The problem with this lie of a system is that while lottery money is indeed used to pay for education, it doesn't actually increase the education budget at all. If, for example, the Michigan State Lottery has a particularly good year, the school system doesn't get extra cash.
The scam is that the State sets an annual budget for its school systems; for the sake of argument, lets say it is $1 billion. Ok, now lets say that the previous years lotto brought in $600 million. The school doesn't get $1.6 billion dollars, it gets $1 billion still.
So what happens to the lotto money, and if the schools where going to get the same amount of money regardless of wether the lotto brings in $600 million or $5 million, how is the lotto 'supporting education'? Well, what they actually do is put the $600 million in lotto proceeds into the education fund, which causes them to have a $600 million excess, since the the schools are only budgeted for $1 billion!
That excess is refunded back into the general fund, which can be, and is, used for just about anything; pay raises for senators, propping up failing industry in the state, etc, etc.
Now, I have nothing against the lotto or gambling at all. I think its fun, what have you, but the line that it pays for education is a load of crap.
I think they just dropped the new ones to $80. You should be able to get a used one from ebgames or some other retailer for $50-60... that's not bad at all for what you are getting!
I suspect that we will see a NDS MMORPG of some sort next year, around xmas time. However, I suspect it will be something a little different, and will use the 802.11 connectivity only, and not any sort of cell phone connection.
Also, I suspect that there will be some sort of system where you can 'instance' zones and play them solo while offline, or in groups of up to 8-16 players who are on an ad-hoc local wireless network of DS's.
When you connect to the 'real' servers you will be able to engage in trading, pk'ing, etc, as well as access 'special' zones where good eq spawns, etc. Also, you'll have to be connected to the system to get some sort of 'mission queue' going, which will be the zones you are allowed to spawn while offline, and invite friends to come with you, if they are within the 30-100 ft range of your DS.
Now, I haven't seen or heard anything that is at all like this, it just seems like it would be the natural game design for a portable system with built in wireless connetivity. The DS, with its extra touch screen for inventory, stats, menus, chat system, etc, and also a built in microphone (and headset jack) for voice communication seems like the ideal platform for what could be a MMORG genre defining game.
On a related note, I would't be suprised if Nintendo or at least some other 3rd party starts selling a 802.11b USB adaptor with some sort of gateway software that sets your home (Windoze) PC up as an AP, allowing you to play all the internet enabled games while puttering around your house. Seems like an easy money maker, to me.
I was reading this and thinking the same thing... if they dropped the price to the sub-$100 range I MIGHT get one... (I am moving towards consoles for all my gaming as I have switched to Linux for my day to day desktop needs). As it is my GameCube ($79 used, thank you!) does well enough, but I wish Battlefronts had come out for it!
Too fucking cold. How come all the freezing ass places are havens of personal freedom and the tropical paradises seem to be run by tyranical dictators who force their people into despair and poverty whie they drive rolls' and eat lobster?!
The people there must be to busy enjoying the weather to protest, while the people in are cooped up inside 9 months a year and fill the days writing to their politicians to complain!
What would be very interesting, and perhaps very cool, is if they were to comeup with a webbrowser that also loaded applications from the the google servers, either on a pay basis, or ad supported.
Things like a decent word proccessor, spreadsheet, email client (linked with gmail), chat program, etc. A whole office suite, but one that is (cached locally) loaded over the internet. Of course security/feature updates would be automatatic, and you could use your 1gb of gmail space to also store files created by, or uploaded to, the office suite.
The apps themselves would have to be platform independent, which I guess would mean java, and the browser itself should install via some sort of super easy and fast webpage. The browser should be a modified version of some GPL program, like Firefox or Konqueror, so there would be hope of decent security and platform independence.
I love my GBA, but I hate when games use that SNES era font... like in this screenshot it's just so antiquated... game looks pretty cool, tho... I'll probably pick it when it hits the used market... unless I have DS by then;-)
According to that, I am some sort of Commie Anarchist. I never really thought about it, but now that I think about it, it makes sense... I've always felt that the government should just leave people alone to do what they want, as long as no one elses rights are being damaged or intruded upon. I guess that's my slight anarchist side.
As far as communism goes, I think it's a system that is doomed to fail. But, I think that the governemnts role in economy/non-social aspects of life should include things like education (prepare people for whatever kind of jobs they want and can realistically do - to include trade schools and free post-secondary study), universal healthcare, welfare for only the true "can't work" (not the "won't works"), and minimum wage (not the lousy US excuse for a minimum wage system)/worker protection laws.
There's always more, like a military, which is always needed in some form, but the US has taken it to an extreme lately.
Ok, so based on that, and my political compass 'score' of -6.38 (left right), -3.9 (libral authoritarian) where should I be planning my move for??
Two word topic says it all. Monolithic Domes are both energy efficient and disaster resistant. They aren't that expensive, when you consider energy savings and quality of materials being used in construction.
I always wondered about that... Most store won't take back a CD/game/DVD that has been opened, but will exchange it. So, when you exchange it for a new one, it's sealed, right? So whats to stop you from returning it to a different store for (presumably) some instore credit? (Most places will give you credit if you don't have a reciept).
Well, it might be doable, but I think that the draw would be in a slick, small package that carries the power of a full home console.
You could probably hack something together with existing parts, but you'd spend alot more than $200 to build it. (The screen on those XBox controllers sucks by the way). Search on google for the guy who made a PSOne portable unit and see how much he spent to do that.
On another note, a Nintendo made GC portable would be a huge hit for obvious reasons (great graphics, huge preexisting game library, etc), but if they made it also compatible with mini cd-r/w's (maybe not dvd-r/w's, for sake of copy protection/piracy concerns) so you could use it for an mp3 player and possibly other media playback, it would be a pretty slick system.
I was thinking about that myself, after I said it. At first, I agreed with you, but the more I think about it, the more sure I am it could be done.
It's kind of hard to explain what I am visualizing, but the analog sticks could be replaced by a curved disc that moves in the same manner a the original does, but without protruding almost at all. The face buttons are easy, they're just buttons.
The shoulder buttons would again be pretty easy, just make the analog motion of the L and R move into the handheld, so they didn't stick out very much.
On a related note, how come Nintendo doesn't do this and utterly destroy the PSP? Like you said, the DVD disc would never work for a handheld, but the GCs discs are already the same size as Sony is plannign for the PSP. The GC is already fairly small, and by now they must be able to put the whole thing onto a single low power draw board.
Instant access to the entire GC library coupled with a fairly low price ($200?) would make it the obvious choice.
That said, I'm still getting a DS over the PSP. However, the more I think about it, with Nintendos lackluster console sales and their continued dominance in the handheld arena, it might be smart to let MS and Sony duke it out with the PS3 and XBox2, while releasing a P(ocket)GC rather than a GC2.
Are there any specific rules about video game copyrights? If they aren't specifically addressed, what sort of media are they classified under in copyright law?
I ask because I am curious about how long until video games start to become public domain?
The problem is that you have to load the whole NES game and the emulator into 256k of RAM in the GBA. That's also why you can't save.
The reason is that the compact flash file system and hardware is much different than a GBA cart, which is much faster, and so you can't load things to and from it like you would a cart. If that makes sense.
I remember seeing a device that was a 'developers flash cart' with a connector to attach it to a SecureMedia card reader so you could change the contents of the cart without being tethered to a computer.
If that's true you should start a business selling XP and Office licenses to people by buying Dells and reselling the hardware sans software to Linux enthusiasts.
Did a little reading about this, and it sounds like the audio quality isn't very good. Plus, you have to convert your MP3s into another format to play them. Seems pretty useless.
because it's not even going to be 'backwards'(as they claim it's not successor to gba) compatible they can just whip anything they want on it.
Everything I have read has stated that the DS will have a seperate slot to load GBA games. It's got the same CPU as the GBA as its second processor (ARM7), and it looks like it's going to just have a seperate set of GBA ROM that will load when you put a GBA game into the slot.
However, I agree with you that they will likely have sort of copy protection on the DS games.
So am I reading this right when it says you can 'load homebrew' roms you could play backups of real GBA games as well? It would be usefull just to be able to carry around all my games on one 'cart'.
Furethermore, it'd be worth it just for the MP3 playing, if it's decent quality, can read a good range of bitrates, and has a decent player interface. The GBASP w/o backloght goes for easily 12 hours on a charge and fits in my pocket. What more could I ask of an mp3 player?
What about a hybrid system of sorts. I suggest that having half of a states electoral votes (rounded up, I s'pose) go to teh candidate who wins the majority vote. The remaining votes are then split up between the candidates based on percentages.
The advantage here is that winning the majority is still important, as you will garner MOST of the electoral votes. However, it will encourage campaigning in places that may have been previously looked at as a loss. For example, if you were pretty certain that your opponents was going to get 70% of the vote in state X, then you may well just let him have it (Texas could be a good example in this years election). However, if you could get a say, 10% more votes there by spending some extra time, you would earn yourself 2 more electoral votes, which is almost like winning Montana.:)
No, it's almost all first party, because it all goes through linus at one point. The exceptions are stuff like the Nvidia drivers which the kernel maintainers have no control over.
Um, so Linus personally reviewed the code to the 1800 packages bundled with Mandrake 10.1, for example? What about the other 48,200 that are listed as being compatible with 10.1?
Linus reviews all of the kernel code, just Liek I am sure there is some guy/small group in Redmont who reviews all changes the the Windows kernel, but the MAJORITY of software that you are running on a Linux based desktop is coded by the very definition of 3rd parties; lots of them are amatuers or professional programmers who work on these programs in their 'off' time.
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The scam is that the State sets an annual budget for its school systems; for the sake of argument, lets say it is $1 billion. Ok, now lets say that the previous years lotto brought in $600 million. The school doesn't get $1.6 billion dollars, it gets $1 billion still.
So what happens to the lotto money, and if the schools where going to get the same amount of money regardless of wether the lotto brings in $600 million or $5 million, how is the lotto 'supporting education'? Well, what they actually do is put the $600 million in lotto proceeds into the education fund, which causes them to have a $600 million excess, since the the schools are only budgeted for $1 billion!
That excess is refunded back into the general fund, which can be, and is, used for just about anything; pay raises for senators, propping up failing industry in the state, etc, etc.
Now, I have nothing against the lotto or gambling at all. I think its fun, what have you, but the line that it pays for education is a load of crap.
I think they just dropped the new ones to $80. You should be able to get a used one from ebgames or some other retailer for $50-60... that's not bad at all for what you are getting!
Also, I suspect that there will be some sort of system where you can 'instance' zones and play them solo while offline, or in groups of up to 8-16 players who are on an ad-hoc local wireless network of DS's.
When you connect to the 'real' servers you will be able to engage in trading, pk'ing, etc, as well as access 'special' zones where good eq spawns, etc. Also, you'll have to be connected to the system to get some sort of 'mission queue' going, which will be the zones you are allowed to spawn while offline, and invite friends to come with you, if they are within the 30-100 ft range of your DS.
Now, I haven't seen or heard anything that is at all like this, it just seems like it would be the natural game design for a portable system with built in wireless connetivity. The DS, with its extra touch screen for inventory, stats, menus, chat system, etc, and also a built in microphone (and headset jack) for voice communication seems like the ideal platform for what could be a MMORG genre defining game.
On a related note, I would't be suprised if Nintendo or at least some other 3rd party starts selling a 802.11b USB adaptor with some sort of gateway software that sets your home (Windoze) PC up as an AP, allowing you to play all the internet enabled games while puttering around your house. Seems like an easy money maker, to me.
I was reading this and thinking the same thing... if they dropped the price to the sub-$100 range I MIGHT get one... (I am moving towards consoles for all my gaming as I have switched to Linux for my day to day desktop needs). As it is my GameCube ($79 used, thank you!) does well enough, but I wish Battlefronts had come out for it!
no wait, probably, er,
Too fucking cold. How come all the freezing ass places are havens of personal freedom and the tropical paradises seem to be run by tyranical dictators who force their people into despair and poverty whie they drive rolls' and eat lobster?!
The people there must be to busy enjoying the weather to protest, while the people in are cooped up inside 9 months a year and fill the days writing to their politicians to complain!
Things like a decent word proccessor, spreadsheet, email client (linked with gmail), chat program, etc. A whole office suite, but one that is (cached locally) loaded over the internet. Of course security/feature updates would be automatatic, and you could use your 1gb of gmail space to also store files created by, or uploaded to, the office suite.
The apps themselves would have to be platform independent, which I guess would mean java, and the browser itself should install via some sort of super easy and fast webpage. The browser should be a modified version of some GPL program, like Firefox or Konqueror, so there would be hope of decent security and platform independence.
I love my GBA, but I hate when games use that SNES era font... like in this screenshot it's just so antiquated... game looks pretty cool, tho... I'll probably pick it when it hits the used market... unless I have DS by then ;-)
As far as communism goes, I think it's a system that is doomed to fail. But, I think that the governemnts role in economy/non-social aspects of life should include things like education (prepare people for whatever kind of jobs they want and can realistically do - to include trade schools and free post-secondary study), universal healthcare, welfare for only the true "can't work" (not the "won't works"), and minimum wage (not the lousy US excuse for a minimum wage system)/worker protection laws.
There's always more, like a military, which is always needed in some form, but the US has taken it to an extreme lately.
Ok, so based on that, and my political compass 'score' of -6.38 (left right), -3.9 (libral authoritarian) where should I be planning my move for??
Rob
Two word topic says it all. Monolithic Domes are both energy efficient and disaster resistant. They aren't that expensive, when you consider energy savings and quality of materials being used in construction.
I always wondered about that... Most store won't take back a CD/game/DVD that has been opened, but will exchange it. So, when you exchange it for a new one, it's sealed, right? So whats to stop you from returning it to a different store for (presumably) some instore credit? (Most places will give you credit if you don't have a reciept).
If I had any mod points, I'd waste them modding that up funny.
I was just about to post something about Joseph Smith. That South Park episode about him/Mormons was hillarious.
Welcome to America, land of the lowest common denominator. Our games, TV, even our politics are all aimed at that LCD.
You could probably hack something together with existing parts, but you'd spend alot more than $200 to build it. (The screen on those XBox controllers sucks by the way). Search on google for the guy who made a PSOne portable unit and see how much he spent to do that.
On another note, a Nintendo made GC portable would be a huge hit for obvious reasons (great graphics, huge preexisting game library, etc), but if they made it also compatible with mini cd-r/w's (maybe not dvd-r/w's, for sake of copy protection/piracy concerns) so you could use it for an mp3 player and possibly other media playback, it would be a pretty slick system.
It's kind of hard to explain what I am visualizing, but the analog sticks could be replaced by a curved disc that moves in the same manner a the original does, but without protruding almost at all. The face buttons are easy, they're just buttons.
The shoulder buttons would again be pretty easy, just make the analog motion of the L and R move into the handheld, so they didn't stick out very much.
All in all, I think it is really a doable device.
Instant access to the entire GC library coupled with a fairly low price ($200?) would make it the obvious choice.
That said, I'm still getting a DS over the PSP. However, the more I think about it, with Nintendos lackluster console sales and their continued dominance in the handheld arena, it might be smart to let MS and Sony duke it out with the PS3 and XBox2, while releasing a P(ocket)GC rather than a GC2.
I ask because I am curious about how long until video games start to become public domain?
The reason is that the compact flash file system and hardware is much different than a GBA cart, which is much faster, and so you can't load things to and from it like you would a cart. If that makes sense.
I remember seeing a device that was a 'developers flash cart' with a connector to attach it to a SecureMedia card reader so you could change the contents of the cart without being tethered to a computer.
If that's true you should start a business selling XP and Office licenses to people by buying Dells and reselling the hardware sans software to Linux enthusiasts.
Did a little reading about this, and it sounds like the audio quality isn't very good. Plus, you have to convert your MP3s into another format to play them. Seems pretty useless.
Everything I have read has stated that the DS will have a seperate slot to load GBA games. It's got the same CPU as the GBA as its second processor (ARM7), and it looks like it's going to just have a seperate set of GBA ROM that will load when you put a GBA game into the slot.
However, I agree with you that they will likely have sort of copy protection on the DS games.
Furethermore, it'd be worth it just for the MP3 playing, if it's decent quality, can read a good range of bitrates, and has a decent player interface. The GBASP w/o backloght goes for easily 12 hours on a charge and fits in my pocket. What more could I ask of an mp3 player?
The advantage here is that winning the majority is still important, as you will garner MOST of the electoral votes. However, it will encourage campaigning in places that may have been previously looked at as a loss. For example, if you were pretty certain that your opponents was going to get 70% of the vote in state X, then you may well just let him have it (Texas could be a good example in this years election). However, if you could get a say, 10% more votes there by spending some extra time, you would earn yourself 2 more electoral votes, which is almost like winning Montana. :)
The OP (and presumable th FA) are talking about play XBox1 games on the Xbox2. Not the otherway around, as you seem to be talking about.
Um, so Linus personally reviewed the code to the 1800 packages bundled with Mandrake 10.1, for example? What about the other 48,200 that are listed as being compatible with 10.1?
Linus reviews all of the kernel code, just Liek I am sure there is some guy/small group in Redmont who reviews all changes the the Windows kernel, but the MAJORITY of software that you are running on a Linux based desktop is coded by the very definition of 3rd parties; lots of them are amatuers or professional programmers who work on these programs in their 'off' time.