Comment Re:Testing is a bad path (Score 1) 441
..Uhm, what happens if I can code well AND money is my primary motivator?
EA Editor Criticizes Command & Conquer 4 DRM 266
Command & Conquer 4's DRM hasn't garnered Electronic Arts as much bad press and fan outrage as Ubisoft's scheme, despite being very similar. Nevertheless, it's been causing problems and frustrations for some users, including EA.com's own editor-in-chief, Jeff Green. An anonymous reader points this out:
"Green wrote on his Twitter account late last week: 'Booted twice — and progress lost — on my single-player C&C4 game because my DSL connection blinked. DRM fail. We need new solutions.' He continued later, 'Well. I've tried to be open-minded. But my 'net connection is finicky — and the constant disruption of my C&C4 SP game makes this unplayable. The story is fun, the gameplay is interesting and different at least — but if you suffer from shaky/unreliable DSL — you've been warned.'"
Indian Military Hopes to Weaponize the Searing "Ghost Pepper" 267
coondoggie writes "The military in India is looking to weaponize the world's hottest chili, the bhut jolokia or 'ghost pepper,' according to a number of news outlets. The Bhut Jolokia chili pepper from Assam, India is no ordinary pepper. In tests first conducted by the New Mexico State University in 2008 and subsequently confirmed by Guinness World records and others, the Bhut Jolokia reached over one million Scoville heat units, while the next hottest, the Red Savina Habenero, clocks in at a mere 577,000. Scoville units are a universally accepted measure of chili hotness."
The Unsung Heroes of PC Gaming History 325
An anonymous reader writes "The history of PC gaming is littered with many well-known and highly regarded titles, but what about the titles you mightn't have heard of? This list of the top games in the history of the PC includes the usual suspects, such as Half-Life and Doom, but also some often overlooked PC games including such classics as Elite, the space trading RPG developed in 1984 by two college friends from Cambridge for the Acorn and BB Micro systems. The game used a truly elegant programming hack to create over 200 different worlds to explore while using 32kb of memory, all with 3D wireframes. Also in the list is Robot War, which required players to actually code the participants, and one of the first online multiplayer RPGs, Neverwinter Nights, which introduced many of the developer and user behaviors, such as custom guilds, that have made modern RPGs so popular."
What's your favorite classic game that always gets overlooked in these kinds of lists? My vote goes for Star Control 2.
Recommendations For C++/OpenGL Linux Tutorials? 117
QuaveringGrape writes "After a few years of Python I've recently been trying to expand my programming knowledge into the realm of compiled languages. I started with C, then switched over to C++. A friend and longtime OpenGL programmer told me about NeHe's tutorials as a good step after the command-line programs started to get old, but there's a problem: all the tutorials are very Windows-based, and I've been using Linux as my single platform for a while now. I'm looking for suggestions for tutorials that are easy to learn, without being dumbed down or geared towards non-programmers."
Comment Wallet Voting Won't Work (Score 1) 309
DRM is an intellectual issue, not a populist one. It's like software patents and copyright- basically no one else cares but the most intelligent. Why? Because they can't be bothered to.
These are private companies and they won't be swayed by reasonable arguments. Or anything 'reasonable'- I mean, honestly, they don't have to listen. You're nattering on forums, so they get some hired crony to placate you without having to actually change anything.
What needs to be done is we need to whip up some kind of populist frenzy, Tea Party/Republican style. Just spread baldfaced, outright lies about DRM spreading through your computer and leaving it open to viruses. How companies are going to steal your credit card numbers, your social security, and you'll never sleep at night because you're called 24/7 by telemarketers.
What we need is real honest to god fear mongering, and it wouldn't hurt to harass people/exploit vulnerabilities left by intrusive DRM to REALLY hit the point home. We need some Karl Rove tactics here.
Not only that, we need to sue. Sue Sue sue sue sue! Legislation is really the only thing that's going to stop companies from spitting out DRMed titles.
Game sales haven't changed a wit since they introduced DRM- they've just made customers angry. And you know what? They don't care. What we need is to hurt the game companies, rip the publishers a new one to see that consumers can't be trifled with.
I would like to see a company like EA or Ubisoft buried and dusted from a massive legal lawsuit stemming from their intrusive DRM schemes. I know Apple and Microsoft are guilty of the same, but they're too big to truly hurt.
Comment Re:Certainly true; as always, parenting required (Score 1) 278
Meh.
I played video games all through out my college years and up to this day. I have a successful job with a salary and a girlfriend. So. Yeah. Mythical unicorn or something, I guess.
The Problems With Video Game Voice Acting 251
The Guardian's Games blog explores the tendency of modern video games to suffer from poor voice acting, a flaw made all the more glaring by increasingly precise and impressive graphics. Quoting:
"Due to the interactive nature of games, actors can't be given a standard film script from which they're able to gauge the throughline of their character and a feel for the dramatic development of the narrative. Instead, lines of dialogue need to be isolated into chunks so they can be accessed and triggered within the game in line with the actions of each individual player. Consequently, the performer will usually be presented with a spreadsheet jammed with hundreds of single lines of dialogue, with little sense of context or interaction. ... But according to David Sobolov, one of the most experienced videogame voice actors in the world (just check out his website), the significant time pressures mean that close, in-depth direction is not always possible. 'Often, there's a need to record a great number of lines, so to keep the session moving, once we've established the tone of the character we're performing, the director will silently direct us using the spreadsheet on the screen by simply moving the cursor down the page to indicate if he/she liked what we did. Or they'll make up a code, like typing an 'x' to ask us to give them another take.' It sounds, in effect, like a sort of acting battery farm, a grinding, dehumanizing production line of disembodied phrases, delivered for hours on end. Hardly conducive to Oscar-winning performances."
Study Finds That Video Games Hinder Learning In Young Boys 278
dcollins writes "Researchers at Denison University in Ohio have shown that giving PlayStations to young boys leads to slower progress in reading and writing skills. Quoting: 'The study is the first controlled trial to look at the effects of playing video games on learning in young boys. That is to say, the findings aren't based on survey data of kids' game habits, but instead on a specific group of children that were randomly assigned to receive a PlayStation or not ... Those with PlayStations also spent less time engaged in educational activities after school and showed less advancement in their reading and writing skills over time than the control group, according to tests taken by the kids. While the game-system owners didn't show significant behavioral problems, their teachers did report delays in learning academic skills, including writing and spelling.'"
An Early Look At Civilization V 286
c0mpliant writes "IGN and Gamespot have each released a preview of the recently announced and eagerly awaited Civilization V. Apart from the obvious new hexagon shape of tiles and improved graphics, the articles go on to outline some of the major changes in the game, such as updated AI, new 'flavors' to world leaders, and a potentially game-changing, one-unit-per-tile system. No more will the stack of doom come to your city's doorsteps. Some features which will not be returning are religion and espionage. The removal of these two have sparked a frenzy of discussion on fan-related forums."
Sweet, Sour, Salty, Bitter, Protein ... and Now Fat
210
ral writes "The human tongue can taste more than sweet, sour, salty, bitter and protein. Researchers have added fat to that list. Dr. Russell Keast, an exercise and nutrition sciences professor at Deakin University in Melbourne, told Slashfood, 'This makes logical sense. We have sweet to identify carbohydrate/sugars, and umami to identify protein/amino acids, so we could expect a taste to identify the other macronutrient: fat.' In the Deakin study, which appears in the latest issue of the British Journal of Nutrition, Dr. Keast and his team gave a group of 33 people fatty acids found in common foods, mixed in with nonfat milk to disguise the telltale fat texture. All 33 could detect the fatty acids to at least a small degree."
Comment Preparation for the real world. (Score 1) 664
Sorry guys, computerized learning is here to stay. Just because you've encountered an old problem in a new format (students being distracted) doesn't mean that 'technology is bad'!
Seriously, when these kids graduate they'll be using computers to take notes all day, no matter what sort of job they're doing. Heck, even mechanics take notes on their laptop pads of parts they need to order, diagrams, etc.
In the real world, people are going to have to learn how to deal with distraction as well, be it from the neighbors cubicle, or heaven forbid, the outside world actually intruding. This teacher is some kind of primadonna, upset about losing an audience he didn't have in the first place.
If you can't compete World of Warcraft or facebook, what does that say about you as a lecturer? What does this say about you as a student? Face it- throughout life you're always going to have some asshole frittering away his time while you do work, there's always going to be kids being distracting, and your boss is going to suck up an inordinate amount of time sending you stupid chain emails- learn to deal with it.
Nokia Targets Mobile Kinetic Energy Charging 65
justice4all writes "Nokia has filed a US patent for a phone charger that harvests kinetic energy. The technology has been used in laptops, PDAs, and GPS receivers, according to Nokia. Essentially, the mobile devices would be powered in part through the movements of their owners."
Microsoft Sends Flowers To Internet Explorer 6 Funeral 151
Several readers have written with a fun followup to yesterday's IE6 funeral. Apparently Microsoft, in a rare moment of self-jest, took the time to send flowers, condolences, and a promise to meet at MIX. The card reads: "Thanks for the good times IE6, see you all @ MIX when we show a little piece of IE Heaven. The Internet Explorer Team @ Microsoft."
Comment War against small... (Score 1) 149
I think all that China is doing is not employing bored script kiddies. From all accounts these hackers have no day jobs.
Our biggest online security threats come from people trying to trick folks into clicking links about viagra and SEE BRITTANY SPEARS NUDE!
