Air
Latest
Preparing for BlizzCon: Last minute travel tips
BlizzCon approaches! Preparing for BlizzCon is your regular source for tips on how best to prepare for Blizzard's gaming extravaganza. These helpful hints are particularly suited for convention rookies. But if you are a con veteran, we'd love to hear your advice and wisdom in the comments as well.BlizzCon is this week! Here are some last minute tips for making your trip incident-free.Air Travel Is your flight on time? Almost all airports these days have websites that give weather and flight status. Also, you can call your airline to verify everything is ok. Get there early. If you are checking luggage, this is particularly true. Check in at least an hour before your flight if you are carrying on all your things. 2 hours is best if you are checking luggage. Check in online. Most airlines will allow you to check in online and print your boarding pass 24 hours before your flight. Don't forget your I.D. You absolutely need your I.D. for getting on the plane and getting your BlizzCon badge. Keep it in a safe place on or severely close to your person. Pack properly. Overweight and oversized luggage costs extra. This is the link to what you cannot bring on the plane. Also, if you are carrying your toiletries on, don't forget 3-1-1.
AIRPod looks dorky, makes friends easily
Following in the footsteps of its bigger brother, the AIRPod is a zero-emissions vehicle capable of reaching 50mph and requiring only air and your dignity for its fuel. Makers MDI are set to begin production by the end of the year, while Air France and KLM have already signed up to use the quirky-looking cars for airport shuttle duty. Nick Kurczewski of Inside Line got to test out a prototype and came away with mixed feelings, liking the 90 mile cruising range and "penny per mile" running costs, but finding the ride a bit bumpy. For his full impressions, as well as likely pricing and availability, hit the read link below.[Via AutoblogGreen]
Air-fuelled STAIR battery could last ten times longer than traditional cells
It's funny, really. We've figured out how to put men an women on the moon and repair an orbiting telescope, but we can't concoct an AA battery that lasts more than four days inside a Teddy Ruxpin. Thanks to a revolutionary new design from the labs at the University of St Andrews, all that could be well on the way to changin'. Researchers at said institution have teamed up with partners at Strathclyde and Newcastle in order to design an air-fuelled STAIR (St Andrews Air) cell that could theoretically last up to ten times longer than current batteries. Put as simply as possible, this design utilizes oxygen in the air as a re-agent instead of heavy, costly chemicals; the result is a lighter, cheaper battery with loads more capacity. Needless to say, gurus within the project are already dreaming of a prototype to fit in small gizmos such as cellphones or MP3 players, though we wouldn't expect one anytime soon -- after all, there's still two years of research left to complete.[Thanks, Khattab]
Ionic cooling system adapted for laptop use, scalded legs cautiously rejoice
To be totally candid, we can't even utter the word "ionic" without thinking of Sharper Image, but the concept here actually seems like one that just might benefit the public at large... or at least those of us forced to cook our upper legs on a daily basis. San Jose-based Tessera, in cooperation with the University of Washington, has adapted an ionic cooling system for use in everyday laptops. The magic elixir consists of two electrodes, one of which is used to ionize air molecules such as nitrogen, while the other acts as a receiver for those molecules. According to reports, this method can extract around 30 percent more heat from a lap burner than the traditional "fan and more fans" approach. Still, a major obstacle remains in terms of ensuring that the electrodes remain reliable throughout the life of a laptop, but if Tessera has its druthers, some form of the system will be commercialized next year.
Rumor of a 15-inch MacBook Air: Take it lightly
On Friday, AppleInsider noted that Apple.pro, a hit-and-miss Chinese rumor blog, claims a 15-inch MacBook Air is on the way. The post in Chinese (and a copy run through Google Translate) is available. The site claims the new Air will use low-voltage Intel Core 2 processors, and will be geared for "the older [with] poor eyesight." AppleInsider includes a history of Apple.pro's predictions, and so far, they're batting .500. I'm not saying I'm any better (fact is, I haven't been to the batting cages in months), so take all this with a proverbial grain of salt. If the rumors are true, it's unclear how utile a larger MacBook Air will be, especially if the key differentiating factor of the current Air is its size and weight. While it will have to be less hefty than, say, the 15-inch MacBook Pro, a larger MacBook Air seems like it's trying to fill a gap that doesn't exist: at the highest end of Apple's notebook pricing spectrum. As for pricing (for the US, at least), perhaps we can speculate with an analogy: If a 2.4GHz MacBook is to a 2.4GHz 15-inch MacBook Pro, then a 1.86GHz MacBook Air is to a theoretical 1.86GHz 15-inch MacBook Air. Thus, $1,600 : $2,000 :: $2,500 : $3,125. Yikes: Even more expensive than the new 17-inch model ($2,800). Maybe the analogy isn't perfect, but that's still a pricey proposition to help those with "poor eyesight." What do you think? Is there a market for a big, ultra-premium MacBook Air? Would you buy one? Sound off in comments. [Via Engadget.]
All the World's a Stage: So you want to be a Shaman
This installment of All the World's a Stage is the twentieth 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. Long long ago, human beings all around the world (of Earth, not Warcraft) investigated different ways of describing how the world around them worked. Many different cultures found that the materials they encountered seemed divided into four or five separate elements, each with its own properties: earth, fire, water, and air. Space, "void," or "aether" was often noted as the fifth element, or, as in the case of China, the understanding of these elements looked a lot different but in the end produced a similar sort of system.In Azeroth, however, these ideas about the elements never got swallowed up by modern science and the periodic table of elements. They turned out to be real forces in the world, each with its own set of elemental spirits, which people could communicate and cooperate with. Shamans are the masters of this magical task, charged with helping to maintain the balance of nature in a very different way from druids. While druids are focused more on nature as a system of energy, life, and growth, shamans focus more on the spirits of the land, flames, waters and skies as they all interact with one another. They gain great wisdom by learning of the different characteristics of these elements, and in turn bring this wisdom to the people they serve.
MacBook Air Rev. B mini-review
We've spent a bit of quality time with the new MacBook Air, and while there's little on the surface to denote a change, Apple did quite a bit under the hood to turn this into a serious laptop -- of sorts. Full disclosure: we (meaning a certain Paul Miller, specifically) have been using a Rev. A MacBook Air for the better part of a year as a primary machine, to very much frustration, so we had some pretty big bones to pick with whatever revision Apple might toss into our laps. Luckily, our fears were unfounded; read on for all the gory, romantic details. [Images courtesy of Sam] %Gallery-35832%
MDI's AirCar hits the streets, no one is safe. Especially not the air. Or the cars.
We've been tracking the AirCar for near centuries in Engadget Time, but MDI's little car that could-maybe-possibly seems to have finally taken to the streets. The car has been seen sporting French plates, meaning it's actually been approved for use there -- unsurprising, considering the car's 2009 planned launch in France, but exciting nonetheless. The car boasts a 50 mile range running off of compressed air, and can stretch that further by heating up the air with another power source. It might not solve world hunger, but we're just happy to see compressed air playing a featured role outside of cleaning our keyboard and propelling Airsoft pellets at our cat.**We're kidding. Cats are awesome.[Via AutoblogGreen]
Piper Jaffray analyst predicts Sept. MacBook updates
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster is speculating that Apple will hold a special event in early September to announce new iPods and MacBooks, according to a research note he released. Munster is bullish on seeing Apple enter the sub-$1,000 market for its MacBook line, and has been saying so since last month. He also anticipates a new form factor for the MacBook Pro line, noting that its exterior design (and that of its predecessor, the PowerBook G4) has only slightly changed over the last five-and-a-half years. In the same note, he suggested that larger-capacity iPod shuffles and nanos are on the way, but with no change in pricing. He said that the iPod touch could even be redesigned and priced at $199. Looking into the future, Munster said he thinks a touchscreen Mac portable isn't ready now, but could be available closer to 2010, while a redesigned (even smaller) MacBook Air could hit store shelves next year. [Via Barron's.]
Following Apple on the road to rich web apps
Roughly Drafted has an interesting (and long) article that discusses Apple, Adobe, Google and Microsoft, and their different approaches to developing rich applications for the web. The article is very readable for a non-technical audience, and well-researched, too. The article contrasts Apple's mature development tools and platform frameworks with Google's new open-source tools (like Google Gears). Further, it discusses closed frameworks like Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight, and why Apple is ignoring those in favor of open-source, standards-based development for both apple.com and support for the iPhone. Then it gets good. Daniel Eran Dilger writes about Charles Jolley's SproutCore, a JavaScript framework that Apple has adopted for its own rich web apps, based on a Cocoa-like model-view-controller foundation with bindings, key value observing, and view controls. Think JavaScript on Rails. SproutCore bares its teeth at Adobe's development tools, all ready to show off in Apple's upcoming release of Mobile Me. "That makes SproutCore a light Cocoa alternative for deploying web apps that look and feel like Mac OS X desktop apps," Dilger writes. It's a good read for a Sunday afternoon, and will get you thinking about the kinds of apps that you can build (more easily than ever) for the web. If you enjoyed Brett's earlier video about 280 North, you're sure to love this. Thanks, William!
German users claim MacBook Air can cut through bread, flesh
Now, we know that the MacBook Air is one thin laptop, but some Apple forum members in Germany are claiming that the edge of the laptop is not only sharp -- but downright dangerous. According to "Apple Talk" reader Bajuware, his MBA went kill-crazy all over his elbow while he was cold-chillin' on his couch. The details are a little hard to suss out due to the language barrier (and machine translation), but it would appear the Air's bottom edge made nasty work of the human flesh like someone had insulted its mother. Another MBA owner claims his computer is sharp enough to slice bread, though we assume it's not used for buttering. Honestly, we're not sure what kind of danger an innocent MacBook Air could really pose besides causing you to throw out your back constantly plugging in the AC to charge that not-quite-as-advertised battery.
Adobe kills license fees for Flash on devices
Keeper of Flash, Adobe, has unveiled its far-reaching "Open Screen Project," garnering the interest of a who's who of heavy hitters ranging from ARM to Verizon and pretty much everyone in between. Why the massive corporate attention? The project ultimately aims to open-source Flash's file formats and portions of its inner workings -- but perhaps more importantly, it'll kill the license fee manufacturers pay to bundle Flash players on their devices, potentially opening the door for the same massive level of acceptance Flash has enjoyed on the desktop in our pockets as well. There's no word on exactly when the fruits of the project will be available to the public -- Adobe says it's "just underway," after all -- but if this means our Flash-laden phone is going to be, like, 20 cents cheaper now, we're all for it.
Adobe Media Player & Adobe TV officially launched
Since everyone else is launching a Flash-based video portal, Adobe itself is mixing things up with the AIR-powered Adobe TV. Via the new Adobe Media Player (AMP) 1.0 standalone app, users browse through assorted content from partners like CBS, Universal Music Group, Viacom, PBS or RSS feeds of video podcasts, while the Adobe TV channel itself focuses on how-to content for the company's various tools like Photoshop and Flash. AMP supports up to 1080p, however while ad-support TV content like The Hills and CSI: NY is disappointingly low-res, there are some HD online shows, but the bitrate's so low it's tough to tell if we're getting all the promised pixels. It's a lightweight download, check it out and see how it measures up to Hulu and the rest of the internet challengers.Read - Adobe TV press releaseRead - Adobe Media Player press release
Green Freedom turns the air's CO2 into auto-powering fuel
Tired of the air not doing enough for you? Well, a new project called Green Freedom -- headed up by researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory -- seeks to improve air's contribution to our planet. The new technology would provide a method of extracting CO2 from the air and then converting the gas into fuel for cars or airplanes -- thus creating a renewable energy source. The process uses a form of electrochemical separation to siphon juice out of the typically non-partying carbon dioxide, yet has a low environmental impact with a small waste-stream output. The plan calls for the use of existing plants, which will stem the need to build new facilities, enabling the environmental footprint to remain relatively small. Clearly, it's not being put into general practice yet, but it's a hopeful taste of things to come.[Via Inhabitat]
Promotional Consideration: Nintendo DS Air
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Nintendo_DS_Air'; Promotional Consideration is a weekly feature about the Nintendo DS advertisements you usually flip past, change the channel on, or just tune out.You don't have to try too hard to find similarities between the Nintendo DS Lite and Apple's Macbook Air -- they're both sleek, attractive devices, curves at every corner. Also, both of their designs place a heavy emphasis on their portability. And, most importantly, they both fit in an envelope!
Battalion Wars 2 hits the open water, land, air
It's only a few more days until this game hits the streets and we can't wait to get our grubby little blogging hands on it. So, it's with pleasure that we present the video above, which is a short, but very sweet, which looks at some naval combat. The fun doesn't stop there, though, as we have tucked some other videos behind the break that focus on land and air combat, as well.%Gallery-4966%
Playing the AH on Patch Day
Richard and Paul are both way smarter (and by consequence, way more rich) than I am. They thought ahead, took notes on all the ingredients for the brand new recipes in 2.2, and had all the supplies sitting at high prices on the AH yesterday, ready to be sold to anyone who didn't want to wait to make the new items. Beautiful. I'm jealous-- wish I'd thought of it first.Soulcloth is the big winner, it seems-- it requires Netherweave (which pretty much everyone has), and tons of Soul Essences, which basically drop like candy in Karazhan. If I recall correctly, Soul Essences have sold ok but not great in the past (at least on my server), and they probably still won't sell well, once everyone's made everything they want. But for the next few days, while everyone's learning the new recipes, you'd probably do well to clean out your Soul Essence inventory.Primal Shadow and Primal Air are also doing well from the patch, but since those are Primals, they're fairly rare anyway-- if they were really everywhere (like, say, they dropped off of every demon in the world), Blizzard would change things. But over the next few days (and probably every few days after a big set of crafting changes, so keep an eye out for 2.3 profession news), there's lots of money to be made.
JVC's Air Cushion headphones for you mister tender cakes
The thing we hate most about in-ear headphone designs is their tendency to fall out during our fits of high-impact irritability and coffee-fueled snark. That, and the ache from wearing so-called "sport" ear buds which can be a bit too unforgiving to our sensitive side-mounted, man-holes (aka, ears). Enter JVC's HA-FX66 Air Cushion headphones which incorporate a soft silicone rubber air cushion into the earpiece body and your choice of three different sized, silicon rubber and memory foam earpieces for that snug, comfy fit we all aspire to. Just $30 beans for US Americans.
Kuchofuku's air conditioned bed, clothing line
Sure, you could blow a cool million on a bed you'd never sleep on, but why not grab one that actually provides some relief (and won't run you $5k a month... forever) after a hard day in the blazing sun? Enter Kuchofuku, who certainly has the right idea with its air conditioned sleeper and clothing line. The makeshift bed, which only weighs 5.3-pounds, utilizes dual fans to pull air in and circulate it through the cushion beneath you. Of course, it'd be a modern tragedy to have to rise and leave such a pleasant scenario, but you can solve that dilemma as well care of the air conditioned shirt. The button-up garb touts an integrated fan that is purportedly powered via USB, which means that your armpits can now remain fresh regardless of how infrequent the AC kicks on at the office. A cooler night's sleep is but $399 away, while the new threads (seen after the jump) will run you a staggering $159 apiece.[Via CScout, thanks Mike]
NASA's PILOT project could autonomously extract oxygen from lunar soil
We've got means to extract oxygen from water, a portable bar, and even ways to deprive entire server farms of the sustenance, but a new project being tackled by Lockheed Martin is hoping to create O2 on the moon. A critical part of NASA's PILOT (Precursor In-situ Lunar Oxygen Testbed) initiative, this digger bot will work hand-in-hand with a "processing plant that will add hydrogen to moon soil, heat it to 1,652-degrees Fahrenheit, condense the steam, and finally extract the oxygen." Additionally, the blue LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) box atop the three-foot-long machine can assist it in locating "oxygen-rich lunar soil and autonomously carry it to a processing plant." The overriding goal is to use the newly extracted O2 for air, or moreover, to combine it with hydrogen and produce water for the four astronauts that the lunar base could support. Unfortunately, there's no timetable as to when we'll actually see the PILOT roll into action, but we're most interested in porting this bad boy over to Mars along with half the traffic in LA.[Via The Raw Feed]
