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Nick Breen writes:
The Xbox 360 firmware sees two major updates a year — in the Spring and the Fall. This year's Fall update is just about upon us. On Tuesday December 4th, Microsoft will unleash a flurry of new features and small tweaks to the way the Xbox 360 operates. Here are the highlights.
- AVI Support — The max bitrate for these files is 5 Mbps with resolutions up to 1280x720 up to 30fps.
- Parental Timer — Limit play time
- Xbox Originals — Crash Bandicoot: Wrath of Cortex, Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, Halo, Fable, Fuzion Frenzy, and Psychonauts for 1,200 MS Points.
- XBLA Greatest Hits — Best-selling Xbox Live Arcade games for 800 Points.
- Enhanced Online Profiles — You'll be able to look up friends of friends now, in sort of a social-networking-way.
- Inside Xbox — RSS news feed from Xbox Central Headquarters on your Xbox 360 dashboard.
- New Dashboard Layout
241725
submission
i_like_spam writes:
The theory that the dinosaurs were wiped out by an asteroid impact, the K-T extinction, is well known and supported by fossil and geological evidence. Asteroid impact theory does not apply to the other fluctuations in biodiversity, however, which follow an approximate 62 million-year cycle. As reported in Science news, a new theory seems to explain periodic mass extinctions. The new theory found that oscillations in the Sun relative to the plane of the Milky Way correlate with changes in biodiversity on Earth. The researchers suggest that an increase in the exposure of Earth to extragalatic cosmic rays causes mass extinctions. Here is the original paper describing the finding.
241685
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mattnyc99 writes:
The tragic collapse last night in Minneapolis of a truss bridge—one that the U.S. Dept. of Transportation found "structurally deficient" two years ago—raises an important issue beyond just the engineering of one single span. As national security expert Stephen Flynn pleads in an op-ed on American infrastructure in the wake of yesterday's disaster, "The blind eye that taxpayers and our elected officials have been turning to the imperative of maintaining and upgrading the critical foundations that underpin our lives is irrational and reckless." Do we need to start spending to rebuild America?
241647
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Bandor Mia writes:
Last November, it was reported that UCLA cops Tasered a student, who forgot to bring his ID, at the UCLA library. While an internal probe by UCLAPD cleared the officers of any wrongdoing, an outside probe by Police Assessment Resource Center has found that the police actions on Mostafa Tabatabainejad were indeed out of UCLA policy. The probe was conducted at the behest of acting UCLA Chancellor Norman Abrams.
From the report:
"In light of UCLAPD's general use of force policy and its specific policies on pain compliance techniques, Officer 2's three applications of the Taser, taken together, were out of policy. Officer 2 did not take advantage of other options and opportunities reasonably available to de-escalate the situation without the use of the Taser. Reasonable campus police officers, upon assessing the circumstances, likely would have embraced different choices and options that appear likely to have been more consistent both with UCLAPD policy and general best law enforcement practices."
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ntmokey writes:
The nation's infrastructure is aging, heavily used, and dangerous, according to Stephen Flynn, a national security expert who wrote an op-ed piece for Popular Mechanics. Flynn believes incidents like the collapse of Minnesota's I-35 bridge and the recent explosion of a steam pipe in New York City are wake-up calls to our nation's leaders that we need to invest more in the structures we rely on (sometimes without even knowing it) every day. Our ports, roadways, railroads, air traffic control and electricity systems are were all top-notch when they were installed by previous generations — but we've come to take them for granted and we're starting to feel the sting of neglect. Flynn's not just waving red flags in light of recent events either, he wrote a book about the pending crisis that was published in February.
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Yellowjacket Greenap writes:
Microsoft is extending the warranty on the Xbox 360 to three years for anyone getting a general hardware failure, and will reimburse people who have already paid to have theirs fixed.
153325
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moscowde writes:
Research scientists at the University of Tokyo have come up with a unique sheet-like material that can transmit electrical energy over a large area to nearby devices without the need for direct contact, so it can be made into a tablecloth or wallpaper and your appliance can be anywhere on a surface to get charged.
The system uses organic molecules as transistors, microelectromechanical switches, and miniature copper coils to transmit energy using electromagnetic induction.
http://www.justchromatography.com/general/world-wi thout-wires
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submission
CorSci81 writes:
The popular gaming blog Kotaku recently posted a rumor speculating on the nature of Sony's big announcement to come at the GDC. As it turns out, they attempted to verify the rumor with Sony before publication and were greeted with threats if they proceeded with the story, which was left out of the original posting. It seems Sony really meant it and has uninvited the Kotaku staff from all future meetings including media events at the GDC. The fallout from this over the next few days should be interesting.