Saturday, June 4, 2011

Tarzan Ball is a tricky hook-and-pull physics game

tarzanball
So, you're a ball. A Tarzan Ball, to be precise. You've earned the nickname thanks to your astonishing ability to shoot out a lengthy 'vine' (I hope it's a vine) at objects, and then pull yourself towards those objects.

That's a handy ability to have, especially since you've got no legs, no arms, and no other means of transportation. In Tarzan Ball, the rope is everything. But you don't just swing around the screen aimlessly - that wouldn't be much of a game now, would it?

Instead, your goal in life is to collect "targets". Each level has one of these "targets" hidden away somewhere on the screen, usually behind some kind of barrier. Once you navigate close enough to the target, you can shoot your rope at it and just reel it in. That's when you pass the level.

You can't die in this game, but it can still be very frustrating. It's actually one of the tougher games I've posted recently. Still, if you enjoy physics games, this one is quite nicely made.

[This is actually the sequel to IQ Ball, which we covered last year! -Ed]

Tarzan Ball is a tricky hook-and-pull physics game originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/21/tarzan-ball-is-a-tricky-hook-and-pull-physics-game/

RED HAT RADISYS

Kindle 3.1 Software Running On Older Kindles Thanks To Custom Firmware

Running the latest Kindle 3.1 firmware on older Kindle models is now possible thanks to a recent hack.

The patched firmware, released by Yifan Lu, has been something of a work in progress for a number of weeks, as detailed in this extensive development thread. Lu explains that the custom firmware has been tested extensively by a number of individuals during the development period, and that the script is now in a stable condition, minus a couple of bugs. The two bugs currently found in the firmware include a problem with sound quality and active contents not working.

The 9.6MB zip download will open up older Kindle models, such as the Kindle 2 and Kindle DX, to new features such as improved PDF support and better Web browsing. According to Lu, these additional features don't noticeably negatively impact performance on the older hardware.

You'll need to do a fair amount of tinkering to get the custom firmware working--including jailbreaking your device. You'll also need to Kindles--one old and one new. Why, you ask? Lu's script works by taking the firmware from the old Kindle, copying it over to the new Kindle, patching it, and then sending it back with new features ready to go. Got it?

And as Lu says in the "readme" FAQ:

"Why can't you just release the update package for my Kindle since all updates generated for one Kindle works for all others of that model?

Because the Kindle OS files are copyrighted and I will not distribute copyrighted works (and you shouldn't either!)"

We're not lawyers, mind you, so we can't say for sure, but this hack still seems like it might fall into a bit of a legal gray area. In either case, check out this video of Lu's hack:

Would you go through the effort to get the improved features of the 3.1 Kindle firmware on your old device? Let us know in the comments.

[Via Hack A Day]

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Friday, June 3, 2011

Report: Apple to pay music labels big advances

The company has agreed to pony up to each of the four largest record companies between $25 million and $50 million in advance royalty payments, according to the New York Post.

Originally posted at Media Maverick

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20068655-261/report-apple-to-pay-music-labels-big-advances/?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=News-Apple

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ZoomInfo touts its proprietary technology as it seeks to 'map the business landscape in near real-time.'

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SAS Storage In The Cloud

The latest incarnation of Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) not only has tremendous performance, it also has some compelling networking capabilities.

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SV Angel: ?We Won?t Pass On Old Entrepreneurs?

There has been a lot of discussion recently about the "peak age" of entrepreneurs. "Old Guys Rule," said Vivek Wadwa in 1999, citing data that showed that men over 40 who were married and with children have the highest chance of success (no data was shared on female entrepreneurs). But more recently there's been a definite trend, particularly in the consumer Internet and mobile space, towards very young founders. The peak age is around 25, said one venture capitalist, drawing a comparison to professional athletes. And SV Angel shared data on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt last week showing that more than 2/3 of startups that have $500 million or higher exits are started by entrepreneurs under 30 (see image above). To counter the counter-argument, Adeo Ressi argued earlier this week that older entrepreneurs are actually performing better on their Founder Institute aptitude tests, and they expect great things from them.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/327kAgorfDs/

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Thursday, June 2, 2011

Google Chromebook Tips Up Early, Sells Out Fast

In what's likely a hint of things to come, limited quantities of Samsung's Chromebook running Google's Chrome OS went on sale yesterday a full two weeks ahead of the official launch and quickly sold out. The Chrome Team sent out emails to select users with a link to the Gilt Groupe, an online retailer that offers instant access to top designer...

Source: http://hothardware.com/News/Google-Chromebook-Tips-Up-Early-Sells-Out-Fast/

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