I don't forsee Duke Nuke Em, Samus, or anyone else making a special appearance
I saw some games awards show a while ago (forget which) which had a special appearance from Mario. Played by Ron Jeremy. Yes, _that_ Ron Jeremy. Funniest thing I've seen in ages.
When I passed my driving test the first road trip I went on was to Port Merrion, where it was filmed. Amazing place, well worth a visit if you're anywhere near. Anyway - the gift shop sold weather balloons, we wanted one soooo much, but as penniless students it wasn't possible (plus we had nothing to blow it up with). So we settled with going down to the beach (the same one he was chased on) and drew a huge bicycle in the sand.
If you have to hit power, either your hardware is cruddy or you need to adjust a setting. My laptop comes on from suspend when you open it. If you had to enter your password, it's because you have that security feature enabled. Feel free to disable it if you choose (under power management). Don't get mad that OSX doesn't offer that feature.
Well I know I'm getting the console, and I know of 2 games I'm getting (chosen months ago), but these reviews have made me consider a couple of others too. Information is always good! And the PGR3 has just made me even more excited that I was already:)
I'm very happy with wordpress. It was an easy install, and upgrades have (so far) been even easier. There's a bunch of open source templates out there, it wasn't beyond my CSS skills to customize one to use. Performance is decent, and the web interface is pretty damn comprehensive.
XP already crawls on 256mb, as, for that matter, does OSX. Memory is MUCH more important than processor speed in almost all cases (up until a point, anyway).
Heh - ignore the flames, there's nothing more rabid than a Nintendo fanboy. I agree on most of your points, except that I'm not totally against a quick Mario Party or Monkey Ball. But out of the 3 consoles I have right now the Xbox gets majority play, because:
* Cross platform games are better on Xbox - better graphics, custom soundtracks, better online * I can only take so much of the Nintendo stuff, though it is fun in small doses. My biggest disappointment was Double Dash - there's like a couple of hours of play in that game then you're bored of all the cicruits. * In my preferred genre (driving) the Xbox just has the best first party games (PGR2 & Forza), and the best versions of the cross platforms (e.g. Burnout).
Of course on the other hand my GF only ever plays on the GC, she loves Mario anything, so it's a win win:)
In the future, we'll see. The lack of HD puts me off a LOT. I like flashy graphics, I'll admit it (seems like if you don't want all you're games in black and white 40x30 res you're just not hardcore enough these days). Sure a game has to be fun to play, but for me a lot of what makes a game fun is the audio visual experience - I want lound noises and insane action. And I want it in HD. 360 already has my money, we'll see when the others come along.
As for DS, well I'd consider one if it didn't look so cheap. Really, that thing puts me right off every time I see a picture of it (I've thought about getting it as I was an advance wars addict on the SP). Right now I'm playing a lot of Lumines, Mina No Golf, Coded Arms and GTA and I'm enjoying it a lot. Maybe I'll get my GF on of the new pink DS models and borrow it:)
I'll take the silent film that's actually good over a big-screen, flashy, noisy movie with no substance. I'm sure you will. But would enough people agree to keep Nintendo afloat? A quick look at the movie box office figures would suggest not.
There are a few differences between this and a regular format change.
1) A format change has an upside. Typically - better quality, or more features. Vinyl sounded better than wax drums, tape allowed recording, CD sounded better than vinyl, etc. A CD with "copy protection" offers me nothing more than a regular CD, in fact - it offers me less. Unless you count a rootkit as a bonus.
2) A format change requires repurchase of equipment and media for technical reasons, not political ones. I had to rebuy my LPs on CD because my record player doesn't have an appropriate laser pickup. The only reason I can't play my girlfriend's iTunes downloads on our living room hifi (with networked audio player) is that someone at Apple decided I shouldn't be allowed to. There is no technical reason whatsoever, just policy.
3) A format change is voluntary. I still have records, I still buy records. I'd like to still buy regular CDs, as would (I think) most people. That's becoming increasingly difficult. NO ONE IS ASKING for this format change. It's not voluntary.
If you buy something and it's defective (won't play) they have to exchange it. Period. Of course, they'll just give you another one. So take it home, try it out, still doesn't work - return it. Repeat until they get bored and give you a credit.
The other point of view, of course, is that if there was a stable driver API available for closed source, binary drivers, then manufacturers would be much happier to write drivers and so maybe your PPC drivers would exist.
Sure, driver versioning used to be a problem. Not so anymore, with the advent of WDM. Any WDM driver will work on any WDM OS (here's where someone interrupts with an exception!).
As for support of legacy devices, I've actually rarely had an issue. I have a 7 year old video capture card that I originally ran on Windows 95, it still works just fine on XP. I have similar vintage video cards, I can still download drivers for the latest Windows versions directly from the manufacturer. In the case on one where the manufacturer went bust (Hercules) the driver is actually supplied with XP. Even if that wasn't the case - a 7 year old video card can be replaced with something new costing $30 and probably performing better.
So in theory, sure, closed source binary drivers can lead to legacy support problems. In reality, not having open source drivers for commodity hardware poses a MUCH bigger problem for most people.
You do know that different computers sometimes have different hardware right? No shit.
do you also know there is more than one type of ethernet card? Yes, I do. Anyway, for what it's worth, I've yet to come across a NIC that doesn't work out of the box with XP. Although I'm sure there are some (probably a lot). I've had more luck with XP than Linux for recent hardware. As for old stuff, well it depends exactly how obscure you wanna get...
haha, 20 plus updates... ya, reeeal ez Yes, it was. In fact I didn't do a single thing except click "install".
don't give me that only few mintues too Learn to read. I said "a good few minutes" not "only a few". Notice the difference? FWIW it was about 30.
it tells you to restart after every update that's installed No, it didn't. Any more ignorant falsehoods you'd like to spout? You seem to be on a roll.
go check that stuff out, then you can discuss with the big boys, kthnx. I suggest go compare your UID to mine before making stupid "big boys" comments. kthx
You said it. I've had this problem MANY times when installing Windows. Interesting, I never have (well not in recent memory anyway).
That is, if you have it on disk (no thumbdrives won't work until you install those USB drivers)
Welcome to 2005, we use Windows XP. Support for USB MSC (thumb drives, external CD/HDD, etc) is included as standard, likewise USB HID (keyboard, mouse, etc). The other day I did a from-scratch XP install for my girlfriend. Nothing fancy hardware-wise (CD/DVD burner, IDE disk, on board video/ethernet/sound/USB, wireless USB keyboard & mouse) - but I didn't need to download a single driver. Of course Windows update spent a good few minutes with 20+ updates, but I didn't need to touch anything even for that. Can't beat it for ease of install, IMHO.
The problem with the author's first point is that many of the codecs or routines needed to decode media flat-out aren't available legally in the U.S., and until we don't have to rely on the likes of marillat and others to host stuff out of the country then we won't have the ability to do that.
Name _one_ "codec or routine" that is _required_ to play some kind of media which is illegal in the US.
You're confusing "available legally" with "available legally without paying a license fee" - I can quite legally play FairPlay, Windows DRM and DVD content on my XP box, because someone has arranged (and in some cases paid for) the licensing.
As it happens I stick with open formats (vorbis/flac) which of course are playable everywhere, but that's another argument:)
It is true though that for some unknown reason, corporate IT people won't even consider an open source app most of the time. Why businesses continue to hire these wastrels is beyond me though. Companies will throw millions of dollars into crappy proprietary software, then cut jobs when the red ink starts appearing. I work for a major investment bank, building front and back office systems. Most of what I (and my team) do day to day is in Java - I use Eclipse as my IDE, build the code in Ant/Maven, and never go anywhere without my Apache Commons libraries. We have code generation tools which are built on Velocity, and everything's tested with JUnit. The finished stuff runs on Linux blades, often under JBoss or Tomcat - http duty is obviously also handled by Apache. When it comes to debugging web apps nothing beats Firefox & the HTTPHeaders extension.
But apart from that you're right - we're terrified of Open Source:)
But there's really not much functional difference between multiprocess and multithread! If you want two threads which are totally independent you can have it. The advantage of threads over procs is that they are more lightweight. Of course this is on solaris/windows - I understand than on linux LWPs give you similar properties to threads (and indeed that's what Java uses under the hood) but I'm no Linux expert.
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Well if you need more anecdotal evidence, mine's fine. I've been playing a lot of Kameo, PGR3 & some arcade games, no issues.
I don't forsee Duke Nuke Em, Samus, or anyone else making a special appearance
I saw some games awards show a while ago (forget which) which had a special appearance from Mario. Played by Ron Jeremy. Yes, _that_ Ron Jeremy. Funniest thing I've seen in ages.
When I passed my driving test the first road trip I went on was to Port Merrion, where it was filmed. Amazing place, well worth a visit if you're anywhere near. Anyway - the gift shop sold weather balloons, we wanted one soooo much, but as penniless students it wasn't possible (plus we had nothing to blow it up with). So we settled with going down to the beach (the same one he was chased on) and drew a huge bicycle in the sand.
:)
Fun times
Doing this, however, caused enough of a commotion that we're now reading about it on Slashdot.
And that will make a difference how, exactly?
What - Sony are releasing another prerendered clip of an old guy smoking in a few months? Sweeet!
If you have to hit power, either your hardware is cruddy or you need to adjust a setting. My laptop comes on from suspend when you open it. If you had to enter your password, it's because you have that security feature enabled. Feel free to disable it if you choose (under power management). Don't get mad that OSX doesn't offer that feature.
It's called "suspend", and it's an option on every notebook I've used in the past 5 years.
Well I know I'm getting the console, and I know of 2 games I'm getting (chosen months ago), but these reviews have made me consider a couple of others too. Information is always good! And the PGR3 has just made me even more excited that I was already :)
I'm very happy with wordpress. It was an easy install, and upgrades have (so far) been even easier. There's a bunch of open source templates out there, it wasn't beyond my CSS skills to customize one to use. Performance is decent, and the web interface is pretty damn comprehensive.
I can't believe you just admitted that you need your computer to get laid. I'd stop while you're ahead. Or, rather, not too far behind. No wait...
I've never heard a developer say that a customer doesn't "deserve" their product before. That truly is special.
They wonder why people look at mac fanboys as raving loons.
XP already crawls on 256mb, as, for that matter, does OSX. Memory is MUCH more important than processor speed in almost all cases (up until a point, anyway).
Heh - ignore the flames, there's nothing more rabid than a Nintendo fanboy. I agree on most of your points, except that I'm not totally against a quick Mario Party or Monkey Ball. But out of the 3 consoles I have right now the Xbox gets majority play, because:
:)
:)
* Cross platform games are better on Xbox - better graphics, custom soundtracks, better online
* I can only take so much of the Nintendo stuff, though it is fun in small doses. My biggest disappointment was Double Dash - there's like a couple of hours of play in that game then you're bored of all the cicruits.
* In my preferred genre (driving) the Xbox just has the best first party games (PGR2 & Forza), and the best versions of the cross platforms (e.g. Burnout).
Of course on the other hand my GF only ever plays on the GC, she loves Mario anything, so it's a win win
In the future, we'll see. The lack of HD puts me off a LOT. I like flashy graphics, I'll admit it (seems like if you don't want all you're games in black and white 40x30 res you're just not hardcore enough these days). Sure a game has to be fun to play, but for me a lot of what makes a game fun is the audio visual experience - I want lound noises and insane action. And I want it in HD. 360 already has my money, we'll see when the others come along.
As for DS, well I'd consider one if it didn't look so cheap. Really, that thing puts me right off every time I see a picture of it (I've thought about getting it as I was an advance wars addict on the SP). Right now I'm playing a lot of Lumines, Mina No Golf, Coded Arms and GTA and I'm enjoying it a lot. Maybe I'll get my GF on of the new pink DS models and borrow it
Actually, right now, on GC, they pretty much are.
I'll take the silent film that's actually good over a big-screen, flashy, noisy movie with no substance.
I'm sure you will. But would enough people agree to keep Nintendo afloat? A quick look at the movie box office figures would suggest not.
There are a few differences between this and a regular format change.
1) A format change has an upside. Typically - better quality, or more features. Vinyl sounded better than wax drums, tape allowed recording, CD sounded better than vinyl, etc. A CD with "copy protection" offers me nothing more than a regular CD, in fact - it offers me less. Unless you count a rootkit as a bonus.
2) A format change requires repurchase of equipment and media for technical reasons, not political ones. I had to rebuy my LPs on CD because my record player doesn't have an appropriate laser pickup. The only reason I can't play my girlfriend's iTunes downloads on our living room hifi (with networked audio player) is that someone at Apple decided I shouldn't be allowed to. There is no technical reason whatsoever, just policy.
3) A format change is voluntary. I still have records, I still buy records. I'd like to still buy regular CDs, as would (I think) most people. That's becoming increasingly difficult. NO ONE IS ASKING for this format change. It's not voluntary.
If you buy something and it's defective (won't play) they have to exchange it. Period. Of course, they'll just give you another one. So take it home, try it out, still doesn't work - return it. Repeat until they get bored and give you a credit.
The other point of view, of course, is that if there was a stable driver API available for closed source, binary drivers, then manufacturers would be much happier to write drivers and so maybe your PPC drivers would exist.
Sure, driver versioning used to be a problem. Not so anymore, with the advent of WDM. Any WDM driver will work on any WDM OS (here's where someone interrupts with an exception!).
As for support of legacy devices, I've actually rarely had an issue. I have a 7 year old video capture card that I originally ran on Windows 95, it still works just fine on XP. I have similar vintage video cards, I can still download drivers for the latest Windows versions directly from the manufacturer. In the case on one where the manufacturer went bust (Hercules) the driver is actually supplied with XP. Even if that wasn't the case - a 7 year old video card can be replaced with something new costing $30 and probably performing better.
So in theory, sure, closed source binary drivers can lead to legacy support problems. In reality, not having open source drivers for commodity hardware poses a MUCH bigger problem for most people.
You do know that different computers sometimes have different hardware right?
No shit.
do you also know there is more than one type of ethernet card?
Yes, I do. Anyway, for what it's worth, I've yet to come across a NIC that doesn't work out of the box with XP. Although I'm sure there are some (probably a lot). I've had more luck with XP than Linux for recent hardware. As for old stuff, well it depends exactly how obscure you wanna get...
haha, 20 plus updates... ya, reeeal ez
Yes, it was. In fact I didn't do a single thing except click "install".
don't give me that only few mintues too
Learn to read. I said "a good few minutes" not "only a few". Notice the difference? FWIW it was about 30.
it tells you to restart after every update that's installed
No, it didn't. Any more ignorant falsehoods you'd like to spout? You seem to be on a roll.
go check that stuff out, then you can discuss with the big boys, kthnx.
I suggest go compare your UID to mine before making stupid "big boys" comments. kthx
You said it. I've had this problem MANY times when installing Windows.
Interesting, I never have (well not in recent memory anyway).
That is, if you have it on disk (no thumbdrives won't work until you install those USB drivers)
Welcome to 2005, we use Windows XP. Support for USB MSC (thumb drives, external CD/HDD, etc) is included as standard, likewise USB HID (keyboard, mouse, etc). The other day I did a from-scratch XP install for my girlfriend. Nothing fancy hardware-wise (CD/DVD burner, IDE disk, on board video/ethernet/sound/USB, wireless USB keyboard & mouse) - but I didn't need to download a single driver. Of course Windows update spent a good few minutes with 20+ updates, but I didn't need to touch anything even for that. Can't beat it for ease of install, IMHO.
The problem with the author's first point is that many of the codecs or routines needed to decode media flat-out aren't available legally in the U.S., and until we don't have to rely on the likes of marillat and others to host stuff out of the country then we won't have the ability to do that.
:)
Name _one_ "codec or routine" that is _required_ to play some kind of media which is illegal in the US.
You're confusing "available legally" with "available legally without paying a license fee" - I can quite legally play FairPlay, Windows DRM and DVD content on my XP box, because someone has arranged (and in some cases paid for) the licensing.
As it happens I stick with open formats (vorbis/flac) which of course are playable everywhere, but that's another argument
That might be something to do with it being a subscription service, whereas BugMeNot is for avoiding registration on free sites.
It is true though that for some unknown reason, corporate IT people won't even consider an open source app most of the time. Why businesses continue to hire these wastrels is beyond me though. Companies will throw millions of dollars into crappy proprietary software, then cut jobs when the red ink starts appearing.
:)
I work for a major investment bank, building front and back office systems. Most of what I (and my team) do day to day is in Java - I use Eclipse as my IDE, build the code in Ant/Maven, and never go anywhere without my Apache Commons libraries. We have code generation tools which are built on Velocity, and everything's tested with JUnit. The finished stuff runs on Linux blades, often under JBoss or Tomcat - http duty is obviously also handled by Apache. When it comes to debugging web apps nothing beats Firefox & the HTTPHeaders extension.
But apart from that you're right - we're terrified of Open Source
But there's really not much functional difference between multiprocess and multithread! If you want two threads which are totally independent you can have it. The advantage of threads over procs is that they are more lightweight. Of course this is on solaris/windows - I understand than on linux LWPs give you similar properties to threads (and indeed that's what Java uses under the hood) but I'm no Linux expert.