Yeah, sex is generally not learned from a textbook;) There are drivers that are 'naturals' too of course, knowing the physics isn't everything.. but it sure helps:P
Any 'support' I ever need, I can usually get by googling, or just working something out based on my own experience (the fact that my job has involved giving a lot of IT support over the years helps that of course:p ). I'd go for pay for the hardware then 'free' support as my model - as long as there is a decent warranty. Otherwise what's to stop people from giving very poor support which will take me a long time to deal with, and charging through the nose for it? I don't really see what 'support' you are going to be providing for a flawless product, as long as there is suitable documentation with said product? If nothing goes wrong, and the documentation is logical, then who is going to phone up? Well, I guess there's always the lazy..
It's not as if you invent something, plan to make a nickel off it, then some jerk comes along and open sources your invention before you get a chance. That's just what I want you to think. *hides his silenced 9mm*
This view is flawed because it assumes there is no such thing as altruism, and that shared benefit from availability can't outweigh the potential benefit of carefully planned and limited sharing. This kind of idea comes from Economists who take the tragedy of the commons and the failures of universal communism to ridiculous extremes, making rules out of specific observations. Society is created from compromises and sharing, and open source is about developing a healthy society amongst developers. That's as may be, but what if you want to eat something?
Hmm.. I don't know about you, but I've had some awful experiences of rebuilding RAID arrays (though that was likely down to the crap controllers in Dell file servers, I've heard much better things about HP's servers).. making a living supporting file servers sounds like hell on earth to me!
The other problem is, that if your product is any good, it surely won't need much support?
I know this is wildly off-topic but.. the link in your sig is intriguing, so I clicked on it, but I have to say the proposal is pretty awful. It's basically talking about just creating a platform that exactly resembles the PC anyway, and gets rid of all the benefits of having a console. It talks of making a standard, then letting invidual companies make different machines that comply with the standard, though that will lead to different specced machines, which then will just get back to the PC thing of having to check requirements. Having a set hardware standard will also limit innovation on the hardware side. It complains about too many different consoles and variations of hardware on consoles, when the variation among PCs is almost infinitely greater, and yet people somehow manage, thanks to drivers and directx/opengl. You'd have to do the same kind of thin with the open console spec to get the same hardware/software compatility in an open console, and then you'd need more RAM and processing power to deal with the extra OS and driver overhead, etc etc.. the idea of an open console is intriguing, but after the first 4 paragraphs of the proposal I don't need to read on.. that guy needs to rethink his reasons for wanting to specify an open console standard, because basically he's going to do away with all of a console's strengths and end up with another PC if he doesn't watch out.. the only difference he claims between consoles and PCs is being able to plug into a TV.. well, my laptop plugs into a TV using a DVI->HDMI connector. Sorry to be so negative but the idea isn't really going to work - especially since the only consoles that are really conflicting right now are the PS3 and the 360 - the Wii caters for a different market (though obviously there will be lots of people that fit into both the 'hardcore-HD-gaming' and the 'no-depth-fun-gaming' markets depending on how much free time and friends they have:p )
the incumbent drugs companies would fight tooth and nail against it They don't need to, the government already disapproves of the general public experimenting with drugs:P
Then why hasn't OSS cottoned onto EA's development model?:o Maybe it'll just take a few years.. actually that's a very good point.. I've never heard of any open source football games:P There are racing simulator games (I only know because I was toying with the idea of doing one myself a few years ago and was looking around for decent articles on car physics), though all the other EA franchises don't really have OS equivalents. Someone is missing a trick here..
In other news, I'm off to download Hardy Heron. There's no point, man! You know as well as I do that 'Open source creates a license so that nobody can ever improve the software', so it's obviously not going ot be any better than Feisty Fawn!
So how do the big OSS projects like RHL, SuSE, MySQL, Apache and so on not live up to those expectations? I'm sure there are plenty of small commercial companies that have shoddy tech support, high employee turnover, and the chance of going bust any moment.
I'm happy to pay for good software and services, though I work in IT so I can't speak for non computer literate people. Somehow people seem to agree to pay money for Windows and Office over and above free alternatives though, so your argument there doesn't really make sense either.
I think you just lack imagination if you don't see opportinities for growth as an open source company. Personally I wouldn't want to work in a company that only makes its money via support, because I'd prefer to make software that actually works well and intuitively in the first place, but that's just me..
Nobody claimed that the initial ideas are innovative, but Bill was trying to say that you can't even improve on OSS, which is obviously untrue with a well managed project like Linux. Also, the GP only talked about 'free', not OSS. Skype is a pretty good product, and it's free - so any other VoIP software better damn well have some spectacular 3D video call features and ability to connect into MSN, Skype, blah blah blah if it wants to charge for the software (yeah, skype charge for landline calls and such, but they still have incredible rates there)
Also, if he really cared about making a profit he wouldn't still be clinging to his short sided, quick buck mentalities he started the company with decades ago... I dunno, he seems to be doing okay to me.. not like he's going to be around for much longer anyway, why should he care if his company goes down the tubes when he can retire with his short-sightedly accumulated wealth?
It doesn't improve the actual gameplay, but it help to not have everything look like a jaggedy piece of shit. If you find it difficult to discern between HD and SD then you either have a rubbish TV, or poor eyesight. Isn't it basically the difference between 640x480 or 800x480, whatever SD is, and whatever bye 768 or 1900x1200 on a monitor? I've got a 42" 1080p HDTV at home, there is a spectacular difference between say playing anything on my Wii, and watching a blu-ray movie. I got the Earth documentary just for the fact I knew it would be a good test of how good blu-ray/HD is, and it is spectacular. Independence Day isn't very impressive on Blu-ray, but I think it's just because of the original quality of the filming, because 300, Ratatouille and Earth are all stunningly detailed, right down to the last fleck of spraypainted-on-ab.
Again, you're a retard if you think driving is mindless, and if you don't notice the better physics in today's driving games (though you probably just leave it on 'arcade' rather than going to simulation mode, eh?)
By smoothing out the graphics? Do you even know what anti-aliasing is? Since the Wii runs at such a low resolution, then anti-aliasing would really help to get rid of.. well, the aliasing! The higher the resolution, the less necessary anti-aliasing is, so the PS3 doesn't need it quite so much, though there are still some games that I think could do with it. Need for Speed Carbon on the PS3 hardly looks any better than it does on the Wii. Yuck.
Uncharted does have a fair amount of killing, but it also has fun puzzles/platforming sections as well as some frankly beautiful outdoor sections (you can see the sun setting while you are scaling some cliffs in one of the early levels, and I always stop to look at just because it is truly spectacular and relaxing).
If you think racing is 'mindless' then you've been playing too much Ridge Racer (which seems to me more like scalextrix than real cars - the cornering physics are absurd), or you don't know anything driving/physics. There is a lot to think about if you want to actually be a good race driver - conserving your tyres/engine/gearbox (depending on how realistic the game is and how many laps you're doing), what the appropriate line to take through a corner is (while taking into account the next several corners - there's a lot more to driving quickly than just putting your foot down), slipstreaming if you are racing with other cars, considering your drivetrain type so that you will be able to deal with handling at the grip limit (you have to be a lot more careful with your speed and steering into corners if you are in a RWD vehicle rather than a 4WD vehicle for example). Basically your comment is just flamebait and maybe I shouldn't rise to it, but you are being very simplistic. I appreciate the merits of both consoles, I haven't simply bought one and tried to slag off all the others to make myself feel better, as most idiots do. I'm never going to get an XBox though, simply because it's a Microsoft product (and I'm happy I avoided them after all the RROD hilarity:) )
Guitar Hero is addictive yep, but I've completed about 75% of the songs (not counting all the bonus ones) on expert and I've only had my PS3 for under a month (if I'd played any of the rest of the series I'd probably be finished it all by now)! It would definitely be fun for them to play through in co-op mode though:)
DON'T get the PC version of Guitar Hero, apparently it has slow-downs in game even on a high specced PC. If you have a HDTV I'd definitely recommend the PS3:) For a standard resolution TV the Wii is okay, though could still do with some anti-aliasing. The Wii is obviously more designed for a multiplayer/'family' experience, so again if you're just wanting to have a laugh, get one. If you're wanting to go through more 'serious' games that require more thinking and time to complete, then get the PS3. Uncharted is a great game - it is only single player, but I can imagine it would be quite fun if you switched every time you died. I played the game through on 3 of the difficulty levels in a few days, and I usually find games boring as ass to play through more than once, so that shows you how fun it is (especially once you get bonuses like the super slow motion and weapon bonuses):) Not to mention the stunning graphics!
As Aeron65432 says above me, you could always just get an emulator on the PC. That's an excellent idea if you're not just wanting to play the latest, prettiest games. You can pick up a couple of USB game pads and configure them in an emulator of your choice. Find a few ROMs (MarioKart on the SNES would be an obvious inital choice), and you're ready to go!
Yeah, they could just pretend that every country in the world has a good enough economy to support a space program I s'pose
You can see other players' astronauts burn up on re-entry, see space debris or even operational satelites smash into other players' space stations, etc. It could be excellent! 'Debris' eh? Oops, I accidentally decompressed my garbage out at 900mph into the side of your space station, sorry! The return of the BFG! (Big Fuckin Garbage launcher)
On the other hand, I expect a lot of astronauts to die in this game. That's the most un-PC and insensitive thing I've heard here in a while! Bravo:P
I'd like to see the option to build nukes and/or giant laser satellites to take out Iraq so that the government doesn't need to waste billions of dollars with their little wars, which would also mean increases in your budget!
Personally I don't think it would take 3million to build a game like that, I could probably do that in like a year or two myself (if it were my only job) even with my limited OpenGL and physics simulation experience.. it wouldn't be MMO, but what you're describing doesn't leave much scope for massively multiplayer if it's all government funded, since not many countries in the world can afford that level of funding, which means only like up to 10 players per game!:P
Hmm yep, most stuff isn't worth paying for with all the Open Source/Freeware stuff that is out there these days. I used to picture myself making shareware games, but the market is only really there for big blockbuster games these days, nobody is really going to make a living from doing shareware games/apps. I do occasionally consider if I could make a little extra on the side doing that, or making a free app and charging for support, but I think the point probably is that I should make an app that I find useful myself, or that I just enjoy coding, and then any money I may be able to make as a result of that is just a bonus. Plus I kinda make enough money already so most of my spare time is just spent mucking about playing games rather than coding them:p
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Yeah, sex is generally not learned from a textbook ;) There are drivers that are 'naturals' too of course, knowing the physics isn't everything.. but it sure helps :P
Any 'support' I ever need, I can usually get by googling, or just working something out based on my own experience (the fact that my job has involved giving a lot of IT support over the years helps that of course :p ). I'd go for pay for the hardware then 'free' support as my model - as long as there is a decent warranty. Otherwise what's to stop people from giving very poor support which will take me a long time to deal with, and charging through the nose for it? I don't really see what 'support' you are going to be providing for a flawless product, as long as there is suitable documentation with said product? If nothing goes wrong, and the documentation is logical, then who is going to phone up? Well, I guess there's always the lazy..
Poor guy.. it must be horrific knowing that someone else could contract the building of a larger ocean of custard than you..
Hmm.. I don't know about you, but I've had some awful experiences of rebuilding RAID arrays (though that was likely down to the crap controllers in Dell file servers, I've heard much better things about HP's servers).. making a living supporting file servers sounds like hell on earth to me!
The other problem is, that if your product is any good, it surely won't need much support?
I know this is wildly off-topic but.. the link in your sig is intriguing, so I clicked on it, but I have to say the proposal is pretty awful. It's basically talking about just creating a platform that exactly resembles the PC anyway, and gets rid of all the benefits of having a console. It talks of making a standard, then letting invidual companies make different machines that comply with the standard, though that will lead to different specced machines, which then will just get back to the PC thing of having to check requirements. Having a set hardware standard will also limit innovation on the hardware side. It complains about too many different consoles and variations of hardware on consoles, when the variation among PCs is almost infinitely greater, and yet people somehow manage, thanks to drivers and directx/opengl. You'd have to do the same kind of thin with the open console spec to get the same hardware/software compatility in an open console, and then you'd need more RAM and processing power to deal with the extra OS and driver overhead, etc etc.. the idea of an open console is intriguing, but after the first 4 paragraphs of the proposal I don't need to read on.. that guy needs to rethink his reasons for wanting to specify an open console standard, because basically he's going to do away with all of a console's strengths and end up with another PC if he doesn't watch out.. the only difference he claims between consoles and PCs is being able to plug into a TV.. well, my laptop plugs into a TV using a DVI->HDMI connector. Sorry to be so negative but the idea isn't really going to work - especially since the only consoles that are really conflicting right now are the PS3 and the 360 - the Wii caters for a different market (though obviously there will be lots of people that fit into both the 'hardcore-HD-gaming' and the 'no-depth-fun-gaming' markets depending on how much free time and friends they have :p )
If only we could harness the power of all those spammer's botnets out there, and use their power for good! ;)
Then you shouldn't invent drugs or you will be accused of monopolistic practices, of course!
Then why hasn't OSS cottoned onto EA's development model? :o Maybe it'll just take a few years.. actually that's a very good point.. I've never heard of any open source football games :P There are racing simulator games (I only know because I was toying with the idea of doing one myself a few years ago and was looking around for decent articles on car physics), though all the other EA franchises don't really have OS equivalents. Someone is missing a trick here..
So how do the big OSS projects like RHL, SuSE, MySQL, Apache and so on not live up to those expectations? I'm sure there are plenty of small commercial companies that have shoddy tech support, high employee turnover, and the chance of going bust any moment.
I'm happy to pay for good software and services, though I work in IT so I can't speak for non computer literate people. Somehow people seem to agree to pay money for Windows and Office over and above free alternatives though, so your argument there doesn't really make sense either.
I think you just lack imagination if you don't see opportinities for growth as an open source company. Personally I wouldn't want to work in a company that only makes its money via support, because I'd prefer to make software that actually works well and intuitively in the first place, but that's just me..
Nobody claimed that the initial ideas are innovative, but Bill was trying to say that you can't even improve on OSS, which is obviously untrue with a well managed project like Linux. Also, the GP only talked about 'free', not OSS. Skype is a pretty good product, and it's free - so any other VoIP software better damn well have some spectacular 3D video call features and ability to connect into MSN, Skype, blah blah blah if it wants to charge for the software (yeah, skype charge for landline calls and such, but they still have incredible rates there)
It doesn't improve the actual gameplay, but it help to not have everything look like a jaggedy piece of shit. If you find it difficult to discern between HD and SD then you either have a rubbish TV, or poor eyesight. Isn't it basically the difference between 640x480 or 800x480, whatever SD is, and whatever bye 768 or 1900x1200 on a monitor? I've got a 42" 1080p HDTV at home, there is a spectacular difference between say playing anything on my Wii, and watching a blu-ray movie. I got the Earth documentary just for the fact I knew it would be a good test of how good blu-ray/HD is, and it is spectacular. Independence Day isn't very impressive on Blu-ray, but I think it's just because of the original quality of the filming, because 300, Ratatouille and Earth are all stunningly detailed, right down to the last fleck of spraypainted-on-ab.
Again, you're a retard if you think driving is mindless, and if you don't notice the better physics in today's driving games (though you probably just leave it on 'arcade' rather than going to simulation mode, eh?)
Maybe MS are just desperately trying to DDoS all the torrent seeds!? I guess it's time for me to add to the woes of the other users :)
What's it like when the world revolves around you? Do you get dizzy?
By smoothing out the graphics? Do you even know what anti-aliasing is? Since the Wii runs at such a low resolution, then anti-aliasing would really help to get rid of.. well, the aliasing! The higher the resolution, the less necessary anti-aliasing is, so the PS3 doesn't need it quite so much, though there are still some games that I think could do with it. Need for Speed Carbon on the PS3 hardly looks any better than it does on the Wii. Yuck.
:) )
Uncharted does have a fair amount of killing, but it also has fun puzzles/platforming sections as well as some frankly beautiful outdoor sections (you can see the sun setting while you are scaling some cliffs in one of the early levels, and I always stop to look at just because it is truly spectacular and relaxing).
If you think racing is 'mindless' then you've been playing too much Ridge Racer (which seems to me more like scalextrix than real cars - the cornering physics are absurd), or you don't know anything driving/physics. There is a lot to think about if you want to actually be a good race driver - conserving your tyres/engine/gearbox (depending on how realistic the game is and how many laps you're doing), what the appropriate line to take through a corner is (while taking into account the next several corners - there's a lot more to driving quickly than just putting your foot down), slipstreaming if you are racing with other cars, considering your drivetrain type so that you will be able to deal with handling at the grip limit (you have to be a lot more careful with your speed and steering into corners if you are in a RWD vehicle rather than a 4WD vehicle for example). Basically your comment is just flamebait and maybe I shouldn't rise to it, but you are being very simplistic. I appreciate the merits of both consoles, I haven't simply bought one and tried to slag off all the others to make myself feel better, as most idiots do. I'm never going to get an XBox though, simply because it's a Microsoft product (and I'm happy I avoided them after all the RROD hilarity
You just reminded me of one of the most awesomest 2 player games ever.. I should try to find this on an emulator, and I highly recommend it to others:
:)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbow_Islands
Admittedly I was probably about 10 when I played this, but I'm sure I'd still enjoy it
Guitar Hero is addictive yep, but I've completed about 75% of the songs (not counting all the bonus ones) on expert and I've only had my PS3 for under a month (if I'd played any of the rest of the series I'd probably be finished it all by now)! It would definitely be fun for them to play through in co-op mode though :)
:) For a standard resolution TV the Wii is okay, though could still do with some anti-aliasing. The Wii is obviously more designed for a multiplayer/'family' experience, so again if you're just wanting to have a laugh, get one. If you're wanting to go through more 'serious' games that require more thinking and time to complete, then get the PS3. Uncharted is a great game - it is only single player, but I can imagine it would be quite fun if you switched every time you died. I played the game through on 3 of the difficulty levels in a few days, and I usually find games boring as ass to play through more than once, so that shows you how fun it is (especially once you get bonuses like the super slow motion and weapon bonuses) :) Not to mention the stunning graphics!
DON'T get the PC version of Guitar Hero, apparently it has slow-downs in game even on a high specced PC. If you have a HDTV I'd definitely recommend the PS3
As Aeron65432 says above me, you could always just get an emulator on the PC. That's an excellent idea if you're not just wanting to play the latest, prettiest games. You can pick up a couple of USB game pads and configure them in an emulator of your choice. Find a few ROMs (MarioKart on the SNES would be an obvious inital choice), and you're ready to go!
I'd like to see the option to build nukes and/or giant laser satellites to take out Iraq so that the government doesn't need to waste billions of dollars with their little wars, which would also mean increases in your budget!
Personally I don't think it would take 3million to build a game like that, I could probably do that in like a year or two myself (if it were my only job) even with my limited OpenGL and physics simulation experience.. it wouldn't be MMO, but what you're describing doesn't leave much scope for massively multiplayer if it's all government funded, since not many countries in the world can afford that level of funding, which means only like up to 10 players per game!
Hmm yep, most stuff isn't worth paying for with all the Open Source/Freeware stuff that is out there these days. I used to picture myself making shareware games, but the market is only really there for big blockbuster games these days, nobody is really going to make a living from doing shareware games/apps. I do occasionally consider if I could make a little extra on the side doing that, or making a free app and charging for support, but I think the point probably is that I should make an app that I find useful myself, or that I just enjoy coding, and then any money I may be able to make as a result of that is just a bonus. Plus I kinda make enough money already so most of my spare time is just spent mucking about playing games rather than coding them :p