3 ms·

It's called an "AI" computer. Prolog was AI in 1986. I don't see that as a gimmick. I also don't see why one would assume the concept was really about games exc

by ilaksh 3y ago

It's called an "AI" computer. Prolog was AI in 1986. I don't see that as a gimmick. I also don't see why one would assume the concept was really about games except for the fact that we know Sega as a games company today.

actionfromafar 3y ago
Sega still makes these neat things: https://www.segatoys.space/en/public/flux.html https://www.segatoys.space/en/public/flux.html
- theNJR 3y ago
  That’s really cool! Do you own one?
  - actionfromafar 3y ago
    I do, actually. It’s just a projector, really, but it’s really neat. It’s analog so it has no pixels. It can rotate the starfield but the motor is noisy enough to disturb me when going to sleep, so I don’t use the motor.
    - beebeepka 3y ago
      Do we have to buy all the cool discs one by one? Looks like a neat product, such a shame the motor is noisy because a little motion, just barely perceptible, would go a long way. I would think people would throw good money for the same but better. I know I would.
      - actionfromafar 3y ago
        I bet many don't even notice the motor, but I do. It comes with two discs. I think you could put any slide film in there too, if you really wanted.
      - tpmoney 3y ago
        I have one of the original models and the motor noise is probably dependent on whether or not you're the sort of person who needs a perfectly quiet room or if you can sleep with a fan. If you have a ceiling fan (or any other noise maker, like a blowing AC system), you're almost certainly not going to hear the motor. IIRC, EEV blog tore one down and the whole rotating assembly is belt driven so that you don't have gear noise. The only thing I ever hear is a very slight hobby motor hum when everything is dead silent. When you order it I think it comes with 2 discs, but yeah, all the others are individual orders, unless you want to order the 17 pack of third party discs for $300. Other things to be aware of: 1) It looks really good, like good enough to feel like you really are out under the stars in a properly blacked out room. but getting the focus just right is fiddly and very easy to knock out of focus again 2) Like any projector it works best projecting straight on. I doubt you have space in the exact center of your room to project straight up, so be prepared to accept this will be a distorted projection. You get used to it and it doesn't really ruin the effect that much, but it's disappointing at first. 3) The 3 hour timer is built in and impossible to disable to the best of my knowledge. If you want it running all night, you'll want a smart plug or a programmable timer plug that can turn off for a few minutes intermittently. I found ~5 minutes every 2.5 hours to work well. Too short and the timer doesn't seem to reset. 4) There are some really nice 3rd party discs out there too, but their sharpness and overall realism varies greatly so be cautious when ordering.
Apocryphon 3y ago
Good time for Sega to bring it back
wk_end 3y ago
Sega was known as a games company then, too. They've always been a games company - the name Se-Ga stands for SErvice GAmes, because their original business was importing games for American servicemen stationed abroad to play in their leisure time. The most they've ever really deviated from being totally game-focused towards general-purpose computing is when they licensed out their hardware to be incorporated into computers like the TeraDrive. I would assume the concept is about games because all of the software available for it looks to be edutainment games. More than anything, it feels like a predecessor to Sega's lines of educational game consoles like the Pico. There seems to be an association in Sega history between it and AI and education. As the link says: > It does have some legacy though: starting with the Mega Drive, games on Sega platforms were required to have a ROM header. If it was a game, it was designated "GM", but educational software was designated "AI". The "computer" here might be something of a misnomer - there wasn't quite so hard a line between consoles and home computers back then, especially outside of North America. After all, the NES was known as the "Family Computer" in Japan. I'd describe it as a gimmick because it's not clear what exactly the association with Prolog is here, particularly for the end user: > The Prolog interpreter appears to be used by existing software to allow some form of natural language processing. It doesn't seem accessible to the end-user. [...] The Prolog interpreter is for running applications only — it cannot be used for programming. Sega might have pushed the AI/Prolog angle because, then-as-now, AI was a hot buzzword in tech. Japan in particular had bought into the AI/Prolog thing, due to the Fifth Generation Computer Systems project [0]. If the games mostly weren't written in Prolog, and the user can't use Prolog, but AI and Prolog were trendy at the time, I think calling it the AI Prolog to tap into that hype is a bit of a gimmick. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Generation_Computer_Systems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Generation_Computer_Syst...

by ilaksh 3y ago

actionfromafar 3y ago

Sega still makes these neat things: https://www.segatoys.space/en/public/flux.html https://www.segatoys.space/en/public/flux.html

theNJR 3y ago
That’s really cool! Do you own one?
- actionfromafar 3y ago
  I do, actually. It’s just a projector, really, but it’s really neat. It’s analog so it has no pixels. It can rotate the starfield but the motor is noisy enough to disturb me when going to sleep, so I don’t use the motor.
  - beebeepka 3y ago
    Do we have to buy all the cool discs one by one? Looks like a neat product, such a shame the motor is noisy because a little motion, just barely perceptible, would go a long way. I would think people would throw good money for the same but better. I know I would.
    - actionfromafar 3y ago
      I bet many don't even notice the motor, but I do. It comes with two discs. I think you could put any slide film in there too, if you really wanted.
    - tpmoney 3y ago
      I have one of the original models and the motor noise is probably dependent on whether or not you're the sort of person who needs a perfectly quiet room or if you can sleep with a fan. If you have a ceiling fan (or any other noise maker, like a blowing AC system), you're almost certainly not going to hear the motor. IIRC, EEV blog tore one down and the whole rotating assembly is belt driven so that you don't have gear noise. The only thing I ever hear is a very slight hobby motor hum when everything is dead silent. When you order it I think it comes with 2 discs, but yeah, all the others are individual orders, unless you want to order the 17 pack of third party discs for $300. Other things to be aware of: 1) It looks really good, like good enough to feel like you really are out under the stars in a properly blacked out room. but getting the focus just right is fiddly and very easy to knock out of focus again 2) Like any projector it works best projecting straight on. I doubt you have space in the exact center of your room to project straight up, so be prepared to accept this will be a distorted projection. You get used to it and it doesn't really ruin the effect that much, but it's disappointing at first. 3) The 3 hour timer is built in and impossible to disable to the best of my knowledge. If you want it running all night, you'll want a smart plug or a programmable timer plug that can turn off for a few minutes intermittently. I found ~5 minutes every 2.5 hours to work well. Too short and the timer doesn't seem to reset. 4) There are some really nice 3rd party discs out there too, but their sharpness and overall realism varies greatly so be cautious when ordering.

Apocryphon 3y ago

Good time for Sega to bring it back

wk_end 3y ago

Sega was known as a games company then, too. They've always been a games company - the name Se-Ga stands for SErvice GAmes, because their original business was importing games for American servicemen stationed abroad to play in their leisure time. The most they've ever really deviated from being totally game-focused towards general-purpose computing is when they licensed out their hardware to be incorporated into computers like the TeraDrive. I would assume the concept is about games because all of the software available for it looks to be edutainment games. More than anything, it feels like a predecessor to Sega's lines of educational game consoles like the Pico. There seems to be an association in Sega history between it and AI and education. As the link says: > It does have some legacy though: starting with the Mega Drive, games on Sega platforms were required to have a ROM header. If it was a game, it was designated "GM", but educational software was designated "AI". The "computer" here might be something of a misnomer - there wasn't quite so hard a line between consoles and home computers back then, especially outside of North America. After all, the NES was known as the "Family Computer" in Japan. I'd describe it as a gimmick because it's not clear what exactly the association with Prolog is here, particularly for the end user: > The Prolog interpreter appears to be used by existing software to allow some form of natural language processing. It doesn't seem accessible to the end-user. [...] The Prolog interpreter is for running applications only — it cannot be used for programming. Sega might have pushed the AI/Prolog angle because, then-as-now, AI was a hot buzzword in tech. Japan in particular had bought into the AI/Prolog thing, due to the Fifth Generation Computer Systems project [0]. If the games mostly weren't written in Prolog, and the user can't use Prolog, but AI and Prolog were trendy at the time, I think calling it the AI Prolog to tap into that hype is a bit of a gimmick. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Generation_Computer_Systems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Generation_Computer_Syst...