The thing about Web Designers (I assume you mean web designers and not "web developers" as the two are very different in my books) is that the majority of them have never had a reason to know the finer points of typography. Web browsers never gave them that much fidelity and there will be all kinds of typographic horrors until people learn tasteful ways of using these tools. It's the same with Photoshop... every new Photoshop user at some point decides everything they do should have a lens flare (or several). After a few months, they realise it's stupid/ugly and never use that filter again.
The designers that cut their teeth on printed media already know what kerning, tracking and leading are and why you would use them. They also know what tasteful font selection is, the difference between serif and sans-serif fonts and that above all, any font used should be legible. Web designers will figure this all out in time and while there will be a lot of misuse initially, things need to move forward. Unless you prefer we all use the same 3 fonts from here to eternity and drastically reduce the number of usable colours, because lets be honest... 24 bit allows for far too many shades of putrid green and plum purple combinations.
More importantly, when are they going to finish the CSS3 spec?
I love that HTML5 is getting pushed to the forefront and browsers are advancing more than ever, but as a web designer that CSS3 spec needs to get done and pushed on the browser developers because it will be another 2 - 5 years before mass adoption and I'm pretty tired of CSS2.1's limitations.
The more you try to gain mass appeal, the further you dilute the core qualities of the experience. This guy is saying that if you make games that can play themselves, they quickly cease to be relevant as games.
Mod this guy up. This is one of the best things about Canada's political system. It may not stop bribes, but it does make it a lot harder for big business to get away with it.
First I've heard of it. I've never had troubles accessing any site ever. This article seems a little bias when you consider how much more liberal Canadian laws are in the use of our internet and information technology in general. (i.e. we don't have a DMCA)
There was a bug in the game that allowed you to "ski" by hitting the jump button repeatedly. Skiing let you gain a lot of momentum and using your jetpack to climb hills would let you maintain it.
That bug completely changed the way the game was played and made crossing large open environments effortless. The developers never fixed the bug and instead made it a feature of Tribes 2.
I ran a half marathon last year and I hope to run a full marathon this year. There is almost no fat on my body. I go to the gym and then come home and relax by playing video gams.
If I lived in NY, I'd be pissed. Playing video games and exercise are not mutually exclusive. Maybe if these kids had parents that didn't sit around watching TV every night while eating their take out dinner there wouldn't be a problem?
Remember when Apple was going to buy Nintendo?
on
Apple Eyeing EA?
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I seem to recall an article on Slashdot about Apple eying Nintendo and that was just as humourous of an idea as this one.
There's a lot of stock/business analysts out there that have either drank too much Apple flavoured kool-aid or have no clue just how big the video game industry is. At least Pachter has a clue.
Artists definitely deserve their dues when it comes to creative artwork... but when their work generates revenue for 70+ years after it's creation for a corporation and not the artist, there's something seriously wrong.
I actually enjoyed Tomb Raider 2. It was fairly accurate to the source material (boobs, guns, action and over the top archeology) and it never took itself too seriously.
But video game movies are horrid. I could see Shadow of the Colossus making a good short film if done by a little known director that was more interested in staying true to the source material than box office earnings.
I haven't touched the GIMP in a while, but when I did it was woefully lacking in every department. As a hobbiest application, I'd recommend it over Photoshop Elements, but I've never seen a reason to use it instead of Photoshop.
I haven't used Dreamweaver in a while, but it was a WYSIWYG editor with a code view. The code view was actually pretty useful and had a lot of features that made it much better to work with than Vim.
Of course I haven't used Vim in a while either. It really just depends on what your preferred text editor is. Anything with coloured syntax, code folding and built in FTP meets my needs.
Gimp on the other hand does not. I'd never hire a designer that didn't know how to use Photoshop.
I think Hubble has been one of the most interesting and successful space based missions ever. A lot of the most mind blowing images I've ever seen of space have come from that telescope. Hopefully this telescope will continue the trend.
I've played the game on the 360 and PC and the PC version is pretty bad. The game has identical bugs to Oblivion. I use headphones when playing games. For whatever reason, Bethesda writes their games with surround sound and only surround sound in mind. It doesn't detect headphones or a stereo sound system, resulting in silent, almost not existent voices and sound effects unless your cursor is pointing directly at it.
The easiest fix for it? Set Hardware Sound Acceleration to it's lowest level. Bravo Bethesda!
Then there's the VAT's system, that INSTANTLY lags when you initiate it and continues to lag while using it. I have a 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo, 3GB RAM, GeForce 8600 and I can run the game at max settings in 1680x1050 with little issue. Hit VAT's and the game becomes unresponsive for 2 - 5 seconds.
It boggles my mind how they can optimize something like that for the Xbox 360 but completely fail on the PC. Why even make a PC version if you're just going to do a shoddy port?
And why do I buy it on steam, then have GFW Live installed with the game? GFW Live is a piece of garbage as this article indicates. I mean, you could blame Valve or Microsoft for this, but I really blame Bethesda. If they're going to release their game on Steam, they should at least make an effort to support it through steam and not make it dependent on GFW Live.
You should read the whole article. Especially the part where adding new features to a game or having a free to play weekend generates both digital and retail sales.
You don't need a disc to play, but I wasn't really sold on the digital download idea until after I had bought the orange box and installed steam. I'm still not 100% on it, considering the way steam handled returns of GTA IV and how they can deny me all the games I've purchased on their service at a whim if they so desire...
As someone that is using a laptop as desktop replacement, I have to say it's great to be able to have so much portable power but it does have it's downsides:
1. They tend to weigh a lot, making travel with it a bit of a pain and an annoyance for daily use in multiple locations.
2. They tend to run extremely hot.
3. They cost a lot more for the equivalent desktop hardware.
4. Less upgradable.
5. Nvidia doesn't update their mobile chipset drivers.
I never understood the appeal of screeners. If I'm not interested enough to see a movie when it comes out in theaters, I'll rent it when it comes out on DVD. Watching a shaky cam with terrible audio at some awkward angle and half the screen covered in subtitles is not even worth the bandwidth needed to download it.
The matte display uses an anti-reflective coating to diffuse light. This gives the display a granular appearance, which has nothing to do with the sharpness of the colour but rather the surface coating that slightly distorts the image. "Grainy" is a perfectly suitable description for such an effect and I can't think of a more suitable adjective to use. If you can, by all means feel free to correct me.
I have a glossy laptop and a matte LCD. The problem with the matte screen is it can make things appear grainy.
The glossy screen has a much sharper image but the reflections are annoying.
That said, bad colour exists in both desktop LCD's and laptops. The only real deterrent for this is to spend a lot of money to get a colour accurate display.
I'm a web designer by trade. There isn't a day that goes by in which I don't use Photoshop. I've tried the Gimp on a few occasions as I like open source software and would prefer not to pay thousands of dollars for something that is essential in my occupation.
The Gimp simply doesn't measure up. If you were arguing the Gimp as a Photoshop Elements replacement, that would be a valid comparison, but Photoshop is in a league of it's own. I have yet to meet a single designer or photographer that can tolerate using the GIMP for an extended period of time. It's like trying to draw with crayons. The options, versatility, the fluidity of work flow... they just aren't there. I know lots of programmers that love it and that's exactly what makes the Gimp a bad product. It doesn't cater to it's target demographic (designers/photographers/artists), and then programmers get their backs against the wall because a tool that works for them doesn't work for the professionals and they don't understand why. You can do all the technical lists you want and compare feature lists, but the gimp is a wading pool for people that don't know how or don't want to swim.
Canada typically relies on fair trade. When our Prime Minister goes to other countries to discuss foreign trade opportunities he clearly states (paraphrased) "We're not like the US, what's good for you is good for us and we believe both countries can gain equally from this deal."
Do you have any idea how many Canadians were pissed off when the US imposed a tariff on Canadian softwood lumber? NAFTA and the WTO repeatedly said the US was in the wrong and to repay the tariff. In the end $4 billion of the $5.3 billion the US collected was returned. America gouged Canada for $1.3 Billion despite being clearly in the wrong. Sure the US can do it, but it undermines their credibility and the credibility of the trade deals they're a part of. Not only that, but it builds a lot of resentment toward the country. Most Americans say "so what?" and then wonder why the entire world hates them.
Yes, it means we used the same form of measurement that the entire world uses instead of an obsolete, needlessly complex form of measurement that went extinct some 30 years ago.
Is there something they put in the water down there that makes everyone intentionally regressive? I mean creative spelling is one thing, but when you're still openly debating evolution and working globally with other nations on multi-million dollar projects where measurement is critical, you'd think you'd get the hint and modernize your nation a little.
That is unless one of your forefathers specifically had something against metric, cause then I could totally understand.
Because the internet needs more redundant technology!
Flash is already seeing it's market steadily eroded by the trend toward html/css/javascript development that is much easier and more flexible to build and maintain. Pretty much the only thing Flash is good for these days is games and serving up audio and video.
Slashdot Mirror
The thing about Web Designers (I assume you mean web designers and not "web developers" as the two are very different in my books) is that the majority of them have never had a reason to know the finer points of typography. Web browsers never gave them that much fidelity and there will be all kinds of typographic horrors until people learn tasteful ways of using these tools. It's the same with Photoshop... every new Photoshop user at some point decides everything they do should have a lens flare (or several). After a few months, they realise it's stupid/ugly and never use that filter again.
The designers that cut their teeth on printed media already know what kerning, tracking and leading are and why you would use them. They also know what tasteful font selection is, the difference between serif and sans-serif fonts and that above all, any font used should be legible. Web designers will figure this all out in time and while there will be a lot of misuse initially, things need to move forward. Unless you prefer we all use the same 3 fonts from here to eternity and drastically reduce the number of usable colours, because lets be honest... 24 bit allows for far too many shades of putrid green and plum purple combinations.
More importantly, when are they going to finish the CSS3 spec?
I love that HTML5 is getting pushed to the forefront and browsers are advancing more than ever, but as a web designer that CSS3 spec needs to get done and pushed on the browser developers because it will be another 2 - 5 years before mass adoption and I'm pretty tired of CSS2.1's limitations.
The more you try to gain mass appeal, the further you dilute the core qualities of the experience. This guy is saying that if you make games that can play themselves, they quickly cease to be relevant as games.
Mod this guy up. This is one of the best things about Canada's political system. It may not stop bribes, but it does make it a lot harder for big business to get away with it.
First I've heard of it. I've never had troubles accessing any site ever. This article seems a little bias when you consider how much more liberal Canadian laws are in the use of our internet and information technology in general. (i.e. we don't have a DMCA)
There was a bug in the game that allowed you to "ski" by hitting the jump button repeatedly. Skiing let you gain a lot of momentum and using your jetpack to climb hills would let you maintain it.
That bug completely changed the way the game was played and made crossing large open environments effortless. The developers never fixed the bug and instead made it a feature of Tribes 2.
I ran a half marathon last year and I hope to run a full marathon this year. There is almost no fat on my body. I go to the gym and then come home and relax by playing video gams.
If I lived in NY, I'd be pissed. Playing video games and exercise are not mutually exclusive. Maybe if these kids had parents that didn't sit around watching TV every night while eating their take out dinner there wouldn't be a problem?
I seem to recall an article on Slashdot about Apple eying Nintendo and that was just as humourous of an idea as this one.
There's a lot of stock/business analysts out there that have either drank too much Apple flavoured kool-aid or have no clue just how big the video game industry is. At least Pachter has a clue.
Artists definitely deserve their dues when it comes to creative artwork... but when their work generates revenue for 70+ years after it's creation for a corporation and not the artist, there's something seriously wrong.
At 20 hours a week, you can easily train for and run a full marathon.
I actually enjoyed Tomb Raider 2. It was fairly accurate to the source material (boobs, guns, action and over the top archeology) and it never took itself too seriously.
But video game movies are horrid. I could see Shadow of the Colossus making a good short film if done by a little known director that was more interested in staying true to the source material than box office earnings.
What does the GIMP have that Photoshop doesn't?
I haven't touched the GIMP in a while, but when I did it was woefully lacking in every department. As a hobbiest application, I'd recommend it over Photoshop Elements, but I've never seen a reason to use it instead of Photoshop.
I haven't used Dreamweaver in a while, but it was a WYSIWYG editor with a code view. The code view was actually pretty useful and had a lot of features that made it much better to work with than Vim.
Of course I haven't used Vim in a while either. It really just depends on what your preferred text editor is. Anything with coloured syntax, code folding and built in FTP meets my needs.
Gimp on the other hand does not. I'd never hire a designer that didn't know how to use Photoshop.
I think Hubble has been one of the most interesting and successful space based missions ever. A lot of the most mind blowing images I've ever seen of space have come from that telescope. Hopefully this telescope will continue the trend.
I've played the game on the 360 and PC and the PC version is pretty bad. The game has identical bugs to Oblivion. I use headphones when playing games. For whatever reason, Bethesda writes their games with surround sound and only surround sound in mind. It doesn't detect headphones or a stereo sound system, resulting in silent, almost not existent voices and sound effects unless your cursor is pointing directly at it.
The easiest fix for it? Set Hardware Sound Acceleration to it's lowest level. Bravo Bethesda!
Then there's the VAT's system, that INSTANTLY lags when you initiate it and continues to lag while using it. I have a 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duo, 3GB RAM, GeForce 8600 and I can run the game at max settings in 1680x1050 with little issue. Hit VAT's and the game becomes unresponsive for 2 - 5 seconds.
It boggles my mind how they can optimize something like that for the Xbox 360 but completely fail on the PC. Why even make a PC version if you're just going to do a shoddy port?
And why do I buy it on steam, then have GFW Live installed with the game? GFW Live is a piece of garbage as this article indicates. I mean, you could blame Valve or Microsoft for this, but I really blame Bethesda. If they're going to release their game on Steam, they should at least make an effort to support it through steam and not make it dependent on GFW Live.
You should read the whole article. Especially the part where adding new features to a game or having a free to play weekend generates both digital and retail sales.
You don't need a disc to play, but I wasn't really sold on the digital download idea until after I had bought the orange box and installed steam. I'm still not 100% on it, considering the way steam handled returns of GTA IV and how they can deny me all the games I've purchased on their service at a whim if they so desire...
As someone that is using a laptop as desktop replacement, I have to say it's great to be able to have so much portable power but it does have it's downsides:
1. They tend to weigh a lot, making travel with it a bit of a pain and an annoyance for daily use in multiple locations.
2. They tend to run extremely hot.
3. They cost a lot more for the equivalent desktop hardware.
4. Less upgradable.
5. Nvidia doesn't update their mobile chipset drivers.
My next computer will definitely be a desktop.
I never understood the appeal of screeners. If I'm not interested enough to see a movie when it comes out in theaters, I'll rent it when it comes out on DVD. Watching a shaky cam with terrible audio at some awkward angle and half the screen covered in subtitles is not even worth the bandwidth needed to download it.
is apparently a grossly inaccurate stereotype.
Grainy 1. resembling grain; granular.
The matte display uses an anti-reflective coating to diffuse light. This gives the display a granular appearance, which has nothing to do with the sharpness of the colour but rather the surface coating that slightly distorts the image. "Grainy" is a perfectly suitable description for such an effect and I can't think of a more suitable adjective to use. If you can, by all means feel free to correct me.
I have a glossy laptop and a matte LCD. The problem with the matte screen is it can make things appear grainy.
The glossy screen has a much sharper image but the reflections are annoying.
That said, bad colour exists in both desktop LCD's and laptops. The only real deterrent for this is to spend a lot of money to get a colour accurate display.
I'm a web designer by trade. There isn't a day that goes by in which I don't use Photoshop. I've tried the Gimp on a few occasions as I like open source software and would prefer not to pay thousands of dollars for something that is essential in my occupation.
The Gimp simply doesn't measure up. If you were arguing the Gimp as a Photoshop Elements replacement, that would be a valid comparison, but Photoshop is in a league of it's own. I have yet to meet a single designer or photographer that can tolerate using the GIMP for an extended period of time. It's like trying to draw with crayons. The options, versatility, the fluidity of work flow... they just aren't there. I know lots of programmers that love it and that's exactly what makes the Gimp a bad product. It doesn't cater to it's target demographic (designers/photographers/artists), and then programmers get their backs against the wall because a tool that works for them doesn't work for the professionals and they don't understand why. You can do all the technical lists you want and compare feature lists, but the gimp is a wading pool for people that don't know how or don't want to swim.
Canada typically relies on fair trade. When our Prime Minister goes to other countries to discuss foreign trade opportunities he clearly states (paraphrased) "We're not like the US, what's good for you is good for us and we believe both countries can gain equally from this deal."
Do you have any idea how many Canadians were pissed off when the US imposed a tariff on Canadian softwood lumber? NAFTA and the WTO repeatedly said the US was in the wrong and to repay the tariff. In the end $4 billion of the $5.3 billion the US collected was returned. America gouged Canada for $1.3 Billion despite being clearly in the wrong. Sure the US can do it, but it undermines their credibility and the credibility of the trade deals they're a part of. Not only that, but it builds a lot of resentment toward the country. Most Americans say "so what?" and then wonder why the entire world hates them.
Yes, it means we used the same form of measurement that the entire world uses instead of an obsolete, needlessly complex form of measurement that went extinct some 30 years ago. Is there something they put in the water down there that makes everyone intentionally regressive? I mean creative spelling is one thing, but when you're still openly debating evolution and working globally with other nations on multi-million dollar projects where measurement is critical, you'd think you'd get the hint and modernize your nation a little. That is unless one of your forefathers specifically had something against metric, cause then I could totally understand.
Because the internet needs more redundant technology!
Flash is already seeing it's market steadily eroded by the trend toward html/css/javascript development that is much easier and more flexible to build and maintain. Pretty much the only thing Flash is good for these days is games and serving up audio and video.