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Submission + - Gabe Newell Understands Half-Life Fans, Not Promising Any Sequels

Submitted by jones_supa
jones_supa writes: Half-Life 3 is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated games in history. While Valve transitioned from the revolutionary series that brought the company most of its original success, to online games like Team Fortress, Dota and Left 4 Dead, people still desperately want to believe that there is more coming for Half-Life.

In a recent podcast interview he had with Geoff Keighley, Valve CEO Gabe Newell opens up the current situation a bit more: "I'm a fan of TV shows, I'm a fan of writers, I'm a fan of movies, I'm a fan of games and I certainly understand why people are like, you know, hey I remember this awesome experience and I'm starting to get worried that I'm never going to have it again. I am a fan of Terry Pratchett and he has Alzheimer's, it's like, Oh my god, I may never get another great Discworld novel. [...] We aren't going to go all retro because there are too many interesting things that have been learned. The only reason we would go back and do a 'super classic' kind of product is if a whole bunch of people internally at Valve said they wanted to do it, and had a reasonable explanation for why it was."

Submission + - Gates: More Agility Needed to Deal With Large Epidemics (nytimes.com) 1

Submitted by jones_supa
jones_supa writes: Of the recent Ebola crisis, Bill Gates says that this disease has awaken the world to the fact that we are not properly prepared to deal with a global epidemic. Even if we signed up lots of experts right away, few organizations are capable of moving thousands of people, some of them infected, to different locations on the globe, with a week's notice. Data is another crucial problem. During the Ebola epidemic, the database that tracks cases has not always been accurate. This is partly because the situation is chaotic, but also because much of the case reporting has been done first on paper. Then there's our failure to invest in effective medical tools like tests, drugs and vaccines. On average it has taken an estimated one to three days for test results to come back — an eternity when you need to quarantine people. Drugs that might help stop Ebola were not tested in patients until after the epidemic had peaked, partly because the world has no clear process for expediting drug approvals. Compare all of this to the preparation that nations put into defense, which has high-quality mobile units ready to be deployed quickly.

Comment Practicality (Score 1) 214

by jones_supa (#49282009) Attached to: The GNU Manifesto Turns Thirty

But they don't seem to do what you say, I observed; they all have iPhones. 'I don't understand that either,' he said. 'If they don't realize that they need to defend their freedom, soon they won't have any.'

Some of the most powerful communication tools of current times are things like a smartphone and Facebook. RMS is correct about the privacy risks, and actually the situation is getting worse every day. But at the same time those are very practical tools and you lose a lot if you just throw them away. This is the dilemma.

That being said, at some point I expect there be a larger movement where some people will just find all the datamining and advertising too much to bear, and will stop using those services. IoT embedded devices will eventually bring more privacy-intruding trash into our lives. Operating systems and applications are also phoning home more and more often.

Submission + - Microsoft Blacklists Fake Finnish Certificate

Submitted by jones_supa
jones_supa writes: Microsoft has issued a warning that a fraudulent SSL digital certificate has been issued in the name of a Finnish version of its Windows Live service. Although the company says it has revoked the certificate, security experts warn that older software may continue to "trust" the known bad certificate for months or even years, and that attackers could use it to trick users into running malware. "Microsoft is aware of an improperly issued SSL certificate for the domain 'live.fi' that could be used in attempts to spoof content, perform phishing attacks or perform man-in-the-middle attacks," Microsoft says in a March 16 security alert. "It cannot be used to issue other certificates, impersonate other domains or sign code. This issue affects all supported releases of Microsoft Windows. Microsoft is not currently aware of attacks related to this issue."

Comment Re:Passwords are insecure if you are stupid. (Score 1) 138

by jones_supa (#49280967) Attached to: Windows 10's Biometric Security Layer Introduced

You long passwords and the biometrics all will sucumb to the $5 wrench attack, or the five year incarceration threat by government goon

A security feature does not have to be perfect to still provide value. If you think about it, almost all security features have some weaknesses or ways to bypass them.

Submission + - Windows 10's Biometric Security Layer Introduced

Submitted by jones_supa
jones_supa writes: One of the major concepts of Windows 10 are new security ideas, and though Microsoft has touched on this topic before, it's only now giving us a more comprehensive look in the form of "Windows Hello". This is an authentication system that uses a variety of biometric signatures and combines hardware and software to allow for seamless and secure user recognition and sign-in. According to Microsoft, the ideal scenario here would be for you to simply look or touch a new device running Windows 10 and to be immediately signed up. The software analyzes input from such hardware as fingerprint scanners and infrared sensors to make sure that you are you and not some imposter, and then signs you in without requiring you to enter a password. But the point of Windows Hello isn't only convenience, as the company's blog post notes, but also security. We've heard time and time again how insecure passwords are, and Microsoft is aiming to offer a widely-deployed replacement while still delivering enterprise grade security and privacy.

Submission + - SimCity's Empire Has Fallen and Skylines Is Picking Up the Pieces (vice.com)

Submitted by sarahnaomi
sarahnaomi writes: Mariina Hallikainen, CEO of small Finnish game developer Colossal Order, is having a good day. When I call her, it's only been a few hours since she learned that Colossal Order's SimCity-like game, Cities: Skylines, has sold more than half a million copies in its first week. The first 250,000 of those were sold in the first 24 hours, making it the fastest-selling game its publisher Paradox Interactive has ever released.

The irony here doesn't escape Hallikainen. Only a week before Skylines was released, game publisher Electronic Arts announced that it was shutting down SimCity developer Maxis' studio in Emeryville, which it acquired in 1997.

"I feel so bad about Maxis closing down," Hallikainen said. "The older SimCitys were really the inspiration for us to even consider making a city builder."

At the same time, Hallikainen admits SimCity's mistakes were Colossal Order's opportunity. "If SimCity was a huge success, which is what we expected, I don't know if Skylines would have ever happened," she said, explaining that it would have been a harder pitch to sell to Paradox if the new SimCity dominated the market.

Submission + - Poll suggestion: The coolest power drill brand 1

Submitted by jones_supa
jones_supa writes: - Makita
— Black & Decker
— Hitachi
— DeWalt
— Milwaukee
— Hilti
— Bosch
— Ryobi
— Metabo
— Panasonic
— Dremel
— Acme
— Some random store brand
— Unlisted choice
— Manual tools all the way

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I'd rather just believe that it's done by little elves running around.

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