Wednesday reading - QuakeCon 2005 approaches - briefly
(hx) 03:09 PM CEST - Aug,10 2005
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Quakecon begins later
this week, with lots of interesting things planned this year. There's Kyle's
annual HardOCP workshop, tournaments galore with Real Cash Money prizes, footage
screening from the upcoming DOOM feature film and finally the promised preview
of Quake 4 multiplayer!
To be honest, I don't have the money/time to attend QuakeCon. The US is just too
far away (yeah I live in Czech republic) and the $1200 to Dallas is a lot of
money to many people. Are any of you guys planning to be at Quakecon this year?
Here's some stuff:
- Blu-ray backers announce DRM details -
The Blu-ray Discs Association (BDA) has chosen the Advanced Access Content
System (AACS) to protect movies and music stored on the next-generation
optical storage format. Indeed, Blu-ray's rival format, HD DVD, also
incorporates AACS. However, the BDA has adopted two extra levels of security.
The first is the so-called 'ROM Mark', which is intended to identify a given
disc as genuine. Designed to defeat counterfeiters, the mark can only be
stamped on discs by authorised mastering equipment. The second security strand
is dubbed 'BD+' and is geared to hindering attempts to crack the encryption
technology shielding the content. Essentially, it allows the BDA to update the
encryption scheme should the current technique be cracked. If a coder comes up
with the Blu-ray equivalent of DeCSS, the BDA simply updates the format's
crypto engine on all future releases, limiting the volume of content that can
be nabbed. BD+ also locks down players that have been tampered with to bypass
the security system.
- Man dies after online game marathon - South Korean man who
played computer games for 50 hours almost non-stop died of heart failure
minutes after finishing his mammoth session in an Internet cafe, authorities
said on Tuesday.
- Tilt - New malt beverage - Anheuser-Busch, stepped into the booming
market of caffeinated malt beverage drinks today with their nationwide rollout
of
"Tilt", a malt beverage featuring an assorted blend of caffeine, guarana, and
ginseng. Tilt contains 6.6, 6, or 4 percent alcohol by volume based on
state laws. It's rolling out on a state-by-state basis, with full distribution
is expected by October.
- What to do with spare CD's / DVD's -
A simple spectrometer can be built from a CD and a box. Cut a slit on one
side of the box. Place the CD on the other side with about 60 degree angle.
Look down into the openning on the box. The slit should not be too wide,
otherwise the spectrum lines will be blurred. It should not be too narrow
either, otherwise the spectrum is too dim. I use a 0.2mm wide slit.
- What's your personality type? - If you already know your
personality type, or a friend's, you can read descriptions of the 16
personality types. If you want to take the test,
read on
- Pregnant Britney in Bikini -
Totally off-topic!
Microsoft Security Updates: August 2005 - IE patch has invalid certificate
- Microsoft has
identified the problem, removed the affected updates from the Download
Center and will repost them shortly to correct the issue.
Reviews:
Advent
Rising (7.9/10) /
Codename
Panzers Phase Two (8.5/10) /
Dungeon Siege 2 (4.5/5) /
Fate (7/10) /
Madden NFL
2006 (4.5/5) /
NWN: Pirates of the Sword Coast /
Still Life (90%)
Previews: Age
of Empires III /
Fable: The
Lost Chapter PC /
Hammer &
Sickle / Heroes
of the Pacific /
King Kong
/
Quake 4 /
Starship Troppers /
The Suffering: Ties That Bind
Media:
Call of Duty 2 movie /
Company of Heroes shots /
Dark Age of
Camelot: Darkness Rising shots /
Evil Dead: Regeneration shots /
Half-Life 2: Aftermath Movie /
Neuro
Hunter movie /
Project Offset sneak peak #2 /
The Outfit shots /
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War: Winter Assault shots
Mods/Tools: World
of Warcraft Cosmos Mod (download)
Other gaming news: Battlefield
2 Combat: Tour Of Duty Interview /
BF2 NBC Interstate 2004 Interview (German + English subtitles ~ 418MB) / Battle
of Britain 2: Wings of Victory Gold (ships on August 26) /
D&D Online Alpha Launches /
Hitman: Blood Money Q&A /
Histwar
- Les Grognards unveiled (new strategic and tactical war game) /
HOMM 5 development diary Q&A /
Imperial Glory Patch v1.1 /
Madden
NFL 06 Vs. NFL 2K6 (editorial)
Harware:
Abit AW8 Motherboard /
GeCube RADEON X800 128MB 256bit PCI-E /
3 Large Capacity Drives (Segate, Maxtor and Hitachi) /
FPS keyboard for PS2 /
Philips SA-157 & 159 - riding the bullet
Buy goodies:
Advent Rising
PC // Madden NFL 2006 PC
(PS2
/ Xbox
/ GC
/ PSP
/ NDS /
GBA)
// Sacred Underworld PC
//
The World of Harry Potter PC
//
Ghost Recon 2: Summit Strike Xbox // KungFu Hustle DVD
//
Motorola RAZR V3 Phone
// HP Special Edition L2005US 14" Notebook PC (AMD Turion 64 Processor ML-30, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, DVD±R/RW/CD-RW Combo Drive)
($999). |
Updated:10:53 AM CEST Sep,22
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