This blog should now be specially formatted for your smartphone (assuming we still use that word) of choice: iPhone, iPod touch, Android, Opera Mini mobile, Palm Pre and BlackBerry Storm.
Let me know how it works for you.
Category: tech
The High Def Illusion
I continue to feel that the focus on High-Definition graphics in some newer consoles (PS3/360) is a little misguided for a simple reason: Many people cannot tell the difference between standard and high definition. Anecdotally, I have seen video game designers with 360 consoles running in standard definition, and I find that few viewers can accurately tell whether a given console or television channel is in high-def or not.
In the paper The emperor’s clothes in high resolution: An experimental study of the framing effect and the diffusion of HDTV, a group of Dutch researchers demonstrate that users will experience a standard definition signal as being of higher quality if they are told that it is high definition. Hence the idea of high definition will apparently override the quality of the television signal itself.
I also discuss the role of graphics and high definition in A Casual Revolution, noting that while graphical quality matters, and while all consoles will eventually be high-def, technical graphical quality just doesn’t translate directly into improved user experience…
Please stop using Endnote. Switch to Zotero
I am a big fan of the reference management program Zotero. Now Thomson Reuters, makers of the Endnote program has sued Zotero developer George Mason University because the new version of Zotero can import Endnote databases.
Thomson Reuters demands $10 million and an injunction to stop George Mason University from distributing its new Web browser application, Zotero software, an open-source format that allows users to convert Reuters’ EndNote Software. Reuters claims George Mason is violating its license agreement and destroying the EndNote customer base.
Really. Thomson Reuters believes they own the references that their users have entered into Endnote? Others have suggested to boycott Endnote, and I support that.
Update: The MIT Libraries have a writeup here.
What Pac-Man really looks like
Stumbled on a disassembly of the Pac-Man program, with some comments.
Is this what Pac-Man really looks like? What Pac-Man really is? Please discuss.
This is probably the most accessible part of the code:
;; SCORING TABLE 2b17 0100 ; dot 2b19 0500 ; pellet 2b1b 2000 ; ghost 1 2b1d 4000 ; ghost 2 2b1f 8000 ; ghost 3 2b21 6001 ; ghost 4 2b23 1000 ; fruit 2b25 3000 ; fruit 2b27 5000 ; fruit 2b29 7000 ; fruit 2b2b 0001 ; fruit 2b2d 0002 ; fruit 2b2f 0003 ; fruit 2b31 0005 ; fruit
Service Restored
After my server had a complete hard drive failure Saturday, it looks like I now have all sites and blogs up and running again.
This marks the point in time after which I no longer find it interesting to administer my own Linux server.
The time I save will be spent playing games, I promise.
Do RSS Feeds make Bloggers lazy?
This blog recently entered into its 5th year of existence, and I was thinking how much feed readers have changed everything: Initially I would be worried about not posting in case somebody visited the site in vain. And now: Everybody will just see it in their reader, won’t they? Are blog posting pauses a problem anymore?
Are you reading this via a feed?
I Want some Freedom. (XNA Refreshed)
The XNA framework has been updated to version “1.0 refresh”.
The important change is that it now should be possible to build an Xbox 360 game and send the binary to other users and have them play your game. Previous versions required you to share the source code.
If you were hoping for a blossoming of indie games for the 360, the answer is NO: Games can only be shared with members of the XNA Creator’s Club ($99/year).
Having played briefly with XNA, I can say that it is an amazing step up from building in C++ and DirectX directly – so much clearer, so much faster to use, so much easier to debug, and using a nice managed language, C# (which I enjoy because it is amazingly similar to my favorite language of Java).
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But we are still stuck with our main problem: The console manufacturers retain complete control of what gets published. Imagine if Philips could decide which audio CDs came out, JVC could decide what DVDs came out, and Penguin could decide what books came out. Only PCs and Macs remain a small haven for free expression in games. THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM.
This control is partially about money, but still … is it that far-fetched to imagine a future where everybody is allowed to make games for consoles?
I will be happy to give Microsoft/Sony/Nintendo 50% of any money that comes in, just allow us to make the games we want to make. Now.
If Microsoft Designed the IPod Package
It’s one of those things: When will PC designers get that you shouldn’t put more stickers , curves, grills, and textures on a product to make it look cool, but fewer?