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Amazing Robot Rolls, Climbs, Walks, Slithers, And Swims (Videos)
2007-02-26 21:49:01
The SuperBot is one of the most highly adaptive robots I have seen to date.  Most robots can tackle only one task at a time, that for which they were specialized.  The SuperBot, on the other hand, is made up entirely of individual robots that can run by themselves or be put together to communicate with each other and move in creative ways.  The robot was created by USC’s Information Sciences Institute. Superbot consists of Lego-like but autonomous robotic modules that can reconfigure into different systems for different tasks. Examples of configurable systems include rolling tracks or wheels (for efficient travel), spiders or centipedes (for climbing), snakes (for burrowing in ground), long arms (for inspection and repair in space), and devices that can fly in micro-gravity environment. (more…)
More About: Video , Videos , Robot , Roll , Amazing

Alas! Be Prepared To Pay Extra For Open OS Dell PCs
2007-02-26 21:49:01
So much for the good news that I reported a few days back.  Though Dell actually is pushing forward with their offering, their open PCs won’t be any cheaper.  In fact, you’ll end up paying a significantly higher price for a FreeDOS PC than one with Vista preinstalled!  No joke…for the sake of example, you’ll be dishing out $53 extra for the open n-series Latitude D420 vs. the Windows Latitude D420. As for having to “de-crapify” your Dell PC, well, FreeDOS doesn’t really have the ability to be stuffed with junk software in the first place.  So, they’re just taking the easy route: charging the consumer directly.  In fact, since FreeDOS is listed as a “kit”, it probably doesn’t come installed at all (really, though, that’s not a problem since nobody’s going to use it as their primary OS anyway). We’re still yet to see a pre-installed Linux PC.  It’s a t...
More About: Open , Extra , Xtra , Pare

Top 10 Weird USB Drives You?ve Never Seen
2007-02-26 21:49:01
This is a great list! From Chewbacca to a bowling ball, all of your impractical and useless USB drive needs are taken care of. My personal favorite is obviously this Teddy with his head lost inside your port. Read list 
More About: Weird , Usb , Drive , Top 10 , Ever

More Photorealistic Computer-generated Images
2007-02-26 21:49:01
To complement the amazing computer-generated face, I have found a list of the best-of-the-best renderings to show other examples of how good our technology is getting.  We are fast approaching the reality of completely photorealistic images and animations.  Several of these could not be identified as computer-rendered by an average person.  Enjoy!
More About: Photo , Computer , Images , Comp , List

Clocky, The Adorable Alarm Clock That Runs Away From You
2007-02-26 21:49:01
If you are a snooze button addict, then it might be time for you to find a way to annoy yourself out of bed. This little wheel-endowed clock looks deceivingly cute, but give it a few days of use and you’ll be wanting to smash it to pieces. If you don’t get up when it rings (or after one snooze if you have enabled it), it will hop off of your nightstand and run amok throughout your room, looking for a hiding place. The only way to end its ornery fit is to get up and put it back in its place…and now you’re awake! Product page
More About: Clock , Hat , Alarm , That , Away

Awesome HTML DIV Diagram For The Highly Confused
2007-02-26 21:49:01
I definitely include myself in the highly confused category when it comes to div tags.  I coded up my first web page in HTML using notepad…over 13 years ago.  The cool thing then was to just create a simple page with an enormous list of content.  Just one single list, right in the center.  Well, at least for MIDI pages, which was what I created.  It still exists, by the way, after 10 years of complete neglect.  Anyway, I’m still stuck in the age of HTML tables.  I find div tags and CSS a little confusing, but I make my way around code edits when I have to. Thankfully, I discovered this nice little image that sums it all up.  Every div tag option is labeled in order to provide the old fashioned web designer a quick reference. Visit the site
More About: Awesome , High , Html , Agra , Gram

Pump Up Your Data With An Inflatable USB Drive
2007-02-26 21:49:01
Clever! These modern USB flash drives feature a micro pump that causes them to inflate when you copy over your files. The more data, the bigger they get. Plus, they remain pumped up even when disconnected from your computer. What a great way to remind yourself you have some cleaning up to do! This definitely needs to be added to the Top 10 Weirdest USB drives list. [via FunniestGadgets]
More About: Usb , Drive , Data , With , Your

Dell To Ship Pre-installed Linux PCs
2007-02-26 21:49:01
[via Wirelessisfun] This is quite a milestone for Dell .  It appears that they have received overwhelming Linux support (2 out of 3 users requesting the option) from user surveys.  And, intelligently, they are going to listen to the customers. They are supposed to offer a choice between three distros: Ubuntu, Fedora, and OpenSUSE.  A Windows dual-boot option will apparently be available as well.  I like choice, so I’m glad they’re making this move.  If nothing else, this will bring the prices down considerably, especially as compared to pre-installed Vista PCs.  However, I am also aware that Dell makes a hefty profit by installing trial software all over the place on their PCs.  What are the odds that we will have to “de-crapify” our Dell Linux PCs?  Probably a sure thing.  In that case, since we’ll probably have to reformat anyway, I’d like to see an option for no OS.
More About: Tall , Ship

Tip: Kill The Windows Automatic Updates Restart Dialog
2007-02-26 21:49:01
There is no end to the pain and suffering that this annoying dialog has given me. The worst is when the only option is to restart, as forced by the IT people at work. The only way to get around it in this case is to move it off of your screen as much as possible so you can continue working. However, there is a workaround that I just discovered, and I wish I had known about ever since I installed Wind ows XP. Just kill the process ‘wuauclt.exe’ in task manager. Or, if you’re unfamiliar with task manager, do the following: go to the command prompt (Start -> Run -> cmd) and type “sc stop wuauserv” (without the quotes, of course). Voila! [via Digital Inspiration] UPDATE: Just killing the ‘wuauclt.exe’ process did not work for me, at least at work.  When I killed it, the dialog just popped back up again.   However, using the “sc stop wuauserv” worked like a charm.   It seems that when you kill the process, the windows servi...
More About: Dates , Auto , Updates

Best Links: 2/21/07
2007-02-26 21:49:01
I read through scores of blogs and news articles every day, but I am only able to write specifically about very few. In hopes of sharing more of the day’s best content, I will occasionally (if not daily) provide you with my favorite, worth-your-time links. Here is today’s list. (more…)
More About: Links , Link , Best

Crazy New Mouse, With A Twist (Literally)
2007-02-26 21:49:01
The 3Style company has created a mouse with a jogwheel that allows the user to provide input in 3 axes, as opposed to only two supported by conventional mice.  If you’re unfamiliar with what a “jogwheel” is, like I was prior to learning about this mouse, it is a wheel that rests parallel to the surface of your desk that can be rotated in a circular motion.  It is comparable to the iPod’s circular input wheel, except it rotates freely as opposed to detecting touch only.  Usually jogwheels are used by professional video editors for precise video scrolling. If my description wasn’t up to par, check out this video of the mouse in action: I haven’t seen anything like it.  My concern, though, is that it seems like it would be difficult to rotate the jogwheel while simultaneously moving the mouse.  In the video, the user had to stop mouse movement in order to switch to jogwheel input for both the 3d modeling software a...
More About: With , Crazy , Rally , Lite , Liter

Amazing Computer Generated Face Looks Real
2007-02-26 21:49:01
CGI graphics have come a long way since the pixelated, choppy renderings of the past. I’ve always wondered if the technology would advance enough to mimic full reality. Well, this is one of the most amazing renderings of a human that I have ever seen. You have to view it full size in order to do it justice. Click on the picture to view the original. If you don’t believe me, here is how it was made (too bad it doesn’t give enough details to reproduce it entirely). I guess we’re one step closer to producing completely lifelike animations, both for movies and video games. That’ll be the day, won’t it?
More About: Computer , Comp , Amazing , Face , Real

SETI Finally Finds Something
2007-02-26 21:49:01
SETI@home is a distributed processing client from UC Berkeley that installs on the volunteers’ home computers and harnesses their processing power in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. So far nothing noteworthy has comeout of this massive project… that is until today! One of the volunteers was able to track down his wife’s stolen laptop using the IP address that SETI@home client reports back to the server. After getting back the laptop his wife said, ‘I always knew that a geek would make a great husband.’ This is pretty funny.  I never really liked the SETI@home project; I figure it’s pretty useless.  Maybe my bias comes from the fact that my first impression of it was when I worked as a computer techie at a University of Arizona establishment.  A guy that worked up front as a receptionist had installed the “screensaver” on his PC.  Naturally, it soaked up tons of resources, especially hogging the b...
More About: Find , Methi , Final , Finally , Something

Tutorial Showing How To Move From Windows To Linux (Sponsored By IBM!)
2007-02-26 21:49:01
[via Digg.com] “Wind ows siness architect Chris Walden is your guide through a nine-part developer-Works series on moving your operational skills from a Windows® to a Linux ® environment. (Note, how Chris puts down windows on multiple occasions in part one.)” Seems like a nice, comprehensive list and a must-read for those who are considering making the switch. If I were ever to make a switch away from Windows, Ubuntu or OpenSUSE would be my first choice (no Macs for me anytime soon, sorry Apple fanboys). read more | digg story
More About: How To , Tutorial

Best Links: 2/22/07
2007-02-26 21:49:01
Here’s the interesting stuff from today. Cuts Launches Amidst Online Video Editor War - I would expect to see this site take off. Netvibes Promises Cross-Platform Widget Compatibility 3D In Flash Was Never So Realistic - awesome 3d rhino. How to Make Square Corners with CSS (funny) McDonald’s: Now This Is Creative Advertisement Top 20 FREEWARE Adventure Games of 2006 - I’m anxious to give some of these a try. I’ve jumped on the adventure game genre lately, beating Nibiru, Syberia, and Syberia II. Pretty fun stuff to get those brains flowing. CNN’s List of 25 Startups To Watch In 2007 - I’ve been using StumbleUpon for some time now. I’ve also had a look a Meebo…very nice. Why is the Cellphone Ringing ? You probably have a Guest at Home
More About: Links , Link , Best

March 24, 2007: Computer Shutdown Day
2007-02-26 21:49:01
Is it possible to go without our wonderful PCs, laptops, and the works for a full 24-hours?  What would happen?  Would the world blow up?  Would we lose all the money in our bank accounts?  Honestly, I’m not ready to find out. The folks at Shutdownday.org have proposed that everyone in the whole world — yes, everyone — shutoff their computers on Marc h 24, 2007.  Why?  It’s simply an experiment to see if we can cope. (more…)
More About: Computer , Comp , Down