Well this blows major chunks. I live in Japan and have a Japanese system. But I would prefer to play with my friends back in the US. I hope to god that this is not forced into the final version. If so, I will very quickly be changed from one of PS Home's staunchest supporters to one of its greatest detractors.
Nickganga: You start off your article about (MT) by saying "I was referred to them by a friend who had raved about their exceptional service, customer service and automated tools." and then tell people to be wary of them. You may not have had an experience you like, but given the overall satisfaction that lots of major sites who perhaps have even more complex sites than yours, and even greater traffic and more than 1.5 years using the service - yet no inclination leave, wouldn't they be able to say one needn't be wary?
Additionally, you're right that people should be cautious when using a beta. After all, it is *BETA*. And that is why (MT) is making the beta closed now - accessible only via approval form the application form. It isn't open for everyone. And no one is paying for the beta. It's there for testing - like almost every other single beta that is a *TRUE* beta.
Ctabo: What do you mean "as usual"? That seems to be nothing more than a flame after a plug for another service - from someone that is completely off 99.9% of anyone's radar. I am not saying they are bad or not looking into at all. But if you are going to infer that reputation and history are important with your "as usual" remark, then why should I go to a company with zero reputation and history over a company that has a long track record?
Sorry you haven't received approval for your application yet for the XVs at (MT). It seems odd that haven't responded to you personally yet, given the fact that only three people in the entire world applied to beta test.
Wait. Maybe thousands of people have applied for a totally optional and free service. Maybe they are busy helping the people who have their systems set up get them deployed properly. Maybe they are already investing a lot of man hours that cost them money to help people who are not paying them a dime. Maybe these things are happening. But we don't know. So why not just speculate that (MT) are as usual screwing everything up again - because it's fun! And it has a great deal of evidence to counter, so you can feel like the underdog.
---
If (MT) is so bad, then why is it that the majority of negative remarks about (MT) are limited to comments in threads? Sure, you may have a blog entry here or there pointing to unfortunate circumstances, but is that the general consensus on the internet? Let's face it... When people are upset, then want to bitch about it, and even better, to someone who will understand and care. Blogs, forums and comment threads are a great place to find said audience. And if you are one of those people who have not been happy, then you will be on the lookout for other people who are also upset. "Wow, look! Other people have the same problem. This must be rampant! Everyone else must feel the same way!"
But look at the major sites who have stayed with (MT) for years. Look at the independent developers and designers who have been paying for (MT)'s service and still are displaying their (MT) badge for years. Look at all the communities and technologies (MT) supports. Have you had any problems with Skitch? Did you have any problems visiting ElfYourself? 3% of *all* internet traffic around X-mas time didn't seem to have an issue.
Praise is much much harder to find than complaint. A lot of that stems from the fact that people *EXPECT* that something they pay for should work. Completely logical, there. And if it does work, then it doesn't bear conversation until someone asks about it. So if you have a server and it works are you going to make blog articles often sating how much you love your server? Most likely not.
I am not saying that people who have had bad experiences didn't have bad experiences. I genuinely feel bad for anyone who has had server woes. But don't mistake your experience as the norm for everyone or the majority and report it as such.
I've been using (MT) since late 1999. Have I had a few down times? Yep. Have I had other issues crop up from time to time? Yep. Have some of those instances been my fault? Yep. Has this stopped me from recommending them to other people and clients? Nope. Have those people stayed with (MT)? Yep. Have I received complaints from them about (MT)? Nope.
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About the XV, I think it awesome that (MT) is offering this service. I've been asking for it for a long time. So have others. Am I planning on hosting everything on it? Not at all. But do I plan on using a lot of the workgroup features that my team and I have been wanting so badly? Oh, hell yes.
Sorry for the long tyrade, but I am getting sick of all the (MT) hate.
Let's give it a few weeks to a month to see how many of them die – and then find out why it happened. A few crashes on ANY hardware are always to be expected and not necessarily a reflection of bad manufacturing on the whole.
I do clearly remember MANY 360's dying within the first couple of months of the system's launch. In fact, I personally know no fewer than five people who had to return their systems: one in Osaka, one in Tokyo and several friends who live just north of DC (who probably got faulty units from the same batch). I managed to escape any hardware malfunctions.
But I wasn't so lucky with my original Xbox. I was working at a game development company in Rockville / Bethsoft Maryland at the time and received one at the annual Christmas party. Apparently, quite a few units had shoddy optical drives in them – the Thompson drive. Many many MANY people who had this particular drive had their Xboxes become giant black bricks because the drive gave up the ghost within 6 months of use, enough to where there was a class action suit against MS.
And even if a system crashes regularly, that doesn't mean there is a hardware issue - or necessarily even user error. I treat my 360 with kid gloves, but that doesn't stop the R& demo from crashing often just after I start playing a level. That doesn't stop Gears of War from freezing or locking up my system at random times. Sometimes it can be a game's fault when the hardware crashes.
The fact of the matter is, if a person here or a person there meet with hardware failures, it should be expected – at launch or ANY time. This is not a remark to excuse poor manufacturing, but merely a realistic assessment that just because a few people have issues doesn't mean we need to equate it with some pandemic issue a huge batch of users will face.
But I guess fear and negative conjecture are more fun, right?
PlayStation Home's public areas region locked
Aug 16th 2008 11:13AM (Joystiq)PlayStation Home tied to console region
Aug 16th 2008 10:59AM (Joystiq)Life with PlayStation coming this month, not last
Aug 1st 2008 4:35AM (Engadget)Media Temple launches beta for VPS running on Leopard Server
Jun 21st 2008 12:52AM (TUAW.com)Additionally, you're right that people should be cautious when using a beta. After all, it is *BETA*. And that is why (MT) is making the beta closed now - accessible only via approval form the application form. It isn't open for everyone. And no one is paying for the beta. It's there for testing - like almost every other single beta that is a *TRUE* beta.
Ctabo: What do you mean "as usual"? That seems to be nothing more than a flame after a plug for another service - from someone that is completely off 99.9% of anyone's radar. I am not saying they are bad or not looking into at all. But if you are going to infer that reputation and history are important with your "as usual" remark, then why should I go to a company with zero reputation and history over a company that has a long track record?
Sorry you haven't received approval for your application yet for the XVs at (MT). It seems odd that haven't responded to you personally yet, given the fact that only three people in the entire world applied to beta test.
Wait. Maybe thousands of people have applied for a totally optional and free service. Maybe they are busy helping the people who have their systems set up get them deployed properly. Maybe they are already investing a lot of man hours that cost them money to help people who are not paying them a dime. Maybe these things are happening. But we don't know. So why not just speculate that (MT) are as usual screwing everything up again - because it's fun! And it has a great deal of evidence to counter, so you can feel like the underdog.
---
If (MT) is so bad, then why is it that the majority of negative remarks about (MT) are limited to comments in threads? Sure, you may have a blog entry here or there pointing to unfortunate circumstances, but is that the general consensus on the internet? Let's face it... When people are upset, then want to bitch about it, and even better, to someone who will understand and care. Blogs, forums and comment threads are a great place to find said audience. And if you are one of those people who have not been happy, then you will be on the lookout for other people who are also upset. "Wow, look! Other people have the same problem. This must be rampant! Everyone else must feel the same way!"
But look at the major sites who have stayed with (MT) for years. Look at the independent developers and designers who have been paying for (MT)'s service and still are displaying their (MT) badge for years. Look at all the communities and technologies (MT) supports. Have you had any problems with Skitch? Did you have any problems visiting ElfYourself? 3% of *all* internet traffic around X-mas time didn't seem to have an issue.
Praise is much much harder to find than complaint. A lot of that stems from the fact that people *EXPECT* that something they pay for should work. Completely logical, there. And if it does work, then it doesn't bear conversation until someone asks about it. So if you have a server and it works are you going to make blog articles often sating how much you love your server? Most likely not.
I am not saying that people who have had bad experiences didn't have bad experiences. I genuinely feel bad for anyone who has had server woes. But don't mistake your experience as the norm for everyone or the majority and report it as such.
I've been using (MT) since late 1999. Have I had a few down times? Yep. Have I had other issues crop up from time to time? Yep. Have some of those instances been my fault? Yep. Has this stopped me from recommending them to other people and clients? Nope. Have those people stayed with (MT)? Yep. Have I received complaints from them about (MT)? Nope.
---
About the XV, I think it awesome that (MT) is offering this service. I've been asking for it for a long time. So have others. Am I planning on hosting everything on it? Not at all. But do I plan on using a lot of the workgroup features that my team and I have been wanting so badly? Oh, hell yes.
Sorry for the long tyrade, but I am getting sick of all the (MT) hate.
PS3 is following in 360's footsteps
Nov 19th 2006 10:51AM (Joystiq)I do clearly remember MANY 360's dying within the first couple of months of the system's launch. In fact, I personally know no fewer than five people who had to return their systems: one in Osaka, one in Tokyo and several friends who live just north of DC (who probably got faulty units from the same batch). I managed to escape any hardware malfunctions.
But I wasn't so lucky with my original Xbox. I was working at a game development company in Rockville / Bethsoft Maryland at the time and received one at the annual Christmas party. Apparently, quite a few units had shoddy optical drives in them – the Thompson drive. Many many MANY people who had this particular drive had their Xboxes become giant black bricks because the drive gave up the ghost within 6 months of use, enough to where there was a class action suit against MS.
And even if a system crashes regularly, that doesn't mean there is a hardware issue - or necessarily even user error. I treat my 360 with kid gloves, but that doesn't stop the R& demo from crashing often just after I start playing a level. That doesn't stop Gears of War from freezing or locking up my system at random times. Sometimes it can be a game's fault when the hardware crashes.
The fact of the matter is, if a person here or a person there meet with hardware failures, it should be expected – at launch or ANY time. This is not a remark to excuse poor manufacturing, but merely a realistic assessment that just because a few people have issues doesn't mean we need to equate it with some pandemic issue a huge batch of users will face.
But I guess fear and negative conjecture are more fun, right?