Sure, you probably played games like Impossible Mission and Boulder Dash, but the real magic was the built-in BASIC language. You might have typed in a program like this:


10 PRINT "WALYOU RULES!"
20 GOTO 10

This would print “WALYOU RULES!” over and over again until you hit the break key.

Commodore USA has acquired the rights to the original machines, including the Commodore 64.

This new version features the familiar brown-and-beige design of the original, but with 21st Century features. The machine is powered by a dual core Intel Atom processor. The keyboard features Cherry brand key switches, which give it a feel similar to those old IBM keyboards that real geeks swear by. In place of the traditional “Windows” key, there’s the famous Commodore “chicken head” logo. The new C64 doesn’t run Windows but a custom Linux distro, Commodore OS, instead. (It is possible, however, to dual-boot with Windows.) You can either boot into Commodore OS or directly into a classic Commodore 64 emulator to play your old favorites.

There will also be a media center application that will allow you to download classic C64 games. Commodore also plans to ship each system with a variety of open source software, including 3D games. They also promise to install a Microsoft Office-compatible suite. (This will likely be OpenOffice.org or its offshoot, LibreOffice.)

The machine comes with 2 gigs of RAM, expandable to 4 gigs.

Instead of that bulky old 1541 5.25″ disk drive, there’s a DVD/RW drive built into the side of the machine, with Blu-ray as an optional extra. There are the standard ports, including USB and Ethernet, card reader slots,  and even an HDMI port so you can hook it up to your HDTV. Add the Blu-ray and you’ve got yourself a nice living room computer.

I’m really looking forward to getting my hands on this machine, both as a fan of Commodore and a fan of Linux and open source in general.

If you’re a Commodore fan, you’ll probably like the Commodore 64 Laptop and the C64 8-bit keytar mod.

Via: Commodore USA

The 5-4 decision, which was hotly debated by the justices, shielded the New Orleans district attorney’s office from being held liable for its mistakes.

Speaking to the press, Justice Ginsburg emphasized her disapproval to the decision by reading her dissent in the courtroom, saying that the prosecutors dishonored their obligation to the law.

Thompson was charged with and convicted of an attempted carjacking near the Superdome as a prelude of charging him with the unsolved murder of a hotel executive. The case was later overturned when a private detective discovered that the man wanted in relation to the carjacking had a B blood type, while Thompson was type O.

The blood test saved Thompson’s life, which lead to a new case that cleared him of his charges. As Thompson was acquitted, he won $14 million in damages against the district attorney in a civil suit.

Unfortunately, Thompson will not be seeing justice this day as the courts rejected the judgment despite all the evidence in favor of the plaintiff.

Source: LA Times

India has become the first country to block URLs ending in .xxx. The distribution of pornography is illegal in India and elsewhere, and other countries may follow India’s lead.

“India along with many other countries from the Middle East and Indonesia opposed the grant of the domain in the first place, and we would proceed to block the whole domain, as it goes against the IT Act and Indian laws,” said a senior official at the ministry of IT, according to the Economic Times. “Though some people have said that segregation is better, and some countries allow it. But for other nations transmission and direct distribution of such content goes against their moral and culture.”

Pornographers and free speech activists have already voiced concerns that the .xxx suffix will allow authorities to winnow out adult content more easily.

The Next Web contacted cyber lawyer and author of “The Fundamental Right to the Internet,” Vivek Sood, who pointed out that pornography can still be hosted on .com and .in domains in India.

Indeed, the application process for a .xxx domain is voluntary.

Sites seeking to join will be subjected to a set of standards that prohibit child pornography, among other restrictions, and protect consumers against Malware, TechSpot reports. The new domains will also cost as much as $50 dollars more per year than traditional domains, according to the AP