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On Sharing (Licenses, Copyrights, and Fair Use)
You may not realize this from scanning my site, but I was this close (envision thumb and pointer finger nearly touching) to pursuing a career in intellectual property law. I even went so far as to take the LSAT, enroll in a pre-law seminar, and participate in a semester-long legal internship. I’ll spare you the [...]
Why Google Worries Me
Who doesn’t love Google? Between search, Gmail, Google Docs, YouTube, Google News, iGoogle, Google Maps – chances are that you interact with something “google” everyday. But have you really stopped to ponder what kind of company Google is? Maybe not, which is I’m writing this article. Google provides some brilliantly useful services, but like any major company their huge reach and ubiquity lends itself to some worrisome possibilities. Read on to learn more about the new Google and their potentially problematic plans for the future…
Study Shows Children Ruin Marriage (maybe)
Today’s post is a little different from my usual fare, but I hope it’s something you’ll find interesting. A recent paper (from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology) has made the rounds on the news circuits, and with every agency putting a different spin on the research, it’s difficult to get to the heart of what the study actually showed. The title of the paper is “The effect of the transition to parenthood on relationship quality: An 8-year prospective study,” and I’m going to give you the *actual* findings of the study – not some agenda-ridden nonsense like your local newspaper offers.
Where does Microsoft make its money?
Ever wondered which of Microsoft’s product divisions are most profitable? I certainly have, so today I took the time to actually compile formal information on the matter. What follows are graphs and explanations of Microsoft’s 2008 revenue, including specific information for each division…
Linux vs. Windows Hardware Support: The Truth
If you’ve heard of Linux, you’ve probably also heard the following comment (or something like it): Linux won’t be ready for mainstream use until it “just works.” Or maybe: I wanted to like Linux, but after installing it my (insert hardware) and (insert hardware) didn’t work. Some are even so elegant as to say it [...]
How to Use Math to Create Fire
Whether working on an old-school RPG or a state-of-the-art FPS, every game programmer needs a fast, cool fire effect at some point in his/her career. In this example, I’ve opted for a straightforward and easy-to-understand method for generating real-time flames. No pre-built images or palettes are used, making the code quite small (only 11kb, including a demo exe) and very easy to reuse. Coloring and flame generation is done using only math and a little cleverness…
Basic Game Physics (Velocity and Acceleration)
This site spends a lot of time focusing on the graphical side of game programming, but what about the underlying math that drives game engines? After an evening of being inspired by the marvelous Havok physics engine, I decided to bust out some old arcade game code and use it to demo classical mechanical physics. The demo has a pretty simple premise – use the arrow keys to fly a spaceship (taken from the classic game Raptor) in all 4 directions and use spacebar to fire two “lasers.” Also, for any VB-haters out there, it’s worth noting that if the demo’s frame rate limitation box is unchecked, the code will easily run 500+ FPS on any modern machine. Still think VB6 isn’t a viable choice for game programming?
A Proud Day for Science (and Common Sense)
Today the Texas State Board of Education voted to remove wording from their science standards that allowed teachers to slam evolution in public science classes. The wording – which seems innocuous enough – invited teachers and students to debate “strengths and weaknesses” of scientific theories. Unfortunately, this phrase was basically a veiled way for teachers to smash evolution whenever they felt like it. About time it got fixed. (And if common sense can win out in Texas, it can win out anywhere…)
Desktop Linux + Portable Hard Drive + PS3 = HD-DVR
This weekend I finally took the time to get MythTV running on my HP Media Center PC (under Ubuntu Linux). For those who don’t know, MythTV is a free Linux application which turns a computer with the necessary hardware into a network streaming digital video recorder, a digital multimedia home entertainment system, or home theater PC. MythTV is quite the application. Honestly, it’s a bit daunting at first – there are a TON of options/features, much more than are probably necessary. (But you know Linux – someone somewhere has probably made use of every one of those obscure settings…) Despite this, the community documentation for getting MythTV up and running with my TV card was exceptional…
The World is Not Going to Hell
Today the FBI released its preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report for 2008. The findings? The world is not going to hell. In fact, despite what you may have heard from your local street preacher, the United States clearly became a safer place to live in 2008. This isn’t that surprising, given that both violent and property crime rates have dropped steadily for over 15 years…
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