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TiVo fundraising with self-branded toasters / snowglobes
While just about everyone has experienced their fair share of ups and downs with TiVo, it's great to see the smiley TV box raising funds for two meaningful causes. The firm is offering up self-branded toasters and snowglobes (for $45 and $28, respectively) to its employees in order to raise money for the James Kim Memorial Fund and The Katrina Fund. Of course, it could be slightly difficult to get your hands on either of these adornments if you can't badge into TiVo HQ everyday, but perhaps a saintly reader could be a liaison for a group buy? Regardless, even if you're still using one of the eight toasters you got as a graduation gift or you've severed all ties with TiVo (and jumped ship), here's to lending a helping hand to those in need. Keep reading for a taste of TiVo toast...[Via PVRWire]
"Wall of Wind": FIU hurricane machine can destroy a house
Following the devastating consequences brought about by last year's Hurricane Katrina, there has been renewed interest from academia and the insurance industry in minimizing the damage caused by these monster storms, and what better way to test structural integrity than by actually exposing buildings to hurricane-style conditions? Traditionally the only way to subject building materials to powerful gusts has been stuffing miniature replicas inside a wind tunnel, but the results of these tests don't accurately convey the real-world effects on life-size structures. Enter Florida International University professor Stephen Leatherman, who, with the help of his students, has constructed a so-called "Wall of Wind" capable of destroying a free-standing house in under 10 minutes. In its current iteration, the Wall uses two stacked eight-foot diameter fans hooked up to a pair of 500-horsepower engines to produce winds in excess of 115-mph, with plumbing that allows water to be fed into the system and whipped against the target. Amazingly, this hurricane machine is only the first of two others the researchers have planned: currently they're working on a six-fan version capable of 140-mph winds, and if they succeed in winning a $5.8 million "Center of Excellence" grant from the state, construction on a monster 18-fan rig will begin in a specially-built steel building next to the Homestead Air Reserve Base. How powerful would the 18-fan setup be? Supposedly it will be capable of producing sustained 160-mph winds, the same type of Category 5 conditions that ravaged New Orleans and even jeopardized the mighty Superdome.[Via FARK]
Department of Homeland Monopoly
TUAW friend and fellow Weblogs, Inc. blogger Mike Schleifstein (I hope I spelled that right, Mike!) was recently displaced by Katrina. Go donate to the people who are going to help him and everyone else get back home as soon as possible. Of course, he might be able to get back a little sooner if were able to file a claim with FEMA, but he's reporting that the on-line claims form requires IE 6, and, more importantly, IE's non-compliant JavaScript implementation; even changing the UA string in Firefox or Safari won't help. Hopefully by now he's found a friend with a PC, but I really hope the government realizes soon that if you're filing a FEMA application, you probably don't have much choice about what OS you're using.
Nothing to do with High Definition
This post has nothing to do with high definition; nor TVs, HDMI, or ATSC. But it is way more important. What is happening in the gulf coast is terrible and they need all the help they can get. Please take some time and help these people.Red CrossSalvation ArmyA few of our favorite TV shops are trying to get people to help too.Circuit CityBest BuyThank you, HD Beat Staff
