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Nanox shows off its Star Trek-inspired 'biobed' to the world
The company says it's developed a superior digital cold cathode which, if true, could make x-rays more efficient.
The Summoner's Guidebook: Bringing power from one LoL lane to another
In most of the League of Legends games that I win by a landslide, I win because my mid lane takes an early lead and uses it to help win our other lanes. Lately, my main role in League of Legends has been the jungler, and while it's nice to be fed as a jungler, I often can't win the game for my team even if I'm 6/0. However, my mid lane can simply by making things happen elsewhere. If you're ahead in your lane, you have to make your presence known, and sooner is better than later. It's nice to be 2/0 in mid lane or be up several kills as the support. However, if all you do from there is push the enemy team members to their turret and let them farm safely, you're not doing much to win the game as a whole.
Captain's Log: Interview with Star Trek Online's Christine Thompson, part one
The past couple of weeks, I took a bit of time to head to Las Vegas to moderate and cover the Star Trek Online panels at the official Star Trek Convention, but I'm happy to say I'm back in the saddle and picking up where I left off with my series of interviews with the people responsible for making Star Trek Online and conducted when I visited Cryptic Studios in late June. This week I begin my summaries of my interview with STO's lead writer, Christine Thompson. Many of you may know her as Cryptic Kestrel. Read on to see what she had to say about writing for the Romulan Republic!
Federal domain seizure raises new concerns over online censorship
It's been a little more than a year since the US government began seizing domains of music blogs, torrent meta-trackers and sports streaming sites. The copyright infringement investigation, led by US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) authorities, quickly raised eyebrows among many free speech and civil rights advocates, fueling a handful of legal challenges. Few are more compelling, or frightening than a case involving Dajaz1.com. As TechDirt reports, the popular hip-hop blog has been at the epicenter of a sinuous and seemingly dystopian dispute with the feds -- one that underscores the heightening controversy surrounding federal web regulation, and blurs the constitutional divide between free speech and intellectual property protection. Dajaz1 was initially seized under the 2008 Pro IP Act, on the strength of an affidavit that cited several published songs as evidence of copyright infringement. As it turns out, ,any of these songs were actually provided by their copyright holders themselves, but that didn't stop the government from seizing the URL anyway, and plastering a warning all over its homepage. Typically, this kind of action would be the first phase of a two-step process. Once a property is seized, US law dictates that the government has 60 days to notify its owner, who can then choose to file a request for its return. If the suspect chooses to file this request within a 35-day window, the feds must then undertake a so-called forfeiture process within 90 days. Failure to do so would require the government to return the property to its rightful owner. But that's not exactly how things played out in the case of Dajaz1. For more details on the saga, head past the break.
Google drops cloud computing lawsuit against US Department of the Interior
Last year, Google filed a lawsuit against the US Department of the Interior, on allegations that the government unfairly awarded a $59 million cloud computing contract to Microsoft without conducting a sufficiently competitive auction. Big G won an injunction against the department in January, effectively putting the contract on hold, and it looked as if the company would prevail, with Judge Susan Braden recently declaring that there was a "justifiable basis" for dispute. Last week, however, Google decided to drop the suit altogether, after filing a motion in the US Court of Federal Claims. "Based on the defendant's agreement to update its market research and then conduct a procurement in a manner that will not preclude plaintiffs from fairly competing, plaintiffs respectfully move for dismissal of this action without prejudice," the company's attorney wrote in the motion, filed on Thursday. Federal lawyers, however, responded by claiming that the two sides have not reached an agreement, while confirming that it had no problem with Google's decision to cease litigation. It remains to be seen whether the two sides have truly reached an agreement, or whether the litigation may wear on, but we'll keep you abreast of any future developments.
Researchers use children's toy to exploit security hole in feds' radios, eavesdrop on conversations
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have discovered a potentially major security flaw in the radios used by federal agents, as part of a new study that's sure to raise some eyebrows within the intelligence community. Computer science professor Matt Blaze and his team uncovered the vulnerability after examining a set of handheld and in-car radios used by law enforcement officials in two, undisclosed metropolitan areas. The devices, which operate on a wireless standard known as Project 25 (P25), suffer from a relatively simple design flaw, with indicators and switches that don't always make it clear whether transmissions are encrypted. And, because these missives are sent in segments, a hacker could jam an entire message by blocking just one of its pieces, without expending too much power. What's really shocking, however, is that the researchers were able to jam messages and track the location of agents using only a $30 IM Me texting device, designed for kids (pictured above). After listening in on sensitive conversations from officials at the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, Barnes and his team have called for a "substantial top-to-bottom redesign" of the P25 system and have notified the agencies in question. The FBI has yet to comment on the study, but you can read the whole thing for yourself, at the link below.
The true story of a hacker's brief tenure as a fed at the FTC
The Federal Trade Commission managed to turn a few heads by hiring anti-DRM advocate Ed Felten as it's first Chief Technologist earlier this month, but it turns out the agency made an even more surprising hire last year -- one that didn't last very long. As Forbes reports, the FTC hired 29-year-old hacker Chris Soghoian in 2009, along with a handful of other technologists tasked with investigating corporations suspected of violating consumers' privacy. While that name might not ring a bell, Soghoian did gain some notoriety in 2006 by building a tool that was able to print out fake boarding passes for Northwest Airlines (in an effort to expose a security flaw), and he's since engaged in number of other activities that could either be considered hacks or pranks depending on your point of view. So how did his tenure at the FTC work out? Well, he nearly quit after being forced to submit to a fingerprint scan on his first day, and last December he sparked a controversy by posting audio he secretly recorded at an industry-only security conference on his personal blog -- although that did seemingly end up influencing a Justice Department report on phone record searches. Perhaps not surprisingly, that didn't exactly lead to a long career as a fed, and the FTC chose not to renew Soghoian's contract this year, stating only that he "provided valuable service to the agency."
FED apparently not dead, baby, Field Emission Technologies sells out to AUO
Returning just in time to do battle with LPD for vaporware of 2010 award, Field Emission Display technology is still kicking. We'd heard that Field Emission Technologies was closing its doors, but here's the president of Field Emission Technologies Shohei Hasagawa (left) clasping hands with the CEO of display manufacturer AUO, Dr. L.J. Chen, and FET Japan prez Jun Yamazaki celebrating the sale the technology. Apparently AUO plans to develop the CRT-rivaling flat-screen displays for high end display applications. Can it pick up where Sony left off? We're doubtful, but the sale means at least a slim hope professionals could be looking into something even sweeter than plasma or LCD sometime soon.
LPD display tech from Prysm uses lasers, phosphors, groovy Flash intros
Well, it's Thursday. You know what that means: it's time for another new revolutionary display technology that will offer better image quality at lower costs and with reduced energy consumption. Today's breakthrough is LPD, or Laser Phosphor Displays. They rely on a screen covered in phosphors, much like a traditional CRT, but instead of a scanning beam of electrons those pixels are excited by a series of lasers. It seems rather similar to SED and FED tech, but with lasers rather than cathodes, thus making it roughly 23 times more awesome. The display tech is said to be able to created in any shape or size, and with its long lifespan and low power consumption is being targeted toward large-scale installations for advertising and the like. Don't believe the hype? Turn up those speakers, click on that read link, and prepare to be awed by the breathless potential of... Prysm.
Futaba thinks Field Emission Displays are still the future
Sony may have given up hope on the future of Field Emission Displays (FEDs) -- CRTs that rely on flat electron emitters, ditching the cumbersome tube and the bulk that goes along with it -- but Futaba is still moving forward, demoing a series of displays for Engineering TV in a video embedded for your viewing pleasure below. The company isn't exactly well-known in consumer display circles (head down to your local hobby shop for a schooling on its most famous products), but despite that seems to be no slouch, able to make these things as slim as 4.2mm while delivering the image quality and contrast ratios of a CRT, all at a lower energy consumption. Could this be the future of the car dashboard? Right now we'd just be happy with some more responsive servos for our RC10; we'd be even more of a force to be reckoned with at the local 1:10 scale dirt track.
Sony's Field Emission Technologies closing its doors
FED's dead, baby -- at least for Sony. The company's spin-off Field Emission Technologies, whose sole purpose was to develop the displays, is now closing its doors. Blame goes to difficulty in raising funds for manufacturing. After years of teasing and an actual demo unit just a few months ago, it's a little sad to the technology's biggest proponent shutter. Goodbye, FET, we hardly knew ye.
Sony demos 19-inch FED display running Gran Turismo 5 at 240 fps
FED (or Field Emission Display) hasn't quite caught on as quickly as some other display technologies, but Sony's still out there doing its best to move things forward, and it certainly looks to have turned more than a few heads with its latest demo. Apparently not content with simply showing off a new 19-inch display from its spin-off, Field Emission Technologies, Sony went so far as to demo it with a customized version of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue that's playable at 240 fps. To do that, Sony used four PS3s to increase the frame rate, something it had previously done to run the game at quadruple the resolution of 1080p on a Sony SXHD projector. While that setup is out of the reach of most folks, Field Emission Technologies says that FED displays are now finally heading to market, and that some high-end professional FED video monitors up to 32-inches in size will be available sometime next year.[Via OLED-Display.info]
Field Emission Technologies' purchase of Pioneer plasma plant comes up short
If you are feeling the pinch of the current economic climate in your HD-related purchases, you're not alone -- Field Emission Technologies, the Sony spin-off that has been talking up field emission displays (FEDs) for some time now, has run into some money problems of its own. The company was supposed to purchase the plasma manufacturing plant Pioneer abandoned when it exited the plasma manufacturing biz earlier this year, but has now pulled out of the deal because it could not raise the necessary funding. Worse yet, Pioneer is now left scrambling to try and find work for the 180 workers who were supposed to convery with the plant. Looks like the FED medical and broadcast markets may have to wait longer still for those first models, but based on the history of this technology and its close cousin SED (surface-conduction electron-emitter display) cousin, that's nothing new.
Anodos shows off FED-based, internet-connected set-top display
FED technology may not have exactly caught on for use with TVs just yet, but Japan's Anodos looks set to bring it into living rooms in its own little way in the form of an internet-connected set-top box. Dubbed the "Anobar", it'll give you a 640 x 94 resolution with which to view the headlines and low res images of your choice, along with a more than capable VIA C7-M under the hood, and Windows XP Embedded running the show. You'll even apparently be able to get real-time comments about the show you're watching courtesy of 2channel's discussion forums. Unfortunately, in its current prototype form, all of that added up to hefty ¥200,000 (or $1,900), and the researchers say that they're going to have to get it down to ¥30,000 ($280) or less before they make a go at selling it to the general public, which could take a little while. For now, you can get a taste of what might be in store courtesy of the video after the break.[Via Engadget Japanese]
Field Emission Technologies to produce 60-inch FED panels?
I t's been a hot minute since we've heard anything from Field Emission Technologies, but apparently the Sony spin-off is gearing up to make some serious noise in the industry. Field emission display (FED) still remains a relatively unknown panel technology, but FET is hoping to change all that by introducing a 60-inch display that will be "more energy efficient and sharper than [an] LCD." Analysts assert that FED will actually be a suitable alternative to OLED, and while Sony's own XEL-1 is fine and dandy, that 11-inch screen sort of renders it useless for home theater use. Reportedly, FET is "in negotiation with Pioneer regarding mass-production of field emission displays," and while the first batch of 60-inchers will likely hit hospital wards and TV studios first, you better believe the general public will be next in line.[Via OLED-Display]
Researchers develop copper nanowires for field-emission displays
It's been a little while since we've heard of any significant progress in field-emission displays, but a group of researchers at the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign now seem to be shaking things up a bit, with them touting new copper nanowires that could one day be used for ultra-thin FED screens. Specifically, the copper nanowires developed by Kyekyoon Kim and Hyungsoo Choi are between 70 nanometers and 250 nanometers wide, and can be "grown" on various surfaces including silicon, glass, metal, and plastic. As Technology Review reports, in the case of field-emission displays, the nanowires would be used to fire electrons at phosphor particles on a screen to light them up. That process would result in displays that are not only thinner than traditional flat-panel displays, but brighter and more energy-efficient as well -- assuming they ever find their way out of the lab, that is.
SED & FED TVs might be getting cheaper
Just because Canon announced it's no longer working on ways to make SED televisions a reality cheaper, doesn't mean no one is. RD&IP recently announced new technology it has developed that could be used to reduce manufacturing costs on both SED and FED TVs. While squeezing old-school CRT technology into every pixel of a flat panel display is a tantalizing ideas, so far it's still too expensive for the mass market. RD&IP's tech claims to cut costs by allowing manufacturers to use cheaper cathodes instead of expensive carbon nanotubes. We'll have to wait to find out if anyone ever actually uses this, but we're sure SED fans are more than used to the waiting.
DuPont unveils host of flat-panel HDTV technologies
While we knew the company famous for bringing miracles of science into our daily lives was lending a helping hand with OLEDs, a recent announcement has detailed that the company plans on getting into a whole lot more than just that. Among the technologies it hopes to integrate into tomorrow's flat-panel displays are thermal color filters, direct bonding, Optilon anti-reflective coatings, advanced composite reflectors film for improved luminance, Drylox, and a smattering of niceties around field emission displays. Of course, there's way more here than we could possibly cover in this space, so do your curious mind a favor and dig right in to the detailed read link.
Field Emission Technologies shows off FED displays
Apparently with a little help from scientists from the future, Sony spin-off Field Emission Technologies has introduced its first displays based on Field Emission Display (or FED) technology, similar in many respects to the slightly more common SED technology. Unlike most SED sets, however, Field Emission Technologies seems to be keeping its displays relatively small initially, with the first model coming in at a mere 19.2-inches. Opting for that that one will give you a 1,280 x 960 resolution, along with a brightness of 400cd/m2 and, most impressively, a 20,000:1 contrast ratio. According to the company, future displays could come as large as 30 inches, and boast a full 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. While there's no word on prices just yet, we wouldn't expect 'em to come cheap, as they're apparently intended strictly for professional use.
