Sunday, October 28, 2007

No X Prize Cup this year

On Sunday, in the New Mexico desert, a design team from Armadillo Aerospace failed to win the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge.  More familiarly known as “the X Prize Cup”, it offers a $350,000 prize to whomever can complete a set task called, “Level 1”.  Designers must engineer a reusable rocket which can take off from one landing pad, hover at 150 feet for 90 seconds, then land precisely on a second pad about 330 feet away.  The feat then needs to be repeated, in reverse, with both tasks accomplished in a two and a half-hour window.  A much more difficult Level 2 competition requires the rocket to hover for twice as long before landing precisely on a simulated lunar surface. The Level 2 mission closely simulates the power that would be needed for a real trip to the moon, and the prize reflects the higher stakes.  Invent a rocket which can pass all the Level 2 tests, and you’ll be awarded two million dollars.

Armadillo Aerospace was the only team competing this year, but they were beset with engine problems and mechanical failure.  As if to say, “enough”, on the final day of competition their rocket caught fire.  Armadillo was also the only team competing last year, when they also lost.  Given that there’s still a two million dollar prize to be won, Armadillo Aerospace is planning to be back, better than ever, in 2008.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 10/28 at 02:27 AM
Latest Tech & Gadget News • Permalink

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Release of Leopard

Last night, Apple released an upgraded version of their OS X operating system, this version called, “Leopard”.  At $129, it’s affordable for almost all owners of Macs, and should run on computers which are as old as six years.  The OS has received good reviews from technology experts across the country, and Apple is hoping this will help increase their personal computer market share, which currently stands near 20%.  If you’d like to read more about the features included in “Leopard”, I recommend you check out the great technology column in the Wall Street Journal, written by Walter Mossberg.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 10/27 at 02:58 AM
Latest Tech & Gadget News • Permalink

Friday, October 26, 2007

Put down the Playstation

Did your mom ever tell you that you shouldn’t talk on the phone during an electrical storm?  Kids today rarely hear that admonishment because of wireless phones, but there’s still one warning they should heed.  If there’s a lightning storm in the area, put down the PlayStation, the XBox, and any other video game console system which is plugged into an electrical outlet. We tend to think that we’re safe in our homes during a storm, but electricity can still travel through the wires of any electrical gadget which is plugged in.  Lightning recently struck a home in Connecticut, and the resulting surge of electricity left two boys playing “Guitar Hero” flat on their backs.  Other people have reported being shocked by their corded computer mice, and burned by a laptop computer.  While injuries have been minor, the potential for a more serious problem is always there, and your electronic equipment will die a violent and expensive death.  According to the Insurance Information Institute, the average claim for household damage caused by a lightning strike is in excess of $3000, and growing every year.

So, if you live in an area experiencing a lightning storm, turn off and unplug as many electronics as possible.  Small, inexpensive surge protectors won’t protect you against a lightning strike; for that, a surge protector which costs about $200 is required.  Just turn everything off during the storm, and read a good book.  If you have to read by candlelight, for goodness sake, don’t set the house on fire.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 10/26 at 02:27 AM
Latest Tech & Gadget News • Permalink

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Pick your favorite viral video

USA Today is running a poll, asking online readers to choose their favorite “viral” video from a selection of six well-known clips.  The clips range from 2004’s “Numa Numa guy”, to a 2007 video featuring Will Ferrell.  You can even vote for an instructional video, showing the unexpected interaction between Coke and Mentos.  Unfortunately, there’s no place for write-in videos, because my favorite viral clip is ”The Mean Kitty Song”.  The Numa Numa song is certainly catchy, but it’s tough to beat a video featuring a kitten in a sink.

Speaking of YouTube, I had no idea that it’s a common “game” for people to attempt to eat a spoonful of cinnamon.  Do a search for “eat cinnamon” on YouTube and you’ll find quite a few videos of people who have tried, and failed, to swallow a heaping tablespoonful of the spicy powder.  The feat was tried on a Las Vegas radio morning show today, and captured on film.  Yuk!

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 10/24 at 11:01 PM
Latest Tech & Gadget News • Permalink

The pain of being “bricked”

When Apple’s iPhone was released, it was the buzz of the tech world, and much of the buzz focused on how to hack the it.  The phone came with service provider restrictions which many purchasers felt were unfair, so some ingenious minds got together and quickly figured out a way to modify iPhones to work with other cell phone companies.  Thanks to the Internet, detailed instructions on how to hack an iPhone were quickly available via a number of websites, and suddenly an awful lot of iPhone owners had modified, but working, cell phones.  And they were happy.

Jump ahead a month or so, and Apple made a new firmware update available for iPhone users.  A surprise was built-in for folks using hacked phones; once they installed the upgrade, their phone no longer worked.  The newly-born word for the phenomenon was “bricked”, which described how useful the upgraded phone was—it was just a big paperweight (one which cost $600).

Luckily, owners of hacked iPhones can breathe a sign of relief, as a number of new applications are trickling in, and all promise to make the phone useful again.  iPhone Atlas mentions one method, and ZDNet offers some other suggestions.  If you’re an iPhone user who didn’t hack your phone, and you want to be patted on the back for being so well-behaved, then the Macworld blog is probably right up your alley.  No suggestions on how to fix your bricked phone, but you’ll learn about how cool it is that you can shop on iTunes via WiFi.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 10/24 at 01:34 AM
Latest Tech & Gadget News • Permalink
Page 10 of 11 pages « First  <  8 9 10 11 >