The 3D graphics of this game have aged really well and it still looks really nice. And the game is still absolutely addictive.
So I still play it and I still enjoy it. The only thing I have found problematic is the power-up system. As the touch controls are not really great for a racing game, it is even more of a problem there as the steering is also 'aiming' and the 'launch' button for powerups is operated with the same finger as the steering. However, I did discover one option that I did not know about, and that is the ability to completely disable powerups in-game. And that was something I needed to know when I played the games twenty years ago.
Now the game is absolutely brilliant. I enjoy every single race, which is now pure racing and not just the random luck of not getting hit by a rocket or splash ball.
For the first time I am going through the whole career and unlocking the cars, races and championships. Without the power-ups, it is a real racing experience and I am really enjoying it. So no more "CARNIVAL" and "TRACKER" cheats. Just progress.
I also ...
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While installing games on the tablet mentioned in the previous article, I remembered an interesting project. And a very interesting game too. It is called Re-Volt! One of the very first good looking 3D games I ever played. Even though it is from 1999, the graphics still look amazing. We can remember many early 3D games that look relatively ugly, but this is an absolute gem.
I think everyone knows this game, but for those who don't, it's an RC car racing arcade, in different tracks and environments, with collectable bonuses/weapons. You can race on the street between the houses, in the toy shop, in the Wild West village or on the boat. The tracks are very varied and so are the cars.
The game is so popular, and the modding community is so big, that you can download hundreds of interesting cars and dozens of very good and well-made tracks, just copy them to the folder with the game, and enjoy.
And here comes the RVGL project, an open source re-implementation of this great game, bringing it to Android devices. I tried the "official" build about a year ago. It required the files from the original game ...
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I have a new tablet! It is 7.0 inches, 600 x 1024 pixels, Galaxy Tab 3 Lite. Even though it is old, it is really nice and comes with a quad-core CPU and 1GB RAM, which is quite enough for the release date 2015. And it is also surprisingly fast, compared to many other older tablets that are absolutely laggy, this one is absolutely smooth.
So, as usual, I started looking for games and software to install on the device, and remembered my favourite, slightly Trackmania-like game, Jet car stunts, and also Jet car stunts2. I remember it was a really good game, and it still is, and runs very smoothly. Of course I had to download .apks as the tablet runs on the old Android 4.4.4. But for such an old device that does not access the internet and is not used to store sensitive data, this is not a problem.
I am still going to find some more games, but i have also downloaded some interesting yet, such as some traditional bomberman clone, Plants vs. Zombies which i do not really ...
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I took out one of two identical Lenovo laptops I had. The other came with Windows 7 pre-installed and full of games, and this one was waiting for a "project".
So the time came and I took it and decided to install one of the worst operating systems, Windows 8. So I started the installation, encountered some problems during the installation and discovered that the problem was caused by using the original partition table, so I solved it by deleting all the partitions and creating new ones.
So the rest of the installation was no problem, so after a while I was looking at that stupid "Metro" UI. I also remembered how "intuitive" shutting down was. I mean, the way to shut down the PC is to click on "Settings", "Power", "Shut down" .... funny.
So I downloaded and installed some old games, and one of them came with a special "gift". After decompressing the rar archive, the real fun began. The PC started to install various programs, such as some "pastebin editors" (LOL), but mainly many Avast products, such as VPN, secure browser, antivirus, etc.
Of course, I know there is a risk of getting a virus, so I do not really care ...
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I have come back to the programming of my "Dailies" Android app and realised that I am still stuck in the same place. I am trying to implement notifications for the events scheduled in the app.
The notifications work when the app is in the foreground or when it is "minimised". However, when you close the app, the notification never arrives, even though I have tried many approaches to make it work.
I have read dozens of articles and documentation pages about this problem, but I am still unable to make any improvements.
Now I have no idea what to do. Debugging is not possible in this case as it works when the main application is running. However, I am absolutely unable to log the background registered processes that should be handling the notification.
Have you encountered this problem before? How did you solve it? Please help as I have no idea what to do with this and move on.
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My friend brought me a bunch of old PC stuff. The thing I like the most is a really large amount of 5.25 inch floppy disks. I always wanted to have some for my archive of old media, and maybe make some nice displays out of them. However, I have much more than I really need, so I will give some of them to fellow collectors. So if you need some, feel free to send me an email and ask for them.
The collection contains about half DD and half HD pieces, and also five or six QD which I did not know about, so I had to do some research.
I also have some 486 mainboards, some expansion cards, power supplies and HDDs. As I do not collect the desktop stuff in the first place, I would also give it to someone who does.
You can also see the old monochromatic CRT, which I have no use for, but I already have someone who would like it, so I will find a way to send it now.
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An annual, partly recessional event organized by the town of Litomyลกl, where volunteers gather in period costumes and set off on a traditional parade through the town.
One of the most interesting cultural events, in which people can make fun of themselves, but also show off their skills, and present their art.
Like every year, I went to soak up the atmosphere, and on this occasion to document the sights. There were subjectively fewer people and attractions this year, and the festive parade of masks was delayed by a record hour. Nevertheless, this year's event was also a success, and we were lucky to have sunny weather, even though it had rained heavily the previous two days
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After many, many years of knowing about this function, I have finally used it successfully.
I have to say that I have not used Windows as my primary or secondary system for more than ten years, but I have it installed on many of the old laptops in my collection, and I also have a virtualised installation on my main PC for those rare times when I want to spend some time playing GTA V (the only "modern" game I play).
But back to my topic. I have had an old PocketBook e-reader for a long time and I really like it. However, it is sometimes a bit buggy, especially when the battery level drops to somewhere around 10%. Then it is a bit tricky to switch it on, and usually I have to charge it and then open the covers, short the battery for a very short time and then it can be switched on.
However, about a month ago I discovered that I could no longer boot it. It displayed some information about a damaged drive. So after some more research, I discovered that the 'memory' was a microSD card soldered to the main circuit board. Amazing...
And the microSD card ...
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While going through the box of DVDs I found another interesting piece. It is a preview package of Microsoft products from 2007.
The most interesting is probably the Windows Server RC1. It has an expiration date, but I guess it would work with time shifted in the BIOS, and I bet there is already a hack to get around this limit permanently. However, I have not tried to install it yet.
Also, Windows Server 2008 is based on Windows Vista, which was not really the pinnacle of quality, so I guess it would be fun to give it a try and see what it does in the RC version.
The envelope also contains trial version of Visual studio 2008 Professional, which would be quite interesting, and i must have a look to archive, if it is already there, and if not, make a copy and upload it there.
And the last piece of SQ given is a MS SQL server trial version, which is least interesting on.
Also there are two more DVDs with some content, but the 64bit versions of OS and SQL server, so they have divided them.
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I have been looking for a dot matrix printer for many years and have not been able to find one. I would even like to have an old one with a parallel interface and at least the ability to print generic text. But none were available, and when they were, they were incredibly expensive, or the seller was unable to ship them.
And then my friend Tom texted me that he had an opportunity to get one for me. It was extremely cheap and relatively modern. Olivetti PR2 PLUS. He also warned me that there were some problems with the drivers, so I took up the challenge and today it arrived.
It was well packed, as usual when I get something for Tom, but even so, the hardware came a bit disassembled. I just made a few small fixings, put the tape holder back in place, clicked some covers back on and was ready to go.
So I went down to the basement to get some cables. I found both power and USB-B cables in white to match the printer and took them home. Plugged everything in and switched the printer on. And, ...
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