Tuesday, July 18, 2000

Pondering the Imponderable -- 10:11 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

I just switched to my second set of Rayovac Renewal batteries in my Visor (pause for applause). This time, I have Runtime running so I will get an accurate idea of the kind of lifespan to expect from these batteries. It will also be interesting to see the effect that recharging has on them. I really don't feel like spending a small fortune keeping this thing in disposable alkalines. NiMHs don't last long enough in the AAA size and don't hold a charge indefinitely. Hopefully these Renewals will be my answer.

Another slow news day -- 9:36 pm CST, Update by J.t.Qbe

Since there've only been 2 news items today, and those concerning Palm devices, I hereby declare it a slow news day. For those of you still stuck in the Windows-only world, you might broaden your horizons with this fluff piece, "Just How Does a Guy Get Into This Linux Thing?" over at Linux.com. It isn't deep, it isn't technical, but it's simply one Windows user's story of venturing into the world of Linux. Not a bad read if you don't have anything else to do.

Void 1.10 Released -- 9:30 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Void, one of J.t.Qbe's and my favorite PalmOS games, has been updated to version 1.10. Void is a space trading game very reminiscent of Elite. Here's a list of the changes.

• Many more ship types, including being attacked by more than one ship at a time.
• New cloaking device.
• Ability to buy your own space stations.
• Captain's log feature.
• 3 'game slots' for up to 3 games at once.
• 3 types of docking stations.
• More missions.
• Updated trading logic

You can download the demo and/or buy it from Palm Gear.

J.t.Qbe comments: You can buy your own space stations? I've been staying away from Void for my own sake, but I don't know how much longer I can hold out. . .

Palm IIIxe 8M Fix Released -- 11:40 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Palm has released their fix for the 8M problem for the Palm IIIxe. Actually, this new patch will fix the Palm IIIc, IIIxe, and Vx. For more information on this problem, detection, and solution, go to Palm's 8M DRAM issue page. Thanks Palm Gear.

Monday, July 17, 2000

Where Are You? -- 10:19 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

When I got my Visor I wanted to enter my own city into the City Time applet, but I needed my latitude and longitude. I called the library and the best they could give me was, "Well, we're pretty close to . . ." I have since come across the Astrodienst Online Atlas and Timezone Database. If it can find my little speck on the map, it probably can find most any city. The main purpose seems to be to give you some astrology weirdness, but the lookup function is very handy.

KISS Quickie -- 5:39 pm CST, Update by A.T. Hun

I downloaded the KISS Psycho Circus demo this afternoon. I played through the two Starbearer levels and a part of another level. So far I'm pretty impressed with what I see. The enemies are pretty cool. There's a lot of things you can "interact with" (i.e. "break"). I especially like how some of the weapons keep smoking after repeated firing. I am going to have to tweak some of the settings to give my TNT a break, but even at 640x480 with all the graphic options up, it runs quite respectably.

ATi Radeon Previews -- 10:27 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

ATi has taken the wraps off their latest 3D chip, the Radeon. Previews can be seen at AnandTech, Thresh's FiringSquad, GamersDepot, and GA Hardware. The basic specs: 366Mpixels/sec and 1.1Gtexels/sec fillrate and 30Mtriangles/sec hardware T&L. Interestingly enough, the GeForce2 GTS beats it in every Q3A test until you get to 1280x1024x32. Then the Radeon wins impressively over the GeForce2 and the Voodoo5. Of course, that was with a 32M GeForce2 against a 64M Radeon. I'm not sure how much the extra memory would have affected the tests. Thanks to The Shugashack for the scoop and the links.

nmap Ported to WinNT/2000 -- 10:21 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Our very own Wraith sends word that nmap has been ported from Linux to Windows NT and 2000. Because I'm a simple caveman and don't understand all this networking business, I'll just post his email:

eEye Digital Security (http://www.eeye.com) has ported that essential Linux networking tool, nmap, to Windows NT and 2000. Plus . . . they released the source. You can get the binaries and the sources at http://www.eeye.com/html/Databases/Software/nmapnt.html. I popped up an edited screenshot of my desktop while using it at http://www.thehaus.net/~wraith/nmap_web.jpg Heh. My initial feelings are warm . . . the Libcap packet driver installation (which is necessary, and included in the distribution zip) installed easy enough. Not as many options, bells, and whistles as the latest linux nmap beta, but still smoother than any network exploration tool I have ever used (hands DOWN) for any Windows platform.

J.t.Qbe comments: Just keep banging the rocks together, A.T., and you'll get there. nmap is one of the top, uh, network exploration tools (sure, that's a good term) out there. It'll tell you more about your system's security holes and potential security holes than you ever could have guessed. Just watch out where you use it. . .

KISS Demo -- 10:13 am CST, Update by A.T. Hun

Gamespy got their hands on a demo of KISS Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child (73M) from GOD Games/Third Law Interactive. Here's the scoop:

Included in this demo are five levels: two from the Water Realm, one from the Earth Realm, one from the Air Realm and one from the Fire Realm. The full game includes 47 maps. The demo is single-player only. Be sure to play through all five levels -- the first two levels are deceptively simple, aimed at getting new players involved in the gameplay. The other realms begin unleashing the hurt without mercy...

KPC: TNC (how's that for an acronym?) uses the LithTech 1.5 engine. It will be interesting to see how this stacks up against previous LithTech efforts, not to mention UT- or Q3A-engine games. You can download it from FilePlanet, Stomped, 3D Gamers, and 3D Downloads. Thanks Blue.

Past Two Days' News

The Haus is powered by:

All original information on this website is copyright © TheHaus.Net, 1999-2005. The use of original images, text, and/or code from this website without expressed written consent is prohibited. The authors of this site cannot be held responsible for any damage, real or imagined, which comes from the use of information presented on this site. All trademarks used are the properties of their respective owners. This site is not to be used as a floatation device (but if you try, I want a video tape of it).