95 Oldschool Games You Can Play Online

From Amod.com:

"Remember the classic video games? The 8-bit masterpieces of our sweaty-palmed youth. Inviting some friends over for a Maniac Mansion all-nighter, huffing asthmatically into a cartridge to clear out the dust, or the thrill and crushing disappointment of rescuing a princess, only to discover you’ve really just saved a fungus.

These games aren’t lost forever. You can still play many of them online. If you love the old classics, this list should have you busy for months. Below is a list of 95 old school video games that you can play online. Click on each title to link directly to the game. Also, we’ve reviewed and rated each game for you, our loyal AMOG readers."

The complete list can be seen HERE, but I'll just list the top 5.

1941: Counter Attack

Released: 1990
Popularity around release date: 4/5
Difficulty: 3/5
Fun: 4/5
Uniqueness: 3/5
Sound: 3/5
Graphics: 4/5

1942

Released: 1984
Popularity around release date: 4/5
Difficulty: 3/5
Fun: 4/5
Uniqueness: 3/5
Sound: 4/5
Graphics: 3/5

1943 Kai

Released: 1987
Popularity around release date: 4/5
Difficulty: 3/5
Fun: 4/5
Uniqueness: 3/5
Sound: 4/5
Graphics: 4/5

1943: The Battle of Midway

Released: 1987
Popularity around release date: 4/5
Difficulty: 3/5
Fun: 4/5
Uniqueness: 3/5
Sound: 4/5
Graphics: 4/5

(5) Alley Cat

Released: 1983
Popularity around release date: 3/5
Difficulty: 2/5
Fun: 3/5
Uniqueness: 5/5
Sound: 3/5
Graphics: 2/5

Get from one house to another by jumping onto the moving platforms. Since you are a cat, you have– you guessed it– nine lives. Beware of the dog. If it catches you, you lose a life. However, if you catch a mouse, you get extra points. Also, watch out for the creepy old lady. If she grabs you, she’ll declaw you and make you have a tea party with the dozens of other rescues she adopts, even though her lease clearly says no pets.

Registeration for New Domain ".Tel" Starts Today

Starting today, companies and organizations can register with the new domain ".tel" which is being likened to an online phone book. People can browse to a person's or company's ".tel" website, and find a slew of information waiting for them such as contact information, phone numbers, fax numbers, email addresses, Social Site links, Instant Messaging links, and even links to virtual profiles like Second Life.

Another great aspect of this is that people can tell their Address Books to gather its information from the individual's/business's .tel domain. Then, when that individual/domain has to change their information (for whatever reason), they simply have to update their .tel website, and everyone who has directed their Address Books to that site will update automatically. No more sending out several hundred emails with updated information, knowing half your emails will be discarded or go unread.

Here's an example of the usefulness of .tel's:

Let's say you're working for the New York Times, and it's your job to handle any problems that your biggest customers have (whether it's regarding online services, distribution, or payments). Now let's say that for some reason or another, you are forced to change your phone number & email in the same day. You send out an email to your 100+ clients with your new info, but odds are it'll be at least a few days before everyone can update their Address Books.

However, if your clients had been directed to set their Address Books using your .tel site, all of their 100+ Address Books would update instantly!

Initially, registrars will charge ~ $400. Considering some of the major ".com" sites can be in the $10,000's, this seems like an extremely fair price. It's even rumored that smaller businesses can rent a .tel domain singularly (without any other domains like .com, .org, etc). These small businesses can even give a list of Keywords that search engines use when following users search requests. This allows for a cheap, low-maintenance website that still utilizes major search engines.

So basically, if time is money, linking all of your information to a single source (.tel) has the potential to save major dollars.

You can find more information at nytimes and wikipedia.

Reason Not to Trust Google Maps

This REALLY happened to me and my friend! Please watch:

Newest Ant-Pirate Weapon: Mp3's

Africa's Eastern coast has been plagued by Pirates for many years now, and there's been next to nothing done about it. In fact, many of Africa's poorest regard these pirates as heroes or even successful businessmen. To them, you're frowned upon if you don't jump on the chance to be a pirate. And while many businesses begged the local governments to do something about the attacks, the answer was almost almost a uniform "No."

Seeing this cry for help as a business opportunity, a private British company (Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions (APMSS)) has come up with a solution to battle these pirates before they ever reach their victim's vessel. This weapon is, quite simply, music or sound. The sound is played via a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), which is about the size of a typical satellite dish. The sound played over the "dish" comes from a typical Mp3 player, to which it is attached. The volume of the sound played over the LRAD can be decreased or increased- to an almost unbearable level.

According to APMSS chief executive Nick Davis, "It's very effective up to 1,000 metres and excruciating if you get within 100 to 200 metres if it's at full power. It would give you more or less permanent hearing damage."


So here is a brief explanation of how the LRAD is used. The APMSS sends their LRAD and software, along with a three man team, to their client vessel. The vessel will be outfitted with the LRAD and all needed equipment. Once the vessel begins it's journey, passengers keep an eager eye for pirates. Once the pirates are spotted, the LRAD is "deployed" against them. Initially, the pirates are too far away for the sound to be painful, but the closer they come, the more unbearable it becomes.

Davis also gave a recent example of the LRAD in the field, when a group of pirates were spotted a few miles away from the LRAD equipped vessel. "At two miles they sounded the general alarm. The pirates slowed down at around 600 metres and continued to 400 metres, waving AK47s," Davis said. "The pirates then turned away and went to the vessel without security that was three to four miles behind ours," he said.

It's ingenuity like this that makes me proud of my species. Serisouly, who would have thought to arm a boat with a giant satellite dish that shoots sound waves at enemies? But not only did someone come up with such an outrageous idea, they acted on it- and it worked. Now, companies (and sailors, no doubt) are rejoicing that they can do more than just sit and cross their fingers- hoping that their murchandise or employees are not wrongfully taken or harmed.

Invisibility Cloak Possible?

According to National Geographic, making an object become invisible is now within the realm of possibility. Basically, light can be manipulated so that an object appears to have vanished.

If you've ever tried to grab a fish out of the water, then you can understand the basic principals of invisibility: the fish isn't where you thought it was (ie: your brain was tricked by the way the light was bent as it passed through the water &/or the bowl).

In the example below, you are "seeing" what's behind the man (please try to look past the simplicity of the experiment)


There are many obvious applications for such technology, with a focus on being stealthy. Some not-so-obvious applications essentially reverse the fundamentals of invisibility to create objects that stand out like a sore thumb. This could be used for such things as road reflectors to satellite beacons.

So the long and short of "invisibility" is this: even if no one ever creates the Holy Grail that is the Harry Potter Cloak of Invisibility, there will be other lucrative technologies invented along the way that will make the quest well worth the pursuit.

Microsoft to Offer Free Malware Software

Probably for the first time EVER, Microsoft will offer useful software for free. Their new anti-malware software, codenamed Morro, will provide "...'comprehensive protection' from 'the majority of online threats', including viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans" (techradar.com).

Another pleasant surprise from Microsoft is that Morro will be available for XP, Vista & Windows 7. Now from a consumer's perspective, I would've thought that Microsoft (known for their constant Monopoly attempts) would've put some sort of financial twist on this whole Morro project. Sure- maybe it's free, but ONLY for Windows 7. That way they push their new product & their wallet. But like I said- This is not the case! Nice job Microsoft.


...my cynical side is telling me: Just because you don't see their profit incentive for Morro doesn't mean it's not there...

Italian Boy Diagnosed with ‘PlayStation Addiction’

From Crutchgear.com

"An Italian boy has been diagnosed with “PlayStation addiction” following a marathon gaming session. The boy, 13, was rushed to a hospital where doctors thought he had suffered a stroke or some other serious condition.

Nope, just played a little too much Mega Man!

It gets better. After leaving the hospital, the boy told his father to throw away the PlayStation for fear of further complications."

• I'd just like to point out that the BOY told his FATHER to throw away the PS, not the other way around.
  

PC Magazine Goes 100% Digital

It has been recently announced that PC Magzine will no longer offer it's "paper" services, opting to switch to the internet as its only business medium. Below is an excerpt by the Editor-in-Chief of PC Magazine in a letter to his readers:

"The January 2009 issue (Volume 28, Issue 1) of PC Magazine will mark a monumental transition for the publication. It is the last printed edition of this venerable publication. Of course, as with any technology-related enterprise, this is not the end, but the beginning of something exciting and new."

I wonder if this is something we will be seeing more of in the not-too-distant future. When I get a magazine, there's more advertising than real content. I fear the Magazine Industry is a dying breed, and those who have a substantial stake in it (PC Mag) are seeking refuge elsewhere.

Time's Top 10 Inventions of 2008

Another year is drawing to a close, and what better than to reflect upon what we've gained from it. Compliments of Time Magazine, here is a list of the Top 10 Inventions of the past year.

10. The Retail DNA Test

• With a swab of your saliva, this test will be able to tell you what the chances are your children will contract a certain genetic trait. Here's a quote from Time:

"Learning and sharing your genetic secrets are at the heart of 23andMe's controversial new service — a $399 saliva test that estimates your predisposition for more than 90 traits and conditions ranging from baldness to blindness. Although 23andMe isn't the only company selling DNA tests to the public, it does the best job of making them accessible and affordable. The 600,000 genetic markers that 23andMe identifies and interprets for each customer are "the digital manifestation of you," says Wojcicki (pronounced Wo-jis-key), 35, who majored in biology and was previously a health-care investor. "It's all this information beyond what you can see in the mirror."


9. The Tesla Roadster

• Finally- a cool environmentally friendly sports car. It's sexy, fast, and (somewhat) cheap. Listed right at about $100,000.00, this battery-operated sport's car can top out at 125 m.p.h. Celebs of the likes of George Clooney have been on this car's waiting list since 2003.

8. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

• This expensive piece of NASA hardware will, in the word's of Time, "...study the things lunar orbiters always study — gravity, temperature — but it will also look for signs of water ice, a vital resource for any future lunar base..."
• Not too useful from a consumer standpoint, but epic nonetheless.

7. Hulu.com

• For those who don't have Cable or Satellite, but want to keep up with their favorite episodes of The Office, Fringe, or House, this is the site for you. And I know, I know: you could watch each of these shows on their individual or their parent network's site, but it's so much easier to have ALL OF THEM sent to one place. Kudos to Hulu.

6. The Large Hadron Collider

• Yup. That's right. The machine that's going to END THE WORLD! Just kidding... I hope. On a more philanthropicnote, this machine will attempt to answer such questions as "Why does mass exists?" and "Does the universe have extra dimensions?"

5. The Global Seed Vault

• I think Time says it best:
  

"The Global Seed Vault, opened this year on the far-northern Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, is a backup for the backups. It's badly needed — as many as half the seed banks in developing countries are at risk from natural disasters or general instability. The vault can hold up to 4.5 million samples, which will be kept dry at about 0°F (-18°C). Even if the facility loses power, the Arctic climate should keep the seeds viable for thousands of years. Let's just hope we still like corn then."


4. The Chevy Volt

• The name sounds like some kind of truck/VW Bug hybrid, but it's actually the best (my opinion) electric sedan on the market (2010's market, that is). With a single charge, the Volt's battery has enough juice for trips up to 40 miles.
  
• I wonder if this is a sign of things to come.

3. Bullets That Shoot Bullets

• Oh yeah- you read that right. BULLETS THAT SHOOT BULLETS.
  
• Actually, it's a missile that locks in on other missiles. The "good" missile contacts the "bad" missile mid-flight, causing a safe detonation without any harm to the good guys.
• If all goes to plan, Army vehicles will be outfitted with these defense systems, which would mean less armor plating, which means faster vehicles.

2. The Orbital Internet

• It might seem like a small feat, but it really is a monumental accomplishment. There are no wires or cords, so a "dedicated" server to space would be spotty at best. Here's Time's take:

"In space, no one can hear you scream. But you will be able to send e-mail, thanks to a new protocol being developed for use there. It's hard to maintain a stable connection in orbit, so the interplanetary Internet will have to be especially tolerant of delays and disruptions. In September, a satellite used the new protocol to relay an image of the Cape of Good Hope back to Earth."

1. The World's Fastest Computers

• Los Alamos National Laboratory currently employs the world's fastest computer. Built by IBM, this $133 million super computer (dubbed "Roadrunner") broke the petaflop barrier in the computer universe: 1 quadrillion calculations per second. It will be used to study the effects of aging on nuclear weapons.
  

Success and Chances

In this "Land of Opportunity", we're all looking for our Big Chance. Maybe you'll get that job you've always fantasized about. Maybe you'll nail that stellar promotion. Maybe you'll retire early. Maybe you'll inherit that beautiful lake house. The fun thing about these dreams is that they happen all the time. Now, maybe you won't get everything you've always wanted, but chances are you'll have at least a dream or two come true [cue the singing cricket].

I've also learned that while people are chasing their own dreams and ambitions, they like to pause and observe others who have achieved theirs. Let's take a modern day example that most of the world can understand: Michael Phelps. Phelps had a dream to become an Olympian, so he took the necessary measures to fulfill this dream. He worked on technique, conditioned his body, monitored what he ate, and stuck to a very monotonous (but effective) routine for several years. Then, in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, Phelps' hard work paid off.

But what I'd like to focus on is how the world stopped, if only for an instant, to see if he would be successful. And when he was, in fact, successful, the voices of entire nations joined together in a choir of praise... All because one man achieved his dream. He did what we all long to do at some point in our lives: be given a shot at something great, and nail it.

It's in this spirit that I wanted to share the following recent success story about a young man named Steve Demeter. You might know him as the architect of "Trism," the popular game found at the iTunes Store. Demeter was a "normal" guy working an 8 to 5 like the rest of us. But unlike most of us, he was given an extraordinary opportunity. He submitted this "Trism" game to the iTunes store in hopes it would find enough buyers to be called a success. And successful it was.

Here's a quote from an article by CNN:

"A former ATM software designer for a large bank, Demeter created "Trism" in his spare time and pitched it to Apple last spring. The company made the game available for download with the July launch of its App Store, an online provider of applications for its iPods and iPhones. Priced at $5, "Trism" earned Demeter $250,000 in profits the first two months."

[I'd just like to repeat one part, in case you missed it. $250,000 IN PROFITS IN THE FIRST TWO MONTHS! I think we can call that successful.]

What I find most appealing about this story is how this"Average Joe" got a shot a something great, and succeeded.


Reader, you and I will both have unique opportunities offered to us in the future. While they may not be fame and fortune, they will be rewarding nonetheless. My hope is that both of us are ready to show what we're truly made of when the time comes.

Google.org

Google.org
Here's a site that's truly amazing. It's like Google compiled all of their most noble qualities into one location. The direction of Google.org is explained by this quote from its site:

"...In collaboration with experienced partners working in each of these fields, we will invest our resources and tap the strengths of Google’s employees and global operations to advance five major initiatives: Develop Renewable Energy Cheaper Than Coal (RE), RechargeIT, Predict and Prevent, Inform and Empower to Improve Public Services, and Fuel the Growth of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises."

Google goes on to explain just how it "advances" the above five initiatives by showing where their grant money is going. Here's the link to the "Grants and Investments" page.

The final notable feature of Google.org is the "Flu Trends" page. This is Google ingenuity at its best. Some time ago, Google noticed that large amounts of users would search for "Flu" keywords on google.com several weeks before any other methods notified the public of a "flu epidemic." Someone on the Google team realized if they could see what area of the country the users were from when they implemented their "flu" search, they could create a map of where the flu virus was most likely to rear its ugly head.

Hardest Times Past for AMD?

Quote from eetimes:
"SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Advanced Micro Devices is back on track with its latest 45 nmperformance computing (HPC) companies expect to see neck-and neck competition between AMD and Intel as both move to six-core server processors in 2009.

AMD's four-core, 45 nm Shanghai processor is shipping now, ahead of schedule. The chip, which AMD has not yet formally announced, will be priced aggressively and is getting performance measures as high as 35 percent above its previous 65 nm Barcelona while consuming as much as 30 percent less power, said Burke Banda, a server marketing manager for AMD."

Most people know about AMD's problems... First off, their stock has dropped 90% since '06. Second, they've "let go" about 500 employees in order to pay off their 1.5 billion dollar debt. Finally, and most recently, they've had an employee-gone-rogue allegedly steal 1.5 billion dollars worth of trade secrets and hand them to his wife, who just "happens" to work for Intel. Hmmm...

But if you read the above excerpt, then you might agree with me in saying things are finally looking up for AMD. As the multicore race heats up, AMD looks like an early favorite with it's (unofficial) Shanghai 45 nm 4-core. Preliminary tests show considerable improvements in both power consumption & performance.

However, Intel also announced that they too will be releasing a new processor of the 45 nm Nehalem family. Once this comes out, Intel & AMD will most definitely be neck-and-neck. AMD needs to make capitalize on beating Intel to the market if they want to make up for previous lost profits (& customers).

Cyrus Virus

I 'bout wet myself when I read this from this forum :

"Well, i was surfing the net at college yesterday on my laptop, im allowed to use it in lessons to take notes etc.
I shut it down after my free period and went to physics, switched my laptop on, and upon startup it started some EXTREEMLY annoying music

I looked at it, tried to put some headphones in (sadly my headphons jack appears to no longer be working) and my sound panel is blanked out, so i cant control the volume (MUTE IT!)
eventually i gave in that physics lesson and just used pen and paper.

so i got home and tried to mess about a bit with it, it appears to have a strange virus.
It plays "Miley Cyrus - See You Again" upon startup, each and every time, and just repeats at full volume, it wont accept headphones (just sees them as not there and continues to play)

I found miley.exe as a process, and im assuming thats what controlling it, but when i close it, its just reopens itself and starts playing again

anyone have any ideas? As i absolutly hate pop music, and this takes the buscuit -.-"



So for those of you who skipped the paragraph for the recap, here you go. Basically, while sitting in class, our protagonist's laptop acquired a virus of epic proportions. First, the virus disabled the headphone jack & the audio controls simultaneously. Next, it forced the volume to skyrocket. And then the grand finale- "See You Again" by Miley Cyrus blasted on a constant loop.

EPIC

My Condolences, Wii.

It's finally happened. Another company has come out with motion-sensing controller. Which company?, you might ask. While my money would've been on Microsoft, the actual culprit is Sony. That's right- amidst the whole Blue-Ray/HD DVD war, Sony's R&D was hard at work developing this:

Here's a brief description from GameSpot.com:

"Last week, Sony Computer Entertainment of America's patent application for a new input device emerged in the US Patent and Trademark Office's online database. The application, which was first filed in June, details a new motion-sensing controller whose most distinguishing feature is its ability to break apart and be put back together in a variety of formations. The patent application also details a "hybrid video capture and ultrasonic tracking system" to deal with motion-sensing."

Will this be the end of the Wii's reign?
How will this effect Wii's Console market share?
Time will tell.

No matter the outcome, one thing is for certain. Wii's unique and innovative technology has finally been raped and plundered.

My condolences, Wii.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Sony would use Samurai in their patent drawing...

H@x - ClickJacking

Recently, "researchers" Robert Hansen and Jeremiah Grossman, unveiled the newest weapon in a Hacker's arsenal- Clickjacking.

Clickjacking is where an attacker can control the links your browser visits. Now as usual, there's an upside and a downside to this attack. The good news is that if you use a script filter, such as the add-on for Firefox called No Script, then there's a good chance you can prevent the attack from being successfully used on you. Now several bits of bad news.

First, the attack can be used via any browser. Yes, that includes Firefox 3 & Internet Explorer 7. The only known browser exception is lynx.
Second, the attack can be issued through javascript (like many other viruses), so objects like flash games are perfect bait. Also, Ebay could be used as an attack medium since it allows javascript to be embeded into their website.
Lastly, and potentially most disturbing, is that the attack is not limited to javascript. It is only limited to DHTML. So, in a nutshell, while using javascript would be the "easiest" way for a hacker to attack, it is not the only way.

Gone are the days when you could simply "disable javascript" and not have to worry about and online trouble.

It is also worth mentioning that this is a considered a 0(zero)-day vulnerability. 0-day vulnerabilities are exploits which have no patch; they weren't even discovered (by the "good guys") until recently. This means that there are NO defenses for this attack. As mentioned before, the only quasi-defense is to use a script-diabling program.

For more in-depth examples, Tod Beardsley from BreakingPoint has posted a few proof-of-concept exploits with speculation around clickjacking.