"What I load of shit. Over here in Europe, the people who live on the Alps do not all say that they need 4wd, most of them have 2wd."
Well, where I live tire chains are required by law unless you own a 4WD vehicle. I can't count the number of times I've passed little 2WD cars with chains in the mountain passes stuck hopelessly in the snow. I routinely stop and help tow such people out of their predicament. They seem pretty happy when I come by in my big old evil monster SUV and help them out.
"More disingenious lies. This is a straw man agrument. You know what is much more likely than your scenario? You or another member of your family hiting and killing another driver in an accident because you want to drive a car the size of a Romanian tank."
Better them than me. There is no law preventing anyone else from driving a large vehicle. If they wish to have the same level of protection, then they can buy one themselves. My first priority is the safety of my family. Always has been, always will be. I'm not particularly concerned that I will be the cause of an accident. I have been driving for 20 years and have a perfect driving record, I drive safely and have a lot of experience driving large vehicles (read: tractor trailers). I worry about the other nuts on the road. If someone drives like an ass and ends up squashed under my truck due to their own recklessness, then that's their problem and my conscience will suffer not one whit. I am under no obligation, moral or otherwise, to drive a certain type of vehicle simply because some idiot might get hurt if they collide with me.
"Just say you want a big car with a high wheelbase so you know if you crash it will most likely kill anyone else and leave your family safe, because you are inconsiderate and cruel."
OK, I'm inconsiderate and cruel. But I'd rather be inconsiderate, cruel and ALIVE, than kind, caring and DEAD.
Actually, if I just wanted something big, I would have got an Excursion or Suburban. As it is, I got what I need to get the job done.
I live in the foothills of the Cascade mountains, and a 4WD is a necessity. I also go camping and do other things that require lots of cargo space and the ability to tow a trailer.
A sedan just can't do what I need it to.
It is also a comfort to know that in an accident (which I've never had in my life, knock on wood) the odds are in my family's favor. You may be comfortable driving your family around in a go-kart amidst some of the lunatics that are on the road, but that's your choice. I like a few extra tons of steel between me and a drunk driver.
"Actually, if you read Tolkien's forward to the second edition of his work, he specifically states that he did not intend allegory in the writing."
To take this even further, on more than one occasion Tolkien has spelled out a rather intense hatred of allegory. To quote him in one interview: "I dislike allegory whenever I smell it."
Keep in mind that since it's a three hour movie, it cannot be shown as often during a given day on a single screen as your typical 90 minute film. Therefore box office grosses must necessarily be smaller for any given time period. That simple fact alone will keep it from breaking too many box office records.
Why is FF:XI different than any other game? Why would this game in particular need to be ported to other consoles to be succcessful? You did not make this clear in your post.
Yes, but one of the things that the publishers of the next generation of MMORPGs are working on are ways to make it possible to participate in the game on a sporadic basis. I think everyone recognizes that the current crop of MMORPGs require way too much time for most people to play.
"The only way you'll see this doing well, is if Square makes it accessible to everyone, which would mean porting it to competing consoles."
Huh? You're saying games only do well that are ported to other consoles? I don't think so. Many games do quite well while being available only for the PS2. Currently the PS2 has the vast majority of the new console market, and is still outselling both the Xbox and Gamecube.
Exactly. I saw LotR on opening day at the same theater these guys are camping out at. I bought my tickets a couple of days before via Fandango, showed up at the theater about two hours ahead of time, got great seats, and enjoyed the movie.
The funny thing is, if these guys are actually waiting to buy tickets, they might not get any. They could sell out on Fandango before the box office ever opens. I know that the first few days LotR was showing everything was sold out well in advance. I can see it now, on opening day the crowd files by them to go watch the movie while they stand outside in the Seattle rain because all the smart people bought their tickets on the internet. 4 1/2 months spent waiting for nothing. I'd pay to see that.
It's not that simple. According to the law, you have the right to make copies of the music you buy for personal use. In exchange for that right, the recording labels get a small amount of money from the sale of blank media. By attempting to make it impossible to copy CDs, the labels are trying to have their cake and eat it too. They want to collect money from the sale of blank media, while at the same time making it impossible to use that media for its intended purpose, thereby forcing the consumer to pay yet again for another copy of the same music.
In simpler terms, if I buy a CD, and want to burn a copy to keep in my car, that's my right, and the label gets compensated by collecting a small percentage from the sale of the blank CD. What they want to do, however, is collect that money, and by making it impossible for to make a copy, get me to buy another full-price copy for my car. That's doesn't seem fair. They either need to give up the money they collect from blank-media sales, or stop trying to prevent me from making copies.
But I suppose a few million in lobbying money will make it all come out in the labels' favor in the end. My few $$ as a consumer mean nothing in the face of the industry lobby. Won't it be great when we all have our Passports(tm) and can be charged every time we listen to a song?
Exactly. I've been to a few dot com auctions hoping to pick up some hardware on the cheap, however the stuff almost always ends up going for more than the cost of the same hardware new. For example, I was at one a while back where they had about 30 600 Mhz Gateways. That model had recently been discontinued and was replaced with a 750 Mhz model, which listed for something like $650 brand new. The used ones at the auction went for $800+.
I think what happens is that a company sends some clueless lackey to these things with instructions simply to buy some computers. They don't even bother checking what the stuff is actually worth.
Here's a new business model; start a company and buy a bunch of hardware. Play Quake for a few months with your friends and then announce that the unfortunate business climate has forced you to close up shop. Hold an auction and reap the profit. Repeat.
Actually I think that was Maori, the language of the New Zealand aboriginals. From where it appeared it looked like it would have been some soprt of thanks or tribute to the original inhabitants of New Zealand.
People actually still send out hard copy resumes??? Every company I know wants it sent electronically. I haven't printed out a resume in five years.
Re:Zork among the greatest? Nah...
on
Uplink
·
· Score: 2
To each his own I guess. I still play Zork occasionaly, which gives it the biggest replay factor of any game I've ever played. Running around shooting things loses it's thrill rather quickly, but Zork managed to present an immersive game world despite its limitations.
Why's that? Just because it doesn't have cutting-edge 3D graphics? Graphics have nothing to do with quality of gameplay. Zork was one of the all time greatest games ever, and it had *NO* graphics.
Watch the "Making Of" show. To make Hobbiton feel like a real place that has been lived in for hundreds of years, they actually built it over a year before filming, and planted and tended the gardens so they would have a chance to grow and make everything look "lived in". I was astounded at the detail of Hobbiton. They've recreated the whole place and it looks *exactly* as I have always pictured it.
I also understand that the Hobbiton set is still there and is being turned into a theme park where you can actually rent out rooms in the hobbit holes.
Andersen Consulting was part of Arthur Andersen until the beginning of this year. Andersen Consulting filed suit to split completely from Arthur Andersen for a number of reasons, and as part of the settlement, Andersen Consulting lost the right to use the Andersen name. "Accenture" was chosen as the result of a contest within the firm to name the newly independent company. Accenture recently IPO'd and has been doing pretty well on the market. They have approximately 75,000 employes (twice the size of Microsoft) and revenue of over 11 billion last year.
While the average Joe on the street may not know who they are, I can assure you that every corporate executive worth anything knows who they are (as a matter of fact, many high-ranking corporate executives worked for one of these firms at one time or another). KPMG is a powerhouse consulting firm, up there with McKinsey, Cap Gemini, Accenture, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Arthur Andersen, etc. They make billions in revenue and have thousands of employees.
Most people haven't heard of firms like this because it does them no good to market to the average consumer since their services are of no interest to them. Large corporations pay them millions however, and you can pretty much bet that just about every Fortune 500 firm is one of their clients. A mid-level consultant in one of these firms bills out at about $300-$400 per hour. They make huge sums of money and wield tremendous power in corporate America.
What's really cool is that adaptive optics technology is already available for the amateur. Santa Barbara Instrument Group makes the AO-7 adaptive optics system that works with their ST-7 and ST-8 CCD imaging cameras. It retails for about $1200.
Yeah, I remember that. There were a number of games for the TRS-80 that used a radio for sound. One of my favorites was a space invaders clone. This was back in, oh about '77 I guess.
Re:Palm doesn't force you to buy any developer too
on
Pocket PC 2002
·
· Score: 2
"CE - on the other hand- requires you to buy Visual C++ for VB in order to use the CE development tools. So instead of paying 379 (the cost of a codewarrior license) you need to pay 600 for a copy of VC++ Professional. Or over 2000 dollars for MSDN...!"
Uh, Visual C++ and VB for PocketPC are free from Microsoft. You're thinking of CE 2.0, where the CE tools were an add-on to VC++. That's not the case anymore. And the emulator works great, BTW.
Slashdot Mirror
"What I load of shit. Over here in Europe, the people who live on the Alps do not all say that they need 4wd, most of them have 2wd."
Well, where I live tire chains are required by law unless you own a 4WD vehicle. I can't count the number of times I've passed little 2WD cars with chains in the mountain passes stuck hopelessly in the snow. I routinely stop and help tow such people out of their predicament. They seem pretty happy when I come by in my big old evil monster SUV and help them out.
"More disingenious lies. This is a straw man agrument. You know what is much more likely than your scenario? You or another member of your family hiting and killing another driver in an accident because you want to drive a car the size of a Romanian tank."
Better them than me. There is no law preventing anyone else from driving a large vehicle. If they wish to have the same level of protection, then they can buy one themselves. My first priority is the safety of my family. Always has been, always will be. I'm not particularly concerned that I will be the cause of an accident. I have been driving for 20 years and have a perfect driving record, I drive safely and have a lot of experience driving large vehicles (read: tractor trailers). I worry about the other nuts on the road. If someone drives like an ass and ends up squashed under my truck due to their own recklessness, then that's their problem and my conscience will suffer not one whit. I am under no obligation, moral or otherwise, to drive a certain type of vehicle simply because some idiot might get hurt if they collide with me.
"Just say you want a big car with a high wheelbase so you know if you crash it will most likely kill anyone else and leave your family safe, because you are inconsiderate and cruel."
OK, I'm inconsiderate and cruel. But I'd rather be inconsiderate, cruel and ALIVE, than kind, caring and DEAD.
Actually, if I just wanted something big, I would have got an Excursion or Suburban. As it is, I got what I need to get the job done.
I live in the foothills of the Cascade mountains, and a 4WD is a necessity. I also go camping and do other things that require lots of cargo space and the ability to tow a trailer.
A sedan just can't do what I need it to.
It is also a comfort to know that in an accident (which I've never had in my life, knock on wood) the odds are in my family's favor. You may be comfortable driving your family around in a go-kart amidst some of the lunatics that are on the road, but that's your choice. I like a few extra tons of steel between me and a drunk driver.
-Jeff
Tell it to all the treehuggers driving 20 year old VWs held together by eco-stickers but which spew more noxious gases than a coal-fired power plant.
My Expedition gets pretty decent milage and emits less pollutants than my 10 year old Honda Civic.
-Jeff
FWIW, in the Waterstone poll of 25,000 readers, the LotR was voted best book of the 20th century. Not too shabby for a work that's over 50 years old.
"Actually, if you read Tolkien's forward to the second edition of his work, he specifically states that he did not intend allegory in the writing."
To take this even further, on more than one occasion Tolkien has spelled out a rather intense hatred of allegory. To quote him in one interview: "I dislike allegory whenever I smell it."
Keep in mind that since it's a three hour movie, it cannot be shown as often during a given day on a single screen as your typical 90 minute film. Therefore box office grosses must necessarily be smaller for any given time period. That simple fact alone will keep it from breaking too many box office records.
Why is FF:XI different than any other game? Why would this game in particular need to be ported to other consoles to be succcessful? You did not make this clear in your post.
Yes, but one of the things that the publishers of the next generation of MMORPGs are working on are ways to make it possible to participate in the game on a sporadic basis. I think everyone recognizes that the current crop of MMORPGs require way too much time for most people to play.
"I think MMORPGs are a niche product that will never have a mass market appeal."
I predict that within five years the game market will consist almost entirely of MMORPGs, with a small niche for single player games.
"The only way you'll see this doing well, is if Square makes it accessible to everyone, which would mean porting it to competing consoles."
Huh? You're saying games only do well that are ported to other consoles? I don't think so. Many games do quite well while being available only for the PS2. Currently the PS2 has the vast majority of the new console market, and is still outselling both the Xbox and Gamecube.
Exactly. I saw LotR on opening day at the same theater these guys are camping out at. I bought my tickets a couple of days before via Fandango, showed up at the theater about two hours ahead of time, got great seats, and enjoyed the movie.
The funny thing is, if these guys are actually waiting to buy tickets, they might not get any. They could sell out on Fandango before the box office ever opens. I know that the first few days LotR was showing everything was sold out well in advance. I can see it now, on opening day the crowd files by them to go watch the movie while they stand outside in the Seattle rain because all the smart people bought their tickets on the internet. 4 1/2 months spent waiting for nothing. I'd pay to see that.
It's not that simple. According to the law, you have the right to make copies of the music you buy for personal use. In exchange for that right, the recording labels get a small amount of money from the sale of blank media. By attempting to make it impossible to copy CDs, the labels are trying to have their cake and eat it too. They want to collect money from the sale of blank media, while at the same time making it impossible to use that media for its intended purpose, thereby forcing the consumer to pay yet again for another copy of the same music.
In simpler terms, if I buy a CD, and want to burn a copy to keep in my car, that's my right, and the label gets compensated by collecting a small percentage from the sale of the blank CD. What they want to do, however, is collect that money, and by making it impossible for to make a copy, get me to buy another full-price copy for my car. That's doesn't seem fair. They either need to give up the money they collect from blank-media sales, or stop trying to prevent me from making copies.
But I suppose a few million in lobbying money will make it all come out in the labels' favor in the end. My few $$ as a consumer mean nothing in the face of the industry lobby. Won't it be great when we all have our Passports(tm) and can be charged every time we listen to a song?
Exactly. I've been to a few dot com auctions hoping to pick up some hardware on the cheap, however the stuff almost always ends up going for more than the cost of the same hardware new. For example, I was at one a while back where they had about 30 600 Mhz Gateways. That model had recently been discontinued and was replaced with a 750 Mhz model, which listed for something like $650 brand new. The used ones at the auction went for $800+.
I think what happens is that a company sends some clueless lackey to these things with instructions simply to buy some computers. They don't even bother checking what the stuff is actually worth.
Here's a new business model; start a company and buy a bunch of hardware. Play Quake for a few months with your friends and then announce that the unfortunate business climate has forced you to close up shop. Hold an auction and reap the profit. Repeat.
Actually I think that was Maori, the language of the New Zealand aboriginals. From where it appeared it looked like it would have been some soprt of thanks or tribute to the original inhabitants of New Zealand.
People actually still send out hard copy resumes??? Every company I know wants it sent electronically. I haven't printed out a resume in five years.
To each his own I guess. I still play Zork occasionaly, which gives it the biggest replay factor of any game I've ever played. Running around shooting things loses it's thrill rather quickly, but Zork managed to present an immersive game world despite its limitations.
Why's that? Just because it doesn't have cutting-edge 3D graphics? Graphics have nothing to do with quality of gameplay. Zork was one of the all time greatest games ever, and it had *NO* graphics.
I also understand that the Hobbiton set is still there and is being turned into a theme park where you can actually rent out rooms in the hobbit holes.
Hell yeah! That's when the party gets really rollin'. There's nothing like a good game of pin the tail on the sociopath!
Looks like they went down. Heh. I wonder what they are going to tell their clients about scalability and load balancing now :)
-Jeff
Most people haven't heard of firms like this because it does them no good to market to the average consumer since their services are of no interest to them. Large corporations pay them millions however, and you can pretty much bet that just about every Fortune 500 firm is one of their clients. A mid-level consultant in one of these firms bills out at about $300-$400 per hour. They make huge sums of money and wield tremendous power in corporate America.
"CE - on the other hand- requires you to buy Visual C++ for VB in order to use the CE development tools. So instead of paying 379 (the cost of a codewarrior license) you need to pay 600 for a copy of VC++ Professional. Or over 2000 dollars for MSDN...!"
Uh, Visual C++ and VB for PocketPC are free from Microsoft. You're thinking of CE 2.0, where the CE tools were an add-on to VC++. That's not the case anymore. And the emulator works great, BTW.