> High-resolution direct-view CRTs are still the quality benchmark that other displays strive for but still fall short of. It has a superior combination of contrast, dynamic range, and resolution compared to any alternative.
If you mean the Loewe Aconda as being the standard, then yes, you can't buy a better CRT.
> The Sony Grand Wega LCD set is supposed to look better for
The KF-50XBR800, or GWII as it is more commonly called, is an excellent TV. Almost picked one up, but went the Plasma route.:)
> as I've been too busy re-watching my entire DVD collection:) Yeap, I hear ya!
> , but LCDs are prone to pixels getting "stuck", and you have to worry about image burn-in. I believe you're misinformed. LCD's don't have image burn-in, at least to my knowledge.
Plasma's can have burn-in issues (and usually did a few years back), but now-a-days it's pretty rare. Why do the non-plasma owners always over-hype burn-in?! (Not saying you did, since you didn't:)
> I've found wide-view Plasma displays hard to beat (I worked with dual 48 inchers on my work PC for several months!). They are extremely expensive though.
Eh? A 42" can be found for less then $3300, which is a bargain. A far cry from last year's $5K !
I was going to switch to a Dvorak layout, but I *like* the layout of Qwerty since all the hotkeys/mnemonics I use for games are in the proper place.
Upping my words per min is NOT going to make me more effective/productive. I'm a programmer - the problems are logical and logistical. I'm "hampered" by brain speed, not input speed.
The developer Distinctive Software got bought EA in 1990. The studio was renamed EA Canada, which produced the famous yearly Hockey, Basketball, and Soccer (FIFA). Need for Speed was made by the same driving "Driving Team", but never got the same marketing dollars as the other "Big Three".
I agree that it was a very cool* game. The Track Editor was a brilliant idea at the time. I imagine I wasn't the only one who setup a high speed banked course and tried to take the corner fast as possible:)
* AS much fun as I had with Stunts, NFS PSX remains a favorite for personal reasons.
> Plasma's are good for about 10000 hours. But then again they get screen burn like a traditional CRT does
Oh please, stop with the outdated facts. They [Plasmas] are rated for 30,000 till half brightness.
Burn-in is *OVER-RATED* on a plasma. Check avsforums. Out of the 60,000 people posting there, only *1* had serious burn-in, and that's because his wife left the Plasma on for a *week*.
If you don't know jack about a technology, don't comment on it, especially if you don't own one.
> The other question raised is how many people who prefer DTS do so because of indoctrination and the elitism that occurs with it?
DTS has a higher bitrate then DD you twit. Orginally 1536 kps for DTS (but now 768 kps) vs 448 kps for DD. That's analogous to listening to a (crappy 44Khz/16bit) CD, then hearing the same music on a DVD-A (192Khz/24bit). Whole WORLD of difference. Now granted, there are decreasing returns which can't be ignored, but still, there is subtational less degradtion with DTS.
If you were to argue that most consumers couldn't tell the difference -- I would agree, because of
a) their crappy speakers, and
b) they don't care (as you mentioned) because DD is "good enough."
> Afterall, in some ways, Saying you only like DTS is like saying you only drive Porsches.
Once you've driven a Porsche, you're going to notice all the differences of a cheaper consumer vehicle.
What is wrong with appreciating a higher quality product? As long as you don't bash the people who think the low-end products are "good enough" for THEM, who cares that you want a higher standard.
> If somebody punches you, do you punch them straight back? That depends if he has friends with guns.:)
> Do you think doing so would leave you with any credibility? Depends.
So a burgular breaks in and punches you. You beat him up enough so that he flees. The wife is happy because now your home is safe. You gained credibility for not being a wimp.
> That's a good question. I'd like to know the answer too. That said, it obviously depends on how the game was programed. > If everything is seperate, so that you could just drop in some new files to completely change the sound or graphics subsystem, then it shouldn't take too long.
Off the record, the game codebase is pretty clean since we had already ported it over the Mac. i.e. I believe they got the "Mac-n-Trans" codebase. (Trans = Translation, or localized.)
This thing is so tiny you can put it in your shirt-pocket! Outside pictures are actually pretty good. I've shown the pics to a couple of friends (one who is a serious camera buff), and they were all amazed something that tiny could snap a picture that good. It's no Canon Power shot, but even at a 1/8 picture quality, it is still pretty good.
And at only $90 at ThinkGeek, so it won't break the bank.
Does the BSD team have a list (or rules of thumb?) that mentions other safe coding practises? There has to be book on this, right? (I've always been impressed by the pro-active stance BSD takes towards security -- I just wish the rest of the commercial world could afford the time to do things right, instead of the cheesy no liability out-clause in the EULA.)
If most developers are still using these "trivial" funcs, I'm scared what other funcs are just as buggy!
Funny how one can forget all about these "harmless" bad practises. Time to add it to the internal coding standard.:)
> What GW is probably trying to do is protect their resellers' profit margins.
GW is not the only company doing this. I've seen this in other areas too. Fujitso banned all internet sales of their Plasma's. They will only honor the 3 year warranty if you buy from an authorized dealer.
Now I agree that a B&M advice can be very helpfull, but I don't think it's worth an extra $1k - $2k for big ticket items. I won't comment on how you can find *much* cheaper prices online of the other manufactors.
Bringing this back on-topic: (Sorry, I see GW and I think Grand Wega II & Plasmas:)
> People would go pick the brains of the people who would spend time with them, and then go and order online or from some cheap guy that doesn't help them.
Yeah, that's gotta suck as a retailer. People will drive across town just to (try to) save a $1 literally. (They always seem to forget the extra time and gas spent.) I think the instant access of internet prices just further complicates this problem, since not much time is wasted hunting down a good bargain.
I'm not sure what a good solution is: On one hand, people shouldn't have to pay an arm and a leg because they feel obligated to buy from a retailer that helped them, if there are considerable savings from a competitor. But if you don't patronize their business, all the good vendors will be gone.
My rule of thumb is if a vendor has helped me, and isn't overpriced, I'll try to patronize their business. If I know what I want (say DVD's) I'll shop around, waiting for a good price.
> t- is used for interns. They get the same blue border on their ID badges as the full-timers and most of the benefits. No, I don't know why they don't use "i.
> Am I the only one to remember Fantavision as a kind of animation creation software?
No, but most have forgotten;(
> I used to play with it on my Tandy 1000 TL and created vertice (vertex?) animations with it.
I had it on the Apple ][+. Never knew it came out on other platforms.
Yes, it was vertex animation, with tweening (lerping)
> I remember that Luxo lamp animation. I was so amazed back then...
The 2nd disc (back side of the floppy) had some cool animations. I brought the cell reproduction into science class one day. The teacher loved it, since it showed the principles better then any verbose description could.
Tab and Shift-Tab to *cycle* thru filenames, along with a hotkey to toggle between long and short filenames, just rocks when stuck on a Windows (2K/XP) box.
Slashdot Mirror
> Remember that the bargain $3.3K screens are just EDTV (852x480)
Correct. The reason I have one, is because they match up the best with DVDs resolution of 720x480.
> $5K screens are HDTV (1280x1280)
Which you should avoid like the plague, or any other same-size resolutions. Although 1366x768 is a good aspect ratio.
> High-resolution direct-view CRTs are still the quality benchmark that other displays strive for but still fall short of. It has a superior combination of contrast, dynamic range, and resolution compared to any alternative.
If you mean the Loewe Aconda as being the standard, then yes, you can't buy a better CRT.
However, these Plasma owners beg to differ:
If plasmas were not available, which set would you own?
Cheers
> The Sony Grand Wega LCD set is supposed to look better for
:)
:)
:)
The KF-50XBR800, or GWII as it is more commonly called, is an excellent TV. Almost picked one up, but went the Plasma route.
> as I've been too busy re-watching my entire DVD collection
Yeap, I hear ya!
> , but LCDs are prone to pixels getting "stuck", and you have to worry about image burn-in.
I believe you're misinformed. LCD's don't have image burn-in, at least to my knowledge.
Plasma's can have burn-in issues (and usually did a few years back), but now-a-days it's pretty rare. Why do the non-plasma owners always over-hype burn-in?! (Not saying you did, since you didn't
Cheers
> I've found wide-view Plasma displays hard to beat (I worked with dual 48 inchers on my work PC for several months!). They are extremely expensive though.
Eh? A 42" can be found for less then $3300, which is a bargain. A far cry from last year's $5K !
I was going to switch to a Dvorak layout, but I *like* the layout of Qwerty since all the hotkeys/mnemonics I use for games are in the proper place.
Upping my words per min is NOT going to make me more effective/productive. I'm a programmer - the problems are logical and logistical. I'm "hampered" by brain speed, not input speed.
[No Text]
Pretty cool that the game is freeware.
:)
Misc. Stunts Trivia:
The developer Distinctive Software got bought EA in 1990. The studio was renamed EA Canada, which produced the famous yearly Hockey, Basketball, and Soccer (FIFA). Need for Speed was made by the same driving "Driving Team", but never got the same marketing dollars as the other "Big Three".
I agree that it was a very cool* game. The Track Editor was a brilliant idea at the time. I imagine I wasn't the only one who setup a high speed banked course and tried to take the corner fast as possible
* AS much fun as I had with Stunts, NFS PSX remains a favorite for personal reasons.
> Plasma's are good for about 10000 hours. But then again they get screen burn like a traditional CRT does
Oh please, stop with the outdated facts. They [Plasmas] are rated for 30,000 till half brightness.
Burn-in is *OVER-RATED* on a plasma. Check avsforums. Out of the 60,000 people posting there, only *1* had serious burn-in, and that's because his wife left the Plasma on for a *week*.
If you don't know jack about a technology, don't comment on it, especially if you don't own one.
> The other question raised is how many people who prefer DTS do so because of indoctrination and the elitism that occurs with it?
DTS has a higher bitrate then DD you twit. Orginally 1536 kps for DTS (but now 768 kps) vs 448 kps for DD. That's analogous to listening to a (crappy 44Khz/16bit) CD, then hearing the same music on a DVD-A (192Khz/24bit). Whole WORLD of difference. Now granted, there are decreasing returns which can't be ignored, but still, there is subtational less degradtion with DTS.
If you were to argue that most consumers couldn't tell the difference -- I would agree, because of
a) their crappy speakers, and
b) they don't care (as you mentioned) because DD is "good enough."
> Afterall, in some ways, Saying you only like DTS is like saying you only drive Porsches.
Once you've driven a Porsche, you're going to notice all the differences of a cheaper consumer vehicle.
What is wrong with appreciating a higher quality product? As long as you don't bash the people who think the low-end products are "good enough" for THEM, who cares that you want a higher standard.
Cheers
> If somebody punches you, do you punch them straight back? :)
That depends if he has friends with guns.
> Do you think doing so would leave you with any credibility?
Depends.
So a burgular breaks in and punches you. You beat him up enough so that he flees. The wife is happy because now your home is safe. You gained credibility for not being a wimp.
> That's a good question. I'd like to know the answer too. That said, it obviously depends on how the game was programed.
> If everything is seperate, so that you could just drop in some new files to completely change the sound or graphics subsystem, then it shouldn't take too long.
Off the record, the game codebase is pretty clean since we had already ported it over the Mac. i.e. I believe they got the "Mac-n-Trans" codebase. (Trans = Translation, or localized.)
This thing is so tiny you can put it in your shirt-pocket! Outside pictures are actually pretty good. I've shown the pics to a couple of friends (one who is a serious camera buff), and they were all amazed something that tiny could snap a picture that good. It's no Canon Power shot, but even at a 1/8 picture quality, it is still pretty good.
And at only $90 at ThinkGeek, so it won't break the bank.
> You're thinking of OpenBSD.
;) My bad, I should of said "stance [Open] BSD"
Yeah, since the article was about Open, I didn't think I had to specify it.
BOTH products rename
;-)
Firebird Database -> Fire'base
Firebird Web Broswer -> Fire'web
At least it would be less confusing -- can't have that now !
Does the BSD team have a list (or rules of thumb?) that mentions other safe coding practises? There has to be book on this, right? (I've always been impressed by the pro-active stance BSD takes towards security -- I just wish the rest of the commercial world could afford the time to do things right, instead of the cheesy no liability out-clause in the EULA.)
:)
If most developers are still using these "trivial" funcs, I'm scared what other funcs are just as buggy!
Funny how one can forget all about these "harmless" bad practises. Time to add it to the internal coding standard.
2 billion light years away, and they were within a day! Wonder what the error rate on that is?
> Is anyone else a bit dissappointed that the focus on games seems to be the rendering engine and the color depth and frame rates.
;-) Vertex Shaders, and a floating-point framebuffer are a god-send in real-time graphics.
;-)
No
Back on Target:
Check out Serious Sam 1 & 2. Tons of monsters, and some REALLY BIG ones. It's a blast.
> I like everyone else used to stay at work late so we could have a lan party playing
BF1942 & Mohaa are what we're playing nowadays. Give it a shot (pardon the pun
> What GW is probably trying to do is protect their resellers' profit margins.
:)
GW is not the only company doing this. I've seen this in other areas too. Fujitso banned all internet sales of their Plasma's. They will only honor the 3 year warranty if you buy from an authorized dealer.
Now I agree that a B&M advice can be very helpfull, but I don't think it's worth an extra $1k - $2k for big ticket items. I won't comment on how you can find *much* cheaper prices online of the other manufactors.
Bringing this back on-topic:
(Sorry, I see GW and I think Grand Wega II & Plasmas
> People would go pick the brains of the people who would spend time with them, and then go and order online or from some cheap guy that doesn't help them.
Yeah, that's gotta suck as a retailer. People will drive across town just to (try to) save a $1 literally. (They always seem to forget the extra time and gas spent.) I think the instant access of internet prices just further complicates this problem, since not much time is wasted hunting down a good bargain.
I'm not sure what a good solution is:
On one hand, people shouldn't have to pay an arm and a leg because they feel obligated to buy from a retailer that helped them, if there are considerable savings from a competitor. But if you don't patronize their business, all the good vendors will be gone.
My rule of thumb is if a vendor has helped me, and isn't overpriced, I'll try to patronize their business. If I know what I want (say DVD's) I'll shop around, waiting for a good price.
> but you also need RAM, and lots of it. The PS2 only has 32 MB.
Technically its 40. 32 Main, 4 Megs Graphics (GS), 2 Megs IOP, 2 Megs Sound (SPU), but yeah, you meant for editing, which 4 megs (IOP + SPU) is useless for.
> Set this running full screen on your machine and scare people away...
;-)
You mean, most geeks don't already?
> Besides schools, where were Apple II's embraced by business?
.sig! :)
A lot. Common programs were: Peachtree Accounting, dBase II, WordStar, Print Shop, Sensible Speller, etc.
Take a look here for others.
> And damn AppleWorks was a bad wordprocessor.
But it was one of the first integrated office apps.
--
This is NOT a
> t- is used for interns. They get the same blue border on their ID badges as the full-timers and most of the benefits. No, I don't know why they don't use "i.
Idea: T is for Temps ?
> I can't believe there was actually a way to beat the final stage [Doom 1 | 2]without cheating.
Yeah there was, it just took a LOT of patience.
> Am I the only one to remember Fantavision as a kind of animation creation software?
;(
No, but most have forgotten
> I used to play with it on my Tandy 1000 TL and created vertice (vertex?) animations with it.
I had it on the Apple ][+. Never knew it came out on other platforms.
Yes, it was vertex animation, with tweening (lerping)
> I remember that Luxo lamp animation. I was so amazed back then...
The 2nd disc (back side of the floppy) had some cool animations. I brought the cell reproduction into science class one day. The teacher loved it, since it showed the principles better then any verbose description could.
--
I am not a number -- I am a free man!
Tab and Shift-Tab to *cycle* thru filenames, along with a hotkey to toggle between long and short filenames, just rocks when stuck on a Windows (2K/XP) box.
When on a *nix system, bash.