text:
No Apology To Gospel Writers Yet.
Posted by John Morgan Powell on April 24, 2001 00:49:35 UTC
Harv,
I take it you don't agree with the conclusions of Zindler located at
http://atheists.org/church/ozjesus.html
His conclusion that Jesus could not be from Nazareth was based on the available historical and scientific evidence. I'll try to review his conclusions, as I remember them.
Historical evidence: Nazareth was not mentioned by any of the geographers of the time. No geographer mentioned it until something like the 4th Century A.D. It was not mentioned by the Old Testament or the Koran or by Josephus although he did military operations in the area and named nearby cities. Origen, an early Christian apologist who lived in the area, seemed to treat it as if it were merely a mythical place. He should have known the place if it existed.
Archaeological evidence: the pottery and other items discovered in the site (including the example from the early Roman era you mentioned) agree with the conclusion that the place was a burial grounds, a necropolis ("city of the dead") prior to it being made a community sometime after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., possibly not until the 2nd century. When it gained the name Nazareth was sometime before the 4th century.
Zindler's theory of why Jesus "of Nazareth": Jesus was said to be from Nazareth because the Gospel writer Mark confused the idea that he should be of the stem of Jesse, or a nazarite with where he was from.
I'd appreciate it if you would give me a rebuttal to Zindler's points.
> First, let me refer to a Jewish tradition which
> states that the priestly Elkalir family moved
> to Nazareth in AD 135 (after the Jewish revolt
> they supposedly travelled to Nazareth according
> to tradition).
This is a tradition, it's not reliable. Even if the 135 A.D. were true it would not invalidate Zindler's theory since it significantly postdates Jesus. The Jewish revolt migration would pose a problem for Zindler because it would imply that around 70 A.D. there was a community of Nazareth unless the Elkalirs were one of the first families to settle the place.
> Still another excavation was completed in the
> 1950's that showed Nazareth as being unoccupied
> from the 8th through 2nd century BC, but being
> occupied after that period. See Bargil
> Pixmer, "With Jesus Through Galilee" (Israel,
> Corazing, 1992), p.17 which discusses the
> archaeological results of B.Bagatti's work. You
> can see a picture of this excavation at:
> http://www.christusrex.org/www1/ofm/san/TSnzarc2.html
Zindler would agree with the 8th-2nd century BC being unoccupied, but he would disagree with "after that period it was occupied", since he believes it wasn't occupied until after 70 A.D.
I'll have to look at Bagatti's work. Thanks for mentioning it.
> And, to top it off, it seems that more
> archaeological discoveries were found behind
> the Nazareth hospital in 1997. Some of the
> pottery and other archaeological remains date
> as early as the early Roman period which would
> predate Jesus.
Items which predate Jesus are no problem for Zindler as long as they fit in with the "necropolis" scenario. What you need are items that could not realistically be considered burial gifts. Are there sufficient numbers of those?
> I might add that from a textual evidence there
> is a hint that Nazareth is in the very earliest
> Gospel traces (i.e., Mark). I believe that the
> tradition is so universal that it would seem
> difficult for the tradition to be invented, but
> although this is not enough of course to
> justify his hometown as Nazareth. Although,
> John 1:46 refers to Nazareth as being sort of
> a 'hillbilly' town which was somewhat
> embarrassing if you were trying to 'sell' other
> Jews on his messaniac connection. Hence, this
> provides ever more evidence that the tradition
> is correct
On the contrary. According to Zindler's theory, Mark could have been the one to start the goof up and the others elaborated upon it. Mark did not talk about the rejection or small-town characteristics of Nazareth like the others did. Maybe by the time these later Gospels were written (2nd Century?) converts had been asking why Nazareth wasn't a recognized location and, so, they added stories that characterized it as being unimportant enough that it could explain why no one in Asia Minor, or Europe or Egypt knew about the place. When a small community finally adopted the name then these stories seemed to match the unimportant character of Nazareth. What I'm not sure about is why a small community around the 3rd or 4th century would adopt the name of Nazareth if they had given themselves another name they were happy with.
Zindler points out that the Gospel events supposedly happening in Nazareth could not reasonably occur in the place which now has that name, at least not how some modern apologists have interpreted those events.
What do you think of Zindler's description?
I'll ask the forgiveness of the bones of the gospel writers if I'm wrong, but your comments indicate that that conclusion is premature.
Should I ask their forgiveness for making up the
- Virgin birth story (Now really, do you believe that?)
- Worldwide tax and census by Augustus requiring everyone to return to their home community so they could explain why he was from Nazareth, but was born in Bethlehem? (Now really, imagine how stupid such an order would be and impossible to enforce today or then)
- murder of the innocents by Herod (Now really, if Herod had done this historians would have included it in their gripes against him)
- miracles (Now really, you don't believe they happened as described do you?)
Should I ask forgiveness for being reasonably skeptical about the whole idea: "Yahweh lives, his Son is Jesus the carpenter, and if you get baptized, confess your faith, and pay your dues you'll have a great afterlife"? I'm sorry, but I think they were superstitious men who were willing to fabricate lies to promote their irrational beliefs.
They were as willing to fabricate stories as was Joseph Smith and his "angels and golden plates" story or other religious revolutionaries of the modern era. Do you feel inclined to ask Joseph Smith's forgiveness for doubting him because someone finds a place in the Middle East that sounds like one of the places Joseph Smith made up in his Book of Mormon?
What do you think the Gospel writers were?
Would you trust them if they came to your door selling you insurance, vacuum cleaners, or religious books? "I have seen the resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ. Would you please buy something from us today?"
You can buy if you want. I suggest you consider it a donation to a needy charity.
Responding to Zindler - harvey1 - April 24, 2001 - 17:58 UTC
Good Arguments Against Zindler. - johnpowell - April 24, 2001 - 23:44 UTC
Thanks! - harvey1 - April 25, 2001 - 16:20 UTC
Perhaps one apology to Zindler - harvey1 - April 25, 2001 - 16:52 UTC
No apology to atheists. - rbwinn - May 7, 2001 - 06:49 UTC


Here's an online calculator that NYSERDA's posted that tries to figure whether buying an electric vehicle makes sense for a person given their driving habits.
So far: 10,000 miles, 9.5 gallons of gas. (My prior car got 30 mpg, so that 10,000 miles would have required 333 gallons of gas..a savings of 323.5 gallons...which at $2.50/gallon is a savings of $808.75. For me it's not about "payback" period, but in dramatically lower fossil fuel consumption and therefore dramatically lower contribution to air pollution.


Malta, the tiny European island situated in the central Mediterranean Sea, has become the first country to provide an official set of regulations for operators in the blockchain, cryptocurrency and DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) space.
On July 4, 2018, the Maltese Parliament passed 3 bills into law, establishing the first regulatory framework for blockchain, cryptocurrency and DLT.
Malta's Junior Minister for Financial Services, Digital Economy and Innovation, Silvio Schembri, stated that the passing of the new laws marked an important milestone, as companies will be provided with the necessary tools to operate in a regulated environment.
"When we started looking into what was needed for the blockchain industry to flourish, we understood early on that the serious operators wanted legal certainty. As of now, operators are functioning in jurisdictions of legal uncertainty. Operators fear that one day a government in that particular jurisdiction will tell them they aren't within the law – even though there are currently very few laws in place. This is creating legal uncertainty and we wanted to change this," Schembri told me.
The passing of the new laws is quite significant on a global scale, as Malta is now the first country to offer a holistic regulatory framework for DLT operations. In other words, these laws not only deal with digital currencies, ICOs and cryptocurrency exchanges, but also focus on a wide range of technologies that are not necessarily financially-focused.
The first law, known as the Malta Digital Innovation Authority Act (MDIA Act), establishes the Malta Digital Innovation Authority and certifies DLT platforms. This law will focus on internal governance arrangements and will outline the duties and responsibilities of the Authority to certify DLT platforms in order to ensure credibility and provide legal certainty to users wishing to make use of a DLT platform.
The laws will officially go into effect in October of this year. Operators will then be able to review the laws to ensure that their companies are in line with each law. In the meantime, according to Schembri, if there is a company wanting to launch an ICO that is currently registered in Malta, that company will be allowed six months to comply with the laws. This period will be extended to one year for exchanges.
"We have chosen October for the laws to be put into effect, as Malta will hold a government-sponsored summit for DLT and blockchain innovation during October 3-5," Schembri explained.
The summit, known as the DELTA Summit (which got its name from the Greek letter Δ, which means change in math), will host all the major players in the blockchain industry. Malta's prime minister, Joseph Muscat, will make an official opening announcement, followed by discussions with Binance and OKEx, two of the world's largest crypto exchanges that have both announced that they will set up operational bases in Malta.


text:
\section{Introduction}
Hemoglobin is one of the most common blood tests requested by clinics, and can be used in conjunction with other metrics to diagnose a host of diseases and conditions \cite{mayoclinic}\cite{biomed}, quantify the effects of pharmaceutical drugs \cite{medlineplus2}, and provide a holistic health benchmark \cite{biomed}. As roughly a quarter of the world's population suffers from a form of hemoglobin deficiency \cite{who}, there are many niches where accessible hemoglobin measurement would fulfill significant unmet need \cite{cdc}\cite{drugsaging}\cite{biomed}.

The widely-adopted approach to point-of-care hemoglobin measurement involves hemolysing whole blood and converting hemoglobin derivatives for single-wavelength absorption measurement, followed by a simple Beer Law calculation \cite{hemocue}\cite{vanzetti}\cite{oshiro}. In present hemoglobin monitors the single biggest risk of inaccurate counting and as a result, incorrect clinical decision making, is incomplete hemolysis due to variable reagent performance. Consequently, light scattering interference from intact cells (lipid membranes) have a drastic effect on spectrophotometric output \cite{lipemia}.

Our intention in developing the presented device platform was twofold: to create an effective and inexpensive hemoglobin solution without the need for hazardous dry reagents such as cyanide (Drabkin's method) or sodium azide \cite{hemocue}\cite{vanzetti}\cite{azide}, and to demonstrate the efficacy of convolutional neural network based validation for elimination of a long-standing error source in hemoglobin measurement.

\section{Detection platform summary}

The current version of the device has demonstrated: 1) precision to the nearest $0.18[g/dL]$ of Hb, 2) stability of measurement over time, with no fluctuation from a single sample over 10 minutes of continuous output, and 3) \(R^2 = 0.945\) correlation to optical transmission-Hb curve reported in literature (Fig.\ref{fig:HbCorr} image A).

\subsection{Device platform}

\begin{figure*}[!ht]
\centering
    \includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{Images/design.png}
    \caption{Image A) Design concept rendering. Image B) Completed device with blank strip and power adapter inserted.}
    \label{fig:Chassis}
\end{figure*}

\subsubsection{Sensor configuration}
For Hb measurement, a paired $540[nm]$ emitter-detector setup is used for sample transmission calculation. The LED and photodiode were selected to maximize light emission, photocurrent, and Hb absorption.

Image pre-processing for sample viability assurance are captured with a Pi Camera attached to a low-cost optical microscopy setup (separate from device at this point in development). See figure 4 for optical microscopy imaging examples. Both setups have a test strip insertion slot and a plane for allowing optical analysis.

\subsubsection{Signal processing}
An $LTC1050$ Chopper-stabilized op amp is used in a standard transimpedance amplifier configuration for signal processing with a reverse-biased photodiode for signal linearity. Additional components protect sensitive analog signals from various forms of electromagnetic interference, including high frequency noise and LC-tank oscillation due to inherent component properties. As absorption is taken at steady-state, signal bandwidth is not a design concern.

Hb concentration is linearly proportional to optical absorbance ($A$), which is calculated from the negative log of fractional transmission, $Tf/Ti$. From Beer's Law:
\begin{equation}
C = -Klog(\frac{Tf}{Ti})
\end{equation}
for $K = 1/(el)$, where $e$ is the molar extinction coefficient of hemoglobin, $l$ is the transmission path length ($100[\mu m]$), and $C$ is the concentration of hemoglobin in the sample (in $[g/dL]$).

The device's microcontroller contains a 10-bit ADC with a minimum voltage increment of $5[mV]$. With a swing of $1.5[V]$ the resolution (i.e. the smallest detectable change in sample percent transmission) is 0.333\%. Readjusting $R1$ to maximize full output swing ($5[V]$) will improve resolution in the next device iteration to 0.1[\%T]. For clinically relevant Hb levels and 0.333[\%T] increment size, the resolution is $0.18 [g/dL]$ Hb  (i.e. the difference between consecutive Hb values over a 0.333[\%T] step). This exceeds the precision of predicate devices such as Hemocue, which has an overall bias $\pm$ stdev of -$0.1 \pm 1.6[g/dL]$ compared to lab-grade hematology analyzers \cite{shah}. Of course, this level of precision from the presented device assumes no variability in capillary strip performance: a hefty assumption.

\begin{figure*}[!ht]
\centering
    \includegraphics[width=0.8\textwidth]{Images/fig1.png}
    \caption{Image A) Plot of literature-reported Hb values for observed \%T measurements (extrapolated from $540[nm]$ molar extinction coefficient \cite{coeff1}\cite{coeff2}\cite{coeff3}) vs. the developed device readout for those \%T values. Strong correlation demonstrates hardware precision and accuracy over the full clinically-relevant range of hemoglobin levels. Image B) PIN photodiode and first amplifier stage used for signal acquisition.}
    \label{fig:HbCorr}
\end{figure*}
\subsection{Capillary test strip}

The test strip consists of a 100uM microchannel coated with sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), a non-toxic surfactant which serves the dual purpose of lysing RBCs to eliminate turbidity and converting hemoglobin derivatives into a color-stable complex, SLS-Hb.
\begin{figure*}[!ht]
\centering
    \includegraphics[width=0.80\textwidth]{Images/blood.png}
    \caption{Image A is a diagram of the capillary strip design used. Strip with blood sample shown in B. Close-up of a channel demonstrating common issues with dry-reagent capillary strip methods in image C: turbidity at the bottom of the channel due to intact RBCs and air bubbles (white specks) at top. Image D shows the mechanical frame of the sensor input slot with the sample transmission measurement window.}
    \label{fig:blood}
\end{figure*}

In standard practice with SLS, $20[uL]$ of whole blood is added and mixed with $5[mL]$ of $2.08[mmol/L]$ SLS solution for a 0.52 moles SLS to blood sample volume ratio \cite{oshiro}. To adapt for dry-chemistry, $17[\mu mols]$ of SLS in aqueous solution were deposited and spread evenly onto each coverslip, for a total of $34[\mu mols]$ per $66[\mu L]$ available sample volume, maintaining the ratio.

However, since all fluid entering a capillary strip generally shares the same path, depending on viscosity and RBC density, the first units of blood entering the channel may use up reagent at the entrance, leaving none for subsequent units (hence incomplete hemolysis). This issue poses a critical error-source common to all dry capillary strip detection methods, which can be minimized through clever strip design.

A funnel-shaped channel (Fig.\ref{fig:blood} image A) was used to help mitigate the "use up" issue described. Blood deposited at the entrance of the funnel spreads out to cover a larger area before entering the narrow measurement area, having been hemolyzed by reagent in the funnel. While this design was generally effective in eliminating turbidity in the measurement window (Fig.\ref{fig:blood} panel D), variation in RBC density and sample viscosity prevented proper mixing/reaction on occasion, precluding this dry-chemistry approach from large-scale, frequent use with minimal user training. Only an automated viability check to auto detect such errors when present can completely eliminate this risk.

\subsubsection{CNN-based image processing for sample viability check}

A core component of the presented system is the trained machine learning model for sample validation.

A separate imaging module was developed to analyze intact cells, air bubbles, and ensure appropriate sample prep. A filled strip is inserted into the imaging module, several images are taken across the strip at a scaled magnification, and a trained convolutional neural network determines the viability of the testing strip.
\begin{figure*}[!ht]
\centering
    \includegraphics[width=1\textwidth]{Images/cnn.jpg}
    \caption{Images A,B,D) Image captures from the optical microscopy setup identified by the model as inadequate for spectrophotometry. Sample A shows debris and color instability. Sample B has image blur and particulates. Sample D contains intact cells which act as light scatterers. Additionally, green boxes identify white blood cells from the sample, demonstrating expandability of model for a vast number of use cases. Image C) Clear view with color stability and no scatterers: ideal for photometric hemoglobin measurement. Data was collected using a labeling interface of all run test strips (bottom of E). 200 strip images were labeled by a human identifying sections of debris and cell boundaries, and the overall image labeled "good" vs. "bad".}
    \label{fig:CNN}
\end{figure*}
The model was adapted from LeNet structure, and trained on 200 human labeled images of good/bad test strips. The images were augmented to expand the training set by 8x (rotational, translational, brightness, and hue transformations). These results were then cross validated on a test set of 100 strip images.

The binary classification model performed with 97\% accuracy on the task across the non-augmented test set - this included filled strips by clinicians and general users. Similarly, cell segmentation modules were developed to threshold cell boundaries with each candidate cell being trained in a separate Convolutional Neural Net for type classification (White Blood Cell, Red Blood Cell, etc.).
\section{Conclusion}
Our platform builds off decades of hemoglobin spectroscopy research, while providing unprecedented error detection and reliability thanks to convolutional neural networks. We believe this deep learning approach to on-board quality control can be rapidly scaled to other applications, boosting clinical performance, end diagnoses, and patient safety.

Given the low-cost, open microcontroller nature of the presented device, we see the platform and model as a powerful combination for deploying in decentralized or rural areas. Untrained test operators have been a major reason point-of-care, self-administered hematology tests have remained unfeasible. However, with robust error correction, the risk of misdiagnosis is greatly reduced and this radical model of personalized medicine is brought within the realm of possibility.

With high-precision analog sensing and CNN based image processing, we have developed the foundation for multi-wavelength spectrophotometry, enabling both structural and molecular sample analyses. We are convinced that the confluence of these distinct, rich sources of data with the speed and versatility of AI will present numerous opportunities to advance the future of healthcare.

\section{Acknowledgements}
We are sincerely thankful to Dhruv Parthasarathy, Deepika Bodapati, Louis Virey, Steve Moffatt, and Sreevaths Kasireddy for funding acquisition and technical input in various aspects of this project.

\medskip

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


Here is the link to my most recent article published for the National Parks Traveler website. It's the same article as in the Traveler's Fall Essentials Guide. We thought it would be a good idea (and certainly easy on me) to re-post this article in the Traveler's Photography In The National Parks column since fall is practically upon us.


text:
Q: В ходе проверки кода возникает ошибка, однако я не знаю где Условие взято отсюда.

Даны N целых чисел X1, X2, ..., XN. Расставить между ними знаки "+" и
  "-" так, чтобы значение получившегося выражения было равно заданному
  целому S.

Входные данные:

В первой строке находятся числа N и S. В следующей строке - N чисел
  через пробел. 2 <= N <= 24, 0 <= Xi <= 50 000 000, -1 000 000 000 <= S
  <= 1 000 000 000.

Выходные данные:

Если получить требуемый результат невозможно, вывести "No solution",
  если можно, то вывести равенство. Если решение не единственное,
  вывести любое.

Во время проверки кода возникают ошибки, но я не знаю где.

Мой код:
#   генерирует массив длины 2**n,
#   где n -- длина каждого элемента
def gena (leng, seed = []):
    res = []
    if len(seed) == 0:
        res.append('+')
        res.append('-')
    else:
        for i in seed:
            res.append(i+'+')
            res.append(i+'-')
    if leng == 1:
        return res
    else:
        return gena(leng = leng - 1, seed = res)

#   ввод чисел
s1 = list(map(int,input().split(" ")))
s2 = list(map(int,input().split(" ")))

#start_time = time.time()

#   базовая проверка по четности
#   иногда экономит время
if sum(s2)%2 != s1[1]%2:
    print ("No solution")
else:
    for i in gena(leng = s1[0] -1):
        e = s2[0]
        for j,g in zip(s2[1:],list(i)):
            if g == "-":
                e -= j
            else:
                e += j
        if e == s1[1]:
            res = i
            break
    if 'res' in locals():
        res += '='
        n = ''
        for i,j in zip(res,s2):
            n += ( str(j) + i)
        n += str(s1[1])
        print (n)
    else:
        print ("No solution")

Помогите найти ошибку, пожалуйста!

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Home > Games > A Look Ahead at the Next-Generation Console Wars
A Look Ahead at the Next-Generation Console Wars
Eugenia Loli 2005-11-02 Games 75 Comments
As a kind of follow-up to ArsTechnica's previous round of technical articles on the hardware that powers the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, they decided to step back a bit from the technical details and take a broader look at how the next generation of consoles fit into the home entertainment picture.
Check out some comments from the vice president of Epic Games:
http://www.n-sider.com/newsview.php?type=story&storyid=1475
In the video, he says something like (and I'm paraphrasing here): Somebody asked me what we had going in our next-gen games besides graphics. And I said, ummmm … the graphics. Because it's all about the graphics.
Yeah, well … what happens when the graphics get to a point where they're so life-like, you can't improve them anymore? Then you and your ilk are going to be dead in teh water because you wouldn't know a thing about innovative gameplay if it reached out and bit you on the ass.
I look at it this way – if you go with Sony or Microsoft, you're going to be playing pretty much the same games you've been playing for the last 10 years, except this time your'e going to pay $60-$70 for the privilege. I guess that's ok if you want to play Tony Hawk Vol 17 or Madden 8000, but I'll have to pass.
When you look at the top-5 bullet-point features for the 360, do you see anything about innovative game play? Hell no, but you're going to see removable faceplates – something to satisfy generation iPod, who apparently doesn't know any better than to ask for something other than making them goddamn console look pretty and getting more of the same gameplay all over again.
My bets are on the Revolution. True, it may end up sucking when it's all said and done with, but at least it's going to suck trying to do something different. The 360 and PS3 are going to suck right of the gate. Hell, they suck now and they haven't even been released yet.
archiesteel
Yeah, well … what happens when the graphics get to a point where they're so life-like, you can't improve them anymore?
That ain't likely to happen anytime soon. As it happens, it's always pretty easy to hit the machine's limits when doing 3D games. It may happen eventually, but we've got a long way to go before we can create life-like dynamic environments that are as large as, say, a small town. (By life-like, I also mean that you can look up any object real close and not see pixelated textures…)
But that's besides the point. Of course, graphics won't replace gameplay. The problem is that, even with great gameplay, people still want better graphics all the time.
I look at it this way – if you go with Sony or Microsoft, you're going to be playing pretty much the same games you've been playing for the last 10 years, except this time your'e going to pay $60-$70 for the privilege.
Well, artists sure aren't going to get paid the same amount when increase in poly count and texture memory means that it takes more hours to make the game. Increase in production value means increase in game budgets.
However, this has little to do with Sony or Microsoft. It's game publishers you should be venting your frustration at. Also, while it is true that Nintendo does indeed like to take chances, there are innovative and original games being published for the PS2 and (to a lesser extent) the Xbox as well. Look at Katamari D'Amacy, one of the most innovative games in years: it's a PS2 exclusive.
That said, the reason why you don't see that many original games is that – unfortunately – people don't buy them as much as they do the next sports franchise or first-person shooter or GTA installment. Some innovative games do sell, but most don't (at least not as much). This makes publishers (especially american ones) very wary of innovative titles.
When you look at the top-5 bullet-point features for the 360, do you see anything about innovative game play?
No, and nor should you. Making innovative games isn't Microsoft's job, it's the job of the game developers (and of publishers, in the sense that they must finance those types of games more).
My bets are on the Revolution. True, it may end up sucking when it's all said and done with, but at least it's going to suck trying to do something different.
If it's up sucking then it will suck, and that sucks. Trying new things is important – and I do agree that the revolution controller is intriguing, to say the least – but doing something different just for its own sake is pointless. The fact is that some games are not original, but they are fun to play because they are well-executed. Originality is not a guarantee of fun – and that's the main goal of a game: fun.
The same is true of other mediums. Most films aren't terribly original, and some masterpieces are very traditional in their treatment: that's because originality isn't the be-all, end-all that some (like you) make it up to be – and this is true from a popular point-of-view as much as from a more "artistic" one.
The 360 and PS3 are going to suck right of the gate. Hell, they suck now and they haven't even been released yet.
That's not a rational statement: you haven't had one and you haven't seen the games that will be available for it over the course of the next year, so you can't possibly make that judgement.
They're just hardware: by itself they can't suck. It's the games that'll make the difference.
First off, grrrr, I hate these type of threads. Even if someone is not a fan boy some times they come off to be. (Just a general comment about a lot of the posts)
I think you may be missing something. True it's the developers that should be creative not the console makers.
But the system makers should care about giving the developers the opertunities to inovate. Hell they should care about innovation because in the end that will sell your system.
A lot of people say the last consoles did not inovate in any way. They simply increased the power. I am not sure I fully agree. In a way the increase in power allowed for more interactive games. GTA was a console seller for sony. It could only happen on some powerfull hardware.
Now these new systems I believe are not that way. They are not powerfull in a general way. They simply make good graphics. I believe the visuals are good enough and the AI/Physics needs to be tackled. This is what Microsoft and Sony are not doing. Is the big N? I have no clue yet.
Not necessarily, and in a way it pains me to say so. In this respect the game industry isn't as mature as, say, the film industry.
Anyway, Nintendo has tradionally been the trailblazer for hardware innovation. However, they seemed stuck on younger demographics, while studies show that more and more gamers are in their 20s and 30s. It remains to be seen if the Revolution controller will indeed be a revolution, or if it will go the way of the gimmick. Personally I find it very interesting, but we'll see. The EyeToy seemed very promising a year and a half ago, but now it's kind of fizzled out a little.
Now these new systems I believe are not that way. They are not powerfull in a general way. They simply make good graphics. I believe the visuals are good enough and the AI/Physics needs to be tackled. This is what Microsoft and Sony are not doing.
I disagree, at least as far as the PS3 is concerned. I think we'll be able to do some pretty interesting physics stuff with the Cell processor. As far as AI goes, that's not really hardware dependent – it just requires good AI design. That's not a trivial thing, by the way… 🙂
I am in no way saying that Nintendo's approach will be the right one. But I do believe the idea of move options is the correct path.
Personally I never found the EyeToy promising. Also it should be noted that things like are not in the system. They must be bought externally. So developers are much less keen on the idea of using them. Sadly I think that is a major issue with Nintendo's idea of different attachments.
I do believe is partly AI dependent. The type of code that is generated for AI will probably not run optimaly on the CELL. Sure AI is in the hands of the developer but they will be limited on how complex it can be because of how many execution cycles they are willing to spend on it. The same goes for physics.
Now if developers will sacrafise graphics for AI/physics/gameplay is another issue. But making the developer worry so much about that is a system designer issue.
Sure AI is in the hands of the developer but they will be limited on how complex it can be because of how many execution cycles they are willing to spend on it. The same goes for physics.
Ultimately that depends on the type of game you're making, but AI is rarely the biggest hit on CPU. Of course, if you have 100 highly advanced AIs running at the same time you'll feel it (on the current consoles at least) however you rarely need to be running that many AIs at once. I don't know enough about Cell programming to know how efficient AIs will be on the architecture, however I truly believe that developers do have the necessary tools to make good AIs – just not the expertise.
As far as physics go, I'm pretty sure the Cell will be able to help. Anyway, it should be an interesting battle this time around, with MS going first (something which hurt Sega the last time around).
Then that proves that maturity doesn't necessary bring good quality. The best cinema (at least in america) was made in the '70s. Nowadays we get mostly crap from this art, and maybe 1 or 2 great masterpieces a year.
I disagree: there's great movies and crap being made in any era, and I don't believe the ratio is any different now than it was in the 70s – but that's a matter for another debate! 🙂
The fact is that it is still easier to do experimental/auteur cinema than it is to experiment in the game industry (to my experience).
I would have thought that by expending so much time and resource developing and equipping XNA for the use of the devs, this would give them the chance to innovate. When devs are not struggling to get the hardware to do the basics they can spend more time and money developing what should come next.
The new dashboard on the 360 seems pretty innovative to me too; you can barely do an Alt-Tab in Windows when playing games without them dying or becoming unresponsive half the time. Abstracting most of the common Live and system functionality into a layer that is persistent, even when playing games or watching DVDs, is something that just hasn't really been done to this level before, especially with consoles.
I agree there are some features that will save time.
My issue is that the base of the systems hardware is focused on graphics. I would rather see a more general system that allows developers to go in different directions.
Also a devkit could be great a getting cookie cutter games out and suck at allowing a dev to create something truly creative. Now I am not saying any of the dev kits are this way! I have never used on personally. I am just saying it could be this way.
Word. Although the greatest graphics an artist can do is not reality but art. The game should always be of such substance it could entertain without graphics so between the two gameplay is of far more importance.
This is how technobabble works. First you regular processors and give them 'funky' names or acronymns. Then you can make bold claims of floating point and pixels. Underneath it all is still a REGULAR processor. Thats right ! A regular pc like processor.
But guess what! People have been fooled. The psuedo-techo crowd which think they know but really don't are gushing to everyone about how incredible the processors are . Even some of the true CS majors are fooled.
But behind the scenes the chip designers and upper management people are smiling with glee ; reading messageboards about a SUPERPOWERFUL processor that will conquer the the world of electronics .
In reality could probably make a better,faster console by yourself by just joining two 'good' graphic cards together with a good processor for game logic.
Perhaps, but it'd cost you more, and you'd only be able to play PC games… 🙂
Seriously, I don't understand why people are so jaded. Sure, it's wont be the second coming, they're just slightly more powerful consoles. So what? If you're not interested, just don't buy one. I don't like the hype any more than you do (hype killed the Dreamcast which was a damn good console with some great games), but I've come to accept it as part of the game industry.
That said, the Cell processor sure is an interesting challenge to develop for.
Also, many posters don't seem to grasp that the next consoles are really Sony and MS's bid to grab the Media Center crown…just imagine a TiVO-like add-on (possibly with MythTH) for the PS3.
There's billions at stake here, with Sony and Microsoft's involved – you've got to expect some hype! 🙂
"hype killed the Dreamcast which was a damn good console with some great games"
The person speaks the truth.
(hype killed the Dreamcast which was a damn good console with some great games),
I guess it all depend on your point of view. As much as I agree the hardware itself was really great, the whole game library, except few rares occurences, was garbage. I only remember enjoying Soul Calibur & Crazy Taxi. That's pretty much it.
As much as I agree the hardware itself was really great, the whole game library, except few rares occurences, was garbage.
I respectfully disagree. Of course, it's not as extensive a library as it could have been, but there was a lot of high quality games for the console, which – it should be noted – was the first to offer online play (albeit narrowband for most).
I only remember enjoying Soul Calibur & Crazy Taxi. That's pretty much it.
Among the great Dreamcast games, in addition to those you've already named:
– Resident Evil: Code Veronica
– Rayman 2
– Space Channel 5
– Phantasy Star Online
– Shenmue (not fun until the end but an important game in what it tried to do)
– Samba de Amigo
– Grandia II
– Skies of Arcadia (still one of the most beautiful RPGs in my own taste)
– Quake III
– Tony Hawk (the first one!)
– UFC Ultimage Fighting Championship
I'm sure I'm forgetting some…
-Jet grind radio
-Test Drive Le Mans
-Test Drive V Rally
-Sega Sports NBA 2k, and 2k3
-Sega Sports NFL 2k, and 2k3
To name a few more of my favs.
Ah! How could I forget Jet Grind Radio! One of the most innovative games to come out during that period.
Finalzone
– Virtua On: Oratorio Tagram: very hard game but rewarding
– F355 Challenge: rewarding is the ability to enhance your driving skill
– Sega GT: although not really a Gran Turismo, the ability to build your own car is the reason I prefer it over Gran Turismo
– Chu Chu Rocket: online gaming is a blast
– Shenmue series: the ability to continue the story with stored item from Shenmue Yokosuka is the reason I prefer the Dreamcast version over Xbox even though the latter is enhanced graphically.
– D2: one of the most underated game. Really scary, great audo and visual effects and challenging gameplay.
– Sonic Adventure: try to play it on a PC monitor with VGA port, you will never come back to the normal TV screen.
– What I missed with this current generation on sport games (NFL, NBA, MLB and hockey) is the ability to secretly choose the tactics, the ability to play mini games then exporting the items to the games.
I think DC still has potential left much like developers pushed the Playstation 2 despite its awful specs. Its awesome visual quality was the best.
Nobody mentions Rez? I'm shocked and disappointed.
Seaman!
Where the hell is Bangai-O, Virtua Tennis, Headhunter and Chuchu Rocket in that list? … Safe to say it was more than a "few" good titles out for the DC.
lol…guys, I said my list incomplete, give me a break! 🙂
JrezIN
It surely did a lot for the lone ladies in the PS2's special japanese edition…
…Oh! and was pretty interesting with it's gameplay style! ;]
kwanbis
many fun games …
http://dreamcast.ign.com/index/choice.html?ordering.order=desc&orde…
smashIt
the dreamcast is my all-time-favorite
grandia 2 (only grandia 1 has a better OST than this)
metropolis street racer
jet set radio
VIRTUA TENNIS!!!! i never thought that playing tennis on a console would be pure fun o_O
chuchu rocket
schenmue
floigan brothers
f355 challange
man, did I spend a lot of money i this console @_@
the first console to offer online-gaming was the megadrive (genesis)
A lot of it is technobable and it most certainly isn't the second coming…
That said, from a purely architectual stand point, IBM's cell processor and its 7 SPEs are pretty cool I was fortunate enough to attend a talk by one of the compiler designers for the cell chip. After all those years of the same architechures getting bumped up in speed, it is nice to seem something more unique.
While I agree with the author that we need something new and now. I don't think the problem is on the hardware right now but more on what the companies produce. Which can be resumed as "Too much FPS" and this for any system out there.
Well the hardware is part of the problem. It's the hardware that is designed around graphics, not gameplay. Everyone is thinking of these systems as a general increase in power. That is not the case, they are focusing the increase on graphics power. Not things that involve gameplay such as AI and physics. In that sense they are saying lets get more FPS that look pretty.
CPUGuy
An increase in power is somehting that is needed for better AI. That, and a good developer. The hardware has almsost nothing to do with how good an AI is, unless the AI itself is limited by the processing power of the system, which it's generally not. It has to do with how good the developers are.
Read up on the architecture of the Xenon and Cell. They will perform poorly on AI and physics. So yes, AI will be limited because the developer will have to work harder to make the performance hit acceptable.
You need to remember these processors are not your every day general processor. The choices made when designing them allow performance increase in one area but will hurt others.
Read up on the architecture of the Xenon and Cell. They will perform poorly on AI and physics.
Actually, most of what I've read on the Cell indicates that its architecture will be pretty good for physics simulation (which is not considered "general computing").
Of course we still have to wait another 6 months (at least) before finding out…
"Actually, most of what I've read on the Cell indicates that its architecture will be pretty good for physics simulation (which is not considered "general computing"). "
Could you give me some links to that? All tech articals I have read have said otherwise.
Very true. When did the PS2 developers start complaining about the PS2 and it's dev kit? I figure we will hear about any issue in the same time frame.
I didn't keep the links, but if you Google "Cell processor" with "physics" you should get something.
Did you have any links to technical articles stating that Cell will suck at physics simulation? From what I understand, those kind of formulas are well-suited to being treated in parrallel.
Heh. Developers complain all the time…but actually, it really is the engine devs that will complain, as they're the ones who will have to get down and dirty with the hardware. Things aren't going to be that different for game devs, designers and artists.
Yes, I've heard that actual CPU performance will be quite dismal when compared to the actual specs of the CPUs (both Cell and the IBM tripple core), but the fact still remains that there is significantly more power in there than a the PIII currently in the Xbox (and certainly a LOT more powerful than the PS2).
That being said, good AI has been developed in the past on slower hardware. I say again, actual CPU power has little to do with how good the AI can be. It has more to do with how well the developers code it it.
The "IBM triple core" IS the Cell, and the power that is available is probably the best on the market at this time, and there is still future potential with the same chip.
Where do you people come from ? This has been discussed all over the interet for a LONG time.
The IBM triple core is NOT the cell. That was/is the xenon cpu.
my bad, I'm a dumbass
Come dude! Think about it…
Microsoft is not that innovative, and it requires more
effort and money to start something from scratch.
(Its about selling online services and playing games…
Of course, MS will use some subscription service.
Money! Money! Money!).
Its about releasing your product ahead of your
competitor, use your market machine, etc, etc.
(The usual tactics).
Sony is more about cutting edge, no matter the cost.
(Push current technology to its utter limit…Pray it
doesn't go wrong or customers will still buy it).
IBM is just cheering that virtually all the consoles
will have processors made by them!
(they also have Cell blade servers…Running Linux,
of course!)
I would not say the CPU performance will be dismal, it will just be dismal at things they are not designed to do. In this case, things such as AI.
Also I have always kind of liked the EE of the PS2. Not sure why, I was just always found of it. It was more the lack of a real GPU that killed it IMO.
Sure good AI had been done on slower hardware. But I cannot believe the CPU power has little to do with how good it can be. AI is very CPU intensive. The more complex your AI gets the more CPU intensive it gets.
Sure the quality is dependent on the algorithms but can your extremly complex algorithm be computed fast enough for gameplay? What if you have a realy good AI for battlefield bots. But once you get 30 of them on there (the graphics can support it) can the left over cpu power handle it?
In such a case, then the game developer would be expected to downgrade the graphics a bit in order to achieve better gameplay. Not saying that is how it happens, but that is what should happen.
It's all up to the developer as to how to utilize the system.
I think the author drew some fair conclusions from the evidence he cited. However, especially on the Sony side, i think he left some big things out.
#1: In recent months, Sony has shown a bit of a loosening when it comes to support of other formats. PSP can play MP3's for instance, while most if not all previous Sony products were atrac only. Also, while MS Duo will clearly be the keystone format for PS3 and PSP going forward, PS3 will be able to read Compact Flash and SD cards. In what function remains to be seen.
#2: The author completely neglected the PSP as it relates to Sony's future stategy. PSM magazine reported that PSP and PS3 will communicate in many interesting ways. One of which will be streaming video from the PS3 to the PSP over the internet. PSP recently recieved an update which turns PSP into a LocationFree client. I believe PS3 will make use of this functionality, and may even be a full-fledged LocationFree base station.
#3: Though the author makes a good point about Sony's PC interactivity, PS3 is expected to stream media from PC networks. And it won't require you to be running Media Center Edition to do so.
kmarius
The author also forgot to mention Sony's approach to DRM – Install virus like DRM systems without their users knowledge.
http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/10/sony-rootkits-and-digital-…
That's Sony Music, not Sony Computer Entertainment. They are part of the same corporation but are distinct entities.
I remember reading that the XBox360 also uses an IBM processor, I think with 3 cores or something. But Technical details don't matter. Maybe it's a Xenon maybe it's a Cell… it could be a StrongARM for all I care. As long as the games are good and playable, and the controller is comfortable after 2 hours+ of play.
That's the nice thing about consoles for me, that makes them preferable to PCs for gaming. You don't have to worry about what's in the box or how it works. You just put the game in and play.
people complain about innovation in gaming, and then have a dreamcast "good games" list that misses most of the interesting titles on the system
what about space channel 5? where is mr driller? games like rez and ikaruga came out for DC before their ps2 ports… games like Garou Mark of the Wolves, Last Blade 2, and Twinkle Star Sprites were finally available on console for those who didn't have a Neo Geo (in TSS's case, the many who do not have saturns). dreamcast and the naomi arcade board in particular carried the flag for shooters (border down, psyvariar, gigawing, mars matrix, etc) in an age where their challenging gameplay was no longer welcomed
people hold up the dreamcast for interesting titles, and then list mainstream titles that have received endless sequels
people cry and cry about innovation, and you don't see them listing umihara kawase shin or sillouhette mirage on their list of playstation 1 favorites; you don't see vib ribbon fans, or crowds of parappa/um jammer lammy players, or tripuz for that matter… final fantasy 7 fans as far as the eye can see
innovation in gaming has always been there, the sad fact is that seldom do any innovative games get any press… finally, saying something like "look at ico" or "look at KD", they're out on PS2, is akin to saying "look at the innovative PC games, they're all written for windows"
Sony lost the plot, just look at the freak monstrosity that is the PS3. When the PS1 came out it was a new era of gaming and it delivered without fail – the focus was on developers seeing what they could push the very limited hardware to do, before publishers told you what game you will make.
Everytime in history people have been presented with an underpowered computer, it has always bred innovation and creativity unmatched. Consider the C64 and PS1, the two most pushed bits of hardware ever produced. To cram QuakeII into 33MHz and 2MB RAM at 512×256 is nothing but incredible.
I think the factor most people in this discussion have neglected is backwards compatibility.
Each successive generation of the PlayStation is backwards compatible with the previous one. XBox 360 doesn't have that feature, I don't think the Nintendo box does either.
I think that feature is what will continue to drive people towards the PS series. People have a set of favorite games, and while they may want to play new games, they don't want to lose their investment in their existing library.
The PS2 being able to play PS1 games was huge because the PS2 didn't launch with that many impressive titles.
I loathe Sony for a lot of reasons, but I have to agree that the backwards compatible bit is a great feature.
I wish more companies would follow. I'm not sure what MS could have done since the 360 is a PPC and the original was an x86, but I suspect they could have done something…
Seems that contrary to what was said at E3 PS3 will not be fully backwards compatible. Even games like Tekken 5 won't work on PS3.
http://www.ps3today.com/Blogs/News/hqs/blr_831.aspx
trapexit
It's the same list as with the new Silver Slimline PStwo. However from what i've read Tekken 5 works… just the Tekken 3 arcade game extra doesnt. But such incompatiblities are no diffirent than the PSX->PS2 jump. There were about 50 games that had problems or didnt run at all.
WTH? The Nintendo is going to be the most backwards compatbile console of them all. You don't know much about the console of you didn't know that. The Revolution will even be able to download all Nintendo titles from the NES to the N64. And the console itself supports Gamecube games right out of the box.
On top of what others have said, Microsoft also stated that they would have backwards compatability.
eMagius
The Xbox 360 is only backwards compatible in the form of software emulation for select titles.
I don't follow the site that did this write up, but if it's accuracy as anywhere near the technical specs in this article, I'm glad I don't. The 360 uses a Cell chip made by IBM, NOT a Xenon.
que question to you troll is: why do you speak when you dont know?
cell was R&D'ed by Sony and IBM, period.
do you really think that MS would be able to use it know? after all the money sony has spent?
Xenon was R&D'ed by MS and IBM, period.
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2005/10/ibm_describes_x.html
just read.
What are you talking about? Have you read any of the spec sheets on the processors? Inside the cell there is a single xenon core. The 360 has three of these xenon cores.
JLF65
You're an idiot – the basic processor core in these chips is called the PPE (POWER Processing Element). This is a 64bit PowerPC designed to do in-order instruction execution at a high clock rate. The Xenon CPU in the XBox 360 has three PPE's. The Cell has one PPE along with 7 SPEs (Synergistic Processing Elements).
You REALLY need to go read the available documentation. Start at IBM's Cell webpage:
http://www.research.ibm.com/cell/cell_chip.html
Use the links in the frame on the left.
hahaha. Now guy, idiot, I think that's a bit harsh. In my rush to post I simply put xenon instead of PPE. Was my statement wrong, sure, but it was simply a brain fart.
As for me needing to REALLY read that, I already have.
I will say my post seems even more wrong because I was telling someone to read docs and I flop some MAJOR terms. No excuse really, I just messed up.
Although I am kind of surprised that you didn't pickup on the fact that I simply put xenon instead of PPE.
Yeah – sorry about that. Looks like I'm an idiot too.
I guess that you guys don't actualy see the good thing about PS3. Ken said that will run GNU/Linux on it. That is a really great thing.
Most of the APIs used are open and that can very much help games go into GNU/Linux.
Oh, and for the physics, Sony and MS signed an agreement that they will be using the Ageia SDK (and maybe their physics chip?).
Sure it'll run GNU/Linux. Just like the PS2 does. Just like toasters run NetBSD.
Someone porting GNU/Linux to the PS2 has nothing to do with games being written for GNU/Linux.
Actually, it looks as if Linux on the PS3 will be bigger than the Sony PS2 Linux kit…I believe it may be part of Sony's "Media Center" plans. After all, if they want to challenge microsoft for the Home Entertainment crown, it only makes sense.
The fact that the SCE CEO specifically mentioned it should not be brush aside so casually…
The functionality of Ageia sdk will be 100% implemented in software.
If you look at the launch line up for XBox360 then you'll probably get an enormous sense of deja vu.
Xbox launched in the UK (please note, so I'm going from memory here) with the following games,
Halo, Project Gotham, Dead or Alive 3, Amped, Test Drive
XBox360 launches with these games,
Perfect Dark Zero, Project Gotham 3, Dead or Alive 4, Amped 3, Test Drive Unlimited
No wonder people are saying the gaming industry is going to implode and there is a lack of innovation. Not only this but Microsoft are continuing to shove Halo down people's throats as if there is no tomorrow. With regard to PS3, MS said they would launch Halo 3 on the same day and there is now even a SPARTAN playable in Dead or Alive 4. I would not be in a least surprised to discover a Warthog drivable in Project Gotham 3, such is their seeming lack of originality.
I await the PS3 with hopes that there will be more games like God of War, ICO and Shadow of the Collosus to restore my faith in gaming.
Consoles seem to go down the crapper ever since it focused on being like PC gaming. PC Gaming is what it is, and Consoles will not dethrone it in that category. Online FPS is for PC not consoles.
Right now the epitome of Consoles is being just like the PC and it has broke from its root of being a relaxing sociable and even physical (moving around and intimidating those next to you) experience.
I honestly think the revolution might bring consoles back. And though the other 2 consoles may have a higher market share, customers are only ultimately getting a dumb down PC experience.
Not to burst your bubble, but console gaming is in much better shape than PC gaming, by a longshot. More major games are published for consoles than for PCs, a greater variety of genres are available for consoles than for PCs, and even traditional PC turfs like online FPS have begun to be targeted by consoles as well.
If it wasn't for a few core companies such as Id, Bioware, Blizzard, Valve and Microsoft, there would practically be no PC game industry to talk about.
I disagree. Obviously you haven't played DDR or EyeToy games…of good old fight games, for that matter! Playing Soul Calibur II with my roommate is very physical!
I also disagree that Xbox and PS2 customers are getting a "dumbed down" PC experience: lots of games are available for consoles that aren't available on PCs. Just this week, I played We Love Katamari, Resident Evil 4, Shadow of the Colossus and SSX On Tour. None of these games are available for PC (AFAIK).
gameplay, but honestly, what's left to innovate besides graphics before we get into the realm of virtual reality. Let's face it, pretty much everything you can do with 2D has been done. Seems to be a lot of people hailing Katamaran Damacy though for the life of me I don't see what's so impressive about illustrating the snowball effect. Let's face it, there only so much you can do with a video game which is why until virtual reality gets here, no FPS will really be able match something like paintball. Because you'll still be sitting on your lazy ass in your computer chair stuffing your face with twinkies and moving a mouse around rather than actually being out there in the woods running and shooting.
Granted stories in RPGs can be good or bad, the graphics made more realistic, and the overall experience more intense, but that's the basically the extent of the improvements to be made. But what a difference between an old game like Pole Position and Burnout:Revenge.
More importantly, todays' gamers simply need to recognize how spoiled they are, how we've had it so good for so long that now for many, nothing will ever be good enough again.
Seems to be a lot of people hailing Katamaran Damacy though for the life of me I don't see what's so impressive about illustrating the snowball effect.
It's not just the snowball effect, it's the fact that you gradually get bigger, and can thus roll bigger objects, and that the scale changes within the span of a single round. The first time I started rolling cars and houses I completely flipped. Also the visual style is very bold.
Of course, it's not a "revolution", but innovation doesn't mean that things are entirely new. Often it means that small things are done better.
Personally, I think "innovation" is probably one of the most abused words I'm hearing these days. I'm personally in favor of banning it altogether…
Let's face it, pretty much everything you can do with 2D has been done.
There's plenty left to be done. Look what Nintendo's done with 2D games over the course of the last five years (heck, just the last year) when everyone else claimed 2D gaming was dead.
Granted stories in RPGs can be good or bad,
Or they could actually make them more like RPGs — it seems Enix has been content with what they did with Dragon Quest 1 in 1988 and everyone else has just aped it (adding in useless fluff) instead of actually grabbing more from the actual source (real RPGs such as Dungeons & Dragons, Shadowrun, and the like). Because that's all the unwashed masses ask for — more of the same.
But what a difference between an old game like Pole Position and Burnout:Revenge.
Not enough to redeem the industry. There's plenty of room for innovation. If the creators of Pitfall or Adventure or even Super Mario 64 had just sat on their respective rear ends and said "all the types of games that could possibly exist have already been created", we'd be much poorer for it today. Yet none of these games seemed obvious at the time.
And you don't have to come up with a whole new genre to be creative — witness Resident Evil, which took the classic adventure game to new heights, and then again with Resident Evil 4, or Metroid Prime, which has some of the trappings of a First-Person Shooter but most definately is not.
Still waiting for an example there. Always some people deifying NEC and for what? Because they proved they could rehash Mario and Yoshi innumerable times. Nintendo hasn't done anything but improve on earlier ideas like all the console makers have.
"Not enough to redeem the industry."
Not enough?? Burnout: Revenge is the most intense game I've ever seen. A three hour session of that game and you're needing a tranquilizer.
"If the creators of Pitfall or Adventure or even Super Mario 64 had just sat on their respective rear ends and said "all the types of games that could possibly exist have already been created", we'd be much poorer for it today. Yet none of these games seemed obvious at the time. "
That's funny because I had an Atari 2600 back in the day, and I never considered Pitfal innovating, just that annoying game where you had to time your jumps perfectly or die. But it really just emphasizes that when all they had to do was make a better game than pong, it was not big deal. Basically, game designers had it easy back then. Videogames have always had movies and books to get their ideas from, and they've milked it appopriately.
"Because that's all the unwashed masses ask for — more of the same."
Knights of the Old Republic was game of the year. A very ambitious undertaking by Bioware. Let's face it. D&D was passe in the 80s, just that there's alot of teenager and pre-teenagers who don't know it.
Still waiting for an example there.
WarioWare, Yoshi Touch & Go, Electroplankton, etc.
Knights of the Old Republic was game of the year… D&D was passe in the 80s
You do realize that KotOR runs on an extremely cut-down, limited version of the D&D (d20) ruleset, right?
The one thing that killed the Dreamcast was Microsort…
MS was working with Sega providing the modefied WindowsCE that powerd it… wile Microshaft gather what they came for… Stabing Sega before the first year of the Dreamcast… Microshaft hiped their console about one an a half years before releasing the XBlock… 1 GHz prosesor they said… 128 MB they said… Sega lost lots of developers after of that…
Sega did many mistakes before… and when they were about to prosper… they made their last mistake… play with the devil, Microsoft…
Why would one of your parners make their own when they are supose to be working with you…
Microsoft took out one competitor before even realeasing their first console… Many companies have been stabed by MS… few even know about…
If there is one thing that killed the Dreamcast it was microsoft and the XBox hipe… not the Dreamcast hipe…
-iMoron
I disagree. It was the PS2 hype that killed the Dreamcast, not the Xbox. I remember that period quite well.
I'm the first to criticize Microsoft for its underhanded tactics, but here they're not really to blame. It really was the PS2 hype that hurt the Dreamcast. MS tried its own hype against the PS2, but it didn't quite work out, as the PS2 is the clear market leader.
I was put off the Dreamcast when it was released due to all the negativity about it in the multi-format magazines. But I picked one up second hand for next to nothing a while back and I can see it was a fantastic console with a lot of great games. Not as many as were available for more successful consoles, but enough to provide a massive amount of entertainment. I bet 3DO and Jaguar owners would have killed to have had 10% of the games released for the DC.
Bangai-O was worth the cost of the Dreamcast on its own, that game was had more playability than 20 average PS2 games put together, pure genius.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This time of year the compost bin is covered with volunteer squash plants. They never grow true to seed, so I don't do anything more with them than remove the squash blossoms and make them into a fried delicacy. Using herbs and a light sautéing touch you too can create fried stuffed squash blossoms.
or 1/2 teaspoon each, dried.
1/4 cup of corn starch - this makes a lighter coating, but you can substitute for an equal amount of flour.
1/2 cup of beer - okay to use bubbly water, like soda or sparkling.
Allow cheese to reach room temperature. Chop herbs and mix into softened cheese. Cut off long stems of squash blossoms, but stop at green base. Be careful not to clip a hole in the bottom - you don't want melting cheese to leak out too much. Stuff each blossom with about a teaspoon of cheese mixture, depending on the size of each squash blossom.
Combine the batter ingredients in a shallow bowl. It should be thinner than pancake batter. You are going for a light coating, it can be on the thin side. It's all about tasting the delicate blossoms. Roll the filled blossoms in the batter, coating all sides. This coating will help hold in the melting cheese/herb stuffing.
Add vegetable oil to sauté pan or pot, over medium/low heat. Test heated oil in pan with a drop of batter -- it should bubble and fry. The oil is then ready to fry and you can begin. Pick up coated blossom and let excess batter drain off; then add each Stuffed Squash Blossom into pan as you coat them.
Turn over each Stuffed Squash Blossom when edges just start to lightly brown -- you don't want a dark "Fried Chicken" brown, more of a "Japanese Tempura" light color. Be careful as blossoms may sputter and splash some grease, because of the melting cheese -- that is why pan heat is medium/low.
Drain on paper towels or a metal rack. Be careful of the first bite -- it will be deliciously melting hot!


For the cultural shadow, this is the method I've decided to use: Look at the unacknowledged history of the United States and follow that line into the present. How do we as a nation project our own history onto other countries? How do we show surprise when that aspect of our history comes back as "fate"?


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Gerrard Hoping for "a Defender and a Number Ten"
Fresh off one of his best performances of the season, Liverpool's captain appeared on Sky Sports' Goals on Sunday to discuss a range of topics, including what he'd like to see happen before January's out.
By -Ed- Jan 20, 2013, 4:22pm GMT
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Of the myriad personnel we've seen play for Liverpool this season, the one constant, at least in league, has been Steven Gerrard. When good, when bad, when average, it's clear that Brendan Rodgers is going to get as much out of his captain as possible, and with a new fitness regime apparently aiding recovery, Gerrard's played every single minute in the Premier League this season.
At times this has seemed more of a stunt than anything else, particularly as the looked lost and incapable of adapting his game--whatever it is beyond fire and brimstone and British Thunder--in a manner that would improve both himself and the side.
That's changed over the past few months, especially with the emergence of Jordan Henderson as a player who's able to do a bit more of the running and harrying that Gerrard's legs (or commitment to defense) simply won't allow. He's been aided by the return of Lucas as well, even if the Brazilian isn't yet to the form that saw him stake a claim as one of the best holding midfielders in world football, and it's all added up to a resurgence in the captain's ability and influence.
Yesterday we saw one of his most stastically impressive days in the passing game, with StatsZone reporting 107/115 passes completed and Squawka close to that number as well at 106/114. By far Liverpool's most involved player in distribution, and showing far more responsibility positionally without sacrificing too much of the dynamism that still makes him one of Liverpool's most exciting players. It might need to be channeled a bit differently nowadays, but he's got the potential to be just as influential if the pieces are in place.
And on Goals on Sunday, the player discussed the need for the few pieces he feels are left to be settled in order for the club to string together a solid run of results:
I think a defender...we've got an injury at the moment to Enrique, we're having to play Glen Johnson left-back, who's been phenomenal for us as well this season at right-back and left-back. We got a young kid doing well--Andre Wisdom. So we may need a little bit more cover defensively and another...maybe a number ten or another attacking-style player who can play out wide as well. That will give us exactly what we need to push for this top four.
Annoying talk of the top four aside--I'm side-eyeing the shit out of you Daniel Sturridge--it's hard to argue with the captain's assessment, especially at the back. A Glen Johnson injury at this point would be an absolute disaster, with Jose Enrique still weeks away and Martin Kelly possibly out until next season. As Gerrard notes, Andre Wisdom's been very good, but beyond him the options are limited--Jack Robinson's not in the mix, Stewart Downing is serviceable but inexperienced, and none of those in the youth/reserve setup have seen any minutes.
As for an adaptable number ten or attacking midfielder, I'm not quite as sure. I think someone who could play now--whether that's Wesley Sneijder, who I'm lukewarm about, or not--would certainly be helpful, but making this the priority with such glaring need right now in defense, it's hard to get too excited about the options, especially if it entails wrapping up a large portion of the wage bill.
Ultimately, though, it's about developing consistency and success whoever's around, and ahead of trips to Oldham, Arsenal, and Manchester City, that needs to be everyone's focus.


'My son got hurt six months ago. On a Tuesday afternoon, on the first real day of Spring, he was running around in the backyard on our cobblestone patio. Maybe it was partly the cooped up energy from a long winter inside, but he ran just a little too fast. He tripped over his own feet, sending his face right toward the corner of the brick steps to our house.
We had to take our daughter to the hospital, too. She didn't want to go. She'd never seen so much blood and was scared. She'd rather have stayed at the house, but we didn't have anybody to watch her. Sure, we had friends and neighbors, but we assumed none would be around so early on a Tuesday afternoon. And further, there was no way and no time for us to build a mass text message or start calling each of them one by one. We needed to go quickly.
At that moment, we could have really used a flare gun. We needed a way to notify our close friends and neighbors to see if anyone could help. Needing urgent support doesn't happen very often — but when it does, you need help fast.
Support is different than it used to be. We're all electronically tethered but not truly connected. Social networks that allow us to watch the accomplishments and lives of others have devolved into trophy networkswhere people only share the "best of" moments of their lives. While that is good in ways, there is an absence of meaningful support and true connection. There is a lack of real community. Private networks, vertical networks, and close-in networks are the natural evolution of what we now understand as social networks.
Instead of basic connection, close-in networks are being built on a foundation of needs, where people are organizing to provide direct or indirect support to the people they care about. These micro-communities are small and geographically-focused.
These networks aren't motivated to optimize underutilized resources for the maximum efficiency of the system like so many in the shared economy. They're motivated by a more emotionally connected center where the micro-community is leaning forward to offer help and receive help in return. The best of them are measured so that they stay balanced, authentic, supportive, and equal in support.
Parenting is one of those vertical networks that has a hyper-local need for ongoing and occasional support. Households are just like small businesses. Parents manage a team of children and align against responsibilities. In most homes, a Chief Household Officer (CHO) takes lead on the responsibilities and manages internal and external resources to get everything done. They need efficient scheduling tools and clear terms with helpers.
For the 40 million two-parent working families (whether married or not), there aren't sufficient tools to support this kind of resource management. The email, calendar, texting, and other transactional tools available are not focused on making household management (between both internal members and external resources) efficient.
At Little Helper, an Essential Relationship Network is a close-in network, focused on offering and receiving help to manage your household. We believe the primary objective of that network is to manage the day-to-day needs between the parents and nearby domestic resources (existing and new). The Essential Relationship Network is comprised of a handful of people you trust to help with both planned and unplanned events.
We believe these networks are filled with only a couple dozen people on whom you could rely for help within your home. Practically speaking, they are the sitters you trust to watch the kids, the friends and family who are nearby, and the neighbors to whom you'd lend a tool or a cup of sugar.
Whether it is asking someone to watch the kids on a recurring basis or just when you need to run to the emergency room, essential relationship needs are most often driven by a request for time. With a small, trusted, and forward-leaning network of resources, all you have to do is ask and someone should be there to help or help find someone who can — whether it's for a planned event or something that completely blindsides you on an idle Tuesday.
However you do it, build your Essential Relationship Network. Invite the people you trust inside your home with your family to join you and reciprocate by offering to support them. Shift focus from the passive trophy networks in the newsfeeds of most social networks to a close-in dashboard of the needs of the peers around you.
Build a better, more supportive community for our families. Make the investment in helping others and be sure they're there to help you, because you don't always know when you might need something.


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Woman inspecting a map while sitting at the dark walnut secretary in Old Capitol, The University of Iowa, September 27, 1972
Margaret Keyes and a young girl working at the walnut secretary in Old Capitol, The University of Iowa, September 27, 1972
President's office and the alumni office in the Old Capitol, The University of Iowa, between 1924 and 1929
Archives in the Old Capitol, The University of Iowa, October 1931
One of the old legislative chambers filled with chairs and the alumni office in the Old Capitol, The University of Iowa, 1931
Nurses and a patient in the isolation hospital, The University of Iowa, November 1920
Parklawn Residence Hall, The University of Iowa, 1955
Dorm room at Quadrangle Hall, The University of Iowa, between 1915 and 1920
Student in a dorm room on a telephone in Quadrangle Hall, The University of Iowa, January 1948
Students studying and reading in dorm rooms at Quadrangle, The University of Iowa, January 1948


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Jump into Bribie arts
Bribie Island arts scoop Julie Thomson says there is a week of free "come and try" art, craft, and creative events at the Bribie Community Arts Centre studios in the second week of December (from December 9-15) starting with their special Christmas market on Saturday December 8.
Bribie Island is just a short 1hr drive north from Brisbane and a favourite weekend hangout for south-east Queensland residents.
We'll try to catch what Julie calls the "literary/music event" Wisdom Tree, in the Matthew Flinders Gallery on Sunday December 9 at 6pm.
Newly created PhD Dr Nick Earls and Chanel Lucas (from Women in Docs) will be on stage. Tickets for this event cost $20 and can be booked here.
Julie says the Arts Centre will have $10 nibbles platters on sale and it's a BYO drinks occasion.
One thing to remember when you're planning this trip: Bribie is a "one-road-in-and-out" location so traffic jams are possible (if not to be expected). So it's a good idea to arrive early to beat the traffic.
Here's a copy of the full program for the week.
Helping hearts and heads
Another friend (and this time, Sunshine Coast hinterland resident) Sarah Walker has launched her new online counselling and mental health space, registered with the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). It's called Luminous Steps and looks like this (click here or on the image below to visit her business page; this is not a paid advertisement). Through my own work (and academic research) I know how important it is for businesses and individuals to form and join online communities and now Sarah is doing it too in the mental health sector. Imagine the benefits of an online service that, as Sarah says, "offers a unique alternative to traditional face-to-face meetings by allowing participants to come together and do meaningful work from the privacy of their own home". It can cut down social isolation and allow participants to form new friendships they might otherwise avoid. And as an NDIS approved service provider of "Specialist Positive Behaviour Support, Improved Relationships", their rates are government assessed ... Luminous Steps can even invoice the NDIS directly for approved clients. I'll be watching keenly to see how this service goes and wish Sarah all the best.
Australian-born photojournalists John Cokley and Pip Hanrick toured Spain, Portugal, Denmark and Singapore and some of their collected notes, advice, new stories and original images appear here, our food and wine feature Far Flung Food and in other travel publications (see links as they're published). Contact John and Pip by email through their publisher, Small Batch Books.


SUVA: A former Fijian police investigator who is now a criminal lawyer today condemned investigation methods over the National Bank of Fiji scandal involving more than $220 million.
Naipote Vere, who resigned from Fiji's police force in 1998 in the wake of a controversy over allegations about Police Commissioner Isikia Savua, questioned in an interview with the Fiji Sun how the NBF investigations were carried out into "top level people" in government.
Commissioner Savua has been suspended this week pending an inquiry into allegations of his involvement in the May insurrection led by failed businessman George Speight.
In an editorial today, the Fiji Times said Commissioner Savua "may have acted suspiciously" before and after May 19 but he should not be condemned by the public before any court found him guilty of any crime.
"Until the inquiry - and court trial if any - Mr Savua is innocent of any wrongdoing," the paper said.
But in the Fiji Sun "hardtalk" interview, Vere challenged Savua's role in the NBF investigations.
"Why was Savua personally responsible for all investigations in the NBF saga when he was not a trained detective and does not know what the law of evidence is all about, or the procedure that had to be followed in the investigation?" he asked.
"Giving a set of questions gives them [people being investigated] lots of room to play up with the investigation, destroy the evidence, mislead investigators. That's what happened in the NBF investigation when everything went wrong."
"To be a good leader, you don't run away overseas during the height of a crisis," he said, referring to Savua's attendance at a security conference in Vanuatu in June.
"Or being absent during the burial of a fellow police officer [shot by rebels]. I know what a well-motivated police officer is like."
Vere highlighted Savua's links with former coup leader Sitiveni Rabuka's SVT government.
"I knew that Savua was very close to the SVT as he was selected to be commissioner by the [Rabuka] government as it was a political appointment," Vere told the Fiji Sun.
"Here I suspected a likelihood that if the SVT loses the election then the police would come in handy."
Vere also talked about efforts by the SVT after the election defeat in May 1999 to enlist Christian Democratic Alliance help in a destabilisation campaign aimed against the Mahendra Chaudhry government.
"The CDA and SVT headquarters were opposite each other and three days later, after the new government took office, the SVT rang us. A son of a prominent businessman in that SVT called us to go across and talk about civil disobedience and a possibility of a coup, but we refused."
In the editorial today, the Fiji Times said Savua's movements and public statements "would inevitably have raised some eyebrows".
"The inquiry provides the opportunity to those who have a genuine complaint, and, more importantly, evidence of any illegal activities implicatng him, to produce them for investigation.
"It is totally unfair to blame Mr Savua or any citizen for that matter for any illegal activity or unethical practice without providing supporting evidence. One only exposes one to libel by doing so."
Meanwhile, Vere's lawyer has filed a writ alleging defamation against the government and the Fiji Times over complaints lodged against Commissioner Savua in 1998 which led to the police chief being investigated for 19 offences.
An article in the Fiji Times published later in the year alleged that Vere was insincere and he was forced to resign after 32 years in the police force.


The City Law School, under the aegis of the Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law, presents a guest lecture by Advocate General Michal Bobek (European Court of Justice).
The event will be chaired by Professor Panos Koutrakos, Professor of EU Law and Jean Monnet Chair in EU Law, City, University of London.
Advocate General Michal Bobek has been at the Court of Justice since 7 October 2015. He was Professor at the College of Europe in Bruges (2013-15), and fellow at the Institute of European and Comparative Law, University of Oxford Faculty of Law (2011-2015). He previously qualified as a judge in the Czech Republic and worked as a legal secretary to the Chief Justice at the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic.
Advocate General Bobek is the author, amongst others, of Comparative Reasoning in European Supreme Courts (Oxford University Press, 2013) and of numerous articles, as well as the editor of Central European Judges under the European Influence – The Transformative Power of the EU Revisited (Hart Publishing, 2015) and Selecting Europe's Judges - A Critical Review of the Appointment Procedures to the European Courts (Oxford University Press, 2015), and the co-editor of Air Passengers Rights – Ten Years On (Hart Publishing, 2016).


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As inhabitants of this small planet we have looked up at the stars and wondered if intelligent life from other planets are visiting us. These talented authors answer this question in a wide range of short stories ranging from the truth about Roswell, and the dreaded pirate Blackbeard fighting an alien invasion, to a tale involving the legends of Frankenstein's castle. These ten stories go beyond the myths and legends about UFO's, and the aliens who inhabit them, and take you on an incredible adventure to reveal the unknown.
The NWO: The Orderlie's Silent Spring V2.
The Eternity Conundrum: A Brief Prequel to "The Villain's Sidekick"