Like the article states: make a device that works the way I work.
I often use my phone outdoors. Make a screen that can be viewed in sunlight. I sometimes use my phone in the rain. Make a device that is splash resistant. My hands have not grown since 2005 but phones keep getting larger. Make a device that fits in my hand. Even if it fits in my hand, I may occasionally drop it. Make a device that doesn't shatter when dropped. When I travel or go hiking, I spend less time near outlets. Make a device with a swappable battery or one that lasts days. When I travel, I use my phone for navigation and communication. Make a phone that works on any network. I don't want to replace an $800 device every other year. Make a device that is affordable and lasts several years.
That's a good device. Many of these problems are ones that the device manufacturers introduced because they value form over function.
There is a pretty funny one in Battlefield 1942. If you fly an airplane up as high as the game allows, then eject and don't pull the parachute, you will freefall all the way to the ground. The character will scream for a while, and then if you were high enough, right before you hit the ground, you can hear the guy crap his pants.
The Windows Mobile 5 SDK may be free, but it requires Visual Studio 2005 Standard edition, which is not free by any means. And as for distribution, some carriers can prevent unsigned third-party apps from running on their network. The cost of signing an app is pretty high (several hundred dollars.) Pocket PC development used to be free, but Windows Mobile development is anything but.
Interestingly, the most useful resealable package I've seen in recent memory used a strip of weak adhesive rather than a cheap Ziplock knockoff. However, it is on a package of disposable razors, so it's utility is questionable. It's not like I need to keep my razors fresh.
I once had an experience with ridiculous food packing. It was so traumatic that I felt compelled to write about it:
On Freshness and Weiners
Since when did the security of my hot dogs become so paramount? I decided to have a couple for dinner
tonight, but I could barely get the package open! At first glance, it looks like a standard plastic
wrapper, with the requisite ziplock strip (for freshness!) But once I began to open the package, I
realized it is actually a hermetically sealed vault with no less than four stages of
defense between me and my tasty franks. I admit I was fooled by the words on the wrapper: "Easy
open! Resealable packaging!" It would prove to be neither.
Step one looks simple enough: tear along the perforated line. Okay. But in this devious
contraption that strategy yields no results. Below the perforation lies an unassuming red strip
sandwiched between four layers of plastic. The strip is made from an indestructible space-age
composite that forms a permanent, indelible bond with its surrounding layers. The red strip itself
performs no physical function; its sole purpose is to taunt you like some kind of unattainable
trophy. I spent minutes trying to expose the object to the elements before I realized the true
nature of the artifice. A pair of scissors applied strategically below the strip dispatched the
insidious foe. The third stronghold was the aforementioned ziplock strip, which one might assume
would provide a sufficient measure of freshness beyond the first two barriers. The feeble ziplock
strip provided a brief moment of respite and optimism until I realized there was yet another
layer of protection. An adhesive seal remained like a ticking time bomb, ready to disrupt the
integrity of the entire structure. Separating the glue between the two walls detached a section of
ziplock also, rendering the resealable packaging totally ineffectual. By the time I got the package
open, I had actually starved to death.
Not sure if you'll be able to purchase Portal by itself, but Half-Life 2:Episide One was (inexplicably) available in many stores for less that it was on Steam. Even if you're not interested in Half-Life, I would think that a similar package for Episode Two would be well worth it. Fifteen bucks for HL2:Ep2, Portal and Team Fortress 2? That's a good deal no matter which of the three games you're interested in.
However, you will probably still need to sign up for a Steam account (it's free) since that functions as Valve's anti-piracy measure. The Steam client software is likely on the disc to save you from a sizeable download.
Slashdot Mirror
Like the article states: make a device that works the way I work.
I often use my phone outdoors. Make a screen that can be viewed in sunlight.
I sometimes use my phone in the rain. Make a device that is splash resistant.
My hands have not grown since 2005 but phones keep getting larger. Make a device that fits in my hand.
Even if it fits in my hand, I may occasionally drop it. Make a device that doesn't shatter when dropped.
When I travel or go hiking, I spend less time near outlets. Make a device with a swappable battery or one that lasts days.
When I travel, I use my phone for navigation and communication. Make a phone that works on any network.
I don't want to replace an $800 device every other year. Make a device that is affordable and lasts several years.
That's a good device. Many of these problems are ones that the device manufacturers introduced because they value form over function.
Don't use Mint on Mint.
I wonder if Bill knows that his new logo is almost identical to the Codemasters logo?
To summarize:
Virtualization: +1 containerization, -1 defenestration
There is a pretty funny one in Battlefield 1942. If you fly an airplane up as high as the game allows, then eject and don't pull the parachute, you will freefall all the way to the ground. The character will scream for a while, and then if you were high enough, right before you hit the ground, you can hear the guy crap his pants.
The Windows Mobile 5 SDK may be free, but it requires Visual Studio 2005 Standard edition, which is not free by any means. And as for distribution, some carriers can prevent unsigned third-party apps from running on their network. The cost of signing an app is pretty high (several hundred dollars.) Pocket PC development used to be free, but Windows Mobile development is anything but.
Interestingly, the most useful resealable package I've seen in recent memory used a strip of weak adhesive rather than a cheap Ziplock knockoff. However, it is on a package of disposable razors, so it's utility is questionable. It's not like I need to keep my razors fresh.
I once had an experience with ridiculous food packing. It was so traumatic that I felt compelled to write about it:
On Freshness and Weiners
Since when did the security of my hot dogs become so paramount? I decided to have a couple for dinner tonight, but I could barely get the package open! At first glance, it looks like a standard plastic wrapper, with the requisite ziplock strip (for freshness!) But once I began to open the package, I realized it is actually a hermetically sealed vault with no less than four stages of defense between me and my tasty franks. I admit I was fooled by the words on the wrapper: "Easy open! Resealable packaging!" It would prove to be neither.
Step one looks simple enough: tear along the perforated line. Okay. But in this devious contraption that strategy yields no results. Below the perforation lies an unassuming red strip sandwiched between four layers of plastic. The strip is made from an indestructible space-age composite that forms a permanent, indelible bond with its surrounding layers. The red strip itself performs no physical function; its sole purpose is to taunt you like some kind of unattainable trophy. I spent minutes trying to expose the object to the elements before I realized the true nature of the artifice. A pair of scissors applied strategically below the strip dispatched the insidious foe. The third stronghold was the aforementioned ziplock strip, which one might assume would provide a sufficient measure of freshness beyond the first two barriers. The feeble ziplock strip provided a brief moment of respite and optimism until I realized there was yet another layer of protection. An adhesive seal remained like a ticking time bomb, ready to disrupt the integrity of the entire structure. Separating the glue between the two walls detached a section of ziplock also, rendering the resealable packaging totally ineffectual. By the time I got the package open, I had actually starved to death.
Next time I think I'll just have a burger.
There is an open source voting project that appears to include some of your ideas.
Not sure if you'll be able to purchase Portal by itself, but Half-Life 2:Episide One was (inexplicably) available in many stores for less that it was on Steam. Even if you're not interested in Half-Life, I would think that a similar package for Episode Two would be well worth it. Fifteen bucks for HL2:Ep2, Portal and Team Fortress 2? That's a good deal no matter which of the three games you're interested in.
However, you will probably still need to sign up for a Steam account (it's free) since that functions as Valve's anti-piracy measure. The Steam client software is likely on the disc to save you from a sizeable download.
Bethesda didn't create their own engine for Oblivion, they used the Gamebryo engine.
"I did do the nasty in the pasty!"
Maybe Threepio and Artoo will make random appearances. They are the only characters that were really recognizable throughout all six movies.