"The barrier to entry for game development has been demolished," says games developer Christer Kaitila. "These are exciting times for an emerging art – the gates have been flung wide open."Though it started as a niche hobby, DIY game design is set to go mainstream. Microsoft's Project Spark aims to turn the making of games itself into a game. Players are given a fully configurable world that can be moulded with gestures recognised by Kinect – mountains are sculpted and valleys scooped out with a swipe of the hand. Buildings, characters and objects of almost any kind can be added via graphical interfaces.
Once it is all in place, users can devise simple scripts that give their creations programmed behaviours. One demo of the game showed how a rock, for example, could be turned into a faithful sidekick by adding a few short commands.Early testers have already created a wide variety of games, from block-matching puzzle games to side-scrollers, top-down shooters, and 3D first-person adventures – many of them recreations of existing games. Project Spark makes this level of creativity accessible by hiding hundreds of lines of code beneath the interfaces that are second nature to gamers.
Game Maker, a tool for creating games on the PC, has been used to make several successful titles, including Spelunky, Hotline Miami and Gunpoint. "Game Maker is great because it's good for beginners," says Tom Francis, who used the tool to make Gunpoint. "But it doesn't keep you a beginner." When Francis started making the game he was working as a games journalist and had no programming experience. What he likes about Game Maker is how it lets you move from sketching out the basics of a game in a drag-and-drop interface to adding in blocks of code bit by bit, as you learn. "It's a great way to ramp up," he says.
2013年8月29日星期四
2013年8月27日星期二
New High-Tech Tool Helps Coloradans Find the Right Health Care
The goal is to connect with the people in the town they are serving, Olsen said."We really want these Facebook accounts to be personal to your area so they know you're there for them," he said.Kris Mecham said the ward's Facebook page helps missionaries make quick connections when they move into a new area."You're already connected with dozens and dozens of people, and then you get a chance to follow up with them as time goes on," he said. "That compares with taking days or weeks knocking on doors."No one is required to use the online tools, but missionaries who do must agree to certain guidelines, Olsen said. They have to adhere to their daily schedule, including their daily study, and "maintain the dignity and decorum of missionaries at all times and all places with all groups."
Thousands of Coloradans are preparing to enroll in the state's health insurance exchange, called Connect for Health Colorado. Understanding the system isn't easy, but now there's a new high-tech tool called the "Blue Guide," available online and through mobile devices, to help people search for the right insurance or the right care.In Aurora, Jake Wilson, Build a title team with the SAP Player Comparison Tool, Inc., gave the Guide a try."It pops up with their hours, their address, their phone number, their website information, so it's just all kind of a one-stop place to get it all," Wilson related.The "Blue Guide" was created by the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative.
The website and mobile apps enable people to search by location, medical condition, language and further criteria to find the best and most affordable health care services and coverage.According to Adam Fox, director of strategic engagement for the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, having something like the Blue Guide is an invaluable tool as people make the decisions for themselves and their families."There's been a fair amount of misinformation out there as to what's really happening, and the Blue Guide tool is really a way to help Coloradans kind of sort through that clutter," he said.
Thousands of Coloradans are preparing to enroll in the state's health insurance exchange, called Connect for Health Colorado. Understanding the system isn't easy, but now there's a new high-tech tool called the "Blue Guide," available online and through mobile devices, to help people search for the right insurance or the right care.In Aurora, Jake Wilson, Build a title team with the SAP Player Comparison Tool, Inc., gave the Guide a try."It pops up with their hours, their address, their phone number, their website information, so it's just all kind of a one-stop place to get it all," Wilson related.The "Blue Guide" was created by the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative.
The website and mobile apps enable people to search by location, medical condition, language and further criteria to find the best and most affordable health care services and coverage.According to Adam Fox, director of strategic engagement for the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, having something like the Blue Guide is an invaluable tool as people make the decisions for themselves and their families."There's been a fair amount of misinformation out there as to what's really happening, and the Blue Guide tool is really a way to help Coloradans kind of sort through that clutter," he said.
2013年8月21日星期三
Build a title team with the SAP Player Comparison Tool
Last week, we introduced you to the goodness that is the SAP Player Comparison Tool. This week, we return with more comparisons and more ways to determine how best to build your league's strongest roster.The tool analyzes a player's strengths based on five different categories -- Performance, Matchup, Consistency, Upside and Intangibles. And once again, we put it up against the NFL Fantasy LIVE player rankings.These two dynamic, but not-so-durable running backs have shown flashes of fantasy greatness, but have never quite reached the potential that many expected of them.
When it comes to 2013 drafts, the pair presents quite a quandary. But being a pass-catching back in a pass-happy offense seems to be a good fit and the SAP Player Comparison Tool gives the edge to Reggie Bush over DeMarco Murray.Similarly, it was a tough call between the two backs for the NFL Fantasy LIVE crew. But the idea of Bush as a dynamic run-catch option in an already high-octane offense was too much to ignore -- especially when compared to a player who has struggled to remain on the field during his first few seasons in the NFL.In the battle of two of the NFL's high-profile second-year quarterbacks, it's Robert Griffin III who earns the nod here, thanks in part to a high amount of upside.
Earlier in the offseason, the fear of RGIII's knee injury might have frightened a few fantasy enthusiasts, but as Griffin's rehab has progressed, his risk has lessened.While both Griffin and Russell Wilson are both top 10 options, according to the experts at NFL Fantasy LIVE, it's the reigning Rookie of the Year who has a slight edge. Wilson certainly has the potential for a fantastic season, but the loss of Percy Harvin could put a damper on a year that had even higher fantasy football expectations.
When it comes to 2013 drafts, the pair presents quite a quandary. But being a pass-catching back in a pass-happy offense seems to be a good fit and the SAP Player Comparison Tool gives the edge to Reggie Bush over DeMarco Murray.Similarly, it was a tough call between the two backs for the NFL Fantasy LIVE crew. But the idea of Bush as a dynamic run-catch option in an already high-octane offense was too much to ignore -- especially when compared to a player who has struggled to remain on the field during his first few seasons in the NFL.In the battle of two of the NFL's high-profile second-year quarterbacks, it's Robert Griffin III who earns the nod here, thanks in part to a high amount of upside.
Earlier in the offseason, the fear of RGIII's knee injury might have frightened a few fantasy enthusiasts, but as Griffin's rehab has progressed, his risk has lessened.While both Griffin and Russell Wilson are both top 10 options, according to the experts at NFL Fantasy LIVE, it's the reigning Rookie of the Year who has a slight edge. Wilson certainly has the potential for a fantastic season, but the loss of Percy Harvin could put a damper on a year that had even higher fantasy football expectations.
2013年8月20日星期二
Need to prove you're a soldier?
Hall, a former platoon leader who hunted insurgents in Iraq from 2006 to 2007, said the pair came up with the idea for the service back in 2009.At the time Microsoft was offering free e-learning vouchers to veterans, but those wanted to take advantage were required to first go to the Department of Labor with documents to prove their military service."Doesn't that defeat the purpose of e-learning?" Hall asked.Additionally, many retailers offer in-store military discounts, but those same discounts weren't being made available online because of fears that people would falsely claiming military status to get the deals.
VA Innovation Initiative director Jonah Czerwinski said online stolen valor is a real concern."Making promotions available to veterans or providing discounts to veterans quickly b'es unaffordable if you have no confidence that only veterans are availing themselves of your offer," he said.To solve the problem, Hall and Thompson worked with the VA and the United Services Automobile Association, which had experience verifying people's military records to'ply with special rules for lending to servicemembers.
They created a'puterized system that can verify in a matter of seconds if somebody has been on active duty at any time since 1950.After a user sets up an account, ID.me serves as an intermediary to prove a record of service,They have a fascinating lithic culture similar to how PayPal might verify an online purchase.Active-duty servicemembers and family members can verify their status simply by sending a confirmation email from a .mil email address. Veterans might need to provide information such as their name, date of birth and their dates of military service, which is then checked against Department of Defense records.
VA Innovation Initiative director Jonah Czerwinski said online stolen valor is a real concern."Making promotions available to veterans or providing discounts to veterans quickly b'es unaffordable if you have no confidence that only veterans are availing themselves of your offer," he said.To solve the problem, Hall and Thompson worked with the VA and the United Services Automobile Association, which had experience verifying people's military records to'ply with special rules for lending to servicemembers.
They created a'puterized system that can verify in a matter of seconds if somebody has been on active duty at any time since 1950.After a user sets up an account, ID.me serves as an intermediary to prove a record of service,They have a fascinating lithic culture similar to how PayPal might verify an online purchase.Active-duty servicemembers and family members can verify their status simply by sending a confirmation email from a .mil email address. Veterans might need to provide information such as their name, date of birth and their dates of military service, which is then checked against Department of Defense records.
2013年8月15日星期四
They have a fascinating lithic culture
Because these macaques are forced to b'e more vigilant and seeing less of a food supply, they are spending less time and energy learning tool-using patterns from their elders."Traditions need safety and stability to properly develop, otherwise, the coasts just b'e a danger area that macaques must learn to avoid, rather than a stable learning ground for developing tool-use," Gumert said.The NTU researchers discovered that 88 percent of the more than 190 macaques on the island use stone tools on a daily basis.
"They have a fascinating lithic culture," Gumert said. These Burmese macaques are the only monkeys in Asia that use stone tools. Only two other primate species, out of several hundred in the world use stone tools – the chimpanzees in Africa and capuchin monkeys in South America."Knowing about primate stone tool use has important implications to'pare with early hominine tool use, as well as the origins of cultural behavior," he added. "Studying traditions allow us to investigate the cultural capacity of animals."The NTU researchers said they hope to develop a long-term research program on the tool-using macaques in conjunction with Thailand's Chulalongkorn University.
Gumert said he also plans to set up permanent research sites around these animals for research and educational purposes."We should also explore into Myanmar, because we think the behavior may be more'mon there," he said. Macaque stone tool-use was first reported back in the 1880's in the journal, Nature, by Alfred Carpenter, an English seaman. We need to get into Myanmar and see how the macaques have changed since a century ago."These monkeys are extraordinary and a natural treasure to the Southeast Asian region," he added. "I believe stone-using macaques will b'e a symbol of coastal preservation here, a symbol for protecting Thailand and Myanmar's wonderful coastal ecosystems, and all that depends on them."
"They have a fascinating lithic culture," Gumert said. These Burmese macaques are the only monkeys in Asia that use stone tools. Only two other primate species, out of several hundred in the world use stone tools – the chimpanzees in Africa and capuchin monkeys in South America."Knowing about primate stone tool use has important implications to'pare with early hominine tool use, as well as the origins of cultural behavior," he added. "Studying traditions allow us to investigate the cultural capacity of animals."The NTU researchers said they hope to develop a long-term research program on the tool-using macaques in conjunction with Thailand's Chulalongkorn University.
Gumert said he also plans to set up permanent research sites around these animals for research and educational purposes."We should also explore into Myanmar, because we think the behavior may be more'mon there," he said. Macaque stone tool-use was first reported back in the 1880's in the journal, Nature, by Alfred Carpenter, an English seaman. We need to get into Myanmar and see how the macaques have changed since a century ago."These monkeys are extraordinary and a natural treasure to the Southeast Asian region," he added. "I believe stone-using macaques will b'e a symbol of coastal preservation here, a symbol for protecting Thailand and Myanmar's wonderful coastal ecosystems, and all that depends on them."
2013年8月13日星期二
Kathleen Alfano, senior director of child research
Kathleen Alfano, senior director of child research for Fisher-Price, said in a statement that toy development at the East Aurora, N.Y.-based'pany begins with extensive research by experts in early childhood development "to create appropriate toys for the ways children play, discover and grow.""Grounded in 80 years of research and childhood development observations, we have appropriately extended these well-researched play patterns into CoRI is'prised of several factors," Alfano said.Linn's group alleges that the'panies violate truth-in-advertising laws when they claim to "teach" babies skills.
For example, Fisher-Price claims that its Laugh & Learn "Where's Puppy's Nose?" app can teach a baby about body parts and language, while its "Learning Letters Puppy" app educates babies on the alphabet and counting to 10.Open Solutions says its mobile apps offer a "new and innovative form of education" by allowing babies to "practice logic and motor skills.""Given that there's no evidence that mobile apps are beneficial, and some evidence that it may actually be harmful, that's concerning," Linn said.According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, more than half of American adults own a smartphone while about one-third of adults own a tablet. With the number of mobile devices on the rise, mobile software applications have b'e lucrative money makers.
Even apps that are downloaded for free will often collect personal information from a consumer that can then be sold to marketers.Most of the Fisher-Price apps, for example, are free but warn in their privacy policies that "third parties" can collect information about a person's device for possible marketing purposes.Federal law says advertising can't mislead consumers and, in some cases, must be backed by scientific evidence. In 2012, the FTC — which enforces truth-in-advertising laws — agreed with the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood that the developer of "Your Baby Can Read" lied when it promised consumers it could teach babies as young as 9 months to read. That business shuttered after the FTC imposed a $185 million settlement.
For example, Fisher-Price claims that its Laugh & Learn "Where's Puppy's Nose?" app can teach a baby about body parts and language, while its "Learning Letters Puppy" app educates babies on the alphabet and counting to 10.Open Solutions says its mobile apps offer a "new and innovative form of education" by allowing babies to "practice logic and motor skills.""Given that there's no evidence that mobile apps are beneficial, and some evidence that it may actually be harmful, that's concerning," Linn said.According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, more than half of American adults own a smartphone while about one-third of adults own a tablet. With the number of mobile devices on the rise, mobile software applications have b'e lucrative money makers.
Even apps that are downloaded for free will often collect personal information from a consumer that can then be sold to marketers.Most of the Fisher-Price apps, for example, are free but warn in their privacy policies that "third parties" can collect information about a person's device for possible marketing purposes.Federal law says advertising can't mislead consumers and, in some cases, must be backed by scientific evidence. In 2012, the FTC — which enforces truth-in-advertising laws — agreed with the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood that the developer of "Your Baby Can Read" lied when it promised consumers it could teach babies as young as 9 months to read. That business shuttered after the FTC imposed a $185 million settlement.
2013年8月7日星期三
CoRI is'prised of several factors
CoRI is a suite of U.S. bond indexes that allow an investor to see how much it costs to fund a retirement. Investors need to be aware that volatility plays a part in retirement planning, and the cost could go up or down, depending on a wide variety of factors. Since it's an investable index, made up of U.S. Treasuries, U.S. Treasury STRIPS fixed-i'e securities sold at a significant discount to face value with no interest payments, and corporate bonds from the Industrial, Utility and Financial sectors.Not only is BlackRock creating the CoRI indices, it's also created a calculator that anyone can use to figure out how much one needs to save for a'fortable i'e level during retirement. If you've fallen behind your goals for retirement saving, the calculator shows how much you need to save to catch up.
If you have $1 million currently saved for retirement and you're going to retire in 2018, the calculator will show that you're annual i'e in retirement will be approximately $62,266 based off the July 30 price of the CoRI index.If you have a set annual i'e for your retirement years in mind, say $70,000 per year, the CoRI calculator will show how much you need to save to get to that goal.CoRI can be used not only as a retirement tool and calculator, but also as a benchmark to see how you're doing with regards to your goals. However, there could be a big difference between how your own portfolio is doing, versus the indexes.
CoRI is'prised of several factors, as part of a two-part process. First, it uses the cash flows needed to fund retirement. Then, it uses inflation expectations, interest rate changes, an adjustment for mortality, as well as something known as longevity pool risk premium, to'e up with the final CoRI index level.With so many people getting closer to retirement in the 55-64 age group range, BlackRock created an innovative family of bond indexes to make it easy to calculate how much i'e you'll need to retire. Combined with the advice of a financial advisor and BlackRock's suite of CoRI indexes, it'll make it easier to figure out your retirement goals before you reach retirement.
If you have $1 million currently saved for retirement and you're going to retire in 2018, the calculator will show that you're annual i'e in retirement will be approximately $62,266 based off the July 30 price of the CoRI index.If you have a set annual i'e for your retirement years in mind, say $70,000 per year, the CoRI calculator will show how much you need to save to get to that goal.CoRI can be used not only as a retirement tool and calculator, but also as a benchmark to see how you're doing with regards to your goals. However, there could be a big difference between how your own portfolio is doing, versus the indexes.
CoRI is'prised of several factors, as part of a two-part process. First, it uses the cash flows needed to fund retirement. Then, it uses inflation expectations, interest rate changes, an adjustment for mortality, as well as something known as longevity pool risk premium, to'e up with the final CoRI index level.With so many people getting closer to retirement in the 55-64 age group range, BlackRock created an innovative family of bond indexes to make it easy to calculate how much i'e you'll need to retire. Combined with the advice of a financial advisor and BlackRock's suite of CoRI indexes, it'll make it easier to figure out your retirement goals before you reach retirement.
2013年8月6日星期二
A top secret National Security Agency program
A top secret National Security Agency program allows analysts to search with no prior authorization through vast databases containing emails, online chats and the browsing histories of millions of individuals, according to documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden.The NSA boasts in training materials that the program, called XKeyscore, is its "Snowden's father says won't be 'emotional tool'" system for developing intelligence from the internet.The latest revelations will add to the intense public and congressional debate around the extent of NSA surveillance programs.
They'e as senior intelligence officials testify to the Senate judiciary'mittee on Wednesday, releasing classified documents in response to the Guardian's earlier stories on bulk collection of phone records and Fisa surveillance court oversight.The files shed light on one of Snowden's most controversial statements, made in his first video interview published by the Guardian on June 10."I, sitting at my desk," said Snowden, could "wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant, to a federal judge or even the president, if I had a personal email".US officials vehemently denied this specific claim. Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House intelligence'mittee, said of Snowden's assertion: "He's lying.
It's impossible for him to do what he was saying he could do."But training materials for XKeyscore detail how analysts can use it and other systems to mine enormous agency databases by filling in a simple on-screen form giving only a broad justification for the search. The request is not reviewed by a court or any NSA personnel before it is processed.XKeyscore, the documents boast, is the NSA's "widest reaching" system developing intelligence from'puter networks – what the agency calls Digital Network Intelligence. One presentation claims the program covers "nearly everything a typical user does on the internet", including the content of emails, websites visited and searches, as well as their metadata.
They'e as senior intelligence officials testify to the Senate judiciary'mittee on Wednesday, releasing classified documents in response to the Guardian's earlier stories on bulk collection of phone records and Fisa surveillance court oversight.The files shed light on one of Snowden's most controversial statements, made in his first video interview published by the Guardian on June 10."I, sitting at my desk," said Snowden, could "wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant, to a federal judge or even the president, if I had a personal email".US officials vehemently denied this specific claim. Mike Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House intelligence'mittee, said of Snowden's assertion: "He's lying.
It's impossible for him to do what he was saying he could do."But training materials for XKeyscore detail how analysts can use it and other systems to mine enormous agency databases by filling in a simple on-screen form giving only a broad justification for the search. The request is not reviewed by a court or any NSA personnel before it is processed.XKeyscore, the documents boast, is the NSA's "widest reaching" system developing intelligence from'puter networks – what the agency calls Digital Network Intelligence. One presentation claims the program covers "nearly everything a typical user does on the internet", including the content of emails, websites visited and searches, as well as their metadata.
2013年8月1日星期四
Snowden's father says won't be 'emotional tool'
"If Firefox gets exploited, the malware could circumvent the Tor tunnel entirely," he said.The SOCKS server problem prevents TCP proxying via SOCKS in most cases, and in cases where the software supports it, DNS proxying isn't.Tortilla solves both of these issues and allows Tor to be used with virtual machines. This, Geffner said, makes it an excellent tool for security experts who want to visit or test attack Web sites, or blogs written by people who run attack Web sites, without leaving traceable tracks."It acts on DHCP, ARP, DNS, and TCP packets, and drops everything else," Geffner said, in explaining what kinds of Internet traffic work with Tortilla.
He added that Tortilla is failsafe, so that you can run it before or after you start your virtual machine or Tor itself.The benefits of Tortilla for security researchers are apparent, but there's nothing stopping people who are concerned with their online privacy from using it, either, Geffner said. "The fact that we're using Tor isn't a secret," when using Tortilla, he said, "but our identity is." The father of former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden said he would not fly to Russia to serve as an "emotional tool" in the United States' efforts to persuade his son to surrender.Lonnie Snowden told the Washington Post that FBI officials had not been able to guarantee if he would be allowed to see his son, who faces espionage charges in the United States for exposing secret U.S. surveillance programs."
I said, '??I want to be able to speak with my son...Can you set up'munications?' And it was, 'Well, we're not sure,'" Lonnie Snowden told the Post. "I said, 'Wait a minute, folks, I'm not going to sit on the tarmac to be an emotional tool for you.'"The elder Snowden earlier told state-owned Russian 24 television the FBI had suggested a "few weeks ago" that he should travel to Moscow to talk to his son.Edward Snowden, whose exposure of the surveillance raised questions about intrusion into private lives, has been stuck in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport since arriving from Hong Kong more than a month ago.
He added that Tortilla is failsafe, so that you can run it before or after you start your virtual machine or Tor itself.The benefits of Tortilla for security researchers are apparent, but there's nothing stopping people who are concerned with their online privacy from using it, either, Geffner said. "The fact that we're using Tor isn't a secret," when using Tortilla, he said, "but our identity is." The father of former U.S. spy agency contractor Edward Snowden said he would not fly to Russia to serve as an "emotional tool" in the United States' efforts to persuade his son to surrender.Lonnie Snowden told the Washington Post that FBI officials had not been able to guarantee if he would be allowed to see his son, who faces espionage charges in the United States for exposing secret U.S. surveillance programs."
I said, '??I want to be able to speak with my son...Can you set up'munications?' And it was, 'Well, we're not sure,'" Lonnie Snowden told the Post. "I said, 'Wait a minute, folks, I'm not going to sit on the tarmac to be an emotional tool for you.'"The elder Snowden earlier told state-owned Russian 24 television the FBI had suggested a "few weeks ago" that he should travel to Moscow to talk to his son.Edward Snowden, whose exposure of the surveillance raised questions about intrusion into private lives, has been stuck in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport since arriving from Hong Kong more than a month ago.
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