If memory serves me correctly, in my first year at the University of Newcastle (1992) we had a 48 Kb connection to AARNET (i.e. the internet).
48 Kb. For the entire university.
I remember overhearing some students bickering about those pesky MUD'ers using up valuable bandwidth (probably around 2 Kb a player).
This week I spent a couple of hours watching a streaming NFL game (in HD no less) which required that I had at least a 750 Kb connection. Not a problem over 24 Mb ADSL2+.
My, how things change.
Thursday, 18 September 2008
Monday, 15 September 2008
Tri-Nations
I was at a bucks party on Saturday night, which means I didn't watch the 3N decider until yesterday afternoon (carefully dodging any possible clues of the result for about 14 hours after the game).
Without getting deep on analysis, the Wallabies basically lost a close one which they very easily could have won. The clear difference between these two teams at a technical level was at the breakdown. The AB's were better by a nose at this area in the first half, but they dominated in the second half.
Much like defense, I think this comes down to attitude while still maintaining discipline to play within the scheme.
Some things that Robbie must contemplate before the International Test season begins in a couple of months:
1. Who's up for it, and who ain't? I wonder whether Palu would have been dropped if there had been a regular #8 training with the squad up until recently. He's a terrific player for the Tahs (and even in past Tests), but on current form I can't think of a single Test this year that he's done more good than bad. OTOH, Richard Brown looked pretty good in his debut. Do we need another flyhalf/12 in the squad of 30? (yes -- Quade Cooper?) Should Robbie start developing David Pocock at the expense of Phil Waugh? Do we need to tweak our outside backs? Basically: who's made progress since the domestic season began, and who is still "promising potential"?
2. Leadership. I hate to do this, but you also have to question Mortlock's captaincy. In the last two losses that we've had, it's ultimately come down to the team losing it's composure; in the case of this game, we just didn't have the mental fortitude to maintain the pressure we had built in the first 50 or 60 minutes, and that's when the AB's started to dictate the game. That really reflects on team leadership and ultimately captaincy. Robbie needs to work out whether tweaking makes the difference between the results now and instead the team delivering what the promise over the whole 80 mins.
3. Addressing the Flaws. The critics like to take shots at our kicking game which is absolutely fair. It's a no brainer, and if we can find a way to fix it then we should. This comes down to talent rather than to scheming and/or game planning. But on the game planning aspects, two areas where we are getting beat badly: a) Defensive overlaps and b) at the breakdown... We need to make the necessary adjustments over the next few months to stop our opponents exploiting us here. I have a sneaking suspicion there's already some ideas in place but being poorly executed on.
As crushing as that loss is, I think Robbie has made fantastic progress with this team. In fact, I'm really surprised he's got so much done so quickly.
But the reality of difficult decisions to be made to get to the top of the mountain can be a sobering thought!
Without getting deep on analysis, the Wallabies basically lost a close one which they very easily could have won. The clear difference between these two teams at a technical level was at the breakdown. The AB's were better by a nose at this area in the first half, but they dominated in the second half.
Much like defense, I think this comes down to attitude while still maintaining discipline to play within the scheme.
Some things that Robbie must contemplate before the International Test season begins in a couple of months:
1. Who's up for it, and who ain't? I wonder whether Palu would have been dropped if there had been a regular #8 training with the squad up until recently. He's a terrific player for the Tahs (and even in past Tests), but on current form I can't think of a single Test this year that he's done more good than bad. OTOH, Richard Brown looked pretty good in his debut. Do we need another flyhalf/12 in the squad of 30? (yes -- Quade Cooper?) Should Robbie start developing David Pocock at the expense of Phil Waugh? Do we need to tweak our outside backs? Basically: who's made progress since the domestic season began, and who is still "promising potential"?
2. Leadership. I hate to do this, but you also have to question Mortlock's captaincy. In the last two losses that we've had, it's ultimately come down to the team losing it's composure; in the case of this game, we just didn't have the mental fortitude to maintain the pressure we had built in the first 50 or 60 minutes, and that's when the AB's started to dictate the game. That really reflects on team leadership and ultimately captaincy. Robbie needs to work out whether tweaking makes the difference between the results now and instead the team delivering what the promise over the whole 80 mins.
3. Addressing the Flaws. The critics like to take shots at our kicking game which is absolutely fair. It's a no brainer, and if we can find a way to fix it then we should. This comes down to talent rather than to scheming and/or game planning. But on the game planning aspects, two areas where we are getting beat badly: a) Defensive overlaps and b) at the breakdown... We need to make the necessary adjustments over the next few months to stop our opponents exploiting us here. I have a sneaking suspicion there's already some ideas in place but being poorly executed on.
As crushing as that loss is, I think Robbie has made fantastic progress with this team. In fact, I'm really surprised he's got so much done so quickly.
But the reality of difficult decisions to be made to get to the top of the mountain can be a sobering thought!
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
SHO RYU KEN!
Street Fighter IV is looking very good. Very, very good.
It looks like incremental improvement from a gameplay perspective, but you never know until the play test. And I love modern take on the graphics, opting to make it as anime-like as possible.
Capcom also seem pretty open about the platform as well, even opening the possibility of doing a Wii version or an iPhone (?!?) version.
I love this quote from the game designer:
BTW, can you believe that Street Fighter II came out 17 years ago?
It looks like incremental improvement from a gameplay perspective, but you never know until the play test. And I love modern take on the graphics, opting to make it as anime-like as possible.
Capcom also seem pretty open about the platform as well, even opening the possibility of doing a Wii version or an iPhone (?!?) version.
I love this quote from the game designer:
1UP: Well, that's cool. But what about the controller? Are you worried about people playing the game for the first time using the Xbox 360 controller? Personally, I'm not a fan of it for fighting games -- would you agree?
YO: Ha, well, you're not going to get me to say that in front of Microsoft, but let's just say that I use a joystick when playing Soul Calibur 4 on the 360.
BTW, can you believe that Street Fighter II came out 17 years ago?
Monday, 1 September 2008
The Prodigal Son Returns
While we are on John Woo...
Just over a decade ago, John Woo departed to Hollywood. With all due respect to one of my favourite directors, he has made crap ever since.
The good news: Woo has just released his first Hong Kong film in Asia since leaving, which turns out to be the most expensive Asian blockbuster in history (so far) with a budget of US$80mil.
It is an action movie based on The Battle of Red Cliffs (Three Kingdoms period of ancient China -- fast becoming one of my favourite historical backdrops in movies).
It was meant to star Chow Yun Fat, but the crazy fool decided to do a contract holdout the day principal photography was due to start, and Woo quickly replaced him with Tony Leung Chiu Wai (the guy who played the undercover cop opposite Chow Yun Fat in Hard Boiled). Chow Yun Fat tried to get back in, but Woo stuck with Tony Leung.
So far, it has been received very well in Asia, now billed as the most successful movie ever in China (US$43 mil in the first month).
In Asia it's a two parter (each over 2 hours), with the second part due for release in Jan 09. However, for the Western release it will apparently be a single two and half hour epic.
Of course, there's no way I'm settling for the abbreviated version :)
Just over a decade ago, John Woo departed to Hollywood. With all due respect to one of my favourite directors, he has made crap ever since.
The good news: Woo has just released his first Hong Kong film in Asia since leaving, which turns out to be the most expensive Asian blockbuster in history (so far) with a budget of US$80mil.
It is an action movie based on The Battle of Red Cliffs (Three Kingdoms period of ancient China -- fast becoming one of my favourite historical backdrops in movies).
It was meant to star Chow Yun Fat, but the crazy fool decided to do a contract holdout the day principal photography was due to start, and Woo quickly replaced him with Tony Leung Chiu Wai (the guy who played the undercover cop opposite Chow Yun Fat in Hard Boiled). Chow Yun Fat tried to get back in, but Woo stuck with Tony Leung.
So far, it has been received very well in Asia, now billed as the most successful movie ever in China (US$43 mil in the first month).
In Asia it's a two parter (each over 2 hours), with the second part due for release in Jan 09. However, for the Western release it will apparently be a single two and half hour epic.
Of course, there's no way I'm settling for the abbreviated version :)
Hard Boiled, Part 2?
One of my favourite Hong Kong action films of all time (Hard Boiled) appears to have a sequel: Stranglehold.
John Woo directs and Chow Yun Fat stars...
The twist? It's a video game for the Xbox 360.
I just can't imagine a video game scene having the same impact as the teahouse shoot out from the beginning of Hard Boiled, but nevertheless my curiosity has been aroused.
John Woo directs and Chow Yun Fat stars...
The twist? It's a video game for the Xbox 360.
I just can't imagine a video game scene having the same impact as the teahouse shoot out from the beginning of Hard Boiled, but nevertheless my curiosity has been aroused.
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