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Role Playing (Games)

Submission + - Volunteers to build RPG.

Submitted by MrShaggy
MrShaggy writes: According to an article over on the bbc, Acclaim, is making an RPG. However this RPG is going t be written by volunteers. '"I want it to be a title they own and feel excited about," said Mr Perry, a 24-year veteran of the games industry.' They already have 20,000 people ready to go. This is the link:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6422333 .stm
Music

Submission + - HowTo: Save Internet Radio!

Submitted by erktrek
erktrek writes: One of the internet radio sites I listen to had this link to an online petition . In addition if you are feeling particularly perky you can write your Representative directly and tell him or her how you feel about this clusterf___. You must be a US citizen of course..

Here is the text from the petition:

To: Internet Radio Listeners

To my Congressional representatives, and to Congress as a whole,

As a fan of Internet radio, I was alarmed to learn that music royalty rates were recently determined by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) which, if enacted, would certainly silence most or all of my favorite online listening services. For most webcasters, this royalty rate represents more than 100% of their total revenues!

The shuttering of the webcasting industry would be a loss for not only independent business owners, but also for musical artists, for copyright owners, and for listeners like me who enjoy the wide variety of choices available via Internet radio.

I respectfully request that Congress look into this matter and initiate action to prevent it. As the CRB rate decision is retroactive to January 1, 2006, please understand that time is of the essence — as the immediate impact of this decision could silence many free Internet radio stations forever.

Sincerely, The Undersigned
Linux Business

Submission + - Helping Dell to Help Open Source

Submitted by
Glyn Moody
Glyn Moody writes: "Dell's IdeaStorm is turning into a fiasco — for Dell, and for open source too. Instead of just shouting at the company to sell pre-installed GNU/Linux systems, how about helping them find a way to do it? Here's a suggestion that I've posted on the same site, about setting up an independent business unit for GNU/Linux systems, just like The Innovator's Dilemma tells us to do when faced by a disruptive technology. So, what do people think?"
United States

Submission + - Nielson Results Reveal Consoles on the Rise

Submitted by
eldavojohn
eldavojohn writes: "Nielson ratings are in and the results are that gaming is continuing its steady trend upward. From the article, "In a study released on Monday entitled, "The State of the Console," Nielsen Media Research found that 41.1 percent of households with televisions in the U.S. now have gaming consoles. That number represents an 18.5 percent increase since 2004, according the research firm, who used a sample of 12,000 TV-viewing households for its report." More ammo for Jack Thompson or simply proof that game consoles are universally enjoyed?"
Space

Submission + - Chinese Astronaut Could Be On The Moon In 15 Years

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Xinhua and Reuters are reporting that China will have the technical capability to put astronauts on the moon within 15 years. According to Huang Chunping, chief launch vehicle designer, a Chinese lunar landing will be achievable in that time frame if funding is available and preliminary projects go well. Huang says that China's current generation of Long March rockets are 'slightly' better than Europe's Ariane rockets, but trail the United States and Russia. China achieved its first human space flight in 2003. The United States had its first human space flight in 1961, and put the first astronauts on the moon about 8 years later, in 1969. The US is planning to return to the moon by 2020, 13 years from now.
United States

Submission + - Will the US have to conduct more nuclear tests?

Submitted by
Matthew Sparkes
Matthew Sparkes writes: "The US has selected the design for a controversial new nuclear warhead to replace the Cold War era weapons currently deployed in its submarines. However, critics say the existing bombs are good enough, and that developing new warheads gives entirely the wrong message at a time when the US is trying to control nuclear proliferation. Questions also remain about whether or not the new warhead will require nuclear tests."
Microsoft

Submission + - DOT bans Vista, Office, IE 7 upgrades for now

Submitted by
jcatcw
jcatcw writes: "According to Computerworld, the U.S. Department of Transportation quietly put the kibosh on Microsoft upgrades. The department issued an internal memo (publicly posted) slapping a moratorium on upgrading to Vista, Office 2007 and IE7. From the memo:

This establishes an indefinite moratorium until further notice on desktop/laptop computer software upgrades to Microsoft Vista, Office 2007 and Internet Explorer version 7. ... [they] may be acquired for testing purposes only. ... Based on our initial analysis, there appears to be no compelling technical or business case for upgrading to these new Microsoft software products. Furthermore, there appears to be specific reasons not to upgrade.
"

Commodore Returns with New Gaming PCs 281

Posted by Hemos from the everything-old-is-new-again dept.
JamesO writes "Commodore is a name which will bring memories flooding back to many a gamer and it's been announced that the legendary brand is to return with a new range of high specification gaming PCs. The new Commodore PCs optimized for gaming will be launched at the CeBIT show in Germany on March 15 and attendees will be offered the chance to play the latest PC games using the purpose-built PCs."
Businesses

Submission + - Can the free market develop sustainable energies?

Submitted by
Basile Schaeli
Basile Schaeli writes: "Jeff Vail provides an interesting take on why free markets may not solve the world's addiction to energy. From the article:

'Is free-market innovation the best way to develop viable, sustainable energy alternatives?
The free market will ignore solutions that can't turn a profit. Any firm that fails to follow this simple maxim won't be in business for long. The corollary to this maxim is that the free market will ignore any solution that cannot be controlled, either through property interests (enforceable intellectual property, monopoly licenses, etc.) or because economies of scale demand centralized operation. This means that free market innovation is structurally incompatible with a huge portion of the universe of possible energy solutions.'"
Microsoft

Submission + - Microsoft attack Google over 'fair use'

Submitted by Theendisnigh
Theendisnigh writes: Quoted from the Guardian online: "Microsoft will today launch a blistering attack on Google, accusing the Silicon Valley giant of a "cavalier" attitude to copyright.
In a prepared speech to the American Association of Publishers, senior Microsoft lawyer Tom Rubin is expected to hit out at Google for profiting from other people's work.
"Companies that create no content of their own, and make money solely on the backs of other people's content, are raking in billions through advertising revenue and IPOs," he says."

Complete Guardian story available here.
Databases

Submission + - MySQL Cookbook, 2nd Ed. Reviewed

Submitted by
narramissic
narramissic writes: "Written for MySQL 5.0/5.1 (but still more than adequately covering the popular MySQL 4.1), this book brings the how to's of the first version up to date and adds many more. It also covers using MySQL with Perl, PHP, Python, Java and Ruby! In fact, the variety of languages used in MySQL Cookbook is its strength as well as its weakness. While you're sure to find numerous recipes for working in whatever language you prefer, you will also find that many recipes you want to pursue will be provided in some other language. Even so, the reviewer rates this book as the most useful she's seen so far for solving problems in MySQL."
Operating Systems

Linux Systems and the New DST 304

Posted by kdawson from the spring-forward-fall-flat dept.
An anonymous reader writes "The recent changes in the Daylight Saving Time will affect virtually all computer systems in the US one week from now. Microsoft has been busy preparing Windows users for 'Y2DST,' and all the major Linux distributions have also issued patches. How can you be sure your Linux systems are ready, and what can you do to get them ready if they're not? This how-to article at Linux-Watch answers both questions in simple language and with easy-to-follow instructions."
Media

Submission + - AnyDVD updated, now removes Blue-Ray DRM

Submitted by
mariushm
mariushm writes: "SlySoft has just updated AnyDVD HD, offering users the possibility of watching Blue-Ray media without DRM. This comes after only two weeks from the first release which was able to remove DRM from HD-DVD.

Version 6.1.3.0 has lots of features but probably the most important one is stripping the evil DRM infection from Blu-Ray and restore your fair use rights.

The free upgrade can also remove region encoding, works on Windows XP-64 and Vista-64, and fixes a ton of bugs. You can get the update or a trial copy here."
Games

Do Reviews Still Serve a Purpose? 93

Posted by Zonk from the no-porpoise-jokes dept.
Via Voodoo Extreme, a post on the Sony-sponsored ThreeSpeech blog asking if game reviews are a thing of the past. Post author 'Azz Hassan' opines that the proliferation of blogs and easy access to game trailers has made the 'biased views' of reviewers a thing of the past. Responding via the Ars Technica Opposable Thumbs blog, Frank Caron offers a rebuttal to the piece. 'The argument presented in the article seems to come with the very slant that it so viciously protests: one of a negative view towards a medium that the writer feels is inadequate. Yes, there is a ton of available media on the net that can help you get a look at a game as it develops, but the problem with videos and pictures is that often the intangible elements are impossible to understand simply from seeing the game in motion--only the written or verbal communication of a person can adequately capture these details.'
Space

Submission + - ESA to create backup satellites

Submitted by
Matthew Sparkes
Matthew Sparkes writes: "The frequencies allotted to the Galileo satellite navigation system, the European GPS, will be safeguarded with a new backup satellite. Under the rules of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), an operator risks losing frequency rights if a break in service lasts longer than two years. Therefore, if their satellites malfunction, ESA could lose the frequency altogether. "From now on, there will always be a European navigation satellite in space," the ESA announcement promised. Of course, China could still blow up and replace the system."

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