We have decided to assimilate another web site to BrainKing because centralized data are always better to maintain, share and promote. And this time, the reasons are the following:

1. Galerie.BrainKing.com site is no longer being updated.
2. BrainKing has a nice photo album feature.
3. Ergo, galerie.brainking.com content is being moved to BrainKing photo album system.

(Is that a syllogism?)

All right, what is it all about? BrainKing is a game site for people and people like to meet one another, so BrainKing users organize live actions and meetings, occasionally, and there are always a few active photographers who like to document such events. That's why the Photo Albums page of BrainKing now contains a new link called Photo Gallery which points to the page of live action albums.

And, of course, if you happen to organize local meetings of BrainKing users and would like to share the photos, just let me know and I will be glad to add them to the gallery.

The bottom line - today is the last day of April Action, so who wants to catch a red code, should do it as quickly as possible. The day ends in 4 and half hours (at the moment of writing this article).

The recent article about different browsers usage on BrainKing game site has invoked a couple of questions whether the numbers are accurate enough or not, regarding real BrainKing users (just registered users, not visitors). Of course, the server log analyzer cannot distinguish between entries created by logged users and accidental passers-by, which means that if we want better and more detailed statistics of this kind, we need a help of BrainKing itself.

As of 1st May 2008 (it should happen after 2 days), BrainKing will start to store accurate and users-only information about web browsers, operating systems and similar non-private data which are important to calculate a real ratio of, for instance, Firefox 3.0 usage on Windows Vista etc., which will give us much better overview and should help us to make any further optimizations which are really necessary (because if this feature shows that some browser is used by less than 1% of all users, any optimizations for it would not have the top priority). In order to provide some meaningful information, no results will be shown for at least 1 month, although the data itself will be processed on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, there is a small update on the Ponds system - since today, it is possible to add personal notes to any pond you are currently playing, and the notes are visible to you only, of course (something like that already works for normal games). This feature might be helpful for people who like to keep track of previous moves of opponents, in order to plan their strategy.

While implementing a small improvement of fellowship pages, I have noticed that an open team tournament link (if available for the currently selected team of the currently selected fellowship) does not translate smiley codes to smiley images. Well, I should have written "did not" because this detail is already fixed, but since smileys can be used at many other parts of BrainKing (and I already don't remember all possible locations and occurences), I am sure that some of them are still overlooked.

So I would like to ask for a help. If you find a BrainKing page which contains a badly translated tournament (fellowship, pond, stairs etc.) name, regarding smiley codes, please let me know and I will fix it. A consistency should be kept.

But, of course, it does not apply to user names, like this one.

And yes, the mentioned small addition is a box containing BKR and Position of the selected fellowship team, as a quick reference of the team "performance". The box is located at the top-right corner of the fellowship page team section.

It is almost a rule that Sunday entries do not contain any breakthrough of information because everyone has to relax sometimes although we would like to make some work every day (actually, we do, but not always it is worth mentioning), so I usually tend to making some kind of overview of something I am interested in and could be relating to BrainKing, more or less.

And here we go:

• According to XiTi Monitor company, the ratio of Firefox usage in Europe increased to 28.8% (+5.5%, compared with last year).
• According to BrainKing access log analysis, the ratio of our visitors who use Firefox increased to 33.8% (+10.2%, compared with April 2007).

And I would like to remind that April has only 30 days, which means that there are only 3 days left (and some hours) to take advantage of April Action of Free Brains and there will be no renewals of this action.

Details.

I have been thinking about BrainKing optional features which require client-side scripting (JavaScript) to make them work, because it might be a little tricky for some users, especially when something suddenly stops working - for example, the smiley popup window. This article contains instructions what to do, instead of posting "it doesn't work for me" without any further information:

1. First of all - if something works for the majority of BrainKing users and does not work for only you or a few other ones, in 99% cases it is not BrainKing's fault (troublemakers are welcome to comment this note, as they usually do it anyway ). It means that the most straightforward way to solve the problem is to check own computer and web browser for anything unusual.
2. There are several possible sources of this kind of issues:
   • The feature is blocked by a popup ad blocker extension. Actually, it is very unlikely in case of the smiley window because it does not work like a typical popup, but if nothing else helps, it might be worth trying to change the particular browser extension settings or temporarily uninstall it at all.
   • The feature is blocked by a security application, similar to Norton Internet Security etc., which does not allow the browser to change already loaded page dynamically. Try to disable the blocking program for a while and see if anything changes.
   • There might be a hidden bug in the browser which did not appear before due to some circumstances. Try to open BrainKing with another web browser to see differences.
   • From time to time, a problem occurs when the system firewall settings are changes, at least I remember that some users had problems to load BrainKing picture until they fixed their firewall configuration.
3. If nothing helps, it is necessary to provide some information to analyze. I am not sure about other web browsers, but Firefox contains a neat error console which can be found at Tools / Error Console menu. It can be very helpful to copy and paste its content and send it to me, many anomalies can be detected in this way.

These instructions definitely do not cover all possible scenarios, but can work as a start point for any possible progress. A good cooperation never makes it worse.

This interesting proposal of a Chess variant comes from Andy Lewicki (surprise, surprise ) and, as he says, the idea came to him suddenly while thinking about Dice Chess improvements:

---

Name of the game: Mad Chess

Rules:

1. The game starts with a regular Chess setup (board 8x8 squares, all the pieces like in traditional chess).
2. Two dice are used and the moves are executed as described below.
3. Chess pieces correspond to numbers on each die as usual - 1 stands for pawn, 2 for knight, 3 for bishop, 4 for rook, 5 for queen and six for king.
4. After the two dice are thrown, a player has a choice to choose one die as a master die but actually move like the second die indicates. Example: we got 6 and 3, so we can use a king (6) and move it like a bishop (3) or choose bishop (3) and move it like a king (6).
5. Any double limits a move to specific figure, and for example, 4 and 4 would move a rook only once.
6. There are possible "empty" throws, unlike in regular Dice Chess. For example, when there are no more knights and queen, any throw 2 and 5 is just a pass for the player.
7. The goal is as usual, to eliminate (capture) opponent's king. There is just one restriction - pawns can eliminate the opponent's king only when 2 dice show 1 and 1. The reason is that the set of Chess pieces contains too many pawns (8) and the game would be too short if they can capture a king with other piece capabilities.
8. This game can end very fast indeed, but many surprises awaits as well.

---

Comments? From my point of view, I like this idea very much because the luck factor is not as strong as in Dice Chess and it is possible to create many different strategies.

This is 501st article of BrainKing.info site, which means that if I manage to keep the current frequency of writing, BrainKing.info should contain 1000 articles by the end of October 2009. Of course, the purpose of this blog is neither to flood it with as many entries as possible, nor to keep it updated on a daily basis forever and ever. But I like to make statistics out of anything and own products make a good source for a deep analysis.

Speaking of a deep analysis, Google is trying to apply an innovative process of indexing much more web pages than its crawler is doing now. There are several sources which describe this rumor in different ways but most of them are consistent with a theory that Google indexing robot is going to analyze HTML form elements and index dynamically created pages with a help of combo boxes, checkboxes, buttons etc. It is an interesting approach, however it is still not clear whether it would bring new useful resources and information to the end user.

I don't think this new technology would affect BrainKing game site too much because all pages which are accessible in a guest mode can be found without submitting any forms. Anyway, as Google's official source says, it is still an experiment only. It might be interesting to check Google search results after a month or two and compare them with a present status.

I would like to announce the first version of our attempt to make discussion boards a little more "live", regarding the content. Actually, I don't mean that a text only content is boring but it can always look nicer if a nice picture is added.

Since today, it is possible to include pictures from your public photo albums in discussion board posts. Let me describe how it works:

• Go to the Photo albums page, select one of your public photo albums and then click on the photo you want to choose.
• The page with a bigger version of the photo contains an unique code, displayed below the photo picture. It should be something like *ph:21:253* (this is an example).
• Simply copy and paste this code (including both asterisks) to your post. After you submit it, BrainKing will automatically convert the code to the photo thumbnail which is linking to the corresponding photo page.

And there are, as usual, some restrictions:

• It is a member only feature. It means that it works only for BrainKing users with Brain Bishop or higher membership level.
• You can post only photos from your own albums. Even if you know a code of any other photo, BrainKing would not convert it to the image.
• It is possible to publish photos only from public albums - created with public (visible to everyone) access level.

I know that it would be more convenient if a picture is selected from a popup box, similar to BrainKing's smiley popup window. This feature will be added later, after all tests are finished.

Yesterday I have posted an article about PayPal plans to block older or unsafe browsers (more precisely, browsers which are "unsafe" in their opinion) and since I monitor all PayPal related news and events every day, it was not a big surprise that hundreds of other webmasters have expressed their worries about this significant change, especially regarding Safari.

The most recent truth is that PayPal officially denied any speculations about blocking Safari browsers from accessing their site, although it does not contain an anti-fraud blocker etc. According to PayPal's revised criteria of "obsolete browsers on outdated or unsupported operating systems," it would not block Internet Explorer 5 until 2010 and would not ban Safari 2.0 on Tiger until Apple ships the successor to Mac OS X 10.5, a.k.a. "Leopard."

Now, that's a switch. I think that when I called that a "truth", it might have been too optimistic indication because nobody knows what breaking news would come from PayPal or Apple later. However, there is still a big chance that it would be something reasonable.

On the other hand, I would like to take advantage of this event to remind that it is not recommended to use BrainKing with old and unsafe browsers, e.g. Internet Explorer 6. It cannot hurt to upgrade, really.

As a part of a a contemporary popular crusade against phishing attacks, PayPal plans to block older versions of Internet Explorer and Firefox and other "unsafe" browsers from accessing its site.

Well, that's some news, huh?

Actually, it will affect BrainKing users too because the majority of BrainKing membership orders are processed on PayPal and many people might be annoyed if, after clicking our Pay button, they get a message of "Sorry, your browser is not safe, you cannot use PayPal until you upgrade" type.

Very well, let me post some more detailed information:

PayPal says that a web browser which does not support an anti-phishing filter and extended validation certificate is not safe and is going to apply restrictions to their users. This is what it means:

• Firefox 3, Internet Explorer 7, Opera 9 - these browsers are marked "safe" and nobody should encounter any problems using PayPal with them.
• Previous major versions (Firefox 2, Internet Explorer 6, Opera - a warning message should appear but without any restricted access.
• Older than previous major version - PayPal would be blocked and only an explaining message would be displayed.

If you are using one of the "older" browsers, there is still no reason to panic because all of this is what PayPal just announces in advance. I don't think it would really happen earlier than after several months.

And now, some bad news for Macintosh users. PayPal claims that Safari does not have the necessary security to protect Web users. Since it is a default browser for Macintosh computers and iPhone smartphones, it might be a problem for users of these platforms.

If you are interested in details, please find them here (an official PDF document).

I will monitor any changes in this affair and keep everyone posted, of course.

Just out of curiosity, is there someone who can:

1. Create a 3D model of BrainKing logo


2. Give me some advice about Java2D performance issues


3. Find a nice source of free sounds in wav format

?

And, which is more important, the Friends page has been improved by red numbers indicating how many started games to make a move you have with the particular friend, even if he is not online.

And that's really all for this Sunday.

This article should answer some recently asked questions about the current BrainKing action:

• Brains are awarded for every year of purchased membership, so if you order more, you get more. For example, if someone orders 2 years of Brain Rook membership level and the Red Code is active, he receives 2 x 1000 = 2000 Brains.
• The action ends on 30th April 2008 23:59:59 GMT+01:00 (and DST) and it is very unlikely that it would be renewed. On the other hand, who knows that for sure? But it is not recommended to count on it.
• Although it is not mentioned at the bonus list page, a Black Rook order would be equivalent to 10 years of normal Brain Rook, regarding the Brains bonus. So if someone catches the Red Code and orders a Black Rook (which never expires), he should received 10,000 Brains (ten thousand Brains). It is a good opportunity to get enough Brains to activate a Brain Rook level of 10 friends (1 year) or even 16 friends (6 months).

And, as a reminder, the rules of the action follow:

Since we didn't release a special action for several months, time has come to do something about it. The popular system of color codes has been used again, but we don't like just to copy the former idea, so there are some changes - please read on:

This time we are giving a nice amount of free Brains to all participants of this action. When you see a small flashing light bulb on the Main Page, you know a bonus is active and can be used. But don't hesitate for a long time - some bonuses (especially the one which adds 1000 free Brains) can be active only for several minutes. The bonuses can be used only if a purchased membership is for 1 year or longer period and it is a real money payment.

There are at least 2 advantages of getting free Brains instead of free months:

• You receive a little more than before. For instance, the Red Code bonus is 1000 Brains (if a Brain Rook is purchased) and only 960 Brains are needed for 1 year Brain Rook level - the rest (40 Brains) can saved for a later use. If you never heard about Brains before, please read this page.
• It is not mandatory to use the Brains for yourself - it is possible to activate another user's membership with the free Brains.

This action will be active to the end of April 2008.

This is a PR article, published by a BrainKing partner site. It is not related to BrainKing April Action.

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Isn't it great when you have to register somewhere or want to leave just a simple comment below an article, but you finally spend more time to pass a "are you a human?" control than to type what you actually want to submit?

Right. A paranoia of some web site owners (or blog authors) really goes to extremes and the only reason for that is that they desperately want to achieve something what is called "a 100% safe site". It's a myth, of course. Even a CAPTCHA verification can be broken and if it is used in a too wide context, it usually results in being more chaotic than helpful.

I have read a nice article about 10 worst CAPTCHAs which were collected by the article author. It contains really nice examples and although some of them might look like April jokes, all of them were found on real web sites. It seems that somebody invented a great way how to repel normal people, although the original invention was to filter out robot spammers.

And this is my personal favorite. Although I have a degree in mathematics, I doubt that it would be worth recalling my knowledge of solving partial derivations (which is what I had done for the last time 15 years ago):

And the game of the day is created (again) by Andy Lewicki. It is called Big Bang:

---

1. The game is played on a regular chess board.


2. Eight pieces for each side without pawns.


3. Queen and King of each color occupy the central square of the board, Kings and Queens facing each other diagonally. This is the beginning stage. Before the time began, packed, unmanifested energies wait for their Big Bang.


4. White King moves along the main diagonal one step back and at the same time in the quarter of the board he is now, three other white pieces appear, randomly.


5. This step is repeated for the black King and then for the white and black Queen respectively. The difference is, Queens can move any number of squares along the main diagonal.


6. At this stage we have all the pieces "on board" and the process of explosion (Big Bang) is ALMOST completed.


7. Creation forces created also 4 friendly black holes that can be used by either side in the way described below.


8. Now we are in the phase of expanding and creating galaxies. Players move their pieces one by one and trying to gather their pieces at the bottom row of their halves of the board and put the in EXACT traditional chess starting position. Who accomplish this task first, is the winner.


9. Black holes usage: if a player has a chance to move into black hole, he may do this and this friendly black hole can teleport this piece to another black hole which is possibly closer to the place the player would like to be in the present moment of the game. It's my interdimensional travel fantasy transfered into chess.
   
   IMPORTANT: After every usage of the black hole, the system rearranges the position of all 4 black holes.


10. That's the end of creation - galaxies escape each other and who knows what awaits us.

Some additional rules:

• Bishops stand on different colors, like in chess.


• Queens and Kings are positioned closer to opponent's first row.


• If after a Big Bang players occupy opponent's target row, they have to move out of these positions first and cannot move back to this row, to prevent possible endless blocking of the game. This is a race game by nature and blocking can take place only outside of the target rows.


• Pieces placed on player's target row and in correct position are frozen and cannot move anymore.

---

Comments are welcome.