A new chess program takes up just 487 bytes. It appears to beat a record set on the ZX81 more than three decades ago. BootChess can run on Windows, OS X or Linux systems. It’s a text only game, using a grid with letters to denote pieces and periods to denote empty squares. It appears […]
Danish officials have refused a request by a 26-year-old toyshop owner to change his name to Super Hero. He’s a victim of a national law that restricts the legal names that can be given to babies or adopted by adults. Denmark has a “Law on Personal Names” which officials say is needed to protect children […]
The latest idea for making slimmer and/or more powerful batteries uses Kevlar, the material from bullet-proof vests. University of Michigan researchers believe Kevlar could reduce the likelihood of batteries shorting out, something that not only makes them useless but risks a fire or explosion. They point to such problems grounding all Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes […]
To say Emma Watson is a goddess among geekdom is an understatement. She grew from a child in the Harry Potter series to a lovely, poised, graceful woman. Good news for fans of the talented actress, as she recent took to her Twitter and announced she will be playing the role of Belle in the […]
A drug-smuggling drone has crashed near the US/Mexican border. It appears these smugglers were over-ambitious, but some of their counterparts may be more successful. The drone crashed into a Tijuana supermarket parking lot where it was reported to police. An NBC freelance reporter says the drone, which flew thanks to six propellors powered by a […]
Holy crap, the X-Files is getting a reboot. Though they have been in talks for years about bringing this exciting show to the masses once again, up until now it had only been speculation. As of yesterday, speculation crossed over into fact (like an actual X-Files episode). From Vanity Fair: Over the weekend, Fox confirmed […]
Google has reportedly made a deal to offer a cellphone service that uses both the Sprint and T-Mobile networks. It would combine this with use of currently unused frequencies to offer high-speed data in cities. A report by The Information says the project is codenamed Nova and describes a 2015 launch as likely. It would follow […]
Dozens of law enforcement agencies are using radar that can detect humans moving in their homes, without the need to gain entry according to a USA Today report that has reawakened the debate about the crossover of technology and the law. The newspaper says at least 50 agencies, including the FBI and US Marshals Service, […]
Once again a list of the most used passwords has revealed some obvious choices. And once again, that tells us nothing about the state of security. As happens every year, SplashData (which by amazing coincidence is a password manager service provider) has published a list of the most common passwords, based on databases that have […]
The European Space Agency plans to sync two satellites to create a single, virtual telescope. If it works, it could mean hugely increased telescopic power. The ESA Proba-3 project, scheduled for launch in 2018, is designed to not only carry out a practical task (studying our Sun in greater detail) but to test a principle: […]