Thursday, March 2, 2000

UT Server Under Linux -- 10:57 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

I did it! I got an Unreal Tournament server running under Linux! Special thanks to THoP's own J for hopping on the server (even though it's on my 56K connection) so I could test CPU/Memory usage. Now I just need to get those patches . . .

More On DoubleClick -- 2:24 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

This article on CNet should be enough to convince those who haven't disabled cookies on their browser to do so immediately. DoubleClick is watching you.

In the case of Intuit, information that users were typing into Quicken.com's mortgage and credit-assessment calculators, including a person's annual salary and total assets, were being sent to DoubleClick.

Nice, eh? Fortunately the Feds are beginning to investigate DoubleClick's "practices".

The Federal Trade Commission is currently holding an inquiry to determine whether DoubleClick is unlawfully collecting data on consumers' surfing and shopping habits on the Net and then selling the information to third-party advertisers.

If charges are brought and they are found guilty, who else thinks they should bring back draw-and-quartering for such an occasion? I thought so!

M$ Revisionist History -- 2:00 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

In the "you've got to be freaking kidding me" department, Slashdot has linked to this article on Microsoft's site about a revolutionary new feature in Windows 2000 called "Single Instance Store". Basically, they answered this question, "why not save operating system disk space by storing duplicate files as links that point to a single file housed in a central location?" Obviously they never heard of the concept of a symbolic link. You know, it only took them a year and a half to implement it! And then we wonder why it takes them forever to address security issues . . .

Update! OK, SIS seems to be kind of an "automatic" symbolic link, but still. I'm not sure I want the OS doing something else behind my back that I may or may not want.

Gotta Get Me 1 Of These! -- 12:13 pm CST, Update by The Master

OMG. A 4gb+ portable MP3 player. Is that awesome, or what?!?

Happy Birthday Justin! -- 12:01 am CST, Update by The Master

Well, the happy day of my first (and only right now) son's birthday is today. Justin is now 1 year old-and his mother is depressed :-)

A.T. Hun comments: My younger boy just turned 10 months old on the 29th. The older one is 2 1/2. Ain't we just old married folk?

J.t.Qbe comments: My son is 9 months soon and I don't know where they've gone. At least I haven't missed them. I've been awake the whole time.

Wednesday, March 1, 2000

Battletech -- 11:43 pm CST, Update by The Master

Okay, since there's been a mention of a paper game today, here's another. Battletech by FASA is my FAVORITE RPG type game for paper-and-pencil gaming. And it looks like Micro$oft is going to put out some really nice games in the Battletech universe. Saw some Mechcommander 2 screenshots on the Adrenaline Vault that look really cool. Check it.

Mozilla M14 On the Loose -- 10:09 pm CST, Update by J.t.Qbe

Getting closer. . . Mozilla M14 is available for download here. Only Linux, Mac and Win32 versions right now. Grab it and see your next browser growing up before your very eyes.

A.T. Hun comments: I just downloaded the Win32 version. The problem in M13 with the title bars on The Haus not displaying properly is gone! ESPN.com looks better, but still not quite right. I'm going to have to futz with this a bit more.

Parsec Demo -- 9:29 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Way back in August I first brought you news of a "non-commercial space shooter" called Parsec (story). I was beginning to wonder if anything had happened with it. Well, as it turns out, they have a self-running demo out for Win32, Linux, and Mac which you can download here. Besides watching the fly-through, you can also fly around for a bit, but there are no enemies (just power-ups). It looks very cool and runs quite nicely on my system (Celeron 400, 128M, AGP TNT), even at 1024x768x32. Well worth the download.

More Q2 Under Linux -- 1:15 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

I'm still working on my "Setting Up Quake 2 Under Linux" article, so I thought I'd give you an update. Using Tweak3D's TNT Image Quality Autoexec.cfg at 800x600 I end up with 9.8 fps using the Crusher demo. Eliminating the autoexec.cfg and/or lowering the resolution to 640x480 really doesn't help a whole lot. Of course, since I'm using pre-release video and sound drivers, I can't expect a ton of performance. Plus, I can't seem to get it to run in fullscreen mode, which I'm sure is killing performance. My system specs are: Celeron 400, 128M PC66 SDRAM, Creative AGP TNT, Creative Sound Blaster Live!.

New Qbe Root: Freeciv -- 10:51 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

J.t.Qbe has sent along his latest masterpiece on the world of Unix/Linux gaming entitled Freeciv: a Free Civilization for Unix. If you liked Sid Meier's classic real-time strategy game, Civilization, you want Freeciv. Check out Qbe's review then head over to the Freeciv website and download it!

Update by A.T. Hun I'm downloading the Freeciv tarball as I type this. Actually, I just like saying "tarball". Tarball, tarball, tarball.

Anniversary of Secret Service Raid on Steve Jackson Games -- 10:37 am CST, Update by J.t.Qbe

According to this retrospective, today marks the tenth anniversary of the Secret Service raid on Steve Jackson Games. Ok, so maybe you don't remember it. Yet it was a watershed event in drawing attention to citizens' rights (or lack thereof) in cyberspace.

I started playing Steve's boardgames when I was 12. Ogre will forever be one of the greatest wargames. A.T., remember Car Wars? My wife still says that no sane person should know what a Bootlegger Reverse is. . .

A.T. Hun comments: Darn tootin' I do! I wasted many, many hours on that game in high school and early college. Always blew out my tires on the Bootlegger Reverse.

The Master comments: Only played Car Wars once. Chaoticon (RP convention ran by my old Gamer's Club at UWGB) Tried one of those bootlegger gigs. Smoked two other players before I went over the side of the arena and went bu-bye. Heh-good game :-)

J.t.Qbe comments: I met Steve Jackson once at Gen Con in '91. Good guy. . .

Greenmarine Rants -- 9:52 am CST, Update by The Master

Brandon Reinhart of Epic updated his .plan, with a withering attack on EverQuest (a massive online RPG). This is why I don't play these games. Check the update:

During the EverQuest beta I gave it a try and railed on it afterwards because I lost a level when I died. I swore never to play it again. Cliff bought a copy of it a while back to check it out, so I've been playing with it. I built up a level 7 Dwarf Paladin.

So I'm running around killing mobs and crap and I die and stuff. Last night I died and went to recover my corpse. After I pick up all my equipment, my client crashes. I reconnect and all my stuff and my corpse is gone. So I'm told I have to send EMAIL to some dude at Verant or something. Poof goes the EverQuest account. What a waste.
. . .
I've got a serious problem with games that require hours upon hours of your time only to take away the things you have earned. Whether its the levels you've gained or the items you carry. Whether its through game design decisions or through bugs.

A.T. Hun comments: The reason I don't play these games is that I don't like the idea of paying for the privilege of playing a game I already paid for.

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