shockwave
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Google Search will stop indexing Flash content this year
Flash was impressive back in the day. Games, animations and interactive elements were right there in your browser. But as the internet matured, Flash did not. In fact, it became a nuisance and a security risk. Adobe, which owns Flash, announced that it would end support for the technology by December 2020, and now Google says Search will no longer index Flash content or Shockwave Flash files in the coming weeks.
Adobe will kill Shockwave on April 9th
Adobe isn't just putting Flash on ice. In the wake of customer emails, the software giant has signaled that it will discontinue Shockwave for Windows on April 9th, 2019. The company had already phased out its Director authoring tool and the Mac player in 2017, but this represents the web plugin's final bow for most people. The only people receiving support beyond that will be enterprise customers, whose contracts run out in 2022.
NASA unveils stunning images of merging supersonic shockwaves
NASA has developed a new imaging technique that let them capture, for the first time, the interaction of shockwaves from two supersonic jets. They were taken by a new, high-speed camera system developed to help NASA design a supersonic airplane that produces much quieter sonic booms. "We never dreamed that it would be this clear, this beautiful," said NASA physical scientist J.T. Heineck.
FDA approves first shock wave device made to heal wounds
Using "acoustic shock waves" to promote healing isn't just for Overwatch, as Sanuwave has obtained FDA approval for its Dermapace System (Pulsed Acoustic Cellular Expression = PACE). Its approval is specifically to help heal foot ulcers in diabetic patients, where damage to blood vessels and nerves can lead to reduced circulation, infection and sometimes amputation. The Dermapace mechanically stimulates the wound, which Sanuwave says promotes healing. Like several other "first" FDA approvals we've seen recently, this device went through the de novo review process designed specifically to get new technology on the market.
Adobe charging 10 percent royalty on iOS games made with Director 12
Adobe recently released version 12 of Director, its interactive app creation system, and in doing so introduced the ability for those who use the app to create iOS games to publish their titles directly to the App Store. As it turns out, that potentially time-saving capability comes at a premium. 9to5Mac reports that Adobe is asking for a 10% cut of all profits for games created in Director 12 -- if they make more than US$20,000 in the App Store. Director users on Adobe's forums are upset by the move, which is outlined in the application's new terms and conditions. Evidently, it's up to app authors to inform Adobe of any sales beyond the initial $20,000 mark and pay the company directly. This differs from other development products such as Unity, which charge app makers up-front or on a per-title basis in order to utilize their software to make commercial products. In this case, there's a $999 initial cost for Director plus a royalty, which seems to be a little more than these devs are willing to pay.
Alcatel One Touch Shockwave reaches US Cellular, takes your bumps and scrapes for $50
Those of us picking budget smartphones in the US seldom have the choice of a toughened smartphone, and it's even more of a challenge when we're not signed on to one of the top four carriers. US Cellular is offering the cost-conscious a (hardened) olive branch by shipping the Alcatel One Touch Shockwave. Skip past the creaky Android 2.3, 800MHz processor, 3.2-megapixel camera and 3.5-inch, 480 x 320 display -- a shock- and water-resistant shell as well as Dragontrail-based glass should keep the smartphone working through most forms of casual abuse. We also don't mind having preloaded Amazon Appstore and media apps, although the frugal 2GB microSD card in the box won't leave much room for any downloading. We'd at least keep the Shockwave on the short list when the $50 price and long-lasting design will leave ample funds for just about everything else.
GPS stations trace nuclear explosions, summon end to underground mushroom clouds?
A team of researchers recently revealed findings that could turn GPS stations into tools for detecting illegal nuclear explosions. According to a report, being presented to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) this week, the group found that nearby GPS stations showed a change in ionospheric electron density, following a 2009 nuclear test performed by North Korea. That discovery led to the realization that the same technology we use to track everything from dogs to children can more accurately detect nuclear explosions -- even when they take place underground. By measuring the time it takes for a resulting shockwave to reach and affect surrounding stations, researchers can accurately determine the origin of the blast. The team is currently seeking funding to further its explosive (sorry, we had to) research.
Atomic bomb tests make for pretty, if unnerving, photography
The things America got up to in the 50s, eh? The New York Times has this week published a gallery of arresting images from atomic bomb testing done by the US military in the middle of the 20th century. From nuking its own destroyers and airships while gauging out their "vulnerability" -- let's hope that vulnerability was categorized as "total" -- to producing atomic cannons like the one you see above, the USA really went to town with its nuclear warfare practice. The Times' story is about atomic cameramen and the crazy risks they took to document these events; we'd advise giving it a read, but if you're pushed for time, just hit the source for all the wild visuals.
Transformers: War for Cybertron pre-order includes Shockwave or Demolishor
Click to transform into gallery Playable versions of Decepticons Shockwave and Demolisher are part of Activision's pre-order bonuses for Transformers: War for Cybertron. Squishy humans who pre-order through Amazon will receive an unlock code for Demolishor, while GameStop customers receive a code for Megatron's cold and calculating companion, Shockwave. (Sorry, Amazon, there's just no competition here.) The bonus codes are available for the Xbox 360 and PS3 deployments of the game. Wii's Transformers: Cybertron Adventures currently has no announced pre-order bonus. %Gallery-89867%
Taser International's six-shot Shockwave demonstration
If you're looking to incapacitate with electricity, Taser International is your go-to source. And while single-shot (or even triple shot) weapons have their place, what do you do when faced with a whole crowd of no-goodniks? For instance, take that Travis County, Texas constable who zapped a 72 year old woman this spring (she dared him, remember). What if he was confronted by a whole van full of Ragin' Grannies? That, dear readers, is what Shockwave is for. Each module holds six Tazers seated in a twenty-degree arc, and multiple units can either be stacked horizontally or daisy chained for simultaneous deployment. The unit is activated by a push-button control box that allows the operator to stand up to 100 meters away, and the maximum range is 25 feet. Never before has electrocution been this easy. Video after the break.[Via Defense Tech]
Spiritual Guidance: Disc Priest gives Arcane Mages 600+ spellpower
Every Sunday (usually), Spiritual Guidance will offer practical insight for priests of the holy profession. Your host is Matt Low, the grand poobah of World of Matticus and a founder of No Stock UI, a new UI blog for all classes. Today, Matt teams up with Arcane Mages to deliver some serious pain! It's not very often I write posts about DPS. It becomes even more rare when I write about Mages. My only wish out of Mages is for them to learn another rank of Conjurable food and water.It's at the point now where I need to consume two of them to get a full mana bar back nearly.
Conservative Christian site decries Game of Life's 'gay agenda'
Uber-conservative Christian site WorldNetDaily recently published a hard-hitting investigative report into Hasbro's downloadable PC title The Game of Life, an adaptation of a board game created by Milton Bradley in 1860. Their qualm with the game stems from the fact that it allows players to have same-sex marriages. A WND representative elocuted his or her hang-up with a review on the game's hosting site, explaining, "Many sections of society accept this as normative, but many also would consider this too mature a theme for children. Others would consider this downright offensive."According to the WND report, one unnamed "concerned mother" found that the inclusion of same-sex marriages raised questions in her six-year old daughter that she wasn't ready to answer. She posted a similar review containing these concerns, which was quickly deleted by an administrator for being "inappropriate." Her response to this censorship is where the story really jumps the shark -- "I had no idea how insidious they were being with pushing the homosexual agenda," she explained to WND.It's great when parents keep an eye on their youngsters' gaming habits, especially when they play said games with them. We understand a parent not wanting to discuss sexuality with a toddler -- what we don't understand is how the mere inclusion of same-sex marriages in the PC version of Life is the same as endorsing, or insidiously pushing, an "agenda." As WND concedes, even the original Life board game allowed players to bond two same-colored (and similarly gendered) pegs in holy plastic matrimony.[Via GamePolitics]
WoW Patch 3.1 PTR: Warrior glyph and undocumented changes
We covered the changes (including the undocumented ones) to warriors on the PTR, including the new Titan's Grip 'damage tax' on fury warriors. Yeah, it sucks, I'm not happy about it, but it's probably not going to go away. The idea of Titan's Grip being too powerful is too entrenched in too many minds, so we basically have to hope that the damage penalty only comes into play while you're actually dual wielding and is not just a flat penalty on all of your abilities while you have the talent, which would make offtanking or tanking five man instances quite painful for fury. We'll see how bad it is. Dropping fury warrior DPS by a full 10% seems pretty extreme and it hurts those warriors doing their absolute best the most (if you're putting out 4.4k DPS now, you're losing 440 DPS with this change). I guess it's a good thing I specced my tauren Arms when I did.But enough grumbling. What about the changes to glyphs?
Skill Mastery: Shockwave
One of the new talents for Wrath of the Lich King, Shockwave is the 51 point protection talent. Described as having been intended to help with both tanking and soloing, it is a cone attack directed in front of the warrior for ten yards, dealing damage based on attack power and stunning for four seconds. As you can see from the screenshot, it can do reasonable damage if it critically hits (that cloud heading off into the distance is the animation of the spell). In my opinion it does exactly what it is intended to do, helps protection spec warriors with both soloing and tanking.
Spiritual Guidance: Shadows of Wrath
This Sunday, Spiritual Guidance, a haven for Holy Priests, has been bludgeoned with a large rock and shoved aside for the Shadows. Your host this week is Alex Ziebart, who is neither Matt Low nor the the grand poobah of World of Matticus. No worries, though. Matt will be back next week. Probably. Assuming he wakes up.We haven't had a lot of Shadow love lately, so I figure it's about time we check out our new spells in Wrath of the Lich King. With the level cap currently 77 in the Wrath beta, it's a little hard to gauge just how effective the new Shadow spells really are. You can't see Dispersion in a raid setting or a competitive arena setting, and Mind Sear just doesn't seem balanced for the level you receive it.I'll start off with Dispersion. Before I was able to use the spell myself, I was really doubtful of its usefulness. This is because for a PvE scenario, it largely just seemed like Evocation for Priests since it Silences you. I've heard time and time again that high-end Mages don't use Evocation at all because it's wasted DPS time when you can just chain potions (which can't be done in Wrath now), or all of the environmental damage break it anyway. Yeah, I can definitely understand that. Sunwell is brutal.
The Care and Feeding of Warriors: Wrath Beta Edition
Well, we were going to talk about other things, but with the Beta coming out I have to admit I've entirely forgotten what they were. There's really no point in pretending that we're not going to be talk about this, is there? I don't think so myself.We learn nothing about any new talents that don't directly replace older talents. Nothing about Bladestorm or Titan's Grip, and talents like Incite are only mentioned because they're directly replacing talents like Defiance. We also don't learn what the big new protection talent to replace Shield Slam is from these notes. (We do have other sources and we will be discussing those talents in more depth, I'm just pointing out what the notes don't specifically mention.) The notes focus more on protection spec than others although we do find out that mace spec and sword spec are being slightly nerfed while poleaxe spec is getting a nice little buff: these changes seem PvP related to my eyes, but I have no idea how effective they'll actually be. The juggling of talents and the alteration of their effects definitely seems to confirm the notion that crushing blows are a thing of the past. On the one hand, this is a huge change to warrior tanking mechanics, as we're noted for our ability to hit uncrushability while druid tanks simply soak the damage with higher armor and stamina (paladins use the same mechanic as we do for uncrushable, they just need more block rating but can stay uncrushable longer than we can due to how their abilities work vs. ours): we've yet to see how this is going to play out. With the addition of DK's as tanks, removing CB's keeps them from having to rely on a gimmicky high parry (since they won't use a shield to tank) to avoid being crushed, but it also means that warriors will need a means to stay competitive with other tanks. Threat seems to be getting entirely reworked, so for now I'm cautiously optimistic about where tanking is heading for protection spec warriors, and indeed, all warriors. I'll go so far as to say that arms and fury warriors will be tanking in Wrath. I don't expect them to be dedicated main tanks for raids, but I do expect to see them tanking in five mans without respeccing, and that is without taking the possible two talent spec idea into account.
Nokia, Shockwave ink deal to bring games to handsets
Shockwave, purveyor of its "Shockwave Mini" games to Verizon handsets in these parts, has entered an agreement with Nokia to offer some of its mobile entertainment through portals in Europe and Asia. Though it's not clear whether the games will eventually be bundled with phones (Nokia's own Snake in its various forms will always be near and dear to our hearts), it looks like the initial offerings will come through the manufacturer's Content Discoverer app. A quick game of Sumo Swinger, anyone?
Taser's Shockwave 6-shooter makes Harry Callahan look like a princess
One of the bennies of working for the military industrial complex are the fat contracts paid to creatively kill, maim or otherwise incapacitate the evil-doers du jour. Here to answer the age-old question, "what if you could drop everyone in a given area to the ground at the push of a button?" comes the Taser Shockwave. The first (gulp) generation of Taser remote area denial systems consists of a Taser 6-shooter module covering a 20-degree arc at 25-feet. Best of all, they can be daisy-chained into an apparently endless array of hot neuro muscular incapacitation action. The Shockwave system will be released for pilot later this year with plans for field release sometime in 2008. Check the video link below for some of that sweet muscle convulsing fun.Read -- Taser ShockwaveRead -- Video
Practice extreme Christmas shopping online
"Only in America can shopping be considered a contact sport. And Christmas is the Super Bowl for competitive consumers." With these words, Persuasive Games took this year's hottest toys and made them objects for Shockwave arcade game.Xtreme Xmas Shopping has you trying to collect all of this season's hottest toys before the other parents can snatch them all up. Scuffling with parents is alright, so long as its out of the line of sight of wandering children. Of the five gifts quested, two of them are -- surprise, surprise -- the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3. You can try the game out for yourself here. [Via collision detection]
Gordon Flash Decompiler
Whether you're a seasoned Flash dev or a merely getting your feet wet as a budding Flashlet, Gordon Flash Decompiler might be worth a demo download. As its title so cleverly connotes, Gordon can chew on just about any Flash SWF (and now with version 1.7, Shockwave files) you find around the internets and not only display the movie elements, but it can export both vector and raster images, as well as MP3 and AIFF sound files. Basically: this lets you steal peek inside those hot 'n spicy Flash/Shockwave movies you're procrastinating too much of your time on for the ultimate in 'how did they do that?' experiences.Gordon doesn't come cheap, however, as it's $59 for a license. A demo is available, though exporting any resources and saving files is disabled until you pony up.
