I rarely if ever telecommute, except in when one of my kids is sick and has to stay home from school.
I have a commute that is at least an hour each way. If I'm working from home, I'm getting up at my normal time, but I'm starting my work at least an hour early. I don't have to go out for lunch, so that break ends up being shorter. And since I don't have to wind things down to leave the office at a certain time, I usually end up working past my normal stop time.
It sounds like I'm doing it wrong.
Netflix just recently added over 1000 movies from StarzPlay, many of the same films that are broadcast on the Starz cable networks.
There are many more popular/newer films available for streaming now.
Apple does not deal directly with producers or artists, but companies like TuneCore provide producers and artists with an inexpensive service to get the music they make listed in the iTunes music store, Rhapsody and others.
I grew up watching westerns, as did many of the kids I grew up around, and I can remember countless hours playing cowboys and indians with our cap-loaded six shooters. It was just fun to be a part of the story, as much as you could in your pretend games.
Games could bring together both of those experiences, the depth of a meaningful story and the experience of becoming part of that story by playing the role of the main character. In my opinion, the best single player games were those that built upon that dynamic.
When I was playing through Halo, I can't tell you how many times the repetitive gameplay frustrated me (what! another room with suggestive arrows on the floor. what! I have to go back through those same rooms again!), but the story that was being played out engaged me enough to push me through to the next mission. I hope that games get even better at storytelling, while at the same time improving on the visuals and the gameplay to add to the immersion.
The original concept for Halo was an RTS along the same lines as an earlier Bungie title - Myth. It wasn't until Microsoft bought Bungie Studios that Halo became a FPS and the Xbox launch title.
There is more than just a plot to Halo, there is volumes of backstory and history in the super-secret Halo bible that is locked in the Bungie Studios vault. Google the Halo Library - that site has compiled just about all that is known about the Halo universe based on the games, novels, and other information. It is actually a pretty good sci-fi story IMHO.
What we all suspected when Microsoft issued a cease and desist to the modders behind Halogen (the Halo themed Command and Conquer mod) has turned out to be a reality. You have to give props to MS for responding to all of the interest for a Halo RTS by creating their own (albeit based on the Age of Empires engine).
The official site has already launched with trailers and screenshots (mostly prerendered) at http://www.halowars.com.
If I drink any energy drinks, I go for Sobe every time. They beat most everything I have tried for taste, plus they come from a company that specializes in beverages based on natural ingredients. Most of their energy offerings include a full RDA of vitamin C and B complexes on top of the usual stimulants.
Drinks like Red Bull and MDX are mostly just pure sugar and caffiene. I can get that from coffee. And Rockstar tastes like carbonated cough syrup (although there may be some who like to guzzle the Robutussin DM).
Even the ilovebees ARG was a little disappointing to some, as it did provide some entertainment value in its story, but in the end, gave little or no information that pertained directly to the game (Halo 2) itself.
Xbox Origen was successful (for Microsoft) due to the sheer amount of publicity it garnered. Even if it did turn out to be lame.
It occurs to me that the greatest difficulty in this process would be making the copy able to function. To me it is all about interfacing what the brain knows how to do to communicate with how a computer communicates.
For this to even work, a person would have to wire their brain into said supercomputer and train their brain to use it simply by thinking - before they were downloaded. Otherwise, you have a perfectly good copy of a brain that can do nothing, as it is not connected to any of the 'interfaces' that it previously controlled (eyes, hands, ears, mouth (vocal chords), etc..).
Even more challenging would be writing software to avoid the necessity of training the brain and interpret the brains instructions into the proper computer instrutions.
A computer in 50 years may be as powerful as the human brain, but will it run the same OS?
Considering that traditional land-line phone service companies pay for 911 service provisions through a per line charge, I am almost certain that the RBOCs are not going to allow access to the PSTN without VOIP customers paying a similar per line fee. That could also give them an inroad to force other fees and taxes on VOIP customers (rural phone subsidies etc..), taking away the main reason most people use VOIP - because it costs less.
It seems to me the hardest lobbying for this decision probably came from the phone companies themselves, to curtail migration to VOIP.
The Xbox already has an edge on PS2 with Xbox live, which brings consistency and reliability to online play. Xbox Live is simply better than online play on the PS2. Plus, I'd much rather pay one Xbox live subscription than one for each game that I own, or suffer through inconsistant servers that some game publishers provide for online play.
Online play is generally the reason that I buy games instead of renting, playing through them and sending them back. Quality online play is what will sell more games, IMO, and we all know that is where the money is made.
If Microsoft can deliver on some of the promises that it has made, they will position themselves as an even stronger opponent to Sony. A few things come to mind: Longhorn Live? If a PC gamer can play online against an Xbox gamer, that is a huge feather in the Xbox cap (not to mention a few extra bucks for live subscriptions) when MS gets Longhorn released in '06. Backwards compatibility. Since they will hit the market first, having a large catalog of original Xbox games to play will help potential buyers become actual buyers (not unlike the PS2). Ease of use for developers.. The PS2 is notoriously hard to code for. With the Xbox, MS created a developer friendly development environment, which most likely will not radically change for Xbox2. The PS3 on the other hand, is already lagging in this area and stands to be radically different in architecture from the PS2.
Let's not forget that Sony has always overpromised and underdelivered on their claims of processing power and graphics. The Xbox took mostly off the shelf components and created a console with graphics that look better and move faster than PS2 (when comparing the same game on both - IMO).
I owned both and my PS2 spent alot of time collecting dust until I sold it (very cheap I might add).
the online video game rental service generally has the lowest used game prices on current games, with shipping less than $2 per unit. On top of that, you always get the original game box/manual in new condition, as it is never sent with the rental game. And if the game is DOA, they will replace it.
In my opinion ESPN dropped the price because they knew they had a good game, but could not compete with the name recognition of EA/Madden. Now that more gamers have played ESPN's game, they would have been more likely to buy an ESPN game in the future instead of blindly handing cash to EA.
I personally can't believe that the NFL would have approached EA about an exclusive license - two or more game companies paying them for licensing would be better than just one. EA would have had to have made the NFL an offer that it could not refuse.
Because of my previous experience with the NFL2K series on Dreamcast, I would have bought the ESPN game over the EA game anyway. The $20 price tag made it easier.
Slashdot Mirror
I rarely if ever telecommute, except in when one of my kids is sick and has to stay home from school. I have a commute that is at least an hour each way. If I'm working from home, I'm getting up at my normal time, but I'm starting my work at least an hour early. I don't have to go out for lunch, so that break ends up being shorter. And since I don't have to wind things down to leave the office at a certain time, I usually end up working past my normal stop time. It sounds like I'm doing it wrong.
Netflix just recently added over 1000 movies from StarzPlay, many of the same films that are broadcast on the Starz cable networks. There are many more popular/newer films available for streaming now.
Apple does not deal directly with producers or artists, but companies like TuneCore provide producers and artists with an inexpensive service to get the music they make listed in the iTunes music store, Rhapsody and others.
I should never have to worry about something like that. Oh wait......
I grew up watching westerns, as did many of the kids I grew up around, and I can remember countless hours playing cowboys and indians with our cap-loaded six shooters. It was just fun to be a part of the story, as much as you could in your pretend games.
Games could bring together both of those experiences, the depth of a meaningful story and the experience of becoming part of that story by playing the role of the main character. In my opinion, the best single player games were those that built upon that dynamic.
When I was playing through Halo, I can't tell you how many times the repetitive gameplay frustrated me (what! another room with suggestive arrows on the floor. what! I have to go back through those same rooms again!), but the story that was being played out engaged me enough to push me through to the next mission. I hope that games get even better at storytelling, while at the same time improving on the visuals and the gameplay to add to the immersion.
The original concept for Halo was an RTS along the same lines as an earlier Bungie title - Myth. It wasn't until Microsoft bought Bungie Studios that Halo became a FPS and the Xbox launch title. There is more than just a plot to Halo, there is volumes of backstory and history in the super-secret Halo bible that is locked in the Bungie Studios vault. Google the Halo Library - that site has compiled just about all that is known about the Halo universe based on the games, novels, and other information. It is actually a pretty good sci-fi story IMHO.
What we all suspected when Microsoft issued a cease and desist to the modders behind Halogen (the Halo themed Command and Conquer mod) has turned out to be a reality. You have to give props to MS for responding to all of the interest for a Halo RTS by creating their own (albeit based on the Age of Empires engine). The official site has already launched with trailers and screenshots (mostly prerendered) at http://www.halowars.com.
If I drink any energy drinks, I go for Sobe every time. They beat most everything I have tried for taste, plus they come from a company that specializes in beverages based on natural ingredients. Most of their energy offerings include a full RDA of vitamin C and B complexes on top of the usual stimulants.
Drinks like Red Bull and MDX are mostly just pure sugar and caffiene. I can get that from coffee. And Rockstar tastes like carbonated cough syrup (although there may be some who like to guzzle the Robutussin DM).
Or you could get one of these.
Even the ilovebees ARG was a little disappointing to some, as it did provide some entertainment value in its story, but in the end, gave little or no information that pertained directly to the game (Halo 2) itself.
Xbox Origen was successful (for Microsoft) due to the sheer amount of publicity it garnered. Even if it did turn out to be lame.
Well, I am sure there are more than one, but...
It occurs to me that the greatest difficulty in this process would be making the copy able to function. To me it is all about interfacing what the brain knows how to do to communicate with how a computer communicates.
For this to even work, a person would have to wire their brain into said supercomputer and train their brain to use it simply by thinking - before they were downloaded. Otherwise, you have a perfectly good copy of a brain that can do nothing, as it is not connected to any of the 'interfaces' that it previously controlled (eyes, hands, ears, mouth (vocal chords), etc..).
Even more challenging would be writing software to avoid the necessity of training the brain and interpret the brains instructions into the proper computer instrutions.
A computer in 50 years may be as powerful as the human brain, but will it run the same OS?
Considering that traditional land-line phone service companies pay for 911 service provisions through a per line charge, I am almost certain that the RBOCs are not going to allow access to the PSTN without VOIP customers paying a similar per line fee.
That could also give them an inroad to force other fees and taxes on VOIP customers (rural phone subsidies etc..), taking away the main reason most people use VOIP - because it costs less.
It seems to me the hardest lobbying for this decision probably came from the phone companies themselves, to curtail migration to VOIP.
Slashdot - the only place a discussion of deadly biological agents turns into a discussion of Latin noun constructs.
The Xbox already has an edge on PS2 with Xbox live, which brings consistency and reliability to online play. Xbox Live is simply better than online play on the PS2. Plus, I'd much rather pay one Xbox live subscription than one for each game that I own, or suffer through inconsistant servers that some game publishers provide for online play. Online play is generally the reason that I buy games instead of renting, playing through them and sending them back. Quality online play is what will sell more games, IMO, and we all know that is where the money is made.
If Microsoft can deliver on some of the promises that it has made, they will position themselves as an even stronger opponent to Sony. A few things come to mind:
Longhorn Live? If a PC gamer can play online against an Xbox gamer, that is a huge feather in the Xbox cap (not to mention a few extra bucks for live subscriptions) when MS gets Longhorn released in '06.
Backwards compatibility. Since they will hit the market first, having a large catalog of original Xbox games to play will help potential buyers become actual buyers (not unlike the PS2).
Ease of use for developers.. The PS2 is notoriously hard to code for. With the Xbox, MS created a developer friendly development environment, which most likely will not radically change for Xbox2. The PS3 on the other hand, is already lagging in this area and stands to be radically different in architecture from the PS2.
Let's not forget that Sony has always overpromised and underdelivered on their claims of processing power and graphics. The Xbox took mostly off the shelf components and created a console with graphics that look better and move faster than PS2 (when comparing the same game on both - IMO). I owned both and my PS2 spent alot of time collecting dust until I sold it (very cheap I might add).
the online video game rental service generally has the lowest used game prices on current games, with shipping less than $2 per unit. On top of that, you always get the original game box/manual in new condition, as it is never sent with the rental game. And if the game is DOA, they will replace it.
In my opinion ESPN dropped the price because they knew they had a good game, but could not compete with the name recognition of EA/Madden. Now that more gamers have played ESPN's game, they would have been more likely to buy an ESPN game in the future instead of blindly handing cash to EA.
I personally can't believe that the NFL would have approached EA about an exclusive license - two or more game companies paying them for licensing would be better than just one. EA would have had to have made the NFL an offer that it could not refuse.
Because of my previous experience with the NFL2K series on Dreamcast, I would have bought the ESPN game over the EA game anyway. The $20 price tag made it easier.