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BAE Systems develops e-ink camo for tanks and war zone e-readers
BAE Systems, long known for its wargadgets that blind and obfuscate, has recently announced that it is developing an e-ink camouflage system that displays images on the side of a vehicle which reflect the environment -- and which change in real time. This is well-suited for areas such as those found in Afghanistan, where terrain can vary from plain ol' desert beige to a lively and vibrant green, and -- provided it doesn't break down in the desert sand -- probably seems a lot more convincing than paint on metal. (We also wonder if this technology will work on cocktail dresses.) The company hopes to have a prototype within four years, while for our part we hope to have our troops out of the region in much less time than that.
Disengage and trap changes coming to Wrath Beta
With all the Hunter changes we've been promised in relation to PvP, one that has recently been announced may be the biggest yet. Disengage will be getting a new trick.In a future Beta build, Disengage will cause the Hunter to jump back from their target 10-15 yards. As a result of this buff, however, the cooldown will be extended to 30 seconds. This really is the change Hunters need, more that the recent Aspect of the Beast and Mongoose Bite changes by far. What we really needed is a way to get back to range, and between this and Master's Call, we should now have a relatively dependable non-talented way of doing just that. 10-15 yards may seem a bit low, but it should be more than enough to get off a quick concussive shot, set a trap, or use a talented crowd control ability such as Intimidation, which will become instant cast rather than on next attack. Another set of baseline ability changes has to do with traps, and should be very helpful in both PvE and PvP. Freezing Trap will no longer break on any damage, but will instead break on a set amount of damage -- meaning a stray cleave or a miscast DoT won't completely ruin you. With this new functionality, Bear Trap will be removed and replaced at level 80 with Camouflage, which is returning after being discarded. Since setting a trap won't break Camouflage, it will become incredibly useful for setting PvP ambushes as well. There's plenty of other exciting changes on the way for Hunters, including a talent tree revamp that's currently up on Blizzard's official Beta site. Look for analysis of that in the coming days on WoW Insider. It's looking more and more like Wrath's going to be a great time to be a Hunter, and we're looking forward to seeing how the class plays with all their new toys at level 80, in both PvP and PvE.
Combat-ready DS mod
Just yesterday, we were reminded to check on one of the best and brightest of all the DS modders, and we weren't disappointed. The latest case mod from Kotomi prepares a DS Phat for the rigors of urban combat, because sometimes you need to keep your gaming on the DL. We'd turn the sound down, though. Nothing gives away your position like the musical stylings of Jamiroquai.
