Well it is a hobbyist market after all, what always surprised me is that many of the people who do this are female, and they mostly render naked chicks too:)
check the galleries at renderosity.com for ample pixelated pultrichude;)
>It's really not a difficult concept to understand, but if you want the Cliff's Notes version of my point: "Nothing in life is free." If you want to see what happens with a society tries to
>avoid the basic laws of economics go vacation in North Korea (or to a lesser extent, Cuba).
Bullshit!
Cuba has a stellar healthcare system, and deals well with frequent hurricanes. The reason for it's troubles is that the major ecconomic power in the region is boycotting the country, etc.
North Korea has been run for the past 50 plus years by depots, who have cowed the populace into submission. Many people are boycotting them too.
You want to take a look at a place that's ignoring the West's ideas of ecconomics, then look at China. Most of the software in China is pirated, "China F***ed us" to quote Bill Gates. Just the same as the fact that they also make many counterfiet items, Which they sell to Western Tourists the world over.
Daz were smart, they saw that Curious Labs, as was, were making a play for the content market, and were relying on old tech and CPU muscle to power poser. The poser market was Daz's sole source of income. So they adapted, bought out a load of associated products, offered services for them, and gave away low res version of thier base figures, and thier own 3d program, to drive sales of the rest of thier products. So if Curious Labs, (now E frontier) should go bust, they don't take Daz with them.
Smart move if you ask me. Pretty slick software too.
I bought it new for 100 quid knowing it wouldn't be around in 6 months. I jumped the link as soon as it hit my inbox, knowing that anyone else who knew what it was would do likewise. Two weeks later they had sold out. still have a few peripherls, etc. for sale, but that's yer lot.
Would I spend $500 on it? No. But I would have spent $250, until I found out I could get it much cheaper. then we bought a wifi card and a screen protecter, etc. The hardware is worth the cash, even without support. How often have you ever sought support for any tech you've bought. I've not done that in the better part of 15 years or more.
Now that is Absolute truth. I have a Zodiac, and a PSP. The Sony needs to be coddled and protected. The Zodiac takes the bus like the rest of the tech in my wife's bag. The PSP is gorgeous, I'm not knocking that, but it's a toy, not a tool. There is something very utiliterian about the Zodiac, a "can do" feel to it, and the touch screen makes all the difference. Just like my DS, it's like night and day between the two. The zodiac is also a lot smaller and slimmer, and the screen, while less dazzling than the PSP's is just as sharp, and I suspect, far more energy efficient.
It really is a wonderful gadget, and of course it'll run all your palm apps, simply drop your SD card into the slot and off you go, no need to convert, munge and massage your data, etc.
Less of "an answer looking for a problem" more of a tool waiting to be used. For anyone with a Palm who whishes it could do more, and do it better, this was your upgrade.
I bought one of these for my wife to replace her Palm Tungsten, which is very slick, but has a battery life in the nanosecond range:)
Got it cheap from morganscomputers, (who buy it wholsale from companies going bust) so I knew they were up against the wall. It's a really nice bit of kit, no intention of playing anything other than solitaire on it. But it's far lighter then the PSP, and comes with a mail client and a web browser, and the dual slot means one for memory, and one for a wifi card. So with wifi going cheap the world over, especially as a gimick in burger king, etc. It means that we can surf and send emails on the fly. No need to worry if the PC we're using is bugged, and no need to pay for it either.
To quote Ferris:
"If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up. They are so choice.":)
Screw that, go to anysystems.com and look for a Sun badged GDM 5410, it's a 21" Sony trinitron, with dual inputs, what I use at home. Should cost you around $100-150, saw one for the same price in Akihabara recently. Stunning image, stellar build quality, big, heavy, realiable. If you wanted a new one it'd cost you a fortune.
My mobile, small as it is, works everywhere, it works in the lift/elevator, it works in the underground carpark. My last contract even held onto it's UK signal all the way across the chanel on a ferry, I made calls. I was only when it actually docked at the French Ferry port that it switched to a French provider. I was also able to make calls from the Sahara desert in Egypt while treking on holiday.
"Why in the world would you think your (cell) phone would work in your house?"
That has to be one of the dumbest things I've heard anyone say about a mobile phone. Of course it works in my house, why would I buy the damn thing if it didn't? Still, the market knows best eh? Suckers!
So, you are saying that the issues like gay weddings, living wills, abortion, and the teaching of evolution simply are not worthy of debate?
While they are worthy of debate, what most people do is argue from the point of an entrenched opinion. "all sound and fury, signifying nothing" Nothing changes, certainly not the opinions of the combatants.
I'm inclined to agree with the "bread and circuses" comment. Though I doubt that people would be interested in more weighty and "important" issues, were the above debating points to be resolved to everyone's satisfaction. There will always be the next OJ, Oprah & Britney Spears.
I discovered ICO via metacritic, it was I believe the best scoring game thay had. Indeed over 30 of the 50 plus web reviews they have listed for this game gave it a score >=90/100 Giving it a score of 9.0 "Universal Acclaim" if that's a mediocre review, I really love to see a bad one. (I like reading bad reviews, sue me:) You can find the listing here and as for ugly and blurry...
This lenghty and complicated interview with Will Wright actually contains many of the memes of spore:
http://www.gamestudies.org/0102/pearce/
Interesting reading for those so inclined.
Like you, I thought school sucked, I hated it for the most part, the thing that made it bareable was my friends, I was an outcast then, and I "made trouble" by being a non-conformist and asking questions, especially the one they (the powers that be)never wanted to answer, "why?"
I'm a Brit, so my "education" was free, to an extent, but even then it was a tad dull, I too found it easy, just as I had found school "easy" when I could be arsed to try. But I went to college late, once I realised the value of getting an education. Not for the "education" itself, (as it didn't teach me much I didn't already know, or wasn't interested in) but for the experience of getting it. For meeting like minded/different people and having fun, breaking out of your box, and trying new stuff.
I guess the world looks a lot different now than it did 20+ years ago, and I would have to say that looking back, knowing what I know now, I could have done things differently. I spent many years doing menial shop work, some of which I enjoyed, some of which I didn't. I even did some light engineering, with lathes, mills and drills, for the authentic "working man" experience. But overall I think I prefer being a sysadmin. I enjoy the challenges it poses, not everyday, but for the most part it's good.
By far the biggest battle is working out "who" you are, and "what" it is you want. Because it's not something anyone else can tell you. Usually, (though not always) the love of a good woman comes in handy, though I would urge you to find one that stirs you intellect as much, (if not more so) than your loins. Personally I'd ignore the money. Find something you like doing and stick to it. Money is good for buying toys, and for being able to say "fuck you" when you want to. But contrary to popular wisdom, it doesn't make you happy and it doesn't make all your problems go away. Products, even the best, are just toys that you will tire of. I bought a cutting edge Home Cinema last year, DTS, widescreen,etc. Hell, the scart cable alone cost 60 Euros! It does stuff that you wouldn't believe! But it's just tech, and while it may divert you for a few days, a few weeks maybe, it won't make you happy.
In todays world, smart doesn't count for much, I'm quite bright, nowhere near as bright as my mate, who's got degrees in theoretical physics amongst his other educational prizes, he did his doctorate in Genetic algorithms. But I also remember talking to him one day on a car ride a few years ago, where we both realised we were "waiting for something" though we didn't know what. In the mean time we've both gotten married. he's 33 I think, climbing the greasy pole at Sun Microsystems, I turned down a job there to work at a bank, which seemed like the right idea at the time as I was interested, (and still am) in money. Not in having it, spending it, or accumulating it. Just "how it works" how the global financial system actually ticks. This turned out to be a mistake as it goes, so I jumped ship, but in a abstract way, working where I work now, got me my wife.
I take the opinion that if you like where you are now, you can't change anything in your past. I've also decided not to have regrets until I'm old enough to enjoy them. I'm now 39, I'm still a big kid, and the older I grow the more I understand how much there is that I don't understand.
In as much as I understand life, it seems to me that the best way to be is to find something you like doing, and make it your work. Find something you love doing and make that your hobby. Know the difference, and don't try to make one the other. Try to have a life outside of both, (something I'm only just learning the value of now) Travel is good, but only with others, (I find.) Though I'd ignore the pyramids, if you've seen one pyramid, you've seen them all. Karnak is far more awe inspiring...
So there you go, no Monty Python, no Simpsons, no AYB and no
4)PROFIT!!!
Enjoy the life you have, do what makes you happy, even if you don't know what that is yet:)
You can find this title readily in Germany, it's been reviewed by every major magazine to one extent or another. You really have to wonder about the Puritanical sensibilities of the US at times. What amused me most was seeing many years ago the version of robocop that was screened on TV in America, they left all the violence in, (even the bits they wouldn't show in the UK) but took all the swearing out, which ruined most of the really funny jokes.
Wierdness...
Hi,
When I was in Munich last weekend, I came out of an underground garage in Schwabing (party central:) to find a politcal clapboard bearing the slogan "Mehr Linux, Mehr Freiheit" Which literally translated means, "More Linux, More Freedom." I wondered for a split second what "Linux" meant in German, before realising it must actually mean Linux, because Linux is, well, Linux...:)
I think it was for Christinne Stobl, name rings a bell.
If you're inclined to view it, walk to the bottom of the street near the bottom of LeopoldStrasse, (the one with "Mama's kebap haus" Mc D's, "Schwabinger 7" and the internet cafe. Turn left at the 'net cafe and walk to the car park (100 meteres of so) you'll see it there, (if they haven't removed it already) not sure when the elections are, and Bavarians are a very "tidy" bunch:)
later
jb
Very sparse "thinking music" though my dad (who was alive in the 50's:) swears by Thelonius Monk, and real early blue grass and ragtime jazz.
Disclaimer: (I own a Kenny G single...:)
later
jb
I bought V4 cost me 1K (pounds) with a student discount, it came with a packet of premium Canandian cookies, how cool is that!:)
But the best part is the speed at which it loads. My version is currently node locked to a 64Mb DX2 '66 it has a real soundblaster16 in it, (the first bit of PC kit I ever bought, I scrounged the rest:) it has an old IDE hard disk, and a SCSI disk hooked up to an internal SCSI Zip disk adapter. As far as I'm able to tell, (it detected the SCSI "adapter" when I installed it) QNX boots from the IDE disk, detects the SCSI BIOS, and then loads the OS from the SCSI drive. It does this in 4 seconds from inital drive seek to displaying the login prompt, it has sound blaster support, It doesn't have a USB port.
I actually bought the QNX implementation of X too, as well as the Photon runtimes, and I can highly recommend the floppy, (in both NIC and modem versions) it really is a marvel of modern science:)
It's also the only thing the Canadian government will let near a Nuclear reactor, (at least it was) it really is a very, very cool OS!
later
jb
Slashdot Mirror
Well it is a hobbyist market after all, what always surprised me is that many of the people who do this are female, and they mostly render naked chicks too :)
;)
check the galleries at renderosity.com for ample pixelated pultrichude
>It's really not a difficult concept to understand, but if you want the Cliff's Notes version of my point: "Nothing in life is free." If you want to see what happens with a society tries to
>avoid the basic laws of economics go vacation in North Korea (or to a lesser extent, Cuba).
Bullshit!
Cuba has a stellar healthcare system, and deals well with frequent hurricanes. The reason for it's troubles is that the major ecconomic power in the region is boycotting the country, etc.
North Korea has been run for the past 50 plus years by depots, who have cowed the populace into submission. Many people are boycotting them too.
You want to take a look at a place that's ignoring the West's ideas of ecconomics, then look at China. Most of the software in China is pirated, "China F***ed us" to quote Bill Gates. Just the same as the fact that they also make many counterfiet items, Which they sell to Western Tourists the world over.
Daz were smart, they saw that Curious Labs, as was, were making a play for the content market, and were relying on old tech and CPU muscle to power poser. The poser market was Daz's sole source of income. So they adapted, bought out a load of associated products, offered services for them, and gave away low res version of thier base figures, and thier own 3d program, to drive sales of the rest of thier products. So if Curious Labs, (now E frontier) should go bust, they don't take Daz with them.
Smart move if you ask me. Pretty slick software too.
I bought it new for 100 quid knowing it wouldn't be around in 6 months. I jumped the link as soon as it hit my inbox, knowing that anyone else who knew what it was would do likewise. Two weeks later they had sold out. still have a few peripherls, etc. for sale, but that's yer lot.
Would I spend $500 on it? No. But I would have spent $250, until I found out I could get it much cheaper. then we bought a wifi card and a screen protecter, etc. The hardware is worth the cash, even without support. How often have you ever sought support for any tech you've bought. I've not done that in the better part of 15 years or more.
Now that is Absolute truth. I have a Zodiac, and a PSP. The Sony needs to be coddled and protected. The Zodiac takes the bus like the rest of the tech in my wife's bag. The PSP is gorgeous, I'm not knocking that, but it's a toy, not a tool. There is something very utiliterian about the Zodiac, a "can do" feel to it, and the touch screen makes all the difference. Just like my DS, it's like night and day between the two. The zodiac is also a lot smaller and slimmer, and the screen, while less dazzling than the PSP's is just as sharp, and I suspect, far more energy efficient.
It really is a wonderful gadget, and of course it'll run all your palm apps, simply drop your SD card into the slot and off you go, no need to convert, munge and massage your data, etc. Less of "an answer looking for a problem" more of a tool waiting to be used. For anyone with a Palm who whishes it could do more, and do it better, this was your upgrade.
I bought one of these for my wife to replace her Palm Tungsten, which is very slick, but has a battery life in the nanosecond range :)
Got it cheap from morganscomputers, (who buy it wholsale from companies going bust) so I knew they were up against the wall. It's a really nice bit of kit, no intention of playing anything other than solitaire on it. But it's far lighter then the PSP, and comes with a mail client and a web browser, and the dual slot means one for memory, and one for a wifi card. So with wifi going cheap the world over, especially as a gimick in burger king, etc. It means that we can surf and send emails on the fly. No need to worry if the PC we're using is bugged, and no need to pay for it either.
To quote Ferris:
"If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up. They are so choice." :)
Screw that, go to anysystems.com and look for a Sun badged GDM 5410, it's a 21" Sony trinitron, with dual inputs, what I use at home. Should cost you around $100-150, saw one for the same price in Akihabara recently. Stunning image, stellar build quality, big, heavy, realiable. If you wanted a new one it'd cost you a fortune.
My mobile, small as it is, works everywhere, it works in the lift/elevator, it works in the underground carpark. My last contract even held onto it's UK signal all the way across the chanel on a ferry, I made calls. I was only when it actually docked at the French Ferry port that it switched to a French provider. I was also able to make calls from the Sahara desert in Egypt while treking on holiday.
"Why in the world would you think your (cell) phone would work in your house?"
That has to be one of the dumbest things I've heard anyone say about a mobile phone. Of course it works in my house, why would I buy the damn thing if it didn't? Still, the market knows best eh? Suckers!
So, you are saying that the issues like gay weddings, living wills, abortion, and the teaching of evolution simply are not worthy of debate? While they are worthy of debate, what most people do is argue from the point of an entrenched opinion. "all sound and fury, signifying nothing" Nothing changes, certainly not the opinions of the combatants. I'm inclined to agree with the "bread and circuses" comment. Though I doubt that people would be interested in more weighty and "important" issues, were the above debating points to be resolved to everyone's satisfaction. There will always be the next OJ, Oprah & Britney Spears.
I discovered ICO via metacritic, it was I believe the best scoring game thay had. Indeed over 30 of the 50 plus web reviews they have listed for this game gave it a score >=90/100 Giving it a score of 9.0 "Universal Acclaim" if that's a mediocre review, I really love to see a bad one. (I like reading bad reviews, sue me :) You can find the listing here and as for ugly and blurry...
:)
I know, I know, "do not feed the troll"
This lenghty and complicated interview with Will Wright actually contains many of the memes of spore: http://www.gamestudies.org/0102/pearce/ Interesting reading for those so inclined.
Like you, I thought school sucked, I hated it for the most part, the thing that made it bareable was my friends, I was an outcast then, and I "made trouble" by being a non-conformist and asking questions, especially the one they (the powers that be)never wanted to answer, "why?" I'm a Brit, so my "education" was free, to an extent, but even then it was a tad dull, I too found it easy, just as I had found school "easy" when I could be arsed to try. But I went to college late, once I realised the value of getting an education. Not for the "education" itself, (as it didn't teach me much I didn't already know, or wasn't interested in) but for the experience of getting it. For meeting like minded/different people and having fun, breaking out of your box, and trying new stuff. I guess the world looks a lot different now than it did 20+ years ago, and I would have to say that looking back, knowing what I know now, I could have done things differently. I spent many years doing menial shop work, some of which I enjoyed, some of which I didn't. I even did some light engineering, with lathes, mills and drills, for the authentic "working man" experience. But overall I think I prefer being a sysadmin. I enjoy the challenges it poses, not everyday, but for the most part it's good. By far the biggest battle is working out "who" you are, and "what" it is you want. Because it's not something anyone else can tell you. Usually, (though not always) the love of a good woman comes in handy, though I would urge you to find one that stirs you intellect as much, (if not more so) than your loins. Personally I'd ignore the money. Find something you like doing and stick to it. Money is good for buying toys, and for being able to say "fuck you" when you want to. But contrary to popular wisdom, it doesn't make you happy and it doesn't make all your problems go away. Products, even the best, are just toys that you will tire of. I bought a cutting edge Home Cinema last year, DTS, widescreen,etc. Hell, the scart cable alone cost 60 Euros! It does stuff that you wouldn't believe! But it's just tech, and while it may divert you for a few days, a few weeks maybe, it won't make you happy. In todays world, smart doesn't count for much, I'm quite bright, nowhere near as bright as my mate, who's got degrees in theoretical physics amongst his other educational prizes, he did his doctorate in Genetic algorithms. But I also remember talking to him one day on a car ride a few years ago, where we both realised we were "waiting for something" though we didn't know what. In the mean time we've both gotten married. he's 33 I think, climbing the greasy pole at Sun Microsystems, I turned down a job there to work at a bank, which seemed like the right idea at the time as I was interested, (and still am) in money. Not in having it, spending it, or accumulating it. Just "how it works" how the global financial system actually ticks. This turned out to be a mistake as it goes, so I jumped ship, but in a abstract way, working where I work now, got me my wife. I take the opinion that if you like where you are now, you can't change anything in your past. I've also decided not to have regrets until I'm old enough to enjoy them. I'm now 39, I'm still a big kid, and the older I grow the more I understand how much there is that I don't understand. In as much as I understand life, it seems to me that the best way to be is to find something you like doing, and make it your work. Find something you love doing and make that your hobby. Know the difference, and don't try to make one the other. Try to have a life outside of both, (something I'm only just learning the value of now) Travel is good, but only with others, (I find.) Though I'd ignore the pyramids, if you've seen one pyramid, you've seen them all. Karnak is far more awe inspiring... So there you go, no Monty Python, no Simpsons, no AYB and no 4)PROFIT!!! Enjoy the life you have, do what makes you happy, even if you don't know what that is yet :)
You can find this title readily in Germany, it's been reviewed by every major magazine to one extent or another. You really have to wonder about the Puritanical sensibilities of the US at times. What amused me most was seeing many years ago the version of robocop that was screened on TV in America, they left all the violence in, (even the bits they wouldn't show in the UK) but took all the swearing out, which ruined most of the really funny jokes. Wierdness...
Hi, When I was in Munich last weekend, I came out of an underground garage in Schwabing (party central :) to find a politcal clapboard bearing the slogan "Mehr Linux, Mehr Freiheit" Which literally translated means, "More Linux, More Freedom." I wondered for a split second what "Linux" meant in German, before realising it must actually mean Linux, because Linux is, well, Linux... :)
I think it was for Christinne Stobl, name rings a bell.
If you're inclined to view it, walk to the bottom of the street near the bottom of LeopoldStrasse, (the one with "Mama's kebap haus" Mc D's, "Schwabinger 7" and the internet cafe. Turn left at the 'net cafe and walk to the car park (100 meteres of so) you'll see it there, (if they haven't removed it already) not sure when the elections are, and Bavarians are a very "tidy" bunch :)
later
jb
Very sparse "thinking music" though my dad (who was alive in the 50's :) swears by Thelonius Monk, and real early blue grass and ragtime jazz.
Disclaimer: (I own a Kenny G single... :)
later
jb
I bought V4 cost me 1K (pounds) with a student discount, it came with a packet of premium Canandian cookies, how cool is that! :)
But the best part is the speed at which it loads. My version is currently node locked to a 64Mb DX2 '66 it has a real soundblaster16 in it, (the first bit of PC kit I ever bought, I scrounged the rest :) it has an old IDE hard disk, and a SCSI disk hooked up to an internal SCSI Zip disk adapter. As far as I'm able to tell, (it detected the SCSI "adapter" when I installed it) QNX boots from the IDE disk, detects the SCSI BIOS, and then loads the OS from the SCSI drive. It does this in 4 seconds from inital drive seek to displaying the login prompt, it has sound blaster support, It doesn't have a USB port.
I actually bought the QNX implementation of X too, as well as the Photon runtimes, and I can highly recommend the floppy, (in both NIC and modem versions) it really is a marvel of modern science :)
It's also the only thing the Canadian government will let near a Nuclear reactor, (at least it was) it really is a very, very cool OS!
later
jb