beforeyoukillyourcomputer.com Saving computers one at a time from their owners

Burlington’s iRobot Corp. said today that its Army contract to develop next-generation portable battlefield robots now totals $63 million.

That total includes $6 million to accelerate delivery of 25 Small Unmanned Ground Vehicle, or SUGV, robots to the Army’s Future Combat Systems program for testing.

To date, iRobot said it has delivered more than 1,400 PackBot robots to military and civilian customers; the PackBot can scout hostile terrain without putting soldiers at risk.

Modeled after the PackBot, the SUGV features a rugged, lightweight body that enables a single soldier to carry and deploy the robot, the company said.

Aside from military robots, iRobot also makes robots that do household chores; the Roomba, for example, will vacuum floors and rugs.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)

Souce

I have one purpose and one purpose only for posting this movie trailer for Wargames 2 : The Dead Code.  It sucks and you have now been warned.  Here’s another once great title smashed to bits by a crappy follow-up that MGM should be ashamed and embarrassed to release.

If you haven’t seen this video, it’s a horrendous crash from today’s speed qualifying for the Texas Motor Speedway race on Sunday at 2pm Eastern. It’s incredible that Michael was able to walk away from the crash with little to no difficulty. It is amazing how far NASCAR has come in the past years since Dale Earnhardt left us.

Edit:  Follow-up Interview

Just for yucks, here’s something funny to watch that’s safe for work and around the kiddies.

Funny stuff. Good likeness.

OK, after the XP SP3 post, time for something that brings a smile: South Park.

After years of encouraging their fans to share “South Park,” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone have set up a viable alternative to the mass YouTube-based distribution of popular clips from the hit show: They’re just going to give the whole thing away on SouthParkStudios.com.

“We got really sick of having to download our own show illegally all the time, so we gave ourselves a legal alternative,” the duo quipped in a statement.

The site offers every “South Park” episode including the current one, which stays live for a week after its airdate and then goes dark for the rest of the month, at which point it is added to the site’s back catalog.

Source

South Park Episode Guide

South Park DIGITAL Studios Press Release

“SOUTH PARK” CREATORS TREY PARKER AND MATT STONE
AND COMEDY CENTRAL LAUNCH THE ALL-NEW SOUTHPARKSTUDIOS.COM

NEW SITE FEATURES FULL EPISODES AND CLIPS
FROM THE ENTIRE 12 SEASONS OF
THE EMMY AND PEABODY AWARD-WINNING ANIMATED SERIES

NEW YORK, March 25, 2008 — South Park Digital Studios LLC, the joint venture between “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone and COMEDY CENTRAL, a division of MTVN Entertainment Group, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), announced today the launch of the new southparkstudios.com, which will feature free, streaming, full-length episodes and clips from the entire 12 seasons of the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning animated series. The site which rolled out a beta version last Wednesday has already received over three million page views, over two million video plays, and more than a million streams of full episodes.

“The ‘South Park’ phenomenon began as a viral video clip.

Coming to theatres June 13th, 2008.

Coming to DVD July 2008.

StarCraft II continues the epic saga of the Protoss, Terran, and Zerg. These three distinct and powerful races will clash once again in the fast-paced real-time strategy sequel to the legendary original, StarCraft. Legions of veteran, upgraded, and brand-new unit types will do battle across the galaxy, as each faction struggles for survival.

Featuring a unique single-player campaign that picks up where StarCraft: Brood War left off, StarCraft II will present a cast of new heroes and familiar faces in an edgy sci-fi story filled with adventure and intrigue. In addition, Blizzard will again offer unparalleled online play through Battle.net, the company’s world-renowned gaming service, with several enhancements and new features to make StarCraft II the ultimate competitive real-time strategy game.

Features:
* Fast-paced, hard-hitting, tightly balanced competitive real-time strategy gameplay that recaptures and improves on the magic of the original game
* Three completely distinct races: Protoss, Terran, and Zerg
* New units and gameplay mechanics further distinguish each race
* Groundbreaking single-player campaign
* Vibrant new 3D-graphics engine with support for dazzling visual effects and massive unit and army sizes
* Full multiplayer support, with new competitive features and matchmaking utilities available through Battle.net
* Full map-making and scripting tools to give players incredible freedom in customizing and personalizing their gameplay experience