Even better, you can use a probabilistic sensor model and incrementally refine your position estimate of the RFID tag based on tag detection rates. If you're genuinely interested, look at this paper.

Besides, in a properly organized library finding a particular book is very, very easy, as long as you know the signature and the book is at its proper place. Might be quite handy for spotting those misplaced books, though.

The Bokode pose estimate seems quite stable indeed, but then the comparison pose estimate (the "G" in the black square) seems to be willfully bad. I've seen better than that, if maybe not quite as stable as the Bokode example, with traditional 2D code matrices.

Unfortunately, the 2-camera rig that they use (one focused at the scene, one at infinity) isn't exactly standard. And it probably won't work with cell phone cameras at all, since these are fixed-focus. Finally, if the camera has to move around a whole lot before it has seen the whole code, it probably isn't going to take off as a barcode replacement. Information at a glance is important in that area.

Besides, I don't really see the need to visually encode a whole lot of information on an object. A small reference ID or an URL is enough, then anything can be looked up online without size restraints.

I'm not sure about this. Kicked up lunar dust particles move in parabolic trajectories. Since there's no atmosphere, they won't stay afloat and disperse. So, if you know which way the wheels will kick up dust, you can strategically place the solar panels where they won't get dusty. They'll stay clean forever...

That bit about the batteries is really ridiculous. A thin aluminum foil will protect the batteries from thermal radiation just fine. Apart from that, there's no "temperature" on the moon...

Have you ever heard of rootkits? There's no way you can guarantee that a previously infected computer is "clean" again. Why not simply back up user data, format and reinstall? You end up with a guaranteed clean system, and doesn't take much longer.

Concerning OS updates, here's what I do: I buy a new HDD, install the new OS on that, then put my old HDD in an external enclosure and copy my data over from there. By the time I update my OS, the old HDD is most likely obsolete as well, so why not upgrade that at the same time... and it's impossible to lose data.

That's what I'd have suggested as well. Least amount of work, efficient, usable, no questionable hacks. It's common sense.

Or better yet... license id tech 5 for the next Elderscrolls game! Seriously, id's graphical fidelity and Bethesda's sandbox-making abilities... what could top this?

I completely agree. I played STALKER prior to Fallout3, and the latter's FPS experience was just very, very lacking in comparison. Little things like iron sight aiming, bullet drop and ricochets add so much immersion, it's sad they weren't there. Also, the whole manual aiming system is somewhat broken, it doesn't really feel "right".

Another trackball I've heard very good things about is the mouse trak evolution. I've never owned one, unfortunately.

I don't think so. Simplicity often implies efficiency, which leads to speed. Simplicity can also mean a lean, clean architecture, which is conductive to security. As much as I like "pick any two" memes, this probably isn't one of them.

So if I'd compile a Linux from scratch with this new compiler, everything speeds up by 18% on average? That would be quite impressive, and possibly the best justification for Gentoo. Might be nice for my aging notebook...

Are you sure you connected the Wii properly? The packaged video cable sucks. With a component cable, the picture quality goes way up - it looks quite nice on my 720p projector. (A cheap 3rd party cable will do, the Nintendo cable is horribly overpriced...)

Are you sure it's a laser? Wouldn't a diffuse light source (like a simple IR LED) be more suited? After all, you want to illuminate the whole scene with IR, not just a spot with the laser...

Please cite your source... it's the first time I've heard this claim. I'd be genuinely interested. Anyway, I don't think the AI stuff from the Milo demo really pertains to the Natal technology very much.

Even in a pitch black room, it will at least capture the depth image (and a monochrome camera image) - which I imagine is all that's needed for "controller input". So it can still differentiate between two people - dude on the left, dude on the right - and track their movement if they switch positions. No colors though, so any "scanning" functions as in the Milo demo won't work.

But really, who would want to play in a pitch black room (except Doom)? It's bad for the eyes.