Motherboard sound isn't that great, but who has really great computer speakers anyway? What ordinary user even swapped his speakers from the craptastic freebies that came with his Dell?
While I'm not an ordinary user, I still use my motherboard sound and it's hooked up to a Kenwood home theatre setup. The sad thing is that the Intel HD audio on my motherboard sounds better than the Creative stuff I have. Add in that the onboard audio has Dolby Digital Live (I run toslink to the home theatre) it saves the hassle of running a bunch of analog cables to get 5.1 in anything that's not pre-recorded since Creative seems to be rather obstinate about using EAX and nothing else. If the PC game industry ditches EAX, it's over for Creative. I can see nothing else keeping them afloat.
It's less addiction and more of a case of there being nothing better to do. Boozing and smoking weed seem to be the 2 major things to do around here, both of which I don't. So every weekend I hang out with my buddies and we sit around watching DVDs and playing videogames and whatnot. During the week, most of us 'internet addicts' are too busy holding jobs, doing housework, and anything else that needs to be done that we're too devoid of energy to do much else besides chilling out around the house. And the internet happens to be there in your house...it's the biggest social platform out there, and in conjunction with your computer it's become the main source of entertainment whether it's your music, movies, gaming, social networking, news, or learning. You show me something that can entertain this much with as little cost and effort, and I dunno what I'll show you but I doubt it'll be anywhere near as amazing.
most of my friends have given me the name computer jesus due to getting them out of jams so many times. i haven't had to resort to much 'voodoo magic' but when i had an old TEAC 4x cdrom on my 486 i did. that bugger would only read discs if you were smacking it while it read. one day i got really pissed and yanked the tray right out of the drive. i put the tray back in and lo and behold the damn thing works perfect. i dunno how the hell that worked, but it did. the marvels of computing and angry german genes.
My mother is totally braindead when it comes to computers. I did finally find a solution for her though, and it's actually worked thus far. Installing Firefox and removing shortcuts to internet explorer for starters. After that, installed some good firewall and antivirus software (Kaspersky and Kerio, if you care) along with Spybot and Adaware. I told her that when kerio comes up with a warning, don't allow the software access in or out, unless you absolutely know what it is. Teatimer from Spybot also has a little popup which i've said to always deny. Also not installing anything unless she absolutely knows what it is. And running a regular virus/spyware scan. Once she actually complied with everything (my mom keeps track of this stuff with Post-It notes, which I recommend inept users make use of), her computer has been free from anything. The most that she gets now (this is less than a year since she's started getting on the internet at all and even using a computer, mind) are nothing more than tracking cookies.
So yeah, a decent bit of software and adhering to the most simple of the unwritten Laws of the Internet will save the unwilling computer Merlin from having to deal with the feebles. That and Post-Its.
...I think of one of those dirty con guys that wants you to play three card monty or something. "Come on, it's not rigged....trust me." Yeah, sure buddy.
As they score points for each crime committed, the CSIs must discover what consists of getting to the next level in the game in order to stop the culprits before they strike again.
the thing is that an engineer can make a car and test it, but he still can't test for every single factor that'll come up. if you stop a car on a set of train tracks and it gets hit by a train, it'll get wrecked...but do they test for that? is the company held liable because it's cars aren't train-proof? no.
with complex software, you simply can't code something that's proofed against everything. for starters, exploits within the hardware and operating system will exist, already limiting how secure the program can be. there's also people out there who will try to exploit software at any given opportunity.
about the only way to make something absolutely secure is to run proprietary hardware that you can't physically access and is not connected to a public network, and the software would only do what it's programmed to do and can only be accessed by supervised individuals who can only use the system via biometric authentication. even then, social engineering is a security issue that programmers can't take into account. the human factor is what it always comes down to...as long as there's malicious intent, software will be exploitable.
I swear that's what this movie is. Oh man we figured out the human genome now we have to inject us some T-Virus...except ON MARS. Unless this trailer is a giant ruse and figuring out the genome made marines super strong to fight villains when a portal from hell opened. Sadly, I don't think that's the case.
criterion did a spectacular job on burnout 3. i can only hope they improve from 3->revenge like they did going from 2->3, although i honestly have no idea what they can do to improve it that much. also, if you do like burnout 3, i suggest trying to play it using a force feedback wheel...it ups the level of insanity that's already there by a fair margin (just make sure the wheel's secured damn good and well).
One thing that longer games like RPGs lack is the element of freedom. In your typical Square game, you go do the deed you're told, get your reward, and progress to the next part of the linear sequence. However, in a game like Fallout, the freedom they add (not so free as to be near-aimless, like Elder Scrolls games) brings a much needed element to the game. You actually feel like you're involved in the game, rather than just progressing through what the developer intended. In Fallout, your character reflects your choices, and becomes whatever you want him/her to become. Length is good, when you can choose your path...however, adding so many paths that it feels like a pointless maze is just a nuisance.
Shorter games can be good as well, but they need to be filled with fast fun...this is really where console games shine. Check out Def Jam: FFNY, Burnout 3, and Katamari Damacy for good examples of a game you can just toss in and play and have fun.
I guess games are just like anything else...you have to sift through them to find what's really suited to your needs...whether you're a diehard gamer that spends 10 hours a day playing, or the casual gamer who needs something to kill a bit of time between life's events, there's something there. Just don't play what you don't like, and try demos and the like before spending cash on something you might not enjoy.
Also what do you really need a projected keyboard on your cell phone for? Is it really that time consuming to put in a new contact with your keypad, or are people writing 20 page business reports and stuff on them? I'm getting too old for this shit.
You'll have to pay more for licensing and brand name recognition for your audio player that probably won't even have the same amount of functionality as a regular one, just so you can put little interchangable heads on it? Can't you just do this now anyway? It's called Elmer's Glue-all.
I understand the concept of changing the channel on a TV, but I don't watch TV either. Too many commercials, too much crap. That's why I either download stuff or buy DVDs. It's all about content on demand. We have satellite radio we play at work over the PA and it's all trash. The best (I use that term loosely) station has been playing the same music for the past 2 months with only slight variations in the rotation. It's like regular radio minus the commercials, so the rotation just winds up going through faster.
Right now I have a 40gb RCA Lyra Jukebox and it plays MP3 and has an FM Tuner. In the year or so I've had it, know how many times I've used the FM Tuner? Once...to see if it worked any good (it did). I always hear new music, it's just a matter of asking people and looking around. Look at a "Post What You're Listening To" thread on a forum and you'll find a ton of new stuff to listen to. The internet's made up of nothing but variety, so when it comes to finding something new, that's a major utility to make use of. Most of the stuff I like and listen to (E-40, KMFDM, Benefit, Guitar Wolf, Juno Reactor, Turbonegro, Asian Dub Foundation, Red Elvises, Rip Slyme, to name but a few), I would never have ever heard if not for the internet because none of them ever get airplay here. Broadening your horizons is as simple as looking, rather than being forcefed what the radio gives you.
just keep a bunch of jerry cans in the back and fill them up when you need gas and say they're for your riding lawn mower. is the gas jockey really going to question you?
Slashdot Mirror
Motherboard sound isn't that great, but who has really great computer speakers anyway? What ordinary user even swapped his speakers from the craptastic freebies that came with his Dell?
While I'm not an ordinary user, I still use my motherboard sound and it's hooked up to a Kenwood home theatre setup. The sad thing is that the Intel HD audio on my motherboard sounds better than the Creative stuff I have. Add in that the onboard audio has Dolby Digital Live (I run toslink to the home theatre) it saves the hassle of running a bunch of analog cables to get 5.1 in anything that's not pre-recorded since Creative seems to be rather obstinate about using EAX and nothing else. If the PC game industry ditches EAX, it's over for Creative. I can see nothing else keeping them afloat.
It's less addiction and more of a case of there being nothing better to do. Boozing and smoking weed seem to be the 2 major things to do around here, both of which I don't. So every weekend I hang out with my buddies and we sit around watching DVDs and playing videogames and whatnot. During the week, most of us 'internet addicts' are too busy holding jobs, doing housework, and anything else that needs to be done that we're too devoid of energy to do much else besides chilling out around the house. And the internet happens to be there in your house...it's the biggest social platform out there, and in conjunction with your computer it's become the main source of entertainment whether it's your music, movies, gaming, social networking, news, or learning. You show me something that can entertain this much with as little cost and effort, and I dunno what I'll show you but I doubt it'll be anywhere near as amazing.
most of my friends have given me the name computer jesus due to getting them out of jams so many times. i haven't had to resort to much 'voodoo magic' but when i had an old TEAC 4x cdrom on my 486 i did. that bugger would only read discs if you were smacking it while it read. one day i got really pissed and yanked the tray right out of the drive. i put the tray back in and lo and behold the damn thing works perfect. i dunno how the hell that worked, but it did. the marvels of computing and angry german genes.
My mother is totally braindead when it comes to computers. I did finally find a solution for her though, and it's actually worked thus far. Installing Firefox and removing shortcuts to internet explorer for starters. After that, installed some good firewall and antivirus software (Kaspersky and Kerio, if you care) along with Spybot and Adaware. I told her that when kerio comes up with a warning, don't allow the software access in or out, unless you absolutely know what it is. Teatimer from Spybot also has a little popup which i've said to always deny. Also not installing anything unless she absolutely knows what it is. And running a regular virus/spyware scan. Once she actually complied with everything (my mom keeps track of this stuff with Post-It notes, which I recommend inept users make use of), her computer has been free from anything. The most that she gets now (this is less than a year since she's started getting on the internet at all and even using a computer, mind) are nothing more than tracking cookies.
So yeah, a decent bit of software and adhering to the most simple of the unwritten Laws of the Internet will save the unwilling computer Merlin from having to deal with the feebles. That and Post-Its.
...I think of one of those dirty con guys that wants you to play three card monty or something. "Come on, it's not rigged....trust me." Yeah, sure buddy.
As they score points for each crime committed, the CSIs must discover what consists of getting to the next level in the game in order to stop the culprits before they strike again.
They check GameFAQs.
the thing is that an engineer can make a car and test it, but he still can't test for every single factor that'll come up. if you stop a car on a set of train tracks and it gets hit by a train, it'll get wrecked...but do they test for that? is the company held liable because it's cars aren't train-proof? no.
with complex software, you simply can't code something that's proofed against everything. for starters, exploits within the hardware and operating system will exist, already limiting how secure the program can be. there's also people out there who will try to exploit software at any given opportunity.
about the only way to make something absolutely secure is to run proprietary hardware that you can't physically access and is not connected to a public network, and the software would only do what it's programmed to do and can only be accessed by supervised individuals who can only use the system via biometric authentication. even then, social engineering is a security issue that programmers can't take into account. the human factor is what it always comes down to...as long as there's malicious intent, software will be exploitable.
I swear that's what this movie is. Oh man we figured out the human genome now we have to inject us some T-Virus...except ON MARS. Unless this trailer is a giant ruse and figuring out the genome made marines super strong to fight villains when a portal from hell opened. Sadly, I don't think that's the case.
criterion did a spectacular job on burnout 3. i can only hope they improve from 3->revenge like they did going from 2->3, although i honestly have no idea what they can do to improve it that much. also, if you do like burnout 3, i suggest trying to play it using a force feedback wheel...it ups the level of insanity that's already there by a fair margin (just make sure the wheel's secured damn good and well).
One thing that longer games like RPGs lack is the element of freedom. In your typical Square game, you go do the deed you're told, get your reward, and progress to the next part of the linear sequence. However, in a game like Fallout, the freedom they add (not so free as to be near-aimless, like Elder Scrolls games) brings a much needed element to the game. You actually feel like you're involved in the game, rather than just progressing through what the developer intended. In Fallout, your character reflects your choices, and becomes whatever you want him/her to become. Length is good, when you can choose your path...however, adding so many paths that it feels like a pointless maze is just a nuisance. Shorter games can be good as well, but they need to be filled with fast fun...this is really where console games shine. Check out Def Jam: FFNY, Burnout 3, and Katamari Damacy for good examples of a game you can just toss in and play and have fun. I guess games are just like anything else...you have to sift through them to find what's really suited to your needs...whether you're a diehard gamer that spends 10 hours a day playing, or the casual gamer who needs something to kill a bit of time between life's events, there's something there. Just don't play what you don't like, and try demos and the like before spending cash on something you might not enjoy.
he's going to spend some time in jail getting 'stabbed' by the 'bum pirates'. Lesson of the day: It's just a fucking game, get over it.
Wait, no, my bad.
Also what do you really need a projected keyboard on your cell phone for? Is it really that time consuming to put in a new contact with your keypad, or are people writing 20 page business reports and stuff on them? I'm getting too old for this shit.
So that those cokeheads can smuggle their stuff under the guise of "scientific testing".
a loop. Not only are they sneaky, they're funny too.
You'll have to pay more for licensing and brand name recognition for your audio player that probably won't even have the same amount of functionality as a regular one, just so you can put little interchangable heads on it? Can't you just do this now anyway? It's called Elmer's Glue-all.
I understand the concept of changing the channel on a TV, but I don't watch TV either. Too many commercials, too much crap. That's why I either download stuff or buy DVDs. It's all about content on demand. We have satellite radio we play at work over the PA and it's all trash. The best (I use that term loosely) station has been playing the same music for the past 2 months with only slight variations in the rotation. It's like regular radio minus the commercials, so the rotation just winds up going through faster.
Right now I have a 40gb RCA Lyra Jukebox and it plays MP3 and has an FM Tuner. In the year or so I've had it, know how many times I've used the FM Tuner? Once...to see if it worked any good (it did). I always hear new music, it's just a matter of asking people and looking around. Look at a "Post What You're Listening To" thread on a forum and you'll find a ton of new stuff to listen to. The internet's made up of nothing but variety, so when it comes to finding something new, that's a major utility to make use of. Most of the stuff I like and listen to (E-40, KMFDM, Benefit, Guitar Wolf, Juno Reactor, Turbonegro, Asian Dub Foundation, Red Elvises, Rip Slyme, to name but a few), I would never have ever heard if not for the internet because none of them ever get airplay here. Broadening your horizons is as simple as looking, rather than being forcefed what the radio gives you.
Who didn't see THAT one coming?
just keep a bunch of jerry cans in the back and fill them up when you need gas and say they're for your riding lawn mower. is the gas jockey really going to question you?