I am a profession game developer (animation programmer) and programming is only one discipline, probably less than a third of the staff, that it takes to make a game.

PC / 360 / PS3 game development is a massive undertaking these days with team sizes in the several hundreds. There are plenty of people in these teams (designers, artists, level designers, production etc.) who have no experience in programming.

Even within the programming staff the "close to the metal" programmers are limited in numbers. Most performance optimizations are made at the algorithm level, not the fancy assembler trick level.

The problem with all of the Apollo and Shuttle era technologies that they don't scale. We're never going colonize anywhere sending six people at a time.

If we define the problem as building a spacecraft capable of transporting 1000 people to Mars with equipment to support them for 10 years, and that it should be able to make this journey four times a year for the next 50 years, you would have to come up with a solution that is based on fundamentally different principles.

The first powered aircraft that where built share similar principles to our largest air transports today. I believe Apollo and the Shuttle are not going to share principles with the spacecraft we colonize the solar system with.

P.S. I'm a big space elevator fan :)

I call bullshit! The top of the range model costs $829.99. http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_ipad/family/ipad

I actually agree with you, but your fighting a lost cause here.

The George Bernard Shaw quote would seem to apply: "I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig, you get dirty; and besides, the pig likes it."

Word 2010 supports ligatures.

(full disclosure, I worked for GW for a year back in 1995)

I don't disagree that their behavior is shady and underhanded, but if you're signing a contract with all these restrictions surely alarm bells should be going off. It's only sensible then that you should do some research into what you're getting yourself into.

It just sounds like classic selling your soul to the devil for short term gain.

I don't get this whining about contracts that have been freely entered into. If it's so bad, why do people (you?) agree to their terms? Just don't sell Games Workshop product, sell something else.

This is not entirely correct. You don't need a license to view catch-up programmes but you do need one for live simulcast programming.

Do I need a TV licence to watch programmes on BBC iPlayer?

Wikipedia currently doesn't support downloading complete image dumps. I guess it has something to do with the 2.8 terrabyte file size.

This is very true. I lived all my life in the UK and then moved to Montreal last January. It's surprising how quickly -10 becomes "not too cold".

Most game developers I've worked with cut their programming teeth on PCs as either bedroom programmers or at school/uni.

Everything I know about 360 and PS2/3 programming I learned on the job with 360 and PS2/3 dev kits.

There seems to be a lot of hate for tabs-on-top but there is good evidence that it improves usability as it takes advantage of Fitt's Law. In particular, interface elements which are placed on the edge of the screen effectively becomes infinitely tall or wide and a much easier target for a user to hit.

I'm calling bullshit on this. The Wii is not more powerful than the most powerful gaming machines of a few years ago.

Just take a look at the technical specifications for the Wii.

Compare them with the requirements for running Unreal Tournament 2004 or Doom 3 and you can see that the Wii is not in that league at all.

The Wii is essentially a suped up GameCube with an innovative input method.

15. What if an item is marked the wrong price and the clerk catches it before I pay; am I entitled to buy the item at the price marked?

This is a fact-specific question best answered by a court. A store may not knowingly charge or attempt to charge a price higher than the price marked on the item. MCL 445.354. Therefore, the consumer may have a claim if the store will not sell the item at the price marked. However, the consumer may face obstacles convincing a court that the store knowingly charged the higher price when the pricing mistake is not intentional and will result in an obvious windfall to the consumer.