I (and my colleagues at work) remotely manage a lot of servers in many data centers worldwide. We use a serial terminal server (cyclades) which allows for SSH connectivity (then over serial) to any machine configured and plugged into the serial port. this allows us to reboot the machine and remain connected to it for bios changes, OS rebuilds, single user mode, etc... we also use power columns that have remote control options like powering off a specific outlet so we can do cold boots. finally, we have a Perle serial device on a separate IP block in case we lose the data center's router or other non-all-encompassing problem upstream from us.
seems like the serial terminal server would do what you want. it is a separate device that needs it's own IP but otherwise will allow you to control the machine from power-on to boot-up so you could configure linux anyway you like. it's not end-to-end encryption although SSH is encrypted and you can configure the cyclades device to use it exclusively.
but now it seems you don't really own any of the hardware and therefore you are not truly colo and therefore can't walk into the datacenter with new equipment and set it up yourself. the problem here is that you don't own the hardware, so you don't have much leverage in the situation. you need to physically own the hardware in your future hosting plans. good luck dude.
I just don't find this guy funny or even all that intelligent. what is he even saying here? yes the US has been trailing in science and math education for a while and yes we know that trend must stop - stating the obvious doesn't make it so, it's not funny (obligatory nerd/wedgie comment not withstanding) and it's not smart or original. if he did 'I'm a Linux' commercials he might not come across as such a d-bag.
date: 2007-12-9
filed under: absurd - not for public consumption
subject: insane mutant troll rant annotated
did you forget the 99.9% of the time when everything works flawlessly?
the post I responded to wasn't about how good the camera was... and besides [pout], you never asked!
nobody wants to hear you bitch about how bad your day was or what happened to you at the office,
why don't you write the authors of reviews that also mentioned these problems and tell them they are just being bitchy. I'm sure they'll take it well.
nobody wants to hear you bitch about it when you find some insignificant problem in a game.
i responded to the parent who's post got modded to +4 insightful from some person or persons. also, why haven't you responded to Yosho who corrected your arguably ignorant statement? include the quotes from the reviews I posted and that's a lot of nobodies without even leaving this thread.
Plus, when you do bitch about it, you make it sound like a bigger problem than it is
I never talked about frequency (neither did the parent) or severity, in fact, I didn't really go into any detail - your wild assumptions are yours alone. if it makes you feel any better, I loved the camera in MG! can you believe it? but since perfection is a theoretical impossibility, there were the issues I alluded to - issues that have been better described within some published reviews.
sorry if your pussy is hurt over being attacked by "rabid, frothing fanboys" [read: the voice of reason],
well, mine might hurt for now, but yours has a stank that won't wash out. BWAHAHAHAHA
I need to mod your relative post score down so I don't have to read any more of your 'brilliant insight'.
:D - it's cool, even if I knew what it meant, I couldn't care less (hence why).
seriously though, once you figure out that people can disagree with you and still not be wrong, a lot of that angst will go away. good luck.
this has become so absurd it's starting to be fun - like a staring contest where you somehow lose by looking away first:)
yeah, I understand - any problems that I or anyone else have with the camera in MG are so insignificant that it should not be talked about here on/. or in a review or um, anywhere I guess... that part's still not clear. While it's a good thing we have you around here to let us know when the Significance Threshold has been crossed, you could suggest some places where it IS ok to talk about such trivial things.
you may have lost sight of the fact (though not for lack of my trying) that you attacked the parent and I first for no reason at all - calling us ignorant or liars because of our opinions doesn't make any logical sense, doesn't forward any discussion other than a pissing match like this and actually damages the sense of freedom of expression on this site (which is the entire point of this site) for fear (oh my!) of being attacked by rabid, frothing fanboys - [hint]it spreads through the saliva.
[sigh] ok I'll breath one last gasp of hope into this...
I'm not talking about your opinion being an opinion
this is exactly the problem - you've been treating my opinion like a fact from the beginning. an opinion can be neither right or wrong. by calling my opinion wrong (among other indicators), you are treating it like a fact. furthermore, I am not alone in this opinion - and they also are not right or wrong but it shows that your absolute condemnation is unfounded. Nitpicking? of course it is! The FA is nitpicking! MG is an incredible game worthy of all the praise it has gotten (could you possibly disagree with everything? lets see). all that's left is nitpicking, but so what? you're on a geek site, talking about geek things, in a geek way - geeks nitpick; it's what we do best [read: over analyze]. you're nitpicking about my damn opinion, not the game! there's got to be a better outlet for your angst than this - try rubbing one out followed by a nap.
dude, you're all over the place... and sorry, but I just can't spend any more time trying to teach you rudimentary English and logic [read: the diff between fact and opinion]. stay in school!
i don't want more use of a poorly implemented swivel function, but I do want more control. I've played 3d games where camera control was great - if the camera ends up in a bad spot, I can move it and it stays. I was mostly referring to the camera locking in Mario games - it happens with annoying frequency in MG and MSunshine while it was fairly rare in M64. Anyway, when I referenced M64's camera I said 'I seem to remember' - it's been a while since I played it so I was not making an empirical statement. sheesh, people are so touchy around here, as if it's a personal attack whenever someone questions something.
>>"flip the camera right before a big jump or when you're walking on a narrow beam, a problem I -never- had in SMG," i agree, but MG locks the camera often when a different angle would help greatly, a problem I don't remember having in M64.
So once again, it simply comes down to personal preference and opinion - we all win and lose simultaneously! OHM!
the type of complaint is irrelevant. the FACT is that people other than me think problems still exist with the camera (thier opinion). I also included quotes from 5 reviews which also proves that there are reviews out there that talk specifically about it - you said none of them did this. I understand that you think the camera in MG is perfect and since that's your OPINION, I have no absolutely no problem with that. it's too bad you have such a problem with other people's opinion, though. do you know what the difference is between fact and opinion? seems as if you don't.
>> "you dislike it because of the color, I'd say that's ignorant". that's a pretty awful analogy because ice cream comes in many colors so the focus is more on the color than the ice cream - the person saying this is confused, not ignorant. Let's fix that. let's say I don't like ice cream because it's cold. "ice cream is cold"=fact - "i don't like cold ice cream"=opinion. no matter how you try to spin it, someone's opinion can't be wrong and therefore, by definition, can't be ignorant because of it. this English lesson provided free of charge!
so, unfortunately for you (although I don't understand why), I am not the only one who holds the opinion that problems still exist with the camera (no need to even look farther than other posts in this thread!) in Mario games despite what you think and despite what Koizumi and Miyamoto say. that's the beauty of opinions! cool, 'innit?
i'm not going to be able to say it any better than Joystiq's nega-review - their nega-reviews are a collection of negative points found in reviews for a game that gets very high scores. you can look up the source of each if you go to the joystiq site and read the FA.
here's a snippet:
"The concept of running around giant spheres can be daunting at first." (3) "Just be warned that the potential for nausea is high, as it takes a moment or two to adjust to the camera." (4) "There are a few areas where the camera prevents you from seeing things perfectly," (7) such as "times where walls will obstruct your view or you won't be able to rotate the perspective to see where you are supposed to jump next." (5) "Every so often... you will find yourself in a situation where the camera isn't quite right... When that happens and you can't center yourself, you have no recourse, which is unfortunate... It's not perfect." (6)"
so, as you can see, camera problems are still an issue for some even if they are not for you.
also, ignorance deals with not having information or facts, not with opinion. If I don't like ice cream and you do, you can't really make the jump to ignorance. now, if I say I hate ice cream but I don't know what it is, then you've got something... maybe.
yep, but they added the camera control before the Black re-release in an xbox live downloadable patch... just thought I throw that out there for no real reason:)
maybe you're right... However, I remember that M64 rarely disabled the camera while MSunshine and MG lock the camera frequently - I find this annoying because there never seemed to be reason why the camera would become locked other than the developers doing it to make the challenge harder. I agree that a Mario game should not be about controlling the camera, but I think it's a necessary evil for a 3D game that is not on rails.
you can't deduce that I am ignorant if all you have is my opinion.
anyway, go read some reviews about MG (avoid Gamespot, if possible:) - across all the nearly-perfect scores that all reviewers gave, the 1 common problem they all found was the camera. Of course these are all opinions as well but my point is that you are in the minority if you think the camera has no problems.
I agree - I don't think they ever found the solution for the camera problems.
the camera was arguably the best in M64
Sunshine and MG both have problematic cameras
had a massive game lineup and huge developer support surely you are not sarcastically referring to the Wii... where's this massive games list? even if you could call the Wii lineup massive, where are the games worth buying? I count 3 (including WiiSports) for my tastes and maybe 6 for everyone else. and this TFA is about nervous developers and the lack of developer support.
I fear that the Wii will ultimately be a fad but it was cheap and having just a few great games for it will keep me from regretting my purchase.
4. Always let players skip cut scenes no matter how important they are to the story. I find it ironic that Nintendo (arguably the kings of game usability/intuitiveness) often doesn't let you skip the cutscenes in their games.
on of the better compromises I've seen is where you can't skip the cutscene on the first viewing but you can on subsequent viewings. few things are more annoying that dying several times right after a cutscene you can't skip.
man, I really agree with you on the non-gameplay button thing. I never realized the solution was so simple even though I subconsciously thanked them when they did it this way.
on your other point though, I think they are talking about something different - it's when the game requires that you take damage, no matter who you are. it happens more frequently than people realize, I think - although no one game overuses it in my experience.
I can afford one... but that doesn't mean it's worth it. it was overpriced to begin with, I'm waiting for the price to drop.
look at the sales figures and look at how Sony is reacting to the sales figures... apparently, a lot of people agree with me. It's simple capitalism: if consumers don't like it (for whatever reason), they won't buy it. Sony got plenty of warning from consumers before the PS3 launch. why is it my fault if they didn't listen? I also resent the pirate implication... be careful where you point that thing!
I think you always want the source device to control the upscaling... it might even be necessary.
I have a pretty good HD receiver - it accepts all types of inputs, converts the signal to digital (if necessary) and then you can use 1 HDMI output from the receiver to the TV. It's not a top-of-the-line receiver but it's not entry-level either (cost about $500-$550) and it has no controls for upscaling at all.
the xbox360 handles the upscaling, my DVD player handles the upscaling and I know that the PS3 handles the upscaling. My TV can only do 1080i but I don't see any controls for upscaling to it - the signal sent in is what is used.
so while I'm not 100% sure, it seems like the source device needs to control the upscaling.
if I didn't think it was overpriced, I would have already. I have been waiting for the price to drop to get a PS3.
but, since the 40Gb will soon become the only one available (unless Sony pulls ANOTHER 180), I guess I am out of luck... err, I should say that Sony is out 1 more sale... but who cares about 1 sale? right? it's just me that's troubled by this move... right?
actually, it seems that you're wrong about that although it's not been verified for certain:
With some help from Engadget Japan's Ittousai, we have found diagrams indicating the switch from Emotion Engine + Graphic Synthesizer chip to just a graphics synthesizer chip, implying the software emulation was partially hardware-supported (as noted by many commenters). If that's the case, then, the ability to download emulation software later may not be possible. We don't want to spread misinformation, so for further clarification we have contacted Sony for a definitive answer. you can see the diagram here:
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2007/0314/kaigai344.htm
this is from Sony back in March right before the 80Gb was introduced with a software emulator but still with the graphics chip:
"Q: Does this mean that the PS2 hardware chips have been removed completely and replaced with software-only emulation?
A: The original PS3 used the Emotion Engine/Graphics Synthesizer to emulate PS2 titles. With the latest European specification we have removed the Emotion Engine, retaining the graphics chip." - source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2099538,00.asp
think. research. post. -- don't replace the 'research' step with 'get drunk and angry'
how did this get modded as 'informative'? it's riddled with opinion and factual inaccuracies.
#1: go over to the joystiq site and read up - Sony saves $27 by removing the BC feature. They must be in dire straits to need that $27 per console. Also, this 40Gb model can NEVER do BC while every 360 is capable when an HDD is present.
#2: Sony absolutely thought rumble was last Gen... because they said it specifically in those words multiple times. Also, what makes you think MS made it hard for Immersion to license to SOny? MS settled with Immersion over the infringement while Sony fought tooth-and-nail and ultimately lost. No, only Sony can be blamed for that fiasco.
#3: you are right on this point except you left out the part where 360 games perform the same when an HDD is present (games use it when it's there), so the only ones who suffer are the ones without the HDD. regardless, I agree the core 360 hurts the platform but this can be worked around while this decision by Sony has irreversible consequences.
for you to say that people are not using their heads because they disagree with you, is not only UNinformative, it's staight-up ignorant.
Microsoft rarely initiates anything beneficial for their customers unless there is competition, what about the never-been-done-before 3 year warranty they initiated for their customers in response to the rrod problem? that wasn't caused by competition. Also, I don't think this news is making people cheer for the 360 nearly as much as their shock and outrage towards Sony (this is just one of many blunders). however, I do agree with your point about competition, but that's the rules of the game and everyone is playing, not just MS or Sony - for example, MS and Sony are concerned about the Wii's success even though they are not in direct competition in terms of hardware (they are in competition for your time though).
Slashdot Mirror
I (and my colleagues at work) remotely manage a lot of servers in many data centers worldwide. We use a serial terminal server (cyclades) which allows for SSH connectivity (then over serial) to any machine configured and plugged into the serial port. this allows us to reboot the machine and remain connected to it for bios changes, OS rebuilds, single user mode, etc... we also use power columns that have remote control options like powering off a specific outlet so we can do cold boots. finally, we have a Perle serial device on a separate IP block in case we lose the data center's router or other non-all-encompassing problem upstream from us. seems like the serial terminal server would do what you want. it is a separate device that needs it's own IP but otherwise will allow you to control the machine from power-on to boot-up so you could configure linux anyway you like. it's not end-to-end encryption although SSH is encrypted and you can configure the cyclades device to use it exclusively. but now it seems you don't really own any of the hardware and therefore you are not truly colo and therefore can't walk into the datacenter with new equipment and set it up yourself. the problem here is that you don't own the hardware, so you don't have much leverage in the situation. you need to physically own the hardware in your future hosting plans. good luck dude.
I just don't find this guy funny or even all that intelligent. what is he even saying here? yes the US has been trailing in science and math education for a while and yes we know that trend must stop - stating the obvious doesn't make it so, it's not funny (obligatory nerd/wedgie comment not withstanding) and it's not smart or original. if he did 'I'm a Linux' commercials he might not come across as such a d-bag.
filed under: absurd - not for public consumption
subject: insane mutant troll rant annotated
the post I responded to wasn't about how good the camera was... and besides [pout], you never asked! why don't you write the authors of reviews that also mentioned these problems and tell them they are just being bitchy. I'm sure they'll take it well. i responded to the parent who's post got modded to +4 insightful from some person or persons. also, why haven't you responded to Yosho who corrected your arguably ignorant statement? include the quotes from the reviews I posted and that's a lot of nobodies without even leaving this thread. I never talked about frequency (neither did the parent) or severity, in fact, I didn't really go into any detail - your wild assumptions are yours alone. if it makes you feel any better, I loved the camera in MG! can you believe it? but since perfection is a theoretical impossibility, there were the issues I alluded to - issues that have been better described within some published reviews. well, mine might hurt for now, but yours has a stank that won't wash out. BWAHAHAHAHA
seriously though, once you figure out that people can disagree with you and still not be wrong, a lot of that angst will go away. good luck.
this has become so absurd it's starting to be fun - like a staring contest where you somehow lose by looking away first :)
/. or in a review or um, anywhere I guess... that part's still not clear. While it's a good thing we have you around here to let us know when the Significance Threshold has been crossed, you could suggest some places where it IS ok to talk about such trivial things.
yeah, I understand - any problems that I or anyone else have with the camera in MG are so insignificant that it should not be talked about here on
you may have lost sight of the fact (though not for lack of my trying) that you attacked the parent and I first for no reason at all - calling us ignorant or liars because of our opinions doesn't make any logical sense, doesn't forward any discussion other than a pissing match like this and actually damages the sense of freedom of expression on this site (which is the entire point of this site) for fear (oh my!) of being attacked by rabid, frothing fanboys - [hint]it spreads through the saliva.
wow, ok. did you RTFA?
dude, you're all over the place... and sorry, but I just can't spend any more time trying to teach you rudimentary English and logic [read: the diff between fact and opinion]. stay in school!
i don't want more use of a poorly implemented swivel function, but I do want more control. I've played 3d games where camera control was great - if the camera ends up in a bad spot, I can move it and it stays. I was mostly referring to the camera locking in Mario games - it happens with annoying frequency in MG and MSunshine while it was fairly rare in M64. Anyway, when I referenced M64's camera I said 'I seem to remember' - it's been a while since I played it so I was not making an empirical statement.
sheesh, people are so touchy around here, as if it's a personal attack whenever someone questions something.
>>"flip the camera right before a big jump or when you're walking on a narrow beam, a problem I -never- had in SMG,"
i agree, but MG locks the camera often when a different angle would help greatly, a problem I don't remember having in M64.
So once again, it simply comes down to personal preference and opinion - we all win and lose simultaneously! OHM!
the type of complaint is irrelevant. the FACT is that people other than me think problems still exist with the camera (thier opinion). I also included quotes from 5 reviews which also proves that there are reviews out there that talk specifically about it - you said none of them did this.
I understand that you think the camera in MG is perfect and since that's your OPINION, I have no absolutely no problem with that. it's too bad you have such a problem with other people's opinion, though. do you know what the difference is between fact and opinion? seems as if you don't.
>> "you dislike it because of the color, I'd say that's ignorant".
that's a pretty awful analogy because ice cream comes in many colors so the focus is more on the color than the ice cream - the person saying this is confused, not ignorant. Let's fix that. let's say I don't like ice cream because it's cold. "ice cream is cold"=fact - "i don't like cold ice cream"=opinion. no matter how you try to spin it, someone's opinion can't be wrong and therefore, by definition, can't be ignorant because of it. this English lesson provided free of charge!
so, unfortunately for you (although I don't understand why), I am not the only one who holds the opinion that problems still exist with the camera (no need to even look farther than other posts in this thread!) in Mario games despite what you think and despite what Koizumi and Miyamoto say. that's the beauty of opinions! cool, 'innit?
here's a snippet: so, as you can see, camera problems are still an issue for some even if they are not for you.
also, ignorance deals with not having information or facts, not with opinion. If I don't like ice cream and you do, you can't really make the jump to ignorance. now, if I say I hate ice cream but I don't know what it is, then you've got something... maybe.
yep, but they added the camera control before the Black re-release in an xbox live downloadable patch... just thought I throw that out there for no real reason :)
maybe you're right...
However, I remember that M64 rarely disabled the camera while MSunshine and MG lock the camera frequently - I find this annoying because there never seemed to be reason why the camera would become locked other than the developers doing it to make the challenge harder.
I agree that a Mario game should not be about controlling the camera, but I think it's a necessary evil for a 3D game that is not on rails.
you can't deduce that I am ignorant if all you have is my opinion.
:) - across all the nearly-perfect scores that all reviewers gave, the 1 common problem they all found was the camera. Of course these are all opinions as well but my point is that you are in the minority if you think the camera has no problems.
anyway, go read some reviews about MG (avoid Gamespot, if possible
you're a silly doctor.
I agree - I don't think they ever found the solution for the camera problems. the camera was arguably the best in M64 Sunshine and MG both have problematic cameras
oooh!! Sony drops the price of the PS2 a whole $29!!!
that's about the same price that the PS2 chip costs when put into the PS3 - according to Joystiq's research
Gee Sony, button up your shirt, your heart's falling out.
where's this massive games list? even if you could call the Wii lineup massive, where are the games worth buying? I count 3 (including WiiSports) for my tastes and maybe 6 for everyone else. and this TFA is about nervous developers and the lack of developer support.
I fear that the Wii will ultimately be a fad but it was cheap and having just a few great games for it will keep me from regretting my purchase.
on of the better compromises I've seen is where you can't skip the cutscene on the first viewing but you can on subsequent viewings. few things are more annoying that dying several times right after a cutscene you can't skip.
man, I really agree with you on the non-gameplay button thing. I never realized the solution was so simple even though I subconsciously thanked them when they did it this way.
on your other point though, I think they are talking about something different - it's when the game requires that you take damage, no matter who you are.
it happens more frequently than people realize, I think - although no one game overuses it in my experience.
I can afford one... but that doesn't mean it's worth it.
it was overpriced to begin with, I'm waiting for the price to drop.
look at the sales figures and look at how Sony is reacting to the sales figures... apparently, a lot of people agree with me. It's simple capitalism: if consumers don't like it (for whatever reason), they won't buy it. Sony got plenty of warning from consumers before the PS3 launch. why is it my fault if they didn't listen? I also resent the pirate implication... be careful where you point that thing!
I think you always want the source device to control the upscaling... it might even be necessary.
I have a pretty good HD receiver - it accepts all types of inputs, converts the signal to digital (if necessary) and then you can use 1 HDMI output from the receiver to the TV. It's not a top-of-the-line receiver but it's not entry-level either (cost about $500-$550) and it has no controls for upscaling at all.
the xbox360 handles the upscaling, my DVD player handles the upscaling and I know that the PS3 handles the upscaling. My TV can only do 1080i but I don't see any controls for upscaling to it - the signal sent in is what is used.
so while I'm not 100% sure, it seems like the source device needs to control the upscaling.
if I didn't think it was overpriced, I would have already. I have been waiting for the price to drop to get a PS3.
but, since the 40Gb will soon become the only one available (unless Sony pulls ANOTHER 180), I guess I am out of luck... err, I should say that Sony is out 1 more sale... but who cares about 1 sale? right? it's just me that's troubled by this move... right?
this is from Sony back in March right before the 80Gb was introduced with a software emulator but still with the graphics chip: "Q: Does this mean that the PS2 hardware chips have been removed completely and replaced with software-only emulation? A: The original PS3 used the Emotion Engine/Graphics Synthesizer to emulate PS2 titles. With the latest European specification we have removed the Emotion Engine, retaining the graphics chip." - source: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,2099538,00.asp
think. research. post. -- don't replace the 'research' step with 'get drunk and angry'
BC is really important to me. Sony earned alot of respect from me by sticking to their BC guns... now I feel betrayed.
I want to play GoW1&2, MGS2, Shadow of the Colossus, etc... upscaled!!
And what happens if Blu-ray doesn't win the format war?? it's possible that Sony could be in for a major train wreck up ahead.
I've been waiting for cheaper, but not at the sacrifice of important features.
how did this get modded as 'informative'? it's riddled with opinion and factual inaccuracies.
#1: go over to the joystiq site and read up - Sony saves $27 by removing the BC feature. They must be in dire straits to need that $27 per console. Also, this 40Gb model can NEVER do BC while every 360 is capable when an HDD is present.
#2: Sony absolutely thought rumble was last Gen... because they said it specifically in those words multiple times. Also, what makes you think MS made it hard for Immersion to license to SOny? MS settled with Immersion over the infringement while Sony fought tooth-and-nail and ultimately lost. No, only Sony can be blamed for that fiasco.
#3: you are right on this point except you left out the part where 360 games perform the same when an HDD is present (games use it when it's there), so the only ones who suffer are the ones without the HDD. regardless, I agree the core 360 hurts the platform but this can be worked around while this decision by Sony has irreversible consequences.
for you to say that people are not using their heads because they disagree with you, is not only UNinformative, it's staight-up ignorant.
Also, I don't think this news is making people cheer for the 360 nearly as much as their shock and outrage towards Sony (this is just one of many blunders).
however, I do agree with your point about competition, but that's the rules of the game and everyone is playing, not just MS or Sony - for example, MS and Sony are concerned about the Wii's success even though they are not in direct competition in terms of hardware (they are in competition for your time though).