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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Libraries Reopen in COVID-19 Hot Spots: Are Library Staff Being Protected?

In considering whether staff are being protected as libraries reopen during the pandemic, we take a look at some Arizona libraries. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-08-18 10:35:00 UTC ]
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15+ Library Stickers To Show Your Love of That Special Place

When you love libraries and love stickers, you best swag up with these library stickers. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-08-12 10:32:00 UTC ]
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These library watercolors will soothe your anxious soul.

To celebrate the New York Public Library turning 125(!), the Hudson Park branch asked New York City-based artist Nick Golebiewski to paint the libraries of lower Manhattan. (My personal favorite? The Jefferson Market Library, which is just a short walk from our office. I miss it so!) If you too... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-08-11 17:37:54 UTC ]
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Flaws Could Have Exposed Cryptocurrency Exchanges to Hackers

Researchers found troubling bugs in open-source libraries used by financial institutions. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2020-08-09 11:00:00 UTC ]
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See Inside 7 Beautiful Monastic Libraries

Behold the frescoed ceilings, marble floors, and centuries-old majesty of these monastic libraries around the world. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-08-06 10:37:00 UTC ]
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NYC Child Care Plan Includes Using Libraries

The NYC plan to provide education to 1 million students in the fall includes creating 100,000 "learning lab" seats in libraries and other community spaces. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-08-05 10:33:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House Extends Temporary E-book, Digital Audio Terms for Libraries

Terms of sale first enacted in March to help librarians during the Covid-19 crisis will now run through the end of the year. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-08-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Canadian Libraries Respond to 'Globe and Mail' Essay Attacking Public Libraries

Canadian librarians push back against a recently published editorial arguing that public libraries are "a net harm" to literature. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-31 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Pandemic pen pals: How Colombian libraries lift spirits

Libraries in Medellín, Colombia, help overcome pandemic-induced isolation with “Love in the Time of Coronavirus,” an anonymous letter-writing program. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-07-30 14:08:32 UTC ]
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Pandemic pen pals: How Colombian libraries lift spirits

Libraries in Medellín, Colombia, help overcome pandemic-induced isolation with “Love in the Time of Coronavirus,” an anonymous letter-writing program. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-07-30 14:08:32 UTC ]
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Pandemic pen pals: How Colombian libraries lift spirits

Libraries in Medellín, Colombia, help overcome pandemic-induced isolation with “Love in the Time of Coronavirus,” an anonymous letter-writing program. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-07-30 14:08:00 UTC ]
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How Many Books is Too Many? Ask the World’s 10 Biggest Libraries

There are 22 libraries in the world with a whopping 15 million items catalogued. Here are ten of the world's biggest - with a few facts and some pictures. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-07-27 10:30:43 UTC ]
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Hampshire Country Council to close eight libraries

Hampshire County Council has revealed it intends to close eight of its 48 council-run libraries and reduce the opening hours of those remaining by an average of 20%. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-07-20 14:34:26 UTC ]
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Quaranzines are Popular and Libraries are Noticing

Quaranzines collecting people’s quarantine experiences are growing in popularity, and provide important information, and libraries are noticing. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-07-20 10:30:51 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House Extends Open License for Online Readings Through 2020

The program was first announced in March to encourage digital read-aloud sessions for libraries and schools forced to close by the novel coronavirus outbreak. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-20 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Library Supporters Urge Action on Bill to Provide Relief Funding for Public Libraries

With the August recess looming and a second round of coronavirus relief in the works, $2 billion in funding for libraries hangs in the balance. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-07-17 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Why Marketers and Publishers Struggle With Messaging

There have never been so many extremely personal ways to communicate with your user base. Social media, email, push notifications—we’ve never had more options, and the ability to personalize based on medium and preferences.  But it’s hard to manage all these messaging platforms and then... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-07-15 16:27:23 UTC ]
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A New Role for Little Free Libraries

Taking a look at some of the helpers who are turning their Little Free Libraries into Little Free Pantries to help neighbors in need during the pandemic. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-07-15 10:32:56 UTC ]
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Wanted dead or archive: how film-makers repurpose old footage

Werner Herzog did it with Grizzly Man, Adam McKay did it with Vice – from archival libraries to old film canisters from charity shops, the past is waiting to be brought to lifeA child sits on a rock ledge buckling his shoe. The camera zooms towards a mysterious dark shape behind him as the boy... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2020-07-03 09:00:16 UTC ]
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Amazon Prime Video Has the Deepest TV Streaming Library—But Not the Highest Quality One

Buzzy original series may drive attention to streaming services, but the bulk of most major streamers' programming catalogs are their libraries of licensed TV shows. And those licensed titles often account for the highest-quality content available on the service, according to data from streaming... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2020-07-02 10:30:51 UTC ]
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