Because you'll need somewhere to download/install those 1080p flicks from VideoGiants, Envive has announced its TheaterStation Media Server. Light on hardware details, Envive's focused on its Spin interface to ease content browsing via remote. The base model's hard drive reportedly holds at least 200 hours of DVD quality movies, and can be upgraded to hold ten times as much although that'll drive up the $2,495.99 starting price. Equipped with HDMI, component and DVI outs its available for preorder now,

[Vie eHomeUpgrade]

Quantum computing isn't exactly synonymous with mainstream (yet), but a team of engineers at the University at Buffalo are looking to overcome some of the most prominent hurdles "that have prevented progress toward spintronics and spin-based quantum computing." Apparently, these gurus have conjured up a semiconductor that "provides a novel way to trap, detect and manipulate electron spin," the latter of which is the most notable. Essentially, the UB group's scheme could open up "new paradigms of nanoelectronics," and it manages to stand out from prior efforts by requiring fewer logic gates and promising to operate in much warmer (20-degrees Kelvin versus 1-degree Kelvin) conditions. Now that they've figured out how to dictate single spin, the subsequent step would be to "trap and detect two or more spins that can communicate with each other" -- you know, a vital precondition for quantum computing.

[Thanks, Jordan]

Pitching a baseball or softball isn't only about how fast you can get the damn thing across the plate, but how effectively you can spin the ball and control its position and timing as well. Well speed is easy to measure -- radar guns have been around for years -- but it's been more difficult for pitchers and coaches to determine how spin changes over time, with visual analysis generally being the best tool available. Well now thanks to a company called RevFire, teams can use a device of the same name to measure both speed and spin for multiple pitchers simultaneously as well as track individual performance through a number of practices and possibly even seasons. The one downside here is that the RevFire system uses proprietary balls to go along with the handheld monitor: two balls come in the package, so a few out of the park homers is all it takes to sideline the unit until replacements arrive. Unfortunately for would-be backyard flame throwers, RevFire seems targeted more towards organized teams than the lone gunmen trying to red shirt his or her local Little League team, a notion only furthered by the lack of pricing info on the product page. Sounds like a handy addition to the modern coach's tool chest, but maybe not so great for that washed up player who's been hanging on by good looks and a string for the last two seasons.