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Filed under: Fun, Games

Enthusiast posts source code for 13 Atari classics...legally?

Ever wanted to get your hands on the original code to the Atari source code to such classic games as Commando, Joust, and Xevious? Well, now you can, though definitely not through official channels as Inquisitr reported.

Rather, it's a result of the trashcan rescue efforts of an Atari enthusiast. As he points out beneath the download links, "these wouldn't exist if I hadn't of climbed into a filthy dumpster at 3am in the morning behind the old Atari building in Sunnyvale and salvaged them and restored them from their diskettes."

Unfortunately, just because Atari threw out the disks and they became public property as a result that doesn't mean the source code contained on them is up for grabs. As a commenter on Slashdot points out, an author can throw out a copy of his or her own book without forfeiting the copyright.

Either way, it only matters if Atari decides it does. There's plenty of money to be made porting classic games to more modern platforms like the iPhone, Wii, and just about every other device with a few extra ounces of processing power.

Is a takedown notice forthcoming? We'll probably find out soon. With the noise on Slashdot and coverage elsewhere, Atari has no doubt heard about this already.

[via Programmer Fish]

Filed under: OS Updates, Google, Open Source, Mobile, Android

Google Android source code now available

Android SourceGoogle released an SDK for the Android mobile operating system a few months ago. But with the first Android-powered phone set to go on sale tomorrow, Google went all out and released the source code today.

This isn't a surprise. Google has long stated that it would make the source code for the operating system available, but now that it is, developers can do far more than create applications that will run on Android. They can help improve the operating system overall by submitting potential new features, bug fixes, or other ideas.

The software license also allows developers to port Android to run on additional devices (Perhaps your old Palm TX? Maybe an Eee PC?), or to develop custom versions of the operating system. Don't like the version of Android that ships with the T-Mobile G1? Maybe Verizon or Spring will have a phone that runs a completely different operating system built on the same source code.

You can check out a video introducing the open source project after the break.

[via Techmeme]

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