Comment Re:it's not green (Score 1) 404
Does "the TFA" say anything about RAS syndrome?
Comment Don't you mean Phone Shack? (Score 1) 3
These days I don't even recognize Radio Shack anymore. I just walk through the mall and see AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, Phone Shack. It looks like they ditched their inventory of build-it-yourself parts for the home electronics enthusiast and now the whole store (or at least the front half to lure people in) just has mobile phones and accessories.
Sure, mobile phones are technically radios, but I'm just bummed that I no longer have a place in town where I can pick up a transistor, relay, diode, potentiometer, etc... Radio Shack was always the first (and only) place that came to mind when I needed something like that. Now they're useless to me.
But maybe enough people do have an interest in their mobile stuff to keep them alive today.
Sure, mobile phones are technically radios, but I'm just bummed that I no longer have a place in town where I can pick up a transistor, relay, diode, potentiometer, etc... Radio Shack was always the first (and only) place that came to mind when I needed something like that. Now they're useless to me.
But maybe enough people do have an interest in their mobile stuff to keep them alive today.
Submission + - Why is Radio Shack still around? (theonion.com) 3
henrym writes: "While The Onion's recent article about the continual survial of Radio Shack is meant to be funny, it does raise a good point. What are the secrets of this chain's success? What has kept them alive and profitable long after the demise of competitors such as "Circuit City" and CompUSA?"
Submission + - Guitar and drum playing robots win music contest (teamdare.mine.nu)
An anonymous reader writes: On Thursday, April 23th, a team of eight former students from the Eindhoven University of Technology, won first prize in the international Artemis Orchestra Contest in Nice, France. The multi-disciplinary team built a guitar and drum playing robot that can be controlled by a human music conductor. A team from the University of Adelaide won second prize with their Robotic 48-key Stagi 'English' Tenor Concertina, while a Finnish team came third with a flute and keyboard playing robot.
Comment Prank (Score 1) 521
Check out the angle of the shadow cast by the truss... This must have been projected from somewhere in the crowd. Somebody snuck in a prototype of their miniaturized laser projector.
Submission + - 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR Mustang is the new Kitt o (streetimportonline.com)
An anonymous reader writes: NBC is reviving the old Knight Rider franchise, and revamping KITT! Instead of being a trick Trans-Am, the new and improved KITT is a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR. Can't wait to see if this is a worthwhile remake or yet another flop. On a side note the Hoff man is making an appearance as of course, the original Michael Knight!
http://streetimportonline.com/sio/2008-ford-shelby-gt500kr-mustang-is-the-new-kitt-on-nbcs-knight-rider.html
http://streetimportonline.com/sio/2008-ford-shelby-gt500kr-mustang-is-the-new-kitt-on-nbcs-knight-rider.html
Submission + - First reflected light from an exoplanet
Roland Piquepaille writes: "European astronomers have for the first time ever been able to detect and monitor the visible light that is scattered in the atmosphere of an exoplanet, HD 189733b, which is also known as a 'hot Jupiter,' and orbits a star slightly cooler and less massive than the Sun located about 60 light-years from Earth. According to this ETH Zurich news release, 'Polarization technique focuses limelight,' the researchers used 'techniques similar to how Polaroid sunglasses filter away reflected sunlight to reduce glare. They also directly traced the orbit of the planet, a feat of visualization not possible using indirect methods.' The team thinks that their findings are opening new opportunities for exploring physical conditions on exoplanets. But read more for additional references and a great picture of this exoplanet."
Submission + - Automatically Calibrating Projector System
Eliot writes: I thought this was a really cool system submitted to Hack-a-Day which allows you to quickly calibrate any size of projection on any size of screen. It uses concealed light sensors to detect the loction of all the pixels on the screen after a quick calibration. This allows for the projector to send about 2 seconds of flashing bars and then the projector will automatically adjust to fit the screen. With some knowledge of the geometry they even show it being used on a 3-D car, also, they use it to merge two different projections onto one screen.
Hack-A-Day link: http://www.hackaday.com/2007/11/15/automatic-projector-calibration/
The video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgrGjJUBF_I
The PDF of the project is here: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/academic/proj4.pdf
Hack-A-Day link: http://www.hackaday.com/2007/11/15/automatic-projector-calibration/
The video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgrGjJUBF_I
The PDF of the project is here: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/academic/proj4.pdf
Submission + - Laser Humvee, Real Rail Guns Ready for Military (popularmechanics.com)
mattnyc99 writes: Some cool news today about lasers and the military—not just gee-whiz, though, because it really sounds like this stuff is going to happen. Boeing just tested a massive laser-mounted Humvee that scorched through the casing of an IED to blow it up before it could detonate by sending an invisible beam 20 times hotter than your electric stovetop—then burned through a couple UAVs for kicks (and to let the Pentagon know it's serious about this laser thing). But for the sci-fi nerds, this is this is the ah-ha stuff: Real-world rail guns are finally here, with enough energy now to launch a solid, nonexplosive projectile at incredible speed across extreme distances—and the Navy is snatching them up. From the article: "BAE Systems and the Navy see rail guns as a perfect match for electrically driven vessels such as the DDG 1000 destroyer, using the onboard capacitors for power. The Marines, in particular, are interested in the potential for railguns to deliver supporting fire from hundreds of miles away, with rounds landing more quickly and with less advance warning than a volley of Tomahawk cruise missiles."
PS3 Gets DivX Support, Coming Soon to Xbox 360 117
Mpegged writes "The popular DivX video codec will soon be supported on the PlayStation 3 via a future firmware update. DivX CEO Kevin Hell also hinted that support is coming to the 360 as well. 'During the SMid Cap conference call with investment firm JP Morgan, Hell was asked if the recent deal that will see DivX codecs shipped with new versions of Microsoft's standalone Media Center Extenders means that such support will also be arriving on the Xbox 360. "Yes!" was his immediate reply, although he quickly qualified that confirmation with a disclaimer that the deal was still in the negotiation process and had not yet been finalized.'"
Submission + - Patterns in Lottery Numbers (omninerd.com)
markmcb writes: "Most everyone is familiar with the concept of the lottery, i.e., random numbers are selected and people guess what they will be for a cash prize. But how random are the numbers? Matt Vea has conducted a pattern analysis of the MegaMillions lottery, which recently offered a sum of $370M (USD) to the winner. Matt shows that the lottery isn't as random as it may seem and that there are 'better' choices than others to be made when selecting numbers. From the article, 'A single dollar in MegaMillions purchases a 1 in 175,711,536 chance of landing the jackpot ... a player stands a mildly better chance of winning a partial prize through the selection of weighted numbers.'"
Submission + - Why did Stephen Hawking cross the road? (blogspot.com)
iheartkiiki writes: "Stephen Hawking was crossing a highway in his wheelchair when he became stuck in a semi-trailer's grille and was pushed for miles before the unknowing driver was pulled over, police said on Thursday.
His wheelchair became hooked onto the front grille of the truck, which reached 50 mph during the 4-mile trip down the highway. Witnesses reported that the light turned green, so the truck took off, never seeing the wheelchair in front of him.
Hawking's deteriorating health limits his movement, and he uses a hi-tech gadget to communicate by blinking. Reports are coming in that witnesses saw Hawking blinking like crazy as the truck took off from the intersection.
Hawking thankfully escaped unharmed, blinking, "It was quite a ride," police said."
