This is a cool technical feat, but I am almost sure that id attempted this and realized that it just was not ever going to sound very good. The PC speaker sound effects are bad enough (which is to say "as good as they can be, but still bad") and sound "cheap", and adding beep-speaker music on top of that would just result in a noisy mess - as evidenced by the video.
The beep-speaker music in Commander Keen was good and fit the theme of the game - but to keep the environment of Doom and the dark and moody feel and not be limited to the dulcet tones of a tiny piezo buzzer was a design decision, not being lazy.
Note that they could have supported Disney Sound Source / Covax Speech Thing style audio (they did in Wolf3D and Keen) but skipped that as well, likely for the same reason - it would have sounded like murky hollow garbage.
You can email John Romero and ask him, he responds to emails - my guess is that he will say "yeah we considered it, it sounded bad, we abandoned the idea" not that they were lazy. If you read about the run up to Doom's release, and the amount of crunch time they were putting in, they were anything but lazy!
I think the video really shows that something is "aesthetically"(or audio equivalent) lost. Lot is fine and even good. But there is lack of certain guttural feel that game has.
Honestly, the design aspect really wasn't something I had considered, It definitively does make a lot of sense. Still sad though that it didn't officially happen. So far, all the arguments I had seen against it where purely about the performance, which in my testing isn't really a big factor for this.
Doom is playable (albeit by reducing the viewport to a postage stamp) on a 386; I'd be curious how your patch works on the 386 considering how much worse the graphics performance is on it
ROTT is in my childhood's "badass games hall of fame" along with Quarantine (aka Death Throttle aka Hard Rock Cab), Abuse, and Stratosphere. Honorable mention: Microsoft Flight Simulator: Aircraft & Scenery Designer (MFSASD) for the ability to make an almost flyable U-2 from the jet plane.
DOOM was playable on the 486SLC2 with a modestly smaller viewport despite having just a 16-bit bus. It was the one donated IBM box in my high school's computer lab that could play it because Model 25 and 30 286's sure couldn't.
> The PC speaker sound effects are bad enough (which is to say "as good as they can be, but still bad") and sound "cheap"
They are lifted as is from Shadow Knights.
> which is to say "as good as they can be, but still bad"
They could be done better or even way better, it's just that wasn't an important target in any way. Especially considering the performance target of 486DX+ whicih wasn't not a cheap machine in any way in 1993.
The PC speaker sounds used by Doom aren't so much lifted from Shadow Knights as they are shared between a lot of the early id Software games - the sounds in Doom were also used in Keen, Wolf3D, Shadow Knights, etc. A lot of their early Softbank games used all the same sound palette because they had to crank out new games so quickly
Honestly everyone that’s actually heard pc speaker audio done well is shocked at the unexpectedly high quality of it. Star Control 2 being a shining example. Don’t judge it by the poor examples, judge pc audio by the great ones. Its surprisingly good.
> The scans are painless, have no known side effects on mothers or babies, and can be carried out at any stage of pregnancy.
If you read the linked article, you'd see that most of it focused on how extremely hard it was to get the ultrasound to do anything - it required an MRI and exact positioning of the ultrasound transducer. I doubt that 5 minutes of being gently prodded through the skin and fat is going to harm a child. Also, ultrasounds (and waves and radiation of all sorts) are passing into your body at all times, so it's not like they are exposing the fetus to something rare or unusual.
The NHS are less strident about this these days (I haven't checked since my sons were born - they used to dissuade 5d scans entirely), but this guide gives a flavour of the caution they invoke around private scans:
Not sure if you actually read this document before posting it, but it is just a general cautionary statement, not about any specific test (and surely not about prenatal ultrasounds which have been proven safe).
All this says is effectively "all screening carries risks such as false results and overdiagnosis, so people should carefully assess benefits, harms, evidence, and costs before choosing private tests".
tldr: it will let Apple charge a commission (although at 15%, it's half the normal 30% rate for the app store) on popular web app games embedded in to WeChat for the Chinese market
Mini apps are way more than web games. For a lot of people in China, WeChat is effectively their operating system. The platform hosts _millions_ of mini apps covering a significant percentage of the use cases that a mobile developer elsewhere in the world might build a native app for.
As such, it seems like WeChat has historically gotten away with a lot of stuff kinda sorta on the edge of the policies that Apple enforces on everyone else.
Please don't fulminate on HN. The guidelines are clear that we're aiming for something better than this here. We've had to ask you repeatedly to avoid this style of conduct here. Please take a moment to read the guidelines and make an effort to observe them.
I'll try to keep this in mind. This comment clearly is just frustration (which I believe to be warranted, but still unwelcome here) and I'm sorry for that. Other recent posts related to the Apple ecosystem I think don't fall into this category, since they point out real issues with the systems and inform reader of topics.
I look at mobile devices, especially iOS, as “consoles” akin to a Nintendo Switch. It’s not a “real computer,” the definition of which requires the ability to run any code I want. It does whar it does pretty well and it is what it is.
FWIW this is how most informed consumers think as well. People buy iOS, consoles, etc because they want a walled garden. I think the real way out is getting consumers to see and value the benefits of leaving it.
I doubt most consumers would care if you could sideload apps on their iOS device or play PlayStation and Nintendo games on their Xbox. In fact most consumers would be all for it!
They buy these things because they find there's already enough value there.
I don't think so - the hugely negative perception of virus-laden wildlands on Android (which is somewhat true! most people could be tricked into bypassing the security prompts) makes people choose a safer option time after time.
You could absolutely make the case that users ought to be smarter, use technology as a power user, etc, but that's not the reality at the moment.
> the hugely negative perception of virus-laden wildlands on Android
I... don't see this in real life? There have always been San Bernadino-emboldened Apple customers that love to dunk on Android security, but recently that's gone away. Trojan horses are making it through[0] Apple's manual review, NSO Group has working exploits more often than not, the US government has wiretapped Push Notifications[1] and Apple has seemingly slowed their persecution of organized hacking groups.
iOS is in a post-Pegasus world. Android was perceived to be vulnerable if you downloaded the wrong app; iOS was proven to be vulnerable if you received an SMS payload from any user. And Apple has admitted that they cannot even really detect it[2] anymore. Neither educated users nor common people are associating Apple with security, especially now.
Sorry but comparing NSO Group's state actor malware to the tens of thousands of Android malware campaigns targeting everyone's bank account is so completely bad-faith. Every single thing you point to on iOS is about 10000x worse on Android; even if you look straight to state actors, Cellebrite can crack almost every android ever, whereas iPhones take at least a few years and the latest models are almost always protected.
That's ignoring the fact that literally zero average consumers are even targeted by these groups, nor do they have any perception of it. The average person is worried about exactly one thing: common consumer malware.
Non technical users are absolutely unable to discern security things or keep malware out. They’re sitting ducks.
If our OSes were not polished glorified 1970s Unix and had real security isolation we could allow more freedom, paradoxically. But given that our security is awful, freedom for non technical users means the freedom to get spyware and malware.
And where has such retreat led us? Rootable Androids are vanishing, Google is set to prevent side-loading entirely, and countless apps refuse to work on rooted devices.
You either force the companies to stop, to restore your control over your devices, or be dragged by the uninformed consumer masses into slavery.
> although at 15%, it's half the normal 30% rate for the app store
15% is the normal rate for the App Store. Only developers earning above $1MM/yr through the App Store have to pay 30%, the vast majority of developers only pay 15%.
It's not "normal", you have to "apply" (and get auto-accepted) but won't get the rate if you don't know to do that. You'll also get permanently booted from it if you do some things like transfer ownership of an account (if you want to sell an app you made, IIRC you lose access to this program, even if the app makes under a million).
I didn't realize these were a collectors item, I had bought a couple packs as they worked great to keep the iPod from clattering around in the glove compartment or center console of the car. I gave some to friends who used them as phone cases in the early iPhone days.
There is a deeper point here, not just pedantry. The point is that harm is a spectrum not a binary and one cannot meaningfully answer a question that assumes a binary.
Personally, my belief in my own immortality only increases the older I get. Yes, Socrates died, but he clearly wasn't smart if he died. Me, on the other hand? I'm batting a thousand.
Yes, it is tiring. In this case, not really because it is at least for me, humorous in a Doc Martin sort of way. But elsewhere and on places like Reddit where the pedantry is often at best unjustified and at worst, wrong, it has made me spend less time on the sites.
Shared hosting is dying, but not yet dead; FTP is dying with it - it's really the last big use case for FTP now that software distribution and academia have moved away from FTP. As shared hosting continues to decline in popularity, FTP is going along with it.
Shared hosting is in decline in much the same way as it was in 2015. Aka everyone involved is still making money hand over fist despite continued reports of its death right around the corner.
The number of shared hosting providers has drastically declined since the 2000s. I would posit that things like squarespace/hosted wordpress took the lion share, with the advent of $5-10 VPS filling the remaining niches.
The remaining hosting companies certainly still make a lot of money, a shared hosting business is basically on autopilot once set up (I used to own one, hence why I still track the market) and they can be overcommitted like crazy.
> The number of shared hosting providers has drastically declined since the 2000s
Yeah, there’s definitely been some wild consolidation. I’ve actually been involved in quite a few acquisitions myself over the last decade in one form or another.
> (I used to own one, hence why I still track the market)
I’m still in the industry, though in a very different segment now. I do still keep a small handful of legacy customers, folks I’ve known for years, on shared setups, but it’s more of a “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” kind of thing now. It’s not really a profit play, more a mix of nostalgia and habit.
Probably worth noting also that declining number of providers does not equal a declining number of customers. I know every company I engaged with ~15-years ago has been acquired at least once.
No, not at all the case. There has been continued consolidation of the shared hosting space, plus consumer interest in "a website" has declined sharply now that small businesses just feel that they need an instagram to get started. Combine that with site builders eating at shared hosting's market share, and it's not looking good for the future of the "old school" shared hosting industry that you are thinking of.
Seems short sighted, a lot of older people and privacy conscious people of all ages avoid social media. But I guess if they are sustaining a business on only Instagram, good for them.
> There has been continued consolidation of the shared hosting space
That’s been happening, at least from my own memory, since at least the mid-2000s.
> plus consumer interest in "a website" has declined sharply now that small businesses just feel that they need an instagram to get started.
Ah yes, the 2020s version of “just start a Facebook page.” The more things change, the more they stay the same I suppose.
> Combine that with site builders eating at shared hosting's market share
I remember hearing that for the first time in I wanna say...2006? It sure did cause a panic for at least a little while.
> and it's not looking good for the future of the "old school" shared hosting industry that you are thinking of.
Yes, I've heard this one more times than I can count too.
The funny thing is, I’ve been hearing this same “shared hosting is dying” narrative for nearly two decades now. Yet, in that time, I’ve seen multiple companies launch, thrive, and sell for multi-million dollar exits.
But sure, this time it’s definitely the death knell. Meanwhile, I assure you, the bigger players in the space are still making money hand over fist.
I was in the space from the late 90's, acquired ~30 brands and was the largest private consolidator of shared hosting, and sold to a Fortune 500 in 2015. Sounds like you had a similar experience as mine. There's no way you can deny that the glory days of shared hosting are over - while there is still a little money to be made by setting up a VPS with cPanel, and money to be made if you are WebPros or Newfold, the market is contracting and has been for years due to the factors I listed. The Cheval list used to be the hottest marketplace on the planet and now is just a shell of it's former self, unfortunately.
I think everyone is underestimating how much B2B file exchange happens over SFTP/FTPS. I'm in healthcare and my system moves thousands of files up and down from over 100 unique hosts daily.
Just tested and while it seems interesting, there doesn't seem to (yet) be any intelligence about the imagery itself from what I can tell. For example, it can give me insights about vegetation data overlayed on a map (or try to), but it can't "find the most fertile grassland in this radius".
When there is a way to actually "search" satellite images with an LLM, it will be a game changer for businesses (and likely not to the ultimate benefit of consumers, unfortunately)
How would you even define “most fertile grassland”? What does “fertile” mean - soil nutrients, water availability, or productivity for a specific crop? And what counts as “grassland”? Are you talking about a 1 acre parcel, something for sale, or land next to a road?
There’s already data for all of this: SSURGO soil maps, vegetation indices, climatology datasets, and more — that could help you find the “most something” in a given radius. But there are too many variables for a single AI to guess your intent. That’s not how people who actually farm, conserve, or monitor land tend to search; they start from a goal and combine the relevant data layers accordingly.
In fact, crop-specific fertility maps have existed for decades, based on soil and climate averages, and they’re still good enough for most practical uses today.
It was just an example, but you are correct. A more "imagery required" example would be "Find all the houses with roofs that have been damaged in the last 6 months" or something like that which could be used by salespeople or insurers
That's a good example, yes. I think this one can actually be interpreted by multiple AI agents to do search on the algorithms, or could even train a model, and then run the model. How amazing would it be, if this could actually all happen based on a few prompts :)
There is nothing illegal about it. People get medicines from abroad all the time that are not generic domestically. It's not a controlled substance. One might have to go through unofficial channels though. In fact, I know people domestically who already get it cheaply from elsewhere abroad.
> In most circumstances, it is illegal for individuals to import drugs or devices into the U.S. for personal use because these products purchased from other countries often have not been approved by the FDA for use and sale in the U.S.
There are a million laws on the books that not only are not enforced, but aren't even self consistent with each other. It is enforcement that determines what one actually can or can't do. The enforcement exists for controlled substances, for resale, and for a supply of over 90 days. For personal non-commercial use of a non-controlled medicine for under 90 days, the law is not enforced, and for good reason. People would die if the law were to be enforced too strictly.
> There are a million laws on the books that not only are not enforced, but aren't even self consistent with each other. It is enforcement that determines what one actually can or can't do.
Okay but your statement was that there's "nothing illegal about it". You now agree that it's illegal, you're just unlikely to get caught. And if you are, you'll just lose that purchase and not face any legal consequences.
It's not about getting caught. It's done in the open with full awareness of everyone. It's not like anyone is hiding it.
Afaik, people hide it only for some controlled substances.
Next time you play a random music video on YouTube, please look at the number of federal copyright laws you're violating. Also, if you ever drive from one state to another, check if you have any plant food with you because crossing state lines with any plant material may be illegal. And I need not remind of marijuana which we know remains highly illegal at the federal level.
You seem to be missing the point. You said, "there is nothing illegal about it".
That's false: it is entirely illegal.
Whether or not you can get away with it due to lax enforcement, or whether or not there are any real penalties for getting caught... that's a separate issue that has nothing to do with what you said.
When the diversity of laws are not even logically self-consistent, with one law denying a right and the other permitting it, what defines what is legal and what isn't? Enforcement does.
Additionally, some laws are not even written clearly, and in fact are intentionally written vaguely.
The beep-speaker music in Commander Keen was good and fit the theme of the game - but to keep the environment of Doom and the dark and moody feel and not be limited to the dulcet tones of a tiny piezo buzzer was a design decision, not being lazy.
Note that they could have supported Disney Sound Source / Covax Speech Thing style audio (they did in Wolf3D and Keen) but skipped that as well, likely for the same reason - it would have sounded like murky hollow garbage.
You can email John Romero and ask him, he responds to emails - my guess is that he will say "yeah we considered it, it sounded bad, we abandoned the idea" not that they were lazy. If you read about the run up to Doom's release, and the amount of crunch time they were putting in, they were anything but lazy!
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