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The Almighty Buck

Publishers Detail Specific In-Game Ad Plans For Future Games 104

Posted by Soulskill from the just-what-i-never-wanted dept.
MTV's Multiplayer Blog recaps a recent event held by Massive Inc., a subsidiary of Microsoft, during which game publishers put forth specific ideas on what types of in-game advertising players will and won't be seeing in the near future. The examples varied in how interactive and intrusive they were, from name-brand bottled water power-ups to destructible virtual billboards to taking advantage of sports game locker rooms for product placement. They did claim they would restrain themselves from blatant advertisements that would ruin immersion in fantasy games. Blizzard partnered with Massive to bring ads to Battle.net, but don't expect to see ads in the associated games.
Power

Submission + - SPAM: Towards low-cost LED lighting

Submitted by
Roland Piquepaille
Roland Piquepaille writes: "You all know that incandescent bulbs are pretty inefficient, converting only 10% of electricity into light — and 90% into heat. Light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, could soon replace incandescent and compact fluorescent bulbs in our homes. They are more efficient and environmentally friendly. But LED lights are currently too expensive because they are using a sapphire-based technology. Now, Purdue University researchers have found a way to build low-cost and bright LEDs for home lighting. According to the researchers, the LED lights now on the market cost about $100 while LED lights based on their new technology could be commercially available within a couple of years for a cost of about $5. It would also help to cut our electricity bill by about 10%, but read more for additional references and an overview of this promising research work."
Space

Submission + - SPAM: Spacecraft shoots for the Sun

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "The European Space Agency and NASA joint spacecraft Ulysses will this week fly by the Sun taking pictures of its North Pole and looking to address some major scientific mysteries. Launched in Oct. 1990 from the space shuttle Discovery, Ulysses has flown over the sun's poles three times before in 1994-95, 2000-01 and 2007. Each flyby revealed something interesting and mysterious, but this one may be most interesting of all. For example, previous flybys registered the temperature of the Sun's poles. In the previous solar cycle, the magnetic North Pole was about 80,000 degrees or 8% cooler than the south. Why should there be a difference? No one knows. [spam URL stripped]"
Link to Original Source
Google

Submission + - SPAM: Study: Google Android's big issues, tight deadline

Submitted by alphadogg-nw
alphadogg-nw writes: A new study says Google faces some big problems in making its Android handset software stack a success.Some are basic but essential, like enlisting the enthusiasm of, and supporting, Linux mobile developers. Others are more systemic, like coming up with a viable model to compensate content developers, and convincing wireless network operators to share revenues with these developers. And Google's time is limited, according to the study. "If Google fails [to win Linux developer backing] by mid-2008, Android will never achieve the critical mass necessary to compete with Windows Mobile and Symbian" platforms, the report concludes.
Link to Original Source
Security

Submission + - PI License May Be Required for Computer Forensics (baselinemag.com)

Submitted by
buzzardsbay
buzzardsbay writes: "The good folks over at Baseline Magazine have an intriguing — and worrisome — report on a movement to limit computer forensics work to those who have Private Investigators' licenses or those who work for licensed PI agencies. According to the story, pending legislation would limit the specialized task of probing deep into computer hard drives, network and server logs for telltale signs of hacking and data theft in the hands of the same people who advertise in the Yellow Pages for surveillance on cheating spouses, workers' compensation fraud and missing persons. Those caught practicing computer forensics without a license could face criminal prosecution, the story adds."
Google

Submission + - Google Algorithm to Search Out Hospital Superbugs 1

Submitted by
Googling Yourself
Googling Yourself writes: "Researchers in the UK plan to use Google's PageRank algorithm to find how super-bugs like MRSA spread in a hospital setting. Previous studies have discovered how particular objects, like doctors' neckties, can harbor infection, but little is known about the network routes by which bugs spread. Mathematician Simon Shepherd plans to build a matrix describing all interactions between people and objects in a hospital ward, based on observing normal daily activity. "Obviously nurses move among patients and that can spread infection, but they also touch light switches and lots of other surfaces too," says Shepard., "If you observe a network of all those interactions you can build a matrix of which nodes in the network are in contact with which other nodes." Combining that information with the strength of different interactions within a ward makes it possible to calculate which ties to cut — by, perhaps, tougher cleaning — to maximally disrupt the network and cut infections. "Ultimately, we would like to produce a software tool so managers of wards can carry out the analysis for themselves," says Shepherd."
Linux Business

Submission + - Is Apple Killing Linux on the Desktop 1

Submitted by
Domains May Disappear
Domains May Disappear writes: "Chris Howard has an interesting commentary at Apple Matters on recent trends in OS market share that says that while OS X has seen continual growth, from 4.21% in Jan 2006 to 7.31% in December 2007 at the same time, Linux's percentage has risen from only 0.29% to 0.63%. The reasons? "Apple has Microsoft Office, Linux doesn't; Apple has Adobe Creative Suite, Linux doesn't; Apple has easily accessed and easy to use service and support, Linux doesn't; Apple is driven by someone who has some understanding of end-user needs, Linux is not," says Howard. "Early in the decade it seemed that if you wanted a Windows alternative, Linux was it. Nowadays, an Apple Mac is undoubtedly the alternative and, with its resurgence and its Intel base, a very viable one.""
Education

Submission + - UK scientists down-shift to second-rate research (blogspot.com)

Submitted by
Bruce G Charlton
Bruce G Charlton writes: "People sometime say that UK science is thriving, at other times that it has declined. But both assertions are true, because the UK is thriving with respect to the volume of 'normal' science production but at the same time declining in the highest level of 'revolutionary' science. Revolutionary science may be distinguished from normal science in that revolutionary science aims at generating qualitative advances which change the direction of established science, while 'normal' science aims at incremental progress extrapolating from established science. Normal science was measured using the total volume of scientific publications and citations at both national and institutional levels. By these criteria the UK has been progressively catching-up with the USA in terms of normal science since the 1990s. Revolutionary science was measured by counting national numbers of science Nobel laureates and Web of Science Highly Cited (HiCi) scientists. The UK has declined in revolutionary science over recent decades by significant brain drain of future Nobel laureates and HiCi scientists, and a sharply-reduced success at winning science Nobel prizes. We believe this pattern may reflect a strategic 'down-shift' of the best UK-resident scientists away from risky but important revolutionary science, and towards less-ambitious normal science that is more reliably productive over the short-term. http://medicalhypotheses.blogspot.com/2008/01/uk-scientists-down-shift-to-second-rate_04.html Charlton BG, Andras P. 'Down-shifting' among top UK scientists? — The decline of 'revolutionary science' and the rise of 'normal science' in the UK compared with the USA. Medical Hypotheses, in the press — doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2007.12.004"
Movies

Submission + - Review of Robert Zemeckis' Beowulf (sffmedia.com) 1

Submitted by
svolsung
svolsung writes: "In depth review of Zemeckis' movie that considers the significance of changes to the Old English poem introduced by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avery. Interesting take on the reworking of the role of Grendel's mother and the introduction of a more liberal and Judeo-Christian ethic."
Linux Business

Submission + - Research on free/open source development practices (thetuxproject.com)

Submitted by zbog
zbog writes: Is there an organisation dealing with research and improvement of free/open source development practices?
In my opinion such organisation could deal with things ranging from how to set up a site for a free/open source project to how to improve usability of the software. I remember someone was doing this kind of work, just that I forgot their name.
I have some ideas to improve software development in my mind, but it's hard to put them to practice, so I'm looking for someone to help me with this. For example: Linux, Firefox use case stories, adding tooltips to every button on the user interface.

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