British site The Inquirer is reporting from Siggraph 2007 that the next version of DirectX, 10.1, requires spanking new hardware to support its sort of spanking new features. The spec revision basically makes a number of things that are optional in DX10 compulsory under the new standard – such as 32-bit floating point filtering, as opposed to the 16-bit current. 4xAA is a compulsory standard to support in 10.1, whereas graphics vendors can pick and choose their anti-aliasing support currently.
While we’re all waiting around for light sabers to be invented, there must be a better way to occupy our time than staring at walls of unopened action figures (at the comic book store, we’re too cheap) or hitting up message boards to debate over which Leia was the hottest (not bikini Leia, I would argue). Maybe this 1983 Star Wars Cockpit Arcade Game will give us something more tangible for our efforts, like a high score, or better yet, a higher score.
Featuring four triggers for each of four laser canons, you can blast green-matrix TIE fighters for hours on end while Skywalker, Obi-Wan and Han Solo quote you favorite lines to your heart’s content. Of course, at $7,100 this restored game isn’t cheap. But just think of all the quarters you’ll save…or would save…if this were still 1983…and arcades still existed… [product via redferret]
Universal’s DRM-free tracks will have watermarks that will allow them to be tracked over P2P networks. Whether each copy of a track is uniquely marked or they all simply sport generic “Universal” tats is still a question. [Listening Post]
You have a problem; you have a bitchin’ pair of shades, but you want to be able to simultaneously protect them whilst pumping out tunes to the World. Shady Beats has the solution; a case for your shades with integrated speakers.
In a law left vague enough for ridiculous exploitation, the German government has just passed Paragraph 202C, which states that it’s illegal to possess, produce, use or distribute a “hacker tool”.
Make points out that the law could easily encompass network monitoring systems, and that since the ban, Kismac WiFi detection software has shut down. Here is the note left on Kismac’s site:
With the introduction of §202c German politicians proved their complete incompetence. Law in Germany: possession of child pornography – two years imprisonment. Distribution of security software is half as bad. Even worse politicians still believe in the successful ban of digital information, obviously not reckoning globalization. We are heading straight to a country I do not want to be living in.
There are legitimate threats that this bill will stop. But my guess is the government will create more defiant computer users as a result. [make and Kismac]
Following a night of light to extremely heavy imbibing, this morning has been a bit rough for certain members of the Gizmodo weekend crew writing this post. That’s why we were just thrilled when the MyFountain, an advanced automated drink mixer, popped up in our RSS.
It is a well-known fact that if the hover board from Back to the Future ever floated into existence, geeks the World over would forget their sexual frustrations for at least seven weeks. Here is a run down of where we stand at the moment—the Hoverboard by Future Horizons and the Airboard by Alura Intelligent Products, modeled by the above hoverboard honeys.
