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Alpha

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Posts posted by Alpha

  1. Yeah, people are having good success with it on their Ouya's. I'll try it out in the next day or two. I see it working pretty well in some youtube videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc5zThOetCw. Whats Dreamcast top 10 games?

     

    This thread from 2008 should help you find some great Dreamcast games: http://www.1emulation.com/forums/topic/28560-your-top-picks-for-dreamcast-games/?hl=%2Bdreamcast+%2Bgames&do=findComment&comment=288172

     

    I wonder how the emulator would run on my tablet....

  2. ^

     

    Concerning different denominations, we are required to be educated in the majority of various religious faiths and sects including but not limited to many forms of Christianity such as Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, Baptists; Buddhists and Hindus; various types of Jewish faiths such as Reformed Jews, Conservative Jews and Orthodox Jews; Muslims and their different sects ... even Church of Christ Science and the military.

     

    In saying so it is VERY important to know that Orthodox Jews and Muslims forbid certain death-related procedures such as cremation, embalming or autopsies unless required by law in certain situations. Heck ... Catholics didn't officially recognize cremation as an acceptable form of disposition until 1966 and even then ... as a devout Catholic, one is only allowed to bury cremated remains in a designated Catholic cemetery or recognized space and not placed on a mantle at home (not that people always listen). Other traditional rituals such as Jewish decedents requiring burial in an all wood casket and that they must have soil from Jerusalem placed in a pouch under their heads is also important to know. All these things they teach us in the program but in all honesty, there is so much to know and we cover such a wide range of topics involved in the field from Psychology to Accounting, to Business and Statutory Law and even Chemistry that having resources to turn to is important. Some of the textbooks I have from it are so specific they were made just for teaching students in these programs.

     

    As for cemeteries/memorial parks, how they designate their lots, blocks, plots and graves are under their discretion since most are privately owned land (excluding those owned by the city or national cemeteries which are still maintained by the government) but you are right that most grave sites designate different sections of land for different religions and cater to their specific traditions, rituals and ceremonies.

     

    So fascinating. So I'm guessing for every cadaver you work with that it's extremely important to first know the religious denomination, correct? What if he/she is atheist -- is there a specific protocol for that as well?

  3.  

    Honestly, I got to say that it is absolutely awesome you're a mortician. I find it quite on the mysterious side and furthermore -- it might actually work wonders for you with women. Of course, you would not tell them right away what your job is, but you would keep them guessing. Girls always like a guy who is dark on the outside, but soft on the inside. And also as a 1emu buddy, I got to say it's pretty cool to say to others I know someone who deals with dead bodies. Gnarly stuff dude!!

     

    Thanks for the positive regard, dude. :-) I am sure some women would find it intriguing and some would find it creepy lol. I have a girlfriend, though, who required some convincing before she let me join the program. I am also a pretty quiet individual who keeps to himself most of the time so that would only add to the "mystery" quality — I have even been called that by friends I made in the program lol.

     

    People often ask why I would want to physically deal with corpses ... and I answer by saying that I don't do it because I want to (it is not glamorous in any way), but like many professions out there, we do it because somebody has to. We do so with a high regard for the decedent's dignity as a human being — there are even laws that prevent us from certain behavior around the remains of a deceased individual such as foul language and behavior or any treatment of the remains in an undignified manner and regard.

     

    You would be surprised, however, by the type of people that show up when trying to enter the program. Today was actually the orientation for newly admitted, incoming 1st semester students to the program and a friend still attending who participated to speak to these new students told me (during their introductions) that ... and I quote: "I just like to cut stuff." There are no shortage of inappropriate types who show up to enter the field — and I say this thankfully — who don't usually last very long because of how academically rigorous it is to pass. It is not as difficult as advanced chemistry or mathematics, physics or some other specifically difficult subject, but it was the most difficult academic experience I have ever been through. Many friends and others I have known along the way have failed to pass semesters and are forced to repeat classes in order to pass or risk being denied re-entry in to the program. Some people I know have repeated on several occasions for not passing classes. It is statistically more difficult than undergraduate and even some graduate level programs and I knew plenty of people enrolled who had bachelor's and master's degrees say the same.

     

    Anyway, the point of my comment is just to let people know that we are highly professional and the field is very rigorous for a reason; that is to make sure those individuals who are employed in the death care industry have the utmost regard for professionalism and ethics, which is essential to what we do. Since people are basically trusting us with their beloved family members who have died, it only makes sense.

     

    Thanks for writing this all up! It was quite intriguing to read it. I am curious -- what about certain religious sects that deal with corpses? I am aware that the plots of land that Christians, Muslims, and Jews are buried tend to be separated and each denomination has its own ritual (if the body needs to be washed or cleansed in a certain way, etc.). So how do you deal with the religious stuff or does that happen after its in your hands?

     

    I am glad the program is strenuous enough to eliminate a lot of the crazy types (i.e. the one you mentioned that likes cutting stuff).

  4.  

     

    bring arcade system back. bored with the FAS already :P i missed the time we try to outdo each others in the arcade ranking board in each games :-D

     

    If I bring the arcade back... a few years later you're going to ask to change the forum rules back pre-2005. :lol:

    I am still hoping for that :wink: ROMs all the way!!!

     

    Well, you got archive.org now for the majority of that. They have the ability to take the risk, since they are a large non-profit organization. 1Emu on the other hand? Not gonna take the chance. :lol:

  5. bring arcade system back. bored with the FAS already :P i missed the time we try to outdo each others in the arcade ranking board in each games :-D

     

    If I bring the arcade back... a few years later you're going to ask to change the forum rules back pre-2005. :lol:

  6. woooo, been with 1emu since i start working. can't believe it has been 12 years!!!!

     

    You're telling me. Feels like yesterday I was fighting the emulation world to keep this place together from the spam attacks, crazy BS I'd have to write in a book one day, and also the amazing stuff like getting featured in Electronic Gaming Monthly.

     

    Greetings & Happy New Year~

     

    This seems to be a recurring theme for me but I forget to check 1emu from time-to-time and find my way back eventually. Twelve years... wow. I was barely legal to start drinking when this site went up I suppose. i just want to say I am glad I keep finding my way back here—it is like our own private club. :-)

     

    As for 2014 resolutions... I don't really believe in them because I tend to view everyday the same way, including holidays, and I feel one should strive towards bettering the self on a regular basis without relying on a specific date or event as incentive. That being said, I do have a particular goal in mind that just coincides with the occasion; I recently graduated from my program and now must find a job/apprenticeship position based on statutory law in order to comply with state requirements. I have mentioned in separate threads that I was studying in a Health Science related field that was not nursing, dentristry or radiology, etc. I intentionally keep the nature of my chosen career profession "low key" because of its nature. The reactions people give me when they learn what I am pursuing are mixed. Some find it very interesting, even commendable while others veer in the opposite direction. Some even mask their reaction when I can plainly see they find it... morbid.

     

    Therefore, my little disclaimer: Given the nature of my profession, individuals react differently when presented with the fact of what I am, and I must let them know that I do not take offense to any personal beliefs one may associate with what I do nor intend any to anyone. I am a recently graduated Mortician from a nationally accredited program (one of two in the state of California), passed my national board exams in the Arts and Sciences related to the field, must retake my state FDR license exam because I failed by two points the first time, and complete my apprenticeship/EMB license exam within the specified time. I cannot (legally) claim to be a duly licensed Funeral Director until I pass that state exam and am employed by a licensed Funeral Establishment, and I cannot claim to be an embalmer until my apprenticeship is completed and my embalmer's license exam.

     

    There you have it. The closest thing to a new year's resolution I can claim. :-)

     

    Honestly, I got to say that it is absolutely awesome you're a mortician. I find it quite on the mysterious side and furthermore -- it might actually work wonders for you with women. Of course, you would not tell them right away what your job is, but you would keep them guessing. Girls always like a guy who is dark on the outside, but soft on the inside. And also as a 1emu buddy, I got to say it's pretty cool to say to others I know someone who deals with dead bodies. Gnarly stuff dude!!

     

    It feels like just yesterday this place got a clean-up. I still feel like it's 2010.

    Hah, feels like this place transcends time. It's like a black hole. Time does not really exist here.

     

    I still feel like its 2005....

     

    See above reply to Drakey. :-D

  7. It's crazy... we've now entered the 12th year of running 1Emulation. Time really flies. Can't say it enough!!!

    What are your new year's resolutions? I'm sure everyone had a hangover on January 1st and January 2nd will have gyms across the world packed :lol: ....

  8. I don't have the money to buy either system right now, nor am I really interested. I still have plenty of games to play on both my 360 and PS3. Not to mention, I got a feeling it's going to take 10 years before we even see anyone hack the One or PS4, but then again, what is the point? I've got a wild feeling we will hopefully see more PC ports.

     

    Sooo who bought one (or both)? :P

  9. The best game on xbox is halo and that's already been ported over anyways.

     

    Sypherce and I were discussing this very notion yesterday. The 2nd most logical explanation as to why we haven't see an XBOX emulator is there is no real demand for it, as there was for Dreamcast, PS2, and Nintendo Wii. Most of the games for the original XBOX were already ported to the PC.

     

    The simple basics of economics of no supply without demand is sustained here.

  10. I feel anger only sucks when you delve into it. I just ask myself "Why am I angry?" and the reason usually snaps me out of it. For other reasons (like something you can't control or change), I feel that holding on to it doesn't help much either so I try to let it go by ignoring it and looking to the brighter side of things.

    Honestly, letting go and looking at the bright side is probably the most effective approach. Unfortunately, sometimes my anger just wants to tell my rationality to fuck off :sad:
  11. I thought it would only make sense to also post the reason why we haven't seen an XBOX emulator for the PC (or at least a working one at that). A few weeks ago we posted the reason why we haven't seen a 3DS emulator in 2013.

     

    So why no XBOX emulator?

     

    Originally Posted by blueshogun96 from NGEmu.com

    "Xbox is just like a PC, it's easy to emulate!"

     

    Yes, we've all heard this silly and pointless argument a million times and it usually ends in the same, and rather ignorant conclusion (or should I say assumption) that just because the Xbox is PC similar, it's hardware should be relatively easy to emulate. That's a very wrong frame of mind. How hard can it be? Very. Xbox's hardware is very complex and still poorly documented to this day. This requires some explanation.

     

    1. Is a PC easy to emulate? Well, I wouldn't say so myself. Take a look at the source code from bochs. A lot of source code/work isn't it?

     

    2. Emulating an x86 CPU is a lot harder than it sounds. I don't know where this mindless assumption comes from. Yes, there's loads of documentation on how the x86 processor works, but that doesn't exactly make it easy. First of all, the x86 instruction set is M-A-S-S-I-V-E! There can be at least 20 different versions of one instruction (i.e. There are many different versions of the MOV instruction, as well as INC, DEC, ADD, SUB, SHR, SHL, AND, OR, XOR etc.) and it takes time to implement them all. Of course, that's not exactly difficult. The real problem is that any modern x86 processor including the Pentium III can execute multiple instructions at once. So it's not like emulating a Z80 doing one instruction at a time. The actual algorithm and how x86 does this is undocumented and still unknown. In short, the Xbox's CPU can be emulated, but not accurately.

     

    3. Emulating any hardware by NVIDIA is not a walk in the park! The Xbox's GPU, the NV2A is often assumed just a GeForce 3. It's not! It's similar but not identical. It has some GeForce 4 capabilities too, so it's more of a cross between an NV20 and NV25. This is by no means easy to emulate either. NVIDIA's GPUs have very large register sets and afaik not even half of them have been discovered, and a large portion of known registers have unknown purposes. There is little to no documentation on how NVIDIA GPUs work. The best thing to do is to look at similar GPUs such as RIVA, TNT, and older GeForce cards. Some registers are similar, but not identical. The best place to look for information is in open source drivers available on the net. Adding to the dificulty is that no one has ever discovered how pixel shaders work on NV2x cards, vertex shaders yes though. The Xbox GPU also has exclusive registers that are not found in other GeForce cards. Information on the NV2A's GPU registers are just now beginning to be discovered a few months ago. And yet, there's still a long way to go. The GeForce 3 series is the most mysterious of all NVIDIA GPUs (G7x and G8x aside) and the NV2A is alot worse. "But can't you just directly execute the NV2A instructions on another NVIDIA card?". No, I get alot of questions concerning this, and it is impossible. It's MMIO addresses are different and the exclusive registers must be emulated. Plus, in windows, we don't have ring 0 access anyway, so you all can scratch that idea now. Then comes the NForce 2 chipset. This is where it get easier. The NVIDIA MCPX is the control center for things such as audio, USB for input, Network adapters, PCI, AGP, etc. These things are not really that difficult to emulate IMO except for the audio.

     

    4. The Audio system is rather complex. Xbox's audio consists of at least 4 DSPs, and audio codec (AC '97) and an NVIDIA SoundStorm APU. The DSPs shouldn't be a problem (just figuring out what they all are is) nor should the AC '97 but the NVIDIA SoundStorm APU is the really difficult part. So far I haven't found any information on this thing, but right now, it's relevance is low.

     

    5. The Xbox BIOS isn't fully understood. The basic execution process of the BIOS is understood, but details on the process are at a loss. What we do know gives us hints, but before the BIOS can be emulated, we'll need a better understanding of the Xbox hardware layout because the BIOS does some unknown hardware initialization at boot time and writes to the hardware directly without using any XDK stuff. It will take some time, and effort, but I'll eventually get it working.

     

    6. Video Encoder "Hell". Instead of using a RAMDAC for video output, the Xbox uses a Video Encoder. What makes this suck a pain? Microsoft sought the need to change the video encoder every other Xbox version (there are seven in all, 1.0 - 1.6). Why, I dunno, it's a Microsoft thing, they always tend to try to "fix" things that aren't broken >.> AFAIK, there are at least 3 different Video Encoders used: Conexant CX25871, Focus FS454, and Xcalibur. For more information in Xbox video encoders, click here. Emulating all three video encoders is only less than half the battle, the real problem is that BIOSes can be specifically tied to a specific encoder depending on it's version (don't quote me on this though). Like PS2, every Xbox model revision has a updated BIOS and has different expectations. This is a potential problem, but not exactly major.

     

    Basically, I'm trying to get this "Xbox should be easy to emulate because it's just like a PC" crap out of your heads. I'm sure that most of you will disagree with me on this, but for these reasons and more, on a low level, Xbox is harder to emulate than PS2.

     

    ^ The exception to that above is that the NV2A is much better documented now, but not fully. There's an open source library for the OpenXDK called pbKit. It interfaces directly with the hardware to fully expose it's potential. This is what Microsoft should have done all along (or at least wrote a low-level OpenGL implementation).

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