With XPilot, anyone can (and does) put up their own server, so they can play with others and have near-nil lag time. They pay for the servers, not you, the developer (though the server-operators may also become developers). There are always many xpilot servers going, and sometimes the problem is getting enough players on just one of them.
Anyway, the point is, get a good community going, and some members of the community may have some bandwidth to spare to put up servers. All you have to spend is some of your time making the game good and telling people about it.
playing a video game with anything besides a mouse is impossible.
You mean like minesweeper?:)
Playing a videogame is quite possible without a mouse, it's just that some are very hard without (or impossible like minesweeper, but someone could make a keyboard interface to that...). I think what you meant to say was that playing FPSs without a mouse is next to impossible. Oh and what about the console people among us? They use controllers, not mice.
</RANT>
There are over 188 different distributions of Linux available today, with the number growing all the time. You have to first decide which distribution and graphical user interface to use.
then...
There are not very many well-known or enterprise-wide software packages available for Linux today, especially for POS.
Make up your minds! Is an excess of choice a good thing or a bad thing?
Developers can find security weaknesses very easily with Linux. The same is not true with Microsoft Windows.
Huh? I thought that developers finding bugs and fixing/reporting them was a good thing. Maybe they meant to say "those Evil Hackers":).
It will be less costly to train staff on the Microsoft Windows user interface and the development environment because so many people are already familiar with them.
Isn't this one of those things that signifies a monopoly abusing its power? Everyone uses M$, so why use anything else, right?
In the book(s), there was more than one monolith, and I think they found one in Africa (presumably the same one the monkeys found). And besides, no one would have seen it on the moon, and no one would have gotten it if it came in 1999 (well maybe a few people with nothing better to do...;)
So many games I've been addicted to. I think Civ wins though, since I'd play it and think "Oh, I've only been playing for 1000 years, not that long." instead of "Wow, I've been playing since I got up, and it's 4pm, maybe I should have some breakfast..."
I don't know why it's a u (usually written in script, more like u... too many other m's I guess.
It's a "u" because it's actually a lower-case "Mu" which happens to look like a "u" to most people. One can see the "M" in a properly written "Mu"
...|...|....
../|../|....
./..\/.|_...
/...........
I agree that putting a currently decently sized monitor on a desktop makes it too high and the case hassle to get into, but there's really no reason to put any monitor on top of a desktop (unless, of course, you have a puny desk, or multiple computers on the same desk). I have my monitor and kb on the left side of my desk, and the box on the right, with junk piled on top of it. Had I gone with a tower, I could only pile half the amount of junk on that side of the desk. If I put it on the floor, it would just displace junk I have there (yes, my room is a pigsty of papers, boxes, and hardware), and I would still have the stretching-to-reach-the-drives problem. I just don't think I'll ever like towers, I'm a desktop zealot:).
IMHO, the motherboard should be turned around so that you have an arrangement like this:
PS|
---------|
___|mobo |
drvs|crds|
____|____|
front
and the front of the machine would look like this:
5.25 3.5 cards
__V____V____V____
|____|___||||||||
|____|---||||||||
|________||||||||
^ports,buttons,lights
Also, I really don't get why people like towers so much, and why they put them on the floor. It's like they're ashamed of that big box controlling their nice spiffy peripherals. If I had a tower on the floor I'd end up kicking it and breaking my back trying to access the drives. If I put it on the desk, I'd worry about it tipping over, and I wouldn't be able to put thing on top of it because 1) most are curved on top, 2) again, it's not at natural arm level, and 3) it's too narrow for most things anyway. Desktops don't waste desk space because you can put lotsa junk on top of them. Someone please tell me why they think towers are better.
"computers found to be defective within two years of purchase must be repaired, replaced or refunded,"
Am I the only one who thinks that within two years, the thing will be obsolete anyway? I don't think they usually sell the same computer models for two years. Can obsolesence be considered a form of defect? Then a repair is an upgrade and replace means get a brand new computer. Somehow I don't think the computer retailers will see it this way...
My computer is mostly* older than 2 years, though, so I guess I disprove my own point...
*My computer is cobbled together from parts of differing ages, oldest going back to ~1992, newest in 1999.
The only word he had an opprtunity to spell correctly was "asks" and he did. The rest was provided by someone who asked the question. Should he really change someone else's words?
You can pick up a regular mouse and use it. That's how I use mine. I have the mouse turned around, the part of my palm under my thumb on the "left" button, my thumb on the top of the mouse, and the rest of my fingers around the bottom. When I "right" click, I just move my thumb over there. A left click is just a squeeze (remind you of any recent mice *cough*Mac*cough*?). My middle finger operates the ball as a trackball. I find that this position is better because it keeps the wrist in a neutral position. Try it! YMMV, of course.
Noone seems to like space combat except me. They might lump it with flight sims, but they're really different. Fly! isn't half as exciting as TIE Fighter. I still play that, even though I've gone throught the entire set of campaigns something like 10 times. I haven't seen many space combat games recently. Where have they gone? The only ones I see right now are Parsec(which is a free project yet to be finished) and Terminus(which is commercial). Are there others like me, or am I the only one who wants more space sims?
This isn't 4:3 either, it's 8:5. I think this was to fit in the original mapped VGA 64K (320*200=64000, 320*240=76800). 1280*1024 could be a similar situation (4-bytes/pixel gives you 5MB?)
Might it be possible that the 3 color phosphors were wider than they were tall? I've seen 160x240 done for that reason (small LCD).
They finally got around to using arabic instead of roman numerals. I saw someone say that it should be "Sexium", but it really should be "Octium" or Nonium" (depending on whether Pentium Pro was separate from Pentium II (not sure about this)) Eventually they might run into element names if they do it that way (Unniloctium etc.) So I guess the Pentium 4 is actually Oxygen or Flourine (vaporware?:-). Maybe they should use binary, that way they get bigger looking numbers: Pentuim 100{0|1}. Will someone tell me what the numbers are for Pentium->PPro->PII?
Does this mean that now we can truthfully say "We need to vent the plasma from the impulse engines!"? (I know, I know, in Star Trek the plasma is in the warp engines...:)
Seriously though, this seems neat. It seems alot like the ion engines they put on one of those probes (can't remember which). But then, those are from Star Wars (TIE==Twin Ion Engines). It seems like the main differences are that the plasma is superheated, and they're using H instead of Xe. Does anyone know how superheating the stuff affects thrust?
I didn't think potatoes were vegetables. Or is it that tubers are a subset of vegetables? I'm confused. I always thought that vegetables were parts of a plant that we eat that don't have seeds (tomatoes are a naming exception). Potatoes have eyes, which are kinda like seeds in that they can spawn new plants. Does anyone know if potato plants have actual seeds as well?
I saw this a few weeks ago, it's probably been around awhile. Before I saw it, though, I had this same idea. I didn't really have the resources to implement it though. I think the best thing about it is not the everything-proof-ness, but the roll-up-ability (doncha just love my new vocabulary?). This makes it perfect for a wearable if you don't want to get and learn a twiddler. The withstandability is nice if you drop it in a mud puddle, though. I guess the quiet is good if you're in a library or something sitting down to type something. The one advantage I can see that the twiddler has over this thing is that you can twiddle standing up (dunno, maybe you could duct tape this to your waist, but that would be an ergonomic nightmare...).
the thing posted awhile back about connecting multiple flatscreens seamlessly? It seems to me that this multi-screen thing is just a step backward from that.
Also, while I can see some applications where having multiple phisical screens might be good, why not just deal with the nice multiple logical screens in X? For one, it certainly costs less. Your eyes can normally only focus on a small area at a time anyway. I find myself thinking that I have multiple screens, because I just substituted rolling my mouse over the edge of the current screen for turning my head. I've fully integrated with my virtual screens. I like it. I feel limited now in yet another way when I have to deal with a windoze machine.
I don't think this should be determined
on
Solving Chess?
·
· Score: 1
because if there is a perfect game of chess, all someone has to do is memorize it and the game is theirs. It makes for a much less interesting game. It's probably a very complex thing to memorize, though, because the other player has the freedom to move where he wants, so there would have to be several branches at each move.
But then again, I disagree with people who get books of chess moves and strategies, memorize them, and play them. It takes all the fun out of having to figure out what the best move is each turn. To me, chess is a game of skill, not memorization.
But I have no control over these people, so they can read all the books they want and maybe even try to discover a perfect game.
Re:Have you ever watched a game of chess?
on
Solving Chess?
·
· Score: 2
Actually, to those who know how to play, chess can be a very interesting thing to watch. You get to think of what you would do in 's place, and if they do it and succeed, your though process has been vindicated, but if they fail, you'll know not to do that and why in one of your games. This would be especially true for two computers playing chess.
I meant that I wanted to have vocabulary based on Latin and Greek roots, sort of like scientific words are made. (ex: photo==light, synth==make, thus photosynthesis==make from light (not sure if this is Greek or Latin, though, I should look it up)) As for the grammar, I thought maybe I would stick with what I know (English and German), and what I can make up to fix what I consider bad in those two.
but it seems that Lojban beat me to it. There are many things I would do differently, though. I would base it heavily on Greek and Latin roots, and I would allow people to add words to a dictionary on the web. Others would vote on whether the entry should be a word, and if it gets enough of a majority in a specified time, it becomes a word. I also made a phoenetic alphabet based on what the mouth would look like while making each sound, but their version might be better since mine isn't exactly ASCII-compatible:). There may also be value in a completely written language of the internet, since it wouldn't have to have rules about where letters could be plaaced or even how many letters there should be, just grammar and meaning.
Slashdot Mirror
With XPilot, anyone can (and does) put up their own server, so they can play with others and have near-nil lag time. They pay for the servers, not you, the developer (though the server-operators may also become developers). There are always many xpilot servers going, and sometimes the problem is getting enough players on just one of them.
Anyway, the point is, get a good community going, and some members of the community may have some bandwidth to spare to put up servers. All you have to spend is some of your time making the game good and telling people about it.
You mean like minesweeper?
Playing a videogame is quite possible without a mouse, it's just that some are very hard without (or impossible like minesweeper, but someone could make a keyboard interface to that...). I think what you meant to say was that playing FPSs without a mouse is next to impossible. Oh and what about the console people among us? They use controllers, not mice.
</RANT>
then...
Make up your minds! Is an excess of choice a good thing or a bad thing?
Huh? I thought that developers finding bugs and fixing/reporting them was a good thing. Maybe they meant to say "those Evil Hackers"
Isn't this one of those things that signifies a monopoly abusing its power? Everyone uses M$, so why use anything else, right?
...how long it will take Apple to sue them for the use of their "Airport" TM :)
In the book(s), there was more than one monolith, and I think they found one in Africa (presumably the same one the monkeys found). And besides, no one would have seen it on the moon, and no one would have gotten it if it came in 1999 (well maybe a few people with nothing better to do... ;)
So many games I've been addicted to. I think Civ wins though, since I'd play it and think "Oh, I've only been playing for 1000 years, not that long." instead of "Wow, I've been playing since I got up, and it's 4pm, maybe I should have some breakfast..."
I don't know why it's a u (usually written in script, more like u... too many other m's I guess.
It's a "u" because it's actually a lower-case "Mu" which happens to look like a "u" to most people. One can see the "M" in a properly written "Mu"
...|...|....
../|../|....
./..\/.|_...
/...........
I agree that putting a currently decently sized monitor on a desktop makes it too high and the case hassle to get into, but there's really no reason to put any monitor on top of a desktop (unless, of course, you have a puny desk, or multiple computers on the same desk). I have my monitor and kb on the left side of my desk, and the box on the right, with junk piled on top of it. Had I gone with a tower, I could only pile half the amount of junk on that side of the desk. If I put it on the floor, it would just displace junk I have there (yes, my room is a pigsty of papers, boxes, and hardware), and I would still have the stretching-to-reach-the-drives problem. I just don't think I'll ever like towers, I'm a desktop zealot :).
IMHO, the motherboard should be turned around so that you have an arrangement like this:
PS|
---------|
___|mobo |
drvs|crds|
____|____|
front
and the front of the machine would look like this:
5.25 3.5 cards
__V____V____V____
|____|___||||||||
|____|---||||||||
|________||||||||
^ports,buttons,lights
Also, I really don't get why people like towers so much, and why they put them on the floor. It's like they're ashamed of that big box controlling their nice spiffy peripherals. If I had a tower on the floor I'd end up kicking it and breaking my back trying to access the drives. If I put it on the desk, I'd worry about it tipping over, and I wouldn't be able to put thing on top of it because 1) most are curved on top, 2) again, it's not at natural arm level, and 3) it's too narrow for most things anyway. Desktops don't waste desk space because you can put lotsa junk on top of them. Someone please tell me why they think towers are better.
"computers found to be defective within two years of purchase must be repaired, replaced or refunded,"
Am I the only one who thinks that within two years, the thing will be obsolete anyway? I don't think they usually sell the same computer models for two years. Can obsolesence be considered a form of defect? Then a repair is an upgrade and replace means get a brand new computer. Somehow I don't think the computer retailers will see it this way...
My computer is mostly* older than 2 years, though, so I guess I disprove my own point...
*My computer is cobbled together from parts of differing ages, oldest going back to ~1992, newest in 1999.
The only word he had an opprtunity to spell correctly was "asks" and he did. The rest was provided by someone who asked the question. Should he really change someone else's words?
You can pick up a regular mouse and use it. That's how I use mine. I have the mouse turned around, the part of my palm under my thumb on the "left" button, my thumb on the top of the mouse, and the rest of my fingers around the bottom. When I "right" click, I just move my thumb over there. A left click is just a squeeze (remind you of any recent mice *cough*Mac*cough*?). My middle finger operates the ball as a trackball. I find that this position is better because it keeps the wrist in a neutral position. Try it! YMMV, of course.
Noone seems to like space combat except me. They might lump it with flight sims, but they're really different. Fly! isn't half as exciting as TIE Fighter. I still play that, even though I've gone throught the entire set of campaigns something like 10 times. I haven't seen many space combat games recently. Where have they gone? The only ones I see right now are Parsec(which is a free project yet to be finished) and Terminus(which is commercial). Are there others like me, or am I the only one who wants more space sims?
Who will play Radiation Man's sidecick?
NELSON: RadioACTIVE Man, stupid!
Funny, I shouldn't have been able to hear that...
This isn't 4:3 either, it's 8:5. I think this was to fit in the original mapped VGA 64K (320*200=64000, 320*240=76800). 1280*1024 could be a similar situation (4-bytes/pixel gives you 5MB?)
Might it be possible that the 3 color phosphors were wider than they were tall? I've seen 160x240 done for that reason (small LCD).
The stuff must be non-conductive, like the mineral oil.
They finally got around to using arabic instead of roman numerals. I saw someone say that it should be "Sexium", but it really should be "Octium" or Nonium" (depending on whether Pentium Pro was separate from Pentium II (not sure about this)) Eventually they might run into element names if they do it that way (Unniloctium etc.) So I guess the Pentium 4 is actually Oxygen or Flourine (vaporware?:-). Maybe they should use binary, that way they get bigger looking numbers: Pentuim 100{0|1}. Will someone tell me what the numbers are for Pentium->PPro->PII?
Does this mean that now we can truthfully say "We need to vent the plasma from the impulse engines!"? (I know, I know, in Star Trek the plasma is in the warp engines...:)
Seriously though, this seems neat. It seems alot like the ion engines they put on one of those probes (can't remember which). But then, those are from Star Wars (TIE==Twin Ion Engines). It seems like the main differences are that the plasma is superheated, and they're using H instead of Xe. Does anyone know how superheating the stuff affects thrust?
I didn't think potatoes were vegetables. Or is it that tubers are a subset of vegetables? I'm confused. I always thought that vegetables were parts of a plant that we eat that don't have seeds (tomatoes are a naming exception). Potatoes have eyes, which are kinda like seeds in that they can spawn new plants. Does anyone know if potato plants have actual seeds as well?
I saw this a few weeks ago, it's probably been around awhile. Before I saw it, though, I had this same idea. I didn't really have the resources to implement it though. I think the best thing about it is not the everything-proof-ness, but the roll-up-ability (doncha just love my new vocabulary?). This makes it perfect for a wearable if you don't want to get and learn a twiddler. The withstandability is nice if you drop it in a mud puddle, though. I guess the quiet is good if you're in a library or something sitting down to type something. The one advantage I can see that the twiddler has over this thing is that you can twiddle standing up (dunno, maybe you could duct tape this to your waist, but that would be an ergonomic nightmare...).
the thing posted awhile back about connecting multiple flatscreens seamlessly? It seems to me that this multi-screen thing is just a step backward from that.
Also, while I can see some applications where having multiple phisical screens might be good, why not just deal with the nice multiple logical screens in X? For one, it certainly costs less. Your eyes can normally only focus on a small area at a time anyway. I find myself thinking that I have multiple screens, because I just substituted rolling my mouse over the edge of the current screen for turning my head. I've fully integrated with my virtual screens. I like it. I feel limited now in yet another way when I have to deal with a windoze machine.
because if there is a perfect game of chess, all someone has to do is memorize it and the game is theirs. It makes for a much less interesting game. It's probably a very complex thing to memorize, though, because the other player has the freedom to move where he wants, so there would have to be several branches at each move.
But then again, I disagree with people who get books of chess moves and strategies, memorize them, and play them. It takes all the fun out of having to figure out what the best move is each turn. To me, chess is a game of skill, not memorization.
But I have no control over these people, so they can read all the books they want and maybe even try to discover a perfect game.
Actually, to those who know how to play, chess can be a very interesting thing to watch. You get to think of what you would do in 's place, and if they do it and succeed, your though process has been vindicated, but if they fail, you'll know not to do that and why in one of your games. This would be especially true for two computers playing chess.
I meant that I wanted to have vocabulary based on Latin and Greek roots, sort of like scientific words are made. (ex: photo==light, synth==make, thus photosynthesis==make from light (not sure if this is Greek or Latin, though, I should look it up)) As for the grammar, I thought maybe I would stick with what I know (English and German), and what I can make up to fix what I consider bad in those two.
but it seems that Lojban beat me to it. There are many things I would do differently, though. I would base it heavily on Greek and Latin roots, and I would allow people to add words to a dictionary on the web. Others would vote on whether the entry should be a word, and if it gets enough of a majority in a specified time, it becomes a word. I also made a phoenetic alphabet based on what the mouth would look like while making each sound, but their version might be better since mine isn't exactly ASCII-compatible :). There may also be value in a completely written language of the internet, since it wouldn't have to have rules about where letters could be plaaced or even how many letters there should be, just grammar and meaning.