Comments

kyleb2112

Science

DOE Announces $620 Million in Smart Grid Project Grants

By Clay Dillow Posted on 11.24.2009 6 Comments
While the Smart Grid we needed years ago is still years away, the Obama administration took a step forward today as Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced $620 million in stimulus awards for 32 Smart Grid demonstration projects benefiting 21 states. A decidedly feel-good video that is nonetheless educational was released along with the announcement and explains (in broad terms at least) what the DOE aims to achieve with its Smart Grid investment. View it after the jump.

11.25.2009 at 01:31am - Comment by kyleb2112

Hey, Popsci, just wondering if you plan to report on the biggest science story of the decade? Namely that the top "scientists" supporting global warming have been exposed as agenda-driven, data-skewing frauds. You know, the whole University of East Anglia hacked e-mail thing. Think that just MIGHT have some impact on the veracity of those ten thousand global warming articles you've served up over the years? As a publication with SCIENCE in it's very name, you just MIGHT be concerned with corrupted DATA and feel some RESPONSIBILITY to your READERS.
Technology

Fastest Supercomputer in the World Models Dark Matter, HIV Family Tree Simultaneously

By Stuart Fox Posted on 10.30.2009 20 Comments
In November of last year, scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory switched on Roadrunner, the world's fastest computer. IBM and the Department of Energy built the machine to model nuclear explosions, but two new studies, both released today, are proof that the computer's massive power has been at least as devoted to peaceful science as to simulating thermonuclear weapons.

10.28.2009 at 04:38am - Comment by kyleb2112

What a waste of time. We all know the answer's 42.
Science

Could a Human Beat a T. Rex In Arm Wrestling?

By Posted on 10.23.2009 8 Comments
“First, we’re assuming that the T. rex won’t just eat the person, right?” asks Jack Conrad, a vertebrate paleontologist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Right. This is a sanctioned match, and killing your opponent is strictly against the rules. Who's coming out on top?

10.24.2009 at 05:36pm - Comment by kyleb2112

They'd beat you with their breath alone, I reckon.
Gadgets

How The Apple Tablet Could Ruin Computing

By Tom Conlon Posted on 8.6.2009 92 Comments
Though whispers of an Apple tablet device practically predate Australopithecus, this week they’ve reached a fever pitch. It’s been reported by several news outlets that the supposed iTablet will feature a 10-inch touchscreen, both Wi-Fi and 3G data, and a custom ARM processor. It’s already been priced at $800 and even greenlit by none other than His Majesty Steve Jobs for a September release. Not one iota of this has been officially confirmed, but the prospect of a Mac Tablet seems more within reach than ever before. This is not a good thing. If an Apple tablet is ever actually released, we should all be very concerned for the future of what most of us take for granted today: our digital freedom.

8.6.2009 at 02:44pm - Comment by kyleb2112

Jailbreak it. Of course then you'll be supporting terrorism.
Science

USB 3.0: A Primer

By Dan Smith Posted on 7.2.2009 26 Comments
That Universal Serial Bus port in your computer is about to get an upgrade. You know, the one where you plug in all your external hard drives, digital cameras, MP3 players, thumb drives, and USB heated-slippers? If you bought your computer any time after the year 2000, it probably came equipped with a USB 2.0 port. However, later this year computers will start shipping that include USB 3.0 ports, which can transmit data up to ten times as fast. Here's what to expect.

7.31.2009 at 04:00am - Comment by kyleb2112

Can we FINALLY use USB for video capture? Or do another million consumers have to find out the hard way they need firewire.
Science

Five Human Achievements That Could Top Walking on the Moon

By Stuart Fox Posted on 7.20.2009 62 Comments
Possibly the single most influential event in the public's interest in science and technology (not to mention one of humankind’s greatest adventures), the Apollo 11 mission touched the collective dreams of millions, while pushing science and technology swiftly forward at an unprecedented pace. But in the decades since man first walked on the moon, science has advanced so rapidly that technology which even a few years ago might have been considered magic has become commonplace. Even so, it would be naïve to assume that Apollo 11 ever represented science and technology’s pinnacle, and that nothing forthcoming will similarly explode the world’s collective dreams and perceptions of what it means to be human. So what’s next? What will be the next worldwide event or discovery that fundamentally changes the way we look at ourselves and the universe we live in?

7.20.2009 at 05:11pm - Comment by kyleb2112

Sorry to see this extremely naive stance on nuclear disarmament. Of course he ignores the fact of terrorist states desperately seeking nukes, and focuses on the low hanging fruit of the large nuclear powers reducing stockpiles. Of course if the chief nuclear nations ever did completely disarm, this would dangerously empower any rogue state. Not to mention that if we'd followed this hippie pipe dream in the 80s, we'd still have the Soviet Union to contend with today. One day we will indeed have a nuke free world--when an even more powerful weapon has made them obsolete.
Science

How to Lose Traffic and Alienate People: The Revenge!

By Tom Conlon Posted on 7.2.2009 16 Comments
Welcome to another installment of The Grouse's semi-annual lambasting of poor practices on the Web. When I compiled my first list of all things online and terrible six months ago, I thought I'd been fairly comprehensive. CAPTCHAs, tooltip ads, bottomless dropdown menus and audio ads were among the archaic and ill-conceived online "experiences" thrown on the fire. But just six months later, I find myself with a host of new grievances to air.

7.3.2009 at 06:17pm - Comment by kyleb2112

I'd put a couple things at the top of this list: 1. The high google rank of sites that want to charge you for answers to computer problems. Such info has always flowed blessedly freely on the nets. If it starts getting monetized, we're all screwed. 2. Unnecessary subscription processes. The days where even the most obscure sites demand I formalize my relationship with them need to end. 3. Searching for the Search Field. It's like a Where's Waldo game. Perhaps a Search Field to find the Search Field?
DIY

Build a Bug Zapper From 1971, Step-By-Step

By Joel Barnard Posted on 5.27.2009 2 Comments

6.2.2009 at 05:37am - Comment by kyleb2112

Cool contraption. But if you're not electrocuting the little bastards it's not a "zapper".
The Environment

Global Warming Better, Worse Than We Thought

By Stuart Fox Posted on 5.14.2009 11 Comments
This is going to be a different kind of global warming post, because there's actually some good news to go along with the bad news. Well, not GOOD, but better than previously expected. Unfortunately, the bad news is just as bad as always.

5.17.2009 at 05:39am - Comment by kyleb2112

Well, how many times have the ice caps melted before? Or a better questions might be: how come no global warming proponents know the answer to that question? Try asking them! If their biggest fear really is the ice caps melting, wouldn't they have looked it up? They won't know that one, but they will know ALL ABOUT the "cures" for "climate change"--the draconian controls and restrictions they want to impose on humanity "for our own good". This is what interests them, and this is what they spend their time studying. It's never been about saving the world. It's always been about imposing a political agenda.
Technology

Space Adventurer Sues for Losing Earth Job

By Jeremy Hsu Posted on 5.7.2009 7 Comments
Space tourism hazards don't usually include losing your day job, but that's apparently what happened to geek millionaire Richard Garriott. The game designer is suing the company NCsoft for $24 million, based on the claim that NCsoft wrongly defined his departure as voluntary and forced him to sell off company stock options early.

5.8.2009 at 01:01pm - Comment by kyleb2112

They had every right to fire him, but that bit about the stock options sounds like they were trying to legally rob him, too. Sounds like they deserve each other.