Scientific Linux 5.6 RC1

Troy Dawson has announced that the first release candidate for Scientific Linux 5.6 is out and ready for testing: "Scientific Linux 5.6 RC 1 is now available. We have pushed out the latest update to Scientific Linux (SL) 5.6. Changed since beta 3: SL 5.6 has a new graphical theme called 'Atom Shine'; sl-release and yum-conf were updated to point to 56 instead of 5rolling; R was updated to 2.13.0; on the distribution servers there is now a directory 56, for i386 and x86_64 there are links to 5rolling, this does not mean that 56 is released, it is only in release candidate, It is set up this way so that we can test. Known issues: the GDM login screen still has the old graphics instead of the new Atom Shine graphics, this will be fixed in the next release candidate. We expect SL 5.6 RC2 out in two weeks." The release announcement. Download: SL.56.060811.DVD.i386.disc1.iso (4,167MB, MD5), SL.56.060811.DVD.x86_64.disc1.iso (4,172MB, MD5).

FreeNAS 8.0.1 Beta 2

Josh Paetzel has announced the availability of the second beta release of FreeNAS 8.0.1: "Hot on the tail of the first BETA I am proud to announce 8.0.1-BETA2. This is the second of three planned betas in the 8.0.1 release cycle. Most of the changes from BETA1 are bug fixes. In particular several bugs have been fixed in the migrations from 8.0-RELEASE. The system was not relabeling ZFS volumes to use the new devicename-independent naming scheme correctly in BETA1. Also the database migration scripts in BETA1 do not migrate NFS shares properly. The upgrade/migration scripts have been improved. In previous versions failure of the database upgrade was easy to miss, and it could leave the system booting to single-user mode with error messages that had nothing to do with the root issue. This has been rectified. If a database migration does fail, the error message will be clear as to what happened." Here is the complete release announcement. Download (SHA256): FreeNAS-8.0.1-BETA2-i386.iso (102MB), FreeNAS-8.0.1-BETA2-amd64.iso (108MB).

Nintendo admits it faked Wii U game footage

You know, I haven't been impressed with Nintendo in, well, just about ages. I much preferred playing Golden Axe on the Sega Genesis than Mario on the NES.

True, that was many, many years ago - but some things never change.

For example, I have long suspected Nintendo excels in little else but marketing, as the corporation seems to have an uncanny knack of convincing people they absolutely must buy a subpar system and play mindless games until their eyes are red from sleep deprivation.

Admittedly, I probably do sound like an aging curmudgeon, but I always believed the color Lynx was miles ahead of the monochrome Game Boy.

But what did the mindless masses end up buying? Yeah, the Game Boy. Sure, the quality was lacking, but so friggin' what? Obviously, high-end graphics have never mattered to Nintendo.

So that's why I wasn't at all shocked to learn the bloated corporation had faked video game footage ostensibly rendered by its "next-gen" (*cough*) Wii U console this week at E3 in Los Angeles.

That's right, some of the clips were actually snatched from Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 games, both of which, IMHO, probably boast superior graphics to whatever advanced "console" Nintendo is working on.

But Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime seemed rather nonplussed by the controversy, telling GameTrailers the presentation was perfectly legit, as the graphics on the Wii U would definitely be comparable to what was shown at the LA game show.

"We're talking a year away from when the system's going to launch. The system's going to be 1080p," Fils-Aime claimed.

"You're going to see games that take full advantage of a system that has the latest technology and can push out some incredible graphics."



Yeah, right. If I was an optimist, I would say Nintendo needs to internalize the following age-old slogan:

"You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."

But they won't, because they really don't have to. Unfortunately, modern consumers tend to fall for slick marketing campaigns, and never seem to learn that spin just can't quite make up for lack of quality.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1

Watch the exclusive online trailer debut for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, starring Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner, coming to theaters November 18, 2011!

Mass Effect 3 coming March 6, 2012

Electronic Arts has confirmed a release date for the anticipated Mass Effect sequel.

Those were almost the very first words out of EA during its pre-E3 press conference this afternoon.

Bringing the most state-of-the-art visuals yet and ambitious new gameplay controls, EA promises Mass Effect 3 will be "the best in the series."

One of the unique features about the Mass Effect series has been its unparalleled continuity. That is, the way players interacted with Mass Effect had a fundamental impact in the way their Mass Effect 2 experience was handled.

In Mass Effect 3, that dynamic will go even further, as players continue their epic journey in which every move they make, every decision they take, has an effect.

Mass Effect was originally an Xbox 360 exclusive, but in one of the biggest scores for the PS3 to date, Mass Effect 2 was brought to the Sony console (albeit after a significant wait following its Xbox 360 release).

For Mass Effect 3, multiplatform support will come right out of the gate, with the PS3 version coming alongside the Xbox 360 and PC versions on the same day.

We now know that day is March 6, 2012.

After 25 years, Ubisoft reinvents classics

Platformer fans rejoice, because there's a brand new, high-definition Rayman game in the works. And that's just the beginning.

Ubisoft, which does not traditionally go to the expense of having a decked-out pre-E3 media event, used this as an opportunity to celebrate its legacy as a 25-year-old video game publisher, which started as a humble company founded by a couple brothers in France.

The company's very first creation was an unlikely superhero with no arms or legs named Rayman. Today, that same character was the first thing shown at Ubisoft's briefing.

Rayman Origins takes all of the fast-paced platforming, puzzle-solving action fans have come to know and love, and brings it to the world of powerful HD graphics and all new gameplay, with support for up to four-player cooperative gaming.

Rayman himself has taken a back seat in recent years, with his spin-off franchise, the crude, toilet-dwelling Rabbids getting most of the attention as of late. So it's nice to see him make a return to gaming.

It's not just Rayman that's getting a refresh. Driver, which first gained notoriety as a blocky, simplistic racing title back in the day, is poised to take over the latest consoles in Driver: San Francisco.

There is more than just remakes of decades-old franchises, though. Ubisoft also revealed a new installment to its high-octane adventure series, Farcry 3. But today's conference was mostly about Ubisoft's rare 25-year mark in the gaming market.

Ubisoft may not be a part of most gamers' everyday vocabulary, but it does have a strong hold on the industry, and its E3 lineup in honor of the company's 25th anniversary looks pretty decent.