Stonehenge
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ICYMI: Zero-G booze glass, exoskeleton walk of fame and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-703008{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-703008, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-703008{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-703008").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It: The Open Space Agency designed a zero-G whiskey glass for Ballantine whiskey, aka enabling astronauts and other space travelers to swirl (but not sniff) with refinement no matter where their travels may take them. Raspberry Pi has a new touchscreen display that will let people make new uses for the credit card-sized programmable computer. A paralyzed man is walking around in an exoskeleton with ease after undergoing a spinal cord stimulation program at UCLA. He's the first paralyzed person to regain enough feeling in his legs to walk confidently in an exoskeleton and we are all in awe.
Ground-penetrating radar reveals huge monument near Stonehenge
Stonehenge is an iconic and mysterious English landmark, but it's not the only place to attract the interest of local archaeologists. Nearly 100 stone monoliths have been discovered at a site called the Durrington Walls, about two miles north-east of Stonehenge. For the average visitor, there's little to see at ground level -- just the grassy remains of a sloping bank. But with ground-penetrating radar, researchers have mapped the area and discovered evidence of up to 90 stones three feet underground. Around 30 remain intact, measuring up to 4.5 meters tall, while fragments of a further 60 lay beside them.
The Big Picture: digital maps uncover the hidden ruins of Stonehenge
You may already know that Stonehenge is just one part of a larger group of monuments, but digital mapping has made it clear that there's even more to the landscape than meets the eye. The Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project has used a mix of geophysical surveys and remote sensing technology to uncover not just 17 hidden ruins, but more details about locations that have already been explored to death. They've revealed a previously unknown early version of the Durrington Walls, for instance. Archaeologists will have to do some old-fashioned digging to know the full extent of what they found, but it's already evident that England's ancient architecture changed dramatically over the centuries.
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for April 28, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
UK Ministry of Defence's UFO department was disbanded three years ago, had 'no defense purpose'
National Archive documents recently released show that the UK government's very own UFO department, which had reported on sightings for over 50 years, was shut down three years ago. The department apparently never revealed any "potential threats" to the country, so the Ministry of Defence closed both the hotline and email address that fielded the public's sightings of UFOs. A civil servant briefed the current defence minister, Bob Ainsworth, saying: "The level of resources diverted to this task is increasing in response to a recent upsurge in reported sightings, diverting staff from more valuable defence-related activities." The recently released files also covered some of the sightings reported from across the UK in 2009, which included, perhaps unsurprisingly, Stonehenge.
Funcom addressing PvP issues in The Secret World
The Secret World's PvP fanbase knows that right now Fusang is more like a merry-go-round than a battleground, with groups just circling around capping facilities and anima wells. Funcom has noted this as well as other issues and has released an overall plan for improving high-level PvP. Among the changes are plans to give incentives for defending facilities and for staying in the Fusang PvP zone longer. The Eldorado and Stonehenge battlegrounds will also see some tweaks, including incentives for increased participation and a reduction in the size of the center "score circle" so players cannot gain points while hiding behind the perimeter stones. Additionally, players saving up for PvP talisman upgrade kits might soon get more for their tokens as the prices will most likely drop.
Tribes Ascend's July update reinvents 'Stonehenge' map, invents 'Miasma'
Continuing its promise of monthly new content, Hi-Rez Studios unveiled its latest Tribes: Ascend update video this morning. The update is a biggun for both new players and vets, as two new maps are set to be deployed: a remake of Tribes 1's "Stonehenge" map, and the brand new "Miasma." Now all we need is something borrowed and something blue, and we'll be all set to wed this game.
PAX 2011: Funcom discusses The Secret World's PvP, ARG, and more
Funcom had an impressive presence at PAX Prime 2011, and along with that presence came a wealth of information about its upcoming horror MMORPG, The Secret World. In addition to showing off the Polaris five-man instance, the team also highlighted a new solo mission demo and revealed some new information about the title. From missions to PvP to character progression, the team had a lot to say. For the full details on both small- and large-scale PvP, skill progression, and the game's ARG and puzzle elements, head on past the cut.
Growing Up Geek: Richard Lai
Welcome to Growing Up Geek, an ongoing feature where we take a look back at our youth and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. Today, we have our very own Senior Associate Editor, Richard Lai, who also happens to be the Editor-in-chief of Engadget Chinese. I've come to the point in life where I stop paying attention to my age, though it's still fun to make people guess it for their reaction -- you'll find out after the break, but here's a hint: I've spent the same number of years in both Hong Kong and the UK, plus a couple of years in Australia. Such a combination has turned me into a Chinese guy who speaks both British English and two Chinese dialects while holding an Australian passport; but I tend to skip all this and say that I'm a spy with many gadgets.
Stonehenge robotic clock: telling time never looked so fun
From the same brilliant mind that brought you the RoboStool comes something a bit less useful but equally mesmerizing. Put simply, Norris Labs' Stonehenge is a robotic time teller which rearranges placards in order to express the current time. The concoction utilizes a CrustCrawler Smart Arm and a Parallax Propeller chip along with 14 cards to display the current time, though it does operate, um, a bit slowly. Ah well, it's not like you're in any hurry to see what this thing can do, right? Oh, wait... you are? Head on past the break for a quick look.[Via OhGizmo]
First Impressions: Mabinogi
Mabinogi is an engaging MMO by Nexon, the makers of Maple Story, Audition, and Kart Rider. The name is derived from the Mabinogion, a collection of old Welsh stories. In that sense, it's well-named; Mabinogi is billed as 'your fantasy life', and much of what happens in the game follows a gentle, pastoral atmosphere -- even the combat, to a certain degree. We had the chance to check this out, now that it's in open beta, and here's what we found. Keep in mind that this is not a guide -- we have no insider knowledge to report. This is merely a record of our opinions and experience playing this game for the first few hours. Excelsior!%Gallery-18335%
Hellgate: London developer chat on IRC today
If you are interested in chatting with the developers of Hellgate: London and you are available at 7pm EST today, then fire up your favorite IRC client and get ready to talk to Flagship Studios. Their last developer chat was pretty candid, so if you are still playing HGL or have renewed interest since the release of Stonehenge, participating in this chat may be fun and informative.Here are the details:Server: irc.ForTheGamers.orgChannel: #FlagshipStudiosFor questions during the event, type /msg DevBot yourquestionhere where "yourquestionhere" is your actual question. There will also be a separate channel just for chatting with other attendees.I use Trillian for IRC, but mIRC is another good one. For The Gamers is also providing a web-based client for the chat. Full details on how to connect if you are having issues are provided here.Maybe I'll see you there, preschooler permitting.
Hellgate: London gets its first content update
Mark your calenders for January 21st, 2008 because that's the date when you can expect Flagship Studios' first content update to hit for Hellgate: London. The update -- titled Stonehenge Chronicles -- is expanding the game world beyond London itself, opening the areas around Stonehenge. Expect lots of open, outdoor wilderness as the developers wanted something different from the main game's locales. Players can expect three areas to explore, The Caste Caves (not to be confused with other caves), Moloch's Lair and The Wild. There are four dungeons within The Caste Caves and each dungeon will contain a spectral overlord to blast, slice and bludgeon into pieces.Upon completion of The Caste Caves, players gain entry to Moloch's Lair, wherein a great battle with the demon Moloch -- the great dropper of unique items -- ensues. Finally, The Wild has three mini-raid areas which progress in difficulty and eventually require players to form full-sized parties.Also, this update will add improvements to the game UI, a "large number" of skill balance alterations and a PvP dueling arena. Lastly, Hellgate: London subscribers will optionally be able to pay for their subscriptions through PayPal and PayByCash.We have to say that definitely seems like a lot of content, but we'll have to wait and see what players think after January 21st rolls around. It's barely been three months since the game launched in North America, so it seems the developers are keeping their promise. It all depends on how often these updates come out in the end. If they continue at the pace of three months between updates, Hellgate: London could become a game to watch for a future purchase.
One Shots: Hellgate's Stonehenge
Ghen sends in One Shots' first images of Hellgate: London. This image comes from the beta servers for The Stonehenge Chronicles, Hellgate's patch 1.0, expected to go live in January. Flying overhead we see an Exospector, which Ghen describes as "a demon sky-whale." Our response? Kill it! Kill it!Do you have any good shots of holiday celebrations in your favorite game? Send 'em our way (or dress them up a bit and submit them to our holiday postcard contest!), so we can feature your screenshot and story for tomorrow's One Shots! It's easy to participate -- just send your screenshots and stories to oneshots@massively.com. %Gallery-9798%
The Stonehenge Chronicles delayed for Hellgate: London
Hellgate: London's Patch 1.0 aka Stonehenge aka The Stonehenge Chronicles has been delayed until January. This will be the first major quarterly update and, if released in January, will still be on schedule. Bill Roper, in a letter sent to registered players, said that they want to take the time to make this patch right:If there is one lesson we've learned from launching Hellgate: London, our releases should be a question of "what" and not "when".Huzzah.In other patch news, Single Player Patch 0.6 is live and available for download. Multiplayer Patch 0.7 has been live since December 14th on US servers and went live December 19th on EU server Sydonai. Subscribers who login to Patch 0.7 will find that Nemo in Holbrook Station has a goodie for them. My first try to receive it got me the much treasured Server Error, but after restarting the game I received the even more intriguing Transmogrifying Cube which, as promised previously, will look familiar to Diablo II fans.Patch 1.0 notes from the Test Center are after the jump.
