Reality Bites
After yesterday’s failed attempts to pour seawater on the boiling reactors, due to the increasing levels of radiation, two lead-lined military chinook helicopters were able to make four drops each of 7.5 tons of seawater onto the No.3 reactor. Only one actually hit the target, reportedly. More »
Latest in our series of “when video games turn real,” here’s the US Army’s newest addition to the wargadget arsenal. The Individual Gunshot Detector, produced by QinetiQ, is an acoustic monitor attuned to tracking down the source of gunshots just by their sound. It has four sensors to pick up the noise of incoming fire, and its analysis of those sound waves produces a readout on a small display that lets the soldier know where the deadly projectiles originated from. The entire system weighs just under two pounds, and while it may not be much help in an actual firefight — there’s no way to distinguish between friendly and hostile fire — we imagine it’ll be a pretty handy tool to have if assaulted by well hidden enemies. 13,000 IGD units are being shipped out to Afghanistan later this month, with a view to deploying 1,500 each month going forward and an ultimate ambition of networking their data so that when one soldier’s detector picks up a gunfire source, his nearby colleagues can be informed as well.
Continue reading US Army to deploy Individual Gunshot Detector, essentially a radar for bullets
US Army to deploy Individual Gunshot Detector, essentially a radar for bullets originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 05:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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As hard as it tried, ASUS never could get its Eee PC prices down to $200 MSRP as promised way back in 2007 — a time when Intel-based netbooks still shipped with Linux distros and “tablet PCs” ran a Microsoft OS. Fast forward to today and netbooks are being kicked to the curb for ARM-based tablets running smartphone operating systems. To compete, ASUS, a company that’s become synonymous with netbooks, is planning to ship an unsubsidized $200 to $250 netbook running Android 3.0 or Chrome OS in June. According to DigiTimes sources, anyway, who tend to be pretty accurate with regard to Taiwanese companies. If true then expect to see it announced at Computex which kicks off in Taiwan on May 31st.
Will a $200 ASUS Eee PC finally ship with Google’s help? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 03:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If your home was hit by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake, a tsunami, and radiation from a nuclear power plant, you’d be forgiven for not remaining calm. Yet that’s what many Japanese quake victims appear to be doing. People are forming lines outside supermarkets. Life is “particularly orderly,” according to PBS. “Japanese discipline rules despite disaster,” says a columnist for The Philippine Star.
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Okay, so 2.35 million downloads in a single day is nothing to scoff at, but it’s also not a monumental achievement in terms of browser downloads in the first 24. A post to Internet Explorer’s official blog used the word “wow” to describe the IE9 numbers, but considering Firefox 3 got the Guinness world record for most software downloads in a day, with 8 million way back in 2008, we’re reluctant to call this news wow-worthy. Given, Firefox 3 was available for both Mac and PC, but it still beat Windows’ new browser three times over. Don’t get us wrong, we like IE9, but we still think a little bit of modesty goes a long way.
Internet Explorer 9 hits 2.35 million downloads in first 24 hours, we’re mildly impressed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 22:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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On Saturday March 19, we will be treated the largest full moon in some time. Don't worry about this perigee moon causing tidal weirdness — this extra-large moon will simply be 14% bigger and 30% brighter than apogee moons. More »
A minor earthquake has hit eastern Ontario and western Quebec with tremors extending from the greater Montreal region to Ottawa.
It’s not just desktop web browsers getting hacked at this year’s Pwn2Own challenge — mobile browsers have also been targeted for vulnerabilities, and a fairly big one has now been found in RIM’s browser for BlackBerry OS 6. Apparently, there’s a JavaScript-related bug that could let a “maliciously designed” website gain access to data stored on both the phone’s media card and built-in storage, but not data stored in the storage portion for applications (such as email or contact information). For its part, RIM says that it hasn’t actually seen any evidence of anyone exploiting the vulnerability, but it’s nonetheless urging folks to disable JavaScript on affected devices, and it’s now busy providing IT departments everywhere with guidelines on how to do so. If that proves to be complicated, it’s suggesting that you simply disable the BlackBerry Browser altogether until it can be patched.
RIM issues PSA following Pwn2Own exploit: turn off JavaScript on your BlackBerry originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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It seems likely that Microsoft and RIM are about to unveil a new free-hosted BlackBerry Enterprise Service (BES). The idea behind the service is to make it as easy to use as Apple’s MobileMe system, but be designed for business users.
According to ZDNet the service will be available to BlackBerry’s…
There aren't many sights in nature more breathtaking than Mt. Everest—especially when put against the unexpected backdrop of these stunning rainbow clouds. Captured by photographer Oleg Bartunov on a recent journey through the Himalyas, the phenomenon is the result of light reflected off of minuscule ice crystals in the cloud's vapor. That, or Michael Bay finally decided to tackle that Care Bears origin story. Either way, absolutely stunning. [Photo credit: Oleg Bartunov via Daily Mail] More »
BlackBerry OS 6.1 will introduce mobile hotspot, so you can share your cellular connection with 5 devices over Wi-Fi. A batch of slides demos how it’ll look.
This is refreshing news for those located in Saskatchewan. Just last week we let you know that the HTC Incredible S was coming to Canada on Virgin (possibly Bell too). Today, SaskTel has announced that this Android device will be available to their customers. On Twitter they stated that “Capture life in HD…the stunning HTC […]
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Soda's bad for you, but plastics—especially the petroleum-based PET plastics used widely for bottles—are bad for everyone. Thankfully, after millions of dollars and years of research, Pepsi thinks it's cracked the code on a 100% plant-based PET bottle. More »
The generator is about the size of a saucepot, and would replace the 1,000-pound power train in most cars — no transmission, cooling system, emissions regulation or fluids needed. Norbert Müller and colleagues at Michigan State University showed off the new motor prototype at a meeting with the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency.
It consists of a rotor carved with wave-like channels. Fuel and air enter through central inlets, and the rotor spins to block their exit through a separate outlet. The sudden build-up of pressure generates a shock wave, compressing the mixture. Then it’s ignited, and as the rotor keeps spinning, the outlet opens again to let the hot gases escape. New Scientist explains in further detail.
The novel generator would use about 60 percent of fuel for propulsion, according to MSU. This is a dramatic improvement over typical car engines, which use only 15 percent of fuel for forward movement. The system could also make cars 20 percent lighter, improving fuel economy even more.
MSU received a $2.5 million ARPA-E grant to develop the technology. Müller said he hopes to have an even larger 25-kilowatt prototype by the end of this year.
![Click here to read These Magic Cards Are The "Holy Shit" Moment of Nintendo's New Toy](http://betacache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2011/03/small_fairymagic_splash.jpg "Click here to read These Magic Cards Are The "Holy Shit" Moment of Nintendo's New Toy")
There will be sixteen games available on the Nintendo 3DS when it goes on sale on March 27, but its best games may be the ones built right into the machine. And video doesn’t show the half of it. More »
This animated short from Sucker Punch shows what happens to the poor fallen soldiers in Zack Snyder’s dark war universe. From the mind behind Harry Potter’s Deathly Hallows animation, Ben Hibon, comes “The Trenches.” Watch! More »
The Japanese Nuclear situation at Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant is ongoing and ever-changing but if you were curious at how and what happened to cause such problems, this NHK video serves as a great explainer (it’s easy to understand, too). The video details the three safety precautions created to cool the nuclear reactor and discusses how all three have failed in some way. A must watch. [CNN via The Awesomer] More »
Remember the Galaxy Player (or Galaxy S WiFi) we saw back at MWC? Sure you do, it basically strips out the 3G and calling functionality of a Galaxy S phone and leaves you with a Android 2.2 media player or shrunken tablet. Well, it looks like both the 4-inch Galaxy Player 4 and the 5-inch Galaxy Player 5 will be headed to the US this spring. Samsung’s demoing the players here at its NYC Spring Product Showcase today, although it isn’t talking exact timing or pricing. Either way, it looks like this Android 2.2 player (it’s upgradable to 2.3, by the way) with full Market access will be headed stateside sometime soon. We’ve got the full specs after the break and we’ll be trying to dig up more details here — stay tuned.Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Player 4 and 5 to arrive in the US this spring
Samsung Galaxy Player 4 and 5 to arrive in the US this spring originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Mar 2011 11:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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When the new BlackBerry PlayBook finally becomes available there will be several locations to grab one: Rogers, TELUS,, Videotron, Bell stores and retail outlets such as The Source (owned by Bell), Sears Canada and now Staples Canada looks like they might be having available stock. This picture surfaced of what appears to be a “District […]
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