Corporate Blind Spots

[Diceman]

@thicksantorum

Quick Time Events in video games. No one likes them, but they keep getting included.

You can thank Apple for that. Quick Time is their baby.

[desertmonk]

@runner pat

Nope, the 1911 is a single action only, the Beretta 92 is a double action first shot, single action for every shot after until you decock.

Ok, I read on wikipedia just now, let me see if I understand:

Single-Action=loading the gun also chambers a round; pull the trigger to fire

Double-Action=loading the gun does not chamber a round, to chamber a round one must pull back the slide (pistol) or similar mechanism on a shotgun/rifle.

So what is it called on an old revolver that requires the hammer be pulled back to fire a new round? I thought those were Single Action?

[running_coach]

Single action-round is chamber, hammer must be drawn back by hand or by working the slide, trigger only releases the hammer to fire the gun. Double action- pulling the trigger draws back the hammer and then releases it to fire the gun.

Single action revolver-hammer must be drawn back by hand before firing each shot.

[grude]

@Diceman

You can thank Apple for that. Quick Time is their baby.

I can’t tell if this is a joke But quicktime events in viddya games are not related to the quicktime format from Apple.

[pkbites]

@desertmonk

So what is it called on an old revolver that requires the hammer be pulled back to fire a new round? I thought those were Single Action?

They’re called revolvers for one thing. Pistols are semi-automatic.

Single action pistols must be cocked manually on the first shot, double action the trigger takes care of the cocking. chortle. I said “cocking”.
Also, you missed the point about Colt sticking with the .45 caliber at a time most agencies were going to 9mm caliber.

[njtt]

@grude

I can’t tell if this is a joke But quicktime events in viddya games are not related to the quicktime format from Apple.

Are you sure about that? I have certainly had games that refused to run until I downloaded the correct version of Quicktime from Apple. They may build the Quicktime code right into the game code these days, but I always assumed it still had to be licensed from Apple.

[grude]

@njtt

Are you sure about that? I have certainly had games that refused to run until I downloaded the correct version of Quicktime from Apple. They may build the Quicktime code right into the game code these days, but I always assumed it still had to be licensed from Apple.

While some games may use the Quicktime video format, a quick time event is something else.

Quick time event

In video games, a quick time event (QTE) is a method of context-sensitive gameplay in which the player performs actions on the control device shortly after the appearance of an on-screen prompt. It allows for limited control of the game character during cut scenes or cinematic sequences in the game. Performing the prompted action improperly or not at all results in the character’s failure at their task and often in an immediate game over.

You know like when usual gameplay is interrupted and you have to push X at the right time to dodge the bullet or whatever.

[Diceman]

@grude

While some games may use the Quicktime video format, a quick time event is something else.

Quick time event - Wikipedia

You know like when usual gameplay is interrupted and you have to push X at the right time to dodge the bullet or whatever.

Well, learn something new every day

You’re talking about that stupid gimmick where the character is running along and you have to push left at just the right time, or you screw up, right? Usually inserted at seemingly random points in the game and totally messing up the flow of the game? Yeah, that’s annoying as hell and should have been kicked to the curb years ago.

[Dervorin]

@Keeve

in reference to Microsoft Office’s “ribbon”:I would agree with you, IF they did something to make the learning easier. Would it have killed them to make a list of features, in sequence by the menus that we’re used to, and show us where each feature is hiding now?

You mean, like this one? Your request has been blocked. This could be due to several reasons.

There’s a reasonable amount of help on the Office website to help users move from one interface to the other, and in general I’ve found that the new interface allows me to use more features than I otherwise would have known about in the menu-based interface. It’s one thing that Microsoft have actually done well, IMHO, and I’m annoyed that they are killing it off in the new version of Dynamics CRM, which is a product I use extensively. Maybe interface flip-flopping is their persistent blind spot.

[thicksantorum]

@Diceman

Well, learn something new every day

You’re talking about that stupid gimmick where the character is running along and you have to push left at just the right time, or you screw up, right? Usually inserted at seemingly random points in the game and totally messing up the flow of the game? Yeah, that’s annoying as hell and should have been kicked to the curb years ago.

Yep. “Push X to not die” usually right when you’ve relaxed for half a second to take a drink. Bonus points for having no idea what happened in the cutscene because you were watching for button prompts.

[CalMeacham]

@bob_2

Where is the High Def 3D porn?

Actually, one big customer segment for that decades-old 3D TV technology WAS porn. I don’t know if there’s a Hi-Def version of this (believe it or not, I don’t follow porn that closely), but it wouldn’t surprise me.

[Derleth]

@kenobi_65

It was better.

In what way?

From an old post of mine, here’s an article in The Guardian with a different view:

Standing in a shop at the time, there was absolutely no visible difference in picture quality, and some reviews had found that VHS’s quality was superior.

I “knew” Betamax was superior – that was the received wisdom, even at the time - and maybe it was, in a lab. But I wasn’t buying a lab test rig. In terms of “the whole product”, VHS was clearly superior, so that’s the way I went. Along with everybody else.

So, on the home TVs of the time, Betamax was no better overall, and it had a much shorter recording time than VHS. That doesn’t sound better to me, even from a technical perspective.

[Keeve]

@Dervorin

You mean, like this one? Your request has been blocked. This could be due to several reasons.

Thanks for trying to help, but unfortunately, nothing there seems to work.

When I click “Run from here - Word 2007”, and then “Start the guide”, I just get a plain white browser window. (I do have Adobe Flash 11, BTW.)

When I try “Download Word 2007”, it is broken link. “Web page unavailable”.

“Mapping workbooks - Word 2007” shows a thumbnail, I suppose, of the site it wants to bring me to. I guess. But it’s not readable or anything.

But all the above is secondary. Shouldn’t this all be in the Help file without having to go to Microsoft’s Web site?

[Keeve]

It just dawned on me that maybe the reason it wasn’t working is because I was in Chrome, and Micro$oft can be pretty finicky about that at times. So I switched to Internet Explorer, and got the EXACT same results.