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Comment Re:...the social browser? (Score 1) 144

by madskyllz (#35912110) Attached to: RockMelt: Google Chrome, Only Better
I'll admit it; I like Internet Explorer and use it almost exclusively (along with FF and Chrome for web development purposes). However, I've been using RockMelt since the early betas. The thing that got me to even look at it was the fact it has ties to former big wigs from Netscape.

Is it evil? I'm sure. It's hooked fairly tight into FaceBook. Don't care about the social networking aspect? Use Chrome.

I was sold when I bookmarked a site at work, went home, fired up a browser and my bookmarks were synced. Same with my RSS feeds.

I actually spend a lot less time aimlessly surfing the same 7 sites over and over because I know in .07 seconds that there are no new stories on any of them. It keeps me off facebook.com while still letting me see what my friends/family are up to. I don't have to check Slashdot every 4.7 minutes looking for the next big thing.

Comment It's too early (Score 1) 609

by madskyllz (#34195692) Attached to: Did the Windows Phone 7 Bomb In the US?
Come on people, give it a week or two. Not all movies are #1 after the 1st box office weekend. Sometimes it takes a while for them to catch on.

Our DBA picked up the WP7 on launch day, and after I played with it for a few minutes, It's very cool. Without going into the pros/cons, I'll just say I was very impressed with the screen's crispness, and the fluidity of the phone's interface. The WP7 is late to the game in a crowded market, but other products (Chrome browser, for example) have made headway...just give it some time before calling it DOA.

Disclaimer: I'm not a MS fanboy, but I am a .NET dev, so of course I lean toward MS products. I've never owned an Apple product other than the IIe, and I'm a proud Android owner.
Microsoft

MS Design Lets You Put Batteries In Any Way You Want 453

Posted by timothy from the dis-orientation dept.
jangel writes "While its strategy for mobile devices might be a mess, Microsoft has announced something we'll all benefit from. The company's patented design for battery contacts will allow users of portable devices — digital cameras, flashlights, remote controls, toys, you name it — to insert their batteries in any direction. Compatible with AA and AAA cells, among others, the 'InstaLoad' technology does not require special electronics or circuitry, the company claims."
Input Devices

Project Natal Pricing and Release Date Revealed 156

Posted by Soulskill from the not-cheap dept.
tekgoblin writes "According to Edge-online.com, their source says that we can expect Microsoft's Project Natal to cost around $149. 'The figure for the standalone unit is significantly higher than a previous sub-£50 estimate, but less than pricing recently suggested by European retailers. It’s also more expensive than Sony’s Natal rival, Move, which will be available later this year with a game for less than $100.'"
Graphics

The Nuts and Bolts of PlayStation 3D 154

Posted by Soulskill from the wait-till-the-bayonetta-guys-get-ahold-of-this dept.
The Digital Foundry blog took an in-depth look at how Sony is introducing 3D technology to PlayStation 3 games. They give a step-by-step description of how the system generates a 3D frame (or rather, a pair of frames), and the graphical hurdles that need be to overcome to ensure the games look good. The article also discusses some of the subtle effects 3D technology can have on gameplay: "'One interesting thing came through in the immersion aspect was that in the first-person camera view, it felt so much more like being there. Typically when most people play MotorStorm, something like 90 per cent play in the third-person view,' Benson explains. 'As soon as we put the 3D settings in place, the first-person view became a lot more popular, a lot more people were using that view. This could indicate that 3D could perhaps change the standards, if you like.' ... 'We found that in the first-person view the game is giving you all the sorts of cues that you're used to in normal driving: speed perception, the ability to judge distances, things like that. It's far easier to avoid track objects.' The insertion of true stereoscopic 3D into MotorStorm also brings about a new sense of appreciation of the scale and size of the game world and the objects within it."
Games

Haptic Gaming Vest Simulates Punches, Shots, Stabbing 110

Posted by Soulskill from the thumpity-thump-thump dept.
An anonymous reader writes "IEEE Spectrum reports that University of Pennsylvania researchers have developed a Tactile Gaming Vest that smacks and vibrates as players get shot in a game based on Half-Life 2. Four solenoid actuators in the chest and shoulders in front and two solenoids in the back give you the feeling of a simulated gunshot. In addition, vibrating eccentric-mass motors clustered against the shoulder blades make you feel a slashing effect as you get stabbed from behind. If this kind of vest could be linked to a movie while you watch it, the experience would be that much more exciting. Or as one of the creators put it, 'every time Bruce Willis gets shot, you feel it.'"

Comment Cheaters Lab (Score 1) 684

by madskyllz (#31113856) Attached to: How Easy Is It To Cheat In CS?
I used to work in the Computer Science Lab at a university in Illinois - Students would print extra copies of their programs to give to their friends, and I would literally watch them cheat right in front of me.

As a computer science student myself, I took offense to this. I'm was going to be competing for a job with this person, and we have the same degree. Hell, he/she might have a better GPA than me, and can't write a C program to save their life, yet THEY would get a job, and not me.
When I was the one pulling printouts, I would just shred them and tell them to GTFO.

Oh, and just in case your listening, unamed university in Illinois (I won't name names...EVERY university should learn from this)...you can't count on your students to chmod their files properly. Do you know how many of your "Brightest" students were chronic greppers?

I can't tell you how many times I watched someone type: find / | grep cpp > OtherStudentsHomeWorkICanCheatFrom.txt

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