard/mouse, it was horrible. Bought a steering wheel/pedal combo (with force feedback of course), and the game is fantastic. (But the damn wheel takes up too much space) I've also got a joystick for Mechassault (or warrior, or whatever the hell it is called.)
With these controllers, games become a LOT better. I would buy console, but with two women in the house, there is no way I would get enough TV time to make things fun. "I am going to watch Buffy at 8:00...this is the final season!" would take precedence over "But I've taken the Seahawks to the Super Bowl, this is almost the end of the season!!!"
Okay...if you got down here, thanks for reading. Right now I've just got too many games, and not enough time. My god...Rise of Nations comes out today, and I just don't know what the heck I'm going to wear!
Maybe not a great sample- but I am an example.
I've been working on a project for the last two months, and when they created our 'live' date- they picked today.
Moving the site from test, to live, we noticed 5 or 6 small problems (due to browser cache issues, people still had parts of the old pages).
So- I guess that Monday morning we had issues, but not due to the developer (me) I hope- due to the arbitrary date set by people in charge.
Every since 'Americas Army: Operations' came out last year (4th of July, but it was extremely un-playable until they removed the McKenna requirement), they had been promising another version of Americas Army- this one entitled 'Soldiers'.
Admittedly, the game looked pretty bad. All you could see of it were a few screenshots of a screen with pictures of 'real' (Not CG) basic training. It was supposed to be a role-playing game that gave you an idea of what the Army was really like.
I had the glorious opportunity to go through basic training TWICE in real life- no, I didn't wash out- I re-joined the Army after a break of 7 years. So I wanted to see how they portrayed it. It's amazing how different the whole thing looks when you aren't young, scared and confused. It was actually a lot of fun- especially when you are older, and have more awards on your Class A's than your drill sergeants. (But it is a little sad too...like "what the hell am I doing here?") (Like the time some guy got really sick from 'salmon loaf' and puked. The drill made him scrape it up, and put the puke in his pocket. 3 days later the moron still had a pocket of dried up puke...I hope they put that stuff in the game!)
Just wondering if they decided to scrap the game- it looked a lot more like a recruiting tool than Operations, just not nearly as much fun.
The recruiters lie anyway, so they might as well tell the kids you'll get to go to exciting places, and shoot people who don't speak the same language, it that is what will get them in.
I don't think he specified Windows 2000. Works on XP just fine. (I use it all the time)
Ha-
I wish I could reply to all three asshats who think that running Photoshop means REAL computing- but I'll just choose one.
Sorry boys, but Photoshop runs faster on a Windows machine than a Mac. (Ask Adobe, not me- windows is their 'preferred platform') So you obviously assumed that the only thing we did on Windows was play games. Nope, we just got done with our work faster, and we have extra time- while the Mac is still re-drawing the screen.
The Windows box can run Photoshop (and does), and run it better. PLUS it can can run about 99% of the rest of the consumer software out there.
Oh yes...Apple has iTunes, can't forget that. When people at work on Mac's complain that they can't take part in NetMeeting presentations, I usually tell them to go play with iTunes, because that is their idea of productivity.
I've got two young women at home too. One with a Mac, one with a Windows machine. The Maccie always watches longingly as we play games, use sites like Yahoo! Launch (Windows Update too...can't forget that one man). We used to be impressed with the translucent housed monitor with alien feet- now we scoff as she fires up Photoshop yet again.
Looking at the thread, I assume the competition is about 'being fast'.
Your post is much better than the one I responded to- at least you know that I don't need to go all over the place to configure IIS.
But, in all seriousness. What settings/configuration am I missing by using IIS instead of Apache? I'm not asking "why is Apache better to set up" but "What can Apache do that IIS is missing".
Yes, this is a serious, honest question. I have never used Apache, but I am fairly happy with IIS- except for the fact that moving my meta-data is nearly impossible. Supposedly they have fixed that with 2003.
Thanks-
Just thinking about the basics of business, they must be making more than that.
Now, I must admit that I am not one hundred percent sure, but I am assuming that EBX is the same as Electonics Boutique. Even if this is not the case, a lot of this same information will apply because they are in the same business, and would have similar costs.
This page will give you a good idea of what is going on at Electronics Boutique: (Whoops, I had a link here, but the pages at Yahoo! financials expire so the link was no good. Sorry about that, you can either take my word for it, or do a search on your own their stock symbol is ELBO)
They do over $225 million a quarter. More than double that over the Christmas quarter. But, let's assume we are talking about a non-holiday month here. They had about 1,100 stores last year. So, $225 million divided by 1,100 stores is about $227,00 per quarter. Divide that by three (months), and you get over $75,000.
If you have ever owned a business, you know right away that $5,000 wouldn't even cover the costs of an incense cart at a mall.
Yes, I know your friend said it was over $5,000- but this shows how little most 'underlings' really know about the business they work for.
I couldn't even begin to strip down a car engine.
I don't know what forms we need to use to send a request to purchasing.
I'm not a photographer.
I can't write a story that the public would want to read.
I don't expect the other people around me to know more about computers than I know about their jobs.
Are you epileptic? The armrests on your chair aren't really guardrails you know..they are there for comfort.
I don't know about this- although I guess you got yourself off the hook by using 'may'. Like "Webserver setting may (but I really don't know) be spread across a dozen modules..."
Other than my network settings, the only things I ever touch on my webservers is the Internet Services Manager. If you can figure out how to use the MMC, and right-click, you can find all of the settings you need right there.
Do you have examples of these wide-spread settings, or did this comment fit into the may/might category of stuff you don't know?
First, let's assume this guy isn't full of crap. You have TWO servers- so this is the sample you are using for your statistics- one of each? What are your servers doing? Is there really an interoperability issue between them? Interoperability with WHAT? Are you trying to connect desktops to these machines? Are these DNS servers, what type of function are they providing. 95% of all desktops will be able to connect to the Windows machine better/stronger/faster than the the Redhat box.
If everyone uses free software, and nothing but free software...where do all the programmers go?
I like getting paid to write software. If nobody bought software, I guess that programming would be a 'hobby' and not a 'profession'.
I think the free software people are idiots. Kinda the same if 1/2 the plumbers in the world went around doing the job for nothing- because 'everyone should have water'.
I like getting paid to write code. I'm pretty sure that a lot of other people do. If the companies don't sell the products, and make a lot of money, then the whole idea of a paid programmer will go away. That would be a bummer.
So why the hell do you want to give your work away for free? That's some crack that I ain't smokin'.
At this rate programmers will be like artists- all underpaid and 'struggling'.
Who the hell came up with the idea that my time, effort, and labor is not worth any money? Please don't offer my employer to replace me with something that is free. You may be on your moral high-horse, but what you are really doing is killing one more tech job.
I agree. They called it Diablo, because that game truely was the Devil. I spent/wasted waaaayyyy too many hours on that game. Hundreds.
Then finally I was in Hell, in Hell mode (single player) and something happened to my character (barbarian), and I lost my entire inventory.
Another time I was using an assassin, and put way too many points into some of the simple skills, which left me unable to kill that big maggoty thing at the end of Level II in Hell mode.
Then another time I had a sorceress, and I couldn't get through one of the spider lairs in Level III (hell mode)
The list goes on and on....I've played every character through the game twice, and but could not get through hell mode. I think the barbarian could have done it.
I eventually had to un-install it, and GIVE THE GAME AWAY just to get over my addiction. But I am frequently heard saying "I can't wait until Diable III comes out...Diablo III is gonna be awesome".
Anonymous Coward-
When you say games 'should be affordable' how is that capitalistic? Maybe you should say "I wish games were affordable". Capitalists know that you can price something by what the market will bear. Perceived value is what drives the capitalist economy. Enough people think a game is worth X dollars, and the company will sell it for that.
Obviously you feel that your own experience speaks for the rest of society. MY economy is not in the shitter. I have plenty of money to spend on a computer and games. (If 50 bucks for a game is stretching your budget, either you are very young, or B- you should take a good look at the choices you have made which have landed you in the position are are in now) I don't mind if they charge a lot for games, as long as they keep producing them.
You are right about the priorities. But, you should be able to cover the basics, and have some left over. AND save money too. If you can't do that, you should apply yourself, and earn more money. If for no other reason, make sure you can bank some cash, so in case you die, your family is taken care of.
"It's a game, and it should be affordable" Now games are part of some semi-socialist system?!?!? For many people, games are a hobby. Like any other hobby, there are different levels of involvement. You can compare it to bicycling for instance. Let's say you get some rickety old bike from your mom (c366). You can ride about 8-9 MPH and go about 15 miles. You are now playing Doom 1. Then, you go to Wal-Mart, and buy one of their multi-purpose bikes. Now you can go about 12 MPH, and go about 25-30 miles. Now you are playing Doom II. Finally, you go to the bike shop, and get a good bike. It's designed for you to ride fast, and for a long time. (Viagra?) You can ride 18 MPH, and go 100 miles comfortably. Now, you are playing Doom III. The guy who buys that better bike is just more involved. If you are happy on that rickety old piece of crap- good for you. But when we go riding together, your little Doom I ride just ain't gonna cut it for me. I want Doom III- and when I'm done with that, I'll want Doom IV. Oh- and REAL people have REAL jobs. We don't worry about paying the rent (mortgage) and dropping a few hundred $$ for upgrades really isn't a big deal. You can slap together a system that will outrun yours by at least 5 times, for about $500-$600 bucks. The rest of us really don't want to play games at your same crappy level, so get off your rusty old bike, get down to Wal-Mart, and get a new computer. Or, stop complaining that some of us really DO want better games, and are willing to pay for them.
I've got an Athlon 1800+, with a ti4200. Paid about $500 for the whole box.
I get 60+ fps with everything cranked up. And if I only want to run 600x800 (why would I?) I get 90-100 frames.
But on the other hand...I've been playing the game for months now, and I've got so many to choose from...
A lot of people in the Unreal camp aren't really looking forward to Doom III. Unreal II will kick ass! (Whoops, I heard it sucked.)
Deus Ex and Half Life, and whenever Diablo III comes out. I'll pay $60 each and be happy.
No offense...but (oh wait, you are an anonymous coward...take all the offense you can fit in your mouth) Obviously you are not a gamer, and don't really understand what goes on with these games. A 2gig Athlon and a 9500 are not 'high-end'. They are 'good-end' maybe, but nothing really special. Over on the green side of /. people like to remember the good ole days of Pong, but I hope that the bright purple colors mean that our gaming standards are higher.
I've got an Athlon 1800+ with a ti4200. I get 60+ frames on UT2k3, (1024x768- highest detail, but no FSAA) and I want more. More detail, not frames.
I expect that I'll be able to run the games I am looking forward to this year- Half Life 2, and Deus Ex 2- but by next year I'll need to upgrade again.
Yes, yes, yes- you're right. It's a crime that so much emphasis is put on the graphics, and back when games were REAL, and Zork was king, text was fine. But Jurassic Park wasn't really that good of a movie, and it sold tickets. Do games need to have a higher moral standard?
Citing the 'Gates Era' as the reason for the now slimmed down to nothing status of computer manuals is dead wrong. Apple was the first to provide the single-sheet instruction in leiu of manuals. They advertised it on TV, they used it as one of their main marketing mantras- Macintosh is so simple, take it out of the box, and plug it in- that's it! So- Apple went from being a hobbyists computer, to the computer for 'the rest of us'. Odd that on one hand you (rightfully so) congratulate them for good manuals, but then blame the 'Gates Era' for the new lesser manuals. Both can be attributed to the same company- Apple.
Why do most people want to send their kids to a good school?
So they can get a good job. Make lots of money- buy an SUV, and not have to worry about those who can't afford such things.
We are the kids that were educated 20, 30, 40 years ago. Our parents wanted us to 'have more' than they had. Buying an SUV is part of that.