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Filed under: Gaming, Software, Other Events, Developer, iPhone

GDC 2010: Ngmoco explains how Eliminate was built

The 2010 Game Developers Conference kicks off today in San Francisco, and TUAW is in attendance to check out the latest and greatest in iPhone game development. The conference boasts a whole track dedicated to iPhone gaming this year, and all week long, we'll be bringing you panels, news, and interviews straight from the conference floor. This morning, panel number one was from Stephen Detwiler and James Marr, two engineers at Ngmoco, to talk to developers about how they put the server software together for Eliminate, the "freemium" first person shooter that's serving as their flagship app lately.

As they explained during the presentation, they had a heck of a goal with this project: they wanted to put together "the definitive FPS for iPhone," complete with all of the functions of a standard console deathmatch-style FPS, in just five months with just three engineers. And they started with the toughest nut of all: the networking code.

Continue readingGDC 2010: Ngmoco explains how Eliminate was built

Filed under: Apple Corporate

Apple's North Carolina facility now moving towards reality

As noted last week, the lovely state of North Carolina has offered a healthy tax incentive to Apple for the construction and operation of a data center there. Now that the bill has become law -- creating $46 million in credits for Apple over the next 10 years -- Apple and the NC governor's office have announced that the project will go forward. Both Cnet and Computerworld are reporting that the location for the data center is yet to be determined, but a wage provision in the incentive package points to either Cleveland or Catawba counties, both in the vicinity of Charlotte.

The new facility could create up to 3,000 temporary employment opportunities while under construction, and 250-300 long term jobs in the finished operational site. Apple has not suggested what kind of data & applications would be hosted at the facility, but considering the rapid growth of iTunes and App Store content it's a reasonable bet that some of the capacity would be used for those services.

Filed under: Software Update, Xserve, Apple

Apple releases Xserve EFI Firmware Update 1.1


Apple just released an update for the Xserve. This EFI firmware update helps "improve the stability of Xserve computers," so if your Xserver has had stability issues, maybe this is just the update you've been praying for.

The Xserve EFI Firmware Update 1.1 can be downloaded by using Software Update (Apple menu > Software Update) or by downloading the installer package from Apple's Support website. Additional information about the update can be found in a support note on the Apple support website.

Filed under: Software, Productivity, Internet Tools

Location Switch Automator action

Location Switch is an Automator action that adds some painfully missing features to Mac OS X's built-in Locations option (y'know, that feature you never touch in the Apple menu?). Location Switch can a whole host of application preferences and settings based on which location you chose, such as sound volume, SMTP servers, default printer, etc. Before you use it, however, the action requires some customization on your part, so check out the accompanying ReadMe file for instructions, and open the action in Automator to give it your personal touch.

Location Switch is available free from Automator World, but if you enjoy it, consider sending its creator, Charles Schoenfeld, a donation at his site.

[via Hawk Wings]

Tip of the Day

Want to create custom shortcuts? Head to the Keyboard Shortcuts tab of the Keyboard and Mouse part of System Preferences to create shortcuts for common tasks that appear in the Services menu. You can also add application shortcuts for tasks that appear in the menu bar of those programs.

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