Beyond “Myst”: Rand Miller proudly held a copy of his new computer game “Uru: Ages Beyond Myst,” enjoying a rare moment of tactile pleasure as he opened the first case from his publisher.
“It’s been a long, hard haul,” said the creator of the genre defining “Myst”. “Much more difficult than anticipated.”
Miller, 44, spent five years and more than $12 million making Uru’s virtual world. He and his Cyan Worlds Inc., which is based in Mead, Wash., hit it big in the 1990s with Myst, a puzzle-solving adventure game with a rich story, beautiful visuals and sweeping music. At more than 12 million copies, it remains one of the all-time best sellers.
The sequel “Riven” sold fewer copies, but still made money.
Uru is more sophisticated visually, with characters moving through surreally beautiful landscapes. Uru presents 30 images per second on the screen, making it a motion picture rather than a series of stills.
Uru can also be played over the Internet.
Cyan is offering continual updates of Uru for a monthly fee, providing players new areas to explore and the company more cash than the one-time purchase price of $49.
Computer server sales increase: In another sign that corporate technology spending is rebounding, worldwide computer server revenues rose 1.9 percent to $10.83 billion in the third quarter, a new report says.
It was the second consecutive period of year-over-year growth after nine quarters of declines.
Total unit shipments grew by 19.5 percent, boosted largely by the popularity of servers costing less than $25,000. Revenue from those so-called volume servers grew 9.5 percent.
Revenue in mid-range servers, between $25,000 and $500,000, rose 7 percent over last year. Meanwhile, the most expensive servers saw a 14 percent drop in revenue, according to the report released Wednesday by research firm IDC.
Vernon Turner, an IDC vice president, cautioned that “two quarters of positive growth do not necessarily mean that a long-lasting economic rebound is in place.”
Servers typically handle specialized computing tasks, such as processing sales data or serving up Web pages.
Servers that run Microsoft Corp.’s Windows operating systems showed 10.3 percent revenue growth over last year, accounting for $3.4 billion in the third quarter.
May I scan your wrist, sir?: For the forgetful bionic man or woman in your life, here’s a credit card they can’t possibly leave home without: a microchip the size of a grain of rice implanted in the arm.
The VeriChip, which transmits a unique ID number by radio frequency to a scanner, actually has been implanted in more than 30 people for a variety of potential applications, including as a building ID “badge,” medical “bracelet” and anti-kidnapping device.
Now the chip’s creator, Applied Digital Solutions Inc. of Palm Beach, Fla., is pitching it as a digital wallet that could automatically make purchases in stores.
The device employs radio frequency identification technology, or RFID, which companies such as Wal-Mart Stores are testing for more mundane purposes such as tracking inventory and ringing up products at the register.
For example, a chip embedded in a product or its packaging can transmit signals informing the retailer that it has been removed from a shelf or purchased and needs replacing.
Cell phone recycling effort falling far short: Despite recycling programs to keep toxic cell phone components out of the environment, less than 1 percent of the wireless handsets retired since 1999 have been collected, an environmental research group says.
While 2.5 million cell phones were collected between 1999 and early 2003, hundreds of millions more ended up in dumps and incinerators, where they may release pollutants including lead and flame retardant, according to a new report, “Calling All Cell Phones,” by Inform Inc.
The report examined programs that recycle, refurbish or resell phones, largely in developing nations, with portions of the proceeds going to charity.
“At current rates of recovery, hundreds of millions of used cell phones will soon wind up in landfills or incinerators where they’ll release arsenic, lead, cadmium, and many other toxic materials that threaten human health and the environment,” said Eric Most, the report’s author.
Inform recommended more in-store promotion for collection programs, the elimination of toxic materials by handset makers and greater standardization of components and software to extend the lives of the devices.
An estimated 100 million cell phones will be retired this year alone.
Call out the AI force: Soldiers of the future might owe a lot to Tony and Ella.
They’re the creation of University of Iowa researchers who are using artificial intelligence computer programs to simulate human soldiers and help test the performance of proposed U.S. Army combat systems.
The five-year, $17.5 million project is one of several under way as the Army tries to develop a more sophisticated fighting force that is agile, computer-networked and integrated with unmanned aircraft and robotic ground vehicles.
Iowa researchers designed their two virtual soldiers with artificial intelligence programs that use digitized human anatomical data and mathematical models that can predict human thought and behavior.
Tony and Ella will help researchers test how real troops would be affected as they operate new machinery and weapons systems. Using digital models to calculate the real human impact of battlefield scenarios can save money and help the Army determine sooner whether to pursue or redesign certain systems.
“That’s something the Army is very interested in: how long a soldier can operate a piece of a mechanical weapons system and stay alert,” said engineering professor Karim Malek, the lead researcher. “At what point does (a soldier) need a break or a drink of water?”
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