This is technically no longer true. Leopard's license agreement allows the OS to be run in a virtual machine, meaning any x86 box with high enough specs and a vm platform capable of supporting Leopard will be able to run it. Granted, that platform is not yet available, but I would be very surprised if both Parallels and VMWare were both not working on just such an application.
I think you would find it interesting were you to read more on the Delian League (aka the Athenian Empire). There are some interesting parallels between the ancient Delian League and the post-Cold War United States of America, especially regarding political power structures, foreign policy, and economics. If you can get your hands on Thucydides' History, and read through the first half, you might find that especially educational.
I have a better question: If this becomes Canadian law, does that mean that Apple's iTMS and other MP3 stores start providing their content free to Canadian individuals, but start charging the labels/artists per song?
Because it's a hell of a lot better to do it with a precision airstrike than to flatten the entire area where the sniper is suspected to be with artillery, or risk losing more men by waiting while one of your own snipers gets into position?
The video pointed out that if the new armor was agitated, it would harden. This makes me wonder if the armor wouldn't be applied to the joint areas in order to prevent the armor from prematurely hardening and thus becoming less effective, if not ineffective.
So... the backdoors would be built-in, by this legislation, right? Won't that just make it easier for the scum of the internet to take over ever-larger numbers of PCs (personal, governmental, and corporate)? If the backdoors are allowing content to be readable as it passes through, can't people other than those retained by the government utilize the backdoor (at least in theory) and use that information to create titanic botnets?
Will corporate America allow their information technology assets to be thus put at risk of compromise?
My apartment complex has its power fed in through a buried line, and I can attest to one good reason why power companies may not want to bury all (or even most) of their power lines: water.
My power has gone out three times already, this year, due to water seeping in where it shouldn't and causing a major short. Aside from the obvious risk of losing power, there's also the possibility of pedestrians and pets being electrocuted.
It occurs to me, browsing the comments already posted, that there seems to be a contradiction between "indie" and "successful" inherent in a capitalistic or semicapitalistic system. Namely, once an "indie" has a hit, it becomes a studio, and thus sheds itself of the "indie" title. Examples of this would be PopCap and the original CounterStrike team (as others have already pointed out).
This particular process does not appear to be limited to game development teams; Dreamworks used to be considered "Indy," until they had a "hit," and then they were a non-indie studio.
In short, I think the so-called "problem" is that "indie" has come to be a synonym for "new."
For what it's worth, hydrogen has been proven not to have been the cause of the Hindenburg catastrophe -- a new formula for the outer shell coating ("exterior paint," if you will) that turned out to essentially be solid rocket fuel, and lightning caused the disaster. Granted, the Hyrdogen probably didn't help matters much, but it wasn't the cause.
As for the topic at hand, I think the article author is overstating things. I doubt the gaming market will decline -- on the contrary, I expect it to prosper. As the hardware becomes more expensive, the software will become more of the focus. This should allow the smaller game development houses to get their feet in the door, because they haven't been focusing on the "shiny graphics" factor, and won't have to re-gear their business model.
I will not, however, be surprised if the PS3 is the last for Sony, or if Microsoft delays the development and launch of the 3rd Xbox for some time in order to recoup as much as possible via game (software) sales.
Allow me to preface my post with the following: I am not any of the following: game developer, computer scientist, psychologist.
That being said, in regards to First-Person Shooters, and other games of similar interactivity levels, I believe the limitations of AI to be tied more to the NPC (and player-controlled character's!) mobility options and to information theory than anything else.
In an example of the former, I give you the bipeds of Halo 2. Only two AI types will ever go prone -- the Grunt and the Jackal -- and even then, they immediately stand back up. In reality, all characters should have had the option to go prone and stay prone, so long as their physiology (and in-game psychology) allows for it. Yet due to this artificial limit on mobility options, the AI seems thin and very much false.
The latter I have a difficult time finding a good example of, so I'll refer to the problems encountered in WWII for the Allies (descibed in more length and detail, for those interested, by Neal Stephenson in his novel Cryptonomicon). Basically, it comes down to having the AI programmed such that the over-arching system can inform it selectively based on limitations set by the game designers as to what any given NPC could and could not detect and know. (As to what they could know, I mean whether an NPC would be programmed to act as if it were informed that there was [unit type X] in the area, or whether it would be a surprise to that NPC -- thus dictating how that NPC would be able to react; if known, that NPC might, for instance, open fire immediately, while it might not open fire at all if it were programmed such that the NPC did not know that there was [unit type X] in the area.)
Those are the two most common difficulties I see with AI in FPS-type games; too often will a completely new NPC (or the player's character, for that matter) jolt another NPC into immediate action. Too often, also, will an NPC be unable to react to an event or situation realistically due to improbable constraints on mobility options.
Not to sound like an Apple zealot, but the DVD playing software on a Mac has an interesting trick/feature that allows me to skip those forced ads, so long as I've watched the DVD at least once. If I quit out of the DVD player software while the movie is not at the main menu screen, that software will ask me if I want to resume where I left off or start from the beginning, the next time I start it up with that DVD in the drive. By choosing the former, and then immediately hitting "menu," I can get past the annoying ads without a problem.
My PC is currently down, so I'm not sure if this particular trick/feature works with any other platform or software, but I thought I'd mention it, since you seem to be having such frustration with this particular problem.
Will they keep track of how fast I close the pop-up window on my work PC, where I'm not allowed to use Firefox or Google's toolbar? Will they keep track of the companies I have stopped using because of their intrusive advertisements on the web?
All the testing in public schools is part of the problem. Students and teachers both are judged by the test results, with harsh penalties for both in the case of failure.
The result is that teachers are now teaching toward the tests rather than toward the knowledge. Sure, most kids will pass that test, now, but what have they really learned? How much have the really learned?
I have a BA in History; one of the particular areas I studied in the course of attaining this degree was communism in America. Although I ended up focusing on the 1920s and 1930s, I did briefly touch upon the 1940s and '50s.
Your statement that "McCarthy was actually 100% CORRECT in his inquiries" is, I'm afraid, false. Thousands were accused, but only hundreds were actually Communist Party members (of either the Soviet or the USA branch); fewer still were spies.
McCarthy's claim that the government was doing nothing about those communists was, again, false. A simple look at the anti-communist (and, prior to the establishment of a Communist Party in the US, anti-anarcho-syndicalist) of the past three decades would provide evidence of this, as would the declassified documents mentioned in the wikipedia article you linked to.
Again, McCarthy was not "100% correct." For more on this subject, I suggest you turn to your local libraries, especially any college libraries you happen to have access to.
Purely out of curiosity, did NASA have access to Microsoft products that far before release? I just did a bit of research, and Powerpoint was released December of '87, nearly a full year after the Challenger disintegrated.
Slashdot Mirror
[Citation Needed]
You're right -- I'd completely forgotten about it being only the server version. Sorry about that!
I was wrong!
You're right -- I'd completely forgotten that it was only the server version of the OS.
I was wrong; sorry about that!
This is technically no longer true. Leopard's license agreement allows the OS to be run in a virtual machine, meaning any x86 box with high enough specs and a vm platform capable of supporting Leopard will be able to run it. Granted, that platform is not yet available, but I would be very surprised if both Parallels and VMWare were both not working on just such an application.
I think you would find it interesting were you to read more on the Delian League (aka the Athenian Empire). There are some interesting parallels between the ancient Delian League and the post-Cold War United States of America, especially regarding political power structures, foreign policy, and economics. If you can get your hands on Thucydides' History, and read through the first half, you might find that especially educational.
I have a better question: If this becomes Canadian law, does that mean that Apple's iTMS and other MP3 stores start providing their content free to Canadian individuals, but start charging the labels/artists per song?
Damn -- not only is Porky Pig still alive, he's posting to Slashdot!
Because it's a hell of a lot better to do it with a precision airstrike than to flatten the entire area where the sniper is suspected to be with artillery, or risk losing more men by waiting while one of your own snipers gets into position?
~UP
Don't forget the network setup wizard and the installation of anti-virus software on a PC!
~UP
Good point -- I hadn't thought of that!
~UP
The video pointed out that if the new armor was agitated, it would harden. This makes me wonder if the armor wouldn't be applied to the joint areas in order to prevent the armor from prematurely hardening and thus becoming less effective, if not ineffective.
~UP
So... the backdoors would be built-in, by this legislation, right? Won't that just make it easier for the scum of the internet to take over ever-larger numbers of PCs (personal, governmental, and corporate)? If the backdoors are allowing content to be readable as it passes through, can't people other than those retained by the government utilize the backdoor (at least in theory) and use that information to create titanic botnets?
Will corporate America allow their information technology assets to be thus put at risk of compromise?
~UP
My apartment complex has its power fed in through a buried line, and I can attest to one good reason why power companies may not want to bury all (or even most) of their power lines: water.
My power has gone out three times already, this year, due to water seeping in where it shouldn't and causing a major short. Aside from the obvious risk of losing power, there's also the possibility of pedestrians and pets being electrocuted.
~UP
It occurs to me, browsing the comments already posted, that there seems to be a contradiction between "indie" and "successful" inherent in a capitalistic or semicapitalistic system. Namely, once an "indie" has a hit, it becomes a studio, and thus sheds itself of the "indie" title. Examples of this would be PopCap and the original CounterStrike team (as others have already pointed out).
This particular process does not appear to be limited to game development teams; Dreamworks used to be considered "Indy," until they had a "hit," and then they were a non-indie studio.
In short, I think the so-called "problem" is that "indie" has come to be a synonym for "new."
~UP
For what it's worth, hydrogen has been proven not to have been the cause of the Hindenburg catastrophe -- a new formula for the outer shell coating ("exterior paint," if you will) that turned out to essentially be solid rocket fuel, and lightning caused the disaster. Granted, the Hyrdogen probably didn't help matters much, but it wasn't the cause.
As for the topic at hand, I think the article author is overstating things. I doubt the gaming market will decline -- on the contrary, I expect it to prosper. As the hardware becomes more expensive, the software will become more of the focus. This should allow the smaller game development houses to get their feet in the door, because they haven't been focusing on the "shiny graphics" factor, and won't have to re-gear their business model.
I will not, however, be surprised if the PS3 is the last for Sony, or if Microsoft delays the development and launch of the 3rd Xbox for some time in order to recoup as much as possible via game (software) sales.
~UP
Allow me to preface my post with the following: I am not any of the following: game developer, computer scientist, psychologist.
That being said, in regards to First-Person Shooters, and other games of similar interactivity levels, I believe the limitations of AI to be tied more to the NPC (and player-controlled character's!) mobility options and to information theory than anything else.
In an example of the former, I give you the bipeds of Halo 2. Only two AI types will ever go prone -- the Grunt and the Jackal -- and even then, they immediately stand back up. In reality, all characters should have had the option to go prone and stay prone, so long as their physiology (and in-game psychology) allows for it. Yet due to this artificial limit on mobility options, the AI seems thin and very much false.
The latter I have a difficult time finding a good example of, so I'll refer to the problems encountered in WWII for the Allies (descibed in more length and detail, for those interested, by Neal Stephenson in his novel Cryptonomicon). Basically, it comes down to having the AI programmed such that the over-arching system can inform it selectively based on limitations set by the game designers as to what any given NPC could and could not detect and know. (As to what they could know, I mean whether an NPC would be programmed to act as if it were informed that there was [unit type X] in the area, or whether it would be a surprise to that NPC -- thus dictating how that NPC would be able to react; if known, that NPC might, for instance, open fire immediately, while it might not open fire at all if it were programmed such that the NPC did not know that there was [unit type X] in the area.)
Those are the two most common difficulties I see with AI in FPS-type games; too often will a completely new NPC (or the player's character, for that matter) jolt another NPC into immediate action. Too often, also, will an NPC be unable to react to an event or situation realistically due to improbable constraints on mobility options.
~UP
First off, sorry for the long delay before replying, but I wanted to make sure I had enough sleep to be coherent before I replied.
Anyhow, thanks for the tip on NVDVD! I'll have to install that on my PC, when I finally get the bugger up and running, again!
As for the 4x scanning: I'm not sure why you're limited to that; personally, I've been able to scan both ahead and back at up to 16x.
Or perhaps I'm misinterpeting what you're saying....
Sorry for the long delay before response, but I wanted to make sure I was awake enough to be coherent.
Anyhow, perhaps a used or refurbished Mac Mini is in order as your brother/sister's next birthday/holiday present!
~UP
Not to sound like an Apple zealot, but the DVD playing software on a Mac has an interesting trick/feature that allows me to skip those forced ads, so long as I've watched the DVD at least once. If I quit out of the DVD player software while the movie is not at the main menu screen, that software will ask me if I want to resume where I left off or start from the beginning, the next time I start it up with that DVD in the drive. By choosing the former, and then immediately hitting "menu," I can get past the annoying ads without a problem.
My PC is currently down, so I'm not sure if this particular trick/feature works with any other platform or software, but I thought I'd mention it, since you seem to be having such frustration with this particular problem.
Either way... good luck!
~UP
Will they keep track of how fast I close the pop-up window on my work PC, where I'm not allowed to use Firefox or Google's toolbar? Will they keep track of the companies I have stopped using because of their intrusive advertisements on the web?
~UP
I do have to wonder what would happen if you called a few of the local newspapers with your story....
~UP
All the testing in public schools is part of the problem. Students and teachers both are judged by the test results, with harsh penalties for both in the case of failure.
The result is that teachers are now teaching toward the tests rather than toward the knowledge. Sure, most kids will pass that test, now, but what have they really learned? How much have the really learned?
~UP
And no, artificially tying the product to their lackluster hardware offerings is NOT acceptable. Yes I said lackluster.
Michael Dell, is that you!?
Greetings!
I have a BA in History; one of the particular areas I studied in the course of attaining this degree was communism in America. Although I ended up focusing on the 1920s and 1930s, I did briefly touch upon the 1940s and '50s.
Your statement that "McCarthy was actually 100% CORRECT in his inquiries" is, I'm afraid, false. Thousands were accused, but only hundreds were actually Communist Party members (of either the Soviet or the USA branch); fewer still were spies.
McCarthy's claim that the government was doing nothing about those communists was, again, false. A simple look at the anti-communist (and, prior to the establishment of a Communist Party in the US, anti-anarcho-syndicalist) of the past three decades would provide evidence of this, as would the declassified documents mentioned in the wikipedia article you linked to.
Again, McCarthy was not "100% correct." For more on this subject, I suggest you turn to your local libraries, especially any college libraries you happen to have access to.
~UP
Purely out of curiosity, did NASA have access to Microsoft products that far before release? I just did a bit of research, and Powerpoint was released December of '87, nearly a full year after the Challenger disintegrated.
~UP