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mythgarr

Science

Node Outlet, Where Have You Been?

By Dan Smith Posted on 6.19.2009 7 Comments
The other day we told you about upgrading your power sockets into “smart” plugs, but how about updating the actual design of the socket? Node, a concept design for futuristic wall units might replace not just normal sockets, but also the need for surge protectors. Included in the promotional photos are hinged plugs, allowing for the maximization of space. I can’t wait to see the version of this for 3-pronged plugs or any number of foreign plug configurations.

6.22.2009 at 09:58am - Comment by mythgarr

The TED smart plug model won't work with this type of system - it relies on being able to individually turn on/off each outlet, whereas this system uses a single outlet for up to a dozen or so appliances. Also, this type of power strip was used extensively in the 60's - especially for kitchen and workspace areas. They thought of many of the same perks - you can just keep plugging things in! Unfortunately it doesn't really work with GFCI, AFCI, or most other safety features that have come out over the past 40 years. Workspaces have switched to the long lines of 6" spaced outlets you see now, and kitchens use standard outlets more liberally placed. In short, yet another instance of form over function.
The Environment

My Boss Told Me to Shut Off My Computer at Lunch

By Posted on 6.12.2009 8 Comments
You'll save some energy turning your computer off for an hour, but those modest energy gains might come at the expense of your computer's longevity. To figure out just how much energy an average computer consumes during its various states of use, we asked Harvard University physicist Wolfgang Rueckner to run a few tests on his 2005 iMac G5.

6.12.2009 at 04:07pm - Comment by mythgarr

"Given these numbers (assume it's even higher for a computer running Windows, which requires more processing power than a Mac operating system)" Really? C'mon, Popsci! I'm no windows fan (I dual boot Ubuntu on 3 out of 5 home PCs, and Ubuntu is the more used OS) but this statement reeks of bias. You're referring to an aged system to get power consumption numbers. Modern macs use Intel processors that are nearly identical to their PC brethren. The stats that have much more bearing on power consumption aren't even mentioned - optical drives consume large amounts of power at start up and shutdown as they spin up, then stop until they need to be used. GPUs start out with a self-test that consumes a lot of power, then drops considerably until there is some demand for better performance. Fans, power supplies, and most peripherals to a computer start their day with a self-test that will consume more power than they would under a standard operational load. Stick to straight science, and leave power consumption, performance, and other benchmarks up to their respective professionals.
Science

A PopSci Christmas: Holiday Lights and... Explosions (Of Course!)

By Posted on 12.24.2008 5 Comments

12.29.2008 at 03:37pm - Comment by mythgarr

Until a few years ago, several chemistry professors from the University of Utah did an annual lecture around solstice similar to this. I distinctly remember them demonstrating the hazards or thermite (as well as why you should NEVER try to put it out with water), displaying a silver nitrate Christmas tree, and many more fun things. I believe their age finally got the better of them - I haven't heard anything about it since 2000 or so.
Science

Dear Mr. President

By Posted on 10.28.2008 5 Comments
Good morning, Senator (or should I say "President-elect"?), and congratulations. You talked during your campaign about using the Internet to engage with regular folks, and surely you did. So did your opponent. The last time I checked, the two of you had amassed about two million friends between you on Facebook and MySpace, and another few hundred thousand followers on Twitter and YouTube.

10.28.2008 at 10:26am - Comment by mythgarr

@Ophiguris: Thankfully, most of the data they are talking about providing online is already publicly available. Voting records are already online, but they're only listed by the bill that was voted on - it's not currently possible (at least on the government website) to select a senator and see that PERSON'S entire voting record. Additionally, providing online community tools to make suggestions for bills, provide feedback to posted suggestions and such would need no more security than facebook, myspace, or whatever. All of that correspondence to senators, governors, etc are available for public request via a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request. This article is talking, primarily, about enabling easier communication between elected officials and their constituency.
Gadgets

The Mouse That Runs Anywhere

By Posted on 7.29.2009 12 Comments
THE TECH To calculate their position, most mice use a red LED or a laser to light up a surface, take thousands of pictures per second of the shadows cast by the surface’s microscopic bumps, and then analyze the differences between shots. But that doesn’t work if there are no bumps, as on glossy tables, or if a jagged surface, like carpet, traps narrow light beams between fibers. So Microsoft’s Explorer moves the camera sensor forward to capture the light reflected by any surface.

10.14.2008 at 04:55pm - Comment by mythgarr

@Chipper Smoltz: What you just described is more commonly known as a tablet. Wacom's very popular digitizers work by emitting and sensing electromagnetic fields, allowing for a lot of versatility in the actual device used to do the input. Other technologies include optical (ie: MS surface), capacitive (ie: the touchpad on most laptops), and resistive. There are a number of problems with using these technologies on a large scale. Unless the device incorporates a display, it's not really possible to use it in a multitouch manner (since you can't easily see where a touch will be registered). Incorporating a display is fairly expensive for even slightly mobile installations, which is the primary market for mice (even desktop PCs are moved with some regularity in most households). Trying to balance sensor accuracy, surface area, cost, and mobility is a big concern. I, too dream of a future of OLED displays with embedded touch sensitive capabilities being commonplace, but I fear that future is still a decade or more off.
Entertainment & Gaming

Senator Suspects Beijing Bugs

By Posted on 7.30.2008 6 Comments
How do you say "Big Brother" in Chinese? Visitors to the Beijing Olympics need to be careful what they email (and what websites they peruse) according to Senator Sam Brownback, the senior Republican from Kansas. Based on hotel documents, Brownback alleges that the Chinese government has spent millions of dollars installing spy software in major hotel chains to monitor its guests' email and web surfing. "The Chinese government has put in place a system to spy on and gather information about every guest at hotels where Olympic visitors are staying," said Brownback.

7.31.2008 at 11:13am - Comment by mythgarr

nerd.herd: Many people seem to be under the mistaken impression that privacy is a right. I don't believe there are many governments who treat it as such - Great Brittain has 4.2 million CCTV cameras by some estimates. The US monitors communications for any "suspicious" activity. China monitors visitors and citizens alike for anti-communist activity. I would love to see a mass movement against the increasingly alarming privacy encroachments. Until a large number of citizens cry out in a united voice that they will not tolerate a nanny-state attitude we will continue down the path toward an orwellian society.
Science

Readers Ask . . .

By Posted on 7.30.2008 26 Comments
PopSci reader aaronmrosen wonders: "when it comes to wind farms, can too many props actually slow down the wind, and cause a change in weather patterns?" What do you think? Wind power: good or evil? Discuss in the comments section. Submit your science and technology questions to fyi@popsci.com.

7.31.2008 at 10:49am - Comment by mythgarr

purepower: The cleanest energy source we have is nuclear. It's unfortunate that politicians have been convinced that it's a deadly poison - if we were allowed to recycle our current nuclear waste, there wouldn't be any concern regarding long-term storage. What would actually be disposed of would be no more harmful than your average x-ray session at the dentist after 100 years or so while simultaneously decreasing the amount of fuel needed to generate power, eliminating the risk of refining the waste into weapons-grade material (it's just not possible at that point), and making the entire process much safer for everyone. As to the question, I certainly believe that mass deployment of wind power would have a noticeable effect on localized weather. You're decreasing the wind speed at ground level thereby decreasing the wind chill factor and artificially raising ambient temperatures by several degrees. Wind power works great for localized demands, where the impact of transmission losses are minimal but is crummy for the US's vastly spread out infrastructure.
Entertainment & Gaming

Are Records Really Better?

By Posted on 7.3.2008 18 Comments
Sorry, vinyl aficionados, but CDs most accurately capture the clarity of musical performances. If you look at the grooves of a standard long-play record, or LP, through a microscope, you’ll see that each is filled with what look like rolling hills. These are, in fact, an extremely close replication of the shape of the sound waves from the musician’s instrument. But because the needle that carves the groove is shaped slightly different than the needle that reads it, the LP will never sound exactly like the original performance.

7.3.2008 at 03:35pm - Comment by mythgarr

sonics seems to be comparing MP3 quality to that of a vinyl record, whereas the actual article acknowledges that the quality of the MP3 is MUCH lower than that of either a CD or vinyl. Uncompressed digitized audio of the sort referred to in the article (10MB / 60s) works out to 174762 B/s. Assuming a 24-bit sample, that's 58.3k samples/sec. I'm a little groggy at the moment, so I don't really want to do the math but one could calculate the maximum possible size of the needle point in order to duplicate the accuracy of the above digital recording assuming an LP of 12" diameter spinning at 33 1/3 rpm (ie: 3.49 rad/s). My guess is that mathematically and physically speaking, a CD offers a more accurate representation of the original music. It's perfectly legitimate to prefer a less accurate but, in your mind, better sounding rendition of the original work. Some people prefer Picasso to Da Vinci, and I don't see any problem with that.
Science

Today Dirt, Tomorrow Quantum Computing!

By Posted on 6.30.2008 8 Comments
Much like cold fusion, nano-computing always seems ten years off. The years go by, technology advances, but the goal doesn’t seem to get any closer. Last week, however, a team of Purdue University scientists reported overcoming a major hurdle in the path to creating a functional quantum computer.

6.30.2008 at 05:27pm - Comment by mythgarr

"Like bites in regular computers" I believe you mean bits - which make up bytes.