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Comment Re:Finally (Score 2, Insightful) 238

Thing is, a lot of folks probably felt like they were donating to a good cause when they paid for this bundle, and upped their payments accordingly, whereas there would be no positive karma from giving more than a penny to EA.

My thoughts too.

I just purchased the bundle, though I've bought World of Goo previously.

I paid more than the current average for these games. Though that amount is still more money then I have ever given to EA.

Comment Re:How's this compare to total sales? (Score 1) 238

I wonder how this compares to the total sales all 5 (now 6) games had prior to being included in the bundle?

Oh, and awesome job, guys. Goo is a great game. Haven't had time to get to the rest yet.

I am wondering the same: re previous sales.
I've previously purchased World of Goo, and play it every so often, not seriously but it fills in time.

Having just purchased them, I'll play the rest over time as well - hopefully after my assignments are out of the way.

Games

MechWarrior 4 Free Release Now Available 151

Mr. Sketch writes with news that the free release of MechWarrior 4 has finally arrived. We've discussed the game in the past when it was announced, and later when its release was held up by Microsoft. Quoting the announcement: "One of the greatest features of MekPak3.1 and of MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries in general, is the ability to customize. MechWarrior always has been about the Mechlab, especially multiplayer. The Mechlab truly distinguishes MW4 from a long list of shooters that have come out in the past 10 years. The ability to create literally thousands of configurations allows the game to continue in popularity over its lengthy life span. Since the Free Release not only comes with the original mechs and weapons of Mercenaries, but also with the Clan and IS Mech Packs and all the Mektek mechs and weapons, here is what you are getting ... for free."
Intel

The Big Technical Mistakes of History 244

An anonymous reader tips a PC Authority review of some of the biggest technical goofs of all time. "As any computer programmer will tell you, some of the most confusing and complex issues can stem from the simplest of errors. This article looking back at history's big technical mistakes includes some interesting trivia, such as NASA's failure to convert measurements to metric, resulting in the Mars Climate Orbiter being torn apart by the Martian atmosphere. Then there is the infamous Intel Pentium floating point fiasco, which cost the company $450m in direct costs, a battering on the world's stock exchanges, and a huge black mark on its reputation. Also on the list is Iridium, the global satellite phone network that promised to make phones work anywhere on the planet, but required 77 satellites to be launched into space."

Comment Re:The only question that counts: (Score 1) 238

I agree, but I'd also like to point out that the technology is ready to give players the separation of vision and aim.

I want to be able to watch in a direction, run in another and shoot in another one. As running is going to be linked to a hand (as foot controls are cumbersome) and shooting to the other, vision should be linked to head movement.

What I'm suggesting is: Don't "evolve" to mouse control if you can truly evolve.

Like Mechwarrior had many years ago. I had a Microsoft Sidewinder joystick for this game. The three parts of your mech could all be facing different directions. Head, torso with weapons, and legs. Battles could get very difficult if you forgot that the guns were pointing in a different direction to your head (and legs)

I don't think that a mouse with it's limited movement options is up to this challenge.

Perhaps an iPhone could be used as a controller seeing as if can deal with rotation, and direction.
Or you might be able to use it as a remote camera /display for games.
If you put it in your pocket then a linked game could detect if you are leaning to get a better view around an obstacle.

NASA

Shuttle Reentry Over the Continental US 139

TheOtherChimeraTwin notes that the shuttle Discovery will land at Kennedy Space Center on Monday morning at 8:48 EDT. The craft will make a rare "descending node" overflight of the continental US en route to landing in Florida. Here are maps of the shuttle's path if is lands on orbit 222 as planned, or on the next orbit. Spaceweather.com says: "...it takes the shuttle about 35 minutes to traverse the path shown... Observers in the northwestern USA will see the shuttle shortly after 5 am PDT blazing like a meteoric fireball through the dawn sky. As Discovery makes its way east, it will enter daylight and fade into the bright blue background. If you can't see the shuttle, however, you might be able to hear it. The shuttle produces a sonic double-boom that reaches the ground about a minute and a half after passing overhead."
Space

Rogue Brown Dwarf Lurks In Our Cosmic Neighborhood 188

astroengine writes "The UK Infrared Telescope in Hawaii has discovered a lone, cool brown dwarf called UGPSJ0722-05. As far as sub-stellar objects go, this is a strange one. For starters, it's the coolest brown dwarf ever discovered (and astronomers using the UKIRT should know; they are making a habit of finding cool brown dwarfs). Secondly, it's close. In fact, it's the closest brown dwarf to Earth, at a distance of only 10 light years. And thirdly, it has an odd spectroscopic signature, leading astronomers to think that this might be the discovery of a whole new class of brown dwarf."

Comment Re:Historical Black Hole - still the same (Score 1) 107

So nothing has really changed with technology then.

Current historians would absolutatly love it if we had better coverage of many periods of human history - much of it (even the written records) has been lost, blown up, burnt, flooded, lost in the deserts, built over, eroded, probably even eaten, ... over the years.

Historians are able to get lots of information from the little that remains - piecing together partial fragments, cross-references, stories, even boxes in attics can hold wealth of information.

Space

Astronomers Discover the Coolest Known Sub-Stellar Body 60

Hugh Pickens writes "Science Daily reports that using the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) in Hawaii, astronomers have discovered what may be the coolest sub-stellar body ever found outside our own solar system. Too small to be stars and with insufficient mass to maintain hydrogen-burning nuclear fusion reactions in their cores, 'brown dwarfs' have masses smaller than stars but larger than gas giant planets like Jupiter, with an upper limit in between 75 and 80 Jupiter masses. 'This looks like the fourth time in three years that the UKIRT has made a record breaking discovery of the coolest known brown dwarf, with an estimated temperature not far above 200 degrees Celsius,' says Dr. Philip Lucas at the University of Hertfordshire. Due to their low temperature these objects are very faint in visible light, and are detected by their glow at infrared wavelengths. The object known as SDSS1416+13B is in a wide orbit around a somewhat brighter and warmer brown dwarf, SDSS1416+13A, and the pair is located between 15 and 50 light years from the solar system, which is quite close in astronomical terms."

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