This stuff is total nerd pr0n for the D&D community. Not only does this make stunning use of new technology, but it evolves the whole “pen and paper” gameplay quality of standard roleplaying games and creates a complete digital facsimile of the entire mechanic, from rolling the dice to marking stats on a character sheet. With technology becoming used in this manner, pen and paper RP is going the way of the newspaper. Of course, there will always be those few who prefer the paper medium, but it is very obvious that electronic entertainment is taking over and becoming the new standard.
Batteries, as we know them, have always used a form of non-organic chemical energy, such as lead-acid and nickel-cadmium, in order to power our electronic devices. That is going to change once the scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T) unveil their new power source, a battery containing biological matter, a virus dubbed M13. The virus acts as a “biological scaffolding” in order to support a lithium-ion system within the battery.
M13 is a bacteriophage, a virus that normally only affects bacteria, and thus has no effect on human cells. Before the virus is integrated into the battery, it is modified through the alteration of two of its genes. One gene causes the outer layer of proteins to become embedded with bits of iron phosphate “like tiny fists all along the length of the virus,” says Angela Belcher, professor of materials science and biological engineering at M.I.T. The alteration of the second gene allows the tubelike body of the virus to bond with a network of carbon nanotubes that connects with millions of M13 molecules, thus allowing the conduction of electricity.
I would first like to preface this post with the following: * drool *
With that out of the way, the announced electric sedan from Tesla, the Model S, has been officially debuted. It made an unofficial appearance hours before it was scheduled to be shown as Digg co-founder Kevin Rose was somehow given access to leaked images of the vehicle. Rose announced his acquisition of the photos via Twitter and posted them to his private Flickr account. Read the rest of this entry »
I regularly get email and snail mail from Discmakers. I like their company, their business, and some of what they do really reminds me of their partnership with CDBaby.
This popped up in my email this morning and recaps some of the great content that I’ve read over the course of the year. Check out the [...]
The 20th century has been all about one thing: innovation. Every year we have new technologies and new advancements that further advance our society. 2008 was no different and offered its own assortment of technological innovations. Below is a listing of some of the most beneficial
