Hyrulian Biology 101: Magna Arbor Vitae Deku [Pics]

Oh, be still my geeky heart. His Judeness–aka The Jude, El Juderino and Jude Buffum–drew Magna Arbor Vita Deku, this “sprawling exploration of the evolutionary biology of the 200 most important species from the Legend of Zelda video game series” for the SUPER iam8bit art show. The Deku Tree of Life even lists the binomial nomenclature of each creature(!) and Jude explains that “[f]orks in the branches indicate an extinct common ancestor of the species that follow.”

As a biology geek and early fan of all things LoZ, I couldn’t think of a more awesome contribution. Jude will be selling a very limited run of fifteen prints at the show, but says prints will be available through his site later.

You can see a much larger image of Magna Arbor Vitae Deku.

[His Judeness via technabob]



Super-Black Planet Absorbs 99% of Light

Artist's rendering of TrES-2b, David A. Aguilar (CfA)

Add TrES-2b to the list of strange exoplanets discovered in recent years. The newly discovered supergiant gas giant is so black only 1% of light it receives is reflected. That’s darker than coal or black paint or closing your eyes and covering them with your hand. It’s blacker than anything found on Earth, even the carbon nanotube construction hailed as the darkest substance ever created. Despite its near-total blackness, the planet emits a faint red glow.

The Jupiter-sized globe is about 750 light-years away and orbits its star at just 3 million miles out–31 times closer than Earth orbits the Sun. This proximity is responsible for the darkness and dim redness of TrES-2b in that it creates surface temperatures of more than 1,800 degrees, while also keeping the planet too hot to form ammonia clouds that would reflect  incoming radiation. The atmosphere comprises vaporized sodium, potassium, and titanium oxide, which trap heat to the planet’s surface.

Even with the weirdness of its atmosphere and the super-close orbit, the planet’s lack of reflection can’t be fully explained yet. There’s something strange afoot on TrES-2b. Astronomers just have to figure out what, exactly.

[PopSci]

Building blocks come into the 21st century


Sometimes the free market produces products that fill a genuine need at a sensible price. But sometimes it produces stuff that’s just plain neat.

Today marks the sales launch of Sifteo Cubes, which were first unveiled back at January’s CES show. They are simply 1.5 inch cubes with an electronic display, wi-fi connection and three-dimensional motion-sensors.

So what can they do? Well, that seems limited only by the imagination of game designers. Some of them are simple: one randomly produces letters which you have to rearrange into words. Another takes the gameplay of card game Rummy and turns into a dining themed game, Smorgasbord. Blok 9 is a strategy board game (without the board.) And No Evil Monkeys is a 3D version of the old slide-the-tiles puzzle. Those who’ve played the games report that they are surprisingly compelling.

There are some major catches however. The cubes only work when your computer is switched on, and the audio from the games comes from the computer, so you need to be within earshot to play. Battery life is limited to three hours, so parents hoping to use the toys as a babysitter might be disappointed.

And then there’s the price: $149 for a starter pack with three cubes and $49 for each additional cube. All games should work with three cubes, with the additional ones bringing extra depth and complexity. All cubes are compatible, so friends can bring their own cubes to play, and games support up to six cubes.

Aside from two that are bundled with the cubes, games have to be bought individually, with pricing not yet made public. That’s likely to be a big limitation as I can’t see many people splashing out on the devices until they can be sure there’ll be plenty of games at a decent price.

However, the starter pack does include a Sifteo Creativity Kit that allows users to create and share their own games without needing to learn any code, which should make them much more appealing to parents looking for an “educational” toy for kids.



The Most Expensive Laptop Stand Ever [Picture]

Fully customizable; pieces sold separately. (Not currently available in white.)

[cubiclebot]

Want? Giant iPhone 4 Table [Video]

File this under Cool But Completely Unnecessary: The iTableous is a computer and display built into a table-sized reproduction of the elusive iPhone 4. It’s not touch-sensitive, so you can play solitaire or eat Cheetos right on top while controlling it with a keyboard and mouse. Because that’s awesome(?)!

[Engadget via DVICE]

Awesome Stop-Motion Portal 2 Music Video Has a Sad

Poor Lab Rat. That guy’s had a really hard life, y’know? YouTuber  (Hae-Joon Lee) created this video using Stop-Motion Animation and After Effects (and a little sartorial donation from his mom, who made the costume for his puppet), and if you know Portal and can watch this without feeling the sting of exploding lemons in your eyes (because those aren’t tears, no sir), well, you’re a little more GLADoS than human.

[nerdbastards]

Google+ Games Are a Go

One of the most distinct differences between Facebook and Google+ thus far has been the absence of in-platform games. On Facebook, those who don’t play Farmville and the like can be bombarded with invites and requests faster than they can click Block. For this reason, Google Senior Vice President Vic Gundotra’s announcement that games for Google+ will roll out today had a few people groaning in dismay. But, never fear, Geeks: G+ is handling the games content with the same “it’s there if you want it, not if you don’t” attitude that applies to all G+ interactions by giving Games its own tab.

The new Games tab houses featured games as well as updates from game-playing people in your circles. Separating the gaming updates from your standard-issue “look at my lunch/cat/animated gif” content will definitely be the thing that keeps G+ users happy with the platform, while those who couldn’t bear to part with their Flash gambling fix will find something new to like about Google’s burgeoning media empire.

Good news for developers, too:

If you’re a developer of games, you can head over to Google’s already created [Google+ Developers Submission Form] You’ll also be able to follow along with developer news at googleplusplatform.blogspot.com. The full gaming platform will be gradually rolled out to users starting today.

[SlashGear]