Text mode ZX Spectrum mini demo

Some folks I know spent long summer days on recovering a ZX Spectrum program hidden as a bonus track of OK Computer 2017 OKNOTOK Radiohead Album. It was recorded on compact cassette, so probably it was ready to run on original Speccy with good cassette reader.

It's kind of bleeping text mode demo that reminds me fiddling with such things in past.

So, I've tried to make mini with similar look and feel, but with nowadays technology like HTML and Javascript stack.

https://cdn.rawgit.com/uones/oknotok-jsdemo/master/index.html

Initial part need key press to continue. Closing window will end show. Enjoy! ;)

Statistical testing

On the tidal wave of Big Data there are more and more people trying to get the clue behind that buzzword. Here is one slide that describes situation:

The picture is coming from nice Baron Schwartz's blog about databases, distributed systems performance and monitoring, and something beyond that.

New Java themed TV series parodies

Three Java themed TV series parodies trailers! I can see it how it goes further ...

http://2014.javazone.no/

It looks that I will be Writing Bad fan. But "welcome to Oracle" sounds so familiar ...

Somewhat ridiculous ways to calculate PI number

I've found description of experiment to calculate PI number as a result of physical Monte Carlo simulation by shooting shotgun pellets over quarter of circle marked inside square. At least it is great visual explanation how to calculate PI.

I remember that I saw other technique using pins tossed over parallel lines. I've searched that and found something much more ridiculous: Calculating Pi by Throwing Frozen Hot Dogs

I don't dare for searching any more of that today...

99 $items on the $container ...

Do you know the song that goes like:

99 little bugs in the code
99 little bugs in the code
Take one down, patch it around
~
117 little bugs in the code
...

That was about some funny facts we are experiencing some days.

Now something more didactic:
http://www.99-bottles-of-beer.net/

JAVAPOCALYPSE - its good it is only fiction... , but a fun one

Posted by JavaZone Norway

Software development platforms wars as a movie theme

Summer break make me think about funny side of life.

Check this parody "Java 4 Ever" movie trailer, set in reality of dominance and war between development platforms .



Relax and consider that development platform is only a one of choices for a bigger purpose.

Funny work story - Slippery slope

Although story has a software engineering context, the situation described there seems common for almost all kind of workplaces.
btw. I like the style of www.dadhacker.com posts.

Fantasy Kommander - tactical turn based Flash game

It's a games genre I like: tactical decisions with a bit of strategical planning. Isometric look at the battlefield reminds me graphics from XCOM U.F.O series, but placed in medieval times with typical fantasy races like goblins, dwarfs and elves. You can buy new units every unit has a lot of stats and characteristics that could be upgraded with game money. Turn based engine is simple- your move then opponents move. Units movements are animated and the whole game looks nice. Units could take counterattack also during defence phase. Battles look more simple that description. The best tactic is old "circle around and attack from behind". Many levels are very time (turns limit) constrained that makes playing even more fun.

I have found Fantasy Kommander title at the Kongregate, but it could be hosted at other sites too.

Build your army and go for the victory!

How to learn simple programming in a fun way

I have looked for games that incorporate programming or learning programming and I found few interesting gems. One is SCRATCH visual programming environment for kids made by MIT with sets of basic flow control and sprite sound and animation commands. I have tried some tricks with LOGO like pen drawing features using drag and drop interface and it looks intuitive and appealing enough to catch curious kids attention.

On the other hand I found less appealing low tech c-jump board game with goal of stepping through C like syntax simple arithmetic program. It is simple but still shows the concept of execution of sequenced commands with flow control.

The direction is promising for Microsoft, as they are developing KODU project, aiming at children too. The concept looks like interface for BPEL kind of language and probably in future that kind of environments will be more popular. You can find there links to more similar projects.

Blending gaming with simple programming may be a catch for working adults too.

Summer is ending - three online games to get more fun of life

The summer is going to end - it gets cold and rainy. The weather takes out fun from outdoor activities. So I'm presenting three online games for autumn (winter) gloomy days.

The first one is the Intrusion - platform shoot and action game with bosses etc. reminding old console classics. It works very smooth, and custom physics makes play pretty enjoyable.

The second is Fantastic Contraption - it is more thinking/creativity kind of. It's in an early stage of development, but already gives the fun of play now. The beauty of the game is in that there are so many ways to solve given levels.

The third is Globulos that needs use of tactic and quick thinking. Globulos is in the business for some time, and every new feature added before time made game only more cool.

I wish more successes for those good products, and I'm waiting for more news and features.

Urban Terror game - FPS fun with grain of tactics

Once upon a time I started digging in search for good FPS game for Linux. I liked FPS games with more "reality" and tactics demands like Counter Strike. I used to play some dynamic FPS for 15 minutes instead of cup of coffee- in most cases it worked perfectly. I reviewed some game candidates and found something that matches perfectly. My choice is Urban Terror.

The game was made as a mod for Quake 3, and nowadays it has standalone version with installer and q3 engine within it. All game documentation and downloads could be found at official site www.urbanterror.net. Game is free, but has special license for Q3 engine.

You can play on many public servers as well as in local net if you run game on one host in server mode. There is also possibility to play with Q3 bots, but documentation says it's not supported. The game crashed quite often on my Windows XP laptop- but probably it is issue with bots and/or graphic chipset. Under Linux it works like a charm :).

Game is very dynamic, although sometimes it's better to use tactic and think before rushing. Wide choice of weaponry balanced with simple but quite "realistic" health, energy and wounding system makes game very playable. The game is rather popular so you can find interesting information on community sites.

I don't have much time to play games but sometimes it is real fun. Enjoy the game!