Is LGP Going the Way of Loki Software? 124

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday June 23, 2010 @01:04AM from the bad-news-bears dept.

An anonymous reader writes "After the demise of Loki Software, Linux Game Publishing sprouted up in its place, and for the past nine years has ported a number of games to Linux. But LGP may now be sharing the same fate as Loki. Linux Game Publishing hasn't updated its blog or news pages in months, has stopped responding to e-mails, and its only active ports are games they began work on in 2002/2003."

A Brief History of Social Games 33

Posted by Soulskill on Monday May 24, 2010 @04:22PM from the i-poke-you-with-tim dept.

Tarinth writes "Social games (such as FarmVille, etc.) are hardly new, because games have been part of recorded history for thousands of years. An infographic has integrated many of the key games from history (starting with Egypt's Senet game from 3100 BC), showing major milestones along the way, such as play-by-mail, Dungeons and Dragons, and Magic: the Gathering. Today's cultural phenomenon of social games, which might better be better called 'social network games,' is the confluence of several trends ranging from asynchronous gameplay, social play, and virtual economies — all of which are shown within the infographic."

Why Overheard Cell Phone Chats Are Annoying 344

Posted by timothy on Thursday May 20, 2010 @06:26PM from the they-drown-out-the-bark-of-my-gun dept.

__roo writes "American researchers think they have found the answer to the question of why overhearing cell phone chats are annoying. According to scientists at Cornell University, when only half of the conversation is overheard, it drains more attention and concentration than when overhearing two people talking. According to one researcher, 'We have less control to move away our attention from half a conversation (or halfalogue) than when listening to a dialogue. Since halfalogues really are more distracting and you can't tune them out, this could explain why people are irritated.' Their study will be published in the journal Psychological Science."

Open Source Developer Knighted 101

Posted by samzenpus on Sunday May 02, 2010 @06:02PM from the knights-who-say-free dept.

unixfan writes "Georg Greve, developer of Open Document Format and active FOSS developer, has received a knighthood in Germany for his work. From the article: 'Some weeks ago I received news that the embassy in Berne had unsuccessfully been trying to contact me under FSFE's old office address in Zurich. This was a bit odd and unexpected. So you can probably understand my surprise to be told by the embassy upon contacting them that on 18 December 2009 I had been awarded the Cross of Merit on ribbon (Verdienstkreuz am Bande) by the Federal Republic of Germany. As you might expect, my first reaction was one of disbelief. I was, in fact, rather shaken. You could also say shocked. Quick Wikipedia research revealed this to be part of the orders of knighthood, making this a Knight's Cross.'"

Aussie Scientists Find Coconut-Carrying Octopus 205

Posted by timothy on Tuesday December 15, 2009 @02:40PM from the concealed-carry-in-australian-waters dept.

An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from an AP report: "Australian scientists have discovered an octopus in Indonesia that collects coconut shells for shelter — unusually sophisticated behavior that the researchers believe is the first evidence of tool use in an invertebrate animal. The scientists filmed the veined octopus, Amphioctopus marginatus, selecting halved coconut shells from the sea floor, emptying them out, carrying them under their bodies up to 65 feet (20 meters), and assembling two shells together to make a spherical hiding spot. ... 'I was gobsmacked,' said Finn, a research biologist at the museum who specializes in cephalopods. 'I mean, I've seen a lot of octopuses hiding in shells, but I've never seen one that grabs it up and jogs across the sea floor. I was trying hard not to laugh.'"

Comment Targeted at the wrong market? (Score 1) 287

by Seriph on Monday September 28, 2009 @04:46PM (#29571949) Attached to: First Look At Wild New "Level 10" Concept PC Case

OK I'm one of the saps that are able and willing to lay down $700 (well actually about 500 UKP) for an interestingly designed computer case as long as it's functional and well built. The only problem is that this one's looks just don't appeal to me in the way that something like the Mac Pro cases do.

London Stock Exchange To Abandon Windows 438

Posted by timothy on Friday July 03, 2009 @09:24AM from the don't-weld-shut-the-doors-then dept.

BBCWatcher writes "Computerworld's Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols reports that the London Stock Exchange is abandoning its Microsoft Windows-based trading platform: 'Anyone who was ever fool enough to believe that Microsoft software was good enough to be used for a mission-critical operation had their face slapped this September when the LSE's Windows-based TradElect system brought the market to a standstill for almost an entire day .... Sources at the LSE tell me to this day that the problem was with TradElect ...'"

Comment Counting sheep (Score 1) 599

by Seriph on Wednesday February 25, 2009 @11:10AM (#26981901) Attached to: I Count In

Well whilst not actually counting in sheep, that option brought to mind this piece of nonsense which used to be used not a million miles away from where I'm based.

Comment Not released? (Score 5, Informative) 235

by Seriph on Monday January 19, 2009 @06:03AM (#26514111) Attached to: Gaming Netflix Ratings?

Maybe not released yet in the US, but there is a world beyond the US borders and the film has been released places there. It's actually quite a good film based on an interesting idea.