Wednesday, October 31, 2001

VAX/VMS Fun -- 8:37 pm CST, Update by J.t.Qbe

These days Windows and Linux seem to get most of the spotlight, but one noteworthy article about OpenVMS was published in October's OpenVMS Times: at this year's DEF CON 9 Hacker's Conference in Las Vegas, OpenVMS was declared to be unhackable. An OpenVMS system was set up and hackers were invited to crack it. To make things easier, an open guest account was set up on the system, and some games were loaded for hackers who got bored trying to crack the system. At the end of the contest, the system was declared unhackable. You can read the (scanty) details in the PDF version of the Times, here.

Two weekends ago I hauled home my newest addition, a MicroVAX 3800 and disk cabinet. Very big, very heavy. They look nice here in my office. Now I just need to get it configured and online!

The Master comments: Heh-I had an old Apple /// for awhile. Just not enough room for it in the apartment. When are you going to write up some more cool VAX articles for us Qbe? :-)

Take a Meteor Shower -- 1:27 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Wired is reporting that the Leonid meteor shower on November 18 will be the most spectacular shower we are likely to see for a century. Here's a snip:

A typical Leonid shower yields about 10 to 15 meteors per hour, but this year Jenniskens estimates the meteor shower will have as many as 4,200 an hour at its peak. Viewers along the East Coast will likely see the meteors fall directly from above, while in the West they will shoot across the sky at an angle.

The perfect viewing time is estimated to be between 4 and 6 a.m. EST, on Nov. 18.

Thanks to Ars Technica for the heads-up.

J.t.Qbe comments: Ok, call me a skeptic, but they've been predicting this meteor storm for at least the last 5 years, if not longer. Every year they say, "this could be the year." There have been elevated levels of Leonids in recent years, but nothing to match the predicted storm. I hope they're right this time, and I'll be out there watching again, but I don't know if you can call this prediction a sure bet.

Episode 2 Trailer on Monsters, Inc. -- 1:20 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

The official Star Wars site announced that a "teaser" trailer for Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones will appear before the new Pixar movie Monsters, Inc. I would assume that this trailer will appear on the Star Wars website soon thereafter.

Happy Holidays! -- 12:03 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

I hope everyone gets a mess of candy and that we have some leftover on this Halloween. Also, more importantly, have a happy Reformation Day!

Tuesday, October 30, 2001

Civ3 Released Today -- 11:31 pm CST, Update by J.t.Qbe

One of the big releases of the year, for me at least, is Civilization III. I went to Babbage's today to see if they had it, but they won't be getting it until tomorrow. That's ok--I'll be waiting until it goes on sale at Best Buy next week. Ten years ago I paid full price for Civ Classic at Best Buy, without reading a review, and it was worth every penny. Ditto CivII. Gamespot already has a rave review posted, so it's a pretty sure bet.

Yikes. Civ3, Wiz8, and a baby due any day. This fall's going to be a blur.

Wizardry 8 Demo Released -- 10:04 pm CST, Update by J.t.Qbe

Cool! It was supposed to be tomorrow, but it's out ahead of schedule! Check out the news and links at the official Wizardry 8 site. It's 142MB and the file servers appear to be pretty swamped, but I'm pulling it down anyway. Official release day is November 15, so here's a chance to see what's coming.

As If Anthrax Weren't Enough. . . -- 2:44 pm CST, Update by J.t.Qbe

You thought Anthrax was scary? Now Florida authorities are beginning to report outbreaks of Megadeth and Pantera. This needs to be stopped!

Background Checks for CD-RW Buyers -- 2:10 pm CST, Update by J.t.Qbe

In its never-ceasing struggle to keep you from copying music, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is pushing for background checks and a waiting period for those who want to buy CD burners. You can read all about it here. What'll they think of next?

NFL Week #7 Final -- 8:41 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Much better this week. Eeyore and I tied at 9-5, regaining a modest amount of dignity in the process. Overall I am 59-40 (.596) and Eeyore is 52-47 (.525). Hopefully this is a sign of better things to come!

Past Two Days' News

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