Comment: Re:No Demon Penguin love? (Score 1) 481
I chose Demon Penguin because being human/bipedal is overrated.
Penguins have more than two feet? Ah, the graceful Demon Penguin loping across the savanna with it's fluid penta-pedal gait.
Comment: Re:Sounds overly complex (Score 1) 372
What the guy meant was to take a big-ass ion thruster, or any another kind of mass driver (for instance a linear accelerator) and mount it to the asteriod.
Then use the asteriod for mass.
That way you won't have to transport (most of) the reaction mass from Earth and can make the power plant larger at the same total weight.
OCZ's Brain Wave Interface Headband Reviewed 89
Posted
by
Soulskill
from the as-good-as-you-think dept.
from the as-good-as-you-think dept.
J. Dzhugashvili writes "Could you control a game using your jaw muscles, eye movements, and brain waves? OCZ designed its futuristic Neural Impulse Actuator controller for that very purpose, and it claims the device lets players shorten their response times and interact with games more naturally. But is it really all it's cracked up to be? The Tech Report took the NIA for a spin in order to answer that question, and it made some interesting discoveries along the way. The verdict is that the NIA works (mostly) as advertised, but getting used to it can take enough dedication and perseverance to put off many prospective users."
'Mind Gaming' Could Enter Market This Year 154
Posted
by
CmdrTaco
from the yeah-right-it-will dept.
from the yeah-right-it-will dept.
An anonymous reader writes "In an adapted version of the Harry Potter video game, players lift boulders and throw lightning bolts using only their minds. Just as physical movement changed the interface of gaming with Nintendo's Wii, the power of the mind may be the next big thing in video games. And it may come soon. Emotiv, a company based in San Francisco, says its mind-control headsets will be on shelves later this year, along with a host of novel "biofeedback" games developed by its partners. Several other companies — including EmSense in Monterey, California; NeuroSky in San Jose, California; and Hitachi in Tokyo — are also developing technology to detect players brainwaves and use them in next-gen video games."
Newly Discovered Fungus Threatens World Wheat Crop 236
Posted
by
Zonk
from the swarm-of-hungry-hungry-hippos-not-helping dept.
from the swarm-of-hungry-hungry-hippos-not-helping dept.
RickRussellTX writes "The UN reports that a variety of the rust fungus originally detected in Uganda in 1999 has already spread as far north as Iran, threatening wheat production across its range. The fungus infects wheat stems and affects 80% of wheat varieties, putting crops at risk and threatening the food sources for billions of people across central Asia. Although scientists believe they can develop resistant hybrids, the fungus is moving much faster than anticipated and resistant hybrids may still be years away. Meanwhile, national governments in the path of the fungus are telling folks that there is nothing to worry about."
Scientists Create Di-positronium Molecules 160
Posted
by
samzenpus
from the super-laser dept.
from the super-laser dept.
doxology writes "The BBC reports that scientists have been able to create di-positronium molecules. A di-positronium molecule consists of two positronium atoms, exotic atoms which are made from an electron and a positron (the anti-particle of the electron). A potential use of these molecules is to make extremely powerful gamma-ray lasers, possibly on sharks."
Europe Gets Nerfed PS3: No Motion Sensing
Submitted
by
AbsoluteXyro
AbsoluteXyro writes "In an effort to control costs Sony has nerfed some PS3 functionality for the upcoming PAL launch. Most notably, Wii-like motion sensing control has been ditched. This is another kick in the behoogies for PAL territories, after long delays and the recent news that backwards compatibility would be limited. Sucks to be those guys."
SCO Bankruptcy "Imminent, Inevitable" 234
Posted
by
kdawson
from the quebrada dept.
from the quebrada dept.
mattaw writes "From analysis by Groklaw it seems that SCO may owe Novell nearly all the SCOSource licensing fees, and has been hiding the fact for 3 years. Imminent. Inevitable. Bankruptcy. Those are the words from Novell's lawyers. Perhaps the IBM/SCO case could close earlier than planned? Perhaps we can finally be rid of this specter once and for all?"
Rumsfeld Stepping Down 899
Posted
by
ScuttleMonkey
from the at-least-no-one-dropped-a-house-on-him dept.
from the at-least-no-one-dropped-a-house-on-him dept.
macinrack writes to tell us that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, architect of the unpopular war in Iraq, intends to resign after six stormy years at the Pentagon. Officials said Robert Gates, former head of the CIA, would replace Rumsfeld.
China - We Don't Censor the Internet 554
Posted
by
Zonk
from the alternate-reality-china dept.
from the alternate-reality-china dept.
kaufmanmoore writes "A Chinese government official at a United Nations summit in Athens on internet governance has claimed that no Net censorship exists at all in China. The article includes an exchange by a Chinese government official and a BBC reporter over the blocking of the BBC in China." From the article: "I don't think we should be using different standards to judge China. In China, we don't have software blocking Internet sites. Sometimes we have trouble accessing them. But that's a different problem. I know that some colleagues listen to the BBC in their offices from the Webcast. And I've heard people say that the BBC is not available in China or that it's blocked. I'm sure I don't know why people say this kind of thing. We do not have restrictions at all."
Testosterone Tumbling in American Males 597
Posted
by
CmdrTaco
from the zomg-where-are-my-lead-pants dept.
from the zomg-where-are-my-lead-pants dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Yahoo is running a story about a study that concludes that testosterone levels are falling across all age groups among American men. It says 'The testosterone-fueled American male may be losing his punch'" I leave it to you all to draw your conclusions about this, but I still wonder what my hours of laptop-fu does to me.
Want To Know About the New Apple MacBook Pro? 310
Posted
by
kdawson
from the timely-benchmarks dept.
from the timely-benchmarks dept.
An anonymous reader writes to tell us about an extremely helpful user who is answering questions from all comers about the new MacBook Pro. "A few days ago, a user by the name 'bcavanau' posted on the macrumors.com forums that he had just picked up a new MacBook Pro. Forum members started asking him about features, specifications, and benchmarks. He was happy to oblige, posting responses to everyone's questions. Eventually the forum thread got out of hand, and he set up a website devoted to answering the questions. If you have a question that hasn't already been answered, email him at the address on the site. He is responding daily and sometimes within minutes. This guy is dedicated. Thanks 'bcavanau', you get two thumbs up." The link to the site is cached via the Coral Content Distribution Network.