Comment If I want real cross-platform (Score 1) 355
I use Haxe http://haxe.org/.
Submission + - Open Source Haxe/OpenFL platform will support home game consoles (fortressofdoors.com)
lars_doucet writes: At last week's World Wide Haxe conference, a coalition of game developers announced that the open source platform Haxe/OpenFL is coming soon to home game consoles. The first three games that will ship using the technology are Yummy Circus , Defender's Quest (HD edition) , and the award-winning Papers, Please.
Haxe is a programming language that compiles to other programming languages (everything from C++ to Javascript to Python), has been around for about 10 years and is quite powerful. OpenFL is a hardware-accelerated cross-platform reimplementation of the Flash API, built on top of Haxe (but does not have the Flash player's performance and security limitations and has nothing to do with Adobe), and is built on a low-level cross-platform layer called Lime, which can be used separately for those who have no need for a Flash-like API. This could eventually lead to console compatibility for engines that are built on top of Haxe/OpenFL, such as Away3D, Stencyl, HaxeFlixel, and HaxePunk.
Six console targets are planned: WiiU, PS4, XBox One, PSVita, 3DS, and PS3; footage of demos running on the WiiU was presented at the talk and are included in the linked article.
Haxe is a programming language that compiles to other programming languages (everything from C++ to Javascript to Python), has been around for about 10 years and is quite powerful. OpenFL is a hardware-accelerated cross-platform reimplementation of the Flash API, built on top of Haxe (but does not have the Flash player's performance and security limitations and has nothing to do with Adobe), and is built on a low-level cross-platform layer called Lime, which can be used separately for those who have no need for a Flash-like API. This could eventually lead to console compatibility for engines that are built on top of Haxe/OpenFL, such as Away3D, Stencyl, HaxeFlixel, and HaxePunk.
Six console targets are planned: WiiU, PS4, XBox One, PSVita, 3DS, and PS3; footage of demos running on the WiiU was presented at the talk and are included in the linked article.
Submission + - Minecraft Creator Refuses To Certify Game For Windows 8 (hothardware.com)
MojoKid writes: "The backlash against Windows 8 from various developers continues, but this time the game's creator isn't just expressing discontent. Notch, the developer behind smash hit Minecraft, has declared that he won't be working with Microsoft to certify Minecraft for Windows 8. Note that this doesn't mean Mincraft won't run on Windows 8. The certification process in question is Microsoft's mandatory rules for submitting content to the Windows game store. In order to be listed there, an application must be Metro-compatible and conform to a laundry list of other conditions. The real problem with Windows 8 is that it locks ARM users into a second class experience. If you buy an x86 tablet, you can download programs from Sourceforge, Github, or any file mirror. If you're an ARM user, you can download programs from the Microsoft store and that's it. The bifurcated permission structure is the problem, and it makes WinRT tablets categorically impossible to recommend for anyone who values the ability to install whatever software they please."
Submission + - Wikileaks Releases Murder Video (collateralmurder.com)
linguizic writes: Today Wikileaks released the video of US military firing large caliber weapons into a crowd that included two children as well as a photojournalist and a driver for Reuters. Wikileaks maintains that this video was covered up by the US Military when Reuters asked for an official investigation. This is the same video that supposedly has made the editors of Wikileaks a target of the State Department and/or the CIA as was discussed on Slashdot here: http://yro.slashdot.org/story/10/03/24/1321224/Wikileaks-Receiving-Gestapo-Treatment.
Submission + - AntiVirus Products fail to find Simple IE malware (beskerming.com) 4
SkiifGeek writes: "Didier Stevens recently took a closer look at some Internet Explorer malware that he had uncovered and found that most antivirus products that it was tested against (courtesy of VirusTotals) failed to identify the malware through one of the most basic and straight forward obfuscation techniques — the null-byte. With enough null-bytes between each character of code, it is possible to fool all antivirus products (though additional software will trap it), yet Internet Explorer was quite happy to render the code.
Whose responsibility is it to fix this behaviour? Both the antivirus / antimalware companies and Microsoft's IE team have something to answer for."
Whose responsibility is it to fix this behaviour? Both the antivirus / antimalware companies and Microsoft's IE team have something to answer for."
Submission + - EA Game Includes Adware
ari wins writes: IGN.com has posted a story discussing the new EA/Flagship game Hellgate: London, and the adware it includes to facilitate targeted marketing. That's not all, accepting the EULA means you submit to the collection of "technical and related information that identifies your computer, including without limitation your Internet Protocol address, operating system, application software and peripheral hardware". The company in charge of all of this is Massive Inc., which is owned by Microsoft.
Submission + - China to deploy largest people tracking network (com.com)
hackingbear writes: News.com reports that China is building the world's largest and most sophisticated network to track people in the city of Shenzhen. This network utilizes intelligent digital cameras and RFID cards.
But the most startling aspect is that this project is mostly made possible by an American company with solid venture fundings.
At least 20,000 police surveillance cameras are being installed along streets here in southern China and will soon be guided by sophisticated computer software.
Starting this month in a port neighborhood and then spreading across Shenzhen, a city of 12.4 million people, residency cards fitted with powerful computer chips programmed by the same company will be issued to most citizens.
Data on the chip will include not just the citizen's name and address but also work history, educational background, religion, ethnicity, police record, medical insurance status and landlord's phone number. Even personal reproductive history will be included, for enforcement of China's controversial "one child" policy. Plans are being studied to add credit histories, subway travel payments and small purchases charged to the card.
While I lived in Shenzhen, there indeed were (and still are) plenty of crimes. One of my friend who lived at the 20th floor of a condo building in a nice neighborhood saw an intruder in the middle of one night while he was sleeping. Still this will clearly raise the old fear of human rights abuse. "They could also help the Communist Party retain power by maintaining tight controls on an increasingly prosperous population at a time when street protests are becoming more common."
Starting this month in a port neighborhood and then spreading across Shenzhen, a city of 12.4 million people, residency cards fitted with powerful computer chips programmed by the same company will be issued to most citizens.
Data on the chip will include not just the citizen's name and address but also work history, educational background, religion, ethnicity, police record, medical insurance status and landlord's phone number. Even personal reproductive history will be included, for enforcement of China's controversial "one child" policy. Plans are being studied to add credit histories, subway travel payments and small purchases charged to the card.
But the most startling aspect is that this project is mostly made possible by an American company with solid venture fundings.
"Incorporated in Florida, China Public Security has raised much of the money to develop its technology from two investment funds in Plano, Tex., Pinnacle Fund and Pinnacle China Fund. Three investment banks — Roth Capital Partners in Newport Beach, Calif.; Oppenheimer & Company in New York; and First Asia Finance Group of Hong Kong — helped raise the money."
Maybe they can use Shenzhen as beta site before they get a project to deploy the same things in New York or Chicago.
BitTorrent Video Download Store Falls Flat 195
seriously writes "We've all heard about BitTorrent going legit this week with legal movie and TV show downloads. Ars Technica took a look at the service to see how usable it was and ran into a few snags, including not being able to download or even open the video files on some computers. However, the ones that they did manage to open varied a lot in quality. Overall, they blame DRM: 'Without knowing whether browser compatibility and dysfunctional video files are a rare occurrence or not, it's hard to say whether BitTorrent's service is a good one overall. Our initial experiences have been disappointing and frustrating, and guess what the culprit is once again? DRM. Why the DRM failed to work on 50% of our purchases is not clear, but whatever the cause, it's simply unacceptable.'"
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