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The Best of What's New From Popular Science
Wrathie writes ""The top 100 technological innovations of 2003, from aviation to defibrillation, GPS to Wi-Fi, rotary to rockets. The year and the gear that was." This article from Popular Science magazine is quite extensive."
iTMS isn't in the top ten is it?
Don't release anything between November and December or it'll never make it to a "best of", "coolest of" or "top 5,000 things" list.
"After years of refusing to pay for digital music, consumers have made Apple's iTunes Music Store the music industry's first digital success story, purchasing a whopping 10 million songs in just over four months. This figure is even more impressive when you consider that the service is available only to Mac users"
Everyone knows the good issues of Popular Science are long gone. Remember projects/experiments, rather than just news? Yeah, Popular Mechanics used to have them too, ones relating to mechanics.
Printed news is now effectively obsolete, they don't even stay curren on the happenings in Soviet Russia like slashdot does.
You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
I wonder how many of these innovations are "protected" by patents which will make sure that above all, money can be sucked out of them.
It's not necessarily a bad thing (in all cases anyway), but I'd guess pretty much each one is.
.: Max Romantschuk
iTunes is still crippled, and more importantly, it still funds terrorism(RIAA).
You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.
that which opens the door to future developments. I don't think a skinny TV, or even the beautiful maglev train contribute half as much as the entrants to the X-Prize. I don't think any of the others will stimulate further invention as much as a commercial space travel. Next I'd like to see the Y-Prize - first commercial hotel on Mars ;)
Though that Mag-train is beautiful.
Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
When I was a kid, Popular Science magazine facinated me because it talked about all the interesting stuff that's 'comming real soon now'. As I understood more, I realized that most of it was just puffed up press releases, prototypes that usually were never released, and wishful thinking.
Very little of it had to do with science. Most of it was invention and technology. While there can be overlap, technology isn't science it's one application of science and then usually only partially.
A firewall can not protect you from yourself. Turn off what you do not need. Do not use the firewall to do your work.
Be fair: It's okay to make fun of the editors for blatant dupes, but it's not alright to bait them. ;)
Auto-reply to ACs: "Truly, you have a dizzying intellect."
Surely this is the most impressive innovation of the year ? In January there were lots of them and now it turns out they are all invisible and that is the reason we can't find them. I mean the alternative is that they were not there in the first place, which we know they were because we are told they were therefore the obvious conclusion is that if they are there and we can't see them then they must be invisible.
No its invisible WMDs that are the most impressive technical achievement of 2003.
This was a paid for posting on behalf of Donald Rumsfeld
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
I could not repress a smile when the very first picture displayed in the article showed the White Knight and Space Ship One in flight. I'm a big Scaled Composites fan, and I'm pretty sure they're gonna collect the X-Prize this year (watch the sky on 17th of December).
The article says that the SS1 did not behave as expected and that it will have to be corrected, but that's because they didn't research their facts. The elevators stalled at the end of one landing, (so, yes, this was not expected) but it is corrected now, and it did not damage the aircraft (pilot just had to brake) nor casted doubt on the SS1's capability to reach space.
Maybe we deserve this world ?
Still, can't wait to get me one of them home defibrillators! Hoo-ee! Fun times tonight!
The Law of Falling Bodies
You have to agree that's pretty cool
Remember projects/experiments, rather than just news? Yeah, Popular Mechanics used to have them too, ones relating to mechanics.
But not anymore. Technology has shot so far ahead that what already surrounds is far more impressive than anything we can quickly whip up from readily available materials. The classic science projects have fallen by the wayside.
The coolest voice ever.
Apple delivers the first 64-bit computer.
Amazing.
So what exactly is the technological innovation of itunes? I mean, it's a nice service and works fairly well - but I don't see it as much of a leap ahead of what we had before.
----------------------------------- My Other Sig Is Hilarious -----------------------------------
There
There.com
Vote for
There
as your pick for 2003's Best of What's New.
For years, science fiction writers have tempted us with tales of lands that exist only in cyberspace, where you can create a spanking new virtual version of yourself and pursue an alternate existence. After five years of development, There Inc. has opened the virtual doors to such a world, and it makes online chat rooms seem as old as Grandma's Victrola. Denizens of There can meticulously tailor the look of their online avatars and engage in whatever activities suit their fancy, from hoverboard races and paintball fights to shopping, clothing design and home construction.
Holy crap, I am having trouble believing anyone with half a brain could enjoy There. I am not sure how many readers have actually played this game, but here's some details about my beta test experience:
I get a set of CD's in the mail and a letter thanking me for participating in the 'free' beta test program. I install it, expecting another Everquest or graphical MUD with 3d graphics.
Boy was I wrong. It's like Efnet with a 3d card. There's no killing. No real adventure.
The money system is a rip-off. For instance, I could pay credits to change my hair color, get new pants, or buy a car. To get credits, you have pay them like $20. This isn't the slightest bit cool. I did find that I could sell all my clothes and run about in my under-wear. This got me about 40,000 credits (~$20 real money?) so I bought a car.
Having a car was great, I spent a few hours running people over repeatedly. You hit them hard enough and they fly for like a mile. There's no death, so they are stuck walking a while to get back. The moderators don't take to kindly to this. Instead of changing the game to lower the distance someone can get knocked, they basically follow you around whining about the rules and making things from your inventory disappear as punishment.
To top everything off, I was threatened to have my account suspended for running around with no clothes on. I'm sorry, but if you are going to allow me to make a giant, overweight, black male character, then allow me a huge profit by selling my clothes, I'll run around in my white boxers all I want. Why can I strip down to boxers and run around in them if it's not allowed? Seems a bit retarded.
It was quite obvious that more than half the people in the beta were there to cause disruption. A game with "no rules" (ya right) and no real goals results in a lot of bored people.
I did run into a few people that really liked the game. But as I said earlier, It's really just a graphical chatroom where people can play silly games together and do physical emotes while sitting on benches. A number of people I ran into during the beta had spent upwards of $60 getting their avatars decked out. If that's your thing, then you'll enjoy it. Otherwise, don't even think twice about getting this! Not even for your wife or kids.
The renesis design might be slightly improved over the older rotaries, but this car's performance is terrible. It doesn't make 238 HP, Mazda even says so and has derated it, and based on what people who dyno test it, it's even lower than Mazda's new figures. And it has less than 160 lb-ft of torque! Yeah, the NA rotary might have improved a little bit since it's last generation, but look around at everything else, they have improved MUCH more. From 4 cylinders like the Subaru and Honda on up to 8 cyclinders like LS1/LS6 V8s in Corvette/Camaro/Firebirds/GTOs, everything else has improved much more and left the rotary in the dust. Take that thing off the list, it doesn't belong.
It doesn't make 238 HP, Mazda even says so
Really? Because, like, their website still says it has 238hp.
And you're 'less than 160 lb-ft of torque' quote is like saying $9.99 is less than $10. While true, there isn't a noticable difference. The RX-8 has 159 lb-ft of torque.
But anyone who's ever driven, or even done research on, a rotary motor already knows that torque isn't where this engine shines. Rev it up to 9000RPM and let the horsepower take you down the front straight.
I'm glad to see the new Prius made the list. I took delivery of mine last month (first in Tucson!) and am still amazed by the car. I'm averaging 48.5 MPG right now, due to engine break-in and having to run the air conditioner for most of that time due to a recent warm spell.
What's so amazing is that, after the car has started, it's just like any other well-built japanese car. It accelerates smartly, stops easily, and handles well. All that technology and the user interface is more or less that of a standard car (UI designers take note!).
The only down side I've seen is backing up. Since the internal combustion engine does not start in reverse, the car is dead quiet. I've had to honk to get people out of the way of the car. They're so used to hearing a car before seeing it move they don't realize the car is rolling.
Oh, as for speed, it's no BMW, but I did catch a Z28 Camaro with its pants down a couple weeks back. Every time the poor guy shifted, the Prius would pull a few more feet ahead.
And, unlike some of the other technology mentioned, this one is avalilable (more or less) right now.