news and stuff

FREE GAMES:  http://snipurl.com/ntua

Automatically downloading TV shows with BitTorrent

Posted May 9th 2006 2:55PM by Jordan Running Filed under: Internet, Video, Windows, Freeware Though I hate to admit it, my "poor man's TiVo" solution consists of me checking CAT every morning to see what's new and then hitting the BitTorrent trackers to start my downloads. I know there are better ways to go about it, but what can I say, I'm a creature of habit. But speaking of better ways, Lifehacker's Adam Pash has written a brand new guide to automatically downloading your favorite TV shows using the free Windows app Ted and the BitTorrent client of your choosing. He steps you through setting up Ted and configuring it for your favorite shows, making it work with Azureus and uTorrent, and setting up custom feeds.

http://snipurl.com/qa4u

Japan to fast track Supersonic Airliner (link to this article) May 10, 2006 The Supersonic Transport Team at the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is reported to be set to begin talks with NASA and Boeing next month with a view to fast-tracking the development of its Scaled Experimental Supersonic Transport (SST) project into a full-blown, next generation Supersonic aircraft which will take over where the retired French-built Concorde left off when it was taken out of service six years ago. Tests of JAXA’s scramjet (Supersonic Combustion Ramjet) engine continue (20mb QT movie of lift-off here and 26MB QT movie of flight trial here) with the expectation that the engine can achieve speeds of Mach 5.5 (6700 km/h). Japan is expected to supply the engine for the project with Boeing building the spaceframe.

http://snipurl.com/qa4w

Startup Lessons The following are a list of the ‘Hardest Lessons for Startups to Learn‘ from the 2006 Startup School as well as Paul Graham’s recent post of the same title. Here is the list:

http://snipurl.com/qa50

May 8, 2006 | 8:30 p.m. ET  Risking it all on Mars: Would you chip in a million dollars to have someone go on a one-way trip to Mars? How about $100,000, or $10,000? It may sound like the ultimate revenge, but X Prize founder Peter Diamandis is floating the idea as a privately funded way to start settling the Red Planet. The plan, which Diamandis outlined this weekend during the International Space Development Conference, assumes that 100,100 contributors would drink the Red Planet Kool-Aid. It also assumes that all the medical, technical and logistical challenges involved in setting up a permanent Mars base can be solved for about $8 billion — far less than NASA's projected price tag. But some folks are already to go, including SpaceShot founder Sam Dinkin, who is offering to run the lottery that would select the Mars trainees. "I am in for $100,000," Dinkin writes in Transterrestrial Musings.

Safe Talk - Temporary Phone Number Safe Talk is a new service in the UK that allows you to generate a temporary phone number to use for 7 days to give to people you don’t trust/know. 

http://snipurl.com/qa55

Hardware: 12.8 Petabytes, You Say?

Posted by Hemos on Wednesday May 10, @12:11PM "Dr. Jonathan Spanier from Drexel University has come up with a novel way to greatly increase data storage density: water. Specifically, they propose using hydroxyl ions to stabilize minute ferroelectric wires. These wires could be many times smaller than what is possible today, enabling data densities in the neighborhood of 12-13 PB per cubic centimeter. While there are still many problems to be resolved before drives using these can be manufactured this technology does seem promising. For one thing, it would be non-volatile, but could apparently be made to act as RAM. The fact that this is coming out of a university gives me hope that this technology won't turn out to be just so much vapor."

CATAPULTS: http://snipurl.com/qa5r

The Wheel turns your bike into a moped Bicycles have always been a great way to get around, but the whole pedaling thing really takes away a lot of the appeal for some people -- we're sure countless dusty bikes with flat tires are hanging in garages nationwide. Well a company called RevoPower wants to put that huge fleet of two-wheeled vehicles back on the road with an innovative new product that easily converts most mountain or hybrid bikes into 20MPH mopeds. The Wheel, as it's known, manages to pack a gasoline- and oil-powered 23cc, two-stroke internal combustion engine into the space between a standard wheel's spokes, giving it a clear advantage over other modification kits which require tinkering with the existing drivetrain. Once the old wheel has been swapped out for the new Wheel, all you need to do is attach the throttle control to your handlebars and slide the fuel container into your water bottle cage (hope you don't get thirsty on your ride), and you're ready to hit the streets at an environmentally-friendly 200+ MPG. A video of The Wheel (and some overly-eager focus group members), which is due out next year for $400, is available by clicking here.

http://tinyurl.com/ldnxy

12.8 Petabytes, You Say?

Posted by Hemos on Wednesday May 10, @12:11PM from the will-it-happen dept. MadUndergrad writes "Dr. Jonathan Spanier from Drexel University has come up with a novel way to greatly increase data storage density: water. Specifically, they propose using hydroxyl ions to stabilize minute ferroelectric wires. These wires could be many times smaller than what is possible today, enabling data densities in the neighborhood of 12-13 PB per cubic centimeter. While there are still many problems to be resolved before drives using these can be manufactured this technology does seem promising. For one thing, it would be non-volatile, but could apparently be made to act as RAM. The fact that this is coming out of a university gives me hope that this technology won't turn out to be just so much vapor."

http://tinyurl.com/s3xxr

Working Prototype: GM Hy-Wire Concept READ MORE: DRIVE-BY-WIRE, FUEL CELL, GADGETS, GENERAL MOTORS, VEHICLE, CARS General Motors has been toying with hydrogen fuel cells and the drive-by-wire concept for many years, but take a look at the video below and you’ll notice that the company actually has a working prototype. GM calls this Hy-Wire vehicle the first drivable concept car to use hydrogen fuel cell and by-wire technology.

http://tinyurl.com/lq3go

Gold Rises to 25-Year High, Platinum at Record, on Iran Concern http://tinyurl.com/ocqvt