Top 10 Awe-inspiring Treehouse Designs
Posted on Dec 24th, 2008When it comes to building a dream home, there is nothing like a treetop dwelling. Tree-houses have come a long way from the simple wooden box your parents hanged for you in the garden. A number of designers and architects, deriving inspiration from nature, have come up with some of the most unique tree-house designs that are not just beautiful to look at but comfortable to live in. Equipped with the luxuries of modern residential apartments, these tree-houses are truly a place to reckon with. Have a look at some of the most beautiful and magnificent tree-house designs.
Study: EverQuest II population may be 40% female
Posted on Dec 23rd, 2008Shocking news: The half-naked human (elf, or cat-thing) female dancing for tips in the main city of your favorite MMORPG might actually be played by a real woman. The BBC reports on a study by researcher Scott Caplan at the University of Delaware, which examined gender differences in 2,400 EverQuest II players, and found that 40% of the gamers were female.
Although 40% does sound awfully high, it does help alter the stereotype of the genre which has a bunch of middle-aged men living in their parents’ basements.
Physics professor perfects "tunable eyeglasses" — no eye doctor required
Posted on Dec 23rd, 2008
We’ve seen small scale liquid lenses progress from concepts to commerical applications, and now Joshua Silver, a retired physics professor at Oxford University, has perfected what he calls “adaptive glasses,” applying similar tech in a singular and ingenious way. Aimed at helping developing nations where glasses are expensive and doctors are often in short supply, Silver’s spectacles are made of tough plastic with with silicon liquid in the lenses. When purchased, each lens will have a syringe attached to it, and the wearer will be able to adjust the amount of liquid in the lenses — which essentially changes the prescription — without the need for an optician. About 10,000 pairs have been distributed in Ghana on a trial basis, with plans to distribute one million pairs in India in the next year — the ultimate goal is 100 billion by 2020. And somewhere else in the world, a room full of opticians cry into their beer.
Android: Video of on-screen G1 keyboard surfaces
Posted on Dec 22nd, 2008When the T-Mobile G1, the first phone running Google’s Android mobile platform, was released two months ago, its greatest asset — the physical QWERTY keyboard — also wound up being the devices greatest deficit. Having a physical keyboard is great, especially for e-mail — but being forced to open up the device every time you want to navigate to a new web page or perform a quick web search is a PITA.
Speed camera prank
Posted on Dec 22nd, 2008Some high school students in Maryland have figured out a crafty method for extracting revenge. What they do is make a Photoshop’ed version of a Maryland license plate that is identical to their victim’s, print it on glossy paper and attach it to their own car. Then, taking advantage of the county’s automated speed cameras, they race through intersections and down roads at high speeds and let the cameras catch them. The ticket gets put in the mail a few days later and is addressed to the victim.
Yeah, it’s illegal (very illegal in fact) but wow, it’s also pretty clever. 
Read the full article at http://www.thesentinel.com/302730670790449.php.
