We're sure you had a grand time with the previous version of the ScummVM. And we think there shouldn't be a reason for us to stop with the fun. That's why we bring you today this multiplatform rainbow goodness that's in the form of ScummVM 0.11.1. You know what to do to get what you want. Go on over to full article.

No longer a stealth game, Splinter Cell: Conviction (for the PC and Xbox 360) has ex-Third Echelon agent Sam Fisher dashing through crowds and using his environment to evade detection and capture. In a franchise often defined by the tact, sleekness and precise surgical infiltration possible only with stealth, Conviction steers the game deeper into Sam Fisher's story.

Although latest installment to Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell series had little details as to what would Fisher be doing now, Ubisoft's Mathieu Ferland did state that the game would revolve around Sam Fisher's self-discovery and self-realization. So aside from adding more action instead of more thought into the game, you will also be getting more emotional now.

Ferland also noted that the game was "a big change in the devotion of the brand," which to most fans is practically the understatement of the year. Fans that started out with the first Splinter Cell and have tasted the likes of Eidos' Hitman series may find this game to be particularly lacking in something. Oh yes, we remember now: it lacks Splinter Cell.

DOSBox v0.70 is the latest release from the DOSBox Team. For the uninitiated, it is a DOS-emulator that uses the SDL-library. DOSBox has been ported on different platforms, such as Windows, Linux, and MacOS X. The DOS emulator itself is open source and has garnered the support of a lot of its users. It emulates the following:

• CPU:286/386 realmode/protected mode,
• Directory FileSystem/XMS/EMS,
• Tandy/Hercules/CGA/EGA/VGA/VESA graphics,
• and for sound a SoundBlaster/Gravis Ultra Sound card.
  

DOSBOX offers countless hours of reliving the classic games that newer systems may have a problem running. It is common to find that the games from the 80s and early 90s to be unplayable since they would be too quick (some of the programs use the clock speed to dictate the speed of the game). With DOSBox, it is not only possible but actually relatively easy.

It's been reported that the program's stable and nobody's had any trouble with running classics such as Maniac Mansion, Alley Cat, Wing Commander, or Frogger. It's inevitable that there might be a few classic games that don't work with this version though.

Note for downloads: The windows executable is in the main folder, the zipped .dmg file for MacOS X and the other file for FedoraCore.

Download: DOSBox v0.70

Click the full article to see a quickstart guide.

agentorange has just tipped us off on his latest update for the XMB Wave Screensaver for Windows application he released just yesterday. As we mentioned earlier, this isn't really a homebrew app for the PSP, but because it mimics the handheld's XMB, we thought we should inform you guys about it too.

And based on your responses, it seems a lot of you were really interested and even in awe of agentorange's app! So...he decided to work hard on fixing all the bugs you reported and bring you this updated release.

As for those who are asking whether their Macs will be seeing this screensaver too, here's what agentorange had to say: "Mac or Linux version won't happen any time soon, as this is DirectX dependant (for now). Sorry!" Also, he says he's still trying to figure out how to get this running with the desktop in the background.

So while we wait for that, why don't you update the one you have running on your PC's and get the following fixes and additions:

v0.95:

• Probably fixed flickering on startup
• Problems with hiding Mouse Cursor fixed
  

v0.9:

• Added Control Panel
• Color selection, Custom colors
• Frequency of Colorchange, Background Options
• Wave Speed, Wave Height
• Fixed Several smaller Bugs
  

v0.5:

• Fixed Bug concerning Multi-Monitors / Widescreens
• Fixed Timing Errors
  

To install, all you have to do is (and we quote): Unpack to a directory of your choice then Right-Click "Wave_by_AoR.SCR" and pick "Install."

Download: XMB Wave Screensaver for Windows v0.95
Visit: QJ.Net PC Forums

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Update: According to agentorange: "Version 0.95 had a bug preventing it to run on Windows XP only showing a white screen / flickering. This has (hopefully) been fixed in v0.96! Thanks for your feedback and please tell me if you encounter any more bugs!"

Download: XMB Wave Screensaver for Windows v0.96
Visit: QJ.Net PC Forums

Yeah, it's a LuaPlayer, and this one's from Shine at the PS2Dev forums. What's different about this one is that it's been re-written with the SCons build management and is based on OpenGL for all graphics output. Check Wiki, OpenGL "is a standard specification defining a cross-language cross-platform API" for computer graphics, which leads to the other thing that's different. It's been released for the PSP, the PS3 (Linux), and Windows.

We shall henceforth and heretofore call this the One LuaPlayer to Rule Them All/And In The Darkness Bind Them. Until Sauron Shine comes up with the next version, or someone else comes up with something else like it. Here are the details for each LuaPlayer platform:

• PSP: uses PSPGL (old hat, old friend), tested on 1.0 and 1.5, but doesn't run on kernel, so theoretically should work with other versions, too (that's unconfirmed, though). 3D rendering on the PSP is slow, though - Shine's hoping someone would step up with an idea to fix it.
• PS3: should work on every 64-bit PS3 Linux. Screenshot is from the PS3 version.
• Windows: compiled with VisualStudio.Net, so it won't need Cygwin or any other library apart from the system and OpenGL libs

Weirdly enough, there's a folder for "Mac OS X", but neither the forum post nor anything in the text files in the package indicate anything about Mac functionality. Looks like a work in progress since Shine and another member of the forum are talking about the Mac OS X "port." Anyway, the download link below contains both the application/s and the source codes for LuaPlayer OpenGL. Instructions are provided in build.txt, while actual apps are in the "release" folder.

Thank you, Bronx, for the tip!

Download: [LuaPlayer OpenGL]

We will make this sweet and simple as the topic it tackles is a bit baffling already. We are all familiar with FPS games. We are also well versed with the concept of multiplayer. Now there is a certain developer, Arkane Studios, that is currently working on a title that merges the two. Uh, Counter Strike? Not quite.

Arkane Studios wouldn't divulge any concrete details about the project. They added, helpfully if we may add, that this is just simple math: single player plus multiplayer equals crossplayer. Well, we don't know about that but we hope the short video below will be of some help to you.

At any rate, we are all okay with anything that expands the genre and the industry. We will just inform you as more things come about this crossplayer thing come up.

There are two sides to this story. On one end, you've really got to give it to those guys who have managed to hack Windows Vista's registration features even before the said OS has been released. You guys are geniuses. On the other hand, Microsoft should really start waking up and start hiring the said hackers instead; then maybe they wouldn't have to worry about piracy so much, especially when Vista gets launched on January 30, 2007.

That's right, kiddies, you heard us right. As reported by the IDG News Service, Windows Vista's registration features have already been hacked, and a file is already being distributed which allows users of the corporate version of Vista to dodge those anti-piracy traps which Microsoft has painstakingly put into place.

Dubbed as the "MelindaGates Hack", it goes around the need for Windows Vista to be "activated" before it will work on your machine... and... well, at this point, Yahoo explains the technical
parts best:

To simplify the task of activating many copies of Vista, Microsoft offers corporate users special tools, among them Key Management Service (KMS), which allows a company to run a Microsoft-supplied authorization server on its own network and activate Vista without contacting Microsoft for each copy.

The software Microsoft.Windows.Vista.Local.Activation.Server-MelindaGates lets users spoof that KMS process, allowing them to activate copies of the enterprise editions of Vista, its creators say.

So... Can anyone say "Polly wants a cracker"?