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Student Killed By Exploding Gum 10

Posted by samzenpus from the last-chew dept.
A 25-year-old Ukrainian student, who had a habit of dipping his chewing gum in citric acid, died when the gum he was chewing exploded. An examination of the gum showed that it was covered in an explosive substance. Officers found citric acid packets and a substance which looked similar, believed to be some kind of explosive material, on a table near the young man. It is suspected that the student forgot which packet was which.

Comment Re:I could see buying one (Score 1) 462

by dsyu (#28582759) Attached to: New Video of Tesla's Mass-Market Electric Car

I personally don't like the big video screen being used for controls. In my "analog" car I can change the radio station, adjust the temperature, and turn on the AC with convenient knobs and buttons that I know where to find without even looking and I get good tactile response. My in-law's Lexus has a smaller screen to do this and it was always in the wrong mode and difficult for the driver to quickly change the temperature or radio due to having to change modes.

That said, the screen would be nice for watching videos, but please, not to control the car's functions.

I completely agree. The touch-screen panel reminds me of the BMW iDrive system -- it's technically neat, but flawed in practice. I'd rather not be touching buttons on a touch screen or dialing around to navigate menus while driving for my own (and others') safety.
PlayStation (Games)

Sony Makes It Hard To Develop For the PS3 On Purpose 616

Posted by Soulskill from the how's-that-working-out-for-you dept.
adeelarshad82 writes "CNet reports on a bizarre comment from Sony's Computer Entertainment CEO in response to complaints from developers on how hard it is to develop games for the Playstation 3. 'We don't provide the "easy to program for" console that (developers) want, because "easy to program for" means that anybody will be able to take advantage of pretty much what the hardware can do, so then the question is, what do you do for the rest of the nine-and-a-half years?' Given that games heavily drive console sales, and the fact that the PS3 is already 8 million units behind the Xbox 360, I think making a developer's job harder is the last thing Sony needs."

Comment Re:Just a thought... (Score 1) 151

by Jace of Fuse! (#20861025) Attached to: Adding Capsaicin Improves Anesthetic Treatment
Bell Peppers are not Capsicums, I'm pretty sure.

Capsicums include some pretty violently hot (and delicious) peppers, such as the Bhut Jolokia.

I was able to obtain some Bhut Jolokia seeds and will be attempting to grow them next year. :)

As for your claim that the word "pepper" is reserved for peppercorns, I'm pretty sure http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/ might disagree. But that is probably, as you say, a difference in common names and probably a regional thing.

Comment Re:Like I care? (Score 5, Insightful) 103

by dsyu (#20469437) Attached to: Analysts See 80GB PS3 Dropping To $499 For Holidays
So why should anyone care about the PS3? The zealots who got them got them already, and all the rest are just not gonna care, get a Wii (gameplay) or get an XBox (more games and similar "oohh, shiny" graphics)

For some, it's a case where we're assuming (maybe foolishly) that the PS3 will eventually have some interesting and unique games that are otherwise unavailable on any of the other platforms. Examples of this for the PS2 for me would be Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Ratchet and Clank, etc.

It's akin to asking why anyone bothered buying an original XBox, when there were so many more titles for the PS2? If you were a Halo fan, the answer was obvious.
User Journal

Journal Journal: The Death of the iTunes Music Store? 2

Journal by larry bagina
The Drudge Report is reporting that Universal Music Group (the largest record company) will not be renewing their contract with iTMS. Universal, you may remember, is being paid a license fee for every Zune sold and was widely rumored to be demanding the same concession from Apple.
Displays

Submission + - Tangible display makes 3D touchable 2

Submitted by moon_monkey
moon_monkey writes: Researchers in Japan have developed a display that makes 3D objects solid enough to grasp. The system, created by engineers at Japan's NTT, combines a 3D display with a haptic glove, making 3D items that look real but also feel solid to touch. Two cameras are used to image an object, to make the 3D image. A computer also uses this to render a solid representation. It could be used to inspect products remotely, or even to shake hands with someone on the other side of the world, the researchers say
Media

Submission + - Thousands of rubber ducks to finally end journey (dailymail.co.uk)

Submitted by
Bert de Jong
Bert de Jong writes: "From the I-WANT-one-of-those! dept. The Daily Mail writes to report that thousands of rubber ducks who have traveled the seas of the world since 1992 are about to end their journey. After escaping out of a container fallen off a Chinese freight ship in a storm, scientists have followed them which turned out to be an invaluable source of information for studying ocean currents. Now it seems inevitable though that they will finally land on the shores of South-West England. Expect to see high bids on E-Bay soon, and beware of phoney ones!"

Nintendo Awarded Patent for Instant Messaging 67

Posted by Zonk from the seems-a-little-vague dept.
Zwzo writes "Nintendo has been awarded a patent for a video game messaging service that utilizes a buddy list and can display information about game activities and user status." From the article: "Initially filed in 2000, a year before the release of Microsoft's Xbox and two years before the official launch of Microsoft's Xbox Live Internet service, Nintendo's patent is relatively broad and could potentially lead to litigation against other major players in the game console market. Although the text of the patent itself refers to the Nintendo64 and Game Boy Color by name, some have speculated that this patent could portend an instant messaging system for the Wii."
User Journal

Journal Journal: Hello Journal!

Journal by dsyu

Random thought of the day: I find it amusing (and somewhat telling) that I started my career doing "cutting edge" windows development on the then beta Windows NT 3.1, and now find myself doing Xlib development. What exactly happened there? Dunno.

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