Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Friday, August 24, 2007

zunePhone ad

I ran across this posted over at Fake Steve's place.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Omnibus Paper on "Adventure"



You are at Y2 ... a hollow voice says PLUGH

DHQ: Digital Humanities Quarterly: Jerz. Somewhere Nearby is Colossal Cave: Examining Will Crowther's Original "Adventure" in Code and in Kentucky
His daughter Sandy quotes Will Crowther as saying, “You know I've done all sorts of wonderful things in my career, it's funny that the one thing I'm remembered for is ‘Adventure’” (Lawrence 2002). Before he coded his legendary game, Crowther had helped map the complex network of caverns on which the game is based; and before that, he had already secured a place in history due to his contributions to a different network. As a member of the team of programmers at Bolt, Beranek and Newman (BBN), he helped create the ARPANET, the immediate forerunner to the internet.

Get the original FORTRAN code....

I hacked this myself back in '87, adding an exit from the cave into my office at the department. "You are in a tiny office that smells of stale cigarettes. If you continue, someone may give you a general exam..."


Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Its a Wonderful Second Life


Second Life imitates art as the virtual building and loan struggles to keep its doors open to investors ....



Technology Review: Money Trouble in Second Life
For more than a week, account holders have been demanding their money back in what some folks are calling a bank run.

Set off by high interest rates and a recent ban on in-game gambling, the bank run could ultimately have a major effect on the game's economy.

Monday, August 6, 2007

SoundExchange funded RIAA lobbying group


No wonder they stopped negotiating with Internet broadcasters.

SoundExchange, Caught Lobbying, Says Lobbying Bar Does Not Apply
Whether or not SoundExchange's lobbying efforts prove to be illegal, its presence as an advocate in this debate undercuts its role as neutral administrator of royalty fees set and approved by the Copyright Royalty Board.

Congress Balks as Internet Radio Talks Stagnate



SoundExchange Entrenches Position as IREA Faces Music
First-time webcasting fees proposed by recording industry royalty-administration group SoundExchange took effect last month, setting off a wave of protests and last-minute negotiations aimed at reducing the hit for smaller webcasters and capping rates for sites that support hundreds of customized stations.

Negotiations are ongoing, but chances of broad legislative relief in the form of the Internet Radio Equality Act, or IREA, are fading fast, according to several people familiar with the effort. Rather, Congress appears resolved to let SoundExchange and the various strata of webcasters negotiate individual settlements.

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Michael Vick, and the wide world of sports.




Yep. That's not Michael Vick. To the best of my knowledge, the gentleman was never involved in dog fighting. Nor is he recognized for his contribution to sports. He's Jonathan Swift. He's famous for his ripping good yarn: "Gulliver's Travels".

Maybe less known, he wrote "A Modest Proposal".

This article employed "Socratic Irony" to make a point.

In his book "Gold", Asimov says
And yet, you know, not everyone has a 'sense of irony', which is by no means the same as a 'sense of humor'. I firmly believe that one can have one, but not the other.

Indeed. So this category will post the unfortunate attempts at irony.





Dance Monkeyboy - the Zune Remix

Inspired video from someone way more clever than I.