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Cryptic live up to their name, I searched their site in vain for this:

Cryptic has announced that they will release a Windows version of STO, and a possible console version also. During the August 10 Las Vegas conference, Cryptic announced that there would be neither Linux nor Mac versions for the original launch, though they did not rule out the possibility of later port releases.

They were just trying not to infuriate the Fek'lhr worshiping Linux fans, but the truth is that they will never release a Linux or Mac version of STO. After watching the trailers and finding out that there would be no Linux or Mac versions, Captain Picard decided to share his feelings about STO.

That must be how the Crystalline Entity came into being.

The Borg Queen only dubs people as "Drone". She can also use a proxy to do so, as seen here.

Here's Sir Patrick Stewart being "Droned"

The Borg Queen only dubs people as "Drone". She can also use a proxy to do so, as seen here.

Here's Sir Patrick Stewart being "Droned"

That sounds more potent than this version

Romulan Ale is alcoholic, not sythoholic and a cocktail recipes are available at that link to those with no sense of self-preservation.

Let's read between the lines here...

From TFA:

Professor Nutt believes that the new drug, which would need licensing, could have a dramatic effect on society and improve the nation's health

In this one sentence we see: (a), an appeal to the neo-prohibitionist/nanny-stater lobby to spin this story into a positive, and (b), because you can't make this stuff at home, a pharmaceutical company is going to get a cut. Alcohol's easy to make - take some yeast and just about any form of sugar (or starch that can be converted via enzymatic action into sugar) - and you've got yourself the foundations of beer, wine, and distilled spirits. Synthetic valium, not so much.

Net effect here is that we all wind up hooked on benzos as depressants, rather than alcohol. Hey, that's fine if valium's his depressant of choice, but it's not one of mine. What's next, a move to replace the caffeine in coffee (my stimulant of choice :) with slightly-modified speed?

From the TFsummary:

It is not that I really want a drink of Synthehol, but with its release I assume Romulan Ale won't be far behind.

As cool as it sounds, that's not a feature, that's a bug.

Allow me to nerd out for a bit: When Synthehol was invented, Romulan Ale (which presumably contained real alcohol) became illegal.

And if you go back and re-read TFA, you'll see that's pretty much where this is goin. This guy's not interested in an alternative to alcohol, he's looking for a substitute for alcohol. Even if he is working in good faith, his efforts will be used to help the neo-prohibitionists. And I can't get down with that. Because I like real ale, Romulan or not. (Homebrewing is like turning half the basement into a mad scientist's chemistry lab for a day, and it's all the more fun because you get to consume the product of your experiment when it's done!)

Around this time of year, I usually say "A drink? No thanks, I'm driving." But on this one, I'm gonna have to say "Benzos? No thanks, I'm drinking."

Let's read between the lines here...

From TFA:

Professor Nutt believes that the new drug, which would need licensing, could have a dramatic effect on society and improve the nation's health

In this one sentence we see: (a), an appeal to the neo-prohibitionist/nanny-stater lobby to spin this story into a positive, and (b), because you can't make this stuff at home, a pharmaceutical company is going to get a cut. Alcohol's easy to make - take some yeast and just about any form of sugar (or starch that can be converted via enzymatic action into sugar) - and you've got yourself the foundations of beer, wine, and distilled spirits. Synthetic valium, not so much.

Net effect here is that we all wind up hooked on benzos as depressants, rather than alcohol. Hey, that's fine if valium's his depressant of choice, but it's not one of mine. What's next, a move to replace the caffeine in coffee (my stimulant of choice :) with slightly-modified speed?

From the TFsummary:

It is not that I really want a drink of Synthehol, but with its release I assume Romulan Ale won't be far behind.

As cool as it sounds, that's not a feature, that's a bug.

Allow me to nerd out for a bit: When Synthehol was invented, Romulan Ale (which presumably contained real alcohol) became illegal.

And if you go back and re-read TFA, you'll see that's pretty much where this is goin. This guy's not interested in an alternative to alcohol, he's looking for a substitute for alcohol. Even if he is working in good faith, his efforts will be used to help the neo-prohibitionists. And I can't get down with that. Because I like real ale, Romulan or not. (Homebrewing is like turning half the basement into a mad scientist's chemistry lab for a day, and it's all the more fun because you get to consume the product of your experiment when it's done!)

Around this time of year, I usually say "A drink? No thanks, I'm driving." But on this one, I'm gonna have to say "Benzos? No thanks, I'm drinking."

Rules of Acquisition #104: Faith moves mountains... of inventory. source

Neat! It's a PADD! That, or a PADD crossed with a Tricorder.

Neat! It's a PADD! That, or a PADD crossed with a Tricorder.

Funny, I could have sworn that's what the Star Fleet Technical manual said. Mind you, it's been close to thirty years since I read it. Perhaps my memory is starting to... You know... that thing where it doesn't work like before. Anyways, although the Farragut is huge in the fanfic realm, it was also mentioned in the Original Series. Kirk served aboard the Farragut when it was attacked by the cloud creature that sucked the red blood cells from the body.

Well if you are gonna use ranks like "High Daemon" I have the rules you can start your spam religion with. And in accordance with rule 33 I think you are VERY brilliant to come up with the idea, and I will be glad to help you assemble the rules into a really nice book, all for a low 3% of the gross. Remember, Knowledge is profit!

Gia Dvali, a quantum gravity expert at CERN, remains cautious. A few years ago he tried a similar trick, breaking apart space and time in an attempt to explain dark energy. But he abandoned his model because it allowed information to be communicated faster than the speed of light.

I choose to believe that this new model will be the basis of the Subspace Communicator from Star Trek. Such is my approach to science. Don't judge me.

Contagion

Little known factoid: Every starship dedication plaque has, on the back, an engraved legend: "Never forget that this vessel was made by the lowest bidder."

Making the leap from telephone to communicator is hardly ESP, and a cel phone won't work from orbit.

Star Trek phasers are particle beam emitters, very different from lasers.

The hyperdrive you refer to was actually conceived before Star Trek: "Burkhard Heim began to explore the hyperdrive propulsion concept in the 1950s" Heim also coined the term "sub-space" which is used widely throughout Star Trek, so clearly Roddenberry was aware of the subject matter, like any proficient nerd of that era.

And let's not overlook all the technologies predicted in Star Trek that won't enter reality, or the episode where Picard talks about the still-unproven Fermat's Last Theorem.

Or better yet we could shut up and get on with our lives... nah!

... they've graduated to solar power, harvesting dark matter energy, bio-reactors, zero energy, fusion, nuclear, microwave beams from orbit, helium 3, and even dilithium crystals, long before the real world.

Steam? Next, you'll be wanting a tricorder interface from stone knives and bearskins!

And yes, you could spend a lifetime just on sci-stories about time travel. Science ain't there yet.

Just put some shock-absorbant insulation in between. And use several layers of mirrors, like super-insulation.

You have to design it to be a kind of ablative armor that creates enough "smoke" to disperse the incoming phaser beam. Ablative generator-deployed armor technology helps a lot here.

That's why I'm investing in gold pressed latinum

There have been a few mistakes made, but nothing terribly important. The ones I know of can possibly be attributed to character confusion. For example, there was that TNG episode where they find Scotty trapped in a transporter buffer after an accident. When they free him he believes that Kirk has brought the Enterprise to come rescue him. However, Scotty had already witnessed what was believed to be Kirk's death in Star Trek: Generations, so Scotty should believe Kirk to be dead at that time.

But nowhere near as inconsistent as the bible, with its multiple, incompatible creation myths. :-)

...science runs in Zefram's family!

Apparently you've never heard of Hodgkin's Law of Parallel Planetary Development.

As long as there isn't an Emotion Chip implanted in each of the virtual civilians, I think we're ok on this one.

But seriously, this is probably just Activision's way of showing you what will happen to you if you don't stay home and play Call of Duty.

Seek out the instructional video summarized here. It should provide you with insight and wisdom.
Also... the Hero of the story? He actually hangs around these parts.
Well... the guy who played him. I hear he is much cooler IRL.

Please. Every touchscreen phone has capability for books. The difference here is that for reading you need something bigger. By the time any company "perfects" the tablet, nobody will care.

Yes we are very close with touchscreen phones which is why I see these devices relegated to a small niche soon-ish: dedicated text readers. The rest of us will use the perfected tablet (which I always image as a PADD) : large touch screen, wireless connectivity, full computer functionality (video replay, games, etc.)

Also here you have android, so you can probably run the B&N software on your android phone (very likely). Also means you can probably run android apps and run android features, especially over wifi.

It's limited by the E-ink screen. Low refresh rates mean applications would have to be more static or would feel clunky at best and would have to adapted to display on a greyscale screen. Basically it would look like an original macintosh. Modern applications like video and gaming are out of the question, unless you'd like something retro like Game & Watch. Again it's a device which will soon find itself pushed into a niche by more versatile products.

A Warp Core? Do you mean a matter antimatter reactor? Warp cores are fictional devices from the star trek universe [...]

That is known to everyone here:

Warp core is the common designation for the main energy reactor powering the propulsion system on warp-capable starships. (link

Furthermore there are other barriers to populating the solar system, such as that none of the other planets are habitable, and they are unlikely to be able to be made habitable except within domes, underground tunnels and the like.

With enough energy you can make them habitable, even using today's technology. We can't drop TBMs on Mars or Moon primarily because we have no power for them. Otherwise we'd have built a Gateway satellite not waiting for Heechee to do the work for us.

You're *ALL* Wrong - it's GARY MITCHELL!!!!

We already KNEW about this, it is called the Great Galactic Barrier
http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Galactic_barrier
It's just the little one for each solar system, and these guys get federal grant money!

An Outer Limits or Twilight Zone might ask, "what if we were the aliens?" and play out the consequences, or "What if all disease were cured?".

Done and done.

I know that wasn't your point, and technobabble episodes bit early and hard. But sometimes Star Trek really does act as a vehicle for alegory. And sometimes they beat the Twilight Zone at their own game. (And sometimes they don't.)

An Outer Limits or Twilight Zone might ask, "what if we were the aliens?" and play out the consequences, or "What if all disease were cured?".

Done and done.

I know that wasn't your point, and technobabble episodes bit early and hard. But sometimes Star Trek really does act as a vehicle for alegory. And sometimes they beat the Twilight Zone at their own game. (And sometimes they don't.)

An Outer Limits or Twilight Zone might ask, "what if we were the aliens?" and play out the consequences, or "What if all disease were cured?".

Done and done.

I know that wasn't your point, and technobabble episodes bit early and hard. But sometimes Star Trek really does act as a vehicle for alegory. And sometimes they beat the Twilight Zone at their own game. (And sometimes they don't.)

An Outer Limits or Twilight Zone might ask, "what if we were the aliens?" and play out the consequences, or "What if all disease were cured?".

Done and done.

I know that wasn't your point, and technobabble episodes bit early and hard. But sometimes Star Trek really does act as a vehicle for alegory. And sometimes they beat the Twilight Zone at their own game. (And sometimes they don't.)

An Outer Limits or Twilight Zone might ask, "what if we were the aliens?" and play out the consequences, or "What if all disease were cured?".

Done and done.

I know that wasn't your point, and technobabble episodes bit early and hard. But sometimes Star Trek really does act as a vehicle for alegory. And sometimes they beat the Twilight Zone at their own game. (And sometimes they don't.)

An Outer Limits or Twilight Zone might ask, "what if we were the aliens?" and play out the consequences, or "What if all disease were cured?".

Done and done.

I know that wasn't your point, and technobabble episodes bit early and hard. But sometimes Star Trek really does act as a vehicle for alegory. And sometimes they beat the Twilight Zone at their own game. (And sometimes they don't.)

Quark's Bar would like a word with you.

April 5th 2063 Duh!

Oh and by the way photon torpedoes are warp-driven vessels filled with antimatter - they don't pass through the ship when they impact, even though they are traveling at warp speed.

Incorrect. They are warp-capable not warp driven.

"The propulsion system of the torpedoes is a warp sustainer engine. The engine coils of the torpedo grab and hold a hand-off field from the launcher tube's sequential field induction coils. A miniature matter/antimatter fuel cell adds power to the hand-off field. When launched in warp flight, torpedo will continue to travel at warp, when launched at sublight, torpedo will travel at a high sublight speed, but will not cross the warp threshold."

http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Photon_torpedo

So, when fighting in sub-space the torpedo will remain in sub-space and hit its target. When fighting in normal space it will remain in normal space and hit its target. It will not cross the threshold either way which would make it unable to hit its target.

Sigh, I am such a geek.

Original Series, episode 53. When Kirk and the gang try to sever M5's power in order to regain control of the ship, M5 sets up a power beam to draw energy directly from the matter/anti-matter reactors.

Now, where are my six hundred quatloos?

You mean this Voyager episode? I don't remember a TNG episode with a race that refused to admit they were descended from dinosaurs.

Actually, it's the 147th episode:
Suspicions

Metaphasic is about radiation. Metaphysic is about quartz crystals with divine powers. Keep 'em straight, or turn in your geek card.

It was an iron filing, you insensitive clod.

As well-informed geeks, I'd like to think we're all well aware of the unexpected population growth side-effects of high-yield hybrid grains.

NASA scientists develop the functional equivalent to Star Trek Inertial Dampeners. Slashdot's reaction -- upskirt jokes!? Where did all the Trekkers go!? What about any Sci-fi fans who understand the 2nd and 3rd order implications of stuff like this? This is actually pretty amazing! How about being able to launch manned spacecraft into orbit at really high accelerations? Could we get enough acceleration out of this thing to compensate for the g forces of firing a capsule out of a cannon? That would enable *really* cheap spaceflight. (Though perhaps only Elbonians would like to travel that way.)

Or maybe it's a vulcan survey craft.

Well, this is all linked to economy...

• Supersonic flight costs a lot more than subsonic
• Flights to the moon cost a lot of money and you don't make a penny out of it

This is obvious that progress alone does not drive decisions. Money does.

So what you're saying is... in reality we are the Ferengi.

There's a pretty good software fix for combating stealth fighters. It involves radar information sharing between many radar sources.

And if you do that using Tachyon beams you can even detect Romulan warships!

According to this site:

http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/TOS_Season_1

Production for the initial season of Star Trek cost almost US$200,000 per episode.

That would be the equivalent of $1,322,201 per episode in today's dollars.

"Nothing unreal exists."

It may be a teaching from a fictional teacher...but it's a good one.