What is Theo Valich blithering on about?

"Course the world+dog knows that governments are too frightened of electors to take really radical action to cut emissions, such as limiting each household to one motor car and imposing swingeing taxes on owners of flash Jaguars and the like."

Try check Denmark, 180% tax on cars and the bigger and more environmentally bad car. The higher extra tax.

A fancy sportscar with alot of muscle that cost 80000$ in the US cost about 1.2million$ in DK.

shintai

Subject: Rumours persist Apple developing AMD hardware

What the hell is Valich talking about? First, he starts with some bullsh*t rumor about Apple and AMD. Then he makes a broad revelation of how their “marchitecture” is the worlds best. (Oh god, wait, let me throw out my PC-8500, XE chip, two X1900XTX, 1 KW PS, and Raptors for an I-MAC).

Secondly, he gives us a half-assed history lesson about Motorola and IBM. Then, finally, ends up with Intel as just another vendor whose time will pass as just another chip maker. Obviously, he is postulating that the new Barcelona will be the new wave of the future for the eternally superior Apple products. Apple saves the day for AMD. AMD will bring Apple computers to unparallel heights! What brilliance. What a story. What a crock of shit.

Couldn't Theo use his keen eye for history and detail that MAC's have sucked as gaming rigs and servers, and were constantly getting peed on by PC hardware every 6 months? Dual processor G5's, “WOW, A KILLER RIG NOW”, they cried. Wrong, they were $6500, dogs. Sure, they had an edge on graphic, design and rendering. With their OS, their proprietary hardware, their software and SCSI platforms, of course they ran well. But if they were so good why did Apple eventually adopt Intel hardware? Duh!

What? Was this a stop gap measure to eventually, and cunningly, get to AMD hardware?

Listen, Theo, lift your spy glasses off of AREA 51 for a moment. There are sound reasons why Apple went to Intel.

1. Intel got off its' fat ass and is making killer hardware by the TON, with the Italian Stallion behind the wheel. Can you imagine if Apple went with AMD instead! Last quarter AMD couldn't supply the channel. Then, there was the ATI syndrome. And now, there's delay after delay on new hardware that can't compete anywhere with Intel. And finally, there's AMD's 3.5 billion debt. This would have been great move for Apple 2 years ago. (Yeah, right!)
2. Intel's 45nM is around the corner, with 4 NEW FABS under construction as I write.
3. Apple is in good company, they saw the same thing SUN saw.
4. AMD could barely supply OEMS.
5. AMD, at the time, had nothing new for eighteen months, at least
6. Now, AMD can't get the money to build a new garage.

Now, after all this, are we, and investors to believe this?

Wait, Theo!!; I think I see Bigfoot.

Sparks

Subject: Driving Games

How about turning the study on it's head? Agressive drivers are MORE LIKELY to prefer driving games. Passive drivers are more likely to persue other interests. It amazes me at how often these "studies" invert the cause and effect.

The guy who cut you off speeding in heavy traffic probably would like to experience the same thing at higher simulated speeds. The guy who stuck his head out the window screaming at him would probably be better suited to first-person shooters.

Tom Strom

Subject: It is true that AMD does email us

Of course - you are our Pimp !

Want to help me count my $16 Million that your hum-sucking pimping helped me make last year?

Suing and Puking-From-My-Gut And Gestapo Raids At Dawn,
Hector

Subject: ATI's Catalyst Future

It's not that users want less features to control, so much that we don't need useless 3D animations to evaluate settings.

With the 7.2 release ATI finally removed the animated 3D car in favor of simple graphic that far better illustrate the output settings. Without the swerving car animation, CCC loads 2 to 3x faster.

Of course it couldn't have been for good reason. The car was removed because something else as bloated may take its place. If and when that filler update comes out, I may opt to download the drivers only.

Rich

Subject: DAAMIT CCC

well this new CCC with all things tied in kind of sounds like what NV did with the their new CP thats integrated into the Ntune software. Yeah thats great and all but if they dont do it right such as NV didnt they will land themselves right back where they started.

Ideally this would be done third party so that it can control not only AMD parts but allow for pluggins so that a company could write their own "page" or "tab" that adds function to a central program. but then we wouldnt have a bunch of people writing software ALA Open Source Community and we would land with MS ALA Closed Source type software. I could see them doing that with Vista hehe.

Mammothtruk

Subject: Driving games are too good for their own good

This is the best Andrew Thomas article I've ever read - his reasoning actually makes sense! Hopefully there will be more of this in the future. Joe H.

Subject: Computer games and driving

Hi Andrew,

Having recently beein in an accident, I would just like to share with you, and perhaps the inquirer readers my experience.

To establish who I am, I have been playing computer games since the very early 90s. In my free time, I do little else but spend time on my computer, upgrading and play games.

I had been hooked on the need for speed underground 2 game for quite a while.

I was driving and suddenly a car appeared in front of me as if from nowhere and I rammed him into the back. In reality, the car had slowed down quite a bit and I should have stopped earlier.

The core of the problem hasn't been touched on I believe: When playing a computer game, especially a racing game for a long period of time, your mind switches off and wonders to other places while you happilly wizz along taking corners at 150mph. When you see a car approach, since you have been playing the game for so long that your wondering mind mixes reality and game and you think you have uber brakes which will stop you dead in a couple of seconds. My Pug 206 1.4 didnt. I quite honestly believe that had I not played that game for such a long time, I would not have had that accident if put in the same situation.

I believe the real culprit is the Game AI. In racing games the AI is all scripted. It can go from 0-150 within a couple of seconds, and no matter how far you left it behind, it will always pass you by at the slightest mistake. The simple fact is that the AI cheats. It is an illusion to keep you interested... to keep the AI around your car means that you are always "racing".

The AI lulls you into a false sense of security, and your mind gets used to it, and soon, you are lapping around tracks without even thinking about it. When the AI comes by or brakes in front of you, so what? shunt it! better yet, "draft" it. All sub-conciously remember.

Even after the accident, the game's impact still remained. the insurance wrote it off and I got it back, rebuilt it and moded it up need for speed style. The chavs love it ofcourse, but I am so embarrassed of it when in company of work coligues or "normal people" that I hide it around a bush.

It might surprise you to know that I'm not a chav. I infact have 2 degrees and work as a professional engineer... for all the good it did me.

The undeniable fact is that games DO influence life, as do movies, as does advertising. Conciously, we can make healthy decisions.

The problem arises when our sub-concious takes over. This is a domain of the video games, movies, angry RAP music, irrational thoughts, and ofcourse advertising. Here, we cant do anything accept what we have been programmed to do.

Of course people will tell me to pay attaention when I drive. But can you honestly say that your mind has never wondered while you are driving? can anyone? I think not.

Shahzad