Is that the US would probably have a base on the moon had Apollo never been canned. The space shuttle and ISS set the US space program back 3 decades.
Maybe someone can explain why a proven and highly effective spacecraft like the Saturn V was retired for the space shuttle, which proved to be more dangerous, complicated, and expensive than NASA ever imagined.
No. GFW's failure is a classic example of Redmond's hubris.
It reminds me of how Sony initially used the PS3 to push Blu-Ray adoption instead of videogames. Likewise, MS used GFW to promote Vista and DX10 instead PC games.
If GFW was about providing gamers with an enjoyable experience, there'd be a bigger focus on XP and no Live fees. Making several "flagship" GFW titles Vista-only was incredibly stupid as well.
GFW's greatest achievement is an obnoxious, totally redundant banner on new PC games. Thanks, MS, I had no clue I was purchasing a Windows game.
These other issues notwithstanding, MS also did a poor job of marketing GFW and explaining how it benefits PC gaming.
Without the baggage of promoting a new OS or some other crap, Valve can focus on what gamers care about: games!
Lowball estimates indicate that NASA will spend $53 billion on the ISS from 1993 to the end of its life. This doesn't include the cost of maintaining the space shuttle or R&D from Space Station Freedom (the canned station from the 1980s). So the US will use the station for 5 years after completion -- and what of serious scientific value will be accomplished during that time?
The ISS isn't worth the cost. Think of the probes and orbital observatories NASA could've built using the ISS budget. Those things give us far more insight into the universe. Hell, some of the early ISS literature proclaimed the station would pay for through the leasing of "microgravity manufacturing" compartments to various companies...please.
No one should be surprised about this; the project was a waste before it even started.
I hate those labels, but I'll save that rant for another time.
This has to do with "informed vs. clueless" gamers. Informed gamers, the people who've been playing games for years, know that GS is run by assholes, employs assholes, and overprices its games. Informed gamers know they can get better deals online or at other retailers.
GS is appealing to the soccer moms and new gamers who go there because of brand recognition. These people won't realize if the employee is pushing a shitty game on them or that they're paying more than they have to.
I apologize for the elitist tone, but anyone interested in saving money and preserving their dignity shouldn't shop at GS:P
As long as AdBlock shields my eyes from such crap. Honestly, does any out there like video ads? For the past several years, people have been doing everything in their power to skip or fastforward through video ads...
Maybe not intentionally. But the way math courses are setup discourages many otherwise capable students from being successful in the subject. My middle school district did a poor job of coordinating math courses with the high school district. As such, I was behind by the time I reached high school and struggled the whole way.
Couple this with the ridiculous "integrated math" fad that plagued countless districts (at least in California). We barely covered trig functions, factoring, and other critical topics. (Anyone else have a thought about integrated math?) High school physical science courses did a poor job of incorporating math.
In college, I changed to a geology major that required calculus courses. Having struggled with math in high school, I had to start from intermediate algebra and work my way up. At least college math curriculums were organized in a logical and relevant fashion. It helped when the professor said, "Yeah, pay attention to this because you might have to derive the formula for centripetal acceleration in a physics course." Connections are important, especially when dealing with abstract math concepts.
My friends had similar experiences and, not wanting to blow a year taking bonehead math like me, decided not to explore their interests in astronomy, physics, chemistry, and other math-intensive subjects. It's a shame, really.
There needs to better curriculum coordination at the middle- and high-school levels so kids understand the importance of math and have a foundation that preps them for college. I understand how easy it is for a student's math foundation to get ruined. Such foundations, at least in my case, take years to build. Oh yeah, and (excessive) testing doesn't help -- but that's a whole other rant! If you want to encourage kids to take math, do a good job of setting up the courses in the first place...and tell them how important it is!
Speedy1961 regularly posts BestBuy, CC, and Target prices weeks in advance on CAG's forums. As a testament to his accuracy, Gamespot and other sites use his info in stories relating to price drops, as was the case with the PS3.
My monthy videogame expenditures have increased thanks to CAG, but I'm actually getting more games now that I know where to shop. Prior to CAG, I would only purchase videogames online. Now I venture into brick and mortar stores like CC during their sales.
But thanks to these events, I won't be shopping at CC ever again, and I'm sure other CAGers have similar sentiments. By virtue of being a price comparison/deals website, CAG attracts more "principled" and informed consumers. Is it worth pissing off 100,000 such people, CC? Even if this is a valid case, people will be pissed if their favorite "inside" man is silenced.
As an avid SimCity 2000 player, I know that constructing large microwave dishes that receive concentrated ion beams from satellites is the best way to harvest solar energy from space. For more on ion beam satellites -- and their military uses against shadowy quasi-nationstates led by enigmatic bald men - I refer you to Command&Conquer.
ps: I suggest building these microwave power stations far away from cities, as they occasionally explode. They're also frequent targets of large, mechanical alien spider robots.
Until I saw the bit about the "Halliburton Company" in the summary. Are these nutjubs now required to mention it in every one of their hackneyed theories?
The worst part about stories like these is that it obscures what the government is really doing to invade our privacy.
In 2004, Maxis was fully absorbed into EA. So to say that SimCity is being passed from Maxis isn't completely correct.
I agree with others that the series has steadily declined since SC2k. Unnecessary complications, and performance issues in the case of SC4, turned the series into a mess. The SimTropolis.com community (basically the hardcore fans) use SimCity 4 as an art tool more than anything, crafting these beautifully detailed cities using custom content. But as an actual city SIMULATOR, SC4 collapses under its own weight; it's simply not fun to play. SC2k's strong point is that it can be as simple or complex as you want to make it, appealing to casual and hardcore players alike. However I fear that SC5 will be outright dumbed down.
Also note that there's a correlation between SimCity's quality and Will Wright's involvement with the series. He was hardly involved with SC4. And with Spore consuming most of his time, I doubt he'll have a hand in SC5.
My biggest concern is with Tilted Mill Entertainment - best known for the mediocre Caesar IV. Will they be good stewards to one of PC gaming's most venerable series? But to TM's credit, they are actively talking to the SimTropolis community and addressing concerns from the playerbase.
I view SimCity Societies (SC5's current name) like The Sims Life Stories: part of the overall "family" of SC games, but not a true and true sequel. EA and Co. says differently, but as a long-time fan I'm not convinced.
Not everyone buys "booster packs" and expansions for multiplayer games. This forces many servers to keep new maps out of rotation. Consequently, new maps are limited to a few dedicated "NEW MAP!!!" servers, some of which are located in different continents.
I noticed this with Battlefield 1942 in particular. Its two expansions were solid, but, if I remember correctly, only a small handful of servers had the new maps. Because of this, I was never compelled to buy an expansion that few people actually played online, especially if I was dependent on just one server.
Contrast this with the free maps DICE/EA gave us. Battlefield 42's Coral Sea map is still played today, oftentimes with a full 32 players. Everyone downloaded the map because it was freely included with a new patch.
The great thing about free multiplayer content: everyone gets it, so it'll actually be played online.
The HDDVD code will be replaced and its replacement will be inevitably be decrypted. Today, though, community-driven sites around the Internet joined in chorus to say "Fuck You!" to the DRM assholes. One of the great things about the Internet is how it impowers consumers (product reviews, price comparison sites, etc.). That, and it's impossible to stem the flow of information. Shut down one site or Digg.com article, and a dozen more take its place. Yeah, it sounds sappy, but I really am glad the people stuck it to DRM.
I loved Warcraft I and II, but I lost interest when Bliz started emphasized the cartoony fantasy elements instead of the all-out war between the Alliance and the Horde. The RPG-esque elements of WC3 never appealed to me and the lower unit count drove me nuts. I loved the fast-and-furious RTS experience provided by the first two.
In doing so, Blizz set the groundwork for the successful fantasy world that is WoW, but it still doesn't make me happy:)
I will be somewhat disappointed in they take the same route in the next Starcraft.
Given the choice, how many people would rent a home instead of buying it? Would you rather rent a TV from RaC or own it?
In many cases, people must resort to renting because they can't afford to buy. This is hardly the case when it comes to music.
Like Jobs says, consumers want to own shit and do what they want with it. 'Renting' and 'subscription' are associated with control, red tape, limitations, etc. Buying a DRM-free song or album is a single transaction with no strings attached.
Let's say I own a 360. A videogame I really want will also be released for the PS3 and PC. So what? I still can purchase a 360 copy.
People who bought a console for just one game (ya, such people exist) might be upset if a title's exclusivity is lost. But why should anyone else care? These "OMG UR CONSOLE DOESNT HAVE EXCLUSIVES!1" pissing contests represent videogame geekery at its worst.
Would this even be a story if the headline read: "Videogame publishers increasing profits"? Because that's exactly what they're doing by releasing a game on multiple platforms.
And as far as I know, Kane & Lynch was never totally exclusive; a PC launch was planned from the beginning.
Vista and DX10 pose a problem for me. Should I upgrade to Vista and buy an expensive DX10 graphics card even though gaming studios won't enthusiastically support DX10 for a while? Or should I buy a solid DX9 graphics card (saving me money), keep XP, and hope studios still support DX9 over the life of my new system? Or do I continue using my aging system while waiting for the PC gaming landscape to pan out? Perhaps I'm missing something here, but I imagine many people face the same conundrum.
What serious PC gamer cares about Games for Windows? Same goes for MS's upcoming "Xbox Live Only for Windows" online gaming service. We already have Steam and free online games sans MS's bullshit and complications. Publicly, MS is trying to make PC's more "gaming-friendly," but I think we all know what they're really up to: making PCs into an extension of their Xbox franchise. But I don't think the devoted PC gamers will buy into it...at least I hope not.
PC gaming's biggest issue will remain piracy. I used to pirate games left and right until I stepped back and realized what I was doing to the industry. Now I buy all of my games. While I'm certainly not a pirate witchhunter, I fear that continued piracy will force developers to release PC games crossplatform. And that basically means dumbing-down PC games so they work with the consoles.
PS: "Rebirth" suggests PC gaming died. Contrary to the flood of half-assed alarmist articles we see, this was never the case.
And my favorite: a University of Washington professor used temperature variations in the cosmic background radiation to create the "sound of the Big Bang." This allows us to hear the first 760 thousand years of the universe. Of course the frequencies are boosted because the actual Big Bang frequencies are far too low to be heard by humans. Amazing stuff.
Here's one I can support: the mayor, city councilmen, and traffic engineers who supported the red light cameras in the first place shall pay a $2000 fine if photographed running a red light. Then we'll see how fast those fucking cameras get taken down.
The law makes exceptions for emergencies, hot pursuits, etc. Those are the only times when an officer should be running a red light. If they break the law, they can pay the price like other citizens.
That X360 servers will be limited to 16 players. PC players can fight against 24 (or more). What motivation is there for PC and X360 players to fight in the same server, especially given the difficulty in balancing keyboard&mouse with the Xbox controller?
Graphic and layout design is not easy. Why do you think so many websites look like crap? For the same reason most PowerPoints do: few people have the talent to effectively organize and present information. I've worked on a few publications and have some Photoshop/InDesign classes under my belt. If I must, I can create a decent slideshow that doesn't make people slam their heads against the table in frustration:)
In skilled hands, PowerPoint can be a powerful tool. But it can just as easily ruin a meeting or presentation if the user doesn't know what he's doing...
Slashdot Mirror
Is that the US would probably have a base on the moon had Apollo never been canned. The space shuttle and ISS set the US space program back 3 decades.
Maybe someone can explain why a proven and highly effective spacecraft like the Saturn V was retired for the space shuttle, which proved to be more dangerous, complicated, and expensive than NASA ever imagined.
No. GFW's failure is a classic example of Redmond's hubris.
It reminds me of how Sony initially used the PS3 to push Blu-Ray adoption instead of videogames. Likewise, MS used GFW to promote Vista and DX10 instead PC games.
If GFW was about providing gamers with an enjoyable experience, there'd be a bigger focus on XP and no Live fees. Making several "flagship" GFW titles Vista-only was incredibly stupid as well.
GFW's greatest achievement is an obnoxious, totally redundant banner on new PC games. Thanks, MS, I had no clue I was purchasing a Windows game.
These other issues notwithstanding, MS also did a poor job of marketing GFW and explaining how it benefits PC gaming.
Without the baggage of promoting a new OS or some other crap, Valve can focus on what gamers care about: games!
Lowball estimates indicate that NASA will spend $53 billion on the ISS from 1993 to the end of its life. This doesn't include the cost of maintaining the space shuttle or R&D from Space Station Freedom (the canned station from the 1980s). So the US will use the station for 5 years after completion -- and what of serious scientific value will be accomplished during that time?
The ISS isn't worth the cost. Think of the probes and orbital observatories NASA could've built using the ISS budget. Those things give us far more insight into the universe. Hell, some of the early ISS literature proclaimed the station would pay for through the leasing of "microgravity manufacturing" compartments to various companies...please.
No one should be surprised about this; the project was a waste before it even started.
I hate those labels, but I'll save that rant for another time.
:P
This has to do with "informed vs. clueless" gamers. Informed gamers, the people who've been playing games for years, know that GS is run by assholes, employs assholes, and overprices its games. Informed gamers know they can get better deals online or at other retailers.
GS is appealing to the soccer moms and new gamers who go there because of brand recognition. These people won't realize if the employee is pushing a shitty game on them or that they're paying more than they have to.
I apologize for the elitist tone, but anyone interested in saving money and preserving their dignity shouldn't shop at GS
As long as AdBlock shields my eyes from such crap. Honestly, does any out there like video ads? For the past several years, people have been doing everything in their power to skip or fastforward through video ads...
Maybe not intentionally. But the way math courses are setup discourages many otherwise capable students from being successful in the subject. My middle school district did a poor job of coordinating math courses with the high school district. As such, I was behind by the time I reached high school and struggled the whole way.
Couple this with the ridiculous "integrated math" fad that plagued countless districts (at least in California). We barely covered trig functions, factoring, and other critical topics. (Anyone else have a thought about integrated math?) High school physical science courses did a poor job of incorporating math.
In college, I changed to a geology major that required calculus courses. Having struggled with math in high school, I had to start from intermediate algebra and work my way up. At least college math curriculums were organized in a logical and relevant fashion. It helped when the professor said, "Yeah, pay attention to this because you might have to derive the formula for centripetal acceleration in a physics course." Connections are important, especially when dealing with abstract math concepts.
My friends had similar experiences and, not wanting to blow a year taking bonehead math like me, decided not to explore their interests in astronomy, physics, chemistry, and other math-intensive subjects. It's a shame, really.
There needs to better curriculum coordination at the middle- and high-school levels so kids understand the importance of math and have a foundation that preps them for college. I understand how easy it is for a student's math foundation to get ruined. Such foundations, at least in my case, take years to build. Oh yeah, and (excessive) testing doesn't help -- but that's a whole other rant! If you want to encourage kids to take math, do a good job of setting up the courses in the first place...and tell them how important it is!
Speedy1961 regularly posts BestBuy, CC, and Target prices weeks in advance on CAG's forums. As a testament to his accuracy, Gamespot and other sites use his info in stories relating to price drops, as was the case with the PS3.
My monthy videogame expenditures have increased thanks to CAG, but I'm actually getting more games now that I know where to shop. Prior to CAG, I would only purchase videogames online. Now I venture into brick and mortar stores like CC during their sales.
But thanks to these events, I won't be shopping at CC ever again, and I'm sure other CAGers have similar sentiments. By virtue of being a price comparison/deals website, CAG attracts more "principled" and informed consumers. Is it worth pissing off 100,000 such people, CC? Even if this is a valid case, people will be pissed if their favorite "inside" man is silenced.
From TFA:
Kaspersky, Symantec, and Clam AV: 100% caught
FProt and Sophos: 94%
McAfee: 89%
GlobalHauri, Fortinet, and SonicWall: 61%
WatchGuard's Linux AV: 6%
And a graph of the results plus links to some of the test viruses: http://virus.untangle.com/
Microsoft and Sony don't know their customers.
As an avid SimCity 2000 player, I know that constructing large microwave dishes that receive concentrated ion beams from satellites is the best way to harvest solar energy from space. For more on ion beam satellites -- and their military uses against shadowy quasi-nationstates led by enigmatic bald men - I refer you to Command&Conquer.
ps: I suggest building these microwave power stations far away from cities, as they occasionally explode. They're also frequent targets of large, mechanical alien spider robots.
Mind controlled giant squids? Trained dolphins with sonar cannons on their backs? Sharks with lasers?
Until I saw the bit about the "Halliburton Company" in the summary. Are these nutjubs now required to mention it in every one of their hackneyed theories?
The worst part about stories like these is that it obscures what the government is really doing to invade our privacy.
How about some editorial control, Slashdot?
In 2004, Maxis was fully absorbed into EA. So to say that SimCity is being passed from Maxis isn't completely correct.
I agree with others that the series has steadily declined since SC2k. Unnecessary complications, and performance issues in the case of SC4, turned the series into a mess. The SimTropolis.com community (basically the hardcore fans) use SimCity 4 as an art tool more than anything, crafting these beautifully detailed cities using custom content. But as an actual city SIMULATOR, SC4 collapses under its own weight; it's simply not fun to play. SC2k's strong point is that it can be as simple or complex as you want to make it, appealing to casual and hardcore players alike. However I fear that SC5 will be outright dumbed down.
Also note that there's a correlation between SimCity's quality and Will Wright's involvement with the series. He was hardly involved with SC4. And with Spore consuming most of his time, I doubt he'll have a hand in SC5.
My biggest concern is with Tilted Mill Entertainment - best known for the mediocre Caesar IV. Will they be good stewards to one of PC gaming's most venerable series? But to TM's credit, they are actively talking to the SimTropolis community and addressing concerns from the playerbase.
I view SimCity Societies (SC5's current name) like The Sims Life Stories: part of the overall "family" of SC games, but not a true and true sequel. EA and Co. says differently, but as a long-time fan I'm not convinced.
Not everyone buys "booster packs" and expansions for multiplayer games. This forces many servers to keep new maps out of rotation. Consequently, new maps are limited to a few dedicated "NEW MAP!!!" servers, some of which are located in different continents. I noticed this with Battlefield 1942 in particular. Its two expansions were solid, but, if I remember correctly, only a small handful of servers had the new maps. Because of this, I was never compelled to buy an expansion that few people actually played online, especially if I was dependent on just one server. Contrast this with the free maps DICE/EA gave us. Battlefield 42's Coral Sea map is still played today, oftentimes with a full 32 players. Everyone downloaded the map because it was freely included with a new patch. The great thing about free multiplayer content: everyone gets it, so it'll actually be played online.
The HDDVD code will be replaced and its replacement will be inevitably be decrypted. Today, though, community-driven sites around the Internet joined in chorus to say "Fuck You!" to the DRM assholes. One of the great things about the Internet is how it impowers consumers (product reviews, price comparison sites, etc.). That, and it's impossible to stem the flow of information. Shut down one site or Digg.com article, and a dozen more take its place. Yeah, it sounds sappy, but I really am glad the people stuck it to DRM.
I loved Warcraft I and II, but I lost interest when Bliz started emphasized the cartoony fantasy elements instead of the all-out war between the Alliance and the Horde. The RPG-esque elements of WC3 never appealed to me and the lower unit count drove me nuts. I loved the fast-and-furious RTS experience provided by the first two.
:)
In doing so, Blizz set the groundwork for the successful fantasy world that is WoW, but it still doesn't make me happy
I will be somewhat disappointed in they take the same route in the next Starcraft.
Given the choice, how many people would rent a home instead of buying it? Would you rather rent a TV from RaC or own it?
In many cases, people must resort to renting because they can't afford to buy. This is hardly the case when it comes to music.
Like Jobs says, consumers want to own shit and do what they want with it. 'Renting' and 'subscription' are associated with control, red tape, limitations, etc. Buying a DRM-free song or album is a single transaction with no strings attached.
Let's say I own a 360. A videogame I really want will also be released for the PS3 and PC. So what? I still can purchase a 360 copy.
People who bought a console for just one game (ya, such people exist) might be upset if a title's exclusivity is lost. But why should anyone else care? These "OMG UR CONSOLE DOESNT HAVE EXCLUSIVES!1" pissing contests represent videogame geekery at its worst.
Would this even be a story if the headline read: "Videogame publishers increasing profits"? Because that's exactly what they're doing by releasing a game on multiple platforms.
And as far as I know, Kane & Lynch was never totally exclusive; a PC launch was planned from the beginning.
Vista and DX10 pose a problem for me. Should I upgrade to Vista and buy an expensive DX10 graphics card even though gaming studios won't enthusiastically support DX10 for a while? Or should I buy a solid DX9 graphics card (saving me money), keep XP, and hope studios still support DX9 over the life of my new system? Or do I continue using my aging system while waiting for the PC gaming landscape to pan out? Perhaps I'm missing something here, but I imagine many people face the same conundrum.
What serious PC gamer cares about Games for Windows? Same goes for MS's upcoming "Xbox Live Only for Windows" online gaming service. We already have Steam and free online games sans MS's bullshit and complications. Publicly, MS is trying to make PC's more "gaming-friendly," but I think we all know what they're really up to: making PCs into an extension of their Xbox franchise. But I don't think the devoted PC gamers will buy into it...at least I hope not.
PC gaming's biggest issue will remain piracy. I used to pirate games left and right until I stepped back and realized what I was doing to the industry. Now I buy all of my games. While I'm certainly not a pirate witchhunter, I fear that continued piracy will force developers to release PC games crossplatform. And that basically means dumbing-down PC games so they work with the consoles.
PS: "Rebirth" suggests PC gaming died. Contrary to the flood of half-assed alarmist articles we see, this was never the case.
Here are some sounds of Jovian "radio storms":
_ sbursts.htm_ lbursts.htm
l
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/radiojove
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/radiojove
And my favorite: a University of Washington professor used temperature variations in the cosmic background radiation to create the "sound of the Big Bang." This allows us to hear the first 760 thousand years of the universe. Of course the frequencies are boosted because the actual Big Bang frequencies are far too low to be heard by humans. Amazing stuff.
http://faculty.washington.edu/jcramer/BBSound.htm
Here's one I can support: the mayor, city councilmen, and traffic engineers who supported the red light cameras in the first place shall pay a $2000 fine if photographed running a red light. Then we'll see how fast those fucking cameras get taken down.
The law makes exceptions for emergencies, hot pursuits, etc. Those are the only times when an officer should be running a red light. If they break the law, they can pay the price like other citizens.
That X360 servers will be limited to 16 players. PC players can fight against 24 (or more). What motivation is there for PC and X360 players to fight in the same server, especially given the difficulty in balancing keyboard&mouse with the Xbox controller?
After all, they're the ones who choose not to purchase music from record stores...
Graphic and layout design is not easy. Why do you think so many websites look like crap? For the same reason most PowerPoints do: few people have the talent to effectively organize and present information. I've worked on a few publications and have some Photoshop/InDesign classes under my belt. If I must, I can create a decent slideshow that doesn't make people slam their heads against the table in frustration :)
In skilled hands, PowerPoint can be a powerful tool. But it can just as easily ruin a meeting or presentation if the user doesn't know what he's doing...
That won't solve the problem unless they required a keyboard/mouse adapter for Xbox players.
If it's required, many players will wonder why the hell they should buy the console version in the first place.
If it's not required, we're back to square one. Does Valve give the Xbox players auto-aim? Or do players simply try their best with the controller?
My problem, as a PC player, would be having console players on my team, since they're clearly at a disadvantage against keyboard/mouse players.