I work in a "Ma and Pop" store and this is how I see it:
There are some things that large brands just can't give you. As the above comment pointed out, the main one is time. I work in a sci-fi/fantasy book store and time is essential in making sales. Most customers spend a good 20 mins in the store before they buy something. Most of them spend 5 mins of this talking to me about what they are looking for.
If you go into a large chain your not going to get a sales assistant chatting to you about a product for more then 30 seconds. Also they probably lack the depth of knowledge that a Ma and Pop store have about their product.
If you want generic product X you got to a large chain. If you want something specialised you head to a specialty store. I don't see how large chain stores can break into the specialty market and for this I'm quite happy.
When I went paintballing a while back one of the workers was talking about something similar. It was basically a day long battle royale. Things like rocket launchers, tanks and grenades were mentioned. All done with paintball.
P.S I consider fist size bruises punishment enough for losing at paintball.
Overclock all you want and you are still playing the same game as everyone else.
I'm not trolling, I'm just bitter that everyone is focused on pushing the graphical boundaries of games and leaving the game play for later. I remember a time when it was about hours of game play not frames per second.
You missed my point.
I'm not saying that ADD can be solved with a quick smart spanking. The point I was making was that people seem quick to jump to the conclusion that their kid has ADD. With my brother, my mother resisted this after talking to the previously mentioned uncle. He didn't believe my brother suffered from ADD.
In this case my brother shaped up after he had his boundaries set out. If he really had ADD as it was diagnosed he would of continued to get worse.
My uncle is a psychologist and has dealt with several parents seeking treatment for their "hyperactive kid". He said that not one set of parents were not: A) Obvious drug addicts or B) Truck drivers.
Also they wanted to diagnose my older brother with ADD when he was about 9 and medicate him for it. My mother resisted this and you know what? After being more harshly disclipined he shaped up.
I won't deny that the condition of ADD/HD could exist but I refuse to believe that most cases can't be stoped by having the parents put their foot down.
"It had games with better play control than what they make now"
Kinda.
With the NES the games were alot more limited in terms of movement. Just compare Mario Bros. to Mario 64. Mario Bros. limited you to jumping around two dimensions. Mario 64 was in 3D and the player movements were quite varied.
The NES did have better play control but only becasue it was dealing with less possible movemets then current games. Because of this games could be easily polished to work with the controller.
P.S I also agree with not forgetting the NES, it was part of the golden era of games.
I agree that when I crack open my P.C I'm not gonna learn about how basic circuits work. I learn't that in highschool. In fact I learn't that twice in highschool, one time as part of a compulsary class. By opening up an P.C I was able to apply this basic knowledge to a practical use. I don't think I would of been game to replace any part of my P.C with out that basic understanding of what was going on in/on the mother board.
Your right, I can only gain a superficial knowledge of how a computer works by opening it up. I learn't the more detailed stuff in high school, along with every other person in my school. I don't need to crack open a tube radio to learn about electronics, it was part of learning experience in high school.
P.S: I actually did take apart the optical secion of the mouse as I was curious to it's design. I also checked the solder connections when I had my C.D player open.
"most consumer electronics has become so complex and/or miniturized that you don't stand a chance of figuring out whats going on"
I've heard this argument used before and I stil don't believe it.
"what did you take apart that taught you a lot about electronics?"
I've learnt an amazing amount by taking aparent modern electronics. The main thing I take apart (as well as most slashdoters) is my P.C. From this I've learnt basic computer architecture and how to install hardware. I've learnt how the PSU supplys power to each component.
I've also taken apart and fixed my optical mouse. From this I learnt how the mechanism for the scroll wheel works.
I also took apart and rebuilt my faulty C.D player. I wasn't able to diagnose the problem but it still works as welll as it did before I took it apart.
Yes modern equipment is more complex then the past but there is still a wealth of knowledge to be gained.
Because if the word iPod is used it reaches a larger audience then, say, Portable HDD. It's all about using words that people are more likely to recognise.
"But only after the financers have placed their bets on the stock market.
And if the transmission contains suitable material filed a few patents. (Or does LGM tech constitute prior art?)"
I would like to think that the contract the private investors sign to be involved states that all information gained from transmissions are public domain. Then again the project might be desperate enough for money that they would allow the investors to keep control of what they recieve.
I agree with you concerns about industries hording any gained knowledge. It would be interesting to see the contracts all the contributors signed when they went into the project. There is proberly a clause about all information gained being public domain.
"...private philanthropists who pay for the bulk of their work may find out first when and if extraterrestrial life is discovered."
I think that in the event of finding E.T life, SETI just might, you know, tell some other people as well.
"Creativity is a blessing in a GM."
Amen to that! My groups GM is a professional writer. All the adventures we play have complex worlds and are paced brilliantly. It really is the skill of the GM who makes or breaks a game.
Personally, I think it would of been more evil if Google inforced it's own company values (in regards to censorship) on China and it's internet.
*note* I don't agree with China's censorship but Google choosed the "less evil" option.
Slashdot Mirror
I work in a "Ma and Pop" store and this is how I see it:
There are some things that large brands just can't give you. As the above comment pointed out, the main one is time. I work in a sci-fi/fantasy book store and time is essential in making sales. Most customers spend a good 20 mins in the store before they buy something. Most of them spend 5 mins of this talking to me about what they are looking for.
If you go into a large chain your not going to get a sales assistant chatting to you about a product for more then 30 seconds. Also they probably lack the depth of knowledge that a Ma and Pop store have about their product.
If you want generic product X you got to a large chain. If you want something specialised you head to a specialty store. I don't see how large chain stores can break into the specialty market and for this I'm quite happy.
Anyway, my score was 31ms. Age 15 here.
Pwned by a 15 year old.
*mumbles* story of my life.
I thought that the editors didn't bother to read this given all the errors, but it turns out that and editor wrote it, right?
Thank you for my morning dose of irony.
When I went paintballing a while back one of the workers was talking about something similar. It was basically a day long battle royale. Things like rocket launchers, tanks and grenades were mentioned. All done with paintball.
P.S I consider fist size bruises punishment enough for losing at paintball.
Overclock all you want and you are still playing the same game as everyone else.
I'm not trolling, I'm just bitter that everyone is focused on pushing the graphical boundaries of games and leaving the game play for later. I remember a time when it was about hours of game play not frames per second.
*goes off to play Deus Ex*
In Soviet China, MMOG play you!
You missed my point. I'm not saying that ADD can be solved with a quick smart spanking. The point I was making was that people seem quick to jump to the conclusion that their kid has ADD. With my brother, my mother resisted this after talking to the previously mentioned uncle. He didn't believe my brother suffered from ADD. In this case my brother shaped up after he had his boundaries set out. If he really had ADD as it was diagnosed he would of continued to get worse.
I agree with your post.
My uncle is a psychologist and has dealt with several parents seeking treatment for their "hyperactive kid". He said that not one set of parents were not: A) Obvious drug addicts or B) Truck drivers.
Also they wanted to diagnose my older brother with ADD when he was about 9 and medicate him for it. My mother resisted this and you know what? After being more harshly disclipined he shaped up.
I won't deny that the condition of ADD/HD could exist but I refuse to believe that most cases can't be stoped by having the parents put their foot down.
Really?
Nothing to do with Apple products?
If you had RTFA you would have seen that the article is a comparision of the Z5 to the Nano. Nano = Apple product = correct article title/placement.
*** (G) Banned from AustNet: This address has been used for deliberately try to disconnect others. (CET0603030304).
Frak.
In summary, be careful with this.
If that was ever a need for a +5 Ironic moderation, this would be it.
"What if spammers are using the same method to send spam?"
Then it becomes a dance to the death!
"It had games with better play control than what they make now"
Kinda.
With the NES the games were alot more limited in terms of movement. Just compare Mario Bros. to Mario 64. Mario Bros. limited you to jumping around two dimensions. Mario 64 was in 3D and the player movements were quite varied.
The NES did have better play control but only becasue it was dealing with less possible movemets then current games. Because of this games could be easily polished to work with the controller.
P.S I also agree with not forgetting the NES, it was part of the golden era of games.
I agree that when I crack open my P.C I'm not gonna learn about how basic circuits work. I learn't that in highschool. In fact I learn't that twice in highschool, one time as part of a compulsary class. By opening up an P.C I was able to apply this basic knowledge to a practical use. I don't think I would of been game to replace any part of my P.C with out that basic understanding of what was going on in/on the mother board. Your right, I can only gain a superficial knowledge of how a computer works by opening it up. I learn't the more detailed stuff in high school, along with every other person in my school. I don't need to crack open a tube radio to learn about electronics, it was part of learning experience in high school. P.S: I actually did take apart the optical secion of the mouse as I was curious to it's design. I also checked the solder connections when I had my C.D player open.
Well, no actually. A locked house isn't reasonable protection (at least not in Australia). You should have all your firearms in a locked gun cabinet.
"most consumer electronics has become so complex and/or miniturized that you don't stand a chance of figuring out whats going on"
I've heard this argument used before and I stil don't believe it.
"what did you take apart that taught you a lot about electronics?"
I've learnt an amazing amount by taking aparent modern electronics. The main thing I take apart (as well as most slashdoters) is my P.C. From this I've learnt basic computer architecture and how to install hardware. I've learnt how the PSU supplys power to each component.
I've also taken apart and fixed my optical mouse. From this I learnt how the mechanism for the scroll wheel works.
I also took apart and rebuilt my faulty C.D player. I wasn't able to diagnose the problem but it still works as welll as it did before I took it apart.
Yes modern equipment is more complex then the past but there is still a wealth of knowledge to be gained.
"Way to go, I never got to see France."
*shrugs*
Once you have had one country surrender to you it's all the same.
lmao
Your sig is amazingly appropiate.
Because if the word iPod is used it reaches a larger audience then, say, Portable HDD. It's all about using words that people are more likely to recognise.
"But only after the financers have placed their bets on the stock market.
And if the transmission contains suitable material filed a few patents. (Or does LGM tech constitute prior art?)"
I would like to think that the contract the private investors sign to be involved states that all information gained from transmissions are public domain. Then again the project might be desperate enough for money that they would allow the investors to keep control of what they recieve.
Exactly.
Also what about abnormal forms of life? I read a book awhile back (NFI on the title) where humans encounter life composed of dark matter.
I guess the reasoning behind looking for similar basis for life is that we know for sure that life can arise from liquid water worlds.
I agree with you concerns about industries hording any gained knowledge. It would be interesting to see the contracts all the contributors signed when they went into the project. There is proberly a clause about all information gained being public domain.
"...private philanthropists who pay for the bulk of their work may find out first when and if extraterrestrial life is discovered." I think that in the event of finding E.T life, SETI just might, you know, tell some other people as well.
"Creativity is a blessing in a GM." Amen to that! My groups GM is a professional writer. All the adventures we play have complex worlds and are paced brilliantly. It really is the skill of the GM who makes or breaks a game.
Personally, I think it would of been more evil if Google inforced it's own company values (in regards to censorship) on China and it's internet. *note* I don't agree with China's censorship but Google choosed the "less evil" option.