Hitting the Books: Amiga and the birth of 256-color gaming

With modern consoles offering gamers graphics so photorealistic that they blur the line between CGI and reality, it's easy forget just how cartoonishly blocky they were in the 8-bit era. In his new book, Creating Q*Bert and Other Classic Arcade Games, legendary game designer and programmer Warren Davis recalls his halcyon days imagining and designing some of the biggest hits to ever grace an arcade. In the excerpt below, Davis explains how the industry made its technological leap from 8- to 12-bit graphics.       Santa Monica Press©2021 Santa Monica PressBack at my regular day job, I became particularly fascinated with a new product that came out for the Amiga computer: a video digitizer made by a company called A-Squared. Let’s unpack all that slowly.The Amiga was a recently released home computer capable of unprecedented graphics and sound: 4,096 colors! Eight-bit stereo sound! There were image manipulation programs for it that could do things no other computer, including the IBM PC, could do. We had one at Williams not only because of its capabilities, but also because our own Jack Haeger, an immensely talented artist who’d worked on Sinistar at Williams a few years earlier, was also the art director for the Amiga design team.Video digitization is the process of grabbing a video image from some video source, like a camera or a videotape, and converting it into pixel data that a computer system (or video game) could use. A full-color photograph might contain millions of... Continue reading at 'Engadget'

[ Engadget | 2021-12-25 16:30:11 UTC ]

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Missing persons wanted

Growing up in the West Midlands, I turned my back on reading books and even visiting libraries for many years. When I start to think back to why this was happening, I realised that not seeing Asian representation within publishing and at libraries was a key factor. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-13 23:49:44 UTC ]
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Greenwich launches UK's first fully biodegradable library cards

Libraries in the London Borough of Greenwich are the first in the country to move to fully biodegradable library cards that are made in the UK from ethically sourced materials. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-13 12:08:04 UTC ]
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What Are Libraries Doing for National Library Card Sign-Up Month?

September is National Library Card Sign-Up Month! Let's take a look at some of the activities librarians have in store this month. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-09-08 10:32:00 UTC ]
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Germany’s First Half of 2021: Ebook Dynamics, and Libraries

German publishers say that robust ebook performance last year and this year could be impacted by state-subsidized e-lending. The post Germany’s First Half of 2021: Ebook Dynamics, and Libraries appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2021-09-08 03:50:02 UTC ]
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​SLA data demonstrates a mixed approach to school libraries through the pandemic

The School Library Association says many of its members were furloughed and some have been made redundant but librarians have been more essential than ever Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-03 09:36:20 UTC ]
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The way forward

Libraries and publishers have much to gain by taking a more collaborative approach in the way they work with each other  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-03 05:14:53 UTC ]
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New PLA Survey Illustrates Critical Digital Role Played by Public Libraries

The report, '2020 Public Library Technology Survey,' provides a current, detailed snapshot of how libraries serve as digital equity hubs. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-09-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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The gold standard

The Children’s Laureate gives an update on her Life-changing Libraries campaign to fund primary school libraries. Continue reading at The Bookseller

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Lambeth Libraries’ Rising Star Dixon on partnerships and community in lockdown

Zoey Dixon, named a Bookseller Rising Star in 2020, has been a leading light in making libraries more accessible, both before and during Covid, in her development role at Lambeth Libraries. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-03 01:24:28 UTC ]
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Devon libraries reach new audiences with escape room experience

Charity Libraries Unlimited, which aims to bring libraries’ work to new audiences, has come up with an innovative way to reach potential readers at libraries across Devon.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-09-02 22:53:52 UTC ]
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An App Called Libby and the Surprisingly Big Business of Library E-Books

Increasingly, books are something that libraries do not own but borrow from the corporations that do. Continue reading at New Yorker

[ New Yorker | 2021-09-02 10:00:00 UTC ]
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There’s No Place Like Libraries: A Personal History of Library Use

From school libraries to big city libraries and small town ones, this is one Rioter's journey through the important libraries of her life. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-08-30 10:39:00 UTC ]
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New Scottish library strategy aims to put them at heart of pandemic recovery

A new public library strategy for Scotland has been published, developed with the help of countries all over the world, including Denmark, Australia and the US, and seeking to make libraries key to helping people and their communities recover from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-24 05:25:24 UTC ]
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The 5 Best Libraries to See in Cambridge

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[ Book Riot | 2021-08-23 10:39:00 UTC ]
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Yorkshire comic festival launches donation drive for libraries and schools

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[ The Bookseller | 2021-08-21 00:12:55 UTC ]
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Why Apple's child safety updates are so controversial

Last week, Apple previewed a number of updates meant to beef up child safety features on its devices. Among them: a new technology that can scan the photos on users’ devices in order to detect child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Though the change was widely praised by some lawmakers and child... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2021-08-12 18:30:29 UTC ]
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Back-To-School Boost on DonorsChoose Today

Fund some classroom libraries today on DonorsChoose with the help of a boost from the Gates Foundation. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-08-12 10:39:00 UTC ]
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7 U.S. Libraries and Collections Named After Trailblazing Women

Most libraries are named after men, but here are 7 U.S. libraries and collections named after women that are worth celebrating. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2021-08-09 10:32:00 UTC ]
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ALA Welcomes SUCCESS Act, Proposed Federal Funding Increases for Libraries

“Congress is getting the message that libraries of all kinds are key to the vitality of communities,” said ALA president Patty Wong in a statement. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-07-23 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Baker & Taylor reveals 'diversity analysis' tool for libraries

US-based book distribution service Baker & Taylor has announced it will be offering libraries a "diversity analysis tool" to help them discover, manage and report on diversity-related topics. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2021-07-08 00:26:16 UTC ]
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