Actually, no. There was a call made to Washington where the US basically stated a "no position" on Korea. Russia interpreted this as a green light. Since we weren't clear that we would be opposed, they moved ahead. So if we would have taken a position, it may have been avoided. You sir, need to read some history.
If you actually read what I wrote you will be unable to draw the conclusion that I equate the war in Iraq with WWII. I used it as an example to another ignorant person regarding another slanted view. Completely unrelated to your slanted view.
And if there's anyone to thank for any military victory, it's the scientists who cracked the codes, invented radar and built the bomb.
All those bombs back in the revolutionary war. Wow, they really saved the day. Remeber all the planes we dropped them from? Wow, good thing we had them.
Your military is actively fucking up 'freedom' in any area it has gone into since WWII
South Korea? Extermination of a race? Wow, you are blind. Vietnam? Well, yeah, but that was a result of poor military posturing before the war. IF we had taken a stronger stance with Russia, we wouldn't have had to go to Vietnam anyways.
America, it's not perfect, but it's still the best.
Well, I see we agree to allow you to run amok in the conversation and I attempt to contain it to the issue.
Oh Well, I like to hear all sides, the thing is, I agree with most of what you are saying. Completely. But I also agree with the use of marketing tools and databases to track viable cantadates for military service. That was my point. It's just good business sense.
That's my point! People are using the issue of using marketing to recuit military to argue other issues. 90% of what is said in these threads is about the war in Iraq and the fleecing of our privacy. All valid points, but totally off topic.
If you are supporting the dissolution of American military force, then you are wrong. A strong military is a key factor in influence and power. As I stated in my rambling, I'm not arguing if we should or should not be doing the things we are doing. I am only saying that we are a military nation. Our current position requires us to maintain an effective military force. How we got here and if it's good or bad is inconcequential.
In response to your second point about flying in to buildings and whatnot. Again, you are not talking about the issue. I'm talking about using a marketing firm to find military recruits. You are talking about justification of war. Please stay on topic.
Your next point, well, if you don't like the freedoms here, you are welcome to relocate. Should you already be relocated, please stay there.
Finally, my statement about learning in english refers to certain wars involving Japanese, German and Russian language speaking people. Any of these could be world dialect, but as you can see, They all still exist.
Oh how I wish I had the luxury of being near sighted. I understand everything you are saying about war is bad, we are wrong, shame on us
But hey man, here's the reality, you want to let the military fall apart NOW? (Oh, and besides, if you think that the Government doesnt already have a HUGE database on citizens... Look at that 9-digit number on your Social Security Card)
Listen folks, here's the deal. Many people are opposed to the war, both inside and outside of the military. This is inconcequential to this discussion. People are using this issue to present thier own personal interests. Parents are calling foul play because they don't want Johnny or Suzie getting blown up in Iraq. Other people are fearful of their privacy, so this sounds all too "big brother" to them. The reality of the entire issue is this: We are a nation founded on revolution and war. Our power in the world was won through superior military force. We are currently having difficulty in maintaining that force. Measures are being taken to resolve that issue. Period.
Don't cry to me about big brother or dead children. Look at the world around you and realize that the reason you enjoy your freedoms is because of the blood spilt by hundreds of thousands of Americans who paid the price for you. (I'll stop short of the Christ reference) If people really don't want thier children getting blown up, then don't vote for a president who will go to war so easily. If you are afraid of "big brother", don't use credit cards, save your money and pay for everything in cash. Our modern society is productive because of our ability to exploit knowledge opportunities. Now that it's being done for the defense of the country, people want to complain. If a marketing company sent you a free box of Tide Detergent in the mail you wouldn't bitch, because you're greedy like that. Well, you're being given freedom, and it's going to require some computers and research to get it done. No one forces the hand of the individual to sign the paper. So shut up about all the crap, take a deep breath and try not to choke on the sweet air of freedom.
Went to school? Thank a teacher.
Learned in English? Thank a soldier.
The way I see it the video game industry is analgous to the movie industry or music industry in general. In fact, we can group all of these under the heading "Entertainment Industry".
I will use the movie industry as an example and I believe the analogy will become fairly self evident. In the early phases of film making the director had to struggle with many technical issues as the art form was in it's infancy. Low light shots, grey balance, film processing, sound editing and duplication were enormous technical and logistical hurdles. As the technology of this artform became more complex, people involved became specialized in their particular niche of the process. The technical resources are now available to the director without the complete, in depth knowlege of each process. The director is free to focus on his particular job: making the best movie possible. (Please note, I'm not in the entertainment industry, I'm just hoping to make a point here)
A video game, without question, is a form of art and entertainment. I believe that the industry is still in a developing phase. In the beginning, the person programming the game WAS the director. Typically they concieved the game, developed, programmed and had the challenge of overcoming all technical and creative issues. (Relatively few creative issues, I might add [think: pong]).
Now the indusrty is seeing it's split of fields. People are now only responsible for texture mapping 3-d models. Other people work on physics engines. We have been seeing the specialization of technical fields within this industry. My arguement is that this specialization allows for greater creative freedom by those whose job it is to just "make great games".
Lastly, I think there have been a lot of crap games recently, but let's look at why that is. Well, why is it such a high percentage of early movies made are now considered classics? Well, they were good movies, but why? Because the people who made them were professionals and it was expensive to make a movie back then, so they took it seriously. Today, anybody with a DV Camcorder and iMovie can make a film, but how much of the stuff thats churned out is actually worth watching? It's the same with video games, the development and distribution costs of game making has dropped dramatically and the technology to produce games is now as easy as getting a developers kit and a PC.
Any discussion of the current state (or future) of the gaming industry without at least a footnote to the entertainment industries history, I think, is somewhat lacking perspective. I believe the industry is in an acceptable place, given its relatively short history.
1) Brazil has a robust wireless digital infrastructure.
2) Brazil is geographically segmented.
3) The movie theaters will play movies indepentendly of each other, not simulcasted.
4) Linux is not the answer to every question.
5) Microsoft still sucks, but on a rock solid VPN with dedicated applications, maybe it will survive.
6) The major cost of distributing a film is the film itself. When people say it cost $1500 to distribute a film, they mean to actually print a copy of the film on 35mm. Not shipping and handling (you twits).
As my girfriend would say: "Vi tomar no cu, gerdal!"
First off let me say that I've been reading/. for over 6 years now and I FINALLY got an account so I could post and get some of this karma and play the mod point game. Thanks to/. for a great site.
I recently purchased a low end JVC DV camcorder for about $280.00 at my local retailer. It's a great bang for the buck and I'm glad I bought a cheap one first because I feel like I have a better feel for what I'm going to be looking for in the next one I buy. I intentionally bought cheap, because I knew I was going to want to upgrade later, when I was more familiar with my needs.
Already, only two months later, I can tell what's important. Other people have mentioned these things and I hate to reiterate, but here we go...
#1 Lens Quality. I don't care how many TeraPixel your camera is, if the lens is shit, you cannot get a good image. Someone clarify here, but even the mars lander only uses ~ 1Mpixel pickups, but the lens is so good, it provides excellent images. Lens, lens, lens.
#2 Zoom. Digital zoom is absolutely worthless. If you want to zoom digitally, it's better to do it 'post-production'. Get a good WIDE-ANGLE to start with, because most of your shooting will be done at close distances (in the house, at the back yard picnic, birthday party) and you really want to be able to get the WHOLE picture. I have a 16x optical zoom with a 700x digital zoom and I can honestly sax I shoot 90% of my video at 1x and I wish it went to.25x
3. Firewire. I don't care if you think you will use Adobe Premier or IMovie now. The truth is, you will someday and you're going to want firewire DV output. It's addictive editing your home movies and adding titles and music. Most DV cameras will have this, some don't and some use USB. Get firewire.
4. LUX or Light. Make sure your DV camera is good with low LUX or had a built in light or a bracket for mounting a light. DV cameras slow the shutter speed when light conditions fall below the amount requires to shoot properly. End result: choppy, grainy video that you end up throwing away.
If you want options like the ability to take still pictures on to a memory card, then Megapixels become more important, but for normal video, anything more than 1 Mpixel is useless because it exceeds the capability of your television, anyways. Fight the "more-is-better" mentality when dealing with megapixels unless you plan on making prints from your still shot taken off of the camera.
Of course, things like battery life are important, too. However, I find it just as easy to pack another battery in my bag and keep it handy, if needed, but I almost never shoot for more than an hour anyways.
Look for a camcorder that focuses on doing it's job, putting pictures and sound to tape, and avoid ones ith a lot of extra bells and whistles. While the new DV camcorders that have a built in DVD-ROM have a special 'wow' factor, I think it's a lot better to get a DVD burner in your machine and go that route.
Slashdot Mirror
I am looking for someone who knows how to hack social security databases. Please post your script. ;)
Actually, no. There was a call made to Washington where the US basically stated a "no position" on Korea. Russia interpreted this as a green light. Since we weren't clear that we would be opposed, they moved ahead. So if we would have taken a position, it may have been avoided. You sir, need to read some history.
If you actually read what I wrote you will be unable to draw the conclusion that I equate the war in Iraq with WWII. I used it as an example to another ignorant person regarding another slanted view. Completely unrelated to your slanted view.
And if there's anyone to thank for any military victory, it's the scientists who cracked the codes, invented radar and built the bomb.
All those bombs back in the revolutionary war. Wow, they really saved the day. Remeber all the planes we dropped them from? Wow, good thing we had them.
Your military is actively fucking up 'freedom' in any area it has gone into since WWII
South Korea? Extermination of a race? Wow, you are blind. Vietnam? Well, yeah, but that was a result of poor military posturing before the war. IF we had taken a stronger stance with Russia, we wouldn't have had to go to Vietnam anyways.
America, it's not perfect, but it's still the best.
No one launches invasions overseas? So how did we get to Iraq, I suppose we flew all the tanks and trucks over there... huh? You sir, are a moron.
Well, I see we agree to allow you to run amok in the conversation and I attempt to contain it to the issue.
Oh Well, I like to hear all sides, the thing is, I agree with most of what you are saying. Completely. But I also agree with the use of marketing tools and databases to track viable cantadates for military service. That was my point. It's just good business sense.
That's my point! People are using the issue of using marketing to recuit military to argue other issues. 90% of what is said in these threads is about the war in Iraq and the fleecing of our privacy. All valid points, but totally off topic.
If you are supporting the dissolution of American military force, then you are wrong. A strong military is a key factor in influence and power. As I stated in my rambling, I'm not arguing if we should or should not be doing the things we are doing. I am only saying that we are a military nation. Our current position requires us to maintain an effective military force. How we got here and if it's good or bad is inconcequential.
In response to your second point about flying in to buildings and whatnot. Again, you are not talking about the issue. I'm talking about using a marketing firm to find military recruits. You are talking about justification of war. Please stay on topic.
Your next point, well, if you don't like the freedoms here, you are welcome to relocate. Should you already be relocated, please stay there.
Finally, my statement about learning in english refers to certain wars involving Japanese, German and Russian language speaking people. Any of these could be world dialect, but as you can see, They all still exist.
Oh how I wish I had the luxury of being near sighted. I understand everything you are saying about war is bad, we are wrong, shame on us
But hey man, here's the reality, you want to let the military fall apart NOW? (Oh, and besides, if you think that the Government doesnt already have a HUGE database on citizens... Look at that 9-digit number on your Social Security Card)
Listen folks, here's the deal. Many people are opposed to the war, both inside and outside of the military. This is inconcequential to this discussion. People are using this issue to present thier own personal interests. Parents are calling foul play because they don't want Johnny or Suzie getting blown up in Iraq. Other people are fearful of their privacy, so this sounds all too "big brother" to them. The reality of the entire issue is this: We are a nation founded on revolution and war. Our power in the world was won through superior military force. We are currently having difficulty in maintaining that force. Measures are being taken to resolve that issue. Period. Don't cry to me about big brother or dead children. Look at the world around you and realize that the reason you enjoy your freedoms is because of the blood spilt by hundreds of thousands of Americans who paid the price for you. (I'll stop short of the Christ reference) If people really don't want thier children getting blown up, then don't vote for a president who will go to war so easily. If you are afraid of "big brother", don't use credit cards, save your money and pay for everything in cash. Our modern society is productive because of our ability to exploit knowledge opportunities. Now that it's being done for the defense of the country, people want to complain. If a marketing company sent you a free box of Tide Detergent in the mail you wouldn't bitch, because you're greedy like that. Well, you're being given freedom, and it's going to require some computers and research to get it done. No one forces the hand of the individual to sign the paper. So shut up about all the crap, take a deep breath and try not to choke on the sweet air of freedom. Went to school? Thank a teacher. Learned in English? Thank a soldier.
The way I see it the video game industry is analgous to the movie industry or music industry in general. In fact, we can group all of these under the heading "Entertainment Industry".
I will use the movie industry as an example and I believe the analogy will become fairly self evident. In the early phases of film making the director had to struggle with many technical issues as the art form was in it's infancy. Low light shots, grey balance, film processing, sound editing and duplication were enormous technical and logistical hurdles. As the technology of this artform became more complex, people involved became specialized in their particular niche of the process. The technical resources are now available to the director without the complete, in depth knowlege of each process. The director is free to focus on his particular job: making the best movie possible. (Please note, I'm not in the entertainment industry, I'm just hoping to make a point here)
A video game, without question, is a form of art and entertainment. I believe that the industry is still in a developing phase. In the beginning, the person programming the game WAS the director. Typically they concieved the game, developed, programmed and had the challenge of overcoming all technical and creative issues. (Relatively few creative issues, I might add [think: pong]).
Now the indusrty is seeing it's split of fields. People are now only responsible for texture mapping 3-d models. Other people work on physics engines. We have been seeing the specialization of technical fields within this industry. My arguement is that this specialization allows for greater creative freedom by those whose job it is to just "make great games".
Lastly, I think there have been a lot of crap games recently, but let's look at why that is. Well, why is it such a high percentage of early movies made are now considered classics? Well, they were good movies, but why? Because the people who made them were professionals and it was expensive to make a movie back then, so they took it seriously. Today, anybody with a DV Camcorder and iMovie can make a film, but how much of the stuff thats churned out is actually worth watching? It's the same with video games, the development and distribution costs of game making has dropped dramatically and the technology to produce games is now as easy as getting a developers kit and a PC.
Any discussion of the current state (or future) of the gaming industry without at least a footnote to the entertainment industries history, I think, is somewhat lacking perspective. I believe the industry is in an acceptable place, given its relatively short history.
1) Brazil has a robust wireless digital infrastructure. 2) Brazil is geographically segmented. 3) The movie theaters will play movies indepentendly of each other, not simulcasted. 4) Linux is not the answer to every question. 5) Microsoft still sucks, but on a rock solid VPN with dedicated applications, maybe it will survive. 6) The major cost of distributing a film is the film itself. When people say it cost $1500 to distribute a film, they mean to actually print a copy of the film on 35mm. Not shipping and handling (you twits). As my girfriend would say: "Vi tomar no cu, gerdal!"
for other geeks tell you to get a life?
If he was my friend, I'd have to do an intervention.
First off let me say that I've been reading /. for over 6 years now and I FINALLY got an account so I could post and get some of this karma and play the mod point game. Thanks to /. for a great site.
.25x
I recently purchased a low end JVC DV camcorder for about $280.00 at my local retailer. It's a great bang for the buck and I'm glad I bought a cheap one first because I feel like I have a better feel for what I'm going to be looking for in the next one I buy. I intentionally bought cheap, because I knew I was going to want to upgrade later, when I was more familiar with my needs.
Already, only two months later, I can tell what's important. Other people have mentioned these things and I hate to reiterate, but here we go...
#1 Lens Quality. I don't care how many TeraPixel your camera is, if the lens is shit, you cannot get a good image. Someone clarify here, but even the mars lander only uses ~ 1Mpixel pickups, but the lens is so good, it provides excellent images. Lens, lens, lens.
#2 Zoom. Digital zoom is absolutely worthless. If you want to zoom digitally, it's better to do it 'post-production'. Get a good WIDE-ANGLE to start with, because most of your shooting will be done at close distances (in the house, at the back yard picnic, birthday party) and you really want to be able to get the WHOLE picture. I have a 16x optical zoom with a 700x digital zoom and I can honestly sax I shoot 90% of my video at 1x and I wish it went to
3. Firewire. I don't care if you think you will use Adobe Premier or IMovie now. The truth is, you will someday and you're going to want firewire DV output. It's addictive editing your home movies and adding titles and music. Most DV cameras will have this, some don't and some use USB. Get firewire.
4. LUX or Light. Make sure your DV camera is good with low LUX or had a built in light or a bracket for mounting a light. DV cameras slow the shutter speed when light conditions fall below the amount requires to shoot properly. End result: choppy, grainy video that you end up throwing away.
If you want options like the ability to take still pictures on to a memory card, then Megapixels become more important, but for normal video, anything more than 1 Mpixel is useless because it exceeds the capability of your television, anyways. Fight the "more-is-better" mentality when dealing with megapixels unless you plan on making prints from your still shot taken off of the camera.
Of course, things like battery life are important, too. However, I find it just as easy to pack another battery in my bag and keep it handy, if needed, but I almost never shoot for more than an hour anyways.
Look for a camcorder that focuses on doing it's job, putting pictures and sound to tape, and avoid ones ith a lot of extra bells and whistles. While the new DV camcorders that have a built in DVD-ROM have a special 'wow' factor, I think it's a lot better to get a DVD burner in your machine and go that route.
Just my $.02