Good idea, not only would it prevent super-obvious dupes but it would cut on the number of submissions an editor would have to read. Comparing submitted links to, say, all the links of accepted articles in the last week or so should be possible.
Business guy: Ok, we've quantified the pros and cons of this new project. The pros clearly outnumber the cons.
Dilbert: what are the pros and cons?
Business guy: the cons are unachievable, unprofitable, and a waste of money. The pros are milk, eggs, bread, celery...
Dilbert: That seems to be a grocery list.
business guy:...You fool! I told you quantification never works!
On the flip side, it's probably cheating to email people and ask "can you do a google search and tell me..."
I'm not so sure about this. I think it should be allowed, for the simple fact that people will be pissed and stop helping you if you ask them what's going on in the internet every 5 seconds.
Even allowing that rule, I still choose the web, but like you say, there's so much subjectivity.
If Capcom made this screw-up on a console where HD wasn't even an option, what excuse would they use then? "Uh, we optimized this game for a resolution that is impossible to attain". I highly doubt they would have shipped the product with a mistake like that if the game were for, say, the GC.
The rationale is that the crimes of powerful people are much more likely to hurt -- or even kill -- people. If a messed-up dude from the ghetto steals a high-end Acura that is worth 3x of his annual salary, then he is injuring principally the owner of the car. On the other hand, if a conniving money manager steals 3x of his annual salary ($300,000) from a mutual fund that he is managing, then he is hurting a large number of people on a large scale ($900,000). We are talking abou completely different orders of magnitude."
Why develop different systems? They rich guy's crime involved more money and is therefore a greater crime. If the ghetto guy stole $900 000 and the rich guy stole an Acura, should the punishments not be the same?
The real problem with white-collar crime is that it's less likely to be caught.
It doesn't bother you that the creators of Halogen used Microsoft's copyrighted content in their own game for their own personal benefit?"
It's a fan made game and I don't know if there was a whole lot of personal benefit to be derived. Maybe some donations, but at the end of the day most of these games are made by fans who spend countless hours of their free time and get little in return, save the satisfaction of playing their work. I'm none too fond of companies who stifle that stuff, even if they're legally right. That's just not how to treat your hardcore fans (unless they're actually hard selling the product or don't give appropriate credit where it is due).
If Nintendo pulled the plug on Mario Adventure and its upcoming sequel, you can bet I'll be trying to get that story on Slashdot as well.
"Every 4 years we get to kick someone out! Is that it?"
Worse still, the two main political parties of the US effectively share an oligopoly on this. Four fixes I reccomend:
More elections (costly but worth it)
Better voting system. There is no one best system but the current one is one of the worst. Personally I like the approval system becuase it's simple and IMO effective.
No voting districts. 5 votes in area A + 5 votes in area B should equal 2 votes in area A + 8 votes in area B. A good example: in Canada, the NDP got twice as many votes as the Bloc Quebecois, guess which of these parties has twice the power? I'll give you a clue, it's the one that decided to concentrate on Quebec. (Steven colbert pause). It's the Bloc Quebecois.
Parties with enough of the vote should have members in the administration. Say party A has 50%, B has 40% and C 10% of the votes. The executive body should consist of a mix, so if there were 20 in the administration, party A gets 10 people, B gets 8, and C gets 2. I'd go as far as to say that in the present situation, that the Vice President should be a Democrat (since they got almost half of the vote), unless this wouldn't work for some reason?
I don't know enough about politics to back #4, but I strongly think the other 3 are important. #2, 3, and 4 would all help negate the feeling of "throwing your vote away" when voting for 3rd parties, while #1 is just, well, neccesary in an efficient market.
Wouldn't it suck if when you bought a Wii, you were forced into a contract to purchase several games per year for four years, even if the games decreased in quality (or are unethical to you) and increased in price? That's exactly what politics is right now (replace "games" with "services", "price" with "tax", "bought a" with "voted for", and "Wii" with any political party).
The Dreamcast was a special case. Sega abandoned not one, not two, but three consoles... not a good way to build consumer goodwill.
Normally, being first out of the gate is no small advantage. Companies make games because the 360 already has a fanbase, and the fanbase grows because companies are making games for it. It's a vicious cycle of momentum, one that I think will keep the 360 on top for a while.
For the record the Wii is shaping up to be my favourite, and I'll probably buy a 360 a couple years down the road for games the Wii might not have (but hopefully will). That will mirror this gen, when I bought a GC at launch and a PS2 a couple years afterwards for rhythm games.
"No, it's because games are starting to fill DVDs and as a game developer I can tell you we'll need a lot more space pretty soon."
What we need is more efficient code. Ocarina of Time fit in 32MB IIRC. Yes, I know textures and other elements take up a lot more memory than they used to back in the day, but it's bullshit to say that you're filling up a DVD disc with optimized code.
Also, I'm not sure, but I'll guess that 2 DVDs cost about as much if not less than one Blu-Ray disc. Swapping might be annoying, but if you set up the game correctly, you can minimize the frequency of requiring a swap, especially with games with linear progress, which most FMV-intensive games (and therefore requiring more than one DVD) are.
You'd think that any reasonably powerful computer being made less than half a year before the release of Vista would be "Vista ready". That's right up there with TVs that are "Xbox (360) ready". I even saw an ad for jeans that are designed to hold iPods (they have pockets!) What's next, a cake that's "birthday candle" ready?
While not official, the rule is optional in the PC version, and probably other electronic versions. Unfortunately, IIRC, the best version, the N64 version, did not have that rule available.
I'm not sure. If I were to guess, I'd say it would be very close, say... 40% for the 360, and 35% for the Wii and 25% for the PS3 (keep in mind this means more sales in terms of $ for the PS3 than the Wii). Something like that.
360 has a big advantage from being first; they'll have not only a fanbase but a lot of titles available by the time the other two launch, and with that momentum they'll get an even bigger fanbase and more titles. It's a vicious cycle.
the PS3 has the strongest brand recognition, but Sony has made what is in my opinion a shitload of stupid moves. It's not just the high price, but the actual cost of making the console which guarantees that price won't go down for a while. Apparantly it's not the easiest console to develop for either, so the "variety" card that the PS2 had will probably get passed to the 360 this gen. The Blu-Ray playing aspect is the dumbest part. It's too early to put that in a console. As far as I'm concerned, the first couple years of the PS3 will have few games and a small fanbase. It won't really have a proper "launch" for a couple years when they're cheaper to manufacture, and by then the vicious cycle thing will stop them from doing too well for this generation. I guess I could be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time.
I love Nintendo's products and have no doubt that I'll love the Wii. They'll get a good amount of money from us hardcore types (the price and concept makes it go well with either of the other consoles). Many kids are picky and demand a certain console, but many parents just won't pay the price of a PS3 no matter how much their kids scream. Two things I'm not sure about for the wii are: third-party support, and selling this thing to casual gamers (they need to put up Wii kiosks in malls, and I don't mean in game stores.).
I'm just guessing all of this. Maybe I can call my self an analyst and get on this post quoted on the/. games page. That seems to be all it takes.
First they elect a Canadian version of Bush and now this...
Forgive me if I'm wrong, but to me the wording here implies that the two things aren't connected. That's like me saying (a few years ago) "First those yankees voted for the Amercian version of Bush (Bush), and now they're going to war with Iraq!"
And for the record a lot of people voted for Harper because the Liberals were a horrible choice and God forbid they vote for a third party. After all, they have no chance of winning!
So yeah, I agree with you, it's gone right wing. But we (the Canadian public) didn't make this lobbyist-funding decision in any more of a way than the American public "decided" to bomb Iraq.
Slashdot Mirror
Good idea, not only would it prevent super-obvious dupes but it would cut on the number of submissions an editor would have to read. Comparing submitted links to, say, all the links of accepted articles in the last week or so should be possible.
Business guy: Ok, we've quantified the pros and cons of this new project. The pros clearly outnumber the cons. ...You fool! I told you quantification never works!
Dilbert: what are the pros and cons?
Business guy: the cons are unachievable, unprofitable, and a waste of money. The pros are milk, eggs, bread, celery...
Dilbert: That seems to be a grocery list.
business guy:
If you liked that article try reading some Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics. They don't update much anymore, but there are some gems in this site.
I remember Slashdot posting a story like this a few months back.
Oh shit.
I think that might mean I'm addicted to the Internet.
Never heard of it, but yes, MTV music is certainly formulaic enough to be generated by a PSone.
*looks up* Oh good lord, the third iteration of the series is called "MTV Music Generator 3: This is the Remix".
Even allowing that rule, I still choose the web, but like you say, there's so much subjectivity.
"I think it would be an awesome easter egg if they released duck hunt from the NES built into the console"
You know what Nintendo would think would be even more awesome? Selling Duck Hunt in exchange for money =D
If Capcom made this screw-up on a console where HD wasn't even an option, what excuse would they use then? "Uh, we optimized this game for a resolution that is impossible to attain". I highly doubt they would have shipped the product with a mistake like that if the game were for, say, the GC.
Who's still against the Wii only supporting Standard definition?
*HD TV owners put their hands up*
Yeah, well... *mutters*
The real problem with white-collar crime is that it's less likely to be caught.
It's a fan made game and I don't know if there was a whole lot of personal benefit to be derived. Maybe some donations, but at the end of the day most of these games are made by fans who spend countless hours of their free time and get little in return, save the satisfaction of playing their work. I'm none too fond of companies who stifle that stuff, even if they're legally right. That's just not how to treat your hardcore fans (unless they're actually hard selling the product or don't give appropriate credit where it is due).
If Nintendo pulled the plug on Mario Adventure and its upcoming sequel, you can bet I'll be trying to get that story on Slashdot as well.
Man I love that game.
So we don't die from from a disease borne from unsanitized telephones.
"If anyone has positive news about the PS3, could they please post it."
Dude, the controller detects tilt! What more do you want?
Seriously though, exclusive games.
Worse still, the two main political parties of the US effectively share an oligopoly on this. Four fixes I reccomend:
- More elections (costly but worth it)
- Better voting system. There is no one best system but the current one is one of the worst. Personally I like the approval system becuase it's simple and IMO effective.
- No voting districts. 5 votes in area A + 5 votes in area B should equal 2 votes in area A + 8 votes in area B. A good example: in Canada, the NDP got twice as many votes as the Bloc Quebecois, guess which of these parties has twice the power? I'll give you a clue, it's the one that decided to concentrate on Quebec. (Steven colbert pause). It's the Bloc Quebecois.
- Parties with enough of the vote should have members in the administration. Say party A has 50%, B has 40% and C 10% of the votes. The executive body should consist of a mix, so if there were 20 in the administration, party A gets 10 people, B gets 8, and C gets 2. I'd go as far as to say that in the present situation, that the Vice President should be a Democrat (since they got almost half of the vote), unless this wouldn't work for some reason?
I don't know enough about politics to back #4, but I strongly think the other 3 are important. #2, 3, and 4 would all help negate the feeling of "throwing your vote away" when voting for 3rd parties, while #1 is just, well, neccesary in an efficient market.Wouldn't it suck if when you bought a Wii, you were forced into a contract to purchase several games per year for four years, even if the games decreased in quality (or are unethical to you) and increased in price? That's exactly what politics is right now (replace "games" with "services", "price" with "tax", "bought a" with "voted for", and "Wii" with any political party).
The Dreamcast was a special case. Sega abandoned not one, not two, but three consoles... not a good way to build consumer goodwill.
Normally, being first out of the gate is no small advantage. Companies make games because the 360 already has a fanbase, and the fanbase grows because companies are making games for it. It's a vicious cycle of momentum, one that I think will keep the 360 on top for a while.
For the record the Wii is shaping up to be my favourite, and I'll probably buy a 360 a couple years down the road for games the Wii might not have (but hopefully will). That will mirror this gen, when I bought a GC at launch and a PS2 a couple years afterwards for rhythm games.
"Anybody want to codify a high-level legal system that is adaptable to local mores yet consistent enough to communicate across borders?"
I know this isn't going to be it, but for me it's always fun to read/watch.
"To be fair this is Gamestop's price for the MadCatz component cable."
Mad Catz!? Not only will that cable cost $60, but it won't even work a week later. Hopefully Nintendo's price is a little more reasonable.
"No, it's because games are starting to fill DVDs and as a game developer I can tell you we'll need a lot more space pretty soon."
What we need is more efficient code. Ocarina of Time fit in 32MB IIRC. Yes, I know textures and other elements take up a lot more memory than they used to back in the day, but it's bullshit to say that you're filling up a DVD disc with optimized code.
Also, I'm not sure, but I'll guess that 2 DVDs cost about as much if not less than one Blu-Ray disc. Swapping might be annoying, but if you set up the game correctly, you can minimize the frequency of requiring a swap, especially with games with linear progress, which most FMV-intensive games (and therefore requiring more than one DVD) are.
You'd think that any reasonably powerful computer being made less than half a year before the release of Vista would be "Vista ready". That's right up there with TVs that are "Xbox (360) ready". I even saw an ad for jeans that are designed to hold iPods (they have pockets!) What's next, a cake that's "birthday candle" ready?
An MS Toaster Oven is the last thing the world needs. God knows how convoluted the process would be to toast a simple piece of bread.
1. Welcome to the Microsoft (TM) Toasting Wizard. What are you toasting today?
2. What type of bread?
3. Microsoft (TM) Toasting Wizard is searching for "Dempster's white bread"...
(little animated magnifying glass on globe icon)
4. Toasting Wizard could not find your bread. Please make sure you've typed the type of bread correctly and try again.
5. Wizard Completed!
Toasting Wizard was quit by user before toasting was complete.
While not official, the rule is optional in the PC version, and probably other electronic versions. Unfortunately, IIRC, the best version, the N64 version, did not have that rule available.
I'm not sure. If I were to guess, I'd say it would be very close, say... 40% for the 360, and 35% for the Wii and 25% for the PS3 (keep in mind this means more sales in terms of $ for the PS3 than the Wii). Something like that.
/. games page. That seems to be all it takes.
360 has a big advantage from being first; they'll have not only a fanbase but a lot of titles available by the time the other two launch, and with that momentum they'll get an even bigger fanbase and more titles. It's a vicious cycle.
the PS3 has the strongest brand recognition, but Sony has made what is in my opinion a shitload of stupid moves. It's not just the high price, but the actual cost of making the console which guarantees that price won't go down for a while. Apparantly it's not the easiest console to develop for either, so the "variety" card that the PS2 had will probably get passed to the 360 this gen. The Blu-Ray playing aspect is the dumbest part. It's too early to put that in a console. As far as I'm concerned, the first couple years of the PS3 will have few games and a small fanbase. It won't really have a proper "launch" for a couple years when they're cheaper to manufacture, and by then the vicious cycle thing will stop them from doing too well for this generation. I guess I could be wrong. Wouldn't be the first time.
I love Nintendo's products and have no doubt that I'll love the Wii. They'll get a good amount of money from us hardcore types (the price and concept makes it go well with either of the other consoles). Many kids are picky and demand a certain console, but many parents just won't pay the price of a PS3 no matter how much their kids scream. Two things I'm not sure about for the wii are: third-party support, and selling this thing to casual gamers (they need to put up Wii kiosks in malls, and I don't mean in game stores.).
I'm just guessing all of this. Maybe I can call my self an analyst and get on this post quoted on the
What do you do on your spare time? If you play video games, what are your favourites?
And for the record a lot of people voted for Harper because the Liberals were a horrible choice and God forbid they vote for a third party. After all, they have no chance of winning!
So yeah, I agree with you, it's gone right wing. But we (the Canadian public) didn't make this lobbyist-funding decision in any more of a way than the American public "decided" to bomb Iraq.