Cool! Now we get an Origami Sim! Just the perfect thing to add to my collection of Sim games.
I hear that when you play Sims 2: Origami, you can fold up your sim into eight different positions, plus each time you do that, it increases your invisible Yoga skill.
But, sadly, Sims 2: Origami is incompatible with Sims 2: Nightlife. It's all the spilled drinks... paper doesn't handle that well.
And the pixelation of unfolded origami is kind of an annoyance...
As to status, I'm well aware of how we try to get you to buy things. We play on your insecurities (if I don't buy a new HDTV than the Jones kid next door will mock me), on your competitiveness (must have more powerful display), on your greed (ooh, look, an HDTV for only $999 that used to be $1999! [while it cost the manufacturer only $250 to make, ship and stock]), on your concern you'll be left behind (must stay with peer group and buy latest console now, must not wait or will be not part of my social group).
I was giving you the short version, not the term paper version.
Heck, we even make you think that drinking beer will get the pretty girl to like you, when actually it will just make you think the not-pretty girl is a pretty girl, and if you're drinking it at home while playing games you won't get any girl...
So, be an early adopter. I am sometimes myself. Just know that you could have waited and bought FIVE HDTV sets for the money you spend today to buy one with fewer features. It's your money. Ka-ching!
at Costco (blue state firm that pays medical benefits and profit shares with employees) in December of release year, most likely bundled with at least one game.
If you wait until summer the next year, the same box will sell for $199 at most.
Look, the first rule of marketing (my first degree was BusMgmt (Sales/Marketing)) is that the price drops drastically for electronics until it gets to about $300 then levels off. Waiting until it drops to about $500 is usually optimal, and it won't be until mass introduction of HDTV in 2007 that you should buy it.
Now, if you need it, great. Pay the premium to be an early adopter. But, in return, you'll have to deal with:
a. more bugs - the bug-free version of your set will retail for $300 in Feb 2008 that you paid $1500 for in Feb 2006;
b. fewer features - as they become more of a commodity, what used to be special features (e.g. picture in picture for standard TV, etc) become standard features - think of cars and anti-lock brakes, airbags, MP3 players, that kind of thing;
c. less compatibility with other electronics - as the market matures, more devices will interconnect more easily.
Now, I've paid $5,000 for a Linux server that I could have bought for $500 only two years later, so I'm as nuts as the rest of you, but just realize that if you only wait until 2008, all three game consoles will be out, there will be new games for all the consoles, and they'll all work with your much cheaper HDTV, so you can afford to buy both a new game console and a new bigger HDTV and a whole library of games and movies for them, for the same cost of just an HDTV today.
Wow, would you really want to see Katamari in hi-def? What an acid trip that would be....on second thought, who wouldn't want to see it in hi-def? Such an addictive little game!
Why, yes, I would like to see it on HDTV with a new console and with even better sound.
And I'm not sure if that wouldn't be found to be illegal.
The second thing is easy. Just play Project Entropia [project-entropia.com]. The in-game currency is freely convertable to real-world currency and vice-versa.
thanks, but I only upload things like the Jimi Hendrix Memorial Library for Sims 2: University or the Hamsta Hot Tub Place for Sims 2.
That would solve a lot of problems, and make it really easy to beat out all the other competition, IMHO.
And, also, is it ok if my Lunar Lander mates with another Lunar Lander and forms a vastly improved Lunar Lander, like in those anime shows like Vandread? And, if that's ok, can they make sure the other pilots are like the pilots on that show? Well, except for the being a prisoner part....
Otherwise, it's kind of pointless, don't you think?
Second rule is, nobody talks about Lunar Landing Contests!...
Dang, guess I can't compete. Good thing Paul Allen can take my place with his super secret company on the Seattle waterfront that noone knows is designing and building spacecraft and that you can see with Google Earth...
So you graduate school and immediately start designing games? Is that how the industry works? I thought you had to work your way up, then your opinion/experience starts to actually matter.
Silly me. Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, we just designed games because we wanted to. We didn't even have degrees. Heck, most of us didn't even have computers.
And when we made computer games, we usually had to teach ourselves the programming languages from obscure manuals written by engineers who were more interested in designing circuits than in writing manuals.
The entire University of Washington is being wired for Wi-Fi, as well as the adjacent University District, Capitol Hill, Fremont, Ballard, Queen Anne, and Downtown.
If we're all going to die from Wi-Fi, well, then bring it on! is all I can say.
is most highly correlated with the chance that I can buy a widescreen HDTV set for less than $500 that works with all my toys.
And, to be frank, there's no incentive for me to do that before 2009.
Even after that point, since I have a digital TV, I can get service via my cable provider.
But if I just wait until 2009, when the mass market drops the price even lower, I can get a bug-free, tons-of-features, cheaper HDTV for half as much as if I bought it in 2008.
Besides, I want to buy it after Bush leaves office, to help rebuild the country under a wise President, instead of making it look like he has anything positive to do with our US economy.
Interesting article, but it ignores the harsh cruel reality of actual US tech employment. As an example, let's take my ex, who used to make $70K in data management and now makes $20K in html coding.
Just because she has a job, doesn't mean she's doing as well as she used to.
Replacing high paying factory jobs with burger flipping at McDonald's doesn't mean things are peachy keen in America, no matter how often the lie gets told that things are swell here in the US.
Good thing I saved and invested a lot of my money while others were living the high life with fancy cars and tech gadget - ok, sure, I've got a few servers I bought on a whim that ran me $20K, but most of my money went into my house, paying off my car, and in retirement.
Personally, I'd concentrate more on option B. Most of the Net isn't in English, it's in Chinese, information is more easily provided by the Net, and people to create information pop up when you have access to the Net. No need to waste money on a,c,d when you'd be better off cranking out standardized battery-charging solar cell arrays and wind turbines in mass quantities, which would drop the pollution from using diesel generators or non-rechargeable batteries for power as most of the world does (third world). Then let others do the providing cheaper computers, because without power it's meaningless, and maybe set up a wireless basestation with each power complex, that uses the ability of the Net to post/email/cache data/email/requests and send it in bursts via satellite or whatever is locally available.
Now if only those poor little brown people a) could read English, or whatever language Wikipedia is in b) had a handy source of electricity to recharge those laptops c) had another source of reliable information for the times when Wikipedia is totally wrong d) had someone writing information that was specific to their climate and culture, not Southern California.
The problems faced the people in many developing nations are significantly more complex and profound than anything that a free laptop will solve.
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I'd tell you, but I'd have to fold you in eight different ways if I did.
Cool! Now we get an Origami Sim! Just the perfect thing to add to my collection of Sim games.
... paper doesn't handle that well.
...
I hear that when you play Sims 2: Origami, you can fold up your sim into eight different positions, plus each time you do that, it increases your invisible Yoga skill.
But, sadly, Sims 2: Origami is incompatible with Sims 2: Nightlife. It's all the spilled drinks
And the pixelation of unfolded origami is kind of an annoyance
my cellphone already does all that and more?
Plus, it runs Linux.
Which apparently they are developing for.
I for one, welcome our MMORPG masters.
No? Um, hey, let go. You said you're not addicted, so put down the controller for three weeks.
Hello?
Guess he was addicted to gaming.
As to status, I'm well aware of how we try to get you to buy things. We play on your insecurities (if I don't buy a new HDTV than the Jones kid next door will mock me), on your competitiveness (must have more powerful display), on your greed (ooh, look, an HDTV for only $999 that used to be $1999! [while it cost the manufacturer only $250 to make, ship and stock]), on your concern you'll be left behind (must stay with peer group and buy latest console now, must not wait or will be not part of my social group).
...
I was giving you the short version, not the term paper version.
Heck, we even make you think that drinking beer will get the pretty girl to like you, when actually it will just make you think the not-pretty girl is a pretty girl, and if you're drinking it at home while playing games you won't get any girl
So, be an early adopter. I am sometimes myself. Just know that you could have waited and bought FIVE HDTV sets for the money you spend today to buy one with fewer features. It's your money. Ka-ching!
at Costco (blue state firm that pays medical benefits and profit shares with employees) in December of release year, most likely bundled with at least one game.
If you wait until summer the next year, the same box will sell for $199 at most.
matters: The console will be in the stores, with games, before Thanksgiving of the year of release.
Half of all revenues will be made between Thanksgiving and December 27th. So if you miss that window, you miss most of the money for the year.
So, a spring release can easily be pushed to summer, and even to fall, but never much later than Halloween.
before even thinking about buying HDTV.
Look, the first rule of marketing (my first degree was BusMgmt (Sales/Marketing)) is that the price drops drastically for electronics until it gets to about $300 then levels off. Waiting until it drops to about $500 is usually optimal, and it won't be until mass introduction of HDTV in 2007 that you should buy it.
Now, if you need it, great. Pay the premium to be an early adopter. But, in return, you'll have to deal with:
a. more bugs - the bug-free version of your set will retail for $300 in Feb 2008 that you paid $1500 for in Feb 2006;
b. fewer features - as they become more of a commodity, what used to be special features (e.g. picture in picture for standard TV, etc) become standard features - think of cars and anti-lock brakes, airbags, MP3 players, that kind of thing;
c. less compatibility with other electronics - as the market matures, more devices will interconnect more easily.
Now, I've paid $5,000 for a Linux server that I could have bought for $500 only two years later, so I'm as nuts as the rest of you, but just realize that if you only wait until 2008, all three game consoles will be out, there will be new games for all the consoles, and they'll all work with your much cheaper HDTV, so you can afford to buy both a new game console and a new bigger HDTV and a whole library of games and movies for them, for the same cost of just an HDTV today.
It's your money: use it wisely.
Wow, would you really want to see Katamari in hi-def? What an acid trip that would be. ...on second thought, who wouldn't want to see it in hi-def? Such an addictive little game!
Why, yes, I would like to see it on HDTV with a new console and with even better sound.
And I'm not sure if that wouldn't be found to be illegal.
The second thing is easy. Just play Project Entropia [project-entropia.com]. The in-game currency is freely convertable to real-world currency and vice-versa.
thanks, but I only upload things like the Jimi Hendrix Memorial Library for Sims 2: University or the Hamsta Hot Tub Place for Sims 2.
Nice to know, though.
not a single reason why I should upgrade from my xBox, since I'm not shelling out money for HDTV until 2009 when the prices plummet.
Besides, by then, I'll be able to choose between NR, PS3, and xBox360, with actual real games that aren't just ports or FPS clones.
Wake me up when they ship Katamari on the 360.
Well, that brings up the next question: can we use cyborgs if manned, or can women be pilots?
And is it ok to use cybernetically enhanced space monkeys? They have a lot less mass, and were in space long before humans were.
That would solve a lot of problems, and make it really easy to beat out all the other competition, IMHO.
....
And, also, is it ok if my Lunar Lander mates with another Lunar Lander and forms a vastly improved Lunar Lander, like in those anime shows like Vandread? And, if that's ok, can they make sure the other pilots are like the pilots on that show? Well, except for the being a prisoner part
Me, I'm waiting for the teleporter to be built.
You have to make it back.
...
...
Otherwise, it's kind of pointless, don't you think?
Second rule is, nobody talks about Lunar Landing Contests!
Dang, guess I can't compete. Good thing Paul Allen can take my place with his super secret company on the Seattle waterfront that noone knows is designing and building spacecraft and that you can see with Google Earth
So you graduate school and immediately start designing games? Is that how the industry works? I thought you had to work your way up, then your opinion/experience starts to actually matter.
Silly me. Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, we just designed games because we wanted to. We didn't even have degrees. Heck, most of us didn't even have computers.
And when we made computer games, we usually had to teach ourselves the programming languages from obscure manuals written by engineers who were more interested in designing circuits than in writing manuals.
school:
...
Just because you can make Yet Another FPS or Yet Another Driving Game or Yet Another Sports Game doesn't mean you should.
The second thing? How to cash virtual checks from virtual money made in virtual gaming world from virtual designs.
I still haven't figured that one out yet
because right now even using the word for a shrine can get you killed. ...
...
oh, wait, they are.
whatever.
Good thing The Flying Spaghetti Monster doesn't care if you use his/her/its name
Nuclear waste doesn't go quietly into that long, glowing twilight of a night, not for hundreds of thousands of years.
Sigh.
Solve the disposal problem - hint, the Marianas trench - and we can talk.
The entire University of Washington is being wired for Wi-Fi, as well as the adjacent University District, Capitol Hill, Fremont, Ballard, Queen Anne, and Downtown.
If we're all going to die from Wi-Fi, well, then bring it on! is all I can say.
is most highly correlated with the chance that I can buy a widescreen HDTV set for less than $500 that works with all my toys.
And, to be frank, there's no incentive for me to do that before 2009.
Even after that point, since I have a digital TV, I can get service via my cable provider.
But if I just wait until 2009, when the mass market drops the price even lower, I can get a bug-free, tons-of-features, cheaper HDTV for half as much as if I bought it in 2008.
Besides, I want to buy it after Bush leaves office, to help rebuild the country under a wise President, instead of making it look like he has anything positive to do with our US economy.
Interesting article, but it ignores the harsh cruel reality of actual US tech employment. As an example, let's take my ex, who used to make $70K in data management and now makes $20K in html coding.
Just because she has a job, doesn't mean she's doing as well as she used to.
Replacing high paying factory jobs with burger flipping at McDonald's doesn't mean things are peachy keen in America, no matter how often the lie gets told that things are swell here in the US.
Good thing I saved and invested a lot of my money while others were living the high life with fancy cars and tech gadget - ok, sure, I've got a few servers I bought on a whim that ran me $20K, but most of my money went into my house, paying off my car, and in retirement.
I'm just basing my comment on most of the Net being in Chinese on the spam I get.
Now, if you want to talk web sites, that's another thing. Most Chinese scientists publish in English, for example.
I myself had to "downgrade' for several months when I had no income.
That's why God invented Public Libraries.
They have broadband for the most part. And some have free wireless too.
Personally, I'd concentrate more on option B. Most of the Net isn't in English, it's in Chinese, information is more easily provided by the Net, and people to create information pop up when you have access to the Net. No need to waste money on a,c,d when you'd be better off cranking out standardized battery-charging solar cell arrays and wind turbines in mass quantities, which would drop the pollution from using diesel generators or non-rechargeable batteries for power as most of the world does (third world). Then let others do the providing cheaper computers, because without power it's meaningless, and maybe set up a wireless basestation with each power complex, that uses the ability of the Net to post/email/cache data/email/requests and send it in bursts via satellite or whatever is locally available.
Now if only those poor little brown people a) could read English, or whatever language Wikipedia is in b) had a handy source of electricity to recharge those laptops c) had another source of reliable information for the times when Wikipedia is totally wrong d) had someone writing information that was specific to their climate and culture, not Southern California.
The problems faced the people in many developing nations are significantly more complex and profound than anything that a free laptop will solve.