Friday, February 4, 2000

CookieCop Revisited -- 11:43 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Sadly, I ended up giving up on the utility CookieCop that I reported on yesterday (story). With it running, a decent number of sites would not display properly, even though they display just fine with cookies completely disabled. So for now I am back to being 100% cookie-free until a better option comes along or DoubleClick goes bankrupt.

Linux Install . . . Continued -- 11:34 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

I got my Red Hat 6.1 disc in the mail today. After installing it, I discovered I immediately had to do a reinstall since it was easier to do that than to add the things I forgot by hand. I had to do a smidge of tweaking, but I finally got my SoundBlaster Live! Value to work tonight. My Zip drive install went very smoothly, as did my modem install, once I remembered to install PPP (Doh!).

This week has been quite the learning experience for me. I'm going to be slapping up three FAQs this weekend about getting the aforementioned SB Live!, ATAPI Zip drive, and PnP modem installed under Linux. I'll be adding FAQs as I learn more. Hopefully all you out there in Readerland can learn from my mistakes. Linux is really bringing out my inner geek. Here's hoping I don't become like Jeff K.

I must apologize to you readers that I haven't been as faithful as usual with my news updates since the Linux install has taken up so much of my spare time (and even eaten into my non-spare time). Hopefully the FAQs will make up for it.

Make Something Unreal DM Winners -- 8:47 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

The Deathmatch Map Winners in the Make Something Unreal competition have been announced. They are:

1. Sean Bonney with DM-Faith
2. Faceless with DM-Unreality][
3. CyberA(rtist) with DM-Organic

I've only played DM-Organic, which is very unusual and very cool. I plan on snagging the other two as well. Congrats to the winners and all who entered!

Games for Boys -- 12:30 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

One concern that both The Master and I have had is finding suitable computer games for our boys (he has one, I have two). My 2 1/2 year old is just getting interested in the computer, and I don't think that Q3A or UT is the place to start. Aurora at AGN has put up this article on games for boys that should give parents some good ideas.

My son has the Tonka Workshop. While he is a little too young to completely understand it, he does like it. I'm sure he'll like it a lot more in the next couple of years. Thanks Stomped for the link.

Gaming on Linux -- 12:19 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

This article on ZDNet outlines two different plans, one backed by Loki Software and the open source movement and another by NVIDIA and SGI, to make Linux a more viable gaming platform. The future looks bright. Thanks Blue's News.

Thursday, February 3, 2000

Linux Update -- 10:46 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Well, I downloaded and compiled the Linux drivers for my SoundBlaster Live! Lo and behold, it works! So now basically everything on my system runs fine under Linux. Slowly but surely I'm starting to think Linux.

Of course my wife would say that's just what I need, another thing to keep me at my computer :)

The Master comments: Hehehehehehe. At least she doesn't call your machine "the mistress!"

J.t.Qbe comments: Or worse!

CookieCop -- 7:08 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

In the latest issue of PC Magazine (which I just got in the mail today) they have a handy-dandy utility called CookieCop. Basically it sets itself up as a proxy for your web browser. You can set it to only accept cookies from sites you specify. Very handy. Because of the whole DoubleClick fiasco I had completely disabled cookies, which limits functionality on some sites. This gives me the best of both worlds. It will work with most modern browsers in Windows 95/98/NT.

And oh, by the way, I've been running it now for about 20 minutes. I've accepted 3 cookies and rejected 95. Most of the rejections are from websites' banner ads.

id looking for Level Designer -- 3:39 pm CST, Update by The Master

According to Tim Willit's .plan, id is looking for a new level designer. Check it:

Level Design Position Available

Id Software is searching for a talented, experienced, and team driven individual to help us create some of the best selling games in the industry. We are looking for a team player to add to our design department.

Requirements:

• Experience working with a 3D engine such as Quake, Unreal, Lith-Tech, etc.
• Ability to maintain an organized schedule within a creative environment.
• Ability to set goals and compete them in a timely manner.
• A driven, self-starter who enjoys the commitment and rewards of creating some of the best levels in the industry.
• Avid game player with an open mind and understanding of games and gamers in general
• Willing to play on team id during Capture the Flag games.

If you are interested please send email to twillits@idsoftware.com. All inquires will be strictly confidential.

First Post! -- 11:01 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

From Linux, that is. Yessir, I finally got my modem/PPP stuff working! Huzzah! Now all I need to do is get my SoundBlaster Live! working. I've a feeling that one is going to take a bit more time.

3dfx Layoffs -- 9:44 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Uffda! I forgot to mention this one yesterday. According to this news article and this follow-up on the Shugashack (parts of which were confirmed by GA-Source), 3dfx is going through a massive restructuring. The result? 5% of their employees will be laid-off and a further 15% will be spun-off into a new "Specialized Technology Group".

This is not surprising, given how poorly 3dfx' stock has been performing recently. Whenever this happens, the employees heads are the first to roll. Businesses call it "focusing on their core business." Stockholders call it "increased profits." Employees call it "time to stock up on Ramen Noodles."

Mac 405B UT Patch -- 9:30 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

The 405B patch for Mac Unreal Tournament has been released by Westlake Interactive. You Mac fanatics can be playing the same version of the game as the rest of us now! There is also these Mac-specific changes:

• Fixed a bug that caused custom skins & maps to not auto-download when joining a server.
• Added an option to disable command key shortcuts (like Cmd-Q)
• Added some extra code to the RAVE driver to boost performance on newer AGP Rage 128 cards.
• Added an option for dedicated servers that will detect if the server has stopped accepting connections (which can happen after 2 to 10 hours of running). If the server sees this has happened, it will relauch itself with all settings entact.
• Fixed remote web administration code, you can now change settings, kick/ban players, and even type directly into the server console of a Mac server all from a standard web browser.

Check the above link for a list of mirrors.

Past Two Days' News

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