2008.06.13
The Emperor chair to rule them all
Emperor Workstation: Emperor Workstation Belongs in the Death Star, My Office

That's just.. awesome.
But missing motorized wheels, a refridgerator, microwave, .... oh, and a toilet.

from comments in /.

Posted by kn0w1 at 09:18
2007.10.12
see, i don't need a gf
U-Tsu-Shi-O-Mi!
Posted by kn0w1 at 10:32
2007.01.22
the joys of HDCP
HDCP: beta testing DRM on the public?
... The problem isn't isolated to Westinghouse and the PS3, either. Other people have reported that Sony's first-gen stand-alone Blu-ray players and Sharp televisions suffer from similar problems. ...

The Dark Side of HDCP - Why is My PS3 Blinking?
on slashdot.org, FloatsomNJetsom writes: "High Definition Content Protection is supposed to make sure you're not playing pirated content, but sometimes your devices screw up the HDCP 'handshake' (over an HDMI cable) and nothing works. This happens with some regularity with the PS3, and Popular Mechanics investigated and found a quick and dirty workaround. From the article: 'We then checked with Leslie Chard, president of HDMI Licensing, which owns the rights to the standard, who told us that HDCP is one component of HDMI that has been plagued with interoperability issues. HDCP (high-bandwidth digital content protection) is designed to prevent the interception of data — specifically copyrighted Hollywood movies — between an output component and a display. As Steve Balough, the president of Digital Content Protection, the licensing company for HDCP explains, the two pieces of hardware must exchange a key, a sort of certificate of authenticity unique to each individual device, to verify a secure connection.' The problem isn't limited to the PS3 — many HDTV cable boxes and have the same problem. The fix there? Unplugging the power cable."

Posted by kn0w1 at 14:11
2006.02.16
Just say no to HD DVDs, HDMI, AACS, etc. etc.
DriverHeaven.net - New DVDs already sparking copy-protection confusion

"Along with a picture quality upgrade [if you have all the right hardware (video card, supported motherboard, player software, and operating system], the new generation of DVDs will be shipped with new digital rights management controls, with strict computerized rules attached saying exactly when and how a movie can be played."

Can't wait for some movie studio accidentally sets the wrong or too many of the flags to allowyou to watch the disc when they want to allow you to; and you cannot get your display back.

Posted by kn0w1 at 20:46
2005.10.25
National Geographic: Inside a Tornado
http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0506/feature6/multimedia.html

It's a technological first. A well-placed probe fitted with 7 video cameras—6 with a 60-degree field-of-view designed to achieve a full 360-degree field-of-view (one failed during deployment, resulting in a 300-degree field-of-view) and one pointing upward—captures footage inside a tornado, providing visual data on ground wind speeds where the storm does the greatest damage. And Tim Samaras with his team of storm chasers are there to make it happen.

Thanks to Tyrell for the link.

Posted by kn0w1 at 21:57
2005.08.10
Remote-controlled humans enhance immersive games
oh yeah.. this sounds like a really good idea ...
I can just hear it though: In Soviet Russia, game controls you!

DriverHeaven.net - Remote-controlled humans enhance immersive games

Original Source: New Scientist

Posted by kn0w1 at 17:53
2005.06.03
blarg
Posted by kn0w1 at 20:36
a whole ton o' stuff
A ton of interesting links (if only at the time), I've accumulated and not had time to post.. and posting here.... umm.. just because? easier to search/find? i dunno ... 2005.03.07 2005.03.08 2005.03.09 2005.03.11 2005.03.12 2005.03.14 2005.03.15 2005.03.16 2005.03.17 2005.03.18 2005.03.30 2005.03.31 2005.04.01
  • World of Warcraft Performance Guide - Nebu on 3/31/05: The technology website Anandtech has posted an extensive hardware performance guide for World of Warcraft.
  • Google Gulp!
  • World of Bookkeeping
  • iTreoPod
  • Blizzard Teams with Pandaren Xpress - Indoflaven on 4/01/05: Blizzard Entertainment, in conjunction with the Pandaren Xpress® chain of quality restaurants, is proud to announce the /panda program! Don't let the inconvenience of eating impede you from reaching your Maximum Gaming Potential! Click here to read more!
2005.04.03 2005.04.04 2005.04.05 2005.04.06 2005.04.11 2005.04.13 2005.04.18 2005.04.19 2005.04.20 2005.04.21 2005.04.22 2005.04.25 2005.04.26 2005.04.27 2005.04.28 2005.04.29 2005.05.03 2005.05.05 2005.05.12 2005.05.15 2005.05.16 2005.05.17 2005.05.19 2005.05.30 2005.05.31 2005.06.01 2005.06.02
Posted by kn0w1 at 20:16
2004.06.23
news .. mostly 'Out of the Blue'
New 'Out of the Blue' For fun ...
Posted by kn0w1 at 21:56
2004.06.09
Venus Transit
Pictures of Venus Crossing the Sun Tuesday (Warning: I'm told this site has a bunch of popups. --why are ppl still using a browser w/o popup control!??)

CSIRO agency from Canberra, Australia has a streaming video file from their webcam.

Posted by kn0w1 at 01:02
2004.05.21
and now some news
- an anti-HIV? (Wired, /. )
- Metal Rubber
- first Waste-to-Oil plant going online
- grow new teeth with stem cells
- High Tech Dentistry
- i would have thought the trend might somehow be on the decline now, but no.. Spending Soars for Kids' Behavior Drugs :-\
- hrmm.. we got plenty last year, haven't seen any this year.. yet.. Noisy, Flying Cicadas to Swarm Across U.S.
- violets are red, roses are blue
- OK, our little splurge of fun, online tests a couple months ago was kinda fun, but i didn't think it was newsworthy...
- and you might want to check the condition of your (older) CDs ...
- and you thought VoIP was cool? How about Wi-Fi phones?
- let us redefine how Chinese should be written...
- even dinosaurs can't have too many holes in their heads? (just kidding) (Wired, CNN)
- ooh, where can I get some Liquid Body Armor
Posted by kn0w1 at 02:55
2004.03.12
Go CajunBot!
Goin' win for dat Silicon Bayou, ah Geh-ron-tee! (well, maybe)

From TechTV's TechLive

Cajunbot's DARPA Hopes
We've shown you robotic vehicles on two wheels. We've shown you robotic vehicles on four wheels. Tonight on "Tech Live," meet the team from Louisiana hoping to enter the DARPA Grand Challenge with a six-wheel robotic vehicle.

http://www.cajunbot.com
http://www.cajunbotjournal.com
(i think the above are just about all the same)

http://us.cnn.com/2004/TECH/ptech/03/09/darpa.race/ (w/ video clip)

googling for CajunBot also turns up a few things :)

They only started to design it in November ..

:)

Posted by kn0w1 at 10:52
2003.11.10
eclipse
It was cold, but it was kinda fun watching the eclipse
Posted by kn0w1 at 13:49
2003.10.08
New dual-layer DVD+R technology developed
Dang.. just when i was about to get a DVD burner.. (they're down to even $110 now.. $144 for a Pioneer 106 (oem version of A06)), they had to go and announce this.
/. - Dual Layer DVD+R Developed
DVD+RW Alliance - New dual-layer DVD+R technology developed by Philips in cooperation with MKM increases DVD recordable capacity to 8.5 Gbytes
Posted by kn0w1 at 18:26
2003.08.14
Diamonds are an AI's best friend
Wired 11.09: The New Diamond Age

I just got the latest issue of Wired in the mail this past weekend and read this really good article.
Thanks to /. for finding/posting the on-line version so that i can share it with y'all. I would say it's an important read.. 1) for the technology that this could/will lead to (diamond semiconductors), and 2) for what it may do to the diamond industry (DeBeers). You don't get the same pics tho.. so maybe i will scan those in and put them up here later (in comments).

Posted by kn0w1 at 01:09
2003.08.08
earth_lights pic
You've probably seen this pic, but I saw it again (with a few interesting notes) in a comment to Slashdot | An Enlightened Look at an Over-Lighted World.

NASA image of man-made light. (Score:5, Insightful)
by Alsee (515537) Alter Relationship on 2003.08.07 19:33 (#6640632)
(http://slashdot.org/) Ah, a perfect opportunity to post a link to my favorite NASA photo! [nasa.gov] It is a composite image called the Earth at Night. It shows the intensity of man-made light on earth. The brighness level is a facinating combination of population density and economic development.

An interesting feature is the the Nile river on the top right corner of Africa. Each bank of the river is densly populated, beyond that is uninhabitable desert. That makes it an insanely narrow bright white line in the middle of the pitch black desert.

Another interesting feature is North/South Korea. They are just to the left of super-bright Japan. South Korea is a bright square just below North Korea. North Korea is a pitch-black area. The dividing line of bright to dark is like a knife-edge. North Korea is so dark it looks like empty ocean, making South Korea look almost like an island.

North Korea and South Korea have roughly equal population density. The entire difference is due to development. South Korea is quite prosperous while North Korea is suffering famines while they allocate a crushing 30% of their gross national product to supporting the third largest army in the world (China has the largest, USA is second). North Korea says they want to "Liberate".

-
- -Of course /. stories are slanted. If it wasn't slanted it'd be |.

Posted by kn0w1 at 21:16
2003.05.20
Einstein Archives Online
Einstein Archives Online

The Einstein Archives Online Website provides the first online access to Albert Einstein’s scientific and non-scientific manuscripts held by the Albert Einstein Archives at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and to an extensive Archival Database, constituting the material record of one of the most influential intellects in the modern era.

Posted by kn0w1 at 20:01
2003.02.20
new meaning to the term microbrewery ?
well.. maybe not, but these are still quite interesting (and they have been proposed before.. using genetically engineered bacteria i believe):
  • BBC NEWS | In Depth | Denver 2003 | Biology to make mini machines
  • NewsFactor: Sci : Tech : Yeast Protein could make New Chip Material
    Posted by kn0w1 at 12:55
    • 2003.02.17
    speak now if you do NOT want a "broadcast flag" in your digital tv

    I got this from DigitalConsumer.org yesterday. I'm posting it here for the benefit of those who are not subscribed to their mailing list.

    It's very easy to respond and/or add/change the message. I added a little bit about how this provides absolutely NO benefit to us consumers (the goddam supposed customers) and only makes things more difficult for us. Plus how media companies have repeatedly been over-paranoid (if that's possible) about all new technology (VCR, cassette tapes, DAT (which they probably effectively killed) and how their paranoia has NEVER panned out. (For those who don't know, every cassette tape you bought (anybody still buy them? seeing as how CD-R/RW are the new "tape"), you paid a "piracy tax" on.. to cover The Industry's losses from people making tapes of LPs (and perhaps by extension, CDs; or maybe even other "performances" and recordings. i've not seen the actual text). In Canada, this tax (Private Copying Tarrif [wired.com]) has already been passed/updated to include CD-Rs (and hard drives too?).)


    And I wonder whatever happened with the issue a Congressman had brought up probably over a year ago.. If we're paying this tax already to cover their supposed losses.. why are they claiming losses still? or/and if they get their way with DRM, copy-"protected" CDs and shit.. then they've protected their losses and they shouldn't be covered anymore, right?


    Anyway, here's the email:


    DigitalConsumer.org Action Alert:

    Posted by kn0w1 at 11:29
    2003.02.14
    things that make you go hmmm....
    Global Warming Causing Genetic Changes

    Scientists have detected the first signs of genetic change occurring in mammals as a result of global warming, raising concerns about how average temperature increases could affect humans. "We found some of the first evidence that organisms are actually evolving in response to climate change," said study author Stan Boutin, a biologist at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

    Posted by kn0w1 at 10:35
    2003.02.01
    whoa... sadness
    Space Shuttle Apparently Disintegrates (AP)

    Rough way to start the New Year... :_(

    Posted by kn0w1 at 10:38
    2003.01.30
    hello ASIMO
    ASIMO North American Educational Tour - Say Hello to ASIMO
    Tour Schedule
    Posted by kn0w1 at 15:03
    2002.12.31
    petri-dish meat and non-wooden paper
    New Scientist - Lab-grown steaks nearing the menu
    /.

    ah.. biotech...
    I've also wondered why we haven't grown wood/paper in a lab..
    or at least plastic/inorganic paper (/.)... might help cut down the amount of trees we kill and they might be more recyclable than paper.. except that plastic and stuff isn't particularly biodegradable. and uh.. you shouldn't burn them.

    Posted by kn0w1 at 16:38
    2002.12.11
    Norsam's High Density Rosetta (HD-Rosetta)
    Came across this in the comments to a /. article (Large IDE Drives as Long-Term Archival Media?). It's pretty interesting.
    Norsam Technologies - HD Rosetta Data Preservation
    Posted by kn0w1 at 13:52
    2002.12.09
    carbon-based circuits
    Carbon Chip Breakthrough May Crush Silicon

    i suppose it's only organic insofar as it is carbon-based, but i wonder how much better this is for the environment if "Polythiophenes are 'much like many of the plastic materials we come into contact with daily: styrofoam, polyethylene, polypropylene and the rubbery base material for chewing gums,' Ong said. His team's compound is a so-called 'smectic liquid crystal' made of polythiophene." and.. is it as fast? faster? lower power?

    Posted by kn0w1 at 18:22
    2002.10.30
    splashpower

    Splashpower - powering the future

    This is pretty neat. Especially if you have mobile devices.. isn't it a bit of a tangling mess? all those wires and AC adaptors..

    From Splashpower Announces Universal Wireless Recharging [palmblvd.com].

    Speaking of Palms, i've been fairly impressed by the new Tungsten T (and very UNimpressed by the Zire) looks rather interesting: high-res screen (320x320), 16MB RAM, 174MHz ARM CPU, Palm OS 5, 5-way controller/button thingy, and it can be "closed" to a more compact size (4in x 3in). Also has Bluetooth built-in, but as of now that bit's not too useful. oh, and it also has a built-in microphone for voice memo recording and headphone plug (for mp3 playback if/when they decide on that software). i'm thinking it should also have a small, basic speaker.

    Posted by kn0w1 at 23:18
    2002.10.23
    well ain't this a cool do-hicky
    Logitech io Personal Digital Pen (thanks to /.)

    Similar to the Seiko's SmartPads and InkLink, but without needing a PDA. You just write and stick the pen into a cradle (just as one would stick a PDA into a cradle) and your stuff is downloaded. Unfortunately, it requires a "digital notebook" with "digital paper" because "a tiny camera in the pen registers the pen's movement across the grid surface on the paper and stores it as series of map coordinates. These coordinates correspond to the exact location of the page you're writing on." (Hardware FAQ) Whereas the SmartPads seem work just like your regular graphics tablet and the InkLink is just even cooler; and they both can use any ol' paper.
    I think I will still prefer the InkLink, especially since it clips to any pad of paper. It is also only $100 vs. $200 for the io pen. (SmartPad: $100, SmartPad2: $150)

    Posted by kn0w1 at 14:22
    2002.10.22
    Why Not a 40-MPG SUV?

    Saw this article in MIT's Technology Review: Why Not a 40-MPG SUV?

    Technology exists to double gas guzzlers' fuel efficiency. So what's the holdup?


    Yeah.. While hybrid engines are kinda cool.. I have always wondered why we were supposed to be impressed (if we were supposed to be) by the Honda Insight or Toyota Prius.. i mean.. 50mpg on a hybrid engine.. whoopee. VW Jetta TDIs get almost that much (34-49) I recall the Honda Civic VX could get 50mpg back in 1987 (A Honda Civic History [edmunds.com])! These are regular gasoline/diesel engines.

    As the opening paragraph says, "To get a sense of the auto industry's progress in fuel efficiency, look no further than the 2002 Chevy Blazer. The model with automatic transmission, six cylinders, and four-wheel drive gets 18 miles per gallon (mpg), two miles less than a comparably equipped Blazer did in 1985. Indeed, in those 17 years the average fuel economy of the entire fleet of U.S. cars and light trucks declined from 26 mpg to 24 mpg ..."


    A very interesting read. a lot of technology that's already been around, here, or in university labs. They're not even all that astounding and exotic as hydrogen, gas-electric hybrids, solar, or all-electrics; just the logical evolution of developing more efficient engines like the starter-generator, a camless engine, and continuously variable transmissions (which has actually been around for quite a while and are (or have been) in some vehicles (just not a lot of them)).

    In the same issue, there was mention of Stephen Choi and his team at Argonne National Laboratory adding nanometer-sized copper and carbon nanotubes to radiator fluid to boost the cooling power (more than double so far). The problem ('til now) has been making particles small enough that they don't settle or abrade the engine. (I'd have linked to it here, but it seems that part of the Prototype section is for subscribers only (which i can recommend as it is a good magazine)).

    Posted by kn0w1 at 08:48
    2002.10.15
    Kodak shows off 15" OLED

    Democrat & Chronicle: Kodak shows off new flat-panel screen

    cool... so hopefully they will have been out and come down in price when it's time to get a new laptop.. well, when it's time to really neeed to get a new laptop.

    Posted by kn0w1 at 20:41
    2002.10.10
    Mr. Fusion

    well, almost
    Food scraps could help power homes (New Scientist) and Battery powered by leftover food (BBC NEWS). (/.)


    This is the second time this week that something you've seen in sci-fi become non-fi (well, almost in this case, but definitely in this case (/.) (for those who remember the show, Seaquest DSV)).

    Posted by kn0w1 at 16:56
    2002.10.08
    3.5lb of Na

    good grief.. 3.5 pounds of sodium.. Darwin awards anyone?
    (since the site> is already slashdotted, someone posted the text in comments: Sodium Private Lake = Fun)

    Posted by kn0w1 at 23:47