Kind of hypocritical given Nintendo's track record of Mario platformers, racers, beat-em-ups and tennis games, along with the neverending Zelda series and the myriad Pokemon versions.
Tell me were any of the original Mario games exactly alike? No. Super Mario Bros 2 was completely different from just about every other one in the franchise. They change things up again with 3. Things even got a bit of a makeover in World and Mario 64 was different as well. Yes, some of the gameplay remains the same, but a lot is different. Just because you re-use a franchise over and over does not mean you cannot revolutionize with the games you make in that franchise.
The Zelda series is similar to the Mario series in many of the same reasons. The games change and have new dynamics. No one can tell me that Ocarina and Windwaker were the same game. They are two different experiences. More then just graphics changes with these series. The new Zelda even proposes to offer new twists not yet seen.
Now, the Pokemon games, I cannot condone. I pretty much hate everything Pokemon. Let us just say Nintendo was smart with that one. Tons of games that are mostly the same and kids will want damn near everyone one, and the parents are going to shell out the money.
Nintendo does vary games within the franchise and while many may play the same or close to it, they still do a good job of creating things that are new and exciting. The Wii is something that we really haven't seen before. The remote is going to create new games with new gameplay options. There has been talk that LA may even give up a lightsaber game for Wii. How sweet would that be? Not to mention all the funny videos we can get online too.
You see, what Miyamoto was trying to say was, you have all these games that you play the exact same way as before and are almost always just graphics improved versions of their predecessor, but with the Wii, you are going to get a new controller that offers great new opportunities for game play and a new experience all together. Remember, I think a few people laughed at Nintendo when they told people about the DS, but I think a lot of people now see that Nintendo may not have been as crazy after all.
I love how in these comments where they kiss Nintendo's backside, they always point to their own console. I actually think Sony's comment was a bit more "negative" since they referred to the Wii as a "second console." Personally, I still think you are going to get a great deal of budget minded gamers who will purchase the Wii as a "first" or "only" console and wait for the prices of the PS3 and 360 to drop to more reasonable levels.
I have never rushed into a high priced console. The first console I purchased myself was a PSX when it was either $99 or $129...the next one was a launch system, the Dreamcast, with the always friendly price point of $199. I eventually bought a used PS2 from a friend at work for $150. This include the broadband adapter, at least two (maybe three) controllers, 5 or 6 games (two of which I sold to make back almost $30 of my money), a memory card, and one of the adapters to allow for more then two people to play.
Now, if the Wii comes in at $249 or less, I can all but guarantee it will be purchased at launch. I have always thought Nintendo had some great games and believe their consoles are one of the best (if not the best) for parties. I mean even regular Mario games can have some party fun, but with Mario Party and Smash Brothers...not to mention those moments of fun that were Dr. Mario on the N64...you really have to hand it to Nintendo.
Ever installed Linux in a laptop? I think you'll find that the scavenger hunt for drivers is similar to what Gary experienced.
I have installed Linux on my Dell Latitude 8600 twice once with Mandriva '06 and the other time Fedora Core 3. I never had this mystical hunt for drivers you speak of. My laptop actually worked right out of the install. I had to do more drivers work on it the one time I installed Windows.
While I will admit, using a laptop for a test install of a beta is a bad idea it isn't the worst thing ever. Windows is notoriously bad for driver support and I have had to install drivers for an FA311 after installing Windows (I think it was 2k) and the FA311 by Netgear has to be one of the most common Network cards ever.
Of course, default video card drivers in Windows also suck. So even if there is a driver installed you still need to go get the "real" ones from ATI or nVidia. So, please do not attribute this problem to simply a beta install or a problem common with Linux and laptops.
He might be a bit biased, but the last article you link he does complain about the sound quality, so it is not like he is a mac fan boy who will sing their praises even when something is wrong. Also, he works for MSNBC...you do remember what the MS in that stands for right? I mean if he leaned anyway you'd think it would at least be to the M$ side. By god, can't someone just have opinions anymore without being f#cking biased one way or another?
Does anyone else remember when VIA was a big player in the chipsets? Like seriously, what happened to Via? I hardly see any AMD boards using Via chipsets anymore, most the new ones were all nForce until ATI started theirs as well...
This is just people failing to understand. I read some, a long time ago, but it is not the main attributing factor to my college and professional success. I think that computers, video games and in many cases television can produce children who are intelligent and still become successful in a variety of fields.
The people I know who read the most are English and Lib arts majors. Now, this could just be the people I know, but I am doing better (money wise) as a recent graduate (about 2 yrs) engineer then some of them who have been out of school much, much longer. So reading != success by any measure.
One day maybe I will figure out what we are suppose to do with our kids. If they stay inside to much and sit around they get fat and lazy, and last I checked reading a book does not equal exercise. If we let them run around and play all day they do not read, so they may be fit but will be dumb as rocks. Seriously, people need to stop generalizing and creating some sort of super child, who is fit, smart, and actually understands science and math (and computers) beyond what little may have ever read. Some people are going to be smart and become the scientist and engineers. Others will become thinkers and educators and turn to, well, teaching and philosophy or writing. Some become great athletes and entertainers, even if they are as dumb as rocks. For those that fall into other categories, I suppose you could call them failures, but remember, we still need people to do the jobs that others do not want to do. So you will always have some people who underachieve (or don't achieve at all) throughout life, and it just has to be accepted.
BTW, Moby Dick is really not a pre-teen book. I would put it late high school or college because it requires a sort of analytical analysis that you only get in later years of literature courses.
AMD is building a 65nm fab facility if memory serves me right. 65nm chips should be rolling out sometime end of '06 or early to mid '07. This might put them a bit behind, but we have seen in the past that AMD does not need to be working at the same "level" as Intel to beat them in the benchmarks.
First, I would hardly say it is beating it. The numbers are all close, but most the processes they are running are almost running into other limits beyond processing speed at this point. The differences are not that great and the chip still loses (and much more then it whens other tests) in anything that is single threaded.
The other thing we need to remember is pricing. I was checking prices the other day for 4200+ processors and D950 processors. While almost exactly the same price, right now the AMD would still be much cheaper because of RAM price differences (especially if you get large RAM sticks, I am looking for 2x 1GB) and motherboards. Find motherboards for AMD and Intel that I believe were equal in features had the Intel motherboard almost $20 more then the AMD one.
Now, while I cannot attest for the power consumption on Intel right off, AMD is releasing more energy efficient processors with the AM2 release, due in just a few weeks. There should also be a slight (5-10%) performance increase based off of information from reviews of the processors and boards while still in development (improvements may be better in production models), so I would not call this a win for Intel yet.
I am glad that Intel finally seems to be catching up with AMD, which hopefully will only lead to better competition between the two over time. I really do not like these speculative reviews (remember those Opteron 64-bit reviews before the first Athlon64s hit), so someone wake me up when Socket AM2 and its processor are out and the new line of Intel chips is actually available and not just a ramped up Yonah. Especially since the cost of the motherboard they used makes you want to cringe. (I have yet to have to break $100 on my motherboards.)
All these are horrible examples to compare to the current idea. They all transmit over much greater distances then the transmission inside the airplane and have a multiple of other intereference issues that go above and beyond the normal RF interference you are going to get from anything in a closed space.
802.11b/g (not 811.x) and Cordless Phones
Well Duh! Use two devices operating in the same frequency and you will have issues. To point out something, 802.11a does not have the problems with the microwave and cordless phones since it operates on the 5 GHz range and not the 2.4GHz. Also, most phones and wireless networks can set channels and by spacing the channels an appropriate distance apart, you should be able to avoid interference with the two devices (for the most part).
remote controlled anything
We are ignoring the IR. Not RF and therefore outside the area of this discussion. What kind of problems do you get with the RF remotes? Most trouble I have ever had is usually in relation to remotes working on the same or approximately the same frequencies or low batteries. The low batteries extends outside the realm of RF as I can say my Sony remote has done some weird shit when its battery is low.
All the problems you mention are interference related, but most of them will be non-issues in the environment that are using. Assuming FAA regulations are actually followed by passengers, the RF interference from the insider should be rather low. Now, I believe someone else mentioned they use bluetooth, which from the wikipedia article: The protocol operates in the license-free ISM band at 2.45 GHz. In order to avoid interfering with other protocols which use the 2.45 GHz band, the Bluetooth protocol divides the band into 79 channels (each 1 MHz wide) and changes channels up to 1600 times per second.
Am I 100% confident these things are going to fly? (I so meant that.) No. Not until they have test flights with various RF interference from inside and outside the plane. Now, I will admit RF is not my best subject (I avoided e-mag and most related subjects while getting my EE degree). I also think that this doesn't make much sense because wiring should not be that heavy in the grand scheme of things (especially considering the weight of a plane).
In case you didn't know, the patent involved here has to do with the playlist. The way the playlist is implemented in both players is the only obvious way I can see to do it and thus falls into the patent domain of an obvious technology which means the damn patent shouldn't have been implemented in the first place.
I've said it once and I will say it again: "This is not how obviousness works!"
So before posting this or that is obvious, please read the laws before making a fool out of yourself.
Battles frequently can be won even with major setbacks - sure, Sony was routed at E3, but they've got six months to get their act in gear and learn from their mistakes.
You seriously think they will adjust the price point? Sony is going to ride this $600 to their demise. To think they will drop it is absurd. Sony is notorious for over-pricing products in the hopes of selling on some sort of reputations, which they still have with many normal consumers.
Now, granted they have undershot the price of their launch Blu-Ray player (and everyone elses really), but if they go much lower the other companies will start screaming foul, which they already should be, because Sony is technically selling a BD player for almost 1/2 the market price. Though I still believe Blu-ray players will drop below the PS3 price sooner rather than later.
Also, using estimated number the penetration of HDTVs has been projected, at best, near 30%...by 2010. This means that nearly 70% of televisions (probably close to 80-90% now) will have no gain from the new format, making Blu-Ray (and HD-DVD) largely pointless for most Americans. I think Sony might be signing their deathwish by making the console with a blu-ray player.
I do not want to come out sounding too much like a conspiracy nut, but Sony is trying to use the PS3 to launch BD and not the console itself. There is much more money to be made in movies then in the game market, since movies are a much more "universal" form of entertainment. If Sony made the console with only DVD support, like 360 and Wii, I would almost bet that they would have pricing that is much more competitive to the other consoles; however, I think their true competitor is HD-DVD and other Blu-Ray drive makers.
No. Since Blu-ray was supposed to be released with burners not far behind. Granted the media will be astronomical in comparison to DVD+R/DL...but it would be hard to sell media for more then the cost of games (about $60).
No one is going to abandon a console simply based on this. If that were the case, they would have stopped releasing PC games years ago.
Am I the only one who thought about BttF2 when they are in the future and the coat Marty is wearing auto-adjusts for size and dries itself? Screw monitoring, I want clothes that do that.
First, the Wii is more powerful then an X-Box or a PS2. The Gamecube already is on par with or passes both systems and the fact that Wii has more powerful hardware pretty much guarantees it to be better then that. Remember, Nintendo took a bunch of hardware most people thought would make a poor system and turned it into a Gamecube. The PS2 reminds me of many things, but power is not one of them. All three (that is right three) of the last generation of consoles were more powerful then the PS2. For those missing one, it is the Dreamcast.
Do you think that Nintendo is crimping on AI, physics or what not? You know what games require the most AI and physics? They are almost certainly first-person shooters, something Nintendo isn't the most well-known for. Also, the Nintendo processing power should be able to handle these things just fine anyway especially for now. The processing power of 360 and PS3 is slightly overkill for current games and the biggest boost they are getting and needing now is the graphics processing.
If you wanted realism, why not stick to the PC? I mean they definitely have the processing power for the AI and physics and you can upgrade them. Oh, there is also the fact you can still watch/listen to TV while playing your game. That is if you can handle doing both at one time.
If Nintendo does launch at $249, I think they made a lot of choices easier. $600 for PS3, $400 for 360, or $250 for Wii. Hm, seems pretty easy to me. I expect the price of Blu-Ray (and HD-DVD) to drop faster then the consoles will. Remember, the PS2 was a cheap DVD player at the time, now it is a pretty expensive and not a well featured one. Since Blu-Ray was the only truly tempting thing in the PS3 (at least for me), I will play the wait and see with commercial players.
Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech.
I have a big problem with this because it begins to become government sanctioned censorship. The use of vague terms means the government would be able to control what information a student sees while he/she is at school. One site that could meet this loose definition is wikipedia, and while I never recommend using it as your primary source of information, creating a block to such a site, even if accidental, could hinder a student's ability to perform research online, especially considering the state of some school libraries.
The other big problem I have with this is the logistics. Who are they going to make block these sites? By forcing the school to do it, you are going to put a burden on already tight education budgets (in part because of another government legislation, but that is for another time). Many schools and school districts I have had the pleasure of witnessing first hand have had poor technology directors (if they had them at all), who often were not your top of the line technology professionals (after all they don't get paid much more then those crappy salaries the teachers get) and librarians are ill equipped to deal with the technology, typically. Also, there are plenty of ways around most the methods they would use to block the access to certain sites.
The next group you could put the job of blocking on is the ISPs. I do not know how many would comply or how quick they would be to do so. It is not their job to block content, usually, but it would not be outside their abilities. The problem with this is when they block the wrong thing, the schools have to go somewhere else to get a problem fixed. I could see the complaints about unreceived e-mails now.
But let us move to the next problem. How many kids on myspace (or any other site) are meeting sexual predators? I dare say, no more then they did before these sites became popular. It has become the medias hot story of the year. Remeber the shark attacks a few years ago? Seemed like every other person in the water was being attacked, but in reality it was a pretty average year. The media is quite possibly blowing this out of the water, and as usual parents and the people they vote for are eating it up and making an issue out of it.
These kids spend far more time at home and are more then likely meeting most of this people while there. This bill is a red herring of sorts. I have learned that most politicians really do not care about the children, well at least not about their rights. You see, the kid doesn't vote; the parents do. They can use this made up issue to convince parents to vote for them and extend their term a few more years. I have heard kids complain about their rights, or lack thereof, (I did it.) but the typical parental response is that you have no rights, except what they give you.
To those parents who say that, and apparently the politicians who blatantly agree with it, you mind pointing out to me where the Bill of Rights states that you do not have the freedom of speech (or any of your other rights except voting of course) until AFTER you turn 18?
I can't wait to pay $600-$800 for an HD-DVD player, and $30 per disc only to have my resolution crippled because the HDTV I bought last year doesn't feature the latest Anti-Piracy tech
So, on the off chance that you actually bought an HDTV in the last year that does not have HDMI, which pretty much guarantees HDCP support, or DVI with HDCP support, read the last paragraph here. Now, I know how trustworthy those studios can be (that was sarcasm folks), but if we listen to them your HD-DVD would not be crippled. Everyone seems to ignore the fact that this is an option of the media, not a requirement.
Still, if you bought an HDTV in the last year it should probably support HDCP.
*Diablo II
*Warcraft III
*Half-Life (pre-steam) w/ all games
*Return to Castle Wolfenstein
List of games I know will run in Linux:
*World of Warcraft
*Half-Life 2 and mods
Those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. (Yes, I know the list is a bit short.) But I own all the games on that list and their ability to run in Linux is great because I really plan on shedding Windows for good with this next PC upgrade. There are others games that I think run in Linux. Tribes 2 had a Linux version and I think NWN was going to eventually get Linux support.
Yes, the market for Linux gaming is a lot smaller, but it does still exist. Some companies have released commercial versions of games to run in Linux and id gave away the Linux client for RtCW (though you need the game for its data files). The rest can be made to run in wine. Still, the point is valid. There is no reason for companies to release open source drivers if they don't want to do it. The fact they release drivers at all is actually somewhat impressive.
I really have had no issue with any spam blocking stopping legitimate mail in year. When that happened, it was Yahoo! Mail which was blocking legitimate e-mails from friends with overseas e-mail addresses, in particular one ending in.nz, I believe. Otherwise, I really have had no problems, though I do not use commercial/3rd party blockers.
When I was actually using Outlook '03, I really had no problems except that junk still got through. The problem of junk still getting through happens on Yahoo! occassionally, but I attribute a lot of this to spammers just getting craftier and finding ways around the filters that they use. Gmail isn't too bad either, though my junk mail there is much, much lower then any of my other accounts and most the junk mail I do get is from my forwarded college e-mail address, which apparently started picking up a lot of spam sometime while I was still in college.
The next thing you know they will want to change any game where you can install custom skins to an 'M' rating simply because someone can download a custom model and have naked women everywhere. What I love throughout all this is that it isn't about violence (despite what the ESRB said) and solely about some "sexually explicit" content that by default is not accessible in the game. I guess I never realized how horribly ugly the female human form is...
While not necessarily right (and maybe not on point), it is absurd to think that the difference between 'T' and 'M' is going to make a difference in who buys these games. Now, the kids (I actually do not know any kids who play ES IV) just have to get their parents, who have shown total disregard for what their children are doing (see complaints about movie, television and game ratings...and the recent "myspace scare"), will blatantly ignore the ratings and purchase it anyway.
I would love to see some game makers stop using the ESRB all-together. Like the MPAA movie rating system, it is completely voluntary and even if a few places won't carry an un-rated game, I am sure plenty of legitimate video game retailers will be more then glad to sell such a game. Unfortunately, this probably will not happen because I would imagine that some of the larger retailers would be the ones refusing.
Two of the three articles reference to the same write-up from the NEMJ. It is also possible, though I cannot be sure, that the third article's journal reference could be a submission from the same individual. Now, I do not know how much to trust what they say about Tamiflu still being the best option, because saying otherwise would just lead people to freak out when the pandemic comes, but I believe it would probably still be one of the better options.
Drug resistances happen because virii and bacteria mutate over time. This is a big reason why many traditional antibiotics are becoming less useful against certain bacteria, and a possible cause for some of the "super bugs." And if your idea for fighting bird flu is with chicken soup, we truly are screwed.
where this is any different then the cops being allowed to tap regular telephones? Seriously, have they once said that the cops will have unfettered access to this information without a warrant? If not, then I do not see why there is this urgent need for encryption on VoIP. I mean we are talking about the police agencies being able to have the same access to listen to VoIP conversations that they already have to tap every other phone line in America.
Now, I am sure you are all wearing your tin foil caps, but really this is not about some great big brother monitoring scheme. If you are so scared about people listening to your calls, you do not need encryption. Just start talking in code. Afterall, mobsters and just about anyone else committing illegal activity have been doing it for years to avoid being overheard.
I just am afraid I do not see everyone elses great concern in this matter. Of course, my lack of VoIP means that monitoring my calls is already quiet within the realm of possibility. As for the text conversation part, if I were truly concerned about stuff I was saying the last way I would transmit it would be over IM or through e-mail.
Yes, because that works so well now. I remember when they decided to start requiring people under the age of 14 to register and many sites said provide a parent's email address. Now, I am not dumb, and neither are the 10-14 yr olds I know. Many of these kids know more about their computers and the internet then their parents, my brother being a prime example. The system is largely honor based, and the notion that kids are honest is laughable.
I know for a fact that my brother registered with myspace and several other sites that required verification with false birthyears or fake birthdays all together. He has his own Yahoo account so any site requiring a "parent's" email will surely just get it. To think that a verification system will work is just absurd. Even if you required a CC to verify the minimum age of 18 (and even that is questionable anymore), you still will have kids who would swipe their one of their parents' cards and use it.
I think the real problem here is coming down to a lack of proper parental supervision. We had the same issue with television, so they created the annoying rating system, which most parents do not understand, and then cable companies and television manufacturers started to make it "easy" for parents to block channels or certain shows, based on rating. I do not know many parents who even use these features, but then again, I do not know many people who are that objectionable to every little thing on television or who have young children.
The simple fact is if they want to protect the children from pedophiles, they are going to have to better educate parents on how to monitor their children's activities online. It is the responsibility of parents and not that of the operators of myspace to make a reasonable effort to ensure the safety of their children. I say reasonable because I do not think I have met many parents who can afford to be with their kid 24/7. I also think if the government this concerned about the safety of the children then the goal should not to be to force myspace to do your work. It is not and should not be the job of myspace to hunt down every pedophile who might have an account on their site. If the government is truly this concerned I am sure they can spare some people to operate sting operations to catch these people.
They have been doing this for years on other websites, IRC, and other internet communication avenues, so I really do not see that much more difference with the situation here.
The draft spec promises to deliver data rates up to 180 Mbps, which could make wired home networks unnecessary
So untrue. I have the fortune of running my wired lan at gigabit speeds which is very nice and skip free while streaming and still being able to use the network for other high bandwidth operations at the same time. Not to mention the problems that will continue to haunt wireless for some time.
"What problems?" you might ask. Well, let us start with security. While the methods and keys used to lock wireless networks continue to grow stronger, it is still easier to get onto a wireless network then it is to sneak into someone's apartment and plug into their network like you would have to do with a physical connection. There is also the interference concern. In areas of high population density, especially apartment communities, you have to start worrying about interference from nearby networks. The larger these communities are, the fewer separation between channels available to avoid the interference problems. You can also get interference from other devices on the same frequency. I have heard of varying degrees of problems with 2.8 GHz phones and wireless B/G networks.
I do not think we are going to see an end to wired networks just yet.
I currently am debating whether or not to renew my WoW account. If this weren't bad enough, I am waiting for ST: Online and the LotR game doesn't sound too bad either. But monthly costs are going to hurt if I wind up playing 3 MMOs (assuming I could find the time after work). I really think it wouldn't be too crazy to ask for a time based payment system for MMOs.
Seriously, give me like $5-$10 fee a month for a set number of hours. If the model is setup reasonably well you can get people who are willing to play enough to warrant the smaller fee to pay while still having your die-hard full-time, unlimited subscribers.
This could even help draw more money to companies running multiple MMOs. In the end, I guess I will just have to decide which one or two MMOs to go with. It will probably wind up being WoW and ST:Online, unless of course the ST universe is screwed up as much as the SW one was with Galaxies.
RFID isn't lazy. This would be the ultimate in lazy and simple. Of course, it would be fun if things start happening randomly once your mind starts to wander.
From a bad dream? Did you miss this whole Jedi have visions thing? I mean throughout Ep II they talk about his "nightmares" about his mother and guess what she was suffering and in pain and eventually died. The same thing winds up happenening to Padme. You see he lost his mother and was hell bent on trying to save her. He tries to kill her because he thought she betrayed him by bringing Obi Wan there. He had let his anger consume him, and this anger is what drove him to react in such a manner.
There is more to it then just Anakin turning into a bad guy. Seriously, he goes from Jedi to slaughtering children. He goes from loving Padme to trying to kill her. Eventhough they use the expression, "lost the will to live", it doesn't mean she is simply weak. She was nearly killed by Anakin before he stopped. There is a lot more to it then some of you are thinking. Also, you pretty much know she has to die when the trilogy starts. I need only point you to the original trilogy for lines that lead you to that conclusion.
Finally, I really wish people would stop bashing these movies because it is the "hip thing" to do. I mean all I see is the same two or three reasons re-hashed over and over. The thoughts aren't even well worked out usually. I mean I know this movies aren't artistic masterpieces, but putting together an argument against it takes at least some effort.
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Kind of hypocritical given Nintendo's track record of Mario platformers, racers, beat-em-ups and tennis games, along with the neverending Zelda series and the myriad Pokemon versions.
Tell me were any of the original Mario games exactly alike? No. Super Mario Bros 2 was completely different from just about every other one in the franchise. They change things up again with 3. Things even got a bit of a makeover in World and Mario 64 was different as well. Yes, some of the gameplay remains the same, but a lot is different. Just because you re-use a franchise over and over does not mean you cannot revolutionize with the games you make in that franchise.
The Zelda series is similar to the Mario series in many of the same reasons. The games change and have new dynamics. No one can tell me that Ocarina and Windwaker were the same game. They are two different experiences. More then just graphics changes with these series. The new Zelda even proposes to offer new twists not yet seen.
Now, the Pokemon games, I cannot condone. I pretty much hate everything Pokemon. Let us just say Nintendo was smart with that one. Tons of games that are mostly the same and kids will want damn near everyone one, and the parents are going to shell out the money.
Nintendo does vary games within the franchise and while many may play the same or close to it, they still do a good job of creating things that are new and exciting. The Wii is something that we really haven't seen before. The remote is going to create new games with new gameplay options. There has been talk that LA may even give up a lightsaber game for Wii. How sweet would that be? Not to mention all the funny videos we can get online too.
You see, what Miyamoto was trying to say was, you have all these games that you play the exact same way as before and are almost always just graphics improved versions of their predecessor, but with the Wii, you are going to get a new controller that offers great new opportunities for game play and a new experience all together. Remember, I think a few people laughed at Nintendo when they told people about the DS, but I think a lot of people now see that Nintendo may not have been as crazy after all.
I love how in these comments where they kiss Nintendo's backside, they always point to their own console. I actually think Sony's comment was a bit more "negative" since they referred to the Wii as a "second console." Personally, I still think you are going to get a great deal of budget minded gamers who will purchase the Wii as a "first" or "only" console and wait for the prices of the PS3 and 360 to drop to more reasonable levels.
I have never rushed into a high priced console. The first console I purchased myself was a PSX when it was either $99 or $129...the next one was a launch system, the Dreamcast, with the always friendly price point of $199. I eventually bought a used PS2 from a friend at work for $150. This include the broadband adapter, at least two (maybe three) controllers, 5 or 6 games (two of which I sold to make back almost $30 of my money), a memory card, and one of the adapters to allow for more then two people to play.
Now, if the Wii comes in at $249 or less, I can all but guarantee it will be purchased at launch. I have always thought Nintendo had some great games and believe their consoles are one of the best (if not the best) for parties. I mean even regular Mario games can have some party fun, but with Mario Party and Smash Brothers...not to mention those moments of fun that were Dr. Mario on the N64...you really have to hand it to Nintendo.
Ever installed Linux in a laptop? I think you'll find that the scavenger hunt for drivers is similar to what Gary experienced.
I have installed Linux on my Dell Latitude 8600 twice once with Mandriva '06 and the other time Fedora Core 3. I never had this mystical hunt for drivers you speak of. My laptop actually worked right out of the install. I had to do more drivers work on it the one time I installed Windows.
While I will admit, using a laptop for a test install of a beta is a bad idea it isn't the worst thing ever. Windows is notoriously bad for driver support and I have had to install drivers for an FA311 after installing Windows (I think it was 2k) and the FA311 by Netgear has to be one of the most common Network cards ever.
Of course, default video card drivers in Windows also suck. So even if there is a driver installed you still need to go get the "real" ones from ATI or nVidia. So, please do not attribute this problem to simply a beta install or a problem common with Linux and laptops.
He might be a bit biased, but the last article you link he does complain about the sound quality, so it is not like he is a mac fan boy who will sing their praises even when something is wrong. Also, he works for MSNBC...you do remember what the MS in that stands for right? I mean if he leaned anyway you'd think it would at least be to the M$ side. By god, can't someone just have opinions anymore without being f#cking biased one way or another?
Does anyone else remember when VIA was a big player in the chipsets? Like seriously, what happened to Via? I hardly see any AMD boards using Via chipsets anymore, most the new ones were all nForce until ATI started theirs as well...
This is just people failing to understand. I read some, a long time ago, but it is not the main attributing factor to my college and professional success. I think that computers, video games and in many cases television can produce children who are intelligent and still become successful in a variety of fields.
The people I know who read the most are English and Lib arts majors. Now, this could just be the people I know, but I am doing better (money wise) as a recent graduate (about 2 yrs) engineer then some of them who have been out of school much, much longer. So reading != success by any measure.
One day maybe I will figure out what we are suppose to do with our kids. If they stay inside to much and sit around they get fat and lazy, and last I checked reading a book does not equal exercise. If we let them run around and play all day they do not read, so they may be fit but will be dumb as rocks. Seriously, people need to stop generalizing and creating some sort of super child, who is fit, smart, and actually understands science and math (and computers) beyond what little may have ever read. Some people are going to be smart and become the scientist and engineers. Others will become thinkers and educators and turn to, well, teaching and philosophy or writing. Some become great athletes and entertainers, even if they are as dumb as rocks. For those that fall into other categories, I suppose you could call them failures, but remember, we still need people to do the jobs that others do not want to do. So you will always have some people who underachieve (or don't achieve at all) throughout life, and it just has to be accepted.
BTW, Moby Dick is really not a pre-teen book. I would put it late high school or college because it requires a sort of analytical analysis that you only get in later years of literature courses.
AMD is building a 65nm fab facility if memory serves me right. 65nm chips should be rolling out sometime end of '06 or early to mid '07. This might put them a bit behind, but we have seen in the past that AMD does not need to be working at the same "level" as Intel to beat them in the benchmarks.
First, I would hardly say it is beating it. The numbers are all close, but most the processes they are running are almost running into other limits beyond processing speed at this point. The differences are not that great and the chip still loses (and much more then it whens other tests) in anything that is single threaded.
The other thing we need to remember is pricing. I was checking prices the other day for 4200+ processors and D950 processors. While almost exactly the same price, right now the AMD would still be much cheaper because of RAM price differences (especially if you get large RAM sticks, I am looking for 2x 1GB) and motherboards. Find motherboards for AMD and Intel that I believe were equal in features had the Intel motherboard almost $20 more then the AMD one.
Now, while I cannot attest for the power consumption on Intel right off, AMD is releasing more energy efficient processors with the AM2 release, due in just a few weeks. There should also be a slight (5-10%) performance increase based off of information from reviews of the processors and boards while still in development (improvements may be better in production models), so I would not call this a win for Intel yet.
I am glad that Intel finally seems to be catching up with AMD, which hopefully will only lead to better competition between the two over time. I really do not like these speculative reviews (remember those Opteron 64-bit reviews before the first Athlon64s hit), so someone wake me up when Socket AM2 and its processor are out and the new line of Intel chips is actually available and not just a ramped up Yonah. Especially since the cost of the motherboard they used makes you want to cringe. (I have yet to have to break $100 on my motherboards.)
XM radio, GPS, Satellite TV
All these are horrible examples to compare to the current idea. They all transmit over much greater distances then the transmission inside the airplane and have a multiple of other intereference issues that go above and beyond the normal RF interference you are going to get from anything in a closed space.
802.11b/g (not 811.x) and Cordless Phones
Well Duh! Use two devices operating in the same frequency and you will have issues. To point out something, 802.11a does not have the problems with the microwave and cordless phones since it operates on the 5 GHz range and not the 2.4GHz. Also, most phones and wireless networks can set channels and by spacing the channels an appropriate distance apart, you should be able to avoid interference with the two devices (for the most part).
remote controlled anything
We are ignoring the IR. Not RF and therefore outside the area of this discussion. What kind of problems do you get with the RF remotes? Most trouble I have ever had is usually in relation to remotes working on the same or approximately the same frequencies or low batteries. The low batteries extends outside the realm of RF as I can say my Sony remote has done some weird shit when its battery is low.
All the problems you mention are interference related, but most of them will be non-issues in the environment that are using. Assuming FAA regulations are actually followed by passengers, the RF interference from the insider should be rather low. Now, I believe someone else mentioned they use bluetooth, which from the wikipedia article: The protocol operates in the license-free ISM band at 2.45 GHz. In order to avoid interfering with other protocols which use the 2.45 GHz band, the Bluetooth protocol divides the band into 79 channels (each 1 MHz wide) and changes channels up to 1600 times per second.
Am I 100% confident these things are going to fly? (I so meant that.) No. Not until they have test flights with various RF interference from inside and outside the plane. Now, I will admit RF is not my best subject (I avoided e-mag and most related subjects while getting my EE degree). I also think that this doesn't make much sense because wiring should not be that heavy in the grand scheme of things (especially considering the weight of a plane).
In case you didn't know, the patent involved here has to do with the playlist. The way the playlist is implemented in both players is the only obvious way I can see to do it and thus falls into the patent domain of an obvious technology which means the damn patent shouldn't have been implemented in the first place.
I've said it once and I will say it again: "This is not how obviousness works!"
So before posting this or that is obvious, please read the laws before making a fool out of yourself.
Battles frequently can be won even with major setbacks - sure, Sony was routed at E3, but they've got six months to get their act in gear and learn from their mistakes.
You seriously think they will adjust the price point? Sony is going to ride this $600 to their demise. To think they will drop it is absurd. Sony is notorious for over-pricing products in the hopes of selling on some sort of reputations, which they still have with many normal consumers.
Now, granted they have undershot the price of their launch Blu-Ray player (and everyone elses really), but if they go much lower the other companies will start screaming foul, which they already should be, because Sony is technically selling a BD player for almost 1/2 the market price. Though I still believe Blu-ray players will drop below the PS3 price sooner rather than later.
Also, using estimated number the penetration of HDTVs has been projected, at best, near 30%...by 2010. This means that nearly 70% of televisions (probably close to 80-90% now) will have no gain from the new format, making Blu-Ray (and HD-DVD) largely pointless for most Americans. I think Sony might be signing their deathwish by making the console with a blu-ray player.
I do not want to come out sounding too much like a conspiracy nut, but Sony is trying to use the PS3 to launch BD and not the console itself. There is much more money to be made in movies then in the game market, since movies are a much more "universal" form of entertainment. If Sony made the console with only DVD support, like 360 and Wii, I would almost bet that they would have pricing that is much more competitive to the other consoles; however, I think their true competitor is HD-DVD and other Blu-Ray drive makers.
No. Since Blu-ray was supposed to be released with burners not far behind. Granted the media will be astronomical in comparison to DVD+R/DL...but it would be hard to sell media for more then the cost of games (about $60).
No one is going to abandon a console simply based on this. If that were the case, they would have stopped releasing PC games years ago.
Am I the only one who thought about BttF2 when they are in the future and the coat Marty is wearing auto-adjusts for size and dries itself? Screw monitoring, I want clothes that do that.
First, the Wii is more powerful then an X-Box or a PS2. The Gamecube already is on par with or passes both systems and the fact that Wii has more powerful hardware pretty much guarantees it to be better then that. Remember, Nintendo took a bunch of hardware most people thought would make a poor system and turned it into a Gamecube. The PS2 reminds me of many things, but power is not one of them. All three (that is right three) of the last generation of consoles were more powerful then the PS2. For those missing one, it is the Dreamcast.
Do you think that Nintendo is crimping on AI, physics or what not? You know what games require the most AI and physics? They are almost certainly first-person shooters, something Nintendo isn't the most well-known for. Also, the Nintendo processing power should be able to handle these things just fine anyway especially for now. The processing power of 360 and PS3 is slightly overkill for current games and the biggest boost they are getting and needing now is the graphics processing.
If you wanted realism, why not stick to the PC? I mean they definitely have the processing power for the AI and physics and you can upgrade them. Oh, there is also the fact you can still watch/listen to TV while playing your game. That is if you can handle doing both at one time.
If Nintendo does launch at $249, I think they made a lot of choices easier. $600 for PS3, $400 for 360, or $250 for Wii. Hm, seems pretty easy to me. I expect the price of Blu-Ray (and HD-DVD) to drop faster then the consoles will. Remember, the PS2 was a cheap DVD player at the time, now it is a pretty expensive and not a well featured one. Since Blu-Ray was the only truly tempting thing in the PS3 (at least for me), I will play the wait and see with commercial players.
Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech.
I have a big problem with this because it begins to become government sanctioned censorship. The use of vague terms means the government would be able to control what information a student sees while he/she is at school. One site that could meet this loose definition is wikipedia, and while I never recommend using it as your primary source of information, creating a block to such a site, even if accidental, could hinder a student's ability to perform research online, especially considering the state of some school libraries.
The other big problem I have with this is the logistics. Who are they going to make block these sites? By forcing the school to do it, you are going to put a burden on already tight education budgets (in part because of another government legislation, but that is for another time). Many schools and school districts I have had the pleasure of witnessing first hand have had poor technology directors (if they had them at all), who often were not your top of the line technology professionals (after all they don't get paid much more then those crappy salaries the teachers get) and librarians are ill equipped to deal with the technology, typically. Also, there are plenty of ways around most the methods they would use to block the access to certain sites.
The next group you could put the job of blocking on is the ISPs. I do not know how many would comply or how quick they would be to do so. It is not their job to block content, usually, but it would not be outside their abilities. The problem with this is when they block the wrong thing, the schools have to go somewhere else to get a problem fixed. I could see the complaints about unreceived e-mails now.
But let us move to the next problem. How many kids on myspace (or any other site) are meeting sexual predators? I dare say, no more then they did before these sites became popular. It has become the medias hot story of the year. Remeber the shark attacks a few years ago? Seemed like every other person in the water was being attacked, but in reality it was a pretty average year. The media is quite possibly blowing this out of the water, and as usual parents and the people they vote for are eating it up and making an issue out of it.
These kids spend far more time at home and are more then likely meeting most of this people while there. This bill is a red herring of sorts. I have learned that most politicians really do not care about the children, well at least not about their rights. You see, the kid doesn't vote; the parents do. They can use this made up issue to convince parents to vote for them and extend their term a few more years. I have heard kids complain about their rights, or lack thereof, (I did it.) but the typical parental response is that you have no rights, except what they give you.
To those parents who say that, and apparently the politicians who blatantly agree with it, you mind pointing out to me where the Bill of Rights states that you do not have the freedom of speech (or any of your other rights except voting of course) until AFTER you turn 18?
I can't wait to pay $600-$800 for an HD-DVD player, and $30 per disc only to have my resolution crippled because the HDTV I bought last year doesn't feature the latest Anti-Piracy tech
So, on the off chance that you actually bought an HDTV in the last year that does not have HDMI, which pretty much guarantees HDCP support, or DVI with HDCP support, read the last paragraph here. Now, I know how trustworthy those studios can be (that was sarcasm folks), but if we listen to them your HD-DVD would not be crippled. Everyone seems to ignore the fact that this is an option of the media, not a requirement.
Still, if you bought an HDTV in the last year it should probably support HDCP.
List of games I have played in Linux:
*Diablo II
*Warcraft III
*Half-Life (pre-steam) w/ all games
*Return to Castle Wolfenstein
List of games I know will run in Linux:
*World of Warcraft
*Half-Life 2 and mods
Those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. (Yes, I know the list is a bit short.) But I own all the games on that list and their ability to run in Linux is great because I really plan on shedding Windows for good with this next PC upgrade. There are others games that I think run in Linux. Tribes 2 had a Linux version and I think NWN was going to eventually get Linux support.
Yes, the market for Linux gaming is a lot smaller, but it does still exist. Some companies have released commercial versions of games to run in Linux and id gave away the Linux client for RtCW (though you need the game for its data files). The rest can be made to run in wine. Still, the point is valid. There is no reason for companies to release open source drivers if they don't want to do it. The fact they release drivers at all is actually somewhat impressive.
I really have had no issue with any spam blocking stopping legitimate mail in year. When that happened, it was Yahoo! Mail which was blocking legitimate e-mails from friends with overseas e-mail addresses, in particular one ending in .nz, I believe. Otherwise, I really have had no problems, though I do not use commercial/3rd party blockers.
When I was actually using Outlook '03, I really had no problems except that junk still got through. The problem of junk still getting through happens on Yahoo! occassionally, but I attribute a lot of this to spammers just getting craftier and finding ways around the filters that they use. Gmail isn't too bad either, though my junk mail there is much, much lower then any of my other accounts and most the junk mail I do get is from my forwarded college e-mail address, which apparently started picking up a lot of spam sometime while I was still in college.
The next thing you know they will want to change any game where you can install custom skins to an 'M' rating simply because someone can download a custom model and have naked women everywhere. What I love throughout all this is that it isn't about violence (despite what the ESRB said) and solely about some "sexually explicit" content that by default is not accessible in the game. I guess I never realized how horribly ugly the female human form is...
While not necessarily right (and maybe not on point), it is absurd to think that the difference between 'T' and 'M' is going to make a difference in who buys these games. Now, the kids (I actually do not know any kids who play ES IV) just have to get their parents, who have shown total disregard for what their children are doing (see complaints about movie, television and game ratings...and the recent "myspace scare"), will blatantly ignore the ratings and purchase it anyway.
I would love to see some game makers stop using the ESRB all-together. Like the MPAA movie rating system, it is completely voluntary and even if a few places won't carry an un-rated game, I am sure plenty of legitimate video game retailers will be more then glad to sell such a game. Unfortunately, this probably will not happen because I would imagine that some of the larger retailers would be the ones refusing.
Two of the three articles reference to the same write-up from the NEMJ. It is also possible, though I cannot be sure, that the third article's journal reference could be a submission from the same individual. Now, I do not know how much to trust what they say about Tamiflu still being the best option, because saying otherwise would just lead people to freak out when the pandemic comes, but I believe it would probably still be one of the better options.
Drug resistances happen because virii and bacteria mutate over time. This is a big reason why many traditional antibiotics are becoming less useful against certain bacteria, and a possible cause for some of the "super bugs." And if your idea for fighting bird flu is with chicken soup, we truly are screwed.
where this is any different then the cops being allowed to tap regular telephones? Seriously, have they once said that the cops will have unfettered access to this information without a warrant? If not, then I do not see why there is this urgent need for encryption on VoIP. I mean we are talking about the police agencies being able to have the same access to listen to VoIP conversations that they already have to tap every other phone line in America.
Now, I am sure you are all wearing your tin foil caps, but really this is not about some great big brother monitoring scheme. If you are so scared about people listening to your calls, you do not need encryption. Just start talking in code. Afterall, mobsters and just about anyone else committing illegal activity have been doing it for years to avoid being overheard.
I just am afraid I do not see everyone elses great concern in this matter. Of course, my lack of VoIP means that monitoring my calls is already quiet within the realm of possibility. As for the text conversation part, if I were truly concerned about stuff I was saying the last way I would transmit it would be over IM or through e-mail.
Yes, because that works so well now. I remember when they decided to start requiring people under the age of 14 to register and many sites said provide a parent's email address. Now, I am not dumb, and neither are the 10-14 yr olds I know. Many of these kids know more about their computers and the internet then their parents, my brother being a prime example. The system is largely honor based, and the notion that kids are honest is laughable.
I know for a fact that my brother registered with myspace and several other sites that required verification with false birthyears or fake birthdays all together. He has his own Yahoo account so any site requiring a "parent's" email will surely just get it. To think that a verification system will work is just absurd. Even if you required a CC to verify the minimum age of 18 (and even that is questionable anymore), you still will have kids who would swipe their one of their parents' cards and use it.
I think the real problem here is coming down to a lack of proper parental supervision. We had the same issue with television, so they created the annoying rating system, which most parents do not understand, and then cable companies and television manufacturers started to make it "easy" for parents to block channels or certain shows, based on rating. I do not know many parents who even use these features, but then again, I do not know many people who are that objectionable to every little thing on television or who have young children.
The simple fact is if they want to protect the children from pedophiles, they are going to have to better educate parents on how to monitor their children's activities online. It is the responsibility of parents and not that of the operators of myspace to make a reasonable effort to ensure the safety of their children. I say reasonable because I do not think I have met many parents who can afford to be with their kid 24/7. I also think if the government this concerned about the safety of the children then the goal should not to be to force myspace to do your work. It is not and should not be the job of myspace to hunt down every pedophile who might have an account on their site. If the government is truly this concerned I am sure they can spare some people to operate sting operations to catch these people.
They have been doing this for years on other websites, IRC, and other internet communication avenues, so I really do not see that much more difference with the situation here.
The draft spec promises to deliver data rates up to 180 Mbps, which could make wired home networks unnecessary
So untrue. I have the fortune of running my wired lan at gigabit speeds which is very nice and skip free while streaming and still being able to use the network for other high bandwidth operations at the same time. Not to mention the problems that will continue to haunt wireless for some time.
"What problems?" you might ask. Well, let us start with security. While the methods and keys used to lock wireless networks continue to grow stronger, it is still easier to get onto a wireless network then it is to sneak into someone's apartment and plug into their network like you would have to do with a physical connection. There is also the interference concern. In areas of high population density, especially apartment communities, you have to start worrying about interference from nearby networks. The larger these communities are, the fewer separation between channels available to avoid the interference problems. You can also get interference from other devices on the same frequency. I have heard of varying degrees of problems with 2.8 GHz phones and wireless B/G networks.
I do not think we are going to see an end to wired networks just yet.
I currently am debating whether or not to renew my WoW account. If this weren't bad enough, I am waiting for ST: Online and the LotR game doesn't sound too bad either. But monthly costs are going to hurt if I wind up playing 3 MMOs (assuming I could find the time after work). I really think it wouldn't be too crazy to ask for a time based payment system for MMOs.
Seriously, give me like $5-$10 fee a month for a set number of hours. If the model is setup reasonably well you can get people who are willing to play enough to warrant the smaller fee to pay while still having your die-hard full-time, unlimited subscribers.
This could even help draw more money to companies running multiple MMOs. In the end, I guess I will just have to decide which one or two MMOs to go with. It will probably wind up being WoW and ST:Online, unless of course the ST universe is screwed up as much as the SW one was with Galaxies.
RFID isn't lazy. This would be the ultimate in lazy and simple. Of course, it would be fun if things start happening randomly once your mind starts to wander.
From a bad dream? Did you miss this whole Jedi have visions thing? I mean throughout Ep II they talk about his "nightmares" about his mother and guess what she was suffering and in pain and eventually died. The same thing winds up happenening to Padme. You see he lost his mother and was hell bent on trying to save her. He tries to kill her because he thought she betrayed him by bringing Obi Wan there. He had let his anger consume him, and this anger is what drove him to react in such a manner.
There is more to it then just Anakin turning into a bad guy. Seriously, he goes from Jedi to slaughtering children. He goes from loving Padme to trying to kill her. Eventhough they use the expression, "lost the will to live", it doesn't mean she is simply weak. She was nearly killed by Anakin before he stopped. There is a lot more to it then some of you are thinking. Also, you pretty much know she has to die when the trilogy starts. I need only point you to the original trilogy for lines that lead you to that conclusion.
Finally, I really wish people would stop bashing these movies because it is the "hip thing" to do. I mean all I see is the same two or three reasons re-hashed over and over. The thoughts aren't even well worked out usually. I mean I know this movies aren't artistic masterpieces, but putting together an argument against it takes at least some effort.