Comment Re:Unclear (Score 1) 308
All the platters I ever taken out of drives oxidize over time if exposed to enough moisture. Hard to imagine shaving with one unless you polished it frequently.
Comment Power from Zinc/Copper?? (Score 2, Interesting) 284
Doesn't this consume copper like lemon batteries? Doesn't that have to be replaced too? No mention in the article.
Comment Re:Somewhat Makes Sense from a Diving Perspective (Score 1) 334
I think it has more to do with the fact that the bends are caused by nitrogen coming out of solution in your blood, and doesn't really have to do with the oxygen. The point of the pure oxygen is that it doesn't have any nitrogen. You will immediately lower the nitrogen concentration in your blood that way.
Palm Pre and WebOS Get Native Gaming 49
rboatright writes "WebOS developers have been waiting, and with the 1.3.5 release, Palm's open source page suddenly listed SDL. Members of the WebOS internals team took that as a challenge and within 24 hours had a working port of Doom running in SDL on the Pre, in a webOS card. 48 hours later, they not only had Quake running, but had found in the latest LunaSysMgr the requirements to launch a native app from the webOS app launcher from an icon just like any other app. At the same time, the team demonstrated openGL apps running. With full native code support, with I/O available via SDL, developers now have a preview into Palm's future intent with regard to native code SDK's, and a hint of what's coming."
Comment Re:HDMI? (Score 3, Informative) 160
Don't the newer specs of HDMI exceed 1920x1200?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hdmi#Version_Comparison
And according to the same article (maybe I should read more before posting) DP is actually royalty free whereas HDMI isn't...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hdmi#Relationship_with_DisplayPort
Comment HDMI? (Score 4, Interesting) 160
What happened to HDMI? Lots of monitors and computers already have it, it supports audio over the connection (Mini-DP doesn't), and it can support the resolutions the article mentions. There's even already a mini version of it in use. It's a standard in home video and had plenty of adoption with computers. Is there something that Mini-DP does that HDMI doesn't?
Comment Re:Not the first time (Score 1) 113
I was thinking about redundancy and I realized that if one pigeon is unsuccessful it is more likely that another pigeon released under the same conditions would also be unsuccessful. Not that it would necessarily fail, but if weather was the problem any pigeon leaving in that time frame would have the same problem.
I think the copy the memory card is a easy backup plan. Just bring a laptop or something to copy the memory card and you'll still have pictures even if the pigeon goes AWOL.
Comment Not sure why this is so awesome. (Score 1) 30
Not sure why this is so awesome, because PVA isn't really the problem with LCD disposal. It's metals (mercury) and other semiconductor associated contaminants. It's like recycling the steel lid of a hazardous waste container...
That and PVA is pretty cheap (see elmer's glue). Also it might be a while before recycled materials are acceptable for pharmaceutical uses.
Comment What's the fuss? (Score 1) 911
What are the odds that this difference will actually come into play for you in your lifetime? I would guess small. On any given flight? That has to be tiny. I'd rather fret over more relevant decisions like cost, service, legroom, etc rather than worrying my plane was going to crash.
Comment Flying? (Score 5, Insightful) 72
This thing doesn't really fly... It's a magnet that's levitating by using a complex, computer controlled magnetic field. I'm not sure how the robot can go into 'virtually any space' because you need to have a bunch of equipment to go along with it, and the equipment has to be nearby.
Submission + - Sideskirts Cut Truck Trailer Fuel Use by 15 %
Hugh Pickens writes: "Researchers in the Netherlands have created an improved aerodynamic shape for truck trailers by mounting sideskirts that can lead to a cut in fuel consumption and emissions of up to 15%. Sideskirts are plates that are mounted on the sides of trailers to reduce the air currents alongside and under the trailer reducing the air resistance. The sideskirts can be fitted to approximately half the trucks currently in use in the Netherlands and it is expected that the cost of fitting aerodynamically-shaped sideskirts will be recouped within two years. Road tests are also underway on boat tails mounted on the rear of trailers to produce a reduction in the wake, the vacuum and air currents that arise when the trailer is moving. In theory, a boat tail could also mean a cut in air resistance of 30%, with a fuel reduction of 10 — 15%."
Submission + - Apple now third biggest music retailer (mcox.com)
An anonymous reader writes: The most recent report from the NPD Group shows that Apple has surpassed Amazon.com to become the third largest music seller, behind only Wal-Mart and Best Buy. Apple is the sole digital-only seller on the list with 10% of all music sales. Also interesting is that this follows on the tail of EMI beginning to sell DRM-free music downloads. Sales of Coldplay's A Rush of Blood to the Head are up 115%, while sales of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon are up a whooping 272% since EMI dropped the DRM.
The History of Electronic Arts 65
Gamasutra is running an extensive article today on the long history of Electronic Arts. Starting all the way back with the days of Trip Hawkins, they move through the days of Madden, Nintendo, small studio purchases and, of course, the Sims. There's also an a whole series of images associated with the article, letting you look back and chuckle about the cover art of games from the past. The article concludes: "Art and commerce have always been uneasy bedfellows, and nowhere is that tension more evident than in the world of video games. Perhaps after looking at the history of Electronic Arts we may have some insight into that hot point of ignition where business and inspiration combine to create cutting edge games. As Trip Hawkins explained, 'Entrepreneurship is a creative art form. Like other creative people, we do it because we have to do it. We have no choice but to express ourselves in this way. But of course like all artists we are optimists, so we believe good things will come ... It is not about making money, it is about making a difference.'"
