Sony's betting that there won't be a PSP emulator for long enough to squeeze profits out of this.
Assuming everything else you said makes sense, that's pretty risky. Particularly when you consider that the first GBA emulator came out before the GBA was even launched.
Well, then, it seems you never did really learn C[++], did you? That's where your problem is. The old AP C++ test required knowledge of the pointers and classes that you unfortunately missed out on. If I recall correctly, last year's AB test even had a simple Part II question involving an array of linked lists, and you needed to write some code for searching and modifying the lists. It was a while ago though, that may not be exactly what it was.
VB is hardly more than a toy, I think. It's got a few decent uses, but it's more of a "program editor" than an actual language.
At RIT (which uses a quarter system -- fall, winter, spring, [summer] ) as a CS major my 5 on the AP CS AB test saved me one class. Instead of taking CS1/2/3, I just had to take Accelerated CS1/2, which cover the same things but much more quickly.
Not sure if that agrees or disagrees with you, really, just providing a practical example.
C++ teaches you more about writing good code, however. People argue with me on that, and say that the sloppy code RUNS, and teaches kids it's okay. But Java doesn't teach people to be any cleaner. I see plenty of comments about how most Java code is bad code around here. In fact, I would say that it does a worse job at teaching good practice because it removes a good deal of responsibility from the coder due to the way it handles memory management. It's fine if you stick with similar languages, but habits that made wonderful Java programs would make you cringe in C++. I've seen a raytracer written in C++ that never used the delete command. I kid you not.
C++ might be more complex, but hey, computers are complex. Programming can become very complex. Kids need to learn to deal with that, as well as learning about pointers and memory deallocation and all the various ways one can screw up. The earlier they learn it the easier for them.
Also, I wouldn't say that interfaces are a better way to do multiple inheritance. It may be safer, but it's less powerful. I speak from experience, having been annoyed by the limitations of interfaces at times.
I really don't think Java is good as a first language myself. It does a lot of things for you, and that's not how you should be starting.
A person who learns to code first in C learns a few fairly important things a Java programmer never needs to think about, and also some things that will make learning Java much easier. A C-experienced person going into Java understands what pointers are and how the use of pointers affects how Java works. They understand memory allocation and the need to deallocate the memory as well. If they've learned C++ and OOP (not many people learn just plain C nowadays) then they get what the hell a class is right off the bat, which is important since a one-line Java program has to contain a class. (I hate it when teachers have to say, 'Ignore that, I'll explain it later.') These things can be explained to somebody who knows his C++ in the space of ten minutes.
Now lets consider what I've seen from people who learned Java first as they move into C/C++. They never ever remember to use the delete command. They don't really understand pointers, they just think primitives work differently than other datatypes. They often keep trying to wrap the program in a class, which of course, doesn't work.
The fact that C is easier to mess up in is the very reason it's a good starting language. It helps to start dealing with things like memory allocation early, and it's good to use a language that gives you a lot of control. Is it harder? Yes. But the key is that it requires a greater understanding of the programming concepts to master it. I know far too many people who "can do it" in C, but can't do it well. They're too experienced to be making the mistakes that they do, because all of that experience was under the soft overprotective blanket of Java.
Java's fine as a language, just not a first language.
Recursion is taught to death in every modern, decent introductory programming course I've ever seen or heard of, and ArrayList is one of the most basic of all the collections built into Java. You're clueless.
I'm glad it was in Java-- C++ would have been a lot harder.
No. You should have seen it last year, it was a joke. I was afraid that it was so easy that my stupid mistakes (which I always make) would be enough to keep me from getting a 5. I did get the 5, but I bet it was close.
I think a lot of the credit for Gollum has to go not to WETA, but to Andy Serkis, the man who did the "true acting" of which you speak. Gollum isn't a purely CGI character, he's a real character who was...repainted, let's say.
One suggestion I have is PowerArchiver as a compression utility. Not saying it's better, but you may want to look at it...I just happen to like it.
And am I confused about what this MessengerPro thing is? I can send/recieve SMS messages for free using AIM, or Gaim for that matter, though a current glitch in Gaim requires that you use another AIM client to add the number to your list first.
The Cell will make or break Sony. And in order to break Sony, it just has to be that little bit slower or more awkward than the XBox's processing solution.
Where do you get that? The PS2's processor architecture Is slower and more awkward than the XBox's solution--and last time I checked, they were miles ahead anyway.
per-polygon hit detection isn't too hard as long as you don't have too many polygons.
True enough. I think Painkiller actually does it.
Still, considering that the discussion is about such realism that your TV can no longer tell the difference, I suspect we're talking about a hella lot of poly's.
I've been having some purely hardware-related troubles lately. As a result, I've been doing a lot of rebooting, looking over the BIOS settings, doing other stuff that can only be done at boot time. And it pisses me off.
The point, though, is that it never used to piss me off, before XP. It was a part of life! Twice a day, reboot. More if something goes wrong.
The fact that a single 2-minute downtime is now enough to make me roll my eyes and get all exasperated speaks volumes about the improvement in reliability. Or, about how easily annoyed I am. Either way.
Huh. No explorer.exe! I use Litestep. It isn't incredibly stable either, but it tends to have absolutely no effect on what I'm doing if it messes up, and it still messes up far less often than Explorer does. Plus it's completely customizable, and that's always a good thing, even if it does make installing and setting up Linux five years ago look like a piece of cake.
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Sony's betting that there won't be a PSP emulator for long enough to squeeze profits out of this.
Assuming everything else you said makes sense, that's pretty risky. Particularly when you consider that the first GBA emulator came out before the GBA was even launched.
Well, then, it seems you never did really learn C[++], did you? That's where your problem is. The old AP C++ test required knowledge of the pointers and classes that you unfortunately missed out on. If I recall correctly, last year's AB test even had a simple Part II question involving an array of linked lists, and you needed to write some code for searching and modifying the lists. It was a while ago though, that may not be exactly what it was.
VB is hardly more than a toy, I think. It's got a few decent uses, but it's more of a "program editor" than an actual language.
At RIT (which uses a quarter system -- fall, winter, spring, [summer] ) as a CS major my 5 on the AP CS AB test saved me one class. Instead of taking CS1/2/3, I just had to take Accelerated CS1/2, which cover the same things but much more quickly.
Not sure if that agrees or disagrees with you, really, just providing a practical example.
I came into school with over a full year of credit from my six AP tests. That's a $20k net savings.
Or $30k if I decide to get a MS (which would take four years, instead of the usual five at which point my scholarships would dry up).
C++ teaches you more about writing good code, however. People argue with me on that, and say that the sloppy code RUNS, and teaches kids it's okay. But Java doesn't teach people to be any cleaner. I see plenty of comments about how most Java code is bad code around here. In fact, I would say that it does a worse job at teaching good practice because it removes a good deal of responsibility from the coder due to the way it handles memory management. It's fine if you stick with similar languages, but habits that made wonderful Java programs would make you cringe in C++. I've seen a raytracer written in C++ that never used the delete command. I kid you not.
C++ might be more complex, but hey, computers are complex. Programming can become very complex. Kids need to learn to deal with that, as well as learning about pointers and memory deallocation and all the various ways one can screw up. The earlier they learn it the easier for them.
Also, I wouldn't say that interfaces are a better way to do multiple inheritance. It may be safer, but it's less powerful. I speak from experience, having been annoyed by the limitations of interfaces at times.
I really don't think Java is good as a first language myself. It does a lot of things for you, and that's not how you should be starting.
A person who learns to code first in C learns a few fairly important things a Java programmer never needs to think about, and also some things that will make learning Java much easier. A C-experienced person going into Java understands what pointers are and how the use of pointers affects how Java works. They understand memory allocation and the need to deallocate the memory as well. If they've learned C++ and OOP (not many people learn just plain C nowadays) then they get what the hell a class is right off the bat, which is important since a one-line Java program has to contain a class. (I hate it when teachers have to say, 'Ignore that, I'll explain it later.') These things can be explained to somebody who knows his C++ in the space of ten minutes.
Now lets consider what I've seen from people who learned Java first as they move into C/C++. They never ever remember to use the delete command. They don't really understand pointers, they just think primitives work differently than other datatypes. They often keep trying to wrap the program in a class, which of course, doesn't work.
The fact that C is easier to mess up in is the very reason it's a good starting language. It helps to start dealing with things like memory allocation early, and it's good to use a language that gives you a lot of control. Is it harder? Yes. But the key is that it requires a greater understanding of the programming concepts to master it. I know far too many people who "can do it" in C, but can't do it well. They're too experienced to be making the mistakes that they do, because all of that experience was under the soft overprotective blanket of Java.
Java's fine as a language, just not a first language.
Recursion is taught to death in every modern, decent introductory programming course I've ever seen or heard of, and ArrayList is one of the most basic of all the collections built into Java. You're clueless.
It's still funny, considering that first thing after any AP test the students are all talking about the answers.
I'm glad it was in Java-- C++ would have been a lot harder.
No. You should have seen it last year, it was a joke. I was afraid that it was so easy that my stupid mistakes (which I always make) would be enough to keep me from getting a 5. I did get the 5, but I bet it was close.
It IS slick, I'll admit that in heartbeat. Still it really seems like a waste or effort, and cash, for zero functionality gain.
Then again...I do love my case fan LEDs.
Wait....no, wait, Fridgey would rock. I burned Kraft Easy Mac. Seriously.
I think a lot of the credit for Gollum has to go not to WETA, but to Andy Serkis, the man who did the "true acting" of which you speak. Gollum isn't a purely CGI character, he's a real character who was...repainted, let's say.
It's a GEEK school, ass. Do you not even know the difference?
Based on what I've seen so far, I'd take a GBA over a flashy PSP anyway.
I'll tell you when I still think so after E3.
I'm not sure if it works for non-US. You add "+1**********" (*'s indicate area code and number) to your buddy list and IM away.
Again, even for US mobiles, you can't add to your list within Gaim. Use another AIM client, I suggest the vanilla version.
My girlfriend and I use it to communicate all the time, it works great.
Know if you can do it through trillian, too?
Yes, you can.
Don't royalties have to wait until after the game's first sale?
One suggestion I have is PowerArchiver as a compression utility. Not saying it's better, but you may want to look at it...I just happen to like it.
And am I confused about what this MessengerPro thing is? I can send/recieve SMS messages for free using AIM, or Gaim for that matter, though a current glitch in Gaim requires that you use another AIM client to add the number to your list first.
The Cell will make or break Sony. And in order to break Sony, it just has to be that little bit slower or more awkward than the XBox's processing solution.
Where do you get that? The PS2's processor architecture Is slower and more awkward than the XBox's solution--and last time I checked, they were miles ahead anyway.
per-polygon hit detection isn't too hard as long as you don't have too many polygons.
True enough. I think Painkiller actually does it.
Still, considering that the discussion is about such realism that your TV can no longer tell the difference, I suspect we're talking about a hella lot of poly's.
To be honest, I'm surprised that it works as well as it does. It's entirely possible that I'm just lucky.
However, I've only used it with XP. I doubt it makes much of a difference when compared to 2000, though.
I'm with you on this. The GameCube, for all its godly qualities, doesn't have the RPG library that I need.
Bah, I like a good reformat/reinstall, even when nothing's wrong. Sometimes it's nice to have a clean slate.
Rebooting IS inconvenient.
I've been having some purely hardware-related troubles lately. As a result, I've been doing a lot of rebooting, looking over the BIOS settings, doing other stuff that can only be done at boot time. And it pisses me off.
The point, though, is that it never used to piss me off, before XP. It was a part of life! Twice a day, reboot. More if something goes wrong.
The fact that a single 2-minute downtime is now enough to make me roll my eyes and get all exasperated speaks volumes about the improvement in reliability. Or, about how easily annoyed I am. Either way.
*Hits Ctrl-alt-del*
*Looks at processes list*
Huh. No explorer.exe! I use Litestep. It isn't incredibly stable either, but it tends to have absolutely no effect on what I'm doing if it messes up, and it still messes up far less often than Explorer does. Plus it's completely customizable, and that's always a good thing, even if it does make installing and setting up Linux five years ago look like a piece of cake.