Catch up on stories from the past week (and beyond) at the Slashdot story archive

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
Software

Submission + - Remembering games we can no longer play (mindjunk.org)

Submitted by
Trashhalo
Trashhalo writes: "Ever go back and play Super Mario World again? Metroid? Final Fantasy 7? It is nice to remember. Some games we can no longer go back and play. Games that can only be played online are at a high risk of vanishing when they are no longer profitable to run or maintain. Once gone our copies of these games are useless."
Microsoft

Submission + - ISO reform proposed: response to OOXML shenanigans

Submitted by qcomp
qcomp writes: In the aftermath of the irregularities surrounding the recent vote on Mircosoft's standard proposal OOXML Freecode CEO Geir Isene questions whether ISO is "prepared for a politicized process" and proposes ISO reforms "to safeguard future standardization and to ensure that the processes scale in the face of increased pressure" and calls for an "investigation" to determine if OOXML "was unduly put on the ISO fast track." There's interesting commentrary on the proposal over at Ars Technica.
Windows

Submission + - Samba 4 has reached Alpha Stage (samba.org)

Submitted by DaMattster
DaMattster writes: Samba4 alpha1 is the culmination of 4.5 years of development under our belt since Tridge first proposed a new Virtual File System (VFS) layer for Samba3 (a project which eventually lead to our Active Directory efforts), and 1.5 years since we first released a Technology Preview. We wish to allow users, managers and developers to see how we have progressed, and to invite feedback and support.
PC Games (Games)

Submission + - Polybius remake (blogspot.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: "The bizarre rumors about this game are that it was supposedly developed by some kind of weird military tech offshoot group, used some kind of proprietary behavior modification algorithms developed for the CIA or something, kids who played it woke up at night screaming, having horrible nightmares."

Although Polybius probably never existed, a PC remake has been made of it. A very psychedelic vector graphics game, a bit like Tempest on acid.

Check the link at http://os-nobody.blogspot.com/2007/09/game-so-good -it-will-kill-you.html for some background detail and links to the game.
Patents

Submission + - Patenting laws altered to achieve a landmark (yahoo.com)

Submitted by
An anonymous reader writes: The Innovation Alliance, a group representing Qualcomm and many smaller technology companies, said Friday before the vote that it would "radically alter" the patent system "to mitigate the potential litigation costs of the few wealthiest companies in the world." http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070907/ap_on_hi_te/pa tent_reform_house;_ylt=AmrgtqINgOKM22uynkzqh7eKfD8 C
First Person Shooters (Games)

Submission + - Game review: An Objectivist Plays Bioshock (slashdot.org)

Submitted by Chemisor
Chemisor writes: In several pre-game interviews, covered previously on Slashdot, Ken Levine spoke much about making Bioshock a statement about Objectivism. What exactly that statement was, he declined to say, but now that the game is available, everyone can see for themselves. So here's a review of the game's plot by an objectivist, pointing out the jibes and misunderstandings that lead to the statement being a very negative one indeed.
The Media

Submission + - Up to 5 million in funding for web site ideas (newschallenge.org)

Submitted by
LAWriter
LAWriter writes: "This is year two of the Knight News Challenge, a contest awarding as much as $5 million for innovative ideas using digital experiments to transform community news. Now, you can get funding for your news and/or community web site. Up to 5 million will be awarded. Last year's winners included a diverse collection of 25 individuals, private and public entities, ranging from MIT to MTV. The Foundation plans to invest at least $25 million over five years in the search for bold community news experiments. Anyone can enter at www.NewsChallenge.org"
Education

Submission + - Hell explained by a chemistry student. (entensity.net) 1

Submitted by
Sniper223
Sniper223 writes: "Hell Explained By Chemistry Student.

The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid term.
The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well:
Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:

First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today.

Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of these religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.

This gives two possibilities:
1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, "It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct......leaving only Heaven, thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting "Oh my God."

The student got an A."
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Pirates vs Ninjas: The Great Debate (wellingtongrey.net)

Submitted by Zero
Zero writes: Wellington Grey of the Miscellanea webcomic has created a presentation to answer of the the pivotal questions of our age: who would win in a fight, a ninja or a pirate? Grey looks at the weapons, fighting characteristics, environmental concerns, relationship to the flying spaghetti monster and challenges faced by each group. Also included is a slide of particular interest to slashdotters on pirates, ninjas and the RIAA.
Toys

Submission + - Toys Beyond This World (29 pics) (tploy.com)

Submitted by
trsarg
trsarg writes: "I personally have a different concept about toys... when I hear this word I think about something for kids, something that brings joy and smiles on their faces. But the pictures can prove that toy is not always synonym with beautiful. These scary toys are totally out of this world: sad and pale faces, bloody figures and even resembling dead people. The 29 pictures of such toys are at http://tploy.com/20070809321/toys-beyond-this-worl d-29-pics.html"
Java

Submission + - Java Urban performance legends

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Pop quiz: Which language boasts faster raw allocation performance, the Java language, or C/C++? The answer may surprise you — allocation in modern JVMs is far faster than the best performing malloc implementations. This article pokes some holes in the oft-repeated Java performance myth of slow allocation in JVMs.
Programming

Submission + - Why is my Scalar Code so Slow?

Submitted by CowGirl
CowGirl writes: The Cell/B.E. processor's SPEs offer a fairly unusual architecture, unique because they have no scalar operations — all operations are performed on 16-byte vectors. Discover which tasks are best suited for the SPE, and how to simulate scalar functionality when needed.
The Internet

Internet2 Deployment Reaches Major Milestone 93

Posted by samzenpus from the they-grow-up-so-fast dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Internet2 today announced that the first East to West Coast span on its new nationwide 100 gigabit per second network has been completed and is providing production IP and circuit services. This deployment marks another major milestone in bringing leading- edge networking resources to the research and education community in the United States."

Slashdot Top Deals

It's a naive, domestic operating system without any breeding, but I think you'll be amused by its presumption.

Close