July 2023 – Page 14 – news.buyenne.com

Getting TIE Fighter: Total Conversion working is worth the hassle and the $10

It has a 1999 engine, 2021 graphics, and that unmistakable ’90s LucasArts feel.

Chasing an X-Wing fighter from inside a TIE

It had been a long, long while since I last suited up for the Empire and shot up some X-wings. At least 25 years, really, and probably a few more. Star Wars: TIE Fighter was a high point for LucasArts, but also for the amount of time and energy a certain teenage Ars Technica writer could devote to learning the attack patterns of Rebel squadrons.

When I saw recently that a rather massively scaled "Total Conversion" of TIE Fighter had released a new update, it felt like as good a time as any to jump back in the cockpit. TIE Fighter: Total Conversion (TFTC) is a nearly total remake of TIE Fighter, inside the more-advanced engine of its sequel, X-Wing Alliance, piggybacking off that game's own big fan-made modernization.

TIE Fighter: Total Conversion 1.3.3 update trailer. I love living in an age where a 1.3.3 mod update gets a trailer. I really do.

What Total Conversion promises is still TIE Fighter, but with:

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Nach Sabotage: Glasfaserkabel der Bahn weiter völlig ungesichert

Neun Monate nach einer gezielten Sabotage in Berlin ist die Stelle, wo Glasfaser-Kabel durchschnitten wurden, weiter ungesichert. Ein Wirrwarr von Deutsche-Bahn-Leitungen liegt offen im Gras. (Deutsche Bahn, Glasfaser)

Formula E’s first visit to a proper American racetrack saw packed stands

We found a lot to be optimistic about for the all-electric racing series.

A Jaguar Formula E car with Mt Hood in the background

PORTLAND, Ore.—This year's Formula E season draws to a close this weekend, with the final two rounds taking place in London. The title fight is a three-way contest, with Avalanche Andretti's Jake Dennis leading Envision Racing's Nick Cassidy and Jaguar TCS Racing's Mitch Evans. Last month, the series held a race here in the US on the opposite coast of its traditional home in Brooklyn. Formula E did something outside its comfort zone, holding a race at permanent road course—Portland International Speedway. And as Ars found out, it was a good decision; this leafy race track with its volcano backdrop felt like a much better venue for Formula E than a humid parking lot next to the Hudson River.

It was also our first opportunity to see the series' new cars in action, and they're significantly lighter and more powerful than the Gen2 machines. As ever, the drivers have a lot of work to do to manage energy in the cars, thanks to restricted telemetry to their engineers in the pit lane and new tires that prioritize sustainability over outright grip.

Portland saw the Gen3 cars reach their highest ever top speeds. (credit: Simon Galloway/Formula E)

This isn’t a city center street circuit

Portland was not the first Formula E race we've attended; we were on hand to see the series' rather chaotic Miami ePrix in 2015, and Ars logos even ran on a pair of cars at that year's London ePrix. Miami was not a repeat event for the sport, and the Long Beach ePrix in California was held only twice, in 2015 and 2016.

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Rocket Report: Starbase comes alive again; China launches four times

Maybe the next Starship launch isn’t all that far off.

The Super Heavy booster for SpaceX's next Starship test flight is raised onto its launch mount at the Starbase facility in South Texas.

Welcome to Edition 6.04 of the Rocket Report! SpaceX has a Super Heavy booster on the launch pad in Texas a lot sooner than many thought. There was some pretty extensive damage at the launch site in the aftermath of the Starship test launch in April, SpaceX made quick work with repairs and upgrades to beef up the pad. Meanwhile, SpaceX's Falcon 9 launcher, Rocket Lab's Electron, and China's rocket fleet show no signs of slowing down.

As always, we welcome reader submissions, and if you don't want to miss an issue, please subscribe using the box below (the form will not appear on AMP-enabled versions of the site). Each report will include information on small-, medium-, and heavy-lift rockets as well as a quick look ahead at the next three launches on the calendar.

China's Galactic Energy launches sixth successful mission. Galactic Energy, one of several new Chinese startup launch companies, launched its sixth consecutive successful satellite delivery mission on July 22, Space News reports. The company's solid-fueled Ceres 1 rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan launch base in the Gobi Desert with two small satellites on board. Galactic Energy is also developing a medium-lift rocket named Pallas 1 that is designed to eventually be recoverable and reusable.

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Saison der Boshaftigkeit im Test: Diablo 4 macht sich selbst kaputt

Erst macht ein desaströser Patch für Diablo 4 die Community sauer und nun kommt die recht langweilige Saison 1. Das muss Blizzard besser machen. Ein Test von Oliver Nickel (Diablo 4, Diablo)

Sci-Hub’s Alexandra Elbakyan Receives EFF Award for Providing Access to Scientific Knowledge

The Electronic Frontier Foundation will award Alexandra Elbakyan, founder of the ‘pirate’ library Sci-Hub, for her efforts to provide access to scientific knowledge. According to EFF, Elbakyan’s site is a vital resource for millions of students and researchers. Some medical professionals have even argued that the site helped to save lives.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Sci-Hub There are thousands of pirate sites on the Internet but only a few will receive a permanent entry in the history books. That includes Sci-Hub.

Founded by Kazakhstani computer programmer Alexandria Elbakyan, the shadow library provides free access to millions of academic publications. As such, it’s an essential tool for less privileged students and researchers around the world.

Tearing Down Paywalls Since 2011

Without Sci-Hub, many academics would be unable to complete their research projects. This all comes at the detriment of the profits of major publishers, but many argue that’s an easy tradeoff to make.

Alexandra knows this from experience. She started Sci-Hub after running into accessibility problems more than a decade ago while studying at a less fortunate university.

“When I was working on my research project, I found out that all research papers I needed for work were paywalled. I was a student in Kazakhstan at the time and our university was not subscribed to anything,” Alexandra told TorrentFreak years ago.

Today, Sci-Hub continues to tear down academic paywalls but that comes at a cost. Sci-Hub has been sued several times and owes millions in damages to major publishers. In addition, Elbakyan also drew the attention of the FBI.

Instead of throwing in the towel, Sci-Hub’s founder continues to defend her ideals. They’re a thorn in the side of major publishers, but on the other side of the debate, Elbakyan reaps praise.

EFF Award

This week, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) announced that Sci-Hub’s founder will receive an award for her accomplishments in advancing access to scientific knowledge.

EFF’s awards are presented to people who have taken a leading role in the fight for freedom and innovation online. The previous winners include Internet pioneer Vint Cerf, Linux creator Linus Torvalds, and whistleblower Chelsea Manning.

According to EFF, Elbakyan deserves the award as her life’s work enables millions of people to access scientific knowledge that would otherwise exist beyond their financial reach.

“Sci-Hub is used by millions of students, researchers, medical professionals, journalists, inventors, and curious people all over the world, many of whom provide feedback saying they are grateful for this access to knowledge.

“Some medical professionals have said Sci-Hub helps save human lives; some students have said they wouldn’t be able to complete their education without Sci-Hub’s help,” EFF adds.

The Real Threat?

EFF also highlights that Elbakyan’s work helps to challenge the current academic publishing system, where researchers are used as unpaid workhorses.

“Through Sci-Hub, Elbakyan has strived to shatter academic publishing’s monopoly-like mechanisms in which publishers charge high prices even though authors of articles in academic journals receive no payment,” EFF writes.

Elbakyan previously said that academic publishers are the real threat to the progress of science as they keep scientific progress and findings behind closed doors, instead of sharing knowledge freely as Sci-Hub does.

In addition to Elbakyan, the digital rights group will also present awards to the Library Freedom Project and the Signal Foundation for their achievements.

‘I Am Sci-Hub’

Sci-Hub’s founder is pleased with EFF’s acknowledgment, although the initial plan to give the award to the Sci-Hub website, rather than her personally, wasn’t well received.

“It was really disgusting to read they ask me to accept their EFF Pioneer award ‘on behalf of Sci-Hub’,” Elbakyan said in response two weeks before the awards were officially announced.

“Why did not they want to give the award to me directly? Sci-Hub is my sole creation; it is not an organization and never had any team. In 1998 they awarded Torvalds, not Linux,” she added.

That commentary apparently made EFF reconsider its plan. The award now goes to Elbakyan directly and it will be officially handed out at the awards ceremony in San Francisco this coming September.

EFF previously recognized that it may be challenging for Sci-Hub’s founder to attend the ceremony in person, noting that there are secure methods of communication available in case she prefers to accept it virtually instead.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

(g+) Telekommunikation: Wütende Dörfer, selbstbewusste Netzbetreiber

Mehrere Dörfer ärgern sich über Deutsche Glasfaser und Telefónica Deutschland sieht ein Huawei-Verbot eher als symbolischen Akt. Wir waren bei spannenden Hintergrundgesprächen – und lassen hier etwas durchscheinen. Von Achim Sawall (Golem Plus, Huawei…

Mehrere Dörfer ärgern sich über Deutsche Glasfaser und Telefónica Deutschland sieht ein Huawei-Verbot eher als symbolischen Akt. Wir waren bei spannenden Hintergrundgesprächen - und lassen hier etwas durchscheinen. Von Achim Sawall (Golem Plus, Huawei)

Month: July 2023