Alexey Pajitnov, programmer In the early 80s, I worked at the computing lab for the Academy of Science of the USSR, researching artificial intelligence. It was one of the very few Soviet institutes able to communicate with the rest of the world, so people occasionally sent us new hardware. We'd assess how powerful it was by writing a simple program for it, which became my excuse for making games. I've loved puzzles ever since I was a child, especially pentominoes. You could get three of these geometric games for a rouble in Moscow toyshops. In June 1984, it occurred to me that they might be a good basis for a computer game. But having the 12 pentomino pieces rotating in real time seemed too complicated, so I scaled it down to tetrominoes, of which there are seven. Also, the Electronika 60, the Russian computer I originally wrote Tetris for, didn't have proper graphics, just a monitor that could display text, so I used letters to form the playing pieces. Next I put together the … [Read more...] about Tetris: how we made the addictive computer game
Ministry science and technology
Vaping as dangerous as smoking, need blanket ban on e-cigarettes: experts
The government’s recent advisory asking states to clamp down on e-cigarettes may not be enough to root them out, say experts, advocating a “special mechanism” to ensure a blanket ban on the devices that many users mistakenly view as a safer alternative to combustible cigarettes. Terming e-cigarettes poisonous and as dangerous as regular cigarettes, the experts said the Centre and state have made efforts but clandestine online portals and dingy shops selling them in nooks and crannies across India’s towns continue to function.“Even if the advisory of the government asks states to curb the sale of e-cigarettes in their jurisdiction, it is very difficult to keep a check at the ground level if the sale is happening through small vendors,” Dr P C Gupta, director of HEALIS-Sekhsaria Institute for Public Health, Mumbai, told PTI. “There is need for a special mechanism by the government to keep a tab on the vendors from … [Read more...] about Vaping as dangerous as smoking, need blanket ban on e-cigarettes: experts
‘A legitimate zoo?’ How an obscure German group cornered global trade in endangered parrots
It’s an unlikely spot for a zoo – down an unmade, dusty road, amid a wood to the east of the German capital Berlin. But here in the village of Tasdorf, hundreds of the world’s most endangered and rare parrot species are said to be housed at the headquarters of the Association for the Conservation of Threatened Parrots (ACTP). The site is not easily accessible by public transport, and there is no car park. No signs offer information about opening hours or admission prices. The main entrance is through a roller-door. Next to its main building, on an adjacent house, a small sign gives a mobile number to call if no one is home. From these obscure premises, a former nightclub manager and unofficial debt collector, Martin Guth, has been able to acquire one of the largest private collections of threatened birds in the world. The collection includes imperial and red-necked parrots from the Caribbean island of Dominica, endangered Australian cockatoos and about 90% of the … [Read more...] about ‘A legitimate zoo?’ How an obscure German group cornered global trade in endangered parrots
