94048
submission
OverlordQ writes:
A new report on climate over the world's southernmost continent shows that temperatures during the late 20th century did not climb as had been predicted by many global climate models. This comes soon after the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that strongly supports the conclusion that the Earth's climate as a whole is warming, largely due to human activity. David Bromwich, professor of professor of atmospheric sciences in the Department of Geography, and researcher with the Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio State University, reported on this work at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science at San Francisco.
93992
submission
rbgrn writes:
A123 Systems claims to have invented a Lithium Ion battery that not only can discharge at very high rates of current but can be recharged very quickly without damage to the cells or overheating. From their website: "A unique feature of A123Systems' M1 cells is their ability to charge to high capacity in 5 minutes or less. That's a significant improvement over traditional Li Ion, which typically requires more than 90 minutes to reach a similar level of charge."
Using this technology, General Motors has announced a plug-in hybrid SUV and Venture Vehicles is developing a fully electric 3 wheel vehicle.
Politics aside, the main technological hurdle to mass adoption of electric cars has been a fuel station replacement when driving distances beyond a single charge worth of range. Will we finally be seeing high current recharge stations in the next decade?
93988
submission
davidwr writes:
A Pennsylvania man can take it easy while his robot snowblower does all the heavy lifting, er, blowing. It's basically a converted golf cart with a snowblower attachment, gear mods, and a remote-control hack. Is this the "must-have geek do-it-yourself-kit" for geeks in snow country next Christmas?
Now if only the guys near Buffalo had a beowulf cluster of these babies last week....
Editor: Change icon to Monty Python Stomping Foot
93824
submission
ecklesweb writes:
The Boston Globe reprots that Hacks are no longer a joke at MIT. Three students tripped an alarm while "exploring" the Faculty Club under the cover of dark. Instead of fines or community service, the three students face up to 20 years in prison on charges of felony breaking and entering and trespassing. Of course, maybe it's just *botched* hacks that are no joke at MIT...
93758
submission
Dollaz writes:
And independent quantum computing researchers said they are dubious of some of the claims made by D-Wave Systems Inc. because the privately held Canadian company has not yet submitted its findings for peer review, a standard step for gaining acceptance in scientific circles
93600
submission
Edis Krad writes:
An CNN Money article reviews the Hot Toys for 2007. From the article:
"Industry leaders have accepted that kids are becoming more technology savvy at a younger age, and therefore are more inclined to discard their Barbie dolls and Power Ranger action figures for the cool MP3 player or camera cell phone."
Among those, I was particularly impressed with the Video Journal (blogging for kids?), the virtual bicycle (apparently, riding a real bicycle isn't cool enough anymore), and last but not least, the robotic parrot , that oddly reminds me of the replicant owl in Blade Runner
As technology becomes cheaper and more available, is it true that kids prefer cool gadgets rather and soccer balls and baseball gloves?