Posts by GameCoder
265 posts • joined Saturday 25th August 2007 09:14 GMT
Its probably very hard to "enable" the games
I completely agree. I also suspect that it will be, by design, very very hard to run these games without a server and authentication.
Re: Re; AIS
"...this is a non-story except for the frustrating sheeple wetting themselves to be told the next enemy of the day. Note the clueless reference to China in an earlier comment."
Sounds like someone needs a history lesson. China may be becoming the enemy-de-jour for some countries, but theres been no love lost between Japan and China for many a year.
You might want to take a read of this too http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senkaku_Islands_dispute and maybe catch up a little with current affairs:
http://www.businessinsider.com/japan-to-raise-military-budget-for-first-time-in-a-decade-amid-china-row-2013-1
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/06/us-china-japan-navy-idUSBRE9251GU20130306
Re: Numpties.
Agreed. This data is probably useful. You can use it to correlate your own intel systems. You may find evidence of breaches of maritime law, or international agreements. You could even cause an internal scandal in japan just by NK holding a press conference showing off readouts of the data.
AFAIK, the japanese "Coast Guard" is a thinly disguised navy, and they are ramping it up - mostly wrt to countering China.
Belarus == World of Tanks
World of Tanks is the only Belarusian MMO that I know of. For a while too early versions of "World of Tanks" would only run as admin. Time to do a fine grained virus check on my machine. Thanks for the heads-up El Reg.
Re: connection comes with a 99 per cent contract guarantee
Even with a decent connection I switch the Xbox on my network to "offline" before I play any online multiplayer games on my PC. With the XBox on, even when playing a game on it which has nothing whatsoever to do with anything networked, the XBox is regularly hogging the bandwidth on my LAN - I can tell from my in-game ping display in World Of Tanks whether the XBox is on or not. And it occasionally causes huge spikes, which I suspect is a background process on the XBox downloading some ad junk.
I really hope Microsofts 'yes' men grow some balls and stop this lunacy because the XBox is a great console, but requiring always-on will be commercial suicide.
Re: was it yesterday?
Yupp, it was in the article about an outed Mossad agent list, and people were convinced that these "pros" would never make mistakes like that. Well, when I see people convinced that something can never happen, I just see people lacking in life experience.
Re: Multiple computers, multiple users, multiple browsers, what an arse
Agreed. Is it possible to install Java as something local to a folder, so I can just point e.g. Minecraft at it? When I install it, its seems to spread its tentacles everywhere - startup, IE, environment etc.
"So how is this going to be used in the real world?"
Early days still, its good but not yet totally convincing. But I suspect you will see these happen in our lifetimes:
Hollywood "stars" will be scanned and sampled, and contracts will mention not just "use of likeness" but animated likenesses etc.
Thirty years from now Justin Beiber et al will be 'virtually' appearing to promote products, appealing to their aging demographics sense of nostalgia for the 2010s. They will have signed away their likeness rights early in their careers while up-and-coming.
Future movies can have fun with mashups, casting actors from different generations together.
Whole body versions of similar tech will be used for porn.
It will become possible to fake compromising footage of famous people, and this will be used for counter propoganda.
Posted in Build a BONKERS gaming PC
Re: Bonkers? Yes... Overpriced? Most definitely
@blcollier
"My point was more that this article didn't go "bonkers" so much as "ridiculously overpriced and sheer overkill""
Yes I thought that too. The machine isn't awe inspiring, only pricey. I'd like to see its budget handed to someone who really knows how to build game rigs and see how they could spend it. I'd expect to see an overclocked monster, with lights to match the mouse, keyboard and mat :) And 4 nVidia Titans in SLI :)
Posted in Build a BONKERS gaming PC
Re: Bonkers? Yes... Overpriced? Most definitely
I disagree. A rig like this will last the user 5+ years. Its hugely overspecced, and PC games allow gfx settings to be moved up and down. At the moment, and for a couple of years, this rig will rip through all games. And as games are tied more and more to the release cycles of the platforms, game gfx nowadays tends to step change as opposed to linearly ramp. So, this rig isnt going to be outdated anytime soon.
I built a rig like this as a treat to myself after a nice payrise a few years ago. Sadly its still going strong, hitting 60fps consistently even with the latest games. I *want* to buy a new one, and can afford it, but its difficult to justify when my 3 year old rig is still going so strong. A rig like documented here, or something similar (good Intel thread-strong chip, masses of memory, and a top-range nVidia card) and you will be in gaming heaven for years.
As to Windows...I dunno wtf you people are doing with your PCs? Like or hate Microsoft, my Windows (currently using 7) is f*cking rock solid. Keep the nVidia drivers updated, dont run as admin, dont-be-stupid-online, prefer to use Steam to buy and manage your games, and you should be good.
I do agree with the DRM issues. See also EA / SimCity et al. Vote with your wallet, just dont buy from them.
Windows 8 is ruined by its GUI though.
Also, not mentioned, "Cleanability" of the case fans is something I rate highly when buying a case.
Do know evil
"In any Google search for a well-known brand like eBay, Amazon or John Lewis, that firm's site is going to pop up at the top of search results anyway..."
Until they stop paying for ads.
Its already reality in Sweden
Here in Sverige, a relatively progressive country in terms of tech adoption, the ability to remotely interact with your house is already being advertised to Joe Public by the utility companies. Pundits are being sold the notion of controlling light switches and heating via their mobile phone whilst abroad. Personally I cannot see the usefulness of this *ever* being balanced against a nagging worry about potential vunerabilities.
Boat Girl?
"Boat Girl" Is this some euphemism I am unfamiliar with?
Re: Linux is a strong solution
You are making a fool of yourself.
Re: Re: SO what?
"They will go around flogging everybody half price Boeings..."
The ones that are grounded? :)
The weapons are pretty unbelievable too
Most sci-fi films have line-of-sight weapons. "Stay on target..." etc. Film aliens will get a real shock if they ever take on humanity and face the arsenal of over-the-horizon self-guiding MACH2+ weapons we have.
"Oh you researched interstellar travel and came here to eat us? Well, humanity's principle technological drive has always been weaponry, so I have some really bad news for you..."
Won't someone think of the children?
Boffin needed...
Genuine question which I am sure a Reg reader can explain well: Nokia are hardware makers. Why is the browser of their phone directing web traffic to their servers at all? Isnt this a configuration between the phone owner/user and his service provider, which is presumably not Nokia?
If this seems like a dumb question to you, then you are probably the right person to answer it, thanks :)
Whats good for the goose..
The USA fines companies huge amounts even outside of its legal duristiction e.g. Swiss banks etc. This should set a nice precedant for fining Florida based phone callers.
They only kidnapped, drugged and raped her...
If they had pirated a movie, or illegally accessed a computer, they would feel the full wrath of the law.
Re: A wise check to make
I'd upvote this twice if I could.
I would also add considering not using your favorite email address when using an agency, and ideally use a single use email address. Agents will take your adress and CV with them when they move from job to job, and its almost impossible to get the scum to stop mailing you with irrelevant jobs. "My client is looking for a Visual Studio programmer..."
Re: Uhm
> "I'm pretty sure many games run on an event driven routine where mouse, keyup/keydown and joy events get pumped into a handler."
Correct. On windows they can now just use the classic windowing event loop, or use DirectInput (which is now almost the same, but polled). When done right theres no hooks...
2 pages and no best bond babes??
Martinis? Cars? Gadgets? Aren't we forgetting something else about Bond? :)
Re: Why C
I think the main reason is that C is easier to statically analyze, and this seems to be a method of bug finding they rely on heavily.
Its important to remember that DirectX and OpenGL are just software interfaces to the graphical capabilities of your machine, usually a dedicated graphics card. Its very similar to having two different menus and waiters in a restaurant, but the same kitchen and chef in the background.
In the last few years DirectX has greatly improved (and has converged in many areas of its API on the directions OpenGL originally took), but it has indeed also overtaken OpenGL from time to time, mostly due to the standardization needs of OpenGL, and the longer life expectancy of any OpenGL standard.
DirectX is for developing games; OpenGL is for developing games but is also the correct choice for any non games related visualization required by an application (medical visualization etc) and of course, its very cross platform too.
If you are a gamer, simply don't worry about it - just buy yourself the best graphics card you can happily afford and enjoy the beauty of todays amazing games.
Re: not to mention
AFAIK, all the GPU API calls begin life as OpenGL extensions, as this allows nVidia and ATi to develop, test and demo them, where they then may move into DirectX and/or the OpenGL standard. I would argue that its not OpenGL but DirectX who does the following.
It may take some time for some concepts to enter the final OpenGL standard, and usually for excellent reasons, as OpenGL is designed to last, unlike DirectX. Twenty year old OpenGL 1.0 code will almost certainly still compile and do what it was intended to do. Good luck getting a codebase written to DirectX 1.0 to compile and work...
Re: "Colossus paper tape instructions?"
"Regardless of platform, I've created working code which is every bit as useful as a handwavey design document, only it is already working."
I find that the added constraint that the code must also be well formed within <language of choice> is unhelpful, to me, when designing.
Also, this isn't a "handwavey design document" - its an exploration of the problem domain, without the need to compile/interpret anything, or run anything. To each their own however - I would have no issue with someone writing 'pseudo code' which was also working Lua etc.
Re: "Ever heard of pseudocode?"
I use it, very often, when *designing* algorithms. I find it invaluble for stripping away the language specifics and capturing the functionality. If find it clearer to "see" an algorithm in pseudo code, and its a doddle to transfer a pseudo code description of an algorithm to most programming languages. I also believe that the code produced in this manner can be often easier to read, especially if you transfer the pseudo code naming into the final code, as the naming will usually illustrate the "why" (and not the how). I have also on several occasions been very grateful for pseudo code descriptions of some classic algos, so I can implement my own.
How useful would Turings chess playing algo be if he left it to the world as Colossus paper tape instructions?
Interview Experiences
A good few years ago, wanting to break out of games, with its poor salaries and job security, I interviewed for a programming position with a massive US financial firm with a base in London. I can confirm that the interview was much as described above, the only notable difference perhaps was I was interviewed by the staff in sequence, as opposed to as a team. The process began early. I sat bemused in their expansive expensive foyer, too nervous to eat the foods on offer. Even the toilets had stockmarket tickers, although I seriously doubt that serves any use except to make traders believe they have a finger on the pulse (and not their penis).
The interviews didn't impress me much. Coming from the games industry which is generally fun to work in and populated by genuinely motivated, creative, interesting people, what struck me was how shite this job seemed to be. The IT dept was located in a glass walled basement of this impressive building, and reading between the lines, they expected loooong hours as standard. Commute through London to get to this office for 08h00 and then be expected to work until 19h00? Hmmmm....
I wasn't impressed by the technical interview. I suspected these people were not strong software engineers, to judge by the focus of the questions, which did seems to tend towards textbook "difficult" C++ questions (actually easy i.m.o.) and interleaved with dark hints that the real job actually consisted of maintaining a horrible legacy codebase (something you no longer can pay me enough to do).
Then came the smug-based non-programming part, of which I remember some strange bullshit question about being in a room and having a hat on and I had to tell the interviewer what colour it was or something. Just like the textbook C++ questions, many of *these* questions seemed to be lifted from logic puzzle books ("One of the doors only tells the truth, and the other only lies...").
Finally came a HR interview, a thoroughly unpleasant septic woman. Her job seemed to be to tell me all the rules of working here, one of which I remember was no office romances. By that time I had decided this was certainly not a place I wanted to be, and having a company rule that I couldn't date someone I met through work was a liberty I was unwilling to give away. As it happens, the company decided it didn't like me either, and we went our separate ways.
Re: Hello Torproject.org
> So the whole scheme seems [...] a way to monitor the general population.
Yes. This is exactly what it is. Wake up Britain!!
Portrays *women* negatively??
Is anyone treated sympathically in the show? I love it, and I work in IT and I recognise some aspect of myself and those I work with in the show, but its just a comedy. The two male leads are maladjusted lovable hapless dateless unsexed nerd losers; if anything, the female lead is the most normal of the three.
Re: I wonder how many of the engineers developing this tech have actually spent time on the water
Ssssh. The scientists working on this tech probably know full well there might be practical problems in the real world, but meanwhile are happy to do research while funded. Reminds me of the LASER research in the 90s (late 80s?) where the scientists involved knew full well what they were being asked for was probably impossible or impractical, but were receiving massive *weapons* funding anyways. Afaik, the project produces a lot of material mostly of use to chip manufacturing. Its seems that now too, it may have contributed to the 'flying laser' weapons too.
Posted in Dinosaurs on a diet shed tonnes
Re: Remember pneumaticity
More posts like this please. I can never ever get enough dinosaur trivia.
Posted in Netherlands jumps off ACTA train
Re: Yet another reason
Yeah! Sometimes it feels like these are 'real' countries, listening to their people (Denmark is excellent at this too, toppling its government when it became clear there were no weapons-of-mass-destruction in Iraq). And then there are other places like the UK and Ireland, where the status-quo seems to be governments who see just how much they can get away with while in office.
Re: Which Os(s) are affected.....
Upvoted, and yes you are correct. These are not 'normal' virii and are unlikely to be delivered via 'normal' routes. I suspect a degree of observation and of social engineering takes places beforehand (old fashioned spying) to ensure delivery. There may even be collusion. I also doubt that any operating system would act as much of a safeguard against this this level of attack.
If anyone thinks that this infection is due to pure stupidity, they are naive and inexperienced. The infection may, at some point, have taken advantage of human fallibility, but thats not the same thing.
Posted in Zombies, Run!
Re: Brains....
I'm trying hard to resist making jokes about managers and Paris being of little interest to brain eating zombies.....
"...it seems like the malware is unrelated to Stuxnet..."
Even if completely different, I really wouldnt bet on it being 'unrelated' to Stuxnet.
A job for PARISS?
"SpaceX has already proved that the Dragon can clear Earth's atmosphere and fly about, and even be retrieved from the Pacific Ocean when it comes back"
Sounds to me like PARIS almost met this criteria too....
"El Reg Special Project Bureau already proved that their paper aeroplanes can clear Earth's atmosphere and fly about, and even be retrieved from the spanish outback when it comes back"
So, after LOHAN, how about....
Paper
Aeroplane
Rendezvous with
ISS
Posted in So what's the worst movie NEVER made?
Bladerunner Zero : Deckard Vs Deckard
Los Angelas, the near future...
Shot in one continuous four hour take, and with over 24 months of post procession to bring you never before seen visuals, this film tells the story of ex-special forces and rookie cop Deckard as he battles with a corrupt superior officer, Roy Blatty, and a loveless disintegrating marriage at home, whilst fighting to clear the name of his father, who was crippled in a unicorn rodeo.
Rick Deckard : NICHOLAS CAGE Rick Holden: NICHOLAS CAGE Rick Deckard Jnr: JUSTIN BIEBER Dave Deckard : SEAN CONNERY Roy Blatty: JOAQUIN PHOENIX Jo-Anne Deckard : RIHANNA Dr. Voight: JOHN CLEESE
Voice-over of Rick Deckard: ANTHONY HOPKINS
Music by U2
Special Effects by JIM HENSON'S CREATURE WORKSHOP
Directed by GEORGE LUCAS
Posted in Sweden: talk, text and drive? OK
Downvoters are missing two points:
First: the swedes examined the available data, and concluded that banning usage of mobile phones appears to have no noticeable influence on the numbers of accidents on the roads. This "lets actually look at the data" approach seems novel, and I like it. Its illegal to drive while using a phone in Norway, a country suitably similar to Sweden, so this fact means the Swedes can probably do a pretty good side-by-side comparison and see if there are any benefits from adding a new law to the books.
Second: Driving-without-due-care is already illegal under some heading in most countries, and so there was no need to make use of phones illegal (a specific law just makes prosecution easier). Its probably illegal to drive while fucking too, but I don't think many countries have a law specifically for it.
Posted in Vote now for the WORST movie EVER
Hmmm. The Matrix is a damn good and thoughtful sci-fi film made after 1982. Just like Bladerunner it defined (even if it didnt really invent) a lot of things we now take for granted (bullet time etc).
A metric I use amongst friend for films is "how quotable is it?". Films like Aliens, Bladerunner, Highlander, Terminator and The Matrix score really high on this, with Matrix topping out for me with so many memorable lines (I bought the script).
Ha ha ha I love it! I have to add:
5. Only works on our lab rats / test volounteers / room-temperature fusion reactor.
I've also frequently seen:
"If <scaled> such a breakthrough would permit <A.C.Clarke 'magic' technology>"
..as in "An aeroplane powered by such a device would reduce flight time from London to New York to 20 minutes, and use less than 10 grammes of fuel" etc.
Posted in So, what IS the worst film ever made?
Re: I Am Legend
I recently read the book and was (and am still) in shock at how Hollywood can take what is a genius idea for a thriller-horror and make such a pitiful piece of shit out of it. Do cretins like Will Smith write their own dialogue too? I can't see any other explanation for this crap.
"...but it cannot be decoded until a user is not aware about these approaches"
Sounds ominous for the poor decoders: you need to render them "unaware" of these approaches?
Posted in Lego space shuttle hits 114,000ft
Impressive
Nice video work with shuttle centre stage the whole time. Must have weighed a bit too...
Re: Just out of interest...
I think you'll find the 'normal' here is in fact to call Russia and its old states.
Disingenious
"It's important to stress that these advertising cookies do not collect personal information."
This sounds rather like choice wording. Le me fix that:
"The cookes dont collect personal information per se, they just uniquely identify you to us and allow us to cross reference your browsing habits and store these in a huge database we keep of your visited webpages."
feet? feet???
Where do you think we are, Burma, or Liberia, or some other idiotic country which doesn't use proper units?
Just how many linguines is 2,600 "feet"?
