Author Archive
Aussie Scientists Head To Antarctica To Investigate Sunspots
By admin at 6 February, 2012, 3:00 pm
A group of Australian scientists from the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) are on the way to Antarctica to find out what effect solar activity has had on Earth’s global warming. Before the smarmy comments begin, this isn’t to do with the existence of the sun — we wouldn’t be here without it, after all — but to test for specific conditio …
Read More >>Slick Augmented Reality Demo Works On Any Object Without Special Markers
By admin at 6 February, 2012, 12:00 pm
One of the (many) reasons augmented reality apps haven’t caught on is because they usually require markers or special objects for their tracking software to work. Unlike this Obvious Engine system, which can easily track anything in a scene. The results are, admittedly, pretty impressive. This quick demo shows a Dr Pepper can being bulged and warped in real time, without also distorting the …
Read More >>Time-Lapse Tortoise Absolutely Murders Salads
By admin at 6 February, 2012, 11:00 am
I never used to be scared of tortoises. I mean, if ever there was a creature I could be reasonably confident I could outrun, it was a tortoise. This time lapse video of a tortoise has me kind of concerned, though. If I was a salad, I’d be quaking in my dressing right now. [Youtube via Geekosystem] …
Read More >>Haptic Weather Forecaster Lets You Feel Tomorrow’s Temperature
By admin at 5 February, 2012, 5:00 am
The Sun? Clouds? Little wavy lines? These cryptic icons used by meteorologists only serve to confuse those of us wanting to know tomorrow’s forecast. So Robb Godshaw created this easy-to-understand forecasting device that lets you feel what tomorrow’s temperature will be. Robb, an industrial design student at Rochester Institute of Technology, created the Cryoscope from a heat sink, co …
Read More >>Treaded Skateboard Turns Any Mountain Into Your Halfpipe
By admin at 5 February, 2012, 3:00 am
The hard plastic wheels used on skateboards usually means they’re relegated to only gleaming the cube on smoother surfaces like sidewalks. That’s not the case with Rockboard’s Descender, which adds tank-like treads for all-terrain ollies and kickflips. Ok, so with 36 wheels in total (3 per set, 9 per tread) you’re probably not going to be pulling off any tricks with this th …
Read More >>The US Army’s New Individual First Aid Kit
By admin at 4 February, 2012, 3:00 pm
The US Army’s IFAK — Individual First Aid Kit — used to be built into a SAW ammo pouch. This was a terrible solution as the pouch would continually get caught on other equipment — not what you want in a fire-fight. But no longer! The US military has just overhauled this life-saving accessory. Seated on the hip, the old-style IFAK was “just kind of a brick on your side …
Read More >>How To Land A Plane That’s Missing Half A Wing
By admin at 4 February, 2012, 6:00 am
It’s time to talk about the second letter in NASA: Aeronautics. Yes, NASA does mind-blowing things in outer space, but they also want you to get to your family reunion in one piece. NASA is making planes smarter. Editor’s note: We’re having some issues with video embedding. You can view the clip that should be here directly at Viddler. Smart enough to be flyable even whe …
Read More >>An Ingenious Suction Cup Shower Bag
By admin at 4 February, 2012, 2:40 am
The Vessell shower bag from Quirky is ostensibly for travellers and folks who need to be able to lug their toiletries around with them, but might actually be an incredible way to deal with the disgusting showers in shared student accommodation. The bag itself is a really simple concept: it’s just a three-compartment shower bag with a suction cup on the back to attach to the wall, because oh …
Read More >>Aussie Solar Storm Pic Is Pretty And Informative
By admin at 3 February, 2012, 1:30 pm
If I recall the saying correctly, “Red sky at night… mean that the sheep are on fire.”. This isn’t a case of burning quadrupeds, though, but a shot taken by NASA near Flinders of Last week’s Solar storm. And it’s not just a good looking shot. That looks stunning, but head over to NASA’s picture site, and you not only get the full-sized version, but also m …
Read More >>Lunchtime Deal: Vodafone 3G Dongle $24
By admin at 3 February, 2012, 9:00 am
Is there a time when these things are full price? There must be, but you’d be foolish to jump in and buy them then. $24 right now will buy you a Vodafone 3G dongle with 3GB of prepaid data on it from Coles. [Coles via OzBargain] …
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