The Sounds of Star Wars. Most “broadband” connections are no such thing. According to the Federal Communications Commission, the majority of American “broadband” users are not actually receiving broadband speed. That’s because the FCC currently defines broadband as requiring a download speed of at least 4Mbps and an upload speed of 1Mbps. In total, 68 percent of broadband connections in the US fall short of this speed. The figures, which have just been published in an FCC report (PDF) but deal with the situation as of 31 December last year, were collected from internet providers across the country. (These are the actual nationwide figures, or as close to it as a government agency can collect, rather than being extrapolated from a sample group as with opinion polls and surveys.) The data covers the packages subscribers have taken up, rather than the maximum speeds on offer in any area. The FCC found that 30% of users had a download speed of more than 6 Mbps or more, 58% had a speed between 3 and 6 Mbps, and 12% had speeds below 3Mbps.
Lord Vader and C-3PO Firefighter Helmets. Amazon Deal of the Day: 60% Off 24: The Complete Series – $139.99, Shipped. Would you like some tea, Edward? [Cartoon] OMG: AZO Stunts and Tricks Showreel 2010. How to Become Super Vol. II [Pic] The Internet Really is for Everyone! Every Zombie Death in “The Walking Dead” The Most Epic Lightsaber Duel Ever. Galactica Cylon Theme on Eigenharp. 360 camera impressive, but not 3D. Researchers in Switzerland have produced what some are touting as a true 3D camera. In reality, though, it’s “only” a camera that can simulate a 3D effect in a 360 degree panorama. Traditional 3D imaging, known as stereoscopy, usually consists of taking two images of the same scene and then presenting them in a way that exploits how the brain processes the images seen by each eye.
One limitation of this system is that the image itself can only show what the camera (simulating human vision) can see in one specific direction. The Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne is now working on ways around this. Two semi-spherical models already developed use multiple lenses (15 in one model, 100+ on the other) to capture images, with the lenses set up to overlap their view just enough to make sure the data collected covers a full panorama. Amazon Deal of the Day: The Last Minute Online Edition. Well folks, there’s not much time left if you want to get your Amazon orders in time for Christmas while getting free shipping on the site, so here are a few amazing deals you might want to check out: Galactus and his Epic Steed. Vader Doesn’t Like Bullies [Pic]
Monday morning links serving: The December 13th edition. How to motivate the IT department. Thor’s First Official Movie Trailer. Pac Mail [Pic] No, you weren’t downloaded… [PIC] Earth History in C Major. Zombie Snow White Mac Decal [Pic] It’s Caturday! [Pic] Font Man [Pic] Amazon Deal of the Day: Insane Deals Off Hundreds of BBC Shows (Dr. Who, Planet Earth, etc.) Live Action TMNT Intro. Should You Friend Your Parents on Facebook? [Flowchart] Font Vader [Pic] Military takes aim at removable media. The US military has come up with a cunning way to prevent the leaks of classified documents: it has banned troops from using removable media. The move appears to be a response to claims by soldier Bradley Manning that he was not only responsible for the leak of both a video of a helicopter attack in Baghdad and the recently published batch of US diplomatic cables, but that he was able to get the documents out simply by writing them to a CD-R that he had labeled as containing Lady Gaga music.
Earlier this year, a Pentagon review suggested that all military computers containing classified information be set-up so that they cannot write to removable media. It’s not known if this measure has been implemented as of yet, though there is now a security system that monitors around 60% of the machines for unusual activity. Removable media was also banned at one point in the past from SIPRNet during a scare over a worm spreading across the network. The new measure appears to be a permanent move. NES Guitar Is Awesome. What’s your biggest maintenance headache on the network – and how are you solving it? This Year in Review: 2010 According to Google. First Official Thor Movie Poster [Pic] Pirates Vs Ninjas Vs Zombies Vs Pandas.
YouTube Santa: The Good List Gets Unlimited Upload Length. Today Youtube announced that it was lifting the restriction it’s placed on the length of video content being uploaded to their platform. This is great news, because we don’t have to chop our videos into 15-minute chunks to get them uploaded and playable. The Catch “Starting today, we’ll begin allowing selected users with a history of complying with the YouTube Community Guidelines and our copyright rules to upload videos that are longer than 15 minutes.”
We all know that Youtube had kept the limit to 15 minutes to make it more difficult for people to post copyrighted content on the site. Tags: youtube upload length. Game On in 2011: Use a Condom Every Time! These are not the shoes you’re looking for… So probably ever since Phantom Menace came out it’s been cool to like Star Wars. Everyone’s jumping on the wagon it seems nowadays and George has been cashing in on it ever since. Remember the good ol’ days when it was just lunchboxes, backpacks and action figures? Now you’ve got clothing by Marc Ecko.
Which brings us to today’s newest venture: Adidas C-3PO/RD-D2 shoes. You know, some things are probably best left forgotten. Like the Holiday Special. Or this. If these were able to pull a Jedi Mind Trick over on you, they’re available here for $110. Tags: star wars. Transformers: Dark of the Moon First Official Trailer. Apple’s app store policy facing court challenge. Regular readers will know we’ve covered plenty of stories about Apple’s approval policy for inclusion in the iTunes App Store: a policy that has seemed inconsistent to say the least. Now one company is threatening to take the matter to court. Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet recently developed an iPad app that aimed to repackage the contents of the newspaper in a tablet-friendly fashion. Unfortunately for its hopes of acceptance, those contents included Side-9, a daily feature on said page that features a topless woman. Apple has rejected the app on the grounds that the photographs violate restrictions on adult content.
That’s prompted the newspaper’s editor Poul Madsen to complain that the rejection is unfair censorship and a restriction on free speech. He says that if Apple doesn’t reverse its decision, he will consider taking the issue to the European Court of Justice. Simply on the taste and decency matter, I’d suspect the newspaper has very little chance of success.
Amazon Deal of the Day: 40% Off EA Sports Active 2 Bundle (PS3) – $59.95 + Free Shipping. Lunch Time! [Pic] The Ugly Side of PokeMon. Legend of Zelda’s “Song of Healing” Played on Wine Glasses. Angry Birds Strategy. No need for science says new UK drug policy. When drawing up legislation or regulations covering recreational drugs, it’s important to get advice from scientists. Until this week, I’d have considered that a statement of fact. It turns out it’s merely an opinion, and one not shared by the British government. A proposed new law in the country would remove an existing requirement for scientists to be part of the Advisory Council for the Misuse of Drugs (ACDM). That’s the committee that advises the Home Secretary (the government politician responsible for law and order issues) about which drugs should be banned and what the legal punishments should be.
The idea of the ACMD is to make sure the Home Secretary is given evidence about the medical effects of drugs, rather than merely making decisions on moral grounds or in response to public opinion. As it stands, the 20-strong committee is legally required to have four medical experts, including one with particular expertise in pharmacy. What You Ought to Know: Metric vs Imperial. Amazon Deal of the Day: Amazing Deals on Portable DVD Players. If you’re looking for a cheap portable DVD player to offer as a gift or to entertain your kids on long car trips, be sure to check out these awesome deals we found on Amazon.com. Please note that all these players have been rated 4 stars or more on average by amazon customers.
NASA’s 3D Tour of All Known Galaxies. Geeks from History: Napoleon. By Sterling “Chip” CamdenContributing Writer, [GAS] While manipulating the French Revolution for his own ends and conquering Europe in his spare time, Napoleon Bonaparte was first and foremost a geek at heart. He was passionate about science and math. Napoleon remembered his early school days like many of us: “every one said of me: that boy is no good except at geometry. I was not very popular. I was dry as parchment.” Translation: math nerd. In his early twenties, Napoleon would develop a love of astronomy that would last for the rest of his life. Early in his miltary career (campaigning in Italy in 1796) Napoleon wrote: Whenever I am able to render a service to science, I gratify my own feelings and am sure I am acquiring honour. And that’s one world-conqueror who knew that geeks are sexy! Quotations taken from The Corsican: A Diary of Napoleon’s Life in His Own Words, translated and edited by R.M.
Most Geektastic Bed of All Time [Pic] When You See a Fishtank [Graph] Happy World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Day! This morning at midnight on the West Coast (that’s 3am EST), the new World of Warcraft expansion went live in the United States (after launching earlier for European servers). For the hardcore WoW players who are itching to get their raid on, their Cataclysm experience might have started with dashing over to the new zone of Mount Hyjal to see the new world and start grinding toward the new 85 level cap. Or for those not in as much of a hurry, the bigger draw might have been rolling new characters of the two new races – Worgen for Alliance (translation: werewolves) and Goblin for Horde. And if you’d like more info than that, you can find pretty much anything you’d like to know over at WoW Insider’s Cataclysm page.
Though I can’t help but feel a little sorry for college student WoW players who are probably right in the middle of finals right now. Of course, if you’re playing hooky from work, watch out for those sick day bounty hunters! My verdict? Sexy Powergirl Cosplay Gallery: The Creative Commons Edition. If you’re searching for creative common photography featuring DC Comics Power Girl online, you’ll end up with hundreds of results.
(Boy, I wonder why…) So I thought, why not skim through them and make a gallery of the best ones? Here is the result of this tedious, time consuming, laborious, and wholly unenjoyable task, for you alone, dear readers! Enjoy! 1- heath_bar (CC), 2- gtrwndr87 (CC), 3- Omarukai (CC), 4- Anna Fischer, 5- DuckPuppy (CC), 6- downbeat (CC), 7- He.Who.Wanders (CC), 8- San Diego Shooter (CC), 9- jbncphoto (CC), 10- andy khouri (CC), 11- ToFuGuns (CC), 12- CavinB (CC), 13- San Diego Shooter (CC) Amazon Deal of the Day: 57% Off Viewsonic VFD1027w-11 10.2-Inch Digital Photo Frame – $64.99 + Free Shipping. Genuine Sonic Screwdriver in the Works. British engineers are exploring the possibility of a real-life sonic screwdriver.
Bruce Drinkwater, professor of ultrasonics at Bristol University, doesn’t expect to make a working model particularly soon. But he’s working on at least proving the concept is possible. The idea is to build on existing work using ultrasonic forcefields to separate out diseased cells from healthy cells. Engineers are also already experimenting with using ultrasonic waves to move small objects. The theory is that ultrasound could be used to simulate the mechanics of a real screwdriver. As is often the case with physics, it seems the logic behind the system is sound (so to speak), but generating the necessary force might be more troublesome. In the TV series, the sonic screwdriver was initially portrayed as a sound wave-based tool for opening locks, along with some other sonic-based functions such as remotely detonating landmines. To the Batcave, Robin! [Cartoon] Santa Dumps Raindeers for Giant UFO.
Why Do NASA's New Arsenic Bacteria Matter? By Jimmy Rogers (@me)Contributing Writer, [GAS] Did you hear the news? We’ve discovered alien life! We didn’t even have to go to another planet to find it…it was right here in our own back yard! Ok, sure, we’re blowing things a little out of proportion, but even Mulder and Scully would agree that these arsenic-eating bacteria are “aliens.”
Here are the facts: Last Thursday, NASA’s Astrobiology Institute announced at a press conference that they had discovered a new form of life, different from all previously discovered life-forms in one key way: it can live without phosphorous. The project was spearheaded by Dr. For you adventurous readers, Wolfe-Simon and her team published their findings in Science.
Sooo, What’s the Big Deal? As a microbiology grad student, I just about fell over when I heard about this discovery. First off, any major change in a “dogmatic” science principle makes waves. A Scanning Electron Micrograph (SEM) of the cells with low P and high As. One more note: Awesome New Geeks are Sexy T-Shirts! Hey Everyone! Just a quick post to let you all know that we’ve got new t-shirts for you guys! The first one named “Free Hugs” comes from the mind of [GaS] reader NYNerd who sent in his suggestion a few months ago during our “Suggest a t-shirt idea” contest. This is our first geekette-friendly design and is printed on a lady tee. Order here. (10% off with coupon code geeksaresexy). I don’t think I really have any explaining to do for the second one, as it represents very well what this site is all about. And we still have all our other ones for sale.
If you like what we’re doing here on Geeks are Sexy, please consider getting one of our high-quality shirts. The Ultimate Holiday Wreath for IT Geeks [Pic] Amazon Deal of the day: 50% Off Inception (Three-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy) – $17.99. Sexy C-3PO One-Piece Swimsuit [Pics] Batman and Wikileaks [Cartoon] Monday morning links serving: The December 6th edition. You shall never, ever quit WOW [Pic] Robot Chicken Star Wars III Trailers. Amazon Deal of the Day: LG BD530 1080p Network Blu-ray Disc Player – $69.28 + Free Shipping. For a good time, call… [Cartoon] A is for Ackbar [Pics] Jason Statham Wants his WOW: Cataclysm Copy at all Costs! Star Wars Paper Snowflakes [Pics] The Empire Strikes Santa [Cartoon] May the Font be With You: C3typo and RDtypo [Pic] From the department of redundancy department [Pic]
Shower Products for REAL MEN! Amazon Deal of the Day: 50% Off Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1 12.1MP DSLR Camera – $399. OMG: Mega Shark Vs. Crocosaurus.
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