Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
Emulation (Games)

The Real Star Raiders II 33

New submitter Maury Markowitz writes: Star Raiders was the Atari 8-bit home computer's killer app, inspiring Ted Nelson to claim that "The Atari machine is the most extraordinary computer graphics box ever made, and Star Raiders is its virtuoso demonstration game." It was not until many years later that a sequel, of sorts, was released. This Star Raiders II was nothing at all like the original, as it was originally The Last Starfighter, a licensed tie-in to that was rebranded to avoid the stench of the box-office flop.

Well now, three decades later, Kevin Savetz of the excellent ANTIC podcast has dropped a bomb on the retrogaming community: there was a real Star Raiders II under construction for a long time, but it disappeared as Atari imploded. Kevin tracked down the author, Aric Wilmunder, and convinced him to release it after all these years. You can download the game for the emulator of your choice, and read the manual and backstory on the Internet Archive.

Comment tomtom spark? (Score 1) 169

Haven't tried it yet, but seems promising. gps, heart rate and 4GB of storage, should last long enough for a marathon.

Runner's watches are slightly different than the usual smartwatches, as they have built-in gps and better battery life than ordinary smart watches, which rely on your phone fro music and gps.
I use a Polar m400 for gps while running, and it lasts about a week with daily 6mile running (gps tracking). Unfortunately no music on that one.

The Military

US Navy Launches Drone From Submerged Submarine 55

Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "MarineLink reports that a fuel cell-powered, unmanned aerial system (UAS) aircraft has been successfully launched from the submerged 'USS Providence' (SSN 719). The drone flew a several-hour mission demonstrating live video capabilities streamed back to the submarine, offering a pathway to providing mission critical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities to the U.S. Navy's submarine force. 'Developing disruptive technologies and quickly getting them into the hands of our sailors is what our SwampWorks program is all about,' says Craig A. Hughes, Acting Director of Innovation at the Office of Naval Research. 'This demonstration really underpins ONR's dedication and ability to address emerging fleet priorities.' The XFC UAS — eXperimental Fuel Cell Unmanned Aerial System — was fired from the submarine's torpedo tube using a 'Sea Robin' launch vehicle system designed to fit within an empty Tomahawk launch canister (TLC) used for launching Tomahawk cruise missiles already familiar to submarine sailors. Once deployed from the TLC, the Sea Robin launch vehicle with integrated XFC rose to the ocean surface, where it appeared as a spar buoy. Upon command of Providence's Commanding Officer, the XFC then vertically launched from Sea Robin and flew a successful mission."
Programming

An Open Source Compiler From CUDA To X86-Multicore 71

Gregory Diamos writes "An open source project, Ocelot, has recently released a just-in-time compiler for CUDA, allowing the same programs to be run on NVIDIA GPUs or x86 CPUs and providing an alternative to OpenCL. A description of the compiler was recently posted on the NVIDIA forums. The compiler works by translating GPU instructions to LLVM and then generating native code for any LLVM target. It has been validated against over 100 CUDA applications. All of the code is available under the New BSD license."
Unix

Maddog's New Hampshire "Unix" Plate Turns 20 212

An anonymous reader writes "Local newspaper talks to Linux International's Jon 'maddog' Hall, who lives in New Hampshire, and who since 1989 has had a 'Live Free or Die' UNIX license plate — a real one, not a conference hand-out — on his Jeep. From the story: 'The day he installed the UNIX plates, he went early to work at DEC's office on Spit Brook Road in Nashua, to be sure to get the parking space right next to the door used by all the Unix engineers. He watched them come in and, one after another, do a double take at seeing the real-world version of the famous fake plate. "People would race in and yell, 'Who is it? Whose plate is it?!?'" Hall said. It was his then and it is his now. After 20 years, one suspects you will have to pry it from his cold, dead fingers.'"
Power

Energy Star Program Needs an Overhaul 306

Martin Hellman writes "DeviceGuru.com ran my piece raising questions about the EPA's Energy Star program. For example, an Energy Star compliant TV that claims to draw 0.1 watts in sleep mode appears to do that — but only seems to sleep about 25% of the time that it is 'off.' The other 75% of the time it draws about 20 watts, for an effective sleep power draw from the user's perspective that is 150 times what the manufacturer claims. Based on the observations described, it is also questionable how many PC's really are sleeping when their screens are blank, even if the user has turned sleep mode on. Given the billions of dollars and tons of CO2 that are at stake, this situation demands more attention."

Comment Re:Moore's Law (Score 2, Insightful) 724

the apple one has an led backlight and a 512MB 8600m gt, it also weighs significantly less ....

instead of the vostro, you should be looking at the m1530 for the 15 inch, for the 17 inch, not really a comparison. (xps?)

It's a bit like comparing a (Hyundai/kia/lada) to (BMW,mercedes,lexus). They both have an engine and four wheels. but the plastics you touch when you sit inside them, are definitely different.

But I guess you wouldn't know....

Feed Macworld: First Look: iPod touch 1.1.3 (macworld.com)

The iPhone wasn't the only handheld Apple device to get a software update at Macworld Expo. The iPod touch also has a 1.1.3 update that adds many of the apps iPhone users have grown accustomed to. Christopher Breen plunks down $20 for the 1.1.3 update and tells you what to expect if you decide to upgrade.
Portables

New Dell Laptops Give Users a Literal Shock 383

An anonymous reader writes "According to CNET.co.uk, certain new Dell laptops with a brushed-aluminum finish are giving users more than they bargained for. 'We know this because several CNET staff were hit with an electrical charge while using Dell's new XPS M1530 — and we're not the only ones. Dell's forums are littered with user complaints about the shocking experiences they've had with some systems. The problem only seems to occur in Dell laptops that have a brushed-aluminum finish. These include the XPS M1330 and XPS M1530. It's caused by the two-pronged connection between the mains lead and the power adapter, which isn't earthed properly because of its lack of a third pin. The laptop therefore exhibits an electrical potential (voltage) between its exposed metal parts (the brushed aluminum wrist pad) and earth ground. Since there is no earth, the human body basically acts as a wire that can conduct electric current, hence the tingling, jolting sensation.'"

Feed news.com: Macworld 2008 keynote (news.com)

Video: Macworld 2008 keynote. From Macworld 2008, Steve Jobs introduces a new section of the iTunes store which will include movie rentals.

Slashdot Top Deals

I cannot believe that God plays dice with the cosmos. -- Albert Einstein, on the randomness of quantum mechanics

Working...