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British scientists film massive rift in Antarctic ice shelf
The 1,500-foot-wide crack across Antarctic's Larsen C ice shelf has grown by roughly 20 more miles since December. It's now around 110 miles long, and based on satellite observations this month, an ice berg as big as Rhode Island could break away from Larsen C within weeks or months. A team of scientists from the British Antarctic Survey who've been monitoring ice shelves have captured the growing chasm on film to show us what it actually looks, as you can see in the video after the break.
UK police to wield mobile fingerprint scanners, facial recognition up next
Surely your remember Project Lantern from back in 2006, right? If you weren't too fond of that initiative, let's just say your worst nightmare is coming true. Going forward, every police force in the UK will be equipped with mobile fingerprint scanners, which will allow the fuzz to carry out identity checks right on the street. Dubbed Project Midas, this here setup is supposed to "transform the speed of criminal investigations"while simultaneously freaking out anyone remotely concerned about personal privacy; in fairness, cops insist that fingerprints scanned via these portable devices will not be stored or added to databases, and we're told that they'll only be used " when they suspect an individual of an offense and can't establish his / her identity." The £30 million ($47.5 million) to £40 million ($63.4 million) initial phase should hit widespread deployment within 18 months, and in case you thought it was over after this, you should probably know that facial recognition in the field is the next top priority.[Via Pocket-lint, image courtesy of SpringCard]
EVE Online's rumored 'Orca' ship unveiled
Behold, the Orca! CCP Games developer CCP Chronotis unveiled the much-rumored Orca ship in EVE Online today, something industry-types have been looking forward to for a very long time. Chronotis said, "The development of the Orca has been unusual to say the least. With the introduction of the Rorqual last year Oveur immediately pointed out the remaining glaring gap in the industrial ship line and commanded us to fill it." The end result is a 'sub-capital logistical ship with a mining command focus'. Read on below for a brief FAQ drawn from CCP Chronotis' dev blog as well as his commentary on the forums, which clarifies more about EVE's newest ship, the Orca.
CCP Games announces Quantum Rise expansion for EVE Online
The next major expansion to EVE Online, known internally at CCP Games as 'Midas', now has a name: Quantum Rise. The winter expansion will bring with it a number of new features and enhancements for the industrial and economic side of EVE, which we've just gotten word about from CCP, as well as confirmation of the rumored "Orca" capital industrial ship:"Players have great things to look forward to in EVE Online: Quantum Rise. Corporations will be able to set their products apart from the rest by building trust in their goods through customizable storefronts. The backbone of EVE's vibrant economy, industrial ships are being rebalanced and optimized to better suit the needs of haulers and industrialists-including the latest addition to the fleet, a massive capital industrial ship dubbed the Orca. A new certificate system will give a quick and verifiable means to discern a pilot's skill level in trading, gunnery or countless other professions, providing plenty of bragging rights. Meanwhile, the introduction of a medal system allows corporations to distinguish their most valued pilots and honor them for their achievements."Quantum Rise is being released in stages, some of which we've already seen and experienced, such as Stackless IO and EVE64. But other aspects of the expansion will include weapon linking, continuations of the Trinity graphics update, and other as-yet unannounced features. Keep an eye on our EVE coverage at Massively; we'll be watching closely to see what the Quantum Rise expansion will bring to EVE's players.
The DS Life: Prank call
Midas wasn't sure what he should do when the phone, which sat unattended across from him, began to beep. His father left the handset on the chair before stepping away for a moment, and Midas was too young to know what the appropriate action would be for situations such as these.Would it be rude if he answered the phone? How would he explain to the caller that his father was currently indisposed? What exactly does "indisposed" mean, anyway?Children aren't known for their patience, so it was only a few seconds before Midas hopped off his chair, peeked at the mobile's screen to see if it was a number he recognized, and lifted the phone to his ear.
EVE Online video interview maps coming evolution of the game
New information has come to light about what CCP Games is planning for EVE Online players as the Empyrean Age progresses. EVE Associate Producer Arend Stührmann spoke with MMORPG.com's Jon Wood in a Leipzig video interview about the releases slated for the rest of this year, and how CCP views their accomplishments thus far. The goal of the Empyrean Age expansion was to create a lower-risk PvP environment that would encourage more players to experience this aspect of the game. Stührmann says that there is a solid core of players who've made factional warfare their livelihood, with over 40,000 players that enlisted in the first few weeks. Stührmann also spoke about the effect of factional warfare on non-participants. War can invigorate an economy and this idea holds true in New Eden as well. Factional Warfare in the Empyrean Age has had an impact on the market, particularly with tech I ship and module production.
The bling you just can't live without [update 2]
You know, as we walk in the 'hood with our decked out diamond chains, pinky rings, and various gaudy objects of choice, we can't help but feel that something is missing. We thought it was something like love, or a sense of self-respect, but that's just silly. Future Shop Accessories has shown us the truth: what we're missing from our lives isn't some intangible emotion or joy, but a bitchin' 18K gold DS Lite stylus.That's right. It's shiny. It's bling-tastic. And it's yours for only (Canadian) $19.99! Not to do their advertising for them, but this might just be the most important video gaming purchase of your lives. Don't miss out. Make like Midas and get clickin'.[Update 1: They appear to have run out of stock for the time being, but more should be available soon. Also, noted that the $19.99 was in CDN.][Update 2: They're back in stock!][Thanks, Hannah!]
Pentax unveils shiny LX Gold SLR to celebrate 60 years
What better to snap oodles of pictures at your Thanksgiving feast than with a gravy-proof (and gold-plated) SLR? Taking a note from the bevy of other Midas-touched gizmos out there, the Asahi Pentax LX Gold sports a thoroughly blinding paint job with faux-alligator accents to add an extra layer of tacky to an already gaudy device. Apparently aiming to bring back a taste of 1981 (when the 10 millionth Pentax SLR rolled off the production line; pictured after the jump), the company is seemingly reintroducing the vivid shooter to celebrate 60 years of staying afloat. Of course, we aren't sure how many of these splendiferous units will be offered up (or wanted at all), but we're sure it'll rock quite a premium for those somehow interested.
MIT students automate dorm room, add "party mode"
Even though they may have somewhat of a geeky reputation, MIT students party just as hard as the white hatters at your local state school, and probably graduate in larger percentages to boot. It should be no surprise, then, that a couple of dorm-dwelling party animals at the university decided to use their copious electronics skillz to convert their room into the ultimate cramped disco -- and because this is MIT we're talking about, everything goes live at the push of a single button. Using an X-10 control system, Zack Anderson and his roommate RJ Ryan hooked up strobe lights, black lights, a fog machine, laser light show, scrolling LED sign, disco ball, and an LCD projector to their computers so that all the effects would sync with whatever music was playing, and even retrofitted their window blind with a motor so it can drop down and act as a projection screen for some trippy visualization action. Calling their setup MIDAS (Multifunction In-Dorm Automation System), the pair also included a security alarm and camera for remotely monitoring their now-famous room, and situated small VFDs throughout the interior to deliver system status updates or other types of infoswag. Hey guys, if you don't land some hotshot jobs after college with your MIT degrees, we always have room for clever DIYers right here at Engadget.[Via MAKE: Blog]
