Game Maker's Garage Forum
Game Maker's Garage => Trash Talk => Topic started by: Zoo on March 23, 2011, 04:04:50 PM
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15 years ago, one might have payed 150 dollars or so for a playstation. Yesterday, I went to two goodwill stores (yeah, I was really bored) and saw one at each for ten dollars. Technology has just started to move so fast, one day the iPad is the new thing and everyone buys one. A year later, the iPad is outdated, and people start buying iPad 2s. The later in time you go, the faster technology advances. The cannon was one of the best weapons for more than 1000 years, then in the 1500s guns become more available and we use those. Then in the early 1900s there are machine guns, nukes and airplanes. Or with writing technology. Pens then printing presses. Now almost everyone has a computer, and upgrades like every 4 years. It's amazing.
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i agree, and i dont really like it, its hard to keep up with, its expensive. and i just recently upgraded from a 450mhz g3 a couple years ago. i like the internet but i do miss the days of super nintendo, magazines and payphones, you want to make a call? 10cents back then, no obligations, no bills, now you gotta pay 40$+ a month. internet and cable, 150$+ a month. i just miss simpler times, being out learning how to be a man and enjoying life rather than stuck in front of a computer screen all day. i believe right now is the biggest turn point in history, the introduction of computers is beginning to change the world. i remember actually useing apple iigs in first grade.
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Same, except for me it was in preschool.
I'm excited, the future is gonna hold exciting things. Just wait till lightsabers come out. iPads so thin you gotta pry them off the table with your finger nails. Holographic 3D tvs. Advanced AI tech that can drive your car for you. Supercapcitators in place of batteries, charge instantly, light, and hold plenty of energy. Or even wireless energy.
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I'm not sure whether I like it or not. It costs a lot, but we can do much more now. Advancing medical technology saves lives, and computers make researching things a much easier.
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Unless tech companies start making properly engineered products, I will refuse to buy them. It's less about advancing technology now; it's more about letting some marketing types chuck some components into a branded plastic box and selling it at a premium to the gadget hungry public with no consideration for a) how it will be used b) how long it will last and c) what purpose it serves.
Case in point, my IBM Model M keyboard; mechanical keyswitch, curved typing angle, built in the UK 1989 and it still works flawlessly. That's nearly 22 years - which you might just call 'retro', but it's a feat of engineering and good product design for an input peripheral to be still working years past obsolescence. Compare this to the flimsy offerings from Apple, Microsoft, Kensington, Logitech etc. which have silly 'multimedia' keys, no tactile response, about half a millimetre of key travel to activation point and peel apart in 3 years. Same thing with Apple. Third gen iPod still working from 2003 with firewire support (which is *faster* than USB 2.0!), compared to the iPod Touch/iPhone which has poor battery life, breaks if you drop it out of your pocket more than twice and most importantly no firewire support which is a step backwards! Intel iMac '06 still working (sort of, optical drive totally shot), compared to newer iMac models that overheat if you try and play HD footage.
I am playing devil's advocate here, but you cannot deny that well-engineered products just do not exist anymore. No matter how far technology goes, it won't make a difference if cutting edge products break down every few weeks and are purposely made obsolete every few months. There's my $0.02.
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I somewhat agree. My 11 year old iBook works like a charm and faster than the 3 year old computers at my school. And if you ask me, The N64 classic Starfox 64 is much more addicting than many DS/Wii games.
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Agreed. Especially with the StarFox 64.
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When I first got that game, I couldn't get past the asteroid field. About a year ago, I dug it out again and I got to starwolf. With a little practice I could soon beat it going the easy way. I want to get whoever did Peppy's voices' signature. The voice acting is the best.
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I remember a while back we had an old Commodore 64. It's got a big metal case and it's about 3 feet wide and it still runs after all this time. It's well built.
It's also so old we had to find an older TV set to use it. But it did have some fun games. My parents sold it though.
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Some things have improved. Cars run for much longer than they used to, for example.
People deprecate their electronics, often before they even have a chance to fail. My MacBook Pro will be 4 years old next month. The battery was replaced twice under warranty (I think I was abusing the batteries though - letting it drain out and sit empty for a few weeks, for example). I replaced the hard drive myself with a 500 GB model because I needed more space. Other than that, it's all original, and I expect at least 2-3 more years (it's a Core 2 Duo, in case Apple decides to drop the 32-bit Intel Macs).
At least with Apple products - too many people see them as fashion accessories. I just need a durable product with a good OS. I'm proud that my computers run for so long. iPhone, on the other hand, has been disappointing. My EDGE iPhone bought on launch day lived for 2.5 years before part of the screen died (battery life by that point was bad as well). My first 3GS didn't even get a year before the mute switch went loopy and dust got under the screen (WTF?). The warranty replacement has got dust again and a big scratch. I'm just hoping something else goes out, so I can get one last replacement under AppleCare and maybe another year of use.
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I still have one of those awesome G5 Powermacs somewhere. Such a pretty machine.
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You know what bugs me? Apple doesn't make colorful computers anymore.
Remember orange imacs? I think apple should seriously make computers in more than 2 colors again. They make colorful ipods, that cover-thingy for the ipad is colorful.
(http://i.bnet.com/blogs/apple_imac_orange.jpg)
Why not make these again? They rule.
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Agreed.
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Mmmmmm I dunno. Guess I don't really have a color preference.
Also trying to visualize a MacBook Pro in a variety of colors....
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even better, why not bring these back, mine still works perfectly
(http://techkniffen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/apple_mac_classic_ii.jpg)
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I love all old (and new) macs. I want an apple lisa:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Lisa
I read about this in a biography of Steve Jobs, it was a failure because of it's 10,000$ price tag. Man, a good computer was expensive back then.
It's too bad apple gave 2700 of them to a junkyard.
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or a nextstep computer, they cost 10 grand back in the day too, and came with a collosal 400 meg hard drive and 16 megs of ram expandable to 64!!
(http://www.macmothership.com/nucleus/media/1/20090610-12.JPG)
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I've been working on an Atom based all-in-one stainless steel Mac Classic-esque computer for quite some time. Eventually I'll get a prototype built, make the OS I've designed and hopefully release it after me and my friends form the company we've been talking about since 2007...
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Making an OS is a big deal. Lotsa code.
My guess is it'd take forever to get a working prototype.
What sort of designs are you looking for in your future OS? Anything unique?
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What sort of designs are you looking for in your future OS? Anything unique?
All in good time ;)
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I read about that one too. It was built much later though so I don't think it's a fair comparison.
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I've been working on an Atom based all-in-one stainless steel Mac Classic-esque computer for quite some time. Eventually I'll get a prototype built, make the OS I've designed and hopefully release it after me and my friends form the company we've been talking about since 2007...
Take a few classes in OS design and you might re-think writing your own OS. An alternative is to customize a Linux OS to have the features you want and distribute that. This would take significantly less time and be built on top of a tried and tested OS.
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The only thing more complicated than writing a 3D engine without using an API, is writing an Operating System.
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i think telstar is joking, if not, thats the most moronic thing ever said on the forums. making an os would be unfulfilling and pointless. thats something that would never even get started
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Take a few classes in OS design and you might re-think writing your own OS. An alternative is to customize a Linux OS to have the features you want and distribute that. This would take significantly less time and be built on top of a tried and tested OS.
We've discussed this and decided Linux would not be the right way to go. There is another open-source OS we're looking into and thinking of building on top of that (it offers a lot of what we have in mind and what we think people need rather than want from an OS), but until we finish university, very little is going to happen (except for the usual writing down of ideas).
If we actually had the tools and knowledge to implement ALL the designs we have (and believe me, we've got a lot), *theoretically* it would be far superior to any other readily available operating system. It's just a question of getting around to it :P
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Unless tech companies start making properly engineered products, I will refuse to buy them. It's less about advancing technology now; it's more about letting some marketing types chuck some components into a branded plastic box and selling it at a premium to the gadget hungry public with no consideration for a) how it will be used b) how long it will last and c) what purpose it serves.
Case in point, my IBM Model M keyboard; mechanical keyswitch, curved typing angle, built in the UK 1989 and it still works flawlessly. That's nearly 22 years - which you might just call 'retro', but it's a feat of engineering and good product design for an input peripheral to be still working years past obsolescence. Compare this to the flimsy offerings from Apple, Microsoft, Kensington, Logitech etc. which have silly 'multimedia' keys, no tactile response, about half a millimetre of key travel to activation point and peel apart in 3 years. Same thing with Apple. Third gen iPod still working from 2003 with firewire support (which is *faster* than USB 2.0!), compared to the iPod Touch/iPhone which has poor battery life, breaks if you drop it out of your pocket more than twice and most importantly no firewire support which is a step backwards! Intel iMac '06 still working (sort of, optical drive totally shot), compared to newer iMac models that overheat if you try and play HD footage.
I am playing devil's advocate here, but you cannot deny that well-engineered products just do not exist anymore. No matter how far technology goes, it won't make a difference if cutting edge products break down every few weeks and are purposely made obsolete every few months. There's my $0.02.
I guess advanced technology doesn't imply good, durable engineering, which depends on the will of the manufacturer. Making durable products isn't necessarily everyone's first goal.
Also: there appears to be a lot a of hype, and "technology" can easily become a loosely defined word.
My favorite "durable gadget": TV's from circa 1970 that still work. I like the old, "analog" TVs: the volume doesn't change at an annoying fixed predetermined rate as you simply turn a knob.
Also, I saw a real running NextStep machine recently. Quite fancy, especially for something made in the 1990's and with only four colors.
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Woah. I wish my computer had four whole colors.
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Well, it's not that bad, the original Mac only had two
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We've discussed this and decided Linux would not be the right way to go. There is another open-source OS we're looking into and thinking of building on top of that (it offers a lot of what we have in mind and what we think people need rather than want from an OS), but until we finish university, very little is going to happen (except for the usual writing down of ideas).
If we actually had the tools and knowledge to implement ALL the designs we have (and believe me, we've got a lot), *theoretically* it would be far superior to any other readily available operating system. It's just a question of getting around to it :P
I just laughed into my cup of coffee burnt my face.
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Eww coffee. I'd go with a cup o' milk or hot chocolate.
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Eww coffee. I'd go with a cup o' milk or hot chocolate.
Both are good choices, I do love a cup of warm milk.
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Don't laugh at my life ambition :P
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Tea all the way, and awesome aspirations Tel. ;)
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I wasn't laughing at the aspiration, but at this phrase: "It's just a question of getting around to it". Such a fantastic understatement.
I'm sure one day after taking countless courses in Operation Systems and low level programming you might get a band of programmers together to make the next big OS. But I don't see it happening any time soon, making an OS is just about the hardest task you could have set yourself. Sure think big, but start small. Perhaps by learning C if you don't already know it. Many modern OS's are based on C. And it gives a good insight into lower level considerations.
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Next year I'm taking a class based on this (http://www1.idc.ac.il/tecs/), in which I'll build an (emulated) computer from the ground up... all the way from logic gates to the operating system!
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oh yea, telstar cant even program yet hes talking about making an os
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Dude. :-/
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Sure I can, eq. I've learned some C basics in my spare time and I'm getting into C# at the moment. Just because I haven't released any applications or games since 2009 doesn't mean I can't program.
Next year I'm taking a class based on this (http://www1.idc.ac.il/tecs/), in which I'll build an (emulated) computer from the ground up... all the way from logic gates to the operating system!
That sounds like a pretty sweet class - that looks like a really good book, too :)
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Just because I haven't released any applications or games since 2009 doesn't mean I can't program.
uh, yar it does.
what fulfillment are you gonna get out of this? if your doing it "just for something to do" then you should focus on something more productive and realistic
if someone said "i made an os, want to see it?" ide be like "no.", however if they said they made a game or something interesting, that would be a different story
so, 1) why waste your time on something that will most likely never get done and 2) something that noone cares about?
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Okay, I'm convinced, a changed man based on the barely legible ramblings of a Mac fanboy on the internet (which I used to think was the worst combination possible, but I'M TRANSFORMED NOW) make a suggestion to me; what can I do to contribute to the world of computing in a major way, so major that it'll be remembered in 20 years time?
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We've discussed this and decided Linux would not be the right way to go. There is another open-source OS we're looking into and thinking of building on top of that (it offers a lot of what we have in mind and what we think people need rather than want from an OS), but until we finish university, very little is going to happen (except for the usual writing down of ideas).
If we actually had the tools and knowledge to implement ALL the designs we have (and believe me, we've got a lot), *theoretically* it would be far superior to any other readily available operating system. It's just a question of getting around to it :P
That's good that you're innovating! You should also consider taking an HCI course since it sounds like you'll be doing CS. This will give you a feel for what the latest improvements are in human-computer interaction. You'll have to offer something better than what Apple is offering on either PCs or mobile platforms, as well as what Google is offering on the mobile side.
To give you an idea of what it takes to build an OS comparable to Linux, OS X, or Android, there are hundreds of the best engineers available (usually with a Masters+ degree) working for several years (OS X has been in development since the late 80s, Android since ~2004, etc) to get the job done.
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Okay, I'm convinced, a changed man based on the barely legible ramblings of a Mac fanboy on the internet (which I used to think was the worst combination possible, but I'M TRANSFORMED NOW) make a suggestion to me; what can I do to contribute to the world of computing in a major way, so major that it'll be remembered in 20 years time?
Not an OS. Maybe a highly addictive game.. oh yeh, that'll never happen, indie game developers don't ever get anywhere...
*COUGH* Minecraft, Eschalon, Tetric *COUGH* Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Limbo, Pacman *COUGH*. Man I cannot shake this cough!
Also - barely legible as he may be - Eq is wise, and I have never known him to say something that was ill considered.
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Okay, I'm convinced, a changed man based on the barely legible ramblings of a Mac fanboy on the internet (which I used to think was the worst combination possible, but I'M TRANSFORMED NOW) make a suggestion to me; what can I do to contribute to the world of computing in a major way, so major that it'll be remembered in 20 years time?
mac fanboy...? where did that come from.
(ive said this so many times) just cause you know what the commands do, doesnt mean you can program, when you can write a few hundred lines and get it to run without crashing, thats more along the lines of programming, and you havent done anything
someone on snet claimed they were gonna make an os and we all shot him down and after a while he came to his senses
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someone on snet claimed they were gonna make an os and we all shot him down and after a while he came to his senses
...and built the best damn social networking site for astronauts in the world: Spacebook!
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lol
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A man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?
I have no problem with most developers churning out third rate applications to make a quick buck on the latest fad gadget that'll be forgotten two weeks after it gets released. If that's what most developers want to do, then that's up to them and I wish them the very best of luck. I just happen to see more to life than that. In no way can I be expected to start writing an operating system now, I think I've made this very clear. That's why I'm studying software engineering for 4 years at university. If I can't program, why have all but one of my releases been in Mac Format and how would I get into university to study software engineering in the first place? I must be doing something right; all five universities I applied to gave me offers. This is something that I am doing and nobody sat behind a keyboard on the other side of the planet can change that. Sorry to disappoint.
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I have no problem with most developers churning out third rate applications to make a quick buck on the latest fad gadget that'll be forgotten two weeks after it gets released. If that's what most developers want to do, then that's up to them and I wish them the very best of luck. I just happen to see more to life than that. In no way can I be expected to start writing an operating system now, I think I've made this very clear. That's why I'm studying software engineering for 4 years at university. If I can't program, why have all but one of my releases been in Mac Format and how would I get into university to study software engineering in the first place? I must be doing something right; all five universities I applied to gave me offers. This is something that I am doing and nobody sat behind a keyboard on the other side of the planet can change that. Sorry to disappoint.
http://www.amazon.com/Operating-System-Concepts-Abraham-Silberschatz/dp/0470128720/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1301787802&sr=8-2
http://www.amazon.com/Operating-Systems-Depth-Design-Programming/dp/0471687235/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1301787802&sr=8-7
These are the two text for my OS unit. You might benefit from picking them up before "college" or whatever you crazy yanks call it and giving them a read.
Also you might want this:
http://www.amazon.com/Programming-Language-2nd-Brian-Kernighan/dp/0131103628/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_c