"Yes, just because you're not having problems, that obviously means that nobody else with a different hardware configuration, different software installed, or a different version of Vista could possibly be having issues with it. That would just be silly."
Odd, nobody says this when the "Mine's Okay!" comment is made about Firefox.
"When a game is being developed for multiple consoles, each target platform version of the game (the PS3 version, the 360 version, etc) is referred to as a different SKU, even though it may be developed simultaneously and we aren't making the game differently for the different consoles (beyond platform-specific code and perhaps minor asset changes)."
I learned what a SKU is because of Sony. Around XMas time, 2005, Sony had a deal where you could get a PSP + a 1 gig memory card + a couple of other doodads for around $299. I bought it. It turned out to be defective. I returned it, but Best Buy wouldn't exchange it because they were all out of the model I purchased. They had plenty of the 'core' systems, but they were different 'SKUs'. Amusingly enough, they said they would have exchanged it if I had purchased the warrantee thing. Whatever. (For the record: They happily gave me a refund, I was just annoyed that I couldn't enjoy the 1-gig PSP deal.)
So, yes, the term SKU is useful. If you ask me, anybody bitching about its use in this context should buy 99 tacos and catch a Doctor Who marathon.
"I wish people would quit calling the Metroid Prime series a "First Person Shooter"..."
I hear ya. It also annoys me that people keep calling the iPhone a phone even though it's really just an MP3 player you can make calls with. And don't even get me started on people calling the Matrix a sci-fi when it's clearly a live-action anime!!!
"Baseless comments are getting too much attention. People need to stick to the moderator guidelines or stop modding up groupthink style."
If this were any other topic, I'd wholeheartedly agree. However, what makes this case interesting is Sony themselves have poo-poo'd the competition in similar fashion, and now their potential customers are following their example. I really don't care for the sheople moderation Slashdot is known for, but hopefully one day Sony will wake up and see that the bad PR they have is of their own doing. Once they sort that out, maybe we'll actually see innovation from their camp.
"In contrast, Sony has opened up the PS3 to Linux installations...."
And sued LikSang into non-existence. Spare us the Sony is pro-freedom bullshit.
"But people are willing to forgive Microsoft their decades of (and continued) abuse of the consumer and are unwilling to forgive Sony their recent missteps. Funny, really."
Microsoft made a decent game machine. Sony built one on arrogance, told their customers to get a second job if they didn't like the price, and they berated their competitors for innovations that they ended up doing a half-assed job of copying. It's less funny when you actually know the details.
"And not to mention, consumers don't support it. Who'd pay almost the full price of a movie just to watch a downscaled version on his psp."
I would have if they had thought it through a little more. With 1.5 gigs they could have used a codec like DivX to put not only a PSP optimized version of the movie on the disc, but also a SD res version that would play on a TV. If they had done that, I would have seriously considered (assuming it wasn't prohibitively expensive) a Sony DVD player that also had a UMD slot and purchased my movies as UMDs. Then I'd have movies that were both portable and watchable on the big screen. But... yeah, since they did it the way they did, I agree with you.
"Well anyway it was set to debut at $599 want to know why it didn't do so well? Due to the price. $500 and up game consoles don't sell that well."
a.) $600 then is a LOT more than $500 now, and I don't just mean the $100 difference. The PS3 has already way out-sold the Neo Geo.
b.) The Neo Geo was NOT a mass market device. It wasn't built to be one, it wasn't marketed as one, and the games weren't designed that way. It was a niche device built for a small number of people that wanted to play arcade games at home.
c.) The GAMES for it were over $200.
The Neo Geo comparison isn't fair at all. You would have been far more apt to point to 3DO.
"Well, except for the fact that a NTSC signal actually has 259 lines, not 245 lines. I have never gotten a straight answer on why we only use 245 of the 259 lines."
Is that where they hide the data for closed captioning?
"Were people clapping at the end of the movie? Is this normal where you live?"
I cannot speak for the person that posted, but I've seen a number of movies and this is the first time I've been to one where the audience was genuinely entertained. Maybe it was because of childhood nostalgia or maybe it was because it was midnight and people were anxious to let loose, but the movie had everybody hooked right from the first scene. When the Blackout scene ended, people started clapping. More clapping when Optimus appeared... laughter at the humorous scenes, etc.
No, it's not normal, but the people I saw it with were chomping at the bit to see this flick, and they loved it.
Slashdot Mirror
"If this isn't a setup for a flame war, I don't know what is."
Well I suppose you have a point. Afterall, there are actually people here that think Zonk caused Sony's bad PR.
"Whatever reason they have for necessitating progressive scan, I don't know..."
The LCD on the PSP is not interlaced...?
"Yes, just because you're not having problems, that obviously means that nobody else with a different hardware configuration, different software installed, or a different version of Vista could possibly be having issues with it. That would just be silly."
Odd, nobody says this when the "Mine's Okay!" comment is made about Firefox.
"When a game is being developed for multiple consoles, each target platform version of the game (the PS3 version, the 360 version, etc) is referred to as a different SKU, even though it may be developed simultaneously and we aren't making the game differently for the different consoles (beyond platform-specific code and perhaps minor asset changes)."
I learned what a SKU is because of Sony. Around XMas time, 2005, Sony had a deal where you could get a PSP + a 1 gig memory card + a couple of other doodads for around $299. I bought it. It turned out to be defective. I returned it, but Best Buy wouldn't exchange it because they were all out of the model I purchased. They had plenty of the 'core' systems, but they were different 'SKUs'. Amusingly enough, they said they would have exchanged it if I had purchased the warrantee thing. Whatever. (For the record: They happily gave me a refund, I was just annoyed that I couldn't enjoy the 1-gig PSP deal.)
So, yes, the term SKU is useful. If you ask me, anybody bitching about its use in this context should buy 99 tacos and catch a Doctor Who marathon.
"The word has no meaning outside internal retail outlets and distributors."
Really? Do you have to have a license to use that word or something?
"I put it in my iPhone so I wouldn't HAVE to remember!"
"I wish people would quit calling the Metroid Prime series a "First Person Shooter"..."
I hear ya. It also annoys me that people keep calling the iPhone a phone even though it's really just an MP3 player you can make calls with. And don't even get me started on people calling the Matrix a sci-fi when it's clearly a live-action anime!!!
"would post a $100 price drop and turn it into an his usual anti-sony campaign."
Ha! If you think Zonk's behind Sony's bad PR, you've gotta lotta back reading to do, my friend.
"...what's the opposite of a Sony fanboy?"
The masses.
"Baseless comments are getting too much attention. People need to stick to the moderator guidelines or stop modding up groupthink style."
If this were any other topic, I'd wholeheartedly agree. However, what makes this case interesting is Sony themselves have poo-poo'd the competition in similar fashion, and now their potential customers are following their example. I really don't care for the sheople moderation Slashdot is known for, but hopefully one day Sony will wake up and see that the bad PR they have is of their own doing. Once they sort that out, maybe we'll actually see innovation from their camp.
"Good job hoarding Wiis and DSes to create artificial demand, you scum-sucking marketing pigs."
Yeah, they delivered millions of machines by hording them.
It didn't make sense when Microsoft and Sony were accused of this, it doesn't make sense now.
"Last but not least, if Nintendo didn't screw Son with the CD players, PlayStation wouldn't exist in the first place."
Niether would Nintendo. That whole thing broke down because Sony wanted their name plastered all over it instead of Nintendo's.
"They should start over and model it after photoshop. The could call it photoshoppe."
One man's 'off-topic' is antoher's 'insightful'.
"In contrast, Sony has opened up the PS3 to Linux installations...."
And sued LikSang into non-existence. Spare us the Sony is pro-freedom bullshit.
"But people are willing to forgive Microsoft their decades of (and continued) abuse of the consumer and are unwilling to forgive Sony their recent missteps. Funny, really."
Microsoft made a decent game machine. Sony built one on arrogance, told their customers to get a second job if they didn't like the price, and they berated their competitors for innovations that they ended up doing a half-assed job of copying. It's less funny when you actually know the details.
"And not to mention, consumers don't support it. Who'd pay almost the full price of a movie just to watch a downscaled version on his psp."
I would have if they had thought it through a little more. With 1.5 gigs they could have used a codec like DivX to put not only a PSP optimized version of the movie on the disc, but also a SD res version that would play on a TV. If they had done that, I would have seriously considered (assuming it wasn't prohibitively expensive) a Sony DVD player that also had a UMD slot and purchased my movies as UMDs. Then I'd have movies that were both portable and watchable on the big screen. But... yeah, since they did it the way they did, I agree with you.
Though NASA was mostly happy with the purchase, it was discovered that it couldn't be used while in Space Dock.
"Well anyway it was set to debut at $599 want to know why it didn't do so well? Due to the price. $500 and up game consoles don't sell that well."
a.) $600 then is a LOT more than $500 now, and I don't just mean the $100 difference. The PS3 has already way out-sold the Neo Geo.
b.) The Neo Geo was NOT a mass market device. It wasn't built to be one, it wasn't marketed as one, and the games weren't designed that way. It was a niche device built for a small number of people that wanted to play arcade games at home.
c.) The GAMES for it were over $200.
The Neo Geo comparison isn't fair at all. You would have been far more apt to point to 3DO.
"Insightful"? (Score:3, Insightful)
;)
Looks like somebody with a mod-point was being way too literal!
Summary: Short-term stuff sometimes looks more rewarding than long-term stuff.
"You're saving T-Mobile precious air-time minutes, and paying for the privilege!"
They're still paying for the servers etc. that take that WiFi signal and turn it into a phone call.
"If you make half your calls from home over your own WiFi broadband connection, you're really overpaying now."
If those calls would have generated more than $10 extra on your bill, then no, you wouldn't be overpaying at all.
"Catagorize this under Rip-Off."
Categorize this post under Knee Jerk.
"Why is US citizenship required?"
In a post 9-11 world, is it really surprising things like that are done to cover their butts?
"Well, except for the fact that a NTSC signal actually has 259 lines, not 245 lines. I have never gotten a straight answer on why we only use 245 of the 259 lines."
Is that where they hide the data for closed captioning?
"I mean, come on! You never bought a copy of the movie..."
And you know this because....?
"Is this a rather sad reflection of today's culture?"
Maybe. Or maybe it's a reflection of how hard (or easy) it is to squeeze a story into exactly 22 minutes.
"Were people clapping at the end of the movie? Is this normal where you live?"
I cannot speak for the person that posted, but I've seen a number of movies and this is the first time I've been to one where the audience was genuinely entertained. Maybe it was because of childhood nostalgia or maybe it was because it was midnight and people were anxious to let loose, but the movie had everybody hooked right from the first scene. When the Blackout scene ended, people started clapping. More clapping when Optimus appeared... laughter at the humorous scenes, etc.
No, it's not normal, but the people I saw it with were chomping at the bit to see this flick, and they loved it.