Photographer
Arne Svenson has
sparked a bit of
controversy with his recent show "
The Neighbors," about which he says, "I turned to the residents of a glass-walled apartment building across the street from my NYC studio. The Neighbors don’t know they are being photographed; I carefully shoot from the shadows of my home into theirs. I am not unlike the birder, quietly waiting for hours, watching for the flutter of a hand or the movement of a curtain as an indication that there is life within."
[more inside]
posted by taz
on May 17, 2013 -
323 comments
Classic Shell is an open-source program that fixes two of the biggest problems users perceive with the newly-released Windows 8: it brings back the Start Menu, and it allows users to log-in directly to the Desktop instead of the Start Screen.
(8.4 MB WINDOWS DOWNLOAD)
posted by JHarris
on Oct 29, 2012 -
154 comments
For about three years, the A.V. Club ran
Sawbuck Gamer, a regular column reviewing the week's most notable free and cheap games across all platforms, from web games to handhelds to console downloadables. It's a treasure trove of content, especially since more literary sister site The Gameological Society
took the helm, and it's publicized great desktop projects like the luscious platformer
Frogatto (
previously), feature-rich
Super Mario Bros. X (
previously), the evocative faux-web
Digital: A Love Story (
previously), interactive fiction gem
Rover's Day Off, and the hyperkinetic
RunMan: Race Around the World (
previously). But if you're in the mood for something more immediate, why not start with a list of all the original column's free A-rated online titles?
[more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Oct 24, 2012 -
20 comments
Got a few hours to kill and want to spend a little time in gaming history? Don't have anything else to do until 2013? Check out
Anacreon: Reconstruction 4021 (
wiki) (
previously), one of the earliest
4X games ever made, dating to 1987-88. The original version was DOS-based, but the creator, George Moromisato, released a Windows version in 2004 which has significant updates.
[more inside]
posted by valkyryn
on Sep 12, 2012 -
11 comments
Steam to sell productivity software [
main link]. Gabe's dislike of the Windows 8 app store [
BBC] may be explained. It's particularly interesting given that Steam is about to launch on Linux [
Valve] [
previously on Mefi]; it's one app store across all three platforms.
[more inside]
posted by jaduncan
on Aug 8, 2012 -
29 comments
Many people are familiar with
computer case modifications, thanks to the
photogenic nature of mods. On the software side, most operating systems feature some potential for customization, though this is often limited to tweaking the colors and sounds. For some, this isn't enough. Enter "
skinning," the casual term for interface customization. To a degree, the
history of the media player Winamp (YT, 7:03;
transcript with pictures) mirrors the history of skinning. From a version 0.2, a visually dull app in June 1997, to easy user customization in version 2 in September 1998, and the complexly customizable Winamp3 in August 2002.
Wired captured something of the excitement at its peak in an article from 2000, before computing began shifting to more closed devices. Now approaching a
post-WIMP (windows, icons, menus and a pointer) era, where skinning is done with
alternative launchers. But for those still using traditional computers of one sort or another, it's not too late to modify your interface.
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Apr 17, 2012 -
70 comments
Trauma is an escape-the-
room -dream game with a hauntingly beautiful aesthetic that tells the story of a young woman recovering from an accident. It is a cross-platform download or can be played in its entirety for free
in Flash.
[more inside]
posted by Thomas Tallis is my Homeboy
on Aug 31, 2011 -
9 comments
LiberKey is a system for installing and keeping updated over 300 free programs (both open and closed source) on a Windows machine. All of the programs are portable meaning that they can run directly off a USB key without installing anything additional on the computer (this is very useful if you’re working on a computer where you don’t have administrative rights). The programs are organized into the following categories: audio, CD/DVD, education, file management, games, graphics, internet, networking, office, security, system utilities, and video. One great feature Liberkey has is the ability to
temporarily change file associations. Here is the
full list of programs available.
posted by Jasper Friendly Bear
on Jun 4, 2011 -
14 comments
The Hoxton Window Project: “I had no plan, I had no thought, I had a pen and decided to take it for a walk. My brain is a mess, my mind a ball of spaghetti charged with tiny electrical pulses being generated by a team of termites on a treadmill. I put it all up against the glass, I hope it will delight and intrigue and not leave anyone aghast” says window artist
Jon Burgerman.
Frame features the work of digital creative company
Unit 9 at a square in central London.
posted by honey-barbara
on Mar 2, 2011 -
4 comments
Halfway through the third book of the
Hitchhiker's Guide series, there is
a throwaway reference to a doomed starship, one whose incredible splendor was matched only by the cosmic absurdity of its maiden-day annihilation.
But the story didn't end there. Unbeknownst to many fans, this small piece of Adamsian lore was the inspiration for an ambitious and richly-detailed side-story: a 1998 computer adventure game called
Starship Titanic.
Designed by Douglas Adams himself, the game set players loose in the infamous vessel, challenging them with a maddening mystery laced with the devilish wit of the novels.
The game was laden with extra content, including
an in-depth strategy guide,
a (mediocre) tie-in novel by Terry Jones,
a whimsical First Class In-Flight Magazine, and even a pair of 3D glasses for one of the more inventive puzzles.
Key to solving these puzzles was the game's groundbreaking communications system -- players interacted with
the ship's robotic crew through a natural language parsing engine called SpookiTalk, whose 10,000+ lines of conversational dialogue spawned
16 hours of audio recorded by professional voice actors, including
John Cleese,
Terry Jones, and even Douglas Adams himself in
several cameos (spoiler cameo). Want to experience the voyage for yourself? Then watch this narrated video playthrough (
intro (ads) -
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9? 10 11 12 13) ...or click inside for a information on how to run the game for free on Windows, Mac, and Linux (along with a bunch of other goodies!).
[more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Dec 22, 2010 -
109 comments
CreativeApplications.Net scours the net for platform independent apps that help sharing and engaging with information. They look at OSX, Windows, Linux, iPhone, Web Apps, Flash, Physical Interfaces, Max MSP development, Processing and others.
[more inside]
posted by netbros
on Oct 30, 2010 -
4 comments
Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie
resurfaced some of Microsoft's history in a recent post on his
personal blog. In a sealed packet in his office, he uncovered the original press kit for Windows 1.0 and decided to put the
documents online. It's a fascinating look into the beginnings of computing and into a technology that has fundamentally changed our world. from
Yahoo News.
posted by Blake
on Oct 15, 2010 -
32 comments
Computer security experts have recently discovered vulnerability/design flaw with Microsoft Windows that has been part of their operating system that effects all versions of Windows since Windows 2000, including XP, Vista, and Windows 7. (
1,
2,
3,
4)
"The vulnerability exists because Windows incorrectly parses shortcuts in such a way that malicious code may be executed when the icon of a specially crafted shortcut is displayed. This vulnerability can be exploited locally through a malicious USB drive, or remotely via network shares and WebDAV. An exploit can also be included in specific document types that support embedded shortcuts." --
Microsoft [more inside]
posted by crunchland
on Jul 22, 2010 -
84 comments
Fifteen years ago this week, programmer
Ron Britvich launched version 1.0 of
Active Worlds. Started as an autonomous project of
Worlds, Inc. (a spinoff of educational gamesmaker
Knowledge Adventure), Active Worlds was one of the first and most ambitious attempts to create a 3D virtual community on the web.
Built on the architecture of Britvich's
Worlds Chat beta, Active Worlds
debuted in the form of
Alphaworld, a sunny green infinite plane open to
public building. In its opening years Alphaworld experienced
a land rush of construction, resulting in
an anarchic starfish sprawl larger than the state of California. A sister company, Circle of Fire, was soon founded to craft
additional themed hubs, and once individual ownership of worlds became possible the AW community spawned a veritable universe of
hundreds of worlds.
Although
the company has seen its
ups and downs since those heady times and its fortunes have slowly dwindled, the
Active Worlds platform survives to
this day. Look inside for a simple guide on how to log in to the (free) service, rundowns of the best worlds, links to essays analyzing the program's legacy, and other content summing up
its venerable community.
[more inside]
posted by Rhaomi
on Jul 4, 2010 -
18 comments
Google makes Picasa, YouTube, Blogger, and Google Documents, Calendar, and Contacts available to command-line geeks with
GoogleCL, a new, official command-line tool. How to install:
Mac OS X,
Windows,
elsewhere.
Google's examples of what you can do; Lifehacker's "
five nifty GoogleCL tricks."
[more inside]
posted by WCityMike
on Jun 29, 2010 -
26 comments
Mendeley is a cross-platform research management tool which features article databasing, PDF annotation, online backup, private, shared and public collections, metadata lookup on Google Scholar, direct exporting of multiple citation styles to Word, OpenOffice and BibTex, the ability to add documents directly from a web browser, and social networking with other members in your field of study. Like
Zotero (
previously), but out of the browser and with note-taking abilities. For Windows, Mac and Linux.
posted by l33tpolicywonk
on Jun 11, 2010 -
27 comments
Hydorah is a delicious shump inspired by the likes of
"Gradius, Castlevania or R-Type, but also from other classics treated worse by the time: Turrican, Enforcer, Space Manbow, Hellfire, Guardian, Hydefos, Armalyte and many others...". Also,
"There is a single dificulty level, based on the 80's standards." Translation: try not to cry on your keyboard.
[Windows] [via Destructoid]
posted by threetoed
on Jun 7, 2010 -
35 comments
GENETOS is the history of Shoot-em-ups in a single game. Take on everything ranging from Space Invaders-like aliens to 21st Century bullet hell. Power up your craft (by collecting green and blue bits and blobs) with innovations like slow-motion, super bombs, lock-on lasers, and the ability to move vertically. (Windows only)
[more inside]
posted by CrunchyFrog
on May 2, 2010 -
10 comments
Desktop Dungeons offers an unquestionably unique approach to
Roguelike games by taking compactness to the extreme. It distills the entire genre to a few core ideas which pay homage to the greats while forging new ground with gameplay similar to that of Oasis or
Tower of the Sorcerer. It also features emergent complexity that rewards truly skilled and thoughtful players.
posted by painquale
on Mar 16, 2010 -
61 comments
"Every hard drive in the world will eventually fail. Assume that yours are all on the cusp of failure at all times." An Ode to DiskWarrior, SuperDuper, and Dropbox: John Gruber talks about his Mac's hard drive failing and how he was able to recover all of his data using
DiskWarrior, a file recovery utility,
SuperDuper!, a backup utility that creates a fully bootable backup, and the file syncing system
DropBox. While his advice is Mac specific, you can get a similar system going on Windows with
Acronis for backups and one of many free file recovery programs such as
TestDisk (which also has a Mac version).
[more inside]
posted by The Devil Tesla
on Mar 15, 2010 -
90 comments
