• Gadgets

    Fluid Focus

    By Posted on 10.27.2008 12 Comments

    In place of glass lenses that move in order to focus, liquid optics uses a drop of water that changes shape when an electric charge is applied. The system is smaller and cheaper than glass and can supposedly focus faster. The tech recently appeared in the Akkord SnakeCam, a webcam sold in China. We brought one stateside and pitted it against two versions with glass lenses.

    10.28.2008 at 07:49am - Comment by uocotp

    i usually do my net meetings outside on the glaciers of the south pole. Ah.. i guess this product is a floozy.

  • The Environment

    (Re)Building a Better Town

    By Annemarie Conte and Esther Haynes Posted on 9.8.2008 18 Comments

    On May 4, 2007, a two-mile-wide F5 tornado destroyed 95 percent of Greensburg, Kansas, leaving two thirds of the town’s 1,500 inhabitants homeless. Many thought the town was finished. But in fact, the townspeople decided to rebuild using the greenest, most forward-thinking materials and construction methods possible.

    9.4.2008 at 02:05pm - Comment by uocotp

    2/3's 1,500 inhabitants homeless... im guessing there is a money issue, and this is why they are building cheap and fast housing with green construction and materials.

  • Science

    Google Walking Directions: a Privacy Concern?

    By Posted on 8.4.2008 5 Comments

    Last week, Google released a beta application that provides walking directions in major cities such as New York, San Francisco, and Minneapolis. It's another sign that the search giant is getting even more specific about "organizing the world's information," right down to the sidewalk in front of your house. If you want to walk from your apartment in the suburbs to a restaurant downtown, Google will show you the best route with turn-by-turn directions you can print out or follow on your smartphone.

    8.5.2008 at 08:08am - Comment by uocotp

    If its a public street whats the difference of being able to see a 360 view picture or just driving there? Either way its accessible, so i don't understand how this is a privacy concern. If people are that paranoid, move into a gated community.

  • Science

    Say I'm Inside the Large Hadron Collider and It's Revving Up. Should I Be Concerned?

    By Posted on 8.1.2008 12 Comments

    Well, it's never a great idea to stand next to a machine that could create black holes, but the magnets that steer the proton beams around the planet's most powerful particle accelerator would probably spare you from excess radiation. Then again, there is the off chance that some 300 trillion protons could erupt from the device and kill you on the spot.

    8.5.2008 at 07:55am - Comment by uocotp

    well then why didnt we just get a 400-ton train speeding at 95 mph to speed around the tunnel? j/k nvm

  • Science

    Say I'm Inside the Large Hadron Collider and It's Revving Up. Should I Be Concerned?

    By Posted on 8.1.2008 12 Comments

    Well, it's never a great idea to stand next to a machine that could create black holes, but the magnets that steer the proton beams around the planet's most powerful particle accelerator would probably spare you from excess radiation. Then again, there is the off chance that some 300 trillion protons could erupt from the device and kill you on the spot.

    8.5.2008 at 07:55am - Comment by uocotp

    well then why didnt we just get a 400-ton train speeding at 95 mph to collide particles? j/k nvm

  • The Environment

    Wind-Powered Town

    By Posted on 7.24.2008 10 Comments

    As researchers find new technologies to power the world of the future, the answer may be blowing in the wind. Across the country, wind-generated power has been showing the potential to be a significant energy generator. Last week, Rock Port, Missouri, became the first city in the United States to generate its electricity entirely through wind-powered technology. Meanwhile, Texas, known for its oil connections, has become the nation's largest producer of wind-powered energy and is investing almost $5 billion in a wind power project.

    7.25.2008 at 11:51am - Comment by uocotp

    no, it cant

  • Technology

    Martian Soil Is Alkaline

    By Posted on 6.30.2008 9 Comments

    Now that the glitches caused by the Martian soil's clumpy consistency have been shaken out, the Phoenix Lander has been able to cook up a few samples to test the soil composition. The preliminary results are surprising even to the chemists at work on the project: the soil is alkaline, and much more so than anyone expected. The analysis has found trace amounts of magnesium, sodium, potassium, and other elements similar to those in the soil on Earth. On first pass, Martian dirt appears to be non-toxic and laden with the basic nutrients necessary to support life.

    7.1.2008 at 08:09am - Comment by uocotp

    what makes these ovens one time use?

  • Technology

    Taking Out the Space Trash

    By Posted on 6.30.2008 9 Comments

    Along with satellites and space stations, Earth is surrounded by tens of millions of pieces of floating space debris. Like any landfill, the trash is diverse, ranging from dead satellites to castaway rocket parts to flecks of paint. On average, over the past 40 years, one piece of space junk has fallen to Earth every day.

    6.30.2008 at 08:08am - Comment by uocotp

    Thats a lot more technical than my idea of a giant space trashcan.

  • Science

    HP Discovers Potential "God Particle" of Electronics

    By Posted on 4.30.2008 16 Comments

    Silicon Valley is mostly a world of practical technology—applying principles from pure science to create handy gadgets. But today, Hewlett Packard announced a new electrical component born of theoretical physics. The device, a nanoscale component called a "memristor," requires no power to retain data, which it can store more densely than a hard drive and access about as fast as a computers RAM memory—potentially allowing it to replace both components in the future.

    4.30.2008 at 03:52pm - Comment by uocotp

    so now i can store all of my porn in a square cenimeter or smaller? ... Lets get this goin HP.. good job.



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