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electric rain

Entertainment & Gaming

Wii Vitality Sensor Monitors Gamers' Heart Rates During Play

By Brett Zarda Posted on 6.3.2009 4 Comments
Apparently Nintendo executives frequent PopSci.com. Last year we evaluated the Wii Fit and begged for more technical ways to quantify how hard someone is working on the Wii. Yesterday, at the E3 conference, Nintendo did just that, unveiling the Wii Vitality Sensor--a finger-clip heart rate monitor add-on.

6.3.2009 at 11:50am - Comment by electric rain

Oh my gosh, this is just stupid!
Entertainment & Gaming

Microsoft Guns For Nintendo With Project Natal, A Full-Body Motion Controller

By Posted on 6.4.2009 8 Comments
Today at E3, the annual video game conference in Los Angeles, Microsoft took the wraps off Project Natal--a sophisticated new sensor bar for the Xbox 360 that installs under your TV and tracks your every move, effectively translating your motions directly to those of characters or objects in the game. And judging by the demo video they released, it looks pretty incredible.

6.3.2009 at 11:46am - Comment by electric rain

Haven't we all seen those videos of over enthusiastic players flinging wiimotes through their TV's? I'd love to see what people do with this!
Science

Robots Borrow Hydro-Repelling Tech from Insect Legs to Walk on Water

By Val Wang Posted on 6.2.2009 6 Comments
A robot that can walk on water: such a miracle is one step closer to reality, thanks to some new research that learns from the work nature has done with water striders. Walking on water may seem like a superpower and the name scientists have give the property of the striders' legs is fitting: super-hydrophobia.

6.3.2009 at 11:40am - Comment by electric rain

Maybe we could make shoes out of this substance. Who needs boats?
Science

Water Rolls Uphill On Metal Blasted By Powerful Femtosecond Laser

By Dan Smith Posted on 6.2.2009 12 Comments
Using an unbelievably powerful laser over an unbelievably short period of time, scientists have been able to alter the surface of metals to control the flow of water across their surfaces down to the individual molecule. And when we say an unbelievable amount of energy, we’re talking about the power of the entire grid of the United States at once. When we say an unbelievably short period of time, we’re talking about a femtosecond, which is to a second what a second is to 32 million years. Think about both of those for a femtosecond.

6.3.2009 at 11:34am - Comment by electric rain

I'm imagining this sort of thing used in everyday life. Maybe like walking on walls or something.
Gadgets

Heads-Up Display Embedded In Glasses

By Posted on 6.3.2009 21 Comments
If your mother yelled at you about ruining your eyes by sitting too close to the TV, she is going to go nuts if you come home wearing a pair of these. The German research society Fraunhofer has developed a pair of glasses with lenses that project a heads up display right onto the user's retina.

6.3.2009 at 11:27am - Comment by electric rain

Reminds me of star wars.
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 01:58pm - Comment by electric rain

1. Your reading my comment 2. Now your saying/thinking thats a stupid fact. 4. You didnt notice that i skipped 3. 5. Your checking it now. 6. Your smiling. 7. Your still reading my comment. 8. You know all you have read is true. 10. You didnt notice that i skipped 9. 11. Your checking it now. 12. You didnt notice there are only 10 facts Copy and paste to 1 article, tomorrow will be your best day ever! no matter what
Cars

Recyclable Cars

By Posted on 5.15.2009 1 Comments
Each year, around 10 million vehicles are disposed of in the United States. Before vexing your conscience though, you should know that over 95 percent of these “retired” cars head straight to one of the 7,000 vehicle recycling operations around the country and 75 percent of these cars' parts are completely recycled, letting cars claim top spot as the world's most recycled product. DriverSide explores what happens to these automotive materials.

5.8.2009 at 01:53pm - Comment by electric rain

1. Your reading my comment 2. Now your saying/thinking thats a stupid fact. 4. You didnt notice that i skipped 3. 5. Your checking it now. 6. Your smiling. 7. Your still reading my comment. 8. You know all you have read is true. 10. You didnt notice that i skipped 9. 11. Your checking it now. 12. You didnt notice there are only 10 facts Copy and paste to 1 article, tomorrow will be your best day ever! no matter what
Science

A Synthetic Solution for a Legal 4:20

By Joel Barnard Posted on 4.20.2009 20 Comments
Legal-ish alternatives to marijuana exist, you just need to know where to look…er, smell. Apparently that’s what someone learned when they put the herbal incense brand “Spice” in their pipe and smoked it. The results were, like, totally rad, dude. It turns out Spice contains the synthetic substance JWH-018, which is incredibly similar to the main active component of marijuana. Although sold legally in many countries, governments around the world are lining up to put the kibosh on the Spice party.

4.22.2009 at 09:55am - Comment by electric rain

If your gonna be stupid and ruin your lungs, that's fine with me. I won't stand in your way. I agree with oakspar77777, you might as well smoke your cars tires.
Science

The Agony of the Heat

By Posted on 3.13.2009 3 Comments
We’ve all been there: you bite into a hot pepper and then instantly regret it, clawing in vain at your tongue in the restaurant men’s room. (Wait, that was just me.) Ever wonder just what, chemically and physiologically, is going on during that agony? The latest Science of Youtube episode lets you get all the fun facts while watching someone else take the heat.

3.16.2009 at 09:05am - Comment by electric rain

Waves of pain? Give me a break! Your not pregnant dude! Oh, and people don't go to the ER from taking a little bite of a hot pepper!
Entertainment & Gaming

Rules of Engagement, Rewritten

By Scott Steinberg Posted on 4.2.2009 4 Comments
Real-time strategy (RTS) titles have been a cornerstone of electronic gaming since the earliest days of computing. With hundreds of miniaturized troops and vehicles fighting atop lavishly rendered landscapes that change every second, these virtual conflicts provided a brisker, more accessible alternative to tabletop favorites like Stratego, Axis & Allies or Risk. Thanks to the success of franchises like WarCraft and Command & Conquer, the genre has swept across PCs.

3.16.2009 at 09:02am - Comment by electric rain

First off, great article! The only problem I had with it is when you said, "It also succeeds at bridging the gap between mindless blasters and more methodical titles that hinge on calculated maneuvering". This seems to hint that Halo is just a mindless shooter! I totally disagree! Halo does require skill.