April 28, 2014

E.T. is Found in the Desert

Filed under: News — admin @ 6:50 am

It’s considered the worst video game of all time. It’s stench was so strong that it is often blamed for sinking Atari back in the early 1980s.

The game was called E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, which ran on the Atari 2600 console. Yep, even I had one of those, but I don’t recall buying the E.T. game. Anyway, the game was so foul that they buried over a million cartridges out in the desert somewhere. And now those cartridges have been found, putting to rest a 30-year-old rumor.

Finding the Games

Wikipedia link for the E.T. video game.

Graphics File Format Memory Lane

Filed under: Main — admin @ 12:01 am

As the early computers gained enough oomph to sport graphics, it became evident for some method to store those images. Thus was born the graphics file format.
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April 27, 2014

Google+ Throws In the Towel

Filed under: News — admin @ 8:48 am

How many competitors has Facebook killed? I don’t know the answer. I assume it’s a lot more than available data would show, probably because some of the competition never actually got off the ground.

Apple has tried. Microsoft has tried. Now you can safely guess that Google has tried, seeing how the creator of Google+ has left the company and many of the 1,000 others working in that department are starting to be re-assigned.

Link

April 25, 2014

California Senate Rejects ‘Kill Switch’ Legislation

Filed under: News — admin @ 7:34 am

By a narrow margin, the California State Senate rejected a bill that would have mandated kill switches be installed in cell phones and tablets.

Generally speaking, I oppose Nanny State regulations. For example, we don’t have kill switches in our cars, which is also a technology that’s widely available. If your mobile gizmo is stolen, the technology exists to instantly lock it, rendering it useless. Manufacturers and cellular providers could implement this feature automatically, primarily as a courtesy for their customers. They choose not to. Therefore perhaps a law that puts people over profits may be in order.

Link

Where the Hell is Half Life 3?

Filed under: Main — admin @ 12:01 am

half-life-logo During my current work lull (it happens), I’ve been reviewing some of the great computer games I’ve played — kind of like watching a favorite movie again. It’s fun! My latest nostalgic journey is with the Half Life series, which got me to thinking: Where the hell is Half Life 3?
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April 24, 2014

Facebook Proves that High School Sucked

Filed under: News — admin @ 8:03 am

More than any other group, it seems that former High School friends are un-friended on Facebook.

Link

April 23, 2014

Exploring Android Storage with ASTRO

Filed under: Main,Video — Tags: — admin @ 12:01 am

Unlike a computer, your Android device is app-oriented. The notion of a file manager app is really an example of forcing computer-think onto a mobile device. File management is possible, but it’s rather clunky.
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April 22, 2014

Netflix Price Hike Looms

Filed under: News — admin @ 7:36 am

I’m a fan of Netflix, preferring their $8 monthly fee over my cable company’s $120 monthly fee in terms of content and quality. But just like that cable company, Netflix is considering raising its monthly subscription price.

While no one likes a price increase, I am in favor of such a hike if Netflix is willing to provide more content. That’s my chief complaint about Netflix: I wish they had more offerings, including more classics. I’d be willing to pay more for that. Would you?

Link

April 21, 2014

The Myth of the Progress Bar

Filed under: Main — admin @ 12:01 am

I remember my first progress bar. “That’s pretty neat,” I said, looking at the screen. As a file loaded, a little thermometer filled up. I watched in awe as time passed, the animation entertained me, and the process eventually finished. I was impressed.

Of course, the progress bar was a joke.
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April 18, 2014

Robot Revolution Update

Filed under: News — admin @ 7:18 am

I find it gratifying that I’m not the only nut claiming how robots will one day destroy us. The movie Transcendence is more about Artificial Intelligence than robots — but who cares! It’s the same deal: mechanical life eventually destroying the world as we know it.

Good thing? Bad thing? Avoidable?

Linky

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