Author: kenmay

GNOME 3.16 Released

kthreadd writes Version 3.16 of GNOME, the primary desktop environment for GNU/Linux operating systems has been released. Some major new features in this release include a overhauled notification system, an updated design of the calendar drop down and support for overlay scrollbars. Also, the grid view in Files has been improved with bigger thumbnail icons, making the appearance more attractive and the rows easier to read. A video is available which demonstrates the new version. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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GNOME 3.16 Released

Lone modder’s Half-Life 2: Update brings modern graphics to a classic

As amazing as Half-Life 2 was when it was first released in 2004, time has not been kind to the original release’s graphics, which can look a bit flat and dated compared to modern PC games. Enter Romanian modder Filip Victor , who’s ready to release the final version of a massive, Source engine-powered graphical update for the game on Steam for free tomorrow. As shown in a slick comparison trailer  and detailed in a PDF brochure , Half-Life 2: Update offers graphical improvements like high dynamic range lighting, improved fog and particle effects, world reflections, more detailed water rendering, improved background models, and other effects that just weren’t feasible back in 2004. The update also fixes a number of animation and cut-scene-activation bugs that have persisted in the original release and adds optional fan commentary from a number of high-profile YouTube personalities. Despite all the graphical changes, the update leaves the original gameplay, level design, character models, textures, and animations intact. “The goal of Half-Life 2: Update is to fix up, polish, and visually enhance Half-Life 2 , without ever changing the 2004 original’s core gameplay, or time-tested style,” Victor wrote in the update’s brochure. “I wanted to ensure that the update was something that would be enduring, and worth the time it takes to play it. I hope that both newcomers and veterans of the Half-Life series will enjoy seeing the work that went into its creation.” Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Lone modder’s Half-Life 2: Update brings modern graphics to a classic

Graphene allows strange form of ice to occur at room temperature

We are all familiar with water, and we see it every day in many forms: in the bulk as a glass of water, in the crystal phase as ice, and the vapor phase as steam. While the behavior of these phases seems predictable, water is an unusual substance that behaves unlike any other small molecule we know of. This fact is particularly notable when water is viewed at small-length scales or confined to small compartments. An international team of scientists recently discovered some intriguing structural characteristics of water confined in graphene nanocapillaries. In these studies, the researchers deposited a graphene monolayer on a small grid, added a small amount of water, and then covered it with another monolayer of graphene. This sample was left overnight to allow excess water to evaporate, eventually bringing the graphene layers together so that only a small amount of adsorbed water remained between them. The water left behind showed some unusual structural properties. Structural characteristics of water are influenced by hydrogen bonding among adjacent water molecules. In the liquid state, water exhibits a partially ordered structure. In the crystal state, water molecules begin to conform to more rigid lattice structures, forming ice. As ice, the water molecules typically take on a geometry that is a three-dimensional “tetrahedral” structure, which basically looks like a square pyramid. Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Graphene allows strange form of ice to occur at room temperature

New WoW item will allow players to trade gold for game time

Blizzard will soon allow World of Warcraft players to trade purchased game time for in-game gold, and vice versa, effectively putting an official, floating real-world value on the in-game currency. With yesterday’s rollout of WoW patch 6.12, Blizzard says it’s ready to introduce the ” WoW token,” a new in-game item that can be traded for 30 days of play time in the subscription-based MMO. Blizzard says the new feature will be launched in the Americas “once Patch 6.1.2 has been live for a while [to] help us ensure the foundation for the feature is solid.” Other regions will get tokens further down the line. WoW tokens will be available for purchase from the in-game shop for $20 or “the rough equivalent” in other regions. That’s somewhat more than the $14.99 maximum usually charged for a single month’s subscription fee, but the tokens differ from regular subscription game time because they can be exchanged for in-game gold through an in-game auction house. Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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New WoW item will allow players to trade gold for game time

Hyperpolyglot Is a Side-by-Side Reference Sheet for Programming

Once you’ve learned one programming language or programming tool, it’s pretty easy to get into another similar one. Sometimes, though, the fine differences are hard to remember. Hyperpolyglot is an awesome tool for looking up the differences and similarities between programming languages and tools. Read more…

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Hyperpolyglot Is a Side-by-Side Reference Sheet for Programming

Bankrupt Radio Shack will sell the customer data they promised to keep private

They were the first company to dabble in a laughably crude version of the surveillance business-model, aggressively collecting your address every time you bought batteries so they could get into the direct-mail racket. Read the rest

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Bankrupt Radio Shack will sell the customer data they promised to keep private

Sony Pictures is planning a ‘Robotech’ live-action film franchise

We’ve got good news for you… though it may actually be bad news, depending on how you feel about Hollywood anime adaptations. That live-action Robotech movie might actually happen now that Sony Pictures has officially fished it out of limbo and snapped up its rights from Warner Bros. In fact, the studio’s looking at it as a potential film franchise à la Transformers instead of just as a single movie. A handful of new people have also joined the project, including producers Gianni Nunnari and Mark Canton ( 300, The Immortals ), as well as scriptwriter Michael Gordon ( 300, GI Joe ). However, that also means Tobey Maguire, who was slated to produce years ago, is out. Sorry to break it to old-school anime fans who wanted to see him and best bro Leo DiCaprio play Rick Hunter, Breetai or any other character. Robotech , by the way, is the collective name of three different sci-fi/mecha anime series spliced together to be shown on American TV in the 1980s. It features a lot of robots, alien invaders, good-looking heroes, an intergalactic pop star and even an epic love triangle. Since Sony Pictures hasn’t revealed any solid details about the project yet, we’d love to hear who you think should star in the movie(s). Filed under: Misc , Sony Comments Source: Variety

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Sony Pictures is planning a ‘Robotech’ live-action film franchise

Microsoft’s next Surface could signal the death of RT

Microsoft hasn’t given up on the idea of a mini-me version of its successful Surface Pro 3 convertible, according to a rumor from WinBeta . But a Surface 3 model won’t follow in the Surface 2’s wobbly footsteps by packing the RT version of Windows. Instead, it will reportedly take a page from the latest Macbook and come with an Intel Atom or Core M fanless CPU and a full version of Windows 8.1, upgradeable to Windows 10 . That means it could hit a lower price point than the Surface Pro while maintaining standard Windows compatibility — the lack of which effectively sunk the Surface 2. As we recently learned , Microsoft appears to be phasing out Windows RT, saying future versions will have, at best, just “some” Windows 10 functionality. It also reportedly killed a Qualcomm-based “mini” RT version of the Surface just days before it was set to launch. So if it pans out, what will this Surface-lite look like, how much will it cost and when will it arrive? We’re not sure about the first two parts, but it’s rumored to be coming in time for Microsoft’s Build conference starting April 29th. Filed under: Laptops , Microsoft Comments Source: Winbeta

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Microsoft’s next Surface could signal the death of RT

PayPal’s failure to spot sanctioned accounts just cost it $7.7 millon

PayPal has has agreed to pay the US Department of the Treasury $7.7-million, after the financial giant processed transactions for a number of companies and individuals on the US sanctions list. A total of 486 violations of US regulations had apparently been committed by PayPal “for several years” after repeated failures in the firm’s screening process, a reports explains. While the severity of each instance will vary, the Treasury highlighted a number that relate to Turkish national Kursud Zafer Cire — an individual on the list after suspected involvement in the movement of weapons of mass destruction. The Treasury’s report states that Risk Operations Agents at PayPal manually overrode at least four alerts flagging Cire as blacklisted — resulting in transactions totalling over $7, 000. Since 2013, PayPal has introduced a “long term solution” that checks for violations in real time. An investment we imagine that’s a little more cost effective, than predicting future malware . Filed under: Internet Comments Via: Reuters Source: US Dept. Treasury , (2)

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PayPal’s failure to spot sanctioned accounts just cost it $7.7 millon