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Science

Submission + - 6 Terrifying Ways Crows Are Smarter Than You Think (cracked.com)

Submitted by D1gital_Prob3
D1gital_Prob3 writes: Next time you see a group of crows, look closely. Try to remember which one is which, and see if you can tell the difference between them the next time you pass. Odds are good that you can't; they're crows, which makes them all big black birds. On the other hand, every last one of them very likely remembers you as the weird human who kept staring at them. We know this, because researchers in Seattle performed an experiment with some crows around their college campus.

Comment Re:How does it handle crashing? (Score 1) 110

by D1gital_Prob3 (#34212788) Attached to: <em>Gran Turismo 5</em> To Be Released November 24th
The people behind Burnout Paradise got the nod to do the latest installment of Need For Speed Hot Pursuit, which will be released on Nov. 16th. For your crazy arcade run from the cops and bounce off of the walls needs this game looks like it will be a lot of fun. For your sim needs Gran Turismo 5 is going to be nirvana. Get a logitech G25 racing wheel/pedals/gearshift and a Playseat to attach them to for extreme extra amounts of win.
Science

Submission + - 6 Brain Sensors You'll Be Using Soon (readwriteweb.com)

Submitted by D1gital_Prob3
D1gital_Prob3 writes: Brain Computer Interface (BCI) ...a technology that creates a direct connection from our brains to our computers- is beginning to reach the market via toys and game controllers. In the process, these thought-controlled sensors are inspiring innovations that, for instance, allow you to call someone on your phone by simply thinking about them.

Comment Re:That's really what it comes down to (Score 1) 324

by D1gital_Prob3 (#33014674) Attached to: PC Gamers Too Good For Consoles Gamers?

that's pretty much flat out wrong, mice are more precise, period. if you cap the max turn speed it will do almost nothing to the most powerful part of it, which is the ability to move the sight 5 millimetres to the left and cap someone in the face. gross mouse controls are irrelevant, how often do you need to instantly shoot directly behind you?

I heartily disagree, sir. I played q2 and q3 for years in competitive clans, and the ability to do an instant and precise 180 and pop a rail into someone was crucial. Also zipping around looking for targets and quickly checking your six for a microsecond and then returning to looking ahead was absolutely necessary.

Science

Submission + - Climate Scientists Plot to Fight Back at Skeptics (washingtontimes.com)

Submitted by D1gital_Prob3
D1gital_Prob3 writes: Undaunted by a rash of scandals over the science underpinning climate change, top climate researchers are plotting to respond with what one scientist involved said needs to be "an outlandishly aggressively partisan approach" to gut the credibility of skeptics.

In private e-mails obtained by The Washington Times, climate scientists at the National Academy of Sciences say they are tired of "being treated like political pawns" and need to fight back in kind.

Submission + - SPAM: Supercar aims to rocket past 1,000MPH 2

Submitted by coondoggie
coondoggie writes: It looks like something NASA would aim at the sky and launch into orbit but no, it's a car. And by the time its builders' blast it across a desert in South Africa next year, they hope to set the land speed record by going well over 1,000MPH.

Known as the Bloodhound, the car and the UK group developing it this week settled on a design for the car with a major change to its combustion system. The Bloodhound is propelled by three engines a Eurofighter Typhoon jet engine, a hybrid rocket and a third engine that just pumps fuel to the other two. The combination should produce somewhere in excess of 135,000 horsepower.

[spam URL stripped]
Link to Original Source

Submission + - Filesharing laws unenforceable on mobile networks (zdnet.co.uk)

Submitted by superglaze
superglaze writes: UK mobile broadband providers currently have no way of telling which subscribers are file-sharing which copyrighted content, ZDNet UK reports. This represents something of a problem for new laws that have been proposed to crack down on unlawful filesharing. According to the article, databases could be built to make it possible to identify what specific users are downloading, but the industry is loath to fund this sort of project itself.

Also, as an analyst points out in the piece, prepay users are mostly anonymous in the UK, which creates a new challenge for the government's plans. And if that isn't enough, connection-sharing apps like JoikuBoost would make identification pretty much impossible anyway.
Technology

Submission + - Programmable quantum computer (sciencenews.org)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: A team at NIST (the National Institute of Standards and Technology) used berylium ions, lasers and electrodes to develop a quantum system that performed 160 randomly chosen routines. Other quantum systems to date have only been able to perform single, prescribed tasks. Other researchers say the system could be scaled up.
Media

Submission + - SPAM: Nano Breakthrough: Self-Assembling Nanoparticles

Submitted by destinyland
destinyland writes: Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Labs have "found a simple and yet powerful way to induce nanoparticles to assemble themselves into complex arrays," discovering that applying light or heat "can be used to further direct the assemblies of nanoparticles for even finer and more complex structural details." Led by Ting Xu (one of Popular Science's "Brilliant 10" young researchers), their technique "promises to revolutionize the data storage industry, eventually leading to the contents of hundreds of DVDs fitting into a space the size of a thumbnail," and the group is already working on paper-thin printable solar cells and ultra-small electronics.
Link to Original Source
Science

Submission + - Why a high IQ doesn't mean you're smart (newscientist.com)

Submitted by
D1gital_Prob3
D1gital_Prob3 writes: "...how can a "smart" person act foolishly? Keith Stanovich, professor of human development and applied psychology at the University of Toronto, Canada, has grappled with this apparent incongruity for 15 years. He says it applies to more people than you might think. To Stanovich, however, there is nothing incongruous about it. IQ tests are very good at measuring certain mental faculties, he says, including logic, abstract reasoning, learning ability and working-memory capacity — how much information you can hold in mind."

Submission + - Sorry not a story but an appeal from a submitter

Submitted by
D1gital_Prob3
D1gital_Prob3 writes: "I submitted the story about Wolfenstein being censored in Germany, but I did not realize my email was going to be the link from my nick! I am being hit with a lot of weird spam (usually no spam at all) since the story was posted Wednesday so could you please kill the link to my email addy? Thanks. D1gital_Prob3"

Submission + - Wolfenstein Being Recalled in Germany (ign.com) 1

Submitted by
D1gital_Prob3
D1gital_Prob3 writes: "September 22, 2009 — PCGames.de is reporting Wolfenstein, the latest iteration on the classic first-person shooter from Activision, is being recalled from retails shelves in Germany due to the inclusion of the swastika symbol found somewhere in the game. The German version was supposed to have all symbols removed.

Exact details are a bit fuzzy at the moment, as most of this information is coming via translation; however, it's believed Activision is going to make a statement on this matter this week.

As Planet Wolfenstein points out, two developers on the project, Raven Software and Endrant, have both been part of massive employee layoffs recently. If the German version needs to be edited, perhaps another studio will have to do the legwork."
Cellphones

Submission + - 'sploding iPhones! (breitbart.com)

Submitted by
D1gital_Prob3
D1gital_Prob3 writes: "France's consumer affairs minister will meet a director of Apple France for talks on Friday after half a dozen cases in which iPhones are said to have spontaneously exploded or cracked up. Herve Novelli will meet Apple France's commercial director Michel Coulomb to discuss the incidents, which are being investigated by France's competition, consumer affairs and fraud watchdog, the DGCCRF, the finance ministry said. They will "examine what steps to take in response to the DGCCRF's questions about the implosion of these devices, and what measures the agency could take," said a statement from the ministry. Novelli will also remind the US technology giant of its general safety obligations towards consumers. Ten cases of "exploding iPhones" have been reported in France, including one in which a teenager suffered an eye injury, sparking calls for Apple to come clean over possible risks linked to its wildly popular smartphone."

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