Space geeks take note: NASA to unveil Curiosity findings tomorrow, 12/3
Curiosity is awesome from many different standpoints. It's one hell of a robot, a feat of engineering, and a great way to increase our knowledge about Mars and space in general. Rumors of a massive discovery, according to NASA and Curiosity's Twitter account, have been a bit overblown, but never-the-less, NASA will be presenting its findings so far tomorrow at 12:00 p.m. EST, 9:00 a.m. PT.
The press conference will be held during the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union, which takes place in San Francisco. NASA has been trying to dial-in expectations and has said that there won't be any unbelievable findings presented tomorrow. "Rumors and speculation that there are major new findings from the mission at this early stage are incorrect," officials at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory wrote. "The news conference will be an update about first use of the rover's full array of analytical instruments to investigate a drift of sandy soil."
The rumors of a massive discovery started making their rounds two weeks ago when an NPR story used a quote from John Grotzinger, mission chief scientist, that said the SAM tool had found data "for the history books." If an earth-shattering discovery is presented tomorrow, you'll be able to read about it here.
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Twitter Global Weekly Giveaway - Intel 335 Series 240GB SSD!
In our first Twitter weekly giveaway we have teamed up with Intel to giveaway a stunning new and impressive solid state drive. We're talking about the 335 Series 240GB SSD. One lucky winner will get to take home this shiny new boxed SSD.
The drive on offer has a solid capacity of 240GB with its new low power consuming 20nm MLC flash, and fast performance with Intel claiming up to 500MB/s read speeds. It's a retail unit that includes a desktop installation kit.
HOW TO ENTER:
Step 1 - Follow @TweakTown on Twitter. Your follow and tweet will be verified.
Step 2 - Tweet or RT the following:
Follow @TweakTown and RT to win a speedy new Intel 335 Series 240GB SSD. Details: http://tweaktown.to/VlcgHO #TTSSDgiveaway
Step 3 - Sit back, relax, and hope that you're our winner!
Disclaimer: This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Twitter. You understand that you are providing your information to TweakTown and not to Twitter. The information you provide will only be used for selecting and contacting a winner.
- Giveaway runs from today until December 10th, 2012 at 10:00pm GMT +8:00 - no entries will be taken into consideration after that time.
- If you are a winner, you will be asked to provide your full name, address and telephone number for shipping via Twitter direct message. We will follow you for the time it takes to receive your message. If you do not claim your prize within two weeks, it is forfeited.
- For this weekly prize, anyone in the world can enter! You don't pay the shipping charges, but you are responsible for any taxes.
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Sony patents new controller, sports two move peripherals into a single controller
This might be nothing, this might end up as never seeing the light of day - but it's interesting nonetheless. Sony have applied for a new patent, which looks to be an interesting new form of controller for the company.
The new controller combines the usual dual analogue stick we've all come to know and love, with two of their motion-based move peripherals. It appears the controller can be separated into two pieces, which if used in the right way - could end up being a very cool twist on the now stale controller market (if your name isn't Nintendo).
The controller can be separated when needed, for a specific game or a specific part within a game, and then clicked back together when needed. The patent calls this a "hybrid separable motion controller".
It may seem like a spruced up PlayStation controller, but it also sports long hand grips - rounded corners (Apple, are you reading this?) and internal hardware. Inside the controller, it sports a speaker, magnetometer, accelerometer, gyroscope and the standard vibration functionality.
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3D printing finds a new customer... in the adult sex toy business
Normally this is reserved for the "only in Japan" type of posts - but here we are. I could pretty much just leave it as a title and blank news piece, but let's continue. Tom Nardone of MakerLove wants to be one of the first in to use 3D printing for the adult sex toys business.
Yes - 3D printers and adult sex toys - all in the same sentence. Nardone is an engineer who moved into the sex toy business, and doesn't want to make any generic sex toys - for this salesman, his 3D printed sex toys are a mix of art and science, with a dash of technology and pleasure.
The porn business has been a huge mover in technology in the years gone by, with VCRs, DVDs and now the Internet all being molded and guided by the needs, and requirements of the porn industry. 3D printing is just another factor of this - and where there's money to be made, there will always be someone there to make it.
Nardone stands firm in the fact that 3D printed sex toys are in their early days, which is due to the materials used in the process of printing something out, as well as the issues with getting a silky smooth finished product. Technical issues are also there - with the resolution of a 3D printed object not exactly smooth - and "down there" would not be a great place to use something rough.
Sex toys are printed from a material known as polyvinyl alcohol and are water-soluble, which cuts them off the list of being used with any water-based lubricant. There are ways around this, but the texture issues are still there, with Nardone being quoted "the resolution will improve with time. 3D printing is just like any other technology". It will improve, just give it time.
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John McAfee gets apprehended by the police
After a while on the run, the founder of anti-virus company McAfee has been caught by the police. John McAfee was wanted by police over the murder of his neighbor, and has finally been found after weeks in hiding.
McAfee set up a website,
whoismcafee.com, and has had updates of his progress since the murder of his neighbor, Gregory Faull, on November 11. The McAfee founder has also tapped Twitter to promote his posts, too. His site used a title "Breaking: John Captured" on December 1, stating "we have received an unconfirmed report that John McAfee has been captured at the border of Belize and Mexico". Then teasing "more information as it is received".
McAfee actually wrote entries to the blog, where he has said he disguised himself as a beggar, a street trader and a drunken German tourist - all an elaborate plan so he could watch police as they searched his home in Belize. He also states that at one stage, he was hiding out on his compound on the island of Ambergris Caye.
He also said that he setup the website so that it would counter claims made about him by the media, and the authorities in Belize, as well as a point to state his innocence. We should hear more about this in the coming days.
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RumorTT: Next-gen Xbox to launch in time for the 2013 holidays
We all know it's coming - but when exactly? Will the next-gen Xbox be revealed at CES in Las Vegas next month? Or will Microsoft wait until E3 in LA in June to unveil the Xbox 360's successor.
Well, "people familiar with the company's plans" have spoken up - telling everyone that Microsoft are preparing for the next-gen Xbox, which is usually referred to as the Xbox 720, and will be released in time for the 2013 holiday shopping season.
The next-gen Xbox, which I think will just be known as "Xbox", is rumored to pack a quad-core processor, 8GB of RAM, directional audio, Kinect 2.0 support as well as sport a Blu-ray player. We should expect a decent kick in the ass in terms of GPU capabilities, with full DX11 support and hopefully 1080p @ 60fps support and 4K support built-in.
Sony have a 4K TV that is $25,000 - so I'd expect the PlayStation 4 to support 4K. Next-gen consoles without 4K support will be already behind the ball, but I guess we'll see soon enough.
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The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Blu-ray Movie Review
When director Christopher Nolan re-launched the stagnant
Batman franchise in 2005 with
Batman Begins, fans still pouting from the disaster of
Batman and Robin were taken by surprise with the gritty and dark portrayal of the caped crusader. It was a critical success, but one that disappointingly limped over the line with $200 million in domestic US box office takings.
Still, Warner was emboldened by the signs of life and chose to move forward with the 2008 sequel
The Dark Knight. The tragic passing of star Heath Ledger lent the film a new air of importance, and his take on the Joker was a masterstroke of brilliance which earned him a posthumous Academy Award. The film was a smash success, nearly tripling the gross for its predecessor.
Four years later, we have what's been billed as the final entry in Nolan's reimaging -
The Dark Knight Rises. By the end of the film, you'll understand why this is an amazing film to hang up the bat cowl with.
It's been some years since the events of
The Dark Knight. Batman (Christian Bale) hasn't been seen since, but following the belief that he murdered Harvey Dent, he's still wanted by the police and labeled a persona non grata. Bruce Wayne has shunned public life and has become a recluse. Wayne Enterprises has become virtually bankrupt after the cessation of an energy project when it was discovered its elements could be constructed to become a nuclear weapon.
A period of peace has befallen Gotham City.
But evil is rising. There's rumor of activity in the cities sewers and the name Bane (Tom Hardy) has become enough to instill the fear in the heart of the police. Bane doesn't simply want to destroy the city - he wants to crush its spirit, along with any hope for survival. The police are outgunned and outnumbered, and the only hope for survival rests with Batman. But the aging hero has seen better days, both physically and mentally and may or may not have what it takes to come up against his most fearsome and powerful adversary yet.
The Dark Knight Rises truly feels like an overwhelmingly satisfying end to the Dark Knight saga. Warner Brothers will inevitably want to continue with the franchise, but I'd urge restraint. Whereas the franchise was rested following the disappointment of
Batman and Robin, I'd suggest that Warner waited it out for the very opposite reason. As a portrayal of the comic world's most complex character, I'm damned sure that it won't and can never be topped.
Video
The Dark Knight Rises is presented in the alternating original aspect ratio of 1.781 and 2.35:1, encoded with AVC MPEG-4 compression.
Unlike the 35mm film issues that befell the Blu-ray release
The Dark Knight, that is over cooked contrast, nasty edge enhancement and digital noise, both the IMAX and 35 mm footage that make up
The Dark Knight Rises both look exquisite, and will please even the most anal of Blu-ray fans.
This is an incredibly sharp and detailed transfer. I can't stress this point enough. Further, the IMAX scenes practically jump off the screen with a gloriously crisp and entirely three dimensional image. Colors are bright and bold, but with a film that plays so significantly in darkness and shadow, there are many gradations of black and grey, with no hint of black crush.
Warner's encoding methods have become more sophisticated since 2008's
The Dark Knight, having shaken the HD-DVD mentality and more generously encode titles to take advantage of the available 50GB. As such, the film features no macro blocking, banding or aliasing.
Even though the Blu-ray debut of
The Dark Knight Rises comes with incredibly high expectations, Warner has stepped up to the plate with an impressive and pleasing transfer.
Audio
The Dark Knight Rises is presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, at 24 bits.
Again, expectations for a stellar demonstration disc are high with Warner Brothers, and they don't disappoint, featuring an aggressive mix that sounds every bit as enveloping as the theatrical mix that I heard a few months back.
It doesn't matter what's on screen; introspective dialogue, or a stadium explosion, at all times there's something happening which will tax the limits of whatever sound gear you have. The surround channels are always active - be it to provide some natural ambiance, or exploding with the ricochet of bullets and explosions. There is certainly nothing conservative in this mix. Unsurprisingly, LFE use is deep and forceful, providing a floor for almost every sound.
I'm somewhat disappointed that Warner over reacted to early criticisms regarding Bane's voice, exponentially bumping up the audio levels such that it overpowers an otherwise balanced mix. This has the effect of making his voice sound somewhat disembodied and bizarrely overbearing. This isn't a criticism of the Blu-ray release per se; it accurately recreates the mix as heard in the theatrical release, but I do believe it worthy of mention.
Hans Zimmer returns to score the final entry of the Dark Knight saga, embellishing his previously established cues and introducing a few new ones. His score is mixed aggressively and are generally leveled appropriately in the wider mix, although occasionally flirting with hijacking it at times.
Extras
I've never been terribly impressed with the extra features produced for the previous two films. I suspect they'd benefit great from more immersive full length documentaries, and I'd certainly be interested in hearing Christopher Nolan audio commentaries, but alas he hasn't contributed any (or anyone else for that matter). Still, let's take a look at what's here.
Multiple smaller featurettes (with a handy 'play all' function) cumulate in
Three Documentaries, under the headings of 'Production', 'Characters' and 'Reflections', and add up to a totality of 111 minutes. Whilst this may seem quite generous, and there is a lot of information from these, I generally dislike this micro view mentality, that is, investigating smaller parts of the film's production, rather than the whole.
However, I thoroughly enjoyed some of them, especially
Shadows and Light in Large Format, which discusses the technical breakthroughs in camera technology and techniques which allowed significantly more (around 60 minutes) of the film to be lensed with IMAX cameras. Fans of live action destruction should definitely give
Demolishing a City Street a look, too. You'll be quite surprised how much effort and time goes into a tricky special effects shot, no matter how brief.
Next up is the nearly one hour
The Batmobile Documentary, which gathers together all five of the various incarnations of the Dark Knight's signature vehicle, from the 1960's Adam West, to the 1990 Burton and Schumacher films and the tumbler from the Nolan films. Major figures from all of these productions are gathered up with this informative and fun feature which is a great trip down nostalgia lane. Still, my favourite Batmobile remains the 1989 Burton vehicle.
Finally we have four
Theatrical Trailers, all presented in 1080p HD.
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