Darren Straight's Blog

ICT Enthusiast and photographer.

By - Darren Straight

Sean O’Connor’s Slay strategy game!

The other day I was browsing around the web as I do, when I came across an image of an old windows game I used to play some time ago (1994/1995) – it was then that I once again found out the name of it, that being “Slay” by Sean O’Connor. Happy that I had found this game again, I

By - Darren Straight

Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program Growing

Microsoft has announced that the Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program is experiencing strong growth and is now supporting over 50 emerging businesses. Launched in October 2007, the Microsoft Startup Accelerator Program is designed to help startups accelerate both software development and market visibility through customized engagement plans consisting of access to premier support staff, software licenses and subscriptions, new technologies, and/or

By - Darren Straight

Video: Excavating a Huge Ant Nest

The structure covers 538 square feet and travels 26 feet into the earth. In it’s construction, the colony moved 40 tons of soil. Billions of ant loads of soil were brought to the surface. Each load weighed four times as much as the worker ant, and in human terms, was carried over 1/2 mile to the surface. It is the

By - Darren Straight

Do January’s Green Thing. Take the stairs.

Labour-saving machines save us labour, that’s the point. They transport us from the ground floor to the fifth floor. They take us from A to B. They wash and dry and cook and clean for us. But these machines use energy which produces CO2. It would help if we could use them less or use them more efficiently. Take lifts.

By - Darren Straight

University of Kent: Tribute to David Shrimpton

It is with great sadness that the Computing Laboratory mourns the death of David Shrimpton, who died on Saturday 29 December 2007 in the Kent and Canterbury Hospital, Canterbury. David was diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas and bile duct in January 2007, and throughout his illness was remarkably positive about his condition and his circumstances, and was very much

By - Darren Straight

Library of Congress publishes photos on Flickr

The Library of Congress has published over 3,000 historical photographs from two of its most popular collections on Flickr in “The Commons,” a project aimed at creating a rich database of photos from public collections and civic institutions.Photos from the George Grantham Bain Collection and the Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information were chosen for display online due to their popularity

By - Darren Straight

USB MSN Missile Launcher

The USB MSN Missile Launcher, as the product is called, from Dream Cheeky has been co-developed with Microsoft to create an added user experience. This launcher comes with a detachable video camera and a software that allows you to communicate via Microsoft’s MSN Messenger (Windows Live Messenger) instant messaging client. Simply invite your buddies to play and they can control

By - Darren Straight

Windows Live Messenger Mobile 30 Day Trial?

Just signed into Windows Live Messenger for Mobile this morning and recieved the following prompt: Hello! Starting today, your 30 day trial period begins. By selecting OK you acknowledge that your use of Windows Live services continues to be subject to the Terms of Use and Privacy Statement. Data charges from your mobile operator, including roaming fees may apply for using

By - Darren Straight

The Great Escape announces first bands booked for 2008

The Great Escape has announced the first tranche of bands booked to perform at the annual festival in May 2008.  An exciting combination of new and rising artists will play in one of the 25+ venues in Brighton over the three days. First out of the blocks are Young Knives, Tunng, Peter Von Poehl, Lightspeed Champion, Joe Lean and the