Henry Kissinger

via Quotes of the Day on 5/30/09
"University politics are vicious precisely because the stakes are so small."

Trentemoller - Moan (original mix)

Trentemoller - Moan (original mix)

Tunguska - Un OZN a salvat Terra in 1908

via Antena3 - Stiinta on 5/29/09







Doctorul Yuri Labvin, preşedinte al Fundaţiei Tunguska Spatial Phenomenon, este de părere că fenomenul Tunguska, petrecut în 1908, a fost produs de o navă extraterestră care a intrat în coliziune cu un meteorit, salvând astfel Pământul de la un dezastru. Pe 30 iunie 1908, o explozie, care a degajat o energie estimată la aproximativ 15 megatone, a distrus peste 80 de milioane de arbori de pe o suprafaţă de peste 2.150 de kilometri pătraţi dintr-o zonă nepopulată a Siberiei.


Martorii oculari au povestit că au văzut o lumină puternică pe cer, urmată de o undă de şoc. Fenomenul a fost subiect de dezbatere pentru mulţi oameni de ştiinţă în ultimul secol, iar majoritatea acestora consideră că a fost provocat de explozia unui meteorit la distanţă de numai câţiva kilometri de suprafaţa terestră.



Dr Labvin vine acum cu noi argumente în acest caz. El susţine că bucăţile bizare de cuarţ descoperite la faţa locului sunt rămăşiţele panoului de control al unei nave extraterestre care s-a prăbuşit pe Pământ după impactul cu un meteorit. Zece dintre cristale sunt găurite astfel încât pot forma un lanţ, iar altele sunt inscripţionate cu diverse desene.

"Noi nu deţinem tehnologia cu ajutorul căreia să putem imprima asemenea desene pe cristale", a declarat Labvin, citat de foxnews.com. "De asemenea am descoperit silicat de fier, care nu poate fi produs nicăieri, decât în spaţiu", a adăugat cercetătorul.

Damien Walters Showreel 2009

via Core77 on 5/30/09

aniki:

unbe-fuckin-lievable !!! Damien playing around...

Microsoft's Future Vision Series

Microsoft's Future Vision on Manufacturing







Microsoft's Future Vision on Health Care







Microsoft's Future Vision on Banking







Microsoft's Future Vision on Retailing

Dante's Inferno Lust & Heresy Trailer

via Realitatea .NET - IT & Ştiinţă by Realitatea.NET on 5/29/09







Dante's Inferno este principalul rival al celui de-al treilea joc din seria God of War, iar EA prezintă un mic teaser E3 pentru unul dintre cele mai aşteptate jocuri de la Los Angeles.




Dante's Inferno este dezvoltat de EA Redwood Shores care sunt răspunzători pentru excelentul joc Dead Space lansat anul trecut. Aceştia au promis să aducă o perspectivă contemporană a purgatoriului şi iadului care va da naştere unor monştrii nemaiîntâlniți până acum.

Platformele şi data de lansare nu au fost confirmate, dar dacă luăm în calcul producătorul atunci mai mult ca asigur că vom vedea o lansare simultană pe PC, Xbox 360 şi PS3.

The Most Leaning Building In the World

via Gizmodo by Jesus Diaz on 5/29/09



This is the Capital Gate, a 525-foot tall tower that leans 18 degrees to the west, 14 degrees more than the Tower of Pisa. And unlike many of these spectacular projects, this one is actually well underway in Abu Dhabi, as you can see in this image:



The building—which will house a 5-star Hyatt hotel—can lean this much thanks to its steel exoskeleton and 490 piles drilled 100 feet into the ground, designed to compensate for gravity, wind, and seismic pressures caused by its peculiar shape. I wonder who is compensating for all the gravity, wind, and seismic economic pressures generated by all this crazy developments in the desert. [ArchDaily]

Sony Ericsson Aino Lets You Remote Control and Watch Videos From Your PS3 From Anywhere

via Gizmodo by matt buchanan on 5/28/09



Sony Ericsson's Aino isn't the PSP phone, but maybe it's the next best thing—it's the first phone with Remote Play, so you can remotely control your PS3 and watch videos from it over Wi-Fi or anywhere through the internet. Why the hell didn't Sony do this before?

It also has a new feature called Media Go that'll automatically pull media off your PC over Wi-Fi whenever you plop it in the charging stand—obviously it requires a client on your PC, but whatever.



Oh yeah, it's a 3G GSM phone too. It's got a 3-inch screen, 8-megapixel camera with geo-tagging, light photo editing and video recording, built-in Facebook, YouTube, and Google apps like Search and Maps. It'll be out at the end of the year, likely for an ungodly sum given all the features packed into it. [Sony Ericsson]

Google Wave is a Mix of Chat, IM, Twitter and Google Docs in Real-Time

via Gizmodo by matt buchanan on 5/28/09



I have the feeling Google Wave is something you're gonna have to use to really understand: In the simplest terms, it's a live chatroom with a spread of documents, photos and/or videos, where you can reply to any part of any message or anything that's shared, and it's all real-time.



The idea is to drag email and IM into real-time—so it's free-wheeling mesh of Twitter, IM, Friendfeed really, any other kind of service presenting semi-real-time stuff in a stream. But in Google Wave, you can share and collaborate on projects, and all of this is mashed together at once, so it might be the ultimate service for people with ADD, or enterprise looking to simulate the feeling of 10 people standing around a desk scattered with a bunch of projects, but you're all able to work on any of them simultaneously while you're also whispering to the cute girl across the table about the new sushi place around the corner. You start a wave with any message or photo or whatever, and you bring people into the discussion, and then they can bring other people in as well (unless you block it or start kicking people out) so it's as public or private as you want it to be.

It's easy to see why Google would jump in here—real-time is the next iteration of the internets, and everybody's been obsessed with it since Twitter (look no further than Facebook). Not only does Wave elevate the collaborative and conversational aspect of real-time, Google's smartly pimping it from the app side too, pushing for apps that use and run within a wave, since a service is now really only as good as it is as a platform. At least, I think that's what this is all about. Maybe it's just a surfing chatroom. [Google Wave, Cnet]

Un american de 29 de ani are 21 de copii cu 11 femei diferite

via Antena3 - Bizar on 5/29/09




Are 29 de ani şi e tatăl a nu mai puţin de 21 de copii. Un american din Knoxville a ajuns vedetă pentru că a lăsat însărcinate 11 femei. Desmond Hatchett ar fi trăit în continuare liniştit dacă pe ordinea de zi a unui tribunal nu ar fi fost înscrise 11 procese de pensie alimentară, toate pe numele lui.

Cei 21 de copii au vârste de la câteva luni la 11 ani. Bărbatul nu are serviciu, şi, dacă va fi obligat să plătească pensie alimentară, unii copii ar putea primi doar un dolar pe lună.

Uluiţi de recordul lui Hatchett, unii locuitori din Knoxville au cerut ca acesta să fie castrat. Prins în corzi, el a promis că nu va mai avea alţi copii.

Chanel Fiole Concept

via Car Body Design - News on 5/28/09




The Fiole is a concept car inspired by Chanel: it is targeted to female customers and captures the essence of the fashion and beauty brand. The author is design student Jinyoung Jo from Hong-ik University, South Korea.







The main colors are black and white - Chanel's signature tones - and the exterior feature smooth flowing lines that remind of the folds and drapes of a fabric, with the rear wheels hidden by the rear quarter panels.







The interior can accomodate three passengers and features an enveloping cockpit as well as a number of versatile storage compartments.

GTA Spano

via Car Body Design - News on 5/29/09




The Spano project was started by Spanish motorsport company GTA Motor five years ago from an idea of its director Domingo Ochoa. The goal was to build a super sportscar that combines high technology with sportsmanship and exclusivity.

Designed by GTA Motor´s engineering director, Valencian-born Sento Pallardó, the GTA Spano features advanced technology, studied aerodynamics and a number of innovative solutions in terms of image and performance.

The engine is a supercharged 8.3 liter V10 capable of 780 hp. The top speed is above 350 km/h and the 0-100 km/h time is under 3 seconds.

Only 99 units will be built to order.

Exterior Design

GTA Motor´s design department , directed by Sento Pallardó, has strived to create an automobile that does not resemble other cars in any way.



One of Spano´s main distinguishing characteristics lies in its side view, where the frameless doors fit perfectly into the air intakes, which apart from performing an aerodynamic function, refrigerate elements such as oil coolers, power-assisted steering and brakes, among others.


Access to the interior is accomplished by pressing the GTA logotype, a more elegant design without the traditional handles.

The front end is characterized by the two large side air intakes and the convex hood, completed with an aerodynamic streamlining zone to facilitate the air flow, providing it with an athletic look.

At the rear, designers have tried to create the best way to channel the air that flows under the car.

The resulting effect is a rear design marked by the use of glass, wich has small openings that perform a refrigeration function for the engine.

The wing has under air channelling, while the two air intakes and the twin exhaust system emphasise the vehicle´s sport character.

There is a rear barrel to channel air and to improve the aerodynamic load.

The design for the wing mirrors has been a framework with carbon fibre finished with a wing-like airm, built in aeronautical mechanised aluminium.

The vehicle has a patented system of interior lighting and liquid crystal shading and the degree if light required inside may be regulated. Its completely novel sun visors are set into the glass and boast the same technology.

The electrically operated windows have been made according to the lastest technology, in such a way that the tracks are maintenance free and work problem free at various temperature.

The wheels, in 19" at the front and 20" at the rear, are characterised by their angular shape. They have been designed specifically for this model in order to offer a continuousness effect with the chassis. A flat exterior part perfoms an aerodynamical function, offering greater resistance and involving less weight.




Interior Design


The interior design features high quality materials such as leather and carbon fibre, aluminium and titanium. It offers ample room for two passenger: a person over 2 meters in height can be seated without problems.

The design of the dashboard feigns the lateral part of the car, and provides the interior wich much character. The instrument panel is distinguished by an LCD screen, wich can be personalised according to the customer´s requiremens and provides all the necessary information.

The steering wheel is made out of carbon fiber. A joystick is located behind the steering wheel to operate elements such as lights, wipers and indicators.

The GTA Spano has no central rear-view mirror: a rear camera projects on to an LCD screen which is located on the dashboard. A large angular camera facilitates parking manoeuvres and automatically connects after locking the rear gear.

The GTA has two luggag compartments, one 100 liter at the front and one 200 liter at the rear. The front boot has a reverse opening system which makes loading luggage easier.




The interior lights also use LED technology. The interior colours range varies according to the customer´s preferences.


Technical Features


Chassis and Bodywork

• Structural monocoque used carbon fibre,honeycomb,Kevlar and titanium
• Carbon fibre bodywork
• Official weight: 1350
• Fuel tank (litres):120
• Boot: 100 (front) 200 (rear)

Dimensions

• Length/Width/Height/Gauge (metres):4,65/1,98/1,20/2,8

Engine and Powertrain

• Engine: Central rear longitudinal supercharged V10 8.3 liters
• Maximun output:hp/rpm: 780/6300 840/6250 (Bioetanol)
• Max Torque: 920 Nm
• Traction: Rear wheel driving
• Gearbox: manual sequential with 7 speed, automatically sequential with paddle shift or manual in H,
• Suspension: double wishbone, electronic shock absorber with adjustable ride height
• Wheels: 19 x10 front/20x 13 rear
• Tires; 255/35 ZR19 and 330/35 ZR20
• Braking system: Carbon-ceramic brake system, forced ventilation system, 6 piston callipers, ABS system

Performance

• Top speed of more than 350 Km/h
• Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 2,9 seconds

Anthony Cioffi: Electric Racing Bicycle

via Designboom - Weblog on 5/29/09


image courtesy anthony cioffi

anthony cioffi is a student at the art center college of design in pasadena, california.
he has sent us images of his thesis project, an electric racing motorcycle.


image courtesy anthony cioffi


image courtesy anthony cioffi


image courtesy anthony cioffi

Three New Semi-Smart LG Phones Coming to Verizon

via Gizmodo by Dan Nosowitz on 5/28/09

The LG EnV3, EnV Touch, and Glance are all set to debut for Verizon on June 5th, for all those middle of the road customers who want some features, but not too many. They look about much as good as every other nearly-smart phone.


The LG EnV3, followup to the EnV2, packs the same QWERTY keyboard with a slightly larger internal screen and slightly better camera than its predecessor, and will retail for $129.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and with a 2-year contract.


The EnV Touch features an external, 3-inch haptic touchscreen to go along with its 3-inch internal screen. It also comes with a 3.2MP camera and, like the EnV3, a full QWERTY keyboard. It'll sell for $149.99 after a $70 rebate, which sounds kind of steep to us, unless you're one of those tweens who's into that sexting fad I keep reading about in the papers.




And the final member of the new LG team, the LG Glance, is the only non-QWERTY of the bunch, and to me, the most appealing; I don't really see the point of the expensive non-smartphones like the EnV3 and EnV Touch, but the Glance is a nice-looking, simple dumbphone. Of course, it doesn't have any remarkable features, just the standard 1.3MP camera, Bluetooth, and Verizon package (Navigator, Mobile Email, etc), but it does have a less garish design and looks slim on the pocket as well as the wallet—It'll retail for $49.99 after a $50 rebate. [Verizon]

Pisica îngeraş: O micuţă felină are aripi!

via Realitatea .NET - Divertisment by Realitatea.NET on 5/29/09

Păsările ar trebui să înceapă să se îngrijoreze, întrucât pisicilor le cresc aripi! Acesta este şi cazul unei feline pufoase din China.











Pisica s-a dezvoltat normal până la vârsta de un an. Apoi au început să îi crească nişte apendice ca un fel de aripi pe spate. Excrescenţele osoase, acoperite cu blană, pornesc din coloana vertebrală. Specialiştii cred că e vorba de o mutaţie genetică sau de efectul nedorit al vreunei substanţe chimice înghiţite de pisică.


Potrivit proprietarilor, felina nu e deranjată de noile sale membre, pe care nu le poate folosi însă la zburat.

Deşi poate părea ciudat, astfel de cazuri de pisici înaripate au mai fost depistate în timp. Un caz similar a fost prezentat în presă anul trecut, tot în 

Packard Bell se întoarce cu un nou logo şi trei computere "proaspete"

via Antena3 - Hightech on 5/28/09

Packard Bell revine în forţă pe piaţa computerelor, cu trei noi produse. Compania este acum sub umbrela Acer, are un nou logo şi câteva "maşini" interesante cu care se poate lăuda, informează techdigest.tv.

Probabil cel mai interesant dintre cele trei este iMax-Mini nettop, în fapt o versiune revizuită a lui Acer Revo. iMax-Mini nettop dispune de procesor Atom combinat cu platorma ION de la nVidia.

Nettop-ul vine cu o interesantă funcţie senzitivă de control a jocurilor video, despre care Packard Bell spune că "va rivaliza cu consola Wii". În Europa, iMax-Mini nettop va fi disponibil cu monitor de 19 inci.



Packard Bell a prezentat de asemenea EasyNote TR85, un notebook care arată foarte bine, şi care are, printre altele, display LED edge-to-edge, trackpad multi-touch şi sunet Dolby Sound Room. EasyNote TR beneficiază de un finisaj glossy, cu interior mat şi touchpad argintiu. Ecranul are 15,6 inch, procesorul este Intel, placa video este Nvidia GeForce iar capacitatea HDD-ului poate ajunge până la 500GB.



Nu în ultimul rând trebuie menţinate netbook-urile "dot s" de 10.1 inci şi "dot m" cu ecran de 10.6 inci care dispun de touchpad multi-gesture, sunet Dolby, 3G opţional şi acumulator cu şase celule. Piaţa de profil este suprasaturată, aşa că cei de la Packard Bell au decis să instaleze, pe aceste netbook-uri, programul Photoshop Elements 4, ceea ce este foarte posibil să-i atragă pe unii dintre cumpărători.

Microsoft a anunţat Bing, "motorul de decizii" care va concura cu Google

via Antena3 - Hightech on 5/28/09



După mai multe săptămâni de speculaţii, Microsoft a anunţat joi propriul său motor de căutare denumit Bing, informează computerworld.com. În acest fel, gigantul sofware doreşte să-şi îmbunătăţească poziţia pe piaţă în raport cu liderii Google şi Yahoo!.

Steve Balmer, CEO-ul Microsoft a făcut anunţul la o conferinţă din Carlsbad, California. Motorul de căutare va pute fi folosit de public începând cu data de 3 iunie. Bing, cunoscut în trecut sub denumirea Kumo, oferă o serie de servicii precum Bing Travel, Bing Cashback şi Bing Maps.

În încercarea de a ieşi în faţă cu ceva inedit, pentru a-i face faţă rivalului Google, Microsoft a decis să evite denumirea "search engine" (motor de căutare, n.r.), numindu-şi serviciul "decision engine" (motor de decizii, n.r.).

De asemenea, Microsoft a încercat, prin Bing, să ofere ceva în plus faţă de concurenţi, rezultate fiind împărţite pe categorii, astfel încât utilizatorii să găsească mai uşor informaţia de care au nevoie. Dacă este căutat un anumit obiect, vor apărea nu numai informaţii legate de acel obiect ci chiar şi fotografii cu el, expuse într-o fereastră poziţionată în partea stângă a ecranului. De asemenea, dacă, spre exemplu, este vorba de un aparat foto, utilizatorul va putea afla părerile celor care l-au încercat dar şi magazinele de unde poate fi achiziţionat. Totul, afişat la o singură căutare.

Aceleaşi reguli sunt valabile şi pentru alte domenii de căutare, de la ştiri şi până la destinaţii turistice. Lansarea oficială a "motorului de decizii" Bing este programată a avea loc pe data de 3 iunie.

BUGATTI BEGINS PRODUCTION ON €1.4 MILLION GRAND SPORT

Bugatti has begun producing the Veyron Grand Sport at its plant in Molsheim, France. The Grand Sport is the topless version of the hypercar with the same name. Those wishing to have their name placed on the list will have to come up with €1.4 million (about R15.7 million today). It will also help to own a Veyron already because the first 50 units to come off the production line are for these folks. The rest, all 100 of them, may already be spoken for.





The roof is completely removable which means it will not go where the car goes. Should it rain while the drive is under way a soft cover like an umbrella that’s stored in the storage compartment can be employed. This will allow the Grand Sport to travel up to 130km/h with that roof.





In any case it’s good to revise some of the numbers involved in this technical marvel on four wheels. The engine is an 8-litre 16-cylinder nuclear unit with four turbochargers. Maximum thrust is 747kW while torque is 1250Nm. Bugatti says the Veyron will accelerate from 0 – 100km/h in under 3 seconds (Autocar did 2.5 seconds in 2005) and the top end is 407km/h.





I’m told there is a Veyron in South Africa, somewhere down in the Cape area owned by a very rich guy who used to sell cigarettes...

RENAULT TWINGO RS ZIPS INTO MZANSI

Renault South Africa launched the Twingo here in October 2008. Twingo is the smallest on the Renault lineup and features a 1.2-litre four-cylinder engine that makes 56kW and 107Nm of torque. The French company didn’t mince its words in confirming that the more powerful Twingo RS would be made available this year and sure enough it’s here.





The RS is a small pocket rocket with much more verve than its normal sibling. A 1.6-litre naturally aspirated engine is fitted into the car and Renault promises that it’s quite zippy. Maximum power is 98kW at 6750rpm while maximum torque of 160Nm comes in at 4400rpm.





Driving the front wheels is a 5-speed manual gearbox that Renault says will help take the car from 0 – 100km/h in 8.7 seconds. The top speed is 201km/h. Quoted average fuel consumption is 7 litres per 100km and C02 emissions are 165g/km.





Renault fitted plenty of kit to distinguish the RS from the normal Twingo. Included in that are 16-inch wheels, new bumpers, wide front and rear fenders, new sills as well as a new rear spoiler.





The interior has Renault Sport-detailed seats, orange seat belts, a leather sports steering wheel, aluminium sports pedals and an RS rev counter. More optional equipment can be bought by those looking for further individualisation of their Twingo RS.





The chassis and suspension system have been stiffened to help handling but still set for comfort. Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) provides a safety net if things should get out of hand.







Obviously the Twingo is not exactly an Espace or Scenic as far as space is concerned: two seats up front and two and the rear. Boot space is quite limited but then again the target market for this car is young and single. Space is not such a concern for them.





Standard pricing for the Renault Twingo RS is R195 000 which undercuts the similarly-powered Toyota Yaris TS. In addition Renault will throw in a free advanced driving course with the car through its new Renault Driver Academy. Finally a 3-year/45 000km service plan is thrown into the mix.