So if an Analyst says it, it must be true? C'mon, anybody can state an opinion that Dell will go with AMD, or it won't, but where's the proof?
Dell will begin selling computers with AMD processors in them when it makes good business sense to do so, i.e. will make them more money. I wonder sometimes if AMD's lead over Intel over the past couple years has had any effect on Dell, considering the brand awareness of Intel, very cheap low-end computers by Dell, and inherent conservative-ness of major corporations (read: customers).
The article is a repeat of Jack Thompson-esque rhetoric about how violent games make violent kids, etc.
Ted Rueter, the author of the article, is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at DePauw University. I don't remember many friends or acquaintances in college that majored in PolySci, unless they were A) planning on going to grad school, or B) not planning on getting job (seriously!). I think we have a case of bona-fide "marketable skills envy" here! Remember--this is coming from a man who has no apparent expertise in the realm of child psychology. In other words, he doesn't know what he's talking about. He mentions studies that supposedly prove that violent games make kids more aggressive, but doesn't reference them. I did find it humorous that Rueter derides the fact that "Many games are based upon a scenario in which a woman is kidnapped or has to be rescued". Is he trying to say that chivalry and heroism are ruining our society?
The gist of the article is a repeat of Jack Thompson-esque rhetoric about how violent games make violent kids, etc.
Ted Rueter, the author of the article, is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at DePauw University. I don't remember many friends or acquaintances in college that majored in PolySci, unless they were A) planning on going to grad school, or B) not planning on getting job (seriously!). I think we have a case of bona-fide "marketable skills envy" here! Remember--this is coming from a man who has no apparent expertise in the realm of child psychology. In other words, he doesn't know what he's talking about. He mentions studies that supposedly prove that violent games make kids more aggressive, but doesn't reference them. I did find it humorous that Rueter derides the fact that "Many games are based upon a scenario in which a woman is kidnapped or has to be rescued". Is he trying to say that chivalry and heroism are ruining our society?
an Operating System is not the first gift you'd think of giving
Exactly. I mean, who is going to be standing in line at 2 am on Black Friday for version 1.0 of an OS that is almost certainly going to be buggy and full of holes? You might as well do the same to get your oil changed. The additional functionality just isn't there. This isn't Windows 95--it's just a pretty face slapped on top of the same functionality.
Besides the purely-utilitarian nature of an OS, the current set of commercially-available computers from HP, Dell, IBM, etc are not yet ready for the high requirements of Vista, and I don't think they will be by next August.
It's a very good point--it's the BAD sequels that ruin it for the rest of them.
What's interesting is to look ahead and try and think how developers can/might improve on today's hot games. Right now, I'm playing UT2004. I didn't get UT2003, simply because the demo didn't impress me as being much better in terms of gameplay than the original Unreal Tournament. UT2004 restored Assault and added several other gameplay types. The graphics (for me) were just a big bonus.
Future games will look better. It's a given. I've seen some screenshots from the in-development UT2007. They're gorgeous. But I want to know how they're going to top the gameplay of the last installment.
Seriously, I've found that waiting on both hardware and software purchases saves loads of money. Wait a few months until after the game has been out. Then go ahead and buy it if it turns out to be good/popular.
I see no validity in the implication that just because it's released right before Christmas, you must buy it for Christmas. There are plenty of other games that have been out for a while and proven their value. Don't be a lemming.
will . . . enable consumers to stay connected for as long as needed.
The problem is this: battery life is never long enough. This is true for three reasons. First, as battery life improves, consumers come to expect more. Second, electronics manufacturers will see the marketing opportunity in "we have the smallest $gadget on the market", and will put in the smallest acceptable battery. Third, as we have seen with computers, manufacturers will continue to pack (some useful, many not) features, sapping that additional power.
Granted, fuel cells have considerable energy-density advantages over current chemical cells, but it will never be enough until we have devices that will *never* need a recharge, battery replacement, or refill.
It's a tradeoff. If, for example, Microsoft were to add useful features, improve stability & security, reduce memory and disk footprint, and improve performance, then they would possibly get more money from people upgrading their old computers to the new OS. Right now, people think "upgrading means a new computer--that's too expensive!". If all they had to do to get a better-performing machine was to buy the new version of MS Windows, it would be a smaller sticker shock. And more people would want to upgrade. At the same time, however, OEM sales would fall, leading to smaller revenues from what has traditionally been a staple of Microsoft profits.
On the other hand, however, the higher system requirements demanded by newer versions of Windows give the impression that it really is an upgrade. If the system requirements for a new version of Windows were less, people would complain--"This should be in a service pack!".
Around Houston, there are billboards posted in an attempt to make people concentrate on driving. Besides "world's most dangerous restaurant" (showing a person eating while driving) and "World's most dangerous salon" (same thing, but for makeup), there's one that says:
"World's Deadliest Office"
It shows a guy trying to do something with a chart on his laptop while driving. Considering the utterly moronic and clueless way so many people already drive around here, I can't see built-in computers being a good thing. There's a reason they don't make DVD players in cars that you can watch from the driver's seat.
As with cell phones, it will be very difficult to get people to admit that they were distracted by PowerPoint and swerved into the other lane.
I fully agree. Thanks, Sid, for the thoughtful, candid responses. Like many others here, I played the original Civ (yes, 320x240 and all--boy was the Windows version eye-popping!), and I still play it occasionally today.
This certainly is a marked contrast to the Interview with the Blizzard "developers", where all we got back was a load of marketing bull.
Will they be offering these downloads without commercials? If you're paying $2 per show, I would be pretty ticked about 1/3 of my battery life being sucked up by leeching, annoying, stupid commercials.
I know you were joking, but if you're really looking for something to hammer both cores on your beautiful X2, may I suggest Folding@Home? Donate your unused cycles to help find a cure for cancer.
Extra bonus for you if you join the team I'm on (see my sig).
So....$400 for the console + (15 to 20) games * $50/game = $1150 to $1400.
Yikes, that's a lot of money. A couple of mortgage payments for a lot of people. This reminds me why I only buy hardware and games that have been out for at least a year. Save money on both, and I only get games that turn out to be good!
Given that they haven't announced anything about Office 12 except that the new file format and Metro support, how do you proclaim to know that it brings no significant value to the customer?
Thank you for proving my point. If there was significant value coming in Office 12, don't you think they would be trumpeting it upon the housetops?
For a while, we've seen many complaints about MS Office becoming more bloated and increasingly expensive without adding significant value to the customer. Now, MS is coming out with a new version of office that again offers no reason to upgrade, and now they change the interface? This seems to me like change for change's sake--they're grasping at straws to make it look like you need to upgrade.
What they are doing is taking an already extremely complex piece of software, and suddenly changing how to do everything. Suddenly, switching to OpenOffice seems like less of a change than upgrading to the next version of MS Office.
I wouldn't lay the blame at the feet of the current CEO. He simply inhereted the problems from the dearly-departed Fiorina. He got a huge mess, and he's doing what he needs to fix it. Cut him a little slack, won't you? Results take time to measure.
Besides, dealing with labor laws in France is a royal pain. I met a family there for whom it was more profitable to be voluntarily unemployed and live off welfare than it was to get a real job. Guess who pays for it? Yep, the poor folks who actually work for a living.
Ah, but you see, without the replication, the worm is nothing. I don't think worm-writing is so much about [i]causing damage[/i] as it is about [i]bragging rights[/i]. So there's little point in going through the extra effort to add in the destructive payload.
ANYTHING. The lack of creativity in today's vandals is just pitiful.
Amen to that. Of course, if worm authors only wrote worms that patched holes and caused no ill effect, they wouldn't be able to brag to their kiddie friends that "I took down half the internet!!!" In addition, I'm afraid of what the Microsoft corporate reaction would be. Officially, they can't condone it, especially if the hole-patching worm didn't work properly (remember a couple years ago?). But it might make them a bit more laxadaisical when it comes to patching.
There's a much simpler solution:
A Faraday cage.
A small investment in chicken wire grounded to an outlet or pipe would immediately eliminate access from outside the shop. As for those who just sit around and leech without buying? Kick 'em out.
Slashdot Mirror
So if an Analyst says it, it must be true? C'mon, anybody can state an opinion that Dell will go with AMD, or it won't, but where's the proof?
Dell will begin selling computers with AMD processors in them when it makes good business sense to do so, i.e. will make them more money. I wonder sometimes if AMD's lead over Intel over the past couple years has had any effect on Dell, considering the brand awareness of Intel, very cheap low-end computers by Dell, and inherent conservative-ness of major corporations (read: customers).
I see at least a couple editorials (I wouldn't call them articles) per week declaring PC Gaming dead, or not dead.
Does this remind anybody of a certain cat in a box with a vial of poison?
The article is a repeat of Jack Thompson-esque rhetoric about how violent games make violent kids, etc. Ted Rueter, the author of the article, is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at DePauw University. I don't remember many friends or acquaintances in college that majored in PolySci, unless they were A) planning on going to grad school, or B) not planning on getting job (seriously!). I think we have a case of bona-fide "marketable skills envy" here! Remember--this is coming from a man who has no apparent expertise in the realm of child psychology. In other words, he doesn't know what he's talking about. He mentions studies that supposedly prove that violent games make kids more aggressive, but doesn't reference them. I did find it humorous that Rueter derides the fact that "Many games are based upon a scenario in which a woman is kidnapped or has to be rescued". Is he trying to say that chivalry and heroism are ruining our society?
The gist of the article is a repeat of Jack Thompson-esque rhetoric about how violent games make violent kids, etc.
Ted Rueter, the author of the article, is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at DePauw University. I don't remember many friends or acquaintances in college that majored in PolySci, unless they were A) planning on going to grad school, or B) not planning on getting job (seriously!). I think we have a case of bona-fide "marketable skills envy" here! Remember--this is coming from a man who has no apparent expertise in the realm of child psychology. In other words, he doesn't know what he's talking about. He mentions studies that supposedly prove that violent games make kids more aggressive, but doesn't reference them. I did find it humorous that Rueter derides the fact that "Many games are based upon a scenario in which a woman is kidnapped or has to be rescued". Is he trying to say that chivalry and heroism are ruining our society?
an Operating System is not the first gift you'd think of giving
Exactly. I mean, who is going to be standing in line at 2 am on Black Friday for version 1.0 of an OS that is almost certainly going to be buggy and full of holes? You might as well do the same to get your oil changed. The additional functionality just isn't there. This isn't Windows 95--it's just a pretty face slapped on top of the same functionality.
Besides the purely-utilitarian nature of an OS, the current set of commercially-available computers from HP, Dell, IBM, etc are not yet ready for the high requirements of Vista, and I don't think they will be by next August.
In other words, WHO CARES?
It's a very good point--it's the BAD sequels that ruin it for the rest of them.
What's interesting is to look ahead and try and think how developers can/might improve on today's hot games. Right now, I'm playing UT2004. I didn't get UT2003, simply because the demo didn't impress me as being much better in terms of gameplay than the original Unreal Tournament. UT2004 restored Assault and added several other gameplay types. The graphics (for me) were just a big bonus.
Future games will look better. It's a given. I've seen some screenshots from the in-development UT2007. They're gorgeous. But I want to know how they're going to top the gameplay of the last installment.
Wait for the review at least.
Seriously, I've found that waiting on both hardware and software purchases saves loads of money. Wait a few months until after the game has been out. Then go ahead and buy it if it turns out to be good/popular.
I see no validity in the implication that just because it's released right before Christmas, you must buy it for Christmas. There are plenty of other games that have been out for a while and proven their value. Don't be a lemming.
will . . . enable consumers to stay connected for as long as needed.
The problem is this: battery life is never long enough. This is true for three reasons. First, as battery life improves, consumers come to expect more. Second, electronics manufacturers will see the marketing opportunity in "we have the smallest $gadget on the market", and will put in the smallest acceptable battery. Third, as we have seen with computers, manufacturers will continue to pack (some useful, many not) features, sapping that additional power.
Granted, fuel cells have considerable energy-density advantages over current chemical cells, but it will never be enough until we have devices that will *never* need a recharge, battery replacement, or refill.
It's a tradeoff. If, for example, Microsoft were to add useful features, improve stability & security, reduce memory and disk footprint, and improve performance, then they would possibly get more money from people upgrading their old computers to the new OS. Right now, people think "upgrading means a new computer--that's too expensive!". If all they had to do to get a better-performing machine was to buy the new version of MS Windows, it would be a smaller sticker shock. And more people would want to upgrade. At the same time, however, OEM sales would fall, leading to smaller revenues from what has traditionally been a staple of Microsoft profits.
On the other hand, however, the higher system requirements demanded by newer versions of Windows give the impression that it really is an upgrade. If the system requirements for a new version of Windows were less, people would complain--"This should be in a service pack!".
There are lots of other reviews out there, too. Looks like the 6800GS kicks the X1600 where it hurts. Over and over and over again.
- [H]ard|OCP
- Avault
- Computer Base
- Driver Heaven
- Guru3D
- Hartware
- HotHardware
- Noticia3D
- nV News
- The Tech Report
I shamelessly stole this list from Hardocp.com
Around Houston, there are billboards posted in an attempt to make people concentrate on driving. Besides "world's most dangerous restaurant" (showing a person eating while driving) and "World's most dangerous salon" (same thing, but for makeup), there's one that says:
"World's Deadliest Office"
It shows a guy trying to do something with a chart on his laptop while driving. Considering the utterly moronic and clueless way so many people already drive around here, I can't see built-in computers being a good thing. There's a reason they don't make DVD players in cars that you can watch from the driver's seat.
As with cell phones, it will be very difficult to get people to admit that they were distracted by PowerPoint and swerved into the other lane.
I fully agree. Thanks, Sid, for the thoughtful, candid responses. Like many others here, I played the original Civ (yes, 320x240 and all--boy was the Windows version eye-popping!), and I still play it occasionally today.
This certainly is a marked contrast to the Interview with the Blizzard "developers", where all we got back was a load of marketing bull.
Will they be offering these downloads without commercials? If you're paying $2 per show, I would be pretty ticked about 1/3 of my battery life being sucked up by leeching, annoying, stupid commercials.
I know you were joking, but if you're really looking for something to hammer both cores on your beautiful X2, may I suggest Folding@Home? Donate your unused cycles to help find a cure for cancer.
Extra bonus for you if you join the team I'm on (see my sig).
So....$400 for the console + (15 to 20) games * $50/game = $1150 to $1400.
Yikes, that's a lot of money. A couple of mortgage payments for a lot of people. This reminds me why I only buy hardware and games that have been out for at least a year. Save money on both, and I only get games that turn out to be good!
Given that they haven't announced anything about Office 12 except that the new file format and Metro support, how do you proclaim to know that it brings no significant value to the customer?
Thank you for proving my point. If there was significant value coming in Office 12, don't you think they would be trumpeting it upon the housetops?
For a while, we've seen many complaints about MS Office becoming more bloated and increasingly expensive without adding significant value to the customer. Now, MS is coming out with a new version of office that again offers no reason to upgrade, and now they change the interface? This seems to me like change for change's sake--they're grasping at straws to make it look like you need to upgrade.
What they are doing is taking an already extremely complex piece of software, and suddenly changing how to do everything. Suddenly, switching to OpenOffice seems like less of a change than upgrading to the next version of MS Office.
I wouldn't lay the blame at the feet of the current CEO. He simply inhereted the problems from the dearly-departed Fiorina. He got a huge mess, and he's doing what he needs to fix it. Cut him a little slack, won't you? Results take time to measure. Besides, dealing with labor laws in France is a royal pain. I met a family there for whom it was more profitable to be voluntarily unemployed and live off welfare than it was to get a real job. Guess who pays for it? Yep, the poor folks who actually work for a living.
Perevod if written in English letters, not sure of translation
Perevod is russian for "translation". I kid you not.
Ah, but you see, without the replication, the worm is nothing. I don't think worm-writing is so much about [i]causing damage[/i] as it is about [i]bragging rights[/i]. So there's little point in going through the extra effort to add in the destructive payload.
ANYTHING. The lack of creativity in today's vandals is just pitiful. Amen to that. Of course, if worm authors only wrote worms that patched holes and caused no ill effect, they wouldn't be able to brag to their kiddie friends that "I took down half the internet!!!" In addition, I'm afraid of what the Microsoft corporate reaction would be. Officially, they can't condone it, especially if the hole-patching worm didn't work properly (remember a couple years ago?). But it might make them a bit more laxadaisical when it comes to patching.
Are you looking for something like this
There's a much simpler solution: A Faraday cage. A small investment in chicken wire grounded to an outlet or pipe would immediately eliminate access from outside the shop. As for those who just sit around and leech without buying? Kick 'em out.
The funny thing is that AMD is planning on releasing Quad Core chips in Q1 2006. Intel's DC Dothan may be too little, too late.
Remember Waste? It's exactly what you're describing--by invitation only, and encrypted. And if you can find a copy, it's free.