You certainly can avoid the idiots, and Nintendo's been doing just that. Everyone here is aware that Nintendo's main goal is to make great games, and they tend to succeed in that endeavor, even if it means only one or two games worth playing come out each year. The other thing we're all aware of is Nintendo's lack of enthusiasm as far as online gaming is concerned. What I think some of us are missing is that online gaming is filled with idiots, and Nintendo knows this. Now, I don't work for them, so this is all pure speculation, of course, but it seems to me that Nintendo doesn't want to go online specifically for that reason. Even a great game can be completely ruined by a strategically placed handful of morons, and anyone who's played any game online for more than a few minutes knows that there are FAR more than a handful of morons out there. I view Nintendo's reluctance to enter the online arena as a great way to keep their games as fun as possible.
WoW would cost me what, 70 bucks for the game, and another 20 or so to play for a month? That's me going 90 bucks out of pocket for a game, hell a whole genre of gaming, that I don't know if I'd like or completely hate.
I'm not sure where you're getting your numbers from, but you're completely off-base. The game itself is only $50 ($49.99, but who's counting) from Blizzard themselves, including a one month free trial in that price. You could probably even find it cheaper elsewhere online if you dig around enough. The monthly charges (beginning after said free trial) vary depending on how many months you're purchasing. You can buy a single month at a time for $14.99, 3 months at $41.97 (13.99/month), or 6 months at $77.94 ($12.99/month). As you can see, this is nowhere near the $20 you're saying.
So instead of the $90 you're quoting for a month of play, you'd only spend $50. After that free month, if you don't like it... cancel. Try to get your facts straight before flying off the handle (oh wait, this is/.;)
Looking at this story and seeing how much the probability changed just with more observations of the object and more calculations on the existing data, I wonder if we the geeks might be able to help out. I'm sure there're plenty of other asteroids out there like this one, and I for one would feel safer if we knew about 'em. Is there any sort of a distributed computing program around (similar to SETI@home) which would feed our computers a "patch of sky" to scan for objects like this one?
They released themboth. Unfortunately, though, Tribes 2 (second link there) only had a limited number of keys available for downloading it. It appears that they may add more keys later on, but for now you can definitely get the first one no problem. That might be for the best, considering that the hardware being used might not be the latest and greatest, Tribes 1 is probably going to be able to run on a wider range of hardware than the sequel.
Okay, so it's got the restaurant(s) beat as far as total amount of building that's rotatable (if that wasn't a word, I'm declaring it as such now)... But when you're comparing to restaurants in this same vein, the real question that needs to be asked is: how's the view of the end of the universe?
What you have may not be a tape of the actual episodes that were aired on TV. My brothers and I had a He-Man tape that sounds like what you're describing. It had two or three "stories" (I hesitate to call them "episodes") on it with no actual animation. It was just still frames changing from one to another periodically with a narrator over it all and occasional voice-overs from the characters. This is NOT what we all ran home from school to see. The show itself was indeed animated (albeit poorly).
The two met in high school, where they collaborated on "really terrible projects,"
Mr. Krahulik said. He wrote, Mr. Holkins illustrated, and they left their "bad superhero" booklets in comic book shops in the hope that someone would pick up a copy.
That's a little backwards. Gabe (Krahulik) is the illustrator and Tycho (Holkins) is the writer, although Tycho HAS drawn for them before... with dire consequences. Not only was the art abhorrent (sorry, Tycho... just leave it to Gabe.), but this strip was during Year One, where the characters had not yet been named. This was (as I understand it) a sort of half-assed attempt to stop everyone from asking for names for the characters. The strip didn't go over so well, as it was seen as something of a cop-out, and so as time went on, the guys gradually shifted into the current situation, where the characters are, in fact, the creators' alter egos.
Actually, Gmail DOES allow POP access now. I'm not certain if it's available to everyone with a Gmail account or if they're randomly allowing accounts access to it for testing purposes, but a couple weeks ago I logged in and there was a link on the page about POP access. If you've got an account, you should be able to check it out under Settings -> Forwarding and POP
I've been waiting for something like this to happen for years now. I was excited earlier this year when I heard about the first concert in LA during E3, but I wasn't able to make it out there, as much as I wanted to. Now it's just down the road!
I remember just a couple years back one of my computer programming teachers gave us extra credit for going to the local symphony's production of Orff's Carmina Burana. After the show, the conductor (whose name I've completely and utterly forgotten) was hanging around talking with everyone, and I got a chance to speak to her. We discussed the night's performance, and eventually the conversation came around to what sorts of performances I (being probably the youngest voluntary audience member there, as far as I saw) would suggest. Now, this is a fairly small orchestra (Springfield (IL) Symphony Orchestra), so I figured that even though the odds are pretty slim that my suggestion would be heeded, it would be worth a shot just to see what reaction I could get. I proceeded to explain to her that I would love nothing more than to see/hear a live orchestral presentation of music from Final Fantasy. The conductor seemed like she was intrigued, but I assume that was just her being polite. Anyway, I'm not claiming credit for this (obviously), but just wanted to say it's nice to see that I'm not alone.
The pack-in Metroid was just a demo for the full game. Metroid Prime: Hunters, I believe, is the name of the game itself, the pack-in is Metroid Prime: Hunters [First Hunt]. It's incredible. However, it's exactly what you've probably played at Best Buy. My post above was slightly rhetorical in mentioning the game, as I know it's slated for a January release, but having had my appetite whetted through [First Hunt], January seems like it's a LONG LONG time away.
I tried one out in the store. I have fairly large hands, and I found the controls very uncomfortable. I started to get a hand cramp after a few minutes because the d-pad and the buttons were too close to the edge of the unit.
This is a valid argument I suppose, but what do you expect from a handheld/portable game system? If you want something that's going to fit large hands, you could be in the market for an XBox.
They should have wireless controllers that you can use with this thing. That way if you need the pocket-sized portability you can leave the comfortable controller home.
Again, I think you're missing the point of a handheld system. I understand your point that it'd be nicer for the big-handed folks when playing at home, but using a seperate controller is going to negate the biggest draw of the DS in the first place: the touchscreen. Plus, the system is set up to be viewed while held in your hands. Good luck finding a way to set it up where you can see both screens while holding onto a seperate controller altogether. Next thing you know you'll be saying that you should be able to plug it into a TV while you're using the seperate controller... you could be in the market for a Gamecube.
The touchscreen is okay, but I dislike touching any screen with my fingers (mostly because I don't like cleaning screens).
Nintendo dislikes you touching the screen with your fingers, too. That's why they included a couple styluses with the system (they included two, knowing that plenty of folks will be losing them, even though there's a slot in the back of the system to store it. I'm more worried about losing the spare, myself) and a thumb pad (or thumb nubbin, as I prefer to call it). The stylus included with the system is MUCH tinier and flimsier than the ones attached to all the display units I've encountered, which could be a bone of contention, but it's easy enough to track down a better stylus if you need to. That being said, the stylus provided is more than sufficient for precision poking during the initial setup and in the minigames I've come across in Mario64. The thumb nubbin is the real star though. It's a little plastic pad/disk that slides along the wrist strap. You put your thum in the wrist strap with the nubbin between your thumb and the screen, then tighten it up. It takes a little getting used to, but it's perfect for sliding movements in necessary in Metroid and Mario, for example.
The screen resolution and graphics quality are okay, but could be much better. There are lots of jaggies. I don't think portables are really ready for 3d yet.
The same thing could have been said about the graphics on the N64 or the PS1. The graphics could have been much better... you just would have had a larger/hotter system with a steeper price tag. In case you haven't noticed, the handhelds are about two generations behind the current consoles. The GBA was SNES-ish during the PS2/GC/XBox period, and now that PS3/XBox2/Nintendo's next system are around the corner, the handheld market is moving to the next generation: N64/PS1 level. I suspect the graphics COULD have been better on the DS, but then you'd have a bulkier unit with a much shorter battery life and a higher price tag. Trade-offs must be made, and I (along with many others) think Nintendo's hit the nail perfectly on the head.
400,000 more systems is all well and good... but what about selfish bastards such as myself who've already managed to get theirs and just want more games? The DS itself is quite nice indeed (as other posters have already mentioned... check it out yourself at Best Buy or your local game store if you doubt), but the only game that's really worthwhile at this point is Mario 64 DS, which got kinda old kinda quick. It's a great game and all, and yeah, they changed some stuff around from the original, but it's still just Mario 64. Where's the Metroid game? Where's Final Fantasy III? Where's any mention whatsoever of Zelda? Give me a new Kid Icarus, dammit! This is Nintendo, I expect more first party goodness than the lackluster launch titles are providing me with.
Slashdot Mirror
You can't avoid the idiots
You certainly can avoid the idiots, and Nintendo's been doing just that. Everyone here is aware that Nintendo's main goal is to make great games, and they tend to succeed in that endeavor, even if it means only one or two games worth playing come out each year. The other thing we're all aware of is Nintendo's lack of enthusiasm as far as online gaming is concerned. What I think some of us are missing is that online gaming is filled with idiots, and Nintendo knows this. Now, I don't work for them, so this is all pure speculation, of course, but it seems to me that Nintendo doesn't want to go online specifically for that reason. Even a great game can be completely ruined by a strategically placed handful of morons, and anyone who's played any game online for more than a few minutes knows that there are FAR more than a handful of morons out there. I view Nintendo's reluctance to enter the online arena as a great way to keep their games as fun as possible.
I'm not sure where you're getting your numbers from, but you're completely off-base. The game itself is only $50 ($49.99, but who's counting) from Blizzard themselves, including a one month free trial in that price. You could probably even find it cheaper elsewhere online if you dig around enough. The monthly charges (beginning after said free trial) vary depending on how many months you're purchasing. You can buy a single month at a time for $14.99, 3 months at $41.97 (13.99/month), or 6 months at $77.94 ($12.99/month). As you can see, this is nowhere near the $20 you're saying.
So instead of the $90 you're quoting for a month of play, you'd only spend $50. After that free month, if you don't like it... cancel. Try to get your facts straight before flying off the handle (oh wait, this is
Looking at this story and seeing how much the probability changed just with more observations of the object and more calculations on the existing data, I wonder if we the geeks might be able to help out. I'm sure there're plenty of other asteroids out there like this one, and I for one would feel safer if we knew about 'em. Is there any sort of a distributed computing program around (similar to SETI@home) which would feed our computers a "patch of sky" to scan for objects like this one?
They released them both. Unfortunately, though, Tribes 2 (second link there) only had a limited number of keys available for downloading it. It appears that they may add more keys later on, but for now you can definitely get the first one no problem. That might be for the best, considering that the hardware being used might not be the latest and greatest, Tribes 1 is probably going to be able to run on a wider range of hardware than the sequel.
Okay, so it's got the restaurant(s) beat as far as total amount of building that's rotatable (if that wasn't a word, I'm declaring it as such now)... But when you're comparing to restaurants in this same vein, the real question that needs to be asked is: how's the view of the end of the universe?
The only other thing I can recall about the tape is that the box was bright yellow... Hope that helps ;)
What you have may not be a tape of the actual episodes that were aired on TV. My brothers and I had a He-Man tape that sounds like what you're describing. It had two or three "stories" (I hesitate to call them "episodes") on it with no actual animation. It was just still frames changing from one to another periodically with a narrator over it all and occasional voice-overs from the characters. This is NOT what we all ran home from school to see. The show itself was indeed animated (albeit poorly).
Actually, Gmail DOES allow POP access now. I'm not certain if it's available to everyone with a Gmail account or if they're randomly allowing accounts access to it for testing purposes, but a couple weeks ago I logged in and there was a link on the page about POP access. If you've got an account, you should be able to check it out under Settings -> Forwarding and POP
I've been waiting for something like this to happen for years now. I was excited earlier this year when I heard about the first concert in LA during E3, but I wasn't able to make it out there, as much as I wanted to. Now it's just down the road!
I remember just a couple years back one of my computer programming teachers gave us extra credit for going to the local symphony's production of Orff's Carmina Burana. After the show, the conductor (whose name I've completely and utterly forgotten) was hanging around talking with everyone, and I got a chance to speak to her. We discussed the night's performance, and eventually the conversation came around to what sorts of performances I (being probably the youngest voluntary audience member there, as far as I saw) would suggest. Now, this is a fairly small orchestra (Springfield (IL) Symphony Orchestra), so I figured that even though the odds are pretty slim that my suggestion would be heeded, it would be worth a shot just to see what reaction I could get. I proceeded to explain to her that I would love nothing more than to see/hear a live orchestral presentation of music from Final Fantasy. The conductor seemed like she was intrigued, but I assume that was just her being polite. Anyway, I'm not claiming credit for this (obviously), but just wanted to say it's nice to see that I'm not alone.
Fixed!
Oh, great, NOW look what you've done!
The pack-in Metroid was just a demo for the full game. Metroid Prime: Hunters, I believe, is the name of the game itself, the pack-in is Metroid Prime: Hunters [First Hunt]. It's incredible. However, it's exactly what you've probably played at Best Buy. My post above was slightly rhetorical in mentioning the game, as I know it's slated for a January release, but having had my appetite whetted through [First Hunt], January seems like it's a LONG LONG time away.
400,000 more systems is all well and good... but what about selfish bastards such as myself who've already managed to get theirs and just want more games? The DS itself is quite nice indeed (as other posters have already mentioned... check it out yourself at Best Buy or your local game store if you doubt), but the only game that's really worthwhile at this point is Mario 64 DS, which got kinda old kinda quick. It's a great game and all, and yeah, they changed some stuff around from the original, but it's still just Mario 64. Where's the Metroid game? Where's Final Fantasy III? Where's any mention whatsoever of Zelda? Give me a new Kid Icarus, dammit! This is Nintendo, I expect more first party goodness than the lackluster launch titles are providing me with.
Citizens demand more games!