Year: 2012

Valve launches the Linux blog

Valve, a well-known game development company, has launched the Linux blog.  Apparently, there are quite a few efforts taken to port games to Linux.

The Valve Linux Team

Our mission is to strengthen the gaming scene on Linux, both for players and developers. This includes Linux ports of Steam and Valve games, as well as partner games. We are also investigating open source initiatives that could benefit the community and game developers.

Initially formed in 2011, the Valve Linux team is currently 11 people and growing. Our mission is to investigate open source development with a specific focus on supporting Steam and other Valve products on the Linux platform. The Linux background of our team varies from those who have a deep knowledge of Linux development to those who have just scratched the surface. However, one thing we all share is a great passion for supporting all things Valve on Linux.

While I’m happy to see more Linux activity and interest in Open Source, I have to say that I am a bit puzzled with the timing here.  The two trends that I see are:

  1. The move from desktop gaming to the console gaming.
  2. The move from desktop computing (desktops, laptops) to mobile computing (netbooks, tablets, smartphones).

Valve probably sees these differently.  Maybe Linux advanced far enough on the desktop to stir this interest.  Or maybe they are betting on the rise of Liux-based gaming consoles.  I don’t know.

Regardless, I hope they will continue their work in this area, and I really hope that it will result in  improvements to Open Source software.  After all, we could use some expertise from people who clearly know what they are doing.

Mobilegs Crutches

I hope I’ll never need to use any crutches, but if I ever do, I’ll probably settle for a pair of these.  I’ve shown them around to a few people, and each one of them who tried walking with the regular crutches, agreed that Mobilegs Crutches are superior in design.  I found them while reading “design is everybody’s business“.

2.  Purposeful – We design to solve a problem.

When one of Herman Miller’s designers, Jeff Weber, broke his foot, he realized how awfully-designed crutches were.  Not just uncomfortable, they can damage nerves, arteries, and tissue, and it’s easy to slip and cause more pain or more injury.  So he went about designing a better crutch (Mobilegs).  This is a perfect example of the purposefulness that informs the company’s designs.

This is What Snake Venom Does to Blood!

I’ve seen numerous TV programs and documentaries about snakes.  But none of them has been this crystal clear.  Here is a full understanding of how screwed you are if the snakes bites you, in just over a minute.  Just imagine your blood turning into this jelly while inside your veins! How much heart work would be needed to push it through, and how useful that would be to your muscles, internal organs, and the rest?

Via The Laomedon!

The Most Important Tech Company You’ve Never Heard Of

The Most Important Tech Company You’ve Never Heard Of

Information about every cell phone in the country is in a Neustar database. Which is why it’s kind of weird that 400 or so companies trust them to deal with law enforcement surveillance requests.