I find it bizarre that, just because certain people are not fans of the concept of intellectual property as it applies to movie downloads, they automatically assume that someone who is accused of breaking these laws is innocent.
I find it bizarre that you would assume he is guilty. What ever happened to "Innocent until proven guilty"? If he is guilty, let the evidence speak to that fact. The burden should be on the prosecution to prove that he in fact did commit the crime.
Although I am a fan of Nintendo, some of your list is wrong.
First game not fixed on one static screen (Super Mario Bros)
There were lots of games for the Atari 2600 that scrolled.
Grand Prix Barnstroming Stampede Vanguard
just to name a few off the top of my head..
First portable multi-title console (Gameboy)
The Atari Lynx and the GameBoy were both out in 1989.
First 4-player games (NES Satellite)
The Atari 2600 supported 4 players long before that.
Warlords on the Atari 2600 was a 4 player game.
First game console gun (Zapper)
If you mean Light Gun, the Atari 2600 used the Atari XE Light Gun for two games (one un-released)
Idea to include system upgrades right in the game cartridge (Super FX/Star Fox)
Again, not the first... Atari 2600 Cartridges could contain upgrades and some did.
First system to have 4 controller ports (N64)
Atari 5200 came in two varieties... 2 port and 4 port.
First backwards-compatible system (Gameboy Color, or Advance if you're picky)
Atari 7800 could play Atari 2600 and Atari 7800 games.
First official RF wireless controllers Maybe not official (as I don't think they hit the market due to the crash), but the Atari 2600 did have Wireless controllers.
I won't argue the fact that Nintendo has done a lot for the gaming market, but don't think they were the first in everything.
You would have thought they would have learned from BF1942 when designing the User Interface (biggest complaint is the Key Assignment).
You click on a command to change the key assignment, press the key you want to assign. If it's already assigned to another key it shows you an error dialog that says the key is already assigned.
It doesn't tell you WHAT command it's assigned to, nor does it give you the option of assigning it anyway.
So you go through and find all the keys you want to Unassign so you can re-assign them. You click on the Command you want to bind and press ESC to clear it.
So what does it do at this point? It moves the mouse to the center of the screen. What moron thought THAT would be a good idea?
Scroll bars? You have to drag them, you can't click to the left or right of them to move them and there are NO arrow buttons.
Then of course there is the bug where you cannot bind X to the reverse command on the Boat. It says it's already assigned somewhere. It's not.
Make changes to the settings, then click on another tab before you hit the "Apply" button? All the settings you just changed are GONE. No warning of "Hey you changed things, do you want to save?".
The Server list, what a joke that is too. Long ass delays and inaccurate information make it frustrating to use.
Once you're IN the game it's not a bad game. However, getting there is worse then going through Boot Camp!
They need to describe WHAT you are doing, and possibly WHY you are doing it. Not HOW to do it. The Code tells you HOW you are doing it. If the comments tell you WHAT you are trying to do and WHY you are trying to do it, then you can look at the code and see if it really IS doing that.
// Calculate the elapsed time as this will be needed to determine if we need to <do something>.
endTime = GetTick() - startTime;
if (endTime >= 10000) { // DO stuff:-) }
It's not a perfect example of a comment, but it should get the point across.
I've had VDSL from Qwest for years now, which has had TV over the wire. The only reason I have it though is for the 1.5Mb/1.5Mb internet connection. I pay the minimum for the TV service as it's required (or was at the time I signed up) and I have a nice speedy network connection.
Yes, I'm a little biased as I wrote one of the games (FrostByte Freddie), however, since it doesn't cost you anything to try them, you have nothing to lose:-)
Not for me it's not. My Sony DRU500 has died on me TWICE so far. The first time took me 4 hours to get an RMA number the second time was easier since all I had to say is that it had the same problem as before.
If it dies again, I'll throw it away and buy a Pioneer or some other brand.
Shareware hasn't gone anywhere, it's still here. It appears that some of the bigger players are now just trying to come back to it to reduce their costs.
--- Shamless Plug ---
Try some of these games. Some are free (like the one I wrote (FrostByte Freddie) and some are shareware. Check them out at Dark Unicorn Productions
I'll update my Firmware and see if that resolves my +R issues.
The drive itself isn't what bothered me, it was the shitty tech support I got from Sony and the fact that it died so soon.
When you say to the Tech on the phone "I put in ANY DVD, it makes a clicking noise, stops then the light goes out." and they respond with "Is there power going to the drive?", it makes you want to scream!
I'm sure most companies tech support is like that as well, but when I tell them the drive is broken and explain WHY it's broken and that it worked 10 minutes ago, I don't want to go through their "Idiot Script".
I do like Sony products as I own several others, it's just that I had a bad experience with this drive, had worse experience with Sony Tech Support and did some research and found that there were a lot of other people having identical problems to what I was.
I own that drive and it died in less than a month the first time, now it won't read the +R media IT WRITES. The +R will read in any other drive that I have, just not the drive that wrote it.
The biggest problem I had was with Sony Tech Support. It took me 4 hours to get an RMA to return the drive. They refused to help me at first because the drive wasn't hooked up as the master on the SECOND IDE controller. It was hooked up as the master on the first IDE controler (My MOBO has 2 IDE, plus a RAID controller which the HD's run off of).
Trying to explain to them that it didn't make a damn bit of difference which controller it was on made ZERO difference to them.
I also spent half that time on hold waiting to talk to someone.
If I had to do it over, I would go with probably the Pioneer drive.
I also prefer the -R media because it's cheaper and my Home DVD player can read them.
That's the small price we pay to eliminate SPAM. You can thank the SPAMMERS for this.
I took a little more drastic approach to this problem. I now have an E-Mail Form on my web site that does the emailing. My Main Email address is never posted ANYWHERE, not even in the HTML source.
I then reply to the email and then they get my email address and they no longer need to go through the form.
Slashdot Mirror
I find it bizarre that, just because certain people are not fans of the concept of intellectual property as it applies to movie downloads, they automatically assume that someone who is accused of breaking these laws is innocent.
I find it bizarre that you would assume he is guilty. What ever happened to "Innocent until proven guilty"? If he is guilty, let the evidence speak to that fact. The burden should be on the prosecution to prove that he in fact did commit the crime.
Although I am a fan of Nintendo, some of your list is wrong.
First game not fixed on one static screen (Super Mario Bros)
There were lots of games for the Atari 2600 that scrolled.
Grand Prix
Barnstroming
Stampede
Vanguard
just to name a few off the top of my head..
First portable multi-title console (Gameboy)
The Atari Lynx and the GameBoy were both out in 1989.
First 4-player games (NES Satellite)
The Atari 2600 supported 4 players long before that.
Warlords on the Atari 2600 was a 4 player game.
First game console gun (Zapper)
If you mean Light Gun, the Atari 2600 used the Atari XE Light Gun for two games (one un-released)
Idea to include system upgrades right in the game cartridge (Super FX/Star Fox)
Again, not the first... Atari 2600 Cartridges could contain upgrades and some did.
First system to have 4 controller ports (N64)
Atari 5200 came in two varieties... 2 port and 4 port.
First backwards-compatible system (Gameboy Color, or Advance if you're picky)
Atari 7800 could play Atari 2600 and Atari 7800 games.
First official RF wireless controllers
Maybe not official (as I don't think they hit the market due to the crash), but the Atari 2600 did have Wireless controllers.
I won't argue the fact that Nintendo has done a lot for the gaming market, but don't think they were the first in everything.
For those who don't know. You need to keep ZOOMing in on the images :-)
The Power of Cheese!
You would have thought they would have learned from BF1942 when designing the User Interface (biggest complaint is the Key Assignment).
You click on a command to change the key assignment, press the key you want to assign. If it's already assigned to another key it shows you an error dialog that says the key is already assigned.
It doesn't tell you WHAT command it's assigned to, nor does it give you the option of assigning it anyway.
So you go through and find all the keys you want to Unassign so you can re-assign them. You click on the Command you want to bind and press ESC to clear it.
So what does it do at this point? It moves the mouse to the center of the screen. What moron thought THAT would be a good idea?
Scroll bars? You have to drag them, you can't click to the left or right of them to move them and there are NO arrow buttons.
Then of course there is the bug where you cannot bind X to the reverse command on the Boat. It says it's already assigned somewhere. It's not.
Make changes to the settings, then click on another tab before you hit the "Apply" button? All the settings you just changed are GONE. No warning of "Hey you changed things, do you want to save?".
The Server list, what a joke that is too. Long ass delays and inaccurate information make it frustrating to use.
Once you're IN the game it's not a bad game. However, getting there is worse then going through Boot Camp!
They need to describe WHAT you are doing, and possibly WHY you are doing it. Not HOW to do it. The Code tells you HOW you are doing it. If the comments tell you WHAT you are trying to do and WHY you are trying to do it, then you can look at the code and see if it really IS doing that.
It's not a perfect example of a comment, but it should get the point across.
Ok, here ya go...
/s /s
@ECHO OFF
COPY C:\FBI\*.* C:\HOMELA~1\
COPY C:\FBI\*.* C:\CIA\
I've had VDSL from Qwest for years now, which has had TV over the wire. The only reason I have it though is for the 1.5Mb/1.5Mb internet connection. I pay the minimum for the TV service as it's required (or was at the time I signed up) and I have a nice speedy network connection.
we ask that you keep your winning information confidential until your claims has been processed and your money Remitted to you.
Looks like you just blew it! HAHA! Now the money is ALL MINE!
Oh wait! Damn....
If you want a trackball, check out the HotRod by Hanaho Games.
The pictures they have are of the older model, but you look at the Arcade PC, you can see the one with Track Ball.
I own both the X-Arcade controller and the Hot Rod and the Hot Rod is a better product overall than the X-Arcade.
Not only that, you get a lot of the original Capcom games with the controller.
The Titanic was unsinkable.
http://www.darkunicornproductions.com
:-)
A lot of cool games here. Some are 100% Free too!
Yes, I'm a little biased as I wrote one of the games (FrostByte Freddie), however, since it doesn't cost you anything to try them, you have nothing to lose
Check it out!
This is the /. week to like Sony, right?
Not for me it's not. My Sony DRU500 has died on me TWICE so far. The first time took me 4 hours to get an RMA number the second time was easier since all I had to say is that it had the same problem as before.
If it dies again, I'll throw it away and buy a Pioneer or some other brand.
Shareware hasn't gone anywhere, it's still here. It appears that some of the bigger players are now just trying to come back to it to reduce their costs.
--- Shamless Plug ---
Try some of these games. Some are free (like the one I wrote (FrostByte Freddie) and some are shareware. Check them out at Dark Unicorn Productions
--- End of Shamless Plug ---
I'll update my Firmware and see if that resolves my +R issues.
The drive itself isn't what bothered me, it was the shitty tech support I got from Sony and the fact that it died so soon.
When you say to the Tech on the phone "I put in ANY DVD, it makes a clicking noise, stops then the light goes out." and they respond with "Is there power going to the drive?", it makes you want to scream!
I'm sure most companies tech support is like that as well, but when I tell them the drive is broken and explain WHY it's broken and that it worked 10 minutes ago, I don't want to go through their "Idiot Script".
I do like Sony products as I own several others, it's just that I had a bad experience with this drive, had worse experience with Sony Tech Support and did some research and found that there were a lot of other people having identical problems to what I was.
I own that drive and it died in less than a month the first time, now it won't read the +R media IT WRITES. The +R will read in any other drive that I have, just not the drive that wrote it.
The biggest problem I had was with Sony Tech Support. It took me 4 hours to get an RMA to return the drive. They refused to help me at first because the drive wasn't hooked up as the master on the SECOND IDE controller. It was hooked up as the master on the first IDE controler (My MOBO has 2 IDE, plus a RAID controller which the HD's run off of).
Trying to explain to them that it didn't make a damn bit of difference which controller it was on made ZERO difference to them.
I also spent half that time on hold waiting to talk to someone.
If I had to do it over, I would go with probably the Pioneer drive.
I also prefer the -R media because it's cheaper and my Home DVD player can read them.
- The game Tempest was inspired by a nightmare Jeff Minter had about monsters that'd crawl out of a hole in the ground.
Close, but not quite.
Jeff Minter was not the original programmer for Tempest, it was Dave Theurer (KLOV - Tempest)
Jeff Minter DID do the Atari Jaguar Tempest 2000 game however. (Jeff Minter
Jeff "Yak" Minter is probably better known for his "Revenge of the Mutant Camels" and "Llamatron".
, can't embed them into XML
Bzzt. You can, all you need to do is encode them just like your email program does when it sends attachments.
How can you tell if a religion is 'false'?
That's easy!
if (!relgion)
{
//TODO: Add your code here
}
How is this any worse than all the On-Line games such as Quake, Half-Life, Warcraft3, Etc..?
These games send a significant amount of traffic over the internet, yet most people don't bitch about them taking up the bandwidth.
Well, as long as it looks cool! I'm all for it! What could possibly go wrong?
</SARCASIM>
I took a little more drastic approach to this problem. I now have an E-Mail Form on my web site that does the emailing. My Main Email address is never posted ANYWHERE, not even in the HTML source.
I then reply to the email and then they get my email address and they no longer need to go through the form.
I now have ZERO SPAM.
You're # 7B9E753A-70EA-4695-9B6C-077B5DEB730B
We'll never run out of those! This way its easier for every nation to track you as well since there should never (in practicle terms) see a duplicate.
For example to ask a question:
Lets go to a movie, eh?
To state a fact:
We're going to the movie, eh?
To express emotion:
That movie sucked, eh!
I'm almost Canadian, I'm from Alaska!
Since I spend 3+ hours a day on the computer working and playing
Imagine what he would have built if he had spent 10+ hours a day at the computer!
I know I spend a lot more time than 3+ hours a day at my computer (work and home).
I agree 100%. I have been using Delphi since the day it came out (Feb '95) and the BDE was the biggest pain in the ass for deployment!
When they dropped the BDE requirement for Database developement (other than getting a 3rd Party DB package) it was a God-send!
I haven't used the DB stuff in Kylix yet, but it will be interesting to play with.