jwink - Slashdot User

Comment Re:Time to moon: 9.2 years (Score 1) 387

by jwink on Tuesday July 15, 2008 @04:12PM (#24203353) Attached to: Send the ISS To the Moon

Doesn't stability of a LaGrange point - keeping something in it - depend on the point in question? I think you have to fight drift more in L1 through L3, but not so much in L4 and L5.

Wikipedia has some good info on stability: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagrange_point#Stability. Or listen to the AstronomyCast episode on LaGrange points: http://www.astronomycast.com/physics/ep-76-lagrange-points/. They describe L1 through L3 as trying to keep a marble on a saddle, but L4 and L5 as keeping a marble in a volcano - hard to get it up there, but somewhat stable once it's there.

It'd be neat if we could keep something in L4 or L5 of the Earth/Moon system, but I agree the costs to and from Earth or Moon are probably still too politically big...

This Year's Top Game Design Innovations 169

Posted by Zonk on Wednesday December 12, 2007 @01:37PM from the eye-of-the-beholder dept.

Next Generation has one of those end of the year 'top 10' lists we all love so much, with plenty of room for discussion on this one. They claim to have picked out the top 10 game design innovations of 2007. It's hard to argue with elements like Portal's portals or Mass Effect's conversation wheel, but was Metroid Prime 3 on the Wii really as good as a mouse-and-keyboard PC FPS? "When people ask 'How do we make a good shooter on a console' what they really mean is 'how do we make a shooter that feels as quick and responsive as a PC shooter on the console?' Apparently the answer is the Wii mote. I was blown away by this fact. Nintendo had always been the 'family friendly' console to me so I didn't consider the FPS ramifications of the Wiimote but clearly it's the best tool for the job. With some tweaking and some refinement down the line I could see the Wii (or a console with Wii like controls) becoming the platform of choice for hardcore FPSers, even over the PC. If this does become the case it will owe it all to Metroid Prime 3."

Feed Engadget: Helio's Ocean gets a whole lotta YouTube (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed on Wednesday December 12, 2007 @01:32PM

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Video

Helio's warm embrace of YouTube's wide world of entertainment is nothing new, but it's getting a whole heck of a lot warmer today with the release of an all-new YouTube app for the Ocean dual slider. Basically, if you can do it from YouTube's desktop website, you can now do it through the Ocean -- instant uploading, ratings, video replies, it's all here. Check out the full gallery over at Engadget Mobile, or if you're lucky enough to have an Ocean of your very own, go hook your bad self up, why don't you?

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Feed Engadget: Orb reportedly set to announce support for iPhone, iPod touch (engadget.com)

From feed by engfeed on Wednesday December 12, 2007 @01:32PM

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Not that it comes as a huge surprise given the wide array of devices it already supports, but according to The Register, Orb is apparently set to finally get official with its support of both the iPhone and the iPod touch "in the next few days." As with other devices, that'll let you get in a little place-shifting with the aid of the iPhone's browser, including letting access your music collection via the Orb-powered version of Winamp. On the iPhone, you'll also have the added benefit of being able to send links to songs in an SMS chat session. Of course, just 'cause it's not official doesn't mean you make use of Orb in its current state which, for all we know, could be exactly what's in store when Orb does make things official.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

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