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Comment A different question - do I need a "gaming" card? (Score 1) 520

by sseaman (#34310564) Attached to: Do You Really Need a Discrete Sound Card?

I've tried researching this for some time on-line, and haven't found a clear answer.

I want:

1. Surround sound in game.
2. Surround sound over headphones.
3. Environmental effects.
4. Decent sound.

This should be what most gamers want, right? I can't be the only person out there wearing headphones, and when I got environmental effects to work on my old-gen M-Audio in Half-Life 2, they sounded awesome (unfortunately, the Sensaura drivers for that feature were bad and it didn't work most of the time).

I've heard new games can provide environmental noise effects without dedicated EAX - is that true?

Is surround over regular headphones effective? I don't see it advertised as a feature any more. Have companies just given up on it?

Comment Correlation and causation. (Score 1) 305

by sseaman (#33989348) Attached to: Comic Sales Soar After Artist Engages 4chan Pirates

Also, people give out free samples all the time to create a "buzz" about a product that will likely fly under the radar. I don't see anything new here.

Most pirated material is stuff people already know about and want. Do you think if Adobe started giving away Photoshop people would suddenly desire it more than they already do?

Comment Maybe, maybe not. (Score 2, Insightful) 198

by sseaman (#30723124) Attached to: Droid Touchscreen Less Accurate Than iPhone's

While it's not likely that a smart phone user is going to draw a lot of lines, the test does give some indication of which phones are most likely to properly respond to clicking on a link in a Web browser."

A "gaming-grade" mouse and surface might have better sensitivity but I won't likely see a difference in browsing.
Television

Futurama Voices Could Be Recast 260

Posted by Soulskill from the bite-my-shiny-metal-*** dept.
Svippy writes "According to reports surfacing on the Internet, Futurama may be recast. The animated series is due to return next year on Comedy Central, but may not be the same as we once knew it. 'As part of the announcement, the show's producers said stars including West, Sagal and DiMaggio had all signed on to return. Turns out that wasn't true. The stars had all expressed interest in returning. But with the budget for Futurama dramatically slashed, the salary offers came in well below what the thesps were asking.' Phil LaMarr posted 20th Century Fox's request for auditions on his Facebook page. However, some are skeptical about whether it's a real casting call or purely a stunt to reduce the salaries of the voice actors."

Comment Desktop vs. server? (Score 4, Insightful) 501

by sseaman (#26481431) Attached to: The Secret Lives of Ubuntu and Debian Users
I run Debian on my server and Ubuntu on my laptop. I have no need for NVidia drivers or a web browser for my server. I also use more manually installed software on my server as there is no default server software configuration that will meet anyone's needs, while the default Ubuntu installation serves most of my productivity needs.
Medicine

3 Cups of Coffee Increases Hallucinations 628

Posted by CmdrTaco from the but-they-ARE-out-to-get-me dept.
PearsSoap writes "The Telegraph and other sources are pointing out a study on 200 students which has found that a high caffeine intake can cause visual and auditory hallucinations, and can make people think that others are 'out to get them.' The abstract (and full version if you have access) is available. 'The volunteers were questioned about their caffeine intake from products including coffee, tea, energy drinks, chocolate bars and caffeine tablets.'"
Biotech

Scientists Identify a Potentially Universal Mechanism of Aging 359

Posted by Soulskill from the wonder-if-boosterspice-is-covered-by-health-care dept.
cybergenesis2008 points us to a summary of research out of Harvard Medical School in which a set of genes known to affect aging in yeast was found to affect aging in mice as well. The genes, called sirtuins, perform two particular tasks; regulating which genes are "on" and "off," and also helping to repair damaged DNA. As an organism ages, the frequency of damage to DNA increases, leaving less time for the sirtuins' regulatory tasks. The increasingly unregulated genes then become a significant factor in aging. Realizing this, the researchers "administered extra copies of the sirtuin gene [to the mice], or fed them the sirtuin activator resveratrol, which in turn extended their mean lifespan by 24 to 46 percent." We discussed the plans for this research a few years ago.
Real Time Strategy (Games)

Four Add-ons Planned For Sins of a Solar Empire 68

Posted by Soulskill from the a-quantum-of-content dept.
With the first add-on pack for Sins of a Solar Empire arriving in just under a month, publisher Kalypso Media has announced that three more add-ons are on their way as well. Gamespot has an early look at the first add-on, Entrenchment, and a couple of additional screenshots are available at Shacknews. The game's creative director, Craig Frazer, also explained their reasoning for making small expansions rather than large ones: "If PC gaming is to survive, the industry will need to be open to change. We went out on a limb with our anti-DRM stance and it paid off really well. We tried an unusually long beta period and that worked as well. Micro-expansions are just another experiment we are trying out to improve the market. These small expansions give us the opportunity to provide highly focused, high quality content within a reasonable time frame. Micro-expansions also reduce the development risk associated with 1-3 year cycles. With lower risk, we can be far more progressive in terms of gameplay and content."

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