I can't believe the blatant racism Google is showing here. Clearly, this technology should have been implemented to recognize standard Nicaraguan Sign Language instead.
Be assured, I will be writing a stern letter to my Congresscritter.
It's more likely that they realise that a lot of parents are fucking morons who don't give two shits about what they're buying for their children and the lawmakers are actually worried that little kids are a hot-button issue that could mean the difference between re-election and having to get a real job.
The biggest advantage with a train is in the event of an emergency you can stop it at *any time* and simply step (well, maybe jump) off.
Hijacking a train is fairly pointless when any passenger can just break the glass and pull the emergency handle to stop the train and the feds can be on the scene in minutes.
Sure, a high-speed derailment would be messy, but it's infinitely preferable to a plane crash.
I've used the TGV in France and it's one of my favourite ways to travel. Comfortable, quiet and very, very fast. I *wish* we had a nationwide high-speed rail network here in the UK. I'd use it constantly. Glasgow to London in a couple of hours without having to show up early at the Airport to be groped and/or scanned? Sounds awesome to me.
Forget the cost. You're sick of the TSA and the airlines? This is your chance to stick it to them.
Not only that, but there is no context. Maybe he meant "640K ought to be enough for anybody writing DOS applications right now". In 1981 PCs didn't even *approach* 640k RAM.
People seem to interpret this quote as "nobody will ever need more than 640K of RAM, no matter how hardware develops", which isn't actually what was said.
I find it very hard to believe that Bill Gates, as someone who watched and developed the PC industry from its very infancy, wouldn't have noticed the rapid development in memory technology and the accompanying drop in price. It just doesn't seem possible.
The funny thing is, if you want cheap gaming it is currently the PC, the games are cheaper and usually hit the bargain bin earlier.
This.
It seems people never take into consideration the price of the actual games when they're making the PC vs Console price argument.
In general, AAA titles will run you 10-20% more on release on consoles than on PC. Also, there are thousands of Indie games on the PC that never make it to consoles. Some of them are awesome, and most of them are dirt cheap.
$600 might seem like a lot compared to $300 for the console hardware, but over their lifetimes the cost will even out. Plus, the PC will let you do a lot more than a console.
If PC gaming dies, my interest in mainstream gaming will likely die with it.
Cheap DVDs use dyes which may not even last a few years. I had a batch of DVD-Rs once that degraded to completely unreadable within 3 years in normal indoor storage (not extreme temperatures or humidity).
Few DVD brands are truly suitable for long-term archival, and there are always factories in China and HK that make fake DVDs with the media codes and branding of legitimate, expensive brands, so you need to be really sure what you're buying.
If you throw them on a spindle and forget about them you might get an unpleasant surprise when you try to retrieve data from them one day.
Might be a good idea to check your archived discs every year or so with Opti Drive Control or a similar tool and save/compare the results, so you can see if they're degrading faster than expected.
I sympathize, because I feel exactly the same way about Apple software on my Windows machines. Installing ITunes, Quicktime, Safari et al. on Windows is like intentionally infecting your computer with malware. You might as well just rip some memory out of your motherboard and replace your hard drive with a dead chipmunk.
The Nintendo 64 has a maximum color depth of 16.8 million colors (32,768 on-screen) and can display resolutions of 256 × 224, 320 × 240 and 640 × 480 pixels.
I'm pretty sure that Goldeneye ran in 320x240, even when not in split-screen.
It is all about code reuse and flexibility. And yes there was a time when each application did provide printer, sound, and graphics drivers. And by going with OS based codec support adding newer and better codecs will be a simple matter of adding the support to the OS. Just like printers, graphics, and sound are today.
This is true... until you stop seeing the web browser as just another Application. Google are slowly turning the browser into the OS, and Microsoft is coming around to that way of thinking.
For many people, home users and business users, the web browser is probably the #1 app on their machines. They use it for e-mail, they use it for Facebook, they use it for sharing photos, they use it for shopping and gaming and booking tickets and a million other things. It's loaded when they log on and only unloaded when they shut down. It's their reason for owning a computer, and it's entertainment, communication and productivity rolled into one.
IMHO, the truth is ChromeOS has Microsoft scared. They know that the "browser as OS" paradigm isn't going to take hold next year when the hardware hits, but glance 10 years down the road and things look a lot murkier. Suddenly, building functionality into the browser itself doesn't look so crazy, because the browser could be conceivably be performing all the functions we currently expect from the native OS, while combining the advantages of cloud and local computing.
This plugin is simply Microsoft creating as many disincentives to Chrome adoption as possible. If improving a competitor's product gives them an overall advantage, that's what they'll do.
"Verizon announced in March 2010 that they were winding down their FiOS expansion, concentrating on completing their network in areas that already had FiOS franchises but were not deploying to any new areas, which included the cities of Baltimore and Boston, who had not yet secured municipal franchise agreements.[16]"
My brother, who lives in the DFW metroplex, has recently been getting flyers through his letterbox advertising that FiOS will soon be available in his area (although the Verizon website doesn't seem to agree yet). His in-laws, who live a few miles away from him, already have FiOS, and it's far faster than the Verizon DSL connection he has right now.
Cause or effect? Mental or emotional issues tend to make it harder to live healthily. Try getting someone with clinical depression to exercise or sleep well.
VVVVVV is one of the best and most challenging Indie games I've played in quite some time. It's a platformer/puzzle game with an absolutely fantasticchiptune soundtrack and striking C64-style visuals (some objects in the game are inspired by classic C64 games and demos).
Caveat: It can be very difficult... but if you're anything like me it'll sink its teeth into you and demand that you complete it.
Not the same, but you just made me think of another game (not FPS) that's dying for a remake.
Carmageddon. Actually, Carmageddon 2 was better, so remake that. Don't change the gameplay, don't even change the ridiculous physics/gravity. Just update the graphics, create some nice, open levels and increase the view distance by like 100x.
In my imagination the ideal game would involve stalking through dense, spooky forests with a crossbow loaded with enchanted bolts, or exploring haunted ruins and crypts with only a scepter and a handful of scrolls, or infiltrating a castle with only a dagger and a grappling hook (kinda thief-like).
Level design in fantasy games always feels weak to me. Has any level designer ever seen a real castle or been in a real forest?
Meh.. I'm just bored at work and daydreaming my ideal games. Carry on.
The story wasn't there because Quake wasn't originally intended to be Doom 3D (as opposed to 2.5D). It was going to be a medieval-style action-RPG type game, but then they realised that they had the technology and demand for the next great deathmatch FPS (plus it was something they already knew how to do) so Quake was quickly redesigned as a "pure" FPS.
They threw in some blurb stuff about slipgates and monsters and some military faction and that was that. It was a classic FPS, what more did you need?
Slashdot Mirror
I can't believe the blatant racism Google is showing here. Clearly, this technology should have been implemented to recognize standard Nicaraguan Sign Language instead.
Be assured, I will be writing a stern letter to my Congresscritter.
To be fair, the episode titles don't help your case much.
You may be thinking of this story from not so long ago:
http://slashdot.org/story/11/01/05/2227225/Microsoft-Puts-Datacenter-In-a-Barn
it will be completely much more quickly that on a normal magnetic drive
Pardon me, sir, but it would appear you accidentally a word.
It's more likely that they realise that a lot of parents are fucking morons who don't give two shits about what they're buying for their children and the lawmakers are actually worried that little kids are a hot-button issue that could mean the difference between re-election and having to get a real job.
FTFY.
If I had modpoints today, you'd have one of them.
Well played, sir.
One more thing I forgot to mention. According to Wikipedia:
"In 2007, SNCF generated profits of €1.1 billion (approximately US$1.75 billion or £875 million) driven largely by higher margins on the TGV network."
High-speed rail can be a cash-cow if your population has the desire to use it.
The biggest advantage with a train is in the event of an emergency you can stop it at *any time* and simply step (well, maybe jump) off.
Hijacking a train is fairly pointless when any passenger can just break the glass and pull the emergency handle to stop the train and the feds can be on the scene in minutes.
Sure, a high-speed derailment would be messy, but it's infinitely preferable to a plane crash.
I've used the TGV in France and it's one of my favourite ways to travel. Comfortable, quiet and very, very fast. I *wish* we had a nationwide high-speed rail network here in the UK. I'd use it constantly. Glasgow to London in a couple of hours without having to show up early at the Airport to be groped and/or scanned? Sounds awesome to me.
Forget the cost. You're sick of the TSA and the airlines? This is your chance to stick it to them.
Not only that, but there is no context. Maybe he meant "640K ought to be enough for anybody writing DOS applications right now". In 1981 PCs didn't even *approach* 640k RAM.
People seem to interpret this quote as "nobody will ever need more than 640K of RAM, no matter how hardware develops", which isn't actually what was said.
I find it very hard to believe that Bill Gates, as someone who watched and developed the PC industry from its very infancy, wouldn't have noticed the rapid development in memory technology and the accompanying drop in price. It just doesn't seem possible.
The funny thing is, if you want cheap gaming it is currently the PC, the games are cheaper and usually hit the bargain bin earlier.
This.
It seems people never take into consideration the price of the actual games when they're making the PC vs Console price argument.
In general, AAA titles will run you 10-20% more on release on consoles than on PC. Also, there are thousands of Indie games on the PC that never make it to consoles. Some of them are awesome, and most of them are dirt cheap.
$600 might seem like a lot compared to $300 for the console hardware, but over their lifetimes the cost will even out. Plus, the PC will let you do a lot more than a console.
If PC gaming dies, my interest in mainstream gaming will likely die with it.
Cheap DVDs use dyes which may not even last a few years. I had a batch of DVD-Rs once that degraded to completely unreadable within 3 years in normal indoor storage (not extreme temperatures or humidity).
Few DVD brands are truly suitable for long-term archival, and there are always factories in China and HK that make fake DVDs with the media codes and branding of legitimate, expensive brands, so you need to be really sure what you're buying.
If you throw them on a spindle and forget about them you might get an unpleasant surprise when you try to retrieve data from them one day.
Might be a good idea to check your archived discs every year or so with Opti Drive Control or a similar tool and save/compare the results, so you can see if they're degrading faster than expected.
I sympathize, because I feel exactly the same way about Apple software on my Windows machines. Installing ITunes, Quicktime, Safari et al. on Windows is like intentionally infecting your computer with malware. You might as well just rip some memory out of your motherboard and replace your hard drive with a dead chipmunk.
Horses for courses.
They need a name that's cutting-edge like...
...CutCo
...EdgeCom
...InterSlice
No, wait, how about... CompuGlobalHyperMegaNet?
Also, from Wikipedia:
The Nintendo 64 has a maximum color depth of 16.8 million colors (32,768 on-screen) and can display resolutions of 256 × 224, 320 × 240 and 640 × 480 pixels.
I'm pretty sure that Goldeneye ran in 320x240, even when not in split-screen.
You should have also realized that Goldeneye was released for the N64 and not the SNES.
Application provided codecs make as much sense as Application provided printer, sound, and graphics drivers.
Oh yeah? Tell that to the VLC developers.
It is all about code reuse and flexibility. And yes there was a time when each application did provide printer, sound, and graphics drivers. And by going with OS based codec support adding newer and better codecs will be a simple matter of adding the support to the OS. Just like printers, graphics, and sound are today.
This is true... until you stop seeing the web browser as just another Application. Google are slowly turning the browser into the OS, and Microsoft is coming around to that way of thinking.
For many people, home users and business users, the web browser is probably the #1 app on their machines. They use it for e-mail, they use it for Facebook, they use it for sharing photos, they use it for shopping and gaming and booking tickets and a million other things. It's loaded when they log on and only unloaded when they shut down. It's their reason for owning a computer, and it's entertainment, communication and productivity rolled into one.
IMHO, the truth is ChromeOS has Microsoft scared. They know that the "browser as OS" paradigm isn't going to take hold next year when the hardware hits, but glance 10 years down the road and things look a lot murkier. Suddenly, building functionality into the browser itself doesn't look so crazy, because the browser could be conceivably be performing all the functions we currently expect from the native OS, while combining the advantages of cloud and local computing.
This plugin is simply Microsoft creating as many disincentives to Chrome adoption as possible. If improving a competitor's product gives them an overall advantage, that's what they'll do.
Helios One doesn't "use space lazzors" to generate energy, but contains the control mechanism for the Archimedes II space-based laser weapon.
It's clear from looking at the pictures that Helios One was modelled pretty directly on Solar One and Solar Two.
This is true, according to Wikipedia:
"Verizon announced in March 2010 that they were winding down their FiOS expansion, concentrating on completing their network in areas that already had FiOS franchises but were not deploying to any new areas, which included the cities of Baltimore and Boston, who had not yet secured municipal franchise agreements.[16]"
My brother, who lives in the DFW metroplex, has recently been getting flyers through his letterbox advertising that FiOS will soon be available in his area (although the Verizon website doesn't seem to agree yet). His in-laws, who live a few miles away from him, already have FiOS, and it's far faster than the Verizon DSL connection he has right now.
My boss does this. Every time I watch him type something I die a little inside.
Cause or effect? Mental or emotional issues tend to make it harder to live healthily. Try getting someone with clinical depression to exercise or sleep well.
VVVVVV is one of the best and most challenging Indie games I've played in quite some time. It's a platformer/puzzle game with an absolutely fantastic chiptune soundtrack and striking C64-style visuals (some objects in the game are inspired by classic C64 games and demos).
Caveat: It can be very difficult... but if you're anything like me it'll sink its teeth into you and demand that you complete it.
Doing Things The Hard Way is an absolute fscker tho. :P
FWIW, the fact that you called them "boobies and ding-dongs" made it weird for me.
Not the same, but you just made me think of another game (not FPS) that's dying for a remake.
Carmageddon. Actually, Carmageddon 2 was better, so remake that. Don't change the gameplay, don't even change the ridiculous physics/gravity. Just update the graphics, create some nice, open levels and increase the view distance by like 100x.
Maybe not Hexen itself, but I'd love to see a new fantasy-FPS game. The closest thing I can think of in the last few years is Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, which I enjoyed but it just didn't have the "right" feel for me.
In my imagination the ideal game would involve stalking through dense, spooky forests with a crossbow loaded with enchanted bolts, or exploring haunted ruins and crypts with only a scepter and a handful of scrolls, or infiltrating a castle with only a dagger and a grappling hook (kinda thief-like).
Level design in fantasy games always feels weak to me. Has any level designer ever seen a real castle or been in a real forest?
Meh.. I'm just bored at work and daydreaming my ideal games. Carry on.
The story wasn't there because Quake wasn't originally intended to be Doom 3D (as opposed to 2.5D). It was going to be a medieval-style action-RPG type game, but then they realised that they had the technology and demand for the next great deathmatch FPS (plus it was something they already knew how to do) so Quake was quickly redesigned as a "pure" FPS.
They threw in some blurb stuff about slipgates and monsters and some military faction and that was that. It was a classic FPS, what more did you need?