Geeknews

Space Invaders Autopsy T-Shirt

Andy — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:05:00 +0000

This T-shirt by Chris Rowson is brilliant. This would make a great Christmas gift for geeks. Or a great birthday present for geeks.

Blockbuster Wants You to Rent Your Movies on SD Cards Now

Andy — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:41:49 +0000

So Blockbuster is trying to catch up to Redbox and Netflix by moving away from the DVD media format, but it’s strange that they chose the SD format. Wouldn’t USB be a better form?

Chris Dannen at Fast Company has a good take on this, with some analysis and better photos of this kiosk.

Easter Island Mystery Solved?

Andy — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:58:38 +0000

Were rats behind Easter Island mystery?

Scientists Say Curry Compound Kills Cancer Cells

Andy — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:23:03 +0000

From London (Reuters) -

A molecule found in a curry ingredient can kill esophageal cancer cells in the laboratory, suggesting it might be developed as an anti-cancer treatment, scientists said on Wednesday.

Obama & Google (a love story)

Andy — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:19:42 +0000

The President relies on Google execs for tech and economic advice as his own regulators scrutinize the online-ad behemoth. Is the romance starting to sour? [CNN/Money]

SF-Fantasy-Mystery-Pulp-Spoof Twitter Novel

Andy — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:29:06 +0000

Harald Havas alerted me to a novel he’s writing and posting via Twitter. It’s what he claims is the first Twitter-SF-Fantasy-Mystery-Pulp-Spoof-novel.

Here’s the beginning of the tweets that he started last Spring, you can quickly get caught up to the tweets by starting at his web sit listed below:

Hans-Dieter was quite tall for a Znork. But the road through the Paloopah Swamps was arduous even for him. Silently he cursed the two-faced Twin-Znark. Just because his hoofs could cover the distance to Hot Patootie some Milli-Zeks quicker, the Chieftain always sent him. Though Anke, the female part of the Twin-Znark, tried time and again to help Hans-Dieter, Jochen her Second-Face always remained adamant. Squotch. Just some Micro-Zeks of self-pity and here we go, Hans-Dieter thought angrily to himself. His left hoof was stuck in a puddle of sweet, amber-colored Paloopah-goo.

You can find his stuff here:
www.twitter.com/wrz_the_wise
www.wrzthewise.wordpress.com
and (German)
www.twitter.com/wrz_der_weise
www.wrzderweise.wordpress.com

The Human Computer Interface of the Future for People w/ More Than Two Fingers

Andy — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:32:09 +0000

Good insight here from gizmag on why touch is and is NOT a good replacement for the mouse/KB:

Using a traditionally-placed desktop screen as a touch interface, even for short periods, places too much strain on a user’s arm. Touchscreens used in a drafting table configuration lessen the strain on the arms, but increase the chances of neck strain, as users are forced to look down at the display. And in either setup there is also the problem of the user’s hands obstructing the display. Miller’s 10/GUI overcomes these problems by splitting the touch surface from the screen, and using a touch surface similar to a drawing tablet that is large enough to accommodate all ten fingers.

10/GUI from C. Miller on Vimeo.

Is There A Connection Between Albatrosses and Killer Whales?

Andy — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:10:50 +0000

Graduate students attached still-image cameras to Albatrosses (a vulnerable group of seabirds) in the Arctic to monitor their habits as they travel hundreds of kilometers per day foraging. Retrieving and sifting through thousands of images leads us to believe there is a connection between these birds and Killer Whales of all things.

This is an interesting study, the results are not earth shattering by any stretch but I enjoy reading research articles from fields of study I’m not versed in yet are still readable.

Dyson Launches The Bladeless Electric Fan

Andy — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:42:55 +0000

Who would have thought that after 125 years lacking in innovation for the electric fan that we’d one day have a bladeless fan to keep us cool? From the same folks that brought us the bagless vacuum cleaner we now have a safer, and dare I say, “cooler” fan.

Financial Times is reporting on the $300 device now launching:

The new fan works by drawing air into the base of the machine. The air is forced up into the loop amplifier and accelerated through the 1.3mm annular aperture, creating a jet of air that hugs the airfoil-shaped ramp. While exiting the loop amplifier, the jet pulls air from behind the fan into the airflow (inducement). At the same time, the surrounding air from the front and sides of the machine are forced into the air stream (entrainment), amplifying it 15 times. The result is a constant uninterrupted flow of cooling air.

Get Your Own UAV w/ 10Mega Pixel Camera

Andy — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:44:36 +0000

This has been out for most of the year so as far as news is considered it’s a old, but this little gadget from Lehmann Aviation is still very cool.

Have you ever wanted a birds eye view of your neighborhood without having to rent a plane, or wanted a more up to date set of those local aerial pics than what’s on the Google and Bing Maps? For just 13-19,000 Euros ($19-28k), you can have your own UAV system with a 10 Mega Pixel camera.

The battery life allows for a 40 minute flight time so you should be more than able to fully inspect a pretty large territory. It can be manually operated or programmed for GPS-based navigation.

You can find more on this at Engadget Español, or you can get it translated to English.

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