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Emulation (Games)

Submission + - JavaScript Gameboy emulator, detailed in 8 parts (imrannazar.com)

Submitted by Two9A
Two9A writes: JavaScript has shed its image of being a limited language, tied to DOM manipulation in a browser; in recent years, new engines and frameworks have given JS a reputation as a language capable of bigger things. Mix this in with the new elements of HTML 5, and you have the capacity to emulate a game console or other system, with full graphical output. This series of articles looks in detail at how an emulator is written in JavaScript, using the example of the Gameboy handheld: starting at the CPU, and (as of part 8) running a copy of Tetris.
Apple

Submission + - End of the Road for Apple's Xserve (automatica.com.au)

Submitted by
PhunkySchtuff
PhunkySchtuff writes: "Apple announced recently that they are killing the Xserve.
In their Transition Guide, they mention the replacement options of the Mac Pro or the Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server as replacement options. Neither are anything like a direct replacement — the Mac Pro is considerably larger and uses more power (largely due to the more powerful graphics card as a standard configuration) and the Mac mini is a small and energy efficient workgroup server that can't handle anywhere near the same workload.

In the past few years, Apple have been making inroads into larger enterprise businesses, largely thanks to the success of the iPhone and the ever-growing range of software available (for instance, Autodesk have recently committed themselves to the Mac platform) and now there's no longer going to be a real enterprise server offering."
Security

Major Security Holes Found In Mobile Bank Apps 107

Posted by Soulskill from the and-you-can-take-that-to-the-uh-nevermind dept.
NeverVotedBush writes with this excerpt from CNet: "A security firm disclosed holes today in mobile apps from Bank of America, USAA, Chase, Wells Fargo and TD Ameritrade, prompting a scramble by most of the companies to update the apps. ... Specifically, viaForensics concluded that: the USAA's Android app stored copies of Web pages a user visited on the phone; TD Ameritrade's iPhone and Android apps were storing the user name in plain text on the phone; Wells Fargo's Android app stored user name, password, and account data in plain text on the phone; Bank of America's Android app saves a security question (used if a user was accessing the site from an unrecognized device) in plain text on the phone; and Chase's iPhone app stores the username on a phone if the user chose that option, according to the report. Meanwhile, the iPhone apps from USAA, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Vanguard and PayPal's Android app all passed the security tests and were found to be handling data securely."

Submission + - Europe simulates total cyber war (bbc.co.uk)

Submitted by Tutter
Tutter writes: The first-ever cross-European simulation of an all out cyber attack was planned to test how well nations cope as the attacks slow connections.

The simulation steadily reduced access to critical services to gauge how nations react. The exercise also tested how nations work together to avoid a complete shut-down of international links. Neelie Kroes, European commissioner for the digital agenda, said the exercise was designed to test preparedness and was an "important first step towards working together to combat potential online threats to essential infrastructure". The exercise is intended to help expose short-comings in existing procedures for combating attacks. As the attacks escalated, cyber security centres had to find ever more ways to route traffic through to key services and sites. The exercise also tested if communication channels, set up to help spread the word about attacks, were robust in the face of a developing threat and if the information shared over them was relevant.

Submission + - Bringing Business Intelligence to the Masses (ecrmguide.com)

Submitted by storagedude
storagedude writes: Business intelligence for the masses has been talked about for at least 25 years yet appears to be no closer to reality today, as demand for greater complexity keeps BI software from achieving the goal of consumer-like ease of use. Among the ideas the author offers that could make BI for the masses a reality: adding exploratory data analysis to Google; and better hierarchical navigation and data integration for FileMaker.

From the article:

"Google is lousy at exploratory data analysis because it is 'data dumb' — it can find metadata and individual pieces of data, but it can't detect patterns in the data, so you have to do it yourself. ... The answer to this seems straightforward enough: add 'guess-type' data analysis capabilities to Google. And, by the way, if you're at work, make the first port of call your company's data warehouse data store, full of data you can't get anywhere else.
NASA

NASA's Stunning Close-Up Photos of Comet Hartley 2 62

Posted by Soulskill from the for-sufficiently-distant-values-of-close dept.
Several readers have sent word that NASA's EPOXI spacecraft performed a close approach to comet Hartley 2 yesterday, taking pictures within roughly 700km of the nucleus. Bad Astronomer Phil Plait has a collection of some fantastic photographs, and you can check out a ton of other images on the mission website. The Planetary Society blog put together a neat animation of the flyby. NASA's mission fact sheet (PDF) explains EPOXI's background — it's the supplemental mission of the Deep Impact craft that smashed a small probe into a different comet back in 2005 — and why Hartley 2 was chosen for this flyby (they couldn't find their original target).
Facebook

Submission + - Lamebook sues Facebook (tekgoblin.com)

Submitted by tekgoblin
tekgoblin writes: Well here is another lawsuit for ya. The small company called Lamebook is suing Facebook over trademark infringement. Supposedly Facebook has been threatening any website or company that has "book" in its name or sounds like Facebook. Instead of waiting for Facebook to sue them, Lamebook has taken the initiative and sued Facebook so the courts can expedite the decision.

Submission + - Downwind faster than the wind: Record set (makezine.com)

Submitted by Shawnconna
Shawnconna writes: Can a wind cart travel faster than the wind? A group of makers say Yes!, and Make: Online has published the first in a three-part series on the Blackbird wind cart that just set a record. This is a follow-up on a story in MAKE Volume 11 where Charles Platt built a cart based on a viral video where a guy claimed he'd built a wind-powered vehicle that could travel downwind faster than the windspeed. Charles built one and said it didn't work. Heated debates broke out in forums, on BB, and elsewhere on the Net. In the ensuing time, a number of people have built carts and claimed success, most principally, Rick Cavallaro. He got funding, from Google and JOBY, to build and test a human-piloted cart. They claim success, with multiple sensor systems on board, impartial judges and experts in attendance. The controversy continues. And the 3-part story starts today on Makezine.com.
Security

Submission + - Black Hat: new exploit techniques, Stuxnet insight (networkworld.com)

Submitted by alphadogg
alphadogg writes: The Black Hat security conference will kick off in Abu Dhabi on Monday with new information revealed about the Stuxnet malicious software program along with other cutting-edge research.

Tom Parker, director of security consulting services at Securicon, will be among the speakers at the conference, located for the first time in the United Arab Emirates. Parker has taken a deep look at Stuxnet, a piece of malicious software that caused widespread concern because it targeted Siemens SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems.

Stuxnet has generated a lot of hype and speculation, including whether it was created by some country's intelligence services as well as varying opinions on its sophistication, Parker said. Much of that speculation, Parker said, has been spawned by a problem facing the computer security community: How can certain malware be attributed to a specific person or group?

At Black Hat, Parker plans to release an open-source tool called "Blackaxon" that analyzes the programming styles of code. Just as authors of books have their own distinct styles and patterns, the same goes for malware authors. His analysis shows that probably at least five different people wrote parts of Stuxnet.

Submission + - Americans Less Healthy but Live Longer than Brits

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Older Americans are less healthy than their English counterparts, but they live as long or even longer than their English peers, according to a new study by researchers from the RAND Corporation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies in London. Researchers found that while Americans aged 55 to 64 have higher rates of chronic diseases than their peers in England, they died at about the same rate. And Americans age 65 and older — while still sicker than their English peers — had a lower death rate than similar people in England, according to findings published in the journal Demography.
Security

MS Adds Security Suite To Update Service, Antivirus Rival Objects 324

Posted by Soulskill from the shades-of-internet-explorer dept.
CWmike writes "Microsoft has started adding Security Essentials to the optional download list seen by US Windows users when they fire up the operating system's update service, and antivirus rivals are crying foul. 'Commercializing Windows Update to distribute other software applications raises significant questions about unfair competition,' Carol Carpenter, a GM at Trend Micro, said on Thursday. 'Windows Update is a de facto extension of Windows, so to begin delivering software tied to updates has us concerned,' she added. 'Windows Update is not a choice for users, and we believe it should not be used this way.' If Windows doesn't detect working security software on the PC, Microsoft adds Security Essentials to the Optional section of Microsoft Update, a superset of the better-known Windows Update, or to Windows Update if it has been configured to also draw downloads from Microsoft Update. Microsoft made a point to say that it was not offering the software via Windows Update, but only through the Microsoft Update service, which also offers patches for new versions of non-operating system software, notably Office and Windows Media Player. But most users won't understand the distinction."
Intel

Submission + - FTC Allows Intel Oak Trail Atom To Ship Sans PCIe (hothardware.com)

Submitted by
MojoKid
MojoKid writes: "When the Federal Trade Commission settled their investigation of Intel, one of the stipulations of the agreement was that Intel would continue to support the PCI Express standard for the next six years. Intel agreed to all the FTC's demands but Intel's upcoming Oak Trail Atom platform presented something of a conundrum. Oak Trail was finalized long before the FTC and Intel began negotiating, which means Santa Clara could've been banned from shipping the platform. However, the FTC and Intel have recently jointly announced an agreement covering Oak Trail that allows Intel to sell the platform without adding PCIe support — for now."

Submission + - 20 Open Films You Can Edit and Redistribute Freely (wordpress.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Open Source Movies, also called Open Content Movies or simply Open Movies are, as the name suggests, movies that enable the end user to view and edit the production materials. Philosophically speaking, Open Movies share the same notion that lies at the heart of open source softwares. However, they are not as popular as open source softwares. As a matter of fact, they are so rare that after a decade of their presence, there are roughly dozens of them available. Apparently, Free/Libre/Open source community, a community that is so proud of itself for producing quality alternatives to proprietary products has failed to realize the importance of open movie movement.

Feed Ars Technica: Combination of Bad Company 2 and Battlefield 2 comingfor free (arstechnica.com)

From feed by feedfeeder

EA is doubling down with its free-to-play strategy, this time with a brand-new Battlefield title that will be "a deep PC shooter featuring signature Battlefield vehicular warfare, sandbox gameplay and intense 32-player online battles."

This won't be any cartoony, casual-friendly game, however. "With its advanced graphics, polished production values, depth and realism, Battlefield Play4Free takes the genre to the next level and is positioned to compete with top console titles," EA announced. The game is coming in spring 2011, although you can now sign up for the closed beta.

Play4Free

The game will be an odd combination of past releases.

Combining the most popular maps from Battlefield 2 with the familiar classes and powerful weapons of Battlefield: Bad Company 2, players have access to 16 vehicles including the Mil Mi-28 attack helicopter, its nemesis the F35 VTOL jet fighter, the massive Russian T-90 main battle tank, and the hard to catch LSV light strike vehicle. Players progress through the game to learn new combat skills, and earn in-game currency to spend on a massive array of devastating weapons and equipment.

We know just about as much as you do at this point, and we think this sounds pretty cool. These games were great fun when they were released, and free is always a great price. The company needs to make money somehow, however, so expect a combination of aesthetic items and in-game buffs making a play for your wallet.

Before you get too excited... has any EA online game lauched without significant problems? Any Battlefield games in particular come out of the gate ready to go?

Read the comments on this post



Submission + - The Next Generation of Tablets (i4u.com)

Submitted by i4u
i4u writes: The first generation of tablets has been pretty thoroughly vetted. We have a handful of WP7 devices, a small avalanche of Android slates and the whispered promises of a webOS tablet in Q1 2011. MeeGo tablets could also end up making a splash in the world market.

So what can we expect from the Second Wave of slate-style computers?
Qualcomm says that "over ten" companies have dual-core Snapdragon tablets in development. Those are likely to show up at CES 2011. January is also expected to bring a rush of new LTE tablets, mostly on Verizon. Samsung expects to see 7" AMOLED tablets hit in 2011. Color E-Ink is expected to arrive before the end of 2010. This will open up the field for a whole new sort of low-cost tablet in 2011.
Will any of the 2nd generation Tablets be able to challenge the iPad and the iPad 2G?

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