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National Inventors Hall of Fame honors creators of Unix, power drills and more
The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) joined Engadget on stage today at CES to announce its 2019 class of inductees. While the official induction ceremony won't actually happen until May 2nd at the National Building Museum in DC, we can tell you that 19 separate innovators representing 12 different inventions will be honored. The group ranges from relatively obscure creators of a programming language used by engineers and scientists, to house hold names like S. Duncan Black and Alonzo G. Decker -- or Black & Decker -- the inventors of the first portable handheld drill. The festivities will be hosted by Danica McKellar, best known as Winnie Cooper from the Wonder Years, but also an accomplished academic and mathematician.
EVE Online uses jump fatigue to discourage long-distance travel
Hold your horses, space buckaroo. Where do you think you're going so fast? EVE Online is preparing to deliberately slow down pilots with the introduction of jump fatigue in the upcoming Phoebe patch. Jump fatigue adds a timer following a jump that must be endured until the next jump is allowed. According to a dev blog (that includes an appendix!) on the subject, "This allows us to discourage people travelling longer distances using jump travel, while keeping penalties relatively light for tactical/occasional movement." Another dev blog tackles the changes to invention and manufacturing that are planned with the patch. One big change is the merge of invention with reverse engineering, which comes with an algabraic forumla because spaceships and laser battles are not exciting enough on their own.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: The crafts of heroes
I want to give major props to Cryptic Studios for Champions Online at launch because the studio did something that most superhero MMOs don't even try to do: Crafting was in the game at launch, and while you can say that it was absolutely terrible, it wins respect for existing no matter what else happened afterward. I didn't play around with the crafting at launch, but I can still respect that it was there. Of course, even if I had liked it, it clearly was disliked enough for the game to completely redo its crafting system later. And from what I saw, it was not well loved. But the crafting systems for DC Universe Online and City of Heroes are both not received with open arms either. Don't get me started on the half-hearted effort Marvel Heroes has for a crafting system, which makes The Secret World look downright deep. (Although that could be revamped for release.) So what's the deal here? Superhero MMOs are often ahead of the curve in a lot of areas, so why can't we get a superhero game with a proper crafting system?
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Digital Enhancements
Last week, I covered the raw basics of Enhancements in City of Heroes. This was a good place to start, but it also glossed over everything but the basics. It's telling that glossing over everything but the basics still involves stuff that's as bogglingly complicated as diversification, but then, there's a reason I decided to do these columns in the first place. But with all the basics out of the way, what more could there be to cover? Lots, as it happens, because last week didn't touch upon dual Enhancements or Inventions, both of which cover the same ground and take into account the specifics of Enhancement Diversification and so forth. So for those of you wondering why I didn't talk about IOs, those still trying to get a handle on the system, or those just morbidly curious about how the game works, it's time to start in with the enhancements that broke the entire system in half more or less the second they were introduced: Inventions.
Nokia wants your thoughts and ideas, willing to pay for 'em
After laying off nearly 1800 employees, Espoo is apparently interested in replacing its reduced workforce by inviting ambitious inventors to come up with great ideas instead. Called "Invent with Nokia," the program was created to give visionaries an outlet for their innovative thoughts and reward them financially if good enough to patent. You can submit any ideas related to phones, mobile software, user interfaces, device features / concepts, apps, or operating systems to the site, and Nokia will get in touch with you if it likes what you have to say; we suggest you brush up on your Windows Phone 7 knowledge, given recent happenings. This is a fantabulous opportunity for you bright guys and gals to show what you're made of, but we'd love to see the site publish every laughably bad idea just for kicks. Watch the full video (featuring Mr. Elop himself) past the break.
Maker Faire 2011, in pictures: Arduinos, Androids, and angry robots (video)
The rapture has come and gone, but the Maker Faire powers on. Despite warnings of a May 21st doomsday, folks came out in droves for the annual celebration of all things DIY, and we were there to bring you the best in homespun inventions. This year's Maker Faire was light on robots and big on corporate sponsorship. Among the giants supporting the little guys were Google, ASUS, and HP, but El Goog's presence extended beyond its dedicated tents. The new Android ADK was big with at-home tinkerers this year, spawning a number of little robots and at least one DIY alternative. Perhaps no other trend proved more pervasive than 3D printing, however -- every time we turned around there was another MakerBot or RapMan pumping out everything from statuettes of attendees to cutesy salt shakers. There were robotic building blocks, a Heineken-themed R2-D2, DIY drones, custom keyboards, and a ton of repurposed gadgets, but it was an arena of destructo-bots, tucked away in the farthest corner of the San Mateo County Event Center, that really blew us away. We came away sunburned and bedraggled, but lucky for you, we did all the dirty work so you don't have to. To see what made this year's Maker Faire, hop on past the break for a video of our favorite DIY finds. %Gallery-124165% Myriam Joire contributed to this report.
Time ranks Virtual Boy, Farmville among top 50 worst inventions
We rarely, if ever, write rebuttals to stories posted on the esteemed, list-friendly publication known as Time, but we've got more than a few bones to pick with its recently posted "50 Worst Inventions" list. Around every turn, the list seems to get it wrong. For instance: FarmVille? There are 70 million people who'd disagree with that one. And Virtual Boy? The world's first fully-3D game console/amateur LASIK surgery machine? That's about as progressive and brilliant as inventions get. Check out the full list of so-called failed products on Time's site, and see if you share our feelings. Like, auto-tuning, guys? Really? One of the worst inventions ever? And Olestra? The ultimate nutritional cooking supplement? Did they read this list before they published it? [Via Kotaku]
Time picks Natal as one of 2009's best inventions
Sitting on Time Magazine's 50 Best Inventions of 2009 amongst notables like the world's first AIDS vaccine (still in trials) and meat farms seems like an awkward place for Microsoft's Project Natal. But that's exactly where it resides, paired with glowing praise for its boundary-breaking implications. "Since time immemorial ... one barrier that has stood between gamers and total Tron-like immersion in their video games has been the controller," the piece posits, going on to say that Natal will break that barrier by allowing the player one-to-one access between the game and the game's controls. "You move your hand, and the Master Chief (or whoever) moves his hand. It's that simple. And that cool." Though we're excited for the many prospects Project Natal seems to offer, we're a bit more intrigued by teleportation. And yes, that's seriously on the list.
Spore honored in Time's 50 Best Inventions of 2008
Despite receiving a few complaints from critics concerning gameplay shortcomings, Will Wright's latest brain child, Spore, was recently chosen as one of Time Magazine's 50 Best Inventions of 2008. Finishing in 20th place, and credited as "The Everything Game", Time remarked on the ambitious nature of the title, labeling it as "blasphemy, brilliance or both."Other "inventions" listed include "The Direct-to-Web Supervillain Musical", Hulu.com, and 23andMe's home DNA test, which garnered top honors. The Large Hadron Collider, the "world's most expensive science experiment", made an unremarkable 5th place finish -- Time cited the machine's failure to follow through on its promise to destroy humanity as the reason for its disappointing placement on the list.[Via Big Download]
Pocket Guide to Inventions in CoX
Just like Amanda, I have recently returned to CoH/CoV from a long hiatus and I find there is a lot of new and wonderful stuff happening in Paragon City and the Rogue Isles. I'm particularly excited about the Invention system and was happy to see that there is an in-game tutorial for learning about crafting.In order to complete the Invention Tutorial, you need to attend a University. Heroes go to the University in Steel Canyon while Villains attend the one in Cap Au Diablo. You get a badge, experience, Influence/Infamy and a nice Invention Enhancement for completing the tutorial, so it is well worth it.The info in the Invention Tutorial is invaluable, but a bit tedious to read through. So I've put together the basics of Inventions in this handy pocket guide. All of the tutorial info is included here, so if you just breezed through it to get the goodies, you won't have missed out on the essentials.What you need to create an Invention: Some Salvage (appropriate for the item you are creating) A Recipe A Workbench Influence or Infamy Enough room in your inventory (if not a Costume Piece)
Massage Me turns (legitimate) massages into gameplay
A couple of gifted graduate students have found a great use for all the excess energy and digital dexterity required in playing video games: massages.By mapping game controllers onto soft wearable fabrics, Hannah Perner-Wilson and Mika Satomi invented Massage Me, a special device that allows gamers to give fantastic (legitimate) massages while playing their favorite video games. The website gives detailed instructions on how to build your own devices, but for those more curious than intrepid, the site also features photos and video of the product in action.See Massage Me in action after the break.[Via Next-Gen]
Today's just thought of game video: City of Heroes inventions
Today's video pick shows the new inventions system in City of Heroes. This overview explains how players can create superpowers that are new to the game, as part of the recent update. Are you still playing City of Heroes or City of Villains? What do you think of the new system?See the video after the break.
Inventors claim to turn 300 microwaves into megawatt energy weapon
If you happen to have say, 300 microwaves kicking around between you and your friends, it turns out that you'd have a large part of the ingredients necessary for a pretty substantial weapon. That is, according to two New Mexican inventors, who recently filed a patent for a "high-power microwave system employing a phase-locked array of inexpensive commercial magnetrons." Translated into English that basically means that these guys claim you can combine the magnetrons (the bits that generate the actual microwave that cooks your popcorn) from a bunch of consumer-grade microwaves and tweak 'em a bit to develop a megawatt-level death ray, or in military/legal parlance, a "directed energy weapon system." Yeah, we've seen energy weapons (or tools, if you prefer) before, but this is probably one of the first times that we've seen ordinary kitchen technology more complicated than a knife turn into a seriously lethal weapon. [Via New Scientist]
