82072201
submission
westlake writes:
It may come as a surprise to many here, but back in December 2014, Microsoft began accepting Bitcoin.as payments for apps, games, and music purchased through the Windows Store. For its Win 10, Windows Phone and Xbox customers. Big-ticket items like MS Office were excluded. The service has been quietly discontinued. Crypto-currencies may excite the geek, but the Windows Store is mass-market and middle class and the interest just might not be there.
72336501
submission
westlake writes:
From Kotaku and Ars Technica comes word that Valve has abandoned its attempt to introduce paid mods to Skyrim on Steamworks, following a furious and unrelenting beat-down by the gaming community that did not spare Gabe Newell.
68433817
submission
westlake writes:
Nature is reporting the discovery of mineralized rods and cones in a 300 million year old fossil fish found in Kansas. The soft tissues of the eye and brain decay rapidly after death, within 64 days and 11 days, respectively, and are almost never preserved in the fossil record — making this is the first discovery of fossil rods and cones in general and the first evidence for color vision in a fossilized vertebrate eye.
40733337
submission
westlake writes:
From Peoria and the WSJ a look at the giant trucks manufactured by Komatsu and Caterpillar.
" In certain areas — notably aircraft, industrial engines, excavators and railway and mining equipment — the U.S. exports far more than it imports. These industries produce relatively small numbers of very expensive goods, requiring specialized technology and labor. Their competitive advantage rests partly on expertise built by U.S. companies in making durable, high-tech weaponry and other equipment for the military — frequently applicable to other products."
It may surprise the geek to learn that Komatsu doesn't employee a single industrial robot. The quality of workmanship simply isn't there where it is needed,In World of Big Stuff, the U.S. Still Rules
635798
submission
westlake writes:
Walter Bender, the former executive director of MIT's Media Lab, and, in many ways, the tireless workhorse and public face of OLPC, has resigned from OLPC after being reorganized and sidetracked into insignificance. The rumor mill would have it that "constructionism as children learning learning" is being replaced by a much less romantic view of the XO's place in the classroom and XO's tech in the marketplace. Top OLPC Executive Resigns After Restructuring, Walter Bender Resigned from One Laptop Per Child!!
75388
submission
westlake writes:
Washington Post columnist Mike Musgrove offers a rare and balanced view from the mainstream press of the Slamdance Competition and Super Columbine Massacre RPG.
Surprised by the effective use of flashbacks and the authentic dialogue of the Columbine game, he goes on to say:
But when it came time to start creating mayhem in the school's halls, I couldn't bring myself to push the buttons to continue. Odd, I suppose, because I have "killed" thousands of video game characters over the years. And though the game's chunky graphics are primitive...no game has ever made me feel nearly as queasy. I didn't want to be responsible for the real-world violence that happened that day, even in a game.
Ledonne figures that games will either grow into a medium in which it is acceptable to confront and challenge an audience with titles like his, or will devolve into a stagnant, failed format. I'll probably be uninstalling Super Columbine Massacre tonight — even though I think he's probably right.
How Real Is Too Real?
