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With uniform pieces and diagonal moves, checkers is simple enough for a child to learn. But to achieve absolute mastery of the game, scientists needed to run hundreds of computers for nearly 20 years, analyzing roughly 500 billion billion scenarios.

By completing the project, a team of Canadian researchers have officially "solved" checkers, creating an unbeatable program that will choose the best move in every possible situation. This achievement represents a major benchmark in the field of artificial intelligence, which uses games to develop complex problem-solving strategies for computers.

In 1994, a program named Chinook beat the reigning human world checkers champion, a feat that preceded Deep Blue's famous chess defeat of grandmaster Gerry Kasparov by three years. But even after proving dominant over humans, finishing the calculations required to solve the game required thirteen more years of research.

"Had I known 18 years ago it was this big of a problem, I probably would've done something else," said Jonathan Schaeffer, who led the project at the University of Alberta, "but once I started, I had to finish."

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Extreme Tech is having a month-long computer case mod contest. Each week the site picks a winner and then on August 20 they will announce the grand prize winner.

Last week's winner was this amazing Dragon Case, a computer case carved out of Black Walnut and painted. This thing is a work of art, especially the dragon. Hit the link for the case description and more photos of both the Dragon Case and the runners' up.

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LOLZ

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Somehow, it seems as though guitar controllers for the home console department are getting more and more popular and realistic, and this has driven people who are great with their hands to create their own versions of a guitar controller. Here we have a defunct Sega Dreamcast masquerading as a guitar, featuring a trio of strings (the other three broke). It looks pretty dreamy, but chances are the sound won't be up to par but passable instead. Sad to see a great console like the Dreamcast being relegated to guitar fodder now. One thing's for sure though, creativity isn't quite dead just yet, and you would probably agree with me that this Dreamcast Guitar would look great when placed beside the Guitar Heronoid.

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CNet has the news that Microsoft is currently aiming to release the next version of the Windows operating system in about three years. Previously known as Vienna, the OS is now simply known internally as '7'. After achieving a quality product, the article states, Microsoft's big goal with 7 is to recapture a regular release schedule for their operating system product. From the article: "Like Vista, Windows 7 will ship in consumer and business versions, and in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. The company also confirmed that it is considering a subscription model to complement Windows, but did not provide specifics or a time frame. Next up on Microsoft's agenda is Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista, which is expected before year's end. The discussion of Windows' future isn't surprising, given that Microsoft has been criticized by business customers for delays related to Vista. Many business customers pay for Microsoft's software under a license agreement called Software Assurance."

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My Wild Night as Santa's Elf

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Would You Believe It? Scientists Discover Sleep-Kicking Gene

Scientists may have pinpointed the gene that increases the chances that people will kick in their sleep. If your sleeping partner has this gene in their DNA, it may be time to get a bigger bed. 

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