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[ Comments Off ]Posted on July 12, 2008 by admin in Popular Media, Technology
Saturday, July 12th, 2008Space simulation software that lets you play God. At least on your Windows computer.
Man. Why didn’t they have stuff like this when I was a kid? Universe Sandbox is a space simulator that gives you the power to “control gravity, time and everything in it”…at least on your Windows-based computer. Although the developer says you can “smash planets together, introduce rogue stars, and build new worlds from spinning discs of debris”, some of the planetary impacts were a little disappointing. Moons might just sort of stick to the planet they hit. Hardly a significant drawback; the available simulations and the ways in which you can control them are amazing. One of my favorites right away was under “Fun Things To Do > Speed of Light”. Launch a light pulse from Earth and watch the circle slowly (on the grand scale) spread through the solar system. Knowing intellectually that light takes 8 minutes to reach us from the sun versus watching it happen was quite mind-expanding. This would be a great tool in the classroom and a blast for a science-minded kid. Take note though: strangely, the version you download is a 60 minute trial version. Kind of weird, but on the bright side, the purchase price is set by you if you decide to buy. Pretty cool.
Buy a Car, or Buy a Hasselblad H3DII-50?
[ Comments Off ]Posted on July 8, 2008 by admin in Technology
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008A tough choice if you have thirty grand or so laying around.
This is a beautiful machine, but there are only two reasons to think about buying this camera: 1.) It looks cool on the seat of your Bugatti Veyron 2.) You need hi-resolution billboard-sized photos. Although they haven’t announced the price yet, Hasselblad has released specs on their 50 megapixel H3DII-50. Yes, that’s 50 megapixels, creating 300MB image files at 1FPS (Hold still, dammit, or the pores on your face’ll be all blurry!). This is accomplished with a sensor that is twice the physical size of the largest existing 35mm DSLR sensors. The expected price? Since owners of the H3D-39II
Hasselhoffian Recursion Cures Alzheimer’s*
[ Comments Off ]Posted on July 2, 2008 by admin in Lifestyle & Culture, Popular Media, Technology
Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008At last, a remote for your remote.
As a friend fumbled for her reading glasses the other day, I made the tired joke about the paradox of needing glasses to find your glasses. She added that she’s always forgetting where she left the remote, and having to (gasp) walk across the room and manually change the channel. This is something I’m sure we’ve all experienced, but need experience no more! Thanks to products like the “Remote Buddy“, pictured at left, your fat American rear can spend more time on the sofa, and less time burning precious body fat as you frantically search for the remote. In fact, with these handy “finder” tools
*Sometimes a headline is just a headline.
Just Around the Benz: A Petrol-Free Mercedes
[ Comments Off ]Posted on June 30, 2008 by admin in Clean & Green, Technology
Monday, June 30th, 2008Mercedes Benz to offer a petrol-free product line by 2015?
If the buzz is true, Mercedes Benz intends to offer a petroleum-free product line by 2015. Apparently, they’re already making considerable investments to head in this direction. A daring commitment like this should be an inspiration to other manufacturers, and would be quite fitting, since it was Karl Benz who is generally credited with producing the world’s first gasoline-powered auto. The idea of a silent Mercedes reminds of a bit of humor: As a waiter some years ago, I was serving a British couple who were having dinner with a German gentleman. Throughout the dinner the German fellow – who was in town on business with the recently merged Daimler/Chrysler – kept saying things about “Daimler this” and “Daimler that”. Finally the British woman said: “I’m sorry, isn’t the new company called ‘Daimler Chrysler’?” to which the German fellow replied: “I’m afraid the ‘Chrysler’ is silent”. In any case, if an electric Mercedes of the future looks anything like the hybrid F700 pictured here, count me in. This could just be some viral PR; as of this writing there are no official releases from Mercedes Benz, just a lot of industry buzz.
Bill Gates’ Screen Goes Blue Today
[ Comments Off ]Posted on June 27, 2008 by admin in Technology
Friday, June 27th, 2008So long Bill. Hope you found a decent crack of Final Cut for your personal editing needs.
The rich man we used to love to hate, Bill Gates, is leaving Microsoft today. Although I’ve often cursed Bill for the daily headache otherwise known as Microsoft Windows, I got a little reminder that the the Indians are sometimes more responsible for things than the Chiefs. Check out this e-mail, wherein Bill chews his staff a new one over the frustrations he experienced trying to download Windows MovieMaker. My favorite bit is probably where he says: “So I gave up and sent mail to Amir saying – where is this Moviemaker download? Does it exist? So they told me that using the download page to download something was not something they anticipated”. So long Bill, I’ll always remember you as the nerdy guy who got busted for speeding (see mugshot, left). Keep up the (presumably) good foundation work, and if you ever need someone to watch the house, just let me know.