From the article "At the end of the day, we don't play games for social interaction... We play games to escape." Microsoft's strategy is "absolutely flawed," he said
Tell that to Parker Brothers or any kid whos ever played a sandlot pickup ball game.
Ok so I will give him the benefit of the doubt that he meant to say video games. It still does not hold water. Games are at their most fundamental level. A conflict between agents making decisions and taking actions to defeat one another. True many will choose an artificial agent to play against. But for many only when there are no other options available. One could argue and I will that games at their roots are social. They are a way to explore conflict in a safe way. Without the risks associated with real world conflict.
Socialism is an idea put forth by wealthy elitist to keep the poor placated enough to stay poor. It is the modern version of let them eat cake.
Most American cororations benefit from socialism in the form of government regulations. As is the case here where by the cable companies are exmepted from opening up their networks through government regulations.
True free markets do not exist in America or pretty much anywhere for that matter. We live in a corporate run socialist republic that pays benefits to corporations as entities as well as individual people.
Microsoft is suing Anderson Windows for trademark infringement of the Windows name. And considering suing all other manufacturers of windows that use the trademarked word Windows in their name or company literature
Anderson is contemplating a name change to Anderson transparent apertures in hopes it will appease the monopolist and thus deftly avoid a legal smiting
Way back in the day many moons ago had to be like 77 or 78. I was exposed to my first computer. I was fortunate enough to live near the Tandy HQ (the Tandy Center) and our class got to go on a field trip to the Tanday center. There I saw an early TRS 80 green screen. Actually rows and rows of them. The showed us the BASIC print name over and over loop wich was cool at the time. But the thing that really got my imagination going was the dancing demon. The dancing demon was a little basic program that had a little demon that danced. Keep in mind these were green screened TRS 80s so the demon part took some imagination to see. But he was fun to watch and you could change his dance steps by typing in specific commands it was really cool. After that I wanted a computer more than anything I could think of. Maybe some good old fashioned demos would arouse kids these days especially an interactive demo. I mean demos from the PC demo scene (mucho eye and ear candy). Also eliza the computer psychologist program always freaks people out or even a good 20 questions program AI stuff is cool too.
I would bet money your a clintonista bush basher. Unless your even more extreme (communist?) leftist Bush basher which I will concede is entirely possible.
What the heck are you talking about? Bill Clinton would regularly order the bombing of Iraqi assets on a whim damn near. Bill Clinton's adminitsration bombed radar facilities and launched punitive strikes for ten plus years on Iraq. Of course when he does it it's ok because hes a socialist like you so his shit does not stink. What a bunch of hypocritical pinkos. Many people believed wrongly that Saddam had WMDs because he was bluffing that he did. He believed that the west would only respect power. He believed if we thought he had WMDs we would not attack. He was wrong. He also came forward in the final days before the invasion through contacts in Lebanon and more or less offered to be our lap dog. We turned him down. So those of you that think Gulf 2 was purely about oil are not very well informed we could have had the oil with his blessing. Hell we did have the oil cheap through the UN oil for food program.
Heres the thing GW really wanted I think to spread Democracy and stop all this bomb Iraq once a month routine (status quo as it were). I am not sure that it was a good idea to this day. I personally thought this was a very dangerous adventure to get involved in. Plus democracy in the middle east could result in another theocracy like Iran. It would have been much simpler to have Saddam as a lap dog. Nation creating is a very dangerous business. But even your pinko buddy William Jefferson Clinton stated that if it resulted in a democratic pluralistic Iraq then the war was worth the cost. I am not sure I agree only time will tell.
"Wasting a 100x100 mile area is what the enviros will also complain about because of the disruption to the local ecology"/
This is like saying oil won't work because people won't let you put oil wells on their property.
If I start my own say 16 hectare biodiesel algae farm and I make money. Other people will start farms. And eventually as it gains acceptance some large oil company would come along and build huge algae farms or buy up the little ones and put all the little algae farms out of business. Thats how these things work. It won't be some government project. Hell the government can't even split atoms cheaply after 50 odd years. It will be a grass roots thing like when the oil business started. Individual farmers drilled the land hoping to make a big strike. And thats how lots of little oil firms were born. And then later Standard Oil bought them all and became a big old monopoly.
I take it you did not read the aricle like a good slashdot poster.
From the article
"The operating costs (including power consumption, labor, chemicals, and fixed capital costs (taxes, maintenance, insurance, depreciation, and return on investment) worked out to $12,000 per hectare. That would equate to $50.7 billion per year for all the algae farms, to yield all the oil feedstock necessary for the entire country. Compare that to the more than $100 billion the US spends each year just on purchasing crude oil from foreign countries."
Assuming we will take his word for it. It appears to have the potential of being cheaper than oil.
I see no huge holes in this persons thesis. Which is pretty impressive for an alternative fuels idea. But maybe I am missing something
I really couldn't care less about future consoles. I already have the best gaming platform under my desk. Sure it's not the cheapest or easiest to set up but it is far superior in every other way. PC systems have the best graphics, the broadest tapestry of game types, don't require me to pay a hardware license fee on each title, develpment tools are available for free, even some games are available for free, the best Internet gaming experience, broadest choice of interface devices, deeper and more engaging simulations. I have made the decision there is no reason for me to ever buy another console because the ones I have bought in the past mostly collected dust while I played games on my PC. I actually enjoy building the PC itself and trying to tweak the highest frame rate I can out of it. There is a Hot Rod mentality to it and you can totally customize your rig. My system is a unique expresion of me. And obviously the PC is a multi purpose device that can be used for many tasks besides just gaming. I think the game industry would like everyone on consoles it homogenizes the hardware which makes development easier but it also creates a barrier of entry for competition that does not exist on the PC, in some sense I think it is about control for the big game developers and console hardware makers. And fundamentally I reject that type of control.
BCM Diags is a Windows 95/98 diagnostics program that you can download for free (freeware). Of course who runs Windows 95/98? However once installed you will find a subdirectory in it's program directory called DOSdiags. Format a floppy with format a:/s and copy the contents on the DOSdiags subfolder onto the floppy and voila bootable DOS hardware diag disk for free. And it works as well or better than the ones that cost bucks. Check it out for yourself at the url below. I keep one around for basic hardware tests. I also got suckered into buying tufftest pro (which is at least affordable) but BCM diags works better in my expereince and it is gratis. Thank you very much to whomever wrote the thing and decided to give it away.
http://www.5star-shareware.com/Utilities/Diagnos ti cs/bcm-diagnostics.html
I love ask Slashdot it seems like the absolute worst way to find the answer to something as people rarely address the posters question. He didn't ask what your favorite FPS was. He want's to know what FPS he can log into and casually play from time to time without putting up with a bunch of smacktards and college dropouts with too much free time. And the answer is none really. Any of you who say cheating is not a real problem are either really naive, stupid, or are in fact cheating bastards PR people.
Yes there are people who ignore the rest of their life and personal hygene that are uber. But fact is when you finally succesfully sneak up behind someone and unload an entire clip right into their head and they just talk trash they are cheating bastards and it happens all the time. Just take a look a battle.net where Blizzard actually tries to keep a handle on things they have had to ban over 100k accounts in one fell swoop because of cheating smacktards. When I heard that figure I knew there was a market opportunity there.
Take Xbox for example I despise the homogenization effect that consoles have on gaming (tony hawk pro skater and other teeny bopper games) but one nice thing about Xbox live is that because Microsoft manages the whole shooting match (networks, servers, and accounts) the product is much nicer for casual gamers who want to play online games. No cheaters, high bandwidth, mother servers. There is an analouge in the PC world thank god and that's gamespy's managed servers (I don't work for them I am just a satisfied customer). http://www.gamespyarcade.com/subscribe/
Gamespy set up some phat servers with mega bandwidth uses punkbuster where possible and actually patrols the servers for cheating smacktards. Many of you will find this reprehensible because you can't be cheating smacktards on them. But for those looking for a better multi player game experience on the PC this or some service like it is probably your best bet. When I first became a gamespy subscriber I did so grudgingly for file planet access. But now after being a founder level subscriber for a year I would say the service in total is worth every last penny
In the middle of Hutchinson Kansas (middle of nowhere) there is this really cool place the Kansas Cosmsphere and Space Center. It's one of the best space science museums in the world (no kidding). I went there and was just stunned. What's this place doing here. But yet there it is. Whats so cool about it? They have a great collection of space hardware second only to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. and they have the largest collection of Russian space hardware outside of Moscow. When you walk in the door you are greeted by an actual SR-71 Blackbird spyplane mounted upside down on the ceiling. Highlights for me were a German V-1, V-2, I think the still have Liberty Bell 7 they were restoring it Liberty Bell 7 is the Mercury Redstone capsule that was lost when Gus Grissom freaked out and blew the hatch too early (squirming hatch blower from the Right Stuff or was it Earth to the Moon... I digress). They also restored the hardware for Apollo 13 the movie and they have the Apollo 13 capsule now in there collection I believe. They do a lot of restoration work there and you can watch through the glass where the do the work. They had a Lunar module mock-up a gemini capsule a lot of Russian hardware like the vostok 1 and 2 capsule and a cool rocket garden and much more. Anyway only thing worth stopping for in Kansas and that's no kidding. Check out the web site here http://www.cosmo.org/
Why exactly would someone buy the thing. All that it is is an electric scooter that costs like 4500 dollars. If I wanted to ride around the sidewalks on an electric scooter I could have bought one two years ago for less that 1000 dollars and be riding it every day. Sure my low tech electric scooter would have wheels in an inline configuration whereas the Segway has them in a single axle configuration but that hardly makes it worth the extra 3500 dollars. It certainly is no revolution in transportation since I believe the idea of electric scooters have been around a very long time. Most of the last century I believe. This Dean Kamen is apparently a student of P.T. Barnum's no doubt.
I bought Kohan from loki as well as almost every other game they ported to linux
Shortly thereafter they tanked and the linux version of Kohan never did work right via network play with Windows users. something I was very interested in doing.
I also bought into Transgaming's Winex as an annual subscriber
Gave up on Winex after a while because there are very few applications that work 100% on it. There are three according to their list. And one of those is a packaged version of the Sims with a special version of Mandrake designed to run it.
Now here is my beef I HAVE been supporting the Linux gaming companies and they keep screwing me. I gave Loki money for a port and they tanked and now I can't play that port over the net unless it is with other Linux users. Then I buy TransGaming's Winex and instead of making more games like Kohan work with Linux like they promised to do for the money I gave them. They instead want me to purchase another "special" version of Winex at $30.00 a pop to run Kohan and be able to play against windows users over the net. I am sorry but this is complete jive. I gave them money to see further development of the version of Winex I can download. If I can not now download a version that will run the windows version of Kohan at level 5 (perfect) which is more or less what they are selling as a seperate app now then in my opinion they screwed me.
Well I guess it is time for the PS3 hype machine to get rolling. But there is so little actual detail in this article that I wouldn't have even posted it.
The jist of the article is we have a new super cool, super fast, totally rad something or other you just have to have. And your just going to have to trust us on this too because we aren't going to go into detail at all
Dan Goldin is exactly what's wrong with our Space Program. I actually have no faith he will be replaced by anyone better. NASA has become a self-perpetuating bureaucracy. Case and point the X-33 project. From an engineering perspective vertical launch single stage to orbit is just dumb makes no sense. It's actually a huge step backwards and if it actually ever did fly I doubt it would have been significantly cheaper than what we have now (space shuttle). Those familiar with the original shuttle design know that it called for a specially built plane for horizontal launch using the power of a lifting wing to get it close to space before launch. This was dumped in the end and the deadly solid boosters added in due to huge cost over runs. Using a lifting wing to go up is so basic aeronautically it's a big DUH. I remember watching some program on TLC or Discovery and they asked Dan Goldin why they chose X-33 over the already flying delta clipper (technically I don't think clipper makes sense either). And he said with this smarmy bureaucrat smirk that X-33 was better and did not specify how. Let me translate "we need to keep our defense contractors in business so congress advised us we should dump a bunch of money into Lockheed Skunk works". Over one billion spent no flying prototype. Instead of flushing money into people interested in the status quo we should dump money into public grants/prizes for truly innovative commercial space products. Also you have to wonder why Goldin was so pissed about Dennis Tito going into space on ISS. I believe it's because if space is no longer the exclusive domain of the NASA bearcats and their chosen ones. And people figure out you don't really need NASA to get to space. All of the sudden they're funding dries up. He is dead set against what I want most, that is cheap everyday access to space for the average human.
While I would almost bet the story in this movie blows. It shouldn't be because it is based on the game D&D. None of the game based movies you mentioned can really be compared to D&D. The D&D world is a richly explored and documented universe. The are a tremendous number of really good D&D fantasy novels and module stories to choose from to adapt to script. That is apparently not what they chose to do here. I can't understand why they didn't just adapt the Icewind Dale trilogy which is a great fantasy trilogy. Or even better yet the Dragonlance Chronicles. I mean those are both great fantasy series. If you you have read the Ring books and are looking for your next morsel. Look no further than the Dragonlance Chronicles.
Instead it looks like they just made a crappy buddy/save the girl movie. Which is sad because no ones is likely to touch a D&D property for the silver screen if this tanks as bad as I suspect it will.
Carmack talked about this very same thing in an interview that was linked on/. nothing new here. What he said about it though is actually more promising in my opinion. I believe he said that in the future it is likely that the Linux binary would come on the Windows CD in a subdirectory called unsupported.
I suspect this is the best way for Linux to become more commercially viable for games. As companies like Id release their unsuported Linux binaries on the same CD as th Windows version. They can do so without any great risk. And as more people start to play the Linux version . And the distros get better at supporting the games. Then it will be comercially viable to start selling a Linux specific version. And Id and all the companies that follow their lead will do so.
Shameless patriot and socialism basher I can live with that. By the way it was england in the early eighties. Right O here we go off to get our TV and radio licenses. Oh brother thats what we want here you betcha yeah and cameras on every street corner so big brother may watch us. I beleive at the time they had somthing like 35% unemployment in the younger age groups like 18-25. Also what is it for a gallon of petrol 6 dollars. Of which almost 85% is taxes. And I love how you refute my 60% figure with 50% either way its too much. Not attacking you personally or your country though if you prefer socialism then bully for you. Just not in my country no thanks.
I find it pretty disturbing that so many geeks support Nader or Gore. I mean Nader is a socialist. And Gore is well socialist lite. To me socialist are either well intentioned people who want to feel warm and fuzzy inside about social justice (without analyzing things realistically or logically) or they have a very bitter envious economic outlook and are basically pessimistic about individual responsibilty and success.
Thats why I find it so disturbing. I beg people to reevaluate these socialist ideals. I lived three years in a western european socialist democracy and I can't say I reccomend it. I know this country is socialist already to some degree but not nearly to the degree as western europe and Canada. I hear Dems and Green party supporters suggesting we become more like western europe and Canada and it makes me want to move to another country. Socialist speak of single payer universal health care, and outstanding public transport, high quality welfare, and subsidies. What they don't tell you about is that these things come at a high cost. Starting with and finishing with high taxes for everyone not just the rich. We are talking 60% plus of income in many cases when you tally all the taxes and excises up. I mean just recently in all of europe was in an uproar over fuel taxes because they are so high. What kills me is the French farmers and truckers that belly ache about the fuel tax also go nuts if the French goverment tries to reduce subsidies or services to keep from going deeper into debt or further raising taxes. These folks seem to want everything and expect the government to give it to them as an entitlement. That's exactly what happens when you use promises of the treasury to get someones vote.
The quality of life we have in this country should not be taken for granted. We have it really well in my opinion. In my experience these socialist countries have high unemployment, high public debt, regulations and taxes in the extreme, wasteful government agencies for evrything, regulations that make peoples heads spin, reduced liberties, and very rigid and static class structures. I ask you is this what your really want just so you can feel like you stuck it to the man. I mean come on get real.
You have every opportunity you could ever want here in America. All that you have to do is work hard be determined and persistant. And largely thanks to the fact that we don't yet have such high taxes and over regulation. If you don't believe this then I pitty you and no government program will be able to ease your bitterness.
Also I notice alot of people here rail against how evil big corporations are. I find this to be a naive outlook on the world. Corporations are made up of people and are not inherently evil just like people are not inherently evil. They provide jobs, healthcare, and retirement for most Americans. Who do you propose should do this in their stead the government? Also MS and Cisco did not pay any federal income taxes because they made many of their hard working employees rich through stock options who then paid more money than what MS and Cisco would have in taxes. People who get upset over this just seem envious to me. People should concearn themselves more with there own finances rather than be so envious of other peoples money. Remember people, the money in your wallet is your money, the money in rich folks wallets is there money, and not for you to covet or steal for whatever you feel is socially just. It is a basic liberty that makes this a free country. But for how long is up to you.
Slashdot Mirror
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0789734249/qid=11 37532114/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-8013614-9758315?n =507846&s=books&v=glance/
From the article "At the end of the day, we don't play games for social interaction ... We play games to escape." Microsoft's strategy is "absolutely flawed," he said
Tell that to Parker Brothers or any kid whos ever played a sandlot pickup ball game.
Ok so I will give him the benefit of the doubt that he meant to say video games. It still does not hold water. Games are at their most fundamental level. A conflict between agents making decisions and taking actions to defeat one another. True many will choose an artificial agent to play against. But for many only when there are no other options available. One could argue and I will that games at their roots are social. They are a way to explore conflict in a safe way. Without the risks associated with real world conflict.
You bought a Plymouth Voyager? I wouldn't admit that especially not in support of an argument about cars.
Most American cororations benefit from socialism in the form of government regulations. As is the case here where by the cable companies are exmepted from opening up their networks through government regulations.
True free markets do not exist in America or pretty much anywhere for that matter. We live in a corporate run socialist republic that pays benefits to corporations as entities as well as individual people.
Poor married grad student? man you do like to gamble.
Microsoft is suing Anderson Windows for trademark infringement of the Windows name. And considering suing all other manufacturers of windows that use the trademarked word Windows in their name or company literature
Anderson is contemplating a name change to Anderson transparent apertures in hopes it will appease the monopolist and thus deftly avoid a legal smiting
Way back in the day many moons ago had to be like 77 or 78. I was exposed to my first computer. I was fortunate enough to live near the Tandy HQ (the Tandy Center) and our class got to go on a field trip to the Tanday center. There I saw an early TRS 80 green screen. Actually rows and rows of them. The showed us the BASIC print name over and over loop wich was cool at the time. But the thing that really got my imagination going was the dancing demon. The dancing demon was a little basic program that had a little demon that danced. Keep in mind these were green screened TRS 80s so the demon part took some imagination to see. But he was fun to watch and you could change his dance steps by typing in specific commands it was really cool. After that I wanted a computer more than anything I could think of. Maybe some good old fashioned demos would arouse kids these days especially an interactive demo. I mean demos from the PC demo scene (mucho eye and ear candy). Also eliza the computer psychologist program always freaks people out or even a good 20 questions program AI stuff is cool too.
I would bet money your a clintonista bush basher. Unless your even more extreme (communist?) leftist Bush basher which I will concede is entirely possible.
What the heck are you talking about? Bill Clinton would regularly order the bombing of Iraqi assets on a whim damn near. Bill Clinton's adminitsration bombed radar facilities and launched punitive strikes for ten plus years on Iraq. Of course when he does it it's ok because hes a socialist like you so his shit does not stink. What a bunch of hypocritical pinkos. Many people believed wrongly that Saddam had WMDs because he was bluffing that he did. He believed that the west would only respect power. He believed if we thought he had WMDs we would not attack. He was wrong. He also came forward in the final days before the invasion through contacts in Lebanon and more or less offered to be our lap dog. We turned him down. So those of you that think Gulf 2 was purely about oil are not very well informed we could have had the oil with his blessing. Hell we did have the oil cheap through the UN oil for food program.
Heres the thing GW really wanted I think to spread Democracy and stop all this bomb Iraq once a month routine (status quo as it were). I am not sure that it was a good idea to this day. I personally thought this was a very dangerous adventure to get involved in. Plus democracy in the middle east could result in another theocracy like Iran. It would have been much simpler to have Saddam as a lap dog. Nation creating is a very dangerous business. But even your pinko buddy William Jefferson Clinton stated that if it resulted in a democratic pluralistic Iraq then the war was worth the cost. I am not sure I agree only time will tell.
"Wasting a 100x100 mile area is what the enviros will also complain about because of the disruption to the local ecology"/
This is like saying oil won't work because people won't let you put oil wells on their property.
If I start my own say 16 hectare biodiesel algae farm and I make money. Other people will start farms. And eventually as it gains acceptance some large oil company would come along and build huge algae farms or buy up the little ones and put all the little algae farms out of business. Thats how these things work. It won't be some government project. Hell the government can't even split atoms cheaply after 50 odd years. It will be a grass roots thing like when the oil business started. Individual farmers drilled the land hoping to make a big strike. And thats how lots of little oil firms were born. And then later Standard Oil bought them all and became a big old monopoly.
RTFA
I take it you did not read the aricle like a good slashdot poster.
From the article
"The operating costs (including power consumption, labor, chemicals, and fixed capital costs (taxes, maintenance, insurance, depreciation, and return on investment) worked out to $12,000 per hectare. That would equate to $50.7 billion per year for all the algae farms, to yield all the oil feedstock necessary for the entire country. Compare that to the more than $100 billion the US spends each year just on purchasing crude oil from foreign countries."
Assuming we will take his word for it. It appears to have the potential of being cheaper than oil.
I see no huge holes in this persons thesis. Which is pretty impressive for an alternative fuels idea. But maybe I am missing something
I really couldn't care less about future consoles. I already have the best gaming platform under my desk. Sure it's not the cheapest or easiest to set up but it is far superior in every other way. PC systems have the best graphics, the broadest tapestry of game types, don't require me to pay a hardware license fee on each title, develpment tools are available for free, even some games are available for free, the best Internet gaming experience, broadest choice of interface devices, deeper and more engaging simulations. I have made the decision there is no reason for me to ever buy another console because the ones I have bought in the past mostly collected dust while I played games on my PC. I actually enjoy building the PC itself and trying to tweak the highest frame rate I can out of it. There is a Hot Rod mentality to it and you can totally customize your rig. My system is a unique expresion of me. And obviously the PC is a multi purpose device that can be used for many tasks besides just gaming. I think the game industry would like everyone on consoles it homogenizes the hardware which makes development easier but it also creates a barrier of entry for competition that does not exist on the PC, in some sense I think it is about control for the big game developers and console hardware makers. And fundamentally I reject that type of control.
BCM Diags is a Windows 95/98 diagnostics program that you can download for free (freeware). Of course who runs Windows 95/98? However once installed you will find a subdirectory in it's program directory called DOSdiags. Format a floppy with format a: /s and copy the contents on the DOSdiags subfolder onto the floppy and voila bootable DOS hardware diag disk for free. And it works as well or better than the ones that cost bucks. Check it out for yourself at the url below. I keep one around for basic hardware tests. I also got suckered into buying tufftest pro (which is at least affordable) but BCM diags works better in my expereince and it is gratis. Thank you very much to whomever wrote the thing and decided to give it away.
s ti cs/bcm-diagnostics.html
http://www.5star-shareware.com/Utilities/Diagno
I love ask Slashdot it seems like the absolute worst way to find the answer to something as people rarely address the posters question. He didn't ask what your favorite FPS was. He want's to know what FPS he can log into and casually play from time to time without putting up with a bunch of smacktards and college dropouts with too much free time. And the answer is none really. Any of you who say cheating is not a real problem are either really naive, stupid, or are in fact cheating bastards PR people.
Yes there are people who ignore the rest of their life and personal hygene that are uber. But fact is when you finally succesfully sneak up behind someone and unload an entire clip right into their head and they just talk trash they are cheating bastards and it happens all the time. Just take a look a battle.net where Blizzard actually tries to keep a handle on things they have had to ban over 100k accounts in one fell swoop because of cheating smacktards. When I heard that figure I knew there was a market opportunity there.
Take Xbox for example I despise the homogenization effect that consoles have on gaming (tony hawk pro skater and other teeny bopper games) but one nice thing about Xbox live is that because Microsoft manages the whole shooting match (networks, servers, and accounts) the product is much nicer for casual gamers who want to play online games. No cheaters, high bandwidth, mother servers. There is an analouge in the PC world thank god and that's gamespy's managed servers (I don't work for them I am just a satisfied customer). http://www.gamespyarcade.com/subscribe/
Gamespy set up some phat servers with mega bandwidth uses punkbuster where possible and actually patrols the servers for cheating smacktards. Many of you will find this reprehensible because you can't be cheating smacktards on them. But for those looking for a better multi player game experience on the PC this or some service like it is probably your best bet. When I first became a gamespy subscriber I did so grudgingly for file planet access. But now after being a founder level subscriber for a year I would say the service in total is worth every last penny
In the middle of Hutchinson Kansas (middle of nowhere) there is this really cool place the Kansas Cosmsphere and Space Center. It's one of the best space science museums in the world (no kidding). I went there and was just stunned. What's this place doing here. But yet there it is. Whats so cool about it? They have a great collection of space hardware second only to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C. and they have the largest collection of Russian space hardware outside of Moscow. When you walk in the door you are greeted by an actual SR-71 Blackbird spyplane mounted upside down on the ceiling. Highlights for me were a German V-1, V-2, I think the still have Liberty Bell 7 they were restoring it Liberty Bell 7 is the Mercury Redstone capsule that was lost when Gus Grissom freaked out and blew the hatch too early (squirming hatch blower from the Right Stuff or was it Earth to the Moon... I digress). They also restored the hardware for Apollo 13 the movie and they have the Apollo 13 capsule now in there collection I believe. They do a lot of restoration work there and you can watch through the glass where the do the work. They had a Lunar module mock-up a gemini capsule a lot of Russian hardware like the vostok 1 and 2 capsule and a cool rocket garden and much more. Anyway only thing worth stopping for in Kansas and that's no kidding. Check out the web site here http://www.cosmo.org/
Why exactly would someone buy the thing. All that it is is an electric scooter that costs like 4500 dollars. If I wanted to ride around the sidewalks on an electric scooter I could have bought one two years ago for less that 1000 dollars and be riding it every day. Sure my low tech electric scooter would have wheels in an inline configuration whereas the Segway has them in a single axle configuration but that hardly makes it worth the extra 3500 dollars. It certainly is no revolution in transportation since I believe the idea of electric scooters have been around a very long time. Most of the last century I believe. This Dean Kamen is apparently a student of P.T. Barnum's no doubt.
This is getting lame
I bought Kohan from loki as well as almost every other game they ported to linux
Shortly thereafter they tanked and the linux version of Kohan never did work right via network play with Windows users. something I was very interested in doing.
I also bought into Transgaming's Winex as an annual subscriber
Gave up on Winex after a while because there are very few applications that work 100% on it. There are three according to their list. And one of those is a packaged version of the Sims with a special version of Mandrake designed to run it.
Now here is my beef I HAVE been supporting the Linux gaming companies and they keep screwing me. I gave Loki money for a port and they tanked and now I can't play that port over the net unless it is with other Linux users. Then I buy TransGaming's Winex and instead of making more games like Kohan work with Linux like they promised to do for the money I gave them. They instead want me to purchase another "special" version of Winex at $30.00 a pop to run Kohan and be able to play against windows users over the net. I am sorry but this is complete jive. I gave them money to see further development of the version of Winex I can download. If I can not now download a version that will run the windows version of Kohan at level 5 (perfect) which is more or less what they are selling as a seperate app now then in my opinion they screwed me.
Well I guess it is time for the PS3 hype machine to get rolling. But there is so little actual detail in this article that I wouldn't have even posted it.
The jist of the article is we have a new super cool, super fast, totally rad something or other you just have to have. And your just going to have to trust us on this too because we aren't going to go into detail at all
Yeah and dont go over 30 mph in one of those new fangled horseless carriages. I hear the shockwave alone will kill you.
Dan Goldin is exactly what's wrong with our Space Program. I actually have no faith he will be replaced by anyone better. NASA has become a self-perpetuating bureaucracy. Case and point the X-33 project. From an engineering perspective vertical launch single stage to orbit is just dumb makes no sense. It's actually a huge step backwards and if it actually ever did fly I doubt it would have been significantly cheaper than what we have now (space shuttle). Those familiar with the original shuttle design know that it called for a specially built plane for horizontal launch using the power of a lifting wing to get it close to space before launch. This was dumped in the end and the deadly solid boosters added in due to huge cost over runs. Using a lifting wing to go up is so basic aeronautically it's a big DUH. I remember watching some program on TLC or Discovery and they asked Dan Goldin why they chose X-33 over the already flying delta clipper (technically I don't think clipper makes sense either). And he said with this smarmy bureaucrat smirk that X-33 was better and did not specify how. Let me translate "we need to keep our defense contractors in business so congress advised us we should dump a bunch of money into Lockheed Skunk works". Over one billion spent no flying prototype. Instead of flushing money into people interested in the status quo we should dump money into public grants/prizes for truly innovative commercial space products. Also you have to wonder why Goldin was so pissed about Dennis Tito going into space on ISS. I believe it's because if space is no longer the exclusive domain of the NASA bearcats and their chosen ones. And people figure out you don't really need NASA to get to space. All of the sudden they're funding dries up. He is dead set against what I want most, that is cheap everyday access to space for the average human.
While I would almost bet the story in this movie blows. It shouldn't be because it is based on the game D&D. None of the game based movies you mentioned can really be compared to D&D. The D&D world is a richly explored and documented universe. The are a tremendous number of really good D&D fantasy novels and module stories to choose from to adapt to script. That is apparently not what they chose to do here. I can't understand why they didn't just adapt the Icewind Dale trilogy which is a great fantasy trilogy. Or even better yet the Dragonlance Chronicles. I mean those are both great fantasy series. If you you have read the Ring books and are looking for your next morsel. Look no further than the Dragonlance Chronicles.
Instead it looks like they just made a crappy buddy/save the girl movie. Which is sad because no ones is likely to touch a D&D property for the silver screen if this tanks as bad as I suspect it will.
Carmack talked about this very same thing in an interview that was linked on /. nothing new here. What he said about it though is actually more promising in my opinion. I believe he said that in the future it is likely that the Linux binary would come on the Windows CD in a subdirectory called unsupported.
I suspect this is the best way for Linux to become more commercially viable for games. As companies like Id release their unsuported Linux binaries on the same CD as th Windows version. They can do so without any great risk. And as more people start to play the Linux version . And the distros get better at supporting the games. Then it will be comercially viable to start selling a Linux specific version. And Id and all the companies that follow their lead will do so.
Shameless patriot and socialism basher I can live with that. By the way it was england in the early eighties. Right O here we go off to get our TV and radio licenses. Oh brother thats what we want here you betcha yeah and cameras on every street corner so big brother may watch us. I beleive at the time they had somthing like 35% unemployment in the younger age groups like 18-25. Also what is it for a gallon of petrol 6 dollars. Of which almost 85% is taxes. And I love how you refute my 60% figure with 50% either way its too much. Not attacking you personally or your country though if you prefer socialism then bully for you. Just not in my country no thanks.
I find it pretty disturbing that so many geeks support Nader or Gore. I mean Nader is a socialist. And Gore is well socialist lite. To me socialist are either well intentioned people who want to feel warm and fuzzy inside about social justice (without analyzing things realistically or logically) or they have a very bitter envious economic outlook and are basically pessimistic about individual responsibilty and success.
Thats why I find it so disturbing. I beg people to reevaluate these socialist ideals. I lived three years in a western european socialist democracy and I can't say I reccomend it. I know this country is socialist already to some degree but not nearly to the degree as western europe and Canada. I hear Dems and Green party supporters suggesting we become more like western europe and Canada and it makes me want to move to another country. Socialist speak of single payer universal health care, and outstanding public transport, high quality welfare, and subsidies. What they don't tell you about is that these things come at a high cost. Starting with and finishing with high taxes for everyone not just the rich. We are talking 60% plus of income in many cases when you tally all the taxes and excises up. I mean just recently in all of europe was in an uproar over fuel taxes because they are so high. What kills me is the French farmers and truckers that belly ache about the fuel tax also go nuts if the French goverment tries to reduce subsidies or services to keep from going deeper into debt or further raising taxes. These folks seem to want everything and expect the government to give it to them as an entitlement. That's exactly what happens when you use promises of the treasury to get someones vote.
The quality of life we have in this country should not be taken for granted. We have it really well in my opinion. In my experience these socialist countries have high unemployment, high public debt, regulations and taxes in the extreme, wasteful government agencies for evrything, regulations that make peoples heads spin, reduced liberties, and very rigid and static class structures. I ask you is this what your really want just so you can feel like you stuck it to the man. I mean come on get real.
You have every opportunity you could ever want here in America. All that you have to do is work hard be determined and persistant. And largely thanks to the fact that we don't yet have such high taxes and over regulation. If you don't believe this then I pitty you and no government program will be able to ease your bitterness.
Also I notice alot of people here rail against how evil big corporations are. I find this to be a naive outlook on the world. Corporations are made up of people and are not inherently evil just like people are not inherently evil. They provide jobs, healthcare, and retirement for most Americans. Who do you propose should do this in their stead the government? Also MS and Cisco did not pay any federal income taxes because they made many of their hard working employees rich through stock options who then paid more money than what MS and Cisco would have in taxes. People who get upset over this just seem envious to me. People should concearn themselves more with there own finances rather than be so envious of other peoples money. Remember people, the money in your wallet is your money, the money in rich folks wallets is there money, and not for you to covet or steal for whatever you feel is socially just. It is a basic liberty that makes this a free country. But for how long is up to you.
Moderate this up this guy knows of what he speaks.