I know very few people will ever read this, as it is a late submission... but this way I can talk directly to you, Mr. Parent. And hey, I'm on my lunch break.
This statement: " They have not built successively better capabilities towards a goal" is totally false.
Key point: There Is More To Spaceflight Than Some People Circling The Planet.
NASA and her contractors have created a successful ground support system. This is similar to the specialized outfitting industries that came into existance to support 18th century whaling and ocean travel.
That is what no one seems to get about the ISS... keeping crew alive and functional on a permanant basis is entirely different than on short missions. The Russian learned how to do it through Salyut/Mir, America is learning from them (and making it up as we go...) with the ISS. A given piece of hardware on the Shuttle has to work for 10 days. The same piece on the ISS must work for months, sometimes years.
Operational advancements may not be as sexy as technological advancements, but they are just as needed. If a Mars mission were to happen tomorrow, NASA Mission Operations could be ready for it. How? Because we have created the needed long-term support infrastructure during the past 8 ISS missions.
Don't worry. NASA gets this, even if the public does not.
This is an intelligent use of technology to make money. It has a clear means of income (buying the memory stick) and sells a product of superior quality (over holding up a tape recorder).
Whether it succeds or not will depend on the consumer... but I think this is a good effort.
As someone who works with spaceflight hardware daily, I want to know the packing details.
That is one heck of a sensitive instrument to put through a Delta launch! Although it might seem strange... I am most fascinated by the packing and vibration isolation technology.
Why do games now always have to be a relaxing experience? When I play soccer, it's hardly relaxing. Racing sailboats isn't relaxing. It's intense, stressful, and often leaves me bleeding from cuts and bruises.
That just makes winning all the better.
I think games should be hard, intense, and stressful. The relaxation comes from kicking back afterwards, telling tales of your victory.
Yes, NASA is a federal agency. That means it answers to the President and Congress.
Why do I never see people on Slashdot posting crap like this to the State Department?
You don't like what NASA does, vote for a senator or congressman with a new vision. Other than that, NASA does not and should not listen to you. NASA does the job they are instructed to do.
The Army does not make policy decisions, they fight wars. Don't expect NASA to make policy decisions about space. They do the job that elected officials tell them to do.
It depends on how new to the genre you are... I say this as someone who has recently tried to teach his girlfriend to play Natural Selection.
I mean, it never would have occured to me that mouselook would be a major stumbing block. Having started playing games without it (ala Doom), mouselook was such an improvement that I don't remember a learning curve at all.
She spent a while running around staring at her shoes, or the ceiling. So if you're really new to it, pick a game that lets to play offline to learn the little basics.
So, I'd say learn on Half-Life, and then play Natural Selection once you've got the basics down. So long as you are not intentionally a jerk, the NS community tends to be pretty open to newbies.
Re:Don't be led astray by things you don't need.
on
KISS
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· Score: 1
Unfortunately you have the KeepingUpWithTheJoneses factor to deal with: Jones(A) gets a new phone with games. Not to be outdone, Jones(B) gets a phone with games and a camera. Jones(C) gets a phone with games and a higher-resolution camera.. Repeat ad infinitum.
Who does that? No, I'm serious. Who really does that? I know that the parent has described the supposed reasoning behind most advertising, but I cannot recall having seen an example of that in the real world.
People buy what they want. Now, you may not know you want something until you see it advertised... and seeing your neighbor with it is certainly a form of advertising.
But I ask you, honestly... who here has bought something FOR NO OTHER REASON than to Keep Up With The Joneses?
When someone comes out with a major console that lets me play using mouse and keyboard (or mouse and "keyboard"), I will buy it and probably never play on the PC again.
Until then, though, PC all the way. My favorite games are strategy and FPS, which just bite on those twisty controllers. I'll gladly put up with all the PC patching and upgrade crap to play my favorite games in the manner I want to play them.
The low res on TVs bug me too, but that's a transitory problem.
If you could play the XBox with mouse and "keyboard," it would be the perfect console.
Slashdot Mirror
I just take off my glasses. Ta-daa, my shower is always sparkling white*.
*My vision bites the big one.
I know very few people will ever read this, as it is a late submission... but this way I can talk directly to you, Mr. Parent. And hey, I'm on my lunch break.
This statement: " They have not built successively better capabilities towards a goal" is totally false.
Key point: There Is More To Spaceflight Than Some People Circling The Planet.
NASA and her contractors have created a successful ground support system. This is similar to the specialized outfitting industries that came into existance to support 18th century whaling and ocean travel.
That is what no one seems to get about the ISS... keeping crew alive and functional on a permanant basis is entirely different than on short missions. The Russian learned how to do it through Salyut/Mir, America is learning from them (and making it up as we go...) with the ISS. A given piece of hardware on the Shuttle has to work for 10 days. The same piece on the ISS must work for months, sometimes years.
Operational advancements may not be as sexy as technological advancements, but they are just as needed. If a Mars mission were to happen tomorrow, NASA Mission Operations could be ready for it. How? Because we have created the needed long-term support infrastructure during the past 8 ISS missions.
Don't worry. NASA gets this, even if the public does not.
This is an intelligent use of technology to make money. It has a clear means of income (buying the memory stick) and sells a product of superior quality (over holding up a tape recorder).
Whether it succeds or not will depend on the consumer... but I think this is a good effort.
War. Plague. Famine.
So... things will stay pretty much the same as today.
Whatever. That just means the curtains were not pulled tight.
It may be a few more years before technology catches up with us, right about the time the local theatre starts showing Phantom Menace.
Just in case you have not heard, it is not a very good movie.
My Bluetooth PDA talks to my BT GPS. I have tried it with a cell phone and a handset.
Compared to my other options of printing from a PDA when I don't have a computer to sync with, BT is sweet.
In all cases, it was transparent. I love it.
Faster is better, but I'm happy with what I have.
I think it is clear you do not "get it".
Neal is good because of the "flab", not in spite of it.
As someone who works with spaceflight hardware daily, I want to know the packing details.
That is one heck of a sensitive instrument to put through a Delta launch! Although it might seem strange... I am most fascinated by the packing and vibration isolation technology.
The actual experiment is kinda cool too.
I dunno, Alien^3 kinda sucked.
Hint: You can tell it is evil by the use of WindowsCE.
Using your lighter-than-air tank for fuel means you are decreasing the buoyancy of your aircraft.
The more you use, the more bits you have to drop off to stay up.
It's not a terrible idea, but I think Lockheed is using a better one.
Lots of people want hard.
Why do games now always have to be a relaxing experience? When I play soccer, it's hardly relaxing. Racing sailboats isn't relaxing. It's intense, stressful, and often leaves me bleeding from cuts and bruises.
That just makes winning all the better.
I think games should be hard, intense, and stressful. The relaxation comes from kicking back afterwards, telling tales of your victory.
It seems the trick was to pack in as many links as possible.
We would have loved that at the geophysics job I had right after college.
There's probably a much bigger market for this device than most people think.
What the hell is this?
Yes, NASA is a federal agency. That means it answers to the President and Congress.
Why do I never see people on Slashdot posting crap like this to the State Department?
You don't like what NASA does, vote for a senator or congressman with a new vision. Other than that, NASA does not and should not listen to you. NASA does the job they are instructed to do.
The Army does not make policy decisions, they fight wars. Don't expect NASA to make policy decisions about space. They do the job that elected officials tell them to do.
What exactly are you suggesting? That NASA lift the Hubble and then sell it, or that some other country lift it?
Either one is just silly. If we lift it, then we'll keep it. If we don't, no one else can.
That's just cold, hard facts. The Hubble has had an awesome run, but it is time to let go.
It depends on how new to the genre you are... I say this as someone who has recently tried to teach his girlfriend to play Natural Selection.
I mean, it never would have occured to me that mouselook would be a major stumbing block. Having started playing games without it (ala Doom), mouselook was such an improvement that I don't remember a learning curve at all.
She spent a while running around staring at her shoes, or the ceiling. So if you're really new to it, pick a game that lets to play offline to learn the little basics.
So, I'd say learn on Half-Life, and then play Natural Selection once you've got the basics down. So long as you are not intentionally a jerk, the NS community tends to be pretty open to newbies.
They could call it the "Karma Whore" virus.
Unfortunately you have the KeepingUpWithTheJoneses factor to deal with: Jones(A) gets a new phone with games. Not to be outdone, Jones(B) gets a phone with games and a camera. Jones(C) gets a phone with games and a higher-resolution camera.. Repeat ad infinitum.
Who does that? No, I'm serious. Who really does that? I know that the parent has described the supposed reasoning behind most advertising, but I cannot recall having seen an example of that in the real world.
People buy what they want. Now, you may not know you want something until you see it advertised... and seeing your neighbor with it is certainly a form of advertising.
But I ask you, honestly... who here has bought something FOR NO OTHER REASON than to Keep Up With The Joneses?
I mean, if there's ever a geek president, he needs something to fondle the interns with.
Wouldn't it be nice to work in a field where nobody can say you're wrong?
That's a field where everyone says you're wrong about everything.
The robots take panoramic images and track and test rocks,
"Still there... yep, still there. The rock has not moved."
Make the turbines look like giant scarecrows. Also doubles as a cool place to hang out on Halloween.
It's the truth.
When someone comes out with a major console that lets me play using mouse and keyboard (or mouse and "keyboard"), I will buy it and probably never play on the PC again.
Until then, though, PC all the way. My favorite games are strategy and FPS, which just bite on those twisty controllers. I'll gladly put up with all the PC patching and upgrade crap to play my favorite games in the manner I want to play them.
The low res on TVs bug me too, but that's a transitory problem.
If you could play the XBox with mouse and "keyboard," it would be the perfect console.