bomb
Latest
Min-E3 press conference confirmed, dated
We hath mourned the death of the one and true E3, but like a mentally handicapped phoenix, the new Min-E3 has risen from the ashes. And while the glitz, glamour, and majority of games will have vanished into thinnest air, the wondrous tradition of the press conference remains. All three players will attempt to outdo the other, yet again.This year, Nintendo is second on the list: 9:30 AM PST on Wednesday, July 11th. Prior to their engagement is Microsoft the day before, and Sony is naught but two hours later at 11:30. We expect solid release dates for at least one of Super Mario Galaxy or Super Smash Bros. Brawl, as well as more than a few surprises. C'mon, Iwata ... drop the bomb.
Wii Warm Up: The slow reveal of Smash Bros.
After a ton of buildup, the Super Smash Bros. Brawl website began updating this week, which is exciting in principle. The actual content of the updates, however ... well, let's just say we had already guessed that Mario and Link will be in the game. Today we get a small amount of news about a new item-- a Gooey Bomb that sticks to opponents.The whole development cycle has been like this-- we've gotten very little information of any kind about this game except what we already know (for example, the rules of Smash Bros.) It's kind of a tease. Of course, this just serves to build up anticipation of the final product.Would you rather get a huge blowout of info all at once, or do you enjoy letting the excitement build as you're fed tiny little morsels of information one by one? If you don't feel like talking about that, we suppose we could talk about the Gooey Bomb. One warning, though-- we've heard enough about banning items from "serious play" for one lifetime.
EU's intelligent cameras could nix the infamous 'bag drop'
One of the oldest and most successful tricks in the book could be finally meeting its match, as the infamous "bag drop" seen in countless silver screen suspense flicks is now the focal point of the European Union's latest investment in intelligent cameras. The EU has partnered with ten other companies and research institutes to fund the $3.11 million ISCAPS (Integrated Surveillance of Crowded Areas for Public Security) project, which does a fair job in and of itself explaining the duties. While the Brits are wading through gobs of surveillance issues in their own land, this attempt to utilize smart camera systems to pick up "abandoned bags, erratic movements, loitering, or suspicious vehicle movements" could cause quite a bit of fuss right next door. The crew has purportedly done extensive interviewing with security experts to program in what could be classified as dodgy behavior in a bustling locale, but the ultimate decision to approach someone of their motives would still be left up to a human (at least for the time being). Looks like your plans to pull off a Thomas Crown Affair of your own just got spoiled, eh?
Nuke detectors could eventually reside in your cellphone
Just in case fixed sensors all across the country, bomb-sniffing bees, and Bay Area nuke detectors weren't enough to make you rest easy, Homeland Security is cookin' up another safeguard at the expense of privacy. Reportedly, the Department is looking into the idea of "outfitting cellphones with tiny, sensitive detectors that would alert the government and emergency responders to the presence of radiological isotopes, toxic chemicals, and deadly biological agents." Essentially, future mobiles could come pre-loaded with such a device that continuously monitors said chemicals and sends off alerts via GPS if anything goes awry. Of course, officials are expecting "quite a few hurdles" along the way, one of which will be battling the privacy advocates who don't understand that their handset probably already contains the technology for Big Brother to see everywhere they go. No word on when these plans could take effect, nor whether older phones will be retrofitted with the toxic sensors, but we can already envision quite a few false alarms care of the cellphone-totin' chemists in the crowd. [Via Textually]
Here come two new VC challengers from Capcom
Two superb Capcom fighting games are headed to the Virtual Console. Final Fight and the inevitable Street Fighter II Turbo Hyper Fighting have been spotted on the ESRB's list of rated Wii games. The SNES version of Final Fight lacks co-op play and Guy, but has plenty of "Oh! My car" to satisfy us. Street Fighter II Turbo is just like Street Fighter II, but sped-up, with more moves, more characters, and some bizarre changes made to the color scheme. We aren't sure why we're explaining this, because everyone in the world has played enough Street Fighter II to know the different versions.Oh, also new on the list was Tecmo's Mighty Bomb Jack. As obscure game advocates, we feel like we should be most excited about this one, but ... yeah, Final Fight is really, really awesome.[Via Siliconera]
When good toys go bad IV: explicit CD player triggered during mass
While we've seen quite a few toys pulling stunts that they should definitely be ashamed of, the latest edition ups the ante by doing its dirty deed in a Roman Catholic cathedral. Following the "if it blinks, obliterate it" mentality so well exemplified at various Boston transit arteries, a team of Santa Fe bomb squad experts were called onto the scene after three CD players were triggered to start blasting "sexually explicit language in the middle of an Ash Wednesday Mass" at the Roman Catholic Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. Reportedly, the players were "duct-taped to the bottoms of the pews," apparently causing the innocent church dwellers to assume the worse -- you know, like C4 explosives camouflaged as a mid-range driver. Nevertheless, the bomb squad removed the devices, took them outside, and probably had a thrilling experience whilst detonating two of the players as a safety measure. Once the crew realized the only explosive tendencies were captured in the inappropriate lyrics, they salvaged the third unit to comb for fingerprints and hopefully arrest the perpetrator(s). Now, which cop is going to cave in and post the fireworks on YouTube?[Via BoingBoing]
More ESRB ratings found for Virtual Console
The ESRB ratings website is a veritable treasure trove of nuclear launch codes, CIA secrets, and unannounced Virtual Console games. Recently, ratings have popped up for Mighty Bomb Jack, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire. While not all of the ESRB rated games have yet arrived on the console, it's fairly certain that they'll get here eventually.In addition, Super Ghouls n' Ghosts was announced not only for the Wii, but for the 360 and PS3. This would make it the first game to be released on all three systems' classic download services, which then brings up silly flame wars and pointless arguing.But seriously, the Wii version will totally be the best.(Note: The GameSpot article mentions that Galaga was also tagged for release, but we actually caught this back in January. We rock.)
SET CounterBomber spies hazardous humans from a distance
Here's one that's just begging for a profiling fit to be thrown over it. While the CounterBomber won't deem you guilty for creeping through a deserted street or texting your boy while waiting at a stop light, it just might inform everyone in an airport that you're the next suicide bomber waiting to blow. SET Corporation is unveiling a machine that best sport an accuracy level untouchable by mere human instincts, as it plans to sit at major public venues and sporting events to spot potential bomb-toting humans "from up to 50 yards away." The first iteration of the machine will utilize "radar-imaging technology" to somehow "analyze and reveal" concealed objects without actually peeking through folks' clothing, but future versions are slated to incorporate a "gait analysis" bit that could further substantiate if some awkward weight balance is going on underneath the hoodie. Still, we can just imagine the uproar from an innocent young lad with a stiff knee getting carted off due to this gizmo (incorrectly) deeming him suspicious, but considering the CounterBomber could be making its debut within 6 months or so, we'll be sure to find out just how inaccurate it is real soon.[Via CNET]
MD-10 departs LAX with Northrop Grumman's Guardian anti-missile system
Considering all these homemade sentries we're teaching mischievous folks how to build, and all the zany ideas popping into folks' brains after catching the Jack Bauer power hours, it's no surprise that our Department of Homeland Security is equipping as many aircrafts as it can with anti-missile systems. While we'd heard that Boeing's laser-equipped 747-400F was ready for takeoff, and that these aircraft-mounted weapon detection systems weren't too far off, it looks like the DHS has completed the first step in rolling the technology out. An MD-10 cargo plane took to the friendly skies from LAX airport today as the "operational testing and evaluation of the laser system designed to defend against shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles" began, and while its doubtful that we'll be seeing the very pricey Guardian system on typical passengers flights anytime soon, equipping the Civil Reserve Air Fleet is potentially one of the uppermost priorities. And for those paranoid folks who can't wait to get this on their next Southwest friendly fare flight, you should probably consider how much coin you'd have to lay down to help compensate for the $1 million installation cost (per plane), not to mention the $365 airlines would be forced to cough up each flight for "operational and maintenance costs" -- yeah, we'll hold off for awhile.
Stealthy Insect Sensor Project unleashes bees to sniff out bombs
While homemade nuke detectors patrolling our waterways seems sufficiently plausible, remote-controlled rats searching for explosives is certainly pushing the bounds of acceptability, but to expect a swarm of "highly trained" bees to sniff out destructive material (without getting medieval on somebody) sounds like an awful lot of buzz. Nevertheless, an 18-month research study -- dubbed the Stealthy Insect Sensor Project -- at the US Energy Department's Los Alamos facility has just concluded, and team members have announced resounding success in teaching your average bee to "stick their proboscis (that tube they use to feed on nectar) out in the presence of explosives." The DHS sees potential in using the little buggers to "find dynamite and C-4 plastic explosives" as well as relatively dodgy "Howitzer propellant grains." Scientists have used a reward system to train the animals, by offering up a "sugar treat" each time they correctly signify explosive material, and suggest that teams of detectors (read: incensed bees) could be carried about in "portable containers about the size of a shoebox." While theoretically, this plan may seem sound, what happens when our enemies start covering their tracks in nectar -- or worse, when the insects unleash a painful revolt against our own brethren?
Air Force looking to develop foot-long subterranean defusers
While it probably won't matter much once we're pitting one robot army against another, it appears that the US Air Force is looking into new "subterranean vehicles" that could be used to navigate to underground bombs, traps, or nuclear pods and defuse the situation from beneath. Although we figured the USAF would focus the majority of its attention somewhere above the Earth's surface, the newfangled moles would be deployed a safe distance from the target and "autonomously navigate itself to the target" while cleverly avoiding buried obstacles on its route. While larger digging machines can certainly accomplish the same task, the catch here is that the life-saving worm must not exceed "12 inches" in length and be able to run off of minimal battery power. Similar to other "teams" of robotic creatures feeding off one another to accomplish complex goals, the Air Force envisions swarms of these diggers penetrating and neutralizing potential hotbeds for underground explosives, all without sacrificing human lives. Now if we only had one of these bad boys to sneak up into Best Buy's PS3 holding closet last night, we'd have a winner.[Via Defense Tech]
Scaremongers dub RFID passports as potential bomb trigger
Sure, we have just as many concerns over RFID-related security technology as anybody, but a new report by mobile security experts Flexilis seems to take things a bit too far. In their report on the lacking shielding of the new e-passports, allowing the passport to be read by a high-powered reader if the book is slightly open, they go on to illustrate the "dangers" of such a security lapse by calling it a potential bomb trigger. Their demonstration involves a passport-toting dummy brushing by a trash can, which explodes once the dummy gets too close. The Flexilis guys even conjecture that a country ID code could eventually be identified in passports, allowing for targeted bombing of citizens from specific countries. The problem with all this, is that any radio-transmitting device could potentially trigger a bomb (phone, Bluetooth device, etc.), nobody has hacked an RFID country code yet, and the situations that would call for this sort of bomb are even more far-fetched than the concept. There's nothing much special about RFID in this regard, other than some security "experts" trying to cash in on the hysteria. Check the video after the break, and judge for yourself whether or not RFID is going to be the hip-cool new detonation system of the decade. We're thinking no.[Via textually.org]
