LASER ZAPS PILOT'S EYE

"A pilot flying a Delta Air Lines jet was injured by a laser that illuminated the cockpit of the aircraft as it approached Salt Lake City International Airport last week," according to the Washington Times.

The plane's two pilots reported that the Boeing 737 had been five
miles from the airport when they saw a laser beam inside the cockpit, said
officials familiar with government reports of the Sept. 22 incident. The flight,
which originated in Dallas, landed without further incident at about 9:30 p.m.
local time.

A short while later, however, the first officer felt a stinging sensation in
one eye. A doctor who examined the pilot determined that he had suffered a
burned retina from exposure to a laser device, the officials said.

Earlier this year, an intern at Los Alamos National Laboratory was struck by a laser in the eye, causing retinal damage. That incident lead to a shut down of the lab, and the firing of at least two employees.

John Mazor, a spokesman for the Air Line Pilots Association, said
commercial pilots have been exposed to laser illumination. "The Air Line Pilots
Association has received reports in the past of incidents where lasers
penetrated cockpits and, in at least one case, caused injury," Mr. Mazor said...

Military personnel also have suffered eye damage from laser illumination. In
one case, Naval Lt. Cmdr. Jack Daly and Canadian helicopter pilot Capt. Pat
Barnes suffered eye injuries hours after an aerial surveillance mission to
photograph a Russian merchant ship that had been shadowing the ballistic-missile
submarine USS Ohio in Washington state's Strait of Juan de Fuca.

The Navy recently turned down an appeal from the Defense Department inspector
general to award Cmdr. Daly a Purple Heart for the incident. Cmdr. Daly, who
retired from the service last year, continues to suffer eye pain and
deteriorating vision.

(via Drudge)

--- Read Article --- [Washington Times via DefenseTech]

Nintendo DS: Retail Box

Were you wondering what the retail box of the Nintendo DS was going to look like? :no not really . . . Well here you go anyway.

Nintendo Shows Final DS Package [1UP via Gizmodo]

Related
Nintendo DS [Xero-Hour]

Venturi Fetish: First Production Electric Sports Car

French auto maker Venturi should get a healthy round of applause when it shows off its 245-horsepower "Fetish" sports car in January. Not because it's super-powerful - although it's quick enough, with a 4.3-second 0-to-60 time - but because it's the world's first production sports car to be powered by electricity.

Of course, when it hits the roads early next year it'll set you back almost half-a-mil, not to mention the trouble you'll go through to find a place to charge it all the time. If you can swing the purchase price, though, I bet you'll manage fine. Plus the quick-charge system in the Fetish is fast; 10 minutes on the plug nets 16km worth of drive time.

--- Read more --- [TheRawFeed via Gizmodo]

NEC Introduces First Projectors Offering Remote Desktop Control and Broadcasting

NEC Solutions (America), Inc. Visual Systems Division announces the shipping of two new portable projectors to expand its broadest line of large area displays in the industry. The NEC LT245 and LT265 are the first projectors to feature remote desktop control and the ability to broadcast information to multiple projectors and multiple computers."We wanted to develop a projector to meet the ever-changing requirements of the presenter," said Bob Guentner, projector product manager, the Visual Systems Division of NEC Solutions America, Inc.

[PhysOrg]

Qnext: Maybe Worth A Look

Company:Qnext Corp., www.qnext.com
Price:Free download (advanced services free only for a limited time)
Pros:Does everything the leading IM clients do and more, including large-scale file
and photo sharing and remote access.
Cons:Doesn't run all that well on older machines. You'll need at least a 500-MHz
Pentium III and 128MB of memory—maybe more.
Bottom Line:If you use instant messaging, there's no reason not to switch to Qnext. It works
with all the popular networks and is far more powerful than the standard IM
clients.

Review:
Think of Qnext as the Swiss Army knife of Internet communication tools. With
this slick suite of applications (available free from the Qnext Web site), you
can send and receive instant messages, set up group IM chats, initiate audio
chats, start a video conference, and take...

--- Full Review --- [PCMAG]
--- Product Page --- [Qnext]

First Battery Based on 'Nanograss'

mPhase Technologies and Lucent Technologies today announced a major milestone for future commercialization of a nanotechnology-based battery. Lab tests, which have been replicated, proves it is possible to fabricate nanotech-based batteries, which can store and generate electric current. The project is based on a joint program with Bell Labs, the R&D arm of Lucent Technologies.

The prototype battery is based on a Bell Labs discovery that liquid droplets of electrolyte will stay in a dormant state atop microscopic structures called "nanograss" until stimulated to flow, thereby triggering a reaction producing electricity.

[physorg]

For the Geek On the Go:

So I want this Voltaic Backpack badly. Josh Rubin pinged me to point it out and I haven't stopped barking questions at him since, despite the fact that he's not, you know, the guy that makes it. Three aluminum-panel solar cells sit the back along with enough wires and in-seam connections to charge most small devices (although sadly, not laptops). In direct sunlight, you can bring a phone back up to full strength in about 6 hours (although if the eather stays like it has been in New York today, it'll be more like A Lot Longer).

Still, awesome - and it doesn't even look that dorky! Voltaic is in the city so I hope to have my hands on one of these $230 beauties soon.[gizmodo]

--- Product Page ---[VoltaicSystems via Gizmodo]

More on the PSTwo

Told you I would have some pics of the new PSTwo, been meaning to get this one up for a few days now. Still no word about what they are going to do about the HD. There is no slot or plans for one on the PSTwo. The Final Fantasy team however maybe looking to jump platforms. I'm hoping XBOX.

Read More [GameSpot]

BMW unveils world's fastest hydrogen car

German luxury carmaker BMW unveiled the world's fastest hydrogen-powered car, dubbed the H2R, at the Paris auto show on September 22, 2004. The car is capable of exceeding 185 miles per hour. Unlike most hydrogen-powered vehicles, the H2R doesn't operate on a fuel cell but rather uses a modified 6-liter, 12-cylinder combustion engine for its propulsion that essentially emits nothing but steam.

[Guenter Schmied/BMW via Reuters]

Riding While Intoxicated

Aight I got it! I finally got it. Forget taxi's, just ride your trusty stallion home. See this is where my genius comes in; we can rent horses out just like cars. Think of it. . . Stables right across from bars. This is going to be bigger then the USB Menorah. Just you wait.

--- 'Drunk rider' ruling stirs scorn --- [BBC]

WOO HOO: Green Day rocks!!!

Strange but punk. Green Day and iTunes Music Store are releasing a special set of CD-Rs pre-imprinted with the logos from the original CDs, so that you can download their music from iTMS and burn it onto a proper disc - sound quality aside, no one would be the wiser.

Wouldn't it be nice if a band were to release their redbook CDs along with a blank CD-R for copying and giving to your friends? Just sort of a, "We don't mind if you want to make a copy or two. Thanks for purchasing." I'm not holding my breath (my blood atenuators do not require crude meatchanical motion).

Achetez, mixez, gravez... (French) [iPodGeneration] via [Gizmodo]
Buy Green Day CD-Rs [GreenDayMusic]

PSP Remote

The Sony PSP in-line remote...no more no less.

A Big JPG [ImpressWatch]

iPOD Owners Rejoice

If you're an iPod fanatic (you know who I'm talking about) you'd better have a sit-down, and get a pair of clean drawers. Xlr8yourmac recently reported that after they replaced their original iPod battery with one from Newertech they went from 4 hours to 21 hours of playtime. It cost them $40 and five minute's effort, (although this definitely voids the warranty). The $40 includes a tool set and installation guide, and if you tack on the coupon code 'HIGHROAD' when you check out you can get the NewerTech RoadTrip FM Transmitter device for only $9.99. Not bad, especially if you've got an older iPod (1st or 2nd gen) with a worn out battery.

Read - iPod Battery Upgrade [GadgetMadness]
Read - Catalog Page [MacSales]

Update: Some people are having problems with the RoadTrip code, so don't hold me to that.

Nintendo DS Price, Launch Date Announced

And to continue the gaming tip, it looks like Nintendo has officially announced the final information regarding the new DS handheld, and it's sort of a mixed bag. On the (way) upside, the official price is just $150, which is a lot better than the $200+ numbers we had been hearing. US gamers can expect to see the DS in stores by November 21st - a launch date actually a week before Japan,(bout time we got sum respect!) if you can believe it. The DS-to-DS instant messaging software, PictoChat, will come bundled for free, but no proper games, per se.

--- Read more --- [Gizmodo]

NASA NUKE MISSION BEGINS

NASA's nuclear-powered mission to Jupiter's moons is on. The space agency yesterday handed out a $400 million contract to Northrop Grumman to start work on Project Prometheus, its effort to send an unmanned probe to the moons of Callisto, Ganymede, and Europa.

I for one am supremely excited about this. Europa has long been a fascination of mine and think there will many interesting secrets we may uncover about the big giants moon.

--- Read Article --- [DefenseTech]

Silent Running: 'Black Triangle' Sightings on the Rise

They have become legendary in UFO circles. Huge, silent-running Flying Triangles have been seen by ground observers creeping through the sky low and slow near cities and quietly cruising over highways.

The National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS), has catalogued the Triangle sightings, sifting through and combining databases to take a hard look at the mystery craft. Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, NIDS is a privately funded science institute with a strong research focusing on aerial phenomena.The results of their study have just been released and lead to some unnerving, still puzzling conclusions.

--- Read Article ---

Sony to Launch Smaller PStwo

You know I was thinking about this the other day, I'm very curious to see what this bad boy is gonna look like. I'll keep you updated, especially when the pictures are relased. But let me clarify this is not set in stone yet, but the chances are very likely it will be out shortly.

--- Read - Sony to Launch Smaller PS2 Console Oct. 26 --- [Reuters (Yahoo)]
--- Read - Sony 'PStwo' to kick PS2 out of PS3's shadow? --- [TheRegister]

Washing Machine Reads Smart Tags on Clothing, Sends Emails

Ummm.... honey.....the clothes are dry....the washer just emailed me. Well its finally happening, useless advances in technology with seemingly futuristic aspects, and very little hope for everyday use. Oh wait thats been going on a while now.

A new washing machine developed by the Dai Nippon Printing Company can read special smart tags on clothing and instruct the user the best method with which to wash the clothes. Not only that, but the LG-built unit can keep track of how many times a particular item has been washed, what material it is made out of,
and can even send an email or SMS when your load of laundry is complete.

--- Read - Smart Tag Reading Washing Machine --- [I4U via Gizmodo]

Its All About The Emulation Baby

Leander from Cult of Mac/Wired has a story about a new Silicon Valley startup - wow, been a while since I've typed that - that is claiming to have developed a sort of super-emulator that will allow code written for one platform to work seamless on a variety of other platforms. If your wondering to yourself .... ok how does this relate to me? Imagine being able to seamlessly port a Linux program to Windows or vice versa or even to a *god forbid* Mac. One of Transitive's (the people who make the QuickTransit software) example uses?

Wiederhold said QuickTransit will allow the next-generation Xbox
(which will have a Mac-like PowerPC chip) to run first-generation Xbox software
(which was written for an Intel chip).

Read - Step Toward Universal Computing [Wired]

Kitchen Composters

Sharp has announced a pair of kitchen composters, the NP-40CX-S and the NP-20CX-S, both of which use a special microbe blend to reduce the volume of organic waste by up to 92% in just 24 hours. There's not much difference between the two units beyond capacity (and wheels, I guess), and Sharp claims that the "Composting Bio Mix" will only have need to be replaced about twice a year.

I don't know if Sharp plans to release these units outside of Japan, but I would love to play around with one if they do. It would be especially nifty if you could use the rendered waste as mulch or something like that. Until then, I guess we'll just have to do it the New York way - letting our plants die and then buying some more.

Read - Press Release [Sharp-World via Gizmodo.]

Watch out HUMMER ....

Well they did it. They made a bigger, uglier vehicle for the enviromentalist to complain about. Click the pic its worth it to get the full effect. The new 21.5-foot truck weighs seven tons and gets about 6 to 10 miles to the gallon. It's essentially a semi-truck scaled back to be a consumer vehicle - but it's still going to cost over $90k.

Read - Truck maker will sell giant pickup [Money.CNN]

Read - Official Site

Photo may be first of extrasolar planet

The red object appears to be a planet orbiting the brighter brown dwarf star, seen here as blue-white. (SPACE.com) -- A group of European-led astronomers has made a photograph of what appears to be a planet orbiting another star. If so, it would be the first confirmed picture of a world beyond our solar system. "Although it is surely much bigger than a terrestrial-size object [like Earth], it is a strange feeling that it may indeed be the first planetary system beyond our own ever imaged," said Christophe Dumas, an astronomer at the European Southern Observatory. --- Read more ---

Spitzer Witnessed Galactic Collision

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has set its infrared sight
on a major galactic collision and witnessed not death, but a teeming nest of life. The colliding galaxies, called the Antennae galaxies, are in the process of merging together. As they churn into each other, they throw off massive streamers of stars and dark clouds of dust. Spitzer's heat-seeking eyes peered through that dust and found a hidden population of newborn stars. The new Spitzer image is reported in one of 86 Spitzer papers published in the September issue of The Astrophysical Journal Supplement. This special all-Spitzer issue comes just after the one-year anniversary of the observatory's launch, and testifies to its tremendously successful first year in space.

--- Read More ---

Liquid Glass Anyone???

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists at Ohio State University have found that a special type of glass that is finding use in the electronics industry softens when exposed to very low-level laser light, and hardens back into its original condition when the light is switched off.

The discovery -- made by accident as physicists were trying to study properties of the material -- may one day enable new uses for the glass.

Ratnasingham Sooryakumar said that he and former doctoral student Jared Gump thought they were working with a bad batch of germanium-selenium glass when Gump was testing the material’s hardness in the laboratory and couldn’t reproduce his results.

“Every day he got a different result,” recalled Sooryakumar, a professor of physics at Ohio State. “It took us a while to realize that the material was fine, it was just very sensitive to
light.”

webmasters note* Hey "J" now your screen name actually means something.

--- Read more ---

Fly Eater A Glimpse Into The Future

Holy shit these guys are going to make a fortune. Yea, it gives off the scent of human feces and attracts flies, but these guys are onto something. This robot is the first realistic albeit a little weird, step towards a totally autonomous robot. Not only does it eat flies, I mean hey how is that not a plus, but it "digests" the flies and converts them to energy which is stored in one of its 8 fuel cells.

The only drawbacks are that right now it has to be manually fed, and the fact that it has a "breath taking" top speed of four inches (10 centimeters) per hour due to the fact that it takes it 12 minutes to take one step.

Ultimately the real point behind the EcoBot II fly-eating robot experiment is, to create "release and forget" roving droids that are almost completely autonomous. They could be sent into dangerous or inhospitable areas, which points to a wide range of military, security, or industrial uses.

Webmasters note* When I put in my patent for the USB powered Jewish Menorah I'm also going to include a patent for one of this bad boys, except it attracts and eats "Roaches", OMG I'm going to be a millionaire. Watch out ROOMBA here I come.

---Read Article --- [NewsFactor]

Its a bird, Its a plane, No its millions of dollars of NASA tech. failing to work

(CNN) -- The Genesis return capsule crashed in the desert on Wednesday after its parachutes failed to deploy. The craft missed a mid-air retrieval meant to save the spacecraft from hitting the Earth.

"The capsule has suffered extensive damage. It has broken apart on the desert floor," said an official on NASA TV. "Hopefully, there will be enough evidence to see what went wrong. Whether there will be enough science left inside remains to be seen."

Teams are attempting to recover the craft. NASA has warned them that a "live mortar" or explosive charge designed to deploy the chutes may still be armed.

--- Read whole story ---
--- Watch Video ---

Spyware + SP2 = Problems ......Gee Bill who'd a thought.

SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- Though Microsoft Corp.'s new security update package is all about protecting systems from worms, viruses and spyware, it can't do much about what's already on computers -- and that could pose a problem.

The company is warning users of the Windows XP operating system to check for spyware before downloading the free massive security update, called Service Pack 2.

Barry Goff, a group product manager at Microsoft, said some spyware could cause computers to freeze up upon installation of the update.

---Read Full Story ---

ET is calling: Are you Listening?

It seems that SETI stumbled across one of the best chances of an ET signal to date, although its nothing to get to excited about. I used to run the SETI software on my computer which basically is a screen saver that talks to the SETI server. Gets info and computes it and then sends it back. Its cool stuff but then I got to calculating the age of my processor and the fact that maybe it wasn't such a good idea for it to be working that hard all the time. But anyway check out the two stories, very interesting non the less.

--- Read News Story ---
--- Read Planetary Society Story ---

Two Legged Walkin Dog

Aight guys I know this is a bit out of context of the usual stuff but you have to see this if u haven't already. Its amazing and disturbing at the same time. The dogs name is accordingly named Faith. Which I guess he owners would have had to have alot of "faith" to try and teach a dog born with only its two back legs to walk. Really the only thing that does it justice is to watch the video yourself, its truly amazing

Watch - video

Hitachi Makes 1.8-Inch Harddrives Smaller;

LIAM "THE INTERN" MCNULTY -- Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (the bastard child of Hitachi and IBM's storage divisions) has announced a new version of their 1.8" Travelstar C4K60 hard drive, sporting a 10% smaller size and the "ZIF (Zero Insertion Force)" connector. This model is planned to be available in 20 and 30GB capacities. And yep, you guessed it... it's intended for use in portable audio players.

Read - Press Release [HGST] Thanx[Gizmodo]

USB Internet Telephone Handset

Well I guess what they say is true, ask
and u will receive. (USB Device for a cookie) This is an interesting concept although with current VOIP technology I'm not sure how applicable it would be, but again looks good. Defiantly a step in the right direction. I should mention however this is for sale on a European web page so check compatibility if you want to purchase it.

Oh. And keep the cool things like these coming

--- Read original page --- thanx{Liquid_Glass}