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…And with that, HELLO WORLD! covered the screen in an endless loop. It’s easy to overlook the simplicity of BASIC – an acronym of Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code, as well as an apt description of what the language aimed to be – but that’s what made it a revolution in computing.
On May 1, 1964 at 4am, the first ever BASIC program was tested and a revolution in computing breathed to life for the first time. Designed at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, BASIC was a completely new programming language designed to allow people who did not understand, or had no desire to learn the extremely scientific and mathematically-based programming languages that powered computers of the era, a simpler way to do things with their computer. Originally designed to be used for the Dartmouth Time-Sharing System to perform math-based tasks more easily (it’s said the first program was simply PRINT 2 + 2, asking the computer to work out what 2 + 2 was, although this is disputed), the language grew over the next year and became a simple solution to do all kinds of tasks.
While based on languages such as FORTRAN II and ALGOL 60, BASIC’s new approach made it much more straightforward for anyone to make a computer do things. You just wrote a number and an instruction for each thing you wanted the computer to do; and the computer would run down the list in numerical order. The instructions were based on simple English terms – PRINT for example put text on the screen; GOTO 10 would skip or go back to whatever instruction started with the number 10 – and it was possible to ask users questions, set variables and use IF…THEN to perform different things based on different criteria. Dartmouth released its version of BASIC for free for people to modify or build their own systems to use it with; and soon enough a version of BASIC was running on any computer device released even up to several decades following it; and with it a whole new generation of programmers sprung up, some of which even built their own versions of BASIC to add abilities beyond what became known as Dartmouth BASIC had planned.
The legacy of BASIC is simply hard to ignore. Its influence still remains today in programming languages such as Microsoft’s Visual Basic and in software like OpenOffice; while so many more modern languages owe many of their own foibles to standards from way back then – for example, if BASIC didn’t define variables simply by putting $ before a word, would PHP use variables in a similar way many decades later? So now, at the 50th Anniversary of its humble beginnings, lets all raise a glass for BASIC – the programming language that made computers simpler.
Touchscreen phones are all the rage these days; and while they may do the job of giving you greater interaction with the phone; and haptic feedback is helping to bring back the feeling you get of actually "pressing" buttons etc. – sometimes there's just no substitute for real, physical buttons. As well as always knowing where they are – because they can't be moved or replaced by something else like on a screen – physical buttons often provide short-cuts to the parts of a phone you want to use, letting you get to them in one press even when trying to do the same through the phone itself would take multiple touches, gestures or flicking through different screens.
Dimple on the bank of a Nexus phone; and a simulation of the app.
Image Credit: Dimple.io
Most Android phones lack any kind of physical button – even a Home button like on the iPhone – choosing to utilise virtual ones instead. If you found yourself nodding in the last paragraph and wishing you could add some physical buttons to your Android phone, let me introduce you to Dimple. As described on their website dimple.io, Dimple is "a small NFC™ sticker with four buttons for Android™ devices. You are the one who chooses the button functionality. It makes doing everyday tasks quicker and saves your precious time."
The actual Dimple hardware is a small, rubberised strip with four depressible buttons, which you can stick on an Android smartphone wherever you like – it uses an adhesive that makes it both easy to stick and to remove, though the owners point out repeated removal and reapplication may reduce the device's lifespan. Pairing it with its dedicated Android app turns each of the buttons into physical keys for the phone; and the app also allows you to set exactly what each key does. Using the magic of NFC, it literally just sticks to almost anywhere on your Android smartphone or tablet without the need for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or even its own battery. Each of the four buttons have their own unique NFC ID so that the Dimple's accompanying app and the Android OS can tell them apart when they're pressed. Dimple claims each button can withstand about 2 million clicks, and you can reassign the functionality of around 100,000 times before the button memory wears out.
Unfortunately, not every Android phone will be able to use Dimple. Dimple's reliance on NFC means you will need an Android phone that supports NFC – or to add it through an NFC-enabled case – to use the device. The app also requires Android 4.0 to run, so older phones or cheaper Android models running outdated Android builds are sadly left out of the lurch. Luckily, most brand-name Android Phones released over the past two years should meet both needs. Dimple may also not work correctly if your phone has a metal exterior or uses a metal case, as this may cause interference from the antenna, which means phones such as the HTC One are sadly also out.
If you're already sold on the idea – and your phone meets all the requirements – you might be dismayed to hear that the Dimple is not available for purchase just yet. To fund the full production launch of the device, the creators will be turning to Indiegogo, launching a crowdfunding campaign on May 6th. Assuming it's successful however, Dimple intends to start shipping the final product within 60 days of the campaign finishing – putting its release around August 2014 for early backers, retail will probably be a little longer away. As for price? The earliest backers will be able to get their hands on the first production run batch of Dimples for just US$15, rising to US$26.99 the later your pledge. The final retail price is currently planned at US$28.99 – which equates in current rates to just a shade over £17 in UK money, or €21 for the rest of Europe.
Forged by creators of the Tekken and SoulCalibur franchises, Rise of Incarnates unleashes unfettered 3D combat upon the PC.
In this shattered landscape, Incarnates team up for 2v2 battles within famous cities that have been realistically recreated as they vie to determine the fate of the world. Run and fly through true 3D environments as Incarnates awaken untold powers – Ares, Lilith, Mephistopheles, Grim Reaper, and more await your command.
Hero Generations, the game dubbed “the five minute Civilization” has reached its funding goal on Kickstarter!
Dedicated listeners may remember that the creator of Hero Genreations, Scott Brodie, was a recent guest on the Indie Game Show. The game, which has you playing a hero who ages one year for every step he takes and must choose his path in life, be it fighter, builder or lover as he fosters a new generation to carry on has now reached full funding on Kickstarter. Hero Generations is now working towards meeting it’s stretch goals which include a Family Tree, Volcano Island and an advanced tier Tech Tree.
We at Sanitarium.fm wish Scott all the best, and will try to keep PredictedCyborg sedated until the game comes out, lest she damage herself or the studio bouncing off the walls in anticipation.
With more and more gaming moving towards digital distribution, downloadable content and online features, Capcom has decided it needs to make a serious investment to keep up and succeed in a “challenging” video game market. To this end, the videogame developer/publisher titan – popular for franchises such as Resident Evil and Dead Rising – has announced it is to spend the equivalent of around US$78 million to build two new R&D labs near their Osaka headquarters, focusing on the new trend.
“The appearance of next-generation consoles with a variety of network functions has shifted the focus of sales from conventional package software to digitally distributed content,” Capcom said. “The profit structure and business model are changing at an increasing speed as a result. Furthermore, the popularity of social games due to the widespread use of smartphones is enabling games to reach more user segments and enlarging the entire game market. To succeed in this challenging environment, Capcom has been focusing resources on strategic and growing areas under a policy of selection and concentration in order to operate with speed and flexibility.”
Capcom are fitting out their two new buildings with all kinds of modern technology that’s come into common usage in the videogames of today, including rooms dedicated to motion-capture technology; and a sound effects studio. They’ll also contain large, multi-purpose communal spaces for gatherings of over 100 people. With these, the company hopes to speed up game development and increase efficiency. The buildings will also have seismic isolation systems to protect against earthquakes.
The smaller building, currently nicknamed “R&D Building S”, will on completion consist of an 8-floor office with 2,054.38 square meters of floor area; and will cost an estimated ¥2.5 billion ($24.6 million) to complete, which Capcom aims to do by January 2015. Its bigger brother, “Building N” is over twice the size, with 16 floors and 10,972.87 square meters of floor space. Expected to cost around ¥5.5 billion ($54 million), this one should be ready in February 2016.
