" Or you could just buy a DVD player that lets you skip through all that crap."
Well I just found out that my DVD player (Sony NC615) is able to be "modified" through IR commands to unlock region codes and possibly macrovision protection also.. so i'll be trying this in the days to come...
"How is being forced to sit through 15 minutes of previews, many for DVDs that I already own, every time I insert a disc unintrusive?"
"Unintrusive? No. Effective? Apparently."
Forget that, I just pop the DVD in my player about 10 minutes before I am going to watch it, then i change the input to the video source of the DVD player when i am ready to watch the movie.. at that point the previews and legal notices are done and it is waiting on the menu section of the DVD (play movie, scene selection, setup, etc..)
" Or you could get a gamecube and play against/with your kids while being in the same room and interacting with them."
Well the computers ARE all in the same room, and we do interact, we also have a home theater setup where people can sit around on our couch (one of those big sectionals that wrap around the room) and watch movies and such...
I mean we also have a console (PS2) but there are only so many games that have 4 player multiplay (basically the crash team racing line of games) and the 4-way ports you need ot use for the controllers are a real pain!!
well i can make a computer pretty cheap, and I already have 4 of them (started before these console had support for LAN)
SO i have 4 multi purpose machines, ALL of the games for PC allow for some sort of LAN play, and they cost about the same as I would pay for 4 consoles TV (figuring a decent TV would be 250 + a 250 console) not to mention I can buy one game and make it work on all four computers on a LAN... can you do that with the consoles?
Then of course I can upgrade my computers for less than the cost of a new console and still have backwards compatibility and play the new games...
"Google has a HQ in Kirkland, but you don't see people saying "whatever Kirkland wants, Kirkland gets...." or maybe that's just because Kirkland is a Grade A dump.'
Is that the same Kirkland that the Costco products get their name from?
I mean the shoes are cheap but now I know they come from a dump i'm gonna think twice.. not to mention the bread.. ewwww
"It's really hard to see the point of PC gaming anymore. What's it got that consoles dont?"
Well I can play with my 3 kids on our lan, hard to do that with consoles without also buying 4 (is that even possible to LAN consoles?) also my wife can play games on yahoo while im fragging away in my deathmatch server while still sitting next to each other (so that we are spending "time together"):P
"Theres a major lackage of a physics processor right now. Given the nice placement of GPU cards... on a high bandwidth bus of the northbridge, I'd say put the physics chip on the video card. Otherwise on a PCIX card."
Someone is developing something like this, it will be a seperate add-in card, but sounds interesting
Although this article is a bit old, not sure if it is still in the works or not...
"I have a geforce4ti, and wonder why will I need more GPU power anyway. HL2 and doom3 run fine, "
My old rig had the same card (very good card btw) then i upgraded to a 6800 (non ultra or GT even) and it really made a difference in both of those games, on the order of 2x the frame rate (and I really seem to notice changes in frame rates up to 85+)
"It's like having two processors in your computer, however the two cards can actually work on the same output, as one card takes odd lines and the other even lines or the top half vs. bottom half (I don't recall the exact process)."
The old Voodoo SLI setup did the odd/even line method that you talk about, the newer Nvidia SLI mode does a top vs bottom half method.
"Why is it illegal to give a bad reference? It makes no sense to me; if the employee had a habit for coming to work late, had had negative performance reviews and sloughed off, why is it illegal to tell another employer that? It's not like you're lying..."
I think it is to protect people from those who _would_ lie.../
"I can change the channel or leave the room and thats ok."
Actually I remember reading some interview with one of the TV executives that said that people who skipped commericals, changed the channel, or left the room when commercials came on, were basically "stealing" and bad people.
I see a day where after they successfully control what you can and cannot do with your TV/TiVo/VCR then they will make it mandatory to watch the commericals before programming continues, change the channel? It will pause the feed until you change back and watch the commericals that are being sent... like streaming video that pauses when you change a channel.
They already do this to some degree in DVDs that you pay for to rent or "own", with the way you get that message "Button not available for use now" when you try to fast forward through previews, legal notices, or ads on some DVDs...
"So, before I bite on your troll-bait, please show me examples of companies who have been publically traded for 10+ years and exist only to fill gaps with no revenue goals. Good luck."
How about the airlines that have been operating in bankruptcy for many years now and are subsidized often by the government because they are "essential"? (the recent United Airlines news stories come to mind)
"I mean, come on, we've *all* seen the same few seconds get spliced back into the film over and over and over now haven't we?"
Or you could do what the big budget Hollywood movies do, film the same action from different cameras at the same time, then splice the action together to make it seem linear.
Title: The Peasants
From: Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Transcribed By: Malcolm Dickinson ( CLARINET@YALEVM.BITNET )
Arthur and his trusty servant Patsy "ride" into a field where peasants are working. They come up behind a cart which is being dragged by a hunched-over peasant in ragged clothing. Patsy slows as they near the cart.
Arthur: Old Woman!
The peasant turns around, revealing that he is in fact a man.
Man: Man! Arthur: Man, sorry.... What knight lives in that castle over there? Man: I'm thirty-seven! Arthur: (suprised) What? Man: I'm thirty-seven! I'm not old-- Arthur: Well I can't just call you "man"... Man: Well you could say "Dennis"-- Arthur: I didn't know you were called Dennis! Man: Well, you didn't bother to find out, did you?! Arthur: I did say sorry about the "old woman", but from behind, you looked-- Man: Well I object to your...you automatically treat me like an inferior! Arthur: Well I *am* king... Man: Oh, king, eh, very nice. And 'ow'd you get that, eh?
(he reaches his destination and stops, dropping the cart)
By exploiting the workers! By 'angin' on to outdated imperialist dogma
which perpetuates the economic and social differences in our society.
If there's ever going to be any progress,-- Woman: Dennis! There's some lovely filth down 'ere!
(noticing Arthur) Oh! 'Ow'd'ja do? Arthur: How do you do, good lady. I am Arthur, king of the Britons. Whose
castle is that? Woman: King of the 'oo? Arthur: King of the Britons. Woman: 'Oo are the Britons? Arthur: Well we all are! We are all Britons! And I am your king. Woman: I didn't know we 'ad a king! I thought we were autonomous collective. Man: (mad) You're fooling yourself! We're living in a dictatorship! A
self-perpetuating autocracy in which the working classes-- Woman: There you go, bringing class into it again... Man: That's what it's all about! If only people would-- Arthur: Please, *please*, good people, I am in haste! WHO lives in that
castle? Woman: No one lives there. Arthur: Then who is your lord? Woman: We don't have a lord! Arthur: (spurised) What?? Man: I *told* you! We're an anarcho-syndicalist commune! We're taking
turns to act as a sort of executive-officer-for-the-week-- Arthur: (uninterested) Yes... Man: But all the decisions *of* that officer 'ave to be ratified at a
special bi-weekly meeting-- Arthur: (perturbed) Yes I see! Man: By a simple majority, in the case of purely internal affairs-- Arthur: (mad) Be quiet! Man: But by a two-thirds majority, in the case of more major-- Arthur: (very angry) BE QUIET! I *order* you to be quiet! Woman: "Order", eh, 'oo does 'e think 'e is? Arthur: I am your king! Woman: Well I didn't vote for you! Arthur: You don't vote for kings! Woman: Well 'ow'd you become king then? (holy music up) Arthur: The Lady of the Lake-- her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite,
held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by
divine providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. THAT is why
I am your king! Man: (laughingly) Listen: Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords
is no basis for a system of government! Supreme executive power
derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some... farcical
aquatic ceremony! Arthur: (yelling) BE QUIET! Man: You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some
watery tart threw a sword at you!! Arthur: (coming forward and grabbing the man) Shut *UP*! Man: I mean, if I went 'round, saying I was an emperor, just because some
moistened bink had
"I think you can have a fairly fast paced game and still be full of great movement and little things that make the experience new."
I definitely agree, what bothers me is when they slow the game down to enhance "realism" ("you can't run that fast in real life and still shoot straight, etc, etc) aka Halo;)
A lot of the manufactuers are now releasing "trimmed down" MBs to fill the ultra low price point market, of course you will always find onboard NIC and usb ports, but it isn't too hard to find a MB with no video, sata, or audio...
"And I thought that hiding well and taking out your enemies by stealth was way smarter than a full frontal assault on your enemy?"
There is a difference between hiding in one spot every single round hoping to get kills from unsuspecting rushers and hiding here and there when you hear multiple footsteps coming your way or if you are last man and waiting for your chance to finish the objective/single people out for a takedown.
I know for myself (long time game hoster and admin) that I don't mind someone being stealthy, or hiding here and there, as long as they finish the objective or at least try... just remember that there are usually 15+ other people who have died and are waiting to play the next round....
I don't know which one you got banned for though obviously:)
Slashdot Mirror
"No commercials, new episodes, no network censors. I'll be the first in line"
Yah sounds great!!! No idea what kind of crap they are producing and the only way to find out is to shell out hard currency? Where do I sign up!?!?!
I think on this note I will also change my netflix selections to "random movies".
"(including Ray Jackendoff)"
Poor Ray, I can only imagine what his childhood was like in the schoolyard...
" Or you could just buy a DVD player that lets you skip through all that crap."
Well I just found out that my DVD player (Sony NC615) is able to be "modified" through IR commands to unlock region codes and possibly macrovision protection also.. so i'll be trying this in the days to come...
"and it's possible to connect a mouse and keyboard to the consoles with an adapter."
But will any of the games support the keyboard and mouse setup (like FPS titles?)
"How is being forced to sit through 15 minutes of previews, many for DVDs that I already own, every time I insert a disc unintrusive?"
"Unintrusive? No. Effective? Apparently."
Forget that, I just pop the DVD in my player about 10 minutes before I am going to watch it, then i change the input to the video source of the DVD player when i am ready to watch the movie.. at that point the previews and legal notices are done and it is waiting on the menu section of the DVD (play movie, scene selection, setup, etc..)
" Or you could get a gamecube and play against/with your kids while being in the same room and interacting with them."
Well the computers ARE all in the same room, and we do interact, we also have a home theater setup where people can sit around on our couch (one of those big sectionals that wrap around the room) and watch movies and such...
I mean we also have a console (PS2) but there are only so many games that have 4 player multiplay (basically the crash team racing line of games) and the 4-way ports you need ot use for the controllers are a real pain!!
well i can make a computer pretty cheap, and I already have 4 of them (started before these console had support for LAN)
SO i have 4 multi purpose machines, ALL of the games for PC allow for some sort of LAN play, and they cost about the same as I would pay for 4 consoles TV (figuring a decent TV would be 250 + a 250 console) not to mention I can buy one game and make it work on all four computers on a LAN... can you do that with the consoles?
Then of course I can upgrade my computers for less than the cost of a new console and still have backwards compatibility and play the new games...
"What's the difference between that and having three consoles on a LAN?"
You can LAN consoles? AFAIK you can only play with others using split screen or something like the Live service Xbox has...
Also that would mean 4 TV sets (one per console)?!?!
I only have 1 TV (CRTs are a lot cheaper than TVs)
"Google has a HQ in Kirkland, but you don't see people saying "whatever Kirkland wants, Kirkland gets...." or maybe that's just because Kirkland is a Grade A dump.'
Is that the same Kirkland that the Costco products get their name from?
I mean the shoes are cheap but now I know they come from a dump i'm gonna think twice.. not to mention the bread.. ewwww
"All I can say is that for a grand, this card better blow me and make me toast in the morning."
Hell, I'D do that for a grand... (then i could buy this card and be the Pwn!!)
"It's really hard to see the point of PC gaming anymore. What's it got that consoles dont?"
:P
Well I can play with my 3 kids on our lan, hard to do that with consoles without also buying 4 (is that even possible to LAN consoles?) also my wife can play games on yahoo while im fragging away in my deathmatch server while still sitting next to each other (so that we are spending "time together")
"Theres a major lackage of a physics processor right now. Given the nice placement of GPU cards... on a high bandwidth bus of the northbridge, I'd say put the physics chip on the video card. Otherwise on a PCIX card."
c sdedicatedhardwaresoon.shtml
Someone is developing something like this, it will be a seperate add-in card, but sounds interesting
http://www.megagames.com/news/html/hardware/physi
Although this article is a bit old, not sure if it is still in the works or not...
"I have a geforce4ti, and wonder why will I need more GPU power anyway. HL2 and doom3 run fine, "
My old rig had the same card (very good card btw) then i upgraded to a 6800 (non ultra or GT even) and it really made a difference in both of those games, on the order of 2x the frame rate (and I really seem to notice changes in frame rates up to 85+)
"It's like having two processors in your computer, however the two cards can actually work on the same output, as one card takes odd lines and the other even lines or the top half vs. bottom half (I don't recall the exact process)."
The old Voodoo SLI setup did the odd/even line method that you talk about, the newer Nvidia SLI mode does a top vs bottom half method.
Well for Longhorn and Quake4 I think this is now the minimum? Or is it 2 of these in an SLI setup?
I'm still saving up for the 4way multi-core CPU minimum requirement =/
"Why is it illegal to give a bad reference? It makes no sense to me; if the employee had a habit for coming to work late, had had negative performance reviews and sloughed off, why is it illegal to tell another employer that? It's not like you're lying..."
I think it is to protect people from those who _would_ lie.../
"Why does everybody still talk about divx?"
Not everyone does, just the ones with dyslexia =P
"I can change the channel or leave the room and thats ok."
Actually I remember reading some interview with one of the TV executives that said that people who skipped commericals, changed the channel, or left the room when commercials came on, were basically "stealing" and bad people.
I see a day where after they successfully control what you can and cannot do with your TV/TiVo/VCR then they will make it mandatory to watch the commericals before programming continues, change the channel? It will pause the feed until you change back and watch the commericals that are being sent... like streaming video that pauses when you change a channel.
They already do this to some degree in DVDs that you pay for to rent or "own", with the way you get that message "Button not available for use now" when you try to fast forward through previews, legal notices, or ads on some DVDs...
or maybe i'm just paranoid?
"So, before I bite on your troll-bait, please show me examples of companies who have been publically traded for 10+ years and exist only to fill gaps with no revenue goals. Good luck."
How about the airlines that have been operating in bankruptcy for many years now and are subsidized often by the government because they are "essential"? (the recent United Airlines news stories come to mind)
"I mean, come on, we've *all* seen the same few seconds get spliced back into the film over and over and over now haven't we?"
Or you could do what the big budget Hollywood movies do, film the same action from different cameras at the same time, then splice the action together to make it seem linear.
There i just made your 30 seconds into 90!!
copied and pasted from
http://www.intriguing.com/mp/_scripts/peasant.asp
Title: The Peasants
From: Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Transcribed By: Malcolm Dickinson ( CLARINET@YALEVM.BITNET )
Arthur and his trusty servant Patsy "ride" into a field where peasants are
working. They come up behind a cart which is being dragged by a hunched-over
peasant in ragged clothing. Patsy slows as they near the cart.
Arthur: Old Woman!
The peasant turns around, revealing that he is in fact a man.
Man: Man!
Arthur: Man, sorry.... What knight lives in that castle over there?
Man: I'm thirty-seven!
Arthur: (suprised) What?
Man: I'm thirty-seven! I'm not old--
Arthur: Well I can't just call you "man"...
Man: Well you could say "Dennis"--
Arthur: I didn't know you were called Dennis!
Man: Well, you didn't bother to find out, did you?!
Arthur: I did say sorry about the "old woman", but from behind, you looked--
Man: Well I object to your...you automatically treat me like an inferior!
Arthur: Well I *am* king...
Man: Oh, king, eh, very nice. And 'ow'd you get that, eh?
(he reaches his destination and stops, dropping the cart)
By exploiting the workers! By 'angin' on to outdated imperialist dogma
which perpetuates the economic and social differences in our society.
If there's ever going to be any progress,--
Woman: Dennis! There's some lovely filth down 'ere!
(noticing Arthur) Oh! 'Ow'd'ja do?
Arthur: How do you do, good lady. I am Arthur, king of the Britons. Whose
castle is that?
Woman: King of the 'oo?
Arthur: King of the Britons.
Woman: 'Oo are the Britons?
Arthur: Well we all are! We are all Britons! And I am your king.
Woman: I didn't know we 'ad a king! I thought we were autonomous collective.
Man: (mad) You're fooling yourself! We're living in a dictatorship! A
self-perpetuating autocracy in which the working classes--
Woman: There you go, bringing class into it again...
Man: That's what it's all about! If only people would--
Arthur: Please, *please*, good people, I am in haste! WHO lives in that
castle?
Woman: No one lives there.
Arthur: Then who is your lord?
Woman: We don't have a lord!
Arthur: (spurised) What??
Man: I *told* you! We're an anarcho-syndicalist commune! We're taking
turns to act as a sort of executive-officer-for-the-week--
Arthur: (uninterested) Yes...
Man: But all the decisions *of* that officer 'ave to be ratified at a
special bi-weekly meeting--
Arthur: (perturbed) Yes I see!
Man: By a simple majority, in the case of purely internal affairs--
Arthur: (mad) Be quiet!
Man: But by a two-thirds majority, in the case of more major--
Arthur: (very angry) BE QUIET! I *order* you to be quiet!
Woman: "Order", eh, 'oo does 'e think 'e is?
Arthur: I am your king!
Woman: Well I didn't vote for you!
Arthur: You don't vote for kings!
Woman: Well 'ow'd you become king then?
(holy music up)
Arthur: The Lady of the Lake-- her arm clad in the purest shimmering samite,
held aloft Excalibur from the bosom of the water, signifying by
divine providence that I, Arthur, was to carry Excalibur. THAT is why
I am your king!
Man: (laughingly) Listen: Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords
is no basis for a system of government! Supreme executive power
derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some... farcical
aquatic ceremony!
Arthur: (yelling) BE QUIET!
Man: You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just 'cause some
watery tart threw a sword at you!!
Arthur: (coming forward and grabbing the man) Shut *UP*!
Man: I mean, if I went 'round, saying I was an emperor, just because some
moistened bink had
"I think you can have a fairly fast paced game and still be full of great movement and little things that make the experience new."
;)
I definitely agree, what bothers me is when they slow the game down to enhance "realism" ("you can't run that fast in real life and still shoot straight, etc, etc) aka Halo
A lot of the manufactuers are now releasing "trimmed down" MBs to fill the ultra low price point market, of course you will always find onboard NIC and usb ports, but it isn't too hard to find a MB with no video, sata, or audio...
"but i personally feel the speed of FPS multiplayer games like quake should be slowed down to a little more realistic play."
Try playing Halo multiplayer, it's like a glacier on valium...
"And I thought that hiding well and taking out your enemies by stealth was way smarter than a full frontal assault on your enemy?"
:)
There is a difference between hiding in one spot every single round hoping to get kills from unsuspecting rushers and hiding here and there when you hear multiple footsteps coming your way or if you are last man and waiting for your chance to finish the objective/single people out for a takedown.
I know for myself (long time game hoster and admin) that I don't mind someone being stealthy, or hiding here and there, as long as they finish the objective or at least try... just remember that there are usually 15+ other people who have died and are waiting to play the next round....
I don't know which one you got banned for though obviously
"Am I the only one who thinks like this, or are there other people out there who have been disappointed by the lack of a coop mode in most games?"
I concurr, I think thats what made the Serious Sam games so popular at my house...
but I thought that quake4 was going to have coop?