Desde Limón, Costa Rica, nuestra lectora amiga Manolita J.V. agradece las oraciones que se hicieron por la señora Gladys Cruz, a la vez que nos informa que hace tres días el Pade celestial la llamó a su presencia. ...

Desde Limón, Costa Rica, nuestra lectora amiga Manolita J.V. agradece las oraciones que se hicieron por la señora Gladys Cruz, a la vez que nos informa que hace tres días el Pade celestial la llamó a su presencia. ...

Xbox Live Arcade; 1200 MS points (about £9.99); cert 12+; Playdead

With the traditional summer release lull in full swing, it's the download-only games that are making gamers pack up the BBQ and bucket and spade.

The recent Deathspank was as polished as a full-price release while the upcoming Lara Croft game looks equally promising. Both will be hard pushed to better Limbo though. Ostensibly an old-school platform game, Limbo manages to mix emotion – sadness and frustration, mainly – with stunning art design. The game sees you controlling a beautifully animated boy across a shadowy and hazardous landscape. Ultimately though, Limbo's greatest triumph is how the thing looks. Set in a monochrome world full of shadows and ambient audio, Limbo is an atmospheric triumph that succeeds in generating a sense of unease that persists throughout the game. Art house? Probably not, but Limbo certainly looks like nothing else out there.

Luckily then that it plays a good game, too. In traditional platform style, you'll be jumping around some handily placed obstacles, avoiding enemies and generally heading to the right of the screen. A giant spider is one early foe, a group of shadowy child-like figures another. The real challenge, though, is the puzzles. With a judicious use of physics, the conundrums are generally pitched about right. They are not as obtuse as last year's download fave Braid, yet challenging enough to at least make you rouse the grey matter. Lateral thinking and well-timed jumps are the order of the day here.

Limbo is cruel, though. The game takes a sadistic pleasure in crushing, stomping, squashing and drowning your character. Conveniently spaced restart points mean aggravation is limited, but there is a reliance on trial and error which is almost retro. Older gamers will get flashbacks to Another World on the Amiga. More important is the fact you actually care about the boy under your control – it's slightly worrying what a emotional impact a pair of bright eyes shining out in the darkness can convey.

Take away the striking aesthetic and you would still be left with a solid take on the platform genre, albeit one that lacks the impact of Limbo. It may not be the longest game in the world – you can complete it in five or six hours – but Limbo will live long in the memory.

Rating: 4/5

You used computers extensively in the era of the ddial, but never got on the Internet. Someone gives you just a few hours of Internet access for your aging PC. What do you have to do and see?

My dad was really into computers in the Amiga/Atari ST era. In fact, he was rockin' an Amiga 2000 until last month when it finally died.

But, right before the Internet became popular, I went to college (with my 1200 bps modem) and he moved to the middle of nowhere. I sent him an XP machine a few years ago, but, being unconnected to the Internet, it's gotten no updates.

He has a phone because I sent him a disposable Virgin mobile phone. Now Virgin has a cool little Internet access dongle and I'm thinking of sending it to him. I can't afford to constantly recharge it, though.

1) Is this cruel/worth it?
- I want to send him pictures, email, etc. rather than sending him data DVDs of pictures every few months and let him update his own NetFlix queue rather than going over it on the phone with me
- Could just a "dose" of the Internet make him depressed once it runs out? Or is there a way to make this experience awesome without withdrawl?

2) Security/virus stuff
- I'm going to ask a friend of his to sneakernet XP service pack 3, but I'm worried that a direct connection sans firewall might just make it explode with viruses/malware or spend all his bandwidth just updating software (AVG, VLP, handbrake, random software we've installed for him as well as questionable software he may have received from local friends with warez connections). What can I do to keep him safe or jump start the updating? Is there something I can mail with the dongle to prep/safeguard? Or is this a trainwreck waiting to happen?

3) "Street" savvy stuff
He's a bright guy who could scam anyone on the streets of LA, but he's never seen a phishing scam or a banner ad. How do I prep him for the HUGE variety of things he could encounter. (He doesn't have a credit card, so I'm not worried about anything but destroying his computer.)

4) If I get through #1-4, where do I guide him to?
Watching hi-res videos will immediately eat all his minutes/bandwidth, but Flickr, ebay, wikipedia... What is "can't miss" tourism on The Internet? He's an artist, cult movie buff, tattoo artist and has a goofy/"Jackass" sense of. I've set up a Flickr account for him of all the pics he's sent me on CD, a blog of the writings he's sent me, but I want to show off this "Internet place" that I spend all my time in. What's awesome that doesn't require all the backstory?

BADAJOZ, 6 (EUROPA PRESS)

La obra de teatro 'Princesas: olvidadas o desconocidas', de las compañías Karlik Danza Teatro y Javier Leoni Producciones, será interpretada mañana domingo, 7 de marzo, a las 12,00 horas en el Teatro López de Ayala de Badajoz.

'Princesas: olvidadas o desconocidas', dirigida por Cristina Silveira, ha obtenido el premio 'Jara' al mejor espectáculo de teatro 2009 y el galardón 'FETEN 2009', según informa el boletín cultural Eco y recoge Europa Press.

La obra, que cuenta en su reparto con las interpretaciones de las actrices Elena Sánchez, Cristina Pérez, Marina Rubio, Andrea Isas y Roberto Calle; narra la historia de "cuatro mujeres, cuatro amigas, cuatro vecinas" que, cuando el tiempo ha pasado, han tomado cada una un camino en la vida.

BADAJOZ, 6 (EUROPA PRESS)

La obra de teatro 'Princesas: olvidadas o desconocidas', de las compañías Karlik Danza Teatro y Javier Leoni Producciones, será interpretada mañana domingo, 7 de marzo, a las 12,00 horas en el Teatro López de Ayala de Badajoz.

'Princesas: olvidadas o desconocidas', dirigida por Cristina Silveira, ha obtenido el premio 'Jara' al mejor espectáculo de teatro 2009 y el galardón 'FETEN 2009', según informa el boletín cultural Eco y recoge Europa Press.

La obra, que cuenta en su reparto con las interpretaciones de las actrices Elena Sánchez, Cristina Pérez, Marina Rubio, Andrea Isas y Roberto Calle; narra la historia de "cuatro mujeres, cuatro amigas, cuatro vecinas" que, cuando el tiempo ha pasado, han tomado cada una un camino en la vida.

The world solar energy industry looks even brighter following the purchase of  Sunray Renewable Energy by the American solar energy giant Sun Power Corporation and solar array manufacturer in a $277 million deal reported in The Marker.

SunRay, headed by Israeli CEO Yoram Amiga, was the first foreign solar energy company allowed to do business in Israel, after Israel’s local solar energy market was opened to outside companies in 2009. Prior to SunRay’s entrance, Israel’s solar energy market had been confined to local companies; some of which, such as Solel Solar Systems, were themselves bought up by foreign companies like Siemens , which wound up purchasing Solel for an even larger sum than the SunRay/Sun Power deal – $418 million.

The world solar energy market seems to be getting hotter, now that big solar energy and industrial companies like Siemens and Sun Power are looking to consolidate their share in the increasingly expanding solar energy market.

SunPower, a leader in the solar panel manufacturing industry is very interested in expanding its operations in the Mediterranean region, which may explain why it wanted to acquire SunRay; which is headquartered in Malta and has solar fields already established in Greece, France, Israel, Italy, Malta, Spain, and in the U.K.

A SunPower Private Solar Panel Installation

SunRay’s Israel operations are largely handled through their local subsidiary SunRay Israel Blue White, which is working on projects for fields of solar photovoltaic panels in the Negev.  SunRay has entered into contracts with several kibbutz cooperative settlements to build solar power farms; and has submitted plans to erect solar panel arrays at Kibbutz Urim in the northern Negev region.

This puts SunRay in direct competition with Israeli companies like Arava Power, which has signed deals to erect solar panel arrays in 15 kibbutz and agricultural settlements.

Arava Power is now partnered with Siemens, which purchased a 40% stake in Arava Power, via Siemen’s investment company, Siemens Project Ventures. The solar power investment world is getting complex!

It appears that interest in solar energy is picking up following a number of setbacks in 2009, including the world economic recession and countries like Germany reducing government subsidies paid to solar energy companies that sell their electricity to the government electricity grid.

But the sun seems to be shining brighter on Sun Power’s solar energy ventures; and according to the Marker article, will now have photovoltaic projects in Europe totaling more than 1,200 megawatts.

Israel’s solar energy future is also looking much brighter, thanks to the decision by the Israeli government to set new quotas for smaller solar energy installations (up to 50 kilowatts), and for home solar energy systems up to 4 kilowatts to be allowed without restrictions until the end of 2014.

Since SunPower is one of the major solar panel suppliers in Israel, its solar energy future in Israel, via SunRay Israel Blue White, also looks bright.

::Sun Power website

Other Solar Energy Articles of Interest:
Siemens Buys Israel’s Solel Solar for $418 Million

Arava Power to Electrify the Negev Desert With 15 Solar Energy Deals

Every Day is Like Sunday with Sunday Solar Energy

Se celebró ayer la entrega de los Premios Nacionales de Informática y Salud 2009 que concede por decimoquinto año la Sociedad Española de Informática de la Salud (SEIS) en el Aula Magna de la Facultad de Medicina de la UAM. 

El acto presidido por la Subsecretaria de Sanidad y Política Social,  Consuelo Sánchez Naranjo contó con una ennumeración por parte del Presidente de la SEIS Luciano Sáez Ayerra de las muchas actividades realizadas por la SEIS durante el ejercicio 2009 que este acto cierra y la planificación para el año que viene.

Además de las palabras de bienvenida del Decano de la Facultad de Medicina, Consuelo Sánchez hizo un pequeño discurso que glosó la buena salud (nunca mejor dicho) que goza la informática sanitaria en España gracias a la labor de los profesionales, de las Comunidades Autónomas, la interconectividad segura facilitada por la red del SNS con certificación ISO, el apoyo de Red.es, el impulso catalizador de la Ley 11/2007 de Acceso Electrónico del Ciudadano a los Servicios Púbicos con los reglamentos de los Esquemas Nacionales de Interoperabilidad y Seguridad y el liderazgo de España en el contexto europeo que se plasmará en el congreso ministerial eHealth y el papel en el proyecto europeo epSOS.

Los premiados han sido:

• Premio a la Entidad que ha destacado en la Implantación y uso de las TIC en el ámbito sanitario: Consejería de Salud del Gobierno de la Rioja
• Premio a la Organización que ha realizado un Mayor Esfuerzo Tecnológico para desarrollar soluciones en el ámbito sanitario: Siemens
• Premio al Profesional que por su Trayectoria y Dedicación ha colaborado especialmente en la implantación de la informática en el entorno sanitario: Jaime Nieto Cervera, a título póstumo.
• Premio al Mejor Trabajo realizado para la Difusión de las aplicaciones de la informática en la Salud: Fundación Lilly
• Premio a las mejores Aportaciones en Informática de la Salud presentadas en el año 2009: Agencia Valenciana de Salud
• Premio al mejor proyecto de Investigación en Informática de la Salud: Fundación Iavante

El afable José Luis Carrasco condujo el acto y glosó los méritos por los que se concedía cada premio. Como siempre son todos los que están, aunque pueda que no estén todos los que lo merecen. Desde Sun nos enorgullece ser un importante socio tecnológico de los dos últimos premiados, en la medida que nuestros proyectos aporten su granito de arena al resultado global objeto del premio. En cualquier caso, el premio a Jaime Nieto une la justicia a la emotividad de recordar a un compañero del sector que unía su talento a su amabilidad y que estuvo al pie del cañón hasta el final.

El acto contó con el regalo a los sentidos de un concierto de violonchelo-piano interpretado por Rafael Domínguez y Antonio Palmer, que añadió a la calidad de la audición las simpáticas explicaciones con que Rafael nos introducía cada pieza.

Y como cierre se sirvió un vino español en el que hubo oportunidad de saludarnos y departir amigablemente con los muchos colegas y clientes que se dieron cita en el acto y desearnos todos un próspero 2010.

I know its a question thats about 16 years out of date but I have an Amiga 1200 and have been offered a few 500 games for quite a low price, i wondered if anyone would know the compatibility of the two? Thanks