tweetleaks @ 10:59 PM on November 30, 2009

Heat shields are an important part of any space vehicle that re-enters the Earth's atmosphere. The next generation of heat shields to protect astronauts and payloads on their re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere may use superconducting magnets to deflect the plasma that forms in front of spacecraft as they travel at high speeds in the [...]

tweetleaks @ 10:58 PM on November 30, 2009

You know, there are times when you have to part ways with your adorable kitties at home, and you might not be so keen on getting a cat sitter in case he or she touches your precious game consoles (even if it’s an old granny). We’ve seen the lazy man’s solution before, but Britain’s Mathew Newton has brought us a new DIY internet-enabled cat feeder just in time for a new decade. Rather than using a CD-ROM tray to push-release unknown quantities of cat food, Mathew’s version has a motor-driven cereal dispenser controlled by signal from port status LEDs on a Cisco switch — an ingenious way to avoid expensive Ethernet relay units. When it’s feeding time the user logs onto a web interface to choose the dispensing quantity, or you can also have an automatic feed schedule set up if you trust the system — Mathew said he “can rely on it 100%,” and his cats do appear to be healthy. Fortunately, you can always check the live video stream just in case you have doubts. All is explained in the video after the break.

Continue reading DIY cat feeder now enabled by a Cisco switch, streams food and video

DIY cat feeder now enabled by a Cisco switch, streams food and video originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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tweetleaks @ 10:56 PM on November 30, 2009

It’s a good thing that Tony Hawk: Ride is meant to be played with your feet, because if there ever was a game that made you want to throw your controller across a room, this is it.
Ride, the 10th videogame starring the world’s most famous professional skateboarder, might not have been so disappointing if, like [...]

tweetleaks @ 9:47 PM on November 30, 2009

Those incredibly sexy (as far as portable storage capacities are concerned) 64GB SDXC cards coming on the horizon? You’re gonna want some hardware to work with it, and according to DailyTech, three of the largest computer manufacturers are looking to bring the upgrade with Intel’s forthcoming Arrandale CPUs. Lenovo, HP, and Dell are reportedly working on new designs that’ll contain both the new 32nm chipsets and SDXC readers. Not that we’re surprised to see new SDHC’s time running out, but it does give you something to look forward to.

Dell, HP, and Lenovo bringing SDXC to laptops alongside 32nm Intel chipsets? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Nov 2009 22:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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tweetleaks @ 9:25 PM on November 30, 2009

Today was a proud day in the history of New Zealand, marking the first ever home-grown rocket launch from the island. The private space company Rocket Lab, Ltd launched their Atea-1 rocket to a height of over 100 km at 2:28pm (NZST). The launch took place at Great Mercury Island, just off the coast of [...]