1. "Avoid total dependence on select vendors"- has there ever been a more p.c. way to say "Microsoft lock-in"?
2. Has anyone ever explored the effects that adopting FOSS has on the computer literacy of a population? Can a case be made that adopting FOSS, and having locals trained in its implementation, upkeep, and improvement, brings more intellectual growth to a nation than adopting commercial, closed-source software? We talk about TCO in the closed-source vs. OSS debates, but how about the educational value of OSS for creating computer literate populations? Or, are we still too early in the life cycle of OSS to make this determination?
How many video games have spawned great movie adaptations? Tomb Raider, Resident Evil... the problems with these movies are too numerous to mention here, but too often, it seemd like they aimed directly at the 13-17 year old demographic, creating products designed to peddle merchandise, which were often left failing to even attain the level of "enjoyable popcorn movie." I'm not arguing that every movie needs to be at the level of Lawrence of Arabia, Paths of Glory, the Red-White-Blue cycle, or even the original Matrix or the LOTR films. However, many of the video game movies are not even watchable (perhaps the only exception I can think of was AVP, which was at least watchable).
The potential for Halo to be turned into a good movie definitely exists. Many times, when playing the original game, I thought that it had the making of a good sci-fi horror movie, in the vein of the original Alien. The creepiness factor definitely exists, especially if the CGI team takes their time in creating "The Flood." The challenge will be in not producing a product that is too derivative. Obviously, the game producers drew on Predator, Alien, and other sci-fi movies when creating the game. The last thing I would want is to pay my $10-11, sit through it and say, "Wow... it's just like Aliens, but not as good."
Finally, I would hope that for Peter Jackson, this would be an opportunity to exorcise some of the demons of King Kong and get back to the level of quality that made the LOTR trilogy so magical. While I know that he is not directing it, his "stamp" of approval will reside on the movie, and I hope it reflects his best efforts.
For some reason, my iMac will not install IE7... nor will my Ubuntu box...
For most people, does IE7 really matter? For the techno-literati, IE 7 doesn't factor in, as it (obviously) isn't even a speck of cosmic dust in the Linux universe. For the Mac fanboy/fangirl crowd (of which I am one), Safari and Firefox work just fine. For the Windows crowd... well, power users (Paul Thurrott, system admins, and perhaps twenty sado-masochists who enjoy Windows) will notice the difference, but for most Windows users, the reaction will be, "Hmmm... the internet looks different. Neat. Okay, let me go check the scores on espn.com."
What if someone held a browser war and no one showed?
Slashdot Mirror
1. "Avoid total dependence on select vendors"- has there ever been a more p.c. way to say "Microsoft lock-in"? 2. Has anyone ever explored the effects that adopting FOSS has on the computer literacy of a population? Can a case be made that adopting FOSS, and having locals trained in its implementation, upkeep, and improvement, brings more intellectual growth to a nation than adopting commercial, closed-source software? We talk about TCO in the closed-source vs. OSS debates, but how about the educational value of OSS for creating computer literate populations? Or, are we still too early in the life cycle of OSS to make this determination?
Sorry for the obscure reference. Try searching for the "Three Colors Trilogy."
How many video games have spawned great movie adaptations? Tomb Raider, Resident Evil... the problems with these movies are too numerous to mention here, but too often, it seemd like they aimed directly at the 13-17 year old demographic, creating products designed to peddle merchandise, which were often left failing to even attain the level of "enjoyable popcorn movie." I'm not arguing that every movie needs to be at the level of Lawrence of Arabia, Paths of Glory, the Red-White-Blue cycle, or even the original Matrix or the LOTR films. However, many of the video game movies are not even watchable (perhaps the only exception I can think of was AVP, which was at least watchable).
The potential for Halo to be turned into a good movie definitely exists. Many times, when playing the original game, I thought that it had the making of a good sci-fi horror movie, in the vein of the original Alien. The creepiness factor definitely exists, especially if the CGI team takes their time in creating "The Flood." The challenge will be in not producing a product that is too derivative. Obviously, the game producers drew on Predator, Alien, and other sci-fi movies when creating the game. The last thing I would want is to pay my $10-11, sit through it and say, "Wow... it's just like Aliens, but not as good."
Finally, I would hope that for Peter Jackson, this would be an opportunity to exorcise some of the demons of King Kong and get back to the level of quality that made the LOTR trilogy so magical. While I know that he is not directing it, his "stamp" of approval will reside on the movie, and I hope it reflects his best efforts.
For some reason, my iMac will not install IE7... nor will my Ubuntu box... For most people, does IE7 really matter? For the techno-literati, IE 7 doesn't factor in, as it (obviously) isn't even a speck of cosmic dust in the Linux universe. For the Mac fanboy/fangirl crowd (of which I am one), Safari and Firefox work just fine. For the Windows crowd... well, power users (Paul Thurrott, system admins, and perhaps twenty sado-masochists who enjoy Windows) will notice the difference, but for most Windows users, the reaction will be, "Hmmm... the internet looks different. Neat. Okay, let me go check the scores on espn.com." What if someone held a browser war and no one showed?