That's interesting. For a week or so a year ago we were shuffling around computers and doing a lot of installs of XP Pro, and didn't bother with finding the specific keys for each computer (we have 10 or 20 keys bought at once). When we had to reactivate some installs and call up the number, they seemed to be too relaxed about it... We honestly could've had all stolen copies and MS wouldn't have known/cared.
What about my Packard Bell 486 DX4 (66MHz)? Windows 2000 runs great, albeit with a resolution that makes me cry and with a boottime that makes me glad I don't restart it often...
If you doubled the ram, it would. My friend has XP Pro on an old K6-2 laptop (300MHz) with 128mb of ram, and the thing boots faster and runs better than his original Win98.
We managed to get XP Pro installed on an old Compaq here at work that only had a single 64mb stick of ram in it. Wasn't exactly a speed demon (and it ran slower than 98), but it found all the hardware automatically and hasn't BSODed.
First off, it's not always the software's fault (hardware). Second, there are things beyond the control of a normal computer user that emulate degradation of quality in software.
An individual piece of software may not change, but the whole system of software makes for an environment closer to the workings of a car than some unchanging entity.
Does anyone remember the old Doom 1 no-clip code, 'idspispopd'? My friends and I used to argue about the pronounciation, and we finally settled on "Eye-Dee Spitz-Popid."
So, what defnition of "First person shooter" do these games not comply with?
The traditional definition. In the technical definition of first person shooter, combat flight sims, first person adventure games, and even rail shooters would all be FPSs: they're in the first person and shooting is involved. Most people agree this is not the case, however.
A first person shooter is usually designed as a game that fits into the genre that Wolfenstein and Doom perpetuated. They weren't the first, but they had arguably the biggest impact. The emphasis is on immersive action and (usually) amazing graphics. Other games have implemented RPG and adventure elements, but remained in the FPS category because the focus was still on on that first person action.
As far as the Battlezone games, they were not first person shooters. They were RTS games played in the first person. The games were primarily concerned with the strategies familiar in 'traditional' RTS games, with the first person perspective an integral part, but not the focus.
I never played Magic Carpet, so I can't comment on that.
Your main comment was with regard to all ATI Radeon cards, not just your 8500. Two of my friends have 9800XTs, another one has a 9700, and none of them have had problems with the game.
Considering most new games require DirectX 9 (and are bundling dx9b with them), having a card that fully supports it is a good thing. Considering your card is pushing two and a half years in age, it's not surprising there are problems with it. 9600s and 9700s are well under $200 in price, and you'd do well to pick one up.
It's been running fine on my machine for hours: Athlon 900MHz, 512MB RAM, Radeon 9600XT. Heck, I didn't even need to upgrade my video drivers (I think I have like Catalyst 4.2. Something like that... haven't downloaded new ones in awhile). Sure, the graphics options are turned down and I'm playing it at 640x480, but I still consistantly get 25-35fps. Not perfect, but definitely playable.
I hate how people assume that if you can afford such-and-such for this price, you must be able to afford this other thing as well. If over the course of a few months I save $1,000 to spend on new hardware, that doesn't necessarily mean I'll have a large amount of cash left over.
If you can save the money needed for high level hardware, then you certainly can save to get Doom 3. The issue here is if you're willing to pirate, then you've saved yourself $55. There's no reason to rationalize pirating a game; it's illegal, and no amount of arguing the moral implications will help you if you get in trouble for it. That aside, it happens all the time, and if you know what you're doing it's very easy not to get caught.
If pirating bothers you so much, just remember what your bought copy of Doom 3 has over the free xdcc'd one: retail box, discs, and manual; online play that works; and the satisfaction that you support a quality product.
If a warez kid complains about his pirated games, let him be. Sometimes it takes awhile to grow out of that.
The difficult/annoying part in pirating xbox games is getting a modded xbox. I, for one, just find it too much of a hassle to mod, and until I do it would be impossible for me to get free xbox games (not that I would:P).
And how often to the 'end users' need to actually crack the software? No-cd cracks, keygens, and all the other stuff are available and as easy to get as the pirated software itself. GameCopyWorld, Packetnews, Suprnova, and a couple of clients are all you need, my friend.
Regarding PERL (this link is perlfaq1, btw) - But never write "PERL", because perl is not an acronym, apocryphal folklore and post-facto expansions notwithstanding.
If you asked Larry Wall, the father of Perl, that's not true. Perl is said to stand for "Practical Extraction and Reporting Language," something that's pretty descriptive.
Larry has also referred to Perl as "Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister," a little poking fun at himself with regard to Perl's beautiful looking code.
ALl I can say is Mr. Buffet Knows how to run his companies (and ditch them when theyre bleeding dollars).
You're absolutely right. After having listened to him give a keynote speech about a year ago, I left amazed at his financial and business wisdom. He seems like the kind of boss you'd dream of working for: intelligent, fair, enthusiastic, and inspires others to do well.
lol. I was simply helping out the parent to my post who said I seem to remember some high-faluting company that has $10,000 per share prices....
Though, in this case, share price is very relevant. A stock worth thousands of dollars would not survive at that price for years if the company was not sound and very stable.
Whether BH wants to keep their stock value high has little to do on the performance and price of it. Though they can refrain from splitting (which is exactly what has happened), if investors collectively felt $80k was far too high a value, the share price would eventually drop. As it stands, however, Berkshire Hathaway has grown steadily.
you buy based on P/E ratio, not "sticker price" of a stock
Absolutely, though I wouldn't buy only based on the P/E ratio. History of the stock and non-market related performance of the company (including potential to grow and perform well in the future) are good factors too.
I've always been fascinated by people's fixation on the share price when it means absolutely NOTHING in the grand scheme of things.
If you had said the share price of an IPO, you might be more correct, but as it stands your statement isn't very accurate. While initial public offerings can be overpriced and have little bearing on the company's actual worth, sustained share price of a company *can* be a very good indicator worth and stability. The market value of a stock is a representation of the public's confidence in a company in investment terms. Barring hype and deceit, this confidence is more applicable than you'd lead people to believe, and stock prices are adjusted accordingly in the long run.
It really doesn't matter because the average investor doesn't know any better.
The Joe Shmoe investor doesn't know any better, but the largest and most influential portfolios are owned by the wealthy and corporations, and are managed by people who make finance their careers. Those who invest wildly are weeded out eventually and have little impact on the market. Day-trading is less glamorous than it was 5 and 6 years ago, and individual investors are more cautious and less willing to throw all their money into the market.
Mentioning the intial offering price is most helpful to those simply wanting to know how many shares they can afford if they're planning on purchasing stocks. An $100+ IPO isn't that special, and would only become noteworthy if the share price changed by a significant percentage one the first day.
The unstable "driven by the mindless masses" stock market you describe may have been present 70 and 80 years ago, but the financial markets are too well regulated now. I think your frustration might be better directed elsewhere.
Slashdot Mirror
That's interesting. For a week or so a year ago we were shuffling around computers and doing a lot of installs of XP Pro, and didn't bother with finding the specific keys for each computer (we have 10 or 20 keys bought at once). When we had to reactivate some installs and call up the number, they seemed to be too relaxed about it... We honestly could've had all stolen copies and MS wouldn't have known/cared.
Ugh. Use linebreaks and more punctuation.
Last I checked, one was still able to use Windows Update for OSes other than XP and Server 2003...
What about my Packard Bell 486 DX4 (66MHz)? Windows 2000 runs great, albeit with a resolution that makes me cry and with a boottime that makes me glad I don't restart it often...
If you doubled the ram, it would. My friend has XP Pro on an old K6-2 laptop (300MHz) with 128mb of ram, and the thing boots faster and runs better than his original Win98.
We managed to get XP Pro installed on an old Compaq here at work that only had a single 64mb stick of ram in it. Wasn't exactly a speed demon (and it ran slower than 98), but it found all the hardware automatically and hasn't BSODed.
First off, it's not always the software's fault (hardware). Second, there are things beyond the control of a normal computer user that emulate degradation of quality in software.
An individual piece of software may not change, but the whole system of software makes for an environment closer to the workings of a car than some unchanging entity.
netstat -o will give you the PIDs, while -b will give you the PIDs *and* the running program name.
google or msdn :P
From my earlier comment:
Many games have this, FPSs are just games in which they are the primary focus, whereas in Battlezone the focus was on strategy.
No one? "Doom-like" has been an industry moniker since Doom was released.
Does anyone remember the old Doom 1 no-clip code, 'idspispopd'? My friends and I used to argue about the pronounciation, and we finally settled on "Eye-Dee Spitz-Popid."
I think I've lived a sad life.
The traditional definition. In the technical definition of first person shooter, combat flight sims, first person adventure games, and even rail shooters would all be FPSs: they're in the first person and shooting is involved. Most people agree this is not the case, however.
A first person shooter is usually designed as a game that fits into the genre that Wolfenstein and Doom perpetuated. They weren't the first, but they had arguably the biggest impact. The emphasis is on immersive action and (usually) amazing graphics. Other games have implemented RPG and adventure elements, but remained in the FPS category because the focus was still on on that first person action.
As far as the Battlezone games, they were not first person shooters. They were RTS games played in the first person. The games were primarily concerned with the strategies familiar in 'traditional' RTS games, with the first person perspective an integral part, but not the focus.
I never played Magic Carpet, so I can't comment on that.
Your main comment was with regard to all ATI Radeon cards, not just your 8500. Two of my friends have 9800XTs, another one has a 9700, and none of them have had problems with the game.
Considering most new games require DirectX 9 (and are bundling dx9b with them), having a card that fully supports it is a good thing. Considering your card is pushing two and a half years in age, it's not surprising there are problems with it. 9600s and 9700s are well under $200 in price, and you'd do well to pick one up.
It's been running fine on my machine for hours: Athlon 900MHz, 512MB RAM, Radeon 9600XT. Heck, I didn't even need to upgrade my video drivers (I think I have like Catalyst 4.2. Something like that... haven't downloaded new ones in awhile). Sure, the graphics options are turned down and I'm playing it at 640x480, but I still consistantly get 25-35fps. Not perfect, but definitely playable.
I hate how people assume that if you can afford such-and-such for this price, you must be able to afford this other thing as well. If over the course of a few months I save $1,000 to spend on new hardware, that doesn't necessarily mean I'll have a large amount of cash left over.
If you can save the money needed for high level hardware, then you certainly can save to get Doom 3. The issue here is if you're willing to pirate, then you've saved yourself $55. There's no reason to rationalize pirating a game; it's illegal, and no amount of arguing the moral implications will help you if you get in trouble for it. That aside, it happens all the time, and if you know what you're doing it's very easy not to get caught.
If pirating bothers you so much, just remember what your bought copy of Doom 3 has over the free xdcc'd one: retail box, discs, and manual; online play that works; and the satisfaction that you support a quality product.
If a warez kid complains about his pirated games, let him be. Sometimes it takes awhile to grow out of that.
The difficult/annoying part in pirating xbox games is getting a modded xbox. I, for one, just find it too much of a hassle to mod, and until I do it would be impossible for me to get free xbox games (not that I would :P).
And how often to the 'end users' need to actually crack the software? No-cd cracks, keygens, and all the other stuff are available and as easy to get as the pirated software itself. GameCopyWorld, Packetnews, Suprnova, and a couple of clients are all you need, my friend.
Actually, an acronym can be either the first letter of words or parts of words.
acronym @ dictionary.com. The example it gives is radar - radio detecting and ranging
First off, I never said it was 'PERL' ;) I think a grandparent did that.
Second, I took your advice and checked perlfaq1.
All from perldoc.com:
Regarding PERL (this link is perlfaq1, btw) - But never write "PERL", because perl is not an acronym, apocryphal folklore and post-facto expansions notwithstanding.
Regarding "Practical Extraction and Report Language" - The title given to perl in this page. Also, check the rest of the perldoc.com site
Regarding "Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister" - Perl actually stands for Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister, but don't tell anyone I said that.
Taking into account the man's humor and wit, it's safe to call it whatever you want, as long as you don't take anything too seriously :)
Check out the homepage for SLOCCount - a set of tools for counting physical Source Lines of Code (SLOC).
If you asked Larry Wall, the father of Perl, that's not true. Perl is said to stand for "Practical Extraction and Reporting Language," something that's pretty descriptive.
Larry has also referred to Perl as "Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister," a little poking fun at himself with regard to Perl's beautiful looking code.
What flavor is the ice cream?
Apparently my comment went over your head...
...windows is a system requirement for slashdot? :P
You're absolutely right. After having listened to him give a keynote speech about a year ago, I left amazed at his financial and business wisdom. He seems like the kind of boss you'd dream of working for: intelligent, fair, enthusiastic, and inspires others to do well.
lol. I was simply helping out the parent to my post who said I seem to remember some high-faluting company that has $10,000 per share prices....
Though, in this case, share price is very relevant. A stock worth thousands of dollars would not survive at that price for years if the company was not sound and very stable.
Whether BH wants to keep their stock value high has little to do on the performance and price of it. Though they can refrain from splitting (which is exactly what has happened), if investors collectively felt $80k was far too high a value, the share price would eventually drop. As it stands, however, Berkshire Hathaway has grown steadily.
Absolutely, though I wouldn't buy only based on the P/E ratio. History of the stock and non-market related performance of the company (including potential to grow and perform well in the future) are good factors too.
If you had said the share price of an IPO, you might be more correct, but as it stands your statement isn't very accurate. While initial public offerings can be overpriced and have little bearing on the company's actual worth, sustained share price of a company *can* be a very good indicator worth and stability. The market value of a stock is a representation of the public's confidence in a company in investment terms. Barring hype and deceit, this confidence is more applicable than you'd lead people to believe, and stock prices are adjusted accordingly in the long run.
The Joe Shmoe investor doesn't know any better, but the largest and most influential portfolios are owned by the wealthy and corporations, and are managed by people who make finance their careers. Those who invest wildly are weeded out eventually and have little impact on the market. Day-trading is less glamorous than it was 5 and 6 years ago, and individual investors are more cautious and less willing to throw all their money into the market.
Mentioning the intial offering price is most helpful to those simply wanting to know how many shares they can afford if they're planning on purchasing stocks. An $100+ IPO isn't that special, and would only become noteworthy if the share price changed by a significant percentage one the first day.
The unstable "driven by the mindless masses" stock market you describe may have been present 70 and 80 years ago, but the financial markets are too well regulated now. I think your frustration might be better directed elsewhere.