Physicists develop microlens with earth-shatteringly short focal length (4)
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Darren Murph (3691)
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Engadget (13443)
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Filed under: Digital Cameras, Misc. GadgetsIt's hard to say when we, the consumers, will actually see any real benefit from the latest noteworthy discovery from Northeastern University, but we can only imagine that Srinivas Sridhar and team aren't wasting any time moving things forward. Said crew has recently created a "new microlens that focuses infrared light at telecommunication frequencies," and if you're looking for specifics, it can focus an infrared beam to a spot just ...
Secret Space Race, Revealed (3)
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Noah Shachtman (206)
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Danger Room (250)
1 day, 13 hours
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I'm not exactly sure how the hell I managed to miss "Astrospies," PBS' beyond-awesome documentary about the secret Cold War space race to put spooks in orbit. I'm just glad I was able to catch the show -- which originally aired in February -- on-line, last night. If Astrospies passed you by, too, stop what you're doing. Close your e-mail. Cancel your meetings. And spend the next hour or so in utter, Space Age bliss. ...
Web to get more social as OAuth is sanctioned for use (14)
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Carbon-neutral Ziggurat pyramid could house 1.1 million in Dubai (30)
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Darren Murph (3691)
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Engadget (13443)
3 days, 20 hours
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Filed under: Misc. Gadgets As we learned from Wall-E, people with half a mind for themselves probably won't be kosher with living with 1.1 million or so other inhabitants within a pyramid. That being said, there's always the brainwash approach to getting 'em in there, and if hordes of people were ever filed into the conceptual Ziggurat, Mother Earth would surely appreciate it. The 2.3-square kilometer building would be able to house over 1 million ...
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Brian said:
God bless America! Oh. Wait. God bless Dubai!
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Muz said:
there goes my starup idea
Bigelow Aerospace Advances Work on Full-scale Space Habitat (3)
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Study Concludes "Planet" Was Just Stellar Spots (3)
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timothy (2159)
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Kligat writes "Back in January, it was reported that the youngest planet ever to be discovered, about ten times the mass of Jupiter, was orbiting the eight- to ten-million-year-old star TW Hydrae. Now a Spanish research team has concluded that TW Hydrae b doesn't exist, and that cold spots on the star's surface actually produced the dip in brightness instead of a transiting planet. Not as cool as if a planet had actually been there, ...
Fighter Jet Hits Mach 2 on Snyth-Fuel Blend (3)
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Noah Shachtman (206)
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Danger Room (250)
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An Air Force F-15 Eagle flew twice the speed of sound this week, using a synthetic fuel blend. The service has already flown some of its bigger, heavier aircraft -- like the C-17 cargo plane and B-52 bomber -- on the 50-50 blend of synthetics and standard JP-8 jet fuel. A B-1 even broke the sound barrier, using the mixture. But this is the first time a maneuverable, high-performance fighter has been powered by the ...
TIGGR shared as favorite Solar Cells - Made In a Pizza Oven (17)
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CmdrTaco (1403)
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stylemessiah writes "The winner of several Eureka Science Awards in Australia is a crafty chick who devised a way to create solar cells cheaply using a pizza oven, nail polish and an inkjet printer. This was developed to address the high cost of cells and in particular for the world's poorest regions. She wanted to give the ~2 billion people around the world who don't have electricity the gift of light and cheap energy. This ...
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James Wang said:
Hmm, well, I guess Bertucci's now has an alternate business plan if their pizza shops start going under.
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Tometheus said:
NOTE: Before going on, I'd like to just say it's a good idea and I'm not denigrating the inventor. However, this raises an interesting question. They've patented this technology intended to help the "world's poorest regions". Aren't those two aims working at opposite ends? Usually patents are intended to keep people from 'illegally' copying a design / process, but if you truly want it to help the poorest people, the only way to really do that is allow others to copy / improve / make cheaper. I understand she's probably not the person who insisted on the patent, and I also realize that licenses can be given away for free, but I think it raises an interesting philosophical question. If you're trying to be altruistic and help the poor, then BE altruistic and do it without patents. Of course there are those who would argue that altruism doesn't /truly/ exist......
QTAddressBar Brings Vista Explorer's Address Bar to XP [Featured Windows Download] (16)
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Adam Pash (11438)
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1 week, 2 days
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Windows only: Free Explorer add-on QTAddressBar clones the functionality of Vista's new address bar in Windows XP. For folks unfamiliar with the new Vista address bar, it provides a clickable breadcrumb trail of every folder leading to your current location. Clicking one of your folders will take you directly to it, and clicking the down arrow provides a drop-down for moving to any folder within that one. Brought to you by the same folks who ...
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Terje said:
Hele poenget med Vista - adressebaren!
Kindle Maladies, illnesses and disorders (1)
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admin (11141)
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Blog Kindle (10)
1 week, 4 days
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Yesterday I came across this great post on Google Groups, its a list of Kindle disorders that Kindle owners tend to suffer from - enjoy; A few days ago I detected a certain malady that some Kindle users may have experienced. I have come to learn that there are many more conditions, symptoms and maladies of which I believe my fellow Kindle users should be aware. The list is not exhaustive so please feel free ...
FDA: Chemicals in Plastic Bottles Safe (3)
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Using Photographs To Enhance Videos (11)
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timothy (2159)
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Using Photographs To Enhance Videos -- article related to Graphics, Media, and Technology.
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Major Tal said:
A very technically-cool demo video (even though I don't see the real world application yet).
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Brian said:
This is amazing. What's further staggering is I'm sure this is the tip of the ice-berg.
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L'oracolo said:
Maggia maggia...
RoofRay Determines the Solar Potential of Your Roof [Energy Conservation] (32)
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If high energy prices have convinced you that solar energy might be the ticket to cheaper bills, head to web site RoofRay to determine the solar potential of your roof. As you can see from the video demo, the web site lets you draw the area you're interested in adding solar panels to on a Google Maps mashup, determining everything from surface area to slope. RoofRay will then estimate the power potential of your roof. ...
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Icefreez said:
A pretty smart way to make people seriously consider solar energy.
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Kells Nollenberger said:
Woah! This is for you Ferrone.
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timmins said:
It would take 35 years for our home to break even. : (
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Mg. said:
This is a really clever website. Definitely makes me want to put solar panels on top of my garage and cut my energy bill by more then 50%.
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Jayce^ said:
nice use. Wish I could get things going
Lotus Concept Ice Vehicle promises to aid arctic expeditions, Thunderbirds missions (19)
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Donald Melanson (1205)
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2 weeks, 1 day
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Filed under: Transportation You know, if you're going to go to the trouble of undertaking an arctic expedition, you might as well do it in the most completely over-the-top fashion imaginable. At least that seems to be the thinking behind Lotus' new Concept Ice Vehicle (or CIV), which appears to have been specifically designed to help out the Moon Regan TransAntarctic Expedition. Among other notable features, the biofuel-powered, propeller-driven vehicle boasts an ice penetrating radar ...
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nicerobot said:
What's the point. There's not going to be any ice fairly soon.
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Ross said:
If we got "decent" winters I could take this to work !
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Lee said:
I want a 2 seater. I can take that flat earther with me across antartica from argentian to south africa. Never mind... he won't beleive we actually did the trip anyway.
Chrysler's $499 Uconnect Web in-car EV-DO system coming this month (8)
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Darren Murph (3691)
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Filed under: Transportation, Wireless Wait, wait. Something that was promised for next year is arriving... this year? Be still our hearts! Chrysler will reportedly offer up its in-car EV-DO solution (dubbed Uconnect Web) starting on August 25th, and owners of 2009 Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles (along with a few "earlier models") will be able to have the $499 box retrofitted into their rides. Apparently the auto maker isn't planning to install the units directly ...
Prof tweets about course, ends up moving whole class online (19)
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China Olympics Faked Singing, Fireworks (1)
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SG (20)
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Sweetness & Light (11)
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From the confessed fakers at BBC News: Seven-year-old Yang Peiyi during an interview in Beijing. The little girl who starred at the Olympic opening ceremony was miming and only put on stage because the real singer — Yang Peiyi — was not considered attractive enough, the show’s musical director has revealed. China Olympic ceremony star [...]
