potential PPC Amiga REAL CHEAP

[Louis Dias]

wow - talk about a blast from the past!

Own your Xbox and enjoy it just as I own my original and modded Gamecubes and enjoy them.

[Louis Dias]

Yes, I know you've all been waiting for it.
A post in this thread.

According to: www.gc-linux.org
with the addition of a drivechip ( http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/273447 ) that costs $20-$30, you can create ISO's that will boot and run your code.

Once again re-iterating how CHEAP and EASY it is to develop for the Gamecube.

The linux site even has a video of linux booting from a disc in the cube's drive straight from the Cube's original bios screen.

[Louis Dias]

koaftder wrote:

lou_dias wrote:
Yes, I know you've all been waiting for it.
A post in this thread.

According to: www.gc-linux.org
with the addition of a drivechip ( http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/273447 ) that costs $20-$30, you can create ISO's that will boot and run your code.

Once again re-iterating how CHEAP and EASY it is to develop for the Gamecube.

Seeing as you will need a pc to develop for the GC, wouldnt it be cheaper and easier to develop software that runs on pc's?

You get that GC hacked into you car yet?

Here's a review of the chip: http://www.consolejunky.com/xenogc-review/

I live in Mass, I bought the car from Alabama.  There I had leather seats and added a factory sub-woofer option.  From there I had it shipped to Illinois where it's waiting for a racing brake and suspension kit to be built as well as a 6 speed install.  Hope to have it here for the end of March where I will have a remote starter (hope they will install on sticks) and alarm put it.  Then I will have the motor ripped out and purchase a bigger block rebuilt for high performace.  My first spectator drag race is Memorial Day weekend so I need the car driveable by then.

As for the GC install, that's after JLF65 has done his AROS port and suitable AROS applications exist.  However, I can and probably will install a GC in my car when I redesign the dash with the stereo I linked to in a prior post whether or not a suitable OS exists...I mean, after all, it is still a Gamecube.  Thanks for asking.

Ps,
I just picked up Fight Night Round 2.  Phenominal in progressive scan.  Graphics are absolutely amazing.  It was $24.99 new at E.B. Games.  It's almost a year old.  Great game!

Oh and gcc does run on the gamecube in linux so you don't need a PC really except to burn the iso...but that could be a Mac or Linux box as well.

[Louis Dias]

Well, it's a Fiero GT and I got it transported for $500 and I think it'll be another $580 to get it from Illinois to here.  Owning a Fiero puts you into a huge online community.  The transporting company owner is another Fiero enthusiast and was one of the first to put a 4.9L Caddillac V8 in a Fiero and race it.

I'm sticking with the 60 degree V6.  Stock is a 2.8L OHV motor with hydrolic cam, I'm boring (.080" over) a roller-cammed 3.4 to 3.5L.  It will make more horsepower that the 4.9L V8 when I'm done.  My car is here: www.v8archie.com
He is creating a 6 speed kit using the tranny from the Pontiac G6.  Same bellhousing as my motor.  Does Chevy 350/LT1/LS1 installs into Fieros.  Now sells some sweet body kits...suicide doors...chop top kits....

My motor will use:
Magnum 1.52 roller rockers
aftermarket roller cam (don't know spec but will be slightly better than the cam in the 2004 3.5L Malibu)
custom size pushrods (needed for roller lifter instead of hydrolic)
pistons from a 3.4 twin dual overhead cam motor (.080" over for the extra .1L) for a compression ratio bump from 8.9 to 9.8
stainless steel polished SI valves
ported and polished heads
#17 injectors (might need 19#)
shortened and ported stock intake with bored +5mm throttle body
custom headers & crossover being developed from www.trueleo.com
2.5" exhaust with bullet style mufflers
K&N on a CRX cold air intake tube (yes, it fits)

I'm expecting ~200 rear wheel horse or about 230-240 gross.
For comparison, the Caddy 4.9L V8 dynos at ~ 157-166 rear wheel horse.  It's rated at 200 at the flywheel when new.  My last 3.4 netted 150 rwhp www.geocities.com/lou_dias/Fiero.html with 100k miles on the block.

[Louis Dias]

coldfish wrote:
All the money you saved from -not- buying an A1 you can put towards gas!

 :-P

Dang!

That's why I'm switching from a 5 speed to a 6 speed!  Well, that and the G6 6 speed can handle over 300 hp where as the stock 5 speed wasn't made to handle of 200 consistently.  I do alot of highway driving...

I've been driving Fiero GT's exclusively since 1995.  I'm on my 4th now.  Sold the first for the second then totalled that one and the last one.  You can take the biggest die-hard Amigan and when it comes to Fieros, I'd dwarf his obsession.  The car simply feels like it was made just for me.  I just like to improve upon what's already there...sorta like adding an accelerator and more RAM and a bigger HDD.

[Louis Dias]

Ok, everybody power up their Gamecube.

Happy Anniversary!

[Louis Dias]

LOL

[Louis Dias]

Speelgoedmannetje wrote:
C/C++ 'suck' because that advantage of being 'powerfull' is at the same time it's biggest drawback. People easily mess with it, like using pointers and other abuse (inconsistent use of) of variables. Combine that fact with object-oriented programming and welcome in bug-land :-)

Exactly.  I got an A in C and had an A in C++ until the take home final project that we were given a week to work on.  I went out of my way to make everything in the situation we were simulating an object.  I implemented every object-oriented feature (polymorphism, superclassing, friends...you name it) and it just crashed.  Narrowed it down to exactly what made it crash and checked it 20 times and asked others to look at it and noone knew why it just crashed.  It was an illegal reference...but it wasn't.  I ended up with a B because I failed the final.

That B made me give C++ the F.

Now I happily program database driven applications in VB.Net... which doesn't crash for no apparent reason when I instantiate objects.

This is 2006.  Code doesn't have to look cryptic anymore.  We have MEGABYTES of RAM to play with not 38k (Commodore 64).  It can look pretty and readable and still be fast.  Really it can.  Honestly, other than uber-geek bragging rights, why settle for C/C++?

And frankly, what makes C++ worse is the people who code in it.  You all know who you are.  You make your code o ugly, know one would dare modify your original source because no one can freaking read it!

PS,
To the person who wants a G5 - get a Revolution.

[Louis Dias]

Allow me to continue my rant...

I mentioned it at the end.
Code maintenance is why you don't find C++ in the business world.  No one wants to maintain other people's C++ code in crucial business applications where a simple logic error results in huge corporate losses.

So you who find it so powerful and feel so proud of yourself for writing an obscure routine to get some task done in a way no one with an IQ under 169 will understand...  You will forever be a demo coder.  That just doesn't work in the business world where you have to document and revise code and enhance functionality and make things easier for your end users.

And your job will only be harder if you have to enhance the code of the guy who had the job before you who thought he was pretty smart as well.

Anyone here who also has an IT job knows what I mean.  The rest of you are hackers or hacks.  Atleast hackers can share there accomplishments for the good of all.  Hacks are just selfish and obsessed with their own geekness.

[Louis Dias]

Well your arguement for not programming in Cobol is the same reason as why you are programming in C++ for your current employer.

It's what was there when you got there.

I've work for 2 small manufacturing companies.  One was founded in the 80's and code was written in Foxpro by the then 16 year old owner's son.  The other set up shop in the early 90's.

The first moved up to Visual FoxPro 6.0 then I slowly did alot of stuff in VB6.0 and maintained the VFP.

Where I am now, an engineer coded some test equipment in LabView to control PLC's and other such devices.  Now I'm providing WIP systems and management tools in VB.NET.  It's all brand new.  They have an accounting system and I supplement it with my own stuff.

Legacy is why C++ and Cobol are still around in business.

As for defending my opinion...  Everything I that say is subjective is my opinion and needs no defending.  If I stated a specific fact with real measurable values such as performance figures, then I would need to back that up.  I gave MY reasons for not liking C++.  I never said that you absolutely can't do function foo() in C++.  I just said, it's uglier and I can make it more maintainable in another language.

People want to tout how compliers do a better job optimizing than you could do on your own in assembly.  If that's true and compiler technology has advanced (as it has) then C/C++ looses it's speed advantages and is left for "those" types of people I described above to dribble over.

Case in point:

a = b++;  /* C/C++ code */

vs.

b += 1   ' VB.Net code
a = b

Back in the 80's when RAM was tight, it would make sense that your source code could only be so big...heck back then they wouldn't have even put the comments in.  The compiler will compile those code snippets the exact same way...why make it ugly?  Also if I had made it:

a = ++b;

it would have different functionality and when I'm scanning code to make a change to meet a deadline, I don't need that extra layer of un-needed logical complexity to get the job done.

and for christ's sake, editors support more than 80 columns since like 1985, why do I still have to put a friggin semi-colon at the end of every friggin line?

It's it's own legacy that makes it ugly.

[Louis Dias]

@koftloader,

LOL, now you stand here judging my scholastic ability.
I used to code 8502 assembly in '86 when I considered myself a "hacker" with my trusty 128D.  You can judge me all you want.  I've forgotten more things than kids with CIS degrees today know.

I don't have the patience for any of that stuff anymore.  I'm in my mid 30's.  I have a full-time job.  I have rental property to maintain.

I don't have time to study code for a hobby.  To write my own kernal.  I plain don't want to.  I leave that to the people who are already experts at it because one guy in his bedroom isn't going to re-invent the wheel.  Now given a nice IDE with a proper API for creating applications to do specific tasks that I need done or get paid to do - now that I have time for.

Edit:
I mis read your post as 8502 not 8052...but the point is the same.

[Louis Dias]

koaftder wrote:

Case in point:

a = b++;  /* C/C++ code */

vs.

b += 1   ' VB.Net code
a = b

Back in the 80's when RAM was tight, it would make sense that your source code could only be so big...heck back then they wouldn't have even put the comments in.  The compiler will compile those code snippets the exact same way...why make it ugly?  Also if I had made it:

a = ++b;

Your two snippets are not equivalent. With the c code, you assign the value of b to a first then you add one to b.

Your vbcode adds one to b then assigns that value to a.

Before you start getting into arguments about language semantics, maybe you should learn the language first?

Now others can possibly understand why C/C++ sucks arse.
Logic errors are easy to make and your own eyes can deceive you and your brain can play tricks on you with such a sublte and simple thing as where to put a ++.

When I write
b += 1
a = b

It's pretty hard to not figure out what's going on here.  Thanks for proving my point.  :-D

[Louis Dias]

koaftder wrote:

Now others can possibly understand why C/C++ sucks arse.
Logic errors are easy to make and your own eyes can deceive you and your brain can play tricks on you with such a sublte and simple thing as where to put a ++.

When I write
b += 1
a = b

It's pretty hard to not figure out what's going on here.  Thanks for proving my point.  :-D

The only point that was proved is that you dont know c.

The same types of logic errors can be made in your favorite language as well. And if you wanted to you could break up the statement into 2 lines of c like you did with your vb example. Your ignorance of the language does not make a valid argument as to whether or not it's obsolete.

OK, so if I can break it up into the same 2 statements then why is it superior in C?

C saved space when that requirement was important.  It's not anymore...and it still requires those accursed semi-colons so when you break it up, it takes up more space in your source code file sizes...

[Louis Dias]

Yes, I know most OS's are written in C and that means C is in the business world - but it's not.  The OS is in the business world and is not maintained by each individual customer.  The OS is an end product.  C/C++ is just not the dominant language in the IT world when companies need quick applications or reports.

Well, the fact that I don't like C is why I'm waiting for someone else to get an OS running on the GC vs. me doing it myself.

I realize games development is done in C/C++ but I'm not games developer and neither are most of you.

@Waccoon
I wasn't trying to look cool by using  b+=1 vs. b=b+1, just pointing out there's less chance of a logic error when the code is split up with one function per line.  It's easier to debug.

@koftldr
Basic has the ':' incase I want to put 2 commands on one like.  I still don't want to put 2 commands on one like.  That's the point.  C was made to be small.
then there's:
{
 {
  {
}
}
}

I mean it's just a fugly language that makes for poor readability and prone to bad indexing, illegal referencing and logic errors.

That's why C/C++ sucks.
I never said it isn't capable of doing anything.  Just that degugging it and maintaining it is harder - that's the disadvantage.  Compilers will compile ideally.  The language it irrelevant, so it might as well be easy to read and use

[Louis Dias]

as for the brackets, you can insert your own code.

Let's look at other languages like Vb for instance:

For loops are enclosed within the For and Next statements
DO ... LOOP
If ... THEN
...
ELSEIF
...
ELSE
...
END IF

Instead we get stiff like

for(i=0;i<10;++i)
{
 If mod(i,2) = 0 {
  printf("even\n")}
else {
  printf("odd like koaftder()\n")
}
}  /* let me count...did I use enough closing brackets? */

I can encase it in more commands and finally a function if you'd like so that I can throw more brackets in there...
...
instead of

Dim i as short

For i = 0 to 9
If Mod(i, 2) = 0 Then
  console.out "Even"
ELSE
  console.out "why must you annoy me koaftder?"
END IF
NEXT i

All I'm saying it's ugly lends itself to aggrivation.  They make spell checkers and grammar checkers for word processors which are more complex than less than 100 commands a compiler has to translate.

Hey, if you think c++ is pretty...
...well fat chicks need love too.

[Louis Dias]

VB.NET