I fully agree with this post. Ever since Half-Life I haven't seen a single game that had something truly new in it that made me want to buy it. The FPS genre is full of games trying to clone each other and keep up with the latest trends, and I'm sick of it. When Sam & Max 2 was cancelled I knew that the days of intelligent gaming were over.
How about giving me a game with an engaging storyline that I can immerse myself in?
OT, but nice Music Man reference. I played the high tenor in the barbershop quartet in high school, and played percussion for a community theater production a year or so later. Great show.
The point of my journal entry was that people will explain what an acronym means after they say it, thus defeating the purpose of using an acronym in the first place. =D
I dont see it happening anymore (perhaps everyone's seen it and changed their errant ways? =D), I should probably upgrade my sig.
This will not destroy compatibility with existing MP3s, nor will it stop piracy from people ripping. They are just making a DRM-enabled MP3 format for online music stores to sell so that Fraunhofer can start getting the royalties it was trying to get in the first place when it started charging for the MP3 format. Microsoft is getting loads of cash for licensing WMA, and Apple is getting wads of greenies for licensing AAC, Fraunhofer is just trying to get in the game. There will still be MP3s without DRM, just like there are AAC and WMA files without DRM.
A station at a lagrange point would be weightless, so long term inhabitation would essentially be impossible unless we invent a gravity generator.
I have this amazing gravity generator called a "centrifuge." The idea is that you spin the "centrifuge" and objects inside will be magically held to the outside, just like gravity!
Click-on-it-with-everything-in-your-inventory is sooo much different than hunt-the-verb and all its variations. =D
The trick that a good graphical adventure will do is try to hide the puzzle/solution in the scenery, or make it just sort of blend in, something it would be difficult for a text to do without having a lot of very verbose scene descriptions. What ends up happening, is you don't do the clicking spree on it because it doesn't occur to you to, it's just part of the scenery, until you come across a puzzle where it suddenly occurs to you that that piece of scenery will come in handy. In Sierra adventures, objects you're supposed to interact with tend to stand out a LOT from the scenery, so it's kind of a giveaway, but in SCUMM adventures they blend in really nicely.
Ugh, this reminds me of why I hate text adventures. open drawer with key, that does not computeth, use key in drawer, that does not computeth, unlock drawer with key, that does not computeth. Can someone tell me how to unlock a freaking drawer that would have taken two clicks in a graphical adventure game?
That story was in his book, "The Open Road" (I think), which was basically Bill Gates trying to predict the future of technology, with a bit of autobiographical stuff tossed in.
Anyway, that story is true as long as Bill G was telling the truth in his book. =D
In the book, though, his class scheduler put him in classes with the girls he liked, not just any girls.
Just call them and make sure it works. The operator will probably be understanding enough if you just say "Hi, I'm just making sure 911 works on my new phone line. Bye {click}." You've wasted maybe 10 seconds of their time, and if you got through immediately, then you probably didn't shut out someone who was really in an emergency.
I don't see what the problem is... Would you rather sign up for your new VoIP provider, then find out when you're being robbed or whatever that the police can't find where you are, or worse, not be able to reach them through 911?
Yes, I've played in a smattering of musicals, only every trombone part ever needed to be covered by this theatre group since I was first asked.
Same thing here, good percussionists are very rare around these parts, and these theaters like having someone they can just go to when they need musicians, instead of searching far and wide all the time.
I agree 100%. I can make sounds on a trombone that no patch can copy. Just try getting a real growl out of any synth for the parts in Gypsy. Or the drunken bone part in Scruge. There's just no way it can be pulled off with current patches and a keyboard.
The main thing is that the keyboard is percussive in nature, no way can you get the same articulation that you can get out of a horn. Ironically, trying to use a keyboard to emulate percussion usually ends up pretty bad as well. The patches are typically horrible and sound nothing like the real thing, plus there's simply no way to get the same kind of attack out of the sound.
I must argue that you *can* play with the pitches quite well using a keyboard setup. And it does make things really slick if the singer decided he want something taken up a half step.:) (transposing on the fly is so much fun...!)
I'm not that good! I'm lucky enough to not be playing pitched instruments most of the time. A lot of the musicians I play with just blow me away in terms of musicianship.
The person who scribed that horn part needs to be shot
I know the feeling! The singers, conductor and piano always get nice, printed scores, but the rest of the orchestra gets music that looks like it was written by a three-year-old with muscle spasms, then badly photocopied for about 5 generations, with the cuts and notes from the last 3 people who used that book written in pen.
I think it's mostly because I'm just an analog musician myself, and really like the live music scene. There's something about the combined aspects of improvisation, musical dialog with fellow musicians, and just plain grooving your butt off that's just plain cool. Plus, one thing I think really makes music fun is to be able to jam out someone else's music, play a cover every once in a while. It can really bring that music to life for you. Jut being able to say "This one's in the key of G" and play it by ear is really cool, especially since you don't have to buy any new records or tediously program it into your computer.
Perhaps it's closer to sitting him down at an unfamiliar kit and blindfolding him. I just thought about it and you're right on that point.
I still wouldn't exactly call it the most versatile/legitimate musical instrument out there, though. You simply can't apply it to most musical situations, and where I have heard it used outside of rap/hiphop, it's just seemed excessive to me.
My palm pilot is great for scheduling appointments and keeping track of my contacts, but I wouldn't want to read a book on it. The contrast ratio is so low I'd probably end up with eye-strain, and you can't fit much text on the screen, which means you scroll more often, which messes up the immersion for me. The two opposing pages of a book make for a good minute of reading time between page turns.
I'm just more interested in hearing how the drums interact with the rest of the musicians, I guess. I've listened to quite a few "classic" drum/percussion solos, but they just don't hold my interest. Usually they're just big displays of raw chops, which I hate. It's like musical masturbation.
Slashdot Mirror
I fully agree with this post. Ever since Half-Life I haven't seen a single game that had something truly new in it that made me want to buy it. The FPS genre is full of games trying to clone each other and keep up with the latest trends, and I'm sick of it. When Sam & Max 2 was cancelled I knew that the days of intelligent gaming were over.
How about giving me a game with an engaging storyline that I can immerse myself in?
OT, but nice Music Man reference. I played the high tenor in the barbershop quartet in high school, and played percussion for a community theater production a year or so later. Great show.
Sorry, my mistake. Won't be making it in the future, thanks.
The point of my journal entry was that people will explain what an acronym means after they say it, thus defeating the purpose of using an acronym in the first place. =D
I dont see it happening anymore (perhaps everyone's seen it and changed their errant ways? =D), I should probably upgrade my sig.
This will not destroy compatibility with existing MP3s, nor will it stop piracy from people ripping. They are just making a DRM-enabled MP3 format for online music stores to sell so that Fraunhofer can start getting the royalties it was trying to get in the first place when it started charging for the MP3 format. Microsoft is getting loads of cash for licensing WMA, and Apple is getting wads of greenies for licensing AAC, Fraunhofer is just trying to get in the game. There will still be MP3s without DRM, just like there are AAC and WMA files without DRM.
A station at a lagrange point would be weightless, so long term inhabitation would essentially be impossible unless we invent a gravity generator.
I have this amazing gravity generator called a "centrifuge." The idea is that you spin the "centrifuge" and objects inside will be magically held to the outside, just like gravity!
RTFA, he's looking for a scope that will do nearly a thousands times the frequency that your sound card will handle (40 MHz as opposed to 44.1KHz).
Click-on-it-with-everything-in-your-inventory is sooo much different than hunt-the-verb and all its variations. =D
The trick that a good graphical adventure will do is try to hide the puzzle/solution in the scenery, or make it just sort of blend in, something it would be difficult for a text to do without having a lot of very verbose scene descriptions. What ends up happening, is you don't do the clicking spree on it because it doesn't occur to you to, it's just part of the scenery, until you come across a puzzle where it suddenly occurs to you that that piece of scenery will come in handy. In Sierra adventures, objects you're supposed to interact with tend to stand out a LOT from the scenery, so it's kind of a giveaway, but in SCUMM adventures they blend in really nicely.
Ugh, this reminds me of why I hate text adventures. open drawer with key, that does not computeth, use key in drawer, that does not computeth, unlock drawer with key, that does not computeth. Can someone tell me how to unlock a freaking drawer that would have taken two clicks in a graphical adventure game?
That story was in his book, "The Open Road" (I think), which was basically Bill Gates trying to predict the future of technology, with a bit of autobiographical stuff tossed in.
Anyway, that story is true as long as Bill G was telling the truth in his book. =D
In the book, though, his class scheduler put him in classes with the girls he liked, not just any girls.
I don't subscribe to Wired. As a rule, I don't like anything that has more ads than content.
In short: We're talking more traffic than Slashdot here.
Auto-locate on your cell-phone only turns on when you dial 911, at least on my cell phone.
Good point, call their 7 digit number and let them know first.
There's no way to verify that it works
Just call them and make sure it works. The operator will probably be understanding enough if you just say "Hi, I'm just making sure 911 works on my new phone line. Bye {click}." You've wasted maybe 10 seconds of their time, and if you got through immediately, then you probably didn't shut out someone who was really in an emergency.
I don't see what the problem is... Would you rather sign up for your new VoIP provider, then find out when you're being robbed or whatever that the police can't find where you are, or worse, not be able to reach them through 911?
That short story is exactly what I've been thinking about... I read it, but I don't remember what it's called, sorry.
Reminds me of 1984 where they invented that language designed specifically to make sure people couldn't express ideas contrary to the system.
Now THAT'S optimism!
Yes, I've played in a smattering of musicals, only every trombone part ever needed to be covered by this theatre group since I was first asked.
:) (transposing on the fly is so much fun...!)
Same thing here, good percussionists are very rare around these parts, and these theaters like having someone they can just go to when they need musicians, instead of searching far and wide all the time.
I agree 100%. I can make sounds on a trombone that no patch can copy. Just try getting a real growl out of any synth for the parts in Gypsy. Or the drunken bone part in Scruge. There's just no way it can be pulled off with current patches and a keyboard.
The main thing is that the keyboard is percussive in nature, no way can you get the same articulation that you can get out of a horn. Ironically, trying to use a keyboard to emulate percussion usually ends up pretty bad as well. The patches are typically horrible and sound nothing like the real thing, plus there's simply no way to get the same kind of attack out of the sound.
I must argue that you *can* play with the pitches quite well using a keyboard setup. And it does make things really slick if the singer decided he want something taken up a half step.
I'm not that good! I'm lucky enough to not be playing pitched instruments most of the time. A lot of the musicians I play with just blow me away in terms of musicianship.
The person who scribed that horn part needs to be shot
I know the feeling! The singers, conductor and piano always get nice, printed scores, but the rest of the orchestra gets music that looks like it was written by a three-year-old with muscle spasms, then badly photocopied for about 5 generations, with the cuts and notes from the last 3 people who used that book written in pen.
Pathetic karma whoring attempt. You didn't even point out the high-quality 137 MB version at http://www.kongmovie.com/Kong-Full-(DivX-HQ).avi.t orrent
I think it's mostly because I'm just an analog musician myself, and really like the live music scene. There's something about the combined aspects of improvisation, musical dialog with fellow musicians, and just plain grooving your butt off that's just plain cool. Plus, one thing I think really makes music fun is to be able to jam out someone else's music, play a cover every once in a while. It can really bring that music to life for you. Jut being able to say "This one's in the key of G" and play it by ear is really cool, especially since you don't have to buy any new records or tediously program it into your computer.
Perhaps it's closer to sitting him down at an unfamiliar kit and blindfolding him. I just thought about it and you're right on that point.
/legitimate musical instrument out there, though. You simply can't apply it to most musical situations, and where I have heard it used outside of rap/hiphop, it's just seemed excessive to me.
I still wouldn't exactly call it the most versatile
My palm pilot is great for scheduling appointments and keeping track of my contacts, but I wouldn't want to read a book on it. The contrast ratio is so low I'd probably end up with eye-strain, and you can't fit much text on the screen, which means you scroll more often, which messes up the immersion for me. The two opposing pages of a book make for a good minute of reading time between page turns.
I'm just more interested in hearing how the drums interact with the rest of the musicians, I guess. I've listened to quite a few "classic" drum/percussion solos, but they just don't hold my interest. Usually they're just big displays of raw chops, which I hate. It's like musical masturbation.