Heard of this? It's apparently the next step of online games, cloud computing style.
The basis of this is that mass producing disks full of copies of software a million times for expensive copies of the same hardware a million times is extremely inefficient. In an example of efficiency that would make the borg blush, they are setting up a system where the entirey of the game code is running on a server (right down to graphics and sound rendering) and the completed image and sound is all that's sent. As a result, this will be able to run on any barebones computer capable of an internet connection and displaying live video feeds. Further, they'll also be selling a very basic device for the TV that accomplishes the same barebones thing. All the device needs from a user is basic input. Basically, MS is cashing in on the growing "too poor to buy a fully fledged video game system" market.
I think it can be safely assumed that they'll be adding support for the service to the 360 no problem, heck there's no reason they couldn't add support for it to an update to the original XBox too and considering the market this is aimed at, they would do well to do just that. Since it's just a video feed, they could port the software relatively simply to the Wii or PS3, well "could" being the operative word, as I somehow doubt that either company would approve of something who's chief purpose is to cut in on their business model.
MS is saying they have solved lag like... forever, or something. There are certain physical realities that tell me this won't work as well as they claim, such as the speed of light and the fact that at any time a user could be on the other side of the planet using this system.
Anyway, even if they have truly resolved the lag issues, while I'm very impressed by the idea, I disagree with this notion that this will be the ultimate solution to all software everywhere. People in the cloud computing business keep touting how this is the future of software, every single aspect all being online with only a barebones user interface user-side. My question is, do we really WANT this, for everything?
E-mail is one thing, but I will add that I actually DO use an e-mail program whenever I'm on my own computer, namely because I want copies of everything ON my computer. The internet is not omnipresent just yet. In fact to drive this point home Cox sort of dropped the ball all night last night and didn't get around to fixing whatever was going on until early this morning. There are times when I just need something to be local.
Further, as an extention of this, something that is a purely single-user experience is something I want to have local anyway. I have no advantage at all in sending it "to the cloud". For example, why the heck would I actually WANT to play Chrono Trigger cloud style? All that adds is the risk of headaches.
Anyway, this also fails to address portable consoles, unless cloud computer's dreams are of a planetwide engulfing in a wireless network that always works all the time.
Sometimes I just want to have something I can plug in and it works without invoking the internet. I'm perfectly fine with mass produced information for each individual. I suppose I don't mind such inefficiency. Cloud computing may be the future of online gaming, but for single player games, and also for games with multiplayer modes on top of single player modes, I want to keep the local versions JUST for me to use when I want without anyone needing to know or me needing to depend on extra services needlessly.
Save the uber-cloud computer utopia for when we all finally do get linked into the collective conciousness and only one mind ever needs to worry about being bored.
Quote:At Nintendo's GDC panel on the DSi's design, Project Leader Masato Kuwahara revealed a bit of news regarding DSi software, that will either terrify or thrill you, based on the status of your DSi preorder. Two new types of DS cartridges are on the way: "DSi Cards," which will only work on the DSi, and "DSi Enhanced Cards," which work on all DS systems, but will have extra features when played on a DSi.
I predicted this as soon as we heard that the DSi had higher tech specs than the original DS. Seems that I was right. I'm not too happy about it (it's too soon for the DS to be replaced), but it's true. :(
Can someone please tell Nintendo that memory cards stopped being cool around the time Microshit showed how wonderfully useful a HDD is? Watch the read problem still plague the damn things as well so you cant store a VC/WiiWare title on it and play from it - so you have to unpack it on to your dash before you can open it just like they do now.
Mmm, smells like retarded. Here's hoping but i doubt we'll see savestates and use of said high capacity cards being useful.. at all. Yunno, like a hard drive would have been.
Blah. If you got GDC news post it here. I'll update as it hits. wtf Metal Gear?
Insert Toven's new theme song here.... "♫ It's pissed off rant, pissed off rant, gigady gigady lets have sex! ♫"
So, there showing dodge ball on Cinamax, complete with the DVD commentary. I kid you not this was an actual interview.
Dum ass #1: So what steps did you have to take to achieve that extra quality of comedy in the movie.
Dum ass #2: I hit a lot of people in the face with a dodge ball. I could have hit them in any body part, but I was trying to achieve the heighest standard of comedy. You can hit someone in the kneese, but if you hit them in the face, now that's funny.
About that point I decided to turn off, this interlectual abortion. Whay to go Cinamax, for ever raising your already high standards.
Posted by: etoven - 21st March 2009, 5:27 PM - Forum: Ramble City
- No Replies
Cause I'm pritty shure at Disney sea parks the sea horses don't spit fire...
Yet their commercial clearly shows a sea horse spitting fire!
That's false advertising! I'll sue! I'll make that faggot little mouse and his persional gang of children to rape bleed $100 bills.
Of course Disney did bring to life a magical under water castle complete with penis piller in the little mermaid.... Disney imagineres.... Computer animation.... Homeasexual talking rodents.... Maybe anything is possible at Disney.
Ok Walt, you got 5 days..
If I don't see fire breathing sea horses by then I'm coming for your child raping ass. :shakeit:
Mark Sanford, Sarah Palin, etc. All the Republican governors thinking about or actually attempting to block the stimulus money from going to their states, and thus doom their states to suffering and lost jobs and work that they don't have to.
Of course it's being "intellectually more consistent" to oppose stimulus as a Republican, but when intellectual consistency hurts people this much, sticking by your morals isn't something to be proud of.
But, these people were elected. So should the title be, "Mark Sanford and Sarah Palin are idiots who are trying their best to make the people of their states suffer", or "People are stupid for electing people like that, so whatever happens to them is their own dumb fault for voting for those people"? Because they're the people who voted these people in... if they suffer because of it, well...
Overall though, I hope that any governors that refuse the stimulus get overridden by their legislatures and the stimulus gets accepted anyway (they have that power). The whole country needs help, not just the states that want it...
Actually, many of the states that are trying to refuse it are pretty badly off and need it badly. So to alleviate the pain and suffering I do hope they get it, even if it isn't necessarily deserved -- these people do believe that government is evil, after all. If they really don't want it to help them that badly, we might not be able to force them. But we'll see what happens.
