bsalis

Some reasons I can think of... * To see art passes * To do it bigger, better, more efficient, in a more challenging way, or just differently * As part of a Grand Tour * Just because

Welp, with this gampad and hardware announcement, it's clear that this is a "PC console" they are setting their sights on. Question is will they convert console gamers without some exclusive (which was once called a killer app). Or will they convert PC gamers which are questioning what this offers beyond a windows box with Steam on it.

I actually saw this when you posted on reddit. Thanks for sharing here... It's brilliant.

I think the reference to the full game catalog being available is by using the streaming feature. So Steam on a Windows box running the game, with the player using the SteamOS box to play it. As for Wine, will be interesting if that plays a part. Possibly integrated into SteamOS like how I think DosBox is used for some old games on Steam. Time will tell... but i'm skeptical about how far and stable Wine can be pushed... Valve needs to set a higher bar for stability than what many Linux gamers are willing to put up with. Yes totally agree on a gaming oriented OS. Erik in that Forbes blog I linked said it was way overdue. As for getting game devs to support the Linux platform, it's the usual chicken and egg problem. However most games nowadays are developed for multiple platforms, namely Playstation, Xbox and our beloved PC. Xbox and PC are both basically DirectX boxes, so really two technical platforms (x86/DirectX and Cell/PSGL) and two interface types (Desk/Keyboard/Monitor and Couch/Gamepad/TV). Getting them to take on another platform will be hard to pull off if there is a small Linux and SteamOS install base. However....... as it happens, the new Playstation 4 is x86 based and supports DirectX and OpenGL . So, if a game dev goes down the path of x86 and OpenGL, then that will cover 3 platforms; Playstation 4, PC, Linux/SteamOS. If they do a DirectX version as well (like how they cover two technical platform already), then they have the new Xbox as well. So hey - who knows. Anyhows... more news They are doing beta hardware! Have yet to read and digest it fully. http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamMachines/

Like others have said, this has "sort of" been done... http://singularityhub.com/2010/05/20/venter-creates-first-synthetic-self-replicating-bacteria-from-scratch/ Very very long way away to building custom advanced life, or anything from scratch. Do we really need either of those though?

True... but any manned mission to Mars will recycle water for human consumption. Extracting water from soil would be to replace any incidental loss and water that cannot be recycled. Main benefit of water present is to be able to split it into fuel and oxidiser. Powering all that and keeping the liquid hydrogen in the damn tank could be a challenge though. A small LFTR reactor could cover that I suppose.

The old Laythe Station - still in service The new-ish Laythe Station. An "island" I found... i'm calling a nose it a valid landing.

But ... but... how else are you to do astronomy... (not my gif)

I like how you serendipitously found that instead of the easter egg you were after. Then in very Kerbal fashion just decided to land in it instead, without knowing what was at the bottom.

Nice graphs... they also clearly show that there has been no warming in the last 10-15 years. Of which none of the models predicted... and the IPCC is struggling with in AR5. Interestingly (and i'm sure it's no coincidence), those graphs start at the end of the Little Ice Age (LIA). No surprises that temperatures have been rising through natural variation since then. Human CO2 emissions really didn't take off until the Post War Economic boom. Ironically temperatures went down, and it wasn't until the the 70s that they started to go back up again. What you are actually seeing in those graphs is a long cycle, with a turning turning point at the end of the LIA. Overlaid with another shorter 60-year natural cycle. Notice the 30 year slow declines with 30 year sharper rises.

SteamOS was announced on Monday... with more announcements to follow. http://store.steampowered.com/livingroom/SteamOS/ Plenty of blog articles around if you google a bit. A good one here... http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2013/09/24/why-steamos-faces-a-steep-uphill-battle-in-the-living-room-wars/ Really looking forward to knowing more about it. However, I'm not really a console/living-room gamer, and it seems it is very much oriented towards the living room. Also, it's Linux based, so that will limit game support for now. Long term, I'd be happy to be Windows free though, but am currently shackled to DirectX. What does everyone else think?

Cliffs? .. if your flying Laythe, this cliff is a must visit... (not my gif)

Really? Do you have references? HADCRUT 10 year trend says no...

Yes, it's a draft. However the data and charts are from computer models, and temperature data sets that don't change, such as UAH, NOAA, HADCRUT etc If there is no warming then what is the problem? Even James Hansen has admitted there has been no statistically significant warming in a decade (ref). The 2007 report predicted 0.2C a decade warming, however it is actually 0.12C according to the data. The draft seems to indicate that the climate sensitivity will be dialed down. The data doesn't really give them a choice.

Well you won't know until you scan and find out. Failure is always an option. This guy found plenty of the green liquid....

In case you didn't know, a draft of the 5th IPCC Assessment Report (AR5) was leaked. Not sure when the final version is out. I know it's bit old news now. However, many people are still digesting the content. It will be interesting how they will word things around some of the charts at the end of the Introduction. None of the computer models seem to match the observed temperature record very well in recent years.

I think it's a neat idea but do not see it being a success product. I think it will be popular among some people. From a mass manufacturing perspective it is just more effective to build phones with everything in them. Then people can use what device features they want.

Glad you did. I think the same.

Not worried about part prices, i'm worried about how much the lawyers are going to cost! But seriously, as UmbralRaptor pointed out, they will be overhauled when they are actually be used.

I remember this... The Challenger disaster also happened that year. It was not a good year.

Shaping up to be a really good update from what I see. It's also telling that Science + R&D is making it into the game before Resource Mining. A good sign IMO.

I agree that the 48-7S is a bit OP. It's wrong to compare it to the 24-77, because that is already a bit on the OP side itself.

Yes, he did, shortly before the .18 release I think. Note that he refueled it in LKO, and I don't think it could get back from Duna. In any case, the real challenge is just getting the Aries 4A to orbit!

eXplodeOS or probably just VxWorks or should that be KxWorks.... KxFails?

Hard to say without a picture. Possibly just need more wings.