Comment Obg. Tex Murphy (with apologies) (Score 2, Funny) 199
It was only a matter of time before the newly merged Frito-Kingston corporation cornered the chip market.
Game Devs Migrating Toward iPhone, Away From Wii 143
A new report by Game Developer Research reveals that the number of developers working on games for the iPhone continues to rise, roughly doubling in number from last year. At the same time, the amount of work done on games for Nintendo's Wii dropped significantly:
"Just over 70 percent of developers said they were developing at least one game for PC or Mac (including browser and social games), rising slightly from last year; 41 percent reported working on console games. Within that latter group, Xbox 360 was the most popular system with 69 percent of console developers targeting it, followed by 61 percent for PlayStation 3. While those console figures stayed within a few percent of last year's results, the change in Wii adoption was much more significant: reported developer support for the system dropped from 42 percent to 30 percent of console developers, supporting numerous publishers' claims of a recent softening of the Wii market."
Comment Cliche, but true... (Score 5, Insightful) 580
Clean code tells you how, good comments tell you why.
Fixing the "how" becomes significantly easier when you know "why" the code was there in the first place.
Comment You heard it here first! (Score 3, Funny) 688
"With the nearly simultaneous release of Apple's Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard" (available right now) and Microsoft's Windows 7 (available Oct. 22)..."
You heard it here first - August 28th is the new October 22nd. Update your calendars appropriately!
Fable III Announced For 2010 52
Flea of Pain writes "Fable III is finally in the works! 'Peter Molyneux revealed that his team is working on Fable III, which will arrive in late 2010, two years after the release of Fable II. The game will give you the primary task of becoming Albion's king and leading the people to happiness and the kingdom to glory. Fable III will be something bold and different, Molyneux promises, stating that story and drama will play a major part in it. New things will be done with the dog and the bread-crumb-trails mechanic, which were present in the second game, and you will be offered complete control of your actions and your people's actions, as you will be the king of Albion. ... [Y]ou will need to balance many things, including poverty and greed, tyranny and compassion or progress and tradition, all in order to keep your subjects happy. Furthermore, you will be able to set taxes and decide how you will rule your subjects. Your spouse, be it a king or a queen, will also point you into various directions over the course of the game. It seems that you will start as a son or daughter of the hero from Fable II and then progress until the halfway point of the game when you will be named king or queen of Albion. This means that you need to keep your save data from Fable II in order for a higher degree of customization.'"
Software Enables Re-Creation of 'Lost' Instrument 136
Hugh Pickens writes "BBC reports that the Lituus, a 2.4m (8ft) -long trumpet-like instrument, was played in Ancient Rome but fell out of use some 300 years ago. Bach even composed a motet (a choral musical composition) for the Lituus, one of the last pieces of music written for the instrument.. But until now, no one had a clear idea of what this instrument looked or sounded like until researchers at Edinburgh University developed software that enabled them to design the Lituus even though no one alive today has heard, played or even seen a picture of this forgotten instrument." (Continues below.)
Church of Scientology On Trial In France 890
An anonymous reader sends word that a trial has opened in Paris that could shut down Scientology in France. The organization stands accused of targeting vulnerable people for commercial gain. Scientology does not have the status of a religion there, as it does in the US, and anti-cult groups have pursued it vigorously over more than 30 years. The current case is based on complaints filed by two women in December 1998 and July 1999. Three other former members who had initially joined the complaint have withdrawn after "reaching a financial arrangement with church officials." If convicted, the seven top Scientologists in France face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of €1M. The Church of Scientology-Celebrity Centre and its Scientology Freedom Space bookshop not only face a much larger fine but also run the risk of being shut down completely.
Comment Axis of Evil? (Score 2, Funny) 293
I could've sworn that 'yaw' was the axis of evil.
Submission + - Suggestions for open source volunteering 1
Raven Lover writes: "I have recently retired from the hustle and bustle of the computer world and deadlines. I would like to volunteer my time towards an open source project that has environmental benefits. Any suggestions from the slashdot community?"
Submission + - Disney joins Hulu (forbes.com)
Approaching236 writes: Walt Disney Co will buy a 30 percent stake in Hulu.com, bringing popular TV shows such as 'Lost' and 'Grey's Anatomy' to the video website founded by NBC Universal and News Corp.
Disney's entrance, which comes after months of negotiations, means that three of the four major U.S. broadcast networks now have stakes in Hulu: NBC, News Corp's Fox and Disney's ABC. Only CBS Corp is absent. Disney will get three seats on the 12-member board, the same as News Corp and NBC Universal.
Disney's entrance, which comes after months of negotiations, means that three of the four major U.S. broadcast networks now have stakes in Hulu: NBC, News Corp's Fox and Disney's ABC. Only CBS Corp is absent. Disney will get three seats on the 12-member board, the same as News Corp and NBC Universal.
Submission + - NASA readies 10-pound nanosatellite for launch (computerworld.com)
BeckySharp writes: A nanosatellite — a spacecraft the size of a loaf of bread — is due to be launched by NASA next week. Weighing only 10 pounds, the tiny satellite called PharmaSat is scheduled to lift off on board a U.S. Air Force four-stage Minotaur 1 rocket late on May 5. Once aloft and free of the rocket, the satellite will circle the Earth at 17,000 mph while carrying a micro-laboratory packed with sensors and optical systems.
Comment Re:The winner of Pwn2Own seems to agree (Score 1) 1010
My only question is, where is Vista SP2? Last I checked, it was not yet released.
What do you think makes it so secure?
Comment PseudoQuest! (Score 1) 165
I'm always happy to see stories like this go by, because it gives me a chance to shamelessly plug my own webgame.
In this case, PseudoQuest is a great example of some of the crazy stuff one can do when combining existing libraries (Prototype, Scriptaculous) with custom code.
Interesting bits relevant to the JS portion of this article include: realtime PvP combat, a spiffy windowing system, drag/drop quickbar, in-game chat, easy-to-use player housing customization interface (drag/drop), and - of course - a host of non-JS related features.
As a caveat, it's just me creating it, so I haven't had time to polish it in IE - it's best viewed in Firefox 3 or Opera 9.6.
I also maintain a development blog of sorts in the forums (under "Status Updates"), for those that might be interested in such a thing.
Enjoy!
Submission + - Star "Guzzled" by Black Hole
54mc writes: "Reuters reports that NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer has seen a star torn apart.
From the article:
"For the past two years, scientists have monitored the dramatic events as the star, residing in a galaxy in the Bootes constellation, was ripped apart by the black hole."
California Institute of Technology tells the story from another angle."
From the article:
"For the past two years, scientists have monitored the dramatic events as the star, residing in a galaxy in the Bootes constellation, was ripped apart by the black hole."
California Institute of Technology tells the story from another angle."
