ancient Egypt
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ICYMI: Pot breathalyzer, VR for pharaoh's tomb and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-979940{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-979940, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-979940{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-979940").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: A prototype marijuana breathalyzer came out and oh lord, the glory days are over. NASA's New Horizons spacecraft got the best ever photos of Pluto and these scientists are adorably jacked up about it. And a Swiss motion capture company wants to put sensors and VR headsets together in museum settings to let people explore an ancient Egyptian tomb.
Alt-week 9.15.12: The ultimate wind machine, Egyptian Lego and the office of our dreams
Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days. Sometimes we wonder, what would we have ended up doing if we didn't spend our time trawling the web for the week's best alternative tech stories? We could have been paleontologists, novelists, engineers, or if we were really lucky, worked for Google. Instead, here we are bringing you some of the more colorful tech-tales from the last seven days, which we're really not complaining about. That said though, at least on this occasion, we got to taste a bit of all the above. This is alt-week.
Defcon 20 badges meld hieroglyphs, circuitry and cryptography for hacker scavenger hunt
Every year, the world's hacker population descends upon Las Vegas to trade notes, sit in on informational talks and compete in friendly contests -- all in the name of Defcon. But this time out, it's the conference's ever-evolving smart badges that've caught our eye, owing mostly to what lurks beneath. Designed by Ryan Clarke -- the mastermind behind the gathering's Mystery Box challenge -- these hackable IDs, issued according to status (Press, Human, Goons, vendors, etc), come embedded with an LED, a multi-core processor, IR transmitter and accompanying hieroglyphic graphic. But that's not all that makes these high-tech tags so special. Turns out, each one contains a game, buried within its open source software, that's encoded with several cryptographic, linguistic and mathematical layers. Shying away from hardware-focused hacks of the past, Clarke built this year's scavenger hunt-like game to be more inclusive of attendee skills, as it'll force conference-goers interested in cracking its code to break down social barriers and collaborate with other highly-specialized nerds. What's the end game, you ask? Well, according to Clarke, the puzzle is a continuation of last year's secret agent story (played out by a real-life actor) involving "a [mysterious] society of computer elites." It's not the sort of payoff we'd be after -- something greener and covered with a certain Ben Franklin's face would suffice -- but it sounds intriguing enough. Click on the source below to read more about the makings of this geek sport. And may the pastiest neckbeard win!
A Tale in the Desert to launch new player driven server
A Tale in the Desert may not be the first game that comes to mind when you think of MMOs, but the title from independent developer eGenesis is something quite unique in this market. A Tale in the Desert isn't a combat-focused game at all, rather it's more about social, economic, and even legal systems in an ancient Egyptian setting. Players involved in a "telling" (a game arc) can even vote to determine the game's laws, which sets this title apart from most others. eGenesis announced this week that they're launching a new server on February 20th, stating that it will give even greater control to players by allowing them to "completely control the timing of the telling." The new server will offer players an ancient Egypt that has yet to be built. In other words, it's an open environment where the players can have some degree of control over how that setting takes shape. If the notion of a player-driven setting where the game's subscribers shape the play experience and surroundings appeals to you, have a look at what's coming soon to A Tale in the Desert.
Open beta for A Tale in the Desert IV starts tomorrow
Apparently, we're in beta season as yet another independent MMO has announced its open beta. A Tale in the Desert IV will open its beta doors tomorrow, December 6 at 2pm Eastern to all players who are interested in giving this Ancient Egyptian MMO a shot.If you're unaware of A Tale in the Desert, it's a social MMO that boasts no combat system at all. Its main focuses are actually a strong social structure and economics. The game first released in February of 2003 and this beta marks its fourth "telling", which acts as a major update or version of the game. Head on over to the official website for more information and to apply for your own open beta key.
