Quality engineering at work

This is an example of some very well thought out engineering.  You know those LED traffic lights that are popping up everywhere?  Nice and bright with a really low power draw?  Well guess what?  That low power draw means that the bulbs no longer produce heat.  THAT means that the traffic lights don't melt the snow that drifts into them, an issue that was never a problem with the horrendously inefficient and hot running incandescent lamps.  This means that the colder states are now seeing crashes, and apparently even one fatality, as a result of the snow blocked lights.  Fun!

Dante's Inferno demo hitting the PSN

Dante's Inferno, a next gen video game based on the classic poem and one of the three games I most look forward to, is due out mid February.  Thankfully for those of you who neeeeeed the instant gratification, the demo is due to hit the playstation network this Thursday the 17th, and should hit Xbox live on Christmas Eve.  Check out the video below for an idea of what we can expect.



Also, just FYI, the other two games I'm looking forward to:

Darksiders
Final Fantasy XIII

AT&T to limit iPhone data plans?

It seems that AT&T is regretting the unlimited data plans that are provided to all iPhone customers.  Due to a small percentage (three percent) of extremely high bandwidth usage customers, the available 3g bandwidth for the entire network is being reduced by 40%.  They say this is due to high bandwidth video streaming applications such as CNN's mobile app.  As a result of this imbalance, AT&T wants to impose a limit on smartphone monthly bandwidth, such as the one that exists for their connection cards.  Will it fly?  At this point, who knows. Will there be fallout if it does?  Let me say this:  When AT&T loses their exclusive hold on the iPhone, I for one don't plan on sticking around.

Nook reviews are coming in

Well, Engadget has its review up for the much anticipated e-reader, the Barnes & Noble nook.  They cover the device very thoroughly, and include a video of the interface in action.  If you have any interest in the nook in particular or e-readers in general, I recommend taking a look.

If you'd prefer the short version:

Pros:  It's pretty.  The available library is huge, and buying books is an excellent experience.  Dual screens are a solid benefit.

Cons:  It's slow.  Interface is clunky, and occasionally buggy.

Basically, its a solid offering considering that e-reader tech is still in its infancy, but it isn't quite the kindle-killer some of us were hoping for.

Ewwww...

Sorry about the recent lack of updates folks.  On one hand there has been a lack of particularly interesting nerd news lately, and on the other I've been delving into the Wheel of Time again, and so have procrastinated in writing the *THREE* game reviews that I need to get up here.  In the mean time, an interesting if unsettling tidbit:

It seems that there are some doctors out there who can cure certain types of blindness with... get this... TEETH. I'm not kidding.  They extract one of the patients teeth, drill a hole in it, and then place an artificial lens in the hole.  The whole mess is then implanted in the eye, with somewhat disconcerting results.  The tooth is necessary to avoid the rejection that would take place with an artificial base.

You cant make this stuff up people.  Video below, but be warned: it's a tad graphic.

Impressive case mod turns Xbox into PC... and Mac?

This is an impressive video of an industrious modder with an old xbox case, $1500 worth of parts, and a lot of know how making himself a machine capable of booting both Windows 7 and Mac OSX.  A fascinating watch.

Rapid Model Acquisition coming to a webcam near you!

Normally the process of translating a physical object into a three dimensional computerized format has one of two approaches:  slow, painstaking manual recreation by a human modeler and texture artist, or rapid acquisition using an incredibly expensive array of lasers and cameras.  Well, thanks to Cambridge Engineering student Qi Pan, there is now a simpler answer: your average webcam.  Check out the video below, or some further examples here.



This technology, with some refinement, could be revolutionary across any number of fields. Imagine the archaeologist able to map and piece together pottery or bone fragments on the fly in the field with nothing but his laptop. Imagine museum curators creating online repositories of their entire collection to be toured on the web. Imagine game developers using figures and sculptures to instantly create models for their games rather than wringing them from the ether manually.

This could be very, very big.

PSN Adding Subscription Service

It would appear that Sony is taking their Playstation Network in the same direction as Xbox Live in the years to come, adding a paid subscription service to the currently free system.  On the plus side it seems that the current level of service will remain free, so playing games online will still be available without charge, unlike the Xbox service.  Instead Sony will be adding 'premium content and services,' though there is no word yet on what exactly that means or how much it will cost.

Google Chrome OS shows its face

So the first public look at Google's Chrome OS happened this morning.  Is it everything that anyone could hope or dream?  As a grudgingly admitted Google fanboy, I'm a little surprised that my answer is:

"Meh."

Frankly, I'm not overly impressed.  Google's approach is a good one and addresses some real problems, and of course there are some very nice bells and whistles, but it just isn't anything I'd ever use in a day to day situation.

Google's basic idea is something along the lines of "What if the entire PC experience were based on the web?"  What this translates to in reality is "How much functionality can you squeeze into a web browser?"  Literally the entirety of the Google OS as it stands right now is a souped up version of their Chrome browser.  All applications are pure web apps (Gmail, Google Docs, etc) and each of them gets a tab.  Background processes like chat happen in popup windows like Google talk does in current Gmail. File interaction is either all stored online, or pulled off of USB media on the fly via another popup window.



This setup does offer advantages.  For example, since all of your data is on the web, the machine you use is irrelevant.  Log into a Chrome OS machine anywhere and you'll have all your stuff.  Because the browser is the only resident program, it also means the system boots up EXTREMELY quickly.  Also, because of the enclosed setup, security is much stronger.  Basically the system knows what programs are SUPPOSED to be allowed, and nothing else will run.

This, of course, is the rub.  If it doesn't run in your current browser, it wont run on a Chrome machine AT ALL.  That means no Photoshop, no full scale games, no stored media watching... nothing.  If you cant do it online, you cant do it.

Is this perfect for someone who only wants to check email and play bejeweled with their $400 netbook?  Possibly.  However, while the Chrome OS is open source and therefore free, it targets only specific hardware.  This means you cant just drop it on your existing machine.  You have to buy a new one with the software in place.  Since you're going to fork out the dough anyway, is there a point in choosing this system over one that offers a more robust experience, even in the netbook realm?  Debatable.

Google justifies all this by saying that they don't expect their OS to serve as a primary machine, but as a companion to a machine with a more traditional OS.  They want to fill the niche for simple online use in a more mobile device.  Wait, isn't that what increasingly ubiquitous smartphones are for?  I can easily do with my iPhone most of what the Chrome OS will do, with the exception of file access via USB.  Why would I need another entire computer just to occupy the same niche?

Frankly, I love the slick look and feel of the system and some of the features are wonderful.  If they added this functionality to the existing Chrome browser they'd have even more than the current 40 million users pounding their servers I'm quite sure.  Does it really have a place in the world as a standalone system though? I dunno.  We'll see.

Windows 7 install times

Just an FYI:  It takes about 5 times longer to upgrade from Vista to 7 than it does to install a fresh instance.  Also, heaven help you if you lose power midway through the process.