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Asteroids is an arcade space shooter released in November 1979[1] by Atari, Inc. and designed by Lyle Rains and Ed Logg. The player controls a spaceship in an asteroidfield which is periodically traversed by flying saucers. The object of the game is to shoot and destroy asteroids and saucers while not colliding with either, or being hit by the saucers' counter-fire. The game becomes harder as the number of asteroids increases. Asteroids was conceived during a meeting between Logg and Rains and used hardware developed by Howard Delman previously used for Lunar Lander. Based on an unfinished game titled Cosmos and inspired by Spacewar! and Computer Space, both early shoot 'em up video games, Asteroids '​ physics model and control scheme were derived by Logg from these earlier games and refined through trial and error. The game is rendered on a vector display in a two-dimensional view that wraps around in both screen axes. Acclaimed by players and video game critics for its vector graphics, controls, and addictive gameplay, Asteroids was one of the first major hits of the golden age of arcade games. The game sold over 70,000 arcade cabinets and proved both popular with players and influential with developers. It has since been ported to multiple platforms.Asteroids was widely imitated and directly influenced two popular and often cloned arcade games, Defender and Gravitar, as well as many other video games.

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Flashback Friday - Atari, Inc. was an American video game and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney.[1] Primarily responsible for the formation of the video arcade and modern video game industries, the company was closed and its assets split in 1984 as a direct result of the North American video game crash of 1983. North American video game crash of 1983. The video game crash of 1983, also known as Atari shock in Japan,[1] was a massive recession of the video game industry that occurred from 1983 to 1985. Revenues had peaked at around $3.2 billion in 1983,[2] then fell to around $100 million by 1985 (a drop of almost 97 percent). The crash was a serious event that brought an abrupt end to what is considered the second generation of console video gaming in North America. The crash almost destroyed the then-fledgling industry and led to the bankruptcy of several companies producing home computers and video game consoles in the region, including the fastest-growing U.S. company in history at that point, Atari.[3] It lasted about two years, and many business analysts of the time expressed doubts about the long-term viability of video game consoles. The North American video game Console industry recovered a few years later, mostly due to the widespread success of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), which was soft launched in New York City in late 1985 and had become extremely popular in North America by 1987.[4] There were several reasons for the crash, but the main cause was saturation of the market. The full effects of the industry crash would not be felt until 1985. Major products Pong (several versions) Atari 2600 Atari Video Music Atari 5200 -  Atari 8-bit family  The third version of the Atari Video Computer System sold from 1980 to 1982 ( The pic below )

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#throwbackthursday #oldskooltech #xcentral #donkeykong #videogame The Donkey Kong is a series of video games featuring the adventures of a gorilla character calledDonkey Kong, conceived by Shigeru Miyamoto in 1981. The franchise mainly comprises two different game genres, plusspinoff titles of various genres. Impact and legacy After the first Donkey Kong was released,Universal Studios sued Nintendo, alleging that the video game was a trademark infringement of King Kong, the plot and characters of which Universal claimed for their own. In the case, Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd., a United States District Court ruled that Universal had acted in bad faith, and that it had no right over the name King Kong or the characters and story. Platform of originArcade Year of inception1981

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IT News.

http://www.itnews.com.au/News/400434,us-lawmakers-seek-to-take-copyright-sting-out-of-licensed-software.aspx

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Having a baby?

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It's Saturday and that means!...Old Skool Tech! Today a look back at Wonder Boy 80's Game Wonder Boy is a 1986 platformer video game published by Sega and developed by Escape (now known as Westone Bit Entertainment). Originally designed for arcades, it was later ported to the SG-1000, Sega Mark III/Master System and Game Gear video game consoles by Sega, and to the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC home computers by Activision. The game is also known as Super Wonder Boy (スーパーワンダーボーイ Sūpā Wandā Bōi?) for its Sega Mark III release in Japan and Revenge of Drancon for its Game Gear release in North America. It was the first in the long-running Wonder Boy series of games and was followed up by five sequels, Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair, Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap, Wonder Boy in Monster World and Monster World IV. It was also the basis for the Adventure Island series. Arcade version Upon release, the arcade game was critically acclaimed. In the July 1986 issue of Computer and Video Games, the game was lauded by reviewer Clare Edgeley for the detailed, bright, colorful graphics and simple addictive gameplay, whilst some criticism was leveled towards the lack of variety.[8] She also stated it reminds her of Super Mario Bros. though "not as complicated but just as playable."[8] Contemporary writers now note that both games share a common ancestor in Pac-Land.[9] Wonder Boy was a commercial success in arcades. It appeared at number-two on Euromax's nationwide UK arcade chart in 1987, just below Capcom's 1942 at number-one.

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XCentral - can help your business make the move.

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Office 365.

Office 365.

More and more organizations worldwide derive value from using familiar, commercial-grade tools in Microsoft Office 365 as their complete productivity solution—in cloud or hybrid environments.

Overall, there are at least five key areas where customers find major advantages in choosing Office 365:

Complete Solution – Office 365 is a fully integrated productivity suite, with built-in communication, collaboration, and Enterprise Social capabilities –no third-party add-ons required.

Commercial Grade – Microsoft has a proven track record of delivering industry expertise and value to business organizations of all sizes. Office 365 delivers the reliability, transparency, and control that empowers IT to efficiently manage the business.

Trustworthy – Organizations expect services that are supported by rigorous operational practices and processes regarding security and data handling. Because Office 365 is independently verified to meet requirements specified in ISO 27001 and the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002, and is willing to sign the EU Model Clauses and a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement with all customers, it helps customers meet the privacy, security and compliance requirements that are relevant to their business.

Office 365 safeguards customer information while leading the industry in privacy, security, and compliance.

Familiar user experience – Microsoft has been the leader in productivity software for more than two decades. Office 365 builds on the familiar experience of Microsoft Office products so that employees can transition to the cloud without compromising their productivity.

Flexibility to have a cloud and server option – Many organizations are not yet ready to make a wholesale move to the cloud. The flexibility of a hybrid solution enables them to use both cloud and server options at the same time, and to move to the cloud at their own pace.

“Caltex chose Microsoft [Office 365] instead of the other solutions because we wanted a vendor with a proven delivery in the enterprise space and a very strong product roadmap.” Steve Fox, CIO, Caltex Australia.

Trustworthy

Office 365 delivers the privacy and security measures that organizations need as they transition their business processes to the cloud. Office 365 is independently verified to meet the requirements specified in ISO 27001 and FISMA, and is willing to sign a HIPAA BAA with all customers. Microsoft also offers robust contractual data privacy and security commitments by default, to help customers comply with local regulations. The Online Services Terms is a single contract document that includes the EU Model Clauses, UK Data Protection Act, and many other provisions, and applies as soon as customers accept the Microsoft license agreement.

In addition to Office 365’s built-in security features and privacy by design, customers also benefit from fine-grained controls that enable them to tailor the service to meet their specific security and compliance needs. For example, administrators or help desk staff can be given access to a subset of administrative settings appropriate to their role.

“Intellectual property is one of Aston Martin’s most valuable assets, and we trust Microsoft technologies to keep it safe. We are very comfortable that Microsoft will be able to maintain a secure service.” Daniel Roach-Rooke, IT Infrastructure Mgr., Aston Martin.

Fully Integrated Productivity Suite

Microsoft Office is the de facto standard for helping people be more productive at work, school, and home, with more than one billion people using it to deliver their best work and most innovative ideas. When transitioning to Office 365, customers find a familiar user experience, commercial grade IT tools, and advanced communication and collaboration capabilities. Office 365 users continue to stay productive while gaining access to enhanced services that help increase their productivity.

“It was easy to integrate Office 365 into our existing work environment and for our workers to start using it right away, because they already know the tools.” Ole Damsgaard, Senior Director, Bang & Olufsen.

Flexibility to have a cloud and server option

Many organizations that are evaluating next-generation productivity solutions want to transition to the cloud in a deliberate manner. They have business needs that require time to transition, want to keep some users or data on-premises, or need to manage the timing of the CapEx investment in their existing IT infrastructure. Microsoft offers the choice and flexibility of a seamless hybrid solution, allowing customers to move some users to the cloud while keeping others on-premises.

“During the migration we were able to connect our on-premises users with the users who were migrating to Office 365. For the first time, as one Red Cross, we had real-time presence awareness, free/busy calendaring, collaboration on documents, and one email system.” DeWayne Bell, VP IT Operations and Engineering, American Red Cross.

Get more from your IT

Instead of building and maintaining infrastructure, organizations of all sizes are moving to the cloud to take advantage of state-of-the-art data centers with built-in security, privacy, and compliance features. This move enables IT departments to focus less on infrastructure and more on strategic activities for their business.

”I started using Google because I wanted an easy ride, but I wound up spending 5 to 10 hours a week helping my team change user settings or download attachments. It [Office 365] has freed up my time so I can focus on building my business.” Myles Kaye, Director, Atominx

Conclusion

Office 365 provides the enterprise-class service and capabilities that commercial grade businesses need. Microsoft is delivering the value it promises to customers when they purchase Office 365, through a complete business-productivity solution that enables them to reach new levels of communication and collaboration. Office 365 offers organizations a first-class hybrid solution for helping them transition to the cloud, and gives them capabilities to help meet compliance requirements for their business while ensuring commercial grade security and privacy.

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 Help out this Valentine's Day by donating.  http://heartkids.org.au/m/

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#backtothefuture #humpday #oldskool #technology #walkmen #videotape #videogame #brick #phone #xcentral #vintage #wednesday

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