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The Shout Thread

CABAL

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Just saw Rogue One. Fantastic, go watch it if you haven't already. Would anyone be interested in a spoiler inclusive thread where we can talk about the movie?
 

SciFiFan

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Just saw Rogue One. Fantastic, go watch it if you haven't already. Would anyone be interested in a spoiler inclusive thread where we can talk about the movie?
I would indeed. I will start one if you like.
 

SciFiFan

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I am so f*ing pissed off right now. I swear my computer hates me. Started having hard drive issues again. It no longer reads my 460 gb hdd. It reads my 1 tb hdd but when I try to start up any programs (games), the machine lags or locks up completely. The msata attached to the motherboard still seems to work fine. I am ready to drop kick my computer off a cliff into a ragging volcano.
 

CABAL

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I am so f*ing pissed off right now. I swear my computer hates me. Started having hard drive issues again. It no longer reads my 460 gb hdd. It reads my 1 tb hdd but when I try to start up any programs (games), the machine lags or locks up completely. The msata attached to the motherboard still seems to work fine. I am ready to drop kick my computer off a cliff into a ragging volcano.
On the bright side, HDD prices have really come down. Can you copy files off the 460gb?
 

SciFiFan

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On the bright side, HDD prices have really come down. Can you copy files off the 460gb?
So, I have a HDD case that I hooked my hard drive to and plugged them into a USB port. Both worked perfectly fine. I was able to access the drives and even launch programs on them. So I then changed out the sata cables and changed the sata ports they were plugged into. Everything is fine now. I am worried though that the issue may be the mother board. If it happens again, I may have to look at changing it.
 

CABAL

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On a happier note than yesterday, today is apparently Nichelle Nichols' birthday! She is now 84 years old.
 

Terra_Inc

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On a happier note than yesterday, today is apparently Nichelle Nichols' birthday! She is now 84 years old.
At last, some good news! Happy birthday, and hopefully many birthdays yet to come. Here's to you. *raises glass*:)
 

SciFiFan

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That is most impressive.
 

Terra_Inc

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Happy new year, everyone. Let's hope it turns out better than the last.

Also, that BOP is amazing. Check the guy's flickr account, he also built a fricking Ha'tak among others.
 

CABAL

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Apparently, Sherlock Series 4 premiered yesterday with "The Six Thatchers" without anyone telling me. I guess not seeing commercials for things I want is what I get for not watching much TV. It looks like you can watch the premier free on the PBS website, but that may be locked to the US.
 

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I just rolled my eyes to that article. It lets on that the internet was the sole purpose for the PC. The first PC I owned had one purpose only - gaming. It wasn't the best but it was good for its time. This was before games required internet when you simply installed it and played. Sure now you have mobile phones and tablets for internet on the go but, for my part, they will NEVER replace my PC. I do hope to get a gaming laptop later on but, for now my desktop is beast enough for what I need.
 

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I think she's mostly right, but I do disagree with the point that people bought desktop PCs purely to access the internet. What made the home computer such a success was its many different useful applications. There were things like word processors, which were an amazing thing if you've ever had to use a typewriter. The printer, of course, made it possible to not just print text but also images. Gaming was a thing, too - heck, the early 2000s was when the Armada games were released. That's also around the time it became acceptable to do your homework on a PC, and we started making all of these PowerPoint slides for our presentations. MP3 had been around for a while, and the iPod and other MP3 players were starting to revolutionize music. If you wanted to do any of these things (and you know you did!) you also needed a computer.

The reason why we used such an "inconvenient" device, as she correctly points out, is that we simply didn't have anything else, and there are few good reasons to buy a clunky desktop PC when all you want to do is post on Facebook and watch cats fall over on YouTube. So yeah, I can totally see a lot of people not needing a desktop PC anymore.

Of course, and I also agree with the article on this point, there are still plenty of reasons to use a good old desktop PC. First of all, a lot of professional work is best done on a device with a physical keyboard and, if necessary, lots of computing performance. Also, there's a ton of gaming that just doesn't work very well on touch screens. Plus, a desktop PC is pretty easy to maintain and you can actually replace parts yourself, which isn't possible with a lot of laptops, let alone tablets and smartphones. And they're still cheaper than laptops, for equal performance. More bang for your buck, as they say.
 

CABAL

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They're also still important for progression of computer hardware. New components are developed for desktops, then miniaturized for laptops, then further shrunk down for other systems. Even modern consoles have their hardware based on desktop components.

First of all, a lot of professional work is best done on a device with a physical keyboard and, if necessary, lots of computing performance.
I would love to see somebody talking about how my desktop is obsolete because tablets try to write a paper with their touch screen.

And yeah, I get that most people don't really need a desktop and would be fine with a laptop or tablet, but all these doomsayers ranting about how desktops are obsolete dinosaurs that will vanish any day now are irritating. They tend to point at statistics they don't understand (computer sales dropped off because we hit complete market saturation and most home computers are bought piecemeal instead of pre-built) and ignore non-home uses, like in offices, or they ignore the fact that it's really hard to write a paper with a touch screen.
 

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Yeah, no kidding. I have two PCs under my desk as I write this post. Both of them are not going anywhere. :)
 

CABAL

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CABAL

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I'm not sure if anyone is familiar with Star Trek: Judgment Rites, but it was a 1993 TOS game that was a sequel to the 25th Anniversary game. My dad got the CD-ROM Special Edition version of Judgment Rites way back when. Only 75,000 of these were made and he got #64886. He gave it to me a few years ago and I've basically just been keeping it on a shelf.

Well, earlier today, I was curious and, seeing as how the box was already in pretty rough shape when he gave it to me, I thought I'd open it up and see what all is in there. The leaflet is still there, but it has some wrinkles and a tear. The commemorative pin is missing. The VHS copy of The City on the Edge of Forever is in the original sleeve, which looks to be in such good condition that I won't remove it to look at the cassette. The manual is in pristine condition, which surprised me. The jewel cases are also in phenomenal condition and the game disk, though showing some use, looks fine. I pulled the Collector's Disk, which includes interactive interviews with Roddenberry and Nimoy, out of the case just long enough to realize that it had never been removed before.

It doesn't look like even complete, pristine sets are actually worth much, but I like it. I can post some pictures if anybody is interested.
 

CABAL

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Alrighty, here are the pics of Judgment Rites. Please forgive the picture quality, my phone is both old and cheap. First up, the front of the box. The back of the box is just black so I didn't bother with that.
1-box.jpg
The stains are from a coffee spill my dad had. It also killed our original Warcraft 3 disk, among others.

The number sticker. There's another on the game disk case.
2-number.jpg

First thing you see when you open it up.
3-openbox.jpg

The disks in their cases.
4-disks.jpg

The leaflet. I was hoping it would be easier to read.
5-leaflet.jpg

Under the leaflet, we can see the VHS tape with the manual under that and the empty hole where the commemorative pin would be.
6-vhsAndManual.jpg

The back of the VHS. Couldn't get clear text, sorry.
7-vhsBack.jpg

The front of the manual.
8-manual.jpg

The interior of the manual. The text is much more legible in this shot. You can also see the background pattern of stars and galactic swirls.
9-openmanual.jpg

The disk cases again, without the overlap. You can see the second number sticker on the game case.
10-disksAgain.jpg

Game interior.
11-game.jpg

Collector's disk interior.
12-collectors.jpg

The back of the collector's disk detailing the included features.
13-collectorsBack.jpg

Bonus pic! Floofy cats! They're mine, you can't have them.
cats.jpg
 

Terra_Inc

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Wow, that's quite a treasure! Really cool! :thumbsup: Did you actually ever play the game? 1993 sounds like it would be pretty hard to get to work nowadays. I tried it once with an old MW2 disc I managed to dig up - just a few years older than this is. Not easy at all.

Ah yes, Interplay. I haven't heard that name for a very long time. Apparently they're still around, though it's hardly the same company anymore. A shame, really.

CABAL said:
Bonus pic! Floofy cats! They're mine, you can't have them.
Aww, such cuties! Alas, I myself do not have any floofy cats living with me at the moment. I envy you.
 

CABAL

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Did you actually ever play the game? 1993 sounds like it would be pretty hard to get to work nowadays.
I have not. I got Daggerfall to run in DOSBox, though, so I can probably manage it. It turns out there's also a GOG version and a GOG version of 25th Anniversary, so I could just buy that instead of using my disks.

Ah yes, Interplay. I haven't heard that name for a very long time. Apparently they're still around, though it's hardly the same company anymore. A shame, really.
Interplay used to be so cool! Star Trek adventure games, Starfleet Academy and Starfleet Command (via 14 Degrees East), Hostile Waters (also via 14 Degrees East), Fallout (via Black Isle), Baldur's Gate (via Bioware), etc. Their latest game was a remake of a chess game and it managed to be delayed nearly four years. Really disappointing what's happened to them.

Aww, such cuties! Alas, I myself do not have any floofy cats living with me at the moment. I envy you.
I also have a big fuzzy dog! I'll see if he will sit still for a picture later.

Edit: Big fuzzy dog.
0116171149-00.jpg
 
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CABAL

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Heard on the radio this morning that housing prices in the area are almost back up to where they were before the crash. Did nobody learn anything?
 

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Sadly No

They never do when you have a group that makes there livelihood off a % margins of the final price. This group tells clients an inflated est of value in the hope of keep the price high to support there own needs not the needs of the client
 

CABAL

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It still doesn't make a lot of sense. It was a bubble. They lost tons of money. If they're recreating the bubble, then they're just going to lose tons of money again. Furthermore, if nobody can afford your product, then there's nobody to buy it and you don't make any money.
 
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