Technology Blog

Runescape graphic glitches

July 6, 2008 – 3:31 pm
Spending the American July 4th holiday with friends and family is a wonderful break from the daily routine. Imagine my surprise when a lively 12-year old proudly showed me the graphics problems he discovered in Runescape, an online game. According to this young bug-hunter: It all started recently when they rolled out a graphical update. Everything was fine before that. A couple of screen captures illustrate. On the left: the light green tunic is actually a cape the character wears on his back; it should be invisible, hidden behind the body. On the right: although the character is wearing an armored headdress, his face and head are missing: Runscape graphic glitches More interesting than these minor graphics problems was the young player’s attitude. At 12 years old he’s already completely accustomed to the notion that software doesn’t always work as expected. Finding obvious bugs has become a form of entertainment. Hoping your ...

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Endocrinology: Understanding The Genetics Of Congenital Hyperinsulinism

July 6, 2008 – 3:30 pm
ScienceDaily (July 6, 2008) — A number of congenital disorders characterized by low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) as a result of excessive secretion of the hormone insulin are collectively known as congenital hyperinsulinism. See also: Health & Medicine * Birth Defects * Diabetes * Heart Disease * Hormone Disorders * Diseases and Conditions * Gene Therapy Reference * Huntington's disease * Allele * Mutation * Haemophilia These disorders are caused by genetic mutations that result in mutant KATP channel proteins in the insulin-secreting cells of the pancreas. To develop the most common and most severe form of congenital hyperinsulinism a baby must inherit a mutated gene from each of its parents (these mutations are said to be recessive as if only one mutated gene ...

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Energy Independence Day…not yet, but it’s a popular idea

July 6, 2008 – 3:30 pm
img_1456.JPG img_1450.JPG img_1457.JPG Click on any image to see the whole picture. These are just three of the images from our local Fourth of July Parade today. We happen to live in a state which does not produce much oil or coal or natural gas. In fact, here in Oregon our traditional source of energy has been wood. But these days even firewood is becoming prohibitively expensive. Even such a renewable resource is beconinbg ever more precious. More and more lumber from North America is consumed globally. I have a brother-in-law who depends on wood burning for all his winter warmth. He says even forest “slash,” that which is left after logging, is now worth up to $90 per ton for pulp and fiberboard. There is almost such thing as free heat anymore unless you already own a piece of the forest. Beyond price there’ s growing concern over greenhouse emissions from wood burning. Air ...

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iPhone 3G line starting in New York City

July 6, 2008 – 3:29 pm
L33tdawg: Lining up even 24 or 48 hours before a launch is already kinda mad but to queue for a full week in advanced is just down right loony - plus aren't there any kind of laws against the people queuing with the baby? I mean it can't be healthy for a baby to be out in the elements for a full week! Although it's not the first release and ample supply is expected, a queue has reportedly begun outside of Apple's Fifth Avenue retail store to buy iPhone 3G a full week before its release. As of mid-afternoon on Friday, a ten-person line has been spotted by Gear Diary along the marble border that surrounds the retail store above ground. The lineup is acknowledged by both store security and Apple employees, some of whom have already left the store temporarily to talk with those in line. Chairs and other apparel make it ...

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app4mac releases the final version of Sequence 1.0 for Mac OS X Leopard

July 6, 2008 – 3:29 pm
app4mac releases the final version of Sequence for Mac OS X Leopard. Sequence is a simple way to capture and save an image or a movie of your screen to your computer’s clipboard, or a file (in an image format of your choice). Need to explain a complicated computer function? Sequence is the answer. A video or screenshot can be emailed, uploaded on the web, or passed around however you want. Using a multithreaded code and a 64-bit enabled compression system, Sequence can handle capturing DVD, audio, or any other multimedia application. Sequence is powerful enough to simultaneously record from your webcam and your screen. With the voice recording function, you can easily describe what you are doing on your screen. Simply use your Mac’s built-in microphone or any external audio source. With Sequence, its easy to make training videos, product demos, create tutorials, archive streaming video, the possibilities are endless. For ...

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Storm botnet stages Fourth of July attacks

July 6, 2008 – 3:28 pm
As predicted, hackers tried to trick users into downloading the Storm bot Trojan Friday by unleashing a flood of Fourth of July spam bearing links to malicious sites, several security companies reported. The spam campaign, anticipated earlier in the week by MX Logic Inc., used messages with subject headings ranging from "Amazing firework 2008" and "Celebrating Fourth of July" to "Light up the sky" and "Spectacular fireworks show," said U.K.-based Sophos Plc. in an alert posted to the Web Friday. Links in the spam led to hacker-controlled sites that trumpeted a video clip worth downloading. "Colorful Independence Day events have already started throughout the country," the malicious sites claimed. "The largest firework happens on the last weekday before the Fourth of July. Unprecedented sum of money was spent on this fabulous show. If you want to see the best Independence Day firework just click on the video and run it."

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Please hold your call is being transferred to a phreak

July 6, 2008 – 3:28 pm
Information security largely focuses on data communications, and voice is often ignored. Every successful hack or extortion has a phone involved somewhere in the process. The hacking of telecommunications is usually termed phreaking as opposed to the more common term, hacking, which is related to data systems. An extraordinary culture has developed around phreaks, whereby they are treated with less severe persecution as hackers. As an example, Steve Jobs, is a revered business leader but Kevin Mitnick is a hacker. However, Jobs participated in dubious activities that were no less serious than Mitnick's contraventions. Society lets the guy who abuses a phone off the hook, but alternatively want to lock the hacker up and throw away the key. Neither activity should be condoned and both should be treated with equal disdain. An impression exists that phreaking is an activity of a bygone age. This is not true and it continues, even ...

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China Will Punish Unauthorized Internet Broadcast of Olympics

July 6, 2008 – 3:28 pm
China will punish Internet Web sites and other new media that broadcast the Beijing Olympic Games and related events without the authorization of state-run China Central Television, the government said. New media broadcast rights for the summer games were exclusively granted to CCTV by the International Olympic Committee, according to a joint statement by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, the National Copyright Administration and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The statement was posted on the government's Web site today. Web sites and mobile platforms can use Olympic broadcast signals after getting permission from the CCTV, the statement said. Web sites may be shut down if they carry the events illegally, it added.

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Ultra Mobile PC Buyer’s Guide

July 6, 2008 – 3:27 pm
Pity the ultra mobile personal computer. It's barely a few years old and it's already suffering from multiple personality disorder. It may even soon see a midlife crisis. The first question to ask is, "What is a UMPC?" Don't be surprised if you don't get the same answer twice. The product category started life as a Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) concept called "Project Origami." (Yes, the art of folding paper.) As you might or might not be aware, Microsoft's success with hardware-based products has not been auspicious. From the broad range of hardware it has proposed or delivered, it was first successful with its mouse and then there was... well, its mouse. In the original plan, an Origami device would utilize a 4- to 7-inch screen that has a minimum resolution of 800x600. The operating system was Windows XP with the Microsoft Touch Pack and it supported access via touch, pen, and dedicated ...

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No appeal from Google on YouTube data ruling

July 6, 2008 – 3:27 pm
An appeal by Google against the decision of a federal judge in New York that it must hand over details of every video ever viewed on YouTube to Viacom was not only widely expected, but thought to be pretty much a given. A comment by Google's senior litigation counsel seems to suggest otherwise... File under 'almost as big a shock as the original ruling as Google lets slip a comment which would seem to rule out an appeal over the YouTube video privacy debacle. The Boston Globe yesterday published a brief statement from Catherine Lacavera, the senior litigation counsel at Google. It was not what the world was expecting. "We are disappointed the court granted Viacom's overreaching demand for viewing history" she said, which on its own could win the understatement of the year award. But this is where things get really interesting, because Lacavera also added "We will ask Viacom to ...

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