Well, I was bored this afternoon, so I threw together this stupid little program after a request from one of my friends. Basically, it just counts down the time until a specific event, updating your personal message at the specified interval. You can include a message before the counter, or just use the counter by itself. It also allows you to choose from 3 different icon types (Games, Office, Music).
The Format field uses variables, which are replaced by their respective values. See the program's Help dialog for information on the specific variables. You can also insert variables by right-clicking in the Format field, and selecting any of the values in the menu. The Frequency determines how often the counter will be updated, in milliseconds. This value seems to be limited by MSN to about 6 seconds (6000ms).
Disclaimer: This program is provided as-is, and I cannot be held responsible if it decides to ruin your computer, light your house on fire and/or run away with your spouse.
NOTE: This program requires the .NET Framework Version 1.1. If it tells you it failed to initialize, that's probably why. It also requires that the "What I'm Listening To" feature be enabled in MSN. Credit for the Personal Message code goes to doggie from the mess.be forums - thanks for your work :)
No, size is not the only selling point. I did not even remotely say that.
Your claim was that "building your own will be faster and cheaper". This is false. You cannot build something close to that form factor with off-the-shelf parts. You can build a Mini-ITX PC and pay more, or something larger and pay less.
But these are different market segments. It's apples and oranges.
There is a default resolution setting in Settings > Display that can be changed with a click. You can also change the settings on a per-game basis. No CLI needed.
Also, Steam has countless games that are not "[perpetual] alpha/beta games", so no need for the straw man. Plus you can use other stores as well. And console games (e.g. PS5) cost a fortune, which itself more than negates the price subsidy on the system, unless you plan on exclusively playing 1 or 2 games.
It's true that you shouldn't buy a system that doesn't support the game(s) you want to play, but I think that's kinda obvious, and applies to every console as well as PC.
I don't game in the living room and have no need of a Steam Machine, but there is a clear market segment that would find it useful.
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parad0x
Well, I was bored this afternoon, so I threw together this stupid little program after a request from one of my friends. Basically, it just counts down the time until a specific event, updating your personal message at the specified interval. You can include a message before the counter, or just use the counter by itself. It also allows you to choose from 3 different icon types (Games, Office, Music).
The Format field uses variables, which are replaced by their respective values. See the program's Help dialog for information on the specific variables. You can also insert variables by right-clicking in the Format field, and selecting any of the values in the menu. The Frequency determines how often the counter will be updated, in milliseconds. This value seems to be limited by MSN to about 6 seconds (6000ms).
Get it here: http://sack.ath.cx:8080/drop/MSNCount.zip (right-click, save target as)
Disclaimer: This program is provided as-is, and I cannot be held responsible if it decides to ruin your computer, light your house on fire and/or run away with your spouse.
NOTE: This program requires the .NET Framework Version 1.1. If it tells you it failed to initialize, that's probably why. It also requires that the "What I'm Listening To" feature be enabled in MSN. Credit for the Personal Message code goes to doggie from the mess.be forums - thanks for your work :)
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