Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with spore

What is the minimum microscope strengh to view mushroom spores?

tweaqslug — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:25:22 -0800

How powerful of a microscope do I need to identify spores when mushroom hunting? Is 100x enough? I am looking into mushroom hunting as a hobby and it seems the most reliable way to identify mushrooms is through microscopic examination of their spores. I would like to purchase a compact portable microscope to do this with. I have seen 100x pocket microscopes for under $50 but it seems like I might need something stronger. Any advice?

Cheap computer to run Spore?

raygan — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:23:12 -0800

What's the cheapest reliable computer I can buy that will play Spore? Challenge: I want to use my 32" HDTV (with VGA) as a monitor. My girlfriend bought Spore and we were both excited to play it, but it won't play on either of our laptops. (She has a newish HP of some kind running Vista and I have a MacBook) Neither of us has a desktop right now. I'm looking for an inexpensive desktop that would be capable of running the game, but it's been a long time since I've bought any computer that wasn't a Mac and I would like some recommendations. Budget is the main controlling factor. CHEAPER THE BETTER! I don't need the game to look great, I just want it to run.
I don't have a spare monitor, but my 32", 720p HDTV has a VGA input and I'm hoping to use that. Would the game be playable on such a monitor? How about routine web-browsing and so on?
My plan has been to get something that could sit under my TV and occasionally double as a video-player and second computer, so quiet would be nice.
Links to Newegg or similar appreciated.
Thanks!

Spore on a macbook?

empath — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:33:44 -0800

Spore on a black macbook? It gives me a warning that my video card isn't supported, but it installs anyway, i can start playing the cell mode, but as soon as it gets to the part where i have to edit my creature, the screen is black and i can't do anything. Has anybody else seen this? I have the gma950 card on it. Is there a way to get it to work? It's wierd cause the windows version supports the gma950 card, why wouldn't the mac version? If I install Bootcamp or parallels will I be able to run it?

I wanna play Spore. I don't want to wait.

Kickstart70 — Wed, 17 May 2006 13:53:16 -0800

How can I get a chance to become a free beta tester for Spore? And how much time would I have to commit to it? I'd rather do this than waste my time on playing Babble or Wikipedia's exceptionally annoying editing politics. I'm an insomniac anyway, I might as well do something interesting.

Spore-ready PC?

commander_cool — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 17:06:11 -0800

Buying a computer, don't want to spend too much, but want to be able to play Spore when it comes out. Do I need to wait until May when they announce more information? Or can I anticipate my computing power needs now? If so, what specs do I need? Assume I don't want to spend $10,000 on Alienware.