I think there is a feedback loop at work here. Games are created which appeal to a certain demographic, that group keeps buying the games, and so new games are designed to appeal to the same group. From the perspective of a game maker, this a safe approach, since creating new games is expensive and risky.
The biggest thing I notice about games today is that they are time sinks. They have huge numbers of levels which require performing the same basic combat maneuvers over and over again. They have difficulties set very high which necessitate much practice and many retries to succeed. Some games provide hundreds of secret objects to seek out. Some games allow players to level up as a way of rewarding those who play for dozens and dozens of hours.
Who was time for this, and the desire to spend this much time? The lonely, the single, the depressed, the inactive.
I want to play games which take about 3 to 10 hours to complete, and which are rewarding, entertaining, surprising, and non-repetitive through the entire experience. I hope that such games become common some day. Then gaming could really be for everyone.
That's silly. I have a real, actual HD TV. It just doesn't support all of the possible HD resolutions. I can watch HD broadcasts and Blu-Ray movies at their highest resolution, which is much higher than any standard def TV. I use a DVI connection, which is equivalent to HDMI without the audio channel.
It didn't seem likely when I bought the TV that I'd have any need for 720p or 720i. That just seemed like a step down from 1080i. There are many TVs out there like this, and the PS3 could support them better, but it doesn't. I guess I should have thrown out my TV because I bought a game console?
1080i support is never going to be mandatory. 1080i/480p sets are out of the dark ages. Virtually every HD set in the last 4 years supports 1080i, 720p and even 1080p. Sony are not going piss off game devs by mandating something which a small and ever diminishing number of users even care about.
My HD TV is three years old, and it supports 480i, 480p, and 1080i only. Many TVs function in this way, including many made by Sony! An HD TV is a large purchase, and most purchasers are hoping to get something close to a decade of use from their TV.
This isn't an issue for a majority of users, but there is a large subset of users who are affected. Sony is choosing not to pay much attention, which is their prerogative, but they're going to make some people unhappy. It also makes them look bad when all 360 games do support 1080i.
Sony isn't all bad. The fact that their console serves as a browser and a network media player is pretty great. If they would keep improving these features, they could make it a major selling point, and gain some very happy, loyal customers in the process.
Copyright is intended to encourage creative works. I'm sure that if the Beatles knew that someone was just going to remix their music 40 years later, they never would have bothered to record it. And who would have bought it when they could just wait 40 years for some DJ to remix it?
If they know that much more about your network than you do, they could easily install a back door to give themselves remote access, even while you are watching them.
I have only made a few contributions to Wikipedia, and the experience of having my changes reverted has killed my interest in contributing again.
I'd like to see a new/competing version of the online encyclopedia which attempts to be more inclusive of all information. Rather than removing information because it is not deemed notable, contributions should be rated for how notable and essential they are. However, the less notable information would still be there - it just wouldn't be the first thing to come up in search results.
This could even apply within specific articles. The main article would contain the most important information, and would look much like an article on Wikipedia today. However, more arcane / tangential information on the topic would be available for those who wanted it. They would just click on a link for "all details" or click to expand certain sections of the article.
NCFPM (National Coalition of Five-hundred Pound Men) demands that Taco Bell increases sour cream levels in the Nachos Belle Grande!
Cell Phone companies demand the right to increase text messaging rates using a logarithmic scale, and to charge a monthly rent for those you don't immediately delete!
ICBE (International Coalition for Bathwater Equality) demands that whenever bathwater is thrown out, a baby is included!
Are those people who enjoy complex, mind-taxing hobbies such as strategy games, subconsciously motivated to not think too hard at their jobs, in order to conserve mental energy?
Having a common software platform which has been tested and debugged across multiple projects should result in more reliable robots exhibiting fewer errors. You've described one of the best potential applications for this software.
This could be an expensive attack. There are estimates that just a few hours without social networking could lead to billions of dollars in increased productivity.
Imagine if Slashdot went down. Spam would be wiped out in a day, Linux audio would be bug free in a week, and next month we'd see the release of GNU Hurd.
Even worse, if a child looks up an "objectionable" word in the iPhone dictionary and doesn't find it, what are they most likely to do next? Fire up Safari and google the word! Instead of a simple definition, they're going to see god-knows-what.
There is a much less annoying way to show ads. Make the ads optional, and split the profits from the ads with those who agree to view them.
There are a couple of ways to do this. One is to offer a discount on the game purchase in exchange for having ads in the game. If this is how it is presented, they should allow the users to change their minds later and pay to upgrade to the ad free version.
The second way might make users very happy. Allow the users to turn on ads on a per-game or per-system basis. The ads could be switched on or off at any time. While ads are on and games are being played, cause a steady trickle of money to be added to the user's account. Someone who plays with ads turned on might find they could earn enough to buy a new mini-game each month.
Google has a lot to gain by upgrading or replacing Ogg Theora in order to create a codec which is suitable as a web standard. The biggest item which could get in the way of Android taking off is proprietary video embedding using Flash and (especially) Silverlight.
I hope they pour huge resources into the development of such a standard, and release it as open source. This would not be out of character for Google, based on what they did with Chrome. It would be a benefit for end users, and a competitive gain for Google.
Perhaps it depends if the legal cases are of local or national interest. If the cases are local and the people interested in breaking in are local, they are more likely to have connections or influence with the local hosting company's employees.
Realistically, though, how would someone find a corrupt Google worker with the skill and clearance to get at the desired data? I would imagine Google doesn't give employees carte blanche access to user data. Even a Gmail developer might do most of their development using only test data.
Wouldn't Google be more likely to keep on top of software updates and security threats than a small, local hosting company who are figuring it out as they go? Hosting one's email with a local company or at one's own office may open a person up to more risk of being hacked than simply letting Google manage it.
I hope they don't settle for running at a lower energy just to avoid criticism about the start date. There is too much potential for what we could discover using the collider's full capacity.
If it is at all feasible to get this running at or near 100%, it's worth it to put in the time now to fix it. I'd rather wait another year now, then wait 30+ years for the next accelerator to be built.
I believe that both parts are illegal, but only the "for profit" part is likely to attract the attention of the law.
The whole thing is absurd, though. People should be able to do anything they like with their own property, so long as it doesn't directly hurt anyone else.
Gabe at Penny Arcade complained about the latest Tiger Woods game, because of the idea of leveling. Leveling causes the game to be more about time spent than it is about skill.
I don't know why I keep buying Tiger Woods games every year. I suppose because it's the only golf game available. I am always instantly frustrated by it and I end up putting it aside after just a couple days. The main problem I have with the game I think is the way your skills work. Tiger is essentially an RPG. That is to say as you play, your skills improve and you get better equipment. That's just not what I want from a golf game. Starting Tiger Woods is like walking on to the golf course wearing vendor trash and everyone else is in their tier 8 gear. You can not compete unless you put the time in. What I want is a golf game that's more like Halo or any other shooter. What I mean is that everyone has essentially the same character and what determines the winner is the players skill.
I want to see everyone start with a character that has the same basic skills. Then give everyone the same number of points that they can invest in their character to improve things like driving or putting. Then that's it, no more points no more stat upgrades. Now you're talking about creating a custom build for your character and then matching your skills with that build up against everyone else. Imagine if every time you tackled a guy in Madden your players got stronger. Then imagine you could buy footballs that flew further or were easier to catch. Sure some people might like it but most fans would say "this isn't football". Well that is essentially how Tiger Woods works and I guess I'm just tired of it.
Slashdot Mirror
I think there is a feedback loop at work here. Games are created which appeal to a certain demographic, that group keeps buying the games, and so new games are designed to appeal to the same group. From the perspective of a game maker, this a safe approach, since creating new games is expensive and risky.
The biggest thing I notice about games today is that they are time sinks. They have huge numbers of levels which require performing the same basic combat maneuvers over and over again. They have difficulties set very high which necessitate much practice and many retries to succeed. Some games provide hundreds of secret objects to seek out. Some games allow players to level up as a way of rewarding those who play for dozens and dozens of hours.
Who was time for this, and the desire to spend this much time? The lonely, the single, the depressed, the inactive.
I want to play games which take about 3 to 10 hours to complete, and which are rewarding, entertaining, surprising, and non-repetitive through the entire experience. I hope that such games become common some day. Then gaming could really be for everyone.
That's silly. I have a real, actual HD TV. It just doesn't support all of the possible HD resolutions. I can watch HD broadcasts and Blu-Ray movies at their highest resolution, which is much higher than any standard def TV. I use a DVI connection, which is equivalent to HDMI without the audio channel.
It didn't seem likely when I bought the TV that I'd have any need for 720p or 720i. That just seemed like a step down from 1080i. There are many TVs out there like this, and the PS3 could support them better, but it doesn't. I guess I should have thrown out my TV because I bought a game console?
My HD TV is three years old, and it supports 480i, 480p, and 1080i only. Many TVs function in this way, including many made by Sony! An HD TV is a large purchase, and most purchasers are hoping to get something close to a decade of use from their TV.
This isn't an issue for a majority of users, but there is a large subset of users who are affected. Sony is choosing not to pay much attention, which is their prerogative, but they're going to make some people unhappy. It also makes them look bad when all 360 games do support 1080i.
Sony isn't all bad. The fact that their console serves as a browser and a network media player is pretty great. If they would keep improving these features, they could make it a major selling point, and gain some very happy, loyal customers in the process.
New Features:
Things People Actually Want:
Thanks a bunch, Sony.
Copyright is intended to encourage creative works. I'm sure that if the Beatles knew that someone was just going to remix their music 40 years later, they never would have bothered to record it. And who would have bought it when they could just wait 40 years for some DJ to remix it?
I just checked the date, I thought for sure it must be April 1st.
Marc Andreessen is jumping into the browser wars again? What's next, Ford announces a "re-imagined" Edsel?
If they know that much more about your network than you do, they could easily install a back door to give themselves remote access, even while you are watching them.
I had a feeling those Dam plans were going to be trouble.
I have only made a few contributions to Wikipedia, and the experience of having my changes reverted has killed my interest in contributing again.
I'd like to see a new/competing version of the online encyclopedia which attempts to be more inclusive of all information. Rather than removing information because it is not deemed notable, contributions should be rated for how notable and essential they are. However, the less notable information would still be there - it just wouldn't be the first thing to come up in search results.
This could even apply within specific articles. The main article would contain the most important information, and would look much like an article on Wikipedia today. However, more arcane / tangential information on the topic would be available for those who wanted it. They would just click on a link for "all details" or click to expand certain sections of the article.
Good disclaimer. I am not a three letter acronym, thank you very much!
So was Duke Nukem. ;)
I just hope it's not going on sale "when it's ready."
NCFPM (National Coalition of Five-hundred Pound Men) demands that Taco Bell increases sour cream levels in the Nachos Belle Grande!
Cell Phone companies demand the right to increase text messaging rates using a logarithmic scale, and to charge a monthly rent for those you don't immediately delete!
ICBE (International Coalition for Bathwater Equality) demands that whenever bathwater is thrown out, a baby is included!
Are those people who enjoy complex, mind-taxing hobbies such as strategy games, subconsciously motivated to not think too hard at their jobs, in order to conserve mental energy?
Having a common software platform which has been tested and debugged across multiple projects should result in more reliable robots exhibiting fewer errors. You've described one of the best potential applications for this software.
Sure, go for it.
We should stop talking about ad blockers. If a majority of people start blocking ads, then a majority of websites will start finding ways around them.
The first rule of ad blockers is the same as the first rule of that other thing.
This could be an expensive attack. There are estimates that just a few hours without social networking could lead to billions of dollars in increased productivity.
Imagine if Slashdot went down. Spam would be wiped out in a day, Linux audio would be bug free in a week, and next month we'd see the release of GNU Hurd.
Even worse, if a child looks up an "objectionable" word in the iPhone dictionary and doesn't find it, what are they most likely to do next? Fire up Safari and google the word! Instead of a simple definition, they're going to see god-knows-what.
There is a much less annoying way to show ads. Make the ads optional, and split the profits from the ads with those who agree to view them.
There are a couple of ways to do this. One is to offer a discount on the game purchase in exchange for having ads in the game. If this is how it is presented, they should allow the users to change their minds later and pay to upgrade to the ad free version.
The second way might make users very happy. Allow the users to turn on ads on a per-game or per-system basis. The ads could be switched on or off at any time. While ads are on and games are being played, cause a steady trickle of money to be added to the user's account. Someone who plays with ads turned on might find they could earn enough to buy a new mini-game each month.
Google has a lot to gain by upgrading or replacing Ogg Theora in order to create a codec which is suitable as a web standard. The biggest item which could get in the way of Android taking off is proprietary video embedding using Flash and (especially) Silverlight.
I hope they pour huge resources into the development of such a standard, and release it as open source. This would not be out of character for Google, based on what they did with Chrome. It would be a benefit for end users, and a competitive gain for Google.
Perhaps it depends if the legal cases are of local or national interest. If the cases are local and the people interested in breaking in are local, they are more likely to have connections or influence with the local hosting company's employees.
Realistically, though, how would someone find a corrupt Google worker with the skill and clearance to get at the desired data? I would imagine Google doesn't give employees carte blanche access to user data. Even a Gmail developer might do most of their development using only test data.
Wouldn't Google be more likely to keep on top of software updates and security threats than a small, local hosting company who are figuring it out as they go? Hosting one's email with a local company or at one's own office may open a person up to more risk of being hacked than simply letting Google manage it.
I hope they don't settle for running at a lower energy just to avoid criticism about the start date. There is too much potential for what we could discover using the collider's full capacity.
If it is at all feasible to get this running at or near 100%, it's worth it to put in the time now to fix it. I'd rather wait another year now, then wait 30+ years for the next accelerator to be built.
I believe that both parts are illegal, but only the "for profit" part is likely to attract the attention of the law.
The whole thing is absurd, though. People should be able to do anything they like with their own property, so long as it doesn't directly hurt anyone else.
Gabe at Penny Arcade complained about the latest Tiger Woods game, because of the idea of leveling. Leveling causes the game to be more about time spent than it is about skill.