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Submission + - Fuel-cell, electric plug-in and solar powered car (motorauthority.com)

Submitted by autofan1
autofan1 writes: VW's latest supermini features a new high-temp fuel-cell powerplant with lithium-ion batteries as well as an electric power plug and solar cells in the roof for extra power. This car could potentially run forever without the need for any fossil fuels.
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Police arrest teen for "virtual furniture" (expatica.com)

Submitted by
ekes
ekes writes: "According to the German Press Agency (DPA) Dutch police have arrested a teenager and are questioning four more about the "theft" of "virtual furniture" from the online Habbo Hotel http://www.habbo.com/hotel
A police spokesman said the suspects will be charged on two accounts: hacking and burglary.

English report on Expatica http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=45939"
Robotics

South Korea to Build Robot Theme Parks 125

Posted by samzenpus from the a-robot-may-not-let-a-human-ride-unless-they-are-at-least-this-tall dept.
coondoggie writes "South Korea officials today said they hope to build two robot theme parks for $1.6 billion by 2013. The parks will feature a number of attractions that let visitors interact with robots and test new products. "The two cities will be developed as meccas for the country's robot industry, while having amusement park areas, exhibition halls and stadiums where robots can compete in various events," the ministry said. The theme parks are not a big surprise because South Korea loves its robots. Earlier this year the government of South Korea said it was drawing up a code of ethics to prevent human abuse of robots — and vice versa."
Biotech

Submission + - Trees that Eat Pollution (nih.gov)

Submitted by TTest
TTest writes: Kinda like in Fern Gully... only real. Scientists at the University of Washington are reporting the creation of fast-growing, pollutant-eating poplar trees. According to a NIH press release, the trees rapidly absorb and break down cancer-causing hydrocarbons from the air and soil around them. The original research publication also mentions that the trees may be cheaper than conventional waste clean-up techniques, prevent erosion, capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and can be harvested to make biofuel or paper.
Space

Submission + - NASA Delays 4th Spacewalk (techluver.com)

Submitted by
Tech.Luver
Tech.Luver writes: "NASA canceled a spacewalk Wednesday as it scrambled to deal with two power problems at the international space station. The spacewalk set for Thursday was supposed to deal with a malfunctioning rotary joint for the solar wings on the right side of the space station. Instead, the astronauts were informed that their next spacewalk would be Friday -at the earliest-and involve work with the station's ripped solar wing. Both issues are competing for the precious little spacewalking time that's left in Discovery's mission, which already was extended a day after the joint problem cropped up last weekend. The problems could delay future missions and make it even harder to finish building the orbiting outpost before the space shuttles must be retired. ( http://techluver.com/2007/10/31/nasa-delays-4th-spacewalk/ )"
Games

Game Reviews are Broken? 168

Posted by Zonk from the plz-fix-k-thnks dept.
Kotaku is running an opinion piece looking at the process of reviewing videogames, and comes to the conclusion that the whole system is entirely broken. Author Mark Wilson takes potshots at the concept of assigning a numerical valuation to a game, and the emphasis on product reviews rather than content reviews. "If there is no such thing as a perfect game, when why the hell are you scoring out of 100? It's not just PC Gamer that thinks this way--most publications, even those who do give out 'perfect' scores, do so begrudgingly. It's as if the developer has somehow cheated and broken their system. The movie reviewers solved this problem a long time ago. That's why most adopted a simpler rating system in which a 4-star movie didn't imply 'perfection' but supreme excellence. In most cases, games are penalized through being divided by a sum that they can never possibly reach."
Microsoft

Submission + - DirectX 10 is Dying (extremetech.com)

Submitted by ChristmasOnMars
ChristmasOnMars writes: ExtremeTech's Joel Durahm points out that DirectX 10 is a dog, noting that Microsoft made a lot of promises that aren't coming true. "I haven't noticed much of a performance improvement, or the promised visual splendor, that Microsoft seems to think DirectX 10 provides. So far, in most games, engaging DirectX 10 mode cripples them on all but the most powerful computers."
Power

Submission + - Are We in a Speculative Bubble with Regard to Oil? (theoildrum.com)

Submitted by
Prof. Goose
Prof. Goose writes: "Maybe the two most common explanations (or myths) about high oil prices are:

1. oil companies are manipulating prices
2. speculators are driving prices up

Of course, these two explanations are satisfying our natural impulse to find scapegoats rather than facing the depressing facts of fossil fuel depletion. Let's debunk them with some data.

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/3157"
The Military

Submission + - Wireless micro-sensors prevent jet engine failures (networkworld.com)

Submitted by
coondoggie
coondoggie writes: "Researchers at Purdue University are teaming with the US Air Force to develop tiny wireless sensors tough enough to survive the harsh conditions inside jet engines to detect when critical bearings are close to failing, shut them down and prevent breakdowns or crashes. The researchers have shown that the new sensors can detect impending temperature-induced bearing failure significantly earlier than conventional sensors. The sensors could be in use in a few years in military aircraft such as fighter jets and helicopters but the technology also has potential applications in commercial products, including aircraft and cars — anything with an engine. In addition, the sensors could be used in aerospace applications to monitor bearings in satellite attitude control wheels to keep the satellites in position. http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/21349"
Communications

Submission + - The Pirate Bay developing new P2P protocol to repl (blorge.com)

Submitted by
mlauzon
mlauzon writes: "(TITLE SHOULD READ:The Pirate Bay developing new P2P protocol to replace BitTorrent)


The Pirate Bay, one of the largest BitTorrent trackers in the world, is reported to be actively working on developing a new peer to peer file sharing protocol. The reason? Brokep, One of the head honchos at TPB, claims that BitTorrent as a protocol won't last longer than 12 months. Brokep was interviewed at a conference over the weekend by German website Netzpolitick.org and spoke about The Pirate Bay, and it's future plans for world domination. When asked about the future of the site, he revealed:

"I think we will still grow for a couple of months or maybe a year, and I don't think Bittorrent as a protocol will survive much longer. So if our new protocol works, we will be one of the big websites still. If it doesn't, maybe someone else takes over."

"The biggest problem is that it's owned by the Bittorrent company, which developes new versions of it. So we don't have any input as users to say what we want in the protocol. And Bittorrent is funded by companies which we don't necessarily like as well."
It seems that The Pirate Bay aren't too happy with BitTorrent Inc. and it's recent decision to make some newer additions to the client closed source. They also want to develop a new protocol which will better fend off the increasing incidents of anti-piracy organisations and spammers from affecting the flow of file sharing. The rest of the interview doesn't really reveal any secrets or surprises but this is big news. The BitTorrent protocol has revolutionised the trade in illegal files over the Internet. Which is why sites such as TPB are so intent on keeping the flow going, and why organisations like the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) are so intent on shutting them down and disrupting their activities. The Pirate Bay pirates (for want of a better description) are already working on the new client, but a release of any kind is unlikely until next year."

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