I've been sort of way for the last days. Don't worry, I'll be back on Saturday.
The Summer course that I got into to was unexpected
On Tuesday, I had a Python Competition, with 6 challenges, I solved 5 and got first place! Friday I'll tell you about the prize Perhaps another Arduino?
Okay, so it turns out the judges download their program from the poll, and they don't get to see the actual email. I'm sure most of us put info in the email, or said the project wasn't open source, so the zips in the poll didn't not contain those.
Spoiler For original post:
I'm one of the judges of the Axe contest and I'm quite disappointed with the way the entries were sent in.
From the 10 entries:
4 of them don't say which Axe version I should use to compile source code
1 of them doesn't say which is the main file to compile, but says which version I should use
2 of them don't have the source
2 of them don't compile due to errors
This entries won't get 0 of course, but I will talk with the other judges about how to judge those entries. For now, I just want to let you know that you should've followed the rules because we need:
To all of you participating in Omnimaga's Programming Contest 2011, Part #1, Axe Puzzle or Platformer Game, you only have one more week! To be exact, "your entry must be submitted before July 16th 2011, 1:00 AM GMT-5."
In fact, it's better if you send the files a few days before the deadline to avoid complications such as Internet going down on the last day, or your computer crashing on the last day or maybe if you can't send the file on the last day due to an unpredictable event.
Experience from last year tells us most people sent the programs on the last day and we don't want that to happen this year, do we? It's better for you to prepare and send the file some days before to make sure it's there.
Don't worry if you make an update after, because you can resend it and only the last one will count
Finally, don't forget about the indications on what and how to send the program, you can find them here.
I just thought a bit about it and I'm pretty sure it is possible to convert TNS files to the original LUA code. Afterall, we have programs that do the opposite.
I gave it a try and managed to do it. However, I can't particularly claim it *always* works. I think it works if one didn't use TI's Tools to create it. If one used third-party tools then it works (or so I believe). Nevertheless, it's a pretty useful tool, coded in Python.
It basically opens a TNS file and creates a new text file with the Lua Code.
Yesterday, Brandon Wilson tweeted that he had managed to modify both boot pages in the 84+/SE, through software only, as you can see in the following picture:
Another tweet from Brandon Wilson tells us about some of the possibilities that this will bring:
Quote from: Brandon Wilson
It means we can modify the boot code & completely strip out all TI copyrighted code from the device. No more exploits or hacks.
From now on, if TI tries any more "tricks" to block features or downgrades, they can now be easily fixed thanks to this.
Some may say this is a fail from TI and others might say it is the end of all the problems caused by TI blocking downgrades and other features. I question, though, can't TI change the boot pages in a newer OS? Either way, I think this is wonderful news.
Finally I have to add that thepenguin77 also discovered this, but separately from Brandon Wilson.
Below is the most recent tweet by Brandon Wilson concerning this program:
Quote from: Brandon Wilson
Boot code one is a simple program. Pocket exploit...probably best not to say yet. But very simple & easy to use.
A week or two ago I was exploring Linux Mint's new Software Manager (Mint 11) and went to the most downloaded games. I found a game that looked good, called SauerBraten. I downloaded it and it was installed, no difficulties, thanks to the software manager.
I made some online research on it and it is a first-person-shooter, it's free and cross-platform, since it uses OpenGL Graphics, and the latter are very nice. They remind me of Team Fortress 2 graphics. The game is also very small, not even 500 MB.
The game boots almost instantly, the online servers work the first time, everything looks good. For the first time, I decided to play against bots, since it also features bot matches, and you can even specify the difficulty and game mode and map. I tried it and it was a bit hard to get used to, but thanks to the very detailed Options menu I got there.
I tried it online and the most popular modes are Insta CTF (Capture the flag with a one-hit KO Sniper), Regen Capture (you have some bases and you have to defend them and attack other team's bases and the goal is to have the maximum bases as possible) and Insta GIB (Deadmatch with one-hit KO Sniper). These are actually the only modes I play because there are about 10 servers with enough people to make it fun, and all these 10 servers have one of these 3 modes. This is not a big issue though, as these modes are the funniest.
SauerBraten includes a map editor and some default maps are original, others are from Counter-Strike and others from Quake. This is pretty cool, as the level editor is very easy to use.
For a free game and cross-platform I have to give this a 10 out of 10. It has some issues such as you can't crouch and the menus are quite non-user-friendly.
When I tried Ubuntu 11, I hated it because when I closed laptop lid, it crashed. I changed to Linux Mint 10 and was happy to see that changed. However, I now updated to Mint 11 and I have the same issue.
So I made some investigation on it and disabling VBlank on OpenGL in compiz-settings-manager works for most people. Not for me, though. This worked:
gconftool-2 --type string --set /apps/gnome-power-manager/buttons/lid_ac "nothing" Note: Almost nobody in the Web knows this and I found it on the last comment of a very hidden page, so thought I should share it.
I have been working on an Axe Detokenizer for a while now. Today, with a precious tip Kerm Martian gave me, I manged to finally finish it.
Quote
Axe Detokenizer is an open-source, free, light-weight, simple and easy-to-use TI-83/84+ (SE) Axe Detokenizer. It opens Axe Source Files (.8XP) and makes text files with the detokenized code. It was made in Python and in order to use it, you need Python 2.6 or 2.7 installed. Since it was made using Python, it is also cross-platform, meaning it will work in all major Operative Systems.
During 1 week and 1 day (next Monday Afternoon to the Tuesday of the following week) I won't be able to come to Omnimaga. I *may* check my email once or twice if you need to tell me something. But I'm not even sure if I will be able to.
I think it'd be great if users could manage the Tutorials section, or at least some users because I made a tutorial that isn't on Tutorials, and I'm afraid I'm not the only one. So instead of asking admins to do it, we could do it ourselves.
Secondly, one of my uploaded tutorials has some BB Code and Formatting/Layout erros in the Tutorials Section and it'd be great if users could change that instead of having to ask Admins to do it.
I'm not sure if what I'm asking for is feasible, but I'd love it if it could be done. It would make Omnimaga's Tutorials Section more dynamic and better and save the Admins some free time
a = {1,2} print(blocks[1]) --Should return "2", but returns "table: 0x1151460" I really don't know what the problem is here, how to return the index of an array? Thanks