citizen_bongo writes: "A great story by MSNBC about classic gaming and the people that keep playing them (I do too, I admit). It also talks about 'Video Game Player of the Century' Bobby Mitchell, who scored 3,333,360 points in Pac Man. I can still play Super Mario Brothers, but I have trouble playing Starcraft for 10 minutes without getting bored. The classic games always have had something that modern games seem to lack, and that's simplicity and fun." I still love the classics, I even own a few. The games are still great, and it's a fun hobby, too.

projection asks: "The media has started its feeding frenzy over RealMyst. However, a few people have pioneered this type of game and one company (Looking Glass) has shut its doors. Maybe now is the time to remember their lessons before we all get lost in marketing hype. That way, we'll get better games in this new genre instead of the same thing over again. (n.b. I'm vaguely classifying this genre as RT3D, non or minimum violence, where gameplay is primarily puzzles/exploration). What would make a real time 3D mystery game that's a big advance on what's out there (avoiding the classic better graphics is all we need trap)? What would make games like these more fun?" I've always been a fan of such games, but have been disheartedned because most of the current crop of 3D games are either strategy-based or shooters. With Looking Glass gone, who will be the company to come along and fill this void in the gaming industry?

back@slash writes: "According to this Canoe article, Soldier of Fortune has come under the same restrictions as adult movies in British Columbia because of the realistic violence. This means you have to be 18 or over to rent the game. This is done of course in the 'best interests of the public' because if big brother isn't looking after us, civilization will cease to exist. Or something." RollingThunder points out the Vancouver Sun story which has more detail. My own analysis follows.

For years, the GNU Public License -- the copyleft which Linux has flourished under -- has lived a life that is close to charmed. Talk has surfaced of a possible upcoming court challenge to the GPL, but author Peter Wayner looks here slightly further into the future, speculating on what changes might preserve the GPL against other marketplace challenges as well. Richard M. Stallman has doubtless been wrestling with the issues presented here since before he released the GPL at all; I hope that Wayner's thoughts will raise discussion that will strengthen the GPL as it evolves.

Diablo 2 arrived at Babbages today. CowboyNeal picked up our copies this morning. I'm a level 10 Sorceress named CmdrTaco, so if you see me, give me cool amulets or something. They pre-ordered 1.5 million copies... 1.5 million sick days are expected to be called in tomorrow as 1.5 million users sit and home and swear that Blizzard's servers keep crashing. So far its been a lot of fun (excluding the stability problems: we were about to open the door to the boss that concludes act I when the servers melted down hard core). Update: 06/30 01:11 PM by CT : Pater & I are hanging out by the rogue encampment waypoint in a game named 'Slashdot' on USEast. We're just idling, but feel free to deposit tips at our feet so that we can be more 31337 ;) We beat Act I already: this is a damn addictive game.

Make no mistake. Andy Hertzfeld, Eazel developer and Macintosh forefather, is an Open Source zealot. Forged in the fires of Steve Jobs and Bandley 3, Andy's leading the team to build a kinder, gentler interface for our favorite operating system. I got the opportunity to speak to Andy last week, and I learned a lot about the challenges and victories of thinking different with Linux.

Linux is always a little bigger than you think. Every day, people are working on porting Linux to new platforms to achieve more with what they have. In the case of LinuxPPC and Terra Soft Solutions, they're working with community spirit and the PowerPC architecture to create insanely great solutions with a touch of Tux.

Professor Pollack put a lot of time and thought into answering your questions, and it shows. What follows is a "deeper than we expected" series of comments about Artificial Intelligence and intellectual property distribution from one of the acknowledged leaders in both fields.

2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the kings of science fiction movies, and widely regarded as one of Stanley Kubrick ^[?] 's best films. With the recent anniversary of the movie has come a spate of 2001 retrospectives. rombuu has reviewed one such work, titled The Making Of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The book is written in team format: Selections by Stephanie Schwam; Series Edited by Martin Scorsese; Introduction by Jay Cocks.

Last week we got a bunch of questions for Deb Richardson, leader of the Open Source Writers Group. These are her answers. Please don't forget as you read: OSWG needs volunteers, and this is a great way to participate in Open Source development if you're handier at writing and editing words than code.

Jean-loup is the kind of person I love to see us interview here. He's important in the sense that work he's done (positively) affects almost every Linux or Unix user, but the chance of Jean-loup ever getting any "mainstream" media attention is zero. Or possibly less. Without people like Jean-loup there would be no Open Source movement, and I consider the chance to present him as a Slashdot interview guest a *huge* honor. The readers who asked the excellent questions, and the moderators who helped select them, also deserve major kudos. So thanks to all of you for an excellent Q&A session!

mackman writes "Head on over to Loki Games' Web site to waste a few hours with the latest hit (but let me finish downloading it first!). " Warning: It's 93 megs. But there are several mirrors up on the site. I've played this game before - it's a huge blast to play. Have fun!

I've gotten the first round of details about Transmeta's *two* new chips (Thanks Chris!). It's very cool - x86 compatible, Linus has written "Mobile Linux" to run on the chip, and totally insane power consumption. Click below for details - and we'll be updating this story throughout the day so check back again for more. Update: 01/20 02:33 by E : David Cassel, who was at the unveiling, sent in his notes and some great quotes from the unveiling. His take is appended to the end of this article.

bravehamster writes "Bungie Software has announced that at 7 pm CST tonight they will release the Marathon 2: Durandal source code under the public GNU license. Programmers need only apply, but gamers everywhere should reap the benefits." The press release is attached below. Or you can just cut to the chase and download the sit version or a gzipped version.

I personally consider Steve Wozniak the biggest "star" we've ever interviewed on Slashdot. I was s-o-o happy when he agreed to do this interview that you wouldn't believe it. Many excellent questions for him were submitted Monday. Click below to read answers to the 11 questions we felt best represented the hundreds y'all sent in.

You asked the questions Tuesday. Today, in response, Hemos and CmdrTaco spill their guts. Click below to learn what's going on at the world-famous Geek Compound in scenic Holland, Michigan.

J. FoxGlov writes "Scott Kurtz, creator of the game-centric comic strip PvP, released his first rant with the new domain. It's his view on comic strips about tech support, and specifically names User Friendly and Absurd Notions as examples of strips that just aren't funny. 'Folks, a tech making fun of someone learning how to operate a computer is like a school teacher making fun of a child learning how to read. It's just plain wrong.' Read the rest of the rant here." I fit many people's definition of a clueless (Linux) user, but I still find User Friendly funny. Do you? Or do you think Kurtz is right that it's not nice to knock people who call tech support, even in fun?

Time for an etoy.com news roundup. The Etoy artists are still operating under a ridiculous injunction that bars them from operating a website at their domain. NSI caved to what they perceived as a court order and put the entire domain on hold, so email is blocked too. And Monday's meeting with the judge turned out to be merely a status conference which, according to Etoy's lawyer, "took all of 45 seconds." Nothing was decided, and the injunction remains in effect. But there's good news about the trademark. Click to read more.

Okay, here they are: Brian Paul's answers to your questions. Even if you've never heard of Brian or Mesa, his comments give insight into how an "essential but unsung" Open Source project runs, and why Brian has devoted endless time to Mesa. (More below.)

Quite a number of you out there are into Lego Mindstorms, as evidenced by the number of book reviews that have been sent my way. Below are a couple of reviews, one from Kurt DeMaagd and the other from Will Ware. Click below to get their take on the O'Reilly book The Unofficial Guide to Lego Mindstorms Robots.