Today’s gamer question is a tough one, one that can be debated until the end of time and even then a clear answer may not be attained.
Which is more lame?
Above you see the recently introduced Sony Motion Controller. It looks like something your girlfriend or wife would use to stimulate their nether-regions; facts are facts. It is also known that the simple act of holding this horribly designed controller will reduce your testosterone and drain you of any remaining machismo.
The above video includes what has to be one of the worst ideas in sound design for a video game EVER. Whoever thought this was a good idea should go work at Infinity Ward, get fired, and be escorted out of the building under armed guard. I mean really, the warning siren in Bad Company 2 is so loud, so overbearing that it requires a volume adjustment every time it starts. Hell, it’s so bad there is a petition up on the EA boards to have it removed, a petition that now stretches 75 pages. Now, one could argue that if you don’t want to hear it then you shouldn’t lose. Valid argument. What say you?
Which is more lame? Submit your answers in the comments below!
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has developed a breakthrough in green energy that uses freely available noise pollution to extract hydrogen from water molecules.
A team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison made crystals of zinc oxide that, when immersed in water, absorb vibrations and develop areas of strong negative and positive charge. These charges rip apart nearby water molecules, releasing hydrogen and oxygen gas.
“This is like a free lunch,” says lead researcher Huifang Xu. “You are getting energy from the environment just like solar cells capture energy from the sun.”
Max Headroom was an original and creative television show created in 1987 that only ran for 13 episodes, yet was beloved by the small group of fans who rallied around the science-fiction show. We’re not talking your typical science-fiction. Hell, Max Headroom was cyberpunk before the movement had really began, presenting a strange future ruled by media companies. It was a great show, perhaps too creative for its own good, forgotten by most. Now, after all these years, Max Headroom is finally making a grand return to DVD.
“Max Headroom” starred Matt Frewer as a reporter whose mind is downloaded into a computer to create a virtual clone who exists in the digital world. Amanda Pays, Jeffrey Tambor and W. Morgan Sheppard also star in the series, which ran for 14 episodes on Cinemax and ABC in 1987 and 1988. Set in the near future, “Max Headroom” depicted a world of television run amok.
Shout! Factory has a “Max Headroom” complete-series DVD set slated for August, according to a spokesperson. Episodes are being transferred from their original elements to provide the best quality, and Shout! Factory is planning a robust range of extras for the set. Bonus content may include the original U.K. telefilm 20 Minutes Into the Future, upon which the series is based, though nothing has been confirmed. Max Headroom also appeared in a series of Coca-Cola commercials in the 1980s, raising speculation such content may also be fodder for bonus material, but Shout! Factory said planning the extras is in the early stage.
In order to celebrate the 50th anniversary of SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence), England’s Telegraph newspaper asked readers to submit what they would like to communicate to aliens before the visit Earth. Expecting wonderful, uplifting notes extolling our virtues as humans, the Telegraph was shocked to discover the opposite, with the overwhelming majority asking for aliens to please put us out of our misery.
For what would he learn about mankind? First, that we are vicious, creatures who have already done a great job of wrecking our home. “Please kill us now … have no mercy,” urged a gentleman from Indiana. “We are evil and you must defend yourself.”
“Keep away from this planet,” agreed Pamela from Sicily. “Mankind is only intent on depleting, abusing and destroying [it]. They will do the same to yours should they find it. Mankind is the worst virus in the universe. You have been warned.”
Nick from Calne was equally blunt: “If you manage to work out how to travel to us, don’t bother, as we’ll probably probe you, try to blow you up or worse still, steal your technology and invade… Have a nice day.”
Rob from Georgia, meanwhile, was prepared to throw the rest of mankind to the lions: “Dearest Aliens, If you choose to conquer Earth, please do not kill or enslave those of us who can name all 12 men to have walked on the Moon. We are the ones worth keeping around.”
Seema from Elgin had a compelling reason for ET not to bother with us: “If you’re planning to visit our planet, please know you will need to remove all metal from your person, take your shoes off and submit to a full body scan, carry all liquids/gels/aerosols in clear plastic bottles no bigger than 3.4oz, surrender all cigarette lighters and batteries, pack all jams and jellies (but pies can be carried on)… Oh, yes. Welcome to the Earth!”
This year’s GDC (Game Developer’s Conference) is fully underway, and Sony has finally announced an official name for their upcoming PS3 Motion Controller, previously rumored to be codenamed “Arc.”
The official name is now “PlayStation Move,” and Sony managed to show off some software during its presentation such as a sports pack tentatively titled “Sports Champions,” which included table tennis and archery among other activities. Another game pack, entitled “Move Party,” was shown off and evidently superimposes images such as swords and shields into the game based upon the movement of the PS Move controller. The software sounds very similar to some Virtual Reality technology I experienced back during E3 2009, which superimposed a sword and shield onto my hands with VR goggles.
Sony showed off two different motion controllers during the GDC presentation: the previously disclosed Move with the orb at the end, and an orb-less “sub-controller” which evidently can act like the Wii’s Nunchuck accessory. Some demonstrations included players using two orb-topped Moves – one in each hand.
The release date is still scheduled for sometime in the fall, but a price point was announced: $100 for a starter kit that includes a Move controller, the PlayStation Eye and a game. There will also be three separate bundles: the controller itself, a controller and a PlayStation Eye, and a PS3 system bundle.
Several games have been announced for Move support including Socom 4.
More details were not announced, and Sony did not unveil a specific release date.
The California Institute of Technology has announced the invention of a new type of solar cell, one that is way beyond current technology. Better yet, this new solar cell is comprised of 98% plastic and only requires 1/50th of the semiconductor material used in convention solar cells, meaning this new CalTech invention will be incredibly cheap to produce. Even better…CalTech’s new technology runs at 90% efficiency, which is a remarkable 4X greater than existing solar cells.
“Our technology uses 50-100 times less silicon,” he said, “in the form of a sparse array of wires. And that sparse array of wires has exactly the same light absorption and electricity-collection properties as the conventional silicon wafer cell.”
The tiny silicon wires stick up from the base, or substrate, looking something like a microscopic hair brush. And because the key component of solar cells is an expensive, highly purified form of silicon, there’s a real economic benefit to this design.
“So what that means is, in terms of cost, is you can use 100 times less silicon. And that’s potentially very significant.”
But the silicon is what converts light into electricity, so you might think using so much less silicon would reduce the electrical output, but Atwater says that’s not the case.
“The light comes in and is both directly absorbed by the wires, and some of the light bounces around in between the wires. And that bouncing around or multiple scattering in between the wires results in dramatically enhanced absorption,” Atwater explained. “In fact, the absorption enhancement that we see is in the range of 20 to 50 times the single-pass absorbance.”
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