AMD and ATI to Create Processing Powerhouse
Press Releases: "AMD and ATI to Create Processing Powerhouse- $5.4 Billion Acquisition Will Drive Growth, Innovation and Choice -- AMD and ATI to Hold Joint Executive Conference Call Today at 8:00 a.m. EDT -NEW YORK -- July 24, 2006 --AMD (NYSE: AMD) and ATI (TSX: ATY, NASDAQ: ATYT) today announced plans to join forces in a transaction valued at approximately $5.4 billion. The combination will create a processing powerhouse by bringing AMD’s technology leadership in microprocessors together with ATI’s strengths in graphics, chipsets and consumer electronics. The result: A new and more formidable company, determined to drive growth, innovation and choice for its customers, particularly in the commercial and mobile computing segments and in the rapidly-growing consumer electronics market. Combining technologies, people, and complementary strengths, AMD plans to deliver in 2007 customer-centric platforms for the benefit of customers who want to collaborate in the development of differentiated solutions.AMD’s acquisition of ATI will position the new company to deliver innovations that fulfill the increasing demand for more integrated solutions in key market segments while also continuing to develop “best-of-breed” discrete products that empower customers to choose the combination of technologies that best serves their needs. In 2008 and beyond, AMD aims to move beyond current technological configurations to transform processing technologies, with silicon-specific platforms that integrate microprocessors and graphics processors to address the growing need for general-purpose, media-centric, data-centric and graphic-centric performance. Thus, the combined company intends to empower its customers to create their own unique products"[More at source]
Monday, July 24, 2006
Is the ESRB really working?
1UP.com had a recent article about the ESRB, and one of my Xbox group members asked the question "Is the ESRB working?"As recent history shows, the media went ape-shit over the 'Hot Coffee' GTA mini-game that was found in the game long after the ESRB gave it's rating.
There has been a lot of debat about this topic. However, I believe the code was left in the game intentionaly. Granted its a good excuse to say 'There's a lot of lines of code and we can't just go and remove lines whilly nilly' and it might have have taken forever to beta test.However, i don't think that was the point of the 'Hot Coffee' mini game.If anyone else noticed, GTA sales where starting to slip. Other games where coming out and RockStar was starting to lose the market.. Then, all of a sudden, a 16+ line game shark code plopped on the internet and spread like Wildfire.
Now I don't know about you, but being a programming I know it would take a LONG time for someone to put in 16 random codes into a game shark to see what would happen. GTA also has a habit of messing with the media in order to boost sales. So did the ESRB fail? No I don't believe they did. They rated it correctly from the game someone played. Its not their fault they missed it. There was NO way to get into the the 'hot coffee' mini game without knowing the code. I believe the ESRB messed up when they went BACK and redid GTA's, and a few others (Oblivion) Ratings. Oblivion was a T.. now it's an 'M'. Oblivion is NOT an 'M' Game. It's a 'T", but the ESRB doesn't want to get spanked for not properally rateing a game now.
Which means all ESRB ratings will be biased, and not a true view on the game. Seems to me that after the 'hot Coffe' the ESRB has moved from being a simple free service based on the whole music rating system (thanks Tripper Gore) into the police of video games. The ESRB was never created to police anything. It's a bunch of 'non-gamers' making ratings for games. But now the media has everyone worked into a frenzy over the artform known as gaming. Are there games I wouldn't like my kids play? of course. Do I need some jack-ass 'know-it-all' telling me what's bad for my kids? No. I can do that myself thank you.
So is the ERSB working? On the business side of gaming, yes it is. Publishers are scared to death of the 'M' rating. Getting an 'M' is like getting an 'X' rating in movies. X = Failure. On the peoples end? No, it's not working. Grandma will still by the newest GTA for her 10 year old grand son for christmas because he asked for it.People need to learn that games are just that. Games.I mean really.. what does a game teach you?
1) If you jump on peoples heads a coin will pop out of their ass.
2) You can get hit with 20 bullets and still run around because it wasn't a 'head shot'.
3) Hookers can replensh your life.
4) Eating 'power pills' will allow you to catch ghosts!
5) You can hit cars from behind while driving and they only bounce away humeriously.
6) Invaders.. Possible from Space, are stupid because all they will do is increase speed and reverse direction.
7) ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US.
I mean really. I think the BIGGEST problem with gaming really has nothing to do with gaming. It has to do with the Government and the Media and no my thought isn't some weird ass conspericy theory. People are getting more and more stupid. People don't want to think anymore. They want to be spoon feed and told what to do.
They are becoming drones of the workplace and live itself. We are all running around like chickens with our heads cut off; always jumping around. Always doing 'something' but never moving forward. Never really learning anything. Always stuck in a rut and never really know how to get out of it, or too lazy to get out of it.
The 'Family unit' has fallen apart. Both parnets needing to work to make enough money to buy the new 'cool' crap and to make ends meet because they are over extended trying to live the 'American Dream' with out ever working for it. The kids are being brought up by daycare and school instead of the parents.
The News and media tell fat people they are really fat and going to die if they don't pop this pill. Children, while ACTING like children are told they have this horrible desise.. and here's a pill for that too. So while we are all drug addicted drones and doing stupid shit, it's easier to point the finger to anyone or anything other then ourselves.
The Games made me do it.. the Music made me do it.. I hear voices.. oh wait.. that's the walmart loud speaker. There was a 3 year old killed this morning in a local Walmart, because some drone put a large heavy standing mirror in the TOY section. This thing was big enough that 2 people where needed to pick up the mirror off the kids body. Have you EVER been to the toy section at Wal-Mart and not seen little brats running around with out their parents? Yelling, screaming and knocking into your and the products on the shelves?
Now, WHO in their right mind would thing that it was a good idea to put a large mirror in the toy section of Walmart? THAT, my friends, is a perfect example of a stupid human and the main reason why people believe that games and music really cause people to go out and see if a coin will pop out of your ass.
There has been a lot of debat about this topic. However, I believe the code was left in the game intentionaly. Granted its a good excuse to say 'There's a lot of lines of code and we can't just go and remove lines whilly nilly' and it might have have taken forever to beta test.However, i don't think that was the point of the 'Hot Coffee' mini game.If anyone else noticed, GTA sales where starting to slip. Other games where coming out and RockStar was starting to lose the market.. Then, all of a sudden, a 16+ line game shark code plopped on the internet and spread like Wildfire.
Now I don't know about you, but being a programming I know it would take a LONG time for someone to put in 16 random codes into a game shark to see what would happen. GTA also has a habit of messing with the media in order to boost sales. So did the ESRB fail? No I don't believe they did. They rated it correctly from the game someone played. Its not their fault they missed it. There was NO way to get into the the 'hot coffee' mini game without knowing the code. I believe the ESRB messed up when they went BACK and redid GTA's, and a few others (Oblivion) Ratings. Oblivion was a T.. now it's an 'M'. Oblivion is NOT an 'M' Game. It's a 'T", but the ESRB doesn't want to get spanked for not properally rateing a game now.
Which means all ESRB ratings will be biased, and not a true view on the game. Seems to me that after the 'hot Coffe' the ESRB has moved from being a simple free service based on the whole music rating system (thanks Tripper Gore) into the police of video games. The ESRB was never created to police anything. It's a bunch of 'non-gamers' making ratings for games. But now the media has everyone worked into a frenzy over the artform known as gaming. Are there games I wouldn't like my kids play? of course. Do I need some jack-ass 'know-it-all' telling me what's bad for my kids? No. I can do that myself thank you.
So is the ERSB working? On the business side of gaming, yes it is. Publishers are scared to death of the 'M' rating. Getting an 'M' is like getting an 'X' rating in movies. X = Failure. On the peoples end? No, it's not working. Grandma will still by the newest GTA for her 10 year old grand son for christmas because he asked for it.People need to learn that games are just that. Games.I mean really.. what does a game teach you?
1) If you jump on peoples heads a coin will pop out of their ass.
2) You can get hit with 20 bullets and still run around because it wasn't a 'head shot'.
3) Hookers can replensh your life.
4) Eating 'power pills' will allow you to catch ghosts!
5) You can hit cars from behind while driving and they only bounce away humeriously.
6) Invaders.. Possible from Space, are stupid because all they will do is increase speed and reverse direction.
7) ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US.
I mean really. I think the BIGGEST problem with gaming really has nothing to do with gaming. It has to do with the Government and the Media and no my thought isn't some weird ass conspericy theory. People are getting more and more stupid. People don't want to think anymore. They want to be spoon feed and told what to do.
They are becoming drones of the workplace and live itself. We are all running around like chickens with our heads cut off; always jumping around. Always doing 'something' but never moving forward. Never really learning anything. Always stuck in a rut and never really know how to get out of it, or too lazy to get out of it.
The 'Family unit' has fallen apart. Both parnets needing to work to make enough money to buy the new 'cool' crap and to make ends meet because they are over extended trying to live the 'American Dream' with out ever working for it. The kids are being brought up by daycare and school instead of the parents.
The News and media tell fat people they are really fat and going to die if they don't pop this pill. Children, while ACTING like children are told they have this horrible desise.. and here's a pill for that too. So while we are all drug addicted drones and doing stupid shit, it's easier to point the finger to anyone or anything other then ourselves.
The Games made me do it.. the Music made me do it.. I hear voices.. oh wait.. that's the walmart loud speaker. There was a 3 year old killed this morning in a local Walmart, because some drone put a large heavy standing mirror in the TOY section. This thing was big enough that 2 people where needed to pick up the mirror off the kids body. Have you EVER been to the toy section at Wal-Mart and not seen little brats running around with out their parents? Yelling, screaming and knocking into your and the products on the shelves?
Now, WHO in their right mind would thing that it was a good idea to put a large mirror in the toy section of Walmart? THAT, my friends, is a perfect example of a stupid human and the main reason why people believe that games and music really cause people to go out and see if a coin will pop out of your ass.
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