Friday, September 6, 2002

Pondering the Imponderable -- 1:57 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

My Dad just sent me an email asking about a Win98 startup disk. That got me thinking. I remembered that I last updated my Linux boot disk about two kernel updates ago. Red Hat has a handy little program called qmkbootdisk that makes the process a snap. One caveat: make sure you run it as root. It doesn't prompt you to for whatever reason. Make sure to test that it works properly. The sanity you save may be your own.

Morrowind Expansion Confirmed -- 1:32 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

The rumored expansion for Morrowind has been confirmed. You can read the press release and the FAQ on the new product which will be entitled "Tribunal." It is expected to hit shelves in November. Thanks Blue.

J.t.Qbe comments: One of the new features will be a much-improved journal system, which Morrowind fans have been waiting for since the game was released. Sounds like there are many good new features on the way!

A.T. Hun comments: I want to hear about a Neverwinter Nights expansion! Of course, I suppose I should finish the game first. My Druid is close to level 13 where I get the Harm spell. Joy!

Yikes! -- 1:28 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Boy, can I ever relate to this guy. All I can say is, "Ouch!"

MS: Not Engineered for Security -- 11:15 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

According to Computer Weekly, Brian Valentine, senior vice-president in charge of Microsoft's Windows development, admitted that their products "just aren't engineered for security." Here's a snip from the article:

"I'm not proud," he told delegates yesterday (5 September). "We really haven't done everything we could to protect our customers. Our products just aren't engineered for security," admitted Valentine, who since 1998 has headed Microsoft's Windows division.

. . .

"We realised that we couldn't continue with the way we were building software and expect to deliver secure products," Valentine said.

Well, I'll give him high marks for honesty . . . Thanks Slashdot.

J.t.Qbe comments: Ok, on the one hand, duh. Just look at any Microsoft OS and you'll see clearly that security was not a design concern.

On the other hand, why is this guy saying these things? Either he's looking for a career change as an ex-Microsoft employee, or else Microsoft has something up its sleeve. A new product announcement is in the works, maybe? A completely new OS designed for the Palladium architecture?

Madden 2K3 Demo -- 11:01 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

EA Sports has released a demo for their stunningly popular Madden NFL 2003. You can download the 42.7M demo from EA's FTP server. I've been hoping they would release a demo of this bad-boy. I've heard great things about it, but I want to see first-hand if it is something I'd like to get. Thanks Blue's News.

Golden Oldies -- 10:33 am CST, Update by J.t.Qbe

While doctoring up an OS/2 Warp 3 installation disk this morning, I looked up a review I read a few weeks ago. Just RPG published a review of Soulbringer, a fantasy RPG which actually came out a few years ago. At the time it didn't get very high marks, but it apparently has stood the test of time: the review gives it an 'A'. In what is arguably one of the best bargains available, you can get Soulbringer and Planescape: Torment (considered one of the best RPGs ever) in one of those "dual jewel" packages for ten bucks at Walmart, Best Buy, and probably other places. I've spent time on both games, and they're both great fun.

Thursday, September 5, 2002

NFL Week #1 Picks -- 10:06 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Yes, it's that time already! The first NFL game is tonight on ESPN. Eeyore and I will once again be making picks and battling it out for bragging rights. In 2000 my record was 161-87 (.649) and Eeyore's was 132-101 (.566). Last season my record dipped to 150-98 (.605) while Eeyore's rose slightly to 141-107 (.569). Here's to better things in 2002! Here's my picks: Niners, Dolphins, Jets, Packers, Bears, Redskins, Ravens, Eagles, Chargers, Colts, Browns, Rams, Raiders, Bucs, Cowboys, Steelers.

The Master comments: Eeyore's picks--she takes no responsibility for these picks because she's sick and unable to concentrate fully on football (how's that for BS?): Giants, Ravens, Chargers, Cowboys, Packers, Jaguars, Chiefs, Bears, Dolphins, Bills, Raiders, Eagles, Rams, Bucks, Cardinals, Patriots

Classic Gaming Commercials -- 9:38 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

This website has a number of old gaming commercials available for viewing in RealVideo. They include the Intellivision vs. Atari campaigns, as well as a commercial for two of my favorite games from back in the day, Demon Attack (which I had on a cartridge for my VIC-20) and Chopper Command. The video quality isn't the best, but it's a cool trip down memory lane for us thirtysomethings. Thanks Slashdot.

Past Two Days' News

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