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Graphics

Wolfenstein Gets Ray Traced 184

An anonymous reader writes "After showcasing Quake Wars: Ray Traced a few years ago, Intel is now showing their latest graphics research project using Wolfenstein game content. The new and cool special effects are actually displayed on a laptop using a cloud-based gaming approach with servers that have an Intel Knights Ferry card (many-core) inside. Their blog post has a video and screenshots."

Comment Why let facts get in the way of a good smearjob? (Score 5, Informative) 437

I'm the Boing Boing editor who posted the image that the OP claims violated the Creative Commons license.

Read the OP closely: he's not saying that it was *his* image I took -- rather, that he was affronted on behalf of the photographer.

Except that the photographer in this case is my friend and colleague Jennifer Trant, and I used the photo with her permission, and then reproduced the entire CC license so that other people would know what terms they could use it on.

So, anonymous poster: how about the next time you decide to smear someone for infringing Creative Commons in the name of defending someone's copyrights, you actually make sure that the creator hasn't authorized the use?

Math

First Self-Replicating Creature Spawned In Conway's Game of Life 241

Calopteryx writes "New Scientist has a story on a self-replicating entity which inhabits the mathematical universe known as the Game of Life. 'Dubbed Gemini, [Andrew Wade's] creature is made of two sets of identical structures, which sit at either end of the instruction tape. Each is a fraction of the size of the tape's length but, made up of two constructor arms and one "destructor," play a key role. Gemini's initial state contains three of these structures, plus a fourth that is incomplete. As the simulation progresses the incomplete structure begins to grow, while the structure at the start of the tape is demolished. The original Gemini continues to disassemble as the new one emerges, until after nearly 34 million generations, new life is born.'"
PlayStation (Games)

US Air Force To Suffer From PS3 Update 349

tlhIngan writes "The US Air Force, having purchased PS3s for supercomputing research, is now the latest victim of Sony's removal of the Install Other OS feature. It turns out that while their PS3s don't need the firmware update, it will be impossible to replace PS3s that fail. PS3s with the Other OS feature are no longer produced since the Slim was introduced, so replacements will have to come from the existing stock of used PS3s. However, as most gamers have probably updated their PS3s, that used stock is no longer suitable for the USAF's research. In addition, smaller educational clusters using PS3s will share the same fate — unable to replace machines that die in their clusters." In related news, Sony has been hit with two more lawsuits over this issue.
Image

How Nintendo's Mario Got His Name 103

harrymcc writes "In 1981, tiny Nintendo of America was getting ready to release Donkey Kong. When the company's landlord, Mario Segale, demanded back rent, Nintendo staffers named the game's barrel-jumping protagonist after him. Almost thirty years later, neither Nintendo — which continues to crank out Mario games — nor Segale — now a wealthy, secretive Washington State real estate developer — like to talk about how one of video games' iconic characters got his name and Italian heritage. Technologizer's Benj Edwards has researched the story for years and provides the most detailed account to date."

Submission + - Secret UK plan to appoint "Pirate Finder General"

mouthbeef writes: "A source very close to the UK Labour government just called me to leak the fact that Secretary of State Lord Mandelson is trying to sneak a revision into the Digital Economy Bill that would give him and his successors the power to create future copyright law without debate. Mandelson goes on to explain what he wants this for: so he can create private copyright militias with investigatory and enforcement powers, and so that he can create new copyright punishments as he sees fit (e.g., jail time, three strikes)."

Comment Re:The bottom line is parent's don't care (Score 1) 126

"Parents that truly care take the time to look at the back of the box"

Where does this time come from? We can say the same thing about umpteen hundred billion things parents *should do* where does that leave time for parents to have a personal life?

There are several things wrong with this:

1. If they have the time to complain to congress, perhaps they could have used that free block of time to check the back of the box.

2. Parents pay plenty of attention to the ratings of movies and TV. Checking the back of the box takes about the same amount of time. In fact, since movies and TV, at $0-$10, are purchased far more frequently than $60 games, checking the game ratings would take considerably less time overall.

3. Media is often lumped together in one category. If parents pay attention to "explicit lyrics" on CDs and R-ratings on movies, it's easy to understand that games fall into roughly the same category and therefore should also be checked for a rating. This simple association helps parents understand the need to check in a very short time.

4. Unlike the confusing instructions that it takes to operate the game consoles themselves, and unlike the pain in the ass it is to set up the V-chip, looking at the back of the game box is a breeze, and therefore is far less time consuming. Since the ratings are briefly explained on each box, there is very little extra effort necessary to get accustomed to understand the ratings.

Simply put, parents should have a blanket policy of giving a brief inspection to any media their kids will be accessing in the house. If you believe you would be a bad parent if you let our 10-year old kids watch Pulp-fiction or Fight Club, and you take the time to keep these away from your children, then you would be just as bad of a parent to not look at the back of the box and decide Grand Theft Auto or Manhunt, is just not right for little Billy. If you're too busy to do this simple thing then perhaps you should reconsider having children at all. Or maybe just decide that it's ok for Billy to do anything he damn well wants.
Music

Copyright Cutback Proposed As RIAA Solution 709

An anonymous reader writes "InfoWeek blogger Alex Wolfe proposes a novel solution to the ongoing spate of RIAA lawsuits over alleged music copying. He suggests legislation which cuts back corporate copyrights from 120 years to 5 years. 'We should do what we do to children who misbehave,' he writes. 'Take away their privileges.' Wolfe says this is regardless of the misunderstanding surrounding the latest case, which apparently isn't about ripping CDs to one's own computer. As to those who say copyrights are a right: "That's simply a misunderstanding of their purpose. Copyrights, like patents, weren't implemented to protect their owners in perpetuity. They are part of a dance which attempts to balance off societal benefits against incentives for writers and inventors. You want to incentivize people to push the state of the creative and technical arts, but you don't want give those folks such overbearing protections that future advances by other innovators are stifled." What do you think; is it time to cut off the record industry?"
Microsoft

Office 2003 Service Pack Disables Older File Formats 555

time961 writes "In Service Pack 3 for Office 2003, Microsoft disabled support for many older file formats. If you have old Word, Excel, 1-2-3, Quattro, or Corel Draw documents, watch out! They did this because the old formats are 'less secure', which actually makes some sense, but only if you got the files from some untrustworthy source. Naturally, they did this by default, and then documented a mind-bogglingly complex workaround (KB 938810) rather than providing a user interface for adjusting it, or even a set of awkward 'Do you really want to do this?' dialog boxes to click through. And of course because these are, after all, old file formats ... many users will encounter the problem only months or years after the software change, while groping around in dusty and now-inaccessible archives."
The Internet

US Spy Agencies See Bloggers as Journalists 77

Sniper223 writes with a link to ABC's Blotter blog. That site observes that at least in the realm of US intelligence gathering, the 'are bloggers journalists' question is already decided. "Despite the rap that bloggers simply 'bloviate' and 'don't try to find things out,' as conservative newspaper columnist Robert Novak once sniffed, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency (NSA) have altered policies to indicate they're taking blogs seriously, and a growing number of public offices are actively reaching out to the blogosphere. The CIA recently updated its policies on Freedom of Information Act requests to allow bloggers to qualify for special treatment once reserved for old-school reporters. And last August, the NSA issued a directive to its employees to report leaks of classified information to the media — "including blogs," the order said."
Movies

Jack Valenti, Dead at 85 650

saforrest writes "Jack Valenti, a man whose influence in both Washington and Hollywood was profound, died today at age 85. He first became famous as special assistant to Lyndon Johnson: he can even be seen in the famous photo aboard Air Force One. In 1966, he quit this job to become president of the MPAA, from 1966 to 2004."
Space

The Hundred Million Mile Pipe Organ 76

jd writes "Scientists have announced that the gigantic coils of plasma in the solar atmosphere, known as coronal loops, actually carry sound waves much like a pipe organ. Micro-flares on the surface of the sun create powerful blasts of charged particles, which are then guided through the coronal loops, creating the standing waves. Sheffield University is hosting movies and audio recordings of the sun's performance."

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