Handy battery guide- Each battery has unique needs that must be met to obtain reliable service and long life. The Do and Don’t battery table summarizes these needs and advises proper handling of each battery type. Optimal handling may not always be practical in real life. Deviations from the ideal are acceptable but will lower the life expectancy of the battery to some degree. Exposure to heat may be the larger deterrent. Link.
I thought it would be fun to talk with MAKE pal Richard Giles in Australia for today’s MAKE Audio show, so here’s the Gadget Show for May 22nd. We chatted about MAKE issue 02, E3, Astromechs, VOIP for the Nintendo DS, NASA’s O2 challenge, the XBOX 360, Broadcast Flag part II and a lot more. Download / Subscribe to the audio here.
Kevin Rose of G4Tech TV fame is moving on to do his own web only technology show (and homegrown network) called Systm. All episodes will be released free of charge, in a variety of formats (Theora, Xvid, WMV, H.264, PSP), wrapped in RSS (for vidcasting) and licensed under the Creative Commons. Link. I think we’re going to see a lot of great shows come out this year!
Another one to add to the LEGO project list- The VCR is controlled by the Lego Mindstorms Robotics Invention System. It has a motorized top-loading deck, working tape reel drive and IR remote control.The deck accepts a cassette that holds two reels of (imaginary) tape. Beta, VHS and now Technic. Link. Source included on the site.
Wow! Looks like we’re going to be getting iPodder-like functionality in iTunes 4.9 (coming out in the next 60 days). For now it seems there’s only going to be free content (not purchased through iTunes) so I’m guessing you’ll add a playlist and a RSS feed and the podcasts will be downloaded automatically. The Yahoo! Music Engine has a neat plugin that does this now, so I’m excited about seeing this in iTunes soon. Link. Update: Looks like Apple will be picking the podcasts for download.
New episode of from the shadows is released! In anticipation of the release of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of The Sith, the From The Shadows Crew took a trip to the “Star Wars Line” in Hollywood. There FTS met up with Aaron Mosny Master Sabersmith of Saberology.com. Following in the tradition of the Jedi and the Lightsaber, Aaron has created the “Perfect Dueling Weapon” utilizing forms including Kendo, Kenjitsu, Iaido, Chinese Broadsword, and European fencing. Unlike shanai, boken, or fencing foils, this weapons design could be used for almost any martial form. Link.
A proposal to ban photography on the city’s subways to deter surveillance by terrorists has been nixed by police and transit officials. Charles Seaton, a spokesman for NYC Transit, the division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that runs the subways, the buses and the Staten Island Railway, confirmed to the Daily News that the photo ban has been scrapped. Here’s a story from last year when this all started. And here are 200 photos sent to the NYCTA Link.
