• 2009 Nissan GT-R

    By Posted on 11.11.2008 Comments

    The 2009 Nissan GT-R is the sports-car value of the year, if not the decade—a car under 80 grand whose performance matches that of a $200,000 supercar. Engineers scrutinized every component to squeeze out more performance while saving weight and money. Inside the twin-turbo, 3.8-liter V6’s aluminum engine block, the walls surrounding the pistons receive a coating that dissipates heat better than the typical, heavier cast-iron linings. The engine produces 480 horsepower and hurls the GT-R from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds—quicker than a Lamborghini Gallardo.

    12.16.2008 at 05:27pm - Comment by Headfoot

    I love how everyone comes and finds some minor fault -- usually a questionably true fault -- and goes with it. Here's how it is: Nissan built a super-car that is cheaper, faster, better and more technologically advanced. It's half the price of a car it beats. Who cares if it needs a launch control system? The fact that it DOES it is ALL that matters. If you pull up to a stoplight and there is a guy in a Porsche 911, and you are in a Nissan GTR, and you use the launch control system and beat him out of the light, who cares? You won, thats it. End of discussion. Im sure all the people who hate it are the ones who own cars that are inferior for much more money and they are reasonably irritated. These people do have good news though: cars as impactful as this don't come along very often.

  • DIY

    Mod Your PC for Triple Boot: a PC for All Seasons

    By Posted on 3.20.2008 12 Comments

    digg_url = 'http://digg.com/mods/Mod_Your_PC_for_Triple_Boot_Vista_XP_and_Ubuntu'; Lucky you; you just received a brand new shiny PC for your [fill in the occasion: birthday, anniversary, graduation, holiday]. Unfortunately, your new rig almost certainly came preinstalled with Windows Vista, and youve got a ton of legacy software that require an older 32-bit Windows OS for operation. Whats a poor Vista PC to do?

    4.20.2008 at 07:17pm - Comment by Headfoot

    To answer the question in the top of the comments list: Vista is good for 2 things. 1. DirectX 10 2. 4 GB of RAM + (And despite the fact YOU dont use over 4gb of ram, alot of other professionals and enthusiasts do) Not a really long list of good things when you compare the bad things -- ie pretty much everything else. My soultion: Give Windows XP DirectX 10 and 4 GB of Ram support (on 32bit). Problem solved.

  • DIY

    Build a Pocket Theremin on the Cheap

    By Posted on 4.15.2008 23 Comments

    digg_url = 'http://digg.com/general_sciences/Fun_Pocket_Theremin'; Even if you're not familiar with the Theremin itself, it's very likely you've heard its loopy electronic tones before. Remember those spooky sound tracks from 1950s science fiction movies? Well, chances are pretty good that those oscillating noises were generated by a Theremin. Designed by Russian physicist Leon Theremin circa 1919, the two-handed instrument was one of the first ever electronic musical instruments and the first instrument one could play without physically touching it. Thirty years after its invention, the Theremin was popularized by American synthesizer godfather Robert Moog in the 1950s and immortalized in the classic Sci-Fi flick The Day the Earth Stood Still. A full-fledged Theremin will set you back nearly $400, but with the instructions below, you can build a pocket-sized Theremin-like instrument that wont break the bank. Unlike the real McCoy which relies on grounded variable capacitance for changing frequency and volume with the wave of a hand, our Pocket Theremin uses variations in light for producing its unearthly vibrato.

    4.20.2008 at 07:09pm - Comment by Headfoot

    Why is everyone such a nature-nut here? Your rhetoric borders on hysteria. I highly doubt any of you have stopped driving your cars, stopped runing your computers, stopped playing your stereos, stopped heating your water, stopped turning on lights when its dark or made any other significant lifestyle change. Lets talk about Pocket Theremins, not some tiny piece of electronic waste. How about you tell me how yours works?

  • DIY

    The Instant Hot Tub

    By Posted on 4.18.2008 22 Comments

    Self-heating soup sounds like something from the future: Push a button on the can, and three minutes later the contents are piping hot. But its widely available today, along with self-heating coffee and hot chocolate. In Japan, I even found self-heating sake. Pretty high-tech! Or not. In fact, these products use a chemical reaction known since at least 4000 B.C.—the mixing of quicklime and water. When you roast limestone at about 1,650�F, it converts to quicklime, a powder used to disinfect corpses in war zones. Mix quicklime with water, and it grabs and binds the water molecules, releasing lots of energy in the form of heat. (The material left over, known as hydrated or slaked lime, is the basis of lime mortar, popular in the Roman empire and still used today.) Soup is OK, but I decided to use the technology to make a self-heating hot tub.

    4.20.2008 at 07:01pm - Comment by Headfoot

    Take your political agenda, ranting, raving and otherwise useless prattle elsewhere. Its 500 pounds a quicklime, it isnt going to kill us. Or are you one of those Ted Turner types? Will we all be cannibals because of an 8 degree increase? By the way, have you checked how big the Earth is lately? How about how little 500 pounds of quicklime matters?



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