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palarious

Entertainment & Gaming

Is PC Gaming Dead?

By Scott Steinberg Posted on 4.2.2009 15 Comments
In an era of high-definition, online interconnected systems like the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, will PC gaming go the way of coin-operated arcades? According to market research firm The NPD Group, sales of PC games precipitously declined to $701 million in 2008, a 14 percent year-on-year drop. But is the sky really falling for desktop users? A deeper look suggests not, pointing to a hobby that’s instead evolving so rapidly it would make Darwin blush.

2.21.2009 at 05:47am - Comment by palarious

A PC can be so much more than a console. For $500 dollars, if you know just a piddling about computers and know how to type newegg.com, you can create a PC that can function as a dvd player, tivo, internet, work(autocad programs, word, excel), artwork(photoshop type work, media manipulation), storing photos and backing up records, and much more all while being displayed on your personal choice of monitors or even your HD television at full 1080p. Oh, and did I mention that games tested on both well-equiped PCs and consoles run smoother, look better, and contain more customization on the PC. And your computer can constantly be upgraded. Your PS3 or 360 will just get old. No use even popping one of those open.
Science

Creation Studies

By Posted on 2.18.2009 9 Comments
A class in creation studies at Liberty University appears to be as strange as one might expect. Best quote on the subject: "If a frog turns into a prince with a kiss then it's a fairy tale. If a frog turns into a prince over millions of years, it's science," says the director of the school's center for creation studies. "It's almost ridiculous." Also in today's links: cell phone projectors, the next e-reader, and more.

2.20.2009 at 08:58pm - Comment by palarious

Mike_R - believing in literal Genesis doesn't necessitate one being scientifically illiterate. Many people are, but an educated individual will point to the fact the entire concept of Supernatural Creation recquires action not naturally possible exerted by a supernatural being. Can science prove the supernatural? Not really, but it doesn't make one illiterate to believe in the supernatural and to understand the natural laws of the universe. In due defence of Intelligent Design( which is not limited to religious Creation) there is considerable evidence pointing towards it, as well as evidence pointing away from Evolution. A truly literate scientific person takes into consideration all possible theories, of which both Macro Evolution and Intelligent Design are quite viable. It does disturb me how similar to a religion Evolutionary Theory has become, primary paradigm and all. Kudos to ford2go for an illuminating explanation of the nature of science.
Science

Scientists Find a Missing Link

By Stuart Fox Posted on 1.19.2009 8 Comments
Paleontologists have excavated a plethora of feathered dinosaurs in China over the past few years have, but none of those dinosaurs had feathers like this. Scientists examining a news specimen of the dinosaur Beipiaosaurus have found imprints of a proto-feather that looks like the missing link between primitive downy feathers and the modern feathers seen on birds.

1.19.2009 at 07:10pm - Comment by palarious

I agree with gte741y, this hardly is concrete proof of an evolutionary process. one freak manifestation of similar traits in a single feather doesn't indicate anything beyond this animal having that feather. Many species exhibit similar traits, but are genetically quite distant or even unrelated. Much more evidence is needed before such an important conclusion is reached. That is science, not this "this looks like its almost like this" crap that often is pulled like fleece over the uneducated masses' eyes.
The Environment

Making the Most of **it

By Posted on 1.19.2009 19 Comments
In José Saramago’s novel Blindness, when an epidemic of sightlessness sweeps the city, among the foulest signs of civic breakdown is its inability to handle its own excrement. Human waste piles where it lands, left to the elements and not modern plumbing. To newly minted industrial designer Virginia Gardiner, we might as well be blind to our own waste. Her plumbing-free toilet project, the Gardiner CH4, makes us personally responsible for our intimate product—and makes it useful.

1.19.2009 at 07:03pm - Comment by palarious

"The power of poo is in the palms of our hands." Hat's off to the author of this piece...absolutely loved the voice and composition.
Gadgets

Obama, Keep that Crackberry

By Megan Miller Posted on 1.12.2009 9 Comments
Amidst this week's CES buzz, there’s one political question that keeps popping up on show-goers' lips: “Why should Obama have to give up his Blackberry?” The president-elect will soon become the most tech-savvy commander-in-chief in American history, and the digital communication landscape has changed radically since Bush first entered the White House in 2000. Today, it’s almost unthinkable that any chief executive, corporate or political, should be required to use less technology than he or she did prior to taking office.

1.10.2009 at 02:37am - Comment by palarious

ford2go, "I think that Jimmy Carter was a nuclar engineer" Well, he wasn't a nuclear engineer. He took one non-credit introductory course in nuclear reactor power at Union College starting in March 1953. He often tried to make it sound like he had a lot more experience with it than he did. But on the topic of tech-savvy-ness, i have to point out that technology changes over time. a president in the 1800s might be comparatively more tech savvy than any of our recent presidents today due to that factor.
Gadgets

The Top 100 Innovations of 2008

By PopSci Staff Posted on 12.9.2008 7 Comments

1.8.2009 at 05:24am - Comment by palarious

Annoyingly enough, the gallery won't advance beyond #68 for me
Science

A Miniature Star on Earth

By Posted on 1.22.2008 2 Comments
Doc Ock, the tentacled villain at the heart of the movie Spider-Man 2, nearly succeeded where thousands of scientists and 50 years of work have so far failed: in building a nuclear fusion reactor. But nonvillainous scientists may be about to save their reputation. This year a multinational team is scheduled to begin constructing ITER, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, a project designed to demonstrate that fusion can generate almost limitless amounts of electricity without the risks and long-lived radioactive waste linked with nuclear fission reactors.

7.2.2008 at 03:18am - Comment by palarious

it would be better placed in france from the standpoint of usefullness, but better placed in Japan from the standpoint of security....
The Environment

The Future of Nuclear Power

By Posted on 1.22.2008 19 Comments
Nuclear power isn't disappearing anytime soon, according to a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency. By the end of last year, nuclear accounted for about 15 percent of electricity production worldwide, and its overall capacity will continue to rise through 2030. France gets 78 percent of its power from nuclear, and a number of Asian countries are betting on it to meet their electricity needs. China has four reactors under construction now, and intends to launch a five-fold expansion by 2020. In the US, 103 reactors provide nearly 20 percent of our electricity, but building a new plant involves an uphill PR battle, due in part to the fact that we still haven't figured out what we're going to do with the waste.—Gregory Mone

7.2.2008 at 03:08am - Comment by palarious

yeah, sure, but the money going into doing that is more than gold actually costs...oh, and it's radioactive afterward...hahaha
The Environment

The Future of Nuclear Power

By Posted on 1.22.2008 19 Comments
Nuclear power isn't disappearing anytime soon, according to a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency. By the end of last year, nuclear accounted for about 15 percent of electricity production worldwide, and its overall capacity will continue to rise through 2030. France gets 78 percent of its power from nuclear, and a number of Asian countries are betting on it to meet their electricity needs. China has four reactors under construction now, and intends to launch a five-fold expansion by 2020. In the US, 103 reactors provide nearly 20 percent of our electricity, but building a new plant involves an uphill PR battle, due in part to the fact that we still haven't figured out what we're going to do with the waste.—Gregory Mone

7.2.2008 at 03:08am - Comment by palarious

yeah, sure, but the money going into doing that is more than gold actually costs...oh, and it's radioactive afterward...hahaha
The Environment

The Future of Plastics

By Posted on 7.8.2008 3 Comments
Dear EarthTalk: What are the environmental pros and cons of corn-based plastic as an alternative to conventional petroleum-based plastic? —Laura McInnes, Glasgow, Scotland

7.2.2008 at 02:53am - Comment by palarious

hmm, lets look at this. you're saying that the bio-plastic is not better because the facilities to handle it are few and because it's only benefit is that it produces less pollution well, lets look at that in comparison with regular plastic. regular plastic produces more pollution and, while there are plants to process it, switching to the bioplastic would force plants to switch to something that could process them. basically, the bioplastic is better, but it's not a silver bullet. and, thankfully, life has made due with plenty of decent innovations that haven't been silver bullets. oh, and let's remember that it's from a renewable source, one we don't have to rely on unstable countries to supply.