John Gordon Ross

A Man for All Reasons

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Geekish

Anyone who works as a freelancer these days has to be at least a bit familiar with techie things. But it isn’t just that. When I was a kid and those vaguely SF puppet shows were on the television and all the other kids wanted to be Greg Gogetem or Steve Savetheuniverse, I wanted to be the guy in a white coat and glasses called Doc or Brains. Here are some technology-related feeds I find useful and/or entertaining.

Slashdot » Ask Slashdot: Experience Handling DDoS Attacks On a Mid-Tier Site?

Monday 9 April 23:55:00 UTC 2012

New submitter caboosesw writes "A customer of mine recently was hit by a quick and massive DDoS attack. As we were in the middle of things, we learned that there are proxy services of varying maturity to deal with these kinds of outbreaks from the small and mysterious (DOSArrest, ServerOrigin, BlackLotus, DDOSProtection, CloudFlare, etc.) to the large and mature … [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Amazingly Complex Rube Goldberg Machine Sets New World Record [Video]

Monday 9 April 23:08:21 UTC 2012

The Purdue Society of Professional Engineers team smashed its own world record for largest Rube Goldberg machine with a 300-step behemoth that flawlessly accomplished the simple task of blowing up and popping a balloon – setting the new world record for the Largest functional Rube Goldberg machine, according to World Records Academy.[Via The Awesomer]No related posts. flattr this! [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » New Revolutionary Camera Sees Around Corners [Video]

Monday 9 April 23:08:17 UTC 2012

This video shows how scientists at the MIT Media Lab reconstruct a hidden object using scattered laser light. Future applications may include seeing in dangerous or inaccessible locations, such as inside machinery with moving parts, or in highly contaminated areas.[Via The Presurfer]No related posts. flattr this! [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Once Again, Superman Saves the Day [Short Movie]

Monday 9 April 23:08:16 UTC 2012

An awesome and uplifting little short movie featuring the Man of Steel by Los Angeles-based animator Mike Roberts.[Via Kuriositas]No related posts. flattr this! [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Pac-Man: Origins – The Movie [Video]

Monday 9 April 23:08:15 UTC 2012

[Machinima]No related posts. flattr this! [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Micro Empire: A Fascinating Look at an Invisible World [Video]

Monday 9 April 23:08:14 UTC 2012

Stranger than fiction… molecular conflict and mitochondrial warfare … a heartstopping, subcellular epic … a truly microcinematic experience …“as an enthusiast for little things, I wanted to go deeper than the macro universe, so I found myself hanging on the eyepiece of a microscope. The real challenge was definitely the small depth of field in microscopy. It’s really fascinating how … [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Smashing Eggs and Teacups in Super Slow Motion [Video]

Monday 9 April 23:08:13 UTC 2012

A super slow motion video of exploding eggs and smashing glass filmed by the Phantom Flex camera….not your typical tea party.The frame rate was anywhere between 3,200 to 6,900 frames per second.[Via LS]No related posts. flattr this! [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Super Mario Bros. Easter Eggs [Pic]

Monday 9 April 23:08:12 UTC 2012

Yeah, I know, Easter is over, but I liked these so much that I decided to post them anyways! :)I’m not an artist and I know these aren’t perfect, but I think they still came out pretty cool. I used images from my iphone to replicate the the Nintendo characters. I basically drew the images on with a pencil and then … [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Theory of Everything: What is Matter? [Video]

Monday 9 April 23:08:11 UTC 2012

What is matter, anyway? What does it have to do with math? And why aren’t you made of Jesus? Delving deeper into the theory of (almost) everything – the Standard Model of particle physics.[MinutePhysics]No related posts. flattr this! [Link]

Slashdot » BOSS: The Universe's Most Precise Measurement

Monday 9 April 23:00:00 UTC 2012

Cazekiel writes "Observing the primordial sound waves created 30,000 years after the Big Bang, physicists on the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey have determined our universe's most precise measurements: 13.5 billion years old. The article detailing the study reports: '"We've made precision measurements of the large-scale structure of the universe five to seven billion years ago — the best measure … [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Now Graphene Rewrites Rules for Microscopes

Monday 9 April 22:30:40 UTC 2012

Last year I jokingly wrote that graphene would be a dead cert if there were an awards ceremony for material of the year. It turns out the hits keep on coming in 2012: researchers at Berkeley believe graphene could make it easier to study liquids with a microscope.Graphene is made up of a single layer of carbon atoms, arranged in a … [Link]

Slashdot » Hybrid Car Owners Not Likely To Buy Another Hybrid

Monday 9 April 22:04:00 UTC 2012

An anonymous reader writes "A new study has found that people who purchased a hybrid car in the past are not likely to buy a hybrid for their next car purchase. 'Only 35% of hybrid vehicle owners chose to purchase a hybrid again when they returned to the market in 2011, according to auto information company R.L. Polk & … [Link]

WIRED » Record-Breaking Rube Goldberg Machine Pops Balloon in 300 Steps

Monday 9 April 22:02:00 UTC 2012

Based on the work of famous American cartoonist Rube Goldberg, there's no shortage of elaborate Rube Goldberg machines. But none are more complex — in terms of total sequenced steps — than the Purdue Society of Professional Engineers' latest creation. [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Robot Cuts Off Top Of Human Head For Charity [Video]

Monday 9 April 21:30:30 UTC 2012

He’s only cutting off the person’s hair, fortunately! The hair does count as the top of someone’s head, doesn’t it?The Multi-Arm UGV (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) demonstrates its dexterity by shaving a volunteer’s head to raise money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a charity committed in funding research for finding a cure for childhood cancer.[Via [H]]No related posts. flattr this! [Link]

WIRED » U.S. Commandos Can Raid Afghan Homes ? And Ask Permission Later

Monday 9 April 21:26:00 UTC 2012

Reports of the demise of the Afghanistan War's signature tactic are premature. U.S. Special Operations Forces will still conduct "night raids" on Afghan homes — sometimes without the prior approval of the Afghan government, according to the Defense Department. [Link]

Slashdot » New Tech Makes Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Verifiable

Monday 9 April 21:21:00 UTC 2012

Harperdog writes "In 1999, Senate Republicans rejected the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty on the grounds that it wasn't verifiable. The National Academy of Sciences feels this is no longer true, due to new technology. Quoting: 'Technologies for detecting clandestine testing in four environments — underground, underwater, in the atmosphere, and in space — have improved significantly in the past decade. … [Link]

WIRED » iPhone 5 Rumors Abound: October Launch, Unibody Case

Monday 9 April 21:12:00 UTC 2012

It's early in the game, and we basically know nothing about Apple's upcoming iPhone. Nonetheless, speculation about the next iPhone's specs and features is in ample supply, as three separate rumors were reported today. [Link]

Slashdot » Jack Tramiel, Founder of Commodore Business Machines, Dies At Age 83

Monday 9 April 21:00:00 UTC 2012

LoTonah writes "Jack Tramiel, founder of Commodore Business Machines and later, the owner of Atari, died Easter Sunday. He was 83. He undoubtedly changed the computing landscape by bringing low cost computers to millions of people, and he started a price war that saw dozens of large companies leave the market. He also took a bankrupt Atari and managed … [Link]

Slashdot » Search For Earth-Like Worlds Focuses On Sun's Siblings

Monday 9 April 20:39:00 UTC 2012

astroengine writes "The search for 'Earth-like' worlds just became even more Earth-like. Researchers from the University of Turku, Finland, have begun the search for the Sun's siblings in the hope that they may play host to exoplanets. Since these stars 'grew up' in close proximity to our Sun inside a stellar nursery some 4.5 billion years ago, they may … [Link]

WIRED » Cloud Is Bigger Than Its Backbone, Research Finds

Monday 9 April 20:36:00 UTC 2012

In some more good news limping out of recessionary fears, a recent report claims that cloud-related companies will pump $20 billion annually into the economy. No, this is not the latest press release from Commerce, but a research paper published by the Sand Hill Group and sponsored by SAP. It?s a valentine to all things cloud, writes Victor Cruz. … [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Gaming: Then and Now [Comic]

Monday 9 April 20:30:59 UTC 2012

Oh the truth, how it hurts![Via MUO]No related posts. flattr this! [Link]

Slashdot » IBM Patent: Smart Floors Detect Heart Attacks, Intruders

Monday 9 April 20:15:00 UTC 2012

An anonymous reader writes "An IBM patent issued in March describes multitouch floors that detect who is in the home and what they're doing – perfect for detecting intruders and falls, notes MSNBC. CEPro.com suggests the technology also could be used to replace cameras and sensor arrays typically required for gesture control, and could detect staggering teens and 'unregistered' … [Link]

Slashdot » Internet Responds To Racist Article, Gets Author Fired

Monday 9 April 19:56:00 UTC 2012

In the wake of the Trayvon Martin tragedy in February, many publications posted articles about "the talk" — a phrase denoting the conversation many black parents have at some point with their children to explain the realities of racism. Last Thursday, writer John Derbyshire penned an article titled "The Talk: Nonblack Version," which codified a similar set of lessons … [Link]

WIRED » Nokia Lumia 900 Showing Promising Sales, Despite AT&T Store Holiday Closures

Monday 9 April 19:56:00 UTC 2012

Initial sales indicators for the Lumia 900, Nokia's most important U.S. Windows Phone to date, are showing that the handset is off to a good start despite the fact the phone launched on Easter Sunday, a day when most AT&T stores were closed. [Link]

WIRED » Happy Birthday, Tom Lehrer!

Monday 9 April 19:54:00 UTC 2012

Tom Lehrer – mathematician, satirist, singer-songwriter and hero to geeks taking chemistry tests everywhere – was born on April 9, 1928, making today his 84th birthday! [Link]

WIRED » Megaupload: Feds Want to Destroy User Data to Hobble Defense

Monday 9 April 19:44:00 UTC 2012

Labeling the criminal prosecution of seven top Megaupload operatives "unduly adventurous," the indicted file-sharing service's attorneys claim the government wants "exculpatory" evidence in the case destroyed so the U.S. government can prevail in the largest criminal copyright case ever brought. [Link]

WIRED » Feds Want Way to Hack Xboxes and Wiis for Evidence

Monday 9 April 19:38:00 UTC 2012

The Department of Homeland Security has launched a research project to find ways to hack into gaming consoles to obtain sensitive information about gamers stored on the devices. [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » New Revolutionary Camera Sees Around Corners [Video]

Monday 9 April 19:30:56 UTC 2012

This video shows how scientists at the MIT Media Lab reconstruct a hidden object using scattered laser light. Future applications may include seeing in dangerous or inaccessible locations, such as inside machinery with moving parts, or in highly contaminated areas.[Via The Presurfer]No related posts. flattr this! [Link]

WIRED » The 'Medium' Is Not the Messenger

Monday 9 April 19:30:00 UTC 2012

Hardly does one talking-to-the-dead practitioner fade from view than another pops up, to the delight of the naifs who desperately need assurance that no one ever really dies but somehow instead just floats off to Heaven, Valhalla, Paradise, or whatever Cloud Nine they fancy — to, um, "live" forever. The newest (and far more attractive) dead-talker is, Teresa Caputo, the … [Link]

WIRED » Mercedes Revs mbrace2 With Cloud Updates

Monday 9 April 19:16:00 UTC 2012

Mercedes' new mbrace2 offers apps for Facebook, Twitter and Yelp (in addition to more traditional concierge services). But the real "best or nothing" here given how much more tech is in cars today is the use of the cloud to deliver wireless updates as they become available. [Link]

WIRED » Worldwide Windows XP Eradication Day Only Two Years Away

Monday 9 April 19:15:00 UTC 2012

To the 100 million Windows XP users out there, Microsoft has a message for you: It's time to move on. Seriously. In fact, the countdown to the end of the Age of XP is on. In just under two years — on Apr. 8, 2014 to be exact — Microsoft will dump support for its once-ubiquitous OS and it's faithful … [Link]

Slashdot » Heavyweights Clash Over Policing Repeat Copyright Infringers

Monday 9 April 19:14:00 UTC 2012

SolKeshNaranek tips a story at TorrentFreak about an ongoing copyright case that revolves around how much effort websites need to expend to block repeat infringers after responding to DMCA requests. In 2011, a judge ruled that a website embedding videos from third parties had correctly removed links to infringing videos after receiving a DMCA request, but failed to do … [Link]

WIRED » Microsoft Arms Itself With 1,100 Patents From AOL

Monday 9 April 18:52:00 UTC 2012

Microsoft has bolstered its artillery for the ongoing patent wars. Again. On Monday, AOL announced that it would sell over 800 patents to Microsoft and grant Redmond a non-exclusive license to 300 more, all for a price of $1.056 billion in cash. "This is a valuable portfolio that we have been following for years and analyzing in detail for several … [Link]

WIRED » Exclusive: Facebook Deal Nets Instagram CEO $400 Million

Monday 9 April 18:46:00 UTC 2012

Facebook?s acquisition of the immensely popular photo-sharing service Instagram for $1 billion is far and away the largest acquisition in the history of the world?s largest social network. But for CEO Kevin Systrom and company, it?s a windfall payday like none other. [Link]

Slashdot » Giant Touchscreens Coming To NYC Phone Booths

Monday 9 April 18:31:00 UTC 2012

An anonymous reader writes "New York City is planning an upgrade to its aging pay-phone infrastructure. A pilot program will next month install 32-inch touchscreens in 250 phone booths throughout the city. The screens will display "local neighborhood information, including lists of nearby restaurants, store sales in the area, traffic updates, landmark information and safety alerts — in multiple … [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Once Again, Superman Saves the Day [Short Movie]

Monday 9 April 18:30:31 UTC 2012

An awesome and uplifting little short movie featuring the Man of Steel by Los Angeles-based animator Mike Roberts.[Via Kuriositas]No related posts. flattr this! [Link]

WIRED » Usain Bolt Can Break His Own Record Without Running Faster

Monday 9 April 18:30:00 UTC 2012

The fastest man on the planet could shave his time in the 100 meters to 9.45 seconds without additional training or conditioning. [Link]

WIRED » NYC's All-New Nissan Taxi Absorbs Smells, Keeps Honking in Check

Monday 9 April 18:28:00 UTC 2012

Few things in New York are as iconic as its fleets of yellow and black taxis. But while the color scheme will stay the same, the shape is about to change with the introduction of the next-generation cab at the New York International Auto Show. [Link]

WIRED » Hundreds of Warbots Will Join Cops' Ranks

Monday 9 April 18:17:00 UTC 2012

Hundreds of new battlefield robots produced by a decade of war are having an easier transition to peacetime than some human veterans. The robots are simply trading their fatigues for the blue uniforms of American police. [Link]

WIRED » Video: The Show With Ze Frank Returns to the Web

Monday 9 April 18:14:00 UTC 2012

Humorist and video blogging pioneer Ze Frank is once again producing new episodes of The Show with Ze Frank. [Link]

WIRED » This Week on Game of Thrones: 6 Weak Tweaks and a Dark Surprise

Monday 9 April 18:13:00 UTC 2012

In "The Night Lands," TV viewers get several more deviations from George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy novels. One of the changes is strikingly effective, but all divergences from the beloved A Song of Ice and Fire source material bear scrutiny. [Link]

WIRED » How the U.S. Can Lead the Way to Extraterrestrial Land Deals

Monday 9 April 17:58:00 UTC 2012

Space lawyers Berin Szoka and James Dunstan strongly support private property rights in space. They believe in the power of private enterprise and are convinced that only entrepreneurship can lower the cost of doing business enough to fuel a space-based economy. In this Wired Opinion, Szoka and Dunstan explain how the United States can lead the way to establishing property … [Link]

Slashdot » FBI Says Smart Meter Hacks Are Likely To Spread

Monday 9 April 17:50:00 UTC 2012

tsu doh nimh writes "A series of hacks perpetrated against so-called 'smart meter' installations over the past several years may have cost a single U.S. electric utility hundreds of millions of dollars annually, the FBI said in cyber intelligence bulletin first revealed today. The law enforcement agency said this is the first known report of criminals compromising the hi-tech … [Link]

WIRED » Video: Beautiful Solar Eruption Seen in Extreme Ultraviolet

Monday 9 April 17:40:00 UTC 2012

NASA Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this gorgeous video of a recent outburst from the sun's surface in ultraviolet light. [Link]

WIRED » Windows 8 Metro Theme Created for Rooted Android Tablets

Monday 9 April 17:33:00 UTC 2012

Metro UI theme available for Android tablet owners with Tile envy. [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Pac-Man: Origins – The Movie [Video]

Monday 9 April 17:30:21 UTC 2012

[Machinima]No related posts. flattr this! [Link]

Slashdot » Facebook To Buy Instagram For $1 Billion

Monday 9 April 17:29:00 UTC 2012

Dorduan writes with news that Facebook is buying Instagram, the company who makes the popular mobile photo-sharing app of the same name, for approximately $1 billion. Mark Zuckerberg wrote, "… in order to do this well, we need to be mindful about keeping and building on Instagram's strengths and features rather than just trying to integrate everything into Facebook. … [Link]

Slashdot » Sony Slashes 10,000 Jobs

Monday 9 April 17:08:00 UTC 2012

redletterdave writes "Sony will cut about 10,000 jobs, which equates to about six percent of its global workforce, by the end of the year. The move comes after the Tokyo-based electronics firm more than doubled its loss forecast on April 5 to $2.9 billion, and the recent hiring of a new CEO, Kazuo Hirai, on April 1. Hirai looks … [Link]

WIRED » Stealth Drone Capture Didn't Hurt U.S. Nuke Spying, Paper Says

Monday 9 April 17:01:00 UTC 2012

When one of the U.S. Air Force's secretive RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drones crashed along the Afghanistan-Iran border in December and wound up in the hands of the Iranians, it did only "limited damage" to a U.S.-led effort to spy on Iran's suspected nuclear facilities. That's one surprising conclusion of a revealing new story published by The Washington Post on Saturday. … [Link]

WIRED » Exposed: Apple's 'Area i51,' Home of iCloud

Monday 9 April 16:55:00 UTC 2012

What we know: Apple is building something at its Maiden, North Carolina, data center. What we don't: What it is. So Wired took to the skies to find out. Will biogas and solar make iCloud green? [Link]

Slashdot » IT Calls of Shame

Monday 9 April 16:50:00 UTC 2012

snydeq writes "InfoWorld's JR Raphael offers up six memorable tales of trouble and triumph from the tech support desk. 'Working in tech support is a bit like teaching preschool: You're an educator who provides reassurance in troubling times. You share knowledge and help others overcome their obstacles. And some days, it feels like all you hear is screaming, crying, … [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Micro Empire: A Fascinating Look at an Invisible World [Video]

Monday 9 April 16:30:16 UTC 2012

Stranger than fiction… molecular conflict and mitochondrial warfare … a heartstopping, subcellular epic … a truly microcinematic experience …“as an enthusiast for little things, I wanted to go deeper than the macro universe, so I found myself hanging on the eyepiece of a microscope. The real challenge was definitely the small depth of field in microscopy. It’s really fascinating how … [Link]

Slashdot » SMS-Controlled Malware Hijacking Android Phones

Monday 9 April 16:28:00 UTC 2012

wiredmikey writes "Security researchers have discovered new Android malware controlled via SMS that can do a number of things on the compromised device including recording calls and surrounding noise. Called TigerBot, the recently discovered malware was found circulating in the wild via non-official Android channels. Based on the code examination, the researchers from NQ Mobile, alongside researchers at North … [Link]

Slashdot » 200,000 Titanic-Related Documents Published Online

Monday 9 April 16:02:00 UTC 2012

With the 100th anniversary of the Titanic's sinking coming up, ancestry.com has released 200,000 documents online relating to the ill-fated ship. The documents provide information about survivors and the 1,500 people who died, a number of wills, and hundreds of coroner inquests. You can look at the Titanic document collection for free until May 13. From the article: "The … [Link]

Slashdot » Major Textbook Publishers Sue Open-Education Textbook Start-Up

Monday 9 April 15:46:00 UTC 2012

linjaaho writes "Three major textbook publishers have sued a startup company making free and open textbooks, citing 'copyright infringement,' as the company is making similar textbooks using open material. From the article: 'The publishers' complaint takes issue with the way the upstart produces its open-education textbooks, which Boundless bills as free substitutes for expensive printed material. To gain access … [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Smashing Eggs and Teacups in Super Slow Motion [Video]

Monday 9 April 15:30:04 UTC 2012

A super slow motion video of exploding eggs and smashing glass filmed by the Phantom Flex camera….not your typical tea party.The frame rate was anywhere between 3,200 to 6,900 frames per second.[Via LS]No related posts. flattr this! [Link]

WIRED » Mozilla Builds Video Chat App Using Nothing but Web Standards

Monday 9 April 15:26:00 UTC 2012

Mozilla is showing off a demo of what web-based video calls might look like. The entire app is built with HTML and JavaScript, no plugins or app stores necessary. [Link]

Slashdot » High School Juniors Create 'Flavor Strips' For Astronauts

Monday 9 April 15:22:00 UTC 2012

Cazekiel writes "The sense of taste for astronauts is dulled by microgravity, but four high schoolers participating in the Spirit of Innovation Challenge have come up with a solution: Flavor Strips. They put a little more kick into space-food; from simple salt-and-pepper to Asian spices, astronauts get to add more taste to their meals without the space traveler, as … [Link]

WIRED » At Last ? A Clean, Mean eBook App: Robin Sloan's Fish

Monday 9 April 15:18:00 UTC 2012

[Link]

Slashdot » America's Secret Underground Ice Fortresses

Monday 9 April 15:01:00 UTC 2012

Hugh Pickens writes "With the advent of long-range bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles in the 1950s, it was inevitable that military attention would be drawn to remote but strategic arctic regions. Now Defense Tech reports on Project Iceworm — America's secret cold war plan to build a network of underground missile bases under the Greenland ice cap capable of … [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Super Mario Bros. Easter Eggs [Pic]

Monday 9 April 14:39:47 UTC 2012

Yeah, I know, Easter is over, but I liked these so much that I decided to post them anyways! :)I’m not an artist and I know these aren’t perfect, but I think they still came out pretty cool. I used images from my iphone to replicate the the Nintendo characters. I basically drew the images on with a pencil and then … [Link]

Slashdot » Microsoft Buys 800 AOL Patents For $1 Billion

Monday 9 April 14:17:00 UTC 2012

netbuzz writes "Marking the latest escalation in the technology industry's intellectual-property arms race, Microsoft is paying AOL a shade over $1 billion for 800 patents, the cream of which AOL CEO Tim Armstrong has described as 'beachfront property in East Hampton.' Armstrong insists they haven't left the cupboard bare: 'We continue to hold a valuable patent portfolio as highlighted … [Link]

WIRED » Drilling Into the History of Tube Worms

Monday 9 April 14:14:00 UTC 2012

Paleontologists have discovered hundreds of 3-million-year-old tube worm fossils covered with holes. Laelaps blogger Brain Switek drills into the cause of these peculiar marks. [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Theory of Everything: What is Matter? [Video]

Monday 9 April 14:00:18 UTC 2012

What is matter, anyway? What does it have to do with math? And why aren’t you made of Jesus? Delving deeper into the theory of (almost) everything – the Standard Model of particle physics.[MinutePhysics]No related posts. flattr this! [Link]

WIRED » Wizard101 Introduces a New World

Monday 9 April 14:00:00 UTC 2012

My nine-year-old quads are hooked on Wizard101, the kid-safe, free-to-play MMO from KingsIsle Entertainment, aimed at fantasy-loving children like them. They've even ponied up for a monthly membership out of their own allowances, which is about the highest endorsement any game can get from them. So, they're pretty thrilled to hear that Wizard 101 has a huge expansion coming soon: … [Link]

Slashdot » Intel Launches Z77 Motherboards, Preparing For Ivy Bridge

Monday 9 April 13:57:00 UTC 2012

MojoKid writes "In preparation for the arrival of their 3rd Generation Core processor products based on their Ivy Bridge microarchitecture, Intel has readied a new chipset dubbed the Z77 Express. New socket 1155 Ivy Bridge processors offer 16 lanes of PCI Express 2.0 or 3.0 connectivity on-die and they feature integrated dual-channel, DDR3 memory controllers with maximum officially supported … [Link]

Slashdot » Technology For the Masses: Churches Going Hi-Tech

Monday 9 April 13:35:00 UTC 2012

theodp writes "More and more, reports the Chicago Tribune, churches are embracing the use of tablets and smartphones during services. At Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago's South Side, the Rev. Otis Moss III preaches from his iPad. 'There was a time in the church when the Gutenberg Bible was introduced,' notes early adopter Moss. 'There was a … [Link]

WIRED » Dork Tower Monday

Monday 9 April 13:00:00 UTC 2012

[Link]

Slashdot » Company Designs "Big Brother Chip"

Monday 9 April 12:52:00 UTC 2012

Taco Cowboy writes "Here comes a chip that can pinpoint you in-door and out, it can even tell others on which floor of a building you are located. It's the Broadcom 4752 chip. It takes signals from global navigation satellites, cell phone towers, and Wi-Fi hot spots, coupled with input from gyroscopes, accelerometers, step counters, and altimeters The company … [Link]

New Scientist – News » Tweet your own highlight reel with #EpicPlay

Monday 9 April 12:30:00 UTC 2012

Sports fans who tweet while watching the game could help create more exciting highlights than those compiled by professional broadcasters [Link]

WIRED » A Car on the Wall of Death

Monday 9 April 12:29:00 UTC 2012

The Wall of Death is a cylindrical chamber with near-vertical walls that motorcyclists — and now cars — can drive around. Dot Physics blogger and physicist Rhett Allain pulls apart the forces that keep four-wheeled daredevils alive. [Link]

O'Reilly News and Commentary » #Ebook Deal/Day: 802.11n: A Survival Guide – $7.49 (Save 50%)

Monday 9 April 12:15:13 UTC 2012

Get "802.11n: A Survival Guide" today and save 50%!This sale ends at 2:00 AM 2012-04-10 (PDT, GMT-8:00). [Link]

Slashdot » Survey Says Bosses Fear Being Filmed By Employees

Monday 9 April 12:06:00 UTC 2012

New submitter Cazekiel writes "If you think your boss is a fearless, miserable beast whose only worries lie in how well his company or business competes, think again. The 'Business Video Behavior Project' survey conducted by Qumu reveals that those in-charge are growing more and more paranoid about something the Average Joe fears just walking down the street nowadays: … [Link]

WIRED » DC Comics Announces National Comics – UPDATED With New Art

Monday 9 April 12:00:00 UTC 2012

This July, DC Comics will be launching a new stand-alone series, entitled National Comics. National Comics will tell done-in-one stories, exploring some of The New 52's characters that, while interesting, don't currently have an outlet for their stories. The first four in the spotlight will be Eternity, Madame X, Rose and Thorn, and Looker. Each of these will have an … [Link]

WIRED » Video: Atari Hobbits, Other Priceless Gaming Treasures at 'Retrogame Roadshow'

Monday 9 April 11:59:00 UTC 2012

This year's Retrogame Roadshow panel from the PAX East gaming convention played host to a parade of amazing one-of-a-kind treasures from the history of videogames. [Link]

WIRED » D'Oh! The Simpsons: Tapped Out Is an Addictive Time Waster

Monday 9 April 11:45:00 UTC 2012

I pride myself on having avoided many years worth of time-sucking, premium content peddling, screen-tapping social games like FarmVille, CityVille and Mafia Wars. However, I do have a weakness for The Simpsons and the early SimCity games were among my favorites. Electronic Arts combined the TV Show, city building, optional social aspects and a whole lot of repetitive tasks in … [Link]

WIRED » A Start-Up Trek – An Artist's Palette

Monday 9 April 11:30:00 UTC 2012

I am starting a new prototyping lab in Huntsville, Alabama, based on the fab lab model. I?ve dreamt of becoming an entrepreneur and have done a fair amount of research on the topic. But this is my first attempt at starting a business. Here is where I document weekly my mistakes and successes in creating a business from scratch. … [Link]

WIRED » The Legend of Korra: Interactive Walk-Through of Republic City

Monday 9 April 11:15:00 UTC 2012

The new series from Nickelodeon, The Legend of Korra, will premiere on April 14. But Nick keeps giving impatient fans new tantalizing teasers! Last week the first two episodes of the series were made available to watch on the Nickelodeon website. Now, Nickelodeon's launched an interactive walk-through on their website, giving fans the chance to learn more about Republic City, … [Link]

WIRED » GeekDad Puzzle of the Week: Easter Attack

Monday 9 April 11:00:00 UTC 2012

As you may have noticed, yesterday was Easter. Our egg hunt was understated: we hid a couple dozen eggs in the field behind our house and set loose the kids…and hounds. And for whatever reason, the full-family bonus trip to the field broke loose something in what there is of our Labrador pup's developing brain. And as the two kids … [Link]

WIRED » 2012 Hugo Award Nominees Announced

Monday 9 April 10:45:00 UTC 2012

Congratulations to the recently-announced finalists for the 2012 Hugo Awards, which were announced Saturday. The winners will be announced in August at the World Science Fiction Society's Chicon 7 convention in Chicago. [Link]

WIRED » 9/11 Snitch Springs U.S. From Torture Trial Trap

Monday 9 April 10:30:00 UTC 2012

The CIA tortured Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and his fellow alleged 9/11 conspirators, a decision that, for years, jeopardized any prosecution for the deadly terror attacks. But when admitted al-Qaida member Majid Khan accepted a plea bargain at Guantanamo Bay, it practically paved the way for Wednesday's announcement of a 9/11 trial. Months from now, Khan will take the stand against … [Link]

WIRED » Asimov's 3 Laws of Robotics in Lego

Monday 9 April 10:30:00 UTC 2012

Flickr user Si-MOCs has created 3 awesome scenes in Lego that depict Asimov's three laws of robotics. I'm impressed with this on a few levels, but most of all as a fan of Asimov's writings. Anything that might encourage someone to pick up the Robot series is good in my opinion. [Link]

WIRED » Alt Text: 13 Imaginary Abuses Apple Employees Might Suffer in Cupertino Sweatshops

Monday 9 April 10:30:00 UTC 2012

[Link]

WIRED » April 9, 1959: America Meets Its 7 Original Astronauts

Monday 9 April 10:30:00 UTC 2012

America's first astronaut class is introduced in a Washington press conference. [Link]

WIRED » Paleobirding: What Birds Looked Like 125 Million Years Ago

Monday 9 April 10:30:00 UTC 2012

Looking at ancient bird fossils is an opportunity to see what birding might have been like millions of years ago. Back then, many birds had enormous teeth, long snouts and long, bony tails. We've compiled a quick guide to birding in China's primitive forest-filled aviary, which thrived about 125 to 120 million years ago. [Link]

WIRED » Get Your Portrait Taken Like It's 1865

Monday 9 April 10:30:00 UTC 2012

San Francisco's Mission district specializes in a nostalgia for the archaic and the analog. So it should come as no surprise that the neighborhood hosts Michael Shindler?s Photobooth, a tintype portrait studio where passersby can pop in to get their photo taken. When they're done, they walk away with their visage printed on a piece of metal like some Civil … [Link]

WIRED » Celebrate Yuri's Night This Thursday!

Monday 9 April 10:15:00 UTC 2012

Thursday marks the 51st anniversary of the first manned flight into space, when Yuri Gagarin ? aboard his Vostok 1 capsule ? journeyed where no human had gone before. As we have done for the last 11 years, members of Yuri's Night are organizing parties in all corners of our home planet to commemorate the occasion. Parties vary in size … [Link]

WIRED » Publishers Hustle to Make E-Books More Immersive

Monday 9 April 10:00:00 UTC 2012

As tablets drive demand for digital books, a slow-changing industry must adapt to the iPad era. Book publishers face risks and stand to reap great rewards as e-books evolve. [Link]

WIRED » Exclusive Preview: Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #8

Monday 9 April 10:00:00 UTC 2012

If you're reading DC Comics these days, you've had to have heard of writer Jeff Lemire. He's everywhere! What is he writing, like, 10 books per month? Okay, so it's probably not quite that. But it's a few. And generally, the creepier or more offbeat the character, the more comfortable the man seems to be. This works out splendidly, as … [Link]

New Scientist – News » Taking time off can help you learn a language

Monday 9 April 9:30:00 UTC 2012

People who learned a new language, then didn't speak it for five months, had brain activity more like a native speaker after the break than before it [Link]

Slashdot » Mercedes Can Now Update Car Software Remotely

Monday 9 April 9:03:00 UTC 2012

MatthewVD writes "Our cars run millions of lines of code that need constant and, often, critical updates. Jim Motavalli writes that Mercedes-Benz's new mbrace2 'cloud infotainment system' has a secret capability: it can update software automatically and wirelessly. In a process called 'reflashing,' the Mercedes system turns on the car operating system (CU), downloads the new application, then cuts … [Link]

WIRED » Quil is Software for Artists

Monday 9 April 7:00:00 UTC 2012

[Link]

Slashdot » Photoacoustic Imaging Uses Sight, Sound For Cancer Detection

Monday 9 April 6:04:00 UTC 2012

An anonymous reader writes "A new imaging technique combines light and sound to create detailed, color pictures of tumors deep inside the body. It's hoped the technology, called photoacoustic tomography, will help doctors diagnose cancer earlier than is now possible and to more precisely monitor the effects of cancer treatment — all without the radiation involved in X-rays and … [Link]

WIRED » Ernst's Ions Week on Beyond Apollo: The Cosmic Butterfly (1954)

Monday 9 April 4:43:00 UTC 2012

This week on Beyond Apollo, space historian David S. F. Portree presents a four-part series on the life, work, and ion-drive spaceships of space pioneer Ernst Stuhlinger. In part one, he describes Stuhlinger's enormous 1954 "Sun Ship." [Link]

WIRED » A Google-a-Day Puzzle for Apr. 9

Monday 9 April 4:01:00 UTC 2012

Google's daily brainteaser helps hone your search skills. [Link]

WIRED » Mary H. K. Choi on When to Ignore Web Memes

Monday 9 April 4:00:00 UTC 2012

The Internet is full of stuff, from galleries of grumpy animals to children singing at 40 bpm. These simple rules can help you ignore some of it. [Link]

WIRED » GeekDad Puzzle of the Week Solution: Dice Games

Monday 9 April 3:30:00 UTC 2012

Chuck-a-luck is a dice game played with three dice that are rolled within a closed container. After wagers on the numbers 1-6 (from each face on a standard die) are placed, the dice are rolled, and payouts are made per the following schedule… [Link]

Slashdot » How James Cameron Pumped Volume Into Titanic

Monday 9 April 3:02:00 UTC 2012

MrSeb writes with ExtremeTech's account of how director (and deep sea explorer) James Cameron spent a reported $18 million converting his blockbuster movie, Titantic, to 3D. The article "looks at the primary way of managing depth in 3D films (parallax), how you add depth to a movie that was originally filmed in 2D, and some of the software (both … [Link]

The Joy of Tech » JoT 1675: iPad for a kidney?

Monday 9 April 2:30:06 UTC 2012

JoT thumbAnd I thought Apple just took souls. Click here to visit the comic. [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » It’s Science! Laser Ignites Firecracker Inside Balloon [Video]

Monday 9 April 1:02:37 UTC 2012

Can a laser ignite a firecracker inside a balloon without making it go pop? Check out the video to find out![Via IHC]No related posts. flattr this! [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Saruman Being a Smartass [Video]

Monday 9 April 1:02:36 UTC 2012

That totally reminded me of this old video we posted back in 2007: Darth Vader Being a Smart Ass.[Blorgli]No related posts. flattr this! [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » LOL: This is How I play Skyrim [Video]

Monday 9 April 1:02:35 UTC 2012

An unrelentingly, unforgiving, uninterruptedly epic experience.[Timtimfed]No related posts. flattr this! [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Arthur C. Clarke Predicts The Internet In 1974 [Video]

Monday 9 April 1:02:34 UTC 2012

In 1974 Arthur C. Clarke told the ABC that every household in 2001 will have a computer and be connected all over the world. Courtesy of Australian Broadcasting Corporation.[Via MUO]No related posts. flattr this! [Link]

Geeks are Sexy Technology News » Om Nom Nom Nom: Minecraft Peeps [Pic]

Monday 9 April 1:02:33 UTC 2012

[Available @ Thinkgeek.com | Via EpicPonyz]No related posts. flattr this! [Link]

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