catapult
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US Navy will fire fighter jets into the air with electromagnets
For the last 60 years, the US Navy has launched fighters from carrier decks using steam catapults. While that made for some atmospheric Top Gun shots, the jerky motion adds wear-and-tear to aircraft and pilots alike. The military is now ready to test the next generation Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) aboard the new USS Gerald R. Ford after successful land trials (see the video below). EMALS uses a prescribed dose of electromagnetic energy to smoothly launch a variety of aircraft at the precise speeds needed, reducing stress on airframes. It's more adaptable to different aircraft and launch conditions than current catapults, and is well-suited for lightweight drone systems like the X-47B now aboard US carriers.
Transformers Universe shows off Catapult and Shellshock
Two new warriors are being shown off by Transformers Universe today. First on the list is Catapult, an Autobot sniper with a penchant for long-ranged abilities. Catapult's core arsenal depends upon her long-range sniper rifle and electro-cloud launcher, but she also carries a shotgun for backup in close-range combat. She also heals nearby Autobots slightly each time she manages to take a Decepticon off-line, making her ranged support that much more helpful to her allies in the fray. On the other side of the coin is Shellshock, a massive Decepticon warrior covered in heavy armor and wielding a pair of cannons and an axe. His two cannons focus on dealing shield damage or spark damage, while his axe allows him to carve up and knock down nearby enemies. Shellshock also heals nearby allies when he downs an opponent, making this behemoth a force to be reckoned with in closer engagements. To see a glimpse of both characters in action, check out the videos past the break. [Source: Jagex press release]
MechWarrior Online rolls out the '12 Catapult
Some people like to drool over car statistics, with their V-8s and turbo-injections and rearview adjustable mirrors. Others like to fawn over every last detail of fictional battle robots as if they were coming soon to a dealership near them. Both, in our opinion, are acceptable. If you're in the latter category, then you're going to love MechWarrior Online today, as the devs revealed the latest in the 26th century lineup: the CPLT-C1 Catapult. This heavy 'Mech may be a tad on the slow side, but it more than makes up for it with firepower and 10 tons of armor. The two-legged Catapult boasts missiles, lasers, and jumpjets, although it can only go a little less than 65 kph on the battlefield. The Catapult will be available to the Terran Hegemony and seems suitable for those who prefer slow, powerful brutes to quick, nimble machines. If walking piles of death metal are your thing, make sure to catch up on our preview of MechWarrior Online.
Blizzard gives preview of the Isle of Conquest battleground
Blizzard community manager Nethaera has announced some more details of the new battleground coming to World of Warcraft with Patch 3.2, Call of the Crusade.The "Isle of Conquest" will be a new place for Horde and Alliance to face off in forty-vs.-forty PvP across different locations offering their own unique challenges and rewards. Blizzard has put together a preview site for the Isle of Conquest explaining about the battleground and its objectives and resources that the Horde and Alliance will struggle over. Each location will have a certain advantage, ranging from Glaive Throwers and Catapults to an airship that allows players to parachute into the enemy keep. Have a look at the Isle of Conquest preview site for more on what to expect from Call of the Crusade's battleground. One of Azeroth's millions of citizens? Check out our ongoing coverage of the World of Warcraft, and be sure to touch base with our sister site WoW Insider for all your Lich King needs!
Zarhym talks about the Isle of Conquest battleground
So one of the things we have coming our way in patch 3.2 will be the new Isle of Conquest battleground. Unfortunately, we don't know much more about it than the name, but that has not stopped everyone from speculating on what it could bring, whether it be a combination of some of the old mechanics from previous battlegrounds (Much like Eye of the Storm was a combination of Arathi Basin and Warsong Gulch) or completely new ideas. There's been hints it's more like Alterac Valley than other old battlegrounds, but for now, we're waiting impatiently for the PTR in the hopes of getting a real look.Zarhym chimed in on one of these threads a couple days ago, and while he mostly told people they'd have to wait and see, one reply he did give suggests a sneak peek into what the battleground could be: "If "conquest" means the ability to catapult or parachute players behind enemy lines, then yes."Ok, so it's not much, but it's there. There will be Catapults, and we will be flinging players in them! I know one of my favorite things to do in Alterac Valley back when it lasted hours was to sneak behind enemy lines to capture objectives or gather Frostwolf Hides and the like. Of course, I could do this because I played a stealthing Druid. Non-stealthers generally did not have the ability to sneak past all the PCs and NPCs blocking their way. But the idea of sending paratrooping special forces in to complete small objectives or even just flank the enemy is just plain sort of cool, if it ends up working out like that.Beyond that, Zarhym also hinted that the Battleground revamp is coming along, but of course, once again, he had no information to offer. Will we see it in Patch 3.2? Hopefully, the PTR will come up soon and we'll know more for sure.
Ulduar on the Patch 3.1 PTR: The Flame Leviathan
The developers sent us for a bit of a loop today, putting an Ulduar boss up for testing with very little notice immediately after PTR maintenance. Matticus, ever reliable, threw together a quick 10-man raid and welcomed me along to try out the Flame Leviathan. Unfortunately, Michael Sacco (who walked you through Hodir and the Iron Council) wasn't able to go with us this time around. I think he did it on purpose so I couldn't make any jokes about his inability to perform, if you know what I mean.The Flame Leviathan is the boss (or one of the bosses) that uses siege vehicles in its encounter in the outdoors portion of Ulduar. For the safety of those that do not wish to be spoiled on anything Ulduar related, I'll put all information on the encounter beneath the cut below.Again, if you do not want to be spoiled, do not click the link below.
Around Azeroth: Orcish ingenuity
Reader FrostLapin of the Ursin Server snapped this shot of the Orcs latest ammunition strategy in World PvP. I can't wait to see how they are going to attack destructible buildings in Wrath's Lake Wintergrasp. Taurens perhaps? Flaming Warlock imps? The mind boggles.Do you have any unusual World of Warcraft images that are just collecting dust in your screenshots folder? Because we'd love to see it on Around Azeroth! Sharing your screenshot is as simple as e-mailing aroundazeroth@wow.com with a copy of your shot and a brief explanation of the scene. You could be featured here next!%Gallery-1816%
SiCortex intros SC072 Catapult -- 72 processor cluster for $15000
Off hand, we can't think of how we'd truly utilize the horsepower generated by a 72-processor cluster shoved into a "whisper-quiet, low-power deskside cabinet," but we'd happily draw up a plan if forced. SiCortex -- the same folks who delivered the bicycle-powered supercomputer -- has introduced its new SO072 Catapult, which features a standard Linux environment, 48GB of RAM and a trio of (optional) PCIExpress slots. This aptly categorized high performance computer (HPC) sucks down less than 200-watts of power, sports a pair of gigabit Ethernet ports and has room for six internal hard drives. Reportedly, each of the 12 SC072 nodes is a multi-core chip with six CPU cores, and while $15,000 may seem steep for your average tower, we'd say this is a pretty good value considering the hardware.[Via Gadgetopia]
Cellphones are dangerous/not dangerous, pie in the eye version
It seems Samsung has abandoned traditional methods to advertise its new Ultra handset line and decided instead to let the engineers loose to build trebuchets that fire 2 millimeter wide pies at flying insects. While no bees / wasps were harmed in the filming of the "Millimetres Matter" spot -- they apparently enjoyed cleaning up the sticky mess -- we really have to wonder why (aside from "because they can") they started this campaign, as it is almost hard to watch. With all that aside, the photography and super slow-mo is top shelf stuff, so check the vid after the break.[Via makezine.com]
Bella Catapult enables camcorder-to-iPod recording
Camcorder accessory manufacturer Bella has just announced a new device that will let you toss those MiniDV cassettes straight out of your bag and replace them with your iPod or nearly any other USB 2.0-compliant storage system. The Catapult, as it's known, is a paperback-sized digital encoder that plugs into any standard or HD camcorder with a FireWire port and processes the video as you're recording, eliminating the need to convert your footage later on. Besides saving time and offering access to higher storage capacities, the Catapult also enables your cam with a number of features not available out of the box, such as time-lapse recording, remote trigger capabilities, and both pre- and post-recording ability. Pre-recording is an especially attractive option, as it seems to buffer whatever your CCD is capturing for a preset timeframe, allowing you to essentially "turn back the clock" and preserve events that already happened once you hit the record button. Bella tells us to expect their new product sometime during the second half of the year, for some amount of money less than $300.[Via T3]
