It's like the used/new car market: if you buy a game for $50 knowing you'll be able to sell if for $25, the TCO looks low and you'll be inclined to buy more games. If it's $50 and worth nothing after you've finished playing it (ie not allowed to sell on), where is the incentive to buy more? Like cars, there are always the people who will buy new for the 'I got it first' feeling, and the second-hand buyers who want a bargain and who may (just may) also buy new games from that company if they are good enough. Games companies, don't complain when people sell their old games - make sure you produce quality products that the 'got to get it first' buyers will want to buy in large enough numbers. Bottom line, if it's crap it won't sell to anyone, and you really don't want to use THAT method for cutting down on second-hand sales.
No, I'm Jack's complete lack of surprise, and so is my wife.
Re:Overhead projector + LCD panel = home theater
on
The Year of the HTPC
·
· Score: 1
My set-up looks a lot like this, but without the housing. Mine wasn't this cheap, but as I say it's not as easy to get a good choice of LCD panels here in the UK.
Re:Overhead projector + LCD panel = home theater
on
The Year of the HTPC
·
· Score: 1
To answer both of the above questions: the picture quality is very, very good. Just remember that when you go to the cinema it's really a different kind of picture - projection isn't at all like your TV tube. So at first I thought it wasn't as good as I'd hoped, but the addition of a white screen, er, bed sheet, it improved a lot.
You're never going to get plasma screen quality, but the first thing I watched on it, as a test, was the 'fight for the dock' scene from Matrix Revolutions and I was completely blown away by it. So much so that I came back in the house (it's all set up in my big shed, sorry the site hasn't been updated) dancing around like a kid, amazed at what I'd just seen! A better screen definitely makes a lot of difference - just going from projecting onto a grey wall to a white sheet gave a big jump in quality, and I'm sure that if you go for a good, reflective projector screen (which aren't too much money either), it would help even more.
The bulbs last for 50 hours and cost around £4 each. That makes them cheap but fairly short-lived, but a 2000-hour projector bulb would cost £200, so this is comparable in price per hour. BUT of course the initial outlay is much cheaper (even a cheap projector is £600-800), and when a bulb goes it's £4 a time (loose change) not a huge wad of cash. So I can afford to get a pack of 5 for spares, and just buy a few more when I run low.
Obviously I won't be using this as a replacement for my TV, so the 50-hour life of a bulb gets me 25 movies. The bulb cost is really marginal, and almost not worth thinking about. My DVD player plays DIVX movies, so no need for a computer hook-up either.
There are a lot of web sites around explaining how to set up your own gear - just Google for 'DIY projector'. Mine was the simplest approach, but you can go further and build your own projector, at which time you can use bulbs which have a 10,000-hour life (cost=£50), so then you really can replace your TV. The more you spend, the more you get, as with anything. I'm just getting a kick out of having a 6-foot screen for less money that a CRT TV would have cost, never mind an LCD or plasma. All from those good folks at eBay, and I noticed that if you're in the US you will get a LOT more choice over the LCD panel - I had to wait a while for a good one to arrive on eBay UK.
Overhead projector + LCD panel = home theater
on
The Year of the HTPC
·
· Score: 4, Informative
I don't go for all this integrated malarky. I bought an overhead projector, added an LCD panel with video input, connected up my DVD player, and used a white bed sheet (oh yes) stretched out on a wooden frame (knocked together in minutes). There you go, a 6-foot wide screen, with REAL theater feel. And it only cost me £170 in total ($US 260?). Integrated my arse, I like to have hulking great machines for each and every task! I could hook up a games console but being attacked life-size creatures in shoot-em-ups would probably scare the crap out of me!
Expanding the idea: go through a list of big companies and send out press releases saying you're 'intending' to start a magazine/web site featuring whatever it is they produce, and ask if they have any promotional material or new products they might like to have featured in it. Ie do exactly what you'd do if you were a legitimate start-up. But do this on a BIG scale.
Official letterheads are no problem - what's that high-quality inkjet printer for, after all?
Week 1 you're a movie magazine, so contact all the movie studios, DVD distributors, etc.
Week 2 you're setting up a specialist magazine for the wine drinker. Or beer. Yep, make it beer. Do they have anything they may want to put your way? You can tell them how great the taste is (hic)
Week 3 (after sobering up) and you've finally worked out how to get a free subscription to every pr0n site on the net - you're writing an article which you'll be submitting to all the 'male lifestyle' mags. Give me subscription and you'll be sure to get a mention.
Week 4 (after mopping up) it's time to retire. Hell, you got movies, alcohol and porn for free. What else is there?!
Just go through every section in the Yellow Pages, and hit them with a similar story. If you take it far enough, you may get free tickets/flights to shows, presentations, press briefings, parties... even test drive the latest cars/boats/women if you can talk the talk.
Don't do this via email because it will just get discarded as spam. More importantly, and one anti-spam law suit will evaporate all the freebies you manage to grab. For the price of stamps and printing, the potential rewards are there for the taking. And you did say you were 'intending' to start that magazine/site didn't you... and on reflection changed your mind. On the other hand, if you start to get free movies, beer and porn, publish the damn thing and soak up the free gifts!
Chip and PIN as it's called here in the UK, where you will HAVE to type in your PIN every time you use your card, will drastically reduce fraud/theft from stolen or lost cards. For one thing, you can't forge the number (not visible on the card), whereas a signature is easy - it's shown on the card so any fool can copy it after a couple of practice attempts. Signatures aren't checked (I write my own signature quite badly sometimes and it's not even looked at) but entering a PIN means that a check will be made 100% of the time. I don't think it's a hassle to have to remember your PIN - you have to do it to get cash out of a machine, so why not for a credit card? In fact my card (a 'debit' card) is used for both purposes so I have to remember the number anyway. Counterfeiting may cost us little as a percentage game, but, like a plane crash, it's when you are personally affected that it hurts, so I'll go with entering a PIN if it reduces the risk of me losing all my cash if someone else gets hold of my card. The card companies can use the money saved on fraud (which they guarantee to give back to the customers to cover any losses if your card is abused) and use to for the Chip and PIN scheme. And before anyone says 'well if they cover you you'll never lose your cash', that's fine if you can wait (days? weeks?) until they refund the money into your account, not so good if you need that money 'right now'.
As humous is a Greek dip made from chick peas, here would be a good start: Humous Recipe. If you need to post it, make sure it's in a waterproof container - I'll have some if you do eventually find the option.
Well I'd hate to be on the crew for mission 25. "Hey guys, this is the last mission before your ship wears out and has to be scrapped! Who wants to fly her one last time?" No thanks, I'll take one with fewer miles on the clock!
Why would they design something which has to be 100% safe and say it will only last 25 times?
(1) Still, it's a lot easier to add together two decimal numbers - 42mm + 26mm for example, and obviously the more numbers you have the harder it gets. Addition shouldn't really have to involve multiplication first, if at all possible (don't get me started with logarithm tables!)
(2) If someone asks for a pound of bacon how would you weigh out that pound? Market traders who have tried to keep their imperial scales have had them impounded, and have been prosecuted for refusing to give them up. Personally I would ask for bacon by the slice or (when hungry) by the pig. There are probably 16 piglets to a standard imperial pig.
To your last point: for the same reason there are not 1000 bytes in a kilobyte:)
One more meaurement I forgot about: UK people express their weight in STONES and pounds, and there are (groan) 14 pounds in a stone. I have NO idea about the reasoning behind that at all!!
I'm off for a pint of beer... or are those the larger half-litre cans in my fridge?! And why does my car do x mpg when I buy the fuel in litres?
There's one advantage to the US using 'old' measurements - at least they stick to one system. Most of Europe is entirely metric, which is also good. But we in the UK have a horrible mix of both which can be incredibly confusing.
However... 1/16 = 0.0625 1/32 = 0.03125...which are not so easy!
And it's when I'm watching New Yankee Workshop that I wonder why Norm Abram is expecting anyone to be able to work out in our heads what an inch and 3/16ths added to 2 inches and 5/32nds is. With mm that would be easy - no need to go back to find a common denominator (and you can't do it on a calculator either)
Working in cm and mm and all is clear and it's not even difficult to convert - there are 25mm in an inch (well, nearly anyway!) and 30cm in a foot (nearly again!)
And anyway, pounds is the NAME of the UK currency, it's not the weight of it... but we all knew that, right?
For the record, although the UK is metric all our speed limit signs are in miles per hour and not km. This is probably only because of cost - the government is too tight to replace all those signs at once. And we also quote our heights in feet and inches. No idea why.
To further explain how messed up we are over here, I'm now about to build a workshop (hence the Norm reference) and need some 2x6 timber for the floor (ie inches) but for the lengths I need I'll be using metres!
One more: it's now ILLEGAL to sell food in pounds and ounces, you have to use kg. And I do mean illegal - you can get arrested for it.
End of mini cultural lesson!
Re:When the patents run out the fun starts
on
Diamonds & the RIAA
·
· Score: 1
When diamonds become worthless, or at least worth LESS, we may see a move towards some other gemstone or commodity which is more difficult to manufacture, which will take over the title of a girl's best friend (how come they get diamonds and men get dogs?!). Alternatively the artificial diamond makers may decide to grow novelty diamonds, much like insects found in amber. How about a holographic portrait of your loved one embedded in a 20-carat diamond? Also expect to see the death of Diamonique on QVC at last!
American monoculture? J K Rowling is 100% British. I agree with some of what you say, but isn't it better to entice children to read about their own culture by creating new characters based on that culture, rather than taking someone else's ideas, cashing in on their success, and fiddling at the edges to make 'new' works. If I had taken the time to invent a fully-formed framework for my fiction, I wouldn't want someone else basing their works on my 'world' - let them invent their own.
Slashdot Mirror
On the other hand, the one thing I remember about the follow-up, the Spectrum, was that the keyword INK took four key presses before it would appear!
It's like the used/new car market: if you buy a game for $50 knowing you'll be able to sell if for $25, the TCO looks low and you'll be inclined to buy more games. If it's $50 and worth nothing after you've finished playing it (ie not allowed to sell on), where is the incentive to buy more? Like cars, there are always the people who will buy new for the 'I got it first' feeling, and the second-hand buyers who want a bargain and who may (just may) also buy new games from that company if they are good enough. Games companies, don't complain when people sell their old games - make sure you produce quality products that the 'got to get it first' buyers will want to buy in large enough numbers. Bottom line, if it's crap it won't sell to anyone, and you really don't want to use THAT method for cutting down on second-hand sales.
No, I'm Jack's complete lack of surprise, and so is my wife.
My set-up looks a lot like this, but without the housing. Mine wasn't this cheap, but as I say it's not as easy to get a good choice of LCD panels here in the UK.
The bulbs last for 50 hours and cost around £4 each. That makes them cheap but fairly short-lived, but a 2000-hour projector bulb would cost £200, so this is comparable in price per hour. BUT of course the initial outlay is much cheaper (even a cheap projector is £600-800), and when a bulb goes it's £4 a time (loose change) not a huge wad of cash. So I can afford to get a pack of 5 for spares, and just buy a few more when I run low.
Obviously I won't be using this as a replacement for my TV, so the 50-hour life of a bulb gets me 25 movies. The bulb cost is really marginal, and almost not worth thinking about. My DVD player plays DIVX movies, so no need for a computer hook-up either.
There are a lot of web sites around explaining how to set up your own gear - just Google for 'DIY projector'. Mine was the simplest approach, but you can go further and build your own projector, at which time you can use bulbs which have a 10,000-hour life (cost=£50), so then you really can replace your TV. The more you spend, the more you get, as with anything. I'm just getting a kick out of having a 6-foot screen for less money that a CRT TV would have cost, never mind an LCD or plasma. All from those good folks at eBay, and I noticed that if you're in the US you will get a LOT more choice over the LCD panel - I had to wait a while for a good one to arrive on eBay UK.
I don't go for all this integrated malarky. I bought an overhead projector, added an LCD panel with video input, connected up my DVD player, and used a white bed sheet (oh yes) stretched out on a wooden frame (knocked together in minutes). There you go, a 6-foot wide screen, with REAL theater feel. And it only cost me £170 in total ($US 260?). Integrated my arse, I like to have hulking great machines for each and every task! I could hook up a games console but being attacked life-size creatures in shoot-em-ups would probably scare the crap out of me!
Official letterheads are no problem - what's that high-quality inkjet printer for, after all?
Week 1 you're a movie magazine, so contact all the movie studios, DVD distributors, etc.
Week 2 you're setting up a specialist magazine for the wine drinker. Or beer. Yep, make it beer. Do they have anything they may want to put your way? You can tell them how great the taste is (hic)
Week 3 (after sobering up) and you've finally worked out how to get a free subscription to every pr0n site on the net - you're writing an article which you'll be submitting to all the 'male lifestyle' mags. Give me subscription and you'll be sure to get a mention.
Week 4 (after mopping up) it's time to retire. Hell, you got movies, alcohol and porn for free. What else is there?!
Just go through every section in the Yellow Pages, and hit them with a similar story. If you take it far enough, you may get free tickets/flights to shows, presentations, press briefings, parties... even test drive the latest cars/boats/women if you can talk the talk.
Don't do this via email because it will just get discarded as spam. More importantly, and one anti-spam law suit will evaporate all the freebies you manage to grab. For the price of stamps and printing, the potential rewards are there for the taking. And you did say you were 'intending' to start that magazine/site didn't you... and on reflection changed your mind. On the other hand, if you start to get free movies, beer and porn, publish the damn thing and soak up the free gifts!
Chip and PIN as it's called here in the UK, where you will HAVE to type in your PIN every time you use your card, will drastically reduce fraud/theft from stolen or lost cards. For one thing, you can't forge the number (not visible on the card), whereas a signature is easy - it's shown on the card so any fool can copy it after a couple of practice attempts. Signatures aren't checked (I write my own signature quite badly sometimes and it's not even looked at) but entering a PIN means that a check will be made 100% of the time. I don't think it's a hassle to have to remember your PIN - you have to do it to get cash out of a machine, so why not for a credit card? In fact my card (a 'debit' card) is used for both purposes so I have to remember the number anyway. Counterfeiting may cost us little as a percentage game, but, like a plane crash, it's when you are personally affected that it hurts, so I'll go with entering a PIN if it reduces the risk of me losing all my cash if someone else gets hold of my card. The card companies can use the money saved on fraud (which they guarantee to give back to the customers to cover any losses if your card is abused) and use to for the Chip and PIN scheme. And before anyone says 'well if they cover you you'll never lose your cash', that's fine if you can wait (days? weeks?) until they refund the money into your account, not so good if you need that money 'right now'.
As humous is a Greek dip made from chick peas, here would be a good start: Humous Recipe. If you need to post it, make sure it's in a waterproof container - I'll have some if you do eventually find the option.
Well I'd hate to be on the crew for mission 25. "Hey guys, this is the last mission before your ship wears out and has to be scrapped! Who wants to fly her one last time?" No thanks, I'll take one with fewer miles on the clock!
Why would they design something which has to be 100% safe and say it will only last 25 times?
If you think China will have a more liberal attitude to any kind of offensive material, think again!
(1) Still, it's a lot easier to add together two decimal numbers - 42mm + 26mm for example, and obviously the more numbers you have the harder it gets. Addition shouldn't really have to involve multiplication first, if at all possible (don't get me started with logarithm tables!)
:)
(2) If someone asks for a pound of bacon how would you weigh out that pound? Market traders who have tried to keep their imperial scales have had them impounded, and have been prosecuted for refusing to give them up. Personally I would ask for bacon by the slice or (when hungry) by the pig. There are probably 16 piglets to a standard imperial pig.
To your last point: for the same reason there are not 1000 bytes in a kilobyte
One more meaurement I forgot about: UK people express their weight in STONES and pounds, and there are (groan) 14 pounds in a stone. I have NO idea about the reasoning behind that at all!!
I'm off for a pint of beer... or are those the larger half-litre cans in my fridge?! And why does my car do x mpg when I buy the fuel in litres?
There's one advantage to the US using 'old' measurements - at least they stick to one system. Most of Europe is entirely metric, which is also good. But we in the UK have a horrible mix of both which can be incredibly confusing.
1/2 = 0.500 inches, and that's no problem
...which are not so easy!
However...
1/16 = 0.0625
1/32 = 0.03125
And it's when I'm watching New Yankee Workshop that I wonder why Norm Abram is expecting anyone to be able to work out in our heads what an inch and 3/16ths added to 2 inches and 5/32nds is. With mm that would be easy - no need to go back to find a common denominator (and you can't do it on a calculator either)
Working in cm and mm and all is clear and it's not even difficult to convert - there are 25mm in an inch (well, nearly anyway!) and 30cm in a foot (nearly again!)
And anyway, pounds is the NAME of the UK currency, it's not the weight of it... but we all knew that, right?
For the record, although the UK is metric all our speed limit signs are in miles per hour and not km. This is probably only because of cost - the government is too tight to replace all those signs at once. And we also quote our heights in feet and inches. No idea why.
To further explain how messed up we are over here, I'm now about to build a workshop (hence the Norm reference) and need some 2x6 timber for the floor (ie inches) but for the lengths I need I'll be using metres!
One more: it's now ILLEGAL to sell food in pounds and ounces, you have to use kg. And I do mean illegal - you can get arrested for it.
End of mini cultural lesson!
When diamonds become worthless, or at least worth LESS, we may see a move towards some other gemstone or commodity which is more difficult to manufacture, which will take over the title of a girl's best friend (how come they get diamonds and men get dogs?!). Alternatively the artificial diamond makers may decide to grow novelty diamonds, much like insects found in amber. How about a holographic portrait of your loved one embedded in a 20-carat diamond? Also expect to see the death of Diamonique on QVC at last!
American monoculture? J K Rowling is 100% British. I agree with some of what you say, but isn't it better to entice children to read about their own culture by creating new characters based on that culture, rather than taking someone else's ideas, cashing in on their success, and fiddling at the edges to make 'new' works. If I had taken the time to invent a fully-formed framework for my fiction, I wouldn't want someone else basing their works on my 'world' - let them invent their own.