http://www.generalemu.net/forums/ Sun, 06 Jul 2008 09:53:50 -0700 MyBB http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3081 Sun, 06 Jul 2008 05:22:51 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3081 I would like to know how I can fix a problem I am having with not just one crash bandicoot game, but a trilogy of crash bandicoot games that I run with psxexe, all with the same problem:

In all levels, at the same points every time, the game pauses for about ten seconds, then resumes. This is very frustrating as the result is 7 seconds of gameplay, and then 10 seconds of waiting.

My theory is that in order to save loading time, crash bandicoot loads parts of the level while you are playing, causing these freezes, however, I haven't got a clue how to fix this problem, and changing Bios files, changing from disk to image saved on hard drive, and re-configuring and changing graphics plugins doesn't seem to make a scrap of difference.]]> I would like to know how I can fix a problem I am having with not just one crash bandicoot game, but a trilogy of crash bandicoot games that I run with psxexe, all with the same problem:

In all levels, at the same points every time, the game pauses for about ten seconds, then resumes. This is very frustrating as the result is 7 seconds of gameplay, and then 10 seconds of waiting.

My theory is that in order to save loading time, crash bandicoot loads parts of the level while you are playing, causing these freezes, however, I haven't got a clue how to fix this problem, and changing Bios files, changing from disk to image saved on hard drive, and re-configuring and changing graphics plugins doesn't seem to make a scrap of difference.]]> http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3080 Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:35:35 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3080 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3079 Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:17:29 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3079 so let´s get to the thread, i´ve just started to play the 2.5 version of the No$gba emulator and i´m having problems with the screen on the resident evil DS game.
the characters(or everthing tha belongs to the 'real action' in the game) doesn´t show up, as i said, in the screen.
one more thing, the game runs perfectly(the sounds an voices, screen texts, map(i can move the character because i see it´s moves on the map screen) and the scenario).
thanks for your comprehension and sorry for my bad english.]]> so let´s get to the thread, i´ve just started to play the 2.5 version of the No$gba emulator and i´m having problems with the screen on the resident evil DS game.
the characters(or everthing tha belongs to the 'real action' in the game) doesn´t show up, as i said, in the screen.
one more thing, the game runs perfectly(the sounds an voices, screen texts, map(i can move the character because i see it´s moves on the map screen) and the scenario).
thanks for your comprehension and sorry for my bad english.]]> http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3078 Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:22:23 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3078
here this games in pcsx2 svn 377x3-gsdx 1.9 sotware mode

project snow blind:
SLUS_210.37
crc: 2BDA8ADB.
..in software mode the graphics are rights(too slow) but in hardware mode is too bad(glitches, bugs, polygons, and more)
i think that gabest can put fixed this game in hardware mode with crc declarations for a nice speed

can someone report this to gabest in pcsx2 official forum--gsdx thread ??]]>
here this games in pcsx2 svn 377x3-gsdx 1.9 sotware mode

project snow blind:
SLUS_210.37
crc: 2BDA8ADB.
..in software mode the graphics are rights(too slow) but in hardware mode is too bad(glitches, bugs, polygons, and more)
i think that gabest can put fixed this game in hardware mode with crc declarations for a nice speed

can someone report this to gabest in pcsx2 official forum--gsdx thread ??]]> http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3077 Fri, 04 Jul 2008 17:39:33 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3077

Quote:3D rendering was completely rewritten using GLSL in this version, on systems supported you'll get better 3D display output. click Here to download the new version.
In order to run this emulator your system need to support OpenGL 2.0 or above. Sound is still not emulated yet.

Here are the details of this update:
New 3D display engine using GLSL
Video capture
2d background mosiac effect
RTC
NDS firmware settings
Other emulator bug fixes


http://www.neonds.com/en]]>

Quote:3D rendering was completely rewritten using GLSL in this version, on systems supported you'll get better 3D display output. click Here to download the new version.
In order to run this emulator your system need to support OpenGL 2.0 or above. Sound is still not emulated yet.

Here are the details of this update:
New 3D display engine using GLSL
Video capture
2d background mosiac effect
RTC
NDS firmware settings
Other emulator bug fixes


http://www.neonds.com/en]]> http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3076 Fri, 04 Jul 2008 14:49:39 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3076
One thing that i saw in tutorials that doesn't happen when i try to do it is the following: After installing and configuring the emulator, When i press File- Run cd/dvd it opens (or trys to open) the ps2 intro (getting to the part where it says Play Station 2 in white letters). But in all the tutorials i noticed that it doesn't work that way. First it opens a page in windows where i choose the iso file of the game and then press enter, and only then the game opens.

Can u help me guys? Thankz in advance.

I edited the post to ask if it could be a game problem? I downloaded the game in parts from rapidshare. Could the game iso file be "broken".]]>
One thing that i saw in tutorials that doesn't happen when i try to do it is the following: After installing and configuring the emulator, When i press File- Run cd/dvd it opens (or trys to open) the ps2 intro (getting to the part where it says Play Station 2 in white letters). But in all the tutorials i noticed that it doesn't work that way. First it opens a page in windows where i choose the iso file of the game and then press enter, and only then the game opens.

Can u help me guys? Thankz in advance.

I edited the post to ask if it could be a game problem? I downloaded the game in parts from rapidshare. Could the game iso file be "broken".]]> http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3075 Fri, 04 Jul 2008 03:25:26 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3075 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3074 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 19:13:05 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3074 Quote:F355 Challenge works again. Turns out it was indeed SH4 recompiler bug - one that crept in with the introduction of MMU support. In short: right now all SH4 modules use common framework for interrupts and exceptions, and while converting TRAPA instruction to use that framework I’ve made a small mistake. Fixed.





Quote: The Skies of Arcadia bug is still there, unfortunately. Sometimes I can go in and out the game menu dozens of times (in rapid succession too) and it works. Then I restart the game, and it hangs on the very first try… You know, this might actually be a game bug, it just never manifests itself on Dreamcast due to much tighter corelation in timings on real hardware. Current PCs are faster but all operations exhibit a certain amount of lag (or should I rather call it “processing overhead”) - well, only sometimes, but it happens every now and then and there’s no control over it. It might take just a milisecond somewhere, when OS decides to switch threads at different time to balance CPU usage better for example, and there it goes. So… still looking into it.

I’ve came to belive that the same timing problem plagues GD code. It works for me (most of the time) but breaks horribly for other people. I’ve spent some time trying to determine the cause and I found out that SoA usually works, but will almost always crash at boot if I lower SH4 speed to some 150 MIPS. Curious, isn’t it, especially if you consider GD-DMA speed is now tied to SH4 speed - so why does it even matter how fast it goes?
After a while I’ve noticed that in MT mode GD buffer becomes empty every now and then and this causes problems. Now, this is very unscientific explanation but my guess is BIOS booting procedure is kinda broken. Oversimplified. Maybe because it had to be short to fit all the code in cheaper and smaller ROM?
Anyway - a real GD drive isn’t all that fast but once it starts reading, the data is being constantly streamed from disc to it’s internal memory. And from there to Dreamcast main RAM via DMA. Think “hourglass” - constant stream of sand goes through. Now, on a PC it’s more like a guy with shovel loading a truck. He can do way better in terms of quantity of sand moved but it’s no longer a constant stream. If the truck is full it can supply us with all the sand we want but once it’s empty it has to go back to the guy with shovel. If at this point we need more sand we either wait (that’s blocking emulator for the read to complete) or go empty handed (DMA will finish later then usual and this might cause crash).

If you’re smart you already see two ways to fix that. Either wait, as explained above, or… make the truck so big it will never become empty at the wrong time. In other words, make the GD data buffer at least the size of Dreamcast RAM, which is 16MB. And that’s what I did yesterday and that really helped :)
This method isn’t 100% fool-proof, as a real GD starts streaming data the moment the first read sector lands in its buffer. In our case loading some few MB might take longer and still fail because of that. This however wasn’t a problem so far (or else the whole “offloading to thread” thing would not be possible) and let’s hope it stays that way.

Marionette Company boots now, though there seem to be some geometry missing because I don’t get text in dialog boxes at all… It’s a WinCE game so maybe it’s the Sort-DMA thing again?





Quote:And c’mon people, new version of Makaron isn’t always going to be better than the last one. This is why I call my releases “Test”, you know. So that you could TEST things, like new code and such. And report your findings back, maybe? Some people do - and I thank them for that.
Just because I’m not all over your problems when you report doesn’t mean I disregard them. Still, I’ve no intention of answering each and every comment that shows up - this is a place in which I brag about how great I am, not a help desk.


Site @ http://dknute.livejournal.com/]]> Quote:F355 Challenge works again. Turns out it was indeed SH4 recompiler bug - one that crept in with the introduction of MMU support. In short: right now all SH4 modules use common framework for interrupts and exceptions, and while converting TRAPA instruction to use that framework I’ve made a small mistake. Fixed.





Quote: The Skies of Arcadia bug is still there, unfortunately. Sometimes I can go in and out the game menu dozens of times (in rapid succession too) and it works. Then I restart the game, and it hangs on the very first try… You know, this might actually be a game bug, it just never manifests itself on Dreamcast due to much tighter corelation in timings on real hardware. Current PCs are faster but all operations exhibit a certain amount of lag (or should I rather call it “processing overhead”) - well, only sometimes, but it happens every now and then and there’s no control over it. It might take just a milisecond somewhere, when OS decides to switch threads at different time to balance CPU usage better for example, and there it goes. So… still looking into it.

I’ve came to belive that the same timing problem plagues GD code. It works for me (most of the time) but breaks horribly for other people. I’ve spent some time trying to determine the cause and I found out that SoA usually works, but will almost always crash at boot if I lower SH4 speed to some 150 MIPS. Curious, isn’t it, especially if you consider GD-DMA speed is now tied to SH4 speed - so why does it even matter how fast it goes?
After a while I’ve noticed that in MT mode GD buffer becomes empty every now and then and this causes problems. Now, this is very unscientific explanation but my guess is BIOS booting procedure is kinda broken. Oversimplified. Maybe because it had to be short to fit all the code in cheaper and smaller ROM?
Anyway - a real GD drive isn’t all that fast but once it starts reading, the data is being constantly streamed from disc to it’s internal memory. And from there to Dreamcast main RAM via DMA. Think “hourglass” - constant stream of sand goes through. Now, on a PC it’s more like a guy with shovel loading a truck. He can do way better in terms of quantity of sand moved but it’s no longer a constant stream. If the truck is full it can supply us with all the sand we want but once it’s empty it has to go back to the guy with shovel. If at this point we need more sand we either wait (that’s blocking emulator for the read to complete) or go empty handed (DMA will finish later then usual and this might cause crash).

If you’re smart you already see two ways to fix that. Either wait, as explained above, or… make the truck so big it will never become empty at the wrong time. In other words, make the GD data buffer at least the size of Dreamcast RAM, which is 16MB. And that’s what I did yesterday and that really helped :)
This method isn’t 100% fool-proof, as a real GD starts streaming data the moment the first read sector lands in its buffer. In our case loading some few MB might take longer and still fail because of that. This however wasn’t a problem so far (or else the whole “offloading to thread” thing would not be possible) and let’s hope it stays that way.

Marionette Company boots now, though there seem to be some geometry missing because I don’t get text in dialog boxes at all… It’s a WinCE game so maybe it’s the Sort-DMA thing again?





Quote:And c’mon people, new version of Makaron isn’t always going to be better than the last one. This is why I call my releases “Test”, you know. So that you could TEST things, like new code and such. And report your findings back, maybe? Some people do - and I thank them for that.
Just because I’m not all over your problems when you report doesn’t mean I disregard them. Still, I’ve no intention of answering each and every comment that shows up - this is a place in which I brag about how great I am, not a help desk.


Site @ http://dknute.livejournal.com/]]> http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3073 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:16:39 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3073 Quote:Department of Civil Disobedience: Google Should Deliver Its YouTube Data to Viacom in Paper Form

The recent court order directing Google to hand over data to Viacom about every YouTube video ever watched strikes many people as an absurd overreach of the law into the privacy of anyone who has ever used YouTube (i.e., almost everyone on the Internet). Google should definitely keep fighting the ruling if it can.

But if it can’t, perhaps it should comply with it in a creative way. The data in question are data logs containing the records of every video watched on YouTube, by whom, and at what times. The court is also ordering that Google hand over all videos that have ever been taken down for any reason. The logs alone take up 12 terabytes. Google should print them out and deliver them on paper.

It would literally fill up the Library of Congress. That is roughly the equivalent of all the printed books in the Library of Congress (by one estimate, others put it at 20 terabytes—either way, it’s a lot of paper). The court order never states what form, the data must be delivered in.

(Photo via, appropriately enough, the Library of Congress And hat tip to reader Paul Christiansen for the original suggestion).


I disagree with the article, Google should digitally fax the data to Viacom and let their fax machine print it out.]]> Quote:Department of Civil Disobedience: Google Should Deliver Its YouTube Data to Viacom in Paper Form

The recent court order directing Google to hand over data to Viacom about every YouTube video ever watched strikes many people as an absurd overreach of the law into the privacy of anyone who has ever used YouTube (i.e., almost everyone on the Internet). Google should definitely keep fighting the ruling if it can.

But if it can’t, perhaps it should comply with it in a creative way. The data in question are data logs containing the records of every video watched on YouTube, by whom, and at what times. The court is also ordering that Google hand over all videos that have ever been taken down for any reason. The logs alone take up 12 terabytes. Google should print them out and deliver them on paper.

It would literally fill up the Library of Congress. That is roughly the equivalent of all the printed books in the Library of Congress (by one estimate, others put it at 20 terabytes—either way, it’s a lot of paper). The court order never states what form, the data must be delivered in.

(Photo via, appropriately enough, the Library of Congress And hat tip to reader Paul Christiansen for the original suggestion).


I disagree with the article, Google should digitally fax the data to Viacom and let their fax machine print it out.]]> http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3072 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 15:24:06 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3072 Quote:0.125u9
-------


MAMETesters Bugs Fixed
----------------------
- 01962: [DIP/Input] tailg: "Fatal error: Input ports cannot be read
at init time!" with -debug (Aaron Giles)
- 01948: [Misc.] All alg.c and cliffhgr.c sets: Access Violation when
taking a snapshot (Aaron Giles)
- 01940: [Misc.] All cps3.c sets: Access Violation (Aaron Giles)
- 01946: [DIP/Input] Various: Fatal error: Input ports cannot be read
at init time! (part 2) (Aaron Giles)
- 01957: [Core] Access Violation on hardreset with -debug (Aaron Giles)
- 01955: [DIP/Input] gauntleg: Unable to locate input port 'IN1' /
gauntleg cannot start (Aaron Giles)
- 00654: [DIP/Input] usclssic: Can't start 2P game. Seems like 2P
Start key has no effect. (stephh)
- 01945: [Misc.] All asteriod.c sets: Assertions (couriersud)
- 01939: [Misc.] All sega80v.c sets: Assertions (couriersud)
- 01947: [DIP/Input] All omegrace.c sets: Assertions (couriersud)
- 01941: [Misc.] pleiads, pleiadbl, pleiadce: Fatal error:
activecpu_get_info_int() called with no active cpu!
(src/emu/cpuintrf.c:1160) (couriersud)
- 01944: [DIP/Input] hachamf: Unable to locate input port 'DSW'
(robiza)
- 01936: [DIP/Input] All namcos21.c sets: Unable to locate input port
'AN7' (robiza)
- 01938: [Gameplay] vaportrx: Game freeze (Aaron Giles)
- 01937: [Interface] All Sets: Fatal Exception on In-Game Menu
(couriersud)



Source Changes
--------------
SH2 core: [R. Belmont]
* refactored to separate out things that aren't part of the
interpreter.
* converted context struct to go through a pointer

Fixed nile pitch calculation. [h0pdmiYX0]

MIPS3 recompiler: [Aaron Giles]
* don't generate compare interrupts unless the compare register was
written to; fixes hangs in blitz, calspeed, and others
* stash jump target address before executing delay slot; also, don't
update link register until delay slot has finished executing;
fixes hang in gauntleg
* marked IDT instructions for R4650 only
* accounted for time taken in throwaway likely branch slots
* fixed jalr to respect the correct link register
* fixed c.eq, c.lt, c.le to fail if unordered
* fixed swxc1, sdxc1 to use the correct source register
(fixes many Gauntlet problems)
* fixed CCR31 display in debugger
* fixed LWXC1/LDXC1; corrects gauntleg camera

ADded state saving for flower.c. [couriersud]

Corrected dip setting for Risky Challenge. [Brian Troha]

Changed how watchpoints work so that supporting them adds 0 overhead
unless some are actually live. [Aaron Giles]

Removed calls to memory_set_context() in favor of
cpuintrf_push_context(). [Aaron Giles]

Renamed wilytowr.c to m63.c. Added Irem M63 PCB layout (based on
Atomic Boy). [Tomasz Slanina, Stefan Lindberg]

Fixed 32031 so that it doesn't call the debugger if not enabled.
[Aaron Giles]

Fixed assertion in astring.c when compiled against MSVC and the
string is UTF-8. [Nathan Woods]

Night Striker update: [kanikani]
- Added World version as new parent (nightstr)
- Renamed already-supported US version to nghtstru
- Added Japanese version (nghtstrj)
- Removed unnecessary analog input remapping
- Added analog stick adjusting port

Added diplocations to all games in taito_z.c. [kanikani]

Added pot wheel support to world rally 2. [Mirko Mattioli]

Split ADSP2100 execution loop between debug/non-debug. [Aaron Giles]

Improved behavior of PGM on big-endian. The ARM7 boots properly now
but can't sync with the 68k for some reason. [R. Belmont]

Update S14001A core: improved filtering to be more accurate to the
chip, changed internal audio renderer to produce 4 bit sound as the
real chip does. Moved filter outside of the main rendering loop into
the glue code. Note: with this update, you may hear a whining noise
that was not previously present. This is accurate to the chip! The
real chip would almost always have an analog filter placed on its
output to suppress this whine. [Lord Nightmare]

Fixed some save state problems in the DCS driver. Still comes out
garbled on a load, however. Extended memory.c to support up to 4096
banks. [Aaron Giles]

Improvements to Cal Omega driver: [Roberto Fresca]
- Unified MACHINE_RESET for systems 903/904/905.
- Created a new handler to manage the first 4 bits of system 905's
PIA1 portB as input mux selector (905 is still not working)
- Updated technical notes.

Fixed incorrect assumption in the x86/x64 implementation of HASHJMP
that the base table for a mode will always be allocated when a fixed
mode is first used. [Aaron Giles]

Fixed 64-bit writes in UML C back-end. [Aaron Giles]

Preliminary emulation of video hardware (simple blitter) in Strip
Teaser. [Tomasz Slanina]

I80286: Fixed POP ES in protected mode. [Wilbert Pol]

tumbleb.c update: [stephh]
- updated Dip Switches for 'wlstar' and 'wondl96'
- added notes for these 2 games and updated some others
- added port tags and updated memory definitions and read handlers

Updated cheat system [ShimaPong]
- Roll back older periodic function
Now standard/old format work in this function
Otherwords, several operations which doesn't exist in older
function and added recently are now disabled
- Separated load_cheat_code() to 3 indipendent functions
And added new cheat options, "Load New/Standard/Old Format Code"
(Default : load all format codes)
NOTE : delete all cheat options in the database before start
or reload default options (Shift + Reload key)
in cheat general menu
- Added format strings structure to accept huge size strings
in loading a database to prevent from breaking other strings
- Changed Link in new format
Label code is now "Link-Label" and sub-label is "Label-Sub-Link"
"Standard-Link" is no longer label
- Added choose_label_index() to manage label selection
- Fixed build_label_index_table() to prevent from crashing
And disabled to build label index table in case of
standard/old format
- Fixed memory free problem in case of standard/old code
- Fixed several reported/found bugs

Cleaned up input handling in seta.c and bigevglf.c. [stephh]

Adds rom loading for the cadillacs & dinosaurs sets with PICs, and
for several similar punisher sets. No good dumps of the PICs exist,
and this is mainly for reference so that we don't forget the graphic
rom loading on them. They don't work. They're basically the same set
from different PCBs, so one will probably be removed eventually.
[David Haywood]

Fixed memory leak in ledutil.c. [HeadKaze]



New games added or promoted from NOT_WORKING status
---------------------------------------------------
Touchmaster 8000 (v9.04 Standard) [Brian Troha]
Galactic Storm [Hau, Team Japump!]



New clones added
----------------
Night Striker (Japan) [kanikani]
Night Striker (US) [kanikani]
Wiz (Taito, set 2) [David Haywood]
Moon Lander [David Haywood]
Star Force (encrypted, set 2) [highwayman]
Spy Hunter (Playtronic license) [stefanocsw]
Captain Commando (bootleg) [highwayman] (NOT WORKING)



New games marked as GAME_NOT_WORKING
------------------------------------
King of Football [Tomasz Slanina]
Hell Night (ver EAA) [Guru]


Site @ mamedev.org]]> Quote:0.125u9
-------


MAMETesters Bugs Fixed
----------------------
- 01962: [DIP/Input] tailg: "Fatal error: Input ports cannot be read
at init time!" with -debug (Aaron Giles)
- 01948: [Misc.] All alg.c and cliffhgr.c sets: Access Violation when
taking a snapshot (Aaron Giles)
- 01940: [Misc.] All cps3.c sets: Access Violation (Aaron Giles)
- 01946: [DIP/Input] Various: Fatal error: Input ports cannot be read
at init time! (part 2) (Aaron Giles)
- 01957: [Core] Access Violation on hardreset with -debug (Aaron Giles)
- 01955: [DIP/Input] gauntleg: Unable to locate input port 'IN1' /
gauntleg cannot start (Aaron Giles)
- 00654: [DIP/Input] usclssic: Can't start 2P game. Seems like 2P
Start key has no effect. (stephh)
- 01945: [Misc.] All asteriod.c sets: Assertions (couriersud)
- 01939: [Misc.] All sega80v.c sets: Assertions (couriersud)
- 01947: [DIP/Input] All omegrace.c sets: Assertions (couriersud)
- 01941: [Misc.] pleiads, pleiadbl, pleiadce: Fatal error:
activecpu_get_info_int() called with no active cpu!
(src/emu/cpuintrf.c:1160) (couriersud)
- 01944: [DIP/Input] hachamf: Unable to locate input port 'DSW'
(robiza)
- 01936: [DIP/Input] All namcos21.c sets: Unable to locate input port
'AN7' (robiza)
- 01938: [Gameplay] vaportrx: Game freeze (Aaron Giles)
- 01937: [Interface] All Sets: Fatal Exception on In-Game Menu
(couriersud)



Source Changes
--------------
SH2 core: [R. Belmont]
* refactored to separate out things that aren't part of the
interpreter.
* converted context struct to go through a pointer

Fixed nile pitch calculation. [h0pdmiYX0]

MIPS3 recompiler: [Aaron Giles]
* don't generate compare interrupts unless the compare register was
written to; fixes hangs in blitz, calspeed, and others
* stash jump target address before executing delay slot; also, don't
update link register until delay slot has finished executing;
fixes hang in gauntleg
* marked IDT instructions for R4650 only
* accounted for time taken in throwaway likely branch slots
* fixed jalr to respect the correct link register
* fixed c.eq, c.lt, c.le to fail if unordered
* fixed swxc1, sdxc1 to use the correct source register
(fixes many Gauntlet problems)
* fixed CCR31 display in debugger
* fixed LWXC1/LDXC1; corrects gauntleg camera

ADded state saving for flower.c. [couriersud]

Corrected dip setting for Risky Challenge. [Brian Troha]

Changed how watchpoints work so that supporting them adds 0 overhead
unless some are actually live. [Aaron Giles]

Removed calls to memory_set_context() in favor of
cpuintrf_push_context(). [Aaron Giles]

Renamed wilytowr.c to m63.c. Added Irem M63 PCB layout (based on
Atomic Boy). [Tomasz Slanina, Stefan Lindberg]

Fixed 32031 so that it doesn't call the debugger if not enabled.
[Aaron Giles]

Fixed assertion in astring.c when compiled against MSVC and the
string is UTF-8. [Nathan Woods]

Night Striker update: [kanikani]
- Added World version as new parent (nightstr)
- Renamed already-supported US version to nghtstru
- Added Japanese version (nghtstrj)
- Removed unnecessary analog input remapping
- Added analog stick adjusting port

Added diplocations to all games in taito_z.c. [kanikani]

Added pot wheel support to world rally 2. [Mirko Mattioli]

Split ADSP2100 execution loop between debug/non-debug. [Aaron Giles]

Improved behavior of PGM on big-endian. The ARM7 boots properly now
but can't sync with the 68k for some reason. [R. Belmont]

Update S14001A core: improved filtering to be more accurate to the
chip, changed internal audio renderer to produce 4 bit sound as the
real chip does. Moved filter outside of the main rendering loop into
the glue code. Note: with this update, you may hear a whining noise
that was not previously present. This is accurate to the chip! The
real chip would almost always have an analog filter placed on its
output to suppress this whine. [Lord Nightmare]

Fixed some save state problems in the DCS driver. Still comes out
garbled on a load, however. Extended memory.c to support up to 4096
banks. [Aaron Giles]

Improvements to Cal Omega driver: [Roberto Fresca]
- Unified MACHINE_RESET for systems 903/904/905.
- Created a new handler to manage the first 4 bits of system 905's
PIA1 portB as input mux selector (905 is still not working)
- Updated technical notes.

Fixed incorrect assumption in the x86/x64 implementation of HASHJMP
that the base table for a mode will always be allocated when a fixed
mode is first used. [Aaron Giles]

Fixed 64-bit writes in UML C back-end. [Aaron Giles]

Preliminary emulation of video hardware (simple blitter) in Strip
Teaser. [Tomasz Slanina]

I80286: Fixed POP ES in protected mode. [Wilbert Pol]

tumbleb.c update: [stephh]
- updated Dip Switches for 'wlstar' and 'wondl96'
- added notes for these 2 games and updated some others
- added port tags and updated memory definitions and read handlers

Updated cheat system [ShimaPong]
- Roll back older periodic function
Now standard/old format work in this function
Otherwords, several operations which doesn't exist in older
function and added recently are now disabled
- Separated load_cheat_code() to 3 indipendent functions
And added new cheat options, "Load New/Standard/Old Format Code"
(Default : load all format codes)
NOTE : delete all cheat options in the database before start
or reload default options (Shift + Reload key)
in cheat general menu
- Added format strings structure to accept huge size strings
in loading a database to prevent from breaking other strings
- Changed Link in new format
Label code is now "Link-Label" and sub-label is "Label-Sub-Link"
"Standard-Link" is no longer label
- Added choose_label_index() to manage label selection
- Fixed build_label_index_table() to prevent from crashing
And disabled to build label index table in case of
standard/old format
- Fixed memory free problem in case of standard/old code
- Fixed several reported/found bugs

Cleaned up input handling in seta.c and bigevglf.c. [stephh]

Adds rom loading for the cadillacs & dinosaurs sets with PICs, and
for several similar punisher sets. No good dumps of the PICs exist,
and this is mainly for reference so that we don't forget the graphic
rom loading on them. They don't work. They're basically the same set
from different PCBs, so one will probably be removed eventually.
[David Haywood]

Fixed memory leak in ledutil.c. [HeadKaze]



New games added or promoted from NOT_WORKING status
---------------------------------------------------
Touchmaster 8000 (v9.04 Standard) [Brian Troha]
Galactic Storm [Hau, Team Japump!]



New clones added
----------------
Night Striker (Japan) [kanikani]
Night Striker (US) [kanikani]
Wiz (Taito, set 2) [David Haywood]
Moon Lander [David Haywood]
Star Force (encrypted, set 2) [highwayman]
Spy Hunter (Playtronic license) [stefanocsw]
Captain Commando (bootleg) [highwayman] (NOT WORKING)



New games marked as GAME_NOT_WORKING
------------------------------------
King of Football [Tomasz Slanina]
Hell Night (ver EAA) [Guru]


Site @ mamedev.org]]> http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3071 Wed, 02 Jul 2008 16:04:00 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3071 Quote:Fox News airs altered photos of NY Times reporters

On the July 2 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade labeled New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg and editor Steven Reddicliffe "attack dogs," claiming that Steinberg's June 28 article on the "ominous trend" in Fox News' ratings was a "hit piece." During the segment, however, Fox News featured photos of Steinberg and Reddicliffe that appeared to have been digitally altered -- the journalists' teeth had been yellowed, their facial features exaggerated, and portions of Reddicliffe's hair moved further back on his head. Fox News gave no indication that the photos had been altered.

After putting up the photos of Steinberg and Reddicliffe, Fox & Friends also featured a photograph of Steinberg's face superimposed over that of a poodle, while Reddicliffe's face was superimposed over that of the man holding the poodle's leash.

Below is a screenshot of Fox & Friends featuring the photo it used of Steinberg, with the original photo on its left. Comparing the two photos, it appears that the following changes have been made: Steinberg's teeth have been yellowed, his nose and chin widened, and his ears made to protrude further.



Similarly, a comparison of the photo of Reddicliffe used by Fox News and the original photo suggests that Reddicliffe's teeth have been yellowed, dark circles have been added under his eyes, and his hairline has been moved back.



From the July 2 edition of Fox & Friends:

DOOCY: And before we go today, something's been bugging me. A couple of days --

KILMEADE: Well, go back outside.

DOOCY: We will. A couple of days ago, when most newspapers in America were doing these positive stories about how Fox News Channel, once again, number one --

KILMEADE: Like the LA Times.

DOOCY: -- for many, many years. There was a hit piece by somebody in The New York Times. The writer was a fellow by the name of Jacques Steinberg, and he's been doing a bunch of attack stories on Fox News Channel. Well, there's some backstory to it, and that is this: His boss, the guy who assigned him to this, is a fellow by the name of Steven Reddicliffe, and Mr. Reddicliffe actually used to work for this company. He worked -- I think he was the editor in charge of TV Guide until circulation went down under his tenure --

KILMEADE: Right.

DOOCY: -- something like, 40 percent. So, he got fired, and according to Radar Online, this guy has had an ax to grind.

KILMEADE: Yeah, he does, because, I think, Steve, according to reports -- according to Radar and another online magazine -- he was making close to a million dollars here, and now with his new job --

DOOCY: Yeah.

KILMEADE: -- he's making significantly less. How about a tenth of that?

DOOCY: So, anyway, Radar says he's had an ax to grind, and that's why he sends his attack dog Jacques Steinberg out -- that fellow right there, the writer for The New York Times -- to do these hit pieces. So, he essentially is his attack dog. His -- his poodle, if you will.

KILMEADE: So --

DOOCY: Oooh! Very, very nice.

KILMEADE: -- Radar Online has unlocked the mystery. And there you go, because that story was oddly in the Arts section of The New York Times, in the Sunday Times.

DOOCY: Anyway, we just thought we'd -- cute. I wonder if he's going to show him at Westminster this year.

KILMEADE: I'm not really sure. We know a beagle won last year, and this -- he's dressed as a poodle.

—S.S.M.


I think that was childish, but then again the show title "Fox and Friends" sounds like a kid's show.]]> Quote:Fox News airs altered photos of NY Times reporters

On the July 2 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade labeled New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg and editor Steven Reddicliffe "attack dogs," claiming that Steinberg's June 28 article on the "ominous trend" in Fox News' ratings was a "hit piece." During the segment, however, Fox News featured photos of Steinberg and Reddicliffe that appeared to have been digitally altered -- the journalists' teeth had been yellowed, their facial features exaggerated, and portions of Reddicliffe's hair moved further back on his head. Fox News gave no indication that the photos had been altered.

After putting up the photos of Steinberg and Reddicliffe, Fox & Friends also featured a photograph of Steinberg's face superimposed over that of a poodle, while Reddicliffe's face was superimposed over that of the man holding the poodle's leash.

Below is a screenshot of Fox & Friends featuring the photo it used of Steinberg, with the original photo on its left. Comparing the two photos, it appears that the following changes have been made: Steinberg's teeth have been yellowed, his nose and chin widened, and his ears made to protrude further.



Similarly, a comparison of the photo of Reddicliffe used by Fox News and the original photo suggests that Reddicliffe's teeth have been yellowed, dark circles have been added under his eyes, and his hairline has been moved back.



From the July 2 edition of Fox & Friends:

DOOCY: And before we go today, something's been bugging me. A couple of days --

KILMEADE: Well, go back outside.

DOOCY: We will. A couple of days ago, when most newspapers in America were doing these positive stories about how Fox News Channel, once again, number one --

KILMEADE: Like the LA Times.

DOOCY: -- for many, many years. There was a hit piece by somebody in The New York Times. The writer was a fellow by the name of Jacques Steinberg, and he's been doing a bunch of attack stories on Fox News Channel. Well, there's some backstory to it, and that is this: His boss, the guy who assigned him to this, is a fellow by the name of Steven Reddicliffe, and Mr. Reddicliffe actually used to work for this company. He worked -- I think he was the editor in charge of TV Guide until circulation went down under his tenure --

KILMEADE: Right.

DOOCY: -- something like, 40 percent. So, he got fired, and according to Radar Online, this guy has had an ax to grind.

KILMEADE: Yeah, he does, because, I think, Steve, according to reports -- according to Radar and another online magazine -- he was making close to a million dollars here, and now with his new job --

DOOCY: Yeah.

KILMEADE: -- he's making significantly less. How about a tenth of that?

DOOCY: So, anyway, Radar says he's had an ax to grind, and that's why he sends his attack dog Jacques Steinberg out -- that fellow right there, the writer for The New York Times -- to do these hit pieces. So, he essentially is his attack dog. His -- his poodle, if you will.

KILMEADE: So --

DOOCY: Oooh! Very, very nice.

KILMEADE: -- Radar Online has unlocked the mystery. And there you go, because that story was oddly in the Arts section of The New York Times, in the Sunday Times.

DOOCY: Anyway, we just thought we'd -- cute. I wonder if he's going to show him at Westminster this year.

KILMEADE: I'm not really sure. We know a beagle won last year, and this -- he's dressed as a poodle.

—S.S.M.


I think that was childish, but then again the show title "Fox and Friends" sounds like a kid's show.]]> http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3070 Wed, 02 Jul 2008 08:16:16 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3070 Quote:DMAC: Halfword access to D_PCR was supported.
CD: Attenuation volume was fixed.


"Sound Scope" has been worked in this version.

Site @ http://members.at.infoseek.co.jp/DrHell/ps1/]]> Quote:DMAC: Halfword access to D_PCR was supported.
CD: Attenuation volume was fixed.


"Sound Scope" has been worked in this version.

Site @ http://members.at.infoseek.co.jp/DrHell/ps1/]]> http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3069 Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:14:30 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3069 Quote:June 29, 2008:


After being left untouched for months, I've updated Nintendulator's debugger. Window positioning isn't yet done intelligently, but the new debugger should be a significant improvement over the old one (that is, once I reimplement breakpoints).


Site @ http://www.qmtpro.com/~nes/nintendulator/]]> Quote:June 29, 2008:


After being left untouched for months, I've updated Nintendulator's debugger. Window positioning isn't yet done intelligently, but the new debugger should be a significant improvement over the old one (that is, once I reimplement breakpoints).


Site @ http://www.qmtpro.com/~nes/nintendulator/]]> http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3068 Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:07:19 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3068 Quote: Well — it’s decided then — the project will be released as open source. We’ll host the SVN repository. Open as read only to everybody and as read/write to those who will decide to contribute.
The only question left — what license should we be released under.
Please comment your choice.
The projects being released are :

* * FreeDO
* * IDE Adapter
* * FPGA FreeDO



Site @ http://www.freedo.org/forum2/index.php?topic=1431.0

You have to register to read further there. I don't know why. I am not register either. :p]]> Quote: Well — it’s decided then — the project will be released as open source. We’ll host the SVN repository. Open as read only to everybody and as read/write to those who will decide to contribute.
The only question left — what license should we be released under.
Please comment your choice.
The projects being released are :

* * FreeDO
* * IDE Adapter
* * FPGA FreeDO



Site @ http://www.freedo.org/forum2/index.php?topic=1431.0

You have to register to read further there. I don't know why. I am not register either. :p]]> http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3067 Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:03:13 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3067 Quote:As promised, here is the june release :)
This release is mostly a bugfix one with some improvements to the software renderer.


Site @ http://www.yabause.org/]]> Quote:As promised, here is the june release :)
This release is mostly a bugfix one with some improvements to the software renderer.


Site @ http://www.yabause.org/]]> http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3066 Sun, 29 Jun 2008 13:08:31 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3066 Pentium® D CPU 2.80GHz
2.81GHz, 2GB RAM
600GB disk space

Windows XP Pro
Ati Radeon X1300/X1550 Series

CPU Speed displayed on the emulator Config is:
2816Mhz


I can run games like DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi 3 really good on the menus and all but ingame i get like 12-15%Fps :crying:

and Kingdom Hearts is also good on the menus and runs about 30-55%Fps (still alot of lag) :crying:

should i be getting these type of problems with the emulator?
or should i upgrade my Ram or change anything? how much would it cost? :hmm:

Plugins using: (PCSX2 0.9.4)

GSdx (MSVC 15.00, SSE2) 0.1.8 ]]> Pentium® D CPU 2.80GHz
2.81GHz, 2GB RAM
600GB disk space

Windows XP Pro
Ati Radeon X1300/X1550 Series

CPU Speed displayed on the emulator Config is:
2816Mhz


I can run games like DBZ Budokai Tenkaichi 3 really good on the menus and all but ingame i get like 12-15%Fps :crying:

and Kingdom Hearts is also good on the menus and runs about 30-55%Fps (still alot of lag) :crying:

should i be getting these type of problems with the emulator?
or should i upgrade my Ram or change anything? how much would it cost? :hmm:

Plugins using: (PCSX2 0.9.4)

GSdx (MSVC 15.00, SSE2) 0.1.8 ]]> http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3065 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:08:55 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3065 Quote:Here's changelog :

* Fixed a bug in texture Management.
* Fixed a bug in BindTexture with Translucent Polygons.
* Fixed a bug in VRAM Control Registers.
* Fixed a bug in DMA with FIFO.
* Fixed a bug in pixel rendering in Mode 3,4,5.
* Added Palette Viewer.



DirectSound Plugin 1.0.1.1

* Fixed a bug in resampling Options.
* Fixed a bug in SOUNDxPNT registers.
* Added Capture capabilities.


Audio Plugins for Windows & Linux users It's preferable to use one audio plugin, if you are using Paula PlugIn you must remove DirectSound PlugIn or viceversa.


Site @ http://www.ideasemu.org/]]> Quote:Here's changelog :

* Fixed a bug in texture Management.
* Fixed a bug in BindTexture with Translucent Polygons.
* Fixed a bug in VRAM Control Registers.
* Fixed a bug in DMA with FIFO.
* Fixed a bug in pixel rendering in Mode 3,4,5.
* Added Palette Viewer.



DirectSound Plugin 1.0.1.1

* Fixed a bug in resampling Options.
* Fixed a bug in SOUNDxPNT registers.
* Added Capture capabilities.


Audio Plugins for Windows & Linux users It's preferable to use one audio plugin, if you are using Paula PlugIn you must remove DirectSound PlugIn or viceversa.


Site @ http://www.ideasemu.org/]]> http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3062 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 03:55:31 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3062 Quote:Diablo III ignites Blizzard Paris event -- LIVE!

Following years of rumors, Blizzard reveals long-awaited third installment in groundbreaking RPG franchise at Worldwide Invitational event.

PARIS--Blizzard fans have lined up around the block of the Porte de Versailles Exposition Center in Paris, looking to become among the first in the world to see the newly announced game from the popular developer/publisher. The 2008 Blizzard Invitational marks the first time the company has held a fan event in Europe; during the two-day event, fans will be able to participate in tournaments, check out playable versions of two Blizzard works in progress: World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King and StarCraft II, attend sessions dedicated to various Blizzard games, and, most importantly, find out all about the next game the company is working on.

The Blizzard event is taking up Hall 5 of the Porte de Versailles Exposition Center, with two levels of the hall devoted to all things Blizzard. Hundreds of fans poured into the center once the event opened at 9 a.m., looking to get hands on time with Starcraft II and the Lich King expansion. In addition to huge areas devoted entirely to those games, there is also a gaming area devoted to the latest WoW expansion, The Burning Crusade. In addition, there's are also two stages devoted to competitive tournaments, as well as a Blizzard store, where fans can stock up on all things Blizzard.

Of course, the big news of the day is the announcement of a new Blizzard game. At 11:45 local time, the opening ceremonies for the Blizzard Invitational will begin, with the mystery announcement coming sometime during the ceremony. Speculation has been rampant for the past few days that the new game is the long-awaited, and heavily rumored, Diablo III. GameSpot is on the scene at the Expo Center and will be covering the event live in a blog below, so stay tuned here for up-to-the-minute coverage of the announcement as it happens.


I've been waiting for this since the end of Diablo2:LOD.]]> Quote:Diablo III ignites Blizzard Paris event -- LIVE!

Following years of rumors, Blizzard reveals long-awaited third installment in groundbreaking RPG franchise at Worldwide Invitational event.

PARIS--Blizzard fans have lined up around the block of the Porte de Versailles Exposition Center in Paris, looking to become among the first in the world to see the newly announced game from the popular developer/publisher. The 2008 Blizzard Invitational marks the first time the company has held a fan event in Europe; during the two-day event, fans will be able to participate in tournaments, check out playable versions of two Blizzard works in progress: World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King and StarCraft II, attend sessions dedicated to various Blizzard games, and, most importantly, find out all about the next game the company is working on.

The Blizzard event is taking up Hall 5 of the Porte de Versailles Exposition Center, with two levels of the hall devoted to all things Blizzard. Hundreds of fans poured into the center once the event opened at 9 a.m., looking to get hands on time with Starcraft II and the Lich King expansion. In addition to huge areas devoted entirely to those games, there is also a gaming area devoted to the latest WoW expansion, The Burning Crusade. In addition, there's are also two stages devoted to competitive tournaments, as well as a Blizzard store, where fans can stock up on all things Blizzard.

Of course, the big news of the day is the announcement of a new Blizzard game. At 11:45 local time, the opening ceremonies for the Blizzard Invitational will begin, with the mystery announcement coming sometime during the ceremony. Speculation has been rampant for the past few days that the new game is the long-awaited, and heavily rumored, Diablo III. GameSpot is on the scene at the Expo Center and will be covering the event live in a blog below, so stay tuned here for up-to-the-minute coverage of the announcement as it happens.


I've been waiting for this since the end of Diablo2:LOD.]]> http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3061 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 03:53:26 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3061 Quote:Louisiana passes first antievolution "academic freedom" law

As we noted last month, a number of states have been considering laws that, under the guise of "academic freedom," single out evolution for special criticism. Most of them haven't made it out of the state legislatures, and one that did was promptly vetoed. But the last of these bills under consideration, the Louisiana Science Education Act (LSEA), was enacted by the signature of Governor Bobby Jindal yesterday. The bill would allow local school boards to approve supplemental classroom materials specifically for the critique of scientific theories, allowing poorly-informed board members to stick their communities with Dover-sized legal fees.

The text of the LSEA suggests that it's intended to foster critical thinking, calling on the state Board of Education to "assist teachers, principals, and other school administrators to create and foster an environment within public elementary and secondary schools that promotes critical thinking skills, logical analysis, and open and objective discussion of scientific theories." Unfortunately, it's remarkably selective in its suggestion of topics that need critical thinking, as it cites scientific subjects "including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning."

Oddly, the last item on the list is not the subject of any scientific theory; the remainder are notable for being topics that are the focus of frequent political controversies rather than scientific ones.
The opposition

The bill has been opposed by every scientific society that has voiced a position on it, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science. AAAS CEO Alan Leshner warned that the bill would "unleash an assault against scientific integrity, leaving students confused about science and unprepared to excel in a modern workforce."

Jindal, who was a biology major during his time at Brown University, even received a veto plea from his former genetics professor. "Without evolution, modern biology, including medicine and biotechnology, wouldn't make sense," Professor Arthur Landy wrote. "I hope he [Jindal] doesn't do anything that would hold back the next generation of Louisiana's doctors."

Lining up to promote the bill were a coalition of religious organizations and Seattle's pro-Intelligent Design think tank, the Discovery Institute. According to the Louisiana Science Coalition, Discovery fellows helped write the bill and arranged for testimony in its favor in the legislature. The bill itself plays directly into Discovery's strategy, freeing local schools to "use supplemental textbooks and other instructional materials to help students understand, analyze, critique, and review scientific theories in an objective manner."

Discovery, conveniently, has made just such a supplemental text available. As we noted in our earlier analysis, Discovery hopes to use these bills as a way to push its own textbook into the classroom. Having now read the text of the book, it is clear that our earlier analysis was correct; the book badly misrepresents the scientific community's understanding of evolution in order to suggest that the basics of the theory are questioned by biologists. In doing so, it ignores many of the specific questions about evolution that are actively debated by scientists.

Courts in Pennsylvania and Georgia have both ruled that laws which single out evolution serve no secular purpose and are evidence of unconstitutional religious motivations. Those precedents, however, do not apply to Louisiana, and it's possible that the LSEA will either be ruled constitutional or remain in force for years before a court rejects it. That will leave the use of supplemental scientific material to be determined by local school boards in the intervening years and, if boards in Florida are viewed as evidence, they are likely to be spectacularly incapable of judging scientific issues.

As such, most observers are expecting the passage of the LSEA by the state to unleash a series of Dover-style cases, as various local boards attempt to discover the edges of what's constitutionally allowable. The AAAS' Leshner suggested that the bill's passage would "provoke an expensive, divisive legal fight." In vetoing similar legislation in Oklahoma, Governor Brad Henry suggested it would end up "subjecting them [school officials] to an explosion of costly and protracted litigation that would have to be defended at taxpayers' expense." In essence, Jindal is inviting local school boards to partake in that explosion without committing the state to paying the inevitable costs.

In the meantime, the students of the state will be subjected to an "anything goes" approach to science—if it looks scientific to a school board, it can appear in the classroom.


Louisiana doesn't know the difference between academic freedom and gullibility.
Looking at the people who flooded into Houston from Louisiana it's not too surprising.]]> Quote:Louisiana passes first antievolution "academic freedom" law

As we noted last month, a number of states have been considering laws that, under the guise of "academic freedom," single out evolution for special criticism. Most of them haven't made it out of the state legislatures, and one that did was promptly vetoed. But the last of these bills under consideration, the Louisiana Science Education Act (LSEA), was enacted by the signature of Governor Bobby Jindal yesterday. The bill would allow local school boards to approve supplemental classroom materials specifically for the critique of scientific theories, allowing poorly-informed board members to stick their communities with Dover-sized legal fees.

The text of the LSEA suggests that it's intended to foster critical thinking, calling on the state Board of Education to "assist teachers, principals, and other school administrators to create and foster an environment within public elementary and secondary schools that promotes critical thinking skills, logical analysis, and open and objective discussion of scientific theories." Unfortunately, it's remarkably selective in its suggestion of topics that need critical thinking, as it cites scientific subjects "including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning."

Oddly, the last item on the list is not the subject of any scientific theory; the remainder are notable for being topics that are the focus of frequent political controversies rather than scientific ones.
The opposition

The bill has been opposed by every scientific society that has voiced a position on it, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science. AAAS CEO Alan Leshner warned that the bill would "unleash an assault against scientific integrity, leaving students confused about science and unprepared to excel in a modern workforce."

Jindal, who was a biology major during his time at Brown University, even received a veto plea from his former genetics professor. "Without evolution, modern biology, including medicine and biotechnology, wouldn't make sense," Professor Arthur Landy wrote. "I hope he [Jindal] doesn't do anything that would hold back the next generation of Louisiana's doctors."

Lining up to promote the bill were a coalition of religious organizations and Seattle's pro-Intelligent Design think tank, the Discovery Institute. According to the Louisiana Science Coalition, Discovery fellows helped write the bill and arranged for testimony in its favor in the legislature. The bill itself plays directly into Discovery's strategy, freeing local schools to "use supplemental textbooks and other instructional materials to help students understand, analyze, critique, and review scientific theories in an objective manner."

Discovery, conveniently, has made just such a supplemental text available. As we noted in our earlier analysis, Discovery hopes to use these bills as a way to push its own textbook into the classroom. Having now read the text of the book, it is clear that our earlier analysis was correct; the book badly misrepresents the scientific community's understanding of evolution in order to suggest that the basics of the theory are questioned by biologists. In doing so, it ignores many of the specific questions about evolution that are actively debated by scientists.

Courts in Pennsylvania and Georgia have both ruled that laws which single out evolution serve no secular purpose and are evidence of unconstitutional religious motivations. Those precedents, however, do not apply to Louisiana, and it's possible that the LSEA will either be ruled constitutional or remain in force for years before a court rejects it. That will leave the use of supplemental scientific material to be determined by local school boards in the intervening years and, if boards in Florida are viewed as evidence, they are likely to be spectacularly incapable of judging scientific issues.

As such, most observers are expecting the passage of the LSEA by the state to unleash a series of Dover-style cases, as various local boards attempt to discover the edges of what's constitutionally allowable. The AAAS' Leshner suggested that the bill's passage would "provoke an expensive, divisive legal fight." In vetoing similar legislation in Oklahoma, Governor Brad Henry suggested it would end up "subjecting them [school officials] to an explosion of costly and protracted litigation that would have to be defended at taxpayers' expense." In essence, Jindal is inviting local school boards to partake in that explosion without committing the state to paying the inevitable costs.

In the meantime, the students of the state will be subjected to an "anything goes" approach to science—if it looks scientific to a school board, it can appear in the classroom.


Louisiana doesn't know the difference between academic freedom and gullibility.
Looking at the people who flooded into Houston from Louisiana it's not too surprising.]]> http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3060 Sat, 28 Jun 2008 00:52:39 -0700 http://www.generalemu.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3060
AMD Athlon 64 x2 (Dual-Core) +3800 2.00ghz (5.70ghz rating)
3gb ddr Ram
XFX 8600gt xxx 256mb Overclocked Edition

Windows Xp Pro SP3]]>
AMD Athlon 64 x2 (Dual-Core) +3800 2.00ghz (5.70ghz rating)
3gb ddr Ram
XFX 8600gt xxx 256mb Overclocked Edition

Windows Xp Pro SP3]]>