scuba_steve_1 - Slashdot User

Comment Re:Won't it ... ? (Score 5, Interesting) 313

by scuba_steve_1 on Tuesday October 20, 2009 @05:16PM (#29814723) Attached to: No Dedicated Servers For <em>CoD: Modern Warfare 2</em>

Dead on. I am in a COD Clan, which I will not mention here. We were in existence as far back as MOH Spearhead...and later hosted servers for COD UO, COD2, COD4, and now, WaW. We typically support (modded) servers long after others have left the game...and are currently still running servers for COD2 and COD4 in addition to WaW.

We buy our games on release day. Actually, we pick them up on release day...we buy them well in advance. We have about 150 clan members and another 100 or so associated regular players...in addition to our guests. We don't pirate...and we run PB...so they are free to check what they want for our members, regulars, and guests.

We pay over $400 a month for a dedicated physical server (on which we host multiple game servers). We also pay for a separate host for forums, map redirects, and a Vent server.

In the past, we have also run BF2, BF2142, MOH Airborne and other titles, but CoD is our primary game...and we were really looking forward to MW2. No longer.

We run only games that allow us to host our own server. We finally were able to swing that with BF and that's why we ran it. For us, the community is *at least* as important as the game. We want a single place (or set of servers actually) where our members, regulars, and guests can join us. We also want control over the maps, mods, and admin. We run a mature server and do not tolerate immature players, cheaters, or folks who lack sportsmanship.

Frankly, I have limited expectations for this petition...or any type of boycott. That said, my clan is out. There is no way that we support a game that doesn't allows us to host it. i.e., a game that ignores the importance of our community. We have had a fairly sizable number of members cancel pre-orders...and now have switched our attention to BF3. It's a big leap for us (sad, but true), but as the dude says, this will not stand.

The clan abides,.

Comment Wow...great stuff (Score 4, Insightful) 599

by scuba_steve_1 on Friday June 26, 2009 @10:40AM (#28482349) Attached to: Doctors Baffled, Intrigued By Girl Who Doesn't Age

Wow...that is absolutely amazing...and she is so fortunate to have a family that sees the situation so positively...and who supports related research by the scientific community to see if there is a potential broader benefit here. Frankly, it must be tough for them at times, but I am sure that my wife would *love* it if our little girl never grew up. Thank goodness her sisters are supportive, because they will most likely need to take care of her in the future after her parents advance in age. Great stuff.

Comment Wait... (Score 1) 669

by scuba_steve_1 on Friday May 15, 2009 @12:11PM (#27968247) Attached to: Does Dell Know What Women Want In a Laptop?

...no offense implied to your post, with which I agree...but seriously mods, marking the fact that women don't like to be told that they are fat as "informative"? Are you serious? Let's mark posts that tell us that the sun is probably coming up tomorrow as informative as well.

...and no ladies, the jeans don't make your ass look fat...the dozen donuts that you ate this weekend make your ass look fat. ;)

BTW, I tried to comment here:

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/what-do-women-want-in-a-laptop/

...but my thoughts are still awaiting moderation (facists)...so I will repeat myself:

In general, men and women *do* tend to look for diferent things in gadgets. Let's not pretend otherwise. That is not to say that all men are knowledgeable about such things or that all women are not, but seriously, when arguing a point about women not being technically clueless and Dell being insulting and/or condescending, perhaps they could get a better spokesperson. Seriously, did you folks read her comments?

If the netbook is great for using the Internet and has a long memory,

Long memory? Okay marketing "expert", perhaps you should step out of the spotlight now...since you have just reinforced the stereotypes that you are trying to dispel.

$0.02

- Scuba

Comment **** Alternative idea (Score 1) 1235

by scuba_steve_1 on Monday January 26, 2009 @06:06PM (#26613769) Attached to: New Law Will Require Camera Phones To "Click"

Yes, we could legislate this issue...and add flashing strobes to also help the deaf...and task a government agency to manage this mandate...and add more burden to customs, law enforcement, and the courts...and then also potentially create additional legislation to also outlaw the crop of non-phone-based portable silent cameras that will surely come to market if this legislation passes...

...or women could start wearing underwear.

Seriously, what can these perverts photograph if you are a women and wearing underwear beneath your dress? Anything more than they see of you at the beach? If so, are you concerned that a nice breeze will also expose your thong to the world? Perhaps you should wear pants.

Comment *** The clear winner (Score 1) 581

by scuba_steve_1 on Friday August 01, 2008 @01:58PM (#24437191) Attached to: Best robot company?

CylonCo - Manufacturers of biped-based combat chassis and countertop kitchen appliances for over 40 Years!

Building the Interplanetary Internet 334

Posted by kdawson on Thursday February 22, 2007 @11:33AM from the ping-and-wait dept.

sighted writes "Internet pioneer Vint Cerf, now a Google VP, is leading a NASA effort to create a permanent network link to Mars within the next two years. As Cerf outlined in a recent talk, the 'InterPlaNet' protocol is designed to handle the delay caused by interplanetary distances. A signal traveling between the Earth and Mars can take up to 20 minutes."

Submission + - What's missing from Vista's "official apps"

Submitted by

PetManimal

on Thursday February 22, 2007 @11:18AM

PetManimal writes: "Microsoft has just released a list of 800 applications it says are "officially supported" on Windows Vista. What's special about this list, however, are the programs that are not included:

Popular Windows software that is conspicuously missing from Microsoft's list includes Adobe Systems Inc.'s entire line of graphics and multimedia software, Symantec Corp.'s security products, as well as the Mozilla Foundation's open-source Firefox Web browser, Skype Ltd.'s free voice-over-IP software and the OpenOffice.org alternative to Microsoft Office
Another area in which Vista has found to be lacking is gaming, as discussed earlier on Slashdot."

Submission + - 67 Kilowatt Laser Unveiled

Submitted by

s31523

on Thursday February 22, 2007 @08:21AM

s31523 writes: "We all remember the scene from the movie Real Genius where the nerdy guys get a laser to fire which burns a hole through everything for miles. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California has announced they have a Solid State Heat Capacity Laser (SSHCL) that averages 67kW working in their lab. Developed for the military, Dr. Yamamoto claims this to be a record and is quoted as saying, "I know of no other solid state laser that has achieved 67kW of average output power". The potential uses for this bad boy go well beyond turning a professor's house into Jiffy Pop. Here is what a 40w laser can do, now imagine 67000 watts. Although many lasers have peaked at higher capacities, getting the average sustained power to remain high seems to be the tricky part."

Longhorn Server Will Stress Virtualization 101

Posted by kdawson on Tuesday February 20, 2007 @03:19PM from the bet-it-won't-run-virtual-MacOS dept.

Rob writes in with an article from CBROnline based on an interview with Microsoft's UK server director. He says the timing of the release of the next version of Microsoft's server OS, dubbed Longhorn, depends on the company getting virtualization ready to go. Microsoft has apparently decided to embed its hypervisor technology into Windows, an OS-centric approach to virtualization shared by XenSource Inc., its open-source rival and partner. This contrasts with the model of virtualizing the hardware layer being pursued by VMWare. The Microsoft spokesman is coy about a release date for Longhorn, saying it could be earlier or it could be later (but it should be in 2007).

Submission + - Scientist make quantum encryption breakthrough

Submitted by

Madas

on Tuesday February 20, 2007 @02:50PM

Madas writes: "Scientists working in Cambridge, England have managed to make quantum encryption completely secure by putting decoy pulses in the key transmission stream. According to the story this paves the way for safe, encrypted high-speed data links. Could this allow completely private transmission of data away from snooping eyes and ears? Or will it mean film studios can stop movies from being copied when travelling on the internet?"

Australia Outlaws Incandescent Light Bulb 944

Posted by Zonk on Tuesday February 20, 2007 @01:23PM from the lots-of-quiet-nights-down-there dept.

passthecrackpipe writes "The Australian Government is planning on making the incandescent light bulb a thing of the past. In three years time, standard light bulbs will no longer be available for sale in the shops in Australia (expect a roaring grey market) and everybody will be forced to switch to more energy efficient Fluorescent bulbs. In this move to try and curb emissions, the incandescent bulb — which converts the majority of used energy to heat rather then light — will be phased out. Environmental groups have given this plan a lukewarm reception. They feel Australia should sign on to the Kyoto protocol first. A similar plan was created together with Phillips, one of the worlds largest lighting manufacturers."

Hitachi's Tiny RFID Chips 153

Posted by kdawson on Thursday February 15, 2007 @02:05PM from the bugged-dust dept.

paltemalte writes "Hitachi has just come out with a new crop of RFID tags, measuring only 1/20 of a millimeter square. That's 1/8 the size (in linear dimension) of Hitachi's currently shipping mu-chips, which are 0.4 mm square. The new chip's width is slightly smaller than a human hair. These chips could put an end to shoplifting forever, but they could also be used by a governments or other entities to 'dust' crowds or areas, easily tagging anyone present without their knowledge or consent. Will someone come up with a surefire way of neutralizing chips that may be on your body or in your clothing?" Hard to pin down a source on this. The article cites another blog, which points to an article in Japanese.

When Your Homework is to Make Good Games 24

Posted by Zonk on Thursday February 15, 2007 @01:58PM from the learning-is-fun dept.

Over on Wired's site, Chris Kohler has up a great pair of features on the growing role that game design is having in education. He had the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Henry Jenkins, one of the foremost authorities in the US on games and learning, to discuss the future of game-creation education. Schools all over the country are adding game design, art, and programming courses to their curriculum, and the article also mentions several high profile foreign programs opening in the near future. While the article is primarily about education programs, Kohler also had the chance to do a one-on-one interview with Mr. Jenkins. The piece has several interesting insights into how games and learning fit together as well as they do, as well as more details on the proposed Singapore/MIT game lab. Says Jenkins, "Some have said that the games industry has become so risk adverse that only a Miyamoto or a Wright can break through the formulas and generate truly original approaches to game design. Many observers have said we need to step outside of that system and provide some place where interesting new game prototypes can be incubated."

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