manning

Chat logs show Bradley Manning's early activism

New chat logs provide a detailed look at what may have motivated hacker-turned-Army enlistee Bradley Manning to allegedly turn over hundreds of thousands of sensitive documents to WikiLeaks.

The logs, released by New York magazine, show that Manning was becoming frustrated with the military's daily regimens and came to treasure his weekends off, especially the time he could spend with then-boyfriend Tyler Watkins. He maintained a sense of humor, though, and believed the Army was a "diverse place" where even a self-described "gay, libertarian, atheist, computer nerd" like himself could find a home.

The online … Read more

The 404 852: Where it's always bummy in Philadelphia (podcast)

It's our last show before the three-day weekend, so we're wrapping up with a review of the movie box office, and some new services that'll help with the cost of tickets. We're also exploring the idea of 4D movie theaters, and quizzing Wilson on another episode of Tang that Tune. Also, be sure to tune into the second half of the show for the debut of Jeff's new recurring segment, Squishy Moments with Jeff Bakalar!

The 404 Digest for Episode 852

MoviePass: See unlimited movies in the theater for $50 a month. 4D movies: what the heckbeans is that? Do something cat! 2/5 stars for Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Episode 852 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Artificial intelligence takes on Ms. Pac-Man

For the last 30 years, Pac-Man's estranged wife, Ms. Pac-Man, has been consuming countless coins and hours from gamers at arcades across North America.

Philipp Rohlfshagen, David Robles, and Simon Lucas, all of the University of Essex, recently launched a competition called Ms. Pac-Man vs. Ghost Team for those wanting to rewrite the flow of the classic chomper. The contest, held last week in New Orleans at the Congress on Evolutionary Computation 2011, was an open call for savvy Java programmers to create artificial intelligence routines that either control where Ms. Pac-Man or the four ghosts should go during gameplay. If you can't beat them, hack them.

Programming a successful strategy for a game like Ms. Pac-Man in real time is very complicated (click here for the software). A more competitive version of Ms. Pac-Man was used in the exhibition; fruits were omitted and the speed of Ms Pac-Man and the ghosts were identical. Entrants to the competition weren't allowed to use screen captures to navigate. They were required to directly interface with the game engine instead.… Read more

DeltaWing tackles Le Mans with fuel efficiency

Engines over 5 liters are common at the 24 hours of Le Mans endurance race, so how can a team fielding a car with only 1.6 liters attempt to compete? That answer comes in the form of weight reduction and aerodynamics.

The Project 56 group earned a spot in the 2012 24 hours of Le Mans race for its DeltaWing concept, a car eschewing horsepower in favor of an advanced body structure favoring air flow and light weight. Le Mans officials gave the car the 56th spot in the starting grid, a place that has been reserved for experimental cars to compete in the endurance race using a variety of alternative technologies.

The DeltaWing concept will use a 1.6-liter turbocharged engine making 300 horsepower, approximately half that of the typical Le Mans competitor. The car uses a slim front end with a much narrower track than the rear, making it easier for the engine to push the car forward. … Read more

Ex-hacker Lamo: No regrets over Bradley Manning

Adrian Lamo, the ex-hacker who became notorious for turning in alleged Wikileak-er Bradley Manning, says he has no regrets about his role in aiding the U.S. Army's criminal prosecution of the young soldier.

"Sometimes you need to consider the good of the many versus the good of the one," he told CNET in a recent interview. Lamo says he's scheduled to talk with prosecutors in Manning's case today for the first time and expects to be called as a witness in future proceedings.

In April, Manning was declared fit to stand trial on a … Read more

Nissan's mobile man cave

Nissan is angling to broaden commercial appeal of its cargo van by marketing the NV2500 as a mobile man cave.

To support Team Radio Shack on the Amgen Tour of California, Nissan kitted out a cargo van and turned it into what it described as a "man cave on wheels" equipped with satellite TV, bike tools, air hose, espresso machine, and bikes. The vehicle's maximum cargo height of 76.5 inches and nearly vertical sidewalls made it easy to accommodate aftermarket storage systems and cycling gear with enough space to stand and move around the interior. Occupants … Read more

Efficient organizer for manly types

Efficient Software's personal organizer comes in several versions, including freeware editions that offer most of the functionality but fewer features than the full versions. There are also versions optimized for men and women, Efficient Lady's Organizer Free and Efficient Man's Organizer Free. It's the same program, except that the ladies' version is decorated with pink hearts while the men's version is skinned in bolder, starker tones. Sure, it'd be easy to joke about gendered software, but at least there's a choice that doesn't involve a default theme that looks more like a … Read more

'Evil Dead' seeks rebirth in iPhone game

These days, Sam Raimi is famous for making the "Spider-Man" trilogy of movies. But to a core group of die-hard fans, he'll always be known as the director of 1981's cult-favorite "The Evil Dead."

Though that horror-comedy classic has had 30 years to blend into the cinematic background, it still has a passionate and devoted following. And now Raimi and production partner Robert Tapert and their Ghost House Pictures have teamed up with the Los Angeles-based entertainment consultants TriggerGlobal to fire up those fans--as well as try to create a new fan base for … Read more

For men and other disorganized types

Efficient Man's Organizer Free Portable breaks down this way: it's an efficient personal organizer designed for men that's totally portable and totally free. Portability is a key asset in a personal manager since a tool that's chained to your desktop obviously can't keep up with you when you're not at your desk. Efficient Man's Organizer is compact enough to run from a wide range of storage media and portable devices, yet it still offers a full set of features.

We extracted the compressed download of Efficient Man's Organizer and saved it to … Read more