Very true. The only inch of that casino not covered by cameras was the IT offices. Survailence wasn't allowed to look over my shoulder, because they could see passwords and sensitive data that way. We had cops, investigators and state regulators on property.
I recently did IT for the largest casino company on the planet. I was dual-property and responsible for two casinos. The master code that would open the keyboxes and get you keys to anywhere in the casino was 654321. And people told each other all their passwords and such all the time.
That is why I listed the price because I know that are levels in DVD quality. Most "higher" end players in the $500-$2,000 range actually increase primarily in sound quality over picture quality that I've seen. I already have a very killer sound system, and I'm pretty happy with the sound quality.
My $250 DVD player I got on open box for $80, but it is considerably better than your average $45 DVD player. Even so, my point is that upscaling wasn't as incredible as I thought it would be. The picture doesn't really look any better than the native resolution. And I am a stickler for such things. I just can't afford the really high-end systems.
Money goes to the baby and wife first, and me last.
Your arguement is based off a good deal of assumptions with little to back them up.
First you assume that upscaling is comparable to native resolutions. This simply just isn't the case. Upscaling is never as good as a native resolution. Blowing up a JPG, using scaling in an emulator, or using a DVD player or TV that upscales and you will see the proof is in fact in the pudding.
Next, you assume that because Sony isn't promising that EVERY game will be 1080p that means MOST will be 720p. There is no way to tell what MOST games will run until well after the system launches. What I do know is that the XBox 360 hardware doesn't have the power to run at 1080p at decent speeds. For it to generate content at 720p or 1080i at full speed, it must then also have processing power to spare to then scale (via software or hardware) to 1080p. If they didn't have the processing power in the first place to generate the native resolution, where is the scaling power coming from? If I were to make an assumption, I would assume there might be lag. Why do I make such an assumption? Because I have seen the proof of it.
Presently people who own expensive TVs that upscale already complain about the lag generated by upscaling. This is a slightly different issue because the "lag" comes from the fact that the upscaling is happening outside the XBox, but upscaling does take time and power. Turn scaling on or off in an emulator and watch the effect on your FPS. There is a very noticable effect. You write this off and assume upscaling will come with no trade-off, and at magically better image quality than upscaling has been able to pull off historically.
Your last argument assumes that the upscaling will come from 1080i to 1080p, and that line doubling produces no artifacts. Again, fire up any popular emulator and use a simple 2x filter to double lines and see what you get. It is far from the native picture. Next, Microsoft has said that EVERY game is designed around 720p, not 1080i. The XBox 360 can put out an 1080i picture, by upscaling the native 720p image. Since the game is designed to run at 720p, it won't be a simple line double to produce 1080p either way.
Mind you I buy every major console every generation, and I'm not a fanboi. These are just the facts.
There is no real reason for anyone to upgrade to Vista. I can say that because I tried it. I infer that you have not, and that you have not run a 64-bit operating system. Everything shows improvements when compiled for 64-bit. There are varying levels of improvement, but it is there, and it is significant.
The easiest way to demonstrate this is with a Gentoo install. Take the exact same system and compile it with the exact same flags, but compile it for a 32-bit host, and then recompile it for 64-bit. Benchmark both.
I run both Windows x64 and Gentoo x64. Trust me, there are advantages to compiling and running in 64-bit mode.
In addition, there are advantages to XP users to jump to Windows x64. x64 is based off Server 2003, has a more stable kernel, and is just about to get a brand spanking new service pack as well.
LucasArts has said they won't pull the plug on Star Wars Galaxies. Some have speculated that Bioware is doing a KOTOR-era Star Wars MMO. Perhaps LucasArts is willing to do two Star Wars MMO's side by side. Or maybe they won't pull the plug on Galaxies until the new one launches.
However, as much as I would love to see a good Star Wars MMO in the KOTOR-era with plenty of Jedi and Sith, Bioware was vocal that they have not been happy working with other companies telling them what they can and can not do. Thusly, they stepped away from established IPs and vowed to only do their own.
I hope they are doing a KOTOR-MMO, but I'm guessing it is Dragon Age the MMO.
Exactly. I bought a high-end ($250) DVD player that upscales and I regret it. There is a difference between native resolutions and upscaling. BluRay and HD-DVD put out native 1080p. If upscaling was worth it, we wouldn't need hi-def DVDs like BluRay and HD-DVD. Upscaling the game won't match the native resolutions put out by the PS3, but the average consumer will see the term 1080p on both and think there isn't a difference.
I know that Bioware insists on owning their IP these days. But they need a publisher. They have a very happy relationship with Microsoft. In fact, Microsoft is their favorite publisher these days. Why go and piss off that publisher?
Bioware doesn't want to deal with Atari or LucasArts again, and no one wants to deal with EA. Bioware isn't going to needlessly piss Microsoft off when they have such a great working relationship.
Trust me, the game will be in their new Dragon Age setting.
I loved the setting and style. You created your own world while paying tribute to Wuxia influences quite well. Please show more of it. Too bad the combat was beyond easy, the game far too short, and it lacked any real strong RPG elements.
Jade Empire showed great promise. Here is hoping that unannounced Jade Empire 2 we all know you're working on for the 360 delivers on those promises!
Because Microsoft is fighting to keep certain franchises exclusive to the XBox brand. Again, I don't believe that Microsoft would allow Jade Empire or Mass Effect on Nintendo. Just like they're not going to let Halo on Nintendo. Rare had a bunch of previous associations with Nintendo, and Microsoft wasn't letting exclusive franchises slip away with Rare.
The Reform Party (which I voted for before they went wacko-nut-job) got something like 14% of the popular vote. They suggested looking at government like a business, looking to audit and cut costs, remove red tape, and place serious limits on money Congress could take to remove corruption. Congress responded by making it illegal for the Reform Party to appear in debates. So much for freedom of speech, and free elections.
If you look over Perot's platform it is both very promising and reasonable. The detractors said that because Perot was rich that he would be pro big-business, but in fact Perot pushed for higher taxes on the wealthy, and taxing capital gains more. You see, most rich people form a corporation, even if it exists solely as themselves to avoid paying taxes. Every purchase is in fact, a tax deductable purchase for their corporation, and at the end of the year, they've spent all their company's income, and don't pay any taxes. My parents used to do it.
If the wealthy in this country paid any real taxes, we wouldn't have budget issues.
It is Dragon Age, without a doubt. Microsoft isn't going to let Mass Effect or Jade Empire appear on Nintendo. Bioware said they were done with Atari and other people's IP. That is why they turned down KOTOR:2 and NWN:2. So it won't be NWN. They have said they've developed the Dragon Age setting for multiple games.
I bet Dragon Age will be the setting for the MMO as well. The big-wigs at Bioware have put years and years into creating this world. They will showcase it.
Perhaps if they have a serious name, and carried themselves in a more serious manner, people would have voted for them. I agree that someone needs to look into privacy and intellectual property laws who understands them. But I wouldn't seriously vote for a "Pirate" party.
Actually, every platform releases their best sellers for $20. I'm not sure why you accredit this to Nintendo solely. I've been buying video games since the days of Atari, but it seems that Sony was the first to market an official best-seller line with the Playstation 1 at the $20 price. On other consoles previously, prices may have gone down, but not across the board at the same price at once.
I thought they build bot-nets and largely hit as many people as the can.
This article suggest that hackers are primarily spammers, when there are many tactics, the largest involves malicious code on a webpage or bot-nets distributing worms via instant messangers.
The relationship that they were in fact siblings doesn't come until Jedi, however it seems hinted when Yoda says there is another. I was always curious what George meant when he first wrote that line. Did he always intend for the "other" to be Leia given that he didn't intend for them to be related?
Given the choice of Nintendo's business model and Sony/Microsoft's model, I can't say that I prefer Nintendo.
Nintendo has great franchises, and I have great love for say Mario and Zelda. But they release inferior hardware, and then ask us to purchase the same game over and over and over again. I got Super Mario Bros. on the NES, and then they sold it to me again on the SNES and Gameboy. Then they repackage it again on the GBA, and then sell it again on the virtual console.
People bash EA for releasing new sports titles every year that are basically the same, but they have no qualms buying each new iteration of Mario Kart at full price, let alone also buying "retro" versions on new platforms a second or third time.
Microsoft despite being a fairly evil company overall pushes good hardware at a loss, hoping to make the money back with an online service while offering a free version of said service. Sony pushes to put the absolute best hardware in my hands to deliver the best gaming experience, and is promising a completely free online service.
What I don't understand, is since Nintendo has no intention to innovate with the console hardware itself, why not release their controllers and games on other platforms? Wouldn't we all win? Instead of losing money on the hardware in the first place, they can skip the part where they lose money, and then put out games with even better graphics on superior hardware.
Isn't that a win-win for everyone? Sega largely went that route.
On this point I agree with you. I should be able to modify the hardware I have purchased. I understand placing copy-protection schemes on the hardware. And I understand protecting intellectual property. That is why I said they should compromise. Allow us to mod our console with after-market fans, and add bigger HDDs. Let us run homebrew content on the console. If they want to use copy-protection for games, that's fine.
The "evil DRM-pushing Sony" also said the PS3 will be region free.
I love reading on Slashdot daily how the XBox 360 (Microsoft) is fine, and Nintendo is great, but Sony is pure evil. The same people who hate Sony for their DRM-fiasco are quick to overlook Apple's DRM. I don't get it.
Slashdot Mirror
Very true. The only inch of that casino not covered by cameras was the IT offices. Survailence wasn't allowed to look over my shoulder, because they could see passwords and sensitive data that way. We had cops, investigators and state regulators on property.
Casinos prosecute is you steal $5 from them.
I recently did IT for the largest casino company on the planet. I was dual-property and responsible for two casinos. The master code that would open the keyboxes and get you keys to anywhere in the casino was 654321. And people told each other all their passwords and such all the time.
I couldn't believe it.
And Sayonora and Kororaa and Emission, etc.
That is why I listed the price because I know that are levels in DVD quality. Most "higher" end players in the $500-$2,000 range actually increase primarily in sound quality over picture quality that I've seen. I already have a very killer sound system, and I'm pretty happy with the sound quality.
My $250 DVD player I got on open box for $80, but it is considerably better than your average $45 DVD player. Even so, my point is that upscaling wasn't as incredible as I thought it would be. The picture doesn't really look any better than the native resolution. And I am a stickler for such things. I just can't afford the really high-end systems.
Money goes to the baby and wife first, and me last.
Your arguement is based off a good deal of assumptions with little to back them up.
First you assume that upscaling is comparable to native resolutions. This simply just isn't the case. Upscaling is never as good as a native resolution. Blowing up a JPG, using scaling in an emulator, or using a DVD player or TV that upscales and you will see the proof is in fact in the pudding.
Next, you assume that because Sony isn't promising that EVERY game will be 1080p that means MOST will be 720p. There is no way to tell what MOST games will run until well after the system launches. What I do know is that the XBox 360 hardware doesn't have the power to run at 1080p at decent speeds. For it to generate content at 720p or 1080i at full speed, it must then also have processing power to spare to then scale (via software or hardware) to 1080p. If they didn't have the processing power in the first place to generate the native resolution, where is the scaling power coming from? If I were to make an assumption, I would assume there might be lag. Why do I make such an assumption? Because I have seen the proof of it.
Presently people who own expensive TVs that upscale already complain about the lag generated by upscaling. This is a slightly different issue because the "lag" comes from the fact that the upscaling is happening outside the XBox, but upscaling does take time and power. Turn scaling on or off in an emulator and watch the effect on your FPS. There is a very noticable effect. You write this off and assume upscaling will come with no trade-off, and at magically better image quality than upscaling has been able to pull off historically.
Your last argument assumes that the upscaling will come from 1080i to 1080p, and that line doubling produces no artifacts. Again, fire up any popular emulator and use a simple 2x filter to double lines and see what you get. It is far from the native picture. Next, Microsoft has said that EVERY game is designed around 720p, not 1080i. The XBox 360 can put out an 1080i picture, by upscaling the native 720p image. Since the game is designed to run at 720p, it won't be a simple line double to produce 1080p either way.
Mind you I buy every major console every generation, and I'm not a fanboi. These are just the facts.
There is no real reason for anyone to upgrade to Vista. I can say that because I tried it. I infer that you have not, and that you have not run a 64-bit operating system. Everything shows improvements when compiled for 64-bit. There are varying levels of improvement, but it is there, and it is significant.
The easiest way to demonstrate this is with a Gentoo install. Take the exact same system and compile it with the exact same flags, but compile it for a 32-bit host, and then recompile it for 64-bit. Benchmark both.
I run both Windows x64 and Gentoo x64. Trust me, there are advantages to compiling and running in 64-bit mode.
In addition, there are advantages to XP users to jump to Windows x64. x64 is based off Server 2003, has a more stable kernel, and is just about to get a brand spanking new service pack as well.
Actually most comments I've seen have been positive, even from Microsoft haters. I think the new eye-candy looks pretty nice, even it is unnecessary.
LucasArts has said they won't pull the plug on Star Wars Galaxies. Some have speculated that Bioware is doing a KOTOR-era Star Wars MMO. Perhaps LucasArts is willing to do two Star Wars MMO's side by side. Or maybe they won't pull the plug on Galaxies until the new one launches.
However, as much as I would love to see a good Star Wars MMO in the KOTOR-era with plenty of Jedi and Sith, Bioware was vocal that they have not been happy working with other companies telling them what they can and can not do. Thusly, they stepped away from established IPs and vowed to only do their own.
I hope they are doing a KOTOR-MMO, but I'm guessing it is Dragon Age the MMO.
Exactly. I bought a high-end ($250) DVD player that upscales and I regret it. There is a difference between native resolutions and upscaling. BluRay and HD-DVD put out native 1080p. If upscaling was worth it, we wouldn't need hi-def DVDs like BluRay and HD-DVD. Upscaling the game won't match the native resolutions put out by the PS3, but the average consumer will see the term 1080p on both and think there isn't a difference.
I know that Bioware insists on owning their IP these days. But they need a publisher. They have a very happy relationship with Microsoft. In fact, Microsoft is their favorite publisher these days. Why go and piss off that publisher?
Bioware doesn't want to deal with Atari or LucasArts again, and no one wants to deal with EA. Bioware isn't going to needlessly piss Microsoft off when they have such a great working relationship.
Trust me, the game will be in their new Dragon Age setting.
I loved the setting and style. You created your own world while paying tribute to Wuxia influences quite well. Please show more of it. Too bad the combat was beyond easy, the game far too short, and it lacked any real strong RPG elements.
Jade Empire showed great promise. Here is hoping that unannounced Jade Empire 2 we all know you're working on for the 360 delivers on those promises!
Because Microsoft is fighting to keep certain franchises exclusive to the XBox brand. Again, I don't believe that Microsoft would allow Jade Empire or Mass Effect on Nintendo. Just like they're not going to let Halo on Nintendo. Rare had a bunch of previous associations with Nintendo, and Microsoft wasn't letting exclusive franchises slip away with Rare.
The Reform Party (which I voted for before they went wacko-nut-job) got something like 14% of the popular vote. They suggested looking at government like a business, looking to audit and cut costs, remove red tape, and place serious limits on money Congress could take to remove corruption. Congress responded by making it illegal for the Reform Party to appear in debates. So much for freedom of speech, and free elections.
If you look over Perot's platform it is both very promising and reasonable. The detractors said that because Perot was rich that he would be pro big-business, but in fact Perot pushed for higher taxes on the wealthy, and taxing capital gains more. You see, most rich people form a corporation, even if it exists solely as themselves to avoid paying taxes. Every purchase is in fact, a tax deductable purchase for their corporation, and at the end of the year, they've spent all their company's income, and don't pay any taxes. My parents used to do it.
If the wealthy in this country paid any real taxes, we wouldn't have budget issues.
It is Dragon Age, without a doubt. Microsoft isn't going to let Mass Effect or Jade Empire appear on Nintendo. Bioware said they were done with Atari and other people's IP. That is why they turned down KOTOR:2 and NWN:2. So it won't be NWN. They have said they've developed the Dragon Age setting for multiple games.
I bet Dragon Age will be the setting for the MMO as well. The big-wigs at Bioware have put years and years into creating this world. They will showcase it.
Perhaps if they have a serious name, and carried themselves in a more serious manner, people would have voted for them. I agree that someone needs to look into privacy and intellectual property laws who understands them. But I wouldn't seriously vote for a "Pirate" party.
We all know that Microsoft is contradicting themselves. We know their position is flat-out wrong here. But I sure hope a lawyer/judge sees this.
Yes. However given that Lucas didn't plan or know any of that when he wrote Empire, I'm curious what his original intention was.
Actually, every platform releases their best sellers for $20. I'm not sure why you accredit this to Nintendo solely. I've been buying video games since the days of Atari, but it seems that Sony was the first to market an official best-seller line with the Playstation 1 at the $20 price. On other consoles previously, prices may have gone down, but not across the board at the same price at once.
I've had several people call me since I do PC repair wondering why their legally purchased iTunes songs won't work with the MP3 player they bought.
I thought they build bot-nets and largely hit as many people as the can.
This article suggest that hackers are primarily spammers, when there are many tactics, the largest involves malicious code on a webpage or bot-nets distributing worms via instant messangers.
I distrust anyone who falls strongly along partisan lines, or who insists the other side always lies while they always tell the truth.
The relationship that they were in fact siblings doesn't come until Jedi, however it seems hinted when Yoda says there is another. I was always curious what George meant when he first wrote that line. Did he always intend for the "other" to be Leia given that he didn't intend for them to be related?
Given the choice of Nintendo's business model and Sony/Microsoft's model, I can't say that I prefer Nintendo.
Nintendo has great franchises, and I have great love for say Mario and Zelda. But they release inferior hardware, and then ask us to purchase the same game over and over and over again. I got Super Mario Bros. on the NES, and then they sold it to me again on the SNES and Gameboy. Then they repackage it again on the GBA, and then sell it again on the virtual console.
People bash EA for releasing new sports titles every year that are basically the same, but they have no qualms buying each new iteration of Mario Kart at full price, let alone also buying "retro" versions on new platforms a second or third time.
Microsoft despite being a fairly evil company overall pushes good hardware at a loss, hoping to make the money back with an online service while offering a free version of said service. Sony pushes to put the absolute best hardware in my hands to deliver the best gaming experience, and is promising a completely free online service.
What I don't understand, is since Nintendo has no intention to innovate with the console hardware itself, why not release their controllers and games on other platforms? Wouldn't we all win? Instead of losing money on the hardware in the first place, they can skip the part where they lose money, and then put out games with even better graphics on superior hardware.
Isn't that a win-win for everyone? Sega largely went that route.
On this point I agree with you. I should be able to modify the hardware I have purchased. I understand placing copy-protection schemes on the hardware. And I understand protecting intellectual property. That is why I said they should compromise. Allow us to mod our console with after-market fans, and add bigger HDDs. Let us run homebrew content on the console. If they want to use copy-protection for games, that's fine.
The "evil DRM-pushing Sony" also said the PS3 will be region free.
I love reading on Slashdot daily how the XBox 360 (Microsoft) is fine, and Nintendo is great, but Sony is pure evil. The same people who hate Sony for their DRM-fiasco are quick to overlook Apple's DRM. I don't get it.
I digress.