and there's lots more in the pipeline. We're on the edge of another jump in resolution for home media. (I hope.)
I don't know if Blu-Ray media has the bandwidth/throughput to stream 4k.... if not, we could be in for another format war again. (Or media would come on a disk, and have to be transferred to hard drive before it could be played.) Remember, both MS and Sony consoles were keen on being movie playing devices as well as gaming devices.... I doubt they will move away from that position.
What Microsoft needs to do is look at the upcoming tech and plan for it. If they make a device that's only capable of 1080p, and a year or two later Sony comes out with something that will do 4k.... it'll be ugly for Microsoft.
Interesting link, but it tells me: "Current predicted release time (Your Timezone): Wednesday, 31st December 1969 @ 19:00 GMT-5"
Wow! They must be doing portals through time in the new version!;)
Add to the news: Exchange integration is broken.
on
iPhone 4 News Roundup
·
· Score: 2, Informative
I upgraded the OS on my 3GS, and I can't get anything from the Exchange server now. It's just giving me "can't connect to server." (Interestingly, it pulls my list of Inbox folders but not my mail or calendar, and still tells me it can't connect.)
It worked fine before the OS upgrade to the phone, and nothing's changed on the Exchange environment. (I'm the Exchange admin.)
There seem to be lots of posts about this on Apple's site, but nothing I have tried has fixed this issue yet.
So if you have an iPhone and sync with an Exchange server.... WAIT to upgrade until they patch this.
First off, from what I saw both these models (OnLive and Gaikai) seem to be based on you buying the games through them.
If so, what about games I already own? I own games on physical media (like Spore) that are already on the catalog for Gaikai. I also own digital copies of games bought through Steam. Am I completely out of luck trying to use anything I already own with such a service?
What if I want to mod my game? It's incredibly common for people like WoW players to use addons for enhancing functions and features in the game. And I know there are lots of Spore mods out there.
Also, I see a lot of EA titles as listed games. Last time I bought a game as a digital download from EA (the Battlefield 2142 expansion), they would only allow me to download it for 6 months. If I needed to re-install after that time and needed the installer file, I'd have to buy it again. (Note: They may have changed this kind of policy...... I'm just speaking for what I experienced.)
I think most of us are going to be very cautious about purchasing games from small startups without some assurance that we'll still be able to play them if the company goes under. I'd think an agreement from EA and the other publishers that we would have full download rights to games purchased through one of these services ONLY if they go bankrupt/close down would be a big motivation for trying them out.
http://www.igniterealtime.org/
It's an excellent combo, and if you don't want it to connect with Yahoo and all, just don't turn the feature on for the server.
We've had it up and running for about 3 years, and it's been flawless.
The same thing happened to me with Spore, except it was the left-most character on the key. It was printed beyond the white part of the field for the CD Key, and was unreadable.
EA support was no help, and I had to try guessing it. I got it eventually, but it was an amazing pain in the ass to go through for something I just bought.
Try a DLP system. I'm a gamer, and purchased a nice 56-inch 1080p DLP TV earlier this year. It's been great. They are also cheaper than LCD or Plasma, and way easier to repair if need be. Oh, and if you go that route, the best up-scaling DVD player I have found yet is actually the Xbox 360. (Seriously, other DVD players wash out some of the colors when changing the image size.)
I've got the TV for it, but I still don't have Blu-ray. Why? Because it's too expensive. $400+ for a decent player, when DVD players are $30? Re-buying movies I already own if I want them in the better format? $30 a movie when I can buy DVDs for $10? No thanks.
If they want me to make the jump to Blu-ray, the players need to around $100 or so. And I'm still not re-buying movies I already own unless there's a trade-in credit.
No. I expect cost of things to go down. Routers, PCs, my car as I put mileage on, etc.
But Blizzard has been so anti-bot and anti-cheat, it is shocking that now people can get free LEVELS in the game by basically pimping the game to someone else. It is completely contrary to everything they have done so far. Now I can get levels in a game by selling it to someone else, and then sit back and NOT playing? They might as well just allow bots. Or rename it World of Amway, and finish making a pyramid scheme out of it.
Seriously, all this does is tick me off.
Iâ(TM)ve played WoW for a while, and Iâ(TM)ve invited friends into the game who have enjoyed it a lot.
Now people get all this free crap for doing exactly what I did before?
And now people are even getting free levels for someone else playing, and I had to work for the same thing?
As someone who has played the game for a long time, I find this more than annoying. Itâ(TM)s downright offensive. Itâ(TM)s heaping special treatment on new players, and ignoring those of us who already invited our friends to come play.
Here's what I do:
I bought a cheap ($180) treadmill from WalMart.
I put it in front of the TV, and either put in a movie I want to watch, or some game on the 360. Turn the treadmill on, and work out to your favorite movies and some good games.
It keeps you from being bored, and the time seems to just fly by.
Agreed. I have the exact same experience as SilentChris.
They TELL YOU to keep your hard drive when you send the console in for repair. You get a new console back, set up your account info, and it works.
I've had to send my 360 back once so far, and have not had any problems with content I've downloaded and paid for.
And YES, I can still play all my content while offline.
The only real add I have seen was a poster in the subway for Dark Horse Comics.
It looked like any other poster in a subway for a product. It fit into the background of the game perfectly.
Honestly, I don't see what the fuss is about. The game is fun. You don't have to pay a monthly fee, and you get online MMO play. I would assume the adds cover their bandwidth and server upkeep costs. I'd much rather see the adds than have them charge $15 a month like other MMOs.
I've been wanting to buy one of the BMW gasoline/hydrogen cars for years, and you can't.
Cars like this seem (to me) to be the real solution to the gas issue, but they aren't available to the public.
http://www.bmwworld.com/hydrogen/stragegy.htm
(For those that won't read the article, the engine runs on gas and hydrogen. There's a solar cell on the roof, and the car will convert water into hydrogen and store it for you.)
http://www.astream.com/live/steorn/camera4.html
Despite them canceling the demo yesterday, and saying they are closed today, some cameras are working .
You can't see anything interesting except for the area where they will apparently mount the device.
Oh, and apparently people who believe in Perpetual Motion machines use Apple computers.
M.U.L.E. has got to be one of the best games ever created, and the foundation for all the RTS and Sim games to come.
I've also got to give props to Archon. Another game from the same era that pretty much help found EA into the game company it is today.
Microsoft's USMT tool is actually pretty good if you are moving from one system to another. It grabs everything in My Documents, all Outlook settings and mail (including *.pst files), Favorites, and more.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?Fa milyID=4af2d2c9-f16c-4c52-a203-8daf944dd555&Displa yLang=en
It does NOT do patches, updates, or things like DivX codec.
We combine the USMT tool at work with Ghost, and it work pretty well for deployment.
You know, they are missing a key point.
A major factor in this is how women FEEL. Personally, my wife feels like crap when she has PMS, and then has cramps. She dosen't feel like dressing up, spending a while on makeup, or anything else she feels like doing the rest of the month.
If someone feels like crap (let's say: sick with a bad cold) they are not likely to dress up and look nice..... same for men or women.
The study seems to skip this rather obvious point.
Slashdot Mirror
The 1st of the new line of 4k TVs goes on sale this month:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20116433-1/toshibas-$12000-55-inch-4k-3d-tv-dazzling/
and there's lots more in the pipeline. We're on the edge of another jump in resolution for home media. (I hope.)
I don't know if Blu-Ray media has the bandwidth/throughput to stream 4k.... if not, we could be in for another format war again. (Or media would come on a disk, and have to be transferred to hard drive before it could be played.) Remember, both MS and Sony consoles were keen on being movie playing devices as well as gaming devices.... I doubt they will move away from that position.
What Microsoft needs to do is look at the upcoming tech and plan for it. If they make a device that's only capable of 1080p, and a year or two later Sony comes out with something that will do 4k.... it'll be ugly for Microsoft.
*They....
1st word should be "They..."
My typing skill aren't up to speed this morning. .....need more caffeine.....
The built the game for speed and competition only.
Multiplayer isn't fun. It's just a competition for execution of build orders, and speed in switching from one pre-determined build to another.
I liked SC1 a lot..... but after I finished the campaign in SC2, I tried a couple of games.... and never went back to it.
Interesting link, but it tells me: "Current predicted release time (Your Timezone): Wednesday, 31st December 1969 @ 19:00 GMT-5"
Wow! They must be doing portals through time in the new version! ;)
I upgraded the OS on my 3GS, and I can't get anything from the Exchange server now. It's just giving me "can't connect to server." (Interestingly, it pulls my list of Inbox folders but not my mail or calendar, and still tells me it can't connect.)
It worked fine before the OS upgrade to the phone, and nothing's changed on the Exchange environment. (I'm the Exchange admin.)
There seem to be lots of posts about this on Apple's site, but nothing I have tried has fixed this issue yet.
So if you have an iPhone and sync with an Exchange server.... WAIT to upgrade until they patch this.
Ok, I know it's not a series, but it's awesome.
And I'll second the call for a new Mechwarrior. The closest thing we've had recently was Chromehounds on the 360.
First off, from what I saw both these models (OnLive and Gaikai) seem to be based on you buying the games through them.
If so, what about games I already own? I own games on physical media (like Spore) that are already on the catalog for Gaikai. I also own digital copies of games bought through Steam. Am I completely out of luck trying to use anything I already own with such a service?
What if I want to mod my game? It's incredibly common for people like WoW players to use addons for enhancing functions and features in the game. And I know there are lots of Spore mods out there.
Also, I see a lot of EA titles as listed games. Last time I bought a game as a digital download from EA (the Battlefield 2142 expansion), they would only allow me to download it for 6 months. If I needed to re-install after that time and needed the installer file, I'd have to buy it again. (Note: They may have changed this kind of policy...... I'm just speaking for what I experienced.)
I think most of us are going to be very cautious about purchasing games from small startups without some assurance that we'll still be able to play them if the company goes under. I'd think an agreement from EA and the other publishers that we would have full download rights to games purchased through one of these services ONLY if they go bankrupt/close down would be a big motivation for trying them out.
http://www.igniterealtime.org/ It's an excellent combo, and if you don't want it to connect with Yahoo and all, just don't turn the feature on for the server. We've had it up and running for about 3 years, and it's been flawless.
Seconded. This is by far one of the best multiplayer old school games ever. My friends and I used to play this for hours upon hours. Awesome game.
The same thing happened to me with Spore, except it was the left-most character on the key. It was printed beyond the white part of the field for the CD Key, and was unreadable. EA support was no help, and I had to try guessing it. I got it eventually, but it was an amazing pain in the ass to go through for something I just bought.
This is related, and worth reading. It's a post on the Stardock forums about why they don't use copy protection on their games. http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/post.aspx?postid=303512
Try a DLP system. I'm a gamer, and purchased a nice 56-inch 1080p DLP TV earlier this year. It's been great. They are also cheaper than LCD or Plasma, and way easier to repair if need be. Oh, and if you go that route, the best up-scaling DVD player I have found yet is actually the Xbox 360. (Seriously, other DVD players wash out some of the colors when changing the image size.)
I've got the TV for it, but I still don't have Blu-ray. Why? Because it's too expensive. $400+ for a decent player, when DVD players are $30? Re-buying movies I already own if I want them in the better format? $30 a movie when I can buy DVDs for $10? No thanks. If they want me to make the jump to Blu-ray, the players need to around $100 or so. And I'm still not re-buying movies I already own unless there's a trade-in credit.
No. I expect cost of things to go down. Routers, PCs, my car as I put mileage on, etc. But Blizzard has been so anti-bot and anti-cheat, it is shocking that now people can get free LEVELS in the game by basically pimping the game to someone else. It is completely contrary to everything they have done so far. Now I can get levels in a game by selling it to someone else, and then sit back and NOT playing? They might as well just allow bots. Or rename it World of Amway, and finish making a pyramid scheme out of it.
Seriously, all this does is tick me off. Iâ(TM)ve played WoW for a while, and Iâ(TM)ve invited friends into the game who have enjoyed it a lot. Now people get all this free crap for doing exactly what I did before? And now people are even getting free levels for someone else playing, and I had to work for the same thing? As someone who has played the game for a long time, I find this more than annoying. Itâ(TM)s downright offensive. Itâ(TM)s heaping special treatment on new players, and ignoring those of us who already invited our friends to come play.
Here's what I do: I bought a cheap ($180) treadmill from WalMart. I put it in front of the TV, and either put in a movie I want to watch, or some game on the 360. Turn the treadmill on, and work out to your favorite movies and some good games. It keeps you from being bored, and the time seems to just fly by.
As a console owner, I have to concur with some of the earlier posts. Go for something like a 360, and get Rock Band (a lot of fun). Or go for M.A.M.E.
Agreed. I have the exact same experience as SilentChris. They TELL YOU to keep your hard drive when you send the console in for repair. You get a new console back, set up your account info, and it works. I've had to send my 360 back once so far, and have not had any problems with content I've downloaded and paid for. And YES, I can still play all my content while offline.
The only real add I have seen was a poster in the subway for Dark Horse Comics. It looked like any other poster in a subway for a product. It fit into the background of the game perfectly. Honestly, I don't see what the fuss is about. The game is fun. You don't have to pay a monthly fee, and you get online MMO play. I would assume the adds cover their bandwidth and server upkeep costs. I'd much rather see the adds than have them charge $15 a month like other MMOs.
I've been wanting to buy one of the BMW gasoline/hydrogen cars for years, and you can't. Cars like this seem (to me) to be the real solution to the gas issue, but they aren't available to the public. http://www.bmwworld.com/hydrogen/stragegy.htm (For those that won't read the article, the engine runs on gas and hydrogen. There's a solar cell on the roof, and the car will convert water into hydrogen and store it for you.)
http://www.astream.com/live/steorn/camera4.html Despite them canceling the demo yesterday, and saying they are closed today, some cameras are working . You can't see anything interesting except for the area where they will apparently mount the device. Oh, and apparently people who believe in Perpetual Motion machines use Apple computers.
M.U.L.E. has got to be one of the best games ever created, and the foundation for all the RTS and Sim games to come. I've also got to give props to Archon. Another game from the same era that pretty much help found EA into the game company it is today.
Microsoft's USMT tool is actually pretty good if you are moving from one system to another. It grabs everything in My Documents, all Outlook settings and mail (including *.pst files), Favorites, and more. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?Fa milyID=4af2d2c9-f16c-4c52-a203-8daf944dd555&Displa yLang=en
It does NOT do patches, updates, or things like DivX codec.
We combine the USMT tool at work with Ghost, and it work pretty well for deployment.
Anyone else remember http://www.oqo.com/ ? Exact same business strategy from what I remember.
You know, they are missing a key point. A major factor in this is how women FEEL. Personally, my wife feels like crap when she has PMS, and then has cramps. She dosen't feel like dressing up, spending a while on makeup, or anything else she feels like doing the rest of the month. If someone feels like crap (let's say: sick with a bad cold) they are not likely to dress up and look nice..... same for men or women. The study seems to skip this rather obvious point.