Spyware to a certain extent is directly linked to the flaws in MSIE that allow applications to install whenever a website thinks they need to be. They pop up a security warning-looking window that defaults to "ok" if you trust Claria Inc or whoever. Then you're stuffed. I'd say this is the first and foremost way that spyware wheedles itself into the environment.
Thankfully, Microsoft is adjusting and XP Service Pack 2 will make it a chore to go out of your way to install software when the browser prompts you to (there'll be a little flashing icon in the bottom of the MSIE page that you have to manually open and approve before you get your spyware). Combine that with the always-on firewall and preinstalled AV software and XP SP2 could be world-changing. But we have a responsibility here. If you can make your way onto Slashdot and read a post, then you have enough skill to make sure all of your XP systems are patched with SP2. Make sure all your friends and family who use XP use windows update and install Service Pack 2. (Or give them Linux or buy them a G5).
If spyware and other internet abuses are to be controlled it won't be by the plebians. It will be by the people who have the skill and motivation to control it.
Loyalty programmes do track and gather a vast amount of information about consumers, which is why I stopped using one.
They follow a pretty similar method if you think about it. Flybuys and other programmes offer "frequent flyer points" as a reward, and they make it look like loyalty is the reason for it, but in reality it's the great market research they get.
Likewise, Claria and the like offer you a service, like Bonzi Buddy (choke) or keeping your system time in check (like that's not inbuilt in just about every O/S out there) or "You're computer is broadcasting an IP Address OMG OMG hackers lol!". Or in fact just by duping you so you click through the software install agreement when you foolishly used internet exploder to open just about any web page. Or by bundling the software with a shareware/freeware application (Like CuteFTP, a sinister betrayal that was).
Then the business model kicks into swing once you're duped in.
I think they may have a pretty good case because as far as I can see the law is pretty vague on this one. They probably have a great chance in a civil court though.
As to how these guys are organised? Just like the mafia only not as romantic and much more irritating.
Seriously, I don't. Give me a test tube full of cancerous cells and I'll give you a million ways to kill them.
Killing cancer cells in a test tube: Easy.
Killing 100% of all cancer cells in a living human body whilst leaving the rest of the cells unharmed with no life critical side effects: Near impossible.
Although nVidia make excellent quality video cards, the price/performance of the FX series leaves a lot to be desired. You can get a faster Radeon for less cash.
Just about any video card you buy today will leave you bottlenecking at that 1GHz AMD cpu (presumably an old T-Bird or something from that era?). If it's a Duron then you should definately think about upgrading your GPU. You'll appreciate the snappy response from your system in everything it does.
When I first read this ask-for-help I thought it was a linux guy having a troll.
I've modified permissions on files, folders, and registry keys. Whenever a computer with the modifications is rebooted, the permissions revert to their previous settings.
Windows does not alter ACL's (access control lists) on files or folders at boot time. It is possible that you or someone else has configured a startup process or logon script (under Win2X active directory, computers can have logon scripts) that repermissions folders or files. I suggest either a full audit of the logon process or a rebuild to a standard windows (with latest patches, see www.windowsupdate.com).
Registry settings by default are not altered by the startup/shutdown process, but again there may be a group policy or logon script attached to the object in AD somehow that is launching a permissioning process, or inheriting a new registry hive, although this is exceedingly unlikely. Again, a complete rebuild would solve this.
If you do the rebuild and it does not help, check with your application support. From my 7 years of Windows drudgery and experience, 75% or more of "Windows" problems come from third party apps or PEBKACs.
If you're unwilling to do the build or the application support people can't help you, contact Microsoft. They're very expensive, but they are very good at what they do, despite what the Slashdot crowd would have you believe.
Serious yes. People in Korea have been known to die sitting at PC's in net cafe's playing Counterstrike. That's serious. You want to tell me Super Mario Bros is serious multiplayer?
I'm quite happy to be called an idito, if I could be so kind as to return the favour, and some spelling tips, you idiot AC fool.
But... GTA:San Andreas isn't even innovating graphics! The only single innovation (granted it's early days yet) we can see is... a bicycle. Vice City had more innovation than that.
But the most innovative of all the GTA games to date? GTA3, which took the game into a the 3D medium. Sure, the game has been around for years before that, but 3D bought the game to the masses. In fact, until Vice City, every single GTA game has been a noticeable improvement in graphics, level design, gameplay. Vice City was really just a mission pack for GTA3. That's all the games industry is doing now - rehashing old engines with little differentiation and adding more missions and selling it as an entirely new game.
Why do they do this when they never did this before? Because consoles are so prevalent now. When developing for PC, with the time you have to develop a new set of missions for a game, the hardware has advanced so much that you can do noticeable and amazing new graphics. Most PC hardware stays beneath it's full capability for at least a year or so after it's bought, too, so anyone can enjoy the improvements. But with a console, by the time you've developed your mission packs and you're ready for a new game... the hardware is the same and your old optimised engine doesn't have any room to grow. So you release the same game with the same (dated)graphics quality and new missions and a different name on the box. Step 3, profit.
I use a 3G Motorola A920. Great phone. Sucky company (Hutchinson/3)
I've hacked mine a bit (replaced some of the UIQ components with third party ones) to allow me to install software (3 lock thier phones down to ensure that you can't install fun software on your phone, bollocks to that I say).
There are some stability issues (opening a 2MB e-book in html on the opera browser will cause it to lose connection with 3's network sometimes). A quick reboot fixes those of course. What price we must pay for our toys.
Also, battery life becomes more of an issue because you're dealing with a 266MHz CPU in your pocket, not just a flimsy phone-call appliance.
What's the good?
- Internet access on my phone - Games games games - MP3 playback - Camera and video recording/playback - Reading e-books wherever I go - Phone takes 128MB SDcards for storing more MP3's - Using MP3's as a ringtone - Awesome address book/calendaring - Email from your phone - All the other neat PDA stuff
I love PDA functionality. I would own a PDA, but I would never take it with me anywhere, always leave it at home because I don't need it (like any other gadget). I have to carry my phone for work purposes, and it's useful to have with me. It also happens to do all these other amazing things. And all I need when I go out is my phone, my wallet, and my keys, and I'm set with all those capabilities listed above. It's much better than carrying phone, keys, wallet, pda, mp3 player, camera, video camera... forget that. You'd buy the camera and leave it at home and never get to take that nice picture when you get the chance. Likewise you never know when you'll get bored and just pop open one of your ebooks and have a read, or browse over to bash.org and see what people are being quoted for saying.
1) Yes, the game's poor traffic/vision/camera depth is caused by the poor capabilities of the console. It has everything to do with the limits of the consoles.
2) Scrolling is implemented because consoles don't have keyboards that allow you to quick-select particular weapons. GTA is an excellent example of converting the "right way" because the PC version is invariably better in all aspects than the console version of the game, and usually contains added functionality not available on a console. Maybe the keys will be more customisable on PC this time around.
3) Serious multiplayer hasn't been viable on consoles until very recently with X-Box live and so on. Even so, there's more work involved with online play than single play for games like this, so again we find that because the game is being developed for console, it isn't "all that it could be".
I'm personally apalled at the graphics. This is the third iteration of the GTA3 engine. Because of the console generation, game developers don't have any room to create the almost photorealistic environments you can see in a game like Far Cry. I'm not sure if this game will do well on PC when being matched up with DooM3 and Half-Life2 (both currently slated for summer).
This is NOT flamebait, just because someone is advocating a microsoft solution.
Windows Server has several tools that assist in integrating NDS and Microsoft's AD as well as services for Unix.
Furthermore Windows can give you a single sign-on to all of the Novell and Windows resources. With Samba some services can also tie in with the Windows authentication.
Linux clients can use Samba to connect to both the Windows and Novell resources if configured correctly.
Although it may not be feasible to dump all the NOS's that you are using, only Windows has the functionality to integrate them as tightly as possible. Either way you look at it, NT4.0 is grossly unsupported, and the presence of such a NOS in your environment suggests there are more problems than just the consolidation issues you mention. Windows NT4.0, released in 1996, is an 8 year old OS. I'm sure no linux advocates would suggest sticking with such an old kernel.
Having said that, I find the ignorance of the linux supporting community on slashdot (moderators no less) astounding. Most Microsoft shops aren't nearly so derisive of open source solutions. I'm sure if some of these "open source" advocates looked around they'd find a much wider world than just what can and can't be done with Linux.
Heh, actually I had a DX40 myself back in the day. I didn't even think, but of course it was AMD because intel didn't do 40MHz CPU's then. Mind you AMD didn't have the reputation for rock solid stability that they do now. The reliability of AMD CPU's today is definately a major helper for them, especially considering that if you buy intel and you want stability you have to pay the premium for an intel chipset. I'll stick to my NForce anyday.
Let's assume that you don't 100% require mobility out of your system (which currently is the only reason people buy laptops, aside from PHB's that believe a higher price tag means a better system).
Desktops are more powerful than laptops. Aside from some lan gamers who again desire portability over power, this makes desktops the computer to use. Go look at a big LAN party. There will be more people bringing desktops than laptops. Gamers, therefore, are definately people who'll stick with the desktop (or erode away to the console). Gamers shouldn't be confused with hobbyists, either. Hobbyists are the ones who cool CPU's with fluid nitrogen gas and move thier systems only on pain of death. Gamers are a much larger proportion of the marketplace.
Desktops are cheaper than laptops. They will be for a long time to come, too. Laptops carry additional costs over PC's, namely they contain all the components a PC does, but they're smaller and miniturisation costs extra. Laptops also contain components that desktops don't need, like PCMCIA cards and batteries and LCD monitors.
I find it difficult to believe that any time in the near future people will decide to pay more money for less powerful computers.
With wireless internet everywhere, there are more and more reasons most businesses, (you know, all the people who buy computers that aren't gamers or mac users), aren't touching wireless technologies. The security risks are insane, and the costs of securing the networks to mitigate those risks are even more insane. Companies will not dump 100MBit CAT5 networks for 54MBit wireless networks (at least none of the companies I've had contact with, and that's quite a few).
There's an alternative. An operating system that will run quite nicely on an old 14" monitor, and it will detect it without fail.
You don't need to browse the net to find and compile drivers for it. You don't need to understand monitor refresh timings or resolution settings to make it just work. You don't even need to do any microconfiguration if you don't want to.
It's called "Microsoft Windows".
And yes it will run on a 600MHz CPU (maybe not well, but it will run).
You started on consoles. Consoles do 3D very poorly because the interface on consoles isn't designed for 3D gaming at all. There are very few conventions in terms of camera angle and player orientation and movement, although there are some emerging. The controllers on each console platform are also different, which makes conventions even harder. The addition of analog sticks is a clumsy way to try and add the same ease of use that PC gamers are accustomed to.
PC games, where 3D gaming originated (well perhaps a few distinctive titles on Amiga and the AppleIIC, flight sims namely) are very conventional. The only games on PC that don't follow the simple mouselook/keyboard move model (WASD is your friend) nowadays are console ports, which by definition again have clumsy camera and player orientation/movement controls (see above).
I can't see why console games have been made so awkward, although there is some light at the end of the tunnel as both Sony and Microsoft are making keyboards/mice more standard on their consoles. I can only assume that because the console makers are so concerned about competing with other companies, they've discarded end-user experience for selling more controllers with analog sticks or something. There is no reason to have such bad controls on consoles, I can say for certain that prince of persia would have been a much better game if they'd followed PC control conventions instead of forcing gamers to view the game through so many absurd camera angles.
Ahh, once you know how to play, yes. You can always force a draw.
The game is so simple that there are two options:
1) You play first and your opponent is smart, draw. 2) You play second and force a draw.
Alternative outcomes: You might start first and have a dumb opponent, in which case you win. (Unlikely, more likely your opponent will force a draw). You might start second and be playing George W. Bush, in which case you will likely win, as George may not have gotten up to "X" in the alphabet.
Microsoft has something called SUS for small scale environments (systems update services I think) that you can install on a Windows server.
For larger environments you can use Microsoft Operations Manager (yes, MOM) which is more functional and more powerful and more expensive.
For non-microsoft loving people you can use a third party tool called Shavlik.
For pirates at home you can download software called "AutoPatcher XP" which has monthly updates and contains all the patches for that month as well as a few decent third party tweaks. The website also has links to torrents and hashes for *mule.
Also if you're using Windows you should always be running current A/V software (even if you think you're safe). AVG from Grisoft is free and has regular updates to signatures.
I've seen some of these players go at it. I've played a few rounds of CS in my time, I'm not a bad gamer, better than most of my friends, but I'm certainly not a pro.
So I would say that I am in AWE of these players, because they are so much better at something I enjoy than I am. They deserve some respect for this.
Skeet shooting is an olympic sport. It's serious, standing still and shooting clay pigeons is one of the mainstays of the contemporary olympiad. Is it a sport? Yes. Does it require athleticism? Not really. Standing up and pointing a gun is not particularly athletic, but it does require tremendous amounts of skill. Only the best in the world, the absolute elite amongst humanity can win a gold medal. Would you then say that these people, much like video game players, don't deserve to compete in a recognised competition?
Counter Strike is without a doubt the biggest and most popular online shooter. Because it's so large and well established, it's the obvious choice. Most gamers have at least a passing familiarity with it, much in the same way that most people have a passing familiarity with the common TV sports.
People know generally that a baseball pitcher throws a ball at the batter, who hits it, and then the batting team gets to run around while the fielding team gets the ball. (I even know this and I'm aussie). Likewise, most gamers know that in CS there are two teams, who play against each other to score goals (plant/defuse bombs, rescue hostages, etc). Pick a slightly less mainstreamed game, like say, Natural Selection, and you'll get a big "huh? what's going on?" from a large proportion of gamers.
Despite being a chronic AMD fanboy, I agree wholeheartedly. Every intel chipset I've dealt with has been great. One of the reasons AMD has been so lousy in terms of sales is because of the awful problems with both the AMD and the Via chipsets available. (The i820 memory handling problem excused of course)
The NForce chipset is incredibly stable compared to any of the Via's, from my personal experience. I usually buy only ASUS mainboards, but even still I haven't enjoyed the kind of stability I've had on either Intel or Nvidia chipsets compared to the via ones. And I've seen the same kinds of problems across several vendor parts when using Via gear. Via's intel chipsets are a lot better than the AMD ones, but they still have a lot of cludges. Anybody who's had to manually specify AGP timings on a Via board because Via doesn't do it right will know what I'm talking about.
nVidia doesn't make motherboards. Did the chipset on the board fail, or some other component on the board apart from the north/south bridge chips? Because nothing, apart from those two chips is nVidia's fault.
Perhaps you were thinking of some other manufacturer besides nVidia?
Epox? Asus? AOpen? Gigabyte? MSI? Intel?
There are dozens and dozens of manufacturers for PC motherboards. nVidia is not one of them. They just happen to make chipsets, much like SiS and Via and Intel.
It's important to understand in this industry, just like many others, that you usually get what you pay for. You don't buy a Gateway PC and then complain that it's unstable because it's got an Intel CPU in it, that isn't the problem. It's all the other cost cutting the manufacturer undertakes.
I have never seen a nVidia chipset/mainboard die, but then all the ones I spec for friends/family are either on ASUS or Gigabyte boards, both companies well known for quality. And I research each individual board prior to putting down money, to make sure I know about any common faults.
Slashdot Mirror
Spyware to a certain extent is directly linked to the flaws in MSIE that allow applications to install whenever a website thinks they need to be. They pop up a security warning-looking window that defaults to "ok" if you trust Claria Inc or whoever. Then you're stuffed. I'd say this is the first and foremost way that spyware wheedles itself into the environment.
Thankfully, Microsoft is adjusting and XP Service Pack 2 will make it a chore to go out of your way to install software when the browser prompts you to (there'll be a little flashing icon in the bottom of the MSIE page that you have to manually open and approve before you get your spyware). Combine that with the always-on firewall and preinstalled AV software and XP SP2 could be world-changing. But we have a responsibility here. If you can make your way onto Slashdot and read a post, then you have enough skill to make sure all of your XP systems are patched with SP2. Make sure all your friends and family who use XP use windows update and install Service Pack 2. (Or give them Linux or buy them a G5).
If spyware and other internet abuses are to be controlled it won't be by the plebians. It will be by the people who have the skill and motivation to control it.
Loyalty programmes do track and gather a vast amount of information about consumers, which is why I stopped using one.
They follow a pretty similar method if you think about it. Flybuys and other programmes offer "frequent flyer points" as a reward, and they make it look like loyalty is the reason for it, but in reality it's the great market research they get.
Likewise, Claria and the like offer you a service, like Bonzi Buddy (choke) or keeping your system time in check (like that's not inbuilt in just about every O/S out there) or "You're computer is broadcasting an IP Address OMG OMG hackers lol!". Or in fact just by duping you so you click through the software install agreement when you foolishly used internet exploder to open just about any web page. Or by bundling the software with a shareware/freeware application (Like CuteFTP, a sinister betrayal that was).
Then the business model kicks into swing once you're duped in.
1) Offer incentive
2) Spy
3) Advertise
4) Profit!
I think they may have a pretty good case because as far as I can see the law is pretty vague on this one. They probably have a great chance in a civil court though.
As to how these guys are organised? Just like the mafia only not as romantic and much more irritating.
Seriously, I don't. Give me a test tube full of cancerous cells and I'll give you a million ways to kill them.
Killing cancer cells in a test tube: Easy.
Killing 100% of all cancer cells in a living human body whilst leaving the rest of the cells unharmed with no life critical side effects: Near impossible.
It's a long, long way to go yet.
Although nVidia make excellent quality video cards, the price/performance of the FX series leaves a lot to be desired. You can get a faster Radeon for less cash.
Just about any video card you buy today will leave you bottlenecking at that 1GHz AMD cpu (presumably an old T-Bird or something from that era?). If it's a Duron then you should definately think about upgrading your GPU. You'll appreciate the snappy response from your system in everything it does.
When I first read this ask-for-help I thought it was a linux guy having a troll.
I've modified permissions on files, folders, and registry keys. Whenever a computer with the modifications is rebooted, the permissions revert to their previous settings.
Windows does not alter ACL's (access control lists) on files or folders at boot time. It is possible that you or someone else has configured a startup process or logon script (under Win2X active directory, computers can have logon scripts) that repermissions folders or files. I suggest either a full audit of the logon process or a rebuild to a standard windows (with latest patches, see www.windowsupdate.com).
Registry settings by default are not altered by the startup/shutdown process, but again there may be a group policy or logon script attached to the object in AD somehow that is launching a permissioning process, or inheriting a new registry hive, although this is exceedingly unlikely. Again, a complete rebuild would solve this.
If you do the rebuild and it does not help, check with your application support. From my 7 years of Windows drudgery and experience, 75% or more of "Windows" problems come from third party apps or PEBKACs.
If you're unwilling to do the build or the application support people can't help you, contact Microsoft. They're very expensive, but they are very good at what they do, despite what the Slashdot crowd would have you believe.
Serious yes. People in Korea have been known to die sitting at PC's in net cafe's playing Counterstrike. That's serious. You want to tell me Super Mario Bros is serious multiplayer?
I'm quite happy to be called an idito, if I could be so kind as to return the favour, and some spelling tips, you idiot AC fool.
But... GTA:San Andreas isn't even innovating graphics! The only single innovation (granted it's early days yet) we can see is... a bicycle. Vice City had more innovation than that.
But the most innovative of all the GTA games to date? GTA3, which took the game into a the 3D medium. Sure, the game has been around for years before that, but 3D bought the game to the masses. In fact, until Vice City, every single GTA game has been a noticeable improvement in graphics, level design, gameplay. Vice City was really just a mission pack for GTA3. That's all the games industry is doing now - rehashing old engines with little differentiation and adding more missions and selling it as an entirely new game.
Why do they do this when they never did this before? Because consoles are so prevalent now. When developing for PC, with the time you have to develop a new set of missions for a game, the hardware has advanced so much that you can do noticeable and amazing new graphics. Most PC hardware stays beneath it's full capability for at least a year or so after it's bought, too, so anyone can enjoy the improvements. But with a console, by the time you've developed your mission packs and you're ready for a new game... the hardware is the same and your old optimised engine doesn't have any room to grow. So you release the same game with the same (dated)graphics quality and new missions and a different name on the box. Step 3, profit.
Exactly, and that kind of convergance is becoming pretty inevitable :)
I use a 3G Motorola A920. Great phone. Sucky company (Hutchinson/3)
I've hacked mine a bit (replaced some of the UIQ components with third party ones) to allow me to install software (3 lock thier phones down to ensure that you can't install fun software on your phone, bollocks to that I say).
There are some stability issues (opening a 2MB e-book in html on the opera browser will cause it to lose connection with 3's network sometimes). A quick reboot fixes those of course. What price we must pay for our toys.
Also, battery life becomes more of an issue because you're dealing with a 266MHz CPU in your pocket, not just a flimsy phone-call appliance.
What's the good?
- Internet access on my phone
- Games games games
- MP3 playback
- Camera and video recording/playback
- Reading e-books wherever I go
- Phone takes 128MB SDcards for storing more MP3's
- Using MP3's as a ringtone
- Awesome address book/calendaring
- Email from your phone
- All the other neat PDA stuff
I love PDA functionality. I would own a PDA, but I would never take it with me anywhere, always leave it at home because I don't need it (like any other gadget). I have to carry my phone for work purposes, and it's useful to have with me. It also happens to do all these other amazing things. And all I need when I go out is my phone, my wallet, and my keys, and I'm set with all those capabilities listed above. It's much better than carrying phone, keys, wallet, pda, mp3 player, camera, video camera... forget that. You'd buy the camera and leave it at home and never get to take that nice picture when you get the chance. Likewise you never know when you'll get bored and just pop open one of your ebooks and have a read, or browse over to bash.org and see what people are being quoted for saying.
1) Yes, the game's poor traffic/vision/camera depth is caused by the poor capabilities of the console. It has everything to do with the limits of the consoles.
2) Scrolling is implemented because consoles don't have keyboards that allow you to quick-select particular weapons. GTA is an excellent example of converting the "right way" because the PC version is invariably better in all aspects than the console version of the game, and usually contains added functionality not available on a console. Maybe the keys will be more customisable on PC this time around.
3) Serious multiplayer hasn't been viable on consoles until very recently with X-Box live and so on. Even so, there's more work involved with online play than single play for games like this, so again we find that because the game is being developed for console, it isn't "all that it could be".
I'm personally apalled at the graphics. This is the third iteration of the GTA3 engine. Because of the console generation, game developers don't have any room to create the almost photorealistic environments you can see in a game like Far Cry. I'm not sure if this game will do well on PC when being matched up with DooM3 and Half-Life2 (both currently slated for summer).
This is NOT flamebait, just because someone is advocating a microsoft solution.
Windows Server has several tools that assist in integrating NDS and Microsoft's AD as well as services for Unix.
Furthermore Windows can give you a single sign-on to all of the Novell and Windows resources. With Samba some services can also tie in with the Windows authentication.
Linux clients can use Samba to connect to both the Windows and Novell resources if configured correctly.
Although it may not be feasible to dump all the NOS's that you are using, only Windows has the functionality to integrate them as tightly as possible. Either way you look at it, NT4.0 is grossly unsupported, and the presence of such a NOS in your environment suggests there are more problems than just the consolidation issues you mention. Windows NT4.0, released in 1996, is an 8 year old OS. I'm sure no linux advocates would suggest sticking with such an old kernel.
Having said that, I find the ignorance of the linux supporting community on slashdot (moderators no less) astounding. Most Microsoft shops aren't nearly so derisive of open source solutions. I'm sure if some of these "open source" advocates looked around they'd find a much wider world than just what can and can't be done with Linux.
Orig- "Woof!"
Translation- "Hey!"
Orig- "Woof."
Translation- "Give me steak."
Hey, at least you'll have some catching up to do when you upgrade. And upgrading is part of the fun!
Heh, actually I had a DX40 myself back in the day. I didn't even think, but of course it was AMD because intel didn't do 40MHz CPU's then. Mind you AMD didn't have the reputation for rock solid stability that they do now. The reliability of AMD CPU's today is definately a major helper for them, especially considering that if you buy intel and you want stability you have to pay the premium for an intel chipset. I'll stick to my NForce anyday.
Let's assume that you don't 100% require mobility out of your system (which currently is the only reason people buy laptops, aside from PHB's that believe a higher price tag means a better system).
Desktops are more powerful than laptops. Aside from some lan gamers who again desire portability over power, this makes desktops the computer to use. Go look at a big LAN party. There will be more people bringing desktops than laptops. Gamers, therefore, are definately people who'll stick with the desktop (or erode away to the console). Gamers shouldn't be confused with hobbyists, either. Hobbyists are the ones who cool CPU's with fluid nitrogen gas and move thier systems only on pain of death. Gamers are a much larger proportion of the marketplace.
Desktops are cheaper than laptops. They will be for a long time to come, too. Laptops carry additional costs over PC's, namely they contain all the components a PC does, but they're smaller and miniturisation costs extra. Laptops also contain components that desktops don't need, like PCMCIA cards and batteries and LCD monitors.
I find it difficult to believe that any time in the near future people will decide to pay more money for less powerful computers.
With wireless internet everywhere, there are more and more reasons most businesses, (you know, all the people who buy computers that aren't gamers or mac users), aren't touching wireless technologies. The security risks are insane, and the costs of securing the networks to mitigate those risks are even more insane. Companies will not dump 100MBit CAT5 networks for 54MBit wireless networks (at least none of the companies I've had contact with, and that's quite a few).
There's an alternative. An operating system that will run quite nicely on an old 14" monitor, and it will detect it without fail.
You don't need to browse the net to find and compile drivers for it. You don't need to understand monitor refresh timings or resolution settings to make it just work. You don't even need to do any microconfiguration if you don't want to.
It's called "Microsoft Windows".
And yes it will run on a 600MHz CPU (maybe not well, but it will run).
There's the problem right there.
You started on consoles. Consoles do 3D very poorly because the interface on consoles isn't designed for 3D gaming at all. There are very few conventions in terms of camera angle and player orientation and movement, although there are some emerging. The controllers on each console platform are also different, which makes conventions even harder. The addition of analog sticks is a clumsy way to try and add the same ease of use that PC gamers are accustomed to.
PC games, where 3D gaming originated (well perhaps a few distinctive titles on Amiga and the AppleIIC, flight sims namely) are very conventional. The only games on PC that don't follow the simple mouselook/keyboard move model (WASD is your friend) nowadays are console ports, which by definition again have clumsy camera and player orientation/movement controls (see above).
I can't see why console games have been made so awkward, although there is some light at the end of the tunnel as both Sony and Microsoft are making keyboards/mice more standard on their consoles. I can only assume that because the console makers are so concerned about competing with other companies, they've discarded end-user experience for selling more controllers with analog sticks or something. There is no reason to have such bad controls on consoles, I can say for certain that prince of persia would have been a much better game if they'd followed PC control conventions instead of forcing gamers to view the game through so many absurd camera angles.
Ahh, once you know how to play, yes. You can always force a draw.
The game is so simple that there are two options:
1) You play first and your opponent is smart, draw.
2) You play second and force a draw.
Alternative outcomes:
You might start first and have a dumb opponent, in which case you win. (Unlikely, more likely your opponent will force a draw).
You might start second and be playing George W. Bush, in which case you will likely win, as George may not have gotten up to "X" in the alphabet.
Microsoft has something called SUS for small scale environments (systems update services I think) that you can install on a Windows server.
For larger environments you can use Microsoft Operations Manager (yes, MOM) which is more functional and more powerful and more expensive.
For non-microsoft loving people you can use a third party tool called Shavlik.
For pirates at home you can download software called "AutoPatcher XP" which has monthly updates and contains all the patches for that month as well as a few decent third party tweaks. The website also has links to torrents and hashes for *mule.
Also if you're using Windows you should always be running current A/V software (even if you think you're safe). AVG from Grisoft is free and has regular updates to signatures.
Curling, billiards, skeet shooting..
I've seen some of these players go at it. I've played a few rounds of CS in my time, I'm not a bad gamer, better than most of my friends, but I'm certainly not a pro.
So I would say that I am in AWE of these players, because they are so much better at something I enjoy than I am. They deserve some respect for this.
Skeet shooting is an olympic sport. It's serious, standing still and shooting clay pigeons is one of the mainstays of the contemporary olympiad. Is it a sport? Yes. Does it require athleticism? Not really. Standing up and pointing a gun is not particularly athletic, but it does require tremendous amounts of skill. Only the best in the world, the absolute elite amongst humanity can win a gold medal. Would you then say that these people, much like video game players, don't deserve to compete in a recognised competition?
Counter Strike is without a doubt the biggest and most popular online shooter. Because it's so large and well established, it's the obvious choice. Most gamers have at least a passing familiarity with it, much in the same way that most people have a passing familiarity with the common TV sports.
People know generally that a baseball pitcher throws a ball at the batter, who hits it, and then the batting team gets to run around while the fielding team gets the ball. (I even know this and I'm aussie). Likewise, most gamers know that in CS there are two teams, who play against each other to score goals (plant/defuse bombs, rescue hostages, etc). Pick a slightly less mainstreamed game, like say, Natural Selection, and you'll get a big "huh? what's going on?" from a large proportion of gamers.
Despite being a chronic AMD fanboy, I agree wholeheartedly. Every intel chipset I've dealt with has been great. One of the reasons AMD has been so lousy in terms of sales is because of the awful problems with both the AMD and the Via chipsets available. (The i820 memory handling problem excused of course)
The NForce chipset is incredibly stable compared to any of the Via's, from my personal experience. I usually buy only ASUS mainboards, but even still I haven't enjoyed the kind of stability I've had on either Intel or Nvidia chipsets compared to the via ones. And I've seen the same kinds of problems across several vendor parts when using Via gear. Via's intel chipsets are a lot better than the AMD ones, but they still have a lot of cludges. Anybody who's had to manually specify AGP timings on a Via board because Via doesn't do it right will know what I'm talking about.
nVidia doesn't make motherboards.
Did the chipset on the board fail, or some other component on the board apart from the north/south bridge chips? Because nothing, apart from those two chips is nVidia's fault.
Perhaps you were thinking of some other manufacturer besides nVidia?
Epox?
Asus?
AOpen?
Gigabyte?
MSI?
Intel?
There are dozens and dozens of manufacturers for PC motherboards. nVidia is not one of them. They just happen to make chipsets, much like SiS and Via and Intel.
It's important to understand in this industry, just like many others, that you usually get what you pay for. You don't buy a Gateway PC and then complain that it's unstable because it's got an Intel CPU in it, that isn't the problem. It's all the other cost cutting the manufacturer undertakes.
I have never seen a nVidia chipset/mainboard die, but then all the ones I spec for friends/family are either on ASUS or Gigabyte boards, both companies well known for quality. And I research each individual board prior to putting down money, to make sure I know about any common faults.