Comment: Re:what will happen: (Score 1) 1105
This is the single best post I have ever read on this site.
Minecraft Reaches Beta Status, Price Goes Up 279
Posted
by
Soulskill
from the another-notch-in-the-belt dept.
from the another-notch-in-the-belt dept.
Eric writes "After over a year of development, Minecraft has hit Beta status today. Minecraft was developed for about a week before its public release on May 17, 2009. With the new milestone, the price of the game has increased to €14.95; when Minecraft moves beyond beta status, it will sell for €20.00. The beta is more focused on polish and content. The aim is to add proper modding support via a stable API, some kind of non-intrusive narrative to help drive the game experience early on, and a late-game goal. Updates will be less frequent, so as to make sure stability is maintained thanks to more extended testing. Despite this, there have already been two beta releases: client and server Beta 1.0 followed quickly by client 1.0_01."
Infinity Ward Fights Against Modern Warfare 2 Cheaters 203
Posted
by
Soulskill
from the be-careful-they-cheat dept.
from the be-careful-they-cheat dept.
Faithbleed writes "IW's Robert Bowling reports on his twitter account that Infinity Ward is giving 2,500 Modern Warfare 2 cheaters the boot. The news comes as the war between IW and MW2's fans rages over the decision to go with IWnet hosting instead of dedicated servers. Unhappy players were quick to come up with hacks that would allow their own servers and various other changes."
Despite the dedicated-server complaints, Modern Warfare 2 has sold ridiculously well.
Freelance coding as a primary career
Submitted
by
An anonymous reader writes "I'm a full-time student with a full-time development position. I'm considering asking for a part-time position to focus more on my schooling, but don't expect that request will be met with much excitement. As an alternative I've been considering doing freelance development work through Rentacoder, eLance, or some other site to pay the bills while I finish my degree. What are your experiences with these sites? Which would recommend, and why?"
Wired: Russia's Bomber Force Resumes Long-Range Patrolling->
From feed
by
wiredfeed
Russia's strategic bombers have not ranged far from home since the collapse of the Soviet Union. But Vladimir Putin orders the resumption of long-range missions, mostly to give the American flyboys something to think about.
Link to Original Source
Link to Original Source
Best MP3(-only) player? 1
Submitted
by
An anonymous reader writes "I'm in the market for a new MP3 player. I won't be using it to look at photos or watch tv, but I would like it to work natively with linux. I don't really care for the iPod or the Zune. The market seems flooded with cheap mp3-only players, but I am suspicious of their quality. What do you think is the best mp3-only player?"
Sony Sued for Blu-Ray Patent Violation 153
Posted
by
Zonk
from the how-shiny-is-too-shiny dept.
from the how-shiny-is-too-shiny dept.
Jaidan writes "According to a Gamespot article, a California-based company named Target Technology is suing Sony over patents it allegedly holds for silver based reflective surfaces. The suit claims that products marketed under the Blu-ray name infringe on a patent it owns for reflective layer materials in optical discs. Target is seeking a permanent injunction preventing Sony from violating its patent rights in the future, as well as damages with interest, multiplied due to what it characterizes as deliberate and willful infringement. ' The patent addresses what Target called a need for specific types of silver-based alloys with the advantages (but not the price) of gold. According to the patent, the alloys are also more resistant to corrosion than pure silver. Target does not specify in its suit whether it believes all of Sony's Blu-ray discs infringe on its patent, or the suit applies to just a portion of the discs manufactured. The patent was filed in April of 2004 and granted in March of 2006.'"
North Korea's Secret Biochemical Arsenal 321
Posted
by
Zonk
from the i'd-keep-an-eye-on-that dept.
from the i'd-keep-an-eye-on-that dept.
mattnyc99 writes "Popular Mechanics has an in-depth report on North Korea's biological and chemical weapons stock, which has been developed in secret and has gone largely unnoticed amidst the country's nuke threat. From the article: 'North Korea's Chemical and Bioweapons (CBW) program appears to be modeled on that of the former Soviet Union, which covertly constructed a massive biological weapons infrastructure within the shell of a civilian research organization called Biopreparat. Inside Biopreparat, the Soviets developed deadly agents that included weaponized forms of anthrax and pneumonic plague. Intelligence reports from the United States and South Korea list anthrax, smallpox, pneumonic plague, cholera and botulism toxins as leading components of North Korea's bioweapons projects.' "
iPod Generation Indifferent to Space Exploration 526
Posted
by
Zonk
from the in-space-no-one-can-hear-your-ringtones dept.
from the in-space-no-one-can-hear-your-ringtones dept.
An anonymous reader writes "CNN tells us that today's young adults are no longer excited at the possibility of space exploration: 'The 2004 and 2006 surveys by Dittmar Associates Inc. revealed high levels of indifference among 18- to 25-year-olds toward manned trips to the moon and Mars. The space shuttle program is slated to end in 2010 after construction of the international space station is completed with 13 more shuttle flights. The recent 13-day mission by Discovery's seven astronauts was part of that long-running construction job.' As a result, NASA's budget will include a greater amount of public relations spending. We'll have to wait for Netcraft to confirm that NASA is dying."
Millimeter-Wave Weapon Certified For Use In Iraq 806
Posted
by
kdawson
from the bang-you're-hot dept.
from the bang-you're-hot dept.
jdray writes "Wired has a story on the certification of the Active Denial System for use in Iraq. The ADS is a millimeter-wave weapon that uses a reportedly non-lethal energy beam to inflict short-term pain on its targets, encouraging them to leave an area. Experimenters call this the 'Goodbye effect.' I can see using this in a wartime situation, but how long before we see these things mounted to the top of S.W.A.T. vans for domestic crowd control? And, is that a bad idea?" From the article: The ADS shoots a beam of millimeters waves, which are longer in wavelength than x-rays but shorter than microwaves — 94 GHz (= 3 mm wavelength) compared to 2.45 GHz (= 12 cm wavelength) in a standard microwave oven... while subjects may feel like they have sustained serious burns, the documents claim effects are not long-lasting. At most, 'some volunteers who tolerate the heat may experience prolonged redness or even small blisters'... There has been no independent checking of the military's claims." Wired use Freedom of Information Act requests to obtain documents on the military's testing program.
Comment: How about.. (Score 5, Insightful) 415
..the printing press? I'm pretty sure most of this list couldn't exist without the proliferation of knowledge this allowed.