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Robotics

Submission + - Robotic Introspection: Self Modeling

holomorph writes: I came across an interesting story about self modeling robots. From the article:

Higher animals use some form of an "internal model" of themselves for planning complex actions and predicting their consequence, but it is not clear if and how these self-models are acquired or what form they take. Analogously, most practical robotic systems use internal mathematical models, but these are laboriously constructed by engineers. While simple yet robust behaviors can be achieved without a model at all, here we show how low-level sensation and actuation synergies can give rise to an internal predictive self-model, which in turn can be used to develop new behaviors.
It's funny.  Laugh.

Submission + - Worker Absences This Thursday & Friday?

Anonymous Coward writes: "I'm sure there are plenty of managers & bosses that are loyal Slashdot readers, so I ask this: With the prevalance of sites such as this one, and many employees simply looking for an excuse to take a long weekend, how much has the opening round of NCAA basketball in the past (and coming up here at the end of the week) affected the number of "sickies" calling in on those days? How many of you managers are doing the same?"
Google

Submission + - Information Revolution, perhaps not.

An anonymous reader writes: There are posters appearing on the London underground stating that 75% of UK internet traffic goes through one company and point to a website information-revolution.org If you go to the site it is a bit vague about its aims but essentially looks like a anti-google compain. However, if you read through the comments on the site, which aren't moderated, it is generally believed to be a bad PR stunt by Ask.com that has not been done very well. What do you think?
Programming

Adventuresome or "Hands On" Careers in Tech? 72

omission9 asks: "For about 10 years I have worked mostly behind a desk in a cubicle and am starting to feel that this environment is making me miserable. The cheap fluorescent lights, the stuffy air, and the restless feeling I get from just sitting so long are starting to really annoy me. My background is mainly as a programmer but I started my career as a network engineer/network administrator. I am also a member of the US Naval Reserve and am cleared as high as Top Secret. Are there any jobs out there that match this sort of skill set (more or less programmer but generally excellent tech skills) that don't require being stuck behind a desk? Paying relatively well would be a major plus as would something that provides a solid career (20+ years of work). Is there anyone out there, from anywhere other than a cube farm, that may have some advice?"
Emulation (Games)

Submission + - State of the Homebrew Scene 2007

Croakyvoice writes: DCEmu have posted an article detailing the Homebrew scenes of all the consoles released at this time, it discusses the future of each console and what should be expected once consoles like the Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 are fully open to amateur coders.
Software

Submission + - How FairPlay Works: Apple's iTunes DRM Dilemma

An anonymous reader writes: Understanding how Apple's FairPlay DRM works helps to answer a lot of questions: why it hasn't been replaced with an open, interoperable DRM that anyone can use, why Apple isn't broadly licensing FairPlay, and why the company hasn't jumped to add DRM-free content from indie artists to iTunes.
Classic Games (Games)

Submission + - "Ode to the Extra Life", a must-read for g

Mike Ferry writes: "(Taken from http://www.destructoid.com/ode-to-the-extra-life-3 0050.phtml)


Oh, extra life, how we adore thee. You're always there to pick us back up when we have fallen. You're always there to heal our every wound up good as new. You are a stalwart companion and an indispensible element in fighting the good fight even when the chips are down. Oh, extra life, how could we ever have lived (again) without you?

We couldn't. Could you imagine if the "extra life" was never realized? Everybody deserves a second (or third) chance, don'tcha think? That is one of the founding principles behind the extra life. Retrospectively, the extra life was born from a few other defining factors.

Origins of the Extra Life

For starters, the thought of giving players extra chances after failing was primarily found in pinball machines before anything else. The idea of giving three balls, instead of just one, prolonged the experience and also gave the player a sense of comfort in the beginning and a sense of urgency when their last ball was in play.

From there on, "extended play" was soon adopted by the arcade industry to entice players to spend more money and continue playing. Many arcade games of the 1980's offered rewards of an extra life for achieveing certain milestones in their point scores. For example, Namco's Galaga gave the player an extra life after reaching 20,000 points. In this way, the player's ability is being acknowledged and thus creating a feeling of worth for the actions that he/she is doing. This, in turn, creates a feeling of gratification that makes the overall experience that much more enjoyable. As we all know, people will go out of their way and spend large sums of money for any sort of gratification. Arcade games were no different.

Evolution of the Extra Life

Over the years, the extra life has taken on many forms, shapes, and sizes. The iconic "1up Mushroom" from Super Mario Bros. is surely a welcome sight to any gamer. However, the fasion in which it is obtained greatly differs from the old days of simply scoring enough points. Rather, they were hidden within the levels, waiting to be found by thorough players. As you can see, the fundamental idea of rewarding players with extra lives has not changed, but the methods in which they are awarded has. Today, this is now a fairly common practice among most games that have some sort of "lives" based system. The extra life is as much a fixture in gaming as water is a fixture in life.

Another evolution of this basic principal is found in games with "respawning." Though there are no set amount of "lives" per se, there is, however, a system in which play is continued even after a loss or failure to complete a certain task has occured. Respawning may be completely different from the classic way of continuing play, but it was certainly influenced by it.

Living the Extra Life... and taking it for granted.

You know, it sure is great to be living in a world where you're given extra chances, no matter how bad you screw up. But what if the extra life was never implemented? What if you only had a single chance to beat an entire game, and no way to increase those chances? Needless to say that games would have definitely become far too difficult for most to pick up. Perhaps the arcade craze of the 1980's would never even have happened because people would be too frustrated to pump any more money into the machine after losing so quickly and so often. It's a stretch, but if this would have happened, then our favorite past-time may not have come as far as it is now. Kinda makes you rethink about the importance of that "1up" you just scored by getting 20,000 points.

Indeed, we may have taken the extra life for granted. But rest assured, the extra life does not take us for granted. Because without the players, it holds no value. Just remember that the next time you get an extra life, a mushroom, respawn, or whatever keeps you going after you would've been long gone, that it holds a special place in the history of gaming and should be respected as such."
Wii

Submission + - The 12 Awesomest Games of 2010

ipsofacto writes: Get in line now! These games will be flying off the shelves in just a few years. Wii games, PS3, Xbox 360, and PC games that you have to see to believe.
Linux Business

Submission + - Dell takes small steps toward Linux

daria42 writes: Dell has acknowledged that 83,000 users have urged it to sell PCs with Linux pre-installed, but it has fallen short of accepting their suggestion. The requests were made through a new user forum, Dell IdeaStorm, which was launched by Dell 10 days ago, shortly after Michael Dell regained the chief executive's seat. Dell IdeaStorm gives users the chance to tell the PC vendor what kind of systems it should offer.
Math

Submission + - UW scientists unlock major number theory puzzle

Jake's Mom writes: "From the University of Wisconsin — UW scientists unlock major number theory puzzle.

"Mathematicians have finally laid to rest the legendary mystery surrounding an elusive group of numerical expressions known as the "mock theta functions."

Number theorists have struggled to understand the functions ever since the great Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan first alluded to them in a letter written on his deathbed, in 1920.

Now, using mathematical techniques that emerged well after Ramanujan's death, two number theorists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have pieced together an explanatory framework that for the first time illustrates what mock theta functions are, and exactly how to derive them."

For more, read the full article."
Media

Submission + - WHO WILL LOVE THE CHILD

Diddily Dee Dot writes: "WHO WILL LOVE THE CHILD
Who will love the child when the Mother steps aside?
Who will love the child when the father wanders far and wide?
Will the wild wind feed it,
will the moonlight and the foxes suckle it
or the owls bring it titbits and worms
or the pine forest sing it lullabies beneath the twinkling stars?
O the night is very cold, and the little child is naked.

Who will teach the child when the Mother turns her face away,
who will instruct the child when the father has no word to say?
Will the badger or the scarecrow educate it in the simple ways of survival?
will the little sparrow share its store of wisdom and joy
or the squirrel show it where to look for nuts?
Will it build itself a nest of moss and snow,
will the pale winter sunlight warm it
or the busy bee of summer share its golden wealth of honey?
O how long will the little child live, — days or merely hours?

Who will look after the parent-less child,
the little bundle on the battlefield -
who will give him milk to drink and fill his hungry belly,
who will wrap him in a shawl of rags and let him suck their fingers?
Who will protect him from the rain of shells,
from the teeth of predators and carrion-eaters,
from the guns of soldiers and the bayonets of the depraved?
Whose sweet breast will he nestle against
when the Mother steps aside, who will shelter and provide for him
when the father wanders far and wide -
who will look after the little child,
O who will love the child?

http://dottidoseligor.spaces.live.com/
http://seligorscastle.zoomshare.com/
http://diddilydeedot.spaces.live.com/
http://seligordragonlordofchirron.webspawner.com/"
Biotech

Submission + - Are Vision Implants Part of Our Future?

Amazing HDR writes: Trey Ratcliff a programmer/CEO/photographer acclaimed for his HDR photos talks about the future of vision, "The color spectrum we see the world in is extremely limited, but that will change in the next 10 to 15 years as people evolve to get eye implants that both improve vision and can see (and record) new wavelengths beyond the current visible spectrum. There are already a few mutant tetrachromatics currently alive today that see four colors, one order of magnitude beyond the exiting three-axis RGB scale."
The Internet

Submission + - Congressional Website evaluations

piersonr writes: "The National Science Foundation recently sponsored a study of Congressional websites. How does your Congressman rate? Are you able to find information about your Representative's positions on their website?

The Open House Project is working on a report for Congress with recommendations on how they can update the byzantine rules that restrict the information that is available to the public. The slashdot community's advice would be useful as recommendations are provided to Congress on how they can improve on the way legislative data is provided to the public."

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