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82-T/A

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Posts posted by 82-T/A

  4. Posted

    That is I think the exact model I found second hand a couple years back or so. It's fantastic. I've been able to keep up not just with click bait RTS/D&D style stuff, but I got comfortable enough to wreck it with more active things like FPS and 1st/3rd person titles too. I've put a lot of rolls and clicks on it without fail or issue.

     

    The only thing you do run up against is hand oil/grime collects in the ball space as there are these 3 tiny points with a little metal ball in there to help it track and they can get gummed up. Maybe just remember once a month to q-tip and alcohol that shiny and you're good. For this year I'm using a steelseries gaming mouse I found at a flea as I wanted to just try it out and left it there, but recently I pulled the trackball out of where I stored it and I just need to feed it a battery and put it back. I may do it just now since your exact link reminded me of it so I'm going to pull it out again now.

     

    EDIT: Just looked, it is, same one exactly. I played entirely through a full game of Diablo 3+Reaper of Souls with it and part of another with no issues or discomfort. Buy it.

     

    You can get them for $25-30 new on ebay, that link you had is way too high.

     

    Thanks Tanooki! After your reply, I found one on Newegg for $22, refurbed (they had 100 of them), free shipping. So that'll work awesome. Thanks!!!

  7. Posted

    BLUF/TL;DR: What is the best mouse / track-ball to use for playing games?

     

    Hey guys... long story short, occasionally, I like to keep my wife company while she's watching college football, hahaha. While she's doing that, I like to play AD&D games on this small laptop I have. I'm usually sitting on the couch with the laptop on my lap, and using a mouse just isn't convenient. Is there a trackball or something I can hold in my hand, and... is the "resolution" of the trackballs as good as a mouse? I want to be able to play Eye of the Beholder and Ultima Underworld... what would you use? Never used a trackball for a PC before... thanks!

  9. Posted

    I want to talk about that Crown Vic! Are/were you a cop? Do you worry about getting rear ended and having it EXPLODE because of the placement of the fuel tank?

     

    https://www.autosafety.org/popular-police-cars-crown-victorias-prone-explode-tied-deaths/

     

    (You know this is way more interesting than armchair lawyers and linguists bickering over well-trod discussions of copyrights)

     

    My elderly parents had a car like yours and when I shared the safety stories, they traded it THE NEXT DAY for a tank of a Volvo, which they still have.

     

    The Crown Vic is a nice ride, like a flying sofa. It gets like 8 MPG but you can't have it all.

     

    Workaround for getting rear-ended: drive really fast, because this car has horses to spare.

     

     

    Hahah... so... I got it from my grandfather back in 2004 with about 9 thousand miles on it at the time, when he passed away. I've just kept it in my garage, and taken it with me when I've moved. It's basically immaculate.

     

    The thing about the gas tank isn't 100% accurate. The Crown Victoria is the only vehicle that's impact tested to 75 miles an hour front and back, and it passes. They did that BECAUSE it's used for police duty. At 75 miles an hour, most vehicles would be less than a crumpled mass, but you can walk away from it in a Crown Victoria. But AT THAT SPEED... it would typically cause the rear-differential to get pushed into the gas tank and the bolts would puncture it. The truth is though, it's much, much safer than any other car that size and design. Most cars of that design had the gas tank behind (as in, closer to the bumper) of the rear differential, and under significant impact, gas would be all over the place.

     

    But, if we're going to talk vehicle fires... my other two hobby cars is a 1973 Volkswagen Bus (which is prone to fires because the gas lines deteriorate), and a Pontiac Fiero (which used to catch fire because the 4 cyls had hairline fractures in the connecting rods from the factory). But.. my VW Bus has all new steel lines (so not an issue), and my Fiero has a V6, so also not an issue.

     

    I'm not a police officer, and that Crown Vic isn't a cop car. It's got all the high-end and performance options, but it doesn't look like a police vehicle. It has white-wall tires, big leather bench seats, and a wood steering wheel, and chrome everywhere.

     

     

    I'm not going to say I'm a real fan of the car... but it is pretty powerful. I mean, if I'm being honest, I've done some work to it:

     

    1 - Magnaflow header pipes w/ free-flow cats (aft and forward).

    2 - Mercury Grand Marquis LSE Quiet-Flow exhaust (super quiet, unless you are at wide open throttle).

    3 - Mercury Marauder 80mm MAF and air box.

    4 - Police Interceptor / P71 intake tube

    5 - 2000 Police Interceptor Metal Matrix Aluminum / Carbon Fiber driveshaft

    6 - ECM reprogramming (super smooth shifts at anything below 1/2 throttle, but insane hard shifts above 3/4 throttle).

    7 - Larger throttle body, can't even remember... maybe 80mm? don't remember

    8 - Ported / polished intake plenum

     

    I mean, all kinds of stuff, I don't even really remember all that I've done. But it's all OEM looking, didn't want the car to be gawdy, ghetto, or... quite frankly... look any different than a totally stock Crown Victoria LX.

     

    It's actually not that bad on fuel economy. It has the 2.73:1 final drive ratio, and I've managed 28.2 miles to the gallon on the highway (US gallons) going from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando.

     

     

    I RARELY drive it. Last time I really took it for a long drive, was when I drove it here to Texas from Florida, and the time before that was like 9 years ago when I used it to tow a Porsche 944 that I bought (and restored) from Valdosta, GA to Fort Lauderdale.

     

    I've had huge cars before, like I had a 1978 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz that I cut the roof off of, and then I also had an all-original 1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. I also had a 1981 TransAm (the 70s kind), and also a 1976 Camaro LT-350. But I really like smaller cars. Like, we've had a bunch of small Jettas, and right now I drive a 2-door Explorer and the wife drives a Jeep patriot. I typically like small sports cars, and I've had a few of those.

     

     

    But... I keep it because it was my grandfathers, and... it's kind of a cool car. But really, it just sits in my garage. I don't have the heart to get rid of it, and insurance is next to nothing on it.

    • Like 4

  10. Posted

    Do you really want 5.1 at a desk? Unless you place the speakers very carefully and have enough space for the surround effects, it's likely to be worse than simple stereo from a nice pair of desktop speakers.

     

    If it were me, I'd just use headphones.

     

     

    I don't know... I think so?

     

    Last game I played where it mattered, was System Shock 2, and it was pretty awesome. Where I lived at the time, I had bookshelves directly behind my computer desk that I mounted the additional speakers on (not huge speakers, just simple 4" box speakers), and it allowed me to hear something standing behind me... which was *awesome* … especially for that game where, at the time, the ambiance, music, and sounds are what helped really make the game.

     

    I suppose this will do... but definitely bummed that I won't have surround sound.

     

    The Sound Blaster card I have though, does allow for multiple 3.5m jacks. I believe the rear channels actually have a separate output... so, if I'm super desperate, I can get another smaller one which I can turn on if it's a big enough deal for me to need / want those rear speakers.

  12. Posted

    You wouldn't pickpocket a car, would you?

     

    That depends on whether or not the car had pockets.

     

    The seats in the front of my 2002 Ford Crown Victoria LX have pockets in the front... and thus, could be pick-pocketed if I was unsuspecting and / or left it unlocked or outside!!! Oooh, snap!!! Hahah... just being a pain in the ass.

     

    hU1uT5F.jpg

     

     

    Incidentally, I keep the car in the garage, and rarely drive it. As a matter of fact, I start it MAYBE once every 3-4 months... and take it for a ~4 mile drive. I haven't washed it in like 3 years... and other than the dust on the roof and the cobwebs that sometimes form in the wheel wells, it's basically a brand new car.

    • Like 2

  13. Posted

    BSG comes up semi-regularly on Etsy. And it says "reproduction" on the cart so no intent to deceive anyone.

    I personally never bought the equipment to burn 42pins EEPROMs.

     

     

    Totally cool if you wouldn't mind e-mailing me that link! I'd love to play it... and can't find it anywhere else, and not willing to pay $1,000 bucks.

  14. Posted

    Ok, so looking around, I found this, made by Pyle also... it's the best I can find at this point. Obviously, I won't get surround-sound, so I'm pretty bummed. But I can use the REC-OUT as my Subwoofer Pre-Out (I do have one), so that's at least a positive. Also, it has multiple inputs, exactly as many as I need (three), so it solves ALL my needs, except for the lack of total channels. Not much I can do about that, but I guess I'll deal with it unless anyone here knows of something better. I can always use it for something else.

     

     

    Thanks!!!

    1267646870000_679323.jpg

     

    1289337622000_IMG_185218.jpg

  15. Posted

    Hey guys... I'm looking for some advice on what to buy.

     

    BLUF/TL;DR: - I'm looking for a very compact 5.1 channel amplifyer, that I can use for my computer, that will fit on the desk, that isn't huge... and accepts multiple input types.

     

     

    Long story, over the years I've wanted to downsize, and large crap on my desk isn't for me anymore. My computer now is a mid-tower, where as years ago, I wanted the hugest case I could find. Same goes for sound. I have actual speakers (small 4" speakers) on either side of my monitor, and two behind me on the book shelf. I used to have a big amplifyer, basically like a Sony or a Philips... but I no longer want something that big.

     

    Ideally, I'm looking for something that's like this:

     

    Pyle_Pro_PCA3_PCA3_Mini_2_x_597468.jpg

     

     

    I actually have one of these in my Polybius arcade cabinet that I built. But I want one for my desk, so I can switch (along with my KVM) from different computers, without having some behemoth. Problem with this one is that it's only a two-channel. I can't find anything that has a digital decoder or any of that. I'd really love to have one that has PCM, ToshLink, and then RCA jacks in the back, as well as all the connectors I need... if anyone knows of something... basically a smallish AMP, that allows for multiple inputs, and has 4 channels... PLEASE let me know. 5.1 is ideal! Thanks!!!

  16. Posted

    Wow really? That is pretty wild. I love how after Roswell someone scratched in "don't go" , was it because of all the aliens!?? :lol:

     

    Yeah, I moved to Texas last year, and it's opened a whole new area for road trips. We went north to Amarillo, Texas while passing through some other small towns. Stopped by Palo Duro canyon, which is the second largest canyon in the US. Once we got to Amarillo, we saw the Volksagen Slug Bug ranch, then the Cadillac Ranch, and some famous steakhouse that everyone eats at (all on Route-66). We continued through Route-66 towards Albuquerque, New Mexico. On Route-66, we stopped by several abandoned towns, mid-point and a few other attractions. Once we were in Albuquerque, we stopped by the National Park there... forget what it's called. Rock carvings and such. We cruised through Sandia and checked out the nuclear museum, then checked out the "Very Large Array" (which you might remember from 2010 Space Odyssey)… shoot... then we went towards Roswell, and stopped by every National Wildlife Refuge we could find. Checked out everything in Roswell, all the various alien museums. Then drove to Alamagordo and did everything except actually anything to do with Atari (but I talked about it a bunch), White Sands Missile Range, the national park there, all kinds of stuff. Then went to Deming where I own some land (never got to see it before until now, so cool...) and then cruised back to Texas. But... just realized, we never went to Santa Fe, so I'm wrong. But I'll check it out next time. It was just a bit too far north from where I wanted to go.

     

    When I lived in Florida, it would take at least 6 hours for us to go anywhere out of the state. Even to get to Savannah it was like an 8 hour drive from Miami.

  18. Posted

    So there were 2 attempts at the time to do Asteroids on the Jaguar..the Sinister version just Gordon etc experimenting with the Jaguar development kit And this one by someone else.

     

    But nothing ever released by a commercial development team at the time?.

     

    Pity as the PlayStation game looked pretty sweet and i enjoyed Blasteroids on the C64 and ST.

     

    Would of been nice to of had an update on the Jaguar.

     

    Oh well, if it wasn't to be..it wasn't to be.

     

     

    Rebooteroids has a similar flavor, and is pretty awesome.

    • Like 2

  19. Posted

    The Atari 5200 joystick problem was a HUUUUGE problem, and I think that is really (in my uneducated opinion) what caused the system to fail.

     

    My parents bought one for my brother back in the early 80s... and when we could barely control Pac Man because the joystick was screwed up, my mom returned it.

     

    One of our neighbors also got one for Christmas that year, and they too returned theirs. Neither of us got a replacement, but just returned it and got money back (not my call... I was like 5 at the time).

     

    Of the non-life and death situations in my life... this is one of the ones that still stands out... I was devestated when the game couldn't play, and my mom boxed it up and said she was going to return it. :(

    • Like 5

  20. Posted

    None of our games require saving, and our pcb doesn't support it.

     

    However, I didn't think there was a jumping problem on Switchblade? That is just how the game is, on our genesis port, it is just like that too =D. I am very very very forgiving on games controls, cause I grew up in Mexico, and we didn't get many games that came out in the States, and we got used to play the games we got and never really thought about controls, just thought that was part of the game/difficulty/challenge about it.

     

    I'll check on space carrier, good looking game, but it wasn't on the list of Gremlin stuff. We may buy 3 more games from Gremlin, so if they have it I'll see how much they are asking for.

     

    Thanks!!! Let me know... I'm sure it would be popular because it's part of the WarHammer series. It would need Jaguar mouse support though, I'd think.

     

    It's called Space Crusades.

    • Like 1

  24. Posted · Edited by 82-T/A

    I was a pirate long before their was the bay, and I’m still one from time to time. There will always be pirating. Ofcourse I’m not sure copyright should last indefinitely either as long as you have enough money to pay for it. I understand companies wanting to hold on to their property, but how long should that be possible? At some point it should enter the public domain. Some of us just like it to happen a little faster than others. The post above with Jack Sparrow running away is how I feel sometimes.

     

    Are we talking like, you learned how to use the internet early on, or are we talking like... you used to BBS, download 3l1T3 w4r3z, and were part of the cracking team INC (International Network of Crackers), as in... your BBS was part of their distribution network, and you'd occasionally get games to crack, and hoped it'd be a Sierra game because CPC.com was so easy to crack, and then you'd make a cool "FILEID.DIZ" and include it in the zip file, along with a flashy .ANS file saying... "Cracked by Stoney from Stoney's Whore House BBS, member of International Network of Crackers, Props by Toilet Duck, Thedwick, and Beandip," … and then thought you were so awesome, but apparently too embarrassed about it that you never told a soul in high school that you even knew how to use computers because what you did at home was so horrifically nerdy that you didn't want to be branded? And then you joined the track team JUST because you wanted to ask out a girl... but then later totally lost interest and spent your weekends going to the 930 club in DC and knocking over Port-O-Potties, until the police put out a BOLO for the "Port-O-Pottie Bandits," but then... they never caught you or friends, and then you confessed at church, and then grew up and got a job and started to buy your games?

     

     

     

     

    I BOUGHT THIS COOKIE IN 1987 AND I SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO EAT IT AS MANY TIMES AS I WANT, ANYTIME I WANT, EVEN IF I ALREADY ATE IT

     

    So... you can do that, but I warn you, you won't like how it tastes the second time around.

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