I like Apple computers. Sadly, I also prefer to get the best bang for my buck. I don't change my own oil, but at the same time I do fix my own appliances, repair and build my own computers, and a number of other do-it-yourself type things because frankly, my family of five is single-income and I'm not exactly getting rich from what I do.
Therefore, while I wouldn't mind owning a Mac, I just can't bring myself to part with the cash, even knowing that I could purchase and install upgrades myself without too much hassle. The system I built for myself for around $950 would easily be around $2500-$3000 if purchased from Apple, and I just don't have a few grand lying around (nor do I want that kind of credit card debt).
In my opinion, the biggest contributing factor to the failure of Episodes I, II and even III is the lack of one very important technique that was invented during the making of the original Star Wars. This technique helped make the original films believable, which also in turn made them immersive.
During the documentary of the making of Star Wars (on the 4th disc of the box set DVD release), one of the film crew members described a problem where C3P0s costume was initially a highly reflective chrome surface and was causing the cameras to be visible during their test shoot. To offset this problem they rubbed dirt and grease into the costume, dulling it enough so that it would no longer be reflective. They then used this technique with other droids, vehicles and anything else in the film. They called it the "used future" - and it was all the more believable because these objects, vehicles, droids and other things really did appear as though they had always been there.
As we all know, not only was there an overzealous amount of CG in Star Wars Episodes I, II and III, but the real sets and costumes were kept pristine and perfect throughout the films. Hair cuts, makeup, billboards, decorations, vehicles, aliens, etc, all looked perfect 100% of the time. Too perfect.
Just as human brains are capable of instantly detecting the subtle differences in something that is not really alive (which is a common problem when watching CG special effects in film), it also can detect when something is "too perfect".
This alone was enough to ruin any immersive qualities the new Star Wars films might have had, and this problem was compounded by the poor dialogue, stupid gags, dragging plot-lines, inconsistencies and the idiotic notion that everything needed to be explained in detail.
Also, the new films had a practically unlimited budget, and therefore there was less need to innovate or improvise, almost eliminating the possibility of creating "happy accidents" that were part of the magic of the original movies (some of which were later removed by George's "improvements" in the re-releases).
My favorite Star Wars film is the original Empire Strikes Back, which was not directed by George Lucas, and also happens to be his least favorite of the series. The original film is a perfect balance of action, romance and drama, and should have been left entirely alone. But I suppose until I am as successful as George Lucas in the entertainment industry my two cents are pretty meaningless.
My dream computer may offend some, but please bear in mind I am employed as a PC repair tech who gets to fix Windows computers all day, every day. Even though I presently operate LINUX as my primary laptop OS of choice due to my limited budget, if my budget allowed I would switch to a Mac without hesitation.
"What about games?"
Well, seeing as how PC games no longer fit into my budget either due to hardware requirements, I've switched back from PC gaming to console only, so gaming really isn't a requirement for me anymore.
I tried Scribus, and after some tweaking I found it offers finer control than Publisher, but I can put together a decent document in Publisher in about 1/3 the time required by Scribus. This is probably partly because I have been using MS Office software since 1995, therefore it is easy for me to use Office applications, even the ones I have little experience with. For personal projects (where time doesn't equal money) I will use Scribus.
My complaint isn't with the software, however, but the fact that no other software can properly interpret *.pub files except for Publisher, and there are also issues with compatibility within the different versions of Publisher (like many office documents, files created by newer versions are not properly interpreted by older versions of the same program, even if you take the time to "Save As: Office 2000 *.pub, for example).
Get off the train to crazytown. Use OO.o already. Actually I find even with the latest Java installed OpenOffice is just as slow and unwieldy as the latest MS Office packages, so I tend to avoid it. I haven't used MS Office or OpenOffice.org in my personal life for a few years now, although I do take advantage of MS Publisher 2003 at work because it's rather efficient.
Abiword and Gnumeric are significantly faster than Word and Excel or Writer and Calc. I haven't found anything better than Impress for presentations, however (Powerpoint just plain bugs me). And it would be nice if there was a non-proprietary Publisher. Oh well, one can't have everything, right?
The company I work for always adds OpenOffice to every new PC sold by default, because getting OEM Office drives the price up by almost $200 (and our price is already higher than Office Depot, Office Max, Best Buy and Walmart on comparable PCs of the main brands). I find, however, that people who are comfortable using MS Office don't like OpenOffice, just like people who are comfortable with Corel WordPerfect typically don't like MS Word. You like the program you are most familiar with, even if other programs do the same task better. Nobody likes having to learn to do the same thing in a different manner. I still tie my shoes the same way I taught myself to as a child, even though the normal way to tie one's shoes tends to keep them tied longer than my method.
With that in mind I find it highly amusing that MS Office 2007 requires a substantial learning curve before most users can become efficient with it. Nice job yet again, Microsoft. Justify the massive pricetag of your newest product that is nothing more than a minor upgrade with a facelift by including an interface overhaul.
I have customers that are still using MS Office 97, purchased almost ten years ago. Why? Because for them, it still works just fine.
My parents are both educators, and based on their stories about work, I've come to the conclusion that today's public school system, at least in New York state, is all about avoiding a lawsuit at all costs. All children pass every grade level, regardless of their academic achievement or ability or willingness to learn. Teachers are no longer permitted to so much as speak in anger while reprimanding a student, much less yell or put their hands on students. They have absolutely no control over their classrooms, and once the students figure this out, daily classes turn into chaos.
This is not fair for the students who actually have a desire to learn. Try learning something in a class where the students openly mock the teacher sometime, and see how much is accomplished in that short 30-40 minute period. It's like trying to be a Microsoft network administrator with a staff that downloads viruses and porn to their computers daily and expect you to fix it - nothing ever gets done. I've been told this issue is not just in New York, but other places as well, especially in the major cities.
How is it remotely possible for an administration that has been effectively neutered by mainstream society to stop cyber bullying?
On top of that, how many parents understand computers enough to be able to prevent their children from committing these deeds. After all, they are the only ones left with the authority to do so short of the local police.
...and people wonder why my wife and I are homeschooling our children.
While I sympathize with the author, who has probably been on the rough end of some verbal abuse, I find it interesting that he is using the same tactics against IT professionals that he claims has been brought against him. While it is likely that there are some immature employees in his IT department, it is unfair to assume that all IT professionals are immature and mean-spirited to all who are not "in their clique".
I have been in the bottom rung of IT service and support for around six years, and I cannot count the number of customers who want a magic fix that will instantly get their computer running again without having to pay for any actual service. Abusive customers have accused me of ruining their computers weeks after a repair, when their own teenage children have had full access to the machine and are permitted to download and install anything they want. Others have called up screaming and cursing at me because they didn't take the time to down their broadband modem before hooking up their computer and could not get online - even though I am not their internet provider, nor am I paid to offer them support for their internet access. And the list goes on and on and on.
Being an IT professional is not easy. Maintaining a professional attitude at work in this field can be a challenge on a daily basis. Taking abuse from your own coworkers is even worse than from your customers, because you have to see them on a daily basis. So before publishing an article that is designed to upset any IT professional who reads it, wouldn't it make more sense to take the time to reflect on what you may have said or done to upset your IT department, and avoid it in the future? Have you ever thanked your IT staff for helping you? Have you ever brought them donuts or coffee? Somehow I doubt it.
LINUX has readily available development tools that do not cost the software developer anything beyond hardware and an internet connection to access, therefore they can maintain the lowest possible overhead while developing their free desktop applications, and because LINUX can be run on older computer systems, the cost of hardware can be kept significantly low as well.
When you are creating something that is going to be offered to the general public as "free", the only significant investment you wish to commit is time. Oddly enough, time is the only resource we as human beings will always run out of, plus we do not know how much time is allotted to any of us, and therefore its value cannot be calculated (even though lawyers sure seem know how to put a price-tag on it).
My wife, who knows almost nothing about computers beyond web-browsing, e-mail and instant messaging, prefers Ubuntu to Windows. For her the system is more reliable, she doesn't have the same fear of accidentally going to a bad website and infecting her computer with spyware or viruses, and it does everything she wants it to do. She's been using Ubuntu since version 5.04, and does not even want Windows installed on her laptop.
That being said, I absolutely despise ndiswrapper, which is the only way to get her Broadcom based PC-Card wireless NIC to work properly. Ubuntu 6.06 sees the card and attempts to use its own driver and fails miserably when trying to connect to the network. Not only do I have to use a driver written for Windows instead, I also have to blacklist the default Ubuntu driver as well, and I have to redo it each time a new kernel is released. Word to the wise, use terminal when setting this up, not the GUI ndiswrapper utility.
On the flip side my notebook with an Intel wireless NIC connected to the network during installation with no additional work from me whatsoever. I've been using Ubuntu on my laptop as my primary OS since version 5.10 was released, and I have been very satisfied with my experience. But I have kept a Windows partition so that I can take advantage of HP's photo software, and also for those DirectX games that just won't run properly in Wine. Ultimately I still use both, but I use Ubuntu more.
I came across the South Park: Make Love not Warcraft episode thanks to mention about it here on Slashdot, which I found rather humorous, especially since it handled the truth of game addiction and its consequences fairly accurately (being a game addict myself). What was particularly striking was how gaming tends to contribute to poor health, as hardcore players may not balance exercise with their gameplay.
The Wii brings back the arcade - where you had to stand at most of the games. It's harder to get lazy when you have to stand up to play a game. Wii Sports in particular was a lot more fun than I expected, and even has a rating system to tell you your approximate age based on how well you perform in four different sports. Of course I got a rating 13 years older than my present age, although part of that was due to distractions and difficulty finding the "Pause" button. Ultimately, however, I feel that unlike many other gaming systems, and PC gaming in particular, it will be much harder to be unhealthy while playing Wii games.
In addition to bringing back the stand-up arcade, the Virtual Console was one of the biggest selling points for me, as I love retro games, and I have a soft-spot for Nintendo games in particular. I look forward to the expansion of the library of available games, although I have already snagged the classic NES Zelda just to try the system out. There is something really cool about playing classic games on a nice television set with fully functional controllers - as opposed to fighting with an aging machine that has failing controllers and has already been patched together for functionality more than once with limited success. I also hope Nintendo plans to put up a release schedule so I can plan for the games I really want (at the top of the list is Final Fantasy, followed by Castlevania 2 and Dragon Warrior III).
Being a father of three also creates a demanding budget, which is why I am particularly happy to have a system that fits my budget. The functionality of e-mail and web-browsing also makes it a mini internet computer as well. Altogether it is a lot of bang for the buck.
My only frustration would be the multiple controllers - there is the standard Wii controller, plus the Nunchuk, plus the Classic controller (sold separately) which is a little annoying, although the fact that they are wireless by default, have built in speakers and rumble-pack, and 4-player support is available makes up for a lot.
Overall, I'm a much happier camper than I have been with either the Playstation 1 or 2 (I've never owned nor do I plan to own an X-Box).
Final Fantasy (NES version) - I can't tell you how many times I've played this - I even emulated NES on my Pocket PC so I could play it again just last year. I don't even need the Strategy Guide to know where to find the good stuff anymore.
Castlevania II (NES version) - Played and beaten multiple times, but only once got the full color ending with Simon Belmont as opposed to the black and white with just Simon's tombstone.
DarkStone (PC) - Played non-stop for four continuous years, and still periodically reinstall it for some good old-fashioned puzzle solving combined with Diablo-esque dungeon crawling. The company released three excellent patch/updates that allow for custom-skins that update on the fly over the network while multi-playing, and also added unique weapons and the ability to customize your own quests. I am sorely disappointed that that Delphinesoft vanished before putting together a sequel (though apparently may have been in the works before that happened).
Drakan: Order of the Flame (PC) - Dumb one-liners, weak plot, loosely followed storyline, but great graphics for its time that still fall under the category of early 3d-engine eye candy, fun gameplay, great puzzle-solving, and just loads of fun. Too bad they didn't develop the multi-player mode properly or it would have been absolutely perfect.
Final Fantasy VII (PSX & PC) - After I gave my PSX to a friend for helping me move, I missed this game so much I went out and bought the PC version and played it again. Beaten four times now, still periodically get a hankering for it (though I was dumb and gave it to another friend about two weeks before Advent Children was released in the US...now I wanted it back! Oh well...)
I see the attraction of proprietary drivers / software IF you want to make the current LINUX userbase larger and make LINUX more popular than Mac, or as popular as Windows.
I am one of those people who don't mind making the suggestion to try LINUX, knowing that it is ultimately up to the individual to choose their computer. Even with my suggestions, most continue to choose Windows because it is ultimately what they are most comfortable with.
To make it easier for the average person to understand, I have found it helps to group LINUX operating systems into a "lowest cost but biggest technical challenge" category, followed by Windows which is still "low to average cost but biggest security risk", followed by Mac which is "biggest expense and most proprietary with least amount of technical headache". Or to keep it simpler, what are you willing to sacrifice to save money, prevent headaches, or secure your system? There is no such computer that offers all three to the home user.
Ultimately, the majority of people with severe iPod dependencies are unlikely to become big contributors to Open Source, they will just take advantage of it. So other than userbase, I don't see how appealing to iPod users will improve LINUX or Open Source software in any way. The entire point of Open Source is improvement by community, starting with communication. Considering how iPod listeners tend to tune out the world around them, I somehow doubt they will embrace the LINUX community with open arms after they get their iPod and iTunes working in their LINUX installation, but rather will find ways to criticize it for not working as easily as Windows or Mac systems.
In a society where the classic notion of "community" no longer exists, I find LINUX to be one of the last places to find fellow human beings who are working toward a common goal. Modern society at large seems to be against community, promoting independance mixed with conformity. Therefore I believe that introducing proprietary software or drivers into LINUX systems will eventually cause the end of the LINUX movement, due to a majority of users who contribute nothing.
Slashdot Mirror
I like Apple computers. Sadly, I also prefer to get the best bang for my buck. I don't change my own oil, but at the same time I do fix my own appliances, repair and build my own computers, and a number of other do-it-yourself type things because frankly, my family of five is single-income and I'm not exactly getting rich from what I do. Therefore, while I wouldn't mind owning a Mac, I just can't bring myself to part with the cash, even knowing that I could purchase and install upgrades myself without too much hassle. The system I built for myself for around $950 would easily be around $2500-$3000 if purchased from Apple, and I just don't have a few grand lying around (nor do I want that kind of credit card debt).
In my opinion, the biggest contributing factor to the failure of Episodes I, II and even III is the lack of one very important technique that was invented during the making of the original Star Wars. This technique helped make the original films believable, which also in turn made them immersive.
During the documentary of the making of Star Wars (on the 4th disc of the box set DVD release), one of the film crew members described a problem where C3P0s costume was initially a highly reflective chrome surface and was causing the cameras to be visible during their test shoot. To offset this problem they rubbed dirt and grease into the costume, dulling it enough so that it would no longer be reflective. They then used this technique with other droids, vehicles and anything else in the film. They called it the "used future" - and it was all the more believable because these objects, vehicles, droids and other things really did appear as though they had always been there.
As we all know, not only was there an overzealous amount of CG in Star Wars Episodes I, II and III, but the real sets and costumes were kept pristine and perfect throughout the films. Hair cuts, makeup, billboards, decorations, vehicles, aliens, etc, all looked perfect 100% of the time. Too perfect.
Just as human brains are capable of instantly detecting the subtle differences in something that is not really alive (which is a common problem when watching CG special effects in film), it also can detect when something is "too perfect".
This alone was enough to ruin any immersive qualities the new Star Wars films might have had, and this problem was compounded by the poor dialogue, stupid gags, dragging plot-lines, inconsistencies and the idiotic notion that everything needed to be explained in detail.
Also, the new films had a practically unlimited budget, and therefore there was less need to innovate or improvise, almost eliminating the possibility of creating "happy accidents" that were part of the magic of the original movies (some of which were later removed by George's "improvements" in the re-releases).
My favorite Star Wars film is the original Empire Strikes Back, which was not directed by George Lucas, and also happens to be his least favorite of the series. The original film is a perfect balance of action, romance and drama, and should have been left entirely alone. But I suppose until I am as successful as George Lucas in the entertainment industry my two cents are pretty meaningless.
My dream computer may offend some, but please bear in mind I am employed as a PC repair tech who gets to fix Windows computers all day, every day. Even though I presently operate LINUX as my primary laptop OS of choice due to my limited budget, if my budget allowed I would switch to a Mac without hesitation.
"What about games?"
Well, seeing as how PC games no longer fit into my budget either due to hardware requirements, I've switched back from PC gaming to console only, so gaming really isn't a requirement for me anymore.
I tried Scribus, and after some tweaking I found it offers finer control than Publisher, but I can put together a decent document in Publisher in about 1/3 the time required by Scribus. This is probably partly because I have been using MS Office software since 1995, therefore it is easy for me to use Office applications, even the ones I have little experience with. For personal projects (where time doesn't equal money) I will use Scribus.
My complaint isn't with the software, however, but the fact that no other software can properly interpret *.pub files except for Publisher, and there are also issues with compatibility within the different versions of Publisher (like many office documents, files created by newer versions are not properly interpreted by older versions of the same program, even if you take the time to "Save As: Office 2000 *.pub, for example).
Abiword and Gnumeric are significantly faster than Word and Excel or Writer and Calc. I haven't found anything better than Impress for presentations, however (Powerpoint just plain bugs me). And it would be nice if there was a non-proprietary Publisher. Oh well, one can't have everything, right?
Does anyone like Google Apps?
The company I work for always adds OpenOffice to every new PC sold by default, because getting OEM Office drives the price up by almost $200 (and our price is already higher than Office Depot, Office Max, Best Buy and Walmart on comparable PCs of the main brands). I find, however, that people who are comfortable using MS Office don't like OpenOffice, just like people who are comfortable with Corel WordPerfect typically don't like MS Word. You like the program you are most familiar with, even if other programs do the same task better. Nobody likes having to learn to do the same thing in a different manner. I still tie my shoes the same way I taught myself to as a child, even though the normal way to tie one's shoes tends to keep them tied longer than my method.
With that in mind I find it highly amusing that MS Office 2007 requires a substantial learning curve before most users can become efficient with it. Nice job yet again, Microsoft. Justify the massive pricetag of your newest product that is nothing more than a minor upgrade with a facelift by including an interface overhaul.
I have customers that are still using MS Office 97, purchased almost ten years ago. Why? Because for them, it still works just fine.
My parents are both educators, and based on their stories about work, I've come to the conclusion that today's public school system, at least in New York state, is all about avoiding a lawsuit at all costs. All children pass every grade level, regardless of their academic achievement or ability or willingness to learn. Teachers are no longer permitted to so much as speak in anger while reprimanding a student, much less yell or put their hands on students. They have absolutely no control over their classrooms, and once the students figure this out, daily classes turn into chaos.
...and people wonder why my wife and I are homeschooling our children.
This is not fair for the students who actually have a desire to learn. Try learning something in a class where the students openly mock the teacher sometime, and see how much is accomplished in that short 30-40 minute period. It's like trying to be a Microsoft network administrator with a staff that downloads viruses and porn to their computers daily and expect you to fix it - nothing ever gets done. I've been told this issue is not just in New York, but other places as well, especially in the major cities.
How is it remotely possible for an administration that has been effectively neutered by mainstream society to stop cyber bullying?
On top of that, how many parents understand computers enough to be able to prevent their children from committing these deeds. After all, they are the only ones left with the authority to do so short of the local police.
Boy, if Apple and Disney ever teamed up...I'm not sure how to finish that thought.
While I sympathize with the author, who has probably been on the rough end of some verbal abuse, I find it interesting that he is using the same tactics against IT professionals that he claims has been brought against him. While it is likely that there are some immature employees in his IT department, it is unfair to assume that all IT professionals are immature and mean-spirited to all who are not "in their clique".
I have been in the bottom rung of IT service and support for around six years, and I cannot count the number of customers who want a magic fix that will instantly get their computer running again without having to pay for any actual service. Abusive customers have accused me of ruining their computers weeks after a repair, when their own teenage children have had full access to the machine and are permitted to download and install anything they want. Others have called up screaming and cursing at me because they didn't take the time to down their broadband modem before hooking up their computer and could not get online - even though I am not their internet provider, nor am I paid to offer them support for their internet access. And the list goes on and on and on.
Being an IT professional is not easy. Maintaining a professional attitude at work in this field can be a challenge on a daily basis. Taking abuse from your own coworkers is even worse than from your customers, because you have to see them on a daily basis. So before publishing an article that is designed to upset any IT professional who reads it, wouldn't it make more sense to take the time to reflect on what you may have said or done to upset your IT department, and avoid it in the future? Have you ever thanked your IT staff for helping you? Have you ever brought them donuts or coffee? Somehow I doubt it.
LINUX has readily available development tools that do not cost the software developer anything beyond hardware and an internet connection to access, therefore they can maintain the lowest possible overhead while developing their free desktop applications, and because LINUX can be run on older computer systems, the cost of hardware can be kept significantly low as well.
When you are creating something that is going to be offered to the general public as "free", the only significant investment you wish to commit is time. Oddly enough, time is the only resource we as human beings will always run out of, plus we do not know how much time is allotted to any of us, and therefore its value cannot be calculated (even though lawyers sure seem know how to put a price-tag on it).
My wife, who knows almost nothing about computers beyond web-browsing, e-mail and instant messaging, prefers Ubuntu to Windows. For her the system is more reliable, she doesn't have the same fear of accidentally going to a bad website and infecting her computer with spyware or viruses, and it does everything she wants it to do. She's been using Ubuntu since version 5.04, and does not even want Windows installed on her laptop.
That being said, I absolutely despise ndiswrapper, which is the only way to get her Broadcom based PC-Card wireless NIC to work properly. Ubuntu 6.06 sees the card and attempts to use its own driver and fails miserably when trying to connect to the network. Not only do I have to use a driver written for Windows instead, I also have to blacklist the default Ubuntu driver as well, and I have to redo it each time a new kernel is released. Word to the wise, use terminal when setting this up, not the GUI ndiswrapper utility.
On the flip side my notebook with an Intel wireless NIC connected to the network during installation with no additional work from me whatsoever. I've been using Ubuntu on my laptop as my primary OS since version 5.10 was released, and I have been very satisfied with my experience. But I have kept a Windows partition so that I can take advantage of HP's photo software, and also for those DirectX games that just won't run properly in Wine. Ultimately I still use both, but I use Ubuntu more.
I came across the South Park: Make Love not Warcraft episode thanks to mention about it here on Slashdot, which I found rather humorous, especially since it handled the truth of game addiction and its consequences fairly accurately (being a game addict myself). What was particularly striking was how gaming tends to contribute to poor health, as hardcore players may not balance exercise with their gameplay.
The Wii brings back the arcade - where you had to stand at most of the games. It's harder to get lazy when you have to stand up to play a game. Wii Sports in particular was a lot more fun than I expected, and even has a rating system to tell you your approximate age based on how well you perform in four different sports. Of course I got a rating 13 years older than my present age, although part of that was due to distractions and difficulty finding the "Pause" button. Ultimately, however, I feel that unlike many other gaming systems, and PC gaming in particular, it will be much harder to be unhealthy while playing Wii games.
In addition to bringing back the stand-up arcade, the Virtual Console was one of the biggest selling points for me, as I love retro games, and I have a soft-spot for Nintendo games in particular. I look forward to the expansion of the library of available games, although I have already snagged the classic NES Zelda just to try the system out. There is something really cool about playing classic games on a nice television set with fully functional controllers - as opposed to fighting with an aging machine that has failing controllers and has already been patched together for functionality more than once with limited success. I also hope Nintendo plans to put up a release schedule so I can plan for the games I really want (at the top of the list is Final Fantasy, followed by Castlevania 2 and Dragon Warrior III).
Being a father of three also creates a demanding budget, which is why I am particularly happy to have a system that fits my budget. The functionality of e-mail and web-browsing also makes it a mini internet computer as well. Altogether it is a lot of bang for the buck.
My only frustration would be the multiple controllers - there is the standard Wii controller, plus the Nunchuk, plus the Classic controller (sold separately) which is a little annoying, although the fact that they are wireless by default, have built in speakers and rumble-pack, and 4-player support is available makes up for a lot.
Overall, I'm a much happier camper than I have been with either the Playstation 1 or 2 (I've never owned nor do I plan to own an X-Box).
There's my 2 cents.
Final Fantasy (NES version) - I can't tell you how many times I've played this - I even emulated NES on my Pocket PC so I could play it again just last year. I don't even need the Strategy Guide to know where to find the good stuff anymore. Castlevania II (NES version) - Played and beaten multiple times, but only once got the full color ending with Simon Belmont as opposed to the black and white with just Simon's tombstone. DarkStone (PC) - Played non-stop for four continuous years, and still periodically reinstall it for some good old-fashioned puzzle solving combined with Diablo-esque dungeon crawling. The company released three excellent patch/updates that allow for custom-skins that update on the fly over the network while multi-playing, and also added unique weapons and the ability to customize your own quests. I am sorely disappointed that that Delphinesoft vanished before putting together a sequel (though apparently may have been in the works before that happened). Drakan: Order of the Flame (PC) - Dumb one-liners, weak plot, loosely followed storyline, but great graphics for its time that still fall under the category of early 3d-engine eye candy, fun gameplay, great puzzle-solving, and just loads of fun. Too bad they didn't develop the multi-player mode properly or it would have been absolutely perfect. Final Fantasy VII (PSX & PC) - After I gave my PSX to a friend for helping me move, I missed this game so much I went out and bought the PC version and played it again. Beaten four times now, still periodically get a hankering for it (though I was dumb and gave it to another friend about two weeks before Advent Children was released in the US...now I wanted it back! Oh well...)
I see the attraction of proprietary drivers / software IF you want to make the current LINUX userbase larger and make LINUX more popular than Mac, or as popular as Windows. I am one of those people who don't mind making the suggestion to try LINUX, knowing that it is ultimately up to the individual to choose their computer. Even with my suggestions, most continue to choose Windows because it is ultimately what they are most comfortable with. To make it easier for the average person to understand, I have found it helps to group LINUX operating systems into a "lowest cost but biggest technical challenge" category, followed by Windows which is still "low to average cost but biggest security risk", followed by Mac which is "biggest expense and most proprietary with least amount of technical headache". Or to keep it simpler, what are you willing to sacrifice to save money, prevent headaches, or secure your system? There is no such computer that offers all three to the home user. Ultimately, the majority of people with severe iPod dependencies are unlikely to become big contributors to Open Source, they will just take advantage of it. So other than userbase, I don't see how appealing to iPod users will improve LINUX or Open Source software in any way. The entire point of Open Source is improvement by community, starting with communication. Considering how iPod listeners tend to tune out the world around them, I somehow doubt they will embrace the LINUX community with open arms after they get their iPod and iTunes working in their LINUX installation, but rather will find ways to criticize it for not working as easily as Windows or Mac systems. In a society where the classic notion of "community" no longer exists, I find LINUX to be one of the last places to find fellow human beings who are working toward a common goal. Modern society at large seems to be against community, promoting independance mixed with conformity. Therefore I believe that introducing proprietary software or drivers into LINUX systems will eventually cause the end of the LINUX movement, due to a majority of users who contribute nothing.