the 600 dollar mac mini comes with a core duo 1.66 Ghz processor (maybe soon even a core 2 duo)... so how exactly is turning a 300 dollar machine with less than 1/3 the speed make sense economically? especially since you'll still have to somehow acquire OSX by some means.
granted the apple tv is tiny and cool, but if you're looking for a super cheap PC, you might as well go ahead and grab a mini for a little extra for the total package. Besides I'm sure you can find them for 500 bucks or so since they've been around for so long...
There's also the chance that the guy won't even be game programming material... sure its every gamer/programmer's wet dream, but come on there's only so many positions. Going to college and getting a real degree will at least give you more of a fighting chance for other jobs.
oh, and I should also mention that some top schools for programming/engineering, such as NCSU, are also offering a game programming course for CS students:)
not to downplay the Wii, I think its a really fun system, but most of the games simply aren't as feature filled. Again, not saying thats a bad thing, but it certainly makes it easier to develop cheaper. I also seem to remember that some of the games are simply ports as well, such as Call of Duty.
Someone anonymous can blast you all day and you shouldn't care, because you should know that nobody else really cares what the asshole thinks. An anonymous person has zero credibility. Now, if there's very general concensus about someone or something, even amongst an anonymous crowd, you MIGHT take what they say into consideration. And that's completely after using your own brain to figure it out for yourself.
as for the legality issue, if this is a for home media player computer, I'd say "stuff it" to the law. There's no media police that's going to go into your computer and fine/arrest you for having a DVD linux player.
I tried Ubuntu on my laptop and also was fairly disappointed... however I'd be more than willing to give it a shot on my Desktop at work, or as a dual boot for my main home computer
Believe it or not, its still cheaper to build a higher end PC yourself than to go with Dell and the like. Sure if you just want a cheap machine just for everyday stuff, they'll be just fine for you... but its when you want a decent gaming and media rig that the big boys just can't offer the same for less. In this case the only reason to end up with a Dell is for it to come with Windows and a 2 year service plan which you will very likely need due to cheap parts.
and that is precisely what they get in to their heads... its one thing to help prevent murders, and other such nastiness by using the internet, its quite another to attempt to block something which is legal in certain areas of the US! Hypocrisy, it seems, is becoming the norm.
so long as each of those things can be replaced easily, or if the all-in-one as a whole is itself fairly cheap and easy to replace, then it could be a good idea. The only thing I'd have a problem with is the case where the whole bundle costs 500 bucks or more, and when a single item inside breaks a year later, you have to pay 500 bucks again.
if you own the machine, and are not merely leasing the machine from MS, I fail to see how anyone could bust you for opening up your own box and toying with it... that's the essence of hobbying.
It seems to me like some companies treat their employees like school kids. I mean I can understand a school system using internet filters, but come on, where's personal responsibility for adults? If the adult can't be reasoned with to not waste all their time, they can certainly be replaced.
but if less than say 0.1% of all actions should probably require a Cancel instead of Allow, how many people really are going to keep an eye out for the bad one... cept maybe the OCD group.
what ever happened to the customer is always right? I think we know who the real culprit is, their programmers who set it up and didn't properly test it. Blame that person! Speaking as a programmer, I HATE bad programmers, with a passion.
I think its very likely that most people don't first look at a review or try to learn about a game from an outside point of view before they decide to buy... its mostly what they hear from the hype, from commercials on tv, from ads, and from walking in the store and looking at the box. I don't know about anyone else, but just based on the "cover", GTA looks more enticing than Psychonauts. Not because of the guns, or the hip look of the box, but because after I look at the game Psychonauts, I can very quickly decide I don't wanna spend my hard earned cash on it because it doesn't even look all that appealing on many levels.
some games sell well I think usuall due to graphics alone... and maybe even a touch of friend referral as is the case with Halo and probably Gears of War
Paying 200-300 bucks for a personal installation of windows for only ONE computer is incredibly lame. That may have been fine back in the days of Windows 95 when most households only had one computer because they commonly cost an average of 1500-2000 dollars. Nowadays they are going for less than 500, so it seems more common for families to have 2 or even 3 PCS. Why charge nearly 1000 dollars so they can all "upgrade" for a single house? If they ever expect to sell Vista in the magnitude they desire and get the software behind it in a reasonable timeframe, they NEED to include at least 3 personal keys for each $300 vista license, otherwise they'll have to wait for people to replace their PCs with storebought Vista computers.
Of course after saying all that, vista upgrades will be so uncommon, buying a new PC will be pretty much the only guaranteed way most people will have Vista at all. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
The developers will more likely attempt to let their games be DX9 AND DX10 to make sure as many people as possible can buy and play their games. I remember at least one game that had the option to switch between DX9 and DX8 for backwards compatibility: Call of Duty 2
Its that classic stupid debate of who is at fault: the Victim, or the Criminal.
I have a solution, equip these things with a dead man switch Booby Trap (Improvised Explosive Device for those of you that watch FOX news)... criminal steals iPhone, criminal loses arm and possibly hand. Oh yeah, they wouldn't steal em then eh, street justice!
too bad you wouldn't be able to take your iPhone on a plane though, but hey we gotta protect our rights, er, stuff... right?
Slashdot Mirror
the 600 dollar mac mini comes with a core duo 1.66 Ghz processor (maybe soon even a core 2 duo)... so how exactly is turning a 300 dollar machine with less than 1/3 the speed make sense economically? especially since you'll still have to somehow acquire OSX by some means.
granted the apple tv is tiny and cool, but if you're looking for a super cheap PC, you might as well go ahead and grab a mini for a little extra for the total package. Besides I'm sure you can find them for 500 bucks or so since they've been around for so long...
Well wallace and gromit have already claimed the cheese from the moon, so you better act quick before they do jupiter too...
There's also the chance that the guy won't even be game programming material... sure its every gamer/programmer's wet dream, but come on there's only so many positions. Going to college and getting a real degree will at least give you more of a fighting chance for other jobs.
:)
oh, and I should also mention that some top schools for programming/engineering, such as NCSU, are also offering a game programming course for CS students
not to downplay the Wii, I think its a really fun system, but most of the games simply aren't as feature filled. Again, not saying thats a bad thing, but it certainly makes it easier to develop cheaper. I also seem to remember that some of the games are simply ports as well, such as Call of Duty.
I don't recall the last game I played where all the duded wore Leather speedos...
Someone anonymous can blast you all day and you shouldn't care, because you should know that nobody else really cares what the asshole thinks. An anonymous person has zero credibility. Now, if there's very general concensus about someone or something, even amongst an anonymous crowd, you MIGHT take what they say into consideration. And that's completely after using your own brain to figure it out for yourself.
do whatever makes you happy... not what we think you should do.
"and why do you feel this way, please explain to me where the paperclip touched you? It's ok, here, show me on the Jar-Jar doll."
64-bit OSes just aren't ready yet, simply put.
as for the legality issue, if this is a for home media player computer, I'd say "stuff it" to the law. There's no media police that's going to go into your computer and fine/arrest you for having a DVD linux player.
I tried Ubuntu on my laptop and also was fairly disappointed... however I'd be more than willing to give it a shot on my Desktop at work, or as a dual boot for my main home computer
Believe it or not, its still cheaper to build a higher end PC yourself than to go with Dell and the like. Sure if you just want a cheap machine just for everyday stuff, they'll be just fine for you... but its when you want a decent gaming and media rig that the big boys just can't offer the same for less. In this case the only reason to end up with a Dell is for it to come with Windows and a 2 year service plan which you will very likely need due to cheap parts.
and that is precisely what they get in to their heads... its one thing to help prevent murders, and other such nastiness by using the internet, its quite another to attempt to block something which is legal in certain areas of the US! Hypocrisy, it seems, is becoming the norm.
so long as each of those things can be replaced easily, or if the all-in-one as a whole is itself fairly cheap and easy to replace, then it could be a good idea. The only thing I'd have a problem with is the case where the whole bundle costs 500 bucks or more, and when a single item inside breaks a year later, you have to pay 500 bucks again.
if you own the machine, and are not merely leasing the machine from MS, I fail to see how anyone could bust you for opening up your own box and toying with it... that's the essence of hobbying.
It seems to me like some companies treat their employees like school kids. I mean I can understand a school system using internet filters, but come on, where's personal responsibility for adults? If the adult can't be reasoned with to not waste all their time, they can certainly be replaced.
but if less than say 0.1% of all actions should probably require a Cancel instead of Allow, how many people really are going to keep an eye out for the bad one... cept maybe the OCD group.
Selling fewer units at a loss is not as good as selling more units at a profit... duhhhhhh
so I guess until they build a projector right there into the game console, many people are essentially screwed!
what ever happened to the customer is always right? I think we know who the real culprit is, their programmers who set it up and didn't properly test it. Blame that person! Speaking as a programmer, I HATE bad programmers, with a passion.
I think its very likely that most people don't first look at a review or try to learn about a game from an outside point of view before they decide to buy... its mostly what they hear from the hype, from commercials on tv, from ads, and from walking in the store and looking at the box. I don't know about anyone else, but just based on the "cover", GTA looks more enticing than Psychonauts. Not because of the guns, or the hip look of the box, but because after I look at the game Psychonauts, I can very quickly decide I don't wanna spend my hard earned cash on it because it doesn't even look all that appealing on many levels.
some games sell well I think usuall due to graphics alone... and maybe even a touch of friend referral as is the case with Halo and probably Gears of War
I was thinking more along the lines of an electromagnetic orbit pooper scooper
sounds good to me, I just hate having pennies.. its about time nickels got their own "for everyone" area
Paying 200-300 bucks for a personal installation of windows for only ONE computer is incredibly lame. That may have been fine back in the days of Windows 95 when most households only had one computer because they commonly cost an average of 1500-2000 dollars. Nowadays they are going for less than 500, so it seems more common for families to have 2 or even 3 PCS. Why charge nearly 1000 dollars so they can all "upgrade" for a single house? If they ever expect to sell Vista in the magnitude they desire and get the software behind it in a reasonable timeframe, they NEED to include at least 3 personal keys for each $300 vista license, otherwise they'll have to wait for people to replace their PCs with storebought Vista computers.
Of course after saying all that, vista upgrades will be so uncommon, buying a new PC will be pretty much the only guaranteed way most people will have Vista at all. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
The developers will more likely attempt to let their games be DX9 AND DX10 to make sure as many people as possible can buy and play their games. I remember at least one game that had the option to switch between DX9 and DX8 for backwards compatibility: Call of Duty 2
Its that classic stupid debate of who is at fault: the Victim, or the Criminal.
... criminal steals iPhone, criminal loses arm and possibly hand. Oh yeah, they wouldn't steal em then eh, street justice!
I have a solution, equip these things with a dead man switch Booby Trap (Improvised Explosive Device for those of you that watch FOX news)
too bad you wouldn't be able to take your iPhone on a plane though, but hey we gotta protect our rights, er, stuff... right?