[Geeks Are Sexy] Technology News

Scientists: USA #1! Public: Meh.

Almost half of America’s scientists think they are the best in the world – but the public disagrees. That’s the most striking finding of a new survey which shows the perceived importance of US achievements in the field has slumped in the past decade.

A study by the Pew Research Center for the American Association for the Advancement of Science found that 49% of more than 2,500 US scientists questioned said the country’s scientific achievements were the best in the world, a view backed by just 17% of non-scientists who took part in the survey.

The country’s achievements in science, medicine and technology have also lost some perceived importance. In a similar survey in 1999, 47% of people ranked successes in the field as the nation’s “greatest achievement”. Today that figure is just 27%: still the highest ranked category, but losing ground to “civil rights/equal rights”.

That’s not to say the public has turned its back on science: 60 per cent said government funding was essential for research, while just 29% thought purely private financing was sufficient.

Scientists ranked a lack of funding as the biggest obstacle to research, with 87% describing it as a very serious or serious problem, while around two-thirds said visa issues for foreign scientists wanting to research in the US was a serious problem. However, most of those questioned rejected regulatory issues such as those on animal testing as being a serious problem.

There’s still a big disparity between the views of scientists and the public on key issues: while 87% of scientists believe in the general principle of evolution, just 32% of the public share this belief. And while 84% of scientists believe the earth is getting warmer because of human activity, 49% of the public agree.

Surprisingly, attitudes to scientific issues don’t have a major affect on how people assess the importance of science. 78% of evolution believers say scientists contribute a lot to society’s well-being, compared with 64% of creationists. Even among those who said science conflicts with their religious beliefs, 67% still said scientists contribute a lot.

Prey Alone

Prey Alone is a 2005 action-packed short film featuring agent Cain, a man on the hunt for an elusive killer. His only clues to find him: an uncooperative witness and the words P.R.E.Y. A.L.O.N.E.

Portable VLC 1.0

Most of you have heard that VLC, the open-source media-playing software is now officially out of beta. Even better, they have released a portable version of the software, which means you can keep VLC on your USB drive and use it on other people’s machines.

Have you tried watching a video on a friend’s computer only find out that they don’t have the proper codecs to play the file?  Putting VLC on a USB thumb-drive prevents that problem.

All you have to do is download the file and install it to your USB drive  When you’re prompted for the installation directory, make sure it is actually on the USB drive – everything you need will be put in that directory, so it is completely registry independent.

If you’re unfamiliar with VLC, it’s a multimedia player famous for being able to play most audio and video formats.  For example, it’s one of the ways to play DVDs in Windows without having to buy a seperate program, it plays H.264 MP4 files, Matroska videos, and various streaming protocols.  In short: It plays almost anything, including HD video.

For advanced users, it can also be used as a streaming server or a transcoder (re-recording video files from one type to another.)

Do you have something specific you use VLC for?  Or do you have another favorite media player?  Please leave some comments!

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Karl L. Gechlik spends all of his free time helping technically challenged individuals on his blog www.askTheAdmin.com.

Office 2010: The Movie

Yeah, that Office 2010, as in Microsoft Office 2010. Enjoy!

[Via TechEblog]

Sony defies Activision ultimatum over PS3 price cut

Sony says it has no plans to cut the cost of the PS3, despite threats by one major games producer to boycott the console until it becomes cheaper.

Last month, Bobby Kotick of Activision (the firm behind Call of Duty and Guitar Hero) said the high price of the console meant those who do buy it tend to buy fewer games than with other machines. He said it was much more profitable to make games for the Xbox 360 and Wii, and that when considering development plans for 2010 and 2011, “If we are being realistic, we might have to stop supporting Sony.”

That’s a pretty powerful threat as Activision claims to have paid Sony $500 million in royalties for 2008. That’s a serious chunk of Sony’s income considering the firm’s games division is reported to have lost $597 million last year.

Howard Stringer (pictured), the chief executive of Sony, told Reuters the threats would not work. “He likes to make a lot of noise,” Stringer said, when asked about the comments. “He’s putting pressure on me and I’m putting pressure on him. That’s the nature of business”

While most analysts agree that the PS3 is too expensive compared with rival consoles and needs a price cut to boost sales, the biggest problem may well be Sony stockholders. None of the three major manufacturers are making any serious profits on the consoles themselves: Sony may be making a small loss, and it would have to take a serious loss per unit to come anywhere close to matching the price of the rival consoles.

However, while people who follow the games industry can see the logic that selling cheap consoles may be worth the loss because it increases the audience for games (and thus the royalties), stockholders looking at an already loss-making division might not see it that way.

Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 Trailer #2

28 years ago, aliens made first contact with Earth. Humans waited for the hostile attack, or the giant advances in technology. Neither came. Instead, the aliens were refugees, the last survivors of their home world.

The creatures were set up in a makeshift home in South Africas as the worlds nations argued over what to do with them. Now, patience over the alien situation has run out. Control over the aliens has been contracted out to Multi-National United (MNU), a private company uninterested in the aliens welfare, but only in their high-tech weaponry, which requires alien DNA in order to work.

The tension between the aliens and the humans comes to a head when an MNU field operative, Wikus van der Merwe, contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA. Wikus quickly becomes the most hunted man in the world, as well as the most valuable: He is the key to unlocking the secrets of alien technology. Ostracized and friendless, there is only one place left for him to hide: District 9.

What is Inside a Black Hole?

Take a ride inside the Black Hole Flight Simulator, courtesy of Professor Andrew Hamilton.

Pandora celebrates as online radio escapes royalty devastation

Online music site Pandora has been saved from closure after the music and internet industries finally reached a deal over royalty rates. It’s a major boost for the online radio industry, though there’s still a significant disparity between online and over-the-air radio.

Online radio in the US is governed by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and operates under legally mandated royalty rates. In early 2007, the panel of judges which sets these rates decided on a steep rise which would take royalties from 0.08 cents to 0.19 cents per song starting next year.

These seemingly tiny sums mount up: in Pandora’s case, it would have taken the proportion of its revenue which it had to spend on royalties from just under 30% to around 70%, making the business financially unviable.

After a lengthy debate, which included Pandora and other online stations successfully lobbying Congress for extra time to iron out a deal, the record industry has agreed to a plan. As might be expected from such intense negotiations, it’s a far from simple compromise.

The key points are that online streaming services earning more than $1.25 million a year will either pay royalties of 0.093 cents per song (rising gradually to 0.14 cents in 2014), or a flat rate of 25% of revenue, whichever is the higher figure. Smaller firms won’t pay per-song revenues and will usually pay a smaller percentage of royalties, though some firms may pay based on their overall costs.

The deal only applies to sites which solely deal in streaming music and don’t sell other goods or services. In theory, internet firms don’t have to sign up to the deal and are open to attempt separate negotiations. However, assuming the deal gets Congressional approval (which appears likely), any firm has an automatic right to sign up for the new rates and can then operate without fear of the music industry pursuing them for extra cash.

As Pandora will likely wind up having to pay the per-song royalties, it’s introducing user fees for the first time. Users will still be allowed free accounts, but these will be limited to 40 hours per month. Those who want to exceed this limit – which around 10 per cent of users currently do – will have to pay a 99c fee each month.

Despite the deal likely saving his business, Pandora owner Tim Westergren remains disgruntled that internet radio stations must pay royalties while over-the-air stations don’t pay any fees to music companies. He’s still lobbying for a system by which all types of radio pay the same royalties.

DubFX: The Amazing Music of Ben Stanford

The following artist will blow your mind away.

Going by the name of DubFX, Australian artist Ben Stanford uses only his voice and a piece of mixing equipment called a loop station. While performing, Ben starts by singing each part of his song and recording it in the loop station. He then sings over that beat, making adjustments to the device along the way. As you’ll soon hear, the result is absolutely amazing.

Love Someone

‘Flow’ feat. Woodnote

Step on my Trip

DubFX’s albums are for sale on his website. They are priced at around $20 USD, worldwide shipping included.

Wednesday Geeky Pics: Fun With Binary

You know what they say… there are only 10 kinds of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don’t. The following pictures represent the kind that do understand, and definitely appreciate the joy of 1’s and 0’s.

Binary Egg – rakka (CC)

Read the rest of this entry »

iSaw: The USB-Powered Chainsaw

The USB 2.0 powered iSaw: Because zombies could be coming at you from anywhere, even while you’re calmly sitting in front of your computer, minding your own business.

Never before has a chainsaw been made available in such a compact and mobile form. Measuring no larger than the size of a regular computer keyboard, every effort has been made to ensure that proper grip – and safety – is not compromised.

Instant plug ‘n’ play. Zero startup time. Patent-pending technology allows for an unparalleled distribution of power. A first in its class. Works on PC, Mac and most USB-enabled devices.

[Product Page | Via Neatorama]

Gamer Home

By Miss Cellania
Contributing Writer, [GAS]

This may look like a game controller and a bottle of Mountain Dew at first glance. In reality, this is a bar of soap and a bottle of shampoo. I know about these things because I keep a running list of home decorating items that you can’t get at the local Wal*Mart. It’s part of my job at mental_floss.

My feature posts there don’t have to fall into any particular category, but they often focus on pets, history, or home decor. By now I’ve done several articles on “geek decor”. It all started when I posted a collection of Video Game Quilts. I am a quilter myself, and can appreciate how patchwork and 8-bit pixel images can work together. Researching that one eventually led to The Retro Fun and Games House where I posted gamer home decor items besides quilts. But over time I collected even more, so this morning brought 11 Housewarming Gifts for the Dedicated Gamer. The first comment said that “a life” would be a better gift. I say, who cares? Your home is your castle, even when it’s an arcade.