> Really? In 2004 I was well below that level [soundandvision.com], and later I took it to >100 dB SPL [data-bass.com] with single digit THD
The first link is to a much larger (physical size) product that cost $999 and that from a company that went out of business. It's hard to tell what it would cost today, plus it's not really competing in the same form factor as the category the HomePod is in. I don't think this is a reasonable comparison.
The second link talks about a product that easily costs over $2k. There's really no comparison.
That said, there's a well reasoned response from user edechamps in the reddit post that refutes the validity and interpretation of the OP measurements, and while one of the people involved answered him partially, I don't feel from reading the comment and response that his points were fully answered. So it's very possible that indeed the OP of the review was "looking through Apple-tinted glasses".
> abundant - existing or available in large quantities; plentiful.
...
> How can something plentiful be completely inaccessible?
The key word is "or". I.e. you can condense the above definition to read (for this case): "Abundant: existing in large quantities". Doesn't have to be accessible.
"Between 158 and 177 Palestinians died in the operation, with between 55 and 120 of them being combatants. An additional 1,200-1,300 Palestinians were injured, and between 350 and 700 Palestinian families displaced."
I want to write in Ron Paul, but he hasn't a chance of getting elected. He just isn't marketable enough for the drooling masses.:-(
Ron Paul Newsletters Controversy.
Really? This is a man you would endorse for president?
I think/. is for sci/tech not politics usually, but since you brought it up - how can you support someone who would, say, refuse to hire you because of your skin color, instead of your skills? Shouldn't we tech people be better than that?
The short answer is, based on my gut feeling - you should leave. Just remember, many people suffer from the delusion they are irreplaceable to their workplace - they are always wrong.
The longer answer is:
1. You state that even higher management are your friends. Just how good? Visit each other on weekends? Hang out in bars? Or just "treat you in a friendly manner in the office"?
1.a. If it's the last, they are not true friends and you shouldn't give this "friendship" any weight whatsoever.
1.b. If they really are good friends, tell them about the offer. A 7k raise and 40 minutes shorter commute are not trivial to pass up. If they care about you, they might actually advise you to take it, even if it hurts them temporarily.
2. A 7k rise is a lot. If another company is willing to pay you such a hefty raise, you've been working for many years now at wages below what you could/should have been making. Why is the difference so large?
2.a. If it's because you've passed up opportunities to get a raise, either by leaving or declining a promotion at your current company, you are of course to blame.
2.b. If however as I suspect you simply haven't received (proper) pay raises at your current company for several years, thus putting you behind the curve, they have in effect been screwing you over. And make no mistakes, companies know *exactly* how much the going rate is for each programmer grade and seniority. So if they have been knowingly screwing you out of proper wages for several years, they are certainly no friends of yours.
Yeah, I got Torchlight on Steam for $20, too bad it was released a few days later on a weekend sale for $10:)
But frankly Torchlight is just missing something for me. Maybe it is the limited storyline/questing (practically non-existent), or maybe the small variety of spells and abilities. Or maybe the fact that I finished the entire dungeon in 3 evenings of casual play and the infinite one just bores me. But just looking at some of the frankly kick-ass moves of the D3 mage class for example, you can just see the difference between the two games.
It's definitely worth it for $10, I got a kick out of fishing a lot and turning my cat into various forms. But I think the lack of multiplayer and very limited replay value (at least for me - YMMV) mean that once you finish the end boss for the first time, there's very little reason to go back to the game.
Last but not least, there's a lot to be said for Blizzard's famous adherence to polish and quality. While playing Torchlight I've noticed: weak grammar and outright errors in quest texts ; different items with the same name ; ability to mis-use game mechanics to kill mobs that can't reach you.
These are just the things I remember, there are probably more. You can bet that there won't be those kinds of problems in D3.
So no, I am not "over waiting for D3". Not by a long shot:)
What's your point?
For one thing, AoC is still around and kicking, including an upcoming expansion. As far as any of us knows, it may be a financial success by now, even if the player base has shrunk.
For Another, AoC is a Funcom game, no relation of Blizzard/Activision. Which of course brings us to your next point...
Blizzard appears to have a pretty good hit/miss ratio so far
I think @gravos' sentiment, while badly worded, is correct. Blizzard seem to be really good at what they do and presumably the "cut-scene filler" will actually be something that helps sell the game. As for "pretty good hit/miss ratio", it's pretty darn fucking spectacular, calling it "pretty good" is just about the understatement of the year.
but it's hard to say if it's luck, talent for seeing what will work, or just hordes of loyal fans.
Luck is getting 1 hit game. Smash hit after smash hit implies something more.
As for the "hordes of loyal fans", I guess you're implying that no matter what Blizzard does, the "loyal fans" will buy and cheer? Just look at the recent RealID on forums fiasco and outcry on the WoW Forums, fans were certainly not shy about letting Blizzard know it messed up there!
So I don't buy it. I think Blizzard really are good at taking a concept and making a best seller game of it. I fully expect SC2 to both sell well and get good reviews (relative to the dated graphics it uses). My only personal complaint is that the game is expected to sell for I think $50 and will open only the Terran race in the single-player story mode, which means $150 for all 3 chapters and who-knows-how-long-to-wait for the next 2 chapters. To be honest, that's too steep for me, I'm going to sit and wait till prices come down and hopefully parts 2 and 3 are released.
strongly recommend them change products... I replace it with something else.
Which? What other products? Do you have any hard facts (tests etc.) that prove these products provide better/as-good overall security as Norton Internet security? If you do, stop teasing and give some links!
I've been using Norton Internet Security for the last 5 years on my home PC (which of course changed over the years) and I have been extermely satisfied with it, overall. It has done its job of protecting my PC perfectly (zero virus infections). As for the whole "bloated product" issue, I wouldn't know - my PC is a gaming machine, usually way above the curve. Norton doesn't really affect its performance. Granted, that's not the case for most people, so maybe you havea point there. But I'd rather take a bloated product that does its job (and buy an additional ram stick to help the computer work) then go for a "lite" product that will allow my computer to be filled with viruses.
Whenever there's a Symantec article on Slashdot, people love to bash them. I usually don't go defending commercial companies, but really, saying "there are better products out there" with no links given is a little annoying. No, scratch that, it's very annoying;)
Re:The real 90s versus outdated 00s software
on
Java Is So 90s
·
· Score: 2, Informative
Especially OS/390 on which none of the other languages mentioned in this discussion will even run
Not true. Perl runs on every platform mentioned in the above thread, including OS/390.
Sometimes, just sometimes, I read comments that are so insightful I feel they should earn a special grade, maybe +6 or even +9. The above post is one:-)
What Lionhead should have done, IMHO, is implement a UI modding system such as the one in WoW.
Different people prefer different ways of controling their game - no menus might work for some, but trying to force people into a gaming style that doesn't work for them is a sure way to lose customers. IMO one of the best selling points for WoW is that it provides a way to customize the UI using a relatively simple scripting language (Lua).
It's a win-win situation - the gamers get a way to view and control the game the way they want, enhancing their enjoyment of the game and giving them that feel of control that non-FOSS apps always seem to take away; heck, sometimes playing with different mods becomes half the fun of the game:)
The game company not only sells more copies of the game but also develops a more vibrant community around the game, that of the mod developers and users. In addition, the mods add value to the game, sometimes opening up usage and play directions which the game developers simply didn't think of.
It's probably too late for B&W 2, but you know what they say - three's a charm;-)
If $15 is to much, this game probably isn't for you
I'm sorry, but I fail to see the connection.
Please remember that not everyone is an American with an income in US dollars. $15 may not be a lot to you but it is more then I pay to my ISP to connect to the Net. So in effect paying for WoW more than doubled my Net related bills for just a single game.
I was not talking about myself (I'm hardly a casual gamer - I play WoW almost every day when my time allows:)), I was asking a general question. ISP's have long used the alternative payment model of "pay for as much as you surf", rather then "pay the same amount no matter how much you surf". Granted, it used to be more popluar back in the days of the modem, but it is still viable, and used, today. Once again, I don't see why something that works for ISPs couldn't work for WoW (or any other MMORPG).
let blizzard fix things that are annoying real (as opposed to potential) customers right now
The more customers Blizzard has, the more money they will make, meaning they will have more resources to fix those annoying bugs:)
Why doesn't Blizzard (or any other MMORPG that I've heard of) allow users to pay for only as much as they play, instead of having only a fixed monthly sum? This works well for ISPs...
This would allow casual players to play, who don't want to pay a large monthly amount jsut to login once a week, for example.
eXeem lite is spyware free and free of bloat -- and free
This isn't Free (libre) software, so while it is nice that it doesn't cost anything, neither does the official eXeem, so it is not better in that respect.
As for the claim that the official version comes with spyware and that this "lite" version doesn't - several posters have already said they couldn't find any spyware after installing eXeem.
As for eXeem-lite, if I can't see the source, why should I believe the site that claims it is spyware-free? Because the say so?
This is expected to be Doohan's last public appearance as he suffers from Parkinson's disease, diabetes and lung fibrosis as well as recently diagnosed Alzheimer's disease.
He should sue the makers of Star Trek - all these diseases in one person! It can't be coincidence - must be all those warp energies he worked next to, unprotected, for all those years!
Dear Lord,
(Sorry, couldn't resist:-)) The talents would be too difficult to make unique
I think I mentioned in my post that a game software (server) would make sure that talents are unique. Surly that would be fairly easy to program into the game?
As for your other points, I agree it would not be easy to get people to be creative with their talents, but I think it is not impossible- not every MMORPG involves killing monsters and amassing gold. Some are about building communities, buildings, trade, etc. I think such a game, in the Xanth setting, would appeal to a lot of people. Even the puns:-)
Your third point, about the Xanth world being one where people are stuck with the power they have, and changing that would make the game flop - all I can say to that is, I know changing this aspect would change the nature of "Xanth Online" vs. "Fantasy Xanth", but I do not agree that changing it would cause the game to flop. On the contrary. Not changing this would cause the game to flop. In a book, the writer can advance the plot. But in a game, where the players need to advance the game, if their characters do not advance (always stay the same), the players will have no motivation to advance the game, and it will stagnate. Just as when a book is transformed into a movie, the script is allowed, even expected, to be different than the book, so I think when a book is transformed into a game it should be expected to change to fit the new medium.
I agree Xanth would make a rockin pen and paper game:-) I also think an enterprising, forward thinking game publisher with a fun look at games could make Xanth into a great game with unusual elements. Not every game has to be like Everquest to be successful - just look at City of Heroes for n example.
I think Xanth would make a great "magic MMORPG". Everyone could choose to have a unique magical talent that would be weak to begin with, but unlike the books, with experience you could "level up", and make your talent stronger or different. The game software could keep track of assigned talents and make sure no two are exactly the same (one of the base assumptions of Xanth).
Imagine- fighting the Gap Dragon or dueling with another player who can create holes under your feet. Way cool:-)
I may not agree with everything this guy said, but at least it is one of the most interesting replies I've read- in fact, more interesting than the original article:-)
So mod him up to a 5 (Interesting) - he deserves it, IMHO.
Slashdot Mirror
> Really? In 2004 I was well below that level [soundandvision.com], and later I took it to >100 dB SPL [data-bass.com] with single digit THD
The first link is to a much larger (physical size) product that cost $999 and that from a company that went out of business. It's hard to tell what it would cost today, plus it's not really competing in the same form factor as the category the HomePod is in. I don't think this is a reasonable comparison.
The second link talks about a product that easily costs over $2k. There's really no comparison.
That said, there's a well reasoned response from user edechamps in the reddit post that refutes the validity and interpretation of the OP measurements, and while one of the people involved answered him partially, I don't feel from reading the comment and response that his points were fully answered. So it's very possible that indeed the OP of the review was "looking through Apple-tinted glasses".
You don't like Java's or Python's GUI programming, but what would you use?
> abundant - existing or available in large quantities; plentiful.
...
> How can something plentiful be completely inaccessible?
The key word is "or". I.e. you can condense the above definition to read (for this case): "Abundant: existing in large quantities". Doesn't have to be accessible.
> For instance, in the last dust-up, approximately 1200 Gazans died
According to Wikipedia ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Cloud_Pillar ) this is actually the number of Palestinians *injured*, not killed:
"Between 158 and 177 Palestinians died in the operation, with between 55 and 120 of them being combatants. An additional 1,200-1,300 Palestinians were injured, and between 350 and 700 Palestinian families displaced."
I want to write in Ron Paul, but he hasn't a chance of getting elected. He just isn't marketable enough for the drooling masses. :-(
Ron Paul Newsletters Controversy. /. is for sci/tech not politics usually, but since you brought it up - how can you support someone who would, say, refuse to hire you because of your skin color, instead of your skills? Shouldn't we tech people be better than that?
Really? This is a man you would endorse for president? I think
The longer answer is:
1. You state that even higher management are your friends. Just how good? Visit each other on weekends? Hang out in bars? Or just "treat you in a friendly manner in the office"?
1.a. If it's the last, they are not true friends and you shouldn't give this "friendship" any weight whatsoever.
1.b. If they really are good friends, tell them about the offer. A 7k raise and 40 minutes shorter commute are not trivial to pass up. If they care about you, they might actually advise you to take it, even if it hurts them temporarily.
2. A 7k rise is a lot. If another company is willing to pay you such a hefty raise, you've been working for many years now at wages below what you could/should have been making. Why is the difference so large?
2.a. If it's because you've passed up opportunities to get a raise, either by leaving or declining a promotion at your current company, you are of course to blame.
2.b. If however as I suspect you simply haven't received (proper) pay raises at your current company for several years, thus putting you behind the curve, they have in effect been screwing you over. And make no mistakes, companies know *exactly* how much the going rate is for each programmer grade and seniority. So if they have been knowingly screwing you out of proper wages for several years, they are certainly no friends of yours.
So some random *Ruby* web developer (who doesn't even understand the structure of CPAN) thinks *Ruby* is getting bigger than Perl... news at 11...
... and World of Warcraft and other MMOs (and console games too and to a lesser extent single-player games) have won it.
Yeah, I got Torchlight on Steam for $20, too bad it was released a few days later on a weekend sale for $10 :)
But frankly Torchlight is just missing something for me. Maybe it is the limited storyline/questing (practically non-existent), or maybe the small variety of spells and abilities. Or maybe the fact that I finished the entire dungeon in 3 evenings of casual play and the infinite one just bores me. But just looking at some of the frankly kick-ass moves of the D3 mage class for example, you can just see the difference between the two games.
It's definitely worth it for $10, I got a kick out of fishing a lot and turning my cat into various forms. But I think the lack of multiplayer and very limited replay value (at least for me - YMMV) mean that once you finish the end boss for the first time, there's very little reason to go back to the game.
Last but not least, there's a lot to be said for Blizzard's famous adherence to polish and quality. While playing Torchlight I've noticed: weak grammar and outright errors in quest texts ; different items with the same name ; ability to mis-use game mechanics to kill mobs that can't reach you.
These are just the things I remember, there are probably more. You can bet that there won't be those kinds of problems in D3.
So no, I am not "over waiting for D3". Not by a long shot :)
Then again, I worked on the smaller D2 team, and I know what our burn rate was there.
So, any inside scoop on when D3 is coming out? Now that's one title I'm really looking forward to! :)
As to games, remember Age of Conan?
What's your point? For one thing, AoC is still around and kicking, including an upcoming expansion. As far as any of us knows, it may be a financial success by now, even if the player base has shrunk. For Another, AoC is a Funcom game, no relation of Blizzard/Activision. Which of course brings us to your next point...
Blizzard appears to have a pretty good hit/miss ratio so far
I think @gravos' sentiment, while badly worded, is correct. Blizzard seem to be really good at what they do and presumably the "cut-scene filler" will actually be something that helps sell the game. As for "pretty good hit/miss ratio", it's pretty darn fucking spectacular, calling it "pretty good" is just about the understatement of the year.
but it's hard to say if it's luck, talent for seeing what will work, or just hordes of loyal fans.
Luck is getting 1 hit game. Smash hit after smash hit implies something more. As for the "hordes of loyal fans", I guess you're implying that no matter what Blizzard does, the "loyal fans" will buy and cheer? Just look at the recent RealID on forums fiasco and outcry on the WoW Forums, fans were certainly not shy about letting Blizzard know it messed up there!
So I don't buy it. I think Blizzard really are good at taking a concept and making a best seller game of it. I fully expect SC2 to both sell well and get good reviews (relative to the dated graphics it uses). My only personal complaint is that the game is expected to sell for I think $50 and will open only the Terran race in the single-player story mode, which means $150 for all 3 chapters and who-knows-how-long-to-wait for the next 2 chapters. To be honest, that's too steep for me, I'm going to sit and wait till prices come down and hopefully parts 2 and 3 are released.
strongly recommend them change products... I replace it with something else.
Which? What other products? Do you have any hard facts (tests etc.) that prove these products provide better/as-good overall security as Norton Internet security? If you do, stop teasing and give some links!
I've been using Norton Internet Security for the last 5 years on my home PC (which of course changed over the years) and I have been extermely satisfied with it, overall. It has done its job of protecting my PC perfectly (zero virus infections). As for the whole "bloated product" issue, I wouldn't know - my PC is a gaming machine, usually way above the curve. Norton doesn't really affect its performance. Granted, that's not the case for most people, so maybe you havea point there. But I'd rather take a bloated product that does its job (and buy an additional ram stick to help the computer work) then go for a "lite" product that will allow my computer to be filled with viruses.
Whenever there's a Symantec article on Slashdot, people love to bash them. I usually don't go defending commercial companies, but really, saying "there are better products out there" with no links given is a little annoying. No, scratch that, it's very annoying ;)
Sometimes, just sometimes, I read comments that are so insightful I feel they should earn a special grade, maybe +6 or even +9. :-)
The above post is one
What Lionhead should have done, IMHO, is implement a UI modding system such as the one in WoW.
Different people prefer different ways of controling their game - no menus might work for some, but trying to force people into a gaming style that doesn't work for them is a sure way to lose customers. IMO one of the best selling points for WoW is that it provides a way to customize the UI using a relatively simple scripting language (Lua).
It's a win-win situation - the gamers get a way to view and control the game the way they want, enhancing their enjoyment of the game and giving them that feel of control that non-FOSS apps always seem to take away; heck, sometimes playing with different mods becomes half the fun of the game :)
The game company not only sells more copies of the game but also develops a more vibrant community around the game, that of the mod developers and users. In addition, the mods add value to the game, sometimes opening up usage and play directions which the game developers simply didn't think of.
It's probably too late for B&W 2, but you know what they say - three's a charm ;-)
Hi DerWulf,
I'm sorry, but I fail to see the connection.
The more customers Blizzard has, the more money they will make, meaning they will have more resources to fix those annoying bugs
Why doesn't Blizzard (or any other MMORPG that I've heard of) allow users to pay for only as much as they play, instead of having only a fixed monthly sum? This works well for ISPs...
This would allow casual players to play, who don't want to pay a large monthly amount jsut to login once a week, for example.
Bummer, wanted to see the pics, now I'll have to wait... :(
eXeem lite is spyware free and free of bloat -- and free
This isn't Free (libre) software, so while it is nice that it doesn't cost anything, neither does the official eXeem, so it is not better in that respect.
As for the claim that the official version comes with spyware and that this "lite" version doesn't - several posters have already said they couldn't find any spyware after installing eXeem.
As for eXeem-lite, if I can't see the source, why should I believe the site that claims it is spyware-free? Because the say so?
This is expected to be Doohan's last public appearance as he suffers from Parkinson's disease, diabetes and lung fibrosis as well as recently diagnosed Alzheimer's disease.
He should sue the makers of Star Trek - all these diseases in one person! It can't be coincidence - must be all those warp energies he worked next to, unprotected, for all those years!
Dear Lord, :-)) :-) :-) I also think an enterprising, forward thinking game publisher with a fun look at games could make Xanth into a great game with unusual elements. Not every game has to be like Everquest to be successful - just look at City of Heroes for n example.
(Sorry, couldn't resist
The talents would be too difficult to make unique
I think I mentioned in my post that a game software (server) would make sure that talents are unique. Surly that would be fairly easy to program into the game?
As for your other points, I agree it would not be easy to get people to be creative with their talents, but I think it is not impossible- not every MMORPG involves killing monsters and amassing gold. Some are about building communities, buildings, trade, etc. I think such a game, in the Xanth setting, would appeal to a lot of people. Even the puns
Your third point, about the Xanth world being one where people are stuck with the power they have, and changing that would make the game flop - all I can say to that is, I know changing this aspect would change the nature of "Xanth Online" vs. "Fantasy Xanth", but I do not agree that changing it would cause the game to flop. On the contrary.
Not changing this would cause the game to flop. In a book, the writer can advance the plot. But in a game, where the players need to advance the game, if their characters do not advance (always stay the same), the players will have no motivation to advance the game, and it will stagnate. Just as when a book is transformed into a movie, the script is allowed, even expected, to be different than the book, so I think when a book is transformed into a game it should be expected to change to fit the new medium.
I agree Xanth would make a rockin pen and paper game
I think Xanth would make a great "magic MMORPG". Everyone could choose to have a unique magical talent that would be weak to begin with, but unlike the books, with experience you could "level up", and make your talent stronger or different. The game software could keep track of assigned talents and make sure no two are exactly the same (one of the base assumptions of Xanth). :-)
Imagine- fighting the Gap Dragon or dueling with another player who can create holes under your feet. Way cool
I may not agree with everything this guy said, but at least it is one of the most interesting replies I've read- in fact, more interesting than the original article :-)
So mod him up to a 5 (Interesting) - he deserves it, IMHO.