I work at a Satellite TV company, and I heard stories that back in "the day", about 4 or 5 years ago Q&A and development would test with production data, as there apparently was no way at the time to differentiate between test and prod accounts. So, one of the things everyone did was put the words (in big bold capital letters) "DO NOT INSTALL" on address line 2, and the full address was real, but with a fake apartment number like "#545329823098234" or something.
Apparently, one of the big reasons they ended up setting up a test system was due to money loss from installers trying to find apartment #545329823098234 on "DO NOT INSTALL" lane.:P
I bought one the day it came out, and was delighted by it's thinness, it's sexiness...
But within a day, just sitting loose in my pocket with nothing else in it, it was scratched up more than my 4th gen 40 had gotten in over a year. So, I went to return it to the Apple store, and they charged me a 10% restocking fee.:(
I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who is pissed that tvtome was absorbed into the wholly wretched tv.com. While the tvtome interface was slow and not all that great, it is like a rocket ship compared to tv.com, in which it can take about 10 link clicks to get more information about a particular episode in a particular series.
This tv wiki brings back much of what we lost when the unfortunate happened.
Obviously, this is my opinion, but FFX trumped FFVII in every way, shape and form. The story was better, the characters were better, the visuals were better (course, PS2 vs PS1), the game was much longer (FFX took me 42 hours first time through, FFVII was closer to 20), and just a heck of a lot more fun. I'm actually surprised FFX wasn't higher.
SMW2 over SMW is a bit ridiculous, though both games are definately excellent. I agree that MK1 should probly be on the list solely for the notion of the motion capture fighting (a lot of this list is not just good games, but "revolutionary", and MK1 was definately revolutionary.
It's hard to be both. Whenever I DM (which, granted, hasn't been for a long time), I use stats and such more as a guide, rather than strict rules, which makes the game a lot more fun for the people in the game (and for me.. no rules lawyering).
Basically, I have a base story in mind, a guideline, and I wing-it. I keep the game challenging, but not impossible. I keep it fun. Someone says "I want to bash down this door".. I look at his strength (16), and say.. "ok.. roll a D20", and just make up a DC relative to how strong the door probly is, and that 16 strength. I do the same thing with people trying To Hit, no exact numbers (and I never tell the guys the numbers), I modify things on the fly if the opponents are too hard and everyone's about to die.. I make up exp points and treasure based on how thrashed the party got.. it really makes for a fun time for everyone, and keeps the game moving.
I've interviewed twice at Microsoft up at the Redmond campus over the years, and it's a *bitch* to get in. Stress questions, early morning technical interviews, 8 hours nonstop (including lunch), you're psychologically and physically exhausted by the end of them.
I have a lot of respect for Microsoft, and it's no wonder they are the dominant development force. Their hiring practices are *so* strict. A buddy of mine just interviewed at a satellite office here in Denver, and had the same 8+ hour marathon.
And if you want to keep score... I flubbed both MS interviews I went on (though I was 20 and 22 at the times, so that makes sense).. my buddy made it in.
From the article:
The figures include free games that are accessed via portals such as Yahoo.
The so-called casual gaming market, made up of games such as poker, pool, bridge, bingo and puzzles, is a booming one, especially among women.
Yeah, pretty much every woman I know (including my Mom) that has a computer has played solitaire or bejeweled or something when they were bored.
The real gaming crowd that people think of as "gamers".. people who buy games at the store and play them (console or PC), I'm sure the percentage is probly more like 2-5%. Of course, that's just an estimate.
As much as I loved God of War (it is a truly great game), it's not very original. It followed in very much the same path as Devil May Cry, Onimusha, and Prince of Persia in front of it. Now, granted, it's better than all of those, but the base concepts and visual style are basically the same.
Oddly enough, Katamari Damacy was a truly original game, but I *didn't* enjoy it for some reason.
Gives you an even more idea how "factual" the article is.
Challenger estimates that 4.8 million of those opening-day attendees are employed at least 35 hours per week. With those full-timers earning an average of $130.60 per day, the two-day cost in terms of lost wages and productivity would be a staggering $626,880,000, he said.
Math is not this guy's strong suit...
while 4800000 x 130.60 is indeed 626880000... for his silly prediction, that's only one day. His real prediction number from his "figures" as actually double that, as it's two days.. so he really means that he thinks it'll cost companies $1.2B. Course, he probably saw that, said "meep! That's too high! People will actually check my math if I tell them a number that high!".
Of course, he probably assumes that the 4.8 million people will skip *both* Thursday and Friday to watch the two hour movie.
My Faith in Speculation is Still Waining...
on
Star Wars Sickout
·
· Score: 5, Informative
From the article:
The findings are based on the assumption that attendance during the first two days will match that of the last "Star Wars" blockbuster, "Episode II -- Attack of the Clones," which attracted 9.4 million people in in 2002.
Challenger estimates that 4.8 million of those opening-day attendees are employed at least 35 hours per week. With those full-timers earning an average of $130.60 per day, the two-day cost in terms of lost wages and productivity would be a staggering $626,880,000, he said.
So, even estimating that their 4.8 million figure is right, they assume that all of these 4.8 million people will skip the entire day to watch a 2 hour movie? Not only do those attendance figures for episode 2 include midnight showings the previous night (I went the the 12:01 and was into work bright and early the next morning), but they don't even realize that probably *half* the showtimes are *after* work hours. I know a lot of people that are catching the Thursday or Friday evening of the show.
Granted, there is a hit to production, but it's nowhere *near* the figure they speculate in the article.
I've never played an MMOG, but this convenience is a great idea for Pizza Hut. Every person I know who plays MMOGs has a big stack of pizza boxes somewhere in their apartment... well, if they don't live with their parents.
... that in the previous week or two before Loki shut down, the donations has pretty much dried up (according to their counter)? That seems highly suspicious. It seems to me that the guy just held out until he wasn't getting any more money, then sold out.
Until we hear otherwise, that's what I'll believe.
I've been buying and selling on ebay for almost 7 years, and this is a sigh of relief. Ebay has, in the past, had the worst customer support this side of Paypal and Comcast. Basically, if you had a problem, you're screwed. It's nice to see them going in a positive support direction (hopefully it's not just smoke and mirrors).
I've been a Star Trek fan my entire life. I'm 26 now, and I got into it with TNG when it first aired (and I was mega young). I loved TNG, and DS9 and Voyager were good and had their moments.
I absolutely *love* Enterprise, even more than NextGen. I've watched every episode as they aired, and while there are a few stinkers (as with any show, but not many), I've really enjoyed it. I'm a big fan of series continuity, so season 3 being basically one big long 20 hour movie was one of my most enjoyable television watching experiences.
It sucks that Enterprise is getting cancelled. I really love that little gem of a show.
I've always had a computer in my house (at least one) since I was born (parents bought their first home comp in 1978, an Apple ][, I was born in 1979). I always pretty much delegated myself to playing games, but when I was 5 or 6, something I didn't appreciate at the time but I really do now, is that my Dad spent his entire Christmas vacation one year, 5 or 6 hours a day, and taught me the basics of BASIC. I spent the next few years writing my own little games, and it sparked the creative knowledge in the analytical part of my brain. At 25, I'm still a programmer, and will always be a programmer. It's my hobby and my love, and it's a great field to be in.
If that ever happens, I'd watch Jeopardy a heck of a lot more often. As good as Alex is, Ken has that fantastic voice and just *radiates* charisma, moreso than Alex ever did.
From what I understand, they film a week's worth of episodes (or more, if it's on on-site thing, like the College Championship) on a Saturday, then if you make it through to the next week, they fly you back the next Staurday to start the new week.
However, there is a few month delay as they do post-production and editing for everything.
(At least, I'm pretty sure this is how it (and most gameshows) work.)
A couple people on the threads have asked this question, and I'm pretty sure the answer is a resounding "no".
First off, how many software engineers do we all know. Most good ones will go to extreme measures, breaking deadlines and spec sometimes, to do the *right* thing, not just to finish the project.
Most (good) programmers want to be badasses. To impress everyone around them with their programming prowess and moxie. Ken Jennings, I believe, is probably a pretty good programmer, one of the reasons being that he is obviously a master of research, and he learns until he *knows* it, not just learning to solve a particular problem and forgetting about it.
I mean, the guy's not stupid. How many of us would sell our souls for a job that paid $150,000 a week to work one (long) day with paid travel and lodging, and the other 6 days off? Even if the job was really difficult, and required constant brainpower, most of us would give up a lot for something like that, even if it was a short term contract.
Nah, I think he would have gone on until he was defeated. I've seen most every episode he was in, and even up to the last one, he attacked the board with the same energy that he always did. The only mistake I think he made was betting bit on that 2nd daily double, when he was pretty far ahead, but he wanted to put the game away. When he didn't, it gave Nancy an opportunity.
Even going into the final, with the two large daily doubles he missed, he still had the lead. The only way to lose was if he missed the question, and she got it right (or they both missed it and she bet weird). And it happened. That situation had come up at least 4 times in the past, and the odds finally caught up with him.
Kudos Ken, you're as good as mascot as Jeopardy could have hoped for. I mean, watch a few episodes, and you can't help but like the guy.
My only comment to this is since they've put advertisements before movies in theaters over the last few years, I've never seen the price of a ticket or concession go down...
The thing that occured to me most in relation to the topic is when movie theaters started putting commercials before movies.. I griped, I complained, I lamented.. but I still go to movies.
Chances are, if/when online games get a stream of marketing, I'll gripe, I'll complain, I'll lament.. but I'll still play the games.
This is probably why a company that markets this could be very successful.
Slashdot Mirror
I work at a Satellite TV company, and I heard stories that back in "the day", about 4 or 5 years ago Q&A and development would test with production data, as there apparently was no way at the time to differentiate between test and prod accounts. So, one of the things everyone did was put the words (in big bold capital letters) "DO NOT INSTALL" on address line 2, and the full address was real, but with a fake apartment number like "#545329823098234" or something.
:P
Apparently, one of the big reasons they ended up setting up a test system was due to money loss from installers trying to find apartment #545329823098234 on "DO NOT INSTALL" lane.
I bought one the day it came out, and was delighted by it's thinness, it's sexiness... But within a day, just sitting loose in my pocket with nothing else in it, it was scratched up more than my 4th gen 40 had gotten in over a year. So, I went to return it to the Apple store, and they charged me a 10% restocking fee. :(
I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who is pissed that tvtome was absorbed into the wholly wretched tv.com. While the tvtome interface was slow and not all that great, it is like a rocket ship compared to tv.com, in which it can take about 10 link clicks to get more information about a particular episode in a particular series.
This tv wiki brings back much of what we lost when the unfortunate happened.
I, for one, welcome are new automotive overlords.
Obviously, this is my opinion, but FFX trumped FFVII in every way, shape and form. The story was better, the characters were better, the visuals were better (course, PS2 vs PS1), the game was much longer (FFX took me 42 hours first time through, FFVII was closer to 20), and just a heck of a lot more fun. I'm actually surprised FFX wasn't higher.
SMW2 over SMW is a bit ridiculous, though both games are definately excellent. I agree that MK1 should probly be on the list solely for the notion of the motion capture fighting (a lot of this list is not just good games, but "revolutionary", and MK1 was definately revolutionary.
It's hard to be both. Whenever I DM (which, granted, hasn't been for a long time), I use stats and such more as a guide, rather than strict rules, which makes the game a lot more fun for the people in the game (and for me.. no rules lawyering).
Basically, I have a base story in mind, a guideline, and I wing-it. I keep the game challenging, but not impossible. I keep it fun. Someone says "I want to bash down this door".. I look at his strength (16), and say.. "ok.. roll a D20", and just make up a DC relative to how strong the door probly is, and that 16 strength. I do the same thing with people trying To Hit, no exact numbers (and I never tell the guys the numbers), I modify things on the fly if the opponents are too hard and everyone's about to die.. I make up exp points and treasure based on how thrashed the party got.. it really makes for a fun time for everyone, and keeps the game moving.
Aren't games supposed to be fun?
I've interviewed twice at Microsoft up at the Redmond campus over the years, and it's a *bitch* to get in. Stress questions, early morning technical interviews, 8 hours nonstop (including lunch), you're psychologically and physically exhausted by the end of them.
I have a lot of respect for Microsoft, and it's no wonder they are the dominant development force. Their hiring practices are *so* strict. A buddy of mine just interviewed at a satellite office here in Denver, and had the same 8+ hour marathon.
And if you want to keep score... I flubbed both MS interviews I went on (though I was 20 and 22 at the times, so that makes sense).. my buddy made it in.
The so-called casual gaming market, made up of games such as poker, pool, bridge, bingo and puzzles, is a booming one, especially among women.
Yeah, pretty much every woman I know (including my Mom) that has a computer has played solitaire or bejeweled or something when they were bored.
The real gaming crowd that people think of as "gamers".. people who buy games at the store and play them (console or PC), I'm sure the percentage is probly more like 2-5%. Of course, that's just an estimate.
As much as I loved God of War (it is a truly great game), it's not very original. It followed in very much the same path as Devil May Cry, Onimusha, and Prince of Persia in front of it. Now, granted, it's better than all of those, but the base concepts and visual style are basically the same.
Oddly enough, Katamari Damacy was a truly original game, but I *didn't* enjoy it for some reason.
Challenger estimates that 4.8 million of those opening-day attendees are employed at least 35 hours per week. With those full-timers earning an average of $130.60 per day, the two-day cost in terms of lost wages and productivity would be a staggering $626,880,000, he said.
Math is not this guy's strong suit...
while 4800000 x 130.60 is indeed 626880000... for his silly prediction, that's only one day. His real prediction number from his "figures" as actually double that, as it's two days.. so he really means that he thinks it'll cost companies $1.2B. Course, he probably saw that, said "meep! That's too high! People will actually check my math if I tell them a number that high!".
Of course, he probably assumes that the 4.8 million people will skip *both* Thursday and Friday to watch the two hour movie.
The findings are based on the assumption that attendance during the first two days will match that of the last "Star Wars" blockbuster, "Episode II -- Attack of the Clones," which attracted 9.4 million people in in 2002.
Challenger estimates that 4.8 million of those opening-day attendees are employed at least 35 hours per week. With those full-timers earning an average of $130.60 per day, the two-day cost in terms of lost wages and productivity would be a staggering $626,880,000, he said.
So, even estimating that their 4.8 million figure is right, they assume that all of these 4.8 million people will skip the entire day to watch a 2 hour movie? Not only do those attendance figures for episode 2 include midnight showings the previous night (I went the the 12:01 and was into work bright and early the next morning), but they don't even realize that probably *half* the showtimes are *after* work hours. I know a lot of people that are catching the Thursday or Friday evening of the show. Granted, there is a hit to production, but it's nowhere *near* the figure they speculate in the article.
You know.. I think I'm totally on crack.. there were only four kids, weren't there? I dunno where my memory got six from.
Does my memory decieve me, or weren't there six children (three boys, three girls) in LW&W?
Any idea which two they cut? All six, I remember, had pretty important roles.
..only beat IBM to this decision by about 25 years.
... From everyone's favorite website.
I've never played an MMOG, but this convenience is a great idea for Pizza Hut. Every person I know who plays MMOGs has a big stack of pizza boxes somewhere in their apartment... well, if they don't live with their parents.
... that in the previous week or two before Loki shut down, the donations has pretty much dried up (according to their counter)? That seems highly suspicious. It seems to me that the guy just held out until he wasn't getting any more money, then sold out.
Until we hear otherwise, that's what I'll believe.
I've been buying and selling on ebay for almost 7 years, and this is a sigh of relief. Ebay has, in the past, had the worst customer support this side of Paypal and Comcast. Basically, if you had a problem, you're screwed. It's nice to see them going in a positive support direction (hopefully it's not just smoke and mirrors).
I've been a Star Trek fan my entire life. I'm 26 now, and I got into it with TNG when it first aired (and I was mega young). I loved TNG, and DS9 and Voyager were good and had their moments.
I absolutely *love* Enterprise, even more than NextGen. I've watched every episode as they aired, and while there are a few stinkers (as with any show, but not many), I've really enjoyed it. I'm a big fan of series continuity, so season 3 being basically one big long 20 hour movie was one of my most enjoyable television watching experiences.
It sucks that Enterprise is getting cancelled. I really love that little gem of a show.
I've always had a computer in my house (at least one) since I was born (parents bought their first home comp in 1978, an Apple ][, I was born in 1979). I always pretty much delegated myself to playing games, but when I was 5 or 6, something I didn't appreciate at the time but I really do now, is that my Dad spent his entire Christmas vacation one year, 5 or 6 hours a day, and taught me the basics of BASIC. I spent the next few years writing my own little games, and it sparked the creative knowledge in the analytical part of my brain. At 25, I'm still a programmer, and will always be a programmer. It's my hobby and my love, and it's a great field to be in.
If that ever happens, I'd watch Jeopardy a heck of a lot more often. As good as Alex is, Ken has that fantastic voice and just *radiates* charisma, moreso than Alex ever did.
From what I understand, they film a week's worth of episodes (or more, if it's on on-site thing, like the College Championship) on a Saturday, then if you make it through to the next week, they fly you back the next Staurday to start the new week.
However, there is a few month delay as they do post-production and editing for everything.
(At least, I'm pretty sure this is how it (and most gameshows) work.)
A couple people on the threads have asked this question, and I'm pretty sure the answer is a resounding "no".
First off, how many software engineers do we all know. Most good ones will go to extreme measures, breaking deadlines and spec sometimes, to do the *right* thing, not just to finish the project.
Most (good) programmers want to be badasses. To impress everyone around them with their programming prowess and moxie. Ken Jennings, I believe, is probably a pretty good programmer, one of the reasons being that he is obviously a master of research, and he learns until he *knows* it, not just learning to solve a particular problem and forgetting about it.
I mean, the guy's not stupid. How many of us would sell our souls for a job that paid $150,000 a week to work one (long) day with paid travel and lodging, and the other 6 days off? Even if the job was really difficult, and required constant brainpower, most of us would give up a lot for something like that, even if it was a short term contract.
Nah, I think he would have gone on until he was defeated. I've seen most every episode he was in, and even up to the last one, he attacked the board with the same energy that he always did. The only mistake I think he made was betting bit on that 2nd daily double, when he was pretty far ahead, but he wanted to put the game away. When he didn't, it gave Nancy an opportunity.
Even going into the final, with the two large daily doubles he missed, he still had the lead. The only way to lose was if he missed the question, and she got it right (or they both missed it and she bet weird). And it happened. That situation had come up at least 4 times in the past, and the odds finally caught up with him.
Kudos Ken, you're as good as mascot as Jeopardy could have hoped for. I mean, watch a few episodes, and you can't help but like the guy.
My only comment to this is since they've put advertisements before movies in theaters over the last few years, I've never seen the price of a ticket or concession go down...
The thing that occured to me most in relation to the topic is when movie theaters started putting commercials before movies.. I griped, I complained, I lamented.. but I still go to movies.
Chances are, if/when online games get a stream of marketing, I'll gripe, I'll complain, I'll lament.. but I'll still play the games.
This is probably why a company that markets this could be very successful.