amazoken - Slashdot User

New Wii Menu Update Targets Homebrew Again 258

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday June 23, 2010 @06:29AM from the glad-to-know-you're-still-watching dept.

Nintendo has tried to block homebrew during firmware updates in the past, often unsuccessfully. Now, as it rolls out version 4.3 of the Wii System Menu, stopping homebrew modifications once again seems to be its primary goal. From Nintendo's support site: "Because unauthorized channels or firmware may impair game play or the Wii console, updating to Wii Menu version 4.3 will check for and automatically remove such unauthorized files." Since it's hard to bill that as an upgrade, they vaguely add, "In addition, there are some behind the scenes enhancements that do not affect any prominently-used features or menus but will improve system performance."

Dying Man Shares Unseen Challenger Video 266

Posted by Soulskill on Tuesday February 02, 2010 @12:27PM from the new-perspective-on-an-old-tragedy dept.

longacre writes "An amateur video of the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explosion has been made public for the first time. The Florida man who filmed it from his front yard on his new Betamax camcorder turned the tape over to an educational organization a week before he died this past December. The Space Exploration Archive has since published the video into the public domain in time for the 24th anniversary of the catastrophe. Despite being shot from about 70 miles from Cape Canaveral, the shuttle and the explosion can be seen quite clearly. It is unclear why he never shared the footage with NASA or the media. NASA officials say they were not aware of the video, but are interested in examining it now that it has been made available."

Dead Space Highlights Disparity Between Plot and Gameplay 87

Posted by Soulskill on Sunday November 30, 2008 @03:46PM from the this-is-bob-see-bob-kill-aliens dept.

Gamasutra is running an opinion piece praising recent horror-action game Dead Space for its pacing and gameplay while simultaneously criticizing the plot and the attempts to scare the player. Quoting: "What Dead Space is, is carefully and stylishly unoriginal. You'll love playing it, but when you aren't playing it, it's hard to say what's so great about it. It has some really great set pieces, some sweet effects, solid gameplay, an amazing interface and that's all. Anything and everything having to do with dialogue and story comes off as rote. ... You get the feeling the developer are trying very hard, though. When I see a dark shape in the distance, which turns and disappears, I don't get scared. I know he'll pop out of a vent later! Likewise, when I find a scientist who promptly slits her throat because of the horror, I just check for an item drop. None of the survivors ever surprise you and go hostile (which I think would have been a brilliant scare), so you never have to worry."

The Smell of Space 70

Posted by samzenpus on Thursday October 16, 2008 @01:53PM from the excuse-me-while-I-smell-the-sky dept.

According to NASA scientists, space smells a lot like my uncle's workshop. One can detect hints of fried steak, hot metal, and the welding of a motorbike. They have hired Steven Pearce, a chemist and managing director of fragrance manufacturing company Omega Ingredients, to recreate the smell in a laboratory. NASA will use his research to help train potential astronauts. Steven said, "I did some work for an art exhibition in July, which was based entirely on smell, and one of the things I created was the smell of the inside of the Mir space station. NASA heard about it and contacted me to see if I could help them recreate the smell of space to help their astronauts."

Comment More than just resolution (Score 2, Informative) 710

by amazoken on Friday October 04, 2002 @03:13PM (#4388967) Attached to: Digital Camera Quality Passing Film?

Conventional photo film has a wider contrast range than any digital technology currently available. Photographers divide this range into 10 levels from total black to total white in measurable steps. Known as the Zone System of photography it is the entire basis Ansel Adams' entire body of work. Digital cameras using either CCD or CMOS chips simply do not have that kind of range. At best the high end cameras might have 7 or 8 zones, resulting in muddy shadows and blown out hightlights. In addition they are slow compared to film, requiring more light to make an exposure. Even though manufacturers might claim that the cameras have an effective ASA/ISO rating of 100 or 400, when compared to film, the digital cameras require a slower shutter speed or wider apeture to make an acceptable exposure. Just like MHz ratings in computers, Mega-Pixel ratings are just a part of the whole when measuring performance.

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