Archive for November, 2009

Googling Replaces Thinking…

Nov 6th

Posted by AbsoluteZero in Random Posts

This isn’t a very intense post but I had to throw up this link before I lost it. I’ve told myself for years….”You know, there are really a lot of stupid people in this world.”….but apparently that was an understatement. Looks like I’ll be amending my saying to “You know, there are only a few non-stupid people in this world.” If you’re wondering where this came from, just check out the article linked below.
Link

I feel conflicted about putting this in the “funny” section of the forum, because it really is quite sad :(

Comment on this post in our forums

,

I Wanna Go on the Fly-Fly

Nov 6th

Posted by AbsoluteZero in Computers & Technology

Scared of flying? Well, you may want to get over that as soon as you can unless you want to get pulled aside for suspected terrorism and be subjected to a thorough background check and possible cavity search. It appears as though researchers are attempting to develop a system that will detect the “fear pheromone” secreted by humans who are scared. (Link to article below)

I suppose I can see the applications, however, it seems that this might cause more trouble than it’s worth. For instance, I beleive you will get a lot more false positives than other systems. Even if they can cancel out the effects of odors or any other pheromones, it just seems implausible that a system such as this would work in the real world.

Here are some examples…

  • People afraid of flying (false positive)
  • People afraid of *insert anything you might be scared of in your lifetime* (false positive)
  • Terrorists who believe they are doing what needs to be done and are not scared because they believe they are going to a better place (not detected)
  • Terrorists who train to not be afraid (not detected)
  • People afraid of dogs or any other animal…”Excuse me, can you step aside because you just flinched at my drug dog.” (false positive)
  • People afraid of missing a flight (false positive)
  • People afraid of being pulled aside for suspected terrorism *due to profiling, etc* (false positive)
  • List goes on and on and on…

Is this really worth the headache? How would they be able to account for these factors?

Of course, if they are able to get this to be somewhat accurate (which I believe to be doubtful without some other major breakthrough), immagine the possibilies for this such as a lie detector based on pheromones. This really would have some major functionality in sociology or any other field of human study. No more frontin! You scared, you scared…

Link to article @ Slashdot

Comment on this post in our forums

, , ,

Racing Setups for the Xbox360

Nov 2nd

Posted by AbsoluteZero in Computers & Technology

There are several wheels out there (mostly for the PS3 and PC) but not so many for the 360 (why is MS not letting Logitech make the G27 not for the Xbox?). But there are a few from the cheap (Madcatz) to the mid-range (MS wheel, Logitech DriveFX) to the enthusiast inspired (Fanatec).

Fanatec makes the best looking wheel, shifter, and pedal setup for the 360 (also works on the PC and PS3 so might be worth some thought). It’s fairly expensive but for the serious racing game enthusiast can you really argue? The wheel looks terrific, the manual shifter (although probably not supported as of yet in any game) looks awesome, and the pedals (all metal) provide functionality that isn’t even supported yet in games (ABS feedback when braking). Also there is actually a clutch pedal for manual driving! You should really check this one out!
Link

Here are some of Fanatec’s other wheels…
Link

They also make a pretty good looking mount for the wheels and pedals (works with the MS wheel with an adapter)
Link
Link 2
I will probably get one of these stands, when I decide which wheel I want (I have no room for the cockpit).

Maybe we can get a review of Forza3 from some of the Pic-E-Bank members out there. I know at least 2 that have it… :)

Comment on this post in our forums

, , , , , ,
Newer Entries »