Tag: gaming

Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Back when I was in college, hanging around the UCLA Computer Club, Dana Moreland (I wonder whatever happened to him…) introduced me to a little game called “Ace of Aces”. This was a WWI aircraft combat game consisting of two books. Eventually, I acquired other books in the series: Early Machines, Powerhouse, and the WWII followon, Wingleader.

I mention this because I was reading the LA Times webpage over lunch, and up comes an ad for a Flash-browser version of “Ace of Aces”. I can’t investigate it much over lunch, but the ad makes it look like a version of the old book game. There’s some description on the Wikipage for its publisher, InstantAction. I wonder if it was licensed or had the involvment of Alfred Leonardi, the original designer of Ace of Aces. Anyone know?

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I’ll Take Artificial Intelligence for $200, Art

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

The NY Times has an interesting article today on the next boundary in Artificial Intelligence: computer programs playing Jeopardy!. According to the article, IBM plans to announce today that it is in the final stages of completing a computer program to compete against human “Jeopardy!” contestants. The problem is much harder than you would think for a computer: the facts are the easy part. The hard part is understanding the questions. Consider:

  • The system must be able to deal with analogies, puns, double entendres and relationships like size and location, all at lightning speed.
  • The system must be able to capture the exact meaning of a spoken sentence. For example, the sentence “I never said she stole my money” can have seven different meanings depending on which word is stressed (just like “I only have eyes for you” has a different meaning if you place the “only” in any possible different location).
  • The system must be able to deal with strategies such as selection of categories and the amount of questions, which often involves reading the two other players.

If they can work this out, watch for the computer to appear on the game one day in the future (although, alas, not with Art Fleming). Under the rules of the match that the company has negotiated with the “Jeopardy!” producers, the computer will not have to emulate all human qualities. It will receive questions as electronic text. The human contestants will both see the text of each question and hear it spoken by the show’s host, Alex Trebek. The computer will respond with a synthesized voice to answer questions and to choose follow-up categories. To approximate the dimensions of the challenge faced by the human contestants, the computer will not be connected to the Internet, but will make its answers based on text that it has processed and indexed before the show. The researchers and producers are also considering what form the cybercontestant will take and what gender it would assume. One possibility would be to use an animated avatar that would appear on a computer display. It will not, however, look like a robot.

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Chum O’ The Morn To Ya

Posted onAuthorcahwyguy

Some chum from the weekend paper perusal for your edification and enjoyment. We’re off to the Ahmanson this afternoon.

  • From the “Let’s Take The Subway” Department: So many people seem to forget Los Angeles’ first subway. Not the Times. In their quest for real investigative journalism, they have a update on the subway tunnel.
  • From the “I’ve Got A Ticket To Ride” Department: It’s always amazing when newspapers discover there are board games other than Monopoly and Risk. It looks like the folks in Allentown, PA (via the SF Chronicle) just made this discovery.
  • From the “Draggin’ The Line” Department: In this era of wanting to be green… and wanting to save money…. clotheslines are coming back. However, many communities think they are an eyesore and are outlawing them. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.
  • From the “But Some Folks I Know Seem To Be Devolving” Department: Does your child seem smarter, faster, and better looking than you? That’s because he or she may be evolving faster!
  • From the “Soup for Nuts” Department: According to the NY Times, barter is back in Russia. This reminds me of my days as chair of ACM SIGSAC, where I once attended a meeting where the good folks at SIGAPL (APL Programming) were holding a meeting in Russia… and paying their bill in spoons!
  • From the “Be Careful What You Write” Department: Back in my day, when you were annoyed with a teacher, about the best you could do is TP their house. Nowaday, you can create a Facebook group inviting others to share your dislike. But be careful. You could be formally accused of cyberbullying, and it could go on your (deep reverberating voice) “permanent record”.
  • From the “Has It Gone To His Head?” Department: According to the LA Times, it appears that Rush Limbaugh is claiming to be the defacto head of the Republican Party.
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