Valve removes ‘Active Shooter’ from Steam amid outcry

Valve has removed Active Shooter from its Steam platform. The game allowed players to play through school shooting scenarios either as a civilian, the shooter or the police. As The Guardian reports, the game apparently started as a SWAT team simulato...

Timothy Leary-developed video games found in New York Public Library archive

Tune in, Torn On, Drop Out Lost Timothy Learydeveloped video games found in New York Public Library archive

The New York Public Library recently discovered a treasure trove of video games in its archives created by psychedelic evangelist Timothy Leary. Over 375 floppies (talk about flashbacks) containing a "dozen or so" games developed by the LSD-advocate in the '80s -- some are playable via emulation -- are now on display in the library's rare books and manuscripts division, according to The New York Times. The good doctor's digital works had a self-help bend to them, advocating self-improvement by interactive means as opposed to pharmaceuticals, and apparently recreational drugs as well. If you fancy yourself a cyberpunk, Leary also had an in-progress project based on William Gibson's Neuromancer, replete with writing by William S. Burroughs and a soundtrack by Devo. He had more than just prototypes, too: His Mind Mirror was commercially released in 1985 and sold 65,000 copies for publisher Electronic Arts. If you can't make it to the NYPL, a version has been adapted to Facebook so you can glean your personality profile from your... profile.

[Image credit: Jaycobs / Flickr]

Filed under: ,

Comments

Via: Kotaku

Source: The New York TImes

This Isn’t an Alien Invasion… They’re Just Smog-Cleaning Robot Jellyfish!

Most modern cities have bad air, it just comes with the fact that when people live very close together, and they have a lot of cars and industrial complexes, they pollute the environment. Heavy traffic doesn’t help at all, and that’s why this unusual new kind of structure has been conceived to help clean things up.

robotic jellyfish pollution ph conditioner skyscraper

The PH Conditioner Skyscraper is a concept for a large-scale floating pollution-combating platform that aims to manage the effects of acid deposition due to pollutants, and turn them into reclaimed water as well as chemical fertilizer.

While this might look and sound like science-fiction, designers Hao Tian, Huang Haiyang and Shi Jianwei developed this in the hopes of deploying them in Chongqing, China. The structures look like robotic jellyfish, and the project aims to set them at between 650 to 1,000 feet in height, where most of the acidic pollutants gather. The top of these structures would be filled with hydrogen to provide buoyancy. Porous membranes absorb the pollutants, which are collected and put into a purifier.

robotic jellyfish pollution ph conditioner skyscraper high

It will be interesting to see the impact on large cities if and when this is deployed in China. Personally, I welcome our robotic jellyfish overlords, especially when they come bearing clean air.

robotic jellyfish pollution ph conditioner skyscraper concept

[via designboom]

Samsung fined $1,000 over fatal gas leak, according to Yonhap News

Samsung given nominal $1000 fine over gas leak, according to Yonhap News

Korea's Yonhap News Agency is reporting that Samsung will be fined a nominal 1 million won (roughly $1,000) for not reporting its recent gas leak quickly enough. The incident led to the death of a maintenance contractor who was brought in to fix a pipe leaking hydrofluoric acid gas at one of Samsung's semiconductor plants. Police are said to be imposing the fine on both Samsung and its subcontractor for violating a law stipulating that such chemical leaks must be "promptly" reported to the authorities. It appears no official alert was given until the contractor died in hospital. Police say they're continuing to investigate how the fatal accident happened and that it's clear "someone died due to poor administration," so this isn't the end of the matter -- a fuller report is expected within two weeks.

Filed under:

Comments

Source: Yonhap News

Panasonic Photosynthesis System converts carbon dioxide to organic material with plant-like efficiency

Panasonic Artificial Photosynthesis System converts carbon dioxide to organic material with plantlike efficiency

Greenery may fulfill a superficial need to improve the landscape aesthetic, but plants play a much more critical role in regular life function, converting carbon dioxide to oxygen through a process called photosynthesis. Panasonic is among the companies attempting to replicate this natural procedure through artificial means, and it looks like the Japanese electronics maker is well on its way towards a viable solution. Presenting at the International Conference on the Conversion and Storage of Solar Energy this week, Panasonic announced the development of an Artificial Photosynthesis System, which uses a nitride semiconductor to convert water and carbon dioxide -- a byproduct of factories and power plants -- into an organic material called formic acid, which is used in the manufacturing of dyes and fragrances. Covering the planet in formic acid wouldn't necessarily represent progress, but assuming demand isn't exceeded, it certainly beats CO2. Best yet, Panasonic claims that the system converts the substances at plant-like efficiency rates, or 0.2 percent. Hit up the PR after the break for a more granular look at the company's creation.

Continue reading Panasonic Photosynthesis System converts carbon dioxide to organic material with plant-like efficiency

Filed under:

Panasonic Photosynthesis System converts carbon dioxide to organic material with plant-like efficiency originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 Jul 2012 06:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge  |  sourcePanasonic  | Email this | Comments