...only repackaging the same things in pointless ways (gameboy DS for instance)...
The Game Boy and DS are NOT the same thing. Not at all. Ignoring the power of the system as a factor, the hardware differences (two screens, touch-sensitive, microphone, more buttons) could lead to some drastically different game play.
And a simple rebuttal to your last sentence. Nintendo IS selling systems and IS making money, and odds are good that that won't change anytime soon.
This seems like a tangent to me, albiet a damn interesting one.
That said...I think you're underestimating name recognition.
People loved the PS1 and PS2, and they're going to have fond memories of the hours spent with those systems and their libraries of games. On top of that, Sony has a reputation for quality products (they do here for their audio equipment, if nothing else; I'm not sure how many people know about the problems that the PS2 has had over the years).
And it's not like the library of Sony-exclusives is completely empty. Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, and Sly Cooper are all damn good platformers. Gran Turismo is still one of the best racing series available. The Grand Theft Auto games have been huge hits, and Sony has a relatively long period of exclusitivity for them. In fact, my sister would have chosen a GameCube if it weren't for the fact that there was no DDR available for it as of last Christmas. That's why we have a PS2 in the house.
To be fair, I know that that could all shift with the market share. At the moment, though, it seems like Sony is in a damn good position.
I don't see the PS3 outright failing. I just see it losing a lot of its market share. Sony could last in the market long enough for a PS4, but who knows what will happen?
This would be a case where reading the article - and then thinking about it - would help.
Imagine how difficult it would be to share work in progress over a standard connection. Internet2 would make sharing models, renderings, audio, and any other part of the process far easier because of the speed of transfer.
In fact, depending on the complexity of the project, there's a chance that this level of collaboration might have been impossible using any other, non face-to-face method we have now.
Nintendo already had the store space in NYC; if I'm not mistaken, this store was the old Pokémon Center.
The store's location doesn't have anything to do with regional sales, though. The store isn't in NYC because people there don't buy enough Nintendo products. If the Gamecube was unpopular in the city, then why waste the effort to open a store that's dedicated in large part to it?
And GT4 will never be on the Gamecube. Ever. Sony owns and publishes the series, so it's going to be a cold day in hell before a Grand Turismo game jumps to the Cube.
Because nothing says legitimate like Kid Rocking playing Metroid.
Um...no.
His name is Kid Rock. There's no such person as Kid Rocking.
I know that he's from the area around my hometown and all, but I still think that that one shouldn't have gotten through. First time I've ever been compelled to correct the editors, so yo should be ashamed of yourselves.:)
Manufacturer Linare said that it will bring a Linux-based device to the retailer 'within the next few days.'
Two e-mails from the new article:
"Thank you for your interest in Linare products . your order will be shipped on or before 14th march with out fail . Sorry for the delay , due to heavy back order we were not able to ship you earlier."
and
"Thank you for your interest in Linare products . your order will be shipped before this week end . Sorry for the delay"
You've got to give them credit for consistency, if nothing else.:)
That said, if Wal-Mart ever begins selling these in B&M stores (if they don't already), it still might not be a terrible purchase so long as you don't have to deal with the company's support.
Didn't they say that this year was just a test for the program, though?
I seem to remember having heard Dean say that the program would be rolled out wide-scale next year during the opening ceremonies, but I could be wrong.
I thought that the bigger, full on competition season was supposed to start sometime next year.
Vex is meant to be a program that fits in between LEGO League and FIRST Robotics. In fact, its public unveiling was at Atlanta last weekend.
It's still a very young product. The Vex kits have been in Radio Shack for less than a month now, and the FIRST-sponsored Vex Robotics Challenge won't actually begin until next year.
I could be a bit biased because I've been in FIRST for three years now and will most likely be mentoring a team next year, but I'd love to get my hands on one of these kits and play with it. It looks like it could be a lot of fun...:)
FIRST = For Recognition and Inspiration in Science and Technology
It would have helped if he had avoided the pun and if he had used the acronym the way that the program itself does now - italicized - but it wasn't all that hard to read in any case.
Those kits are still available - they still sell the giant buckets of blocks, and I still seecastle and pirate sets whenever I look at a store's toy section.
But on the other hand, I don't remember having Star Wars or Harry Potter LEGOs back when I was growing up (early '90s).
If LEGO needs to do this to compete with other, flashier toys, I don't see how it can be a bad thing. It's not like you can't be creative with the themed sets...it just requires a bit more effort on the part of the kid.
It's not just Radio Shack. Anyone could get a job there, since it's a regular retail job.
I think the goal here - like it is in FIRST - is to get kids interested in engineering in general. We're going to need people to work for the auto companies. NASA is going to need more engineers. What about the airline industry? Architecture? Landscaping?
If Vex can inspire the engineering mindset at all, that's what we need. The goal isn't to create Radio Shack employees, but to create engineers.
That point aside, I agree with your post completely. Thank you.:)
Why does it matter if the robots get damaged or not?
Considering that the goal of the kits is to get kids interested in robotics, it's actually for the better that they aren't. I'd definitely lose interest quickly if the bot I had spent hours working on was ripped apart in thirty seconds. Who would want to go through that effort again only to be destroyed by someone else?
There are also some major differences between Vex and Erector. I haven't seen an Erector set with the radio controller, or the ability to program the robot (which Vex will have eventually).
If nothing else, we've still got GameCrazy (Hollywood Video store) and GameRush (Blockbuster) for the time being. I know that those two chains aren't widespread yet, and they may never be, but GameStop will have at least some competition.
Of course, this won't be anything like the GameStop/EB competition, and there are still rumors that GC and GR could merge if Blockbuster buys out Hollywood Video. Still, I think I'm just not going to worry about it for now. I don't want to drive myself crazy...
We've got no idea at all what a Star Wars TV series will be like. Clone Wars doesn't count; the shorts are constructed completely differently than a longer episode would be. Ewoks and Droids don't count either; they were targeted towards children, and we've got no proof indicating that these will be. The Christmas Special doesn't count. What does that leave us with? Nothing.
You could argue using Young Indiana Jones as an example, but that was another series entirely. Beyond that, there are lots of other factors - there is more established Star Wars material, for example, or that YIJ was made more than ten years ago and tastes change over time. Hell, they aren't even in the same universe.
I think the best approach here is to wait and see what we get. How can we criticize what we've never seen? Shame fanboys never seem to pick up on that...
There's nothing wrong with old equipment. There is if it's there forever, though.
There still aren't very many HD channels or programs that I see advertised in my area, and I live by Detroit. The switch is moving at a near-glacial rate.
If the government forces channels to switch over, though, it'll happen much more quickly. People will go out and buy HD sets, and with any luck the technology will begin to drop in price more quickly than it has to date.
To be honest, I don't see this switch happening unless the government makes it so. It hasn't yet, even with this law in place.
The images in the comics load in one fell swoop; in Apostasy, for example, the cover and first seven pages are all on one screen.
Of course, since it's been linked to on Slashdot, it's not going to be up long enough for it to be an issue.:)
Slashdot Mirror
The Game Boy and DS are NOT the same thing. Not at all. Ignoring the power of the system as a factor, the hardware differences (two screens, touch-sensitive, microphone, more buttons) could lead to some drastically different game play.
And a simple rebuttal to your last sentence. Nintendo IS selling systems and IS making money, and odds are good that that won't change anytime soon.
That said...I think you're underestimating name recognition.
People loved the PS1 and PS2, and they're going to have fond memories of the hours spent with those systems and their libraries of games. On top of that, Sony has a reputation for quality products (they do here for their audio equipment, if nothing else; I'm not sure how many people know about the problems that the PS2 has had over the years).
And it's not like the library of Sony-exclusives is completely empty. Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, and Sly Cooper are all damn good platformers. Gran Turismo is still one of the best racing series available. The Grand Theft Auto games have been huge hits, and Sony has a relatively long period of exclusitivity for them. In fact, my sister would have chosen a GameCube if it weren't for the fact that there was no DDR available for it as of last Christmas. That's why we have a PS2 in the house.
To be fair, I know that that could all shift with the market share. At the moment, though, it seems like Sony is in a damn good position.
I don't see the PS3 outright failing. I just see it losing a lot of its market share. Sony could last in the market long enough for a PS4, but who knows what will happen?
Imagine how difficult it would be to share work in progress over a standard connection. Internet2 would make sharing models, renderings, audio, and any other part of the process far easier because of the speed of transfer.
In fact, depending on the complexity of the project, there's a chance that this level of collaboration might have been impossible using any other, non face-to-face method we have now.
Taken directly from the linked blog post...
It's got opening times. Much like the real park, then. I'll be signing up as soon as it opens in GMT..
I'm guessing that that would help to prevent the vast majority of those "after midnight" incidents from ever happening.
I win on a technicality! :)
Nintendo already had the store space in NYC; if I'm not mistaken, this store was the old Pokémon Center.
The store's location doesn't have anything to do with regional sales, though. The store isn't in NYC because people there don't buy enough Nintendo products. If the Gamecube was unpopular in the city, then why waste the effort to open a store that's dedicated in large part to it?
And GT4 will never be on the Gamecube. Ever. Sony owns and publishes the series, so it's going to be a cold day in hell before a Grand Turismo game jumps to the Cube.
Um...no.
His name is Kid Rock. There's no such person as Kid Rocking.
I know that he's from the area around my hometown and all, but I still think that that one shouldn't have gotten through. First time I've ever been compelled to correct the editors, so yo should be ashamed of yourselves. :)
If magnets can kill your hard drives and monitors, just think about what he could do to them...
I just read it incorrectly. Not an uncommon event on my part... >_
I'm not sure if I agree with the "Google is the new Microsoft" sentiments, but thinking before you install new software is always a good idea.
Manufacturer Linare said that it will bring a Linux-based device to the retailer 'within the next few days.'
Two e-mails from the new article:
"Thank you for your interest in Linare products . your order will be shipped on or before 14th march with out fail . Sorry for the delay , due to heavy back order we were not able to ship you earlier."
and
"Thank you for your interest in Linare products . your order will be shipped before this week end . Sorry for the delay"
You've got to give them credit for consistency, if nothing else. :)
That said, if Wal-Mart ever begins selling these in B&M stores (if they don't already), it still might not be a terrible purchase so long as you don't have to deal with the company's support.
And there are even bigger ones in creationism.
I'd take the original Zelda's soundtrack over other copyrighted music any day.
If that copyright hadn't been there, it would never have been written. And that would be a damn shame.
I seem to remember having heard Dean say that the program would be rolled out wide-scale next year during the opening ceremonies, but I could be wrong.
I thought that the bigger, full on competition season was supposed to start sometime next year.
It's still a very young product. The Vex kits have been in Radio Shack for less than a month now, and the FIRST-sponsored Vex Robotics Challenge won't actually begin until next year.
I could be a bit biased because I've been in FIRST for three years now and will most likely be mentoring a team next year, but I'd love to get my hands on one of these kits and play with it. It looks like it could be a lot of fun... :)
It would have helped if he had avoided the pun and if he had used the acronym the way that the program itself does now - italicized - but it wasn't all that hard to read in any case.
But on the other hand, I don't remember having Star Wars or Harry Potter LEGOs back when I was growing up (early '90s).
If LEGO needs to do this to compete with other, flashier toys, I don't see how it can be a bad thing. It's not like you can't be creative with the themed sets...it just requires a bit more effort on the part of the kid.
You fail. What kind of geek can't handle acronyms?
I think the goal here - like it is in FIRST - is to get kids interested in engineering in general. We're going to need people to work for the auto companies. NASA is going to need more engineers. What about the airline industry? Architecture? Landscaping?
If Vex can inspire the engineering mindset at all, that's what we need. The goal isn't to create Radio Shack employees, but to create engineers.
That point aside, I agree with your post completely. Thank you. :)
Considering that the goal of the kits is to get kids interested in robotics, it's actually for the better that they aren't. I'd definitely lose interest quickly if the bot I had spent hours working on was ripped apart in thirty seconds. Who would want to go through that effort again only to be destroyed by someone else?
There are also some major differences between Vex and Erector. I haven't seen an Erector set with the radio controller, or the ability to program the robot (which Vex will have eventually).
Of course, this won't be anything like the GameStop/EB competition, and there are still rumors that GC and GR could merge if Blockbuster buys out Hollywood Video. Still, I think I'm just not going to worry about it for now. I don't want to drive myself crazy...
Some of us weren't alive in 1984. :)
We've got no idea at all what a Star Wars TV series will be like. Clone Wars doesn't count; the shorts are constructed completely differently than a longer episode would be. Ewoks and Droids don't count either; they were targeted towards children, and we've got no proof indicating that these will be. The Christmas Special doesn't count. What does that leave us with? Nothing.
You could argue using Young Indiana Jones as an example, but that was another series entirely. Beyond that, there are lots of other factors - there is more established Star Wars material, for example, or that YIJ was made more than ten years ago and tastes change over time. Hell, they aren't even in the same universe.
I think the best approach here is to wait and see what we get. How can we criticize what we've never seen? Shame fanboys never seem to pick up on that...
There still aren't very many HD channels or programs that I see advertised in my area, and I live by Detroit. The switch is moving at a near-glacial rate.
If the government forces channels to switch over, though, it'll happen much more quickly. People will go out and buy HD sets, and with any luck the technology will begin to drop in price more quickly than it has to date.
To be honest, I don't see this switch happening unless the government makes it so. It hasn't yet, even with this law in place.
The images in the comics load in one fell swoop; in Apostasy, for example, the cover and first seven pages are all on one screen. Of course, since it's been linked to on Slashdot, it's not going to be up long enough for it to be an issue. :)