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Comment subjective list below, by genre and platform (Score 1) 382

by mr_mischief (#47779597) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: What Are the Best Games To Have In Your Collection?

These are in no particular order of preference, as I heavily prefer these to most other games. I'll try to put them in broad categories and mention the platform.

  • Megalomania - arcade style falling threat shooter - Atari 2600
  • Gauntlet - cooperative overhead maze runner - arcade (some home systems may suffice, but the arcade is the best)
  • Pitfall - side-scrolling platformer/runner - several, but 2600 is mine
  • Axis and Allies - WWII board game - board game, Avalon Hill then some other companies. There are decent computer implementations. The Hasbro PC version is good except the AI is weak.
  • chess - board game
  • Spades, Euchre, Oh Heck - trick-taking card games - get Hoyle and a deck of cards, really
  • Poker, especially Hold 'Em and Omaha - betting card games - get Hoyle and a deck of cards, really
  • Fallout, Fallout 2 - isometric overhead CRPG - DOS (1 only), Windows, Mac OS, OS X (1 only), OnLive (I've played only on DOS/Win)
  • Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas - first person (with camera changes to 3rd over-shoulder if you like) CRPG - Windows, PS3, Xbox 360
  • Half-Life, Team Fortress Classic - first-person shooters - Windows, Linux, OS X, PS2 (Half-Life only)
  • Half-Life 2 - first-person shooter - Windows, Xbox, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, OS X, Linux, NVIDIA Shield
  • Unreal Tournament or Unreal Tournament 2004 (take your pick) - first-person shooter - Dreamcast, Linux,
    Mac OS, Mac OS X, PlayStation 2, Windows
  • Trivial Pursuit - trivia board game - board game or one of many computer implementations
  • Asteroids - 2d space shooter with wrap-around threats from all direction - arcade, 2600, others
  • Super Mario Brothers - platform run and jump - NES
  • Bionic Commando - platform run, jump, swing, and shoot - NES
  • Genghis Khan - tile-based, turn-based strategy and tactics - NES, very playable on Wii virtual console version
  • Final Fantasy - multi-character sing;e-player RPG-like adventure - NES
  • Savage Worlds - pen and paper RPG - I've been playing RPGs for more than two decades, and this is my current personal favorite ruleset
  • Scorched Earth or some version of Worms - 2d power and angle turn-based artillery with weapons upgrades - various
  • Scorch3d - 3d reimagining of Scorched Earth - probably various, but I've played it on Linux
  • Starcraft - RTS - Windows
  • Total Annihilation - RTS - Windows
  • Spring - RTS - Linux, Windows (at least)
  • Supreme Commander - RTS - Windows
  • Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance - RTS - Windows
  • Nuclear Dawn - FPS with minor RTT/RTS aspects - Windows, Linux
  • Awesomenauts - 2d platform shooter - Linux, Windows, OS X
  • Risk - board game - board game with many computer interpretations
  • Boggle/Super Boggle - tabletop letter dice grid word-hunt game - special
  • Scrabble - crossword board game - board game, but lots of computer implementations
  • Castles 2 - castle building, defense, and siege game - DOS/Windows
  • Stronghold series - castle building and defense game - Windows
  • Apples to Apples - party card game
  • Cards Against Humanity - like Apples to Apples gone horribly inappropriate - lots of implementations since it's Creative Commons
  • Colonization or FreeCol - Civiliation-style expansion game in the settling of the new world - DOS (Col), multi (FreeCol)
  • Civilization series - complex simulation of competing civilizations - Windows (but check out FreeCiv
  • Alpha Centauri - Sid Meier's Civ series ... IN SPACE! - Windows (watch for another space-faring Civ title, Civ Beyond Earth)
  • Master of Orion series - simple interface, complex 4X games in space - DOS, Windows
  • Mortal Kombat series - 2d fighter - lots
  • Killer Instinct - 2d fighter - SNES (others? IDK)
  • Street Fighter series - 2d fighter - lots
  • Eternal Champions - 2d fighter - Genesis
  • Mechwarrior 4 - first-person mech combat - Windows
  • Armored Core - first-person mech combat - PS/2

Comment 24 CVE fixes in one language system release (Score 3, Interesting) 118

by mr_mischief (#47779017) Attached to: PHP 5.6.0 Released

Here are the lines matching for grep -P 'CVE-\d{4}-\d+':

Fixed bug #67390 (insecure temporary file use in the configure script). (CVE-2014-3981)
Fixed bug #66060 (Heap buffer over-read in DateInterval). (CVE-2013-6712)
Fixed bug #67716 (Segfault in cdf.c). (CVE-2014-3587)
Fixed bug #67705 (extensive backtracking in rule regular expression). (CVE-2014-3538)
Fixed bug #67327 (fileinfo: CDF infinite loop in nelements DoS). (CVE-2014-0238)
Fixed bug #67328 (fileinfo: fileinfo: numerous file_printf calls resulting in performance degradation). (CVE-2014-0237)
Fixed bug #67326 (fileinfo: cdf_read_short_sector insufficient boundary check). (CVE-2014-0207)
Fixed bug #67410 (fileinfo: mconvert incorrect handling of truncated pascal string size). (CVE-2014-3478)
Fixed bug #67411 (fileinfo: cdf_check_stream_offset insufficient boundary check). (CVE-2014-3479)
Fixed bug #67412 (fileinfo: cdf_count_chain insufficient boundary check). (CVE-2014-3480)
Fixed bug #67413 (fileinfo: cdf_read_property_info insufficient boundary check). (CVE-2014-3487)
Fixed bug #66731 (file: infinite recursion). (CVE-2014-1943)
Fixed bug #66820 (out-of-bounds memory access in fileinfo). (CVE-2014-2270)
Fixed bug #66946 (fileinfo: extensive backtracking in awk rule regular expression). (CVE-2013-7345)
Fixed bug #67060 (sapi/fpm: possible privilege escalation due to insecure default configuration). (CVE-2014-0185)
Fixed bug #67730 (Null byte injection possible with imagexxx functions). (CVE-2014-5120)
Fixed bug #66901 (php-gd 'c_color' NULL pointer dereference). (CVE-2014-2497)
Fixed bug #66356 (Heap Overflow Vulnerability in imagecrop()). (CVE-2013-7226)
Fixed bug #66815 (imagecrop(): insufficient fix for NULL defer). (CVE-2013-7327)
Fixed bug #67717 (segfault in dns_get_record). (CVE-2014-3597)
Fixed bug #67432 (Fix potential segfault in dns_get_record()). (CVE-2014-4049)
Fixed bug #67539 (ArrayIterator use-after-free due to object change during sorting). (CVE-2014-4698)
Fixed bug #67538 (SPL Iterators use-after-free). (CVE-2014-4670)
Fixed bug #67492 (unserialize() SPL ArrayObject / SPLObjectStorage Type Confusion). (CVE-2014-3515)

That's not the applications written in PHP, mind you. That's the language system.

Comment coordinated work (Score 5, Insightful) 146

by mr_mischief (#47778275) Attached to: The American Workday, By Profession

Lots of construction work is only safe to do when the crew is working together. You can't have people single-lifting things that require team lifting. You can't have a truck, pallet jack, front loader, paver, or crane operator running heavy equipment in confined areas without spotters and such. A roofer needs nails and shingles brought up to be efficient. Getting to lunch at the same time is good safety and good business. It's not just a union thing.
Crime

Anita Sarkeesian, Creator of "Tropes vs. Women," Driven From Home By Trolls 1262

Posted by timothy from the bad-childhoods-never-end dept.
Sonny Yatsen writes: Anita Sarkeesian, the creator of Tropes vs. Women — a video series exploring negative tropes and misogynistic depictions of women in video games — reports that she has been driven from her home after a series of extremely violent sexual threats made against her. Her videos have previously drawn criticism from many male gamers, often coupled with violent imagery or threats of violence. The Verge story linked has this to say: The threats against Sarkeesian have become a nasty backdrop to her entire project — and her life. If the trolls making them hoped for attention, they've gotten it. They've also inexorably linked criticism of her work, valid or not, with semi-delusional vigilantism, and arguably propelled Tropes vs. Women to its current level of visibility. If a major plank of your platform is that misogyny is a lie propagated by Sarkeesian and other "social justice warriors," it might help to not constantly prove it wrong.

Comment Cool? No. Common? Workhorse? Yes. (Score 1) 511

by mr_mischief (#47747727) Attached to: If Java Wasn't Cool 10 Years Ago, What About Now?

I doubt too many people think a cast iron pan is cool. Yet it can be used to bake, broil, fry, sauté, reduce, and more.

Is mergesort cool? Are linked lists and hash tables cool? They are common building blocks, but are very useful.

Is DRAM cool? Are x86_64 processors sexy?

Is the Honda Accord or the Toyota Camry "bitchin'"?

Are asphalt shingles as impressive as a slate roof?

When your job calls for a sturdy workhorse, you don't need a thoroughbred racehorse. You don't haul gravel in a Huracan. If your project calls for Java, or C++, or Fortran, Ada, or even for COBOL then you use what gets the job done. If it calls for rapid deployment from a small team, you might use Perl, Python, Ruby, Javascript, or even a shell script. If you need Erlang, Forth, Swift, some assembly language, or some Basic dialect due to platform, existing code, etc then you just suck it up and do that. If you have a chance to do greenfield development and can pick your language, pick anything that works.

If you're in a Java shop working on a Java project, you write and debug Java. Sometimes there's more than one right tool for the job, but you use the one everyone in your workshop has and can use.
Medicine

13-Year-Old Finds Fungus Deadly To AIDS Patients Growing On Trees 134

Posted by samzenpus from the nature-not-nurture dept.
An anonymous reader writes Researchers have pinpointed the environmental source of fungal infections that have been sickening HIV/AIDS patients in Southern California for decades. It literally grows on trees. The discovery is based on the science project of a 13-year-old girl, who spent the summer gathering soil and tree samples from areas around Los Angeles hardest hit by infections of the fungus named Cryptococcus gattii.
Power

Princeton Nuclear Fusion Reactor Will Run Again 147

Posted by samzenpus from the back-to-life dept.
mdsolar writes with good news for the National Spherical Torus Experiment. Tucked away from major roadways and nestled amid more than 80 acres of forest sits a massive warehouse-like building where inside, a device that can produce temperatures hotter than the sun has sat cold and quiet for more than two years. But the wait is almost over for the nuclear fusion reactor to get back up and running at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. "We're very excited and we're all anxious to turn that machine back on," said Adam Cohen, deputy director for operations at PPPL. The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) has been shut down since 2012 as it underwent a $94 million upgrade that will make it what officials say will be the most powerful fusion facility of its kind in the world. It is expected to be ready for operations in late winter or early spring, Cohen said.
Google

Finding an ISIS Training Camp Using Google Earth 134

Posted by Soulskill from the bet-you-wished-you'd-stuck-to-word-of-mouth dept.
An anonymous reader writes: Terrorist organization ISIS has been in the news a lot lately for their hostile activities in Iraq and Syria. They've also been very active online, posting propaganda and photos on various social networking sites to try to recruit more members. Frequently, they'll have pictures of themselves in nondescript locations — but even carefully selected images give clues to a real location. Citizen journalists at Bellingcat analyzed a group of these photos, comparing buildings and bridges in the background to images from Google Earth. With very little to go on, they were able to pinpoint the location of a terrorist training camp.
Crime

Feds: Red Light Camera Firm Paid For Chicago Official's Car, Condo 115

Posted by samzenpus from the red-light-red-light dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The former CEO of Redflex, a major red light camera vendor, and John Bills, former Managing Deputy Commissioner at the Department of Transportation, have been indicted on federal corruption charges stemming from a contract with the City of Chicago. According to the indictment, a friend of Bills was hired as a contractor and paid $2 million. Much of that money was then kicked back to Bills, who also got a Mercedes and a condominium via Redflex employees. The defendants are facing 23 counts including: mail fraud, wire fraud, and bribery. Each fraud count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years."

Comment Re:The drugs are terrible (Score 1) 200

by mr_mischief (#47681497) Attached to: Involuntary Eye Movement May Provide Definitive Diagnosis of ADHD

Not all ADHD folks are hyperactive. The "H" is common but not universal. Poor sleep can definitely cause a loss of ability to focus, though. It can also contribute to risk of stroke, heart attack, type 2 diabetes, and a lot of other problems. I wouldn't doubt that hyperactivity could be among those.
Government

The Billion-Dollar Website 194

Posted by Soulskill from the get-what-you-paid-for-minus-a-billion-dollars dept.
stoborrobots writes: The Government Accountability Office has investigated the cost blowouts associated with how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) handled the Healthcare.gov project. It has released a 60-page report entitled Healthcare.gov: Ineffective Planning and Oversight Practices Underscore the Need for Improved Contract Management, with a 5 page summary. The key takeaway messages are:
  • CMS undertook the development of Healthcare.gov and its related systems without effective planning or oversight practices...
  • [The task] was a complex effort with compressed time frames. To be expedient, CMS issued task orders ... when key technical requirements were unknown...
  • CMS identified major performance issues ... but took only limited steps to hold the contractor accountable.
  • CMS awarded a new contract to another firm [and the new contract's cost has doubled] due to changes such as new requirements and other enhancements...

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