Antarctic ice sheet is an 'awakened giant'

The massive west Antarctic ice sheet, previously assumed to be stable, is starting to collapse, scientists warned on Tuesday. Antarctica contains more than 90% of the world's ice, and the loss of any significant part of it would cause a substantial sea level rise. Scientists used to view Antarctica as a "slumbering giant", said Chris Rapley, from the British Antarctic Survey, but now he sees it as an "awakened giant". Rapley presented measurements of the ice sheet at a major climate conference in Exeter, UK. Glaciers on the Antarctic peninsula, which protrudes from the continent to the north, were already known to be retreating. But the data Rapley presented show that glaciers within the much larger west Antarctic Ice sheet are also starting to disappear. If the ice on the peninsula melts entirely it will raise global sea levels by 0.3 metres, and the west Antarctic ice sheet contains enough water to contribute metres more. The last report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, published in 2001, said that collapse of this ice sheet was unlikely during the 21st century. That may now need to be reassessed, Rapley warned. Cork from a bottle Changes on the peninsula, where 75% of the 400 mountain glaciers are in retreat, have provided new insights into the ways that ice sheets may disintegrate. In March 2002, a huge floating ice shelf known as Larsen B shattered into icebergs. This turned out to have an effect akin to pulling a cork from a bottle. With Larsen B no longer impeding movement, the ice floes that fed the shelf began moving faster towards the sea and started to thin. The finding took scientists by surprise when revealed in September 2004 and now modellers are now working to include such mechanisms in their predictions. Climate records derived from the analysis of sediments show that ice shelves off the peninsula have been absent in several earlier eras, when natural variability warmed the world. But the break-up is affecting ice closer to the pole than ever recorded, said Rapley. "It's like the Heineken effect," he said, referring to the beer adverts that claim Heineken "reaches the parts other beers cannot reach". Indications that climate change may be affecting the west Antarctic ice sheet comes from three glaciers, including Pine Island and Thwaites. Data reveal they are losing more ice - mainly through the calving of icebergs - than is being replaced by snowfall. According to a preliminary analysis, the difference between the mass lost and mass replaced is about 60%. Whether the loss of mass by the glaciers is due to natural variation or is caused by human-influenced warming of the oceans is not known for sure. Scientists are now making more field measurements to assess the causes, but warming is a likely culprit, said Rapley: "The fact that three of them are simultaneously accelerating suggests that is the case." The melting of these three glaciers alone is contributing an estimated 0.24 millimetres per year to sea level.

Augmented-reality machine works in real time

Computer-generated scenery can be realistically added to live video footage, using a machine vision system developed at Oxford University, UK. Researchers Andrew Davison and Ian Reid say the augmented-reality system could also in the longer term enable robots to navigate more effectively. Or it could be used to virtually decorate a real house or plan engineering work. It allows a computer to build an accurate three dimensional model of the world using only a video camera feed. It can also keep track of the camera's movement within its environment - all in real time. Previously, it has been necessary to calibrate a computer using several markers added to a scene. The Oxford team's machine only requires an object of known size to be placed in its line of sight to perform a complete calibration. The system then automatically picks out its own visual markers from a scene. By measuring the way these markers move the computer can judge how far away each marker is. It can also rapidly determine how the camera is moving. [Full Story + 80MB Video]

Nintendo reveals Revolution Strategy

Ken Toyota, Nintendo’s chief of public relations, recently declared that E3 will be “the starting point for the Revolution. Yes, he is officially using the name, ‘Revolution’. While it’s been known for some time that Nintendo’s next-gen console will debut at this year’s E3, Toyota seemed to hint at the fact that there won’t necessarily be a pretty piece of hardware on display. The PR chief reiterated that Nintendo hasn’t decided exactly what it will do at E3, but don’t be surprised if it’s just a reel of film and some concept art. Either way, this Revolution is certainly mysterious… [Gamespot]

CinemaNow Unveils a New Chapter in Television Viewing

A new chapter in content distribution is emerging. According to Lost Remote, CinemaNow has announced a partnership with NBC Universal to stream selected movies and TV shows on a per-episode rental basis, making it the sixth of the seven major Hollywood studios to sign-on – only Paramont/Viacom remains. While each partnership is different in regards to what content is made available, the new offering is a welcome format for CinemaNow users to view televison shows before they get released to DVD (that's if the studios even decide to).

“As the DVD market has proven, television content can find new life and new revenue streams through ancillary forms of distribution,” said Bruce Eisen, executive vice president of CinemaNow. “What CinemaNow provides, even beyond the traditional DVD release, is an opportunity for smaller, niche shows to reach their target audiences while also giving users the flexibility of per-episode rentals without having to pay for an entire box set.”

There's been much hype about people downloading TV shows using BitTorrent (which can be limiting if you don't have the technical savvy to utilize it), but if there was ever a legal alternative... CinemaNow's offering would be it. The only two things holding it back from being a success that I can see is: One, lack of CinemaNow users. Two, not enough premium TV content available. Of course, the second may soon change if the studios fully back the format by making all their hottest TV series available, but I'm not so sure about the user base.

Home networks and broadband content services still intimidate people, or even worse... consumers don't understand why they even need a network, as noted by a recent research study by Harris Interactive. But hope still remains. I think if CinemaNow wants to breakdown the barrier the company needs to partner with cable/satellite providers and integrate their service into the set-top box. Think of it as “enhanced” video-on-demand where cable/satellite subscribers can order past episodes (not to mention CinemaNow's entire movie rental library) through the interface they're already familiar with, and catch up on the latest TV shows their friends are talking about.

[via eHomeUpgrade]

First Artificial Neon Sky Show Created

By shooting intense radio beams into the night sky, researchers with
the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program created a modest neon light show visible from the ground. The technique could help them to clear up the enigma of what causes the pulsating natural light shows. And one day, it could be used to light a city or generate celestial advertisements.

The green speckles were sprinkled amid the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights.

The scientists sent radio pulses skyward every 7.5 seconds, making the electrons bob like boats on the sea and showing that these waves could be enough to produce aurora.

If no pre-existing aurora is required, "we are left with the tantalizing (some would say disconcerting) possibility that such radio-fuelled emissions could form the basis of a technology for urban lighting, celestial advertising, and more."

Via LiveScience and Nature. Thanks Alex!

Walmart Selling iPod Mini

CNet is reporting that Wal-Mart has begun shipping small quantities of the iPod mini to select outlets, possibly heralding a full-fledged adoption of the iPod line as a complement to its own flash player and music store. If nothing else, it is a sign of the iPod's complete transition to a commodity, branded product first, and a technological nerd gadget second.

Walmart to sell iPod Shuffle

Apple Computer has initiated a partnership with Wal-Mart that will soon see the iPod shuffle featured at Wal-Mart discount locations around the country, AppleInsider has learned. According to sources close to the retail giant, Wal-Mart in April will begin receiving mass quantities of Apple's new iPod shuffle digital music player, which it will then make available in many, if not all, of its nearly 5000 locations. The deal between the two companies will be capped by a feature in Wal-Mart's March tabular advertisement, sources say.

Apple Ousts Google for World's #1 Influential Brand

In the survey of almost 2,000 ad executives, brand managers and academics by online magazine Brandchannel, Apple ousted search engine Google from last year's top spot. Here are the top five World's Most Influential Brands: [1.] Apple [2.] Google [3.] Ikea [4.] Starbucks [5.] Al Jazeera

I Have Four Google Gmail Invites

If anyone is interested in a Gmail account, and I don't know who wouldn't be, I have four invites to give away. Google is ready to expand their Gmail test to a few more users. Leave a comment if you would like an account and I'll give the Invites to the first four commentators... [Shane]

The Black Motorola v3 Razr

The Black Motorola Razor... this is just such a cool looking phone.
Oscar attendees only... I like the silver one better anyways.

Firefox 1.1 to be Delayed

Firefox lead engineer turned Google developer Ben Goodger announced on his Web log late this week that version 1.1 of Firefox will be delayed. No worries though, v1.0 is a great browser. If you haven't tried it yet, get over to Mozilla's Firefox site and download it. The tabbed browsing feature is a definite plus. My curiosity was piqued by Kevin Rose of The Screen Savers and I haven't looked back. Windows update is the only site I have encountered problems with.

PS3 to Wi-Fi with PSP

The US patent office's website is a strange and beautiful thing. As well as all manner of unusual and downright wacky US inventions, it's often a repository of the great big things that companies like Sony simply don't want to tell you. Today's revelation courtesy of the US patent office is news of wi-fi connectivity and distribution between the PSP and the as yet unseen PS3. Sony has filed a patent number 20040266529 (for those of you who'd like to check it out in full), which appears to show that the PS3 and PSP will be able to connect wirelessly and share content including games, movies and music. "In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a portable game device that is small enough to truly be portable, is capable of providing rich interactive content, and is reasonably priced." So what we'd picture is an online-enabled PS3 providing a channel to the net, plus the raw grunt and processing power which it wirelessly communicates to the PSP where you'll play or enjoy the actual content. Fascinating stuff. So it looks like Sony envisages the PS3 and PSP working almost as one unit, to bring you the latest in games, movies, music and audio. Intriguing, and it will also mount a direct challenge to Microsoft's Xbox 2 as the all-in-one entertainment system to capture your living room. [computerandvideogames.com]

Nintendo Revolution Patent?

IGN has posted a piece about an updated Nintendo patent. The patent could point toward a new kind of display for their next console. In a nutshell, the filing is meant to secure tech that "prevents a fixation point from frequently moving." A fixation point is the point on the screen where your eye focuses during play. How, exactly, they're going to alter this age-old gaming rule remains to be seen. It certainly adds credibility to the gyroscope rumor. Regardless of where a player sits, he (or she) would command a deep view of the happenings on screen. This would also carry over into multiplayer gaming, where multiple players would normally require multiple fixation points. The new set of technologies would eliminate the strain associated with split-screen gaming. In summary, this would all make for excellent game sessions thanks to unparalleled view of the display. [Read]

Sony PSP for $269

Audio Cubes, an online store that specializes in bringing Japanese
tech to the rest of the world, is offering the Sony PSP for 269 USD. It doesn't look like a pre-order item, so it must be an import. This is the best price we've heard of for the device in the States. It also appears there's no limit to the number of PSPs you can order. Too good to be true? Somebody pull out their credit card and test it out! [Joystiq.com]

Nintendo DS Game Previews

Gamebiz.au has a whole pile of previews of DS titles for your amusement. While the poor Aussies are often behind us on the distribution schedule, there's some good info on titles for the Nintendo's wee little baby here. They preview, amongst others: Metroid Prime Hunters, Rayman DS, Pokemon Dash, as well as the game that's getting a lot of buzz, Zoo Keeper.