Lifespan
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LifeSpan made a standing desk bike that can charge your phone, if you've got the legs for it
Charge your phone while you pedal.
AI can predict if you'll die soon by examining your organs
When not stealing blue collar jobs, robots are becoming Dr. House, diagnosing maladies like breast and skin cancer with aplomb. Scientists at the University of Adelaide have pushed it to a morbid new level, however, with an AI system that can tell if you're going to die. By analyzing CT scans from 48 patients, the deep learning algorithms could predict whether they'd die within five years with 69 percent accuracy -- "broadly similar" to scores from human diagnosticians, the paper says.
Humans can only live to 115, researchers claim
Research out of New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine believes that the goal of living forever is an impossible one. A team of researchers analyzed mortality rates and aging trends across the world and found that there may be a ceiling to our lifespan. Popular belief may be that humans could live longer if they remain in good health, it appears that the best we can hope for is 115 years on this planet. Which should give you just enough time to finish all of those TV series binges before the world inevitably boils into dust.
Timeline depicts history of iPhone, iPod and iPad sales
Apple is expected to introduce a new iPhone, a small iPad and possibly new iPods at an event on September 12. If you are feeling nostalgic about Apple's mobile and music devices, you can take a walk down memory lane with Everyi's Ultimate iTimeline. The web-based timeline shows the launch date and life span of every iPod, iPad and iPhone model. You can see when the devices launched by year and click on a device to pull up details about it. There's also a filtering function which will let you narrow your view based on model name and a highlighting feature that'll let you color-code the devices in the timeline. When you are done exploring Apple's mobile device portfolio, you can check out EveryMac's Ultimate timeline for Macs. Both timelines are formatted for Safari on a 13-inch display with 1280x800 resolution.
Researchers find space travel prolongs the life of worms
We've seen research that suggests prolonged space travel could have some adverse effects on the human body, but it looks like there could be some real benefits as well. As BBC News reports, a new study conducted on Caenorhabditis elegans worms sent to the International Space Station has revealed evidence that the trip to space actually slowed their aging process. Specifically, researchers from the University of Nottingham and others institutions part of the ICE-First project found that the time in space reduced activity in a group of genes that have been shown to prolong the worms' lifespan when suppressed on earth. Of course, these are worms we're talking about, but this particular species is often used for such research due to its biological similarities to humans, so the discovery could well lead to more insight into how we age in space as well. Those curious can find the full paper linked below.
The Daily Grind: What's your longest MMO lifespan?
Keeping interest in one MMO is not easy. As soon as that new shiny comes along, we want to go try it out. We want to see what all the fuss is about. It doesn't help that half of our guild probably jumped ship for the newest game, either. So sticking with one game for a long period of time is somewhat admirable. Is there one in particular that you've stuck with for years? How about since beta or alpha testing? If not, what's the longest you've stuck with one MMO, either subbed or just playing on a regular basis? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: How well is the game aging?
MMOs have a long lifespan, more often than not. Games that have lasted past a year will usually be around for many more besides, part of the reason why 2009's aggressive rate of death was so surprising. EverQuest and Ultima Online, both considered the twin pillars which started the modern MMO genre proper, are both alive and well several years later. While they're not perpetual, they're also fairly robust in their lifespans. Of course, just because the game isn't dead doesn't mean it's not on life support. Anyone who has played during Final Fantasy XI's glory days will be quick to point out how much more empty the game has gotten in recent years. Graphics advance, and minor improvements seem increasingly minor as time goes by -- City of Heroes is due for an upgrade with its next expansion, but that will only put a new coat of paint on an engine that is several years old now. How well is your favorite game aging? Does it still look pretty good despite its age, or is it showing definite signs of how long the whole thing has been running? Is it a minor hiccup, or does it make things much less enjoyable, even to the point of being unplayable?
What is the potential lifespan of an MMO?
If there's one thing people love to do, it's quote Mythic employees. So let us continue that trend. In a recent interview with MTV Multiplayer, Warhammer Online's Mark Jacobs stated his case for why people should play Warhammer Online instead of World of Warcraft. But in stating his case, he brought up an interesting point: "All online games have a lifespan." True, there's no denying that everything has a lifespan (except maybe plastic), but we all know what he's saying here. Over at Matt Mihaly's blog, he focuses on Jacobs' words a bit more. Sure WoW won't live forever, and it may not always be the dominant force in the Western MMO scene forever, but when will its lifespan end? With Ultima Online still pulling a profit after 11 years, do we see the next generation of gamers eventually playing the exact same games as us in 10-15 years from now? That's a scary thought.
All the World's a Stage: So you want to be a dwarf
This installment of All the World's a Stage is the fourth in a series of roleplaying guides in which we find out all the background information you need to roleplay a particular race or class well, without embarrassing yourself.Imagine if you were raised in a culture who took playing in the mud very very seriously. As a young lad or lassie, your parents advised you that it would be wise of you to learn digging as your profession, and they hoped that one day you would marry a forger. Your people loved the earth so much that they built their homes and cities underground, and reached as deep as they could into the ground to see what they could find there.Then... imagine if, just a few years ago, someone discovered evidence that your people had once been made by giant Titans out of the very stone and earth you now craft with such care. Wouldn't you be pretty psyched?There's so much more to dwarves than just a Scottish accent and short stature, you see. Dwarves are the Indiana-Joneses of World of Warcraft. After eons of digging into and sculpting the earth of Azeroth, they suddenly have a clue as to where they came from and how everything came to be the way it is for them. They are now spread across distant places of the world, digging and plumbing ancient ruins in order to unravel the mystery of their existence, and discover the ultimate reason for being.
Analyze this: Nintendo's next console by 2010?
Even though the Wii is barely past its infancy stages, many can't help but wonder when the system's successor is coming out. As of now, those of us at Nintendo Wii Fanboy are content to put that question on the backburner and simply enjoy what we have in the present. Analysts are always hungry for this type of speculation, though, and Pacific Crest Securities has decided to throw their opinion into the ring.So, what's their guess? According to PCS, Nintendo's next platform will be out by 2010. Evan Wilson of the firm stated, "We believe that peak industry sales will occur in 2010, given that Microsoft will likely introduce its next console that year and Nintendo will likely launch before then."Now, we're not pretending to be analysts (okay, maybe a little bit), but we couldn't disagree more. We think the Wii will have a longer lifespan than three-and-a-half years, based on its current popularity and past systems' life cycles. Considering also that much of the Wii's success can be credited to the casual market, releasing a new console so soon wouldn't be a smart business decision. While core gamers and Nintendoholics would gobble it up, casuals would probably be more wary about dropping another few hundred dollars on a video game console in such a short amount of time. The firm's analysis brings up another interesting question -- will Nintendo release its next console before Microsoft? While we agree that Sony will be the last to upgrade its hardware, it shouldn't be taken for granted that Nintendo will be first, especially since the company seems to be in no rush.[Via Games Industry]
Microsoft talks Xbox 360 lifespan, fails to see irony
Speaking at a BMO Capital Markets conference on interactive entertainment (as covered by Reuters), a Microsoft executive has pointed to the PlayStation 2 as highlighting the benefits of stretching the Xbox 360's lifespan beyond the "typical" (depending on who you ask) five years. "Look at the PS2; they've gone long-time and seem to have pretty good legs on what they are doing," said yes that's her real name Mindy Mount. "If we were able to do that, as CFO I think that's great, because every year you draw it out you increase profitability." While the chief financial officer for Microsoft's entertainment division may see dollar signs in a longer lifespan, obnoxious and overly literal bloggers see the telltale red lights that signal many an individual system's inability to make it past five months, let alone five years.Mindy Mount went on to cement the Xbox 360's technological prowess, noting that its innards are good enough to last until the next big breakthrough. "Right now there aren't that many things on the horizon that you think, wow, that's going to be a game-changer." After the unceremonious -- but necessary, in hindsight -- dropping of original Xbox support, both developers and publishers would stand to benefit from a longer Xbox 360 lifespan, though longterm success would hinge on a demonstrable and obvious increase in the system's perceived physical lifespan. If the system is to be supported by consumers for years to come, it will have to outlive the dubious aspects of its reputation.[Thanks, Patrick]
Nintendo rethinks console life cycle
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo_wii/Iwata_comments_that_the_Wii_could_last_longer_than_the_usual_5_years'; Nintendo consoles have usually enjoyed a five-year life span, Iwata explained during a Japanese conference documenting the Q3 earnings of the company. During this briefing, Iwata spoke of the new gift-giving feature and TV guide Channel, but what was overlooked until now was his comments regarding how long of a life the Wii will have."As we continue our research and study for new hardware, when we will be able to launch a new kind of hardware will actually depend on when we can change entertainment completely, and so have a strong impact on people around the world," he said. "Or, there will certainly be a time when we have to say that we have done everything possible with the current machine, that we can never propose anything new." Iwata further explains that fresh hardware is often the result of the company needing a new weapon in the fight against other consoles. With the Wii, however, he feels that the company won't be needing any new weapons for quite some time, stating "But today's situation is such that we are not desperate for any new weapons at all."So, could the Wii be the first console to break the tradition of a five-year lifespan, even though its hardware is considered by the mainstream to be weaker than its competition? The way Iwata is talking, and the fact that it could be almost 2 years before the supply meets the demand for the console, makes it sound like it could very well be a reality.[Via Aussie-Nintendo]
Zune & its impact on PSP's identity crisis
Rocky Mountain News recently sat down with senior marketing manager and friend John Koller about the current state of the PSP, and how it faces an identity crisis. "We looked at (the PSP)... as a strong portable game system with multifunctional limbs... It's still a gaming system at its heart." The article notes that Sony wanted to highlight the games of the system first and foremost, and with an excellent library of launch games, the gaming critics and community at large embraced the handheld.However, with a lack of consistent high-profile original games for the system, many PSP users demanded the media functions of the system to be up to snuff. With the failure of UMDs, and cumbersome media restrictions, the PSP has failed to reinvent itself as a defining media platform as well: "The PSP consumer has turned out to be a different consumer in many ways than what we have targeted," Koller admits. By focusing on firmware upgrades, the upcoming GPS and camera peripherals, Sony has a chance to redefine itself. Some other highlights of the article include: As mentioned before, Sony is working on a DRM that can deliver video and music to the system. They are considering how to deliver content, whether it be through Connect, or even a third-party service. "Future iterations of the PSP are likely, Koller said, but Sony is counting on the current version to be around for 10 years, much like their consoles. Sony typically releases a new console about every five years, while continuing to support previous models for another five years." While Nintendo will be Sony's direct competitor, Microsoft's upcoming Zune appears to worry Sony. "I am assuming, we are assuming, that the Zune will eventually have game play," Koller predicts. He expects Zune to have "a huge impact" on the industry. [Thanks steve, Via Kotaku]
