This book, Excellence by Design, came out of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning's Space Planning and Organization Research Group (SPORG), and links the use of space in offices to productivity, within the domain of the kind of work being carried out.
Not to mention that the Japanese are very unlikely to buy an imported good that isn't from a Japanese-owned foreign interest anyway. I'm surprised that MS has any sales there at all.
Please, this constant repetition that the Japanese are xenophobic when it comes to electronics is terrifically boring, and worse, counter-productive. It's as bad as the auto makers who blame xenophobia for why they aren't able to sell the Chrysler Neon in Japan.
In my experience from a few trips to Japan, it is very common to use weird English as product slogans. Most Japanese have enough high school English to understand a short slogan made up of common words, even if they don't speak it that comfortably.
Perhaps my favourite was a 7/11-type store that had the phrase "So Delicious! So Happy!" plastered all over its fast-food takeouts.
I no longer view this as badly translated English. It's really its own thing - the use of English words to convey a Japanese esthetic. It's clear that these big companies could use correct English if they wanted to.
Unfortunately, it then goes on to present a "solution" that involves everyone on the planet changing their behaviour or, at least, everyone in the US and China. I walked out of the theatre thinking "greatest problem in the history of mankind and all we've got to fix it is a bunch of fuckin' hippies."
This line of reasoning is unfathomable to me. Compare to the second world war. Most of the planet was willing to get together to defeat Hitler. To do this, men were separated from their families for years on end. 60 million people died, and millions more were horribly maimed. Those on the home front suffered tremendous privations.
The cost of tackling global warming is peanuts compared to this. We might have to drive a smaller car or pay a few bucks to insulate our houses better. Nobody has to die or even give up anything they'll particularly miss.
Given the comparatively enormous sacrifices our grandparents and parents have made in the past, why is it so inconceivable that we might pull together to do this?
I think that people consistently fail to recognize that Blu-ray may become a long-term impediment for the PS3. The market simply has not yet spoken on HD DVD vs Blu-ray. If HD DVD turns out to be the winner, then the PS3 is lumbered with an expensive device that is an also-ran in the movie department.
It's not like Sony has a great track record in pickingwinners in the movie format wars.
In that list, I didn't see a single game that would cause me to buy one console over another. The truth is, with a handful of exceptions, the best games get produced for all of the consoles. It will be interesting to see how well the non-exlusive games run on the different platforms.
My guess is that there will be little to differentiate the XBox 360 from the PS3, which would be bad news for Sony given the price differential. Nintendo has some opportunity if, for example, Madden is just plain more fun with a Wiimote.
But that list of mainly sad-sack games ain't gonna be what wins the war.
Seeing as he can't do it himself, I think someone needs to put a cap on Zonk's shit, or at least give him a stern talking to about the virtues of shutting the fuck up until he has something intelligent to say.
I have to admit that on reading the title to this article, my first thought was to cringe at the controversy that Zonk is bringing on himself.
But the truth is, Zonk is reporting the news on this one. Sure, TFA1 is a love-fest for the PS3. That just isn't news. Did anyone actually expect this to be anything but an awesome console? The negative press has all been about the cost, the delays, the decision to go BlueRay, etc., etc. Nobody but nobody has been predicting that all those pixels and polys per second would lead to a console that wasn't fun.
On the other hand, there has been a lot of speculation on whether the PS3's controller would be any good, or just a "me too" quick ripoff of the Wiimote. This article answers that question, and that's news. There have also been a lot of questions about how tiring the Wiimote will be to use and how effectively it really works. TFA2 addresses that, so that's news too.
What is clear is that Ballmer has no clue what's going on. Just like during the last bubble, when Microsoft was the last to "get" it.
Yes, that's why pets.com, webvan.com and kozmo.com are all doing so well, while Microsoft has been reduced to holding bake sales to pay their developers...
Actually, why it matters is because it's nice to be able to finish games before you run out of time or interest.
I'm reminded of Lagaan, a movie I saw a while back. It would have made a decent 90 minute flick, but at 224 minutes (nearly 4 hours!) it was a chore to watch.
Like overly-long movies, overly-long games are usually bloated, repetitive and tedious.
I think sometimes the articles can be viewed as place-holders to spark interesting discussion. TFA may not have been worth reading, but the follow-up comments sure were.
Realistically, this kind of service is for business/first class only. When you are crammed into an economy seat with the person in front of you reclined, trying to use a laptop is no fun. Better to get some sleep to reduce jet lag at the other end.
While his work is very interesting, it's important to understand something about Nick Yee's methodology. He bases his results on surveys. He advertises the surveys via his site and others and by email, and whoever wishes to can drop by to complete them. This means that the surveys are likely not representative of the population as a whole, but are biased to the hard-core types who participate in the "meta-game" of forum trolling. In this particular case, it seems possible that people who are interested in social issues in games were more likely to complete the survey, possibly exaggerating the results.
Personally, I find his numbers on this to be implausibly high. How many people do you know who have dated a friend from an on-line game? What are the odds that that person you're playing with is reasonably nearby, of compatible age, and actually the gender they claim to be? How on earth, then, do we get to nearly 1/3 of female players participating in real-life dates with people they've met in-game?
It's also been studied by the US Airforce that pilots can make out the details of an image flashed at 1/240th of a second.
I've seen this claimed over and over and over again on different web sites, usually as a justification for why games "need" to run at 200 fps. But I have never found anyone who could provide a reference to the original study. Since I know you wouldn't dream of just repeating hearsay on slashdot, any chance can you give me a pointer to where this was published?
Lazy user??? The man downloaded and installed five different distros, and obviously made some effort to test different compatibility apps (like CrossOver) to solve his problems with running iTunes, etc.
Sorry, man, this is a really persistent user.
Ogre has some really strong points (I use it!), but it requires knowledge of programming and linear algebra. It also has a fairly steep technology curve to get past: to create a game, you need to assemble a number of tools, many of which have minor compatibility problems that require technical expertise to resolve. This is not a tool that non-programmers can just pick up and start producing games with.
(Argh, preview for teh win)
I am truly no fan of Walmart,particularly with their union-busting tactics, but I think the censorship alegations of the article are over-done.
Consider that Walmart stocks F.E.A.R. This is a thoroughly violent game with lots of swearing, splattering blood and flying body parts. If Walmart is willing to stock this, what exactly aren't they willing to stock? Surely being unwilling to stock even more violent, more profane games than this is hardly a sign of virulent censorship, but more a case of genuinely looking out for what their customers' interests?
I am truly no fan of Walmart,particularly with their tactics, but I think the censorship alegations of the article is over-done.
Consider that Walmart stocks F.E.A.R. This is a thoroughly violent game with lots of swearing, splattering blood and flying body parts. If Walmart is willing to stock this, what exactly aren't they willing to stock? Surely being unwilling to stock even more violent, more profane games than this is hardly a sign of virulent censorship, but more a case of genuinely looking out for what their customers' interests?
Packman offers a good alternative to locking down students' computers or even requiring a standard PC/laptop that everyone has to buy. Basically, the tool allows administrators to put a set of standard applications on a server, and performs idiot-proof internet-based installation of those applications on the students' computers.
I wonder if people have noticed that right at the end of the article, the study's author, Ellen Bialystok, states "I really would prefer my child read a book."
This is how Blizzard does things. 12 months from now, there will be millions more Xbox 1's than Xbox 360's out there. At >$300 each for the 360, it's going to be a while before the Xbox classic is out of style.
I was about to ask about that, whether anyone plays squad leader anymore. That was just an awesome game.
The irony is that the game's authors claimed it was a "beer and pretzels" game, meant for casual players. I hate to think what kind of game they were comparing it to.
Did you actually see "We Were Soldiers?" That was a powerful anti-war film. While the soldiers were clearly patriotic, it could not have been more clear how much pain and suffering results from sending our troops into battle.
Slashdot Mirror
And here's where to get them.
This book, Excellence by Design, came out of the MIT School of Architecture and Planning's Space Planning and Organization Research Group (SPORG), and links the use of space in offices to productivity, within the domain of the kind of work being carried out.
You mean like the iPod?
Please, this constant repetition that the Japanese are xenophobic when it comes to electronics is terrifically boring, and worse, counter-productive. It's as bad as the auto makers who blame xenophobia for why they aren't able to sell the Chrysler Neon in Japan.
I don't think this is a translation; I think this is the slogan.
In my experience from a few trips to Japan, it is very common to use weird English as product slogans. Most Japanese have enough high school English to understand a short slogan made up of common words, even if they don't speak it that comfortably.
Perhaps my favourite was a 7/11-type store that had the phrase "So Delicious! So Happy!" plastered all over its fast-food takeouts.
I no longer view this as badly translated English. It's really its own thing - the use of English words to convey a Japanese esthetic. It's clear that these big companies could use correct English if they wanted to.
This line of reasoning is unfathomable to me. Compare to the second world war. Most of the planet was willing to get together to defeat Hitler. To do this, men were separated from their families for years on end. 60 million people died, and millions more were horribly maimed. Those on the home front suffered tremendous privations.
The cost of tackling global warming is peanuts compared to this. We might have to drive a smaller car or pay a few bucks to insulate our houses better. Nobody has to die or even give up anything they'll particularly miss.
Given the comparatively enormous sacrifices our grandparents and parents have made in the past, why is it so inconceivable that we might pull together to do this?
I think that people consistently fail to recognize that Blu-ray may become a long-term impediment for the PS3. The market simply has not yet spoken on HD DVD vs Blu-ray. If HD DVD turns out to be the winner, then the PS3 is lumbered with an expensive device that is an also-ran in the movie department.
It's not like Sony has a great track record in picking winners in the movie format wars.
In that list, I didn't see a single game that would cause me to buy one console over another. The truth is, with a handful of exceptions, the best games get produced for all of the consoles. It will be interesting to see how well the non-exlusive games run on the different platforms.
My guess is that there will be little to differentiate the XBox 360 from the PS3, which would be bad news for Sony given the price differential. Nintendo has some opportunity if, for example, Madden is just plain more fun with a Wiimote.
But that list of mainly sad-sack games ain't gonna be what wins the war.
I have to admit that on reading the title to this article, my first thought was to cringe at the controversy that Zonk is bringing on himself.
But the truth is, Zonk is reporting the news on this one. Sure, TFA1 is a love-fest for the PS3. That just isn't news. Did anyone actually expect this to be anything but an awesome console? The negative press has all been about the cost, the delays, the decision to go BlueRay, etc., etc. Nobody but nobody has been predicting that all those pixels and polys per second would lead to a console that wasn't fun.
On the other hand, there has been a lot of speculation on whether the PS3's controller would be any good, or just a "me too" quick ripoff of the Wiimote. This article answers that question, and that's news. There have also been a lot of questions about how tiring the Wiimote will be to use and how effectively it really works. TFA2 addresses that, so that's news too.
Sorry, guys - Zonk got it right on this one.
Actually, why it matters is because it's nice to be able to finish games before you run out of time or interest.
I'm reminded of Lagaan, a movie I saw a while back. It would have made a decent 90 minute flick, but at 224 minutes (nearly 4 hours!) it was a chore to watch.
Like overly-long movies, overly-long games are usually bloated, repetitive and tedious.
I think sometimes the articles can be viewed as place-holders to spark interesting discussion. TFA may not have been worth reading, but the follow-up comments sure were.
Realistically, this kind of service is for business/first class only. When you are crammed into an economy seat with the person in front of you reclined, trying to use a laptop is no fun. Better to get some sleep to reduce jet lag at the other end.
While his work is very interesting, it's important to understand something about Nick Yee's methodology. He bases his results on surveys. He advertises the surveys via his site and others and by email, and whoever wishes to can drop by to complete them. This means that the surveys are likely not representative of the population as a whole, but are biased to the hard-core types who participate in the "meta-game" of forum trolling. In this particular case, it seems possible that people who are interested in social issues in games were more likely to complete the survey, possibly exaggerating the results. Personally, I find his numbers on this to be implausibly high. How many people do you know who have dated a friend from an on-line game? What are the odds that that person you're playing with is reasonably nearby, of compatible age, and actually the gender they claim to be? How on earth, then, do we get to nearly 1/3 of female players participating in real-life dates with people they've met in-game?
It's also been studied by the US Airforce that pilots can make out the details of an image flashed at 1/240th of a second.
I've seen this claimed over and over and over again on different web sites, usually as a justification for why games "need" to run at 200 fps. But I have never found anyone who could provide a reference to the original study. Since I know you wouldn't dream of just repeating hearsay on slashdot, any chance can you give me a pointer to where this was published?
Lazy user??? The man downloaded and installed five different distros, and obviously made some effort to test different compatibility apps (like CrossOver) to solve his problems with running iTunes, etc. Sorry, man, this is a really persistent user.
Ogre has some really strong points (I use it!), but it requires knowledge of programming and linear algebra. It also has a fairly steep technology curve to get past: to create a game, you need to assemble a number of tools, many of which have minor compatibility problems that require technical expertise to resolve. This is not a tool that non-programmers can just pick up and start producing games with.
(Argh, preview for teh win) I am truly no fan of Walmart,particularly with their union-busting tactics, but I think the censorship alegations of the article are over-done. Consider that Walmart stocks F.E.A.R. This is a thoroughly violent game with lots of swearing, splattering blood and flying body parts. If Walmart is willing to stock this, what exactly aren't they willing to stock? Surely being unwilling to stock even more violent, more profane games than this is hardly a sign of virulent censorship, but more a case of genuinely looking out for what their customers' interests?
I am truly no fan of Walmart,particularly with their tactics, but I think the censorship alegations of the article is over-done. Consider that Walmart stocks F.E.A.R. This is a thoroughly violent game with lots of swearing, splattering blood and flying body parts. If Walmart is willing to stock this, what exactly aren't they willing to stock? Surely being unwilling to stock even more violent, more profane games than this is hardly a sign of virulent censorship, but more a case of genuinely looking out for what their customers' interests?
Packman offers a good alternative to locking down students' computers or even requiring a standard PC/laptop that everyone has to buy. Basically, the tool allows administrators to put a set of standard applications on a server, and performs idiot-proof internet-based installation of those applications on the students' computers.
I wonder if people have noticed that right at the end of the article, the study's author, Ellen Bialystok, states "I really would prefer my child read a book."
This is how Blizzard does things. 12 months from now, there will be millions more Xbox 1's than Xbox 360's out there. At >$300 each for the 360, it's going to be a while before the Xbox classic is out of style.
The irony is that the game's authors claimed it was a "beer and pretzels" game, meant for casual players. I hate to think what kind of game they were comparing it to.
Did you actually see "We Were Soldiers?" That was a powerful anti-war film. While the soldiers were clearly patriotic, it could not have been more clear how much pain and suffering results from sending our troops into battle.