First of all, you're all ridiculous for trying to imagine what Nintendo's going to do with the touch screen, or any feature on the device for that matter. I've been playing console games for nearly two decades. Nintendo has still never failed to surprise me, despite being consistent in so many ways (not all good ones).
The thing is, Nintendo didn't build a portable WEGA flatscreen that plays games, like Sony did. It's more than just another appliance. They built a device that's loaded with every realistic option for I/O, creating a platform which any developer with an ounce of imagination would eat right up. Two screens. Touch-sensitivity, with stylus. Dual-protocol wireless networking. Microphone with voice recognition.
As far as design goes, we have no idea what it's going to look like. The models we've seen give us a good idea, but we have been told that it will look different, and have a new name, at its release. Networking-wise, they've included both Wi-Fi, and a proprietary technology for easier local wireless connections (like being notified to a nearby multiplayer game already in progress). Man, I wish I was in high school again. OK, no I don't.
Sony's PSP will play a shitload of games, I'm sure. Those games will look awesome on the PSP's screen. A small-to-moderate percentage of the games will surely be worth the money you spend on them. It will also look good, like all Sony products do, hanging from your wrist. And surely, it will empty your wallet quite effectively.
Nintendo's DS will have games that are different. Games that can only come about when a company builds a *game machine*, instead of a flatscreen TV that plays games well too. The titles won't be as numerous, but they'll be assloads more fun, because that's Nintendo's focus. "Games worth playing."
Remember, though, this isn't for people who would buy discs, it's aimed at renters. I can't recall ever having rented a DVD, and not watched it at least once within 48 hours.
Hm, with the amount of variance in DVD quality, I can already hear the calls coming in from irate customers... "My DVD was supposed to last 48 hours, and it only worked for 15 minutes!"
Not to mention packaging failures, which will surely result in a marginal number of discs being delivered DOA. *Sigh*. Just more fodder for the landfill.
While I agree about Harleys, Sony hardly falls into that category. They consistently innovate, and create products that are head-and-shoulders above anything else (neck-and-neck with Apple) in design and usability. They might not always have every feature known to man, but you have to sacrifice some user choice for good user experience.
Sony products are worth the price, especially if you take a short trip to pricegrabber or dealtime. If you disagree, don't buy them.
Well, OK, not screwed up, but C++ experience should not be considered a good background for learning Objective-C Cocoa. Its approach to programming with "objects" is very different, and the transition to Objective-C, IMHO, leads to a mix of techniques that is hell to read/debug, making for buggy Cocoa apps. If you're a C++ vet, it may be a good idea to unlearn a lot of what you know, and assimilate the conventions of the seasoned Objective-C coders.
That said, even though C++ may not give you a good start for Objective-C development, it can still be very beneficial to leverage C++'s speed in various parts of your application. You can, for example, build your engine from C++, and your widgetry in Objective-C Cocoa.
A strong Java background makes for a fairly easy to transition into Cocoa, trading in a few conveniences for greater flexibility, more mature classes, and easy GUI development. Java is quite similar to Objective-C and both can be used/mixed to build Cocoa applications (most don't though).
If you're a C jockey, Objective-C is like adding a new weapon to your arsenal. Objective-C is a superset of C. Those who are fluent in the design patterns of both languages will get the most from their Cocoa applications. Indeed, the ability to (fairly) freely intermix C, Objective-C and C++ is a great advantage, allowing you to use the tool that's right for the job.
As a switcher from any language, one of the biggest hurdles can be getting some fundamental OO design patterns down, which are expected by most of the Cocoa API. For example, you can't go one step in learning Objective-C without being taught the MVC (Model-View-Controller) paradigm. In contrast, a great many mature Java/C++ developers have never learned, or even heard of, this concept.
... but it might not be entirely due to ignorance/apathy. Granted, Apple hasn't done a lot to earn its mindshare, other than their continued tradition of making good products that spread via word-of-mouth. And do they still want to sell anything *besides* iPod? But I digress.
The Post reports that only five million songs have been downloaded, in a campaign that was supposed to result in 20 times that many. I can't speak for everyone, but I have a lot of friends who have hoards of the winning Pepsi caps, and the desire to use them.
They're just waiting for music they actually *like*.
Perhaps Apple would be wise to look at the type of people who collect these caps en masse, and try to determine what kind of music they like. It would be a break from the "Apple Knows Best(TM)" philosophy, but it's so crazy that it just might work.
I don't understand how people can continuously bash games with "Kiddy graphics", and then buy a GameBoy Advance, which still outsells every other console.
16-bit graphics are rarely mature in nature... there's just no depth for presenting realistic gore, unless you're playing a MK incarnation, or something. Indeed, the most popular games for GBA have VERY kiddy graphics indeed: Pokemon Ruby, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Golden Sun, and Mario&Luigi:SuperStar Saga, to name a few.
First, it should be know that you can get the Zelda disc by registering a console (GCN/GBA/GBA:SP) and 2 registerable games (I used Mario Kart:Double Dash!! and Mario & Luigi: SuperStar Saga). They automatically sent me the compilation disc in the mail.
The 8-bit games are great to have on the GameCube. It's also pretty cool that, if you have a GameBoy Player, you can play every Zelda game ever made on the GameCube (except of course the CD-i games).
However, I'm disappointed by a few things. There's no snapshotting in the 8-bit games. I know, it's not the way the game originally worked, but it seems that you should be able to freeze and that games like you can with an emu'.
Also, there's some buggy stuff happening in Ocarina of Time. Most notably, how it lags when opening the menu. The audio also hangs a bit there.
I love having the disc, and it's great overall, but I wish it had the polish I've come to expect from a Nintendo product.
Yeah, that's true. And 1.3 *MEGA*pixels is nothing to sneeze at either. However, the joke wasn't about the device at all, it was about the typo the author made. Read a bit more carefully;-)
This isn't well known, and for those who aren't hopelessly devoted to their shell, it's a good reason to use tcsh on Mac OS X.
Fred Sanchez maintains a nice set of tcsh configuration files that are installed, but not loaded, by default. For more information, see the file located at:
/usr/share/tcsh/examples/README
If you're a new tcsh user, setting this up is as simple as echoing a few files into your home directory. If you've already got a tcsh configuration, it shouldn't be too hard to shift things around. When all is done, you'll have a great set of default command completions and aliases, and a cool way to organize your customizations.
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First of all, you're all ridiculous for trying to imagine what Nintendo's going to do with the touch screen, or any feature on the device for that matter. I've been playing console games for nearly two decades. Nintendo has still never failed to surprise me, despite being consistent in so many ways (not all good ones).
The thing is, Nintendo didn't build a portable WEGA flatscreen that plays games, like Sony did. It's more than just another appliance. They built a device that's loaded with every realistic option for I/O, creating a platform which any developer with an ounce of imagination would eat right up. Two screens. Touch-sensitivity, with stylus. Dual-protocol wireless networking. Microphone with voice recognition.
As far as design goes, we have no idea what it's going to look like. The models we've seen give us a good idea, but we have been told that it will look different, and have a new name, at its release. Networking-wise, they've included both Wi-Fi, and a proprietary technology for easier local wireless connections (like being notified to a nearby multiplayer game already in progress). Man, I wish I was in high school again. OK, no I don't.
Sony's PSP will play a shitload of games, I'm sure. Those games will look awesome on the PSP's screen. A small-to-moderate percentage of the games will surely be worth the money you spend on them. It will also look good, like all Sony products do, hanging from your wrist. And surely, it will empty your wallet quite effectively.
Nintendo's DS will have games that are different. Games that can only come about when a company builds a *game machine*, instead of a flatscreen TV that plays games well too. The titles won't be as numerous, but they'll be assloads more fun, because that's Nintendo's focus. "Games worth playing."
Remember, though, this isn't for people who would buy discs, it's aimed at renters. I can't recall ever having rented a DVD, and not watched it at least once within 48 hours.
Hm, with the amount of variance in DVD quality, I can already hear the calls coming in from irate customers... "My DVD was supposed to last 48 hours, and it only worked for 15 minutes!"
Not to mention packaging failures, which will surely result in a marginal number of discs being delivered DOA. *Sigh*. Just more fodder for the landfill.
While I agree about Harleys, Sony hardly falls into that category. They consistently innovate, and create products that are head-and-shoulders above anything else (neck-and-neck with Apple) in design and usability. They might not always have every feature known to man, but you have to sacrifice some user choice for good user experience.
Sony products are worth the price, especially if you take a short trip to pricegrabber or dealtime. If you disagree, don't buy them.
"I consider APE to be Unsafe At Any Speed."
:-)
Yeah, and look how many people love the Corvair.
... you get screwed up by C++.
Well, OK, not screwed up, but C++ experience should not be considered a good background for learning Objective-C Cocoa. Its approach to programming with "objects" is very different, and the transition to Objective-C, IMHO, leads to a mix of techniques that is hell to read/debug, making for buggy Cocoa apps. If you're a C++ vet, it may be a good idea to unlearn a lot of what you know, and assimilate the conventions of the seasoned Objective-C coders.
That said, even though C++ may not give you a good start for Objective-C development, it can still be very beneficial to leverage C++'s speed in various parts of your application. You can, for example, build your engine from C++, and your widgetry in Objective-C Cocoa.
A strong Java background makes for a fairly easy to transition into Cocoa, trading in a few conveniences for greater flexibility, more mature classes, and easy GUI development. Java is quite similar to Objective-C and both can be used/mixed to build Cocoa applications (most don't though).
If you're a C jockey, Objective-C is like adding a new weapon to your arsenal. Objective-C is a superset of C. Those who are fluent in the design patterns of both languages will get the most from their Cocoa applications. Indeed, the ability to (fairly) freely intermix C, Objective-C and C++ is a great advantage, allowing you to use the tool that's right for the job.
As a switcher from any language, one of the biggest hurdles can be getting some fundamental OO design patterns down, which are expected by most of the Cocoa API. For example, you can't go one step in learning Objective-C without being taught the MVC (Model-View-Controller) paradigm. In contrast, a great many mature Java/C++ developers have never learned, or even heard of, this concept.
Just some observations... YMMV.
All he needs to do is combine it with a home-built Segway, jet engine, and liquid immersion cooling system. Then the /.ers will eat it up.
... but it might not be entirely due to ignorance/apathy. Granted, Apple hasn't done a lot to earn its mindshare, other than their continued tradition of making good products that spread via word-of-mouth. And do they still want to sell anything *besides* iPod? But I digress.
The Post reports that only five million songs have been downloaded, in a campaign that was supposed to result in 20 times that many. I can't speak for everyone, but I have a lot of friends who have hoards of the winning Pepsi caps, and the desire to use them.
They're just waiting for music they actually *like*.
Perhaps Apple would be wise to look at the type of people who collect these caps en masse, and try to determine what kind of music they like. It would be a break from the "Apple Knows Best(TM)" philosophy, but it's so crazy that it just might work.
--
"...the first sub-$150 color handheld to include MP3 audio and a memory expansion slot..."
Geez, it's starting to sound like the color commentary at a baseball game.
What? Apple sells sesktops, laptops, and servers?! This is shocking news!
Conidering that all your paper tape is probably on *one* DVD now, the next step shouldn't be too hard ;)
She'd probably be on a Segway.
It actually looks like he has Sunday, January 19 circled. It's an empty cirle, just below the 18th.
I don't understand how people can continuously bash games with "Kiddy graphics", and then buy a GameBoy Advance, which still outsells every other console.
16-bit graphics are rarely mature in nature... there's just no depth for presenting realistic gore, unless you're playing a MK incarnation, or something. Indeed, the most popular games for GBA have VERY kiddy graphics indeed: Pokemon Ruby, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Golden Sun, and Mario&Luigi:SuperStar Saga, to name a few.
First, it should be know that you can get the Zelda disc by registering a console (GCN/GBA/GBA:SP) and 2 registerable games (I used Mario Kart:Double Dash!! and Mario & Luigi: SuperStar Saga). They automatically sent me the compilation disc in the mail.
The 8-bit games are great to have on the GameCube. It's also pretty cool that, if you have a GameBoy Player, you can play every Zelda game ever made on the GameCube (except of course the CD-i games).
However, I'm disappointed by a few things. There's no snapshotting in the 8-bit games. I know, it's not the way the game originally worked, but it seems that you should be able to freeze and that games like you can with an emu'.
Also, there's some buggy stuff happening in Ocarina of Time. Most notably, how it lags when opening the menu. The audio also hangs a bit there.
I love having the disc, and it's great overall, but I wish it had the polish I've come to expect from a Nintendo product.
Yeah, that's true. And 1.3 *MEGA*pixels is nothing to sneeze at either. However, the joke wasn't about the device at all, it was about the typo the author made. Read a bit more carefully ;-)
"The Jukebox Multimedia camera module offered middling results with its 1.3 pixel resolution"
1.3 pixels, eh? Yes, I'd say your results would be middling, at best.
This isn't well known, and for those who aren't hopelessly devoted to their shell, it's a good reason to use tcsh on Mac OS X. Fred Sanchez maintains a nice set of tcsh configuration files that are installed, but not loaded, by default. For more information, see the file located at:
/usr/share/tcsh/examples/README
If you're a new tcsh user, setting this up is as simple as echoing a few files into your home directory. If you've already got a tcsh configuration, it shouldn't be too hard to shift things around. When all is done, you'll have a great set of default command completions and aliases, and a cool way to organize your customizations.