I did something similar. I liked Bioshock, though I agree it was dumbed-down. But, it gave me the urge to play System Shock 2. So, I played it with Rebirth and some other patches. It was probably my 4th time through. It was great! I played it all the way through on hard and I was engrossed (played for hours at a time, put all my other games on hold). After I finished SS2, Bioshock really didn't seem to great. It was over-hyped. Still, it's a decent game. But, it still can't touch System Shock 2.
I'm not finding a torrent for the i386 cds... I have a few servers with old CD drives in them (only used for installs like this). So, I have to do CDs not a DVD.
In Windows, I turn on ToggleKeys from the "Accessibility Options" control panel applet. So, if I hit Caps Lock, Num Lock, or Scroll Lock -- it's almost always a mistake when I do -- I hear a beep.
I know, I'm using the worst, most evil operating system ever and this is just a lame workaround, but it's something.
Wolfenstein - Enemy Territory is a freely available full-featured multi-player first-person-shooter for Windows and Linux. This game is much more than a simple deathmatch. There are character classes, each with various special abilities and available weapons. Each mission scenario has 2 teams, Axis and Allies, each with their own goals. There are 6 missions, split into two campaigns that cycle through the server in order.
I loved Omikron too! I knew there had to be someone else who liked it. I'm not even a Bowie fan. I somehow worked for me and ended up being very immersive. The weeks I was playing it, I felt like I was living in another world.
Morrowind almost had this feel to it as well, but somehow was less engaging for me.
The key element in the System Shock games (both of which are in my top-10) were the audio recordings that were left behind. They slowly told the tale of the tragedy and horror of the station, often leading me tantalizingly close to the people involved. The lovers story in SS2 was a really classy touch IMHO. I cared.
The original Half Life blew me away. I recall the game starting and I'm watching the credits go by and it's a really pretty cut-scene sort of thing, then I bumped my mouse and it moved. Oh my god, it's live! The detail was exquisite, I was there. The accident was also a visceral experience. What followed was great, especially the scripted bits. Though, I will admit that by the time I got to the alien world, it had degenerated to a more typical FPS. I am psyched for the sequel (coming soon).
Exactly... the worst case scenario (which is also a common scenario) is that the user is from AOL, along with 100s of other users who all appear to share the same IP ranges. *pout*
I have had some success with blocking IP ranges for cases of unpopular ISPs or cable modem/DSL users who seem to have a static IP. But, this is rare.
Oh, I should have mentioned that I already do this. The trouble is that it's so easy to create a new email address at some random web-based email site that it doesn't help much. For a long while I made users trying to use web-based email address (i.e. hotmail.com) go through extra steps of providing more information (address+phone) and an approval step for me before I would let them on the site. I keep an every-increasing list of web-based email domains. My last count was 3,272 domains and still there were always new ones. Also, I really don't have the resources to test the address and phone info, so if it looked good, I'd let them through.
I got a Dell Inspiron 7500 (with the 15.4" screen) for XMas. Just last night I got it all running very smoothly. Dell's info is pointing at the Mach64 X server (though they indicate that "1024x768" is the mode their supporting when it should be able to do 1280x1204). Last night I got the Frame-Buffer X-server (FBDev) running in 1280x1024 (it's not accelerated, but it seems OK to me).
I also had a good experience with my PCMCIA etherent cards (a regular 3COM wired card) and a Wavelan card (wireless rocks!) - both are working great under Linux on my Dell.
Beyond that, I didn't find much need for Linux support from Dell. Linux just works for the most part.
This page was useful: http://www.eecs.umich.edu/~steveh/inspi ron/ I used it to get the FBDev X server running, though it could use some improvements (I plan to mail the author). Basically, use vga=794 (or 795) in your lilo.conf to get 1280x1024.
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I did something similar. I liked Bioshock, though I agree it was dumbed-down. But, it gave me the urge to play System Shock 2. So, I played it with Rebirth and some other patches. It was probably my 4th time through. It was great! I played it all the way through on hard and I was engrossed (played for hours at a time, put all my other games on hold). After I finished SS2, Bioshock really didn't seem to great. It was over-hyped. Still, it's a decent game. But, it still can't touch System Shock 2.
FoxIt PDF reader: http://www.foxitsoftware.com/
7-zip file archiver: http://www.7-zip.org/
I bet it sucks too.
I'm not finding a torrent for the i386 cds... I have a few servers with old CD drives in them (only used for installs like this). So, I have to do CDs not a DVD.
It's not about saving energy. It's about stimulating the economy, which is basically the opposite. More usable daylight means more consumer spending.
The image I got was a MythTV box that ran Eudora (email client).
In Windows, I turn on ToggleKeys from the "Accessibility Options" control panel applet. So, if I hit Caps Lock, Num Lock, or Scroll Lock -- it's almost always a mistake when I do -- I hear a beep.
I know, I'm using the worst, most evil operating system ever and this is just a lame workaround, but it's something.
The sun is already being blocked by particulate pollution. This has actually been obscuring the full effect of global warming.
There was a good Nova on Global dimming, "Dimming the Sun":
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sun/
See also:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_dimming
'nuff said.
Oh, and by the way, I run one of the more successful game trading websites: Game Trading Zone
I trade a lot of games and DVDs on-line.
All roads lead to the Sci-Fi channel.
If only they would walk the pattern.
I think it was nearly 6 years ago that the Sci-Fi channel said they were going to do something with Roger Zelazny's Amber series.
Personally, I'd love to see this. But, I haven't heard anything about it since. *pout*
http://enemy-territory.com
Wolfenstein - Enemy Territory is a freely available full-featured multi-player first-person-shooter for Windows and Linux. This game is much more than a simple deathmatch. There are character classes, each with various special abilities and available weapons. Each mission scenario has 2 teams, Axis and Allies, each with their own goals. There are 6 missions, split into two campaigns that cycle through the server in order.
Maybe, because it sucked?
Maybe, because it's not Sci-Fi?
Sorry, I don't really mean to be starting a flamewar, I just couldn't resist griping.
I'm angry and bitter about Quicksilver. I loved Cryptnomicon and his earlier books, but I gave up on Quicksilver after 250 boring pages.
I loved Omikron too! I knew there had to be someone else who liked it. I'm not even a Bowie fan. I somehow worked for me and ended up being very immersive. The weeks I was playing it, I felt like I was living in another world.
Morrowind almost had this feel to it as well, but somehow was less engaging for me.
The key element in the System Shock games (both of which are in my top-10) were the audio recordings that were left behind. They slowly told the tale of the tragedy and horror of the station, often leading me tantalizingly close to the people involved. The lovers story in SS2 was a really classy touch IMHO. I cared.
The original Half Life blew me away. I recall the game starting and I'm watching the credits go by and it's a really pretty cut-scene sort of thing, then I bumped my mouse and it moved. Oh my god, it's live! The detail was exquisite, I was there. The accident was also a visceral experience. What followed was great, especially the scripted bits. Though, I will admit that by the time I got to the alien world, it had degenerated to a more typical FPS. I am psyched for the sequel (coming soon).
Is mod_bitchslap out for Apache yet?
Exactly... the worst case scenario (which is also a common scenario) is that the user is from AOL, along with 100s of other users who all appear to share the same IP ranges. *pout*
I have had some success with blocking IP ranges for cases of unpopular ISPs or cable modem/DSL users who seem to have a static IP. But, this is rare.
Oh, I should have mentioned that I already do this. The trouble is that it's so easy to create a new email address at some random web-based email site that it doesn't help much. For a long while I made users trying to use web-based email address (i.e. hotmail.com) go through extra steps of providing more information (address+phone) and an approval step for me before I would let them on the site. I keep an every-increasing list of web-based email domains. My last count was 3,272 domains and still there were always new ones. Also, I really don't have the resources to test the address and phone info, so if it looked good, I'd let them through.
Game Trading Zone - http://gametz.com
I also had a good experience with my PCMCIA etherent cards (a regular 3COM wired card) and a Wavelan card (wireless rocks!) - both are working great under Linux on my Dell.
Beyond that, I didn't find much need for Linux support from Dell. Linux just works for the most part.
This page was useful: http://www.eecs.umich.edu/~steveh/inspi ron/ I used it to get the FBDev X server running, though it could use some improvements (I plan to mail the author). Basically, use vga=794 (or 795) in your lilo.conf to get 1280x1024.