I would be willing to see it in 48fps (as a second viewing), but likely never will get the chance to see it, because that version is only offered in 3D. Beyond the fact that I don't see any benefit to 3D, it gives me a massive headache within minutes.
I still don't understand the industry's obsession with 3D. Even my young nieces and nephews don't care about it. Never mind...I do understand. They get more money for it. I wonder if that actually makes 3D a boon for theaters too small to afford the new projectors.
3D gives me headaches at crappy theaters too, but a good 3D movie at a good theater (iMax in my case) is wonderful. It's very distracting in a movie like Transformers, however, where most scenes are cheap fake 3D, but scenes that are purely CGI (mainly robot fights) look very nice.
I'll watch The Hobbit there, and meanwhile, I hope the fake 3D crap and cheap "3D" theaters die out.
I think you've just discovered a new method of contraception. Well done! Now, to the patent office, and I doubt there will be any prior art in this case.
Bots perform a ton better at day trading, and in the stocks market in general, than they currently do at games like Starcraft or poker. I'd say it's an entirely different set of skills.
Besides, day trading really doesn't contribute more to society than playing SC2 does, it might actually be the other way around. The only change would be his personal wealth and overall happiness, which are in no way proportional.
We've been using nickname tells in online poker for years now. Poker is a game of imperfect information, so any little edge is good.
Obviously, someone like ShipItThx will usually be much better than jimmy35 or CIVIC4LIFE. Good players have even started to use reverse nickname tells, always thinking one step ahead.
These days, we usually look at the nicknames only to know in what range a player will be. Some names tell us he'll be an average player at best, while others tell us he'll either be a very good player or a complete donkey, but rarely just a semi-decent guy.
Next time a chunk of money comes aroun for random researches, give your fellow poker players a call. We know a thing or two about gaining information from pretty much anything.
It is impossible to have an exact figure, but an accurate estimate, at least an order of magnitude, is entirely feasible.
They say they lose billions a year due to piracy. Let's say they are right and are losing 10 billions, not an unrealistic figure, but still on the high side. There are over 1 million people in America sharing music. We all know it's a lot more than that, but let's be conservative.
That would leave an average of $10 000 lost due to each file sharer, and that is an the upper limit. Sharing less than 30 songs is probably under the average if there are indeed only 1 million file sharers, so there is absolutely no way $220 000 can be a correct punishment in this case.
There just seems to be something not quite right in the law when placing bets based on incomplete information is seen just as wrong as torturing little animals.
Do they not realize that the majority of players at the World Series of Poker are online qualifiers? Did they forget how much money they make out of these events?
Sure, they won't get their share of the money that stays online. That's because they put laws in place some time ago, most likely to win some immediate votes, without thinking about the consequences. Now someone else is asked to find a solution, and he still can't think ahead.
Will they ever learn?
I think that the cause of these earthquakes is pretty obvious. This building is really the secret hideout of yet another Evil Genius, and his World Domination Project(tm) obviously involves the use of tremors and/or digging to the core of the planet.
Whichever it is, they need some kind of cover now. Kudos for getting a bunch of smart so-called scientists together to think of a possible explanation to cover up these operations. 700,000 tons causing an earthquake... how did they come up with that one? They really are geniuses.
If only they decided to use reliable means of disposal instead of frickin' sharks with lasers...
It's fun to use and all, but why would I have that many windows open, and then need to sort a lot of documents through them? Moreover, with dual screens and/or multiple desktops, overlapping windows should be mostly a thing of the past.
It's always nice to see new ways to interact, but I can't recall a single time this would have been useful in the past week. My memory can't recall much more than that, but the folding corners would certainly annoy me more often than it would actually be useful.
I'm surprised no one mentionned Armagetron yet. When configured correctly, it's great fast-paced multi-players light cycles action for the whole family.
Little Fighter II and Soldat are great games too, but in our local Lan Parties, Armagetron was definitely the most succesful. We found out that Little Fighter II is best when played with less than 4 players, hopefully about the same skill level, as there is a huge learning curve. Soldat used to be more succesful in earlier versions, when it was even faster and crazier:)
This is from a pretty old.plan from John Carmack, but the second quote seems to still be valid today:
"The NV30 runs the ARB2 path MUCH slower than the NV30 path. Half the speed at the moment. This is unfortunate, because when you do an exact, apples-to-apples comparison using exactly the same API, the R300 looks twice as fast, but when you use the vendor-specific paths, the NV30 wins."
"The reason for this is that ATI does everything at high precision all the time, while Nvidia internally supports three different precisions with different performances"
So basically, Nvidia's cards can cut a few corners, with minimum, if any, visual impact, while ATi's cards can't, even with optimised code path.
Basically, Nvidia screws up when it comes down to standard ARB2 code path, but it does so well with their own path that developers have to code it, and Nvidia gives them a lot of support. It looks like a fair deal to me.
Translation: a service on a non-homogenous network (e.g. the Internet) allows users to download a piece of software that automatically downloads updates to other software installed on their computers (but not necessarily for all of that software).
Good translation. I didn't try my luck at it myself, I'm not fluent enough in Corporate Bullshit yet.
"A method for distributing information to a plurality of uncoordinated user stations each of which is configured for communications with a multiplicity of independently-operated servers via a non-proprietary network includes steps for providing a distribution service that distributes updates for a plurality of different products, and providing a transporter software component to each of the plurality of uncoordinated user stations, wherein the transporter software component at each user station automatically effects communication sessions with the distribution service via the non-proprietary network for the purpose of obtaining updates for each of at least a subset of the plurality of different products that are installed on that user station."
It sounds awfully complicated, and that's only the first sentence. They could probably claim they own pretty much every updating technology with that...
Seriously though, providing "updates to software with a menuing system to permit the user to pick the updates" has been in every system I used, and I don't believe that adding the word "online" in front of it makes it a new super-innovative technology.
Even if it's Microsoft, if they were to lose on this one, it would be a shame.
According to the
handy round-up article: "Multiplayer is client-server," laying to rest suggestions that Doom's four-player deathmatch mode might be peer-to-peer;
It's the good ol' client-server model again. You'll be able to host your server just like you did 10 years ago, except that this time, it won't be over a 14.4k modem:)
And on another note, I remember playing countless hours of DooM I and II by modem with only one friend at a time, and it was still a whole damn lot of fun, so I'm not worried about the "4 players limitation" either.
"To enjoy iFido wireless high-speed Internet, all you need is a standard Ethernet card and Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP or Mac/OS/Linux/UNIX."
The above sounds good, but I'm more worried about the small prints:
"The monthly price is for data transfer of up to 20 GB (download) and 5 GB (upload). A charge of $10 applies per additional GB per month. If you didn't opt for a 24-month Fido Agreement, you're eligible for a smaller discount and your service must remain activated for 90 consecutive days."
20GB/5GB should be enough for anyone really using it as a 2nd connection, but considering the price (40$/month after the 6th month), most people will want to use this as their primary connection and better watch out for extra charges (although people using cable might already be used to those transfer limits).
The whole package seems like a nice deal anyway, but I'm kind of worried about the saturation of frequencies these days...
The extra carrying capacity is interesting for more than actually carrying stuff around.
Take those 50kg, and split them between an heavy armor, a big mean gun, and other enhancements like a weapon-stabilizer. This is the real deal the DARPA is interested into. Nothing has really changed much when it comes down to simple soldiers battle, until this. Who need tanks, jeeps and the like, when every man packs as much firepower and more mobility?
The majority of the funds invested go for technologies useful for civilians and day-to-day life, though. Better energy sources, a lot of medical applications, etc. This is really something they could invest in a lot more, and even if it's for military purposes first, people would not complain.
I'm curious about the degree of comfort when landing this thing. The undercarriage looks awfully small and your feet would most probably hit the ground before you go down to a decent speed.
I'd hate to have to jump off in mid-air and perform a bad-ass roll everytime I have to go somewhere! (While also destroying my mean of transportation in a spectacular crash.)
(These people might have played BF1942 before and realized that's how everyone land in that game, so it must be the best way to do it...)
Slashdot Mirror
I would be willing to see it in 48fps (as a second viewing), but likely never will get the chance to see it, because that version is only offered in 3D. Beyond the fact that I don't see any benefit to 3D, it gives me a massive headache within minutes.
I still don't understand the industry's obsession with 3D. Even my young nieces and nephews don't care about it. Never mind...I do understand. They get more money for it. I wonder if that actually makes 3D a boon for theaters too small to afford the new projectors.
3D gives me headaches at crappy theaters too, but a good 3D movie at a good theater (iMax in my case) is wonderful.
It's very distracting in a movie like Transformers, however, where most scenes are cheap fake 3D, but scenes that are purely CGI (mainly robot fights) look very nice.
I'll watch The Hobbit there, and meanwhile, I hope the fake 3D crap and cheap "3D" theaters die out.
I think you've just discovered a new method of contraception. Well done!
Now, to the patent office, and I doubt there will be any prior art in this case.
Bots perform a ton better at day trading, and in the stocks market in general, than they currently do at games like Starcraft or poker. I'd say it's an entirely different set of skills.
Besides, day trading really doesn't contribute more to society than playing SC2 does, it might actually be the other way around. The only change would be his personal wealth and overall happiness, which are in no way proportional.
Just don't bother with Quebec. Even though we do have delicious poutine, our ISPs are generally terrible, and the future does not look any brighter.
Just like RTS stands for Real-Time Strategy.
A lot of them seem to be turning to online poker, which is obviously more profitable but requires similar skills.
If there was a way to play Counter-Strike for 1$ a kill, then you'd have professional gamers.
We've been using nickname tells in online poker for years now. Poker is a game of imperfect information, so any little edge is good.
Obviously, someone like ShipItThx will usually be much better than jimmy35 or CIVIC4LIFE. Good players have even started to use reverse nickname tells, always thinking one step ahead.
These days, we usually look at the nicknames only to know in what range a player will be. Some names tell us he'll be an average player at best, while others tell us he'll either be a very good player or a complete donkey, but rarely just a semi-decent guy.
Next time a chunk of money comes aroun for random researches, give your fellow poker players a call. We know a thing or two about gaining information from pretty much anything.
It is impossible to have an exact figure, but an accurate estimate, at least an order of magnitude, is entirely feasible.
They say they lose billions a year due to piracy. Let's say they are right and are losing 10 billions, not an unrealistic figure, but still on the high side.
There are over 1 million people in America sharing music. We all know it's a lot more than that, but let's be conservative.
That would leave an average of $10 000 lost due to each file sharer, and that is an the upper limit. Sharing less than 30 songs is probably under the average if there are indeed only 1 million file sharers, so there is absolutely no way $220 000 can be a correct punishment in this case.
What was so tough about this?
Because, obviously, charging more for legal downloads is going to help reduce piracy.
Adium - No
Oh right, they call them Xtras, so I guess they do not count...
There just seems to be something not quite right in the law when placing bets based on incomplete information is seen just as wrong as torturing little animals. Do they not realize that the majority of players at the World Series of Poker are online qualifiers? Did they forget how much money they make out of these events? Sure, they won't get their share of the money that stays online. That's because they put laws in place some time ago, most likely to win some immediate votes, without thinking about the consequences. Now someone else is asked to find a solution, and he still can't think ahead. Will they ever learn?
Whichever it is, they need some kind of cover now. Kudos for getting a bunch of smart so-called scientists together to think of a possible explanation to cover up these operations. 700,000 tons causing an earthquake... how did they come up with that one? They really are geniuses.
If only they decided to use reliable means of disposal instead of frickin' sharks with lasers...
It's always nice to see new ways to interact, but I can't recall a single time this would have been useful in the past week. My memory can't recall much more than that, but the folding corners would certainly annoy me more often than it would actually be useful.
Not to be a smartass, but if a company sold me a 100GB HD with gigabytes of only 1000000 bytes, I'd be pretty pissed off too!
Little Fighter II and Soldat are great games too, but in our local Lan Parties, Armagetron was definitely the most succesful. We found out that Little Fighter II is best when played with less than 4 players, hopefully about the same skill level, as there is a huge learning curve. Soldat used to be more succesful in earlier versions, when it was even faster and crazier :)
"The NV30 runs the ARB2 path MUCH slower than the NV30 path. Half the speed at the moment. This is unfortunate, because when you do an exact, apples-to-apples comparison using exactly the same API, the R300 looks twice as fast, but when you use the vendor-specific paths, the NV30 wins."
"The reason for this is that ATI does everything at high precision all the time, while Nvidia internally supports three different precisions with different performances"
So basically, Nvidia's cards can cut a few corners, with minimum, if any, visual impact, while ATi's cards can't, even with optimised code path.
Basically, Nvidia screws up when it comes down to standard ARB2 code path, but it does so well with their own path that developers have to code it, and Nvidia gives them a lot of support. It looks like a fair deal to me.
Good translation. I didn't try my luck at it myself, I'm not fluent enough in Corporate Bullshit yet.
"A method for distributing information to a plurality of uncoordinated user stations each of which is configured for communications with a multiplicity of independently-operated servers via a non-proprietary network includes steps for providing a distribution service that distributes updates for a plurality of different products, and providing a transporter software component to each of the plurality of uncoordinated user stations, wherein the transporter software component at each user station automatically effects communication sessions with the distribution service via the non-proprietary network for the purpose of obtaining updates for each of at least a subset of the plurality of different products that are installed on that user station."
It sounds awfully complicated, and that's only the first sentence. They could probably claim they own pretty much every updating technology with that...
Seriously though, providing "updates to software with a menuing system to permit the user to pick the updates" has been in every system I used, and I don't believe that adding the word "online" in front of it makes it a new super-innovative technology.
Even if it's Microsoft, if they were to lose on this one, it would be a shame.
"Multiplayer is client-server," laying to rest suggestions that Doom's four-player deathmatch mode might be peer-to-peer;
It's the good ol' client-server model again. You'll be able to host your server just like you did 10 years ago, except that this time, it won't be over a 14.4k modem :)
And on another note, I remember playing countless hours of DooM I and II by modem with only one friend at a time, and it was still a whole damn lot of fun, so I'm not worried about the "4 players limitation" either.
Would it release some kind of drug that damages regular cells?
I know it's not supposed to happen, but cancer isn't supposed to happen in the first place either...
The above sounds good, but I'm more worried about the small prints:
"The monthly price is for data transfer of up to 20 GB (download) and 5 GB (upload). A charge of $10 applies per additional GB per month. If you didn't opt for a 24-month Fido Agreement, you're eligible for a smaller discount and your service must remain activated for 90 consecutive days."
20GB/5GB should be enough for anyone really using it as a 2nd connection, but considering the price (40$/month after the 6th month), most people will want to use this as their primary connection and better watch out for extra charges (although people using cable might already be used to those transfer limits).
The whole package seems like a nice deal anyway, but I'm kind of worried about the saturation of frequencies these days...
Take those 50kg, and split them between an heavy armor, a big mean gun, and other enhancements like a weapon-stabilizer. This is the real deal the DARPA is interested into. Nothing has really changed much when it comes down to simple soldiers battle, until this. Who need tanks, jeeps and the like, when every man packs as much firepower and more mobility?
The majority of the funds invested go for technologies useful for civilians and day-to-day life, though. Better energy sources, a lot of medical applications, etc. This is really something they could invest in a lot more, and even if it's for military purposes first, people would not complain.
I'm curious about the degree of comfort when landing this thing. The undercarriage looks awfully small and your feet would most probably hit the ground before you go down to a decent speed. I'd hate to have to jump off in mid-air and perform a bad-ass roll everytime I have to go somewhere! (While also destroying my mean of transportation in a spectacular crash.) (These people might have played BF1942 before and realized that's how everyone land in that game, so it must be the best way to do it...)