I actually just installed Gentoo again on my desktop for the first time in about 6 months and I was pissed to learn that you can't do a stage 1 install easily anymore. In the end though, reiso in #gentoo on FreeNode informed me that it doesn't really matter, which I kind of agree with. Within a month you'll have updated most of stage 1 anyways so I guess it's worth the less effort up front to get the system set up faster.
Gentoo definitely is better for those wanting to Learn Linux because it forces you to get into the nitty gritty of a Linux OS setup. I started with Slackware 8 or so and used it through Slack 9, but never really grew comfortable with Linux until I installed Gentoo in 2004 for the first time.
For someone to say it took them 10 hours to install Gentoo is a bit deceiving though. It sounds like a long time but really, most of the time you aren't in front of the monitor. I'd say the longest bit of the whole thing is emerging X and OpenOffice and even today that doesn't take long on a P4 with 2Ghz or better. I did the majority of the work overnight while I slept.
I actually was referring to most of that as "peripherals", although you'll notice I did include the price of the Plextor DVDRW for $120 retail. Slot loaders were available on Newegg as well. I have a nice keyboard, mouse, set of speakers and microphone; nothing I own uses firewire (I have firewire on my laptop and have never used it), and I find wireless kind of pointless when you have built in Wired Ethernet. I don't really use a remote either. Works for me, might not work for you.
I'm semi-impressed. I actually considered buying one for the cost. However, it's still tough when I know I can pretty much build this PC (minus mac components) for about $1000 and keep my old monitor and peripherals...so is it really worth an extra $1000 to buy the 24" screen and OSX?
I agree Sony definitely has a slight obsession with dominating the market with some kind of proprietary hardware storage solution. It's quite annoying.
I do think that they really screwed up the UMD movies. Yes, there's no way to view the movies on an external source (TV or PC or whatever) but the image ratio is so small that I doubt it would translate well to the larger devices. What they really need to do is drop the price. I still see them selling for $14. Someone above suggested selling them for $5. I think that would be ideal, maybe even $7 or $8 would be okay.
I love my PSP though. Everyone has nit picks with it, but I think it's an awesome device. I ripped a DVD to my 2GB memory stick, I surf the web for the demos and background images, I listen to unencumbered MP3s with no problem, and I play games that I enjoy. I don't have a PS2 so I have no problem buying SOCOM or GTA or even Lemmings. Force Commander is an awesome game and I love doing the play-by-email multiplayer. A portable console is really what I'm looking for and the PSP works great in this function and in others as well.
Would I buy a PSP2 yet? Definitely not. But I have no desire to buy a DS either.
Um, the first one already has built in WiFi. It even has built in Web, RSS, and Flash functionality included with the PSP at this point. Nice try though.
A hardcopy is easier to store? How many hardcopies do you have? How do you dispose of your hardcopies? Do you have hardcopies lying around the office? And is the case of your computer about the size of a file cabinet? Or four file cabinets? Maybe I should just stop asking questions?
I agree it's easier to read things on paper than on screen, but I think that storage of hardcopies is not easier than on your computer. Even Windows Search works better than me trying to comb through a file cabinet. You must be the most organized person in the world.
I'm saying that I used to hear arguments that Apple was higher priced because the parts were higher quality and didn't break as much (or maybe I'm confusing them with Sun?). Now, since they use the same Intel parts, it's hard to make that argument.
Not to mention that you have a hardware lock-in because Apple probably won't support you if you use hardware other than what they sell. Add to that the expense of purchasing an Apple versus a Dell server and I think this is a gigantic laugh of an article. Plus, now that Apple is using Intel hardware, the whole maintence argument that Apple parts last longer is out the window.
If you want to talk about Apple on the desktop versus Linux then I'd listen to the argument, but in the server world you can't compete. I really just wanted to respond to this article with a gigantic Simpson-esque "HA HA".
No wonder it's such a popular, mainstream language!!![...]Does anyone even use LISP outside of university?
Why am I even bothering to respond to this AC? I don't know but it definitely is an idiotic post that needs a response -
These kids shouldn't be expected to learn C and instantly write their own DOS or vi editor. The entire purpose of this course is to get them hooked into the world of programming and possibly also understand how a computer works. Even better, it should help them understand the engineering state of mind and how to approach problems.
Teaching an interpreted language like Scheme or LISP is a great idea because it's easy to understand and doesn't require complicated topics like memory types, pointers, and data structures. There's only the list, and it doesn't even have to be mathematically intensive, which is the quickest way to scare kids away.
I'll admit as well that Logo was a great way for me to learn programming when I was this age as well. The instant gratification of the lines and squares was great, and it definitely piqued my interest in computer science overall.
What I'd really like to see is the PSP's "game-state-save" functionality translate to the PS3. The ability to turn off the console and let it go into a type of hibernate mode without using any battery is arguably the best feature of the handheld. You can just keep switching it on and off and lose very little time waiting for it to come back up. I don't know if the DS does it, but I guarantee you if it doesn't it will soon. Very handy when you're on the go and can only play a few minutes at a time.
The one downside to the universal GUI of the PSP is the save functionality. Many of the games would design their own save game functionality only to have the PSP save game come up after confirming the save in the game. So you'd effectively be saving the game twice in one shot. It's quite annoying if you ask me. More of a developer problem than Sony's, but something that needs to be worked on.
Like I said, it's comparing apples to oranges. You can't compare units shipped to units sold. So unlike your conclusion, it means nothing. Not to mention that Nintendo's method of tracking units sold to customers is spotty at best. How can they know exactly how many were sold unless the retailer tells them? And is it really in the retailer's best interest to report how many units they've actually sold?
That doesn't mean too much to me. Walmart is well known for their ability to manage JIT inventory. Just because they don't have a DS doesn't mean it sold out. Just because they have PSPs lying around doesn't mean they're not selling. You can't read anything into inventory lying around. I went to Circuit City last week and they had a million DS games and not one PSP game even though they had the hardware and accessories for both...so the PSP games must be selling out completely?
I've had a laptop with an ATI card for a few years now and run gentoo on it. If there's one thing I learned pretty quickly, it was not to update xorg until gentoo moved it to stable. Kind of a pain in the neck, but ATI has horrible driver support. Even though both manufacturers (nvidia and ati) don't have support yet for 7.1, I can tell you right now that even if they did, ATI still would have crappy drivers. It's almost as if they have 2 interns and a group of monkeys coding in a back room somewhere. There were two issues with Xorg and ATI that really drove me crazy for a while - I couldn't suspend to memory and resume without X going apeshit and lagging completely and I couldn't switch between an X session and console without X crashing to GDM. The second issue was finally fixed in between 6.8 and 7.0 but the suspend issue still persists. I will never buy an ATI chip in a laptop meant for linux again. I'd switch to the open source drivers, but they don't support 3D, so what's the point of having a 3D card that can't do 3D? I'm not blaming those developers, but that's just not a viable option at the moment IMO.
I don't know why you were spending $20 a week on batteries, but it's definitely a lot of money if you're going to be using a device with AA batteries. I ended up searching around online until I found Steve's Digicams that had great information on rechargeable batteries. I ended up spending about $50 or so on a Maha charger and 8 batteries but I think it was worth it as the charger is portable (works in my car) and has a "trickle charge" mechanism that means I can leave the thing in the charger and it will recharge the batteries slowly over time after they are full to keep the charge up and not kill the life by constantly charging. Even better, the batteries last longer than most of the batteries you find in radio shack or the drug store.
I think you're being a troll, but I'm going to take the bait anyways.
Too many services, both public and private, are moving to the internet. My healthcare provider won't send me an id card, I have to go to their website and print it. My State Civil Service Office requires that I apply for the Technology Analyst list by online application only. New York City has put their entire database of tickets and fines online so that if I plead not guilty to a parking ticket and am found guilty, I have to go online to find it and pay it. The Internet was built with public funding and it should be a public service. If the telcos are going to battle against Municipal Wireless, then they shouldn't be allowed to charge more for fatter tunnels.
While I'll agree that a lot of things will be more annoyances than most, I think it's not a good idea to call Net Neutrality minor. As it is right now, ISP's really don't let people do web hosting from home, and specifically sell their products in a way to stifle this. This is why you can get a 300mbit downstream and 128kbit upstream on your cable connection. Up until now, most people haven't noticed this big problem but over time I think more and more people will become net savvy and will want to run their own server. It could be some day that buying a web server is ubiquitous as buying an iPod or Tivo now. However, allowing the telcos to charge for larger pipes will restrict this to the point where the barrier to entry is extremely high. As it is, if left alone it is more possible that the upstream might be widened due to consumer demand. I think any restrictions will definitely limit that possibility.
Region Free is undoubtedly a big win (I almost, ALMOST picked up a black DS Lite when I was in europe).
The PSP games are region free as well. It's only the movies that are region limited. But then again, the DS doesn't play movies so that doesn't matter much, does it?
The gameplay is innovative: The touchscreen is producing some very cool results, including a lot of non-gamer games
Kind of like a PDA? Haven't seen that before...Besides what innovative gameplay are you experiencing? Nintendogs, which turns your DS into a $150 digital pet? Can you say Tamagotchi? The brain game that is basically an IQ quiz for $20? Or is it Metroid and Mariokart sequels which now just have a different control scheme?
You don't need to "hack" a PSP to play video. All you need is PSP Video 9 (it's free!) and a freshly ripped DVD movie and you can copy it to your memory stick. Of course, it's illegal but hey, if you're willing to hack a PSP you must be willing to rip a DVD.
And you didn't come to expect that Slashdot would spin it this way already? There are two things that are absolutely sacred right now on this site: Apple and Nintendo. Criticize either and you're automatically modded flamebait or troll. Compliment either and you're +5 Interesting and Insightful. And god forbid we talk about their rivals in a good way. Sony has definitely screwed up with their pricing, but I've seen people say the PSP is dead when it's far from it. I've also seen them who attack anyone who claims the Apple Intel offerings have problems (which they do). Personally, I'm sick and tired of the fanboys. Let's not analyze each and every statement that comes from some Sony shill as the second coming of the apocolypse, okay? Sony isn't going to offer every game at $90 a pop. They may be cocky, but they're not stupid.
Remember that you must register your router and keep it on at all times. This great low price helps us build the FON Community. Therefore, we will apply a $/€ 45 surcharge on all routers that have not been registered within 30 days of having made the purchase
So if you buy the router and don't activate it, they'll charge you $45 or €45 depending on where you live? It isn't really clear which value they go by, but I imagine it depends on what currency you used to purchase it. Personally, I think it's better for them to charge a flat €45 since it's worth almost 1.5 times the dollar at this point.
But most likely, you're like most consumers: you've been programmed to shell out big money for little bits of entertainment. Now that is really a sad though.
Nice point about the high cost of entertainment nowadays, but I bet you probably live under a rock and get your TV via antenna? The point is that we all have to pay this crazy amount to get any kind of entertainment. Personally, I don't own TiVo or HBO. I pay $54 a month for digital cable (NYC no longer has basic cable service) so all in all it's not that bad. Where I really get slapped around is another $45 for Road Runner, but I rent so I can't exactly install a DSL line without hassling my landlord, which is more trouble than it's worth since I had to hassle him for a land telephone line. Then I pay extra just for stupid cable boxes that I probably could buy and install myself, but Time Warner wants to charge me a nice $11 a month each (I have two).
My real motivation here of course is to show that there are nice benefits to owning a PSP, which of course the article subtly points out. Many people who are DS lovers are calling for its death but I think this among other articles show that it still garners enough market share to make it worth TiVo's time to make a product for it.
Re:2 FPS?
on
Quake is 10
·
· Score: 2, Informative
Yeah I seem to remember playing quake in Windows 95 with those hardware specs. And someone was complaining about TCP/IP in that mailing list, but I seem to remember playing Quake over the internet on dialup. Fun times. I miss the custom Quakeworld skins myself. And I think there was AirQuake as well that rocked.
Slashdot Mirror
I actually just installed Gentoo again on my desktop for the first time in about 6 months and I was pissed to learn that you can't do a stage 1 install easily anymore. In the end though, reiso in #gentoo on FreeNode informed me that it doesn't really matter, which I kind of agree with. Within a month you'll have updated most of stage 1 anyways so I guess it's worth the less effort up front to get the system set up faster.
Gentoo definitely is better for those wanting to Learn Linux because it forces you to get into the nitty gritty of a Linux OS setup. I started with Slackware 8 or so and used it through Slack 9, but never really grew comfortable with Linux until I installed Gentoo in 2004 for the first time.
For someone to say it took them 10 hours to install Gentoo is a bit deceiving though. It sounds like a long time but really, most of the time you aren't in front of the monitor. I'd say the longest bit of the whole thing is emerging X and OpenOffice and even today that doesn't take long on a P4 with 2Ghz or better. I did the majority of the work overnight while I slept.
I actually was referring to most of that as "peripherals", although you'll notice I did include the price of the Plextor DVDRW for $120 retail. Slot loaders were available on Newegg as well. I have a nice keyboard, mouse, set of speakers and microphone; nothing I own uses firewire (I have firewire on my laptop and have never used it), and I find wireless kind of pointless when you have built in Wired Ethernet. I don't really use a remote either. Works for me, might not work for you.
I'm semi-impressed. I actually considered buying one for the cost. However, it's still tough when I know I can pretty much build this PC (minus mac components) for about $1000 and keep my old monitor and peripherals...so is it really worth an extra $1000 to buy the 24" screen and OSX?
Core Duo 2 2.13Ghz - $235
GeForce 7600GT 256MB - $170
Asus Mobo - $120
Kingston DDR2 1GB - $100
WD 250GB SATA Drive - $120
Plextor DVD/CD/R/RW/KitchenSink - $100
Case - $200
Total: $1045 - a tad bit overbudget if you splurge on the case.
You forgot pornography.
I agree Sony definitely has a slight obsession with dominating the market with some kind of proprietary hardware storage solution. It's quite annoying.
I do think that they really screwed up the UMD movies. Yes, there's no way to view the movies on an external source (TV or PC or whatever) but the image ratio is so small that I doubt it would translate well to the larger devices. What they really need to do is drop the price. I still see them selling for $14. Someone above suggested selling them for $5. I think that would be ideal, maybe even $7 or $8 would be okay.
I love my PSP though. Everyone has nit picks with it, but I think it's an awesome device. I ripped a DVD to my 2GB memory stick, I surf the web for the demos and background images, I listen to unencumbered MP3s with no problem, and I play games that I enjoy. I don't have a PS2 so I have no problem buying SOCOM or GTA or even Lemmings. Force Commander is an awesome game and I love doing the play-by-email multiplayer. A portable console is really what I'm looking for and the PSP works great in this function and in others as well.
Would I buy a PSP2 yet? Definitely not. But I have no desire to buy a DS either.
Um, the first one already has built in WiFi. It even has built in Web, RSS, and Flash functionality included with the PSP at this point. Nice try though.
A hardcopy is easier to store? How many hardcopies do you have? How do you dispose of your hardcopies? Do you have hardcopies lying around the office? And is the case of your computer about the size of a file cabinet? Or four file cabinets? Maybe I should just stop asking questions?
I agree it's easier to read things on paper than on screen, but I think that storage of hardcopies is not easier than on your computer. Even Windows Search works better than me trying to comb through a file cabinet. You must be the most organized person in the world.
I'm saying that I used to hear arguments that Apple was higher priced because the parts were higher quality and didn't break as much (or maybe I'm confusing them with Sun?). Now, since they use the same Intel parts, it's hard to make that argument.
Not to mention that you have a hardware lock-in because Apple probably won't support you if you use hardware other than what they sell. Add to that the expense of purchasing an Apple versus a Dell server and I think this is a gigantic laugh of an article. Plus, now that Apple is using Intel hardware, the whole maintence argument that Apple parts last longer is out the window.
If you want to talk about Apple on the desktop versus Linux then I'd listen to the argument, but in the server world you can't compete. I really just wanted to respond to this article with a gigantic Simpson-esque "HA HA".
Funny, my firm blocked that site. Gues it wasn't as work friendly as I thought.
No wonder it's such a popular, mainstream language!!![...]Does anyone even use LISP outside of university?
Why am I even bothering to respond to this AC? I don't know but it definitely is an idiotic post that needs a response -
These kids shouldn't be expected to learn C and instantly write their own DOS or vi editor. The entire purpose of this course is to get them hooked into the world of programming and possibly also understand how a computer works. Even better, it should help them understand the engineering state of mind and how to approach problems.
Teaching an interpreted language like Scheme or LISP is a great idea because it's easy to understand and doesn't require complicated topics like memory types, pointers, and data structures. There's only the list, and it doesn't even have to be mathematically intensive, which is the quickest way to scare kids away.
I'll admit as well that Logo was a great way for me to learn programming when I was this age as well. The instant gratification of the lines and squares was great, and it definitely piqued my interest in computer science overall.
What I'd really like to see is the PSP's "game-state-save" functionality translate to the PS3. The ability to turn off the console and let it go into a type of hibernate mode without using any battery is arguably the best feature of the handheld. You can just keep switching it on and off and lose very little time waiting for it to come back up. I don't know if the DS does it, but I guarantee you if it doesn't it will soon. Very handy when you're on the go and can only play a few minutes at a time.
The one downside to the universal GUI of the PSP is the save functionality. Many of the games would design their own save game functionality only to have the PSP save game come up after confirming the save in the game. So you'd effectively be saving the game twice in one shot. It's quite annoying if you ask me. More of a developer problem than Sony's, but something that needs to be worked on.
Like I said, it's comparing apples to oranges. You can't compare units shipped to units sold. So unlike your conclusion, it means nothing. Not to mention that Nintendo's method of tracking units sold to customers is spotty at best. How can they know exactly how many were sold unless the retailer tells them? And is it really in the retailer's best interest to report how many units they've actually sold?
That doesn't mean too much to me. Walmart is well known for their ability to manage JIT inventory. Just because they don't have a DS doesn't mean it sold out. Just because they have PSPs lying around doesn't mean they're not selling. You can't read anything into inventory lying around. I went to Circuit City last week and they had a million DS games and not one PSP game even though they had the hardware and accessories for both...so the PSP games must be selling out completely?
I've had a laptop with an ATI card for a few years now and run gentoo on it. If there's one thing I learned pretty quickly, it was not to update xorg until gentoo moved it to stable. Kind of a pain in the neck, but ATI has horrible driver support. Even though both manufacturers (nvidia and ati) don't have support yet for 7.1, I can tell you right now that even if they did, ATI still would have crappy drivers. It's almost as if they have 2 interns and a group of monkeys coding in a back room somewhere. There were two issues with Xorg and ATI that really drove me crazy for a while - I couldn't suspend to memory and resume without X going apeshit and lagging completely and I couldn't switch between an X session and console without X crashing to GDM. The second issue was finally fixed in between 6.8 and 7.0 but the suspend issue still persists. I will never buy an ATI chip in a laptop meant for linux again. I'd switch to the open source drivers, but they don't support 3D, so what's the point of having a 3D card that can't do 3D? I'm not blaming those developers, but that's just not a viable option at the moment IMO.
I don't know why you were spending $20 a week on batteries, but it's definitely a lot of money if you're going to be using a device with AA batteries. I ended up searching around online until I found Steve's Digicams that had great information on rechargeable batteries. I ended up spending about $50 or so on a Maha charger and 8 batteries but I think it was worth it as the charger is portable (works in my car) and has a "trickle charge" mechanism that means I can leave the thing in the charger and it will recharge the batteries slowly over time after they are full to keep the charge up and not kill the life by constantly charging. Even better, the batteries last longer than most of the batteries you find in radio shack or the drug store.
I think you're being a troll, but I'm going to take the bait anyways.
Too many services, both public and private, are moving to the internet. My healthcare provider won't send me an id card, I have to go to their website and print it. My State Civil Service Office requires that I apply for the Technology Analyst list by online application only. New York City has put their entire database of tickets and fines online so that if I plead not guilty to a parking ticket and am found guilty, I have to go online to find it and pay it. The Internet was built with public funding and it should be a public service. If the telcos are going to battle against Municipal Wireless, then they shouldn't be allowed to charge more for fatter tunnels.
While I'll agree that a lot of things will be more annoyances than most, I think it's not a good idea to call Net Neutrality minor. As it is right now, ISP's really don't let people do web hosting from home, and specifically sell their products in a way to stifle this. This is why you can get a 300mbit downstream and 128kbit upstream on your cable connection. Up until now, most people haven't noticed this big problem but over time I think more and more people will become net savvy and will want to run their own server. It could be some day that buying a web server is ubiquitous as buying an iPod or Tivo now. However, allowing the telcos to charge for larger pipes will restrict this to the point where the barrier to entry is extremely high. As it is, if left alone it is more possible that the upstream might be widened due to consumer demand. I think any restrictions will definitely limit that possibility.
Just a rebuttal:
Region Free is undoubtedly a big win (I almost, ALMOST picked up a black DS Lite when I was in europe).
The PSP games are region free as well. It's only the movies that are region limited. But then again, the DS doesn't play movies so that doesn't matter much, does it?
The gameplay is innovative: The touchscreen is producing some very cool results, including a lot of non-gamer games
Kind of like a PDA? Haven't seen that before...Besides what innovative gameplay are you experiencing? Nintendogs, which turns your DS into a $150 digital pet? Can you say Tamagotchi? The brain game that is basically an IQ quiz for $20? Or is it Metroid and Mariokart sequels which now just have a different control scheme?
You don't need to "hack" a PSP to play video. All you need is PSP Video 9 (it's free!) and a freshly ripped DVD movie and you can copy it to your memory stick. Of course, it's illegal but hey, if you're willing to hack a PSP you must be willing to rip a DVD.
And you didn't come to expect that Slashdot would spin it this way already? There are two things that are absolutely sacred right now on this site: Apple and Nintendo. Criticize either and you're automatically modded flamebait or troll. Compliment either and you're +5 Interesting and Insightful. And god forbid we talk about their rivals in a good way. Sony has definitely screwed up with their pricing, but I've seen people say the PSP is dead when it's far from it. I've also seen them who attack anyone who claims the Apple Intel offerings have problems (which they do). Personally, I'm sick and tired of the fanboys. Let's not analyze each and every statement that comes from some Sony shill as the second coming of the apocolypse, okay? Sony isn't going to offer every game at $90 a pop. They may be cocky, but they're not stupid.
From their "shop":
Remember that you must register your router and keep it on at all times. This great low price helps us build the FON Community. Therefore, we will apply a $/€ 45 surcharge on all routers that have not been registered within 30 days of having made the purchase
So if you buy the router and don't activate it, they'll charge you $45 or €45 depending on where you live? It isn't really clear which value they go by, but I imagine it depends on what currency you used to purchase it. Personally, I think it's better for them to charge a flat €45 since it's worth almost 1.5 times the dollar at this point.
But most likely, you're like most consumers: you've been programmed to shell out big money for little bits of entertainment. Now that is really a sad though.
Nice point about the high cost of entertainment nowadays, but I bet you probably live under a rock and get your TV via antenna? The point is that we all have to pay this crazy amount to get any kind of entertainment. Personally, I don't own TiVo or HBO. I pay $54 a month for digital cable (NYC no longer has basic cable service) so all in all it's not that bad. Where I really get slapped around is another $45 for Road Runner, but I rent so I can't exactly install a DSL line without hassling my landlord, which is more trouble than it's worth since I had to hassle him for a land telephone line. Then I pay extra just for stupid cable boxes that I probably could buy and install myself, but Time Warner wants to charge me a nice $11 a month each (I have two).
My real motivation here of course is to show that there are nice benefits to owning a PSP, which of course the article subtly points out. Many people who are DS lovers are calling for its death but I think this among other articles show that it still garners enough market share to make it worth TiVo's time to make a product for it.
Yeah I seem to remember playing quake in Windows 95 with those hardware specs. And someone was complaining about TCP/IP in that mailing list, but I seem to remember playing Quake over the internet on dialup. Fun times. I miss the custom Quakeworld skins myself. And I think there was AirQuake as well that rocked.
From the document:
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I was going to say, those guys are goooood.